(*Sighs* It's been many of moons since I've worked on this saga. (And no, I didn't mean that as an ironic joke.) I do plan to do my…well…five stories now along with the 'revised' Season 8 of Game of Thrones with a couple of other stories sometime in the future. Regardless, I wanted to get back to my main series. This chapter is inspired by a certain Elder Scrolls Online quest, though I fear they did it poorly. Not saying mine will be superior, I just thought they would've learned from previous errors. Sorry for the long wait.)
Gemm1mt: Thanks.
Death Fury: Thanks.
Chapter 27: The Spirit Quest
(Unknown location, moments later)
Drew slowly regained consciousness, but he found himself on grass. He looked around him to see he was in a forest. It felt ancient, prehistoric ancient. The trees towered high above him and the sky above was illuminated by a full moon and stars. When he started to get up, he found himself in wolf form. He soon realized he couldn't shift into any other form.
"For the quest, you must prove your will as a wolf," a familiar voice said.
Drew looked around him, but he didn't see the Great Spirit.
"What do you mean?" Drew asked.
"For millennia, my children have performed the Rite of the Hunt. In the spirit world, every lycanthrope tests themselves as a wolf and as part of the pack. You are in a forest of the ancient world, where you shall track, stalk, and kill the prey of your kin," the Great Spirit answered.
Drew took in the area around him. The forest was alive, he could hear and smell it. The trees looked ancient as she had said, that they had been standing there for centuries. He could feel the ground beneath his paws and the scents.
"So…uh…how does this start?" Drew asked.
"*Chuckles* You'll know it. Find and stalk your prey. And when you're ready, the others await your call for the hunt to begin," the Great Spirit answered.
"*Sighs* Ok," Drew said.
"Trust your instincts," the Great Spirit said as her voice seemed to fade away into a whisper.
Drew waited to hear if she had anything else to say, any other words of wisdom to help guide him. But he didn't. He sighed and looked around.
'Ok, so…I haven't done this for a little bit…not since before the fight with Ares…but something's…different about this,' Drew thought.
He looked around, trying to find anything.
'Something should be around here somewhere…but I'm not seeing anything,' Drew grumbled in his mind.
He grumbled in frustration. His lips peeled back, and the growl came out unexpectedly, but naturally. He heard leaves rustling close by. He turned his head in the direction of the sound. He slowly edged towards it until a mouse popped out of the bushes and raced off.
"Sorry, little guy," Drew said.
But the words came out as a grunt. Drew stopped for a moment.
'I…can't talk…not with human words…Whoa,' Drew thought.
He was taken aback at this, unsure of what to think. But before he could delve into it, his ears twitched, and nose itched. He caught the scent of something and heard grunting from several yards away.
'Hmm,' Drew mused in his mind.
He trotted on the way where he heard the sound. As he got closer, the scent got stronger. He put his nose to the ground and started sniffing without even thinking twice.
'What's this?' He thought.
He continued to follow the scent, his nose leading him through the forest. Drew didn't think or register the time it took, his focus was on finding the origin of the scent. He continued to track the scent through the woods until he came to an area where the trees had a little more distance between them than where he started the search. Not long after the scent became stronger and he heard grunting. He slowly moved into the brush and he caught view of something or several somethings. Amongst the trees and bushes were several animals.
'Truly, an ancient forest," Drew mused in his mind.
A herd of Steppe Bison grazed before him. The beasts were easily as large as the bison of North America with a larger set of horns that stood tall on their huge heads.
'I've found you,' Drew thought.
He slowly walked around the herd, observing them. His eyes, ears, and nose targeted on studying the animals. Some were older, others younger, some larger, others smaller. Some calves and some old beasts. This went on for Drew didn't know how long. But he patiently and carefully studied the herd. He circled the herd through the brush, slowly and carefully stalking the herd.
'Which one? Which one?' Drew repeated in his mind.
His ears twitched as he heard a grunting a bit different than the others. His head turned to see a bull partially limping on one leg. The beast was one of the largest in the herd and one of the oldest. Its horns were torn and blunt. There are several scars on its face and sides. A beast that had seen many battles. Drew had decided. He lifted his head towards the sky and howled. The bison grunted as they lifted their heads up. They stopped eating and looked around, sniffing the air. Their movements seemed erratic. Drew felt as if the wind rushed from behind then came to a stop beside him. He felt that he didn't need to look and lunged out of the brush. He snarled and the bison stood their ground for a few moments but turned and fled. Drew raced after them. His eyes couldn't see the injured bull he chose, but his nose and ears had him. He growled as he raced just behind the herd. Despite this, he couldn't help but look around him. The other wolves ran alongside him, their focus on their herd. There was this feeling, he wasn't sure what it was but if filled with him an energy he wasn't sure he had felt before except for one time. But still, he turned back to the bison.
'Let's do this,' Drew thought to himself.
Drew growled as he moved forward, trying to separate the injured animal from its herd. He snapped at the bison around him. The other wolves followed just behind the herd, trying to test them and see if they separate. The bison rush around and next to one another. Drew loses sight of the injured animal but has a lock on its breathing. Some of the wolves rush closer, growling and snapping. The bison panic as they try to stick together, but the wolves surge forward almost amongst the bison. The animals panic as start splitting up in the trees. Drew gains his sight on the injured animal and charges forward. Drew snarls as he finally locks his jaws on the hind quarters of the bison. The hind quarters had thick muscles and tough hide that made the bison a formidable prey animal. But if this had been enough to stop a predator, wolves wouldn't hunt bison. The sharp front fangs and the strong back teeth and bone crushing jaws of a wolf tear into the bison. The bison bellowed in pain from its older injury and the wounding Drew is giving it. He soon saw the others rush forward.
'Bring him down!' Drew called out in his mind, but eyes on the other wolves.
They saw this and rush into the melee. They snarled as they locked their jaws onto the rear and side of the bison. The taste and smell of blood almost overwhelmed Drew, but he kept his lock on his prey. But the bison stopped and started to try kicking. The wolves pulled away from the bison and started surrounding the animal. Drew stood face to face with the animal, staring right into the eyes of his prey. The bison stared back. There was something in the eyes of the beast: fear and resolve. The animal was afraid, but ready to fight to survive…or go down fighting. Drew stopped growling but stood his ground.
'To the end,' Drew mused in his mind in understanding.
The wolves snarled as they surged forward. The bison bellowed in pain and fury as it tried to swing its body in defense. The wolves dodged and leapt away. Some came up from behind and snapped their jaws onto the beast's back legs. The bison bellowed in pain as the fangs just narrowly avoiding the bone. They pulled back as the bison kicked. Some of the other wolves leapt onto the sides of the bison, biting onto the back and space between the front and hind legs. Drew stood before the bison, keeping an eye lock with. He had been leaping and snapping at the bison, keeping its focus on him. Yes, the beast swung and bucked yet its pain and divided focus kept it at a disadvantage against the wolves. The beast eventually dropped to the ground, panting and groaning in pain. Its legs were bleeding profusely and nearly broken from the bites. Yet the beast managed to get on its hooves though it barely could stand. The wolves stood calmly, yet ready to pounce.
'To the end then,' Drew thought to himself, eyes on the bison.
The bison bellowed as it tried to rush forward as best it could. Drew lunged forward and latches his jaws onto the beast's throat. The bison spluttered a groan as Drew pulled him to the ground. His fangs crushed the beast's throat quickly, bringing the battle to an end. Drew pulled back his jaws. The other wolves approached, and they grunted. Somehow, Drew understood what they said.
"Run free," they had said in unison.
"Run free," Drew repeated.
The wolves raised their heads and howled to the moon above and Drew followed. After their howls ended, the Great Spirit appeared before them.
"Well done, my son. You have hunted and brought down a feast for the pack and shown respect for the sacrifice of your prey. To succeed in this quest, you needed to act on your instincts and let your wild nature free to guide you and to work alongside your kin for what is needed to survive and thrive," she said.
Drew bowed his head in respect and understanding.
"Soon, you shall return back to the physical world. But for now, celebrate and feast with your pack. You have earned it," the Great Spirit said.
The wolves howled and Drew looked from them back to the Great Spirit who slowly disappeared, as if wind was pushing away a mist. Drew watched as the wolves went to the bison and Drew moved to join them and feast in celebration of succeeding in the spirit quest and joining the first pack.
To be continued…
(Again, so sorry it took this long. RIP to Chadwick Boseman, who had the heart/spirit of a panther, and RBG, champion of women's rights. I will try to start on my rework to Season 8 of Game of Thrones soon, I hope. I know I have a lot of stories on the works right now and I know it's a mess, sorry. I am trying to work it out, I hope it all turns out ok.)