Chương 17: Book 1 - Chapter 17: But In Rising Every Time We Fall

The wind blowing through his fur felt strange after the stillness of the trial environment. The air was very dry, far more so than the jungle section had been, and the sounds that met his ears made it clear just how artificial the savannah area in the trial space had been. Dominic was immediately on his guard, twisting his head to focus on every rustle in the tall grass around.

The yellowed stalks reached his shoulder which was a mixed blessing – when he crouched, he could be confident he was hidden, but so could so many other creatures. So instead, he just stayed frozen in place, listening, obeying both his instincts and Leo's unspoken urging. Little by little, he relaxed. The rustles around him were quiet – caused by the wind or small creatures that were no threat to him. There was no hint that something was waiting to ambush him. Smell the air, Leo suggested.

Dominic thought that was a good idea and promptly did so. Lifting his head a little higher, he breathed in heavily through his mouth, his lips automatically curling back. Scents entered his awareness, and he was a little surprised to realise how many he was able to recognise. Dust. Faint traces of different beasts. A hint of water. Heat. No threat immediately nearby. Dominic breathed out, pushing himself to his paws and looking over the top of the grass curiously.

He was standing at the foot of a hill, surrounded by otherwise flat savannah covered in the same dry yellow grass he was currently sheltering in. Umbrella thorn trees dotted the expanse, and large bushes blocked his view in several directions. Yet everything he could see was utterly foreign. A hope that had risen in Dominic died with a whimper. There was no camp. Do you recognise this area? he asked Leo, grasping for the possibility that they were near the camp with a hint of desperation.

Dominic hadn't exactly memorised the area around, so there was a good chance that was the explanation. No, Leo replied after a moment's thought. Dominic breathed out in heavy disappointment. But… maybe see from hill top. Dominic looked up the hill in question. Yeah, maybe. He pushed his simmering worry down, deep enough that he could barely feel it. Before moving, he pulled up the messages that he could sense were waiting for him – messages he hadn't had time to check before being ejected from the trial space.

[Sovereignty Evolved Stage 1 attained Choose Mutation?] No description this time? Dominic wondered. Perhaps that only happened when the Domain was unlocked. He could see that there was another message waiting in the corner of his vision too – based on context, that was probably the Evolution message for Translocation. Hesitating for a long moment, he reluctantly thought, later, at the System, hoping that that wouldn't lock him out of choosing his Mutation – it was a question, after all, not an instruction.

It went against the grain for him to delay pleasures until later, but it was quite possible that whatever he saw from the top of the hill would change his choice. Climbing the hill was easy. Once more Dominic found himself deeply appreciative of the sheer athleticism of a lion's form. The fluidity of his movement, the power of his muscles, the coordination of his four limbs.

Not like bumbling cub anymore, Leo agreed, and Dominic had the distinct impression of a cub stumbling over his own feet and bashing face-first into the earth. Hey! Dominic replied indignantly. You try switching from two legs to four and see how you do. Four legs better than two, Leo dismissed arrogantly. Lion better than monkey. And who won our battle, eh? Twice. Leo subsided with a wordless grumble after a moment, apparently not finding an appropriate retort.

Dominic felt distinctly smug, and the feeling carried him the last few metres up to the top of the small hill. He'd been keeping an ear and eye out for anything that might choose to attack, but fortunately nothing took the opportunity. At the top, he paused. The landscape stretched out around him and, for a moment, he simply stared.

It was still undeniably savannah, but several of the shades of brown were subtly off – fractionally different from anything Leo's memory offered – and in places the land bore strange tinges of blue and pink, almost like bruises on the earth. The trees were wrong too. Don't know those, Leo confirmed, his tone carrying a faint, unsettled edge. Dominic hadn't expected him to. He himself didn't recognise them either.

Some were drastically different from anything either Leo or Dominic had seen; others were familiar or almost familiar. Not that he was an expert, but he had spent two days driving through the safari park with his father– He cut the thought off before it could come to its natural end and refocused on the landscape. What arrested him more than the trees was the horizon. It stretched impossibly far.

Not merely far in the way that savannah always seemed to stretch further than logic suggested or that mountains were always further away than they appeared, but wrong -far. Vast in a way that made something in his brain gibber frantically. He hadn't truly internalised it until now: four planets merged into one. And as he continued looking over the landscape, his heart sank. No signs of the camp. No signs of any humans at all.

No cars, no roads, not even a dirt track like the one his father had driven on to the camp. Just rolling, endless savannah. Water, Leo commented, nudging him to turn his head to the left. Following the lion's prompting, Dominic saw the muddy-looking hole. I'm not thirsty, Dominic replied a little dully. He hadn't realised how much he'd been unconsciously hanging onto the hope that he'd quickly be reunited with his father until he realised it wouldn't be possible.

Good for food too, Leo, continued with determination. Dominic didn't know whether he was doing his best to cheer the human soul up or whether he just didn't realise what Dominic was feeling. And right at that moment, Dominic didn't care. Sure, Dominic sighed, lying down and putting his head on his paws. His last moments with his dad played out in his memories again. John probably thought he was dead – and the last thing he'd said before the attack had been throwing his mother in his dad's face.

And now he was a lion. For the first time, that didn't seem like a good thing. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Leo was silent for a while, letting Dominic stew in his self-pity. Then, apparently losing patience with him, nudged him mentally, making Dominic blink as his vision swam briefly. Check messages. Mutations to choose, he reminded Dominic. Dominic felt a flicker of excitement as he remembered, but the flicker quickly died.

What was the point of progressing if he couldn't find the one person who mattered to him? Leo growled and then nudged Dominic mentally again. This time Dominic rumbled in discontent as the nudge didn't only make his vision swim, but also shot pain through his head. Stop that! he growled at the lion. You stop it! the lion replied angrily. Want to die? That made Dominic pause, the wave of self-pity that had overcome him receding briefly.

No, I don't want to die, he replied firmly – he had far too much to achieve before he was willing to welcome the grim reaper. Want me to die? Here Leo sounded a touch more vulnerable. As if he thought Dominic might say yes. No, Dominic replied after a moment, realising he meant it. He hadn't wanted to shove Leo into the cold even when he had no idea who he was, let alone now when they had gone through the trials together. Then stop whimpering! Leo ordered him. Savannah not kind. Not peaceful. Need power to survive.

Dominic considered his words for a moment. He thought about hyenas and wild dogs and other lions. He remembered the pig-dogs and the hints that Earth had been combined with other planets. He pushed himself to sit upright. You're right, he told Leo, forcing away the self-pity and regret that sought to drag him down once more. The trials made it clear – this is a dangerous world. And we will not die here, unremarked, unknown. He nodded decisively. He would find his father again.

And then he wanted the man to be proud of what he'd achieved in the meantime. Dominic wanted to be proud of himself. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall, he reminded himself. I have an opportunity to grow here beyond my wildest dreams. I will not waste it. As if his vow were a fire, warmth spread through him vitalising every cell of his body. His excitement and enthusiasm rose with it, replacing the leaden coldness that had been weighing him down before.

Thank you, Leo, he told the lion gratefully. Welcome, the lion replied smugly. Dominic didn't even feel annoyed at it this time. Alright, let's see what we have here. Requesting his messages again, he was glad when the Evolution notification for Sovereignty appeared again. Choose Mutation, he told it decisively, waiting with anticipation for the options to appear. They didn't disappoint.

Dual Mind Stability System Insight Predator's Calm Once again, Dominic found that when he concentrated on each of the options, he had a sense of what it might offer. It's a hard choice, he admitted. None of them were obvious routes to power, yet all had benefits. Predator's Calm is for predators, Leo pointed out. Sure, Dominic replied, but it's nothing we can't learn to do ourselves from what I can tell.

Predator's Calm seemed to just be a focusing tool that would enable him to mute emotional reactions while on a hunt. Useful, sure, but not a game-changer. I think we should take System Insight. Why? Leo asked, clearly mystified. Not good for hunting. No, Dominic agreed. But, combined with what I got from the supervisor at the end of the trial, it might help us make better choices. In the end, that might be more powerful than a Mutation that helps us directly with hunting. Not Dual Mind Stability?

Leo asked curiously. Dominic hesitated. Again, that seems like something we can achieve if we work hard enough at it. You helped me just a moment ago to be more stable, he reminded the lion. The Mutation might make it easier but I don't think it's as potentially beneficial as System Insight. The lion considered it for a long moment. Dominic waited for his response, mostly confident in his reasoning. Agreed, Leo replied finally. Dominic nodded and selected the Mutation.

As when he'd selected Meditation Conversion, he didn't feel anything special, but the message disappeared so he assumed it had worked. He'd check his status screen in a moment. For now, he had a final message to view. [Translocation Evolved Stage 1 attained Choose Mutation?] Given that it seemed like they had started with the newest message and moved onto the oldest, Dominic wondered when exactly Translocation had evolved. Maybe in the tunnels, he mused.

There was that moment when it suddenly became easier to move through them even in the dark. Triggering the Mutation list, he knew immediately which one he wanted. Minor Territory Mark Kinetic Redirection Compass Compass! That's the one we need! he told Leo urgently. It was like it had been made for him, for this moment. Leo's response brought his enthusiasm crashing down. Why? Minor Territory Mark good. We don't even have a territory, Dominic pointed out with a touch of exasperation. Not now, but will.

Then can use to detect intruders, Leo explained stubbornly. But…. Compass lets us find things, Dominic pointed out. Compass would let him find his father was what he thought but didn't say. Maybe it could help find intruders, he suggested, searching for a way to make Leo agree. Leo was clearly skeptical. Need to know that intruder exists to use Compass on him, he pointed out.

Dominic didn't have an answer – he definitely got the sense that Compass would only work if he had a clear idea of what – or who – he wanted to find. It was also limited in range. But he was still desperate to have it. If he weren't so fixed on Compass, Kinetic Redirection would be pretty good – it would allow him to quickly change direction without losing much of his momentum. But when put against the possibility of finding his father, it paled into insignificance. Leo, please. I need this, he pleaded.

Leo had helped him out of his funk earlier – maybe he would be willing to help here too. He briefly considered just choosing the Mutation anyway, even without Leo's agreement, but dismissed that idea. Not because he didn't think he could, but because something, perhaps his new System Insight, told him that it would be a very bad idea – and for more reason than just the headache Leo would give him afterwards. The lion was silent for a long moment.

Will agree, he started slowly and Dominic almost jumped for joy, if make agreement. Dominic froze. What agreement? Try to find sire – fine. But if no find sire, find females instead. Dominic was silent for a long moment as he considered that. The lion was utterly serious. If they couldn't find Dominic's father, Leo wanted to go searching for a lion pride. It should be an easy decision, but it wasn't.

Because he knew enough about lions to know that once Leo had found a lion pride, he wouldn't want to leave it for very long. But if they didn't take Compass, Dominic had no idea where to even start looking for his father. Fine, agreed, he sighed, hoping beyond hope that he'd find John on the first try. Agreed, Leo replied, sounding satisfied. Dominic chose Compass and the words disappeared from his vision. And once more, there was no indication that anything had changed.

Alright, let's see how this works, he murmured. Do I need to do something in my status screen? he wondered. But before he gave the command, he paused. Something wasn't right. Rising slowly to his feet, he checked that his gorget was present and activated his tail mace – he'd deactivated it when climbing the hill, but something was telling him he might need it. Because the last time he'd felt like this, he'd been ambushed a moment later.