Beginners Luck: The Outsiders

Migoene arose from his slumber feeling the weight of the day before him. Sitting up on his bottom arms, he swung his legs down the side of the bed. With his top arms he rubbed his six eyes gingerly and then slapped his face. Standing up he stretched his body to his full height of two and a half meters tall. He marched forward to a mirror and examined his dark gray skin and white hair for any flaws. Each of his eyes were able to observe his reality from the electromagnetic spectrum and beyond. Starting with heat, he then switched to electrical field, and finally visible light. Everything was in perfect order, as was his duty as a Steward Initiate.

His life was one dedicated to training and preparation. His role amongst his people was to maintain the pocket dimension that contained one of the few remnants of humanity. Culling the population to manage it over the years was one of many tasks necessary to keep them in check. It was a rite of passage that now fell to him as it had fallen to his father and his father before him: Reset the sentient population down to at least one. If he was capable enough to kill all the sentient humans in the rift, it would be yet another example of his prowess and the superiority of their race over the humans.

Placing a hand on his wardrobe, his level one mask, level one armor, and level one storage pouch appeared on his body. The mask was pearl white with six black lines aligned for his eyes. A single dot on his forehead indicated his advancement in their society, and if he was successful today, an emblem would appear on one of his eyes. Leaving his living quarters, he marched towards the cathedral that contained the rift in question.

The cathedral had vaulted stone archways, brutalist in appearance, no stain glass windows, no statues, just monoliths of stone and rows of stone benches. Gathered on the benches sat the other Steward Initiates, each adorned in armor and masks. A lone Steward Second class stood before them, and as Migoene sat next to his brothers in arms, a slight nod was given in acknowledgement of the final arrival. The ceremony of the culling could now begin.

"Brothers, on this day we salute your bravery and recount the importance of our solemn duty to the rest of the universe. Each of you rise and recount the history passed down before you." The second class Steward pointed to Migoene to start saying, "The last of you shall be first."

Migoene rose and stood at attention, all four arms crossed behind his back.

"On our honor, it is our duty to all sentient beings and races to contain the spread of the cancer known as humanity."

Myene was the next Steward Initiate to rise to attention mirroring Migoene. She was only two centimeters shorter than him but was leaner and faster than he could ever dream of achieving.

"We will do our best to contain the creatures who once threatened all of existence. We will obey the orders given by our predecessors and subdue those that would spread their influence and consume all in their paths."

The final Initiate Steward, Gettar, stood at attention. He was three meters tall and wider than Migoene, a fearsome specimen to behold.

"To our dying breath we swear to keep this tide at bay. For it was us the Derboul alone who contained them in the past. And so shall we keep all safe through our diligence and sacrifice."

Normally, at this point the second class Steward would call them forward and send them in one at a time into one side of the marble cube behind him. Each side of the cube was a doorway, and the only thing hinting at it being more than stone was the heatwave shimmer that exuded off the each face of the stone.

But at that moment two more Stewards marched in from the far end of the cathedral. One with a yellow trim to their armor, a First Class Steward. And the other a red trim of a Solar Guardian. A sudden hush of reverence and alarm filled the cathedral at this moment. Something was wrong.

"Brothers. We must interrupt to raise awareness of a change that has occurred within the rifts of the putrid humans." It was the First class Steward, Termas, who spoke. Termas and the Solar Guardian moved into the front of the cathedral to address the three Initiates. It was the Solar Guardian that spoke.

"You do not know me, I am Grantermas Mal. As Solar guardian I oversee the containment of an assortment of other threats that were left behind from the Calamitous End. As you know, Humans were known to consort with other sentient species. One of those sentient species is a symbiotic parasite, capable of amplifying the durability and combat effectiveness of any human it comes in contact with. The rift you are about to cull, has been fluctuating in energy readings beyond normal parameters. We believe that a system wide glitch has introduced these very beings into the human rifts. Be on your guard, for this rift will not be typical." Grantermas looked at each of the initiates with a piercing gaze. Migoene stepped forward and asked a question.

"Guardian, why are you or the other Stewards not able to enter and investigate?" After finishing his question, he stepped back into line with the other initiates. Steward Second class Raladmi, stepped forward and answered the question.

"If someone of greater advancement enters the rift, the energy levels could rise making the rift impossible for Initiates to cull it ever again. The humans would gain advantages, and the stability of their containment would come into question. Even if every living organism in the rift was extinguished, what would rise from the ashes could jeopardize everything we worked hard to maintain." Raladmi stepped back and allowed Grantermas Mal to step forward one more time to address them.

"Look for any hidden secondary rift that might be in this one. It may be a reward chamber, challenge chamber, or just a path to another separate rift entirely. But your primary goal is to cull the humans, all other investigations are to be done only if you find yourself in a position to search. Good Luck Initiates, may your duties as Steward go unthwarted." With that the superior ranked leaders parted their way and beckoned the initiates forward.