First Move (Rock Hound shortstory)

quadraptor's picture
((I'll write their origin story later. Pseudo bio here))


He took his usual sip of pond water, cooling his body during the unusually hot day. Quad sat up, sniffing the air. Something was off, he could smell something familiar...he sensed danger close.

The blackbuck noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Two faint eyes seemed to glow from the cover of a willow tree. The glow was green, nearly camoflauged through the leaves.

He tilted his head curiously. He knew there were a few creatures in the Endless Forest whose eyes had a glow, but this seemed more like a threat...stalking him.

"Hello?", he asked. The eyes moved just slightly. Quad caught a whiff of the scent again, and immediately a shiver shot through his body - Iugulare! The creature smelled like her infection. He was more alert now, his eyes locked on the glow.

The creature approached, passing through the leaves of the willow, revealing himself. Quad was surprised to see him as a skeleton, though he didn't look quite like his deer friends who had skulls on their faces. This creature was different, it had sharper teeth and the face was different.

"What are you? A wolf?", he questioned. The creature opened it's mouth, rows of sharp fangs that seemed to snarl quietly at him. The creature didn't speak or make any noises other than strange creaking sounds as it moved the bones of its body. Quad took a defensive stance, calling out, "Stay back!"

The creature didn't heed his warning, and when it got close, Quad attacked, slamming his zombie antler into the threatening creature. Quad watched as the bones hit the ground, and then he noticed the bones seemed to be covered with the black infection. This had to be Iugulare's work!

"At least that's over...", Quad began to say, but then he saw as the creature's body reformed seemingly quickly. It didn't seemed to be phased at all. Quad attacked again, striking it right in the neck. The creature reformed once again, and this time attacked him, biting and sinking it's fangs into his thigh. Quad cried out painfully, struggling for the skeleton to release its grip. He stepped back as soon as the creature let go, his leg bleeding and immediately the black infection spreading down his leg and up his shoulder.

"Damn! It's infected!", Quad spat. He tried to figure out a way to fight the creature, but it just kept reforming every time he attacked. Then he decided to strike it right in the head. He did so, the creature's skull shattering for a moment, the body collapsing onto the ground. He watched as the body began to regenerate, and he noticed a strange green glow coming from the cracks of the skull.

Before it fully formed, Quad hit it on the skull once again. The head broke open a little more, and he noticed a green crystal within, glowing and creating the strange glow. The crystal was surrounded by a thick mass of the infection, and Quad knew he had to act quickly. He held down the head with his front hooves, and stuck his snout into the hole he made in the skull, trying to pull out the crystal. He cringed as the infection got on his snout, but he ripped the crystal out, spitting it out as soon as he removed it.

The skeleton's eyes went dark and the body ceased moving. Quad watched as the infection dissipated from the body, floating off much like a toxic black cloud. He then saw the same thing happening to the crystal, though it switched from green to black. Even the infection on his own body vanished, though the deep gash in his leg remained.

He quickly washed off the blood from his leg in the pond water, and then inspected the now black crystal. He picked it up and ran off toward the Twin Gods, hoping they had an answer.

Iugulare was up to something here. This creature was extremely dangerous, and Quad prayed there weren't any more. He would not realize that there were 99 others roaming around, all looking for him.

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"And that is where the trees of the Forest came from, little one.", the wise ghost stag spoke. The fawn smiled at him, her eyes widening after the story. The two walked past the trees, Trunks leading her back to safety. He smiled, he loved every moment of escorting the little ones when they were lost or seperated from their mothers.

He stopped, his ears perked. "Wait...", he instructed, "get behind me!" The fawn obeyed, scurrying and hiding behind the ghost stag. He saw eyes peering at him...blue, glowing eyes. "Now listen carefully. I want you to run as fast as you can. Go in that direction," he motioned toward the left, "it'll lead to the Twin Gods' statues. You'll find others there, alert them that there is danger near." The little fawn nodded her head, frightened, her legs already quivering in fear.

The creature stepped out, bones animated from a thick black mass. The blue glow pierced deep into his own eyes. Trunks became more angry here, the definite presence of danger had him on full alert.

"Run, little one! Run!!", he cried. The fawn bolted, her little legs carrying her as swiftly as she possibly could. The bone wolf turned his head toward the fawn, which distracted him just long enough for Trunks' antlers to clash into him. He watched as the creature seemed unharmed, skidding only a little. "It's tough...", Trunks spoke to himself, and attacked once again, his antlers striking the wolf directly underneath his head and into his neck. Trunks then saw that his antlers didn't even seem to damage the creature, even the black ooze on it seemed to be unharmed. He retreated, and the creature approached, it's mandible dripping with the thick black infection much like drool.

Think, Trunks! Think!, the words repeated in his mind. Then he had a plan - he ceased his assault on the creature, letting it approach. He allowed his body to become permeable, ghost-like. The creature attacked, though seeming to bite air. It did not understand why it's jagged teeth didn't sink into flesh, but it continued to bite and nip at Trunks, his body seemingly transparent and mist-like.

He looked at the strange glow in the creature's eyes, and then bent down, his head passing into the skull of the creature. There he saw the glow was coming from a blue stone surrounded by a thick mass of the black infection. "There's the problem...", he spoke, and gently he reached toward it with one of his front hooves, grasping it and pulling it out of the creature's mouth. As soon as the blue crystal was ripped away from the infection, the skeleton seemed to choke and gag like it was suffocating, then it collapsed and became motionless. A thick black mist appeared as the infection curdled, dying from lack of a semi-living creature.

Trunks then watched as the blue stone's light faded, fizzing and letting off black smoke as well. It became a dark black itself.

"I hope my little fawn made it safely. I should go check on her. Maybe the Twin Gods know what this is all about.", Trunks spoke to himself, and grasping the black crystal in his mouth, he raced toward the Twin Gods' hill.


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The doe trotted by the old Ruins, stopping only for a moment to smell the flowers under her hooves. She enjoyed the day very well, though she was wondering where everyone else was. "They must be changing their fashion...", Zephyr spoke to herself, though it did seem unusual that she was here alone. There was generally a fawn or a nameless running around.

Nobody. Dead silence other than a few birds chattering. The doe raised her head, thinking she heard something else close by. That was when she spotted the eyes staring at her. Red, glowing, with intention that she was unsure of.

"Hello?", she asked. No response, though it moved closer. She then saw more of it - a walking skeleton, the bones covered with thick black ooze, the skull fixed on her. This wasn't a deer, this was a monster!

The doe instinctively ran as soon as she saw the rock hound. She looked back just enough to see it was pursuing her. Her heart was racing just as fast as her legs were carrying her. As she turned to look ahead, she skidded to a halt. Another one had appeared, this one with a blue glow in it's eyes. It, too, was locked onto her. She turned just in time to see the red-eyed rock hound had leapt at her.

It seemed like slow-motion to Zephyr. She didn't think, she only reacted. As soon as she saw the mid-air creature pouncing upon her, she crouched, just low enough for it to barely miss her. The red-eyed rock hound crashed into the blue-eyed one, a disgusting mass of bone and infection. The strength of the red-eye was enough to damage the defenses of the blue-eye, enough for both of their skulls to crack open and the crystals within to become dislodged. It was a very lucky break for Zephyr.

But she was not safe just yet, as a third rock hound rushed toward her, yellow eyes and fangs intent on severing the flesh of the doe. She suddenly felt herself in terrible pain as the third skeleton was on her within a single moment, it's fangs gripping her neck and clenching down.

She couldn't breathe, she only could feel deep, terrible pain. The fangs dug deep into her throat, the infection already spreading around her neck and down her chest. She had flashes before her eyes - her childhood, her adventures, her family...seeing her own father with great white wings on his back...

This triggered something from deep within her body, a defense mechanism that she would never fully understand. As she clung to life, her body reacted, her fur flashed and glowed rapidly. The light was so unbearable to the predator that it released the grip around her neck, trying to get away from the blinding flash. But the rock hound would not escape the light, as it was powerful enough to destroy the infection that manifested upon not only the yellow-eyed rock hound, but the two intertwined rock hounds from before. The infection that had spread onto Zephyr was vaporized immediately, though the deep wounds on her throat remained.

She passed out, collapsing and hitting the ground with a thud. The light vanished, and all traces of the infection were destroyed in the area. She would awake a moment later, her neck throbbing from the puncture wounds, though they would heal over time. She saw what was left of the three rock hounds, inanimate piles of bones laying before her. She then found the crystals within their skulls, three jet-black gems that once were glowing. Zephyr immediately decided to take them to the Twin Gods, in hope to find some understanding as to what these threats were.

As she raced off, she began to ponder why the creature didn't finish her off. She had no idea that she tapped into her father's Grand Talux power, as it was flowing through her veins as well. It would years later that the powers would be fully passed down to her.

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He caught a whiff of the smell. Blood, decay, even the odor of the infection. Blixt knew something was happening, and racing toward the stench, he screeched to a halt, shocked at what he saw.

Before him was a strange skeleton, and he already knew the infection was covering the creature. But that wasn't all he saw. On the ground was the body of a doe, already dead, her belly ripped open. Blixt caught the creature digging into her organs, pulling them out and chewing, though it was unable to actually eat. The torn segments of flesh and organs just slid through the skull and hit the ground with a terrible sound.

Then the creature turned toward him, eyes red as crimson, burning with deeper desire to kill him now. It turned, leaving the prey it had already killed, facing the green stag now. It seemed to smell Blixt more like Quad (since the two are brothers), and thus it's desire to kill him intensified. The skeleton charged without warning, mouth open, ready to bite into his throat.

Blixt, with his own fiery anger, charged as well, his candled antlers drawn down. The two clashed, the rock hound easily breaking a few of the prongs on Blixt's head, while Blixt managed to crack it's skull just a little. The two were at war, both trying to throw the other down. His antlers jammed into the skull, Blixt was confident that he could defeat this beast.

The rock hound gagged and hacked at him, infection spewing from it's throat. It landed all over Blixt's face, immediately burning and eating away at his flesh. He cringed, lowering his guard just for the moment. The rock hound seized this opportunity, overpowering him and throwing him to the ground with a massive thud.

And at that moment, Blixt saw the creature leap toward him in slow motion. But Blixt was much more quick than the rock hound, and with a powerful kick, his hind hooves knocking the skull of the rock hound cleanly off. It went flying, landing near a tree, gnashing and biting the air wildly. The body kept running aimlessly, looking for the head.

Blixt scrambled to his hooves and approached the angry skull, and raising up, he struck the head with his powerful front legs, cracking the bone wide open. This was when he saw the red crystal within, and quickly, he knocked it out of the skull.

The crystal ceased to glow at once, going from the brilliant crimson to an opaque black much like obsidian. The skeletal body that continued to run fell apart here, and the skull was no longer moving.

Blixt took the crystal at once and ran off toward the Twin Gods' hill.
Snowsauria's picture

Oh, this is great. I'm

Oh, this is great. I'm tempted to let Illrose fight one of those as well. (:
quadraptor's picture

Awesome! Thank you, I cannot

Awesome! Thank you, I cannot wait to see your story if you write one!
Pegasicorn's picture

I definitely have some

I definitely have some drawing ideas in mind for these "Rock Hounds".
BluedeerLegend18's picture

Can I write a story with

Can I write a story with these "Rock Hounds"? I will give credit to you for making the creature.
I have a Master's degree in Wumbology.
quadraptor's picture

Go right ahead! Just make

Go right ahead! Just make sure you get the correct eye and crystal color with their special abilities. It's really important.

Info on the Rock Hounds here including abilities and eye glow colors. Thanks!
quadraptor's picture

Trunks' story is up. I plan

Trunks' story is up. I plan to write two more stories on this blog - Blixt will fight a red Rock Hound, and then Pent will have to be tactical against a yellow Rock Hound.
Anjali's picture

Tracking. I might write (or

Tracking. Smiling I might write (or draw) something for this!
quadraptor's picture

Thank you for your support,

Thank you for your support, and anything you'd like to do is great! I'm happy to see any interpretations of these guys, written or drawn.

I love this new creation of

I love this new creation of yours, so much. Very clever. ♥
quadraptor's picture

I'm getting worried that I've

I'm getting worried that I've become obsessive over them and/or shoving them down everyone's throats though...but I guess I'm just overreacting Eye
quadraptor's picture

Zephyr faces three rock

Zephyr faces three rock hounds in the story I just wrote...plus you get a taste of her destiny as well. Enjoy Eye

Enjoyed!

Enjoyed!
quadraptor's picture

Zephyr so far has done the

Zephyr so far has done the best job of my deer, as she managed to defeat three rock hounds where Quad and Trunks only have defeated one a piece.

Also nice little bit of foreshadowing for her abilities in the future. She certainly takes after her father in more ways than just appearance and personality.
quadraptor's picture

Blixt has defeated a rock

Blixt has defeated a rock hound in the new story at the bottom. Enjoy