[h1][color=f7941d][b][u]Kalmar[/u][/b][/color][/h1]
[hr]

Chasing. Fleeing. Hiding. Searching. Running. Attacking. Defending. Killing. Consuming.

This was what went through his head, as he was ripped from one world to the next. It was all he had ever known. He came from a place where it was a constant struggle for life, where you either killed and became stronger, or died and strengthened something else. That was all he had ever known, and he had never questioned it. In its own way, it had been enough to make him feel secure. Yet as he was deposited into the Architect's hall, that natural feeling of familiarity, of comfort, of security, was gone. There had been others like him, who he survived alongside, but they were gone too, and though he was aware of other presences, there was nothing familiar about him. He was alone.

But he also had power, and he used this power to shape himself into a form, partially based off the forms of others but with enough details to set himself apart. Golden hair sprouted from his head and face, and green attire materialized on his body. He looked down at his form, and then at his reflection in the water, and appeared content. He felt as though he had just woken up from something, as though he had reached a higher level of thought and awareness. He suddenly felt the idea that he should call himself something, and briefly wondered why he had never called himself anything before.

Kalmar. That seemed as good a name as any.

Kalmar turned to the being that summoned him, uncertain of its intentions, uncertain of whether or not he could win if those intentions were hostile. Instead, the Architect went on to address the room as a whole, and revealed why he had brought them here.

Just then Kalmar's mind was filled with purpose. He recalled the world he had left behind. If they were to build, then whatever they built would need inhabitants. Those inhabitants would need resources, and some would inevitably need to draw resources from lesser inhabitants, who would in turn need to avoid them. It was not a fair or gentle system, but it was a natural one, a functioning one, and Kalmar would be the one to maintain it.

His first step was to approach the crystal he now knew to be his. But he refrained. Who were these other beings, his fellow 'builders'?

And so he scanned the room, allowing his measuring gaze to fall on each inhabitant. Some, he noticed, had taken larger forms than he had, such as the massive titan, or the living fire, or the large-mouthed beast. Did that mean they were stronger? Perhaps, or perhaps not. Besides, even if they were stronger than him, with enough allies or cunning, strength could be overcome, so he was not concerned.

He watched a pitiful creature leap about, frightened by one thing after another. Another being also appeared terrified, but seemed to have been driven to stillness instead of movement. Kalmar found himself shaking his head. In his homeworld, the former might have lived. The latter would have died.

Others he was not certain what to make of, but he would surely come to know them in the following days. He would have to. He would need allies, partners, pack members.

He approached the pale-skinned woman, who was mobilized by what he assumed to be fear. Fear of what? Perhaps he might impart some sensible advice onto her, earning her trust. [color=f7941d]"Ah... eh... I... I am Kalmar,"[/color] he said, speaking for the first time. [color=f7941d]"What danger do you sense? Why do you stay still? If you are in danger, you either fight or flee. It's better to fight, but some can only flee, like that one there..."[/color] he gestured at the floundering, revolting, terrified, eyeless creature, who was being swept away by the water. [color=f7941d]"If you stay still, you get eaten."[/color]