“The Apotheosis of the Gran Verat laid its foundation in his youth–his steps taken to found the Holy State of the Veratocracy were divinely led, as he is deity himself. Those originally disparate tribes, spread around and without guidance, quickly found themselves bowing to his supreme knowledge and power, becoming his willing subjects. For centuries after, he consolidated his divinity, allowing for his celestial purpose to swell through him and into his Holy State, preparing for the true beginning, the true descent of his complete, sublime self.
“Finally, after centuries of protecting his people, of teaching us, guiding us, and changing us, our Lord the Gran Verat began his true descent, and upon his Apotheosis’ initiation, the skies wept in worship, the mountains sundered in respect, and the seas surged in triumph. May his divinity forever shine upon us, and may our grandchildren’s grandchildren find themselves worthy to bask in the light of his presence.”
–Speech delivered by those of the Veran to the population of Viertaal after the “Apotheosis”
Though I immediately wanted to march on the wolfstags and eliminate them to the last, it was better that I took the time to allow my potential assistants in the hunt to make the decision to accompany me. After all, without their presence and assistance, my own pack would sustain many more casualties. My prey was dangerous and outnumbered us, so I needed to leverage any and all opportunities I could to ensure our victory. I would sacrifice those of the swarm that did not obey in order to protect those who trusted in and had faith in me. I would mourn those who died, and regret their deaths, but I would not exchange one of those who followed me for one who did not, even if they might in the future.
With that decision made, I continued practicing with my anti-[Innervating Address], and felt close enough that I figured only application remained before I received my third sonilphon utilizing [Skill]. What the other two would be, I couldn’t say, but I would create them, I was sure. Either way, I still indulged in the sonic magic-fuelled baths, and made sure to exit the den early enough to feel the suns on my face. With these times being the first time I had spent actively looking around for any extended period of time with my “normal” eyes, my vision slowly acclimated to the change, until, on the second day, I received a [System] notification.
[Growth achieved. Skill acquired. Status updated.]
[Skill: Improved Vision--improves clarity and range of vision by 100%. This skill can evolve. Conditions: Use exclusively light-based vision for 18 days.]
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With this new [Skill], I could almost see as well as I had as a human. I reveled in the sights I could take in now, ever more familiar and beautiful. As a khatif, my mind had changed, still focused on and enjoying the hunt and taking action, but also allowing my mind to calm and broaden, to see more than just the next hunt. That said, my mind was still focused on the hunt of the wolfstags, and as I looked to the north, I saw the rolling clouds and the inbound rains. Since the season was changing, I knew this would be a torrential rain, the kind I had yet to see in this new body. And this would be a perfect opportunity to sneak closer than ever before to the wolfstags.
Since these two days had passed, I felt that enough time had passed for the three packs to come to their decision and sent a messenger to all three. Immediately, Mrat’s pack came, every one of their fifteen, and though they were all somewhat stunted and skinny, each held themselves with pride and strength. Upon seeing me, Mrat bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement before quietly leading his pack to a separate corner where they stayed waiting to be ready to leave. His pack was well controlled, all of them staying near him and keeping relatively quiet, though I could read the tension in the way they held themselves. They needed a success, and it seemed it had been quite a while since their last true success.
As I stood observing, I continued to wait. With just my hunters and these additional fifteen, I couldn’t guarantee that we would be able to find the success in our hunt I needed. It was at least a quarter of an hour before both messengers to Criit and Shalla returned, and they came alone. One, Foire, approached me.
“I went to Criit. He said nothing. Just thanked me for coming. Then he asked me to leave.”
The other, Cree, bowed her head in apparent apology. “Shalla said that she was too busy to listen to me. Khaa didn’t say anything, just that ‘sometimes, plans change’.”
With two points of bad news at the same time, I fought to control myself. I’d thought it was a simple toss of the dice if Criit’s pack would come, so I wasn’t as disappointed at his absence, but Khaa had very nearly guaranteed their attendance in the hunt. Dammit, but this was going to be difficult. With the cover of heavy rain, we might be able to thin their numbers enough for a second attack to take out the rest, but I couldn’t be sure. Suns burn me, I couldn’t be absolutely sure that the rain would even be especially heavy where the wolfstag’s den was.
I stood, grinding my fangs and trying to, somehow, figure out a way to make this hunt successful, when I heard the tromping of feet. My frustration warring with some measure of relief, I looked to the entrance of the den as Khaa then Criit entered. They were flanked by maybe two dozen more keelish, and I knew then that my initial plan had succeeded. We would have enough to ambush, and then exterminate the wolfstag plague in my territory.
And, with luck, I would be able to bring these two packs under my rule as well. I let a cocksure grin split my face as I turned to look over the 100 keelish before me. All I needed to do now was finally kill those canines.