A few seconds had passed, and Vakt was still trying to recover his senses fully. His ears were still ringing from the explosion that had killed his mount. As he sluggishly looked to the side, he could still see the whitish figure of the eagle rising towards the clouds in the distance. Bolts of purple lightning still crackling around its wings and talons.
It appeared that it hadn't fled at all. Instead it had risen above the clouds before diving and launching a devastating attack. As Vakt continued to look at it, it soon reached the clouds where its lightning diffused through them is a pattern resembling a web.
It was at that moment that he realized truly how perilous his situation was. The great eagle was lying in wait above the clouds, likely observing his every move. And while his opponent could see him, he couldn't do the same. Furthermore, he was on the open mountainside quite some distance away from the safety of the forest. Elroy was now very worried at this sight, and he immediately called for reinforcements, mobilizing all his hobgoblins to come to Vakt's aid. Until then however, he would have to deal with the situation on his own.
A bead of sweat was now trailing down the side of Vakt's face as he looked up warily at the clouds, unsure as to when the next attack would come. Seeing a patch of lightning appear within the clouds, he focused his attention in that direction.
Sure enough, the eagle emerged from the clouds where this lightning had appeared. Even though it emerged from the clouds some 500 meters above ground, it would only take seconds for it to arrive. Dense bolts of purple lightning were crackling all around its figure, and its eyes resembled purple flames. With its speed, it almost looked like a purple meteor descending from the heavens above, leaving a trail of lightning in its wake, as a shrill sound resounded.
Before he even had enough to clearly process it all, the eagle was already upon him. He just barely managed to dodge backwards towards the uphill, the eagle's talons almost hitting him. Although he was not hit, the residual lighting from the bird's passage left some slight burns across his chest and arms.
He could not afford to be undecisive at this time, he thought as he bit his lips, stifling a pained groan. He notched an arrow to his longbow. Although he hadn't managed to seriously injure the bird previously, with how fast it was now diving to attack him, if he were to land a shot, it was bound to do some serious damage.
As he saw another patch of lightning appear in the clouds, he started to aim in that direction. Still not seeing the eagle descend, his stress continued to rise. He began to hear a soft whistling and as his eyes widened, he threw himself backwards to the ground since he could not afford to break his bow. He had been misdirected.
His eyes locked with those of the eagle, seeing its cold and emotionless gaze. Its talons drew blood along his chest as they tore off his breastplate, crumpling it as if it were paper. The lightning scorched him, making his chest muscles contract uncontrollably. His heart felt as tough a strong force was pressing over it and, as it skipped a beat, Vakt could taste the iron in his mouth.
He could not remain on this open mountainside where he was too easily vulnerable. He had to make it to the forest. Although, he doubted that the eagle would let him get away so easily, he wasn't going to give up so easily.
Getting back and running towards the forest, he kept looking back towards the sky, in attempts to spot the eagle as it emerged from the clouds. Although a patch of lightning appeared in the clouds, Vakt didn't let himself be deceived again and kept looking all around. Hearing the soft whistle, he caught the eagle in the corner of his vision. Quickly snapping to it, he drew his longbow fully before rapidly releasing the arrow he had notched earlier.
Unfortunately, even if his aim was on point, he appeared to have fired too early as the eagle spread its wings to change direction. It had to give up on this attack, as redirecting further to continue it would mean risking to smash into the mountainside.
If he wanted to hit the eagle during its dive, Vakt would have to shoot when it had already committed fully to the attack. Any time earlier than that, and the eagle could narrowly dodge the arrow. And if he fired too late, even if he managed to hit the eagle, it would likely tear into him.
As Vakt looked at it continue to rise again beyond the clouds, he proceeded to notch another arrow before continuing to run to the safety of the forest. Having realized that not being able to see his enemy was Vakt's biggest problem in this situation, Elroy also turned his vision to the sky.
Seeing a patch of lightning appear in the sky, Elroy dismissed it at first as another misdirection attempt by the eagle. However, he was soon to be corrected.
6.
Elroy spotted the eagle emerging from that patch of clouds to Vakt's left and he instantly relayed this information.
'Left.'
5.
The eagle enveloped itself in dense purple lightning, leaving a trail of sparks and residual lightning in its wake. Its burning eyes were shining brightly.
Vakt drew the longbow as he spun around to face it, leaving the arrow to rest next to his face.
4.
The two locked eyes as Vakt continued to wait before taking his shot. The one who disengaged first, would inevitably face a devastating attack by the other.
3.
The eagle committed itself fully to the dive, its lightning seemingly entering a frenzy as it started to rapidly fluctuate, emitting loud thunderclaps.
Vakt let loose his final arrow, the fletching drawing a small cut along his cheek.
Only a purple comet could be seen reflecting in his amber eyes.
2.
The arrow seemed to have ben off-center as it impacted the eagle's left shoulder bone, shattering it to mere fragments as it pierced through to the other side. The eagle's sheer speed had made up for the lack of power driving the arrow.
Vakt started to dive to the side in an attempt to doge the incoming attack.
1.
Despair appeared amidst the purple flames as the eagle realized its wing was broken. It would not be able to redress its flight and avoid the rapidly approaching mountainside. Even if it didn't die at the moment of impact, the injuries it would receive would ensure it.
In a last act of revenge, it outstretched its talons to attempt to take its aggressor with it.
Although its wing was broken, the inertia still carried it closely along its previous path, a fact Vakt realized as he braced himself for impact.
0.
One of the eagle's talons dragged itself along his inner right arm, leaving deep lacerations in a flash of blood, before its lightning discharged into Vakt's body. As his heart momentarily stopped, he was thrown back by several meters. Large burns could be seen on his now unconscious body as some smoke rose from it.
The eagle was arguably in a worse state, as it didn't die on impact. Instead, it had rolled at great speeds on the rocky terrain, coming to a stop against some taller boulders some ten meters away. It was now in great pain as virtually all its bones were broken.
Elroy could only watch worriedly as a large amount of blood started to pool under Vakt. Seemingly, several arteries had been ruptured in his arm.
He sluggishly came to after about a minute, his unfocused eyes opening. He rose to a sitting position, his head spinning. He felt weak, weaker than he had ever felt. As he looked to the ground, he could see that an ungodly amount of blood had started to slowly trickle down the mountainside. Tracing its source, he was looking at his mangled arm from which continued to flow away his life.
Seeing the dying eagle some distance away, he struggled to his feet before limping in its direction. Having difficulty unsheathing his sabre, only one though remained in his mind: he had to kill it, it was only the way he would survive. His right arm dangled at his side while blood trailed his footsteps.
As he drew closer, he could see the hateful gaze of the eagle. Laying there against the rocks, it tried to bring forth once again its lightning, but just as it managed to slowly gather some sparks, a spurt of blood interrupted it as its injuries worsened.
Having finally arrived to stand before the eagle, Vakt raised his sabre before thrusting it into its chest, driving it further in with his full bodyweight.
The light faded from the eyes of the bird as a large amount of Essence bloomed in what could only be described as a purple rose before being funneled into Vakt's wounded body.