A massive crescent of blood sliced through the air. Cutting apart everything it hit without slowing down. Rosalind slammed her staff against the ground and 30 spears flew up and out of the ground. Their shafts were made of vibrant green thorny vines and their heads were rose buds. The moment before they hit the blood crescent the rose buds bloomed. The two forces collide blood draining into the flowers and the flowers withering away. In the end the spears barely came out ahead with one of them surviving and flying off into the distance.
Four men flew in radiating an aura that made Rosalind feel as if bloody spears of bone were being pointed at her. In the center of the four men was a fifth with massive amounts of wind mana and aether whirling around him.
One of the four men stepped forward. “You’ve finally stopped running.” The man said with a smile crossing his lips. “You surrendering yourself wont stop us from hunting down and killing that child of yours. Thoug-”
“Desmond has always been an arrogant bastard. It's no surprise that his lap dogs aren't any better.” Rosalind said, cutting the man off.
“Why yo-”” he started to respond but Rosalind was done entertaining him.
“Crimson thorns.” Rosalind said as she gestured with her staff causing 30 spears to shoot out at all 5 of the men.
The four men in front reached behind themselves grabbing the long metal spear on their back. Their auras began to collapse and fold into their spears. The metal taking on a pale bone like sheen. Together they swung, acting more like one being rather than 4 separate people. The spears clashed in an explosion of wood and bone.
Rosalind gestured with her free hand. The root wolf took a single step forward. As it did, roots shot out of its foot into the ground. The roots shot up spearing into and through the five men killing them instantly.
“Mother Nature accept my sacrifices. Take their remains and nourish the forest after this battle.” Mana and aether were infused in her words. Causing them to carry a weight that pulled at the world itself. The bodies started to rapidly decay leaving nothing behind.
Rosalind walked over the owl and cupped its head in her hands. It leaned its head in. Their foreheads met as power pulsated out of her. “Watcher in the night take this blessing.” Rose covered vines extended out of her palms and wrapped around the owl forming a cacoon. “May your wings cut through the air. Your flight never faltering.” Wings burst out of the vines. They were formed from ragged and serrated leaves instead of feathers. “May your talons never allow your prey to escape.” Talons burst through the bottom covered in rose like thorns. “May your eyes never overlook your prey and your beak always catch that which you wish.” The final vines fell away to show the owls head framed by rose petals and its beak that of a rose bud.
Rosalind stepped onto the back of the owl. As she did, vines spread out from her palm wrapping around her other guardians. The owl flapped its wings shooting into the sky. More vines extended out from Rosalind's back before infusing themselves into the massive canopy above her. The canopy grew larger and larger. The aroma of the flower expanded and Rosalind could feel its magic burrowing into her. The vines wrapped around her guardians retreated leaving all of them slightly altered. Their appearances now held aspects of a rose in one way or another.
A massive shield formed of bark and wood appeared in front of her supported by one of her human guardians. It intercepted a spear made of bone and blood.
“I knew those weaklings wouldn’t be able to defeat you but I expected them to last a little longer than that.” A voice that Rosalind knew quite well said. Looking over she saw Sigorath standing in the air. He was a tall thin man with pale sickly skin. To his right was an average looking man with black fur covering his body, 2 large bat-like ears sticking out of his head and large bat wings behind him. To Sigoraths left was a tall handsome man with long ice blue hair and a sword in hand. Spread out around the 3 men was around 30 more people each in squads of 5 set up like the ones she had just killed.
“Desmond can not allow anyone who can challenge him for the throne remain. So you and that mongrel child of yours will have to die.” As Sigorath finished speaking he raised his arms up above him. Small iridescent strings started to weave itself into a large runic circle.
With a single mental command her guardians charged forward. Rosalind couldn’t allow that spider to finish his rune circle no matter the cost.
They charged forward wooden feet and pawns thundering over the ground. Spells of blood and bone rained down hitting them. Each spell chipping away at their natural armor. As they were damaged aether from the massive flower hanging above them began to gather around them. It slowly seeped into and healed her guardians.
The wolf made of roots jumped forward in front of the others. The roots composing its body shot down and into the earth rooting it in place. An echoing screech tore through the battlefield physical sound waves that were moving towards the root wolf. Wood and bark splintered off of two massive shields that the humanoids had placed in front of the root wolf.
Thorny roots burst up out of the ground below the oncoming force. They were fairly fast, able to quickly get to the men and tough enough to take some hits but it still didn’t take long to tear them apart. Though killing wasn’t their purpose. They were to distract and buy time. Razor sharp jagged leaves that used to make up the leaf wolf’s hide tore through the air slicing into the distracted force.
The wooden wolf and the 2 gigantic wooden men charged in their massive jagged edged wooden swords and wooden fangs ready to tear anything apart.
The 3 of them ran in swords slashing, shields bashing and blocking, fangs biting and claws tearing. Despite their attacks only one man fell. It did actually surprise Rosalind that one man fell. Though she wasn’t surprised that it was only one man. These were some of the most well trained soldiers in the empire; it was astonishing that one of them fell so easily.
Rosalind gestured and vines began to rapidly grow out of her before breaking apart into more rose bud tipped spears. The spears began to gather above as her guardians fought. As they gathered she watched Sigorath. Trying to make out what kind of spell the spider was weaving.
Attacks composed of blood and bone along with a few other elements rained down on Rosalind's guardians. Cracks started forming in their bodies but each was quickly healed up by the massive flower hanging above.
Two squads moved forward. Each composed of 4 spear wielders and one wind user that was keeping them in the air. They moved forward hovering 6 or so feet off the ground. Defending against razor sharp leaves, roots, swords and claws. They fought their way into the area controlled by her canopy and then frozen. Their expressions were listless and devoid of all emotion. They moved towards the flower hanging above as if in a trance.
Rosalind smirked before turning her attention back to Sigorath and his force. She swept her hand to the side and hundreds of spears were launched through the air. Rosalind looked up and could see that Sigorath’s spell circle was a bit more than halfway done. As she looked at it her eyes caught on an inordinately complex set of runes.
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Rosalind felt her blood freeze as she saw them. Her eyes darted around putting together the runes she could recognize. She never had been an expert but her position had demanded a higher than normal understanding of them and if she was not mistaken this would be really bad.
She felt the moment when the 10 men died but ignored it as her eyes locked on Sigorath’s. A smile spread across his lips as he realized that she knew what he was doing.
“Yes.” He said his voice coming out in a low hiss. “I am going to cast that spell and there’s no way you can stop me. You and the thing you call a child will not be able to escape me.”
Rosalind felt the aether and prawna gathering together into a swirling mass in her pools. It was ready to follow her command. To be released in a devastating attack. An attack that would leave a scar big enough to affect the aura of the world.
“The eternal wheel of time and seasons. Constantly turning. The world constantly changing. Life constantly moving forward. When the great trees die. Space is provided for new ones to grow and their bodies provide nutrients. All death leads to life. When the wolf pack hunts they kill to eat and sustain themselves. All life leads to death.” As Rosalind spoke the rose buds in her hair started to bloom and her hair took on a vibrant emerald color. “Your time has come. Your lives shall end.” The roses in her hair started to wither and die. Her hair became brittle and started to fall apart. The staff in her hand fell apart becoming a withered and dry husk of its former self. Only fragmented sticks left in Rosalind’s hand. “I bring about the falling of your leaves. The shedding of fur. The migration of creatures. The withering of plants. And the biting chill of on coming winter and death. I set the wheels to their final cycles. The clock on your life rings its final toll.” Rosalind’s guardians began to wither and dry up. Yet they lost no power. Instead their strength grew. The leaves of the canopy above turned yellow, orange and red. The large flower withered and petals started to fall off. The flower stopped radiating unending and littitless life that healed Rosalind and her guardians. Instead it spread death and decay. Everything started to wither and die. Becoming nutrients and power for Rosalind.
“DON’T LET HER CONTINUE! KILL HER NOW!” Sigorath roared, his voice filled with fear.
“Your lives are forfeit. The farmer shall reap your lives using them to sustain the next generation. You shall become my nutrients. Sustaining me as I wipe you off the aura of this planet. Nature's paradox.” Rosalind’s hair seemed to faintly shimmer emerald green as the phantom image of a rose appeared around her. One side of the rose was vibrant and filled with life. The other was withered and dead. Its petals drooping, leaves falling off. As they watched it slowly shifted. The living side started to wither and die. While the dead side started to grow and be filled with vibrant life.
A wave of sonic power slammed into the flower rocking it back and forth. As the wave hit it, prawna from the dead side seeped out and destroyed the wave. Then the remnants of the attack seeped into the living side. Strengthening it as a whole.
Rosalind looked over at the enemy and saw the 4 remaining squads charging at her guardians. Behind them a large phantom bat could be seen enveloping the beast folk. Where the man's bat-like wings jutted out of his back the bat phantom's wings superimposed over his. The phantom's ears aligned with the man's ears and patches its fur with his.
A massive screech bust out of his mouth tearing apart the forest in between them. As the beast folk flew forward charging Rosalind.
Rosalind swept her hand up causing a cluttered mass of nature to follow it. Trees intertwined with vines and bushes rose up to shield her. The bat flew straight into them. Tearing them apart with fangs and sonic attacks.
Rosalind gestred again and hundreds of spears shot out. Before they could hit the best folk they all froze and then shattered. The ice blue haired man stood in front of her sword in hand.
The man looked her over before speaking. “You know if yo-”
He was cut off as Rosalind moved. She tapped the bottom of her staff onto the owl. Causing it to fly forward before Rosalind jumped off of it straight at them man. 10s of vines grew out of her palms each flying towards the ice blue haired man. Ice aether moved out of him freezing and then shattering the vines.
The beast man slammed into the massive rose sound waves slamming into it over and over trying to destroy it. The other man slashed out at Rosalind with his sword. Ice prawna exited before solidifying into a massive iceberg that slammed down into the rose.
The 2 men attacked again and again slowly trying to chip away at the flower but Rosalind moved forward. Never stopping. Ever trying to reach Sigorath. Thorny vines constantly whipped out at them trying to hold them off. The owl circled above diving down to attack whenever it saw an opening.
Rosalind’s guardians finished off the last of the men that had been harassing them. They moved in to attack Sigorath, ready to finish him off.
Sigorath did not look in the least bit worried about the bulk of his forces being killed off. Instead he simply smiled. Sigorath curled his hand and pulled. Invisible strings grew taught as 6 chitinous legs burst out of his shirt. Rosalind and her guardians were trapped by a complex web of spider strings that wrapped around everything.
The blue haired man and beast man moved in. Sonic waves and ice flying at them.
Rosalind smiled. “It's time.” Her voice came out in barely a whisper. “Nature's symbiosis.” Massive amounts of mana, aether and prawna were funneled into Rosalind. Her own already trying to tear apart the foreign forces. Rosalind felt a spark ignite inside of her as she pushed herself up. Her guardians around her crumbled to dust. Her longtime companion crumbled in her hands as the staff fell apart. All of nature around her withering to dust. The massive rose collapsed down into her. The sound waves hit her back before instantly breaking apart. Rosalind reached out to the blue-haired man and the beast man. Her hand could not reach them yet an invisible force still managing to grasp them.
They were drawn in until her hand touched them. The instant it did they crumbled to dust. The dust swirled around before being funneled into her mouth. “MOTHERS RETRIBUTION!” Rosalind roared.
All of the power inside of her was burned up being converted into life mana before surging out into her hand. “YOU'RE DEAD BASTARD!” Rosalind screamed her body crumbling to dust the only thing untouched was her hand. It slammed down.
Every living being felt it the moment when her hand slammed into Sigorath. It annihilating him so thoroughly that only 4 non divine beings in that world could hope to remember him. 2 of those not even aware of the man's existence.
***
2 beings unseen by any that had been watching the fight turned to each other. No words were exchanged. Instead they communicated through expressions of pure intent. The 2 beings left each knowing what must be done.
One of the beings had long vibrant green hair, a dress depicting scenes of nature and pointed ears. She left returning to her home missing. Ready to see the towering trees, emerald leaves and the sweet smell of sap.
The other beings destination was closer. Prince Zach would be turning 19 here in a week and she wanted to make sure the church's presents to him would arrive on time.
As she moved she felt something strange. It was a ball of knowledge that she could both access and could not access. It took the barest fraction of an instant for her to process the information that she obtained from it. Yet even that fraction of an amount of time was astonishing. Not just because of the knowledge that boy held but because of how long it took her to process it.
This was worrying, maybe even more worrying than what she had just observed. That boy if given time to grow. He might have the potential to kill one of the lesser gods. With enough help he might even be able to kill one of the greater gods.
She could not allow him to just be. Her mind split apart examining everything. 2 seconds later she knew what to do. With a thought she diverted a long distance teleport. With another thought she informed her priests. With a final thought she left behind an imprint before going back to what she was previously doing.
***
Errol stepped out. He glanced around curiously. There was no way enough time had passed for him to have arrived at the capital. So why was he here? Had something gone wrong.
“Sir our goddess wishes for you to visit a town before going to the capital.” A clergy man said while bowing to him.
“What is our goddess's wish? We can’t delay too long or the gifts will not arrive in time.” Errol said ready to do as his goddess desired. Though slightly confused.
“She wishes for you to visit the Hunters guild in a small town tomorrow. She said that she will guide you to the exact timing.” The clergy man said in response.
“What town will I be visiting and do you know the purpose of my visit?” Errol asked.
“The town is called Emberwood.”