Anatomy of Every Breath - Waldin

Anatomy of Every Breath

Waldins

Describing a Waldin is quite easy; they are lazy, ugly creatures with a horrid stench. While walking on two extremely short legs, the creatures still stand tall, towering over the trees that make up their home. Even the young ones could match a mighty oak. Their bodies, from head to toe, are covered in a dense, hard-to-clean fur that is as rough as sandpaper, giving them a strong natural armor against pests and smaller creatures. This causes issues with bathing, forcing the creatures to reek an eye-watering smell sure to frighten even the bravest of flies. They are known to stand in one place for days on end, practically frozen in time, waiting for their next meal to wander by.

While they are generally slow-moving, Waldins are considered quite dangerous due to their long limbs and their ability to snatch up their prey quickly; more on this once we get to the physiology section. While mostly feasting on wild animals and some fauna in the woods, Waldins are known to target humans should they spot them, giving them the title of The Obligatory Man Eater. They simply cannot seem to help themselves, sometimes even going out of their way to give chase to any unlucky human that meets their gaze.

These large, lanky creatures do not always live in the forests. In fact, one can rarely be spotted living in canyons. Their large bodies can be found stuffed into caves or crevices, waiting, unmoving, for their prey to wander near. Their deep, slow, rasping breaths are one of the few ways to spot them ahead of time. It is recommended that Adventurers always be on the lookout, especially in the northern edges of the world.

Waldin Physiology

Head: Starting at the top, a Waldin has long, wide eyes that take up half the creature’s face. Their pupils are similar to those of goats, but turned on their axis. While their eyes are perfectly suited to nighttime hunting, in daylight, they are practically blind, making them mostly nocturnal. This effect is lost in areas like canyons or other rocky, dark areas. Their mouths take up the rest of their face, with large jagged teeth and two tusks that protrude dangerously from their mouths. Many Waldins become blinded by their own tusks, should they not be broken or dulled while young, as they curl upward with age. When spotted in the wild, Waldins are generally seen standing absolutely still amongst the trees, mouth agape. This allows them to catch and stuff their prey inside with limited energy wasted,

Body: Waldins have long bodies, which give them most of their height and cause them to appear misshapen in their stature. Their neck, while quite short, is like that of an owl, able to swivel a full 180 degrees. Practically attached to the neck are the monster’s thin, almost weak-looking shoulders. They have natural armor, thanks to their thick hide and dense, metal-like hairs, which protect them from most minor dangers and smaller predators. When not actively hunting, Waldins’ heart rate can drop to nearly 10 beats per minute to conserve energy, but once they get a target, the creatures snap into action, reaching heights of over 200 BPMs.

Legs: Short, stumpy legs attached to thick, wide haunches allow the creature a fairly high jump height, but affect their maneuverability. Waldins move by shuffling through their terrain, which slows their movement, especially when they encounter large obstacles they cannot physically break through. Their feet are large, flat, and padded with long claws, good for digging and little else.

Arms: The deadliest part of the Waldin are the arms. Starting from the thin shoulders of the beast, the arms progressively increase in size until reaching the massive, bulging fists of the monster. While seemingly straight, these long appendages actually have five separate joints that allow the arms to act as whips. What the creature lacks in mobility, it more than makes up for in sheer destructive power. Using these whip-like arms, they can tear entire forests to splinters and shatter stone to dust. What they lack in mobility, they more than make up for with their sheer speed of attack.

In Summary, Waldins are dangerous creatures who deserve their A Ranking and should be avoided at all costs. Even the adolescent creatures can tear apart experienced B-Ranked teams, so beware when traveling the northern forests or the surrounding Caverns. Thankfully, the creatures can be run from should you encounter them, be aware of their reach, and try to stay out of their sight. Stealth is your greatest ally. It is safest to be far away from the creature. The second safe spot, however, would be right under their nose. Stay away from their grabbing claws, and try to keep at their back should escape be unavailable to you. Blinding works, but it is risky should the creature begin thrashing about.

Rank: A

Physical Strength: 7.5/10

Rate of Attack: 8/10

Movement Speed: 2/10

Types of Attack: Physical Only

Evaluation: Avoid at all costs.

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“By Raizen…” the sight was horrible.

“This is the town?” Gorge asked their guide.

“B-Blaire?”

“Stay focused.”

“Blaire!”

“Hey! Come—”

“Give him space.” Gorge held his team back from chasing the man.

“But—”

Gorge shook his head. “Tell me you wouldn’t do the same, and then you can chase him down.”

Silence greeted him, for he was right.

Destruction, plain and simple, was the sight that greeted them. The team stood at what was supposedly the entrance to Valien, a small town nestled near the Verintian Mounds.

Yet it was no longer there.

Buildings were shattered, turned to splinters, and a rotting stench filled the air as scavengers rooted through the ruined homes.

“Did a massacre happen here?” Rosalie asked.

“Keep the tears in check,” Marco gruffly said as he broke off from the group. “I’ll look for survivors, so try and make a clean area.”

“I’m not crying.” The girl said, even as tears pooled in her eyes.

“Allison, help Rosalie clear the area. I’ll keep an eye on our guide. Stay safe, and watch each other's back.” Gorge hefted his shield from his back and readied his free hand in anticipation. “Hopefully, whatever did this is gone.”

As the group split up, Gorge kept his eyes and ears open, listening for anything that could give away the creature that did this kind of damage.

“Definitely not a Dragon or Wyvern.” He muttered aloud. There’d be much more fire damage than what was seen. The few blackened areas he could see under the rubble were probably from the houses collapsing onto a fireplace or similar. There were no poison puddles, nothing to signify intense lightning strikes, and certainly no massive pillars of stone or sinkholes to denote an earthen variant of the flying monsters.

From the drag marks he saw, it had to be big, so that took out quite a few suspects. “Perhaps two creatures fought with each other?” The town could have been collateral damage. The winner could also have picked off any survivors, or a different monster might have arrived afterward. That theory flew out the window when he found flattened armor stained red in the middle of several different craters. Something had appeared. A traveling adventuring group must have tried to intervene, and whatever it was seemed to have won. But what?

“Blaire!” He found their guide, digging through the rubble, screaming the name of his wife, the woman he had bragged about the entire trip through the Mounds. She had been pregnant. Twins.

“I’m sorry.” Gorge offered pitifully.

“Blaire!” the man cried into the rubble.

“Definitely a high B-rank monster. At least.” Marco was at his side, appearing from thin air.

“There was a battle.”

“All crushed.”

“I’d say mid A.”

“If it shows up again…”

“So long as it’s not higher.”

“Are we hunting it?”

Gorge looked around the shattered village, ignoring the guide’s cries. “Go protect the girls.”

The creature was probably still nearby. They wouldn’t need to hunt it actively.

He gripped his shield tighter and stood tall, keeping an eye on the Guide as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

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Hunger.

The feeling gnawed at its stomach.

The light was gone; it was time to feed.

Slowly, the creature pulled its body from the crack in the cliff wall and began to shuffle around. Slowly, steadily, it began to hunt.

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“Has it moved yet?”

“Still in the same spot.”

Gorge flipped his book closed and stood, walking to the edge of the cliff. “Waldins are notoriously lazy. They’ll sit in the same spot for hours, waiting for something to fly into its ugly maw.” Even longer in dark areas or forests.

“It’s waiting on the scavengers, then?”

“Rosalie, you have a light spell, right?”

“Are they weak to it?”

Marco snorted, “No, it’s not a Demon or Abyssal. But its eyes are fairly sensitive to light. Plus, if we can blind it, the Waldin won’t be able to target anyone specifically.”

“I can maybe manage two or three…” It was the best he could hope for from the bloated spells.

“Allison, remember your job.”

The Breaker grimaced, “Stick by Rosalie doing nothing, right?”

“Get her to safety if something happens and make sure she can cast unimpeded,” Gorge told the sulking girl.

Marco rolled his eyes and pulled out his daggers. “You’ve never fought one of these or seen one in action. I know you think sticking with the Menders and Weavers is boring, but you’ll just get flattened if you’re not careful. Especially since Kris stayed behind, so no hellfire and thunderbolts for us.”

“I can—”

“—Stick by the Mender.” Gorge interrupted. “Now then, no more discussion. We’ve got a village to avenge and then bury. Marco.” He threw a necklace.

“How many uses are left?”

“Three.”

“I’ll try to keep it that way.”

Their leader then pulled a small crystal from his pocket and handed it to their Guide, “Guide… Alexander. When I call your name, break this.”

“What does it do?”

“Help.” Marco said.

Nodding at his old friend, Gorge finally pulled the large hammer from his back, stepped onto the edge of the cliff, and asked. “Everyone ready?”

“Ready as ever.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“For my friends and family.”

“I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

“Then let’s go.”

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————--Gorge stepped silently through the ruins of the village, watching the beast as it stared across its broken mess, breathing heavily into the night air. “You reek.” He muttered, mostly to himself, though he knew Marco was nearby, invisible, stalking their prey. It was a good thing their sense of smell was horrid; his herbs would make his old friend stick out.

Stopping within thirty feet of the creature, Gorge shut his eyes with a brief prayer, then slammed his hammer against his shield. The sound reverberated throughout the night, like the clashing of war drums.

Silent, but snapping into action, the Waldin moved. It’s already long arms stretched as the furred skin moved like a whip. Gorge The Unbroken barely had time to bring his shield to bear before the appendage slammed into him. Golden energy wrapped around his form, and he was unmoved as the force of the attack dissipated into the ground behind him, shattering the stone road and sending debris flying.

“Blessing of Nikolai—” He heard the shouting chant of their Mender begin as the second attack slammed into his side. He felt his nose become wet as the surrounding magic vibrated and wavered against the beast’s power. Its body shook and lumbered forward, while twisting its right arm for a third attack. But it wouldn’t land. “—Bane of Darkness! Light Our Path!”

It was like the sun itself exploded against the creature’s face, and the scream of agony that came from its maw was possibly the loudest thing Gorge had ever heard. Thrusting his shield forward, The Unbroken prepared his next move as Marco flickered into existence, falling from high above the creature, knives flashing. While one of the blades buried itself into the creature’s skull for stability, the other cut its way across the Waldin’s bulbous eye, nearly half the size of Marco, and tore through with ease.

The creature began slapping at its face, but Marco was already gone, so Gorge rushed forward.

“It's winding up.” Marco flashed into existence beside him, but was gone in an instant. His words were right on the money. As the man lumbered forward, slow and steady, the creature was wrapping its arms around its body like a child’s toy, and sure enough, it began to spin. What little remained of the nearby houses was torn apart as those deadly arms wreaked havoc through the area—tossing aside wood, brick, and everything in between as if it were mere flecks of dust.

“Poor creature, you must be so scared and confused.” From the size, only about nineteen feet, it was most likely an adolescent. Blind and angry, the creature was practically throwing a massive tantrum. “Do not fret, for soon you shall have your mercy.”

It slowed just as Gorge leaped into the air, hammer flashing as he twirled it like a baton. Finally stopping in its rampage, the creature didn’t even see him as he descended like lightning, aiming for its skull, hoping to end this quickly.

However, it moved just an inch, but it was enough for Gorge to fall upon its shoulder, slamming the weapon down with all the gathered force he could muster. It wasn’t the end of the creature, but as the bones beneath its thick skin shattered, he could at least appreciate the attack landing. He planted his feet and leaped backward, but was too slow as the creature whipped around, arms flailing. He barely had time to bring his shield to bear, curling behind it as the fists whipped around him. One slammed under him, sending him flying high into the sky, only to be spiked down like a ball.

He skipped across the dirt and stone. The golden magic coating his armor began to crack and chip as he bounced along before finally sliding to a halt. Feeling the wetness begin to spread on his upper lip, Gorge slowly stood, wiping the blood away and shaking the dust from his mind.

“Allison! Stop!” Marco’s voice sounded panicked, and Gorge snapped into action, shield to bear and looking around frantically for the youngest member of their group. There!

“It’s stunned! I see an opening!” She was descending from the sky, copying Marco. She slammed a fist into the creature’s face, rocking it back. The second fist shattered something, judging from the loud crack, but she made the mistake of leaping off in the same way Gorge had. The only difference was that Allison didn’t have armor, nor was she trained in protection magic.

“Get her out of there!” He roared.

“I’ve got—” But it was too late. The creature backhanded her, sending her rocketing through the air. She wasn’t even given a chance to scream.

Thankfully, Marco was there, jumping behind her, and softening the fall as they skidded back, digging deep gouges into the ground.

“The necklace!” Thankfully, another sun was thrust into the creature’s face, followed by a flickering dome of blue and green swirls around the two, and Gorge was able to leap to his party’s defense, standing guard before them resolutely. “Thank Allison!”

Marco pulled the gifted necklace from his neck and held it over the poor girl’s broken body. Gorge turned back to the creature, watching it flail around in pain and defense, trying to fend off any attack that came its way.

He felt the magic pour from behind. And heard the girl’s bones snap back into place. Having been under the effects of that particular item, Gorge knew the injured person felt nothing as a stasis spell was placed almost immediately. Glancing back at her, he noted her almost frozen-like features and blue skin.

“Marco! Get her away and meet my shield!” Gorge turned back to his foe. He brought his shield to the front and leaned his hammer against it, digging two fingers into the pouch at his side. He pulled forth a brown-tinted gray potion and downed the contents, feeling his skin begin to harden and crack. With one last deep breath, he jerked forward, reclaiming his hammer and twirling it. The creature thrashed wildly, and he slammed his weapon against his shield, sending the sound ringing out. Jerking to the side, he dodged the incoming attack, letting the dust and shards of stone bounce off his now hardened skin. He twisted his body, thrusting out his shield, and deflected the other arm into the ground, swinging his weapon to crush a bone. There wasn’t enough momentum, however, but something did give as the creature howled in fury and pain.

Weak spells flashed through the night sky as Rosalie tried to help. “Focus on protection and healing!” He called out to the sky, and rang his shield once more, trying to draw the attention of the creature once more. He felt a flash of magic nearby and readied himself.

The monster tried to use its left arm to hammer him down, but Marco was there, cutting halfway through the monster’s bone just as Gorge slammed his foot into the ground. Pillars of stone rose to greet the now-injured arm, slamming it away, just as the Waldin hammered down into its right arm, screaming in pain.

Gorge flipped his hammer around and hopped to the side, watching the beast’s arm crater the dirt while swinging his hammer over his shoulder, spiked side up. He brought it down, piercing through the monster’s flesh, pinning it down as the earth rose, swallowing the appendage, holding it in place.

“Alexander!” A bright light burst into the sky behind him, and the rune on Gorge’s arm burned blue like a bright summer sky. His muscles popped and shuddered as the world seemed to slow around him.

“Marco!” He reared back with his other arm and thrust out with his shield, just as Marco slammed into him. Pulsing his magic, Gorge threw the Breaker with as much strength as he could wield, throwing Marco true, and sending him straight through the creature’s chest as flashes of blue and red leapt from the Breaker’s blades. The smell of singed fur and flesh filled the air, giving Gorge just a moment to breathe before he pulled his weapon free from the creature’s hand and launched himself forward, stepping onto the very air itself. He dropped his shield and wielded his hammer, flat side down, with both hands, and cracked it into the Waldin’s skull, cratering it. Blood mixed with clear fluid burst forth as its eyes turned to mush and its brain exploded out the back of its now crushed skull.

“Praise be to Raizen!” Marco howled as the monster finally fellback. The man stumbled, as did Gorge as their runes began to burn out across their bodies. Exhaustion hit him like a Stagboer, and he fell to one knee.

“Aye…” Gorge murmured as he tried to stand once more, a grin spreading across his features at his victory. “Aye, praise the Lady of Nature…”

The blowback of using their runes was raging through both, yet still, they stood, slowly, and made their way back to their cheering Mender, broken Breaker, and sobbing Guide.

“Shit…” He heard Marco curse, and Gorge wasn’t far behind as the whispers of the wild began in the back of his skull.

“That was amazing!” Rosalie cut through the white noise.

“Marco did most of the work…” the words came out in a slur almost as he fought for control of his tongue. Still, he didn’t stop the smile that bloomed at the praise.

“You’ve gotta be the best Unbroken there is! I bet you could have soloed that thing!”

Gorge couldn’t help but snort at the young girl’s praise. “I’ve got a lot of growing to do before I can meet someone like Caster or Leonidas for that title.”

“Thank you…” He heard Alexander whisper through the tears.

“I’m sorry we could not arrive a few days sooner…” Gorge offered weakly.

The man wet his lips, “No… I am sorry I got us lost in the forest, but… but what now?”

“Now?” Marco murmured from the side, “I think we should start burying those we find.”

“Aye… let those born be returned to their beginnings…” Gorge offered a prayer of Raizen to the grieving man. “Come… let us rest, eat, then we can begin…” He wanted ot begin immediately, but the effort of wielding wild magic with their runes had already crushed his muscles for the time being. “Rosalie… tend to Marco… and keep… keep an eye on Allison. Then help me out, would you?”

“Of course!” Gorge nodded at her as she moved to help Marco sit. He himself began working on getting a small fire going, pulling out rations, and trying to settle his throbbing mind. He fought the familiar, thorny tangle of wild magic creeping into his thoughts—the Haze that threatened to turn his focus to fractals. It would do no good to Haze now after everything. So, he took a deep, calming breath and began to clear through the wild magic seeping into his mind.

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Gorge’s Hammer came down fast and—THUNK—the post slid into the ground.

Should you find this sign, know that all here were laid to rest in the hills behind the ruins.

Offer your prayers for those who fell to the monsters of the world.

Should you seek any other survivors, journey back east, and find the town of Rem, where Alexander Merdez and a few others have gathered. May those who returned to the Wild be blessed by Raizen

“Thank you again… thank you…” Alexander muttered.

Gorge nodded, watching the pain in the Guide’s eyes. He knew all too well what it was like to lose those you loved. He turned his eyes then, glancing at his companions. It had been four days since the fight. Marco was back to his usual brooding self, Allison was still limping, clutching her arms, flinching at the slightest noises, and Rosalie seemed to be even more chipper than usual.

“Thank you for escorting us, you’re heroes, truly.” A young woman said as she clutched her newborn and what little valuables she could find in her destroyed home.

“We’ll camp out here for a few days, offer our services to anyone who needs an escort.” An older gentleman, wielding a crooked staff, said. He and his own companions had arrived with a small group of farmers who had been out trading at a different village. Marco had spotted them on arrival, and from there, it was decided to make a sign for anyone else who sought out the small town.

“I appreciate that.” Gorge offered a hand to the old mage.

The man nodded, shaking his hand, “It’s the least we could do. May Nikolai’s Light grace your steps.”

Marco rolled his eyes from nearby, and Gorge couldn’t help the snort that escaped him. “Aye… May Raizen’s blooms guide yours.”

“Ah, yes, you’re all from the Franctium Guild, aren’t you. I’m from Renoma myself.” The gentleman laughed loudly, a sparkle in his eye, “Ah. How did it go again? Right. May your Evergreen stand tall?”

“Close enough!” Gorge roared in laughter at the butchering of their Guild’s saying. “May your lake be deep, or whatever your Guild says!”

“Bah, no one cares for the lake!”

As the two men laughed, bittersweet in the aftermath of such tragedy, Gorge couldn’t help but feel a weight leave his shoulders. He turned from the two men, offering one last farewell as he gathered the travellers they’d be escorting. “May Raizen grace our steps… Come now, all… let us leave this tragedy behind…”