2117 August 16th

Day 99

Wil let out a deep sigh as he climbed out of the hot spring and made his way out to the large clearing just outside of the cave, once there he laid down on a large stone slab and let himself dry out in the sun as he thought back on last night. After eating dinner Wil and Samantha had turned in for the evening, Wil found a spot in the room where Sam slept that looked warm before laying down to sleep.

He felt it was only right to let her have her bed back after letting him use it for so long while he was recovering. However, before he was fully asleep, he felt a weight on top of himself. Upon opening his eyes, he found Sam naked as she slipped herself inside of his robe before she laid her head down on his chest, and while he welcomed the feeling of her soft, warm skin on his own he had to ask the question of Why was she on him. To which she only answered with "Mine."

Though he wanted her off of him, she would not budge, and when he genuinely threatened to remove her, she held her hand to his left cheek and the sharp pain from before returned, and he passed out. When he awoke, Sam was still on top of him sleeping peacefully like a kitten. A possessive, violent kitten. Wil carefully rolled so that she was beneath him before slipping out of his robe. Leaving it to cover her naked form as he went outside to where the main cave was, remembering another cauldron which he assumed held fresh water.

And upon removing the lid he found water, but at the same time he could see his reflection, it made his stomach churn seeing his face scared over once more. However, something else caught his eye. There was a blood red pentagram on his left eyelid, it was the size of a half-dollar coin and was an intricate design consisting of a Celtic knot circle and a pentagram inside. Upon seeing the tattoo, things began clicking into place, why Sam treated him like he belonged to her, why she was able to knock him out without hitting him. It's because he did belong to her now.

She had placed some form of spell on him while he had been recovering from his encounter with the black-furred wolf, what exactly the spell was he could not be sure of, but at the least, he knew he still had free will. Further that she had the ability to render him unconscious with just by touching the mark on his cheek. Surely the game would not allow one of the players to be forced into slavery. Right?

Wil Let out another deep sigh as he sat up, stretching his arms up above his head"Well then, what to do today..." As he spoke aloud more to himself than anything, his robe suddenly hit him in the face, knocking him back down. With a groan, he pulled the fur on and turned his head to see the young witch herself standing in his blindspot, fully dressed and looking irritated as though she were an owner who had just found their dog playing in the park."Who said you could leave?"

With a grin Wilhelm stood up as he finished fastening the belt around his waist before letting the robe slip from his shoulders, grabbing the sleeves and tucking them into the belt so that it now looked more like a kilt to help him cope with the summer heat."Well, you looked so comfortable I didn't want to wake you, and besides that, I'm not your pet so it would be nice if you quit treating me as such." As he finished speaking, however, a pout settled on her lips.

"You are mine though; I marked you..." There was a slight whine in her tone, as one would expect of a child not getting what she wanted. In truth it almost made him want to give in, almost. Wil walked over to Sam and patted her head softly. "Come on now no pouting you'll waste that cute face..." Before he could say anything more, he noticed Sam moving a little bit in his new blind spot, knowing exactly what she was after he let out a low growl while slapping her hand away."And the next time you knock me out I will be leaving, I don't care how cute you are I am no pet..."

As her hand was knocked away, Sams expression changed, becoming more in line with a spoiled child. He could see the anger in her eyes which only made him grin more, the more time he spent with the young woman, the more she reminded him of his former lover Rubie. A realization that only made him want to tease her more, for now, however, he walked past her and into the forest along a small game trail.

She turned and watched as he strode off into the forest, clearly having some goal in mind as he left the safety of her camp"Where are you going?" Sam whined as she had to jog to catch up to Wilhelms longer strides. With a glance back he grinned."I'm going on an adventure.."As he finished speaking Wil broke into a full run along the game trail.

Unlike the other times he ran, he felt a strange exhilaration, and elation, He felt his heart racing with excitement as he took everything in, the sights, smells, the cool fall breeze running over his body. He could feel the muscles in his legs and core filled with the strength he had only felt when he had begun going to the gym on a daily basis. Even then it was nearly five years before he had reached a point where he felt this good.

In less than a minute he had cleared what he roughly guessed was one-sixth of a mile, nearly two-hundred and fifty meters, a pace that was the standard of the fitness tests for the U.S. Army which required members to be capable of running two miles in no more than thirteen minutes. Something that he did not manage until he was twenty-three years old, as he realized this Wilhelm came to a halt, digging his feet into the dirt and coming to a sliding stop.

Panting ever so slightly he looked back to where Sam should have been to see a small crow instead, though as it got close, the bird suddenly shifted into the ordinary young girl, Confused she tilted her head as she looked him over."What's wrong? Tired already?" Wil was stunned at not only her transformation but the way that she saw nothing strange with his speed."Sam, how am I able to do this? I have never been this fast before...." He looked over his body as he spoke, and while Wil was by far in better shape than he had been at this age, it should be impossible for him to run this fast so soon.

Sam showed him a look of surprise at this question, walking closer she reached down and ran her hand across the fur that covered his lower body."You have not only acquired but tapped into the power of a Fetish without even knowing what you have been using as a simple robe?!?" Wils look of confusion only deepened, He understood that a Fetish was an item that was believed to hold magical properties, Represented in many different cultures from the African Voodoo, The Norse Asatru, to Native American Shamanism.

The Norse Berserkers or in the old Norse Bear-Shirts were named for the act of wearing a bearskin into battle; Their counterparts were the Ulfhednar or Wolf-Hides. These warriors were said to have transcended humanity and become divine predators, able to become their totem animal. The Berserkers had an unrelenting fury that leads to the slaughter of all those around them, including their allies, As such these warriors were feared just as much as they were revered, often being sent into battle alone.

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Their counterparts on the other hand while channeling the same fury excelled in fighting in a group much as the wolves would. It was similar to many other nations as even the Native American tribes had their Totem spirits, animals that to them embodied certain aspects of life, They would often see one particular animal throughout their lives and would identify with this beings characteristics. For example, the Bat represented rebirth, longevity, secrecy, initiation, good listener, long life, illusion, journeying, inner depth.

Shaking his head to snap himself out of his thoughts Wil looked down to Sam as she kept running her hand along the pelt."But how does just having this pelt make me faster?" At this question Sam sighed and pulled hard at the pelt, leaving Wil bare before her which resulted in a yelp at the sudden movement. She held the pelt up and spun it around so he could see the inside of it before pointing to a handful of faint markings that looked like scratches in the hide from more than a few inches away."This is no mere pelt, it has been etched with runes of power, and judging by your lack of knowledge it was not by your hand, How did you even find this out in the wilds?"

Wil leaned in closer to the pelt to see that it was indeed etched with Nordic runes."I was going down to the river to fish when I found an old wolf lying dead, rather than letting the carrion eat him I skinned him before taking the pelt and his body back to camp where I burned his remains save for the pelt which I hung near a smaller fire to dry. Next thing I know the fire in which I was burning the wolf exploded, and I was face to face with a ghost wolf, he brushed up against the pelt and knocked it over into the fire, and this is what remained..."

The look on Sams' face as he described the events of the robes creation was one of pure surprise and wonder."The spirit willingly blessed the fetish without a ritual of binding. That is unheard of...." As she was lost in thought, Wil took back the robe and pulled it back on, the familiar rush hitting him once more as he moaned out. The world seemed to grow duller, color fading from most everything around him. This caused him to panic slightly as he began rubbing at his eyes, Sam soon grabbed his hands and pulled them from his eyes."Don't worry it just means you are being given more of his senses."

Wil nodded as he began fixing the robe back into the kilt fashion he had earlier."What do you mean by more of his senses?" Sam sighed softly at his question but responded none the less."A fetish is usually created using the remains of a beast and imbuing it with the spirit of that animal, In your case, it seems to have been a great wolf. When a soul is bound to the fetish, the user can gain their senses and their strengths."

Sam paused a moment to let this knowledge sink in before she continued. "When one becomes a Druid they will gain their memories and in time the ability to shapeshift into the animals form, There are risks for using these powers however as if one is not careful they will break, and their mind will be taken over by the beast. It seems that since your animal willingly entered the fetish, he is regulating how much of his power you can take at once to prevent you from going feral."

Druid, The ancient Celtic religion turned traditional class in roleplaying games focusing on animal affinity, nature skills, and healing. Druidism was common in his childhood as it was his mother and grandparents religion, as such he knew it very well. The goddess Flidais was a member of the Tuatha De Danann, the supernatural race of gods and goddess' that made up the Irish mythology. Some say that the Tuatha were, in fact, druids who had reached a greater understanding of the world and achieved enlightenment.

Wil nodded as he looked over Sam and had to ask something that had been bothering him since he first awoke within her home. "Your clothes were made from the feathers of a Raven, and you seem to be an advanced druid novitiate, you also specified your mother... Are you by chance a child of The Morrigan?" As he said the name, he saw the girls eyes become wide with shock and astonishment.

"H..How do you know that name?!?" Sam moved closer to him, her hands grabbing his shoulders as she kept him still, looking deep into his eye in a way that gave the feeling that she would know if he told her a lie. So he decided to play to his strengths. "It is easiest to say that this is not my first life, But my second..." Druids believed in the cycle of rebirth; specifically, they found that the ultimate goal in life was the cultivation of Wisdom, Creativity, And Love.

That once one had achieved a clear understanding of the three they would be granted entrance to a form of heaven known as Tir-nan-og. Sam seemed to accept this however she countered with an apparent flaw in his argument."Then how do you not know of the Fetish or the abilities of a druid?" Luckily enough this was easy for him to repose. "I come from a time when magic had died out, as such these teachings were not passed down to us."

While still eyeing him with doubt Sam decided to place him to a small test. "If what you are saying is true then you must surely know the Blessing of Protection?" This question made Wil smile sincerely as a look of love and remembrance entered his eye, it was his grandmother's favorite blessing. With a deep breath before he begun

"Deep within the still center of my being, may I find peace.

Silently within the quiet of the Grove, may I share peace

Gently and powerfully, within the greater circle of humankind, may I radiate peace."

The moment he finished a soft green veil of light shimmered across his skin, sending a chill along his spine as a sense of security flooded his body. A feeling of warmth filling his core and chest, And at the same time, he could see a look of joy and peace on Sams' face as one of the core beliefs she had been raised upon was proven right before her eyes. "I am sorry for doubting you elder; My life has been one where our kind is hunted and slaughtered...."

Wil nodded as he reached out and gently placed a hand upon her head, stroking her hair. "It is ok I understand, The cycle will be broken this time..." A sincere desire filled his mind now, a complete halt to the advance of the Christian religion, preventing the murder of millions and the destruction of entire religions. An endeavor that would have been nigh impossible if not for the fact that now Wil knew that the old beliefs held power in the game, prayers would not go unheard as legions of Romans, and in time Englishmen fell upon the other religions.

"In my day the Christians had all but wiped our kind from the planet, hunting every last one of us down like dogs for not believing in their god. I refuse to let it happen again, And I would like to ask for your help in this matter. Train me in the correct ways of the Druid." As he spoke, Wil dropped to both knees before Sam, bowing his head softly as he placed both hands on his knees. Showing a submission that he had refused to show her until this very moment.

With a dazed look on her face, Sam nodded her agreement before swallowing softly."To answer your question elder, I am the child of The Morrigan; I was born to an English soldier who had was the lone survivor of a brutal battle between one of the first scouting parties and a small clan of warriors. Mother took pity on him and tended to his wounds, and in time he gained her affection, and soon love. As is the norm with a child of a god I was given to my mortal parent as soon as I was able to survive without mother. That is how it should have stayed until I came of the age that my powers would manifest naturally.."

As she trailed off, Wil knew what he had suspected was true."But you were discovered by the Christians weren't you..." The girl nodded softly in agreement as she hugged her own body."Mother refused to stand by and wait to claim me, she came down and saved me from being burned alive at the stake, she healed my wounds and brought me here to a land where she said no Christians would ever find me, a place where I could learn our ways in peace. A place I have stayed for eight years without meeting another human, That is until you showed up in the forest so unexpectedly."

As she recalled his sudden appearance, Sam looked up into his eye as he rose from the ground."How did you come to be here when you are still so young and clearly without power?" Wil scratched his head gently as he smiled."What would you say if I told you that there were indeed gods outside of the Tuatha, Some that would help wanderers such as myself?"