MOTHER
Raising an Army
It had taken a great deal of time, and effort, for her to break free enough to go about her work.
This work normally took the form of producing simple drone-replicator eggs. Today, however, she had much on her mind. She had mulled over possibilities and chances, percentages and likelihoods, a thousand futures sifted through and judged.
"It is time to act," came the thought, at last,
ringing through every threaded link throughout the Hive.
Then had come the gradual tearing free. The severing of threads that would allow her to work closely with the white clay, to mold and shape what she required.
An army. The House of Chaos had long lain quiet; they had grown complacent, now, enough time passed since their attack. They would have forgotten, she knew. They believed Order to be weak, and in hiding. But should she wait too long--leave them without a challenge for too long--they would grow fat with their own power. The time was prime to strike.
Her great power--one she kept folded, tucked and hidden away--she now unleashed as she tugged her gargantuan, throbbing form free from the fungal binds that tethered her to the cave walls. She dragged herself--Drones fretting at her flanks, ignored--as close as she could to the distant clack of churning Clearstone. Mother allowed herself to bask in its power, for the moment: a light and a
perfection that she often could not reach. But here--today--it was necessary.
She began by contemplating what exactly she would need. She had led armies--or he had. She could not truly recall, but she knew what was needed from experience that she tapped into, the knowledge of a thousand wars linked to her mind. And so she formed and shaped, scything claws raised as if to weave her unseen magic. Insectoid eyes fixed on an empty portion of the wall, the smallest chunk of Clearstone left now imbued with purpose.
It would be enormous: fully thirteen feet tall, and even broader in width. A hard carapace. A wide-bodied balance, with spined armor covering its entire body, and eyes on every side.
Symmetrical from any side, as it should be. The four tendrils, front and back, wiry and strong like hoses, funneling venom to the needle-like tips. This beast would scuttle over the House of Chaos, trampling these 'Valkhounds' beneath it, shredding them asunder and feeding them into the tearing mouth at its under-core.
"You," she thought, staring satisfied at the now-forming chrysalis,
"shall be Drone Zero Zero Six, Juggernaut."
But she was only getting started. She needed a small army, not one or two soldiers. Still, she would give them a variance: with a tank front-and-center, she could aim next for a rending creature focused on inflicting as much damage as possible. Mother decided, for this one, on speed instead of strength: rending teeth and claws, yes, but stealth and agility as its defenses. She shaped the power in a new Clearstone chip: ten feet tall, twenty feet long, with a long and lashing tail at its end. Limber limbs and impossible speed, its 'eyes' hidden beneath the skin of its face, and staring more clearly from within its split jaws.
"Drone Zero Zero Seven, Warbeast."
Grim humor gripped her, then. She chose something in between: something large and fast, somewhat protected, something that could barge through the front lines of an enemy army and toss their soldiers into the air behind it, rending them as it went. And she chose a shape of mockery: one of His, with hooves and tusks and beady eyes, but fitted to
her design,
her specifications. Much improved, in her own mind, with chitinous armor and a long, grinning maw full of fangs, a tail ending in a pointed pincer.
"Drone Zero Zero Eight, Scorn," she whispered, and her pleasure was clear along the link of the Hive.
For her next creation, Mother decided to craft a creature capable of performance on the battlefield... or on its own, working from the shadows. It would be intelligent, cunning, savage; a creature with a mind, instead of simply teeth. It would need this, for its weapon was a lure. Mimicry, mockery, the ability to sing sweet songs and perfectly replicate cries for help, before launching itself for prey with rows of shark's teeth and claws and gripping tentacles. She would give it fins, and gills; it would be like those beasts that lurked in water, ready to ambush prey, but a thousand times more deadly and effective.
"Lamia may teach this one. It will be unmatched," she thought, pleased. And she would grant it the power of magic, to quickly master Order's power and utilize it on the battlefield, if need be. She finished, then, and leaned back, her bulbous mass pulsating.
"Drone Zero Zero Nine, Siren."
Her power was not yet waning, but she knew she could not press too far. Six would be enough. Six was a good number. For the next--she had created soldiers of land and sea. Now, for the air: a swift, powerful creature to shield them from the sky, to strike here and there so that none in the open would ever deem themselves
safe from Order's clutches. She took some inspiration, here, from the host Bone: broad wings, a long tail, and strong jaws. But past this there was little resemblance. A venom-tipped tail lashed behind it in her mind's eye. Gripping pincer claws, like those of a mantis, would clutch from its chest, able to lash out and pierce or snare. Shaggy bristles lined its spine from mane to tip of tail, for warmth and protection--and to carry more of that venom, which erupted from pores across its body. Like a bleeding fungus this red fluid could smear across attackers, seeping through skin to cause dread hallucinations, necrosis of the flesh it touched; dizziness, even paralysis with enough of it ingested. The beast would be wiry and deadly, and she granted its title with a sense of beloved care:
"Drone Zero One Zero, Skyreaver."
For the last... she had, Mother thought, her bases mostly covered. It would be best to have another brute, large and powerful, capable of churning through the ranks of Chaos's forces. The beasts of Chaos were often large in turn, armored and spined. So now, thoughtful, she shaped a creature designed purely to
consume: long-bodied, immensely heavy and strong,
unstoppable. It bore eight legs--four like so many of these caves' beasts, yet with a second pair atop its back. Rolled in any direction it could continue on as though "upright"--indeed, any direction was upright, so long as it was horizontally oriented. Its front was an enormous set of jaws: blunt, rending, capable of chewing through even softer stone given enough time. Such a thing would blunt them, though, and so she ensured they would grow back. Beady red eyes, hooked claws to drag itself swiftly through any terrain: a ridged, finned tail to propel it even in water. Those jaws would impact first, in battle, and crush and quickly consume any enemy it could grip.
"Drone Zero One One, Devourer." The thought was fond.
Her work complete, Mother sat back. Her bulbous form rippled as she beheld her work: six growing Clearstones, the life she'd shaped already forming within them.
"Perfection," she thought, again, and then turned her mind
to the Hive and all its members.
"My children," she began, her voice commanding and reverberating, driving all other thoughts away.
"Soon, we strike at the forces of Chaos. Soon, we make these caves our own. We will destroy and drive out the influence of this House of Chaos! We will leave nothing of the misshapen beasts it has left here. We will put this place to Order, and we will bring it to Perfection!"
She paused, forelimbs clenching. Determination roared along the link. Ferocity.
It was time. "Go through the cave, and prepare. Bring others into our fold. Lay your traps wherever you can for the battles ahead. Train yourselves for war. Should you find a beast of Chaos left alone, kill it if you can. Spread our influence in preparation."
Another pause, pregnant with anticipation. She looked kindly to the growing chrysalises, showing them, in her mind's eye, to each and every Host and Drone. The knowledge of what they meant came with her next words: that as soon as they were grown, hatched and ready...
"We strike soon," she said.
Order characters may be aware of all of Mother's actions in this thread; however, this thread is Read-Only. Reactions and preparations can be made in other threads!
The raffle adoption thread can be found here for a chance to adopt a random Drone for the upcoming Order vs Chaos event!
