Dominic watched from behind the line of guards, barely breathing. His eyes focused on what happened in front of them.
The Arcanist named Riven moved with terrifying speed and precision.
The shockwave beneath his feet did not simply propel him forward. He could use it to control his movement speed when attacking and dodging.
Dominic could see it now, the way the ether burst was never wasted. They were released precisely, measured, and perfectly timed.
At the start, Riven didn't run toward the creature. He launched himself, then twisted midair as another shockwave bloomed behind him, changing his angle in an instant.
The beast lunged to attack with its beak.
Riven vanished from where it struck.
The creature attacked quickly to the side. A crack sound split the air as a shockwave detonated sideways, hurling Riven out of reach just as the creature's claws slammed into the ground. Soil exploded upward. The impact would have torn a man apart.
Riven was already behind it.
Dominic's eyes widened.
So that's how it's used.
Now, Riven slammed another shockwave downward, forcing himself up and over the creature's sweeping tail. He didn't rely on footing at all. The ground was just something he bounced off with his shockwave. Every burst of ether became a step, a dodge, or an attack.
Riven managed to land a few attacks with his sword by using this tactic.
The monster shrieked again and beat its wings hard, lifting its front half off the ground.
Riven answered with violence.
A compressed shockwave erupted from his blade this time, not to launch him, but to push at the creature. The air warped as the force pushed the creature off balance, making it almost fall to the back for half a heartbeat.
That was all he needed.
Riven drove himself forward with another blast, slashing across the creature's side. Black ichor sprayed across the dirt. The monster screamed and thrashed, wings flaring wildly.
Dominic's pulse hammered.
He had never heard of power that could generate a shockwave like this. And the way Riven used it, he wasn't just strong. He was experienced.
He knew exactly how much force to use and when to push.
His movements flowed together, one shockwave chaining into the next, never overextending, or leaving himself open.
That kind of control only came from real combat.
Dominic clenched his fists slowly. Realizing that this is what mastery looks like.
"KHHIEEEKH!!!"
The creature reared back, feathers bristling as ether gathered around its body.
Riven didn't hesitate. He detonated another shockwave beneath himself, vaulting backward just as something invisible tore through the air where he had been.
The creature's beak missed him by inches.
Riven landed lightly, boots skidding, ether already building again.
Dominic swallowed a mouthful of saliva as the creature staggered back. It was wounded but far from death.
He could see that Riven had landed clean slashes and stabs. Yet the monster still stood tall, ether still visibly coiling around its body. Its breathing was ragged, but its eyes burned with the same killing intent.
It was not close to dying. The realization tightened Dominic's chest.
Riven seemed to realize it too. And he did not look worried.
There was no hesitation in his stance or tension in his shoulders. He rolled his neck once, adjusted his grip on the sword, ether pulsing faintly along the blade.
Dominic tore his gaze away and looked toward the other Arcanist.
Kel stood several steps in front of the guards. His eyes were closed. His hands rested calmly at his sides. He looked almost detached from the chaos in front of him.
But the air around him told a different story.
There was thin blue mist that drifted from his body, curling and dispersing before reforming again. Ether. It did not burst or flare.
Kel was not idle. Dominic felt it in his bones. Whatever Kel was doing, it was deliberate.
The ground suddenly shook again.
A heavy impact thundered from the right side of the formation.
"KHIEEEKKHH!!!"
A second shriek ripped through the night, louder and harsher than the first.
Another creature slammed down near the outer edge of the circle.
The people of the caravan erupted.
"What the hell?!"
"Another one?!"
"There's two of them!"
Shouts overlapped. Someone screamed. A horse reared and nearly broke free of its reins. Several guards stumbled backward in shock before forcing themselves to raise their weapons again.
The formation wavered.
"Hold the line!" a guard captain roared, even when he was also scared. "Hold it!"
Fear spread through the caravan. The guards stared in disbelief as the second monster lifted its head and screeched again, ether flaring around its body.
Dominic's stomach dropped.
There were two of them now.
The first creature twisted its head toward the newcomer, answering with a guttural cry.
Riven glanced toward the second beast. His eyes narrowed in anxiety.
Behind him, Kel finally opened his eyes.
The blue mist thickened.
"The throat joint," Kel said, his voice calm and clear, cutting through the chaos. "Just beneath the lower beak. The ether there is unstable. If you break it the body won't hold together."
Dominic blinked.
That was it. No shouting or feeling of urgency. Just a precise statement.
Riven did not look back or react with surprise. He already knew what Kel was doing.
Riven moved the instant the words left Kel's mouth.
A shockwave detonated beneath his feet, launching him low and fast, not upward this time.
He skimmed the ground, body angled forward. His sword was drawn back.
"KHIEEEKH!!!"
The creature screeched and snapped at him, wings beating hard.
Riven chained another shockwave, adjusting in the air and slipping beneath a flailing wing.
The creature's beak stabbed downward but Riven twisted, a sideways shockwave snapping him out of its path by a breath.
He was already aiming higher.
Another blast drove him upward at a sharp angle. His sword flashed in precise movement.
The blade sank into the joint beneath the beak.
The monster screamed. Ether around its neck flared violently, then stuttered.
The glow flickered unstably.
Riven did not pull away.
He detonated one last shockwave point blank.
The force slammed straight into the wound.
There was a wet tearing sound. Black ichor erupted as the creature dropped, its wings spasming uselessly. The ether around its body collapsed inward, then burst apart in a chaotic surge.
The beast crashed to the ground.
Dominic barely had time to process it.
Because the second creature was already attacking.
It charged the circle with a shriek, wings beating, claws tearing deep into the dirt as it lunged toward the guards and wagons.
Panic rippled again through the caravan as people screamed and scrambled.
Before it could reach them, a translucent wall flared into existence.
The barrier shimmered as the creature slammed into it, the shockwave rattling wagons and knocking several people off their feet.
The beast screeched in fury, claws raking uselessly against the glowing surface.
Behind the barrier, the woman Arcanist named Mara stood with both hands raised. Ether streamed from her palms into the shield, reinforcing it as the creature battered it again and again.
The barrier held. For now.
Then the third creature landed.
—