Chương 2

Krivax called on his mana and carefully pushed his intent into a strand of silk threads, desperately hoping that this time he would succeed in infusing the simple spell into the material. Custodian Kriltes had told him that if he wanted to become a Vizier, then this would be good practice. So far, he was not having much luck. Krivax clicked his mandibles in frustration as the spell once again failed and the silk fell to pieces.

With a sigh, he started the uncomfortable process of creating a new thread with his spinnerets. It felt… extremely strange, and Krivax didn't know if he'd ever get used to it.

"Peer Krivax, what motivates you to put so much effort into an exercise that frustrates you?" Krivax turned his attention to the young nerubian, who was watching his actions with curiosity. It had taken some effort, but he had become fairly proficient in deciphering nerubian expressions.

"You know that it is my goal to serve our people by becoming a Vizier, Peer Masruk. Why do you ask?" Masruk fidgeted and swayed back and forth in a motion Krivax recognized as a sign of nervousness.

"We were both born in the same cluster of eggs, yet you are so certain of your future path and I am not." It's not like I have many options if I don't want to become some kind of undead abomination, Krivax mused, with no small amount of frustration. After learning he had been reborn as a nerubian, Krivax had put a lot of thought into how he could avoid being killed by the Lich King.

He had settled on a few different ideas, depending on information he did not currently have, but all of them required him to gain the knowledge and political power of a Vizier. Still, there's no point in getting mad at Masruk. It's a bit comforting to know that young nerubians stress out about picking their future careers as much as humans. Krivax had been worried at first that his new people were one of those fantasy races that were cartoonishly evil, but instead, they were just isolationist xenophobes. Which…

wasn't great, but at least he didn't have to worry about being forced to do evil things himself.

"There is no need for you to already be certain of your path, Peer Masruk. Many of our peers also remain uncertain. That is why our elders have arranged for today's demonstration." Nerubian society was not as simple as Krivax had expected. He had assumed that they were like ants, with everyone being born into a role from the moment of their birth and answering to the Queen without question. Krivax was glad to learn that was not the case.

The nerubians did reproduce through Queens and those Queens did hold a lot of political power, but it was not absolute. Both the Spiderlords and the Circle of Viziers also held considerable political sway in nerubian society. In hindsight, this was not that surprising, given that the Queen spent a significant amount of time creating new nerubians, during which she was too distracted to rule. The caste system was another thing Krivax had learned was different from his expectations.

Most Spiderlords and Viziers were born and raised for their roles, but there was some room for exceptional baseline nerubians to elevate themselves. According to Kriltes, it was possible for the Queens to reforge the bodies of those who proved themselves particularly useful to the Kingdom. That had done a lot to motivate Krivax's fellow hatchlings, the lure of ascending to a higher caste was powerful.

Krivax did not know everything about Warcraft lore, but he was fairly confident nothing like that had existed in the franchise, a fact which made him feel both relief and apprehension. Relief, because that meant the world he found himself in was more than a video game with contradictory lore and multiple species whose people possessed one-dimensional personalities. Apprehension, because that meant he couldn't guarantee that his knowledge was accurate.

What if an important plot point was changed because it was too internally inconsistent to be translated into a real world? At the time that he had died, the Warcraft franchise was nearly thirty years old, after all. There were bound to be plenty of things in the lore that didn't make sense. Krivax pushed away his negative thoughts. Ultimately, there was nothing he could do about it other than be mindful of the possibility that his knowledge might be wrong.

He already wasted an entire week worrying about the possibility that the Lich King would start conquering Northrend before Krivax could make any preparations. Eventually, he decided not to worry about things he couldn't change, which was probably good advice for someone who knew too much for his own good.

"Peer Krivax, the demonstration is about to begin," said Masruk, pulling Krivax from his wandering thoughts. Sure enough, a few groups of adult nerubians were skittering into the center of the amphitheater that had been reserved for the Warriors, Weaver, and Viziers to present themselves. They bowed to the group of Custodians, who were sitting in their own section of the amphitheater, before the Warriors stepped forward to present themselves first.

"Hatchlings of Kilah'Kuk, you have worked hard for several months to make yourself fit to serve your people. When your education is complete, Underking Kuk'arak will send where you will benefit our people the most," said a large armored Nerubian who represented the warriors.

"However, your placement will be heavily influenced by both your talents and your interests. I am Warrior Nishalmis, and I am here to explain how you may serve your people as a Warrior." His tone was firm and full of conviction as his voice easily carried over the amphitheater.

"The Warriors are the protectors of Kilah'Kuk. We enforce the laws of the city under the direct command of the Underking, and answer to the High King of Azjol-Nerub during times of war." Most of this had already been explained to Krivax and his cluster by Kriltes, so he returned part of his focus to his spellweaving. However, he didn't completely ignore the presentation as the Warrior explained their duties.

If you read between the lines, it was possible to learn a lot about a society by paying attention to how they structured their propaganda. One interesting thing he had learned was that the Warriors were responsible for controlling the city's Jormungar, which were giant worms nerubians used to carve out tunnels. Eventually, Nishalmis finished explaining their responsibilities and moved on to the practical demonstration that would allow the Warriors to show off their skills.

Everyone else gave Nishalmis and his sparring partner—another large armored nerubian—room as they moved to the center of the stage. The venue grew completely silent as the two Warriors stood completely still and brandished their spears at one another. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Just when the tension was reaching its peak, Nishalmis moved almost faster than Krivax could track and thrust his spear at the other Warrior.

The sound of their weapons colliding sounded like a gunshot in the otherwise quiet amphitheater. The two warriors traded blows with strength and grace that Krivax felt should not be possible. He could even see small fractures forming in the structure of their makeshift arena. Both Krivax and the other hatchlings were completely captivated by the display. Eventually, the unnamed Warrior made a mistake that resulted in Nishalmis disarming him of his weapon.

He tried to compensate by stomping on the ground with enough strength to cause a clap of thunder to sound out across the venue and fissures to grow around his feet. The sound and shaking ground caused many of the younger nerubians to stumble or flinch, but Nishalmis easily kept his balance and ended the fight by placing the end of his spear to the Warrior's neck. The hatchlings did not cheer or clap—nerubians were generally not prone to such public displays of emotion—but Krivax could tell they were enraptured.

The defeated Warrior surrendered and bowed to Nishalmis, who returned the bow and turned back to face his audience.

"If you wish to protect your people and gain the power I have shown you, listen to your Custodians. They will instruct you on how you can better your chances of becoming a Warrior." Krivax distantly noted he had become too distracted and his spellweaving had failed again. What he had just witnessed was not something that was naturally possible.

Of course, arthropods as large as the nerubians were already impossible by the standard of his old world, but regardless, the Warriors had displayed strength far beyond what they should be capable of. Kriltes had already explained Intuitive Magic to them in great detail, but it was still amazing to see it in person. Intuitive Magic was the explanation for why people carrying pointy sticks could compete in a world with guns, magic, and spaceships. Every living being in this world possessed magic.

Spellcasters actively transmuted their magic into one of the greater magical forces in the universe and used that magic to achieve their goals. Eventually, their magic became so attuned to one of these forces that using other kinds of magic, while still possible, became significantly more difficult. On the other hand, Warriors like Nishalmis honed their skills to such a point that they instinctively use their personal magic while fighting.

Intuitive magic explained how Warriors were able to accomplish impossible feats of strength, Rogues were able to turn invisible and nonsentient lizards were able to breathe lightning. If any of Krivax's peers expressed a desire to become Warriors, then Custodian Kriltes would teach them the appropriate exercises to hone their skills enough to use Intuitive Magic. Seeing that the Weavers were about to start their presentation, Krivax once again turned his attention to spellweaving.

If he managed to attune himself to arcane magic, the Underking would almost certainly assign him to the Viziers. Feeling a bit motivated, Krivax tuned out the Weavers completely and put his full focus into his spellweaving. The nerubians practiced a form of magic that allowed them to put magic into their silk and then use it at a later time. It was similar in principle to the Rune magic that the vrykuls used.

The Weavers were a group that took care of everything that the Viziers and Warriors didn't, so Krivax didn't feel a need to pay attention to them. They did the farming, building, crafting, and general labor for nerubian society. The only reason they were called Weavers was because nerubians used their silk for pretty much every occupation in their society. There was probably some historical or political explanation as well, but Kriltes only had a general overview of nerubian history.

Krivax was surprised when he successfully infused his intent into the silk thread; this was the farthest he had ever gotten into this exercise. The next step was for him to transmute his personal magic into arcane and push it into the thread. According to Kriltes, this was the easy part; all he needed to do was focus on his mana and think 'orderly' thoughts.

Despite being told that it'd be easy, Krivax was still surprised when his hands glowed with the violet color of arcane magic and the silk thread began to release a white light. Krivax wanted to jump up and start dancing, but nerubians didn't do things like that nor was this the appropriate setting. Instead, he stopped the silk from glowing by deactivating the spell, tied it in a particular knot that would help preserve its magic—somehow—and stuck it to his abdomen.

"Congratulation on your success, Peer Krivax," said Masruk.

"Thank you. Have any of the presentations caught your attention?" Krivax cheerfully asked his fellow spiderling, feeling greatly relieved by his achievement. Succeeding in the exercise meant he was much more likely to attune to arcane magic and be assigned to the Circle of Viziers.

"Yes. I wish to become a Warrior," Masruk said firmly. Krivax tilted his head at the certainty in the voice of his… friend? Acquaintance?

"Are you certain, Peer Masruk? The Weavers and Viziers have not yet finished their presentations."

"Yes. I am certain." Krivax watched for him to explain, but instead, Masruk just continued to stare longingly at the group of Warriors. With a nod, Krivax turned his attention to the Weaver, only to find that they had already finished their speech. The tall Vizier languidly walked to the center of the amphitheater and silently swept his gaze over the audience.

When the Vizier's gaze reached Krivax, they seemed to pause for a moment before immediately resuming their scan of the crowd, leaving Krivax to wonder if he had imagined the moment. After the Vizier finished looking over the crowd, they nodded once to themselves and immediately began speaking.

"I am Vizier Malas. Most of you will not meet the requirements to join the Circle of Viziers, but for the few who may, I will explain to you our function in nerubian society," said the Vizier with obvious disinterest. His bored tone and his disinterested body language made it clear he did not consider this a valuable way to spend his time.

"The majority of the Circle's members will find themselves handling administrative work for the city. At this point in your education, your designated Custodian has already administered basic lessons on nerubian laws and history," Malas drawled. He sounded as if he was reciting a rehearsed speech he had given one too many times.

"If you demonstrate proficiency in these topics, you may be assigned to become a Vizier."

"The rest of our organization is dedicated to the acquisition of knowledge in all of its forms." Malas still looked largely disinterested, but Krivax could hear a glimmer of passion in his voice.

"Whether through the creation of new magics, the discovery of old knowledge, or the study of the lesser races, the Circle of Viziers seeks a greater understanding of the world." I'm not really sure why, but I'm getting major Sith vibes from this dude, Krivax thought with a small amount of trepidation. I hope not all the Viziers are like this guy.

"If you seek knowledge and power beyond your imagining, speak to your Custodians and begin walking down the path of magic." With a wave of his hand, Malas conjured a fire that flew through the air and circled the audience. Many of the young nerubians cowered when the flame turned into multiple streams of fire that twisted and turned through the crowd before flowing back into Malas's palm.

In a display that Krivax felt was a bit theatrical, Malas crushed the ball of fire in his palm and began walking away without further comment. With all the presentations concluded, the Custodians started making their way to their respective clusters of hatchlings. As he followed Kriltes out of the cavern, Krivax couldn't help but feel that regardless of how theatrical the Vizier had been, Malas's display of magic had definitely been highly motivational.

AN: I intend to try to stick to canon for the most part, but there are two things I intend to directly change. 1.) Kel'Thuzad says the nerubians are dedicated to wiping out everything who aren't like themselves, but they haven't been in a war since losing to the vrykul and there's literally a taunka village right over the entrance to Azjol Nerub. Regardless of what they are in canon, in this story they are xenophobic and isolationist instead of outwardly genocidal. 2.) I also changed some stuff with how the bronze dragons work, just because I don't want half the story to be centered around Krivax dodging them or me making up implausible excuses for why they didn't smash his egg before he was born.