Ulmir’s Domain, Canyon Labyrinth, Night of the first day of the Hunt.

Zedd was watching the dark sky above him. He managed to escape the Faery plains right before it collapsed. ‘I’ve gone and destroyed the whole place,’ he thought, a wide smile on his face. ‘Utar won’t let this go. He’ll come for me soon enough.’

Zedd was lying under a tree. Its fluorescent fruits hung on all branches. ‘From here, the fruits look like the aurora I saw in the north, dancing with the stars!’ he thought, amused. Ulmir’s Domain didn’t have any real stars. The night and day cycles were artificially provoked. ‘According to Vaneel, this realm wasn’t created by Ulmir. The deception this false God had used is incredible!’

Zedd knew one thing or two about Hera’s Gods. During his childhood, he used to worship Osimir, the God of Sea. He was a fisherman, devoted to his job. At an early age, he had to work to provide for his family. His father had lost himself to ale.

The first thing he’d do after waking up was drink. He’d keep on drinking until he passed out somewhere in Yanoku’s slums. Then his younger sister would search for him in the darkest corners of the slums, drag him over to the house, bathe him then put him to sleep. Black Eyes loved his father nonetheless, but he’d grown to pity him over the years.

Zedd’s sick mother couldn’t leave her bed. His sisters were too young to work. His older brothers had abandoned them. Zedd worked hard to keep his family together. If it weren’t for Agatha’s potions, his mother would have died before he could come of age. He worked in a fishing vessel that traveled to the high seas. Remembering all that Zedd broke into unstoppable laughter.

Zedd promised to only remember the good about his family. He’d promised himself to never think of the bad.

“Look who we have here!” a voice woke Zedd from his trip to nostalgia land.

“It’s that Devil the papers talked about Vyk!” Red said.

Three men were standing over Zedd. The one on his left had a dark complexion and wore steel armor. The one the right had nothing unusual about him, except his large nose that stuck out like a sore thumb. The one in the middle had red hair and wore long dark green robe.

“Whacha doing here mister?” Nose asked.

“You like to stick your large nose into others business, doncha?” Zedd asked. He was lying on the ground, his arms crossed behind his head.

“That’s a nice sword you got there,” Vyk said. “Mind if we borrow it?”

“Vyk Rednose!” Zedd shouted. “The famous mice that hide in the sewers and feed on scraps.”

“Watch yer mouth Black Eyes!” Red warned.

“What?” Zedd asked. “You think you have the upper hand?”

Vyk unsheathed his sword and put it against Zedd’s exposed throat. “What would you call it?” he asked.

“I call it being stupid,” Zedd nonchalantly answered. “Let me ask you Vyk,” do you know where you’re standing?”

“On top of you,” Nose answered. “Ready to slit your throat if you make a move!”

“Red,” Zedd called out. “Look above you. Tell these ignorant assholes what you see.”

The man with red hair obeyed. “Vyk,” Red pulled the armored man from the shoulder. “We need to leave, now!”

“I’d listen to his advice if I were you,” Zedd urged.

“What do you see Red?” Vyk asked.

“Look and see for yourself!” Red urged.

Vyk looked up and noticed the fluorescent fruits above him. “Antenna Lure?” he mumbled. “What are they doing here?”

“I’m as baffled as you are Vyk,” Zedd answered. Vyk turned around to look at his captive then jumped backwards, the other three followed suit.

“Bouh!” Zedd shouted then started laughing. “You attack me and I release the fruits on the tree,” he announced to the trio. “Red can confirm that I’ve attached my Essence signature on the fruits. One move and they fall on your heads. You all know what will happen after that, don’t you?”

If those fluorescent fruits fell over, a giant monster would surface and swallow them all. “You’ve ruined a great sentimental thought for me!” Zedd told the three men. “You’ve made me really angry! And for what?! A fucking sword?!” Zedd shouted.

“Listen Black Eyes,” Vyk started. “We made a mistake. We’ll leave you be now. No harm done!”

“We ain’t leaving!” Nose interrupted. “He don’t want to die!”

“Wait!” Red shouted at Zedd, almost pleadingly. Then he barked at his friend: “Shut your trap you big nose!” Nose tried to argue but the leader shot him a stern look.

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Red turned towards Vyk and pulled him backwards. “Let’s go!”

“I’d listen to your friend if I were you Vyk!” Zedd said with smile.

The leader motioned with his head and the three started backing away. “It’s good to listen to your teammates’ advice,” Zedd told the retreating men. “It shows you’re a great leader.” Black Eyes smiled at them then started advancing. His movement took them aback.

“But I didn’t allow you to leave!” Zedd shouted. “You provoked me, tried to cut me open while I lay there, unarmed. You’re the scum I hate most in this world!” Zedd jumped at Nose then relieved him from his head. “Now Run!” he shouted at the other two.

Red and Vyk didn’t have to be asked twice. They ran as fast as their feet could take them, each on a different direction. “Run little mice run!” Zedd shouted at them. “If I see you again, I’ll be sure to give you my best!” Black Eyes started laughing hysterically.

After a while, Zedd willed his Fairies to disassemble. He’d been using them to create a fluorescent like fruit. This was something he thought of when he created his little creatures. His drew his inspiration from the Photons. They were little creatures that resembled fireflies. They were used to transmit live images from the contest in the Second Phase of the Hunt to Yanoku.

His reconnaissance Fairies could create glowing light around their bodies to imitate Photons in some continents, and fireflies in the others. Using that ruse, Zedd scared his attackers. ‘Who says I’m unlucky?’ he thought. ‘I was using the little ones for entertainment.’

After Vyk and Red were out of sight, Zedd sat down in a lotus position then started meditating. ‘The energy I absorbed had quickly evaporated,’ he thought as he closed his eyes. ‘If there’s a vein in here, there has to be a root. This realm isn’t very big. The root must be somewhere close.’

Zedd stabilized his breathing then started cycling his Essence through his Conduits. Essence was the energy that allowed all to live. Every planet had an Essence Core through which all energy was distributed via roots. The closer one got to the core, the bigger the roots became. Closer to the surface, the roots got smaller to form Aether Veins. The one Zedd sucked dry supplemented all Faery Plains with Essence.

Black Eyes could absorb the Essence from the vein but couldn’t make it his own. In order to do so, one needs time to assimilate it then integrate it in his own Essence flow. Zedd lacked an important feature to do so. He was incapable of assimilating Essence due to his weak soul. He’d used the vein to recover some of the damage done to it, then absorbed the rest for the fight against Vaneel, without assimilating it.

He was resting under the tree, due to exertion. If the three attacked back then, he would have no means to repel the three of them at once. He resorted to intimidation and bluffing to turn them away. He was lucky to have used his Fairies to act as an aurora.

‘Travelling to Hera was more difficult that I thought it to be,’ he thought after three hours. He finished cycling Essence through his Conduits. Without a stable Essence Flow, Zedd couldn’t use his abilities to their fullest. ‘I’ve damaged my soul trying to reach this planet.’ Zedd stood up and walked forward. He felt the wind caress his face in that dark, starry night, then dashed. Wind howled against his ears as he picked up speed. He was heading for Ulmir’s Garden. ‘Vaneel reached me very quickly’ he thought as he ran. ‘The legends say the Watchdog resides in the Garden, not in the plains.’

Something didn’t add up. Despite Vaneel’s power, he couldn’t have reached Zedd so quickly. Flying from the Garden to the Plains should’ve taken more than a few minutes. He couldn’t teleport in his first form. ‘The Watchdog must be in the Garden.’ He regretted not taking care of the imperials. But Vaneel was about to explode, he had to get away to the nearest area, the Canyons. ‘Imperials will have to wait. I’ll take care of them during the Second Phase. Alistair won’t like it. Neither will Avourel.”

Zedd crossed the Canyon that night. He was bound to reach the Garden by midday the next day. ‘I’ll have to draw the real Watchdog out! No matter the cost!’

***

In the Four Seasons, Gedel had brought his halberd down as thunder rumbled in the sky. The weapon hit the rocky ground then emitted a loud clang. “What?” Kandisha was perplexed. Cane was pulled to the side by an unknown pulling force. “You have familiars?!” the woman exclaimed.

Cane was as surprised as the woman. “What?” he said.

“What do you mean what?” Kandisha shouted back. “Are you playing dumb boy?” The woman raised her hand then Gedel chased after the disoriented Cane. He tried to raise his sword to block the attack but his reaction time was slow. Before the halberd split his head open, Gedel was pulled back then fell to the ground.

That was like a wake-up call for Cane. The big bear stood then dashed towards the masked woman. He thrust his sword at her chest but Kandisha repelled it with her daggers. Cane swung his sword, aiming for her neck, but the woman repelled the attack once more. ‘She’s stronger than I thought.’

Cane was forced into a face-off. One of them was bound to make the first move. That move would decide the outcome of the battle. Each of them covered their weaknesses pretty well. In two seconds, each one decided on their course of action.

Gedel’s body was struggling against the Fairies that kept him on the ground. Zedd had ordered some of his support Fairies to tail Cane and provide him with help. He wasn’t willing to lose a skilled fighter during the Hunt. In fact, he wanted him to get stronger, by meeting stronger opponents and dangerous beasts. But he didn’t wish for him to die. For that he’d equipped him well and kept watchful eyes on him.

Kandisha was the first to move. She went for the big bear’s ribs. She noticed that the man didn’t protect that area very well. She was right. Cane relied on fast, well placed and timed attacks. If one got in his range, he’d engage them with a flurry of attacks to force a mistake then punish them for it.

If someone were to counter his attacks, forced him to think before he moved, he’d be the one making a fatal mistake. Kandisha was going for that mistake. Cane was taken aback, but was saved once more by Zedd’s equipment. The big bear knew the situation was dire.

He activated the lightning element on the sword. What Zedd hadn’t told him was that the sword had another feature. In order to protect the wielder from friendly fire, the sword was made to sense and detect its owner’s Essence print. By offering the sword to Cane, he became its owner.

Once the lightning element activated, the sword moved on its own. It struck Kandisha with a lightning bolt to the neck, stopping her inches from Cane. The masked woman was electrocuted. Holes appeared on all her body. Then she fell to the ground. The Fairies released their hold on Gedel’s corpse then flew towards Cane.

The big bear was writhing on the ground. The electroshock hit indiscriminately. Cane wasn’t the sword’s rightful owner after all. He was affected by the attack, albeit not in the same intensity as Kandisha. Zedd, the novice smith, omitted the detail concerning Essence print. When the Fairies relayed the message to him, Black Eyes was baffled.

‘Tsk!’ a voice inside his head told him.