"So, what's the game plan, Lycan?" Griffyn inquired, eyeing the assortment of herbs Timothee had laid out before him.
"All we gotta do is extract it and give it a whirl. But, there's one catch to getting the benefits of these potions," Timothee explained. “Every shifter must fast for a minimum of one day and one night, and a maximum of three days and three nights. During this fast, you are only allowed to consume white-colored foods, such as white radishes, rice, egg whites, milk, cassava, or whatever else is available. You are not permitted to drink wine or juice during the fast. Additionally, you must meditate for one night.”
“Why do we gotta break bread before we get down to business?” Griffyn asked.

“Because,” Timothee said, his voice a whisper, This ain't no ordinary potion, it's a gateway to another realm. We're calling on the otherworldly powers to harmonize our inner selves."
The room seemed to shrink, walls closing in. The herbs pulsed, their energy reaching out like tendrils seeking purchase.
Griffyn squared his shoulders. “And what happens if we fail?”
Timothee’s eyes bore into his. “Failure is not an option. The mountain demands its price.”
The young warrior, Prilly, stepped forward. “What if we’re not strong enough?”
Timothee’s lips curved. “Strength is not always brawn. It’s resilience, adaptability. You’re more than muscle, my dear.”

Prilly’s fingers brushed the vials, her touch reverent. “And if we succeed?”
“Then,” Timothee said, “we become vessels. Bridges between realms. We’ll see the unseen, heal the unhealable.”
Griffyn clenched his fists. “And the mountain?”
“It listens,” Timothee murmured. “It remembers.”

The room blurred—the herbs, the shadows, the ancient symbols etched into the floor. They were no longer three individuals they were threads woven into a cosmic tapestry.
“Are you ready?” Timothee asked.
Prilly nodded, her eyes pools of determination. “Ready.”
"Mate?" Timothee glance at me with his deep blue eyes.
"I'm ready, always ready." I said.
Griffyn’s wolfish grin revealed sharp teeth. “Born ready.”
Timothee raised the first vial, its contents shimmering like stardust. "Alright, let's give this concoction a whirl now, mate."
The room held its breath as Timothee uncorked the vial. A silvery mist rose from the opening, swirling around us like a dance of spirits. We watched, entranced, as the potion seemed to come alive, its essence intertwining with the very air we breathed.
“Drink,” Timothee instructed, his voice barely above a whisper. “Let the potion do its work.”
One by one, we took our turns, the liquid cool against our lips, a river of stars coursing through our veins. The sensation was immediate—a tingling that started at the crown of our heads and cascaded down to the tips of our toes.
The mountain’s presence was palpable, a silent observer to our ritual. We could feel its ancient gaze upon us, its silent approval—or was it a warning?
As the potion took effect, our senses heightened. The colors of the room became more vivid, the sounds more acute. We could hear the heartbeat of the earth, the whisper of the wind through the trees, the distant call of a bird of prey.
“We are bound,” Timothee said, his voice now part of the symphony of nature. “Bound to the mountain, to each other, to the path we have chosen.”
Prilly’s hand found mine, her grip strong. “It’s feel weird.”
A heavy silence descended as Prilly's words hung in the air, thick with unspoken implications. I watched in growing alarm as she fanned her tongue, Griffyn writhing uncomfortably beside her.
"What's happening?" I demanded, my voice pitching higher with panic. "Prilly, talk to me!"
She met my gaze, her eyes blown wide with a combination of pain and disbelief.
"It burns..." she rasped. "Like my insides are being consumed by dragonfire."
A cold knot of dread twisted in my gut as I witnessed the sheen of sweat rapidly beading on her brow. Whipping my head towards Griffyn, I saw he was faring no better - his massive form contorting as guttural groans tore from his clenched jaw.
"No, no this can't be..." I was vaguely aware of my own murmurings as my mind raced. We'd followed the ritual to the letter, spent countless hours poring over every minute detail. So how...?
"Luna!"
Healer Cruz bark sliced through my spiraling thoughts like a blade. I blinked, realizing he had crossed the room in two strides to kneel at Prilly's side, one hand braced on her shuddering shoulder.
"What did you two ingest?" he growled, the urgency in his tone broaching no argument. "Exactly, to the letter."
Prilly's breath came in ragged gasps as she listed off the ceremonial ingredients - bloodmoss, brambleroot, the carefully rendered ashes of puriri bark.
My head swam as she concluded the familiar litany, the same blend we'd studied obsessively to fortify ourselves against the island's malignant forces.
Timothee's jaw went rigid. "You're sure that's everything? No substitutions, no missed steps?"
A tremor ran through Prilly as she gave the barest shake of her head. "N-No, Lycan. We...we were so careful..."
Her words choked off in a guttural moan, her body arching rigidly as fresh waves of agony lanced through her. I watched in impotent horror, frozen in place by the unfolding disaster.
Then, like a viper striking, Timothee's hand whipped out and gripped Prilly's jaw in an unforgiving clamp. His gaze bored into hers with a scorching intensity.
"Listen to me," he bit out in a voice of low urgency. "You have to fight this, do you understand? Call on every ounce of your discipline, your strength as a warrior."
Tears of anguish slipped from Prilly's eyes even as her chin lifted defiantly. "I...I'm trying..."
"Try harder!" Timothee's roar made me flinch. "You will not let this vile force defeat you, Prilly. Not you, and not the ones you love." His gaze flicked over to where Griffyn thrashed, before returning to burn into her again. "You are stronger than this."
Something in his fiery words seemed to resonate, fanning the guttering flame in Prilly's eyes into a brilliant blaze. Her spine arched like a bow pulled taut, sinewy muscles cording as she wrestled with the malignant force ravaging her from within.
"I...will...not...yield..." Each word was gritted out between clenched teeth as beads of sweat poured from her brow. Yet still she fought, her indomitable spirit shining through in the face of unspeakable agony.
A maelstrom of emotions roiled inside me - horror, impotence, and a dawning sort of awe at the sheer force of will on display. Because in that moment, I knew two things for certain.
Prilly's agonized gasps filled the charged air as I rushed to her side, trying to keep my own growing panic at bay. Her body was rigid, tendons straining against her skin as she fought the insidious force ravaging her from within.
"Prilly, listen to me," I urged, grasping her clammy hand in mine. "You have to breathe through this, okay? Nice and slow..."
I exaggerated a deep inhale, holding her wild gaze until she haltingly matched my rhythm. In through the nose, out through the mouth - a simple act, and yet one that seemed to anchor her amidst the raging storm.
"That's it, just like that," I murmured, squeezing her trembling fingers in reassurance. "Now picture a place, somewhere soothing and calm. A sanctuary away from all this strife."
Her lids flickered briefly as she fought to obey, jaw muscle ticking. I could see the herculean effort it took simply to stay present, to keep the vicious onslaught of...whatever this was...at bay.
"The...the glade," she rasped out finally. "By the stream...where the willows danced..."
A faint smile curved my lips at the wistful image her words conjured. I remembered that place well, a hidden paradise we'd stumbled upon one golden summer. Dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy, the musical babble of the creek a soothing harmony.
"Yes, exactly," I breathed, giving her hand another anchoring squeeze. "Can you hear the water trilling over the rocks? The wind whispering through those silvery branches?"
Prilly's harsh exhales seemed to steady somewhat as she focused on my voice, my guided imagery. Her free hand slowly uncurled from its rictus clench, and I watched in mute awe as the viselike tension began to bleed from her frame.
"I...I can see it," she murmured, her eyes taking on a faraway cast. "Smell the damp earth and sweet willow bark..."
A wan smile ghosted across her lips, and it was as if I could see the serene vista unfolding in her mind's eye. For a few blessed moments, the horrors of our present reality receded, banished by this tiny sanctuary of peace and renewal.
Then, her gaze abruptly refocused, the smile withering as the agony reasserted itself with a vengeance. I watched in helpless anguish as Prilly's body arched in a rigid bow, ragged cries tearing from her chest.
"No, no stay with me!" I pleaded, gripping her hand like a lifeline even as her fingers turned icy in mine. "Don't let it take you, Prilly! Fight, dammit!"
But my words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the vicious maelstrom consumed her once more. Her head thrashed from side to side, face a rictus mask of torment as she rode the brutal crest of whatever fresh hell besieged her.
Panic and despair clawed at my throat as I watched my friend, my _sister_ in arms, disintegrate before my eyes. Because in that moment, a horrible truth became inescapable.
This was no mere bad reaction or accidental poisoning. No, those agonies spoke of Something far more sinister and intentional at work.
Whatever arcane forces guarded this blasted island, they had been roused...and their vengeance would be merciless against any who dared trespass.
As Prilly's shrieks echoed in my ears, that stark reality cleaved me to the core. Because one thing was terribly, horrifically clear.
We had awoken a primordial evil this day. One that would stop at nothing until we were utterly undone.
And against such insidious malevolence, even the most stalwart willpower would prove a pitiful bulwark.
A yawning chasm seemed to open beneath my feet as the full, catastrophic gravity of our miscalculation came crashing down.
What new nightmare had we invited into our world? And at what cost to our souls?