The target awaited ahead, concealed in the brush near the stream. She only knew it was there due to Vayuhn’s assurances. He had spent much of the past week searching for such a creature. The young man himself waited in a tree a short distance behind her; he would only interfere if she needed assistance, just as she had asked.

  Harper felt that killing the creature that she would take the form of by herself was important. Not only was it traditional for scions of the noble houses, albeit done in ideal conditions and with meticulous preparation; she needed to prove to herself that she didn’t need anyone's help to take such a trivial step in her path to power.

  Harper crept through the trees, readying her weapons. Her sword was in her hand and her flintlock in the other and at the ready. She was lucky that Vayuhn was able to find a suitable candidate, otherwise they would have needed to trade the core from another creature they hunted for the core of a reptile with the Aquatic Domain.

  That would have been unideal. Not only would she have lost the opportunity to fight the creature herself, both learning more about the creature firsthand before she took its form, and proving herself. She would also not have the creature's corpse, the best possible fuel to begin growing her own Alius.

  Soon, Harper stood in front of the bush. She tensed, ready to spring away at any moment. Her chosen prey was known for its rapid lunge, and its steadfast grip. She should walk away safely if she followed the plan. This would be a battle of endurance; one she was much more suited towards.

  The amateur hunter reached within a few yards of the bush and began stomping on the ground. A rustling not of her own making began. It took the bait, cautiously slithering out of its hiding place to see what disturbed it.

  A snake lifted its head and hissed at her. Its species was known as the jailor anaconda, so called because of their penchant for wrapping around their prey, crushing weaker opponents and suffocating larger. They were extremely difficult to get off once wrapped around something. They had a suction grip, ignoring even the slipperiest of lubricants.

  It would take a creature or person of significant strength to tear them off. The far easier method would be to kill it to release its grip, or even better, never get entangled in the first place. The species lacked venom, their grip being their best weapon. This was one of the reasons Harper wasn’t overly worried; she wouldn’t need to worry about being poisoned. Vayuhn would come assist her should the snake try to suffocate her.

  The anaconda was a large snake, even compared to other single Domain snakes. She couldn’t see its full length yet, but they were supposed to be twenty feet long on average. At the snake’s thickest point, it should be wider than her head. The head was shaped like a rounded triangle; its eyes sat surprisingly high in its face. The snake's coloring was that of a subdued emerald and a paler color; the pattern of the scales evoked the image of chains running down its body.

  The snake continued watching her cautiously, occasionally sticking out its tongue. Harper made no sudden movements; she would react when the snake did. Their standoff continued for several minutes, before the anaconda finally decided she was not too threatening. This was likely due to her lack of core.

  The anaconda lunged at her. Harper barely reacted in time, even poised on the edge of her feet as she was. She threw herself out of the way, turning back to the anaconda as fast as she could. It proved a wise precaution. She dodged to the side yet again, the creature not giving her time to collect her bearings.

  She continued to do so, the snake not letting up now that the standoff had ended. It would tire out before she would, Harper knew. The young woman tried to land a strike with each dodge, rarely succeeding. Still, bright red slices appeared on the reptile’s scaled hide the longer the fight went on.

  The exiled noble entered a state of focus. She tuned out the rest of the world, leaving only her prey. Dodge, slice, readjust. Repeat. Eventually, the snake slowed. At the same time, Harper got better and better at landing slices with her rapier. Then disaster struck.

  Harper had moved away from the area without realizing it. The terrain in the initial area was free of obstructions, the new, not so much. As the snake lunged once again, she danced to the side. Her foot hit a rock protruding from the ground, and with her rhythm unexpectedly broken, she fell.

  Her opponent didn’t let the opportunity slip away. The breath was knocked out of Harper as the front of the snake’s heavy body landed atop her. It immediately began curling around her torso, sliding under and lifting her up off the ground. The snake began curling up, towards her neck.

  The circumstances were all too familiar. Only two weeks ago, she’d been wrapped with vines. The difference being the vines had only constricted her; the real danger was the elk. The previous incident with the spider’s web wasn’t dissimilar either. This time, her bonds were the danger. Suffocation or even being crushed was likely if she let this continue.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Fortunately, she had a solution; one very similar to the previous one. As the snake's head curled up on her other side, Harper set the flintlock’s barrel to the snake’s head and pulled the trigger. The proximity of her head to the gun didn’t do her any favors. A cloud of smoke exploded into her face, stinging her eyes. Sharp pain assaulted her ears, leaving a high ringing sound.

  The snake faired much worse. The point-blank shot had an explosive effect, splattering blood and flesh all over her. The crushing pressure exerted by the creature loosened for a moment, but then it retightened its grip. The snake was still alive.

  Her dagger was trapped in its sheath beneath the snake's body; she wouldn’t be getting to it until the beast was dead. Blindly, she reached for her dropped sword, finding the grip on the tip of her fingers. She used what energy she could muster to lunge for the handle, barely able to shift the snake’s weight. She got it. Turning the rapier towards her, she stabbed at the snake... and missed. Several desperate seconds and stab attempts later, Harper succeeded. The force she was able to exert was minimal though.

  Harper gathered her strength and shoved on the sword; slowly, it made its way deeper in. She could feel the snake weakening with every second. Blood loss and exertion had taken its toll. Harper wriggled the sword around in her foe’s body. An eternity later, the snake died, and the pressure was relieved.

  She gasped for breath, keeping her senses closed and trusting Vayuhn to watch out for further danger. Soon enough, she felt the still heavy body of the snake being untangled and tugged away from her. She slowly recovered, her lungs refilling and the ringing in her ears quieting. She delayed opening her eyes until she could wipe the layer of soot off them.

  The exiled noble lay there, missing home. She wanted nothing more than to be at her family’s estate, sitting in their seaside gazebo and reading a book. It was a nice life. When her brother showed his talent, she could have abdicated responsibility and lived a peaceful life. As the future heir, she would have been required to prove herself by joining the conquest of upper Magnon.

  When her brother took her place though, she was free from it. Free from the war. Free from overseeing the safety and success of her house. Free from the responsibility of power. Free... from leaving her mark on the world.

  For one tranquil moment, back at the estate, Harper had seen it. She had just been told that her brother was taking her place, and she was given the primavis core. She had foreseen a good life, one of leisure and peace. She’d be married off to strengthen an alliance of the house, if she played her cards right, to someone she liked. They would give her management over the house’s finances, and she’d spend her days with work useful enough to satisfy her, and occupying enough to enjoy.

  The noble had even felt the Aerial Domain within her grasp at that moment, she could reach out and grab it if she so wanted. It had never felt closer. All she had to do was accept the offered freedom. All she had to do was to give up on being someone greater.

  The moment of clarity had ended then. That was not who she was. She would not settle for less. She would strive for more, even if she had to do it on her own. At this, something within her had shifted. Her connection to Sky took a step back, and her connection to something else deepened. She still wasn’t sure what.

  With the Aerial Domain being wrenched from her, something else took its place. After all that time, she finally had the Domain of Sky in her grasp. It only took losing her position and giving up her ambitions to gain it. Fury was what took its place.

  She was furious. The Domain had appeared when she least needed it and was gone again when her need rose to the forefront. There she was, with her unwanted core in hand, no Domains, and inheritance lost. Refusing to heed the small rational part of her, she lifted the core above her head and threw it down with all the force she could muster. And now she faced the consequences of her actions.

  Harper sat up. She wiped the soot from her eyes and opened them. It was time to continue. It was time to absorb a core and step onto her path in truth. She would fight. She would strengthen her house. She would become powerful. She would leave her mark on the world.

  Harper picked herself up off the ground and looked at Vayuhn. He was saying something, but she still couldn’t hear him. The ringing was too loud. She wasn’t too concerned about ear impairment. The more effective natural healing provided by integrating a Sea core should heal any damage.

  After communicating that she couldn’t hear, he nodded and pointed to the snake's body. The core should be somewhere near the center. She pulled out her knife and began cutting. Harper took the very center, so it was no surprise when she found it first. Tugging out the lightly glowing gem-like structure, she inspected it.

  Like all cores, it was a little larger than an eyeball. It was oblong and smooth, like any common river stone. Unlike a river stone, it glowed a vibrant blue-green. She felt the core thrum in time with her aetherspace. It was definitely a core of the Aquatic Domain.

  Not bothering with ceremony or delays of any sort, Harper opened her aetherspace. The shimmering portal of white beckoned her. She stuck her hand and the core in, feeling two possible options. The first she had used on numerous occasions. It would break down the core and directly nourish her connection to its Domain.

  The second was a new option. Instead of consuming the core, she could absorb it. This would do several things for her. The most important of which was integrating the Domain of Sea into her body. After the first, manifesting subsequent Domains did little to directly strengthen the practitioner. They needed to integrate a core to reap the full benefits.

  Harper did not hesitate to choose this option. She felt the core be pulled from her hand. The core took its place in the conduit between her body and her aetherspace, widening it. She felt strength flow into her, reaching the standard strength of any adult. The majority of people only absorbed a single one Domain core in their entire life.

  Most had the potential for more of course, but the scarcity of two Domain cores was greater than the amount of people who earned more Domains. That was why the number of Magnates and above was so limited. She would not be able to attain such a core anytime soon. It was either years of hard work and meticulous saving, or some very dangerous risks. Whatever she chose, Harper would become a Magnate.