Chapter 764: Gathering (1/2)

Zoy felt the warm breeze move through her hair. It was definitely rare for a Cerithil Hunter to stay in a ruin so close to the surface. She could feel the moss covered stone with her hands, perceived it within her magic. She felt bits of sunlight break through the ancient ceiling far above. Some of the others were within her range but most elected to stay at a reasonable distance. Humans were not welcome among the Hunters. She had learned as much in the few interactions she’s had, though there were always outliers.

“Have you eaten?” Neiphato asked, the wood mage approaching with the carcass of an animal. Six legs and a beast like head. A predator, though not as dangerous as an elf.

She shook her head ever so slightly. Hunting she could do herself, though the elf who had called them here wanted secrecy. A gathering within the ruins of Elvator, deep within the Navali forest. She grabbed for the animal. “Ter valras,” she spoke, a few hisses resounding from those who had heard her. A saying of thanks, enough to inspire hostility. She hissed back.

“Your Elvish is good,” Neiphato said as he gestured to the bit of decrepit stone wall next to her.

She didn’t react, instead using a hunting knife to cut away a chunk of skin. She bit into the flesh right after. When Inarulis had found her, the raw meat used to give her stomach aches, or worse. Not anymore.

“I did not expect to find a human here,” the elf said.

He was the first to make conversation but she would much rather prefer he stare in silence too, or fight her. “Why are... you talking... to me?” she asked between gulps, blood rolling down her chin.

[Wood Mage – lvl 370]

The elf was among the weaker ones here, as was she. Zoy had learned early on however, that humans were different not just in looks and customs. She could hold her own against many of the present hunters, though most she didn’t know.

“I’m bored,” the elf said.

She raised her brows and hissed.

“You know, I spent some time traveling with a human. A few ones actually. And our group of Hunters wasn’t quite as… difficult as the ones gathered here,” he spoke.

Zoy remained quiet, eating more of the fresh meat. Hunters talking to humans, traveling with humans? A few decades prior the thought might’ve made her angry, knowing what she had been through to even be accepted here. Now, she would have to lie to say that she wasn’t at least a little bit intrigued.

“Well no… we were probably even more difficult. But she more or less beat the others into submission. Hard to argue with strength,” the elf continued. “Then they betrayed us, betrayed Isalthar, and everything we chose.” He shook his head in a solemn manner.

“Savir e nave,” she spoke. Hunters and prey, a saying Inarulis liked to use.

The elf smiled and hissed. “Indeed, though I wish they would’ve thought beyond that. It’s one way to look at life but I’ve learned there is more nuance.”

She remained quiet, watching as another elf stepped out of the dark and into her perception. She had heard his approach, had made an assumption based on his weight, his gait, and the grinding of his teeth. Veratin. The elf from the Fire Wastes did not hide his disdain for her species, though he respected Isalthar enough not to outright attack her. A challenge he did not issue, though Zoy assumed that was just another insult.

She didn’t much care. He would likely kill her if it came to a fight, and then she wouldn’t be of any help in fighting the Taleen. Illogical, she thought, though not unexpected. A gathering like this was strange in the first place.

“Young Neiphato. Why do you talk to this creature?” spoke Veratin, the elf adding a long hiss to underline his words, spoken in Elos Standard as a show of disrespect.

“She is a Hunter, like you and I,” he said.

A mistake, Zoy thought.

Veratin remained quiet for a few seconds before he hissed, magic flowing around him as he looked at his claws with orange red eyes. “Are you ready to prove those words?”

“No,” Neiphato said, eliciting a few more hisses from the nearby Hunters, some having moved closer now, others discussing amongst each other in whispered voices. “But our visitor might be willing to come here a little earlier than planned,” he added, looking lost in thought for a moment before he refocused. “Yes… she is… willing.”

“She?” Veratin asked.

Zoy perceived as a being appeared next to the wood mage, her form entirely clad in a magical armor. She nearly winced when the woman landed on the ground. That weight.

She knew her too, the same woman who had came and fought her near the isle of Garath. The woman who claimed to have fought Praetorians in the past. But she was different now.

[Battle Healer – lvl ???]

A three mark human. Why did she come here?

“I heard someone wants to fight?” the woman said. Zoy tried to remember her name but she came up with a blank.

Veratin hissed. “Who are you, to interrupt this conversation?”

“Lilith. A friend of the Hunters,” the woman said. “But I might reconsider if you’re here to represent them. Then again, you’re not quite on his level.”

He hissed once more.

Lilith ignored it, glancing over to Zoy. “Found you,” she spoke, her demeanor casual and relaxed.

Zoy felt trapped, feeling the attention of the predators around them shift from Lilith to herself.

“Didn’t expect you here,” Lilith said again before she turned back to Veratin. “If you want a fight, I’m happy to indulge you.”

The elf grinned, showing his sharp teeth as he hissed in an amused manner. “What could a human know about battle?”

“Yes, yes. Come on, less annoying talk and more fighting. Show me what you have,” Lilith said and spread her arms, magic flaring out from her form.

_________________

To his credit, the elf charged her right after her challenge. And here I thought he’d go on and on about humans being inferior or something. His clawed and burning hand slammed into her layered mantle, Ilea making no move to block or evade the attack. She tilted her head a little to the side. On the one hand it was comforting to know that the Hunter wouldn’t outright kill her in a single strike, on the other it was insulting that he would underestimate her that much.

She burst into white flame, a few hisses resounding from the onlookers. About twenty elves had gathered in the ruins. Cerithil Hunters, all of them.

“I said show me what you have,” she repeated, summoning a few golden barriers around herself as she charged heat within herself.

The elf grinned, his body outright exploding with magical power, the fires intensifying as his magic fought the flame of creation stuck to his arm. His legs bent before he rushed forward, reaching her near instantly. This time his attacks were deliberate, claws reaching for her throat and eyes, flame exploding against her shields when they moved in the way. He circled her, dodging ashen limbs as he kept his aggression up, the first shield shattering on his fourth strike, the others unable to follow his velocity.

Ilea slapped away his hand, her own auras flaring up as they started to exchange blows. He deflected four of her strikes, dodging two more with swift movements of his torso before he laid into her. She mostly let him, using the openings created by his attacks to strike back. Most of her attempts unsuccessful. Six seconds passed before they disengaged, neither of them visibly worse for wear.

She hadn’t expected anything less from a level six thirty elf. And she could tell he was holding back, if only to prevent this dungeon to fall even further into ruin. The same was true for her of course.

“You are inexperienced,” he said finally. “But I won’t deny your strength.”

Ilea glanced at Neiphato, the elf shaking his head ever so slightly. Getting the respect of the Hunters would require a little show. It all worked out as he had planned. But a part of her wanted to go on.

“Maybe we can test ourselves more. Some other time,” she said with a hiss.

The elf grinned back. “Indeed. Human.” He hissed too, a few more hissed coming from the others.

Accepted by the monster cult, Ilea thought with a smile, locking eyes with the powerful armored elf before he turned his back to her. “Nice preparation,” she sent to Neiphato.

“I hadn’t even thought of it,” the elf replied. “He does not like humans.”

“Figured,” she mused, looking at Zoy. “Where did you find her?”

“I don’t know. She was here when I arrived. Isalthar said she was a Hunter, and that was that,” he said.

Ilea sat down next to the woman and looked at her.

Zoy didn’t meet her eyes but she did turn her head towards her. “You have grown.”

[Sword Master – lvl 340]

“So have you,” Ilea said with a smile. “Care to resume our little fight?”

Zoy raised her brows. “That is not why you came.”

Ilea looked away. “It isn’t, no.” She summoned herself a meal and started eating, a few of the Hunters nearby giving her strange looks.

They remained in silence for a while, Neiphato sitting down nearby while looking at her.

“The Praetorians,” Zoy started. “Did you destroy them?”

Ilea remembered telling her about the machines below Dawntree. She smiled and swallowed. “Yes. Some time ago. Moved on to Executioners and Hunter Praetorians.”

The woman nodded slowly. “You are… very strong.”

“Thank you?” Ilea said.

Zoy went quiet again.