Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 10+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http://patreon.com/Marin_kitawaga
….
Most of the long trek back to Whiterun was done in complete silence.
Vilkas had managed to commandeer a horse from a nearby hunter's camp for Aela to ride. She had stubbornly resisted at first, insisting she could walk, but Vilkas wasn't having it. He bluntly reminded her that she was still bleeding sluggishly from her hands and ankles, and she'd be dead weight if she collapsed before they reached a proper healer. She eventually swallowed her pride, letting him help her into the saddle.
While Vilkas led the horse up ahead, Farkas walked shoulder-to-shoulder with me in the rear.
We were about ten minutes out from the Whiterun city gates when Farkas finally broke the heavy silence.
"You handled yourself well back there," Farkas rumbled, his deep voice carrying over the wind.
I gave a short, appreciative nod.
Farkas shifted uncomfortably, his heavy boots crunching against the gravel. "I suppose you have some questions. About... well. About us being werewolves."
I shook my head, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. I mean, it was Skyrim. I already knew the Companions' secret from the game, but even if I didn't, it wasn't exactly a dealbreaker for me.
Farkas gave me a funny look, his thick brow furrowing. "So... you aren't terrified of us?"
"Not really," I said honestly. "Farkas, dragons exist. I literally eat their souls by yelling at them. Back home, I've got Devils and Fallen Angels breathing down my neck. Why wouldn't werewolves exist? Compared to the rest of the crap I deal with, a big wolf is pretty manageable."
A wide, genuine grin broke across Farkas's face. He let out a booming laugh, clapping me hard on the shoulder.
"Good," Farkas grinned. "Because we have an initiation for you when we get back."
...
Midnight: The Underforge
I stood in the center of a hidden, subterranean cavern directly beneath the Skyforge. The air down here was suffocatingly hot, thick with the smell of raw iron, damp earth, and dried blood.
Farkas, Vilkas, and Aela stood off to the side, watching me with expressions of quiet pride. In front of me was a jagged stone altar. Standing on the opposite side of the rock was Kodlak Whitemane, his weathered face completely stern. Beside him stood his second-in-command, Skjor, who still looked mildly annoyed that an outsider was being brought into the fold so quickly.
I stepped up to the altar. Resting in the center of the stone was a heavy iron chalice that looked more like a crude beer tankard, filled to the brim with a dark, viscous liquid. I didn't need to guess what it was. The metallic tang of werewolf blood hung heavily in the air.
"It is rare that we let someone into the Inner Circle of the Companions so early on," Kodlak said, his voice echoing off the cavern walls. "And it is even rarer for someone to impress the current members so universally."
I glanced to the side. Aela and Farkas were openly smiling. Even Vilkas, who had been taking this incredibly seriously, gave me a subtle, sneaky thumbs-up from where his arms were crossed over his chest.
Well, that's new, I thought. Even Vilkas is on board.
"I shall tell you the same thing I told you when you first joined us a few short days ago," Kodlak continued, his piercing eyes locking onto mine. "Sometimes the famous come to us. Sometimes men and women come to us seeking their own fame. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is their heart."
He reached forward, picked up the heavy iron tankard, and held it out to me.
I stared down at the thick, crimson liquid sloshing against the iron rim. I hesitated for a fraction of a second.
"Know that you walk a path that is less traveled by most men and women," Kodlak said softly. "It can be a lonely path. But know that you have brothers and sisters here who walk it with you. And although our personal goals may differ... we are still Companions."
Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas pounded their fists over their hearts. "Companions!" they echoed in unison.
"If you will," Kodlak prompted, nodding to the tankard.
Well, it's time, I sighed internally. No turning back now.
I took the iron cup in both hands, raised it to my lips, and downed the blood in a matter of seconds.
It was horrific. It was thick, boiling hot, and tasted like raw copper and ash. I forced myself to swallow the last drop, pulling the tankard away and handing it back to Kodlak.
The moment the metal left my hands, my entire body violently rejected the stillness.
My vision blurred into a smeared palette of colors. A deafening, high-pitched ringing pierced my ears, completely drowning out the ambient noise of the cavern. My stomach twisted into tight, agonizing knots, and I began to sway dangerously on my feet.
The floor rushed up to meet me.
Strong hands grabbed my arms before I could hit the stone. Vilkas and Kodlak had rushed forward, holding me upright as my legs turned to jelly.
"The first time is always the hardest!" Vilkas's voice sounded incredibly distorted, like he was speaking underwater. "Just give it a few minutes!"
I tried to answer him, to tell him I felt like my blood was actually boiling, but my jaw locked tight. My mouth simply refused to respond.
Leonidas! I shouted frantically in my mind. What the hell is going on?!
"Your physical vessel is currently assimilating the Lycanthropic curse," Leonidas's ancient, deep voice echoed in my head, completely calm. "Your body is forcefully reshaping itself into the form of the beast. You will lose consciousness shortly. From there, your physical form will be temporarily governed by primal instinct. I will not be able to communicate with you until the bloodlust and the transformation run their course."
I gripped my head, a blinding spike of pain driving itself right behind my eyes.
English, Leo! I screamed internally. I'm in so much pain right now I can't even think!
Through my blurred vision, I looked down at my right hand. The skin was tearing. My knuckles were swelling, becoming twice their normal size, while thick, coarse dark fur began to force its way out of my pores. My fingernails elongated, sharpening into lethal, jagged claws.
"In short: this is going to hurt for a bit," Leonidas summarized bluntly. "But the physical enhancements will benefit you in the long run. Just push through the pain, partner!"
A final, agonizing snap echoed from my spine, and the dark cavern of the Underforge faded entirely into black.
...
I didn't open my eyes; I just suddenly was.
I wasn't standing under the Skyforge anymore. I was standing in the middle of a massive, ancient oak forest. The canopy above was thick, filtering the pale moonlight into shifting, silver shadows across the mossy forest floor.
I quickly looked down at myself, fully expecting to see a hulking, fur-covered monster. But I was still human. Mostly. I was completely barefoot, my chest bare to the cool air, wearing only a pair of ragged running shorts.
But that wasn't what made me freeze.
"My child... run."
The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. It was masculine, deep, and laced with an intoxicating, wild authority. I didn't question it. My body moved entirely on its own.
I broke into a sprint.
The moment my bare feet hit the dirt, the sheer exhilaration of it consumed me. Without my heavy armor, without the weight of my swords, I was flying. I felt the crisp, cold air filling my lungs. I vaulted over massive fallen oak trees and scrambled up sheer boulders without breaking a sweat. My speed was terrifying, far beyond anything my normal Agility stat could produce.
I tore through the underbrush, the world blurring past me. I passed a rushing river, leaped over a gorge near a still lake, and ran until I could smell the distant salt of an ocean. I could feel the earth breathing beneath my feet, every vibration sending sensory data straight into my brain.
Then, I stopped.
I dropped to a crouch, my nostrils flaring. Hovering just a few inches off the mossy ground was a trail of faintly glowing, blue smoke.
I didn't know how, but the primal, feral instinct currently driving my brain immediately translated the visual. It wasn't smoke. It was a scent trail. The scent of an Elk.
A manic, predatory grin spread across my face.
"It's not far from here," I whispered to the empty woods.
I dropped onto all fours, my fingers digging into the dirt, and followed the glowing blue mist. I moved completely silently, the hunter's instinct taking absolute control. I stalked through the brush for a few minutes until the treeline broke.
There it was.
Standing in a moonlit clearing, roughly fifty meters away, was a massive, pure white Elk. The beast was lowering its heavy, antlered head to graze on the grass, entirely unaware that death was creeping up on it.
I slunk closer, keeping my body pressed low to the earth.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
Twenty meters.
….
Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 10+ Chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http://patreon.com/Marin_kitawaga