Monstrous - Chapter 6 (Patreon)

The consciousness was getting frustrated.

Lately, it was continuously being cornered by that annoying being. Whenever night time came, it would have to safeguard that frail creature’s mind from the assault of the things that inhabited the ethereal world.

This inevitably led to the other being trying to talk to itself. However, it had no interest in communicating with such an inferior creature. It would always sever the beings dreams from this realm as soon as possible. 

This approach had worked fine, until today.

“Please, I would like to… speak with you.” The woman (it had come to realize the nature of the creature from probing its own thoughts) stood in front of it, hands clasped against her abdomen.

They placed across from each other in a grassy meadow, bathed in the warm light of an illusory sun. She had somehow managed to corner the consciousness in this dream-realm due to some remnant power that hung in the air.

The consciousness was naturally capable of dissolving this space, but that would take a few moments.

The woman drew a shuddering breath in an attempt to calm herself before speaking. “My name is Alrüna.”

The consciousness couldn’t help but provide a snarky reply in response to the woman’s foolishness. “Imbecile. You provide your identity too easily”

The woman smiled, a little embarrassed. “I know you mean me no harm.”

The consciousness felt almost insulted by the sentiment. “I would have absorbed your essence long ago if we were not…” It stopped itself - it’d almost revealed its dependence on the woman.

The woman ran a hand through her curly, beautiful hair. “If we were not connected.” She finished the consciousness’ sentence for it.

Its burning form froze were it hovered in the air. She had discovered its secret! “If you think that information will enable you to bind me…!” The utter humiliation and outrage at being put at such a disadvantage made it unable to continue speaking.

The woman laughed, a little sadly. “Do you have so little trust in me?” Her tongue ran over her pale, pink lips. She hesitated a moment before continuing. “After all, we are…”

The consciousness felt the surrounding area dissolving. It was one thought away from being destroyed completely. The woman had captures its attention.

The woman’s hands went to cover her mouth as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “I don’t know how this is possible, or how we are talking like this but… I know this for sure: you… are my child” Tears started running down her cheeks as that last word left her lips.

The consciousness felt a jittering sensation throughout its astral body. The woman… was not lying. It was more than powerful enough to detect the truth or falsity to her words.

Indeed, it too felt a certain connection to this woman… Alrüna. It had wondered about its own origins many times. Had it… sprung forth from her?

“Physical beings require both a male and a female to produce offspring. I have concluded this by observing the natural world.” It queried, attempting to fill in some of the gaps in its knowledge.

The woman stopped crying. Her face gained a wide-eyed, pale look. Her hands went to clutch at her furs as her mouth opened and closed, looking for an answer.

Eventually she spoke. “I-I am your mother. I will care for you.”

The consciousness’ form flared outwards in anger. “You will provide me with an answer.” It was unwilling to believe that this pitiful thing had been solely responsible for producing something which was so much greater than itself.

Alrüna’s lips pressed together tightly. “I may have thought some… bad things in the past, but please have faith in me… I love you. I only want what is best for you!”

The consciousness vibrated, approximating something like a snort. “I have no care for your love or hate towards myself. I ask: who is my other parent?” In fact, it was almost certain about the identity of its most recent male ancestor, but it wanted to confirm the information from a different source.

Alrüna fell to her knees in sorrow. “I was taken by a devil… I was unable to resist.” She spoke, hollowly. “I doubt you will be born a human child, but know that I will love you and care for you regardless. I am so, so sorry!” She started loudly sobbing with guilt. Her abnormal child would be rejected by the world, that was simply a fact.

The consciousness made no attempt to console its crying mother. “A devil…? What was its appearance?” It felt some excitement welling in its core.

Alrüna looked up from her hands, her face a mix between sadness and disbelief. The child cared nothing for its despairing mother, but wanted to know about the demon that had raped her? She chuckled resignedly, shaking her head from side to side. “Big, dark, evil. And with many teeth and claws.”

The consciousness nodded its non-present head up and down. “You have been of some use. Take pride in that.” It shattered the realm into millions of glittering pieces, before turning to leave in the direction of a familiar shadowy presence.

“Wait!” The woman sprung upwards, running after its retreating form.

“A name! I have been thinking of a name!” She shouted this desperately as she almost stumbled over herself. The world around her cracked and dissipated, leaving her stranded on a small island of grass.

She cupped her mouth as if to shout something, only to close her mouth in caution. Then, she eyes perked up as if realizing something.

The consciousness felt the single string connecting them vibrate as if strummed. A message was communicated through it:

‘This name comes from my mentor.’

The consciousness’ awareness returned to its mother, unbidden. It watched as her eyes curved into crescents from smiling.

‘The name I chose is… Våren. It means spring.’

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Våren… It was not an unpleasant name. The consciousness... no, Våren, thought.

‘I suppose I can accept this manner of identification. It is no worse than any other.’

It travelled slowly towards Gévaudan, deep in thought. Seeing the other creature’s telltale spotlight-like gaze from a distance, it froze for a moment. Våren looked to be deciding something. Then, seeming to reach a consensus with itself, it closed the distance between them.

As soon as its presence was noticed it spoke. “Why did you not tell me you were my father?”

It could sense Gévaudan’s amusement across their bridge of communication. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you. If you must know, it’s because… you never asked!”

Its smoky form broiled in dissatisfaction. “You…” It didn’t know what to say. Gévaudan was technically correct, yet the answer was somehow profoundly unsatisfying.

Våren sent a zap of energy towards its father in anger. Unfortunately, it was dispersed harmlessly by that mysterious network of white veins that grew within him.

It could swear that it saw Gévaudan’s fangs slide free to form a toothy grin. “Is this the kind of attitude you should have towards the one that gave you life?”

Energy sparked and crackled around Våren as they started to lose their temper. “Even the lowest animal can reproduce. It is no great feat!”

“Your speaking and vocabulary have improved.” Gévaudan remarked with pleasure, ignoring his child’s tantrum.

Våren somehow managed to communicate a harrumph. “It is naturally due to my own brilliance!”

Gévaudan didn’t look very impressed by their statement.

The beast tilted his head to one side, its two enormous white orb-like gaze constricting into two slits. “You seem… different.”

Våren’s anger suddenly disappeared. Their flaming form shifted a little in discomfort. “I have accepted… a name.” They admitted with some reluctance.

It could feel some concern emitting from Gévaudan. “Accepted…?”

It affirmed the question. “It’s from her.”

Gévaudan relaxed. “I see.” Radiating curiosity, he asked. “I have already told you my name. Now, will you tell me yours?”

“It is Våren.” They did not hesitate to say this. Gévaudan had made his goodwill clear some time ago. If he wished to do harm, he would have done so already

A few long, spidery phalanges went up to stroke Gévaudan’s jaw. “Spring… I see. It’s a nice name, although I’m unsure if it suits you.”

Våren rolled its metaphorical eyes at its father. “It is a manner of identification. That type of thing seems to be useful to have.”

Gévaudan nodded his wolf-like head. “As long as you are content.” The giant creature shifted to hang upside down – its favorite position. “How is it, to suddenly gain a mother and a father?”

Våren gave this some thought. “That woman is too useless! As soon as I am born, we should leave her behind!” They gave their opinion of their mother in a scathing tone. “Also, she hates you!”

Våren didn’t sense any strong emotional fluctuations from its father. “It is reasonable for her to feel that way.” Gévaudan replied. “It is not moral to forcibly get a woman with child. The process is especially horrifying when done by a chaos-being.”

Våren’s non-existent ears perked up. “You have mentioned that term before: ‘chaos-being’.”

Gévaudan seemed to consider whether or not to reveal any more information. Then, coming to a decision, he spoke. “Chaos is a rather complicated topic. I guess its best to start with the beings who rule over the force of chaos, they are…”

Våren listened with rapt attention as their father explained the four chaos gods, their nature, as well as the realms of chaos and the source of all magic.

“These four beings, do they have names?” Våren asked, too curious to stop themself.

Gévaudan nodded in affirmation. “They do. I don’t think it would be very wise to speak their names here. I will tell you in the physical world, once you are born.”

Våren deflated a little in disappointment at not having their curiosity satiated. Then, they caught on to an important detail in the explanation. “You said that the beings of chaos serve these four gods. Does that include you?”

Gévaudan’s disposition was strange as he answered. There was gravity, anticipation and… greed in his tone. “I do, although I do not serve any of the gods in particular.”

Våren stared at him in interest, waiting for him to continue. Seeing his child practically start vibrating in suspense, Gévaudan grinned. “I pursue chaos undivided. It is like walking a tightrope, with the risk of offending all four of the gods, but… if I succeed, I will receive a great reward.”

Våren went quiet. It was a very… bold idea. “You are trying to avoid the drawbacks of serving a particular god.” They stated, already sure of their conclusion.

Gévaudan said nothing, but the hint of smugness gave him away.

For a long time, neither of them said anything. Then Våren spoke, the words slipping from their glowing form almost unconsciously. “Is this… my future?”

Gévaudan’s presence radiated severity. “Våren… you came into existence not by your own volition. For this, I will not apologize.”

“You must face reality: chaos is an absolute force in this world. No other ‘god’ can compare to its power - any defeat of chaos is merely a delay. The dark gods will overrun this world, not now, not in a thousand years… perhaps not even in a hundred thousand years. But one day, it will happen.”

“You are not destined to live the life of a normal mortal. Daemons will hunger for your powerful soul. Grow in strength until you can defeat them, devour them or enslave their souls. The weak die and the strong survive. You may take any path you wish, but there is one thing you must live by:”

Gévaudan levelled a burning stare at his child.

“First, seek power. Everything else will follow.”

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Months passed as the trio continued to travel further south. By now, Alrüna had developed a very noticeable baby-bump. She would often run her hands over her abdomen, her thoughts solely focused on Våren. She was happy to discover that they’d accepted the name. It meant a lot to her, to be able to carry on Rahl’s legacy in a tangible way.

Their relationship was hardly perfect, but they at least talked in her dreams sometimes. Her only concern was Gévaudan. She was convinced that he had some plan for the child. Våren had been speaking to their father as well… it made her chew the inside of her cheek bloody from worry. She’d been getting along a bit better with Gévaudan due to the shielding effects on her consciousness, but he’d not been willing to say, or write, much on the topic of… their child. She had no idea what was going on between the two of them.

She hated her own powerlessness. She would have left if she could, but she didn’t have the confidence to provide for herself and her child. Gévaudan would be able to easily follow them, even if she did somehow manage to escape.

She sighed, not for the first time today. She hoped that the worst wouldn’t come to pass. For now, her mind went to dwell on a different topic: would Våren be a boy or a girl? At least the name was suitable for either gender.

They were resting for the night. Travelling was becoming more and more difficult for her, so she was rather exhausted. Regardless, she wanted to give birth as far south as possible. She’d rather suffer from the journey than pass another frigid winter holed up, hungry and freezing.

She remembered that it had once gotten so cold that Rahl lost one of his toes to frostbite. That particular winter was the worst experience of her life, and that was saying something. Shadowed forms had hung around their village border, dwelling within the ragin blizzard, just out of eyesight. Fortunately, Rahl had been able to keep them at bay with a strange ritual.

She’d experienced some frights in her life, but that slow dread that built day-after-day was incomparably horrifying.

She exhaled, pushing the frightening memories from her mind. She sipped some of the water she’d boiled, where some aromatic herbs had been soaked in. She had to admit, the past few months since… the incident were some of the easiest she’d ever had. Her pale fingers went to her side where she picked up a piece of dried meat.

She almost felt at ease where she sat, the enormous bat-like silhouette of Gévaudan hanging somewhere in the background. He’d gotten so big that he could easily be mistaken as part of the environment, as long as he kept his eyes closed. Alrüna was no longer able to look directly at him, lest she start wailing in fright at his appearance. She was protected from his corrupting influence, but her eyes were no more immune to his powerfully evil form.

Breathe in, breathe out. She’d gotten better at calming her emotions.

Suddenly, she heard something unbelievable.

Voices.

Her body completely froze in excitement as she desperately made an effort to listen more closely.

There were people somewhere nearby! She scrambled to her feet, so excited at the idea of meeting another human again that she forgot about the presence of the giant monster behind her.

The voices drew closer, undoubtedly having seen the orange glow of her campfire from a distance.

It wasn’t long before she heard a loud whisper directed at her camp: “Greetings, the camp. We are travellers seeking shelter!”

Alrüna momentarily forgot the proper etiquette for greeting before her rusty mind caught up. “Greetings, the travellers! This camp welcomes your arrival.”

A handful of people slipped out from behind the brush. They were three men and a single woman. Alrüna noted how they seemed to be in rather good shape for people in the middle of nowhere.

They immediately noticed her overjoyed expression as well as her solo status. The middle-aged woman was the first to comment on this fact. “You are by yourself?”

Alrüna scrambled to think of something to say. “I… I was traveling with my party before we got separated.” She looked over her shoulder only to see that Gévaudan had vanished.

The three men were staring at her, dumbfounded. They had never seen a fairer maid in all of their years! The female traveller noticed the men’s slack-jawed state, her face distorting a little in unhappiness before she quickly caught herself. She was rather attractive herself, but she couldn’t hold a candle to the pale-skinned girl in front of them.

The brown-haired woman quickly schooled her expression into one of pity. “Poor girl! You have been fortunate, to survive this long by yourself.” The men seemed to snap out of their stupor at those words. Indeed, it was unusual for a maiden to be able to survive by herself in these forsaken lands. Their gazes turned a little cautious.

Before things could become alkward, the woman introduced herself. “My name is Velke, these are my companions…” Alrüna barely registered the other’s introductions, aside from the largest man, who’s name was Brundr.

“Well met. My name is Alrüna.” She introduced herself politely.

Her senses had been honed over many years of dealing with her fellow villagers, as well as some of their neighbors when they came by to trade. These travellers felt like they would be troublesome.

After introductions finished, the new arrivals made themselves at home around her campfire, without doing her the courtesy of asking. She was not too bothered by this, as she was just glad to meet people again. She had no reason for that other than to satisfy her need for human interaction.

They made some small talk, until eventually the topic came to their respective purposes.

“We are seeking to trade with the long-eared folk that come from beyond the great sea.” Spoke the woman. She was clearly their representative.

“Long-eared folk?” Alrüna questioned with some confusion.

One of the smaller men, who’s name she’d forgotten, nodded eagerly. “They are the most wonderful and mysterious people! The things they have for trade go beyond one’s wildest imagination.”

A second man chipped in, nodding his head. “You will not believe it unless you see it with your own eyes. They are a tall and mysterious folk, with women almost as beautiful as yourself!” He said this with a smile, clearly believing himself to be very charming. Alrüna couldn’t bare to look at his greasy hair and yellow teeth.

Her mind started whirling, the old wanderlust and desire for adventure reigniting within her chest. Had it not been for her pregnancy, she’d have immediately gone on a grand journey to meet these ‘long-eared folk’.

Eventually, they wrapped up their conversation, all parties seeming equally tired and eager to turn in for the night.

Despite their protests, she moved herself some distance away from the rest of them, laying down her furs.

Alrüna ignored them as they chatted softly amongst themselves, falling asleep without so much as a single worry for her own safety.

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