Author's Note

Time’s Arrow is a musical album and short novel taking place in my own cinematic universe tangentially based off of “Equestria” from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It is a prequel to my previous album Thorn of The Frozen Star and chronicles the events of the kirin/dragon conflict many years prior along with its aftermath. My goal for Time’s Arrow is to establish depth, lore, and motive for the characters and environments that I created in Thorn of The Frozen Star and to introduce a different perspective on the events that unfolded. Although much of the lore presented in this document is derived from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, it is largely fabricated and altered for the purposes of this story. I would like to thank everyone who has lent me their talents in helping me make this project a reality. I’d also like to thank those who took the time to listen to the music and read the story.

Chapter I: The Hunt

Mornden, Sixth of Raina, 3E379Y

How long has it been, three-no-four weeks since I last wrote anything here? I really should document my thoughts more. They say it keeps the mind healthy and active! Regardless, not much has happened since my last entry. Spring began a week ago, and the weather is beginning to warm up quickly. It’s unseasonably warm come to think of it, but I’m not complaining as Nymerion has been extremely lively these last few days. Regrettably, the hours I’ve been tasked with guarding the city have cut into many activities that I have been unable to participate in. My guildmates Xellis and Fenrir also suffer through these night shifts, so at least I’m not alone! They sometimes bring up our most recent mission earlier last month, as we don’t have much to talk about these days. I’m still trying to comprehend what we saw, but all three of us swear we saw a glowing cube ascend into the sky from the far western forest near the Kyryo border. None of us have any idea on its origin, or if any creature summoned it, or even what it means. Fenrir and Xellis believe the qilins are planning something. What it is remains a mystery, but it was certainly otherworldly. Xellis explained a peculiar rumor that the qilins possess abilities influenced by constellations and planetary alignments. I asked him where he heard that, but he just shrugged and said he heard it in passing. Sounds like nonsense to me as I’ve only read about the two celestial sisters having that kind of power. There is no proof either of course, but he’s still skeptical nonetheless. Regardless, after we reported back to the Council, they seemed spooked, and simply dismissed us without any follow-up. They know something, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, with no missions, Fenrir, Xellis and I have been relegated to more guard shifts around the southern gate and surrounding forests. Additionally, this month’s hunt begins tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to a repeat of the last one. My companion, Idylya, is too aggressive, impatient, and frustrating to work with. Because of this, she always ends up scaring the prey away too soon instead of planning an effective attack. I continually tell her that that’s the reason we barely get any kills and always come in last place, but she insists it’s because I’m slow and non-reactive. I think she just doesn’t want to admit her lack of skill, but either way, I am certain we aren’t very compatible partners. How she ended up in the midst of this is beyond me. Ever since the Council announced the food shortage and the need for more claws, it’s been nothing but a disaster for me atleast. Come to think of it though, I’ve never seen her around any of the guild towers. It’s weird to think that I’ve been paired with her for seven months now, and I know nothing about what she does outside of the hunts. Maybe I’ll ask tomorrow, but she is a secretive one, that’s for sure. In any case, it’s been like this every month since last Sarais when we were initially paired up after my last partner was reassigned to a satellite village out east. Sometimes, I wonder what Nikalis is up to these days as it’s got to be unfathomably boring out there. Hopefully he has a chance to visit Nymerion again this summer because I don’t have many dragons to talk to these days aside from Xellis, who is pulling later shifts for some extra coin. Fenrir just leaves without saying a word as soon as our shifts end, so I have no idea what he does in his free time, and the same goes for Idylya. Not once have I seen her around town, in any district, but it’s nothing I really care to investigate anyway. I don’t imagine things getting much better from here on out, but I’ll hope for the best at least for tomorrow.
~Zuriak

Zuriak awakens to the beating sun shining on his face through the shutters in the window. A warm breeze passes through the cozy loft as he opens his eyes and adjusts to the light.

“Too early…or is it too late?” Uncoiling his long body, he rushes to the window and peers over to the sundial situated in the garden.

“...well past noon, damn.” Sighing, he gives the windowsill a gentle tap.

“Looks like someone overslept.” A snarky voice says from across the room. Zuriak turns towards the direction of the source. Near the opposite window, a deep purple dragon leans against the wall giving him a look.

“And here I thought you were simply skipping out on the hunt today.” She adds with a snort.

“Oh haha, very funny, Idylya. You know we’re not allowed to skip the monthly hunts.” Zuriak sarcastically retorts.

“I know that, but are you sure you do?” She responds, matching his sarcasm.

“Well, what I know for sure is that we’re going to get stuck with skinning and curing the harvest again, just like last month, and the month before that all because of our low yield, just you wait.”

“Oh lighten up, Zuri. I have a good feeling about today, but first we need to actually show up, so hurry up and get your things, you lazy bum.” Chuckling, she walks across the room while removing the wooden quiver from her back.

“Here check this out.” She pulls out a steel-tipped arrow covered in some sort of dark residue. “Essence of Wyrmwood, when combined with water, toad warts, and illyra roots, it makes a deadly paralysis poison, isn’t that neat!?” She holds up the tip to his face causing him to gag in response.

“It smells awful. How did you even discover this putrid concoction?”

“I read it in a scroll.” She says matter-of-factly.

“Should spend more time practicing that bow so you can actually hit something instead of reading dusty old scrolls.” Zuriak says. Idylya responds by sticking her tongue out at him. He frowns and turns his head back to his living room and begins searching for his rucksack.

Now where did I leave that damn thing? My den only consists of one open room, so there’s no way it could simply up-and-vanish.

“You know, the bow is harder than it looks.” Idylya pulls out her obsidian recurve bow, nocks an imaginary arrow, and aims at Zuriak’s head playfully. “It takes a lot of skill and precision to make these shots.”

“Uh-huh.” He says nonchalantly, trying to ignore her antics while making his way towards the fireplace where he notices his rucksack sitting idly collecting dust.

“It’s about time, come on, we still need to actually be there before it's too late.” She puts away the bow and starts hovering out the door slowly. “Otherwise, we’re going to be stuck sweeping every stone tile in this whole city for failing to show.”

Zuriak picks up his rucksack and checks its contents. It’s mostly unused medical supplies, well-preserved food, and sealed canteens, the basics. Although these supplies are not imperative for the hunt, it’s always good to have just in case. He grabs his long, steel dagger sitting on the mantle above the fireplace and takes a brief look at it. Serrated edge, a sharp metal ridge, and mythical tendril-like symbols and designs forged along the blade’s shaft, it’s a little dusty, but still as sharp as ever. Idylya gives the blade a curious look from across the room, but shrugs it off.

Has it really been a month since I last used this thing? The last mission, when we were determining whether the qilins had made any advancements in disputed territory, was a bust. Aside from the phenomenon concerning the otherworldly sky cube, we found nothing and the mission was inconclusive, but some of the Council Elders hypothesize they are retreating for the time being and biding their time.

“I sure hope your magic skills are sharper than that blade, otherwise we are most certainly going to lose again.” Idylya says half joking, half serious.

“I’ll be fine. It’s you and your impatience we need to worry about.”

Idylya rolls her eyes and exits his single-room treehouse. Zuriak shifts his gaze to the dirty, partially broken mirror situated adjacent to the front door. Pale turquoise scales, long dark blue mane, ivory antlers and horns, and vibrant green eyes staring back. “Let’s get this over with.” He whispers to himself with a sigh while sheathing the dagger and leaving his wooded hollow.

He follows her outside and takes in a deep breath, taking in the bright, spring afternoon. The distant and polished towers of the city glisten in the sunlight and cast long shadows over the lake. The surprising warmth permeates through the city around him. He peers down the lone pillar his tree home grew on and gazes at the residential district below. The capital city of Ithral, Nymerion, was founded at the very center of a waterfall pit deep in the heart of the country at the start of the second era. Plateaus of stone towering well above the serene lake below made building a civilization here possible. Plentiful water, and a natural defense against flightless outsiders is partially why the city still stands today as there is no direct path in or out. Since dragons can fly, there is no need for bridges, though there exists one sole retractable bridge near the market district for when goods and commerce are shipped to and from outer villages.

Zuriak steps back and unexpectedly feels a rush of water on his head from above.

“Are you daydreaming? Did you forget we have somewhere to be like right now?” Idylya recaps her canteen, hovering overhead. As he floats up to her level, Idylya’s pinkish-ruby eyes meet his, and a slightly irritated look is thrown her way.

“Let’s just go.” He says flying higher.

The two leave the residential district on the western edge of the city and make their way north. Following closely behind her, he looks down upon the shifting cityscape. Dozens of dragons out today enjoying the clear, spring weather. Shopping, working, socializing, a gorgeous day to be out and about.

He looks forward to Idylya and speeds up. Her violet scales glow against the afternoon sun, and her magenta fins flow with the wind. Eventually, he reaches her, and she takes notice.

“Ooohh, so you want to race now, I see.” She smiles a bit and points towards the forest’s edge at the top of the northern-most waterfall.

“Last one there’s a cockatrice!” She adds as she flies much faster, leaving Zuriak behind.

Zuriak hurriedly tails her and attempts to match her speed, but fails to catch up as they fly directly up the largest waterfall. Idylya reaches the apex soon after leaving him in the dust.

“Too slow, my friend!”

Zuriak eventually reaches her and collapses to the ground. “Why do you...have to make...everything a competition?”, he asks in between labored breaths.

“We are competitive by nature, also it’s more fun this way.” Idylya smirks and trots towards the forest’s edge. “Come on, we’re still going to be late if we don’t pick up the pace.”

Zuriak recovers and follows behind her while taking in the dense scenery. He doesn’t often venture out beyond city limits, unless his missions require him to do so every once in a while. The way nature grows and forms around itself is tranquil and serene, and is somewhat mesmerizing to him. The smell of petrichor lingers after last night’s storm, and the grass is still moist beneath his claws. Idylya gets further ahead of him as he slows down, appreciating the more silent atmosphere of the forest now that they are far away from the city. Several squirrels run across the rugged trail and into the bushes, not paying him any mind, and the birds in the canopies above are chirping a pleasant tune. Zuriak continues looking up at the sunlight piercing through the leaves, not paying attention to the road in front of him. He stumbles forward and bumps into Idylya waiting for him, their eyes centimeters apart.

“That’s the second time I caught you daydreaming today, and we’re not even there yet.” She says sternly. Zuriak frowns and backs away.

“I wasn’t daydreaming, just looking at the birds.”

“Uh-huh.” Idylya resumes her path and Zuriak trails behind her, maintaining some distance between them.

Soon, after several silent minutes of walking north, a field and lake adjacent come into view. Near the water, many other dragons wait, talking amongst themselves. Some of whom Zuriak recognizes from his guild. Two of them appear to be sparring with each other, an earth elemental versus an ice elemental, creating quite a scene with many watching. Several others are flying above the lake, likely stretching their muscles, while the vast majority mopes around on the grass waiting for the hunt to begin. As Zuriak and Idylya blend into the group, some of the other participants point and whisper to their partners giving Zuriak a sense of unease. The two continue walking through the crowd trying to blend in until a dark green, snake-like dragon and her charcoal-colored partner approach them.

“Look who finally showed up.” The green dragon mentions arrogantly. Idylya turns her head towards the direction of the voice and immediately rolls her eyes, not saying a word. Zuriak carefully scans the crowd before focusing on the green dragon, getting a little nervous.

“W-what do you mean, Ithinyelle? We’ve been here for over an hour now!”

“Is that so, Zuriak? Well, Neverak and I were the first ones here and it hasn’t even been an hour. I would have figured you spending so much time with Idylya would improve your ability to lie considering she’s the best at it.”

Idylya frowns and approaches Ithinyelle, keeping silent. The two shoot daggers into each other’s eyes for a solid minute before Neverak intervenes.

“That’s enough Ithinyelle, we still need to finalize our strategy, not waste time with them in pointless staring contests.”

“Whatever.” Ithinyelle hisses and follows Neverak into the crowd of dragons.

“What was that all about?” Zuriak asks.

“It’s nothing.” She dismisses. Moments later, the dragons all form a circle, making way for an older red dragon to step through.

“Attention everyone, now that we’re all here, I can finally announce the start of this month’s hunt!” A large, pale, dragon with a fading reddish-orange mane enters the circle and coils around it. “My name is Ryn and I’ll be overseeing the hunt this time around.” Ryn stands tall, towering over all the other dragons in the area.

“As with previous iterations run by me, those teams who bring back the most prey by mass, will be exempt from next month’s hunt. Conversely, the team that brings back the least will be tasked with curing and processing the total amount gathered today and will have guard duty for the next seven consecutive days.”

“That’s even worse than last time.” Zuriak groans.

“Please take note of the new markers placed near the western edge of the forest. The area beyond those points has been deemed too dangerous regarding current tensions with the qilins. For your safety and our own, please don’t take any chances as we will not attempt to find you beyond that point. Also, with today being Naturaden, the day honoring the forest spirits, I’d ask that none of you cast any overly aggressive spells or magic that would cause great harm to the forest. Any questions?”

A brown dragon in the back raises his arm. “What if we’re not trained to be guards and we get last place?”

“See it as an excellent opportunity to learn a new skill!” Ryn responds enthusiastically. “Any other questions?”

“Can we change our partners? Mine fell asleep…” A blonde female dragon near the middle asks. She then looks down to her left at her sleeping partner coiled up in the grass. Ryn furrows his eyebrows, and lets out a piercing whistle with two claws. The dragon bolts up in an attacking position still groggy. The other dragons around him laugh as he realizes his mistake. Ryn just rolls his eyes.

“Yes yes, very funny. If no one has any more questions, you can all pair up with your assigned partners, and we’ll begin shortly.” The pale, red dragon steps away and disappears amongst the crowd.

“You’re with me, Zuri! We’re going to win for sure!” A sharp voice echoes behind him. Zuriak spins his head around only to be greeted with Idylya’s contagious smile, shocked at her change in mood from earlier. Zuriak responds with a lackadaisical look which she ignores and follows the other dragons to the edge of the forest.

“Don’t get your hopes up.” He mutters under his breath.

“Hey, you finally showed up!” A mellow, but bright voice rings through the crowd.

“I thought for sure you overslept again.” An orangish-scaled figure adds as they slither through the crowd.

“What are you talking about, Xellis? I’ve been here this whole time!” Zuriak nervously lies again while looking around and making sure neither Ithinyelle nor Neverak are within earshot. Xellis gets up to his level, and looks behind him.

“Looks like she showed up as well.”

“Unfortunately. I still don’t understand why these hunting groups are divided into two instead of three. With the previous way we could just go with our respective guild trios, and not have to complicate things by pairing up randomly.”

“I’m sure they’re just trying to spread us out more in the hopes we’ll bring back more prey.”

“I could do so much better with you and Fenrir.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Z. And who knows, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two from her.”

“It’s been seven months and all I’ve learned from her is how not to use a bow.” Zuriak looks down and sighs.

“I didn’t just mean combat.” Xellis gives him a wink. Zuriak just gives him a blank look.

“Well regardless, I’m preparing for another loss and anticipating spending the whole night processing and curing the meat from today. You’re more than welcome to help me.” Zuriak says resentfully.

“Haha, as if. I’ve got stuff to do afterwards anyway, like sitting in the hot springs, and sleeping, and-” Xellis counts on his claws.

“Alright, everyone, gather up!” Ryn appears ahead of the pack looking as eager as ever.

“Anyway, good luck.” Xellis runs off and disappears with the other dragons.

Zuriak begrudgingly finds Idylya near the back and follows her to the line of trees. She gives him a warm smile, still as confident as before.

“There’s two-hundred of you making up one-hundred duos. I expect to see all of you back by dusk. Good luck, get ready and…” Ryn tilts his head up and shoots a lone bolt of fire arcing across the field towards the lake. As soon as it hits the water, everyone hastily makes their way through the forest dispersing in every direction. Some dragons take off to the skies flying far away from the others east and north.

Zuriak and Idylya bolt west through the trees, catching glimpses of the other participants attacking mostly rabbits and other small critters. Idylya, taking the lead, turns back to him.

“We need to get far away from the other competitors if we’re going to stand a chance this time.”

Zuriak nods and keeps his pace while searching for movement in the trees. For a moment, he slows down a bit and looks up at the sun through the trees.

It is awfully hot this time of year.

~

After half an hour of scampering through the woods, Idylya slows to a meager stroll and pays closer attention to her surroundings, walking in a circle around a large boulder. Zuriak does the same, but nothing catches his eye.

“Just like any other hunt we’ve had already, eh Zuri? We’ll probably find a few rabbits, a boar, and maybe a deer.”

“I should’ve brought some bottles so we could catch some bugs too!” Zuriak replies sarcastically. She chuckles as both of them hop over fallen logs and duck under branches desperately searching for any prey.

After a bit of endless searching, Idylya freezes in her tracks immediately and holds an arm out in front of Zuriak, gesturing to him to stay silent. She ducks below the bushes and pulls him down with her not saying a word. She then pulls some of the branches away allowing Zuriak to see some movement about seventy meters away through the thick foliage.

“This is where we prove ourselves.” She whispers as she draws her bow and a single arrow. The runes on the bow glow a deep orange.

“It’s got to be almost a hundred meters away.” Zuriak responds in a hushed tone.

“Yeah, and…?”

“If you miss the shot, we’ll lose it. Let me incapacitate it first. Some lightning will paralyze it, then we can get close enough so you won’t have a chance of missing.” Zuriak places both his claws together and a cyan aura envelopes them with sparks arcing off his fingers.

“That’s what the poison is for. You didn’t forget, did you?” She says disconcertedly. “And how do you know you’re not gonna miss?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what?”

Zuriak pauses for a moment trying to think of a way to tell her she’s not very good with a bow.

“Whatever.” She stands on her back legs and leans on top of the bush while nocking a poison-tipped arrow and drawing.

Shit, she’s going to botch this.

Before Zuriak could level with her, she releases the arrow aimed for the deer’s gut, but it narrowly misses and flies just above the deer’s body leaving it unharmed. Zuriak stands above the bush, separates his claws, and shoots a bolt of lightning just as it begins sprinting away. The bolt misses and strikes the tree behind where the deer was, scorching it enough for the tree to topple over. Idylya sighs.

“Told ya you’d miss.” She taunts as she puts away the bow.

“Why can’t you just listen to me for once?” Zuriak says, raising his voice a little.

“Maybe it’s because you don’t put any faith in me or my skills!” She snaps back.

“What skills? You never hit any of your shots! Of course I don’t have faith!”

“Yeah, well your magic isn’t as great as you make it out to be. You also missed your shot, so don’t pin all this shit on me.”

“I missed because you scared it away.”

“You missed because your reflexes suck.” Idylya distances herself from him and continues searching the area for prey.

“All I’m saying is if we stuck to the plan, this wouldn’t have been an issue.”

“What plan!? You mean your dumb paralysis idea? I already had that taken care of with the poison! It was your rustling that scared it away anyway.”

Zuriak facepalms.

“It’s been seven months, and every month we do it your way. Why can’t we do it my way for once!? And what was with all that shit with Ithinyelle earlier about you being a good liar? Is this something I should know about?”

Idylya calms down a bit, defeated, and stares out into the forest for a moment.

“You wouldn’t understand.” She says in a hushed tone. “Let’s just go.”

Idylya takes a deep breath, and regains her senses as she starts wandering deeper into the thicket. Zuriak looks back at the smoking tree, then at her sternly.

“Could she be any more stubborn?” Zuriak whispers to himself.

~

“Well, we’ve been at this for a few hours now and only have a couple dead rabbits to show for it.” Zuriak motions as he slings the two rabbit corpses around his neck tied together by string. “We should head back and just accept our loss.”

Idylya doesn’t say anything and keeps her pace.

“It will be dark soon, and we are pretty far out.” Zuriak adds, trying to get her attention, but she remains unresponsive. “We’re also out of food rations and running low on clean water.” He says while squinting into his rucksack, hoping for a response from her.

Is she that torn up about the incident hours ago?

“Okay look, I’m sorry.” He says coming to a stop. She does the same but doesn’t look back. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you and insulted your skills. Maybe if we work as a team, we can do a whole lot better.” Both remain quiet for a few minutes.

“I’m not a fighter, Zuriak.” She replies despondently. “I’m only here because I have to be.”

“Why do you have to? Are you not in any of the guilds?”

“You really know nothing about me, do you?” She answers indifferently with a hint of frustration.

“Then-”

“I’m in the alchemists guild for healing remedies. We make medicine for dragons like you and those on the front lines. About a year ago, the Council thought the solution to our food shortage would be to recruit other guilds into hunting regardless of their experience in combat. Me and about half our guild members were assigned to front-line dragons like you to help increase our yield. I know I’m not the best, but I work with what I got.” She finally turns around making eye contact with him.

“I didn’t know…but why did you wait to tell me this until now?”

“I didn’t want you to think I’m useless dead weight.”

“I don’t think you’re useless. I’ve never seen any alchemist handle a weapon before, so you definitely are skilled.” She gives a soft smile in response. “You just need to work on your aim.”

Her smile dissipates and she gives him a disapproving look.

“I-I mean what I meant to say was you’ve definitely gotten better since we first teamed up several months ago!” Zuriak corrects himself and moves closer to her. “And you’re right, I don’t know anything about you despite being hunting partners for a while now. Maybe that’s why we lose all the time…” He turns away.

“Well, let’s change that. Now that I shared my side, why don’t you tell me more about ‘the great and powerful Zuriak’?” She asks warmly. Zuriak faces her again with a nervous look, not sure what to respond with.

“Well, you see-”

A sudden blur catches Zuriak’s attention. He quickly turns and peers into the foreboding sea of trees past Idylya.

“Hellooooo? Earth to Zuri. You alright?” She retreats back and snaps two claws in front of him. “You just trailed off there.”

Zuriak snaps back to reality with a couple of blinks. “Sorry, I could've sworn I just saw a shadow over there.” He points far ahead of their original path.

“I don’t see anything.” She says as she looks where he’s pointing.

Zuriak shakes his head and scratches his mane before peering back into the forest’s depths.

“Maybe it was my imagination…”

“Shush! You hear that?” She places an outstretched claw over his mouth. With her other claw, she retrieves the bow on her back and scans the area. A slight rustling in the leaves behind a tall, thick tree about thirty meters away gives its location. Seconds later, a doe bolts from its hiding spot away from the two hunters.

“You’re not getting away from me that easily!” Idylya shouts and quickly nocks an arrow. She doesn’t hesitate and immediately fires towards the defenseless doe. The first shot misses and pierces right through a thick oak tree.

“Damn it, hold on, I got ‘em. It looks like the one we saw earlier.” She starts chasing after the deer trying to get a better each shot, but each consecutive arrow just narrowly misses her target.

“Wait, hold up!” Zuriak shouts as he pursues her. Acting fast, he pulls out the dagger tied to his left arm and places it in his mouth while sprinting on all fours.

The distance between the two grows as Zuriak struggles to dodge the dense forest obstacles. As Idylya fades from his line of sight, he trips over a small stump jutting barely above ground, and falls face first in the mud.

“Shit.” He exclaims as he attempts to regain his composure. “Where did she go?”

He circles around the mud pit looking for any sign of movement.

“Wait where did my dagger go?” He exclaims, realizing he dropped it after that faceplant. Walking forwards, his claw brushes across a pointed object embedded in the dirt and covered in a thick layer of mud. Zuriak takes a heavy sigh, picks it back up and keeps a firm grip on it. He takes another view of his surroundings, but doesn’t see any indication as to where Idylya ran off to.

“She really does have zero patience…” He trails off and begins walking in a westerly direction towards the setting afternoon sun. In the distance, blocked off by dense foliage, he sees a piece of fabric swaying in the wind.

Zuriak jogs a bit to get a better view, and notices a tall, wooden pillar in the distance sporting a piece of fabric. It’s tattered around the edges with a few holes poking through.

Have we really traveled all the way to the disputed area?

He approaches the wooden pillar and observes beyond. Nothing really sets it apart from the side he was on, though the vegetation beyond does appear lush and greener.

Could she have been dumb enough to go into disputed territory for a stupid deer?

He thinks to himself as he turns around back the way he came. As the sun begins to set, a thick mist moves through forest from beyond the flagpole blanketing the ground.

Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek rings throughout the forest, lasting only a split second. Zuriak swiftly shifts his view back to the forest beyond looking for the source within the murky fog.

“What was…?” He steps forward past the pole. “Could she be…”

“Aaaaagh!” A familiar voice shouts.

Of course she would, I wonder what happened this time.

Zuriak darts to the source of the shout past the pole. A violet figure comes into view as he gets deeper in.

“Idylya!” He reaches her and examines her condition. She’s bleeding profusely from her right arm while using the other to heal it with water from her canteen. A green aura glows from the wound, slowing the blood flow. She doesn’t acknowledge his presence, focused entirely on the wound.

“Okay, don’t worry, I have medical supplies.” He removes his rucksack and digs through for some gauze, adsorbent cloth and a bottle of clear liquid. “This is going to sting, please hold still.” He removes the eye-dropper cap from the bottle, applies a couple drops on the tissue and starts cleaning the wound. She yelps at the sting but keeps calm as Zuriak disinfects and cleans the wound. After cleaning the area of excess blood, he begins wrapping her arm in gauze.

“Thanks.” She weakly responds, still lying on the ground.

“What happened? You bolted off and left me behind!” Zuriak replies, half upset, half concerned. “What even drove you to go past the marker?”

“I...don’t know…” Her expression shifts, appearing much more despondent.

“Well, you don’t need to explain now, but we need to get out of here, fast!” He exclaims, picking her up. She slowly stands up on her own on three legs while holding her injured arm. The fog thickens, surrounding them in every direction.

“Wait, where did we come from? I can’t see anything!” Zuriak circles around Idylya trying to find any familiar landmarks, but to no avail.

“It’s too dangerous to stay on the ground. Are you able to fly?” He asks, panicking.

“I...think so...” She looks down at her wound and gently places her claw on the ground. Without another word, she begins floating up through the trees and disappears above the canopy.

Zuriak flies up a few meters not far behind Idylya, but before he is able to escape, a sudden burst of pain tears at his chest. His speed slows drastically as he holds a claw against his chest and feels a warm liquid. His breathing increases now realizing the severity and he falls back towards the leafy forest floor. A large thump echoes through the dim forest caused by his collapse. Paralyzed in shock, he simply stares above at the darkening sky unable to scream for help. A pool of blood forms beneath him, presumably from an exit wound on his back as his vision begins to fade.