Iara - Sentinel

Rumors were spirling around Roenden, a creature of shadow terrorizing the locals of a northern village, but no one could catch it. There was a reason for that, though, not many had tried. The targetted village was so far north that it was a challenge just to make it there alive. Those who felt sympathy for the village hoped a local would come into power to help, but until then everyone listened without doing much to offer aid.  

Iara was young, and an aspiring Warden, but first she needed to complete her Sentinel training. Her task, find and eliminate the shadow haunting the village far north. She wasn’t a local of the village, but she wasn’t far from it and her thick fur made the short journey significantly easier. Once she was given her task, she didn’t hesitate. She gathered her resources and armour before heading out without a word to her friends. 

It was late in the evening when she spotted the village ahead. Iara dropped her head to push through the thick snow as the cold wind whipped around her. 

Iara wasn’t sure what to expect when she arrived at the village, but she stepped into the center of the square and found no one around. Houses were boarded up, but Iara saw lights flicker in some windows before they were hurriedly extinguished. As if the inhabitants of this place were afraid of her arrival. 

“So this is the right place,” Iara mumbled to herself as she wandered around the homes of the village, not sure what to do next to lure the beast out.

Thankfully, or not, out of nowhere the light of the sky blacked out. Iara could faintly make out swirls of shadows that made up the blackness surrounding her. At that moment, she felt her young naive confidence falter. 

“Go… back…” A chilled voice hissed. 

Iara heard whimpering in the house closest to her. 

“No,” Her voice, much to her surprise, sounded like the confidence she thought was slipping away. 

Briefly, Iara watched as red eyes appeared in the shadows. The flash of red eyes was a trick the creature had picked up to scare the people and reoseans of this village. However, Iara kept her outward appearance still, to look unfazed as she wondered if this task was too much for her. 

A deep chuckle echoed through the space. The smooth deep feminine voice that followed said, “Ah, you’ll regret that.”

Iara attempted to stay calm as she looked around for the creature’s body. She knew well enough from her studies that this was either shadow magic or an illusion, but if she was going to beat this creature, she needed the body. Iara thought about antagonizing the shadowy creature further but was afraid it would go too far. However, without many options she could think of, Iara sent out small batches of lightning. Each cluster of sparks brightened the space for Iara to see she was alone in the shadow dome. 

Iara sent a bolt of lightning straight up to see how it would affect the dome. The bolt scattered the shadows in swirls of black, but only temporarily. The dome reformed once the bolt had passed through. 

“There’s gotta be more than this,” Iara muttered a loud. 

Suddenly, the shadows swirled and manifested in front of the dark blue puller. The shape they made grew more and more until they pulled away to reveal a multi-winged empyrian. Iara swallowed and tried to back away. 

“Is this enough?” The empyrian smirked, exposing her sharp teeth. 

Iara didn’t respond she only thought of ways to come out of this fight victorious. The seraph tyrian had a clear magical advantage, but Iara hoped that the empyrian’s size would be a disadvantage. She decided to put her theory to the test immediately. 

Iara’s thick paws pushed off the snow, sending her flying toward the dark empyrian. Snow kicked up around her as she powered through and launched at her target. Iara aimed her teeth to grab one of the tyrian’s wings. While her attack did surprise the empyrian, the large tyrian had mastery over her shadows and faded to nothing in a blink of an eye. Iara landed on the ground and quickly turned to see where her opponent had gone. 

The tyrian materialized on the other side of the shadowy dome and gave Iara a cold smile. Again, Iara opted for the element of surprise and sent bolts of lightning in quick succession toward the large creature. The empyrian laughed with cruel joy as she faded in and out of the shadows. 

“You won’t hit me that way,” The empyrian materialized next to Iara and whispered in her ear.

Iara immediately reacted with a burst of lightning from all directions. The only clue she had that one of her bolts landed was a faint grunt. However, her opponent didn’t reappear. 

“Not so confident now are you?” Iara huffed. Her magic as always was draining. She preferred fighting with her physical strength, but it was clear that wouldn’t work here. 

“You can’t win,” The tyrian hissed, “You’re already exhausted.”

The words rattled around in Iara’s head and as if she was commanded to feel her muscles fatigued. She was so tired that she struggled to stand. 

“Wh-What?” Iara gasped. 

The wicked empyrian reappeared, “I told you. You can’t win.”

Iara grunted as she hit the ground in an exhausted heap. She glared at the empyrian and tried to think of any way she could turn this around. She knew what she was feeling wasn’t real, it had to be the power of a mentalist to make her feel this way. As she thought about strategies, the shadowy empyrian stepped closer as they tried to taunt Iara. 

Iara made note of the creature’s approach and waited until it was face-to-face with her. The second Iara felt the shadow tyrian was close enough, she released a concentrated beam of many bolts of lightning. It was a direct hit as the shadow tyrian screeched and vanished. However, this time, the shadow dome disappeared with it. A few moments later the spell over Iara was lifted too. She stood surveying the area to make sure the creature was truly gone. 

It was dark this time of night, but unlike the darkness of the dome, Iara could see the moon and stars above. Iara conjured balls of lightning to further brighten the village square and verify it was clear. 

“Is she really gone?” A tired voice asked from a window. 

“She must be, I don’t feel that crushing dread,” Another voice added. 

Shortly after, Iara heard many doors opening and watched as reoseans and people cautiously stepped out of their homes. When they were certain all was well, they thanked Iara enthusiastically. However, Iara wasn’t sure the empyrian wouldn’t come back. She promised to return once she reported to her leader.

[1151]