The howling grew closer as the Princess ran behind Bastian, running through the woods that surrounded the cabin while Fendwyr was right behind her. As Fendwyr passes by a thick twenty foot wide tree when a blast of fire explodes beside him against it. His senses reacted in time, causing the royal knight to raise his shielded arm and block. A bright blue energy sphere surrounded him and blocked out the explosion before it reached him.
The explosion causes the princess to stop in her tracks and look back. "Sir Fendwyr!!" She called out for her loyal knight but could not see him through the explosion. As she stood there watching, Bastian rushes up behind her and is about to comfort her when a voice calls out through the fire and smoke.
"Bastian! Get the princess out of here!" W blast of wind blows the fire out and reveals the night standing with his shield up and sword now in hand under the sphere. "I was hoping to protect you, princess but it looks like this is where I stand!" His back was still facing the two now as they could see about twenty mages emerge in front of the knight.
"We must get you out of here, Princess." Bastian told her softly. The princess stood there and closed her eyes sighing. She felt as if should couldn't do anything.
Fendwyr now stood between the Mages who were dressed in black cloaks and robes. Each held both hands up aiming at the knight.
Princess Celestyn took a deep breath and raises her right hand toward the bright morning sky. Within minutes the clouds covered the area and grew dark, turning the sky so dark it almost seemed night. "I will not allow either one of you to die on me. I swear you I will grow stronger." She told the two and opened her eyes, the crimson red eyes she once bore were now glowing.In front of her knight, Fendwyr, the form of a Direwolf towered before him like a sunflower that had just bloomed to its peak. Once the Direwolf fully developed two more formed beside it then charged at the mages.
"Princess…" Bastian said softly as he watched the Mirage Magic the princess was using to defeat the dark mages.
"This will give us enough time for the three of us to escape, Sir Fendwyr…" Princess Celestyn turned and walked past Bastian without a word. In front of her, a towering beast stood growling until one of her Mirage Direwolves she summoned tackles it out of their way. The beast was one of the Hellhounds unleashed to track the three. It's size was that twice of a grown man. It's body and features were that of a dog but bore horns and spikes all along it's body.
The three began to sprint past the fighting and continue to flee from capture once again. "Princess? How are you able to summon those? We thought you born without Magic." Sir Fendwyr asked her from behind.
"What do you suppose Bastian and I were doing back in the castle hidden chambers?" Her reply was spread through her breathing as she ran. "Bastian was teaching me how to control my Mana."
"Okay, But Mirage Magic?" At this point Fendwyr was curious. He had no idea the princess could use this kind of Magic let alone summon three of that size and power. "And wolves that massive?"
"I don't know.. But for some reason they just appeared to me one day." The princess began to think back to the day her first one appeared to her.
Eight years ago when the princess was ten years of age.
In the depths of the vast castle she lived in, deep down in the hidden areas known to few. Bastian stood in the middle of a large square stone room. Princess Celestyn, ten years of age, stood before him with her eyes closed. She was dressed in a small pink dress big enough to hid her feet.
"Now, Princess… Look deep inside yourself and tell me what you see…" Bastian looked the same as he did in the present, angular face with a gray and white beard that matched. He wore a black vest and white dress shirt underneath with black pants and dress shoes to match his vest.
The young princess relaxed but without a word a ghostly figure forms beside her, taking the shape of a Direwolf the size of Bastian, standing at six feet tall. The Direwolf looks over at the princess who still had her eyes shut then back to Bastian.
"I see…. A wolf…" Her hand reaches up to her small chest and clenched down. "The wolf is too big for me to summon…"
Bastian looked at the Direwolf "But Princess… You've already summoned one."
She opens her eyes and gently places her hand on the muzzle. It was ghostly but she could feel it as if it were alive. "This one isn't the one I was talking about…" The Direwolf closed its eyes as her hand sat on its muzzle before it evaporated.
"Your mother would've been proud." Bastian said softly. He hasn't noticed but the princess had actually summoned three more that were behind him but much smaller before they to evaporated. "Your training is over for the day. Tomorrow we will work on Mana Control."
"Alright, Bastian." She starts to walk to the door but stops, stumbling to the floor. Bastian could see her Mana leaking around her in the form of Aura. The aura was so massive that even the strongest of Mages would have sensed it if the room had not been shielded.
Bastian rushes over to her. "Princess are you alright??" He asks, kneeling down beside the young princess.
"I… I am… I just… Heard a voice…" She spoke softly. Sweat dripping down her forehead and cheek as she looked over to Bastian. Beside her one of the Direwolf Mirages stood beside her looking down at her as if it were checking on her as well. "The Wolf was calling for me…"
"Let's get you to your room so you can rest, Princess." He told her as she nodded. The hidden door opens across from them as Sir Fendwyr opens the door. He looked young for his position but he was about ten years older than the Princess herself.
"Is everything okay? I sensed…" He saw the princess, sweating like she was sick. Bastian lifts her up into her arms and carries her out. The Mirage had evaporated when the door opened.
"She just needs to rest for now, Sir Fendwyr." He carried the now unconscious princess in his arms over to the knight. "If you don't mind, can you lead us out?"