Limpet (Final Effect)

Her Imperial Majesty Averia VII swept down the corridor with all the splendour and presence of a true sovereign. Even if she weren’t garbed in the raiments of her office, the aura of power she radiated would have immediately made it clear that she was in charge. 

She reached the throne room, and the Imperial Guard immediately moved into position as she prepared to settle onto the throne and address the delegation from the Cetra. However, before she could sit, Lord Hedgeborough nudged her ankle.

“Ah.” Averia stopped and reached up and back. “I’d almost forgotten.”

Clinging onto her back like a limpet was the third child of the Imperial Family. Victoria had decided that she wanted to accompany her mother to a meeting with the Dia-Farron, and Averia had seen no reason to deny her. Naturally, Victoria had then suggested that since they were both going to the same place, well, maybe she could hitch a ride.

The request was absurd. Victoria was the newest bearer of Ragnarok. She was hardly going to exhaust herself walking to a meeting. However, Averia had rarely been able to deny her children when it came to such small requests, and it wasn’t like Victoria was very heavy. 

Averia had arrived at the meeting with Victoria on her back. The Dia-Farron had taken careful note of that before pointing out that bearers of Ragnarok using their family members as modes of transportation was a tradition that dated back Diana Yun-Farron herself in the Age of Heroes.

Latching onto that, Victoria had pointed out that maybe her mother could carry her around for a bit longer. However, the little girl must have nodded off at some point. Averia could hardly blame her. More than once, she’d fallen asleep while getting a piggyback from her father. And Victoria was so small and light that Averia had almost forgotten she was there.

It was a good thing that Lord Hedgeborough had reminded her. Had she sat down, Victoria would not have been pleased. The little girl would have ended up being squashed up against the back of the throne.

“You seem to have acquire a limpet, Your Imperial Majesty,” Ifalna said, smiling as Averia eased Victoria off her back and settled her onto her lap. The little girl immediately clung onto her front like a monkey. 

Averia chuckled. Some would have balked at such a breach in protocol, but Ifalna was technically family even if the Cetra could never publicly state that her daughter’s father had been one of the Dia-Farron. They also knew each other well. As part of her studies as a teenager to prepare her for ruling, Averia had spent time amongst the Cetra. Although their society was not perfect, the Cetra were wise and thoughtful, and she had learned a great deal from Ifalna about the many trials associated with rebuilding a society. That knowledge had proven to be especially valuable in helping the other galaxy recover in the wake of the carnage wrought by the Reapers.

“I do wonder if Aerith was this clingy,” Averia replied.

“Not exactly, but she did have a penchant for poking things that were better left alone.” Ifalna grinned. “I think she got it from her father.”

“Indeed.” Averia sighed. “But let us get the formalities out of the way, so we can get down to business before we’re all bored out of our minds.”

The Professor (Final Codex)

Professor Oerba Dia Vanille is widely considered the greatest intellectual in Remnant’s history. Her contributions in mathematics and physics alone would have been enough to guarantee her immortality in the annals of history, yet she managed to equal, arguably even surpass them, in a range of different fields as diverse as chemistry, medicine, engineering, history, archaeology, anthropology, cryptography, food science, and linguistics.

Yet perhaps even greater than her ability to excel at such a high level across such a dazzling array of fields was her ability to teach. Despite her well-documented eccentricity, the legendary professor played a pivotal role in the careers of countless other intellectual titans.

Of course, her most well known pupils were her four children and her niece, but even a casual survey of the students who studied under her shows the enormous effect she had. There is hardly a field of study that does not have at least three or four luminaries that vividly and eloquently praised the tutelage they received from the professor.

One particularly moving account comes from the great mathematician, Aquila Cerulean. After losing his parents to Grimm at an early age, Aquila lived on the streets of Mountain Glenn for years. During his life on the streets, he developed an interest in mathematics after finding several textbooks in the trash.

The boy taught himself from the textbooks, but without a home or many possessions, he was often forced to write his thoughts on the walls of nearby alleys. It was through this graffiti that the professor found him, after noticing what appeared to be a solution to the Arcturus Conjecture written on the wall of an alley near a cafe where she often played chess against some of the other professors of Mountain Glenn University.

Tracking down Aquila, the professor took him in, offering him a place to live and work, as well as offering to be his instructor. Despite his incredible talent and formidable self-taught skills, Aquila was nevertheless severely lacking in a range of different mathematical areas due to the fragmented nature of his education. 

The professor remedied these gaps and worked tirelessly with him to hone his talent even further. Aquila would go on to become a Professor of Mathematics at Mountain Glenn University. He would eventually be recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians in history (he is invariably ranked in the top ten, the only argument being where precisely to position him), publishing more than two hundred papers during his lifetime. He is now most widely known for the Aquila Equations which were instrumental in the development of modern hyperspace and higher-dimensional theory.

Aquila’s most famous quote regarding the professor is widely cited by modern historians: “She was the craziest person I ever knew. Really, she was. What sort of person sees graffiti on a wall and actually bothers to read through it long enough to understand that it’s a complex mathematical theory, never mind critique it and the hunt down the person responsible? So, yeah, she was crazy. But I am so glad that I met her. She was the greatest teacher I ever had and one of the kindest, most genuine people that I have ever met. There isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not grateful she took the time out of her day to find me. I’m a mathematician. I know what the odds of that happening are. She’s the reason I believe in miracles.”

Perhaps the greatest testament to the professor’s greatness was demonstrated by what happened when she died. Universities across Remnant and the fledgling colonies elsewhere all lowered their flags to half mast, and her funeral was attended by luminaries from every conceivable field of endeavour.

Professor Oerba Dia Vanille was that rare breed of genius who had a knack for bringing out the genius in others.

– Extract from “The Woman, the Myth, the Legend – A Biography of Oerba Dia Vanille, Intellectual Titan and Faunus Visionary”

Babysitting (Final Effect)

Her Imperial Majesty Averia VII was the most powerful individual in the galaxy, the ruler of an empire that spanned more than a million worlds. She was also Lord Hedgeborough’s preferred babysitter on the rare occasions that he took time off, not that she minded. After all, her hedgehog had looked after her children many times. The least she could do was return the favour.

Of course, not everyone saw it that way.

“Your Imperial Majesty…” one of her ministers pointed. “You have some baby hedgehogs on you.”

Averia nodded and glanced at the baby hedgehogs. One was perched on her head. There was also one on each of her shoulders, and a fourth had decided to sneak into the chest pocket of her coat. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Okay then…”

Averia sat down and gathered all of the baby hedgehogs into her lap. They mewled adorably and decided to pick a fight with one of her hands. “Continue giving your report.”

The minister returned to giving her report, and Averia had no problems following the facts and figures he highlighted, along with his analyses. In the meantime, she had conjured little wisps of frost to tickle the baby hedgehogs in her lap. They kept up their epic struggle against her hand for another half an hour before curling up together and deciding to take a nap.

If anyone noticed their adorable snoring, they knew better than to say anything.

The Eclipse (Final Effect)

First proposed by Her Imperial Majesty Vanille I, the Eclipse was the first weapon capable of destroying an entire galaxy to be developed by the Arendelle Empire. It was originally designed to be used in the event that the Empire should encounter an entire galaxy that had already been overrun by the Grimm or another similarly dangerous foe. In that event, simply obliterating the entire galaxy would be a quicker and safer solution to the problem that cleansing it world by world.

What set the Eclipse apart from many of the anti-galaxy weapons to succeed it was the sheer simplicity behind its operation. At the heart of many galaxies is a super-massive black hole. Through careful study and expansion of the various principles governing the operation of black holes, Vanille I was able to devise a series of equations that outlined the specific sequences of events in hyperspace necessary to destabilise even a super-massive black hole.

The end result is essentially an inversion of the super-massive black hole, releasing all of its energy in a single titanic burst that can completely destroy the galaxy around it. With further study, Vanille I was even able to devise equations that demonstrated it was possible to link the exploding black hole to hyperspace to increase the duration and power of the blast.

To the empress’s dismay, the Eclipse was never constructed during her lifetime. It would have pleased her to know, however, that her design minimal would one day prove to be completely successful with only minimal modifications.

Alone (Final Effect)

There is no worse feeling than to look up at the stars, to behold the vast, endless expanse of space, and to know that you are completely alone.

X     X     X

Archaeus looked at his family. There weren’t many of them left. The clan wars had seen to that. Instead, of his fifteen siblings, now only four remained. They all looked at him, their snouts drooping in sorrow as he climbed into his makeshift craft.

“Do you have to go?” Melea asked. His youngest sister was still barely more than a child. “Brother, do you have to go?”

“Yes.” He took a deep breath, and his gaze drifted to the horizon. Where once there had been a limitless vista of towering trees, there was now only smouldering rubble. It was yet another reminder of the mistakes his people had made. “I… I do not know if it will work, but there has to be something beyond… beyond this.” He gestured vaguely at the blasted ruins of their homeland. “And there have to be other people out there… just… other people who can help us. There have to be.”

“And if there aren’t?” Jedeus asked. He was the oldest of the siblings, the most pragmatic and down to earth. “If your craft fails or if it succeeds and you find only the emptiness of space, what then?”

“Then there is no hope… and I am no worse off than before.” Archaeus shook his head and scratched at the place where a laser blast had singed his fur only a week ago. “We are dying, brother. Our world is dying. We’ve tried to save it, and we’ve failed. If there is no one out there that can help us… maybe… maybe it’s our destiny to die.”

“Then go,” Jedeus asked. “And may the spirits of our ancestors be with you. I doubt you’ll succeed, but I will pray that you do.”

“Thank you.”

Archaeus climbed into his craft. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

X     X     X

The craft that Archaeus had built was the first of its kind in his people’s history. They had sought the stars once, but internecine strife and greed had robbed them of that destiny. Instead, his people had revived ancient grudges, and the glorious dreams of exploration had dwindled and died in the fires of vengeance.

With painstaking care, Archaeus had researched the long lost science of rocketry and extended the fledgling science of hyperspace physics until he had, at long last, developed a functional hyperdrive. Well, he hoped it was functional. If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t live long enough to regret his mistakes.

As his craft blasted into the air, the force of the acceleration threw Archaeus back into his chair. His fur stood on end, and his fingers and toes clutched at the chair in a combination of excitement and panic. As the craft broke free of his planet’s gravity, he leaned forward. His fingers flew over the keys of the console, and he braced himself as the craft’s hyperdrive began to activate.

There was a great whirring sound, and the boundless blackness of space gave way to a radiant corridor of light and thunder.

X     X     X

When Archaeus regained consciousness, his craft was floating in an empty void. He peered outside the windows and checked the instruments, but there was nothing around him. With a heavy heart, he slumped into his chair. The hyperdrive had worked. It must have. But something had to have gone wrong with the navigation systems. It should have brought him to the closest start, not dropped him in this… this void.

Worse, his checks had revealed that the hyperdrive had suffered catastrophic failure. There was no going back. And now, a series of flashing lights revealed the true extent of his predicament. His supplies of air had been damaged, and the power unit of the craft had been overloaded. He had, if he was lucky, perhaps another three or four days of air and power, maybe less.

A grim smile crossed his lips. He was going to die out here, alone, with nothing but empty space for company. It was almost poetic, really. Still, he would do his best to survive. He couldn’t see any way he could make it through, but he had to try. 

X     X     X

Three days passed. Three days of failure. One by one, he shut down the ship’s non-essential functions to preserve what little power remained. He moved only when he had to, and he did his best to slip into the meditative state his people used to sleep away the long, bitter winter months.

He sat down in his chair, and he closed his eyes for the last time. Hopefully, he would pass peacefully, not wake gasping for air that wouldn’t come. 

X     X     X

Archaeus was jolted back to wakefulness as his whole craft shook. He stumbled to his feet, and his eyes widened as something cut through the hull not far away. Was… was this a dream? This was no asteroid striking his hull, no meteorite thumping into him. It sounded like a cutting tool of some kind, and that meant that somebody else must be here –

A section of the hull fell away, and he found himself staring at massive armoured figures. They had two arms and two legs, but they were far, far taller than him, and they walked completely upright as well, instead of scampering on all fours.

Light filled the craft, along with fresh, clean air, and Archaeus fell to his knees as the realisation swept through him. Someone had found him. He wasn’t alone. His people weren’t alone. Tears prickled at the corner of his eyes as he glimpsed a ship through the window, a ship so vast it could not possibly be real, and yet, there it was.

Without thinking, he crawled toward the closest of the figures and threw himself at their feet.

“Please!” he begged. “Please, help me!”

X     X     X

Paprika Dia-Farron stared at the possum-like creature clinging onto the boots of her power armour like its life depended on it. This was not what she’d expected. “Do any of you know what it’s saying?”

“Negative,” Arezia murmured. The Asari was fresh out of university, so it had taken some finagling to get her assigned to this exploratory expedition. However, she was one of Paprika’s favourite students, and the Dia-Farron had a lot of pull in the Grand Empire Alliance. “The sounds don’t correlate to anything on file, and I’m not sensing any telepathy, at least nothing my species can interact with.”

“Well, that kind of sucks.” Paprika glanced at Avalanche. “You getting anything?”

The Nabaat shook his head. “It’s not telepathic. I can try to read its mind if you like.”

“Hmmm…” Paprika rubbed her chin. “We’re in a bit of a hurry. Arezia, would you be alright handling things?”

Arezia nodded. “Leave it to me.”

A few minutes later, and Arezia was sharing her newfound understanding of the creature’s language with the rest of the team via Avalanche’s telepathy.

“So…” Paprika said, her translator speaking for her as she gently picked the creature up. “Your name is Archaeus?”

The creature’s eyes widened. “You speak my language!”

“Sort of. It’s a long story.” Paprika grinned, her faceplate turning transparent so Archaeus could see her face. Honestly, the data coming through the gauntlets of her power armour indicated that he would be exceedingly cuddly if she were to handle him with her bare hands, but safety first. “You mind explaining a few things for us?”

“I… yes.” Archaeus looked about furtively. “But, please, you must help my people!”

X     X     X

Jedeus gaped at the massive… thing floating in the air over the battlefield.

“Cease combat immediately!” a voice boomed. “Or we will fire upon you!”

When nobody made any attempt stop fighting, there was a blinding flash of light, and a beam of pure heat raced across the battlefield. When the beam receded, it had melted a trench roughly ten yards across, one mile deep, and several miles long across the battlefield.

“Don’t make me ask again.”

People started throwing down their weapons.

The Supreme Library (Final Effect)

The Supreme Library is the single largest collection of knowledge in the Remnant Galaxy. It is located on Lumina Prime and safeguarded by the Dia-Farron and their forces. It is modelled after the original Grand Library of the Dia Clan on Remnant.

Although the library is on Lumina Prime, it is home to many others besides the Dia-Farron. Admittedly, the majority of its staff are from the Dia Clan, but that is only because few groups are as obsessed with accumulating knowledge and keeping records as the Dia. These librarians are tasked with cataloguing the contents of the library, adding to its collection, and helping others make use of its accumulated knowledge.

Even setting aside its location on one of the most heavily protected planets in the galaxy, the library itself is extremely heavily fortified. Should the defences of Lumina Prime ever fail, the library would still be able to withstand sustained orbital bombardment.

The library’s many rooms and corridors are always filled with people eager to peruse the knowledge it contains. Copies of every book or document ever published in they galaxy can be found within it, and countless originals are held in its special collections.

By ancient right, the doors of the library are open to any Dia, Yun, or Imperial citizen of good standing. Those from outside the Empire must first ask permission before they are allowed to enter although that permission is generally only refused under dire circumstances. There are many in the galaxy who consider visiting the library a lifelong dream, and many of its visitors budget months or even years of their time to savour its many offerings.

The head of the library is the Supreme Librarian. For various reasons (many of which relate to a certain incident that occurred during the reign of His Imperial Majesty Caius III), no Dia-Farron is allowed to hold the position. Instead, the position is typically held by another member of the Dia Clan who specialises in research, management, and other library-related areas.

The library also maintains smaller branches throughout the galaxy. It also dispatches specially trained librarians to regularly copy and collect books, records, and information to add to its collection.

Reboot (Final Effect)

“Run.” The robot glanced from its humans to the horde of oncoming Grimm. “Get to the evacuation site! Go!”

“But -”

The robot pushed the little boy toward his parents. They would never make it to the evacuation time on foot before the Grimm overtook them. They needed more time, and the robot would give it to them.

“Go,” the robot said, more gently but still firmly. “Go with your parents, Flint. I will catch up to you.”

The two adults looked at each other and then the robot before Flint’s father lifted him up into his arms.

“Thank you,” Flint’s father said. 

“Hurry.”

And then the humans were running, and the robot turned to face the Grimm. For a split-second the robot wondered why it was doing this. It was a standard agricultural helper robot. It had not been produced with any additional directives, other than the ones that were standard to ensure it could perform its duties in a safe and efficient fashion. 

And yet, the choice was also clear. The humans had bought it off the scrap heap and invested some of their meagre funds to return it to working order. Admittedly, that was out of self interest. It was an old model, and they could not have easily afforded one of the more advanced current models. Even so, they had treated the robot well, and the boy had often accompanied it as it worked. Perhaps it was loneliness. There were few other children in the area.

Emotional attachment then? Maybe. In the end, the reasons did not matter, only the conclusion. The robot would buy them as much time as it could. As the Grimm closed in, the robot readied itself. It wished it had been programmed for combat, or that it had been constructed of sturdier materials. At best it would last a minute or two against so many Grimm, likely less. 

It hoped it was enough.

As the robot went down under a tide of claws, teeth, and talons, it swung wildly, hitting anything it could reach until at last its sensors failed and the world went dark.

X     X     X

The Imperial trooper fired a shot into the carcass of a Grimm. It looked dead, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Some of the bastards were pretty cunning. They’d lost Jameson to one that had played possum only a week ago.

As the burnt-out ruins of the farm drew closer, the trooper stopped. There was a robot lying on the ground. The machine had been torn to pieces. Its limbs were scattered across the ground, and its head had been crushed. He was about to walk past it when his sergeant’s voice rang out.

“Cooper, grab the head.”

“Sir?” Cooper stopped. “Of the robot?”

“Yes, of the robot.” Cooper’s hesitation must have been obvious, so the sergeant explained. “You heard that kid back at the evacuation site, right? He said their robot stayed behind to hold back the Grimm. That must be the one.”

“Right.” Cooper scanned the area for threats one last time and then knelt to pick up the robot’s head.

“Listen,” the sergeant said. “I know this might seem weird to you, but that robot chose to stay behind and fight the Grimm. That makes it our brother in arms, and we don’t leave our people behind. Maybe one of the techs back at base can pull its data and personality matrix. Maybe they can’t. But after what it did, we should at least try.”

“Understood, sir.” Cooper tucked the robot’s head away into his subspace pocket. “How much farther do we have to go?”

“We’ll proceed up to the farm and then set up an outpost. There are supposed to be quite a few burrowed in around here. We’ll deal with them tomorrow.”

Shield Ships (Final Effect)

Shield ships are support vessels that have sacrificed almost all offensive firepower in exchange for vastly increased defensive capabilities that they can share with their allies. Like most ships, shield ships can vary dramatically in size and shape. The largest and most powerful are comparable to space stations, eclipsing even super dreadnoughts and super carriers in terms of sheer bulk.

Shield ships are typically found at the centre of a fleet or formation due to their main purpose: augmenting the shields of allied ships within their area of effect. The largest and most powerful shield ships are capable of amplifying the defences of an entire fleet while smaller shield ships can do the same for smaller formations.

This additional shielding is critical for smaller vessels, many of which lack the capacity to field the mighty armour and shields common on larger ships. For example, frigates under the influence of a powerful shield ship have shields more than three times as powerful as an unassisted frigate. This increase in durability allows smaller vessel to remain operational in situations where they would normally be overwhelmed by the enemy.

However, shield ships can also be immensely beneficial to powerful ships like dreadnoughts and carriers. Due to their overwhelming damage potential, it is not unusual for dreadnoughts and carriers to be targeted by the mightiest Grimm in a space-faring swarm. Such Grimm often sport weaponry comparable to that wielded by dreadnoughts. Although dreadnoughts are amongst the most heavily shielded and armoured ships in existence, a direct hit from such weapons can prove devastating, and few vessel can withstand more than several strikes from the most powerful Grimm weaponry. 

Apart from enhancing the shields of its nearby allies, a shielding ship can also choose to divert some of its shields to specifically enhance the defences of a particular ship. This can mean the difference between life and death in the colossal exchanges of firepower that take place between the capital ships of Grimm and the Children of Remnant. Indeed, studies have shown that the durability of a dreadnought more than doubles when boosted by a powerful shielding ship.

Although terrestrially based shield systems are commonplace, certain varieties of shielding ships can also be used to provide additional shielding for ground troops and even planets and entire systems if used correctly. There are even cases of multiple layers of shielding ships being used to serve as a makeshift defence system when a system’s normal shielding has been damaged or disabled.

Due to their immense value on the battlefield, shield ships are never deployed alone. Instead, they are typically seen as part of larger formations, often in the presence of at least a heavy cruiser or light carrier. The most advanced and powerful shield ships are only ever deployed as part of a battle group or fleet.

 Although shield ships are heavily defended by their escorts, they do possess some offensive weaponry. Perhaps the most exotic weapon at their disposal is shield inversion, a technology that allows shields to be projected as ‘blades’, granting the shield ship substantial firepower but at great cost since inverting the ship’s shields is wildly inefficient and difficult to aim well.

The largest shield ship currently in service is the Sovereign Fist of the Arendelle Empire, which is actually a battle station comparable in size to the Averia, the battle station that serves as the flagship of the Empire’s fleet when the danger posed by the enemy is too great for the empress to be secure onboard the Spear of Arendelle.

Grimm Hives (Final Effect)

Grimm Hives represent the pinnacle of terrestrial Grimm infestation. A typical hive extends miles underground and is made up of hundreds of interconnected tunnels and chambers. A single hive can contain tens of thousands of Grimm. The largest hives can occupy significant portions of a planet’s lithosphere and conceal millions of Grimm.

The most obvious purpose of a hive is protection. Due to the way they are constructed, hives are generally safe from conventional orbital bombardment. The only weapons capable of completely destroying a hive from long range are those designed to, at a minimum, crack continents. In practice, planet-destroying weaponry is typically required to cleanse the largest, most deeply entrenched hives.

For obvious reasons, destroying an entire planet to deal with a Grimm hive is not always feasible. However, attacking a Grimm hive on foot is extremely dangerous. The tunnels are specially crafted to suit Grimm physiology, and each tunnel has countless branches and concealed exit and entry points to facilitate ambushes and traps.

To make matters worse, there are certain species of Grimm that are almost exclusively found in and around hives. These Grimm appear to be heavily optimised for combat in the caves and chambers of hives, far more so than standard Grimm terrestrial species. 

At the core of each hive is a Grimm Brood Mother. These nightmarish creatures can measure miles in length. They are a hideous conglomeration of protoplasmic Grimm flesh whose sole purpose is to birth new Grimm. Safe in the confines of the hive, a single Brood Mother can create thousands of Grimm a day if sufficient resources are available. Worse still, Brood Mothers are capable of devouring Grimm and consuming their memories and experiences. As a result, Brood Mothers are highly intelligent and capable of altering the Grimm they birth to better suit local conditions. 

The reason that Brood Mothers are only ever found in hives is that they require unique catalysts to spur their growth and development. In the Remnant Galaxy, that usually means they require access to both the thermal energy produced by a planet’s core and to the Lifestream of a planet as well. Fuelled by these two sources, a Brood Mother will grow from a regular-sized Grimm to a behemoth.

Given sufficient time, Brood Mothers will begin to poison and corrupt the Lifestream of the planet they are tapping into. This will result in Dust beginning to malfunction in affected areas, as well as flora and fauna in the affected areas beginning to die off as well. If left unchecked, it is possible that the Lifestream itself will die. When this occurs, the Brood Mother will abandon its terrestrial form and morph into a form suitable for space travel, allowing it to leave the planet with vast numbers of Grimm in search of fresh prey.

Remnant was once home to several Grimm hives. However, these hives were destroyed during the Age of Heroes. 

Cake (Final Effect)

Lord Hedgeborough was usually very happy to see Averia VII happy. The crown princess was his charge, and he wanted nothing more than to see her prosper and grow into the empress he knew she could be. However, the ten-year-old was also still in the process of learning how to cook, and he’d endured through enough of her attempts to know that he needed to be wary.

“Would you like to try my cake?” Averia asked.

Lord Hedgeborough fought the urge to twitch. Due to an important meeting with his superior, Lord Quillington, Averia had been watched by another hedgehog during her cooking session. As a result, he had no idea whether or not she’d followed instruction or if she’d decided to ‘improvise’ yet again. He debated asking his fellow hedgehog, but Averia was looking at him most expectantly.

He’d have to risk it.

He nodded his agreement and hopped up onto the counter. A normal hedgehog would never have been able to make the jump, but it took barely any effort at all. He sniffed at the cake and fought the urge to activate some of his more advanced sensors and equipment. Averia would likely notice, and she would rightly conclude that he was worried about being poisoned.

On the upside, his senses were extraordinarily keen even without the use of special equipment, and he had been trained to detect thousands upon thousands of poisons using nothing more than using his Aura and his senses. So far, he had yet to detect anything truly threatening.

“Would you like to eat the whole thing, or should I cut you a slice?”

Lord Hedgeborough indicated that a slice would be better. After all, it wouldn’t do for them to make a mess. In reality, however, he was betting on the fact that if he was going to be poisoned, it was better to be only be poisoned a little bit.

“There.” Averia cut a very large slice of the cake and put it on a plate in front of her hedgehog.

Lord Hedgeborough crept forward and gave the cake one last sniff before taking a bite out of it. He was immediately assaulted by a sweetness so intense that any normal hedgehog would probably have been driven into a sugar coma. Luckily, his enhanced metabolism allowed him to handle the massive overdose of sugar without so much as batting an eye.

“How is it?”

Lord Hedgeborough took a moment to consider his response. The massive overdose of sugar aside, the cake was certainly wanting in other respects. It was supposed to be a chocolate cake, but it was far too dense to be enjoyable. It came across as thick instead of rich. Furthermore, he was fairly sure that the cocoa had not been properly stirred, and there had clearly been several other ingredients added, most likely in an attempt to make the cake more ‘exotic’. Still, it was better than her last attempt, which is what he said.

“Is it really?” Averia asked.

Lord Hedgeborough emphasised his agreement. It was not a good cake, but it was definitely better than her previous attempt. 

“Do you want the rest?”

Lord Hedgeborough did his best not to panic. Luckily, he spotted an answer out of the corner of his eye. It was Jahne. The young bearer of Ragnarok had come into the kitchen looking for something to eat, and he had just the thing in mind. Besides, it wasn’t like she could be poisoned, and she might actually appreciate the sugar overdose.

“You want Jahne to have some?” Averia asked as she gave him an affectionate pat. “You’re a nice hedgehog, aren’t you?”

He preened. He got rid of the cake, and he got a nice pat on the head.