By the time Lily returned to the nest, the Harvesting Well had already started eating through most of the remains. It was unfortunate, but it wasn't unexpected.
The Well was made to break things down and turn them into Mass, not patiently wait for her to change her mind. Thankfully, the order she had sent reached the workers before everything was gone, so they were able to pull aside some of the raptor claws, bones, and hide before they could be fully dragged in.
It wasn't a lot, but if she couldn't find more, she would just give them the little she saved and call it even. The Fall People wanted claws, bones, and such; anyway, they weren't going to be picky.
It was an odd request, but also one that made sense. They used stone tools and spears, and the raptor's claws were definitely much better than normal stone. Even the bones were rather strong and light, which could be useful for weapons.
She could've kept them for herself, but that would be pointless. The Hive didn't need such primitive weapons to fight; the Hive's biological weaponry was much stronger.
In fact, it was unlikely she would arm the Hive with weapons below a certain level. Avenger-level weaponry was the only thing that interested her.
So trading them for information, which was much more valuable to her in this moment, was worth it.
She walked deeper into the nest, watching as the workers continued their jobs. The main tunnels were already being widened, and the false paths near the entrance were slowly taking shape. Some were made to loop, others to collapse, while a few were dug in such a way that anything too large trying to crawl through would get stuck.
It was simple, basic even, but as the nest expanded and she made more units, she could keep improving upon it.
The Savage Land wasn't a normal jungle, and she couldn't treat this nest like the smaller ones she had made before. This was not a temporary hiding hole under a city or a cave she happened to find.
This was going to be a proper nest, her first real one in fact, and if she planned to stay here for a long time, it meant one thing.
That meant it needed soldiers.
The Swarmlings were good enough, but they were made before she knew what the Savage Land was like. They could fight, and they could hunt, but they weren't made for this land specifically.
They weren't made for the thick roots, the uneven ground, the sudden ambushes, or the larger predators that could crush smaller units underfoot without even noticing.
She needed something that could survive here, an army wouldn't do just yet, because she didn't have the resources for that. But a batch of specially made troops could be wise.
She made her way toward the Breeding Spire, passing workers as they carried broken stone and wet soil along the walls. The chamber around the Spire was still rough, but it was large enough for what she needed.
The Breeding Spire itself sat in the middle, its fleshy structure pulsing lightly as if waiting to be used. Sacs hung from its lower body, some empty, some twitching with black liquid inside.
In truth, even to Lily, who was used to the sights of the Hive, it was ugly, but looks were never an issue for her.
Unless it was a woman.
Shaking needless thoughts aside, she placed her hand against the side of it and closed her eyes.
The information from the raptors was still fresh inside her body, and it would be the perfect base to work with for what she wanted. Their balance, claws, tendon structure, lower-body strength, and pack movement could all be given purpose.
But she didn't want to simply make a raptor, that would be stupid. If she wanted raptors, she could go and catch some. There was no point in using Mass to copy something she could hunt from the jungle.
What she needed was something better suited for the Hive.
Not too large, because larger units took more Mass and were easier to notice. Not too small either, because the Savage Land had too many things that would crush anything small before they could put up a fight.
Something around the size of the Raptors would work. Low to the ground with strong legs for running and jumping. Curved claws and hard skin. A mouth that could bite and hold onto prey, even if the prey was larger.
Most importantly, it needed enough intelligence to move in a group without needing her to control every action.
She messed around with the formula, adding the raptors' balance, the werecat and weredog instincts, reptilian durability, temperature regulation, hardened hair, and some of the adhesive touch to help them grip against trees and stone.
Beyond that, she also added some of the mutant abilities that would suit those attributes. Not too much, she didn't want to use too much Mass on mass-produced soldiers.
Adding too many things would increase the cost, and she didn't need perfection right away.
The Spire pulsed under her hand as the sacs began to swell.
Lily could feel the Mass being used, not from her own body directly, but from the nest itself. It was an odd feeling, like watching another part of herself work. The Breeding Spire took the idea and shaped it, slowly forming bones, muscle, teeth, and skin inside the sacs.
It was slower than making a unit directly from herself, but it would allow them to be made even if she was busy. It was repeatable.
'This is better for long-term development.'
She watched as the first sac split open, spilling dark fluid onto the ground.
A creature dragged itself out.
It was low and long, standing on six limbs, with the back four built for movement and the front two slightly smaller but sharper, ending in hooked claws. Its body was covered in dark, rough skin with hardened hair lying flat along its back like short bristles.
Its head was narrow, not fully raptor, not fully canine, but something between a hunting beast and a lizard. Its mouth opened wider, showing layers of teeth meant to grip and tear.
The second came out after it, then the third, and so on. Five in total.
She didn't make more than that.
Even making five cost a decent amount of Mass due to the traits she had given them, and she wasn't going to waste more before seeing if they were actually useful.
The five units stood in front of her, their bodies still wet from the liquid in which they were born. They didn't make noise; they simply waited for her command.
Lily looked them over.
'Not bad.'
They weren't perfect, their limbs were a bit too thin in some places, and their balance still needed work. The hardened hair on their backs also didn't cover as much as she wanted.
But for a first attempt, they were good.
"Let's see how you move."
The command came out of her mouth, but it was the mental order that mattered.
The units moved.
At first, they walked around the chamber, testing their bodies. Then they moved faster, circling the room as their claws dug into the ground. One of them slipped slightly when turning too quickly, but recovered before it could fall.
She ordered one of the workers to run.
The worker did so instantly, moving through the chamber and toward one of the side tunnels.
The five new soldiers reacted just as quickly.
Two went after it directly, while two moved to the side, and one circled around using the wall, its claws and adhesive grip allowing it to climb a short distance before dropping down in front of the worker.
The worker was surrounded in seconds. Not killed, because she didn't order them to kill it, that would be a foolish waste.
The raptors' pack instinct had translated better than she expected. They didn't need to be told every little movement and instinctively worked together to hunt.
She looked at the five units and decided on a name.
"Raptorlings."
It wasn't a creative name, but that didn't matter. They were not true raptors, nor were they really meant to be. They were Hive soldiers made from raptor traits, so their name went well.
She sent the order for two of them to remain in the nest for testing and defense, while the other three would come with her. She wasn't going to bring a large group to the raptor location, but bringing nothing would be foolish.
The escaped raptor had returned to something just like she thought they would.
From what the Watcher showed her, it had not simply run into the jungle randomly. It had gone back to a rocky area, a place surrounded by bones and claw marks, and at first, she thought it might be some small den.
But the longer the Watcher observed, the more obvious it became that it wasn't. It was a massive den; there were tons of bones that covered it, and she could see numerous raptors going to and from.
'So the ones I killed were just one small group.'
Regardless of the reason, it was a good outcome for her; more raptors meant more material, more information, and more bodies for the well. Best of all, it meant she could gain something from devouring them all.
But it also meant some danger.
A few raptors were easy enough to deal with. A full nest, on the other hand, could become troublesome if she walked in carelessly. Especially if there was something larger leading them.
She didn't know if these raptors had an alpha, but animals often had some kind of leader, even if it wasn't in the way humans thought of leadership.
And this was the Savage Land; there was no reason to assume the nest only had normal raptors.
Lily left the Breeding Spire chamber with the three Raptorlings following behind her. They moved quietly and made their way towards the den she had found.
She sent a few small scouts ahead, while one Watcher kept above and the Direworm remained deep underground, following at a distance.
As they moved, she watched how they handled the surface. They were faster than Swarmlings in this kind of terrain, jumping over roots and sliding under thick plants with less trouble. One caught the scent of something nearby and almost shifted toward it, but she corrected it through the Hive.
It took some time before she reached the area where the Watcher had stopped. The trees thinned slightly, giving way to a rocky slope covered in moss, vines, and old bones.
The smell hit her first: blood, waste, rotting meat, but most importantly, raptors. She smelled a lot of them.
Lily crouched slightly behind a thick root and looked ahead.
There were openings in the stone, more than one. Some small, some large enough for several raptors to move through at once. Bones were scattered everywhere, and not all of them belonged to animals.
She could see humanoid ones mixed in, most likely from the Fall People and other nearby tribes.
Her eyes then moved to the markings on the stone, half-hidden under moss and claw marks. Circles, lines, rough shapes, and other symbols; it seemed almost as if they had been carved by people.
This place was old, but before she could study it further, a sound came from one of the openings.
A low clicking noise came from multiple sources. Raptors began stepping out from the stone, one after another, their eyes sharp as they looked into the jungle.