Aliath

The Unbridled Beast

In a forest, Far East of the Edvan Empire, the rains poured, threatening to uproot everything around it. It was as though the skies wept for the atrocity that was about to be committed. An unbridled beast was about to be unsealed. Eight men covered from head to toe in protective clothing held fast to them as the winds threatened to relieve them of most if not all of them. Yet, the men throttled at full speed ahead, defying the odds that were the great winds. As though angered by their defiance, the winds intensified, but their warnings fell on deaf ears. Do not approach! These were the words that the rains spoke through the winds. In a few moments, the men arrived at a tombstone not too far ahead of them.

The inscriptions on the tombstone shone brightly, piercing through the drowning darkness that came with the storm. The men were quick to work. They pulled out different items, swords, wands and even a feather. With their images and voices drowned in the thunderstorm, one could wonder what atrocity these men risked their lives to commit even if you were a mere 500 feet from them. Yet, the bright light that emanated from the spell they cast fought its way through the thunderous rain, but what followed overshadowed them all.

The roar of a beast no less than 30 feet tall resounded through the forest as it emerged from beneath the tombstone. Its horns were curved, adding an extra foot to the already gigantic beast. Its brown fur was pressed against its skin appearing as a clean sheet of leather. Although humanoid in nature, its long claws, fangs and fur, much less its horns were distinguishing features. The wizards wasted no time in readying themselves for what was no ordinary task. The winds failed in comparison to what lay ahead of them. Steam emanated from the body of the beast, creating a pressure gradient that intense the force of the winds.

The sheer force of its revival pushed the eight men against the wind direction, with the winds only sending them back whence they came. A battle to subdue this beast began. The wizards conjured chains to hold the beast down despite the odds of the rain, but were quickly brushed aside once more. The chain melted, like a hot knife on butter, but rather than be discouraged, the wizards conjured even larger chains that held fast upon the beast's body. But its strength was more than what they were capable of conjuring as in a feat of strength, the beast broke through the restraints in a thunderous roar.

From a distance, two men watched as the battle to contain this beast ensued. However, only one of these men was wearing protective clothing. Yet, the one who was not drenched was he who dared to step into the forest without care for the rain. The rains avoided the path on which he stood, as though they feared angering him. A clear path of light shone upon him as though he had taken up the stage; perhaps the stage of life. His luscious hair remained as straight as they could be, as though they feared to be out of line. Its blond colour made it shine all the more, as his pristine clothing resonated with his importance.

"They have succeeded in releasing the beast, Lord Ravaan," the fully clothed, yet fully drenched wizard said.

"Succeeded? You call this success?" Ravaan retorted, his cold stare piercing through the wizard's soul. Even with the sound of storms, the wizard's gulp was loud for all to hear.

"It appears that the standards for joining my guild have dropped by a lot if you call this pathetic attempt to capture one beast a success. He's the weakest of the four, and the summoning rain ritual weakens him quite a bit. And yet they struggle?" Ravaan snapped, though calm, the wizard beside him felt the weight of his disappointment.

Ravaan's eyes dimmed as the rains began to subside, and as a consequence, the beast began to grow stronger. The flames that began to engulf its body was a sign that it was regaining its true strength. Its eyes turned red and flames seeped from its mouth.

"Tell them to pull back, Dan," Lord Ravaan said as he began to walk forward with the ray of light showing clear skies following him as well. "If they couldn't handle it before, it's way out of their league now," he added.

"Retreat!" Dan beckoned to the other wizards.

Upon hearing this, the beast fired a ball of fire from its mouth to stop its prey from escaping. Without a spell or medium, Ravaan conjured a wind spell that passed through his men and split the fireball into two without hurting any of his men. The men quickly dispersed to get far out of Ravaan's range.

"What a foul creature," Ravaan scoffed.

Ravaan walked towards the beast until there were less than ten feet between them. The beast roared before what was a worthy opponent. Its roar echoes through the trees and the rains finally stopped. The unbridled beast was finally awake. As the beast tried to approach him, Ravaan placed his index finger on his lips as if silencing it.

"Hush, you're in my presence," Ravaan whispered.

The beast staggered backwards, as the weight of Ravaan's magical presence began to dawn on it. In an instant, the beast fell to its knees and chains formed on its horns, hands and feet and held fast by the ground.

"Will you die for my sake, Halowel?" Ravaan asked softly.

"As the yin wishes," the beast replied.

***

Aliath churned on his bed as he tried to rest after what was a long week, but sleep eluded him. A disturbance in the magical force troubled him as an image flashed through his head. In an instant, Aliath jumped from his bed and turned around to see an intruder on his window.

"That took you a while," Hela said, as she smiled softly.