ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 96 What is Your Name?

Chapter 96

What is Your Name?

Sunday

Alexa watched as the now incapacitated werewolves writhed and wiggled on the ground. Their minds and spirits seemingly at odds with that their bodies were going through. There was a disconnect, a separation of what was happening to the different summoned aspects, and what should be happening in the real world. How the summoned aspects should be acting.

Alexa watched and could almost see the way the chords that bound these summoned aspects of presumably real enslaved werewolves to a real representation of them. Viewing this, several questions had to be asked. The first and likely most important was, did moments of what happened to a summoned aspect travel back to the original body? This question alone could cause a large gambit of additional questions that would spawn from this original question. Especially as each answer would likely lead to additional future questions. If there was still a tie, a connection between the aspect and the living individual then how much? The fact that there was a faint cord that seemed to tie the aspect to the dungeon seemed to confirm that to some extent there was at least some feedback offered by the quest takers to those who were seemingly forced to be here.

Also, Alexa figured that part of this linking to the Trials of Ascension could be related to the fact that the designers of these trials either didn’t know what they were doing? Wanted to have a constant source of feedback, namely who was a promising candidate, how far they were going, how well they were performing, etcetera. To do that and have an actual way to dictate how people were doing, they would need people, trusted individuals who were bound to the trials, who could then receive updates after each candidate goes through.

Now the only problem was, Alexa never remembered seeing these cords before. Either her Attributes finally improved to a point where she could finally notice them? Or this was the first time such a permanent link was established. Well technically it could have come in on the last two trial stages as well, as she had completely bypassed any and all interactions with hostile forces during those two stages. Opting instead to solve the dungeon that was before her.

Honestly she would have preferred to avoid all opposing factions again, but this time her case was slightly different as she thrust right in the middle of a battle. Even if she tried to run, she would have been caught up in a maelstrom of violence.

Fortunately for her, the two forces hadn’t met. She was not aware of what would happen if she had to try to subdue both werewolves and vampyres at the same time. Odds were she would have either had to kill the summoned aspects of a few, or gotten extremely creative. As it was she considered herself lucky that she was just forced to have a brief warm up before true fighting began.

“What? Huh?” The Alpha said, his mind and actions groggy, until he awoke on the ground in his human, well humanoid form. He was a human, at least he was an individual who reminded Alexa most of a human, more so than a failed elf. Of all the features the only features that might make it so he appeared to be otherworldly were his golden yellow eyes that still sparkled even in his non-shifted human form. He looked around for a second, then shot up instantly on alert seeing so many of his fellow pack mates all knocked out and wiggling on the ground.

“Hello.” Alexa said, her voice calm, despite still feeling the thrill of battle lust rushing through her veins.

“You? What did you do?” The Alpha says taking a half step back before stopping themselves as they looked down to see that they were the only source of defense of their unconscious pack mates.

“I freed you. Now the only reason you would remain a slave is yourself.”

“What? You haven’t freed me.” He said, even though he looked at his hands in clear confusion.

“But I have. You should still have all of the benefits of having gone through the Lykanthropic process, but you are cleansed. You will no longer need to, nor be able to transform into a wolf. You are free.”

“What? This is…” He trailed off as a confused look crossed his face. Either confusion or constipation, Alexa couldn’t quite determine which. Given the state of his dress and the fact that his ripped cloth pants now served as little more than a loose loin cloth over his nether regions, Alexa hoped that it wasn’t the latter.

“I can’t transform?” He finally said, a note of panic filling his words.

“You will never be able to again, at least not in here.” Alexa said, then pressed on with some of her earlier questions she had. “You do know you are in a dungeon, right? That you are what appears to be a summoned aspect of a real person?”

“What? How did you know that?” The Alpha asked.

“I can see it as part of your title. Werewolf Pack Leader: (Summoned Aspect): Level 32: Status: Healed, Disposition: Confused.” Alexa said, as she read the pack leader’s description to him.

Hearing that, the man, well humanoid being, paused and stared at Alexa. “Have you unlocked the all-seeing eyes?” He asks, then immediately waves a hand. “No wait don’t answer. If you do, then when this is over, I will be forced to tell my masters.”

Hearing that Alexa nodded, having some of her previously conceived thoughts about the status of these werewolves answered. By his statements, Alexa surmised that the fact that these people were still linked summoned aspects meant they could at least partially tell what happened during these trials.

“Have you always been linked? Or is it just this floor where you, and your pack were made to suffer only to return and report on your suffering?”

Hearing that, the Alpha just lowered his head in shame. “Honestly I cannot speak to the other dungeons, we are held in special pens that will link to us when a trial taker appears. After the trial is over, we will state which faction the trial taker is a part of, how powerful they were and anything about their fighting style we noticed that could give us an advantage.”

Hearing that Alexa just nodded to herself.

“Tell me, do you know of me?”

At that the werewolf leader just shook his head. “Honestly, no. We are just the assault team, meant to die and be reborn constantly. Of the leaders? They never appear anymore. Instead they let us take their place as generally one of us is capable of surviving until the end.” The Alpha states.

At that Alexa nodded.

The Alpha for his part looked at his hands in disbelief, a slight tremble began in his body. “It’s odd, being able to talk. For the longest time, I couldn’t…” He pauses as tears fill his eyes. “I couldn’t ever speak out or against the masters. Against their plans. But here I am, finally, able to talk and I can’t seem to stop myself…” He trailed off as he noticed the stirring of a few of his pack mates.

“Huh, what?” A female said. If the Alpha’s wear was bad, this female werewolf was downright immodest. A sac with holes cut out would be able to cover more than the loose shreds of fabric that still covered her body.

Seeing them in such a state, Alexa decided to send an olive branch. “Would you like clothes?”

Scoff.

“There are no clothes, not for us…” The Alpha said, a defeated tone to his voice. Now that he was no longer under the constant compulsion of the gaes to attack, to follow orders, to obey he found his body and mind at war with each other.

“That’s not what I asked. I asked if you would like clothes.” Alexa said, her words clearly being annunciated as she made sure the concept was being conveyed. Only after a few seconds did she even realize she wasn’t speaking English, but Orcish.

“Yes, we would like clothes, but there aren’t any. This floor doesn’t even have food.” The female said, as she answered the question that was being asked.

Hearing that Alexa nodded to herself. Then mentally focusing on what she imagined cotton polymers would look like, she began fusing together threads at an atomic level and then slowly over time made it so the poly woven carbon threads took shape and then form as she began linking and threading multiple threads all together. She was after all a Creation mage. What good was being a Creation mage if she couldn’t offer clothing to others.

Focusing, she wove the threads together and then over the course of seconds had an oversized shirt. The shirt she threw to the one female in a pack full of dirty males. Looking at the female it was clear she was very pretty by most any standards.

“Let me guess, you are the one who is designed to catch and lure in males to the cause?” Alexa asked.

“Males and Females, I’m not allowed to discriminate, but yes…” The female, former werewolf, said as a note of disgust and bile filled her words.

Hearing that Alexa could only nod. She imagined she would make quite the prize for anyone going down the path of the orcs. Seeing her, Alexa couldn’t help but feel a further wave of revulsion at the orcs.

“Do you remember?” Alexa asked, a note of anger filling her words. The question was clear for all who could hear, did she remember the violations that were all but forced upon her through her gaes.

The woman now free of her mental bonds, let a moment of weakness form on her face as she dropped her head in shame. She didn’t speak, she didn’t need to, her look and the way the rest of her slowly awaking pack noticed and reacted was testament enough to what she had endured. Even if it was just a simulation, one that didn’t affect her real body, she remembered. Not only did she remember but she felt disgusted just by being forced to remember.

“Do you want revenge?” Alexa asked, a note of cold malice filling her words.

Scoff.

“Yeah, of course. But what does it matter? After this I will still be a slave. I will still be bound to them. I don’t know what you managed to do here for this, but this will fade.” She said, pointing to her mind as she spoke about being free.

Alexa shook her head. “No, you are free. Your state right now shows me that you have never truly succumbed. That you still fought back. So long as you still have the thought that this is wrong, that you are being wronged that you can do better. That you want better. So long as you have these thoughts you are free. Or at least capable of freedom. The minute you lose sight of those goals. The minute you give into complacency, that is when you are truly a slave. Until that point you are free.”

Alexa paused.

She was of course speaking to the lone female of the pack, but her words were meant for everyone. Judging by the way many of the waking pack members slowly began to stir and stare up and lock gazes with Alexa, rather than staring at the ground showed that she was breaking through to them. Even the female looked a bit more confident with her posture and the way she looked to Alexa.

With the shirt complete, Alexa gave it one quick look before throwing it at the female. It was black, loose but yet draped over her curvy body in an appealing way that cotton often does. With that first article of clothing out of the way, Alexa held out her hand and began creating shorts for everyone. Once again she started with the female, mainly because she felt some sort of deeper connection to her over anyone. After the female was done, Alexa continued making shorts for the Alpha, then the other members of the pack.

Once everyone was clothed, Alexa didn’t stop.

Focusing her mind she began creating chocolate. Once she had a piece that was as large as her fist, she held it out as an offering to the female.

“What is this?” The female asked, holding out her hand hesitantly to take the item that had been created out of thin air.

“Sacred female bonding food. By us taking this together and talking about issues we will bond on a deeper level than you have ever experienced before.” Alexa said.

At that, the female paused.

“I’m just kidding, it is just food.” Alexa said.

At that the woman paused, but then sniffing the item soon found that her mouth was salivating at the scent. It was such a pure form of chocolate that it began melting on her fingers, causing the smell to be even more pungent.

Sniff, sniff.

Even the other members of the pack began to turn their attentions to the chocolate as they could all smell the rich aroma filling the night air.

“I’ll try.” One male said, coming over. Clearly wanting to help the female who was clearly at a loss for what to do with the substance.

“Yeah, me too.” A second male said, his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth as he came closer.

Seeing the look of avarice the two of their faces, the female held up her elbows in a protective posture putting as much of her body in between the two pack mates and her chocolate. “No, mine.” The woman said.

Chomp.

The female bit deeply into the ball of chocolate and paused for a moment as she let the ball melt over her tongue. Then chewed once, then twice, then slowly she began chewing. Until finally she had swallowed the whole bite. She then paused as her eyes grew wide as she looked at the rest of the ball and then consumed the whole ball of chocolate.

“This..zis guud.” She said, her words slurred as she spoke around the ball of chocolate.

Hearing that Alexa nodded and then waved her hand in a fake sign of a blessing. “I now pronounce you a spiritual sister of the human faction.”

Hearing that, everyone paused.

Even the female who had been devouring the chocolate ball to much delight suddenly paused as she stared on with concern filling her features.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to swear any form of allegiance to me or humans. In fact, we just want you to be who you are. That said, that feeling you had a moment ago, that will be ours together.” Alexa paused as she then held out her hand and began creating more and more bars of chocolate for the others.

This time everyone greedily took one, having let their female pack member be the sacrificial lamb for their experiment.

Finally, having had everyone clothed and fed, the Alpha took a moment to speak. “Thank you, I don’t quite know what to say. Nor how we can thank you. It is clear that we are no match for you.”

Alexa just shook her head. “I require nothing from you. Well, actually there is one thing I require of you.”

Hearing that everyone paused, as they realized it was time for the other shoe to drop.

“What is it, know that my life will mean little but it is yours if you just so ask.” The Alpha said, bowing down and kneeling.

“None of that. I just need to know your name.”

“A name?” The Alpha asked, clearly confused by the statement.

“Yes, what is your name?”

“I don’t…” The Alpha began, but was soon cut off by the female.

“We are not allowed to have names.” The female pack member said.

“Yes, we are slaves from birth until death.” Another pack member spoke up adding to this.

Hearing this Alexa shook her head in disgust.

“Don’t worry, it is okay. You have already done more than enough to help us.” The Alpha began, but Alexa shook her head in disgust at the thought.

“No, a name is a sacred identifier of who you are deep down at your core. A name defines you both to yourself and others. It is a symbol of who you are and who your parents want you to be. It is both the memory to yourself and your family that your name gives power. A name is power. Your name gives you power.”

As she spoke, she felt a surge of energy form from her. This surge of energy felt similar to the way she constructed the power Hope, but this time things were slightly different. This time she felt the swell of energy form in her, she felt the way the concept was three dimensional and once again looped back in on itself. But rather than the spiral pattern like the word Hope, this one was off by a bit. In cultivation terms this word would seemingly form the core of a person’s being. While Hope would be used to first purify the body of impurities.

Feeling this new found knowledge just flooding her mind she accepted the surge for what it was, an epiphany. She spoke the concept of the word into life, and then her mind was now giving that word form. Her mind was finding a way to empower that concept that she had just told to the pack gathered before her.

Focusing her mind on that concept, on completing she felt power swell up from within her. Power that went beyond what her body was now used to for creating the power word Hope. Now her body was forced to push itself even further as she willed this new concept into life.

Seeing the swirl of power, the entire pack began to back up. Each member taking an involuntary step back as they saw a giant ball of energy form before them. The source was bright too, brighter than the sun.

Just looking at the ball caused the eyes of the wolves to lose focus as they had been in this dungeon for so long that their eyes had adjusted to the near perpetual state of night. So long had they been bound in the darkness of this prison, that they never saw the sun. They never saw or felt the warmth of its rays and radiance across their skin. Everyone leaned back as they contemplated this, but then all eventually made at least one attempt to stare at the blinding ball of golden light, if only for a moment.

“Wha?”

They seemed to ask, as their words were all caught in their throats as they just stared at the strange woman and the power she formed before her. They had seen miracles of magic, they had their ties severed to their masters, if only for a moment. They had been given clothing for protection, and they been given chocolate a food that was beyond anything they could have ever imagined tasting. Now the girl was before them, creating yet another miracle, the sun. A ball of light so bright and brilliant that is made it so that focusing on anything else would be pointless. Seeing the ball of light everyone stared with slack jawed amazement. Then when the ball looked like it was nearing completion Alexa spoke.

“I said, what is your Name!”

Whoosh!

And just like that, a wave of force flew into and assailed every member of the pack forcing them to the ground as a shockwave of force pushed them back and onto the ground.

There was a moment of silence as everyone was momentarily stunned by the action. Then as one, they all felt it, a small spark that began as a mere flicker, but soon began to catch light on the dry tender that had been their discarded hopes and dreams. There that spark began to burn with a brilliance and intensity as it gained traction and steam, growing brighter and brighter, until each and every pack member felt something at their core. They all felt something come alive within them. They all felt, a sense of self.

With trembling hands the Alpha rose up to his feet, as he looked at his hands to see that they were still there, that he was still whole.

Climbing to his feet, he rose up and shouted defiantly into the are the spark that was alight within him. The spark that was burning so brightly that he couldn’t deny it even if he tried. “I am Atreus!”

“I am Andronika!” The female warrior called out.

Then one by one each pack member roared out their names to the very heavens themselves, as if in defiance of their fate in life. As they all knew that while their time here would be brief, they would remember this moment, this spark that was now resting at their very cores could not be forgotten. This spark would forever be burned into their mind and soul.

Once they were over, they all stood panting, feeling the full force of freedom. They were free, they now realized this, for the first time in their lives they were all free. They all felt what it meant to be free.

“What now?” Atreus, the pack alpha asked.

Hearing his question everyone else in the pack paused as they all turned to Alexa, a person who they all clearly considered a leader worth listening to.

“Now, we do unto the vampyres what has been done to you. Then we will truly be able to break free of the lots in life we have all been dealt.”

With that, the pack looked amongst themselves for a moment, each exchanging a quick glance looking for any sign of hesitation. When they found none were present, they all turned back to Alexa and nodded as one.

With that, Alexa spoke the first two words of the revolution.

“Follow me.”

And they did.