You've never seen the elders' training room before, but you know of it by reputation. Hidden behind the mundane offices and libraries lies an enclosed square of a room, its padded walls scarred by a hundred claw marks. The smell of feral rage lingers in the air along with a hint of stale sweat.
Upon entering through the single reinforced door, you know that all the rumors are true.
When a werewolf ages past the point of prime physical adulthood and begins the perilous descent into dotage, the lines between wolf and human begin to blur. In their advanced years, humans sometimes lose their sense of self; their memories and ability to reason fade away, grasped back occasionally in a limited fashion before slipping again through the cracks.
Werewolves, it would seem, suffer from a similar malady, and with far greater frequency than their human counterparts. The feral wolf inside them, long held at bay by the constraints of rational thought and morality, begins to break free as the mind deteriorates, eventually taking over and leading to a full mental break. The resulting creature is no longer the wolf it once was, the humanity of its former self wiped clean, the first victim of the ravenous beast locked within every werewolf.
Ahote confirms your thoughts. "This is where we come three times a week to exorcise our demons. We let the wolf out to play, our fellows locking the door behind us so we can't do any true harm. Even I can't be certain why this process works to stave off the inevitable—perhaps it purges an excess of certain hormones or metaphorically feeds and sates the beast within. But that's not why we're here today."
Next
Pulling a heavy white sheet of fabric from a tall object in the center of the room, Ahote reveals a training dummy carved in a remarkable likeness of Colonel Williams.
Your lips pull back in a snarl before you can catch the behavior. Something in the air of this room gnaws at your hidden instincts, dragging them kicking and screaming to the surface.
"In the spirit of this place of instinct," Ahote says, "I offer you an opportunity to tap into your werewolf nature."
You stand in the door, away from the likeness of Williams, your mind a bubbling cauldron of emotions.
"Tap into your nature and simply react," Ahote says from behind you as he slips the door closed, latching it shut with a thunk of metal on metal. "There are no right or wrong responses here, only self-realization." The elder's voice is tinny now, coming through a speaker set behind a grille on the room's ceiling. "Strip away the mask of your humanity. The lies. The doubt. The pageantry of day-to-day life. Gnothi seauton. Know thyself."
As your eyes begin to cloud with rage, the faux-Williams seems to take on a life of its own, demanding your attention and taunting you. No. I will not be pulled into this. I. Am. Not. An. Animal. It takes every shred of self-discipline you can muster, but you manage to stay the ravenous beast inside you, breathing heavily as you remain standing in place, sweat pouring in rivulets from your forehead at the strain of maintaining your humanity.
A hand on your shoulder. You whip about, a bundle of raw nerves as the room seems to breathe in pulsing shudders around you.
"A sturdy tree of resolve has planted itself within you, Decaarr. Your restraint speaks of wisdom, humility, and forgiveness." It's Ahote.
You shake your head. Of course it is, who else would it be? Williams? You look back at the training dummy. It returns your stare, but now you recognize it for what it is: a test.
Ahote leads you out of the chamber. "The instincts of your waking mind run true to those of the beast within. Your inner wolf and the skin of humanity you wear overtop it are in sync. You are well prepared for the great works that are to come. The room has a way of teasing out our bestial nature, allowing us a glimpse of who we might become if we were to lose ourselves. You should know that no inner wolf is set in stone—our nature can be changed over time before we become stuck in our ways. Wolves still blessed by the freedom of youth will, of course, find such changes easier to accomplish than we of more advanced years.
"The wolf that I've seen in you is one of great strength, of determination. I know now that I have made the right choice. But do you share my belief? No one can be forced into greatness—ultimately they must choose to elevate themselves."
Ahote looks to you solemnly. "Will you be the wolf your pack needs to help lead us into the future?"