The First Cultivator

Gerald couldn't believe his eyes. Neither could any of the other kin. They watched as one of their own decimated the mages. Azura made it look… easy. Spells flew at her, and she slapped them away. How!? Gerald knew she was powerful, but this… She told him and the others she wasn't a mage but something else. Something new. The mages were running, actually running. The powerful oppressors. The unstoppable wielders of magic. They fled from a single kin.

"Azura! The bane of mages!" Gerald shouted with all his might. All kin took up the chant, but misspoke in their excitement.

"Azure!" The chant began and then morphed as more mage-killer terminology was mixed in. Soon, Gerald's original chant was lost, and all that could be heard was…

"AZURE MAGEBANE!"

Thus, the legend of the Azure Magebane was born. The boogieman of mages. The next group of mages found this out the hard way.

***

Dontu trembled as he charged the unknown kin. He'd been asleep when the klaxon went off, and for what? For a single half cat-kin. What were the higher-ups thinking? He had wondered that until the group of mages ahead of him was decimated. He slowed. He would have fled, but Calvore was watching the mages under his command. If he fled before he even fought, he'd be ruined. Dontu wasn't a powerful mage. His combat casting was pathetic. His real talent was enchanting. He pulled a short sword from his belt.

"SHARPNESS."

"IGNORE DEFENSE."

"BLEED."

He cast the three spells in rapid succession on the blade. Finished, he looked up and saw the girl frozen in place. Spells were deflected as some type of barrier protected her. She was looking right at him. No… right as his lucky trophy. Before he could wonder why, she was before him.

Fuck! She moved so quickly! How was that… The cat-kin's speed was faster than his thoughts as she seized his lower jaw. With a powerful flex, she squeezed. Teeth and bits of flesh flew out from the pressure as the cat-kin's hand closed. There was nothing substantial left in her grip or his lower jaw. All that remained were tendrils of meat dangling from his ruined face. Dontu would have screamed if he could. The cat-kin next grabbed his crotch and pulled. It was sensual for the briefest moment possible, then agony as an unseen force held his body in place. The cat-kin didn't squeeze but pulled slowly as the surrounding mages attacked. Dontu frantically swung his blade at the kin. Strangely, his arms were allowed to be free. One futilely tried to protect his jewels, which were farther away from him than nature would typically allow. The other held his empowered blade. He swung. The girl caught his blade with her free hand. Her arm flexed as the enchanted steel shattered.

Meanwhile, mages continued to launch a volley of lesser spells at the girl while trying to avoid her hostage. They were as effective as a mosquito trying to penetrate plate mail. All the while, she kept pulling. Skin bled, stretched to its limits. Then it gave way, tearing free. White filaments dangled from his ruined crotch to the fleshy glob that the cat-kin held. She dropped the mangled jewels on the ground and stomped. Her paw squashed them like an overripe fruit.

Dontu was only peripherally aware of any of this. His agony was all-consuming. When he was finally allowed to fall, he collapsed soundlessly. He curled up on himself as the girl stalked forward, slapping more spells out of her way. This hell could get no worse. He was wrong. The cat-kin seized his feet and swung him at his fellow mages. The first blow was sufficient to end his life as his head splattered against a mage's barrier.

***

Azura's calm fighting was reduced to pure rage. She had found him. It had to be the mage that killed Toren. She had noticed his missing foot, but her grief prevented her from wondering why. Now, his killer was dead. She only wished she had more time to punish him more. As it was, she spent too much ki shrugging off the constant assaults. Foolish. She quickly remedied that by breaking more barriers and beating the mages to death with the corpse she held. The body only lasted for three more hits before it fell apart. Azura tossed the remains aside and returned to the slaughter after tucking Toren's foot into her robe. She would not let these dead mages have anything from him.

Hamal was only briefly distracted by the Azura's display. He was a professional. He knew his duty. He focused on the kin below, looking for his target. He found it, or rather, he heard it. He would recognize Gerald's mighty roar anywhere. He ran to the edge of the bowl, waving furiously at the bear-kin who was fixated on Azura fighting. Frustrated, he picked up a stone and threw it at the oblivious bear-kin. He hit the kin right in the chest. Furious, Gerald looked around before spotting Hamal waving him over. Instantly, Gerald's expression changed to pure relief. He quickly gathered Toren's family and escorted them to the edge. He shoved aside all the kin in his way. Most of them were either fixated on the battle above or rushing to the ladders on the far side of the bowl.

Hamal withdrew a large spike with a broad head from his cloak, along with a hammer. He quickly pounded it into the ground. He looped a knotted rope from his small pack around the now secure anchor, tossing the other end down.

"Hurry! We have to leave soon." Hamal shouted down as the kin began to climb. Hamal set two more anchors as the first kin reached the lip of the bowl. It was Mio. She stared in awe at Azura as Hamal rushed to help the next kin over the edge. He was glad the mages were too preoccupied with Azura to notice his activities. A shattering explosion shook the night, and a massive conflagration illuminated a wide area. That did draw his attention.

"Azura…" Hamal muttered, his eyes wide. Was she… His fears were laid to rest as Azura burst out of the flame. She appeared unharmed. The offending mages who casted the spell were reduced to meat paste moments later. That was when the elves appeared.

***

Ulvandia was stupefied. As this 'Azure Magebane' slaughtered another group of human mages. Human mages weren't skilled compared to elves, but it was still impressive. What was most daunting was that she had not once felt any magic from the girl during the entire battle. She didn't understand how such a thing was possible. That didn't even include the spells she used, which were utterly unfamiliar to her. She came to the only possible conclusion, which, to her knowledge, was itself impossible. This girl wasn't using mana. She had some other power.

"Sylvar, get your team up here now!" Ulvandia spoke into another contact spell. She wasn't getting close to that girl. Who knew what she could do. You didn't live as long as Ulvandia by taking pointless risks. That was what the pawns were for.

Calvore stood next to her, grinding his teeth as another group of his mages died. He had launched a few spells at the cat-kin if she got too close, but he stayed by her side. They were doing a delicate dance. The kin girl would attack any mages sent out to stop the fleeing kin. Otherwise, she seemed content to back off, staying out of range of their spells. At least she stayed far enough away to dodge with little effort. All the while, more kin fled.

"Damn it!" Calvore shouted. In his report, he would undoubtedly make excuses as to why he didn't rush forward with his charges. She knew why. He was afraid. Just as she couldn't detect any mana, neither could he. No matter how many lesser mages they sent, she slaughtered them all. They needed more firepower.

"My lady," Sylvar said, kneeling before her. She didn't bother turning to face them. She didn't want to miss one second of the scene below. Besides, she knew them. They were a group of four elite close combat specialists. They had high-level spells and enough mana to use them. They could rip mana beasts apart with their bare hands.

"Is your team ready?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Good, here's the plan. You are to engage that cat-kin. Use your most powerful spells. Hold nothing back. While you fight, we will gather our mana. Get her off balance, and we'll do the rest."

"It shall be," Sylvar said as his team buffed themselves. She tuned them out.

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"Calvore, get your mages up here. I want us to channel all of our mana into a single attack. When Sylvar knocks her down, unleash everything."

Calvore nodded as he began barking orders.

Just as this Azure Magebane finished the last group of mages, Sylvar attacked, timing it so the target was most distracted. Ulvandia smiled. That quickly changed to horror. She had thought this Magebane had been going all out. She hadn't seen anything yet.

***

Azura killed the last human mage when the elves arrived. She didn't recognize them as elves at first, but from their power, they couldn't be anything else. They reminded her of the elf she encountered earlier. Luckily, she had an idea of what to expect. They were fast. But she was faster. Several powerful spells blasted toward her as she dodged and weaved. Azura gritted her teeth. It was time. Azura stopped conserving her ki. She no longer had that luxury.

Azura blurred as she pushed her ki-enhanced speed to the limit. The ground exploded beneath her as she hurled herself at them. Before they could react, she was among them. Azura lashed out with her ki, ensnaring the nearest elf. Her ki compressed around him like a vice. The elf was incredibly tough. He must be using some high-powered spell to resist her. Azura refused to relent. As she continued to dodge the others, her ki kept compressing the elf, like he was a particularly stubborn nut she intended to crack. She twisted and pulled, pressed and expanded. Yet the elf was frustratingly still in one piece. Blood flowed from his joints as a torrent of mana reinforced his body. She brought the floating elf to her, but before she could strike, a slim elf with light blue hair swung a blade coated in a sickly black aura at her. She raised her arm and caught the blow. Azura winced as a small cut opened from the strike. She could feel the death mana entering her. The mana tried to decay her from the inside out. The magic lasted less than a second before her ki broke it apart.

The surprised elf wasn't able to dodge her counter-strike. Azura put the full force of her unused ki behind it. The blow had the weight of a mountain behind it. The elf's defensive magic was impressive. It wasn't enough. Not even close. The elf's chest crumbled inward as his lifeless body was hurled toward the mages waiting by their camp. She had felt their gathering mana as they waited safely beyond her reach. This wasn't good. Her ki was quickly being exhausted.

Azura's distraction cost her as the tallest elf muttered a spell, his fist glowing with magic. He rushed at her, his arm cocked back, as the remaining elf used a geomancy spell. The ground beneath Azura became slippery. The effect was so expansive that the ground to which her ki was attached also moved. Her balance was ruined, and Azura did the only thing possible. She reinforced her hand with more ki as she caught the blow.

***

Sylvar was the best of the best. The elite of the elites. He'd been chosen to fight the mists and evaluate their threat level. He wasn't supposed to be challenged by a kin. Nor was his most potent attack supposed to be stopped by a girl a head shorter than him. She didn't even move. No… that wasn't true. She didn't move, but the ground below her did. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but he saw. Was she somehow attached to the ground? This situation was already out of control. Sigmar was dead, and Jamal was somehow held suspended in the air, his body slowly being crushed. Only his vast magical reserves pumped into his body spell prevented him from instantly dying.

Sylvar lashed out with a kick while trying to pull his hand away. The cat-kin blocked his kick with her free arm. Then she squeezed. The pressure on his hand was unbelievable. It was like a force of several tons of stone was directed through each of her fingers, and then into his trapped hand. Pain. He felt actual pain with a Mithril-level body spell! His bones held for several seconds before breaking. His skin parted as her fingers slowly dug in, blood gushing out.

Sylvar screamed as the kin's hand continued to close. His magic flooded out of him like it sprang a leak to reinforce his hand. All it did was slow the process.

"Sylvar!" His last companion shouted.

"Change the ground to mud!" Sylvar shouted in Elvish. The cat-kin blinked as she slowly began to sink. Sylvar did the only thing left for him. He deactivated his body magic. Instantly, the kin's hand closed, obliterating his own. With the last bit of his mana, he casted one final spell with his remaining hand.

"FORCE PUNCH!" The blow landed directly on her chest. The spell affected a large area before him, hurling anything away from him. The kin flew along with a sizable piece of muddy earth attached to her feet. He'd been right.

She landed several meters away, the mud falling to the earth as she rolled. Somehow, Jamal went flying with her. It was as if he were caught in a net centered on her body.

The waiting mages unleashed their spells. Massive beams of concentrated magic of all types lashed out toward the kin. Sylvar grinned. It was over. That was when Jamal suddenly floated in front of her.

"NO!!!" Sylvar shouted as his friend was vaporized. Yet the magic was not entirely stopped. The kin vanished under a wave of magical fury, as did a significant chunk of the earth around her. Sylvar was thrown back from the explosion. Landing hard, he could barely move, his body exhausted. He turned to look at the devastation. He saw only dust and falling debris. Then the girl stood up from the crater. Her clothes were rags barely held together. Blood leaked from multiple cuts on her body.

Monster, Sylvar thought before he passed out.

***

"Monster…" Calvore said as he watched the half-cat-kin get up. How could anything survive that blast?!

"Quickly finish her!" Ulvandia shouted. As if she understood her intent, the girl fled. Several mages pursued, but they were quickly left behind.

Ulvandia slammed her fist into the railing. What the hell had the Deepmere council gotten them into?

***

Azura was hurt. She hurt everywhere. Tears of pain flowed like the blood from her wounds. That had been close. Way to fucking close. Between using the elf as a shield and creating a ki barrier, she still suffered a lot of damage. Her supply of ki was close to being exhausted. The ambient mana worked on refreshing her ki as she ran, but it was a slow process. It didn't help that her ki was busy healing her body. She might have to spend time in the mana forest to recover quickly. Fortunately, she had been given the signal several minutes ago. The rat-kin were already gone by the time she left. All the extra delay she bought was to allow more kin to escape. She only wished she could do more. As long as she lived, there was hope. She'd be back.

Now, she just had to get to the meeting spot. They all agreed not to go directly to the cave. The mages might follow, but she rather doubted it. If they did, well, she still had some non-exhausted ki left. They wouldn't find her an easy target. After several minutes of running and no signs of pursuit, she arrived at the destination.

There, she felt a burden she was unaware of lifted. Gerald and the rest of Toren's family were there. So were Hamal and the rat-kin. They were safe. They were all safe. She didn't fail them.

"Azura!" Gerald roared as he ran to her, giving her a bear hug. He wasn't alone as the rabbit-kin all gathered around her, hugging as best they could.

"You were amazing!" Gerald cheered. "I only wished I could have stayed for the whole thing."

"You wouldn't want to. It got dangerous at the end."

Gerald pulled back, noticing the blood.

"You're hurt!" Many of the rabbit-kin gasped.

"It's not that bad," Azura said, panting a little. To demonstrate, Azura bounced up and down in place. She instantly regretted it as fresh pain stabbed into her. But she didn't let it show. She had to be strong for them. "I'm already healing. It's just a bit painful."

"Amazing," Alenina said, closing in on her. Her eyes became sad. "I have to tell you about…"

"I know," Azura said, her voice breaking a bit. "I found his body. I brought it back to the cave."

Alenina teared up along with the others as they embraced once more.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Azura said, her voice thick with emotion.

"It's not your fault," Alenina said.

"Did you get him?" Tabatha asked. Alenina looked down at the white rabbit-kin in surprise. It was the first time she had spoken since Toren died. "He had orange hair and had a… paw."

"I got him," Azura said, her voice vicious. She pulled out Toren's foot, which was somehow intact. She handed it to Alenina, who took it, fresh tears flowing from already red eyes. "I made him suffer."

"Good," Tabatha said before crying some more.

"The way looks clear," Hamal said. "Some of my family will hide our path and lay false trails. It shouldn't be hard. The kin scattered in all directions."

"Okay," Azura sniffed. "Let's go."

They got back with little difficulty. The kin were too overwhelmed to talk much. Too much had happened today. Azura was mostly healed but utterly exhausted, like most of her ki when they arrived. Her mother hugged her as soon as they returned, but she barely returned the gesture. She just wanted to sleep. But she couldn't. There was one last duty to fulfill.

***

The grave was deep. The rescued mole-kin had done an excellent job. Azura gently lowered Toren's wrapped body, reunited with his missing foot, down into the hole that was as deep as the one inside her.

Toren… she wasn't there for him when he needed her.

The gathered kin wept or remained silent until the body sat still on the earth. Then Alenina stepped forward as Toren's mother, as was tradition.

"It is every mother's nightmare to outlive their children. Yet this year, I was forced to do so twice, once for Marvel and now for Toren. Marvel's death, while tragic, was at least understandable. The mists are a threat to all. It makes the loss no less painful, but it is understandable. Toren's death was not. Toren died because mages saw nothing when they looked upon us. They saw nulls, not people. They saw tools and objects to be exploited. Not thinking, feeling individuals. They saw a group they could abuse and take whatever they wanted. For that, I shall not forgive. Nor will I ever forget."

Alenina stepped back, furious tears in her eyes. More stepped forward with their own speeches. Gerald and then Hamal spoke along with several of Toren's sisters. Many did not, weeping as they clutched each other. Then, it was Azura's turn. She went last, a place of honor to have the final words. Alenina had insisted.

"Toren was my best friend. His loss pains me more than I thought possible," her voice started breaking. "Toren, I promise I'll keep your family safe… Rest well, my friend." She wanted to say more. About the time they spent together. How, as children, they would embark on glorious adventures. How the world would be less without him, but her voice failed. She stepped back into her mother's embrace. As dirt began to fill the hole, the tears she had held back fell.

Goodbye, Toren, Azura thought as her mother led her away.