Jon practiced his transformation spell with his father for a week or so after his rite was completed, as soon as he had the last few steps memorized, he departed on his journey to the snow caps of the Svey mountains. Jon Berskaggr was living up to his name, he could fully transform himself into a bear. Not even coming close to his father's beast transformation though, he could transform into an adolescent bear.
His arms, legs and torso would swell as the power coursed through his body, it was warm and flickering, like the tips of a flame dancing away. Growing thick hair that is black as the night, he grew slightly taller as his arms and legs got longer and thicker with pure muscle. His great paw's swipe could cut deeply into a thick tree's trunk. His body was harder than treated leather, but a blade would still injure him severely.
The longer Jon practiced, the more energy he could raise the better his transformation would become. This was just the tip of the magical spear as there were all kinds of spells for almost any occasion. Only certain people had magic blood in their veins, it was all about the lineage of a family. Women, men, young and old, rich or poor, anyone could practice magic as long as it was in their blood.
As the days passed by, Jon practiced his spell, raising the energy he needed to transform, but holding back the transformation and letting his energy grow and swell inside his soul. The terrain was transforming from winter evergreen forest to sparse vegetation. The trees turned into ferns, and the ferns to grass.
After weeks of travel and progres with his transformation spell, the ferns turned to mountainous rock, larger than a whole Ox, with small grass tufts sprouting between the stones. Small stones and large stones used the space to hold the mountain together. Any loud noise or too quick of a move would cause an avalanche of stone. Quickly and smoothly, Jon traversed the rugged landscape. Grey stones were but a blur to Jon as he quickly and quietly moved over the surface of the mountain.
Jon Berskaggr eventually came to the "end of the world" which was the end of silvery, grey stone, and the beginning of the snow caps of the Svey mountain range. Searching for the tome would not be easy as the snowy range of mountains stretched for hundreds, maybe even a thousand miles. He needed to find an alter or a cave, as this was Jon Berskaggr's best bet at finding the tome of Woden. Something that appeared to be man-made and ancient would be his best gamble, otherwise he would be searching for the Tone of Woden for another millenia.
Walking the ridges of the mountain, Jon was able to identify many caves in the mountain range he was on. Unable to get to most of the caves, he had to continue on.
The Svey mountains were so expansive, that most of the Unoccupied North were of these mountain ranges. Besides for herds of sheep and a few mountain goats, these mountain ranges were barren. Only the occasional villages were here and there. More distance between them the farther up the mountain and further North Jon went. Bartering and gambling for skins and food became the only way Jon could eat, as he had seen no animals and was not aware of a place to hunt them in these frozen mountains.
Making great progress on his transformative spell, Jon could now transform into an adult bear, after focusing his energy and cultivating a full flame in his soul. Growing several feet and his arms and legs swelling many times larger with pure muscle, he would become a full grown adult black bear, dark as night and more powerful than the strongest man alive to date.
Jon soon realized he would not make progress quickly enough if he was constantly going between villages, so he decided he would go down into the warmer valleys and begin to hunt. In this bear transformation state, he began with salmon and trout in the rivers, his reflexes were tested as a transformed adult beast.
Fish in the rivers of the Svey mountain valleys were quickly proving a sustainable food source. After days of hunting he had dried enough fish to continue on for weeks. Jon continued progressinh in his transformation, his reflexes and muscle fibers were strengthened beyond normal human abilities. He was a Berskaggr and as an Elite Warrior of his tribe, he would prove his worth and gain his family honor among all other houses and tribes.
Many weeks had gone by and Jon was feeling optimistic about the area he had finally discovered. The temples here were undiscovered and were still full of the frozen corpses of the Believers. These frozen corpses were perfectly preserved, as one could still tell the emotions of the corpse, as it had passed, praying to their god, while freezing to death. Their god were nowhere to be seen, heard or found.
The Believers were a religion whome believed in a single god, so devoutly, they would freeze if they thought that was what their god wanted. This was a god who would save all and bring warmth to the frozen mountainside. The entire religion eventually died under the heavy snow and the ice of a thousand years of Winter, hundreds of years ago, believing the world would warm itself, they continued to pray, killing even their innocent children as sacrifices to their god.