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".

chamber before unlocking the enchanted seal on the door and striding through. Titus waited on the stairs until everyone had entered the next room before stepping forward, closing

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 was impossible for someone

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 a narrow basic had been chiselled into the floor, almost like a bath carved into the stone. Counting quickly under her breath she saw that there was thirty such 'pods', each with the same narrow basin

the pod she realised the ceiling directly above each basin was not as simple as she had first assumed. Incredibly fine, intricate runic 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

musing was interrupted by a sudden clap from the commander. All of the trainees stopped gazing around and turned back to

his eyes

to ensure he had

condensed liquid mana that will fill the basin until you are submerged. The fluid will be absorbed

the hell was that?! Donnelan stood with the rest, his mind flicking at lightning speed. If mana could be condensed into a liquid, wouldn't it be much more potent that the energy in the

He did not move

exceedingly dangerous. It will be the most painful experience of your lives. Every cell in your body will become super saturated with mana, tearing at the seams. There are powerful healing enchantments built into the

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

weary with sorrow. "To defeat the monsters, to protect the civilisations on the surface the Legionem Abyssi decided that to be human was not enough. In order to overcome the Cataclysm, to make sure that

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

of running, of escaping this chamber and the insane ritual about to take place but they quickly squashed the thought. Who was that standing in the doorway, they thought

Titus announced grimly, bringing relief to the trainees. Before they could start to celebrate he pulled the short sword on

you cannot know the Legions secrets and not be one of us. If you wish to spare yourself the suffering, step forward and I

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

could ever dream. They would be able to take the fight directly to the monsters, able to chase them down wherever they chose to hide. That was what it meant to join

ever since those days. As Loremaster it was Alberton's role to keep the histories of those days and the determination, the

mean they liked