Not even thirty years old, Adeline was young for her level. Still, she had spent nearly half of her life on the road, and in that time, she had fought more monsters than she cared to count. Predatory arcane beasts, overgrown bramble-spawn, monsters of rage and hunger magic run awry, threats spawned by the fluctuating magic of storms, of blizzards, of wildfires.

She had stood against the endless flood of undead on the walls of Terast, she had fought merrows aboard the flotilla of the Tidal Wastes, she had matched wits with hags, trolls, and outlaws alike in the wildlands north of the Twin Cities. Adeline had even served a year in the Lunar Wastes themselves, honing her skills against the most dangerous outsiders in the Realm, and she was among the few battle-gifted in the Realm to have faced a cyclops alone and won.

None of that prepared her for the monsters that awaited her in the ruins of Millstone. At first, they had appeared human–brutish thugs and outlaws who relied on the power of totem gifts to accelerate them through the early levels. Distasteful, but no match for the sheer skill and experience of an Adept adventurer, much less one approaching Expert.

Then… they had begun to change. Olivia and Cadence had told Adeline about their fight against Egin, the bandit who had somehow wielded two separate totem gifts, in defiance of the rule that governed relic gifts like those. As such, when her enemies began mixing multiple types of transformations together, Adeline had been surprised, but was far from flat-footed. Even if she had never fought gifted like these before, and even if she was outnumbered six-to-one, the odd combination of transformations simply wasn't enough to overwhelm the silver knight.

However, after Adeline managed to cut down two of her assailants, the remainder changed again, in ways she had never encountered before. She knew, of course, that mid-level totem gifted were eventually able to fully transform into the animal their gifts represented, even mimicking the magical abilities of whatever monster had yielded their totems, but the sight of humans turning, seemingly against their will, into monstrous blends of beasts was almost too much for Adeline.

When the first, a hunting cat with the tusks, bristle, and powerful forward muscles of a boar, charged at her, it nearly took her by surprise. Only a decade of muscle memory and the speed of an Adept gave Adeline the reactions needed to dodge aside, and by the time she recovered her stance, more of the bizarre hybrid monsters were staring her down. There was a hawk with a lashing snake's head, a long-legged wolf with an impressive rack of antlers, and, most problematically, a bear with immense, scaled paws.

Even more worrying than their twisted forms was the absence of intelligence in the eyes of her enemies. Adleine had fought both alongside and against transformed totem gifted before, and she knew that the difference between a wild animal, even one magically altered, and a transformed human lay fully in the eyes. There was a spark of soul, of intelligence and humanity, that showed through in even the most bestial forms. With their final transformations, this group of fused monstrosities lacked even that, leaving Adeline to wonder if there was anything human left in them.

Not that she could allow her pity to slow her blades.

The transformed outlaws were powerful and ferocious, with all the natural and magical abilities of the beasts their totems had come from. While Adeline had no way to know their level as gifted, Adeline estimated they were in line with the most powerful of lesser monsters–with the exception of the reptilian bear, who may have even crossed the line into moderate. Against nearly any gifted in the Realm, their unnatural abilities and numerical advantage may have been enough for them to win the day.

Unfortunately, they were fighting one of the most dangerous Adepts alive, and Adeline Argent quickly showed them the difference between a skilled battle-gifted and a recognized knight-gallant of the Argent Order.

The boar-cat, when it charged her again, was the first to go. It might've been fast and strong, but it would take more than a straight charge to get through the dance of Adeline's twin swords. The knight felt the tug of some potency when her swords entered its side, but that defense was meager indeed compared to an Adept level Critical Strike.

[Critical Strike] - Active, Attack, Luck - Make a special attack with potency increased by two tiers. Potency has a small chance to instead increase by four tiers. Moderate stamina cost is decreased to lesser if the critical effect triggers.

The moments it took to kill the first of the transformed outlaws gave the next two, the winged serpent and the stag-wolf, time to approach her, and Adeline briefly found herself on the defensive, even her intricately weaving swords unable to block all of the incoming attacks–but, as she had lectured Oli so long ago, a vanguard didn't need to worry about blocking all incoming damage–that was what Reinforced Defense was for.

[Reinforced Defense] - Triggered, Defense - When blocking an attack, you and your equipment are treated as being one tier of potency higher. Each time this is triggered, there is a minor focus cost, but the effect lingers for a lesser duration. During this time, you also receive a minor ongoing healing effect.

What attacks the hybrid beasts managed to land were glancing blows at best, rapidly healed by Adeline's defenses. She defended herself patiently, studying her foes until she understood how each of her monstrous opponents preferred to fight, then when she was ready, she made her move, starting by throwing up a Shining Shield between her and the charging stag-wolf, delaying it for a crucial moment.

[Shining Shield] - Active, Defense, Support - Create a barrier of energy to defend yourself or an ally. Lesser duration and durability increases to moderate if used on an ally. Lesser focus cost decreases to minor if the target is engaged by three or more enemies.

The moment the stag-wolf bounced off the golden barrier, Adeline twirled in place. As expected, the flying snake's fangs were already lashing towards her with too much momentum for the monster to pull back, even as her swords crossed around its neck and sliced off its head.

By then, the remaining monster had shattered her shield, weakened as it was when she used it to protect herself, but Adeline was ready and waiting for it–and this time, one-on-one, the hybrid had no chance to defeat her. Within moments, the beast was cut into four clean pieces.

That left only the lizard-bear. Slower than its allies, it lumbered forward with an odd, unbalanced stride that made it child's play for Adeline to circle around it and leap onto its back. Even at Adept level, the chances of triggering the luck effect on Critical Strike were small–Adeline estimated perhaps one-in-twenty–but once she was on her opponent's back, it was easy enough to stab her blade into the bear hybrid's hide, over and over, until the luck effect triggered, sending her blade deep into the lumbering monster's shoulder.

As the lizard-bear collapsed, already bleeding to death, Adeline cleanly jumped free, pirouetting in the air as she did to restore her spent energy.

[Passionate Inspiration] - Active, Support, Healing - Restore an ally's stamina and focus by a moderate amount. Lesser focus cost.

Normally, Passionate Inspiration could only affect an ally, but the augment of her vanguard and passion gifts, Inspired Self, let her use it on herself, even if the effects were reduced to a lesser restoration. That meant that, given time, she could recover from even significant use of her special attacks.

Adeline blew out a small breath as she landed. That was cleanly done, even by her standards. Four enemies killed in a mere pair of minutes, without a single noticeable hit taken–but she had still paid a cost for it. She felt the leaden weight in her muscles, the burgeoning pain behind her eyes, that told her she had tapped into a significant portion of her stamina and focus–which, considering her boons, said a lot. It had been somewhat wasteful to spend so much stamina spamming Critical Strike on the bear, but it had been worth it to quickly end a fight with such a massive foe.

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Although it did mean Adeline was slightly shaken when she heard more footsteps approaching.

The knight spun, one sword pointed forward while she kept the other in a low guard, and she took in her next enemy.

They were a wraith, that much was obvious, even from a dozen feet away. Their skin was a deep shade of green and their hair hung lank and heavy, as if it was made of the snarled vines it resembled. Given their uncanny features, it was hard to tell their age, and despite being dressed in little more than a few strategically placed hides and what looked like most of a bramble bush slung over their shoulder, Adeline couldn't read any gender from them, either. They were, to all appearances, unarmed, but Adeline knew how little that meant with gifted.

"Am I to assume you were the leader of these malcontents?" Adeline gestured with one sword at the corpses that surrounded her.

"'Leader' is a strong word." Their voice was smoky–literally. Deep and dark, with an odd crackling that underlined its odd accent. "I offered them a gift, and they failed to live up to it–as they always seem to."

Adeline narrowed her eyes. "So are you responsible for their abilities then? The way they used two totem gifts?"

"I offered them my authority, yes," the wraith seemed to almost growl the words. "But they weren't strong enough–one and all, they succumbed to the Wild, letting it ruin them rather than living in accordance with it."

"'Authority,'" Adeline repeated. "I've heard that before–from the King himself, at that. Are you claiming to be as strong as he is?"

The wraith rolled their shoulders, the brambles slung across their back crackling and rustling with the movement. "I don't know. I've never seen him fight. But I'm stronger than you."

Adeline tightened her grip on her sword, refusing to rise to the bait. She wasn't Oli, so sensitive to the smallest provocation. She had been through too much to have anything less than the utmost confidence in her skills. "Even if that were true, why would you be working for a mere rot hag, then?"

"I work for no one. I work with the Coven of Whispers, for the moment. They are no threat to me, and the chaos they brew brings this place one step closer to the Wild."

That made two mentions of the Wild, with an emphasis that told Adeline they were referring to something more than simple wilderness. "Working with them or for them, you're still my enemy. Surrender, or I'll be forced to do to you as I did to your minions."

"You will try," the wraith growled. "My pack was weak–I care little that you culled them. That is the law of the Wild. Strength above all."

"Then perhaps you should do the same," Adeline offered again. "Surrender now, tell me what you know, and maybe you can be spared."

"The Wild does not know surrender, Adeline Argent."

Adeline tensed, and power instinctively raced down her arms and into her blades. The wraith apparently noted the reaction, and a hungry smile split their face. "That's right, Adeline Argent. I know who you are. I know your gifts. I know your accomplishments. And now, I've seen you fight."

"You think you can do better than six of your minions all working together?"

"Yes," the wraith said simply. They held up a green-skinned hand, pointing it towards Adeline. "I am called Brisann. You've fought the bearers of my Authority, Adeline Argent, but now you face the Chimera itself."

Brisann's hand suddenly changed–not with the slow morphing common to totem gifts, but suddenly, violently. Their skin itself seemed to rip and tear as muscle and fur and scales pushed out from within, forming a claw unlike any in nature. The size of a bear's, it ended in claws as long and sharp as daggers. The arm it was attached to was lean and powerful, liquid muscle shifting under hard black scales.

Their other arm was even more odd, not just becoming reptilian, but becoming a literal snake, ending in a snapping maw filled with far too many fangs. Bat wings grew from their back, shrouded in what looked like porcupine quills. Their legs grew more powerful as their joints reversed, bare feet replaced with cloven hooves. Even their face changed, their jaw stretching as more fangs began to burst out of it, giving them the appearance of a furred crocodile.

Once again, Adeline found her human opponents replaced with a hybrid monstrosity, not just two, but a dozen animals blended together, still shrouded in a cloak of brambles–a cloak that now began to move, squirming to provide cover without leaving even a scratch on the Chimera's body. But this time, there was no doubt that the monster before her still had the mind of a human. Intense green eyes watched Adeline closely, and though it mangled its words, the monster still made the effort to speak.

"Do you feel that fear, Adeline Argent? The instinctive terror in the face of a true predator?" the Chimera asked. "That is what the Wild means. Look upon true strength, foolish knight–and know that you are not enough to face it."

Adeline was spared having to figure out an answer to that stream of drivel by the Chimera lunging forward to meet Adeline's sword with an array of attacks–and for the first time in years, the silver knight found herself facing a foe she couldn't keep up against.

Adeline knew that her gifts were not the most powerful, especially when she was on her own. She did her best in small groups, where the shields, heals, and buffs her gifts could deploy could strengthen her allies. She was a force multiplier more than a force on her own. It was only her sheer skill with her swords that made up for that. Even if her powers weren't as flashy as some Adept battle-gifted, she was skilled enough to make a fight of nearly any encounter, and her abilities were so economical that she could keep going for hours.

Unfortunately, Brisann, the Chimera, whatever they were, was the sort of foe Adeline was at her weakest against, a force of unrelenting strength and speed that Adeline was hard-pressed to hold her own against. With each moment, she found herself backing up, her continued survival due entirely to the sheer, dazzling prowess of her technique.

Even that was not enough to give her the edge against Brisann. Even as Adeline began to figure out the Chimera's rhythm and plot a counter attack, everything about her changed again, and suddenly, the snake hand was replaced by a massive, furred arm that ended in a tangled knot of horns and antlers that they swung like a bludgeon. The attack was so unexpected, a heavy swing as opposed to the swift snakebites, that Adeline was caught completely off-guard. The bludgeon smashed through her hasty attempt at a defense, and the knight was sent flying into the side of a crumbling building, a sharp crack echoing through the ruined town.

"You are impressive," the Chimera acknowledged in that crackling, guttural voice, and Adeline couldn't deny the thrill of fear it sent down her bruised spine now. "But you're not good enough to beat me. No one is."

"I'm not done yet," Adeline claimed, staggering to her feet. Both of her swords had gone spinning away in the impact, but that was fine–her left hand twitched to the dangling charm on her right wrist, and she drew her aetherial silver sword back into being.

"Maybe," the Chimera acknowledged, "but I've also only used one of my gifts so far."

In response to their words, fire began to flare up in a ring around the Chimera, and Adeline felt the blood drain from her face. Not only did Brisann have a gift unlike anything Adeline had ever seen, they had the gift of fire, too. And unless she missed her guess, Adeline bet that the briars still clinging to their back indicated the gift of thorns.

"The strong survive, Adeline Argent. And I am the strongest."

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