Herbert Senthson
I miss my bow.
When we’re out in the forest like this, the security the bow gives me is comforting. I've used a bow all my life, and with wolves in these woods, going without it is disconcerting.
I shift the net I’m carrying around on my back, trying to get it to rest a little more comfortably.
We've been out all day, but have barely gathered anything. It’s these wolves, they’re scaring away all the game, I just know it. I haven’t so much as seen a rabbit all day. Usually they’re more than plentiful, so long as you know where to look.
We've collected tons of fruit though, so we won’t be going back empty handed, like some parties have-
“Gah! Wolf!”
A shout from behind me, I recognize the voice as one of the guards.
Turning, I can see the guard who shouted, swinging his axe at the wolf that has a death-grip on his shield.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a second wolf take another guard by surprise, knocking him over, and snapping at the iron between it’s teeth and his throat.
A third. There’s always a third.
I have no bow, no axe, they gave me a knife, but I doubt it’d so much as scratch their wooden hides. I’m no guard, all I have is this net and some rope.
I turn my back on the guards, there’s half a dozen to each hunting party now, more than enough to deal with this. Still, I can’t help but feel guilt as I fervently look everywhere but the fight, searching for the third wolf.
There. It’s wooden hide blends in with the trees, were it not for the glowing eyes I’d never have seen it.
It sees that I see it. It’s contemplating the best way to season my corpse, I can just see it. Well, I’m not giving it the opportunity. Just as it starts to pounce, my net tangles it’s forelegs and jaws up, bringing it crashing to the ground.
I've never moved so quickly in my life, darting over to it with my rope in hand, trying to tie it up before it gets free. It would never have worked, but the other civilian hunter and the Sergeant see what I’m doing and join in.
With the other hunter's net hindering its hind-legs, and a judicious application of rope, we've got a nicely trussed up timber wolf ready to go.
The guards that killed the other two wolves have sustained some injury, but nothing a little first aid doesn't solve. It almost makes me want to get me some of that armor; if I had been their first target, I’d have died in seconds.
“Good thinking Herbert!” the sergeant grips my shoulder with a friendly gauntlet, “How did you know there would be a third?”
I give him a tired smile, the adrenaline wearing off as we drag the thrashing beast across the forest floor. “You might know war, Sergeant, but I know wolves. They rarely attack without an ambush waiting.”
We meet a returning patrol by chance on our way back, and merge ranks fluidly, the Sergeant taking control as the highest ranked officer present. I relax a little, the extra layers of protection make me feel a little safer.
The other patrol bears signs of assault as well. One of the guards is supporting another as he limps.
Their hunters bear a prize between them. Suspended in a net, struggling almost as much as our wolf, is a large deer, still very much alive and unharmed.
That’s what’s made everything so difficult. The healers need living animals, for their work, but they have to be unharmed. That means pure net-work. No arrows to the joints, no breaking their legs so they can’t run… This deer looks unharmed though, which would make it the first catch of its kind.
Exactly what we've been needing.
Devin Binder
We still haven’t figured out exactly what the master did, but it worked.
When they first brought the two of them upstairs it was immediately clear that they had suffered from extreme burns. Hayley and I worked through the night to stabilize them, but once we had, one thing became abundantly clear: Rodin should be dead, but he’s not.
I haven’t been an apprentice as long as Hayley, but we've both seen burn cases, and people have died from less-serious burns before. James wasn't nearly as badly burned, but it was enough to keep us from noticing the signs until later that night.
Somehow he had entangled their spirits, anchoring each other to their bodies.
I can’t even imagine how master did it, but it was keeping Rodin’s spirit from leaving his body.
It took its toll on James though. He’s wasting away faster than we can heal him without a sacrifice.
That’s why it’s such a relief to have the deer struggling before us.
The room is quickly getting crowded. In just today alone, our number of patients doubled, twelve of the beds now occupied by the injured. Somehow one of our new patients has apparently been turned to stone. It’s just one more reason why we need the master back.
We've done what we can until now, and this sacrifice will help, but it’s not going to be anywhere near enough.
No, I can’t think like that right now. I have a job to do.
I look up and meet Hayley’s gaze. “You ready for this?”
She nods. “You infuse the master, I have Everblaze.”
“Right.”
I close my eyes and steady my breathing as I've been taught, ignoring all the sounds but those of my body. The rhythm of my heart slows. I reach out, not with my body, but with my other body, and feel the life in front of me.
The deer is frantic. It is caught in among predators and can smell the blood of others. It thinks it is next.
It is more than correct.
A thing that is less than sentient, it can’t resist as I grip its spirit with my own, and pull, drawing raw energy from it.
With my eyes closed, I cannot see, but I know its movements are slowing, and as we continue will slowly stiffen, losing all energy as its spirit, and therefore its body, is drained.
With the energy I draw, I reach out to my master, who’s spirit I sense, but cannot read as I can the deer's. I feed the stream of energy into him, and I feel his spirit bolster, growing strong where he had weakened.
Now that I have begun the transfer, I can’t stop, even should I have wished to. All too soon though, the last bit of energy dries up, and I feel the remnants of the deer’s spirit slip from my grasp into the afterlife.
When I open my eyes, there is only dust where the deer had been. In contrast, the master’s burns show progress for the first time. A glance at the mage shows similar progress.
It takes the better part of an hour for Hayley and I to reach a proper diagnosis: It worked. They have a grip on life again, and will heal, but without more sacrifices that could take weeks. Weeks we might not have.
Hayley’s eyes reflect my own worries, and she motions for me to carry the word to the Captain.
Terry Forge
“Bigger Shields, they say.”
*Thunk*
“Thicker Armor, they say.”
*Thunk*
“More of everything, they say.”
*Thunk*
“We've not changed the designs for decades!”
*Thunk*
“Tell me, brother,” I shout over the hammer blows, “Why must we change them now?”
*Thunk*
*Hisssss*
I inspect the hunk of metal before me, after cooling it. Passable. Dale can finish the set. Setting it aside, I brush pass the muscled form of my son as he continues to work the forge.
Nick joins me at the water barrel we wrestled down here, taking a moment to refresh himself as he answers me.
“It’s just the times changing, Terry, nothing to worry about. So the wolves can tear through the old design too easily, their solution is to change the design. That makes it our job. That’s all I need to know.”
He makes too much sense sometimes, I sigh, I guess I’m just frustrated. We've had little rest from this influx of orders. I had forgotten how much work came with preparing for war.
At least they had no shortage of volunteers. “Lendin got picked for one of the new squads, by the way. I didn't know he’d been interested.”
Nick looked at me, surprised. “Congratulations. He’ll bring the family honor, I’m sure of it!”
I nod, glad that he was glad for me. Of course, it meant that Dale had to shoulder more of the family business, but I don’t think he minds.
Were we back home, I would pray to the war gods for his safety, but here, I’m not sure what to do.
I look down at the mug I had been drinking from. Empty. Well, back to it I guess.
Sophia Everblaze
Rainbow Dash left last night after I told her what year it was. I didn't think she was coming back.
But then she did!
I just saw her. I say to her, “Hey there, Rainbow Dash! It’s breakfast time, are you hungry?” She looks like she's hungry, but she doesn't want any of my rabbit jerky.
She eats my pears though!
She doesn't look too good. Her mane is all tangled and she has bags under her eyes. “You don’t look too good, Rainbow. Did you have trouble sleeping?”
She turns and glares at the clouds slowly drifting overhead. “Sort of… I should know better than to fly without a clear head. I got a bit lost, and the skies here aren't cooperative.”
“Oh.” I don't know what that means, but it doesn't seem that important. She's here now, and that's what matters. “So what do you want to do?”
She looks at me funny, “If you were a Pegasus I’d say go flying... I don’t know kid, what do you humans usually do?”
I think about that. “I usually go bother daddy or Sam until they give me a job. But daddy’s in the hospital again… So let’s go find Sam!”
It doesn't take long to find him, I spotted him coming down from the gatehouse; he probably just finished sending out the parties of adults just like every day. I ran up to him. “Hey Sam!”
He looks at me and gives me one of those smiles adults sometimes give. “Uh, hey Sophia.” Then his eyes went all bright. “I just remembered a job I have for you, if you think you can do it.”
“Yes! A job! What is it?” I ask. Rainbow is following at a distance.
He lowers a bag he had been carrying, and takes out an axe. “Do you remember how your daddy used to enchant weapons?” I nod yes. “Did he teach you how?”
I think about it. When he does it, he drew runes on the thing... And he taught me how to draw runes on things too! “Yes.”
He doesn't look convinced. “Well, if you can enchant this axe, I have a job for you.” Then Sam left with the bag and headed into the barracks.
Rainbow walks over. “What was that about?”
I pick up the axe excitedly. It’s really heavy. “I’m going to try magic! Wana watch?”
She moves her shoulders and wings up and down. Is that how she shrugs? “Sure, why not.”
I drag the axe over to a clear area with nothing flammable nearby, just like daddy tells me to when I practice magic. “Ok, go stand over there, let me try this.”
She goes, but looks at me sideways. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Of course! Daddy used to do this all the time!” I say, cross that nobody thinks I can do it.
I turn my attention to the axe, and think. Daddy explained this once. He said I had to draw the rune, feed it a little power… and… was this the one where you keep pushing the magic into the rune? I’m pretty sure it is.
Just to be safe, I decide to use the rune for Fire.
Along the face of the axe, I trace the Fire rune with my finger, and where my finger touches bright orange lines appear. I think daddy called that my ‘aura’ or something.
I think it surprised Rainbow Dash because she gasped, and said something, but I was too busy to listen.
I could feel the tug in my finger, and encouraged it, imagining me shoving magic through my finger into the rune on the axe.
Oh right! It needs the rune on both sides. I flip the axe over and repeat the process, holding back the last bit of magic from going to the first rune. I’m not sure how I did that, but it felt right. Once I was done, I let the last bits of magic go to both runes, and then stuff started to go wrong.
The runes got really bright, and then there was a lot of fire.
See, I thought, as the fire enveloped me and sprayed high into the air, this is why daddy says to practice away from buildings.
Rainbow Dash
I’m not entirely sure I’m not hallucinating.
I hear sleep deprivation does that to you, and Celestia knows I've seen Twilight go a little loco in the coco after enough all-nighters.
But I totally just saw that foal enveloped in a fireball large enough and hot enough to singe my tail, and she’s perfectly fine!
“What the hay squirt! How are you still alive after that?”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. Her clothes are little more than charred rags, hanging off her unblemished skin.
“I’m an Everblaze,” she says, like that explains anything.
“So?” I practically shout; this is almost too much: I haven’t had sleep. I somehow was summoned backwards in time, I feel like I’m missing something important about this place, I was nearly eaten by a timberwolf not two hours ago, and now human foals are surviving fireballs! Something Is Wrong With This Picture!
She looks a little scared, “Daddy says that when you’re an Everblaze, you can’t hurt yourself with fire magic.”
What.
“What!”
“That’s just what daddy says! I don’t know what else!” I notice that she’s nearly crying.
I notice I’m hovering a little too close, definitely inside her personal space. “Oh.”
I drop to the ground and back up a few steps. Horsefeathers, I need to get some sleep. “Sorry squirt, I’m just tired.”
There are a few moments of awkward silence. I hate those. “I’m going to go sleep in that tree, ok? If you need me, buck the tree or something.”
“Alright…”
It takes me a minute to get comfortable, and I can hear Sophia dragging the axe away.
Almost immediately after I close my eyes, I feel something hit the branch I’m lying on.
“Cmon Rainbow, wake up!”
What the hay? I look up, the sun has jumped half-way across the sky. “Aww come on! I didn't even get to enjoy it…”
I look down and see Sophia with the armored human that gave her the axe earlier. What did she call him? Sam? Neither the axe, nor the bag is in sight.
“Sam wants to ask you something!” she’s still shouting, even though I’m not that far away.
I hop down from my perch, flapping once to slow my fall. “What is it?”
Samuel Weathers
Sophia was a great help. She translated what I asked word for word. But apparently this ‘pony’ doesn't want to help us.
What was so horrific about helping to catch animals, anyway? She’d probably make a great hunter, fast as she is. Unfortunately she had used that speed to retreat back to the top-most branches of her tree and stare at me in horror.
“Sam?” I look down. Sophia had followed me. I had thought there was nothing more to be said and walked away. Yet she looked troubled, which was odd for her.
“Yes?”
“Are we monsters?”
What? Why would she think that... Oh, I bet ‘Rainbow’ called me that. She’s a horse… And horses don’t hunt other animals for food. My gauntlet-covered hand hits my face, harder than I had intended. Yea, that was a major Faux Pas. Nice going Samuel.
“No. We do what we must to survive. There is nothing monstrous about that.”
“Alright then.” She doesn't look all that convinced. Damn it, where’s Rodin when you need him?
“Captain!”
One of the Healers is calling me?
“Yes, Healer, what is it?”
“The patrols all got back in. We've got another six hospitalized due to wolf attacks, but they brought back a trussed up wolf, and a live deer.”
Well that’s mixed news if I ever heard it. The Healer, however, is still talking.
“We've already used up the deer, as a result, Everblaze and Mender are well on the road to recovery. It will still take weeks before they can so much as get out of bed, barring more sacrifices.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Do you know where they took the wolf?”
“I think it’s still in the gatehouse.”
“Thank you. You’re dismissed.” Technically, he doesn't answer to me, but he seemed to be expecting a dismissal. As it is, he jogged back to the hospital, probably anxious to leave his patients for too long.
I head to the gatehouse, trying to decide what I’m going to do with a wooden wolf as a prisoner.
I don’t get long to ponder it, the gatehouse wasn't that far away. Entering the gatehouse, I approach the crowd of guards in the far corner of the room.
I rudely push my way to the front.
Dozens of ropes hold the wolves’ legs tight against its side, and someone has constructed a makeshift muzzle for the beast as well. Its eyes are like tiny green fires in otherwise empty wooden sockets, and they roam wildly, likely looking for an escape. Up close, you can see the abnormal green sheen between the gaps of the wood. I’d bet that’s the magic holding it together.
I've seen these wolves in action, this one is struggling, but nowhere near as much as it should. Its… sluggish. Like it’s fighting through an ocean of syrup. Its making noises too. Reminds me of a sick dog, though these creatures have been reported to seemingly not even have a real ability to feel pain.
Whatever the reason, it’s not escaping anytime soon in this condition. “I want a 24 hour guard on it. Nobody touches it. We wait for Rodin to examine it, and I want it alive to make that appointment.”
Derik must be in the crowd, as I can hear him start assigning shifts to watch the monster.