Chapter 360: CHPT 360: Lock and Key, Hide and Seek.
Ursula continued to sit in silent discomfort for another few seconds, fearfully watching and coming to terms with the fact that her Lion Hide cloak was wriggling and shifting along her skin as if the pelt was lined with hundreds of little snakes. She could feel it's warmth on her goosebump lined skin-- in places where it moved and tightened it felt closer to simply being hot. Not a harmful heat-- but something more.
Before she could try to begin understanding it all, her rational mind kicked into high gear, bringing her hands up to her chest to begin removing it.
"Get it off!" She snapped while grabbing and pulling at the hide that had almost achieved a level of sentience in the way it reattached and resisted her attempts that only grew more feral in response.
Claude began moving in a flash, running across the field to stop at her side and help in ripping away the reanimated hide. But, before his hands could even touch it, Rollan spoke.
"Stop!"
Claude looked over at the Druid with confusion, "What?"
"Everybody stop moving. Let the hide conform to you, Madame. You'll only....exaggerate the process by fighting.....as ehh...nefarious as that sounds, it is true, no?" Rollan said, stepping closer to sniff at and study the the shifting hide.
Ursula's panicked eyes flashed over to Claude, "Come on, you're the animal and monster guy, what the hell is this?"
Claude shrugged-- positive he didn't know of hides reanimating themselves. Part of him wondered if he'd done it with his newly gained healing wave. Was that even possible? Didn't that mean he could make....Zombies?
His deeply unsettling ruminations were interrupted by Rollan's words, "I wouldn't expect either of you to know-- since they've fizzled out of prominence decades ago....and they're hard to decipher from regular Lions. Much like your iron bodied Wolf and DireWolves, no?"
"I knew it wasn't a regular Lion...wait-- does that mean I didn't have anything to do with it?" Claude murmurred.
"Hey! I'm still being groped by this musty carpet god dammit, If somebody doesn't give me answers right now, I'm going to freeze this shit and shatter it!" Ursula growled in an icy tone while she continued to move and shake in response to the hides movements.
Rollan leaned on his sword/cane, getting closer to the hide as his spotless nose drew in more long pulls of scented air, "Ahh yes. It's been a while since I've seen them....but I know, yes? That is the hide of a Nemea-Beast."
A bell went off in Claude's mind faster than his eyes could blink, "Nemea...Like Nemean Lion? I thought that was a hide only people chosen by Hercules could use?"
Ursula looked back down at the shifting hide in surprise.
"Mhm. It is said that Hercules is the holder of the Nemean Lion pelt. That is only half truth, no? It is said that the gods, Typhon and Echidna gave birth to Hercules' first labor-- the monstrous Nemean Lion. But....gods and their tales almost never end in...one child, hm?" Rollan explained casually while Ursula continued to grunt and growl as the hide moved.
"So...there's more?"
"Many more...many variations, yes? Hercules held the strongest of the kind our Berserker is connecting to as we speak. I never would've thought I'd see another...they were plucked from this land and put into camps for farmed profit long before even I arrived...." Rollan said, sounding almost saddened.
"That explains the age...and insanity." Claude thought outloud.
"[Even so. Killing a Nemean Lion at fifteen is....well, impressive to say the least.]"
"None of this explains what's happening." Ursula said.
Rollan shrugged, "Well. That is where myth and reality begin to split, no? We as a people know little of the feline beasts so heavily connected to mythical origin, Madame. Especially with so many...ehh...connections to other gods. Zeus, Hercules, Hera. Many theorists-- scholarly Druids focused in this area believed it was Selene."
"Who?" Claude and Ursula said in unison.
"One of many Moon Goddesses. The Nemean Lion once belonged to Zeus-- father to Hercules. Around that time-- there are other stories..ehh..entries, that the almighty god of the sky was involved with the woman of the Moon at the time. Why don't you tell me what that could mean for Zeus' feral pet, Monsieur?" Rollan inquired, turning the story into a sort of lesson for his Druidic apprentice.
Claude's eyes rose to the Moon-- so close to being full, so bright with it's enticing pull. It's haunting white glow shined on the scarce amount of clouds hovering around it like an interested crowd.
"Her magic. She could've used the Moon's magic and played a part in why the hide has shape-shifting potential?"
Rollan nodded with a smile before taking a swig from his bottle. When he was finished drinking, he burped and continued onward, "A ...ehhh, cursory jab at the beasts parents, forcing them to find their children worn by humanities strongest warriors maybe, no? Maybe a blessing-- a safeguard to protect her from Hera's wrath if she were to ever be found with Zeus? We cannot say anything for sure, Monsieur. But, we can connect the dots, no?"
"Mhm..." Claude replied, still thinking on his own.
"What, so this is becoming armor?" Ursula asked.
"Oui." Rollan answered with a nod before adding, "Much like the Druidic Cloak, it has it's benefits and weaknesses. The variation of Nemea-Beast you're wearing was once sought after for it's outright defensive power and ability to nearly nullify most basic sharp weapons.....much like the stories, no?. The Tigers had a similar ability-- along with a pension for stealth....similarly like the Leopards who also gave their users agility. Which was often said to be nowhere near as good when compared to the Nemean Cheetah."
"Why have I never heard of these?" Claude asked, more himself than anyone else.
"They were never very....ehh..popular. Before the farming and captivation... They took a lot of work to obtain when you could get something close to the same worth or better from an established Armor-Smith. A fact that only became more true as technology and craftsmanship grew. "
When Rollan finished speaking, he turned to face Ursula with a smile, "Madame, you've got yourself a rare bit of armor, hm? Use it well, it seems to fit you like a glove....but that is not very surprising, is it?"
When he finished speaking, Claude looked over to Ursula and realized the hide had stopped moving, and now wrapped her in a much more natural-- and functional fashion. The helm or headpiece of the hide had shifted up and over to function as a shoulder plate on her right side where it had shifted to fit her muscle snugly with the rest of the hides body spreading across her upper torso. It ended loosely hanging down in a sharp point over her stomach and down her back. Even in the darkness he could see where the hide closely hugged and framed her frozen wooden armor plating beneath. It looked like it had become all one unit.
"I guess so..." She answered, running her hands over the dark golden furs.
They all stood in silence under the cool moonlight for a few more seconds before Rollan yawned and clapped loud enough to wake the beasts beyond.
"Ok. We all need sleep, your work in FeliAlu City begins again the day after tomorrow. Before that, Monsieur, our lesson needs to be finished. I'm sure you have questions in relation to your sudden....healing abilities, hm?" He said, pointing his sword/cane at Claude's right arm.
Claude found himself looking at the markings on his arm again that still had a faint pulsing glow in them that was barely visible under the moonlight, "Right..."
***
Twenty minutes had passed since their many discoveries. The moon rose higher above them accordingly with the temperature dropping just as fast. All telltale signs of midnight approaching.
Claude and Rollan stood in front of his home where Ursula slept. A new object occupied the lawn in front of Claude. A metal cylinder sticking out of the ground with small holes punched into it's surface all over like a metallic roll of Swiss cheese.
Within the six foot tall cylinder, the small beginnings of a tree surrounded by thick green grass resided in darkness.
An odd looking contraption to anyone. And another form of training to any Nature Element using Druid.
"So....what exactly am I doing and how does this relate to the Ancient Markings?" Claude asked while Rollan stood off to his left.
"All things Natural relate to your markings. You have been bound to Nature, Monsieur. A stronger and more pure form of it can be drawn from the earth due to those markings. In many ways, your arm has become a sponge, lock....and key." He said, looking back towards his treehouse.....or Claude's Ancient Oak before adding, "With that connection to purer and stronger magic, I want you to grow life inside that pole."
Claude hesitated for a moment, confused by how simple the task sounded at face value. "...I mean-- alright."
As he started to move towards the pole to reach the Nature within, Rollan slammed his sword/cane into the ground and caused the floor to ripple once again, making Claude stumble to a stop.
"Do it from where you stand...grow it through the holes in the metal."
The holes couldn't have been much wider than his fingers-- that amount of accuracy with elemental magic was difficult on it's own. Even more so with Nature Magic since it was something very rarely trained to be used as an aimed projectile like Fire or Ice.
"Rollan, that's crazy as hell."
"The path of Druidry can often be described as such, no?" Rollan replied followed by a hiccup before looking oddly at the bottle and setting it down.
"This is a lesson in precision, control over your markings, and discovery of Nature Magic at it's core. Get to work, and use your blindfold.....I'm told it makes things easier to understand."
With nothing left to say, Rollan turned and entered the confines of his ligneous home, leaving Claude, Frosty and Blackbeak out in the night.
He wasted no time in fasting on his blindfold and preparing to begin with his marked arm hovering above the ground in preparation to absorb natures rich and purest form of magic. With a calming sigh, he let his hand fall into the grass and felt the magic pour in, in a much more controlled fashion-- still rough, but also better.
With his blindfold on, the world of greens and blacks was all he saw as the Moon glowed behind him. It didn't take long for him to begin to see that same green glow the plants and tree's had slowly coming to fruition within him-- starting at his arm and slowly spreading throughout his body like a glass of water being filled by an endlessly running faucet.
It reminded him of the times when he'd seen Blackbeak and Frosty through his element for the first time. Their outlined bodies laced with green cracks and fissures-- a sight similar to the recently broken sticks and his wooden spear.
He had those same cracks and glowing fissures, only now they were thick streaks that were only growing the longer he spent with his hand to the ground.
"What does that mean?" He thought in wonder.
"[Can't say for sure currently, but remember what Rollan said. It's connected to how you healed Ursula....and the Nature Element at it's core. This seems to be a rather important lesson for you, Claude. Stay focused.]"
Claude agreed silently and moved to get up, ready to expel the magic he'd absorbed in an attempt to begin his precision training.
The only problem was he couldn't. He couldn't move at all....because he was afraid. Cold sweats soaked his back and scurried down his skin like rats in an attempt to escape the burning gaze of whatever was behind him. The only problem was, he didn't hear or smell a thing.
It wasn't real-- whatever it was. Not in his world. But present nonetheless, posing as the Moon that once sat silently behind him. Hell, it could've been playing as the Moon the second he put on his blindfold and started training.
The silence that followed the realization was deafening...
"yOuRr tEaCHErrr...hE sEems to kNnow..thiNNgs...." The god posing as the Moon behind him announced.
"Yea..." Claude growled as he strained against the powerful pressure that seemed to effectively travel across realities, "In terms of teachers....he's alright-- especially since he doesn't want to eat the world."
Fenrir snarled, "Hah!...ConSidErrRRing...hIS OrrRiginS...I'D SAY hE'S a FoOL FoR NoT WIShiNG thE EnD of.....mAN.."
Before he could question what that meant, Fenrir spoke again.
"WhATEvEr thE mAN of...tHE ForRrest is TeAChInG....yOU.....I hoPe It CAn HeLp yoU...rrr..kiLL...a TrOll!"
Claude's last objective in the Astral Realm.
"You know it can."
FWOOSH!
In an instant, the dominating aura had vanished, and he could breathe correctly again.
In response, he ripped off his blindfold and turned to face the Moon, attempting to stand and failing due to the roots and vines that coiled around his arm.
"Shit!"
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_Avatar0FFury_ YOO! Large teaser in this chap and some new info I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and feel free to leave and review and let me know what you think!
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