I ran through the snowstorm as fast as I could. My heart was beating hard from fear as well as the running. The snowstorm Mom created wouldn’t last forever, and if the Ice Cats caught me, I would die. Just like my father. No! Don’t think about that. Just run. Worry for Mom gnawed at me. She would be fine. She had a Snow affinity. Nothing could stop her. Traitorous images of Dad pierced through with ice javelins, increasing my worry.
I ran in my bear form on all four paws. I didn’t look back. When I reached a gap in the ice shelf, I plunged into the icy water and swam for all I was worth, simultaneously changing direction. My thick fur coat and a generous layer of fat helped my Cold Resistance to keep me warm. The vigorous energy also helped. The water would confuse my tracks. I launched myself back up onto the ice, discovering it was just a floating section, and then plunged back into the water.
I came to a rocky shore and raced up it, scattering seals and penguins. I dashed over to the snow and continued up the bank. The snowstorm stopped. It didn’t slowly reduce and ease like a normal storm. It just stopped. I didn’t let myself think. I just ran. If I let myself think, I would know Mom had just died, and that couldn’t be. I put more effort into his running.
Night came early at this time of year, and still, I ran. My running was more of a stagger by this time, but I wouldn’t let myself stop. I was almost six years old now and had started my training as an Arctic Hunter with Dad. I hadn't got very far yet. I had seen humans once, and they didn’t start training until they were twelve or thirteen years old. Mom said humans were a different species, and that was normal for them. If I went to the human village and changed to my upright form, they would classify me as a teenager. Humans are weird.
I found a soft snow bank and dug myself a cave. I closed the entrance after me and cried myself to sleep.
I don’t know how long I slept. It was dark when I woke, but the days were short this time of year. The sun didn’t rise far above the horizon, and it would worsen as we moved into the long night. My stomach rumbled. I wasn’t ready to leave the cave just yet. I ate some snow. It wouldn’t do much for me, but it would keep my stomach quiet.
Mom and Dad. I would never see them again. Especially Mom. Dad would leave for long periods, often several months at a time. Mom said it was unusual he came back. Us Bearkin were generally solitary creatures. Technically, we were Polar-Bearkin. Who bloody cares about technicalities? I am never going to see Mom again.
A long time later, I dug myself out of the cave. I was cautious. I tested the scents in the wind, and nothing unusual was there. I reminded myself if anything was hunting me, they would be downwind, where I would not smell them. That was also the safest direction I should go. I am young and only half-grown. I am not a true hunter yet. Maybe three-quarters grown, but I do not have a class. Classes give attributes, and with attributes, you can develop Skills. I am nearing the end of my childhood, so the attributes that come from growing up are slowing down. I need a class, and I now have no one to teach me.
I can learn a class on my own, but it takes forever, and it is only a really simple class, giving two or three attributes per level. Mom and Dad had started teaching me the Arctic Hunter Class, which had five attributes per level. They had both started with that class. I remembered their teachings, of course. Mostly.
Mum had just finished teaching me the Identify Skill, and I don’t think I could have learned it alone. It takes ten attributes in Mental Perception, and as a solitary species, understanding other sapients is not a strong area for us. Mom won’t be able to teach me anything again.
Dad said I need to get Nightsight when my Physical Perception Attribute reaches fifteen. That happened last night. This will help me see through the long night. Nightsight is good in low-light spaces, but it needs some light. I learned the Skill, and everything became marginally brighter. It would keep improving as the Skill levels.
Dad also said I needed Clearsight as soon as my Physical Perception got to twenty and my Spiritual Perception got to fifteen. Clearsight will help me see through snow storms, whiteouts, and underwater, basicall anything that obscures vision. It is also good at seeing through the Camouflage Skill, which will help with my hunting and survival. The trouble is I don’t know how to level those attributes now.
I looked at my Status sheet.
Ivan Medved Level Physical Mental Spiritual Totals Free Str Agi Per Str Agi Per Str Agi Per Base Attributes 15 12 13 13 8 10 14 9 10 104 Earned Attributes 2 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 8 B 0 0 Totals 17 13 15 15 8 10 15 9 10 112 0 Constitution 45 33 34
Resistances: Cold +10, Pain +3
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Skills:
Novice:
General
Identify 3, Fishing 1
Fighting,
Senses
Nightsight 1
Lore
Arctic Lore 2
Apprentice:
General
Common 5, Arctic Camouflage 5, Transform 6,
I had 104 base Attributes. Polar Bearkin average between 100-110 so I would not grow much more. I had 8 earned attributes, which I was quite proud of, but I know Mom and Dad had much more. I could earn more by pushing myself in that area, but they would also slow down as I got stronger, and they needed more and more effort.
If I need Spiritual Perception for Clearsight, how do I push myself in that area? I don’t know. Spiritual Perception is about seeing or sensing the spiritual. No idea. That's why I need a class. Classes earn attributes in the areas relevant to them, and some have free attributes you can assign. I don’t know what class I need to earn Spiritual Perception.
What I needed now was to survive. I had no knife skills, and the knife Mom got me was left behind. Claws and teeth were what I had, so they would be what I used. I would stay full Polar Bear. I turned downwind so no regular predator could surprise me from behind and started out. I need to be careful, as the Ice Cats will still be hunting me. I know Mom had Infrared Vision, which helped her hunt by seeing heat. The Ice Cats might have similar Skills. Downwind was taking me further away from our cave, so that was good.
This was not the first time I had been alone. Mom would go on extended hunts without me, and I went out alone. The longest I was hunting on my own was a week. It was only supposed to be four days. Mom found me on the eighth day. I might have got a bit turned around. Now, she wasn’t there to save me anymore. I was truly alone.
I stuck near the coast as the one Skill I had was fishing, which I had learned on my extended hunt. Fish had kept me fed then, and it would do so again. My favourite food was seal, and they also lived on the coast. I really like the crunch of the bones and the fat under the skin, and Mom said it was good for me. I was supposed to build my fat up for the winter. My fur and layers of fat were what helped keep the cold away, along with my growing Cold Resistance. Mom was not there to sleep next to anymore.
I stayed close to the shore, occasionally venturing out onto the ice shelf. I tried sneaking up on some seals, and my white fur helped with my Arctic Camouflage. They spotted me too early and made it to the water before I could catch them. There was no way I would catch them in the water. My Arctic Camouflage was only able to be used when I was not moving. I need to get better at sneaking. I also need to get faster.
I was cold, hungry, and miserable when I finally dug a snow cave to rest in. I had not even caught any fish. I did find the remains of an Arctic Hare and chased the birds away. Very little was left on the half-frozen carcass, but I ate everything I could.
I spent some time working with the snow of my cave, trying to get a feel for it. I wanted a Snow affinity like Mom. Ice would be good. Wind and water were the other common affinities in the Arctic, but Mom was the only person I knew with an affinity until the Ice Cats came. I would need something if I were going to get back at them.
Revenge would have to wait. First, I needed to survive. Should I try to get to the human settlement? It was on the other side of the Ice Cats, so I would have to go a long way inland to circle around. It was better to keep to the coast.
Making shelters was easy. Food was going to be my problem. I needed to level Fishing and improve my hunting. That meant learning to sneak and level Arctic Camouflage and get faster. Physical Agility was the attribute that governed speed. I needed to get much faster. Even the baby seals beat me to the water.