blueteamnovel 669. Gerina Aztra and The Corpse Snatchers
669. Gerina Aztra and The Corpse Snatchers
669. Gerina Aztra and The Corpse Snatchers
“Hah! Hah! Haaaa!”
A lone horse galloped through the animal paths of a great forest. Overgrown weeds and vines wrapped its hooves as it passed. The steed screamed as it tore off the encroaching plants, leaping over rotting logs that were disguised to hide the bellies of these plants.
Pitcher plants decorated the canopies of the forest like bells. From a distance they would appear like fairies of an enchanted forest. A pair of delicate hands held onto the neck of the steed tightly as the figure shut her eyes, knowing well of their hypnotic power.
“Faster! Please, run faster!” The girl, who was wrapped in a filthy brown cloak no better than the apparel of a beggar, begged her steed to hasten as she felt a cold wind bellow from behind. “The C-Corpse Snatchers are coming closer! Hurry!”
Trepidation dripped from her voice, but her eyes carried an unyielding conviction to survive. Those eyes belonged to Gerina Aztra, a young woman from the Bellum Empire with an unknown status, aside from the rags she wore.
Glimpses of color could be seen through the shredded holes of her cloak as twigs and vines lashed at her, their barbed tips drawing blood. The plant life of this Regions had evolved to sense the scent of blood and the intoxicating smell of fear itself.
Examples were the Pitcher Python; a pitcher plan that swallowed their prey and stored them into stomach disguised as rotting logs, and the Venus Maneaters, which were no more than flowers that possessed teeth both inside, and as thorns along their thick stems.
As these parts were infrequently visited by humans, their appetites were whetted terrifyingly. Over two hundred species of man-eating plants were documented across Grandis. Over 50% were in Southwestern Grandis alone.
“G-Gaaah!” A hoarse cry left her lips as her hood was pulled back, revealing a pair of yellow eyes, fair skin, and blonde, wavy hair.
It was caught by a vine, its many thorns digging deeply into the bundle.
“Let – Me – GO!”
Any ordinary person would have been dragged straight from the back of the steed. However, the woman expertly drew a dagger from her hip and slashed the excess hair off with frightening precision.
She held the blade close, meeting with the encroaching vines with a slash, cutting them down with the efficiency of a seasoned assassin. It did not fit her youthful image.
Gerina Aztra had of course lived in one of the most unforgiving Regions of Elysia. Therefore, this was expected of a person who lived in these lands. However, the fact that she rode on horseback and wore light clothing than heavy armor meant that these monsters were not a concern to her.
As the light of the edge of the forest appeared, a cold darkness swallowed her senses.
“THE SKIES ARE CLEAR! DRAW YOUR ARROWS!”
“Fuck... Right! Turn right!”
She made her steed run at an angle, then nibbled on the edge of her small, curved dagger. Its edge began to glow a faint gold, and the symbol of a rising run glowed through her apparel on her back, matching that of the sunrise in the horizon.
“RELEASE!”
The volley of arrows turned into a cloud. She readied her blade, twisting herself so she sat reversed on the saddle.
“... Thelma’s blessing...”
She chanted through her teeth, magical circles appearing around her as she ended the sequence with –
“– [Golden Dawn – Illustrious Shield]!”
A golden shield in the shape of a translucent hemisphere appeared ten meters above her. Rays of light emitted from her twisting magical circles had brought forth what was considered Tier 5 Magic.
* * *
There were 11 tiers of Magic in Elysia, the first 8 being denoted by the Soul Ranks and the final 3 belonging exclusively to the most powerful of Exalted, Moons, Stars, Beholders, Archetypes and entities of vastly powerful scale.
Quantifying and limiting their powers to mere tiers was sacrilegious to the Stars so the tier system was never adopted by the Nexus. Outside however, especially in magical theocracies and magical Associations like the Golden Dawn; it was an integral tool that enabled them to understand the nuances of magic.
8th Tier magic was the pinnacle of the non-blessed and were represented by the Colors. 11th Tier was a hypothetical Tier and was but a thought experiment that pushed magic to the extreme. It was therefore appropriately called ‘reality altering magic’.
Realistically, Tier 7 magic was the highest that one could possibly achieve, but those that did reach such heights were almost always absorbed into an Association, Syndicate, Atelier or aligned themselves with a Kingdom.