A Tale of Light and Monsters

Fear and Confrontation

... I put my book down on my lap. "The carriage has stopped. Is something wrong?"

My brother sat opposite me. He had been flipping through one of my books to no respite from his boredom.

"Yes, I noticed." He yawned as he, a bit too enthusiastically, handed me back my book. "Perhaps, there is some problem on the road. I suspect the coachman will soon- ah, see, here he comes already. Jasche, pray tell, what distresses us?"

The stooped old man with his rough bed of dark brown hair popped his head through the carriage window. "The river's overflooded, my lord! No way 'cross the bridge now. We got take 'nother path."

"What! How dreadful!" I exclaimed in dismay. "It's already so very late! We would have to spend the night in town."

Thiango smirked, his eyes glistening in that mischievous manner of his. "So my dear sister says. We've had a tiring day, I wouldn't dream of making her sleep in discomfort. Now, you said the river is overflowing? Well, come and let's see if I can't do something about all that water."

"Shall I come too?" I asked, already on my feet.

"No, no need, Thafna. I shall only need a moment." Thiango flashed me his most charming smile and was gone.

A heavy sigh escaped my chest and I nestled back into my cushioned seat.

Many or only a few minutes might have passed when I suddenly noticed a strange sound. It was akin to wings flapping but much heavier and grittier.

Wood splintered and something hard flew into my head. I blacked out.

Get up, Thafna! You can't get knocked out now!

My eyes flashed open and I quickly tumbled to my feet.

My arm! It was gashed open and bleeding profusely. My head felt sticky and raw.

No, don't think about that now. Focus!

I heard the same gritty sound again and whisked my head to face it.

A Styghbeast. Its likeness was akin to an oversized bat but with those telling marks of its corrupted origins. Its skin and features were black, velvety and otherworldly looking. Its nature just felt wrong. I started to feel nauseous. And it looked straight at me.

Panic shot through my heart; my legs and lungs turned to ice. The nasty beast took a step in my direction, cocking its head to one side as if mocking me.

My thoughts flashed to images of a possible future: my crumbled lifeless remains, my brother returning home with a ghastly face bearing the grim news.

No! Don't let that happen!

I raised my hand and with determined lips recited the words I had studied and meditated countless times. Words I had never been able to draw power from.

|Rain that falls in good and waste,

Who dares stall

Heaven's grace

Who dares to call

upon Heaven's haste?|

Torrents of rain should have come at my command. Or currents of water strong enough to easily tear the Styghbeast from limb to limb. After all, it was a relatively weak one.

Yet, nothing happened...

....

"Thafna!"