Harper whipped her head in the direction of the bear, considering her options. If you couldn’t win in a fight, there were two common schools of thought when it came to dealing with the furred behemoths, usually picked between depending on the type of bear.

  For the less aggressive bear species, it was recommended to make yourself appear larger and generate as much noise as possible. For the larger types, it was to slowly and quietly back away.

  Neither applied particularly well to Domain bears. They were too predatory for the first method to work, and too combative for the second. This resulted in some contradictory advice on the matter. Some said to flee and hope for the best. Others said that was pointless and that it was better to stand and fight on the small chance of emerging victorious. A few of the more pessimistic said that it was best to get as quick and painless a death as possible.

  Harper chose the first. The young woman ran in the direction of the rangers. It was their fault that she was in this mess in the first place, after all. Maybe she could make the bear their problem. She wasn’t too worried about the bear attacking Vayuhn, the boar core sat inside her pack.

  Aether cores attracted Domain creatures like little else did. It was some sixth sense that humanoids didn’t possess, not ones without the Astral Domain, anyways. All cores were appealing to creatures, but unused cores could be tracked easier. Unfortunately, putting a core into one’s aetherspace forced them to either absorb or consume it. Due to this, cores could not be stored and hidden in them.

  Harper was fortunate that the first time they saw the bear it didn’t detect the core. She had no doubt the beast had detected it now that she was running though. Even if it wouldn’t have attacked her without the core, unlikely as that was, the presence of the core ensured it.

  “Stop right there!” one of the rangers yelled. He pulled out an arrow and readied his bow.

  Harper made no move to slow. Instead, she yelled back, “Don’t shoot! There’s a Domain bear coming!”

  She watched him take a moment to process what she said before turning his attention to the forest behind her. She had some distance from the pursuing bear, but not enough that it wouldn’t be in sight range.

  The ranger yelled commands to the other two with him, obviously subordinates. Instead of telling them to run, as Harper expected, he had them ready their bows. She was relived; they were going to help her. As Harper got closer, some of her relief dried up. She recognized the lead ranger. It was Gavin, the Governor’s son.

  Even as she sprinted towards them at full speed, she lamented her luck. Of all people, it had to be Gavin. She had seen but not interacted with him in any way since their conclusive duel. He had gone out of his way to avoid her, and she him. Harper still bore a grudge for his rudeness and for using her as a game piece for the local politics. She suspected he still held a grudge for her victory and ruining his plan, foolish that it was.

  “Release!” he yelled. Harper flinched, but the arrows whizzed above and around her. A loud Gaaaaaaaaaarrrr sounded behind her. The sounds of footsteps did not stop though, still getting louder with every second.

  The rangers got two more volleys in just before Harper reached them. She once again expected them to start running; the bear was right behind her, only thirty seconds away at the most.

  The opposite happened. Gavin ran not away, but towards her. Once again Harper flinched, thinking he was taking the opportunity to get rid of her, but he ran right past, his skin beginning to shimmer white.

  Harper reached the other rangers, turning to watch what she was sure would be a massacre. Gavin was most the way through his Alius shift, taking on a much larger form then she had anticipated. He’s not a Magnate... Is he? she wondered.

  Seconds before the bear reached him, he solidified. His Alius stood level with the beast, almost exactly level in fact. Maybe even a little larger. Opposite the bear that had been previously chasing her ran a mirror, albeit of a slightly lighter brown shade.

  The bears collided, standing on their forelegs and grasping for the advantage. It was a confusing mass of fur, claws, and teeth to her eyes. In only seconds she was unable to tell which was which. Judging by the hesitant eyes of the other rangers, neither did they. Not that they would likely risk shooting into the fight anyways, it was far too possible that they would hit Gavin.

  Watching for a few seconds before she thought of doing something productive, Harper took out her flintlock and began loading. She tossed her bag to the side and watched the tussle for an opportunity to help. She kept a wary eye on the fight, cautious of the enemy bear splitting off and attacking them.

  Her opportunity came only a minute later. One of the bears made a feint to slam into the other one, then dashed to the side. What she could then identify as the actual bear slammed into the ground, nearly catching him. The others took their shots first; their decision giving her the confidence to unload her own ammunition.

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  Two arrows and a musket ball slammed into the bear. One arrow in the gut, one in the shoulder, and her bullet rang the beast's skull, stunning it. Gavin did not waste the opportunity; he came down on the bear like a wall of bricks.

  The bear collapsed, slamming into the ground underneath Gavin’s heavy form. He clamped his jaws around the bears neck and squeezed, but the bear did not succumb. The animal struggled, shaking around wildly, trying to throw Gavin off. He held on, only increasing the pressure. The fur, skin, and fat of the creature worked as an effective cushion against Gavin’s crushing force.

  Deciding that letting the fight go on too long was risky, Harper pulled out her rapier. “Hold it down!” Harper yelled to Gavin. She was unsure whether he heard her or not until he released his grip and reared back up, slamming into the other bear.

  Two more arrows sent, and a gunshot rang out. She dropped the flintlock and dove in. She had considered going for an eye, but the bear was struggling too much. There was a good chance her rapier would only be deflected off the bears skull.

  So, she aimed for the neck. She dove in just enough to plunge her sword in and jump back, sliding her sword out along with her. The bear roared in anger and pain. Ignoring Gavin, it jumped for her. She tossed herself to the side, aware of the possibility.

  Gavin was also ready; he jumped on the bear again, once again slamming it into the ground. The bear forced itself up again, but this time noticeably weaker. The brawl started once again. Instead of risking herself anymore, Harper retreated and loaded her flintlock again. The wound she inflicted, along with all the smaller cuts and bites curtesy of Gavin, would be enough to take the beast down safely and quickly.

  A few minutes later, the bear did not rise again after one last slam from Gavin. Its endurance was great, but not up to the task of dozens of wounds and repeated head trauma. Two dozen arrows littered its corpse, most broken at the shaft due to Gavin’s pummeling.

  Despite their minimal contribution to the fight, the rangers and Harper breathed heavily. It was a tense fight. If the bear had scored a lucky blow, and knocked Gavin unconscious or gutted him, they would be next. Even a severely wounded bear would be a difficult fight for the three of them. Unless one of the others had a competing Alius she supposed, but if they did, they would probably have already shifted into it.

  Gavin himself slumped to the ground, content to stay in his Alius for the moment. Dozens of cuts adorned him as well. He didn’t have half the blood loss the other bear suffered from, but it would still likely take a couple of weeks for his Alius to heal in its entirety.

  Harper glanced around wearily. With the bear around, it was unlikely anything else roamed the area that would contest them. Still, it was better to be about their business as soon as possible. Once she caught her breath, she looked at the other rangers. “My name’s Harper Waspen, I know Gavin. We can talk later, for now, let’s take care of this thing. Agreed?” She jerked her head in the direction of the large carcass.

  The two rangers, a man and a woman, both a few years her senior, looked at each other and nodded. “Okay,” said the woman. “But we hold onto the core,” she said without any room for argument. Harper just waved it away, too tired to argue.

  As Harper began the messy work, she glanced over at Gavin’s resting form with envy. Her anaconda Alius could not begin to compete with his. The largest animals held a huge advantage in the ranks of mundane and single Domain creatures. The vast majority of the animal kingdom could not hope to fight a bear.

  The only things she could think of that would be on similar or greater level were huge creatures, such as elephants or rhinos. Maybe a few species of large cats could take them on. Creatures like snakes held other advantages, but those were rarely applicable to her.

  Her choice would prove itself later on. While no Potentate creature was weak, there were definitive differences in strength between the many species. A tyrannus would dominate a tyragator or tyracorc. The difference in size and strength, without a powerful enough ability to make up the difference, would be the deciding factor.

  Ursas, the Potentate form of bears, were formidable. They grew to massive sizes and had potent abilities to bring versatility. Yet, they were not among the most dangerous species on the planet. The title for the apex predator of Regnum was a highly debated topic. Tyrannuses, krakens, leviathans, amphitheres, wyrms, and the great birds contested. The most common opinion though aligned with her personal thoughts on the matter. Dragons.

  Dragons were not the best in any one area, instead excelling in all areas. They had the mobility and ariel capabilities of the great birds, the strength and power of the tyrannus, the versatility of the wyrm, and the firepower of the leviathan. They did not achieve the heights of any of these creatures in any one area, instead being great at everything and eschewing the weaknesses the other retained.

  Harper would do anything to see her dream of becoming one a reality. In her mind, dragons were synonymous with power, and with that power, she’d be able to do almost anything she wanted.

  Her father had the Alius of a dragon, and with it, he had pushed their house ever forward. He was domineering, ambitious, and above all, powerful. Had he not lost one of his Alius’s legs, he would still venture to the front lines.

  Sadly, just like normal creatures, it was near impossible to regrow the limbs of an Alius. It would take dozens of the most potent potions to regrow his dragon leg. Obtaining one would be difficult. Getting them in enough quantities would bankrupt their house many times over.

  The only other options were to kill his Alius and start another, or to get another core in its entirety. Both options were deemed undesirable. His age and attachment to his current core made the outcome too likely to be a downgrade from his current predicament. The first would shatter his psyche, and the latter would result in a healthy, but weaker incarnation. The risk of losing both the legacy traits and his familiarity with his Alius’s body was too much.

  Halfway through the skinning process, Gavin shifted back. He sighed and sat up, looking at Harper. “We need to talk,” he said without preamble.