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In the future.

What do you hope to accomplish by recording this, ex-Queen? You think you're going to figure out how to fix all of your mistakes if you just gather enough about me?

I'm not going to grace that with a response. I'm recording this for posterity, to make sure no one ever creates anything like you ever again.

To my human viewers, this is a bowtruckle. His formation was one that never should have taken place, and I've gotten Wing to prioritize preventing that from occurring in any past timelines he happens to mentally sync with. His intuitive grasp of the timelines is an invaluable tool. I only wish we could re-do our own timeline. Thankfully, we have this thing in custody-

Oh, so I'm just a 'thing' now?

You're certainly not a person. The magic that formed you backfired badly enough to classify your consciousness as not complete.

As you can see, humans, bowtruckles are elemental beings of wood. With sprites, nymphs, golems, and wraiths- formed of fire, water, earth, and air respectively- we collectively call them 'spawn.' If someone is skilled enough in the manipulation of an element, that element may take on some of their consciousness, even inadvertently so, sometimes.

For wood elements, normally for this to occur, they must be started as seeds. However, the seeds grow almost instantaneously, and all spawn will be fully adult instantaneously when formed correctly.

This one has to be confined like this-

Oh come on, I'm less powerful than your average wolf pup. I could go play with one and he'd be able to pin me down no problem. You're making mountains out of molehills, I swear.

There is no way I'm letting you near children unsupervised. Rrrrrrrrrrrr-

Mama bear wants to tumble with the weed, huh?

You see his true face now? Note the black around his bright green eyes and the rows of wooden fangs. Most unstable monsters will plainly display visual cues of their dysfunction. I must tell you, humans, that if your intuition tells you a monster's appearance is due to its being evil, follow that feeling. It bears unfortunate resemblance to what you call 'profiling,' but trust me when I say, it might save your life, and most monsters will not get too bent out of shape if you run from them in mistake. Since you all have forgotten magic, you need to be especially wary.

As for you, why do you use that other face around me at all? The harmless little doe eyes and the flowers? You know misdirection won't work.

Well, SSSSilicon, the genius who tinkerss with time maccchinery in his ssspare time and can ssspout psssychology when it really countss, may have dropped his 'loveable oaf' act around you, but I'm rather attached to my massk.

Wing's wraith apprentice has his reasons for hiding. Some of which involve you.

Bessidess, you have a lot of nerve accusing me of misdirection. That 'sweet' little 'old lady' routine was hilariousssss at first, but we both know what's really lurking under all that fluffinesss, immortal madame.

Is that all you can muster? To try to make me ashamed? Pointing out my past? Or my craftiness? Or what? You're going to have to be more specific. And for your information, that was not an act. Or at least, it was no more an act than mothers who refrain from engaging their children in monologues about life and death or the minutia of the mechanics of cell gateway proteins. I don't speak to children the same way I would adults. Simple. Many things children are not developmentally ready for.

_ Your son was ready for it, wasn't he?_

Don't think I don't see your tail and mouth twitching.

Every pulse of my heart reminded me of the magic link that no longer strung from it. That I had failed in the most basic and stark way any mother can. Every child's eyes I looked into, he was there. What more can you do to me?

Do you want to find out?

Take your best shot, sad little cynic.

You snort as if pawing the ground. Oh how your peaceful oxen kin would be aghast at the show of aggression with the body language of their ancestry.

The wizened warrior wanted to appear harmless and doddering to humans so they would trust you.

You're probably going to edit this video just to keep up that impression, too. Unless someone gets hold of the raw version. Maybe one of your disgruntled followers will keep the footage.

Trying to stir up paranoia? How predictable of you.

White lies from a clever white dragoness. Oh that's right, you only wish you were a full-blooded dragon. Does that sting? Ha. Breeding with lowly bovids. What were they thinking, right? Mm, on the other hand, maybe they were curious about the toughness of a muscle bound heavyweight- oxen outweigh lions, after all- and it was a calculated move all along. You think that just because you're nice to your white pawns and your intentions good that makes it okay. Maybe it is . . . Maybe it's fine to get others to do what you want if you really do think it's best for them. What say you?

I say you are trying to tempt me into subtly sculpting people more often. Or with more force. To which I say, screw off.

Oh that's very ladylike of you. Your mother would be appalled. But, you're all about dishonoring them, aren't you?

Oh I see that red glow in your eyes. Don't act so unaffected.

Whoops, I saw right through you.

You are turning into ether.

No pawn is ever white.

And I am not either.

You are so transparent.

Though you try to be opaque.

They are all gray.

Try another play.

Your turn.

Someone with such a highly refined mind . . .

But your body. Well.

Your family, plenty of monsters have experimented purely for chimeras' sake.

Nobles are a mix more than commoners, though.

Completely opposite case for human mulattos.

Unlike the inbred royalty atop primate spires

Animals had to forge alliances by hybridizing.

Still, no worse that political marriage contracts between human families and clans.

The incentives for treating their children like pawns are just much higher.

How do you feel about that? Being tweaked as with a pair of pliers.

I never was a pawn, you wretched plant.

I was involved in the decision.

Our political marriages are not like humans'

You're a high-bred hy-brid. Heehee. Fire.

With the five elements, dirt is the very bottom of opinion

Water comes in second place for the Olympics of Oppression

Air is very respectable

Wood can sway either way

Fire is, the common people think, the 'natural' order

_Or so they say.

Oh come now, don't squirm like that Your ex-Majesty. You can't possibly hope to shake the starry-eyed populace out of assuming that fire is the best, now can you? You're more concerned about presenting a nice face to the humans than solving the attitude of your people. That the meekest mouse can get social graces just for being lucky enough to have fire as their primary element- just being associated with dragons opens doors for them._

Add in spawn

Next to their material brethren

Several different combinations

Humans think their kyriarchy is complicated? HA.

You monsters now like to think you're more enlightened,

but take it from an earth-wielding pint-sized photosynthesizer

Who's at the very bottom of the totem pole and experienced

everything multiple times firsthand.

You're all just as bigoted as any human

would be if faced with these vast differences.

You're only people, after all.

Cynicism?

You experience

Or study enough, if you're not eventually a cynic,

you're an idiot.

You bet that pretty little unicorn tail of yours I'm a cynic.

Your mother used to brush that tail until it shined.

Literally sparkled.

She gushed over it.

What a stroke of luck that trait reappearing was, she'd say.

_You smiled while you told your son about her over and over almost every single day. _

All that praise

Yet,

your poor mother's skeleton

Would be rolling in her dark grave at the idea of anything less than a dragonkin touching her daughter.

In this hole of misfits and weaklings you're the last of your kind

And you've taken it upon yourself to finish destroying this proud bloodline.

Or as monsters say, cauldron.

_Tsk, tsk.

And you spout that little flame in frustration, because you know I'm right. It's irresponsible to mate with anyone but a dragonkin. There are so few of you left._

Dragonblood. Dragon cauldron.

What, did anyone honestly think this Gorthorn would give his two most important positions

_to anyone with any less credentials than that? _

Talent is genetic.

Very flimsily among humans, the differences are minute and negligible, but quintuply so for monsters.

And then you have the reinstated Wing.

He's the exception that proves the rule.

Think what you will. I do not believe in your truth.

We can't very go well go around testing everyone, can we?

There's an obvious gap between

_ non-sapient prey and predators_

But that's a political non-starter.

'We're going to find out if we're naturally smarter!'

You all evolved to different requirements

Besides, too hard to separate out the variable of influence of social environment.

You top-tier predators start cramming your young full of learning

before they can even _ talk. _

We care about our children.

And I stand by what I said.

I think you're just putting that on for appearances.

After all, Miss Politician,

you have quite a poker face.

Are you saying that other

fathers and mothers

_ don't care_

about theirs?

Wh- I m-

_Heehee. Caught you.

And if your Gorthorn_

ever absorbs

_his souls?

Well, that power is a huge temptation._

Even if it is rooted

In the literal tree hugger's desire

To protect his endangered species.

Maybe you will need to as well

To keep him in check

And you can join an eternal dance

Like the ancient gods of Greece.

You could keep him from doing wrong

With a spirited siren's song.

You had better a love song meant

Ugh! Just to imply a thing at all.

So now you're putting down nymphs?

You snobby Ex-Queen,

Glimpses

Into their lives

Show that not all those who seduce

Retain their original callousness.

People certainly condemn Zeus

And he did terrible things

But if you were not there,

How are you to know a heart and body's workings?

I would like to praise him for his wickedness,

But I am not so sure he stuck to it always.

Ah where's your cynicism now?

For 'shame'

I admire

How you defend the water

From the fire

Of this flame.

And I'd spit upon the skyfire's name.

Yess. You'd make a better god than he-

Now quit it with your luring!

Yes, for the pond hoppers

And average folk that may be true . . .

But I am still immune.

You are not the only mastermind.

Gorthorn, Wing, and I

will keep our eyes

on you.

Chapter 4: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1103923