I had written last week that Nystia had met me at the pond in Thunder Bluff, where we had conversed about Sunwalkers and paladins. At a certain point in our conversation, we were joined by Theran, who had happened to be nearby. I was happy to see my former mentor, and the three of us began to converse about a topic I cannot quite remember, but around this time is where I noticed something wrong.
I had known Theran as a kind, though strict, bull. He reminded me of a training exercise he put me through, where I was to create a hammer built from An'she's rays and throw it at a target - an important skill to hone, as this hammer explodes in a flash of light on whomever it hits, dazing them for a short time. Theran said that he found a way to make the hammer explode brilliantly, and then laughed about it afterwards, amused. This unsettled me; I did not think of Theran to be the type to find amusement in his powers. Then, suddenly, he became violent and irritable at Nystia, insisting that he was not a "robot" and that she should respect her elders.
The fight was brief - Nystia and I were able to subdue him before the nearby braves could react, though Theran had broken Nystia's nose. She tied him up and I mended her wound. While tying him up, we noticed something strange on Theran's back; I removed his breastplate to inspect closer, and found that it was a small metal door. When we had opened it, I was met with a disturbing sight... inside of him were strange machines. I became distraught - someone, or something, had changed my friend, my mentor, in a horrible way... he was no longer the bull I met those many moons ago.
Before we could inspect this, Theran was awakened, and shielded the opening with a protective shell of light - despite this bastardization, Theran could still call upon An'she's light. Keeping the door open appeared to cause him great pain, and the machines inside began to grind and wail. He said something about us touching his "medicine," but I do not understand what he meant. Nystia could not understand what was happening any better than I could, so I called out to the tribe over the talisman. Ura responded, and met us to move Theran and inspect him closer. Sadly, she also could not tell us what had happened to him, in the short time she could open the door without causing him pain.
While we were moving Theran, he had awoken, and uttered my name. Again, something was not right. I looked at him, and saw fear in his eyes. It was also present in his voice. He started to tell me of this fear, but shortly after, he seemed to change again, to the bull we had fought outside, and again spoke of his "medicine." I am certain that Theran, the bull I know, is in that body somewhere. Nystia mentioned something about "Dark Iron" after we had left him to sleep... I must find out what this means. I will speak with Nystia next time I can.