DC/RH Special: The Secret Army

Yes, Specials are back. i plan on making them a regular thing with behind the scenes of characters and events, lore packs, etc.

____________________________________________________________________________

Special Release: The Secret Army

_____________________________________________________________________________

‘My name is Magni’, it reminded itself. ‘My name is Magni!’

It felt strange having a name. Before this, he had always thought of himself as second. It was both what his mother had called him as well as his position in the litter. He had to admit though, having a name was nice. Magni! The Allfather said it meant great and mighty. It fit because he was the trial of strength. He liked that. It was his job to protect the dungeon and to make sure that none but the strong got past him. That was why the Allfather gave him his powers and made him a guardian.

Name: Magni     Race: Armoured Ursine King

Age: Five years    Sex: Male

Rank: 4    Class: Guardian

Status: Healthy, Excited    

Occupation: Guardian of the Second Floor | Examiner of the Trial of Strength 

Affinities: Battle, Nature, Rule

PARAMETERS

MAG: F    INT: G    END: F    STR: F

WIL: F    WIS: F    VIT: F    AGI: G

CHR: G            

Floor Guardian of Brandr Goldfire

Racial Abilities    Guardian Abilities

•    Natural Armour

•    Greater Strength

•    Honed Claws•        •    Dominate beast

•    Call to arms

Standing up, Magni scratched his belly with claws fifteen centimetres long. For a moment, he considered heading out to eat. The grubs in his territory were the tastiest he had ever had. Just a few months ago, he was a skinny bear living off carrion. Now, he was four metres tall with muscles so thick and strong he could crush stones placed in the crook of his elbow. His armour had changed too. Previously, he was brown with black, bony armour pieces that protected his skull, forearms, belly and spine. The armour itself had not changed much but it had gotten glossier. At times, he would stare at his forearms trying to guess what the strange symbols he sometimes saw flashing within meant.

The best part about his metamorphosis in Magni’s opinion was that he could walk upright with ease. It really helped. Some of the grubs liked to nest high up. He doubted he would be able to reach them or the apricots in the nearby glen if he had not grown so accustomed to standing on his hind legs. A sound caught his ears, quickly turning him away from thoughts of food.

He watched carefully as a humanoid figure rose from the rocky earth to his right. Plain and vaguely masculine, the earthen golem was completely unadorned and looked like a half-whittled figurine. Seeing it made Magni smile. He had gotten the timing right after all. Pulling his right leg back and crouching to get better stability, Magni raised his hands to his chest and prepared himself for his training. As if incensed by this, the golem rushed forward, punching wildly. With one annoyed huff, the bear reached forward, grabbing the golem by the face with his basin sized left hand and simply bisecting with a clawed right.

The first ones were always stupid. Who in their right minds would try rushing a four-metre-tall bipedal bear? 

As if responding to his disdain, more golems rose from the dirt. Many bore simple weapons; swords, spears and bows. They rushed him, running forward suicidally and getting destroyed with each swing of his arms. At this point, the bear’s gaze was focused. His arms never stopped. At times, he struck the offending golems with his palms. At others, he cut through them with his claws. The golems died in droves despite their numbers, unable to keep up with his movements. Yet, he remained completely attentive. The constructs always started off with the strength of ordinary humans and then slowly increased in power.  

His caution, learned from practical experience, proved rewarding. A golem tried to slip behind him, moving much more agilely than the others. Whirling around to face it, Magni blocked its mana enhanced punch with his palm and struck back, crushing it with his greater strength. Others leapt at him, one swinging a sword and the other jabbing with a spear. Magni ignored them, sweeping the den for the more troublesome ones. He caught sight of one to his left, huddling behind its fellow golems. 

Thankfully, he saw it before it got the jump on him. He ran towards it, golden armour plates manifesting themselves around him. 

The burst of flame the magic using golem released crackled uselessly against his summoned armour for a couple of seconds before dying out. Magni found himself blinking wildly in annoyance. The bright flash released by the clashing magical energies had all but blinded him. Wrapping his golden armour more completely around himself, he waited for the effect to fade. It was a smart choice. He felt rather than saw the attack of the sword golem. Its attack failed to penetrate his armour but it got his attention. A brutal backfist paid it back in kind and then some. Blinking away the remaining flashing lights, Magni backed up till his back met a wall. Then, he prepared for the ones that would give him a challenge.

----------------------------------------------------------

Thorn turned away from the screen. “This is too much. I know you said you wanted to be elite but that bear… he’s too powerful, learns too fast. There’s no way ordinary adventurers can beat him and soon, even they will be no match.

“Calm yourself”, Brandr demanded. “The entire purpose of guardians is to protect the core. The only reason I’m making the trials is to restrict the numbers and calibre of the invaders. That purpose has not changed"

“What do you mean?” his guide asked.

Brandr gave a small smile. "Once a creature is set as a guardian, it gains a great boost in power. In addition to this, it becomes immortal. Its body may be destroyed but its spirit remains with me till I grant it form once more. However, this comes at a cost. Guardians are fixed. They cannot grow stronger. No rank ups, no metamorphosis. Magni is the same. He may grow in skill but he will never gain new power and is forever barred from attaining a new form or learning new techniques. 

"But his learning ability… his fighting skill?” Thorn asked in confusion.

“Yes, you have noticed it too", Brandr said with some pride. "Guardians, whilst incapable of change, retain their souls and their experiences. I discovered that with the Blightwasps. All I had to do was grant Magni what he needed to turn that into strength. His power may be limited but his skill will only grow with each battle he experiences."

It was not hard. All he did was impart some understandings of his dao of battle. The only thing strange about it was the world will sending him a notice about influencing creatures with his divine domains and Magni’s parameters changing to show an affinity for battle 

“That’s what I was complaining about earlier!” Thorn pointed out.

“I know that!” Brandr said coolly. “Think, any creature assigned as a guardian cannot grow. But I want Magni to.”

Realisation dawned on the sprite. “You plan to remove him from his post!” he accused the dungeon core.

His master made no attempts to hide it. “Eventually”, he admitted. 

“Magni will face adventurers until I feel that his skills are sufficient. He will learn their skills, their styles, strategies, techniques and ways as well as how to effectively counter them. It is only after I am content and certain that he has achieved that much that I will remove him from his post and bring him to the final floor”, he revealed. 

“Guardians exist to protect the core. Someday soon, we will have warriors stalking my domain. The very standards I have set will ensure that those that do will be among the best of their kind", Brandr elaborated. "How will we protect ourselves from these adventurers? With creatures like Magni! Elite defenders who will not only be experienced at fighting adventurers but also at effectively countering them. Imagine, an army of former guardians stationed on the final floor ready to cut down any creature that makes its way to our sanctum.”

“That’s…” Thorn said. He was at a lost for words. This was not a plan. This was an exploit and yet it was safety net that could guarantee their safety.  Some part of him wanted to protest it but the rest of him felt different. As much as he valued and respected adventurers, he better than most knew exactly what they were capable of. A back plan, especially one they could not predict would be very helpful in case of a dire emergency.

"You are not going to send them against the adventurers?" he asked in an uncommonly small voice.

"Not unless they give me reason to", his master told him.

"You are not an adventurer any more, Thorn. You stand on another side now. One that will conflict with them often. Instead of worrying for their sake, think of your people and your home. Think of the many creatures that call this place home!" Brandr counselled. 

"If you must pray for your former order, pray that they give me cause to destroy them!"