@MystiTheWolf Pegasus and their River Kapura play beneath the starlight and the shadows of the great trees in Darkspine. They chase each other up and down the trees, their laughter echoing through the woods. Emerging from the shadows, Astra walks out with Topaz Quill hovering close behind her. Pegasus notices her arrival and remembers she is supposed to be studying True Names or something. She hurriedly opens her textbook, pretending she has been studying the whole time.
Staring down at her book, she reads, "Names have power." Her eyes immediately glaze over. She has never had the attention span to read and has never really understood the point. She doesn't even understand what it means for names to have power. Everyone outside the Guiding Star Pack calls her Pegasus, while she has a secret "true name" known only to her companion and her pack. But that always feels more like a cultural tradition than anything else, she reflects.
While lost in thought, her companion—who hadn't noticed Astra's arrival—playfully leaps at Pegasus. The two collapse into a fit of laughter. Astra shakes her head with a slight smile and nudges them apart. After their laughter dies down, Astra informs them that the stars have revealed a great danger approaching a settlement in Goldsea and that Pegasus is destined to be there to stop it. Pegasus tries to refuse, but with a firm tap on the nose, Astra silences her and informs her that the preparations for her journey are already complete. Resigned to her fate, yet excited to discover what the stars have in store, Pegasus gathers her belongings, dons her Ominous Masquerade regalia, and sets off for Goldsea with her Kapura companion.
A few moons pass as she journeys from Darkspine to Goldsea. Before long, she begins to see the devastation left behind by the Consumed Arturas. She grows increasingly nervous. From the trail of destruction alone, she can tell the creature must be enormous. Trusting in the stars, she continues onward, following the path of ruin.
As she approaches, the ground shakes more and more. The sun sets, the moon emerges from behind the clouds, and as she crests one final hill, she finally sees it—a colossal Consumed Arturas. Packs of exhausted lorwolves trail behind the monster while several fresh packs harry it from all sides. Without wasting another moment, Pegasus and her Kapura sprint down the hill to join the battle.
The ground quakes as the Consumed Arturas stomps left and right, fending off the circling lorwolves. Without missing a step, Pegasus glides across the shaking earth, rapidly closing the distance. Noticing her advance, the behemoth tilts its shell, sending a flood of toxic Consumed Water crashing down toward her. Moving with unnatural speed, Pegasus and her Kapura weave gracefully through the deadly rain.
Slipping beneath the creature, she darts between its legs, searching for a weakness that might bring it down. Spotting a deep wound on its front left leg, she and her companion wheel around and charge. Only a stride away from the wound, they both leap. As Pegasus sails through the air, the fur along the back of her neck suddenly stands on end. Her danger sense screams and she glances upward. Instead of lifting its foot to stomp, the Consumed Arturas is dropping its entire body on top of them. With less than a heartbeat to spare, Pegasus kicks her companion clear from beneath the monster as the massive creature crashes down onto her.
The earth erupts as the monstrous behemoth slams into the ground. Dirt and debris explode outward while a dense cloud of dust obscures the creature. The circling lorwolves stumble before regaining their footing, pausing their assault as they wait for the dust to settle. The air hangs heavy with tension as Pegasus's Kapura slowly pulls itself free from the rubble. They shake their fur before looking back, and watch the massive creature rise once more, revealing Pegasus lying motionless at the center of a deep crater.
The Kapura staggers back in shock, their heart pounding faster and faster. Tears stream down their face as they slowly approach. The surrounding lorwolves shout for them to stop, but their voices are drowned out by the frantic beating of their heart. Unaware of the tragedy behind it, the Consumed Arturas continues its slow march toward the Hidden Oasis.
The Kapura gently nudges Pegasus. Nothing. They lift her paw and it falls limply back to the earth. The Kapura’s entire body begins to tremble. Their fur stands on end. Sensing something behind it, the monster slowly turns. With a heart-wrenching cry of grief and rage, Pegasus's Kapura enters a berserk state.
In a blur of tooth, claw, and impossible speed, the Kapura launches itself at the behemoth. Caught completely off guard, the monster stumbles backward. All restraint and concern for self-preservation gone, the Kapura unleashes attack after attack. Hide, shell, wounds, claws—it doesn't matter. Every strike is delivered with desperate fury. Slowly, overwhelmed by the relentless assault, the Consumed Arturas retreats into its shell. Pegasus’s Kapura refuses to stop. They strike again and again as their body grows heavier with exhaustion. Their movements slow. Their bites weaken. Their claws grind down to bloody stubs. Yet they still fight.
Sensing the Kapura's fading strength, the Consumed Arturas suddenly lashes out. Too exhausted to dodge, the Kapura is caught in its jaws. Enraged by the damage it has suffered, the behemoth whips its head, hurling the Kapura high into the night sky. With a huge lurch, the Consumed Arturas rears onto its hind legs, preparing one final, fatal strike.
Suspended high above the battlefield, Pegasus's Kapura looks down, watching their doom slowly approach. Their heart trembles as they see Pegasus lying motionless far below—the companion, no, the friend they failed to protect. Gravity finally takes hold and as they slowly descend toward the waiting jaws of the Consumed Arturas, they whisper an apology to the star-filled sky.
They speak Pegasus's true name.
Pegasus's eyes slowly flutter open. She isn't lying in a crater. Instead, she finds herself resting on a soft bed beside her father, Lotus. He closes a tome about the nature of True Names and chuckles as he scolds her for falling asleep during another lecture. Pegasus nuzzles against him and asks why she has to keep her true name secret. Returning the tome to a nearby shelf, he gently pets her and begins to explain the technical details, but her eyes immediately glaze over. Shaking his head, he cuts his explanation short and merely tells her that she can share it with those she trusts with her life. Satisfied with that answer she curls up to her father and asks what her name means. He kisses her and explains that her name means…
Deep within the crater, Pegasus's ear twitches. She hears a voice she knows all too well. She suddenly gasps, drawing in an agonizing breath. Pain crashes over her as the memories of what just happened return. She doesn't know why, but an overwhelming surge of urgency fills her. She staggers to her feet. Looking skyward, she sees her companion falling toward the open jaws of the Consumed Arturas. Ignoring every protest from her broken body, she moves.
A crawl becomes a hobble.
A hobble becomes a walk.
A walk becomes a run.
A run becomes a sprint.
Then, as though death itself has released its grip, Pegasus explodes forward in a streak of violet light.
With one final impossible leap...
Pegasus's Kapura squeezes their eyes shut as they plunge toward the monster's waiting maw. Suddenly, there is a powerful gust of wind, followed by an all-too-familiar tug at the scruff of their neck. Their eyes fly open.
Pegasus has intercepted the Consumed Arturas's bite, wrenching them free from the jaws of death. With a mighty kick, Pegasus slams into the monster's head. The colossal beast staggers backward. Its enormous shell throws it off balance, pulling it heavily to the ground. Still carrying her exhausted Kapura safely by the scruff, Pegasus slides down the Consumed Arturas's belly and lands safely on the earth below. Overjoyed to see Pegasus alive, her companion immediately tackles her to the ground, smothering her face with grateful kisses.
CRITICAL HIT!!!
You have successfully targeted it's weakness! All synergies are doubled for this attack! (weaknesses can only be targeted once!) Heroic Hunter has been claimed for this bounty!
Hit! 9/? Assailant
Hit! 16/? Protector
Hit! 14/? Tactician
Hit! 6/? Rogue
0 Support
0 Primal
0 Healer
43 Remaining!
Bloodguile
