Emerald scales scoured the treeline, uprooting trunks on their ceaseless path towards a distant meal. When the creature appeared at last, it was every bit as monstrous as Prospero had been led to believe. A pair of fangs descended from its half-serpent face, and great bellows of black mist leaked from the mouth which ran like an incision from one gaunt cheek to the other. Its tadpole body offered girth and strength, but little in the way of grace. The four webbed toes supporting its weight sported thin ivory claws, each of them large enough to sever a man in two.
Grade 11… leagues ahead of anything I’ve faced up to this point, Prospero widened his stance. Those scales don’t look too tough, but they’ll make it difficult to inflict a fatal wound.
The Gorgon wasted no time in closing the distance between them. A pooling smog crept like shadows from its maw, turning the surrounding grass and soil to stone. Immune to the effects of its own petrifying breath, a perimeter of gaseous smoke grew to surround its feet. Approaching from the ground was beyond suicidal.
It leapt with all the bounding grace of a toad, allowing Prospero mere seconds to dodge. As with the lizard before, it sported a vulnerable underbelly, but exploiting that weakness would be impossible for as long as the Gorgon continued to breathe. Prospero pounced onto the beast’s slippery hide, ripping a scale out between his jaws to expose the oily flesh beneath. He leaped off before the Gorgon could roll over in an attempt to flatten him.
I’ll get nowhere like this, he thought. Ripping off enough scales to cause any lasting harm will tire me out before long. I need to find a way to neutralise that petrifying breath…
There had to be some organ or gland responsible for its creation - most likely above or below the mouth. Approaching the head was risky, but eliminating the Gorgon’s breath from the equation would make the battle that much more manageable.
No… the gland isn’t connected to its teeth, so it must be lower in the body, he corrected himself. I need a way to shear those scales.
[Reptile] Form Activated
Body (+50%) / Beasthood (+10%)
Proserpo’s skin hardened. Crystalline spires erupted from his spine, fading from violet to deep blue as they caught the blinding moonlight. The tip of his tongue split in two, teeth retracting into his gums. His senses dulled to the point of uselessness.
This thing can barely see, he struggled to keep the Gorgon in his dying field of view. No wonder it was always rolling into trees…
The rolling - that was his plan. A glancing blow from the lizard had come close to tearing a hole in his side. The clusters of amethysts on its back bored into anything unlucky enough to cross its path. He was slower in that form, but careful use of the lizard’s ability to tumble itself about would offset the loss of agility. He was given an opportunity to test his theory in the next moment, when - after a moment of confusion - the Gorgon lurched with its mouth agape, intent on swallowing him whole.
Prospero flung his weight forward and curled his serpentine body up as best he could manage. There was no telling what direction he was heading in, but the Gorgon’s fading growls told him that he was at least clear of the threat. Unraveling himself without consideration for his own momentum, Prospero landed on his back and wasted precious seconds flopping onto his flat-bellied stomach.
I just need an opportunity, he thought. Grimhilde?
The fairy’s light was just about the only thing he could make out.
This might be too much to ask of you, he began. The fairies mentioned that the Gorgon has a preference for your kin. If you-
He paused to roll again, avoiding another leap from the Gorgon. That time, he landed on his feet.
-If you distract the beast, I can wound it, he continued. All I need is a single chance to tear those scales apart… can I ask you to do this?
He couldn’t see her nodding, but there was something resolute about the silence that followed. Grimhilde’s light faded towards the Gorgon, placing herself between the two to grab its attention. When Prospero rolled around to its flank, he couldn’t feel the creature’s eyes on him. With singular fury, it pursued none other than Grimhilde, too fixated on its endless appetite for fairies to focus on any other threat.
Prospero backed up to give himself some clearance, then threw his weight in the beast’s direction. His spine tore against scalehide seconds later, tugging ribbons of flesh free on his bouncing trajectory over the Gorgon’s body. A scorned wail punctuated his success, at its peak sounding far too human for Prospero’s liking.
[Canine] Form Activated
Finesse (+50%) / Beasthood (+15%)
Beasthood - 60%
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Another shift, and the urge grew unbearable. Now, even with his stunted nose, Prospero could detect the faintest trace of blood on the wind. His eyes watered with sorrowful anticipation. The tragedies which spurred him to live in spite of his fate were muted now, replaced with steely hunger.
He was faster with so few inhibitions; upon the Gorgon’s back without wasting another second, he dipped his snout into the cruel, ugly tear in its hide and feasted until his fur was matted and sticky with blood. He held on to the beast’s crooked vertebrae by his jaws even as the Gorgon flailed and shook in desperation. His teeth sank into something puffy and bulging deep within. The second he perforated the organ, there was a great burst of black air, and he felt the hairs on his body stiffening.
The gas… the gas!
He recovered just enough of himself to leap off. Little stalagmites of stone were already forming on his hide, inhibiting his mobility. As the Gorgon panicked still from its wounds, Grimhilde fluttered over to him. Her hands, pressed together, were glowing in the same manner as before. A hymn of ancient words spilled from her mouth, and another ball of light was released towards Prospero.
He felt a warmth in his core, and within seconds, his petrified hairs were dissolving. He clenched his eyes to distract from the taste of blood on his tongue and offered a tested apology. Thank you, Grimilde, he thought. Don’t come too close… I’m not feeling like myself…
The Gorgon, now relieved of its ability to spew petrifying fumes, decided that the odds were no longer in its favour and used the opportunity to crawl towards the treeline. Prospero took off after it, encouraged by a bestial instinct to pursue anything that turned its back to him. The blood pouring from that great wound on its hide left a thick trail in the snow.
I take no pleasure in this, Prospero swore to himself. I deny this ‘nature’ thrust upon me. I must kill for reasons greater than satisfying a basic urge. But… I can feel my mind slipping away whenever the Beastblood swells… How much time will pass before this ecstasy becomes a part of me? I don’t want to lose myself…
Every movement was directed by his Vampirism. He leapt, lunged, bit, tore; whatever his body demanded was a matter of course. The Gorgon, once so terrible that he couldn’t imagine victory, had been reduced to a fearful shell in his presence, tugging against death as gouts of skin and meat were flayed from its hide. The great sting of power was intoxicating.
[Gorgon] Defeated
[Tailless Amphibian Proficiency] + 11
GRADE DIFFERENCE DETECTED - At Least 5 Grades Higher Than Current Level
[Dangerous Foe Bonus] + 10
Elite Bonus + 5
Total Proficiency Gained - 26
[Tailless Amphibian] Form Unlocked! (Aptitude - Willpower)
[Essence Consumed] - Grade 11
Tallying Experience…
[Hoofed Ruminant] (Grade 1) - 5/5
[Arachnid] (Grade 1) - 5/5
[Tailless Amphibian] (Grade 1) - 5/5 (+21)
[Tailless Amphibian] (Grade 2) - 15/15 (+6)
[Flying Mammal] (Grade 1) - 5/5
[Hoofed Ruminant] has reached [Grade 2]!
Aptitude Bonus - Unarmed + 1
Passive Added - Pacifist
Description - While in [Hoofed Ruminant Form], passive beasts will not attack or run away from you unless provoked.
[Arachnid] has reached [Grade 2]!
Aptitude Bonus - Knowledge + 1
Passive Added - Fear-Inducing
Description - While in [Arachnid Form], your presence inspires fear in any creature whose Grade is equal to less than half of your own.
[Tailless Amphibian] has reached [Grade 2]!
Aptitude Bonus - Willpower + 1
Active Added - Acid Globule
Description - While in [Tailless Amphibian Form], you may expel a spitball-sized corrosive substance from your mouth. You cannot use this ability more than once every ten seconds.
[Tailless Amphibian] has reached [Grade 3]!
Aptitude Bonus - Willpower + 2 (Total Bonus - +3)
Passive Added - Poisonous Hide
Description - While in [Tailless Amphibian Form], your skin is coated in a mild paralytic poison.
[Flying Mammal] has reached [Grade 2]!
Aptitude Bonus - Fortitude +1
Passive Added - Superior Echolocation
Description - While in [Flying Mammal Form], you may offset the effects of poor vision by using echolocation to accurately detect your surroundings.
Deeper he went, through the layers of muscle and fat, long after the Gorgon moved no longer. Every pulsating organ in the boil of its innards popped lovingly with helpings of blood whenever he clamped his jaws. He was only confirming that the beast was dead, and nothing more than that - any excuse to continue his feeding. There was no greater thing he had known; not his father’s love, nor the beauty of the Incandescence, that satisfied him a quarter as much as a meal of fresh blood.
Grimhilde observed his fugue stasis with terror in her gaze. She drew closer, the fear swelling in her core, until Prospero rose his head sharply from the Gorgon’s gaping cavity and, in a moment of terrible reflection, was awoken from the nightmare. His jaw froze, dripping and ribboned with viscera.
[Canine] Form Deactivated
For the first time since setting down on the realm, he was human again - or, at least, he hoped so. The hunger persisted, but with both of his own hands clotted with blood, he regained enough lucidity to spit out the rancid chunks of meat lining his gums. He took in a breath, clenched his eyes, and let the frozen winds wash over him.
“...Disgusting!” He attempted to wipe his hands clean on the Gorgon’s scales, but only succeeded in smearing them further. “I can’t do this! This isn’t me! Why did I have to be cursed with this responsibility!?”
He was afraid; infuriated with no one but himself. If his father could have seen him then, his look of disappointment would have broken Prospero’s heart. His soul wasn’t as pure and incorruptible as Gaspar had wished. The thought of returning to the slaughter night after night had him desperate to reclaim a phantom of his old life which now seemed so long ago.
“...I cannot do this,” he repeated, dragging an arm across his eyes. “I’m not strong enough.”
His outburst had been building since the earliest days. Now he felt attached to it, led towards a confidence in his own weakness. He invited surrender, and wished for nothing more than to give up his journey altogether. But the anger and frustration would not last him, he knew, and that was what frightened him; the inevitable rise of his hope. The Prospero of a few hours later, who would find a reason to live on.
Just allow me to be comfortable and weak, he pleaded. Don’t replace me with someone better. This is who I am for now - I’m certain of it. Just leave me be…
Who was he pleading with? Who was he afraid of? Grimhilde remained gently at his side and knew well enough that the answer was himself. She could not understand the logic behind it - she would not say that anyone could. All she knew was that the pain would pass, and that it was better to keep that truth to herself.
After a pause, Prospero sighed and stood up from the Gorgon’s corpse.
It’s done, he thought, and figured a second later that he had no reason to think. “...It’s done,” he said aloud, realising too late that Grimhilde heard him both times. “...Let’s return to the fairies’ abode and report the Gorgon’s death.”
