CROWN
I materialized the Avatar within sight of the monastery, but far enough away to have a leisurely walk towards it. That would give me enough time to get my bearings. At least, that was the idea I had when I set myself up.
I took stock of my current situation. I’d ended up in a duplicate of Tastka’s body, as a matter of convenience – I hadn’t bothered to make a full elf body of my own, so I didn’t have a male one ready. This should be fine for this brief trip, and it would help me with the Sisterhood anyway. My memories as Tastka herself made the body familiar, rather than alien.
A faint ‘tink’ sounded as I flicked my finger against the spear’s tip. Still using crystals, but the elves had refined the spear blades into an elegant, fluted tip, giving both a sharp edge on one side and good piercing power. They were well into their iron age, though, and the fitting on the shaft was an elaborate faux-vine decoration that clasped the crystal head to the reinforced wooden haft.
Tunic and cloak still won the day for clothing, but the fabric was more supple while remaining durable. Leather wrapping around arms and legs gave more protection and warmth, and the claws of the feet were left bare, but the lacing along the ankles gave a sturdy leather sole to the bottom of the foot. Elves walked on their toes, but having that extra protection while gripping a rock or rough branch would be helpful. I was briefly surprised at how the clothing hadn’t changed much since the stone age, but then realized that pants would be uncomfortable and clumsy for how the elves moved, especially with tails.
| ADMIN: I haven’t been on this side since Tastka, so you’ll need to advise me, Duck. ?
| ADMIN: Wait, why is my name showing up as Admin now? ?
| DUCK: Because you haven’t chosen a name. You’ll have to pick something that fits the modern age. Maybe Tastka will work? ?
| SOLEN: I would not use Tastka. The name is not well-known but also not unknown. ?
| SOLEN: It’s good to see you again, Soul-Sister. ?
| ADMIN: Solen?!? What are you doing in this chat interface? How? Not that I’m upset to talk to you again, it’s been what? Seven thousand years for you? ?
| ADMIN: Are the others on chat, too? ? | SOLEN: It’s new to me but not hard to use. You’re in my domain and I became aware instantly. So are the others. ?
| ADMIN: I thought I’d set it up for just Duck and myself. ?
| DUCK: Sub-Terminals are supposed to be able to talk to you when you’re in their domain. It makes sense they would use the chat like a Terminal can. ?
| EYSSA: May I recommend Wryna as a modern name? ?
| EYSSA: @KELAS would Wryna work for Tastka here while she’s alive again? ?
| KELAS: It’s more common for the Velosian Alliance than anything nearby, but it shouldn’t raise any suspicion.
I took a deep breath. It was nice to smell the grass and crisp, cool air. It was colder here than where Tastka grew up, but not so chilly as where I’d just left on Downside.
The breath helped me to center myself and consider this development. It wasn’t that the gods here talking on my chat system didn’t make some sense… it was that Duck took this for granted while I hadn’t even been aware of it. This was becoming genuinely unnerving.
After changing my public-facing name – just in case someone had the rare Analyze skill – I pulled the chat up again to catch up with the conversation.
| KASSARA: Who are these? What strange names… ?
| EYSSA: Someone from before we were gods. I don’t know who Duck is. Strange name, yes. ?
| DUCK: Ducks have been extinct here since before any of you were born. ?
| WRYNA: If I had known we could talk like this I might have visited sooner. ?
| WRYNA: @KASSARA You prefer Kassara over Kassanra then? ?
| KASSARA: Not even the Aravel call me Kassanra anymore.
Kassara was another god that had the soul of an elf. A young girl had saved her tribe from starvation by basically inventing crop rotation. She hadn’t kept her name or her memories, unlike Tastka’s friends, but it meant she had some kind of autonomy.
I’d made a few more deities, but all of them were basically AI with very little agency beyond their scripted domains. Only these four had souls… the others Tastka had known had chosen different fates.
This could prove useful, but I didn’t know how much the gods could see about their followers. Something to get answered as I trudged toward the cluster of stone and clay that I called a monastery.
| WRYNA: Before we get all into the warm fuzzy reunions… Duck, do you have those calculations done? And can you send them to me for approval? ?
| DUCK: Right away, boss! ?
| WRYNA: Thanks. As for the rest of you: are you all satisfied? ?
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| SOLEN: I had a feeling you’d show up again, Soul-Sister. ?
| KELAS: I can’t help but notice you’re surprised we can speak to you, but not surprised we’re gods. ?
| KASSARA: And you’re using an ancient name for me. ?
| KASSARA: You aren’t an elf. You aren’t beholden to me, yet aren’t an intruder. ?
| WRYNA: None of you remember it, but when you died you were given the choice to become a god. Not everyone took the offer. ?
| DUCK: That’s why the others aren’t here. They were chosen but declined. ?
| EYSSA: You are here because of the tunnel to the folk under the mountains, aren’t you? You showed up right after the Quest to explore it was issued.
Now that was surprising, but then again the dwarves were technically under the domain of the gods of Upside. They just didn’t have any belief in them, so said gods had no power over them.
| WRYNA: Just making sure it all goes smoothly. I don’t want to interfere if I don’t have to. ?
| WRYNA: If you know about the dwarves, then can you tell me if the Sisterhood will be a problem? ?
| SOLEN: Only if the dwarves are a problem. ?
| EYSSA: Sorry, sister. I’m the one that gave the Quest that led to the tunnel. ?
| WRYNA: You were doing what you loved. It might not even be a problem. ?
| DUCK: Because everything always goes according to plan! ?
| DUCK: Sister! It is pretty great to see you. Don’t bother with the distracted one – she has Tastka’s memories but so do I, and I’m a lot more her than she is! ?
| WRYNA: Those memories don’t recall Tastka being so annoying. ?
| DUCK: You literally created me with the sole purpose of calling you an idiot. ?
| WRYNA: Can’t argue with that.
I finished looking over the fake incursion Duck had designed. It was pretty clever, though I adjusted a few minor settings to be more like what I wanted. Nothing wrong with the design, though, and she’d properly made the failsafe hard to trigger. It shouldn’t be necessary to use the failsafe when an incursion wasn’t actually there – testing that made me uneasy.
| SOLEN: @DUCK So you’re more my Soul-Sister than Wryna? ?
| DUCK: Depends on how you look at it. Don’t worry, I’m pretty happy where I am. ?
| SOLEN: That’s good. Should I generate a Quest in the Sisterhood to welcome Wryna? ?
| WRYNA: Don’t bother. Quests don’t work properly when they interact with me as I am now. I’d need to properly reincarnate for it to matter. ?
| WRYNA: Even then you couldn’t give me Quests. ?
| DUCK: I think the Sisterhood is great. How did Kelas get involved? ?
| KELAS: I’m right here, you know. ?
| KELAS: I’m the one who taught the women that bonding didn’t require mating. ?
| KELAS: Apparently they were very patient, so the rebellion didn’t happen until after I’d died. ?
| WRYNA: Oh, good. So they don’t hate men, they just don’t like being controlled. ?
| SOLEN: It would be hard for them to find mates if they hated men. ?
| EYSSA: Well… some don’t bother… ?
| SOLEN: That’s always a choice. ?
| KASSARA: The Sisterhood do not worship me, but they are peaceful unless pushed. Most of my worshippers leave them alone.
I was glad the gods seemed to get along with one another… even if they felt kind of lighthearted in the air of playfulness I felt. They couldn’t directly speak to their worshippers, so I had been a little worried about their mental stability, but apparently part of being a Sub-Terminal helped keep them sane.
What was it like, though? I mused on that thought while we all chattered, with Duck handling most of the socialization. I only had a few hours of walking to catch up with them, and some of that needed to include any major cultural changes. Unlike with Downside, I had not had the time to make another Incarnate Avatar… and I was a little leery of cutting the life short again anyway.
Duck had even warned me that I’d drop dead, and I’d just missed it. As worrying as her weird autonomy was, I probably should pay more attention to her offhand comments than I had been doing. She was right – she was created to argue with me, originally.
A shrill whistle reached my ears, pulling me out of my inner thoughts. Two of the slender, delicate-looking Aravel elves that called the monastery home were rapidly approaching me, mounted upon long-legged, jackal-like creatures. My attempt to keep wolves and dogs mostly the same had utterly failed. Oh well.
I slowed and stopped, taking on an unassuming and relaxed pose. The area was rather hilly, but the monastery was higher up on the slopes of the actual base of the mountains. My hiking had been up and down, and they’d had plenty of time to see me coming.
“Welcome, pilgrim!”
That… wasn’t quite what I’d expected. A challenge, perhaps, but not an outright welcome from two armed sentries riding out to greet me. I noticed the language was much different, but I could still barely hear some similarities in some words. Seven thousand years would garble any language, but the Aravel were slow to change, so it was still recognizable.
The fact that language had changed at all told me my memory patch had worked well.
My Admin powers translated for me, both hearing and speaking. I wasn’t sure how it worked with speaking… would I have a native accent? That seemed a little obvious that something was up. Another reason for an Incarnate Avatar, I realized.
“My thanks,” I called out. “May I shelter for the night?” Keep it simple, I figured. I would see what was happening with the tunnel once inside the monastery bounds.
The two sentries gave one another a puzzled look, but did not ask any questions. One of the women just gestured with her spear. “Of course. This way.”
That had been easy.
I waited for the other metaphorical shoe to drop.
Simple Village
Superhero ? Action ? Drama
ARK — Volume 1
Who does an old soldier follow when he's left without direction?
What does the world's first superhero do when his biggest obstacle is his own family?
Where can a boy be safe when there's nowhere left to hide?
Earth has always been a nexus of incredible power—dormant too long. Devils, aliens, superpowers, and energies beyond comprehension: the world is overdue, and it's about to become everyone's problem.
Series focus
ARK Volume 1 follows the origins of a diverse cast fighting to grow, learn, and survive as an expansive superhero universe erupts around—and because of—them.
Readers can expect
- Multiple POVs destined to collide
- Drama, tragedy, action, comedy, and slice-of-life
- A steady burn of ever-escalating conflict as the mundane becomes extraordinary