Walking through the Lost Woods is, well, it's an ordeal for most. It’s a symphony of pain, uncertainty, and carnage. Many come into it believing that they will be the ones to conquer it. That they will be led to what they desire just by wandering, that is to say many believe that they can outsmart the Woods. Unfortunately for them, the woods are not a mindless entity so easily fooled. When others believe that they can dupe the Lost Woods, they usually end up dead. It is important to understand that the Woods themselves are alive, well not just alive, but malevolent. There was a time where none dare speak of the Woods, though that was nearly an age ago.

Those that enter the Woods for the sake of challenge or adventure however, receive a test of sorts. Entertain the Woods and you might receive a boon, impress the Woods… Well that’s an entirely different beast. For now it’s best to say that those who enter with too much knowledge of the Lost Woods don’t usually last long. Either getting thrown right back out, or being set upon by a host of undergrowths and then thrown out.

Currently she has a passing interest in our young deväk. The Woods had set the marg on Leon, and our deväk up with the desecrators. She was rather disappointed with the way Leon had just dropped dead, but was utterly delighted that the deväk had annihilated the ants. So the forest kept throwing dangerous insects at our bug and it was pleased for now.

For now.

Our young deväk was having a delightful romp through the forest, killing and eating to its hearts content. It was definitely one of the more pleasant days of its short life. It had left the ant colony early that morning and had been enjoying the prey that seemed to be just throwing themselves in front of the deväk. The variety of insects would have been satisfying in a whole other way if it was not for the warning that kept popping up in the deväk's sight.

Warning: Arthropod gene pool is currently full. To add more genes to this pool either sacrifice one of the remembered pools, losing all progress towards unique skills/abilities in the process. Or enter metamorphosis to gain an extra slot for each genepool.

The deväk had tried to sacrifice its aväk gene pool to free up a slot of new gene's, but since its progenitor was an aväk, and since it had gone through a metamorphosis with those genes, that gene pool was permanent. Our deväk was very unsure of what to do next without the pull of more genes in its head, so it was wandering. Lost in the Lost Woods, but then again can one be lost when they have no real destination. The deväk had briefly considered dropping the desecrator pool, but it already had over a thousand of those and even though it was greedy for more genes, it wasn't stupid.

Well not that stupid, at least not anymore.

So our little disaster kept walking through the forest, being unknowingly led somewhere. I guess corralled would be more accurate. At just about the mid-day the deväk stopped at a largish pond for a drink. Which by the way it had only just discovered that water was a thing today. Having gotten more than enough fluids from all the blood and gore it hadn’t had the desire to seek out water yet. Plus Gluttony had turned our bugs stomach into a cavernous expanse. Though it had its drawbacks, the slow trickle of nutrients was just enough to keep the deväk starving.

Hungry, but never full.

The little bug shrugged off the depressing thought, and the deväk thought about the oddity of water. Contemplating the fact that even though it could not taste food it could taste water. Strange, yes, but as it turned out, water was delicious. It was cool and refreshing. Reveling in the ability to once again taste something, it took the deväk a while to notice movement on the other side of the pond. An alcove was filled with what looked like small flying people. They were darting around at random it seemed. Though the bug’s eyesight was terrible it recognized that they were being attacked when the screaming finally reached its ears.

The people were being set upon by various insectoids of the forest. The deväk considered walking away, since the flying people didn't set off its Parasitical Growth in any way. And the insects were useless to it right now. Then it noticed thin brown ropes wrapping themselves around the flying people and constricting them. Looking at the ropes however, did make the ability twinge, and like that the bug was off like a flash. In a blink it was already halfway to the alcove, and it got a better look at what was happening.

The flying people in question were a clan of Earth Pixies, and as our shelled friend approached it became increasingly obvious that they didn’t look like people. Well the only person our bug had actually seen was the bloated corpse of the half eaten Leon, but the deväk was right in this case. Every kind of pixie shares a few similar traits, one the have long willowy frames, and their eyes. Their eyes are black in the center, and fade out towards the edges and can be any color under the sun. Now earth pixies have rough skin ranging from dark gray to light brown, and they usually have swirls and patterns of different colors on their skin like mineral veins through rock.

This clan was trying to establish a settlement. This is perhaps a bit different than your thinking, and for pixies it is a ritual of sorts. You see dear friends, pixies are almost pure expressions of nature, being such an embodiment is both a blessing and a curse. Pixies are almost entirely magical possessing none of the standard assortment of organs the mundane races, like humans do. They are wildly free to pursue any task without worries for food and shelter. However they cannot freely wield the magic that keeps them alive. This same magic also degrades their bodies causing them to meld into nature at the end of their lives. It is this high concentration of magic that makes pixie poaching a favorite pastime of quite a few kingdoms, and delicacy for monsters.

For in death a pixie’s magic is released. They can give powerful new abilities when consumed, by humans or monsters alike. The blood of an earth pixie can reinforce weapons and armor, or the body of a nature pixie buried in a field can fertilize that field for generations. To most a pixie is just a walking, talking, and flying elixir.

So pixies create their settlements to be sanctuaries, by gathering a large number of pixies it is possible to use their magic as a plea to nature. They beg for safety, security, and secrecy in a long drawout ritual. However, even the smallest amount of pixie magic would call out to the monsters like a dinner bell. As you may have guessed the small willowy flyers were not the best suited to combat, and the Lost Woods wasn’t a true expression of nature. The clan was harried the entire trip into the forest, losing many of their number to jaws the monsters. Including the few weak protectors that had journeyed with them. Just when they thought that the worst of it was over, a new horrible monster struck. At first they didn’t even know anything was wrong, a few pixies had blank eyed stares and stank a bit more than the rest, but after going through what seemed like a death march no one thought anything of it.

It was when they were preparing for the ritual that things fell to pieces. Brown ropes shot out of the blank eyed pixies and began strangling everything in sight. One end of the rope-like worm opened to reveal dozens of tiny jagged teeth, and then it ripped into the neck of its screaming victim. As the first drop of blood fell every insect nearby swarmed the pixies.

Only a few of the pixies were skilled enough to defend themselves, the rest could only flee in terror except many could no longer even muster the energy to fly. All seemed lost when a midnight black insect started tearing apart its fellows. Surely a monster savage enough to kill its fellows would make short work of them. Using strange limbs on its back to stab and slash its way through the horde making a beeline for one of those who had been strangled by host-worms. Ripping the brown rope-like worm apart with its claws, and then eating them with its own white worms.

Host-Worm added to the Morphis/Annelid gene pool.

Throwing its arms up in exaltation the deväk did something it had never done before. It screamed its victory, well screeched is more accurate. It may not seem like it to you, but our small friend was beginning to get worried that it might not find its other gene pools. If it kept eating and maturing at the rate it was in just a few weeks it would enter into its next metamorphosis, and it might even lose its other gene pools permanently. That is unless it could fill them. This, our bug knew with some certainty, but not sure how it knew.

Thankfully it now had a chance to keep another section of its genetics intact. Thus the cry of victory and exaltation, which unbeknownst to the deväk's had triggered a wave of fear to ripple out upon the onlookers. The smarter insect suddenly understood that they were out classed and began to flee. While the host-worms and all the rest began to converge on the new threat.

Having confirmed that the host-worms were compatible with its Ability, the deväk retracted its tendrils. Having a sudden fear of corrosive poison, it decided to play it safe. Making use of its status as heavy, the deväk stood and waited for the horde. Like a river meeting a dam they clashed.

The insects were no threat on their own, but with their sheer numbers they held the deväk immobile. At least that’s what it looked like. Really the deväk was just using its smaller set of arms, the ones with sharp claws, to score quick shots to the joints or eyes. The deväk could have tried to stay out of reach, but that would have been a battle of endurance that our bug wasn’t currently able to fight. So it decided to be lazy, and rely solely upon its natural armor. The first ten that reached our bug were barely able to grab hold, the next five were able to bug various parts before being extinguished. The next ten found it harder to reach our deväk because of the corpses around it. By the time it hit thirty our bug was sitting atop a small mound, now as they came up to be slaughtered they rolled back down the hill. It was the final three that really gave out bug trouble. It had let them bite onto its chitin-covered arms before striking them, when one slipped off the edge of the chitin piercing flesh. Though the wound was painful it didn’t gush blood and it was nowhere near as bad as the poison. Striking them down with a bit of extra enthusiasm meant that around fifty various insects had comprised the horde, and all were dealt with in short order. Leaving only the host-worms infected pixies, hoving just out of reach. Though the host-worms were rather mindless, they had seen enough to be cautious.

Changing tactics the increasingly devious bug laid back in exaggerated exhaustion. Our deväk didn’t want these parasites getting too close. The bite on its forearm had reminded our bug of its new vulnerable state. There were now gapes in its chitin from its growth spurt. Gapes meant it now had a neck that could be strangled and joints that could be easily attacked. The deväk combined the four tendrils into a single much longer tendril, and waited for one pixie host to draw near. The buzzing of wings grew closer and closer, staying still was almost agony as our bug waited for the perfect moment to strike. Bolting up, and lashing the long tendril like a whip our deväk struck gold. Wrapping the tendril around the pixie the bug jumped off of its small mound and tried to swing to another pixie. Unfortunately the very thing that made its last strategy so effective made this one fail dismally and both bug and pixie plummeted to the ground.

Frustrated, our bug focused on killing the host-pixie it had snagged. Just then a one armed, hammer wielding pixie smacked one of the remaining host-pixies out of the air. It hit the ground in a daze, and our bug seized the chance to eat another host-worm. The first one struggled weakly, but this one fully detached itself from the pixie, and it had coiled itself around the tendril and squeezed.Which did next to nothing, on any other part of the deväk's anatomy it might've been in some trouble. As our bug ate the third host-worm by growing a smaller tendril out of the first and taking bites of it, the one armed pixie was struggling with another host-pixie, a calm voice drawled out, “Unless you’d like to Gywn the no armed , I’d move.”

The one armed pixie who was clearly named Gwyn stopped flying and dropped to the ground as a bolt of blue energy shot into the head of the host-pixie and chunked it. Seeing that display of magic there were two wildly different reactions. When the rest of the host-pixies saw it they flew off in panic, when our bug saw it felt a new desire kindle in its tiny insect heart. It wanted magic or whatever that was. It was powerful and our young bug was all about power. So our bug was quite eager to meet the pixies.

The pixies on the other hand were quite weary of this midnight nightmare, dripping with the rotting blood of dead pixies.

“Holy shit… I-is that a deväk?” A pixie from the still terrified crowd said in a high pitched mumble that was clearly meant to be to herself, but rang out in the silence like a clarion call.

Which caused the aforementioned deväk to whip its head around at them in confusion. During the battle it hadn’t paid attention to the noise the other pixies were making ,but it was shocked to find that it understood what was said. Reaching into a confusing jumble of memories all of which came from before the deväk was alive, our bug ground out a simple sentence. “Yoooou KNooow meeeE?”

Its pronunciation was all over the place, and in a low uneven tone, that was more of a rasp than anything. For an entire second the remaining pixies were stunned, it was usually only mid to high level monsters that could talk. If that was that high of a level they were fucked worse than before. Then the one armed pixie spoke up, “Aldreya, speak, what do you know of this monster?”

Then the same high pitched voice from earlier spoke up, “W-well I don’t really know anything about t-this deväk specifically, so couldn't say much about it. I could guess, but it might be faster to ask-”

“Aldreya! Is.It.Dangerous?” Gwyn cut in before she could really get rambling.

“Oh… well… I-if you press me on it I’d have to say no, at least probably not…” She mumbled off into silence. She seemed to have only two settings, over elaborate, or undershare.

“Aldreya, I can’t work with a probably, I need more of an answer than that!”

“Gwyn, you seriously, need to relax. You know Aldreya. She would be the first to know if a monster is a threat, and it hasn’t attacked us so we’re probably fine.” This time it was the droll voice that had cast the spell. While Aldreya had remained hidden in the crowd, this speaker came right up to our deväk. She glared at Gwyn and as they began to argue our bug got a good look at her.

This pixie had green plant-like skin, pink hair that was reminiscent of rose petals, and thin leaf dress that left nothing to the imagination. However, the most striking thing about her wasn’t her hair or what she was wearing, it was her eyes. One was a deep forest green while the other was a vibrant blue. This magic user wasn’t an earth pixie, she was a nature pixie.

“hooW Yoou knnnoW MEee deeeväk?” The deväk asked again, facing the crowd of pixies, rather unsatisfied with the previous answer.

"Oh, well uh… Excuse me, sorry.” The pixie that had answered before, Aldreya was making her way out of the crowd. With many mumbled apologies our deväk finally saw Aldreya. She was, well if the last pixie was extraordinary, then she was ordinary. Light brown skin with swirls of silvers, gray eyes and auburn hair she looked like a dozen other pixies in the crowd. When our bug finally stopped examining her it noticed that she was mid ramble, "-ability, it's actually more like a disability. In exchange for color and clarity in my sight, I can see hostile intent like a cloud of dark gas. Unfortunately I have no idea where or whom the intent is aimed when I sense it. Oh but I guess that doesn’t answer your question. Well there were several-”

Our bug tuned out Aldreya ramblings again, and glanced over at the yet unnamed nature pixie, a bit helplessly. She smiled and siddled over and whispered, “You shouldn’t have got her going. She loves explaining things. She is going to make it sound scientific, but it was mostly guesswork. Basically there are only a few things we know that you could be so she guessed.”

Neither the bug nor the nature pixie noticed that Aldreya had stopped talking and heard what the nature pixie had said. Growing indignant, Aldreya began directing her words at the smiling nature pixie, “I did NOT GUESS! I made an accurate hypothesis and asked a question. I factored in height, shell coloration, posture, and-”

“Yeah, yeah I get it, you made a fancy guess.” Interrupted the nature pixie with an infuriating smile. Aldreya exploded, going on a full triad about proper terminology and how calling it guesswork really undermined the effort that went into it.

A low heated voice called out, “Enough! Vaelin shut it, and Aldreya short simple sentences. What the hell is a deväk and why isn’t it dangerous?”

Gwyn had apparently been watching, getting slowly, but surely more aggrieved as the pixies argued. Afterall thirteen members of their clan had just been slain, and their attitudes were just a bit too cavalier.

“Well a deväk is an offshoot of the aväk race, and as for dangerous....” Aldreya turned towards our deväk, rather abashed by her behavior, and continued, “... You won't attack us, will you?”

“WOOn't huurTt, Nnnnot in aNNy poooOLL.” Even though the deväk was terrible at talking it was beginning to enjoy it. It was like loving to play a sport, but having terrible coordination; You would probably hurt yourself and others, but you would have a blast while doing it.

“...I'm not sure what that means, but there you have Gwyn. Not dangerous, at least to us. You saw how they dealt with the host-worms. I think they fit the position.” Said the nature pixie Vaelin.

Gwyn glared at vaelin, before the anger drained away, and he spoke in a weary tone, “I suppose you are right… Bug, our clan is in desperate need of your help, we have journeyed far to get here, and our numbers have greatly thinned, but we have a chance to be great once again. Help us with a small favor and we shall bestow upon you the position of Lord Protector, a position of great power. So, what say you?”

“FaaVoorr?”

“Yes. You see I am the Head of this clan-”

“Emergency Head.” Broke in a frowning Vaelin.

“Yes… The Emergency Head of this clan,” Grumbled an exasperated Gywn in response, “And as such it is my duty to lead this clan until we reach a place we can once again call home. Long have we wander through this enchanting death trap losing protectors one after the other. Now that we have finally found a suitable place to call home we have nobody left to protect us. All we need is for someone to protect us while we perform the ritual.”

“SoOOo?”

“So, would you be able to assist us in our time of need, please we can give anything you desire.” The pixie leader pleaded.

“CannN Yoou giVEE woorms, annnnnd tTeeeachh mMee?”

“...”

“Uhh, sure big guy whatever you want.” Vaelin butted in when no one else responded.

The deväk felt the need to elaborate because it was getting a lot of strange looks. “WanT fooor GROWth, Neeed eAat sooO MEe nott dieeeeE.”

“You can't eat those things! They’ll kill you and eat you from the inside out.” Aldreya said disgusted at the idea, and frantic that they might lose their newest protector before they even got them.

“She is right, eating those things will kill you.” Gwyn added, oddly detached.

The deväk shook its head defiantly, “NOo, I haVE Aaability IT Make theeem Saaafe.”

Which was not technically true, it was the sin that kept it safe from the worms, but the deväk wasn't really one for specifics.

“If you are sure, then there is a good chance that they will show up during the ritual. So if you wait and protect us they will come to you. Will you stay?”.

"Yeessss."

You have made a contract with the exiled clan of earth pixies, Grave Artistry. You will gain food, knowledge, and power for their continued protection. Failing to abide by this contract could have disastrous consequences.

While the two pixies and the deväk were negotiating the rest of the clan was waiting with bated breath, and upon hearing the deväk's raspy ‘yes’ many began to cry with relief. While others began to fly with reckless abandon, for the end of this nightmare might finally be in sight. Gwyn flew off after the deal was struck, checking on the injured.

“Don’t mind him, he’s a bit of an asshole. We haven’t been formally introduced yet, I'm Vaelin, but most just call me Lin. I’m the head scholar of the clan and member of the ruling council, this is my right hand woman Aldreya. What is your name?”

“Whhaaat iss nnnname?”

Lin faltered for a moment before continuing, “Oooh right. You wouldn't have one would you. Sorry the whole talking thing is messing with me. It's just something that the rational races use to identify individuals. If you want one I could give one to you and the rest of your siblings if you tell us where they are.”

“Sssibliiings?”

“Yeah you know, your hatch-mates?” Seeing the look of confusion on the bug's face, she realized that this deväk was born alone, and her heart sank. Both in disappointment and pity she continued, “then what about a name for just you then?”

“mayBE llllet mEE THhink.” Really our deväk didn’t care, and just wanted to see what it had earned during combat since the notification had just popped up.

Congratulations, combat level increased to 5. Attributes increased by; Str +1, Dex +3, Agi +3, End +2, Con +2, and Mnt +6. Physical modifiers increased by; Mnt +4.0%.

Congratulations, combat level 5 reached. Choose a new passive skill.

Unrelenting: Never give up. Stamina drains half as quickly.

Unrepenting: Regret is useless. Kills temporarily increase strength and speed.

Solitude: Fight alone, die alone. Bonus to all physical modifiers when fighting alone.

It barely had time to process the first screen, when the second one was filling the deväk's vision. It was relieved to know that leveling offered more than just stat points. Our bug was a bit conflicted on what skill to choose. They all suited the way the deväk had been fighting its battles up until now. Which was exactly the point. The skills available are based on how levels were obtained. If the deväk fought differently for the next five levels then it would gain a different selection.

In the end our deväk chose the Unrelenting skill. Unrepenting would be useful too, but damage wasn't its first priority right now which is why solitude was also ruled out. It was basically just a flat stat boost, but only when alone. Which looked like it might be changing because of the pixies. They were planning on showing our deväk around their measly fortifications, after our glutton finished up the pile of insects. Turning away from the crowd of pixies, which were in the beginnings of an impromptu celebration, the deväk started eating the insect pile. Aldreya and Lin had some impromptu bickering, and it wasn't long before another screen popped up. With less than good news.

Gluttony

You have felt the physical weight of those you have consumed. You feel... Heavy 100%

Density Level 1

You no longer feel heavy. Your body has adapted to your immense weight, and then some. Your bone density, and muscle density are far higher. Your strength has increased. +10%.

The lives of hundreds creep under your chitin, they screech out forever suffering. You feel the lives you have ended. You feel... Slow 0%

Name

Physical Modifier

Attributes

(Blank)

Str: 0.0%

Str: 9

Age

Agi: -5%

Agi: 6

2 weeks

Dex: -5%

Dex: 9

Species

Mnt: +5.0%

Mnt: 11

Deväk (Hatchling)

Per: -0.5%

Per: 3

End: +8.6%

End: 10

Con: +7.0%

Con: 9

Our bug had panicked after reading Gluttony ominous new tagline, and opened its status page. It's strength had gone back to normal, or at least zero, but now it's dexterity and agility had been fucked with. Hopefully the new skill would prove useful. Especially since this one could level.

Density Level 1

Your strength has increased. +10%. This possesses a powerful synergy with Shapeshifter, even a partial Shapeshifters might find it useful.

And like most of the young deväk's windows thus far it was almost completely unhelpful.