Chrysalis

Titus was a renowned Legionary above and below the ground. He was known for his strength, his iron will, his leadership and his willingness to put himself in harms' way to protect his fellows, he was a leader who never spared himself.

Most of all, he was known for his unyielding sense of duty. He had sacrificed over and over again in order to perform the role he filled and he would damn well do it again. He never hesitated, did not regret but often, he grieved.

Looking down at the eager trainees below him he felt sorrow grip his heart.

But it didn't stop him.

"You are about to undergo the final trial on the path to becoming full members of the Deep Legion" he announced.

Serious expressions overtook the trainees at the word trial. What would they need to do?

"You have experienced severe mana saturation sickness on the way here and we have done what we can alleviate the symptoms, but we have not cured you. Behind that door lies the greatest secret of the Legion. We will cure you of saturation sickness permanently, the process will also make you stronger, faster, smarter, more powerful than you currently are. When it is done you will be reborn".

A few gasps and disbelieving murmurs erupted from the youths in front of him. Was any of this even possible?

Titus pointed to the door behind them. "Beyond there lies the greatest secret of the Legion. It enabled the first Legionaries to perform the heroic feats deep in the Dungeon that helped end the Cataclysm thousands of years ago and it fuels us today. Every full Legionary you have ever met has undergone this process, including me".

The commander took a deep breath. No avoiding it.

"Let's go in and I'll explain further".

Alberton who squeezed through the cramped chamber before unlocking the enchanted seal on the door and striding through. Titus waited on the stairs until everyone had entered the next room

the only one to note his actions closely and a sudden fear gripped her heart. The way they moved, it was almost as if they had been blocking the exit, making sure that it

in. The room itself was unremarkable. Light was provided by glowstones embedded in the ceiling which illuminated a simple and unadorned stone chamber. The chamber itself was long, but narrow, with regular offcuts down the right side. Pushing past her fellow trainees, Mirryn saw that in each offcut a narrow basic had been chiselled into the floor, almost like a bath carved into the stone. Counting quickly under her breath

patters had been carved into the surface, the lines so thin she almost hadn't seen them. In the center of the pattern a thin hole could be seen, perhaps for something to flow through and fill the basin? Even the basin itself was covered in intricate runic inscriptions. Just what were

from the commander. All of the trainees stopped gazing around and turned back

process to you" the commander said crisply, his eyes hard with determination, "listen closely as this will impact the rest of

there to ensure

pod. From the ceiling above we will release pure, condensed liquid mana that will fill the basin until you are submerged. The fluid will be absorbed into your body,

staring at him as if he were insane. Liquid mana?! What the hell was that?! Donnelan stood with the rest, his mind flicking at lightning speed.

their confusion. He did not move to

the seams. There are powerful healing

and there was total silence as the trainees stared back at their commander in shock. They had been prepared

his voice weary with sorrow. "To defeat the monsters, to protect the civilisations on the surface the Legionem Abyssi decided that to be human was not

hearts as they imagined the agony of having their

Who was that standing in the doorway, they thought bitterly. Commander Titus. He was a legend in the Legion. If all of them unleashed their

forced to take the ritual" Titus announced grimly, bringing relief to the trainees. Before they could start to celebrate he pulled the short sword on his hip from its

to spare yourself the suffering, step forward and I

chamber, as he always did once the trainees had begun their transformation. Once

to tolerate levels of mana saturation beyond what a normal person could ever dream. They would be able to take the fight directly to the monsters, able to chase

had been done for thousands of years, all over Pangera. The secrets of the first Legionaries had been kept ever since those days. As Loremaster it was Alberton's role to keep the histories of those days and the determination, the sheer will of those men and women had remained within their

mean they