Berserker (Wolgroth) & Tactician (Shinook) SCQ
by AN1k3T0S & Renya06
Prompts:
PITFIGHTER to BERSERKER
A force of fury, once they enter that battle fever only the release of unconsciousness or the dropping of their opponent will release them from it. Savagery from the most savage side of society breeds the most desperate and fierce wills.
--Draw or write your Reosean being overcome with the fury within themselves.
SCOUT to TACTICIAN
Masters of strategy, they are often seen advising Warlords and sometimes leading small bands on missions as well. Battles are won or lost on the ability of the Tactician, and their understanding of the flow of battle often leads them to victory.
--Draw or write your Reosean planning their next move. Do they make an unintelligible mess on paper, or right in the head of battle, guiding others that look to them for guidance?
Featuring:
www.deviantart.com (Berserker)
www.deviantart.com
www.deviantart.com (Tactician)
www.deviantart.com
The snow was blasting down across the empty Roenden plains, it was impossible to see anything that might be waiting up ahead. This blizzard had been ravaging the frigid landscape for the past three days and the snow was easily neck deep for Elliot as he struggled to make progress. Wolgroth did the best she could to shield the tiny runner from the icy torrent but no matter how much she plowed the trench she made seemed to fill in almost instantly. She could hear her companion huffing and puffing desperately beneath her as they slowly inched forward. “We’re almost there, hang in there!” she yelled over the howling wind. The second Wolgroth opened her mouth, her maw was flooded with snow almost choking her. As she gagged on the frigid intrusion, she could just barely hear a deep moan in response from below. She glanced down to make sure Elliot was still moving and found him partially buried, his eyes were starting to glaze over as his sides heaved. “NO. Come on, keep moving! You have to keep moving!” She practically screamed in his ear as she reached down to yank the vayron back onto his feet by his scruff.
Elliot wobbled unsteadily on the shifting snow after Wolgroth let go of him. Without a response he continued to launch himself forward against the drift. Normally they would never have even dreamed of venturing out into a storm like this but unfortunately for them their pursuers were bold enough to continue tracking them. As Elliot struggled to make progress, Wolgroth glanced back into the raging white out behind them. She couldn’t see anything but she knew the poachers were likely not far behind. They couldn’t afford to stop but at this rate they would both succumb to the weather. Upon turning her attention back to the raging void ahead the blasting white winds parted for a split second. Far ahead a large dark structure could just barely be seen peeking out against the endless white. When Wolgroth realized they were finally almost at the village they were heading for she turned her head back down to tell Elliot but froze when she saw the pale runner was still against the snow. “Elliot?!” she called out, gently turning him over with one of her ice entrusted talons. The white vayron was unconscious and didn’t respond, large chunks of snow were stuck to his fur turning his usually lithe legs into blobby limp masses.
Wolgroth swore loudly as she snatched the runner up and out of his frigid prison. While doing her best to knock the excess snow off of him she started sprinting across the snow. She held the limply dangling vayron in her mouth and launched herself in a bounding motion. It didn’t take her long to reach the structure she had seen and thankfully the structure was the outer wall of a large city. Without slowing down the massive tyrian launched herself up and over the mostly buried wall. When she made it over she found that the city within was just barely better off than the plains surrounding them. She rapidly scanned the barely visible buildings while partially perched across the battlements. Across the city she could just barely see what appeared to be a port district, large merchant ships were faint blurs behind the whipping snow but more importantly not far from the large vessels were multiple large warehouses. With her destination in sight Wolgroth launched herself from the wall and landed partially on the roof of a nearby building. She was way too big for the tiny homes or inns that comprised the city, the only possible chance she had of finding shelter for both of them would be those warehouses. She did her best to scramble across the slick rooftops but still managed to send roof tiles flying as she went.
After leaving an exceptionally distinct trail of destruction in her wake, she finally managed to reach the port district and was relieved to see that the buildings she had seen were indeed warehouses. She sprinted up to the largest one and yanked on the large sliding door. It barely budged before her trembling talons slipped from its edge. With a grunt of frustration she readjusted her grip and slowly dragged the door open enough for her to squeeze inside. As the door slowly opened she could hear startled cries from inside the warehouse. ‘Like it or not I’m coming in.’ She thought to herself as she wiggled her massive frame in through the opening she had made. When she was fully inside she forced the door shut once more. Once the door was firmly shut again she turned to examine her surroundings. The inside of the warehouse was almost blazingly warm compared to the arctic conditions she had just slogged through. The interior was well illuminated by crystal lanterns and was quite spacious. One corner of the warehouse had large palettes of boxes stacked neatly while the rest of the space was bare. Dotted across the space were small clusters of humans, vayrons and even tyrians. All of them were staring up the massive black tyrian in terror and uncertainty, she easily towered over all of them by a wide margin.
All eyes were fixed on the massive black tyrian that had suddenly barged into their shelter, their eyes darting in terror between the limp white vayron dangling lifelessly from the beasts massive maw and the crimson eyes scanning them with hostility. Wolgroth quickly judged that none of the reoseans or humans present were members of the poacher organization and carefully set Elliot down on the slightly muddy floor. “Help him!” She angrily commanded the frozen citizens. At the sound of her booming voice a few of the citizens tentatively ran over to the unconscious vayron. They quickly figured out that he was suffering from hypothermia, exhaustion, and that his mana was completely drained. While glancing up at the black tyrian that was glowering down at them they rapidly moved Elliot closer to one of the large red crystals positioned around the warehouse. One of the vayrons among the citizens took charge and guided the group as they quickly began removing the last of the ice that was caked to the white vayron and began toweling him dry. As they worked Wolgroth kept a close eye on them while also starting the process of removing the excess ice from her limbs and tail.
As an escort, Shinook had made a name for herself with her ability to help people across the ice field surrounding the Capital, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t occasionally take the odd job away from home.
This time, she had to accompany someone from the Capital to the nearest harbor, some rich Thedale merchant that needed help navigating the frozen tundra of her homeland. It wasn’t a path she’d expected trouble on, but Lumiska had insisted on coming along regardless, claiming they could use this as an opportunity to indulge themselves with a private getaway in the port-city. Shinook had readily agreed; it was rare for them to take any sort of vacation, and the seaside air would be a welcome distraction.
They’d travelled without a hitch to their destination, and she’d seen her client off to the sun’s dimming rays reflecting like ambers on the water’s surface. Before long, even her eternally grumpy mate had unwound long enough for the two of them to enjoy a lovely evening together. They eventually went to sleep, gently swaddled by the waves’ ceaseless melody.
---
It certainly wasn’t as pleasant when next they woke.
Last night’s soothing lullaby had turned into a raging cacophony. Loud shouts from the harbor could barely be heard over the crashing of the sea against shore and ships alike. Thinking of cutting short their little escapade, the pair headed out just as snow started to join the darkening weather. Between a breath and the next, it had begun to fall so thick they could barely make out the buildings which had stood in front of them moments ago. With the wind and the damp seaside atmosphere carpeting everything and everyone with ice and snow, it wasn’t long before they had no choice but to seek shelter until the worst of the storm had passed.
Their long fur allowed them to better withstand the cold, but it did very little to protect them from the lumpy and heavy snow that stuck to their paws and legs like glue. The clumps very quickly weighted them down and made walking around a pain to be avoided.
Fortunately, nearby warehouses were opening their doors to the poor souls unfortunate enough to have wandered out and so they followed the throng towards the promise of safety and warmth. Once all had gotten under the cover of the fish-smelling building and they couldn’t see or hear anyone else making their way inside, they closed the massive sliding doors. Somehow, the weather outside seemed to be getting worse as they huddled near the heating crystals to melt the frozen clusters of snow from their fur.
The crowd of unexpected refugees settled in for the long wait, split in small groups of hushed conversations, as if talking too loudly would anger the storm further. Hours passed slowly, with the wind and hail beating a relentless tempo on the warehouse’s metal frame, when something else suddenly started banging on them.
Reoseans and humes startled at the unexpected sound, and looked at each other worryingly, unsure of the noise’s origin. When a claw could be seen in the door’s interstice, it became clear someone was trying to come in.
Someone big.
And they weren’t alone.
Once the massive tyr and her unconscious companion had made their way inside, the black-winged giant barking harshly at them for help, people seemed to get over their shock and quickly sprung into action.
Shinook made her way closer to the center of the commotion, even against her mate’s whispers to stay out of this. She would never turn away if she could help. He knew that, of course, but nothing would ever stop him from trying to keep her out of potential harm.
Even as they tended to the downed vayron, she could see how they kept a wary eye on the equally wary tyr, and the standstill was slowing a very time-sensitive process.
This was ridiculous.
“Alright everyone!”, said Shinook in a friendly tone, “Could some of you see about finding if there are any cloths lying around? We don’t want to shock his system by heating him too fast, but we need to get rid of all that snow and get him dry as soon as possible.”
Apparently glad to have an excuse to be out from under the strange tyr’s glower, many went about, scavenging what they could while some braver folks got to work on gently untangling the snow from where is stuck on the poor vay’s coat.
When the ones who’d gone scouring came back with many cloth tarps used to cover merchandise, she instructed them on the best way to warm and dry without risk of causing harm. Luckily, at some point during the process, their white-furred newcomer had begun shivering again.
Progress.
Meanwhile, she and Lumiska slowly lowered themselves near him, careful of how much heat he could handle. This wasn’t their first time having to deal with this level of hypothermia; they knew exactly what they were doing.
Dazed, she suddenly remembered the other visitor to their haven, “Ma’am?” she called out, unafraid, “You should probably come closer too, all that ice can’t be good for you.”
Wolgroth blinked in surprise at the confident vayron, she eyed her suspiciously before grunting in acknowledgement and carefully navigating around the cramped interior of the warehouse. For the humans and vayrons this warehouse was massive and spacious but for her it was quite cramped. Before long Elliot began to shiver again as the group steadily warmed him up. A few brave souls nervously approached the black tyrian and offered to assist her in removing the extra ice from her thick fur. She curtly agreed and before long both Wolgroth and Elliot were free from the heavy ice. Elliot had stopped shivering and was finally sleeping peacefully. After double checking his condition she sighed with relief.
As Wolgroth started to settle down beside him the vayron who had led the others in helping Elliot approached her. She eyed her suspiciously once more but realized she was being too hostile. With a deep sigh Wolgroth shook her head, trying to forcefully dislodge the feeling of paranoia that was aching in the back of her mind. Meekly she said, “Thank you… for helping us.” she awkwardly looked away as the silver vayron blinked before smiling in a friendly manner. “Don’t worry about it. I couldn’t exactly ignore such a dramatic entrance.” Wolgroth blushed in embarrassment before retorting, “You try sneakily opening a door that size in a blizzard…” The silver vayron chuckled to herself as her charcoal mate cautiously approached. “My name is Shinook and this,” she paused slightly to gesture to the dark male, “Is my mate, Lumiska. And you are?” Wolgroth greeted the gray vayron respectfully as she could tell he was wary of her. She couldn’t blame him, after all she felt just as protective of Elliot. “I am Wolgroth, and this is Elliot…” she paused, considering what she should say. “Thank you for helping him.” Shinook smiled softly at the black tyrian, mildly surprised at the genuine thanks she had just received but she graciously shook her head. “There is no need to thank me, I merely did what should have been done.”
Wolgroth conversed lightly with Shinook and Lumiska around the steadily pulsing warmth of the space heating crystal. It turned out these two had been traveling between the cities when the blizzard had rolled into town, effectively stranding them in this warehouse as well. The black tyrian stared down at Elliot as he peacefully slept beside her, she hesitated to explain their circumstances to strangers. After all, how would a stranger react to suddenly finding out a band of poachers could randomly show up now that these two had stopped in the warehouse. She frowned briefly letting her conflicted emotions show on her face before she squeezed her eyes shut and forcefully put on a different expression. “We were merely traveling on our way to Warrenfall when we got blindsided by the storm.” Lumiska raised a skeptical eyebrow at the tyrians' obvious lie, this town was nowhere near Warrenfall and there wasn’t anything around here that anyone would have a reason to travel to see either. Shinook also caught her lie but decided not to confront the tyrian on it.
The three of them spoke about various non-invasive topics for a short while before the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to them. The two vayrons politely excused themselves before moving a short way away to find a more comfortable spot to sleep. Left alone, Wolgroth snuggled up to Elliot, silently gleeful that she could sleep so close to the white runner without feeling awkward. His fur was no longer damp and he smelled like mud but Wolgroth didn’t mind. Just being able to sleep beside him filled her heart with joy. The black tyrian let her eyes close and as a blissful wave of sleep washed over her she hoped she would be able to enjoy this feeling for as long as possible.
…But of course it wasn’t meant to last. All of the humans and reoseans had gone to sleep, exhausted from the many trials that they had faced from the blizzard and none of them expected any trouble. There were no guards posted and there was no one to catch what was about to happen. A sudden deafening noise exploded near the front door of the warehouse shocking everyone inside awake. As soon as the first detonation had occurred six more rapidly followed from both sides of the room. Three explosions from the front door and three from the back. The horrendously loud sounds were accompanied by blindingly bright flashes and the assailants finished their discombobulation effort by tossing in pods that released a large amount of smoke. The once peaceful inhabitants of the warehouse were suddenly thrown into chaos, humans and reoseans screamed as they panicked at the sudden onslaught. Wolgroth jolted to her feet immediately taking on a defensive stance over Elliot who had also been awoken by the chaos around them. As the white runner groggily staggered to his feet he could see nothing but shadows darting through the thick haze of smoke as Wolgroth protectively huddled above him.
Across the warehouse Shinook and Lumiska were not faring much better. They had been in a deep slumber when the chaos erupted and were desperately trying to stay together as the civilians around them darted through the smoke searching for an escape from the suffocating haze. “Stay close!” Lumiska screamed to his mate, trying in vain to be heard over the screams and ringing in their ears. Shinook didn’t need to be told what to do as the light gray runner pressed her flank firmly against her mate's side. Through the chaos they could just barely see the massive form of Wolgroth slowly looming up across the space. “Over there!” Shinook gestured to the massive shadow, they had no idea what was going on but right now that massive tyrian was the only landmark they had in this confusion. Together they cautiously made their way through the smoke until they stood before the giant tyrian. She didn’t notice them at first through the smoke but when Lumiska called out to her, she snapped her head down and spotted them. Not sure what else to do, the dark tyrian quickly reached out with one of her wings and scooped the two runners up under her to protect them. Another round of flash bangs and smoke bombs exploded making the already chaotic space even worse. Rage swelled within Wolgroth as it became difficult to breath with the heavy acrid smoke choking her lungs.
Wolgroth took a deep breath of the smoke and activated her magic, when she breathed out a thick column of red smoke blasted forth quickly overwhelming the white smoke of the bombs. The dark tyrian continued to release her magic into the space until there was nothing red smoke visible. The civilians’ panic intensified at the horrific change to their surroundings but the dark tyrian could sense something retreating through the barely open warehouse doors. Whatever was attacking them had finally retreated, Wolgroth snorted as she made sure her magic stayed inert but still lingered. She looked down underneath her belly at where she had stashed the three runners and asked, “Are you all o-” her voice cut off as she realized there were only two. Elliot was missing. The tyrians head shot up, but she couldn’t see anything due to the smoke. She swore as she reared up and flapped her massive wings to dispel her magic. The humans and reoseans that had been panicking in the warehouse puffed and wheezed where they were, still confused and scared but now that the ominous smoke and magical fog was gone they were regaining their wits. Wolgroths eyes darted frantically around the warehouse, searching for the familiar white form of her mate. But he wasn’t there, he wasn’t in the warehouse anymore. They had taken him.