The winter winds were upon the mountainside and the first snow was not far off now. As the nights got colder and the sun shone less brightly the animals began going into hibernation or slowed down activity. This left the world quieter and emptier as the seasons continued their shifting cycle. The people of the villages and towns were also finishing their preparations for the long and dark winter ahead. This time however perhaps the cold would be more bearable with the guiding light of their goddess.

Miya was at the lumbermill in Doovlin collecting the last bit of firewood for her own family. She figured that since she had such amazing strength now getting more in an emergency would be pretty easy for her, thus her family had waited for last to take their share of the community supply.

Having gathered the large bundle of dry and chopped wood she began walking home. On the way she passed by several children who were running around chasing each other. It seemed like all the ones being chased were girls who were squealing in both delight and fake fear. The ones chasing them had bedsheets over their heads covering their bodies and were making strange moaning noises. She stopped and called out to them.

"Hey there! What are you silly children up to?"

One of the children stopped running as they passed by her and lifted up the sheet. It was a young boy who was grinning mischievously as he answered.

"We're dressed up like ghosts and chasing around the girls!" he giggled.

Miya shifted the wood chord's weight and looked confused. "Ghosts? Why would they look like that? And why are you doing that in the first place? Its mean to tease girls you know."

The boy blushed and then dropped the sheet to hide his face. "Goddess told us about Halloween stuff! She said ghosts look like this where she came from hehe!"

This made Miya sigh and shake her head. It was wonderful they were learning more about the goddess's past and where she came from, but children take whatever you tell them and run with it. In this case literally. The goddess obviously knew this so perhaps this was her way of helping the children find ways to stay entertained in the coming winter.

"Well you be careful now alright?" she said sternly. "Running around is dangerous! And don't tease the girls too much either got it?"

This got a half sincere reply from the little boy. "Yes maam."

He then turned around and ran off to catch up to the other children while giggling uncontrollably. Such is the nature of children. At least they weren't doing anything more dangerous than running around. Some children their age wanted to be knights or mages and got themselves into real trouble playing with sharp objects.

As Miya continued walking home she thought about Jenna again. The goddess had been spending more and more time away from the village and dealing with various things in other villages and towns. She understood that as a goddess her duties were ever expanding and very important, but she couldn't get the feeling of loneliness as their goddess was slowly taken away from them. Of course this wasn't true, they were sharing her with more people, but it still felt like losing her.

"Oh great goddess" she sighed to herself. "I do pray you don't abandon us. I know its a silly thing to pray about but... Well I'm just happy I know you."

She didn't get an answer and there was no telepathic message either. Sometimes the goddess would respond to her directly but oh course she couldn't expect a direct answer every time. An answer did however come in another form almost as if in direct response to her prayer.

Miya's family lived near the edge of the village and so had a sight-line to the treeline of the forest. Suddenly out of the trees a man came running frantically. He looked like he was wounded and was clutching one of his arms. He was shouting for help and in fact was calling for her help specifically!

Immediately she dropped her firewood on the ground and leapt into action, her increased strength allowing her sprint over to him in a fraction of the time it would take a normal person to run. It was several hundred feet covered in merely a few seconds. The wind whipped up as she rushed through the air and her clothing fluttered wildly around her.

Once she arrived at his side she could see his left arm was bleeding. He was otherwise not in too bad of shape but was clearly afraid and close to panic. This man was one of the seasonal laborers at the lumber camp and not a member of the immediate village so she wasn't really familiar with him. When she reached out to help support him he started rambling and then upon recognizing her started begging her for aid desperately.

"Oh high priestess! Thank the goddess its you!"

Miya tried to calm him down and helped him stay standing as he was close to collapse. He had probably been running for awhile and was gasping for breath.

"Its fine I'm here" she said soothingly. "What happened to you? Lets get your arm wrapped up right away!"

The man pushed her away so he could stand on his own, almost toppling over from exhaustion.

"No time for me!" he said in a hurry, gasping for breath. "You must go help the others! We were out in the woods doing some final surveying for suitable trees when a monster attacked us!" He was frantically describing this while trying not to falling over. "It... It wounded the leg of one of my companions and cornered him in a rocky outcrop!"

"Did you pray to the goddess?" Miya asked.

The man nodded. "We did of course! And no sooner had we than vines came bursting from the ground suddenly and wrapped the beast in a net! Its holding them now I'm sure, but two of my companions are trapped in that outcropping with the beast standing in their way! You must help them high priestess!"

Miya nodded and allowed the man to stand on his own. It seemed Goddess Jenna did intervene to help them. Her reasons for not appearing in person could be for anything but she did clearly care enough to stop this monster in its tracks. It was up to her now to finish the job and rescue these two men.

"Tell me which direction their in!" Miya said quickly. She then paused. "Give me as specific of a description of the surroundings as well!"

"I ran from the north-east. I ran for probably three miles." the man replied pointing and still panting. "There were several large rocky outcropping near a small cliff. There was also a brook not far away. P-Please hurry..."

It was clear he was about to pass out and Miya put her right hand on his chest and gave him a reassuring push.

"You go into the village and get some drink and help with your arm. I'll see your two friends safely home."

The man nodded and looked her in the eyes, his panic now given reprieve as he placed his trust in her.

"Thank you Miya."

In response she simply gave him a solemn nod and turned in the direction he had indicated. It was her duty to see to the safety of her goddess's worshipers as she was trusted by the goddess to do so. This power she had been gifted was for the betterment of the lives of those around her. She would fulfill this duty and save these two men no matter whatever sort of monster awaited her on that mountain.

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With springing leaps greater than any buck could dream of Miya propelled herself almost faster than the eye could see. She was a blur of green as the air whipped past her face in gale winds, her clothing clinging to her body as it was almost ripped off. As she ran she scoured the landscape for the indicated landmarks. The three or so miles were covered by her in a matter of minutes, though considering how long that man must have ran for there's no telling what sort of scene she would find.

"I'll save you" she thought to herself.

After less than a minute more of running she saw a brook and in the distance a large towering rock face. She also heard bizarre howling and screeching, the cry of some animal she had never heard before. Thoughts rushed through her confused mind and almost made her trip as she ran. Shaking her head to clear it she took one last bounding leap and landed in a clearing before the rocks.

There before her were two towering rock faces, their concave shape making a large trench with open ground between them. In this cubby were two men. One of them was lying on the ground and clearly injured, his leg bleeding and appearing broken from this distance. The other man was crouching over him and looking in fear at what stood at the opening to the rocks.

Standing there in front of the rocks was a towering beast. It was the size of a small bear yet was covered in feathers and fur in a perplexing combination. The body looked like that of a deer buck but its back two legs were massive talons like a hawk while its front two were hooves. Coming from behind its shoulders were massive feathered wings that flexed with powerful muscles. Then there was its head: it seemed that the head of an eagle had been enlarged and transplanted onto this creature, a deadly beak beneath piercing eyes. But atop its head were the horns of a fully grown buck, soft velvet coating the majestic rack.

Miya couldn't believe what she was seeing and the sight left her stunned. This bizarre creature was wrapped heavily in thick green vines in stark contract to the dead vegetation surrounding them. It snapped its sharp beak as it screeched and struggled. The vines were giving way and it was about to completely free itself and finish off the wounded prey before it.

The two men saw her and the wounded one shouted out to her.

"You girl! Stay back! Do you want to be ripped to shreds?"

His friend recognized her and took a different and thankful tone.

"You fool that's Miya! The high priestess! We're saved!"

As they finished speaking the creature finished snapping the last of the vines. It let out an ear piercing screech of victory as it had finally regained its freedom. Now it set its avian gaze on the two victims tucked trapped between the rocks.

Miya wasn't about to let that happen and she took a step forward, lowering her arms and readying her fists.

"Not so fast bird!" she shouted. "Try me first!"

In response to this sudden shouting the beast turned around in surprise. It took only a few seconds to eye her up and decide she was easier prey, at least for the moment. As its other food was trapped and wounded this new subject needed to be dispatched. She was smaller and weaker looking anyway and would make for a great bonus to its meal, now more like a feast.

Miya gritted her teeth in those tense seconds. She'd never fought such a ferocious looking creature before. But since gaining her powers she had defeated a bear, though this thing seemed too dangerous to be left alive and she'd likely have to kill it. It would be better if she did.

With a shriek the beast lunged at her, wildly striking with its beak. Its horns too swung around in the air like coat racks fitted with stakes. The predatory glint in its eye quickly replaced with surprise as she responded.

In an instant Miya dodged out of the way of the incoming beak, ducking under the antlers and rolling to the left. She ended her roll on her knees and quickly pulled one foot forward to brace herself on one knee.

The beast in response quickly lifted its forelegs up and twisted its body around, its powerful hooves aiming directly for her as it brought the full weight of its bulky body to bear.

Miya responded just as quickly however and dove forward towards the beast, rolling under its body as its hooves thumped down in the dirt behind her. Now underneath its belly she rolled on her back and brought her legs up to her chest. Then with a powerful thrust did a double footed kick directly into its belly.

The impact of her powerful strike sent the creature flying into the air like a child throwing a doll. It probably went fifteen feet up before landing with a thud in the dirt a short distance away. The beak was dripping blood as it gasped for air, its legs trembling. There was fear in its eyes as it had met its match. The only thing on its mind was now was to escape. With a pained wail the creature got on its feet and spread its wings, preparing to take to the skies.

"Oh no you don't!" Miya said with a shout.

She rolled to her feat and leapt after it, landing on its back and grabbing onto its feathers. It began leaping and bucking but couldn't throw the girl with the iron grip. In only a few dramatic moments Miya climbed her way up to the back of its head and wrapped her arms around its neck. She felt its powerful muscles as it screeched in protest.

"I'm sorry."

With a powerful squeeze Miya compressed the beast's neck until she felt it collapsing in her arms. The sound of snapping bones ended its wild thrashing as the last breath it would ever take escaped its beak in a shrill dying shriek. It then went limp and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Miya slowly slid off its back and wiped the sweat from her brow with her right arm. She then took a deep sigh of relief and took one last look to see if the thing would move again. It didn't and so she turned around to face the two men.

"Thank goddess that's over... Are you two alri-"

Her eyes went wide in shock as her sentence ended abruptly. Confusion filled her mind as a sudden wind whipped up around her head and only her head. Suddenly the air was being sucked straight from her mouth as it hung agape. She grappled at her neck as the chocking began. The sounds around her became muffled as her senses dulled. She saw the healthy man standing up and calling out to her but his words couldn't quite reach her.

Her vision began to fade as she lost consciousness. She felt her body falling as blackness engulfed her, the last thing she saw being the man running towards her. The last thought on her mind was simply a name: Goddess Jenna.

"High priestess!" the man shouted.

He ran over to Miya and crouched by her body. Thankfully he could see she was still breathing, though it was shallow and weak. Whatever had happened to her had only knocked her out it seemed. He let out a sigh of relief. As he reached out to touch her a sudden voice from behind him and caused him to jump.

Out of the nearby treeline a tall woman came strolling as if she hadn't a care in the world. She was older at least in her fifties and had blond hair that reached her shoulders. Her stride was that of someone with great authority and she looked to the man crouched by Miya with a fierce look in her eyes.

"Don't touch her fool!" she said sharply. "That monster clearly did something to her!"

The man couldn't argue as no other explanation immediately presented itself. He stood up and turned towards her.

"We come from the nearby village of Doovlin. Who are you?"

As he spoke two men garbed in long red robes with the hoods up over their heads also stepped out of the woods. They took up positions behind this woman, clearly servants of hers. None of them were making any aggressive movements but they were still on their guard.

"We're from the village Yuvoghen" she replied calmly. "The goddess is our goddess as well and we came to worship her." She then looked at Miya. "That girl is the high priestess is she not?"

The man nodded. "Yes. Miya."

The mysterious woman nodded. "I'm a healer in our village. Please leave her to us. I'll stabilize her and bring her back to Doovlin. You should get your own friend back there. His wound can wait while she's in serious condition."

"Of course. And thank you!" the man replied.

He then ran over to his friend and helped him to a standing position. Once the wounded man was leaning on his friend he was able to walk with a stumbling limp. Together they both headed for the treeline and off in the direction of the village.

"Thank you again friend! We'll see you there!"

The mysterious woman had walked over to where Miya lay next to the beast while they were leaving. Her two follows walked with her and stood back as she went about crouching and examining the fallen girl. She then waited until both men had disappeared into the forest before standing up again.

"Did it work Mistress Danyelle?" one of the hooded men asked.

Danyelle smiled a crooked grin. "Of course it did. My wind magic drew all the air away from her head. It doesn't matter how strong one is if they can't breathe. Such a divine gift is wasted on this pathetic farmer girl."

She then turned to the creature and clicked her tongue as she looked over its corpse.

"Its one of the expected outcomes of course, though its a shame it had to end this way. Though my family is one of powerful mages we don't have nearly the reach we should. Thus this is the most dangerous monster we could procure."

The other hooded man stuttered a bit. "I-It put on an impressive show though mistress."

Danyelle turned away from both it and Miya with a huff. She put her right hand on her hip and sneered. "It makes no difference. Now my family has the means to bend this weak goddess to our will. Take her to the cave and bind her. I'll meet you there within a day."

With her orders given the matriarch of the Nimelly family turned to the woods and took several steps away. She then swayed her arms and chanted a spell causing wild gusts of wind to whip up around her. The wind lifted her up and sent her flying through the air and over the treetops, leaving her two lackeys to collect the unconscious girl laying on the ground.