The farm was just that. A farm. It fell in line with Azura's expectations… mostly. There were large fields, a silo, a rather lovely house, and the kin… Kin wandered the fields collecting the harvest before the weather got much colder. What did not meet her expectations were the mages. Three mages wandered back and forth, watching the kin. They didn't do anything as bad as using torture spells, but the way the kin flinched when they neared was enough to send Azura's blood boiling. Perhaps she should see if her blood-attuned ki would let her boil their blood while alive.

"Focus!" Hamal hissed, breaking her from her dark thoughts.

"I am," Azura whispered.

The four of them were hiding near some thick brush at the edge of the farm. Gerald was grim and silent. Tabatha was all nervous excitement. Gwen was smiling viciously. The darkness in Azura could relate to that grin. Hamal was the only one on task. Azura took a calming breath.

"I'm good," Azura said. "How are we going to handle this?" She could just charge out there.

"Whatever you do, don't charge out there," Hamal said.

Oh…

"Why not?" Tabatha asked.

"We have the element of surprise," Hamal continued. "The trouble is that the mages are spread out. If you go out there, they might have time to act."

"I can handle them," Azura said dismissively.

"What if they take hostages? What if they decide to kill the kin instead of letting us get them?" Hamal asked.

Azura froze. She'd never considered that.

"Let's get closer. I can take out one, maybe two, before anyone notices. Azura, what kind of long-range attacks do you have?" Hamal asked.

"… None."

"None?" Gerald asked in surprise.

"That's not how cultivators work."

"That's fine," Hamal said. He pointed to a cluster of trees. "I'll be there. The shade will entice people to rest under it. That will be the best time to strike. The rest of you see the tall grass over there." Hamal pointed to a field not far away. "I want you to stay low and circle to that spot. Then, slowly crawl forward. Don't get too close. Just stay ready. When I yell, I want you to attack. Neutralize the mages however you can. It might be some time before I find the right time to strike. Be patient. Don't do anything until I do."

Azura swallowed. This was so much different than before. Those times, it had been a fight. She hadn't had much time to think. This was different. It felt like murder…

"You can do this," Hamal said, clasping her arm as he moved off.

Azura nodded. She had said it would be good training for the others. In truth, she was the one being trained. Had Fatania known? Probably. How had Hamal managed to do things like this so often?

Slowly, Azura and the others made their way forward. Tabatha was quick and as quiet as one would expect from a rabbit-kin. Gwen still had that vicious smile as she stalked effortlessly forward. Azura felt awkward but was silent as she glided forward with her ki. The problem was Gerald. The bear-kin was too big.

"I'll stay here," Gerald growled. "If I get any closer, we might be seen." Azura nodded and got into position, her heart racing in anticipation. That stopped after the first ten minutes. Then, unbelievably, she got bored after the next twenty. Several times, she could have sworn Hamal would act, but he didn't. With nothing to do, Azura reached out to feel the mana around her. She stopped. She could feel the mana, which was thinning thanks to her core. That wasn't surprising. What was the blood… She could feel the blood around her. And not just within the radius of her ki control. She could feel it all over.

The ichor of the insects beneath her. The blood of the kin as they worked the fields or of her friends hidden nearby, and the magical blood of the mages… She focused on that blood. It was easy to discern the mages from the others with their large mana pools. With her new senses, she saw the problem. There weren't three mages. There were six. No doubt Hamal could see them from his vantage point and was having trouble finding a good opportunity.

Azura's lack of a long-range attack was an issue. She thought about it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't devise a way to attack beyond her ki range. Frustrated, she clenched her fingers into the soil. Azura stopped. She had grasped a stone the size of an egg. A long-range attack… Suddenly, she returned to the rooftops with Toren, where they had hidden, armed with a bag of rotting food. Where they had thrown it upon their foes. This could work. It might also provide Hamal with the chance he'd been waiting for.

Azura carefully lifted the stone with her ki, aiming it at the nearest mage with her blood sense. Azura prayed to any god that would listen as she hurled the stone with all the acceleration her ki could manage before it left her sphere of control. There was a crack of thunder as the stone was launched. Fortunately, the stone was already beyond her ki control range; otherwise, it would have been spun off course as Azura jumped in surprise. The targeted mage was suddenly flung back as his blood became alive in Azura's senses. She could feel it now. It called to her. She ignored it as she got ready to pounce as the other five mages came running.

"What the fuck was that!" A mage shouted as he rushed toward Azura's position. As the last mage crossed beneath the tree, the five suddenly became four as Hamal struck. Azura could sense the difference in the blood as the owner was killed. Then they became three as another mage, around twenty feet from Hamal, died. Probably a throwing knife. Damn, he was deadly…

"SHIT! Clarence is dead! Looks like a fucking forcebolt spell took him in the chest."

"ATTACK!" Another one yelled. His face drained as he saw his dead companion. Azura gave them no further time to act. She launched herself directly at the cluster of mages, their blood making it easy to know where they were. She didn't think. She just struck. The first mage was utterly unaware when Azura's fist landed on his face. The result was similar to a blacksmith swinging a hammer at an apple. There was nothing of substance left from the neck up. The grass and other mages were decorated with splattered gore.

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Azura turned, ready to fight the others, when something unexpected happened.

The last two mages dropped to their knees. "Please don't kill me!" They shouted, cringing before her. Of all the responses Azura had expected, this wasn't any of them. The mages, both men, shook in fear, and from the smell of urine, their undergarments had suffered from her unexpected assault.

"Umm…" Azura was unsure what to do when Hamal rushed to her side. He appeared momentarily confused as well. The others rushed forward. Tabatha, after seeing the dead bodies, vomited in the tall grass. Gerald ran to the largest cluster of kin, who appeared terrified. Gwen seemed excited.

"Let me kill them!" Gwen shouted in glee as she rushed forward.

"No! Please!" The men begged, snot flowing from their noses.

"Wait," Azura said. It seemed so surreal. The mages were begging for mercy. Azura shook her head. The mages were begging for their fucking lives. Since when did this shit happen!? Azura looked to the pitiful men and then to the two she killed. Suddenly, they were no longer the mage oppressors. They were people. Bile wanted to rise in Azura's stomach, but her ki-powered body wouldn't let it. Any food she had in there immediately became fuel for her ki.

"How many other mages are here?" Hamal asked, already recovered. The mage turned and, seeing the other victims of Hamal, shivered anew.

"It's just us left. I swear," a mage sniveled.

"Great!" Gwen said. "Can I kill them both? Please."

"No!" Tabatha shouted after she had finished retching. "We can't kill them. They surrendered."

"Sure you can. That makes it even easier," Gwen replied darkly, her smile growing.

Hamal just looked at Azura. Gerald was busy gathering the kin. Leadership… Azura pretended she wanted it. To be the glorious leader of the kin freedom movement. Were these the decisions she would have to make now? Gods below… she wasn't ready for this.

"It, it," Azura stuttered momentarily before getting the words out. "It'll work better if we leave them alive. They can spread the tale of our freeing the kin."

Gwen frowned in disappointment, then turned to glee. "That's right! You've seen the power of the Magebane. Spread the tale to the others. Let mages tremble before the might of the kin!" Gwen then grabbed a bit of dead flesh from the nearest mage and popped it in her mouth. She chewed as she grinned at them.

Eww… Gross… Azura thought.

Tabatha vomited again. The mages didn't notice the other's discomfort as they turned deadly white, watching the half-badger kin. Hamal didn't appear bothered as he produced some rope. He started binding the mages as he spoke.

"I thought you didn't have any range attacks." Hamal did a head nod toward where the mage with the exploded chest cavity lay.

"I… I threw a stone."

Hamal looked at her in surprise. The mages shivered. Then he chuckled. "The first weapon, huh? Can't beat a classic."

"That from a stone!?" Gwen said in shock, looking at the messy remains.

"Why don't the two of you loot the farmhouse," Hamal suggested.

"Sure," Tabatha said. She appeared eager to get away from the corpses. Gwen simply shrugged, walking toward the farmstead.

"You okay?" Hamal asked after he placed a black bag over the mages' heads. A mage couldn't cast at what they couldn't see. Or at least he didn't think so.

"Yeah," Azura said, sitting down. "It just felt different this time." Hamal sat next to her, resting an arm around her shoulders.

"It does. You were reacting to those who wanted to kill or hurt you. This time we're the aggressors. It's alright to hate it."

"That's the problem. I didn't hate it. A part of me wants to kill them…" She nodded at the mages who shrank away from her voice. "The blood calls to me…"

Azura demonstrated by beckoning to the blood. The blood essence answered her call. It was far easier than before. Eager even. A wave of fresh strength entered her. Azura's exhausted ki became refreshed, and then the rest of the essence was consumed, making more ki. Again it wasn't as much as the dragon's blood. Perhaps because it was more magically potent from gathering power from the leyline, it was still significantly more than absorbing the ambient mana. The path of blood… how much was she going to spill?

***

Gwen pulled over the vanity. She wanted to break something, not because there was anything valuable behind it. She had wanted to get her claws bloody, but it wasn't possible this time. Oh well. Perhaps at the next place. Tabatha was looting the kitchen when Gwen heard it. A small sniffling. She froze, her sharp eyes darting about. There! A faint scratch, like something had been moved. Gwen walked over and knelt, sniffing the air as her fingers touched the floor. Yes… There it was. She grinned. A trapdoor. Gwen started to get up to fetch the others when a sudden thought occurred to her. She repressed the laugh that wanted to escape her lips and knelt above the trapdoor once more.

"Are you okay down there?" Gwen asked.

A moment of silence, then a young voice answered. "Who are you?"

"Don't answer her!" Another child hissed.

"A friend," Gwen lied. "How many of you are down there?" No one answered. It didn't matter.

"Don't come up. The Magebane is here. If you come up, you'll die. She already killed the mages outside."

Gasps and fearful mutterings came from below.

"The Magebane… we're going to die," a whispered voice said. Another began to cry.

"Don't worry. Just keep quiet, and I'll get rid of her," Gwen said. "Just let me hide this door better." Gwen inverted her mana pool and dragged over a large dresser atop the trapdoor.

"Just stay here and be silent," Gwen said.

"Thank you so much," A voice said.

"Sure, it was my pleasure." Gwen stood and found Tabatha just as she finished searching the kitchen.

"All set?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah. I found some coin but not much else."

"Let's get out of here," Gwen urged. Tabatha gave her a confused look as she was ushered out of the home. Once out, Gwen motioned to the bag that Tabatha held.

"I'll light it. Stay out here," Gwen said. Tabatha handed over the bag from which she withdrew several bags of alcohol and a torch. Gwen went back inside, soaking the torch in the combustible fluid. This was followed by the walls and the dresser Gwen had moved. Once done, she took some flint and struck a spark, lighting the torch. Back outside, Gwen tossed the flaming brand into the home, where a fire trail lit up, spreading all over. The walls and floor started to burn, along with the dresser.

"Do you hear that?" Tabatha asked as Gwen led her back to the others. "It sounded like a shriek."

"It's just the timbers," Gwen said sagely. "When a home burns, it makes many weird noises."

"Oh…" Tabatha said. They took their time getting back to the others. Soon, thick smoke rose in the sky, and flames licked outside the home. A signal to the rest of the kin that it was safe.

The flames were higher than the treetops when they returned to the others.

"All set?" The Magebane asked.

"Yup," Tabatha said.

Gwen glanced at the restrained mages. The bag-covered mages sat in the grass, unaware of what was happening. She only wished she could see their faces for this next part.

"The house is burning nicely. The smoke's already rising high," Gwen said, intently watching them. They stiffen.

"What do you mean the house is burning?!" One of them shouted.

"What else could it mean, you idiot?" Gwen asked. "The house is fucking burning. It. Is. On. Fire." She said the last part slowly, like the pair were mentally deficient inbred twins.

The Magebane frowned at the mages as they tried to get up. Gwen noticed an invisible force shoved them back down.

"You aren't going anywhere," the Magebane said.

"The children are in there!" One man shouted.

"What!" The Magebane cried.

"No one was in there!" Tabatha yelled. "You're trying to trick us."

"She's right. I didn't see anyone," Gwen said happily.

"They would've hidden in the basement once they heard the fight," the mage said, trying to reach his feet again.

"You said there wasn't anyone left here!" The Magebane shouted as Tabatha's hand covered her mouth.

"We're told you might attack the outer farms. It's supposed to be for our safety," the mage wailed. The blind mage took several blind steps in the wrong direction before tripping. The man struggled for another moment before giving up and weeping. The other man curled up sobbing.

No one stopped either of them. Azura and Tabatha turned in horror to the burning pyre. It was already far too late. They watched numbly as the home burned, collapsing upon itself as they watched. Gwen did her best to hide her glee.

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