The Echoes of War

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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When an ancient battlegrounds is found where a condo was supposed to be built, one person finds out that sometimes a battle rages on long after the war is over.

A rather fun possession piece for FoxLightning on FA


The field was quiet, save for the grass that rubbed against one another when a soft breeze rippled through it, there was an absence of sound that one is constantly surrounded by. It hadn't always been that way, up until a week ago the vacant area was filled with the sounds of workers and machinery that was about to turn the vacant field into a new luxury resort. When one of the backhoes dug up what appeared to be the remains of a skeleton however work immediately stopped and the whole place was filled with the sounds of police sirens and news crews. Thankfully the body was not murdered as recently as they suspected, carbon dating put the bones at a few thousand years old and after a little more searching it appeared that the work crews had stumbled upon the site of an ancient battle.

Now the field was devoid of everything save for a few holes in the ground, the property managers had pulled out of the site to develop and the local university didn't have the money for a full-fledged archeological exploration until they could raise it in a few months to a year. The local wildlife hadn't had a chance to return yet either after the crews scared them off, which left only the sound of the grass in the wind and the human who walked down one of the footpaths that had been created.

Ryan had lived near the area that they were developing and was glad to hear that the sounds of machinery that could be heard all the way to his neighborhood had stopped. He was there now to see if he could find anything cool that may have been missed or left behind, though he made sure not to pick up any artifacts since the public had been strictly warned about the penalties of doing such. When he got to the field itself it was hard to believe that it had been the site of some sort of ancient battle. The few items that the university had found in the hole the excavator had made told a tale that the ancient civilization that was there before had fought a bunch of people that were symbolized by people with dog heads, no doubt some sort of invading country known for such a thing.

Sweat had begun to form on Ryan's black tank top and camo pants and he decided to take a break from his search. He headed to the tree line and sat under the shade of one of the trees, taking out a water bottle from his backpack and drinking the tepid liquid. He continued to sit for a few minutes and looked out over the landscape and as the wind rushed past him he wondered what it would have looked like all those years ago, the two warring factions meeting here in battle. He could only imagine it would be loud, the sounds of weapons clashing as soldiers yelled in either defeat or triumph.

After a few seconds of imagining the sounds of war his eyes opened wider when he realized that the sounds didn't seem to come from just his imagination anymore. Though it was faint he swore he could hear someone shouting and scuffling, he got up and dusted off his black tank top and camo shorts before he ventured towards the sound. It led him deeper into the woods, a place the developers hadn't had a chance to appraise yet and was relatively untouched by the events of the field. After a few minutes of searching the noise stopped as quickly as it had started, which had led Ryan to a small outcropping of rocks on the side of a hill that led down to a river.

Ryan stopped and waited to hear the sound again, but after about a minute of silence he wondered if it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He started back up the hill when his foot suddenly fell through a bed of dried leaves left over from the winter. When he pulled it back and looked inside the hole he saw a void which was covered by leaves and sticks. It didn't take long for him to pull back the rotting camouflage, and when he did it revealed a small cave.

"Whoa, the university is going to freak out about this," Ryan said to himself as he turned on the light to his phone and walked inside. While it wasn't a big space it could accommodate about a half-dozen people, and when he walked in further he saw that there were various artifacts strewn about the floor. Having been preserved from the elements the metallic items appeared to be in good shape, he could even see some leather goods though they had been mostly rotted away by time.

One item in particular caught his eyes and he picked up a bronze necklace with two silver disks on the end of them. While the writing was indecipherable the young man guessed that it was possibly a pair of dog tags, and when he ran his hands over the inscription he suddenly heard the noise again which almost caused him to drop his phone. His eyes widened as he saw two incorporeal creatures, one of them laying on the ground where he stood while the other stood up. As Ryan looked around he saw several others that also laid on the ground, injured from the looks of it as the one that still stood seemed to talk to them.

Strangely the longer Ryan watched the surreal scene in front of him the more he began to understand the shadowy figure and their shapes became more apparent. When their faces came into focus he realized that the men didn't just wear dog masks or their hides, what he stared at looked like a humanoid version of a dog as he told the men on the ground that they would come back for them as soon as they turned the tide of battle. He was shocked to find out that it was humans they fought, and that it was the human civilization that invaded their lands in the first place. When the first apparition left and it was just the injured soldiers one of them began to talk of a plan, a last ditch effort since the war wasn't going their way...

And just like that the vision vanished, and left the brown-haired male alone once again. "Looks like they never came back," Ryan deduced as he looked back down at the tag. "The lack of dog men today suggests that humans managed to obliterate your kind from the face of the earth. A shame too, that would be really interesting to see... I do wonder what was the last ditch effort you had in mind."

Ryan could feel the metal beneath his fingers seem to hum in response and he began to wonder what it meant. It appeared that when he touched the artifact he saw most of what was happening, but couldn't quite make the connection to the memory. Perhaps if he put it on... part of his mind thought it was a bad idea, it was technically an artifact that he wasn't supposed to even touch, much less wear around his neck. Another part of him however was very curious on what the end of the vision was, and if nothing happened he would just take it off and put it back where he found it.

Eventually his thoughts turned more towards curiosity and he slipped the necklace over his neck, the metal surprisingly warm against his skin as he looked around. This time the visions returned they were much clearer, the whitish-blue spirits were now very distinctly canine in appearance. The one who appeared to be a leader of the group, who was in the same location as where Ryan had found the dog tags, told his other injured squadmates to listen very carefully.

"These humans, they think they're going to win the war just because they have the numbers to beat us," the leader said with a snarl as he shakily stood up. "But they know nothing of our magics, so we're going to get our revenge even if it takes us into our next lifetime!" All the dog people cheered and the leader seemed to grow livelier by the second, not even holding where Ryan had assumed that his side had been wounded. "You have all honored me by serving as my packmates, so you can be damn sure that I will remember each and every one of you when the time comes!"

Ryan was so enraptured by the scene he hadn't noticed that the spirit of the dogman had paced its way right up to him before his muzzle was inches from his face. "And that time comes NOW."

Ryan's breath caught in his throat as a spectral hand plunged into his chest, a wiry smile on the creature's face as the human could feel the presence inside him. He tried to back away but the spirit's form seemed to lose definition and curl around his body, still feeling it anchored to his chest as the blue miasma that came off it began to find its way into his nostrils and mouth. It took him a few seconds to realize that the fist was where the dog tags were, and as he felt his skin itch around his chest and face he thought if he could remove the possessed artifact perhaps he could stop it. Unfortunately the metal seemed to have slipped below his tanktop and he was having trouble fishing it out with the feeling of the spirit all around him.

Finally the human ripped off the tank top and threw it to the side, but what he saw underneath startled him so bad he stopped dead in his tracks. Instead of his usual hairless chest there was a thick pelt of creamy fur that centered on the dog tags and had begun to spread outwards. He tried to make a grab for the dog tag but as soon as his fingers touched the warm metal his fingernails turned a deep black and grew out into points as brown fur grew out from the base of them and started to spread upwards. The head of the creature reformed next to his own as he felt his tongue thicken in his mouth and his nose and jaw to swell outwards.

"Looking good there human," the soldier said as Ryan felt the surreal sensation of an incorporeal tongue lick against his ear, which began to migrate up his head and form into a point. "I know you may be a civilian but some sacrifices have to be made if we're going to win this war."

"Th-there is no war!" Ryan managed to cry out. "It's just been humans for the last few thousand years!"

"Just humans huh..." the creature said with a snarl as Ryan felt a second arm push into him, which caused his back to arch from the sheer energy that poured through his form as he felt the spirit press into his body. "We'll just see about that."

As soon as the spirit's head disappeared inside him Ryan's body suddenly felt... crowded, which coupled by the changes that were taking place made him dizzy. He could feel the spirit roiling around inside him, trying to gain control of whatever it could while he desperately fought back. His eyes began to glow an icy blue as he felt his body begin to shift, though his mouth began to retract slightly he felt an entirely different part of his body begin to grow out. His back bulged with muscle as he felt his spine extend, a very inhuman tail began to push down the waistband of his camo shorts and wag out into the air.

"You think you can possibly resist me human?" Ryan heard inside his mind as he felt control almost get wrenched away from his head, his nose turning black as the bridge thickened and grew into a proto-muzzle again. "Your body belongs to me now!"

Ryan continued to push back against the spirit inside him, but as his fingers thickened and his arms sprouted tan fur he began to felt like it was a losing battle. He looked down see the skin on his fingers thicken into animal like paw pads, though they retained their dexterity as his thin arms bulged with muscles. His chest quickly followed suit, the fur continued to spread as his pectorals and abs became hard with cords of muscle. If it weren't for the voice in his head he would have been impressed with the new muscle, a thought that caused the spirit to chuckle.

Once more there was a jerk on his psyche as the spirit tried to move in on his head, though as he wrestled back control again he felt his human teeth begin to sharpen and his ears turn fuzzy and pointed. "Why do you fight when you clearly like this form human?" The soldier canine's voice taunted. "Submit willingly and I'll let you experience the full joys of this body."

"Never!" Ryan shouted, though his voice had a tinge of a growl to it as fur began to crawl up his chest. The cascade of thickening muscle reached his thighs as he collapsed to his knees, his entire body quivering from the changes as his shorts ripped from being tightened by his new legs. The remnants of the fabric continued to cling to his groin even as he felt skin wrap around his groin, forming into a fuzzy sheath as the transforming human squirmed from an entirely new sensation, pleasure.

As Ryan fell onto his back, his legs in the air as he saw his feet twisting and lengthening, he found it harder and harder to continue to fight the spirit. His body was no longer human, instead as more fur filled out his body his own claw tipped hands and fingers felt alien to him. He realized this was what the spirit want, with every tug he found less and less of his humanity to cling onto as a foothold for his resistance. After a few minutes only his head remained, and even then his mouth had half-formed into a muzzle, his ears were furry and pointed, and the blue glow in one of his eyes had begun to turn into a bright crimson. Even though he still had a look of terror the side of his mouth that had the reddening eye was slightly curled up in a sneer, showing off his growing incisors.

Ryan felt his consciousness shift as the war dog spirit once more pushed into his mind. As it did his face pushed out even more, the skin of his nose turned a deep black as his lips pushed out into a short muzzle. His eyes squeezed shut as his mouth continued to swell outward, his jaw cracked as his teeth sharpened and his tongue lengthened and flattened in his mouth. For a few seconds when his eyes opened they glowed a bright red, but as the eyes blinked a few times they returned to their human configuration and Ryan looked down in horror at what he had become.

By this point Ryan saw that his body had looked like that of an anthro German Shepard; his old lanky form had been replaced with the ripped body that one would expect of a soldier. But that's where any similarity to his humanity ended, he was covered from head to toe in a thick layer of fur even underneath the fabric of his shorts that now looked more like pair of underpants that had started to tear at the seams with a very large bulge in front of it. He brought his padded fingers up to his head and felt his new ears, feeling the look of shock on his face as his clawed hands ran over his ears and new teeth. "This isn't happening... this isn't happening..."

As he tried to stand up another surge of energy surged through Ryan's body that caused him to arch his back, and as he tried to recompose himself his hands drifted down towards his crotch and began to rub it. "Humans... your weakness always seems to be between your legs," the spirit's voice said through Ryan's new muzzle as it curled in a sneer, his eyes flashing red for a second as the claws of his fingers began to slice through the remnants of his shorts. Despite the fear of the situation there was a feeling of relief when his thick thighs and rear were finally free from their cloth prison. Ryan gasped when he looked down and saw that his new cock, the bright red tip poked out of his new sheath that had filled out with the inhuman canine member.

Despite using every ounce of willpower he had Ryan couldn't stop his hands from rubbing the sensitive flesh, which caused him to groan despite himself as he writhed on the stone floor of the cave. He fought so hard to stop his own body, which no longer looked like his body, from betraying him that he failed to catch that the entity which had possessed him had begun to creep up on his psyche once more. With a particularly powerful stroke Ryan's eyes shot wide open before they once more glowed with a menacing red light. But unlike before the cocky grin that formed on the canine muzzle continued to stick as the dog-creature stood up, his tail wagging behind him as he chuckled lowly as Ryan's consciousness was pushed further away from his head and down into his body.

"Not bad... not bad at all," the creature said as he flexed his body experimentally, one hand still clasped around his maleness that he stroked his washboard abs and firm fur-covered pectorals. "So much useful information up here too, thank you very much for the head start Ryan."

As the dog soldier accessed the human's brain he realized with horror that what the human had said was true. Not only had humans taken over the entire planet but it appeared that most records of any other race that lived back in his day had been completely erased from the history books. All that seemed to remain were ruins of their once great cities, something that Ryan could tell caused a deep anger to surge up in the spirit. Such a surge of emotion was almost frightening to the human, especially since it was the creature that currently had control over his transformed, more powerful body.

"No... this will not do at all, with your body I will make sure that humans know of our race once more," Zypher growled. "I can't do it alone however, luckily it appears you have some friends that my fellow soldiers can inhabit, and I do wish to bring the old pack back together again. The only thing I wonder is if I should use my old name or take yours along with your body, while Zypher is a great name there is something about Ryan that rings well with this body."

Zypher chuckled to himself as he could feel the human spirit wiggle inside him, trying to break the indomitable will that his kind had spent years honing during his training. He gave his new cock a few strokes and the waves of pleasure washed against the host's psyche, distracting him enough to push the pesky human deep down in his chest. The other being could still feel and see everything, he wasn't a monster, but full control of his new, improved German Shepard body would remain his. Once he was sure that the other spirit had been completely subjugated by lust he began to walk around and assess his surroundings.

Time had not been good to what had been his pack's home during the war, Zepher realized with a frown as he looked at the rather barren cave. There were little remnants of anything that they had built to try and maintain some level of comfort, and as he walked the edge of the stone walls he saw that even their bodies had disappeared to the decay of time and potential scavengers. Part of him was glad, to have to see his own corpse lying there, wounds from the battle they had lost covered under strips of cloth and dirty bandages. When he reached one area in particular he heard the clink of metal underneath his pawed feet and knelt down to pick up a pair of dog tags similar to those that the unfortunate human had picked up. As he put his clawed hands over them he could feel the spirit of his comrade, which caused the dog-morph to lower his head.

"Soon my friend, soon..." Zypher muttered, though suddenly his head shot up as the red glow began to fade from his eyes. "What the hell?! Human!! Do you honestly think you could take this body away from me after all my hard work!?"

Ryan tried to listen to none of it though as he began to retake control of his possessed body, forcing it away from the canine spirit. As Ryan's spirit clawed his way back into control the fur began to recede back into his body, taking advantage of the creature's distracted state to try and get back into power. It appeared to be working, his muzzle began to recede back into his face as his body shrunk somewhat. Though he lamented the loss of muscle it was far better than losing his body and he continued to fixate on his human form. The invading spirit wouldn't go down with a fight, his proto-muzzle turned up into a snarl as fight for the body continued.

Then suddenly there was a moment of clarity and the red completely faded from Ryan's eyes, regaining control of his limbs as he began to see patches of bare human flesh again. Zypher's presence seemed to evaporate from his mind completely and though it was slow he was graining his human configuration once more. "Oh thank God," the human exclaimed as he fell against the side of the cave wall while he continued to change back.

As the fur completely receded from his chest he looked down to see that the dog tags which had started it all still hung around his neck. He wondered if the spirit had somehow receded back there, maybe licking its wounds from being defeated by a human once more. Either way it was something he was more than willing to get off, and grabbed them with his half-mutated hand and pulled them over his head.

It was right then that Zypher struck back, all the power of the spirit repossessing his hand to drop the dog tags before Ryan could remove them completely. The smooth metal fell right against his head, the chain caught on his still swollen face that immediately began to push back out into a fierce muzzle. The human realized his mistake too late before a deep red glow returned to his eyes, the psychic pressure of the spirit's anchor so close to his mind was like a weight on his own psyche. It wasn't long before the thick fur once more covered his muzzle, teeth bared in a grin as a firm shake of the head reoriented the dog tags back to their rightful place in the middle of his growing chest.

Ryan's regressing canine body kicked and writhed as Zypher's spirit took over once more, but instead of being pushed back to the core of his being like before he could feel himself going even lower. Fur regrew twice as quickly as before and all the progress he had made towards his humanity was gone in an instant. As a certain peace washed over their shared form he realized with horror that the feeling of his body he had before was almost gone. The only thing that he could sense was the sensation that came from his maleness, which had grown erect once more as he felt himself drift further and further downward.

"What, you think I would put you in the same place as before where you could try and take advantage again?" Zypher explained with a chuckle as he leaned back, stroking his tapered cock to keep the human's soul in a state of increased lust. "I have just the place for you, a place where all humans belong."

If Ryan had a body he would have shuddered at what it could be, and at first he thought that the dog was sending him to the sensitive flesh of the cock that Zypher continued to pleasure. "Oh, I had thought about putting you there," the canine spirit explained as his muzzle curled into a relaxed grin. "Then the next time I felt the need to orgasm I'd expel your spirit so that I could truly claim this body as my own. But I have no worries I can keep your rebellious spirt underfoot, which to tell the truth is where I got the inspiration for your new home."

Ryan could only respond with angry thoughts as his consciousness drifted down past his former groin, though it appeared the dog soldier had completely taken it for his own now. He felt the free paw hand massage the area he possessed on his inner thighs, which only expedited Ryan's transition down the muscular legs faster. He could still sense the pleasure of the male's ministrations on his member, as well as the slight movement of the thick, fluffy tail that wagged behind him happily because of it. But now it was replaced with a new sensation when he reached the feet of the creature, the feeling of the ground against his body that consumed his very being.

Zypher couldn't help but chuckle as he felt the human's panic rise up as the spirit spread out over both paws, and though the original spirit possessed them completely they were still completely under his control. He gave his toes an experimental wiggle and felt Ryan's psyche squirm slightly from the movement. This gave the dog soldier and idea and with flexibility that the human never had he brought his paws up to his member and sandwiched his rock-hard length against it. The pure shock that Zypher felt when he did it, as well as the pleasure from the padded appendages rubbing against his cock, nearly caused him to cum right there.

For a while all that could be heard in the dark cave was Zypher's panting as he jerked himself off with his possessed paws, Ryan feeling the bizarre sensation of the lust from stroking it as well as the feeling of it rubbing against his entire being. Neither Zypher nor Ryan knew how long they went at it, but eventually Zypher let out a howl as his body shuddered, orgasming hard as he clamped his paws against his cock while he shot jet after jet of cum onto them. When it finally finished several loads later he let out a contented sigh and let his legs fall back down onto the stone, relaxing against the wall as he let his orgasm subside.

"It has been far too long since I've done that," Zypher mused as he chuckled to himself. He could still feel a blissed out Ryan in his pawpads as he no doubt tried to comprehend what just happened, though his confusion only further cemented his place literally at the dog soldier's feet. After he gave himself a few more minutes Zypher stood up and walked around the cave, picking up several sets of dog tags as he went while he let the human spirit feel the hard stone beneath him. He couldn't help but notice that the human's interpretation of the sensations he felt while they walked around was that of pleasure from the compression of foot against surface, which lead Zypher to wonder what would happen if he put something like shoes on them.

It was a thought for another time, the soldier realized as he looked at the beams of light that pierced through the cover of the cave entrance. He could feel the human squirm beneath him as he began to walk towards it, and though he continued to control his emotions to see if the new prison would hold his captive he couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety. From the human's memories Zypher realized what he was about to emerge into would be a radically different one then what he had left behind. But he steeled himself and prepared to leave, leaving the cave and being reborn into a whole new world.

For the first time in hundreds of years Zypher felt the warmth of the sun against his face as he crawled out from the cave. The dog tags he had procured of his pack mates were tucked securely into the backpack that the human had left behind, which he slung over his shoulder. His larger, more muscular frame easily moved aside the camouflage that had covered and hidden their hiding spot all those centuries, and though the landscape had changed little a wave of new smells assaulted the canine's sensitive nose. "Ugh, is this what humans have done to the land?" Zypher asked rhetorically, able to see the human's memories of the ugly steel and brick dwellings that have taken over the landscape they dominated.

As Zypher climbed the hill he came upon the still field, and like the human before him he could hear the sounds of war that had transpired there. It was fitting, he thought as he walked through the field and back to the down, that the place where the war had raged it's hardest would be the spot where war would begin again...

...all the dog soldier needed was a few more recruits, be it willing... or conscripted...