75th of Ashan 719, 10am
Blindness and super-speed flight did not mix well, they knew. The Sohr Khal, while written with runes of speed was the fastest thing Fridgar had ever seen, let alone become. It was so fast, in fact, that Varthakh had stopped paying attention to where they were flying after a few trials, then landed to find themselves in the north of their late totem's homeland.
It was a good place to start their quest to discover themselves, as good a place as any. They were still crawling along the ground in their Sohr Khal form, platinum feathers shining in the morning sunlight of that warm Ashan trial. They'd decided that they were going to walk to Uthaldria from where they were, in case they overshoot in flight and land themselves in the south.
They came to a halt along the rise of a mountain then began to meditate while they cast borrow. They had a clear image of Varthakh in their head from the few trials ago that they had briefly become him, but considered making some adjustments. The north had the potential to be cold, which didn't suit their reptilian body well. So, they used the Thiussum as the base form again and took the Paltharnum's sharp claws for grip and aid in climbing, the Paltharnum's body temperature regulation, the Wyvaranth's dexterity, and then the Wyvarnth's venomous fangs also.
The transformation initiated and they become a behemoth of pale scales and teeth, in place of a mighty and majestic avian of their late totem's homeland. They looked to their rune-plastered claws and flexed them briefly before they looked to the ground. Their eyes worked so poorly that they couldn't even see their feet clearly now. Squint as they might, nothing could overcome the crippling will of their spark.
Varthakh sighed, for they realized that they no longer had the blindfold Rhostus had given Fridgar. it came in handy so frequently, but nothing was forever. "It's okays," they said to themselves. "We can just make a new one later," spoke their own mouth again. Varthakh paused and turned reflexively to their left to meet who they were speaking with, but found no one. "What do you mean 'make'?" Asked the giant. They hissed then and straightened their back a little. "It's not hards, we just have to take some skins in a strips."
Right, of course. A blindfold was just a piece of fabric that they could cover their eyes with. They could skin an animal for that material if they so wished. Being in Gauthrel, it wouldn't be too long before something attacked them regardless. They opened their eyes and rose from their trance, then continued down the mountain in their new form. All the while, they discussed things with one another regarding the scenery and the fauna that they might happen across, the sound was sure to draw predators.
"And what of the Jeger?" They asked themselves, to which they paused. "What do you mean?" Varthakh asked in reply. "They don't seem the type to welcome an ithecal into their ranks... Will the loss of Fridgar affect our relationship with them?" Varthakh hadn't given it much thought. They weren't sure if they still considered themselves a Jeger. But then, the Jeger often took mutagens that altered their bodies quite drastically, their evolution was something that was praised, not shunned.
"Perhaps... It might be better to lie if we decide to go to Kaer Jeger." They hissed then. "Lies? No lies, only truths," they said to themselves and blinked in confusion. "We are in agreement," they spoke to themselves again and shook their head. "No, we're not. They won't welcome us at all, they will be suspicious of us," they warned. "Ands? If they feels that ways, then they're nots worth keepings," they reminded themselves. Yes, they were right. If people enjoyed them only for how they appeared, they weren't too keen on keeping contact with those people.
"Fine, we'll have it your way," they said, to which they hissed joyously. They groaned immediately after and proceeded down the mountain. The path was rocky and unstable, but it was a path, which was more than could be said for the rest of the slopes.
They'd had a comparably peaceful journey to Fridgar's previous experiences in Gauthrel, but as a hunter, they knew that it was likely due to passing through some stronger predator's territory. Their intuition was proven right. Behind them, the stones unsettled in a way that broke their otherwise silent journey, then they felt an intense rush of momentum from the same direction of the sound. At once, they cast adapt and took the armored scales of the Solghannon. Part-way through their transformation, they turned to face the threat.
Rushing toward them was a Kinaba, the solitary feline hunters of the mountains. They lifted their arm as their scales turned over like shutters to reveal the armor plates beneath, then they clashed with the horse-sized monster. Their foot claws dug into the loose stones to try and find some sort of grip, but the ground only shifted beneath them as they fought upward against their smaller opponent.
The beast pressed its needle-like teeth hard into their scales but had trouble piercing not only their armor but their hard, steel-like muscles to boot. The tiger had made a mistake challenging the larger, stronger predator, but then so had Fridgar in failing to realize that the beast also utilized magic. Suddenly, it's ether-laced fangs pierced their scale and sank into their flesh. Searing pain wracked their sparks and they hissed at the pain, though they didn't yet realize the effects of the Kinaba's venomous ether.
With a growl, Varthakh reached over and gripped the beast by their horn. Using all their strength and superior mass, they threw the tiger against the face of the mountain and ripped its fangs from their flesh. They took another one of its horns into their firm grip and pulled it across the unsteady stone so that it was before them. The beast tried its best to claw at them but used the majority of its strength and balance trying to keep on its feet. Fridgar took full advantage of that and pulled its head down toward them while they drove their knee upward.
The force of their knee slamming its head shattered its jaw and broke one of the horns Fridgar gripped clean off its head. The creature barely had time to roar before Fridgar destroyed its throat with its own horn. The force of the stab was enough to tear their throat all the way through and left a massive gash in its neck. They didn't stop there, either. They quickly drew the spike-like horn and pulled the stunned, ruined tiger to their will before they drove the spike into its skull, shattered its cranium and destroyed the brain.
The tiger froze up, then shook a little as Fridgar lowered it to the ground. Soon, the beat of its heart ceased and it was dead before them. "That hurts," they said as they released the beast, then looked to their arm, which bared the shallow puncture holes of the tiger's teeth. "It's nothing," they replied, "we've suffered worse a hundred times over." And they had, they had no reason to be concerned with the venomous bite of a tiger.
Blindness and super-speed flight did not mix well, they knew. The Sohr Khal, while written with runes of speed was the fastest thing Fridgar had ever seen, let alone become. It was so fast, in fact, that Varthakh had stopped paying attention to where they were flying after a few trials, then landed to find themselves in the north of their late totem's homeland.
It was a good place to start their quest to discover themselves, as good a place as any. They were still crawling along the ground in their Sohr Khal form, platinum feathers shining in the morning sunlight of that warm Ashan trial. They'd decided that they were going to walk to Uthaldria from where they were, in case they overshoot in flight and land themselves in the south.
They came to a halt along the rise of a mountain then began to meditate while they cast borrow. They had a clear image of Varthakh in their head from the few trials ago that they had briefly become him, but considered making some adjustments. The north had the potential to be cold, which didn't suit their reptilian body well. So, they used the Thiussum as the base form again and took the Paltharnum's sharp claws for grip and aid in climbing, the Paltharnum's body temperature regulation, the Wyvaranth's dexterity, and then the Wyvarnth's venomous fangs also.
The transformation initiated and they become a behemoth of pale scales and teeth, in place of a mighty and majestic avian of their late totem's homeland. They looked to their rune-plastered claws and flexed them briefly before they looked to the ground. Their eyes worked so poorly that they couldn't even see their feet clearly now. Squint as they might, nothing could overcome the crippling will of their spark.
Varthakh sighed, for they realized that they no longer had the blindfold Rhostus had given Fridgar. it came in handy so frequently, but nothing was forever. "It's okays," they said to themselves. "We can just make a new one later," spoke their own mouth again. Varthakh paused and turned reflexively to their left to meet who they were speaking with, but found no one. "What do you mean 'make'?" Asked the giant. They hissed then and straightened their back a little. "It's not hards, we just have to take some skins in a strips."
Right, of course. A blindfold was just a piece of fabric that they could cover their eyes with. They could skin an animal for that material if they so wished. Being in Gauthrel, it wouldn't be too long before something attacked them regardless. They opened their eyes and rose from their trance, then continued down the mountain in their new form. All the while, they discussed things with one another regarding the scenery and the fauna that they might happen across, the sound was sure to draw predators.
"And what of the Jeger?" They asked themselves, to which they paused. "What do you mean?" Varthakh asked in reply. "They don't seem the type to welcome an ithecal into their ranks... Will the loss of Fridgar affect our relationship with them?" Varthakh hadn't given it much thought. They weren't sure if they still considered themselves a Jeger. But then, the Jeger often took mutagens that altered their bodies quite drastically, their evolution was something that was praised, not shunned.
"Perhaps... It might be better to lie if we decide to go to Kaer Jeger." They hissed then. "Lies? No lies, only truths," they said to themselves and blinked in confusion. "We are in agreement," they spoke to themselves again and shook their head. "No, we're not. They won't welcome us at all, they will be suspicious of us," they warned. "Ands? If they feels that ways, then they're nots worth keepings," they reminded themselves. Yes, they were right. If people enjoyed them only for how they appeared, they weren't too keen on keeping contact with those people.
"Fine, we'll have it your way," they said, to which they hissed joyously. They groaned immediately after and proceeded down the mountain. The path was rocky and unstable, but it was a path, which was more than could be said for the rest of the slopes.
They'd had a comparably peaceful journey to Fridgar's previous experiences in Gauthrel, but as a hunter, they knew that it was likely due to passing through some stronger predator's territory. Their intuition was proven right. Behind them, the stones unsettled in a way that broke their otherwise silent journey, then they felt an intense rush of momentum from the same direction of the sound. At once, they cast adapt and took the armored scales of the Solghannon. Part-way through their transformation, they turned to face the threat.
Rushing toward them was a Kinaba, the solitary feline hunters of the mountains. They lifted their arm as their scales turned over like shutters to reveal the armor plates beneath, then they clashed with the horse-sized monster. Their foot claws dug into the loose stones to try and find some sort of grip, but the ground only shifted beneath them as they fought upward against their smaller opponent.
The beast pressed its needle-like teeth hard into their scales but had trouble piercing not only their armor but their hard, steel-like muscles to boot. The tiger had made a mistake challenging the larger, stronger predator, but then so had Fridgar in failing to realize that the beast also utilized magic. Suddenly, it's ether-laced fangs pierced their scale and sank into their flesh. Searing pain wracked their sparks and they hissed at the pain, though they didn't yet realize the effects of the Kinaba's venomous ether.
With a growl, Varthakh reached over and gripped the beast by their horn. Using all their strength and superior mass, they threw the tiger against the face of the mountain and ripped its fangs from their flesh. They took another one of its horns into their firm grip and pulled it across the unsteady stone so that it was before them. The beast tried its best to claw at them but used the majority of its strength and balance trying to keep on its feet. Fridgar took full advantage of that and pulled its head down toward them while they drove their knee upward.
The force of their knee slamming its head shattered its jaw and broke one of the horns Fridgar gripped clean off its head. The creature barely had time to roar before Fridgar destroyed its throat with its own horn. The force of the stab was enough to tear their throat all the way through and left a massive gash in its neck. They didn't stop there, either. They quickly drew the spike-like horn and pulled the stunned, ruined tiger to their will before they drove the spike into its skull, shattered its cranium and destroyed the brain.
The tiger froze up, then shook a little as Fridgar lowered it to the ground. Soon, the beat of its heart ceased and it was dead before them. "That hurts," they said as they released the beast, then looked to their arm, which bared the shallow puncture holes of the tiger's teeth. "It's nothing," they replied, "we've suffered worse a hundred times over." And they had, they had no reason to be concerned with the venomous bite of a tiger.
