#im crap

She had been hunting the monster for weeks now. It had attacked several villages that surrounded the City state of Mystral. She was ordered to hunt it down and prevent it from ever harming another citizen of Mystral. Pyrrha has always been asked to do such tasks; shew was the hero of Mystral, the daughter of Athena. It was her duty to keep her city safe from its enemies and the monsters created by Salem.

No one knows how Salem became a god. It was rumored she was the daughter of Hades and some ungodly monster. Others say she was a daughter of a titan who crawled her way out of the pits of Tartarus to join her siblings on Mnt. Olympus. No matter which story was true, one fact remained. It was that Salem was evil. She  loved to create beasts that could kill any normal man with ease.she had created entire armies of beasts that lay waste to any city it came across. This boar is one such monster.

It was the size of 4 men. It's fur was a glossy black, with large bony protrusions around it's body. It's tusks were razor sharp. A white froth surrounded its mouth from running for so long. His eyes were the color of blood. As Pyrrha chased the beast she  could see his massive muscles flex and stretch. Blood coated several areas of black fur where her spear had pierced it's hide.

When she first attacked the beast she was unprepared for how fast it was and she missed its heart; hitting one of  the bone plates instead. A furious fight followed where she was able to do considerable damage to the monster. Before she was able to deal a killing blow the giant boar turned and ran from her, knowing it would die if it stayed and faced the red huntress.

That fight was 4 days ago. The beast had run without pause or rest. Pyrrha kept up, but she was growing tired. She knew she had to end the chaise soon or she would become the hunted. To her surprise the boar started to slow down and soon came to a stop. Pyrrha was relieved to see it had finally ran out of stamina, but was not sure what this beast was thinking so she held back to ensure she was not caught in some trap.

The boar turned and faced Pyrrha, it stamped its hooves and gave a deep and rumbling squeal and charged. Pyrrha accepting the dual charged as well. When the beast was just feet away she jumped and grabbed her glistening bronze shield off her back. She landed on the beast's spine and stabbed her spear into boar's back making it squeal. The monster shock furiously trying desperately to free itself of the pain it felt. Pyrrha tried desperately to hold on but was flung off. The spear stayed embedded in its back.

Pyrrha got up and drew her xiphos(short sword). She crouched low and started to circle the large boar. If this fight had happened early that week she would have already had won, but after running for days on end; her strength and stamina was pushed to its limits. She had to rely on her superior wits to vanquish her foe.

“Think Pyrrha… this thing can't beat you. Remember what mother has taught you. Use my wits and even a titan will bow to me.” she thought trying to reassure herself that this child of Salem would not devour her. She darted her eyes around her to get a feel for the land. Looking for any way she could use the land to her advantages.

“There's grape vines. I could tangle his tusks in the vines. No that won't work he's too big it would rip the grapevines right out of the ground. There's a few rocks, but their too small to hurt it. Lastly there's a river a little ways down. I could try and get it swept away by the current but this beast is too heavy to be swept away by such a small stream”. She started to curse the god of luck for giving her no advantages over the beast. Then an idea formed in her head.

She adjusted her stance and prepared for a charge. Swinging her sword in the air and shouted Pyrrha bounded forward towards the monster. The boar who had been cautiously waiting for Pyrrha to make the 2nd move responded with another squeal and galloped forward. He barred his tusks out ready to gut his scarlet huntress.

As she charged forward she placed her shield between herself and the boar. The beast being dull believed Pyrrha would attempt the same jumping action to retrieve the spear embedded in his back, but As the beat grew closer Pyrrha dove. She through her shield and landed on it. Using the shield as an impromptu to slay She slid under the beast's  tusks, and head. Once her body was directly under its soft underbelly she lifted her sword, burying it into stomach. Using the monster's own momentum gut itself. The boar swiftly past over her and slowed to a limp. Once stopped the beast fell to its side and slowly started to disintegrate into ash.

Pyrrha dropped her sword and removed her shield as she fell to her knees. She panted as she struggled to catch her breath. As she knelt there she removed her helm and dropped it to the ground, revealing  a long locks of scarlet. Her hair glistened with the sweat that had drenched her over the last few days. She was exhausted and she knew she needed rest.  She lay on the ground and drank in the cloudless sky. She was alone with her thoughts and for her that was never good.

“Out here I'm alone...in the city I'm alone” she whispered to the gods

“Mother why did you create me. There are already many capable heros in Mystral. Why must I be one of them, every human looks at me and is too afraid to speak, or wishes to battle me. I'm alone and it's because of you Athena. You created me and guided me to where I am today. I trusted that you would lead me to happiness but how can I be happy when I'm alone.” She pleaded to the sky not knowing if her mother, the god of reason and war was even listening. With her conscious clear, and her body exhausted  she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

***

When she awoke there were 2 young boys staring down at her. One was about 15 his dark curly hair clung to his head. The other much younger child was probably 9, he bobbed excitedly while his brother tried to keep him calm.

She sat up, her fatigue was gone but she was still sore for the fight. After stretching her arms to relive the stiff sore feeling she let her eyes wander. She saw that she had been moved from the field to a nicely lighted room that had a beautiful purple wall peace. When she had her feel for the room she turned to the young boys and asked “Where am I” to the older looking child.

“Your at our estate. We found you lying in one of our grape fields and took you here.”

After the boy finished talking the younger child blurted out.

“Are you a hero. Where are you from. What happened to you” Pyrrha smiled at the constant stream of questions but the older boy was not amused

“Aetes shut your mouth. I apologize for my younger brother he’s vary excitable. He thinks you're a hero.” before Pyrrha could respond  the older boy seemed to  catch himself “oh where are my manners my name is Tenes. Aetes and I are the sons of the plantation owner.

“My Name is Pyrrha Nikos nice to meet both of you. Do you mind telling me where this plantation is located I’ve traveled quite a distance and I'm at a loss to where I'm at.”

“You're only about 2 schoinos (9 miles) away from Athens. My I ask how you ended up in our field” Tenes tied to be respectful but Pyrrha could tell he wanted some questions answered.  

When Pyrrha heard how far she ran she was shocked. The distance between Athens and Mystral was at least 30 schoinos away and she had ran it in 4 days. This meant, even at a brisk hiking pace she had good week and half march back home. After recovering from her shock she graciously explained who she was, how she had been hunting a child of Salem, and how she had ended up dealing the final blow in their field.

“ WOW I KNEW IT I KNEW IT” Shouted Aetes “the armor gave it away” he started to jump up and down vary excitedly. It was his first time ever seeing a Hero up close before and he couldn't wait to ask her thousands upon thousands of questions.

“Aetes calm yourself, can't you see we must act on our best behavior with your new guest” Tenes’s behavior had changed from one of a curious concern to one of high class and manners in the matter of seconds.

“Pyrrha would you do my family the honor of staying at our estate to regain your strength” Tenes ask with this new air of manners. Pyrrha hated when someone did this. Her title always made people act different around her. She couldn't stand it so she decided to decline the boys offer. Aetes was every sad to hear this, he begged and begged for her to stay the night so he could ask her all the questions he had. Tenes was sad to her it to even though he acted like an adult he still wished to ask the same questions as his younger brother. If he only knew that if he had acted less like an adult and more like a kid Pyrrha would have gladly stayed the night.

Before Pyrrha left Tenes replenished her food supply and gave her a flask of his family's finest wine as a way of showing tribute to the scarlet hero. As she walked away from the plantation she waved at the boys.

***

It had been 6 days since she had left the plantation and headed north towards her home of Mystral. It had been a leisurely walk home. The countryside was calm and there was no one to bother her with fake manners or altered attitudes. She had kept a steady pace throughout the whole trek. She would wake in the morning just as the sun peeked over the earth, eat a light breakfast, she’d then hike well into the night and find a small tree to sleep under.

On her sixth day however she woke well past the rising sun. Her dreams were plagued with images of monsters, loud cracks of lightning, and the god of death, Hades. These dreams had woken her several times during the night. She knew they had to be visions but was not sure of what might be predicted. When she finally was free of these dreams, she fell into a deep sleep causing her to miss her early morning rising.

When she woke she realized immediately that she had been asleep far too long. Deciding to skip her meal of bread a water she elected to catch up on lost ground instead. She sprinted like she had before when chasing the boar. She flows through the open  terrain. The trees and hill sides swiftly passed by her. She grew focused on her destination only looking for the path of the least resistance. If she had taken her time instead of rushing she would have noticed the paw prints of a wolf of unusual size.

As she traveled through the forest she came to a clearing. A hill rested in the middle. It's pick overlooked the surrounding area. She slowed to a stop and looked around. She decided to climb the hill to see if she could not spot her city. As she climbed she realized there was no sound of birds or any animal. It was deathly quiet.when no animal speaks a monster layers near. She readied herself for anything. She fit her helmet over her face. She drew her sword and clutched her shield. She would not be taken by surprise if she could help it.

She grew closer to the summit of the hill. She noticed a clump of dusty white fur. It was surrounded by bones and half eaten carcasses on animals.  As approached it her eyes grew wide. Laying in front of her was a child of Salem. This particular beast was an Alpha Beowolf. Instead of it's fur being black it was a dirty white. It's size was much larger than the average wolf it stood at least 3 men tall.

Unlike most children of Salem beowolf’s traveled in packs. They hunted together, killed together, and eat together, However There was one exception to this rule. They were called Alphas, these beasts would kill their entire pack, with each brethren they killed their strength would increase. Soon after their fur would turn white. These monsters would hunt anything, men, animals, and even their own kind. These beasts were rare and extremely deadly.

She crept closer to the sleeping Alpha. She knew that she needed to strike first if she wanted to have an easy fight. She sheathed her sword as quietly as she could and drew her spear. Lifting it she aimed at the center of the beasts sleeping body. She tossed the spear. It soared straight and true and found its target. The tip embedded itself into the ribs of the enormous wolf. The large beowulf let out a deathly howl. With blistering speed the wolf was up on its hind legs and looking for whoever dared to attack it. Soon his eyes fell on the charging spartan.  

Pyrrha lunged at the wolf with her sword. Swinging it at its stomach. The beast jumped back dodging the slashes. He counted by swiping his massive claws at the aggressor. Pyrrha used her shield to block the incoming blows. The shear force from the claws forced Pyrrha to step back. Pyrrha was amazed by the strength of her opponent. She had faced Alphas before but this particular one was much stronger than her previous kills. She shuddered at how many of its own kin it had to had killed to reach this frightening level.

Soon the wolf was pressing the assault. Each time he swung his claws Pyrrha was pushed back a little more, however this did not bother her. She calmly studied the beast from behind her shield. She observed every strike the beast delivered. She noticed that the spear she had thrown was still stuck in his ribs. Every time the wolf raised his paws to strike he flinched out of pain as the spear would be disturbed by the wolf's movements.

She waited for one of these flinches. Giving as much ground as she needed before she could strike out. The opportunity presented itself while the wolf raised his paws again. Has he raised his paws to deliver another massive hit Pyrrha dashed forward. She grabbed the spear and drove it deeper into the wolf. The beast let loose a  bloodcurdling howl. He began to claw at Pyrrha and managed to strike her helmet. The hit sent her soaring to the other side of the summit.

As she lifted herself off the ground she saw the extent of her actions. The spear had gone clean through the wolf. The wound was a grievous one for the monster as it found it hard to keep itself upright. Pyrrha began to walk over to the wolf and began to swing her sword at it vigorously. The wolf attempted to dodge the new onslaught, but the spear that was stuck through him prevented any fast and agile movements. Each swipe would cut the beast.

Soon the beast lay on it's back. It's body was covered in gashes and stab wounds. There was no escape for it. Pyrrha walked up to its head she lifted her sword. The monster let out one final snarl and Pyrrha drove her sword threw the wolf's mouth.

As the Alpha slowly disintegrated Pyrrha pulled her spear out of the wolf's chest. She was glad with the outcome she had won with only minor injuries. The Alpha had fought hard but was still no match for her. Just like the boar the Alpha only relied on its strength to win a fight.

As Pyrrha reached the bottom of the hill an owl landed on a tree and she stopped. The owl was a dark brown with two little tufts of feathers that gave it the illusion of horns. It  stared at her with its dark all knowing eyes, then flow up to the summit. Pyrrha knew at once that the owl was a messenger of Athena, and that it was directing her back to the spot of where she killed the Alpha. She dashed back up the hill following the owl as it flew in front of her.

As she reached the summit once more she was greeted by the owl; who was sitting atop the still dissolving corps of the Alpha. Pyrrha walked up to the perched bird and asked

“Why did you bring me back her mother?” the owl just kept looking at her.

“Well?” Pyrrha raised her hands and started looking around the hilltop. Then as she turned back to the owl the earth began to shake.  As the hilltop shook the owl spread its massive wings and soared away. A blinding light appeared in front of her. The heat she felt was immense like Apollo himself was standing in front of her.  

She backed away covering her masked face from the light. She feared that some ancient beast was appearing in front of her so she drew her spear off her back and crouched behind her shield waiting for the brightness to die down.

Once the heat dissipate and the light vanished she peered over her shield to see what had just aspired before her. She expected to see some monster or a gift from her mother. Instead, an oddly dressed figure lay on the ground in front of her. She slowly crept closer to inspect the motionless body.

The man was her age, 19 maybe 20. He wore very odd attire. Instead of the usual white robes he wore a thick green cloth that covered each individual leg and arm. His chest had 2 belts running down it each had several pouches attached to it. She could see the glint of what she thought was bronze poking out of a few of pouches. His helmet she found especially weird, it only covered the top half of his head it gave no protection to his face; she could not conceive why someone would wear such a useless piece of armor. His sandals were weird as well, instead of leather straps his foot was covered in one large piece of leather and was cinched tight using rope. A piece of wood laid near him hit had a strap to carry it but she could think of no reason why he should lug such an odd piece of wood with him.

As the man began to stir she quickly pressed her spear to his throat. If he was a monster or servant of some foul god she would dispel him.

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oh crap another cliff hanger its like LOST all over again, but seriously i will try and cut back on cliffhangers from now on. i hope ya’ll liked the new chapter. more is most definitely on its way. it my take some time due to school being hard and annoying, BUT it will come!