章 11: The Faeries’ Wrath
Ulmir's Domain, Faery Plains: First Day of the Great Hunt.
Zedd landed in the northern region of Ulmir's Domain. The Faery Plains hosted some of the most vicious creatures in the Hunter God's realm. Zedd had caught sight of one as soon as he landed.
"Would the Watchdog show up if I created a mess?" Zedd asked nobody in particular.
He was observing the creature that flew above him. It was three times his size. It had leathery wings and dark brown hide that looked as though it was made of stone. A deer like muzzle protruded from its hideous face in an awkward angle. Its exposed fangs glistened against the sunlight.
"Kill one Faery and its brethren shall scour the earth looking for you. Kill two and their rampage will know no bounds," Zedd recited a quote from a book about Ulmir's beats.
He drew his sword, his black eyes fixating the flying beast as he did. Zedd's familiars, distant cousins of the Faeries that flew above him, sent him a clear message in his mind. He saw six imperials walking through the same plains he was.
He had to distract them. Unlike him, they knew exactly where they needed to go. With a loud grunt, Zedd hurled his sword at the Faery. The weapon emitted a high pitched screech as it forced its way through the beast's tough hide.
As soon as weapon and beast collided, Zedd let out his energy then screamed "Zeus!"
Lightning crackled around the sword. The beast let out a harrowing scream as Zedd's weapon slid through its tough hide like a hot knife through butter. As the faery fell face first toward the ground, Black Eyes dashed toward it.
He produced a fist sized diamond from his pockets and held it next to the charred corpse. A dark substance, neither liquid nor gas, oozed out of the creature as it breathed its last. Zedd carefully directed the energy toward the diamond, making sure he didn't touch it.
As soon as he was done, he heard screeches in the distance. The other faeries have heard their comrade's cry for help. Zedd opened his psionic link in search for his familiars, the fairies he had deployed to look for the vein.
An image of a stream came to his mind then. That was the way the little fairies communicated with him. By the familiars' estimates, it would take Zedd an hour to reach the place, given he was running at full speed.
Luckily, the faeries were coming from the opposite direction. Zedd sheathed his sword and broke into a run. Wind howled at his ears as he reached maximum speed. At this rate, he may have a chance at reaching the stream before the imperials.
Half an hour went by, and Zedd hadn't encountered any Faery on his way. He could hear them scream and rampage behind him. They were on his trail, but not fast enough to halt his progress.
Just as the thought of success crossed his mind however, he noticed something ahead of him. It was far, thus too small to make out what it was. Zedd could see a creature's shining eyes though. They glowed, a fiery red color that outshone the bright sun, and they were directed at him.
Zedd cursed his rotten luck and came to a sudden halt. A faery was baring its sharp fangs at him. Its growls were loud and continuous, increasing in intensity with every passing second. Zedd saw its fur stand on end, like an irritated hedgehog.
"What's a Hunt without a little chaos?" he asked the beast as he slowly drew his sword. "I will destroy this dead domain anyway. I might as well give it a proper send off."
The feary had arms the size of a calf's leg. Three claws, sharper than castle forged swords, protruded from the end of each arm. Its fat legs contracted, revealing taut muscles. The beast reached Zedd in the blink of an eye. It swung its claws, targeting his head and torso.
Zedd dodged with extreme ease then thrust his sword deep within the beast's chest. It screeched, and Zedd winced. Its cry pierced his eardrums. It sounded like somebody was dragging a heavy metallic box through the polished floor.
Zedd twisted his sword and activated the lightning element. The beast let out another harrowing cry before it burned to a crisp. He produced the fist sized diamond once more then filled it with the dark substance that oozed out of the faery. Zedd abruptly turned as soon as he was done. He'd heard a terrible commotion in the distance.
The Faeries in the flat plains cried in unison that day. The entire northern region of Ulmir's Domain was drowned in their high pitched screams. Zedd saw a swarm of Faeries taking flight in the distance. They covered the sky, a nimbus announcing a terrible storm to come.
Far away in the distance, a group of six heavily armored soldiers rode in a strange automaton. It was a spherical object that could hold up to six people inside. It rolled through the dirt, destroying everything on its path. The pilot, a burly man with a twirled mustache, noticed the swarm of Faeries first.
"Lieutenant!" he called out. The man he was addressing was engaged in a lively conversation with his men. "Brahms!" the pilot called out again.
"What is it?" Brahms asked, annoyed. As soon as he turned to look at the pilot though, he noticed the cloud above their heads. "Mother of all that is holy..." He came closer to the pilot to have a better look. "Are those faeries?" he whispered.
Gone was the clear blue sky. A could of buzzing, screeching faeries covered their vision field. Brahms felt a cold chill run down his spine. He had never seen such an incredible amount of monsters in one place.
"Some stupid hunter has gone and killed the faeries! These westerners are the worst..." one of the men said.
"We should turn the Mobeel around," another suggested.
"This doesn't bode well. I agree with Micah. What's the closest place from here Gavin?" Brahms asked the pilot.
"The Four Seasons," Gavin replied.
Brahms shot another look at the cloud of flying monstrosities then sighed. "Let's wait their anger out. We still have three days to get to the vein."
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