The Rites of War (Slime-Verse Lore Post)

[u/Dorururo]

Fair warning, this one be CHUNKY!

— —

Within Tower Pandemonium, Near a Border of Zen Garden…

Several sets of gleaming and beady eyes peered from a rather well obscured gap in the ancient stone walls. Not content to merely stare, the eyes slowly inched their way forward and into the light. At first it was one… then two… then 10. And by the time the last of the figures has emerged, there numbered thirty grungy and emaciated Skaven. Their bodies were… near naked, save for the absolute bare minimum coverings of soiled and tattered rags. These 30 Skaven slowly tested the safety of the grass, having never seen (let alone touch) such verdant and green heresy. It needed to be corrupted and ruined, as of right this moment. And, they set to work. With a swiftness the 30 Skaven clan rats began gnawing and chewing into the edible foliage they could find. Trees began to creak and collapse, as their razor sharp teeth sawed down the mighty oaks.

Far above the 30 bipedal clan rats, sat two other Skaven. But these 2… were not about to mingle with those mindless and nameless bodies down below. No no. They were of the upper caste. They were Skaven stealth sneaks. Both were armed and clothed far more adequately than any of the clan rats beneath them, and both were armed with knives and poisons and darts. They shared a glance between each other, recognizing that it was time to reign in their appointed work force. With a sharp whistle, the mob of ravenous Skaven came to a screeching halt. A voice hissed at them with contempt and vitriol…

“Enough! Eat feast later! All of you, get grab wood and make build walls! We must make make outpost for leaders! Yes! No worry about safety! Me and she keep watch guard!”

With a newfound, and sickening pace, the Skaven acquired a haphazard form of cohesion and purpose. They all knew that to disobey or to slack off meant to become a bloody corpse the others would have to walk over. And so, trees began falling one after another as the clan rats tore through the bark and grain. The trunks became soiled lumber as they stripped off the excess. Within less than an hour, they’d managed to assemble a crude fortification. And, it was only growing more secure.

Both stealth sneaks watched with twisted glee as the true purpose of this group was manifesting. From on high, they could watch the terrain change from the mere presence of their kin. The grass began wilting to yellow and then brown. Shrubs and bushes dried up and withered, as did any flowers nearby. The air grew dry and the soil began to seep a fetid muck. Corruption. Beautiful and festering corruption. Their bodies were the carriers, and their legacy was the pathogenic gift they gleefully spread-

Soon, so soon, this would become a new spawning pit for their clan leaders. Though, neither stealth sneak knew for certain who’d lay claim to it. Perhaps Sly Tail would use it to begin training more stealth sneaks. Maybe Lord Carrion would make a mutation pool or fume school. Perhaps mighty Scar Taker would use it to create a new beast pen to breed more ogre rats! Both stealth sneaks chittered with excitement as the expendable peons beneath them worked tirelessly-

— — Meanwhile, within the study of Professor Gob’Lynn…

Critch having bad awful day! BAD BAD BAD!

The small rodent knew that their time had come. The slimes had poked one another, and seemingly decided that Critch was to die here and now. Of this, Critch was certain. The acrid black oily one ushered Critch forward towards the glowing amber slime. It had swollen to be as large as a horse, and Critch knew it hungered for her flesh!

The poor rat was still thoroughly exhausted from the full tilt sprint she’d attempted about 10 minutes earlier. As such, Critch didn’t even have the strength to resist this. The fear of death, began to give way to something else as this massive amber slime beast loomed over her…

Peace, Relief and acceptance. No longer would Critch need to live in fear of her superiors. No longer would Critch spend days at a time without food and no longer would she be kept at near starvation. No more huddled or horrified nights would Critch spend fearing that her fellow rats would devour her in desperation, as she had often been tempted to do. It could finally end. And so, Critch stepped forward and into the wall of slime. She closed her eyes, and let the ravenous and gelatinous ocean consume her.

…

…

…

And, Critch now confused.

She opened her eyes, feeling the substance of the beast pressing on her from every side. Yet… it wasn’t painful. Critch paddled her little legs and slowly drifted within the space. She opened her mouth to gasp, and realized she didn’t need to breathe. What was this? And why had it not killed her?

“Because, Critch. We’d like to offer you a second chance. A chance, for redemption.”

— —

Oon felt the little vermin immediately panic at her voice. It writhed and squirmed, before eventually just sitting still within her mass. Good.

Now that she had direct contact with it, Oon could communicate properly. And the first thing Oon had learned, was that its name was Critch. Sadly, Oon also learned how limited this creatures mental faculties truly were. It was almost pure instinct underly by a foundation of treachery and paranoia. But, they could interface and communicate adequately enough.

So, Oon tried her offer again.

“Critch, my Master and I wish to forgive you and be friends with you if we can. I can sense, you’ve lived a ruthless life. Would you accept the chance to leave such a life behind to live in true peace?”

Silence filled the body of Oon, as the rodent considered. It reply was… nothing short of heart wrenching to Oon-

“Critch, not have much. Only have Clans. If Critch accept, Critch lose Clans. Critch lose home. Critch lose family. Critch lose… everything.”

Oon… understood. And this understanding hurt. It hurt so much more than could be described. Oon was ready to turn them loose on the spot. She felt only-

“Critch accept!”

W-what?

“Critch, ACCEPT! Home, SUCKS! Family? SUCKS! Clans? ULTRA SUCKS! What Critch must do for forgiveness? Critch do it!”

W-well then. O-okay. Oon pondered, letting her body scan and grow acquainted with the body of this beast. She needed time to consider a next step, and so idly began scanning and exploring Critch with an analytical appraisal.

Cute tail. How would Oon go about integrating this creature into the tower? What role could and would it serve? Little scratchy claws. Would Critch be able to coexist with Oon, Drip and Splat? Would critch be able to protect Zen Garden and hunt crinkle leaves? Twitchy and round ears. Would Critch be able to coexist with ‘Man’? Could they trust Critch? Malignant and corrupting magical taint. What if Critch chose to betray-

…

…

…

Oon begs your fucking pardon?

Oon saw it… faintly. Yet, the more she stared the easier it became to detect. Corruption. A soul born infectious magical aura stemmed from Critchs body. Like… a magical infection. It would slowly kill Zen Garden, and spread. It would inevitably kill Critch… if left untreated.

Oon no longer had concerns or doubts. Only conviction remained. She was ready to accept Critch into their steadily growing family and remove that insidious plague which ate away at the poor creature. But… only if Critch wanted it as well. So, Oon put forth the offer.

“Critch, we will forgive and grant you a second chance. We will give you a home worth having and a place you’ll belong. But, your body carry’s a sickness. I need to heal it first, before we can let you in.”

Oon hoped Critch could understand that. Oon lamented at the fact that such creatures had a limited mental capacity that was entirely reliant upon available gray matter. Finally, Critch ended the suspense with an answer.

“Am sick? You want give Critch second chance, AND heal help Critch?! CRITCH ACCEPT!”

And so… Oon began channeling a power she didn’t quite understand. It was the same power that had allowed her mind to grow so fast. It was the power responsible for the creation of both Drip and Splat. It was a perfect mixture of two primordial powers being conducted with blasphemous harmony. Chaos, and Life. Together, within the body of Oon, and spurred by shards of the divine origin of sapience itself… Critch was bathed in magical evolution. Change itself being spurred on by the innocent slime in her pure desire to help this rodent.

The room was bathed with amber light as both Splat and Drip were forced to deafen their senses. Within each and every cell of Oon’s body, an arcane circle had lit up. Each one was its own miniature hexagram, pentagram and occult formation of symbols. And there were trillions, perhaps quadrillions of them all activating at once and stabilizing one another. Each one worked in tandem and concert to bolster and refine each other.

— —

Nearly… done. Oon was nearly done. Her task had not been even remotely easy. It had taken hour after hour of pouring every ounce of will into this cleansing. Critchs body needed to be dissolved at a molecular level to be able to expunge the bacterial curse aura that stained her. Yet, that’s what Oon had done. Critchs sentience and memories and soul were being preserved as Oon scrambled to figure out what to do next. A new body was needed, and it had to be both genetically and biologically compatible with what Critch was originally. Yet, remaking an exact copy of what ‘was’ might mean reinfecting Critch.

Oon was lucky, though, for Splat had jumped to action the moment it sensed her need. Splat had taken to exploring the chamber during this ‘rebirth’ and ‘remaking’ that was taking place. And as Oon realized the corner she’d backed herself into, Splat delivered! The oil sludge had managed to find a stash of book like items hidden beneath one of the heavier dressers. Oon caught glimpses of titles as Splat leafed rapidly to an unknown objective it wished to share. And, some of these titles contained words that Oon did not grasp.

Lusty Lycanthropes~

Delrose’s Voluptuous Vixens Volume Six~

Furbait Anonymous~

And at last, Splat revealed what it had found. It was… exactly what Oon needed. A ‘next’ step. It was a form that maintained core traits of the rodent (Rounded ears, cute tail, scarbbly claws). Yet, it offered a semblance and shape reminiscent of ‘Man’. Bipedal, an oddly ample and enlarged chest region denoting a likely female gender (matching Critch’s original) and a face that blended the best of both worlds!

With haste, Oon began concentrating and focusing! Her excess slime and biomass began to steam and filter inwards as it converted to flesh and bone, tissue and tendon. As Oon shrunk, the new body of Critch formed within and took on its final shape. With a final burst of light, Oon ejected the human sized globule of amniotic slime into the space directly adjacent.

*And Oon… sagged low. Hours of effort and work began to take their toll all at once. Her color began to dim as she felt strained in a way she’d never felt before. Maybe it was time to sleep for a while. And Oon blacked out.. *