Chapter 45:

Dorea crashed through the forest with all the rage of a Therium mother looking for her child.

She pushed into the depths, uncaring of the noise she was making and what it would call to her.

Only once she finally reached a clearing far enough from the usual patrol routes, she let go of Air Boost.

She screamed herself hoarse, tears falling in heavy, salty droplets.

Vaguely, she was aware that her reaction was disproportionate to what she had just experienced, but she was too far into her emotion’s grip to care.

Whatever the correct response for a stupid argument with a friend was, she had gone far past it.

The winds whipped around her uncontrollably as her mana leaked in angry, disrupting waves. Arcs of electricity charred the surrounding ground, striking on beat with her screams.

Dorea sat at the center of the miniature storm, feeling betrayed, sad, and most of all, an animalistic rage that felt like it had no end.

Most of the forest residents knew to avoid such displays of power, and so birds flew away, just as squirrels jumped from tree to tree with their mouths full as they attempted to save their stocks.

Her tantrum was stopped when she felt a roar shake her bones. The ground trembled at its power, and what had once been a local evacuation became a general one.

The forest came alive as everything that could try to run, did.

Dorea had a moment of realization, where she understood that she had strayed too far into dangerous territory, before the thing that produced the deafening roar showed itself.

It was a gigantic bear, taller than some of the younger trees. Its steps shook the ground as it lumbered in her direction.

Dorea sat in silence, paralyzed in fear.

All the animalistic rage that had filled her had fled in the face of what she knew had to be Old Titan.

The monster gave one last roar, powerful enough to send her hair flying even from where she was fifty feet away. It dropped down on all four, causing further shakes, and slowly approached her.

It sniffed the air, curiously looking at the destroyed clearing.

She had evidently strayed too far east rather than turning north as she usually did when going on her hunts, and in her emotional state, she hadn’t realized where she had ended up.

But now it’s too late. Can’t do anything about it. Can’t even fight it, really.

Mana wasn’t easy to perceive in another being, especially if that being was of a different element. However, the sheer power radiating from the bear was enough to put to rest any hope she might have had of running away or even putting up a fight.

The thing wasn’t even doing anything, but she could easily tell that it was a Master level creature. On the upper side of the scale, even.

Generally, people didn’t go around broadcasting their signature like it was currently doing, but it was possible that it saw no need to avoid it.

Not only was Old Titan the most powerful beast of the forest, as far as she knew, but it had not faced a significant challenge since the days of her grandmother.

Nobody, in more than a decade, had dared try their luck.

It was possible that a few of the newer enhanced beasts, especially those crazed by the power received from the storm, had attacked it, but they were no real threat.

Unfortunately, from her, she posed no threat either.

Dorea could feel it in her bones. If she moved the wrong way, if she so much as attempted to call upon her mana, she’d die before she could realize it.

Through hard work, luck, and weird mutations, she had scaled the power rankings of Whitecliff, ending up close to the top. She had reached Journeyman level after managing to cast two spells of entirely different branches.

That was nothing compared to what was in front of her.

The great muddy-brown bear lumbered slowly, without a care in the world. The ground beneath its feet shifted minutely every time it was about to step on it, condensing to a level of hardness that allowed it to walk without sinking into it.

Such a level of mastery would have already been impressive, but she could tell it was doing it without paying attention. It was an unconscious act. Old Titan had such control over the earth that it bent to its whims before it could even form them.

To her senses, it was difficult to tell where the bear ended and the earth began. It was like a sentient bit of the ground, a living embodiment.

It finally stopped in front of her.

Its face was larger than her two arms spread open, and its eye was as wide as her hand. It sniffed at her curiously, starting from her hair and slowly descending.

She could sense saliva pouring out of its mouth as it evidently anticipated a tasty snack.

Abruptly, it stopped when it reached just below her neck. There, it pressed its nose to her shirt and inhaled deeply, letting out a low sound.

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Whatever it had found, and Dorea had a strong suspicion as to what it might have been, it made the bear back off.

The girl was shocked when a rough tongue the size of her torso licked her face from top to bottom, leaving her drenched in smelly saliva.

Somehow, that ended up being all that happened. The bear retreated at its usual slow pace, casually swiping its paw at a tree in its way and pulping its trunk, sending it crashing down the side.

Dorea watched it all happen with a mystified expression, her heart beating a thousand beats per second as she tried to find the logic in what had just happened.

Still, she dared not move until the monster was out of her sensing range.

Even then, she slowly got up, not using any magic whatsoever, and walked off in the village’s direction, carefully stepping around anything that might make too much noise.

Her pace started slowly increasing as she got further away from the clearing, until she was running at full speed.

A few minutes later, her brain started functioning again enough to remember that she was a mage, and she spun up Air Boost.

Dorea passed through the vegetation at speeds she had not been able to touch yet, desperately wanting to put as much ground between her and the thing that could have ended her life as easily as she could an ant’s.

No matter how much she had grown, the only thing that had saved her life there had been the pendant on her neck.

Thank you, Grandma. Thank you.

She didn’t know if it had activated its powers and made the monster lose interest or if it had recognized the magic within and decided she was a friend, but whatever happened had nothing to do with her.

The power she had felt back there had been crushing. So much so that any thought of resistance had immediately fled her mind.

She had been faced with a superior existence, and nothing she might have attempted would have mattered.

Dorea had known, since that first mission to the Heidels, that there were greater powers out there. People with enough mana in them to turn Whitecliff into rubble.

But what she had just witnessed was beyond that. The sheer weight of the bear’s existence had been too much for her. A primal instinct she didn’t know she had, had screamed to her that her fate was not up to her anymore.

She never wanted to experience anything of the sort ever again.

Whatever little problems might have bothered her before suddenly didn’t matter at all. She had just been faced with the most threatening being she had ever met, and until the last moment, it had evidently thought of her as a snack.

Her thoughts kept running in circles for a while as she slowly came down from the state of terror she had just experienced.

Eventually, she reached the village’s outer wall and stopped after an air platform-assisted jump.

Her active magic released, Dorea laid down against the wall, taking in large breaths of air. Her eyes gazed into the blue sky, and she focused on the clouds, trying to discern shapes like she did when she was little and wanted to take her mind off things.

It took a while, but eventually, it worked, and she finally came down from her state of agitation.

She realized she had gone into full flight mode, as her mind couldn’t comprehend what she had faced. Or rather, she knew all too well that she had no agency in such a situation and checked out.

Now that she was back, she realized her behavior had not been particularly smart. Not only had she allowed her anger at Beth to cloud her mind enough to end up in Old Titan’s territory, but the moment she realized it, she should have sprinted as far away as possible.

She had been very lucky that, once again, her pendant had saved her life. But she couldn’t rely on that to work every time.

Her hand unconsciously grabbed it, taking it out of her shirt.

It was such a simple thing. Her grandmother might have even gotten it from a caravan, but whatever ritual she had carried out to imbue it with such powers, she had made it into a priceless artifact.

Its polished silvery appearance told her that it likely came from a metal mage, who could churn out such things quickly and sell them in bulk to a passing merchant, earning themselves a quick buck for something that would take a non-magical artisan quite a few hours of work.

Whatever its origins, Dorea knew that she’d forever be grateful for it. There was no doubt in her mind that without it, she’d have become bear chow.

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She ended up staying there for a few hours, just relaxing, but eventually, she mustered the strength to get up and go back home.

Her rumbling stomach also alerted her that she had missed lunch, and since her breakfast had just been a baked potato with some cheese, she suddenly felt ravenous.

Surviving certain death made you hungry; who knew.

Despite her body doing its best to hurry her along, Dorea took her time. She breathed in the fresh air, happy to just be alive.

Her hands trailed the stalks of golden wheat as she walked through the fields, and she allowed the breeze to ruffle her hair.

At times, she realized being a mage isolated you from the world. You started to control so much of it that you thought yourself above it.

It’s a good reminder. Not only am I not above nature, but I’m also very much a part of it. And I should partake in it as much as possible.

Once she finally saw her family’s ranch, she realized she had been smiling for a while. The change in perspective had been pricy, but she had needed it.

Dorea had spent so long thinking of herself as a vital resource for Whitecliff and even the entire alliance - and her successes had only confirmed her feelings - that she had forgotten how easy it was for one’s life to be snuffed.

Her parents had tried to tell her that several times.

They had attempted to ensure she wouldn’t take on too many responsibilities she was simply not ready for, but she had stubbornly decided that only she could do it.

Now she realized how foolish that had been. Her role in the council was not a relevant one. She was there only as a possible future member, because Voggo believed it was essential to show the next generation of mages that they were involved in the decision-making, to prevent anyone from getting ideas.

Dorea sensed her father putting together a small spread of cold cuts and cheeses he’d make in his spare time. He’d usually only do so the few times he didn’t have much work to do, but ever since he had hired the new laborers, his days had been freer, and he had started dedicating himself more to perfecting his craft.

She didn’t really understand his fascination with the differences in aging and mix-ins, but so far, he had managed to put a few decent ones on the table.

During her childhood, fresh cheeses had been a staple, and at times they had even sold them to their neighbors or bartered them for other supplies, but it seemed that Dodro had decided to try his hand at a more serious effort.

It was nice, in a way, that he finally had the time to explore such fancies. The man had always worked himself to the bone to ensure they had everything they could possibly want, and while they certainly hadn’t been as well off as some others, they had lacked nothing.

Lia, her little sister, was hanging outside with the anoas, apparently trying and failing to ride Bebe.

Luckily for her, the alpha was very patient and wouldn’t hurt her, but Dorea made a note to tell her to try her luck with Mimi. The electric buffalo might be smaller, but he was still strong enough to carry her and was much more likely to accept being treated as a mount.

Her mother was in the back, taking in the dried clothes after the sun had done its job.

She still felt disconnected from how peaceful life was within Whitecliff’s walls and how violent it could be outside, but she was over most of it.

Not wanting to be seen in her tattered appearance, Dorea created a few platforms of solid air to get to her room without going in from the front door, thus avoiding her father.

With a simple bit of further manipulation, she opened the wooden handle of her sunblinds and got in.

She quickly changed herself and conjured some fresh water to splash on her face, to remove any trace of her earlier turmoil.

Walking down the stairs, she used her powers to prevent any sound from escaping, and when she had gotten close enough to her father, she yelled “Aaaa!”

He jumped with a shriek, dropping a quarter wheel of cheese on the counter and grabbing his heart in fright.

Bright laughter resounded through the kitchen as Dorea held her stomach as she rolled on the ground.

The back door was then opened forcefully as Lilian entered to check on the noise, but she immediately relaxed when she saw the state her eldest was in.

“Don’t do that!” shouted Dodro, sounding as if his heart was in his throat.

Dorea just kept chuckling, soon joined by her mother, who did her best to smother her hilarity.

“I see how it is. Just gang up on the only man in the house, why don’t you?” he complained fruitlessly, only managing to make them laugh more.

The sound of small feet running alerted them that the last member of the family had heard the noise. The girl entered from the same back door but was quickly joined by Mimi.

That sent another bout of mirth through the kitchen, especially when she realized she had been followed and tried to push the anoa outside, to little success.

Taking pity on the girl, Dorea got up and waved her hand at the animal, lifting it into the air and taking it back outside, where he was joined by Bebe, who bleated angrily.

Shaking her head at their antics, Lilian joined Dodro in finishing up the dinner preparations, not before one last quip “Since you had so much fun with your magic, little Dory, maybe you can use it to clean up your sister and the mess she made.”

Rather than take it as a punishment, Dorea’s face took on an evil cast. Quickly noticing that, Lia tried to escape outside, but was stopped by a watery ring that formed around her.

It started spinning, cleaning off the muck she was caked in from the time she spent in the anoa enclosure, but also making her sputter from all the splashes that ended in her face.

She held it until she was sure the little girl was immaculate before throwing it outside. Then, she conjured another batch to clean the floor, but this time, she somehow did so in far less time.

Fending off annoyed attempts at slapping her body from Lia with laughter, Dorea started setting the table and, after a sigh of defeat, was joined by her sister.

In short order, the family had dinner ready, and they all sat to enjoy it.

Spring was coming to an end, and that meant that the sun stayed up much longer, granting them the chance to eat with natural light.

They passed around the cheeses and cold cuts, enjoying the addition of a few pickled onions and cucumbers they had gotten from their neighbors in exchange for some cheese.

“I was wondering if you could tell me more about grandma.” Dorea asked once they finished the cleanup.

The two parents shared a long look over the table, seemingly having an entire conversation.

“What exactly did you want to know?” Dodro queried.

Even as he did so, Lilian dragged Lia to bed, much to her protest. The woman was undaunted, however, and brooked no complaint.

The man gestured to the living room, where he used to tell her stories before bed on stormy nights.

“Tell me about her powers.”