Animal Companions

An animal companion is a pet that the Man of Light and Shadow will always have for their entire adult life. A Man of Light and Shadow's animal companion is always born the same day that the Man of Light and Shadow is born, and always dies the same day that the Man of Light and Shadow dies. When an animal companion died, it would always follow the Man of Light and Shadow's reincarnation cycle, ensuring that every Man of Light and Shadow technically had the same pet. The first animal companion was Gwreiddidol, a white stag who was chosen by Zeus to be the animal companion of Cydbwysedd, the first Man of Light and Shadow. After Gwreiddidol, no animal companions are identified until Gunmonga's pet, Coulbabunar, is revealed. During the over-3000-year hiatus between the Pawsian Wars and Weasel's birth, the animal companion's spirit simply drifted around in the Nether Realm until it reincarnated into Shredder the day Weasel was born. Weasel had a complicated relationship with his animal companion for two reasons: the first reason is that, due to The Norns' lackluster planning, Weasel did not end up with Shredder until he was 18 years old. The second reason, is that when Weasel was forcibly transformed into The Pendragon by the Horned Crown, fate decided to interpret it as a death, causing fate to twist itself to ensure that Shredder was killed by The Pendragon moments after Weasel's transformation. The animal companion's spirit lingered in the Nether Realm for another 9 years until Weasel, who had recently been transformed back to his old self, opened his spiritual floodgates during a ritual on Vigam, causing him to regain a connection with the Shadow Spirit (even though it was inside Olivia at the time), which in turn caused Shredder to be reincarnated on Olympia as Kyknos.