Cylus 24th, 720
With recent Trials spent gallivanting about within the stony walls of a city, Aylune could feel a distance, a void growing within him between his aims and that which he truly cared about. A yearning for this comfort drew him here, near where he’d heard of a creature called a Shift that could take the form of other animals, and that this one took the form of an enormous predator called a Zelroux.
This far north, the icy crags were covered in a light snow from the winds of Cylus, but he could feel the loose stones yearning to fall, warning him of their desire to throw themselves down the hill towards the natural pull of the world. With ice clinging to his fur, Aylune explored this quiet, winter wonderland in search of a man who’d been hunting the same quarry as he; a hunter of these Shift, supposedly, something of an expert on their slaying and capture Aylune wagered.
More than the stone, and the thrill of the hunt, he could feel the wind whip through the canyons and gulleys. It reminded him of Yaralon, and it was rare to find his Kin element in such a fervor brought on by the formation of the terrain around him. By his side and within another world, Needle trotted by his side, shielded from the biting cold that left Aylune’s breath rise in a humid fog from his nostrils.
It was a black night, without a moon, but the stars were bright in the clear sky. It gave the place a very subtle glow his predatory lupine eyes could see the details through. With his gaze casting its observance over the landscape, he walked, and he walked. On occasion he held his nose high to the shifting winds, and soon he caught wind of another animal. It’s scent left his mind spinning with wonder; a wolf, but different? A local variant?
Having so much respect for the creatures he embodied, Aylune began to follow his instinctual drive to investigate. Passing through a half-fallen thicket of trees that the earth had been relinquishing the roots of, he emerged overlooking a valley, and a shadowy creature lurked before his eyes, a quick glance in his direction showing the glint of those beastly eyes.
A wolf.
...And it’s enormous.
Too far away to get a true size estimate, it looked to him to be nearly as tall as he was as a man, far more heavy, and far more potentially deadly. It had noticed him already, clearly, and it was keeping its distance. Aylune saw that the dry-river gorge had a few features to his benefit, notably that he could crest the hill and block the other, his mind set: he had to have a totem from this creature, and the Wolf Spark sang to him, resonating with his Soul to urge him on.
Down the scrabble of a rocky hill, he saw the beast pacing. It had two ways it could go, but Aylune could head it off either. Behind it lay the yawning gorge, spreading for a considerable width, but there was a narrow point. Descending quickly down the hill, Aylune frustrated the beast. It growled at him; it knew what he was doing. It turned and stood before the gap between either wall of the chasm, before coiling on its hind legs and springing forth with a nimble leap, sailing across and landing upon the other side.
That enormous creature stared at Aylune from its point of relative safety, as if taunting the Mage hunting it. The Becomer skidded to a halt before the sudden drop, feeling the yawning dive of the earth before him. “You’re a clever one,” said Aylune, and the wolf turned tail, beginning to trot away.
I can’t just let it go. His mind fell upon the elements, the howling wind at his back comforting him. “Will you carry me?” asked the Becomer to the wind. Uncertainty clouded his mind, but he could feel the wind rippling about his legs. In his mind’s eye, he begged the Spark to help him make this jump; without help, he’d hit the wall and fall down to the icy, hard rocks below. If he didn’t Unleash into a bird, anyway.
Working himself up with a series of heavy pants, Aylune twirled in place to gather the air around him before he dashed forth, running as hard as he could before kicking off and sailing over the gorge with the wind sailing beneath his feet. As he urged with his mind up, up, the wind began to spin around his legs like little cyclones.
Immediately his legs wobbled, shaking as the wind propped them up with an opposing force. “Ahh-haaa-ahh!” shouted Aylune as he slowly fell towards the ledge, feet landing with grace. “Praise the spirits!” exclaimed the Becomer before he began his dash up the hill, chasing the wolf that had since begun to flee. They were nearing the end of the canyon, a dead waterfall between he and his gargantuan prey.
As the wind raced around him again, things felt different, the air charged with a blooming connection between he and his Kin element. Throughout his body a cool numbness spread as he breathed, and the hunger that gripped him was strangely ...nourished. Aylune didn’t have time to study the changes within himself, but part of him feared that he may have Overstepped, so caution filled his every move once he met the wolf at the frozen, rocky crags.
Their eyes met, Aylune leering. There was an intoxicating draw to perform more magic, both his Sparks urging him on, but he relented from going too far. Even so, how would he fight the wolf that dwarfed him in size. It looked like it must have weighed eight of him, and it was cornered now. He could read its body language; it wanted to fight.
Aylune’s fur bristled, a low rumble spreading from his chest and through his bared, vicious teeth. “Rrrrrghhhghr.” The other returned the favor in kind, prompting a chill to run down the Becomer’s body. Still, his Becomer Spark urged him on with an inner hunger. It was enough desire to tempt fate; a little risk seemed worthwhile for such a powerful prize.
The pair postured in a dance of snarls and claws, each fearful of the other. The beast was smart for an animal: it knew Aylune was more than just a wolf. It knew to be respectful, if weary. It was prepared to let the Becomer go, and Aylune could read its warning signs. ”If I can get its neck,” Aylune thought.
Needle, Aylune’s Familiar, watched the two with worry. ”Aylune, be careful.” Even the wind seemed on edge, as if poised and still to follow suit with Aylune’s command. Both monsters were ready to strike, just waiting for the match to set their tangle aflame.
Aylune was the first to act. He sprung at the wolf, but its jaws opened and it turned to receive him. Sharp fangs flashed, but Aylune felt the wind whip by to protect him, condensing to a fine point straight down that maw of razor-sharp weaponry. It choked on the rush of air, and Aylune ducked beneath to seize the much larger beast’s neck in his moment of advantage. Digging his claws into the soft fur of the chest, he felt his teeth get yanked so hard by the thrashing monster, so hard he was sure they’d fall out, but they held firm as he bit down. A pained, heartwrenching noise scathed the Becomer’s ears. As much of a hunter as he was, he hated killing; nothing wanted to die.
At the taste of the wet, crimson lifewater flowing throug his jaws, Aylune felt a strange urge bubbling up from within himself. It called for him to feed, a more esoteric hunger yet nonetheless profound. Nothing in his past indicated that it was a bad idea to allow this, and so he relaxed to entertain his Spark.
Like a cool, icy water spreading through his veins, Aylune felt the giant wolf’s life force flow into him, eyes widening, renewed vigor filling his muscles and the ache of his lungs to wash the fatigue away. More and more it came, until the beast collapsed, the flesh beneath his teeth drying out from moment to moment until dry, dead fur filled his mouth.
Letting go of his prey, Aylune looked down upon the huge, motionless beast he’d slain with a weary envy. “Spirit of the Wolf,” said Aylune through his Echoed speech, “may my embodiment of your gift suit your future needs. With this form, I will do great things for the aims of the Spirits.” Aylune gazed up at the waterfall, thoughts going out to the greater span of this place. “And to the Induk whose domain I reside within.”
Lowering his head, Aylune took hold of the fallen beast’s tail below the beast before gnashing it free. There was bone, fur, and blood within. The three sovereign substances. With that enormous, severed tail tight between his teeth, Aylune solemnly crept through the crags for a cave that did not reek of another predator before he found a hollow to nestle himself within.
Aylune shut his eyes and felt the presence of the appendage beneath his paws, focusing as best he could. Akin to a vat of oil, his Ether bled through the tail to begin the process of becoming an extension of his growing collection. Soaked now in his Ether, Aylune set about Dedicating this new totem, imagining what it would be like to run about with its height, and forming a new connection in his mind to its bestial presence. These thoughts and more swirled through his mind as he meditated upon the totem, the elements and his Familiar keeping him company, growing closer to the Kin element that now protected him as a Guardian. Nearly a Trial passed before his totem was complete, and he emerged from the cold den to set forth into the icy gloom. Asking of his Spark to begin the Transformation, he became something greater than the wolf he was the night before: a fearsome Kathor of Etzos.
