The rain had passed by during the night. The stillness woke Tinesi up. She returned to the burned remains of the home and used the limited light from the moon to search in which direction they might have gone. An expert tracker with decades of experience, it took her moments to find the trail despite the rain washing most of it away.
“If I recall, the closest settlement nearby is in this direction. Better hurry so I can reach it by sunrise.”
Kindroth ordered her to track down the new dark mage who might have a connection to the elf who just lost her family to a magical beast. The elf knew how to fight and could hold her own, but Tinesi doubted they would last long with that kind of mental instability. Which made it even more important to learn quickly what she could from the elf.
On top of this, she still needed to track down the beast itself and the dark mage responsible for causing so much havoc in this region. Her organization had entrusted her team to handle the situation. Kindroth led the unit, which comprised her and Kailu. To avoid attention, they rarely spent time together, instead blending into the background or vanishing from sight. Some enjoyed infiltrating to eliminate their target, but not her. Tinesi preferred wandering the wilderness, hunting the dark mages that hid in the shadows.
The first rays of light began peaking over the horizon when she saw the settlement come into view. There were two guards at the gate struggling to stay awake, leaning against the wall for support. Walking up to the gate, one of them perked up. Hand up to stop her, he said, “You’re up early, miss. What brings you to our village?”
Casting a silent spell, Tinesi laced her words with a mental compulsion as she said, “It doesn’t matter. I was never here.” She looked over at the other guard regarding her and said, “Isn’t that right?”
She continued forward, leaving the two guards behind staring at each other. Few knew mental magic existed. It was one of many secrets her organization protected for the greater good. The biggest reason was that those who knew were less susceptible to it.
Tinesi walked up to an elf cutting logs with an age next to a small home and said, “Hello, sir. Anything interesting happen recently?”
Sharing gossip was a favorite pastime most enjoyed and Tinesi relied on it to get what she wanted. The stranger looked up from his work, shrugged, and said, “Not much. I heard a famous elf named Lyra showed up last night, and when the guards tried to stop her, she made a fool out of one.” Lowering their voice, they whispered, "You didn't hear this from me, but the rumor is that her family died because of a magical beast."
She waved goodbye, and the elf returned to their work. That is when the one she inquired about exited one of the larger structures in the settlement. Not long after, another elf exited and joined who she now came to know was Lyra. Tinesi listened in to their conversation and picked up on their destination.
“Is she helping them travel to Sobi? Why would she bother with something so mundane the day after her son and husband died?
Hearing Lyra talk about her father, she could respect the honor and duty he instilled in his daughter. Her opinion improved when Lyra mentioned her companion had a family that needed her. Destination secured, Tinesi had what she needed to decide. She reached out with her mental connection to Kindroth to report.
“Lyra is the elf I met earlier. She is supposed to be popular in the area. Her next destination is the Sobi settlement, escorting a mother returning home. I plan to scout ahead of them for dark mage activity and find an opportunity to speak with her again.”
“Proceed. Update when you know more.”
An aspect of her stealth training required her to mask the aura that her body produced. An amateur might try to eliminate it, but that never worked against a skilled tracker. Instead, she reined it in until it resembled the surrounding wildlife. With her mana masked, Tinesi set off around her target and then tracked down any dark mage or the magical atrocities they had left behind.
There were two main types of magical beasts being crafted by the dark arts. Corrupting an animal by infusing it with dark energy until it mutated, or they did it to an elf. Some individuals changed unwillingly, while others embraced it. Tinesi believed the elf she killed under the blood moon after its fight against Lyra had been a victim. The wildlife could consume the flesh of mana-rich creatures, including elves, and evolve to possess magical abilities themselves, but those instances were rare.
A dark muddy feeling brushed up against her senses that sent a chill down her spine.
“Bingo. Looks like we have another roaming these woods. I should have enough time to take care of them and meet up with Lyra in Sobi.”
Veering off course, Tinesi began tracking the dark mage. The stench of their magic made her want to puke. Being sensitive to magical auras had its downsides. The area lacked any other noticeable animal presence. They avoided the perverse magical residue that dark mages left behind when performing their craft. That also made it harder to keep herself hidden.
Fortunately for her, this mage stood in front of an altar to his dark lord, preoccupied. The body of an elf lying still. Blood flowing freely. Taking out her short sword, she studied the runes etched in the blade, another magical art hidden away from the world. An elf skilled in a specific type of magic could imbue a specific spell or effect into a rune that anyone could use by pushing their energy into it. Some of the more destructive runes destroyed the weapon, turning them into last-resort options. This weapon could light up in flames and repel dark magic, which was useful for slicing into the enemy's favorite attack, a pure, dark energy ball that either exploded on impact or punched through with enough force.
Climbing up a tree, Tinesi got into position over her prey and dropped on them, both hands holding her short sword, ready to stab down.
The elf noticed her quicker than she wanted, giving him enough time to lift an arm, a spell already forming in his palm. Tinesi altered her target, stabbing their hand and disrupting the spell. She triggered the flame rune before landing and ripping her blade free. To her surprise, instead of facing her, the coward ran, leaving a wall of dark flames blocking her path.
With a sigh of resignation, Tinesi cast a wind speed spell on her legs and began the chase. The injured dark mage tossed explosive balls of dark energy at her with the only working hand he had left. She either dodged them completely or sliced them in two, dissipating the spell.
This game of wolf and deer annoyed the veteran hunter who specialized in eliminating their kind. Frustrated, she said, “Stop running away and face your death, you coward.”
He growled in response, turned around, and said, “My master warned me against your organization. I'm going to kill you even if I must go out with you.” Now running toward her, a manic grin plastered on his face, Tinesi could only guess one outcome.
He planned to rupture his core, releasing all his energy in a single destructive blast. There wasn’t enough time to escape. Acting swiftly, Tinesi reached behind her back for a special dagger and hurled it at the dark mage's chest, magical runes lighting up.
Sinking into his chest, the runes triggered, releasing a torrent of swirling blades of air that caused the blade to explode as the spell sliced apart the mage. Tinesi tossed up a quick wind barrier to keep the worst of it from splattering all over her.
Mission accomplished; she did her best to burn up the body to prevent anything from eating the corrupted flesh. After retracing her steps, Tinesi offered the dead elf her sympathy as she destroyed the altar and set the body on fire. With a heavy heart, she turned toward the Sobi settlement and ran.
“I've got a bad feeling about this.”
…
The problem with intuition and bad feelings are the consequences of being right and Tinesi had the irritating pleasure of being right too many times for her liking. A frantic nervous elf hiding behind a tree, head peaking around toward the sounds of pitched battle, greeted her when she reached her destination. On closer inspection, she identified the elf as the mother Lyra had been escorting. Reaching out with her senses, Tinesi shivered at the slimy residue left behind by the dark mage responsible for the current fiasco.
The unaware elf fell back, arms flailing for support when she said, “Hello,” while a beast roared in the distance.
Scrambling backward, Tinesi wove compulsion into her words and said, “I'm not your enemy. Lyra is an acquaintance of mine. I want to help.” Part of her thoughts were concerned about the obvious bear’s challenge, but that could wait.
“You know Lyra? She told me to stay here while she went to help the defenders.” Her body relaxed. “My name is Ves. I need to get to my family. Can you help?”
Offering a hand to Ves, she said, “It should be safe enough to get you home.” Pulling her up, Tinesi led the woman into Sobi. The corpses of the wildlife that had assaulted the settlement littered the ground. On closer inspection, she noticed the state of their bodies.
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“Undead. Looks like we have a necromancer nearby.”
“What was that?”
Hand placed on Ves's shoulder, Tinesi said, “Relax. Where is your home?”
Finger pointed to a nondescript structure among a group close to the defenders still finishing the surviving undead animals, Ves said, “Over there.”
The trick with the undead was using pure light magic, the antithesis of dark magic. Tinesi was privy to the old stories about the last Dark War and the undead army that fought around twenty-five thousand years ago. It wasn’t a well-known fact since necromancy wasn’t popular even among the dark mages since it was hard keeping a horde of undead hidden long enough to grow into a serious threat, but healing magic, if strong enough to overpower, could undo the spell animating the dead. Otherwise, the best you could hope for was to weaken it.
Healing wasn’t her strongest skill, but she had a few tricks in her repertoire for situations like this. Right hand outstretched, she concentrated pure healing mana until it became dense enough to see, then fused it with a simple wind spell she had mastered decades ago. Tinesi sent a gentle wave of healing wind over every defender and undead fighting nearby. The smallest critters fell to the ground while the rest staggered from the effects of the spell. Slightly rejuvenated from the healing properties, the defenders leaped into action, cutting down the rest of the undead in short order.
She grabbed Ves's hand and tugged the elf along toward the woman’s home while navigating around the undead lying on the ground. A few defenders noticed them, a nod of recognition in Ves's direction. One of them said, “Get inside Ves. Lysanthir is inside watching over Jassin.”
“Thanks, Ascal.”
When they reached the front door, Ves ran up and said, “Lysanthir, it’s me, I'm back.” A moment later, the door swung open and revealed a disheveled elf. He wrapped his wife in a hug and pulled her inside.
When he noticed Tinesi, she said, “Stay inside until you’re told it's safe. I need to go.”
“Thank you, miss.”
After scanning the battlefield, Tinesi's eyes gravitated toward the wolf corpses scattered across the ice-covered ground. “Lyra sure is one creative fighter. It would be a shame to lose such a gifted magic user.” The corpse of the mutated alpha wolf caught her attention. The lingering dark mana coming from it reminded her of the beast that killed Lyra's husband and child. “So, he had a hand in this too.”
Following Lyra’s trail into the forest, the dark mage hunter could tell it was leading her in the necromancer’s direction, which was in the same area where the roar had come from earlier. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
The mage had at least one undead bear under his command.
Speed boost placed on her legs, Tinesi ran toward the dark mage like a silent ghost. The predator was back on the hunt. An assassin specialized in ridding the land of the dark filth who was polluting the world with hatred and misery.
Scaling up a tree, Tinesi began hopping between the branches, just like Kindroth had done the last time they met up. The trick was using the wind to lighten your footsteps and keep moving, never staying in any one spot for very long. When she found her prey, they were facing off against Lyra. The elf hadn’t come unscathed from her fight against that mutated alpha wolf back in Sobi. There was a layer of ice holding her right arm to her chest.
Curious about how this would play out, Tinesi watched from her perch off to the side. The necromancer stood next to a large bear and her cub, both now undead. Finger pointed at Lyra, the dark mage said, “You will pay for killing my best minion. My master helped craft it for me personally.”
Unimpressed, Lyra replied with a fury of wind strikes with her ice dagger that the dark mage avoided by ordering the bear to intercept it. Claws swiping at the magical attack, a black smoky trail followed the path of its claws as the bear dispelled the wind by sheer force and the magic-infused in its paws.
“Elf, there is nothing you can do to me. The dark god himself has blessed me, and his power courses through my veins.”
Eyebrow raised in curious amusement, Tinesi watched to see how Lyra would handle the mage in her current state. She could always step in to keep the elf alive. Not that she would make it a habit of babysitting.
Lyra had no desire to banter with the zealous dark mage. Instead, she tossed a fireball into the ground in front of the bear, obscuring the mage's view. Rushing forward, the elf formed an ice weapon comprising a long shaft with a curved blade sticking out at the end.
The unknown weapon's design piqued Tinesi's interest. It provided reach, but how strong was the connection from the shaft to the blade? The mage ordered the bear to rush through the explosion, forcing Lyra to leap to the side to avoid the paw swiping at her face.
Lyra pushed off back in the bear's direction, her ice weapon arcing across to intercept the paw aimed at her head. True to her prowess, the elf sliced into the nearest wrist, but her weapon got stuck in the reinforced bone underneath. Forced to let go of her weapon, she abandoned it; the ice exploding when she was far enough away, a replacement already forming in her hand.
On this occasion, the blade was twice as thick, and Tinesi noticed a buzzing layer of air running along the blade's edge. Tinesi grinned in excitement, watching Lyra rush back in and swing her new weapon at the same spot, cleaving it off with one mighty blow that caused it to shatter from the force.
Untroubled by anything meaningless like pain or fear, the undead bear stood up on its hind legs and battered the elf away with its remaining paw. Lyra threw up a wind barrier in time to keep the claws from cutting too deep, but from the blood dripping off its claws, the bear had cut through her magic and into her arm.
Slower than she had been before, Tinesi knew it was time to intervene. She already used her one emergency exploding dagger, so she had to make sure she ended this quickly. Tree by tree, Tinesi moved around until she was behind the dark mage.
She considered using an enhanced spell, but she knew it would attract attention, so she grabbed her trusty short sword, propelled herself into the air, and dove. Air magic excelling her descent, Tinesi tucked her arms in and began spinning.
At the last possible moment, she twisted her body to reposition it before she held on with both hands and plunged the blade through the defensive barrier and into the mage's shoulder with enough force to sever the arm before tucking in and rolling to dissipate the impact against the ground.
Back on her feet, Tinesi met Lyra's gaze. Her face scrunched in clear pain. The newest ice weapon was red from the blood flowing from her arm. Ignoring the dark mage who cried out, a hand pressed to the stump where his arm used to be, Tinesi said, “As I said before, you shouldn’t leave their kind alive.”
Growing out her response, Lyra said, “I was working on it.”
Releasing the energy she had gathered while interacting with Lyra, Tinesi sliced her sword in the air, sending a super-charged wind strike toward the undead bear cub bisecting them down the middle, showering the ground in their remains.
No longer bleeding out. The shock of her sudden entrance faded away, leaving a furious, one-armed dark mage pointing at her.
“How dare you interfere!”
He noticed the bear cub's remains, which infuriated him even more.
“Do you know how long it took me to train an undead bear cub? How dare you destroy all that effort! After I kill you and your friend over there, I’m going to turn you into my newest minion.”
Already racing toward the bear, weapon raised to strike, Lyra said, “We aren’t friends. I'm just good at killing and you’re due for some dying.”
The dark elf roared in rage as he pointed at Lyra and said, “Kill her already,” as the undead bear roared along with its master.
The two collided, leaving the dark mage for Tinesi.
“If you are waiting for your buddy at the altar to show up, I must disappoint you. He died without landing a single strike on me. The coward ran instead. Will you do any better?”
Reaching down to pick up his arm off the ground, the mage encased it in black mist and pumped it full of dark energy until it came back into view. A bone longsword with a finger bone cross guard.
“I never thought I would ever fight a dark mage who would try killing me with a sword made out on his arm that I cut off. You have my regard for your creativity. Enjoy it while you can.”
Exchanging blows with the mage, Tinesi glanced at Lyra, struggling to keep the bear away from her. The beast showed signs of several gashes, but none were lethal to the undead.
Back to her fight, Tinesi activated the flame rune on her sword, distracting the mage long enough to miss parrying her next strike that pierced his throat. Twisting the blade with a smile, she pulled her weapon free.
Their eyes rolled back, orbs turning the darkest shade of black Tinesi had ever seen. An unknown voice spoke through the mage, although it should have been impossible after she stabbed him in the throat.
“You are known to me, Shadow-"
Her sword sliced the mage's head off, cutting the message off mid-sentence. For good measure, she reinforced her boot with a layer of air and crushed the skull and jaw until it shattered.
Satisfied, she looked over at Lyra, who was in the process of cutting the bear's head off with an enlarged version of her weapon. No longer fighting for her life, the elf collapsed.
“I did come to her aid to keep her alive. Wouldn’t want to go back on my word now.”
“I don’t care why you came. I promised myself I would fight back till it killed me and I haven’t changed my mind.”
Tinesi laughed at the stupidity before she said, “So you don’t want me to heal you?”
“We both know my answer doesn’t matter. Do what you came to do and piss off.”
Doing just that, Tinesi sat beside the elf and placed her hands on Lyra's arm where the bear struck her and the other which was frozen to her chest where the wolf had previously broken it if she had to guess. Lyra had enough sense to melt the ice around her arm so she could receive treatment.
Stabilized, Lyra sat up and said, “Tell me why you needed me alive?”
Divulging only what she could, Tinesi said, “I am hunting the dark mage responsible for killing your family, and before you ask, no, not for you. Did anyone visit your home before the incident?”
The compulsion lacing her last question sneaked inside, compelling Lyra, who said, “My brother-in-law. He recently joined the Rangers and wanted me to do the same. My husband got upset with him, so I told him to leave. They never had the best relationship growing up. Why does that matter?”
Knowing this would upset Lyra, she said, “It’s not uncommon for dark mages to ask recruits to sacrifice someone close to them to prove their loyalty. You said it yourself. The two didn’t get along.”
As she predicted, Lyra glared at her, energy building up around her.
“How dare you blame him for killing my husband and child! If that were true, why didn’t I die? Why let me live?”
Shrugging, Tinesi got up and said, “I don’t know. Why not ask him the next time you meet?”
Leaving the distraught woman behind, Tinesi contacted her leader.
I have a report, sir.
Go ahead.
The new dark mage may be the brother-in-law who is a ranger. They are the ones most likely to hunt the magical beasts created by the ones we hunt.
Try to locate this ranger. Anything else?
Yes, sir. After killing a necromancer, I believe the dark lord himself spoke through the dead mage.
Understood. Focus on finding this ranger and why a dark mage would help kill the work of his new master.
Understood.
Tinesi realized she never asked the ranger's name, but doubted her compulsion would work after she upset the elf. That changed nothing, though. She would hunt down the new dark mage and kill them after discovering what they were up to. It was what she was good at, after all.