Tuisto changed many things regarding the dead magic zone. The cognizance impairing illusion that made people either ignore or avoid this area if they didn’t know it existed was stronger now, making the existence of the shit desert slip the mind of even those who knew of it. And the boundary now had a physical effect. Anyone attempting to enter got a notification and a small resistance, like trying to push through a plastic shower curtain.
As I flew over the dead magic zone, I lowered my hand to press on the boundary and pushed.
>WARNING: You are entering a dead zone. Imminent death.
Very ominous and it would probably make people want to enter out of sheer curiosity. Not my problem though. I just wanted to see in what state the gnos were after the shit-show back at the kobold village. I reached the mountain with the staircase and landed next to the entrance. Last year, I planted a pine tree next to the exit so I could access my refuge faster. Touching the trunk, I willed myself to enter the tree and go there.
Upon my arrival, I called Nenandil. The water fairy quickly flew out of the old house to et . She landed next to and held my head by the cheeks.
“What happened?”
I explained it to her. How I got obsessed with the siphon, how I took over the kobolds, how I dug to the Core, and what happened afterward. Nenandil listened in silence, nodding or humming to let know she was following what I said.
“You got mana madness. It happens with all of us fairies, I thought you knew. Sorry,” she apologized.
I rubbed her head and humd my dragonfly wings, “Not your fault. What is it?”
“Do you rember when Alloralla went down to pay the tithe to the elder fairies? How they got so engorged on your mana and blood they kept you longer than they should?” I nodded. “That’s mana madness. It is rare but may happen anywhere for almost anything magical. Sotis a fairy gets crazy about a contract, or sothing silly like getting revenge because they took a nibble of your cookie house. It has to do with emotional attachnt rather than sheer power. It brings the dark side in any of us.” She cuddled and ran her hand against my green hair. “You poor thing. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you. I know it doesn’t help with the sorrow but you are very unlikely to catch it again for a long while. So long you rember your sha.”
That last line was rather sinister. I knew Nenandil loved and she wouldn’t hurt but I knew mana madness was a huge taboo in fairy society. Maybe that was the reason the elder fairies were so nice to . They were trying to repay to ease their sha. And now it was my turn. I couldn’t do anything for the kobolds but the gnos would need guidance to evolve past their savage age.
Now that Tuisto blocked conception of any babies carrying the genes for the drug glands or the harshest version of the {Anti-Magical}, the future gnos had a shot at living a life outside the boundary of the dead magic desert. I could see how they would beco expert mage-killers and could hunt specialized magical monsters that were too dangerous for normal people.
I won’t lie, it was eugenics of the highest level. Of the divine level. Was it ethical? I knew the gnos had accepted the Perk as the System seldom allowed even the Administrators to ss with living people’s Status without proper compensation. What did he give them to convince the gnos to accept the Perk? But one pressing factor trumped over everything. It had to be done. The males were poisoning the females. A side effect of the poison was the euphoria and pleasure it caused in the females’ system but the mutation was literally killing babies, as the female fetuses didn’t have the sa resilience as an adult weaned to the poison.
And the gnos had to grow and move outside the desert. Now that the kobolds were no more a threat, the gnos needed sothing to keep their minds preoccupied. If they didn’t have an enemy to challenge them and force them to stay united, they would fight against one another. It was a trait shared by every sentient species, not only humans. Society needed an outlet for aggression or a deeply-ingrained indoctrination called civilization. Maybe A Dungeon up here in the mountains to allow the gnos to fight and challenge themselves would be such an outlet. They needed to move outside the dead magic zone for that to happen, though.
I talked about that with Nenandil for a while but I had to go. I couldn’t leave the gnos to their own device for too long and I had to check the death toll. Moving back to Yznarian through the tree, I found Tuisto waiting at the mouth of the stairway leading into the caves.
“Can we talk for a while?”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringent.
I nodded. “You never betrayed my trust, Tuisto. I now see that I wouldn’t be misled if I gave you the Divine Core. Although my path would be radically different.”
“You accomplished sothing unique, beyond my expectations. Even Loki was surprised by the birth of the wisp you call Pandora. But I promise I won’t take too long. Let tell you what you should expect down there. More than a third of the gnos perished. Those that had free Perk choices were forced to purchase the resistance Perk, and I enacted ergency activations for the infants. That included your ward. She’s alive. I apologize for dismissing you back when you warned us of the dangers of the {Anti-Magical} Perk. I didn’t look at it with the due diligence.”
“It’s fine. You didn’t trigger the events that led to this catastrophe. If it is anyone’s fault, it is both mine and Wyxnos’.”
“I won’t argue against neither confirm it. What’s done is done. We turned a blind eye to Wyxnos’ machinations one ti too many. I have two Cores here for you. One is an [Ambient Mana Regulator], a modified lesser version of the one controlling the dead magic zone. I suggest you install it in the mountains to the north, it will create a field of weak ambient mana where the gnos won’t burn to death imdiately. It will be helpful to make them train their resistance and proficiencies. This [Ambient Mana Regulator] is synchronized with the dead magic zone and won’t overlap so it’s safe to put it close to the boundary here. The second one is a modified Dungeon Core that will work inside the weak ambient mana and feed off of the mana drained by the [Ambient Mana Regulator]. They are supposed to be used in tandem. You know how to operate a Dungeon Core and this one already has a willing soul inhabiting the crystal.”
He gave the two engraved crystals and I studied them. I wanted to learn how to make Dungeon Cores and these multi-purpose enchanted crystals. But even with five hundred in [Enchanter] and [Rune Scribe], it was beyond my current skills. It wasn’t wasted ti as just studying them gave a point in the forr and two points in the latter because it still had Fast-growth points to burn.
With the Cores in the item box, I assud Tinarturnner’s form and walked down the stairs.
The gno tunnels were filled with lantations. Since I arrived, we had a year with very few deaths in the desert. They moved up Maslow’s pyramid and that gave them room to cherish the living. Now they were suffering the other side of the coin, mourning the dead.
“Matriarch’s voice, why did this happen?” A gno asked as he carried his brother’s body down the main tunnel, going to the garage.
“The Matriarch fought the kobolds and their dark god. They perished when their devices backfired and exploded, killing all of them. It also destabilized everything here, causing these deaths. They already paid for their folly and the desert is now ours.”
That didn’t offset his loss. I had similar talks with the gnos as I walked in the tunnels until I found Grenniana at the nursery.
“Tina! Nanny…” she ran to with teary eyes. I understood what happened. Nanny had very few opportunities to gain levels and was rather old.
> Level 5 Female Scavenger Gno (no Class).
“I understand. Co here, sit with . I’ll explain what happened.”
I would repeat the sa explanation several tis as I went among the gnos, comforting them. But that day belonged to Grenniana. We shared stories about Nanny and how the grumpy old gno was one step from crumbling down. After we had shed enough tears for the father figure in our lives, I took her down to the garage.
“It is ti for you to pick your Class, Grenniana. What do you want to do?”
Her reply wasted not a split second, “I want to stay with you, Tina. What are you going to do now that the kobolds are defeated?”
“A few patrols out there survived. They are not entirely gone but I think we should get them to live with us. They don’t have a village anymore.”
“What? The Kobolds won’t--”
I put my finger in front of her mouth and pulled her into a nook in the wall. “Let tell you a secret. I killed the kobold [Queen] and took over control of their settlent before their God exploded everything. The kobolds obey now. The gnos will change their way of life, the Matriarch has decided. We will climb out of the caverns and settle in the mountain above. I have a sacred relic that will allow the gnos to live up there. Under the sun, but without the devouring sands. With trees, grass, and flowers.”
Grenniana closed her eyes, the simple thing surface people took for granted demanding all her imagination to visualize. After she either succeeded or gave up, she made her statent. “I want to make that a reality. That’s what I want to do. Create a place for the gnos.”
"Are you sure? To make a place ans you'll have to rule the place. Set laws, customs, settle disputes. It is a lot of hard work. I once had a girl take over a city, she later resented it. But she did a wonderful job."
She shook her head. "I don't mind. I think it is better than staying in the mother's cave having visitors all the ti and keep birthing children over and over and over. I want to be like you, Tina. I want to visit places, see the world. When everyone started to burn, the System told the Matriarch had gifted a lot of Perks. Including a resistance to what was killing our people. I think the Goddess did that for a reason."
"She did that because she loves you."
She smiled for the first ti since my return, "I know that. And I want to be soone worthy of that love."
“I'll help you. We'll go up there next week and set the cornerstone of our new gno and kobold realm. I officially adopt you and make you a [Princess] of the Siphon Desert. You’ll be a [Mason] and a [Landscaper]. Those will be your Proficiencies. You’ll beco an [Ruler] and a [General] so you can govern the new city and also defend it. You shall be the cornerstone of the gno city and its defenses. Because outside the dead magic zone, marvels await and also danger from monsters and magical creatures. Clean air, running water, magical lights, and birds.”
She was puzzled and overwheld. “What’s a 'birds'?”
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