PART XXIII - THE CARNIVAL OF ANIMALS
“Congratulations to all of you on completing your first day of training,” an amplified Master Trainer Thorn began, addressing the crowd. “I know most of you are tired, but we have just a few announcements and then something fun, before you will be dismissed.”
Ogre House had just been joined by Koda, accompanied by one of his fellow Paladins, a well-muscled female Elf named Jitta. The remainder of the recruits had all filtered into the bleachers, with Xin and her fellow Shamans being the last to arrive. The Lizardkin broke off and joined the rest of Ogre House. All the trainers and several staff were also in attendance, either standing around, or a few seated along with the recruits. Callie saw Reynard standing off to one side, still a sour look on his face.
“I would like to remind you all,” Thorn continued, “that there will be absolutely no use of your new skills outside of the presence of your trainers, unless you have been cleared to use them otherwise. Violators will be treated far more harshly than you saw yesterday. Don’t test me on this one, am I clear?”
An agreeable murmur sounded among all the recruits, several looking at the pink-bonneted Dunni, who visibly shrunk under the multiple gazes.
“Good enough,” Thorn said, before continuing. “Evening meal will commence two hours after training concludes for the day and be available for one hour. That will give you time to use the bath if you should need to, and change clothes. You’re sweaty, and probably smell, so my advice is to do so. The evenings after dinner are yours, but if you use them to do any practice, you must be on the field to do so. Occasionally, there may be night activities as part of your training and you will assemble as your trainer orders.”
Master Trainer Thorn gestured to Trainer Rowani, who had been standing off to the side, and the Elf in charge of the amplification spell ran up and passed it to her.
“Good afternoon. I am Druid Trainer Rowani. As you all know, one of the skills that makes a Druid so versatile, is the ability to change into animals appropriate for whatever situation may present itself. The animal forms that each Druid receives is unique, and known not even to them until the first time they make the change. It has become tradition for that first change to occur here, so that everyone, including the recruit, may be surprised together.”
A general murmur went up among the bleachers, with everyone starting to speculate as to what they may be seeing next. In the ring, Rowani gestured and Bratig, Melga and Wallir all made their way, spreading out to give each other space.
“”Why isn’t Tazrok out there?” Callie asked her friends. It was quite noticeable that Tazrok had not joined them.
“I’m not sure, but he looks happy, so there must be a reason,” Lena responded, gesturing toward the smiling Ogre standing off to the side.
“A Druid learns four forms at Iron Tier,” Rowani continued, “each for a different role they may need to be in. In this case, each of these recruits have received forms for stealth, flight, Striker, and Guardian. Try to remember their forms, as you may see them walking, crawling, slithering or flying through the camp at some point. They won’t be able to speak, but will be able to hear and understand you.”
Rowani cleared her throat before continuing. “We will begin with stealth. The purpose of this role is to sneak for infiltration and spying, as well as the ability to hide should the need arise. It is generally a small creature and something one would overlook as harmless.” Rowani turned to the three recruits, stiffly calling out an order. “Recruits, assume your stealth form.”
You could see the nervous look on each face, but the three Druids closed their eyes, concentrating on calling forth the Nature magic needed for the transformations.
With a shimmering of power, Wallir assumed the form of a small, pitch-black, Dire Rat. You could see the surprised look on his new furry face as he looked down, seeing he suddenly had paws, and his glowing red eyes seemed to suggest something darker than the rat face implied. His transformation was quickly followed by Bratig, who became what appeared to be a small, fast-moving six-legged lizard with skin that would blend into its background, known as a Pygmy Forest Grist, while Melga became a Rolli, a small, armored rodent, similar to an armadillo. Rowani quickly called out the animals so those in the audience that couldn’t see the small creatures well due to distance knew what they were. Melga proceeded to curl herself into a small ball, and roll quickly around the field, exhibiting the reason for the animal’s name.
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With the light applause of the audience, the three changed back into their normal forms, huge grins on their faces and generally looking pleased with what they had received. Melga, in particular, was jumping in joy at her new form, making it known she had never expected anything like it.
“Our next form is the flight form. Druids, please do not take off and fly around. We don’t have time today, and when you crash into something, we will all laugh at you. Go ahead and assume your forms.”
Once more, with Rowani calling out each creatures’ names, the trio underwent a transformation as first Bratig morphed into a Blood-faced Owl almost as large as Pixyl. It was a dull-yellowish bird with striking red features encircling its huge eyes that seemed keen to pick up the slightest of movements in the darkest of light. Next, Wallir assumed the guise of a black Dire Bat, which was nearly as tall as Callie, and sported the same angry, glowing red eyes as his rat form. Finally, Melga transformed into a winged Drakeling, a green-scaled reptile, slightly smaller than Wallir’s bat, with two long horns jutting back from her dragon-like head. Upon Rowani's command, they swiftly reverted to their original forms, before anyone got any bright ideas about trying to fly around.
The three Druids’ Striker transformations boasted an impressive array of diversity, with Bratig leading the way, morphing into a long, muted-yellow lizard with black highlights, reminiscent vaguely of a Komodo Dragon but with six lengthier limbs and incredibly fast and agile movements. Known as a Rockjaw, this form boasted formidable teeth and claws capable of tearing through almost anything, an acidic bite, and finally a heavy, muscular tail said to be able to smash apart boulders, hence the name.
Melga, on the other hand, transformed into a lightly-scaled creature vaguely built like a great cat, standing a little over a meter-and-a-half at the shoulder. She was roughly silver in color, although the scales reflected a rainbow of colors depending on the angle of the sun. Her head sported a pair of sharp-tipped horns that could easily impale anyone she might charge at. Known as a Horned Ice Uraxe, in addition to sharp teeth and deadly retractable claws, she also had a ice-based breath attack that could freeze an enemy. As the crowd cheered, Melga playfully swished her newly acquired tail, chasing it in circles a couple times to add to the thrill, before sitting to gaze at her paw and flexing her razor-sharp claws for the first time.
Lastly, Wallier continued his theme and shifted into a colossal, black Dire Wolf, also towering about one-and-a-half meters tall at the shoulder, perhaps slightly larger and heavier than Melga’s Uraxe form. His eyes emanated the same furious blaze red as his bat and rat forms, and his dagger-sized teeth and claws appeared ready to shred anything that they might seize. He let off a long howl to the cheers of the crowd, now getting excited by finally seeing the more-dangerous creatures.
For their final act, their Guardian forms, Melga was the first to finish transforming. She became a huge Owlbear larger than Wallir’s Dire Wolf form. She was covered with thick, brown fur which covered rippling muscles, while her huge paws were easily larger than a person's head, with claws that could rip said-head apart in an instant. The Owlbear’s face was less owl-like than the name suggested, having no feathers, but it did feature a strong and incredibly sharp beak. Large eyes, just as with Bratig’s owl form, were capable of picking up even the tiniest of movements and could also see in even the dimmest of light.
Bratig’s new form was quite impressive in its own way. While smaller than Melga’s Owlbear, his form as an Armored Cyophroda was absolutely built to be a Guardian. Just shy of one-and-a-half meters in height, and nearly four meters long, Bratig-the-Cyphroda had a wide, squat body, with six thick legs that ended in broad, flat feet sporting sharp, retractable claws. Its entire body, from head to tail, was covered in thick, bony plates, including many that were quite sharp, that acted as an additional natural defense. The head was small in proportion to the rest of the body, with a sharp beak-like mouth and exceptionally powerful jaws. Perhaps most distinctive, though, was Bratig’s tail, which ended in a large, club-like appendage made of solid bone with a pair of spikes on it.
Wallir's Guardian form kept his personal theme going and turned into a gigantic, black Dire Bear. He was similar to Melga, in that he was a slightly-larger bear shape, but at that point the comparison ended. The absolute-black of his fur and glowing, fiery-red eyes like his other Dire forms remained, adding an extra layer of fear to the sight. Wallier roared, showing long, sharp teeth lining a powerful jaw. There was no doubt that this was a form for fighting, and absolutely able to take a hit and return it ten-fold over.
At Rowani’s request, the three Druids shifted back to their native forms, to the ongoing applause from the audience of recruits and others. The exhausted mood had evaporated, as everyone enjoyed the spectacle of the new animal forms, as well as watching the Druids themselves discover them for the first time. Waving to the crowd, the three left the center ring, leaving Rowani alone once again. Once out of the way, the three Druids engaged in excited conversation, congratulating each other on all their new forms.
“Many of you may have noticed that one Druid wasn’t up here. That was on purpose for reasons I’ll explain soon. Everyone, I give you your very own Corporal of Punishment, Druid Tazrok.”