Fleas - Songs of the Gnolls I

THE GREAT WALL 5.9

At first, the apothecary seemed frightened, but when she realized that Lorent was not with them, she was relieved.

"Oh, you are the knight and the little chimeric, how can I help you? Do you need a potion? I have a very good flea repelent that our Lord uses on his cats."

"Chimeric? What is that? I am a hyaenid, madam, and I come from the savannah. And I have no more fleas, the sea has killed them all."

The apothecary smiled, removed some bottles and jars from the table in front of her, and lifted it up, inviting them to come in. They agreed and sat down. The apothecary prepared a very aromatic drink, served it to his master and then to herself. She offered it to Fleas as well, but he did not want it. The smell disgusted him.

"First of all, fleas always come back. That's what they do, they leave eggs in the fur, or they jump out of another being and reproduce very easily. This will prevent that," she picked up an unlabeled jar without even looking at it, that's how familiar she was with her inventory. She handed it to Fleas with a tender smile, "You may find it smelly, as your nose is more powerful than ours, but it will help you. Then I called you chimeric because that's what you are. To explain, I will go back in time..."

"I am sorry to interrupt your story, dear lady," said Dannke, "but there is another matter that brings us here: in the forest live mysterious beings with bows and arrows. We have not seen them, but there seem to be many of them, and they are responsible for several disappearances of people. If you could..."

Dannke fell silent because the woman had closed her eyes and showed her palm, an unusual way of calling for silence.

"Everything is connected, my dear sir. Now, as I have said... Far to the east, past the forest and the Mountain Ranges of the Storms...."

"Wait!" Fleas interrupted and pulled out his map. "East is that way, or there?"

"Here," Dannke pointed, "those are the mountains. You mean the Immaculate Lands?

Dannke looked a bit surprised.

"That is correct. In those lands live, or have lived, the Imperishable Gods. A divine race that resembled humans, but were wiser, longer lived, and had the ability to create and destroy as much as they wanted. They did not create man, but they did create the chimerics. Using some kind of very powerful magic, they mixed the human essence with animal characteristics. It is said that they were trying to create perfect beings. Then, these artificial beings were spread throughout the continent and multiplied."

Fleas opened his eyes wide and looked at his hands. With their fur, claws, and pads, but still very human-like. Would that be true?

"I had heard that lycanthropes were created this way," Dannke added, "but that they were a curse that spread to humans. Not independent beings."

"Little is known about these Imperishable Gods. It is said that those who visit the Immaculate Lands never return. Though perhaps they return in animal form."

"So the hyaenids are created?" Fleas still couldn't get over his surprise.

"The hyaenids, the avians, the taurids, even the trolls, the latter mixed with the hardness of stone. And who knows how many others there are on our continent."

There was a long silence. Dannke looked at Fleas and said:

"You have nothing to worry about, you are more than a creation."

"I know," the little one said with a smile. He absorbed news very quickly, be it bad, because he was used to it, or good. "Swords are a creation and mightier than stone. And we are all the creation of something, be it divine beings or our parents and our traditions. Though now I would like to know more about these gods."