I was very much in the mood to turn somebody into an orca. I'm just worried that the stories will turn out too similar to each other. Managed to work in some elements that I've been holding onto for a while looking for a home.

Human to Orca TF

Staring  Dragoniade as Phil

Written by  MysticOrca

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"Oracle of the Labyrinth"
By Mystic Orca

Phil slid down the gravelly hillside to a lower ledge. The coast here was steep with brown, rocky cliffs that were difficult to navigate. The harsh sun had no clouds to block its oppressive heat in the wide open sky and the only shade was cast by tough woody brush cracking through the rocks and rock spires carved out by erosion. The rhythmic crash of the waves bellow was the only inviting thing about this landscape. That, and the numerous natural caves dotting the nooks and crannies of the ragged cliff face.
Phil rounded the corner and found himself in front of a unassuming tear in the rock. He adjusted the weight of his backpack and went inside. This would be the seventh grotto explored today. He welcomed the cool air, sheltered from the bright Mediterranean sun. He took a moment to have a drink from his canteen. His t-shirt and khakis were wet with sweat from the trip and his hiking boots were covered in dirt.
Aside from the brilliant shaft of light which illuminated the entrance, the cave quickly darkened as it burrowed into the cliff side. Phil took out his flashlight and slowly surveyed his surroundings. He wondered how many times over the centuries people had taken refuge in here from the heat. Or a passing storm. Or invaders.
The space was the size of a few rooms, with a ceiling just barely out of reach if he stretched his arms upward. The floor and walls were fairly smooth with no sign of decoration or long term habitation. The only sounds were the echoes of the distant surf and the slow drip drip of water. He was about to leave when he frowned. Something here didn’t add up. If he could hear water dripping… where was it coming from?
He walked up to the wall and examined it, shining his flash light right onto the rock. Slowly he began to circle the room. As he approached the darkest corner, furthest from the light, he discovered the wall was not continuous but that there was actually a space where two walls overlapped, the seam in the rock concealing a narrow space between them. With a victorious smile, he squeezed his way between the walls and found himself in a dark passage behind the cave. Only a short distance later he came to a circular gate and doorway carved into the rock. Phil pushed against the wall and found it unyielding. Shining his light on it, he noted the carvings which spread out from a diamond pattern in the center. It reminded him of a starburst pattern but the rays were curved and undulating, ending in a swirling pattern near the edges. These weren’t meant to depict rays of light, it was reminiscent of ocean waves. A closer examination revealed finer details mixed in with the wave patterns which evoked dorsal fins, whale tails, fish, and tentacles. Definitely not a Greek design. Phil had found what he was looking for.
He transferred the flashlight to his mouth, holding it steady with his teeth. He placed both his hands on the circle design and applied his weight, twisting the pattern counter-clockwise. Slowly the door rolled into the side of tunnel.
Beyond the door was quite a different scene. His flashlight revealed white floors and beautiful blue and gold tile mosaics along the wall, glinting in the light. Water poured from spouts built into the walls, repeating every twenty feet or so. Along the floor of each wall was a channel- much too ornate to be called a gutter- where the water collected and flowed down the hall and out of sight.
A few steps inside, Phil encountered a pearlescent orb embedded in the ceiling. He reached up to touch its smooth surface, trying to remember what he had to do. He turned and examined the nearest water spout before putting his hand under it and letting the cool liquid run through his fingers. Reaching up, the orb reacted to his wet fingertips and began to glow from within. He made a twisting motion and the light intensified. One after another, orbs lit up along the length of the hall, each one emitting a soft humming noice and illuminating detailed carvings swirling along the ceiling. Behind him, Phil could hear the door slowly rolling shut to conceal the light from the outside world. He was in.
The sound of his hiking boots striking the floor echoed down the halls. The air was cool and smelled similar to fresh rain, with no hint of rot or decay. Though the air was still, it didn’t feel stuffy at all. All of the fountains and flowing water seemed to act as a primitive form of air conditioning. No, that’s not right- there were many words to describe this place but “primitive” wasn’t one of them.
He reached an intersection. Four halls met in the same spot, with their channels of water pooling in the center. Each corner was decorated by a pillar of what looked like blue marble and the ceiling was much higher here. An elaborate fountain was in the center of the pool made of several dishes spilling water from one to the other until it reached the pond bellow. It took a moment but Phil realized he could see nothing suspending them in the air. He sighed and looked around. Each path looked identical, and the fountain didn’t hint at any one of them being a superior choice. He could easily get lost in this labyrinthine structure if he wasn’t careful. He finally realized that the water flowed into the room from three of the halls, but flowed out in only one direction. He opened his backpack and pulled out a notepad, sketching a crude map to indicate the turn in case he needed it for the return journey before proceeding down the corridor.
It wasn’t outwardly obvious, but Phil felt that he must be descending downward, deeper into the earth. After all, the water wouldn’t be flowing if the halls were level. He wondered if he was still above sea level. He tasted some of the water pouring from the wall and found that it was definitely fresh water. If it was pouring in from the ocean, it would have been salty. He took the opportunity to refill his canteen. Wherever the water was coming from, it was much better than the tap water he had brought with him.
He found himself in front of another fountain. He had passed through two more intersections like the first one but this one was different. For one, the intersecting hallway definitely had a curve to it, as though he had reached the edge of a circle that his current path would take him to the center of. However, the water didn’t have an obvious current to it. He took that to mean that the remainder of his journey would be even more of a maze than before. The fountain here was much different in design. It consisted of a large basin of water which was waist deep, with a single platter suspended over it. Water spilled over the platter’s edge but as he approached it the flow dwindled to a stop.
He examined the basin of water. The water was clear and the stone bowl had no openings to it, yet he could detect movement in the water. Something shadowy swirled around but he couldn’t make out the form. Suddenly water began to billow up in the center of the pool, as though something were churning it upward. A column of water began to take shape, held unnaturally in the air. Phil watched as the water shaped itself into the form of a dolphin rising from the pool. It’s skin rippled softly but remained remarkably consistent, as though sculpted from water which had forgotten to freeze into ice.
The water dolphin seemed very much alive and imbued with purpose. The water it was formed from had an ethereal blue glow to it, making its form distinct from the inert water of the pool. It faced Phil, then turned its head to regard him with its dominant eye. He had the distinct feeling the water dolphin was frowning at him, its jaw slowly opening to reveal its teeth. He knew that he was being judged but wasn’t sure how to prove himself worthy.
He reached out to touch the being, which only caused it to snap its jaw at him, spitting water as it did. Definitely a sign of aggression in living dolphins and he hesitated, not wanting to aggravate this facsimile further. It leaned forward, its eye right in front of Phil’s face. Seemingly satisfied, it blew out nonexistent air from its nonexistent lungs, spraying a mist of water from its simulated blowhole, and turned to dive back into the pool. Phil had a moment to relax before the water dolphin leapt out of the pool and down the hallway to the right. Upon impact with the floor, the dolphin crashed against the tiles, losing form to become a puddle which swept along the surface as a wave across the floor, then reformed to leap into the air again. It looked remarkably like a dolphin swimming along the ocean’s surface, breaching for air. Phil took this as a sign to follow and ran after his guide.
At the next intersection, the water dolphin restlessly circled around the room, it’s dorsal fin looking like a flag above the being’s round back as it would occasionally rise for more air, its blowhole spluttering whenever it did. This time as Phil caught up it turned to the left, shooting in the direction he felt was toward the center of this labyrinth. The water dolphin seemed impatient, and would continue on only moments before he could catch up, but it never left too soon for Phil to catch up.
After several twists and turns and a little backtracking, Phil was throughly lost. It was just then that they reached a large central room. It was circular, and several stories tall. Large white pillars with gold marbling held a domed ceiling high overhead which, to Phil’s surprise, a shaft of natural light shone through the center. He knew they were much too deep for there to be an uninterrupted hole all the way to the surface and decided the light must have been directed here by elaborate mirrors. Waterfalls poured into the room from the four cardinal directions through wide openings bellow the dome, roaring with power and spraying mist into the air. Each cascade was collected in its own individual pool and emptied into parts unknown. At the floor level between each waterfall were fountains which sprayed jets of water straight into the air which showered back down to the floor. Suspended in each stream was a large pearlescent orb like those illuminating the hallways. The floor itself was perpetually wet and was covered in circular mosaic tiles with gaps between them, likely as a form of drainage. Glowing pillars of light circled the centerpiece of the room- a large statue carved to resemble a mighty orca rising from the pool. The details were so fine and lifelike that he wouldn’t have been surprised to see it leap around just as his water dolphin guide had. The base of the statue was at the whale’s belly, as though the tail was submerged under the floor. It arched forward so that its head was parallel to the floor with its mouth wide open. Had it been any other creature, he would have described it as roaring. He had finally found the Oracle that he had learned of in ancient texts. The legends appeared to be true: now he needed to awaken it.
The level Phil stood on circled the room and descended to the base floor in a sweeping staircase that was mirrored on the far side of the room. He carefully descended the stairs as the water dolphin raced to the orca statue. It excitedly leaped high into the air before crashing down, only to reform and leap again, circling the oracle excitedly but offering no hints as to what to do next. Phil examined the waterfall closest to the foot of the stairs and found the water continued to plummet for as far as he could see down a carved tube. He turned and redirected his attention toward the nearest fountain. He reached out and turned the orb to the right- the off position. The orb slowly dimmed and sank to the floor, seating in the water spout and blocking off the water. The water dolphin splashed beside him and lifted its head up, as though studying the deactivated fountain before making its way to the next fountain. Phil figured he must be on the right path. He proceeded around the chamber, turning off the fountains, until he finally reached the final one standing right in front of the statue. As the orb sank and blocked off the fountain, he could hear the water being diverted elsewhere. He tried to follow the noise and found himself watching the head of the large orca as the water gushed out of its mouth, wildly at first but soon becoming a constant torrent of water. The eyes of the statue flickered to life and began to glow a vivid blue. Now that water passed through the lips of the oracle, it could speak once again.
“Traveler, You Have Searched Hard To Awaken My Oracle. Why Have You Come All This Way?” The voice sounded as though it was generated by echoes reverberating through the chamber and combining to form the words, booming loud enough to be heard over the constant symphony of water. Phil noted that the statue itself was not alive, only the conduit used by a powerful being to communicate from afar. He also noted that the words came with a price- the water had stopped draining through the floor and was slowly filling the chamber as it poured from the orca’s mouth. Time was limited.
“Oracle of the Labyrinth,” he began, bowing slightly to show respect, “I have travelled to many worlds to discover the mysteries they hold. I have heard of your beautiful and wonderful creations and had to see them for myself. Curiosity is the hallmark of us travelers, of course.”
“You Seek The City Of Bythallass. You Are In My Home, Traveler, And Its Oceans Are Precious To Me. Only Those Blessed By The Ocean May Enter The City. But You Are Not Ready.”
Phil shook his head, the smell of saltwater becoming stronger by the minute, “Surely I have been deemed worthy, I have come so far! I have learned so much already, what else must I do?” Suddenly the water dolphin surfaced in front of him, turning to face him with one eye just as before.
“Worthy?” Hummed the oracle, “We Can Feel Your Soul Has Been Touched By The Ocean. You Have The Key. If You So Wish It, I Will Unlock The Door, Traveler.”
Phil bit his lip, why must magical beings always speak in such riddles! “I am ready for whatever I must do!”
“As You Wish, Traveler.”
Phil watched the statue and waited as it stood there, the only sound the constant rush of water everywhere. The water was knee deep and still rising, so whatever it was doing, he hoped it would do it fast. He looked down just in time to see the water dolphin leaping straight toward him. It crashed into his chest and face with enough force to throw him backwards and fall into the water. He came up, coughing and sputtering for air. The dolphin had vanished inside his body, and he could feel the being swirl and circle inside of him, as though exploring his body from the inside. In the water around him glowed blue and clung to his skin- the remnants of the water dolphin as it was being absorbed into his body.
Phil could feel his body filling up with magical energies which he could not control. It almost seemed like he would burst. Then, in a way, he started to. He felt his body start to swell larger. His skin, his muscles, all started to thicken and grow. His spine began to stretch longer, the bones creaking and cracking softly as he began to inch taller.
His khaki shirt was the first victim of the changes. As his chest heaved forward the buttons began to pop off one by one until it hung open, the sleeves still clinging to his shoulders.
“What are you doing to me?” Phil cried out helplessly. His back and neck puffed up, inflating like a rubber raft and discarding his backpack as its shoulder straps became strained beyond their limits. He felt his spine sink downward, his vertebrae tugging and lengthening where they weren’t supposed to. He felt the skin on his face tighten as his mouth began to push forward. His muscles pulsed and bulged, causing his shoulders to push out to his sides as his lungs filled with massive amounts of air, heaving upward.
His spine continued its journey outside of his body, creeping down the back of the leg of his shorts. He felt it filling up from within, each beat of his heart forcing it out further. With a strong twitch it tore through the back end and swayed uneasily in the air before the tip plunged into the water beneath him. The blue glow quickly engulfed it and it engorged on the energy, rapidly growing longer and thicker as powerful muscles linked the new appendage to his body.
It was was now obvious that the oracle had sensed Phil’s dormant orca form and was determined to bring it out. He touched his face and could feel his skull being sculpted into new cetacean features. His mouth was forming a gently sloping muzzle. His forehead ballooned into a round cetacean melon. Soon he could feel his massive lungs being filled from a blowhole behind his head instead of the nostrils of his rapidly shrinking nose.
Phil’s rib cage barreled out, his heart beating much stronger than before. His white undershirt tore in half from the extra mass stuffed inside of it. He fell to his knees, the water lapping at his sides as his shape was stretched and contorted into a new species. The bones of his fingers slowly stretched longer and longer, a fleshy webbing forming between them and quickly thickening, encasing his hands in a thick slab of blubber. They spread out like wings, soon nearly two feet long each, and still growing.
The tail continued to grow, sucking mass from Phil’s legs which were withdrawing into his body, his boots falling away as nothing was left inside them. He could easily twist his body around as the tail trashed about, the tip fanning out into splendid tail flukes. A sharp dorsal fin erupts from his back, impaling what remained of his khaki shirt and splitting it in two as it climbs high above his body.
His arms gone, Phil does his best to steady himself on his large pectoral fins. His body fills out into its new shape with each heartbeat, new muscle thickens his neck and blends into the sleek and splendid black form of his back, soon draped by a grey saddle patch mark reminiscent of dragon wings which spread open to decorate its curves. He raised his thick tail into the air as the last of his legs are absorbed into his bright white flanks.
Suddenly the floor beneath him collapsed. Phil plummeted downward into the caverns bellow with the water that had been filling the room, leaving the oracle above in its regal chamber. Plunging into the cool salty water of the ocean and disoriented by a veil of bubbles streaming over his body, it took the orca a few moment to get his bearings. He fills his new lungs with fresh air and submerges, finally seeing what he should have figured out long before: the City of Bythallass was completely submerged under water. Of course he needed his orca form to explore it!
The orca shook his head slowly from side to side, “He could have just asked…” he grumbled to himself.