Tread in Snow Covered Steps

[Helah Dawnsword]

Midvinter, Forest Near Helms Fist

The cold of winter was harsh, biting through the fur cloak that she wore draped around her armor. For hours now she had been stalking a Hrothwurm that had been terrorising the area for a while now. None of the others had managed to defeat it, coming back bloodied and bruised, much worse for wear, and so she had donned her armor and set out to deal with it herself. If no one else was going to be able to do it then she would have to. Wouldn't be the first time shed faced one anyway.

Each step of booted foot in snow was carefully calculated, slow and methodical. She could not afford to take things too swiftly or shed miss the telltale sounds of the creature burrowing towards her. It would attack as soon as it realized she was there and that she was after it. Danger was very real in this situation, especially if anyone else happened to wander across it.

She blew a puff of cold air out from her lips in a puff of white cloud as her eyes turned this way and that. Not yet trained in the dark arts, she still had blue eyes beneath her mop of dark hair. They swept from one tree to the next and back again as she looked for any sign of movement ahead that might signal where the beast was lurking. Already the Forest was quiet; quieter than it usually was. She had the suspicion she was being watched too, but a quick glance over her shoulder didn't reveal anyone or anything. Whatever, or whoever, it was, it was patient and good at hiding.

The best kind of prey.

[member="Theodosius"]

 

[Theodosius Organa]

[SIZE=16pt]~Midvinter~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=8pt]Thee Forest near Helms Fist[/SIZE]​

​

The exhale of warm breath, it turned to a white plume of frozen air. Quickly evaporating the plume vanishes. The bleak cold of Midvinter was, harsh. Theo knew the elements well. Through his knowledge, for now he was able to stave off the bitterness. In just a tattered pair of pants and worn boots, he knew he would have to make shelter, soon.

He had time though. He also had faith. The Living Force provides to those who listen. That is why the Kashi Mystic was here. The mother and the father called upon the whispers of the wind. They spoke to the Guardian, hailing him to tend to their garden. Their child [member="Helah Dawnsword"] was in need of guidance. Could she see, a greater truth, through Theo’s eyes? Time would tell. Would she seek the comfort of the Mother Ashla? It is possible she might lean towards the Father Bogon. Or will she be able to see through the eyes of the Kashi. Hear the song of the Living Force. Could she find balance between the mother and the father?

For now Helah was on the hunt for what they call a Hrothwurm. Hidden, unseen Theo watched. To disrupt the hunt, would be disrupting something special. Theo was eager to see if this young woman had respect for the spirits. Did she have knowledge that this creature was blessed with life, that its life was about to be taken in the continuation of another’s? The cycle of life was important to the perception of the Kashi. What the young woman does would give the guardian important context to whom the Breath just guided him to.

 

[Helah Dawnsword]

There!

She'd spotted him lurking, but she avoided saying anything. He wasn't interfering for the moment and that was enough for her. Especially since right after she spotted him, she spotted what she was looking for in the gentle rise and then fall of the ground not far away from her. She stopped and waited to see if it would move on again, but it didn't. Either it was resting, and hadn't felt her disturbing the ground with her footfalls, or it was waiting for her to make a mistake so that it could attack and take her in one fell swoop. She didn't particularly care for the latter, but the former seemed unlikely. Hrothwurm's were too dangerous to be taken so carelessly. She assumed it was watching her.

Drawing forth her shield and sword, she crouched low and waited a moment. Then, suddenly, BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! She beat the sword on the shield and ran right towards where she knew the creature to be. Most would call this suicidal; her blade was not meant for fighting these creatures. Helah called it a test of her abilities. As she drew near the earth shook and the giant head of the snake-like creature shot forth towards her with mouth widening to reveal the sharp teeth. Any moment they would close around her and extinguish her life instantly.

But they didn't because she dance aside and smacked the blunt of her shield into its head with enough force to cause it to smack the other side of its head against the nearby tree. This was no small feat, even for a Valkyri. It took strength beyond what her body should be able to deliver. Strength that welled from the connection to the Force that she didn't know she had. To her, she was just exceptionally strong. The creature, now stunned, shook itself, but Helah moved quickly and jumped up onto it, reaching the head and dropping down to slice at one eye with her sword. She connected, but it threw the creature into such a fit of rage that it thrashed and threw her off to the side to careen through the snow.

She stopped herself before hitting a tree, foot catching enough that a simple nudge of her knee to the ground propelled her back to her feet with her momentum. She brought her shield up and sword aimed along its edge, and watched as the creature turned to charge at her. Onward it came, a mighty oak at her back giving her some comfort. It moved fast, too fast for a creature that size, and it lunged. When it did, she dove to the side, landing in the soft snow at the same time as a sickening THRRK! rang out through the forest. The creature had impaled itself on the tree, teeth now stuck in the wood as it thrashed its body around trying to escape. She wasn't going to give it the chance to do so, though. Not with it right where she wanted it.

She ran towards it, avoiding the thrashing body, jumped at the tree above where its head was stuck, propelled herself straight up and to the side, and brought both hands around to grip her sword, shield tied firmly to her left arm. With a roar, she fell downward and felt the blade grow lighter in her hands, a glow she didn't see emanating from it, and brought the blade down just behind the creatures head. The armor of the beast should have been enough to stop a normal blow, but her blow was not normal. Unbeknownst to her, her blade had become charged with the Force, and cut through the beasts body far enough to sever the necessary nerves and vitals, killing the creature even though the blade didn't go all the way through. In fact, the blade got stuck and jerked from her hands, which sent her to land in the snow face first. She rolled over onto her back, panting for air, but didn't move.

At least she'd felled the beast.

[member="Theodosius Organa"]

 

[Theodosius Organa]

[SIZE=16pt]~Midvinter~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=8pt]Thee Forest near Helms Fist[/SIZE]​

​

“Congratulations”, the Kashi stepped out more into the open. “You have slain your prey”, steam rose from the Kashi’s bare skin. His upper body lay bare to the elements. Strange Mystic glyphs adorn his skin. A few of these tattoos glowed green with the power. For now it kept him warm.


Stepping a little more forward, his foot falls made a crunching sound within the snow. Then he abruptly stopped and looked down to the ground. He let go of his staff and went to his knees. The staff oddly stayed up right. It did not fall over. The Kashi placed his hand upon the ground and closed his eyes. It was not evident what he was doing. With a nod he then opened his eyes. “Good”, Theo stood back up. What did he mean by good?
Now looking at [member="Helah Dawnsword"] , Theo grabbed his staff, the staff that had just denied gravity and did not fall over?

“So my friend”, Theo began to inquire. “What do you do after”, Theo closed his free hand dramatically, and lightly shook it, “you have defeat a mighty beats such as this?” In a strange new land, Theo was naturally inquisitive.