Bull's Vision: The Gift of Life - chrisman/skookums-and-dragons GitHub Wiki

Falling into the rhythm of the Second Kata of the Axe Dance, Bull feels that old familiar pull reaching out for him.

Thrym.

Slowing his breath and closing his eyes, he lets the movement take over and falls into the deep trance-like connection with his god. His consciousness is ripped from his body, the axes moving in broad, graceful strokes around the massive minotaur as his spirit drifts away from his form.

He finds himself standing in a field - no, a battle field judging by the scattered bodies and thick, relentless smoke. His chain mail is rent - more of a cloak than a carpace now. His shield has been reduced to splintered bits of metal strapped loosely to his arm. Blood and a thick, black fluid cover his torso and the blade of his axe.

He slashes through the straps of his shield and shrugs out of his ruined armor. There is a low, rumbling thunder as a warm, slow rain begins to fall. The minotaur tilts his head back, hoping to wash some of the blood, sweat, and whatever that thick oily liquid is out of his face and matted fur. He opens his mouth and begins to cough and choke, the taste of rust and salt overwhelming him.

Blood.

Bull runs a shaking hand through his mane, cracks his neck with a sharp tilt of his head, and reaches out for his totem. But he can't feel it's presence nearby. He reaches further. Nothing. Ever since he earned his first rune, long before he had earned his father's and grandfather's iron rings, his totem has been within reach.

Pain.

Shouting and clashing steel nearby draw his attention. He sets off towards the noise, hoping to find his friends.

There's some movement ahead as small, shadowy figure springs from the smoke slashing wildly with a dark, jagged blade. He falls automatically into the First Kata, stooping his massive frame low and spinning with a rising swing of his axe. The blow catches the creature in its stomach, splitting it in two. More of the viscous oil pours out of the creature, covering him.

A scream pierces through the shouting and fighting. Bull charges through the smoke towards it.

Just as he breaks through the cloud of darkness into a relatively clear patch, he sees several of the creatures surrounding one of his friends, all slashing and stabbing in a frenzy. More of the creatures are pouring out of the smoke nearby, clamoring and climbing over each other to swarm around their prey. The screams are muffled beneath the mass. Suddenly the screams stop.

Loss.

The creatures melt and meld together into one larger form, slightly larger than Bull, which begins to move slowly towards the stunned minotaur. It drags a massive blade, dripping with the thick, inky substance the creatures seem to bleed.

Bull reaches up towards the sky, feeling for Thrym's presence in the thunder. The familiar energy surges through his arm like an electric shock and he rips at the thread connecting him to the storm, clenching his fist and roaring at the creature.

A bolt of lightning, much more violent than his usual strikes, flashes down into the shambling creature. In a blinding flash the creature dissipates into a mist of oil, a small stone of some sort falls to the ground where it once stood, crackling with electicity.

Bull approaches the stone, recoiling slightly as electricity arcs between it and his fingers. A diamond, but humming with a deep, powerful energy yearning to be free.

Looking between the diamond and the corpse of his friend, Bull channels all of his piety into that little gem and uses all of his strength to crush it into a fine, glassy dust. Blood and bits of diamond drip from his fist as another bolt of lightning strikes down from the now raging storm above, plunging deep into his ally's chest. The cold body coughs and sputters to life, smoke pouring from its mouth and electricity crackling across it's flesh.

Life?

He hears a deep, dark laughter booming in his head, pounding into his heart. The shards of diamond turn into hot coals in his hand, but he cannot unclench his fist. Just as the pain becomes unbearable, the searing stops. Only a small pile of ash remains as he opens his hand. The laugh intensifies as another bolt of lightning collides with his axe and the blade shatters into a brilliant spray of metal. With no totem and no axe, what is he?

Behind the laughter there is an emotional wailing, roar. The voice behind it reminds him of one he hasn't heard since he was barely more than a calf - before his father fell in battle. Before he began walking the Path of the Storm.

His eyes shoot open and Bull finds himself sitting quietly near their camp, meditating with his axe across his lap. He must have finished the Second Kata while communing with Thrym and sat down to wait for his spirit's return.

He is filled with two certainties:

First, he must find a diamond that he can channel the power of life into in order to protect his friends.

Second, he must never allow anyone to use such magic on him or he will never be join his ancestors in the Permafrost.