The quartz goat's head snapped up, its unnaturally luminous eyes fixing on the disturbance. It bleated once—a sound like stones grinding against each other—and turned toward the commotion.
Seizing his opportunity, Asher darted forward, activating a fire rune and throwing it directly at the creature's hindquarters. But in his haste, his foot dislodged a small stone, sending it skittering across the ground.
The goat whirled with startling speed, its crystalline eyes locking onto Asher just as the fiery leaf reached it. The flames erupted against its shimmering coat, but rather than catching fire, the fur seemed to absorb and diffuse the heat. The creature bleated again, louder this time, and pawed the ground with its front hoof.
A tremor ran through the earth beneath Asher's feet, nearly throwing him off balance. Pebbles and small rocks around the meadow rose into the air, orbiting the quartz goat like tiny satellites.
"Earth Weaving," Asher muttered, calling to Ruvia. The crimson orb flashed brightly before transforming into the blood-red spear in his hand.
The quartz goat lowered its head, the crystalline horns gleaming menacingly and charged. Asher barely had time to dive aside, feeling the rush of air as the massive creature thundered past him. The orbiting rocks followed the goat's movement, some of them breaking formation to pelt Asher as he rolled back to his feet.
Quickly activating a water rune, Asher threw it at the ground beneath the goat as it turned for another charge. The earth turned instantly to mud, causing the creature to stumble briefly. Taking advantage of the moment, Asher lunged forward with the crimson spear, aiming for the goat's flank.
The tip of the spear connected, drawing a surprised bleat from the creature and leaving a shallow gash in its side. But the wound seemed to close almost immediately, crystalline growths forming over the injury.
It heals with earth essence! Ruvia warned in his mind. You'll need a more decisive blow!
The quartz goat recovered its footing and reared up on its hind legs. As its crystalline hooves slammed back down, a more powerful tremor rippled through the ground. Fissures opened in the earth, and Asher found himself struggling to keep his balance as the very ground beneath him shifted and buckled.
"I need to neutralize its earth control," he gasped, fumbling in his pouch for another wind rune. Finding one, he activated it and threw it not at the goat but at the ground between them. The gust created a swirling cloud of dust and debris, temporarily obscuring him from the creature's view.
Using the cover, Asher circled around, activating his last fire rune and his second-to-last wind rune simultaneously. He threw them both, one after the other, toward where he judged the goat to be in the dust cloud.
The combined effect was more powerful than he'd anticipated. The wind rune hit first, creating a focused vortex that whipped up dirt and pebbles. When the fire rune followed seconds later, the flames caught in the whirlwind, creating a brief but intense firestorm that engulfed the area where the quartz goat stood.
A pained bleat echoed through the swirling chaos, and when the dust began to settle, Asher saw the creature staggering, its white fur scorched in patches. More importantly, the orbiting rocks had fallen to the ground, its concentration on Earth Weaving broken by the assault.
Now! Ruvia urged.
Gripping the crimson spear with both hands despite the pain in his left arm, Asher charged forward. The quartz goat saw him coming and lowered its horns for one final desperate defense, but it was weakened and disoriented. Asher feinted left, then spun right, driving the spear with all his strength into the joint where the creature's neck met its shoulder.
The crimson weapon pierced deep, and Asher felt a surge of essence flow through the connection between himself, Ruvia, and their target. The quartz goat gave a final, rattling bleat before its legs buckled. It collapsed to the ground, crystalline eyes dimming as life faded from them.
Asher stood over the fallen creature, breathing heavily, the crimson spear still clutched in his trembling hands. His arms ached, his essence core was nearly depleted again, but a fierce exhilaration coursed through him.
"It worked," he said between gasps. "The runes, the strategy... it actually worked."
Indeed, Ruvia agreed, her voice warm with approval in his mind. You fought well, adapting to circumstances and using your resources wisely. A true Weaver in the making.
As the spear reverted to Ruvia's orb form, Asher knelt beside the quartz goat, examining its unusual features more closely. The crystalline horns continued to gleam with internal light even after death, and when he touched one cautiously, he felt a faint resonance with his own essence core.
"These are valuable, aren't they?" he asked.
Quite, Ruvia confirmed. In the Republic, such materials would probably fetch high prices among Weavers and artifice crafters. The meat is also nourishing, particularly for one developing their essence core.
Asher nodded, drawing a small stone knife from his belt—one of the few possessions he'd managed to take during his escape from the wolves. "Then we've earned ourselves a proper meal," he said, "and perhaps our first trading goods when we reach civilization."
As he began the task of dressing his kill, Asher couldn't help but feel a growing confidence.
***
Two weeks passed in a rhythm that was becoming familiar to Asher. Each day began with the first light of dawn, when he would break camp and continue eastward through the mountains. The mornings and afternoons were spent traveling, carefully picking his way along rocky paths that wound ever higher through the range. As evening approached, he would hunt, using his growing arsenal of runic leaves and Ruvia's crimson spear to bring down the essence-touched creatures that inhabited these heights. Nights were for rest and preparation—cooking his kills, crafting new runic leaves, and discussing Weaving theory with Ruvia beneath star-filled skies.
The passage of time had brought noticeable changes. His left arm, while still bearing the permanent scar of the fire rune, had regained most of its mobility and strength. More significantly, Asher could feel his essence core expanding within him, its capacity growing with each day of practice and combat. Where once he had struggled to activate ten runes before exhaustion, he could now channel enough essence for twelve before needing rest.
"It's still not enough," he remarked to Ruvia one evening as they made camp in the shelter of an overhanging cliff. He was inspecting a new batch of runic leaves, his fingers deftly tracing patterns in his own blood.
Such mastery takes years, not weeks, Ruvia reminded him, her crimson light hovering near his work. Your progress is already remarkable for one without formal training.
Asher smiled slightly at the praise. "I've had a good teacher."
At his hip hung a knife fashioned from one of the quartz goat's horns. He had spent days carefully shaping it with stones and his runic abilities, resulting in a blade of crystalline sharpness that never seemed to dull. It had proven invaluable for both hunting and crafting, far superior to the crude stone implement he had initially possessed.
Unfortunately, the rest of the quartz goat's valuable parts had been left behind, as had those of other creatures he'd hunted since. There was simply no practical way to transport such materials through the difficult terrain, not when every extra pound made the climbing more hazardous.
"I wonder how much farther to the Republic," Asher mused, completing a particularly complex wind rune that he hoped would create not just a gust but a focused blade of air.
The mountains have proven larger than I anticipated, Ruvia admitted. But the vegetation has been changing—becoming less alpine and more temperate. We must be nearing the eastern slopes.
***
Dawn of the fifteenth day since their encounter with the quartz goat brought clear skies and a crisp mountain breeze. Asher packed his meager possessions—his runic leaves carefully stored in pouches sewn from monster hide, his quartz knife, and a small bundle of dried meat—and set off once more toward the rising sun.
The path he followed that morning seemed more defined than the natural game trails he had been using thus far, with occasional sections that appeared deliberately cut into the mountainside. By midday, the route had widened further, revealing what were unmistakably the remnants of an ancient road.
"Someone built this," Asher said, kneeling to examine the weathered paving stones still visible beneath centuries of accumulated soil and vegetation. "A long time ago."
Indeed, Ruvia agreed, her light pulsing with interest. This construction predates the current political boundaries. Perhaps from the Old Empire era.
"The what?"
Before the Thornehart Kingdom or the Republic existed, these lands were part of a unified empire that mastered Weaving to a degree unseen in the current age. Their ruins still dot the landscape, often containing valuable relics... and dangers.
Asher's curiosity was immediately piqued. "Valuable relics, you say?"
Artifacts of ancient Weaving, yes. But most have been looted over the centuries, and those that remain are typically guarded.