A yelp from a man who cut his finger echoed through the dingy bar, followed by the laughter of his friends as Lianne glared at the crowd with her single eye. Murmurs of rambling men rebounded off the sunken walls and roof which flickered under dying candlelight. Lianne took a long sip from the shoddy mug in her hand, being careful not to tilt her head back too far and lose her hood. The substance inside had the texture of mud and the smell of rot. She gulped it down, realizing she was unaware of the taste. A fumbling group slammed themselves down next to her, their voices grating against her ear. She let a breath out from clenched teeth, hoping the idiots would move on. One fell backwards, onto her. With a grunt, she shoved her elbow into his back, standing him back up with a jolt.

"Hey! What's your problem!?"

The group's bellows turned to slurred muttering. Lianne didn't turn to face them and set her cup down.

"Get up, I’m talking to you."

The man's giant frame moved towards her, his stocky hand outstretched. He grabbed onto her hood and threw it off. In an instant, Lianne got up and swung her foot into the back of his leg, causing him to buckle downwards with a grunt of pain as her hand slammed his head down into the table, causing the whole thing to shudder. The rest of the group clambered to their feet, fists ready.

Incoherent yells came from their mouths. Probably insults, maybe death threats. It didn't matter, they asked for this, and she was happy to give it to them. A crowd formed around them, cheers and yells coming from all directions.

"All of you, take this-" the bartender tried to start but was cut off by a lanky man with grimy teeth.

"Quiet, unless you want to die too." He sneered, spit flying out of his mouth. Lianne let out a sigh through her teeth.

Great. Just great.

She pulled herself to full height, still standing shorter than her opponents as she stared at them with her light blue eye, the other wrapped in cloth. The man which she dealt with a moment ago let out a groan on the floor, clutching his face. The rest of the bar was watching, some shouting, others smiling. She was facing three opponents in a cramped space. Not the best situation, but at least there was a hostage on the ground if she needed it. A man with a similar stature to the one on the floor charged at her, fist primed behind his head. Lianne responded by lunging at him with a kick. Her heel connected with his stomach, stopping him in his tracks. She threw a punch straight into his jaw, feeling it come loose as he spun sideways.

Pain soared through her knuckles as the man crashed to the floor. She shook her hand out from the ache as she smiled while watching his motionless body. She noticed movement on her right too late and received a heavy blow to her temple. She reeled back, ears ringing, head numb. Lianne's eye flared with rage as she launched back at her attacker. He landed a blow to her chest which she pushed through in order to hit him harder. Her hand landed on his neck, and the momentum carried them downwards. Dropping her knee on his chest, she slammed an elbow into his nose. Stretching back to do it again, she was grabbed from behind.

Her arm was jerked back, dragging her body along with it. Shit. She thought as a sudden pain blossomed in her stomach as the last man, the lankier one, slammed his knee into her side. She lurched over, suppressing the urge to throw up as he primed another hit. She used her palm to push his head back and followed that momentum to throw him to the ground, slamming him to the floor hard. As he tried to get up, Lianne planted her boot into his face, smashing it back down. He reached a hand up, clawing at her leg which took hold of it and twisted backwards. He screamed as the snap cut through the now silent air. She stood up, breath heavy, face still numb.

She glanced over at the bartender who scowled back at her. Shaking her head, she pulled out her coin purse. How many drinks did she have? Should've stopped at three. She left enough money for six on the table and started to walk away, it was about time she left anyways. The first man she knocked down was on all fours, still groaning. Lianne swung her foot into his face, putting him back down with a heavy crack and thud. Walking towards the exit, the sensation of everyone's eyes weighed heavily. She pulled her hood over her head and adjusted her cloak as she reached for the door.

"Don't come back." A voice followed her out. She didn't plan to anyway.

The cold night rushed into the open doorway as she left the run-down tavern. Her head swam and her body swayed, whether it was due to the punch, the drink, or both, she wasn't sure. Her wounds would heal within a few minutes anyway.

Lianne’s unnaturally high ether reserves allowed her to take more hits than most people. She could feel it already working, the familiar cold pins faintly trickling through her veins. She wondered whether healing with ether felt different for others, or what manipulating ether would be like. It was obvious that stories of those who could control elements were exaggerated, but Lianne didn't care to find out how much it was blown out of proportion. Besides, most people who had that ability were holed up in the Divine City, safe behind those goddamn pristine white towering walls and under their stupid floating islands.

Lianne shook her head and continued forwards, her feet splashing in shallow puddles. Buildings lined the road, dim lights pouring out of cracks in their rotting wood. Reminded her of home, whatever that was to her now. Lianne looked at the buildings beside her, searching each of the sadly dangling signs on the walls to find the right one.

Oh. There.

A singular building stood out with a stone base and actual walls that were held together: the town hall. Stepping onto the cobbled stairs, she looked up towards a large, sturdy wooden door. Lianne swept her messy black hair out of her eye and adjusted a small silver hair clip, making sure it was still there. Letting out a deep exhale and standing up to full posture, she pressed her hands against the weathered oak door in front of her. It was heavier than she remembered, forcing her to put more weight into it. It gave way eventually, letting out a deep groan as light poured out.

She squinted through the harshly bright lanterns inside. Pillars of stone stood on either side of her, and portraits of people, who Lianne assumed were important, lined the walls. Ignoring the carpet leading up grand stairs, she took a sharp right, moving as quickly as possible. A long and dim hallway led to doors and more doors that opened to rooms which Lianne didn't care to look inside of. Pinpricks hit the back of her neck as the dark doorways surrounded her. She glanced over at the second door from the end and walked up to its entrance. Knocking on it sharply, she waited outside, hands on her hips. As she reached to adjust her hair clip, a bored voice called out.

"Enter please."

She swiftly opened and closed the door behind her, entering a room with countless shelves filled to the brim with papers. At the bottom of it all was a woman with ratty brown hair and glasses writing on a scroll that spilled off the table.

"Name?"

"Lianne."

The woman nodded and pushed her work to the side. Stepping onto a small stool, she grabbed a small set of papers from a designated shelf. Shuffling through them, she sat back down at her table to study them under a dimly flickering candle. Lianne hugged her sides and shifted her feet.

"Are you here to turn in the bounty?"

"No, I was told to come back before I headed out."

"Who told you to do that?"

"You."

The woman looked up from the parchment quizzically. Shuffling through the papers yet again, she pulled up the bounty Lianne had accepted previously in the day. After a quick scan, she set it back down.

"Oh, that was to give you a reminder to bring back proof this time."

Lianne rolled her eye and let out a huff.

"I'll be leaving then." She stepped backwards, already turning to the exit.

"Just a moment, there's another bounty as well, you got a request."

Lianne stopped dead in her tracks, narrowing her eye at the lady.

"From who?"

The woman quickly flipped through the pages and pulled out a small slip. She looked at it and then flipped it to the opposite side, looking at that as well.

"Doesn't say, just some info-"

"I'll get it later." Lianne hastily stated as she resumed leaving the dark and cramped room.

"Don't you want to know what it is?"

The woman held the paper towards Lianne, beckoning her to read it.

"I'll be back anyway."

The woman shrugged and put the papers on the desk back into a neat pile. She dropped the papers back on their shelf and called behind her shoulder.

"Happy hunting!"

Lianne was already out the door.

Her mind raced. That request, was there anyone who wanted to kill her? Some trap somebody wanted to set up? The options surged through her head. Nobody popped into her mind, there was the idiot who tried to rob her a couple of days ago, maybe the assholes from the tavern? Not the ones she just beat up, the other ones she also beat up.

Her head swam more as she tried to think. Maybe drinking that much before she was going out wasn't a good idea. She chuckled to herself; like that ever stopped her. Besides, not thinking straight was the best part of drinking. Well, maybe not thinking at all would be better. Exiting the building back into the crisp wind of the outside, she pushed her speculations to the back of her mind. There was a job to do.

A night prowler had been taking hunters in the wilderness and draining them of their ether. Multiple partially eaten husks were found near an abandoned hunting lodge, which a group of 4 ill-prepared men went to investigate. One got out severely injured but alive enough to say what he found before dying from the poison in his system. Lianne frowned, maybe she should've searched for an antidote somewhere, then again those cost money that she didn't have. She already had to set some aside to rent a room, get materials to repair her gear, and a bit for drinking, although that might've been off the table now. Stealing the antidote wasn't an option either, it posed too much of a risk. Besides, in order to steal it, she would need to find someone who even had an antidote for night prowler venom.

Turning a street corner lit by a fogged up and fading lantern, she neared the inn where she was currently staying. It was a tiny and decrepit place, barely even noticeable to a passerby; the rent was cheap, there weren't many rooms, and the owner didn't ask questions. Almost the perfect place to stay..

She opened the entrance in silence and moved down the hall towards her room. Walking down the corridor, she grabbed her door key from a strap on her leg. The lock opened with a sharp click, causing Lianne to wince. Her room was dark but had enough moonlight streaming in to barely make out the shapes of the furniture. She paused before entering, staring at the darkness in front of her. Letting out an exhale, she threw her ragged cloak onto the bed and closed the door behind her.

Moving to the dresser, she took off her shirt. The cold air in the room brushed against her smooth bare skin, sending a shiver up her torso and causing her to whip around at the sensation. Shaking her head, she tightened the strips of cloth around her chest and put the shirt onto a counter. Upon another look, there were small splotches of blood on the shirt’s worn white fabric. She shrugged with a sigh as she glanced warily into the shadows which surrounded her.

Opening up the drawer, she pulled out her usual combat wear. It was handmade with pieces of tightly-woven fabric layered upon each other to give some form of protection. It wrapped around her with one lapel going underneath the other. It held itself together with two straps, one over the shoulder and the other under her arm. It also had one at the neck, which Lianne tightened loosely. The garments had metal plates on each forearm which in all honesty didn't give too much protection.

The ends of the clothing reached just above her knees, creating a half skirt of sorts, partially covering the straps on her thigh which secured a knife. She strapped two belts onto her waist, one slightly higher than the other. Moving to the window, she counted one floorboard from the right and three down. Stepping on one end and prying open the other, she took the loose wood off. Under them lay her twin short swords, which shone brightly under the moon.

Its scabbards were lined with steel wrappings that sheathed thin and sharp straight blades. The handles had intricately woven crisscrossed fabric on them, which was a pain to make, but worth the extra grip it gave. She had made one of these swords, the other was borrowed from someone else. Both were bathed and infused with basilisk blood, which allowed the steel to be incredibly durable. The small circular guards offered some protection to the hands, but not much.

She clipped them onto her belts, the familiar weight giving her some comfort as she took one last look around the room. The bed looked so soft and comfortable despite how scratchy she knew it was. As much as Lianne would love to collapse on it, she knew there were things that needed to be done before doing that. Satisfied with her preparation, she grabbed a small lantern on a table as she exited the room and locked the door behind her. This should be an easy hunt: single target, defined area, and no place to run. At least that's what it should be assuming she didn't die. That was always the case, wasn't it?

The streets were quiet, save for the bars which were still open. She felt eyes prying into her from shuttered windows beside her. Some homeless on the streets recoiled away from her, others just lay there, passed out or dead. She pushed by all of it, watching out for possible muggers or assailants.

Lianne shook her head as she neared the dilapidated town gates, their thick planks worn from gargoyle and ghoul hordes. The guards barely even gave her recognition as they opened the gates, their dreary eyes staring blankly into the dirt. They were always like this late at night, whether it was boredom, combat, loss, or a mix of all three Lianne didn't know. Hell, she didn't care either.

The gates slowly fell open, dampened wood groaning as they swung outwards. The wet dirt beneath her feet compacted itself under her scuffed boots as she walked out into the wilderness.

The forest in front of her echoed of wolves, owls, and whatever was making that awful screeching noise in the distance. The winding path through increasingly dense undergrowth led Lianne in what she remembered was the right direction. The canopy above stopped the moonlight from reaching the ground, shrouding it in darkness.

She pulled out the lantern, it's half-used candle sagging in its cage. Lianne stopped and looked at the wick, focusing on it. Her eye narrowed as she willed the latent energy in her body to work. The wick glowed red for an instant before fading into a tiny wisp of smoke. With a sigh, she took out a striker and flint and lit the lantern. The attempt was better than what most people could do, but not good enough. Maybe the accelerated healing was all the huge reserves of ether allowed her to do. Well, that and being a good meal for monsters.

The trudge through the forest made Lianne warier of her surroundings. Maybe going after the sun set wasn't the best idea, but it would be easier to find the night prowler when it was more active as it would just hide from her during the day. The dirt road turned to mud and the old rain that had poured down an hour ago laid stagnant in puddles. She strode onward, dim light illuminating trees with a faded orange glow. How much further was it to the lodge? Lianne adjusted the cloth over her eye, glancing around at her blackened surroundings. The ambience of the forest was just quiet enough to be unsettling, pushing her to move faster.

As she climbed over a fallen log and looked up to see the building about 20 meters away from her. Finally. She clipped the lantern to her belt and concentrated on her surroundings. She lightly trod over to the building, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. There was no movement inside, none that she could hear at least. The building had a collapsed roof and half-broken rotting walls. Its door hung loosely from a single hinge, barely holding onto the destroyed frame. Lianne placed her hand on the entrance, slowly pushing it inwards.

The rust screeched and the wood cracked as it fell open, leading into dark ruins. Remnants of hunting memorabilia laid on the flooded floors, completely destroyed. She slowly entered the room, ripples in the water dully echoing in the dead air. It was too quiet inside. Was it gone? Was she too careless? The lantern on her hip flickered, dying slowly. Looking down at it, she saw fog clouding the floor. Her eye widened, and she stopped immediately. Now in the middle of the building, she watched the ripples in the thin water settle beneath her.

She cursed herself under her breath, she was careless but not because she let it escape. She quickly pulled out a piece of cloth and tied it over her mouth. It wouldn't attack her for a second, at least she hoped it wouldn't. The fog grew thicker on the floor and her light struggled to hold onto life. Lianne kept her eye on the ripples in the water below her as they slowly settled. She kept her breath calm, trying to not breathe in the fog. It wouldn't kill her, but the hallucinogens in it would make her easy prey.

The light went out, and all that she could see was illuminated by the moonlight falling through the giant hole in the roof. Each of her breaths felt deafening, and her heartbeat echoed in her ears. She put her hand on one of her swords, steadying it. She resisted the urge to pull it out, waiting for the opportune moment. There. A ripple on the surface, coming right from behind her. How did it remain so silent when walking? Her heart beat faster, thrumming through her head like a drum.

Another ripple pulsed outwards. Lianne grit her teeth. She had had enough of being in the dark. She would not be stalked and preyed upon, she was the hunter here. Gripping onto her sword, she unsheathed it and swung behind her in one swift movement. The blade struck something hard and the vibration of the strike jolted down into her hand. A pair of sharp vermillion eyes stared at her, the arm she struck being lined with thick scales. The humanoid silhouette shifted under the moonlight, revealing its back which was covered in the same scales. It opened its mouth, hissing at Lianne, sharp teeth dripping with saliva and claws on each finger flicking outwards.

She jumped away, unsheathing her other sword. It lunged at her, and she lunged back. She swung a sword at its disgusting face, trying to end the confrontation as quickly as possible. The creature raised its arm, causing the blade to skid along its scales. She tried to slice it with her other sword but didn't get enough space to swing it before the monster had caught her with its jaws. A sharp pain flowed from her shoulder as little pricks of white-hot agony pierced her skin. Lianne screamed as she fell to the floor, feeling the adrenaline rush through her body. It released its mouth from her flesh and spat its saliva onto her cloth mask.

The immeasurably terrible smell filled her lungs, forcing her to rip the fabric off of her face. She looked up just in time to see a claw coming at her head. She swung a sword at it, her blade cutting through its claws then into its hand. Her shoulder burned in pain after the swing, causing her to almost lose her grip on the blade. The monster let out a sharp screech as it grabbed onto its arm, black blood spurting out of its stumps of fingers.

Lianne pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the blossoming ache that spilled from her wound. The monster glared at her, its teeth glistening. It readied it's other claw, letting out a hiss of rage. She coughed, the mist burning her throat. Vision swimming, she took up a fighting stance. One of her arms raised slower than she wanted it to.

Paralysis, better kill this thing quickly.

It leaped at her, arm outstretched. Lianne stepped into the attack, burying her blade straight into the creature's arm. Metal struck bone, and the monster roared as it pulled back and stumbled downwards. Slick black ooze poured from the dangling limb as it held on by a few tendons.

The monster writhed under the moonlight, clutching onto the deep laceration with what fingers it still had left. Lianne clumsily walked over, breath heavy, throat burning. She willed her fingers to keep a grip on her sword as she raised the other with her good arm. The creature lurched upwards, mouth open, screaming. She slashed downwards, straight into its cheeks.

She let go of her other sword, it's metal splashing into the water. Lianne dropped her knee on the creature's stomach, forcing a guttural sputter from its bleeding mouth. Raising her sword again, she carefully aimed it through her blurry vision. It let out a roar which she silenced by grabbing onto its bottom jaw. With her fingers in its mouth, she felt it's disgusting tongue against her skin.

She tugged the jaw taught downwards, and let the sword fall into its cheeks. The skin ripped and teeth snapped as she stretched the mouth open further, her weapon being used like an axe chopping wood. The blade came up again, and then back down. Then again.

All the monster could let out was a gurgle as Its jaw hung loosely. Lianne grunted in exertion, and put all her weight into her limp arm, pulling downwards. A sickening pop sounded and bits of skin and flesh ripped as she tore away the jaw. The momentum made her fall backwards, still holding onto the dismembered set of teeth.

A grating bubbling sound emitted from its throat as it desperately tried to crawl away. Lianne forced her body to rise again, stalking towards the monster. Its eyes were wide open, the predatory gaze she once saw gone. A smile stretched across her blood splattered lips.

"So you do feel fear."

She slowly closed in on it, letting out a hoarse and low chuckle. Her arm was limp, completely useless. A tightness spread up her neck and through her chest, slowly crawling through her body. A new darkness closed in on her vision, and the world moved around her. Lianne poised her sword by her cheek, pointing it at her feebly scrambling prey. She watched it struggle to run and fail over and over. It was somehow amusing how despite its struggles, it got nowhere. One last thrust pierced the monster's chest, the satisfaction of metal scraping against the ribcage and out the other side giving Lianne some gratification.

All was quiet now, the messy splashes falling silent. Heavy breaths filled the air, and the scent of blood circled Lianne, its putrid scent clinging onto everything. Her smile faded away as she stood alone in the barely lit ruins. She moved to pull the sword back out but found her grip falling off of it instead. Lianne barely caught herself, foot planted in the water. Her breath grew shallower, and the pain now was more potent than ever.

She looked up, vision darkening. The noise of heartbeats in her ear turned to a dull monotone ring. Struggling to stay upright, Lianne tried to move. Her body didn't respond, and the world turned sideways. Come on, work damn it. The ground hit her side, and all she could feel was the tight pain coursing through her neck and into the centre of her chest. She wasn't sure if her eyes were closed or not, but nevertheless, it was all dark.