Chapter 1
997.M41
"It started like all major life changing events do, at least according to this not so honest Commissar. With a quiet morning and an evening glass of amasec. Of course, at the time I had very little idea of what could have possibly happened that night, in fact I was quite content after a fairly average and calm day where the worst form of danger I could be exposed to was rowdy cadets. That was the perk of retirement after all, no more suicidal charges, no more getting shot at and best of all no more getting assigned to a task each more dangerous than the last by a generals office determined to martyr the 'Hero of the Imperium.'"
"Of course, at the time if I had known what I would be waking up to I would have gladly come out of retirement and thrown myself into the very first charge available to myself. But, at the time I was merely more concerned with a good night's rest and enjoying my retirement to its fullest."
Ciaphas Cain
To be quite honest, I should have noticed something was wrong almost immediately now that I think back on it. After all, how hard would it be to notice that one had changed forms overnight? Though I suppose a bit of leniency is deserved in this case, as I wasn't exactly in the most stable and safe of locations to make those casual observations. The scent of blood in the air and the feeling of being quite wet was the first thing I distinctly remember noticing, its stench being one I don't think I ever will truly forget, even in all my long years. The second thing I noticed was the screaming… no, screaming is a poor word to describe it, more like the sound of a thousand voices joined together in a bellow of pure hatred, reminded me of the Orcs in all honesty. The third and final thought into my mind is that whatever orgy of slaughter was occurring nearby was something I needed to head in the exact opposite direction of.
Attempting to stand is when I noticed the first of many issues, mainly being that I couldn't. Looking down into the water I'd been lying in my face contorted into an expression of horror, as what I saw gazing back at me was completely alien. A clearly nonhuman scaled face, a light grey in color with a snout and several sharp fangs, a set of curved horns and a pair of wings was what stood out the most to me at first, followed by the bladed tail and the four legs ending in paws. And yet through it all I still had my old cap upon my head, my greatcoat and even that old set of carapace armor I'd kept from Gravalax all those years ago. I even had my trusty chainsword and laspistol, though how I'd use them was an unknown factor, but I think the familiarity did me some good. As if acting in the slim chance that what laid before my eyes was merely some cruel trick I reached up to confirm with my own eyes, and what I bore witness to confirmed my fears. Whatever seemed to have happened was indeed real, or at least fake enough to fool me and trust me when I say I've gotten quite experienced at finding out things that one might miss at first glance. To my mild disconcertment I appeared to have lost my augmented fingers, something I wasn't sure if I should be happy or disappointed over.
A renewal of the hellish bellowing and a loud crash somewhere in the distance was enough to rip me from my thoughts, the sound seeming much closer this time. "Emperor damn it…" I muttered to myself, attempting once more to stand once more and placing more concentration on standing with four legs as opposed to two. After a few more failed attempts I managed it, letting out a sigh of relief as I finally took the time to give the room I was in a quick once over. The walls were made of a blackish substance, possibly a type of brick though I was hard to tell in the darkness, the ceiling was curved giving off the impression of a cavern of some sort and I was surrounded by a series of multicolored oval shaped objects, difficult to identify in the lowlight. At the opposite end of the room appeared to be a heavy looking door of some kind where the noises were coming from, and closer to me appeared to be a darkened tunnel. As I took all of this in I could hear what sounded like a series of rapid footsteps approaching the door, at least seven - possibly eight individuals and the sound of muffled speaking before the door started to move.
Looking swiftly for anyplace I could hide I spot an alcove to my left, curved in such a manner as not to be directly seen from the door. Dashing quickly, (1). I manage to slide into cover just as the door opens, light being cast into the darkened room by a group of primate-like creatures of which two were holding what seemed to be torches to light the way.
'You waz right boss, der'z dozens of eggs 'ere. King Gaul'll reward us for sure.' One of the Xenos says, speaking in what appeared to me as thickly accented and guttural low gothic (2). 'I told you so, serves you to remember that Pazum is always right.' Says the largest of the group, likely the leader from my interpretation.
After the Xenos move further into the room and I shift around in the alcove to remain out of sight I hear the leader speak again, 'Well lads, this seems to be the final bunch. Might as well get to it then.' before I begin to hear a series of guttural shouts followed by a series of smashes and wet crunches, followed by the scent of blood.
After a few seconds a slow dawning horror overcame me, those oval shaped objects spread throughout the room weren't some meaningless decoration or rocks, but eggs of some kind. Of my own newly transformed species if my guess was to be correct and these Xenos seemed to be having a damned good time smashing them up. Knowing what I do now, and looking back on it I do believe this was to be one of the worst mistakes of my life. I am not a good person, and I'd be the first to admit it, but those Xenos little known to me at the time could've been easily slaughtered by a PDF trooper, let alone myself. And yet I made the choice to remain hidden, they were unknown to me and I was in a new body that I could barely walk with let alone fight, though on the other hand I made a choice I still struggle to decide on whether it was His Divine Will or my own guilt .
Taking a peak from my outcove I saw the Xenos smashing apart dozens of eggs, the floor being covered in a mixture of blood, fluids and the broken bodies of an extremely miniaturized version of myself. Looking closer I spot a singular black egg, separated from the rest. 'Emperor damn it…' I think to myself, taking one last look to see the Xeno's attention focused on the other side of the room. After a seconds more hesitation I made my choice, quickly reaching out and pulling the egg into my hiding location.
'Oi, boss. Didya 'ear that?' One of the xenos says, making me freeze in place, not even daring to breathe. 'Sounds like it came from over there.' the voice said, followed by a series of rapidly approaching footsteps. Just as I was about to leap out of my location, weapons in hand a several second long blast of a horn interrupted the approaching Xenos, followed by the loudest bellow I had heard yet.
'Forget it, the King'll have our hides if we ignore the rally call, and no dragon would've chosen to hide over protectin' eggs.' The leader of the Xenos says, followed by several affirmative grunts from the other sycophants. For several more nerve racking seconds I remained still, until finally I heard the footsteps retreat, joining the others as they started to exit the room.
I must've waited for at least an hour after they left, hardly daring to move as I heard all sorts of noises through the now shut door. From bellows of victory, to what I could only perceive as some sort of monumental battle to a roar of anger and sorrow filled with hate it makes me shudder to this day just thinking of it.
Eventually the noises died down and I built up enough confidence to leave my little hiding spot, bearing witness to the true amount of havoc the Xenos had reaped upon the defenseless eggs. I'm not too proud to say that a bolt of pity passed through me then, staring at the blood-caked ground and crushed eggshells. 'Better them than me,' I reasoned with myself, but still that pesky feeling of guilt refused to leave me. Taking a deep breath I go to exit the room, down the tunnel I had witnessed earlier before I paused, turning back to gaze at the small black oval - egg I corrected myself that I had saved earlier. For a few moments I contemplated it, there was no real reason I had saved it. In fact everything that was well, me had screamed all at once to not risk my life - it wasn't my species, not my problem; and yet I saved it anyways. I stare at it for a few more seconds before I sigh and scoop it up, using my red commissarial sash as a makeshift sling to comfortably carry it.
'You'd better be worth it…' I muttered to myself as I started to walk down the dark tunnel. (3)
For what must have been at least an hour I walked, covering at least several kloms(4) of ground before I started to feel a slight breeze and the general structure of the ground I walked upon started to lead upwards. Upon noticing this I'll admit I hastened myself quite substantially, eventually spotting an exit to the tunnel I'd been following. A small, inconspicuous exit set upon the side of a hill, near a small lake was what greeted me, all lit by the bright light of the moon and the burning structure several kloms behind me. For several minutes I stared, quite enraptured and I distinctly remember the feeling that I was witnessing a true tragedy and yet had no idea why it was one.
Nonetheless, I decided that sightseeing was a fast tracked way to getting oneself killed, especially when there were hostile entities about, and quickly set off into the nearby forest to put as much ground between me and anything that wanted to see my head on a stick as possible. The forest itself was fairly nice, I would admit though a bit too unknown for my tastes. Unfortunately I didn't really have time to take in the sights as I was as previously mentioned vacating the area as fast as my new four legged body could move. Which, now that I was out of life threatening danger and actually thinking about the process of walking is when instinct decided to stop holding my hand so to speak.
'Emperors bowels!' I curse, tripping once more over my own legs and landing face first in the dirt. For a few seconds I laid there, immobile before I went to check the egg's condition.
'At least you're still in one piece, eh?' I mutter to myself, 'Would hate to have risked my life for nothing. Though it remains to be seen if you're something that I ought to have let be smashed in the first place.'
After a few more minutes of muttering to myself, I stand once more deciding to take a new method of attack on this 'walking' issue. I recall my memories of how the horses of the rough-riders would walk, I certainly got the arse-end view of them more than enough times for one life. Shakily extending one of my front legs forward, I then move a back leg in sync, repeating the process for the other two legs. After trying this process a few more times, and only face planting once more I managed to get into a functional, if shaky rhythm of movement. After this I established a fairly functional pattern of movement and managed to cover fairly good ground, at least until the adrenaline finally faded and exhaustion started to kick in. By this point in time I had been awake for around 24 hours (5) with I estimate two hours of interrupted sleep. So it became my next immediate priority to find shelter.
Thankfully my search didn't last too long, else I might've just passed out on the ground, and that would've been quite the disaster. Spotting a small burrow within the ground I carefully approach, scanning the area for any signs of life of which I detected none of after a thorough look. Deciding the place was safe enough I squeezed inside, seeing an inside a fair bit larger - and deeper than the outside.
I settled down on the farthest wall from the entrance, in a position where I would be able to see it and something coming wouldn't be able to immediately see me. Taking off the medals adorning my great coast and pulling a bit of string out of my inner shirt, I jury rig a quick noise trap at the entrance to alert me of anything's approach. The process took far longer than I'd have cared for, but it was worth it for the added security.
With that completed I finally laid down and went to get a proper night's rest, laying the egg beside me on its sash sling and taking a long look it before I fell asleep.
'You better have been frakking worth it…' I mutter for the final time before drifting off.
1To this day I believe it was some sort of instinct of this new body that kept me from stumbling and falling, as I certainly struggled for quite awhile once I wasn't in direct danger
2Still to this day I have no knowledge of what sort of Warpcraft or 'magic' was inflicted upon myself in order to let me understand the native languages of this land.
3Now, to some it may be strange as to why one would choose the dark tunnel over the lit room and my reasoning is quite simple. As a born and raised hiver I was quite comfortable within tunnels, especially underground ones and I had more confidence that I could handle any issues within said tunnel than outside of it. And I think a not quite so small part of me was yearning for the familiarity of it.
4As a colleague of mine likes to remind me, not everyone is familiar with Valhallan euphemisms, so I'll elaborate. Klom is shortened for kilometer, something I picked up in my many years of service with Valhallan guard regiments
5I had been dealing with an extremely serious disciplinary issue the past night or so, some Cadets decided it would be a genius idea to raid the Acolyte Sister's dorms for their undergarments. Of course I remember doing similar in my days as a juvee, but their mistake was getting caught. And trust me, saving them from the punishment the enraged Sister Superior wanted them to have was quite the task indeed.
A.N
I do not own anything from the 'Legend of Spyro' 'Spyro' or 'Warhammer 40k' franchises.
So, it has been a while, but I'm back now with a new story and a desire to pursue writing as my main hobby. Next chapter should be better as I'll have access to my P.C and won't have to type the entire thing on my iPhone.
Remember to leave a review if you so please, they do make me smile.
