Verita - The Guardian of Darkness

22

For a moment, there wasn't anything that Elanthin could focus on. The  plaza had lost all order and turned into a colorful mess of screams,  trampling footsteps and flashing armor.
She took a deep breath and  everything seemed to slow down in front of her eyes. This wasn't new to  her; she knew what this sudden explosion amongst the audience meant and  she'd dealt with it a thousand times. No need to question her ability to  handle it. The only change to her usual routine were lighting and  location. On the edge of the Deep, there'd been neither sunlight nor  civilians – and certainly no thickly-layered skirts.

Hurriedly,  Elanthin was reaching for the hidden strings around her waist. Myrel  hadn't worked hard all night to come up with a solution to these deadly  Gratian traps, which Laris called court attire, for nothing. With a  swift pull, Elanthin freed herself of the skirts' weight to improve her  chances by fighting in familiar gear. Her silver-lined corset remained  too stiff but at least she had the ability to make use of her legs in  trousers.

And she would need it. Elanthin didn't need more  than one look at the crowd's center to recognize the origin of the  turmoil. It wasn't much bigger than the people surrounding it but  Elanthin recognized its shape immediately. It was a common monster of  the Deep; an abyss crawler of the runty kind, hardly larger than a  cold-blooded horse. The darkness spewed them effortlessly and in large  numbers. Apart from their frequency, these creatures had nothing special  to them and were easy prey for the experienced hunters of the Forlorn  Plains – but right now, she wasn't on the Plains and the bystanders were  far from experienced. The royal guard was pushing through the crowd,  keen to quickly eliminate the danger.

Elanthin's instinct made  her turn to check the blue-clad Grace of Gratia as possible accomplices  but even they'd started to retreat from the plaza, leaving to safe  their own skin. Could they've been oblivious to today's main event?

More  than the rebels though, the monster's behavior worried Elanthin. It was  also the reason she hadn't jumped into action quite yet.

Why is it so quiet?, she thought with a sense of foreboding. She was used to groaning and screaming which could shatter your ear drums.

This  abyss crawler wasn't just eerily silent, it also moved erratically.  Swinging its thin, furry tail from side to side, Elanthin got the  impression that it was disorientated and unsure on whom to attack first.  Muffled roars – hoarse as if the monster had just awakened from a  thousand-year-nap – mixed with the fearful screams of Gratian citizens  trying to escape from the plaza. Despite their efforts in encircling the  stumbling abyss crawler, the guards fought against their own stiffening  astonishment.

Elanthin had an infinite number of questions;  how had that monster made it through the Eternal Barrier and why did it  appear now, at all times? How had it made its way to the capital,  passing through countless villages unnoticed? But this wasn't the right  time to question the motives of a monster. This was the time to protect  the attending Gratians, who'd never before stood face to face with one  of the Deep's creatures.

Hard-earned experience kept Elanthin  from immediately lunging to the center of the crowd with blazing  weapons. It wouldn't help one bit. The royal guards of Gratia were  already following that strategy, shoving and pushing people out of their  way for lack of a better approach – but if they were to fight the beast  in the middle of the plaza, no one could tell what the damage would be. 

Rather, a confrontation on the border of the plaza, a place  which people could clear more easily, promised better chances to avoid  unnecessary blood spill.

However, they guards weren't  thinking straight. Elanthin recognized their erratic behavior from the  fresh recruits she'd trained on the Plains. For many if not all of them  it was the first fight against a true monster of the Deep and they  weren't sure on how to go about it; which meant she should focus on  damage control and lure the monster away from the center to fight it by  herself.

A quick look to her side, where Aetrian was standing,  told her that he was also worried about the disorganization going on  below. His silver eyebrows were almost touching, while he contemplated  his next move.

With a light touch on his arm, she drew Aetrian's attention away from the roaring beast.

"Call your guards back, if you want to avoid unnecessary deaths."

He stared at her as if she was speaking gibberish.

"I  said, call them back. Right now, they're only provoking the monster  while it's still confused", explained Elanthin hastily. "It's not going  to end well if they fight it amongst the crowd."

"They'll shield the citizens to the best o–"

"I  don't doubt their intent", shouted Elanthin impatiently. This wasn't  the time to argue about his soldier's abilities. "But have any of them  pierced a monster's core before?"

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