Slipping the military was not particularly hard with Elizabeth's veils. They quickly returned to the fortification where they had left Waylan, spent several minutes trying to find him, then picked him up when he finally revealed himself on purpose. From there they headed towards their new destiation which was really not far as the undead ritual had taken place along the edge of the statue plaza. Therein they quickly found the unusual depiction of the founder.

"So, do you have any idea what to actually do with it?" Irwyn asked the usual suspect.

"I have a thought or two," Elizabeth nodded. "Depicting the Duchy of Green's capital implies that the maker wants it to be recognizable to people from the Federation. So, the other secrets would logically be locked behind things someone from the Federation might know. Such as stories."

"And you know such stories?" Alice asked. "Because I don't know almost anything about Green."

"Neither do I, not really," Elizabeth shook her head. "But we can guess. They are highly involved with Life magic, be that nature or the human form. Transformation, perhaps. We could also search for traces of magecraft. If there is nothing, I have a few things to try as a last resort."

They landed near the statue, still hidden from sight, though there were no other people in the vicinity. It had not changed: Grey stone, outstretched hand on the founder's depiction, a semicircle of the great tree in the background. It was the last part which Elizabeth approached.

"It is likely something with the tree," she concluded. "Look for the roots or the branches."

They began their examination that way, to no clear success. Most of the roots were hidden underground and thus not depicted. Meanwhile, while the branches were certainly strange, at unnatural angles, and weirdly merged into one another, they provided little insight.

"Any other ideas before I try mine?" Elizabeth asked.

"Time is still weirdly firm," Alice reiterated. "It's preventing me from perceiving space, so I cannot tell if there are any hidden holes."

"Nothing here," Irwyn shook his head. "Maybe something to do with the pedestal. All those symbols must mean something."

"Definitely still a statue," Waylan noted. "Report over."

"Fine, then my first idea," she nodded, then walked to the front. There, she summoned an elevated platform of Void magic before promptly falling prone on top of it. With the added height it just so worked that she could take the statue's outstretched hand to help her stand up.

"Something is happening," Irwyn immediately noted. There was a shift in the magic of the statue, however slight. They all waited in anticipation for something more to follow but nothing did. About half a minute later everything had returned to normal.

"Well, that is a bust," Alice pointed out.

"Another idea just struck me," Irwyn said, summoning a wisp of Light. While everyone else watched he began to trace the strange symbols at the foot, maintaining a connection with the magic. At first, it even elicited a similar effect as taking the hand, though in the same way, it quickly vanished. Even quicker, actually.

"Both together?" Elizabeth suggested, so they tried. Unfortunately, doing both the outlining and hand-taking at once just caused that shift to disappear immediately. That was seemingly a dead end.

"I think it your are right it might be stories or legends," Alice said thoughtfully. "One has something to do with an offered hand, another with the symbols. There is probably another with the tree. Following the main beats would lead somewhere."

"Stories from the Duchy of Green," Irwyn sighed in agreement. "Which none of us know."

"Brute force?" Waylan asked. It would take a while and might require external props, though the subtle shifts in magic would likely at least indicate progress. Still, guessing at the solution of an arbitrary puzzle could get tricky. Especially with no list of tools needed, if any.

"I have one more thing to try first," Elizabeth shook her head and approached the front again. There she took her most composed and regal form. Then she raised a hand, intently beckoning with her insignia ring. "By the name of House Blackburg and the line of Wrath: Secrets, wither; ways, be opened."

The effect of that was more immediate. The shift was far from subtle, as the stone of the pedestal seemingly animated, growing small appendages which it used to drag itself out of the way. The once uniform stone did not seem to crack in any way, yet part of it easily moved out to the side, revealing a downward stairwell.

"That worked?" Irwyn gaped.

"Worldwide privilege," Waylan also shook his head in disbelief. "Messed up."

"Come on," Elizabeth did not even acknowledge their stares. "Now I am even more curious."

Stepping down the stairs, made of the same probably-stone, they found themselves in a rather hollow antechamber. The only two things of note were a large plaque in the middle as well as a single rock door further to the back.

"That is a lot of words," Waylan commented, staring at the somewhat dense text.

"About two or three pages," Irwyn rolled his eyes.

"Convenient that we get an explanation rather than having to figure it out ourselves," Elizabeth nodded, already reading. Irwyn followed suit. And it was nothing light.

For all my brethren or strangers who may enter here:

Beyond is my humble laboratory which contains some equipment and the many raw notes of my research conducted in this area, as well as some reduntant reference texts. If you are able to draw from them, you may do so freely. There are no traps or lies, for such is against my nature. This experiment has been concluded, though I would ask that you allow the last few apparatuses to continue their long-term recording. I do not know when or if I will be able to collect them but as I have learned, some discoveries come from the most unexpected of places.

To summarize, my research here has had five main objectives: 1. Confirm that my formulas for genetic loyalty are applicable at large scales and remain hereditary. 2. Experiment with channeling innate large-scale belief into artifacts and the limits of what can become one. 3. Collect data on regressive mutations in large, isolated, seeded populations accumulated over several generations. 4. Collect data on deploying a version of the 'Hydra' method delivered genetically onto a small portion of the population. (What exactly the method 'Hydra', as I have dubbed, is, I will choose to keep secret, for I am afraid its inherent value may lead to the pursuit of my person by powerful factions in the need of such) 5. Test the long-term impact of microplastics on populations.

My simplified final results in these were as follows:

1. There have been several hiccups with some gene sequences causing genetical degradation (Strands 3 and 8 caused Ribonucelic Acid damage in 21% and 11% of affected population respectively, strand 5 lethally interfered with cell formation in 19% of those affected). The specific sequences responsible for these issues were thereafter removed from the population. The exact formulas and modifications are written down within my notes.

Besides the side effects of several strands, the experiment has confirmed that my previous theory indeed works when upscaled to a large population. For this experiment the target of loyalty was a vague persona of the 'Founder', though there should be no problem transitioning these results to specific individuals or causes.

The responsible gene sequences have 91-97% inheritance rate between parents with the same gene; 87-92% with at least one of the genes; and 78-85% when only one of the parents possesses the gene. Notably, in cases where an offspring inherits both sequences, there is a 3% rate of lethal genetic degradation, rising to 23% when three are present and up to 87% in the rare cases of four, though the datasets for the last two possibilities are not conclusively large. This problem can be circumvented in future studies or direct application by only deploying one genetic sequence. Other side effects are minor.

Irwyn stared at that, baffled as to what to think. An entire nation, made into unwitting followers from birth? It was almost incomprehensible… and stranger still by the fact it didn't even matter. The 'Founder' had left centuries ago. An inescapable manipulation that could alter the lives of every living person in the region, reduced down to a cultural quirk. He continued reading.

2. To my own surprise, genetic sequences which cause 'belief' and 'loyalty' seem to have no statistically significant interference. Data did not deviate by more than 1% between populations with just one of the loyalty genes when compared to those with both or more.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Scaling up from prior experiments has revealed a shift from expected results. Populations lower than 1000 individuals experience a decrease in efficiency per capita, however, larger populations instead cause a slight increase in the same data point for each additional individual. I hypothesise that this is caused by the nature of artifacts as a whole. Further research is required.

The gene sequences employed targeted 3 core artifacts: A) A completely mundane clay source, attempting to imbue it with extraordinary properties. B) A belief that gods and their followers possess no extraordinary power, attempting to manifest a local anti-divine curse. C) A belief that the Law of Singularity is invalid, primarily attempting to undermine the effects that prevent mortal beings from cultivating more than one source of power.

The first two ambient artifacts have been manifested without any issues. The exact data on their efficacy is written within my notes. As for C), I have noted no shift in the Law of Singularity. Either it is impossible to achieve such change using this method, the belief of merely one nation is not sufficient to manifest any measurable effect, or attempting to target specific laws or principles is the wrong direction of pursuit. Further research is required.

That at least seemed purely beneficial for the people. Irwyn wasn't sure about whether the average person was better or worse off without a god but their extraordinary ceramic had certainly served the Republic well. No wonder it could fill almost any purpose - the people believed it would and thus it did. It was also interesting to see the stretching of an 'artifact', something Waylan might want to take note of. Intangible curses might be hard to swallow but maybe he should start chewing on some delectable clay.

3. Data clearly suggest that on a sufficiently large scale, seeded populations experience no statistically significant increase in regressive gene inheritance when compared to a fully native population. Pinpointing the exact scale on which this occurs will require further data points.

Short but not explaining much. The terms meant nothing to Irwyn, so he could at most guess. Did that mean the entire population had been created here rather than migrating? It would certainly explain some inconsistencies. Irwyn however lacked the frame of reference to understand how great of a feat that would be - not helped by no mentions of how long that had taken.

4. A complete failure. The sequence led to a rate of miscarriage surpassing 93% across the affected individuals even when aiming for less than 10% efficacy. The remaining 7% were born with severe defects in all cases. Responsible genes have been removed from the population in favor of continuing the other experiments.

5…

"Whoah!" Waylan's voice interrupted Irwyn as he was balking over the last paragraph. He looked over and found that his friend had, at some point, clearly gotten bored - or disturbed - and instead chose to explore further, opening the singular door.

"Careful," Elizabeth left the plaque, following. After a moment of hesitation, so did Irwyn - it would help him put the horrific implications of the 'fourth experiment' out of his mind at least. Alice was already standing beside the sneak. "Just because it says there are no traps doesn't mean that is necessarily true."

"Well, it definitely looks like one," Waylan snorted. "Look at this shit."

Walking up, Irwyn quickly saw what his friend meant. While the antechamber seemed to be made of mundane stone without much flare, the room further in - the apparent 'laboratory' - was quite literally built out of flesh. The walls and ceiling were red-tinted muscle mass though not quite what would be called sanguine. There was still subtle pulsing of flowing blood beneath the surface but it was a lot less crimson than human. The floor on the other hand was built from literal ivory, expanding into the very wide room.

"Who would do this?" Alice questioned.

"A Life mage," Elizabeth seemed to be the only one unphased. "It is actually an ingenious way to maintain enchantments over long periods of time. Constructing a defacto immortal beast that will continuously sustain them, neatly dodging Finity."

"How difficult is something on this scale?"

"Depends on the underlying complexity," she said. "If it were just a shell of flesh, a Conception mage could create something this size with a day's worth of labor. There might be much more beneath what we see though. Complex, interconnected mechanisms that exponentially increase the skill and magic required."

"Time shifts beyond the doorframe," Alice said, moments after entering herself. "I couldn't feel it at all from outside… but I think that Time inside is passing slightly faster? About one extra second every minute."

"Those also don't look simple," Waylan pointed at the furniture… if it could be called that. Everything was also grown either out of ivory or outright flesh. And while there were several tables, chairs, and workbenches, it went far beyond such simplicity. Strange organic machinery took up much of the space. Half-living consoles or esoteric devices even lined the wall on one side.

"Probably whatever was used to measure lot of the data," Elizabeth nodded. "Does anyone see some of the notes? I have a suspicion that I want to confirm."

It took them a few minutes to actually find any of those. Mostly because the filling cabinets looked more like a box of nightmares that would eat any errant hands reaching into one. After some were located though, the notes were very neatly arranged, if completely incomprehensible. Irwyn tried to look at a few pages but all he found were incredibly complex diagrams that he could not begin to understand.

"Yes, I was right," Elizabeth took a deep breath, mulling over several papers. "It was less apparent at the front, but this is irrefutable."

"What did you find?" Irwyn asked, seeing nothing obvious.

"I recognize this handwriting," she said, looking up.

"Ain't no way," Waylan turned from poking one of the machines to stare. Irwyn and Alice did likewise.

"How?" their Time mage frowned, though Irwyn was quickly coming to a realization. How many powerful Life mages with a history up North did they know?

"These were written by doctor Johnson," she confirmed his ramping suspicions.

"And you did not recognize him by the statue?" Waylan immediately questioned.

"Shapeshifting would not be particularly difficult for him," Irwyn shook his head. "Are you sure though?"

"The style is quite distinct," she nodded. "I have seen his notetaking before. It is recognizable… even though this must have been penned centuries ago. Some habits probably die hard."

"Didn't that Old Crow literally tell us your Doctor used to run all around the place, doing this stuff?" Alice reasoned. "Then this does make sense. Why are we acting so confused?"

"Fair enough," Irwyn sighed shaking his head. "Just… what are the chances of stumbling onto this."

"Depends on if the Fae arranged it," Waylan shrugged.

"That is a good point," Elizabeth nodded. "Johnson has treated me extensively, that might have left some slight marks for her to detect. Then she might have wanted us to see this place for some reason."

"But what?" Alice questioned.

"I don't know," Elizabeth shrugged. "Look for clues? Anything related to that 'Hydra', whatever it means, would be interesting."

That was a tall ask given the sheer organized chaos the room was in. There was definitely an order to things. The issue was that said order was incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Several of the grotesque filing cabinets were spread around the room and market with a combination of letters and numbers that did not mean anything by themselves.

"Why are some already on the table," Waylan pointed out, gesturing at one. Because there were several tables carved out of that ivory, for whichever reason. But there were indeed a couple sheets already present.

"Jargon," Elizabeth quickly took a look, frowning. "Wait, not fully. It's part of a guide of sorts, I think. For some kind of Life magic probably - the structure is familiar, standardized."

"A manual for one of these machines?" Irwyn suggested.

"No, this would be for a spell or a spell component," Elizabeth shook her head. "But either way, why would it be here?"

"Perhaps we are not the first people to discover this place," Irwyn guessed.

"Any other high nobility in the area then?" Waylan snorted.

"Or just someone solving one of the other ways in," Alice shrugged.

"They might also be long gone," Elizabeth said but raised a hand, then began to walk on the tip of her toes to one corner of the room.

"How would we tell?" Irwyn followed her with his eyes but did not move yet. Had she noticed something? "There is no dust anywhere but I think that is just the enchantments."

"Nothing I can do right now," Alice also shook her head, everyone watching the other heiress. "I honestly am a bit powerless with Time so disrupted."

What followed happened in a flash. Elizabeth took hold of a nook on the wall Irwyn had not noticed and pulled. In the same motion her eyes darkened and a black blade appeared in her hand, moving into position. The door that she opened revealed a small restroom - with all the utilities even - within which a startled woman was standing, flinching a bit at the barred blade that was suddenly quite close to her throat.

"Well," they said. "This is rather awkward."

"Who are you?" Elizabeth demanded, pointing the blade towards them.

The stranger was a tall woman with lush green hair, flowers blooming among the strands. Her dress itself appeared to be living, a weave of vines and other foliage certainly achieving an exotic look. Her eyes were similarly emerald green, though they seemed a bit off. Definitely a mage but not one in Conception. Given her age not seeming much higher than their group she was still very powerful, perhaps rivaling Alice. Extremely strange given the lack of mages so far in the area.

"That will take a while to explain," she said, feigning calm. The nervousness was tangible though. "Or maybe not, if you believe me."

"Out with it," Elizabeth frowned.

"Gathering my thoughts as to how to do this without being killed, alright?"

"A name would be a good start."

"Well, around these parts, I have been going by, and this is rather embarrassing, Calamita."

Waylan and Alice shot each other a glance as if they had heard it before. Irwyn had no such recollection.

"You live at a certain government-owned apartment," Elizabeth narrated calmly. "Neighbors with a certain foreign girl bearing ambitions for a career in the Republic's military and a chemist with many burned bridges."

Oh, Irwyn realized. Their third housemate they had yet to meet after all that time.

"My reputation somehow precedes me, I see," she did a mock half-bow. The blade discouraged going too low. "Yes, that would be me. Of course, as you may have guessed, that is not my real identity."

"Which would be?" Elizabeth kept pushing.

"It will be easier to show you, I think," she nodded. "Just to check, I will have to cast some illusions so don't cut me down, pretty please. Also, you do all have some kind of mental protection active, yes?"

"What kind of question is that?" their Time mage almost chortled.

"Well, I wouldn't want any of you to conclude I am stealing memories, Alice," the stranger smiled, then placed a finger to her forehead.

The burst of magic was incomprehensible. Not powerful - it did not surpass a spell of a few intentions in raw magic - but instead just completely foreign. Not in element, that was Life, it just did not feel the same as the magic of humans. Something about the way it altered reality was just off. Nothing impacted Irwyn's barriers or targeted him though, so he patiently waited.

The result was striking, for the person before them had changed literally beyond recognition. A bit shorter perhaps, definitely when it came to the hair – which also changed color to black. The eyes were blue instead of green and the feeling of wrongness in them had quadrupled. And, most strikingly, the person had distinctly transformed into a man. A specimen with incredibly handsome features. And recognizable ones. Because while some of the details felt slightly off, Irwyn undeniably knew that face.

"Well, happy to make your acquaintance again," Desir said with a wide smile. "Boy, do I have an unbelievable story to tell!"

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