The rocky cliffs stretched upward like jagged teeth. A young and beautiful woman with short chestnut hair that touched the nape of her neck crouched behind a boulder. The setting sun softly touched her light bronze skin. She popped her head out from behind the boulder and, with her amber eyes, gazed at the canyon before her, before quickly ducking back down. She began to stretch her finely toned muscles, the movement causing her leather vest to creak softly. The garment left her arms bare, showing bronze skin marked with barely noticeable, soft scars. Fur-trimmed bracers protected her forearms, and loose cloth pants allowed for easy movement—practical attire for both the Stormy Isles’ unpredictable weather and sudden combat.

  “Bursting Melody,” she said softly. “Are you sure there are titanspawn around?” she asked.

  “Yes, I am sure, Howling Badger,” Bursting Melody answered, her voice soft and beautiful, every word carrying the faintest hint of musical harmony. She ran her fingers through her short azure hair that touched the nape of her neck—the same length as her sister, Howling Badger. These two, although from different tribes, were sisters. Melody had the face of a songstress, delicate features set in light bronze skin. Both sisters shared sparkling amber eyes that held mischief, but it was more noticeable in Melody’s eyes, which seemed counter to her elegant appearance. She wore flowing silk robes in pale blue and silver, embroidered with musical notes that seemed to shimmer when she moved. A beautifully crafted zither rested across her back.

  Both stood slightly taller than the average woman, their physical appearance marking them clearly as twins despite their different hair colors and bearing.

  Yet the question of the hair color was quickly resolved as Bursting Melody’s fingers ran through her hair. A soft light shimmered in her pupils, and her hair suddenly changed color once more, from azure to white.

  Howling Badger looked at her sister. “Must you use your illusionary abilities so constantly? Is it that simple for you?” she asked.

  Bursting Melody gave a soft giggle. “Illusionary magic on my hair is the simplest of things. It uses up as much of my endurance as someone pacing around for a song.”

  Her sister shook her head and sighed. “Anyway,” she continued, “so you said that the merchants swore by this?”

  “Yes,” Bursting Melody answered her sister. “They did, but it was not only them. I’ve checked a few other sources besides. There might be a hint of the Eye of Algorto in there, or maybe treasure...”

  “Alright, if you say so,” Howling Badger said. “The Stormy Isles have become stranger now. Monsters are restless, criminals are rampant, the church of knowledge has a mad man attacking tribes. Then there are the Titanspawn who are more active than they have ever been, or at least more active than they have been since I’ve been born, I guess they were just as active about what a hundred years ago? Anyway let’s get this over with and see how tough these things really are.”

  Howling Badger stood up, her sister rising with her. They left the boulder and began walking forward. They had been searching for the Eye for a while now—this was the first hint they had gotten since they began their journey.

  These sisters were nearly inseparable and had decided to journey together.

  Unlike the other tribes that had sent their aspirants specifically for the Eye, the sisters had started sooner than the others. They were already two weeks into their own tribal trials when the letter arrived, changing their original journey into one that became a search for the Eye of Algorto.

  Here they were now, after weeks of travel.

  The first sign of trouble, however, began almost immediately after they took the first few steps forward. It came in the form of low growls.

  The two sisters stopped quickly.

  Six forms began rushing towards them from the canyon walls, three crawling down the rocky sides while three others charged forward, their four arms and two legs propelling them across the ground. They were eight feet tall, gray-skinned nightmares—imposing humanoid predators with four powerful arms and three glowing eyes arranged in a triangular pattern on their elongated skulls. Long, segmented tails ending in sharp, bony stingers lashed behind them as they moved. Their thick skin, tough as crocodile hide, was covered in patches of coarse fur around the shoulders and neck, with scattered scales along their spines and joints. Prominent fanged teeth gleamed as they shrieked, the sound echoing off the canyon walls.

  “Titanspawn,” muttered Bursting Melody.

  “Well, it looks like you’re right,” her sister, Howling Badger, said. She took a breath as a faint bronze aura began to outline her skin, shimmering along her muscles. Her amber eyes flashed with bronze light for a moment as the Somaquill energy surged through her body.

  The creatures grew closer, shrieking along the way. They moved with great speed, like that of apex predators—relentless and terrifying, their six limbs propelling them forward as the warrior before them prepared her stance. Those running along the stone walls with claws and legs found no hindrance to their own speed, bringing shivers to the spine of all untrained. Even the two sisters, trained since childhood, found themselves feeling nervous inwardly, yet outwardly they were calm and prepared.

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  Howling Badger surged forward, her bronze-enhanced legs launching her toward the nearest titanspawn. The creature’s four arms spread wide, upper limbs reaching to grab, while its lower claws swept toward her midsection. She dropped into a slide at the last second, momentum carrying her beneath its grasp. Her enhanced fist drove upward to slightly above its knee joint—one of the soft spots her tribe had trained her in targeting when facing titanspawn. These creatures’ weak points weren’t the same as hers, but similar enough. Each of their weak points was only a few centimeters away from the normal weak points that she herself would have. The crack of bone echoed off the canyon walls as the creature stumbled.

  Three more titanspawn were already converging, their instinct-driven assault predictable but dangerous. One charged straight at her, another scrambled down the rock wall to her left, and the third circled right. The three moved in an uncoordinated manner, leaving gaps in the spread-out attacks driven by a predatory instinct.

  She used the stumbling titanspawn as a springboard, vaulting over its hunched form as it clutched its damaged knee. The one charging from the front couldn’t adjust its momentum in time. She spun mid-air, her heel connecting with the side of its skull. The enhanced force snapped its head sideways, sending it crashing into the canyon wall.

  Behind her, fifty feet back, Bursting Melody faced her own threat. Two titanspawn rushed toward her, shrieking as they closed the distance. She took out her zither and casually touched a few strings, the air itself seemed to ripple. A focused wave of sonic force erupted from her strings, catching the first creature center-mass. The sound burst hit the titanspawn, lifting it off its feet and hurling it backward ten feet, its ears bleeding from ruptured drums.

  The second creature lunged, claws extended—

  Suddenly, she vanished, the creature stopped in confusion, where did the soft-looking human go, where its thoughts were clearly painted on its face. Three glowing eyes were scanning frantically. Its prey had been right there. It turned, searching, instincts screaming. Movement to its left caught the titanspawn’s attention as it spun its body around.

  Bursting Melody stood perfectly still, no more than three feet from the confused creature. It searched the space before it, eyes darting through her, around her—everywhere but where she stood. A soft shimmer rippled in the air like heat distortion, a carefully woven veil of false images through a soft humming melody. Her fingers brushed the strings of her zither, as the creature was trapped in her illusionary sound.

  To the illusioned titanspawn’s eyes, its companion suddenly transformed—taking the exact shape and scent of the human prey it sought. The creature shrieked and charged its own ally, who roared in confusion as claws found thick titanspawn hide.

  A faint bronze shimmer withdrew from Howling Badger’s legs at her command, the energy responding to her will as if it were just another of her limbs. In less than a heartbeat, it traveled from legs to head—anyone watching would see the bronze glow racing upward before it gathered around her head in a thin, translucent layer.

  Her world sharpened instantly as the enhancement took hold. She’d focused her quill power to her head, and with it came heightened senses that turned the battlefield crystal clear. Colors became more vivid, movements clearer—she could hear the scrape of claws on stone from the titanspawn circling behind her, track the one climbing the wall to her left through peripheral vision alone.

  Arms and head, she decided. She considered keeping the enhancement on her legs for a moment before deciding against it. Three enhancements at once? She’d tried it in training, but maintaining control of that much energy during real combat—when every split second mattered—was a risk she couldn’t afford.

  Bronze energy flooded her upper limbs while maintaining her heightened awareness.

  The wall-climber dropped toward her. With her enhanced senses, she tracked its descent perfectly—the whistle of air through its fur, the tensing of its muscles before the leap. She pivoted, driving an elbow into its ribs mid-fall. The impact redirected its descent, sending the titanspawn crashing into its companion that had been circling to the right. The collision thundered through the canyon. Both creatures quickly became a tumbling tangle of limbs, temporarily stunned even after they stopped.

  Two more came closing in from opposite sides.

  The titanspawn with the injured knee suddenly stopped its prepared charge. A crude shimmer of bronze energy flickered across its limbs, much like her own, yet this shimmer seemed less refined, more raw. It was the innate ability of the titanspawn, their Somaquill. Its speed doubled in an instant.

  Her enhanced hearing caught the sound of movement behind her. It was fast, fast enough that it closed the gap before she could fully react.

  Yet bronze energy had already been moved halfway from arms to torso, racing down her spine to reinforce her back. It was barely fast enough to reach this state. If it were not for her enhanced senses combined with her naturally superior battle instincts, she would not have gained even this measured protection. Those crucial seconds to react were by no means enough for an average combatant, even one with enhanced senses. This was the difference between a normal elite and the battle instinct of a genius.

  Claws raked across her reinforced back. Instead of cutting through and opening her to the bone, the enhanced durability turned what should have been devastating wounds into deep scratches. The impact sent her stumbling forward, leather vest shredded, blood seeping through. She winced as pain flared across her back. Then she smiled. She was still alive after all.

  She rolled with the momentum, coming up in a crouch.

  She transferred her power once more, back to her arms and from her head to her legs.

  Bronze energy surged through her limbs. She sprang backward off the canyon wall, twisting mid-air to face the Somaquill-enhanced titanspawn. Its crude enhancement made it faster, but by nature, the creature was reckless, and its enhancement only worsened that trait. She landed behind it, enhanced fist driving into the base of its skull.

  It dropped, twitching.