The morning started like any other just noisier with the addition of the refugees. Tanisha woke up with a start and hit her head on a low hanging shelf. The objects on that shelf rattled but were ultimately unfazed. The young girl, however, cursed as she rubbed her head. When she did, she realized her antlers had grown out quite a bit.
The day before, they’d barely broken through her hair. Now they were nearly seven inches long, the average length for a fully mature wendigo female’s tiara. Male’s antlers typically grew large in what was called a crown. Both male and female antlers usually fully grew in at twenty years old. Tanisha was sixteen, and while the growth of her antlers had been slow it was not abnormal. This was.
She looked around and saw she was in a fully decorated carriage. The inside was compact but seemed to have everything someone would need to live, aside for a bathroom. There was a bed which folded into a box seat, a sink, food storage, and even a small cooking station which used flare stones to cook meals.
“Bjorn,” Tanisha called.
She reached for the bond with her magic and quickly felt Bjorn not too far away. His turbulent emotions reminded her of the night prior. She threw off the blanket and found that she was in entirely new clothing. These were tan robes with blue highlights more akin to martial arts clothing. She moved that to the back of her mind as she had more important things to get to the bottom of.
There was only one way out of the carriage. The double door had a small curtain, but it was pulled back just enough to tell Tanisha she was moving. She opened the door and sure enough, the convoy was on the move. She was in Joha's carriage near the front of the pack. They were traveling at a walker's pace, so she stepped down and closed the door behind her.
Her body felt good, as if the rest had completely rejuvenated her. She didn’t even have soreness as she ran towards Sabec’s wagon in the lead. That was where she felt the connection to Bjorn so she hoped he was fine.
Joha called out to her. “Tanisha, good morning.”
She looked back to the tiger demon driving his carriage. Now that she had seen the inside of his vehicle, she wondered where he stored all his goods. It didn’t matter for now; she returned the gesture but didn’t slow down as she ran to Sabec’s wagon. She jumped up, grabbing onto the tailgate, and pulled herself inside. Sabec turned around when he heard the disturbance in the back of his wagon.
“Ah, miss Tanisha, Sabec is pleased to see you are well, yes?” The gnoll asked.
“Thank you, and good morning,” Tanisha responded hurriedly.
“Morning? You were asleep for a full day,” Sabec stated with clear concern in his voice as he turned back around to watch the road. “Bjorn has not woken up yet. He sleeps peacefully, though.”
The now large hydra was curled up in the middle of the wagon. The gray-green being had grown in not just the number of heads but also size. His body was now long and agile like a jungle cat, with the addition of a powerful tail and who knew what other abilities. Tanisha sat down next to the familiar and pet one of his heads lovingly. She felt his emotions calm a little through the bond, which made her smile.
Tanisha's hand froze in the air. “Wait, did you say I have been asleep for a day?”
“Yes. Joha said you may be asleep for the remaining duration of the trip since you stood up when he said not to,” Sabec stated as he turned back around. “He also said you would want to see your familiar as soon as you woke up, but it would be best if he didn’t have him. The goblins are untrustworthy so Sabec took him. How do you feel, hmm?”
Tanisha looked down at Bjorn. “Honestly I feel great physically, but emotionally I’m still putting everything together. What do you think about all this?”
“Ah, Sabec believes Joha had good intentions but not all the information. There was no reason to believe Bjorn is a True, a Hydra, perhaps, I have never heard of such a creature.” Sabec looked down at the sleeping form of Bjorn. “He sleeps and eats and bleeds, yes? He is like us, not like the True. Greater maybe, not True.”
“You are upset he said Bjorn may be a True?” Tanisha asked.
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“Sabec is not upset. Sabec only respects the True with reverence.” The gnoll man nodded to himself. “The Queen of Riots is the True of the gnoll. She, like all True, are divine and unlike us. Joha is right about one thing though, Bjorn is special, and many will want him. You need strength to protect yourself and him from those that want him. Even those in this convoy will covet what they now know you possess, yes?”
“You mean the goblins don’t you?” Tanisha asked. “They have been nothing but nice to me.”
“Yes, but Sabec saw them covet you from the beginning,” Sabec said as he turned to face the road for a second. “You ruined their plan when you chose Joha over them. Now they want Bjorn. Sabec saw it in Owen’s eyes.”
Tanisha thought about it for a long moment. She couldn’t think of a single time they had been suspicious. She couldn’t help but think they were nice and helpful. Helina was the first to help her, Owen had been nothing but nice, even paid more for her potion than necessary when she helped their son. Caleb and Wyatt were fast friends with Bjorn. She just couldn’t see them as the thieving conniving bunch Sabec said they were.
“I will keep that in mind,” Tanisha said half heartedly.
Tanisha stayed with Bjorn for a few more hours. She hoped he would wake up during that time but there was no luck. The silver lining was that he seemed both physically and emotionally peaceful. She finally ate; she hadn’t realized how ravenous she was until Sabec handed her a perfectly seasoned and lightly seared steak from his bag.
During the first rest stop, however, Joha came to the wagon to retrieve her for training. She had slept an entire day and would not be let off the hook now that she was better, nor did she want to be. Luckily they were in the flat grasslands so there was plenty of space for whatever they were going to do. Tanisha was still upset with the demon, but she needed power for herself and Bjorn. Joha was the start of that path and she would walk it to completion.
“Before we get started, are there any abilities you have that I should know about?” Joha asked between puffs of his pipe.
Tanisha decided now was the best time to tell him about the Lernaean Hydra Pact and the fact that she was a cultivator. She told him her stats, and that she had ten points to assign from leveling up. The tiger man was not taken back by the news and simply nodded his head. He suggested she tried placing points into maya to see if she could. When she opened the menu to try, every stat had a plus sign for her to add points except maya. Tanisha explained as much to the demon, and he sighed.
“As expected,” The tiger demon said thoughtfully. “Unlike the other stats, maya is not a natural part of you. To grow with it you must continue to use the smoking pipe and master your body. The more maya channels you have, the more you will be able to use.” He thought for a moment. “The way of the Rakshasa is the way of fist but sometimes we use weapons. I am quite familiar with many. You have the knife and staff. We will implement those into your training. Place five points in constitution, and five in dexterity. The next time you level do the same.”
Tanisha did as Joha suggested but asked, “Why so much in constitution?”
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Status Menu
Name: Tanisha Scalebound
Species: Lernaean-Wendigo
Level: 10
Vitality: 10
Restoration: 4
Constitution: 7
Willpower: 8
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 9
Stamina: 8
Maya: 3
Magic: 24
Magic Regeneration: 25 (+100 from bond)
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Joha seemed amused by the question. “If your stats are to be believed, constitution will be your body's general condition and sturdiness. Those with weak bodies can not follow the way of the Rakshasa. Even if you had a hundred in strength, if your constitution was low you could not take advantage of that power. Right now we need to build up your foundations. This will be a good start. We will begin with simple stretching and basic movements. Watch me.”
Joha showed her a series of flexibility exercises, none of which seemed overly complicated until he did a standing leg split. From there the stretches became a series of increasingly difficult motions requiring perfect balance and the use of maya. Now that she could sense maya Tanisha saw how it interacted with his breathing even when it was not visible as red smoke.
Maya coursed through his body in the same way as her mana when her Mana Muscles Saturation was active. While she watched, she wondered if she would be able to do the same with maya and push it into her body somehow. Maya felt wholly different from mana, which remained in her core until she needed it. Maya was fluid, and ran like blood through the new channels it dug in her. She could focus on those channels and feel the maya’s power but grabbing that power felt like trying to grab the wind.
“Okay, now we will begin,” Joha stated. “I want you to try each motion, and I will correct you as we go.”