A scream echoed through the empty streets, a chilling prelude to the chaos that would soon engulf the plaza. Bathed with a pop of rainbow light, mystical energies ravaged the surroundings with rainbow light. Three figures emerged, covered by golden shields of incorporeal might. Their tense bodies but steeled gaze told a story of imminent danger as they readied themselves for battle.

  A swarm of rats occupied the immediate surroundings, but they dared not approach without caution. Numerous times, rats jumped out of the swarm and bashed themselves into the immutable barrier to test its stability. At first, the sanctuary of invisible threads held, but cracks soon spread from every corner. With a final crystalline ring, the barrier shattered.

  A primordial presence settled into the heart of Ravensboro as Nessa unleashed her legacy of Arcane might. Out of her mouth flowed a divine hymn that Humans had not heard since times immemorial. Seemingly, a contract had been formed between all three arrivals as they formed a circle while clasping hands.

  The rats were closing fast without Steele's magical field's protection, but the trio's eyes did not show fear. An ebb and flow of mystical energy spread in waves visible to the naked eye had settled over them. Quickly, its intensity ramped up. They started as thin lines, as delicate as a hair, but soon grew to the thickness of a thigh.

  As Nessa's mouth completed the final verse of otherworldly language, the waves became corporeal and washed the horde of rats with orange flame and force. Smoldering Rat corpses were flung everywhere, and the wave had cleared 50 feet surrounding them. It had been only the first wave as the trio released hands. With the circle broken, Nessa manifested rings of undulating energy in her hands, radiating arcane might.

  " Please protect Tom," Isabel leaped into the front-line position as she called out to Nessa. With a simple flick of her wrists, Isabel summoned twin claws of fiery light into her hands. Practiced steps followed the summoning as she began a calculated dance of ethereal precision. Rats parted before her with simple slices, and Isabel's back steps were accompanied by kicks, sending explosive flames out. During a second respite, Isabel saw a ball of fire explode groups of rats before her. The balls of fire were Nessa's handiwork as the song of power started sounding out again. These explosions appeared random without insight, but the cold calculation of genius was hidden within.

  Even Isabel's knowledge made it difficult to comprehend the madness of it all, but she only needed to protect the two charges behind her. One was her child, a mortal included in their unity. The other was Isabel's Aiodos, her other half. Just as she was Isabel's Aiodos, Nessa relied on her being the Sciath. Words hold power in this world. But Nessa was exceptional in this world, as the Brahan had said.

  As Nessa established a ritual with her undecipherable bombardment, complicated geometric shapes bloomed into existence. More and more rats died in attacks of claws and explosions alike. The world stilled with a thrum of mythical power. Every flame in the surroundings returned to Nessa. With the grace of feathers, all the fire wrapped around Nessa and cocooned her in a warm embrace. Meanwhile, Isabel felt pressured without the sheer mass of rats sent to the afterlife by the explosions, lost the ground the duo had gained.

  Tom was close to Nessa's cocoon of fire and immune to its intense heat. Every rat that closed in on them disintegrated long before reaching either, but Isabel was left to defend herself. The dance she had started intensified as Isabel tactically lost ground. Her speed increased with every half-turn, step, or swing she made. With every slice, more fiery energy flew into the cocoon. Isabel's kicks erupted the ground in infernal fury as rats were sent flying. This, too, fueled Nessa's spell as the cocoon kept absorbing more power.

  With another bisecting slice, the never-ending stream of rats seized as all rats fled from the Steele's premises. Pony-sized twin beings appeared from the rubble of a destroyed building. Calling these beings rats was unjustified. Green energy seemed to drip off the pink and misshapen skin these monsters possessed—beady eyes of red the size of palm fixed Isabel with unearthly fury.

  Invisible threads, akin to swords, seemed to settle on Isabel's throat as she began to feel uneasy. Sweat dripped off her brow, not from heat but from the coldness of her task and its underlying emotions. Grim determination filled her as she leveled the twin claws at her opponents. Isabel's mind was filled with the desire to protect, no matter the cost. She would sacrifice even an arm to shield her Aiodos and her child.

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  The Abonimation's first move was a heavy swing of its claws. Power flowed from the fire into her arm as she twisted the claw into claw. Force separated both opponents as Isabel parried with strength to spare. Another Abomination joined as she began a dance of death. With a flash, Isabel avoided a quick slice of a claw and twisted her foot out of the way of the bite of another. She struck back with a double jab that left her barely out of reach of the second abomination.

  Isabel took a half step backward, which exposed her sides to both opponents. Lifting her foot behind her, she spun with superhuman balance, completing a full-circle kick in mid-air. Midway through the maneuver, her foot ignited. In the end, she slammed her foot heavily into the ground. An orange wave of mystical origin radiated from the impact, racing towards her opponents. As it slammed into them, force and internal heat were sent into the beings' bodies, and both shrieked miserably. Blood erupted from the mouths of both creatures as they retreated.

  With scuttling feet, the monstrosities wanted to escape, but Isabel wouldn't give them the chance. Fire erupted from her feet as she used the concussive force to speed along her pursuit. Mid-flight, she caught up to the first and with practiced swings, left a scoring of wounds on the creatures back. But its resilience was up to match those wounds. It hissed and retaliated with a bite to Isabel's calf.

  She had miscalculated as a scream erupted from her mouth. Isabel's leg was held firm in the mouth of her previously perceived prey. She felt the jarring impacts of flesh against stone as the mutant rat shook its head, continuously beating her against the hard floor. While the pain was excruciating, her resolve still held firm as her whole leg ignited with orange light. Mixed hisses and growls erupted as its mouth burned from the inside and out.

  Even after Isabel was released and flung aside like a broken toy, the flames kept consuming the abomination mockery of a face. Under intense pressure, Isabel rose like a knight holding his last stand against the dark forces. The brave front of Isabel didn't fool the remaining monster as cold calculation empowered it to seize the wounded prey. It advanced as Isabel ignited her fire to seal the wound with a grunt of pain.

  Her flames had dimmed from orange to yellow, but she stood proud and strong. As her arms moved behind herself, her chest extended forward as jets of yellow flame erupted from her elbows, propelling her into the proverbial maw of the dragon. She was significantly slower, with only yellow light fueling her flight, but the rapidly closing rat saw it as a weakness. With an opened mouth, the rat shrieked and extended its oversized teeth into striking range. With compressed force, both of Isabel's claws met the teeth, and a loud boom blasted them apart.

  Isabel hacked up black blood as her core had taken a slight crack, but to her triumph, the threat of teeth was no more. With a subdued howl, the abomination left behind the remnants of its teeth and escaped. Even these abominations had pride, and those teeth were as such, Isabel mused to herself. There was no need to pursue the creature, as the lesser kin would devour the more significant being for having no incisors. Even though the teeth originated from an unclean, Isabel pocketed them to be purified by proverbial fire.

  She dismissed her fiery qatars and, with half a mind, concentrated on mending her core and restoring her resources. Memories of her training occupied Isabel's mind, but she still exhausted herself, falling back into a yellow state. Her mentor had once told her this was an almost inexcusable offense, but here she was after her first fight breaking one of the Enclave's tenants.

  The Divine hymn intensified as runes of arcane brilliance signified the halfway point of the ritual's completion. Howling and swirling particles of firey light joined from distant rat-affected districts. Unlike the particles summoned by both sides of the unity, these lights moved about in erratic patterns, resisting the pull of mystical power.

  " Tom, are we in the clear?" Isabel asked, already knowing the answer. Tom might be a mortal, restricted by his age. He had earned himself training as a Sceor without being supported by a core. It had been the talk of the Enclave for weeks as the first calling of forebearers had progressed. Isabel was initially very proud but later realized their unity would require sacrifice to encompass three beings. This sacrifice required the core of many adept ranked beasts and one singular enlightened core. The Brahan of the Enclave had ensured the rats would grow to such power, by magical means Isabel couldn't understand, as they reclaimed Ravensboro for Nessa.

  The cocoon encapsulating Nessa was the tool the Enclave had entrusted them with to achieve this. It would give her dominion over fire in Ravensboro that none could match. Through this rebirth by fire, Nessa's power would reach immense heights, and the beings of the Enclave could claim back a piece of earth. Having been stolen from them in the past, they sought to reclaim it. Nessa, Tom, and Isabel were the instruments they had guided to complete this task.

  While Isabel and Tom had taken this task as a simple exchange of desire and outcome, Nessa had taken it on as a divine message. She had become so obsessed with the beings of the Enclave, the same beings the lineage Isabel, Tom, and Nessa shared, that everything the Brahan mentioned had become immutable divine law. After diving into the past, Isabel understood the significance of the world's change, but divine law was not something Isabel could understand. She emphasized the being's story and said she would do much to accomplish their quest, but she hadn't sold her soul to them as Nessa had. However, Nessa was also a rarely seen genius amongst the Enclave's offspring and had been offered many more opportunities than Isabel.

  Isabel balled her fist and focused on the changes her body had undergone. Loose feathers, shaded in rainbow light, adorned her knuckles, extending to her elbows. The Enclave had called them proof of her heritage. At her elbow, the feathers flowed into hardy yellow scales. Together, they all formed a steel cage of protection that, in extreme cases, could serve as a melee weapon to protect the trio's lives.

  She approached one of the rat remains closest to her, and with a light touch of her booted foot, the remnants crumbled into dust. The perk of flame magic is that it takes care of the corpses. A glowing yellow core was left behind, and Isabel grabbed it hastily.

  With a quick squeeze, the core shattered in her hands, and foul, dark green mystical energy flew off into Nessa's cocoon. Tom joined her as Isabel broke more and more remains apart to unleash more of this energy. More energy meant the transformation would be completed more quickly.

  Isabel knew that Nessa watched on from within the cocoon, eagerly awaiting the time of her rebirth and the Enclaves.