Murk

It was a bright and sunny day. Birds were chirping, cats were killing mice or anything smaller than themselves, dogs were chasing mail people, and gunshots were heard from various locations around the city. The city was large, very large. Covering nearly two states and creeping into another state. It was the place to live and work, scientific explorations happen every day and no one seemed to care about the ramifications of what was going to happen.

Underneath all the joyful hubbub of the city and its holier than thou personality, lay dark secrets, because what massive city doesn’t have dark and gritty secrets worth trying to keep from the light of day. Labs dot the underground like sewers and unholy experimentation happened to unsuspecting volunteers waiting to see who they can help. But it was mix-match of good experiments with bad, but no one really cares about the good experiments, the problems that were solved from these acts. All people, once they catch a whiff of a bad apple is, try to oust it, expose it for the gritty and horrible thing that it is. Some ignore the blatant mockery of a society that happens around them and want to live their lives. But sometimes, ignoring things can lead to a downfall……

“This thing…what do you call it?” A businessperson said to a scientist, who looked worn and emotionally done with everything that they had been put through just to get the right algorithms to create this…goop…for the businessperson to sell as a beautifying cream. They nodded, hoping the person wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and put it on. The scientist may have done some experimenting on various creatures to see how it effects them and honestly…a tap on their leg from a fuzzy leg had them freezing, knowing that if the businessperson saw the result of one of the experiments…Dear lord in heaven preserve them, they thought as the idiotic businessperson slathered the goop on their face and then began screaming, gurgling as the goop began to assimilate them into a much simpler substance. The scientist scooped up the cat sized spider and placed it someplace high, petting the small bioluminescent crystal that protruded from its abdomen.

It looked…sad, it…no, her eyes looked sad to see them do what they needed to do. They gave a smile, forlorn smile before saving others like her. A hawk, an owl, a raven, a multitailed fox, a cat, a lion, a snake, a wolf, and a small dragon, the last was purely accidental experiment with a snake and the goop. They all looked at the scientist with sad eyes, they were sad, they didn’t want to see their creator try and stop this horrible anomaly but who else had the knowledge to stop it, except their creator. There were many others like them, but their creator only had time to rescue them from whatever was going to happen. A rough and raspy feminine voice sounded close to them.

“No good, come from staying. Leave, survive, in big world, we do. Creator want us live, for us.” A skittering hiss sounded at the end, signaling that it was the spider that spoke. Each one of them had a raspy and rough voice, nothing smooth. Until the dragon spoke. “The outside world may not accept us for what we are. We are abnormal creatures in the eyes of the world, nothing that they would understand and feel compassionate over. We need to hide, find a place to call our own before coming out. The others may follow or go their own ways, it matters not with me. We leave.” The dragon had a smooth tone, much like their creator, and the other animals followed the little dragon to an abandoned lab, big enough for them to sleep in and learn their budding abilities.

The raven had come in handy as it, no he, acted like a radio for the outside world, reporting on what was happening on day to day things. The goop had gotten out of control and had spread to the outside, much too quickly, but oddities were forming. People thought to die weren’t harmed by it, but they were sick and pus-like modules dotted their bodies. The fox turned his head whenever such a report was made, the cat and spider sympathizing with him.

They had grown very little in terms of size, but in manners of strength, they were growing fast and deadly. The cat and spider both were future seers, one using her natural webs to ‘see’ events of the future, while the other used cards to ‘see’ future events. The owl became a walking library for them as all manner of electronics were scattered about and still functional, her mind keen absorbing all sorts of information and making all sorts of notes on all their abilities. The fox was able to heal wounds but only small ones as they often had to fight to know what ability worked best under what condition. But oddly enough, he could cure people of their sickness and the pus-like modules, as one such person stumbled upon their little home.

Agony, all the couple knew was agony. Both emotionally and mentally. People ridiculed them for being monsters and abominations for sinning in the face of the lord, but the couple had survived an attack by one of those monsters, why were they monsters instead of those inky black shambling corpse like things? Why were they the ones being ridiculed instead of being helped? Because no one wanted to help them. The world had turned its back on those like them. And so, the couple decided to go to an abandoned quiet place to wait out whatever was happening to them. Maybe then they could have the peace they so wished for.

They had come upon a massive lab that seemed to have various items and such scattered around. This would be their home. It was big enough for them, and any…children they would have, if they weren’t sterile. The thought of not having children was devastating to them, the world was dying, and the population was decreasing monthly, with estimates saying it would be biweekly that the population would decrease. The entire world was ending. The woman of the couple hiccupped and began to cry softly, while the man gently rubbed her shoulders, trying to soothe her. They had seen others like them; men, women, children, and even babies. Society no longer would accept them, and no one would help them from this agony.

A whimper, much like an animal, resounded close by. The couple huddled close to each other, for fear of something frightening. And out came the fox, whimpering at feeling their emotions, and wanting to help them, whatever it took, to help them. It was low to the ground, whimpering and trying to nonthreatening as possible to the couple. The woman cooed and picked the fox up, cuddling it closely to her chest, petting it as she recounted having a pet dog much like it, while going back and sitting next to her husband. The fox gained a name, Kuroi Tsuki, meaning Black Moon in Japanese. The couple hadn’t noticed that the pus-like modules were disappearing, and their agony was disappearing. Until Kuroi Tsuki wiggled out of the woman’s grasp and bound off into the massive lab, out of sight.

The woman had reached her hand out, and noticed the modules were gone, and felt no agony. She looked to her husband and cried tears of joy, they were cured, but…how…It clicked in her head, the fox cured them. She stood up, walked a few feet into the lab, came to an intersection of broken laboratory items, and knelt on her knees (Saiza style), calling to Kuroi Tsuki. The fox appeared but also other animals came forward. The couple discovered the animals could talk and converse. The cat was the first to talk and tell to bring who they could to them. Only small numbers, as Kuroi Tsuki wouldn’t be able to cure them if massive amounts of people to be cured.

The word spread fast, but only to those who were likened to the couple. Kuroi Tsuki was busy with curing people, while the cat, now named Billee, only asked for small numbers to come, and give advice on where to go from there. They all had names, except the spider. She was content to be nameless for a time, they were growing in size and the lab was becoming too small for them to learn any new abilities. That’s when most of the animals went to the surface, while the spider stayed behind. The lab was perfect for her, as she had plans for it. While the others went and did heroic and, sometimes idiotic, simplistic tasks to help those above. The spider went to work, the lab was much too small for her tastes, but it was a start to build a web. The others would come and visit, bringing news from the outside to her. Bodies of water were spared being corrupted by their creator’s invention, but other nations were in danger, people like the couple being rounded up and being killed for bringing this upon the people.

“Go to them, and save them. Kuroi Tsuki can help them but few will stay where they feel they are home. Baem, Lupu, Kuroi Tsuki, and Billee, remain. Everyone else, you can do what you want. You four will not come back to the city, Billee would know where she will reside. Kuroi Tsuki, you will call a valley home, those you have cured will build a temple for you, to reside in. Allow them, but once you become dormant, the one who sounds the Zither will be the one to awaken you, do not fear what may come.

Baem, you will call a jungle home. Vast and deep are its roots, but among them are ruins to which you can hide away in. Use any amount of small spaces and root system to remain undetected. Place riddles and traps anywhere you see fit, for the one who awakens you will be stout of mind and body.

Lupu, the cold mountains call you to make them your home. Ruins of man’s great churches will dot them, make one your home and do whatever it takes to defend your den. Use the element of mist, fog, and the chill to your advantage, and do not skimp on the traps.

Billee, the sands call to you. You know where they are and will reside within them, try anything at your disposal and I wish you the best of luck.” The spider spoke, sitting on her web, a singular leg touching strands of web to see what the future can hold as it is never set in stone, and it is constantly changing. She only wished her siblings the best of luck as the future seemed dark and foreboding. Once everyone seemed to leave, the dragon remained. He set himself before the spider and asked a singular question.

“Is the future bright or dark?”

“Dark, so very dark. No amount of light can penetrate it. These beings…they are like us, but so, so…destructive and volatile. They have no mind for compassion, no moral reasoning, nothing that is remotely human.” The spider said, shifting restlessly on her web. She disliked talking about the future she had seen, it had caused many a headache to find a different path, something that would allow the world to survive. And a brightness filtered through her sight. Warmth like the sun and powerful in all its radiance. Glittering scales reflecting the very sun and azure skies above. Horns akin to a deer but never fully reaching such an impressive degree, jutted from the head towards the sky as whiskers waved in the wind from their jutting place of near the nostril. Shaped like a horse and a long tail, the dragon was an impressive image to gaze at but why was she seeing this…

“I will not allow this future to come to pass. I will brighten the skies and light these beings ablaze with my fire! The Myrkr deserve to live as much as we do in this world! The world will not DIE, not now, not ever! I will pave a path to a brighter future!” He said, starting soft before roaring out his statement. The spider was awed by such a speech, giving a skittering hiss.

“Then I would follow you into this new day. But you alone cannot rule the Myrkr, they would only follow someone akin to them. Hmm…Contractors, those who are bonded to us will be known as…Contractors. Go, chose one among the Myrkr to be yours, they will be king or queen of the Myrkr. They will rally the rest to bond with the others.” The spider said, giving what would be a smile to her fellow creature. The dragon bowed his head, and flew out of the hole he and his fellows made to get out of the lab. She waited for him to be out of hearing range before shaking herself a bit. Little spiderlings came crawling out of the various webbings and nooks they had hidden themselves in.

“Mama? Were they your friends?” One spiderling said, laying on her head, and she chuckled.

“Yes, my dears, they are my friends. Now and forever. The future maybe bright, Conrí, but do you have the strength to make a decision that could cost the trust of the Myrkr? Hm…Children, let us plan on how to help my friends with fighting these beings.” The spider said, making a question out loud, before addressing her children again. The future was bright, but it was shaped by the actions they took in the present. She wouldn’t allow such a future to pass, the dark beings…she closed her many eyes and mentally sighed. She didn’t want to think on it, but such things had to come to pass. Out of all the experiments done to them, she and the others were able to retain their minds when the inky substance was introduced to them. Others…They were unable to retain their minds from the aggressive and hostile goop, becoming as they are today.

Myrkr were call them; she and the others that had minds akin to them, Titans. While those without minds yet had abilities like them, Behemoth titans. Below those were behemoths, territorial beings that were alike the behemoth titans but without powers and below them would be the humanoid hive minded Sludges. Sludges vary with category, but they all share a hive mind like mentality.

The spider hummed a bit in thought. It’s been many years since they had first set foot outside their home lab, but time seemed to loosen its grip on her and the others, like they were outside time’s grip. But she turned her thoughts back to the future. Conrí was going to lead a charge against these beings, but would it be enough? She looked around the lab she and others called home for many years, it was time to move, someplace else and bigger…If she could smile, she could.

She knew just the place. She gathered her children and left the nest they had come to call home; they ate sludges while on the way to their new home, before they came upon it. A rundown old building with lettering, something beauty. The spider could smile at the thought of making the old home into her nest, and she set about making it her nest, making adjustments here and there so her children could flourish and grow. Some excelled at weaving webs and predicting the future from among its threads, they were known as web readers. Others were categorized into assault, stealth, and interrogation. In the time spent moving and making her nest, she had grown to nearly 4 stories tall, and her speed didn’t diminish with her increased size either. Once everything was done and finished, she had some of her children clear some rubble that covered her original home, finding it nearly intact aside from the skeleton of her creator and the idiotic businessperson. A gurgling was heard from the goop below her and her eight eyes narrowed, her children that weren’t versed in combat scattered. A bear like paw emerged from the goop, massive and trying to swipe at anything that was within reach, before another emerged, followed by the head and body.

It reared up on its hind legs and gave a roar but its roar was silenced quickly by the spider, who had lunged forward and stabbed her massive fangs into its throat, retreating when the bear’s paws tried to swipe at her. She mentally ordered her children to retreat and allow her to handle the situation, but they were allowed to investigate the ruined lab at their leisure. The bear’s sights were set on her and her alone. She just had to get the damned mammal to get moving. Slow at first, before it began ambling after her as she retreated further and further away. The poison injected was working its wonders, dissolving everything from the inside out, but the being would feel no pain until their breath was no more, dissolved into acid. She lead the bear outside and climbed upward faster than it could track her, and watched as it lunged out the entrance and collapsed in a heap, its skin and bones turning to acid. Everything around it responded to the sudden change and became resistant to the acid, which made the spider very happy to have something protecting her home in the front. She thought and began to tug bits and pieces of building to secure a ledge for her to walk out to, or any contractor she would have.

Once it was secured by her webbing, she went back inside and received lots of reports from her children on the various things they found, but what they didn’t understand was a small cage that had the name Damhán Alla on it. It felt familiar in a sense to them, but they couldn’t connect the dots. The spider chuckled and knew it was her name. She just hadn’t told anyone else about it, not even the others. She could, in theory, gleam into the past for a few short moments but that was it. She had learned her name that way and left it at that. She would gain no knowledge from the past, Billee would be the only one to be able to gleam more of the past than she could. She told her children that it was her name, and they could name themselves. And so, they did begin naming themselves. She touched her massive web, once she got back to it, and mentally frowned. Events were not heading into the bright future Conrí wanted. They all had a contractor but…they were losing the war. The Myrkr were still divided and such…She hummed in thought and searched her own web to find a contractor, to help her friends to win this war…She found one, a lone child and…She looked up from her web reading to feel the vibrations of an explosion. A massive one…Her eight eyes widened when her right foreleg touched the web to get what had happened. Conrí had found others likened to him, Mythical creatures, and they had made a conjoined nest, that nest was now…Gone. She knew right away she had to help; the future wasn’t heading into that bright future Conrí envisioned. She would careless about a contractor, her friends needed her help more than anything!

~With Conrí~

Conrí snarled at the behemoth titans that had dared decimate his home. They had dared to kill him and others mythical titans like him! All because they weren’t the rightful rulers of the world. He would not stand for it! Everything in this world will not end! He will not allow them to win, not now, not EVER! A behemoth titan lion raised its abnormal sized paw and brought it down, intending to crush his skull as he had been stunned by the explosion, but a faint skittering hiss and a massive crash, followed by a roar with a high pitched banish like hiss deafening it out. Small skittering noises were heard by his head as he felt and saw little spiderlings crawling all over him, spinning webs of spider silk to patch him up.

“Quite sorry for not arriving soon, King Conrí. Mother was trying to look for a contractor, but the threat of these beings was more paramount than finding a contractor. My siblings are tying up any gashes and such, we don’t heal. Only Kuroi Tsuki can do that. Let’s get moving while mother has that thing distracted.” A spiderling said, saying it softly into his ear and he had to agree. He had tried to face these behemoth titans on his own but it in all his wisdom, he was an idiot for doing that. He looked at the beings being occupied by the spider titan and barely managed to escape when the behemoth titan lion tried to leap onto his back, but the spider wouldn’t allow it, using her bulk to slam into it and tie its paws and legs to the ground, before retreating herself.

Conrí lead the way to where his contractor and the others waited. The spider keeping up with him almost the entire way there, but he lost sight of her after he increased his speed when the bond between his contractor and him sparked back to life. He was such a fool, entering battle without allies and thinking the other Mythos titans would help him. They were just like him, foolish and stupid, most paying for their ignorance with their lives while others were forced into dormancy. He stopped as he saw the building and almost collapsed but the spider was able to catch him, bring him to the top. King Yun, his contractor, ran to him and ready to flay the spider but a tail slammed in front of him, signaling Kuroi Tsuki was on hand.

“Conrí, please tell me why this spider saved you? It could’ve been allied with the Behemoth titans!” King Yun said/exclaimed.

“Its best if I tell my tale, Conrí. Greeting King Yun of the Myrkr. I am Damhán Alla, spider titan. I weave webs but upon my webs I have seen the future. Events are leading to a bulkhead; we either stand together to defeat these behemoth titans, or fall as a separated people to them, ending any and all sentient life on Earth. Do you have the strength to cast aside your doubts and plead with your people to help bring peace? Each titan has made a nest but all except mine have been destroyed, they wish to get back at the behemoth titans for trying to destroy their way of life. Do you have what it takes to unify your people? No matter how many times they are willing to humiliate you?” The spider titan, Damhán Alla, said, staring at the king with her eight eyes and he felt small, even compared to Conrí. The vast amount of wisdom he saw in her eyes, yet such sadness…He steeled his resolve. He would bring peace, and everyone will embrace it!

Within a few months, all titans and Myrkr were joined in forces against the behemoth titans. It was a long and tiring war, but in the end, they had won. Titans and Myrkr won, but oddly, no one seemed to remember how they won. Only a great light and much screaming. All titans went their, somewhat, own ways; Kuroi Tsuki came upon a valley and called it home before becoming dormant, Baem had slithered his way to a vast jungle and called it home before slumber called him, Lupu found his way to the frozen mountains and called it home before rest called him into sweet oblivion, and Billee had found her home and place of slumber.

Damhán Alla went back to her nest, remaining there as she had no place within the courts of Conrí, yet. Miyisis, Hrafn, Uggla, Eláfi, and Vanags were now part of the dragon titan’s courts. She placed a couple legs on her web, to feel which way the future will go. A third leg joined in and she got her answer, chuckling to herself at how Conrí handled King Yun. But the future was becoming dark, except a pinprick of light was still there, standing fast against this darkness. She wanted to peer closer, to see if this thing was a person or a being. Brightness erupted from behind her eyes, making her wince and shake her head in pain. But it didn’t stop, a faint child giggle caught her attention and her mind reached out to it with her left foreleg, and her great body slumped gently to her web. Her own children felt the sensation and came to her, before one poked and prodded her but she did not waken. She breathed still, but…

“We stay within the nest. Mother has gone into slumber and we must do our part in the future. We make ready for whatever mother plans.” Emile said, one of the web readers and each web reader said the same thing, stay within the nest and prepare for whatever Damhán Alla plans. All her children agreed, they would do whatever it took to make their mother proud. While in her head, the spider titan dreamed of a little girl of bright blonde hair and brown eyes…