Varick stood on the outskirts of Drakethorpe in a vale of blackened ground. This valley was a giant magical scar on the landscape from the Invasion of Drakethorpe during the Matriarch War. Spells were likely to go wild here, but it was the perfect setting for what was about to happen. Out of the way enough no bystanders would get hurt if they went all out.
“You took your time getting here,” Varick called out to his sister Kaytlyn as the young fennec walked into view. The fox looked at the mahogany Clydesdale, confused by this choice of location.
“Why are we out here,” Kaytlyn asked as black dust drifted along the ground. “If it’s for a history lesson, I already know about the war. They remind us every year in school. It’s a whole unit that is a month long.”
“More of a physical education today,” Varick laughed as he took his fighting stance. Two needle swords clattered in their sheathes on his right side. “I think its time we’ve had a round two. I’ve been training.”
“This is a bad idea, Varick,” the fennec shouted, stepping back. “I am the Druid Sentinel. I have more magic than the entirety of Drakethorpe, but if you need to be beaten again so badly. I think I can make this quick.”
Kaytlyn started to step forward when several blinding flashes of light and smoke erupted nearby. Disoriented, the fox began to summon her pink mech suit, F3NN3C P1NK, when the armor suddenly disappeared. Her guild badge, tail band, and ear ribbon fell to the ground, cut free from Kaytlyn by thrown needles. Varick erupted from the smoke with his hands wreathed in lightning magic. A single touch sent the shocking magic through the fennec’s bo before the blonde horse retreated into the smoke.
“First mistake was letting your opponent choose your battlefield,” Varick taunted as the smoke cleared to reveal his location several feet away. “Second was being predictable. Would you like to continue making mistakes, or will you be giving up now?”
“I’m not done yet,” Kaytlyn growled as she snapped her fingers. Magic swirled around her as the fox’s transformation started but was abruptly interrupted by a needle enchanted with the momentum of a brick. Kaytlyn began to run and restart her transformation but was interrupted again this time, knocked to the ground.
“Third mistake is really just an ongoing thing today but I’ll say it,” the equine tailor laughed as he palmed some more needles. “Can’t assume your opponent will play fair or give you space to transform.”
“Kareena,” Kaytlyn growled as she clambered to her feet.
A massive twenty-foot-tall black wolf with a glowing rune above her forehead erupted from over the side of the vale. Immediately, she charged at Varick with her mouth open to bite. With an eye roll, the Clydesdale tailor sidestepped her as he pulled thread from the spools on his shoulder-mounted talisman sewing kit. Weaving the thread through his fingers to make an intricate pattern, Varick turned to face the return charge of Kareena.
“Cat’s Cradle,” the equine tailor shouted as he wrapped the finger-woven thread around the massive wolf’s muzzle. With a surge of fire and earth magic, the thread erupted into a tight metal net around Kareena. “Careful, the more you struggle, the tighter that gets.”
“Release my partner,” Kaytlyn yelled as her transformation into her older Kitsune form finished. A taunting, rude gesture from Varick was the only response.
Multiple rapidly fired spells flew from Brick Brick, the elemental weapon floating behind the kitsune with a halo of violets, as the distance between the combatants closed. Varick deflected the magical attacks using the mirror shield enchantments in his cufflinks. With her vast reservoir of divine power, Kaytlyn fired a close-range earth spell that struck her brother like a charging rhino and sent him sprawling. Or so the Druid Sentinel thought as dozens of Varicks suddenly appeared. With a laugh, Kaytlyn duplicated herself with a mirror image spell similar to the horse’s enchantment.
“Every brother loves when a sibling imitates them,” Varick laughed sarcastically as the duplicates started fighting each other. He went through the swarm of illusionary clones to come up behind one of the Kaytlyns. “Although if you are going to copy me, do it right. This is sloppy work.”
“Hmmm, I think I did it better than you,” a different fennec kitsune turned and right a spell at her brother with a smile. Her expression dropped as the mystical attack passed straight through him. A hand with several needles between the fingers touched Kaytlyn’s back.
“Controlled Burn,” Varick smirked as blue and purple flames leaped from his hands, destroying all of the Kaytlyn clones.
With them all destroyed, the remaining duplicates of the equine tailor swarmed the Druid Sentinel. Varick ducked for cover as the mirror images exploded into a conflagration of blue and purple flames. Brick Brick swapped with Fire Brick to swallow up all the fires that should have consumed Kaytlyn. In retaliation, the kitsune set the ground aflame, forcing Varick out of his hiding spot. The brown horse drew his needle swords and took an aggressive stance as flaming blades erupted from the weapons.
“Winter has been training me pretty hard in weapon’s drills,” Kaytlyn growled as she summoned a glaive with an elaborate silver blade to her hands. “I told them to train me hard against dual wielders.”
“Fourth mistake was assuming you knew what I was planning,” the real Varick whispered as he put a flaming blade under his sister’s throat from behind and another under her arm. “Fifth was forgetting to keep track of the number of duplicates in play. Please yield; I don’t want to find out how your regeneration works.”
“I’ll yield,” Kaytlyn sighed as she dismissed her weapon. “Whose idea was this?”
“Archdruid Violet thought it might be useful for you to see the real gap between power and experience,” the brown horse answered, putting his weapons away. Much to the irritated wolf’s delight, he dismissed the net holding Kareena. “She thought if she did it, you wouldn’t get the point as much as if I beat you. I don’t have your level of magic or even the Archdruid’s level of magic, but I’ve been trained how to survive a fight since I was around your age. Kriv may be a war criminal but he’s a crafty old bastard and Guy is allergic to shirts but he knows to force his opponents into bad spots. Their lessons, combined with my magic, allowed me to beat the Druid Sentinel.” Tears started to form in Varick’s eyes as he spoke. “I know I told you I was good with this, but there’s going to be things out there far more dangerous than me. Maybe things that can beat out your powers of healing, but I need you to be able to come back. I need my sister, mom and dad need there daughter, Raine needs their best friend, and your future nieces and nephews need their aunt. So I need you to right now swear to me that you won’t charge head first into something you aren’t prepared for and that you will never stop training.”
“I promise Varick, I will be careful and always come back home,” Kaytlyn bowed to her brother. He had reminded her of an important lesson. This promise was one the fennec kitsune would keep no matter what it took. They had one win each, and she couldn’t let that stand. There would need to be another rematch one day.
Varick stood on the outskirts of Drakethorpe in a vale of blackened ground. This valley was a giant magical scar on the landscape from the Invasion of Drakethorpe during the Matriarch War. Spells were likely to go wild here, but it was the perfect setting for what was about to happen. Out of the way enough no bystanders would get hurt if they went all out.
“You took your time getting here,” Varick called out to his sister Kaytlyn as the young fennec walked into view. The fox looked at the mahogany Clydesdale, confused by this choice of location.
“Why are we out here,” Kaytlyn asked as black dust drifted along the ground. “If it’s for a history lesson, I already know about the war. They remind us every year in school. It’s a whole unit that is a month long.”
“More of a physical education today,” Varick laughed as he took his fighting stance. Two needle swords clattered in their sheathes on his right side. “I think its time we’ve had a round two. I’ve been training.”
“This is a bad idea, Varick,” the fennec shouted, stepping back. “I am the Druid Sentinel. I have more magic than the entirety of Drakethorpe, but if you need to be beaten again so badly. I think I can make this quick.”
Kaytlyn started to step forward when several blinding flashes of light and smoke erupted nearby. Disoriented, the fox began to summon her pink mech suit, F3NN3C P1NK, when the armor suddenly disappeared. Her guild badge, tail band, and ear ribbon fell to the ground, cut free from Kaytlyn by thrown needles. Varick erupted from the smoke with his hands wreathed in lightning magic. A single touch sent the shocking magic through the fennec’s bo before the blonde horse retreated into the smoke.
“First mistake was letting your opponent choose your battlefield,” Varick taunted as the smoke cleared to reveal his location several feet away. “Second was being predictable. Would you like to continue making mistakes, or will you be giving up now?”
“I’m not done yet,” Kaytlyn growled as she snapped her fingers. Magic swirled around her as the fox’s transformation started but was abruptly interrupted by a needle enchanted with the momentum of a brick. Kaytlyn began to run and restart her transformation but was interrupted again this time, knocked to the ground.
“Third mistake is really just an ongoing thing today but I’ll say it,” the equine tailor laughed as he palmed some more needles. “Can’t assume your opponent will play fair or give you space to transform.”
“Kareena,” Kaytlyn growled as she clambered to her feet.
A massive twenty-foot-tall black wolf with a glowing rune above her forehead erupted from over the side of the vale. Immediately, she charged at Varick with her mouth open to bite. With an eye roll, the Clydesdale tailor sidestepped her as he pulled thread from the spools on his shoulder-mounted talisman sewing kit. Weaving the thread through his fingers to make an intricate pattern, Varick turned to face the return charge of Kareena.
“Cat’s Cradle,” the equine tailor shouted as he wrapped the finger-woven thread around the massive wolf’s muzzle. With a surge of fire and earth magic, the thread erupted into a tight metal net around Kareena. “Careful, the more you struggle, the tighter that gets.”
“Release my partner,” Kaytlyn yelled as her transformation into her older Kitsune form finished. A taunting, rude gesture from Varick was the only response.
Multiple rapidly fired spells flew from Brick Brick, the elemental weapon floating behind the kitsune with a halo of violets, as the distance between the combatants closed. Varick deflected the magical attacks using the mirror shield enchantments in his cufflinks. With her vast reservoir of divine power, Kaytlyn fired a close-range earth spell that struck her brother like a charging rhino and sent him sprawling. Or so the Druid Sentinel thought as dozens of Varicks suddenly appeared. With a laugh, Kaytlyn duplicated herself with a mirror image spell similar to the horse’s enchantment.
“Every brother loves when a sibling imitates them,” Varick laughed sarcastically as the duplicates started fighting each other. He went through the swarm of illusionary clones to come up behind one of the Kaytlyns. “Although if you are going to copy me, do it right. This is sloppy work.”
“Hmmm, I think I did it better than you,” a different fennec kitsune turned and right a spell at her brother with a smile. Her expression dropped as the mystical attack passed straight through him. A hand with several needles between the fingers touched Kaytlyn’s back.
“Controlled Burn,” Varick smirked as blue and purple flames leaped from his hands, destroying all of the Kaytlyn clones.
With them all destroyed, the remaining duplicates of the equine tailor swarmed the Druid Sentinel. Varick ducked for cover as the mirror images exploded into a conflagration of blue and purple flames. Brick Brick swapped with Fire Brick to swallow up all the fires that should have consumed Kaytlyn. In retaliation, the kitsune set the ground aflame, forcing Varick out of his hiding spot. The brown horse drew his needle swords and took an aggressive stance as flaming blades erupted from the weapons.
“Winter has been training me pretty hard in weapon’s drills,” Kaytlyn growled as she summoned a glaive with an elaborate silver blade to her hands. “I told them to train me hard against dual wielders.”
“Fourth mistake was assuming you knew what I was planning,” the real Varick whispered as he put a flaming blade under his sister’s throat from behind and another under her arm. “Fifth was forgetting to keep track of the number of duplicates in play. Please yield; I don’t want to find out how your regeneration works.”
“I’ll yield,” Kaytlyn sighed as she dismissed her weapon. “Whose idea was this?”
“Archdruid Violet thought it might be useful for you to see the real gap between power and experience,” the brown horse answered, putting his weapons away. Much to the irritated wolf’s delight, he dismissed the net holding Kareena. “She thought if she did it, you wouldn’t get the point as much as if I beat you. I don’t have your level of magic or even the Archdruid’s level of magic, but I’ve been trained how to survive a fight since I was around your age. Kriv may be a war criminal but he’s a crafty old bastard and Guy is allergic to shirts but he knows to force his opponents into bad spots. Their lessons, combined with my magic, allowed me to beat the Druid Sentinel.” Tears started to form in Varick’s eyes as he spoke. “I know I told you I was good with this, but there’s going to be things out there far more dangerous than me. Maybe things that can beat out your powers of healing, but I need you to be able to come back. I need my sister, mom and dad need there daughter, Raine needs their best friend, and your future nieces and nephews need their aunt. So I need you to right now swear to me that you won’t charge head first into something you aren’t prepared for and that you will never stop training.”
“I promise Varick, I will be careful and always come back home,” Kaytlyn bowed to her brother. He had reminded her of an important lesson. This promise was one the fennec kitsune would keep no matter what it took. They had one win each, and she couldn’t let that stand. There would need to be another rematch one day.
Varick stood on the outskirts of Drakethorpe in a vale of blackened ground. This valley was a giant magical scar on the landscape from the Invasion of Drakethorpe during the Matriarch War. Spells were likely to go wild here, but it was the perfect setting for what was about to happen. Out of the way enough no bystanders would get hurt if they went all out.
“You took your time getting here,” Varick called out to his sister Kaytlyn as the young fennec walked into view. The fox looked at the mahogany Clydesdale, confused by this choice of location.
“Why are we out here,” Kaytlyn asked as black dust drifted along the ground. “If it’s for a history lesson, I already know about the war. They remind us every year in school. It’s a whole unit that is a month long.”
“More of a physical education today,” Varick laughed as he took his fighting stance. Two needle swords clattered in their sheathes on his right side. “I think its time we’ve had a round two. I’ve been training.”
“This is a bad idea, Varick,” the fennec shouted, stepping back. “I am the Druid Sentinel. I have more magic than the entirety of Drakethorpe, but if you need to be beaten again so badly. I think I can make this quick.”
Kaytlyn started to step forward when several blinding flashes of light and smoke erupted nearby. Disoriented, the fox began to summon her pink mech suit, F3NN3C P1NK, when the armor suddenly disappeared. Her guild badge, tail band, and ear ribbon fell to the ground, cut free from Kaytlyn by thrown needles. Varick erupted from the smoke with his hands wreathed in lightning magic. A single touch sent the shocking magic through the fennec’s bo before the blonde horse retreated into the smoke.
“First mistake was letting your opponent choose your battlefield,” Varick taunted as the smoke cleared to reveal his location several feet away. “Second was being predictable. Would you like to continue making mistakes, or will you be giving up now?”
“I’m not done yet,” Kaytlyn growled as she snapped her fingers. Magic swirled around her as the fox’s transformation started but was abruptly interrupted by a needle enchanted with the momentum of a brick. Kaytlyn began to run and restart her transformation but was interrupted again this time, knocked to the ground.
“Third mistake is really just an ongoing thing today but I’ll say it,” the equine tailor laughed as he palmed some more needles. “Can’t assume your opponent will play fair or give you space to transform.”
“Kareena,” Kaytlyn growled as she clambered to her feet.
A massive twenty-foot-tall black wolf with a glowing rune above her forehead erupted from over the side of the vale. Immediately, she charged at Varick with her mouth open to bite. With an eye roll, the Clydesdale tailor sidestepped her as he pulled thread from the spools on his shoulder-mounted talisman sewing kit. Weaving the thread through his fingers to make an intricate pattern, Varick turned to face the return charge of Kareena.
“Cat’s Cradle,” the equine tailor shouted as he wrapped the finger-woven thread around the massive wolf’s muzzle. With a surge of fire and earth magic, the thread erupted into a tight metal net around Kareena. “Careful, the more you struggle, the tighter that gets.”
“Release my partner,” Kaytlyn yelled as her transformation into her older Kitsune form finished. A taunting, rude gesture from Varick was the only response.
Multiple rapidly fired spells flew from Brick Brick, the elemental weapon floating behind the kitsune with a halo of violets, as the distance between the combatants closed. Varick deflected the magical attacks using the mirror shield enchantments in his cufflinks. With her vast reservoir of divine power, Kaytlyn fired a close-range earth spell that struck her brother like a charging rhino and sent him sprawling. Or so the Druid Sentinel thought as dozens of Varicks suddenly appeared. With a laugh, Kaytlyn duplicated herself with a mirror image spell similar to the horse’s enchantment.
“Every brother loves when a sibling imitates them,” Varick laughed sarcastically as the duplicates started fighting each other. He went through the swarm of illusionary clones to come up behind one of the Kaytlyns. “Although if you are going to copy me, do it right. This is sloppy work.”
“Hmmm, I think I did it better than you,” a different fennec kitsune turned and right a spell at her brother with a smile. Her expression dropped as the mystical attack passed straight through him. A hand with several needles between the fingers touched Kaytlyn’s back.
“Controlled Burn,” Varick smirked as blue and purple flames leaped from his hands, destroying all of the Kaytlyn clones.
With them all destroyed, the remaining duplicates of the equine tailor swarmed the Druid Sentinel. Varick ducked for cover as the mirror images exploded into a conflagration of blue and purple flames. Brick Brick swapped with Fire Brick to swallow up all the fires that should have consumed Kaytlyn. In retaliation, the kitsune set the ground aflame, forcing Varick out of his hiding spot. The brown horse drew his needle swords and took an aggressive stance as flaming blades erupted from the weapons.
“Winter has been training me pretty hard in weapon’s drills,” Kaytlyn growled as she summoned a glaive with an elaborate silver blade to her hands. “I told them to train me hard against dual wielders.”
“Fourth mistake was assuming you knew what I was planning,” the real Varick whispered as he put a flaming blade under his sister’s throat from behind and another under her arm. “Fifth was forgetting to keep track of the number of duplicates in play. Please yield; I don’t want to find out how your regeneration works.”
“I’ll yield,” Kaytlyn sighed as she dismissed her weapon. “Whose idea was this?”
“Archdruid Violet thought it might be useful for you to see the real gap between power and experience,” the brown horse answered, putting his weapons away. Much to the irritated wolf’s delight, he dismissed the net holding Kareena. “She thought if she did it, you wouldn’t get the point as much as if I beat you. I don’t have your level of magic or even the Archdruid’s level of magic, but I’ve been trained how to survive a fight since I was around your age. Kriv may be a war criminal but he’s a crafty old bastard and Guy is allergic to shirts but he knows to force his opponents into bad spots. Their lessons, combined with my magic, allowed me to beat the Druid Sentinel.” Tears started to form in Varick’s eyes as he spoke. “I know I told you I was good with this, but there’s going to be things out there far more dangerous than me. Maybe things that can beat out your powers of healing, but I need you to be able to come back. I need my sister, mom and dad need there daughter, Raine needs their best friend, and your future nieces and nephews need their aunt. So I need you to right now swear to me that you won’t charge head first into something you aren’t prepared for and that you will never stop training.”
“I promise Varick, I will be careful and always come back home,” Kaytlyn bowed to her brother. He had reminded her of an important lesson. This promise was one the fennec kitsune would keep no matter what it took. They had one win each, and she couldn’t let that stand. There would need to be another rematch one day.
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