ORIGIN

Comet had been working hard, tirelessly, everyday, in the hope that she would be able to protect her friends, family, and those who needed it. And now it was time. Her paws crunched into the snow on the ground as she walked towards the cave. She had heard about this place from rumors, and whispers from her adventures. Although it was never explicitly said, she had a feeling that it would be creepy there.

Even though Comet had reached a height of her magic, she knew she need to be more powerful. Anyone could reach the levels she was at right now, but to go above that, beyond. That was a different story. She was sure that if this Emuh was real, and she would be able to protect her family from anything that happened to them.

Soon, she came to a stop at the entrance of the tunnel. The rumors were right. The tunnel was here, it was real, and that meant Emuh was too. Was she going to do this? Once she stepped in, that was it. No going back. But it would all be worth it. Comet stepped into the tunnel. "Emuh! I here to take your test." she shouted, and it seemed like her words got absorbed into the darkness.

Right when the name was called, the darkness seemed to expand and the huge owl appeared. The smell that the bird emitted was familiar, but Comet couldn't quite place it. And, she was too worried right now to try and think about it. She was frozen in fear as they demanded an answer. "Co-- Comet." she stuttered. The owl's eyes looked over her head, but she was used to that happening by now. His eyes slowly lowered and came to rest on Comet. "YOU?!" The exclamation only made her legs wobble more and she felt like she would faint.

Perhaps this had not been a good idea. But she had to do it! Comet was doing this for her family, and it would all be worth it in the end. She sat up a little straighter and watched the electricity from his feathers get replaced by ice and bubbles. Water.

A sigh of relief escaped the small wolf when Emuh said that she could take the test. She thought that maybe she wouldn't be powerful enough to try, but apparently she was. But that was only the first part, the second involved actually passing the test, which was hard enough on its own. She was about to respond when the owl flew away, the darkness swallowing him. The test had begun.

Comet's keen ears, or rather, ear, picked up the sound of grinding stone, then water. Lots of it, like it was filling something. Did the test involve swimming? Oh no, that was not very good. Memories came back from the time she nearly drowned in her swimming lesson. But she had practiced more since then, hopefully she had enough endurance now. There was a lurch, as the ground beneath her started to move. Comet went from sitting to standing, body ready for whatever she was going to face.


The lights dimmed on, and her eyes scanned the room, taking in the scene. Then her eyes came to rest on the platform she was standing on. It was small, big enough for her to move comfortably around it, but she had to be cautious. Her brain worked on how she was to complete the test.

One of the horns were missing on statue's head, and that horn was on a platform on the other end. So to get the horn, she would have to... go through the murky water. It looked dirty, and probably had a lot of bad things inside. Comet didn't want to find out, but she had to, if she wanted to pass the test.

But right when she took note of all these things, she heard the announcement, and the pedestal with the horn and the statue started to sink. Oh great, it was timed. What to do, what to do? Well first, to get through the water, she would have to clean it. Comet breathed in, then out. Pushing the magic into the water, and hoping that this spell would not fail.

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Comet knew what was going to happen before it hit. The surface of the horrible smelling water remained the same, which meant her spell had failed. Darn, she knew that she should have practiced that more. The headache hit, and she curled up into a ball on the stone. But that was the bad thing about water magic, wasn't it? Instead of deadly fires or big explosions, you get a headache. The wolf howled in pain, but luckily it subsided a minute later.

That had been a waste of time, she noticed that the statue had sunk a bit. She would have to hurry. Comet tried the spell again, investing even more energy into it this time.

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Comet felt her spell work this time. The water turned from a murky brown to a clear blue, immediately making the place look much more inviting. Her nose could not detect a trace of the putrid scent that was once there. Even the lesser bugs looked much nice now. Great! It looked safe to walk through now.

The wolf pup took a tentative first step, sending ripples across the water. The small waves lapped at her ankle, refreshing and welcoming. It was so clean she could see the bottom, and it was hard to believe that only moments before the water was so dirty she would not even think of going in it.

Comet waded deeper into the water, keeping her head above the surface. For any fully grown wolf, it would've been simple, almost easy. But Comet was not fully grown, she wasn't even a cycle old yet! So she continued through the water, at a slow but steady pace.

When she stepped out, she shook out her fur, sending droplets everywhere. And she saw herself staring at another pool filled with murky water. Darn. She had been lucky the first time succeeding in her spell. And now she had to do it again? Comet's eyes drifted over to the pedestal bearing the horn. It was still sinking, she would have to hurry. She placed her paws firmly on the ground. The wolf pup still had a lot of energy left, and she was ready to pass this test. "For my family!" she let the magic pour into the pool and hoped it would work again.

@Game Master Navy

Being too focused on the trial, Comet's keen ears did not pick up the hmm? that came from above.

The pup barked in joy as the magic cleansed the pool of its pollution. She had been successful once again! This was going well. This time she jumped right into the pool, without testing the water. It was the same depth as the previous one, and Comet waded through it. She was just happy she didn't have to actually swim through it. That would've been too tiring.

And just like last time, she exited the pool and shook out her fur. This time she was not surprised to see the third pool of water, but this one was the worst one she had seen yet. It was covered with so many dead bugs she could not even see the water. The putrid smell the water emitted smelled horrible, and she emptied her stomach into the pool. Great, there went her meal. Even the weeds that came with this kind of water and usually thrived in it were wilted. But the scariest thing was that the water was completely still. It was rather ominous and the kind of stillness that came right before an attack.

Comet gave her fur another shake. This was a test, and she could pass it! She ignored her slight fear and gave it a shot. This time she poured as much energy as she could muster, as this pool was the dirtiest yet. And she would be surprised if it even worked.

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