Eridanus. Jinyi remembered the work they had done here together, weaving Order through the cave to draw the Masters' attention away from their brethren in Canis. He himself had gotten on the wrong end of a dragonbat's claws in his efforts, though fortunately made it out to tell the story. Ironically, Order's hold on this room had lasted longer than it had in Canis, though it was only thanks to the ceaseless work and sacrifice of the Drones and Hosts that kept it this way through the senseless destruction of the Gembound and Valkhounds' combined 'cleansing' effort.
As if it could be considered cleansing to leave ash and Chaos with you everywhere you went.
In any case, it was not entirely safe to be here, as Juggernaut's and Vindicator's battle against the forces of Chaos here showed. But the stronger they could make Order's influence here, the safer everyone would be. Eridanus would not be allowed to slip from their grasp as Canis did. It was his duty to help ensure it.
But it would not do to rush in recklessly either. The gift of Iteration would be his last defense. If he died here today, he would be returned as the Hive remembered him. As he remembered his life.
Whether it was his distracted thoughts or Order's weakened influence here or just plain bad luck, something about the spell didn't take. A shadow flickered across Jinyi's face, but he did not need to rush; there were no enemies here to strike him down if he failed the first time. He composed himself, gathered his memories, and reached to the Hive's magic again. This time he could feel the uploading of his life's memories work, though it was slower than he would have liked.
Few of the servants of Chaos he could recall could fly, and certainly it would be even less who could do so among Eridanus's dense canopy. He thought of the grotesque, gargantuan forms he had seen through the Hive's spies with great disdain. Fight, kill, and destroy; that's all they knew how to do. Did any of them have any appreciation for detail, for precision, for strategy?
Shimmering pink-gold wings unfurled from his shoulders. He would weave Order's touch among the treetops, where it would be hard for the Corrupted forces to reach.
bro cannot roll a good number to save his life today but the meteor's flight spell says it can be assumed to succeed soooooo we flyin
Admittedly, Jinyi was also not quite small enough to fly to the uppermost, densest parts of the canopy. But he made do with what he could reach, alighting on a gnarled branch and calling magic to his fingertips. The bark in front of him was dark with moisture and covered with a blanket of moss, the perfect nursery for Mother's fungus to grow.
He lifted a loose piece of bark and laid a delicate hand beneath its cover. A bundle of fungus sprang from his fingertips, nestled safe and sound in the dark space.
A leap aided by magical wings, and he was onto the next tree. This one's branches hung heavy with small orange fruits. Jinyi pinched one with his fingers and found it so soft that its skin split and sticky pulp spilled all over his hand. The sight of the juices marring his crystalline white exoskeleton set something off in the Drone's brain, and he recoiled so hard he almost fell. Recovering, he tasted the juices gingerly. It was... rather sweet, actually. Hmm. He could use this to bait Lessers, as well as provide a nutritious substrate in and of itself.
Carefully, he cleaned the fruit off his hand. Having learned from his mistakes, he did not touch the fruit again as he directed his magic at a cluster of them. The fungus grew anyway, eagerly and almost explosively. Jinyi was almost stunned at his own success--this must be a really good substrate for it, then.
Jinyi crept along the branches of the fruiting tree, aiming to seed more fungus on the other side of its canopy, when suddenly a flash of gold and a movement caught his eye. He froze, then slowly turned his head.
A catsquirrel! Small, agile, and unlikely to be caught on the ground, this was the perfect candidate to become a useful vessel and spy for the Hive--if he could manage to catch it. Jinyi tried to compel it to come closer. It did not, but instead stopped its foraging in its tracks and froze, eyes fixated on the Drone's bright figure.
It had seen him. It was not running, yet, but it was on the verge of doing so. If it was upset, it could even alert far more creatures than he would like with its alarm call.
He did not have infinite chances to get this right. The temptation of sweet fruits hanging from this tree's boughs may have kept the catsquirrel here for now, but he could practically see the gears in its head turning as it considered whether to flee. Jinyi tugged again, more insistently. Come to me!
Instead, it stood on its hind legs, gave a sharp yowl, and scampered away. The branches of several nearby trees shook with sudden intense rustling and flashes of gold. The other catsquirrels, Jinyi thought despairingly. They'd all be gone now.
Jinyi bit back a frustrated huff. Impatience and anger was for Valkhounds, not a Drone representing the perfect relentless march of Order. He could still repeat what worked before: spreading fungus into this tree's fruits. Even if he didn't get a catsquirrel now, more Lessers would come: catsquirrels, birds, and whatever else. Order would spread whether they ate the fruit, taking the fungus into their own bodies, or not, as the fruits rotted and provided sweet nutrition for the fungus.
His work on this tree done, Jinyi leaped to the next neighboring tree with several flaps of his wings. He scanned the trunk and branches carefully, looking for a good place to tuck the fungus into next, when another movement caught his eye. It was just several branches, less than a few meters, away, slowly but determinedly making its way across a narrow branch with accordion-like motions.
A snake! A Golden Charger, to be exact, though Jinyi had not seen one of them in real life before. He was pretty sure they were venomous; at least, that's what he thought its vibrant colors implied. He hesitated, caution and eagerness to serve warring in his mind. It might be lunacy after his abject failure to convert the catsquirrel less than a minute ago, but... this would be a wonderful addition to the Hive, and a weapon to defend their family if necessary, wouldn't it?
Patience, he reminded himself. This snake was in no hurry, so neither should he. A careful plan was the key to success. It was not far from him, but not close, either. He should maintain some distance so that if he failed the first time, he'd have time to react if it attacked him. Jinyi ran through the magic he knew how to cast--which ones were safe choices? Which ones were riskier, but more effective if it became angry?
Then, having decided, he crept closer and attempted to cast his magic over the Lesser Gembound again.
A thrill of jubilant triumph ran through Jinyi as he felt the magic take and his will fall over the snake. Turn around, he urged it first, so that its head would at least be facing the opposite direction if the spell broke or it was spooked by the taste of mold in its mouth. Then, open your mouth.
It did so obediently, and Jinyi proceeded to the last step with delight: synthesis of Mother's fungus. Except instead of blooming into existence in a neat bundle for the snake to swallow, magic exploded in a puff of white sparks and burnt-smelling spores around the snake's head. Startled, the snake flinched so hard its front half fell off the branch it was clinging to, and Jinyi felt his hold over the creature slip.
Uh-oh, he thought with a sense of deceptive calm as the Golden Charger's body lashed around in midair. It threw its head back onto the branch and drew into defensive coils, turning in a circle until its eyes locked directly on him.