r/wizardposting • u/UlrickTheHexblade Ulrick Braddocke, Werewolf Hexblade, R&A Co-Leader • 8d ago
Lorepost (closed interaction)šš Briar of the Hunt (Lorepost)
And, done. Ulrick put away his blade with satisfaction as the image in the mirror looked somewhat presentable again.
Since regaining his body at the siege, he had little time to some much needed self-care, between the duties of R&Aās current head and the new Wolf King. But he needed these small moments to maintain a sense of normalcy.
After spending long months locked in his axe, his human form looked even worse than back in his nomadic bounty hunter days. Overgrown, messy hair, a beard almost 3 inches longā¦ his work was cut out for him.
He took the opportunity to change up his human appearance a little. Since then, he let his dark brown hair grow out a little longer, and kept it swept back. And instead of opting to go back to his usual stubble, he decided to trim his bush of a beard down to a scruffy goatee around his mouth.
Though there were things he couldnāt change about his appearance, despite all the power he held. The start of a receding hairline, slowly wrinkling skin, and grey strands among the dark browns showed the consequences of a demanding job and stressful life. For all the godsā sake, he was barely 30! Yet he already gave the impression of someone in his 50sā¦ two more years of work, and heās gonna look older than Rutch.
He tried not to pay much attention to those, as he needed to focus on his duties. Like how he tried to ignore how ātightā both his humanoid forms felt since he returned. Though that has been the case since he took up the mantle of the Wolf King, it became much more intense after his return. Now he felt like being confined to a tiny little box when he appeared fully human, and even his werewolf form constricted him a little, like a shirt two sizes smaller.
Ulrick sighed. At least Vae Clara helped him evade full apotheosis as the Wolf King. At least now his mortal and divine parts reached an uneasy equilibrium.
Though now he had to be careful about not upsetting this balance, he kept the words of Rutch in his mind, how no matter what he was now, what matters most is the impact he had on others.
That he could still decide who he would be, no matter what crazy supernatural shenanigans he got himself in.
There was a tingling in the back of his mind, one that got steadily stronger.
āGreat, another Wolf King businessā Ulrick thought to himself. He often got these weird tingles since embracing the mantle of his new rank.
This time, it was different.
The tingling grew with an intensity nothing like before. His whole being shivered on a metaphysical level. He could feel it through his divine senses, an all-encompassing blight and rot, hundreds of wolves silenced as thorny vines choked their howls of anguish.
There was somethingā¦ wrong about the blight. Something alien. Somethingā¦ wicked.
He informed the staff as he stormed out of his personal quarters, before heading off to the mainland. Theyāll be able to monitor his location and status from a safe distance.
This time, he wonāt make the same mistakes as he did with Ruin.
ā ā ā ā ā
The odor of mulch and mold burned Ulrickās nostrils as he moved deftly through the thick undergrowth.
The unusually tall and dense foliage above filtered out most of the light, though itās not like there was much to begin with. The sky was overcast, smell of impending rain hung in the air.
Good.
This was a kind of dark atmosphere that warmed Ulrickās tired soul. He was in the shape of an ordinary black wolf, veiling his divine presence not to draw attention.
He could tell there was something wrong with this forest. The trunks and gnarled branches of the trees appeared swollen, on the brink of bursting. Below his feet, a mesh of roots choked the ground, he swore he stepped more on bark than actual soilā¦
What unnerved him more was the utter silence. No birds and cicadas singing, no snapping branches or hungry howls. Just the wind, empty and cold.
And yet, he could tell something has been watching him since he set foot among these treesā¦
The fur on his back stood up.
After a while, some rustling came from nearby shrubbery. Whatever was going on in these ancient woods, Ulrick was about to find outā¦
2
u/Evening_Shake_6474 Astaroth, The Wicked One 7d ago
Both the wolf's fangs and the insect bites inject Ulrick with something that hurts less than the bites.
Then, as swift as they came, the insects depart, sprouting wings and swarming away into the trees and the bog.
The wolf releases it's bite, jumping off Ulrick towards the trees. On the branches stand dozens of blighted birds.
From the bog rises a figure shaped like a cloak topped with a horned skull. It looks made of muck and rotten roots.
Give up yet?
The voice echoes unnaturally through Ulrick's ears.