Nameless dashed towards the sound of the river without hesitation, his body almost feeling as though it were moving on its own. His fatigue and fear seemed to bleed away with every step, desperation being replaced by weary relief, the temptation of “safety” spurring him onward at a reckless pace.
His new path took him running nearly parallel to the wildfire’s front, the flames’ progress now kept firmly in view out of the corner of his eye, “So much lost – so quickly – to the hunger of fire already…” Nameless darted and wove around trees and the few straggling creatures that still fled the coming conflagration, half a mind measuring the distance between himself and the blaze, “And how much more will be lost before the flames’ appetite and fury will run its course, I wonder.”
Running, he leapt over a small rut in the ground – trying to retain as much of his speed as he could – the jump taking him crashing into and through a large bush on the other side, making his fur come out further tangled and sullied with its twigs and leaves.
However his physical discomfort and soiled pelt were of little consequence or notice to Nameless, his attention otherwise occupied by the growing roar of a torrent river.
He felt as though he could almost sense the rumble of the rushing water through his paws, hear the river’s call echoing in his ears, “Almost there… almost free.”
His body stung after running as much – and as far – as he had, his lungs burning with fatigue and the acrid bite of soot, the incessant desire to rest howling in his ears as loudly as the winds of the storm. But he pushed through, burying the pain and discomfort as best he could, using the consolation of the river’s approach as impetus to continue despite the weariness that plagued him.
Every impact of his paws against the ground sent a juddering shock up his limbs, the heat on his left side growing as the wildfire approached, embers and ash twisting and whirling past in his wake.
Nameless snarled as those cinders fell upon his fur and hide – their stinging burn making him twitch from the numerous small bites of pain – the increasing presence of them making him tense, “The wildfire is moving faster than I had hoped…”
Its progress could be seen through the lessening of the once oppressive darkness, the surrounding jungle lit by the flickering glow of fire, colouring the world in a shifting orange-red hue. Shadows swayed and quivered in the blaze’s light, Nameless’s own stretching out into the yet untouched forest, his figure prancing amongst the border of firelight and placid darkness.
Out of the corner of his eyes the undulating shadows sent a shiver down his spine, their movements bringing to mind a pack of Monsters trembling in euphoria at his desperate sprint, “The lack of rest may see me fall if I do not meet the river soon… especially if I am leaping at mere shadows.”
He shook his head, dismissing the eerie silhouettes to the shadows of his own mind, ears twitching. He could hear the sound of the river becoming more noticeable – even through the sounds of thunder and lightning – and the jungle’s ground foliage was becoming noticeably thicker, while the trees were becoming more widely spaced, as he sprinted toward where the noise emanated.
They were heartening signs of progress and – while incapable of completely wiping away his fatigue – filled him with a burst of vitality, lengthening his stride and bringing a valuable measure of breath to his flagging body.
He cut a reckless path through the brush, bodily cracking through low hanging branches and shrubbery, “Almost there!” He excitedly reaffirmed, an end so long desired in sight.
The forest ahead lightened. Not with the rufescent hues of the wildfire, but the grey and blues of the storm shaded sky.
The muted light fell through the diminishing canopy beside the rain, the increasingly scattered trees creating a patchwork of holes and gaps above for the world beyond to penetrate past. The ground was slick and muddied by the deluge of rain that filtered through the holes in the canopy, the myriad plants on the ground below glistening – coated as they were by rainwater.
Nameless pushed through the underbrush with wild abandon, his mind lost in a haze of excited relief, the roar of cascading water luring him further with its promises of respite.
However, he found himself quickly disappointed and dragged bodily back to reality as he broke through the last line of scrubs. The river he had been so desperately searching for lying not before him as he believed… so much as it were below him.
He cautiously walked forward; the exposed ground, sopping wet with rain, clinging heavily to his paws. The ground ended in a ragged and sheer cliff, broken trees and half buried plants sticking out through a large – trailing – mound of mud below, leading out towards a violently roiling river.
“A landslide then.” Nameless supposed, eyes panning down from the mess of soil and over the white crests of the heavily muddied and cascading water. The river curled towards and away from him like a long dewclaw, its rapids crashing over the remnants of the landslide and into the cliff face below, releasing a mist into the already water laden air.
His sight moved away from the river, the rushing of its water a prolonged roar in his ears – near overwhelming in its volume – drowning out even the constant cracks and booms of the storm, “So tantalizingly close… yet so far still to go.”
He bit down on his frustrations as he looked to his sides; the ridge extending out either way, trees and brush hanging precipitously over its edge, “The drop is too far here for me to risk going directly down. Which leaves following the cliff further down to the right, or…”
Looking out to the left; he could see from where the river flowed, its waters flooded to the point that the trees once at its banks now found the river lapping and crashing at their crowns… in addition to scorching tongues of fire.
The wildfire stretched much further than Nameless had expected, a large portion of its face already abutting the river, sending up plumes of smoke and steam into the air as it struggled against the torrent waters, “To go to the left – from where I have just escaped – would be to court an idiotic and violent death, even if it seems the quicker route down.”
Watching the left shore, he could track the progress of the wildfire, its relentless tread consuming more and more in its path, entire trees igniting in bright conflagrations in what felt like an instant.
“The long way it is then.” Nameless decided, a cloud of smoke wafting up the cliff as he turned to face the right end of the ridge, “I have traveled this far already… so what is one last sprint in the face of a conclusion.”
He ran slightly inward from the edge – the cliff itself too unstable for Nameless to risk traversing it – having to move around, and through, the tangles of undergrowth that scattered the length of the ridge.
His Skills – like [Sprint], [Dodge], and [Proprioception] – continued to provide him aid. However, Nameless could feel that his excitement and growing delirium were beginning to take an effect on himself… and them.
The oft-forgotten disadvantage of the untrained and initiate nature of his Skills reared its head as his focus wavered, and his stamina began to reach its limits. Without his attentions and intent to guide them, the support of his Skills began to degrade, the lack of a concerted focus undermining what little benefits they provided.
But that loss of even a small amount of support was especially noticeable when relied upon so much…
Nameless snarled as he stumbled once again, his body feeling the slightest bit unbalanced and ungainly, the path ahead – defined by [Tracking] – dispersing into a mess of swirling illusory strings as his attention on the trail slipped, “The exhaustion of the day is finally catching up to me…” He realized as he panted, the pain and pressure becoming too great to bury and discard.
“And trying to split my focus between so many of my Skills is only going to drain me further.” No longer at the dead sprint he had been, Nameless continued to advance, trying to retain his distance from the wildfire while he decided how to proceed, “Which means I have to choose what Skills I am willing to fatigue myself focusing upon, and those that I am… prepared to shed in the name of haste.”
With speed on his mind, Nameless considered [Sprint] and [Proprioception] to be of the utmost necessity going forward, their effect on his stamina and ease of movement being far too important to discard. [Dodge] and [Leap] were less of a concern due to their more… circumstantial nature, only requiring his attentions to bring their full capabilities to bare for small moments at a time.
[Stealth] – while useful – was obviously counterintuitive to his needs and easily cast aside, the focus necessary to work with the Skill properly while at speed being far too much for him to handle. However, where Nameless struggled to decide what to retain and what to leave behind, was choosing between [Spatial Sense] and [Tracking].
Both [Spatial Sense] and [Tracking] shared similar roles –mainly assisting in his capacity to navigate – however where they differed was in their scopes.
[Tracking] was a significantly more specific Skill than [Spatial Sense], focusing predominantly on the recognition and pursuit of the spoor of Monsters and Beasts, though he had broadened its purview somewhat. However, even after that expansion of its breadth – as he came to understand the act better and associate it with a wider range of situations – [Tracking] still required a great deal of scrutiny to prompt its support.
[Spatial Sense] on the other paw, was far broader in its origin; what with its encapsulation of how he approached, understood, and came to recognize his place within, his surroundings. With as comprehensive a focus, Nameless had come to find the Skill to be more… passive in its nature, having a far more subtle – yet no less valuable – effect on him.
Often only in retrospect, would he realize the full extent of [Spatial Sense]’s aid; how it had assisted him in recognizing patterns in a new – or familiar – environment to grant him an easier time roaming within, helped keep himself oriented and prevented him from getting lost, or even how the Skill had aided him in retaining the memory of places he had been, “And all of which was done with little thought from myself.” Nameless mused as he quickly trotted through the forest, occasionally sending a glance towards the ridge, to make sure he was still traveling alongside it.
“[Spatial Sense] is the less mentally intensive of the two Skills and, whether I want it to or not, would be providing me assistance regardless of my intentions.” He began to pick up speed, [Sprint] and [Proprioception] filling his form with the solidity and vigor he had begun to lack as his mind and body faltered, “Which means [Tracking] is to be put aside for the time being…”
Without as many Skills working in tandem, Nameless was capable of returning to something resembling his earlier pace… though he quickly realized that his fatigue was far too great for him to return to the speed he had had earlier in the day, “This will have to be enough.”
It took him a moment to reorient himself – as he transitioned fully into a run – the sudden lack of that illusory quality of [Tracking]’s support making it a slightly jarring transition to his drained mind.
Nameless passed through the jungle as fast as possible, darting between as many empty spaces of ground he could find, trying to avoid the tangled undergrowth.
He kept sending errant glances towards the cliff’s edge as he made his way; constantly – and anxiously – making sure that he was still within sight of it, fearful that he would somehow lose his way and his only path to safety, even with the awareness that [Spatial Sense] would be working to keep him moving in the correct direction.
“Keep moving, keep focused…” The prolonged movement harshly pulled at his fatigue addled body, his breaths coming out ragged and heavy as his lungs worked to keep the sting of motion from gnawing at his muscles. Even with the support of [Sprint] and [Proprioception], Nameless could feel his time growing short, his body – and mind – worn to as thin an edge as the cliff he followed.
“Keep moving, keep focused!” Nameless repeated, growling through his weariness, continuing forward at the demanding pace he set for himself despite the drain it put on him.
The empty air beyond the cliff slowly became filled with the sight of a canopy, every step gradually replacing more and more of the greyed sky with the same jungle interior that surrounded him on all sides.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
As the canopies nearly met, finally complete in their obscuring of the storm laden sky above, Nameless changed directions. Approaching the cliff once more – much of it lacking the earlier undergrowth due to the leaf cover above – he gazed down towards the similarly darkened forest floor below.
Even shrouded in the shadows as it was, he could see that the ground below was covered by a thin layer of moving water, shimmering with what little light passed through the canopies as the wind shook their leaves. The flooded river’s water had reached a great length away from their former banks, the torrent force cascading through the distant waterway causing ripples to softly slap against rocks, tree roots, and other standing flora.
With a quick search around him – making sure there was no danger – Nameless slid down the steep embankment in a scree of soil, stone, and loosened plants, landing in the water with a light *plat*.
The ground below the water was extremely muddy, strongly grasping each of his paws as his weight and the force of his descent pressed them deeply into the water laden soil.
Grunting, Nameless released each of his paws from the sucking confines of the mud, “In finding a safe place to descend the cliff from, I have come further away from the river than I may have hoped, and this mud and water will make closing that distance towards it a… frustration at the very least.” As he stood in thought his paws sunk once more, compelling him to again forcibly release them with a growl, “Nevertheless, the only path to survival I have is to reach that river… even if that path is one covered in cloying muck.”
He released a weary sigh and looked out towards where the water spread from, taking a moment to stretch and release as much tension as he could from his body… preparing for what he hoped would be the last sprint to safety he would have to undertake.
At least… for this day.
―――――――――
He had made quick progress towards the river – the distance between himself and it being further than hoped, but not as far as feared – however with his timely passage came a growing obstacle to his continued rapid advancement.
The water.
Nameless rumbled in frustration as he waded through the back-knee high water, the fur of his limbs and underbelly soaked heavily, his paws still struggling to avoid becoming trapped in the mud below.
He could feel the river’s current tug lightly against him, a chaotic directionless whorl, created by the water’s passage through the once landed jungle, “Even if running was a tiring endeavor, focusing on [Sprint] allowed me to alleviate some of the strain at least. But this…”
The weight of his waterlogged limbs and the struggle against the growing current, wore him down as assuredly as a river did a mountain, his every step feeling as though it were weighed down by stones wrapped around each leg, “This is just a prolonged, torturous, drain without a thing to alleviate its pressure, or support me through to its end.”
Nameless looked around himself as he continued forward, breathing laboriously – his passage through the low waters making an audible *sloshing* sound – the surroundings more resembling a forested marsh than the jungle he knew it to be, “But, for as much of an unbearable situation it seems now, no matter the pain or distress it may cause me at the moment… is this not just the kind of challenge I had prepared to pit myself against?”
“I had no intentions of pursuing the easy path – of merely surviving a Proving devoid of strife or difficulty – and this is exactly the opposition I need to grow as much as I desire…” Nameless smiled grimly, his body begging incessantly for rest as he pushed through the water, “Though I would have preferred these difficulties and challenges to not have started on the very first day.”
He huffed mirthlessly at his misfortune, watching a large bundle of flotsam float away like the last vestiges of his hopes for peace, before he continued on.
Some of the loose floating dross, brought about by the passage of the storm, parted around him as he pushed on; though much of the uprooted plants, leaves, branches, and other debris persisted in bouncing off of him – and the surrounding trees – making the already murky and turbid waters even more complicated to navigate.
He was forced to place his steps cautiously, the obscured depths below becoming ever more rife with submerged undergrowth and uneven ground, that risked him becoming trapped and having to waste time in order to escape.
A waste of time he could not risk.
At the thought of becoming stuck Nameless looked over his shoulder, finding a light cloud of smoke emanating from whence he had come. The wildfire had continued to rage and – though he had managed to put a good deal of distance between himself and it – still remained a looming pursuer that even a moments pause would risk its finally having him within its maw.
“Even with the fire being less of a worry now that the river is so close, I cannot dismiss the danger that still remains so long as it remai-” Nameless caught an odd shadow out of the corner of his eye, a shiver of warning setting his fur on end.
He threw himself to one side, yowling as a burning line of pain stretched from shoulder to haunch, partially submerging himself as his sudden and ungainly dodge disturbed the surrounding water.
Quickly returning to his paws, fur and hair soaked flat against his hide, Nameless whirled around. His eyes wildly searched his surroundings for his attacker – through the hair now haphazardly stuck against his face – when he caught another hint of movement.
Accompanied by the rustling of leaves above, a high-pitched screech announced yet another attack, a shadowy figure streaking down towards him with claws fully bared.
Not caught nearly as unawares, Nameless leapt away, entwinning his intentions with [Dodge] and [Leap] in the instant he began to evade the second attack; lengthening the distance of his jump away and giving him the control and poise necessary to land solidly on his paws.
Coming down, water splashed and sloshed away from him as he landed, the suspended film of murk obscuring his sight as another similar impact resounded out from the space he had just occupied.
His [Soul Sight] flared to life at a twitch of his mind, mingling with his [Night Vision] to cut through the shadows and airborne water like his claws would through a carcass and reveal what manner of creature had assumed his former position.
Unbidden, an imprinted memory came to life as his eyes traced over the Monster’s form, narrated by a deep grumbling voice he had never heard, “The line between them and Monsters like us is a thin one. Only requiring a single opportune… or unfortunate moment, for any Beast to become something more than they once were.”
Nameless’s eyes met the former Beast’s, its pupils widened to the point that their irises may as well have been black, “Though with that change – that conversion of the very core of their being – oft comes a horrid transformation and an insatiable Madness…”
The Monster appeared to have been a Howling Crescent Monkey, the horizontal “crescent” stretching across its chest like a white toothed grin being the only remaining identifier of what it had been.
Much of the Monster’s hair had fallen out, exposing the thick cords of sinew that shifted and rolled visibly under its hide, as well as some strands of muscle that pushed out through the monster’s skin like worms escaping waterlogged soil. Its arms were… misshaped, elongated to the point of resembling the muscular bodies of Mountain Pythons, and attached to a squat frame completely at odds with the spindly body of those he had seen before.
Its face was gaunt and disfigured, skin sticking closely to the creature’s skull and the half-formed muzzle that rose from its once flat face. Along its snout, the stretched nostrils flared as the Monster’s lips peeled back into a rictus of maddened exhilaration, revealing a maw filled with yellowed irregular fangs and gums the darkened grey hue of rotting meat.
With fangs outstretched the creature released a guttural series of hoots, before Nameless watched as – in a spray of water – it erupted out of the flooded grounds into the canopy once more.
The creature swung about the surrounding trees, using the foliage and the winds of the storm to try and cover its movement… however its attempts at obfuscation were useless under a gaze infused with [Soul Sight] and [Night Vision].
Nameless kept track of the former Beast within the corner of his eyes, orienting himself towards where its more diminutive legs tossed sticks and branches – in an effort to draw his attention away from its true position – and utilizing [Deception] to give his “falling” for the Monster’s misdirection an additional layer of credibility.
He saw thick opaque strings of saliva pouring down the Monster’s jowls as it maneuvered to put itself in his “blind” spot, the muscles across its body quivering and the hands of its warped and twisted lower legs grasping at the open air in feverish anticipation.
“For all the cunning it may have gained through its transformation…” Nameless shifted further – putting the creature just at his flank – witnessing the derangement that clouded its dilated eyes overwhelm the last vestiges of caution and suspicion within them.
“There is no outsmarting a Sphinx.”
The horrid bundles of muscle that made up the Monster’s legs snapped with an obscene force, thrusting it directly towards him in a similar fashion as its last attack… though this time, the creature had none of the surprise it had earlier, nor expected to have from its positioning and distractions.
Nameless whirled around, leaves and branches falling from above with the former Cresent Monkey’s abrupt attack, facing the Monster as it rapidly careened towards him.
He stared into the madness hazed eyes of the creature as he reared upwards onto his hind legs, watching as its euphoria was replaced with a dawning terror.
In midair as it was, the Monster was unable to redirect itself or halt its attack….
Sending it straight into Nameless’s paws.
In a plume of murky flood waters, the Monster slammed into the space Nameless’s “unprotected” flank had occupied, drenching him completely as he plunged through the water in pursuit of the creature.
His forepaws struck the creature with all of his weight behind them, pushing the Monster down under the water and forcing his extended claws through its muscular flesh.
The transformed Crescent Monkey thrashed underneath him as his bulk fully settled on top of it; Nameless roaring back at the creature’s drowning screams and howls, raking his claws across its body as it flailed and lashed out.
One of the Monster’s clawed hands sunk into the meat of Nameless’s left thigh, tearing a pained roar from his throat, “Enough!” He reared his head back, angered and tired, and thrust it back down – through the water – with mouth wide and fangs bared. Muddied water flooded his open maw and coated his tongue, filling his mouth with the gritty taste of turbid water, bubbles rushing out of his nose and mouth to roll up and across either side of his face.
The creature’s thrashing made the already murky waters even more difficult to see through, its – as well as his own – claws slashing through one another’s hide adding swirling strings of red to the submerged surroundings, both their bloods becoming caught within the tumultuous currents around them.
As the Monster violently bucked below him once more, a portion of its body rose to brush across his lips. Instinctively Nameless snapped forward, fangs sinking into the monstrous Crescent Monkey’s flesh, replacing much of the taste of dirtied water in his mouth with the fresh tang of blood.
A wet gurgling screech was loosed from the creature’s maw, the sound filled with pain and anguish, its struggles increasing in ferocity as its derangement became overwhelmed by desperation. It smacked and clawed at Nameless ineffectually, what painful wounds it managed to put upon his body being nowhere near life-threatening.
At yet another mindless swipe, Nameless removed his fangs from the meat of the Monster and threw his head back – in a spray of water – to gulp for air. Water and blood leaked from between his fangs as he gasped, the frantic struggle from the creature below him weakening subtly as – unlike himself – it was unable to draw anything more than water into its lungs, submerged and pinned as it was.
Nameless shifted on top of the former Beast, wincing as its claws ripped fur and small chunks of meat from his flesh, adjusting himself so that he was positioned just right.
“Your struggle for survival and desire to grow were honorable ones…” Nameless opened his mouth once more, a deep rumble growing in the back of his throat, his intention and emotions reaching such a crescendo that his sight bloomed, piercing through the murk as though it were never there, “But they pale in comparison to mine.”
His head snapped down, punching through the water straight towards his target… the Monkey’s head.
Nameless’s fangs popped through the bone of the Monster’s skull, the water causing the crack of his teeth breaking through to have an oddly muted and hollowed quality.
With his toothed purchase, the Monkey screeched in agony – a cascade of bubbles rising from its mouth – the creature frantically striking and flailing about itself with a desperate strength that belied the drowning it had been undergoing, trying with every fibre of its being to escape.
Nameless used the Monster’s own distress and struggles to worry his fangs in deeper, putting more and more pressure down against its head, the bone and flesh within the grasp of his maw creaking in tandem with the growing volume of the creature’s gurgled screams…
Until the force of his bite grew too great.
With a horrid crunch the skull collapsed beneath Nameless’s teeth, abruptly cutting off the creature’s screams and filling his mouth with a mixture of water, blood, bone, and brain matter.
The monster’s body twitched and jerked beneath him in its final throes as he ripped his head to one side, tearing a gaping chunk out of the Monster’s own, sending viscera swirling and flying through the water and air in a morbid spray.
“Finally…” Nameless allowed the ichorous mixture in his mouth to seep between his fangs as he gulped in air, his body shaking from exertion. Drenched and tired, his face and body covered in muck and blood, Nameless removed his claws from the corpse’s hide and stumbled away from the body.
Every step was a monumental task, tremors shuddering through his form as he pushed through the water just far enough to slump against one of the surrounding tree trunks.
He looked towards the floating corpse – still twitching with the last latent signs of a life no longer lived – and closed his eyes, “While the time of our conflict could have been no less inconvenient, I thank you for the gift of Growth you have granted me honorable one.”
Nameless could feel that he had grown at the very core of his being, made yet another step closer to his Second Stage… but the fatigue threatening to drag him down made feeling anything like pride or excitement in his progress an impossibility.
Nameless released a ragged breath and opened his eyes, the monster’s corpse now tangled in the upper branches of a partially submerged bush, bobbing in the water, “If I cannot even spare the time to gaze upon the changes within my soul, I have none to waste on rest either…”
He grunted and took a set of staggering steps away from the trunk he had leaned on – sharp bites of pain emerging from the wounds across his body – looking out through the forest to where he could hear the roar of the river emanating over the continued calls of the storm above, “Once I cover the remaining distance to the river and use it to find somewhere safe to rest – away from the storm and the wildfire – then I can finally rest…”
“But until then,” Nameless rumbled in discomfort, the water making the cuts and abrasions he had sting, “It will just have to be one paw after the–”
In an unexpected oppressive flash of white, Nameless’s sight disappeared, a massive crack booming through his surroundings to completely overwhelm his hearing as well. A tingling sensation rose up through his legs, making his muscles twitch and tremble, the water around him rising in temperature as a wave of heat slammed into the side of his face.
Blind and deaf, he could only brace himself as objects suddenly began to pelt his fur, grimacing as he felt things embed into his hide and create further cuts and slashes in his flesh.
He tucked his head under a wing – covering his face from the heat and any further flying debris – and rapidly blinked his eyes, chuffing in enervation, “Seems the World agrees that it is time for me to move as well…”