Kyran sank down behind the rock breathing hard. All he had wanted to do was explore the place where magic wasn't allowed. He hadn't expected this. Metallic wolves that breathed ice had tracked him down while he was exploring the gray plains. Their relentless hunt of him and him alone, despite passing other mages, made Kyran believe Sylvia was responsible. Not directly of course as his teacher would never seek to harm him. Yet her past troubles and her magic brought problems. She had passed those problems to him when she taught her magic to him.
Kyran cursed as he mentally went over what he had on him. Black Flower's Thorn, clothing, quiver of 15 arrows and Last Sight was all he had. Not much use against what was hunting him. It had taken five arrows to realize weapons were useless. The wolves howled as they neared him. Why they had let him go instead of mauling him initially was a mystery. Perhaps they were malicious in nature.
Kyran pushed himself to his feet. A groan slipped through his lips. "Sylvia, you have some explaining to do. There were hills and trees nearby. Kyran hoped they would lend him an edge. There were only five wolves. Climbing the trees should help him take care of them. Provided they couldn't climb. Kyran pushed the thought away. He didn't want to think about that. Pushing off from the rock, Kyran ran as fast as he could. There was a metallic squeal as the wolves followed.
They were gaining. He could feel their breath on his heels. Wait, did metallic wolves breathe? Kyran couldn't risk looking back. It would slow him down too much. 10 meters. Then he would have the advantage. 10 measly meters. He heard metal shriek as a wolf's jaws snapped at his calf. Crap. He might not make it.
Free me. Give me blood and the wolves will be no problem. Then we can find the teacher and make her pay for endangering us. The demon cooed. Kyran shook his head and darted to the side. He couldn't use the demon. Wouldn't. It would take over. Kyran wasn't strong enough to control it. The wolves snapped again. He began weaving back and forth. Come on, Host. We can rip them apart! Let me out! LET ME OUT NOW! Kyran shoved the demon away. Not an option.
Right as he reached the treeline, one of the wolves caught his calf. Kyran grit his teeth as he yanked his leg free. The motion wrenched him around to face the wolves. Not ideal. They snarled as the surrounded him. Frost began to coat the metal around their mouths. They planned to freeze him eh? Kyran launched himself into the air. He sailed over the wolves and grasped the bark of a tree. Silently he thanked his tormentors. He never would have had the strength otherwise. As quick as he could, Kyran shimmied up the tree. Several blasts of ice hit the bark.
Once he was high in the tree, Kyran looked down. The wolves had circled his sanctuary. Couldn't climb then. Good news. Now the question was how to deal with them. Kill them. Blood. Give me blood. We can destroy them! Kyran growled as he pulled Last Sight off his shoulder. He grimaced at it. His run across the plains hadn't left him much time to unstring it. Hopefully it wasn't damaged. That would really limit his options.
Kyran positioned himself on the branch for maximum draw. Before he had shot blindly. Now he would aim for the weak points. Eyes and the throat. "Hey uglies! Sylvia isn't here! I am! And I'm much stronger than she is." The wolves looked up. So they weren't intelligent. Perhaps they were only trained to follow a specific magic. That meant Sylvia really was to blame. One of the wolves opened his mouth. An arrow sprouted from it a moment later.
The wolf choked and fell to the ground. Kyran smiled as it began convulsing. The smile disappeared as the other wolves raised their muzzles. Ice pummeled the branch. It formed around it sealing any and everything in place. Kyran swore loudly. His arm and foot were now trapped to the branch. Last Sight was useless covered in ice. The wolves howled in triumph. They had won. Free me. The demon said sounding smug. You can't win without me Kyran refused to believe that.
He ripped Black Flower's Thorn from its sheathe. Hacking at the ice probably wouldn't do any good. Kyran closed his eyes against another possibility. The wolves were celebrating still. Snarling and howling. Maybe they were signalling somebody. Kyran had no idea. Sylvia hadn't said much about her past. Alright enough dwelling. Time to act. Dread had been weighing him down. Now he cast it aside. There was only the fight. Only his victory. Black Flower's Thorn came down.
It sliced like butter through the branch. It didn't quite cut through however. Kyran hadn't expected it to. He was cutting across his body. He began hacking at the branch frantically. It didn't take long for the branch to crack. The added weight of the ice helped immensely. A few more whacks had the branch pulling free of the tree. The wolves hadn't noticed anything as they were still howling.
The branch crushed two of the wolves. Kyran rolled free as the ice shattered. Despite rolling, he took a majority of the damage. His left arm was cut from the back of his hand to the shoulder. Useless now. Last Sight was useless as well. It wasn't destroyed but he needed two hands to wield it. Well and a string since it had snapped in the explosion of ice. Kyran made a mental note to enchant it as soon as possible. He took a precautionary step. Pain shot up his left leg. While there was no visible damage, Kyran could clearly feel the injury. It had been stupid to leave his duster behind. It might have absorbed some of the damage.
The wolves snarled, snapping at him as they circled. They didn't seem surprised. Reading metallic faces wasn't a skill Kyran had mastered however. What to do? They had the upper hand now. Bow useless, motion nearly suspended through injury. Kyran felt a slow smile creep onto his face. This was a real challenge. "Well come on then!" He shouted tired of the waiting. Black Flower's Thorn bobbed eagerly at his side.
The first attack was at his back. He'd expected that. Kyran hit the ground. The wolf soared over him, skidding as it hit the ground. It spun to face him. Malice glittered in those cold gray eyes. The wolf started emitting white with every breath. Another ice attack then huh? That was why the other wolf hung back. Ice erupted from the wolf's maw seconds later. Kyran rolled to the side . He decided the pain was worth it. Pushing himself up, Kyran charged the wolf. Pain mixed with his adrenaline, acknowledged but numb. Black Flower's Thorn sunk into the wolf's eye. "YYYEEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Kyran screamed. He collapsed on top of the dying wolf.
Kyran rolled over to face the final member of the pack. It looked cowed. Its tail was between its legs and its head was down. The metal plates imitating fur were down as well. Beaten? Kyran couldn't risk guessing. He held Black Flower's Thorn in front of him. It was a challenge, a dare for the wolf to attack. It turned and ran. Kyran waited for a moment before falling back against the dead wolf.
"Sylvia, you have some explaining to do. If I ever go back home." Kyran breathed. His pain was starting to bother him as the adrenaline seeped away. It hadn't been his most elegant fight but Kyran would count it among his best. He had been handicapped in more than one way. Kyran let his grin slip so he could focus on binding his wounds. When he had patched himself up, Kyran fashioned a crutch from the branch he had brought down. It was much bigger than he had thought. It took crawling around for a while to get a serviceable crutch. Kyran grimaced as he began the slow trek back to town. He was bloodied, dirt covered his knees and he felt half dead. The wolf was a problem but wherever that wolf ran off to was a problem for another day. All Kyran wanted was a bath, a drink and an audience to regal with the tale of Kyran and the Silver Wolves .
Word Count: 1434
Kyran cursed as he mentally went over what he had on him. Black Flower's Thorn, clothing, quiver of 15 arrows and Last Sight was all he had. Not much use against what was hunting him. It had taken five arrows to realize weapons were useless. The wolves howled as they neared him. Why they had let him go instead of mauling him initially was a mystery. Perhaps they were malicious in nature.
Kyran pushed himself to his feet. A groan slipped through his lips. "Sylvia, you have some explaining to do. There were hills and trees nearby. Kyran hoped they would lend him an edge. There were only five wolves. Climbing the trees should help him take care of them. Provided they couldn't climb. Kyran pushed the thought away. He didn't want to think about that. Pushing off from the rock, Kyran ran as fast as he could. There was a metallic squeal as the wolves followed.
They were gaining. He could feel their breath on his heels. Wait, did metallic wolves breathe? Kyran couldn't risk looking back. It would slow him down too much. 10 meters. Then he would have the advantage. 10 measly meters. He heard metal shriek as a wolf's jaws snapped at his calf. Crap. He might not make it.
Free me. Give me blood and the wolves will be no problem. Then we can find the teacher and make her pay for endangering us. The demon cooed. Kyran shook his head and darted to the side. He couldn't use the demon. Wouldn't. It would take over. Kyran wasn't strong enough to control it. The wolves snapped again. He began weaving back and forth. Come on, Host. We can rip them apart! Let me out! LET ME OUT NOW! Kyran shoved the demon away. Not an option.
Right as he reached the treeline, one of the wolves caught his calf. Kyran grit his teeth as he yanked his leg free. The motion wrenched him around to face the wolves. Not ideal. They snarled as the surrounded him. Frost began to coat the metal around their mouths. They planned to freeze him eh? Kyran launched himself into the air. He sailed over the wolves and grasped the bark of a tree. Silently he thanked his tormentors. He never would have had the strength otherwise. As quick as he could, Kyran shimmied up the tree. Several blasts of ice hit the bark.
Once he was high in the tree, Kyran looked down. The wolves had circled his sanctuary. Couldn't climb then. Good news. Now the question was how to deal with them. Kill them. Blood. Give me blood. We can destroy them! Kyran growled as he pulled Last Sight off his shoulder. He grimaced at it. His run across the plains hadn't left him much time to unstring it. Hopefully it wasn't damaged. That would really limit his options.
Kyran positioned himself on the branch for maximum draw. Before he had shot blindly. Now he would aim for the weak points. Eyes and the throat. "Hey uglies! Sylvia isn't here! I am! And I'm much stronger than she is." The wolves looked up. So they weren't intelligent. Perhaps they were only trained to follow a specific magic. That meant Sylvia really was to blame. One of the wolves opened his mouth. An arrow sprouted from it a moment later.
The wolf choked and fell to the ground. Kyran smiled as it began convulsing. The smile disappeared as the other wolves raised their muzzles. Ice pummeled the branch. It formed around it sealing any and everything in place. Kyran swore loudly. His arm and foot were now trapped to the branch. Last Sight was useless covered in ice. The wolves howled in triumph. They had won. Free me. The demon said sounding smug. You can't win without me Kyran refused to believe that.
He ripped Black Flower's Thorn from its sheathe. Hacking at the ice probably wouldn't do any good. Kyran closed his eyes against another possibility. The wolves were celebrating still. Snarling and howling. Maybe they were signalling somebody. Kyran had no idea. Sylvia hadn't said much about her past. Alright enough dwelling. Time to act. Dread had been weighing him down. Now he cast it aside. There was only the fight. Only his victory. Black Flower's Thorn came down.
It sliced like butter through the branch. It didn't quite cut through however. Kyran hadn't expected it to. He was cutting across his body. He began hacking at the branch frantically. It didn't take long for the branch to crack. The added weight of the ice helped immensely. A few more whacks had the branch pulling free of the tree. The wolves hadn't noticed anything as they were still howling.
The branch crushed two of the wolves. Kyran rolled free as the ice shattered. Despite rolling, he took a majority of the damage. His left arm was cut from the back of his hand to the shoulder. Useless now. Last Sight was useless as well. It wasn't destroyed but he needed two hands to wield it. Well and a string since it had snapped in the explosion of ice. Kyran made a mental note to enchant it as soon as possible. He took a precautionary step. Pain shot up his left leg. While there was no visible damage, Kyran could clearly feel the injury. It had been stupid to leave his duster behind. It might have absorbed some of the damage.
The wolves snarled, snapping at him as they circled. They didn't seem surprised. Reading metallic faces wasn't a skill Kyran had mastered however. What to do? They had the upper hand now. Bow useless, motion nearly suspended through injury. Kyran felt a slow smile creep onto his face. This was a real challenge. "Well come on then!" He shouted tired of the waiting. Black Flower's Thorn bobbed eagerly at his side.
The first attack was at his back. He'd expected that. Kyran hit the ground. The wolf soared over him, skidding as it hit the ground. It spun to face him. Malice glittered in those cold gray eyes. The wolf started emitting white with every breath. Another ice attack then huh? That was why the other wolf hung back. Ice erupted from the wolf's maw seconds later. Kyran rolled to the side . He decided the pain was worth it. Pushing himself up, Kyran charged the wolf. Pain mixed with his adrenaline, acknowledged but numb. Black Flower's Thorn sunk into the wolf's eye. "YYYEEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Kyran screamed. He collapsed on top of the dying wolf.
Kyran rolled over to face the final member of the pack. It looked cowed. Its tail was between its legs and its head was down. The metal plates imitating fur were down as well. Beaten? Kyran couldn't risk guessing. He held Black Flower's Thorn in front of him. It was a challenge, a dare for the wolf to attack. It turned and ran. Kyran waited for a moment before falling back against the dead wolf.
"Sylvia, you have some explaining to do. If I ever go back home." Kyran breathed. His pain was starting to bother him as the adrenaline seeped away. It hadn't been his most elegant fight but Kyran would count it among his best. He had been handicapped in more than one way. Kyran let his grin slip so he could focus on binding his wounds. When he had patched himself up, Kyran fashioned a crutch from the branch he had brought down. It was much bigger than he had thought. It took crawling around for a while to get a serviceable crutch. Kyran grimaced as he began the slow trek back to town. He was bloodied, dirt covered his knees and he felt half dead. The wolf was a problem but wherever that wolf ran off to was a problem for another day. All Kyran wanted was a bath, a drink and an audience to regal with the tale of Kyran and the Silver Wolves .
Word Count: 1434
