For him to live, a witch must die.
Driven out of his village for the curse he possesses, Tavor is alone. With nowhere else to go, he must venture into the Eylderfell to hunt down the witch who cursed him.
But the forest is dangerous, wild with magic...
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The night was thick and desolate, filled with the screams of creatures following close behind him, hunting them through the darkness.
Tavor ran until his legs ached and his lungs burned. But whenever he stopped to catch his breath, the shadows crept closer, and chilling dread rose up in him like nausea. He couldn't rest, even for a moment.
He'd seen them in the shadows, huge bristling creatures the size of houses. Thorned claws tore through trees like matchsticks, and thunderous howls echoed through the undergrowth, drowning out the sound of his heartbeat.
You cannot run forever. I will have what is mine.
So he pressed on, no idea where he was running. Bushes snapped nearby and an enormous creature burst from the undergrowth. Body formed from thorny branches, gazing through blank, empty pits in its face.
Tavor tripped backwards and stumbled. The ground sloped steeply downwards and he fell with it, down the side of a ledge towards a pit of tangled, thorned bushes. Twisted brambles tearing through his clothes and ripping stinging gashes over his arms. He crashed through into the dirt floor below, shielded from the rest of the forest by a thick layer of thorns.
Tavor groaned. His face and arms stung. He could hear the beasts circling overhead, but they didn't broach the bramble cover. Somehow, he'd managed to carve out a hiding space, but for how long?
He checked on the familiars. Their strength had been fading since the Tower. Tavor had no idea what the Elder had done to them, but their worsening conditions worried him. The cat lay sleeping, breathing softly. He'd thought the crow was unconscious, too, but his dark eyes were still open. Tavor lifted him gently out of the bag.
"We can rest for a bit here," he said. "Why don't you eat something?"
He offered the crow some fruit, and the bird pecked half-heartedly at it. Tavor watched him, biting his lip.
He opened the scroll and spread it out in front of him. "I just need to figure out what happened to Nestani. She might be out there somewhere."
The crow watched him. His feathers were fluffed up, and his breathing came in a long, heavy wheeze. "Perhaps...you should focus on your own abilities."
"And then what? Fight the Elder?" Tavor shook his head. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."
"In any case..." the crow broke off, another creaking breath shuddering from his body. Tavor winced. He wished he could heal them. Nestani had made it so easy. But he didn't even know where to begin. "What's the point in having magic if you never use it?"
"You saw what happened back at the Tower," Tavor said. "If it wasn't for you, I would have lost control again."
"Nonsense. That was the curse's influence."
Tavor shook his head. "You were right, earlier." His finger traced slow, repetitive circles in the dirt. "I did hurt someone, back at the village. Really badly. I don't even know...if he made it."
His voice had dropped to a whisper, the words reluctant to leave his mouth.
The crow looked at him steadily. "I know it has been a stressful experience for you," he said. "But you don't need to be hard on yourself. From what I've seen...you only use your magic when provoked. I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt him."
"You don't understand," Tavor muttered. "I...I liked it. The same thing happened in the Tower. Whenever I use magic, I mean properly use it, I don't think about what I'm doing. I didn't care if I hurt anyone. I just wanted to keep using it."
He shook his head. "I can't keep on like this. I...I can't do this on my own."
The crow tilted his head. "Well, you have us."
Tavor gave him a thin smile. The crow hunched over, wheezing again. Coughs wracked his small body.
"It's okay." Tavor picked him up, cradling him gently in his arms. "Get some rest. I'll fix this."
The crow looked like he wanted to object. But he settled in Tavor's arms.
"Just for a moment," he murmured. His eyes closed slowly, and he slipped off into sleep.
Tavor watched him for a moment, monitoring the fluttering breaths lift and lower his chest, then set him gently down in the satchel.
He turned his attention back to the map. He saw the Elder's forces, swarming green figures around the bramble patch.
"Show me where Nestani is," he said.
The map went blank. A moment later, ink traced delicate lines over the page, recreating the same drawing of the Eylderfell. Tavor scanned the page. The Elder was still there, and the forest creatures, and the three of them. But no sign of Nestani.
He shivered. Was she really gone?
She couldn't be. He'd seen her disappear, but...
He repeated the question, just in case. The map resolved again, but this time a feature grabbed his attention. What seemed like a lake in the top-right of the page, with a question mark over it.
Tavor frowned, peering at the inscription.
The Well at the End.
The brambles above him cracked and clattered. Something was falling. Tavor barely had time to grab his items and spring to his feet before a shadowy beast landed in the bramble pit.
It shook itself off, dislodging thorns from its hide. It locked eyes with Tavor and roared.
In the distance, another howl echoed back, then another, until the forest was filled with their wild noise. The sounds crashing through the forest made him shiver. Now, they all knew where he was. Soon they'd be on him, and the endless chase would begin again.
Tavor trembled. He couldn't keep doing this. Couldn't keep running.
The creature pawed the ground and charged. Tavor saw it coming, half a mind to let it trample him and be done with it all. But he felt the magic spark again within him. Determination born from desperation, fear. He faced the beast head on, bringing the power up to the surface.
He lifted his hand and spoke, voice thrumming with quiet power.
"Be still."
And moments before it reached him, the beast came to an abrupt stop. It snarled, woody hackles rising with unease and anger. Tavor met its soulless gaze, a shiver tingling over his body. A second later, he realised it wasn't from fear. The exhilaration of control ran through his veins. He stood straighter and instructed the beast to bow, and it obeyed.
Tavor grabbed up his belongings, lifted the familiars onto the creature's back, and then climbed up on top of it. And issued one final command.
"Take me to the Well at the End."
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
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