Flipping open the notebook from the earliest parts reveals quite a bit of text that has been jotted down, much of it particularly revealing...
I had recently been given an opportunity to further myself as a scientist. I had become an alchemist, a field which modifies physical property of both matter and blood through mixes over magic and miracles, so naturally I was interested in the proposition of experimenting with advancing the evolution of creatures to humanoid levels. Inspired by my late uncle's accomplishments, I felt the desire to carry on the torch and carry on his legacies.
This, however, requires me to work with a shady bunch that had happened to get a hold of a precious artifact which to start the project with. It's a risk, but I doubt anybody within kingdom law would entertain giving me a similar opportunity.
I had agreed to be taken to their base in secret. They have a policy of blindfolding and implementing anti-scrying measures, which I am fine with. I wouldn't want to be caught. I was also impervious to many sleep effects, so they arranged a magician and the proper scrolls to teleport me within, likely to mask the time it would take to get there under traditional means. When we had arrived, the air was thin and I felt the immediate lightheaded pressure that came with it. It was gravely unpleasant, and just as I began to guess the environment I was placed in, the blindfold was off and I was overtaken by darkness, and the only way I was able to see the drow surrounding me was through the superior eyesight which the elves support.
Naturally, I was highly mistrusted. More than likely if there was a hint I would not be working with them, I would be killed. It wasn't until a woman had arrived to make arrangements for what I was needed for.
She was a sorceress that went by the last name of Aurelian, and quite powerful for her age. Our introduction was quickly cut to an explanation that they are trying to discover ways of padding their numbers to rival the kingdom, and they wanted the kind of troop that would follow their charismatic leader into battle, not mindless drones or unpredictable beasts. When I heard the words 'beast', it struck something in me a brainstorm.. would it be possible to create an army of beasts that could follow a leader? How would they act? How likely would it be for them to obey?
When I presented this hypothetical, I was told that it was already possible for them to give monsters intelligence through her magic as well as summon outsiders to the realm. She decided to take me to the core of their camp which served as the source of the power which to do this.
What I saw was indescribable brilliance! The rocks all about the chasm glowing with translucence and a great lake glimmering with a purity like nothing which I have seen. Clearly such a natural discovery was a reward in itself, a wonder of the world blessing the eyes. As I stared agape at the marvel, she spoke of what it was.. a lake which the blood of the gods had dripped from above, and their power lingering even as the blood became water over the years. The bland rocks all about became crystals channeled with the divine power. When I had learned this, I had realized this was a "pool of radiance" category artifact created as a result of The Fall.
Her involvement with the rebels is that only those with a bloodline derived from the gods themselves would draw from the power of the waters. She had been separated from the one other person she knows could use the water as a catalyst, leaving only her as part of the rebellion.
With all of this, I had asked what my help was good for. She explains that the drawback is that the power of the gods is difficult for her to handle, and that it is both physically and mentally draining, requiring moderation in its use. It soon became understandable why they would still desire alternative means to an end to preserve her well being. So I asked 'what if I were to take intelligent monsters and ensure that those intelligent traits pass down to children?' With a bit of discussion on the matter, the project was quickly being prepared for its beginning.
Spells from the pool were then cast to permanently increase the intelligence of the monsters that were chosen as the initial parents. Then a elder, another recruit of the rebellion, was presented to me as a potential aid for the project.
Rand, his name was. He was a master of his arcane art, but was astoundingly good to adapt to a more... hands-on field so to speak. He explained that he has a personal grudge against the Kingdom for wrongly imprisoning him, and that he was looking to help the rebellion as his way of getting back at them. Of course, I could have easily handled this entire project on my own but I decided more efficiency on the matter was not a complaint.
When we were escorted out, plans were made to build a facility, but it came to pass that we needed a place where we can work outside the boundaries of the law and in secrecy. We decided that an island would be perfect. We had pooled our resources and hired a collection of kobolds to help build the facility for us. We would later hire Lizardfolks to help guard it. While the thought occurred to me that starting this project in the underground base would have made sense, I decided that they had already brought me out anyhow, that the war will end eventually and that I will want a stable facility which to continue my research in peace time, and that I enjoyed the idea of living on an island with my own private dwelling. I chuckle at how much that sounds like being a mastermind of a secret lair like in many of those Rogue stories.
As the facility was being dug out, the project was already ahead of schedule. Several caged beasts were shipped to the island and there was little time to make proper room. We were forced to set up tents outside in order to protect the creatures from the weather until the interiors were hollowed out well enough that we could put them in a safer place. During this time the two of us did studies on how well their intelligence actually worked. Surely one would think this is obvious considering the intellect between a man and an animal or monster is a vast gap, but with no way for the creatures to directly communicate, we had to train them to give signals to indicate that they understood concepts we taught them like the difference between a mango and a melon, or that we are not a threat.
Through all of this, we could tell the creatures were not pleased with being encaged, so came the biggest test: we had to let them have freedom. If they were truly intelligent, the two parties could develop an understanding which would allow an agreement to keep the animal from being pinned while also not running off. We did this by helping them understand that they are safer with us, and that they are guaranteed to be fed.
It was a success. The humanoid rationale had resonated in such a way that animals would never grasp, and we were able to make an arrangement without the need for blatant control. It was beyond training, it was teaching.
Eventually once we were able to build our facility and make ample enough room to begin breeding the creatures, we had to cage them again in order to keep them paired up and organized. We made effort to constantly expand the breeding center and even tear open a hole in the island side to give sunlight. As we expanded we could also expand the sizes of the cages.
We had quickly ran into problems as a result of the advanced intellect. The mates did not want to breed. It was odd at first, but it quickly became obvious that with having human understanding they also understood others... and that they would refuse to breed unless they were in love with the partner. This is where Rand came in. He began casting spells which charmed even the most massive of the beasts to trick them into falling for each other.. Had this been done to humans, it would be considered despicable, so naturally I pondered the action, but I decided that a temporary decline in ethics would meet a greater end.
At this point most of the notes span a large gap in time during which the animals had bred, as well as waiting for child creatures to grow up.. eventually you find a point when Dorthlenne is able to determine the result of the whole project.
After a trial of using similar, but updated tests that we did on the magic enhanced creatures, I can safely say that we've achieved success! The magic of the pool was so strong that it was able to permanently change the creatures physically even after the spell had worn off. We plan on breeding together the most intelligent we can determine from there.
We had notified the rebels of our findings after we developed a healthy stock to send back. My time with the creatures brought a sort of admiration and even a bit of an attachment. I was starting to like the creatures. I quickly realized there was more potential to this project than just helping some bandits overthrow a kingdom, this could be the future. I decided with the first shipment of monsters, that I would in return request more docile and smaller creatures which to begin breeding. I also made it clear it was up to the rebels to ensure the operation goes unnoticed.
As the project began to become steady and success was routine, Rand and myself ended up heading different directions with the project. As I wanted to breed creatures that weren't just military in purpose but also for civilian use as well as begin surgically modifying animals to have proper voice boxes for communication, Rand continued to push the boundaries of what kind of creature could be used for war. He had taken an egg that was hatched and casting polymorphing spells on it without my knowing. When I had found out, I was a tad annoyed knowing that I'm not in full control of the experiments that happen here. He had explained to me that he wanted to experiment with controlling what kind of creatures resulted from breeding... I was not convinced this would work.
...and yet somehow it did. Polymorphing is supposed to be temporary and quick to revert, but by some mystery he was able to make it permanent. It was incomprehensible the power to accomplish such magic. No school could teach such a thing. The result was a fierce creature that grew rapidly. It was clear that Rand had created some kind of behemoth monstrosity.
We had to get rid of it quickly, meaning we were forced to ship it while it was still a child, where it was as big as many of the other monsters we had sent. This was after an elemental was brought to us as a gift. Rand had explained that this was his way of ensuring that the Kingdom was crushed, but quite frankly it terrified me. I kindly suggested that I should take over the project and that his duty was finished. Of course it caused strife between us, but eventually he came around and saw things my way.
He decided to leave to an unknown location. He refused to tell me where. All he told me was that 'he was going to remove a man from his undeserved throne'. I had no idea what this meant... there is no man leading the kingdom, only a Queen. Could he mean some other country? I don't know, as long as I'm not responsible for his actions but somehow it still terrified me in ways that it shouldn't have. Something is wrong with this man.
Some time after Rand is gone, his influence manages to rear his head once more. It turns out the behemoth he had sent to them was uncontrollable and had to be contained by the sorceress, keeping her and the pool constantly taxed with encapsulating it in a barrier. To desire revenge on a kingdom so much that one would fuck over the ones that even gave him the opportunity to pull off such a thing. I'm starting to think I hate Rand for the massive inconvenience and liability he has been.
...a Drow knight was sent to watch over my base. Dammit! They must not fully trust me anymore despite all I've done for them. I'm going to give him a tour to ensure that I'm not breeding anymore monsters like Rand had sent, and then ensure he doesn't know how to get back in so that I don't have his eye over my shoulder every second of my work.
My operation was discovered! Somebody slipped a notice about what was being shipped. I'm sending my wizards to do an investigation immediately. I know where my finger is pointed, and so do they.
