223. Merging: Tabitha

Dusk decided she wanted it. She bit down and swallowed the core, reared up to her full height, and screamed. I jumped on her back. Whatever happens, we will be in this together. She whirled around, and we left at full gallop. I directed her to the path we made leading out of the jungle, and she was aware enough to take direction from me. Dusk was all about speed, and as we sped through the trees, I could feel the muscles change under her. We didn’t have a saddle, which was good as she was changing under me.

It seemed to be no time before we left the jungle for the more grassy area, and she sped up. Her stride lengthened, and she was moving a lot smoother. I just let her run and reminded her we were here. We were going faster than ever before, and we had tested our speed thoroughly. Suddenly, shadows burst out around us and seemed to stream behind us. Nyx and I let our shadows merge in with Dusks.

I am unsure when I noticed, but we were definitely higher off the ground. Dusk screamed again, and I let out a yell as well. We were leaping logs, and at one point, I was sure she Shadow Stepped. I directed her into a small turn so we didn’t get too far away. If I get lost, Wiremu can track me. This was awesome. I put my hand on Dusk’s shoulder, and her fur felt different, softer but tougher. Her mane was softer, too.

We came to a rise, and Dusk slowed, reared again, and screamed. Her hooves slammed into the dire, and then she bucked and kicked violently with her rear hooves. I hung on and felt my Riding and Agility Riding Skills levelling. She kept this violent movement going. It was almost like she was pushing the boundaries of her movements. It wasn’t just the movement range; her hooves striking were cleaner, sharper and faster. I don’t know how she could keep it up so long. Eventually, something seemed to settle inside her, and then we were off galloping again. This was her favourite activity, and we both screamed in delight. We sped along, and the shadows seemed to strengthen. It was only mid-morning on an overcast day. Dusk spied a copse of trees and shifted toward them, slowing as we approached. When we entered the shadow of the trees, we slowed to a walk and the shadows condensed. Silence reigned as we moved through the small wood. It was like Dusk was testing her abilities and what might work for her.

By this time, I was reasonably certain the core had settled. Dusk didn’t seem to be turning into a weird Panther Horse hybrid. I was about to check our statuses when she reared again, almost unseating me. Now wasn’t the time to lose focus. This time, her hooves came down onto a tree, and we paused in a half rear with her front hooves up a tree. Was she trying to climb? Did I speak too soon? Her rear leg muscles tensed, and she jumped against the tree. Then she did it again, but in a half turn, so she landed back with all four hooves on the ground. Then she turned again, and her rear hooves struck out at the tree trunk, sending splinters flying. Then she did it again, and then we were off galloping again.

I don’t know how it happened, but the night was falling when Dusk finally slowed. She was covered in sweat. We both were. We found a stream, and we both drank deeply. All my brushes were back with the packs, so I couldn’t brush her properly. I rubbed her down with my hands. Her shoulder was taller than I was now. She looked sleek, but that was deceptive due to her larger size. She was powerful and fast. Time to see what we had become.

Dusk was now a Shadow Charger. Our Novice Tough Hide was now Journeyman level. Shadows Embrace was Master's level for us both. My Agility Riding was mid-apprentice, my Riding Skill was now at Master's level, and my Riding Class levelled, but Dusk had the most changes. She had picked up Sprint, Fast Strike and Power Strike. What was most surprising was that she had picked up my Intimidating Aura. I wonder if the panther had a similar Skill.

Dusk had picked up my Syphon Energy and Syphon Constitution Skills; yes, she had Shadow Step. Fast Strike and Power Strike came from the Panther, as did Shadow Merge. This is the skill that enabled the panther to escape the spear. Dusk would teach it to me.

We had cooled down now, and Dusk had spent a bit of time grazing. It was fully dark now, and the moon was rising behind the cloud layer. Through our new journeyman, Level Bond, I felt that Dusk was restless.

“Come on, girl, Let's go hunting.” We had some Skills to test out.

We prowled through the night. We ran down deer and Bison. We stomped through a pack of wolves, killing several and then driving them off with our aura. We are not your prey.

Dusk had a limited Shadow Step, and we practised over logs, but she wouldn’t be galloping up walls any time soon. We managed to string two together, which would more than double our jump distance. We had a misstep that could have broken Dusk’s leg if we didn’t have Shadow Merge.

It was a tricky skill for me to get my head around. It worked best in shadow, as the surrounding shadows seemed to empower it. I watched Dusk with all my senses and our Bond as she used Shadow Merge on parts of her body.

It was very energy intensive, which is mitigated by our energy syphon. Merging a body part with shadows also felt very strange. I had to put all my free attributes to Spiritual Strength as it uses Spiritual Strength to power it, and it would be Apprentice level before I could merge my whole body with the Shadows. Which means Dusk couldn’t merge her whole body while I was riding her yet. Spiritual Agility was what I could do while merged with shadows. Fortunately, I had enough Spiritual Agility, or I could not use the Skill yet. I could use it with Shadow Manipulation to move objects with my shadow hand. I had the feeling it wasn’t until Journeyman Level that I could grab an object and make it shadow as well.

It was dawn when I finally found my way back to the camp and collapsed into a bed roll.

Tabitha Carter

Level

Physical

Mental

Spiritual

Totals

Free

Strength

Agility

Perception

Strength

Agility

Perception

Strength

Agility Perception Base Attributes

9

12

11

8

12

10

9

10

10

91 Earned Attributes

2

3

5

3

2

1

1

1

4

22

Thief

B

13

3

13

13

4

1

13

6

5

7

65

0

Shadow Predator

S

10

7

10 2

11

11

9

50

0

Racketeer

S

7

5

7

8

7

8

29

0

Burglar

S

5

5

1

5

2

7

20

0

Merchant

B

11

2

11

6

11

11

3

3

8

55

0

Rider

B

11

2

11

11

4

1 10

5

40

0

Entertainer

B

8

5

1

8

8

8 10

40

0

Totals

35

55

52

40

45

55

50

40

50

412 Constitution 142 140 130

Resistances: Cold 20, Poison 4, Pain 5, Disease 1, Acid 2, Mental 1

Skills

Novice:

General

Sewing 4, Spiritual Traps 1,

Shadow Mind 1, Sprint 2

Apprentice:

General

Pickpocket 8, Trapping 5, Cooking 9, Hearing Aid 9, Adjuster 8, Body Image 8, Agility Riding 7

Syphon Energy 9, Syphon Consitution 8, Shadow Step 5

Fighting

Blunt Weapon 9, Knockout Strike 9, Parry 9, Rampage 9,

Senses

Elemental Senses 8,

Lore

Sapient Lore 9,

Journeyman:

General

Bargain 12, Appraise 11, Spatial Pocket 10, Shadow Puppet 11, Performance 11, Tough Hide 10, Lock Pick 10, Detect Traps 10, Sleight of Hand 12, Detect Spiritual Traps 10, Disarm Spiritual Traps 10, Confuse Status 12, Identify 11, Distract 14, Disarm Traps 10, Orcish 11, Dwarvish 13, Lute 12, Coax 11, Mimic 14, Elemental Bond 12, Animal Care 11, Binding Shadows 10, Engulfing Shadows 14, Animal Bond 10.

Fighting

Intimidating Aura 14, Small Blades 14, Unarmed Combat 11, Swords 11, Dual Wield 10

Senses

Sense Spiritual 12, Spatial Awareness 14,

Lore

Master:

General

Stealth 17, Shadow Manipulation 17, Shadows Embrace 15, Riding 15,

Senses

Darksight 16,

Affinity: Shadow

Monster Kills: 1

Bond: Nyx, Shadow Elemental

Skills: Syphon Energy, Binding Shadows, Shadow Manipulation, Mimicry, Coax, Engulfing Shadows, Sense Spiritual, Body Image,

Bond: Dusk, Shadow Charger

Skills:

Novice:

Syphon Energy, Syphon Constitution, Shadow Merge.

Apprentice:

Sprint, Fast Strike, Power Strike, Intimidating Aura, Binding Shadows, Shadow Step,

Journeyman:

Speed Boost, Tough Hide,

Master:

Shadows Embrace, Shadow Manipulation. Darksight

Affinity: Shadow