My Werepanther System: Starting with Nine Lives

The panther guardian domain was so much unlike the panther warrior domain. Ironically, it was more dangerous. But only because Rex was skipping steps on the Werepanther growth scale. 

Even better though, was the fact that the moment he passed the test— not really, all the dangers became his strength. 

They'd been in the desert landscape for what felt like hours— and already, he'd made another mountain of discoveries. 

"Do it again." The half-goblin said as they sat in the middle of an endless desert. 

"I'm tired, man—"

"Please again." The boy watched the sand with wild eyes. 

Rex wondered if it was his first time experiencing child-like wonder without worry of violence. 

He checked his system screen. 

"Alright. I've got enough Mana. Let's do it again." 

Rex held his massive pawed hands over the hot sand. It glowed with a radiant eminence that spoke to its difference from regular sand. It was hot— sweltering like the flaming beacon above them. It churned like stew in a pot. Cooking with magical ingrediants and power Rex couldn't decipher. Hell, he could barely control it. But control he did. 

He spun his hands and flicked his fingers like a monstrous pianist over the rumbling Solar-sand. In time, the sand rose and took the shape of a sphere. 

Slowly it spun. 

In time— on the surface of the sphere shapes and outlines marred the space. 

"Where were we?" Rex asked as he struggled to maintain focus. 

"Earf."

"Right— and it's Earth."

The boy nodded, "I said." 

"No, earth."

"…."

"You're right, doesn't matter." Rex said and kept the globe of sand spinning.

"Home?"

Rex spun the globe so South America faced him. 

"Home is there." He focused the heat until the plot of land glowed orange. 

His eyes were huge. Like he was truly grasping the scale of the world. Then he shook his head and his face went deathly serious. 

"What?" 

"Monster home too." 

Rex nodded, "Monsters are everywhere, man."

His shoulders slumped then. 

"But there's safe places." Rex said, "With food…. Like pizza… and tacos— and giant couches you could stretch as much as you want on and there's still be cushions left." Rex let his mind spin the sanded constructs to life. 

"Pizza…..couch." The half-goblin bit the pizza slice of sand and immediately spit it out, "PLAH!"

"Now, why would you do that?" 

The boy itched his tongue, "Hungry, Rex." But it sounded like, "Houngy, Recks."

Rex nodded, "Same. Wanna go hunt another camel? I'm sure there's some out there somewhere." 

"I want to know sky-earth." 

"What?" Rex asked. The half-goblin did that a lot. He had unique word combos for things he didn't know the real name of. 

The half-goblin pointed to the sky, "The other earth."

"Does he mean the other planet— oh wait…." Rex put the pieces together, "You mean the moon? The big white thing?"

"Sometimes… small." 

"Yea."

"Yea."

"What about it?"

"Monsters there?" The boy asked as he drew halfway English words in the sand. 

"No. Some conspiracy psychos think there might be on other planets— a few nations are setting up the beginnings of space empires, but that's been in talks for decades. Right now, the big debate is if we should blow up the moon." 

"Blow up?" 

"Destroy it." Rex said as he made a sand construct of a moon above the earth just to grab it and crush it. An insanely difficult maneuver while maintaining everything else. 

"Why?" 

"The moon— what it's made of on the surface 

creates a unique form of energy when combined with sunlight— I forgot the name, but it makes some monsters stronger. Like Gnolls and werewolves and….. us." Rex said.

"We are monsters…?" The half-goblin asked.

Rex shrugged, "The way I see it, everyone and everything alive is and can be a monster. Even the plants."

"The plants." The half-goblin nodded as if he was having his own memory of the jungles.

Rex continued, "For the longest, my worst enemies were people. The monsters in my nightmares were people. Humans. And my greatest friends were cats. Humans never helped me. It was the cats bringing me dead mice to cook in old soup cans. It was the cats bringing me old toys thrown away by better off families to play with. The monsters are just whoever's after you. You know how to fix that?"

"…." The young half-goblin blinked absently with a half-open mouth.

Rex wasn't even entirely sure of his own answer as he spoke— but he so badly wanted to give the young boy something tangible. More knowledge that he didn't have to steal and happen to come upon by chance. Something meaningful that came with care. With the ability to make him better off in a dark world.

"Become a stronger monster." Rex finally said.

"Stronger monster." The half-goblin repeated.

Rex nodded.

"What is the strongest monster?"

Suddenly, Rex wished he paid more attention in Primary School—

As if in reply, a hand made of sand rose up out of the ground, causing Rex's sand constructs to disintegrate.

The two Werepanther's jumped backward and assumed their combat stances, worried that Bastet had lost her motherly nature in the hours since their meeting.

In seconds, the hand risen from the sand had become the sanded construct of a man. The suns rays shined on him. Then, like an eye, the sun blinked. When the light returned, the sand sculpture had actually become a man. Just like before.

"Who are you?" Rex asked. The man was as tall as Rex in his Arthurian form with charcoal black skin and green eyes with a bald head. He wore sand colored robes that covered the lower half of his face and body.

Swiftly, he turned and lowered his mask. His thin nose shrink and expanded as he scented the air. No— as he scented Rex. Quickly after, he took a step backward and lowered his eyes with a quieted and slow hiss.

"It seems times have changed. Greatly."

"What?"

"My name is Hassan. I am of the Arthurian aspect. The pride of the lions is strong in me. But…. Not as strong as it is in you, Pride-Lord Panther." He bowed.

"A-are you real?" Rex asked, confused by the detail of the assumed sand sculpture.

Hassan looked around— then down at his hands under the glowing sun. "I feel real— I feel as I did then— before Bastet came to me. But… different. I know much has changed. It's …. it's just different. I know in this realm that I am as real as you."

"What does that mean?" Rex asked.

Hassan blinked in consideration— as if he too was confused by his words. "What year is it?"

"Twenty-two seventy-four." Rex replied.

Hassan's eyes went wide.

"What year was it that you last remember?"

"Seventeen sixty-six." Hassan whispered.

"That's before the first Drift Dimensiom opened….. way before." Rex thought to himself.

"But it felt like yesterday— mere moments ago when I'd been overtaken by the wolves. When Bastet came to me and allowed me to return to the sand. So much time….. so much change. You are much younger than the last Beast Totem Awakener. That is not a good sign."

Rex looked down at himself, "How can you even tell?"

Hassan tapped his nose, "Your scent. And the fact that you can't tell the same from me."

"Wh— how old are you?"

Hassan looked back down at his hands that were severely scarred, "I died at age fifteen."

"You're fifteen???" Rex asked in surprise at the giant man.

"What is fifteen?" The half-goblin asked.

"Not right now, buddy." Rex said quickly.

"Werepanther's age differently than man. I'm sure you noticed it the day you awakened your totem."

Rex considered his words, "Yea…. You're right."

A tense silence spread for a batch of seconds with Hassan looking around he endless desert with as much awe as a man seeing life on another planet.

"So, what is earth like now?" Hassan asked.

"Oh fuck— we're not doing this again. Hey—" Rex looked to the half-goblin, "Tell Hassan what I told you. I gotta watch out for another test. Bastet didn't send newly reborn shifter from five-hundred years ago for no reason." Rex turned away from them with his eyes on alert.

The half-goblin hesitantly walked up to Hassan, "I'm from South-America. The world is ... massive and large and full of penny pinching noble bastards. Monsters are everywhere. We are all monsters— but if we're stronger monsters then there are no monsters."

Hassan took his rambled retelling of the world and considered it seriously as he scratched his hairless chin, "It seems much has changed. Tell me more about these…. monsters, young warrior."

"Some have green skin and long noses and want everything. Some have fangs and scales that break sharp things. Some are massive like the earth with horns and one eye. There are more, Rex says." 

Hassan turned to Rex who had his back to him, "And are we still at war with the other Beast-Totem Awakener's?" 

"I guess so. The current Canine Totem Awakener is named Remulus. He might be an instructor at my training academy. He's got all the other Totem-Awakener's under his thumb for the most part. He's running things like a gang— tried to jump me in. I refused. So now he's going to bring hell my way every full moon until I submit. Dudes got some kind of dominance kink thing." 

"The canine totem gained that mental shortcoming over time and ignorance. They had a string of Omegas— Canine Totem-Awakener's who failed to build a pack or connect with their Ancestors in the Realm of Gods. Which made them susceptible to spritual untethering. Through this, Man started to think of wolf as dominance oriented. Packs run by the most monstrous. Through stories and fear. Slowly it became engrained in each totem Awakener afterward."

"That can happen?"

Hassan nodded, "The same way powers compile, so too does ignorance, fears, malicious ideals— weaknesses, not as plainly but it does all the same. It's why all Panther totem Awakener's are strays. Usually orphans or travelers."

"So I've heard." Rex replied. 

"How does the world function with these…. Other beasts?" 

"Global militarization. There's also people with powers— Inheritence Abilities. Drift Dimensions emit a lot of unique energies. One of them is called Mana. When it first hit earth, it changed up the dna of a select few. They were called Founding Ability users. Their children became Inheritence Ability users. Yadda yadda yadda, now some people have powers but most people just have weapons and armor that would probably also just look like powers to you." 

Hassan looked like he was gonna need to hold his mouth closed soon. "Incredible!" 

Silence spread again with the half-goblin sneaking a touch or two of Hassan's robes. 

Rex watched a sandstorm take place miles upon miles away. Little more than an increased haze blotting out the blue sky ahead. 

"Hassan."

"Yes, Pride-Lord Panther?" 

"Why do you think you're here?" Rex asked. "Bastet didn't say anything to you from the….. death realm?" 

"Well….. the Werepanther is known for two things. Rebirth and supreme insight. There would be times where my Panther Queen would fall in battle and return with years of added intelligence. Knowledge and skills she didn't have before— and she'd only been gone for a minute. I suppose, she gained guidance from Warriors of the past. Aspect Wielders of old. Perhaps it's my job to be that for you. Your guardian adviser." 

"How fitting." Rex thought, "But you're fifteen." 

"And already, I use my senses far better than you." 

Rex turned around. 

Hassan dropped his head, "Pride-Lord." 

"Please just call me Rex. You're making me feel like my classmates." 

"Yes, Lord Rex." 

Rex eyed him. 

"Rex." Hassan said with great struggle. 

Rex sighed, "Well, since you may be my advisor, what is a n—..."

They all waited for Rex to continue as he looked at the desert beyond. 

"…Rex?" Hassan asked. 

The half-goblin jogged over to him and hissed as he followed Rex's gaze. 

"What is it?"

"It's not a sandstorm." Rex said finally. "It's something in the sand— something big. This is the test."

As if on que, his system screen blinked to life. 

DING!

[New Mission Alert] 

[Defeat the Reptile Beast-Totem construct!]

[Current Form: Lesser World-Serpent]

[Upon Success: +2 All Physical Stats, +1 Skill Upgrade (Venom Saliva)]

[Upon Failure: -1 All Physical Stats for 24hrs (Negated by Bastet's Protection of Kin)]

"What a gracious goddess…" Hassan mused.

"I guess this is how Bastet wanted me to try out my new form. Alright let's get into it." Rex thought.

He then called to the sands, spawning a massive spear that he so badly wanted to throw as he saw the others do. 

The weapon came halfway out of the sand before crumbling and rewarding him with a splitting headache. 

[5% Mana Remaining]

"Oh that's so... so bad."

"If we are stronger monsters there are no monsters." The young half-goblin mumbled repeatedly as of it was a prayer.

The rumbling sand waves were too close to be mistaken now. He could see the great serpents massive scaled back with its gleaming points like dark knights armor. The thing was too big to comprehend. Even worse were its venomous fangs that left a gaseous bubbling trail of goup in its wake, spawning zombified giant muddy WereLions.

"Oh hell no, RUN!"