Okayyy, so fleshing out some Terrarian Lore. Trying to incorporate some of the town mechanics lol. Imma have a section summary at ch 50. This fic so loong. Amidas vs Guide. Guide is squatting behind a pillar like oh dam.

Armour:

Victide (Ranger)

Weapon: Mandible Bow (Jester Arrows); Arkhalis

Acc(11/11): Band of Regeneration, Amidas Spark, Sailfish Boots, Luxor's Gift, Ocean Crest, Amidas Pendant, Crown Jewel, Tsunami in a Bottle, Frog Leg, Aero Stone, Shield of the Ocean

Health: (400/400)

It took a great deal of practice to regain his 'land legs', if you would. There was a certain method by which denizens of the underwater kingdom could ambulate semi-reasonably on solid ground, and -having spent the past 10 years sleeping on the tongue of a giant clam- The Sea King was handily out of practice. His land lumber wasn't graceful by any means, nor was it natural to his physiology, but should The Sea King intend to command any semblance of respect during his time here - being able to move about without flopping like an infant sea snake was absolutely essential.

As such, he had spent a great deal of time splashing around The Guide's bathroom in preparation for this venture, and was quite proud of the way he managed to regally slither across the trimmed grass field. Yes, he had trailed water throughout The Guide's home - but knew his land dwelling roommate would readily forgive such a slight in exchange for regaining his privacy.

Fickle creatures, both of them.

Such was an unforeseen benefit of The Sea King's carefully planned actions. He had intentionally made himself intolerable to The Guide with the ultimate goal of straining the man's relationship with The Terrarian. The more desperate The Guide was to regain custody of his washroom, the more he would pester The Terrarian to build a castle for his despised rival.

Hm… and it seems The Guide has succeeded. But at what cost to himself?

Such a thing was obviously, and intentionally offensive. It was very clear from The Slayer's demeanor that, despite being young, naive and socially infantile, he harbored a great deal of pride in himself. Amidas deduced that his stoicism was moreso a product of conceit rather than shyness. The Terrarian simply couldn't bear to sully himself by interacting with 'lowly, useless creatures'. He appeared quite vain as well, not only concerning his armour (which he cleaned and replaced almost obsessively) but also of The Compound, which was clearly his handiwork. Amidas had watched The Terrarian compulsively demolish and rebuild the pavilion fireplace three times yesterday evening; the resulting structure was barely indistinguishable from its predecessor.

Childish… and perhaps easily manipulated.

But of course, The Terrarian certainly wouldn't have survived until now if he were alone. No Terrarian, not even the legends of old, could bear the weight of isolation. Many, many years ago, A Terrarian that Amidas had the pleasure to make an acquaintance of had explained they would rather expire than be left without their community. It was some sort of strange compulsion ingrained within them. A Terrarian was always the protector and provider of some small little backwater town. Perhaps it was a failsafe installed by The Creators to keep the war machines in check - to keep them rooted and occupied so they didn't ravage the land.

But this one… Perhaps he's a bit defective… hm…

And The Slayer - although he pretended to be cold, aloof and stoic - was unable to resist his programming. Amidas had observed The Terrarian from between the blinds of his bathroom window, and recognized this fledgling had done just the same as his predecessors… except instead of imprinting on his community (like he should have) he had chosen just a single man.

The Guide.

That cunning land dweller was the only person The Terrarian seemed to show any regard for. He alone was the object of The Terrarian's compulsion, and thereby commanded a tremendous imbalance of power. A town of thirty odd people of diverse background and ethnicity generally couldn't agree on any powerful directive, and therefore - although they held sway over their Terrarian, it was an influence that generally went unused. But for A single man, and one as cunning as The Guide? It was an enviable and exceededly weighty position - one that The Guide had yet to fully understand.

Much had been given him, and much was expected. The Slayer's focus was on The Guide only.

But clearly, that single minded focus was not reciprocated.

When The Guide had (incredibly stupidly) forced The Terrarian to kneel in The Sunken Sea - Amidas could nearly smell the outrage boiling off of the armoured figure. What a fruitful turn of events! Perhaps if The Guide enraged his Slayer enough, he would be abandoned and another could take his place.

Imagine? Having a Terrarian at your command? As far as The Sea King could recall, no Terrarian had ever served in an army. Old legends told of efforts to hire them, all of which had failed. There was an instance several hundred years back, where some poor dolt had attempted to force A Terrarian's hand by sending soldiers to hold their town hostage. That day, the skies had split over the Goblin's kingdom and burning sulfur thundered upon the offender. To this day, Goblin-kind saw Terrarians as a cursed existence.

He certainly is a Terrarian. He moves just like one - but… hm...

The Sea King had lived nearly six hundred years and during that time, only two other Terrarians had walked this earth. Amidas had seen them raze mountains. He had seen them build kingdoms. He had also seen them inexplicably vanish as mysteriously as they had appeared. They were amongst the land's greatest mysteries, and when anyone, even Kings, wanted something from them, they sought out the little town and begged on their knees. It was always 'my town' this, 'my people' that with those veritable monsters. Surely if they weren't so obsessed with their small kingdoms, they would have crushed nations.

But this one isn't leading his town. He cares more about the furniture then about the people. A broken specimen.

The Slayer, however… he was different. He seemed to be incomplete in this respect. Even faulty, as if his maker had run out of material to imbue him with all of his necessary traits. Unlike the predecessors of old, The Slayer wasn't the ruler of his own miniature kingdom. He had no community to protect. He didn't care a twat for those who lived in his compound (perhaps he also lacked in moral fibre), and thereby was not shackled to it. He was free to roam. Free to take commands. Free to fight wars.

Free to kill Tyrants…

No, The Slayer needed just one person, and he would go wherever that person led him. He was a war machine on a leash. An infant executioner who would eventually harbor enough power to shake nations. For the sake of his vengeance, Amidas, The Sea King, would seize the reins from The Guide's grasp. He would command The Slayer.

Yharim, your reign will soon come to an end.

The Sea King inclined his head and felt the cool air weave through his gill flaps. He raised his eyes and cleared his head. A mourning dove cood gently over the darkened treetops; the sound emanated through the mist before fading into silence. It was a calm, peaceable noise. A sharp contrast to the scraping clatter of construction within the castle that stood before him. Amidas observed the impressive silhouette it cut against the treeline and snorted. This castle was The Guide's undoing. The Sea King had maliciously encouraged him to yell and scream to get what he wanted, and it appeared his efforts had borne fruit… and likely pushed his prideful companion past the tipping point.

Every brick here was surely laid with seething hatred.

The time we ripe for The Sea King to make his offer. With flattering lips, he would puff up The Slayer's pride and cause him to spurn his Guide. Soon, this vain and naive creature would be Amidas' loyal warhound.

The grass folded beneath his weight as he scraped his tough belly scales up the stone steps and into the building. He grasped the doorway and pulled himself through to find The Slayer - in full battle regalia - hanging from the ceiling and detailing stonework with a wooden mallet.

He cleared his throat. The cloaked figure froze.

"Hello, Terrarian."

"Are we alone, Terrarian?"

"..."

He watched the fish-man carefully from behind his visor, doing his best to keep from trembling in rage. He mustn't forget his goal. The Guide had become extremely suspicious of him this morning after their brief conversation. It took a mere instant for that man to recognize The Sea King was their point of contention, and was evidently very worked up about it. Even now, The Guide was hiding behind the far pillar, his cheek pressed against the cold stonework as he stared at them from the darkness of his unlit corner. The Guide was surely here to watch him as he interacted with Amidas. Had he planned this entire encounter? Very likely. This was a test to earn The Guide's trust.

And - he naively rationalized - if he passed this test with The Guide in attendance, if he acted cordially and respectfully toward the object of his hatred, then when The Sea King turned up dead in several days time, there would be no reason for The Guide to pin the blame on him. Conversely, if he butchered this fish man right now... right in front of The Guide, then… well… what could happen to me?

...

It was best not to entertain such thoughts. The longer it rolled through his mind, the more violently that craven fear writhed in his guts. He could not be left alone. He would rather slit his own throat than be abandoned to wander his days in solitude. He needed his people. His compound… compound? No… His Guide. Was something wrong?

...

What a strange thing to suddenly pop into his mind. Perhaps it was the same compulsion that prompted him to rescue that strange pink haired woman last night from the spider caves, and later from the zombie horde. He didn't understand why he had rescued her, and that upset him. He disliked these various preposessions that were thrust upon him at seemingly random intervals: to trust The Guide, to slay dangerous creatures, now to rescue people? The Terrarian didn't necessarily dislike rescuing people; He was entirely apathetic towards the activity. Still, as a small act of rebellion, he left the pink haired woman on the ground that night. Whether she lived or died was no longer a concern of his.

"Terrarian. Young One."

He blinked back to attention and focused on The Sea King. The sea-dragon spoke and acted humanly, but his physical attributes were noticeably different from the others in The Compound. Instead of legs, he possessed a long, muscular tail whose surface shimmered with a coat of bright blue scales. His face wasn't as smooth nor expressive as The Guide's nor his own, but it was easy to see what sort of emotion he was attempting to convey.

And it seemed The Sea King wished to engage him in friendly conversation.

What a chore.

With a deep sigh, The Slayer vanished his mallet and repelled down from the ceiling. The gem hook clicked mechanically in his grasp; he felt the diamonds moving beneath his palm as he slowly lowered himself to the floor. He hopped off, and his armoured soles made a loud clacking noise against the impeccable gray bricks he had spent last night meticulously laying. The Sea King was standing there with what was passable as a smile painting his spiny, reptilian face. He had tracked a trail of fluid into his beautiful building, and The Slayer had to swallow the desire to immediately throw him out, and begin scrubbing the floor.

Instead, he loosened his tongue and tried to be polite - casting a sideways glance at The Guide's corner as he spoke.

"Sea King... Hello."

Amidas had two sets of eyelids which flashed glasslike over his pupils in a decidedly hypnotic fashion. He blinked twice then nodded solemnly and exhaled from his nostrils. He tapped the side of his nose knowingly.

"Tell me, Young One, is there anybody listening nearby?"

The Terrarian paused, momentarily confused as to how The Sea King knew he could track people by smell. After a moment, he decided that The Guide must have told him… but if The Guide knew, why was bothering to hide? Ah. This was far too confusing. The Terrarian gave up the mental exercise and lied.

"...No."

"Good. I have something to discuss with you. I will keep it terse, as it appears you still find conversation burdensome. Listen," The Sea King fixed him with a pointed and disapproving stare. "You are not behaving in a fashion becoming of your pedigree."

"..."

The Terrarian just stared blankly at him from behind his visor. Did this fish man simply come here to criticize him? If only The Guide weren't here, he would have already butchered Amidas a hundred times over. Instead, The Terrarian gripped his fists and did his best not to fidget for his blade. The Sea King observed him calmly before continuing.

"But of course, you cannot be blamed. You wouldn't know the legends of old, Young One. Terrarians… do not bow their heads to anyone. Not Kings and Not gods."

The fish-man sighed.

"... I simply cannot imagine what The Guide is thinking. Nobody in history has ever treated A Terrarian like a slave. I am amazed by him for his gall."

The Sea King pinned him with his stare. He blinked once more.

"I am amazed by you for your tolerance."

Demolitionist: Lads, I saw a blue Seadragon swimmin' through the grass this morning

Merchant: You obviously drank too much last night.

Arms Dealer: Are you snorting glowing mushrooms?

Demo: ... lads.

LMFAO Nosy Guide keeping Amidas Alive.

Notes: Slayer has been a bit vain and conceited. He's got a great deal of pride for an infant. kevk. Amidas is not helping 1) Recall The Slayer's Origin. He's the second, unintentional summon from the Vulture-Headed Mage' ritual. The first summon was taken away. Slayer appeared afterwards with the leftover magic. 2) I wanna hug The Guide so bad. He's listening in on this like nooooo. 3) So quick recap because it's a bit confusing and I'm a shit writer. A) T knows Guide is hiding in the Building, listening in on this. He thinks he's just watching to make sure T is nice to Amidas. T wants to give a good impression, because he wants to kill Amidas and not have the blame fall on him. He lies and says nobody is around, because he doesn't want The Guide to know that he can smell him B) Amidas thinks he's talking to T Alone and is literally boutta say some shit about the Guide to break up the bromance. His whole 'Build me a castle stunt' was also to break bromance. He has been watching the relatinship between these guys since the beginning C) Guide had no idea until now that Amidas was actually plotting against him. He only finds out now because he's eavesdropping.

It's like a love triangle lmao, where two guys fight over the cute girl

And in a few chaps, Big Betty is gonna blow the 'cute girl' into hamburger mash.

yey

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