I stood at the mouth of the den, spear in hand, as I looked over the swarm–MY swarm. At my flanks stood those who had evolved to what I was sure was some variation of khatif: Took, Sybil, Foire, Vefir, Silf, and, surprisingly, Solia (the surprise winner of the duels to accompany the Alqat to the extermination of the wolfstag nest), Octavi (Sybil's greatest supporter), and Illne (the female that idolized and always followed Took). That brought our minimum total of khatifs in the swarm to nine, every one of them (minus Solia) from the original ten that helped me evolve to Alpha. In fact, of the survivors of the original ten, only Netre hadn't evolved last night. She still followed Vefir around, but the staggering difference between them was borderline uncomfortable to witness.

Once again, Took was taller than me, and she had the most pronounced scaly flaps around her head, almost like a spiky mane, while also being far and away the largest. Sybil's body was obviously not designed for combat like mine and Took's, she was thinner with more delicate scale armor. Foire was different from the rest, his neck hunched over and arms much longer, like an arboreal primate. Vefir was built similarly to Sybil, but a bit broader and taller, and stood the most upright of all of us. Something about his aura communicated a scholarly feeling, and I half expected to see spectacles on the bridge of his snout. Silf was the broadest compared to his height among all of us, with a thick neck and heavily muscled arms with stubby fingers. Solia and Illne were built like slightly smaller Tooks, almost my size but without my heavily scaled arms. They both stood with obvious discomfort but also pride to be presented before the swarm. Finally, Octavi, who, like Foire, was an exception. I couldn't help but think of her body as a "civilian" form of sorts–she wasn't so broadly and aggressively built like Took, Solia or Foire, but nor was she so delicate and refined as Sybil or Vefir. Instead, her fingers ended in duller, less violence-intended claw. Octavi stood to Sybil's side, subtly deferential, and I got the feeling there was more to her than I knew.

The last of the swarm exited the den, and I noted Joral hanging his head low and lurking near the back in an uncharacteristic sign of reluctance and hesitance. He wasn't surrounded by his usual coterie, and it was strange to see him alone, but I couldn't take the time to address him personally, so I set aside the thought and, with my back to the rising suns, began my address.

"Just as I promised yesterday, we will destroy those who wish to deal crippling and deadly blows to our continued existence! We will grow through the slaughter–you can see before you the effects of following me! My closest followers and supporters have achieved a greater strength than before, becoming more and more like what we, the keelish, are meant to be! The more closely and directly you follow my orders, the more faithfully you listen, the more proud you are of your heritage, the greater the growth you will achieve! Now," I said, beginning to let my magic flow into my voice, showering my audience with that restless energy, "FOLLOW ME! WE WILL RIP OUR ENEMIES' HOMES DOWN AND FEAST UPON THEIR FLESH! WE WILL MAKE THEIR PATHS RUN RED WITH THEIR BLOOD!

VICTORY BY FANG AND BLOOD!

VICTORY BY FANG AND BLOOD!"

Having begun the chant, I stalked forward through the thronging, raucous swarm with my spear held high. At my right stalked Took, an aura of barely restrained rage emanating from her, and at my left walked Sybil, making a couple of pointed looks at some keelish I recognized as her subordinates among the crowd who then began talking excitedly to the nearest members of the swarm. The energy became more focused under the pointed, secretive prodding of Sybil, and the swarm fell in step behind me. Sybil spoke under her breath, "I've assigned small, loyal squads to each entrance to ensure that there are no unwelcome visitors in our absence. I would stay myself, but my absence would be noted." I nodded appreciatively while gesturing at Foire, who understood the signal.

I deliberately sent out a couple of scouts who knew more specifically as to what the location of the human settlement was. Foire went with them and they naturally fell in line behind him as he ranged out, keeping an eye out on any potential threat while also guiding the main body to our destination.

The only other notable destination I had been to was the wolfstag lair, which had been nearly due north of the den. To get to the human settlement, we set off in a west northwestern direction and, after what seemed to have been about seven hours of an uninterrupted, distance-eating lope, I saw the signs of civilization and signaled for the swarm to slow right when the scouts gave the same command.

After another half hour, the swarm was finally in position, just within cover of the jungle but close enough to the edges to see the small settlement. In the streets I saw people chatting, laughing, and generally living a carefree life; they obviously trusted that the extermination force that had been sent out less than a week ago would soon be returning victorious and without casualties. We were about to shatter that delusion.

After a moment's hesitation, I broke the anticipatory silence with a single command:

"SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"

Then, with a deafening shriek, my swarm descended upon the hapless villagers.