[The Sanctuary] Fate Conspires And Time Desires

[Kavala]

She fought the summons. A'Kenas was not his slave. She was not his property. But she knew, deep through the bond, that was exactly what he thought of her. Animal. Creation. Alien. She knew that they made the kelvics from. She'd been parts of a whole before he'd fused them together and gave her a human shape. And she knew he'd programmed her shape to be what he wanted it to be. She hadn't known from his lips, but she'd heard lurking in the halls other techs talking, about how to meet Marcus' demands. Guards were to have big bodies, heavy, able to carry armor and be made of fierce predators.

Techs talked. They always did. They didn't mind that kelvics could hear. Most assumed they couldn't understand. Four days ago, A'Kenas probably couldn't either if she'd cared to eavesdrop. But her mind was linked to Irvyns now. Irvyn had allowed the bond and her awareness had expanded. All the creature that made her kelvic needed was a guidepost, a roadmap, and its adaptability became scary dangerous. As a first generation, created not born, she could pick up Irvyn's skills just through the bond. Reading... and even at line for breakfast that morning in the mess hall she'd glanced at the line and her brain had counted the number of people in it and how fast it was moving to spit out a time when she'd get to the front. It had been scary accurate. It was Irvyn's influence. She should tell him.

But he wanted her on his terms. He was her Creator. But she knew the term slave now. And she didn't want to be that. Companion. Partner. Anything sounded better than what Irvyn was willing to give.

So she stood below the window, staring up at his suite and the lights still on. And while he ordered her to Come. While he wanted her to come. She wouldn't' do it. Instead, she sent back through the bond her annoyance and her frustration. She sent her loneliness and her need to be with him. But she also made it clear, through her emotions, he needed to ask, not order. Ask. And once, though her eyesight wasn't as great at night as it was during the day, she thought she saw him at his window, for a time, staring down at her.

And when he vanished, she could still feel him. She could feel his need and his desire and loneliness. The bond needed their touch, and to be reinforced. So she sent again, pouring her emotions into the link. Ask... She'd come. She'd be with him. She'd warm his bed and love him and watch over him while he slept. Just ask... don't tell. Ask. And she'd be there in seconds. Ask. She wanted to show him her new thinking, her new brain, and that she could now read. Ask. Ask for her. Don't order her. Ask. She was stubborn, and reinforced her thoughts. Ask. ASK. PLEASE ASK.

[Ronan]

Though he hadn't thought he could, Irvyn fell asleep for a time. But his dreams were of her. Riding. Eating together. Talking together. Making love. When he finally awoke from the scattered pleasures of his dream, the bond jolted him from his bed.

It was obvious what she wanted. And it was her way of attaining some sort of power in this relationship. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to order her back to the examination table and tie her down, and then she'd do as he say. But he was powerless. Pitifully powerless.

As he had established, she was a vessel of his own desire for dominance. His creation was flawed in a way he could never have imagined. Though he felt so dirty for it, he could need no longer.

Please A, will you come? he sent down the bond. He hated himself. He hated every single shred of vile thought. But it was an itch he had to scratch. He was paralysed by the need, and until it was satisfied, he could do nothing else. He couldn't explain the intense emotions, the desire to be close to her that wracked the bond and his very person.

I am sorry. Please will you come and be with me. I need you.

It was the last three words that hurt him the most. A dagger to the heart, and then twisted so viciously it began to rip out everything personal to him. He felt tired and lost. The bond had done this to him - a pitiful scientist that needed his creation to feel satiated in some way.

It was a hunger he felt he'd never fulfil.

[Kavala]

She was at his doorway almost as soon as the word need spilled out and into his mind. It was no command, no demand for obedience. It was asking. And the first test, perhaps one of the hardest, she passed with flying colors. His chamber doorway, the latch, was designed to keep any but the most clever of humans out. A'Kenas worked it with ease, bypassing one of his safety measures designed to confound an animal. But something else touched him as she pushed the doorway open and walked in the room to join him.

She was terrified. Wide-eyed and snorting, all she'd ever wanted was a room, a human room. But all she ever knew was a barn, a stall, being haltered and then bridled and told what to do by a Ivryn or the stablemaster or one of the grooms. This was all new territory for her. She came immediately to him, touched him, catching his hand with hers and leaning into his side so their bodies connected full length. But her eyes were large, nervous, and she scanned the room with a mixture of delighted terror that fed directly down their link and filled him too.

Looking around, his suite of rooms was indeed something terrible to a horse. An open floor plan swept one area into another joined by a commons that was filled with furniture. A raised platform swept up and lead to a sleeping area where a huge four poster bed dominated the far wall up on a dais. There was a bench resting at its foot, and either side was flanked with tall windows that overlooked one of Ironrocks' many vistas.

She circled around him trying to take it all in.

The hearth in the kitchen area and its scatterings of pots and pans and implements that looked like torture confounded her. So too did Irvyn's personal library. She moved closer to him, pressing her whole body against him, nibbling at his neck, trying not to show her fear. But he could feel it, core deep, invading her.

"This is a human stall... a room?" She asked, her teeth catching his ear and tugging it gently. Her breath brushed the back of his neck and the smell of sweet mint filled him. "Where is the hay? Where do you sleep? You eat here too? And read? And what is all this for?" She knew what exam tables were. She was very familiar with medical equipment and things he used in the lab.

One of her hands snaked under his tunic to touch the bare skin of his back. She leaned closer, the bond between them purring its contentment. With this touch, this intimacy, it learned faster. It learned both what Irvyn was learning about A'Kenas' nativity and it learned what A'Kenas was thinking, feeling, how scared she was of the new place. But the fear was draining off. The longer she stood with Irvyn, the steadier she grew, the more easy her breathing was, until she finally relaxed.

"Is this just for now... a visit?" She asked, hoping it was for more. "Do I have to wear clothing here? Are there rules? Can we touch like before? I like it when you join with me. It makes you feel so good, so relaxed, which is hard for you. And it makes me feel good too. Have you eaten?" Her hand snaked out, looking in his back pocket suddenly. Remembering he kept carrots there. No. No carrots. Her disapointment was tangible.

"Can I read your books? I can read now..." She said, curious, almost leaving him to wander over to where the books are. "Books have a stupid amount of words in them. They make me happy. I think they make me happy because you like them too." She decided.

Her mind was a whirlwind, like someone had turned on a switch. Even when she wasn't talking, if he concentrated, he could read her thoughts. She was still fearful. She was a tad hungry. She hated wearing her clothing. She wanted to see what was in the big book across the room on a stand. His bed confounded her and she had no idea what it was. Her hand brushed across the front of his pants. She wanted sex with him. But mostly, and most dearly, she just wanted his undivided attention, whatever form that took.

[Ronan]

She came quickly. He couldn't help feeling a measure of relief filter into him. The need was close to being satisfied. But when she remarkably managed to open the door and let herself in, he felt unadulterated fear from her.

It brought back a lot of memories, that fear. Its taste was so resonant. Her on the examination tables as he began the process, to change her from animal into something more, something greater. Her eyes had been so wide. She had looked so tired, and she had shed so many tears. Confusion and fear.

She took a good look around the room before finally coming to him, nuzzling him. That warmth returned, thawing him out from the ice of his heart. He tilted his neck ever so slightly, closing his eyes as if not looking denied the feelings.

But the bond didn't lie. And nor did it lie for her. The fear remained, even amongst the scraps of happiness.

"A room," he said, before patting the bed he lay on. He didn't need to speak, the bond told her everything, that this was where he slept, and thought, and pondered, and sometimes lay all night awake in confusion.

As the fear began to relinquish its hold, A'Kenas' naked body pressed against his, seeking warmth and companionship. Her hand touched his back, and he closed his eyes again. Feeling. Understanding.

"It doesn't have to be," he said, trying to put more care into his choice of words. It was not an outright yes, more like an open promise if she did as he said or wanted.

When her hand came round for carrots, he felt the disappointment. It seemed the old times were fading into memory. He put up a hand and gentle brushed fallen hair from her face.

"Do clothes make you feel uncomfortable?"

She asked so many questions, her mind brimming with untapped knowledge. The thirst for learning had never died. Stupid. She said it again. That word had come to mean so much more to him now. It signified a lot. Her growth and all that encompassed.

When she touched his down below, he couldn't help the fire coursing through his blood. But it was not simply sex that he desired from her. The bond seemed to demand a close proximity, as if they had to stay close and weather a storm.

And it left him little choice. When he didn't listen to its whispers he felt hollow. And he didn't want to feel hollow. He wanted to feel complete, and now he began to understand that A'Kenas made him feel that way.

When they had bonded, had the link severed Irvyn in half, placing that other half of his spirit into her, so that without her he was not a full person? That was how it felt.

He kissed her neck, pushing locks of hair away. She felt a little cold - but then she had been outside for a long time, alone.

"You may read a book if you wish to."

[Kavala]

She glanced at him, curiously, and then glanced down at her body. She half smiled, then shrugged, and looked as if she was intently thinking over the question. "The saddle you taught me to wear made me feel uncomfortable at first. I hated the bit. Now they are familiar, so too i the touch of your hands guiding my mouth when we ride. Clothing can't be worse, can it? Nothing is forced between my teeth." She said, still scowling at the thought.

They exchanged feelings, through the bond, and her lips were on him and his on hers. And he granted her permission to read a book, which excited her. She jumped up off the bed and took one, without looking at its spine, and returned to settle beside him. Her desire for sex matched her desire to read and her desire to be with him and her desire to understand everything around her. It was almost overwhelming. A'Kenas tucked up to his side, opened the book,and began to read it. Irvyn could hear her voice in his head, reading the words across the cover, then her confusion, then her turning the book and finally understanding the words.

Summoning. She was reading a full on text about the technicalities of summoning and worldwalking. He could hear her voice in his head as if he were an elder with a grandaughter perched by his bedside reading him to sleep. He felt her consume the introduction greedily, absorb the material and understand it. She nestled closer to him, one hand wrapped around the book, eyes scanning the pages, the other hand wrapped around his waist, holding him close.

"Each world has a number, like each of your creations. What number is this one, where we are now? I know my number. I always have. A-4,312. Did you try 4,311 experiments before you got me? Or were some of those the other techs?" She asked. A'Kenas shouldn't have been that smart. She shouldn't have understood that readily. She watched him expectantly and only jumped when the knock sounded at the door.

It opened without fanfare. And the awkward gait ushered in by a tap tap of a cane told both of them exactly who it was.

Marcus stood in the light of the hall. He let himself in, closed the door behind him, and moved in a painfully slow way across the room. He wasn't an old man, just a broken man, torn up by his past work worldwalking and his service to the Suvan Empire. Handsome, even rogueish, his eyes missed nothing as they took in the sight of A'Kenas in Irvyn's bed reading, and Irvyn's stunned slightly overwhelmed expression. The scene made the scientist laugh lightly as he slowly approached Irvyn's bed.

A'Kenas tossed her head, gripped her bondmate and her book tighter, and did not know if she needed to defend Irvyn or defer to Marcus. Marcus was the leader, of all of them, and the Master here. She held back and even held still as Marcus' hand reached out, touched her forehead, tapped her once there and evicted her into darkness.

The kelvic horse wearing a womans body slumped over her book, loosing consciousness and leaving the two men in privacy. "There's talk." Marcus started, nodding towards A'Kenas. "There's talk that you've bonded. I've come to offer you some advice and reassurance, Irvyn, because you are my best tech and I don't want you overwhelmed or confused." He said, glancing at A'Kenas and gently picking up her book. He raised an eyebrow at its title, closed it, and placed it back beside her.

He hooked a chair that was resting nearby with his cane, and pulled it over to where he could sit down. He didn't at all seem uncomfortable that Irvyn was there, with his kelvic, in their bed. It was almost outrageously normal that he was.

"She's magnificent. I can see why you picked her. I still think she's your best work." Marcus said, raising his cane and moving it to causally lift a lock of A'Kenas' hair out of her face. "A horse too... she'll carry you to the ends of the Mizahar and back without giving it a thought. And she won't try to eat you when she gets mad at you. Good choice. Too bad about her longevity though. We'll have to work on that one if we get the opportunity. I'm not sure though, with the war ongoing. It might not touch us here, but unless Kova does something stupid, Galifor will have her before the the year is out." Marcus said, scowling.

Then he glanced at Irvyn and shook his head. "With all of our lovely creations, they are not having any luck at all finding Marista." His twin. His lost twin. There was only so many kelvics to send and only so many coordinates that weren't top secret. Then he shook his head.

"That's my problem, not yours. I've come to offer you some comfort. I can only imagine how you are taking this bonding. I have no idea how she got you to do it, agree to it, that is. Some of the techs have complained that they've bonded to one or more of their creations and haven't' had a choice in it. I've come to hear your side on this. I'm starting to not like the A generation very well. They are showing some signs in their design outside of our creation parameters. The B's and even down as far as the D's are much better. For instance, she shouldn't be reading. She's a horse. But they seem to be borrowing intelligence from the techs they are bonding too and utilizing it immediately. That's a dangerous trait. I'm not sure I like it all that well." He added, looking thoughtful.

"And that rogue A, the one from the dead tech that still has several of his A gen wandering around left a peahen A untended at his death. She bonded to the cook three days ago and is already planning meals here. She was deathly afraid of the kitchens and fire before that. Now shes filling the castle with that unholy cry those peacocks have and scaring the servants as she stays up creating dishes for the next day." Marcus said, leaning back into his chair and looking tired. He set his cane down and studied Irvyn.

"So talk to me Irvyn. Tell me what your thinking... and how this happened. And.. too I'm curious about the marine mammals. I heard you had two viables out of a set of twenty in the last three days. Good results for something outside of our area of study thus far." He added, once more glancing at A'Kenas.

[Ronan]

A'Kenas jumped at the chance, retrieving a book in an instant. He felt every word through the bond, more resonant than if he'd even read alone. It was her learning. He felt every stumble, every search for understanding, but she ploughed through the words with relative discomfort. He watched her quietly.

When she spoke, he appeared startled for a moment. Her observations grew increasingly quick-witted. They showed exceptional thought and understanding. Clarity that perhaps went beyond the original designs of the Kelvics.

His reverie was broken when a knock came to the door. Before he could even say, just a moment, it opened and a cane tapped audibly against the ground. Marcus. He scrambled up so he was sat against the wall rather than led beside A. It was not shame... more fear of his reaction.

He saw the man's eyes, glancing between Irvyn and A'Kenas, judging in a moment. When he spoke, he realised the scientist knew the truth. Of course. He held a wisdom many men would kill to attain.

He could feel her through the bond still. Not quite fear. But she was unsure, and so there she sat, paralysed as Marcus' hand went to her forehead and turned her from reader to sleeper. He watched her fall numb, and her racing thoughts were extinguished in the link.

Marcus sat down, his words fatherly in a way. He was a man that Irvyn could never lie to. He owed him a lot - for taking a chance on him, and giving him much freedom in his research. Ironrock was his bastion after all, where they created great things.

"You have heard the truth," he said quietly, struggling to meet the man's eyes. He felt a little pride as the man complimented A'kenas, but why did he feel so riled up as he described her like an object? Had the bond made A'Kenas transcend the position as property in his mind? The mention of war made him shudder. He loved living in Ironrock, since it was a world away from the politics and conflicts of greater Mizahar. It was enough to drive him mad.

The mention of the twin brought sadness to Marcus' face. It was a crusade, but a very personal one. Irvyn feared a sad ending to his tale. "I am sorry... I hope, I truly do, that you hear something soon."

"I... I don't think she made me Marcus. It happened. I don't even know how to begin describing it, since I'm still trying to work it out myself. I know you have felt the same way of some of yours, but help me Marcus. The bond has such a need. I... I find it intolerable at times."

He listened to his fears over the A generation. It was something he had witnessed firsthand. A'Kenas learnt quickly. Too quickly. It seemed she could devour the whole library in an instant, soaking up immeasurable knowledge and really, truly maintaining it.

"And you are right. She learns in a voracious way. Being near me makes her happy, and I... reciprocate, willingly or not."

He was glad at the mention of the marine mammals - glad to be able to change the subject.

He nodded fervently, gesticulating with his hands. "Two dolphins, Marcus. No issues as of yet, and they have responded well to all of my testing so far."

[Kavala]

Marcus nodded, satisfied. "That's good news, Irvyn. We have several water worlds that we need to send scouts too. She might be there. Aquatics was one of her fields. But I'll have to check the salinity and compatibility of dolphins. I won't have someone bond them and then send them into harm without being sure they have a fighting chance to do a real search." He said, looking thoughtful.

He turned his eyes back onto A'Kenas and glanced at Irvyn once more. "It's unsettling at first. It will quiet down and let you be apart later. It just takes time. I changed the program with the C's and D's. We can break the bond with a thought, willing it to happen. But these A's almost have a defense mechanism against it. I don't think you can rid yourself of her unless she dies if you so choose. I've had experience there. Once they die, it simply vanishes. The needs, the compulsion to be near them. The first one I bonded too was intense. I would have never arranged it that way but I needed them to learn fast, to figure out what I knew, to be my eyes and ears where I could not go. The tradeoff was that. I loved her enormously. It's interesting, the first generation will never be mistreated by bond mates or abused. We can't physically do it. But the ones I'm selling off to fund more research because Suva has so painfully shorted us as this war has lingered on... they don't generate the same fierce protectiveness. It's as if I got the program right this time and they only get respect when its earned". He added.

"That's why I don't want anymore A's made. I want the modifications done, and anything you choose to add or subtract in your work. This generation is too dangerous. But thankfully they don't pass on these traits. Now that you have her here, you should know something. She can give you children, and odds are they will be normal. Her chance of producing a Kelvic with you is almost slim to none. Use this.. if you wish to put her in your program and have her produce offspring. It will toggle her kelvic genes and make them pass instead of yours." Marcus pulled a vile of clear green fluid and handed it to Irvyn.

"I have three sons and two daughters now, all kelvic born, all showing signs of being perfectly normal. We may not have many people here, but they are very suitable for all sorts of things. Keep her Irvyn. Enjoy her. You earned her. And don't be scared of her. But any of your A's you are not using, send to the exploratory program. We need to get them through gates and keep looking. And once your two marines pass training, I'll need them as well. I knew you were the right man for the job. Great work on getting two, that's a ten percent success rate, far higher than my first attempts." He leaned forward, across Irvyn and studied A'Kenas once more.

He almost reached out to touch her then glanced at Irvyn and decided against it. He didn't want to push his top tech into any sort of protective mode.

"A piece of advice about your A. Give her a job, keep her busy. As she learns and gets bored, she'll make trouble if you don't keep her occupied. And if she's too bored we'll have to send her out. It's a waste to not have them here working. Have some children too. It's past time for you. And it will settle her down. Get her a lab coat. Get her a station. Teach her to synthesize or to double down formulas. Get her familiar with the equipment we use. She'll soon make suggestions on your own work, but remember, they aren't really her suggestions. They are your subconscious desires and she'll manifest them easily enough. And when your ready and you have leveled out with her, start spending time with another A as well. Pick something a bit harder, a predator or bird. Bond them, and use them for security. You don't have to stop with just her. She is the start. And she'll pave the way for others, easier and harder kelvics both. Irvyn, you deserve to enjoy your creations. These creatures are the fruits of our labor. Mine are different than yours. But to each their own. Your bloodlines will live on. Mine will as well. We'll have whole generations of them out there. And I suspect we'll have sleeper generations as well. My sons and daughter are not kelvic, but that doesn't mean they won't come into contact with other children and great grandchildren of techs like you and then we'll get a double recessive and a whole new generation of kelvics will be born." He chuckled, looked up at Irvyn with a twinkle in his eye, and added one last thing.

"You know, its not half bad to play at being Gods. In fact, my own mother told me once not too long ago that we do what most Gods cannot. Think on that Irvyn. Just think on it...." And with that, Marcus rose. He leaned over and tapped A'Kenas' forehead once more, waking her up.

"Sleep well you two. I'll leave you to your rest." He said, and slowly made his way out, showing himself to the door.

[Ronan]

Irvyn nodded thoughtfully. The dolphins had responded well so far, and it was time to crank up the testing a notch. He was glad of the man's positivity. He still held out so much hope in finding his kin.

As Marcus' eyes rested on A'Kenas, and he began to explain his own experiences with the bonding process, Irvyn blinked and listened closely. It was something he needed to know - otherwise, he feared for the future of his sanity.

Ah. So the earlier generations had a bond that stuck, whereas the Cs and Ds of their creations could be bound and unbound with ease. He turned to look at A'Kenas, lost in the sleep Marcus had induced in her. A snap induction, built into every Kelvic, so that Marcus retained ultimate control. He was bound to her forever then. It was something he would have to learn to accept. Surprisingly, he didn't feel anxious over the prospect.

"Yes... I see that Marcus. I see it in her. She has her own will, and speaks it loud and clear often enough."

He nodded again, agreeably, as Marcus ordered the cessation of A-gen creation. He hadn't made an attempt of late anyway. He was right when he said the later generations were easier - the whole process seemed to work a lot more smoothly. A'Kenas' rebirth had been one of screams and pains, tired, creased faces, and a fading hope that it would never work.

When he mentioned children though, Irvyn's brow raised. It was not something he had considered, though he had heard of Marcus' endeavours. Everyone had. Ironrock was no city after all. It was something he would mull over, not something he could sit and decide now. The thought frightened him, even with Marcus' assurances of safety. They would birth a human child. But what trauma would A'kenas face on that path?

The job idea was worthy of his immediate attention though. Her first foray into a book told him that much. She needed stimulant. She required education sustenance, and depriving her would surely make her destructive and unkempt, to a point where he would be unable to assert any control again.

"Thank you Marcus, you have given me a lot to think on, and a great deal of useful information. I always trusted your judgement. You are a wise man indeed."

He swallowed, pondering on the man's last words, and decided to respond before he left.

"But please listen to me here. Playing Gods has its worthy side, of course, Ironrock is a testament to that. But Gods can be fickle beings too, destructive and careless, collateral just a pin drop to them. Do not let power make you become that being."

He looked back to A'Kenas as Marcus released her from the darkness, and left the room with a twinkle in his eye. There had been an excitement in his voice. It made his work more exciting, and kept his techs motivated. He was a people manager as much as a scientist and mage.

Irvyn felt her reawakened sentience through the bond, like a cloud obscured sky slowly clearing to brilliant, cobalt blue.

We will see what happens, he thought. There was more work to be done now, and he needed to set A'kenas to some tasks. This meagre library would not be enough for her. She had all the spirit of a wild horse, and the endurance to match. A book would not end her hunger. Far from it.

There was a world of knowledge out there, and she wanted to reach it, as did he. Both of them together, they would learn. They would learn the truth of the bond, and the truth of themselves. Indomitable spirits. Little did they know how important that would become as their soul's journeys continued.

[Traverse]

Thread Awards! Kavala : Experience: Deduction 2 Investigation 2 Mathematics 1 Persuasion 2 Riding 1 Running 1 Socialization 5 Lore: Past Life: A'Kenas Zanrisi Knowing You Are a Horse, Yet Knowing You Are Not Irvyn Zanrisi: A Man and A Stallion Breaking Through to Your Creator Marcus Kelvic: A Different Master Ronan : Experience: Dagger 1 Philosophy 3 Research 2 Rhetoric 1 Riding 2 Socialization 5 Lore: Past Life: Irvyn Zanrisi Keeping Control Over Your Creation Losing Control Over Your Creation A'Kens Zanrisi: Becoming Exactly What You Made Her to Be Marcus Kelvic: A Wise Mentor Shared Lore: The Bond Between Creator and Created Knowledge of the Lengths it Takes to Make a Kelvic A True Bond is Not Between Master and Slave Additional Notes: : So this was the perfect kind of thread to tackle for NaNo. Just the awesome Kelvic lore content alone was enough to hook me, but of course there's the equally epic time bond we got going on between Ronan and Kavala. I could probably gush over this thread for a while, but I'll settle with the fact that it was just the right blend of romance, twisted Frankenstein experiments, and informational lore about the first Kelvics. There wasn't a whole lot to throw out to you guys in exp department (at least based on the size of this epic thread), but it was clear there was a different purpose to this story than gathering exp, which I much appreciated. You guys got plenty of lore (to be expected when you're learning about your past lives I suppose), and in their regard I'll refer you to the sentence below. Awesome thread guys! Questions, Concerns? PM me and we'll be to the bottom of it. Safe Travels!