Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

Dancer on the Broken River, disciple of Pain, stood perfectly still among the trees of the forest, enveloped by the dark of night as she quested out with her aura senses. The forests around her, a bigger patch of wilderness among the villages dotting the area, had several groups of monsters prowling about. Most were iron-ranked with a few bronze ones leading them. And all of their auras carried a tinge quite familiar to River; the touch of lord Pain. That sensation was even clearer as she also sensed the three bronze-rankers and four iron-rankers all residing in the concealed camp where the growths and foliage of the forests were the thickest.

Making a decision, River opened her eyes once more, her all-round vision revealing only the dark shapes of the trees around her, and she started making her way toward the camp. As she got closer, eventually making out the faintest of glows from a covered heating lamp, she could also start to pick out murmured conversations.

“-managed to snag another leaf lurker to the packs today,” a male voice proudly professed.

“So?” another one interjected. “The surge should hit soon enough. Then we will not want for materials, and one more bronze-ranker will not make too much of a difference.”

“You are just jealous of my progress,” the first one grumbled, but both that conversation and the rest of the quiet whispering among the camp ceased as River decided that she had heard enough, unfolding her aura a bit as she entered the camp and making sure to emphasize the touch of lord Pain on her spirit.

All of the gathered essence-users reacted instantly, many diving for weapons or readying powers where they sat. Laying eyes on them, River got confirmation that this was indeed a gaggle of beastmasters from her father’s disciple’s little project, albeit looking a lot rougher after what River assumed was an extended stay out in the wilderness.

A mere moment after entering, all present were ready to defend themselves, but none struck as all seemed to recognize River either by sight or by aura. Her hair was much reminiscent of that of her late father’s after all, and grand elder White had not been a person safe to forget.

“It’s you!” one of those present said, slowly rising to her feet. It was one of the bronze-rankers, and from the slight recoil River picked up from the auras of those around her, she was the leader of this little group; a human woman with rather soft features but the hard eyes of an alpha predator.

“Good, you still recognize your superiors,” River stated, trying her best to channel the cold indifference of her father as she let her aura press against all those present, its strength overbearing against all of her own rank she had met so far. The iron-rankers shook or winced, while the bronze-rankers kept their bodies in better check beneath the slightly agonizing spiritual touch. “I require a report from you all, as an investigation is undergoing. It pertains to the sect leader and-”

“Hey now-” the beastmaster leader said, a rather hostile burst of her aura interrupting River. “I don’t know who you think you are these days, but the old order has been sundered. Much like your father’s protection. So I don’t think that you are the one asking questions here, little young mistress.” The final title was almost spat in derision, as the woman continued her spiritual hostility. “But if you can learn to act like a good little girl, then I believe that there might be a place for you in this little pack of ours. We aim to reap some good gains during the surge.”

While River remained silent during her little monologue, the woman even walking a step closer to her, it was not cowering that had her hold her tongue, but a bit of disbelief. A moment later, the woman’s strained smile of confidence shattered as River hit her aura, the spiritual defenses shattering like a glass pane struck with an ice pick. The iron-rankers present all flinched back at the sudden spike, but the two other bronze-rankers found their bearings more quickly and joined their leader in trying to bear down on River in turn.

But their attempts were nothing. They were but uplifted bandits, taught a few tricks to enable them to better serve. And River was the daughter of Unmaker of the White Seal, the fine scars covering both her body and soul a testament to his skills and favor shown by lord Pain.

“I believe that what remains of our proud sect has indeed fallen beyond repair, if an imbecile such as you think to act out against me. Truly, some are blind even to the heavens above them,” River said, still ruthlessly suppressing the now shivering woman as she fended off the other two assailants. “It seems that a lesson of our lord’s teaching will be in order for a sliver of propriety to be restored.”

“Y-you think you can just come in here and take us on like that? Walk all over us?” the leading woman all but snarled, although the intimidation factor was diminished a bit by the slight wobble of her voice. “Because if you mess with one of us, you mess with the whole pack!”

During her final outburst, River could sense the woman burning a big chunk of mana, in addition to flaring her aura enough to momentarily have a sliver of it break through River’s suppression. Her companions seemed to do the same, and their spiritual outburst was soon followed by howls, hisses and other angry monster calls echoing out from the forests surrounding the hidden encampment.

Reaching out with her aura senses to get a sense of what was incoming, River was interrupted after but a second as she caught something both very troubling but also quite beneficial in the short term.

“Oh, I believe that most of your beasts will be a bit occupied. But do not fret; I assure you that you will have your hands full.” Her words were punctuated by thin chains erupting from her back, as Dancer on the Broken River burst into motion.

“Note that the monsters seem especially placid,” Whisper said to Kite, his voice true to his name even though Serene was currently making sure that the group made no noise as they crept through the dark forests.

Following the discovery at the last location, the group had taken an additional day to make sure that all of the captives were been stable and taken care of in the local chapel of the healer in the biggest village of the region, more akin to a town, which much like Starberry peak owed its relative prosperity to a rather rare type of moss growing in the area.

With no captives to take care of from the first area, Kite had then proposed for the group to head directly to the second area of interest, clearing out what monster contracts they could find on the way while not being overly delayed.

This had led to them currently scouting out a more heavily forested area in the early hours of the night under the cover of both Whisper’s shroud, courtesy of his ink essence, and Serene keeping them from being overheard.

“Yes. And the mixed packs are here as well,” Kite noted, gesturing to a group of moss prowlers resting close to a lumbering leaf lurker, the troll-like creature looking more like a pile of leaves and branches as it too rested.

The monsters had so far not taken any note of their presences, being mostly iron rank, which had Kite lead the group further into the forest in hope of finding what they assumed would be the beasts’ controllers. However, a mere minute later, the serenity of the dark woods all changed at once, silence abruptly broken as a surge of several auras seemed to bloom out from somewhere ahead of the group, followed by all the beasts stirring to something more akin to wakefulness with angry howls and cries.

“Have they sensed us?” Will asked, a spear already appearing in his hands.

Kite turned to Serene, his friend looking consternated and unsure. “Their auras are too wild. I cannot catch any glimpses of their intent.”

“Well, team leader, retreat, remain or engage?” Whisper asked calmly, looking at Kite.

Considering for a second, Kite assumed a ready stance of his own. “Engage. Most of the monsters are iron rank, and we need to at least try and catch some of our targets.” As he spoke, he started forwards at a quick walk turning into a run as the concealing shroud gradually faded like shades of ink in water suddenly washed away by the current. “Serene, keep a hurricane in reserve to aid if we need to disengage.”

As the group came into focus, most of the monsters present also sensed them a lot more clearly. A hodgepodge mix of the most common iron-ranked monsters of the area swarmed toward them, even though those the furthest away seemed to be able to ignore the group’s presence, instead continuing their run towards what Kite assumed to be their enemies.

A moss prowler leapt toward Kite, only to abruptly change course with a crunching noise as Kite’s projected staff strike caused its feline features to crumple inwards. Will was similarly on the offensive, volleys of javelins thinning out the smaller iron-ranked monsters along with the sharp paper slips Whisper started sending out to cut through the lower-ranked creatures with terrifying ease.

While groups of iron-ranked monsters could be a threat to them individually, said individuals working as a group was a different matter. Only when the first two bronze-ranked monsters reached them, a leaf lurker and some kind of quadrupedal flightless avian with a short, stubby neck and an impressively vicious fanged beak. Kite did not recognize the second monster, but the arrival of the pair did mean that their advance had to slow down as Kite and Will each engaged one of the beasts while Whisper and Glint kept those of lower rank at bay.

The lumbering lurker was Will’s preferred foe, its slow-but-strong approach fitting the elf scion perfectly as it allowed him to dominate the early battle through his skill and speed, only ramping up to further heights as the battle progressed. This left the pair not even needing to communicate, their many battles together having Kite immediately going for the avian monster as it charged toward them.

Through his magical perception, Kite could see a magical effect building on the monster as its speed increased to what looked to be some kind of climax. Assuming a ready stance with his sword, Kite let one heartbeat pass, then two, before he drew. This meant that his Disrupting strike hit just as the creature exploded forwards in a sudden burst of speed. The slash and subsequent detonation rocked its left foreleg, sending it out of balance and into a tumble as the magical effect was snuffed out. The monster's momentum was not, however, and a quick chant of “Wall” sent it crashing into several panes of force, their thin sides turned toward the tumbling body of the monster to further focus the area of impact.

Earlier in his career, Kite had tried to see if the barriers could cut something in two by being deployed that way, but had so far been forced to accept that something of equal or higher rank would simply be too resilient. Had the power actually incorporated an offensive measure, such as magically sharpening the edges, it would have been a different matter, but Kite at least consoled himself with that the maneuver could still injure and cause a lot of pain, and that all of the power’s capabilities was instead focused into its other qualities.

From the intense shriek of pain emitted from the monster upon impact, Kite also had to assume that it cared little for his disappointment in the matter. As it was rolling back to its feet, he continued taking advantage of the second benefit of his opportune deployment. Several strikes were projected against the beast in short order as Kite cycled through his different weapons, implements of death manifesting for but a short moment before vanishing again after completing the strike. And as there were obvious gaps in the barrier wall in front of him, the intent allowing his strikes to cross the distance had no trouble reaching their target.

“All is indeed void before intent,” Kite thought, remaining a few meters distant from his target which in turn left him able to make quick interventions in other parts of the conflict. A projected slash from his sword beheaded a galezard struggling in one of Glint’s watery spheres, and another opportune swing of his staff knocked one of the leaf lurker’s hands towards Will’s lunging spear to further increase the damage his friend would inflict.

Meanwhile, the poor avian monster had been properly put on the back foot right from the start, and was left unable to put up too much of a fight as it had no opportunity to properly build up any momentum. But this was unfortunately not all that the group had to face, as yet another bronze-ranked beast was making its way towards them; a lone cliff spinner.

“Find the rhythm of your heart’s song.”

Serene, ever vigilant, had sensed the tough creature as well, supplying Kite with her useful boon which made his attacks start resonating, dealing gradually increasing resonating force damage for the duration. Kite finished off the avian monster with a final strike of his staff, the powerful enchantments echoing the sundering nothingness of Void-Sunders-Firmament, and prepared to face the new incoming threat.

The group still made forward progress, but slowly, trying to keep the momentum up while leaving dead or restrained monsters in their wake. Kite had just started engaging the swift, scuttling spider monster when Serene spoke again.

“Something has been happening up ahead for a while. I had trouble making it out earlier, but I believe that there is some kind of conflict raging, not just our targets attempting to call the beasts to action.”

“Conflict?” Kite asked even as he kept the cliff spinner at bay, ignoring its attempts to restrain him with its webs. “Which ranks are involved?”

“Iron and bronze, I think,” Serene responded. “Had there been a silver-ranker present, they are either very subtle or otherwise hidden.”

“Other adventurers?” Will asked, his tone implying that he did not hold much hope for it to be the case.

“As I said, I cannot be sure. One of the auras is powerful, but still bronze rank. A bit like mine, but-” Serene began, halting as Kite’s expanded vision revealed that the priestess’ eyes had gone wide. “It’s her!”

“Her?” Will asked, currently working on pinning the leaf lurker to a nearby tree with several conjured spears.

“The one we met during the war. Pain cultist with the chains and the pale hair.”

At her words, Kite also remembered, memories flashing before his eyes of the graceful, ice-cold figure with trailing chains and dealing pain.

“But if she’s here, then-” he began, Serene nodding at his words.

“It might be her that has been hunting the same targets as us. But why?”

“Just one other reason to capture her. We need to get over there, and fast.”

“Kite, I am unsure of how much time we have. The other auras entangled with hers are being snuffed out or destabilized as we speak!” Serene said, her voice colored by the disharmony of urgency.

While his first impulse was to have the group charge ahead, Kite used another set of conjured force walls to buy some breathing room and take stock of the situation.

Will was just in the process of finishing the leaf lurker, glowing spears inflicting enough damage to combat the regeneration of the troll-like creature. Meanwhile, Whisper and Glint did an admirable job of keeping the much more numerous iron-ranked monsters at bay, but there were also a lot of them. Pushing forward now would risk injury, but the group should be able to make steady progress, even without-

“Everyone, give me six seconds from my count to finish this one. Then, Serene will launch me ahead while Will helps clean up most of these monsters. Join me as soon as you can, but prioritize a steady advance. At least one of us will need to witness what is going on, and with Will powered up, I am the one best spared for this task.”

“Kite, are you sure? It-” Serene began, but halted herself as Kite met her with a steady gaze.

Giving his friend a nod and his best attempt at an encouraging smile, Kite began.

“One.” At the same time, he began sending mana into his two bracers.

“Two.” The cliff spinner, still unaware of Kite’s plan, just continued hammering on the walls of force enclosing it.

“Three.” Serene sang one of her spells, keeping it as a droning note in preparation.

“Four.” Will conjured the golden lance of his Darkness Penetrator, ending the leaf lurker.

“Five.” Kite met Whisper’s gaze for a short moment, getting only a nod in return from the older man.

“Six!” Releasing the closest force barrier just as his bracers made contact, Kite directed all of the discharged force towards the cliff spinner as the twin bells tolled.

He had barely the time to register the beast’s cracked body crashing through the back wall of the force cage and launched over twenty meters away through the forest before Serene sang yet another spell.

“Carried by the heavenly wind!”

Even before Serene finished the casting, Kite had already leapt up and towards the direction Serene had indicated, only to be launched further away by her spell. Releasing her droning note, the same spell was cast yet again to carry him even further, Kite easily sailing well past the throng of iron-ranked monsters which still tried to close in on the group.

Still airborne, a painted fan appeared in Kite’s hand as he poured even more mana into the weapon’s enchantments. A vortex of wind enveloped him, turning what would be a fall into a long glide while further increasing his speed. Feet not even touching the ground after his ‘landing’, Kite sped off towards where he too could now sense the auras clashing. And one of them did indeed feel familiar.

Another of the iron-rankers fell to the ground, thrashing while the chains crackling red-purple energies ministrated the touch of Pain. True to both her name and essence, River was already well into her dance as her swift and graceful movements left the thin chains trailing her as she wove the web of her enemies inevitable demise. She knew that her powers would never let her match her late father’s far reaching domain, his vast essence having been the source of his wide-spread field of chains. But River also knew that she would not need to, as her path was not his.

Where her foes fought with some skill and almost bestial ferocity, many even having more animalistic essences, River was grace and precision, control through motion and remaining untouchable. All of her was constantly in motion, steps and flips carrying her to where she needed to be while hands and feet struck out to deliver damaging and painful unarmed attacks, the small claws on the tips of her gauntleted fingers and armored boots further aggravating the effect.

One by one, the small-fry that was the iron-rankers had tried and failed to contribute, striking only air as they were eventually tangled with the constricting links that now turned the battlefield into quite the hazard. Only the bronze-rankers had been able to hold on and keep River from the domination that her path demanded, the trio freely using the occasional beast that came running as distractions or means of attack. But one of them had just been brought to the ground with a hole in her chest, impaled by a trio of braided thin chains. The woman was still alive, at least for the moment, but it did leave her two fellows in more dire straits. Because where River danced, her dominion only grew.

While River had hoped that this might have made her fellow former sect members more amenable to see reason, that did not look to be the case. Their leader was almost foaming at the mouth in the throes of some kind of berserking power, and while her newfound strength did little to actually let her land a hit on River, it did seem to inure her to the pain inflicted by chain and special attack alike.

One particularly ferocious attack even forced River to activate Between the Raindrops. For just a moment, everything from the charging woman to the whirling links of River’s chains to the crackling fire left behind by an errant spell seemed to slow down for just a moment. With supernatural precision, River adjusted her stance and shifted the direction of some of her chains, the bronze-rank evolution of the power even assisting in increasing the speed of the small motions. Letting go of the power, what should have been the charging leader of the beastmasters crashing into River instead became a near miss, with River instead flowing around and out of her attempts at grabbing onto her while one of the floating chains had now formed a neat loop which passed over the raging woman’s head.

A moment later, said chain was pulled taut as the snarling bronze-ranker was yanked to an abrupt stop, struggling against the noose while River sent out another trio of grasping lengths of chain against the other bronze-ranker who had backed off a bit seeing his companion’s fate.

“Now, I believe it is time to revisit the subject of who asks the questions here,” River said cooly, sending the touch of Pain through the chains and into her bound foes. “Now, you will-” She did not get further, as she sensed a change further off in the distance. Even as she fought, River had monitored the progress of what she assumed to be adventurers. She had been quite happy with letting them soak up the ire of the beastmasters’ little pets, having kept a good pace in her fight and expected to have been done with her prey before the adventurers drew close. But one of the bronze-rankers had suddenly started closing in very quickly. And River realized too late that it was an aura she recognized.

“Dissolve the patterns of power!”

An invisible ripple washed over the previously hidden encampment, affecting all of those present as active boons and conjured chains dissolved. While this left the lead beastmaster free from River’s grasp, the blowback of the berserking power struck with full effect as she fell to her knees, her aura unsteady as the weakness often experienced at the end of such power washed over the woman. A moment later, the young man responsible landed softly while surrounded by a fading vortex of wind and leaves.

“Not a reunion I was expecting this night, Dancer on the Broken River,” Kite Flown in on Winds of Fortune said. “But I imagine that it will be one with a chance to provide some answers.”

“Annoying one.” River answered in greeting, following up her words with conjuring a fresh set of chains which she sent to once more constrict the other of the still conscious beastmasters who had begun slowly inching away from the pair squaring off against one another. “While my path and pride demands a rematch, that comes second to the answers I will take from these people. Step away and let me take this one-” River said, pointing to the still woozy leader of the beastmasters, “- and you and yours may do what you will with the rest.”

“And just let someone like you leave? You should already know what I think of your path.”

“What you think is irrelevant in the face of strength and truth. And as lord Pain teaches, the most important truths always carry his touch,” River retorted.

“Even so, why would one of your strength and skill go after your own allies? We have already witnessed what you left behind down south as well.” River heard the accusatory tone of his voice, but even more so, she felt it in his aura. She felt its resilience, but also the weakness of its rigidity. It was like a fortress, but with the same lack of offensive power. But it was resolute, and she had already felt the annoying strength of his path.

“Tell him.”

The voice of her lord was like hot needles scraping down her spine, his presence but a fleeting whisper. And his touch brought clarity.

“Don’t you see?” River asked the young man. “Have neither of you weaklings even questioned why it happened? Why were we there of all places? And why did the sect act like it did?”

The adventurer looked a bit taken aback by her sudden question, not having expected her to actually talk to him further. “Because-” he began, but River interrupted him.

“Because of her. Our thrice-cursed sect leader. The one who promised everything, only to leave. And I will rip the answers of why from her writhing body. Because from what little I have gathered, we are being moved. All of us. Like puppets.”

River was surprised by the raw snarl that her voice became once she started talking, controlled veneer falling away as the memories returned. Of the empty room and silence that greeted her in their moment of need. And of the sense she had gotten the last time she and her father stood before the sect leader; that the woman had been smiling.

There was another moment of silence between them, only interrupted by the moans of the injured and sounds of fighting in the distance which drew ever closer at an increasing pace. And that caused River to act.

With a sudden jerk, she sent the bronze-ranked man flying toward the adventurer while her hand shot down to grasp the leader of the beast masters by her neck. Then, activating another of her speed-boosting powers, River set off at a run before the flung man even had collided with the annoying adventurer.

“Wall.”

To her chagrin, the young man seemed to have been expecting the move. Walls of force sprung up around both River and the thrown man, the latter impacting the sudden obstacle with a grunt. River, on the other hand, would not be stopped. But it did mean that she would have to leave without her prize. With a snarl of frustration only heard in the depths of her own mind, River flung the woman to the ground and leapt. One of her first powers of the adept essence had been the small air-dash, readily available and one of River’s most useful positioning assets. And since ascending to bronze rank, it also allowed her to pay an extra cost of mana to phase through solid objects. And most barriers too.

River felt the cool sensation of the world literally flowing through her, the barrier feeling like an icy sheet of water as she passed through it at a rather substantial mana cost. But she did not stop to reflect further, instead letting her momentum carry her onward through the dark forests at a sprint. And for most possessing the swift essence, a sprint was quite fast indeed.

With the slight glow of the partially burning camp fading behind her, River once more felt her lord’s whisper, kind and agonizing.

“Pain has nuances, child. And the pain of memories can teach us a lot. Use it, and turn the losses which you have suffered into strength.”

Kite looked out into the darkness after the vanishing woman, her words still echoing in his mind. When his barrier failed to keep her, pursuit was futile, at least for now.

“It is something else I will have to take into account for the days to come,” he thought, but was broken out of his reverie as one of the semi-conscious iron-rankers started stirring while both of the captive bronze-rankers started hammering on his barriers, albeit with varied efficiency. Taking what time remained of Leyline Warding’s duration to collar the still living iron-rankers, Kite felt his group make the final push through the monsters, Serene using her hurricane to send the smaller beasts flying.

“Whisper, please contain the woman. Will, keep the monsters at bay. Little beauty, please assist me in dealing with him,” Kite said, calling out to his team as they drew near.

“Ready!” Whisper called, his talismans already forming a cage of their own around the captured bronze-ranked woman.

Glint at his side, Kite let his force walls dissolve. The captured man tried taking the opportunity to spring backwards, launched by coiling vines which he had called from the ground. His trajectory flung him straight into a conjured sphere of restraining water, Kite already mid-swing. His attack was something which he had looked forward to properly employing again now that he was back in Gilded, as the staff trailed both the rifts of Void-Sunders-Firmament and the blue crackles of Chakra implosion. But unlike before, the staff itself also carried a faint blue outline which even spread to the edges of the dark voids of his special attack.

The swing was projected at his foes through his intent, but where there would once have been violent impact and the sundering of flesh, there was only a chiming crackle as all of the attacks effects, from the physical impact of the staff to the spatial tears, struck not the body, but the spirit.

At the spiritual impact, the man gasped, his reaction confirming the chilling, intensely uncomfortable sensation which both the Gellers, Vista and Bloom had described after their sparring and training session. Chakra Implosion had always been Kite’s mainstay, the mana drain almost always proving useful, but as he could now compound it with both the physical part of the attack and even his other more damaging special attacks, Kite now had a potent choice should he decide to focus all his attentions on the mana of his opponent instead of their physical health.

Against monsters, this effect would be quite limited but sometimes useful, as they did not fall completely unconscious or destabilize when drained of mana, still leaving the need to destroy the corporal form of the manifested magic. But against essence-users, his latest evolved racial gift turned their own mana into a trap as they themselves helped deplete the resource which had become an alternate and quite viable condition of victory for Kite. And if he wanted to take someone alive, its efficiency was quite apparent.

Already drained from the battle against the chain-wielding disciple, the bronze-ranker had barely managed to struggle free from Glint’s restraints, taking only a single wobbly step as another of Kite’s attacks sent him falling to the ground, unconscious and mana-deprived. The woman took a little longer, but could put up even less of a fight as the weakness from the dispelled berserking power was still upon her.

Even so, what command the beast masters’ powers had given the monsters seemed to remain, but with only iron-ranked monsters left in the surroundings, it was only a matter of time before silence once more fell over the forest, leaving only the rustling leaves and the gentle hum of Serene’s song to echo among the boughs.

“She was here, wasn’t she?” Serene eventually asked as the group had finished bundling up their prisoners. Two bronze-rankers and three iron-rankers were all unconscious and thoroughly secured, ready to be carted back towards Gilded, and the team had converged around the center of the ruined camp.

“Yes,” Kite said. “And she told me things. Things that are gnawing at me even now. It is quite a shame that she escaped, as I now find myself with many, many more questions.”

“Well, what did she say then?” Will asked, impatient. The young man was still abuzz with the power and thrill of battle, looking out into the forests around them as if he was hoping to see more monsters charging toward them.

“From your tone, I believe it is something that needs to be reported in?” Whisper asked, looking pointedly at Kite.

“Yes. We’d best start getting these prisoners back toward the city,” Kite said, nodding. “I will tell you on the way. If what she, the cultist, was implying is true, then the troubles of the past year might hold clues to something buried beneath the surface.”

“Of what?” Will asked, turning to look at Kite.

“I do not know,” Kite said with a shake of his head. “But from what I thought I heard in her tone… Everything.”