true monsters

The sun hadn’t even peeked over the grey-green hills when Louisa felt something shake her. The touch, in her half-asleep state, felt like some sort of fuzzy lightning bolt, guiding her mind away from the dream she’d been having and into the world of the awake. She let out a soft noise of protest, curling deeper into the thin blankets that covered her.

“Oi, Trueheart, get up.” A voice said, not exactly loud but not a whisper either. Peeking open an eye, she saw a figure standing over her, face shadowed by the dim light in the tent. The figure moved, and a bowl of oatmeal was placed on the edge of her cot. It was freshly made, the steam coming from it curling up into Louisa’s face. “Eat this, and then you’re on watch.”

As the figure exited the tent Louisa sat up and brought the bowl closer, tapping the wooden handle of the spoon that lay in the bowl with her horn. At once it moved by itself, scooping up a bit of the breakfast and bringing it to Louisa. She couldn’t help but feel a bit proud that no flakes of oat fell onto her blanket, all that time practicing her telekinesis during her free time at Namarast had paid off. She ate her breakfast quietly, watching the sleeping forms of the other mages that lay strewn on cots around the tent, each having their own dreams.

Once breakfast was done she hurriedly donned her day clothes, though one of her wings got caught in her cloak and when she finally managed to get it free she nearly whacked a young ram in his sleep. Whispering apologies she grabbed her bag and slipped out of the tent, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light.

The Order had set up a camp upon a large hill that overlooked a small valley, one of several that had been strategically placed around the Sunless Jungle to watch the monster that had previously been roaming unchecked. She’d only arrived a few days ago, but the Order mages recognized her as one of their own and had been kind to her, so far. It was a bit intimidating being surrounded by so many powerful Mages, but Louisa kept her mother’s words in her head and always tried to be polite and helpful.

“Trueheart! Over here!” Someone said, and Louisa looked around to see who was calling her. In the center of camp, next to a large fire that had just started to burn was a small group of assembled Mages. It seemed that the voice belonged to an older cervine, who had a jagged scar running across the bridge of his nose. Louisa quickly trotted over, bowing her head in greeting. “Good morning, sir.”

A smile appeared on the face of the cervine, which made Louisa feel a bit better about being late. Looking around the group she recognized a few faces, though most of them were new. She didn’t recognize the bay equine whose bangs covered most of their face, nor the striped equine with the large rose tattoo that looked like he’d rather not be doing this.

“No need for formalities, Trueheart.” The cervine said warmly, then turned to the group. “You’ve been chosen for the first watch. That means you’ll be following the…monster, for lack of a better term.” Clearing his throat, he walked over to a map that had been posted on a large wood bulletin, alongside several notes about the creature they were hunting.

“The last watch saw the monster here.” He tapped a small portion of the valley they overlooked. “IIf you can manage to get close enough to attack, that’s great, but don’t try to be a hero. Got it?” The group murmured their agreement, which earned a nod from the senior mage. “Alright then, get going.”

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The tracking of the beast was the easiest part-it wasn’t hard to miss the dark ooze and broken, shattered trees that marked the path of the beast. Louisa was careful to avoid stepping in anything, cautioning her fellow mages over logs and puddles of the foul-smelling tar.

The jungle was oddly alive, birds singing from up above and swooping about over the heads of the wandering mages. Louisa would’ve liked to sit and watch them, but she knew the task at hand was far more important, and she didn’t want to appear childish among her peers. Just as she pushed the thought away, the forest fell silent.

The group paused, ears pricked and heads raised, but the only sound that came was their own breathing, which had become heavy with anxiety. There was the sound of wood splintering, and within seconds, the beast was upon them. It’s eyes were blank and lifeless, legs shaking as it pulled against broken logs and brambles, dark green tar bubbling up from it’s mouth and dripping over bared tusks.

Louisa was frozen, and time moved both too fast and too slow. She couldn’t tell if hours or seconds had gone by when one of the mages yelled something and with a great flash of light, cast off a spell. As the light hit the beast’s cracked hide it seemed to unfreeze the group, and all at once her fellow mages began sending off attacks in the beast’s direction.

She shut her eyes tightly as the beast began to roar, turning towards the group. Panic was coursing through her veins, but somewhere in the back of her mind a soft voice whispered to her, words as soft and as lovely as silk. The panic faded as calmness took over, and drawing in a deep breath, she opened her eyes.

A warm pink light shot out from her horn, it’s sights set upon the beast’s heart. Sharp as any arrow, it hit it’s mark, and the beast stumbled from the blow. A grin made it’s way onto Louisa’s face, but it instantly disappeared as she saw no signs of her magic working-the former mage did not seem to relax or slow, and their blank eyes held no image of rosy nostalgia. Ravenous was too powerful, and too damaged to be helped.

Ravenous now turned towards them, snorting and snarling with all the fury of a wild animal that’s been poked and prodded. She knew how big the beast was now, as it towered above her and her fellow mages. A massive hoof scraped the muddy earth, and she realized in a dull shock that it was preparing to charge.

“It’s here!” A voice suddenly cried. “It’s here, get it!”

All around them mages burst from the woods, bearing swords and bows and spears, chanting spells one after the other. They stampeded around the beast, encircling it, trying to drive it back. Seeing how outnumbered it was, the beast turned and raced back into the darkness of the jungle, with a near army on it’s tail. “Kid? You alright?” It was that cervine mage, now standing over Louisa, who had fallen to the ground as the reinforcements had arrived. His eyes were gentle as he helped Louisa up, her whole body shaking. “You did good, real good.”

The young mage could find no words of thanks as she looked to the trail Ravenous had made in it’s escape. She had read of terrifying monsters and cursed souls before, but she had never thought them to be real.