My thoughts in this setting are to take the game out initially from the half way point in Onyk's time of existance. In other words, when the prophecy of destruction has just begun it's time limit. The following would be initial information, introducing main NPCs. I would most likely include these as initial RP to start the game. In any case, two of the five I need are written.
Shapyte - Legends Reborn
Rajih sat brooding on the creaking wooden stairs of his home, which was deep in the Plains of Tatraya. He watched his little brothers swimming in the cool currents of the Isarad River. First they were fish. Then they transformed themselves into birds. Rajih remembered soaring through the clear open skies, experiencing a sense of freedom that was beyond explanation. Not so long ago, he even liked playing hide and go seek. With the Shapyte children being able to switch forms, a hide and go seek game could last for weeks. Rajih sincerely wished that he, too, could continue to transform himself from creature to creature for the rest of his life, but he knew that phenomenon would be impossible tomorrow.
He sighed. He had to think hard about the final form he would choose for the rest of his life. All Shapyte shape shifters must perform a ritual to enter adulthood at age sixteen. As children, their ability to shift was fluid, like breathing or walking, but past the age of sixteen this constant changing quickly sapped their energy, and, if they were not careful, could be fatal. Therefore, Shapyte priests administered a test to ensure that the new adult Shapyte would only have one form to which he could frequently switch so that he did not accidentally kill himself.
Tomorrow Rajih turned sixteen and would have to pass this test. Brooding, Rajih remembered a legend Mother had told him. Every millennium or so, a Shapyte would be born, who was the continuation of the most powerful being created. In the legend, this hero received a power so great that he was able to retain his childhood abilities to switch forms as often as he liked. Hence, he could skillfully defend his people. So many decades had passed since the coming of the hero that the Shapyte had all but forgotten the legend, except in tales and bedtime stories.
A harsh caw from an overhead bird abruptly cut into Rajih’s thoughts. As if recalling a mission, he wandered out into the fields and forests in which he had played just yesterday. He knew he could not play today. Rather, he must decide what to do. As heavy a burden as the adulthood initiation was, his more pressing concern was his mother, who was terminally ill. There was no hope for her condition, save for another fragment of a tale so fantastic it was not even perceived as possible. A legendary animal called the carata was said to possess a magical healing power, and, if a Shapyte could shift into its form, then he would be able to defend his people against any evils. A carata was rare even at the dawn of time when the Shapyte existed as a mighty race. If a Shapyte ever sighted one, he could copy the carata’s shape and bring himself much luck. No one had been able to shift into its shape although a few elderly Shapyte had claimed to see one.
Rajih debated within himself. Should he sacrifice his chance to be able to shift to a falcon, his favorite creature, or should he save his mother? Though he longed to find a cure for her, he feared that the carata was only a legend. He feared being trapped in the form of the carata, which was an unknown creature, no matter how important.
The next day dawned frigidly cold although the sun cast a glow over the plains. Glancing around as he walked, Rajih saw that many of the inhabitants of his town had turned out for the ceremony. He was particularly aware that his own mother was not standing with his brothers among the thronged mass. Shaking slightly as he climbed the steps to the ceremonial platform, he noticed that only he and one other Shapyte were turning sixteen that day.
Rajih had dressed, like the other Shapyte, in a lightweight but warm robe for the ceremony. The ceremony proceeded as usual with the Shapyte priest droning monotonously for what seemed to be hours. He reminded the two new adults and the rest of the assembly about their newly appointed roles and responsibilities. Then came the time for the test. Each boy would receive his instructions telepathically and then follow them by attempting to shift into five different animals, the fifth being their final choice. If unable to do so, he would be set aside until the other succeeded or failed.
Rajih and the other Shapyte inductee chanted the ceremonial words, “Cha Shapyte Ca Seetre Plerei Westieh Xetawery. Shapyte the Great, accept me and let me help you.”
As soon as the chanting stopped, both of them tried to transform themselves. First, they summoned all the energy they could hold. Then, they held in their minds the image to which they wanted to shift. Finally, they used the stored energy to shift into one form after another. The other Shapyte, who was named Caarel, did the maneuvers perfectly, shifting into his final form, a great horned owl.
Rajih, however, was unusually slow. He tried harder, feeling his strength sap as he visually started to glow, a bright aura slowly appearing. He envisioned his mother, but a picture of the carata appeared unbidden in his head, against his wishes. The picture flared and got brighter as his body took on a brighter glow. Then, with one mighty effort he tried to shift, not into a falcon as he desired, but into the carata. As he did so, an odd tingling started from his outstretched hands, slowly at first, then faster and faster as it shot into all the parts of his being. The tingling ceased as suddenly as it had started. Rajih abruptly stopped shimmering and looked out at the astonished crowd for a dazed second. Suddenly he realized that the eyes with which he was looking at the crowd were not his own! He had been able to shift safely to the legendary animal, the fabled carata. The crowd who was at first filled with astonishment began to cheer and shout.
Overcome with emotions ranging from awe to something that he could not describe, Rajih leapt into the air and cried out in the carata’s unique tongue, “I have done it! I have done what no other has been able to do for centuries!” He cavorted around and around to the delight of the crowd until again the odd tingling started.
When it stopped, he found himself in his mother’s bedchamber. He acted almost as if in a dream. He leapt into the chair by his mother’s side and gently waved his luminous tail. His mother’s body slowly pulsed in time with Rajih’s tail until her body also was surrounded by the aura. Then the mysterious glow slowly faded.
Any disappointment that Rajih felt was countered when he saw his mother restored to her former self. As he lashed his tail, the odd tingling started up again. He felt his body freeze, and he momentarily panicked. Then his body began to change. Slowly at first, then faster than the eye could see, he revisited every single creature into which he had ever tried to shift. Starting with a rabbit, his first transformation, he ended with his chosen form, the carata. Abruptly, he found himself back in front of the ceremonial crowd.
As one, they raised their voices in harmony to celebrate the return of their hero. In a deeper sense though, even as Rajih was filled with joy, he knew that the carata bestowed upon him a duty of protection that outreached even the bounds of time.
