Story name: Temper
Author: Hallan Mirayas
Publication date: August 4, 2007 (MKGuild)
Date: mid- to late February, 707 CR (two weeks)
Location: Metamor Keep (Drift's quarters, Coe's infirmary, Lothanasi Temple, Deaf Mule)
Overview
A string of bad luck and injuries falls upon Drift — though it may be more than bad luck.
Summary
Drift accidentally slashes himself in the left cheek while tinsmithing, having burnt the fire too hot. He gets his cheek shaved and stitched by Coe. His foot is also injured, and Coe orders him to use a cane and stay out of taur form.
One week later, in the very early morning, Drift again sees Coe, this time with a burn on his hand, and unable to speak. A quick examination reveals that he had tried to apply white makeup to the exposed Mark of Akkala on his cheek. Coe tells him to go to the Temple for penance.
After fetching his cane, Drift waits for the Lothanasi temple to open. Wanderer appears and tries to talk to him, to Drift's muted annoyance. An acolyte takes them to Raven's office, who soon figures out Drift's affliction. She sends Wanderer and her acolytes out, then asks Akkala to temporarily let him speak. Drift explains that he was careless and, while trying to protect his cheek from sunburn with makeup, covered Akkala's mark by accident. Pleased by his honesty, Raven asks Akkala to hear his remorse. She tells Drift that Akkala will forgive him and allow him to speak if he spends two days a week for the next month with the acolytes, feeding and healing the poor. Raven personally offers to heal his cheek and foot, but Drift refuses and limps off.
That night, Drift bemoans his bad luck at the Deaf Mule; after three ales, Donnie switches him to mint tea. Suddenly Drift is splashed with ale, and knocks over several people in alarm. Thinking it came from a caravan driver, he swings a punch at him. Drift wakes up the next day in the infirmary, hungover and bruised.
One hour later, he and the caravan driver are brought before the Watch, who sentences Drift to wash dishes at the Deaf Mule, and the driver to be confined to his quarters for the rest of his stay.
On his last day of washing dishes, a greyhound morph steals Drift's ring (kept in his pocket while he scrubs). Drift tries to chase him, but he cannot run on his busted foot. Misha charges past in taur form, throwing a frying pan to distract the thief before Madog tackles him. After disarming him and returning Drift's ring, Misha asks why he stole the ring. The thief eventually admits he was ordered to steal it, but has no other information, not even by whom. Misha nearly kicks him in frustration, but Drift stops and suggests giving him to the Watch for questioning.
Misha drops Drift off at Coe's, who splints Drift's foot and scolds Drift for breaking his toes. Madog drops off Drift's cane from Donnie's and promises to watch him. Drift immediately promises to pay Misha back for the pants Misha tore by shifting, but Misha insists against it.
They return to Drift's room, where Drift explains his troubles with operating the forge. Misha wonders if he is getting some bad ore — which is corroborated when Madog tastes the metal and calls it bad. Though it looks okay, Misha decides to take some for inspection. He is also amused to see Drift collects his fur to sell. After joking about what other animal morphs go through, Drift asks if he has time to tell him about how he made Madog. Misha tells him the story long into the night.
That night, Drift dreams of having tetanus in the temple, but a woman cools him with her touch and draws out the toxins. The woman tells him to rest, but gives him a warning: strong enemies within and without are coming for him, and he won't have time to recover unless he takes Raven's offer.
Far away, a dark man curses his henchman for such shoddy work, as he scries on the greyhound through his scrying pool; what worked on Drift's father won't work on the son. He summons an assistant to have the thief killed before the guards can question him, and to tell their "old friend" to do it right, lest he change their arrangement. He turns back to his basin, watching his two targets therein.
Characters
Main Characters:
- Drift: A Samoyed morph, a tinsmith. He has trouble with his metal, his mark to Akkala, and his drink. He would've lost his ring if not for Misha's and Madog's intervention.
- He has brown eyes.
- He cracks his toes and slashes his cheek in the first day. A week and a half later, his toes are broken when he runs on them. They are splinted, and he is ordered not to shift and to spend six weeks taking it easy on his foot.
- He is also tasked with spending a couple days per week for the next month assisting the temple acolytes feed and heal the poor.
- He sneezes from perfumes, and has done so since childhood.
- He doesn't normally get buzzed from only 3 mugs of ale. Here, it is because someone spiked his ale.
- He has a strong temper like his father. He has a habit of believing himself indebted to those who help him.
- He mentions losing his temper at someone who helped him — possibly Coe, who healed him, and who he snapped at while getting bandaged.
- He had a traumatizing experience burning his arm before getting his ring.
- He dislikes having a curly tail, especially in taur form.
- He has had family down south burned at the stake from the Ecclesia, presumably for their Rebuilder faith. As a result, Drift has a deep distrust for the Ecclesia.
- He has a magic ring from Misha that normally protects him from heat and burning, and chills his body. It does not protect him from a Lothanasi goddess's magic, and it makes it more difficult to gauge his forge's temperature.
- He is called "Snowchild" and "Heart of Fire" by the dream woman. She warns him of strong enemies both within and about.
Supporting Characters:
- Brian Coe: A raccoon morph, the Keep's doctor. He has to mend Drift's foot a couple times throughout the story.
- He warns Drift that any more damage will require the Lightbringer's help.
- Misha: A fox morph, Drift's friend. He has has Drift's requested designs and some extras. In taur form, he helps catch the thief David.
- He is proud of his form, especially his tail.
- He was once forced to rest in bed for a week when Madog volunteered to watch him.
- Misha has his own forge for testing metals.
- Madog: A fox automaton. He catches David and eats his coins. He tells Donnie where Drift went, and brings back Drift's cane.
- Drift suggests that Madog help with the Watch's interrogation of David. Misha suggests feeding the thief to him — it is known that Madog only eats metal, but can still leave a vicious bite.
- He calls Drift "Uncle" due to his Papa Misha calling him "brother".
Minor Characters:
- Wasoko Desuka, Mong Ho, and Ye: A red panda morph, a gendermorphed chicken morph, and an age-regressed Komodo dragon morph, respectively, all ambassadors to Metamor Keep from Os-Var-Khai. They witness Drift's injury, and bank the forge's fire for him.
- Charles / "Wanderer": A wolf morph in full wolf form, the Keep's former bard. He is well-known for having trickked Akkala, and punished for it with his current form. He meets Drift just outside the temple.
- He is unable to speak normally, but can selectively communicate with a telepathy spell.
- Raven sends him to the acolytes' kitchens, supposedly to keep them from overcooking the morning sausages.
- Raven: A wolf morph, the Keep's Lothanasi high priestess, the Lightbringer. She prays to Akkala for Drift.
- She has long black human hair, blue eyes, and dark gray fur with lighter highlights. She wears a flowing white robe.
- Donnie: A bull morph, bartender of the Deaf Mule. Drift is forced to wash his dishes after he gets into a barfight at the Deaf Mule.
- Mr Farrell: A caravan driver, who Drift mistakenly believes splashed him with ale. He breaks a chair on Drift and punches Andrew, for which he is confined to his quarters for the remainder of his stay.
- He is heavyset, with a scraggly beard and a deeply lined face.
- A female child morph, a member of the Watch. A no-nonsense type, she sentences Drift and Farrell for the bar fight.
- David / "Runner": A greyhound morph. He was hired to steal Drift's ring, but is caught by Misha. He sits in prison where, if the dark man gets his way, he will die before dawn.
- He carried a long knife, which was eaten by Madog. On his upper thigh below his clothes, he kept a heavy coin purse, also eaten by Madog.
- A dark, handsome man who lives far from Metamor. He is seen plotting against Drift from his throne, with a number of assistants and spies to do his bidding.
- He has a perfectly trimmed beard. He wears emeralds and diamonds on his fingers, and wears silken robes.
Cameo:
- A male child morph Lothanasi acolyte in white robes. He opens the Temple doors when Drift visits, and gives him a benevolent smile.
- Andrew: A bear morph, whom Drift topples onto after being splashed.
- A child morph, whom the bear stumbles onto. Possibly the 'little guy' who actually splashed Drift.
- Copernicus: A lizard morph fond of playing pool. He is likely the one the child morph above topples onto.
- The woman in Drift's dream, possibly a goddess or Kyia.
- She has long golden hair framing her face.
- Thestilus: A servant of the dark handsome man. Apparently humanoid, his appearance and nature is left unrevealed.
Important mention:
- Akkala: The Lothanasi goddess of healing.
- A mysterious man who hired the greyhound morph to take Drift's magic ring, not for himself, but only so that Drift wouldn't have it.
- He only appeared at night, and always wore a long black cloak. He has an ordinary voice.
- He seems to be working for the dark handsome man, given the latter's comments on his methods. He did a similar task on Drift's father, but he works very cheaply and tends to reuse the same methods on different targets. For his failure, the dark man sends him a warning not to fail again.
Referenced:
- Kyia: The spirit of Metamor Keep.
- Eli: The one Follower god.
- Merai: A cat morph, a Lothanasi priestess. Drift refers to her as "the nice one", and hopes he sees her instead of Raven.
- Celine: A child morph, head of the Lothanasi acolytes. Drift is to report to her twice a week for his penance.
- Drift's father. He had a strong temper.
- Caroline: An otter morph, Misha's girlfriend.
- Drift's mother. In his delirious dream, Drift asks the woman if she is his mother. The woman responds that she is beyond her view.
Locations
- Most of Drift's room is simple and utilitarian, the exception being a stained glass window of a white cross surrounded by red, yellow, and blue. There is an open door to Drift's forge.
- The bed has a simple wooden frame with ropes to hold the mattress. Both the mattress and his pillow are stuffed with Drift's soft fur.
- A nearby chair is in a similar style to the bed.
- Beside the bed is a covered wicker basket, holding Drift's fur to be sold later.
- On a nearby dresser is a brush for untangling his fur.
- The doors to the Lothanasi temple have ornate carvings of creatures and beasts, decorated with precious metals and gems.
- The stone walls of the hallway from the entrance to the sanctum are decorated with frescoes and Elvish calligraphy.
- The sanctum has few decorations. There is a covered fire pit in the center of the room. There is also an altar underneath a double-barred Lothanasi cross, with a window behind it.
- The Deaf Mule serves ale and mint tea.
- The dark man's lair is far from Metamor. He has a throne, next to a golden ruby-studded basin, through which he can observe distant places.
Chronology
- Misha tells of a week where Madog kept Misha confined to bed.
- The story begins with Drift injuring his cheek and his toes in his forge. His cheek has to be shaven and stitched by Coe. Over the next few days, he uses white makeup to blend the skin in and protect it from sunburn.
- This happens about a week after Coe cared for Drift's lockjaw from Drifting.
- Drift also seems to be having trouble keeping his metal from breaking.
- One week later, Drift accidentally covers his Mark of Akkala. He sees Coe, and then Raven to ask Akkala for penance. That night, he unintentionally starts a bar fight at the Deaf Mule, and is sent to Coe's infirmary.
- During opening hours, two acolytes are hauling bundles of parchment and vellum.
- The next day, the Watch sentences Drift to wash dishes for four days (reduced to two days by Donnie).
- Two days later, a thief tries to steal Drift's ring. Misha and Madog find something odd about Drift's metal.
- It is raining.
- Coe's assistants take inventory after Drift is helped.
Society
- The ceremony to contact Akkala is fairly basic. Drift is asked to kneel at a certain spot in front of the altar. His forehead is anointed with a kind of perfumed oil in the sign of the Lothanasi double cross. Raven places her right finger on Drift's tongue and asks Akkala to help him speak, to hear his story. After doing so, she asks Akkala to hear his repentance. Raven then silently consults Akkala, giving Drift her decision and penance demanded of him.
- Drift does not genuflect before praying to Akkala, due to his Follower faith. He also, in a low voice, prays to Eli for forgiveness.
- Drift's fur, and possibly the shedded fur and feathers of other animal morphs, is sold for a few extra coins in Metamor.
Story Connections
- Misha has the designs ready that he was making for Drift from Drifting.
Continuity
- The Deaf Mule appears to be fully operational again, with chairs and a working pool table. This contradicts Tethered, also in February, where the burnt-down Deaf Mule has yet to be rebuilt.
Points of Interest
- A third of Drift's metal ends up as scrap. It breaks apart under stress. Madog detects something wrong with it, but doesn't say what.
- There are two unaccounted misfortunes put upon Drift. It is not certain if they were bad luck, and were the workings of his enemy:
- Drift's metal has been replaced with an inferior substitute.
- Someone splashes ale on Drift, upsetting him and starting a bar fight.
