I'm liking the idea of this one! It'll be fun to explore the adventures of trolls newly getting accustomed to their species and romance~

~ CHAPTER 1 ~

Hope in a Young Male Auxiliatrice

Dwayne Gordon had always assumed something wasn't right about himself. It was just a feeling that was heightened in puberty and remained with him through all sixteen years of his life. He didn't know what it was and couldn't hope to put a finger on it. Sometimes he would catch his reflection in a hallway mirror and freeze in shock. Staring deeply into his face he would observe his straight ochre-brown hair and jade-green eyes. He looked perfectly normal and human, but he couldn't help the troubling thought that that was the problem. It was nonsensical. So while the persistent unease remained Dwayne learnt to ignore it. He would not give such ludicrous ideas his time of day, even if they probed quite anxiously at the back of his mind. On this night standing on the back porch of his house he would learn why he'd felt so different all his life. Dwayne's school friends liked to tell him he was weird, they often joked he was an alien. Little did anyone know that he was just that. Dwayne was an alien. A troll, said the giant stark-white moth monster with a skull for a head.

Dwayne had felt the monster's mental pull from inside his bedroom. He got up at night, slipped out the sliding door and peered into the forest his house sat in front of. The beast had crawled out and was huge but spoke directly into his mind as if psychically. Its voice was soft and reassuring however, sort of motherly. Dwayne was still far from calm despite the fact he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes were wide and he spoke in a nervous mumble.

"What are you?"

I am a virgin mother grub, came the psychic reply. My species is responsible for birthing your entire race. However I am the only one left and no longer capable of brooding. You must use the Matriorb inside me to hatch a new mother grub. Dwayne, you must resurrect our species.

He must be going completely bonkers. Yet he'd always felt estranged in his body and part of him believed this frightening monster. He couldn't believe he was actually believing this... but he was. It didn't stop the subtle shakes of his hands and the adrenaline pumping through his body full force.

"Why me...?" he almost whimpered. "Why did you choose me?"

I was uncertain at first that is was you, Dwayne. But there is no mistaking from your scent. You are a Jade Blood. Typically members of your rare caste are female but that is not always so.

"..."

Follow me. I will explain more to you on the way.

Its multiple legs teetered and then it flapped its wings, wind whipping up and jangling the array of chimes. Dwayne watched the beast rise into the air and then turn to sail over the forest. Dwayne could feel the mental tug again, it was pulling him into the bushland. Turning back he stared at his house, the lights were still off except for the porch. He'd known for years now that he was adopted, but had no idea just how different to his family he actually was. Moving down the steps Dwayne leaped into the shrubberies with no idea what he was doing. Running in the dark, moonlight filtered down through the canopy in ghostly-white uneven patches. There was silence except for the constant thudding of his bare feet against damp earth. He jumped around trees while pressing onwards, he knew in his mind the mother grub was flying above leading him.

Your race was a hostile one and its empress was determined to conquer every species in the galaxy. Space is vast however, and on the outskirts of her expanding empire came an even more ruthless and advanced species. Trolls were quickly eradicated and the home world destroyed. To prevent extinction groups of twelve trolls and a virgin mother grub were deployed to various foreign galaxies. The chances were slim, but our team made it.

"We came from another galaxy?" Dwayne had always been somewhat intrigued by sci-fi, and he knew all about the speed of light and its ramifications. "Isn't that impossible given the journey?"

We remained within kernels while awaiting our destination. Think of it as a form of cryosleep. You were given false bodies to assimilate with the indigenous species after we arrived.

Dwayne hesitated as the implications of this struck him.

"And there's... eleven others out there like me?"

Yes. One for each blood caste. It is necessary for the new mother grub to have the varying genetic material to recreate our society as similar to Alternia as possible.

"Where are the others?" he was at least happy to know he wasn't alone. Were they all the same age?

You will find the others, with my help. And yes, you were all from the same hatching.

Oh, she could read his mind.

Yes, I can.

Dwayne suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

Sorry.

He decided to continue speaking out loud anyway.

That is fine.

"You want me to hunt them down?"

Yes. It was a trial for me to find you, Dwayne. My body is very deteriorated. I may only live for a fortnight more. Before I die I will do my best to help you find as many as you can. And then by that stage you will hopefully be able to find them all with your fellows, including your new empress.

"You chose me because I'm a Jade Blood... but what does that actually mean?"

The social order of your species is divided into a hemospectrum. Jade Bloods have always had a special role in this society. In the past you were forced to behave as Auxiliatrices, which is to say tenders of the mother grubs in the brooding caverns who were never to see the surface. Therefore we have a connection. I wasn't overstating when I told you your race was hostile. As the instinctive nurturer you will be innately more even-tempered, more so especially than the castes belonging to the higher end of the spectrum. There is no other troll than you more suited to finding the others and keeping me alive long enough to share everything I know.

The reality was sinking in further and further. Dwayne was sure this was really happening now. He'd always taken an interest in helping professions. He'd thought about being a teacher and childcare worker before settling on becoming a nurse.

This does not surprise me.

How strange.

I could not set up a transportalizer for you, but I was able to transport the base close to your home. Obviously not by carrying it, I don't even have the strength left to carry you atop my back.

Dwayne was beginning to realise how sickly the poor creature must be.

"How long were you looking for me?" he wondered aloud.

Since you and the others entered the cusp of sexual maturity.

The branches parted and suddenly Dwayne was standing in a vast clearing. He was fully doused in moonlight yet again and stared at the glinting metal structure before him. It looked like a hive, it was the best word to describe it. The bus-sized creature landed on the ground beside him, Dwayne could tell that her thoughts were growing weaker.

Let us move inside. Out here I am prey, even to the smaller fauna of this planet. This set-up will be our base of operations.

This looks like a good length for chapters. What do you think about it so far? I thrive on feedback!