The Ascension

"Yosh!" Aila said as she put a long timber beam into place up on the roof. She giggled happily and jumped down. "My house is starting to look quite a bit better. A few more beams, and I'll start with the planks. I'll have a water tight roof soon, and will be able to fix the entire manor not long after." She smiled.

As she hadn't had the time, or the opportunity to enjoy her life before she came to Imera, Aila now enjoyed each and every small thing immensely. She started to dance and spin like she was a small girl, and just enjoyed being happy.

"Welp, I better get moving." She said after several minutes of dancing in her kitchen. She picked up the python and put it on the cart she rebuilt at the end of the day yesterday. She had a huge smile on her face.

"I wonder if any stupid wolves will come over and offer their hides to me." She said as she pulled the cart towards Aros. She giggled as her senses scanned the area, and her eyes found what she knew would come over.

"Hello puppies. Are you happy to see me, you stupid wolves?" Aila grinned as a pack of ten storm wolves surrounded her. She put down the handles of her cart, and grinned wider in anticipation.

Storm wolves were stupidly aggressive, and unless you overwhelmed the entire pack, they wouldn't retreat.

With each punch, the skull bones, ribs, or spine of the storm wolves were broken. She dashed forward, smashed the skull of the first wolf, and kicked the second. Two down.

Aila's temper started to flare. Her eyes glowed red, turned around and smashed the ones that tried to steal a bite of the python. The third wolf went flying from a roundhouse kick. Dead upon impact with the ground.

The fourth was on top of the cart, but felt its scruff get grabbed. It was flipped as she yanked the scruff of the storm wolf, only to land a dozen feet away, the impact crushed its spine.

The remaining six were a bit confused, but still continued to attack. She threw a stone that penetrated the skull, and made the fifth wolf fly backward.

Aila ran forward again, kicked a wolf in the jaw, smashed another with her fist, and still another with her other fist. In quick succession, she killed another three storm wolves, and was down to the final three.

These rank one beasts were stupid, but not incredibly stupid.

"Ah, so you're the sacrifice." Aila said as she faced the remaining three. They squatted down to start to dash forward, but the middle one was the only one that ran at her. The other two ran in the opposite directions, and as far away as they could go. Before they could get too far, she had already snapped the neck of the one that attacked.

"You can't run from me!" She said gleefully. She ran to the left and easily caught up with it. One strike was all she needed to kill it. Once down, she picked it up by the scruff of the neck, and walked calmly back to her cart. She looked into the forest and saw a stone bear with the other wolf in its mouth, hanging by its scruff.

"Here." She tossed it a few dozen feet in its direction. "I'd advise you to stay away from my home or you'll become a bed cover." She picked up the other eight wolves, one at a time, put them on her cart, and continued onward.

The stone bear had already caught the scent of the python, and was the sole reason it had come out of its cavern. He didn't want to get tangled up with a rank four, and have no way to escape.

Once it saw her beat those storm wolves, and the rampant elemental essence generated around her, it knew better than to steal from her.

It casually picked up the second wolf, stuffed the scruff into his mouth, and walked back to its den. He had no intention of going against a being that could kill a river python. It was fully aware that a python could easily kill a stone bear, and wanted nothing to do with her.

The stone bear was not stupid like a storm wolf.

* * *

"Toril!" Aila called out, and heard a groan from out back. A few seconds later, the man appeared and shook his head.

"I knew it! I bloody well knew it!" He rolled his eyes. "I say that python meat is delicious, and this damned young lady goes and hunts one down!" Aila grinned.

"I actually didn't. I went into the wasteland to look for something, which also led me to the river. I was at the part of the wasteland that extended into the river, and it had no life at all. This guy crossed over the border and paid the price." She lifted it off her neck and set it down before she stretched.

"Ah, that feels better. Even though I'm strong, this guy weighs a bloody ton!" she grinned at his exasperated sigh.

"Of course it does! It's a rank four!" He rolled his eyes. "What am I doing, trying to explain common sense to someone so outside of anything that makes sense?" She giggled.

"When you skin it, make sure to take a slab of meat this thick as a treat." She held her fingers apart to about four inches thick. His mouth fell open.

"Do you know how much silver you'll lose if you give me that?" He asked.

"Lose? I don't have it yet, so how can I lose it? Just take it as a treat from a friend." She smiled. "I'll be back in a week or so to get that fur, so make sure it's a really good job." She dumped the eight storm wolves on the floor, and left while he waved absently.

He put his hand on the counter. If Aila had stayed, she would have seen how much his hand trembled due to the shock he felt.

"Damned abnormal girl that one is. Can't be a human."

* * *

"Hey, Rirn!" Aila grinned and set eight storm wolf cores on his counter. He smiled and shook his head.

"You don't have to ask. Of course I'll buy them. Storm wolf cores are impure, but I buy them at thirty silver a core. I can sell for fifty, so I still make a profit." He noticed how she frowned slightly, and knew where her complaint was. She was not a greedy woman.

"Oh. That's good then. I wouldn't want you to lose income and still have to put out silver for inventory." She frowned slightly. "I have a couple of questions. Do you know anyone who sells fish?"

"Fish?" She nodded. "Young lady, you probably aren't aware, but fish is a commodity that is insanely expensive. The easiest fish to catch is the wolf headed trout, a sea fish that has large teeth. It can jump out of the water, and kill a fisherman easily." Aila blinked.

"Wolf headed trout? I think I've heard of a wolf fish before, but never one that could kill a fisherman!" She said.

"All the sea's creatures are like the beasts of the forests. Strong, agile, and fast. They can bite through nets, and the only ones that don't swim in packs are the ones no one would dare to try and catch. They can jump out of the water, eat a man down to his bones, then roll back into the water without worrying about breathing. It takes a highly insane man to try and fish at all." He said, and groaned a bit.

"Wow. Where is the ocean around here?" She asked.

"Stormwall is the closest town. It's to the west, and the south. It borders the wasteland, like Aros, but is part of another kingdom. We aren't on friendly terms, and not unfriendly." He looked around. "The Silver King is too smitten with his Queen to care much about the people, or his kingdom's relationships." She rolled her eyes.

"Bloody hell. Another fool. I should take my girls and go south." She shook her head. "Rirn, where is Underground Black? I have someone I want to visit."

* * *

"Rirn said that Underground Black was over in this direction." She said and soon found an odd stone wall that looked like it didn't fit the shape of the town. She followed the wall until she found the gate.

"Halt!" The guards said. Aila walked out in front of the gate so she wasn't near the wall any longer.

"I'm here to see the Black One." She said, and waited. The guards looked at each other and stood firmly in her way, but said nothing. Aila frowned, and felt her temper rise.

"Did you hear what I said?" Her voice hardened. The guards stood their ground.

"No one is permitted to see the Black One, and she is not permitted to see anyone without permission." The gate guard said. Aila growled.

"She's not allowed?" Flame essence lined her skin, which made it appear as though she were on fire. They quickly pounded on the gate. "You think my girl has to ask permission?!" She was not just a bit angry. Her flame elements were highly agitated.

The Black Guards grew fearful, as they had already heard about a young woman who threatened them. They made a decision that would shape the future of Underground Black, and not in a good way.

"Call for the Great Ancestor!" The guards pounded on the gate, while another rang an alarm bell. Like chickens that faced a wolf in the hen house, the guards panicked.

"Call for the Great Ancestor!"