Kin of Jörmungandr

Ceph didn't know what to do.

She had been given the chance to convince the snake before they reached the exit, but had failed. Fortunately, Orm was kind enough to carry them up — it was truly strange to consider a creature like the serpent as kind — so they wouldn't have to climb for days. It gave her an extension. That had been a massive relief… until she realised just how quickly Orm moved through the air.

Near the base of the column, it had been impossible to tell, but now that they'd risen out of the sheer depths — and only Orm's portals affected them — she could see just how much distance they crossed with each massive rip in space. Dozens, sometimes even hundreds of metres at a time. And that was on top of the obscene speed the snake could achieve all the while carrying herself and the other four.

Now that they were out of the region of densely twisting space, she could see each portal form, and comprehend it… to a limited extent. They started as mere visual distortions. Like a floating drop of water. But when Orm widened them — most often too quick to see — they became perfect circular windows to wherever they connected. It was most clear when the snake created a portal going from moving straight up, to moving towards the wall.

That was another thing she'd found odd about the serpent's flight. To go up, Orm needed to go down just as often. Ceph could barely even make sense of it, but it seemed natural to the sapient creature.

The speed was a problem.

She'd just been given this extra time to convince the giant snake to join them, yet they were already so close to the surface. A tiny pinprick of light was barely noticeable above. At their current pace, they'd be there in twenty minutes. Orm rose faster than Ceph could fall.

All her options for convincing the snake had fallen on deaf ears. When it didn't return silence to her offers, it gave unquestionable refusal.

Food was an obvious miss. Even if they had tastier meals — which she'd advertised as well, to little effect — no creatures they could hunt offered the same amount of enhancement as whatever it could itself. Not unless they sent out all their Inner Circle mercs. And they couldn't be taken from the war effort.

Promises of wealth… well, she hadn't brought it back up after she realised it didn't even understand the concept. Ceph could teach Orm of money, but she couldn't teach the desire for it.

The snake they all rode seemed most heavily influenced by its curiosity. Any time she spoke of the surface and her people, it would perk up and listen intently… yet any time she offered to show anything, that interest fled. The snake shrunk in on itself. Orm was obviously irritated at her constant attempts to convince it, and despite how dangerous she knew pushing further might be — none of them could handle this creature's wrath, after all — she kept needling.

Yet every attempt was rebuked.

"What do we do?" Ceph whispered to Hirsh, who sat behind her on the hard scales.

She'd ridden a pholo a few times when she was younger, but other than the way she wrapped her tentacles around its torso, riding the serpent was nothing similar. Orm's scales were hard, and barely depressed beneath her weight. Yet despite feeling like she was sitting on rock, the way the snake moved was fluid and decisive. Much better than the jerky motions of a pholo. Even if the constantly twisting gravity made her slightly nauseous.

"I don't know. We're getting along well, but we can't force anything," the khirig said. "If it doesn't work out, then there's nothing to be done. Let it go."

Ceph curled a tentacle in frustration. She couldn't do that. Too much was riding on her ability to convince it… but she also couldn't force the giant creature to change its mind.

"Are your four species the only sapients of the surface?"

Once again, Ceph felt her insides lock up and her mouth refused to form words. They flew through the air in silence until she finally brushed off the instinctual terror from Orm's voice.

"No. There are plenty of others." Intentionally fuelling the snake's curiosity, she continued. "Portians, áinfean, áed, riparians, ursu. Uh… there's also centzon, mermineae and heqet. All of them have their own cultures and differences. In our home, the pact nations, we dohrni have lived with the khirig and volans so long that much of our culture has blended. Though, there are still great differences between each of the nations. There are many other races, but many are few in number and tend to keep to themselves. Wyle kin, for example."

Ceph was about to propose that they show the snake some of those places, but held herself short. Orm had already rejected her past attempts, she couldn't make it obvious. But at the same time, she couldn't give up.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The snake didn't respond immediately. Instead, it left Ceph to suffer in her stress over whether it was angry at her over her less-than-subtle needling. Her indecision wrung her mind and made it hard to breathe. In all her time as a mercenary, she'd never felt this stressed. The fate of her entire nation sat squarely on her ability to convince a person they'd once mistaken for a beast.

It was beyond her ability.

Give her something to fight with her blades, and she'd fight until it was dead. But make her speak, and she was bound for failure. She couldn't even keep this new team from shattering because of her incompetence. Hirsh was right; with the way she'd been acting, there wasn't a chance the others wouldn't leave the moment they escaped this column.

Suddenly, the light from above grew exponentially brighter. After weeks beneath the surface, Ceph's eyes stung as the sun beamed down on her.

They broke the surface, and Ceph realised her time was up.

Upon breaching the surface, the snake ceased all portal-making and allowed them to simply arch through the air. Both Tavi and Fey leapt out and spread their wings now that they had the freedom to do so, and Ceph found herself wishing she could fly like them herself. Anything to run from the responsibility she had.

"Orm, I…"

"I wish to stay."

Ceph startled, not believing her ears. The serpent had shown no inclination towards accepting her offers, so it seemed impossible. She tried to form words, but before they could come, Orm spoke again.

❖❖❖

"I wish to explore the surface, see these cultures, and speak with all sapient species you talk of."

Even as the hissed words leave my mouth, guilt stabs my spine. I shouldn't want this so much. Scia is waiting for me, and only one path will bring me to her, yet I've chosen to delay my hunts. I've chosen my selfish, immediate desires over my goal.

Ceph, Hirsh and others' speech of the lands they came from continued to tempt me. Each sentence that came out of their mouths only riled me further. I had to state my stance to them whenever they said they wanted to show me the surface, but each time they spoke, my curiosity was tested.

I was supposed to leave them to climb the column themselves, but I wanted to hear just a little more. Now that I've breached the surface again, and can see a hundred times further than before, I can't deny that I want to explore everything I missed my first time here. I should leave these five here. Make my way back to the Other Side. But any motion I make to turn back or shake these passengers from my back ends in failure.

The immediate area surrounding the pit alone has too much to watch. What could be beyond? What about those other races? Those other cultures? How might one sapient creature differ from another? I've already seen that their minds are their greatest aspect, and it was what I learnt from them that let me take on the Lynx, so what other lessons could they have?

In fact, is this not the perfect opportunity?

Maybe growth by consumption alone will not be enough to take on the Titans. Even as massive as I've become, it'll be many thousand cycles before I reach the heights necessary to take on one of those mountains. These sapients taught me to fight and beat something stronger than myself; it is not a stretch to think they would have more of such lessons.

This is not a deviation away from Scia's revival, but instead another path towards it.

Even so, the guilt remains. No matter what I tell myself, it's curiosity first and foremost that guides my intent. I feel horrible that Scia does not remain on the forefront of my mind in the face of all that is new.

Down below, hundreds of warrior caste run around in a repeat of the first time I arrived. I worry that they might attack again. If they do, I'll be forced to act in a way none of us want. Thankfully, I watch as some sapients rush around telling them to cease the attack. It's good to know they do remember.

Maybe I will be able to explore without being swarmed again.

Overhead, the spatial ripple is strong. My mind falls back on what Hirsh said about seeing the ripple. Light. It's probably a stretch, but he might know what the source of it is. I doubt I'll get much of an answer; if they knew some massive Titan was crawling along the cavern ceiling in a constant cycle, they'd be in constant terror.

"What is that ripple… light?" I incline my head upwards, so that there is no confusion about what I'm talking about.

"You mean… the sun?" Ceph seems stunned for some reason.

Thankfully, Hirsh comes in with an actual explanation… which only make me more confused. "Ah, if you've been beneath the surface all your life, then you wouldn't know. How far can you see, anyway? The sun is a massive ball of fire the planet orbits. It emits all the light we use to see; the spatial ripples, as you've probably noticed, are much more intense up here."

While applying only the slightest of bends before myself to keep us in flight, I angle my head back and stare at the antlered creature. A ball of fire? Planet orbit? I have absolutely no idea what he is talking about, but I can't wait to find out.

So apparently they do know there is something massive hanging over their heads, but for them to accept it so readily must mean its cyclic action never changes.

I continue to rise, making use of my much greater distance of sight to both get a good look of the land, and see if I can make out this massive ball of fire. The two little volans have already leapt from my back, and have gone somewhere amongst the other warrior caste, but the three remaining become visibly stressed the higher we go.

"Orm!" Ceph finally shouts, a tinge of terror in her voice. "Please don't go any higher. We can't survive the Nightfall Shroud."

So many new things to learn!

Conceding to their request, I reverse my direction and flow down to the gathering of sapients. Having bundled together like that, I can't help my interest. I could talk to so many at once. The top of this pit has far fewer warrior castes than I remember, but there are still dozens gathering to welcome me, so I best meet them properly.

Maybe this path isn't as efficient as the mindless hunting on the Other Side, but I intend to make every moment I'm up here worth it. Of course, starting with a chat is the best way to begin.