Andreas remembered that the sphere of light sent into his body had been separated from the scythe on Malfurion's back.
When leaving the Emerald Dream, Andreas had asked Malfurion about it. The scythe, seized from Ralaar Fangfire, was crafted from the Staff of Elune and a wolf's fang shed by Goldrinn. It was the famous Scythe of Elune, an artifact rumored to be able to control the rage of the Worgen.
Of course, history had proven that the Scythe of Elune could not control the Worgen; instead, it played a role in intensifying their primal fury. However, this was not a flaw of the Scythe itself, but rather a result of its first wielder, Ralaar Fangfire, acting too aggressively. He had forcibly used the wolf form without receiving Goldrinn's personal blessing, ultimately causing a large group of Goldrinn's followers to lose control as their rage spiraled out of bounds.
Goldrinn had recognized the components of the Scythe of Elune the moment he saw it. He extracted a portion of power from the curved blade made from his own tooth. After blessing it personally, the Wolf God sent it into Andreas's body as a return gift to Elune.
After several days of patient exploration, Andreas had finally found a way to utilize this fragment of power. He cautiously used his own source power to extract the core from Goldrinn's fragment, slowly integrating it into his own power system.
The moment the fusion was complete, a wealth of knowledge concerning wolf packs suddenly flooded Andreas's mind.
Tonight, a bright moon hung high in the sky. After merging the power, Andreas felt a sudden, primal urge to howl at the moon.
Hold it back, hold it back. The precedent of the Worgen losing control is right before me; I must not repeat their mistakes.
He forcibly suppressed the surging primal rage within his heart, striving to bring this chaotic power completely under his control. Goldrinn's offensive power was among the top of all Wild Gods in Azeroth; even with a fragment blessed by Goldrinn himself, mastering his fury was no easy task.
Under the stretching force of this new power, Andreas's body began to transform, shifting from a bipedal stance to all fours. Silver fur sprouted from all over his body, and his flat face elongated. His mouth, pulled open by pain, saw teeth rapidly becoming sharp, while lethal claws extended from the tips of his four paws.
"Awoo—!"
The transformation was finally complete. The sudden sense of relief after the pain made Andreas unable to resist letting out a loud, clear wolf howl toward the sky.
At this moment, Andreas had transformed into a majestic silver wolf. His entire coat shimmered with a faint silver light under the gentle night breeze.
The Worgen crisis had only recently passed, and related legends were already circulating through the towns and villages of the Night Elves. The sudden sound of a wolf howl within the town startled many Druids, who stepped out of their houses one after another to investigate.
In his wolf form, Andreas sensed his brand-new body. Compared to the black panther form commonly used by Druids, a wolf—as a canine—possessed even more acute senses of smell and perception. He could clearly capture the whispers of a Druid couple several hundred meters away; they were currently looking with wonder at the valiant silver wolf standing proudly on the roof of the Lord's Manor.
"Why is there a wolf on the roof of the manor? Is it a new pet raised by the Lord?"
"Doesn't look like it. At least I haven't heard of the Lord having a habit of keeping pets. If you told me Leticia was raising it, that would be more believable."
"Heh~ That girl Leticia is certainly famous." Andreas shook his head in amusement. His movements drew the curious gazes of many onlookers.
Testing the retraction of his front claws, he found the process went smoothly, thanks to his prior experience with the panther form. His eyes, framed with pale gold, gauged the height from the five-story manor to the ground. After a brief hesitation, he leaped down from the rooftop garden.
Thud~
Protected by his paw pads, the silver wolf made only a very slight sound upon landing. He merely flexed his four legs slightly to dissipate the impact of the jump.
"Oh? Aside from stealth, the wolf form is superior to the panther form in almost every physical attribute."
His hearing, vision, smell, and his sixth-sense intuition were all incredibly sharp. After snatching a large piece of roasted meat from the dazed Aku'mai in the back garden, the superiority of his sense of taste was also verified.
"Roar!"
Aku'mai's reaction was relatively slow. The hydra was still pondering the situation of this silver wolf that had suddenly appeared, wondering why it carried a familiar scent. But having its roast meat snatched before it could even eat it sent Aku'mai into an immediate rage. All three heads lunged ferociously toward the silver wolf simultaneously.
Pushing off with his powerful limbs, the wolf easily dodged Aku'mai's attack. Andreas, with the intent of testing his limits, began to "play" with Aku'mai in the garden.
Aku'mai possessed great strength and could even spray venom if cornered. However, this fully domesticated hydra remembered Leticia's warnings well—it could not run wild at home. It cautiously controlled its destructive power, moving its three large heads only within a small range. Unfortunately, its speed was completely unable to keep up with the silver wolf.
Under Andreas's mischievous baiting, Aku'mai's three heads became tragically tangled together, seemingly impossible to unravel for the time being.
"Roar! Roar!"
Seeing that the intruder possessed significant strength and being unable to move for the moment, Aku'mai—who had been trained to be very obedient by Leticia—let out urgent, warning roars. This time, the cries were several times louder than before.
The sound quickly spread outward, and the guards of the Lord's Manor arrived on the scene in very short order.
"What's happening... Aku'mai, your heads?"
Leticia also rushed over, holding a piece of pulp fiction she had bought from some unknown stall—an entertainment habit she had developed since childhood.
"Whimper~"
Seeing her master arrive, Aku'mai's three faces took on a human-like expression of grievance.
Having completed the preliminary testing of the wolf form's athletic capabilities, Andreas was satisfied for now. Under the vigilant watch of the numerous elite guards, the leisurely pacing silver wolf transformed back into human form amidst a shimmer of light and shadow.
"No need to be nervous. It was just me testing a new shapeshifting form. You may stand down."
"...Yes, sir!"
The guards' eyes still held curiosity and confusion, but being well-trained, they asked nothing and quickly returned to their posts upon receiving the order.
Leticia, after amusingly and helplessly untangling Aku'mai's necks, looked at her mentor with eyes glowing with excitement.
When Andreas saw those sparkling eyes, a sudden shiver ran down his spine. He had a bad premonition.
"...What do you want?"
"My dear mentor~"
Leticia sidled up to Andreas with an sickeningly sweet air, deliberately pulling on his hand and swinging it playfully. "I want to see that dog... I mean, wolf form again."
"...You just called me a dog, didn't you?"
"No! Just a slip of the tongue."
He rapped Leticia on the head irritably. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. When are you going to fix that strange habit of pouncing on any animal you find cute?"
Leticia pouted, rubbing the sore spot on her head. "Tch~ Stingy. I just like cute animals, that's all."
"No way. Perhaps after the wolf form becomes more common, you can go harass other Druids."
Andreas added silently in his heart, Better the other guy than me.