Cyran double checked the straps on his horse, making sure that all the packs were secure. The leather satchels secured to the docile mare were heavy, though Cyran didn’t know what the packages contained. He had been told, on no uncertain terms by his employer that he was not to ask questions. That suited him just fine- Cyran and his apprentice had no qualms looking the other way. Besides, they had other matters to worry about, namely the perilous landscape they were about to traverse to Frost Gale’s border.

Just as he turned back to their clients, the leader approached them with a grateful expression on his face. “We cannot thank you all enough for this. We were beginning to think that no one would answer our call for aid.”

Cyran politely did not mention that this was likely because of the fact that the three men were secretive about the nature of their journey, and there were few that would make such a dangerous journey on short notice, and even fewer who would agree without explanation. As it was, the only ones who had accepted the task were Cyran- and by extension, his apprentice- and a strange knightly fellow that Cyran had yet to learn the name of.

“Think nothing of it.” Cyran said kindly, Oriole nodding along excitedly. No doubt the young thief was already looking forward to the generous reward that had been promised for their safe escort to the country’s border. “We shouldn’t dally- the sooner we make it to Frostgale, the better.”

He was aware of the Cradle’s reputation, though Cyran had spent little time here himself. He was confident that he could handle the perilous terrain… though the violent weather worried him somewhat. Bandits and thugs, he knew how to take care of. Avasha’s torrent, on the other hand…

Well, hopefully his new companion would have a better idea of what to expect. As the group set off across craggy rocks at a pace that could only be described as urgent, Cyran turned to the knight.

“I believe introductions are in order, if we are to be working together. My name is Cyran. Have you ever been to Dragon’s Cradle before?”

The fully armored knight gave a nod and a thumbs up to Cyran.

"Yes! Wait, no. That mine wasn't in a cradle. Wait, but there was lightning, like there is here. Is Skypeak Village in a Dragon's Cradle?" they muttered to themself, one finger under the chin of their helmet, thinking. They had been to Skypeak Village and the surrounding mountains, but they didn't actually know whether that city was in a cradle. It didn't look like it was.

"Sorry, my geometry isn't very good. Yes, I'm pretty sure I have though! I think I was close by to here. Oh, wait, I'm here right now, so yeah!" they added excitedly, placing both hands on their hips.

"Oh, right, nice to meet you, Cyran! My name is B-, uh, Wolfe!"

That was close. They'd almost introduced themself as Blue Raspberry instead of using the new name they'd come up with with Astrid. People always thought they were weird when they introduced themself as Blue Raspberry, so hopefully this person wouldn't think they're as strange is their name is Wolfe. Wolfe seems like a much more normal name.

"Alright everyone, we're headed out!" the leader called out to everyone before the horses began to move and forced everyone to either board a wagon or walk behind.

Blue Raspberry had joined this mission simply because someone had asked them to. They weren't suspicious of the group, unlike Cyran. They also had no equipment to pack onto the horses, all of their possessions safely stored away inside them. This whole mission just felt more like a nice way of travelling from one place to another without being all alone, though they did have to be more careful when they weren't alone. They didn't want others to find out about them being an ooze.

They looked to Cyran's apprentice as they walked along with the caravan.

"So what's your name?"

“I don’t… actually know.” Cyran admitted sheepishly at the knight’s question about Skypeak Village. Admittedly, he probably should have looked at some sort of map before embarking on this escort mission, but somehow, the thought of purchasing a map hadn’t occurred to him. But then the knight seemed to remember something, going on about geometry and such- what did maths have to do with all this?- before explaining that they had, in fact, been in the area.

Cyran sighed in relief, glad at least one of them had a vague idea of what to expect. He was a bit confused about the knight’s name, though.

What kind of name was Buhwolfe?

...

Oh, Wolfe.

As he realized his mistake, Cyran blushed in embarrassment. At least he hadn’t actually butchered the knight’s name in front of them. Wolfe seemed like the friendly sort, but Cyran didn’t know them well enough to know if they would take offense at the mistake or not.

“Well, then… Sir Wolfe, I’m looking forward to working with you.” Cyran said politely. He didn’t notice the knight carrying any form of sword, but they must have had some method of self-defense. He hoped the journey would be peaceful enough that he didn’t have to find out.

The group set onward, through the rocky pathways of Dragon’s Cradle. Clouds swirled lazily overhead, threatening inclement weather but not yet pouring down upon the travelers. A few groups of travelers who’d elected to walk behind the caravan made hushed small talk, though the atmosphere was far too tense for lively conversation, and it quickly died out.

Wolfe, on the other hand, seemed almost chipper, even engaging in conversation with Cyran’s apprentice as they walked. The young thief startled at being spoken to, blinking sluggishly from under the mask he wore that protected his face. “I go by Oriole…” He answered, briefly glancing at Cyran for approval. His protege often deferred to his judgment when it came to meeting new people. Cyran nodded, letting the thief know that Wolfe had so far proven to be safe. By all accounts, they seemed like a nice young fellow.

With permission given, Oriole turned back to the knight, eyes sparkling with excitement. “Are you a real knight? Have you ever worked for a king?”

"I'm looking forward to working with you too!" they replied, offering a gauntleted handshake to their new travelling companion for this journey. They seemed nice. They'd even called the ooze 'Sir' for some reason. They were pretty sure that was a respectful way of greeting someone or something along those lines. They didn't quite know what it meant to address someone as 'Sir'.

"Nice to meet you, Oriole." they responded, also offering a handshake to the young boy. They hoped to be good friends with both of their new companions, but if their travels with Astrid were any indication, they tended to be better at befriending children for some reason. Or maybe Astrid was just different. Were they actually just better at befriending other weird people? Well, they could still try to befriend these two anyways.

"No, I've never worked for a king, but I have worked for lots of other people." they replied to Oriole's question. Was that what being a knight meant, That you worked for a king? If so, then a lot of people had been mistaken to have been calling the ooze a knight! They'd just been going a long with it this whole time, but after a while they thought they really were a knight. Had they been wrong this whole time? Was a knight not just someone wearing a full suit of armor? That's what they'd believed for a while.

Well, if working for a king was what it took to be a real knight, maybe they'd try to do that some day. It might be fun. Did kings give out missions like this one? They could probably find a good job from some king somewhere to do, and then they could really call themself a knight. Wait, did Astrid know what a knight was and not tell them!?

Cyran accepted the knight’s friendly handshake, their amicable nature a welcome change from the people Cyran usually worked with. Even Oriole seemed surprised to receive one. Oriole’s enthusiasm… dimmed somewhat upon learning that Wolfe had never been in service for a king, but looked no less interested in their new companion. Cyran had a feeling that through the journey, Oriole would be relentlessly pestering Wolfe for tales of grandeur and adventure.

A thought occurred to the apprentice as he strolled alongside Cyran. He turned to Wolfe, eyes still gleaming with interest. “Say, I hear there are a lot of dangerous monsters in Dragon’s Cradle. Have you ever fought any? Do you think we’ll encounter any in our trip?”

Cyran gently nudged him, a disapproving frown on his face. “You’d better hope we don’t encounter anything dangerous.” He scolded.

“We’ll be fine. We’ve got a knight in a big, shiny suit with us!” Oriole exclaimed. "But I don't see a sword... how do you fight, then?"

Cyran tried not to feel offended at the fact that Oriole had more faith in the skills of a person he’d just met than his own teacher. Oriole had a tendency to latch onto the nearest shiny, glittering thing that caught his attention, and in this case, his sights had landed on the suit of armor that the knight wore.

“You’ll have to forgive him.” Cyran said, though he sounded more amused than exasperated. “This is Oriole’s first time this far north, and he’s a little… excitable.” Oriole rolled his eyes under the mask- Cyran pointedly pretended not to see.

As they conversed, Cyran kept his eyes peeled on the horizon, a hand resting protectively one one of the many blades secured to his belt. Even though his body language was relaxed, he was constantly watching their surroundings, ready to move against anything that jumped out at them at a moment’s notice. He had seen no one so far, but Cyran had heard that there was no shortage of hardened criminals in the cradle, and he would not be caught unaware if there was any danger to his clients.

Blue Raspberry was happy that Oriole was so excited to be travelling with them. Their good mood was contagious to the ooze, who was growing more confident and excited as they walked along together. It reminded them of Astrid, who was also always very excited to go on adventures.

"I haven't fought a lot of things in Dragon's Cradle, but I've fought lots of things in other places! I fought displacer beasts, a kraken, a charly bus, giant spiders. Oh! The giant spiders actually were in Dragon's Cradle, I think." they responded with just as much excitement as the young boy.

"I don't need a sword to fight. I didn't use a sword when I fought anything else so far. I have a shield though, but I don't like to use them. They're really rude. I fight with my fists!" they exclaimed, raising a fist into the air.

They looked at Cyran and could see the man had a lot of weapons on him, attached to his belt. Hm, maybe he should get some weapons. Them not having any had come up before, but they'd just moved on. Was this question going to keep coming up? Do knights always have weapons? Was this a flaw in their disguise that they hadn't realized existed until now?

Oriole nodded along excitedly as Wolfe recounted the monsters they’d faced, even at the mention of the possibility of fighting giant spiders. On the other hand, Cyran’s brows had furrowed thoughtfully, trying to figure out what the hell a Charly Bus was. Monsters were a bit beyond his expertise, though, so he could only assume Wolfe knew what he was talking about.

“I’ve fought monsters once, too.” Oriole boasted, showing off what little battle experience he had under his belt to the more seasoned adventurer. “A bunch of nasty dragonkin. I threw a brick at one.”

Cyran pursed his lips as he remembered the incident in question. He didn’t like that Oriole had been caught in danger without him there to help, but he supposed that was just the reality of their work. All he could do was make sure Oriole could take care of himself in the event that it happened again. Sir Wolfe seemed competent, so he would just have to trust in the event of separation that the knight looked after his charge. He wasn’t sure what to make of the talking shield comment, though…

They had been walking for a few hours when Cyran noticed a bird flying ahead caught his attention- Cyran perked up as he tracked its movements. It cast a yawning shadow over them as it flew in the opposite direction that their caravan moved. A few seconds later, the bird was joined by a dark swarm of companions, all moving in the same direction.

“That’s odd…” Cyran commented to himself. Migration season had already passed, so there had to be something else. He wordlessly pulled himself up into the driver’s seat of one of the wagons, standing to get a better look at the horizon. That was when he noticed the dark smattering of storm clouds in the distance, broken up only by the occasional flash of light.

“It looks like we’re approaching a patch of inclement weather.” He raised his voice, calling out to the others before hopping down, facing Wolfe. They were technically the navigators of this foray, and it was up to them to pick the safest course of action to protect the travelers and the cargo. “We could play it safe and try to skirt around it, which would add time to our trip, or we could keep blazing on and cut right through it.” It wasn’t a risk Cyran was sure he wanted to take, but he wasn’t the only guide here.

“What do you think we should do?”

"That's impressive! I've never fought a dragonkin before, but they sound strong! I'd like to try one myself." Blue Raspberry said encouragingly to Oriole.

They really had never fought a dragonkin before, but they'd heard of dragons and they were supposed to be really strong, so something whose name is mostly dragon must be really strong too, and probably really tasty! They wanted to eat one, but of course, they couldn't eat them if they were people unless they were big jerks. They had been careful about that.

They looked up at the clouds as Cyran pointed them out. They didn't know who or what a clement was, but if the weather was in it, it couldn't be that bad, right? Though, they had no idea why they were the one being asked about this. They had no idea what they were doing, and didn't think they should be the one to decide their course of action. Why was Cyran asking the ooze what to do!?

"Ah, I'll trust your opinion! We should do whatever is best for the caravan, right?" Blue Raspberry replied to Cyran, giving pratically no opinion on what to do at all, instead trying to just have Cyran decide.

"What do you think we should do?" they added, looking at Oriole.

Oriole beamed under the knight’s praise as Cyran watched the clouds. The young thief grew serious when his mentor hopped down and informed the caravan of what lay ahead. Cyran, on the other hand, was surprised when Sir Wolfe merely asserted his ambivalence on the situation with enthusiasm.

Cyran blinked owlishly before turning back to look at the lightning storm. They could probably pass through in a couple of hours if they moved quickly, while a detour might add over half a day. As he deliberated his response, Oriole answered the knight’s question for him.

“We should go straight through the storm! No risk, no reward, right, sir knight?”

Cyran put a hand on Oriole’s shoulder, quieting him. “That would normally be fine, if we didn’t have items that could be damaged. The best course of action would be to take the long way-”

Before he could finish that thought, the leader of the pack stormed up to them, face red with anger. “What’s the big hold up over here? Time is money in these parts.”

Cyran bowed slightly in apology. “I’m sorry, sir, but we were just discussing if it would be safer for your cargo if we skirted around the storm.”

The human tapped his foot, crossing his arms as he turned his attention to the darkened patch of sky that was quickly approaching him. Cyran hoped he might be patient, but he merely shrugged and urged the lead driver forward.

“We keep moving.”

“What?” In his shock, Cyran couldn’t control the question that slipped out of his mouth as the leader started walking away. The man stopped, fixing Cyran with a hardened look that would have made lesser men cave. Cyran met his gaze head-on with his own cool stare.

“I’m not paying you to question my judgment.” The man warned. “This mission’s got a deadline, and ain’t no storm that’ll divert me off course. Understood?”

“... Yes.” Cyran said stiffly. He wanted to argue more, but it was true- the client’s wishes came first. Fighting back risked the temperamental human firing him, and they needed the money. And thus the caravan set forth again, heading straight for the patch of clouds.

Cyran turned to Sir Wolfe, an apologetic expression on his face. “I guess that’s the decision made for us. Hope you like lightning.”

"Don't worry, I love lightning!" Blue Raspberry replied enthusiastically with a slap to Cyran's shoulder that shocked them slightly and left a staticky tingle on his shoulder.

They were glad they hadn't had to decide what to do next since they weren't very confident in their decision making skills. They usually left that to Astrid. Admittedly, it might not be the best idea to leave your future in the hands of a child so regularly, but it was probably a worse idea to leave it in the slimy hands of the ooze. Blue Raspberry would have chosen to go through the storm though, so that doesn't exactly bode well for the decision making skills of the caravan leader.

The dark clouds quickly approached and soon were over the caravan with far more in the sky before them. An enormous dark shape loomed within the clouds ahead of them, several other, much smaller shapes flitting around it. Flashes of lightning within the clouds occasionally illuminated what looked like giant birds flying around a much larger bird, but never fully exposed the entire shape of the massive creature. The caravan leader didn't pay it any mind, ignoring it and urging the horses to move faster. Soon enough, the wagons were moving too fast for the two adventurers and apprentice to keep pace with on foot, and they had to hop up onto the back of one of the wagons to not be left behind.

A heavy rain began to fall around the group of wagons, and the air seemed to be charged with static electricity. Blue Raspberry didn't notice the static at all, since they always felt something like it from themself, but the entire crew of the caravan grew tense, not wanting lightning to trike them.

Suddenly, a titanic screech came from within the dark clouds ahead and the monstrous avian lowered itself out of the clouds, staring directly down at the caravan. It looked like an enormous black and grey eagle with arcs of purplish lightning connecting between it and the clouds around it. Its beak alone looked as large as one of the wagons. A swarm of far smaller, but still massive birds also emerged from the clouds and descended upon the caravan.

As they grew closer, it became apparent that these smaller birds actually appeared to be made from the storm clouds, not solid creatures like the monster above them.

The sudden burst of electricity in his shoulder sent jitters all the way down Cyran’s spine. Just as suddenly as it started, the shock dissipated as Wolfe lifted their gauntleted hand. That answers that question, I suppose, Cyran thought to himself as the sky grew darker around them. He couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved- if Wolfe was an electromancer, then that was the safety of one less person to worry about.

Thunder rumbled overhead, like great drums beating down upon them, accented by the occasional flash of light arcing through the clouds. The rain itself seemed to carry traces of the lightning that struck around them occasionally, crashing into nearby rocks and leaving behind blackened scorch marks. Cyran kept a tight grip on his horse’s reins, preventing her from getting spooked and running off with the cargo. Within minutes, everything was drenched, leaving Cyran feeling like a wet dog as he tried to shake off the elements and keep a wary eye on the road ahead, so they could get out of the storm as quickly as possible.

That was when he heard the scream.

The bird’s cry was unlike any he’d heard before, one that reverberated across the rocky planes like a cry of death. Through the inky-black clouds burst a bird the size of a titan in a swirl of darkened feathers and violet lightning. Around it, the cloud layer shifted, coalescing into smaller-sized avians.

“What in the world…?” Cyran murmured to himself. He unsheathed Spell Slicer, but the dagger, even with its enchantments, would hardly be effective against a beast of that size. He immediately shifted into battle mode, assessing his options. Almost distractedly, he shoved the mare’s reins into Oriole’s hands. “Take her and put some distance between us. The cargo is the priority- keep it safe.”

Oriole stared down at the leather straps in his hands, then back up at Cyran. “I can help-”

“Now, Oriole.”

Oriole froze at the sudden commanding tone in Cyran’s voice. He rarely spoke so coldly to Oriole, though now his face carefully blank as he looked up at the descending bird’s movements, barely concealing the worry in his brow or the tension in his shoulders. The swarm of cloud-avians were already getting close, beaks open in a cacophony of screaming, and claws extended, ready to take chunks out of the closest person.

“Fine.” Oriole relented, turning and leading the horse back down the path.

Cyran let out a sigh of relief once Oriole was away from the action. He could fight more freely without having to split his attention to keep an eye on the slippery kid. He raised spell slicer and darted into the dark, yawning shadows cast by the clouds and wagons of the caravan and disappeared from sight, melding into the shade.^[1]

One of the cloud-avians dove at a cart driver, talons cackling with purple electricity. As Cyran slipped out of the shadows from behind the creature, as silent as the night, a thought occurred to him that stabbing an incorporeal monster might not yield the best results. But he was already moving on instinct, driving Spell Slicer right into the creature’s vulnerable, unsuspecting backside.^[2,3]

The cloud dissipated where Cyran sliced through it, leaving behind nothing more than the scent of ozone in the air and the revelation that they could be hit. Cyran did not have long to celebrate his discovery- the smoky birds were everywhere, surrounding the larger beast like a protective shield.

“Get inside one of the wagons.” Cyran ordered the frantic driver, who hadn’t seemed to notice his presence until he spoke. It wasn’t the best protection, but it was better than nothing, and it would have to suffice for now. The driver nodded and scrambled away, searching for cover.

Cyran pulled out his second dagger, Cold Steel, and turned back to face the flock.

---

1. Pass Without a Trace
2. Magic Blocker Enchantment
3. Back Stab

Everyone scrambled to get into the cover of the wagons, trying to escape from the attacks of the cloudy birds. Blue Raspberry and Cyran were assaulted from all sides by the swooping claws and beaks. The armored ooze punched out at them as they came close, dissipating them easily. They didn't seem like they could take much of a hit, but the numbers never seemed to decrease as more just kept being formed from the clouds above and flying down to join the fray. The giant bird never came down, just waiting for its prey to be tired out from dealing with its numerous creations.

The birds never even attacked the horses. The giant bird must have some intelligence as it directed them to focus their attacks on the two adventurers, the only ones it deemed capable of putting up a real fight against it should it descend.

Blue Raspberry looked to Cyran and pointed at the giant bird in the sky.

"I think we need to fight that one!" they shouted out to him as they punched another cloud bird into mist. The ooze was disappointed that these enemies turned to nothing as they died, leaving nothing behind for them to eat. Though, they'd have a hard time snacking in the presence of the merchant caravan members and Cyran and Oriole.

With all of the caravan members hiding in the wagons, now might be the best time to let loose a little. In this situation, hiding their abilities as an ooze would just allow the group to become exhausted and likely eaten by the giant bird above. Blue Raspberry ran closer to Cyran, making their way through the cloudy flock.

"Let's go!" they called out to him before their form morphed, blue ooze seeping out of the gaps in their armor and enveloping it. Their arms elongated and flattened and formed into a pair of wings, their legs thinned and bent into a pair of taloned bird's legs and their body rounded into that of bird, their head elongating into a pointed beak. Throughout the transformation, they grew larger until their body was the size of one of the wagons next to them. They were still far smaller than the storm bird, but the smaller cloud birds were now dwarfed in comparison.

The electric blue feathered eagle bent their head on to the ground next to Cyran and waited for the Elf to climb on.

There were too many birds for Cyran and Wolfe to handle, and that number only seemed to be growing.

Cyran ducked and weaved, a flurry of steel and ice as he drove his daggers wherever he could find purchase in the smoky figures. None of his efforts did much good- for every one he destroyed, leaving behind nothing but a fine mist and the faint cackle of ozone, two more took their place. Cyran had just bisected one with Cold Steel when he heard Wolfe call out to him.

Cyran craned his neck to look at the big bird, hovering just out of their reach. The great beast spread its wings, opening its beak in a terrible, shrill cry. The air responded to the bird’s call, forming more cloud-avians to do its bidding. With a start, Cyran realized that the bird must have been the source of the flock, calling them down to fight the adventurers without risking injury to itself.

“You’re right!” Cyran called over the roar of thunder and the pounding rain. “But how are we supposed to… get up there…”

He trailed off as the knight bounded over, armor clanking as he did, until his form suddenly changed, morphing into a great, blue eagle. Cyran gaped, mouth hanging open as he stared at his new companion. Was magic capable of doing this? He’d heard of some being able to call animals to their aid, but never shapeshifting to this degree. And why was he blue?

A flash of lightning and another cry from the bird reminded Cyran that he didn’t have time to process this new development- there would be much more time for that later, when they were not currently in a battle for their lives.

He hurriedly pulled himself up onto Wolfe’s back, grabbing hold to feathers that felt like a strange texture, and the two took off into the air.

The wind buffeted Cyran, the elements making it difficult for him to see much. He could see the bird getting closer as they approached, but the creature seemed to possess some level of intelligence, and summoned even more birds, sending them right at the two. From his position on Wolfe’s back, Cyran held up a finger, sending a bolt of black electricity at the figure, turning it into smoke upon contact.^[1] Another one got close enough for Cyran to swipe at it with Cold Steel, the clouds dissolving into ice crystals.

They continued their ascent, Cyran protecting Wolfe as the knight-turned-bird brought them closer to the great beast.

---

1. Chaos Bolt

Blue Birdberry soared through the air, dodging around as many of the cumulominions as they could and leaving what got too close to Cyran. They couldn't do much to defend themself in their avian form, so had to rely on the adventurer on their back to keep them safe until they could reach their target.

As the pair grew closer, the gigantic eagle became angrier. Bolts of lightning started to strike down toward the approaching danger. They did their best to avoid these as well. The electric ooze had a lot of experience dealing lightning damage to others, but not so much in taking it. They didn't think taking a direct hit from one of these would end well, especially not for their passenger. A sudden bolt of lightning came down, easily missing the pair by a wide margin, but it struck one of the cloudy birds instead and began to jump from bird to bird, on a path toward the duo. Blue Raspberry barely dodged the bolt in a slight panic, but it simply hit another minion behind them and continued jumping around in its pursuit. More bolts of lightning came down and began leaping from bird to bird.

This situation seemed impossible. Blue Raspberry backed off from their target, hoping Cyran might be able to come up with a plan to deal with this situation.

The lightning bounced around them, trapping them in a cage of electricity. No matter where Wolfe moved, the cloud-avians would block them off, with the bolts bouncing through the air, just narrowly missing them. Wolfy frantically had to dodge out of a lightning that nearly struck them right in the back, diving low enough that Cyran was nearly thrown off their back.

“Whoa!”

But then Wolfe righted themselves, and Cyran was able to steady himself on Wolfe’s back. He could only hold on for dear life as Wolfe maneuvered every which direction in an attempt to shake off the stormbirds. No matter where they moved, though, the birds were only drawing closer. They were being blocked in.

“This isn’t working!” Cyran called out over the wind. He wasn’t sure how well Wolfe could hear him, and the knight certainly couldn’t communicate with him in this bird form, but he hoped his words were getting through. “We need to figure out something else.”

If only they could find a way to get rid of this lightning shield, then Cyran could get close enough with Spell Slicer- deliver just a single cut with the enchanted blade- then this wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

A tentative plan formed in his mind, one he wasn’t quite sure would work. He’d only used this ability on humanoids, after all, but in principle, it should still work the same if the creature was intelligent, which it had proven to be with its battle strategy. Cyran leaned down, patting Wolfe on the back. “I’ve got an idea- I need you to get higher, if you can.”

Wolfe made a noise that Cyran decided to interpret as assent, because the bird-knight flapped their wings and maneuvered the two closer to the bird. As they did, Cyran used his free hand to pull his hood up, over his face. All of a sudden, his features shifted, the shadows playing on his face until he resembled more of a ghost than a living, breathing, elven man.

All it took was a single look into the creature’s eyes- sharp, vibrant purple that stood out against the darkened skies- and the creature was filled with an unexplainable sense of dread as, in its mind, Cyran took the form of its worst fears.^[1]

Cyran had become its nightmare.

All at once, the lightning stopped, the creature too afraid of Cyran to continue his onslaught. A frown tugged at his lips from under the hood. Cyran didn’t like using this particular ability, even against enemies- it felt too cruel. But it had to be done, and the creature, frozen still from the fear, was an open target.

“You can take us forward now.” Cyran said gently to Wolfe.

Wolfe obliged, and Cyran pulled out Spell Slicer as the transformed bird brought the Nightmare closer to the great beast. The bird screeched in terror, frantically flapping its giant wings to get away, but Cyran was faster, and with a flick of spell slicer, the runes etched into the side of the dagger took effect, sealing the beast’s magic away.^[2]

---

1. Hood of Horrors
2. Magic Blocker Enchantment