I commanded Vefir to take cover and keep himself safe as I rushed forward into combat. I activated [Combatant’s Bloodlust] and watched the two humans in the front as their Callings finished and earth began to flow up their bodies to cover their forearms, chests, and thighs. Thankfully, neither were full Earthspeakers, because between the augmented strength granted by Earthspeaking and the armor they displayed now, there was more than enough to render most of our attacks ineffective.

Before I engaged with the two prepared for meeting us in combat, I was able to pick out three distinct arrows’ fletchings from Treel, and looking I saw three different archers stood in place and beginning to draw more arrows.

“FOIRE! On them! Sybil and Shemira, follow him!” I pointed at the three archers in two locations, and my three subordinates immediately followed my directions and began to close in on the group of two. They would make quick work of those cowards–

I fought to understand the call that one of the humans made, maybe the one that was further away and alone? “Gryl! Support them!” The voice was feminine and panicked, one untempered by battle. At her command, though, the terrorbird rushed forward to support the other two archers. Suns burn me, I was stupid. Of course a single terrorbird, one without a mate even though it was large and healthy, would be a Soulbound companion.

“Watch for the terrorbird! It’s with them!” I shouted the command, but had to commit myself to battle with one of the people with an earth Calling to keep them from surrounding the three fighting the archers and terrorbird.

The man I rushed towards immediately swore as I stepped ever closer. “Dammit, but these are huge! I’ve never seen one like these!”

I didn’t care about his fear or confusion, instead activating [Quaking Claw] and beginning my attack. My first two swipes were probing, seeing how quickly he would react, but while he wasn’t among the best trained hunters I’d ever seen, he was more than competent in his Calling. Without visible effort, he maintained the magic that kept the reinforced earth covering himself, and each strike I lashed out with was competently, if not quickly, blocked.

To the side, Sybil suddenly cried out in surprised pain, and I threw myself into the fight with the burly human. With a snarl, I started targeting the red spots that appeared on the man. His arms displayed none, but there were a couple that appeared on his shoulders, and I feinted with my left, then right arm before following through with a fully committed stab of my left hand again.

[Quaking Claw] wasn’t as helpful in stabbing as it was in slashing, but with the opening that I’d gained from my feint, my claws sunk deep past the protective earth and into the man’s flesh. He grunted in pain and surprise as my strike struck home, and blood immediately began to color the dirt. To my own surprise, he continued maintaining the Calling after my initial hit, and as I tried to extract my hand from his right shoulder, his left hand struck me like a club. The man’s entire hand was covered in condensed earth, dense enough to be called stone, and he’d hit me soundly in the ribs. I felt the breath whoosh from my lungs from the hit, and I saw that he was swinging his arm back to hit me again.

As he brought his arm back, though, a massive red spot appeared right where his belly button must be. I didn’t hesitate, and though the spot was covered with a thick breastplate of Earthspeaking reinforced soil and gravel, my blow struck home. The man gasped in surprise as my fingers sunk up to the knuckle into him. As his stomach was ripped open, the Calling faltered and failed. With the detachment brought on by [Combatant’s Bloodlust], I felt nothing as I pulled my left arm from the man’s shoulder, positioned it, and stabbed him through the heart.

I let the body slump to the ground and even through the influence of [Combatant’s Bloodlust], I felt the importance of this–the first time I slew a human. Regardless of the relative importance of this moment, I couldn’t dwell on it any longer. I turned to Took, who was bulling into the other Earthspeaker with all her strength. As I looked, she pulled back her head and smashed her horns into the Earthspeaker’s raised arm. The Earthspeaker, a woman by the sound of her pained cry, began to lose control of her Calling as her arm snapped from Took’s attack.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Reassured by Took’s imminent success, I turned to observe the fight occurring between Sybil, Shemira, Foire, and the other humans. The third human had remained at a distance, commanding her Soulbound companion terrorbird in keeping the three keelish from engaging successfully with the two other humans. Sybil had an arrow shaft protruding from her flank, and was only barely keeping herself standing. Shemira stood next to her, protecting her from the spears of the two nearby humans, the bites and kicks of the terrorbird, and the occasional arrows shot by the third, further away human. Foire was being held back by both of the humans nearby, and sported several shallow, inconsequential cuts. Treel, wounded though she was, came close to the humans, close enough to threaten them.

I was surprised to see Vefir approaching, sneaking through the brush as well as he could to ambush the two humans who’d abandoned their bows to wield spears. Though neither of them seemed to be masters of the spear, both were able to menace and dissuade Foire from approaching too closely. Vefir was close, nearly close enough to begin an ambush, and though their situation was bad, it was nowhere near as bad as it would be if the third human finished the Calling I heard and felt her attempting.

There were sparks beginning to materialize near the third human, and though she occasionally loosed an arrow when the opportunity presented itself, her focus was on her calling. Flame was beginning to gather on the tip of her arrow as she continued the Words. I couldn’t let her continue, and swiftly began to sprint towards her while gathering as much magic as I could into my throat. I wasn’t able to attack from a distance, so I desperately screamed, in her language, “HALT!”

All three humans, astonished by my command, froze for the barest moment. That was enough for me to close in on the Flamespeaker and slash my claws through her hand, neatly slicing it in half up to the wrist. The surprise and pain caused her to lose all focus on her Calling as she screamed and began to cry. Between her sobs, she prayed, “Gran Verat, help me. Please, save me. I don’t want to die. Please help me. Gran Verat, please. Bless me…”

With her mostly out of the fight, I turned to look at the final conflict. Took had already felled her Earthspeaker, and with her and Vefir both joining the fight, the terrorbird had already been slain. The two humans were trying to pull away, to escape, to somehow survive, but with their vanguard finally out of the fight, they had no prayer of survival. Shemira and Foire showed no mercy as they swiftly cut down the two panicking humans. As they turned to make sure I was safe and successful, I called Shemira towards me. She jogged forward while Foire whirled around to look at Treel, who’d collapsed to the ground once the humans had begun to attempt to flee.

“Guard this one. Don’t let it speak, or move.”

While Shemira was obviously burning to know what I meant by keeping this human alive, she didn’t question me, instead flaring her frills and then, after a moment of looking at the terrified human, simply stood at attention looking directly at the human’s hidden face. Before I walked away, I spoke to the human.

“Do. Not. Speak. Do. Not. Call. Or. You. Die.” She began to try to stutter something else out, but I snarled at her and repeated, “No. Speak. Or. Die.”

Then, I turned to check on Treel. She… was struggling to breathe. Though Vefir had removed the arrows from her torso, she was not improving. Seeing her seemingly dying, I felt my adrenaline spike. “Vefir! Why haven’t you healed her?”

“I… I’m trying. It just… isn’t working.” He was panicking himself, and continued to pulse his magic into her, but for some reason, Treel’s body refused to heal. Looking at the scar that had formed from the shot she had taken to the breast… I suspected it had pierced her heart. As Vefir began to try to heal her again, the exhaustion apparent in his body language, Treel raised her hand to stop him before looking to Foire, who looked at her with disbelief covering his face.

“Farewell my mate. Care for the eggs.” Though her words were direct and almost formal, the depth of her emotion somehow carried to me. The moment felt too tender, that I was intruding. Treel raised her head a little, and Foire lowered his own to nuzzle her neck at the base of her skull.

Without another word, Treel continued in that intimate position for almost another minute before the last of her life drained from her body and her head dropped to the ground for the last time.