Wesnile? What the hell is that?
"Let's... let's go..." Ava was frightened, whether anyone but Nell could tell was beside the point, he knew, he saw.
"Nell. You come too, you were there, you should know." Jace beckoned him toward the door behind the counter, both he and Ava, who shot a questioning glance, were heading toward the room inside. He saw no other option, he strode into the dimly lit room.
Jace waited for Nell to get seated, the room had several bookcases along its back wall, and a sizeable ebony desk placed in the center, both he and Nell were on the door side, with Ava sitting behind the desk, a book placed square on the desk's surface.
"Well then, what about Wesnile?" Ava somberly looked up at the pair.
"Well, Nell here saw something strange in the wild lands." Jace turned to Nell, prompting Ava to do the same. He stumbled over his words for a moment, unprepared to be the center focus.
"Wh- well, it was a Pixon, not sure what class, but it was covered in white spikes, and it could throw them at our group at range. The thing was insanely aggressive too." He looked to Ava, hoping his answer was sufficient. Already she was buried in the book, flipping through pages rapidly.
"That does raise concern... Ah, here it is, Wesnile prediction right?"
"Indeed" Nell felt like the two had some deeper insight on whatever was going on, yet was afraid to inquire.
"Beastial evolution shows signs of trait and/or ability manifestation, mutation indicates so-called 'birthing' of monsters... If previously unnatural traits in beasts, (beyond the feasible scope), manifest within migratory beasts, it is a sign the wider populace is experiencing mana adaption due to size..." Ava looked up once again, staring straight at Jace.
"Your thoughts?" He kept his gaze level and his response short, subtly gripping the arms of his chair.
"It's, yeah, it's Wesnile, at least, it's the beginning, we need to..." She flipped further into the book. "Scout the extent and plan for 'pruning' to reduce the monster population." She looked back. "I'll need a scout team, you'll be willing, I assume." Jace nodded. "Then I'll need two or three more, I have them in mind already, Nell, you should join too."
"Huh? Me? Why? I'm weak next to some of the other hunters here?"
"Well, there are only two other hunters here, one is going with, and the other is fledgling at best, so I need you to go."
"Yeah, sure." He hid his anxiety, slowly breathing out a slight sigh. "Well Jace, lead the way."
"Give us a moment, Nell, I need to talk to him." He turned to her, but once again her expression didn't change, nothing was given away.
"Sure." Nell stepped out into the main area, letting the door click shut behind him. Strange, well, I guess she noticed too. Again he thought of the pendant, it was the same one that Ava wore for as long as he had known her.
----------------------------------------
A flash of sand yellow amidst the greens and browns of the forest, A bright red glinting in the sun. A hunt in the trees.
"Barasov! Strike!" A low rumble sounded from a blur of browns and yellows, a hurtling oblong shape soaring through the air and landing on the back of a large six-legged beast, skillfully avoiding the horn on its head and sending it to the ground. As its motion stilled the new creature became distinguishable, a sizeable lizard, nearly double the size of the beast below, each of its four feet dug into the soft fur and flesh of the creature with long, pointed claws, spattered with red dirtying the pristine white of the bony protrusions
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"Great kill Barasov! Great kill!" The lizard looked up and twisted its head to face its back, an expression akin to a cheerful dog on its face, a rough pink tongue peeking through its slightly ajar mouth. As a man emerged from the trees behind it, the lizard abandoned its prey, bounding to him and coming to a stop at his feet. He rubbed its snout and looked at the body before him. Very well done indeed. "Well buddy, I think that deserves a treat, let's haul this thing back." The man ceased rubbing the creature, Barasov, and walked to the furry corpse, hoisting it up and laying it along the lizard's back, nestled in between spiny ridges forming a natural seat along its back.
Barasov looked up at him curiously, receiving his will to return to the city the lizard took off, bounding through the trees the way they came with the man in hot pursuit. He arrived at the behemoth stone wall first, and thus waited patiently for his companion. Its pointed face emerged first, followed by the rest of its large figure, Pixon still on its back. "Well, looks like I win." He rubbed its snout once again, the lizard opened its maw and a low rumble was emitted like it was sighing from contentment. "Yeah yeah, I know." He removed the body, then hovered his right hand over Barasov's body. A flash of light at the critter was gone, replaced by nothingness. Right, time to get back to it. He picked up the body and trudged through the woods.
Striding through the gates people gave the body-toting man a decent berth, making the short walk through the busy streets all that much easier. What wasn't any easier was stepping into the building he was so familiar with, rather, the sight within made him nearly drop the corpse on the polished wood floor. He saw him.
The door shutting behind him alerted the three figures within, each of them, in turn, swiveling their focus on the man. His ashen grey leather armor fit perfectly with the brown leather-coated shirt and the light plate armor. His pendant matched that of the lone girl's. "Jace. What the fuck?"
The youngest of them left, a boy a few years younger than the man and Jace, leaving behind the crowd as if he could tell they needed some space. Jace looked pained and just as the man remembered, without a single change. "Jace, why the hell are you here? More importantly, where the hell have you been!?"
"You know why I disappeared Alkir, I'm here on some business for the time being, Ava here should be able to fill you in" He attempted to deflect Alkir's focus, which for the most part worked, the man was still stunned by seeing his old mentor so suddenly, his brain wasn't processing everything properly. The girl took a prompt breath before starting her explanation.
"You know of Wesnile's prediction and protocol, a suspected monster has appeared near the walls, we need to scout, confirm, then begin our operation to get rid of as many as possible. I would like you, Jace, and Nell to do this as a group." She finished with a sigh, looking up at Alkir's face.
So they got one too, fuck, can't ignore it then. Alkir separated himself from the thoughts and questions about Jace. "We can talk more later, Jace, and Ava." He swiveled to face her. "It's not just one, I've found one as well, a few over the last year to be honest." He dropped the heavy body on the floor, its unremarkable fur hide not revealing anything about Alkir's last bit of information.
"Wait, you saying that is a monster as well? That's a Pixon, right?" He nodded, squatting down and lifting the creature's limp head to show the pair its peculiarity.
"It's not visible right now, but its horn is capable of generating targeted electrical discharge, it's filled with conduits." Alkir's produced a hand sign similar to Jace's, placing it right on the horn, which promptly began to glow a vibrant orange. "There, the beast population is remaining somewhat static, but in the wildlands, monsters are manifesting among all of the species. We haven't had enough hunts out of the main routes."
Jace visibly worked over the information, tilting his head to the sky, followed by his neck cocking slightly to the side. "Well, it appears you're more right than I'd like for once, Astrinar says the frequency will only keep growing. What I tell you from right now forward must not leave the three of us, understood?" The sudden change caught Alkir off guard, yet Ava look the same as before, somber and stone-faced. What now, goddess? They both nodded. Jace took a final deep breath. "Scouting and hunting will not be enough, they are reproducing at too high of a rate, we don't have the numbers."
"Then what the hell do we do? Just prepare to be overwhelmed?"
"We destroy the bastards at the heart, we enter the wildlands and purge it from within. So says the goddess, anyways." Jace shrugged, leaving both Alkir and Ava stunned. The wildlands were untouchable, the birthplace of beasts, and their evolved and fiercer counterparts, the monsters. Each party that had entered never came back, What the hell are you thinking Astrinar?! Despite that thought being the collective shared between the two, a smile danced on Jace's lips. "Aren't her plans just the best?"