Nature's Claws (Azaraen)

[RuneDragoon]

It has been some time since I admitted to a certain ability to speak to the spirits of nature and elements. I spent several months on a self imposed skulk campaign -- hate those little... -- for throwing their lot in with the aegis. Traveling the peninsula, their hunting parties fell by the dozens and hundreds, their villages burned from the wrath of the trees and their own fire pits.

Somehow their numbers seem endless, but I at least put a dent in their forces enough for nature to be appeased for at least a time. I plan to return to thinning them beyond what I had already and look forward to making sure they know that we do not forgive the traitors. Murderers are not my concern. They belong to the empire... The aegis though - we will pummel them down one by one until they give up or we die out trying.

I came across a beast spirit in my travels - it was rather impressed and taught me how to take the form of a wolf. It I suppose is not unlike a dragon's khutit form, except this one takes a long time to take and release. It also takes a hardened discipline - not difficult for a monk.

Seems to have benefits. A wolf can travel quickly and this one more-so... its a slightly larger than usual timber wolf. If I am caught needing to fight, I can still do so.

In fact, I had to - after a short fight in the pangai area against an army of elves attacking someone's home, I found using lightning claws to augment my bite is deadly. A bowman fell before his mage ally obliterated him with a bomb... clearly missing me in my more agile shape.

In the end, three of their elves died, one of the magi was stabbed and I removed another's bicep. These mages... I am hunting them now as they summoned ice elementals for their use and abuse. This is an affront to me. They will face justice.

[RuneDragoon]

Ambushed those pesky mage-elves. They died fairly quickly in a confused state. The oak next to their campfire was appeased by the act, for they had been sawing its branches off one by one for fuel.

Arrived in the clearing to see Zarla. She didn't know I use a wolf form now - and almost attacked me. Conversed with her a bit until the scent of blood and a fresh wound was wafting my direction - seems a dragon got a chunk of himself taken by one named Asua when he broke up a fight. Went right into bone rather clearly, with tooth marks on the bone even.

Primal health from Zarla knitted up most of the damage - but even that magic cannot heal it fully. There will always be some deep damages with a wound as that... the kind of stuff that scars. I gave him a hand by speaking to his inner essences... asked them to knit it up.

He looked like it was torturing him the way it itches when things heal... but he was good to keep discipline and not scratch it. Was several minutes before it knit itself all the way through and stopped itching, leaving a somewhat diminished scar there as just a reminder of the event.

Happy there wasn't any aegis-things in the area today. Seems they all come out looking for me, as do the nature-tormentors. Peaceful days - I enjoy them while they last.

[RuneDragoon]

... Why do I always seem to have to go looking for him.

The elf lost his control. That void which I had briefly and occasionally spoken to swapped places and subdued him... chaos and unpleasantness ensued. Its not like it was hard to find an elf soaked in a substance with an extremely unique smell (and not one unfamiliar), its just catching that elf off guard.

Nihil is terrified of me. It always seems to scream and duck for cover when it notices I've caught it red handed... sinking back down to being the subordinate it should be with a tail between its legs. Meanwhile, I know the actual elf is a glutton for hugs I suppose...

... Its not like I have issues giving hugs but supressing nihil that deeply rooted? That needs a lot more than a hug. More like holding it down so it doesn't kill anything, making me the closest thing vulnerable to the void. Other reason? Nihil finds me so much as tapping the elf's shoulder shocking and it retreats. Mintshade is the opposite. Its an effective way to utterly scare and intimidate a void back down and swap it with an elf.

Awkward and uncomfortable, but I did all I could think of to make nihil go into a fetal position and want to ignore the world. So now he is fine and all buut I suppose in a panic to myself with the whole level of discomfort on my part being there I forced the wolf too fast and ran away. Then jumped into the lake and stayed there.

Yes. It was rather cold. At least the pond spirit was understanding and allowed me to not drown.

___

I sat down to check how he was doing, but I was suffering the ill effects of forcing one's shape too fast for stupid reasons. Ended up blacking out to a rude dragon for neglecting the need to rest.

Woke up seeing stars. The room spins. All that. Went back to sleep.

___

When I was conscious again we had a nice chat... but he posed a question: "Do you find it hard to exist in this world?" - At first I thought he meant with the way I live... and yes, that is quite difficult sometimes but, he meant more in a world dominated by dragons.

... I answered it and I guess when I finished chatting and making sure everything was in order so I wouldn't have a natural disaster on my hands, I went to Dalimond.

For the first time in a year, I went to that town... a town of humans and wanted to talk to someone.. anyone... mabey make a friend here. And as always, it was just the same. I wonder if they would accept me, then it evolves into other things until I panic and run away. After all, what sort of human there does what I do and knows how to change shape without being a werewolf?

I sort of miss having someone to be around... cedars and my phoenix ember just are not cutting it anymore.

[RuneDragoon]

Well that was strange.

I remember taking a sip of mintshade's tea. I felt great, don't remember everything beyond that.

I seem to have woken up in my grove, my hair is braided, and I believe I've gone and buried my left boot under a flower I replanted roots up, blossom down. How'd I get here anyways?

[RuneDragoon]

... Was only just supposed to keep him out of trouble, but hanging around and watching and talking... I wasn't supposed to really fall in for him... friend? Sure, fine... more than that? Oh.. bad. But I did...

... And for a while I was so terrified of what it would do... it would leak out in actions and sometimes words when I wasn't thinking even if I couldn't say what I thought. And then I saw him under attack... someone was hurting him... and I just couldn't stand it. Yeah so.. all bubbled riiiight out. One big flowing river.

Of course I know it can't go anywhere. But you think YOUR job sucks? I still have to make sure he isn't getting into trouble...

... I'll live... Lake time...

[RuneDragoon]

So I ran. And ran. And ran some more. And when I got tired, I ran even more. And when I couldn't run anymore, I still tried to run but really only managed to flop over. Wolves just know how to run sometimes.

... A treant took me back to my little grove. It was an old oak. Conversed a long while sitting on one of its branches.

Told me that sometimes it is better to flow with a river instead of being a mound of river rocks and fallen logs blocking it. Eventually you end up with white water or floods.

Spent the entirety of a night and half the day just chatting... and in the end he wanted me to see the world with new perspectives. Showed me how to take a new form.

___

... food? food... food... scared! ... food? .. .. shelter! .. OWL! .. FLEE! ... shelter... safe? .. food.. .. chew... noise! .. scared? ... ... food ... food?

___

In the darkness, a tiny rat skitters around on the stone slab. The grove guardian, a great moth, sits watching... but cannot seem to get through to the animal. It skitters around a little confused, picking up sticks and seeds and nibbling them.

A owl flaps overhead, but before it can catch her, she has found her way into a tiny air pocket under the stone. Some time passes... and when feeling like danger has gone away, a tiny nose peeks out looking for other food items to stash.

((Taking a form you aren't quite ready for: It has consequences.))

[RuneDragoon]

Minty saved me from the rat shape... although it took a few moments for my mind to catch up to my shape after... That was weeeeird. And embarassing slightly.

The oak came back having heard about my foray into rat-ness. He thought I was ready for it, but I was not. He does feel bad about the shape not yet working out, and feels perhaps another shape will give me new perspective on life. A rat can see things in a basic level, to enter the inner workings of things and see their true scale. However, this new shape looks down upon all below to see how miniscule and insignificant in contrast to the world everything is. How every speck is a part of something massive and great. And every speck can influence every other speck in the great balances.

So he has taken me to a particular patch of forest. Its like this place must be a gathering place for crows akin to Tazoon for the living races. They're everywhere. At first they were upset with having a human present, but eventually they calmed and I could meditate.

Sooner or later I will know the essence of a crow and will join them in their gathering.

[RuneDragoon]

A dragon hatched in the grasslands and imprinted on me some time ago. Nothing I could do about it - as such I am obligated to act as a parent to the white. Akeii blessed her with his mark so that she would have his protection. Then blessed her with a name: 'Asal'.

Over time, she has been learning of fishing, survival... and other things she may need to know. When I have an opportunity to relax rather than keep up with a hatchling, I decided to try something that the master of kion spoke to me of some time ago.

Monks of Kion's past developed the Ki techniques through meditating and praying while practicing. I decided to try the same. In entering this meditative state while I practice, I simply cannot describe or explain how I feel. What I can say is that I have discovered that doing so upon the stone is infusing me with power - I am deceptively stronger than before and brimming with energy.