There weren’t a lot of green places in Ibinia, but the few that did exist were beautiful. Greenest and most gorgeous of all was the forested mountain range that sprawled from one edge of the northern border to the next. Creeks and rivers bubbled down the sides of the tall, rocky peaks, which were capped white with constant snowfall. Untainted, unmolested nature straight out of an adventurer’s daydream.

Sadly for the travelers and sightseers of the world, the mountains were highly exclusive. The dragons who ruled Ibinia passed an edict long ago which barred almost everyone from entering them. They patrolled their borders day and night, guarding their claimed ancestral land with jealousy only a dragon could muster. None but the draconic aristocrats and their closest associates were permitted to make their homes on the mountainsides.

Well, there was of course the teeming wildlife as well. The fish that swam through the streams, the birds that nested in the trees, the predators and the prey that stalked and ran and chased through the grass and on the stony cliffs.

Jova was one of those predators. At the moment at least. He could be prey if he wanted. He could be a bird, a fish, a stoat, a fox, or even a slug or a fly. Naturally, he was a human. But now, he was a snow leopard.

Snow leopards normally didn’t hunt in packs. At most, they tracked prey in pairs. Right now, six of them were sneaking through the unkempt mountain grass in an orderly formation, converging on a family of goats. Three poor creatures who didn’t have the benefit of human intelligence in an animal body.

Jova padded forward, keeping his head low. He knew the plan. They had been running this plan every day for the last two months. Soon though, the “sky days” would end and the “earth days” would begin; that was when the shapeshifter clan regrouped and moved out from the northern mountains back to the arid deserts. The elders and the star-watchers said the heavens would be in the right alignment soon. After that would come the “sea days,” where they moved to the coast to live as aquatic creatures, and the “star days,” when they’d return to their ancestral grounds to pay respect to those who had passed.

Jova didn’t understand all the intricacies of the stars or how the clan elders decided things. He didn’t pretend to, either. But he knew it was all very important. This was how their people had lived for hundreds of years. They had survived through persecution from the dragons and skirmishes with the other groups that called Ibinia home. Countless fights, constant strife, and yet they had gotten through it all with guidance from the constellations.

All his time spent as various animals had taught Jova a lot about different species. Most of all, it had taught him how weak humans really are. At midnight with no lights around, a human could barely see their own hand in front of their face.

Leopard eyes were different. Way different. Night and day, literally. To a snow leopard, the darkest midnight looked like a sunny afternoon. Right now he could spot the individual ticks on one of the goats he was getting ready to pounce on.

Hearing and smell? Also enhanced. He could pick out the sound of the goat’s heart beating inside its chest, catch the scent trails left behind by small rodents and other wildlife that had passed through this area hours ago.

Jova peeked his head out of the grass for a second, trying to see if the others were in position. They were. Just waiting for him to make the first move. Now, on three…

One…

Two…

Now!

He shifted his powerful body, bringing in his legs, feeling his muscles coil up beneath his pale fur. As sudden as a thunderclap, he sprinted out from the grass and leapt through the night air. 

It was a perfect pounce. A model pounce. A pounce as swift and liquid as the rivers that coursed down the Ibinian mountainsides. Five, ten, twenty feet crossed in a split second.

All three goats took off at the sound of the grass rustling, but they just couldn’t compete with a snow leopard’s speed. Jova caught the largest in the rear, biting down on its hind leg and pulling it off balance. The others made their moves just as planned; they split out from the grass and intercepted the two fleeing goats, bringing them down easily as a group.

Jova was still struggling with his target, who was bucking and kicking, trying desperately to extricate his leg from the shapeshifter’s tightly locked jaw. Jova struck out with his claws, digging them into the goat’s hide and hooking into its flesh. Two other shapeshifters came around to help him out, leaping to slash and bite at the goat’s throat. Soon they had finished it off.

Nobody had begun to eat yet. All around him Jova saw snow leopards turning human, fur melting into tan skin, quadrupeds standing up as two paws became feet and two became hands. It was a sight that would make most people pass out. But for Jova, it was just dinnertime.

Soon, everyone was back to human form, bundled up in warm, colorful, hand-made clothing. The same ancestral magic that let them become animals also somehow kept their clothes intact whenever they changed back to their natural state. Jova had asked the elders how it worked once, but not even the wisest of them could give him a straight answer.

Working as a team, the shapeshifters gathered their kills into a pile, then kneeled down around it in a loose circle.

“Jova, lead us in prayer for the night’s meal,” One of the other shapeshifters commanded. He was an older man whose dark hair was beginning to turn gray at the sides and whose tan skin was beginning to show the creases of age. Not quite an elder, but getting there.

Raising his hands to the sky, Jova took a deep breath. He wasn’t the best at this sort of thing, but the clan had split up into groups to hunt, so he technically was the best at this sort of thing when considering present company. Another breath in, another breath out, and then he began.

“Bless you, everchanging stars and constellations, for the bounty you have guided us to. May the other members of our clan find plentiful food as well on this night. You have let us survive another day, and for that we are-”

Jova’s voice trailed off. He may not have had the leopard’s night vision at that moment, but he could spot one of his fellow shapeshifters slinking away into the night. It was Janai, his… well, they weren’t anything yet. Not officially at least. But he wanted to be something with her, and he felt that she felt the same way.

Rushing through the rest of his prayer, he quickly snuck off as the other shapeshifters turned back into snow leopards and began to dig in. He considered turning back into that form as well so he could follow after Janai better, but he managed to find her after just a few seconds of searching.

The girl was sitting on a cliffside, legs dangling off the rocky edge. She was toying anxiously with a small stone. Janai had dark hair and green eyes, just like Jova, but she had the fairest skin of anyone in the entire clan. She was almost pale white, in contrast to the tan complexions most of the shapeshifters had in their natural bodies.

“What’s the matter? Not hungry?”

Janai glanced back at him and tossed the stone she was playing with off the cliff. A few seconds passed before it hit solid ground, making a distant sound.

Jova came closer to her, sitting on the ground by her side and folding his legs.

“Ah, I see,” he said. “Tired of goat? I’ve got a great idea. Let’s fly out as hawks, then hunt as snakes. Nothing hits the spot like slowly digesting a rodent over the span of a few days.”

Janai managed a short laugh, but Jova could tell she was on edge. “Okay, how about we just hunt as hawks,” he suggested. “Together we could probably catch something like a-”

“It’s not about food,” the girl cut in, her voice sharp. “My cousins returned from their mission. Abdan and Hedin. Something terrible has happened. The company that was going to trade with the dragons? They are putting the deal on hold.”

Jova’s eyebrows rose. The shapeshifters had learned over time that, while their numbers were too small to effectively wage battle at scale, their gift allowed them to be unparalleled spies. When you could become a fly or a gnat you could infiltrate any building and snoop on any conversation. The stars were important, guided and guarded the clan, but information was truly crucial when it came to eluding their many enemies.

A while back, some of the clan’s information-gatherers had picked up knowledge about a deal between an international company called Arc Trading and the dragons. For the first time in their history, the dragons would officially allow trade of their precious, exclusive firemoth silk.

The clan was ecstatic to learn of this news. Allowing in foreign influence, trading their prized silk to the outside world, it was a course of events that would undermine the dragons’ authority. Sure, they would gain more wealth from the deal. But allowing foreign powers to influence their government? That would invariably destabilize the dragons’ leadership. A political domino effect that could possibly help the other groups in Ibinia finally cast off their shackles for good.

But now, that was thrown into question.

“Well, what’s the situation?” Jova asked in a hushed voice. “Did they find out why?”

“Yes, but the details are sparse. It’s Nova Ordo. They have threatened trouble if the deal goes through.”

“Ah.” Jova was vaguely familiar. “Nova Ordo… they’re a political movement, right? What’s their deal exactly?”

Janai folded her arms across her chest as she spoke. “They claim to be a rebellion. But they ‘rebel’ against an imagined threat.” When she saw Jova’s look of confusion, she realized she would need to add more detail.

“They believe in a conspiracy. That the world is secretly run by a group called the Sages, who wish to strangle freedom and democracy to install themselves as the leaders. But the Ordo are not particularly forgoing with their alleged evidence. They claim to have spies in the Sages who leak information to them. They have it in their heads that Arc Trading is covertly owned by the Sages, and that they will use the firemoth silk to… take over the world, I imagine.”

Jova shook his head as he took it all in. “So. In short, they’re a bunch of crazies?”

That caught Janai off-guard. She laughed for real this time, from deep in her chest, then rested her head on Jova’s shoulder. Feeling her soft hair brush against his exposed neck sent a calming wave running through his body.

“Sometimes, I think you are too pleasant.”

“Too pleasant?” Jova asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Our hopes are going up in smoke, and yet, you are still making lame jokes.”

“Hey, that rhymed. Kinda.”

She laughed again more softly this time, playfully elbowing Jova in the chest. He gave her a friendly little shove back.

“Did your cousins come back with any more information?”

Janai sat up straight again. “Ah, yes. They said that they were not quite too sure about this next information, but it seems like Arc Trading is recruiting people to fight for them.”

“Soldiers for a war?”

“No. I’m not even sure how exactly to describe it. They are looking for people to fight in single combat for them. One against one. Abdan said he believes that they’re organizing fighting matches with Nova Ordo.”

“That’s just bizarre,” Jova said after a few seconds' delay. “I can’t think of any real reason a trading company would be organizing a fighting tournament with a bunch of violent rebels. Is your cousin sure that’s what he heard? Y’know, fly ears, sometimes those aren’t the best.”

Janai answered his question with an unsure shrug. Rising to her feet, she walked away from the cliff and leaned against a tree, picking up another stone to fidget with.

“Hedin had a theory. He thinks that Arc and Nova Ordo reached some kind of deal. A deal where people would fight for them, and that would somehow be used to decide the future of the firemoth silk trading agreement. A proxy for war.”

“Sounds a little convoluted,” Jova said, standing up as well to get closer to her. “But Hedin’s a smart guy. I can’t remember a time when one of his theories ended up being wrong.”

The two shapeshifters’ eyes met, and they stared at one another for a bit. They felt the night alive around them, the bitter cold mountain air beating against their fur-lined clothing, the gazes of nocturnal creatures falling on them from the trees.

Jova was the one to break the silence. “You’re going to try and join them, aren’t you?”

Janai raised her hands up and threw them to her side, pacing away.

“I take it that’s a yes?” Jova jogged to keep up with her, and she increased her speed. That made him pick up his pace, which only made her run faster to match. Soon they were chasing each other through the woods at full tilt.

The young man reached for the girl's arm, trying to stop her in her tracks. He wanted her to look him in the eye. He hated it when girls got like this. All overdramatic and stubborn. The stars could guide the clan to safety in harsh times, guide them past dragons and warlords, but he doubted even they could guide a woman towards rational thinking.

“Don’t try and stop me,” Janai blurted out, turning suddenly and smacking his hand away. But Jova just grinned.

“I don’t want to stop you,” he said. The shapeshifter paused, then he tacked on a few more words. “Well, I do, actually. Because I want to join myself.”

Janai’s green eyes went wide. “What?”

“Face it, Janai… I’m a better fighter than you. I lead a hunting group. You’re a seamstress. I have more experience. Plus, they need you here to help take care of the children and the cooking. Did Hedin and Abdan tell you where they heard the person recruiting?”

“You won't have time to go ask the elders for their blessing. You know they’ll hold you up with their star talk.”

If there was one thing about Janai that Jova didn’t quite like, it was how she never seemed to trust in the guidance of the constellations. Sure, the elders could be overbearing. But that didn’t make the stars any less wise.

“Normally, I would follow the elders' suggestions. I respect them. But in this case, I get your point. Now, tell me everything your cousins told you, from the beginning. I’ll leave by noon. If Hedin’s theory is wrong, I’ll fly back before the earth days begin. But if it’s right, well, wish me luck.”

“I’m impressed,” Janai said flatly. “You are finally going to do something without getting permission from one of those dusty old men first.”

Jova couldn’t exactly place the girl’s expression. It was somewhere between surprise, confusion, and joy. After a second, she threw her arms around the young man’s neck and gave him a tight hug. He was surprised at first, but settled into it, holding her gently.

“You don’t need luck,” Janai said sweetly. Jova rarely heard that tone in her voice. “You don’t even need the stars. I know you can do it. We’ll knock those dragons down a peg no matter what.”

“They’re making a mistake. We need to let them continue with it.” Jova finished the girl’s thought. He pulled away from her arms and immediately missed their heat. “If that means I’ll be fighting for these traders, then so be it.”

The two continued to talk, holding hands and walking back to camp. The sun was just barely beginning to rise past the horizon, its first rays glinting gold and silver off the mountain streams. Together, the young couple shifted form into snow leopards once more, curling up for a long nap.

 

 

 

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Character Overview

Name: Jova

Author: DoctorVirus

Allegiance: Sage Coalition

Age: 22

Race: Human (when he wants to be)

Bio: Jova is a member of a nomadic Ibinian culture that has been persecuted by the dragons that lead the country. He and the rest of his clan travel from one side of Ibinia to the other as the seasons change, following the ways of their ancestors, some of the original inhabitants of Ibinia. All members of the clan are born with a magical gift which allows them to shapeshift into the various animals native to Ibinia. They hunt as leopards and hawks, survive droughts as camels, and sneak past dragons as insects. Jova is a relaxed type who likes to bask in the sun, but is also the most devoted of his clan to carrying on the traditions of old and fighting for independence from the dragons. He revels in getting under people’s skin and gets distracted easily.

Abilities:

• Athleticism - Jova is very physically fit and a skilled hand-to-hand fighter. In a fight against an average, normal human, he’d win pretty easily.

• Shapeshifting - Jova is able to transform into any of the animals that dwell in Ibinia (for the sake of defining a limit, I’m restricting this to only animals found in the wild in Afghanistan). These animal forms are much stronger and faster than they usually are in the wild. Animal forms with claws or talons can cut steel, animal forms with ways of inflicting blunt damage can shatter solid stone, etcetera. When he transforms, his clothes vanish, but they reappear when he becomes human… it’s magic, don’t question it.

• Regeneration and Stamina - Shapeshifting repairs any wounds on Jova’s body, so he’s able to avoid grievous injury in one form by reverting to another. However, shapeshifting is physically exhausting, so it’s not like he can keep healing forever. 

• Limitations -  Shapeshifting only takes a couple of seconds to perform, but requires concentration and he needs to revert back to human form before taking another form. So, if he wants to turn from a human into a leopard, then into a hawk, he needs to go human -> leopard -> human again -> hawk. A skilled fighter could abuse this by targeting when he’s in his relatively weaker human form, catching him off-guard and preventing him from transforming. Shapeshifting is also physically exhausting, so he can only use it so many times in a fight before becoming hindered. He also can’t turn into a fly, then go into someone’s mouth and grow to kill them - that’d be too gross.

Appearance: Jova is a handsome young guy with a winning smile. His skin is tan and he’s pretty short for a man his age, the only thing he’s insecure about. He keeps his dark hair long and ties it back into a loose ponytail. His eyes are deep green, a trait which carries over to his animal forms. He wears the colorful, handmade clothing favored by his clan: purple and green robes dyed with desert flowers.

How they got recruited: Jova actually sought out and offered his skills to Arc Trading when he learned that they were going to open firemoth silk trading routes. His clan has long been persecuted by the draconic aristocracy of Ibinia, and he believes that if they open themselves to trading with the outside world, it will weaken them and eventually cause their society to collapse. He knows nothing of the Sage Coalition, and while they were initially reluctant to hire him, after seeing his skills they knew he should be brought on.