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Fallen to Fenrir For ArrowQuivershaft By Draconicon

Under the power of Athene, Nathan had fought many horrible things in the honor of the hunting goddess. He had given her tribute, brought low the creatures of the field and the sky, and given her much in the way of glory. Until today, he had never faced a challenge that he imagined that she would find worthy, but now? Now, he reconsidered that stance. A great werewolf of the north had come down from the mountains at the edge of the country, and Nathan had taken up his spear to fight it. He had expected to finish it off and then return with its pelt over his shoulder within a week. Obviously, that had not happened. He spun his spear beneath the moon, keeping it ready against the werewolf circling the clearing across from him. The forest around him was filled with the howl and crunch and snarl of the rest of the pack, the many members of it eager to break out of the treeline and take him down for what he had done. Only the alpha held them back, and even the great wolf before him seemed to have a tenuous grip, at best, on the instincts of the pack. I have to take him quickly, he thought, keeping the tip of his spear dancing in a triangle motion. If this becomes a battle of endurance, he is going to kill me...or worse. The next time the forest erupted with howls, he lunged forward, head bent down and spear held point forward and up. He crossed the clearing quickly, saw the shadow of the wolf change beneath the moon as he brought an arm up... And slid. The human dove between the werewolf's legs, using the butt of his spear to stop his movement and launch him upright. The tip of his spear pierced the werewolf's back, sending him stumbling forward, almost knocking him off his feet. Almost. The werewolf roared, great arms reaching back to try and snare him. Nathan darted left, right, left, pulling along the base of the spear as he tried to wrench it free again. The tip must have caught a particular muscle cluster, trapped by the sheer bulk of it. Come on, come on. He gave it one more pull - Only to be bashed across the face by the werewolf's windmilling arms. He fell back, dazed and winded. By the time he was able to see clearly, the werewolf was on him, and it was too late to get up. One great paw grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him off the ground and holding him suspended in midair. His face bleeding from the impact, he blinked through the blood to look the great beast in the face. Nathan could hardly see him, the black fur blending into the night more than usual. Grimacing from the pain in his head, the human spat in his face. "Go on, then...kill me." The werewolf glared at him, not even bothering to wipe the spit off his face. Instead of snarling, the beast seemed to grin. The grin widened further, further, until every horrible, curved tooth was visible, every deadly fang on display. "No...just...kill me." It wasn't enough. The beast leaned in, tilting its head to the side. Nathan desperately kicked out, but the wolf caught his leg, keeping him from making contact. He tried to wiggle his wrist free of the overhead grip, but it was too little, too late. Far too late. The bite cut through leather armor and flesh with ease, and he screamed from the agony of the dozens of piercing points that went straight into his skin. It burned like fire, and he couldn't catch his breath as the pressure of that jaw kept him from breathing properly. He beat at the werewolf's shoulder with his free hand, but it did nothing. The bite was held for nearly a minute before he was finally released, dropped to the ground. Nathan grimaced, huffing and puffing to catch his breath, blood running out of the tooth holes on his shoulder and chest and back. He ripped the leather off, looking at the wound. Already, it was starting to seal up. No...no... He whipped his head up, looking to the moon. Artemis, Athene, they had all turned from him. They had given him to this northern beast. He had failed them. "NO!" Nathan pulled himself to his feet, throwing his arms to the sky. "Don't do this to me! I have served you...I have done your will...save me, I beg you, save - UGH!" He fell to his knees, then to all fours as the heat of the bite spread through his body. Beneath the moonlight, changes were already spreading across him, taking him, pulling him down into beasthood. His face ached as pressure built up behind his lips and his nose, a pressure that made the bones crack and his skin feel like it was on the verge of ripping as it pressed forward. His teeth cut and cracked, falling from his face as new fangs grew in to replace them. Tick-tick went the old ones, falling to the ground around his fingers, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as the new fangs cut his gums. He heaved, gasping for breath as his body felt too small for its own good, everything feeling compressed, restrained. His armor, formerly so comfortable, felt tight and painful around bulges of muscle that popped in across his body, filling out the gaps that had once been filled with padding. Nathan screamed as the leather squeezed down on his shoulderblades - CRACK! Only for the leather to break from the pressure inside. He arched his back, feeling his body thickening, growing, bulging with the muscle of the beast. Air came in quick gasps and short hisses, his head rolling along his shoulders as he felt his muzzle continue to grow, the itching, crackling feeling of his ears moving along the side of his head as they grew. The night became a thing of terrifying detail, with the individual smells of the surviving pack and the hunger-inducing smell of blood thick on the air. No, no! This isn't me! This isn't me! As his clothes ripped off of his shoulders and back, his arms grew, fur rolling down from his biceps to his elbows, and then further down towards his wrists and hands. He stared at them as they grew, losing the definition and detail of human hands and becoming more like paws, more like bestial appendages. As he turned his hands, looking at the pads darkening the underside, Nathan wanted to weep. He was losing everything that he had been, every bit of humanity that he had. The beast had taken more than his life. It had taken everything that he had been. He grabbed for something, anything. The grass, the ground, something to stabilize himself. He sunk his deadly claws and strong fingers into the earth, squeezing at it, pulling out great fistfuls of rock and stone. This isn't me! I am not - He screamed as his back cracked, a surge of growth pushing down on his spine and out through his tailbone. As his lower clothes filled out with pressure, he knew exactly what it was. A tail. A bestial tail. The rest of his clothes ripped in short order, the fur covering him, hiding his shame as he became a wolf as black as the one that had bitten him. His tail grew in as his legs cracked, his feet snapping as they pulled up, his heels rising to give him the paws of a wolf. He stumbled to a tree, using it to pull himself upright. Even then, the hunch of muscle and thick flesh and fur along his shoulders left him leaning forward, his claws scraping through the bark as he dragged himself into a position that wasn't entirely comfortable for any animal, even one like him. Yet, for all that, he had power. Great power of muscle in his arms and legs, the power of endurance in his chest. He could keep going...he could keep fighting. With a desperate howl, the transformed warrior leaped for the alpha wolf. He pulled back one paw, swept it forward - "Stop." It was a deep, growling word, and his arm froze as if it had hit stone. It was less than an inch from the alpha's face, hovering there, shaking. Nathan strained, trying to complete the blow, but his body would no longer listen. "You are no longer human. You are wolf. And as wolf, you serve the pack. You serve me." He felt the truth of the statement in his bones, and it hurt. He groaned, clenching his new teeth as he fought against it, but eventually, his arm was forced back to his side. The alpha looked at him, and his body caved, falling down to all fours, bowing his head as an inferior does to their superior. The alpha knelt in front of him, lifting his chin. "You will forget your human name. From now on, you will be called Ardaenu. From now on, you serve me, first, and Fenrir second." Fenrir. He had never heard that word before, but it had the taste of the north about it. It must have been a god of their lands, or something approximating it. Perhaps even a devil that they served. Whatever it was, he could feel the power of the name in his bones. If the alpha could command his body, then this Fenrir could command his soul. Hope fled from him as he lowered his head. Whatever happened to him next, he was well and truly lost.

The End