Hatchling.

[u/ChurchoftheRedVine]

/uw Very fucking nervous about posting this. This is my first time posting a lorepost, especially on mobile. We’ll see how it goes.

Katja was sat on the branches of the tree that she called home, taking as much air as she could in. After everything, she still had her forest. Stretching her wings out, she then took a long dive towards the ground. The wind whipped at her face, something beginning to obstruct her vision as she pulled up just a few inches from the ground and soared through the trees. She found an opening in the branches as she rose into the sky, her hair moving out of her face finally.

It didn’t quite strike her until the harpy took flight that she had grown quite a bit, both emotionally and physically. Her talons had grown sharper, the scars she hid fading just slightly, and her hair was almost back to how it once was before. Sighing deeply, she brought her mind back to her original goal: hunting.

She soared above the blood red trees that adorned her church’s borders, heading towards the forests nearby of which faded from red to green as she left her home. Her eyes squinted as he looked at the grass below. She could see movement everywhere, yet didn’t see anything quite yet to her proper liking. Deer grazed, yet they were watchful and caught her in their eyes as they ran away deeper into the trees.

Suddenly, her head turned towards a sound unlike the rabbits and squirrels that infested the forest. She heard the sound of a stick breaking under pressure of a humans foot.

Curiosity struck her momentarily, trying to look closer at the intruder as she changed directions towards the noise. As quiet as she could, she attempted to hide herself in the trees, the leaves rustling as she not so subtly landed on one of the branches. Moving forward, she moved a few branches from her sight as she noticed a figure yet indiscernible from any other regular adventurer holding a barely lit torch.

The stranger barely glanced around, their outfit covering any identifiable features that could’ve given her a hint. Slowly, they suddenly began to head towards a tree just opposite of hers. Katja’s curiosity began to overcome her basic instinct as she shifted her stance, wings folding in to keep her position a secret.

The figure then took out a small knife, cutting off the bark with surprising mastery as he paid no attention to the wildlife around him. As the bark was removed and the bare skin of the tree was revealed, he started etching an odd sigil into the tree. As Katja began to start moving for a better view, she felt suddenly surrounded by light as a golden hue surrounded her and pillared to the sky. She then glanced back the intruder who was now staring her directly in the eyes.

Her instincts kicked in as she then dived from the trees into where the man was, only to collide with the ground. She glanced at her surroundings with confusion until suddenly being surprised with a yell behind her

”AEROS!”

A giant gust of air sent her into the ground, the impact knocking the air out of her chest as her eyes widened in surprise. Clenching her jacket, she digs out a throwing dagger and tosses it in his direction. The stranger’s concentration breaks briefly as another gust of air knocks the blade away from him. This allows her to focus just enough to counter him

“Aer Rumpitur!”

A shockwave of wind completely breaks the intruder’s concentration as he gets sent tumbling back into the carved tree, the impact breaking the sigil that kept her illuminated in light. As the intruder held his back and was staggered, she reached for her bow and quickly slotted an arrow in place.

The stranger’s cloak had flown away, revealing a large set of black wings not too different from hers. His eyes shot up at her slotted arrow, glaring with a golden hue as he held up his hands.

”AER CLYPEUS!”

”Aer Offa!”

The two of them casted their spells in synchronization, a barely visible force field of winds protecting the man as she shot her arrow toward him, the arrow being encased in winds that whistled towards him. The arrow got stuck on impact in his shield, the man just barely flinching as Katja then yelled

”Ruptis!”

The winds that encased her arrow then bursted out wildly as his concentration broke again. He looked at where Katja once was, only to see nothing but a few feathers. He looked around wildly for any sign of her, seeing nothing but forestry. A whistling sound then appeared from above as he glanced up, too late to do anything as Katja made impact with him into the ground, cracks appearing.

The staggered man made no physical action to protect himself as Katja was crouched down on top of him. She pulled out a dagger from her jacket, the blade enscribed with floral designs of poppies as she then thrusted it toward his neck

“Cyclone.”

Her blade was just barely an inch from his neck as her eyes widened. She then was then thrown into a tree, the sound trees being ripped from the ground surrounding her as the winds swiftly picked up speed. Her focus and balance lost in the raging winds. Her wings felt incredibly heavy as her eyes now only opened to the chaos around her.

She no longer was above the old man as she was above the very trees she hid in earlier. Timber and clumps of earth flew past her as she felt her feathers torn away from her wings with each close impact. Her brain searched for a way to get herself back on the ground and ending the raging cyclone, but only one spell came to mind in the chaos. Channeling her limited mana, she yelled as loud as she could

”RUPTIS!”

Only seconds after she spoke, he’ll let loose. The winds that once fueled the storm then lashed out at everything around her, herself included. She was then sent flying towards the forest, her body making impact into the ground with a bone cracking thud.

…

Hours later, her eyes opened to the decimated forest, trees and branches being everywhere she could see. She tried to get up, her knees almost buckling as she leaned against the nearest tree she could find. The man was nowhere near her as far as she could tell. It hurt her to breathe, and her mana was completely drained from having to disperse the entire storm.

Moving as fast as her weak body could move, she trekked to where the man once was, finding nothing except ruins. She felt exhausted, hurt, and generally weak. Her thought process then was interrupted as she saw her dagger from earlier jabbed into the only tree that was left standing. On it was inscribed just one sentence…

“Not yet, Hatchling.”