Summons the Spirit in its true form to fight for the Medium. While Spirits are usually far better at moving in their own bodies, and Mediums are usually far better at coordinating from their own, the Medium is largely defenseless aside from their base Aura power, potentially making them an easy target.

The Spirit merges with the Medium, allowing them to channel the Spirit’s power as if it were their own, able to use superhuman abilities and channel their Foci, through a special tool known as a Catalyst that is generated through the fusion, which can vary from the more stereotypical wand or staff to a special piece of armor or even a weapon. This merge alters the Mediums appearance somewhat, though depending on the Spirit and the Medium’s own influence this can change from unique clothing to armor to a fully merged body where the Medium takes on some of the physical traits of the Spirit.

Though this makes the Medium a far more effective combatant, the amount of power that a Medium can use is wholly dependent on the Medium’s own level of synchronization with their Spirit, which almost always leaves the merged Form less powerful than the Spirit on its own. It’s also taxing and the mind and body of a Medium, meaning that it can’t be maintained for nearly as long as a Summon, and Channeling a Spirit far beyond one’s abilities could lead to rather… corrupting side effects. The negative effects of Channeling tend to scale with the power of the Spirit: Fusing with an exceptionally powerful spirit for more than a few moments could be tantamount to suicide, while weaker spirits are far easier to synch with to the point that it may even perform better when Channeling.

In addition, the two can pool their power together in a process known as a Spirit Charge. This is a unique ability that allows the Medium to both Summon and Channel their Spirit at once, using all Foci in a single attack with more power than even the combined total of their spiritual energy. Though extremely powerful, it leaves both the Spirit and the Medium exhausted afterwards.

As taking a Spirit in public areas draws all kinds of attention, many Spirit Mediums like to hide their Spirits in what is known as a Sealed Form. Sealed Spirits cannot use any of their powers, but they take on a far more mundane appearance and suppress their spiritual energy to obscure them from other Mediums. Sealed Forms vary from more mundane creatures that reflect their natural appearance to physical items like gemstones, cards, jewelry, and similar clothing and accessories. The more powerful the Spirit, the larger the Sealed Form needs to be to suppress their power, though inanimate forms are more efficient than an equally sized animate one.

Name:

Age:

Normal Appearance:

Medium Appearance(Their magical girl transformation/armor up/magic clothes they use when either channeling or summoning)

Channeling Abilities, Spells, Stats, etc(Remove Channeling details if your medium can only perform Summoning.):

Grade (If a student):

Personality:

Background:

Other:

Spirit Name:

Spirit Classifications:

Spirit Personality:

Spirit Appearance(Their True Form):

Sealed Appearance(Their disguised Form):

Summoning Abilities and Stats(Leave Blank if your Medium can only channel):

Spirit Charge (Leave Blank if you choose not to have Spirit Charge move):

Other Information:

Name: Alexander Kozlov

Age: 15

Normal Appearance:

Alex stands at about 5'10", with a thin figure that possesses the beginnings of lean musculature, reminiscent of someone that had only recently gotten tired of being called scrawny and decided to hit the gym. His hair is usually unruly and bleached to a stark platinum, and his eyes are a dark brown that appear almost black without direct lighting.

Medium Appearance:

While transformed, Alex's hair reverts to its natural brunette and his body bulks up a tad to a more respectable size, though he's still hardly imposing. He dons a padded, high-collared jacket, reinforced along the shoulders, forearms, and chest with protective plating and adorned with scuffed metal trim that hardly even reflects light that hits it. His glasses are replaced with the edgy visage of a human skull, which to his relief inexplicably still corrects his eyesight.

Channeling Abilities, Spells, Stats, etc.: Alex's catalyst takes the form of a longsword forged of dark, tarnished metal. Strikes wrought with the weapon leave a festering, necrotizing wound in flesh and leave inorganic materials in a state of age and corrosion around the point of impact. While Alex gains some of The Ram's sheer physicality to bolster his strength and general stamina, his bladework still is mostly dependent on cues given by the spirit at this point, rather than practiced skill. As for more magical abilities, his touch can degrade and weaken beings he makes contact with. Quick taps can induce minor damage and malaise, where prolonged contact results in an area of rot and atrophy that creeps outward from the point of impact, until the target wastes away into nothing but dust, should the touching hypothetically last forever. Alex can extend the range of this ability by extending fungoid hyphae from his hands or catalyst, which act as prehensile tendrils that adhere to their targets and corrode them, albeit at a slower rate.

Grade: 10th

Personality: Until recently, if one were to ask anyone how they'd describe Alex Kozlov, they'd either respond with "Who?" or give a listless description of a meek boy that kept to himself most of the time. While he's still unpopular and hardly achieving cult leader-levels of charisma, he'd gained a great deal of confidence seemingly overnight. Alex is still fairly quiet and doesn't go out of his way to socialize, though he's eager to talk to people when approached - almost pathetically so - and is rare to show any intentional rudeness unless the other party initiates it. He shows a great deal of reverence when interacting with his familiar, going so far as it address it by honorifics like 'my Lord' at times. He's aware that the spirit doesn't hold all of the cards in their Pact, though he views The Ram as a being that is far beyond him and has yet been generous to him, and thus believes his admiration is warranted.

Background: Alex was born the youngest son of a family of five on the West Coast. His parents divorced when he was 11, and Alex moved with his mother and older sister to Lakewood while his other sibling remained with their father. Alex hadn't exactly been a social butterfly before this, and upon moving to a new school he found himself easy prey for bullies with his timid mannerisms and lack of friends. It didn't help that he started dyeing his hair around this time either - he thought it looked cool, others disagreed.

His middle school career was mostly dominated with being picked on or occasionally slapped around, though he was never beat up enough for anyone to warrant it a serious problem, even if his self esteem suffered horribly in the meantime. Alex lacked the willpower or strength to stand up for himself, so he simply let the bullying happen; he didn't know what to do otherwise. This lessened in high school, as it seemed his tormentors had simply grown bored of him, though very few wished to associate with Alex given the social suicide it would entail. He held acquaintanceships with classmates at most, and no one he'd consider a genuine friend.

This changed upon the night he forged his pact with The Ram. Alex, of course, was not deluded enough to think some eldritch horror of death and decay would lower itself to be his friend, but the spirit offered motivation to him in its own gruff way. Their pact gave him a purpose and sense of security, no one could harm him - mortal or otherwise. His confidence skyrocketed in the following weeks; he started working out, he stopped being afraid of conversation, he was even willing to tell bullies off when they insulted him (and luckly, has yet to be punched for it), though he remained secretly wary of the supernatural threats that The Ram continuously assured him would be coming.

Spirit Name: The Ram That Heralds Winter's Coming (Usually shortened to 'The Ram' by Alex; possibly an epithet and not a true name)

Spirit Classification: Guardian

Spirit Personality: The Ram is a spirit of decay; it embodies the death of nature so that old life may return to the soil and give way for something new to sprout. The spirit speaks to mortals in demands and condescensions, but it does not outright despise humanity. In its mind, the fall of spiritkind was merely a state that they must suffer in order to be born again, much like a tree in the winter. While concerned mostly with destruction, it is not wholly malevolent; the absence of life entirely makes creation impossible. It only seeks to destroy that which can be replaced by something greater. At present, it sees no better target than its fellow spirits - they are old, and their power would be fitting fuel for The Ram's renewal.

Spirit Appearance:

The Ram appears as a hulking mass of gnarled plantlife, looking as though a tree had grown roughly in the shape of a man before it died and started rotting. The roots converge at the spirit's head, which is covered by - or perhaps composed of - the skull of a ram, toting a sizeable rack of horns. Looking into any of the skull's orifices reveals only a cold, empty void. As it moves, The Ram sheds leaves in various shades of autumnal red, which shrivel and decay into nothingness before they ever touch the ground.

Sealed Appearance: When sealed, The Ram takes on the form of a tarnished silver ram's head medallion that Alex keeps tucked under his shirt at all times. The spirit can also appear as an unsettling black sheep with eyes that seem to look right through whomever they gaze upon, though this is far less inconspicuous and thus a form rarely adopted by the spirit.

Summoning Abilities and Stats: The Ram fights up close and personal, using its impressive physical strength to batter the opponent into submission and then rot it into nothingness with a mass of tendrils that emerge from within The Ram's plantlike body to bind their target in a more brutal variant of Alex's wasting touch. It can additionally rub spores from its body off on those it nears, which germinate on contact to entrap the victim in a mycelium of tendrils that continue to decay the target without The Ram's continuous touch. It possesses a great deal of stamina, which helps it greatly as the battle drags on and its withering abilities diminish the enemy's strength. Nevertheless, the spirit is limited by range in most cases and cannot extend its tendrils more than a few feet from its body at most.

Spirit Charge: Not Attained

Alex awoke in a verdant forest - or, at least he thought he awoke there; he didn't remember how he got there. Then again, he didn't remember falling asleep outside either, nor could he think of a reason why he'd ever be this deep in a forest to begin with. He must've been dreaming, but... everything felt so real. It was quiet though, almost eerily so, and there was a distinct mildewy stench in the air.

The sound of heavyset footsteps split the silence shortly after Alex had gotten his bearings. When he turned toward the source, he saw only a horned silhouette lumbering toward him. A bear? No, bears don't walk on two legs. Bigfoot? No, he wasn't real. Right? Right?

The stench grew stronger as the figure approached. As it made its way into the clearing, the grass beneath its feet started to wilt, and the trees in its wake shed their leaves as though fall had miraculously come and passed into winter in a matter of a few seconds. Even more dead leaves fell from the figure itself, desiccating into dust even faster than the foliage from the trees. It stood at least a head taller than Alex, if not more, and looked more like it was covered in decaying tree bark than any kind of skin. It focused its gaze - could he even call it a gaze? It was a fucking skull, it had no eyes - down on Alex, regarding him coolly as the forest continued to die around them. Alex alone was immune to the effect, and though he didn't want to stick around to test how long that would last, he found himself paralyzed by the haunting stare of the skull-thing's eyeholes.

By the time the creature spoke, the once-lush greenery around them had degraded into lifeless shades of brown and gray. The trees now stood as withered husks of rotting wood, and even the sun itself seemed to dim behind a sudden overcast.

'You grow pale, human, but you needn't despair. You possess more worth alive than dead.' The monster spoke but did not speak. No words were uttered, but Alex heard them clearly.

"What... what are you?" He stammered out in response. Gathering information was all he could think to do. The thing's visage was so terrifying he couldn't even cower, let alone run. Maybe that was a good thing. Flinching never helped before.

'I am the reason your kind once feared to walk the wilderness alone at night.' Very comforting. 'I am the death that takes your world every autumn so that it may rise again in the spring, I am The Ram That Heralds Winter's Coming.' The last words boomed more heavily in his mind than the others, but none of that told him anything. He wasn't sure if he should dare ask more.

'I have a proposition for you,' The Ram That Hera- The Ram continued, 'It has been far too long since my kind walked this earth as anything more than a pathetic shadow of our former glory. The time of our renewal is nigh. You will aid me in this.'

He would... what?

"I-I don't think I follow."

'A deal, mortal, a pact. You are weak. I will make you strong. In return, you will do the same for me. Your soul burns brightly - it is nourishment. I will shield it from others who would feast upon it with far less restraint than I.'

That hardly sounded tempting to Alex. Especially when the offer was being extended by something that introduced itself as something humans used to fear. It certainly didn't look friendly. He'd heard about spirits before, of course, and he'd seen people talk about them online, but he'd just assumed it was creepypasta garbage meant for cheap scares. Was it true they ate people? Was he tasty to these things?

'You are unconvinced,' The Ram concluded, 'Very well. Tell me your desires, that I may grant them. Finding another better suited to syncronize with will be tiresome.'

What did he even want? Friends? This thing wasn't going to be his friend. How old even was it? Hundreds, thousands, millions of years old? At this point, all Alex wanted was to wake up and forget this weird dream ever happened.

"Wh-what if I won't do it?" His knees were shaking, the only bit of movement his body could muster. He felt sick. This thing would kill him for his defiance. He could barely stand up to mean high schoolers, why was he playing games with this veritable god?

'Then you will be food for the next wayward shade that deems you worth the effort to consume. I've scared off other spirits that hungered for you, I shall not do so again. This deal is mutually beneficial. I would protect you as my charge, offer you the chance to stand over your world as a king as it is reborn from its own ashes, what qualms could you possibly have?' The Ram's tone did not belie a hint of irritation. It stood patiently, unmoving, willing to barter for however long it took to secure a host.

"Something tried to eat me?!"

'Yes. The decision is simple; life or death. I was under the impression your kind always chose the former.'

If it wanted to hurt him, wouldn't it have done so already? It made threats, but not of its own power. It claimed to want to be his protector. He'd never had one of those before. Maybe he would've liked one. Bullies would've shat themselves if they saw this monstrosity following him around.

"Can you... can you protect me from anything I want?"

'As a pact would make your demise unpleasant for me, yes,' The Ram uttered bluntly. Alex felt its unerring gaze lessen in intensity. It was pleased with this development; it had to be.

"Then I..." What the hell was he doing? "I..." He didn't like being weak, or alone, or eaten. This was as close to a miracle as he was going to get in life, "I accept!"

He felt lightheaded at first. The Ram didn't respond, it simply held out its gnarled hand - slowly, nonthreateningly. Alex didn't remember what happened after that. He woke up for real in his bed this time, feeling a cold weight on his chest. It was metal; mostly flat, oddly shaped, engraved. Alex held it closer to his face for a better look. An image of a ram's head. Eerily similar to the skull he'd just seen in his dream.

'Do not lose that, mortal. We are of no use to each other separated.' The Ram's voice-that-wasn't-a-voice echoed in his mind. Like a literal waking nightmare.

Age: 17

Normal Appearance:She's a little skinny, and short to boot, but generally there's not too much about Leah that seems out of the ordinary; or inconsistent, for that matter. In general, she's all for putting in a little extra effort to keep up appearances, whether that means dragging herself out of bed early to fix her hair, pulling a few all-nighters between work and school, or taking the time to meticulously select clothes that look expensive, but really aren't. It's best for her to keep that image, maintain a tiny smile even where the emotions don't match, and always be casual, but not in a way that says she doesn't care. Sure, maybe it's a little difficult to do at times, and she's been caught nodding off in class more than once, but that's normal - and above all else, Leah isn't about to let herself fall below that particular standard.

After all, who would ever be satisfied with that?

Medium Appearance: Her channelled form doesn't gain any particular size or extra physical properties. There are a couple of changes to her features, eyes flipping to those of a green-eyed cat, and teeth gaining a somewhat unnerving sharpness. Further, her clothing becomes snaked with plants - yellow roses that rapidly flower, though they don't seem to have any particular effect on her. Overall, though, she doesn't appear particularly far from human; but there's enough little things 'off' about it to make her appearance unnerving, if nothing else.

Her catalyst, similarly understated, is a small, broken, mirror.

Channeling Abilities, Spells, Stats, etc:



When channelling, Leah can choose to leech certain properties from another - life force, physical strength, physical energy, and when confronting a spirit, spiritual energy. Depending on what's absorbed, the properties are stored differently. However, it's a zero-sum game; everything she gains, another must lose.

Strength absorption: by leeching the physical strength of another, Leah's channelling form gains that strength for itself. The strength seems to persist indefinitely, unless used up through her spirit charge, but seeing as there's only so much that can be absorbed from one person (at least without raising some serious suspicions), the buildup is something that generally has to be done over time.

• Atrophy: She can focus on absorbing from a specific place in order to specifically weaken it - however, she needs to actively maintain focus in order for this to work, and therefore actually doing it in combat is a pretty big ask.
• Focused hit: Leah can focus her stored strength into a single area of her body for a brief moment, resulting in a far more powerful blow but leaving her off-balance and vulnerable for a brief moment afterwards.

Physical energy: this type of absorption is temporary, but also ultimately harmless; she could use it to gain extra energy after running herself down. By draining someone, she can either exhaust them, or if completed, put them straight to sleep.

• Adrenaline Rush: she can use some stored energy to essentially "kick-start" her system and trigger an adrenaline rush, though it doesn't have any particularly notable qualities beyond what one would hold for anyone.
• Wakeup Call: In a similar vein, she can force some energy into another person to wake them up or give them a slight boost where they're exhausted or otherwise need it.

Spiritual energy: where she's used up a great deal of spiritual energy, she can drain it from others to replenish that and improve her own staying power. However, it must be used with caution; there isn't a safety valve on this ability, and it would be easy to pass her own limit if she absorbed too much at once.

• Spiritual Overload: she can force spiritual energy into a spirit or medium in an attempt to push them over their limit, and cause whatever damage may result.
• Lure: though more of an unintentional side-effect than an ability, when she takes in extra spiritual energy, she naturally shows up far more on the radars of spirits and shades, drawing their attention, and often their ire.

Life force: the most damaging ability in her arsenal, and perhaps one she uses more frequently than she should - on contact, she can drain the life force of another, and store up to 5 "years" worth at once. More can be drained, but cannot be stored.

• Persistence: Healing, but not really - she can't repair a person's wounds, or cure their illnesses, or reverse the effects of time on their body. What she can do is force that stored 'life' into them, and painfully make them stay alive until the store runs out. The conversion is highly flawed, and dependent on the immediacy of the damage to the person. One 'year' would be five minutes for someone bleeding out and on death's door, or a day for a person with a terminal illness.
• Acceleration: When using it offensively, she can focus some of this energy into internally "blocking" some processes, preventing them from healing or recovering.

Grade: Junior

Personality: Leah comes off as quite the studious, dedicated type, and sticks rigorously to a schedule, but makes an effort to seem laid-back about it; even though she's not exactly got much time to do anything for herself. Really, she's not difficult to get along with, but tends to go with the flow a lot - in all honesty, she's sort of a pushover, and it's easy to get her to back down or let herself be pushed into something she wouldn't want to do.

As far as her attitude towards others, the lack of a backbone definitely carries over in most things, but she's at least friendly on a surface level, if a little slow to genuinely trust. However, there's sort of an undercurrent of resentment in her attitude, kept private - a yearning for the things she can't have, and frustration at the responsibilities she can't escape. Leah's a person used to being priority number two, and even though she can logically understand where people are coming from... it's a very different thing from avoiding the emotional effect.

In any case, it's safer to be anonymous than to let your personality shine through - but that doesn't exactly keep her from wanting things to change.

Background: Leah was always a pretty well-behaved kid, but never anything even a little beyond average, unless you counted her spiritual energy levels - which, really, she didn't. Her family weren't, and still aren't, rich, but could at least afford to provide essentials and the occasional treat, even if they weren't exactly home a lot. Her first school, in contrast, was mostly a pretty well-off demographic (with some occasional outliers like herself), leaving her to feel a little out of place. Luckily, they were still kids, and she managed to get along with people, but as she grew up she became keenly aware of the things she lacked and they had, and the jokes fired her way began to sting just that bit more.

But she could learn, and did, spending almost all her saved-up money on things to keep up appearances, terrified of being left behind and pushed aside by everyone. Her parents didn't approve of it, with all the effort they'd put in to teaching her to save, and couldn't help being frustrated at her explanations and complaints about the school they'd been thrilled to have her eligible for. So she kept going, but kept quiet, letting herself fade into the background of every conversation, happy enough to at least have people that'd hang out with her, even if they didn't wanna hear her talk.

This year, however, that all changed; her sister fell ill, missed by everyone for too long since they couldn't afford to see a doctor - too long for it to be fixed, and too long for her chances to be high, though they were still existent. They had to move, urgently, selling their home to fund things and moving into her grandparents' old home in Lakewood. Nonetheless, with the medical bills coming into play, Leah had to find a job as soon as possible, maintaining her school career - not that it was anywhere near what they'd need to cover it.

And so Leah's initial jealousy of others turned bitter, and desperate - and finally, that spiritual potential she had came into play. A shade found her, found where she was, what was happening, and made her an offer she just couldn't refuse. She didn't even hesitate to accept, and Envy has been more than willing to guide her forward.

Other: At this point, it's been a few months since she and her family moved to Lakewood.
She's secretly a pretty fantastic cook, and gets super excited if she actually gets proper ingredients to do so.
Really focused on money, for good reason, and can have kind of a one-track-mind in that regard.

Spirit Name: Envy, The Parasitic

Spirit Classification: Meta

Spirit Personality: A subtle type of predator, Envy is more of the manipulative type than a fan of the direct approach. It's certain in what it does, and doesn't particularly feel for anyone or anything else, spending its time ever-subtly pushing its host into gaining more and more. It's rather possessive, not quite protective of its host as a friend, but rather as a prized possession, something and someone that it can own. As such, it does try to understand what makes people tick, if only to try and get what it wants from them - and its tricks are more than effective when it comes to directing Leah herself.

Spirit Appearance:


It's unclear what exactly Envy is, but it tries to take as nonthreatening a form as possible, and thus appears at least somewhat humanoid to Leah, if still very far from human. The head and hands are replaced with a twisting, living smoke, and its 'voice' through their bond somehow sounds like ten people speaking at once.

Sealed Appearance: Envy takes on the form of a small, black, ribbon around Leah's throat while sealed.

Spirit Charge: Unleashed Hoard: If absolutely necessary, the medium and spirit can unleash all the energy they've stored over time in one single blast of power - however, it can't be moderated. All of it will be used up, and they will be reduced back down to their base, unimproved, strength.

Other Information: Envy hasn't actually informed Leah of the limit on how much life they can store, and doesn't plan to do so anytime soon. After all, it does want to build up its power.

The room was beautiful. Empty, quiet, but the carpet was soft under her feet, and the walls were intricately decorated with patterns she couldn't make sense of. They were moving, she registered dimly, eyes tracing the glowing golden lines that crossed stark white, contrast only serving to keep her focused on it. There was some kind of smell in the air, pleasant and warm, as though someone had been baking recently.

It felt safe, didn't it?

"It's surprising," a voice reverberated, "to find a mortal so desperate for contract. You might count yourself lucky that you had a chance at all."

And she caught herself then, startled almost out of her skin and retreating back with a yelp, looking around for the sound of the voice and landing on a... suit. It wasn't as frightening as she'd expected it to be - it was just strange. Maybe she should have been worried by that most of all, but this thing seemed to at least want her comfortable. Not that it would be for her benefit, but none of this was about her anyway. Things never were, right?

"You-- what are you? Who are you?"

"You may call me Envy." It didn't particularly care what her name was, but it needed her at ease, needed the process to be simple, "what might you be called, desperate one?"

"Leah. I'm Leah. I need..." her voice was shaky, despite herself, "I need power. To help her. I need you to--"

If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn the smoky mass that the thing had instead of a head smiled at that, extending an arm. Was she... supposed to walk? It was the best guess she had, so she went with it, and allowed the spirit to talk. Maybe it was just trying to get her guard down, she couldn't be sure, but her feet moved regardless, doors opening to a hall that she'd have sworn wasn't there a moment ago. "Tell me, mortal, what is it you see here?"

"Paintings, I guess-- no, they're photos, too. Families. It's warm and everyone's smiling, and it's sunny, there's nothing to, um... I don't know. I don't know what you want me to say."

That phrase, in particular, pleased the spirit. The deferment, the power, the ease with which this one could be moulded. Yes, it was something he could work with. Something he could use. "This place, my dear, is safety - it is desire, the things you wish you could gain. The things that you will have, if you simply listen."

And it made sense, somehow, the truth of the words becoming clear to her. The photos, the paintings, the safe feeling, the simple expense of everything they walked through. It felt too good to be true - that she could gain all of that. But she wasn't very sure what she had to lose, and so she just had to finish with the last, most important question. "How? If you have all this to give, then - then you wouldn't need me anyway, right?"

It seemed to anger the spirit, smoke flickering and twisting violently for a split second before it calmed just as quickly. "You are right, regrettably. I do not have it, yet; and neither do you. I cannot give you these things, your wealth, your safety, whatever brought you to this place--"

"My sister. She- she's sick. It's for--"

"Yes, yes, your sister. I cannot give you her health. But I can show you how to take it. And then, my dear, we shall have all this and more."

"I'll be able to fix her?"

"Listen to me, trust me," its voice was smooth, calm, certain that it had her, "and we can ensure she doesn't die. All you have to do is take what you know you deserve."

She didn't have to think for long. This spirit seemed trustworthy, this place comfortable, and the opportunity it provided... she had to accept, in the end, didn't she? She'd save her. Even if that meant someone else had to lose.

"Then teach me how to take it, Envy."

- Although both Savannah and Nemeos are durable and nearly impervious to cutting and stabbing, they are very susceptible to simply being out muscled. Any opponent that can bludgeon them, beat them, or grapple them will be able to take control of the fight. The hide of Nemeos is like a mythical bullet proof vest: you won't get shot, but it'll feel like you did.
- While in the heat of combat, Savannah acts on the instincts of Nemeos. Often, she may do things she doesn't fully intend to.
- While summoning, Savannah is an especially vulnerable target. She has none of the protective properties that Nemeos grants her while channeling.

Savannah was in a cave. A cave? How, why? It was dark and cold and damp and dank, and there was the smell of something bloody. The smell of gore. Savannah had never smelled death before, but somehow she just knew. She was instantly scared. It was completely dark, she could see no light. She turned back, she needed to leave, to go back to where she came. But the entrance behind her was covered with a boulder. She felt some sense that she herself had placed the boulder. To stop her from going back? To prevent its escape?

What was it?

The lion. The lion that had terrorized the townspeople. Suddenly she felt like she was a transplant in someone else's stories, recalling details of histories that meant nothing to a girl from Maryland, a girl from the United States in the year 2029. She wasn't here to kill a lion, but someone else was once. And then she heard the low growl. It was deep and dangerous. It would kill her easily, and she would run if she could but she couldn't. Her eyes were beginning to adjust. She saw the blue eyes first. And then before her was the lion; fur white like some sort of winter. It was crouched low and ready to pounce. She backed against the wall and it stepped forward in equal measure.

"This is a dream, right?" Savannah asked the lion.

The lion tilted its head like it was thinking. Savannah wasn't quite sure why she was talking to a lion, but it still answered, "Dreams are just the truths of times and places different from our own."

"I have no idea what that means," she said.

"Are you scared?" the lion asked her.

Savannah nodded.

"I could make sure you're not scared anymore. You could be strong and proud like me. Do you want that?"

"You don't look so strong and proud. You're big but thin, like you can't eat enough," Savannah wasn't sure why she was standing up to the lion. She should be scared, she wouldn't talk to a lion normally. But this was a dream anyways.

The lion let out a noise that sounded like a dry chuckle. "Yes, I've been in this cave for a long time. But you can let me out."

"Well, okay."

And the pact between Nemeos and Savannah chase was sealed just like that.