"Go back to your prince..." I spit back at the airship that seemed to be following me. While nothing had pursued me since my immediate departure. One airship had seemingly come across me and kept a close eye on me. But I was not foolish enough to test their lack of willingness to shoot.
So I kept putting all my power into my flight and I ensured distance. However, in the open skies of my homeland, I was not safe. So I had no choice but to dive down into the valleys below to escape them. But although I could physically hide, that did not mean I could not be found.
Ironically, I was safer in the air while using my magic as the higher one went the denser it was. I could blend in without even having to hide physically. Yet, I could not trust my gut in this situation, my prior knowledge was useless. Despite having spent a few years at Suhurlodst, I was no closer to understanding the capabilities of these things.
They were as much an enigma now as they were all that time ago. When I hovered there, paralyzed in fear and confusion as it barraged my army. I couldn't offer any insight either when I got back. I was just a returning soldier, there to hold the line.
"So you were after me..." I remark cautiously as the sound of that gargantuan machine shook the valley. A shiver went through me too. The power of those engines... The purity of the winds blowing out of them.
It was nothing I had ever encountered before. Even the Zaphadren-Valkinvar's power did not feel so overwhelming. But I had to try and bare in mind how different she was from this machine. Control was something she was capable of. This machine needed to be blatant in order to stay in the air.
Soon, though, I found myself sneering as that power was still there. I was getting used to it but it was choking my senses. I felt blinded by such a presence. I couldn't tell if it was safe to reveal myself even slightly.
But, I was in luck, the airship had not made itself known to this particular valley. In fact, it was in another one entirely! I thought maybe it was just the way the cave directed the sound. But, no, I could carry on unimpeded!
So, as there was no time like the present, I shot forward. Tearing up the soil and grass with the strength of my push through the air. Only to come to a sudden halt once I followed the bend in the valley. It was waiting right for me...
"N-No..." I nearly squeaked as I once again found myself hovering before its high-rising broadside. Just like before, I stared up at that machine with panic shredding my nerves. Only this time, I had no armour, I had only my sword. They had no intention of leaving me alone either.
For on the top deck were witches of some kind, although it was hard to tell how strong they were. So I looked up and around, I checked both my sides and gulped as I realised something. With how some of these witches were moving, my only escape would be straight for the underbelly. The way I came was pointless now...
I had no intention of letting them trap me, though. So I readied the tip of my blade and I called on my magic. And, as the approaching witches closed the distance. I launched forward once again.
My wild swing, however, struck no one and I was left with nothing but the distance to cross. Something the airship knew it could not allow. And I saw its resolve to stop me soon enough. Loud and clear did it make the declaration as my vision lit up with hundreds of small, approaching lights.
With hints of purple and blue, I was reminded of Nin's magic as their warped noises filled the air. It was like the air wobbled uneasily around them. It was raw magic alright. And it was because of that, that I did not want to risk touching them.
One of the first things I was taught was how to hide and alter my aura. Its application was both a tactic of stealth, misdirection and of modesty. But these orbs, these cannonballs as they seemed to be. I could not feel anything even though I should have been able to.
"Even now..." I remarked nervously as I shot through the gap of them. Having turned back to watch them detonate. But, in doing so, I had come to understand their power. The magic behind me, it was gone.
It was like I had never stepped there, to say nothing of the stretch of fresh craters! These guns wiped everything out... I had to avoid them at all costs. But there were so many of them.
So many guns.
Yet, there was hope yet, I was nearly at its underbelly. I had weaved through several more waves of cannon fire and I had forced my way past the pillars of wind magic. However, I could not rest, I needed to move somewhere. And with the airship suddenly lowering itself...
I made the hasty decision to head to my right as I felt a gap in the magic power. If this was a continuation of the trap or an exploitable mechanical flaw. It did not matter. I had to ascend the mountain and dive over!
So, seemingly acting in contradiction, I stopped at the lowest edge of the mountain. One hand dug straight into the rock and I looked up. A face of grim determination met the cloudy sky above and I dragged my body back. Sending myself up against the incline with all I had. Higher and higher I went until the snow-belt broke before me.
And I broke through it again as I dropped down into the dense woodlands below. Fortunately for my pursuers, I had to leave a trail of destruction. I could not move with haste without doing so. But I had to stop, I could not run with such a blatant trail behind me!
But what was I to do? This is how I had learned to fly, this is what they had taught and instructed me to do. To my growing frustrations as well. I struggled to figure anything out.
Our was was not to run, it was to charge! But this was not something I could beat... Even if it was just the witches or soldiers. I had no armour.
I was just a woman in casual attire... Albeit, I had made a point of destroying it with my aggressive travel speed.
"I need a place to..." I mumbled against the wind before I suddenly veered towards the right. The path ahead was clear but I still needed to do something to hide my trail. And I had to do it fast. The airship's powerful horn and tremendous ryphergokpower kept its presence on my mind.
There was someplace for me to go, though! The mountain ahead! I could see it was suffering from some degree of decay! It had a sense of hollowness to it.
And, luckily for me, my well-trained eyes quickly caught sight of a cave that was in line with the forest. So I turned towards it and went as fast as I could. Turning upwards at the last moment and forcing my way through the stone as I did so. Only to then drop as I let my magic die.
Briefly letting it back only to break my fall before I tumbled and rolled through a dusty, gravel-filled pit. Then, without delay, I quietly breathed my worries in and dug myself into the gravel. No magic escaped me and my breathing was louder than ever.
And so was the airship, in fact, it had just passed by close enough to disturb the eroded pillars above. They fell as easily as they looked they would and a wave of disturbed dust flew out about the crater. Thankfully, they had landed far away from me, so I just ended up being buried even further.
Yet now I was blind, my senses were all taken away from me by hiding here. The airship had come to a stop near where I had made my diversion. But under all this stony debris, I could not see either. There was an uncomfortable blackness ahead of me and my magic would not alleviate it.
I just had to try and wait it out... Maybe they would go away on their own. One lone Valkinvar not worth it in their eyes. Yet, despite the reasons for me being here, I prayed that they did not know that I was.
I hoped they just saw me as a suspicious witch seemingly on the run. But I had my doubts. With the way I had shown off my power. The way I had moved, even.
It was all indicative of the iconic style of the Four-Winded Order.