Noticing a gate on the way beneath the sleeping city, she decided to side with her flowery friends. Darting into the tall, luminous depths of the glowing field, a soft wind carried the voices close behind.

["It went through the lumen vale!" ]

An unsure voice met with the cold crisp air, reaching her with an odd clarity.

["Do we keep chasing?" ]

["What kind of a question is that? We're adventurers, we can't let it escape! It might be a rare kill! Also it had a weapon, that screams rarity!" ]

["Better yet! Maybe it's got friends!" ]

The cruel, obsessive banter of the "humans" painted them in a horrific light, given that she was being looked at as walking loot.

Humans are scary!! I'm practically food to them, ok, calm down Dita, they don't know you can hear them, so maybe we can use it against them!

["There it is!]

Crap! They noticed me! Let's go! Operation, uh.. outsmart the humans!

There was only a dozen or so steps separating her from a group of several nasty humans, and an almost certain game over. The arch of the hill began sloping toward an enclave of flourishing colors and shapes. Surprisingly the flowers followed a gradient pattern, shifting from deep silvers slowly shifting into a deep sky blue. The breathtaking beauty was something, that under different circumstances, she would have loved to have explored further. Despite her respectable speed, the humans quickly closed the distance, now hot on her heels only six strides behind.

Abruptly, the dagger weilding one leading the group disappeared into the shadows. Appearing the next moment directly in her path.

["That's far enough little one."]

The sing songy tone of his voice sounded equal parts dashing and creepy. The man had a roguish beauty to him, had he not been swinging a dagger directly at her, she wouldn't mind being chased by him one bit.

No-no-no-no! Hot guy or not, I'm not gonna hug your dagger!

Sliding to a stop she blocked the knife with her fork. The power behind the blow sending her back and numbing her appendages even before the sharp clang echoed through the night.

Flowers cleaved around her, falling to either side of her in a wide arc, the area cut being almost thrice the size of the blade.

The others looked shocked at her narrow deflection of the dashing rogue, approaching in an attempt to circle around her.

There's no time! To the right!

She plunged her fork into the ground, digging it in as far back as she could, the humans realizing her plan lunge to close the last step of distance.

The metal tool sent her flying fast through the air, being dragged behind, escaping the confines of the circle of humans. For just a moment the pursuers looked dumbfounded, but they soon resumed their tiring pace after her.

["Stop gawking and brinf me that little monster!"]

Her momentum plowed her into the flowers breaking stem after stem from the impact. She rolled painfully partly due to the shear weight of the fork compared to her own featherlike properties.

The distance was now around thirty steps between them, of course, she had lost a few regaining from the impact.

{Name: Dita}

{Lvl 6. Nightgloom}

HP: 13/72

MP:70/95

SP: 0/3

AP: 0/31

The glaring amount of zeros in her status explained the piercing pain she felt, it was like hot needles being pressed against her outside. Let alone, the feeling of nausea she could only attribute to the lack of sustenance. Curiously, she grasped hold of nearby flower plucking it from its stem.

Sorry, I feel like this is animal cruelty now, but I'm desperate here. Forgive me Ms. Flower!

She crumpled the flower up in an attempt to leak it's lifeblood onto her own blooming petals. Surprisingly it felt cool and refreshing, though it also felt a lot like cannibalism, that part, she wasn't so fond of. Plucking another five or so she repeated the action, losing a dozen or so steps of distance from the humans in the process.

Let's hope for the best!

{Name: Dita}

{Lvl 6. Nightgloom}

HP: 46/72

MP:75/95

SP: 1/3

AP: 30/31

No way! Saved by my own! Woohoo! Flowers are the greatest!!

The pain gradually dulled to a mild throbbing, while she managed to see a change of scenery in the sea of flowers. The gradience turning to a bright crimson following her plucking, sprawling out like drips of blood in a sea of colors that contrasted it. The gradience of the field now firmly reflected a crescendo of deep reds as the flowers began to twist with an unseen wind.

Uh oh..

She had a seriously bad feeling about the change of color, in part due to the utter shock painted all over the faces of the adventurers.

["You idiots got a death wish?! You can cut the flowers but not pick em!"]

The shakiness in his voice betraying the severity of the situation as clearly as the crystal clear air that breezed with a melodic hum.

["No! It was the little beast! Dumb thing must have a death wish.."]

Dumb? I take offense to that you jerk!

["What's going to happen?"]

The curious female voice beckoned to the others.

["Don't know, but I don't recommend finding out. They say it's deadly to take from the lumen Vale.. but I don't know anyone who tried it. Hell, most people don't even go out this deep you know that."]

A curious and wise voice interjected with a distinct hint of horror.

["What has been done cannot be undone, the beast is coming and we must make haste! Leave this place at once!"]

The humans quickly turned back toward the way they came, leaving her with an almost pity bound stare. She liked to imagine it was her who had scared them away, even if she knew there wasn't time for such empty boasting.

Guessing it's probably a bad idea to stick around, let's run!

As her scurrying feet took her in the opposite path of the humans, she heard a massive thud in the distance. Like a meteor crashing against the ground in a colossal argument of an unstoppable force and immovable object.

Not good, something big is coming, last time I got eaten.. I could go a lifetime without smelling that again..

.

She could see it now, it was far from her expectations and even further from common sense. A massive hole began to open swallowing up the flowers into a massive hole of teeth in the distance.

Run Dita run!! We are not turning into salad today!

Determined, and a little scared, her feet began running regrettably in the direction of the humans once more, there wasn't much choice in the matter, and while one was certain death the other choice was only mostly certain.

The rumbling of swallowed up flowers was strangely melodic and fast approaching. The grand maw of the creature was almost worm like, with circular spans of teeth that each were easily the size of a bus, the beginning and end of it's anatomy were baffling at best. Having an almost endlessly widening mouth, the creature was the epitome, the definition of the word gluttony.

She could see the humans in the distance given her height advantage, they were hundreds of steps in front of her, something that was both settling and enviable as she had much less a distance separating her from being an inconsequential snack to whatever "it" was.

The end was now officially in sight, but that was only half settling, as she lacked the time to evade the path of the humans, she would soon be on the run with them all over again, provided of course, she could avoid their combined assault when she passed the threshold.

Damn, they can see me I bet. Don't suppose they'll just let me go and forget any of this happened right?

.

Ah, wishful thinking, now that was something she was good at, unfortunately it didn't help anything at this point. Her small but furious steps now felt the physical weakening of the ground as it caved behind her, where she stood moments prior.

She could see them turn to her direction, their confident smiles taunting at her struggles.

["Don't leave the fork now! You can make it little guy!"]

[Come to mama, I won't hurt you for long. It'll be quick I promise! Tee-hee."]

That isn't reassuring at all! Can't you just keep me as a pet or something? Why do you have to kill me?

There it was, the home stretch, there were only fifteen strides until the hapless finish line, and somehow it didn't make her smile at all. Then again, who would smile in the face of a bunch of drawn weapons and deadly spells, she definitely wasn't the type, at least not yet.

This isn't fair! They're just waiting for me to pass the finish line! I've gotta break through somehow. Or maybe.. I don't!

There it was, her brilliant idea as usual. She had a plan but it still wasn't going to be easy. As far as she could tell, there were two viable options, both with their benefits and negatives. For one, she could try vaulting over them, but chances were she'd be a pretty easy target for the magic. The opposite would be to slide low after using bloodsucker to hopefully distract them long enough to evade most of the dangers, especially the magic!

Two steps to decide. Not very fond of her chances against her weakest element, she poised herself for multiple uses of bloodsucker. She wasn't sure if it was even possible given the lack of time to experiment.

Here goes! Take this you damn humans!

Sliding below with her fork, she casted three consecutive casts of bloodsucker, if nothing else, hoping to make them flinch.

["Gh!!"]

["Ngh!"]

["Bastard cast a spell on me!!"]

Gazing at the status bars in the corner of her vision she was impressed by the sizeable percentage now missing, and the odd sweetness of humans. In a sick and twisted way, she could understand why monsters might be tempted to eat humans of their blood was that tasty. But more than that..

No way!! That's way too many levels! Nope, not complaining, but I don't have time to spend anything!!

Clearing the first, she slid below the supposed leader, her fork serving as a makeshift sand board through the sandy slope that they attempted to barricade. The magic user that she had assailed among the three was sent off kilter ever so slightly, causing the fire spell to become unstable.

["I can't.. control it! Look out!!"]

The massive orb of flames and lava began to wobble with waves of turbulence, expanding and contracting in a progressive more unstable display of raw magic. The look of fear in their eyes stole their focus for just long enough for her to slide past the remaining pairs of legs in one fell swoop of her deft fork riding skills.

["Run away Elei, I'm sorry, I don't think I can stop this."]

The girl from before looked back while fleeing from the mounting ball of flames with teary eyes. Her pace came to an almost perfect stop as she pulled out a bow and arrow facing back toward him.

["Don't you dare give up until you make good on your promise Savin!"]

The arrow glowed with a deep blue, coating it with an intense swirling liquid that looked like a small piece of the sea condensed a thousand times into the arrow.

["No! Don't, if it goes wrong you'll-"]

The man which she could now see was a boy must have been in his late teens, looked back at the girl with watery eyes.

["Then I won't let it go wrong."]

She let fly the arrow which flew in a blink of the eye into the sphere of volcanic magic. It seemed to be absorbed into it, seemingly fizzling out to no greater purpose, but half a moment later the truth came into a beautiful display.

A tremendous gust of steam shot upward due to the ice by which burst through the sphere encasing the mass into a funnel. A series of melting and freezing rapidly and without mercy burned and froze the area around him. Dita felt a pang of guilt at the lovers who she inadvertently endangered, until of course she remembered they were trying to kill her a moment ago.

The mass of steam which had clouded the area eventually came to a chilling conclusion as the wind had picked up revealing the result of her efforts. There stood a man, so badly burned by the steam he was pink and raw, the body of the attractive boy devoid of hair and half cooked. The girl's eyes were horrified, she ran over to him frantically.

["Savin.. I didn't mean to.. I was just trying to.."]

The poor burned boy reached out his hand with a weak smile finding the hand of his lover.

["Elei, I. I love..y.."]

I didn't. I didn't mean to..

She felt the harsh melody of the wailing girl echo haplessly through the tunnels. Dita knew that it wasn't her fault, but the combination of his age and their relationship made the experience message and sound so cruel. Even if they intended her undoing, even if she had to do it to survive. The killing of another felt bad in her heart as she continued to create distance. The glare of the ones who chased firmly at her back. Elei stood up with a look that could only be described as pure hate staring Dita down.

["This is all your fault! You! I'll kill you!!!"]

The shrieking voice carried threats of pure rage as the woman armed her quiver with arrow after arrow launching artillery in her direction, it was raining arrows which each expunged in ice, threatening to impale her at one wrong step. Her newfound method of fork boarding lead her to quickly dodge the immeasurable magic that spewed across the sandy dunes. She realized quickly it was becoming more absurd by the moment. The amount of magic raining down was enough to freeze the ocean of sand into a now ocean of ice.

A single red strand in the sky gave her chills to look at, despite the dodging of the rest the red glow, which she now could clearly identify as an arrow was impossible to dodge. She would go left, and the arrow would follow flawlessly. Going right and her mirror.

It's no use! I can't stop it! Brace for impact!

The intense sting of the arrow pierced her back with a surgical precision, the entire arrow seemed to be made out of a spell, the likes of which she could immediately feel.

Not having time to figure it out she attempted to dodge a series of arrows that caused a spiny wall to form directly in her path. Tumbling from her fork she had no choice but to roll into another arrow's path.

It's no good! Too many of them!!

The pain was searing with every fiber of her body, the worst being the fact that, while it didn't have the frost magic, it seemed to be still magic infused. Still managing to move she ignored the arrow and stumbled to her fork, deciding to slide with all her might down the next dune, hopefully breaking line of sight in the process.

["I'll find you, I'll kill you!!!"]

The shrieking voice was almost impossible to discern beyond the first two statements, the wailing was equally haunting and horrible, like a cross between a dying animal and a demon.

Down the hill she went, the sound of the woman who was quickly losing her voice was fading to a shrill, spotty whimper. The sharp pain in her back continued to agonize her senses, so much so, that it would certainly have resulted in her teeth gritting, provided she had some.

There's no time, I have to remove it..

Her arms reached back attempting to grasp at it, but they lacked the length to reach on their own. Trying a second time, she leveraged the fork backwards and shimmied it in a dervish of motions. Though it took three attempts, she eventually trapped it between the prongs of the fork and prepared herself for the second round of pain.

Be brave Dita. Be brave. It's only a tiny wound so you'll be just fine. One, two, three!

She ripped the arrow our in one fell swoop from her back feeling her nerves crying out. A silent scream rushed through her mind as she scrambled to her feet leaning desperately against her fork.

Snap out of it Dita! None of this is your fault! It's just their fault for trying to kill you. You didn't mean to kill them. Even if you did it was just self defense. Just self defense..

She was many things, but she wasn't yet so heartless she could possibly not feel sad thinking about the brutally burned to death boy. In fact, she wasn't sure she could ever escape the memory of the poor guy. Her eyes fell low, the sadness sapping her willpower relentlessly.

No! We gotta focus on what we can do. Like figuring out what all came of the engagement! Bad first…

Mark of the Hunt

A curse of a hunter that will periodically give a path that leads the hunter to their mark.

The mark of the hunter is reserved for the most prized hunts. It's said that the hunter will always see a glow around their mark.

That's.. not going to end well if I let it stay.. crap! I gotta dispel that somehow! Next would be.. rival?

Nemesis:

Elei: A half elf girl who will stop at nothing to avenge her fallen love.

Damage Dealt: +50%

Damage Received: +50%

So it's a double edged sword.. I think it's sad, if I could communicate maybe I could have stopped the poor guy's death. Guess if I was her I would have done the same thing.. I don't know..

Heartbreaker

A title reserved for those who have destroyed a budding love.

Sometimes it's better to have loved and lost, other times it's better to have it meet it's end before it ever starts.

Alignment -1

I feel it's poetic, but I wonder if someday I'll have to kill her. I don't want to. I want to learn to talk so I can apologize if I'm being honest..

Murderer

A title for those who bear the cardinal sin of ending a life.

To end a life is to bear its weight. Those who kill will always walk the line between madness and justice.

Alignment: -5

Damage to Light Element Creatures: +5

Dark affinity: +1

I guess it was bound to happen.. I just wished it had been someone more convincingly evil. Now for the most unexpected..

GlimmerSprout

BloodBarb

Small Fireroot

Lessar Dark Imp

Wait! There is seriously a lot of choices!! Also.. what the heck is the last one?? Let's check them out first.

GlimmerSprout

A species of Flora that specialize in manipulating light. It is said that high ranking ones can even fire a laser to defend themselves. A very sedimentary creature as it rarely has a need to move.

Glimmersprouts are quite unique among Flora, having an affinity toward extremely bright areas but are ironically quite susceptible to a lack thereof.

That sounds interesting, I love lasers but I don't love being slow. I don't know..

Bloodbarb

A bloodthirsty plant that has a taste for the blood of all sorts. They are said to be directly as powerful as their reservoir of blood.

A plant feared for their deadly ability to attach to creatures and live as a parasitic existence, eventually able to take minor control over a host.

Bloodsucker is my best offensive skill so far, so I guess it's not a bad choice.. but it sounds like it would look creepy.. and parasites are not really my idea of a great existence..

Small Fireroot

A rare species of Flora that had a unique affinity for fire. They can control fire with grand precision, so much so that they are often sought out by monster tamers as the higher tiered version is far more ornery.

A beautiful plant which thrives in the cinders. Fire is said to be their food, as they do not normally exist far from the firelands or active volcanoes.

It could be useful for getting the fire affinity, but I don't trust the eating of flames. What if I don't find any? Will I just starve? Now for the odd one out I suppose.

Lesser Dark Imp

A creature known to trick and manipulate weak humans. They are one of the most hated creatures due to their being labeled as an abomination even among demonkin.

The hateful imps are small and swift, though they are often killed due to the figurative Target on their back from death. If they survive, they are said to have immense potential.

So we found the first chance at having a mouth. Though I don't know if I like the rest of it. It doesn't even tell me what they eat. What if they eat babies or something? Ah dang it! This isn't easy at all!!

Which one should I choose?

{Name: Dita}

{Lvl 20(MAX). Nightgloom}

HP: 230/230

MP:310/310

SP: 6/6

AP: 105/105

{Attributes}

Current status points: 195

Current skill points: 225

Strength: 39. Agility 16

Speed: 21. Dexterity: 16

Constitution: 0. Movement: 5

Magic: 14 Intelligence: 0

Luck: 30. Defense: 21

Resistance: 20 Mind: 17

Power: 19 Charisma: 26

Fire: -18 Water: 5.

Ice: 2 Wind: 5.

Earth: 25 Light: 19

Dark: 48 Lightning: -10

Decrypt lvl. 2

Blessing of Ancor lvl. 2

Bloodroot lvl. 2

Acolyte of Prejudice lvl. 2

Lucky lvl. 2

Nocturnal lvl. 2

Fenfire lvl. 2

Heartbreaker lvl. 1

Murderer lvl. 1

{Allignment}

-15