Cursed with Rage

Groggy. Her nerves were on fire, head pounding...she felt like she'd been run over by a herd of elekks.

Surroundings, where was she?

The arcane hum of ethereal technology surrounded her, so she was either on K'aresh or the Voidstorm. Gin's eyes focused on a blistercreep as it scuttled by, confirming that she was in the Voidstorm. Even as disoriented as she was, the urge to pop it rose as it ran past.

Focus, Ash.

Why was she here? Hunting. Right. She'd been hunting a Void ethereal for that magister. Something had gone wrong, this target had been too prepared, allowed themselves to be captured too easily.

They'd been watching her.

Us, Vessel. They had been watching Us.

The familiar voice of the Void within her spoke up for the first time. Oddly comforting as it wrapped around her like a cloak, soothing her aching head and nerves.

They knew about Us. Captured Us...

Flashes of memory burst in front of Gin's eyes. She'd cornered the Void ethereal, both Genn and Equinox closing in on him as she knocked another arrow. She'd almost had him when she felt a sharp pain in her side...she was so focused on her target that she hadn't been watching. The cry of pain distracted Genn long enough that...

No!

He'd gone down, but Equinox kept fighting.

"Go!" The command was shouted at the beast as Gin's clawed hand grasped at the choker around her neck. A moment's hesitation before she ripped it off, throwing it towards the confused rylak and her injured friend. He didn't need to follow, didn't need to feel the inevitable torture she was about to be put through.

"Jus' go! Ah'll be fine...! GO!"

Teeth tore into wraps, unraveling them and forcing their occupants to stop trying to apprehend her or risk being lost. Even that didn't seem to be slowing them down. But she was. Why was she slowing down?

They've weakened you, Vessel...allow Us...

We took over. They knew what We were and had prepared. The pain you felt was a tranquilizer designed to knock you out so that We were forced to take over. They put Us in that arcane prison…

"T'siphon y'outta me," Gin finished, settling back into the Void cloak it had wrapped around her.

Yes. But your runes and his potions are…effective. So it simply hurt you.

Screams bounced around her head. Her screams.

No matter, Vessel. We took care of the captors, but what of the perpetrator? The mastermind? He disappeared before we could finish…

"Leave 'im fer me. Thinks were captured, yeah? Should be a fun…surprise fer 'im."

A disgruntled noise passed his teeth.

His shoulders arched back and find pressed against his suit.

A disgruntled noise passed his teeth.

Commission done for @major-gilneass

(TW for body horror and discussion of werewolf transformation.)

The first few times - despite the spells and the potions crafted to aid those bitten - Gin was able to feel her body shift and crack. Bones broke, lengthened, and rearranged; muscles and tendons snapped and warped into a new configuration. It was at the very least uncomfortable, and at the worst excruciating.

Visually, it was a messy process. Her skin would stretch and rip in places - never leaving a scar - but allowing her skeleton and muscles the space to reform. Her skull elongated, teeth grew sharper, and fur would sprout across her body. In the early days, each transformation left her feeling weak and breathless, gasping for air as she clutched the ground.

Eventually, she'd learn to control the process, and it became something fluid and almost beautiful rather than grotesque. The same processes would happen, but she was able to do it quickly and in a way that the pain was fleeting if it existed at all, and the visual aspects were hidden under speed of transformation. Perks were found in her worgen form: she was stronger, taller, and her senses were heightened. In those days, one could find her in her worgen form just as much as she stayed in her human form.

But then there was the whole ordeal in the Nightmare, trying to rescue her tormentor from the Roots of the World Tree. From the Old Gods that apparently wanted to use the Void within Gin for their own gain. Something happened while she was in the Roots, exposed to the Corruption that would alter her ability to comfortably shift forms and send her nearly back to the beginning.

While she still no longer clutched at the ground in pain after shifting, she could once again feel every little thing. Her bones breaking, muscles tearing, tendons snapping, skin ripping...everything. Once again she was left with the same agonizing pain she remembered feeling in the early days of her curse.

Desire to write Gin needing to rip her armor off so she can breathe due to injuries growing.