ORIGIN

Vargas glanced at Chaos-Two in some surprise, the short laugh that erupted from him a genuine one. "No," he answered, amused. Guilt? In this monster? A rare thing. Certainly not the thing that had stayed his hand--not in the slightest. "Think on it; you needn't understand it now. Right now, all you need to do is move those rocks."

When it was done--when all the rocks had at last been lifted from the hole--Chaos-Two would find an Oilstone lying at the bottom of the pile. It was unharmed by the weight that had been atop it--possibly laid in carefully so as not to be damaged. But it was there, for his spawn to find.

"You may take your own lessons from this--the further definiton of strength or what have you. The lesson I would teach you," he went on, staring down at Chaos-Two in its pit, "is this: if you obey, if you work hard, if you bite down your frustration and trust in my command, you will eventually find reward. Yes, at times I will stand in your way. I will make things harder for you. But it is not for the hell of it, Chaos-Two. I am not unfair. You, however, must control your frustration, and work on your self-discipline. If you work as you have done here, you will be rewarded--as you are being, here. That is the stone of a bipedal Valkhound, from the ancient days. I know nothing of it bar that it stood on two legs, as you do, and had very large claws on the forelimbs--this, I gathered from the bones arranged with it. It would be a suitable match for your body type, if you have any desire to revive it as your spawn. To test it in the Forge, as you are tested. A child," Vargas went on, "that proves itself also further proves your value to the Forge. A child that earns a name, a rank, or rewards, will grant you a single reward in turn--proof of your worth in Draco. I offer this as a reward, and as a test for you: you may revive this, raise it, and we will see what it becomes. Or you may choose not to." Vargas's tone said that he did not care: it was the lesson, here, that mattered.

An irony, he reflected, that this lesson was so vastly different from the first he'd told Chaos-Two to reflect upon--a lesson it might not now, or ever, learn. But this one held its own importance, and he wanted it finished and done with, and learned well.

"Then try it with that one," Vargas agreed. "Any stone raised in Draco will hatch a child with the Creator's magic. This is preferable--strong. But if you hold other concepts, other plans, you may start it in the tunnel, instead, near the Aperture. Warn the Sentinel to guard the stone, if you choose to do so," he added. "And if both stones fail, return to me and I will find another. You are done digging," he added, glancing at the empty hole, the Oilstone having been the very bottom of it. He wasn't about to start filling it in again now. Lesson learned, and all that. Hopefully.

"And think on my words," he added, with another empty glance Chaos-Two's direction. It was as he'd thought: the spawn most certainly had misunderstood his meaning and, even now, with time to think, had not yet understood. But it was not an easy answer--there were many meanings, many possibilities, many of which might even make sense at least on the surface. But it was more, Vargas knew, a matter of perspective. One day, Chaos-Two would look at it from another angle, and perhaps realize what he'd meant, and it would fall into place more clearly.

Or not.

The important thing was that it was there, for it to think about. And another lesson had been given. "Do not go too far from Draco," Vargas said bluntly, and turned to go.

He made his way off in silence, mind briefly covering the last couple hours. Chaos-Two had bitten down any frustration--if it had felt it, he hadn't really seen it. This was good--although he'd have rather seen it erupt, or seen it tamp it down. If nothing else, that would've given him an idea of its threshold, and he could have tested if it truly had control--as it stood, he might have simply not pushed it far enough.

But he wasn't about to go and get Draconua again for another round. She needed more lessons in self-control than Chaos-Two did.

Well, this was a start: a firm foundation, rules now laid out, control established. Or so he hoped. If Chaos-Two overstepped again, it would be from within the clear framework he had now provided, rather than a confused and muddled mess of anger, and he could address it more directly.

It was ironic, upon reflection, just how much Order was required to efficiently run Chaos.