They transformed the eight found at the hunt and the last four hidden in the den. Yara forced Harry to go slow with this, so it took over two days.

  Each set of chainmail came with a name. A story.

  Corvin (already used—the first Chainwolf, the lead wolf)

  Petra (held left flank, never broke)

  Mikael (young, scared, stood anyway)

  Darrin (veteran, taught others to tie knots)

  Senna (archer-turned-regular after arrow supply ran out)

  Jorick (died shielding a wounded Enhanced)

  Tessa (laughed before every battle, cried after)

  Varyn (wrote letters home that he never sent)

  Kael (first to volunteer, last to retreat)

  Rhys (saved three people, couldn't save himself)

  Moren (sang badly, fought well)

  Lira (wanted to go home, stood until she couldn't)

  Bruno spoke each name as he brought their chainmail forward. The stories were brief fragments of lives, moments that mattered, but they mattered. They gave the metal a weight beyond steel.

  Each transformation followed the same pattern:

  

  
1. Harry holds (fragment control, wolf compliant)


  
2. Yara unmakes chainmail (metal becomes liquid light)


  
3. Gem teaches (human thought patterns + soldier's tactical knowledge)


  
4. Metal integrates (flows into the wolf, becomes armor and mind)


  
5. Result: Chainwolf (armored, intelligent, permanent)


  

  Harry's fragment quieted with each one. Not satisfied forever, never that, but manageable. The work fed it. Gave it purpose. And in return, it gave Harry relief. It took both of them. Harry’s fragment had to control the taint on the beasts; Yara’s Gem knew how to rebuild to make it permanent. In the end, they were bound to Yara, but part of Harry.

  "This is what you needed," Yara said on the second day, working with Harry to reshape the ninth wolf. His movements were more confident now. Less hesitant. He understood the pattern.

  "Yes," Harry said, voice layered but steady. "The fragment wants to make things. Not just consume them. When I give it real work, permanent work, it stops screaming for the pieces it's missing."

  "For now."

  "For now," Harry agreed.

  By the end of two days:

  

  
• 12 Chainwolves (full pack)


  
• Intelligent (near-human tactical thinking)


  
• Armored (chainmail fused to bodies, flexible and protective)


  
• Coordinated (can execute complex pack tactics)


  
• Semi-autonomous (think for themselves, adapt in battle)


  

  Handler: Bruno (primary) + 2 assistants

  But the Chainwolves didn't need much handling. They understood commands, yes, but they also understood intent. They knew what they were being asked to do, not just what.

  Yara watched them coordinate a practice assault on a mock defensive position. They split into three teams without being told which flankers, frontal pressure, or rear surprise to use. They adapted when Marcus changed the defense mid-exercise.

  "They're smart now," Yara said, watching the lead Chainwolf (Corvin's armor, Corvin's tactical patience) direct the pack with glances and low growls. "Really smart. What if they decide they don't want to fight?"

  The lead Chainwolf approached. Pressed its armored muzzle to her palm.

  Choice made.

  The others followed one by one, muzzles to her hand, then to Harry's clawed foot. Allegiance given. Not forced. Chosen.

  "We made them soldiers," Harry said, his massive form crouched beside Yara. "Soldiers choose their battles. These chose ours."

  "Good," Yara said. "Because we're going to need every choice they make to be this one."

  The bears came next.

  Seven bears, five adults, two younger. Already formidable, but Yara needed more than strength; she wanted intelligence. She needed warriors.

  The armory provided materials:

  

  
• 5 greatswords (from fallen Enhanced)


  
• 5 great helms (heavy, protective, ceremonial)


  
• Partial plate armor (chest, shoulders, enough to protect without restricting)


  
• 2 sets of lighter gear (for younger bears scout configuration)


  

  "You're turning them into knights," Marcus observed, watching Bruno and his assistants lay out the equipment.

  "I'm turning them into what we need," Yara replied.

  The first Bear-Knight:

  The largest adult bear, the one that had stayed closest to Yara during the reshaping week, the one with awareness in its eyes, stood before her.

  This bear had been the first to approach her after being found. Even with Severin's taint, it seemed to understand that she was important. It had chosen her then. It would choose her now.

  Harry held it through the fragment. The bear was massive, nine feet tall on its hind legs, powerful enough to tear through stone, but it was still. Waiting. Trusting.

  Yara took the greatsword. Six feet of steel that had cleaved through Consumed and wolves, that had been wielded by an Enhanced warrior named Garrett who'd died protecting the line at Pale Stone.

  "Garrett was steady," Bruno said, handing her the sword. "Methodical. Never rushed. Waited for the right moment, then struck once. Decisively."

  Yara nodded. "Then this bear will learn patience."

  Her Gem rose. The sword forgot what shape it had been forced into.

  It liquefied, not melting, but remembering what it was for. Combat. Protection. Ending what threatened those you guarded. The meaning in the steel Garrett's discipline, his methodical nature, his final stand poured free.

  The liquid steel flowed up the bear's right forelimb, sinking into muscle, into bone, into the architecture of claw and paw. The bear roared, not in pain, but in power as the sword became its arm.

  The Gem taught through the metal:

  

  
• Combat instinct (from Garrett, who'd wielded the blade


  
• Discipline (when to strike, when to wait)


  
• Strategy (calculate, position, execute)


  
• Honor (protect those who cannot protect themselves)


  

  The great helm came next, liquid steel flowing over the bear's skull, fusing to bone, leaving eyes and muzzle clear but protecting everything else. The helm had belonged to Garrett, too, marked with dents from battles survived.

  Finally, the chest plate covering the heart and lungs is flexible enough to allow a full range of motion.

  When it finished:

  

  
• Right forelimb: Blade-arm (retractable claws extend 3 feet as a sword-edge when needed)


  
• Helm: Fused to skull (covers head, can't be removed, permanent)


  
• Chest plate: Integrated (moves with bear, protects vitals)


  
• Mind: Elevated (understands combat, tactics, duty)


  
• Eyes: Silver-bright (intelligent, calculating, aware)


  
• Size: Twelve feet tall on hind legs, blade gleaming


  

  The bear stood fully upright, twelve feet of armored might, blade-arm catching sunlight, helm reflecting sky like a knight's visor.

  It looked knightly. Terrifying. But noble.

  "You're a Knight now," Yara said, touching the helm. "You protect. You fight. You stand."

  The Bear-Knight bowed. Slow. Deliberate. A choice made with full understanding.

  Then it settled to all fours and moved to Yara's left side. Positioned itself at her shoulder. Guarding.

  "It chose you," Bruno said quietly. "Not as commander. As its person."

  Yara touched the helm again. The Bear-Knight rumbled low, content, bound.

  "Then it's mine," Yara said. "And I'm responsible for what it becomes."

  The second Bear-Knight:

  An hour later, they transformed the second adult bear, the aggressive one, the one that had killed two of Severin's wolves during reclamation without hesitation.

  Materials:

  

  
• Halberd (from Enhanced named Dira, aggressive defender, proactive fighter)


  
• Spiked helm (intimidating, functional for headbutts)


  
• Chest plate (lighter than the first bear's mobility over maximum protection)


  

  This bear's blade went into its left arm (opposite of the first). The halberd's longer reach meant it could hook, pull, and control enemies at a distance.

  The transformation:

  The halberd liquefied, flowed into the bear's left forelimb. The Gem taught Dira's style to be aggressive, proactive, and to eliminate threats before they reach the protected. The spiked helm fused to the skull, turning the bear's head into a weapon itself.

  When finished:

  

  
• Left forelimb: Halberd-arm (can hook, pull, strike from distance)


  
• Spiked helm: Offensive and defensive (can headbutt effectively)


  
• Aggressive temperament: Proactive protector (attacks threats early)


  
• Eyes: Silver-bright, focused (always scanning for danger)


  

  This Bear-Knight settled at Yara's right side. The triangle was forming left and right, aggressive and methodical, balanced.

  The third Bear-Knight:

  The third adult bear was smaller than the first two, but faster. More aware of its surroundings. It had been the first to notice Marcus approaching during reshaping week, head turning, calculating, vigilant.

  Materials:

  

  
• Dual short-swords (from the Enhanced named Karl tactical fighter, covered blind spots)


  
• Open helm (better visibility, awareness over maximum protection)


  
• Minimal plate (chest only speed and awareness prioritized)


  

  Both forelimbs became retractable blades shorter, faster, and more coordinated. The Gem taught Karl's style of tactical coordination, covering teammates and watching for threats others missed.

  When finished:

  

  
• Both forelimbs: Dual blade-arms (can fight ambidextrously, coordinate attacks)


  
• Open helm: Maximum visibility (sees everything)


  
• Tactical mind: Strategic fighter (coordinates, covers blind spots)


  
• Eyes: Silver-bright, constantly moving (aware, calculating)


  

  This Bear-Knight settled behind Yara. Not at her back exactly behind and slightly to the side, where it could see both her and what she couldn't.

  The triangle was complete.

  Left: Methodical, patient, decisive

  Right: Aggressive, proactive, eliminating

  Rear: Tactical, aware, watching

  Three Bear-Knights. Three guards. Three companions who had chosen her.

  "They're yours," Marcus said, watching the three settle into formation around Yara. "Really yours. Like Sam. Like Harry."

  "I know," Yara said quietly.

  She touched each helm left, right, and rear.

  "You don't have names yet," she told them. "Names are earned. Through action. Through choice. When you've stood with me long enough that I know what to call you, I'll give you names. Until then, you're mine. My Three."

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Three low rumbles. Agreement. Acceptance. Bond.

  The fourth and fifth bears Siege Rams:

  The last two adult bears were built for impact, not finesse. Larger even than the first Bear-Knight, slower but devastating when they moved.

  Materials:

  

  
• Battering rams (from siege equipment)


  
• Heavy helms (reinforced, built for repeated impacts)


  
• Heavy plate (maximum protection, momentum over speed)


  

  Bear Four:

  

  
• Battering-ram integrated into chest (reinforced sternum, can charge through walls)


  
• Full-face helm (built for impacts)


  
• Heavy armor (can take punishment)


  
• Role: Break barriers, create openings


  

  Bear Five:

  

  
• Spiked pauldrons (shoulder armor with offensive spikes)


  
• Ram-helm (reinforced, designed for headbutting)


  
• Heavy armor (slightly less than Bear Four more mobile)


  
• Role: Break formations, scatter defenders


  

  Both transformations took longer, more metal, more mass, more momentum to teach. But when finished, they were living siege engines. Point them at a wall, and the wall would lose.

  The two younger bears Scouts:

  Materials:

  

  
• Short blades (forearm-mounted, retractable)


  
• Leather reinforcement (not full plate preserves speed and agility)


  
• Light helms (protection without weight)


  

  These bears were built for speed. Reconnaissance. Fast response. Hit-and-run.

  The blades were smaller, integrated into forearms rather than replacing limbs entirely. They could still run on all fours at full speed, but when they reared up, retractable claws extended as blades.

  Role: Scouts, rangers, flanking support, rapid response

  By the end of week two:

  Seven Bear-Knights total:

  

  
• Three Close Guard (bonded to Yara Left, Right, Rear)


  
• Two Siege Rams (Bears Four and Five—wall breakers)


  
• Two Scouts (younger bears—fast, agile, reconnaissance)


  

  All intelligent. All armored. All choosing to serve.

  And Harry's fragment was quieter. Not satisfied, never that, but manageable. The work fed it. Each transformation gave it purpose.

  "How do you feel?" Yara asked him after the last bear was finished.

  Harry looked at his clawed hands, at the yellow-green light pulsing beneath his scales. "Like I'm buying time," he said. "The fragment is quieter because it's working. But I don't know if we gave me more time or less. It's stronger now. Fed. Will that make it burn through me faster? Or will the satisfaction keep it stable?"

  "We don't know," Yara said honestly.

  "Then we keep working," Harry said. "And hope we guessed right."

  The six elk required different thinking.

  Not warriors. Not scouts. Platforms.

  Yara needed mobile siege engines, living artillery that could move, reposition, and provide covering fire while advancing. The elk were already massive from reshaping (larger, stronger, aware). Now she'd make them useful.

  Materials per elk:

  

  
• 12-15 sets of plate armor (full body coverage)


  
• Mounting brackets (from siege equipment stores)


  
• Ballista components (light, mobile versions)


  
• Blades for antlers (turning them into weapons)


  

  The transformation process:

  Each elk took a full day. The sheer amount of metal was enormous, covering the entire body, creating a stable platform on the back, and reinforcing the legs to bear weight without collapsing.

  Harry held each one through the fragment (hours of concentration, exhausting even for him). By the third elk, even he slept that night, the exhaustion outweighing the gem's hunger. The fragment was satisfied by the work, but his body, even a dragon-beast body, had limits.

  Yara worked with the Gem, unmaking plate armor piece by piece, pouring liquid steel over the elk's body.

  The metal flowed like water, finding its shape. Not covering becoming. The plates fused to hide, to muscle, to bone. The back flattened into a platform. The antlers became mounting points for blades and grappling hooks. The legs thickened into pillars capable of bearing tons.

  The Gem taught:

  

  
• Stability (balance while moving and firing)


  
• Endurance (carry weight without fatigue drawn from draft animals' patterns)


  
• Positioning (tactical awareness, best angles for fire support)


  
• Siege tactics (when to advance, when to hold, when to provide cover)


  

  When finished, each Siege-Elk was:

  

  
• Size: Massive (12 feet at shoulder)


  
• Armor: Full-body plate (flexible joints, can move/run despite weight)


  
• Platform: Flat back (can mount 2-3 soldiers OR light ballista)


  
• Antlers: Weapon-mounts (blades, spikes, grappling hooks for walls)


  
• Mind: Elevated (understands siege tactics, positions itself optimally)


  
• Stability: Can run while soldiers fire from its back


  
• Strength: Can ram through wooden gates, weaken stone walls


  

  The Siege-Elk were:

  

  
• Mobile artillery (ballista-mounted, can reposition quickly)


  
• Wall-breakers (antlers become battering rams when needed)


  
• Troop carriers (3 soldiers can ride, fire from platform)


  
• Intelligent (chooses tactical positions, adapts to the battlefield)


  

  Six Elk = Six mobile siege platforms

  Handlers: 6 tactical commanders (one per elk)

  

  
• Commander coordinates troops on the platform


  
• Elk handles positioning itself


  
• Semi-autonomous (elk makes tactical decisions, handler provides strategic direction)


  

  Marcus watched the first Siege-Elk carry three soldiers across the training field at full gallop, the soldiers firing crossbows from its back without losing balance.

  "That shouldn't work," he said.

  "It works because the elk understands what it's carrying," Yara said. "It compensates. Balances. Thinks."

  "You've made them too smart," Marcus said. "What if they decide this is a bad idea?"

  The Siege-Elk stopped, turned its massive head, and looked at Marcus with silver-bright eyes. Then it snorted deliberately, almost amused, and returned to the exercise.

  "They understand the stakes," Yara said. "They chose this. Just like the Chainwolves. Just like the Bear-Knights."

  "And if they un-choose?"

  "Then we've lost six siege engines and learned that intelligence comes with consequences."

  Two wild horses had been captured during the reclamation effort, strong, healthy, young. They had been locked in a stable on a farm that the bears had raided before being captured. Perfect candidates for what Yara wanted to try.

  She'd been conservative so far. Chainmail into wolves. Swords into bears. Plate into elk. All metal familiar, stable, understood.

  But she had two fire diamonds from the regent's vault room. Red-yellow, hot to touch, magical. Not metal. Not stable. Hungry.

  "This might fail," she told Harry as they prepared.

  "Or it might work," he replied. "And if it works, we'll have something Severin never dreamed of."

  "Or we'll kill two horses and waste two irreplaceable gems."

  "Then we'll know not to try it again."

  Yara smiled grimly. "Let's see what happens when we push the boundaries."

  The first transformation:

  Harry held the horse through the fragment. The horse was nervous, sensing the fire diamond's heat, its hunger, its wrongness.

  Yara unmade the diamond.

  It didn't liquefy like metal. It intensified. Red-yellow flame that didn't burn, just was. Pure fire. Pure want.

  She poured it into the horse through the nostrils, mouth, and eyes.

  The horse screamed not with pain, but with rage. The fire wasn't hurting it. The fire was changing it. Making it something that wanted to burn.

  The Gem tried to teach:

  

  
• Aggression (attack, always attack)


  
• Speed (flame-propelled, faster than normal)


  
• Fearlessness (fire doesn't fear, fire consumes)


  

  The transformation was violent. The horse thrashed, flame erupting from within. Harry held it through sheer force, fragment control strained to its limit.

  When it settled:

  

  
• Mane/tail: Living fire (burns but doesn't consume the horse itself)


  
• Hooves: Burning (leaves scorched earth, ignites what it strikes)


  
• Eyes: Ember-bright (red-orange glow, hungry)


  
• Breath: Smoke and spark


  
• Speed: Enhanced (flame seems to propel it forward)


  
• Temperament: Aggressive (wants to burn, wants to fight, barely controlled)


  
• Intelligence: Present but alien (fire gave it hunger and cunning)


  

  It wasn't a horse anymore. It was a Nightmare.

  The Nightmare stamped hooves, leaving burning prints. It tossed its mane, fire streaming. It wanted to run. To burn. To fight.

  "Can you hold it?" Yara asked Harry.

  "Barely," he said, voice strained. "The fragment has it, but it's... wild. The fire made it wild."

  "Will it serve?"

  The Nightmare turned ember-bright eyes on Yara. Not submission. Not even recognition. Just hunger. The desire to burn things, and the awareness that burning for her was the path to burning more.

  "It'll serve," Harry said. "Because we'll give it things to burn."

  The second Nightmare:

  Same process. Same violent transformation. Same result: burning mane, scorched hooves, aggressive temperament.

  Two Nightmares. Two barely-controlled weapons.

  Handlers: Two very brave volunteers (Bruno found them soldiers who'd survived being too close to explosions and decided regular danger was boring).

  Special equipment: Fireproof gear (leather treated with alchemical compounds), thick gloves, reinforced reins that wouldn't burn.

  "Keep them on short leash until battle," Yara told the handlers. "Don't let them near anything you want to keep. Feed them movement, let them run every day, or they'll try to burn their way out of boredom."

  "And in battle?" one handler asked.

  "In battle, let them want. Point them at the enemy and let them burn."

  The Nightmares stamped, eager. They understood. They wanted.

  The final transformation was the most delicate.

  Eight small animals: four ravens, two foxes, two cats. All wild-caught (Weaver's Small Voices had lured them with food and patience). All had been offered the bond, not forced into it. All had chosen.

  But small animals were fragile. One mistake and they'd die. Yara had to be precise.

  Materials:

  

  
• Cloak of Hiding (shadow-weave, magical, pirate treasure)


  
• Light leather (minimal armor, doesn't restrict movement)


  
• Tiny blades (poisoned, for when watching isn't enough)


  

  The Cloak was the key. Its magic made the wearer difficult to see—not invisible, just overlooked. Blend into shadows. Move silently. Be present but unnoticed.

  Yara had to divide the Cloak into eight parts. Each portion would be small, but the magic should hold.

  The process:

  Yara unmade the Cloak. It didn't liquefy like metal or intensify like fire. It unraveled threads, becoming shadow, shadow becoming liquid darkness.

  She divided it carefully into eight equal portions, each carrying a fraction of the Cloak's magic.

  Harry held each animal gently (fragment control, but careful, these were small, fragile).

  Yara poured liquid shadow into each one.

  The transformations were subtle:

  Ravens:

  

  
• Feathers darkened (not black, absence of light)


  
• Flight became silent (no wing-sound)


  
• Eyes sharpened (could see in near-darkness)


  
• Mind elevated (understood spy-craft, concealment, patience)


  

  Foxes:

  

  
• Fur shimmered (like smoke, like dusk, hard to focus on)


  
• Movement became soundless (paws made no noise)


  
• Scent dampened (harder to track)


  
• Mind elevated (understood infiltration, cunning)


  

  Cats:

  

  
• Moved and weren't quite there (presence felt but hard to pin down)


  
• Could slip through spaces too small for normal cats


  
• Perfect balance (could walk anywhere without sound)


  
• Mind elevated (understood buildings, tight spaces, patience)


  

  All eight:

  

  
• Nearly invisible (overlooked, blends into the environment)


  
• Silent (no sound when moving)


  
• Intelligent (elevated minds, understand spy-craft and reporting)


  
• Loyal (bonded through transformation, but choosing to stay)


  

  Connecting to Weaver:

  "They're scouts," Yara said, watching the eight Shadow Scouts test their new abilities. "Intelligence gatherers. But they need someone to listen when I'm fighting."

  She brought them to Weaver's chamber.

  Weaver sat in her chair, hands moving through invisible yarn, nineteen Small Voices chattering through her mind.

  "I need you to hold eight more," Yara said.

  Weaver looked up, hands never stopping. "More voices? I can hold them. What are they?"

  "Enhanced scouts. Going to White City ahead of us. They'll see things I need to know. But I need someone to listen while I'm in battle."

  Yara produced eight strands of yarn saved from Weaver's original transformation, carrying her pattern, her connection.

  She looped one strand around each Shadow Scout's neck (not tight, just touching). Then activated the Gem.

  The yarn sank not through flesh, through shadow. Became part of the darkness that made them hard to see.

  Connection formed:

  Scout → Yarn → Weaver

  Weaver gasped. "I hear them. Eight new voices. Quiet ones. Watching ones."

  Her hands moved faster, knitting the new connections into her web.

  "They're already moving. Thinking. One raven just flew to the window. One cat is under my chair. They choose where to go."

  "They're intelligent," Yara said. "They'll go where they're needed. You just listen and tell me what they see."

  "Twenty-seven voices now," Weaver said, hands never stopping. "It's getting louder. But I can hold it. I can keep them."

  Testing the connection:

  Yara sent the Shadow Scouts on a test mission: "Scout the north road. Report what you see."

  They dispersed silently, nearly invisible.

  Two minutes later, Weaver spoke:

  "Raven sees three travelers. Two carts. One injured horse. Fox smells bread from the northern bakery, wait, that's in the city, not on the road. Fox is still here. Raven sees the travelers. The cat found an open window in the merchant quarter. Other raven counting guard patrols four visible from the rooftop."

  Perfect. Real-time intelligence through Weaver.

  "They'll go ahead to White City," Yara said. "Days before we arrive. You'll listen. When I need to know something, I'll ask you."

  "Understood," Weaver said, fingers weaving. "They're already asking when they leave. Eager. Hungry to work."

  Like everything else Yara made. Hungry to serve.

  But choosing it anyway.

  END OF WEEK TWO:

  Final count of enhanced beasts:

  Heavy Assault:

  

  
• 12 Chainwolves (armored, intelligent, pack tactics)


  
• 5 Bear-Knights (3 guard Yara, 2 siege rams)


  
• 2 Bear-Scouts (younger, fast, reconnaissance)


  

  Siege Equipment:

  

  
• 6 Siege-Elk (mobile platforms, artillery, battering)


  

  Cavalry:

  

  
• 2 Nightmares (fire-horses, psychological weapons, barely controlled)


  

  Intelligence:

  

  
• 8 Shadow Scouts (infiltration, reporting, tied to Weaver)


  

  Support:

  

  
• 6 oxen (hauling, supplies—not enhanced, just beasts of burden)


  

  Total Enhanced Beasts: 35 (not counting oxen)

  Harry's condition:

  

  
• Fragment quieter (work satisfies it)


  
• Body fully transformed (crocodilian dragon-beast, no wings)


  
• Timeline unknown (helped him or hurt him? Won't know for weeks)


  
• Functional (can work, fight, think)


  
• Changed (Who will he be in the end, for now still Harry)


  

  Yara's army:

  

  
• 120 regulars


  
• 45 Enhanced soldiers (15 original + 30 from wounded)


  
• 12 Iron Defenders


  
• 35 Enhanced beasts


  
• 25 beast handlers/riders


  
• Core: Sam, Harry, Thing One, Thing Two, Three Bear-Knights (Left, Right, Rear)


  
• Daryl (recovered, ready)


  

  Total: ~245 combat effective

  One week until they march on White City.

  One week to finalize preparations, resupply, and hope they'd built something strong enough to breach three walls and take a fortified city.

  One week until Yara learned whether she'd saved Harry or killed him by feeding his fragment.

  One week until the Shadow Scouts deployed and White City learned what was coming for them.

  The ledger was being written. Soon, it would balance.

  One way or another.

  If you want to see the stats -

  Bonus post today can be skipped if you don't care about it.

  

  ? My Night With My Nightmares ?

  by Demon_Flower

  What does it take to turn a nightmare into a weapon?

  What to Expect:

   ?? Read Now