Clanging his spear on his shield, Thomas bolstered his morale before rushing the reindeer. His movements were fluid as he thrust his spear, adding some torsion to the blow to increase its power.
Flapping her wings, Udra sent away the bubbles containing Alexander and Pengu before galloping to meet Thomas’ advance. Once she was close enough, Udra reared, gathering blue flames around her hooves. Aiming to squash Thomas’ offense, she slammed down causing the tip of the spear to be knocked into the ground.
A translucent vapor rose as a result of their clash, joined by the sound of crackling glass. The subzero temperatures of the layer of ice on the spear underwent sublimation constantly under the merciless assault of the fire, but Udra paid a heavy price for her early strike. The hoof that had directly struck Thomas’ spear was now frozen all the way to the knee joint leaving her left leg to burn alone.
Thomas felt a stinging pain on his wrist but chose to ignore it as he sought to strike the reindeer’s head with his shield. He was unwilling to let go of such an early advantage, realizing with Udra’s right leg frozen she would have no way to mount a defense.
Anxiously bringing up a tardy barrier, Udra summoned wind to cushion the blow, but the left hook was far too heavy. The reindeer sprang a cloud of dust as she rolled away, knocked several tens of feet away.
Dashing towards the collapsed reindeer, Thomas threw out a splash of water which he commanded to rise into a staircase of ice. Leaping from the top of the stairs, he concentrated a yellow color on his shield before batting it down with his spear.
Before the deadly attack could eviscerate the downed reindeer, a talon of flame and wind mana rose to stop the shield’s fall. Forming the arm of the talon, a column of fire funneled mana into the claw and solidified it just enough to bring the rocketing shield to a standstill. With a large explosion, the flames of the makeshift claw spread out like spirits escaping a jail. Thomas resorted to spinning his spear before him to create a faux barrier of ice which worked perfectly to defend him, but the same could not be said of the forest. Looking around expecting to find the beginnings of a forest fire, Thomas was surprised to find the flora remained the same. Not a single tree had gone aflame. In fact, the vegetation seemed to be thriving from the influx of fire mana, sending the temperature into what Thomas could only guess to be about 40 degrees Celsius.
A few feet over, the shield crumbled lifelessly to the ground as the talon diffused, finding a home beneath Udra’s hoof. Slowly, the shield melted away under the constant heat of the surroundings, but it returned to Thomas’ arm as the puddle of water jetted back and reformed. Staring down at the artifact, Thomas was surprised. That’s some incredible firepower. I didn’t expect to do so much damage, but damn, it syphoned out my mana back there! I was just meaning to put in a bit of yellow to spice things up, not a quarter of my whole tank. Even reforming this thing costs so much more. It’s a treasure, but it has its drawbacks for sure.
Drawing his attention back to the battle, Udra emerged fully out of the flames looking like an angel of war. Fire hugged at the reindeer’s body, forming a natural armor, and her wings were embroidered in the daunting winds of a storm. Without further a due, Udra charged forwards, but this time there was no thudding in the ground from the advance of the war beast. Instead, her hooves and talons stepped only on the wind. Treading on road created by her wind mana, Udra flew directly above Thomas before propelling into the clouds.
Squinting his eyes, Thomas was just able to make out the winged reindeer’s figure in the skies. Heh. She’s copying the trajectory of my shield throw. Well, this is as good a time as any to test out the spear then. Taking a deep breath, Thomas traced the ground with his foot before positioning himself. Shoulders apart and hands at the ready, he focused entirely on his sight as he laid a predatory gaze on the falling Udra.
Licking his lips in excitement, Thomas counted down in his head. At the optimal time, he sprang forward, bending his knees and pulling his right shoulder back before piercing into the sky. Udra, on her end, drilled down in the form of a flaming tornado. Both attacks had the ferocity of a natural disaster, yet they were not destined to meet. A blurry shadow flew through the forest at breakneck speeds, putting Thomas and Udra to shame, and stopped both attacks.
A tremble reverberated down from his spear to every end of his body, sending Thomas into a world of pain. It felt like he had struck a mountain; his spear had no hope of piercing the aegis before him. Udra’s spin was likewise ended abruptly, and the fire and wind that had so viciously sought to destroy Thomas veered meekly into the black cocoon separating the two foes.
Sleek black winds careened through the forest, draining away Udra’s attack. As they slowly dispersed, Thomas was able to get a better look at what had stopped his attack. An onyx-colored talon gripped the head of the spear with claws between the blades. Black feathers continued up a sculpted and muscular leg eventually morphing into a dark-gray tuft of fur. A hue of emerald tinted the underbelly and wings of the creature, while a black and ghastly flame crowned its antlers.
“You guys are certainly trying to destroy my forest, aren’t you.” A cold, raspy voice emanated from the winged reindeer. Looking up at Udra, he spoke. “I thought I said to be a wizened mentor, Udra. You need to be tactful to lead others through the path of battle, but all I can see here is you fighting a challenger at your full power. Is that conducive to learning or the actions of a hot-blooded youth?”
Udra’s trembled as she did her best to maintain some semblance of elegance as she glided to the ground. The reproach of the black reindeer was met only with the meek tone of child who has been caught doing wrong. “I-I apologize, Lord Edro. After fighting with the first two challengers for such an extended time, I didn’t expect the third one to be so powerful. I reacted rashly and released power that would have surely brought injury to our guest.” She lifted her head ever so slightly to peak at Edro but quickly brought it down again after seeing his stern gaze. “There is no excuse for my actions, though. This one will visit the mind waterfall to think over her wrongdoings.”
She backed away reverently for a dozen steps before turning around and bolting. Watching the powerful foe he had just been locked in combat with flee, Thomas was dumbfounded. “Uhh, I’m not quite sure what just happened, but thank you for intervening, sir. I am pretty sure I would have been fine, though, but more importantly, are my friends okay?”
Edro stifled a sigh as he observed Udra unceremoniously run away. “Can you believe that’s my successor? She’s running away from her punishment! Back in my day, I would have waited in a full bow until the old clan leader decided to administer a punishment. Maybe I’m too lax with her.”
“Hello? Maybe this whole generational gap thing can wait a second. I’m more concerned about my friends.” Pointing at the figures of Alexander and Pengu, Thomas walked over and attempted to imitate Alexander when he checked vitals on patients.
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Floating over to the group, Edro placed his two hooves on Alexander and Pengu’s chests as he began to inject them with mana. “They are totally fine. They just experienced a rapid withdrawal of mana along with the hunger and tiredness of several months all at once. Nothing some rest and mana won’t fix.”
Smiling in relief, the situation dawned on Thomas. “So then… we did it? We actually passed all the challenges!”
Edro tossed the spear to the ground. “Congratulations to the lot of you. The difficult is now behind us, and you can bask in Nidra’s rewards once they have been prepared.” Pausing slightly, Edro flapped his wings which caused air bubbles to form around Alexander and Pengu again. “Come with me. I have just been informed I must attend a meeting soon, but I’ll take you to a resting area where your friends can recover first. There’re a couple things we should talk about before I leave anyway.”
Jogging to catch up with Edro, Thomas spoke excitedly. “Is it about the gifts? I am pretty open-minded, but I would prefer the highest quality possible. I’m sure King Nidra will know best, though.”
“It’s not about the reward.” A cold silence descended as Edro continued trotting through the forest. He soon reached a forest clearing where he stood near a gift box. “Do you know who you are traveling with?”
Stumped by the question, Thomas scrounged up his eyebrows. “You’re the Reindeer Saint, no?”
“Not me. The man. Do you know the man, well?”
“Alexander? Of course I know him! We’ve only known each other for about a month, but we are like long lost brothers who finally found each other! Why do you ask?”
Edro nodded his head several times before an air bubble surrounded the gift box on the floor. “Earlier this week, I voted to kill your supposed brother in arms.”
Thomas’ temper threatened to explode. “You did what?!”
“It was not out of malice or any evil intentions towards your group. I merely acted on what I believed to be the clan and our island’s best interests.” Edro waited as Thomas calmed down. “There’s been a prophecy about your friend, you see. One that seeks to derail the course of your human war. Not only that, the prophecy promises to bring our land into the fray as well. I’d imagine you as a prince of Tlaloc can sympathize with me when I say I voted with the interests of my people at heart.” Edro walked into the forest without waiting for Thomas’ response.
Catching up to the reindeer again, Thomas voiced his concerns. “That still doesn’t explain why you would even consider murdering Alexander as the solution, and what’s this about a prophecy? We are aligned with the Thoth clan. If there was a prophecy as grand as that, it would be known to me already.”
“But you have been in Kedra for a month now, and we have known of this future for only a few days. You are much too young to know about the Dragon Hunts, but we were met with a prophecy such as this one back then. The Turtle clan is home to experts equal in quality to the clairvoyants at Thoth, and it was them who informed us of the new prophecy now as they did all those decades ago. Last time, the prophecy foretold of an inevitable apocalypse approaching our people. King Nidra and Queen Xenia would face certain death, both fuel for the Hunter’s eternal quest for the perfect bloodline.” Edro paused as powerful emotions overtook him.
He regathered himself for a few seconds before continuing. “My people were distraught. The few years we had existed as a kingdom were rocky: filled with bloodshed and loss, but they also gave us a community to rely on. As lone clans we were hunted as prizes, but as a kingdom, we became the nightmare of the Hunters. To lose our leaders so soon spelled disaster, but Nidra and Xenia never let fate dictate their decisions. They adamantly went against the prophecy, choosing to face the unknown. Despite the loss of our beloved queen, our conclusion was leagues better than anything the prophecies had ever stated, and when I voted to have Alexander killed, I did so in an attempt to replicate our previous success. That is not to pass, however; the king in all his wisdom has chosen a different approach this time.”
Edro’s voice grew louder and louder as he became more determined. “I obeyed his commands and proceeded to gather as much intelligence about the situation as I could. We never really concerned ourselves with the human war, so it wasn’t until I intentionally looked that I found the dastardly happenings we had been avoiding all these years.” Edro shut his eyes as if reliving whatever he had witnessed. “I wanted to be upfront with you. The Reindeer clan embodies honesty, and I wanted to be sure you knew my position. There is no enmity between us, at least from my end. I am loyal to the king and will aid you from this point on in any way necessary. We will be allies from here forth.”
Thomas pondered Edro’s words silently before smiling. “I do admit I was taken aback when I heard you voted to have Alexander killed, but you guys have done everything to show how trustworthy you are. I mean you’ve helped me and undoubtedly them become so much stronger, but I must ask you. What is the prophecy exactly?”
“That is for the king himself to tell your group.”
The group walked a short distance more before thousands of mounds of dirt became visible between the trees. A soft glow was visible through fixed holes on the ground giving the appearance of underground torches. Reindeers of all age groups flew between the trees, allowing Thomas to understand this was their home.
“We prefer the warmth of the underground, so the Polar Bear tribe built us these to live in. You’ll find all the basic necessities underground. As for which are available, look for any unlit mounds.” Edro gently placed down everything he was carrying and flew away.
Bending down to make sure Alexander and Pengu were okay, Thomas spoke at no one in particular. “What a crazy turn of events. I guess tomorrow is gonna be an exciting day. Well, better find a place to sleep then.”
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An hour later, Edra stood on his hind legs before Nidra’s lake. “The challengers have completed the third trial, and I have gathered the intelligence as you requested, my king.”
Popping out of the surface of the water, Nidra was considerably smaller than usual. He spoke in a slow and tired voice. “Good. Very good. Any updates on your visions, Dartuga?”
Floating in the water, Dartuga seemed to have been awaiting her turn to speak. “Yes, my king. The vision has progressed ever since Alexander completed the third trial. I see glimpses of possibilities. It’s chaotic, but I see the brunt of our forces locked in battle with those wretched 12 Divine Clans as they call themselves.”
“That was to be expected. They are greedy fools after our bodies.”
“I saw a silver haired Water Elementalist leading a charge against us.”
Edro chimed in. “That would be the Saint of the Deep. She recently betrayed the king of Tlaloc leading to tremendous damages in Radhi. A formidable foe, that one. I do believe her tier matches your own, my king.”
“Bah, at our stage it is not tier alone that determines the victor of a battle. Dragons do not lose, but it is interesting to hear of Elementalists siding with the Hunters. Is this the potential third force in the war?”
“My information points to that, yes.” Edro nodded.
Quietly, Dartuga added another sentence. “…I saw the Soul clan.”
A rush of wrath, melancholy, and sorrow flooded the cave. “DO NOT SAY THOSE WORDS IN MY PRESENCE.”
“My king! It is vital information. Please!” Cosmo shouted, hoping his words could reach Nidra.
Slowly, the aura retreated back into Nidra, but the heavy feeling of sorrow remained in the air. “Forgive me, Dartuga. A slip up on my end.”
“There is no apology needed, my king. I saw… those hunters. Like I said, the visions were chaotic, but we will be meeting them sooner rather than later.”
Nidra’s growl echoed through the cave. “We are preparing for war. If they are the enemy we must bury, then there will be no complaint on my end.” Rising out of the water, his scales were still blue, but they had lost some of their luster. “Take out the treasures as I had commanded before, Cosmo. I think we are ready to finally speak to the man in question. Dartuga, bring Alexander to me at the crack of dawn.”