Dawning of a Seer

The light of the moon was akin to silken silver banners weaving through the trees. It illuminated Luna's white coat of fur so that it glistened with her every move as she propelled herself faster and faster, deftly careening through the woodland. Her senses had heightened and she could hear the snap and crack of every twig. She could see, in the dim light, the quick movement of coneys leaping for cover as she approached at speed. The sweet smell of their scent carried on the wind and her nostrils flared rousing an urge within her to hunt them down and bite into their warm flesh, but she resisted. She had but one intention. There was no scent to the shadow creature but there was a sense of evil which was growing stronger and stronger and that was the prey upon which she had focus.

It was moving quickly to stay ahead of her and she wondered why it had not stood its ground to feed off the nymphs it had attacked, then suddenly her thoughts fled her mind as she saw a wall of black mist rise up from the ground ahead of her. She tried to slow herself but there wasn't time and her body quickly became engulfed by it.

"The Seer is too far to help you now," it cackled. "Your soul is a far greater prize than those feeble creatures I had tasted,"

Luna could see the red glow of its eyes and her body froze as she realised he was right. The Seer couldn't help her now. Instinct kicked in and her back arched pushing her hind legs up and her head lowered as she bared her sharp teeth and snarled.

"Feisty," remarked the creature. "I'll enjoy devouring you."

Luna leaped forward, her jaws open wide to rip into its flesh, but it had no flesh. She passed straight through the creature's shadowy form and yet her fur singed with its touch and she felt as if her body had been tossed into a fire. She gritted her teeth in pain and quickly turned, as did the creature so that they faced each another once more.

"Enough games," he hissed edging towards her.

Luna's wolf form was no use against him. Why did the Seer do this to her she wondered in alarm as she backed away slowly, the creature edging forward still? Then the creature stopped and she realised.

Standing her ground she closed her eyes to the hideous form before her and sought her power from within, channeling her energy so that she felt it intensify with every breath and then opened her eyes. She focused her sight upon the creature who was already gathering his mist back into himself in order to flee but the pure white light shone like streaks of lightning from her eyes and crippled it into a writhing mass upon the ground. The earth below them began to shake and cracks appeared beneath the creature. It screamed as if it bore the agony of a thousand souls as it was swallowed by the earth, binding it to the veil of shadows from whence it came.

The Seer and Salvia knelt on the ground beside Luna's wolf form and gently lifted her head. The Seer, carefully opened her lank jaw, revealing strong, sharp teeth and poured liquid from a tiny vile onto her tongue. Laying her head back down onto the charred earth to rest, they waited.

"She is a magnificent creature," commented Salvia. "She saved our lives." Salvia absently stroked Luna's soft fur hoping she was offering some comfort. "Will she survive?"

"She's strong and growing stronger day by day. She just needs some rest," he replied. He did not feel as confident as his words. Concern and regret for his hasty actions filled his mind and he wondered how Luna had truly fared. He could not forgive himself if she did not recover from this but he had been sure she was ready, that with Marrok's strength and protection she would not have been defeated. He had sensed that the shadow creature had not reached its full strength, for that it would have had to have consumed many souls. "I believe the creature escaped through the veil during Marwolaeth's wrath. It may not have been the only one. We need be wary of that."