Two years after the invasion’s end.
Little Lumin stalked down the hallway, trying to keep the pad of their paws quiet on the soft leaf-littered floor. The prey Lumin stalked was a powerful one, stealthy, strong, perceptive. The prey could perhaps be considered one of the hardest things to sneak up on when it came down to it.
Still, Lumin tried their best.
Then, they saw it. A flicker of movement, fur swishing. It was only a brief moment in time, a dashing figure flying past a doorway.
Lumin gave chase, sprinting after their fleeing prey. It was quick, almost quicker than they were. Almost.
Lumin reached the prey, pounced and chomped onto its tail with as much force as they could muster. But it wasn’t enough.
They looked up into the cold eyes of the prey they had been stalking, prey no longer. No, this was a predator.
Boreal whapped Lumin across the head with a paw, gentle yet firm in its meaning.
“Stop biting my tail idiot.”
She was getting tired of the puppy trying to hunt her like she couldn’t see their glowing starry form from a mile away. It didn’t seem like Aylie was going to teach Lumin how to hunt properly and Zalia hadn’t been on a hunt in a long time. Boreal missed those days, when they would work together to make a kill so that they might eat for the day. Not that either of them needed to eat anymore. Still, things were tasty and learning how everything tasted was important to a happy life. Boreal knew that, even if Zalia didn’t.
Peering down at Lumin, she decided that it was up to her. The others wouldn’t teach them this important life skill, so she would have to do it. Oh the cruelty of adulthood, to deal with youngsters like this one. But, Zalia had done it for her with no complaint so she would continue on with that tradition.
Boreal snuck away from the others, easily managing the feat now that they had grown so lax. Aylie was growing up now, almost as tall as Zalia, taller than Ember already. Boreal had a feeling that she would outgrow Zalia soon. After all, Aylie was what, two years old or so?
By her reckoning, Zalia had found Boreal six months before they had found Aylie. That meant that if Boreal was eight months and two years old, Aylie was only two years and two months old. Yes, two years and two months. That made sense. Boreal had no idea how old Zalia was, but she must be quite old indeed, ancient even, for how knowledgeable about things she was. Maybe Zalia had already tasted everything, and that is why she didn’t ask the right questions. Boreal wondered if she would ever taste everything like Zalia had, and what questions would be on her mind when that time came.
Boreal knew that the other animals in the Grove were off-bounds. Zalia didn’t need to tell her that, she could feel it from her power. The Grove wouldn’t let them harm each other here. Not that Boreal wanted to, as most of the animals in the Grove were quite nice once you got to know them.
No, Boreal had a better idea anyway.
Recently, she had been catching the odd demon here and there. Nothing bad enough to tell Zalia about just yet since they couldn’t get into the Grove, but she wanted to find out where they were coming from. She knew from the past that they made nests in the ground where they caught nearby animals and created new demons. Well, she would just have to stalk one back to the nest.
Lumin followed her, of course, as they left the statehouse, then the town completely. The last little Tin rank demon she had squashed had been in the same direction the sun awoke from. She probably should have told Zalia where they were going but she had just reached Silver rank recently, before Zalia as well, and wanted to test out her new ability. Her final ability to reach Silver was Frost Adaption which had become Embodiment of Frost
Passive 1 - Embodiment of Frost - passive - body enhancement
Tin - you have incredible resilience towards snowy and icy terrain and environments. This includes ignoring the majority of cold and cold-based magic damage and walking easily on ice and snow.
Iron - you have a passive healing effect based on how cold the temperature is.
Bronze - The passive healing effect is increased. Additionally, you may now receive a small amount of nourishment from cold temperatures, reducing your need to eat. Finally, you may emit an icy aura that creates a severely chilled area around you.
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Silver - The icy aura around you enhances Frostbite effects. If you die, it triggers “Frozen In Time”.
Frozen In Time - Your body is encased in a near indestructible icy coffin within which all time is frozen. Nine days from when this is triggered, you are released from the coffin, fully healed.
She liked the sound of Frozen In Time, it sounded comfortable. Plus, she could probably sleep that whole time as well, not worried about being pounced on by the little glowing wolf.
Thinking about the glowing wolf, she had the ability to help with that now too.
Active 2 - Blending Shadows - spell - channelled - body enhancement
Tin - you are able to blend into shadows, using their darkness to hide yourself.
Iron - when blended in a shadow you can move directly into a nearby shadow as you move.
Bronze - While blending into a shadow, you can now manipulate the shadows around you. This enables you to stretch or extend shadows as well as creating shadowy movements that mimic your shape.
Silver - You may extend this ability to hide nearby allies. The shadowy movements that mimic your shape are more defined and can inflict wounds with strength similar to your own.
Extending the shadows around Lumin, she was able to stop the glowing as they both padded into the forest that had popped up around Nature’s Reclaim. With Zalia living there, the land for kilometres had become a densely packed forest that was almost hard to move through even for Boreal. Almost.
She found the body of the demon she had killed a few days ago and started tracking where it had come from. Lumin at least looked like they were trying to copy what she was doing.
Thanks to her ability Feline Eyes, she saw the entrance to the cave that she might have otherwise missed.
Passive 2 - Feline Eyes - passive - body enhancement
Tin - the sharpness of your vision is dramatically increased.
Iron - when activated, you may see heat in addition to your normal vision.
Bronze - you are now able to see vibrations in the air and ground around you to a much more significant degree.
Silver - Your gaze inflicts terror on those it is focused on. You can see invisible creatures.
This demon den felt different. They had magic that was making the entrance invisible, so there must be some strong demon in there. Perfect for the hunt.
She prowled up to the entrance, sneaking inside with Lumin by her side. They were trying to be as stealthy as she was but didn’t quite manage to be silent despite her aid. That was fine, Lumin was still learning after all.
There was one little Tin rank demon standing close to the entrance of the cave and Boreal fixed her gaze on it. The demon froze, then ice crackled along its body as Predator and Partner activated.
Active 3 - Predator and Partner - spell - targeted
Tin - you can use your cuteness to make others less aggressive towards you. Alternatively, you may instil a primal terror instead.
Iron - you’re able to slightly affect the actions others take in regards to you. Additionally, you can cause others bodies to betray them, causing them to freeze or run in terror.
Bronze - You become the embodiment of fear in the animal kingdom, radiating an aura of dominance and terror that can influence even the most ferocious of beasts. Wild animals will instinctively avoid confrontation with you, and you can call upon them to aid you in times of need. Additionally, particularly cowardly enemies may turn on their allies when confronted by your presence in battle.
Silver - Enemies that are scared of you are frozen, literally. They are inflicted with Frostbite and cannot move.
The ice spread slowly, covering up the sides of the demon until it was fully encased. There, it died a silent, suffocated death.
Boreal knew that there were usually Bronze rank demons defending these dens but that would be easy for her to take on. There wasn’t much they could do against her, especially if she inflicted them with terror.
They crept past the dead Tin ranker and into the main chamber, where there were dozens of newly hatched demons. Just as she thought there were two Bronze rank ones in the centre, looking somewhat at peace. She recognised them as the shapeshifting type.
Power built along the length of her legs, the glow building in her crystalline shards dulled and hidden away by Blending Shadows.
She pounced.
Active 1 - Cryokinetic Pounce - spell - body enhancement
Tin - When charged, pouncing on something will cause it to be coated with a layer of ice and snow.
Iron - When charged, your pounce will have greatly increased strength and weight behind it.
Bronze - When charged, your pounce will now grant you a body-tight magical icy shield that will protect you from one attack, no matter its strength. This can only trigger once every so often.
Silver - The icy shell can now resist two attacks and negates momentum. When landing, the layer of ice and snow created is significantly larger, as well as applying Frostbite
When she landed on the two Bronze rankers, she unleashed her aura of terror from Predator and Partner, as well as her aura of ice from Embodiment of Frost. In an instant, the room was flash-frozen.
Everything in the room was still, frozen in time by her powers as the demons succumbed to the cold. She could feel the fear coming from the shapeshifters in front of her, their eyes frozen wide open. Slowly, everything in the room succumbed to the ice and died, their den a scene frozen forever.
She turned about and trotted past Lumin, out of the cave.
“That, is how it’s done.”