Wasn’t anyone bigger and badder up in Frostgale than the Bonegrinder - at least not around these parts, anyways. The half-orc merc was well known for her size, her strength, and her terrifying awe. There was no sugarcoating it. She scared the shit outta most folks she met, and she had the strength to back up her horrifying looks.

But it came in handy, most of the time.

Especially when it came to coin.

Most were willing to overlook their fear so long as you were useful to them.

Ak’ka was just minding her own business one day when a farmer approached her. He was braver than most, she guessed, based on the way he approached her with a desperation that overrode his fear. He brought with him a single request - yer a big gal, you can wrangle my goats, can’t you?

Yeah, Ak’ka could wrangle his goats, but not without pay. She conveyed as much to him with a glare that could freeze hell over and a promise of a world of hurt if he didn’t fork up what was owed. Dealing with lost goats was an odd job for a merc like her, especially considerin’ her experience. Ak’ka had been ‘round the block a few times, and it showed, in her scars, her impressive ten feet of height, in her ice-covered bone arm that spoke of a lifetime of pain and war. Grabbing livestock was nothing to her.

But it meant everything to the farmer that needed her help, so Ak’ka figured that it wouldn’t be the worst afternoon spent scaling the sides of mountains to grab his lost animal companions. Apparently, he’d found someone else to help with the job, too. Ak’ka had no idea who else was qualified to wrangle big animals like her, but if it meant an extra pair of arms, she wouldn’t turn her nose up at it.

So Ak’ka waited by the side of the mountain, arms crossed while she scanned the horizon for this other guy. With any luck, they’d get this over with quick, and she’d get paid and get on with her life.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Cattle Around
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 4 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: A local farmer has reported that their livestock has gone missing, having broken free from their pen late in the night after a earthquake rattled their fencing. Now many of the farmers cows, bulls, donkeys or goats are scattered throughout the wilderness, and need help getting back to their pen. While the farmer repairs the fences, you need to gather up the animals and return them home safely and unharmed.

Beist was surprised when he was actually approached by someone. His appearance was quite intimidating, even more so recently. The giant beast man had an unfortunately permanent reaction to one of his potions, how it had happened he was still unsure of, but he'd become even more of a giant. Standing at 15 and a half feet tall, he was sure no one would be eager to make his acquaintance. But he still had the company of all his animal companions, so it wasn't all bad. He was especially glad he'd bought his magic clothing before then and that it had changed to suit his new size easily.

Maybe that was what made the farmer approach him, seeing him talking with his animals and responding as if he completely understood what they were saying, which he actually could. If the job was just to gather up some goats, Beist was honestly perfectly suited for such a job. Able to talk to them and convince them to come back on their own, and if they refused he could just pick them up and carry them himself with little effort. He didn't know why the farmer had offered such a hefty sum for it though. All he said in explanation was that the goats were a bit bigger than average.

It didn't take long at all for his head to pop up over the horizon as he walked toward the side of the mountain. He spotted the awaiting figure in the distance, but he'd expected her. The farmer had informed him there was another person he'd hired for the job. With a raccoon-dog on his right shoulder and a bat hanging from his left horn, he just walked right up to her.

Beist towered over the waiting waiting Half-Orc woman, but honestly by less than he would have expected to. She was quite tall even for her large race. Interesting! He wondered what had made her grow so large, but he didn't want to be rude. First thing first, introductions!

"Hello there. My name is Beistmild, but please call me Beist. Are you the one that was also hired by Billy?" Beist asked politely, extending a hand out for a shake.

---

Bringing Pets
Griffon (Sleigh Bell) in pet pocket
Woolful (My Best Friend) in space pocket
Mephit (Stables) in space pocket
Raccoon-Dog
Vampire Bat

Whoa.

Ak’ka didn’t usually meet folks who were much bigger than her - specially not since her most recent growth spurt. But this guy knocked everyone around him out of the water, standing at least five feet taller than her, with a buncha arms and even a tail behind him, and horns sprouting from his head…

Okay. Maybe Ak’ka was experiencing a bit of hero worship. Could ya blame her? This guy was built like a damn tank!

Her eyes widened when he got close - not outta fear, but something more like awe.

“Holy shit, how’d you get that big?” Ak’ka blurted before she could stop herself as the guy - Beist - held out his hand to her. She was grinning so big that he could see her tusks, though a gal didn’t exactly feel threatening standing near an absolute badass like this. Wait, was this offensive? Ak’ka didn’t care much for societal norms or manners or that bullshit, but she didn’t wanna offend the kindly guy that she was gonna be working with on this mission. Ak’ka cleared her throat, grabbing his hand with hers. The real one, not the one made of bone and ice. Beist would be able to feel how scarred and calloused her palms were.

“Uh. Sorry about that. I’m just… you got a workout routine?” She asked, rubbing at the back of her neck with her other hand. Gods, she was being stupid right now. “Never mind, actually. Name’s Ak’ka. Folks ‘round here call me the Bonegrinder, but you can just call me, well, Ak’ka. Lookin’ forward to work with you.”

Between the two of them they wouldn’t have any trouble wrangling these big ass goats!

"Eh?" Beist was taken aback by the sudden question, his ears drooping and his friendly smile dropping into a surprised expression. The cause of his size wasn't something he was very comfortable talking about, especially with a total stranger. An unfortunate series of mistakes and mishaps with his potions wasn't anything any alchemist would be proud to share.

He was even more taken aback when she asked him if he had a workout routine. Where did that come from? Was she... making fun of him? He glanced down at his stomach. He did have a bit of a gut... Maybe he really did need to start working out more... But that wasn't something someone should suddenly comment on to someone they've hardly met! No, no, she probably wasn't mocking him. Her tone didn't seem mocking at all. It honestly sounded almost awestruck, but that would just be silly. He needed to try to have a bit more confidence in himself.

Beist was just relieved she dropped the subject and introduced herself politely.

"Uh, it's alright. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ak'ka. I look forward to working with you." He replied awkwardly, trying to forget the less than stellar first impression he'd just received of her. He didn't want to hold it against her. He could understand giving off a bad first impression that didn't show a person's true self. He did it all the time.

"Well, let's get started then. Awd, if you would." Beist smiled to Ak'ka and then looked down to his stomach, giving it a gentle poke. Behind his sweater vest, something started to wiggle, the lump starting to move upward before a little head that appeared to be a brown raccoon with a slightly longer than usual snout popped out with a yawn. Beist held out a hand for the creature to climb onto and then lowered it to the ground.

"This is Awd, one of my companions. A Raccoon-Dog and an excellent tracker. He'll make finding the goats easy, but getting them back will be our job." Beist explained cheerily as Awd went into the pen and sniffed around for a scent to follow. Quickly, he found something and started to track it, walking with his nose low to the ground, heading further up the mountain. Beist followed behind, motioning for Ak'ka to do the same.

---

Raccoon-Dog

Ak’ka wasn’t the type of gal to care about social cues, but from the way the big guy shied away from her, she got the feelin’ she’d made him uncomfortable somehow. Or maybe he was just scared of orcs. They were pretty common ‘round these parts in the World’s Crown, but that didn’t make folk any less afraid of what they didn’t understand. She was used to getting insults and fearful looks thrown her way. Maybe this guy, Beist, was the same way.

Oh, hell, she’d just insulted the poor man, hadn’t she?

Ak’ka rubbed at the back of her neck, grumbling under her breath.

“Ah, hell. I ain’t meaning to offend ya, big guy. I think you look cool as shit, but I know what it’s like to be judged based on looks. Sorry if I made ya uncomfortable.” She said, an awkward-ass apology, but the last thing she wanted was to come off as an asshole. Ak’ka was used to insults to the point they didn’t bother her. Not all folks were the same.

A tiny creature poked its head out of Beist’s sweater vest. Some little dog lookin’ fellow, named Awd, with big ol’ round eyes and a big nose for sniffing things out. Damn, it was too cute! Admittedly, Ak’ka also had a secret weakness for tiny critters.

“Hey there, Awd.” She greeted, before reaching into her fur-pelt cloak and pulling out a tiny bundle of fur. Squeak the mouse sniffed the air, roused from his nap. Ak’ka felt a bit awkward bringing out her little buddy in front of someone else, but she figured Beist wouldn’t judge. “Squeak here ain’t got the same kinda sensitive nose, but he’s pretty good at lookin’ for things. Maybe he can help.”

She set Squeak on the ground, the doormouse following after them as Ak’ka trailed after Beist.

"Cool?" Beist repeated, his eyebrows raised in surprise and his cheeks darkening slightly with a blush. She thought he looked cool? No, she must be joking! Why would anyone think he looked cool? He was wearing a sweater vest, how could anyone think he looked cool in that?

Maybe he'd been thinking about it all wrong. She thought he looked cool. Maybe when she asked how he got so big... was that supposed to be some kind of compliment? Did she think he was cool because he was so large? Maybe asking about his workout routine was pure curiosity and not a jab at his midsection. She was larger than the average Orc. Maybe that was for a reason. She could actually want to be larger, unlike Beist. 

"Oh, no, there's no need to apologize! I'm not uncomfortable, I was just... surprised. Not a lot of people think I look... cool. Most people think I look like a monster, so I also understand being judged by looks. Do you wish you were this large? I can't say I recommend it. It can come in handy, but it makes a lot of things difficult that you wouldn't really think about. Just getting through a door... I only became this large by accident." Beist admitted sadly.

He smiled again as he watched Squeak scamper along. "You have an animal companion as well? I'm very fond of animals myself. They never seem to mind my appearance so much. They make wonderful companions. I have quite a few of them."

Beist pulled a handfull of pink hard candies wrapped in a red and green paper with little yellow dots to resemble a strawberry from his pocket and offered them to Ak'ka.

"Would you or Squeak like a candy? They're strawberry flavored."

“’Course I’d wanna be that big.” Ak’ka asserted with all the confidence of someone who knew what she wanted. Beist probably saw that his monstrous form was a shame. Ak’ka used to think the same when she left the mountains before realizing that being big and scary was handy for her line of work. Maybe it wasn’t the same for him, but there was one universal benefit from being huge. People gave you odd looks. But most folks were smart enough to leave you the hell alone.

She didn’t really get why being so tall would make Beist sad, though. Ak’ka would just burst through doorframes that she didn’t fit in. “On the plus size it makes things easier to get stuff on the shelf for your little animal guys. But how do you get so big by accident?” She asked. “Did ya stretch too much and grow a foot or some shit - uh, some stuff?” She figured she could probably watch her mouth against this guy who, she was quickly learning, was basically just a softie in a sweater vest.

That was only confirmed when Beist offered her a bit of candy.

“Sure, why not?” She grabbed a couple of pieces, popping one in her mouth and tossing the other for Squeak to catch. It landed in the snow by the mouse’s side, but Squeak stopped to grab the sweet treat. “Wish I had candy to give ya back in turn. I got…” She rummaged in her pocket but didn’t find anything ‘xcept for a couple of chunks of bone from gods knew where, some lint, and her flask. “Uh, well, nothing really.”

She watched as Awd sniffed up the path in search of the goats they were after. None had shown their face yet.

“Oh, animals? Yeah, ya seem like the kinda guy to like little fuzzy creatures. They’re sweet like ya.” She grinned, revealing her sharp tusks. “I guess you could say I like the little guys. But most of the cute ones don’t like a big gal like me. Only Squeak sticks around with me, really.” She craned her neck to look at the area around Beist, lookin' for more creatures. “Is Awd all ya got, or do you got more hidden somewhere?”

Beist chuckled at the idea of growing larger just by stretching too much. It was just so silly, it made him start laughing. He put a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, not wanting to echo all the way down the mountain. He held a hand on his stomach

"My apologies. That was just a funny joke!" He checkled before taking a deep breath to get himself under control. "No, I didn't stretch too much. I'm an alchemist. I got this big by drinking a few potions that do didn't do exactly what I'd hoped they'd do." He explained with a smile. Normally, sharing that information with someone would sour his mood a bit, but he was still riding the great laugh he'd just had from Ak'ka's joke, so it didn't bother him as much this time.

"Ah, I'm afraid the potion might not work for you though. My circumstances when I drank it were a bit special." He added, not wanting to get her hopes up. She wanted to be bigger, so the chances of her asking for a taste of the potion that had changed him weren't far fetched. The potion had only had an effect on him because he was Werebeast, so he didn't know if it would actually do anything for her.

"No, Awd isn't all I have. I actually have quite a few 'little guys' with me, and some waiting for me to return."

Beist pointed to a couple of little things hanging from each of his horns that might have just looked like more charms given just how far away his horns were to anyone who looked. On his right horn was a hanging bat, his wings folded around him as he slept. On his right horn, hanging by his tail, was what looked like a tiny, 6 inch tall red monkey with a pair of dragonfly's wings on his back clothed in a little green outfit and a tiny wooden mask.

"This is Bull, a Vampire Bat, and this is Arson, a Fire Pixie."

Bull didn't move at all, still sleeping peacefully, but Arson dropped from the horn and started flying, his wings beating just like a dragonfly's with a buzzing noise. He flew down to land on Beist's outstretched hand, dropping into a crouching position that was just as monkey-like as his appearance, and looked at Ak'ka.

"I also have some not-quite-little guys though. I suppose you could say they're hidden away. Would you like to meet them as well? They're very friendly."

“Oh, shit, an alchemist. You’re smart-smart then, huh?” She looked a little disappointed Beist’s magic potion wouldn’t work on her, but that was just fine. She wasn’t really one to believe in magic or fancy potions and shit when she could just hone her strength the old fashioned way. Depend on magic and you just get weird results. After all, just look what had happened to Beist. “Well… if you were tryin’ ta make something to force you to shrink and it made ya grow instead, maybe ya just need to flip it and make something for growing so you’ll shrink instead?”

She shrugged.

“I dunno. I ain’t much for all that smart stuff.”

She dropped the subject in favor of lookin’ at all of Beist’s little guys. Whoa, he even had a fire pixie… Ak’ka had no idea what a pixie even was but the fiery little guy looked absolutely adorable in a hellish way. And a sleeping bat on one of his horns, too. Man, he really loved animals, huh? It was nice to see. Most big folks Ak’ka met stuck to what they were good at - smashing shit. Seeing someone who looked like he could rip the head off of any enemy in his path if he wanted devote himself to animal keeping instead was jarring to her.

Ak’ka’d always been destined to be a clan leader. That much was seen in the tattoos that covered her, indicating her as a once-proud tribe chieftain. In the way she held herself, and the scars along her body. It never occurred to her that she could do something else.

Ak’ka held her hand out to the little monkey creature, like she was expecting a handshake or somethin’. “Uh. Hey there, bud.” Was that how you greeted pixies? She had no idea.

“Sure. What other guys do you have? Maybe they can help us find these goats.”

"I'm not sure I should keep testing new potions on myself." Beist replied sheepishly. He got into the state he's in now because he was too hasty to cure himself of his problems using alchemy. Twice. The third potion was just a mix up between two of his potions, accidentally drinking the experimental one he'd had no intentions of drinking instead of the correct one. Honestly, that one might have been even more embarrassing than the other two. But in his experience, he was starting to think that it might be a good idea to stop trying to change himself using alchemy. It seemed to just keep making things worse. Trying to purposefully make a potion to cause him to grow in the hopes he'd mess it up and it would actually shrink would probably just end in him growing even larger.

"Maybe you could do some of that smart stuff if you tried. I have a friend who thought she could never learn to read or write, but she's making excellent progress now that she's actually started learning. Perhaps you have a talent that you just haven't realized yet." Beist spoke encouragingly. "It's also just nice to have hobbies. Have you ever tried knitting? It's quite enjoyable."

Beist was ready to summon his animal companions from their special pocket spaces, but Awd suddenly gave a yap toward the two. Beist turned his attention to the raccoon-dog before looking ahead. Farther up the mountain path, standing on a nearly completely vertical cliff as easily as if it was flat land, was a large goat grazing on a tuft of hardy grass that had managed to root itself in a crack in the stone.

"Good job, Awd." Beist praised him as he ran back to them. Beist crouched down and rubbed the top of Awd's head with a smile. Beist stood back up and waved a hand toward the grazing goat.

"Hello there! We're here to bring you back home!" Beist called to the goat who looked up, the tuft of grass in its mouth, and stared at him for a moment. Once it finished chewing the grass, it started walking toward them as if it understood Beist's words and was listening to them. From farther away, it looked like a bit larger than average goat, but as it grew closer it became more apparent that this goat was gigantic. Standing nearly as tall as Ak'ka, it was a monster of a goat.

"Oh my, it's no wonder Billy needed some big help getting these goats back." Beist whispered to Ak'ka, surprised by just how large the goat was. If the others were the same size as this one, getting them back into their pen really would be a giant undertaking.

---

One With Nature

It was kinda sad, really. Beist still looked like he believed that he looked like a monster or some shit like that based on the way he seemed sad to talk about the potions he used on himself. Ak’ka was used to feeling monstrous. But that stopped bothering her a long time ago when she stopped giving a fuck about what others thought about her appearance. She wasn’t a monster because she was ten feet tall. She was a monster because she could kill someone with barely any pressure from her bare hands. And Beist wasn’t a monster cus he was fuzzy and large. He looked like a big ol’ softie and spoke like one too.

“Hey. Look at it this way.” Ak’ka said with a snort. “Havin’ all that extra height means there’s more for your friends to hug.”

The smile fell off her face when Beist started talking about hobbies. “I dunno.” She shrugged before shoving her hands in her pockets, watching Squeak skitter through the snow. “I ain’t really one for hobbies.” She was born for a purpose, and when she lost that purpose, she only gained a new one. “I guess I like hangin’ out with my buds, but I don’t really need shit like that. It ain’t important.” And she wasn’t good at them, either.

Before she could meet Beist’s other friends, though, Awd made a sound of alarm, like he’d spotted something. Ak’ka’s neck snapped up to follow where the raccoon hound was pointing, only to let out a whistle of appreciation.

“Look at the size of that beast!” She marveled. “An absolute unit of a goat. Shit.” The behemoth was as tall as her in height! Ak’ka was used to takin’ on big enemies, but big animals were different. How the hell was she supposed to herd this?

She stretched, the tattoos on her shoulders and back glowing as a second pair of arms sprouted from her torso - she was gonna need all the extra help she could get to return this big boy to his pin.^[1]

“Alright, I have no idea how to wrangle animals, but there’s a first time for everything.” She just had to grab the goat by the horns. “Beist, you wanna get its front while I get its back and we both lift?”

---

1. Extra Arms Tattoo

Beist stifled a laugh at Ak'ka's joke. More for his friends to hug, how could he have possibly expected her to say something so out of line with her rough and tough appearance? Well, she did also have an adorable mouse in her pocket. There was a lot more to The Bonegrinder than might meet the eye. It was actually comforting. But, wait, didn't people say that to someone who was overweight, not tall? Beist was thinking more and more that adopting an exercise routine might be a good idea. He still felt a bit comforted at least. If not by her words, than by her perplexing presence that reminded him of himself. Large and intimidating, but with a soft side and a fondness for cute animals.

"Yes, quite the 'absolute unit'." Beist chuckled. That was a fun term. He'd have to remember that. Beist reached a hand out and started to pet the giant goat on the head, scratching between its horns and behind its ears.

"Oh, I don't think we'll need to carry-" Beist started, but then stopped, surprised to see Ak'ka suddenly sporting a second pair of arms. My, she really did remind him of himself more and more. "I didn't know you could do that. Interesting. Where were you hiding those?" He asked curiously, getting sidetracked by his habit of wanting to research anything interesting he saw around him, but then cleared his throat.

"Ah, I mean..." He stuttered and then looked at the goat. "You can follow us and we'll bring you back home once we find the rest of your herd. How does that sound?"

The goat looked at Beist and let out a deep bleat. Beist nodded in reply and then looked to Ak'ka again.

"She'll come with us willingly. No need to carry her down a mountain."

---

Bonded to Nature

Ak’ka blinked when Beist asked about her second set of arms.

“Oh, these?” She flexed, showin’ off her muscles - the arms were a perfect replica of her regular set, tattoos and mangled ice-bone limb n’ all. She doubted Beist could read orcish, but it was still easy to see the mesh of symbols and runes from her native tongue. Deep gash marks from years of battle marred the tapestry of ink; but Beist could still get the picture.

“I was a tribe leader back in my day.” She didn’t sound boastful when she said that, but there was a nostalgic grin on her face. “In my clan they give you these. They’re supposed to carry the blessings of our ancestors before us. This one represents the strength to carry my clan on my shoulders.” She had others, like the ferocity of a mountain bear and the swiftness of an eagle. Ak’ka barely used magic, but there was somethin’ comforting about having her family’s marks on her. Even though they were dead she’d always be carryin’ them around with her.

Then Beist started talkin’ with the animal with some kind of nature magic or enchantment, and the big guy suddenly got all docile. Ak’ka looked a bit upset she didn’t have to do any heavy lifting - yet - but there was still a chance she’d have to pick up some rocks or stuff. She crossed one set of her arms, the other rubbing sheepishly at the back of her neck.

“Oh. Right. Yeah. That’s probably easier, ain’t it? Let’s keep going.” Now that they were in the thick of the mountain Ak’ka could hear distant bleats and the sound of shifting rocks. The other goats wouldn’t be far from here. Good. The thin, mountain air and the crisp snowfall was startin’ to remind her of home. They weren’t far from her old stomping grounds and she’d prefer to steer clear of those. She picked a direction of one of the noises and started headin’ that way, leaving large boot prints in the snow. “Should be some over here. Guys like these don’t usually get far from one another even when they get free of the pen.”

"A tribe leader? That's impressive." Beist complimented Ak'ka. He'd had no idea she used to be a leader. From his impression of her so far, he honestly wouldn't have expected it from her. Maybe that was a bit rude. She just hadn't seemed the type of person to tell others what to do, really. There certainly was more and more to her that he was finding out as they were togther.

"Magic tattoos! How fascinating! Your clan makes them, you say? I'd be very interested in meeting them and learning more. How do they make such things? Enchanted ink? Do the inks require special ingredients, or are they just the formula and then they're enchanted afterward? Do they use your own mana, or do they build their own reserves...?" Beist started to ramble, leaning down to take a closer look at them. He couldn't read the writing, not being fluent in the language, but he could tell by the characters that it was in Orcish. He was saddened to see the scars, but it wasn't surprising. From his impression of Ak'ka, he hadn't expected her to be a leader, but she definitely gave off the impression of a warrior. She must have seen some tough battles.

Beist wondered if he could make use of magic tattoos on himself. Maybe instead of growing an extra pair of arms, he could make tattoos to conceal the extra pair he already had. Maybe some tattoos could have helped him control his beastly side rather than a potion. It was a thought that came far too late for him, sadly, but he could still theorize about it. Maybe it would help other Werebeasts with the same hopes he had once had. His mind was bursting with ideas of what he might be able to accomplish with these magical tattoos. Maybe they could even be combined with alchemy, using alchemical mixtures in the enchanted ink. Who knew what was possible?

Though, Ak'ka's tattoos had a lot of cultural meaning along with the enchantments. He'd have to make sure to be respectful of that. If he ever went forth with trying his hands at magical tattoos, the designs would have to be different and the runes wouldn't be in Orcish since he didn't know Orcish. He wasn't sure if that might come off as disrespectful.

He was lost in thought as he looked over the tattoos and pondered the various possibilities. He didn't even realize he might have been making Ak'ka uncomfortable, staring at her so intently for what was probably too long. He practically forgot about the giant goat standing beside them.

“Thanks.” Ak’ka shrugged. She wasn’t the kinda gal to be standoffish or snappy when someone brought up somethin’ she was sore about. Besides, she was the one to mention it first. Wasn’t as impressive as Beist probably thought it was given that she let her entire tribe die ‘cus of her negligence. But she’d been good to her people for as long as she could.

The only thing she could hope was that when they died they went out swinging and strong.

At least Beist looked more interested in her tattoos than he was in the fact that she’d alluded to bein’ a clan leader while obviously not bein’ one anymore. Guess that made sense since he was an alchemist. Too bad Ak’ka didn’t really have any answers he wanted. She rubbed at the back of her neck, shrugging.

“I ain’t really sure, to be honest. There’s a whole tradition behind this stuff. You get them when you’re named as leader, and go through this sorta ritual. We had these shamans - well, close as you can get to shamans in a place without lotsa magic - but they were these super religious ladies. Guess most of the traditions and knowledge died with them, but I can tell ya what I remember from my own ceremony.”

She didn’t really look all that uncomfortable at Beist’s attention, thankfully. Despite the reputation that orcs had, Ak’ka wasn’t really rattled all that easily. When she wasn’t in battle, she was pretty even-keel.

“They took me to an ice cavern in the top of the mountain. Said it was to be closer to Avasha. The ink they made by… uh… takin’ whatever you use to make ink and waiting for a storm. You hold the bowl up to the sky and let lightning strike it. Idea is that Avasha’s blessing is the magic that powers it - and now I carry a bit of that primordial shit with me. I wasn’t god-chosen, but I made myself god-chosen. Now I got a little bit of the sky’s anger in me to keep my clan safe. Sorry I can’t remember more of the process, bud. I was twelve when I went through the ritual.”

Ak’ka didn’t have a word for how it happened, but the orcish prayers and wishes of her clan were the words that carried the intent of the magic in it. And the lightning was the primordial power that fueled the enchantments. Ak’ka was held together by sky-fury, and even if she didn’t have a clan to protect anymore, the magic they gave her was real. And right now she was usin’ it to help herd some goats.

Well, try to herd them. Honestly Beist was doin’ most of the work with his animal magic.