[center][h3][color=996666][b]Aradeyr[/b][/color][/h3]__________________________________________________________________________________________________[/center]

Aradeyr watched with disdain as the beast rose his axe shielding himself from the full brunt of the acid, causing her shots to land in such a way that broke the weapon. She had had not intended on its destruction before it’s retrieval for study but she supposed now was not the time. The beast had stumbled to the ground in its haste and if nothing else the intended effect was successful. 

From a tree above and not far ahead a familiar voice welcomed her to the fray and she called back to him as he dropped swiftly onto the back of his companion, and took off ahead of her. [color=996666]“River! Artur!”[/color] she huffed, greeting them both between gallops. [color=996666]“What manner of ungodly creature is this!”[/color] she mused, more of a statement than a question. Catching up to him she watched intently as Ardur’s magic rippled across the beast, causing less damage than she would have imagined, but she was pleased nonetheless upon nearing close enough to see the enchantment of the creatures armor. She knew with almost certainty that though the beast possessed intelligence to some degree that some mastermind must lay in wait somewhere, and they must have been responsible for weaponizing the creature. Though the chance to analyze the magic it was laden with for clues as to whom that may be might never come, as they would likely need the Hybrid to dissolve more of it to bring it down successfully. Her thoughts raced with excitement at the possibilities, but that was immediately brought to a halt as the creature pelted Ardur with a displaced stone, sending him hurling behind the battlelines. The figure she’d seen slipping into the woods reemerged once more and was at his side in mere moments. Signature Aasimar magic emanating from the scene; she knew he was in more than capable hands and let her attention fall back to the beast, where two soldiers she was unfamiliar with seemed to misread the tone of battle and charged in recklessly without orders. They were disposed of almost instantly, bringing her attention to a peculiar spear, which had not buckled under the weight of the armor-clad corpse clashing against it. She could see now there were many of these positioned about, and as the beast cheered itself on at the demise of the first two soldiers, another two were closing in; the hybrid from before and now a half-elf she recognized. Wielding the axe fragment he prepared a powerful strike, one she would have thought would have given them quite a fair shot at leveling the beast, when instead, Gilead stole its attention, narrowly avoiding the attack. She looked on as the red aura dissipated, relieved to find it had no apparent effect on Gilead, though she was sure having riled the beast there had to have been more purpose in their placement than just for the sake of a gruesome sight. She pondered a moment, if the magic they were enchanted with would also be nullified by the beasts armor, or if perhaps, it had shifted its attention so swiftly to the lad because the opposite was true.

[color=996666]“Those spears..what purpose do they serve?”[/color] She questioned of River, but that would have to wait, as the beast was charging again, this time stopping short and almost as if reproducing the magic which brought him to the ground only moments before, it sent a massive wave through the earth, effectively trapping Gilead in his path. She readied her bow as few thoughts rushed to Aradeyr, dissecting them and their potentialities all at once. The beast proved easily angered, and thereby to distract, but if nearly being sliced in half by his own axe did not garner his attention what would? She surmised she may have had enough force magic built to direct at Gilead, rather than the beast, but the amount she would have to send, and the speed with which it would have to hit him to move the elf far enough to avoid danger could in itself be deadly, especially if she didn’t envelop him evenly. Moreover, it would require far more stamina than before. Coupling her magic with a moving object gave her a clear path to exert her force magic upon, but firing through empty airspace from afar was another matter. She could cast an illusion to shield him, but it would have required some sort of distraction to go undetected. As if answering her thoughts, within seconds River’s magic was at work. A water sphere struck the beast in the exposed area of armor, still glowing red with heat, and Aradeyr sent a single charged shot at the same area. Another pool of water formed and as the sheet of ice settled in the beast’s path Aredeyr sought to use the cover of steam rising around the creature to cast her spell. 

In a low hum, perhaps only loud enough for River to hear, a slew of ancient elvish rolled off her lips and Aradeyr’s eyes began to glow, the birthmarks beneath them illuminating as the illusion she envisioned manifested itself on the battlefield. A false image of Gilead now stood about 8 feet into the ice, sword drawn, hoping to convince the beast he had fumbled closer to attack in unison with River but more importantly, hiding the fact that his true self was now a lone glimmer, hidden amongst the backdrop of the forest behind him. The counterfeit was plainly visible, to Gilead as well, yet those capable of true seeing or unaffected by illusionary magics would also see either a faint shimmer slowly rippling along the edges of the rough shape of Gilead's figure, if they were to look intently enough, or Gilead himself in his true position. Similarly, to both the left and the right along the borders of where River’s ice ended she made it to appear it had stretched out an additional 10 feet in either direction. If by some chance it was intelligent enough to surmise Gilead would not have been foolish enough to draw near, the beast would not simply be charging around the roadblock River created. Having already made physical contact with the water magic, she was confident it would have little reason to doubt the authenticity of the extension of the ice, even if it were privy to the nature of the doppelganger.