[url=http://orig08.deviantart.net/c6d9/f/2007/362/e/a/archer_anime_girl_by_sweetpiez.jpg]Alee'a'sawn A'ma'hee[/url] crept through the Durhamdam Glen with great caution, checking the forest floor before every step and glancing toward every unusual sound to discern its source and potential danger.  

For six days, Allison -- as she was known by most of her Community -- had been desperately trying to evade [url=https://images3.alphacoders.com/274/274047.jpg]Kyla of Gray Rock[/url], an assassin whose sole mission in life was to track down and kill Magical Beings.  

Ironically, Allison was certain that the assassin was herself using a Magical Spell to aid her in her mission.  Allison was very comfortable and capable in the woods -- in [I]any[/I] woods -- and even against the most skilled of Magic Killers -- the derogatory term for such assassins -- she should have been able to evade Kyla after the woman's first attack.

Yet, every time Allison relaxed and began feeling as though she'd escaped the assassin, the woman surged out of the woods to begin firing her bow, sending Bolts of Infinite Cold at high speed and high accuracy at Allison's heart.  The Elf had successfully avoided more than two dozen of the dangerous missiles so far, through dexterity or magic or a combination of the two.  Yet the assassin continued to reappear!  Allison had little if any doubt that a Magical Power was at hand.

Humans were not a Magical Being like the Elves, Pixies, and Fairies.  Even those Humans who had been birthed and raised here in this Magical Realm were incapable of performing their own Magic.  It was probably the reason they employed Hunters to track down and kill those who did have the power, because they saw Magic as a threat to their existence as a Being.

Allison knew what this meant: someone who [i]was[/i] a Magical Being had casted a Spell upon the Assassin, giving her the ability that she shouldn't have had.  But who would do something so heinous against their own kind?

Allison was getting tired, and she knew she couldn't evade the assassin much longer.  For the past two days, she'd remained on guard -- fending off any sense of calm and relaxation -- and had been laying a trap for the assassin.  She left a confusing trail of tracks and disturbed undergrowth that greatly hid her changing direction; then, she hung her outer coat and cap on a small shrub hidden in the undergrowth to mimic the way she typically laid back to sleep.  

She found a hiding place, then did her best to calm her heart and mind.  She needed to find peace to lure in the Magic Killer.  And it worked!  Kyla suddenly burst out of the undergrowth, sprinting directly for the decoy where she leveled her crossbow and prepared to fire.

Allison heard the crossbow discharge its deadly cargo and leaped out from her hiding place ... [I]just[/I] as Kyla -- who'd anticipated the ambush -- spun back toward the Elf; in her power hand, she held one of her deadly bolts, and as Allison raised her hands to cast a spell, the assassin threw the bolt in Allison's direction with great accuracy.

The Elf realized in an instant that she herself was being ambushed instead.  Her ruse had failed, and she was about to die.  More unconsciously than consciously, Allison casted four spells in rapid succession: Delay, Shield, Deflect, and Portal.

[i]Now...[/i] even the most practiced of Magical Beings should never attempt so much magic in such a short period of time.  And while Allison had risen out of the ranks of Novitiate, she was still an Apprentice at best.  So later, when she regained consciousness after the incompatible spells caused a massive explosion, Allison wasn't surprised at the result.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After laying on the ground for the longest time, unable to move yet fully able to experience the pain of the event, Allison finally rose to her knees, then feet, to look around for the assassin who had so very nearly killed her.  Kyla of Gray Rock was no where to be seen... 

...and while Allison was still deep in a thick wood, she could see that this was most [i]definitely not[/i] the Durhamdam Glen.  The trees and undergrowth were totally unfamiliar to her; even the sounds from the insects, birds, and other creatures were different.  She looked to the sky through a gap in the canopy, looking for the Mistress of Kallan and the Roran Cup, only to find [i]Sparkles[/i] that fit no constellations familiar to her.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of an animal she didn't recognize.  The howl sounded canine in nature, but it wasn't a Worlent or its smaller cousin the Cayan.

Allison found herself walking quickly down a trail, not having really decided to do so yet not stopping herself once she was moving.  Her pace quickened as the howls seemed to get more numerous from more directions … and more closely as well.  Before she knew what was happening, she was racing down what she soon realized had once long ago been a road but for a very long time had been ignored.  She could see the woods ahead of her thinning and realized they ended; just as the howls seemed to be almost upon her, Allison burst out into the open to find herself staring at a large black mass.

At first, she thought she'd come upon a cliff, blocking her escape and leaving her at the mercy of the canine creatures closing on her.  Then, as the clouds above parted, the bright light of the moon illuminated a large structure.  It wasn't a castle, per se, but it was bigger than any castle back home save that of the Elven Queen herself.  

Allison heard another howl and turned back to the woods, ready to cast a spell to protect herself.  But suddenly realizing that she was probably in this place because of her misuse of her magic, she hesitated.  And as she wondered what else she could do, a thought came to her; it wasn't so much her [i]own[/i] thought, as it was a thought that seemed to … to just come to her … from another person perhaps?

The Elf realized that the reason she was here in this strange place was because she had understood that her death at the hands of the Assassin was imminent … that her magic wouldn't be enough to save her … and that she needed help escaping to a safe place.

She turned back toward the big structure, and as she wondered [I]Is this that safe place?[/I] Allison saw movement ahead of her … a person … a woman.  And she wondered, [i]Did you bring me here?[/i]