Terius, the Dean of Testing and Evaluation at Mammatus Study, and by contract the Defender of Brust Valley is nearing said valley on foot. Still wearing his Defender uniform, black chinos, with a matching shirt. Long knives secured at each hip, a short staff and sword over his shoulder. His dirty blond hair is matted to his head from sweat and being beaten by 60 and 80 mile an hour winds.
The previous day he was tutoring and administering tests to his students at Mammatus Study before being dispatched to stop a duelist in the small city called Brass. He was preparing to return to the study, when a near decade old mystery resurfaced and drew him here.
It’s nearly dawn which makes him anxious. On the one hand he can return to flying without the worry of missing the city in the dark. It’s amazing how dark a traditional city is at night, the thousands of banked hearths appearing no brighter than rocks heated by the days sun or the body heat of small game sleeping in their dens. When traveling at free fall speeds you can blow by them without realizing it. On the other hand, he is finally going to confront whatever has been lurking in this region, subtly showing off its power for the better part of a decade.
The incident last night was the strongest in almost a decade. Last night’s explosion of power was likely felt by every energy sensitive person within a thousand miles. Every year as if on a schedule, there have been little outbursts, rarely lasting more than a few minutes. Never lasting long enough to pinpoint the exact source. But last night was different, there was an outpouring of power that lasted nearly half an hour, and Terius was close enough to get a feel for the sources center. It was here in Brust Valley, and then gone again. Now that he’s close he can pick up its trace again. That’s what has him worried.
What could be the source? He’d fought all manner of sorcerers, necromancers, witches, desolators, and duelists. This is something much stronger, perhaps this is the Power Lord that must have sent the duelist he fought and killed in Brass the night before. Power Lords, if they still exist, have not been seen in several hundred years. What would one be doing in Brust Valley and why would it be so careless about its presence?
Terius decides to stay on the ground, he can move almost as fast along the road as if he’s flying. He pushes on the flow of time with his spirit which distorts the direction of gravity. The flat road ahead is now a steep slope that eats nearly 80 miles in an hour. At this rate he’ll reach the City of Brust before noon.
Terius isn’t the only one on the road today. There’s a noticeable imbalance in traffic. Usually there are more travelers heading towards the city before noon. Today there are more than usual hurrying away. None of the supposedly fleeing individuals look suspect, but why would they? The mature couple he passed could be as they seem or she’s a Hedge Witch and he’s been hired as protection. The caravan of carts with metal lined walls could be hiding all sorts of contraband, or the owner wants extra protection for his wares. A well-dressed dandy fast traveling like Terius, heading out of the valley is definitely a duelist. Dueling in Brust Valley is illegal and enforced by none other than Terius. Fortunately, the dandy is leaving town of his own volition, no need to stop him.
Something is putting Terius on edge; he’s getting more and more anxious the closer he gets to the city. It’s the power from ahead. He can feel it getting stronger, the potential is maddening. It’s like someone bottled an earthquake and is teasing the cork out. Terius can feel the energy potential wearing away at the cork, how much longer until it pops, unleashing the earthquake?
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That’s not the complete picture, there’s something else to what lies ahead. He can feel more than raw power. There’s an emotional element. It, whatever it is, is afraid.
Terius realizes he stopped fast traveling. In fact, he stopped running entirely and doesn’t know how long he’s been standing there for certain. He checks the sun and realizes it is already noon. He lost an hour of progress by slowing down and stopping. He needs to keep his mind focused. Yesterday he was tutoring a student on meditative breathing. He recalls the lesson and takes a moment to focus and find his calm. Newly focused, his spirit again distorts the interaction of gravity with his body and Terius resumes his downhill run to the City of Brust.
After an hour of running the city gate is before him. The City of Brust isn’t as large as most, they are not on a major trade route. But they do have a steady economy thanks to exports of felt and wool. The ruling family are sticklers for law and order and built the wall around their city to ensure trade is controlled and taxed. They also signed a contract with his Study to provide services as their Defender.
There’s always a contingent of guards and bureaucrats stationed here, today is no different. He slows to a walk and approaches. There’s no visible sign of damage, that tells him whatever lays ahead didn’t fight its way here. He can also tell exactly where the anomaly lays. Terius scoffs internally at the thought of trivializing what lies ahead as an anomaly. That anomaly will most likely try to kill him on sight, and he isn’t sure he can stop it.
Terius calls out to the lone guard in sight who is staring back towards the city center, “Guard, who’s on duty?” They’re all on duty technically, but he’ll know he means who is the ranking officer on duty.
The guard ignores him for a moment before slowly turning to see who addressed him. Terius is a well-known figure in this region and much respected, “Sargent Brandt, sir!”
“Can you fetch him from the guard house so I can have a word with him?”
“No sir, he’s not in the guard house.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes, er no, maybe there is one, sir!”
“What’s the problem?”
“We don’t know, sir,” the guard looks anxiously at Terius.
“You know I never asked you guards to treat me like an officer. Why don’t you relax or be at ease, or whatever you call it and tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Thank you, sir! We don’t know why but the keep seems to be afraid! Sargent Brandt took his men to assist the keep. I was left behind to mind the gate.”
“You can feel that? Can you describe what you feel?”
“There’s something big and terrible up there and its afraid of something.”
“You say big and terrible, how can you tell it’s terrible?”
“Because it feels like there’s a mountain sized rock hanging over my head by a string and that’s a terrible feeling.”
“Can you usually feel energies, are you sensitive to them?”
“Not at all Sir, no gift in my family ever. If this is what it feels like to sense energy I don’t ever want too again. Are you going to go up there and put a stop to it?”
“Yes, that’s the plan. What’s your name?”
“I’m Nakoa, thank you sir,” snaps the guard as he gives a small respectful bow.
Terius isn’t the bowing type but feels it appropriate to acknowledge the gesture before turning towards the city center.
There’s no reason not to rush at this point. The streets are deserted, shops are closed. If Nakoa can sense the danger, so can everyone else. Terius will fly the remaining distance using the open form. Leaping three yards into the air and pushing against the flow of time, gravity is altered, Terius falls perpendicular to the ground, straight down the center of the street towards Brust Keep, the apparent center of the anomaly.