Completed [Jungle Wilds] Song of Nature (Tinnok)

[Radiant]

The two brave Mry'uana dashed through the vegetation, descending down the Twins mountain with great ease, traversing expertly here and there to avoid obstacles despite the weight in their backs, well, there was a reason that the larger female picked Tinnok as Tsuya's light weight would not be much of an issue.

The Mry'uana duo soon arrived at the bottom, much faster than Tinnok's ascend, it didn't stop there, the beasts immediately picked up its speed again, blitzing through under jungle's foliage, so fast that Tinnok's vision would start to tunnel, yet through her mark, she could feel the beast she was riding was not afraid at all, in fact, it was determined and steadfast in its steps, nothing would honor the beast further than serving one of Caiyha's daughters. "Weeeee~" Tsuya's excited wail could be heard as she hugged her ride tight, closing her eyes shut in excitement. Who was this girl who could befriend the jungle animals without an apparent Phylonura mark? Much to be asked about her, but for now... they had more pressing issues.

As they rode through the jungle, Tinnok would hear more and more footsteps accompanied them, if Tinnok looked to her left and right, she would see no less than two tigers, two ethereal jaguars, and a pack of five Akilia hounds all running in unison beside them, joining to form a stampede of mix-matched predators, all bent on eradicating abominations of nature and life, the cult of undeath.

They rode fast and swift, and soon, in the distance, with her keen eyes, senses, and masterful observational skills, Tinnok would see humanoid shapes moving about beneath the foliage, they were the enemy of all nature, marked for extermination by Caiyha. All of the predators roared in unison, the cursed Myrian fang barely had a tick to notice the stampede before they were all upon them.

The tigers pounced on one Myrian each, crashing onto them with their powerful bodies, then swiftly ripped their throat apart, lopping off their head from their bodies, the ethereal jaguars worked in unison as they struck down then feasted on one Myrian, the Akilia hounds surrounded one Myrian, they were no longer an issue, their fate would be sealed soon enough.

After the initial ambush alone, four of the fang members lay butchered on the forest floor, leaving six, including its leader. The female leader narrowed her eyes in contempt, then hissed in Myrian language, "Foul Witch!" as she gazed at Tinnok in unadulterated hatred, Tinnok's gnosis would pulse with the disgust uneasy feeling at the leader's blood-eyed leer, "Fools! Chained Ones! Slaughter them!!" The leader commanded in guttural Myrian, then swiftly took off into the jungle, retreating with her bare legs, but... her speed, fast, too fast even for a Myrian, slightly surpassing the Mry'uana at top speed, dodging any would-be arrows thrown at her expertly, the fang leader quickly disappeared into the jungle's depths, but not to the direction of Taloba, but... someplace else.

Five of the remaining fang members, as if entranced in perfect tranquility, went utterly silent and placid as they grouped together, three brandishing their bows, while two wielded spears and gladius. They unleashed their arrows, the projectiles singing through the air, *THUNK! THUNK!* Managing to hit a tiger, a jaguar, and a hound square in their right eye, instantly killing them. They clearly weren't a pushover, their aim was true and, even with the help of the predators, underestimating them would prove unwise. A single tiger, a jaguar, and four Akilia hounds were left from the initial stampede.

The predators roared in anger, then a stand-off happened, between the animals and the cult of Returned, Tsuya stood in the back with her ride, pointing at the fleeing Leader, "Tinni! Tinni! That one is running away!!" She urged, but her eyes went to the predators, "B-but! T-they need help! T-" *WOOSH!* "Waaaah!" Tsuya and her Mry'uana dodged just in time as an arrow almost hit her, she heaved her breath, it looked like the remaining fang members wouldn't let them pass without a fight... to the death.

OOCFeel free to control the predators, Tinnok.

[Tinnok]

Tinnok’s stomach was somewhere in the back of her throat as the strange creature carried her through the foliage, lunging over the rocky slopes with a grace she could probably never hope to match, the beast thoroughly enjoying itself while Tinnok hung onto its furred neck for dear life. She had to focus, there was much more at stake here than her remaining on top of this magnificent creature.

Face pressed to short bristling fur, at first the Witch did not notice their companions. Then she heard a familiar bark, and raised her head enough to see the dark forms of a group of Akila hounds on the right, two of the jaguars ahead, two tigers to the left. The strangeness of this situation gripped her, on any other day she would once again question her mental state, and then her state of consciousness. But this was no ordinary day, and this was no ordinary Myrian fang they were pursuing. She had a mission, and apparently the jungle itself was at her back upon it, and this helped her sit up a bit straighter…as much as she dared without toppling off her mount, able to see the enemy when they approached.

4 Myrian dead and she and the Female creature she rode had barely made it into the thick of the battlefield. A choked cry escaped Tinnok’s throat as three of their allies were mowed down is just as quick a fashion, her face contorted in rage. Her hands pressed tightly into the Mry’uana’s fur tightly. She saw the leader run off, probably hoping to distract her pursuers and or eliminate them in time for her to get away, and suddenly a thought occurred to Tinnok. Did that woman have the same ability as Katherine did to control others…make them do exactly what you said? The witch grimaced. Whatever this power was, this power to bind those that despised you to their will, that seemed to be the antithesis of life, she would eradicate it here and now.

Through her mark she sent an image to the Mry’uana to charge the archers who would be reloading, striking one, suggesting that the creature back off, return to its home back in the mountains from whence it came. She didn’t know if the creature would take her advice, but she charged headlong with another high pitched shriek, the Myrian’s eyes widening as she reared and struck out at one of the archers, Tinnok letting go of her hold on the beast and tumbling backwards onto the ground. She calculated the fall, landing on the balls of her feet and hurling herself upward, daggers in handas she charged toward another archer who was aiming her bow at another Akila hound.

The witch snarled and body slammed into the woman, the arrow going wide even as it left the cradle of the bow, knocking her to the ground. The two females wrestled a moment then, jockeying for position on top of one another. The Myrian threw a punch to Tinnok’s jaw, which she dodged, but allowed the female to scramble on top of her, bow forgotten, hands fastening around Tinnok’s neck, a perfect opportunity for the half breed to spin one dagger in her right hand and shove it up under the female’s ribs.

She felt something rising in her gut, a strange fervent fury that seemed to propel her movements, these warriors were competent but she wanted their deaths already behind her so she could pursue their leader, who something niggling in her corner of her mind told her was the biggest threat.

A choked cry brought her back to the present, her neck sore, but the Myrian’s grip on it loosening as crimson spilled out of her chest and onto Tinnok’s. The half breed took her other dagger and stabbed it into the side of the woman’s neck, easing her suffering and dumping her dying body to the side, jumping up to see what had happened with the frey.

A spear was protruding from the chest of another Akila, the remaining tiger bleeding out, from various wounds on its body, her Mry’uana and the Ethereal jaguar managing to have mauled the other archer that Tinnok had originaly charged, leaving three remaining Myrians back to back, three furious Akila hounds snarling and snapping.

“Get back!” Tinnok screamed at the hounds. They of course did not understand her, but their eyes flickered to her at the noise and she made contact with each in turn, the same command issuing through her eyes. She did not have the kind of power to simply bade the beasts of the wilds where she wanted to go, but to see two glorious tigers, two hounds and a jaguar lying lifeless on the ground when this was a task Caiyha had given her seemed the most horrid of wastes.

Tinnok stepped forward, the Akila hounds backing off slightly, low growls emanating from their throats. Blood dripped down the hilts of both of her daggers, air heaving in her lungs, a fiery fury rising in her chest. “It is me you want, you worthless pieces of shyke. COME AT ME!”

And instead of waiting, Tinnok flipped both of her daggers into a reverse grip and sprinted headlong towards the three warriors, one drawing their bow for a final time and aiming it directly for her chest. She prepared her hands, drawing them before her body, and as the arrow was released at point blank range her arms crossed in front of her chest, the arrow sinking into the soft flesh of her right forearm. Tinnok screamed in anguish and rage and leapt upwards, her opponent raising his bow as if to shield himself from her attack. Her legs propelled her high in the air, both hands coming up over her head only to drive downwards with the full force of her weight behind the strike as both daggers sunk into either of the male’s shoulders, sinking into the flesh up to their hilts. His scream melded with hers, and suddenly she was aware of the Myrian to his left flying through the air as the three Akila Hounds could curb their killing rage no longer, deciding not to heed the witch’s pleas and instead tackling their opponent to the ground before ripping her to shreds. Meanwhile the singular uninjured Myrian left was quite finished with the witch’s heroic antics and lifted her well toned leg up, delivering a powerful kick to Tinnok’s ribs and sending her sprawling into the dirt, her grip lost on the two daggers still imbedded in the remaining male Myrian who was falling to the ground in pain.

Tinnok skidded into the dirt, trying to catch her breath, legs crumpled under her. This was far from done, she had to get up…

Word Count1,136

c

[Radiant]

A fight against two opposing forces ensued in the jungle depths, between the forces of nature and undeath, two contrasting faction bent on eradicating each other. The combined efforts of witch and predators resulted in the cursed Myrian ranks thinned to just one female, not including the fleeing leader of course. In normal circumstances, the last female would retreat, knowing it was surrounded by creatures of the jungle, a witch, and a strange green-haired young girl... however, the Myrian's eyes and expression were completely blank, as if she was a moving automaton, a living weapon, not sentient, but with instructions coded into her mind.

The last Myrian knew she wouldn't survive, she played her last-ditch card by taking out a bone dagger, pulsing with a strange sickly purple glow, then, she plunged the dagger into her own heart, killing herself with it. Then as her lifeless body fell to the ground, circles, ominous foul magical circles began to draw itself on the ground, tainting and manipulating the plants and vines around it, then a rumble shook the particular area they were in. "A-aaaaah!" Tsuya screamed in panic as her Mry'uana took a few steps back to ensure safe distance from the dead Myrian, her gut feeling told her something bad was going to happen.

The predators all snarled, both with anger and fear, at the seemingly dead Myrian, they took a few steps back though, their instincts telling them to do so, and true to their caution... the vines around the Myrian, the ones covered by the circle, began to... move on its own, their normally green surface glowing slightly purple, the vines gaining unlife as they slithered to the corpse, binding, weaving, and combining together. Another rumble from the sheer weight of vines moving together, the tainted plants then formed into the rough shape of a large creature, about seven feet tall, as it rose from the ground.

The risen creature of purplish vines then roared at the Witch, Tinnok couldn't feel any feelings or sentience from the creature in front of her, it was unnatural, it was an aberration of nature, something that would make any Witch contort in disgust. It raised its right vine hand as the creature made a slamming motion at the Akilia pack, the swift hounds dispersed to avoid the slow, but powerful, slam, the impact causing the ground to vibrate and rumble. Then the Vinumia look-alike lumbered forward, each step shedding vibrations and cracks on the ground, launching vines and powerful strikes with abandon, going on a rampage. Any attack made on its bulk would only result in the veins regenerating itself in a manner of few ticks

If Tinnok observed carefully however, an odd glowing purplish orb could be seen near its stomach, covered with vines, along with the dead form of the female Myrian who 'summoned' this being.

[Tinnok]

Only one left and Tinnok’s body shuddered as the Myrian stabbed herself with a pulsating dagger, falling to the ground and writhing uncontrollably. She took a step back, then another one. Just before she had done that she had seemed so…emotionless, no Myrian would take a fight like this lying down, but then again, no other Myrian would be hunted down and exterminated by the creatures of the jungle wilds itself.

She took another step back as roots and vines exploded from the female’s form twisting around each other to form limps, muscle groups via plant life, rising up on four legs with a strange head, its eyes glowing slits of purple that stared dumbly around, taking stock of its surroundings. On any other day, had this creature come through any other means, Tinnok would have been fascinated by it. She had never seen one before yet it seemed to be made from plant life itself, how would it speak to her mind if she could do such a thing, what would its thoughts and emotions be?

But staring at this thing only filled her with revulsion. Its vines and branches were brown and black with those strange tints of purple. Perhaps somewhere there was a living normal version of this creature in Mizahar, and if so she wanted to find it, but this thing? This thing needed to die.

She charged at it, even as its strangely small head swung from side to side. A giant…fist rose in the air, crashing down on the ground. The half breed saw the slow move coming and ducked and rolled tumbling out of the way, even as the earth quaked beneath when the blow hit the empty spot in the ground she had been just ticks before. This thing was strong, but slow, and the half breed had been dealing with that sort of opponent all her life…though…not quite like this. Another dagger was in her hand, and she rolled again between the thing’s back legs which were conveniently splayed apart, slicing at what she hoped to be a sort of tendon at the back of its leg.

The thing rotated slowly, an arm swinging low to bat her away, and the half breed was just a little slow this time, quick stepping backwards, but the edge of a vine catching her side and sending her spinning away like a top, trying to find balance. She snarled at her own misstep and dashed around behind the creature to get at its tendon again, only to see that the vines were repairing themselves and her work was already almost undone.
The monster swung another limb around with full force, a whirling fist coming at her with the power to simply shatter every bone in her body. Tinnok dropped flat on her stomach, hearing the whoosh of wind over her, and leapt to her feet, lungs already heaving as the trials of the day started catching up with her, arm burning where the arrow, partially broken now still lay imbedded in her flesh.

On her feet she dashed away, the creature slowly making its way towards her, the hounds harrying its heels uselessly, jaguar snarling from a distance as if trying to figure out what to do, the two Mry’uana staying close to Tsuya.

Tinnok kept backpedaling until her back was to a great tree. Every creature had a weakness, some spot that would help bring it down. Her yellow eyes roved over its purple slits, down its arm into its chest, where she finally caught sight of the pulsating orb, like a heart that was somewhere in the middle of it and the Myrian body that fueled the creature.

Her way in. Her dagger was sheathed in favor of the scimitar when Tinnok charged the creature once more, a real purpose in her eyes. The thing swung again and she lunged beneath its legs, sliding through soft earth and popping back up onto her heels, her eyes darting to the Ethereal jaguar. It was the quickest of the animals, more nimble and in its mind she flashed images of it taunting and teasing the great beast.

The jaguar sprung from its back legs, racing to the front of the vine monster even as it was turning around again to face Tinnok. Its head snapped back to following the silverly blur the jaguar made, and not knowing how much a distraction such a creature could pose, Tinnok took a few steps back and launched into a running jump upon the great beast’s back, her scimitar up and above her head, her weight and the blade coming down upon the vines in the thing’s lower back and slicing a few vines clear in half. She felt a rumble below her, and the thing seemed to sense its new appendage in the form of the half breed hacking and chopping away with the scimitar, clearly not the best weapon for the job, but one that would have to do, Tinnok using the outward curve of the blade to see saw the weapon back and forth, slicing through more of the plants, a triumphant smirk appearing on her fact when she felt the blade sink into the flesh of the recently dead Myrian.

The thing reared, sending Tinnok flying off and the air stolen from her lungs as she crashed heavily upont he ground, a moan of pain escaping her lips, thent he vine thing was off with an awkward gait like the Nandhai, charging Tsuya and the Mry’uana.

“RUN!” Screamed Tinnok gasping out as air filled her lungs once more, rising to her feet and sprinting after the creature. She had to get back on its back before too much of her work was undone.

c

[Radiant]

Tsuya watched in awe at the fight between Half-Breed Witch and Vine abomination, assisted by the remaining predators, the green-haired girl then made a small proud smile, directed at Tinnok, she whispered a few unheard words at her ride, for just a tick, her expression turned that into of a mature woman in the body of a young girl, filled with wisdom and knowledge, though it returned to her innocent doe-eyed expression soon after, then to a look of surprise when the monster turned its purple glowing eyes at her.

"W-waaaah! Ruuuuun!" Tsuya's large green eyes widened when the creature lumbered towards her and the pair of Mry'uana, the bipedal beasts didn't need a second a suggestion as they sprinted off together away from the charging beast, "Pssst, can you uh... confuse it so Tintin can uh... kill it?" The girl whispered to her ride and the beasts understood, changing their course so they were separated and each were now running in a confusing pattern, confusing the giant abomination, it paused in its tracks, taking its time to decide on which Mry'uana it should chase, giving Tinnok precious time to latch herself on its back.

The Witch could the its vine-flesh already in work at repairing itself, though with how much damage Tinnok caused earlier, it would take a while, and now would be the perfect chance for Tinnok to finish it once and for all, though the creature didn't make it easy, it finally realized about the humanoid female clutching on its back, the creature buckled and reared, trying to shake Tinnok off, then in its limited mind, it figured it could just squish Tinnok like a bug, the creature's body then fell like a timber on its back and if Tinnok didn't jump off its body soon, she would be squished like one.

[Tinnok]

Her heart pounded in her chest, her legs kicking up dust as she sprinted after the massive thing Tsuya’s distraction enough to get her in place one more time, Scimitar hacking and slashing at the already re-forming vines. They hadn’t made too much progress, however and Tinnok’s face broke into a feral grin as she continued hacking, finding the Myrian woman’s body more easily this time. She had stabbed herself in the heart, with the dagger, whatever magic had formed there seemed to also be the heart of the beast, so now she threw her scimitar to the ground and drew her dagger once more, driving it deep into her body and carving out chunks of flesh to get to whatever that purple orb was in the center of both beings. She felt something, a sort of cavern when a human heart would have been, but was no longer, for whatever had replaced it was much larger, Her hands sunk into blood and muscle and flesh, reaching for it, dagger stabbing, but blind to the thing’s location due to her position behind the woman.

That was when she felt it, the shifting of legs, the creature rearing up on its hindquarters only to tumble upon its back, looking to crush her with its sheer weight. For a moment Tinnok clung to the half broken vines of its back, waiting…waiting. Then when it tipped on the downside of its fall, gravity urging ti forward instead of vine muscles, Tinnok let go, dropping onto her legs and keeping balance with her free hand before rolling from under the beasts weight. She grimaced, the arrow in her forearm jarring, marring her flesh even more, she was so close, she knew she had loosened whatever it had been, this thing’s tainted core. And so with the thing flailing on its back the half breed pounced upon its stomach, seeing the strange glowing purplish orb more fully now, her efforts having pushed it somewhat out of the Myrian’s chest, vines protecting and encircling it, growing from it.

The witch didn’t have much time and hacked at the vines around the source of the heart, feeling the slow creature struggling to rise and flip her off of its belly. One, two, three. Suddenly the thinner tendrils connecting the things hear tot its vine body was exposed and she saw at them with a fervor, feeling the strange purplish rot oozing onto her fingers and arms as she did so. When there was only trendril remaining, Tinnok gripped the blade of her dagger in her teeth and reached both hands through the cage of vines, grasping onto the core with both hands and tugging with all of her might, yet it wouldn’t budge. Panic, frustration, and an impending sense of failure built up in her throat. She still had the leader to take care of, she was a witch of no less than the Mother of everyting Natural herself, she could not fail. Even as she tugged a strange handlike appendage came and wrapped itself around her torso. Despite the circumstances Tinnok’s panic changed to glee, and her hands wrapped even more firmly around the beating purple core, so that as the monster ripped her off of its stomach, so too did it aid her in ripping out its own heart.

For a moment Tinnok dangled there in the air, its grip crushing her ribs, oxygen deprived from her throat, then she looked down at the strange thing in her grasp and felt herself, and the creature toppling onto the ground.

The vines relaxed around her body and the half breed leapt up, her eyes immediately darting to Tsuya to make sure her and Mry’uana were alright. The Ethereal jaguar approached winding itself around her legs, a certain relief in the gesture that the witch had not been killed. Tinnok smiled, one hand still holding the core, stroking the jaguar’s silky fur for a moment. Then she strode over to Tsuya.

“Not done yet.” She said firmly, then raised her hand tot eh female Mry’uana who had taken her so far in such a short time. Their eyes locked and Tinnok asked a certain permission, for one last ride.

Word Count702

c

[Radiant]

At last, the Witch succeeded in slaying yet another aberration of Nature. The tainted vines immediately disintegrating, losing their purple glow and turning into regular dead vines, with brownish and black color. The Myrian corpse in the middle would be left there, the flesh reclaimed by nature's course. The beating purple fake Seedheart in Tinnok's hand stopped pulsing and turned into a lump of hardened dead bark, it would pose no more threat to life.

Tsuya approached the Witch, her green eyes somberly gazing at the fallen tigers, jaguar, and hounds, she closed her eyes then clasped her hands near her chest, muttering some kind of prayer to Caiyha in Common, soon after, she opened her eyes then looked at the Witch, "Y-yeah... l-let's go... let's go and get this done, I... want to go home..." The girl said, looking shocked by the scene that just played before her eyes, after the initial excitement and adrenaline died down, Tsuya looked scarred and it was clear she wouldn't ever be the same, but such was life, perhaps it was Caiyha's purpose to harden the girl, though compassion and kindness were virtues, foolish naivete could get one killed, rule of the jungle, survival of the fittest, was in play.

The Mry'uana locked eyes with Tinnok then gave her its consent, kneeling so Tinnok could ride it, the Witch's was wounded and through their touch, Tinnok could feel the Mry'uana's worry. The remaining jaguar and three hounds also stood by the Witch's side, they were ready to serve Mother Nature to the very end. It would be nightfall soon, evident by Syna gradually abdicating her reign over to Leth, they would have to move fast, but... where? Good thing that the hounds were already at work, sniffing at the ground then growling angrily at one direction, the direction where the Myrian leader ventured to, with their bark, the hounds sprinted forward, followed by the jaguar and Mry'uana with Tinnok and Tsuya on their backs.

They rode fast and swift, the Mry'uana doing what it did best, running. Then, about fifteen chimes later, they came upon the infamous Ruins of Old, or at least one of the temples, which should be overgrown by plants and vines, but this particular temple was devoid of life, blackened scorched land surround its walls, the remains of dead plants here and there. A pulse of revulsion flowed through Tinnok's gnosis, this was it... her target was inside.

"..." Tsuys went silent as she slowly disembarked from her mount, "T-tini?" She looked up at the Witch, "I-... I'm uh... I'm scared..." Not just her, the predators were all snarling and shrieking in growing fear, someone or something had twisted this ancient temple of Caiyha into something foul, a sacrilege to all nature.

If one ventured inside, even the very air tasted of lifeless odor, unnatural stench of rot was everywhere, and not even a single living insect could be seen inside the dark temple. If one listened closely however, one could hear faint footsteps in the corridors, several humanoid creatures, with dead-looking flesh, bulging red eyes, and gaunt limbs were patrolling, carrying various crude weapons made out of bone, they were even more of an abomination compared to the Myrian fang earlier. They seemed to be guarding a particular area in the tainted temple... the hall where the main altar was located.

[Tinnok]

There would be time after all of this over, Tinnok vowed, to come back and give the tigers, the akila hounds, the jaguar a proper burial. They deserved such for their service, and now that the half breed had no connections to her Myrian brethren, it seemed only fair. They had been her companions in this little war, her comrades, they should be returned to the earth with just as much honor. She would occasionally glance over at Tsuya. To see her friends cut down so harshly, without mercy, their bodies being left in pursuit of the greater threat, Tinnok felt for the girl. But the world was a cruel one, filled with hate and evil, she had been sheltered by Caiyha, and now she must see the world for what it truly was.

But first…the matter at hand. Even though the trip through the woodlands was short on the Mry’uana, Tinnok couldn’t help but feel as if the ticks dragged on like chimes, the chimes like bells. Daylight was fading out of the world, and with it a creeping uneasiness seeped into her bones, her Gnosis mark throbbing painfully as they came to the site of some old ruins. The half breed surveyed the scene. It was as if the very life of the earth had been leeched from the sight. No birds, frogs, or insects chirped or hummed to their small feral army now, the silence of death surrounding them. She felt the female Mry’uana fidget beneath her, and dismounted clumsily, her inner thighs sore from the fact that she had never really ridden like that before. She took a few ticks to straighten, focusing her attention on her injury and ripping off a strip of cloth from around her torso, ripping the arrow out of her flesh with a grunt of pain as crimson began flowing over her flesh and dripping onto the decaying earth. She poured a little water on the wound to cleanse it before the cloth wrapped tightly around the wound, already staining read on the comparatively light colored cloth. She took a long draught of her canteen, then dribbled some in the Mry’uana’s mouth, wishing she had more to share, more to give for all these creatures had done for her. She handed the rest of what was left to Tsuya, walking around the agitated beasts. She had one dagger, her bow and her quiver, as well as her spear. It was the longbow she drew now, notching an arrow loosely and holding the tall bow in one hand. It wasn’t an ideal weapon for enclosed spaces, but if she was quiet it might enable her to take out a foe or two at close range, Tinnok not believing for a tick that the Myrian leader was the only being in those ruins.

“Tsuya, stay with animals. I go alone. No more death this day but those in rocks.” She put a hand on the little girl’s leg. She had had enough horrors for one day, she needn’t be trapped inside stone walls with whatever lurked there.

Pulling back her bowstring half way, Tinnok’s form crouched down and she began to stride forward, long but cautious steps. As she walked she felt her stomach roil, arm aching beneath her Gnosis mark. She remembered this feeling from deep within the depths of that horrid Dhani cult, the deformed remains of those dead Dhani under a great tree. This was the aura of those that had betrayed Caiyha utterly, had gone against life itself, and she would enact vengeance, would return this place to its former glory, that she was sure of.

At first the halls seemed empty, darkening as Syna dipped below the horizon. Tinnok squinted, almost choking on the smell of rot, but not the loamy smell of leaves or bark, but of flesh of some terrible taint that had set itself into the very stone of the temple. She paced forward cautiously, freezing when she heard the first sounds of feet upon stone, and carefully crept down the hallway that the sounds came from. She turned a corner cautiously, peering around it arrow first, bow held horizontally across her body, staring down into the shadows to see a humanoid form that appeared to be…twisted. Its back was slightly humped, arms long and gangly, and its skin had a horrid pallor to it as it roamed down the halls.

Tinnok stepped out, tiptoeing into position then drew her bowstring back fully, twisting the bow vertically and setting her hips in line with the sight of the arrow, elbow up and above her head as she carefully took aim of the monstrous being. With a satisfying twang at full force her arrow launched itself down the shadowed hall, slamming into the back of the creature and sending it crashing into the floor head first with a crunching of bones and brain, such was the power of a longbow at such short range. Tinnok’s fingers plucked another arrow from her quiver, this one barbed. It was doubtful she’d get the chance to shoot another killing blow, and just as the thought crossed her mind she heard two more of the strange things, red eyes lolling in their sockets start charging for her. She had time for one more shot and tried to relax her breathing, something hard to do when two deformed abominations were sprinting towards you, all bony limbs and crude weapons flailing. She launched her second arrow into one of the thing’s stomachs, but though the blow made her opponent stumble, it continued charging with barely a reaction, more an inconvenienced grunt.

Tinnok dropped her bow and flipped her spear from behind her back, holding it out before her spear first. She barely knew the first thing about wielding the weapon, but if she could keep these things at bay, it would certainly be better than close range. They looked stupid, but strong.

The one without the arrow in its stomach arrived first, angling itself around her spear tip and running forward. Tinnok nimbly jumped backwards putting the spear tip back into play and ran forward herself, running the weapon into the creature’s chest, tip sinking into callow flesh, stopping slightly for a moment before the tip split out of the creatures back. It snarled in anger and slammed its bone club down on Tinnok’s shoulder causing her to cry out and spin away, suddenly losing grip on the spear now imbedded in the monster.

She backed up, drawing her dagger, and the arrowed abomination came at her, it holding something that was much more axe like than the club of her other opponent. It swiped down diagonally across her body and Tinnok leapt backwards, a thin line of red appearing on one shoulder, a hiss escaping her teeth. As it seemed to try to figure out what to do next Tinnok leapt up close, not liking this fight being two against one. She wrapped both hands around her dagger and jammed it up into her opponents jaw into its brain. A choked cry escaped her opponent brackish black blood spilling forth out of its mouth as Tinnok wrenched out her weapon and turned toward her second opponent who had removed her spear form its center and was charging her with it.

Dropping onto the ground, the spear whooshed over her head, and Tinnok used her blade to sever the tendon behind the creature’s kneecap. It started falling, but was surprisingly quick, and had her spear up already, jamming the butt directly down onto her skull. From her seated position the half breed didn’t have a lot of room tom maneuver and it clocked her colors and white spinning through her vision and she started crawling away, blinding pain rising behind her eyes.

“Goddess above, just petching die!” She screamed, and pushed herself up just enough off of her feet to tackle the undead being to the ground, knocking the spear from its grasp and shoving the blade of her dagger into its eye socket, drawing it out swiftly and punching the second one, just for good measure.

Now she rasped, trying to still her heart beat just a tick, blood covering her hands and forearms, her entire body soiled by the rot of this place, yellow eyes frantically checking before and behind her in case she had more company.

Word Count1,397

c

[Radiant]

Of course, Tsuya looked relieved that Tinnok would not force her to go inside the tainted ruins, but a look of worry flashed on her face and the predators around them, all of them wishing for the Witch to be alright. As Tinnok went inside, Tsuya would wave a small good-bye with her right hand before she rode the Mry'uana back, then just before she turned the beast around, the girl whispered something to the predators...

"Yes, let's call them... and him"

.........

Three abominations of undeath fell before Nature's might, with each false life slain, Tinnok took a step forward in reclaiming nature's reign in this plagued temple. It seemed these trio were the only ones around near the door leading to the main hall, surely there were more scattered around and in the temple, but they weren't an issue... for now.

As Tinnok approached the doors, in the silence, she could hear a conversation... between two people it seemed, one voice sound distinctly Myrian, but the other... raspy, wispy, horrid yet childish, like each and every word spoken by the unknown presence was a taint upon the air itself. If Tinnok observed, the doors were slightly ajar, just enough for the half-breed to sneak in.

Inside the main hall was a spectacle of undeath and utter sacrilege to nature itself, bones littered here and there, obviously strewn so they acted as decorations for the raised platform that was the altar... an altar formerly used to worship Caiyha, but now it was twisted and deformed to worship some kind of undead god, strange symbols that caused Tinnok's hair to stand up were drawn all over the platform.

On top of it, Tinnok could see... two beings talking with each other, the former was the Myrian leader, the other one was a child, she looked like a twisted version of Tsuya, with corpse-like pale skin, raven black hair, and sunken eye-sockets that faintly glow with a brackish brown color of miasma. A wave of revulsion, far higher and potent than even Evalin shot through Tinnok, along with a sense of caution, the 'child' on the altar was but a false reflection of the being's true nature, it was obviously a very powerful undead.

"Mistress Penderghast..." The Myrian leader knelt before the strange abomination of a child, speaking in guttural Myrian, "Witch attacked... with animals, an-" The girl suddenly raised her right hand, silencing the Myrian.

Then she opened her lips to speak, a sick combination of child-like pitch, a grown man's grunt, and an old woman's raspy voice flowed from her lips, it was like a cacophony of people speaking as one, speaking in Common, "And a so-called 'Spirit of the Forest', I know..." The girl raised her head then looked down on the Myrian as if she was trash, "So you come here, in your pathetic little feet, telling me that you can't handle a couple of big cats, two walking birds, a spirit, and a puny witch?" The girl snarled with her multiple voice then her right hand shot forward, choking the Myrian, no, more like an inch away from crushing her throat, "And do you know what else, Wretched On- oh silly me, you are just a puny living servant, you may be marked twice by Lord Uldr, but in the end, you are still a puny pathetic pulser, that aside,"

The abomination suddenly turned her head at Tinnok, glowing brown orbs staring into the Witch then back to the choking Myrian, "You have compromised us... So... I shall give you one last chance, kill the bitch or die trying... should be good, no? Ahahahahaha!" With an echoing loud cackle, the girl suddenly transformed into some kind of dense miasma, before she floated up into the ceiling, then hissed through the cracks to flow out of the temple, leaving the Myrian and Witch alone.

"You..." The Myrian stood up then faced Tinnok, she jumped down from the platform, landing right in front of the Witch, pure hatred oozing from her form, the Myrian brandished two bone gladius from her back, expertly wielding it as she spared no more pleasantries, directly charging at Tinnok with a raging scream, "DIE! DIE DIE DIE DIE!" She unleashed a flurry of dual combos, giving her all into this fight, her life was at stake here, either one of them would die and the Myrian would make sure the Witch becoming a sacrifice to Uldr, God-Lord of Undeath

[Tinnok]

Calloused bare feet snuck upon the cold clammy floor of the ruins, Tinnok hearing the faint whisper of voices and following the sound with much trepidation. Her arm pulsed with pain, she could feel bruises forming around her throat, a soreness from her cut and bruising happening around her ribs, forcing herself to stop and catch her breath lest the ragged gasps give her position away any sooner. Suffice to say the Witch was not in good shape. She retrieved her bow, deciding not to abandon any more of her weapons unnecessarily and half notched it, creeping forward to see a glimmer of light slanting down the hall. Edging forward she could hear the voices more clearly, and swept into the room into a nearby shadow coming off of a half toppled pillar, her eyes adjusting to a new lightness to the room. An uncontrollable shiver wound its way down her spine as she eyed the two beings. One was the Myrian from before…the other? Her skin crawled, that feeling in her stomach that she had managed to keep down rose like bile to the back of her throat an the back of a hand went to her mouth to keep form audibly gagging as she listened.

The name was clearly barbaric, and as Tinnok suspected, this horrifying child like creature had the ability to manipulate all around it like Evalin had with the Dhani. She drew her bow, arm quivering with a fear she could not shake, coupled with her exhaustion, but before she could shoot at the child thing it evaporated, transforming into a cloud the color of dried blood and disappeared, leaving Tinnok half concealed pointing her arrow straight at the female Myrian, and the female coming at her with two deadly looking Gladiuses.

Then she dropped her bow. The arrow that she’d send out even at point blank range she was almost positive would be deflected, and she needed to spend what little time she had focusing her mind. At this point the witch was fairly good at morphing to form claws on her hands and feet, but with her weariness she took an extra moment to focus, and did not send her djed into her fingertips, only her toes. There she pulled and sharpened claws, her fingers grabbing her last dagger, an old steel blade that had been with her for over a decade. It had scratches dents, but not a hint of rust, and the witch spent bells sharpening and cleaning all her weapons as befitting an individual raised by the clan of the Tempered Steel.

Her toenails thickened and curled, her magic barely retreating by the time the female was on her, gladius’s hacking viciously, Tinnok reminded that this woman had fled the battle that she herself had lost so much energy engaging in.

“You were weak to give into your hatred.” Tinnok said calmly, ducking the first blow, leaping to the side of the second one. She did not attack, not yet. “You had Myri, you had a whole city, a powerful city at your back and you threw it away because your hate for something, for someone consumed you so much, and now you’re just a pawn in this God’s game, expendable.”

A gladius nicked her arma and she winced, throwing up her dagger to parry a side swiping blow, twisting on one foot and kicking out and upward raking the female Myrian’s stomach with her fashioned claws. The female cursed, and Tinnok could see her hatred building. Tinnok’s body relaxed. “Caiyha gave the Myrians the Tskanna, her son Navre gave them the Myrian Tigers. She has sheltered and cared for us and you throw it back in her face.”

Another nick from a gladius, on her leg this time, her foot slipping in a small pool of blood, hand reaching out to grab a pillar, her breath coming in heaving gasps. But apart from wasting her breath she was keeping her movements sharp and simple, on the opposite side of things the Myrian female was attacking her like a furious Wanolo Baboon, heaving her weapons to and fro, expending much energy in her desperation to defeat her, a puny witch.

“I am expendable as well, I am just another creature in this cycle of life, I will die and feed the earth, give new life to some other being, and the world will forget me, as it should be. Will you? Or will you become an undead abomination, leeching the life out of everything you touch, desperately trying to grab at power, someone always controlling your every move?”

The Myrian screamed her rage and slashed in a perfect X with her weapons, lunging forward powerfully, predicting that Tinnok would jump back out of range. Tinnok gasped, her body rotating, twisting out the way but one of the blades sinking deep into the flesh of her chest, a deep line of crimson welling up. She saw a gleeful expression of triumph cross her opponents face and her hand not holding a dagger darted up, grabbing the woman’s wrist where it held the gladius imbedded in her chest. She wrenched the joint there, forcing her opponent to drop her weapon and brought up her right leg, holding her wrist and wrenching her foot into her stomach, claws digging deep into the soft flesh there. Then she tilted her head so the crown of it surged forward pummeling into the Myrian’s forehead, letting go with her hand and pushing out with her leg so that the force of the head butt and kick would send her opponent reeling. Her steps were heavy, no energy left for grace as she charged forward and pressed the tip of her dagger to the female’s rib, finding the right spot so that it would slide into her heart. She had no more words, she just stared into fearful eyes, still filled ot the brim with hate for someone, something, perhaps that god…Uldr. Then with a ripping of flesh and a spilling of bodily fluids, her dagger sank into the female’s heart.

And one dead Myrian, and one nearly unconscious half breed fell to the ground.

Word Count1,029

c