"NOW!" Screamed Will as he rushed towards the be-winged monster , two soldiers carrying bows launched their arrows but they were easily deflected by black tendrils. Arriving before the creature Will swings his two blades in an arc trying to cut down it but it flaps it wings and goes airborne.

"It can fly?!" One of the soldiers exclaimed out loud, shocked by the scene.

"It seems like I will have a great feast today." Hyrix hissed as it began conjuring in mid air and the familiar black tendrils began rooting up from the ground.

Seeing the intruders defiantly attacking Hyrix Elaine became unsure of what to do, she had thought the intruders and the monster were allies but her reality shattered before her, thinking quickly she gave up on confronting the intruders for now and shouted out, "move away from the tendrils, you will die if you are caught."

Hearing the warning from the elf Will and the group instead began countering the black tendrils trying to drag down them beneath the earth. Some of the soldiers didn't hear the warning in time and were caught by their arms and legs, trying to cut them free the soldiers looked on in horror as five of their allies were screaming in fear and were dragged down beneath the earth.

"I will kill you!." Will roared out as he rushed towards one of the stones and leapt up from it, reaching the legs of Hyrix he slashed with the sword in his right hand and slashed across its leg, a deep wound inflicted and black blood slowly pouring out from it.

Landing on the ground he noticed his soldiers were unable to successfully hit the creature, looking over towards the elf she saw the desperation in the young mans face and made the decision to help them in defeating their common enemy.

She began channelling her druidic powers and the nature around her heard her call. From her staff she lashed out several vines shot towards the creature, a few were disintegrated but some successfully reached the creature and bound it to the ground. From her staff the gemstone embedded into it began shining a deep emerald green light and from nothing several incorporeal animals were summoned, including wolves, panthers and elks. Staggering for a moment due to the intense use of mana to provide the spell Elaine tightened the grip on her staff and called out to the animals to attack their enemy.

Thanking her in silence Will took the opportunity and tried slashing at Hyrix, but the unknown magic wielded by Hyrix began seeping from its hands and from thin air formed a pair of swords and it parried Will's slash.

Filís, one of the soldiers with Will saw her opportunity and rushed behind the creature and before it could react she thrusted down with her sword and successfully cleaved off a wing.

Screaming out in pain Hyrix lashed out and cut itself free from the vines and Will and the remaining soldiers looked on in horror as Hyrix slashed with his two swords across and cut Filís head cleanly of.

"How sad, I wanted to enjoy her death slowly, but now you have truly angered me." Hyrix spoke with poisonous glee. Seeing the death of his soldier Will let out a battle cry and rushed towards the creature and unleashed a rage-filled fury of slashes, the creature tried to parry them but some of Will's attacks passed through its defenses and cleanly cut through its oily skin, the black blood flowing down its torso and arms.

Elaine ordered the creatures to help the man, hearing their order the animals ran with haste towards Hyrix and began slashing and biting it with their claws and jaws. One of the animals accidentally drank the black blood and dropped dead and evaporated into green mist.

"Do not touch the blood!" Elaine warned her current allies. Hearing the warning Will quickly leapt backwards to rest for a moment.

"Gavin, how many are left?" Will asked one of his soldiers while keeping his eyes on the creature that continuously stabbed and cut through the incorporeal animals.

Gavin looked around at his bleeding and dead allies, terrified but resolved as his leader. "Sir we have seven soldiers left including us." Gavin informed Will.

"Not good, we have to end this soon." Will spoke in a low tone.

Elaine looked on as the animals slowly were killed by the creature. Seeing their window slowly disappearing she began chanting once again and vines began sprouting from the ground trying to hold Hyrix still. Will seeing the opening called for his soldiers to rush forward and kill it.

"You think I would be defeated so easily, your flesh will be sundered." As it spoke Hyrix hands formed an intricate hand gesture but before Will and the soldiers could react they heard its chant. "Sanguine rain!". Suddenly from its body a hail of black blood rushed towards the group, Will reacted in time and ducked beneath the onslaught but looking back his face conjured into terror as he saw his soldiers screaming out in pain as their flesh began melting, dropping dead instantly from the attack. Shocked by the view Will didn't react in time and he screamed out in pain as the sword was dislodged from his shoulder and he was thrown several meters and crashing into the stone monuments. Elaine watched on as Will's unconscious body dropped down on the ground, Hyrix spoke towards Will, "I will save you for last!"

Noticing that the creature’s attention was directed towards Will Elaine gripped the shaft of her staff and throwing it at the creature. Having its focus on Will it didn't notice the attack and it recoiled in pain as the staff embedded itself into its back. The creature let out a horrific screech as it changed direction and turned towards Elaine, destroying the vines around its body, thus no longer bonding it to the ground. When the creature was about to launch its claws towards Nyve when she channelled herself and the staff on the creatures back started glowing a deep green colour. Suddenly a barrage of thorns erupted from the staff, into the creature that screamed in agony as hundreds of thorns erupted inside its body, killing it.

Dropping down on the ground, exhausted by the battle Elaine was the sole standing person in the glade. Unsure of what to do with Will she walked over towards his body and checked if he was alive, but barely.

"Great Nyalith, what am I supposed to do?" Elaine prayed to her deity, knowing it won't answer except for in her dream. But suddenly a distant voice could be heard inside Elaine's mind, shocking her greatly.

"You... have to... save him... he is... like you..." The familiar but distant voice of Nyalith spoke. Unsure of the reason or the words Nyalith spoke she trusted in her deity and summoned her steed and gently lifted Will upon it with great difficulty, her body aching. About to leave she saw the two swords laying near the corpse of the creature she went over and picked them up and mounted the elk to rush back to her home.

After a few minutes of traveling they arrived at the hidden mist protecting her home, undoing the mist with her staff she gently lifted off Will and gently caressed the elk before de-summoning it. Carrying him inside her home she dropped her staff and the swords in the hallway and heaved him unto her bed.

Will's breathing was beginning to slow down and his body began heating up due to an intense fever arose. Nyve rushed towards the hallway where their weapons were dropped. She picked up his sword and returned to the bed and began cutting up his shirt so she could treat his injuries.

Elaine nearly screamed when his bare upper body was visible, what she saw was that it was covered in scars and there was blood across the chest and stomach. Composing herself she began treating the wounds she became confused by all the scars on his body.

"How can someone so young be covered in so many scars, was he born in war?" Elaine asked herself as she continued to treat his wounds.

From one of the drawers at the bed-table she pitched some bandages and herbal leaves from the kitchen, she padded his chest with a damp towel to remove the blood, she had to change the towel several times due to the large amount of blood and finally, when the excess blood was removed from the chest she could finally bandage the chest and treat the larger wounds on his body. She noticed five open cuts on the right part of the stomach and a large cut over his back, a broken back and several broken ribs. She began wrapping his upper body in bandages, using druidic magic to close the wounds and treating the cuts with herbals to enhance the healing of the cuts. After the treatment was done she cast a spell to cool his body due to the fever he received from the injuries from earlier, she could rest after a tedious treatment of Marlow’s body.

While waiting for the man to stabilize and recover Elaine went out to see the remains of the creature from earlier, to maybe find some information. She gathered her staff and dagger from the hallway and casted a spell. After a few seconds a corporeal doe appeared, Elaine mounted atop the doe and rode towards the glade where the creature was defeated.

After a few minutes of riding through the forest she entered the glade were the body of the creature was laying, burned but still intact from the attacks earlier. She jumped of the doe and it dissipated, then she ventured towards the body and inspected it. At first, she couldn’t notice any anomalies, but she noticed that the horns and teeth of it weren’t damaged but instead were intact. She grabbed her dagger from her belt and pulled out four of the still intact teeth.

After the removal of the teeth she grabbed her staff and cast a spell, white light emitted from the emerald and from the bright light a small fairy appeared. She had long blond hair braided in a single braid and large brown eyes, on her back she had a pair of large silver-white wings that sparkled in the sun.

"Hi Iohlis, hit are you?" Elaine asked with a gentle voice.

"Oh, Hi Elaine. Im great! How are you?" Elaine asked back, happy about seeing her friend once again.

"Could have been better honestly. I called you for I need your help." Elaine explained her reason for calling the fairy.

"What is it?" Iohlis asked but when she saw the dead body of the creature she let out a small shriek as it flew behind Elaine.

"Its okay Iohlis, its dead, but you have a better connection to the realm of Elu-Tar than me, Can you tell me anything about it?" Elaine asked, hoping the small fairy knew anything about the creatures origins. The fairy flew and landed on the creature’s head, she pointed her tongue at the creature and kicking it on its forehead. Elaine asked if she knew anything about the creature, Iohlis answered that the creature’s name was Hyrix and that it was a servant of the Zodiac Beast called Scorpiel.

Elaine asked if anything related Hyrix to the unconscious man in her home but Iohlis only shrugged her head and answered that she have no idea and she probably have to ask the elder deities. Elaine thanked her for helping her and threw a wisp-berry, loved by fairies for their sweet taste at Iohlis as thanks for the help. A bright smile erupted on Iohlis face and took a large bite into the berry, smiling and chewing on the berry as she began shining brightly as she travelled back to her realm named Elphyne.

With this information she summoned the doe with the same spell from before, riding back home to write down her findings and have a check on the mans condition. Riding through the forest she finally arrives at her home after a few minutes and upon stumbling inside she noticed that his body wasn’t reacting well to the medicine and his body was burning hot in fever. Elaine rushed towards him with damped towels, trying to lower his fever. Calling upon nature she formulated a spell and from her hands scarlet and green magical wisps of smoke emitted from her hands, floating over his body and entering his skin. Sensing the body cooling down as the magical essence entered his body Elaine dropped down on one of her kitchen chairs and quickly fell asleep due to the tiredness.