17th of Cylus, Arc 719
Praetorum and Sivan flew silently over the grasslands, the light of the moons above casting fractured shadows below them. Ahead of them, a small herd of goats grazed peacefully near a stream, white faces and tails near silver in the moonslight. Holding his crossbow at his side, Praetorum urged Sivan lower, wanting to get as close as he could to the creatures before he tried to shoot. As they did though, one of the goats raised its head, sniffing the air. Too late, he realized the wind was blowing eastwards, leaving him upwind of the herd. He prayed to Karem that he was high enough that they couldn't smell him.
Unfortunately, it seemed the Great Wolf was busy elsewhere this trial. The goat let out an alarmed noise, and Praetorum cursed. As the herd scattered, he shifted his grip on the reins, and pulled Sivan into a shallow descent, directing her towards one of the closest goats. Releasing the reins, Praetorum raised his crossbow, leaning forwards to aim over Sivan's shoulder as she flew towards her prey, claws outstretched.
Praetorum squeezed the trigger, aiming for the goat's head, but the bolt dipped to the side, startling it into veering off course. Sivan, with a rider on her back, couldn't quite make that turn, and by the time she'd set herself in the right direction, her prey was long gone.
Praetorum groaned, slumping forwards in his saddle. His shoulder throbbed in pain, and he winced, bringing his other arm up to gently massage his recovering shoulder.
"You weren't joking about being bad with a crossbow."
The ground besides Sivan bulged upwards, then began to crumble away, revealing the shape of a woman sprouting from the ground. As he watched, stunned, much of the dirt seemed almost to melt, then slough off the figure within, until a shorter human woman stood by his side, hands on her hips. Praetorum blinked in surprise.
"Edyn?" He stared at his captain, baffled by her presence. "I wasn't.... expecting to see you here." He looked down at the ground, now flat and smooth like she hadn't just emerged from underground. "I also didn't realize you could do that."
"There's a lot of things you don't know about defiance, I expect." She laughed. "What brings you out hunting, and with an injured arm at that? I could have sworn Selyin told you to get some rest before you came back to work."
Praetorum flushed, dismounting from Sivan. He had been told that, but—"Just wanted to be out and about." He lied. "Not really the sort to do nothing for trials on end." Edyn gave him a flat, unconvinced look, and he sighed, caving. "You heard about what happened?" He asked, referring to his sojourn into Maiden's Refuge. When she nodded, he continued. "I went to do what I can to help, and I did. But not enough. What they needed was food, not protection. In the Legion, we had supply trains, dedicated hunters; we never needed to fend for ourselves. But on the wreck, they had four Yari hunting for twenty. More, once Sivan and I were added into the mix. I wasn't pulling my weight until the attack. I just..."
Praetorum trailed off, and Edyn nodded in understanding. "I'd offer to teach you, but I was never much of a crossbow woman myself. Although...." She gestured at the river, a broad sweep of the arm which swept the water into a curling wave that hung in the air, suspending fish and debris within. Then she let much of it fall, leaving only a row of fish wriggling, confused, atop pillars of water, each around Praetorum's height. "I suppose I can provide target practice."
His lips twisted into a wry smile, and he shook his head, cocking and loading his crossbow. "I can't imagine you'd have much need to hunt normally with magic like that." Praetorum looked over her, eyes lingering on the runes that glowed over her forehead and around her throat, before dropping down to the vortex of dust that danced constantly around her feet. Raising his crossbow, he took in a deep breath, aiming at the nearest fish. He winced as he did so, his left arm twinging slightly. The weakness of that arm threw his aim off, and his bolt pierced through the pillar of water just below the increasingly distressed fish.
"You'd be surprised." Edyn told him, sitting down by Sivan's side as she watched him. "At least the normal way, the worst that happens when you overextend yourself is you end up sore for a few days, pull a muscle or something." She rolled up her sleeves, revealing strange, smooth lumps under the skin of her forearms. "I once had to swim through the earth for breaks to escape from a sticky situation; when I came back up, I found there were gems and pebbles underneath my skin. I tried to cut them out, but they seem to grow back." Praetorum shuddered at the thought as he reloaded. She smiled. "I got off lucky. I've seen friends end up with much worse; you're right to be wary of magic. It's a harsh mistress, to be certain."
"Then why go down this path?" He couldn't help but ask. "I don't mean to be rude, but I can't imagine ever choosing this willingly. " He raised the crossbow again, then frowned. Casting his mind back to memories of watching other people shooting crossbows, Praetorum lowered it, and went down on one knee to try again. That was much better; by propping his arm up on his knee, he could compensate for the weakness in his arm, steadying his aim. This time, when he pulled the trigger, the bolt flew true, piercing through the center of the fish and shooting it out of the water to fall, flopping on the other side of the stream.
"Why? Because it's dangerous?" She scoffed. "Nothing worth having is every easy, or safe, especially not in Yaralon."
Unfortunately, it seemed the Great Wolf was busy elsewhere this trial. The goat let out an alarmed noise, and Praetorum cursed. As the herd scattered, he shifted his grip on the reins, and pulled Sivan into a shallow descent, directing her towards one of the closest goats. Releasing the reins, Praetorum raised his crossbow, leaning forwards to aim over Sivan's shoulder as she flew towards her prey, claws outstretched.
Praetorum squeezed the trigger, aiming for the goat's head, but the bolt dipped to the side, startling it into veering off course. Sivan, with a rider on her back, couldn't quite make that turn, and by the time she'd set herself in the right direction, her prey was long gone.
Praetorum groaned, slumping forwards in his saddle. His shoulder throbbed in pain, and he winced, bringing his other arm up to gently massage his recovering shoulder.
"You weren't joking about being bad with a crossbow."
The ground besides Sivan bulged upwards, then began to crumble away, revealing the shape of a woman sprouting from the ground. As he watched, stunned, much of the dirt seemed almost to melt, then slough off the figure within, until a shorter human woman stood by his side, hands on her hips. Praetorum blinked in surprise.
"Edyn?" He stared at his captain, baffled by her presence. "I wasn't.... expecting to see you here." He looked down at the ground, now flat and smooth like she hadn't just emerged from underground. "I also didn't realize you could do that."
"There's a lot of things you don't know about defiance, I expect." She laughed. "What brings you out hunting, and with an injured arm at that? I could have sworn Selyin told you to get some rest before you came back to work."
Praetorum flushed, dismounting from Sivan. He had been told that, but—"Just wanted to be out and about." He lied. "Not really the sort to do nothing for trials on end." Edyn gave him a flat, unconvinced look, and he sighed, caving. "You heard about what happened?" He asked, referring to his sojourn into Maiden's Refuge. When she nodded, he continued. "I went to do what I can to help, and I did. But not enough. What they needed was food, not protection. In the Legion, we had supply trains, dedicated hunters; we never needed to fend for ourselves. But on the wreck, they had four Yari hunting for twenty. More, once Sivan and I were added into the mix. I wasn't pulling my weight until the attack. I just..."
Praetorum trailed off, and Edyn nodded in understanding. "I'd offer to teach you, but I was never much of a crossbow woman myself. Although...." She gestured at the river, a broad sweep of the arm which swept the water into a curling wave that hung in the air, suspending fish and debris within. Then she let much of it fall, leaving only a row of fish wriggling, confused, atop pillars of water, each around Praetorum's height. "I suppose I can provide target practice."
His lips twisted into a wry smile, and he shook his head, cocking and loading his crossbow. "I can't imagine you'd have much need to hunt normally with magic like that." Praetorum looked over her, eyes lingering on the runes that glowed over her forehead and around her throat, before dropping down to the vortex of dust that danced constantly around her feet. Raising his crossbow, he took in a deep breath, aiming at the nearest fish. He winced as he did so, his left arm twinging slightly. The weakness of that arm threw his aim off, and his bolt pierced through the pillar of water just below the increasingly distressed fish.
"You'd be surprised." Edyn told him, sitting down by Sivan's side as she watched him. "At least the normal way, the worst that happens when you overextend yourself is you end up sore for a few days, pull a muscle or something." She rolled up her sleeves, revealing strange, smooth lumps under the skin of her forearms. "I once had to swim through the earth for breaks to escape from a sticky situation; when I came back up, I found there were gems and pebbles underneath my skin. I tried to cut them out, but they seem to grow back." Praetorum shuddered at the thought as he reloaded. She smiled. "I got off lucky. I've seen friends end up with much worse; you're right to be wary of magic. It's a harsh mistress, to be certain."
"Then why go down this path?" He couldn't help but ask. "I don't mean to be rude, but I can't imagine ever choosing this willingly. " He raised the crossbow again, then frowned. Casting his mind back to memories of watching other people shooting crossbows, Praetorum lowered it, and went down on one knee to try again. That was much better; by propping his arm up on his knee, he could compensate for the weakness in his arm, steadying his aim. This time, when he pulled the trigger, the bolt flew true, piercing through the center of the fish and shooting it out of the water to fall, flopping on the other side of the stream.
"Why? Because it's dangerous?" She scoffed. "Nothing worth having is every easy, or safe, especially not in Yaralon."
