Tasmanian Devil

"I...I don't understand this place..."

The young Apoc could not have seen more than twenty seasons. I could smell the distrust on her. The fear thickened and slowed her words, but quickened her eyes. She had good reason to be frightened. Not of me, of course - unless there was ill will in her heart for my brood - I did not think this was true. It was the orange doorway that had frightened her - the passage through the bad dream-time that she had taken. Luckily, she stepped out of the fiery hole onto dry land and not over the unending waters.

I bared my teeth in a welcoming sign - well known among those of my ilk.

Her fear increased and she fingered the death-spewing hunk of metal at her side. Apparently she did not like me. Was she to return my peaceful welcome with violence? I growled a response and decided to take the initiative.

"Welcome, High-bred daughter, to the Dreaming." I spoke as slowly and clearly as I could because everyone knows that these two-legs are not very bright when it comes to our ways.

Her mouth fell open. I immediately thought she might try to eat me. My hackles raised and I growled again. I felt my temper begin to seethe, like a hot, twitching snake in my belly.

"Wha...what ARE you?" she stammered.

As I said, these creatures are none too bright.

"I am a called, in your tongue, a "Tasmanian devil". I like the term little, but it will do for now. What I am, High-bred daughter, is a proud warrior of my brood. My name is Woorrady. What is yours?"

"You...you can talk?" the words tumbled from her mouth like hard beetles, clacking and bouncing off one another.

"Uukintalk...a name worthy of one of my kind!" I brightened at her name. Might she simply be misplaced from the Dreaming Apoc?

She shook her head, her trimmed red fur flashing in the sun. "No, my name is Corporal Mays. Corporal Lisa Mays, of the NAU. I just don't know how I got here and...well, I...I've just never seen a talking rat before."

A rat! I growled, feeling the snake rear up in my throat, getting ready for the strike. "I am no rat, Uukintalk. I am far more formidable than any mere rat! My kind have been here long before your kind brought the accursed rats! My kind have been here long before your kind arrived on our shores, riding your twig-rafts with their rag-sails. My kind have been here long before your kind brought the Dark Day upon us all - the day that turned back the times and set everything wrong. My kind long lived here, though we could not speak as we do now. I am one of the Awakened. I am L'na."

Again, her mouth gaped like a fish on the bank. I took pity on her. As I said, these creatures are none too bright.

"Come, Uukintalk. Come and I will learn you more of our kind..."

Tactics: Tasmanian Devils were L'na long before they even knew they were. With the revelations that came after the Event, it seems that an explanation appeared for the strange animals that populated pre-Event Earth's countries of Australia and New Zealand - they were L'na, seeded on this planet far back in the mists of time. Severed off from the magical power that birthed them, however, they eventually became nothing more than odd-looking, non-magical creatures. Now, however, these creatures are rediscovering their ancestry and the powers that accompany it; the Tasmanian Devils are some of the "Awakened" L'na's most fearsome warriors.

Fearless and powerful, Tasmanian Devils rarely back down from a fight, in which they primarily rely on their bite, which, pound-for-pound is one of the strongest bites on the planet. To make this terrible attack even worse, these L'na layer enchantments to their bites: one savaging might drain the energy from its opponent, while another might burn like molten lead. Couple this mighty attack bility with their keen intellect and razor-sharp instincts, and these tiny warriors pack a punch that belies their size!