He managed to reactivate his ocular spell with great effort, working his way around broad trunks and hazardous roots that threatened to send him tumbling should he lose focus for even a moment.
Just like the last time that he had been alone in these forests, he continued running without looking back, though now he was able to rely on his swordsman’s aura to increase his speed by a decent degree, an enhancement that would do little to preserve his safety in the event that the yet-to-be identified predator had decided to follow after him.
Please don’t let it be what I think it is, he thought, adrenaline surging throughout his body. Don’t follow me. Don’t follow me…
He hurried back in the direction of the county walls as fast as he could manage, arriving at the section that he’d branded with his inner energies within a handful of heart-hammering breaths. As soon as he made it out of the forest, Alistar brandished his sword and turned around to stare into the ranks of leafless trees, doing his best to control his breathing as he prepared for an immediate struggle.
This was a bad idea.
A cold breeze ruffled the detritus that littered the forest floor, the trees shivering their spindly limbs as if in an attempt to shake off the cold. Over a minute passed in silence, though Alistar maintained the defensive stance that he had taken up as if something terrible might happen at any moment. During this time, he drew as much water from the frozen earth as he was able to, hurriedly forming three spikes of ice that were slightly larger than the ones from before. After reinforcing them, he directed them to hover in front of his chest as he continued to draw water in the hopes of forming another ladder with which to scale the walls.
Almost there, he thought. Just a little more and I can…
He trailed off as a silent silhouette emerged from behind one of the many trees in front of him, a large, muscular feline with piercing yellow eyes, dark, matted fur and long, razor-sharp claws that left little slits in the frozen earth with each footfall. Its fur thickened around the head and neck, similar to the sketches of the lions that prowled the fields of the continent’s southern steppes.
Alistar’s fears were realized as he connected eyes with the black-maned bobcat, one of the deadliest predators that roamed these ranges during the winter months and something that shouldn’t have been anywhere near Distan. From what he’d read, this beast was far more dangerous than the dagger-mouthed mountain lion in a direct confrontation, though it wasn’t as feared due to the fact that it wasn’t supposed to be able to mask its life signal.
Impossible! He’d never read anything about these animals being able to mask their auras in such a way. How can it be here?
The real question was, why had it followed him? Based on what he knew, dark-maned bobcats were supposed to lose interest in other potential prey as soon as they made a kill. If that were truly the case, then it could only mean that there had been two of these predators present around the long-toothed wolf from earlier.
I shouldn’t have left the protective charm at home. As this was a trial that he felt he needed to overcome on his own, he hadn’t wanted to rely on outside help in order to see his convictions through to the end. Now, however, he felt quite foolish for leaving it behind.
Alistar steadied his breathing, emptying his mind as he readied himself for whatever was to come. More than anything, he wanted to remove the rest of his limiters, but he knew that sudden movements were likely to provoke a violent attack so he remained completely still.
The great feline, which was similar in size to the wolf from before, continued to walk toward him on quiet, confident feet, its gait so leisurely that it clearly saw no threat in the young boy before it. A cynical voice within Alistar’s head told him that he had gotten his wish, though he ignored the self-depreciating thought and prepared himself for a desperate struggle. Whatever actions he decided to take in the coming moments, he would have to do them in an instant, for the large beast would surely pounce on him the second he chose to act.
Taking stock of the three reinforced spikes of ice that currently floated before him, he used every tool in his mental arsenal to formulate a desperate plan for survival. Along with the spikes, he had also managed to summon enough water to fill a man’s torso, which floated directly above his head as a sort of reserve to the frozen projectiles in front of him.
Ice magic wouldn’t do him much good at the moment, as the process of producing water and solidifying it took far too long for it to be of any use against such a fast, agile creature. This, even though he prided himself in his quick conjurations. On top of that, he had yet to learn how to successfully freeze living objects, so the only options left to him were his basic candle lighting spell along with the basic combustion spell that he’d created after altering the activation process of the former.
The bobcat would either swipe at him with its deadly claws—which had easily sliced through the legs of the large, muscular wolf—or it would go for his neck with its thick yellow fangs.
I can’t keep standing here like this!
Knowing that the chances of making use of his magics grew slimmer the closer that the beast drew to him, Alistar decided to act first.
Drawing from the thousands of hours of practice that he had put in over the years, he flooded his body with a large amount of swordsman’s aura—ready to sacrifice half of his stamina in a matter of moments—while also covering the length of his sword, fully encasing both him and his weapon. Not only was the strength of his limbs enhanced, but the outer layer of energy that covered his body served as an additional layer of hardened skin.
The bobcat, which on all fours was level with his neckline, pounced forward at the first sign of movement, just as he had anticipated. Not wanting to meet it head on, he leapt backwards with all of his might, simultaneously launching the ice spikes forward with about a pace’s worth of space between each of the projectiles. The middle one struck the cat directly between the eyes while the others sailed past it and into the darkness, the attack bouncing off with a light thud as the feline arrived at the spot where Alistar had just been standing. The moment that it closed the distance, he willed the sizeable globe of water to encase its head like a large, round helmet of transparent material.
Leaping backwards once again, it took everything he had to maintain the water manipulation spell as he tilted his body forward in midair so that he could kick off of the wall behind him at an ideal angle, his right foot generating friction against the wall face as he cast a basic stability spell from about two and a half paces above the ground. He froze the water around the great cat’s head as he sailed over it, the beast leaping upward just as he cast the spell. It doubtlessly would have killed him if he had done anything else, though with its mouth sealed shut and its head burdened with unexpected weight, its balance shifted and it fell to the ground. Even in its current state, unable to breathe with its vision greatly impaired, the bobcat landed on all fours.
Alistar took the opportunity to create some distance with a few rapid steps, turning around and casting a reinforcement spell on the ice that surrounded the creature’s head. He was a step too slow, however, for it smashed its own skull against the sturdy wall in a fit of fury, fracturing the ice and freeing its head with a gurgling hiss that sent a shiver down his spine. It wasted no time in turning around with a masterful display of dexterity, though Alistar—now fifteen paces away and within arm’s reach of the treeline—had taken advantage of the scant amount of seconds that he’d earned himself to remove another of the rings on his left hand, allowing it to fall to the ground as he threw out an arm with an indignant shout and activated the candle-lighting spell that he made use of so many times on a given day.
He managed to reactivate his ocular spell with great effort, working his way around broad trunks and hazardous roots that threatened to send him tumbling should he lose focus for even a moment.
Just like the last time that he had been alone in these forests, he continued running without looking back, though now he was able to rely on his swordsman’s aura to increase his speed by a decent degree, an enhancement that would do little to preserve his safety in the event that the yet-to-be identified predator had decided to follow after him.
Please don’t let it be what I think it is, he thought, adrenaline surging throughout his body. Don’t follow me. Don’t follow me…
He hurried back in the direction of the county walls as fast as he could manage, arriving at the section that he’d branded with his inner energies within a handful of heart-hammering breaths. As soon as he made it out of the forest, Alistar brandished his sword and turned around to stare into the ranks of leafless trees, doing his best to control his breathing as he prepared for an immediate struggle.
This was a bad idea.
A cold breeze ruffled the detritus that littered the forest floor, the trees shivering their spindly limbs as if in an attempt to shake off the cold. Over a minute passed in silence, though Alistar maintained the defensive stance that he had taken up as if something terrible might happen at any moment. During this time, he drew as much water from the frozen earth as he was able to, hurriedly forming three spikes of ice that were slightly larger than the ones from before. After reinforcing them, he directed them to hover in front of his chest as he continued to draw water in the hopes of forming another ladder with which to scale the walls.
Almost there, he thought. Just a little more and I can…
He trailed off as a silent silhouette emerged from behind one of the many trees in front of him, a large, muscular feline with piercing yellow eyes, dark, matted fur and long, razor-sharp claws that left little slits in the frozen earth with each footfall. Its fur thickened around the head and neck, similar to the sketches of the lions that prowled the fields of the continent’s southern steppes.
Alistar’s fears were realized as he connected eyes with the black-maned bobcat, one of the deadliest predators that roamed these ranges during the winter months and something that shouldn’t have been anywhere near Distan. From what he’d read, this beast was far more dangerous than the dagger-mouthed mountain lion in a direct confrontation, though it wasn’t as feared due to the fact that it wasn’t supposed to be able to mask its life signal.
Impossible! He’d never read anything about these animals being able to mask their auras in such a way. How can it be here?
The real question was, why had it followed him? Based on what he knew, dark-maned bobcats were supposed to lose interest in other potential prey as soon as they made a kill. If that were truly the case, then it could only mean that there had been two of these predators present around the long-toothed wolf from earlier.
I shouldn’t have left the protective charm at home. As this was a trial that he felt he needed to overcome on his own, he hadn’t wanted to rely on outside help in order to see his convictions through to the end. Now, however, he felt quite foolish for leaving it behind.
Alistar steadied his breathing, emptying his mind as he readied himself for whatever was to come. More than anything, he wanted to remove the rest of his limiters, but he knew that sudden movements were likely to provoke a violent attack so he remained completely still.
The great feline, which was similar in size to the wolf from before, continued to walk toward him on quiet, confident feet, its gait so leisurely that it clearly saw no threat in the young boy before it. A cynical voice within Alistar’s head told him that he had gotten his wish, though he ignored the self-depreciating thought and prepared himself for a desperate struggle. Whatever actions he decided to take in the coming moments, he would have to do them in an instant, for the large beast would surely pounce on him the second he chose to act.
Taking stock of the three reinforced spikes of ice that currently floated before him, he used every tool in his mental arsenal to formulate a desperate plan for survival. Along with the spikes, he had also managed to summon enough water to fill a man’s torso, which floated directly above his head as a sort of reserve to the frozen projectiles in front of him.
Ice magic wouldn’t do him much good at the moment, as the process of producing water and solidifying it took far too long for it to be of any use against such a fast, agile creature. This, even though he prided himself in his quick conjurations. On top of that, he had yet to learn how to successfully freeze living objects, so the only options left to him were his basic candle lighting spell along with the basic combustion spell that he’d created after altering the activation process of the former.
The bobcat would either swipe at him with its deadly claws—which had easily sliced through the legs of the large, muscular wolf—or it would go for his neck with its thick yellow fangs.
I can’t keep standing here like this!
Knowing that the chances of making use of his magics grew slimmer the closer that the beast drew to him, Alistar decided to act first.
Drawing from the thousands of hours of practice that he had put in over the years, he flooded his body with a large amount of swordsman’s aura—ready to sacrifice half of his stamina in a matter of moments—while also covering the length of his sword, fully encasing both him and his weapon. Not only was the strength of his limbs enhanced, but the outer layer of energy that covered his body served as an additional layer of hardened skin.
The bobcat, which on all fours was level with his neckline, pounced forward at the first sign of movement, just as he had anticipated. Not wanting to meet it head on, he leapt backwards with all of his might, simultaneously launching the ice spikes forward with about a pace’s worth of space between each of the projectiles. The middle one struck the cat directly between the eyes while the others sailed past it and into the darkness, the attack bouncing off with a light thud as the feline arrived at the spot where Alistar had just been standing. The moment that it closed the distance, he willed the sizeable globe of water to encase its head like a large, round helmet of transparent material.
Leaping backwards once again, it took everything he had to maintain the water manipulation spell as he tilted his body forward in midair so that he could kick off of the wall behind him at an ideal angle, his right foot generating friction against the wall face as he cast a basic stability spell from about two and a half paces above the ground. He froze the water around the great cat’s head as he sailed over it, the beast leaping upward just as he cast the spell. It doubtlessly would have killed him if he had done anything else, though with its mouth sealed shut and its head burdened with unexpected weight, its balance shifted and it fell to the ground. Even in its current state, unable to breathe with its vision greatly impaired, the bobcat landed on all fours.
Alistar took the opportunity to create some distance with a few rapid steps, turning around and casting a reinforcement spell on the ice that surrounded the creature’s head. He was a step too slow, however, for it smashed its own skull against the sturdy wall in a fit of fury, fracturing the ice and freeing its head with a gurgling hiss that sent a shiver down his spine. It wasted no time in turning around with a masterful display of dexterity, though Alistar—now fifteen paces away and within arm’s reach of the treeline—had taken advantage of the scant amount of seconds that he’d earned himself to remove another of the rings on his left hand, allowing it to fall to the ground as he threw out an arm with an indignant shout and activated the candle-lighting spell that he made use of so many times on a given day.
