ZeroGrav – Jan 2019 – Lycanthropy (skyrim/beast)

One of my favorite gaming memories of all time happens to have occurred when playing one of the best games of all time, none other than Skyrim (i.e. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim).

I was a novice warrior, traversing the rolling outdoor hills and mountains of Skyrim, wearing light trousers, t-shirt and a worn vest, equipped with a basic sword, buckler shield, and viking style helm.  As I was indulging in the sunshine and relative warmth of the day, minding my own while exploring the land, I stumbled across what appeared to be a camp in the distance, as evidenced by a fire pit and some makeshift tent structures setup.  A curious find as I had not encountered any other signs of activity other than the local wildlife.

I decided to take a closer look and so walked towards the camp, only to spot what appeared to be an exceedingly tall humanoid creature… While thoughts such as how could a person be 12 feet tall jumbled around in my head, and a sudden uneasy feeling, the humanoid as you will, spotted me back.  It quickly became obvious this was not a person, rather a mountain giant, likely come down from the hills for a fresh meal.  Indeed at a dozen feet tall, garbed only in raggedy shorts, carrying a wooden club as big as my own self, with a nasty snarl and countenance that left no mistakes about its evil intentions, the giant headed toward me with loping steps.

Panic set in.  I immediately began running in the opposite direction as fast as I could, only to realize the giant’s steps were covering ground three times as quickly as mine, there was no escape to be had.  At this point I needed to remind myself (my real self) this was just a game, and that my warrior character was only a 3-d computerized character model.  Nonetheless I still felt a tremor of actual fear, in that I was about to be squashed to oblivion by a giant’s club, with naught that I could do about it.  I could try to fight the creature off, however with my entry-level gear and beginner armor, I knew I stood no chance.

So I did what any desperate gamer might, and mashed the controller buttons, hoping something miraculous might happen.

And it did!  Before my eyes my simple warrior transformed, underwent an entirely unexpected physical change, and took the shape of a werewolf!  A ferocious, beastly, primal werewolf at that.

With excessive strength, speed, and power, the werewolf quickly proved its fierceness, overwhelming the giant without a moment’s hesitation.

::Whew::

Now if only I could recall exactly how I contracted lycanthropy in the first place…

Hope you enjoyed that videogame born (or Dragonborn) tale… Skyrim will always stand on a tall pedestal for me.

Currently playing lots of Thronbreaker: The Witcher Tales, which is righteous in its own regard.

Game on!  Let your imagination free in 2019.

– zero’d, out, ‘gravitation