Initiation

[Talon]

((Reserved for shdw))

Deep in the woods, within the self-procclaimed territory of the Darkwood pack, a circle of human-form werewolves stood in a large clearing of trees. All five Pack Elders stood in a half-circle behind the Packleader himself, the Elders all garbed in simple brown robes as Ashen stood with arms folded. Ashen's eyes were glittering against the circle of torches that his Honor Guard- a 200-foot circle composed of ten armed, well-built men- held to light the area, despite them being unnecessary, what with the full moon in the sky. The unmoving conclave stood in the dark of the night for quite some time, before Elder Gale leaned forward and hissed quietly to Ashen,

"He should've been here a half-hour ago... are you sure he's still showing up?"

"Be patient, Gale... trust me, he'll show. He wouldn't miss this chance for the world..."

"If you say so..." Elder Kaft, a short, gray-haired man with green eyes muttered.

Ashen said nothing and gave a slight smirk, of which slowly turned into a scowl.

He wouldn't miss this... his ambition is much too great...

[shdwdrgn]

Volk was just outside the area taking steps carefully so as not to be followed as he knew this should remain a private matter. Not to mention he had seen plenty of attacks from the 'native' beasts over the past few weeks. He finally entered the clearing and aproached Ashen and the Elders.

"Honored Elders I apologize for my tardiness. I have had, 'quality time', with the native wildlife and merely wanted to avoid conflict and any stalkers that may intrude", he gave a bow as he finished. "I asure you there shall not be anymore events to delay these trials."

He took a reserved stance in the center of the group. This was final now, he could not run as he would not be able to escape from so many of his kind. His decision had been made he could never go back to the Nightpeak after this night ended.

[Talon]

The Elders shifted restlessly on their feet as Volk made himself known, and Ashen's smirk returned.

"I... see. Well, let us hope your 'quality time' does not interfere with your mindset, shall we?"

Several of the Honor Guard gave slight snickers before Ashen quickly raised a hand, and all went silent. His eyes resumed their unnatural glint as he boomed, arms folded while seeming to stare down at Volk,

"Berg Ghostwolf, once of the Nightpeak Pack, you have come here tonight to take the Darkwood Trials, in hopes of joining our numbers. Assuming you've no objections, we'll begin. Your first trial will test your connection to your Aspect. Simply show us your Aspect's abilities, from its weakest to its strongest without losing focus of it."

He waved a hand forward, and one of the Elders stepped forth, Elder Argus. He gave a stern smile to Volk and nodded, waving a hand.

"Please begin. Oh, and one more thing- if your Aspect is composed of mainly offensive abilities, do not pick a specific target unless you must. In which case, Packmaster Ashen will feel free to oblige for target practice."

Ashen smirked, barking,

"Don't hold back on it, either! I can take whatever you have to dish out!"

((1st Trial- Aspect- Begin!))

[shdwdrgn]

Volk gathered himself for a minute preparing himself for the strain he was about to endure. Performing this task was no short order. He was willing to do anything he could in order to achieve his goals however.

I will do anything to have an actual life. Once I complete these trials I promise that I will take down my father. He has no right to choose who lives and dies based on the fact of a prophecy.

Volk set himself ready for his challenge with a rock solid determination about him. For his cause he would not give one inch and would remove any obstacle in his path to achieve it.

"Alright Ashen I'm going to begin now, on guard", he warns.

He immediately focuses his energy and fires his Diamond Dust upon Ashen. As the ice forms he feels the extra draw of energy occur as this is not what an Aspect was meant for. His breath quickens as his attack finishes and the shards fly through the air at the Darkwood pack leader.

[Talon]

As the shards flew at Ashen, the lycan made no attempt whatsoever to evade them, merely standing as he did before with the same smirk on his bronze face. Moments before the shards were about to stab into the Darkwood Packleader, a billowing wave of fire abruptly appeared before Ashen and rolled through the incoming shards, dissipating as quickly as it appeared to let several needle-thin ice shards simply shatter against his chest.

"Hmm... the Winter Aspect, eh? In that way, we're polar opposites, you and I." He stated, grinning.

He cracked his neck, muttering,

"And the fact a bit of your weakest attack was left from my counter-measure... sure, not much, but still... impressive. Alright then, Berg, show me what else your abilities have to offer!"

[shdwdrgn]

Volk smirked when he saw what Ashen had done. He was glad to not hurt him and disappointed he didn't do more.

"Well seems that I can safely attack you without worry for now. Heh I hope that my training will have payed off for this", he says out loud.

He took a moment to ready his next maneuver. Once he had built up sufficient focus and energy he unleashed his next attack. He produced the large ball of ice at his feet and brought it up into the air before him. As he lofted the ball he twisted his hips bringing his body around in a spin sending the large chunk of ice flying at Ashen.

"This one isn't so easy to stop", he claimed. However he felt another larger energy drain on his body and his connection to the Winter Aspect weakened slightly.

[Talon]

Ashen gave a short, barking laugh, replying,

"Well, if you think so...!"

The whirling sphere of ice hadn't even reached 10 feet of Ashen before becoming immersed in blue-hot fire, rapidly melting before a golf-ball sized sphere of ice bounced off of Ashen's chest, and he gave a chuckle, rubbing the spot.

"Again, there's still something left! You show promise!"

Kaft sighed and leaned over to Gale, muttering below anyone's hearing level,

"Ashen's holding back..."

Ashen spun an arm, then cracked his wrists, making a beckoning motion to Volk.

"C'mon! What do we have for number 3?" He barked.

Gale smirked, then replied to Kaft in their silent tone,

"Nontheless, he's enjoying himself..."

[shdwdrgn]

"Well you are a Packleader for a reason Ashen. Though the next one isn't an offensive attack", he stated.

Finally needing to up his game he shifted to his Gauru form since his next technique could only be used with it. He started chilling the area to form his Iceberg Armor. His armor fully realised itself. He held a firm stance as the armor gave off a decent amount of mist from cooling the surrounding air. Another larger drain of energy came from its formation but not as much as he anticipated would happen.

"Ok I presume you want to test the capabilities of this at least once since it is a defensive technique. I'm ready whenever Ashen", Volk called.

He may have been able to melt the first two moves with ease but this one can't be melted like those were. It constantly performs temperature checks keeping the temperature within a frozen range.

[Talon]

Ashen shrugged, then slowly assumed his Gauru form.

"If you say so..." He chimed, hands catching alight.

He slowly raised both hands, then sweptthem forward at Volk, peppering the iced-over lycan with a multitude of golfball-sized fireballs, all of which issued small explosions on impact. Ashen scowled when the armor was relatively undamaged, then smirked, muttering,

"Alright... not bad, but I can still go much further..."

He assumed some form of stance, shifting one leg back and shifting the other 45-degrees to the side, both hands palmed-open, one aimed to the side and the other forward, near his chest. He gave a low growl as the heat in the area suddenly skyrocketed then dropped, the air around his withdrawn hand shimmering with said heat. He then jabbed the clawed hand at Volk, causing a low, deafening roar to erupt from around Volk before the area he stood in abruptly went up in a small but powerful explosion, ravaging the ground nearby with its sheer heat. The smoke cleared, and Volk's armor was heavily melted and cracked, about several inches thinner, but still there. Ashen panted, then slapped a plam to his forehead.

"Wow! That's resilient! Alright, that's enough punishment for that ability. What'cha got next?" Ashen barked in surprise.

[shdwdrgn]

Volk held steady as his armor rebuilt itself automatically. Right now he was cursing that part of his Aspect, he had no off switch. He bent to one knee as the rebuild took the worse toll than the original formation.

Crap I need to get this over with quickly or else my Aspect will be toast and so will my energy reserves.

"Ok Ashen the next to are physical contact moves and one requires a bite to perform. I hope that you're ready for this", he said. I hope that I'm ready as well.

Volk drew on his waning Aspect connection once more as the bond weakened. Ice began to form around his claws creating a gauntlet. He shot at Ashen with a large burst of speed and brought a claw across his chest and then one across his back as he passed behind the Darkwood Packleader. The wounds were covered in ice for a short while though they began to melt from Ashen's body temperature.

Urg the energy drain is immense now... I don't know how much longer I can keep hold of my Aspect like this. Please let me make it through this one last maneuver,he pleaded mentally. His breathing had become a bit ragged and he stooped to one knee as he tried to gather up energy for the final part of the trial.

[Talon]

Ashen visibly gritted his teeth at Volk's attack, but otherwise held his position as he gave Volk an unsure glance.

"C'mon now, don't tell me you're ready to quit already! You haven't even gotten through the first trial!" He barked, cocking an eyebrow.

He folded his arms once more, staring down at the tiring Volk.

"You have a minute to get back on your feet amd continue the trial, otherwise.... you fail." Argus stated flatly.

"You heard the man, Berg..." Ashen confirmed.

[shdwdrgn]

Volk quickly turned giving a howl as he lunged at Ashen. When he came into contact with Ashen he sank his fangs into the right shoulder and tackled him to the ground. He remained there for a moment as ice began to build around Ashen's shoulder and neck. As quickly as he had snapped he came back to his normal self and withdrew his fangs from the Darkwood Packleader.

"Forgive me for that Ashen, I do not take kindly to people saying I've given up", he apologizes. "There I have completed the task you set to me now what's next?"

As he finished speaking he felt the large drain from the abuse of his Aspect take its toll. He didn't want to show the problem though he hunched a little more than usual. However he did hold out a hand to help Ashen back to his feet so as not to disrespect the one who had gotten him to this point.

[Talon]

Ashen blinked, then gave a barking laugh as he took Volks hand and helped himself to his feet, dusting himself off as the ice on his shoulder quickly evaporated. The Elders all growled at Volk for the action, but Ashen quickly silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"We all get like that, it cannot be helped... s'a common lycan trait, after all. Besides, he used his last Aspect ability, did he not? First trial passed!"

The Elders gave eachother questioning glances, then shrugged as Argus re-joined their ranks. Ashen cleared his throat, then boomed,

"The first Trial is complete! You may now move onto the 2nd Trial. Elder Gale?"

Gale nodded, then took a step forward and looked Volk over with a slight disproving look, then sighed.

"Your next task is the Trial of Navigation. Any lycan of worth is able to make his way around and do so quickly. So... you are to head to three locations and back before sunrise. A pack member will be at each location to ensure your arrival, and to make sure you haven't cheated your way around the trial." She stated briskly.

She abruptly waved a hand toward the city, and proclaimed,

"You are to travel to the Graveyard near the city, then, up to the dormant volcano, then to the cliffs bordering the desert, and make your way back here. Is that understood? If we do not hear three howls before your arrival, or if you do not make it back before sunrise, then you fail this Trial. Now, I suggest you head off as quickly as possible!"

Ashen winced, closing an eye as he muttered,

"Yeah... this one's a ball-buster for most initiations..."

Elder Kaft quickly swatted Ashen across the back of the head, and Ashen gave a surprised look of disproval. The Elder said nothing from his cloak, and Ashen sighed in defeat, bowing his head.

"yeah, yeah... well, you heard the lady, Berg! Get goin'!"

((2nd Trial- Navigation- Begin!!))

[shdwdrgn]

Volk drudged back into the clearing for the trial. His legs were barely capable of carrying his weight. The moon was beginning to vanish from the sky as night was ending.

"I have returned from all three locations you have set for me to visit", he said. "So what is the final trial in this series?"

He held his arms above his head as he regained his breath and tried to build up some form of an energy reserve. His breathing was heavy showing his obvious fatigue.

[Talon]

Ashen looked back at the Elders and nodded, then turned back to Volk and stated,

"Before we do that, congratulations on the 2nd trial, and good luck with the 3rd. Elder Kaft, if you wouldn't mind?"

With that, the short Elder strode forward and scowled up at Volk, then abruptly smirked.

"Not bad. Your third and final trial will pit you against one of Darkwood's most effective fighters. Simply overcome him, and you pass the trial. Understood?"

Ashen abruptly tilted his head back and issued a shrill whistle, to which one of the Elders yelled at and crumpled over, clutching at his head. No one seemed to pay it any heed as another lycan, in human form, walked out of the trees. He bore a black jacket, faded jeans, a slicked-back black hairstyle, angular facial features, and a cold stare adding to his scowl. Ashen nodded at him, and the young man seemed to smile for a moment, nodding back. Ashen turned back to Volk as the man stopped next to the Packleader, and the ebony lycan barked,

"Berg, this is my son, Shard. He'll be your opponent for this match, but we'll give you five minutes to rest before we start."

Shard promptly nodded, giving a slight bow.

"Any time you're ready." Shard muttered.