Owain stopped outside the chicken hutch for a while to watch as the dawn began to colour the sky to the east. It was still too early for it to peek over the horizon yet but he found these quiet moments in early autumn to be some of his favourite times of the year. The air even somehow smelled of change to him, flowing from one season to another. He watched the colours begin to shift to hues of pink and blue and smiled to himself. Another day in paradise.
“Alright you greedy chooks, stop squawking at me! Here’s your grub!” He swung open the door to the hutch and walked in. The birds mobbed around his feet as usual while he poured out their day's feed into the hopper. After gathering up the eggs, an even dozen this morning which meant Meredith had started laying again, he checked their water and saw it was good for now. He’d probably need to top it off this evening though so he turned to head back into the house.
“You behave birds, ok? No pecking at each other!” he called as he headed back. He went over to the barn and got some feed, or more accurately a bribe to make them follow him, for the goats. He went into the barn and breathed in the earthy, animal scented air.
“Hello Ginny! Lovely morning isn’t it?” The horse moved over in her stall and received her customary nose rubs with a quiet whicker. He loved these little slices of peace he got to enjoy alone while everyone else was still asleep. It was his favourite time of day to paint as well. No distractions. Once he had walked down the paddock, rattling his bag of feed to keep the half dozen goats following him eagerly as he went, he opened the gate and went in, closing it once the animals were inside. Then he fed each goat a handful of grain before tipping it out into a pile which they immediately began squabbling over.
He headed back into the kitchen and got the kettle on. He prepared his morning coffee and opened the fridge to get the milk. Lindy had made tonight's dinner for him and the kids. He fished it out and peeled back the tin foil. Shepherds pie, very nice. His wife was heading south later today, to attend a craft fair for her jewellery business so he would be flying solo with the three kids. Not that this worried him, they were very self-sufficient, especially Claire. She’d no doubt be more than happy to help out with meal prep, she was trying to learn to cook properly, beyond the ever popular cheese on toast.
Sam, his eldest son, needed to be dropped off at his friend’s house in town this afternoon so it was really only going to be Owain, Claire and Pete, he and Lindy’s youngest son, in the house this weekend.
He had a courier coming this morning to collect Dusk over the Menai Straits, his latest painting for delivery to a gallery in Caernarfon where hopefully it would sell. Maybe Lindy was right and he should do something other than landscapes… They might sell better. He took his coffee and went to sit on the deck in the morning sunlight. He sipped carefully, waiting for it to cool so he could gulp it down.
Lindy would be busy this morning packing up and worrying over the kids so he figured he would leave her in bed a while longer. They had had one of their closest approximations to an argument last night. She was worrying about Sam, he was sixteen now and just going into that delicate process of becoming an adult, although Sam thought he already was one. She had grabbed Owain’s ears, waggled his head back and forth and told him he needed to be more ambitious to set an example for Sam.
“I’m a bad example am I? He’s only sixteen, love. He has plenty of time yet to figure it all out.” He had replied with a smile.
As Owain sipped his still too hot coffee he decided this afternoon would be a good day to go to the beach with the kids. He’d drop Sam off at Andy’s house then take Claire and Pete for a walk by the waves. Suddenly his vision was filled with golden writing hanging in the air.
System initialising...
“People of Earth, your planet has been scheduled for assimilation by the Void Imperium in the near future. The Illuminated Alliance has chosen to intervene and provide you a fighting chance. We are not able to intervene directly at this time and wouldn't even if we could. You must earn your place in the world to come. However we will help you help yourselves but this will not be easy on you, without struggle, without sacrifice nothing worthwhile can be achieved.
The time is now 06:00 local time. Your movements will be restricted initially, your dwelling is now encapsulated in an impregnable barrier and you cannot leave your starting area until the end of the recruitment process. All citizen soldiers of sufficient age will receive one Essence as a gift and have an ability unlocked. Learn to use your new powers swiftly and learn to use them well. They are all that stands between you and oblivion now.
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The recruitment process will involve a winnowing of your species. We will release three attacks on each settlement, chosen by lottery, and your task is to adopt, adapt and survive. Those of you who emerge from the crucible will be reforged and ready to remake your world into a valuable member of the alliance.
The first wave will begin at 09:00. At 08:45 the details of the wave will be announced.
Good luck.
The Light shines
Owain looked sceptically at his coffee. Had Lindy been gathering magic mushrooms again and secretly dosed his drink? She did enjoy pranking him sometimes but leaving him to look after the kids high as a kite was not in her repertoire, so he ruled it out. He waved his hands at the writing glowing in front of him trying to dismiss it. He needed to find out if anyone else was seeing the same thing. Lindy’s lie in had just been put on the back burner. He hurried into the kitchen.
You have received one Essence and automatically advanced to level 1. Say or think status to review your information
“Argh it’s back! Shoo!” he waved his hands in front of him but the writing wouldn’t go away. “Fine! Status! Oh!”
Level: 1
Name: Owain Jones
Ability: Weretiger (permanent)
Constitution: 100%
Reserves: 100
Ability: Weretiger
Weretiger:
Such a gentle soul. But within all gentle creatures lies the heart of a beast, it just takes the right encouragement to draw it out. You are now a weretiger, a ravenous monster from Earth legends. You will be permanently transformed by this ability. Feeding will make you stronger.
Guidelines:
Physical Enhancement: 100%
Bloodlust: Spend reserves to enhance your rage, making you more effective in combat and speeding up healing.
Modifications: None.
Owain collapsed to the floor and began to writhe. There was no pain at first but his body was changing and growing and he couldn’t control his limbs. Orange and black fur sprang up across the skin he could see and he stretched out as he grew taller and heavier. Then the pain came and he howled as his clothes bit into his expanding form. They split in places but in others they held on so he slashed frantically at them with claws that sprouted from his changed fingertips, shredding the clothes so his body could complete its transformation.
***
Lindy opened her eyes and saw fairly similar glowing writing as her husband had but with a different ability and with one very glaring addition.
Due to being with child you are exempt from significant physiological changes.
“No way, I am not pregnant! What profound physiological changes are we even talking about? What the hell is a stone shaper and why am I one? Owain!” she called out the last word as she struggled out of bed and put on her dressing gown. She heard a horrific scream, it sounded like Owain but wrong somehow. Too deep. Acting on instinct and fuelled by a sudden fear she lunged across the room and flung open the bedside table to scrabble for the keys to the gun locker in the wardrobe.
The key refused to go in. It took three tries before her shaking hands managed to open the locker and she pulled out the shotgun and a box of shells, sticking a handful into her pocket and one in each barrel. The gun snapped closed with a satisfying click that reassured her more than anything before in her life. She hurried back to the top of the stairs and aimed the barrel just as some kind of monster appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Her heartbeat sped up until it thundered in her ears, making any other noise sound tiny and distant. Panic attack, I’m having a panic attack. It’s been years since the last one, the tiny rational part of herself thought but it was drowned out in waves of emotion.
“What’s going on mum?” a girl's voice came from behind her. “What’s with this writing? Why do you have the gun out?” The last question was almost a shout and came through over the noise of Lindy's heartbeat.
“Get back in your room and stay there Claire! All of you! Something is downstairs!” Lindy shrieked. “Stay away or I’ll shoot!” She fired one barrel into the ceiling above the things head, showering it with plaster then lowered the barrel. The next shot would not be a warning. She was utterly terrified and all the bad old days, from before she met Owain, when she had been young and she couldn't always trust her own mind, came flooding back, riding the waves of the powerful emotions that coursed through her.
“Lindy what the hell are you doing? It’s me!” The monster said in something like Owain's voice as it raised its hands and backed away.
The voice was wrong. It sounded like him but it had changed, it wasn’t his real voice. The edges of her vision faded to black and her eyes narrowed down the sights of the gun. For a moment she hesitated but then she fired. That was not her gentle, artistic husband. This thing had killed him or taken him over or something! The buckshot caught the beast in the chest and it reeled backwards backwards into the kitchen, clutching at the wounds.
“Jesus Christ Lindy!” It cried out in pain. It quickly scrambled to its feet as she was reloading, as the barrels clicked back into place and she took aim again the thing turned and fled out the door leaving a thin trail of blood. Lindy collapsed and tried to take deep breaths to slow her racing heart and let her get control of herself again. She needed to be in control, she needed to protect the children.