Hall of Hunters

A few rocks tumble down behind the Consumed monster. Not out of the ordinary for this fight, but to Sarsaparilla, it is a signal. Sarsaparilla stretches and crouches down before letting out a low rumbling growl. Noticing, the nearby lorwolves separate, leaving a clear path straight towards the monster. With a roar, Sarsaparilla charges and leaps at his foe. Right before his claw makes contact with the monster, the wall behind it bursts forth as Sarsaparilla’s Urskogg charges through. Caught on both sides, the Consumed monster attempts to brace itself but to no avail. The crash was cataclysmic.

The ground quaked, dirt and debris fell overhead, and all were shrouded in dust. The lorwolves shook themselves and discovered it wasn’t over. The dust slowly cleared, revealing Sarsaparilla and his Urskogg beating the monster back and forth between them. Many of the onlookers watched in fascination, others in horror, and a few even placed their paws over the eyes of the younger lorwolves. With every mighty swipe of Sarsaparilla’s paw and thrust of the Urskogg’s horn, the ground beneath everyone began to crack. Tumbling back and forth between Sarsaparilla and his companion, the Consumed Rockbreak righted itself, let out a defiant bellow, and slammed its hooves hard into the ground. With a thundering crack, the cave floor crumbled apart, drawing everyone down.

The Lorwolve yipped and barked, checking to see if everyone was okay. Confirming that everyone is alright, they looked around and discovered that they are in a large cavern surrounded by consumed tendrils! They have chased consumed monsters off their land, hunted those that remain, and have done controlled burns on the consumed tendrils creeping out of Mistvale. Who would have thought that the consumed corruption could have spread this far deep into Darkspine and secretly underground, no less! Trapped by consumed tendrils deep in the bowels of a mine, the Lorwolves have only one option: win.

The Consumed Crystalapin lurches forward before rolling with incredible speed at Prancer. Prancer keeps flaunting her tail before leaping out of the way at the last moment. The Crystalapin skids by, bounces off a tree, and rolls back towards Prancer. But again she artfully dodges, skipping across the ice with ease. The rumbling grows louder, and the other nearby lorwolves edge back away from the hill. Again and again the Crystalapin rolls straight at Prancer, yet she dodges effortlessly away.

What was once a battle of taking down the Consumed Teufel turned into a battle to keep the Teufel from stepping on the absent-minded. food-crazed Broch! Lorwolves pounced, wrestled, and were thrown by the Teufel, as somehow the Broch always managed to be chasing a tomato or some other round fruit between the Teufel's legs. The crowd was thoroughly enjoying this comical encounter; however, Bodhi was slightly embarrassed that their companion was causing so much trouble. Bodhi called out to his Broch in hopes of attracting it away from the danger.

Unfortunately, his call was ill-timed. The Broch, smiling with a mouth full of food, turned around while holding their favorite dish, a pristine Mika's Pudding that somehow survived the chaos in the mess hall. As the Broch waved excitedly towards the favorite food they found, the consumed Teufel hoof slammed down right on it! The pudding spattered across the floor and all over the Broch. Bodhi pushes past the other lorwolves to console his friend, but his Broch raises their paw, signaling for him to stop. There is an uneasy tension in the air; the crowd and even the Teufel grew quiet. Bodhi's Broch sniffed, and a single tear was wept.

A commonly forgotten fact about Brochs is that their incredibly high metabolism provides them with Abnormal Speed, and that the commonly docile creatures will hold incredible Grudges against anything that gets between them and their food.

Bodhi shivered and stepped back, for he knew that if Mika's Pudding wasn't for dinner, the Teufel sure would be! Noticing Bodhi's movement, all the other lorwolves step back as well. After wiping the pudding off their face, the Broch's body begins to quiver with rage. The Teufel gives a confused look to the lorwolves who shake their heads "no" and step further back. Hesitantly, the Teufel whinnies and stomps their hooves. Unfazed, the Broch undoes their handkerchief satchel, dropping numerous spices and cooking utensils. The Broch then takes their handkerchief and ties it around their head as a headband. Overconfidently, the Teufel rears up and stomps down on the Broch.

With sudden speed the Broch draws forth a butter knife and spreads butter on the ground before darting away. The Teufel slams down and immediately slips! Before it could regain its balance, the Broch sprints around and tosses union powder directly into its face! The Teufel, blinded and unable to stand on the buttered floor, whinnies and attempts to bite the Broch. However, the Broch is too fast. Instead of biting air, the Teufel gets all manners of fruits and vegetables stuffed down its throat! The Broch, its rage not yet sated, unleashes a plume of flour, salt, and pepper upon the Teufel. The Teufel, now blind, slipping, sliding, coughing, sputtering, and sneezing, tries to put up a fight but fails. What came next was all sorts of seasoning and meat tenderizing of the consumed Teufel at the hands of the apparently master chef Broch.

Huffing out of breath and ready to finish the Teufel steak he is preparing, the Broch withdraws his metal meat tenderizer. Bodhi, confident that this is going too far, steps forward to stop his friends. Fortunately, the tenderizer drops to the ground with a clank as the Broch locks eyes with an audience member in the crowd. The lorwolf, stuffing their face full of freshly popped buttered popcorn, looks around to see who the Broch is looking at. Bodhi's Broch licks their lips, and the popcorn-carrying, realizing they are the target, sprints away, as Bodhi's Broch chases after them! Bodhi just sighs with relief and shakes their head.

At the bottom of the hill, Salvia meets up with the other lorwolves and their companions. They were all thoroughly exhaused from constant running and dodging through the herd. Fortunately, Salvia and her Snowloon are remarkably Energetic and should have no issue keeping up and dodging through the herd. She and her companion prepared to dive into the herd when she noticed how the other lorwolves were being so aggressive with the herd. If they would just relax and talk instead of barking at them, perhaps they could get the herds' help in finding the Consumed Deer. Being a Jocol, Salvia can produce a wide range of noises and can pleasantly engage in sing-song conversation rather than just talking. With a plan in mind, Salvia and her companion lunged into the herd.

Hooves, dirt, and sweat were what met them. The poor Alpine Deer were in a full-on panic. They attempted to flee from the Consumed Deer only to be barked at by a lorwolf to run elsewhere. Narrowly avoiding being stomped on, Salvia picked up the pace. Picking up her Snowloon by the scruff of their neck, she tossed them up and onto her head. Getting enough height and maintaining their balance, perhaps through their feline ancestry, her Snowloon's keen eyes scoured across the herd, searching for the slightest imperfection. Catching sight of a barely visible ominous green glow from a deer in the distance, Salvia's Snowloon begins to hoot and knead their paws. Salvia, following her Snowloon's directions, weaves through the herd and pounces toward the Consumed Deer!

The Consumed Deer noticing that it has been spotted, strikes a nearby Alpine Deer, stirring up the other deer in the area. Salvia skids to a stop to avoid pouncing on a panicked deer that leaps in front of her. The Consumed Deer tries to vanish within the herd, but Salvia won't give up that easily. She might not be as strong as the Direwolves, crafty as the Kit, or brave as the Lupin, but no other lorwolves are as creative and persuasive as the Jocol. Using the rhythmic thumping of hooves as her beat, Salvia began dropping bars so thick and heavy that her den-mama would be proud. The Alpine Deer in the area baffled and intrigued; slow down and come to a stop, entranced with her words. The Consumed Deer struggles to push past the listening crowd but is brought to heel as Salvia delivers a one-two punchline burn so hot about the deer's cowardice that all the other deer begin to laugh. Enraptured by the Jocol rhythmic flow, the herd dispersed, making a circle around Salvia, their Snowloon, and the Consumed monster. Stomping the yard, the deer rhythmically pounded the ground, oohing and awhing over the lyrical slaying that Salvia was unleashing.

Shimmer crashed through the entangling Murkwood bog underbrush with her Voltspike Zapscour clinging on to her head for dear life. When they eventually arrive, Shimmer finds her fellow Direwolves limping and licking their wounds, and the consumed monster nowhere in sight. After conversing with them, she learns that the monster skulked off into the bog. Although it might seem the best strategy would be to wait for other lorwolves before fighting the monster, she figured the creature would just flee, making the fight tedious. Perhaps if she challenged it alone, maybe she could draw out the fight longer than the monster would like. She discussed her plan with a couple of older Direwolves and her Zapscour companion, who agreed and nestled itself firmly and safely in the fur on her head.

Prepared and excited for the fight, Shimmer trudged into the Murkwood bog, exposing herself for the consumed monsters' ambush. As expected, the Consumed Thrasher, thinking Shimmer was stuck in the bog, surged out of the muck to claw her. The bog was thick and heavy, but no match for Shimmer's strength; she easily pulled herself free and dodged the monster's attack. Leaping back into the fight with razor-sharp claws, she cleaved at the monster. The two relentlessly traded blows, neither getting the advantage over the other. The monster, growing frustrated with this prolonged fight, taps into its fel-consumed power and summons a shield of vines and tendrils. However, Shimmer easily pierces and tears asunder the shield with a mighty swipe, and two combatants again lock into combat.

The younger watching Direwolves itch to join the fight and move to enter, but the older Direwolves hold them back, informing them of Shimmer's plan. Begrudgingly, the younger Direwolves watch from a distance, engrossed in the fight and display of skill. However, soon they are startled by what seems to be a faint violet glow around Shimmer. All Direwolf pups growing up hear stories about the Luana’s Warriors of old. How when push comes to shove, Direwolves can call upon their roots and go into a battle frenzy. Power will course through them, buffing their already powerful abilities beyond their limits. However, after calling upon this power, a Direwolf will need to rest for several days. Knowing this, some of the Direwolves, fearing that Shimmer might be in this battle frenzy and may suddenly, at an ill time, collapse and be vulnerable to a lethal attack, move to join the fight. Once again, however, the others hold them back.

Shimmer and the Consumed Thrasher duel ferociously, and with every movement, Shimmer's glow grows even brighter. The watching and conversing Direwolves ponder that perhaps the glow is not from her battle frenzy but from her Aura. All lorwolves hear from their elders through myths and legends that before the Spiritwolves departed, they left behind their Aura in sacred shrines to protect Loria in their absence. Some of these stories even say that some lorwolves, with enough training and dedication, can even wield this Aura and become Aura Masters! Seeing what must be history in the making, the watching Direwolves begin to cheer for Shimmer, beating the ground with their mighty paws and howling for her victory.

Shimmer, breathing heavily and thoroughly exhausted from the long fight, narrowly dodges the monster's whipping tail. The Consumed Thrasher, seeing that its prey is finally slowing down, presses the attack. Shimmer's legs begin to tremble with fatigue, but she cannot give up yet. The Thrasher leaps towards her, with its maw open wide. She raises up on her back legs and catches the monster's jaws in her paws. The Thrasher presses down on her, but with a roar she pushes it off. However, it uses the momentum of her shove to whip around and swing its heavy tail at her. She moves to dodge back, but her strength finally fails her. With a bone-shattering crunch, the monster's tail smashes into Shimmer and sends her flying into an ancient tree in the distance.

Rather than slinking back into the bog, the monster gloats at its victory and descends upon the brilliantly glowing but helpless Shimmer. Seeing the sudden turning of events, the watching Direwolves rush to her aid but are too far away. The Thrasher, towering over Shimmer's limp body, raises one of its arms high above its head, closes its claws into a single spearing point, and drives it down onto Shimmer.

Shimmer, seeing double, helplessly watches the Consumed Thrasher menacingly approach her. She tries to move, but the wind was knocked out of her. She lets out a little laugh as she remembers that this was her first bounty and how foolish she was. Her attention focuses back on the present as her vision clears and she sees a tiny purple tail waving in front of her eyes. Remembering what needs to be done, she musters all the strength she has left as she watches the glinting, spearing claw of the Consumed Thrashed descend down upon her.

With a final burst of energy, Shimmer parries the blow away from her head and onto her shoulder and, with a defiant roar, rises up and headbutts the consumed monster. The monster stumbles back, briefly perplexed by Shimmer's remaining strength, and moves forward to finish her off but stops, noticing that she looks different. She is no longer glowing, and the weird purple splotch on her head is gone. The consumed monster looks down, noticing it's now glowing and that the splotch that was once on Shimmer's head is now on its chest, and that the splotch is moving and has two eyes and a pink tongue. Shimmer, wincing in pain from her shoulder, pulls herself just high enough to get out of the water and roars. Realising what is about to happen, the Consumed Thrasher tries to fling the splotch off, but it is too late.

The watching Direwolves desperately rush forward, but they are still too far. They pick up speed, seeing that Shimmer manged to avoid that lethal blow. But before they could get close enough to strike the Thrasher, the air suddenly grows still, and the hair on their backs goes up. The Consumed Thrasher, enveloped in crackling violet energy, flashes in blinding white light, every bone in its body illuminated in clear detail. A fraction of a second later, a thunderous concussive wave exploded in all directions, hurling dirt and debris and knocking back all who were close to the explosion.