A Shift of Power

[Bliss]

She is ancient and ageless, a creature who has developed, honed, and added to her power through many years. She is able to change her form almost without a thought - bending her power to her will, she is a wolf, a raven, an elephant, a flower, a banyan, a stone. She has become almost more a thing of legend than of reality, tales told about her around campfires and warm hearths for generations. Many believe she does not exist, or that perhaps she never did - a creature only of tales, born of and formed by them.

But she is very real, and while some of the tales are fantasy, some of them are true.

There is one man who will seek her out. Armed with what knowledge he has of her - from tales, from research into old tomes, perhaps even from a once-upon-a-time encounter with him that she does not recall but for him defined the trajectory of his life, he hunts her. He finds her.

Using a method she thought lost to the natural degradation of time itself, he manages to capture her, and trap her in human form. Slowly over the course of weeks, months, even years, he learns from her, will-she-nil-she - he absorbs her power, perhaps even draining it from her. One by one he develops the ability to shape himself into a new form, and each new form demands exploration to the fullest, with the only one who has the knowledge to help him learn what each of his new bodies can do.

Is he driven by the desire simply to learn? Does he yearn for the mortal power her immortal magics can impart? Is it a yearning to express without the beast-nature hidden within him? Has he a plan for her when - if - he plumbs the total depths of her power? Will all be wrested from her, or does it become a sharing? What sent him after her to begin with - was it greed, or awe?

Where, and how, will he keep her? Somewhere solitary and built of stone, far from prying eyes? Will he become bold enough to bring her to some thickly settled place? Is he of peasant stock, or might he be a noble who would find delight in secretly bringing the most powerful creature the world has known to move among the rich and powerful (at least by human standards) without losing control of her nor letting on that she is aught other than human?

In what ways will she fight back? Will she ever find freedom?

Can they learn to trust one another?

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Player wanted to write the male character (gender/sex of the writer is irrelevant, natch) for this idea. This is not a first-come-first-served idea, nor is it a speedy little one-shot. If you're interested in developing this story and answering these questions with me, please contact by PM.



(The first image in this post is Captive by Manilu on Deviantart, shared under a CC license. The second image is Captive by IMerTmyksl on Deviantart, no license stated)