Chrysalis

Beyn was a Priest and he was proud of that class. He had worked hard in the seminary, his faith blazing with an admirable glow, such that he had earned promotion and placement into a small village at a young age.

He still thought back on his time at the college, within the Path Sanctuary in Luxon. A mighty citadel filled with learning, preaching and the contemplation of the Path. He'd been happy there, tearing through scripts and sitting at the knee of his teachers, absorbing their wisdom and delighting in his deepening knowledge of the System and the way in which it improved the lives of all peoples.

Respect was due to the System, reverence also! It was omniscient, it was omnipresent and it had saved all of the civilised peoples of the world from certain destruction. It had shown them the Path to salvation!

That is what Beyn had firmly believed his entire life.

Looking around the dusty people surrounding him now, it was hard to comprehend just how he had come to be here.

Such wondrous happenings, such revelatory events, they defied understanding, let alone explanation. If he were to take his lessons, relate his experiences to his old teachers he didn't doubt that he would turned over the Seekers for questioning. Perhaps he would even be purged. Yet he could not deny the evidence of his eyes, nor the wellspring of hope that had erupted in his heart.

He had paid for his newfound belief with an arm, but it had been so worth it.

The evidence was all around him. The System had chosen to present its aid, its benevolence, through an entirely unexpected medium. Monsters! Ants from the Dungeon! It seemed preposterous, yet wasn't it said, "The ways of the System are unknowable by mortal mind"?

Truly none would have expected this turn of events!

"Priest Beyn" he was greeted by a passer by.

the Path be clear before you and our saviours clack their mandibles with blessing upon

that they were properly grateful. The monsters infesting the nearby woods had been nearly eradicated by the tireless workers, wood had been provided that was now being

the burgeoning village now, smiling, giving blessings to those who approached him. An encouraging word here, a smile or a nod there, a hug and compassionate prayer for those in distress. Beyn moved

by the System itself in

hand to the sky and began to speak, his [Expert Preaching level 9] causing his voice

weary

preaching, they were not surprised to hear his sudden oration. Compelled by his powerful voice, they turned to listen as they had

the heartache of our destroyed homes. Monsters have risen to the surface in a way that hasn't been seen for thousands

people at his words and the crowd slowly began to coalesce around the crippled priest. Monster pouring out of the Dungeon was the stuff of nightmares, a forgotten legend, that they had witnessed with

path is never clear before our feet. It is not for us to decide the way, but for the System! We have been delivered from Monsters, by Monsters! Our insect saviours, led by the Great One, have

see the faces of his audience. As an expert level Preacher, he was able to read the mood of the crowd, sense the ebb and flow of emotion as his words were absorbed by the crowd. These people were

spoke of the Great One. They'd seen it for themselves. The creature had come right to the village, standing so unnaturally still, and communed with

had any idea how strange such an action was to the people here. To see a feared Dungeon Monster in the flesh, so close. For it not to harm them, but to SPEAK

Unheard of.

was unprecedented, it was unnatural. To Beyn, it was a sign of the

Sent to grant us succour in our time of most dire need! The monsters rise, friends! They rise but they shall be defeated! Our guardians shall

now, raising their hands towards the

One has shown care for you. Do not allow despair to overwhelm you! Ensure that the directions of our

and bowed towards Beyn and towards the ant hill. Some were overcome with emotion, unsurprising considering what they had been through,