Even in the darkest of times, one can still find light. They just have to look at the stars.
Humans have been blessed by the Divines. For centuries, civilization has flourished, and mankind has rapidly progressed with the use of innate magical power...
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"This way," Hara ordered as the two teammates raced through the woods, vaulting stumps, rocks, and other natural obstacles along the way.
The sun was falling quicker than Riarshi expected, and a slight October chill nipped at his sleeveless arms, making his hairs stand on end. If he wasn't flushed red and sweating through the back of his shirt from running with Hara, he knew he would have needed a thick sweatshirt.
After ten minutes of trudging through layers of fallen leaves and hanging branches, Hara came to an abrupt halt at the base of a fallen tree wrapped in a lime-green moss. Placing a finger up to her lips, she slowly sat on the ground and rested her back against the trunk. Riarshi got the hint and tiptoed to cover behind the tree as quietly as possible.
He sat down next to Hara, who peeked over the top. Her eyes widened.
"It's about twenty feet away," she whispered, sitting back down and pointing a thumb over the large moss-covered trunk.
Riarshi pushed himself to a knee and poked his head over. Along a small opening in the trees, the dog sniffed away at the damp, leafy ground, his glowing red paws caked in a thick brown mud.
"All right, there he - or she, is. Now we just have to figure out how to grab 'em," he mumbled.
"There you go with the 'we' again," Hara snarled in a gritty whisper. "I'll just grab it physically and carry it back to campus. My magic can't manipulate other's magic because spells don't contain matter. Your magic won't work, either. If you jump in there blindly, you'll scare it off, then we'll both fail."
Riarshi pursed his lips. "I'll have you know that I'm amazing with dogs," he said with a matter-of-fact tone.
"Whatever," said Hara, peeking over the tree for another glance at the dog. "Just stay there and don't move."
Although Riarshi wanted to help his team during this exam - Hara had a point. Even though he believed he could snatch a dog just as good as the next guy.
Hara carefully leaped over the fallen tree, sunk slightly in the soft dirt, and slowly crept toward the tiny red dog who was skipping on its paws in a happy trot.
Contrary to her amazing magical strength and the confident way she carried herself, Hara's stealth was anything but graceful. She threw her hands up like a monster as she stalked the dog. This display almost made Riarshi burst out laughing, but he ducked down behind the trunk and held his hand over his mouth to prevent the noisy outburst. Once he took a breath and composed himself, he peeked over the edge again.
Roughly within ten feet of the dog, Hara's comical creeping had shifted to a deflated drag. Her shoulders slouched and her feet noisily shuffled. Sweat dripped from her face, falling down to the soil shifting beneath her feet.
That huge sensory spell she cast earlier must have drained a ton of her energy. Why the hell is she pushing herself to do this all alone? She's on the verge of collapsing...
