--- 20 days 'AD' ---

(I'm going to start using 'AD' as 'After Death', meaning, after he came to the New World. It's going to be basically, 1 AD, that means it's been a year since he dropped into the new world.)

I stood up, stretching slowly, and Sandi hummed. "Well well. You heal faster than I thought. It's said to be a trait of Shifters, but I thought that was just rumor... Interesting. Well, in a few days, you'll be ready to start your journey!" She smiled.

I blinked. "Is it really not okay for me to just stay here? I can work the fields or anything, really. I'm no stranger to hard work-"

"No. When the Emperor Summons, you go. You'll be back in a few years, don't worry." She shrugged. "I'll still be here, as will most everyone else."

"But-"

"No complaining." She cut me off. "Now, Tern has agreed to help you in your creation of your familiar, and also teaching you as much as possible about shape-shifting. He said sunrise, so don't be late." She shoo'ed me out of the door.

I grabbed my dagger and then the Leopard skin, then my pants. "Let me get dressed, woman!" I chuckled.

I slipped my gypsy-pants on, (Aladdin's pants are basically the same thing), clipped my dagger to my belt, and then jogged out, careful not to jerk my throat around overly much.

My skin was still trying to heal, and my vocal cords had been partially damaged. They'd healed, but they were thicker now, covered in scar tissue. As such, my voice was low and gravelly, which suited me just fine.

I approached Terns hut, and tapped the door frame.

"Come in." He spoke gruffly. I opened the door, and he nodded. "Mm. You're, uh... Cale, hmm?"

"Caleb, Sir." I sat across from him, closing his door.

He nodded. "That's it, yes. Caleb. You have your dagger, good. We're going to bind it to you, today. Here, hold this." He held out a spiky stick.

I reached to grab it, and he jerked it back, making the spikes drag across my palm. He quickly placed a bowl under my hand, and then blinked when nothing happened.

"Had I been a normal person, that might've worked. Here." I cut my thumb with my dagger, and he raised an eyebrow.

"I only need a little... Good." He said.

I nodded and my cut started stitching together, using my blood to make scabs/thread. He raised his other eyebrow, and I grinned. "I begged Sandi until she taught me that one. It's basically all I know. Well, That, and 'Pick up Cup'." I chuckled.

He laughed gently. "Yes, you'll do. Alright. Well, hand me your dagger." I did. He poured the blood into the grooves that made up the pictures.

"I knew that wasn't just decoration." I grinned triumphantly.

He smiled and nodded, setting the bowl down. He started chanting softly in more words I didn't know, and then pulled my hand over, and placed the bloody side of the dagger along my forearm, and none of the blood spilled.

He pulled it away, and the blood dissipated, and I gasped as I felt the knife's location so acutely it almost hurt. He nodded and handed me the dagger. The feeling went away, and I sheathed it.

"You'll feel that until that dagger returns to your hand. You will live for as long as that dagger does, as an Old One, so protect it with your life. That dagger holds it anyway." He nodded.

I blinked. "It's because it's the teeth of the thing that killed me, isn't it?" I asked.

He nodded. "With normal shifters, we just take the teeth of an animal that tries to kill us. Most choose a monkey, because they're easy to provoke but not hard to kill, if it's alone. Why I just did transfers your soul into that blade. It will never be lost to you, and it will always come back if you throw it or drop it."

I dropped it, and it bounced in mid-air, returning to my hand. "Okay, that's awesome." I smirked, sheathing it.

"Normal shifters can't do it this way, you understand, and so they are not truly immortal, like you. They will age, slowly... How old do you think I am?" He asked suddenly.

"From your skin and bone density, I'd say 45-47, nearing the middle of your life." I said precisely.

"I am in the middle of my life, yes. I am 307 years old. I will live another 300 years, before my body starts to shut down, and I will 'die'. As a shifter, I cannot die so easily as my heart stopping, so I will... 'Exist', for another thirty years or so after that, before I shatter my blade and kill myself, and enter my Familiar's minds forever." He answered simply.

"I see... So that's a shifters version of the afterlife?" I asked.

"Yes. Many 'Kings Of The Forests', or animals that dominate others, are simply shifters who are in their Familiar's, and 'dead'." He shrugged.

"And me? When will I 'die'?" I asked.

"Never. As an Old One, time cannot touch you. You will appear in 500 years as you do now. The only way to kill you is to shatter that knife, and then stab you in the heart, so don't advertise it, hmm? That's a secret only highly educated shifters know, and we'd like to keep it that way." He glared at me.

"I understand." I nodded.

"Also, if your Familiar's are killed, you'll have no place to go when you want to die. We're known as immortal sorcerers, because we can't be 'killed', but we're not truly immortal. We'd like that fact to be silent." He hissed, and his wall came alive.

A snake as thick as a fully grown man slithered around me once, taking about ten seconds to move the first few meters of its body. It shifted into a much smaller snake, and I blinked. "Whoa, did that snake-"

"Yes. A shape-Shifters Familiar can change into any animal in its Genus. Mine is a snake, and can be any snake at all, anywhere in the world." He smirked.

"Versatile." I nodded appreciatively.

"Hmm... And we'll be creating yours-"

"Wait, does mine have to be a cat? Cause a snake could be epic, as well..." I said.

He smiled. "Who said you could only have one?"

I noticed a small kitten in the corner, and grinned. "Awesome. Okay, what's the... Process?"

"Hold on. First, Familiars can eat, but they don't have to. They're magical being's that are connected to you magically, you could sit still for a million years and the worst is that they might go mad from boredom." He shrugged.

"Okay, I can survive without food?" I asked.

"Or water. You're as resilient as that dagger, now. Does the dagger need food or water? No. Nor does it need to be cleaned and sharpened, like a normal knife." He shook his head.

"Okay... Again, awesome. Am I correct in saying that Familiars can die?" I asked.

He nodded gravely. "Yes. They are magical being's, so they are hard to kill, but an iron blade, arrow, or bullet to the heart will kill any familiar. But they aren't alive. They are literally animated scraps of animals that share your magic." He shrugged.

"So they're more... Puppets, than pets?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes. Now, the difference between your shifting and your Familiar's shifting, is that you can only change into Felines, as that's what your dagger is made of."

"Felines... Cats? That's pretty broad." I hummed.

"Big Cats should be your limit, but as an Old One, you might be able to push the bar a little. Don't try too hard, though, running out of magic won't kill you, but it will knock you out, which might be worse." He said.

"Okay... I think I understand. So is that it, before we begin the thingy?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Ahh, having a student is so refreshing. Yes. Food and immortality. Done. Now, you have the pelt?"

"Yes sir." I placed the pelt in front of me.

He nodded. "Alright. By now, I'm sure you're wondering language what Sandi and I speak when we do magic?"

"It's different, for both-"

"Yes. It's individually sensitive. My children have the same language of magic as I. So will my grandchildren. If I have children with a Mage, then my children will be able to use both or a mixture."

"I bet that adds up quick." I smirked.

He nodded. "If there are many mages in a family line, it's not uncommon for them to learn almost 20 separate languages the moment they gain their magical abilities. You'll develop your own soon, I'm sure."

"Awesome." I grinned. "That explains why I can never get a lock on what Sandi is saying... It's magic. Awesome!"

He chuckled. "Young people. Ahem, anyway. Let's begin to make the familiar. I'll begin by cleaning the pelt, just to be sure there is no dirt." He waved his hand, and the pelt rolled open, and then set itself on fire, or so it seemed.

The pelt was sparkling and glossy after that, and I nodded. "Okay?"

"Now for the next thing. Animation. Relatively easy, all I have to do is... This." He changed a short sentence three times, and the pelt melted. It slowly rolled into a ball, and then unrolled as a Kitten. "Ha! Easy, like I said. Here. It's yours." He nudged it towards me with his boot.

I picked it up, and it shifted into a fully grown Snow Leopard, right on my shoulder.

I grunted and then steadied myself, glaring at it. "I think I'll name you Pepe... Yes, you will be Pepe Le Pew." I said. He shifted into a kitten again, a Tiger Cub this time, and curled around my neck, purring. "Cool." I smiled. I looked at Tern. "Is that it?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes. Simple. And by the way, what I said was 'Turn this trophy into a Familiar'. Simplicity in itself." He shrugged. "Now. Let me tell you some of the useful things about Familiar's."

"Awesome." I focused on him, petting the kitten.

"You can command your Familiar's actions from literally anywhere in the world or off of it, if necessary, the range is infinite, that we know of. You can give them simple or complex orders, each one you make is as intelligent as you are, so they can follow simple orders and give complicated results."

"Like... If I asked one to explore the world, I wouldn't have to go into perfect detail, it would interpret my commands just as perfectly as I could?" I asked.

"Yes, and you can access its senses at any time, like its eyes, and you can go through its memories as well. They're like... Walking, Breathing, Cuddly, ShapeShifting Bodyguard Cameras, once you learn to access them." He grinned.

"You can even talk through them, once you're skilled enough..." The anaconda hissed, surprising me.

I laughed. "Awesome... So does it have to be a trophy?"

"Yes. The thing used has to be from something you killed." He nodded. "Another thing. When they die, it's... Well, to say it is Painful would be an understatement. The more you have, the more you could get yourself hurt."

"Hmm... Alright. Well, I'm off to kill a fish, a bird, and a snake!" I grinned, standing.

"I'm not done teaching you, sit down, numbskull." He said blandly.

I nodded, sitting down. "Sorry about that."

"Hmph. Now, let's work on shifting your own body. Watch." He stood, and then breathed out. In one, fluid motion, his body shimmered and reappeared as a giant Black Mamba. He slithered around for a moment and then shimmered again, standing in his human form, his clothes where they were before.

"Whoa." I grinned.

He bowed. "Now it's your turn. Stand, think of your animal, and then let yourself Shift." He nodded.

I breathed slowly, and stood, centering myself, as if I was meditating.

I thought of the Leopard, it's savagery, it's beauty, and then felt a change sweep over me.

I opened my eyes, and found myself at a slightly different angle. I was taller than I remembered. I must've been 6 foot tall at the shoulder, and at least 14 feet long. I swished my tail, and he grinned.

"I forgot to mention, you'll always be about 2-3 times bigger than your beast. Go on, test it out, get used to it." He laughed.

I nudged open his door, and slowly stepped out. I sheathed and unsheathed my claws, and Pepe shifted as big as he could, rolling around under my chest.

I flexed my body, and then eyed the open path into the forest. He shrugged and nodded, gesturing to it.

I darted off, pushing my legs as hard as I could. I passed several people, and they were in awe of my physical perfection. I ran around the entire village, and eventually night fell. I trotted back to Tern's tent, and shifted.

I touched my throat, and laughed. "I'm healed!" I exclaimed. My scars were still there, and there was one more now, but the main cut was gone.

He nodded. "Shifting takes a lot of energy, but it heals your host body a lot. If that wound had been fresh, you might've been able to move for a little while longer, but shifting back and forth would eventually heal you, if you didn't run out of magic first."

I laughed. "It's amazing! My body feels so much stronger than ever before, it's like my muscles and skin were laced with titanium!"

He smiled. "Yes, I know the feeling. Now. The side effects. Too much time in your animal form can lead to severe anxiety and Psychosis."

"Returning to animal instincts?" I asked.

"Correct. Also your emotions will require greater control than before. The savagery in your blood especially. Don't get angry, or horny. It'll end badly for everyone involved." He shook his head.

"Makes sense... Anything else?"

"No. Just those." He shook his head.

"Is there a way to not lose your mind, but stay-"

"No. Trust me, 500,000 years of Shifters, everything has been tried. Don't get yourself killed by trying to be something you're not... When you're in your animal form, you absorb your dagger into a crystal over your heart. So if that's shattered, you're truly dead, just like before." He shook his head.

I nodded. "Okay. Wow, though. That Rush is addicting..." I smiled.

He grinned. "Yes, it is. Now for your final lesson."

"What's that?"

"How to drink Æfè like a man." He led me to the village tavern, and we sat down at the bar. (Æfè- eye-ye-fay)

The bartender smiled. "Ah, Tern! Here for your daily dose of Æfè?"

"Mm. And one for him, too." He pointed a thumb at me.

"I dunno, is he old enough to drink?"

"I'm 20 years old. That answer your question?" I said.

He grinned. "In that case, drink up, friend!" He plunked down a tankard of a golden substance.

"What is this?" I asked, smelling it. It smelled like honey mixed with turmeric. "Honey and Turmeric?" I asked.

The bartender laughed. "Yes, now drink!"

I shrugged and took a healthy mouthful, swallowing. "Whoa..." I said. "That's... Stout." I coughed, and then grinned.

Tern laughed. "Aye, there he is! Go on!" He drank his quickly, and I followed suit, finishing just after him. "And another!" He called.

'Oh merde...'