Kantos shivers in the afternoon heat as he watches Aurora move away from him. The twin suns beat down from above, giving him a cool rush but at the same time sending beads of sweat running down him as he bakes in his armour. He wrinkles his nose as puffs of dust drift up from the rocky ground. He wants to wipe at his eyes, but cannot take them from the sight of her moving away.

"What are you doing?" Kantos shouts aloud. He wants to move, but his feet are rooted to the spot, stuck to the jagged rocks that he can feel through the soles of his boots. "Aurora." The word catches in his throat as he watches her walking towards the Oskari alone.

"What is she doing?"

Kantos turns, finally taking his eyes from her to face a man he detests irrefutable. The dark locks and crimson eyes of the king stare at the place he had been transfixed only a moment ago. Neymar stares at Aurora as she moves closer to the enemy. Kantos looks back before replying, "I don't... know." He watches as she makes her way another few paces before stopping halfway between the two forces.

"No," he mutters, as he watches her rummage inside her leather jerkin. "No, not the..." He trails off as she pulls the brightstone from the hidden pocket and holds it aloft as it sparks to life, illuminating her in a soft emerald glow. Her sword remains at her side, motionless an inch from the rocky and blood-soaked ground.

Then Kantos hears the words he had feared she would say.

"Is this what you want?"

⛬

Aurora grins at the sudden blank faces of the Oskari ahead. Her nostrils flare at the pungent aroma they give off, but she holds herself firm, not giving them the satisfaction of her reaction. Scanning across the sparse, rocky ground, she mentally notes their number. Forty, fifty, seventy. No, there must be at least a hundred now. Where in Antar did they come from? She keeps her emotions neutral, continuing to plaster her grin to her as she sweeps across their number before falling to a lone Oskari that stands taller than most. Aurora stares at it, emerald green against bright white unblinking as an eerie silence descends throughout the valley. She lets her grin broaden, showing teeth before finally relenting and blinking. Her new heightened sight picks up a minute twitch of its lips before they turn neutral again.

I have you now.

Dropping her arm to her side, Aurora keeps hold of her brightstone tightly within her fingers and begins to move forward once more, her feet moving on instinct towards the enemy. She pushes on even at the sound of shouting behind her, a booming voice that can only be Kantos telling her to come back. Ignoring him, she strides forward five more paces stopping more than halfway across the distance to the Oskari now, standing within their reach. Trust me Kantos, I know this will work. Pausing, she stares once again at the taller daemon, her body unflinching as it sizes her up.

"Oskari," she hisses, her tongue rolls unconsciously, giving the name life. The waiting daemon's all stare at her as if controlled as one being. "Look at me. Really look and see me." With a sharp movement, she thrusts her sword into the ground making it vibrate from side to side, then lifts her hand to her face. "Look," she points to her ears and the slightly elongated tips. Then she moves her fingers around to her cheekbones, angled up slightly pulling at her skin. "Look closely, Oskari. For I am changed. I am stronger and faster than before. I have this, a brightstone," she beams as it brightens momentarily before pulsing back to a steady glow. "You cannot win, for I am a royal of House Saur. I am a direct descendant of the great King Folknor who ruled these lands, and I have bonded with a brightstone." She breathes in, holding it before releasing it slowly.

Watching intently as the news moves through the daemons, she turns her back on them to the men behind. She catches Kantos staring with a look of horror etched across his face. His lips move, but she cannot waste the time. But I will remember that look, I think forever. She forces a smile towards him, a loving smile, one that lights up her face radiating a glow of beauty. Then she points and turns back to the Oskari. "There, behind me are two more," she pauses, catching her breath. "Royals from House Vatn and House Baal who are bonded also. So you see, you not only face me, but three royal descendants and three bonded brighstone's, with an army of men ready to die to rid this world of you."

Aurora lifts up her chin as she turns back to face them. She reaches out, wrenching her sword from the blood-soaked earth and holds it aloft. "Are you willing to die, Oskari?" she sneers.

She wants nothing more than to sprint forward and attack, but she stops herself from moving even as energy flows through her wanting to spill from her very being. She pours it back and forth through her brightstone, letting it pulse vibrantly for all to see, Oskari and men alike. Aurora flicks her sword and levels it at the Oskari and grins. "What will it be?" she taunts. "Death, or life?"

She stands poised to attack at the slightest move, her body thrums, her heart quickens as she breathes in the death-tinged air that surrounds them all. She senses a movement to her right, flicking her eyes to catch the first Oskari to break formation and look around. It sets another off and another after. Within securns, the entirety of them squirm, sending looks to one another, all except the big one at their centre. He stands frozen in place, his eyes burning a hole through her as it seethes in silence.

"Yous will dies soon enough, royal's." With that, the Oskari chitters sending a chill through them all before turning it back and striding away quicker than she thought possible even with her new abilities. She stands alone watching each of them in turn follow, and within a few heartbeats the only trace of them is a growing dust cloud and the few bodies that lie dead before them.

Aurora releases a held breath and drops her sword, the tip hitting the ground harder than she had meant. She puffs out her cheeks before staring up at the lowering suns above.

"By the Gods, what a day."

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