How simple the world could be.
Hunting, fishing, tanning, carpentry, masonry, smithing, hell, even bee keeping. Why not just find the simplest way of doing things?
"The world would be so much easier." Raina chuckled softly, observing the small chunk of wood in her right hand.
It's been many years since the girl had came to this forest. At first, she was just a simple human on the run. Now she was something else entirely.
Replacing her pale flesh was a soft, thick fur that helped to protect her from the elements. Black gloves melted into a sunset orange coat that spread all over her back towards her head. Black boots that had long replaced those weak human feet were now shaped like a large wolves.
Up the black ran until it melted with the same sunset fur at the middle of her thighs. Her chest melted like cream all the way down to her crotch like a natural v-line, accenting her curves in strange ways.
The small mounds on her chest were instead replaced with natural hills covered in the same cream fur, a black V dipping between her cleavage before escaping over her shoulders in a simple line. Along her back were strange stripes that made a design of some sort, but she had no idea what it actually looked like.
Her head, once that of a little girls, now proudly sported a wolf head with a thin snout. Cream speckled the ink of her maw, while orange claws dragged from her face down to the neck. Yes, she had in fact changed into the monsters she had heard stories about so long ago.
"The fact that I transformed into a Werewolf is honestly no surprise. I mean, have you felt the Mana in this place?" Raina asked aloud, using a claw to pick at the wooden piece in her hand.
With a squint of her eyes, she reached down to grab a small pick from the satchel attached to her waist. Wearing clothes of any kind became a hassle due to her fur. Now, she only wore a simple leather band around her breasts and crotch like underwear. It was easy to move around in, and she could carry her tools easier.
"No, the problem with transforming is how painful it is. Have you ever felt your bones cracking and shifting under your flesh? Imagine that, but all over your body. Your muscles being torn apart and repaired over and over to match your new bones. It's no wonder most lose their mind and become Lost." Raina let out a sigh as she remembered seeing someone lose themselves during a transformation.
It was not like she was the only one that had transformed. She was just the only one to remain sane. Well, somewhat sane. There were moments where she would act like a crazy person, but she had long accepted that.
"After that, how could I return to society? The best ending would be me getting slaughtered and skinned. The worst would be the experiments at the hands of the Mages."
Raina clicked her tongue at the mention. She remembered her time touring the Circles and going through the Blessing. It basically told her what kind of Magic she was proficient in. However, she was swiftly kicked out.
"And then you have the town at the end of the forest. What was it called again? Oh right, Frontier Town. Yeah, a bunch of bad apples there. I get it, Monsters make them a pretty profit, but that doesn't mean throwing your life away just for some coin."
She spoke as she eyed the various Seekers around her. They were all wrapped in a black rope to bind their limbs. As insurance, they were also hanging upside down with their mouths covered. All save for the one that hung down infront of her. As he had a weak Mana Sign, she figured that this man would be safe to talk to.
"I'm pretty sure it was agreed that Seekers would not come to this part of the forest. The Monsters here are to much for normal Anmen to take on." Raina sighed as she shook her head.
"What do you want from us, creature." The man spat with a rugged voice.
He was clearly a seasoned veteran given the scars that marred his face and exposed right arm. His plate chest and leather armor had long since been worn down from the constant battles he faced. Now, they were useless in the face of Raina's spell.
"I just wanna know why you guys came out here." Raina spoke as she held up the small wooden figure she was carving. She was close to getting the mans angry face right, but something was missing. "It's been years since I last saw people. Not since I saved those Holy Knights."
"Ha! You? Save an Anmen? I doubt you hold a candle to them!" The man shouted in disbelief, making Raina's ears fall flat on her head from the sudden loud noise.
"Oi, no need to shout. And I guess it makes sense. Most Werewolves end up as nothing more than feral beasts. Even I wouldn't believe it if you had told me." The Werewolf in question sighed, picking her ear with a pinky. "But if I was one of the Lost, do you think I would be sitting here carving an effigy of you?"
The man opened his mouth to say something, but struggled to find the words to come out. It was true. When his party was descended upon by a Turantusk, he thought they would all die. Instead, this Cursed One came out of nowhere and simply drove the beast off.
Of course, they reacted with hostility like they were trained. This strange creature didn't even put up a fight when the group attacked. The simple steps they took to weave between all of the attacks were still fresh in his mind. All of it was done with a calm smile on this creatures face.
"What do you want from us?" The man calmed down a little, thinking this creature spoke the truth.
"Like I said, I just wanna know why you guys are here." Raina repeated while waving her left hand.
The black ropes carefully laid the party of 7 on their backs. They then disappeared once everyone was safely on the ground. Though their weapons were within reach, they could not find the heart to attack Raina. As defenseless as the creature seemed, their instincts warned them against any moves.
The man looked to his party to check on their condition. Thankfully, everyone was safe. This creature even healed the wound their Virrun had taken from a Cattin the other day. He then closed his eyes to give himself some time to think about their situation.
"We are a veteran party called Iron Clash. As you can see, we are made up of Anmen, Virrun and Cal'Kar. We were requested to chest this area of the forest for anything strange." The man admitted with a defeated tone.
It seemed Raina was lucky in picking the leader to talk to first. First impressions are forever, after all. She then eyed the tall Virrun with their pointed ears and the stocky people that made up the Cal'Kar. It was certainly an odd party, something unheard of when she was an Anmen.
"I'm happy to see society coming to terms with each other. Isn't life so much simpler when you can just accept how things are?" Raina chuckled as she went back to carving the effigy.
The people around her seemed to wince at her joke. Given the hundreds of years the three races were at war with each other, it was difficult to swallow that a Cursed One understood unity better than their ancestors had.
"Speaking of strange happenings, I don't suppose you mean me?" Raina asked nonchalantly as she set the finished effigy down to work on a new one.
As she worked, she felt the eyes of the Virrun practically burning holes into her hands. She knew that they were a race that loved art, but she was not that bad at carving. Was she?
"I admit, your appearance here does count as an oddity. If you wish-"
"Save it. Your precious Guild already know that I am here. If they sent you, then a new leader was appointed." Raina interrupted the man by holding up her left hand. She then went back to carving the effigies of each person surrounding her. "This is what, the 13th one already? How often does the seat change?"
The party looked to each other in both awe and confusion. The changing of the Guild Leader was not yet revealed to the public, so how could this creature know? The oldest Anmen then cleared his throat to raise his hand.
"If I may, do you know the current Emperor's name?"
"You mean that bastard Ilsadi? I was chased into this forest along with the other villagers because we could not pay the extortion." Raina grumbled with a glare to the effigy in her hand as those memories resurfaced.
The group then fell silent to take in this information. How was this possible? Even with all of their advanced spells, no one was immune to nature.
"Miss..."
"Just call me Raina." She spoke up as the leader trailed off.
"Miss Raina. Are you perhaps a child of the Emerald Tree village?"
"Yep. The one that's currently called Frontier Town, right? One of the Seekers I saved a while ago told me about it."
"Raina, that town has long been turned into a city called Hallow's End. It currently stands as the wall between the Hallowed Forest and the rest of Uria." The older man spoke up, his voice shaking as he realized what kind of creature he was speaking to.
"Oh wow, time really has passed. No wonder there are more of you crazy fools around here." Raina chuckled with a shake of her head.
With the last effigy finished, she sighed and leaned back to press her hands on the cool rock below. "How long has it been since Ilsadi passed?"
"The one you remember died a year after your village burned to the ground. He fell to a coup and was executed along with his family." The older man gestured with his hand.
"Rotten bastard deserved it. I hope this new line is at least competent."
"Actually, their line passed during the Savage Wars, the one between races. The era you remember was at least 3,256 years ago." The old Anmen gawked as the number fell from his lips.
The rest of the party flinched at the older man's words. He was a well known historian in his youth, taking up the staff to help support his grandchildren when their parents fell disease. If what this creature remembers is the truth, it was much older and more dangerous than any of them had realized.
"Huh, over 3,000 years, huh?" Raina whispered to the trees.
She then closed her eyes as she took in the news. Sure, she was so far away from her old village that it would take months just to reach her. But she had not expected to be so ignorant of the time. Though, the idea that she had lived that long was somehow thrilling.
"If I may, what is it that you do out here?" The old man asked with a newfound child-like innocence.
"Me? Carving, smithing, masonry, Magic practice, hunting, fishing. Realistically, I do it all. I even started a farm a while ago, though that only ended up making Plant Monsters instead." Raina trailed off in her explanation while counting her fingers.
"Is there a purpose you seek?"
"Purpose?" Raina stopped as she remembered her past. When she struggled just to find meal, or the first time she skinned a monster. All of these memories made her smile with a sigh.
"I don't seek any purpose. I simply live a layman's life and take it step by step." Raina spoke as she stood up.
"A layman?" The old man started, but he was interrupted by the wave of Mana that cascaded from Raina.
"There are 7 of you, so this will take a bit." Raina sighed, closing her eyes to focus on her Mana.
An orange flame erupted from under the effigys that stood before her. As quickly as the flames engulfed the wood, a black veil swept over to cover all of them in a silk-like material.
"Hark, spirits of the wild. I call to you to favor these travelers. Gather the Fog to bring these weary souls back to where they came. May you guide their hands when they are lost, and chase those that threaten to disrupt their travels." As Raina changed, the flame and shadows danced with one another.
Slowly, each effigy absorbed the raging Mana to earn a new coat of color. Each effigy was painted differently, resembling Raina's contrasting pelt.
"There we go. This should help you get home." Raina spoke up with a sigh of relief.
She checked each effigy to see if the spell worked properly. It had been a long while since she had casted such refined Magic, so she was worried about the effects.
"What kind of spell was that?" The old man gawked as he slowly stood up.
"Just a simple travel spell. Teleporting you all would be to tiring, so these should help you get back." The Werewolf answered as she tossed each person an effigy that resembled them.
"Oh, before I forget." Raina chuckled softly as she opened her maw.
Her claws gripped at her fang as she closed her eyes. This was always the painful part. After a few quick breaths, she used her strength to pull her fang from her maw with a yelp. The people around her jumped from her shout, to absorbed in the fine craftsmanship she had displayed.
"Are you alright?" The leader asked, taking a step in case he needed to help Raina.
"It's fine, it's fine. It will grow back." Raina groaned as she tossed the leader her tooth.
The man observed the tooth that laid in his palm. He found that she tore it roots and all, the blood still leaking from the end. What was scary was that the fang was as long as his middle finger and just as thick. He then looked back up to the teary eyed Raina who was casting a healing spell on herself.
He recognized the kind of fool he had been. Perhaps not all of the Cursed Ones are feral. Maybe there are others like her out there.
"Before you start getting all soft on me, no. There are no others like me." Raina waved her hand at the leader of the party, shocking him.
"Can you read minds?"
"No, just faces. I'll warn you now, that other Werewolves out there are not the same. Just a bit ago, I was forced to wipe out a colony."
"Wait, you wiped out a colony of Cursed Ones?" One of the Virrun finally spoke up. "That's impossible, they rarely travel together. How could they make a colony?"
"Though they are feral, they have intelligence like you and I. I call them the Lost." Raina spoke up as she pulled a small leather belt from her satchel. After sitting down, she gestured for everyone to come closer to her.
"As you can see, my eyes are a clear purple. There is no haze or Mana making them glow yellow. That is not the same for the Lost." Raina spoke as she pointed to a picture of a Werewolf she had drawn.
"The haze means they are mindless animals. At that point, you just run as quickly from them as you can. If they are glowing yellow, then they have regained some semblance of intelligence."
"What do you do if you see one?" The leader asked as he took in this new information.
"Nothing. There is almost nothing you can do. Not only are they much stronger, but they can lead dozens of Werewolves like a pack. If you can see this one, then you are most likely surrounded." Raina sighed softly as she closed her book. She then offered it to the leader with a warm smile. "Give this to the new Guild Leader along with my fang. They will know what to do with it."
"What if they don't?" The leader asked while Raina stood up from her spot.
"Then they are a fool, and only wish for the destruction of their nation." The Werewolf replied nonchalantly with a wave of her hand. "Alright, I have a nap to catch up on. Safe travels."
"Wait!" The leader reached out to try and grab Raina's arm, only to grab the empty air.
The group gawked as Raina was engulfed in a deep black shadow. It only appeared for a moment, but it took the Werewolf into the depths and disappeared.
"Mark?" One of the Virrun called to the leader a while later. "What do we do with this?"
"I fear Raina is telling the truth. She already knows the Guildmaster is changing, after all. It doesn't make sense for her to lie to us." Mark sighed as he rubbed his forehead.
"I must ask that we go back to hear more about this from the council. She said this was the 13th time a party came to these woods. Do you recall how many Guildmasters have appeared since the Founding?" The old man asked with a stern tone. After picking up his staff, he continued. "There have been 15 Guildmasters, with Undine being the 16th."
"You suspect they know about Raina?" One of the stout Cal'Kar spoke up with a glare. "Why wouldn't they just tell us?"
"We will have to ask when we get back, Ramun." Mark clicked his tongue.
He knew what Ramun wanted to say. But it was to soon to speculate anything just yet. Once they returned to the city, things were going to get noisy.
"Let's go. I'm curious about what kind of excuse they will give us."
The party followed Mark out of the clearing. It took a while, but they found that the effigy each person held only pointed in one direction. It was not until they had checked their maps that Raina had indeed given them a way home.