In the next moment, his massive beast form launched from the mountain peak. The leonine body shot upward like a meteor of gold and blue, nine tails streaming behind and wings beating with force that cracked the air. Everything below grew smaller as it climbed higher and higher, ascending toward the layer of thick clouds hanging over the Lands of Stone.
Golden light gathered around the beast as it rose.
The Crown of Kingship blazed above its head. Lightning crackled in its wake. And then, high above the mountain, high above the tribe, high above everything that crawled upon the lands, the forehead of the massive lion split open!
Blood gushed out freely.
Crimson-gold fluid poured from the self-inflicted wound, not dripping downward but spreading outward as Mana carried it in directions gravity couldn't explain. The blood dispersed into the air around the beast form, and where it touched moisture, where it found the water vapor comprising clouds, it began to grip.
