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#1 2017-03-04 17:05:13

monkey
Member
From: Pennsylvania
Joined: 2017-02-17
Posts: 85
Files: 4
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The Hive

This is a story I wrote quite some time ago. I've moved on since then and become a better writer than this, but you might find it interesting nonetheless. It's kinda long.

It was a bright early summer day just outside the city of Hu'Lao, the capital of the elven realm of Seypheid.  The city soothsayers had predicted clear, warm weather for the next few days, so the young little elf girl Erina decided to go on an bit of an adventure.  She packed up her rucksack with some food and a few healing potions--just in case--and set off to the north along the main road leading to and from the city.
    As elves go she was smaller than most,  At only twenty one years of age she hadn't even hit puberty yet, and stood a mere five feet tall.  Her slight frame betrayed her strength.  In terms of raw magical ability she was unparalleled among her peers, and she was no pushover in hand to hand combat either.  So it was with little trepidation that her mother saw her off, telling her to be sure to return within the next three days for an important council meeting.  Erina's mother, Lady Sukatra, was a prominent member of the elven high council, and if she wanted Erina there for a meeting, then it was obviously important.  She hoped it meant she was being admitted into the Advanced Magic Academy.  She squealed softly with delight, and her heart raced at the mere thought of gaining entrance to the exclusive private school.  Only the best of the best mages and sorcerers recieved training there, and their graduates had gone on to be elite warrior-mages or city guardians.  The fact that more than three fourths of the students who enroll never finished did not daunt her--if there was one thing Erina had it was determination.
    Erina had gotten so caught up in her thoughts she had neglected to notice she'd wandered off the main path and was now standing shin-deep in mud.  She began to notice when the mud began to seep in through the top of her leather boots.  Erina looked down, saw her feet disappearing into the muck and screamed. "Augh!  Ten minutes outside of town and I'm already losing my head!" she yelled.  She attempted to extricate herself from the mud, slipped, fell over and landed face first in the slop.  She didn't move for a few seconds, then slowly picked herself up off the ground.  "You hate me, don't you God?"  She climbed out of the muck and stood on a dry bit of ground, pulling her rucksack off her shoulders.  She opened it up and took out her cloak, and using it as a sort of towel, attempted to wipe most of the mud off her clothes.  It did about as well a job as you'd expect, and she was still covered in the stuff from head to toe.  "At least the biggest chunks are off.  Ugh..I can't wear this now.  It's completely filthy."  Erina carefully rolled the cloak up and tucked it back in her bag, slinging it over her shoulders once more.  She looked around for a moment to find the path, then headed toward it when she saw where she drifted off.
    Just as Erina stepped back onto the main road, she spied a man on horseback who appeared to be headed in her direction, toward the capital.  The man pulled hard on the reins, forcing the horse to come to an abrupt halt next to Erina.  "...What happened to you?" he asked.
    "I fell in some mud," replied Erina.
    "But the path is dry as a bone.  Where did you find mud?" asked the man.
    "That's not really any of your business, is it?" asked Erina, beginning to get a little frustrated.  "Did you just stop to ask me why I'm covered in mud?"
    "I was afraid you'd been attacked by a mud golem," said the man.
    "Mud golem?  You do realize you're a mile from Hu'Lao right?  Monsters like that don't come anywhere NEAR the capital."
    "So you admit then that you're clumsy and fell into a mudhole," said the man.
    "....you know what, on second thought it was a mud golem.  Huge sucker, too.  This is all that's left of him," lied Erina.
    "I...see," replied the man.  "Well if you're headed in that direction you'd best reconsider.  There's trouble afoot."
    "What kind of trouble?" asked Erina.
    "Slivers."
    Erina's blood ran cold at the mention of the word.  A sliver was an insect-like creature about the size of a small housecat, but with a collective consciousness.  Alone they were skittish and ran from anything larger than them.  However, they never traveled alone.  Slivers always sought prey in large clusters--dozens of slivers at a time.  The presence of slivers descending upon even a large city usually meant widespread disaster, as not only did the intelligence of the beasts multiply with each additional creature, but every sliver in the cluster could take on the characteristics of each other sliver in the cluster--everything from heightened senses to overwhelming brute strength to highly toxic venom.  No matter how you looked at it, slivers were bad news.  The only saving grace was that slivers generally avoided civilization for the most part, preferring instead to hunt within a few furlongs of their hives.  This time though, was apparently the exception.  Without another word Erina headed off toward the village.
    The man stared at her like she'd gone mad.  "Are you insane, girl? Didn't you hear me tell you that village is being overrun by slivers?  Those people are doomed, and you will be too if you head in there!"
    "I heard you quite clearly, sir.  And you can trust me when I say I have the situation well in hand."  With those words, Erina's feet gently lifted off the ground, and she took off like a shot, racing toward the town just a few inches above the path.  The wake she left kicked up a tremendous rooster-tail of dirt and rocks as she sped toward the village.  She knew this town well--the people were friendly, the food was good and it was usually pretty quiet.  She often used it as a supply point for her adventures, but today it would be her destination instead.
    It wasn't long before Erina caught sight of the town, and immediately she saw things were as she feared.  The traveler was right--the village was being overrun by slivers.  A quick count showed at least two dozen of the creatures, with possibly even more hiding in the few homes and other buildings.  One of the beasts saw her and approached.  She recognized its species as a Watcher, a species that lacked outright brute strength but posessed an especially thick exoskeleton, making it excessively tough.  The Watchers' armor plating slowed them down as well, a trait Erina took immediate advantage of.  The sliver lunged at her, lashing out with its forelegs in an attempt to stab Erina in the chest.  Erina easily sidestepped out of the creature's attack, and clasped her hands in front of her.  She then quickly spread her arms out, and a blade of pure energy screamed through the air, slicing the sliver neatly in half and killing it instantly.  Unfortunately you can never attack just one sliver--if one is injured, the rest all come to its aid, and Erina knew this.  Every sliver in the town began to pop out from their pillaging and approached Erina.  Erina looked the cluster over quickly.  Watchers, Bonesplitters (the exact opposite of Watchers--very weak armor but very fast and very strong), Sinews (the offspring of a Watcher and Bonesplitter--not as strong or tough as either of their parents, but still formidable) and Jumpers (a breed of sliver capable of short-distance flight).
    Seeing all these slivers in one place bearing down on her had Erina more than a bit nervous.  She had never fought this many opponents at once before.  Her heart began to pound in her chest as her adrenaline started to flow  'I have to stay calm', thought Erina.  'Slivers can sense fear, they prey on it.  I have to remain calm.  Dammit, heart, stop pounding so hard, they'll hear you!'
    It was too late for calm, however.  A Bonesplitter leapt toward Erina and she shrieked in surprise, her heart leaping into her throat.  She ducked as the beast flew over her, and as it landed behind her she wound up her arm.  Bright red flames began to lick around her open palm, and as she thrust her arm forward a ball of fire leapt from her hand.  The Bonesplitter never had a chance.  The beast screamed in pain as it was incinerated.  Erina had no time to bask in the flames of victory, though--there were still dozens more slivers to dispatch and they were not about to let her go so easily.  The entire cluster bum-rushed her all at once.  Erina threw another fireball, and another. One by one the slivers began to fall, but they were coming at her too fast, too hard.  She felt a claw dig into her shoulder, another into her leg.  She screamed in agony, the slivers clicking and chittering angrily to her and each other.  Another Bonesplitter hopped over the cluster and on top of her.  It raised one of its massive talons, ready to plunge it through Erina's chest, and just as Erina thought it was all over for her, the beast stopped.  They all stopped.  The Bonesplitter's talon hung a fraction of an inch over Erina's quivering heart.  She was bruised and battered, and now confused.  Once slivers set on their prey they were merciless.  They never stopped.  She didn't have long to contemplate the matter, though.  She felt a sharp pain in the side of her head, and then her world went dark.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Erina awoke some time later.  How much later she couldn't be certain.  Her eyes opened to show her a stark, featureless room, maybe ten paces square.  As she looked at herself she saw she was pretty badly beaten up, but nothing appeared broken.  It was then she noticed a few important details.  First of all, she was lying on a stone table, to which her arms and legs were lashed with silk ribbon.  Second, she was nude from the waist up.  As she was just beginning to get angry, a door just across from her swung open and a man stepped through, carrying what appeared to be a birdcage, wrapped in cloth to conceal its contents.  The man was dressed in heavy, dark robes, and was wearing a hood which concealed his face.  "You're awake.  Good," said the man.  "I'd hate to see you sleep through the entire experiment."
    "Who the hell are you?!" she yelled at him.
    "Ssh, child, you'll disturb my little pet here," replied the man.  He held the cage up, and something inside it rattled around, knocking the cage back and forth.  "I'm sure you're familiar with how a sliver hive functions, are you not?"
    "Not really," she spat.
    "Allow me to educate you, then," said the man.  "Each hive has any number of slivers living inside it..the small ones might have a few dozen..the big ones can have thousands, even tens of thousands.  It just so happens that the hive that attacked that village was one of the larger ones around.  There are nearly seven thousand slivers in that hive, all controlled by their queen.  Have you ever seen a sliver queen?"
    "Of course not, nobody's ever gotten close enough, the hive rips them to shreds," said Erina.
    "That's right.  Nobody, that is, until I came along," said the man.  He set the cage down on another small table and pulled the cloth covering off--inside was an especially tiny sliver--an infant, no bigger than the palm of her hand.  Its outer armor hadn't yet solidified, and as the covering was removed it shrieked and recoiled from even the dim light in the room.  Upon seeing the creature Erina's heart began to race, almost on instinct.  The sliver could sense Erina's fear, and reacted to it, lunging for her and almost knocking the cage over.
    "Calm yourself, child..this little one poses no danger to you," said the man.  "You should be more worried about what I am going to do to you."
    "What do you need me for so badly anyway?" she said.
    "I've had my eye on you for a while, Erina Sukatra," replied the man.  "Yes, I know exactly who you are.  I knew your propensity for going on wild adventures and knew you wouldn't be able to resist rushing headlong and hellbent into that village in an attempt to rescue those poor villagers.  So I used a manipulation spell to send those slivers into the town.  Once you arrived, the slivers did much of the work for me--though I admit it was quite difficult getting them to take you alive.  You aren't any good to me dead."
    "I'm touched," said Erina, her voice dripping with venom.  "You're all heart, really."
    "Regardless, I should get to the point.  I mentioned earlier the nearby hive was ruled by a queen.  Well, I intend to take that queen..with the queen under my control, so will the hive.  I will have an unstoppable army at my beck and call, and you are going to help me get it."
    "And what in the name of all held holy makes you think I'm going to cooperate with you?  Or that I could get any farther than anyone else?" asked Erina.
    "You don't even realize.  You are perfect for the task I have..at least you will be shortly.  Your magical power and ability is unparalleled among your peers.  You are quick-thinking and intelligent.  And since your body has not...fully developed...it will be much more accomodating for my purposes," explained her captor.
    "WHAT?!" yelled Erina, becoming incensed.
    "I simply meant you have not reached physical maturity.  I wasn't making some crack about your bust," explained the man.
    Erina did not seem satisfied with that explanation.  "I don't care WHAT you've got up your sleeve, I won't help you! I'd rather die first!" yelled Erina.
    "You may very well do that.  I'm afraid what I'm about to do has never been attempted before.  You see, in order to penetrate the hive and reach the queen, you will need to rely on subterfuge.  The slivers must believe you are one of them, and in order to do that..you will need this."  The man reached into his robes and pulled out a glass jar.  Inside was a sickly-looking green liquid.  He held it up to what light there was, and it was only then that Erina saw what was inside.  It was an odd, misshapen thing, with large bulges and protrusions poking out from odd angles--and it was beating.  "Do you know what this is, Erina?  This is the heart of a sliver..a Bonesplitter, and a big one too.  In a few moments, it'll be yours."
    "Y...you're insane!!" she yelled, her own heart beginning to hammer painfully in her chest.  "It'll never work!  I'll be killed!"
    "O ye of little faith.  Imagine the power that will be at your disposal..with this heart beating inside your chest you will not only fool the slivers into thinking you're one of them, but you will have access to all their knowledge, all their skills, and most importantly...all their power.  And you will need it to capture the queen."
    "No I won't, because I'll be DEAD!"  Erina began to struggle against the ribbons holding her to the table, but it was no use.
    "You're only going to wear yourself out.  That silk is made from the web of a Gloomwidow, the giant spiders that live in the forests outside the Icefire Mountains.  It's stronger than the finest Dwarven steel, and it does an excellent job of sapping away all your magic power," he said.  "Now be a good girl and take a nap."  He held out his free hand, waving it over Erina's face.  She could feel the sleep spell creeping into her mind.  Erina tried to fight it at first, glaring at the hooded man, but soon it was no use.  She felt her eyelids grow heavy, her body become limp.  Even her heartbeat began to slow.  Then, once more, her lights went out.

_____________________________________________________

    Boom-boom.  Boom-boom.  Boom-boom.   Boom-boom.
    As Erina slowly began to regain consciousness, she could immediately feel something wasn't right.  There was a heavy feeling in the center of her chest, a hard, slow thumping sensation.  It almost felt like her heartbeat, but it wasn't her heartbeat.  Normally her heart beat more than twice a second when she was asleep--either her perception of time was off for some reason, or her heart was beating at less than half its normal rate.
    Boom-boom.  Boom-boom.
    Erina felt a hand press down slightly upon her left breast, and her eyes shot open.  It was then that she remembered what had transpired before she had fallen asleep.  That madman was standing there, his hand over her heart--except somehow she knew it wasn't her heart beating inside her anymore.  "Guh...erg..." was all she could manage to say, as the effects of the sleep spell still had a slight grasp on her brain.
    The man glanced at her.  "Good news, Erina.  It appears the procedure was a complete success.  Just as I had predicted, the instant I laid the sliver's heart into your chest it adapted to your body's chemistry and physiology.  This is a red letter day in history, Erina, and you have been a part of it.  Aren't you excited?"
    Erina took a moment to regain her mental faculties, then glared at the man.  "No," she replied.  "I want my heart back."
    "After you get a taste of the forces at your control, I highly doubt you'll want that miserable old thing anymore.  But I saved it as a souvenir, all the same."  The man gestured to a jar on a nearby shelf--inside it was Erina's heart, thumping away like mad.  "There may be one or two side-effects of this procedure, though, that I didn't mention before."
    "Oh, really, I never would have guessed implanting the heart of a GIANT BUG into a person could possibly have side-effects," spat Erina.
    "There's no need to get nasty," said the man.  "Anyway...you may want to get this task over with rather quickly..I'm not certain how long your lifespan is going to be.  It certainly won't be as long as a normal elf.  It may not even be as long as a normal sliver.  In any case it should be plenty of time for you to take that queen.  Once you've completed that task, I'll consider replacing your old heart for you if you're still that hung up on it."  The man turned and picked up a folded pile of clothes, laying them on the table next to Erina.  "I'm going to undo your restraints.  Just keep in mind, if you want your puny little ticker back, you'll keep me alive.  So don't get any ideas about roasting me the moment you get the chance.  I'M the only one who can perform the transplant."  He grabbed the knotted silk and pulled, freeing each hand and foot in turn.  Erina sat up slowly and rubbed her wrists a little.  "Get dressed," said the man.  "You have a busy day ahead."  With those final words, he stepped out of the room.  Erina was boiling with rage.  She wanted to lash out, to destroy this prison she had been locked in brick by brick.  She wanted to squeeze that monster's neck until his head popped off, or fry him to a cinder, or encase him in ice...but she knew he was her lifeline.  If anything happened to him, there was no telling what would happen to her.  But if she did what he wanted, and handed over an entire army of slivers, the damage he could do would be even worse. 
    Erina unfolded the clothes she had been given and inspected them. A red form-fitting jumpsuit with black piping around the shoulder seams, waist, down each arm and each leg, and around the cuffs at the wrists and ankles.  A black cloak and hood.  Black calfskin boots and gloves.  A black patent-leather belt, and a short sword.  "At least it's not hideous," she said as she slipped the outfit on.  To her relief, everything was the proper size for her petite frame, and allowed enough freedom of movement to cast whatever spells she might need.
    Just as she was buttoning up the jumpsuit, she glanced to her right and saw the sliver cage was still sitting there.  The infant sliver inside seemed to be ignoring her.  She stepped over, her boots clicking softly on the stone floor, and the sliver looked up at her, clicking and chattering a bit.  At first it just sounded like the typical noises slivers made, but a heartbeat later something in her brain clicked.
    <Are you my mother?>
    "W..what the..?! Did you just talk?" asked Erina.
    More clicking.  <You aren't my mother.  Where is my mother?>
    "I...I don't know where your mother is," she said.  "I'm sorry."
    Erina noted there was a delay between when she heard the clicks and when she "heard" the words--just a second, but enough to be a bit jarring.
    <You feel like mother.  But you aren't my mother.  Did you do something to mother?  I feel mother in you.>
    She looked closer at the tiny sliver--she could see markings on its still unformed exoskeleton, the markings of a Bonesplitter.  The man had said her heart came from a Bonesplitter--it must have been this sliver's mother.  "I didn't do anything to your mother," she said.
    <I miss my mother.  I miss home.  Can we go home?> said the sliver.
    "Yeah..we're going home," said Erina.  Just then the man stepped back into the room.  "Good.  You're ready.  The hive is about a day's walk from here.  It's nearly sunrise, so you should be able to make it before dark," said the man.  "Take that thing with you, while you're at it."
    <That man is scary,> said the baby sliver.
    Erina nodded.  "Which way?" she said.
    "You'll know the way," said the man.  "The hive is a part of you, now.  You can't help but find it."
    Erina picked up the cage and stepped toward the door--she could see steps leading down just beyond.  "Follow the stairs all the way down and go out the door at the bottom.  I'll be looking forward to your successful return," said the man.
    "Oh I'll be back all right," she said, her voice thick with spite.  She took the cage, stormed past the man and literally flew down the stairs and out the door.  After being in such dim surroundings for so long, the early dawn nearly blinded her.  She recoiled and covered her eyes, almost dropping the cage.  The sliver shrieked, as it wasn't used to the light either.  Erina ran quickly out the door and into the nearby forest for some quick shade, to allow her eyes time to adjust.  As she did she set the cage down, and opened the catch.  The baby sliver looked curiously, then climbed out, up Erina's arm and sat on her shoulder.  <Thank you, new mother,> said the sliver.
    Erina looked at it briefly, a bit stunned that it was now calling her mother.  "Um..you're welcome," she said after a moment.
    Erina looked past the trees that, for now, concealed her from the nearby pathway, and felt torn.  She could try to return home, but she hadn't a clue where she currently was.  As much as the idea of walking straight into a sliver hive repulsed her, a small part of her still felt compelled to go there.  After a moment's thought, she took a deep breath and sighed, and she began to walk.  She didn't know where she was walking, but somehow she knew she was going in the right direction despite moving away from the path.  Her entire body was on edge.  With this alien thing in her chest she had no idea how her magic would react, or even if it would still work.  If her magic was gone, it meant she was almost defenceless in this wilderness.  If that wasn't bad enough, the relatively lethargic pace of the sliver's heart which beat in her chest made her feel like it could grind to a halt at any moment.
    Her reverie was interrupted by a low growl from behind her.  She froze in her tracks and turned around slowly.  A bear had approached her, and it was extremely angry at Erina.  Erina darted her eyes around quickly, but couldn't see any reason for the bear to attack.  Apparently the bear didn't need a reason, and it lunged, swiping a meaty paw at Erina's slight frame.  Erina immediately backflipped out of the bear's reach. She hit the ground and dug in with her back heel, her tiny sliver companion digging its claws into the fabric of her jumpsuit so it wouldn't fly off.
    Boom-boom...
    Erina felt something inside her body.  It registered on a more subconscious level that something was happening, but as the bear was advancing on her she didn't have time to think about the change.  She dashed forward with lightning speed and drew her sword.  The bear swung at her again, and she slashed with her blade.  Her face was showered with blood as the bear's foreleg was cleanly severed from its body, and the bear howled in agony.  She skidded to a halt just out of the bear's reach, but the bear wasn't through yet.  It charged on its three remaining legs, its jaws open and ready to chew Erina's body to pieces.  Erina leapt out of the creature's warpath and jammed her sword down into the bear's back and through its chest.  She heard a sickening crunch as she landed on the bear's back, bones crunching under the force of her impact.  Blood spewed from the attacking bear's mouth, and it dropped to the ground.  She could feel, through her sword, the bear's lungs were still attempting to pull in oxygen, but it was a futile gesture.  In a moment, all movement ceased and the bear was dead.  She pulled the sword from the animal, wiped the blade clean on its fur and sheathed the weapon.  She looked at the damage she'd done to the creature in amazement.  "...I'm strong, but I'm not THIS strong.  I..completely destroyed that animal.  This sword shouldn't have gone through its flesh anywhere near that easily."  She stepped away from the bear and walked toward one of the many trees surrounding her.  She inspected the tree--an oak, looked to be at least a hundred years old and more than four times her height.  She stepped back and drew her sword once again.  She pulled her arm back, feeling the muscles in her arm, her chest, her back, all screw themselves up for the impending strike, and she thrust the weapon forward with everything she had.
    The blade pierced the bark of the tree with almost no effort, and she only began to meet resistance when the blade was about halfway through the trunk.  She stopped just before the pommel contacted the bark, leaving about a handspan of blade sticking out either end of the tree.  "My God," she said, stunned.  "How on earth did I get--...." She turned and looked at the sliver, still perched on her shoulder.  She then looked down at her chest, placing a hand over her heart.  "Oh hell..."  She grabbed her sword, and with just as little effort as it pierced the tree, it was extracted.  She looked at the blade, almost not believing what she'd just done, and sheathed her weapon once again.  "If I'm this strong with just one Bonesplitter around...how much stronger will I get once I'm in the hive..?"  She looked over once again at the mangled corpse of the bear, and the sliver on her shoulder jumped off, racing over toward it.  Its tiny claws began to rip into the bear's side, and it began to shovel meat into its mouth.  "..I guess it hasn't eaten in a while," she said.  "To be honest I could stand to eat myself.  Who knows how long it's been since I've had a meal.  I could probably eat that whole bear..but bear tastes nasty, it's all gamey and bleh," she complained.  The sliver had eaten its fill, and it skittered back over to Erina, climbing up onto her shoulder.  <Are you going to eat, mother?> it asked.  "Who knows when another meal might come along.  I suppose I should.  But it needs to be cooked first.  I'm not eating raw bear.  I don't care how starving I am.  Now let's see if my magic works."  She fell into her one-step stance, as she'd been drilled to a million times before, and reached back.  Coils of flame licked around her right arm, and as she punched, a ball of flame leapt from her fist, contacting the bear and immediately incinerating its skin, beginning to cook and char the bear's flesh.  It would be far from the bistro on Fourth Street back home, but it would sustain her and for now that was all that mattered.  She let the bear burn for a while, at least half an hour by her judgment, then she stepped over and spread her arms wide.  She twirled on her toes, bringing her arms in, then spreading them out again as a shockwave blasted from her body in a wide circle.  The resulting wind blast put out the fire she'd created, and she knelt next to the carcass to pick some of the slightly overdone meat off the bones.  She abandoned all sense of manners or civility and devoured her fill, currently a lot hungrier than she was picky.  When she had eaten all she could she stood up and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.  Erina gazed up through the treetops, seeing the sun reach higher in the sky.  It was getting to be late morning already, and she knew she'd have to get a move on, so she took her infant sliver companion and began walking once again. 
    It would be another couple hours of walking through the dense forest before she even saw another living thing.  She had approached what appeared to be a major road.  She didn't recognize the markers on it, but she recognized the sloppy, ugly looking language scrawled on them.  The signs were in a human dialect, and this was one of their major highways. That meant trouble.  The elves and the humans didn't get along--while the elves did their best to protect and preserve nature, the humans of this world seemed to do their best to destroy it and bend it to their will.  They were also arrogant, stupid, lazy and extremely short-tempered.  The elves and the humans had both lost many lives in battles and skirmishes with each other, but currently had a very uneasy truce.  This spelled trouble for Erina.  Any elf trespassing on human land would be seen as an act of war, and the fact that she was a nobleman's daughter only made that worse.  On the bright side though, at least now she knew where she was.
    She looked down the road in both directions, to check for any passers-by.  On a road this wide and this well-maintained there was bound to be someone along any moment, and sure enough she heard the unmistakable clattering of hooves on cobblestone.  Four--no, five horses at least, all coming full speed in her direction.  Quickly she ducked back into the foliage and hid, waiting for the horsemen to pass.  She heard the horses approach, and that's when the infant sliver riding on her shoulder decided to leap off her and dash out into the road.  <Wanna see!> it squeaked as it skittered toward the roadway.  "No, get back here, if they see you they'll kill you.  They're too dangerous!" she whispered, but the sliver wasn't listening.  It ran out into the road, and as the horsemen saw it they all yanked back hard on their reins, the horses clattering to a halt.
    The horsemen were a motley bunch.  They looked like bandits.  One of them, the one Erina figured to be their leader, was tall, broad-shouldered and built like a brick outhouse.  He wore a leather bandolier with a large survival knife strapped to it, a mace hooked to his back.  He had a patch over one eye and a scraggly beard.  The other four men with him were dressed in various rags, but they were all very tall, very strong and looked like they could squash that sliver like the insect it was.
    "What da hell izzat?" asked one of the riders.  "Boss, ya ever seen one o' dose before?"
    "Course I have, ya mook!" yelled the leader.  "Don't ya read?  It's one a 'dem sliver tingies.  Nasty fuckas."
    "Whaddaya wanna do wit it?" asked the rider.
    "LET'S KILL IT!" yelled another rider, a crazed-looking man with spiky hair and a massive broadsword.
    BOOM-BOOM.
    Erina clutched her chest in pain as her heart began to pound.  Without thinking she leapt from the undergrowth.  "NO!!!" she yelled as she scooped the sliver up in her arms and hit the ground, sheltering the creature.  The bandits looked at her.  She looked at the bandits.
    "An elf?!" yelled one of the riders.
    "AN ELF!!" yelled the rest of them.
    "GET HER!" yelled the leader.
    "CRAP!" yelled Erina  She wasn't about to start a war, so she did the only thing she could--she ran.  Erina's feet dug into the road and she tore off into the forest on the other side of the road, leaping up into the air and hopping from branch to branch.  The bandits pursued her on the ground, their horses charging through the narrow spaces between the trees.  Erina wasn't sure how far she'd managed to get already, but she knew the trees were slowing her down.  In open ground she could easily outrun a horse, but having to jump from tree to tree was causing her trouble.  The only saving grace was the narrow pathways the bandits were using were making things just as tough.  After a couple minutes Erina reached a clearing--and a heartbeat later so did the bandits.  The bandits poured on the speed in an effort to catch up to Erina, and Erina took to the skies.  She could see another thin line of trees ahead of her, and she made for it as fast as her levitation spell would carry her.  The horses were just behind her, she could almost feel their breath.  She could definitely hear the bandits yelling and whooping.  She heard the distinct jingling of a chain, and she dove out of the way as one of the bandits threw the tangling chain at her in an effort to immobilize her.
    Erina reached the edge of the clearing and dashed full-tilt into the trees.  This line of trees was pretty thin, so it was easy for her to dodge the limbs and maintain her speed.  Not so for the bandits, as the low-hanging tree limbs were forcing them to slow down.  Erina saw blue sky ahead of her and went for it.  The bandits followed, and almost as soon as they exited the clearing their horses skidded to a violent halt.  The bandits were thrown from their mounts, going over their horses' heads, tumbling to the ground..which wasn't there.  The horses had stopped just at the edge of a cliff overlooking a lake, and as Erina floated in midair she watched the bandits scream as they plummeted into the water.  "That's probably the first bath they've had in weeks," she quipped as she watched all five of them slowly bob back up from under the surface, yelling and cursing at her the entire time.  Erina floated down to the ground and held her sliver in her hands in front of her.  "Don't ever do that again, do you understand?  You almost got me into a lot of trouble, and you almost got killed.  You nearly gave me a heart attack," she said.
    <Okay>, said the sliver, its head and claws drooping a little.
    "Lesson learned, then.  Now let's get back to our little trip," she said, as she began to walk.

Erina was starting to wonder just how long it was going to take to reach the hive.  It had been more than eight hours of solid walking, and there was still no sign of the place.  She wasn't even sure how she knew she was going in the right direction.  All the little elf girl could do was trust these new instincts she seemed to have.  The young sliver that had been accompanying her to this point was walking beside her, as having its talons constantly digging into her shoulder had become quite painful.

The entire ordeal she was being put through still seemed surreal to her.  She had hoped she would begin to get used to the larger, more powerful sliver's heart that pounded away in her chest, but she was having no such luck.  She was aware of every single beat of the alien muscle.  As much as she reviled the thing, though, her life literally depended on it.  She was well aware of that too, and as she walked she cursed her horrid luck.

And then her luck got worse.  She could hear another band of human raiders headed her way.  She was deep in human territory by now, and had to avoid being spotted at all costs.  Erina quickly climbed up a nearby tree and waited.  “Thank God human hearing is so bad..otherwise I'm sure they'd hear my heart pounding, as loud as it is,” she said quietly to herself.  And then, once again, her luck got worse.  The little sliver that had been accompanying her all this time had once again grown curious of the noise, and wanted to take a look.  “No,” Erina whispered quietly.  “Stay hidden this time, I haven't got the energy to fight off another horde of humans.”  The sliver, dutifully ignoring its new “mother”, continued its trek out onto the path.  “STOP,” she said.  She felt a heavy shudder inside her chest, and the infant sliver stopped in its tracks.  “HIDE,” said Erina, and the sliver retreated into the bushes.  “So I CAN control them,” she thought to herself.  “Maybe there's some hope I can pull this off after all.”  She could see the humans from her vantage point—this was a much larger group than the last time.  There were at least a dozen, and they were armed to the teeth with maces, broadswords and battleaxes.  They were making a slow pace down the path, and peering into the underbrush along the side of the path.  They were looking for something, or possibly someone.  Probably her, she assumed.  She hadn't killed that smaller group of humans before, and it seems they made their way back to whatever it was humans called civilization and told their friends.  Erina began to feel nervous.  She COULD fight off this many humans if she needed to, but she also knew she was running out of daylight, and she'd never hope to find the hive in the dead of night.

Slowly the humans approached.  She could feel their horses' hooves beat the ground, she could see the menacing looks in their eyes, but worst of all she could smell the horrid odor that comes from weeks without a proper bath.  They reached her position and stopped, looking around carefully.  Erina felt her heart beat harder in her chest, shaking her entire body with each beat—as well as causing the tree limb she was clinging to to ever so slightly quiver.  All she could do was pray the humans wouldn't notice.  Fortunately, they didn't, and their leader gave them the order to move on.  Slowly the humans began their forward pace, and after a few more moments they were once again out of sight.  Erina hopped down from the tree and touched down gently.  “We need to stay out of sight..we can't kill everything we see, or we'll never get ..home..,” said Erina to her companion.  The sliver nodded in understanding, and after a quick check down the path, Erina and the sliver darted across, making their way through the woods.

After about another hour of walking, Erina began to notice the vegetation thinning out.  There weren't as many birds or other animals around, and the ground appeared hard and dry.  The forest around here was dying.  No—not dying, it was being killed.  Before long she broke through the treeline and saw the source of the drain—a single cave opening perched high on a hilltop.  She took a few steps toward it and felt her heart shudder violently.  She clutched at her chest and dropped to her knees as her heart felt like it was trying to break free.  “This must be it,” she said.  “The hive.”  Her suspicions were confirmed when the sliver that had been following her all this time bolted for the cave entrance.  “Home!” it shrieked as it ran full-speed toward the cave.  Gradually the haphazard thumping in her chest subsided, and her heart settled back to a normal pace.  Erina caught her breath and stood, looking up at the cave.  “Well...this is either the bravest, or the stupidest thing I've ever done.  I guess I'll know which if I come back out alive.”  She took one hesitant step toward the cave, then another.  The closer she got, the easier it became for her to keep moving forward.  She paused for just one more moment as she approached the cave entrance, then stepped in.

The moment she entered the cave she could hear them.  She could feel them.  Slivers.  THOUSANDS of them.  They were all around her, clicking and chattering among themselves.  There were so many she couldn't make out what any of them were saying, but she knew she could understand them.  The walls of the cave were rough and random in some places, but smooth and polished in others.  She could only assume that the slivers had moved into a natural cave, and then expanded it as their needs warranted.  It looked and felt like a giant ant colony, and she was both amazed by her findings at the same time she was terrified that at any moment these creatures would discover her there and tear her limb from limb.

And that's when she saw it.  It was the first sliver she'd actually seen since she entered the cave, and it was a BIG one.  It was easily as tall as her, and built like a fortress.  Her heart rate tripled, and her feet froze in place.  She was expecting this big brute to rip her apart, but instead it looked at her, extended one of its front talons, gently poked her in the stomach and said “Could you please move aside?”  And then Erina fainted.

She woke up a little while later, how much later was hard to tell.  She was lying on the stone floor of the cave, and immediately she could tell she was much deeper in the hive.  The sliver's noises were completely surrounding her, and a quick look around confirmed that it wasn't just the noises that surrounded her.  There were at least a dozen other slivers in the small alcove with her.  A solid-gray Watcher approached her, and said “Are you all right?”  She nodded quickly.  “I-I'm fine..I think..”
“You are not like the others, are you?” it asked.  “You feel like one of us..but you do not look like one of us.”  Erina wasn't really sure how to answer that, but then the sliver continued.  “I suppose you can be trusted.  You rescued one of our own.  Most Others kill us when they see us.”
“Yes, well...I have a very..special..connection with that little one..” she said, hesitant, and a bit floored that she was having a discussion with a creature that, just a couple days ago, would have torn her head off as soon as looked at her.  “Well,” she thought.  “As long as they're being civil, it's worth asking if I can at least see the queen.”  So Erina took a deep breath to quell her nerves, looked at the sliver before her and asked, “May I see the queen?”
“Brave to ask..you may be part of the Hive, but you are still an Other...but if you wish to see the queen, we will take you.  Be warned.  She has never seen an Other before, as none are foolish enough to invade our home.”
Erina nodded.  “I understand,” she said.  She stood up, still a bit dizzy, and the sliver led her even deeper into the hive, through random tunnels and caverns.  By now she had absolutely no clue where she was or where she was going—all she could do was follow the sounds of the sliver's talons striking bedrock with each step.
They turned one final corner and entered a chamber, and she saw it.  She expected the queen to be much larger, like the queen of an ant colony—but she wasn't.  The queen was large, yes, but she was lithe and sleek, her solid black exoskeleton taken on a flawless mirror finish.  She was hard to see in the dim algae-created light of the cavern, and Erina was grateful for that.  She wasn't sure her heart could take seeing the queen in all her menacing glory.  The sliver bowed, dropping to its knees.  Erina did the same, bowing her head.  “My queen,” said the sliver.  “This is the Other that brought our young one back from beyond.”
The queen said nothing.  It simply waved a talon, and the sliver stood and then left.  Erina had been left completely alone in the cave with the queen.  This is what she had been waiting for, and if it was at all possible to capture her, it would have to happen now.  “I know what you are thinking, child,” said the queen.  “And you cannot even hope to succeed.  You are powerful, but I am more powerful.  You are fast, I am faster.  You are strong, but I am stronger.  You know this to be true.”
“I didn't come here to kill you, and I don't want to fight if I don't have to,” said Erina.  “But if I don't bring you and your brood back, I might not survive to the dawn.”
“This transformation you have taken is not your doing?” asked the queen.
“No, I'm being forced against my will.  The only man capable of making me whole again is holding me hostage.  He instructed me to come here and capture you.  He seeks to do evil things, and I must stop him before he can put his plans into action.  If I kill him, though, I can never be whole again.  He has taken my heart, and claims he will only return it if I return with you in tow.”
“That man will not make you whole.  You already know this,” said the queen.  “And you continued here despite the false hope of a cure.”
“Once I left his fortress I..felt compelled to return.  I don't know why.  I don't even know how I found this place.  It felt like something was pulling me here.”
“You were being drawn here, child.  The heart you posess is one of Ours.  You would have returned here soon enough.”
Erina sighed.  “You see though I'm just a victim here.  I don't want to cause any trouble, I just want my heart back.”
The queen skittered quickly down the rocks and stopped inches from Erina.  She spoke again—this time, in Elven.  “You no longer need it.”  Erina stepped back, shocked.  “Are you surprised?” asked the queen.  “We are a collective.  Our thoughts are all our thoughts.  Our knowledge is all our knowledge.  Our skill is all our skills.  That includes YOUR thoughts, YOUR knowledge and YOUR skills.  As you Others say, it is a two-way street.”  Erina was still surprised that the creature before her could speak her language.  On a subconscious level it made sense, but it was still shocking to hear a sliver speak in anything but clicks and shrieks.  “I cannot give you what you claim to seek...but I can give you what your heart truly desires.  Vengeance.”
Erina looked at the queen.  She'd hit the nail on the head—she'd wanted revenge from the moment she started this crazy mission of hers, and if she couldn't get her heart back, at least she'd get some payback.  “What do you want in return?” asked Erina.
“I want you to find the Other that slaughtered the sliver which gave its heart to you..and destroy him,” said the queen.
“Agreed,” said Erina.  “So..what happens now?”
“Now, you will learn.  You have already had a taste of the power that can await you.  It is time for you to feed on it,” said the queen.  The queen reached out and placed a talon on Erina's breastbone, just hard enough to make contact.  “Close your eyes, and let your heart fill your mind with the skill and power of the legion at your disposal.”  Erina closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  As she exhaled she felt her heart slow, from what must have been at least a hundred and ten beats per minute to less than half that pace.  As it thudded heavily in her chest, she could hear things, feel things shifting around inside her mind.  She didn't know how, but she was learning how the slivers fought, and how they were able to access each others' abilities.  Doors were being opened in her subconscious.  Telepathic pathways were being forged, and with each beat of her heart came more knowledge, more skill.  She began to break out in a sweat.  The effort her mind was exerting to catalog all this information was starting to take its toll, but the flow of knowledge did not abate.  It was almost too much for the girl to bear, and the queen suspected this as well.  The torrent began to ebb slightly, to a pace Erina's brain was more able to cope.  Still, even at this slower rate, she was soaking it up like a sponge.  What felt like hours took mere minutes, and when the queen was done she took her talon from Erina's breast.  “Now open your eyes, child, and revel in your gifts.”  Erina opened her eyes, blinking once or twice to clear her vision.  What was once to her a dimly-lit cavern now appeared to be broad daylight.  She could see every facet of the queen's ebony carapace, every rock and pebble strewn on the floor.  She could feel every sliver in the cavern milling around above and below her.  She could smell things she'd never smelled before—the sliver's scents, perhaps?  Then she heard it.  A strong, slow, steady BOOM-BOOM, BOOM-BOOM.  It was the heart of the queen, and it sounded as clear to her as if she had placed her ear to the queen's surface.  She felt her heart match pace with it perfectly, and their hearts beat in perfect time for minutes, before the queen finally spoke again.  “You can feel them.  You can see them.  You have their power, and they now have yours.  You are ready.  Claim your prize.  Show no mercy,” said the queen, darkly.
Erina nodded.  The queen stepped back, and let out an earsplitting shriek.  She knew what that meant.  She was calling the brood together.  Within moments more than a hundred slivers filled the cavern.  Slivers of all types—Bonesplitters, Watchers, Sinews, Jumpers, Virulents, and even a few of the positively monstrous slivers she had first seen when she entered the cave.  There were more, as well, varieties she'd never seen before.  She knew what they had to offer, though.  Some of them could actually take real flight.  Some had super-hard armor, and the strength to burst through solid rock..  Some could actually heal themselves and others.  And some were just insanely large and powerful.  She could feel the connection to every one of them.  The queen spoke.
“This Other is an Other no longer.  Follow her as you would follow me.”  As she said this, all the slivers in the cavern turned to look at Erina.  Erina looked at all of them.  She stood there for a moment, and as she did she tried to call the knowledge she'd gained into action.  As she did, the outfit she had been wearing shredded as thick scales grew over her skin.  The armor started around her ribcage and spread down her abdomen and down her legs, then down her arms and up her neck, completely covering her head and face, leaving just enough room for her to see and breathe.  The scales overlapped in such a way to provide complete protection while still allowing for freedom of movement.  The scales were especially thick around her torso and legs.  As she continued to explore her abilities she felt the scales on her forearms change, forming a pair of razor-sharp blades.  Her swordsmanship already made her a formidable opponent, but with powers like this at her disposal her entire body was a weapon.  She ran her hands along her body, feeling the rock-hard scales experimentally.  Even her palms were armored, though much more lightly.  She had noticed the colorings on the scales matched the markings of a Bonesplitter, a few varying shades of red.  Considering she had been given the heart of a Bonesplitter, she didn't find this as shocking as much of the rest of what had happened to her in the last few days.  “It's time to get some payback,” she said, and she began to leave the cavern, her heels clicking on the stone floor.  The crowd began to slowly file out, and Erina slowly led the gathered slivers back out of the hive.  She didn't need a guide this time.  Thanks to the queen she knew the hive backwards and forwards, and so easily found her way back out.  By now it was the dead of night.  She glanced up at the night sky, an endless sea of stars above.  That was all she needed to get her bearings.  She knew exactly where she was now, and how to get back to where she needed to go.  “Follow me,” said Erina.  “Try to move quietly.  I don't want to attract attention.”  As she said this, she looked out at the small army of slivers at her heels, and about then realized just how stupid a thing that was to say.  She smacked her forehead with her palm.  “..Never mind, just try not to kill anything you don't have to kill, all right?  I don't want to start a war.”  The slivers nodded in acknowledgement, the queen included.  Erina then levitated barely off the ground.  “Move out,” she said, and she felt the army launch forward, just to her rear.  The feeling was surreal and a little terrifying..but exciting at the same time.  She had never wielded power like this before.  Even her most powerful spells paled in comparison to the sheer destructive force of an army of slivers.  She knew though that all that power would be worthless if she couldn't keep them under control, so for now she was sticking to simple commands.  Move.  Stop.  Stay.  She traversed the distance back to the fortress where she had left in a matter of a couple of hours. Dawn was just beginning to break as the tower came into view and, anxious to get this over with, she sped up her flight.  By now she should have been exhausted from flying this long, but with the slivers lending her their strength she felt like she could fly around the world.  She touched down a few hundred feet from the tower and ordered her army to halt in the woods surrounding the tower.  She then stepped toward the structure and, with a wave of her hand, smashed the heavy oaken door to splinters with a powerful concussion spell.  Calmly she walked up the stone steps, the clicking of her heels echoing against the hard walls and floor.  She approached the top of the tower, grabbed the door handle, and wrenched the door clean off its hinges.  He was waiting for her inside.
“Ah, so you've finally returned.  And you've got yourself a new suit of armor too.  The spoils of your victory, I would assume?” he said.
“This isn't a suit,” replied Erina.  “It's ME.”
The hooded man took a moment to respond.  “I suppose then you've gotten in touch with the animal inside you...excellent.  But where is the queen?  I asked you to bring the queen back alive.”
“She's here, all right.  She's right outside, waiting.”
“You mean..you were able to tame the beast?  This has been more successful than I ever could have imagined!  My experiment will go down in the annals of history!”
Erina was silent.  She could feel the army just outside.  They were champing at the bit for some action.  “So..about our deal.  I give you the queen..and you give me back what's mine,” said Erina.
“Ahh.  Well you see, there's one thing I didn't mention.  Since you seem to have taken to the slivers so readily, and you seem to be rather enjoying yourself besides, I don't think it'd be a good idea to perform the switch.  You see, if that precious little muscle of yours quits beating, that queen out there will just view you as more meat.  She'll tear you apart, then me, then rampage the countryside taking countless lives on her way back to the hive.  So I'm afraid I just can't do that.”
Erina looked at him, expecting him to make some kind of excuse.  “Why don't you come outside with me.  You want to see the queen, don't you?”
“More than anything..this will be a landmark day in my research,” said the hooded man, and he followed Erina   She stepped outside, the man just behind her.  After a moment, the queen emerged in the early morning light, the orange sun reflecting off her mirror finish.  “She....she's beautiful,” he said.  His eyes locked with the queen's..it was clear he was attempting some kind of manipulation spell.  If the queen were alone, or only surrounded by a small group, it probably would have worked.  But then the remaining army revealed themselves, and the man's eyes grew wide with fear.  “H-how many slivers followed you here?”
“Including the queen, a hundred and twenty-seven.  Why?” she asked.
The man looked upon the army in complete terror.  He couldn't control that many at once.
Erina stepped to the side.  “Leave him alive,” she said..and the army descended upon the man.  His screams rang out through the trees, carrying for who knows how far, as each sliver in the army dove in to get a cut, or a shot, or a wound of some kind on the man.  After a few more minutes of this torture the army receded and the man lay on the ground, broken and battered, but still alive.  His robes were tattered and she could now, finally, see his face. A once stately-looking high elf, with gaunt features and bright silver hair. “...you...you SON OF A BITCH...” she half-screamed.  “Lord Ilsen, my father's most trusted tactical advisor, you rotten bastard! This was all YOUR doing?!”
“..Yes...it was all part...of my plan...” Lord Ilsen coughed and sputtered.  She could tell his injuries weren't fatal, but he would be in a lot of pain for a very LONG time.  She looked over at the waiting army.  “Please..return to the hive.  I'll deal with him myself.”
The queen stepped forward.  “You are one of Ours.  But you are also one of the Others.  I know you must return to the Others.  Your place lies with them.  As much of our power as you take, you can not truly be one of Us, but you will forever more be a part of Us.”  The queen returned to her brood, and as quickly as they came, they left.  Erina picked Ilsen up by the remains of his robes.  “Now you'll listen to me, and listen good.  You've got two choices.  You can give me back my heart and I MIGHT convince the council to be more lenient..or you can refuse and die right here for your treason.  What'll it be?” she asked.
“...very well,” he said.
“And you'll be performing the operation under very CLOSE supervision.  I don't trust you to do it alone.”
Ilsen looked as though he'd been defeated, again.  “You don't..trust me?”
“NO!” she shouted.  “Now we're returning to the capital, and you're going to have a great deal of explaining to do.”

EPILOGUE

Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump...
Erina's eyes slowly opened.  She was in her bedroom, buried under her blankets like always.  The events of the last few days felt like a dream, or possibly a horrible nightmare.  She placed her hand over her chest and felt the slightly sore spot along her breastbone, and just underneath that familiar soft fluttering of her heart  HER heart, finally back where it belonged.  She took a deep breath, and sat up, the straps on her nightgown falling down off her shoulders.  She stretched out her arms and yawned, and rolled out of her bed.  Like always she recoiled a bit as her bare feet touched the cold marble floor, and she stiffly walked over to her wardrobe.  She knew what today was.  It was her entrance exam for the Academy, and it was also the day of Lord Ilsen's trial.  She selected a loose-fitting white dress and leather boots.  From her own personal armory she selected a delicate rapier, crafted of the finest steel.  She took her red cloak and tied it around her neck, and headed outside.  She looked up at the clear blue sky, took a deep breath of the clean air and felt her heart race with excitement.  She took off down the street toward the Academy grounds at full speed, her cape fully extended behind her in the wind.
Erina had got quite the reputation in the capital.  The popular story was that she ransacked an entire sliver hive and destroyed them with some overpowered spell.  Others claimed equally fantastic stories, most of them with bits and pieces of the truth.  Her family did their best to keep things quiet, but Erina was never a quiet person.
She arrived at the Academy in just a few minutes, going full speed the whole way.  She reached for the heavy oak doors.  Her heart pounded even harder in her chest as the anticipation grew.  As she pulled the door open, a single elf stood in the courtyard—armed with a longsword, shield and a caster's amulet.  He was tall, strong and battle-worn, and she could tell he was a strong warrior.
“Erina Sukatra, daughter of Lord and Lady Sukatra, are you prepared to take your entrance exam to the Academy?”
Erina grinned slightly, scales starting to form on her skin, under her dress.  She drew her sword and stepped forward, eyes narrowing.  “Bring it,” she said.

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