FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

The horse ran like a bolt through the forest. The silhouettes of the trees' branches distorted and

mingled at the knight's eyes due to the speed. He was close to the animal, stuck to its neck so they do

not slow down. Both panted heavily for the race. Anxiety grew inside the rider. Faster, faster, I need

to get in time. The sun was hiding behind him; the moon could be seen already as well over the sky

painted with the warm colors of dusk.

They left the woods behind to arrive to a wide prairie. The horseman speeded up the beast, heavy

clouds of breath began to appear as temperature diminished, a sign of the coming night. The sun was

no longer visible, yet, some warm colors could be seen on the horizon, the sky was almost dark by

then.

"Go, go!" ordered the knight whose name was Victor. "Run as if this was the last thing of your life!"

The horse neighed loudly as a response, but speeded up even more. Soon both found a ground trail

that headed east, Victor ordered the animal to follow it. The sky was black by then, except for the full

moon and the stars.

The lights of a town started to be noticed in the distance. Victor smiled, his goal was almost achieved.

When he arrived to the town, doors were closed, but his spirit did not fall down. He drew his sword

instead and swung it to the gates that impeded his entry. The horse helped as well, kicking the wood

obstacle before them.

The sounds of the intents of braking the doors gave the alarm to the men in watch. They gathered

close to where the knight was. Those who had bows began to shut a rain of arrows over the man that

was trying to destroy the gate. He, instead, used his shield to protect himself, but did not stopped his

work. The wood of the gate was old; in a matter of minutes it would be reduced to firewood. The

alarm was giving back in the town as well.

Finally, the gate gave in and Victor could enter the town. Dark were its streets and alleys, dirty the

soil, light was mainly provided by some torches spread across the settlement. A sea of men with boned

faces, armed with stickles, small swords and sticks waited for him, with an army of horrendous

creatures taken from the craziest nightmares.

"Back off!" the knight yelled while he swung his weapon over the multitude around him "make me a

way, filthy creatures!"

The sword danced between the bodies of the enemies, cutting through their flesh, damping the

ground with blood. People fell dead under the power of Victor and their bodies were smashed by the

hoofs of the horse. The knight advanced steadily through the dark streets of the town, paying no

attention to what he killed.

Step by step, Victor advanced through the main street of the city. His goal was the main square where

his lady was kept imprisoned in order to kill her. She was a witch, one of the best, whose knowledge

were so impressive and his magic so powerful she had become a threat to those in charge. Her name

was Ranni.

Ranni had been caught a week ago, while he was on a quest she ordered him. When Victor was about

to return, he found out (for both were connected by their minds) that she had been taken prisoner in

order to be executed. His decision was instant, chase them to release her. Now he was about to fulfill

his new quest.

His sword was already stained with blood when he arrived to the main square, his horse was

exhausted, muscles pulsating for the intense journey, puffing deeply, with the fur wetted in sweat.

The main square was almost empty, except for some figures dressed in black clothes and a young

woman chained to a stick with logs around her.

"Victor!" the young woman screamed with tears in the eyes.

"My lady, resist" Victor replied "You will be free in an instant"

"Not that easy" a rough old voice yelled. Victor turned his head to the direction it came, finding an old

man dressed with a cassock and holding a crosier.

"Release her!" Victor ordered, but the man did not obey. He moved his head instead, giving a sign to

the ones around him. One of them went to the bonfire and casted a spell that put the wood into

ignition, while another went to a dark corner and returned with a monstrosity.

The horse went back due to the horror of the monster before him. Victor struggled at first to keep the

animal in calm and face the threat, but when he could manage to make the horse obeying him, the

monster attacked, hurting deadly the animal, which fell lifeless to the ground.

Victor managed to get down the horse before falling and injuring a leg. He turned his eyes to the

bonfire to see the situation of his mistress: flames were advancing steadily, yet the witch was calmed

staring proudly the horizon. Then he faced the monster, it resembled a human being, but its combed

posture, almost making it move at four legs, plus the malevolent aura, were features that took it away

from humans and put it closer to monster. It wore a steal armor; its face was covered by a helmet with

a groove for the eyes could see. A torn cap waved at the wind, below it, there was a long combed

sword. Blades like claws sprout from its hands.

Victor kept his sword in hand and moved slowly around the monster with eyes darted on it. The

creature stared at him as well, hissing intensively, cautious.

"Kill him!" ordered the old man, the creature obeyed without hesitation. Victor managed to block it

in time with the sword, but he had to get back some steps because of the attack's impact.

Once he recovered balance and stood firm on his legs, he counter-attack, pushing back with his blade

the creature. The monster hissed in response, it also tried to attack Victor once again, but the warrior

took the initiative, swinging his weapon over the beast and causing some lesser injures in certain

points were flesh was not covered well by the armor. The monster growled in pain, but Victor did not

stop. Over and over his sword fell upon the monster, pushing it back against one wall and spilling his

dark blood over the ground.

At the same time, flames advanced on the bonfire. Ranni avoided to scream or crying, even though

the fire was already burning her feet. She bit her lip instead and stared at the horizon. She could not use much magic; her captors had put spells to impede her to use it so the witch was no better than a

normal woman at the moment.

The battle continued at the main square. Both fighters gave and received hits form their blades. Victor

stopped most of them with his sword or the shield, he was aware that one hit of the monster could

be lethal. Moreover, it was certainly fast, having Victor to be always on alert, for it constantly moved

around him. However, he thought to have the advantage in the fight, he still felt healthy and full of

stamina, the monster, on the other hand, was injured and slower.

Victor then saw an opportunity to set a final stroke to the creature, but suddenly it disappeared in

front of his eyes.

"Magic?" the muttered. He adopted a defensive position immediately, but it was futile, for the

monster attacked from his back.

The sword pierced the armor and one lung, emerging from the opposite side of the wound, through

the heart. Victor spitted some blood due to the injure. He put his hand over the place the wound was

found and fell to his knees. The monster drew his sword from Victor's body and pierced it again, this

time in the stomach. Another spurt of blood came out from the knight's mouth and ended over the

ground. He wanted to say something, to strike back, but his strengths began to abandon him.

Fire had spread all over the bonfire at that moment. It climbed over Ranni's feet, burning them to the

bones, now it was attacking his torso, yet she did not cry, only muttered. Burnt flesh smell could be

sensed in the air, as well as burnt cloth. It was being hard to breath for the witch because of the smoke,

her sight was becoming blur due to the lack of oxygen, the pain and the extreme heat.

Victor lied on the ground, looking how he could not fulfill his duty to protect his mistress and how an

old man rejoiced with the scene. He tried to stand up several times, but he was now weak, he had lost

too much blood.

The stick could not last too much longer. The damage made by the fire was beyond what it could hold,

so it fell to the flames, taking the witch with it. Flames covered the body of Ranni in an instant: clothes

and hair burnt almost instantly, then it was her flesh, yet she did not cry a single syllable, but embraced

her fate without hesitation.

Half an hour passed, Victor was still fighting for his live, alone, with a pond of blood around him, with

the carbonized dead body of his mistress. His enemies had departed some minutes ago. A column of

smoke elevated to the sky, where a full moon shone coldly.

Tears ran over the knight's cheeks. He had failed his duty; he could not save his mistress whose body

was just some steps away from him. He cursed himself for not having defeated the creature, for not

having discovered it in time. He wanted to screamed, but he was even lacking the strengths to do so.

"Cry no more, my dear knight" a soft voice whispered at his ears "This was not your fault"

"Milady" Victor turned his head to the voice "Are you alive?"

"Yes and no" She answered "This is just my spirit. Perhaps I was not able to cast a spell to stop the

fire, but I managed to save my soul from the hands of death"

"So, you are a ghost?"

"Pretty much" She said happily "But not for too long, there is a doll waiting for me to be my body"

"I'm so pleased, milady" Victor said, a spit of blood was released with a cough "I now see I can go in

peace, for you will be saved"

"That won't happen" Ranni said bluntly "I won't let you die"

"But, milady..."

"Say no more!" She cut him "I will manage to save your live, perhaps a new body could benefit you

more"

"What do you..." Victor did not end the sentence because he felt some kind of energy entering his

body. His breathing stabilized, wounds began to close, blood continued to flow normally through his

veins. But he felt something more. There was something bursting inside him.

"Ugh!" he grunted as bones ached. Feet began to grow under his boots, pressing the fabric as they

did. He also felt his toes oddly, as if they were reshaping. One of them shrank and climbed over his

feet, the other enlarged, pressing the leather of the boots until they tore, revealing four toes that now

resembled more to claws. Nails were no longer flat, but curved and sharp. A dark fur started to grow

and spread across his "feet". Their palms thickened, becoming pads, the distance between the toes

and the ankle grew longer until it was certain he will not walk again in a plantigrade posture, but

digitigrade.

The thick fur crawled across Victor's legs. Muscles bulged under his skin, turning his limbs into a pair

of columns, even enlarging them even further. When the fur arrived to his waist, something grew from

his rear. Rapidly it pierced his pants and moved intensively, immediately being covered by fur which

grew longer across the new tail.

The transformation continued, this time it climbed over his torso. Victor's already trained body

surpassed his previous size. Abdominal muscled blasted as a chain of mountains that could be

perceived even with the thick fur that covered his skin. Pectorals burst into a pair of mounds that the

armor was incapable of containing. Ranni, figuring this out, took off the armor from the warrior with

her magic, revealing a massive chest that could protect the innocent face of the weak between his

pectorals.

The fur continued his way, this time taking three paths: Victor's arms and head. Shoulders were not

spared for the magnification of the rest of the muscles, but widened. These limbs burst with strength

while biceps and triceps grew several sizes more than before and hands turned into gigantic paws

capable a smashing skull with bare strength.

Head transformation resulted to be more painful than the feet. Bones from the jaw and nose reshaped

and protruded to become a muzzle. Teeth sharpened, fangs enlarged, the tip of the nose wetted. Ears

climbed over the sides of the head. It was evident what was Victor turning in: a werewolf.

Once the transformation concluded, perhaps by a new instinct, Victor stood on his new feet, lifted his

head to the full moon and howled, a long howled that made the souls of the residents of the town

shred in terror. Owls also became part of that terror, flying away from the settlement.

Victor took a good look to his new body. He was now 2.30m high and several kilograms of pure muscle.

Claws were sharp as knives, fangs as daggers, he felt invincible, capable of destroying the entire world

if necessary.

"I see you like your new body" the spirit of his mistress said.

"I do, milady" Answered Victor with a deeper voice "I now feel like I can truly defeat that thing"

"I'm glad to hear it" she continued "I must leave now to find my new body. Meet me there"

"I will, milady" the werewolf bowed before the ghost of the witch and she disappeared in the mist of

the night.

Victor turned around to the town. There were still some people in the streets, as well as some

creatures, furthermore, he could scent the smell of the captors. The new strength that imbued his

body as well as, perhaps, the beastly instincts made him think in revenge. Victor looked for his sword,

which was some steps beside him, but, when he rose it from the floor, found it to light for his new

constitution, so he dropped it again.

"I must find a new one that suits me better in this new body" he muttered and ran to the dark streets

of the town. People screamed at his presence, but their shouts did not last for too long, because,

immediately, their lives were ended under the werewolf's claws. In a matter of seconds, the town

turned into chaos, with people trying to escape the half animal that craved for blood.

Bodies fell under his weight, bones broke between his fangs, blood licked from his muzzle. Victor was

drunk with the revenge he was performing, humans and monster died alike, making a trail of death

and destruction on his back. Yet, even with the mingling or aromas of blood, urine and guts that

covered the town, he was still scenting the smell of those who captured his mistress, they were just

some meters before him, he would get them in no time, but he still wanted to enjoy some more.

Horror was intoxicating.

He caught the captors at the broken gates of the town. The old man was in panic, he smelled to terror.

Victor smiled at the scene, mocking from such a pathetic group of men. However, he did not scent the

smell of the one who killed him. He was not sure if it was due to some ability of the creature or its

departure before the rest. He did not pay more attention to that, but focused on those who could not

manage to escape.

The werewolf jumped over one of the soldiers and bit his neck. Warm blood filled his mouth and some

taste of bone for his fangs managed to touch one of the vertebrae. The soldier died in the instant, his

body joined to the ones of the town. Victor did not stop there, but attacked, one by one, each member

of the group. It did not matter if he used his fangs or his claws, every one of them fell dead under his

strength. Some tried to escape, but he was too fast, some managed to pierced him with his weapons,

but they were harmless.

In half an hour, only the old man was left. He was in a corner, lying in a puddle of pee. Victor

approached him slowly, just to be delighted of the sight of the man that killed his mistress.

"You don't feel so confident in this moment, do you?" Victor approached his face to the old man who

sweated like a pig.

"Please..." the old man muttered "Spare my life. I swear I won't do anything against you anymore"

Victor did not answer at the moment, but laughed instead, a very sadistic and long laugh.

"That's not going to happen, sir" Victor said, and after saying that, he took the old man from an arm

and dragged him all the way to the main square. The captive screamed for his live, asking for help or

mercy, but no soul replied his demands. He only received the sound of the wolf's laughs.

When both arrived to the square, Victor looked for some ropes to tie the old man who did not stop

yelling and crying. Then, after he was convinced his pray would not move, he went for wood long

enough to tie a man to it, as well as some more to make a bonfire. When he finished with these tasks,

he dragged again his pray and tied him to the stick. The old man went into panic, for he was becoming

aware of what would happen to him, so he yelled louder, but the wolf did not listen. With the help of

some stones he started a fire.

Flames grew slow at the beginning, but as the night passed they gained more and more terrain. Heat

was the first thing to strike the old man whose voice was hoarse for long periods of yelling. Drops of

sweat ran down his face, he panted heavily. The werewolf stared at him with a smirk, flames danced

on the surface of his eyes.

A long scream marked the instant where flames touched the skin of the old man. Victor could not stop

to think how pathetic was this man and how magnificent his mistress who did not make a sound during

her execution. Soon the flames invaded the entire body of the captive that yelled some more until his

throat was burnt and his life ended.

Victor exited the town when the last flame of the bonfire was extinguished. He was not completely

satisfied, his killer had run away, but at least he avenged his mistress that was certainly waiting for

him at their place.

From that same night, Victor stopped to exist in the world. He considered that this new body needed

a new name as well, something more suited. So he decided to renamed himself as Blaidd, wolf in an

unwell known tongue.

Nayar Leng