Tymber Wolf's Things

The Elder Goat!

"Such a shame it had to happen to one so young..."

Made for World Anvil.

Saturn winced as he tightened the medicine-soaked bandage around his leg. There. That should keep the bite clean.

He only thanked Anima that Buckthorn had taught him how to do that last autumn. Even at this time of year, Arachno Swamp spiders were the most vicious things. If the long, spindly legs didn't give him a fright, their venom-primed fangs certainly did. Saturn trembled slightly as spider toxin laced through his veins. Still, he had been through worse. He stood himself up.

Slowly, gently, he began walking towards the west. He took care not to run too fast, lest he pump the poison through his body even faster. Little by little, he could feel his symptoms letting up. His tiredness was replaced with determination. His target had to be around here somewhere.

Ah! There it was! Hiding behind a veil of mangroves was a dilapidated temple wrapped in dry, thorny vines. The former Arachno Temple. His eyes widened at the sight.

He burst into a run, but sharp pain in his bitten calf forced him to a brisk walking pace. As he looked down, he saw how lucky that was; the way ahead was completely blocked, entangled in thorns. If he hadn't stopped, he might have run straight into them.

Saturn reached behind him and pulled out a long broadsword. Though it's blade was silver, it shone with brilliant golden light. With one swing of the sword, that light shot forward, an arced blade of sunny yellow slicing cleanly through the vines and into the rotten wood behind them.

Saturn smiled triumphantly. "Thanks, Excalibur!"

The broadsword glimmered as if to say, "You're welcome." Saturn re-sheathed it and made his way inside.

The inside of the former temple was almost pitch-black. Had it not been for the faint light coming from the Light Fragment affixed to his back, Saturn may not have been able to see at all. He made his way through the decrepit halls, filled with molding tapestries hanging from decomposing, waterlogged frames. All the while, Excalibur began to vibrate, its pulses becoming more urgent the further Saturn walked.

The halls opened up to a rather large, rectangular room. It looked as if at one point, it would have been a dining hall, though there were no tables or any other furniture. Those who used to use this place must have packed everything up and left before the swamp reclaimed the structure.

Something in the corner of the room caught Saturn's eye. He stepped closer. It was a plain sack, utterly unremarkable by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, when Saturn drew near, a vague hunger descended over him. Traipsing through a filthy swamp while fighting off spider venom really worked up an appetite, it seemed. Excalibur continued to shudder and shake.

He glanced inside of the bag. It seemed like it was empty. But the enchantments weaved into the fabric suggested more. Curiosity overcoming him, he reached his hand into it. He grabbed something and pulled it out.

It was... a sandwich? Yes. A jam and cheese sandwich, just sitting in this seemingly-empty bag, unnaturally fresh for spending Anima knew how much time inside a defunct temple. Saturn smiled as he realized something. He'd found an endless-supply bag! Someone in this temple must have left it behind.

The valkyrie lifted the sandwich to his mouth. Well, I guess just one wouldn't hurt...

Saturn yelped as a sharp pain burned across his back. He dropped the sandwich in the dirt. Growling, he unsheathed Excalibur once more. "What the Flipside?! What was that for?!"

The gemstone in Excalibur's hilt flickered. Saturn's face dropped as he remembered something. The Fragments of Anima were enchanted to sense wendigoes. "Wait... is there a wendigo around here?"

The gem flickered again. Saturn took this as a yes.

He gulped. "But... what would this bag have to do with it? Unless..." Was the wendigo hiding in the bag?

He turned back towards the enchanted bag. Now that he looked closely at it, there was something off about it. The aura surrounding it was dark and cold. And the hunger... it wasn't at all like anything he'd felt before. It was draining the life right out of him, leaving him almost starving.

Despite everything, he managed to keep his composure. He thrust Excalibur in front of him. The blade's glow transformed, brightening to a clean white as it cast its cleansing spell over the bag.

That was all it needed. Saturn staggered back as a thick black liquid began gushing from inside the bag. It spurted into the air, painting the inside of the chamber. It splattered onto Saturn's feathers; slimy and cold and wrong in every single way. More dusty particles filled the air, blinding the valkyrie in a black blizzard. Wendigo mass.

The shadowy liquid flowed back into itself, shaping into a tall, gaunt figure. Its taut skin was thinly wrapped around its jutting skeleton, like a being that hadn't eaten in months. It let out an agonized shriek at Saturn.

Saturn brandished Excalibur at the wendigo. He'd heard Jack talking about this before. The storm gremlin knew a lot about wendigoes and their various forms. This was a dessicate: a wendigo that gained its power by feeding on its prey's hunger and gluttony. This one must have seen an opportunity in attaching to that endless-supply bag. Anima knew what it had done to the bag's previous owner.

Saturn struggled to see through the endless dust storm that surrounded him. He grimaced. Though he couldn't see exactly where the dessicate was, he could tell it was getting closer to him. His stomach twisted more and more, the agonized ravening growing every second. He fell to his knees.

"Come on, Excalibur!" he growled through clenched teeth. "Do something!"

Excalibur answered his plea. It shimmered a bright gold, its aura descending over Saturn. His hunger and pain abated, enough for him to stand up. Another agonized screech filled his ears.

Saturn focused on the Light Fragment's blade, pouring his energy into it. He thought about all his adventures. About his friends and how they'd do anything for each other. And about where he was going after this. With every positive thought, the ethereal shield around him grew, blowing the Null flurry back some more. It slowed to a light snowfall as the dessicate came into view.

Saturn turned and swung Excalibur a few more times. Several light blades shot out of it, each slicing through their target. Shrieks turned to gurgles as the starving demon was hacked to pieces, helplessly melting to the ground.

Everything stopped. The Null storm halted, every fractal dropping helplessly to the floor. Now all that was left was sticky muck, puddling at the edge of Saturn's shield. Standing up straight, he recited the Wendigo Banishing Incantation:

"Back to the Flipside with you and your hate!"

"You have no place in this Land of Dreams!"

"We belong to Altairus, Altairus is ours!"

"Now, begone!"

With that final swing of his arm, the light from Excalibur blinded him. Saturn shrank back, shielding his eyes. Over the roar of the spell, he could hear the dessicate let out one last piteous wail before all the light rushed out of the room. As a distant explosion overhead rocked the world for a single second, Saturn sighed in relief. It was done.

The valkyrie turned back to the endless-supply bag. His stomach still ached a bit from his unfortunate encounter. He thought about pulling another sandwich out, but decided against it. He could eat when he got back to the camp. There would be less chance of running into another wendigo there, anyway. He grabbed the sack and ran all the way back outside, and he didn't stop until he reached home base.

All in all, everything turned out alright. All of Saturn's adventurer friends lined up to hear about how he beat a dessicate on his own that day. As for the bag, well, he used it right up to the point where its enchantment wore off. And now, it's just an ordinary sack sitting in the middle of Saturn's pile of things. Maybe someday, he'll figure out how to restore its magic.

Fin.

Finally got these done! Four new covers for four new WIPS!

Read more about these titles here.

"I feel like a new man! Or whatever I am. I feel like an unsprung spring! Like an uncorroded gear! Like a sharp piece of metal that STICKS IN YOUR EYE!!!"

Guess who got into Alice: Madness Returns about 14 years too late?

Care Bears belongs to Those Characters from Cleveland. Professor Coldheart belongs to DiC. Alice: Madness Returns belongs to Spicy Horse.

Just some pics of my new book!

Jack Thunder and the Dawn of Unity is now live! The paperback version is still under review, but the ebook and hardcover versions are now available! Check them out at the links below:

Did another illustration for my book. Ringmaster Magnus has a serious conversation with a young Strombolio.

"Protest all you like, Tenderheart! Not even the power of caring can stand up to these rates!" 😈

Been a while since I've drawn this goober, huh?

Taken from this meme.