A Starlit Hunt
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Firmament's Eye
Foxes in the dark.
One.
Two.
Three.
Three golden masks glint in pale starlight.
The squire astronomer kept watch at the edge of the camp, hands idly tracing the charts and markings etched into her focus crystal.
Well-trained eyes, but not attentive enough.
One.
Two.
Three.
The sound of a twig snapping underfoot.
She was fully alert in an instant, by instinct pulling at the sky, shining hot white starlight in a cone amongst the trees.
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Nothing. Not a shape or a sound.
Just an animal wandering through. It always is.
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The next day's travel was hard.
Hunters are ill company at the best of times, but something in the air set her on edge.
Step by step, they marched on.
"How much longer?"
One.
Two.
Three.
"As long as it takes." The Knight-Huntmaster did not care for her company either.
"We will reach the edge of the woods before nightfall. If your star chart is to be believed, that is where The Tower's gate will align."
Brusque, but not uncalled-for.
The last hunt had almost ended in disaster, and she would see this one through even if every one of her travelling companions perished.
One.
Two.
Three.
The stars shone their evening light through the canopy. The branches did not part.
"Absurd. We should have broken through barely past noon."
"If your map is to be believed..."
"Still your tongue. We have hardships enough without-" A crack of heavy branches falling.
Something is here.
The Hunters arrayed themselves in a circle around the pair.
Focus crystals were raised in unison, invoking barriers and blades while their wielders frantically searched for assailants.
The starlight from above grew weaker, choked by shadows of new growth springing up around them.
The forest itself closed in.
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Three seconds of utter silence was all it took for the Foxes to take their places amongst the trees.
Too many to count.
Or perhaps...
The first strike of Starglass passed cleanly through a fading shadow where once one of them had stood.
In an instant, the pack descended, gold-tinged knives glinting only in the light of their foes' spells.
They feared for themselves, yes, as all creatures do, but there was much more at stake than that.
The hunters had the edge of war-tools and powerful invocations, yet their discipline was lacking, and they were weary from travel.
The tight formation dissolved into chaos as the Foxes divided their prey.
One.
Two.
Three.
Their ancient magic echoed of starless nights and primordial darkness. They had nothing to fear from starkeepers and warmongers.
Knives slipped easily between armour more suited to intimidation than protection.
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Ocean-black blood and sickly venom stained the forest floor for days afterwards, but they were safe.
The Tower's door passed into alignment once more, and the route by which their kindred fled was hidden for just long enough.
A week later, the forest was gone, and with it all traces of the village once held within.
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~