Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

833 - The Second Servitor

“Stay with me forever.”

The words that Lex spoke then were what Solvei had told him he’d said to her when he’d joined the two of them together. He still didn’t remember doing so, Prevarius’ fireball having injured him past the point of consciousness, but he trusted Solvei’s description of what had happened. Given that he didn’t know how to deliberately actuate the bonding process, speaking those words while consciously willing the connection to happen was the best that he could think of...though he had no idea if that would work or not.

He needn’t have worried.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the entire world seemed to vanish, leaving himself and Nenet alone in a featureless black void surrounded by a ring of blue fire.

Just like Solvei had told him.

As it was, he couldn’t help but glance around, half-expecting to see the Night Mare herself looming over him. This had always been what his surroundings had looked like whenever the goddess had appeared in his dreams. But other than the featureless blackness that was the ground, and the blue fire encircling them – the azure flames leaping so high that they seemed almost to go on forever – there was nothing else there except the two of them.

“Where...where are we?” Turning in a circle, Nenet peered around, eyes wide and she reached toward the flames tentatively. “Cold!” she yelped as her paw brushed the blue fire, yanking it back before peering at it. “No wound...”

“That’s because this isn’t a physical place,” murmured Lex, having had more time to ponder this phenomenon; Thermal Draft had reported that neither he nor Solvei had gone anywhere. According to her, all that had happened was that Solvei had seemed to catch on blue fire, emerging stronger and more powerful than before...and with his cutie mark on her flank.

“It’s some sort of metaphysical space,” continued Lex. “It exists as a shared perception between our consciousnesses, but has no physical reality.”

“A mindscape,” breathed Nenet, her tail swishing faster. “I’ve read about these in Mother’s books. They’re a visualization of a mental connection between two or more individuals, constructed via the perception of the initiator-”

“Nenet,” interrupted Lex. While he could understand the desire to analyze what was going on, there were more important issues that required their attention. “Are you certain that you want to do this? Once the bond between us is formed, it can’t be broken. Not even by death.”

For a moment she seemed to waver – or perhaps she was amazed that he was asking her again, considering that his survival depended on her agreement – but after a moment she looked down. “I told her, Mother I mean, the first time it happened...the first time Grisela h-hurt me...”

The non sequitur confused Lex, but he didn’t have a chance to say anything before Nenet shuddered. “She said she’d take care of it. That she’d talk to Grisela and make her stop. But she didn’t stop...”

She bit back a sob then, her wings giving a shaky flap. “Instead she was angrier than before. The things she did to me...to my wings...she knew how sensitive they are...”

Hiccuping, she paused long enough to wipe her nose with her paw, sniffling. “When I told Mother later, she just smiled and told me that it was okay, that Grisela wouldn’t kill me...because I was her precious spellbook.”

Nenet gave a hollow laugh then; or at least she tried to, but instead it turned into another sob. “After that, I studied harder. I thought that if I did enough, that if I made Mother happy, she’d tell me who my father was...and then...” Her composure was breaking down, her sobs starting to impede her ability to speak clearly. “...th-then I could l-leave, but sh-she n-never did! She k-kept saying I s-still had t-to learn more...that I h-had to mem-memorize more spells...and G-G-Grisela kept hurting me and I c-couldn’t m-make her stop! I w-wanted her to s-stop, but I c-couldn’t m-make her s-stop and I w-was so s-s-scared all the t-time...!”

She couldn’t finish, collapsing in a heap as she wept, crying her heart out.

Despite still not understanding why Nenet had felt the need to tell him all this, Lex couldn’t help but feel his heart go out to the sphinx. How could he not? A parent’s duty to protect and nurture their children wasn’t simply a matter of moral philosophy; it was a universal truth, and his own parents’ unwavering adherence to it had been one of the few sources of comfort in his life. Even the animal inside him, which had little concern for its offspring, understood that they needed to be cared for until they were strong enough to survive on their own.

He’d already known that Nenet’s mother was a depraved individual. Only someone who had made a complete break from moral accountability could murder ponies and offer their souls to otherworldly horrors for personal profit. But now Lex found himself holding a much more visceral disgust toward the sphinx’s maternal parent; murdering strangers and robbing them of their afterlife was callous enough, but not caring that her own child was being tortured was sickening on a far more personal level.

What Nenet’s mother had done to her – her deliberate inaction in a situation where she’d had a responsibility to step in – wasn’t simply a matter of ethical condemnation, nor criminal conduct.

It was obscene.

“Nenet, look at me.”

It took the sphinx several seconds to obey, her shoulders still jumping as she raised her tear-stained face. Lex met her gaze evenly as he moved closer to her, his shadowy body floating to within a foot of the small creature. “That will never happen again. I won’t allow it. Not in this life if I survive, and not in the Night Mare’s realm if I don’t. You will never, never have to suffer like that again.”

“L-Lex...” she whimpered, and he had the oddest sensation that it was important that she’d said his name.

Then again, given what they were about to do, perhaps it wasn’t so odd after all.

Slowly, Nenet drew herself up, closing her eyes as she balanced on her hind legs and held her forelegs out toward him, looking for all the world like a child waiting for a hug.

Lex needed no further invitation, and moved forward, engulfing her completely in his umbral form.

...and took everything that she was for his own.

In that instant, two individuals became a single being. “Nenet” was now the name of an extension of Lex Legis. Like a limb that he’d suddenly grown, albeit one that existed beyond the simple confines of his body, she was a piece of the larger whole that was himself.

But he could already feel that this new part of him was weak, and that was unacceptable. No part of him could be anything less than strong. Weakness wasn’t just an invitation to death; it was a perversion of everything that he was. Which meant that action needed to be taken.

Focusing his will, Lex began forcing the new part of himself to grow.

He could feel the untapped potential in Nenet, waiting to be drawn out. It wasn’t malleable; he couldn’t shape her into whatever he wanted. The same way a leg couldn’t perform the functions of a wing, this new aspect of his being had particular capabilities which could be exercised and actualized, but not altered. But that was fine.

Nenet, as it turned out, had a shocking degree of personal power that was just waiting to be brought forth.

Doing so was easy. He simply let his native strength flow into the new part of himself, scouring away the weakness that had burdened Nenet all of her life. She would transcend her limits, becoming everything that she possibly could.

Lex demanded nothing less from himself.

He had nearly finished when he became aware of a lingering blemish. It was one that he’d initially overlooked, being more of a cosmetic imperfection than anything holding Nenet back, like graffiti scribbled on a wall. But now that he examined it closer, Lex could see that while it was a superficial imperfection, it was still an insidious one...being daemonic in nature.

It was a marker, designed to draw the attention of the soul-thieves so that they could take Nenet after she died.

And since she was now a part of him, that meant that their filthy emblem was on his own soul now.

That wouldn’t do.

With a psychic snarl, Lex tore at the emblem. He could feel it trying to resist, whatever daemonic entity had created it having imbued the mark with considerable durability.

But they hadn’t imbued it with the strength to stand against the will of a god, and Lex didn’t need to consciously invoke the Charismata’s power to bring it to bear against the tainted symbol, ordering Nenet to shed it even as he continued to erode its attachment to her.

The new part of himself obeyed immediately, and the combined assault quickly wore away at the mark’s defenses, causing Lex to let out a triumphant roar as he finally ripped it free. A thought was all it took to crush the thing, leaving nothing behind-

And from somewhere beyond the ring of blue fire, there was a faint shriek of distant rage.

Chuckling in dark satisfaction at the sound, Lex turned his full attention back to Nenet. There was only a little left to do now, drawing out the final few remnants of her inner capabilities...

Then it was done, and Lex found himself admiring the results.

Nenet’s mother had treated her as nothing more than a living spellbook.

It was time to show her just how much more her daughter was capable of.

---

Lex opened his eyes with a rush of vertigo, struggling to make sense of what had just happened.

He had been in that mental realm together with Nenet. He’d asked her one final time if she’d wanted to go through with that, and she’d started talking about the abuse she’d suffered, breaking down completely. He’d sworn to keep her safe from then on, and she’d accepted his pledge, at which point...

At which point his memories ceased to be a matter of sights or sounds or even conscious thoughts, instead being composed of impressions and sensations.

Creating a connection with Nenet.

Drawing out her full potential.

Tearing away the daemonic mark that had been adhered onto her soul.

And being satisfied with what he’d made her into...

Master, I felt...something, just now. Was that you?

Solvei’s question brought him back to himself, putting the memories of what had just happened aside. But even as he thought of answering her, he realized that he was aware of more than just Solvei now. That while she was almost a hundred feet away, was still moderately wounded, and was feeling apprehensive, Nenet was only fifteen feet from him, was uninjured, and was feeling astounded...

Turning to look at her, Lex momentarily felt the same.

The ugly little creature that Nenet had been was gone.

In its place was a majestic sphinx.

Her body was leonine in shape, and roughly the same size as a winter wolf, being ten feet long from her sternum to her hips, the latter bearing the image of his cutie mark on them. Each of her legs ended in thick paws, capped with retractable claws that were already digging into the ground beneath her, and like his own they were leaving scratch marks in the stones. Two large wings with feathers of burnished gold were tucked at her sides, and the color matched the thin layer of tawny fur that covered her body.

Though as Nenet – still looking herself over – turned back toward him, Lex realized that “covered” might have been overstating it, given how thin it grew across her torso and face.

Or perhaps it just seemed thinner, given how her fur did absolutely nothing to hide the enormous breasts she was now sporting.

“I...I’m a sphinx...” muttered Nenet, the feline ears on top of her head – nestled within long saffron-hued tresses – twitching at the sound of how much fuller her voice was now. “I’m a sphinx!”

Lex registered elation from her as she slowly stood up, laughing as she looked at herself. “Master, look! I’m a real sphinx now!”

Cheering, she lifted her paws, peridot-colored eyes sparkling as she gazed at them. “These are the claws of a sphinx!”

Flexing her wings, she glanced over her shoulder as she spread them wide. “These are the wings of a sphinx!”

Squealing, she folded them back in before turning around, glancing toward her hindquarters. “This is-”

Her voice caught in her throat abruptly, and Lex felt her elation suddenly give way to horror. “No...”

Her whisper sent a surge of concern through him. “What is it?”

When she didn’t answer him, he moved toward her, circling her so he could see what she was looking at.

It was her tail.

From the rest of her, he’d have thought that it would have been lion-like in its construction, long and thin with a tufted tip.

But that wasn’t the case.

Instead, her tail was as thick as her legs, being a heavy, fleshy appendage with only the slightest covering of fur. But that was less notable than the spiked protrusions that jutted up from the end of it, the bleached bones jutting out perpendicular from the length of her tail. It looked vaguely familiar for some reason, though Lex couldn’t place where from...

“She lied to me.” Nenet’s voice came out in a choked whisper.

“Your mother?” Lex knew that had to be who she meant, but he asked the question anyway.

Nenet nodded slowly, her eyes distant. “My father wasn’t a sphinx...”

Gulping, she swished her tail slightly, and suddenly Lex remembered where he’d seen something like it before: on Blat, the monstrous creature who’d accompanied Paska and Vidrig when they’d ambushed him.

Nenet seemed to agree, whimpering.

“He was a manticore.”

Author's Note:

In the wake of Lex taking Nenet as a soul-bound servant, the transformed sphinx realizes that she's been lied to about her parentage!

Will this affect her ability to recover Lex's stolen spine? Or does she have even more motivation to interfere with her mother's plans now?

Comments

[TheVirtuousOne]

Aw, I have mixed feelings for Nenet. She has gained much power, but now knows the truth of her lineage, will it crush her resolve, or make it all the more capable?

They need to act quickly, there Is a time limit on her life now as well as Lex's, I wonder how he's gonna get his spine back?

[Not so New Brony]

Objectively, sphinx or not, Nenet has effectively become stronger and more than likely capable of defending herself physically. Emotionally, I doubt she'd be able to make use of it given her emotional trauma and coupled with the revelation of her parentage. If she ends up in a fight, she'll likely resort to hiding and cowering out of habit.

In short, she'll need time to come to terms with the lie and to adjust to her new body.

Something that Solvei and Akna might be able to assist with...provided the former doesn't develop some jealousy over their new companion. Though even if they are willing to help, I doubt she'll be prepared to face her mother or who are left of her siblings anytime soon.

It could be solved if they also share a connection with each other like they do with Lex but something tells me that it is only a thing between them and Lex and not each other.

[Booster Spice]

Im wondering if he was a Manticore, or that Lexs Aurumvox body did a remap due to loss of its own scorpian style tail, as Manticores have draconic wings and Sphinx have avian wings? I say Draconic and not Bat, because classic mythological manticores can breathe fire, which usually is a more draconic feature than bats?

[Alzrius]

11594930 As she is now, Nenet is a pitiable character. Lex has, in essence, just declared that he'll make her into someone strong (and has laid the groundwork for that as part of their new connection, drawing out her latent potential). Hopefully she'll live up to his expectations, since he's counting on her in order to survive. Hopefully she can pull herself together in time to do what Lex needs her to do...especially since he doesn't really have a plan for how he'll restore his spine even if she can return it.

[Alzrius]

11595020 In point of fact, Nenet's tail (like so many other aspects of this story) takes a cue from the d20 System rules. Specifically the note under the Pathfinder 1st Edition entry for the manticore about what the result is when they mate with a gynosphinx, i.e. that it's an otherwise-normal sphinx but with a manticore's tail spikes (including the ability to fling them as a ranged attack).

[Alzrius]

11594966 I suspect that you're right with regard to Nenet's state of mind. She's been abused and mistreated for all of her (short) life, so it strikes me as dubious that she'd be able to turn all of that around so quickly, even with all of the power she's gained. In that regard, Lex will no doubt try to help as much as he can, and not just because his own survival depends on it; his outrage at Nenet's treatment is entirely understandable in keeping with his personal disposition.

But the fact of the matter is, Nenet is still going to need to go it alone with regard to retrieving Lex's spine, since he and Solvei are too injured to make the journey (and even if Solvei wasn't, she doesn't have wings; even a serac is still limited by the local terrain). Given how that will almost certainly mean confronting her mother, this will likely turn into a trial by fire for her, one way or another. Hopefully she can live up to all of the faith Lex has placed in her.

As for whether or not Solvei and Nenet have a connection now, or if they're both only connected to Lex...I suppose we'll have to wait and see.