Dorian stared at the large dog that had its tongue hanging out of the corner of its mouth. The dog looked back at him with a tilted head, panting softly. It had dark brown fur and a jagged light brown line running from the top of its head down to the middle of its back.
'Psyker? What is that?' He quickly asked.
[That appears to be a Lightning Hound at the first rank. As its name states, it is a beast with a lightning element affinity. Lightning Hounds usually roam in small packs ranging from three to seven beasts, but this one seems to be alone.]
A low growl spread through the air as the dog continued to inspect Dorian. He took a slow step backwards but kept his eyes firmly fixed on the dog, but suddenly, a sharp hiss resounded from behind him.
'Oh God.' Dorian cursed as he heard that sound. He soon understood that the dog did not growl at him, but instead the creature behind him.
The dog growled again and the fur on its back began to stand straight as tiny sparks of electricity began to crackled between its fur. Dorian's eyes widened just before he jumped to the side and a loud bark erupted from the dog's mouth.
Sand and small chunks or debris peppered Dorian's back as the terrain behind him exploded into bits under an empowered attack that sent strong shivers down Dorian's spine. He craned his neck around to see what was going on behind him, only to see a crackling slab of earth that had tendrils of lightning dancing over is surface.
The edges of that slab of earth had been burnt and shattered by the lightning, but the center of it remained intact.
Small shards of stone and rock began to shake and roll toward the snake that was hiding behind the slab of earth, and soon, the slab crumbled, joining the tide of rock that had now piled up on top of the snake.
When it rose again to stare at the Lightning Hound, Dorian noted that its entire body was wrapped up in a protective covering of earth. The only open spots were its eyes and mouth. The hound let out another loud bark and a flash of light erupted from its mouth. Dorian could not even follow the path of the attack, but he knew that the Lightning Hound had shot a lightning bolt at the snake.
Another explosion rang out before a sharp hiss tore through the dulling sound. The body of the snake dashed forward from the cover of smoke as it rushed to close the distance between itself and the hound. The armor of earth that covered its body hindered its advance, but it was still fast because of the fact that manipulating the earth was its innate ability.
The lightning that danced over the hound's fur grew more violent at that scene as it jumped back and released an even louder bark. More debris rained down on Dorian as multiple explosions occurred. A cloud of dust blocked his vision, so he was unable to even see what was going on.
He remained in that position for ten whole minutes, too scared of being hit by a stray bolt of lightning to even try and make an escape. Eventually, the battle between the two beasts began to die down.
'Psyker! I thought you said the hound was only a rank 1 beast? Why is it so powerful?!' Dorian mentally berated Psyker.
[I said they were rank 1 beasts, the weakest rank in this world, yet I never said they were weak. There are simply other beasts in the higher ranks that are stronger than them.] Psyker replied in a matter-of-factly tone.
'Damn you!' Dorian swore as he raised his head to inspect the area. The sounds of battle had died down during his discussion with Psyker and he was contemplating making a run for it before the winner of the fight turned its attention to him. Before he could even take a step forward, a low growl stopped his movements.
'Crap! I'm finished!' He thought glumly as he turned to face the Lightning Hound that had emerged from the cloud of smoke and dust.
The large dog had multiple injuries on its side from its battle with the snake. The limp corpse of the snake hung from its jaws as it stalked its way toward Dorian. It resembled a wolf stalking its prey, and that made Dorian gulp loudly. Fear filled his bones and doubts began to form in his mind.
'Am I really going to die here? Am I going to die before I even begin my journey?'
He couldn't help but think of his father. He had been looking forward to reuniting with him when he grew stronger, but things seemed to be spiraling out of control now. He shut his eyes as the dog came within five meters of his position, but they shot open on their own as they heard a thump ring out at his feet.
The hound had dropped the corpse of the snake at his feet and stared at Dorian with wide open eyes and an open mouth. After a long minute of watching him, it whined and used its snout to push the large body of the snake closer to Dorian. It then leaned toward him and licked his hand.
'Psyker... What is going on? What is it doing, and what should I do?!' Dorian hurriedly asked Psyker for instructions on how he should react to the beast's actions.
[I believe it wants you to take the snake? I'm surprised myself, honestly.]
Even Psyker was confused. He had no idea hat the Lightning Hound wanted from Dorian. His programming did not feature such a possibility happening.
Slowly and carefully, Dorian reached out his open hand to place it on the warm body of the snake. Its scales had been burnt and ripped apart in the fight, but Dorian managed to find an intact surface to place his hand.
The moment he did so, the hound barked and pounced on him.