This isn't fun, the boy thought to himself as he stumbled through the dense humidity of the jungle.
It would be worth it, though. He'd learned a lot from his teacher over the last several months but now, it fell to him. He'd prove it to the cathars and he'd prove it to the queen. He wasn't a child anymore.
A bead of morning condensation ran down a spike of his white hair, freezing before it reached the tip. He scowled. The first thing he'd do when he got back to Thraben was have his hair cut.
And then maybe ice cream.
There was a rustle in the clearing up ahead and he saw his prey.
The man was eight feet tall and carried an intimidating looking axe but the boy wasn't afraid. His quarry was little more than a beast.
He stepped forward and brushed foliage aside, freezing it in place and was about to announce himself when the beast-man spoke, addressing a hooded figure in blue that he hadn't noticed behind all the greenery.
"One final piece of advice, Beleren," the larger man said, as the man in blue began to planeswalk away. "Only the very best hunters can hunt alone. You? You need friends."
The hooded man disappeared.
So that was Jace Beleren. The boy knew him only by reputation. Somehow, he'd pictured a taller, more imposing man.
Reputations could be misleading, he concluded. He'd have to make sure that was never the case when people spoke of him.
The beast-man stood alone.
Showtime.
He stepped forward, letting the cold flow from him as he did. The forest around him began to freeze.
The beast-man turned to face him.
"Odd," his prey said, in a gruff voice that sounded like bones cracking. "Who are you?
"I am here to take you back to Innistrad," he said confidently. "Come with me now, Garruk."
The beast-man narrowed his eyes and gripped his axe and the boy felt a chill that didn't come from the cold.