[h1][center][color=silver] Battle [/color][/center][/h1]

As the wolf charged, and his party took to their orders, Val steadied himself. That scream was all too familiar to him, and as it barreled for him he could not shake the memory that came with it. It had been the first time he had crossed the border into Scorned territory...

There had been three Templar's that night, Jok, Aliyah and himself, tasked with reconnaissance deep behind enemy territory. They had set up camp in a village on a cold night, Val had used his pyromancy skills to light a small fire in the fireplace of a house. To mask their presence, they shut all windows and kept a watch on the door for any sign of the enemy. It had been Val's watch, fighting sleep and cold with little more then a blanket and freezing water. The same scream broke through that silent night, like a tear in a fine fabric. It made his adrenaline pump, there was a child in danger. Now, Templar code would go against this, the saving of an innocent but Jok thought differently. Not all Templar's were like Val, some had hearts but Val quickly learned there was no longer a place for such a thing.

Jok of course left, followed by Aliyah and then himself. They argued over the merits of a saving a child, and how it was against protocol but Jok would not have it, and Aliyah eventually agreed that it was worth checking out. Grudgingly Val went along, he still didn't understand what prompted Jok to go against orders but in the end it no longer mattered. They had found the "child", a wolf infected with the scorned and as it screamed, Val felt a horrible terror overtake his body. It was an abomination with a child's scream, [i]a child's scream![/i] As it charged them he panicked and fumbled with his sword, dropping it on the hard ground. The wolf had been nearly on him when Jok stepped in front of him, spearing the thing with his own sword through its chest, but the creature snapped at his throat in return. With his jugular slashed, Jok died painfully and before Val could compute what had happened, in the distance more screams could be heard.

Aliyah's shouting finally brought him back to his senses, and with the fear of being overwhelmed, they had to leave Jok's body behind. With little time to think, they raced back to the village. All the while he could hear the other wolves getting closer, with branches breaking and deep growling heralding their frightful steps. Once at the village, they got the horses and made a beeline for friendly territory. Their mission was a failure, their cover blown and wolves at their feet they had but little choice to retreat. They should have stopped, they should have fought, but such fear the wolves drew from him that he only wanted to flee. It was against everything he knew as a Templar, fleeing from the situation but he couldn't stop himself. It only drove him further when Aliyah shouted, and when Val looked back the Wolves were after them still and steadily gaining. 

He got his horse to leg it even further, but Aliyah's horse wasn't so lucky. The last thing he saw was the horse buckling, he knew not why, and then came her screams. They faded as the horse kept on running, and the eery silence of the night took hold once more. Needless to say he delivered his report, and then punished severally for his failure, and then for Jok and Aliyah's failure. He still hated himself for fumbling with that sword.

Back in the present, his hold on Sanctity was firm but he did not have to wait for the wolf to meet them. The creature was obliterated, as well as the forest in front of them, by the Fae's magic. He had severally underestimated how powerful that attack would be, and was slightly taken aback at how destructive it was.

He looked at Zina from where she now was on the ground, [color=gold]"You certainly 'got it'.[/color] He said sarcastically, before continuing in a normal tone, [color=gold]"More will be coming, and it'd be useless to try and outrun them on horse. They've caught us before. From what we've gathered, their scouts in a sense- usually run in packs of five to eight. Discouraging that they are this far into the interior so soon. Kill them without remorse, they deserve nothing less."[/color]

And from the forest came the distinctive sounds of large animals running, with the breaking of sticks and as they got closer, their growls. True to his word, six wolves erupted from the trees and charged them. Two wolves were brown, another silver and the reaming three were hairless beasts. All were twisted with the disease of the scorned, making them dangerous foes. The anticipation was great, but once again Val held onto Sanctity, and as the wolves fell upon them, it burst into flame. This flame illuminated the area in warm light, and as one of brown wolves jumped for him, Val swung in return.

[@Rithy][@Sofaking Fancy][@Leotamer][@jdh97][@Ghost Shadow][@Zetsuko]