Tilos panicked, retracting his mind from the Weave. "Raven, we need to go. Fianna is on her way," His voice echoing of the cave walls. The minor deity had broken out of the trap they set for her, a golem meant to contain her while they complete their objective.

"Just one more, I promise this time," Raven responded. The red glowing crystals, running along the cave walls, amplified Raven's red hair. Her hair becoming crimson in tint.

Most of Fianna's treasure was of Aesir craftsmanship, given to her by her worshipers. The Aesir items did not interest them. The artifacts from other civilizations, civilizations from before the Integrations, enchanted objects of immense power, or unique effects were what they had come for. If appropriately studied, Tilos hoped the items could yield vast knowledge to the Church, advancing multiple magical and scientific fields.

Tilos opened his status while they waited.

[Legacy: Kragna Blademaster - 11]

[Class 1: Templar - 3]

MIND: 36

BODY: 43

SOUL: 32

Feats:

[Blademaster - 1]

[One Who Dreams Awake - 1]

Graces:

[Kragna Force Affinity - 5]

[Kragna Blade Arts - 3]

Talents:

[Consitution - 3]

[Meditation - 1]

Tilos smiled, satisfied that [Kragna Blade Arts] had finally progressed to level 3.

"Okay, that's the last one," Raven said as she put a disk-shaped object into a backpack full of artifacts. She moved her red hair from in front of her face, revealing her eyes. Her right eye hazel-green and her left reddish-brown. Raven looked longingly at the rest of the hoard before turning her head away. "Who's carrying the pack?"

"Don't look at me. I don't have any muscle on my frame. I'm all skin and bone." Hiro said as he adjusted his glasses and shied away from the backpack. "Tilos should carry it. It was his idea to come here."

Tilos glared at Hiro as he walked over to the backpack. Hiro was tall than just about every person Tilos had met throughout his life. "Don't lie. I may have told you about this place, but you came up with the idea to steal from a god." He lifted the backpack and strapped it to his back. It was heavy, but not so that it would impede his movement.

Hiro nodded, "Yes, true. But no one told you to listen to me."

"If I didn't come with you, you would have come here by yourself," Tilos drew from his Essence pool, channeling the energy throughout his body. Instantly he felt alert and stronger with an unending stream of stamina. His senses sharpened, the dim red cave light brightening before his eyes. His ears picked up the sounds of the creatures outside the cave.

"Enough chit-chat, let's go," Tilos took the lead, guiding Hiro and Raven out of the cave. The sun sat high in the sky, its rays warming Tilos' skin.

In front of them was an Enclave of grassland, with a large lake sitting in the center. Trees marked the Enclave's border, separating it from the forest. Prey, predator, mundane and magical creatures mingled around the lake, not attacking each other. Most beasts stuck to their kind, but a few younger ones played with each other.

Tilos, Raven, and Hiro distanced themselves from Fianna's cave, heading in a straight line to the trees. They drew closer to the lake at the center of the Enclave. Passing the creatures lounging on the grass, the beasts watched them as the trio passed.

"Hold on," Raven said as she headed towards the lake.

"What now," Hiro sighed. "This place gives me the creeps. I want to get out of here already." Hiro eyed the various creatures staring at him.

"I want to get a sample of the water. The water's healing properties could be useful for the Church." Raven knelt on the lakeshore. She took out a glass vial from her pouch and pulled off the brown cork seal. Raven dipped the vial into the lake, filling it with the healing water. She then corked the vial and put it back into her pouch. "Now we can go."

"You're not going anywhere," a fox made of stone exited the forest, its eerie feminine voice reaching Tilos' ears. It had a melodic ring, a voice that he could listen to for hours, one he was willing to do anything for.

Tilos shocked his head and quickly put up his mental defenses. Fianna's mental enchantment was slowly losing its effect on Tilos.

"Shit, how did she get here so fast. I thought you said your golem would hold her for longer," Hiro said as he hid behind Tilos. He drew his war hammer, wielding it with both hands.

Tilos unsheathed his sword from his hip. He dropped the heavy backpack of artifacts to the ground and grabbed the shield attached to his back. He shifted his combat stance from stance one to stance four, adopting a style more suited to dueling a single opponent.

"We were just leaving after taking a rest at your Enclave. Is that not permitted?" Raven stepped forward.

"You did more than rest and rejuvenate at my enclave." Fianna bared her fangs, arcs of lightning flinging from her body, striking the ground and flying into the sky. "You stole from me. And I will be reimbursed." Her body warped, transforming into the form of a female humanoid. The grey stone of her body shifted to brown flesh. Her fox ears and nine tails remained.

A loud boom of thunder deafened Tilos for a moment. His hearing came back a few seconds later. The animals around them screamed and roared, dashing out of the Enclave into the forest. Tilos glanced up. Dark grey clouds began to cover the sky, blocking out the sun. Lightning arced down from the sky to the ground, leaving behind small craters. Then the first few drops of rain came, which soon turned into a shower that drenched Tilos from head to toe.

Hiro smiled, his eyes wandering along Fianna's curves, "I could offer you my body as repayment."

Fianna sneered in disgust. She hissed, her mouth wide, displaying two rows of sharpened teeth," I would never dirty myself with the likes of you."

"Dirty? I'll have you know that I am an immaculate person. I bathe twice per day, once in the morning and at night." Hiro paused and added, "If your shy, you could just say so. No need to throw insults."

"Stop flirting with her and get ready for battle," Raven said as she drew her short sword. She took out three potions, each glowing purple, from the pouch at her side—Downing one and giving the other two to Hiro and Tilos.

Tilos drank the potion, almost gagging on the awful taste of the brew. His veins bulged and blackened, newfound strength and energy coursed throw his body. The world around him slowed to a crawl.

A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky. Tilos held his hand up, channeling Essence from his core to his hand. The tattoos covering his arm emitted a blue light as Essence flowed throw them. He pulled on his talent [Kragna Force Affinity] as he bound the Thread of Force to the Sygaldry on his arm. He opted not to bind Shield and Dome. He created a mental construct of the spell he wanted. A dome of energy, glowing blue, popped into existence around Tilos, Hiro, and Raven.

The bolt of lightning collided with the Force Shield. The shield shifted and wobbled under the pressure of the bolt but held firm, blocking it from reaching the trio inside.

Fianna screamed, her voice transforming into the roar of a beast. Two more lightning bolts fell from the sky, striking Tilos' shield. Tilos channeled more Essence, pouring more power into his spell. He bound the threads corresponding to the concepts of Shield and Dome, adding them to the Tattooed Sygaldry on his arm.

Now that he had more than one Thread, he started Weaving the Matrix representing a Dome Force Shield. The Matrix took the strain off his mind, reducing the amount of Essence needed for the spell.

"Hiro, disrupt her concentration." Sweat dripped down from Tilos' brow. His feet were visibly sinking deeper into the ground. "I can't hold this forever."

"On it," three Threads popped into existence in front of Hiro. His hands moved in quick, practiced motions, Weaving the Threads into what Tilos recognized as some mental spell. Hiro channeled Essence into the spell and flung it towards the goddess.

The spell manifested as a purple bolt of energy, zipping through the air and hitting Fianna directly in her face before she could react.

The goddess screamed, clutching her head in pain.

The lightning dissipated, allowing Tilos to let go of the shield. He sprung towards the goddess, his feet leaving imprints on the muddy ground. Essence coursed through his body, filling him with even more power on top of Raven's potion. Thrusting his sword forward, his momentum stopped. The tip of his blade refused to pierce Fianna's chest. It felt like he hit a mountain, something immovable.

Fianna snarled, pushing aside Tilos' blade and striking out with a fist full of lightning.

Tilos blocked the attack with his shield attached to his other arm. The force of her attack sent him sliding backward.

Hiro emerged from Tilos' left; his war hammer held high and glowing blue with Essence. He struck down at the goddess. His hammer rang like a bell upon impact. Fianna sailed through the air, hitting a tree and breaking it, disappearing further into the forest.

Hiro caught his breath as steam rows from his body. His face reddened from the amount of Essence he used in the attack. "I think we should start running now. I don't know about you, but I know I can't defeat a deity. Even if she's a minor deity, she's still too far out of our league."

Pain blossomed in Tilos' shield arm. He looked down, finding a fist-sized dent in his shield. Tilos sprinted over to the backpack of artifacts, quickly picking it up and putting it back on his back.

Raven threw a bottle of glowing yellow liquid on the ground. It exploded into a cloud of yellow smoke, coating all of them.

Tilos sneezed and coughed as the smoke-filled his mouth and nose. The Yellow smoke itched and burned his insides.

"What was-" Hiro coughed as he waved the smoke from in front of his face. "What was that for?" He finally got out between coughs.

"So that she can't track us through smell. She appeared in the form of a fox before. Her domain probable contains a hint of the Concept of Hunt." Raven said.

"Good thinking, still you could have warned us," Tilos said.

"Whatever, let's get moving before she comes back. Remember to Apatheticly weaken the Thread connecting you to the Fianna. We don't want her tracking us throw the Weave also." Raven said as she stalked off towards the forest.

Tilos split his mind and used a piece solely to hide his presence in the Weave from Fianna. He caught up with Raven, taking the leading position. He led the way as the trio exited Fianna's Enclave and entered the greater forest.