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[b][u]Outside Thaum[/b][/u]

"What kind of sorcery is this!?" Selan cried, pressing her palms hard against her ears to drown out the thunder, and feeling fish after fish smack her on the top of the head with a sickening wet thud. She didn't know whether to feel nauseous or terrified.

"Everyone, stay clear of the trees!" Amy shouted, brandishing her light whip.

Lisette thought Amy was just giving some helpful advice for thunderstorm safety, but she turned to look at the tree nearest to her anyway. It was one of many treants, and a pretty angry-looking one at that. The nature-loving girl was clearly distraught at the sight of fish suffocating on the muddy ground, as well as the idea that someone was using some kind of magic to turn the plants and animals hostile to them, but she knew better now than to stand back and let the creatures attack her friends.

Trixie's flashbangs lit up their vision, just as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Lisette squeezed her eyes shut as she reached back to draw her bow. It was the first time she would be using the new weapon that Tiberius Rex had given her, and the weight of it felt different in a nice way in her hand.

When the light subsided, the treant that had grabbed Trixie was still flailing its branches, disoriented and blinded. Lisette had a brief idea, and extended her hand in the treant's direction, intending to control the tree's branches while it was temporarily weakened. Her magic grabbed hold only for a brief moment before the treant regained its vision, and Lisette felt an unpleasant sensation of something wrenching away from her grasp.

Meanwhile, Moira's greatsword sliced through the air towards the giant fox's giant scissors, and it seemed as though momentum would be on their side. But the fox suddenly snapped the scissors shut, miraculously catching the sword as though it were inside a vice. The fox whipped the scissors skyward, sending the greatsword flying and spinning into the sky high enough that it was impossible to see it clearly. With the darkened sky erasing their shadows, no one knew exactly where it was going to land.

Lisette paid no mind to the imminent danger above them and readied an arrow, charging it with some of her magic. She let it fly towards the fox, hoping it would catch it off guard. Mere seconds later, a heavy catfish knocked Lisette on the side of her head.