The Great Grey One

"'Each segment, undone, unfurling. Painting her own demise in a thousand different breaks.' - Taunting Heshen""'You think to mask yourself from me. But I remember your fear. She had fear too. Such...pure, unfettered agony. She pleaded for you. The terror...it was all I could do not to taste it in her very blood.' - Further Taunting Heshen""'Do you bring yet another family to die? Another folly of pride? What. Is. Your. Purpose?'"The Great Grey One was a terrifying sentient beast known for dominating the landscape of Selonia, at least surrounding the territory of Whitefang's den. Utterly devoid of any empathy or kindness, it relishes the chance to break a foe, delighting itself upon their fear and agony, before destroying them entirely.

Likely the target of many hunting parties over the years, they appear to have left countless marks upon the beast's hide, turning natural skin into a body-wide layer of scars, earning the creature its nickname. This survival seems to carry over to the world of beasts too, with even creatures like Wampas giving it a wide berth.

Cunning, conniving and tactically aware, it uses its multiple limbs to move where others cannot follow, and to control the battlefield. It led the group to where it wanted to face them, even leading them through the territories of other beasts, and laying traps in case they bypassed one threat.

Though it lured the group to the Spineyard, its own playpen of cruelty, it would meet its fate here. Set aflame, grazed by lightsabers, hacked by axes, and shot at several times, he nearly claimed the lives of Whitefang and Mergon before being brought down by a lucky shot from Tira, ending his threat.

However, a dark presence was sensed on his form by Vesh, likely responsible for the regeneration the Great Grey One showed during the fight. Once the beast fell, this presence cackled in the same voice the beast spoke with, eventually fading into the distance as the sand cleared. What this means is not known...

The Hunt For Revenge
The Grey One didn't appear in truth until the very end of the hunt, though its presence was felt for hours before the hunt even began. The mere mention of the name caused Whitefang to become unsettled, though his determination for revenge and redemption overcame it every time.

As the group set out to where the Selonian had last encountered him, and lost his siblings, they came upon the remains of the spike trap that had claimed the hunter's younger brother. Long since rotted and broken in several places, it stood in silent and horrific effigy of the intelligence of the creature.

Toying With Prey
Almost immediately once the group entered the stretch of land, they heard rustling and movement amidst the tree canopies. Birds took flight, scared by the disruptions, but were soon drowned out by the snapping of branches and heavy footfalls through the jungle line. This movement remained an intermittent disruption to the unsettling quiet of the surrounding environments, the beast seeming to lure the group where he wanted them to go, pausing to make sure before heading forward.

Just before they gave chase, they heard a snap, as the leading trio just barely avoided a swinging vine. It was covered in harsh barbs, but as the group breathed a sigh of relief, they realized they weren't barbs. They were teeth. Shoved into the vine, carved, reshaped and moulded from countless sources into horrifying serrated harbingers of pain. It was this that caused the entire atmosphere to shift from one of unease to horror. This was no longer a hunt, this was a bid for survival.

The jungle then gave way to marshland and swamp, where the group encountered trap after trap seemingly set by this beast, all carved from bones. Carcasses of great beasts, rib bones and hewn remnants of creatures long slain, all bent, carved or otherwise broken into harsh pitfall spikes designed for the unaware denizen of the land. The group managed to notice them at just the right moment, Duna and Hikaru noticing the differentiation of elevation between patches of ground.

As the group dodged the local wildlife through combination of excellent stealth and Vesh's distraction tactics, the beast moved further still.

As the swamp began to clear, a large imposing tree breached the surface, but it carried a darker revelation. The long broken skeleton of a humanoid lay dashed against it. The spinal cord was entirely shattered, cracked from pure trauma. For Whitefang, this confirmed his worst fear. The sister who had sacrificed everything for him, hadn't made it far. Cradling her close to him, as he carved a pact mark on the tree, a sinister cackle echoed from the very swamp itself.

The Beast spoke directly to Whitefang, taunting him for his failure. From the tone alone it showed it had no remorse, not sadness, only pure sadism and joy at the pain it had caused. He stated that he would cry, were it not for the unbridled satisfaction that her death caused him, seeing each morsel of her being bend, twist and snap, painting her death in a thousand tiny breaks. His laughter then echoed across the waters, with Whitefang sensing something wasn't right, and noticing a pressure plate buried about five feet from where his sister lay.

Shuffling a nearby stone onto the plate, it snapped viciously upwards, revealing a visceral spike cage trap, similar to the one that Whitefang's old group had intended to claim the beast so long ago. The Beast then seem to continue moving, the breakages in the treeline heard by most, fainter and fainter with each sound.

The Taunt Continues
The movement started again, still unseen, this time leading the group past a wild Swamp Wampa, which was again narrowly avoided by quick thinking on the group's part. Swampland then gave way to forest once again, thick trees offering little walking room outside of the raised mud walkways that had led the group this far.

What was most unsettling here, however, was the signs of construction. Not recent or even intelligent construction. But crude and primal development, as two large ribs had been stabbed into the earth, forming an archway that towered perhaps 15 to 20 feet, and marked an obvious gateway into this area. Vesh again noticed a trap, this time a tripwire that sent two sharped and pointed spinal columns shooting forward, intent on crushing whatever poor victim had triggered it. Activating it with his lightsaber, he then sliced through the bones to effectively ruining the trap, as the group then pressed on. Shortly after, the group heard movement again, but this time, a singular heavy landfall as presumably the beast left the treeline for the ground.

They saw they had three paths forward, one each that led to the left and right, and another carved through the very earth itself from what was presumably a small hill that dominated the landscape long ago. A crude gateway, again made of bones, ushered the group forward in a grim and grisly mockery of architecture. Laughter was heard again, as the creature bade them to face him in his own domain. He grew tired of trickery and cunning, and hurried Whitefang to face him and die, like he should have years ago.

The Trophy Pit
"Given the circumstances, I felt a little...reunion was in order. Don't you think?"

Pressed on by the emotions brought forth, Vesh too, Whitefang went through the gateway and saw a deeply traumatising scene. The hill had been formed into a mock arena, bones littering every inch of it, some small and clearly humanoid, others larger than any beast the group had yet seen. Strung high above the pit, on a crude wire handing between trees, was the most grisly sight yet. Three skeletons, all traces of skin and muscle long lost to the rigours of time, or possibly eaten, dangled, suspended from this wire. All of them Selonian.

As Whitefang rushed up against a nearby boulder, barely suppressing a panic attack, a large furred paw stretched out from the trees that surrounded the top of this pit. The Beast emerged and was seen plainly for the first time. Two pairs of arms, covered in white-grey fur, supported him as he walked, face turned and eyes never leaving Whitefang. Towering well over 14ft from this vantage point alone, it mocked him yet again. Striking his chest several times as a show of dominance, he near enough challenged the group to dare to fight him, sensing their unease and fear from the very beginning. The glee on the Beast's face was barely contained, a toothy grin of sadistic pleasure.

Then a singular shot rang out, as Whitefang had finally had enough...