Story name: Taursday
Author: Bill Kieffer
Date: Late October, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep (Clay's residence, Killing Grounds)
Overview
Shinto teaches Clay some weapon training, and how to become a taur.
Summary
Clay is relearning how to sculpt and make molds by making chess pawns, while Wheeler helps. The bell for the front door rings; it is Shinto with a new uniform and his head shaved. Clay asks what happened. Shinto says simply that he is here to teach Clay a lesson.
Clay had forgotten he was getting weapons training. His hands are sore from detail work, but Shinto insists on teaching him archery. While Wheeler sits on his shoulder, Clay shoots way off target, yet despite the condition of the bow or arrows, Shinto is able to fire perfectly. Clay asks why a vegetarian pacifist monk isn't teaching him diplomacy. Shinto says diplomacy won't save him if the enemy is already attacking. He helpfully says there is no one wrong way to shoot an arrow; after Clay's spectacular miss, Shinto clarifies that that was so very wrong.
At lunch break, Shinto points out what went wrong for each misfired arrow, except for one shot up in the air that is still missing. Clay is discouraged, not believing Shinto when he suddenly compliments him for his first day. Shinto points out all the ways Clay worked to improve himself. At some point, he says, Clay will stop trying and simply do. He fires three arrows at once across the field, to Clay's and Wheeler's awe.
Shinto has one more lesson for Clay. As he disrobes himself completely, he explains that despite his frequent drunkenness, he still has his wits and wisdom, and that he knows Clay's mouse is actually Grey Wheeler. He tells them that Giles has been lost since K'yphir changed two days ago, and he'll pay Clay to get a telepathy spell from Poppy.
Once disrobed, he shifts in shape and soon enters taur form. He wants Clay and Wheeler to learn this form. Clay is unsure, but Shinto tells him again to not try, but to do. Clay is too shy about his nudity to progress, and after a long time he decides to imagine himself sculpting his body like a potter's clay. He shifts to horse form and imagines himself fixing that form, ignoring Shinto's protests. He feels a tingling as he sculpts his body upwards, and then "fires" his body in a kiln.
Shinto and Wheeler were terrified, as Clay had actually been twitching on the ground and at one point burst into flames, but Clay is overjoyed when he opens his eyes and looks down. He is more than a horse taur — he is a centaur, completely human from the waist up. He is excited to be able to do human things like kissing again. Shinto asks who he will kiss. Clay remembers and hugs the scared tiny Wheeler, apologizing for worrying him. Clay wants Wheeler to learn it; Shinto sadly says that they can try.
Clay and Wheeler don't notice his sadness, leaving Shinto to his thoughts. He can see the possible futures for Clay, and though he tried leading him down the safer path, Clay's desires have instead moved him further down the unseen path. He senses Clay has a better chance to survive, but will he be happier? Shinto dismisses these thoughts, and invites them out to the Deaf Mule.
Characters
Main Characters:
- Clay Potter: A Fell pony morph, a potter. He is relearning to sculpt using molds. Shinto teaches him some archery, and successfully teaches him how to take taur form.
- He is learning how to make chess pawns, to improve both his hand-eye coordination, and his mold-making skills.
- Clay is used to always picking up new skills easily. He is not good at handling failure; if not for the possibility of making molds, he would've preferred staying at the stables.
- Unknown to him, he has enough magical potential to become a mage, if events play out well.
- His taur form is taller than Shinto. His lower half is completely a horse's body. His upper half physically resembles his former human self, except his hands are much longer and thicker (a hold-over of his Fell pony form). Each half has its own heart and lungs, working in sync.
- To shift to taur form, Clay imagined himself being molded and then fired in a kiln. To Shinto and Wheeler, he appeared to be twitching on the ground, and then burst into flames. Whether this will happen if he tries again is unknown.
- He seems to lack self-confidence; his mental self-image is of a scared boy hiding from screams.
- Shinto: A coyote morph, a Solfire monk and teacher.
- He is very skinny. Since his last appearance, he has shaved off the top of his head.
- His taur form is 2 feet taller than his morph form, and twice as massive. His lower body is like a dog's, but as skinny as Shinto's morph form. His hind hips are 4 feet from the ground. Shinto's upper half looks nearly the same, though perhaps with broader shoulders.
- He wears a dark gray silk robe-like uniform over silk pants. Aside from a simple sling acting as a loincloth, he wears nothing else.
- Shinto comes from the East, though not as far east as Os-Var-Khai.
- Shinto trains Clay with a bow made of bamboo, taller than Clay. It has remarkable flexibility and strength despite being hollow, and Clay thinks it might be magic.
- He is very talented at firing his bamboo bow, able to hit bulls-eyes from across the Killing Fields. According to him, however, a good workman can work with any tool he has.
- He tells Clay that he is good at guessing, that he has the wisdom of the Solfire pantheon, and he is sensitive to the unseen path.
- Shinto has not done a Solfire cleansing ritual for himself since he became a coyote. In fact, he has failed all of his Solfire duties, except for abstaining from meat.
- Shinto shifts to taur form in about three or four seconds.
- His mass and the air around him appear to ripple. Flesh appears to grow from his back. His legs and genitals disappear.
- In less than a second, his lower body surges forward and forms two new canine forelimbs.
- Shinto is not able to eat many vegetables in autumn. Potatoes are one, but they give him gas.
- He is very skinny. Since his last appearance, he has shaved off the top of his head.
Supporting Characters:
- Grey Wheeler: A mouse morph, trapped mostly in full morph, Clay's boyfriend. No one knows that he is still at the Keep, acting as Clay's pet, except Clay, Thomas, and (as revealed here) Shinto.
- The Tantric glyphs on his chest work to counter magic, glowing witchfire blue as they do. They are strong enough to resist the Keep's counterspell, but not Nasoj's curse. Because of this, he is only able to shift his face and double his size, and even then only in pain.
- The glyphs prevent him from ever getting tired; they fill him with energy as they resist the counterspell.
- He is twice as big as Clay's chess pawns.
- He eats a mushroom cap for lunch.
- He enjoys a life of submission as his lover's pet, and insists on being "trained" like a real pet. He doesn't want the Keep to know of him, and wants to belong only to Clay.
- He helps Wheeler sand the pawns with a small rasp. It is hard but enjoyable labor.
- Grey has a sign to show his love for Clay — drawing a small circle, and leaning against it.
- It was his idea for Clay to get combat training from Shinto — not so much for Clay's benefit, as for the bored Shinto's.
- The Tantric glyphs on his chest work to counter magic, glowing witchfire blue as they do. They are strong enough to resist the Keep's counterspell, but not Nasoj's curse. Because of this, he is only able to shift his face and double his size, and even then only in pain.
Important Mention:
- Giles Clifface: A near-complete goat morph, K'yphir's lover. He has been distressed since K'yphir's change, and Shinto wants both Clay and Wheeler to visit him and give him a telepathy spell to communicate.
Referenced:
- Henrik Potter: Clay's father, a former potter, currently in prison.
- Wicker Potter: Clay's younger brother, currently in prison.
- Thomas: Duke of Metamor Keep.
- Chang: Grey Wheeler's former lover, a Tantric priest in Os-Var-Khai.
- Samoht K'yphir: Giles's lover, who changed two days ago to become a cocoon.
- Shinto is angry at him for not getting a telepathy spell. Considering that they hung out together, it is likely that Shinto brought it up directly, and Samoht refused.
- Poppy: A male gendermorph, a mage. He can make telepathy spells for a gold coin.
- Misha: A fox morph, who is one of the few who can make the taur form, and the most well-known.
Locations
- Clay has put up bowls and pots for sale in his storefront, scavenged from the mess left behind by Henrik and Wicker.
- The Potters have a bell by the front door, apparently to tell when someone enters.
Society
- Most who try the taur form cannot do it.
- Shinto claims that horse morphs can easily assume taur form due to being half centaur. Clay's shift is not easy, but he does indeed shift to a form like a centaur's.
- Note that this does not necessarily mean all horse morphs can appear as centaurs, with human heads and torsos. It is noted that Clay has some magical potential, and it's possible that Clay modified the manifestation of his curse to supplant the horse's body over his human lower body.
- Shinto claims that horse morphs can easily assume taur form due to being half centaur. Clay's shift is not easy, but he does indeed shift to a form like a centaur's.
- Shinto's Solfire practices include cleansing ritual, which apparently improves his patience.
Chronology / Story Connections
- From before sun-up to morning, Clay makes chess pawns with Wheeler. Shinto appears and takes him to the Killing Fields for archery training. Around mid-day, Shinto shifts to a taur and asks Clay to become a taur. After half an hour, Clay succeeds. Shinto then invites Clay to the Deaf Mule for a drink.
- There are two potential futures that Shinto could see: a safer path, which possibly involved Clay's taur form being more horse-like, and an unseen path, where Clay's taur form instead becomes centaur-like. The unseen path is more likely to risk Clay's happiness, but guarantee Clay's survival, and opens up the possibility of becoming a mage for the Keep.
Points of Interest
- Clay notes that he can breathe "oxygen" — an anachronistic bit of knowledge.
Kieffer's The Week series | |
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Prelude | Rider |
Main Stories | Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · 'Taursday · Friday · Saturday |
See Also | The Good Sport · Sunday |