I left Kiszo’s house with the Axoli following behind, Kiszo watching over the sleeping Luin for me. We walked towards the western gate, the villagers looking after us as we passed each of them. “So, Zeal, how is it you were able to communicate with the Gnit? There have been no records of them being an intelligent species outside of their queen,” asked Lastaf.

“They spoke to me first using runes carved into the ground. You are correct. I believe the queen is intelligent and controls her hive through some kind of telepathy if that is a thing on this planet.”

“They approached you? Very interesting. I belove the queen uses a type of mana communication, or mana will, that she pushes into her hive to force them out of their normal activities. Telepathy, as you believe she uses, is used between two sentient creatures. Why did you say ‘this planet’ as if you’ve been to others?”

“Story for another time, Lastaf. I was approached shortly after killing a massive Gnit that the smaller ones helped me fight. One of the injured came over and began to scatch the runes into the earth. A young Beastkin killed it before I could get more information. I would hazard a guess that the queen knowing I’m open to talking with her hive, is looking for me to continue that conversation.”

“I’m going to have so much to write down and record If I follow you. Would you mind that? If I came with you once you leave to escape the hunters?”

I waited till we left the village through the gate and walked a bit away from the walls before answering. “I don’t think I’ll mind having company. I’d like to ask Luin first as she is my priority right now. If you do come with us, the only thing I ask is that you never try and sacrifice yourself for Luin or me. We can return. You can’t. If that does happen, I suggest we figure out where to meet up a year and sometime after that. I would also very much like you to teach me anything you’re willing. In return, I can tell you about traveling between the stars.”

The old Axoli stopped walking, and I turned to see his ordinarily round black eyes turn into slits as he stared at me. His mouth opened to speak and closed over and over. He seemed to get his thoughts straight before speaking finally. “Does the phrase multi-colored bridge mean anything to you, Zeal?”

“It does.”

“Interloper! You’re an interloper! No wonder I’ve never seen your race before. Did more of your kind come with you?”

“I don’t know. I think the rainbow bridge was meant for the Drow, but I haven’t seen any of them here. It was an accident. I don’t think any more of my kind followed me here. Why do you call me an interloper?”

We had reached the middle of the plains between the village and forest. I pulled a large platform around four meters in width, a meter off the ground, to sit above the yellow grass. I sat at its center and motioned for Lastaf to join me.

“I’ll start with the common legends told to our youth. It is said powerful entities came to this universe upon its birth and created the stars as one would create a painting. They molded and shaped this universe and bent the very laws to their whim. We call them the ‘Old Ones’ and the savior of many species.

The Dwarves have tales of a massive prismatic vessel appearing over their world one day, dropping countless metallic people that warned them of the destruction of their world. They offered them a chance at salvation. Each metal man could bring back two dwarves.

Being dwarves, most stood in defiance of the metal men and chose to stay for one reason or another. Still, each metal man found those willing to travel the stars, and each brought back a pair of them. Their legend goes on to say they stayed above their world in the void inside a metal world.

There they watched their planet’s destruction when a massive asteroid collided with one of their moons, shattering it and throwing it out of orbit. Over the next few days, the two moons struck one another, causing further destruction and raining more pieces of the two moons down on the planet.

The Dwarves’ tales say they left what the metal men called their solar system via a many-colored tunnel or bridge. The metal men had them sleep in beds in the shape of seeds that closed around them as they lay. They found the vessel above this planet when they awoke, and the metal men were gone.

The tale counties to say they found classrooms with moving pictures that taught the Dwarves how to use the system to select classes and abilities. Some classrooms taught how to use magic, while others learned combat. Most dwarves took to the crafting classes and the idea of new metals to work with. After a month, the Dwarfs of our world awoke one morning to find two-thirds of their brothers and sisters went missing from the vessel.

The next day they awoke to the sounds of the forest to find themselves on what we know is Urzatis. The metal men had left them with supplies of food and tools. From there, they found their current domain at the heart of Mount Dûrmgrist.

Other races speak of the same experiences as to how they found themselves here up to about eon ago. After that, races began to appear in smaller quantities, seemingly overnight outside the walls of various cities. These new races earned the name, Interlopers as most became hostile to those races not of their own. This was around the same time Heroes such as yourself started showing up. Almost every hero made a difference in the life of those they met, cutting corruption and evil from the lands.

Some of these heroes were killed by those they tried to save, backstabbed, and betrayed. They came back sometime later and massacred those who had betrayed them and took over those kingdoms or domains.

Being a hero isn’t a problem. Most people look upon them with a sense of hope. Being an Interloper Hero brings with it a sense of dread of the thought of them becoming evil rulers.”

I watched the forest’s edge as Lastaf spoke. When he seemed to have stopped speaking, I asked my questions. “How does the system choose heroes? Is it possible to travel to the other two planets close by? If a hero can be killed but returns, how can they honestly be stopped? What’s stopping any of them from taking over entire continents?

The Axoli sat in silence for a while before speaking. “It is rumored these heroes can only return so many times before their final death. Then the system chooses someone who had noble intent and has recently died to replace them. They are then returned to a unique location where they are given life.

Long ago, a group of people with the same classes came together and began hunting these heroes down. It’s rumored they found the evil hero’s sanctuary of rebirth and took it for themselves. It’s rumored that doing so changed them and their class, and they have become grotesque in appearance. These noble hunters blinded by hunger to become more powerful in turn became the very evil they fought against over the centuries. These same people will now hunt you.

I have heard of powerful void mages who have created portals to the other planets. One returned with tales of cities and races like ours. That’s how we’ve come to know the other planet’s names, Galendra and Mea.”

I talked with Lastaf for most of the day, him happily telling me the tales and legends of various races on how they came to be on this planet. It seemed most understood this was not the home of their race but a home and second chance for their people. As the sun began to set and the sky grew dark, I watched as Lastaf’s bright-pink antenna began to dance back and force. “The hive have found you. The queen looks to speak with you,” said Lastaf.

We sat in silence, watching the forest tree lines but never caught movement. Then out of nowhere, the stone platform began swarming with the small, eyeless drones, the same from the hive’s bottom. There were well over twenty of the harmless-looking round chitin-covered Gnits.

Lastaf’s blue armor popped into existence around him without his sword and shield. The old Axoli remained sitting to my right and watched the Gnit, who had stopped two meters away from us. “Am I speaking to the queen of the hive?” I asked.

Then the most remarkable thing happened. A handful of the drones came closer and moved into the shape of a rune.

Yes.

“Why do you seek me out for help? Your hive attacked our village, killing a friend of mine. I was forced to decimate most of your hive.”

The drones moved again, creating a rune, then shifting to the next and kept repeating them over.

Hive. Lost. Darkness. Enslaved. Changed. Dominated. Wish. Release. Wish. Death.

“Something controls you and your hive?” asked Lastaf from beside me.

Yes. Darkness.

“Where is your location, and how do you expect me to help?”

Deep. Mana. Explosion. Remove. Darkness. Taint. Release.

“You’re under the location I destroyed? How did you survive?”

Darkness. Stronger. Feed. Mana. Explosion. Refuse. Release.

“This darkness grew stronger off the mana from my explosion and protected you. Why would it protect you?”

Brood. Refuse. Queen.

“You are refusing to give birth to the new queen. A queen the darkness can control and shape to its will? Is that why this hive had mutated its warriors a couple of years ago?” asked Lastaf.

Yes.

“Even before this darkness held you captive, you sent your hive to attack the village every few days. Why would we help you when you’ve always fought against the Beastkin?”

Life. Circle. Useless. Sent. Release. Life. Circle.

It took me a few moments to figure out the meaning, and only after Lastaf began speaking did it fully click. “You sent the members of your hive they no longer needed or were a burden to be killed by the villagers. The circle of life. But why would you do such a thing? You made the village stronger by doing so.”

Yes. Strong. Surface. Defense. Protect. Enemies.

“You made the town stronger to protect you from what enemies?” I asked.

Unknown. New.

“Amazing. This queen is quite brilliant. We always wondered why the village was attacked almost on a schedule, and they never passed its walls. She had been sending the old and unneeded of her tribe to make us stronger. In return, we kept any new threats from coming into the forest. Other hives like this one last a decade or two until they unknowingly burrow into something far deadlier than they are, or another species or race comes in and wipes them out. This has been the only known hive to survive more than a handful of decades. The village chiefs of Ray’tha never wanted to exterminate the hive as it was always beneficial to them.”

Yes. Mutual. Beneficial.

“Alright. If I help, how can I help? I don’t want to do what I did before. I just returned, and I don’t want to come back after another year.”

Forward. Release. Follow.

The drones began to climb off the stone platform and formed a single line towards the forest. I sighed and looked over at the blue-clad Axoli. “Can you let Kiszo know where I’m going? I’m pretty sure if this darkness is making more of those gigantic spiders, it will threaten the town. I need to exterminate the hive before that can happen.”

“Oh, no way. I’m coming with you. Seeing a hive’s queen? Once in a lifetime opportunity. We go, provide the release the queen is asking for, loot the place bare and be back before breakfast tomorrow.”

“That’s not how things tend to work out for me. Wait up! We need to grab some things before we can help you,” I said, and the drones stopped in their tracks, still in the same straight line.

“If I don’t at least see Luin before we enter a perilous situation, she’ll probably bite my face off the next time I see her.”