GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

If the Shaman is not familiar with spells, then he should not be able to tell functioning ones apart from defective ones. That's what Legion-6 thought when he gave the Shaman a faulty frame for the spell. The spell looks authentic but it can't be cast. 

A little spell like that is nothing to Legion-6 so he should be able to give it away. But the fact that he should and can doesn't mean he will. They are two separate things. It is in his nature to always maximize benefits. The right to indenture himself to the totem is not enough benefits to grant the Shaman a working spell.

He thought to himself in amusement, "It doesn't matter if he can tell it is fake or not. I will deny it if he says it is fake. He can't do anything either way. I have already bonded with the totem."

"So. How was it?" He asked the Shaman.

"It was enlightening. It was very enlightening. I can't cast it yet but I can tell that it is very profound. It has also answered some of the questions that I have about the life-giving energy around us. I am in awe of this spellwork. It is really beautiful to look at." The shaman praised it. 

Ragnarok resisted the urge to roll his eyes or make fun of the old shaman. The best way to describe the Shaman right now is a village boy who is seeing a city for the first time in his life. The worst way is that the Shaman is an uncivilized person seeing glass for the first time and marveling at it.

He doesn't even know that the glass is faulty and might break any moment. The broken glass can cut the Shaman and make him bleed just like the faulty spell can cause a backlash on his mind if he tries to cast it. Legion-6 might become the only Shaman of the pack if that happens. That event will surely maximize the benefits of indenturing to the totem. 

He thought to himself without shame or guilt, "It will be an unlucky mishap that has nothing to do with me. If anything, the Shaman will have me to thank for the life lesson of not messing around with spells of unknown origin. I am generous that way."

This is a lesson that is inevitable in the endeavor to discover the power of spells and when researching spells. He is not going to deprive the Shaman of that lesson by giving him a functioning spell. That's just cruel. 

He did not make fun of the Shaman. Instead, he asked about something more important. "Why is there nothing like the spell above ground?"

The shaman sighed again. This time he sighed in sorrow. He became silent before answering the question. "It wasn't like this in the past. There are some stories and myths that tell of a grand and prosperous time for Warrogs. In those times, Warrogs roamed the lands with impunity. Warrogs pillaged and burned however they wished. We had a great civilization back then. It was full of powerful emperors that threatened to take over the world. We were prosperous."

The Shaman became silent again. A look of nostalgia appeared on his old, wrinkled, and tattooed face.

"What happened?" Ragnarok asked impatiently.

"We fought the tree people and we lost. Our race fell from grace. It is said that we were also cursed. No one knows what really happened. But the tree people who defeated us are still present in the world. They have spells like the one you showed me but they prevent such knowledge from getting into our hands. Our race is being oppressed. Only the emergence of an emperor can save us."

The shaman lapsed into another fit of melancholy.

He roused the shaman again with another question. "Then why is the spell in the Underdark? Shouldn't it be above the ground?"

He was the one who lied about finding the spell underground but the Shaman is the one that believed him. The Shaman even rationalized that the spell must belong to the tree people. He wants to know why something that belongs to the tree people should be in the Underdark.

The Shaman shook his head before replying, "You're so young. I should tell you our tales and myths before I die so that you can pass them on to the next generation. As Omegas, we are free from the conflict between packs, so it is our job to be historians. We are to save our stories and history so that they won't die out."

"So why is the spell in the Underdark?" He asked again.

"Youth and impatience. I was once impatient too. Those were decades ago. I have become subdued and old now. Time has not been kind to me. If only I could break through to the next stage. I would be able to prolong my life. Unfortunately, I am too old. Death is coming for me soon. I will never..."

It was Ragnarok's turn to sigh. He asked for the third time, "So why is the spell in the Underdark?"

The Shaman tsked. "I envy your youth. The tree people that defeated us have a terrible power. Some say that it came from a great artifact and others say a great being granted them the power. Either way, that power is great and precious. It caused a rift between the tree people. They were undecided on how they should use it so they divided. Some of them went to live underground."

"The underground used to flourish too but it was hit by a terrible calamity hundreds of years ago. The underground civilization has long since become a place of taboo and perilous danger. The spell you found is probably from one of the tree people that went to live underground."

The shaman sighed again. Ragnarok didn't bother him anymore since he has gotten the answer he wanted. He began to ruminate on the things he learned.

"It is certain that the underground is dangerous. I felt it. But what can make an entire underground civilization become a taboo?" He asked himself."