The Queen of Shadows (Act I)

by 7empest92

As the threat of the King of Mages looms over them, the masters of Chaldea struggle to keep their team of heroes together for the fight to save humanity. Their hope comes from Chaldea's resident Lancer, who offers them a unique solution... To seek out his mysterious mentor. [Volume 1 of a 3 part series]

22. Ch21: Gae Bolg (Part 1)

Chapter 21: Gae Bolg (Part 1)

Over 2 millennia ago...

"That ought to do it..."

Scathach used some of her Rune magic to rebuild the rest of Fimir's hut, erecting a wall out of raw material to make her home as good as new. Fimir smiled as the wall connected with the rest of the hut.

"All that's left is the roof."

As Scathach then secured the finished wall, Aife and Kihli were busy making the roof that will eventually be set on top of it. Once that was done, Scathach used her magic again to levitate the finished roof over the line of surrounding walls and positioned it down. While doing this, she couldn't help but marvel just how easily she was doing such a tedious task with magecraft, having done in minutes than what manual labor would have taken hours to do...

Not to mention the degree of control she had over performing these spells; having just learned the basic understanding of Runecraft from the Shadow along with a handful of admittedly useful runes.

It made her wonder just what else she could do with her powers, as she already was feeling like she could do anything...

"Seems like there's a slight gap on one side," Fimir stated in observation of everyone's handiwork. "We don't want any rain getting in..."

"I'm on it," Scathach responds, shifting into wraith form to quickly get on top of the roof to Aife and Kihli's amazement. Once she was up there, Scathach repositioned some of the sections to flush the roof squarely to the top of the walls, completely enclosing the finished expansion to the hut.

"There! All done..."

Scathach jumps back down gracefully, rejoining Aife, Fimir and Kihli on the ground. Night had soon fallen, and everyone gathered to share a meal around the campfire after a hard day's work. After filling up on stew, Fimir and Kihli turned in for the night, leaving the sisters up conversing as the fire continued to burn.

As they talked and shared a few laughs, Scathach couldn't help but contemplate how things changed for her and Aife since making themselves at home in this secluded village. Since confronting the troublesome boys who partially destroyed Fimir's home, they left her alone and never bothered her again. While she and Aife helped Fimir and Kihli repair their hut, Scathach could also sense that everyone in the village were still avoiding her, even though none thus far have resorted to harassing her as the boys have done.

They were leaving her alone but were at the very least still wary of her, which Scathach supposed was a minor improvement, even if it wasn't quite as good as she wanted her disposition with the rest of the village to be. She was sure she'd find some way to make it better in time...

For now, Scathach was glad she was sharing a joyful moment with her sister, especially after taking the Shadow's advice to heart. Had she not confronted those kids the way she did, Scathach doubted she would have this moment with Aife.

She didn't want to imagine how Aife would see her had she not acted maturely, but more violently...

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of that," Aife said to Scathach beside her, expressing admiration. "The way you go dark and fly everywhere... it's amazing."

Scathach merely giggled.

"You should've been there when Shadow showed me that for the first time," she remarks. "I chased him around the fortress. The speed, the rush... I was having fun until he cast a rune and I fell flat on my face..."

"Did you really?" Aife tried her best not to laugh.

"I sure did. The Shadow taught me that I should never let myself get too carried away..."

Scathach then proceeded to tell Aife about the Shadow's absurd training sessions and what he taught her about casting runes and mixing them with spear-combat, culminating in the sparring match when Scathach finally landed a hit on him.

"Wow..." Aife said, not hiding her wonder. "Already, you are just so powerful and NOTHING can hurt you. It must be great learning all this stuff... "

"It is... if you don't mind my teacher giving you insanely difficult tasks to perform," Scathach told her. "He makes sure I work to stay sharp. It won't be too long now until we can confront the barbarians and take back our village."

When she said that, Aife looked away back towards the fire. Scathach was afraid that by reminding her of why they were even in this forest might have killed the mood. Silence hung between them until-

"Hey Scathach?" Aife cautiously started, before turning to face her again. "Do you think that I can learn of all of this magecraft too?"

Scathach was slightly surprised at that, having never thought about it before.

"I don't know Aife," she answered, trying not to diminish her sister's spirits. "If I have magic circuits, then it should make sense that you have them as well. You're my twin sister after all..."

She hoped that answer would satisfy her. Scathach surveys Aife as she turns to look into the fire again.

"I still relive that night you know," Aife confessed while continuing to stare intently at the flames. "When I shut my eyes, I see the huts burning, the grown-ups being slaughtered, and I hear the screams of the children being taken away..."

She then looks back at Scathach with a very determined expression.

"I want to fight too, sister. I want to make them pay for destroying our home. Is there any chance I can become as strong as you?"

Scathach stared into Aife's eyes, seeing the burning desire for retribution behind them. It made her feel somewhat ashamed for leaving her sister sidelined in the village while she was learning how to use her powers. Scathach thought that the least she could do for Aife was share some of what she has learned so far.

She nothing more than to have Aife beside her when they retake their home...

"We can start now Aife," she replied, giving Aife an assuring smile. "Go grab your spear, and I'll show you some moves..."

Upon hearing that, Aife's expression lightens.

"Thanks," she says graciously. "I really needed this."

Scathach watches as Aife leaves to retrieve her spear. Wanting to get her own, she summons it conveniently with a rune, and the improvised weapon appears in her hand in a flash of red.

She will never get tired of that anytime soon...

Looking it over, Scathach quickly inspects the barbed end of her spear, assuming it might have gotten dull after using it cut reeds and wood for the hut. She runs her hand across the edge, feeling for signs of chipping or imperfection-

(SHRNNT)

"Argh!"

Scathach recoils her hand after she accidentally cuts her palm against the barb of her makeshift spear, leaving a red line of blood. It turned out to still be as sharp as it normally was, much to her surprise. After the initial pain wore off, she dismisses the wound, figuring that it will close in seconds thanks to her fast healing.

But taking a second glance, Scathach stared, transfixed at the cut on her hand. After several seconds pass, the wound was still there, bleeding profusely. More than a minute passes, and it still didn't heal...

Scathach becomes deeply concerned by this point, and her mind begins to race.

Something's wrong... this should've gone away by now! Why isn't it healing?

Then in epiphany, her gaze travels back to her red spear, and she starts to put two and two together...

Scathach had been buried under several feet of snow, stabbed by a dagger and crushed by boulders, yet somehow her own spear, made out of red bone, left a wound that wasn't healing itself like most of the injuries she had sustained thus far.

The improvised weapon she's been carrying since entering this forest... can actually hurt her...

It was a startling discovery especially after Scathach had just gotten familiar with her abilities, and it made her wonder what it was about her spear that could leave a lasting injury on her. Hearing Aife returning from the hut, she quickly wrapped some cloth around her palm, deciding that it was best to keep this a secret from the others.

---

Before daybreak the following morning, Scathach made her way back to the Shadow's fortress, wanting to leave early in case anyone was awake to question her about her wound. She managed to hide it from Aife while she was showing her how to use her spear but figured it would be a matter of time before her sister noticed.

Especially after tending to it this morning, Scathach found that the cut on her hand was still present...

With sunlight peeking out as she neared the steps up to the fortress, Scathach took a moment to inspect her injury, unwrapping the cloth that acted as a bandage and finding the stains of dried blood underneath. The cut itself had stopped bleeding for the most part but was still open and raw, evident as Scathach could feel the cold bite in the air stinging her palm as wind blew over it.

Only now was it starting to heal... yet Scathach found it concerning. She still had no reason as to why her own spear left such a lasting injury on her when she healed through worse. If she had to guess, maybe it was because of what her weapon was made of, not even knowing where such material originated.

One thing she knew for sure... is that she had to be careful with handling her spear from now on...

Eventually passing through the gates of the fortress, Scathach pushed the questions about her spear to the back of her mind as she walked through the halls and casually greeted any Revenants she crossed paths with (not that she got any replies). She searched the halls for the Shadow, not finding any trace of him. While she searched every room she came across, she came across a very large set of double doors in one of the lower levels. What was Scathach found curious about this was that these doors resembled those of the entranceway of the castle, depicting the same battle with a giant creature as before.

Only when she tried to open it, Scathach wasn't able to. For whatever reason, this was the only passage in this fortress that she could not enter.

Giving up on the unpassable doors, Scathach decided to wait for the Shadow in one of the rooms; namely the one where he showed her the wraith form. Minutes pass by, and as Scathach's patience waned, she grew bored. Her attention then fell on the shelf full of scrolls along the wall. She got up and walked towards them, curiosity getting the better of her.

I wonder what's on these scrolls... let's see...

Looking through a random handful of them, Scathach found each one depicting a rune she has not yet used. Some of them looked very complicated to cast, but the effects were truly unique. One in particular would allow for any weapon it was casted on to duplicate into perfect copies which can all be manipulated telepathically. For what scenario would this be truly beneficial eluded Scathach, but she found it interesting nonetheless. Reading another, she found a rune that could conjure a protective barrier around wherever it was cast, which she thought was undoubtably more useful. She practiced drawing these runes, committing them to memory before reading the next scroll.

Said scroll did not depict any rune however, but instead showed something else...

It was full of images surrounding Mana; the breath of the World used as the basis of magic. It showed even outside of magecraft, all living things contribute to the abundance of Mana. Even those who do not use it for magic are capable of storing and passing to other people for "sustenance."

Before Scathach could even think about what that meant, the following image showed something that made her face blush red.

"Wha-?!"

Her eyes were glued to the scroll, unable to look away from the rather "provocative" depiction; her hands shaking as she held the scroll still in front of her, which shamelessly showed a man and woman-

She jumped in fright as the scroll was suddenly snatched out of her hand...

"Been busy I see..."

Scathach looks up and sees the Shadow standing over her, having appeared before her without the young girl noticing he was there. She quickly composes herself before apologizing.

"Sorry... I was just-"

"Don't be," he curtly said, taking a brief glance at the scroll before rolling it closed. "Curiosity is not a sin, but you may not always like what you end up finding..."

He puts the scroll back on the shelf as Scathach got back on her feet.

"What exactly was I reading, and why do you even have it?"

"Honestly, I didn't write any of these," The Shadow admitted, picking up the rest of the scrolls Scathach had left on the floor. "This was all here for me when I settled here..."

Scathach was surprised to hear that as she followed suit and picked up more of the reading materials as Shadow was rolling one up.

"As to that particular one, it's all about the exchange of mana that are possible... all living things can retain mana to a degree. If for some reason one finds themselves low on it, a way to replenish it would be through bodily fluid."

"Bodily fluid?" Scathach repeated, perplexed.

"It can be as simple as eating food normally or by drinking blood," the Shadow explained, doing his best to not make the subject-matter vulgar to the young girl's ears. "What you just saw however is the most potent by far, and definitely something that... well, a person like you can take advantage of. It only works one way unfortunately..."

At that, Scathach's face flushed red again.

"You mean by doing... that?!"

"Nature works in mysterious ways," Shadow remarks with a coy smile, confirming Scathach's assumptions. "But don't worry, I would never suggest anything of the sort. Wouldn't want to tarnish your pride..."

Feeling slightly relieved to hear that, a curious conundrum still lingered in Scathach's mind as she picked up the last of the scrolls off the floor, handing them to the Shadow.

"Even so... how in the world can I ever be low on mana? I would need to be using spells non-stop..."

Once they finished cleaning up Scathach's mess, the Shadow enlightens her.

"If you were to spam runes, even someone like us will get exhausted. The air is full of mana so simply breathing it in will help it replenish after a while. However, there are certain spells, artifacts and beings out there that can rob you of your ability to channel mana. Only in such extreme cases would "doing the deed" be conceivably warranted."

"Just what kind of beings?"

"Only those of the divine kin-"

The Shadow suddenly stops when he notices the wrapping around Scathach's hand, and his tone turns serious.

"What happened to your hand?"

"It's nothing..." Scathach deflects, trying to hide her hand behind her, but was not quick enough as the Shadow grabbed her arm. "Hey-!"

"No, it's not."

He yanks Scathach closer and rips off the cloth around her palm, exposing the wound underneath. Staring at it briefly, the Shadow then directs his gaze on the young girl.

"You cut yourself on your spear, didn't you?"

"So what?"

"It's not healing. Doesn't it bother you?"

Scathach was trying to play this off as no big deal, but seeing the slightly worried look on her mentor's face prompted her to admit to him:

"Maybe a little, but it's just a cut..."

When she said that, the Shadow flashed a rune in his free hand and summoned Scathach's spear in his grasp. Before Scathach could protest, he then asked:

"You don't know what this is made of, do you?"

He slowly waved the spear in front of her almost tauntingly, and Scathach was embarrassingly caught at a loss.

"Uh..."

She didn't get the chance to answer as the Shadow suddenly shoved the makeshift spear into Scathach's hands and said:

"Come with me..."

Scathach was left bewildered as the Shadow turned away and summoned his own twin blades.

"Where are we going?"

"A bit of a change in plan," he said, looking back before exiting the room. "You know enough to see first-hand what I do in this forest. Today, we are going hunting..."

---

A minute later, Scathach found herself brought to the roof of the fortress with the Shadow by her side, overlooking the vast, expansive forest.

"Hold on to me," the Shadow instructed the young girl, offering his arm. Scathach reluctantly obeyed, and as soon as she grasped her mentor's arm, she found herself involuntarily turning into wraith form and flying across the forest at incredible speed; faster than Scathach ever could by herself. When the trip was over, Scathach materialized and fell on her knees on the forest floor, awestruck and nauseous from the experience.

"(Groan...)"

The Shadow however rolled his eyes at his student's exaggerated display of weakness.

"Oh, come now... it couldn't have been that bad. Suck it up..."

"I- (gag)… didn't know it would be that fast..."

"You'd be surprised how much you can develop after training for centuries," he remarks after helping Scathach get back on her feet. She was wondering where they were until she looked around.

Scathach immediately recognized that they were in the muddied clearing where she and Aife fought the Dire Wolf.

Coincidentally, it was also where she found it; the bones where Scathach broke off the piece that made up the spear she now carried. She found herself staring at the exposed remains jutting out of the ground that used to be a riverbed. In the daylight, she could clearly see the bones bright red like her spear. She turned back to the Shadow to ask him why he brought her here, only to find him drawing a rune on the ground inside of a ritual circle.

"What are you doing?"

"Show and tell..." he replied as he completed the spell. The scene around them changed, and Scathach looked around frantically, seeing the forest around her disappear and become an ocean. Day turned to night as she and the Shadow were seemingly standing mid-air. Scathach wondered what on Earth was happening.

Then she saw it...

Breaching the raging waves of the sea came the jagged spines of the truly colossal creature. Scathach's jaw dropped as the monster immerged, its girthy body riddled with red barbs, robust skull, scaly skin, and massive forelimbs immerged from the water; towering above the duo who appeared as ants in comparison.

Scathach thought the Netherlyst she nearly lost her soul to was huge... but this thing was enormous.

Then the creature roared, and when it did, it called gale-force winds and lightning down from the heavens above. The noise was deafening and forced Scathach to cover her ears. Then it began to move towards the duo. The Shadow remained calm and stoic, but Scathach panicked and screamed as the creature bore down on her with its forelimbs. She recoiled and used her arms to shield herself. The arm came down, but instead of hitting her, she phased through it harmlessly. Realizing this, Scathach looked up and saw the monster move past them without even noticing the duo, seeing its rear-legs and powerful, blade-like tail as it "swam" away from them. Scathach was both relieved and shocked.

"What just happened?"

"I used a Recall rune to glimpse past events," the Shadow explained to her calmly. "What you are seeing is a past event in form of something barely more than an illusion."

Scathach continued to stare at the monster as it swam around them without a care, unable to look away from it.

"That thing... what in Lugh's name was that?"

"That... was originally where that stick of yours came from," the Shadow told her. "It's an ancient creature that even Gods were wary of. And for good reason..."

Just then, the creature roared again, summoning several tornadoes that only added to the raging storm around it.

"The Curruid; a monster that walked in a time before the Gods made this World their domain and managed to persist even past the emergence of mankind... at least for a while. The World was not as lush and full of vitality as it is today. It was hostile, unforgiving, and barely taken form. In fact, the entire Isle was all underwater while this creature was alive. Storms were constant, fires burned, and the land was crashing against itself; a World where only the powerful could survive. "

"How powerful?" Scathach found herself asking, finally looking at him. At that moment, the image lifted and before she knew it, they were back in the forest.

"Divine..." replied the Shadow, summoning his blades and looking them over. "Such power persists for this beast even in death... and it ran deep into its very bones..."

At that revelation, Scathach looked at the leftover bones of the Curruid, and then to the red spear she held. Then her gaze travels to the weapons the Shadow carried. Luckily, he was a step ahead of her.

"As you've no doubt noticed... that's what these blades are made of. They take enchantments very well, but more importantly is what happens when the bones are fashioned into weapons. Being that they are from the bones of a monster that pre-dated all others of this forest, they can harm any creature they are used against; especially undead or phantasmal in nature."

Glancing back at her spear, and then the cut on her hand, Scathach finally understood.

"So that's why-"

"-It can hurt you," the Shadow finished for her. "Minor cuts will still heal with time, yet they leave permanent scars. But when used to kill, it does so with ravenous intent. I can even show you..."

The Shadow then led Scathach deeper into the forest. Once they found a spacious area, the Shadow started drawing another rune on the ground, leaving Scathach to ask him:

"So what will we be doing?"

"I'm making a well of Mana that will attract some of the "pests" in this place," he told her as his circle of runes started to glow. "You already sparred with me several times, but with everything you've learned so far, I want to see how you do against things that will try to kill you."

"Combat training..." Scathach remarked confidently. Had she'd been more of a novice as she was when she first started with her mentor, she'd probably be less enthusiastic towards something like this. "I'm down for that..."

"I thought you'd might," the Shadow said, giving her a smirk. It quickly went away when he and Scathach saw an ominous fog rolling-in from all sides. "Here they come. Get ready..."

He goes into wraith form and jumps out from sight as Scathach summons her spear, brandishing it. Steeling herself, she listens for any oncoming threats, her attention snapping forward as clammy hands suddenly burst out of the ground ahead of her, then the bodies of the familiar creatures followed.

"Oh great," she said sarcastically as the decrepit, armored skeletal bodies of the Draugr rose and walked towards her wielding their rustic weapons and growling ravenously. "These things..."

"I see you are already familiar with the Draugr," the Shadow said from his perch on a nearby tree branch. "They aren't strong by-themselves, so they tend to attack in groups. Their skeletons still hold some flesh, so fire spells are devastating against them."

Scathach heeded the Shadows words as the Draugr slowly closed in on her. She remembered the last time she and Aife fought them and the struggle it took to not get overrun by them.

During that time, Scathach didn't have her powers... nor was she a skilled fighter with her spear.

Not such was the case this time...

Striking first, she dashes at her opponents with her wraith form and immediately impales one with her spear. Before the other Draugr could react, Scathach leaps off the one she just killed, flips behind another and kicks it the back forcibly, sending the Draugr crashing into the others. Landing on her feet, Scathach spins around in half-turn and casts a fire rune which explodes and ignites the entire group of Draugr, reducing them to ash.

Just when she thought she was done, she hears a hulking, elite Draugr with an axe try to attack while her back was turned. Reacting quickly, she Reinforces her leg, spins and sweeps the Draugr completely off its feet, breaking its struck leg in the process. With the Draugr lying face-up on its back and helpless, Scathach leaps into the air, and strikes down with her spear onto the Draugr's chest, puncturing its armor and piercing its heart, killing it. Scathach takes a few deep breaths as the Draugr's body dissipates in ghostly smoke.

What she just did made her feel proud of herself. Before meeting the Shadow, these Draugr were a threat to her. Not any more...

There was no time to celebrate as yet another familiar creature emerged from the fog; one that briefly made Scathach freeze in fright. The large, 4-legged furry body of the Dire Wolf, like the one that nearly killed her and Aife, growled and barked at her while salivating from its jaws.

"Dire wolves have a ravenous appetite, and like to lunge at their prey," the Shadow explained from afar. "They may be fast, but you're faster still. Use their instincts against them..."

Sure enough, the wolf got impatient and ran at Scathach and jumped at her with its claws raised and its jaws wide open to take a bite out of her. She slides below the creature in her wraith form and swipes at its underside with her spear, leaving a gash. The wolf lands limping but agitated as it turns to quickly swipe at Scathach with its sharp claws. She dodges and quickly plants a rune on the ground as a trap. The wolf lunges again, going over the rune and causing violet strands of Mana to burst out and wrap-around the beast, forcing it to the ground and restraining it. Scathach takes the opportunity to run her spear right into the wolf's side, killing it.

"Nice moves," the Shadow compliments her. "Eyes up... we're just getting started."

Soon, more Draugr appear out of the fog, and accompanying them were creatures Scathach never seen before. They were floating skeletal monsters dressed in ragged cloaks, floating around and radiating energy from their hands; demonstrated as they formed barriers around several Draugr.

"This is new..." Scathach remarks, at which the Shadow explained:

"Liches... they'll hang back and try either attacking at a distance or cast a shield on other monsters. Dodge their spells and get in close. Best to take them out first..."

At this point, Scathach was now feeling excited at the thought of a new challenge. Tried as the Liches might, no amount of their spells against her or empowerment to the Draugr was enough to deter her. Dodging past the Draugr and the spells fired at her, Scathach slices off the head of one of the Liches and kills some Draugr that it was protecting. The remaining Lich was shielding one elite Draugr as it tried to attack Scathach. The Lich was trying to stay out of close range as Scathach was outmaneuvering the empowered Draugr, trying to ignore it and kill the Lich first, leaving itself vulnerable by sustaining its spell. Finding an opening, Scathach leaps over the Draugr in wraith form, materializes and fires a lightning rune at the floating Lich, blowing it apart. Its spell broken, Scathach turns and slices the leg of the Draugr before finishing it off with a fire spell.

Scathach took a moment to catch her breath and stood in the Mana well before the Shadow decided to start the next round. The well pulsed and 3 ghostly warriors appeared: one holding a spear, another with a bow, and the last one with a sword and shield. Their faces were hideous like the Draugr, yet appeared more ethereal.

"Wraiths... They are your equals in combat. They can dash around sort of like how we can by going into corporeal form. Doesn't mean you can't hurt them though. If they attack as a group, best to separate and single them out. Fancy fighting is your best friend with them..."

Heeding the Shadow's description, Scathach focused up and took the brunt of these new enemies' assault head-on. Blocking and dodging the Wraiths' attacks, Scathach was forced to stay on her toes, for every time she thought she had one dead to right, to her surprise, one of them would dash away and tag-in the other two. She found this out the hard way when she dashes past the sword-Wraith and tries to catch the spear-Wraith off-guard with a well-aimed thrust of her weapon. It just misses as her target quickly dashed away, leaving her open for the Wraith-archer; a costly mistake that earned her an arrow in her shoulder blade. Scathach yells in pain, as she collapses to the floor; the Wraiths circling around as if to taunt her.

"What's the matter?" the Shadow asks her coyly as she forcibly removes the arrow, wincing painfully. "They too fast for you?"

Scathach grunts as she gets back on her feet, her wound starting to close. Picking up her spear, she stamps down her pain and dashes at one of the Wraiths. As she anticipated, it too dashed away. She quickly plants a rune on the ground before immediately switching targets, throwing her spear at the Wraith-archer before it took a shot at her. When it was forced to dash away to avoid the hit, the remaining two Wraiths moved to attack her, the sword-wielding one running to take a swipe at her. Scathach wraith-dashes right under its legs. She rematerializes and forms a rune on her free hand, causing her spear to sail back to her, completely impaling the Wraith she just passed before returning to her hand. She jumps over the Wraith's oncoming spear-swipe and kicks off its chest, launching herself into the air. The Wraith-archer rematerializes and notches an arrow, but too late to reacquire its target as Scathach cast a rune mid-air and barrages the Wraith-archer in a shower of fire, incinerating it. Landing on her feet some distance away, the remaining Wraith recovers and dashes towards her ready to strike her down. Scathach merely turned and snapped her fingers. As she predicted, the Wraith materializes over the rune she planted earlier, causing a wall of ice to form and encase the Wraith's arm, making its weapon stop one inch away from her stoic face. With her opponent immobile, Scathach thrusts her spear right through her ice-wall and impale the Wraith through the heart, killing it.

Scathach was panting in exhaustion, but a confident smile formed on her face as her opponent dissipates and her wall of ice crumbled. It was the toughest fight so far, and Scathach felt she was ready for anything.

Her mentor now thought so too... It wasn't long after this that the Shadow introduced Scathach to the remaining creatures of the forest.

One of which being a giant snake-like creature that nearly surprised Scathach after it burst from the ground in an attempt to eat her. Scathach dashes away from its jaws and watches as the serpent burrowed back into the ground and circled her from below.

"Ah... a Legless," the Shadow informed her. "Before you ask... they've got some other name, but's it's too long for me to bother saying all the time. They like to burrow underground and strike their prey from below. When they breach, there is a window in which they are suspended mid-air and blinded by daylight. They are only armored on top, so you can hit the belly with a lightning spell to paralyze them before going in for the kill."

This fight was remarkably straight forward as Scathach planted a lightning rune as a trap. Positioning herself, she tapped the ground with her spear to lure the Legless to her. When it burst from the ground, Scathach dodges as it descends on her rune. Lightning surged from it and electrocuted the beast, making it collapse like a ragdoll and crash on to the forest floor. With it stunned, Scathach dashes in and stabs the serpent in the throat. Dead, the Legless fades from existence.

With each round of killing monsters, Scathach now started to notice what was happening with her spear. It was softly glowing violet and periodically giving off sparks of red electricity with every creature she killed with it. Before she could ask the Shadow about this, her next opponent came crashing out of the woods: a hulking creature with a large body, gray skin, and an ugly face. The Shadow fills her in.

"Ogres... big, powerful, but very dumb and slow. You can outmaneuver them and strike at their chubby necks. The bigger they are, the harder they fall..."

Just like the Legless, this new creature didn't last very long. It tries to trample Scathach, then tried crushing her with its fists and by throwing an entire tree at her, but it was ultimately helpless as Scathach avoided its attacks with her wraith form. She eventually weighs it down using several Strand runes, and once it was face-down on the ground, Scathach leaped and descended on the Ogre's exposed neck, jabbing it with her spear, and spraying out blood.

This round over and done with, Scathach thought she'd seen all that this forest could throw at her until several winged creatures circled above her and screeched at her. They were about the size of the Dire Wolves, only their skin appeared leathery yet slimy, with wings fused to their forearms, flexible necks, and ugly faces with jaws full of gnarly teeth. One after the other, they spit sickly-green flames at Scathach, forcing her to cast a barrier rune to protect herself from their barrage.

"Fell-beasts like to stay in the air as much as they can and attack their prey from above. You can impair their ability to fly if you trick them into a mist made with Ice runes. That will cause their wings to freeze, and they will drop like flies."

Taking the Shadow's advice, Scathach waited until the Fell-beasts ceased their assault and they eventually gave up on shooting at her to instead dive down and take a bite out of her. Scathach drops her shield and leaps over one of the beasts as it lunges at her, landing and stomping it down as the others fly down upon her. Scathach kicks off the first Fell-beast and goes into wraith form, dashing between the jaws of the other winged-monsters, letting all fly past her. She lands on the ground and turns as all the Fell-beasts circle around to attack her again, and casts an ice rune that summons a small blizzard to engulf the area in front of her. Sure enough, the wings on the Fell-beasts freeze and they all fall helplessly. Scathach decides to use a Projection rune to duplicate her spear and sent each one to impale each of the Fell-beasts. They and the blizzard dissipate, and the slain monsters fade into nothing.

Her spear appearing back in her hand, Scathach was in awe to see it glowing and arcing with red electricity more than before. It confirmed what she previously thought about the weapon gaining power with every monster she killed with her spear. From the way it appeared now, Scathach could tell that all of that energy stored inside was now waiting to be released.

"Remember when I said that these creatures used to be people?" the Shadow asked as he appeared beside Scathach. "Their souls are freed when these hideous physical forms die. The bones of the Curruid absorb these souls and stores them as energy; energy that can be weaponized and used against more of these monsters."

Scathach watched as he then waved a hand and manifested a rune towards the well of mana, making it glow brighter.

"I'm going to be drawing more monsters towards us. You'll be overwhelmed easily unless you harness the power resting in your spear. Are you ready?"

Just then, more monsters appeared out of the fog, this time in hordes; every creature Scathach fought so far completely surrounding the duo. Scathach was initially horrified at the sheer scale and number of adversaries before her, this no doubt going to be the toughest fight she was going to face yet.

But, looking back at her empowered spear, and then at the Shadow who had a complete look of confidence. Seeing his face and knowing he had total faith in her to overcome this challenge, it made Scathach stamp down her fear and brandish her spear, ready to take on this new wave of monsters.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Scathach replied as she and the Shadow stand back-to-back; the creatures growling and/or gnashing their jaws at them, thirsty for blood.

"Don't you worry lass," said the Shadow, summoning his blades. "I won't be letting you have all the fun..."

It made Scathach feel even better knowing that she wasn't fighting alone as she stared down several Draugr, a Lich, and an Ogre. From behind her, the Shadow gave her a quick piece of advice.

"Time to put that power to use... slam your spear down and watch what happens."

Scathach steps forward and twirls her glowing weapon above her head, contrails of red and violet pulsated as she focused on the enemies before her. With a yell, she thrusts the barb of her spear into the ground, and to her amazement, a wave of energy traveled in front of her and caused dozens of sharp, red spikes to grow out every which way and impale all the creatures before her. She watched as all the Draugr were lifted up off the ground as they were each skewered, the big Ogre just riddled as it was stabbed several times over. Even the floating Lich wasn't safe as the spikes grew several feet to impale it. They all died and faded to nothing.

Scathach was left in awe of the sheer carnage she just unleashed; all the barbs grown just an instant before dissipating in red smoke. The group of monsters she'd killed soon became replaced by more coming out of the fog, leaving Scathach with little time to truly take in what just happened. She readied herself again as Shadow said from behind her.

"Did you like that, lass? If you want to see more, you got to take on the onslaught. Have fun..."

With that, the Shadow dashed forward to engage his own group of monsters, leaving Scathach alone to deal with her own. But she was not at all scared anymore. She rushes forward to meet several Draugr and Wraiths, using her wraith-form to quickly close the distance before her opponents could react. She swipes at targets with her spear; gashes made in the bodies of these monsters causing red thorns to grow out and pierce them to death from inside out. She then dodges the slam of a club from an Ogre and leaps into the air. She throws her spear down, and seemingly with a mind of its own flies around and pierces the Ogre from all sides; so fast it left a jagged trail of red as the spear gouges the Ogre's chest on the return trip back to Scathach's hand. Landing on her feet, she prepares herself to then fight several Dire Wolves and flying Fell-beasts that appeared before her, all ready to strike-

Out of nowhere came two spinning red blades and quickly dispatched the creatures in one fell-swoop, much to Scathach's surprise (and slight disappointment). She looks back at the flying blades and watches as they sailed back into the Shadow's hands, and Scathach sees that he had already killed an entire horde of monsters, which was more than the handful she killed thus far.

"Did I not mention that this is a contest?" he quipped. "I'm keeping score, and you're falling behind..."

Scathach gave him a mildly annoyed look as even more monsters came roaring and screeching out of the fog. And yet, despite the hellish circumstances, she found she was eager for a challenge...

Her mentor had a way with riling her up...

"You better not go easy on me then," she coyly shot back as she readied her spear. "Because I don't plan on losing..."

She takes off before the Shadow could get a cheeky retort in, slicing apart and casting spells on monsters left and right. It seemed that with the combination of all of her abilities, these monsters no longer seemed like much of a threat to her as long as Scathach played to her advantages and exploited each enemy's weaknesses, weaving herself between opponents with her wraith form. After dispatching a Legless, she took the briefest of glances toward her mentor, and Scathach could see just how well he was faring.

And by well, it meant that the Shadow was hardly being challenged at all. He would cast a single spell and dozens of monsters would fall before him, and a single stroke of one of his blades would down a giant Ogre almost effortlessly. Scathach was enjoying the feeling of overpowering these creatures of nightmares but watching her mentor fight made her feel oddly humbled.

Such grace and strength... I don't know if I will EVER match that...

She snapped away from admiring her teacher to parry and kill an oncoming Wraith with her spear. As the fight went on, more and more monsters converged on her position, seemingly never-ending. Scathach projected duplicates of her spear and impales several Draugr and a Lich before her, then to get jumped by Dire Wolf who tried to pin her down and take a bite out her. Acting quickly, she recalled one of her projected spears which flew back and struck the wolf in the shoulder. Scathach then reinforced herself and threw the Dire Wolf off of her into a group of Draugr.

Panting and getting on to one knee, Scathach inspects her arm and winced as a scratch mark left by her attacker gradually healed. Looking back at her student, the Shadow noticed she was getting tired and overwhelmed by the growing number of monsters, as well as her glowing red spear becoming more volatile as the fight progressed.

Keep it up lass, he thought for her sake. Just endure a little bit longer...

Scathach grimaces at the horde of creatures. It seemed like no matter how many she killed, more just took their place. In that moment, she looks down at her spear and sees just empowered it had become during the onslaught; violet energy coming off of it like a flame, and red electricity sparking aggressively as it traveled all the way down to where she held the shaft of her weapon. Scathach can feel the power contained in the spear through her hand, like it was on the verge of overflowing.

It made her wonder what would happen if she pushed the weapon beyond its limits...

Taking a look back at her mentor, Scathach could tell that he wanted her to find out...

Scathach steeled herself and got back on her feet as the monsters ran towards her ravenously. She turns and spins her weapon in her hands in a flourish, scraping the barb of her spear against the ground and causing red spikes to grow ahead and impale a row of Draugr. Just as Wraiths dash away and come at her from the sides, Scathach wraith-steps and stabs a Lich before it could fire at her, then leaping on to a flying Fell-beast to avoid a breach-attack from a Legless. The winged horror thrashes to try and throw her off, and Scathach takes the opportunity to fire a lightning rune and stun all other nearby Fell-beasts before stabbing the one she was riding on. She leaped off before it hit the ground in a crash, and in a single motion, casts an ice-rune on the ground, freezing the two Wraiths and several other Draugr below before throwing her spear down. The spear impacted and spikes grew out of the ground around it and killed all the monsters that were frozen.

Landing on the ground, Scathach recalled her spear to her hand. The Legless from before coiled upright and tried to slam its tail down at her as Scathach flipped out of the way and sliced the very end of the creature's tail off. The Legless screeched in pain and thrashed about wildly. Scathach dashes in wraith form, passing beneath the agonized beast and casted a fire rune at its underside near its head. The explosion caused the Legless to collapse and roll. Scathach jumps on top of it, reeling back to stab it in the throat. With her spear glowing and arcing, Scathach knew that this last kill will push whatever power her weapon held over the edge. As additional monsters converged on her, more numerous than before, Scathach thrusted her weapon down...

And what happened next was glorious...

As soon as the Legless died, the spear glowed and pulsed; the arcing energy held in the spear poured into Scathach's hands and then spread to the rest of her body. The shock ignited her magic circuits, and her body to flash bright violet. The transition was sudden and powerful which caused the surrounding monsters to briefly back away in alarm.

Scathach gasped, looking down at her new form; her body glowing violet, and her circuits arcing brightly. She felt weightless, exemplified by the fact that her feet were hovering off the ground, and her hair blowing about in the absence of wind. Looking to her spear, which was now ablaze with red fire, she could feel the energy emanating off of it, opening her connection to the Void, and fueled by the trapped souls of the monsters she has killed.

This was an experience akin to her achieving clarity. Only more... substantial.

Before Scathach could marvel at her new state, she looked around at the myriad of monsters around her, all seeming fearful of the being before them. The Shadow looks on with satisfaction as his student's presence overwhelming the creatures that were so eager to kill her moments before. Scathach readied herself to unleash her new power before these nightmares, prepared to make something abundantly clear to all:

She has become the apex predator...

Taking but a mere breath, Scathach glides forward effortlessly and twirls her spear in a spin. Her weapon released an expanding wave of destructive red energy which tore apart all the creatures that were struck by it. Wasting no time at all, Scathach moves instantly between groups of monsters, so quickly that she practically warped everywhere her mind wished to go. Every swing and thrust of her spear giving off the same waves of energy that decimated every creature as large as Ogres, or numerous as Draugr as if they were mere ants.

To the Shadow, he was seeing a lightshow as Scathach blinked in-and-out every which way and swinging her spear with destructive results.

The feeling of being so powerful was overwhelming to Scathach as she weaves around killing more monsters in such quick succession it was almost unreal to her; the laws of nature having no meaning to her in this ascension as was the many numbers of monsters before her. They seemed to finally be dwindling as Scathach cut them down, dozens after dozens at a time.

Yet in her excitement, she began noticing what was happening with her body. With her blood-thirsty spear overflowing with energy, the more she gained from killing monsters was pouring into herself instead. Scathach was feeling a growing fire in her core, glowing brighter than the rest of her body. It was causing a pressure against her chest that eventually needed to be released. It was slowly becoming painful as she withered the number of monsters down to just a couple dozen remaining; several Draugr, along with some Fell-beasts, Liches, Wraiths, a couple Ogres, and a Legless.

Scathach just struck down a Lich when the pain in her heart became too much for her and she fell on her knees, curled up, clutching her chest as her body pulsed and became unstable. She was anxious of whatever was about to happen next as the monsters watching her closed in, seeing this moment of weakness as an opportunity to finish her off.

The Shadow was not worried however, even as he watched his student getting surrounded and writhing in pain.

If anything, he was looking forward to what was about to come next...

Scathach grunts in pain, clutching herself tightly as she found herself hovering several feet into the air; her body pulsating violently as the light inside her chest grew and grew. Still curled up and with all that energy inside her waiting to burst, Scathach spreads out her limbs and with an echoing yell, she finally-

(THRUUUM!)

The noise was thunderous as a flash of light from Scathach's body released an expanding dome of Void-energy that instantly disintegrated the remaining monsters around her. It passes harmlessly by the Shadow, who not even flinched at the oncoming wave, and kept his gaze on his student as she lied flat, face-up in mid-air; countless orbs of white lights emerging from her chest. When that was finished, the air was silent and still; Scathach's limp, glowing body dimming down and returning to normal along with her red spear. Her eyes followed, and Scathach could see the beautiful, incomprehensible sight of all the white lights above her, circling around above her against the starry black of the night sky.

It was a view she would not get to enjoy as the high from her power faded, leaving her completely drained and deprived of mana. Her eyelids becoming heavy as she exhaled and at last, gravity kicked in.

She was already passed out by the time she hit the ground.

...

---

Scathach found herself back in a vast expanse of darkness. She looked around for anything that could tell her where she was, floating aimlessly until she came across a familiar sight...

The gate...

The same gate she had seen when the Shadow exercised his power over her, as well as the one she saw when tapped into her powers for the first time. It loomed over her in its enormity, the stone doors decorated all over with runes upon runes.

Scathach came closer until she was able to touch, the gate creaked open letting violet light shine through the widening entrance. She shielded her eyes... the light was so intense and blinding. Scathach tried to peek past her hands, but she couldn't make out what was on the other side.

All she knew as the gate opened wider... and wider... she heard an ominous roar-

---

"Come on, lass... up you go..."

Scathach heard the gruff voice of the Shadow as she regained consciousness and found herself being helped upright. She groaned as the Shadow sat her up and she opened her eyes.

"Good, you're awake..."

"What happened?" Scathach said weakly, noticing just how drained of energy she felt.

"Don't tell me you don't remember taking on all those monsters," the Shadow reminded her as he dusted off some dirt off of her attire. "After what you just did, I'm not surprised you fainted..."

Scathach blinked as her awareness slowly returned to her. She spotted her spear lying just a few feet away. Then she noticed a lingering pain in her foot. Her gaze followed until she recoiled at the gruesome sight.

"Oh Gods!"

Her foot was twisted in an unnatural direction, and when she was on the verge of panicking, the Shadow was there to calm her.

"Easy... That happened when you fell. I'll fix it in a second..."

Scathach winced as the Shadow elevated her foot. Despite staying calm like he said, Scathach was breathing quickly and was nearly hysterical.

"What are you going to do?!"

"I'm just going to snap it back in place, and your healing should do the rest."

The Shadow barely grasped Scathach's foot with both hands and already she could feel the sharp pain as he slowly turned it.

"Ow! Oww! OWW!"

"Oh relax," the Shadow said nonchalantly. "You've felt worse, and it'll only hurt for a moment..."

Then in one swift motion, the Shadow jerked Scathach's foot back straight.

(CRACK)

"ARGH!"

Scathach recoiled as her foot was snapped back in alignment. She groaned as the pain lingered and felt her bones resetting along with her muscles stitching themselves together. Breathing heavily, she sat there as the Shadow went to retrieve her spear, which he then handed to her.

"There... should be feeling better."

"Right," said an exasperated Scathach. "Next time, I'll fix myself up..."

Scathach grunted as she pulled herself back on her feet with her spear. Her foot still feeling tender, she kept most of the weight off it with her spear doubling as a walking stick. Once she stood up, she immediately noticed the signs of sheer carnage she caused.

"Wow..."

The ground was rippled with concentric circles and gouges, all coming out and expanding from the epicenter... right where she was standing. Trees and bushes were slanted and pointing away from her, as if some powerful force blew them away.

Her mind recollected when she was overflowing with power from her spear, killing monsters left and right before finally... expending all that energy in a forceful blast that expanded outward around her.

And right after that... the white lights she released.

"I did this..." she said under her breath, amazed she was able to do this much damage to the forest around her.

"You just got your first taste of the kinda work I do," the Shadow told her. "I gotta say, it was a treat seeing someone other than me do my job for once."

"Oh?" Scathach said cheekily, remembering their challenge. "I guess this means I've won then..."

In response, the Shadow's body glowed violet, catching her off guard. He then held out his hand, and then to Scathach's surprise, released countless orbs of white lights into the night sky above.

"I was ahead of you," he said as he returned to normal, then he added with a smirk: "But you were having so much fun that I didn't want to show you up."

"Huh..." Scathach said, lost for words. She may have killed the most monsters, but the Shadow could have ended that contest at any point. But Scathach was not concerned about that for long. Her attention was directed at the white lights spiraling high above her.

"Are those-?"

"Souls," the Shadow answered. "Those that fail to pass into the next life culminate and become monsters that spawn in this forest. You free them by killing their bestial bodies which are used to empower the weapons made from the Curruid's bones. As a Void-hunter, we can tap into that power to make ourselves stronger. Only afterwards, we set those souls free to continue in passing."

Scathach stared upwards, mesmerized by the sight of circling lights that looked so beautiful to her eyes. She then saw them change direction.

"Where are they going?"

"I'll show you..." the Shadow said while he motioned her to follow him. Trailing the lights above for some time later, Scathach eventually asked her mentor:

"So what about the Netherlyst? How do I deal with those?"

"You will rarely have to," he tells her. "But they are harder than the rest of these creatures to take down. Depending on how many living souls they consume, they grow more powerful the longer you fight them. They do have weak spots on the joints of their bodies where they store their energy. They will do all they can to protect themselves, including a shockwave attack that will destroy whatever is around them. Getting the drop on one is your best bet, especially if you can weaken one early in the fight. Still, it'll be a drawn-out battle. Not a beast you should hold back against..."

The Shadow then turned back at her and stated:

"You aren't quite ready for one yet. If we see one out here, I'll deal with it..."

Scathach was left astonished in the idea that there was a creature in this forest more ferocious than the ones she fought thus far, and one that even her mentor was cautious of. She was left wondering if her first encounter with a Netherlyst did not showcase how powerful they truly were. Sensing her trepidation, the Shadow reassures her.

"Don't worry lass... soon, these creatures will learn to fear you..."

Afterwards they went deeper into the forest, following the trail of lights above them. After what felt like an hour, the Shadow led Scathach into a very familiar place, much to her surprise.

"We're here!"

Before her was the Red Grove; as vibrant and tranquil as it was when she and Aife briefly resided in upon their entry into this forest. With the lush trees and the countless flowers everywhere, Scathach could not believe that she forgot about this place. Looking up, she saw the white lights of freed souls converging and descending upon the vast bed of red flowers, then disappearing. Scathach looks back at the Shadow slightly ahead of her.

"What happened to them?"

"Come over and see," he answers, motioning the young girl closer. They carefully waded through the flower bed as he then explained. "Most monsters avoid this place, as this area acts as a one-way bridge to the afterlife, branching off from the main leyline that passes over this whole forest. Souls that manage to pass leave one of these behind..."

They stop and crouch to observe a dozen closed flowers yet to bloom. Scathach stares in amazement as a trail of light descended and pass-through one in particular. The flower opened right before her eyes, spreading it's string-like petals and releasing glowing pollen into the air.

"So that's how they bloom," she said aloud. "I couldn't see this happening before..."

"That's because you weren't connected with the Void before," the Shadow told her as they continued to watch. "My people were familiar with these. They believed for each one that blooms, a person finds peace in death."

Peace in death... Scathach pondered, the concept eluding her understanding. From living a hunter/gatherer lifestyle, it left her believing that the goal of all life was to survive, and death was an irreversible consequence of the failure to adapt. She couldn't see how death itself could be any more fulfilling than living as long as someone possibly could. She was virtually immortal, and she was sure that if she asked anyone, they would all want what she has.

All people fear death after all...

"You can even pick one of these and it will still bloom," the Shadow continued, regaining Scathach's attention as he plucked a bulb of a spider lily from its stem. "Look..."

He held it before the young girl, and her eyes widened as despite the flower being separated, it opened and released pollen as if it was still rooted. She marveled at the beautiful display until an amusing thought crossed her mind.

"You sure know a lot about flowers," she remarked to her mentor, who immediately locked eyes with her. "I didn't think you were that kind of a man..."

"Uhm," he started, slightly embarrassed and searching for words. "I- I never cared much for them, but my wife really liked them..."

"Oh," Scathach said immediately, now feeling like she was being rude. "I'm sorry for making fun of you..."

"It's nothing," he insisted before he eventually found himself confessing. "Besides... she thought they reminded her of home..."

"Home?"

"There were..." he starts hesitantly. "There were rituals and offerings we would make to our Gods, some of which we used these flowers in."

"What do you mean: our Gods?" Scathach asked curiously.

"This might come as a surprise to you, but let's just say I'm not from around here. My home used to be across the sea to the East."

"The East..." Scathach repeated before realizing: "Wait...are you a Nord?!"

"You catch on quick," he remarked.

"I've heard stories of lands beyond the shores from traders who did business in our village, but I didn't really think they existed."

"The World stretches farther than just the Isle you and other Celts inhabit. With that comes different deities of worship."

Scathach narrowed her eyes at the Shadow in curiosity.

"So, you don't know any of Tuatha Dé Danann: Lugh, Manannán... any of them?"

"Only vaguely..." her mentor admitted.

"Then who do you worship?"

"" Worship" is a polite word for it... but we call them Aesir. I won't bore you with details."

"We've got time..." Scathach said, wanting to learn more about where the Shadow came from. That and she wanted to spend more time in the Red Grove. "Maybe I can tell you about MY gods too..."

Her mentor stared at her for a moment before he remarked.

"You must really like it in here. You're just like her...Very well."

They then traded stories to each other of their respective patron gods and goddesses. The Shadow would tell Scathach of the Aesir who resided in the Kingdom of Asgard; their war with the Vanir, and the adventures of the many Gods in the pantheon: Thor and his battles with giants called the Jotunn, Baldr's death at the hand of Loki, and of the Ruler Odin, who conceived Rune Magic. He then tells the young girl of Yggdrasil: The World tree, and how one of its branches produced Midgard, the Nords' name for the realm of mortals, where humans reside.

Scathach then shared with her mentor all about the Tuatha Dé Danann: beings who arrived on the Celtic lands on dark clouds and challenged the half-beast race of Fomorians. The King, Nuada, lost his arm to a champion of the Fomorians, letting Lugh take over command. Wielding a spear, and a sling, Lugh and the rest of the Tuatha Dé Danann overtook the Fomorians. Nuada was later killed by the Fomorian: Balor of the Poison Eye. Lugh avenged him, using Nuada's sword: Fragarach, bestowed upon him by Manannán Mac Lyr.

As they told more and more stories to each other, it soon devolved into them playfully poking fun at their respective mythologies.

"So, Odin is the Father and King of Asgard, who once got captured by a mortal king..." Scathach recounted. "Thor is his son, who picked a fight with a giant serpent... and Loki is the troublemaker to the other Aesir, who also gave birth to a wolf and a horse... Your gods are weird..."

"Perhaps," the Shadow said cheekily. "But at least they make your Tuatha Dé Danann sound mundane in comparison. Nuada losing his arm in battle is about the only interesting thing I've heard thus far."

"And then he got a new one made of silver... better than Sif getting replacement hair by dwarves. THAT only happened because you said Loki got bored one day..."

"At least that led to Thor receiving his mighty hammer..."

"Which got stolen by a giant, and Thor was forced to disguise himself as Freya to get it back."

"It wasn't Loki's idea by the way..."

"And then he was made a fool by Utgard the illusionist. For someone so "mighty", Thor sure was prone to being utterly humiliated..."

Her mentor then humored her.

"If you think those were the only times Thor got served, then you haven't heard of the time that boatman was talking smack to him and then told the Thunder-God to take a hike..."

Scathach started laughing, even getting a chuckle out of her usually serious mentor. She fell backwards, clutching her stomach as she continued laughing uncontrollably, not noticing that the Shadow stopped indulging in her amusement; Instead looking at her with an expression of nostalgia... and regret.

He waited until his student got a hold of herself, who then looked up and noticed something that made her say in surprise:

"I can't believe it... it's morning already!"

The Shadow looks up too and sees sunlight poking through the canopy of the Red Grove, realizing that they must have been talking for hours.

"I guess time flies when you're having fun, huh?" Scathach said lightheartedly, but to her startlement, it made the Shadow quickly get up on his feet.

"We should go," he said curtly while dusting himself off. "Your friends and your sister are probably expecting you."

Scathach sat there stunned as her mentor turned to leave, not even waiting for her. She hurriedly got up and followed, wondering if she had said something wrong to cause a reversal in his mood. She dismissed it as she quickly caught up to him and they ventured back into the forest.

As daylight grew, awkward silence filled the air as the Shadow led Scathach back to the village without him turning to even look at her once. Unable to stand it, Scathach took the opportunity to ask her mentor something else that was in the back of her mind.

"Shadow," she starts hesitantly. "Can I ask you something?"

"It depends... shoot."

The Shadow's answer was blunt. Scathach could discern from his heartbeat that her mentor was on edge.

"I've been thinking about my sister," she starts cautiously. "Do you think Aife can also learn the things you've been teaching me?"

She notices the Shadow's pace slow down and sees him ponder. Afterwards...

"It's not quite that simple," he answers. "As far as just learning to be a mage, I don't see why not. With her being your sister, it's likely she has magic circuits too."

"You really think so?" Scathach said hopefully.

"Just a hunch," he said, quick to temper her expectations. "Even if I'm right, she won't ever be as powerful as you however..."

"Why not?" Scathach asked, then she had an idea. "If it's because of the Netherlyst, then we can make one turn Aife-"

"NO," the Shadow said, stopping to turn and face her dead in the eyes. Scathach froze as he warned in a low voice. "Don't say that... don't even THINK that..."

"But-!" Scathach started, only to be cut off.

"Speak no more of this!" her mentor said seriously. "If you want give your sister some knowledge, be my guest if it helps her sleep at night."

Scathach stood there stunned and offended as the Shadow turned away and went on without her. She was starting to now become agitated by the Shadow after their time in the Red Grove ended abruptly, him becoming colder and more guarded since then. Scathach didn't want to believe that it was for no reason, yet could not figure out why he was acting like this. What did it for her was the way he disrespected her sister as he just did. Scathach would have retorted if it weren't for the one thing holding her back.

The moment she mentioned the Netherlyst and Aife in the same sentence, she picked up the spike in her mentor's heartrate, betraying the Shadow's true feelings behind his insistent anger.

For some reason, the very idea terrified him...

---

Scathach finally made it back to the village and was walking past the numerous huts to get back to Fimir's home. With her previous interaction with the Shadow bitterly fresh in her mind, it was pushed aside as she witnessed the villagers struggling to live. Scathach would see people pushing carts with barely any vegetables and grain; amounts nowhere near enough sustain some the families here for a day. She overheard a group of hunters, lamenting how little meat they managed to acquire, and may need to stay out longer in hopes of getting enough for everyone.

With all those monsters spawning in the forest, the hunters thought going out for more than a day was a death sentence.

Scathach was truly sympathetic to all the villagers' plights; even more so now that they no longer showed hostility towards her. Even as she passed dozens of villagers on her way to Fimir's hut, nobody made a second glance at her. They were all too concerned with their own survival needs to pay her mind, and gave up harassing her.

An improvement for sure... but not quite what Scathach wanted all things considered.

She was almost back at Fimir's hut when the sound of a commotion reaches her ear. Scathach follows it and sees a crowd of people near the opposite end of the village. Heading there, she spots a familiar face, trying to look past the wall of villagers.

"Kihli!" The boy turns around at Scathach calling his name, and she walks up beside him.

"Scathach, you're back..." he greeted, and Scathach noticed he was holding an empty pail.

"What is going on?"

"I just went to get us some water at the creek, but..."

He motions behind him, and Scathach understood. Judging from the bickering between all the villagers, they were all here for the same reason Kihli was. But something was clearly wrong, and nobody had any water.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked Fimir's son.

"I got here not too long ago. Looks like this crowd's been here for about an hour. I can't get through..."

Scathach scans the crowd of people crammed together, holding their pails and voicing their displeasure. Thinking things over, she gets an idea.

"I can," she says to Kihli, who looks at her peculiarly when she grabs his pail and offers her arm. His confusion grows when Scathach smiles at him.

"Trust me?"

Kihli reluctantly grabs Scathach's arm and asks:

"What are you going to do?"

"This..."

In that instant, Scathach manifests her wraith form, and to the boy's shock, his body turned into shadowy mist like hers just from holding on to her arm. Scathach then told him with an echoing voice:

"Keep holding on to me."

Resisting the urge to yell in surprise, Kihli obeys and holds Scathach's arm tightly as she leads them through the crowd; their mist-bodies allowing them to easily weave between people. Some of the villagers gasped in surprised as they noticed them pass, and some of them even yelling at her as if she was using an exploit.

"What the-?! It's the witch girl!"

"Is she going ahead of us?! She can't do that!"

"Using her witchcraft. That's so unfair!"

Scathach ignored them and continued until they made past the crowd. She and Kihli rematerialized, and the boy was left feeling his body to see if he was now indeed solid.

"That was amazing!" he said, getting over his initial shock. "How did you-?"

He stopped when he noticed Scathach looking down, her eyes wide and shocked. Kihli follows her gaze to the creek.

Or rather, where there should be one...

The river was dried up, with barely a trail of water running through a channel that should be a sizeable stream. Scathach looked on dismayed at the sight before her. There was nowhere near enough water here to satisfy this crowd let alone the entire village.

"All the water is gone!" Kihli said, and as if overhearing him, the villagers grieved:

"This is terrible!"

"Where are we supposed to get it now?"

"We can't go in the forest. Those monsters will kill us!"

"Are we to just die of thirst instead?!"

The atmosphere turned contentious and before Scathach and Kihli knew it, everyone started arguing amongst themselves. Trying to tune out the commotion, Scathach thought carefully about what to do.

She was a mage after all... there has to be something she could use to get this creek flowing again.

Think... Think...

!

She hands Kihli back his pail and tells him:

"Wait here."

Kihli stands there and watches as Scathach departs, following the dried-up creek and disappearing into the forest, and wondered what she had planned.

He hoped that whatever it was, she'd better do it quick. From the sound of growing anger in this crowd, Kihli thought it wouldn't be long until these villagers started killing each other for what little water was still here...

Scathach followed the channel deep into the forest, looking for the source of the creek. As she did, the terrain became rockier, with the channel turning into a trench with steep rock-cliffs on both sides. She figured this was not far from the main river she and Aife followed before arriving in the village, as it was in terrain like this where they were running from the Draugr.

If this creek and the river were connected, then there must have been a blockage.

Scathach's assumptions were correct, as after a while she came across a huge pile of stones obstructing the channel. The wall towered above her, holding back water that would otherwise feed into the creek. Just from looking at it, Scathach figured it would take even a large handful of people from the village ages to clear all of this out. Even with her strength, it would take a while.

Too long before everyone in the village died of thirst.

But what was she thinking? She was a mage! Why would she ever need to use her hands? Why would anyone in the village need to bother clearing this when she can just cast a simple spell and fix the problem herself?

Having made up her mind, Scathach used her wraith form to get on top the cliff overlooking the massive dam of stone. Channeling mana through her circuits, she got to work blasting the rocks holding the water back apart...

Kihli waited anxiously while the villagers got increasingly agitated with each other, and was worried that eventually a fight will break out. For what little water was here, no one was inclined to spare any for others.

Not when their own survival was on the line...

Then Kihli heard it... running water.

Looking down, what was mere puddles turned into a stream, then turned into a torrent. The villagers stopped and looked on with the boy as the creek filled and became a river. Everyone cheered in relief and started filling their pails. Kihli joined in and filled his own with water, and when he looked back up, he saw something glorious...

The other villagers were quick to notice soon after, some standing up while they all fell into silence. From down river, everyone saw Scathach, riding on a makeshift raft of deadfall, floating towards them with the current. No one said a word as she jumped back on the riverbank, reuniting with Kihli. She looked around at everybody, who were simply staring back at her, which made her feel uncomfortable. She decided to leave quickly with Kihli before she over-stayed her welcome and someone made a hurtful comment at her.

However, to Scathach's surprise, as she attempted to ignore the murmurs of all the villagers whispering to each other, none of it was hateful. Rather, everyone realized what she must have done, and some began to doubt if the "witch girl" was really a bane to them after all...

Scathach and Kihli would return to Fimir's hut, and after helping around the home, night fell, and everybody gathered to eat around the campfire. Afterwards, Scathach continued instructing Aife on how to properly fight with her spear as she had done two nights before. Strangely, Kihli opted to watch them instead of turning in at Fimir's insistence. Scathach paid the boy no mind as she made some maneuvers with her spear for her sister to copy.

"Watch your feet, and maintain your balance. When you thrust, step forward and use your arms."

"Okay..."

Aife did as Scathach demonstrated to the letter, except...

"No, no... you let your left-hand slide back too much. You'll have too much weight up front to keep the point up."

"Oh, sorry."

"Try again..."

Aife repositioned herself for another attempt. She stood back and held her spear up-

"Wait," Scathach stopped her before Aife could try a thrust. Her sister looks in confusion as Scathach got behind her and made some "hands-on" adjustments. "Your stance isn't right. Back straight... left-foot forward."

Aife sighed, realizing her mistake.

"I forgot..."

"Don't feel bad," Scathach told her as she returned beside her. "I've made these mistakes myself when I started learning. The difference is that I got my backside beat for them..."

"I suppose it's fortunate I have you teaching me instead of Shadow, sister..." Aife joked, earning an amused smile from Scathach.

"Right. Now try again..."

Aife took a deep breath and prepared her stance, and after some brief flourishes with her spear, she stepped forward to deliver a thrust into empty air.

"Good. Keep repeating."

Scathach stood back and watched as Aife continued practicing. Her mind starts to wander back to earlier, wondering what the villagers thought of her now that she returned the water for everyone. She didn't do that for praise, only because she, Aife, Fimir, and Kihli depended on that water too.

Besides, Scathach doubted one act of charity would suddenly make people be nice to her. But if she can use her powers to make living in this bare-bones settlement easier for herself and her friends, shouldn't she do so for everyone else?

Even though they never gave her a warm welcome, they were all here trying to survive: after suffering at the hands of the barbarians as herself and Aife.

Are they not like her in that regard?

"(panting)… How long are you making me do this?"

Scathach's attention snaps back at her sister, who was practicing non-stop since last she spoke. Aife appeared to be starving for air. Realizing this, Scathach motions for her to stop.

"That's enough. You should get some rest."

Aife relaxes her stance and bends over, her pear supporting her while she took deep breaths.

"Thanks... I was starting to think you were making me go until I drop. How did I do?"

"I thought it looked good," Kihli pointed out.

"I'm glad someone was enjoying the show," Aife remarked after hearing him.

"He's not wrong," Scathach said, putting a hand on Aife's shoulder. "Your form was perfect. We can start something else next time we train. Rest for now, sister."

"Okay," Aife replies, turning to leave her sister and Kihli. "Goodnight you two..."

They watched as she went back into the hut. Once she was out of sight, Scathach looks towards Kihli.

"You're not turning in?"

"Not yet," Kihli replied, looking a little nervous. "I wanted to ask you about earlier..."

Scathach stared at him curiously. It wasn't often that the normally shy boy wanted to speak either her of Aife, so she indulged him.

"Go on..."

"That thing you did," Kihli tried to articulate. "When you and I... how did you do that?"

Realizing what he was talking about, Scathach walked towards the boy and said:

"Oh, that. I didn't know until yesterday that I could take someone with me into wraith form. My mentor did it to me without needing to activate my circuits. I honestly wasn't sure if it would work with you, but turns out it did."

Taking a seat beside him, Scathach then asked Kihli with a coy smile:

"How did it feel?"

Thinking about it, Kihli eventually answered.

"Like I was weightless..."

"Yeah," she agrees. "That's about how I felt when I did it for the first time."

Scathach then quickly corrected herself.

"That is... intentionally doing it. My mentor taught me well, even if he was a rude, demanding scoundrel at times."

She stifles a laugh, even if Kihli didn't understand the hilarity. He had never met the Shadow after all. Silence briefly fell between them, until unexpectedly, Kihli broke it.

"You're pretty good at that too," he said to her, earning a slightly surprised look from Scathach.

"What?"

"Teaching," Kihli clarified. "When you were showing Aife some moves, you made sure she got each of them right."

Scathach stared at him in realization, but dismissed his praise.

"Well, Aife wanted to learn as much as she could, and I was just reiterating what the Shadow taught me..."

"You want her to be as proficient as you, and it shows," Kihli starts before adding hesitantly: "My brother was much the same..."

Scathach's face fell now that Kihli brought up something personal.

"Your brother taught you to fight?" she found herself asking, not sure if the boy was prepared to talk about a loved one that was no longer present in his life, with a person who was hardly more than a stranger living in his house.

"No..." Kihli answered, falling into silence as he stared into the dwindling campfire. Scathach could see his eyes tearing up, along with hearing his steadily increasing heart-rate.

She could only imagine how difficult it was for him to talk about his older brother in light of his death. Taking a deep breath, Kihli reluctantly continued.

"But he made sure I knew enough to help around our home whenever I could. He always used to say "Survival is a group effort, and even the little things can make a huge difference"."

Scathach's face conveyed sympathy for the boy, and also astonishment that the normally shy Kihli was actively opening up to her.

"We had a similar mindset in my village," she told him. "That's why I asked my father to take me hunting at every opportunity."

Choosing her words carefully, Scathach asked the boy:

"Was your brother a hunter?"

Kihli shakes his head and wipes a tear from his face.

"He guarded the farmsteads from wild animals and from others who wanted more than their fair share. While the hunters went out, someone had to be there to protect the village."

"So, he kept your home in order then..." Scathach deduced. "That's very respectable."

Kihli forced a brief smile at that before telling her further:

"He shared with me how the farmers upkept the fields for a good harvest, and some skills he thought I could use. He said when the time came, he would teach me to defend myself... when I was strong enough..."

Scathach looks away, knowing Kihli needed not to explain any further. She figured that was what his brother would have done had not the barbarians raided his village and his brother's death at their hands. Kihli's brother was his role model, and the boy will never have the chance to show him how independent and strong he can be.

"I'm sorry..."

Scathach's apology hangs in the air, until Kihli responds.

"Mother doesn't talk about him... it's too painful for her," he said before turning to look at her. "She does so much for me despite all that's happened, but I know I can't rely on her forever..."

It sounded to her like Kihli doubted himself and thought he was weak for his age. Scathach puts a hand on his shoulder and tells him:

"Don't beat yourself up for just being young. You think I learned all of this overnight? It takes time and the right kind of guidance."

Hearing that, Kihli turns and reveals to her.

"That's why I want to learn from you," his resolute words make Scathach look at him in astonishment. "You seem very gifted at that."

"Kihli..."

Lost for any other words, Scathach can only ask:

"Why?"

"Because of what you did earlier," Kihli tells her. "You restoring the river brought hope back to these people, even if they don't quite know it yet. I want to do something for this village too someday."

Scathach couldn't believe what she was hearing. This boy wants her to help him become like his brother?

"Are you sure? What about your mother-?"

"I don't want to burden her," he cuts her off. "She works too hard to teach me how to survive. The way you do it seems so natural, and you and Aife know how to survive on your own; as much as an adult. And maybe afterwards..."

He pauses and asks with uncertainty:

"You can show me how to handle a spear too?"

Scathach fell silent, feeling undeserving of Kihli's faith in her.

"You think too highly of me..."

"Says the one who brought water back for a village full of strangers..." Kihli remarked, earning another look of surprise from her. "I know you can teach because you care. There's no one else I would choose over you..."

Now feeling humbled, Scathach casts her head down, hiding a blush. Despite what she thought after restoring the river, it was clear to her that Kihli thought she did that for purely selfless reasons.

She found it amusing that he thought of her as some kind of hero... and put an admittedly heavy weight on her shoulders.

"Kihli... I-"

Scathach hesitates for a moment. She had a lot on her plate already: training with the Shadow, teaching Aife, dealing with the villagers' ire towards her, and eventually confronting the barbarians again. She wasn't sure if she could dedicate time to putting Kihli in the mix. It was not as if she didn't want to help him, but Scathach just was not sure if she was even the right person to give Kihli what he wanted.

It would require her to be more than just a teacher... but a full-fledged mentor.

Not wanting to diminish the boy's hopes, Scathach reluctantly said to him:

"I'll think about it..."

---

Later that night...

The night was still, the village was quiet and devoid of activity. Scathach tossed and turned in her sleep inside Fimir's hut. She was deep in a dreamless slumber until a voice manifested in the recesses of her mind. A voice she did not recognize, but sounded so enticing.

"Get up..."

It briefly made Scathach stir as she laid, but she subconsciously ignored it...

After a while, the voice came back, more insistent than before...

"Get up. Come..."

"Why?"

"Come..."

This influenced seemed so foreign and unnatural. Scathach moaned uncomfortably and turned in her sleep as the voice kept clawing at her mind.

"Go away."

"No. You are coming with us."

"Stop..."

This kept going into the night, but the voice grew louder, and Scathach struggled to keep it from influencing her.

"Come! You must come to us!"

While she thrashed and grunted, Scathach's circuits light up with mana, helping her resist...

"Get up! Come... NOW!"

"No... No!" she yelled in her sleep while a new voice cut through the fog of her mind.

"Scathach-"

"COME WITH US!"

"NO! I... WON'T... GO!"

"Scathach-!"

"YES, YOU WILL! WE COMMAND YOU-!"

By this point, Scathach was screaming against the force trying to control her body. At the same time, someone was trying to force back to reality.

"STOP IT! GO AWAY!"

"Scathach! Wake up!"

Scathach's eyes flew open and she was face to face with Fimir, hyperventilating from the ordeal as her circuits dimmed down. Before the girl could process what unfolded...

"Oh, thank the Gods you are awake!" Fimir said to her with an extremely distressed voice.

"Fimir!" Scathach said, getting the feeling that what she just experienced was not the only thing wrong. "What happened?"

"Kihli and Aife... they're gone!"

"What?!" Scathach exclaimed in shock. "How are they gone?!"

"I noticed after your commotion woke me up," Fimir tells her as Scathach quickly got on her feet to go check the other beds in the hut, which were sure enough empty. The widow was almost hysterical as she recounted further: "I looked over and saw their beds were empty, and you were alight and thrashing violently... I had to wake you up!"

"Fimir, calm down," Scathach instructed, turning to face her. She too was doing her best not to lose composure herself. "Tell me: when did they leave?"

"I don't know how long they were gone! It could've been hours ago!"

Scathach's mind raced. Before she could think about what could've happened to Aife and Kihli, a growing noise outside reached her ears and made her pause.

It was coming from the rest of the village... and gave her a bad feeling...

"Wait..." Scathach said under her breath as she proceeded outside with Fimir following her.

"What is it?"

Fimir's question was answered as soon as they stepped outside the hut. She and Scathach were stunned into silence as everywhere they looked, the whole village was in pandemonium with people flooding the main road frantically.

Despite there being so many people, Scathach could not see a single child among them.

"Have any of you seen my daughter?! She's a girl with long, brown hair-!"

"Please! My son is missing!"

"Kala! Where are you-?!"

"Someone help me find our children-!"

Barely any words escaped Scathach's lips upon the sight of pure chaos and the shocking reality.

"By the Gods... ALL the children are gone!"

"This is horrible!" Fimir said as she brought her hands up to mouth and cried. "Oh, Kihli. Please be safe..."

The widow was beyond worried for her only surviving child, and as equally so Scathach was for him, her primary concern was her sister.

Aife...

"There! It's the witch girl!"

The sound of an angry father grabbed Scathach's attention. And she found herself confronted by him, and other adults within earshot who heard him. Scathach slowly backed up in horror as the mob of parents confronted her and threw accusations in her direction.

"Tell me right now! What have you done with my sons, witch?!"

"I didn't-!" Scathach stammered as more came her way.

"I want my daughter back!"

"You took my children, didn't you?!"

"I haven't done anything-!" Scathach insisted in vain, on the verge of tears as the crowd kept blaming her.

"You're a liar and a monster!"

"Give us back our sons!"

"I'll avenge my daughter-!"

"STOP!"

Fimir steps in front of Scathach to shield her from the angry group of people. Scathach is left speechless and in awe of the widow's newfound resolve.

"Her own sister has disappeared too! This is NOT her doing!"

The crowd was briefly stunned, but someone had the audacity to call Fimir out.

"Why is she the only child left in the village then?! I bet she wanted revenge for the boys who tried stoning her!"

"Scathach would NEVER do that," Fimir declared adamantly, and Scathach could only marvel at the only adult in this village standing up for her. Yet she was left thinking about how nobody saw any children leave. Scathach was left to ponder as Fimir then tries to reason with another demanding villager.

"Then what could've done this to my children?"

"We are in a forest full of monsters. They could've snuck in to the village we were all asleep."

That deduction grabbed Scathach's attention, but she doubted Fimir's claim.

This makes no sense, she thought. Those creatures don't come anywhere near the village... not with the Shadow around...

Brainstorming further, Scathach thought back just minutes before when she heard voices in her head, and an outside influence trying to get her to leave the hut. If it was trying to reach out to her, then it could have done the same with Aife and Kihli...

Could it be... Magecraft?

"Fimir..." Scathach called to her, making the widow turn to face her with concern. "I must go back into the hut... and I need to see something."

Fimir nodded in understanding, and one of the villagers grew impatient.

"What is she sayin'?! Does she know where my children are?"

"Enough," Fimir said to him. "She'll help find our missing children. You all need to trust her..."

The villagers all looked and bickered to each other, with some leaving to go find their children in vain. Scathach and Fimir took the opportunity to re-enter the hut as the crowd eventually dispersed. Scathach was sure no monsters entered the village, as she looked around at the relatively pristine state of the interior, all the way to the empty beds.

No sign of intrusion... If both Aife and Kihli were kidnapped then there would've been a struggle. If only I could see what happened...

That gave Scathach an idea...

"Fimir," she said to the widow who simply stood by watching her. "Stand back."

Fimir looks curiously at the girl who knelt and began drawing a symbol on the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Using a Recall Rune..." Scathach explained, drawing as she recalled the rune that the Shadow used earlier to show the Curruid in the past. "I'll be able to see what happened to Aife and Kihli."

Briefly stopping the draw, Scathach turned to her.

"Oh, Fimir?"

"Yes, lass?" the widow answered. Scathach took a deep breath and said to her:

"Thank you... for standing up for me..."

Fimir smiled proudly at her and wiped a tear from her eye.

"No need to thank me. I couldn't let them tarnish your credibility when I know you so well..."

"But still... I appreciate it. I was worried one might try to hurt me... and you."

"Don't blame them, lass," Fimir tells her. "They're just scared parents who fear for their children's lives. I know I would've done anything to get them back. They will see in time what a good, trustworthy person you are..."

Scathach sighed at that as she continued the rune.

"I hope so..."

After that, she concentrates, trying to form the rune sequence from memory. She did not have to see back far as the Shadow did... just far enough.

"There..."

In one last stroke, Scathach's rune came to life, and four glowing apparitions took form; herself, Fimir, Aife, and Kihli, all sleeping.

"Kihli!" Fimir exclaimed at the sight of her son sleeping, but Scathach calms her.

"It's just an echo Fimir," she explained. "We are seeing what happened hours ago..."

They watched the scene unfold, until they saw the echoes of Aife and Kihli got up at the same time and simply walked out the door in a slow, yet eerily synchronized walking pace. What was apparent to Scathach and Fimir was the blank look on their faces and their hollow eyes that stared into nothing.

"Something is wrong with them..." Fimir said aloud. Scathach nods in agreement, with everything piecing together.

"They're in some kind of trance. Magecraft was involved in their disappearance. We should follow their echoes outside..."

They do with haste after Scathach directs the active rune into her hand. She holds it up as the duo trail the echoes of Aife and Kihli, and they could see the apparitions of other children joining them, all in the same tranced state.

"By the Gods..." Fimir lets out. "They are all gathering here."

"Walking in single file," Scathach points out. "As I thought... all the children have definitely been bewitched."

"Say, how come you weren't affected?" Fimir asked as they kept following the growing number of echoes.

"It must be 'cause I'm a mage myself and therefore harder to influence," Scathach speculated, remembering when her circuits were active after Fimir woke her up. "Poor Aife and Kihli weren't so lucky..."

As they continued, it was apparent that all the children (rather their echoes) were all gathering on the main road, until they turned to cut through a small field of crops past someone's hut.

And they still did not stop...

"Where are they going?" asked Fimir.

"Up the hill..." answered Scathach as she summoned her spear in her free hand. "By the tree line..."

Fimir glances at Scathach's red spear nervously, wondering if the girl was expecting to encounter something dreadful. Following the echoes through dense foliage, they come to a wide area enclosed beneath canopy. The echoes of children stop and pack together closely, and before Scathach could say anything, two more echoes appear.

The sight of these makes both Scathach and Fimir stop dead in their tracks. These echoes were adults, and one wore armor and helm while another was cloaked and hooded. What was common between them was the masks they wore.

Masks they distinctly recognized...

"No..."

Scathach stared in shock at not only of these men, but the implication they presented.

"The barbarians," Fimir lets out in whisper as she looked on horrified. "They found us..."

Scathach watches as the echoes of these invaders seem to inspect each of the children briefly before leading them away. She looks away to what looked like a temporary encampment, fitting for scouts keeping out of sight from the village.

"They've been watching us for a while too," she deduced solemnly. "And it seems they have magi in their ranks." It's the only way they could've made it this far without the Shadow knowing, she neglected to add to Fimir.

"What do they want with the children?"

"I don't know," Scathach answered sincerely, dreading what they could have planned for Aife and Kihli in particular. On top of that, even though she had been training with the Shadow in order to face them again, she didn't think it would be this soon. She had no idea how long the barbarians knew they were all here, or what they had intended for all the children; only that it can't be good.

Time was of the essence; not enough for her to run back to Castle Dunscaith and get the Shadow.

That meant rescuing the children was up to her whether she was ready or not...

"Go back to the village Fimir," she said resolutely to the widow beside her. "This can be dangerous..."

"Lass," Fimir looked at her in concern. "What are you saying?"

"If I keep following the echoes, I can find where they've taken Aife and Kihli."

Scathach took two steps when Fimir put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. Fimir looks at the girl in shock and disbelief.

"You're going after them? By yourself?! That's suicide!"

Scathach gently removed Fimir's hand and looked at her solemnly, understanding the widow's concern.

"I don't have a choice Fimir. You know I'm no ordinary girl; you said so yourself. I'll be okay-"

"No, you won't!" Fimir insisted. "They will kill you, or worse, take you too! I can't-!"

"They are welcome to try," Scathach said as she kept reasoning with Fimir. "Only I can do this, Fimir; I can save the children. I need you to trust me..."

They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, with Fimir's grip on the girl staying firm. Scathach knew it was killing Fimir to send a child into peril, against every instinct a parent would have, but there was no time to argue. She did not want to resort to forcing Fimir to let go of her, not after everything the widow did by letting Scathach and Aife stay in her home and making them feel accepted.

Scathach could say no more, and could convey a message with her eyes to Fimir to please let her go. As wind swept through the forest, and blew the leaves of the many surrounding trees, Fimir let's a tear escape her eye and casts her head down.

Her hand on Scathach's shoulder briefly tightens... then relaxes as Fimir at last relents. Scathach can hear her sobbing, and her heart ached for the loving woman who had lost most of her family.

"My youngest son... your sister... you," Fimir said through her tears. "You are all I have left..."

Scathach's eyes lock with Fimir's after the widow lifts her head back up to face the strange, brave girl she'd grown attached to.

"You ALL come back safe... do you hear me?"

Scathach nodded, signifying her vow. Then the widow smiled.

"Give those bastards hell for me, yeah?"

Scathach returns a determined smile in full.

"With pleasure..."

With that, Scathach turns and sprints into the forest, leaving Fimir to look on to her retreating form until she was out of sight.

Scathach darted past trees, and bushes as her rune guided her. Going into wraith form, she leaps and glides over a rocky ravine, and kept sprinting on until she couldn't hear the distant sounds of the village with her enhanced senses. She stops as the air became dead silent, save for her steady breathing, and the racing of her heartbeats. Totally alone, and with no creatures within sight, Scathach set herself down on her knees before a boulder near a flowering bush, summoning her spear.

The moon was peeking through the forest canopy, casting light on the stone that Scathach set her makeshift spear upon. Before Scathach went further on her quest to save Aife and the rest of the children, she needed to recraft the improvised weapon she'd carried since entering the Shadow's domain into an implement that better suited her capabilities. Her spear, as it currently was, did not reflect the power and knowledge she currently possessed, so she would reshape it anew with the magic she has learned to make it a true instrument of death.

Using both her hands, Scathach focused and formed a rune which caused the long shaft of Curruid bone to break apart into tiny pieces and rearrange itself. Little by little, Scathach reshaped the gnarly bone into a straight shaft befitting of an elegant weapon. Her hands traveled further up the forming shaft, turning the base of the point into a four-flanged hilt, and finally the sharp barb itself morphing into a serrated blade. Once that was done, Scathach etched some runes on to the flat sections of the blade, giving the new weapon properties that only served to increase its lethality.

With the process complete, Scathach stood up and picked up her newly refined spear, testing the balance and combat potential with a few sweeps and thrusts. Once she was satisfied, she took a moment to marvel at her creation.

For in her hands was a weapon that could wound any creature, living or dead, to its very core, and would deliver swift death as efficiently and elegantly as its new form would convey.

For that reason, Scathach would dub her creation:

Gae Bolg... Swift Piercing Death...

And she was about to use it against her enemies.

"Hold on, Aife... I'm coming..."

---

TBC

---

(A/N) No end theme just yet, but some quick commentary. The Liches come from D&D. The Wraiths were inspired by the Nazgul in Lord of the Rings as well as the creatures they rode on: "Fell-beasts" as Tolkien himself described them, which are basically, the much smaller, uglier cousins of Dragons. Wraiths are ghostly-looking knights that can dash everywhere like how Scathach can while she is in "wraith"-form, its namesake. Speaking of LOTR, the Ogres are basically the same as Trolls in that series, except they don't turn to stone in daylight. The Legless is mostly original, but I am willing to bet that there is some kind of giant serpent creature that can burrow underground is some mythology or fantasy I have yet to discover. I'll go over all of this more in my eventual commentary chapters.