Lorth ran on. It had been a mistake. A massive mistake that might cost him and his fellow elves their lives. Once they'd received the hushed command that they would be leaving this cesspit of a city, he had a fantastic idea. Gather a group of elves, then plunder the center of the mana forest. The fact that no expedition that went that deep ever returned didn't really register as something that could happen to him. Mana beasts were a known threat. He was confident that their group could deal with it. The cultivators… that was another issue entirely. Who would have guessed they were in the mana forest? Kin in such a place was so unbelievable that no one had even considered it. His failure to do so might very well kill him.

The expedition had started normally enough. The twenty interested elves weren't the best or the worst. They had experience in such delves. That was the critical part. They knew what to look for and were eager for the chance at wealth. Once they entered the forest, things seemed normal. A few mana beast attacks. Nothing special. The nothing became far more evident as they moved on. Soon, there were no more attacks. It didn't make sense. At such a depth, they should've seen something. They weren't close to the center at all. It didn't make any sense at the time. It was like something had culled all the beasts in the area. Reflecting on it now, Lorth realized that was precisely what had happened.

The first attack had been subtle. A loud crash from ahead had their party on high alert. They tensed, ready for some large mana beast, as the noise continued for a minute unabated. Then, silence. They waited nearly five minutes, tension straining their patience. Confused, the group was ready to move on when they finally noticed what had happened. Their band of twenty was reduced to seventeen. The rearmost three elves were gone, simply gone. It must've happened during all the commotion up front. A brief search found only a splash of crimson. Some had argued to turn back then. Lorth and most of the others were against it. Oh, how he'd wished he'd listened now. At the time, he thought it was an ambush predator. Now that they knew it was here, there shouldn't be any more issues. He'd been half right.

They proceeded more carefully from that point on. Each elf made sure their body spells were continuously active. It was a drain on their mana, but frequent rests would allow their pools to refill. They had continued going deeper into the forest's depths. That was when they'd come upon the cloaked figure.

The figure had stood covered in shadows on the opposite end of a small clearing. Whoever it was chose the spot carefully. The unknown person was far enough away to be relatively safe yet close enough to talk.

"Most groups turn around after losing a few," the cloaked figure had said.

Of course, things weren't making sense yet for Lorth or his fellow elves. They'd spat out the typical stream one would expect. Who are you? What are you doing here? Don't interfere… How naive they'd been. The distraction had cost them dearly.

Rat-kin had burst from the sides, silent harbingers of death like their smaller counterparts. They hadn't screamed a charge. They'd hardly made any noise. They'd just sprinted at them. The speed… The entire group must have had a haste spell active. Perhaps even greater haste. They'd moved so fast. They didn't engage them in combat. Instead, they'd run past knives slashing at throats or jabbing into exposed weakness. Their body spells had helped. What would've ended them all in seconds only killed three. Two had been slashed to ribbons by the passing kin. They'd cut them into sliced beef despite their body spells. Sure, they only knew the steel body spell, but still… It should've been enough to protect them. Either the weapons all had cutting enchantments, or the kin used strength spells. The last poor elf had a dagger in his eye.

It was then that it had finally clicked. These were the cultivators. All semblance of order vanished as they turned and fled. The elves all blindly fled down the path which they had come. Several cries of pain sounded behind him. Lorth didn't look back. This was the situation he was in now.

"GREATER HASTE!" Lorth chanted as several others did likewise. If he could only move faster, perhaps… his brief hope ended as movement ahead showed the cloaked figure blurring forward past them.

"Gods above…" Lorth whispered. He must have superior haste active. How else could a kin surpass them? That, or the famed power of the cultivators, was not exaggerated.

"Stand your ground!" Lorth shouted. Most of the elves obeyed, gathering in a tight cluster. Three ignored his command, dashing ahead. Their screams of pain made their fate clear.

"BARRIER!" Lorth shouted. He began channeling his mana into the shield as two other elves assisted. The others readied spells for any kin that approached. Such a formation had been drilled into them early on. It was a standard tactic, with three on defense, the rest focused on offense. It'd been proven across many wars over the centuries. It should hold against the cultivators. Lorth sweated as he waited to see if it was true.

And he kept on waiting. For twenty minutes, no sound came from the surroundings. Only the rustle of wind or the snuffling of small mana beasts could be heard.

"I, I think they left," One elf said.

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"They didn't leave you twigged brain idiot!" Lorth shouted.

"Well, where are they?" Another elf asked.

"Obviously, they're waiting for our guard to drop!" Another elf growled.

"So, you expect us to wait here? For how long? They could be getting the Magebane while we wait!" The elf's panic began to spread. The Magebane… Lorth suppressed a shudder. If she showed up, they were all dead.

"We should make a break for it," the first elf said again. "They might have gone to fetch her."

Lorth wanted to argue but couldn't. Staying here wouldn't save them. He reluctantly nodded.

"Get ready. Let's drop the barrier on three. Keep your body spells active," Lorth said.

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three…"

The barrier dropped. Lorth half expected a rain of daggers to descend on him. Instead, nothing happened. Had the others been right? It seemed ludicrous. Suddenly, two elves bolted before he could shout out a warning. Lorth watched as they disappeared into the foliage. He was half tempted to follow suit.

"Move together. Watch each other's back. Have your spells ready," Lorth said. They moved in unison for the next five minutes without anything happening. That was when they saw the first dead elf. He lay in a pile. Not that he was crumbled into one. He was in an actual pile. Dismembered limbs formed a teepee over the torso. The hands and feet had been lashed together, creating a crude bowl. Resting in the bowl was the elf's head. He'd been one who ran after the barrier had dropped. The kin had done all that in just a few minutes. Lorth felt a freezing chill spread throughout his body. Another minute passed before they found the second elf. Well, most of him. It was only clear that the pile of flesh was an elf thanks to the head left on the meaty remains.

That distraction cost them. A massive rat-kin suddenly plowed through them with no more difficulty than a bear parting brambles. The black fur rat-kin knocked them all over, grabbing two elves, his rampage unslowed. Before any spell could be released, the rat-kin carried his prizes into the thick jungle, and out of their sight.

"BARRIER!" Lorth shouted again as the elves huddled near him for protection. There were only four of them left now.

"FORCEBLAST!" A cry came from beyond.

"ICE STORM!" Those chants were from the two who were taken.

A chill wind flowed around them as Lorth's hopes rose. Did they get them? He glared at the surrounding vegetation as if he could part the foliage with his will alone.

"Gods above!" One of the elves cried, followed by a scream of agony.

"FUCK! MY ARM! YOU FILTHY KIN TOOK MY FUCKING ARM!" More cries came from the doomed pair. Lorth had enough.

"RUN!"

He dropped the barrier, renewing his haste spell.

His heart hammered as the pair of shouting elves suddenly went quiet. He wished they suffered longer so he'd have a better chance. That became redundant as the four elves entered another clearing where the cloaked figure stood at the far end.

The figure blurred toward them, moving in a spiral that floated above the ground like a high-speed ballista bolt. Before Lorth could act, the figure of death was past him. No less than five slashes had raked across his flesh. Thin lines of blood soaked his clothes. Only his recently mastered orichalcum body spell saved him. His companions weren't so fortunate. They lay in blood tatters on the ground, the cloaked figure above them.

"Bastard!" Lorth shouted. He no longer thought about running. He only wanted to hurt this fucking kin who had hunted him like an animal.

"BODY OF THE THUNDER GOD!" It was his greatest spell. It would have qualified him to be an elite if he had a larger mana pool. As it was, he could only maintain the spell for a minute, less now, as his mana was already half gone.

Energy crackled as it surrounded his torso, filling his limbs with raw power. His mind became sharper, his reflexes tripling. He would tear this kin apart if it was the last thing he ever did. Which it would be. Mana starved, the other kin would effortlessly kill him. He didn't care as he charged at the cloaked figure.

The figure simply cocked his head as if slightly impressed. Lorth raised his fist back. His blow had the force of a lightning bolt behind it as it came for the kin's head. The figure leaned to the side, avoiding the blow. A guiding hand and shove added to Lorth's momentum as a tail tangled his feet.

Oh yeah… kin have tails… Lorth thought as he crashed with an explosion of lightning that killed everything in a small circle around him… except for the kin. Blood splattered from his mouth from the force of the impact. The power unleashed was so great it caused him to bounce upwards as he screamed. The kin seized his head with both hands at the apex of his unintended ascension. A paw was planted in his back, pinning that part to the ground as the kin pulled. Lorth neck stretched to an almost comical length. He vaguely felt like a toy in the grasp of a cruel child. At least there wasn't time for much pain. Even with the spell active, his neck couldn't withstand the kin's might. Blood splashed on the forest floor as his head tore free, along with a good chunk of his spine. Lightning arced briefly between the severed head and the body before sputtering out. Lorth died the way an intrusive bug might, with no chance of resistance.

***

Hamal tossed the head aside. His hands were slightly numb, but that was all. The spell the mage used was impressive. A year ago, he would've been killed. Now, it wasn't even a consideration.

"You got the last few?" His brother Tallous asked, emerging from the forest. He was the largest of Hamal's siblings. He had shiny black fur, which he spent far too much time fussing over. Fatania had repeatedly whacked him on the head for such pride, but it never took. Hamal's fur looked drab in comparison, a simple gray like his mother's. Nor was he powerfully built like his brother. He was wiry with lean muscles that had only become more defined as he grew.

"They're all dead." Hamal tossed the head off the side. Let the beasts eat them. It was better that way. He looked down at his hands. He'd done all that with just mana. How much stronger would he be with ki? He'd soon find out.

"Let's report back to Mother," Hamal said as the other rat-kin gathered.

"Sure. Mom will know what to do," Tallous agreed. "Perhaps she can tell us why there've been so many more incursions lately."

"I hope so," Hamal said as the rat-kin started back towards Azure's Rest. The mages in Deepmere have been acting weird lately. It was odd. Then again… Hamal looked to the west, where he knew the wall of mist was approaching. Perhaps not. He hoped his mother had a plan. They needed one.

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