Cecile

  Cecile stretched as he finally headed out the door of their bedroom. If they stayed split like this, they’d need to add another room. Maybe a whole second floor.

  He’d been working on an interesting idea during some of his downtime involving a bit of a house remodel. He wanted a spot in the center that was a private greenhouse he could use for some of his more unique plants, the ones that hadn’t propagated enough that he felt safe letting them free in the city.

  It wasn’t that he thought anyone would purposely hurt his plants, but at the same time, accidents happened, and he had a few specimens he had just started to cultivate from home. He just didn’t have the seed stock to replace them if they died before he was able to harvest more. Maybe if there was time today, he’d talk to Glorp about the possibility of some house extensions.

  As long as he left the core part alone, he figured Elicec wouldn’t be that upset. Plus, they needed a guest room anyway. Or a few, considering their current situation. But first, it was off to a nice breakfast. He was curious how his stomach would handle eating for one.

  With how early it was, Cecile wasn’t surprised to find the great hall nearly empty. Rabyn hadn’t even joined the kitchen staff yet. That didn’t matter, though. The important part of the room was still here waiting.

  The breakfast was already ready to go. Grabbing a plate, he looked over his options for the day. Deciding on biscuits and gravy, he piled that on his plate first, and followed it up with a strange purple mashed material that smelled like home.

  He would have seconds, of course, the corn beef hash was calling to him as well. It was something he couldn’t wait to introduce to his parents. He was sure Dad would love it. Though it might be better with some of the lava truffles from their village.

  “Hey, Cecile, how’s your morning?” Glorp asked, as he took a seat across from him, moments before dropping his plate with a loud clatter onto the table. “…Cecile, how are you just you?”

  “It has something to do with Dave’s soul realm, not sure beyond that. But it’s kinda neat, isn’t it?” Cecile asked. Despite the wonder in his voice, he wasn’t actually sure how he felt about this.

  Twinoges were, after all, two people sharing the same body, and this idea of being away from his brother like this wasn’t something that his species normally experienced. Usually, it only happened in horrible circumstances where one sibling was killed, and the other somehow survived. But no, they had been given something no Twinoge he had ever heard of had.

  This wasn’t the first time Cecile had been worried about what his family would think of what they had become. It wouldn’t stop him, no matter what it took. They would be free. It was just a matter of how you could show your parents how far you had come without them. Dad had taught him so much, but what he had learned since he left home made that old knowledge look so small.

  Behind these worries, deep in his mind, he knew they’d never judge him for growing stronger and more capable. It was just the eternal question that plagued everyone as they grew up. How did you ever go home again?

  “Are you two going to be separate forever?” Glorp was staring at Cecile, and somehow, he hadn’t noticed it until now. Was he turning into his brother? Letting his thoughts distract him that much wasn’t like him at all.

  “Probably not, at least I don’t think so. It happened once before, and we joined back together. I think we are just unlocking a weird third class we share. I don’t know,” Cecile rambled, taking another bite of food to distract from his uncertainty.

  “Either way, yeah, I agree it’s neat. So are you gonna do a bunch of stuff solo that you normally can’t?” Glorp’s stare had relaxed. Had it just been a worry?

  It was the same worry Cecile felt, and one that was bound to ruin the day if he let it fester. That meant he didn’t have time for it. He had things to do today. Fun to have. Glorp was right.

  Cecile swallowed another bite of food, took a big drink of a soda that Elicec hated, and smiled at his friend. “Sure am, I’ve got some friends to see. You’re welcome to join me.”

  “I would, but I’ve gotta get work done on the mana beast sanctuary,” Glorp replied.

  Cecile had no clue what he was talking about. “The what? When did we start one of those?”

  “Oh, it’s a new project. Bert is helping me with it. We are trying to protect some of the smaller mana beasts that are popping up near town. We’ve been rebuilding the house that was falling apart in the woods for it.” Glorp had a giant smile on his face the whole time he explained.

  “Well, if I have some time, I’ll stop by. I don’t know how long this will last, and I’ve got a few things I want to do first, but if you are still out there tonight, count me in!” Some of Glorp’s excitement had infected Cecile.

  It was a great idea, helping the small animals, as annoying as some of them could be, was a good thing. He had had his own issues with the hoary marmot when they first met, but he was mostly over them. In fact, that was his first stop today after breakfast. It was time for a picnic with a primal mana beast.

  “I’ll let Bert know,” Glorp said as Cecile stood up from the table, pushing his plate forward.

  He gave Glorp a nod before heading for the door, trying to get used to his new lighter body as he walked outside into the morning sunlight. Spring was coming. He could feel it. There was just something in the air that was tingling in his brain.

  With a new season, he was determined to move past how bad things had been. The future looked the best it ever had looked in his young life. He knew deep down his friends would rescue William and that they would save his people. All of that finally pushed the worries away completely.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Those thoughts occupied his entire walk, reaching the greenhouse even happier than he had been at the end of his breakfast. And just as he expected, the little marmot was munching on a carrot much too large for him inside the hot house. Somehow, a new crop had already started to sprout.

  Whatever change that world tree had brought was something they had needed. As much as the world outside of Alexandria was pretending otherwise, Cecile was sure the damage the death curse had done to the farmland worldwide wouldn’t be anywhere near healed yet. Then there was the animal life that had suffered, which meant even hunting would have been affected.

  “Cecile! What happened? Did you manifest a new form to defend the Empire as well?” Beta called, as the dungeon core socketed into a box cutter flew up to him. Alpha followed behind them.

  “Uh, you know, that might be the best way to look at it. What are you two up to?” Cecile asked, considering what Beta had said. The way the dungeon cores could create a new form for themselves wasn’t all that different than what was happening, was it? He’d have to remember to bring it up with Elicec.

  “I am on the morning patrol. Alpha has done their usual lap as well. I must get back to it. There are rumblings further from the Empire that must be investigated.” Beta flew off immediately, not waiting for any reply.

  “Time for hoary marmot and me watch birds daily. Join us?” Alpha asked as they floated inside the building.

  “I didn’t know you two did that every day, but I’d be honored to join you. I was going to share a picnic with the little guy, a gesture of goodwill after our rocky start, but watching birds sounds fun too.” Cecile, in fact, loved the idea, and even more was glad to see that Alpha was making friends. The dungeon core had always been the most aloof of them, and with Maud offworld, he had been worried.

  “Today we watch birds at big new tree,” Alpha replied.

  Did they mean the world tree? What kind of birds were nesting around in it already? With how big it was, it could likely host anything Earth had. “Perfect, that sounds like a great place for a picnic too. Let me just grab a few more pieces of fruit and veggies for the furball and me, and we can be on our way.”

  The hoary marmot dropped its carrot and gave Cecile a strange, dirty look at being called a furball. Suppressing a laugh, Cecile ignored the little guy and started grabbing some of the tastier-looking crops for their trip. He had been considering visiting the world tree today anyway, so this just told him his plans had been the correct ones.

  “So, who all is in your bird-watching group?” Cecile asked as they neared the world tree.

  “Orglina, Dean, and Bitey join recently. Chip and cats older members,” Alpha answered.

  “Oh, so this has been going on for awhile, well, thank you again for letting me join,” Cecile said.

  “Glad have you,” Alpha replied as Cecile took a seat on the ground near the face of the tree.

  “Have you two been out here yet, or is this a first time to try to see the birds around it?” They hadn’t exactly been open about the world tree’s existence, but it wasn’t like it was something they could keep secret either. The largest tree in the forest, by far, had a face now. It was something that was bound to draw some onlookers.

  “Only flown over. No bird watching yet, but quiet time now,” Alpha replied, as the mallet landed near the marmot, and stayed perfectly still. Even the primal mana beast stopped his chewing while they peered into the dense canopy of the treetop.

  Cecile scanned the area for birds, his eyes darting across the trunk of the tree. The eyes of the face were open, and they were staring straight into his own. His gaze froze, as though hypnotized. He was drawn into that stare.

  Something resonated deep inside of him. It was his class. It was humming. What the hell was going on? He had no idea, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t look away. He couldn’t even speak.

  The world went hazy around him, almost out of focus for a few seconds, before a new image appeared in front of him. Gone was the forest that had dominated the landscape, instead all he could see was a mossy landscape with a tiny sapling poking through in front of him. Was this how the forest had started?

  No, this couldn’t be Earth. His eyes had found the horizon and the four bright orbs in the sky. Four suns? He hadn’t ever heard of a planet with four suns before. Where was he? Was he even here, or was this just a vision from the world tree? What was it trying to show him?

  The suns in the sky sped up their movement as the vision in front of him went into overdrive. The sapling grew into a giant orange-brown trunk with a face similar to the one he had been sitting in front of. But time continued to pass, and this tree just grew bigger and bigger. The vision started to fade just as the tree seemed to consume the suns.

  “What just happened?” Cecile asked as the scene returned to his familiar surroundings. A bluish bird fluttered away, startled at his voice.

  “Shhh, bird scared,” Alpha replied.

  Had neither of them experienced it? The eyes on the face were closed again. So it had been a vision. What had any of it meant?

  He decided it was something to think about later, after he discussed it with his brother. Right now, he was with friends, and they had things to do. Like, look at the very large bird that had landed in the upper branches.

  “Eagle, building nest,” Alpha whispered. Cecile had heard the animal’s name before but hadn’t seen one yet. It was an interesting-looking bird. He was glad Alpha had invited him, despite the weird vision. This was the kind of relaxation he needed right now.

  Hoary Marmot

  The marmot had felt the strange energy the world tree had sent into Cecile and even felt a request from the tree to join him. He had considered it briefly and decided the Twinoge had been nice enough to him recently that someone should protect him. He was a bumbling oaf, but he didn’t deserve to be eaten by anything strange. At least not anymore.

  He had been right to come along. Somehow, Cecile hadn’t even noticed the shadows as they crept toward them. The primal mana beast had no idea how someone couldn’t see them, but it was obvious the Twinoge hadn’t. That had left him forced to spend their entire time on this strange world fighting hungry shadow creatures.

  Cecile was very lucky that he had brought all those tasty fruits with him and that the marmot was full of a long simmering rage, otherwise this might not have been worth it. Then again, he was responsible for all the great food the marmot had access to these days, so maybe he deserved to live for other reasons too.

  As their normal world came back into view, the marmot was left wondering something. Was this what that paladin had expected to happen? A memory played in his mind as he remembered his first real meeting with Dave and the others.

  The strange shape-shifting Paladin of Anarchy had stopped in the forest and pulled an odd-looking golden acorn out of nowhere. “Seems a weird request, but I said I’d do it, Jornlorn, and he’s certainly your heir, so I hope this does what you want,” he had said before planting the acorn where the world tree now stood.

  Was the Lighted Shadow Trade Conglomerate always evil, or had that been something it became as time went on? This is one of the great unknowns as we try to peel away the layers of history and infamy tied to it. In the earliest record of its existence, it was at least pretending to be a force for good as it arrived on Sertilz with weapons to fight the invasion of core beasts they were facing.

  The problem was that no one took the time to read the contracts they had signed in their haste to defend their home. And LSTC never forgets a contract.

  A History of the LTSC, multiple authors

  Invictus Shakes: A Gladiator Slice of Life

  by Mila Anemoia

  To taste glory, gladiators must bring a whole new flavor to the arena or die trying.

  Salve! Welcome to the Imperium Aeterna, where the gods decided to cut out a piece of ancient Rome and keep it to themselves. I'm Maximilia, owner of Invictus Shakes. You'll find my smoothie bar across from the realm's best gladiator school—the one started by the champion, who, funny story, also adopted me.

  Whatever the occasion, I've got the drink for you. Training hard? Fuel with the Fortis Aqua. Partying harder? Recharge and recover with the Raucous Bacchus! Won big betting on who died? Well, you can live it up like a god with real gold flakes. And I've also got the latest rumors to go with it.

  So, get this. People think the mysterious territories appearing are from the world we left behind. But what I want to know is what kind of warriors they'll have fighting in the next games. Because I'm already praying to the gods I don't end up handing them their last drink. There's a lot more to these gladiators than guts, glory, and good looks.

  Alright, stop staring at their muscles and...hey, eyes up here! So, what can I get you?

  Ingredients to expect:

  

  
• Slice of Life, drama & action


  
• Found family


  
• Gladiators vs other cultures


  
• Complex characters & relationships


  
• Flirting & romance/slow-burn


  
• Humor & tragedy