Though I desperately wanted to go and see what was happening in New Nievtra, I kept myself from leaving all the keelish in the mountains behind. There were eight Keel in the city, and I trusted them to be effective. If they couldn't keep the city from collapsing without my presence for a few weeks, then they weren't worthy of the name.
We continued sweeping through the mountains deliberately, with Silf in particular guiding us to keep from as much exposure to the ants. I still considered them to be an easy food source, but with nearly 1200 keelish following me now, there were plenty of weak and exposed subordinates that could be seriously injured by a swelling horde of ants. How they fed themselves without destroying the forest and stripping everything clear of life was beyond me. There must have been something under the mountains that sustained them, but that wasn't my concern for now.
With so many hungry mouths, [Fanatic's Fortitude] was far from enough to keep them all satiated, and since there was no reason to leave any of my newly acquired people to starve, I ensured all would eat daily. Once or twice a day, I would find a group of the ants and kill them without allowing them to start throwing out too much of their "come help us" smell. Then, with a prepared pack of keelish, we hauled off the bodies through the nearest body of water to cleanse the smell and carried them to the swarm. With the organizational structure I'd established, each pack was getting the opportunity to scout, keep an eye on the ants, and learn more of how to move through the mountains.
The Sik'Tal hunters from Tala were the most frustrated going through the mountains, as their bodies were made for underwater travel instead of mountainous terrains. Even so, with Chjell as their longstanding captain, the keelish from Tala were calmed.
Each day passed with little fanfare, but I enjoyed the time, especially as more and more of the keelish witnessed my ability to slaughter the ants indiscriminately. More and more fell under the umbrella of those able to give their strength to me through [Spear of the Many].
After another week's travel, Krutom and one other of those I'd pointed out joined Brutus with the Alqat bodyguards. Krutom had yet to find out what it was that his magic could do, but I'd verified it wasn't any of the four primary elemental disciplines of earth, air, water, or fire, nor my own sonic magic. He wasn't a healer, nor a hunter. Even so, the small keelish was eager, focused, and devoted.
"Use your tails." Brutus barked as the two newest Alqat sparred. "If you're ever able to become Keel, it will be even more useful." He twisted the tail adroitly as he spoke, moving far more than a keelish's or khatif's could.
Krutom seized the opportunity to feint high and, as soon as his opponent ducked low, smash his tail into the other's snout. I grinned, remembering having the same thing done to me all that time ago as a hatchling. Wisterl, the crazed fighter that she was, remained within the Empire, even if she was long dead. While I lost myself briefly in memory, Krutom pressed his advantage, trying to bear the much larger keelish down to the ground while they were still staggered. It wasn't to be, and though he'd displayed more skill than his opponent, she was just too strong for him to overcome.
When Krutom was pressed to the ground, he snarled weakly but gave in. As soon as the other released him, he rose to his feet and stalked away.
"Remain here." Brutus growled, causing the small keelish to turn back and meet his gaze. "Be teachable. Now, due to your size, you were unable to capitalize on a direct assault. Instead, you should leverage your mobility, get your foes to commit to something where you can use your lack of inertia against them."
My head bodyguard continued teaching both the young ones, not giving the self-satisfied female off either, remonstrating her for her victory only coming through luck.
"... Now, you need to practice with Hrash." Brutus commanded the female who bowed her head and walked the few steps away to where Hrash stood, watching. "For you, I think the Zaaktif is ready to offer some assistance."
"I am." I gestured for Krutom to follow me as I walked a ways away from the others. "Now, there's another of my Keel that has magic, Percral. His is a wholly combative magic, one I can't think has any use except to harm and kill. It's lightning. Do you know what that is?"
Though he'd grown notably more intelligent in the past week of working with the Alqat, Krutom remained wholly unsure of how to respond to that. I'd been prepared for the ignorance, though.
"When the rain falls from the sky? Water?" I asked as patiently as I could muster.
He flared his frills in understanding.
"Yes, when it rains, sometimes there's a big flash of light, yes?"
Flaring his frills.
"That's called lightning. You might be able to do that."
I saw him begin to lose focus or understanding, but there wasn't anything else I'd learned that could keep his attention. Letting the small keelish try to put it all together, after a short time, he squinted and seemed to think he understood. I kept my tail from flicking in frustration and asked, "Can you try to create lightning? Percral can make it cover his body without hurting himself, or shoot it off himself. It started close to his body. So go ahead and try to make that happen."
Krutom cocked his head to the side, seeming to maybe understand me. He closed his eyes, then, after a minute or two of concentration, he made the sound of cracking thunder. He looked up at me, a little apologetic, a little proud. I schooled my face into impassivity and then said, "I want the light, not just the sound."
He opened his eyes wide in understanding, "Yes! Make lightning, not sound lightning!"
I stood, keeping myself calm and understanding. Then, he closed his eyes again. I rolled my eyes as soon as he couldn't see me, but continued watching. As he focused, though, I felt [Evolutionary Exemplar] spike and I commanded in a low tone, "Focus on that feeling. Draw it to your fingers. At the tip of your claws. Then, once it's there, poke out at me. Don't open your eyes, just try to hit me with it."
He kept his eyes closed, and after another 15 seconds, I saw the faintest spark of lightning on his fingertips. Then, before I could say anything about it, he punched his hands both forward at me. One was going wide, but I caught it in my hand while allowing the other to strike my thigh. The lightning fought to stun me, to make me shake or react at all, but it was far too weak. Even so, it was there, and it was real. Krutom looked up at me, hopeful yet disappointed.
"No, that was perfect. We've found what you need to work on. Talk with Farahlia, Solia, and Hala about how they began to use their magics, mine was different. They'll be able to coach you better on strengthening yourself. Congratulations." I grinned and dismissed the excited keelish, the minor frustrations of teaching fading away. I hoped that the troubles New Nievtra was facing required those same abilities of mine, nothing more serious.