Brief note: There will be reader input asked for in the author's note at the end but it might be quite long.

[Corvus]

[Birth Isle]

After returning from their first migration to the south, Matty and One Eye seemed to mate with each other. They chose to live on the Continent along with White Wings, Aver, and Matty's two yearlings that survived. This could be considered a blessing, as Corvus, Bent Wing and their two young could easily share Birth Isle with Speckles and Heartless.

Much like the previous year Corvus' brother and Heartless didn't nest, while he and Bent Wing did. Things were going well until it was time for the eggs to hatch. There were three again this time, but only two hatched. They were weak, and even though their older sibling helped bring them food they died before they could leave the nest.

Bent Wing seemed to take it in stride, but Corvus couldn't. He didn't feel like they were his kids, he couldn't wrap his mind around that, but he did hold a certain affection for them. To watch something that young and helpless die wasn't pleasant no matter how he felt about them. Beside he hated not being able to do anything but watch as those close to him died. On top of that his goal appeared to require raising the chicks to adulthood as their deaths set his progress back to zero. It was a small sting compared to their loss, but a sting nonetheless.

That summer Corvus fell ill. It started with a tingling sensation all over his body and became a sharp shocking sensation that coursed through him. Getting sick like this made him feel really grateful to have a partner in life, even if the situation was weird. During his illness Bent Wing made sure he got food. It was yet another simple thing that just comforted him. As his illness dragged on Corvus became angry with himself and his situation eventually lashing out against nothing with Lightning Peck. The moment he did Corvus made a complete recovery. Just like that he learned that he needed to release the built up lightning mana every once in a while to stay healthy.

During the second winter in the south, One Eye got a little belligerent trying to oust the two pairs from Birth Isle.

'Worthless bastard.' Corvus cursed the older bird. 'The only reason he even tried was because our boys paired off with Matty's girls.'

As much as he hated it, Corvus knew that the pairing tipped the numbers in One Eye's Favour. With those pairings One Eyes camp had twelve birds, while his only had four. The conflict was brief and Corvus put One Eye in his place without resorting to Lightning Peck, or just otherwise killing him.

The third nesting season between him and Bent Wing actually had poorer results than the second. None of the eggs even hatched. Speckles and Heartless managaed to hatch a brood of six, and keep them alive through fledging. It was depressing. Even Bent Wing seemed to be affected by the disparity. Having nothing to stick around for and wanting a change of scenery Corvus convinced Bent Wing to follow him and the two set off south in early summer.

Having experimented a bit with Lightning Peck and absorbing mana it became apparent that whatever prematurely aged him and Bent Wing was related to White Maple Island as opposed to the mana vein. So as they flew south east using the mana vein they bypassed stopping on White Maple Island before running across a large continent. They settled on a cliff face near the bottom of a massive snow-capped mountain that was just east of the green zone.

Passing the winter there was by and large peaceful. There was a substantial lizard population but they were comparable to the snakes on Birth Isle. Not much of a threat after Corvus learned Lightning Peck. Still the lizard would attack on occasion forcing him to let loose on them. It worried Corvus a little bit as this continued because he found himself enjoying letting loose like that. He came to realize that Lightning not only coated his beak but could also shot forth as he pecked. The distance it shot forth depended on the amount of mana he invested. Even completely draining his internal mana it never extended past a foot.

Corvus was felt frustrated any time he thought about his goal. As such when spring rolled around he refused to return. Bent Wing didn't seem to notice or care.

The two of them spent three years there. Not once in those three years did they mate or nest. Mostly they just explored. Corvus was quite shocked to discover a second green zone on the continent, he had been assuming there was an upper limit of one per landmass. Besides that his and Bent Wing's days were spent eating, while their nights were spent sleeping. In the end they ran out of continent to explore. Realizing that Corvus felt like it was time to end their vacation and try again.

When they return they found Birth Isle to be a very different place. The entire island was covered in grass and there were several bushes, possibly even trees beginning to appear. None much bigger than Corvus, but it was still a considerably fast growth rate. There were enough crows there that Corvus had a hard time counting them, finally waiting until night when they were stationary to do so. Sixteen all together including Speckles and Heartless.

Because he and Bent Wing had set out quite late by the time they reached Birth Isle, their siblings newest batch of nestlings had already hatched. Their reunion wasn't all that touching. Corvus and Bent Wing were recognized and accepted by the other pair but there was a distinct lack of emotion there. Over the last three years Corvus had spent his time almost exclusively with Bent Wing. Maybe he was projecting emotions onto her because of that, yet to him it seemed like she was more ... human. So for him meeting the reception they got felt lacking. Speckles and Heartless just seemed so void of humanity.

'Well, maybe not,' he chuckled to himself watching Heartless fuss over her young.

It was still early enough in the year that he and Bent Wing could nest, so the day after their return they went to work building a new nest. Now that he was more experienced it didn't take long for the two of them to complete it and Bent Wing immediately started laying eggs. One egg a day, for six days.

Every time he would be sent for food Corvus would think to himself, 'Six.' It was hard for him to restrain himself. He knew it was still early and he shouldn't get his hopes up, but he just felt positive. More than he had in years. He might have needed to take a step back from trying to complete the goals, but working towards them again felt great.

Corvus' mood plummeted when the first three eggs didn't hatch. Fighting not to give up he hung on and on the next day he watched as a baby bird hatched. By this point Corvus' emotions were flip flopping just about every hour.

'Don't get your hopes up, remember the two that didn't make it.'

'She ate it. She looks healthy. She's going to be fine.'

'Predators. They'll still be a threat.'

As he gathered food Corvus kept an eye out for any snakes. If he found one it died. No threats, no trying to drive it away, a single stab with Lightning Peck to the head. This policy didn't change even as the fifth and sixth eggs hatched. It remained in effect, even as the nestlings grew up healthy and strong. It was only when they fledged that Corvus let up a bit. He didn't want them to grow up unaware of the danger.

When they did fledge, Corvus decided to name them. It was a rather easy thing to do as they were all rather unusual looking. The oldest, a female, was a dingy white color earning her the name Ghost. Her younger brother's were Hood, and Midnight. Hood, the middle bird, was named so because he had a black head, but a dark grey body. Midnight looked very much like a regular crow if you only saw him, but if you put him near any other crow the difference made itself apparent. He had a definite blue tint in coloring. Corvus' initial reaction to their unusual coloring had been panic but after a while he calmed down. Once he did he realized that the likely cause of both their coloring and the difficulty with getting the eggs to hatch was the fact he wasn't a normal crow.

It wasn't every day, but the goal Procreate's completion rose by a visible amount the longer the three lived. It was a quite but exciting summer that transitioned into fall. Caring for the young birds the days disappeared as fast as they came and soon even fall was ending. Having started nesting late the five of them were not quite ready to travel south when the others left. Corvus and Bent Wing would lead Ghost, Hood, and Midnight south as soon as the could but needed another three or four days.

It was during this period of time that Corvus encountered something that shook him to his core. A demi-human. A merman to be precise. It caught Corvus' eye one day when he was looking towards the mainland. A human face poking out of the ocean water. 'There's no way.' Corvus thought he was hallucinating when he first saw it. A belief that was strengthened when it crested out of the water showing it's full form. The upper body of a man, with a cerulean fish tail for a lower body. Unable to accept this as real Corvus dismissed the creature returning to helping his family prepare to migrate. They were almost done requiring only a single day more.

The next day though the creature was proven to be real. As they ate Corvus would peer at it every so often and noticed it seemed to take on a dark blue glow. The water below the merman began to spin forming a vortex, then it rose atop the water like a miniature hurricane. It completely hid the merman's tail as it skimmed across the water. Even this Corvus dismissed as his own mad delusion.

What he couldn't dismiss though were the four birds looking at the spectacle with their head cocked to the side.

'They can see it!'

"Run!" he screamed as the hurricane containing the merman glided off the water and onto the shore.

The merman frowned as the five birds took to the sky. Waving his hands in front of him he separated a ball of water from the storm that allowed him to traverse the land. He launched it skyward at Ghost, who managed to dodge by a hair's breadth.

'Not Good.' Corvus lamented as he saw the water ball dance unnaturally through the air.

"Leave," he ordered the other birds as he dived towards the merman distracting him. His tactic however didn't work as the water ball continued it's assualt on Ghost.

When Corvus got close trying to use Lighting Peck, the hurricane would release a whip of water at him driving him away. Even after multiple attempts he could never get within three feet of it. In this manner the hostile merman chased them from the landward side of the island to the seaward side.

Corvus decided to do something stupid. Ascending into the heart of the mana vein Corvus drew deeply, absorbing mana stream after mana stream. Absorbing so much that lightning danced along his wings just as it had during the lightning strike.

'More. I need more.' Corvus wasn't sure he actually did need more but he knew he would only get one chance so he pushed himself to the absolute limit of his pain tolerance. When he felt the quills of his feathers begin to crack he screamed before he began his descent.

"Leave." he shouted while plummeting, telling his family to go. To his relief they obeyed flying off towards the continent.

His cry drew the attention of the merman, alerting the demi-human of his forth-coming attack. Drawing his eyebrows together the merman began drawing something in the sky leaving a trail of floating water. When Corvus was five feet away he concentrated the mana in his body just as he did the first time. A brilliant blue bolt shot out from the tip of his beak arcing towards the merman.

*Bam*

The lightning hit an invisible field dispersing over it, leaving the merman undamaged. However, the sheer force behind the bolt caused the merman to be blown out across the water into the ocean.

Corvus on the other hand screamed in pain when the bolt hit the shield. A sense of being torn apart invaded his conscious when the two hit. A soul rending agony that lasted only a moment. The next thing Corvus knew he was watching a merman being launched into the sea and the body of a crow crashing into the shore. Looking at it more closely the crow had brilliant blue streaks running down the feathers on its back. It looked almost as if someone had painted painted a flash of lightning in a storm cloud across the bird's back.

This experience lasted only a moment and he soon found himself back in where he belonged, inside his body. It hurt all over. Corvus knew he was going to die slowly from his injuries.

'Hahaha, not huge on the pain part,' Corvus chuckled to himself, 'the dying I'm oddly okay with though.'

Just as he thought that Corvus felt his body lifted by a hand and saw the merman. He was manhandled as his wings were forced open as far as they could allowing the demi-human to examine him. Seeming pleased with his catch the merman bound Corvus' wings to his body with a bit of seaweed and dove into the water dragging Corvus into the depths. Right as he was drowning Corvus heard a ding and saw a window pop up.

NotificationThe locked goals of the second stage of the inheritance test have now been revealed. They are:

Die

Repeat

'Pfhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha' a mad laughter echoes forth.

Author's Notes

There's the last one for a bit, certainly for the day.

So I have a few things I want to say but I'm gonna try to stay on point.

Two of the smaller issues first. I have left the tags for this story fairly sparse because I wasn't sure what the details of the story were going to be. Are there any tags you feel I am missing? Please let me now in the comments below.

Next would be the formatting poll. I am now at around 29000 word total including tables and I think I said I would at it at ten chapters or 25-30k words. It's a bit early but next time I post a chapter I will be closing the poll. So vote HERE if you care.

Before I get to the reader interactive bits, I want to let you know what my current plans are. I am intending to write a side story or two. One is not intended to be necessary to read, but it is intended to answer a question that might arise later on in the story. The other is something of an epilogue to this batch of chapters, I may or may not do this one depending on whether or not it seems warranted. After that there will be another chapter or batch of chapters depending on the length, that will finish out this larger portion of the story. After that I will be taking a break to work on character development before entering the next larger arc.

Now Reader Interactive stuff. To make sure this is perfectly clear Corvus died in this chapter. That isn't going to change. However the 'people' he built relationships between chapters two to eleven are. This is your opportunity to say who you want to see again, who you don't and what you want their relationship to be. As it's so broad I felt a poll wouldn't really work for it so if you want your opinion to count you will need to post. This is not something that will be an immediate effect and may not conform to exactly what you suggest but I will definitely take it into account. Also with Corvus dead again that means he will encounter Belys once again, this means a chance for answers, but as I know them all already I'm having a tough time deciding what questions Corvus should prioritize, so please feel free to suggest some.

Finally because of how this chapter ended I feel like some of you will have complaints or question about the story. So long as it won't spoil anything I will answer otherwise I will RAFO (Read and Find Out) you. Just try to make it clear, either @ me or add question marks.

Thanks for reading to this point. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back for more when it's ready. Please feel free to comment, critique, correct, rate and review.