Role

Chapter 5

Many years had risen and fallen between Ikanu's turbulent youth
and his current status as a master shapeshifter. His focus upon
the essence of war had led him far, and he started from the
lowliest of places; the first form he took was that of an ant.

Ants are forgotten simply because they are miniscule. Ikanu
watched two species clash, once upon a time, and marveled at
their efficient lethality even amid the chaos of mandible-to
mandible battle. It seemed to him that if ants were only a
bit bigger, they could rule the world. From them he learned
how to use many to fight as one - a difficult concept for his
emotionally-disrupted mind, but he did eventually grasp it.

After studying the merits of the ant, he went in an entirely
different direction and learned the ways of the black bear.
Large, voracious, and fiercely independent, this beast was
something Ikanu could relate to. It inspired terror at a mere
glance, and how he savored it. At this point, one could say
that he truly became wholly wicked, for he reveled in
slaughter; the visceral sensation of tooth and claw rending
flesh and bone. This is also when he began to learn what
he could of the Scions.

Having spent years warring on the ground, Ikanu turned his
attention to the sky as he recalled the grace and power of
the eagle. Building on what he already knew of insectoid
physiology, he easily assumed the form of the firefly. His
first experience drifting along the wind-currents at high
altitude was deeply personal. It was freedom like nothing
else, even if from a mere bug's point of view. He looked
down upon the war-ravaged lands of Thera and in his black
heart he was pleased.