Chapter Text
Deserted wasteland.
There were many signs of life in that place, many without purpose.
Underground, buried, hidden from the harsh winds.
They needed to reach it.
A kingdom brought forth from the depths, a city heart with statues of worship.
Yes. This was what They had seen..
No blazing kin. Only one light shall shine against the dark.
They settled after their long travel, buried under the ground by the cave system They had found. Their body curled around above the cave system as if to shield it from the violent winds up above, even though they were underground. Pale white was Their visage, pale white was Their true form. The head emerged into a cave a little away from the caves filled with life that They felt, and tired from the long path They had traversed. Their eyes closed, mouth open as They waited.
They felt the land as They slept. Felt Their own aura compress yet expand. They could touch the minds of the residents here, and felt how their instincts flourished even underground. They felt the crystals above, filled with an energy similar to Their own. They felt the lush greenery so far away and two lands with a hive mind. They felt other radiances. They felt the mixture of beast and bug who lived in these caverns and which minds had been touched before Their arrival.
Curious. But this was Their final resting place. They would not change it because of someone else’s presence.
The Wyrm becomes a beacon, minds expanded, to yield, to devote.
They would awaken these bugs yet to find devotion. Speak with those who had found devotion with Their voice. To create what could stand against time. They let Themselves feel the land as They felt Their strength slowly fade. Fade yet compressed into a smaller form deep within. With Their mouth still open, They heaved one, final breath.
Eternity in promise.
And a head burst out from the confines of Their shell. Much smaller, much more fragile in form than the great wyrm They hatched from. They stepped out of the broken egg, He stepped out, and looked up into the flesh covered ceiling. The innards were already starting to dry as the death had been slow but necessary. For He now felt the land, He felt his future kingdom. They had started to touch a few bugs with Their influence already. The centre of these lands were hollow, lands without claim.
The seal automatically activated as He stepped out of His shell.
How long had it been? Time held no relevance. Bugs gave eggs and died while He slept. He looked over the pieces of membrane He came from, a sufficiently large piece was picked up and draped over him like a cloak to cover most of His body. Body of a wyrm with 4 arms, two legs and a pair of wings that sprouted from His back. All created to accommodate the bugs within these caverns. The membrane cloak was already dry, yet warm, a perfectly large piece to cover himself with as if sculpted for this very reason. The white glow that surrounded him, it was ever present and would be ever present. Such a glow would need a powerful visage. An arm reached up to feel His face, smooth. Powerful. A face. He chewed off a stubborn piece of membrane that had clung to one of His claws as He had climbed out before He started to walk. The tail He had dragged lightly on the ground behind Him and created a slight trail in His wake.
Granted mind for the price of devotion.
Bugs lining up to visit his kingdom.
Great roads, great architecture, all wrought forth by his guidance.
This land looked promising for one such as He. Knowledge and foresight, those were His capabilities. There were few wyrms left among the wastes, this He knew before he started to choose a resting place. There were few left such as He, with His capabilities.
He strode out of the mouth of the large wyrm body, tall and proud with his crown pointed up towards the sky. Regal. For He was a king. Their king. One who would guide them away from the savagery they lived in today. For that was in His nature, His very existence, His essence as a god being. To create a civilisation untouched by time, to expand the mind of bugs and grant them knowledge and freedom which others similar to Himself cannot. He could already see that He would succeed in this task. And he already knew who he would make contact with first.
Statues raised in his glory.
Tablets describing his greatness.
He would be forever remembered as a glorious, shining king.
His wings fanned out behind him as he made the first jump. And as predicted, there was already a bug there. A large one, covered by a thick shell and a pair of horns adorn on their head. They were strong, He had watched this one do battle with other foes and came out victorious. It was why He had reached to this particular mind in the first place, one so close with such might. He Himself held a lot of might as a god, but a King could not yield to the people without a warrior.
As the glowing visage of this pale bug slowly ascended in front of the larger, strong bug, he could feel how he was drawn to this bugs light. It was almost blinding to look at, wonderfully so as the beings wings neatly folded behind Him. It was as if he was stuck in a trance simply by looking at this small bug, and while his instincts would have usually been to crush such a small thing for food, this white light was calming. Alluring. Powerful.
Then He spoke.
“ You answered the call. Good. What may We call you? ”
It was a strange voice, one that sounded through his mind rather than his body’s hearing. No, He spoke with a voice. A soft voice that caught the attention of anyone listening as well as piercing into the mind of those who didn’t hear. It was another property that made this glowing bug even stranger, how such a tiny thing could be so… powerful .
He yielded to this power and was compelled to fall onto his knees before this white bug, as an immediate submission. He felt warm in this bug's presence, this white one calmed the seething rage that always burned within his chest. The seething rage that drove him to battle against any and all other battle compatible bugs that came his way, even venturing as far to the Mantis village to do so.
But this bug felt soothing. His white light blinded him, calmed him, and made him somehow see that he wouldn’t need rage and strength to try and prove himself. This bug was way out of his league and he could tell just by looking at their magnificent form.
“Hegemol… Hegemol I am…”
The newly devoted bug didn’t see how the pale being tilted His head slightly at this large bug’s way of speech. Primitive, for now. But this was more than He expected. He had anticipated that this bug would have only known a name by the time of His awakening. A pleasant surprise.
He walked towards the kneeling bug, He kept his aura under wraps so that the newly attained knight wouldn’t lose his eyesight just by looking at Him. The newly named Hegemol looked up from his kneeling position towards this white bug, still in awe of His presence and the fact that He stood so close.
“ Hegemol. Would you swear knighthood to Us as We create a kingdom for bugs and beasts. To stand by Our side as a proven, strong warrior to protect these lands under Our name. ”
This wasn’t phrased as a question, for He already knew what this bug’s answer would be. Hegemol could feel joy and pride in his chest as the bug asked this of him, as if he had just won over a powerful foe in battle. It was an unfamiliar feeling, to feel pride just from hearing words being spoken, but not one Hegemol would decline. He lowered his head once more towards this small, powerful bug. Who had been the source of why he had heard whispers of this place.
It had been His voice that Hegemol heard whispering in the wind.
“Yes. I will. Who…?”
Words were confusing to him still, it was something he had started to use one season flood ago. This bug used many words, but he could still understand every intent behind it perfectly. As if this white bugs' words alone were starting to clear up the confusing cloud that had plagued his mind since he burst out of his egg amongst his clutch.
The king’s brand that was placed on His forehead flashed to make its pattern known, a brand that had been placed upon Him since He burst out from the egg. His body straightened in front of His new knight as He declared His title, what He would be called from now on.
“ The Pale King of Hallownest. ”