Prologue: Winds of Change
A woman ran, ducking and weaving her way through thick trees and low branches. Her lungs burned, and relief washed over her as she exited the forest.
There was a town up ahead. If she could just reach it, she could-
She heard the crunch of snapping branches and twigs behind her. Walls of dirt erupted from the earth and immediately transmuted to stone, robbing her of her one chance at freedom.
The girl, wide-eyed, spun around.
Her pursuer's blood-red, black sclera, eyes, almost hidden under his dark hair which a scar lays upon his forehead, bore into her soul. He clung to an iron estoc as he advanced on her. The mage instantly recognized her pursuer as being Curtis Sigismund, a black-skinned orc who led the Silverhand Order.
Her familiar, a hummingbird with silver wings, flew from her shoulder.
She nervously shifted the satchel on her shoulder. Unsheathing her gladius, it's blade made of obsidian with handle and hilt of wood, and raised her wooden targe, a small shield strapped to her forearm, into combat stance. Her legs trembled. With every second she remained standing, she neared closer to the verge of collapse.
Curtis’ two familiars, a twin-tailed wolf and a white raven, came up at his sides. He raised his estoc and cast a spell upon himself, and his familiar goes into his estoc pommel and cloak clasp. Then, with simmering anger in his voice, he said, “Give me the orb and I shall make your death swift. Defy me, however, and you will pay for the lives you took from my soldiers with much more suffering.”
Her thoughts raced back to when her caravan guards were mercilessly slaughtered. She remembered their terrified screams as one by one they fell. They could not have sacrificed themselves just for her mission to fail.
“No matter what, don't let the lord get his hands on the Obrilon.”
Yes, of course. The loss of their lives was not in vain. Although her chances of getting through this conflict alive were slim, her leader would be disappointed in her if she failed. She absolutely had to keep the Obrilon out of Curtis’ hands.
She subtly moves her feet form the spell signs, stumbling a few times and hoping Curtis wouldn't see.
“Death shall take me before you have it!” she uttered at him.
“Lapus speri mitus!”
She then finish the spells with a twirl of her arm, her familiar finishing the command, and swung it over the ground. A clump of dirt rose from it and transmuted to stone. At the same time, she cast a wind spell and threw the stone at him.
Curtis leapt to the side. The stone hit his left shoulder, and he cringed. This, however, did not deter him, and he threw his estoc at her and drew the symbols of arcane.
“Magia igneel,” he shouted at the same time. Two bolts of purple shot from his palm and flew towards the mage.
“Odagio,” she said, drawing the shield symbol. The air coalesced around her, forming a green tinge, in a protective dome.
Curtis’ estoc bounced off her shield, the force causing her to stagger, and embedded itself in a nearby tree. His missiles disappeared upon impact alongside her shield.
He cast a wind spell and jet towards her. His blade broke loose of the tree and flew at her with the order to his familiar.
She swung her shield as fast as she could, her arm feeling like leaf, and barely deflected the estoc. It missed her chest but sank into her left shoulder and she shrieked.
The mage arm went limp, making her drop her sword. An extreme pain surged through her body.
Curtis finally reached her. He wrapped his hands around the estoc and pulled it out of her shoulder.
The mage, gritting her teeth, summoned her magic. She pulled a fistful of water from the grass, which immediately made the green blades around her wilt. And threw it at his face and quickly uttered a spell to freeze it into ice.
He yelped in pain when it made contact with him. The estoc fell from his grasp. He began heating his hands so as to melt the ice, only for his opponent to then slam her foot against the ground. A shockwave of vibration and dirt sent him flying away from her.
She slumped against Curtis conjured walls and clutched her limp arm. She began the incantation and signs for a teleport spell. Trying to control her breathing as she slowly slipped to unconsciousness.
her familiar began pulling chi from its realm and funnels it into the glyphs. Forming a circle beneath her.
Curtis sat up. He blinked and saw the mage and her familiar before him. It suddenly hit him as to what they were doing.
“NO!” he bellowed, jumping up. He recalled the estoc back in his hand and ran forward, activating the runes to sharpen the edge, and slashed at her.
The blade cut into her abdomen, interrupting her last incantations. The last thing she saw before warping was the estoc slicing through her flesh.
She then shot out of the exit and slammed upon the dirt with a loud crash, breaking and twisting the limbs on the right side of her body.
“Please forgive me, sir,” she softly cried, feeling her life and blood leave her body. Paralysed with pain and exhaustion.
She heard loud footfalls as she see a figure comes into view.
