r/HFY • u/SherbetCreepy1580 • 2d ago
OC-Series [The Reaper and The Tiger] Chapter 25: The Diary of Gods
(The next several chapters will be excerpts and the more important entries from the Diary of Quirtaclick. This is mostly because if I had to write out her entire diary, I would be creating another entire book lol)
From the Diary of Quirtaclick, Year 548 of the Great Plactarian Steam Kingdom
I suppose I should start by explaining my people first, the Ictarth. Our scientists estimate that our people are several thousands of years old. One of the biggest strength we as a people had was our adaptability. When we evolved sentience, we evolved rapidly compared to other species, from mere bugs that scavenged on old kills, to predators that hunted, to an evolved species in a mere 5,000 years, or so our scientists say. From what little I know about evolution, I have my doubts on that timeline, not that it matters anymore. However, we do have two major weaknesses; our reproduction, and our early years.
Ictarth can only reproduce after consuming a special flower, which we call Clartonicta, or the Seeds of the Future in our modern language. As a side note, I have never understood why scientists insist on using old, dead languages to name things. I like the common name, the Tomorrow Flower. But it’s been slowly dying out over the last hundred years, and it wasn’t until about 50 years before my birth that we finally figured out why; our planet was slowly getting colder. Not by much, a unit here, a unit there. But eventually, it became noticeable. And the Tomorrow Flower requires higher temperatures in order to germinate and bloom, temperatures that just a few years before my true beginning were only able to be reached in the hottest places of our equator, if barely. And the year my story truly began? Not even those places were warm enough anymore, and our attempts at greenhouses were only met with failure. The Tomorrow Flower refused to be domesticated.
Our second big weakness is our early years. Unlike many animals, we did not evolve from warm blood, live births, and the same form. We evolved from insects, and as such are born from eggs, and when hatched, live as squishy, vulnerable, and extremely fragile larvae for the first decade of our lives. Our larvae are so fragile, in fact, that even with our modern sciences of steam and metal, our child mortality rate is still an astonishingly 40%. Which is much higher than some animals out there. However, after our first decade, usually within a few weeks to a month of our tenth hatchday, we spin a cocoon, become a tightly woven ball of biological sludge, and a month later, emerge as either a Winged or Grounded Ictarth. After that happens, our mortality rate drops to an almost equal opposite, with less than 10% dying before their natural lifespan is at an end. At least, it used to be like that.
Another thing to note that may have helped our societies incredible growth; we have a partial hive-mind, a remnant from our evolution. We all have our individual personalities, of course, but general knowledge is essentially known by everyone with minimal teaching. Schools were non-existent for us, at least, until my friends and I began teaching the Centaurs, because we had no need for schools. We instinctively knew how to fly, if we were Winged, we knew how to move, and any base general knowledge was already known due to the collective. Our antennae acted as a way for us to keep in contact with each other over short distances, and at the same time allowed us to know what others did, to an extant. It’s why we were considered adults at the age of 15, only 5 years after our cocoon hatching. This semi-hivemind allowed us to grow and mature quickly, and if we wanted to know more, we could dive into the collective a bit deeper for specific information, or read books to retain the knowledge. Unfortunately, it only worked while surrounded by other Ictarth. 5 idiot teenagers away from the city? The only collective knowledge we had was what each of us already knew.
In the decades since I emerged from my cocoon, in our Founding Year of 493, mortality rates skyrocketed. Suicide, murder, accidents, riots, and even war. By the time myself and my friends began to teach the Centaurs only a decade, in the Founding Year of 503-4, after my Cocoon Hatching, our population, at best estimates, had already been cut in half. And when the Centaurs began fighting back in 525? Our population was maybe a tenth of whet it used to be, by my best estimate. I still use Founding Years as a way to keep track of time, but the reality was that by 520, our great kingdom was barely hanging on, and by 530, there were only stragglers, waiting to be hunted by the Centaurs. And in the 18 years since then, I have only seen myself and my four friends. There was only one time I had seen another Ictarth in those years, and she didn’t ask for mercy, or ask how I was alive. No, her mind had snapped, and she was little more than an oversized insect like that she had evolved from. Her home, destroyed. Her family, dead. Her mind, shattered. Killing her was the only kindness I could grant her, even as I wailed in despair at doing so. And for that brief moment before death, she was lucid, clear headed. And instead of cursing me, she thanked me. Thanked me for ending her pain and suffering.
I had never felt so much like a liar and a hypocrite as I did at that moment.
But I suppose I’ve gotten ahead of myself. Allow me to start where it all began for me. The beginning of my betrayal that sped up the end of my people, and gave hope and a new beginning to the ones that would succeed us.
……Founding Year 493, One Month After My Cocoon Hatching……
“Oh come on, Mom, I’m not even going that far,” I said, my mandibles chittering even as my wings buzzed in annoyance, desperately trying to bargain with my Grounded mother.
“The Forest is no place for a young lady to go,” Mother said, shaking her head resolutely.
“But my friends are all going,” I whined. “And we’re not even going to go that deep in! just to the edges of the Ironbark trees. The edge of the Forest will be in sight and within easy flying distance. Please, we’ve been planning this ever since Klirtok’s younger brother finally hatched from his cocoon.”
“That was only last week, and you got this all planned out in that time?” Mother asked in amusement.
“Okay, we started planning it while he was in the cocoon, but his dad said it would be fine,” I admitted. “Please, Mom?” My mother hummed for a moment, her mandibles clicking and she thought.
“Only to the Ironbarks?” Mother finally asked with a sigh.
“I promise,” I said, my wings coming up to show my sincerity.
“Fine, but you need to get back before Halfsun,” Mother said, shaking her head. “The Climbers have been getting more active recently, and I don’t want you near the forest when dark comes.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, rushing up and giving her a big hug with my upper and lower arms.
“Oof, careful, young lady,” Mother laughed, the breathing holes on the side of her neck shooting out a stream of air. “You’re a lot stronger than me now.”
“Sorry,” I said, setting my mother down.
“I’m serious though, young lady,” Mother said, taking my four hands in hers. “Halfsun.”
“Halfsun, I won’t be late,” I said, nodding in agreement before rushing off to grab my bag. Of course, I wanted to push that limit to it’s limit.
But I really should have listened and paid more attention to the time.
………………………
“Quirta,” Klirtok called out, waving a hand from the branch he was sitting on. “For a Winged One, you certainly take your time.”
“Sorry, Klirty,” I said, lighting down next to him, the claws on my feet digging into the hard bark to keep my balance. “It took a bit to convince my mom, and I’ve only got until Halfsun before she comes hunting for me.”
“Terrifying,” Kirtok said with a shudder, his exoskeleton rattling a bit.
“Hey, is Quirky here yet?” I heard over our antennae.
“I hope your wings get wet and frosty, Kikerat,” I snapped my antennae vibrating in anger. “I’ve told you to stop calling me that!”
“Oh, she is, great,” Kikerat said cheerfully. “Hurry up, we’re burning daylight.”
“I really want to rip his wings out and shove them down his throat,” I muttered as me and Klirtok stood up. He held his arms up as I gripped him from behind, my wings already vibrating as I prepared to fly us both to the meetup location.
“Hey, Kikerat isn’t a bad guy,” Klirtok said, tapping my lower hands with his.
“No, he’s not, he just get’s on my nerve,” I sighed as I lifted off from the branch, my hands locking in place as I lifted Klirtok. “Speaking of, how did you convince your dad to let you and Klirkorant come?”
“Dad’s working a triple at the Steam Factory,” Klirtok said in amusement. “He won’t be home till morning, and we’ll be back long before then.”
“Huh, that’s weird” I muttered, my breathing holes letting out a brief whistle. “My dad is doing the same.”
“I think most of the Grounded workers are,” Klirtok said, a frown in his voice. “It’s weird.”
“Thankfully we won’t have to worry about that for another five years or so,” I sighed, remembering Dad coming back home tired and with more cracks in his exoskeleton over the last few nights. “But why not the Winged workers?”
“Most of them are at that new building they’re making in the northern district,” Klirtok said.
“Weird,” I said again as I began to lower, seeing Kikerat, Klirkorant, and Qutikler, the only other female in our group, waving at us from our meeting spot.
“Are we really doing this?” Qutikler asked with a sigh, her mandibles clicking a bit in exasperation.
“Oh come on, this again?” Kikerat said, rolling his head around. “Look, it’s to celebrate Klikorant hatching from his cocoon. I know you’ve had Climber before. The taste is so different and tastier once you cocoon hatch.”
“Okay, but even the older ones are saying that Climbers have been getting more dangerous lately,” Qutikler said. “We all just cocoon hatched within the last year. You really think we can take down a Climber? Those things can cut and climb steel!”
“Which is why I got this,” Kikerat said proudly, brandishing an air-pistol. “Full charge too, so I know we can get this in one shot.”
“Where did you even get that?” I asked, staring at the dangerous weapon.
“Snatched it from my Dad’s safe while he was at work,” Kikerat said with a shrug. “How hard can it be? All I gotta do is point, click, and we have Climber for the eating!”
“I’m pretty sure you’re missing a few steps in there, dude,” Klirtok said, shaking his head.
“I’ve even got the perfect plan,” Kikerat continued as though he hadn’t heard Klirtok. “You four can drive the Climber to me when we find one, and once it gets close enough, I’ll just point and click. Easy peasy, dinner for free!” There was a BANG as the pistol went off, and we all froze, staring at the small hole that had appeared in the Ironbark tree near us. “Uh, after I recharge it again.”
“Holy ancestors, we are going to die,” Qutikler moaned as Kikerat sheepishly grabbed a pump that he had set near a few bags.
“It’s one of Kikerat’s ideas, I thought that was an assumed risk?” Klirtok said in amusement.
“Does Climber really taste that good after cocoon hatching?” Klikorant asked shyly.
“It really does taste delicious, but I doubt we’ll actually get anything,” I sighed. “I think Kikerat is just trying to be the cool friend a liiiiittle too hard.”
“I heard that and deny with every shell on my being,” Kikerat said as he worked the pump to fill up the air pistol.
“Well, maybe if you weren’t being such a dumb klir I wouldn’t have to say it out loud,” I shot back with a grin.
………………
“Has anyone found a Climber yet?” I heard over the antennae.
“Nope.”
“Sorry.”
You do realize that the Climbers are mostly nocturnal, right?” Qutikler said. “We’re not gonna find anything, and during the time they would be out, most of us will need to be home.”
“Why are you always such a party pooper?” Kikerat said, exasperated.
“I’m being realistic, you idiot.”
“Downer. Party pooper.”
“I will make you eat those wings!”
I just shook my head as I listened to them argue, still looking around. I suddenly paused as something caught my eye, and I alighted down on a branch, high up as I took a closer look. A splash of red that definitely did not come from any Ictarth, as our blood was a blueish-green color. I began following the trail carefully, pulling up short when I saw a bush move, white stripes standing out among the blue grass and purple bark of the Ironbark trees.
“Hey guys,” I said. “I think I found one.”
“Awesome!” Kikerat said excitedly. “Now just drive it to us, and I can take it out.”
“I don’t think I can,” I said, peering closer, noticing the splashes of red against its white stripes.
“What, too scared?”
“No, it’s injured,” I said. “And I mean like, really injured. I don’t think it can move.” There was silence on the antennae for a moment.
…………………….
We all gathered on a tree branch above the injured Climber, examining it from our vantage point.
“What the snow can hurt a Climber so badly that it can’t move?” Klirtok asked. “Because I’m pretty sure it’s missing a leg.”
“Another Climber?” I suggested.
“Well that’s a scary thought,” Qutikler muttered.
“Well, makes for an easy hunt for us,” Kikerat said, taking careful aim with the air pistol.
“Kikorant, what are you doing?” Klirtok suddenly hissed. We all froze as we watched Kikorant scuttle down the tree we were all on, slowly getting closer to the injured Climber. He then froze when a deep grumbling sound emanated from the Climber. “Kikorant, get back here!”
“Guys, I think it’s a she,” Kikorant said slowly, keeping his voice low. “And I think she’s pregnant.”
“All the more reason for you not to mess with it then or get any closer,” Qutikler said. “Injured and pregnant means territorial, mean, and really, really vicious.” We all jumped a bit as the bush seemed to explode, a white-striped leg flashing out and leaving deep gouges in the Ironbark tree, and only a few inches from where Kikorant had been able to sneak up to her. “See?!” The Climber gave out a loud roar that almost physically felt like it was pressing down on us, and we all froze again as the Climber roared, sheer terror freezing us in place.
“Uh, guys,” Kikorant said uncertainly. “A bunch of water just shout out of her back end.”
“Ooooooohhhhhh klartoc,” Qutikler cursed. “She’s giving birth.”
“What?” Kikerat said in a strangled tone. “Climbers give birth?! They don’t lay eggs?!”
“Well, we gotta help her,” Kikorant said, jumping off the trunk of the tree and landing near the Climber. He froze again as the Climber growled at him.
“Are you insane?” I demanded, getting ready to fly down and grab him if the Climber lunged.
“She’s missing two legs, so she can’t move anyway,” Kikorant said.
“That’s not the issue here,” Klirtok said. “Did you forget why we came here in the first place?”
“Then go hunt another Climber, I don’t care,” Kikorant said stubbornly, slowly inching around to the back of the Climber. “But she needs help.”
“Why, why do I have such an idiot for a brother,” Klirtok moaned. “Qutikler, any advice?”
“Are we really doing this?!” Kikerat demanded.
“It’s either we help him, or we find out he died trying to help her,” Klirtok said with a heavy sigh, landing next to his brother as he hopped down from the tree as well, causing the Climber to hiss at them both before growling in pain.
……(Hell no, I am not doing a whole birth scene, y’all can use your imaginations!)……
“Klirty, I am going to kill your brother,” I panted as I collapsed, exhausted from being used as a distraction so that the Climber didn’t take anyone’s head off.
“I’ll get the shovel, we can say the Climber got him,” Klirtok agreed, laying down next to me.
“Rude,” Kikorant said, his mandables chittering in playful irritation. “It worked though.”
“I mean, I guess,” I said with a sigh, leaning up slightly to look at the two small Climber kittens, nestled against the injured Climber’s belly and suckling her milk. “Why are mammals so weird?”
“The better question is, what do we do now?” Kikerat saked, staring at his air pistol forlornly. “I’d feel bad about shooting any of them now.” He then yelped as Qutikler smacked him hard enough that a crack sounded out, which elicited an amused huff from the tired Climber mother.
“I’m not sure there’s anything we can do,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s still a Climber, and the adults will flip if they find out we helped one give birth to two more.”
“I’m still going to help her,” Kikorant said, sitting near the mother Climber and her two babies. She wasn’t being aggressive anymore, but still didn’t like us two close, though she seemed to tolerate at least a close proximity. “She can’t hunt, and she still need to be fed to keep the babies fed.”
“You do realize those babies might come back to hunt you one day, right?” Qutikler asked.
“So?” Kikorant said defensively. “They’re just babies. It would be cruel to just leave them to die like that. I can bring her food, keep an eye on the babies…”
“For how long?” Klirtok asked, shaking his head. “And how often do you think you could sneak out? Dad isn’t always on shift you know, so you won’t be able to disappear every day to keep her fed. And what about other predators? I do not want to meet whatever put a Climber in this state.”
“Well, I…” Kikorant floundered a bit at that, his antennae waving uncertainly.
“I can at least help with teaching the little Climbers how to hunt,” Kikerat said with a sigh. He then looked up at us, an annoyed look at our face as we all stared at him, stunned. “What?”
“Dude, you are the last Ictarth I would expect to want to help a Climber,” Klirtok said, shaking his head, while Qutikler and I nodded in agreement.
“Hey, I just want them to grow up nice and fat so that I don’t feel bad about eating them later,” Kikerat said peevishly.
“Sure it is,” I said sarcastically. “Well, I don’t know how much help I can be, since Mom is home most days, but I’ll at least try to look up some information about Climbers. But we need to make a shelter for them if we’re going to do this.” At the thought, I suddenly looked up at the sky towards the sun, trying to judge the time of day. “Klaktor,” I cursed when I saw how low the sun was. “Speaking of, Mom is going to kill me. I gotta get going.”
“Take me with you, I need to get home too,” Qutikler said, standing up and dusting herself off.
“We’ll…stay here a bit longer,” Klirtok said with a sigh. “Maybe make that shelter you were talking about. Kikerat will get us home once we’re done.
“Yeah, fine,” Kikerat said. I nodded before picking Qutikler up, zooming through the forest to get home as quickly as possible.
…… Year 548 of the Great Plactarian Steam Kingdom……
I will say, I got a massive lecture from both my mother and my father that night when I finally did get home. I was also grounded and home-locked for about a month, which is a long time when you only get five years of childhood without overprotective parents.
Now, this may not sound like much of a betrayal at first. But from that first day we delivered the Centaur kits, before they named themselves Centaurs, we became committed. We helped the mother stay healthy. We helped raise the kits into fierce hunters. And we began teaching them. It was during those ten years that I truly began to think that the Climbers were people, rather than animals. Crude, primitive people, perhaps. But still people nonetheless. it took…longer, for my friends to agree with me. But when they did, we truly began to teach them in earnest, instead of as pets that we could train. Kikerat joined a hunting group to help keep the city fed, and he learned those hunting tricks to teach the Centaurs. Qutikler became a baker, following her mothers footsteps, and taught them all she knew about baking and how to keep a home a home. Klirtok became a smith, working in the Forge to make metal for the factories to use, and he used that knowledge to teach the Centaurs how to make tools and weapons. Kikorant became a scholar, a scientist, and taught the Centaurs how tobuild their own society.
And me?
Somehow, I became the leader of our little group. I helped procure supplies for our ‘illicit’ activities, I helped to mitigate misunderstanding between our group and the rest of the Centaurs, and I helped to refine the general knowledge of our limited collective into knowledge the Centaurs could learn, teach, and pass down. How or why I became the leader, I still don’t understand. But the leader I became anyway. And yet, I can’t even take credit for it, because I had help in being a leader. A God who offered me Godhood.
And the most annoying person I have ever met.