Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Serpenteye" data-source="post: 1355573" data-attributes="member: 1492">Asveh:In the years since his creation Asveh had been roaming the plains in his spirit form, watching over his people, and studying the beasts and the land. There was much to learn, if one only knew how to look.  When his attention turned once again to the tribe, drawn there by their call for help, he understood the nature of the threat and realised the possibility that it could be turned to an advantage. The wolves were strong and fierce, but they were also hierchal creatures, instintively following the leaders of their pack. If those leaders could be made to submit, the tribe could gain powerful allies.  His decision made, he descends into the body of Hesaras, right in front of the leader of the approaching wolves. He snarls a challenge to the beast, filling the body of Hesaras with his power. When the wolf leaps at him he steps forwards, under the animal, grabs it by the neck, pivots and throws it down on its back. Then, before it can recover from the impact he launches himself on the wolf, pinning it, and places his hands around its exposed and vulnerable throat. Staring straight into its eyes he growls again, with the voice of an Alpa-male. The wolds yips in fear and it visibly submits. He steps down from the beast and snarls at the other wolves, daring them to challenge his authority. They back away slowly, hesitant and fearful, then they too surrender.He speaks then to Hesaras mind and the minds of the other guards, "Let this serve as an example for you, and for the entire tribe. Regardless of their strength or ferocity most animals can be made to submit. Any animal that lives in a pack has the instincts of obedience in its mind and those instincts can be harnessed to bind them willingly into your service. The strength of the beasts can be turned to your advantage, but the process is not easy. These adult wolves will never truly be yours, they will remain wild for as long as they live, though they will obey you for some time still. No, only the young are malleable enough to be shaped into your servants. They must be taken from their pack when they have been weaned and be raised with your people. They must be trained and treated with kindness, but greater firmness than you show your children so that they will always know their place. If you train them right they can guard you and carry you in the hunt. You will no longer be their prey, but their masters." ------part 2.The day after the attack Asveh appears yet again in front of the assembled tribe. He reminds them of his words last night and walks slowly down to the riverside. The river is low this time of the year, and a thick strip of dried clay is bordering the water behind a darker strip of clay that is still wet and soft. When the Halflings have followed him he turns to them once again. "The attack we suffered last night will not be the last. Wether or not we manage to tame the wolves to serve us there will always be new packs, other wolves and worse. I cannot always defend you, I cannot always intervene in every crisis. I will guide you and help you, but most of the effort must always be yours." "Think back a moment to the earlier attacks. The wolves came amongst you suddenly, moving faster than your guards, and struck at the sleeping. When the guards came against them with their stones and torches they fled back out into the night, but often with an unfortunate victim in their jaws. The blankets were nearly useless for protection. The need for better defences is obvious. We cannot leave our fields.""That is why I have led you here, to the waterside. Look at the ground beneath your feet. It is as hard as rock here, yet closer to the water it is soft and malleable. And yet it is the same material. The warmth of the sunlight has driven the wetness out of the clay, and when it has dried it has also hardened. The dried clay will turn soft again when the river rises, but a mere shower of rain will not suffice to soften it.""Consider, thus, what would happen if the clay was molded before it dried. Don't you think it would dry in the same form? "Remenber your cairns. You use stones to wall off your food and preserve it, but the stones are uneven and do not fit together. Water and mice come in trough the cracks and much food is lost. If you could have moulded the stones to fit together the cairns could have been built waterproof. They could have been built higher and safer with lesser risk of collapse. People could have built their own cairns for themselves and their families. Safe and dry dwellings where wolves couldn't reach them." "This dried clay is almost as hard as stone. Couldn't it be used for the same purpose? To build cairns, dwellings and protective walls around the settlement to keep unwanted predators out."</blockquote>

Verification