The Butcher's Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #5)

by Matt Dinniman

“There are two great cancers in this once-beautiful, once-sacred land,” she said, “and with every breath left in me, I will cut both of them free. The Confederacy and the High Elves.”

all know how it started. When the original council nations first accidentally tripped the primal engines and started the chain reaction that overpopulated the galaxy, it was eventually decided that we needed to both collect the primal elements left behind on all the pre-seeded worlds and to beat back the new biological overgrowth. In addition, superior species such as the Hive—who have been at the forefront of decoding and reverse-engineering primal technology—approached the council and demanded the ability to field test macro-AI-controlled enhancement zones. This, unfortunately, led to the formation of a Syndicate subcommittee that put the request under advisement….”

Violence breeds chaos. From chaos we were born and into chaos we will succumb.”

The curtain rustled, and the high elf queen dissipated, coming apart like dandelion seeds caught in a breeze.