5th of Andayn, 54
“Dear Velvet!
Complimenting your eyes? Velvet…those men are flirting with you. Sigh. I guess in some ways you still didn’t change. Oblivious as always.
Yes, please ask your fairy friend about this strange magic—I really want to come to the bottom of this if possible. Maybe if we do that, we will also get an answer on how Magnus’ magic was stolen from him. I will continue to work on improving my magic while I await your return. Seeing that there’s no way to deter you from going after that horrible beast, all I can really do is wish you best of luck, right? So that’s what I will do. Good luck, Vel! Please don’t die!
Things have calmed down a bit here at the academy now at least. Security is still high, but I think (and hope) that there will be no further surprises for a while now. I’ve had quite enough adventuring for now, thank you very much.
By the way, in case you are wondering, I still haven’t really found any suitable candidates that could teach at our future academy, if we ever manage to found one, that is. I wanted to ask Magnus to teach fire magic, but I guess that’s off the table now. I guess we should keep on looking, right?
Stay safe,
Arianna”
24th of Andayn, 54
“Dear Arianna!
Flirting? You mean like what Dan did with you? Eh, you know what…it doesn’t even matter. There are much more important things to do now! Like meeting Trix on the next full moon! Just to let you know, this will be the last letter you receive from me in a while. I am planning to ask Trix to help me track down and kill that ursa major. Even if she doesn’t agree to help, I will go hunting for it on my own. It’s starting to get warm here and the weather is nice. I now have around four months to find it and kill it. And I’m not coming back until I’ve succeeded! So please don’t worry or panic if you don’t get a letter from me in two or three months now, because I might just as well be gone for that long. Wish me luck!
About the teachers for our academy—yes, keep your eyes peeled, please. I don’t really have much to recruit here in Talim. Mostly scarred old men and the majority don’t even use magic. There’s a far better chance to find someone suitable at the academy. You will know a person is teacher material when you see them. I trust your judgement.
Love,
Velvet”
7th of Madayn, 54
“Dear Velvet!
You know how hard it is for me not to worry when I don’t hear from you for a long while. But I will try not to. Take your fairy friend with you if at all possible—it is much better to not wander the Kamatayan forest alone. Although how much a tiny fairy can do against something as monstrous as the ursa major is another thing entirely. Probably not much. I pray that you find it and kill it as soon as possible, so this ordeal is finally over for both of us. I just don’t know how much more of this I can take.
Please stay safe and write to me as soon as you get back,
Arianna”
***
“Yo! You came!” the fairy waved at the eagle that perched itself on the rock beside her. The stone Trix was sitting on had a “V” and a “T” engraved in it. Something Trix did to mark the location of their meeting. The eagle turned back into the girl she had awaited. Above them a bright full moon shone in the clear sky. Velvet breathed in and exhaled loudly.
“It’s so nice to see you again,” she smiled at her fairy friend. “Here’s the book you gave to me last time, as promised.” She reached into her large backpack that Trix frankly didn’t know how she could even fly with and pulled out a small book. Velvet handed it to the fairy.
“Thanks!” Trix exclaimed in a happy, high-pitched voice that pierced the still of the night. “How did you find it? Was it interesting?”
“Very much so,” the girl nodded. “You know, my friend Arianna actually met some strange creature that seemed to be using pure magic, based on her description. I wanted to ask you about it. Is it possible that someone other than fairies knows how to use pure magic like this?”
“No way in hell!” Trix exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “Us fairies have been hidden for a thousand years now, right here in the depths of the Kamatayan forest. No way someone could learn this secret art of ours! You’re probably the first member of another race any of us have ever talked to in centuries!”
“That’s very odd then,” Velvet looked into the sky. “What she described definitely sounded like what you did back on the day we met. Purple sparks of magic running down your arm.”
“Highly unusual indeed!” the fairy agreed before speaking up again. “So, what have you been up to lately?”
“Well, I want to find that ursa major that killed uncle Grogar back then. It’s sort of my way of honoring his memory. On that note, I wanted to ask you actually…would you care to come along and help me kill it? Of course, you don’t have to. Feel free to say “no,” really.”
“Would I?!” Trix clenched her fist and grinned. “I’ve been dreaming of it ever since the day that damn thing took my husband’s leg! I say let’s find that stupid bear and teach it a lesson!”
“So you will help me?!” the girl was pleasantly surprised. She was sure the fairy would decline this right off the bat.
“Of course I will! I want to get my revenge too! Let me just get clearance from the fairy queen and I will meet you right here in a day or two.”
“How will you get clearance from the fairy queen?” Velvet looked puzzled. “What will you even tell her? Didn’t you say you can only go out when gathering resources?”
“Don’t worry, about that! I will make something up! We are pretty tight, the queen and me.”
“You’re friends with your queen?” this surprised the girl even more.
“Eh, I wouldn’t call it friends,” Trix waved her hand. “It’s more like, a mutually beneficial relationship really. I do things for her, she lets me do what I want. Of course, I still have to obey the most basic rules, like not making contact with other races and stuff.”
“But you just did that with me...” Velvet laughed. “Are you sure this is alright?”
“Relaaax, it will be fine! She will never find out anyway!”
Saying this, Trix flapped her wings that reflected the light of the moon beautifully and flew up above her. “Well, I better get ready then! We can talk more on the way! See you soon!”
The young witch watched as she disappeared between the trees of the forest. She kept staring at the moon and the stars for a while, not being bothered by the multitude of strange and eerie noises around her. She was used to it by now. In the Kamatayan forest, you are never alone.
***
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Right the next day, the fairy returned as promised, donning her usual attire and trusted hat.
“Well, let’s go slay this thing!” she exclaimed happily with a wide smirk. “Lead the way, my trusted hooman companion!”
Velvet took apart the tent she had set up, picked up her things and they were off searching for their nemesis—the elusive ursa major. They travelled for days, Trix telling the girl her classic jokes that made them both topple over in laughter and made their journey feel much shorter than it actually was. Finally, they came across a trail.
“This is an ursa paw print!” the fairy said, standing in a large print that swallowed her whole.
“Indeed!” Velvet’s eyes sparked with excitement at their find. “You think it’s the one?”
“There’s not a lot of ursa’s running around, really,” Trix replied. “Ursa’s in general are pretty rare, but ursa majors even more so! There’s probably less than fifty in the entire forest! I can tell you that that was the first time any of us fairies ran into one in years! Just my luck…”
“Then there’s a good chance this is the one we are looking for or it will at least lead us to it!”
“Yup! We’re in luck!” her little friend exclaimed. “Now let’s go kick some ursa butt!”
Sure enough, not far away from where they found the paw print, a giant bear-like creature was sniffing around in a small clearing, munching on some berries that Velvet could have sworn uncle Grogar said were lethal if eaten. To the ursa, they seemed like a nice thing to snack on, though. The human and the fairy peeked out from the bushes.
“So, what’s our plan of attack here?” the smaller of the two asked.
“I will blast it as hard as I can with my magic,” the young witch said. “Then you follow up and blast it as hard as you can with your magic. Then we keep blasting it until it’s dead!”
Trix only looked at her for a while with a surprised expression. Then a wild grin painted itself across her tiny face. She gave Velvet a thumbs up. “I like it! That’s a good plan!”
“Thanks! I like it too.” Velvet couldn’t help but chuckle to herself thinking about what Arianna would say if she were here right now. She would probably be holding her head telling them how utterly insane and stupid this idea is and that they need a proper plan. But Trix wasn’t like that at all. She seemed to be the type of person who would just charge in and figure things out as the events unfold—just like Velvet.
“Alright, on three,” the girl inhaled and exhaled. “One, two…Light Bombardment!!”
A hail of light orbs appeared and hit the creature, exploding on impact. It growled in pain and stumbled a little, searching for the one that was attacking it.
“Light Veil,” Velvet said and disappeared, running from the bushes unseen.
“I thought you said “on three,” not on ‘Light Bombardment’?!” the fairy yelled. When she got no answer, she just shrugged. “Eh, whatever! This sounds much better anyways! BANZAI!!”
Both of them recklessly assaulted the giant creature that towered over them. Despite their best efforts, however, Velvet’s spells and Trix’s empowered sword slashes hardly pierced its thick hide.
“This isn’t working!” the sprite yelled, evading the beast’s paws that tried to slap her out of the way like an insect. In truth, she probably appeared that way to the ursa.
“Time to bring out the big guns then!!” the girl shouted and started running away from it, trying to create a distance. But the monstrous creature followed her even while she was covered by her Light Veil spell. “How can it still see me?!”
“Pure magic!” the fairy called out to her. “Some larger creatures can sense magic! Don’t worry, I’ll distract it for you! Hey, you big fat furry monstrosity! OVER HERE!!”
She sent some blades of magic that didn’t really cut its thick fur, but were enough to make it look over and stop chasing the girl. Velvet used this opportunity to cast her ultimate spell.
“To fight a monster, you have to become a monster! Bringer of day, destroyer of night, the sun will pale compared to my light! Transformation: Chalkydry!!”
Her clothes turned into golden fur and she grew a lion’s tail, while her head took on the shape of a dragon. She kept growing, almost reaching the size of the ursa itself. Two sets of feathered wings grew from her back as she took form of this magnificent creature.
“WOAH!! THAT’S SICK!!” Trix shouted in amazement. As she was distracted by Velvet’s display, a giant paw knocked her down to the ground. She grunted and picked herself up only to find herself staring at the beast’s barred teeth, each one bigger than her entire head.
The ursa roared loudly, the stench of rotten meat and saliva covering the fairy that almost got blasted away by the strength of its breath alone. She wiped the spit off her face and inhaled.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” she screamed back at it with what must have been the entire capacity of her small lungs. After that she put her hands on her hips and smirked. “How’s that for a comeback, huh?! Bet you didn’t see that one coming!”
The ursa indeed looked slightly shocked. It stared back at her for a moment or two as if it was wondering what the hell this puny creature was doing having a roaring contest with it. Then it opened its mouth and swallowed her whole.
“TRIX!!” Velvet yelled, now fully in her mythical transformation. “SPIT HER OUT!!”
She ran forward, the ground shaking under the weight of her paws. Her furry opponent seemed to accept her challenge and began to ran right back at her, the two ramming their heads together at full speed. Even in this form, the girl could feel the world spin as her skull was almost split apart by the sheer force of the impact. The ursa felt this as well, however. It stumbled a bit and fell on its side, while Velvet remained standing. She wanted to use a spell now, but knowing her small friend was still in there somewhere, she hesitated.
Suddenly, the creature’s stomach began to rumble and after a few seconds, a beam of purple magic pierced it form the inside. Then another. And another. Finally, a blade of magic cut it apart and Trix burst out from within its belly, completely covered in the remains of dead animals and a green goo.
“THAT DOES IT!!” she shouted as she emerged.
“You’re alright!” Velvet’s deep, dragon voice boomed.
“Of course I’m alright!” the fairy yelled as if she was insulted. “But look at this! I’m all messy and my hat is torn! You’re gonna pay for this you damn dung-eating, rotten-smelling, fairy-feasting, husband-hurting, flea-furred, oversized giga idiot!!”
She launched herself at the ursa which stumbled back to its feet, deep red blood staining the grass below it as it dripped from its cut apart belly. It roared in pain and wanted to slap the annoying insect away once more.
“Stay away so I can blast it with my magic!” the mythical creature called out to her, but Trix didn’t listen. Instead, her entire body got covered with the familiar purple magic current and to Velvet’s big surprise, she kicked the ursa’s paw away when it was about to hit her. The fairy followed up by slashing her sword at the front leg of the beast and it got cut off cleanly, landing on the ground.
Another deafening roar echoed across the forest as the injured beast wanted to turn around and run away. But the transformed witch came swooping in, picking it up and with powerful flaps of her mighty wings lifted it high above the ground before releasing it, making it hit the surface hard enough to cause a minor earthquake that shook the surrounding trees a bit.
Her dragon mouth opened and released a large burst of light that enveloped it completely, almost blinding the fairy and forcing her to look away. Velvet landed and reverted back to her human form, panting heavily. She was still not done, though.
“Ray of light, o pierce the skies, kill anyone who dare defies! Divine Judgement!”
Completing her chant, a burst of light shot downwards from above, incinerating the already unmoving ursa major and a large area around it, leaving it lying in a smoking crater.
Thank you fore reading this part of the story! I appreciate you!
[https://img.wattpad.com/0e48beeef58ef33666ad2c37a748905f77b75cf7/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6b6e3068536254496937353059673d3d2d313238393937313739362e3137326234613332393166626530383535383138333036323037392e706e67]
Did you know? Ursa hides are highly sought after among dwarven craftsmen. Because of its thickness, it is perfect for making sturdy but lightweight armor.