Prologue: Azure Tidings

The attack was swift and devastating.

That was all Anya could recall as she held onto her wounded friend with Emil's aid, her arm wobbling as she held onto Taryn. Before he collapsed onto their arm, his spear falls to the floor.

"Leave me.... Both of you... run!" He said through gasp of pain, clutching one of his wounds, a bullet hole through his abdomen. The bleeding stopped with a small amount of healing tonic they had left.

Anya kneeled to pass him back his spear.

"No, we won't! You're going to make it, Pirium is nearing!"

Taryn gritted his teeth, tears began to accumulate before they flowed down. He raised his voice.

"We must keep it out of their grasp! I'll only slow you down!"

Emil tightened his grip on Taryn, tears on the verge of falling.

"That ambush," Emil cursed under his breath, his voice turned hoarse as he hold back his tears. "We must not allow our friend's sacrifice to be in vain!"

"Then go! Get to Pirium before Curtis finds us!" He said before he coughed, his breathing turning ragged.

Anya looked at Taryn's face, red with anger and sorrow. They can't leave him, not after everyone had sacrifice to let them escape, yet their goal is clear. Get back to Leona with the Obrilon. And it just needed one courier.

Her familiar, a silver winged hummingbird, yelled into her mind.

"BEHIND US!"

She quickly turned. hearing the sound of heavy footsteps becoming louder. She froze as two blood-red eyes stared back.

An Orc dashed forward and raised his hand, causing red chi to pool at his palm from the ruby inset of his estoc. He called, the word of the fae. It was Curtis, leader of the silver hand.

She quickly let go of Taryn. With a wave of her hand, drew out threads of green chi and formed them into runes, countering Curtis spell.

"Anig sagitar!" A bolt of fire flew out of Curtis's palm.

"Odagio!" A dome of hardened, green, wind surrounds her, Emil, and Taryn.

A crack, like lightning, echoed followed by a flash as the bolt struck the shield, destroying both spells, before Curtis charged, estoc raised.

Emil leapt forward and braced.

A loud boom shatters the silence as Emil blocked. Then he shouted.

"RUN!"

Emil counters. Only for Curtis to block it and cast a spell on himself.

"Duresa!"

Grey mana suffused Curtis body. He felt it toughening him. And lashed back with a kick to Emil's chest with all his might, gritting as he felt his foot shatter to pieces, and he cast his second divine spell.

"Valla." His injured foot healed back.

Emil's scream rang out as the side of his chest, and armor, collapsed, shattered ribs turned to shrapnel, and fell. And Curtis foot broke his neck with a snap.

Anya kept running, trying to carry Taryn and maneuver over the trees and branches. Tears well up as she heard Emil scream. She briefly stumbled before chanting.

"I mustn't let them die in vain!"

Then she heard another spell chant and turned to see another arrow of fire.

Her mind raced in panic. It was coming towards her and, with Taryn's arm slung on her shoulder, she was unable to counter.

She then heard Taryn whisper.

"I'm sorry Anya. Run."

Taryn shoved her towards a tree to her right, putting himself into the path of the missile, and her eyes widened with horror.

The missile struck Taryn before blasting out his chest, leaving a bloodied cavity.

Streams of tears flowed as Anya covered her mouth, hearing Taryn's dying gag before he fell, eyes wide open. Anya broke down crying.

"How. How could this have happened! I failed. Taryn, Emil, everyone forgive me!"

All she could do was to sit there and cry. How had they fallen to such an attack. How could they escape such a hunter. A guttural roar alerted her.

Curtis leapt out, his sword descending towards her. He snarled, baring his teeth.

Anya breath quickened as she saw the sword descend.

"Is this how it ends?"

When another thought broke through her mind.

"I can't let them die in vain."

No. They didn't die just to fail now.

With resolve in her eyes she rolled away then raised her hand to channel a cantrip, drawing tangled threads of purple chi into to her palm, as she calls out the quickest spell she knew.

"FLEUR!"

A ball of light then blasted out of her hand. Curtis yelled in as the light blinded him.

Anya followed up by planting her hand on the dirt, drawing up grey chi and channeling it into the ground and forming it into symbols.

"Tetrus pelculis."

Dirt then grabbed onto Curtis shins and transmuted to stone. Anya locked it with half her chi reserve and ran, knowing it'll take Curtis at least half a minute to dispel it.

Anya swiftly ran, ducking and weaving her way through thick trees and low branches. Her lungs burned, and relief washed over her as she exited the forest.

Pirium was up ahead. If she could just reach it, she could-

She heard the crunch of snapping branches and twigs behind her. A wall of dirt erupted from the flat earth and immediately transmuted to stone, robbing her of her one chance at freedom.

Anya spun around, wide-eyed.

Curtis then walked out of the forest. His eyes bore into her soul, alight with vengeance, as his black hair and a pair of red horns barely hid the scar upon his forehead. His hand biting into his estoc, till it looked like the handle was about to snap, he advanced on her.

"How did he break out so fast?" Her mind racing on how he dispelled the restraint so quickly. Then she saw the stone clinging to his shins but his feet were free, and his legs came down with a soft thud like he's wearing lead weights. He broke the restraints.

Her familiar flew from her shoulder.

She nervously shifted the satchel on her shoulder. Unsheathing her obsidian gladius and raising her wooden targe into a combat stance. Her legs trembled. With every second she remained standing, she neared closer to the verge of collapse. With her escape cut off she can only fight, no matter how slim were her chance to live.

Curtis two familiars, a fay and a sprite came up at his sides. He went into a combat stance as his familiar goes into his sword gem and cloak clasp. Then, with simmering anger in his voice, he said, "Give me the orb and I shall spare you. Defy me and you will pay for the lives you took from my men."

Her thoughts raced back to the caravan, where she and her allies took the job to escort the Obrilon under Soloman's orders, to their base. Their screams echoing in her mind.

Taryn, Emil, everyone. They could not have sacrificed themselves just for them to fail.

"No matter what, don't let the lord get his hands on the Obrilon."

Yes, of course. The loss of their lives would not be in vain. Although her chances of getting through this conflict alive were slim, Soloman would be disappointed in her if she failed. She absolutely had to keep the Obrilon out of Curtis's hands, lest Arkalion falls. Even if it meant death.

She subtly moved her feet to form the spell signs, stumbling a few times, and hoping Curtis wouldn't see.

"Death shall take me before you have it." she uttered at him.

"Lapus speri mitus!"

She then finished the spells with a twirl of her arm. Her familiar completed the command, and swung it over the ground. A clump of dirt rose from it and transmuted to stone. At the same time, she cast a wind spell and threw the stone at him.

Curtis leapt to the side. The stone hit his left shoulder, and he cringed. This, however, did not deter him, and he threw his estoc at her and drew the symbols of arcane.

"Magia igneel," he shouted at the same time. Two bolts of purple light shot from his palm and flew towards the mage.

"Odagio," she countered.

Curtis estoc bounced off her shield, the force causing her to stagger. His missiles shattered upon impact alongside her shield.

He cast a wind spell and jet towards her. As his estoc, by his command to his familiar, began to float then lunged towards Anya.

The estoc struck Anya shoulder, missing her head, as she tried to dodge, but stumbled.

Anya shrieked as extreme pain, akin to touching molten iron, flared through her arm as it went limp, before surging through her body. The mage curse of metals.

Curtis finally reached her. He wrapped his hands around the estoc and pulled it out of her shoulder.

Anya, gritting her teeth, summoned what little magic she could concentrate. Suffusing the surrounding grass with blue chi. She pulled a fistful of water from it, causing the green blades around her to wilt. She threw it at his face and quickly uttered a spell.

"Gloucio."

Curtis yelped in pain as the water flash-froze to ice upon contact. The estoc fell from his grasp. He began heating his hands to melt the ice, only for Anya to then slam her foot against the ground as she cast again. A shockwave of vibration and dirt sent him flying away from her.

Anya then slumped against the stone wall, clutching her limp arm, and concentrated. She began the incantation and sigils for a teleport spell, despite the risk of her low amount of chi as she's in range and has the time. Pulling and combining the five colored threads of chi from the fae realm through her familiar into the glyphs. Her breathing sputtered a few times, risking a failed cast, as she slowly slipped to unconsciousness.

Curtis sat up. He blinked and saw the mage and her familiar before him. It suddenly hit him as to what they were doing.

"NO!"

Jumping up. He recalled the estoc back in his hand and ran forward, activating the runes to sharpen the edge, and slashed at her.

The blade cut into her abdomen, interrupting her last incantations. The last thing she saw before warping was the estoc slicing through her flesh.

She then shot out of the exit and slammed upon the dirt with a loud, bone breaking, crash.

"Please forgive me, sir," she softly cried, feeling her life slipping. Paralyzed.

She then heard loud footsteps as she sees a figure comes into view.