It was time.

I’d been locked up in this shitty palace for nearly three weeks, and the pompous assholes that inhabited it were grating my nerves. I’d been so close from incinerating every single one of the fuckers more times than I cared to count.

The training in the last weeks had drained me like nothing before - I didn't think the inability to affect my body with magic would be this stark a disadvantage. Every single fighter of note was capable of enhancing their body beyond our natural human limits, which meant all this training in melee weapons was completely useless - we wouldn't be able to impress any that managed to reach us!

I was glad I could leave that farce behind me, pretending to be entirely useless had been frustrating, even if necessary. I looked back at the city we just left - it painted a pretty picture, one of a prosperous nation, not one besieged by otherworldly ‘demons’.

Concentrating on the path ahead I wondered how we would be told to go about this ‘hunt’ of ours, they only gave us some basic information about the animals we were to kill - drakes, lizards about the size of a horse, fast but not particularly powerful.

It surprised me - I thought they would have us kill a bunch of goblins first, these little green monsters seemed the first monster everyone would kill. No matter, I didn't intend to stick around to kill them, I would vanish while we tracked them in the forest.

---

We arrived at our hunting ground three days later. The royal guards immediately started to set up a camp, while their captain called us heros to him.

“We have arrived at our destination. You have already been briefed on your opposition, we will teach you how to move silently and find your prey. You will then have to split up in groups and search the forest on your own.

We will wait for your success here.”

Yeah sure, they would shadow us, to make sure we didn't die - precious little heros that we were. The captain moved towards the forest’s edge, yet none of the guards followed. As he started droning about how to track different beings I slowly fell back and to the side - no one took notice of me, I was unable to cast more than basix runic magic after all.

Perfect.

Just when I arrived behind the back of a paticulairy ‘heroic’ guy - he was quite decent, even after the mind magic - I cast the first spell for today. It would mute sound, mask my smell and guide light around me without blinding me - the perfect spell to escape.

After making sure no one noticed my exit I sprinted for the forest. I passed the captain, still droning on - before I was out of sight. I immediately stopped, stripped all gear I’d been given, and buried it - it was chock full of tracking and suppressing magic - and used magic and the fibres surrounding me to create new clothes.

I took off at a sprint again, casting magic to clear my footsteps behind me. I was sure they wouldn't be able to track me now, it was time to leave this shithole of a country behind me. I would return on the road we used to get here again - I needed more information on this world if I wanted to blend in, and finding a city with a large library was paramount for that.

Ves'ra was herself again. Good. The snow had started melting a few days ago, and Arvog woke today, so she felt safe enough to try a new memory without drowning herself - she told Arvog to wake her if she didn't react after so long.

The last weeks had been incredibly fruitful for her, she’d read all of the books on magic she had been paid with, and her magic was so much more than it had been. The ideas she was able to get from the ‘hero’s’ memories had been equally, if not more, useful.

Ves'ra knew she’d be able to deal with whatever waited for her on the other side of the pass - once she packed up her stuff.

---

A day later everything was ready - the air was warm enough for Arvog to fly without cooling himself out again, and she had readied all her belongings. Those she would take with her at least. Ves'ra opened her pack and took out one of the artifacts she had been supplied with - it showed her to way towards her objective. It would only be useful once she crossed the mountains, but it still worked, and that was the most important part.

As she slowly wound her way upwards Ves'ra couldn't help but envy Arvog - she would give much to fly instead of walk right now.

Sadly flying with her magic, while certainly possible, was beyond her at the moment. She’d have to try again after her next evolution - and make herself lighter - but for now she had Arvog scout the easiest way for her and hiked.

Crossing the mountain pass would take about a week, and would be the most dangerous part of her journey - the mountains were filled with dangerous monsters, more flying than not.

Nothing had happened for two days - few beings looked at her, but none attacked. She was fine with that, and decided against hunting them in kind. She had enough rations to last for the crossing, and now that she left the protection of the trees she wasn't all that keen on fighting.

The third day started just as good - Arvog spied several lone beings watching her cross their territory, until he saw a mountain lion that didn't. It seemed dead set on hunting her, and she wasn't stupid enough to fight in unfamiliar territory if she could help it. She had Arvog find an open area near her, before setting up a trap.

The lion looked massive, so couldn't hope to withstand its attacks without cheating. So she did. She didn't nearly have enough water to shield herself - but there was a huge reservoir floating above her - so she used a third of her energy to create a powerful localized downpour. She caught all that water, transformed it into the force-resistant water with half of her remaining energy and formed into a shield, anchored in the ground below her.

The mountain lion wasn't stupid, so once it saw she knew it was there it jumped forwards, intet on ending her before she could attack it in kind. Too late - her shield was ready.

Once it was in range it pounced with a roar, claws outstretched and ready to kill her.

The claws easily penetrated into her shield, but the paws and monster behind it didn't. The monster came to a sudden stop with a painful roar, its head still near her shield.

Ves'ra grinned, perfect. Some water split off before the lion could retreat completely encasing its head in water. That whipped the lion in a frenzy - it roared, not a good idea as more air left its lungs - and lay into her shield.

The bubble held up perfectly, its claws had problems penetrating without the momentum of its pounce, and the hits lost power with each passing second, as her prey suffocated. It stopped soon after, instead trying to get rid of the water on its face - but nothing helped, the water seemed glued to it face.

It stopped moving a little later, and Ves'ra made sure it was dead before cutting it open. The lion did not think much of defense - its fur was thick to protect it against the cold, but easily cut.

She ate as much as she could - it was delicious, even if a little tough - and packed enough for a meal in the evening, before she took watch and Arvog was allowed to gorge himself. Before setting out again she took the claws - they looked dangerous and could prove useful.

The rest of the crossing was uneventful, though she had to defend Arvog against a few large birds - they ran as soon as they were hit by a little lightning.

When she saw the other side of the mountains for the first time she paused - the colors of the forest were different. Where her home was filled with beautiful shades of green when seen from above the south looked different - it was still green, but there was so much more brown.

She didn't see any kind of civilisation, which was perfect because she didn't want to be spotted. She did not spot any smoke, so she’d have to rely on the tracker she had been given. It pointed her towards the south-west, so she started her way down the much more treacherous path on this side of the mountain range.