Snippet #1399257

The Wyldeheart sighed...

It had sensed the coming war, they all had, but the strike Zaroth made had been devastating, and the Wyldeheart was not happy with the results. It could not deny the effectiveness of the strike, but slaughtering innocents, and destroying the Wyldeheart's fields. It was also not happy with Zaroth's threat against taking in refugees and bringing drought to its forests. That was going to far. That was not asking neutrality, and so it spoke...

"Brother, this one time, I will accede to your demands, for the sake of the mutual growth of our peoples. However, be warned not to make such a demand or threat like that of me again. I am not pleased. I will not allow the Kurgan into my wood, but I will welcome all the enslaved. Further I give you a great gift for your city in the form of the tower, yet I hear not one word in response.... I am saddened and disappointed"

The Wyldeheart doubted that the Kurgan would seek refuge of him anyway, so there should not be an issue between himself and Khaine.

The Wyldeheart moved...

Even in this travesty though, the Wyldeheart saw opportunity. The agreement between himself and Khaine still held, and while the Kurgan prayed to its scarecrows, the fields would still produce, though not as quickly where drought was focused, and the need for the Wyldeheart would grow.

Also, with the Kurgan falling back from taking the great plains and conquering the horsemen there, the Wyldeheart saw people that it would reach out to. It appeared before their chieftains, growing its avatar from the earth, though rather then a roughly man shape, it instead grew its vines in the form of a horse, headed by the great antlered skull

"Great riders of the plains, be still and know that I am the god of the Earth, I am the Wyldeheart. I have looked upon you, with favor and come to you now to bless your people. You bond with the horses of these plains, my creatures. If you will honor me, I will increase this bond, I will multiply your herds, and strengthen your mounts. I will send you others of my people with trade and goods you cannot acquire on your own. You will have friends and allies with the Wyldefolk of the deep wood, and the Elemen beneath the earth. And further, to those most devout, I will give a great gift, a union of man and horse, to be reborn as a creature with all the strength and gifts of both."

If the people accepted, the Wyldeheart would send several of its priestesses to share the teachings and blessings of the Wyldeheart, and when one of the plains folk truly gave its heart to the Wyldeheart, the Wyldeheart would exercise its power, and transform the person into the first Centaur. As more devout men and women followed the Wyldeheart would transform them as well. It was careful however not to overtax its power or do this too often.

The Wyldeheart moved,

Things were not evolving with its people as it hoped, and the Wyldeheart did not wholly understand why, though thinking perhaps having asked too much of its people too quickly. Bonding with the dinosaurs should not have proven difficult, nor should the simple machines it showed them been hard to grasp. The Wyldeheart had taught them mathematics and architecture near the beginning that they would be an innovative people, and the people had been bonding with animals for some time as well. These issues needed to be addressed.

The Wyldeheart came on a solution of sorts for the dinosaurs, expounding on the crystal magic it had already giving its people, pleased with how they took to it. For those great carnivores that were too fierce to connect with normally, the Wyldeheart inspired its Priestesses to craft collars that when fastened on the dinosaur would help tame its spirit and bond it the Priestess.

As for the the engineering, it supposed the Elemen were better suited to such a task, and spoke to them their responsibility to their Wyldefolk brothers to help them with these machines of the mill and so forth. It told them how pleased it was with their friendship amongst the Naga, and how proud it was for all their work in the Underneath.

To the Wyldefolk who were blessed with darkvision, the Wyldeheart commanded them to move down with the brethren the Elemen and start to populate the Underneath even more, and help the Elemen where they could. That they were chosen for this great honor, and showed them all the new creatures and plants down there waiting for its children to tend and nurture.

To the Wyldefolk that had taken to dressing and imitating great beasts, the Wyldeheart had a new plan. It told them how pleased it was with their choice and encouraged them to continue to do so and in time they too would physically begin to manifest traits of the animal they most deeply associated with. It would be a slow process, diverting the energy for those people that had making the others more like the priestess, to making them more ferocious and wild. Claws and hair, increased strength and sense of smell, and eventually they would be able to for a short period of time manifest these traits even more strongly and heal faster. This was to be the groundwork for the lycans the Wyldeheart planned to create in time, but slowly, conserving its energy.