Nirrvash

  Looking up at the dark sky, curious to catch a glimpse of at least one of the moons, I thought about what my not-quite-mentor-yet told me. ‘Be faster, be smarter, be prepared for the unexpected.' Not really knowing how else to prepare, I took the opportunity the departure of my pack and those stupid animals gave us, the short breathing room before the bloodbath, to look at the Big Runes.

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  Name: Korra GreyRace: HumanGender: FemaleAge: 27

  1st Array: SveMaster: NoneSigils: 98 - ○○○○○○

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  Weaves: 1st Array (6/6)

  Eleaden Standard Language (General):.....23 glyphs - ??Indomitable Will (Sve):.................113 → 115 glyphs - ?????Spatial Domain (General):..................21 → 22 glyphs - ??Equilibrium (General):...........................9 → 10 glyphs - ?Never-Dying (General):.................................11 glyphs - ?Tail of Poison Empress (General):..............11 glyphs - ?

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  Was there really a weave that could help me more than the current ones I had? Unless I wanted to become a full beast, it didn't seem so. Sure, Mr. Sandoval assured me that even if I took off [Eleaden Standard Language], I would be able to understand people - albeit more poorly - but right now one misunderstood word could lead to disaster. No, I needed to be able to communicate with both beasts and humans.

  Even though it was hailing from my Sve Array, any reservations I had towards [Indomitable Will] disappeared after my second encounter with that thought-fuddler bitch. There was no way I was ever going to get rid of that weave. As for the others? [Spatial Domain] kept proving itself, and [Equilibrium] looked like it had real potential to shine in my upcoming training. That left me with [Never-Dying] and [Tail of Poison Empress] to figure out.

  While I was curious what the second circle of [Never-Dying] would bring, it was a weave I basically couldn't lose, thanks to the runes on my chest. Not to mention the fact that as good as the skill pced on me by Fae was, it didn't compare to the healing of mossbears - if you ignore the getting up from the dead thing.

  [Tail of Poison Empress] on the other hand - I wanted to see first how effective my poison would be against the mossbears. Changing out the weave wasn’t an issue; I could do that any time. The question was what to repce the two weaves with. The real question was what to use in pce of the two weaves - but none of them looked like a true game-changer.

  ─◇────────────────────────────────────────Beast

  General Weave0 glyphs - ?

  ?No matter what anyone says or cims, the beast dwells in the hearts of all,a simple truth worth admitting rather than seeking ignorance leading to a fall.─◇────────────────────────────────────────

  'Yeah, no shit.' If anyone was proof, that there was a beast in all of us, it was me. But an even less useful weave than [Never-Dying], at least now that I was in my full beast form. Although it did make me wonder if it would help me change back. I haven't come across any [Human] weave.

  Actually, I didn't find too many beasts reted weaves either. Only [Beast] itself... and [Pounce].

  ─◇────────────────────────────────────────Pounce

  General Weave0 glyphs - ?

  ?Lazy those who only know how to chase their tails all day,but only true hunters know how to pounce on their prey.─◇────────────────────────────────────────

  I knew how to pounce; I was a hunter.

  'Would this help me pounce better?'

  The thought wouldn’t let go, tugging at me until I gave in and traded [Never-Dying] for the weave.

  I wanted to go through the general weaves again, just to be sure I hadn’t overlooked something. But before I could, a beast’s frustrated roar dragged me out of the Great Run sky. It ripped through the clearing, smashing the tense stillness to pieces. Then came another roar, and another, each one more impatient than the st. Those weren’t Esu’s cries. No, those were adult mossbears, fed up with all the waiting.

  After a few more roars, Esu answered with one of his own. If there was a meaning behind it, it was simple: shut up! And for a moment, they obeyed. But the truth loomed heavy, impossible to ignore. Without stepping in harder, without a fight, there was no way he’d hold them off for long.

  "Humans," Esu growled, each word dripping with intent. "The ... time to ... be challenged ... is nigh."

  The clearing still rang with his words when the first beast broke from the forest line. An adult, broad and massive, locked eyes with Esu, grunted, then surged forward in a thunderous charge. Dirt and moss sprayed as it ground to a stop, looming a few strides from the Shadowbraker pack. ?Who dares, puny humans??

  There was no call for transtion. The meaning carried well enough for every human to grasp.

  "Oi, Rhea," a big human male, hefting a massive two-handed sword, bellowed across the clearing to the sword-wielding woman. “If that bastard Ward crosses your path, tell him I hope he'd rot like a thrall for the rest of his life."

  "Will do," she called back, her nod sharp and grim. They both knew he wasn’t likely to make it.

  "Come then, you fucking beast! Show me what you got!"

  The adult mossbear growled back, its body taut, every sinew ready to explode into motion.

  ?Not here!? One of the mothers snapped, moss shoots sprouting between the adult and the human ?Follow.?

  I could've stayed quiet, let the mossbears get riled up at the human's confusion, watch him squirm under their watchful eyes. They deserved that much. But there was still some pity I couldn’t shake.

  ‘Plus, that I’m better than them.’ So, I told my future mentor what to rey.

  The adult mossbears wasted no time in issuing their challenges, interestingly enough, each one picking out the humans from the remaining five Shadowbreaker pack members. Only when the first echoes of battle reached us from the forest did one of the beasts set its sights on the sword-wielding woman. Although the Lattice showed me the same as with the previous ones, this one was obviously much stronger - older.

  'Why didn't the mossbear put its challenge first?' That would make a lot more sense to me. The strong had the right to choose first, always. But it seemed like that rule didn’t hold with mossbears. Even though they were bored, the stronger ones let the weaker ones go first. Looking back, it was the young mossbears that charged into the clearing after the fire-wielder set it abze - not the adults. Just as Esu had intended with me, they wanted the younger ones to gain the experience.

  Without so much as a word, she gave my mentor a nod, barely a gnce in my direction, then followed her challenger deeper into the woods.Now, it was the fire-wielder's turn. And his challenger was no weaker than that of the sword-wielding female.

  "What a beast, eh?"

  "Do your best, Harcon. I'd like to have a few words with you ter."

  "Sure," He grinned, his eyes meeting mine for a moment followed by a slight bow of his head. "I wish we'd met under better circumstances. Good luck." With that, he followed his challenger deeper into the forest, just like the others.

  The next roar, however, didn't come from my mentor's challenger, but from Esu.

  'What did Esu want? Wait! That can't be…!'

  I quickly pushed the thought away. It would be ridiculous for Esu to face him himself. Most importantly, just a breath ter, from the greatly thinned ranks of mossbear came the answer to Esu’s roar. My relief, however, was short lived. As the challenger of my mentor stepped from the shadows, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

  [Mossbear: ???? sigils]

  The Lattice proved as useless as ever. There was simply too much of a gap between four and five Obscures. Still, this mossbear, a female, was the strongest adult I had seen to date. She might not have been on the same level as the mothers, but… thoughts that my apprenticeship might have been short-lived crept into my mind.

  "Don't worry about me, girl," my mentor’s voice echoed in my mind, as if he sensed the unease rising in me. "Worry about yourself and no one else. Like I told you, take this chance and give it all you’ve got. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to prove I’m capable of teaching you - never thought I'd have to do that.”

  “Be prepared for the unexpected?”

  “Ah, you're a fast learner. Good. Anyway, see you ter, girl."

  With that, I was the only one left to be challenged.