
How long did father and son stay in that embrace? No one counted.
But finally, the embrace ended.
And Carrios asked the question every non-gnoll was dying to ask.
"What happened to you?!"
"According to your settlers, they progressed until here by going slowly, building many settlements along the way, so they had a safe place to retreat to if there was a problem," began Rokk. "I didn't. In my impatience, I led the whole group to rush as fast as possible, barely resting in tents at night, so we could build the first settlement straight on the summits of the mountains."
He smiled, sadly.
"Result, when a snowstorm fell on us, an especially brutal and long one, where tents weren't enough to protect us, we almost all froze to death. Only blind luck allowed us to find a cave where we could get shelter from the storm."
A silence.
"The cave was filled with strange, purple crystals, that emitted a weak glow. We were surprised, but nothing more. We decided to make the cave the settlement. We began our work, all was going well..."
He sighed.
"I don't remember exactly when we saw the first signs. A few months, I think. The fact is, we noticed that the dogs we brought with us were acting strangely. And us humans, our senses felt heightened, we felt hairier. At first, we didn't really pay attention. When the dogs began truly acting with an abnormal intelligence, while our nails began turning in claws and our ears getting pointy, we downright got in denial. I mean, mutating, changing? That was ridiculous!"
He laughed. It was a very bitter laugh.
"When the dogs became bipedal, when our hands turned in paws and our noses in dog noses, denial became impossible. We realized the crystals were the cause of it. Don't ask me how, but there was no other possibility. We decided to get the hell away. Alas, that's the moment a series of violent snowstorms striked the summits."
While it was years ago, everyone heard of this incredibly brutal phenomenon, that lasted for almost a whole year, as if angry spirits tried and smother the entire region of Birakath in an onslaught of snow, wind and ice. Carrios especially remembered it, for it had been, until then, the main suspect of the previous settlers' disappearance.
"We were trapped in the cave. Some tried to destroy the crystals, screaming insults and swears, uselessly. Others prayed to Anima, begging her to stop this, or at least to put an end to the storms. Neither stopped. Others fell into despair, staying in their quarters, unresponsive. Some, like me, went through all three."
The happy mood was completely gone.
"When the storms finally ended, there were no longer humans or dogs in this cave. There were only Gnolls. We took the name in reference to an old folklore story of the dog men that kidnapped and devoured children at night. That gives a good idea of how bad our morale and mental state were," he added with grim snark. "We had resigned ourselves to cut ourselves from the world, to live secluded, to never contact other people. We accepted that we would never see Githien again. That otherwise, Hayjar would treat us as freaks at best, and monsters at worst. We knew we were doomed to live and die there, on these mountains, alone..."
A silence, again.
"So when I saw you, I intended to stay away, but when I saw these wolves attack, I didn't think, I came and helped."
And there, for the first time since he began the story, Rokk smiled.
"But when I ran, I saw, in your eyes, that we were wrong. You were surprised, but you didn't see a monster. You just saw something unknown, you saw all the possibilities from it, not just the bad ones. It motivated us to try and take a chance, to try and contact after all. And you extended your hands to us."
Once again, silence came. And Rokk said just two words.
"Thank you."
And again, no eye was dry.
Thus begins (with some lateness ) my Gnollvember dump!
Little quiz: Can you guess the psychological thing that appears in this pic and story?
Art by
caseyljones
Original here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/29559817/
Rokk © me
But finally, the embrace ended.
And Carrios asked the question every non-gnoll was dying to ask.
"What happened to you?!"
"According to your settlers, they progressed until here by going slowly, building many settlements along the way, so they had a safe place to retreat to if there was a problem," began Rokk. "I didn't. In my impatience, I led the whole group to rush as fast as possible, barely resting in tents at night, so we could build the first settlement straight on the summits of the mountains."
He smiled, sadly.
"Result, when a snowstorm fell on us, an especially brutal and long one, where tents weren't enough to protect us, we almost all froze to death. Only blind luck allowed us to find a cave where we could get shelter from the storm."
A silence.
"The cave was filled with strange, purple crystals, that emitted a weak glow. We were surprised, but nothing more. We decided to make the cave the settlement. We began our work, all was going well..."
He sighed.
"I don't remember exactly when we saw the first signs. A few months, I think. The fact is, we noticed that the dogs we brought with us were acting strangely. And us humans, our senses felt heightened, we felt hairier. At first, we didn't really pay attention. When the dogs began truly acting with an abnormal intelligence, while our nails began turning in claws and our ears getting pointy, we downright got in denial. I mean, mutating, changing? That was ridiculous!"
He laughed. It was a very bitter laugh.
"When the dogs became bipedal, when our hands turned in paws and our noses in dog noses, denial became impossible. We realized the crystals were the cause of it. Don't ask me how, but there was no other possibility. We decided to get the hell away. Alas, that's the moment a series of violent snowstorms striked the summits."
While it was years ago, everyone heard of this incredibly brutal phenomenon, that lasted for almost a whole year, as if angry spirits tried and smother the entire region of Birakath in an onslaught of snow, wind and ice. Carrios especially remembered it, for it had been, until then, the main suspect of the previous settlers' disappearance.
"We were trapped in the cave. Some tried to destroy the crystals, screaming insults and swears, uselessly. Others prayed to Anima, begging her to stop this, or at least to put an end to the storms. Neither stopped. Others fell into despair, staying in their quarters, unresponsive. Some, like me, went through all three."
The happy mood was completely gone.
"When the storms finally ended, there were no longer humans or dogs in this cave. There were only Gnolls. We took the name in reference to an old folklore story of the dog men that kidnapped and devoured children at night. That gives a good idea of how bad our morale and mental state were," he added with grim snark. "We had resigned ourselves to cut ourselves from the world, to live secluded, to never contact other people. We accepted that we would never see Githien again. That otherwise, Hayjar would treat us as freaks at best, and monsters at worst. We knew we were doomed to live and die there, on these mountains, alone..."
A silence, again.
"So when I saw you, I intended to stay away, but when I saw these wolves attack, I didn't think, I came and helped."
And there, for the first time since he began the story, Rokk smiled.
"But when I ran, I saw, in your eyes, that we were wrong. You were surprised, but you didn't see a monster. You just saw something unknown, you saw all the possibilities from it, not just the bad ones. It motivated us to try and take a chance, to try and contact after all. And you extended your hands to us."
Once again, silence came. And Rokk said just two words.
"Thank you."
And again, no eye was dry.
Thus begins (with some lateness ) my Gnollvember dump!
Little quiz: Can you guess the psychological thing that appears in this pic and story?
Art by

Original here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/29559817/
Rokk © me
Category Artwork (Digital) / Transformation
Species Hyena
Size 4260 x 865px
File Size 3.01 MB
Listed in Folders
VERY long ago (I mean, at the VERY least one millenia ago!), Humans were the only species on the continent of Hayjar.
There were crystals on all the continent except the region of Githien.
So while the humans living in GIthien stayed humans, those living in the regions of Rireven, Zalik and Birakath were exposed to them and mutated in forms/species more adapted to these regions: respectively the elves, orcs and trolls.
These crystals eventually lost their energy and disintegrated, and the fact that there were only humans became lost to time.
The crystals of the summits, having mutated no one, kept their energy, hence why they were still there when the settlers arrived a few years, and turned them into gnolls.
There were crystals on all the continent except the region of Githien.
So while the humans living in GIthien stayed humans, those living in the regions of Rireven, Zalik and Birakath were exposed to them and mutated in forms/species more adapted to these regions: respectively the elves, orcs and trolls.
These crystals eventually lost their energy and disintegrated, and the fact that there were only humans became lost to time.
The crystals of the summits, having mutated no one, kept their energy, hence why they were still there when the settlers arrived a few years, and turned them into gnolls.
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