Millennial Mage

Chapter 499: Lunar Hunt

Tala and Rane left a… blackened plain in their wake as they headed north, moving through the air in their unique ways.

Terry stuck around for a bit, flickering around the edges of the area that Tala had devastated… No, devastated was too gentle a term.

Her third and fourth blasts had been done as sweeping strikes across larger areas of land.

Those had obliterated everything down to the soil—and from what the Talons could tell, an inch or two of soil as well—but the attacks hadn’t reshaped the terrain as much as the first two breaths had, understandably.

Those—overlaid one atop the other—had made a decidedly significant alteration to the hills that had been at the center of her area of effect.

Terry had stayed behind because he seemed to think that some things could have survived the sweeping devastation of her third and fourth strikes, and some of those lesser prey animals might be fleeing the area when they had cause to believe that the devastator—Tala—was gone.

He was apparently hankering after a snack, or at least a different type of hunting.

Tala was… surprisingly okay with that. As she considered, she realized that she’d likely killed millions of insects, along with anything else that had been a part of the local ecosystem within the area affected—though, some hole dwelling critters might have survived… if they'd been deep enough, or if they'd had a means of sealing their tunnels.

Regardless, Tala had left the dark, rich soil behind.

One of the Talon researchers who had been a farmer before his rebirth—and who still worked with the farmers of Irondale—had commented that that dark, rich aftermath was actually likely an incredibly rich soil for planting. Apparently, fire was often one of the tools used to refresh areas of land to help maintain crop health and harvest nutritional content. The additional destruction of most of the rocks in the soil would make it even more ideal for large scale farming.

It was almost a shame that it would never be of use to anyone.

Imagine the boom in productivity and population if the average citizen could have even a modicum of safety in the Wilds.

-And if they could build something that was really theirs, something that they could pass on to their…- Alat hesitated at the charged topic.

Tala decided to leave the topic entirely.

Lyn was apparently currently in discussions with Irondale farmers—of which there were a surprising number, which added weight to her previous contemplations—on incorporating dissolution magic cycling into the field rotations for the best harvest results.

They were also discussing what, if anything, to charge for the service, to ensure it wasn't abused or taken for granted.

-Your mind keeps going back to your breath.-

Well, yeah. That was amazing. I love it when a plan comes together.

-And this time it didn’t even take a team to clean up after your experiments.-

After a long moment of irritated silence, during which she continued to run through the air with great leaping strides, Tala sighed. …I have nothing meaningful with which to threaten you. ?ä???Ês

-Nothing that you’d actually do. And I thank you for that.-

Tala groused in her own mind as the mountains scrolled by on her left, the sun dipping down behind them.

-Oh, Rane is wondering if you want to set up for the night on a mountainside? He’s found a nice little ledge that should have a commanding view of the surrounding vistas.-

She considered for only a moment. Sure, that sounds wonderful.

* * *

It only took them another day or so to reach the edge of the forest, and it only took even that long because they weren’t pushing that hard.

Tala, Terry, and Rane landed and symbolically came together on the plains just outside the southern edge of this northern portion of the encircling forest.

There were some individual trees farther out, and it could be argued that the forest really started at the far edge of the great, interlacing root-system that Tala could see with her threefold sight, but the three weren’t concerned with exactness. Again, it was symbolic.

“Shall we?” Rane gestured for them to move forward.

Tala grinned. “Into the woods we go.”

-You two are ridiculous. You were just here with Terry a little bit ago. This isn’t a ‘first’ of anything.-

Terry trumpeted toward the sky, adding his opinion to the mix.

-You too?- Alat was clearly purposely speaking into Terry and Tala's minds at the same time.

The terror bird looked toward Tala and let out a decisive chirp while bobbing an affirmative.

-I’m surrounded by crazy people.-

And avians.

-...Crazy. People.-

Tala huffed a laugh but didn’t respond further.

The three moved forward, passing under the trees.

There was no ringing pronouncement, nor any swelling melody, but they all felt something shift, something that hadn’t been present the last time that they’d come this way.

-Oh, come on. You couldn’t have known that this would happen.-

True, but it felt weighty, like something was awaiting us here. So we treated it with the gravitas that seemed appropriate given the feeling.

Alat harrumphed just as a small—actually normal sized—wolf came from deeper in the woods.

It was alone, which was the first sign that something was odd. Where was its pack?

Then, there were the facts that it was a mundane wolf, and then the fact that it was walking straight for them, not stalking, not flitting from tree to tree, just walking as if on some sort of summer stroll.

The lupine was simply trotting their way like a puppy called home to his master.

-It’s a trap!-

Tala almost jumped, and her armor had instantly flowed out of her in unconscious reaction, encasing her in its protective embrace. What? Where? How?

-Well, look at him?- Alat indicated the wolf as it sat back on his haunches some thirty feet away. -Is there anything about that which doesn’t scream ‘Look at me! Don’t pay attention to your surroundings.’? I mean, really… Who would fall for that?-

…So, to be clear, because the wolf is eye-catching, you think it’s a trap?

-Yes.-

Alat… Are you kidd— Tala’s thoughts hitched as something seemed to violate her authority, while leaving her aura intact. She only noticed at all because of all of the training that she’d been doing with Alat to separate her perception of the two.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Greetings, human.”A massive wolf seemed to appear out of nowhere, crouched low as if about to spring forward… or so its eyes would be at the same level as the humans it was addressing. “Your arrival was expected. We bid you greetings, Tala, acknowledged of the Pack.”

Tala twitched, grateful that her armor was already deployed.

Rane’s head jerked, twisting to the side so that he was looking at the large wolf without having to turn his body to face it.

Terry flickered away, appearing behind Tala and Rane, facing away from the larger wolf, clearly trusting them to defend his back as he watched theirs.

Alat cackled. -I knew it.-

Tala grimaced, chose not to address her alternate interface, and bowed toward the wolf, being careful to never take her eyes off of its gaze. “Greetings. How shall we address you, esteemed member of the Pack?”

The wolf chuckled a deep throaty growl. “I am not a member of the inner hunt. I am still young and inexperienced, simply one of the minders of the lesser packs. You may call me Lupin. Let us depart.”

“Where, wolf?” Tala asked immediately.

The massive eyes regard her for a moment. “Where, what, human sireling?”

“Where are we going?”

“To Anatalis, of course. He sent his greetings, and it is only polite that you return them as quickly as you can.” Lupin flicked his head in order to indicate the mundane wolf. “He will be your runner. Follow him to the best of your ability. Stay on the ground, or you will not be able to enter the domain of the Pack.”

Tala was about to object when she really heard the words that Lupin had used. Not able to. They wouldn’t be denied. It wouldn’t be rude; they wouldn’t be able to enter.

Rane connected the facts as quickly as she had, adding in a bit of knowledge she’d come across, but never delved into. “The sovereign domain of a god-beast?”

“Where else would the Pack call home, little human?” Without waiting for further questions, Lupin simply faded from Tala’s perceptions, all of them save her budding awareness of her own authority.

That wasn’t sufficient to pin down where the wolf was, just the general direction of something that was keeping her from maintaining her authority around herself completely.

The runner-wolf turned and took off at a slow trot to start.

Tala glanced toward Terry. “You had better not flicker. I think there are strict conditions for passing the border of this domain. I don’t want you to be left behind.”

Terry groused momentarily but quickly agreed regardless.

Without further delay, the three took off at a healthy run, quickly regaining ground on the wolf before them.

The wolf, of course, sped up as soon as they drew near, matching their rushing pace, even though it seemed far harder for it than it was for them.

They ran through the darkening woods, even though it wasn’t even noon yet.

The trees weren’t that closely packed, nor was the foliage overhead that thick or interwoven.

There also weren’t clouds overhead.

Yet, even so, the forest grew dark as they proceeded.

Then, up ahead, beyond the racing wolf, Tala saw a deer. She alerted the others to its presence even as the cervid obviously noticed them and took off perpendicular to their erstwhile path.

The runner-wolf let out a howl and diverted immediately, head dropping low in a clear, hunting posture.

Tala had a moment of frustration. Really? The wolf is getting distracted so easily?

Then, she actually thought about what was happening and immediately turned after the lupine hunter, speeding up.

Rane and Terry were right on her heels, even as she overtook the wolf.

With a gesture, she sent Terry out wide while she diverted from the direct route in the opposite manner, the two of them flanking the fleeing deer.

With their Refined-level physiques, it was almost trivial for them to overtake and then bypass the cervid before they both came back toward the middle, hemming the deer—the stag—in.

The stag reacted immediately, turning to face the ‘lesser’ threat of the wolf, Rane just behind.

The little wolf growled rolling out of the way of the charging antlers, even as it stretched out and snapped at the creature as it passed.

Rane didn’t dodge, instead stretching forward—using incredible dexterity and precision—to touch the deer between the antlers.

There was an odd disjointment of motion, the head jerked to the side with all the speed it had previously possessed forward, even as the body continued in the same charge.

The result was a loud snap, and the deer tumbling to the forest floor in a rather unhealthy heap.

Tala’s threefold sight had a perfect view of what Rane had done, and she felt herself grin broadly at his achievement.

Rane’s aura had been rebuffed entirely by the deer—which had somehow had the aura resistance to stave off even the influence of a Refined, despite seemingly being mundane—but he hadn’t let that deter him.

He’d been practicing utilizing his own magics through his authority for months now, just as Tala had proven was possible.

He was far behind her, as made sense for a myriad of reasons, but he had gotten to the point that anything he touched would come under his authority enough for him to enact his magics upon it, regardless of aura supremacy… in theory.

As limited as that seemed on first consideration, he’d utilized it to incredible effect already, but it was hardly time for Tala to be focusing on that.

All the other hunters stopped mid motion as a wave of something rippled over them all. The wolf, in particular, seemed incredibly affected.

Tala felt the almost uncontrollable urge to look upward, and she didn’t fight it, allowing her focus to shift that direction.

In the sky above was a full moon, hanging far too close to be natural, even though she couldn’t see anything wrong even with her threefold sight.

The wolf howled, even as a deep laugh rumbled through the forest.

The sound was very, very clearly from some predatory source, though it also carried a ringing note of amusement. “The intention was to only allow the use of physical enhancements and pack tactics.”

Lupin was suddenly there, but the voice hadn’t been his. He was laying on the ground, head tilted to the side to expose his throat.

“Rise, the fault was not yours. This male human sireling has capacity beyond what even I realized. The fault is mine.”

Tala shivered at the pronouncement, feeling the power within the claim. Did he just take ownership of a mistake? Is that even possible?

-I… I think he did. Is there really power in that?-

…Huh… You know what? I think there is, at a conceptual level. So, if that’s the case, why not at an Existence level too?

Lupin rose up once again and let out a growling whine before bowing to Tala. “I take my leave. Welcome to the Lunar Hunt.”

Before Tala, Rane, or Terry responded, Lupin was gone, this time even from her still nascent sense of her own authority.

The mundane wolf had vanished at some point without Tala noticing. Even when she went back in her memory, she couldn’t pin down when the wolf had departed, the memory of the wolf now seeming somehow fuzzy.

“Now, welcome to my domain, the forest behind the forest you humans know passing well.”

They looked around, not seeing anyone. “Am I to assume that you are everywhere?”

Tala had taken the lead, and Rane seemed to have no objections.

Anatalis chuckled again, causing a deep-seated, instinctual response within Tala. She knew that a predator was watching her, and she didn’t particularly like the sensation. “No, and yes. I am not everywhere, but I can be anywhere. I think you understand that well enough.”

Her soulbound space—Kit; Tala could move herself to anywhere within it with utter ease. “You have bound yourself to a voidling?”

There was an almost stunned silence before a wolf, barely taller than Rane at the shoulders, appeared before them, regarding Tala with obvious interest.

His coat was somehow as black as midnight and as white as new-fallen snow. It seemed both fluffy like a winter rabbit and like each hair could pierce more effectively than the lance of a charging Guard.

His mouth didn’t open as he spoke, but the voice was somehow obviously his, “You two are even more fascinating in person than news of you led me to expect.”

Terry flickered to Tala’s shoulder, regarding Anatalis.

“And Terry, avian cousin of my Pack. Be welcome, one who is of a kind with my kin.”

Terry trilled a subdued response—even though he kept the god-beast’s gaze—which Tala took as thanks for the welcome.

Tala herself was taking deep slow breaths, trying to keep calm in a situation in which she realized she had virtually no power. She had finally noticed the subtler change which had accompanied the swelling moon overhead and the final, full darkening of the sky which indicated the falling of night all around.

The change was both subtle and infinitely important; her authority felt as if it sat in the palm of another, cradled and caressed but not crushed or violated.

Not yet.

She was still in command of all that was hers, but all that was hers now lay within the authority of another, one far, far beyond her.

Is this what Walden feels?

-It can’t be. We aren’t beyond him, and we don’t actually have any authority over that which is his. I think that this is different.-

That was true. Here, though, rather than her host obviously owning the plate off of which she ate, she felt as if she had been given leave to take fruit from an orchard. It was all the property of the owner, and he could stop her at a moment’s notice, but she had leave to take some of the harvest—at least for the moment.

In light of that revelation, the growing lupine grin on Anatalis’ face sent a shiver down her spine. “We have much to discuss.”

The large wolf turned and began to walk through the woods, heading north, clearly expecting them to follow.

They shared a look, then did so without question.