07-07-2014, 10:20 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-12-2014, 02:51 AM by FweepFwopFwoop.)
There. That was the last of the flyers, posted for the world to see that he was in need of help. He hoped he would find an assistant in this town, because work was getting harder every day. Astien Tynmas found himself now making the walk back to his carriage, just outside of the town. As he passed by the townsfolk of men, elves, dwarves, harpies and so on, he felt rather slow and heavy. This walk, he decided, was much more difficult in his current condition.
Astien was a scholar, an explorer, a seeker of knowledge. And this search had one day lead him to a cave filled with writings from times immemorial. He had thought the writings to be utterly fascinating, perhaps the greatest discovery he had ever made, until he found this... creature, this entity. It spoke to him, though there were no words said. He found it dying, slowly but surely, and rescued it. It spoke to him, and told him of its story. As it turned out, while the creature existed, it had yet to be born. Astien could tell he was in the presence of something great, something with incredible potential.
As a healer, he had thought he could save it. But he had been wrong. After who knew how long of being in this strange state, the entity was very weak, and Astien's magic could not help it. So the creature gave him a proposition: to carry this entity within him, to help it gestate and survive. To become pregnant with something that could possibly rival a god, and then raise it as his own child, as he saw fit. Of course, there were many factors to consider. Although pregnant men were not unusual in his world, Astien was not a man who had been born with this ability. Would he even survive it? He had been assured that he would, but what would pregnancy be like, carrying something that no one had ever even heard of before? How long would he be pregnant? How big would he get? How would he give birth? Astien had delivered plenty of children in his time, but this was an altogether new situation.
Ultimately, however, Astien agreed to become pregnant. He considered these factors for about one second, before he decided that such a rare creature could not be allowed to die. Not just because it was possibly one of a kind, or could possibly aid humanity in ways unimaginable with its power, but simply because it was simply the right thing to do.
And now Astien was pregnant. And not small, either. Apparently, being pregnant with this... creature meant ballooning up almost instantly. In about a week, his belly had grown to be about seven months, and now the growth had apparently stopped. Astien had been given very little time to adjust to his new situation. He had to buy an entirely new wardrobe, hastily stockpile ingredients to make salves to ward off stretch marks, but the absolute worst part was how abruptly his work had been interrupted.
Astien had no plans to cease his work simply because he was pregnant. there was too much to do. He had planned to use the early months to find a suitable assistant, but now he had no choice but to take whoever would apply. He could have gone back to the Belle Academy for Magical Training and Scholarly Minds, but that was out of the question. Sure, there would be many young mages eager to apply to help one of the senior researchers, happy to learn and travel at the same time, but to show up so suddenly with such a big belly? There would be questions, and when he had told of the creature to his colleagues, they insisted it was dangerous and could do nothing but harm. They urged him to kill it. hey weren't fools, they would be able to figure it out eventually. His only option was to hire someone outside his scholarly circle.
As he made it back to his carriage, Astien felt tired. As much as he wanted to nap, he wanted, and needed, to continue his work even more. He wouldn't be leaving this town until he had finished cataloging the rarer plants that grew in the area, a rather difficult task for someone who couldn't see his own feet. After giving his horses their oats, he went inside the carriage, and settled into the homey interior to review his notes so far.
Astien pulled out his various papers and began looking them over, but had a difficult time concentrating when his baby began kicking and squirming inside of him. With a smile and a soft chuckle, he placed his papers down and cradled his belly. "I hope it's not too cramped in there, little one. Now would you please settle down a bit? I have to try and get some work done." The baby didn't feel like listening, it seemed. With a sigh and a grunt, Astien lifted himself from his chair and laid on the lower bunk of the bed against the wall. So much for work. Rubbing his swollen belly, he closed his eyes and began thinking of who might see those flyers and come looking for work. That thought didn't last long in his mind, though, as he drifted to sleep.
Astien was a scholar, an explorer, a seeker of knowledge. And this search had one day lead him to a cave filled with writings from times immemorial. He had thought the writings to be utterly fascinating, perhaps the greatest discovery he had ever made, until he found this... creature, this entity. It spoke to him, though there were no words said. He found it dying, slowly but surely, and rescued it. It spoke to him, and told him of its story. As it turned out, while the creature existed, it had yet to be born. Astien could tell he was in the presence of something great, something with incredible potential.
As a healer, he had thought he could save it. But he had been wrong. After who knew how long of being in this strange state, the entity was very weak, and Astien's magic could not help it. So the creature gave him a proposition: to carry this entity within him, to help it gestate and survive. To become pregnant with something that could possibly rival a god, and then raise it as his own child, as he saw fit. Of course, there were many factors to consider. Although pregnant men were not unusual in his world, Astien was not a man who had been born with this ability. Would he even survive it? He had been assured that he would, but what would pregnancy be like, carrying something that no one had ever even heard of before? How long would he be pregnant? How big would he get? How would he give birth? Astien had delivered plenty of children in his time, but this was an altogether new situation.
Ultimately, however, Astien agreed to become pregnant. He considered these factors for about one second, before he decided that such a rare creature could not be allowed to die. Not just because it was possibly one of a kind, or could possibly aid humanity in ways unimaginable with its power, but simply because it was simply the right thing to do.
And now Astien was pregnant. And not small, either. Apparently, being pregnant with this... creature meant ballooning up almost instantly. In about a week, his belly had grown to be about seven months, and now the growth had apparently stopped. Astien had been given very little time to adjust to his new situation. He had to buy an entirely new wardrobe, hastily stockpile ingredients to make salves to ward off stretch marks, but the absolute worst part was how abruptly his work had been interrupted.
Astien had no plans to cease his work simply because he was pregnant. there was too much to do. He had planned to use the early months to find a suitable assistant, but now he had no choice but to take whoever would apply. He could have gone back to the Belle Academy for Magical Training and Scholarly Minds, but that was out of the question. Sure, there would be many young mages eager to apply to help one of the senior researchers, happy to learn and travel at the same time, but to show up so suddenly with such a big belly? There would be questions, and when he had told of the creature to his colleagues, they insisted it was dangerous and could do nothing but harm. They urged him to kill it. hey weren't fools, they would be able to figure it out eventually. His only option was to hire someone outside his scholarly circle.
As he made it back to his carriage, Astien felt tired. As much as he wanted to nap, he wanted, and needed, to continue his work even more. He wouldn't be leaving this town until he had finished cataloging the rarer plants that grew in the area, a rather difficult task for someone who couldn't see his own feet. After giving his horses their oats, he went inside the carriage, and settled into the homey interior to review his notes so far.
Astien pulled out his various papers and began looking them over, but had a difficult time concentrating when his baby began kicking and squirming inside of him. With a smile and a soft chuckle, he placed his papers down and cradled his belly. "I hope it's not too cramped in there, little one. Now would you please settle down a bit? I have to try and get some work done." The baby didn't feel like listening, it seemed. With a sigh and a grunt, Astien lifted himself from his chair and laid on the lower bunk of the bed against the wall. So much for work. Rubbing his swollen belly, he closed his eyes and began thinking of who might see those flyers and come looking for work. That thought didn't last long in his mind, though, as he drifted to sleep.
I'm just here for a laugh