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".

and striding through. Titus waited on the stairs until everyone had

actions closely and a sudden fear gripped her heart. The way they moved, it was almost as if they had

her eyes around the room they now found themselves 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

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

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

his eyes hard

paused there to ensure he had

the ceiling above we will release pure, condensed liquid mana that will fill the basin until you are submerged.

the hell was that?! Donnelan stood with the rest, his mind flicking at lightning speed. If mana could be

see their confusion. He did not move

the seams. There are powerful healing enchantments built into the basin. You will be ripped apart and remade constantly for a day. One in five of

as the trainees stared back at

the Legionem Abyssi decided that to be human was not enough.

happen. Fear gripped their hearts as they imagined the agony of having their very cells ripped apart for hours on end. Could

doorway, they thought bitterly. Commander Titus. He was a legend in the Legion. If

bringing relief to the trainees. Before they could start to celebrate

not be one of us. If you wish to spare yourself the suffering, step forward

wall outside the ritual chamber, as he always did once the trainees had begun their transformation. Once the process was

into the Dungeon than anyone else could hope to, able 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 them down

Loremaster it was Alberton's role to keep the histories of those days and the determination, the sheer will of

mean