Chrysalis

Quiet was something commander Titus had found very difficult to come across over the last few days. This expedition had come as surprise, well outside of the usual schedule and an endless number of things needed organising before departure.

The Queen providing her own personal Guards had been unexpected but helpful, the Legion had been expecting regular front line soldiers to plug the gaps, worthy soldiers to be sure but far from the quality and discipline of an outfit like the Guards.

With their assistance, most preparations were expedited the second they showed up in their burnished, decorative armour, polished to a mirror shine and started demanding things hustle along in the name of the Queen.

Titus brushed his hands along his desk, feel the smooth stone surface. Incredible stuff, stonewood, grew just a like a tree, straight out of the ground deep into the Dungeon, but was solid stone the whole way through. The flecked, dark texture of the stone had always pleased him, to the point he'd hauled this slab back to surface on his own back in order to fashion this desk.

His hand drew down to the underside of the desk, right next to the wooden draws that had been attached beneath the surface. He pressed for a moment and waited. There was a soft click and a small rectangular section of stone began to rise on the surface of the desk, its seams invisible just a second before.

Using one hand Titus lifted the section up to reveal a small fabric lined compartment beneath, inside were six small glass vials, capped with twisted silver carved with tiny but precise runes. Two of the vials were empty but the other four contained a brilliantly glowing liquid, the blue light instantly filling the dark office.

With a sigh Titus began to roll his sleeve up his arm, when the sleeve moved past his elbow, intricate script began to appear, stamped onto his skin. Concentric circles of strange symbols, not inked onto the skin but imprinted in some way that left them pulsing with a semblance of life.

Taking one of the vials, Titus placed the silver cap directly on the center of the network of symbols.

circular designs on his arm began to rotate and emit light. As they gathered speed the

Titus returned the vial to case and fixed his sleeves. He then carefully returned the case to its compartment inside his desk and replaced the cover, which slowly sank

wouldn't need another one of those for a while. As always however, the injection lifted a weight off his shoulders that he hadn't quite realised was there. As if he'd been grinding his teeth and only now did he stop and realise just how tight his

thought Titus, time to get back to where a good

he hefted the huge mass of metal and threw the haft over his shoulder. He'd have to

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idea why they are bringing those guys down with us Mirryn?"

also puzzled as to why the ragged group of a dozen prisoners, each of

Donnelan as a Fire Mage. When a Legionary reached level thirty they

of the trainees had any idea what the ceremony was or why it had be done deep in the Dungeon and the

how much common people didn't know about the Deep Legion. A private army that had existed for three thousand years, since civilisation had been brought to the brink of destruction when the Dungeon

the Legions' secrets would be her secrets, and

The monsters that usually occupied this cavern where the weakest one could find in the Dungeon, making it the perfect learning ground

were told that Dungeon monster levels are totally different to monsters on the surface they would never listen. A level one monster down here could easily

side. Everyone wants to level up, hunt monster cores and valuable components for profit but spare a thought for the

all day and all night. Supplies had been brought into the cavern and lowered through a secret shaft in the wall. Donnelan had told her how the Earth Mages had undone their illusions and shifted the rock walls to reveal supply elevator, complete with rope pulley system, that allowed for materials and supplies to be lowered deeper into the Dungeon, to be retrieved at