Shapeless Hero

10 - Curious II

The commander is not sure, what to think of the shapeshifter, especially due to Karl's attitude.

Karl the Spellcrafter, a scholar well-known within the higher ranks of the imperial military, had constructed some of the most important magic defenses that protect the imperial capital to this day. Any misplaced circle rune could have destroyed a whole capital district with its raw arcane energy. Karl's ability to pull the project off without such a mishap shows, how meticulous he is. The nation, the commander swore to protect, would have fallen several times, if it wasn't for his dangerous work. Hence, it seems very unlikely that such a careful scholar like Karl would really experiment on a shifter, if it was actually too much of a danger. At least she hopes so.

The commander stirs the stew on the campfire. Her exhaustion makes it difficult to think right now. Maybe she should eat something before planning her next steps. 

August's sudden odd questions interrupt her thoughts. "Hey Karl. Was makin' a philosopher part of your experiment too? ...what the fuck is a 'viddy-oh' game?"

The commander listens carefully for the next words whilst keeping her eyes on the campfire.

Karl hums. "I don't recall philosophy being part of my experiment with Fylka, but unlike other shapeshifters, Fylka possesses self-awareness. It's not surprising then, that more abstract topics could arise at some point." Karl turns to the shapeshifter. "And what kind of game did you mention?"

The shifter returns the look. "A 'video' game. I'm not quite sure how to explain that... board games are a thing, right? With dice and stuff?"

"...yes? Wait! You know board games?!" Karl's eyes sparkle.

The shapeshifter nods, the corners of its mouth slightly curled up. "Card games too."

The scholar rubs the underside of his beak with a wing. "Playing cards with a shapeshifter was not one of my life goals—but it is now!"

The commander stops stirring, her brows knit together. Board- and card games usually have to be crafted. Crafting usually requires tools. The emergence of tools requires a certain culture or technology, at least. This shapeshifter has been probably raised in a culture then? Did someone raise the shapeshifter as an experiment before Karl found it?

There is a way to confirm that to a certain extent. The commander faces the shapeshifter, which in turn looks back at her. "...'Fylka' was it?"

The shapeshifter, Fylka, looks away for a heartbeat, before answering. "Erm, yes? At least for now."

"Can you explain one of the games you know?"

"Uh, sure. Let's see... Ah, do you know a game called Skat?"

"No, but I'm all ears." Behind the face cover of her armor, the commander furrows her eyebrows. Will the facade of a predator pretending to be part of a society break, or did this shapeshifter actually play games? Will this creature be able to hold a conversation, unlike the rest of its kind?

The shapeshifter looks at the crows for a moment, before turning its head to the commander again. "Skat is a card game, usually meant for three people..."

Time flies, as Fylka the shapeshifter explains the rules to this game called 'Skat' and the commander takes it all in. This is a legitimate game: Not only does Fylka explain to her a consistent ruleset, the shapeshifter even answers follow-up questions about known winning strategies. Furthermore, it tells stories about rounds of Skat, it played itself! 

As far as she knows, no normal or even ascended shapeshifter could make all this up on a whim to feign humanoid intelligence. A being ascends relative to its current abilities, so an ascended shapeshifter should be able to say a handful of simple, short sentences at best. The acquisition of speech is already a huge advancement in itself, since the shapeshifter has to learn to imitate the whole vocal tract of a humanoid for it. And that's before even considering the hurdle of learning a language, which all its intricacies and idioms.

Speech, self-awareness, culture and the appearance after a divine teleportation spell. This isn't just a heavily modified shapeshifter, boasting sophisticated methods for hunting humanoids on instinct. This is a person. They are a person. And they were sent here by a divine being, perhaps?

The commander raises a hand to gently interrupt the conversation. "Fylka, you know things, a shapeshifter could never know. Who are you really? Where are you from? Why do you know those things? "

The crackle of the fire and the distant screeches of seagulls occasionally break the silence. Everyone looks at Fylka, who has lowered their head in thought.

"...I have been a shapeshifter for what feels like a mere dozen of hours. Before that, I was a human. I went to school and worked a normal job... as far as my conditions allowed it."

Karl cocks his head. "Are you sure you weren't a different species? The last records about living humans date back hundreds of centuries."

"What?" Fylka whipers the question in disbelief. They raise their chin towards the commander. "I thought, she was a human..."

The commander chuckles. "I am a humanoid, not a human." She then slowly takes her helmet off, revealing her face for the first time.