“Keep formation,” Cassian ordered quietly. His hand rested near his sword. “Eyes up.” Cassian was always the instinctive one. He could always tell when something was wrong.

Seraphine’s gaze swept the horizon, scanning for any movement. “Something's wrong,” she murmured before casting Valor's resonance to buff the group in case anything went wrong. 

Kael gave a low grunt. “A trap maybe?.”

Even Eryx could feel they were in danger. He glanced over and looked at Elira as she brought out her bow which he noticed he had never seen her actually use because she used her wrist launcher more. 

Cassian’s reply was cut short by the hiss of arrows.

“DOWN!”

The first volley rained from the cliffs, precise and deliberate. Cassian’s pauldron rang as a shaft deflected off metal. Elira ducked behind a rock, scanning for enemy movement, as Kael yanked her to cover.

Seven figures descended the slope. They were masked, fast, and silent. Their movements were clean, almost ritualistic. Assassins, Cassian realized. 

Cassian drew his broad blade . “Defensive circle! Seraphine, keep the buff up, they are assassins”

Seraphine pressed her hands together, “Blessed light, shield their hearts and bones,” she muttered the prayers she had learnt as a kid. 

Eryx also held a defensive stance. 

A faint shimmer ran across the group, a translucent veil of radiance that caught the sun like mist. Kael charged forward under the blessing, his movements suddenly sharper, faster. His blade split through an attacker’s guard, cutting deep.

Cassian sprinted towards another of the assassins, their blades clashing in a deadly rhythm. Elira knocked three arrows at once on her bowstring and released, one arrow burying itself in the head of an assassin while the other two thudded into the chest of another.

Cassian, still locked in a fierce duel with the assassin, darted a worried glance toward Seraphine. His eyes widened as he saw the remaining two assassins closing in on her with deadly intent. "SERAPHINE!" he roared, bursting into a sprint as he overpowered his opponent with a surge of brute force. He charged toward her, his blade flashing in the light.

Eryx reacted before he could reach her, casting a barrier of ice around her.

"I got it," Eryx said with a smile, giving the thumbs up motion, almost childlike.

 

"Well, at least he's contributing something," Cassian said to himself before turning back to face the assassin. 

Eryx helped Seraphine up and she thanked him.

The assassin Kael cut down earlier, stood back up, dug his hands into his cloak and brought out a potion. He drank it, and silently chanted, "Oh mother earth, bring back my valor," and in an instant, his wounds were healed. 

He looked over at his opponent and laughed. Kael smirked back in return before saying "Finally, someone I can kill over and over" before dropping his daggers and unsheathing the sword he had been carrying.

The assassin moved with inhuman speed, catching up to Kael in an instant and almost taking out his eyes in the process, but Kael evaded. A dangerous situation, but Kael was excited at the prospect of something actually hurting him. He had been trained to fight people but he had spent most of his adventures fighting monsters instead. Now, here's someone that can feel emotions, and almost on the same level as him. 

Another assassin moving with speed rushed towards Elira trying to cover the distance before she could react. Elira moved out of the way, ran over to the assassin she took out earlier and retrieved her arrows from the body. She moved with steps that couldn't even be heard on the ground and tried positioning herself as far away from danger as possible. She tried shooting her arrows at the assassin but it proved ineffective, the more she tried to create distance, the closer the assassin got. Getting frustrated, she dropped her bow and loaded her wrist launcher, darting two arrows in quick succession towards the assailant. 

Then boom, faster than she could react, a blade grazed her cheek, drawing blood. The assassin's hidden blade had flown towards her but it didn't stab her, she took aim again.

Her fingers twitched as she tried to launch an arrow. Then her hand slowly lowered.

Her heart lurched. "What…?" She muttered.

A cold numbness began crawling down her neck, spreading fast. Her breath became ragged. She touched her cheek again and felt not pain, but a strange, heavy warmth.

Her eyes darted to the blade lying in the dirt, its edge slick with a faint green sheen.

“Poison…” she whispered. No. Not poison. Her limbs were locking up. A paralytic.

The assassin’s smirk deepened as her bow slipped fully from her hands. She tried to move, to shout for Cassian, but her voice came out as a strained gasp.

Her knees hit the ground. Her vision started to blur, and a chilling realization slammed into her: she was going to die.

"So this is how I go" she muttered silently.

"By Aelthar’s breath, cleanse what corrupts, mend what fades.”

Seraphine's voice rang out. Her breath hitched, her lungs burning, as the weight of her team's well-being crushed her. The spells she'd cast to keep them alive and fighting now pulsed through her veins like a living thing, draining her from the inside out, but she had noticed Elira getting poisoned.

Elira felt a warmth she could recognize. Seraphine had cleansed the effect of the poison on her body. She smirked, got back up and aimed again. 

Seraphine sat on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She put her hands inside her pouch and brought out a green colored potion and drank it. In a few seconds, she was no longer dizzy and was back in action, ready to buff anyone who needed it, but she was more focused on Cassian, watching his every movement. Some might say she's overprotective but there's nothing she wouldn't do for the love of her life. She had always loved him way before the Wyvern hunt. They first met as kids, with her being awestruck by him and him thinking she was nothing more than a nuisance. She had saved his life on one particular occasion and they had grown closer ever since then.

Her thoughts was interrupted by the battle beside her. It was Eryx fighting another assassin. This one was different, at least he looked different from the others. He moved calmly and had that swagger about him that made his presence unmistakable, he was the leader. 

Around his neck was a golden pendant in the shape of a small dragon which was almost invisible against his dark clothing and hood.

"What do you want from us" Eryx inquired. 

The man was quiet for a while before answering in a baritone voice 

"Your mission has been compromised," he paused, "we are here to find the artifact you are searching for, but we need to eliminate you." the man said in a somewhat arrogant tone.

"But we don't even have it yet" Eryx was confused at this point, he had never met them before even though he had met his fair share of assassins in the past.

 

"That is no concern of yours" the man responded before pulling out his daggers and getting ready to attack.

"Oh mother earth, be my strength," he said before launching at Eryx who quickly put distance between both of them.

Eryx stood tall, arcane runes glowing on his arms, his eyes blazing with icy fury as the assassin lunged at him with a poison-tipped dagger. With a whispered command, the air around him rippled, and a shimmering barrier of frost erupted from the ground, encasing the Assassin's blade.

The Assassin snarled, yanking his dagger free as Eryx countered with a swipe of his hand. Frost magic crackled through the air, sending shards of ice hurtling towards the assassin. He dodged and weaved, his movements fluid and deadly, but Eryx was relentless.

"Frostbite," Eryx whispered again, his voice like a winter's chill. The air around the assassin began to crystallize, ice forming on his skin, slowing his movements. He growled, his eyes flashing with anger, and launched himself at Eryx.

Their battle raged on, a whirlwind of steel and ice, each blow met with counter and parry. Eryx's magic was a force to be reckoned with, but the Assassin was no novice, his skills honed by years of mercenary work.

As they clashed, Eryx sensed a flicker of doubt in the man's movements. Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed a burst of frost magic, encasing the Assassin's sword arm in ice. The Assassin bellowed in rage, his eyes flashing with hatred, but Eryx was already moving, ice sword in hand.

In a moment, Eryx was up in the sky, his eyes glowing, frozen constructs like wings showed up on his back. He looked down at the assassin. The man, still stuck would have shown signs of fear had his face been revealed, but all his emotions were concealed.

 

"No, it can't be" the man muttered to himself.

He had been told the team was powerful, but not this powerful. This is ridiculous. With the exception of Eryx, they could have taken out the team with great effort. But now, he looked around, two of his team mates were dead, three were locked in combat and one was so afraid of the scene in front of him that he couldn't even move. 

Even the team was looking up in the sky in horror, the assassins fighting took the opportunity and ran for the woods. 

"ERYX NO!" Cassian yelled. "We already got them," but even he knew his words couldn't reach the mage in the sky.

"Fucking mages" he muttered to himself. 

"Shield us" he said to Seraphine.

The team was already moving, Kael and Elira joined Seraphine in a circle while she put a shield up. 

"Frozen Requiem" Eryx casted his spell. His ice sword split into seven giant copies and all crashed into the assassin. It hit the ground and created a giant crater. The devastation that followed after was so mighty, even Seraphine's shield could not protect the team. The shield broke after a little resistance and the team got buried under a pile of frozen ice and rubble. 

The assassin stood, still in the position he was before the attack, frozen in ice with several protrusions of ice blades coming out of him. His body, pale blue propped up in some twisted way. 

Eryx finally floated back down, with the blue Arcane glow fading away. He finally noticed the damage he had done.

"Hello," he called out, his voice rising in desperation but he got no response. "Can anyone hear me?" his voice was louder now and the panic was setting in. 

He staggered forward, the frost still clinging to his boots, crunching beneath his feet as he moved. Steam rose from the shattered ice field, the air thick with the lingering chill of his magic. His breath came fast, forming mists in the afternoon.

The entire layout had been changed. The once hot afternoon had been turned into a frosty day.

“Cassian?” he called again, his voice cracking. He stepped over a jagged ridge of ice, the edges glittering like shattered glass. No response. Only the sound of cold wind sweeping through. 

He raised his hand, a faint glow of blue magic flaring to life as he tried to sense life signatures nearby.The light flickered weakly, then pulsed faintly beneath the ice mound ahead.

He rushed forward, his eyes fixed on the icy expanse ahead, and whispered "Kindle heart." The air around him began to shimmer, a gentle warmth emanating from his outstretched hands as the spell took hold, melting the ice with a soft hiss. 

Seraphine lay beneath, breathing weakly. Relief hit him like a wave.

“Hang on,” he whispered, digging further.

 A groan sounded behind him, Kael, half-buried, bloodied but alive.

“Damn it, Eryx,” Kael muttered. “You trying to kill us too?”

Eryx didn’t reply, he just kept moving. A few feet away, he found Cassian and Elira huddled under what was left of the shield. Cassian stirred as Eryx pulled the ice off. 

Cassian opened his eyes slowly, coughing. “Eryx… remind me never to stand near you when you’re angry.”

Eryx lowered his head. “I—I didn’t mean to—”

Cassian cut him off with a tired sigh. “We’ll talk later. Just get Seraphine stable.”

Eryx nodded. As the team pulled themselves from the rubble, he glanced back at the crater, the assassin’s frozen body impaled in blue ice.

Cassian knelt beside Seraphine, brushing frost from her cheek. Her skin was pale, her breathing shallow until it became stable. 

Eryx noticed the team didn't have much worry about Seraphine. 

Cassian noticed it on his face.

"Oh, she does this thing where her body starts healing itself," he said.

Kael continued "Makes me real jealous. I wish I had that too you know."

Elira didn't say anything. She gave Eryx a long stare before shaking her head and walking off towards the Nyraxes to check if they are okay.

 

Realization hit Eryx hard like a rock "Wait, is she a druid?" He asked inquisitively.

"Something like that" Cassian shrugged. He always tried his best to stay away from magic. All he needed was his brawn and brains.

Seraphine squeezed his hands as she slowly stirred back gently.

"How long was I out for?" she asked.

Kael and Cassian rushed to her side.

"Four weeks I'm afraid" Kael said matter of factly.

"What?" Seraphine screamed. But before she could continue her questions, Kael laughed and told her he was just joking. 

"I'm sorry, I got carried away," Eryx spoke up.

 

"It's alright," she smiled at him.

"Although it was dangerous, I'm just glad we have someone like you on our side," she paused, then continued. "Just let us know next time okay?"

"Okay" he said before walking off towards Elira and letting Seraphine heal Cassian and Kaels wounds.

 

He followed the snow prints on the floor and located Elira who was storing her bow and arrows.