Sweets for the Queen

Up on the mountain a pair of eyes suddenly opened, glowing in a golden hue its pupils formed narrow vertical slits. A massive beast stood up on its four legs and started growling.

Her slumber was interrupted and she was angry at the intruders.

First before she went outside of the cave to see who was dumb enough to not know that this mountain was hers tho, she streched and yawned trying to fully wake up for the unexpected dinner.

Exiting the cave and Looking down the mountain she saw a hairless monkey using shadow tentacles to run away from a green brainless pest which was slightly stronger than the monkey. Altho the green pest was underground, she clearly felt its presence as she was the mightiest earth mage around in this forest. Offcourse her senses extended way beyond the mountain aswell but because she was asleep, she failed to stop the intruders from entering her home which she built.

Yes this whole mountain which was aprroximately 3800 metres tall and spanned over 12 km wide was built by her.

"Interesting...the hairless monkeys usually know not to disturb me, i guess this little one brought the green pest for my breakfast?"

Laying down near the edge of the cliff she watched the monkey struggle with amusement, her tail started swinging from left to right in sinc with the monkey which was swinging from one tree to another like monkeys usually do and dodging the terribly aimed earth spikes.

If this was her hunting the monkey, she would have encased it in an earth sphere and pierced it from all sides already, the green pest was really incompetent in her opinion.

At first she saw through its intention to test the monkey because it seemed like it didn't know the monkeys mana but that was pointless now, while the monkey prooved to be supprisingly slippery the green pest should have finnished it off already by cutting off its escape via a wall or an earth slide.

After a while of watching the cat and mouse game it started annoying her, tho she knew that this was probably what the hairless monkey wanted but still.

The incompetence of a mage with the same element unable to catch a weaker oponent which put a blemish on her pride as an earth mage, the pest was also changing the landscape...the home she has built with ugly spikes and the fact that they were intruders, now also came back to her mind.

*****

Teclos who was using the trees to gain momentum and run away as fast as possible, had a problem. The trees were starting to thin out towards the peak of the mountain, there were just a few left.

Once he started using the rocks for leverage, the orc would know more about Tecloses magic and also the direction he was going and dodging.

He learned it from Kosak that when he was using the earth as leverage, his escape route would be cut off quickly when facing an earth mage. While training with Kosak, Teclos tried hiding his magic but he already had a suspicion that Kosak wasn't really fooled anymore and was only waiting for him to confirm it...or to say it better, he was waiting for Teclos to trust him enough. Earth mages struggled with catching wind mages usually, so the fact that Kosak was able to predict his path of escape quite offten was suspicious already.

How was Teclos hiding his magic? Well darkness magic was very versatile and stealthy, which allowed him to make the shadows or darkness tangible at the last possible moment practically making it like the almost invisible wind, or he could use the shadow of the target hurt its owner from point blank range which was also hard to notice.

All of this would create an illusion that he was using wind mana, this idea was formed and put in to practice by his father and mother, because Talmir knew that a backwater genius with rare mana is going to be taken away by the kingdom transforming him into a killing machine for "the greater good" and Teclos also knew that tho he pretended he didn't.

While Teclos was looking for the next tree and also dodging earth spikes left and right, he noticed a few metres ahead of him that there was a clearing and beyond that, a cave.

'Finally! This is either gonna kill me instantly or im gonna live....maybe.'

He smiled like a crazy person, others might have thought he was either crazy or fearless maybe both but the truth was the opposite because right now he was scared shitless and also quite rational. Teclos was already very scared of the orc but what awaited him on that cliff was nothing short of certain death if not for a few factors.

First he knew what was up there and its personality somewhat because of Talmir, he also brought it lunch and finally he didn't destroy anything on this mountain and the only thing he ever touched on this mountain were the trees.

This was all very important for his plan to survive but also to kill the orc, still it would all depend on the beasts mood even if his plan was perfect, which it wasn't.

He grabed the last tree before the cave with his shadow magic and the last bit of power he could muster, slingshoting himself like a bullet towards the cave.

Truthfully Teclos was exhausted from the chase and constant dodging and usage of his darkness mana, making the shadow tentacles tangible and strong enough to not break while also pushing and pulling him in different directions was taxing to say the least.

The chase didn't even last an hour but he was already already physically exhausted and without anymore mana to spare. That was alright for Teclos because he gave it his all and would die either way if the gamble didn't work.

Flying over the ledge where the cave was he looked straight down and saw a beast that was looking straight at him.

'Haha and i thought i was scared of this daam orc ...holy shit this was a terrible idea...'

His whole body froze from the beasts pressure and killing intent, which was strange as he couldn't feel its presence before he layed eyes on it.

It was a manticore, one of the highly intelligent beasts in this world.

With a human like head, bat like wings with spikes, a lion body and scorpion tail, it was intimidating to say the least not just because of its looks but the aura it gave off almost made Teclos puke.

Besides that it was also approximately 5 metres tall and 1 and a half metres wide ,with sharp claws and sharp fangs to boot.

It was strong enough to give wyverns second thoughts on attacking, even if they out numbered it. The stinger on the tail had necrotic poison in it and could kill its prey in a minute at most.

*****

Once the human flew past her, she smiled haughtily and sat on her hind legs like a regal queen, the dinner was served.

With a small motion she taped the ground with one of her claws, U'rtak who wasn't far behind Teclos instantly saw his surroundings change in to diamond, making him crash against its walls. It supprised and stunned him for a second and in that second she also turned her claw clockwise, which encased the orc in a sphere made of diamond and then casually lifted her claw to bring said sphere towards her.

'Nicely wrapped candy.'

Usually this kind of trap wouldn't be a problem for an earth mage to escape out off but this diamond was suffused with her pure mana, so unless U'rtak was a stronger mage than her and override her mana, he would stay trapped there for as long as she wished.

When the sphere arrived before her mouth, Teclos fell to the ground panting heavily but he still managed to instantly turn towards the manticore and addresed her while also bowing down.

"Oh queen of the windless high mountain, i am sorry to intrude your home your highness for i had no choice.

Please accept this lowly things gift and bestow mercy upon me for breaching it, altho i was delighted to see such a magnificent mountain in all its scenic view and glory, i am aware that i am unworthy of it and unworthy of your beautyful presence."

Supprised she stopped trying to chew U'rtak and looked at Teclos.

"My my....aren't you a good ass kisser."

"I wasn't aware you hairless monkeys had any tact, normaly i would eat you right away after this green pest but i decided agains it since i like your boldness."

Her voice was brimming full of power and suffocating, even when she spoke casually but still hearing that he felt like a huge boulder rolled off his chest.

"Thank you for your benevolance."

After that he heard a crunching noise while he was still bowing, a terrible scream escaped the sphere.

She was properly playing with U'rtak, first since he liked spikes so much and tarnished her garden, she impaled his toes and fingers with small needle like spikes,where she turned them inside his flesh.

Then she proceeded to impale him with bigger spikes which targeted his knees, elbows, hips and shoulders. Which she repeatedly stabbed in and out.

While this was all happening U'rtak was screaming so hard blood started pouring from his mouth.

She paused for a little knowing that orcs have high regeneration and began again.

Then she went after the mans crown jewels basicly pin cushioning his balls.

Always pausing so his regeneration could catch up so she could hurt him again, she finnished the torture with the abdomen,legs and arms and lastly put one spike through his head.

When he was finally dead she opened up the sphere and ate his head first, while the gruesome sound of crunching continued she spoke again, tho now with a full mouth.

"Altho this "gift " of yours is nice, the damage it did to my lovely garden makes it insufficient. So you my little monkey, will go hunting for me now and get me some pigs i love that meat...3 should suffice."

Flabbergasted Teclos could only nod at her request, still he felt like the luckiest man alive at the moment when he saw inside the sphere and imagined that it could have been him.

She turned around and went back in to the cave with her sphere "candy".

"Oh and don't think you can run away."