'War is life multiplied by some number no one has ever heard of'.
That was what one of the soldiers I worked with said to me when we where investigating an outbreak in Somalia.
Those are the words that rang in my mind as I stared down the Karate fighting baboon in front of me.
Blood dripped down its dark blue chest, the stare it was giving spoke to me.
It said I wasn't leaving here alive.
The third grenade that formed behind me disagreed.
'How did we get here'? Ava asked.
One moment we are walking down a field of tasty flowers the next we are fighting for our lives.
Well I'm fighting, Ava was still confused and wondering what we did wrong.
I wasn't going to take time to explain the food chain to her.
It's white fur stood on edge and my blade was raised slightly.
That was all the provocation we needed as we ran towards each other at the same time.
We made contact at close quarters, it spun on its heel while sending out its left elbow and I met it with my dagger that felt like it was running against metal.
The blade slid from its elbow to its armpit forcing its arm up and away from me.
When I passed its body a raised foot kicked me in the back of my head.
Three explosions went off as I was knocked unconscious, two of which found their mark the other exploded early before reaching the baboon.
It knocked me out for exactly four seconds, I woke up with my face in the dirt.
I was hit in the back of the head but because of how I landed the dark blood dripped down my face and down the side of my cheek
I rolled whole moving my left leg underneath me, standing straight up.
The motion was sudden and my feet are wobbly.
The blade still in my hand as the wind blows from the south.
The large body fell towards me and landed with a thud.
Apparently it used that time while I was making grenades to harden it's body.
The beast did a damn good job of it, but it seemed to work against it when the explosions went off it rattled its insides.
My feet shuffled as my stability was compromised, I was suffering from a concussion and my stomach rebelled against every step.
The dizziness didn't stop me as I eyed the felled body of my opponent.
The blood stained blade gripped tight in my hand while I steeled myself, my bloodlust was tangible.
I was going to make a fur coat with its hard skin.
As if my killing intent reached it in it's deepest slumber the orange colored eyes opened and it rolled as my blade came down, missing it and stabbing into the soil underneath.
It didn't even look back as it began to run on all fours going directly north and making a noise that sounded like a grown man screaming at a high pitch.
I stumbled and fell trying to give chase, I watched it's back grow smaller as I struggled to stand back up.
"Fucking monkey" I cursed in english while spitting out some blood.
"Get us out of here" I said to Ava.
'But...'
'But what'? I asked frustrated by her lack of urgency.
'The flowers...' I fought the urge to punch the little blob and grabbed a bunch of flowers.
Stuffing them in my pack tied around my waste, also stuffing her vial full of it.
She happily makes a mana platform and I step on it, I am flown into the air while keeping my head rotating.
The last thing I needed was another predator, but it was pointless staying on the ground.
I had no cover and the field only got wider.
Ava flew low and fast until the sun was rising.
When we landed I was surprised to find that the mana was even thicker than before.
It seemed the higher the altitude not only the thinner the oxygen but the thinner the mana.
I sat cross legged with Ava and placed my back against a boulder in the huge open field.
***
Hi'Wuu swung from tree to tree so fast most of the other beasts that are rising before the sun didn't notice his presen
If they did he was long gone before they could think of investigating.
He quickly reached his territory and made his way to the largest, thickest tree that his troop called home.
As soon as he climbed midway others saw him and rushed over grunting and screaming in anger, 'who would touch one of their own in this territory'? they thought.
Grunts and screeches turned into a cadence that was their language of old.
Many of them are confused, Hi'Wuu was considered one of the strongest in the troop.
A large baboon climbed down using a thick vine, the noises quieted instantly.
"Hi'Wuu what happened to you"? Imit'Wuu asked.
"A demon" Hi'Wuu shuddered as he thought of the blood stained stare of the little human.
"A demon"? all that are gathered gasped, a demon was the worst thing that could befall a territory.
A demon is one that lost control of their mana and is being consumed by their aura.
While they deteriorate they lose control of themselves going into a frenzy.
The tribe of Wuu knew none of these terms.
But all their instincts told them to kill the strong murderous monster that would prey on anything in it's path to satiate it's ever growing hunger.
"Where is this demon? Is it close"? Hi'Wuu shook his head and pointed south.
"I fought it at the field of death, it had a human boys shell but I know a demon when I see one" Hi'Wuu said.
He was one of the strongest in his troop and even a normal demon could be fell by him.
"Send word to the other kings of the jungle, anyone who sees this demon is to come and tell me immediatly" Laat'Wu the smallest yet wisest of the troop shouted and was met by a resounding screams and grunting.
The troop dispersed going to their diffrent cousins some large and some small, warning them of the little demon.
"We must drive it to the Little Mountain! the Druids will cleanse it"! Hi'Wuu who was nursing his wounds said.
"Rest now, we will cleanse our land on the night of darkness".
As the sun rose on a new day in the jungle Imit'Wuu was grateful to see another day, but not more then Hi'Wuu.
***
I bit into the juicy meat of the Arial bird the size of a large man.
It looked like a sparrow but it had sharp teeth underneath its round beak and large brown eyes.
It was cute until it opened its mouth.
I killed it by playing dead again, but that act was getting old.
One bad move and it would be pecking out my innards.
The meat would be delicious if I didn't have to blow it up, and a clean kill was impossible.
I also had to pluck the feathers without scalding it, making the skin harden quickly under the fire.
I was lucky this thing decided to attack when it did because I was famished after a whole day and a half of meditation.
My body was still sore but I was in good health all in all.
The scowl on my face hadn't left, the reason for my poor attitude was because I let the baboon live.
'I should have killed that fucker, now I am going to go the rest of my time in the jungle looking over my shoulder'.
'I hate loose ends' I thought to myself as I bit into the rare white meat.
'I still don't get it' Ava was confused as to why the baboon and I fought in the first place.
'You'll understand one day' I said as the blood from the poultry filled my mouth.
I madensure to eatnmy fill and then some, I devoured more then half of the bird.
The mountain seemed closer than ever, I felt like if I put my hand out I would be able to touch it.
The open field was a nightmare for land based mammals.
The flyers would be able to swoop down and claim a meal whenever they wanted.
I wondered why thicker vegetation didn't grow here but quickly dismissed those thoughts focusing on the mountain in front of me.
Running through the fields like a gazelle, I stay low and fast.
When I stopped I would practice making arrays.
I worked on recreating Jashas array.
I did not see aura being molded but I did see the hand signs he used and they where the simpler ones compared to the half-sylph or Kata.
He intertwined his fingers followed by raising his index finger and finally letting all the fingertips touch and he repeated that over and over.
This was the only array taught to him by Kata, the memory of learning it was strong.
I flooded my arms and hands with mana, so much so that the blood flow slowed.
Nothing happened when I made the hand signs.
I looked like an idiot as I spent the whole night playing with my hands.
Jasha spent years learning it, I didn't expect to do it over night but I was much more developed then he was.
It wasn't until first light that the idea dawned on me, no pun intended.
It wasn't the amount of energy I accumulated in my hands, it was the amount I released from them.
The hand signs help to shape the pulse of mana coming out of the hands.
I failed at recreating the array but I learned something invaluable.
I was so focused on the accumulation of energy because that was what Jasha focused on and had the hardest part accomplishing.
I cut my thumb again and positioned my hands in a praying position.
I make a circle like I usually do but this time I added a pulse from my hands in between the pulse from my mana core.
The blood morphed into a circle in just a few seconds but the lingering energy fueled the array making it harder to shape until a stream of mana was created.
'I definitely have to watch my output' I thought while trying again this time following the hand signs Jasha used.
With each pulse two demensional line are created starting from the bottom left and flowing into the center.
Then the top left, followed by the top right.
It was a thick line, a thin line and a double line in that order.
I kept using the hand signs and the pattern continued in a clockwork motion.
I stopped when it looked like a broken clock with extra arms.
The interesting thing was that I found a balance where the blood remained in a liquid state and it flowed and clashed in the center of the array.
Upon closer inspection there are multiple places where the blood clashed and didn't flow.
I take a few steps back before sending energy into it.
Dozens of small thin tentacles varied in strength come out of the other side, some are getting wider while some longer.
it was a complete failure but a smile played upon my lips as I thought of the many applications.
I decided not to tarry, the sun was rising high and the distant figures are circling above.
And tonight there would be no moon, the beasts that hunt in the dark are the ones to be wary of.