*The day after the events of the previous chapter*

5/16/89

Silver sat down on top of the tallest arch in the Gulch. She looked up at the sky with an excited smile as she swung her dangling feet in the air casually. She had disposed of the Tracker’s bodies properly and destroyed their weapons the previous night. But not before she took their symbols as trophies.

She ripped the badges off their clothes and attached them to a strip of cloth she had cut from her cloak. They hung at her waist in full view. The red strip held only the eight, but Silver knew they would be joined by more Tracker badges in time. Maybe even a Hunter's…

She blushed slightly when her stomach growled. She pulled a piece of bloody flesh out from her pocket. It was whatever meat remained from the eight Trackers. She took a bite and wiped off the blood running down her chin with one of her claws. She then burped and blushed.

She giggled while covering her mouth. “Good thing no one heard that. That would have been embarrassing,” Silver thought. The same Shadow Owl from the previous night hooted from a tree behind Silver, making her blush even harder.

She looked at the Owl with an accusing finger. “NO ONE LIKES AN EAVESDROPPED!”

*SCREEEEEECH!*

Silver swung her head toward the shriek to see a Great Raven fly over the Gulch. It circled the canyon once before landing in the center with a heavy thump that shook the earth.

Silver ran toward the Raven with utmost speed before it set down. When a Raven lands in the center of the Gulch, it can only mean one thing... Daddy was back!

“DADDY!” She tackled her father as he stepped off the Raven, almost sending him into the ashen dirt.

“ImissedyousomuchDaddyImadesuretheGulchwassafejustlikeyouwantedandIkilledaTrackerpackthatwas -”

“Silver. Calm down,” It told her as it removed her from its waist.

Silver tried to do as he asked but was still so excited she couldn't stop her quivering. “Now. What happened?”

“I did it, Daddy! I made a real kill!” Her answer made him tilt his head at her.

“You killed a Spirit all on your own?” It asks, surprised.

Silver shook her head rapidly in excitement. “No. I didn't kill a Spirit,” She corrected. “I killed five Spirits!”

“Five!?”

“Uh-huh! And they were all Trackers too! I killed five of them with my very own claws!” She held up her claws to reveal the dried blood on them. “The Hound escort ate the last three.”

Her father just stood there, silently staring at her with wide eyes. Then he abruptly picked her up and threw her high into the air, booming laughter leaving his maw. Silver laughed along with her father as he tossed her repeatedly, happy with the pride and joy he expressed to her. She made her father very proud!

“You are indeed my worthy heir, little Silver!” It praised her as it placed her back on the ground. “Tell me how you dispatched the Spirit filth. What genius tactic did you use to slay thee Tracker invaders?”

Silver smiled proudly and was about to tell her tale when a sore moaning made her look behind her father. She saw something she never expected to see in the Gulch lying on the ground. A Spirit.

Instinct kicked in, and Silver rushed the Spirit to add its badge to her budding collection. But her father placed his mace between Silver and the Spirit, blocking her from ending its pathetic life.

“No, Silver,” It tells her sternly, the earlier tenderness gone. “This one is not to be harmed.”

“But it is a Spirit! It must die!” She argued, baring her fangs at the unconscious creature.

“I require it alive, Little Silver,” It said as it ordered a Hound to take the Spirit into the caves. “It is to be your new teacher.”

“TEACHER!?” Silver scoffed, confused and angry with her father's decision. “What could this thing teach me that you cannot!?”

It looked down at her with a serious face. ”It shall teach you how to use that which no other Shadow can use.”

Silver watched as her father reached into his cloak and presented another surprise to her. A red Crystal.

Silver holds the Crystal in her normal-sized hand, eyes wide with childlike wonder and curiosity. “Pretty…”

“It shall teach you how to control Crystals and Barriers.”

~o0o~

Vanessa Kendrick groaned sorely as she woke from her unconscious state. The Huntress placed a palm against her head to alleviate the pounding headache she was experiencing.

“What happened?” She thought groggily.

She had been up in the countryside studying Shadow behavior in the wild. But then she and the researchers she was with were ambushed by many Chargers, Shadows resembling deer with spear-like antlers. Vanessa tried to hold them off long enough for the researchers to escape, but there were too many.

An unseen blow to her head was enough to knock Vanessa out of the battle. The last thing she saw before blacking out was innocent people being slaughtered. And now, she found herself waking up in… Where was she anyway?

Vanessa looked around and saw she was in a small cave, maybe eight yards deep and six yards in diameter. Several glowing plants hung from the ceiling of the cave. She looked towards the entrance, but it was far too dark outside.

She carefully stood up from her prone position on the stone floor and made her way to the mouth of the cave, hoping to find some clue as to where she was. When she was just about to exit the cave, a deep, angry growl stayed on her feet. Vanessa turned to the left and saw something that made her face pale. A Shadow Mutt stood just two yards away, glaring at her hungrily.

Vanessa yelped and backed away into the shallow cave until she could go no further. The Mutt stalked in front of the entrance but did not enter. It simply looked at her before raising its head high and howling.

Despite her situation, Vanessa couldn't help but notice the distinctive characteristics of this Shadow Mutt. It was not the largest she had seen, nor was it small. Its body was covered by the white bony plates that all Shadows possessed instead of just on its head and forearms like the younger Mutts. It had to be centuries older than others of its kind. But most notable was it had not attacked her…

Vanessa had been a huntress for several years. She had been studying and fighting Shadow Creatures for much of her career. Observing the behavior of both young and old Shadows in the wild, taking notes on how they differed depending on age and experience. But she'd never seen nor heard of this kind of reaction in a Shadow Creature before, not even in any Mutt, which is regarded as the oldest and most intelligent breed of Shadows in existence.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Why aren't you attacking me?” Vanessa wondered as the Mutt ceased howling and looked back down into the cave at her, sizing her up.

If she had her weapon, she could have turned it into mincemeat and gotten out of there without a problem. But she had dropped Summer Molotov during the confusion of the attack that rendered her unconscious. Fighting it with her bare hands was also out of the question. Vanessa was a terrible punch.

So, she waited, watching the Shadow watching her. For thirty minutes, they stared at each other, neither looking away. Vanessa's fear had dwindled, but she was still cautious of the armored guard dog staring her down. Then, it sharply turned to the right and backed away quickly. Head lowered in a bow. Vanessa raised her eyebrow at this, curious as to what was making it act in such a... manner.

She got her answer when two figures entered the cave and approached her. As they closed in on Vanessa, the luminescent plant’s light revealed their forms to her.

The one her eyes were drawn to first was a towering figure clad in a heavy fur cloak and donning a white horned helmet. He strode towards her with confident, imposing steps, looking down at her. Next to the giant was a little girl. Her tiny figure was also concealed by a cloak like the giant, but hers had an extremely frayed and worn hood. It was more rag than a cape. She kept her head drooped, preventing Vanessa from seeing her face. The girl was tiny compared to the massive man beside her, barely coming up past his knee. She took much faster steps than her friend to keep pace with him.

They both stopped when they were a yard away from Vanessa. The Huntress looked at them with confusion. Who were these people? Did they know where Vanessa was? Why -

"You…" A deep, menacing voice growled out from the giant, making Vanessa jump before returning her gaze to him. Now that he was under the full light, she could see that the helmet was his head. A long, zig-zaggy crack opened on the lower half of the helmet as the man spoke, and she could now make out a scar diagonally over his left eye.

"M-me?" she asked timidly, terrified by the sheer harshness and disdain the voice held.

The man nodded slowly. Then, he reached into his cloak and retrieved a red fire Crystal before giving it to the girl. Vanessa went wide-eyed when the girl grasped the Crystal, not with a child's small and delicate hand but with a massive, tar-black hand, the fingers tipped with long, red claws. The hooded girl accepted the Crystal, taking it in her oversized palm before looking at Vanessa.

Vanessa inhaled sharply when she saw the child's face. A bone mask, complete with filled tooth sockets holding small fangs, covered a large portion of her right side. A blooming red rose was painted over the right eyehole, further enhancing the child's fearsome gaze. Her eyes were inhuman. They looked so evil and twisted. They didn't belong to a child. Her sclera had been tainted completely black, and her irises were the color of silver. Her pupils were not gentle black dots but angry red slits. They possessed so much anger and hatred in them, like the eyes of a Shadow Creature but somehow worse.

Vanessa's pupils shrunk to pinpricks as she started to process just what she was in the presence of. For years there had been rumors floating around about a humanoid Shadow who abducted a toddler. That it could control other Shadows and keep them from attacking people. Many experts dismissed it as some hysteric hallucination. Vanessa had been amongst those skeptics. Had… Now, she was face to face with the Shadow of rumor itself! Only now, there was no child but an unholy union of human and Shadow fused into one being.

"Teach… Crystal… Teach… Barrier…" The man spoke the words like it was chewing rocks covered in super glue.

Vanessa steeled herself as best she could in her current predicament and sent a glare the Shadow's way. "Wh-what makes y-you th-think I-I'll teach you h-how to use Stones and Energy?" Her still present fear inhibited her attempts to sound intimidating in her questioning of the monster before her.

Its question didn't make sense, though. Shadows could use neither Stones nor Energy. It was impossible.

The man let out an amused chuckle that sent shivers down her spine. "Not… Me…" He gently pushed the mutated girl forward, though she seemed against it. “Her…”

The girl glared hard at Vanessa, showing her distaste towards the situation, though probably for different reasons. Yet she did not hesitate when she held out her oversized claw/hand with the Crystal still in her grip, a soft glow emitting off its- Wait, gloe!?

Vanessa's eyes widened when she saw that the Crystal was reacting to the girl. She possessed a soul and Energy! This child, this… misshapen creature, still had some shred of humanity left within her, waiting to be freed.

But it also meant something far more dangerous. Suppose this Shadow child was to learn how to properly handle Stones and manipulate her Energy. In that case, she could become a severe threat to mankind. Her human form would allow her to sneak into villages or maybe even the kingdom's territories under the guise of a lost girl. From there, she could cause terrifying damage, sabotage machinery spread panic, and perhaps even find a way for the other Shadows to get in.

Vanessa couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't let that happen. She would not teach this… this… monster how to use that which only man can use. She was a Huntress! A defender of mankind! She would be damned by the Maidens themselves before assisting with its destruction!

Summoning all her courage, Vanessa looked into the humanoid Shadow's eyes with determination and fury. "Never! I will never teach your abomination how to wield mankind's gifts from the Maidens! You can't make me!"

The giant simply raised its arm towards the Huntress, the gauntlet-like claw clenched in a fist. A fast click-clack sound emitted from its body until the source scampered onto the arm. Vanessa's sudden courage went out like a light when she saw what now rested on the giant's arm. A Tombstalker.

Tombstalkers were among the rarest, toughest, and deadliest species of Shadow in existence. Centipede-like monsters, the largest ever recorded, were longer than eight train cars. The Tombstalkers were heavily armored with inch-thick armored carapaces and heavily armed with legs sharp enough to pierce through two feet of steel and pincers strong enough to snip metal girders like twigs. Human flesh would be torn to pieces by such a creature. Moreover, Tombstalkers could detach into dozens of independent segments at any time. Each segment was the equivalent of a Teddy in strength and endurance but was fast like Mutts. Even more distressing, the segments could reassemble back into the full monster whenever they wanted.

The Tombstalker before Vanessa was smaller than those monsters, about the size of a snake. But that was what robbed the Huntress of her vigor. The smaller Tombstalkers possessed a venomous bite that triggered maddening hallucinations and intense pain within seconds of entering the bloodstream. Now, there was one starring her down, swaying its head back and forth like a snake, clicking its drooling mandibles menacingly.

Suddenly, Vanessa's right arm was encased in the grip of the child's mighty claw, and she was pulled closer to the larger humanoid Shadow. She tried to resist, but the child’s strength was far beyond her own, and she could only struggle in vain as the child brought her to the feet of the caped monster.

Once Vanessa was close enough, the Tombstalker reared its head back before striking her arm.

"Soon… You… will…" The monster said as the Tombstalker retreated onto the cave wall. Only now, it wasn't a normal Tombstalker anymore. It began growing thousands of spikes, and the white-hued armor shifted back and forth between red, black, and yellow. Its head peeled away to reveal the insane, laughing face of a man who stared her down like she was a bug about to have its wings ripped off. Then the pain came… And all Vanessa could do was scream…

~o0o~

The female was lasting longer against the Centipede's venom than the Overlord originally thought. It had been nearly two months since it first began torturing the Spirit, and only recently had the treatments started to make progress.

The Overlord would only let the Centipede inject just enough venom that the Spirit would not be killed by the pain and terror. Every day the female would be bitten, again and again, her screams and pleas for mercy echoing through the caverns of the Gulch each hour of the day.

She was kept under close watch by the First Hound, a Shadow spawned when the Overlord first learned how to make its creations. Only a few dozen of the First Shadows remain. Each had evolved past their basic instincts and possessed an intelligence almost akin to Silver's own. Almost. The Hound made sure the female could not escape and ensured she couldn't end her life. It forced food and water down her throat when she refused to eat and drink. It kept her restrained during her torture sessions, enjoying the terror and panic that poured forth from her like a waterfall.

The Overlord would occasionally check in on the Spirit to see if she was willing to do what it wanted. But the Spirit's will held fast. She refused each time, screaming when the Centipede bit into her now scar-ridden flesh.

But the Overlord was patient and knew the female would break sooner or later. It preferred sooner over later, though. Silver was growing fast. Her dispatching of the Tracker pack was proof of that. She was already able to enhance her speed with the use of her Barrier but could not perform the feat more than once or twice a day, and it was all she could do with her Barrier. She would need to know how to properly utilize Spirit abilities to become a truly terrifying Mistress of Shadows.

This was where the Hunter came in. She would teach the Overlord's heir how to use not just her Barrier but Crystals as well. She would show Silver how to fully awaken her potential and wield the power of the Spirits. And how to use that power against them.

Silver was not very… enthusiastic about the plan, however, and made it very clear when it told her its plan. She may be the heir of the Shadows, but she was still young, and like all young Shadows, she wanted only to dig her claws into Spirit flesh. The idea of being tutored by her mortal enemy made her quills rattle with rage. Thankfully, her obedience to the Overlord was stronger than the urge to rip the Hunter in two.

Right now, Silver was away with a Hound raiding pack, heading off to attack one of the many isolated Great Wolf nests scattered about Britannia’s highlands. The killing of the Trackers was a sort of rite of passage for the heir, showing the Overlord she was ready to begin orchestrating attacks on her own. Already, she had destroyed two Spirit nests, ordering the Shadows from the shadows. At the same time, she cut down any that made it out of her attacks.

The Overlord was beyond proud of its heir. She continued to prove her competence as a leader and her ruthlessness as a hunter time and time again. Once the female began teaching her the ways of Crystals and Barriers, she would become an unstoppable force of destruction. Something that not even the Spirit armies of old could hope to face.

The Overlord entered the cave where the female was held, passing the First Hound at the entrance. She was no longer the defiant Hunter she was when it first confronted her. Her clothes were in shambles, her skin pale and sickly, and her body and hair covered in grime and filth. Animal bones and empty bowls were scattered around her pathetically. A pile of fecal matter sat in the corner, its foul smell wafted through the whole cave. The Overlord would have to have some Shadows dispose of the leavings soon. The stink was beginning to creep into the rest of the cavern.

The Hunter tried to scurry away from the Overlord once she saw it. The Centipede dropped in front of her, forcing her to face the Overlord with fearful eyes and a quivering body.

"P-ple-please…" She stuttered, her lips quivering uncontrollably, a possible side effect of the amount of venom injected into her. "N-n-no mo-more..."

Tears stained her dirt-covered face. Her joints showed signs of gaunt from the limited diet the Overlord assigned her until she cooperated. I-I c-can’t t-ttake-take I-I. I’ll d-do an-anything… P-please…”

“Serve... Me…” It spoke the Spirit's words with trouble. Its mouth was not designed to speak such a filthy tongue. "Teach… her…"

"YES!" She sobbed. "Y-yes. I-I w-will s-ser-serve y-you. I-I wi-will t- teach h-her. J-j-just make the p-pain s-stop…."

The Overlord looked down at the groveling Spirit before it. A being once so high and mighty was now brought down low into darkness. She was completely broken. The perfect state to be remade into its tool.

"I… am… your… Master…" It spoke each word with s uch certainty, such harshness, the Spirit Flinched with each one spoken. "Listen… only… to… me… and...her… Under…stand…?"

“Yes, M-Master,” She said fearfully but obediently, bowing down to it with her face on the stone floor. "I-I l-live t-to serve you."

A grin crept onto the Overlord's features as it stared down at its new slave. Everything was going as planned…