The Choice
"There is a choice to make now; you can continue in this life of agony or you can submit to me and have what you desire: books, freedom to explore your interests in the occult and poetry, partners to bed if you wish. This can be yours," he gave a devilish grin, "for a price of course"
Cayden doesn't remember how long he's been locked up but when offered a chance at a better life, he must decide if this offer will be worth it.
There was a time when Cayden remembered what the outside world was like: the sun warming his skin, the wind brushing his face when horse riding. That was long ago. Now the only world he knew was the cold stone walls that confined him. He didn't know how long he has been staring at the four corners of his world for months or a year perhaps. What he did know was the pain the guards served him when his meals were brought to him; it wasn't enough to tame his hunger resulting in his body becoming thin and frail. His connection to the world’s Mana had also been cut, preventing him from healing his accumulating injuries. This was his life and he hated it.
During his umpteenth sleepless night in his cell, he heard the distant clinking of the guards' chain against the leather. It wasn't long before he saw the approaching light of the torch and the bestial shadows of the guards. The steel door swung open and the feline guards entered. Cayden remembered them from his varied beatings but he could tell something was different as one of the mountain lions loosely held some clothing.
"Put these on," he commanded to Cayden as he threw the clothes at him and landed in a heap.
"Why?" Cayden asked, he was surprised when his voice came out with a croak which came from disuse, but he knew he made a mistake. he wasn't meant to ask questions.
The lion clenched his jaw and fist but the hand from his partner stopped him from advancing.
"Roak, The Magister won't be happy if his nose is broken."
Roak gave a brief sigh but glared at Cayden who had started to put the rough tunic and trousers on. When he had finished, the other lion guard forced his hands into a pair of iron cuffs and shoved him out of the cell.
They walked along the stone corridor in silence, the only sounds being the other prisoners who were either praying to the Divines or crying. Cayden remembered being like them once when he first arrived at the prison, at first he would pray to the Divines for protection and hope of rescue which never came. He'd even prayed to the Hellspawn for his escape but all he got was silence. They reached the end of the corridor and pushed the wooden door open.
The first thing Cayden did was scan the room, which was completely different from what he expected. There were no cuffs in the wall nor instruments of pain. Instead, there were bookshelves of neatly bound books and a lit hearth. There was no rack to put him on instead a grand desk made from some kind of exotic wood. To him, this looked like an office of some kind with an ornate banner displaying an open eye on top of a stylised paw; marking it the room of a mage.
“Remove his restraints and leave us,” a voice called from the back room.
“Magister, I - “
“Now Roak,” the voice commanded which caused him to quickly release the restraints and left him alone with the Magister.
Cayden stood idly and gazed around the room once more noticing a shelf filled with potions of some kind. He wondered if he could grab one or two just to end his torment. Before he could attempt to move towards the potions a fox, wearing blue and white robes, strutted in from a back room and frowned.
“Oh, dear. This won’t do,” The fox said and he merely waved a paw in the air, causing the light to ripple slightly around Cayden. The light grew brighter and completely enveloped his sight before dimming. When he looked down his jaw slackened as he noticed his clothes had changed from the rough spun wool to a fine cotton shirt and trousers, not only that but Cayden felt stronger; almost like the months of starvation and torture were just erased.
“That’s better, come and have a seat. There’s much to discuss,” the fox said while moving towards the hearth. Cayden gave a brief look at the potions before making his way to the empty seat. The fox had reached forward and took a kettle from the iron grill of the fire and poured two cups of tea.
“I must say Cayden, you’re an intriguing fellow. Very intriguing,” the fox said as he passed a cup to him and claiming the other. “You were born to farmhands yet you managed to gain admission into a local school of the arcane. I hear you put up a fair fight against my battle-mages; that is some rare potential.”
“Forgive me, but how do you know so much about me?” Cayden asked as he swirled his tea around before taking a sip of the dark brew. The fox stood up and selected one of the bound books from the shelf and handed it to Cayden. He recognized the worn leather of the book and flipping through the chicken scratching confirmed what he thought: this was his journal.
“It was quite the interesting read,” the fox confessed while sitting back down. “Difficult to make out the writing but not impossible. Anyway, I believe I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Vidye, the Magister of the arcane arts.”
Cayden sat quietly for a moment before asking, “Why are we here? We’re talking and having tea even though are people are at war with one another.”
Vidye’s muzzle wrinkled slightly before he let out a sigh. “I suppose the guards didn’t tell you?”
“It’s a bit difficult to listen when my bones are broken.”
Vidye stared into the fire and tried to keep a calm composure but his ears betrayed him by flatting against his head before they returned to their normal position.
“The war is over. We won.”
The shattering of ceramic caused both of them to wince. Cayden reached down to pick the pieces up but he found the shards and spilt tea gone and thought this to be Vidye’s doing.
The fox stood up and paced to and fro the hearth and table before he found the words.
“You ask why I had you brought to my chambers, didn’t you?” Vidye asked and Cayden nodded his head. “I want to offer you a choice: you can be with your people under the rule of the Beastkin however, you will find the quality of life to be restricting and somewhat torturous, or you can submit to me and have what you desire: books, freedom to explore your interests in the arcane, partners to bed if you wish. This can be yours," he gave a devilish grin, "for a price."
Part of Cayden wanted to stay with his people even though he hadn’t seen another man in what felt like an eternity, but the other half of him wanted to go on his knees and swear his loyalty to the Magister.
“What do you want?” Cayden asked, and Vidye’s grin widened as he gained his guest’s attention.
“To gain your desire and freedom you must make the ultimate sacrifice and relinquish yourself,” Vidye explained, “You must become one of us in body and soul.” Cayden opened his mouth to speak but the fox placed a digit on his lips. “I must warn you that you’ll forget your old life so I ask that you choose wisely.”
‘_Could I do it,’_Cayden wondered as he stared at the fox and down at the journal in his hand, the journal containing his life up until his capture. For him, the choice boiled down to freedom as someone else or more of this life with the shackles so rough and cold. It was an easy one to make. He threw the journal in the fire and watched the flames licked the paper and leather before seeing it begin to darken and fuel its destruction. It was gone, and with that final act he fell to his knees and took in the sight of the Magister smiling down at him. “Please,” he mumbled, “I submit.”
Vidye cupped Cayden’s cheek and ran his hand over the skin, memorising it, before he dropped it and commanded Cayden to go to the backroom and wait for him.
Quickly he’d gotten off his knees and went into the back room which he realised was Vidye’s quarters with a large bed in the centre, a small side table and a chest tucked away in the faraway corner. He never knew that the beastkin slept on beds but where else were they to sleep? They weren’t savages.
His train of thought was broken when Vidye walked in carrying a small silver knife in one hand and a vial filled with white liquid in the other; Cayden took a step back and watched him place the vial on the bedside table. Vidye then took the silver knife and pricked his forefinger causing blood to drip out and fall into the vial, causing the white liquid to first become pink before turning a sickly yellow. With the potion prepared, Vidye turned back to Cayden with some fun in mind before the transformation.
“Strip,” he commanded and he watched Cayden pull the shirt over his head followed by the trousers. “I see my magic has done well in its work,” he said while studying his handy work as he slowly worked down from the well-crafted muscles of Cayden’s abdomen and licked his lips when he saw his half-hard member.
Vidye moved his hand up to the broach and unclipped it then proceeded to slowly unbutton his robes, allowing it to fall to the stone floor.
Cayden looked down the fox’s physic of toned muscles from frequent exercise and his mouth watered as he saw Vidye’s penis already erect. He didn’t need to be ordered what to do and stepped down to his knees and ran his tongue across the fox’s shaft, resulting in a groan. Cayden licked underneath the shaft before he swallowed the head and lightly sucked on it.
A small piece of him knew that he was sealing the deal but it was silenced when he felt a hand cradle the back of his head and guided him to take more of the penis in. Cayden felt his erection stand tall in the warm air of the room and he slowly started to stroke it in-time with his blow-job. With another nudge from the Magister, he took more in and felt the head at the back of his mouth. Cayden opened his eyes and saw that he wasn’t far from the knot at the end and he could smell the musk radiating from the fox’s groin. He gave a brief look up to Vidye and saw that his jaw was loose and his breath quickened along with the small thrusts. Cayden’s eyes rolled up slightly as he felt himself cum and seed flew out in front of him.
The shudder from Cayden cumming proved too much for Vidye and with a final thrust and pushed he felt Cayden’s lips bush his knot and climaxed. Cayden swallowed without question. They stood still for a moment before Cayden slowly pulled out, savouring the taste of the sweet-salty cum.
“That wasn’t the first time you’ve been with men,” Vidye stated between breaths. He patted Cayden’s head before turning to grab the potion on the bedside table. He turned back at the man before him and chuckled, the last image he will see of him would be him looking like a used animal. An animal that was ready to become more. He put two fingers to Cayden’s jaw and tilted his head upwards then placed the opening of the bottle to his lips.
Cayden felt the bitter liquid enter his mouth but was too lost in his lust to react to it. After a moment it was gone then he felt the pain. It started slowly near his heart but quickly spread over his entire body and it was too much for him. Cayden fell to his hands and gasped for air. Above him, he could hear Vidye whisper words of comfort but they were muted with the cracking of bones and screams. Through his tear-blurred vision, Cayden saw that his nails started to grow longer and blacken against the stone floor. A faint tingle started on the backs of his hands, similar to times when he was spell casting and weaving, and he could see fur start to grow. Red fur like his master’s. Cayden smiled despite the pain and felt the energy flow through his arms and into his body.
“Just let it flow,” Vidye said and he wrapped an arm around the transforming human and raised him to his feet, which had begun to change to a more bestial appearance. “You don’t have long now.”
Cayden allowed his master to place him on the bed and locked lips with him as his mouth and nosed started to push out. It was divine as his newly lengthened tongue explored his master’s mouth but some small part was telling him that this was wrong. But he didn’t know why. Why he was resisting as the last time he…
Cayden pulled out of Vidye’s embrace and stared at the fox. He didn’t remember how he got here. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could question how he got here, Vidye wrapped his paw around his erect cock and started to pump for his seed. Cayden felt a pressure build-up at his tail bone and felt something beginning to push. Cayden turned himself over and presented himself for Vidye...NO! His master.
He felt him push a digit inside his tail hole which made him squirm with pleasure before Vidye pulled out and lined his head up with his entrance. Then he pushed in. The transforming fox lost all sense of the world as his master slowly pushed his way in until his knot brushed against his puckered lips. He gripped the bedsheets as Vidye started to thrust into him and moaned as his transformed cock brushed against the sheets. He knew he was so close. He couldn’t even remember his name…
Vidye stared at the new fox beneath him and decided that his pet deserved a treat for being so willing. He leaned forward and reached underneath his pet before grabbing his erect cock and pumping it in time with his own thrusts. He nibbled on his pet’s lobe before he felt him shudder beneath and heard his breath deepen. At that moment Vidye gave a final thrust before shoving his knot into his pet and climaxing inside.
Both of the foxed lay half off the bed for several minutes, basking in the glow of their orgasms before Vidye pushed his pet onto the bed fully and repositioned himself so that he was spooning his pet, who he noticed had started to weary.
“Go and rest my pet,” he cooed in the fox’s ear, “We have much to do in the morning”. With his master’s permission, he closed his eyes and drifted off, unaware of the small tendrils of magic that were being attached to his head. Vidye started feeding the new fox knowledge of his people and made slight changes to his mind, nothing to change him drastically as he was a fox of his word. Small changes to dissuade thoughts of his human life. That and a few other changes…
The sun rose from the eastern mountains and the light caught the orange forest making it look like it had caught ablaze. Vidye decided that this would be a beautiful day after the messy business was taken care of. The Magister watched as a feline guard brought a prisoner from the stronghold and onto the stage to show to the crowd of furs, who had come fro the nearby villages and hamlets dotting the border. The human was met with a chant of booing and hisses which changed as a black hooded dragon entered from the other side, brandishing his rounded tipped blade.
The prisoner attempted to struggle but fell when the knee was kicked in by the guard, who had wasted no time in forcing his head on the chopping block. With a swift swing, the sword bit into the block and the head rolled.
“Terrible start to the morning, wouldn’t you agree, Reynard?” Vidye asked his new apprentice. The fox shifted the weight off of one paw and into the other as he watched on. He had to agree with the Magister as the sight of blood made him nauseous.
“Perhaps we should get something to eat,” he suggested to the Magister, he felt empty for some reason he couldn’t place but he knew it would pass.
Vidye smirked at the thought and made way to the mess hall, leaving Reynard alone for a moment. He stared at the corpse being dragged away from the stage, in preparation of the next execution, and saw a black trident inked on the corpse’s arm. He recognised it for some reason but why? Reynard tried to scour his mind for why but all he got was a growing headache. He gave a brief sigh before leaving to join his master, wondering why the name Cayden meant something to him.