Brooke: The Huntress

The creature resembled a large deer with four long ears and six legs, with four extra antlers on its back, arcing down over its side. Six legs, Brooke thought, as she quietly stalked it through the forest, to better aid its mobility. The Cagebeast relied very heavily on the ability to make unpredictable twists and turns when there was danger. Then, there were the antlers arcing down around its back. They gave the beast its name, and their spikes protected it from predators. A predator would charge at the beast, be repelled by its spikes, and then while the predator was still reeling, it would run away. That was how the Cagebeast had stayed alive for so long. It wasn’t a creature of Earth. Clearly it was based on a deer, but its very essence had been warped by the Elysian Planes. Perhaps three deer had been mashed together into this creature. But with that warping came an unearthly strength. The antlers were strong enough to forge into weapons, and the hide could warm a family on a cold night. Not to speak of the meat, which would, of course, be delicious. Despite its strengths, it had weaknesses. The cage could stop an angry lion, but a flying arrow would bypass it. Brooke steadied her breathing. The beast’s four ears were flicking around, trying to hear for predators. Eventually, the deer decided it was safe, and leaned its head down to eat some grass. Brooke pulled out her weapon- a mechanical compound bow. She nocked an arrow. A fire spirit’s voice awoke in her head. It seemed eager to be used. Its sudden appearance startled her. Without realizing what she’d done, she took a sharp breath. The beast’s head suddenly rose, its four ears moving in as many different directions as it could. A few seconds later, it ran away, deeper into the woods. Shit, Brooke thought. It’s aware of me. This one won’t be clean. As Brooke followed it, more spirits began to appear around her and follow her- strange little translucent orbs that spoke in wordless thoughts in her mind. Brooke had no idea why spirits were so attached to her. According to her block leader Sam, they just took a liking to certain kinds of people. Fire was for people with wild, angry hearts that were nonetheless disciplined, and wind was for people with strong focus, both traits she had. You could ignore them if you wanted to, but spirit mages were rare and effective- it would be a waste to not use spirit magic. It could have a range of effects, all of them elemental- shoot fire, blast wind, control water, and so on. On the other hand, Julien, her partner, used a form of daemonic witchcraft. All it cost them was a bit of their life force every now and then, and some hot food once a month to give to their daemon. Anyone could enter into a contract with a daemon too, provided there were some around. In exchange for that power, daemon users lacked versatility. All of them were incredibly strong attackers and weak defenders. Furthermore, unlike humans, daemons would not reincarnate if they died, meaning they had to be protected well. (Elysium was nothing like Earth, a fact Brooke had gotten far too familiar with by now.) Celestial spellcraft was the third form of magic. It was magic gifted by angels- winged demigod-like beings- to their bound human for whatever reason, to be used as the human saw fit. It was the source of her friend Aditi’s fire magic. Unlike witchcraft, spellcraft could be defensive or utility-based, but it could never offer more than one power. Furthermore, it couldn’t be used against the angel who gifted the power in the first place. They were immune to their own magic. That was a huge weakness when your home city was sieged by angels every four months. Somehow, spirits, whose only weakness was, well, relative weakness, seemed like the strongest long-term option in the end. The Cagebeast was now in sight. It had taken to walking now, with its ears flicking around. Brooke readied her bow. The small army of spirits that had followed her asked to help, but Brooke refused. A wind-backed arrow would be easy to hear coming, and a fire-tipped arrow would, well, make Julien laugh at her. Brooke drew her bow, aimed carefully for the space between the Cagebeast’s antlers, and fired the opening shot. The arrow struck the beast in the side. It bellowed in pain, then attempted to run away. Brooke nocked another arrow and called on a wind spirit, which flew to her arrow. She drew the bowstring, aimed, and released it once more. It struck the rear of the animal, further wounding it. Blood poured out of its two wounds as it stumbled away into the underbrush. Brooke nocked another arrow and chased it. If fate was kind, this would be the death of the creature, and she could return home with her kill. The creature had taken to running on the four legs Brooke hadn’t wounded, but it only got about a hundred meters away before it collapsed on its side. Brooke ran up to it. It stared at her as it panted and wriggled. Brooke realized that the animal had ended up in a clearing. A small shrine had been erected there, or perhaps it had always been there- it was impossible to tell. She walked up to it. It was a small tree growing upon a stone seat, surrounded by plants- most likely, a powerful spirit was bound to the tree. Suddenly, she heard wingbeats. Brooke hid in the underbrush as an angel descended from the sky and landed in front of the shrine. She glanced at the Cagebeast. It didn’t make a sound. Brooke assessed the situation. The angel’s wings were shaped like a butterfly’s and colored a dull green. It appeared to be female and human-formed, with her hair neatly quaffed in an updo. From her side, she unsheathed her sword, which appeared to be a long needle. Then, she plunged it into the ground. Brooke watched as the grass around the needle began to curl and turn brown, its area of influence steadily growing larger. She was quiet, and carried out her actions with a bit of nervousness- most likely, she was not sent by NFNT, but rather acting on her own orders. A grudge against the spirit? The desire to burn down the Stronghold? Who could say? The spirits that were following her began to fill the back of her mind with fear and urging. Even spirits of different types were comrades and respected their elders- it didn’t surprise her that they wanted to protect this one. Brooke pointed her bow at the angel. She called upon a fire spirit and a wind spirit, which ignited the tip of her arrow and prepared to propel the arrow into the heart of her enemy. Suddenly, the Cagebeast bleated. Not now! Brooke shouted in her head. The angel turned around and pulled her sword out of the ground, stopping the circle of rot from expanding. She approached the sound. Her eyes widened when she saw the animal, still living, with two fresh arrows in its side. She knew immediately that there was a human nearby. Brooke circled away from the angel as it began looking around. Its sword was laced with some kind of powerful poison, that was evident. But could it defend against an attack? A wind spirit spoke up in her mind. It had an idea to keep the angel off Brooke’s scent. Brooke reviewed the plan it had over a few silent seconds. She gave an affirmative nod as she once again drew her bow. Upon the shrine, the wind began to stir through the small tree. The angel pointed her sword at the tree as more and more wind coalesced around it. Within a few seconds, the wind had become a small tornado. The angel was alarmed, and stepped back, taking a fighting stance. This one didn’t seem like much of a fighter, but whether fight or flight, Brooke wouldn’t let it escape. Brooke backed up as she aimed at the angel’s back. After a short pause, she aimed slightly to the right, away from the angel’s point of view. As the wind began to fade, and the angel readied her stance to fight, Brooke loosed her arrow. The arrow flew in the direction Brooke aimed in. But halfway through its journey, the wind arced around it, changing its course. The arrow flew even faster towards its target, propelled by wind spirits, before it plunged itself into the back of the angel’s head with a splatter of green blood. She fell to the ground, dead. A few seconds later, her body began to fade away into motes of golden light. Brooke ran into the clearing. She glanced at the shrine- it was intact, even if the grass nearby was not. The cagebeast’s life was fading away, and one final arrow from Brooke finished it off permanently. The hunt was complete. … Block 43 ate well that night. The cagebeast’s venison was plentiful enough that all 30 of the people in their block got to have a slice of it. Julien congratulated Brooke on her successful hunt with a big hug while she polished two of the beast’s antlers. When Brooke told them about the angel she’d encountered, Julien gave her an angry look. “Why didn’t you run away?” they asked. “You could have died.” “It’s not that I care for the spirits,” Brooke said, turning to them. “It’s that I hate the angels. They get off killing Elysium’s wildlife, murdering humans, and attacking spirits for the sake of tearing down the Stronghold and enslaving us again. I want them to suffer every time they try.” “You never change,” Julien said, though Brooke couldn’t tell whether they felt pride or exasperation. In Elysium, every day was a battle. For Brooke, even more so. The human way of life was precious- and she would never let any angel take away the feeling of wind in her hair and her bow by her side.