Private Tales The Monstrosity Ascendant

[Lord Marbas]

Irked.

Such was the emotion felt by Lord Marbas as he walked through the Boreal woods of Malakath, alongside the Mountain range to the East.

Ever since his latest return to the realm of the living, Marbas had seen practically nothing of value. There were plenty of creatures, don’t get him wrong. But there was nothing interesting to grab, no mortals to play with. The thought of having wandered, getting his well-kempt disguise dirtied by the brush and mud. It irked him.

Initially having begun walking to document the life, all he has found was nothing but the common shrubs and animals that have covered the continent elsewhere. There was nothing new to find, nothing interesting to do.

Trudging along the forest floor, Marbas halted as a twig fell upon his shoulder, interrupting his thoughts unheard.

“Oh - to walk the land of the living yet wishing to die of boredom. To think that I would find something to do here, to think that I would have found mortals to play with, to think that the pursuits of knowledge would never fail to bring me joy.”

Lamenting in his thoughts, Lord Marbas would brush away the twig on his shoulder with his left hand while sighing, and continue trudging along the forest floor.

“Now where was I…? Oh yes, the flora here are abysmal. The fauna unnaturally vacant or pathetically small. At home there was always something going on, give me a fight! A death pit between two colossal titans! Is that so hard to ask of the mortal realm? To kill or be killed? Is that now how it works anyways? The life here is far too tranquil.” Lord Marbas halted his thoughts as he made his way out of the depths of the forest and began to make way for the hills.

Slowly, the leaf clutters that covered the ground cleared way for smaller shrubs, distracting Lord Marbas as he weaved in between them all the while being inconvenienced by an ascending slope to leave the forest for the hills above.

But, it would only be a matter of time until he cleared the canopy, the grass mixing with rocks and dirt while mountains towered before him. But more interestingly, Lord Marbas had observed the entrance to a cave. Not just any cave either, his senses were ringing to him, there was something in there that he did not recognize.

"Well" Lord Marbas spoke aloud, justifying his course of action to himself. “I did come here to learn of what I did not know. With but a smidgeon of luck, this unusual sense of mine has picked up something actually worth a damn.” With an slightly hopeful tone, Lord Marbas picked up his pace into a brisk jaunt as he made his way to the cave entrance, before slightly bowing as he looked inside.

At first glance, Lord Marbas saw nothing out of the ordinary, the cave slightly curved to the left, outside the reaches of the sun that was nearly centered in the sky. The creature’s presence could be felt behind the bend of the cave, and he sensed no traps or trickery either. But as Lord Marbas adjusted his vision to account for the darkness within the cave, he immediately realized the cave was anything but normal.

“My oh my… Did someone lose their heads in here?” With a sarcastic tone, Lord Marbas could only joke at the scenery hidden behind the sunlight’s gleam. From the base of the walls to nearly the ceiling, were scratches.

Not just ordinary scratches, they were symbols, sigils, pictures, perhaps even equations etched into every possible surface, overlapping in many places. Some of the etched marks seemed fresh while others had clearly been there for a while. But most importantly, it was all foreign. There was not a single decipherable symbol that matched anything Lord Marbas could recognize. The drawings could maybe be deciphered, but the symbols? Alien. Completely and utterly alien.

“A jackpot! All this time wasted - vindicated! Oh to memorize every detail here, the writings of a lunatic gone mad! Oh the price that could be paid by these mortals just to know it even exists! This knowledge could be sacrilege! Knowledge not meant for the mortal mind! Think of the power! The glory! But… ahem. The only icing on the cake, the best topping I could ask, is that this creature in here be just as grand! Just as marvelous as the writings here! Oh to do that would make me more than truly happy!” With his spirits high, Lord Marbas began to slowly walk forward, his footsteps echoing in the cave. He looked at every symbol, every image laid bare in these scratches. Of course, he would spend more time later trying to figure out what it means. But for now, to gaze upon it was all he could do.

As he neared the bend, he prepared to greet the creature living in this walls. That it knew of his presence he was certain, he could feel its very aura, one of caution and alertness.

“Intelligent? Oh how I do like to see it! Perhaps this is it? Can I truly get two for two?” Practically bursting with expectation, Lord Marbas turned the bend to gaze upon the majesty that would greet him.

“Oh.”

Disappointment. There was nothing but disappointment in Lord Marbas’ word as he gazed upon the dweller within. Contrary to any intelligent beast, what he gazed upon was but a mindless abomination. The front of a Lion, the midsection of a Goat, and the Rear of a Snake. A Chimera. Perhaps the most mindless beast to exist. Lord Marbas’ rage began to boil within.

“This… FUCK! To think that I would be greeted with the snoobiest, most abhorrent creature in the realm! To get the furthest thing from intelligence, a gladitorial BEAST! This realm imparted upon me the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, answering my calls for boredom - and in the moment after what does it do? It beholds to me a creature of violence and hostility! To think it would care to give me the subject of days worth of studying, and then even presume for a minute that I still cared about seeing beasts fighting in the woods! But even worse yet - to have been blinded by the expectation that this was something new! I have seen countless of these innocuous pets from whence I came! To think that not only this realm, but my own senses would betray me!”

Amidst his endless torrent of negative thoughts, the Chimera, now in full sight of Lord Marbas, had chosen to strike first. It sprinted along the rocky floor straight for the Demon. With a large roar, the Lion’s head opened it’s mouth, intending to bite Lord Marbas’ head clean off. But just as it’s maw began to close in on the Lord’s head, a resounding “SMACK” could be heard echoing throughout the cave.

In an instant, the beast had begun to take flight, as it’s entire momentum was sent crashing into the wall, the imprints of the Lord’s hand firmly visible on the head of the Lion.

“You insolent beast! To think that you could interrupt my thoughts!?!” Lord Marbas’ anger turned outward from within, as he chose to reconcile his feelings of disappointment and anger upon the beast that has chosen to attack him.

But despite the impact, the Chimera was not deterred in the slightest. No, it rebounded as quickly as it had impacted the wall, instead choosing to pounce, once more attempting to grab the Lord’s face within it’s maw.

But same as the first time, it would not come true, as the Demon Lord stepped to the side, and with a single punch the Chimera was sent flying back into it’s den with yet another crash. The impact violently shaking the walls, and causing rocks to begin falling.

“Hmm…” Lord Marbas contemplated aloud, before retreating back into his thoughts. “I should take care not to ruin the cave’s structure anymore, less I destroy the works I can see here.”

As the Chimera once again turned to face him, Lord Marbas looked at it with a sour expression. “You will die a pathetic death, you know that right?”

As Lord Marbas taunted the creature, it chose to once again charge, this time using the Goat’s head as a ram. Yet it would still be for naught, as the Lord stepped to the side once again-

“Here we go-”

- and grabbed the sides of the Chimera without as much as a grunt. Taking care to spin with incredible momentum, he sent the beast flying belly-first at the walls of it’s den, smirking as the Snake of the Chimera failed to bite him as the beast departed. True to his intent, the Chimera would land with its paws and hooves on the wall, easily exposing all three heads for a quick and easy kill. But as the Chimera began to slide down, Lord Marbas froze.

The claw marks left behind by the Chimera… were identical to the markings left all over the cave. Every symbol and drawing - not done by a deranged lunatic, but a monster.

“Marvelous…” Lord Marbas struggled to contain his laughter. “Simply marvelous! Yes! No wonder I didn’t recognize this creature’s nature at first. This… beast, is no ordinary Chimera! Was it the work of witches? Was a poor mortal cursed? Was it something else. Oh I must know!”

The Chimera, seeing the erratic behavior of Lord Mabvas, recoiled back, and instead hesitated. But this hesitation brought within itself conflict, as Lord Marbas would observe.

“It’s fighting with itself! The heads are fighting! Never before has disagreeance been seen in a beast such as this! Truly their minds are separate, dissolved! But I…? I could change this! I don’t even need to know which mind has the matter. All these years of experimentations, transformations, the price of souls paid. Truly, I have the chance here to make my magnum opus!”

Lord Marbas raised his hand, and the fighting amongst the Chimeric heads stopped.

“Goodnight, my sweet sweet pet.”

Sensing the danger incoming, the Goat head did not wait even a moment before it charged up it’s fiery breath, illuminating the entire cave as a pressurized cone of flames burst forth in the direction of the Demon. But to no avail, through the flames three small holes cut their way through, and fire stopped.

With a soft thud, the Chimera collapsed, a deep impression left on each head of the Chimera.

“Heheheheheh.” With a victorious chuckle, Lord Marbas walked towards the now comatose Chimera, it’s life force kept dormant by the near-dismantling of its brains. He crouched, and spoke softly to the beast.

“I will put you back together, restless minds… I will make you better… I will make you mine.”

With his mind set on his next goal, Lord Marbas dragged the beast to the most open spot of the cave, illuminated his surroundings, and set to work making his masterpiece.

 

[Khimaera]

For as long as the beast could remember, it had known pain.

A creature of three heads was never made to handle the reality of sentience, especially not one that was imparted upon it. The soul of another, either forcefully injected or transformed into the beast, could not cope with the reality of its very consciousness and soul being ripped apart to fit three minds.

For that, rather than adapting, that soul had shattered completely, ruining the fragile balance within the beast. The creature once in unison, now completely divided by memories it could not interpret or understand, and it caused the minds that inhabited the beast great pain.

During the day, the heads would bicker, their minds sent astray by identities that weren’t theirs, thoughts and feelings they couldn’t cope with. At night their dreams haunted them, flashing symbols and memories, completely meaningless and uninterpretable to the beast. In an attempt to make it stop, the beast would etch these images into the walls and ceiling of the cavern it dwelled in. On some days, it would painstakingly take its time to ensure the image was faithfully shown. On others, it would ravenously tear apart the symbols, or hastily sketch them. None of these options worked innately, and so the insanity would linger.

But time would provide a faint relief. As days turned to weeks turned to months, the memories would slowly be ejected and forgotten. The beast learned again how to work with itself, and while the dreams would still haunt it, the memories it carried no longer held the same weight it once did.

But the wake of its actions never left, for while the minds could work together, they were never in unison. There was a constant noise left by thoughts that couldn’t manifest and feelings that could never be addressed. For the beast, it had eventually grown used to the noise made by its heads, but it would never grow comfortable with them. It longed for a quietness, a rest away from the dreams that haunted it and the idleness that killed it.

And for a moment, it thought that moment had come.

When the stranger clad in crimson had walked through the cavern entrance and shown itself, there was an odd sense of both familiarity and dread. For certain, the beast had been no stranger to violence. Every day was a hunt to live, murdering the large grazing animals that dared enter its domain. It has clashed with bears, monsters, and all sorts of other dangerous creatures, but never this. Whatever this thing was, it evoked dread, as though the beast would die just staring at it.

So, in an effort to preserve itself, in an effort to live, it pounced and tried to harm the stranger as best it could. But each and every time it was swatted away as though it were less than an insect. The stranger wasn’t worried, nervous, or enraged, it was just annoyed.

But then something changed, for reasons the beast knew not, the attitude of the stranger became incalculable. It was hostile, it was ecstatic, its voice rang out with a drooling sense of glee. In a moment of desperation, the beast flung fire at the stranger, and all it was rewarded with was silence.

…

“Silence?”

A single thought rang out in the beast’s mind, as it stopped living through its own memories. Out of everything it could’ve thought, the first thing it noticed was that the humming was gone, no more turmoil, no more emotions, just silence.

“Silence!?!”

The realization dawned upon the beast. It had made that thought. Not just that, but it had spoken in its head, it knew the word and yet it knew it should not. Feelings of confusion and dread washed over as the beast forced itself to stop thinking, to not even contemplate the reality that had arrived.

But as the beast returned to it’s idleness, as that calmness returned, the beast concluded that it knew not what it happened, this new reality was one that it would gladly accept. No more noises, no more horrors. And so-

“...Silence.”

Allowing the tranquility to continue, the beast simply rested, allowing the peace in its mind to last forever.

But nothing lasts forever.

“Awaken, my precious pet. Awaken, and see your new Lord.”

It heard a voice coming from the right of it, and while it took a moment to register, the reality of understanding once again dawned upon the beast, forcing open its eyes.

At first, the beast was confused as to why it did not see the visions of all three heads, why it saw the roof of its cave and nothing else. As a reaction to it, it attempted to raise one of its claws, but something was wrong.

The appendage that entered its vision was not a mighty claw, but a human arm. It knew that it was its arm, but yet it was entirely foreign. It was wrong. But there was hardly time to dwell upon it. Lowering the arm, it finally turned its head to look at the person who had spoken, and its heart dropped.

Before it, was the stranger clad in crimson. He towered over the still-lying creature, he was smirking, with a face failing to conceal both pride and wonder. Upon making eye contact, the stranger spoke again.

“Sit up.”

Understanding what it was being told to do, the creature used its arms to lift up its torso, seeing the walls of the cavern covered in lit scones. Only then did it also realize that it wasn’t on the floor, but rather… a bed. Yet, choosing not to think, it awkwardly began moving its own legs around, shifting its position so that it may face the stranger who nearly killed it.

“Heheheheheh… Excellent.”

Seemingly pleased with the response, the stranger chuckled, and asked a question:

“Now, do you know who you are?”

Slowly, it looked down at itself, at its body. It didn’t recognize the shape, something vaguely humanoid, yet certainly not the beast it knew itself to be. But then it realized the question was not a physical one, but a mental one. It began thinking.

“I am… we are…? Wait…” It recalled its memories, as many as it could, and yet those memories now seemed foreign to it. Neither the symbols that had haunted it or its past as a beast resonated, it could not fathom who it was, so the only response it could give was:

“...No.”

At first, the stranger’s expression turned sour at the response, as though it were displeased. But then that prideful smirk returned once again.

“No? You don’t know who you are?”

“No.”

With a bit more confidence, it spoke back, affirming its lack of identity, its inability to know who it was, if even anyone. But the stranger was not willing to take such a simple response, and so it continued.

“Really, even though you are speaking to me, right now?”

The question puzzled it as much as it puzzled the stranger. Yes, it knew how to speak, that it could understand the words being spoken. And yet, it had no answer for how, or why. It just did.

“... I don’t know.”

The strangers face turned confused, as it paused to mull over the response. All the while, the beast waited, moving its hands to rest on its lap, never taking its full attention away from the stranger who had so easily killed it a while ago.

“I see… Unfortunate, but I suppose it’s not too relevant. Stand up.”

Upon being given the next order, it slowly began to try and stand. It recognized its legs, they were similar to the goat legs it once had. As it slowly stood up, the difference in size between itself and the stranger surprised it, but more importantly, it couldn’t maintain its balance as a former quadruped, and tumbled forward onto the ground with a thud.

Undeterred, it tried to raise itself once more, this time attempting to stand on all fours. But it felt wrong trying to do so, both physically and mentally. So, the beast used one of its hands, and braced itself against the wall as it stood once more, struggling dearly to maintain its balance as it stabilized.

All the while, the stranger had chosen to sit in a chair, resting his head in his hands as he watched the beast attempt to stand on its legs. “Excellent, you’re getting the hang of it, my little pet.” With a bit of venom, the stranger ended his sentence, observing the reaction of the beast.

“...Pet?” It mulled in its mind the meaning behind the word, before realizing it was not being used as a term of endearment, or a means of affection, but rather an insulting form of possession. This evoked a response of slight disgust, but it dared not show it; rather, it maintained its vacant stare and silence.

After a few moments of silence, the stranger continued talking, as though nothing was amiss.

“Well, my name is Lord Marbas, I have saved you from your barbarism as a beast to bring you to the realm of the living. Every detail you possess on that body of yours is to my specifications, my engineering. But first thing’s first, I will need you to name yourself.”

With a curt tone, Lord Marbas demanded that the beast name itself, a demand which sent it reeling into its mind.

“Name… myself? But how… or what?” It stared once more at its body, it was… clothed, with a metal shackle around the neck, but what did surprise it was the appearance of a snake, levitating beside it.

It stepped back, almost falling, and the snake moved at the same time, it was only then did it realize that the snake wasn’t levitating, it was affixed to the back of its new body.

“Why can’t I see from the snake’s vision? It’s still a part of me… And why do I still have it anyways, does this mean…?” A sense of reality dawning on it, it used its hand and began touching its head, sure enough, it felt a large horn protruding from its temples, and knew there was one parallel to it, just underneath were fuzzy ears as well. All of this seemingly reaffirmed a suspicion it had.

“So I am still like a… ‘Chimera?’” Mulling over the reality of its new body, it - no, she began to think; weighing the identity she once had with the one she was given, and, eventually, she answered:

“Khimaera.”

Lord Marbas raised an eyebrow. The pronunciation was nearly identical to the beast she once was. But, he didn’t openly object, but simply thought it over before saying “Alright.”

Standing up once again, Lord Marbas continued to speak.

“Well, Khimaera. I am going to inquire about the extent to which you know what exactly it is that you have… drawn, over these walls?”

Khimaera looked again at the countless scratches and symbols that haunted her, despite all the knowledge she had gained in this, she still could not identify what they were.

“I... don’t know. I’ve never known what they-”

“Lord. Marbas.”

Abruptly cut off, the annoyed Lord Marbas began to correct her without warning, his arms spread out.

“You will honor my name when speaking to me, do you understand?”

“I - uh… Yes - Lord Marbas.”

Khimaera watched with a sense of worry to see if that would satisfy him, but Lord Marbas instead remained still, before gesturing that she continue before he gets even more frustrated.

“I... Don’t know, Lord Marbas. These symbols… They haunted me in my dreams. I carved them out of fear, so that they would go away.”

Upon hearing her explanation, Lord Marbas relaxed his posture, mulling over her response.

“Interesting, interesting indeed. Well in that case, I suppose I’ll just move on to your debt.”

Khimaera slightly nodded, as Lord Marbas continued talking.

“As I said, I had saved you from yourself, given you a new, better chance at life. In most circumstances, a specimen such as yourself I’d rather drag back to my realm. There are plenty others who would be most delighted to see you.” Lord Marbas chuckled to himself.

“But that would be such a waste. There are plenty others I could perform this work on, no. You’re special, my special little pet. So I want to give you a chance to pay off this debt. The world is rife with souls of the living, and by my creed, my gifts must be paid with the souls of others. So, here is my arrangement for you. I will give you but a taste of my power, to help you on your newfound journey. In exchange, every kill you make, from the smallest ant to the largest troll, will have their souls forfeit to me. The more ‘insects’ you kill, the faster your debt is cleared. But, should you die before that debt is cleared, I will instead drag your soul down to be used for my… purposes.”

Lord Marbas halted for a bit, allowing Khimaera to process the exchange.

“Fulfill it with intensity and purpose, and that collar you wear I shall remove as well, entitling you to your freedom.”

Khimaera contemplated the words he said, before answering with a question.

“So I don’t have a choice then?”

“No.”

Khimaera slightly frowned, but she steeled her resolve, knowing that resistance would only see her obliteration, if not worse.

“So, do we have a deal?”

Lord Marbas reached out his right hand, taking the faintest bow as he raised his hand up to meet hers. Khimaera debated for a moment, but shook his hand.

“Good! Good!” As Lord Marbas relented, Khimaera felt sharp pains in her forearms, as their human features reverted back into the fur and claws of what was once her Lion half.

“Ahem, your claws will be your means of securing your debt. Take a life with that, or with your friend there, and all will be swell.” Lord Marbas gestured to the snake that was observing everything beside her the entire time.

“I have kept your serpentine friend here to serve as your stalwart ally, an additional set of eyes and fangs without the burden of sharing two heads. It will be loyal to a fault, so treat it well.”

With a smirk, Lord Marbas bowed, confident in his immediate future.

“Now, I have wasted many days performing my work here, and I cannot wait a minute longer to tend to my other duties. Fulfill your obligations, I’m certain you will learn the rest. Now I shall depart back to my home.”

With his parting words, Lord Marbas spoke a set of indecipherable words before vanishing on the spot, leaving Khimaera behind with her vacant stare.

“...What now?” As Khimaera mulled over her thoughts, she began fiddling with her claw-like arms, before quickly realizing they could revert on command.

Reverting her arms back into their more dextrous state, Khimaera slowly walked through the cave, observing the table and assortment of items left upon it.

“A cloak, some… coins? And these appear to be.” As Khimaera lifted up the oddly shaped metal, she realized it was made to fit on her body. Taking the time to lightly dress, she was soon donned in adventuring gear. With metal boots shaped to her hooves, a chestplate and shoulder pads, gauntlets, green robes, and finally a brown cloak, Khimaera slowly made her way to the exit of the cave, and, glancing upon the sunbeams shining down from over the mountains, decided that her new chance at life would begin by heading North.