Richard wanted to leave his old self behind. Of the four he was the one most unhappy with his lot in life. If he was going to accept something new, he wanted it as far from what he was as possible. He found himself standing in front of the statue of the bear man, he was dwarfed by it. It loomed over him, and it should have felt imposing and intimidating, but it was the guardian. Being beneath it's shadow, Richard felt safe and protected.
Richard took his cock in hand and began to stroke. He felt hands caressing him, soft fur pressed up against his back. It was the jaguar. It wasn't predatory or frightening. He felt reassured by the touch of the feline, loved, wanted. He was being welcomed into their group. He gasped as he shot one small load, it dribbled over his hand but he reached out and pressed it against the altar.
It was like running his hand over a live wire. Even hair on his body stood on end as he felt as what he could only describe as pure power rushing into him, searing through his body from his head to his toes.
He grew.
It wasn't only a matter of getting bigger or stronger. He did both, but it was so much more than that. His frail body surged with strength, right down to his bones that stretched and strengthened along with the rest of him. Muscles swelled with power, his legs became thick as tree trunks, his arms rippling with muscle as his chest pushed out into two fantastically huge shelves of pure muscle. His stomach hardened into a rippling six pack as his whole torso widened, his shoulders most of all.
He felt a new weight tugging between his legs, his swelling cock being engulfed in a sheath has newly heavy balls dropped low. Black fur burst free across his chest, spreading to cover his whole body from there, coursing down his arms and legs, long claws growing from his fingers and toes as it did. He tossed his head back and roared as his face pushed forward into a muzzle. Unlike his two friends, the hair on his head remained short but grew long along his muzzle, like a great beard that hung down his powerful chest. Mark, he didn't know how he knew the jaguar was Mark, but he knew, came forward and braided his long beard, trying it at the end with feathers and a leather cord.
Richard had to lean down to kiss the jaguar's muzzle as it turned up towards him. Then he turned towards Kenneth who held out a shield and spear he took up from beside the altar. Richard accepted them, feeling the ancient weapons in his hands. They felt right, they belonged, they were part of him.
"The Guardian has returned to me." The voice said, sounding pleased. "Only the Sage remains. Bring him to me, and our people may once more rise from the ashes."