For him to live, a witch must die.
Driven out of his village for the curse he possesses, Tavor is alone. With nowhere else to go, he must venture into the Eylderfell to hunt down the witch who cursed him.
But the forest is dangerous, wild with magic...
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Tavor flinched like he'd been drenched with freezing water. He whirled, lantern flaring with light. The glow lit up the shadows in the undergrowth, revealing hundreds of gleaming eyes, shadowy bodies, sharp claws.
"We need a ward!" The crow shouted. "Now!"
The beasts roared as one, a terrifying noise that shook the forest as they charged forward. The grip on his shoulder tightened like a vice. The sharp burst of pain snapped Tavor out of his shock.
He backed up, and from the rising panic in his chest he flung up an iridescent barrier. The dread beasts crashed against the ward, claws glinting.
Tavor's legs buckled. His head spun. Against the combined force of an army of shadow beasts, his flimsy ward rippled and buckled under the strain. Already a couple of smaller ones had squeezed their way through the holes in his defences and prowled forward, seeking prey.
"We'll hold them off!" the crow said valiantly. "Just complete the glyph!"
The cat picked him up and transformed into a tiger, snarling at the intruders. Through his swimming vision, Tavor refocused his attention on the nearly-complete symbol. He grabbed the quartz sand and frantically worked on the glyph, layering lines of white dust over the floor. He had to force his body to move. The onslaught against the barrier blurred his sight, until he could barely see the symbol.
Come on...
With one last roar, a huge dread beast slammed against the barrier. The whole thing shattered around them like fragments of broken stars. Tavor reeled, gasping. But then his vision cleared, and as his headache lifted he could see he was nearly done.
Just one more line—
The Elder let out a howl, bloodcurdling fury and rage in its voice. Power surged along its body, contorting its limbs to long, sharp vines that shot forward like arrows in the gloom.
One sliced across Tavor's arm, just inches from completing the circle. Sickening pain lashed across his hand. The Elder's arm tore through his wrist, crunching through sinew and bone and severing his hand clean from his arm.
"Tavor!" the cat cried.
Tavor couldn't speak. Blinding pain forced him to his knees. He hunched over and retched, shock spasming through his body in waves. Fresh blood flowed over his legs, warm and silk-smooth.
The Elder prowled forward, bloody limbs dripping crimson splashes over the nearly-completed sigil. Its smile was furious, brimming with dark menace and bloodlust. It hooked a finger under Tavor's chin and jerked his head up so roughly the claw punctured his jaw.
Tavor screamed out. He writhed, but each movement just widened the cut beneath his chin. The Elder leaned forward so their faces were just inches apart.
"Look at you," it murmured. "All this pain, and for what?"
"I..." Blood gurgled in the back of Tavor's throat as he spoke.
"You must know by now. The villagers don't care about people like us." An odd note of sympathy entered its voice. "This isn't your fight, boy. Remove the seal on the familiars and I'll let you walk free."
His head spun. Was it truly worth it?
This was what Nestani wanted. She'd died for that goal, to protect the people who'd never. And because of him, and his own prejudice. He owed her that much, at least.
His voice cracked from his mouth in a hoarse wheeze. "I...can't."
The Elder's face contorted with disgust. "Then you're just as worthless as they are." It let Tavor fall to the floor in a shuddering heap. Spindly fingers reached for the lantern, lying on its side in the grass. "If you won't help me, I shall take what I need."
His body wouldn't move. He could only watch, his own blood pooling in the soil around him. The Elder seized the lantern and dashed it on the ground. The glass shattered and the light inside spilled forth.
Tavor's chest spasmed. It felt like his life force was being violently drained from his body. He moaned, his good hand reaching limply forward for the broken shards, as if trying to piece it back together.
The Elder roared in triumph. "Now nothing can stop me."
It turned towards the familiars, seizing them both in its claws.
No! Tavor desperately tried to summon some magic to help them, anything at all. But there was nothing.
He'd lost it. It was gone.
Vines coiled along the ground, twining round his body. Tavor couldn't resist. A makeshift tree with him trapped inside. A branch snaked up his back and constricted around his throat, reducing his frantic breaths to desperate, irregular gasps.
The Elder regarded him with a sneer. "And as for you...this can be your final resting place."
It turned its back on him and started into the forest as the branches closed in over Tavor's head, leaving him trapped and alone in the Eylderfell.
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