Berionas: Sins of Creation

Dracovale

[2 Months Later]

[Journal Entry 37]
    After having spent weeks at Glitch's lab while we mapped out a plan, Omega and I set our sights on a forest clearing just east of Glitch's lab. We landed on the name Beribe as a town name, a sort of play on Berionas.

    Omega doesn't seem as passionate about the project as I do. I think he's just tagging along because he feels guilty for what happened back in the day. I mean, he should feel guilty. He's a betraying asshole like every other prick in Krosigo. But as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. If I want to bury Mantus, I need to forget about all of that.

    A few days after we started building camp, a few folks started showing up. It started with this fella named Kenji; he was just like the apes I had seen on Earth, but he could talk! He seemed to have a much higher intelligence, wore robes and everything, but the smell remained. Later, I found out the specific species was known as Terrobo apes. They are quite similar to the chimps of Earth, but they are obviously MUCH smarter. Another was this guy who goes by Anno; I'm not sure if it's his real name. Maybe that kind of name is normal around here? I dunno. He's a young man with blonde hair; I thought he was a regular human until I noticed insect-like wings sprouting from his back. I recognized this to be one of the mutant humans I had first encountered in Dimension 443. These mutants can possess a wide array of abilities; it appears Anno's is flight. Both newcomers have been kind to us and have been helping build the settlement. I have high hopes.

        Signing off,
    B.

"Bee! Some help over here?" a male voice shouted.

    Bee sat on a log surrounding a small campfire. Around them were tents and many unfinished buildings, with dirt paths connecting the projects. Bee looked over to the voice and saw Anno clutching one end of a large plank and fluttering in the air. Bee closed the journal, pocketing it before they began sprinting over to him. Bee raised a hand in the air, and blue electricity began dancing around the log, which swooped out of Anno's hands. "Woah!" he shouted, fluttering back to the ground. "Where do you need it?" Bee asked. "Just right there between those two posts! That's some power you've got there," Anno noted as Bee put the plank into place. "Heh, thanks. How's construction going?" Bee asked while cracking their back and twisting around. "These two houses should be done by tomorrow. We can finally quit sleeping in the tents," he added, walking over to Bee. "I appreciate you folks helping out; I know you already had homes of your own and all—"

    "It's no problem," another voice chimed in, walking over to Bee and Anno. There stood Kenji, wearing silky grey robes, a sort of kimono. "Well, I appreciate it regardless. Thank you, guys." Bee continued to thank them before spotting a small figure walking up towards them just past the borders of town. It was someone Bee didn't recognize at all. "Hey, I'll catch you guys later, alright?" Bee noted, walking away from the two. "Hm? Yeah, sure. See you, Bee!" Kenji said as Bee walked into the distance.

    As Bee approached the stranger, they suddenly collapsed to the ground. "Shit!" Bee thought as they rushed over to the body. It was a young child covered in a sheet of dark purple fur, with two horns sprouting from its head and a pair of wings from its back. It was clutching a small stuffed animal, too worn to even tell what animal it was meant to be originally. Bee recognized the immobile being as a dragonborn child but was unsure as to how it got here. The small creature wore what seemed to be a blue coat with gold shoulder pads and a white button-up shirt; they all seemed badly tattered, and the child was visibly exhausted. Bee looked around before scooping up the child and began running back towards the build site.

    Bee's heart pounded in their stomach as they bolted back to camp, clutching the child in their arms. "HELP!" Bee cried out, taking a hand off the child to wave. "SOMEBODY HELP US!" Omega and Kenji bolted over to the scene as Bee fell to the ground, covered in the small child's blood. "What the hell happened? Who is that?" Omega asked, scooping the child out of Bee's arms.

    "I'm not sure," Bee said between breaths. "They just collapsed. Looks like a dragonborn; can't be older than 10. I have no idea how they ended up here with no parents." They stood back up as they ran alongside Kenji and Omega back to Beribe. "Get them to my tent, now! I'll do what I can," Kenji demanded to Omega. Omega raised a hand, and in a bright green flash, he and the injured child teleported away.

[3 HOURS LATER]

    "How are they?" Bee asked, pulling the drapes aside to step into Kenji's tent. He let out a deep sigh before responding, "Stable, for now. But that fever isn't doing them any favors, not to mention how much blood they lost." Kenji noted, putting a palm to the child's forehead. "Can't we just give them some of our blood?" Bee questioned, their anxiety growing. Kenji shut his eyes as he shook his head. "We aren't dragonborns. The blood types won't match; the procedure could kill them."

    Bee ran their fingers through their hair before running their palms across their face, visibly exhausted. "Any sign of how it happened?" Again, Kenji shook his head. "It's obvious there was a fight, or at least a struggle. But there are no clear signs indicating a weapon used or who could have done this." Bee paced back and forth. "For all we know, there could be a group out there wiping out towns. What if they're the reason no towns last in Berionas? What if—"

    Kenji gripped Bee's arm tightly, stopping them in their tracks. "Bee, I know you care, but... you're worked up about some imaginary group hunting imaginary towns. The kid's gonna be fine, I promise. Take the night off, will you?"

    Bee then sat down in a chair parallel to the child's bed. "I appreciate the concern, Kenji, but no. This town is my priority, these people. Without that to focus on... to cling to... I'm not sure what I'd do with myself."