055 - The Great Hunt

Within the Sable gorge Magnus lay on the ground inside the formation next to the corpse of the Griffon. It was now night, cold and silent.

"AHHhhhhh! Gwaaa!" Magnus opened his mouth, cries of pain and anguish rose from his throat. His eyes had turned blood red, every hair on his body, every nerve beneath his flesh felt as if it were being stretched to breaking point.

On his back bubbled up two mounds of flesh, growing and breaking out through the skin and out through his filthy clothes. The fleshy mounds broke apart, two small wings quickly growing, looking just like the wings of the Griffon. His boots broke open, black tipped talons clawing at the ground.

Like flowers that blossomed for a moment and then withered, the wings and talons grew, then turned black and crumbled, falling from Magnus’ flesh.

Beneath them, both on his back and on his feet, rose a second set of stubs of flesh that immediately begun to grow out. This time they were stained by deep black lines, a thick yellow pus bubbling up around his toes and on his back.

Wings emerged once more, large bird feathers with a black vein pattern, sharp talons covered almost entirely black. After a brief moment, they too fell off, breaking into pieces on the dirt, then crumbling into dust.

Magnus was left feeling exhausted, laying on the ground only able to gain control of his breathing after several minutes. His mind was abuzz trying to process what exactly it was that had just happened.

What the hells had just happened? He did exactly what Kujata instructed, eat a powerful creature. But all the rest? The Griffon and the red eyes and the hand? Out of all the people in the world Magnus was the only one blissfully unaware of the intense terror that had descended upon all living creatures.

What was it? Kujata had said . . once you gain enough power the Vigour in you will begin to transform and the aspect of your living threads will be revealed. An aspect of my Vigour . . is that what the hand was? He hadn't thought to ask what she'd meant by aspect, Kujata hadn't thought to explain any more than that.

Besides that . . Magnus still felt an immense hunger, felt like an immense hole had opened up in his gut. His core was now the size of an apple seed, tiny and white within below his navel. He could feel it like a hard nub of pure energy. What did that mean? What did any of this mean?

Not knowing . . for the first time in his life Magnus really felt the pain of being ignorant. There were so many things that had happened to him that he could only be helpless in the face off. Kujata had imparted a great deal of knowledge to him, told him much of the threads and types of energies, of the world. But . . what if he was on his own again?

Knowledge. Information. I can't go blindly forwards . . what should I do next? If I knew what this all meant, then I would know what to do next!

There were so many things that were a mystery to Magnus, not just about the nature of the world, but about himself. From the black lines and yellow pus that appeared beneath his skin to the living threads themselves, the fact that every time he was on the verge of death somehow he would be able to pull himself back into his body and live on.

Right!

Magnus got to his feet, within his eyes a new determination - I need power! But not just strength, I need the power that comes from knowing! One without the other was like trying to dash madly through the darkest night, never knowing when one would stumble into a ditch or crash into an unseen wall.

He quickly gathered the formation stones and left the Sable gorge in the dead of the night, running down the valley by moonlight and heading towards the plains. The plan remained the same; hunt powerful beasts and devour them whole. Even if he did not fully understand what was happening, Magnus still trusted in the guidance of Kujata and would follow her instructions.

***

Above where Magnus had hidden with the Griffon in the Sable gorge two figures detached themselves from the ground and jumped down the cliff, landing lightly beside the Griffon.

"Brother Soo . . you were right . . what was that thing? You felt that, didn't you? It wasn't just me? Soo . . "

Soo was silent, walking around the Griffon and looking at the places where the formation stones had been. He examined the whole area with great care, not daring to leave a single stone unturned.

"I felt it Min. Never before . . this formation is not one I recognize. The enchantment used . . it cannot be from the Alchemists. Hmmm."

"Soo! Forget about the formation! What about that thing! That incredible gaze! I felt like I was about to be swallowed whole! Soo!" Min stamped her feet and called out, her voice trembling.

"It's alright Min. It passed, did it not? Put it out of your mind. Whatever it was . . it passed." Soo replied in a distant manner. His heart trembled to think of the terrifying feeling that had descended on them and then vanished, but neither he nor his sister had thought to connect it in any way with Magnus or the Griffon. "For now, let us focus on what we can. This young man, the boy who stole away the Griffon from the hunters and who used this formation, interesting, isn't he? From all the things on this planet he is the first that I've come across that does not fit in. Let's go Min, I want to see what he does next!"

The brother and sister left the gorge, following near the exact footsteps as Magnus down into the plains.

***