Griffin woke to the sound of beasts roaring in the distance and winds spinning overhead.
For a moment, he forgot the events that got him to where he was. Laying in a crater of steaming dirt like an asteroid in the forest.
Then he saw the sun. He saw the great winged monster flying overhead. Large enough to blot out the rays.
Large enough to put any bird on record to shame.
At least that was the case on earth. But he wasn't there anymore. He was on Terra. Dragons, Demons, Beasts and Heroes that gave their life to have him work in their stead.
A zookeeper. Meant to be a legendary Lion Mage.
Only he wasn't a mage. Or a Lion. And…
"Is that bird green?" Griffin sat up to get a better look at the bird that was now circling.
Before he knew it his ears twitched at the sound of a gravely voice speaking in a language he'd never heard.
"That bird is not green…" Griffin thought in horror as he noticed that the bird itself wasn't green, but the creature it held in its dinosaur-like talons was.
He knew it— from endless hours playing rpg's.
"That's a Goblin!"
The Goblin sneered as it shot an arrow down at him.
"Ohhh shit!" Griffin rolled out of the way, scrambling as an arrow sunk into the steaming dirt he once laid in.
He took off through the forest, barefoot— bare everything, as a flock of Goblins carried by giant vultures hunted him.
Every tree he passed became studded with arrows. The Goblins cursed and cried after him. The vultures did the same, sending chills up his spine as he ran.
"HELLLLLP!" Griffin yelled so loud birds fled the trees and his lungs tore.
The Goblins laughed.
Another volley of arrows fired.
He dropped into a slide on the grass, drifting under a fallen over log in the forest before the ground was gone from under him.
"Woahhhhh!"
The sudden steep hill below was a blur of green grass and twisting rivers as he fell into the speed of free falling.
He landed in a rushing river. Ice cold. Stunning. He sucked air into his lungs on instinct and took in the cold water. He tried to cough but the rushing waves were hearing none of it.
Beneath the blue, he crashed into stones and weeds bound his arms until he was beaten, drowning and unable to swim.
Thankfully, he was going so fast that when the river bend came up, he was washed ashore, rolling across the grass as he coughed and gasped for air.
He could hear the wingbeats in the distance.
He got u—
A stabbing pain erupted in his calf muscle.
"ACCCK!" Griffin stumbled as he tried to stand.
He turned to look at his leg and found an arrow running through it.
Back the way he came, the sudden cliff drop of the forest loomed. From the trees, the giant vultures burst out into the open sunlight. Their black feathers left rotten trails of smoke. Their beaks were razor sharp with some being coated in metal. In their taloned grip, the goblins hung from the straps of their leather armor with their weapons raised. Crossbows. Repeater crossbows.
"I'm dead. For real this time… a second time." Griffin thought as the horde descended.
He could almost hear their fingers pressing on the triggers, ready to fill him with holes like rotten angels of death bringing his end by way of medieval firing squad.
He flinched. He shut his eyes. They roared.
But goblins don't roar.
He opened his eye just in time to see a shape sprinting out of the forest. A large dark furred shape moving in heavy bounds. Flanking the goblins and their birds of death.
As it approached the cliff drop, the beast jumped off the ledge, crashing into the flock midair.
Feathers flew as the beast tore through the birds and eventually bit down on a goblin, bringing the creature and the bird to the ground.
So close now, Griffin could make out the creature as it slashed and tore apart the bird and Goblin. It was a feline creature. Brown furred with lighter rosettes like a reverse leopard. It had the build of a Lion with a dense body and ears like a lynx with sabered fangs.
The goblin and bird were unrecognizable within the blink of an eye.
The other goblins and birds were still trying to correct themselves in flight.
The feline roared, sending them in a panicked flight.
For some reason, Griffin relaxed.
And then six arrows sunk into the side of the feline. The beast snarled and flexed it's abdomen, breaking off the arrows by sheer force before taking off after the fallen goblins and their failed attack.
Griffin waited until he couldn't see any fur or green skin and got up, running off in the other direction with a limp.
He traveled for what felt like an hour. His bare feet were sore by the time he reached a cave entrance atop a hill of flowers.
He listened for a while at the entrance. He eyed the stone surface for any scoring or scratch marks. He scented for the pungent miasma or urine or corpses. When nothing stood out, he entered and sat on a stone. His leg bled badly.
"I need to wrap this… I need to call the police. But I don't know anything about this place… do they even have police? Stupid ass hero wizards were too busy beefing to give me the get down." Griffin thought before quieting.
He was cold.
He was dying.
The worst way.
Knowing. It was far away, but it was coming. He wouldn't be able to fade behind the craze of adrenaline and leonine fangs. He wouldn't be able to burst into sunlight painlessly spouting wise words. His leg wound would get infected and he'd get sick and some crazy monster would eat him alive.
Griffin's eyes watered. "Fuck man…."
Then something hit the ground with a wet plop beside him.
He turned and found a dead goblin at his feet with no head. Behind it, the feline creature stood watching him with slitted green eyes.
Griffin was too scared to jump or shout or move. It was that feeling you got when you saw something very suddenly that was almost too hard to comprehend in person. Like a moose or a grizzly bear.
Only this time it was a goblin, brought by a sabertoothed leopard lion-thing.
Griffin didn't move a muscle.
It wasn't a wolf. He couldn't make himself large and scare it off.
It wasn't a bear sensitive to loud noises or a monkey willing to trade.
It was a feline monster.
"Feline….." His brain worked, somehow. "Cat….. the cat brought me their kill."
Griffin looked back down at the Goblin.
The cat lowered its head and nudged the Goblin closer to him.
He could hear the cat strain from the movement. Which was a downgrade from its cliff jumping and vulture eating glory.
Then the iron scent filled his nose. Wet and warm.
The cat huffed and turned around, facing the deadly forest beyond.
It laid there watching for a while before letting its head fall between its thick bloody paws.
Griffin felt his stomach twist.
He felt panic.
He felt familiar. For a moment as he watched the cat, he saw it change to a familiar beast. A puma. And the sunny green forest became a wintery expanse.
Back then he was a child. On a extravagant vacation up north with his family. He used to wander as a child. He did it in the wrong place and ended up in the Canadian wilderness. A lone wolf was going to eat him. It's howls chilled his bones quicker than any ice could.
But before the wolf could tear his throat out, a puma was on the starved canid in seconds.
The fight was like all animal fights in the wild. Hesitant. Every move could be the last. More growling and hissing then swinging until the killing blow came in the form of a torn throat and midsection.
The puma won. But it's front leg was a broken mess. It also lost an ear.
The cat sat in front of Griffin and wailed like a dying woman for hours. Until Griffin was found.
The puma died laying in front of him. Combination of old age and exhaustion took her right then.
Griffin blinked and found himself staring at the brown feline. He could still smell the blood. It's breaths were labored.
Ahrthor's voice echoed.
"Use your gifts."
Griffin nervously shrugged, "I guess I can ... give that a try."