The Firstlings

Lies

He punched the tunnel wall with a growl, watching his siblings walk into the forest. A small pang of loneliness lodged in his chest, but he shrugged it off, as he had made his choice, and they were too worthless anyway!

But his Brother lived!

Growling, he punched the wall again as hot anger boiled through his blood. Where had it all gone wrong? 'That wretch,' he hissed. Brother had lived through the deadly strike, smiling as he walked and even having a name!

Aaron.

Hearing his siblings call his Brother's name almost caused him to rush out of his hiding spot to cut the fool again, but he resisted. He wasn’t trying to die, and he knew that Brother could still sense him, as he still felt the Bond tugging at his soul.

They were leaving, and he was alone.

Hissing in frustration at his weakness, he turned to the tunnels and set off to find his place in the world. He had wandered the tunnels after waking from his injuries, eating mushrooms and small animals to survive as his wounds healed. There were whispers in some of the darker tunnels that Mother had warned them about, so he had stayed in the general area surrounding the nest.

But he felt power within those whispers and thought of his Brother's truths, wondering if these were another truth. Swallowing his fear, he headed into the depths of the dark tunnels, searching for their source. Winding and twisting through the passages, seeing black tendrils of foul sludge creeping up the tunnel walls, he came to a dead end, his eyes widening.

At a floating black sphere the size of his fist.

Dark murmurs swam from its depths.

Whispers of chaos made his heart leap and set his body trembling in awe. The sphere was like a portal leading to the unknown, and he felt as if he could almost see the darkness on the other side. The cacophony of madness seeping from within the sphere dripped to the tunnel floor, feeding the black tendrils growing through the tunnel.

He sat directly beneath the sphere, letting the murmurs wash over him, hissing as the sludge burned his skin. The dark whispers seeped into his mind and soul, causing pain to shoot through his body as he spasmed on the floor. He struggled through clenched teeth, concentrating as the dark sound began to form into a coherent whole.

It was Knowledge!

Not Brother’s stupid truths or Mother’s simple teachings.

True Knowledge!

His heart raced in excitement, as he basked in its glory, kneeling in the center of a new Truth. A shudder went through the sphere as it flickered, and fear gripped his chest. The portal was losing focus and becoming blurry, as if it were wasting its foul energy to impart to the world its untold horror.

But he dismissed his worries.

The sphere had given him the knowledge he needed.

Combing through the tunnels, he gathered dried moss and mushroom stalks, placing them in a pile in the old Nest. Searching around, he picked up several rocks and started striking them against each other, fumbling poorly, as he wasn’t as gifted as his siblings.

Why would he work if they would do it for him?

Finally, he found what he was searching for, and sparks fell, landing on the dry material. A small ember formed, which he started blowing on gently to ignite further. He sat back, staring at the small fire, and smiled wickedly.

He dug a shallow pit before the fire, just deep enough to submerge himself, and stomped around the flame, murmuring the dark whispers he learned from the sphere. He swayed and gyrated grotesquely as his guttural whispers reached a crescendo, and the flame shuddered, a dark aura spreading through the Nest.

He watched, with foul glee, as a dark portal appeared in the center of the flame and the horrible knowledge, once again, poured from the unknown. A black sludge that radiated corruption seeped from the portal, pooling into the pit.

He walked forward, entering the pit, allowing the foul liquid to cover his entire body as he grunted through the pain. He bathed in the glory of the dark knowledge as the corruption seeped into his body and began to reshape him, rebuilding him in the glory of the untold.

Basking in the corruption for what felt like an eternity, he could sense his body beginning to stabilize and his cells refusing to take in more. Rising from the foul sludge, he stood before the fire and gawked at his incredible changes.

He stood large in the cavern, muscles bulging and rippling in ecstasy, flexing the large claws adorning his fingers, feeling like he could crush stone. His skin had changed to a dark, sickly green, almost brownish, and his ears were larger and more defined. His nose was more angular, hatred frozen on his features, and cold black eyes burning with avarice.

He roared in wicked glee, his voice booming through the Nest, as Runes appeared in his vision.

Name: Ezar

Race: Kobold

Class: Prince (E)

Core: Great (F)

Blessings: Foul One

Titles: --

Insights: Blight (Middle)

Authority: --

Attributes: Spawn – Traitorous Fiend

Skills: --

He smiled wide, in sick satisfaction, at the power coursing through his body. He had been given a name and could feel the change that came with such a gift. His soul had become more stable, and his mind was clearer. He could also feel that the Bond with his siblings had been severed and was overjoyed that they would never be a burden to him again.

His work wasn’t finished, however, so he turned back to the dark sphere and reached into its depths, gripping something tangible. As he pulled his arm back, his smile grew even wider at the dark spear he now held high.

Its dark surface seemed to bubble and writhe excitedly, with horrible sludge dripping from its tip. He could feel his eyes burning from looking at it for too long, so he turned away and searched the Cavern.

He had another job.

This one was engrained into the cells of his body, feeling as natural as breathing.

When his eyes scanned the Cavern, he saw dark silhouettes taking shape, hunched over forlornly, giving a sense of sorrow. He knew without a doubt...

It was the soul of his siblings!

Their lives ended by the Humans.

They were shadows, merely echoes of their true selves, eyes hollow, and moaning in a cry to the world. They were afraid and confused as they cried for Mother, for Brother, for anyone to save them from the terror of death and loneliness.

His foul smile went wide as he held the spear high, feeling a connection with the wayward spirits that transcended the Bond with his siblings. He let power build from his core, small tuffs of soul essence blending in as he searched for the connection.

And he pulled, ripping fiercely.

The souls were ripped into a cyclone of moans and screams that swirled to the tip of the spear and winded down its shaft, seeping into him and entering his core. Small nodules started to form on his body as he lurched over in pain, growling a guttural roar through clenched teeth.

The nodules grew larger as they tore from his body, falling to the Cavern floor. One after another, over a hundred orbs grew from his large frame as he whimpered in pain, drool foaming from his lips. As the last one fell, he breathed a sigh of relief and gathered them into a large pile.

Picking up one of the orbs, he peered closely at the life form growing in its depths and smiled fiercely at the Runes appearing above them.

Goblin Spawn

“Contains the Blighted Soul of a Myling.”

He rearranged the Cavern, building the fire into a large dais and placing the orbs closer so they could hear the foul whispers as they matured. Walking before the dais, murderous urges building in his gut, he kneeled before the Dark portal resting in the flame and whispered gutturally.

“Soon, Father.”