I believed I was ready. I had a safe place to live. I had a renewable food source. I had a small amount of meat. I had clean water. Now was the time for beast experiments. First experiment was to induce sleep. I can't have a repeat of what happened with that beast. Well, really it was the start of several experiments. Sleep, not taking their ishu, implanting knowledge or ability, and teaching it to use that ability if it's not actually natural to them. I would start with something small. A rodent or bird. The problem with birds is that they might fly away without demonstrating what I've given them. So I would start with a rodent. Starting with the simple thing, subtly imposing my Will onto them to induce sleep without taking their spirit when I leave. The first few I caught bit my non-metal blessed hand causing me to drop them out of reaction. Any blood that was drawn from the bites was immediately hardened on the surface. I initially didn't want to use my metal blessed hand because it felt like it might be too uncomfortable to them. Having them be calm while I Pure Ishu Shape would be desired, less likely they will move and cause unforeseen consequences. A few days passed. I would try a different area, hopefully I won't catch one of the ones that I picked up before. Later that evening though while I lay remembering that feeling, I heard a sound. The sound of something digging. Letting out sigh, I got up to check on my rice. And sure enough there was a small canine digging at it. So I yelled at it to scare it away, It backed away to an open spot after it heard me. But then it froze there, staring at me. I couldn't really make it out at the time from how dark it was and the moons not producing much light that night. I Shaped a bowl around it and lifted it up and away from my home and crops. I had no reason to hurt it, so I let it down gently and let the ground reform into a natural state once more. I believe it was puzzled and scratched at what it rode on before leaving. Hoping that this was a one-off experience, I returned to my home to sleep yet another day. The following morning I had remembered that I moved dirt, so I Shaped it to be flat once again and went on with my day. I believe it was a fishing day. Nothing too exciting going on that day, really more of a personal day. Fished, checked crops, checked storage, did a bit of physical exercise, ate rice and fish, and then slept. A routine day. Back to rodent searching. One I had caught within the dirt was a mistake, no clean way in without having to pass through soil. But for experiment's sake I tried anyway. Clearing my mind and closing my eyes, putting my hand above it. Cold. Going through the soil felt cold, as it should usually. But I couldn't find the warmth of a living body. Strange. Surely I put my hand in the correct spot. Pulling my Will back, though I will admit a bit carelessly, I created a spike with my hand leaving. Only leaving a small puncture hole on my hand, nothing to consider. But the rodent though, did it escape? It was there, kind of. It would appear that I wasn't fully Pure Ishu Shaping and I started to push soil into it, crushing its hind legs and back. Or maybe this was the reason why I wanted contact instead of trying to go through something. It might have been a painful death, but I crushed it with dirt and pushed it underground. Walking away, shaking my head and hands. That had to be the reason I told myself, it was the only logical reason why it would happen. Contact is necessary.

After a few others that I could catch by hand with some food, I was able to calm one. I sat with it in my hand and began the process once again. Clear Mind, no visuals. Only feeling through Ishu. It was more difficult to imagine a much smaller representation of my Will than the size of my hand. I didn't want to Pure Ishu Shape through the entire thing, at that point I may have been ripping the core out of its vessel. Enter its body through a small means. Feel the Ishu flow through it. Feel its blood pump. Feel the Muscles. I could tell I was close to its core. Feeling the Ishu move towards the core, I thought of one thing prominently in my mind: Sleep. Sleep. Sleep little creature. Rest and fall asleep. I don't know why I thought that would work, I work with the logic. Well I guess as logical as Ishu can be at times. But sleep is a reaction, it's not a concept or constant in the world, you can't just Shape sleep. Even through the means of Pure Ishu. I pulled back, careful this time to not take anything with me, if anything to leave a little bit of Ishu behind to make sure I wasn't leaving with any, and let the rodent go. Back to square one on this. How can I induce something to sleep or a deep slumber on something? This took me a few days of pondering on how to do it. But I finally had an idea. I was a Medic at one point in my life. People would faint or lose consciousness because of a lack of blood. I just had to restrict some blood flow to the brain, but not enough to kill them, and cause them to pass out. Because Shaping is done through visual thought and movement being in-tune with your core and the unseen world that is Ishu and all that, but I'm not here to lecture you on how Shaping works after all. Pulling blood out through an entry point or stopping blood from flowing out by creating a barrier, whether it be hard or still in its liquid form, is one thing. It certainly is another to do it without a visual elements. And even more to do it without a physical entry. But maybe I was over complicating it. I'll have to kill one and cut it open to give myself reference. From there I could make a small pinprick opening, make it fall unconscious, and start my Pure Ishu Shaping on it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Now what was the best way to catch it without damaging it? I could crush it but that might end up messing up the anatomy of it. Stab it through the heart or head? I'm sure I needed those intact as I have not seen the inside of one of these things before. Hmm.. What if I were to split it down the middle? Possibly, though it wouldn't look too good, not like it's a fish. I believe my best possible way would have to be making a cut and pulling its blood out. From there I can dissect it and see what its innards and paths look like. Forming some long needles with a sharp point, this was going to be my method of extraction. Going about my usual business of the day then off to hunt. Shaping something this small would be nearly nothing. Taking a small hop and a step forward, I threw the needles at my target. Turns out, I was also bad at throwing things. So I had to use a bit of shaping to make sure it kept flying at their target. They all stabbed into its leg and pinned it down. Just the same process as gutting a fish. Slit its throat and pull out its blood. I triee to make it as fast as possible so the creatures at least will die quickly. Back at the homestead, I cut it open and learned what I needed. Even putting some liquid in it to get the idea of the path and what it'll be like once I restrict it. Once again, I hear that scratching of something digging. "Are we doing this again." I said rubbing the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Well I didn't need this creature anymore and it'd better serve the beast that is clearly looking for food in the wrong area. Holding the creature by the leg in one hand, I went out to look at my rice farm. Not there. But I hear digging. Must have been by the storage, great. With a bit more speed, I jogged over to my storage to find a hole with a fuzzy tail poking out. I yanked on it and the beast yelled before turning around with a whimper. Letting out a sigh, I picked it up by the nape of its neck as it struggled before letting it down and it darted away. Looking back at me, I tossed the rodent in its direction. It backed away before sniffing it and grabbing it in its mouth and running away. I wondered if that was the same one digging at the crops earlier. Turning back to the hole and putting the dirt back in. Great, so now it has an idea of where some food is stored. The following day, I set up large rocks all around it, hoping it would deter the beast or at least give me more time to catch it in the act. It's too bad I wasn't an engineer and knew how to make some kind of pavement, I could use metal. But would that make the room colder or hotter? It wasn't worth it to use the small bit of metal I had left. Suddenly, it started to downpour. I hadn't been paying attention to the weather since I got here and I must consider myself lucky. For what felt like half a year, It was all sunny days, maybe some cloudy ones. I retreated back to my home, while I was adept with mud, I wasn't with the darkness that was brought, so I wasn't about to go continue with my experiments.