Tilos tightened the grip around his sword and swung the blade down towards Fianna's head. She blocked it with her arm, the blade barely piercing her skin. A shock traveled from his arm through his body, akin to steel striking rock.

"I'll handle the Helgriffs and their master," Raven shouted. Tilos heard the breaking of glass and the splashing of liquid from behind him. The Helgriffs behind him roared a sound mix between an eagle and lion.

"I wanted Fianna, but I guess I take the Aesir Guards. The leader kinda looks cute anyway," Hiro said.

Tilos condensed a ball of Essence in his core. He split his mind, one part binding the Thread for Force and another creating a Foci, a mental construct, for the spell. He pushed Essence into the spell, and a wave of force expanded from his chest, impacting Fianna.

Fianna flew backward, the blast emanating from Tilos pushing her away from him. She slowed in mid-air, then landed gracefully on the ground. All the while, she was smiling back at Tilos. Lightning began to arc around her form, impacting the ground and throwing dirt into the air. Tilos' nose filled with the faint scent of burnt soil.

Tilos pumped Essence into his sword and shield. The blade and shield began to glow blue as force condensed around them. He then bound the Threads for Force and Strength to his body, sword, and shield, pumping Essence into them. The tattooed Sygaldry covering his body began glowing with power.

"Look at you getting all dressed up for me," Fianna laughed. She then disappeared in a flash of lightning.

Tilos' eyes barely kept track of her, only registering her form as a blur. She moved within arm's reach of him.

"Too bad it won't be enough," Fianna said as she shot a lightning bolt at Tilos.

Tilos pivoted out of the way, allowing the arc of lightning to sail past him. He planted his feet firmly in the ground and then pushed. Dirt, leaves, and other debris exploded away as Tilos rocketed towards Fianna.

Tilos held his shield before himself, driving it into the diety. His bone felt like they would break from the amount of power Fianna transferred back to him. His blood boiled, threatening to seep from his body. He released a concussive blast of force. He looked up and saw that Fianna had only moved back a couple of feet.

"Damnit, woman, how much do you weigh?" Tilos said as he charged her again.

"It's rude to ask a lady how much she weighs," Fianna said as she distanced herself from Tilos. She condolences a ball of lightning and throw it at Tilos.

Winding back his shield, Tilos batted the ball of lightning. It exploded, arcs of lightning curving around his shield and striking at his body. His body seized up, not listening to the commands of his mind. He split his mind once more, a headache forming from having five parallel minds, and used Essence to purge the invasive lightning from his system.

Tilos gain control of his body, reacting instinctively and bringing up his shield to block Fianna's kick. Her leg impacted his shield with a dull thud, the metal letting out a high-pitched ring. He gritted his teeth as he felt the bones in his left arm crack. The shield was dinted even more with the imprint of Fianna's leg and her fist.

"Did I break your arm? I guess I miss judged my strength." Fianna smiled. She disappeared and reappeared a few feet from Tilos.

Tilos hissed in pain, the pieces of his broken bone slicing through the muscles in his arm. His head was pounding from all the mental energy he was expending from running multiple minds simultaneously. He dropped the binding he held on the Thread of Strength.

With a mind freed up, he commanded his bone to set itself back in place. The bone obeyed, the bits of broken bone shifting back into the correct position. He then commanded his bones to fuse themselves back into one piece. Cycling Essence to that location, the energy helping fuse the bone back together. In the span of a few seconds, the bone was completely healed.

"You're no fun," Fianna pouted. "You should have left it broken. I might have given you a handy cap."

"I need all the advantages I can get," Tilos condensed a bolt of Force and threw it at Fianna. He then dashed towards her once more. The goddess was toying with him for some reason. She could have finished this long ago.

Fianna let the bolt hit her. Laughing as the bolt exploded, sending the debris around her flying but leaving her unaffected.

Tilos bound the Thread of Sharpness to his blade and then cut upwards at Fianna's midsection.

Fianna pulled back, but the Force coating Tilos' blade followed.

Tilos cut a large bloody gash across Fianna's stomach. He quickly brought his blade up again, leaving another wound that crossed the first he left on her stomach.

Tilos stepped to the side, barely dodging Fianna's lightning-fast claws. He watched as the wounds on her stomach stopped bleeding and stitched themselves closed at a visible rate.

He clicked his tongue. Tilos took two leaps back to distance himself from the goddess. She was very durable. And the little damaged he managed to inflict on her, she healed instantly. He could try to use mind magic, but she had shrugged off the effects of Hiro's magic easily, and he was much better at enchantment than Tilos.

Tilos looked to Raven. She was barely doing better than him. Both of the Helgriffs were still active in combat. However, ice coated the tips of the feathers. Raven having thrown some type of ice bomb at the creatures.

The beastmaster held a longbow made out of sliver wood in her hands. She pulled an arrow from her quiver before nocking it and aiming toward Raven. At the same time, the beastmaster whistled to the female Helgriff, causing the beast to lunge at Raven.

Raven dodged the arrow fired by the Helgriff master. She then swung her short sword, cutting into the hide of the Helgriff that lunged towards her.

Tilos turned his attention to Hiro's battle. The two twin-blade-wielding Aesir guards had been knocked out of combat. Both nursing broken bones caused by Hiro's hammer.

Hiro and the Aesir officer were still going at it. The Aesir Officer stabbed his spear forward. Air condensed around the tip, blasting out gusts of razer sharp wind blades.

Hiro parried the attack, wind blades leaving minor cuts along his arm. He retaliated with a mental blast.

The Aesir Officer took the mental attack head-on and kept moving, appearing unfazed in the least, thrusting out attack after attack, keeping Hiro on his toes.

Tilos' eyes locked back on Fianna. She had a smirk on her face; enjoyment oozed out of her being. Tilos tightened the grip around his sword and then relaxed. He let out the breath he had been holding, the glow of his tattoos dimming as he stopped channeling Essence. His pool was almost empty, and his headache was only getting worse the longer he split his mind.

"We surrender," Tilos dropped his sword and shield, and he fell to his knees. "Throwdown your weapons!" Tilos screamed to his companions.

"What! But I was winning," Hiro shouted over to Tilos.

Fianna laughed, disappearing and reappearing in front of Tilos. She smiled down at him with a knowing smirk. She reached out, placing her hands around Tilos' face and squeezing. "The child finally came to his senses and realized how vast the mountain he attempted to climb is."

Tilos pulled Fianna's hand away from his face, the goddess allowing him to do so. "Enough games, just let my friends go. I'll take their portion of whatever punishment you deem fit."

"Hmm, let me think." Fianna pondered, then smiled at Tilos. "I don't think so. It would be better for all three of you to endure together. Just like you attempted to rob me together."

One of the Aesir guards approached Tilos, attaching a pair of armbands to his forearms. His connection to the Weave abruptly cut off. A sense that he'd lived with since he was seven years old was now gone. A small part of his mind panicked, but he settled it.

"This is going to be uncomfortable," Tilos said. "Where are you taking us?"

"To Niffland, once there, we will let the judges decide your fate," the young Aesir guard pulled Tilos to his feet.