Welcome to Gaia! ::

The forests of Urania. They were vast and deep. You could be mistaken for believing that they covered all the surface.

If you looked out from where you stand, you cannot see past them. Even if you got as high as you could, you would not see anything but the trees. And if you could get as low as you could, you would only see roots.

But, at the center of the world, there was a large area of mostly stone. It was on the outskirts of this area that you now stood, on ground of a fine and dark dirt. It is as if you stand on the last bit of ground before the untamed wilderness.

This area leads to the Pack Ward.

———

“Welcome to Urania. This sphere here… well, it used to light up this section of the forest! Which section is this? Oh, yes. This is the Pack Ward. Oh! I should explain why it’s called that. The constellation Aries had that title on my world. But it also represented a clan, the Pack clan, represented by the Ram. There was also three tribes under them, Lupus, the Wolf; Canis Major, the Large Dog; and Canis Minor, the Small Dog.

See! They are right here on the sphere…

Oh, perhaps I should explain why I’m explaining all this.”

The senshi touches the sphere’s stars in a certain order. Nothing happens for a moment. And then you see the stars shift and move before forming the words:

Are you ready?

“You see, on my world, before I was allowed to leave and explore beyond Urania, I had to complete a challenge from each clan. Which I did! But, um, this thing doesn’t seem to remember that. It won’t let me turn on the light until I do it all over again! I mean… the two things — lighting the way and the challenge aren’t even connected! It must be broken…”

She looked sad and her wisp appeared and tried to comfort her by doing all it could which was spin around her head. Then she looked to you.

“And I was much stronger than… you see. I’m not at the same stage as I was then. So, if this does what I think it does, I’m going to need some help.”

Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready?

The stars keep reforming and asking the same thing over and over, like it’s broken or something and stuck on repeat. The wisp circles the sphere excitedly as if also asking…

Are you ready?


❂

“This one I remember. Quite well, actually. My mother was from this tribe before she became queen.”

Urania admired Celadon’s weapon. It reminded her a bit of Erytheia’s in that it was made of a dark wood.

“The Pack was all about hunting and the group. They were a bit more… brutal… than the other clans. A lot of power dynamics and hierarchy, but in the end, they didn’t leave anyone behind, provided they pulled their weight.”

But she was getting distracted. She had been asked about the tasks.

“The first task will be to defeat a dog in combat. But, that’s not the hard part. You only have a short time to defeat it. Another is waiting to come to its aid, and, if you’re not efficient, you’ll be fighting two at once. The last task involves a puzzle where you can’t leave anyone behind. My mother said this was always a different puzzle, as she couldn’t tell me the answer. I think it might be different than the one I solved, so we’ll have to think it through anew.”


❂

“Right! We’ll begin.”

Urania hesitantly put a hand on the sphere. She remembered this challenge. Timed tasks alway made her a bit nervous.

Welcome to the test of the Pack Ward!

Your first task will be from Canis Minor, the Small Dog.

You can use any method to defeat your prey. However, know that you will only have a short time to do so. The hunt waits for no one.

You hear a howl and a small spectral dog appears. It looks like its body is made of light and its joints are stars, but it does not stay still for further examination. It immediately charges Celadon.

Since you know what to expect, you go first.


❂

The test was certainly… Abrupt. While Celadon understood the rules, she wasn't prepared to so suddenly be thrust into the thick of it. At once there was a dog, something that took her eyes a moment to understand, and at once that dog was charging her. That dog was smaller than her, though, and while she couldn't react as quickly as it, she still raised her arms up to prevent it from getting at her face.

Her cloth bracers gave her a margin of protection against spectral teeth and claws, though it wouldn't be enough to mean anything in a real fight. She felt the pressure on her forearms nonetheless.

Once it was up on its back legs, Celadon kicked it squarely in its torso, her foot connecting right below its ribcage. She hoped that would send it flying and buy them some time to actually assess the situation.

Celadon hadn't seen much magic before. It sounded like Urania was going to cast some, so Celadon looked her way with an excited sort of swell in her chest, but Urania quickly clarified that her magic wasn't working.

That seemed incredibly dangerous. This was a trial, so Celadon doubted that it would go so far as to actually jeopardize Urania if she was alone. But on Earth? If she was facing down someone who was holding a weapon and had every intention to ensure she wouldn't stand in their way again? Being unable to call on that magic to stun someone would end in disaster.

But now wasn't the time to talk about it. They still had a dog in front of them.

Celadon didn't have much faith that her small javelin would do much to an animal. The tip didn't look sharp at all — she could rub her thumb across the top of it without fearing anything more than a splinter. She also wasn't sure if she'd be able to throw it right, but with the dog backed off right now, there wasn't much else she could do. If she ran forward and tried to kick the star dog again, it would see her coming. And she'd feel even worse for deliberately kicking it instead of doing so out of retaliation.

With a breath, Celadon raised her arm with the javelin in hand. She took aim, then threw it at the creature.