nothing of significance lies in that direction on any map. I knew I could not hope to catch up to the army in human form, and so I took the shape of a lion. It took me three full days. I did not rest or eat. I only ran, night and day, without regard for my health. When I eventually reached the army, they were casting arrows of flame at your village. Lad, I cannot imagine … I am sorry that you had to know such pain in your youth.” Haranio paused to show Tyler his sympathy.
“I investigated further and saw to my horror – and further interest – the Dhimori. Knowing it was no small matter that calls one of Her servants so far to the south, I followed as closely as I dared. Sure enough, I was led to the village hall where I found the very person I had been searching for all these many years: Hargill. I rushed though the back door in an attempt to save my old friend, but more important, to try and protect Avalon’s Heart.”
Tyler had a sudden memory of a white flash racing into the hall as he and Varkon were running away.
“Hargill recognised me instantly, and during the last moments before he was slain, he told me to look for the boy who had left the hall earlier with a ghatu – it was he who had the Heart. I escaped as the Dhimori struck Hargill down.” Haranio took a small break to regain his breath. “After that I remember nothing, until I found myself in the imps’ pit, still in my snow lion form.”
Varkon snorted with disbelief. “You cannot remember?” he scoffed. “Ha! Old man, you’ll have to do better than that. Tell me why you have been hunting the boy, or I swear that I will kill you now.”
Haranio moved his lips in silent realisation. “I tried to kill the boy? I did not know that. Your lack of trust now makes sense. You see, the reason I cannot remember is because I ceased to be human. When a shamif changes form, the first and most important lesson he must learn is to stay with himself,” said Haranio with the ease of one who has explained this many times before. “It is all too easy to start thinking like the animal that you have become. The body of another creature brings with it a strange mix of instincts, cravings, and emotions that do not fit well with the human mind. For instance, as a snow lion I have an unreasonable fear of fire. So long as I can control that fear and reason with it, then I am still human. If I succumb to my instincts, if I turn tail and flee, then I have let the beast take over. A shamif must not allow himself to become too involved with what he has become, or he will end up becoming the beast, which consumes his humanity. To prevent this, I must change back into my normal self regularly, in order not to lose my mind to the form that I have mimicked.” Haranio looked first at Tyler and then Varkon. “Can you understand this?”
Tyler nodded thoughtfully. “So, you remained in your snow lion shape for longer than it was safe for you to do so?”
Haranio leant forward. “Precisely. I had to, in order to catch up to the army. Even then, it was not too late. Although the sense, sight, and smell of a lion were beginning to penetrate my better instincts and play havoc with my human reasoning, there still remained a chance to change back to my natural self and thus salvage my sanity. But it was not to be. When I rushed into that hall to fight alongside Hargill, all was lost. In the fury of battle, I became completely immersed with my beast-form. The transformation of my body into that of a snow lion had been quick. The transformation of my mind had taken much longer, but by the time I left that hall, I was, in effect, a wild lion.” Haranio’s eyes brooded from beneath their bushy brows. “Which is why I must have begun to hunt you, lad. You see, the last thing I heard when I was still in my human mind was Hargill instructing me to seek you out. This thought was so powerful that it must have remained in my conscience even when I had, in every other respect,
“I investigated further and saw to my horror – and further interest – the Dhimori. Knowing it was no small matter that calls one of Her servants so far to the south, I followed as closely as I dared. Sure enough, I was led to the village hall where I found the very person I had been searching for all these many years: Hargill. I rushed though the back door in an attempt to save my old friend, but more important, to try and protect Avalon’s Heart.”
Tyler had a sudden memory of a white flash racing into the hall as he and Varkon were running away.
“Hargill recognised me instantly, and during the last moments before he was slain, he told me to look for the boy who had left the hall earlier with a ghatu – it was he who had the Heart. I escaped as the Dhimori struck Hargill down.” Haranio took a small break to regain his breath. “After that I remember nothing, until I found myself in the imps’ pit, still in my snow lion form.”
Varkon snorted with disbelief. “You cannot remember?” he scoffed. “Ha! Old man, you’ll have to do better than that. Tell me why you have been hunting the boy, or I swear that I will kill you now.”
Haranio moved his lips in silent realisation. “I tried to kill the boy? I did not know that. Your lack of trust now makes sense. You see, the reason I cannot remember is because I ceased to be human. When a shamif changes form, the first and most important lesson he must learn is to stay with himself,” said Haranio with the ease of one who has explained this many times before. “It is all too easy to start thinking like the animal that you have become. The body of another creature brings with it a strange mix of instincts, cravings, and emotions that do not fit well with the human mind. For instance, as a snow lion I have an unreasonable fear of fire. So long as I can control that fear and reason with it, then I am still human. If I succumb to my instincts, if I turn tail and flee, then I have let the beast take over. A shamif must not allow himself to become too involved with what he has become, or he will end up becoming the beast, which consumes his humanity. To prevent this, I must change back into my normal self regularly, in order not to lose my mind to the form that I have mimicked.” Haranio looked first at Tyler and then Varkon. “Can you understand this?”
Tyler nodded thoughtfully. “So, you remained in your snow lion shape for longer than it was safe for you to do so?”
Haranio leant forward. “Precisely. I had to, in order to catch up to the army. Even then, it was not too late. Although the sense, sight, and smell of a lion were beginning to penetrate my better instincts and play havoc with my human reasoning, there still remained a chance to change back to my natural self and thus salvage my sanity. But it was not to be. When I rushed into that hall to fight alongside Hargill, all was lost. In the fury of battle, I became completely immersed with my beast-form. The transformation of my body into that of a snow lion had been quick. The transformation of my mind had taken much longer, but by the time I left that hall, I was, in effect, a wild lion.” Haranio’s eyes brooded from beneath their bushy brows. “Which is why I must have begun to hunt you, lad. You see, the last thing I heard when I was still in my human mind was Hargill instructing me to seek you out. This thought was so powerful that it must have remained in my conscience even when I had, in every other respect,
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