Clara's Point Of View -
1 Week Earlier
"Sir Hemson, have you recruited a guide yet?" I asked, my voice calm despite the flutter of nerves beneath it. I was standing next to my horse outside the town gate with 5 knights including Sir Hemson.
"Yes, Lady Clara."
He bowed slightly. "The arrangements have been completed. We'll be ready to depart shortly."
Sir Hemson, my personal knight and most trusted escort, had been assigned to assist me along with 4 other knights with this mission, one bestowed directly by His Highness, Prince Lewis.
I had only met His Highness a handful of times.
He had always been gentle. Polite And kind.
But I hadn't exactly given much thought to our engagement.
It was, after all, an arranged marriage, a political union decided by the family, not by feelings.
Still, things changed after I completed the latest prototype of our newly developed weapon.
His Highness had been genuinely fascinated by its potential.
He saw its power, its promise, and more importantly, the impact it could have on future warfare.
It was my invention without the use of magic.
Now, His Highness wanted me to test it.
And there was no better proving ground than the Silverwood, a place crawling with demonic beasts.
_______________________
Clara Edward, the only daughter of the prestigious Edward family, was known throughout the kingdom as a brilliant inventor.
A true prodigy with gears, blueprints, and enchantment arrays, Clara was nothing like the noble ladies raised on etiquette, ballroom dances, and arranged marriages. Ever since she was a child, she had been drawn not to lace and jewelry, but to forges, blacksmithing, and the evolving fusion of mechanical innovation and magic.
While other girls learned how to curtsey, Clara was hammering metal beside the smiths, studying magical circuitry, and sketching weapons far ahead of her time.
But for all her brilliance, she bore one secret insecurity.
Unlike others of noble blood—especially those said to carry traces of Arctic lineage, Clara had never awakened any magical power.
Not even a flicker.
Despite the fact that her family carried the blood of the Arctic line, nothing ever stirred within her.
And that was why she had turned to machines and innovation.
___________________
I carefully unwrapped the cloth, peeling back the layers with deliberate care, until the weapon beneath was fully revealed.
My newest invention—
I named it "Shooter."
It was long, sleek, and refined, somewhat reminiscent of a crossbow, but fundamentally different in every way that mattered.
Instead of relying on tensioned strings, the Shooter was powered by a contained explosion—black powder, a substance I had refined through countless failed experiments.
It launched a hardened steel bullet—compressed and shaped precisely to pierce through armor or flesh
with a speed far surpassing any bow.
A mechanical weapon that didn't require magic.
Just precision, powder and a finger on the trigger.
I carefully lifted the Shooter, feeling its weight settle into my arms.
With practiced ease, I raised it and took aim at a distant tree—just to feel the balance again.
"Lady Clara, they've arrived!"
Sir Hemson's voice called out from behind.
A group of adventurers was approaching, and at their front stood a man in full armor, clearly their leader.
I lowered the Shooter and walked forward to greet them.
"Are you the noble lady who requested a hunt for demonic beasts?" the armored man asked, his voice steady but curious.
"Yes."
I nodded. "I need to test my latest weapon on them."
The man glanced at the weapon slung over my shoulder, then raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm…dealing with demonic beasts might cost extra."
"Is fifty gold coins enough?" I asked without hesitation.
There was a brief pause.
"Whoa—"
"Did she just say fifty?!"
A couple of the adventurers behind him muttered in disbelief.
The man, however, chuckled.
"Fifty gold coins, huh? Sounds more than reasonable."
He stepped forward, removing his helmet.
"Name's Kev. I'm the leader of this A-rank party. We'll be your escort into Silverwood."
"Let's go, then!"
Without another word, I turned on my heel, Shooter strapped securely across my back, and mounted my horse with practiced ease.
Sir Hemson and the four knights assigned to me followed close behind, riding in formation.
Up ahead, Kev's party took the lead.
Upon arriving at the entrance to Silverwood, Kev raised a hand to halt the group.
"No mounts beyond this point," he advised. "The horses won't stay calm in there. They'll sense the demonic beasts long before we do… and panic."
I had read about this before.
Horses have an instinctive sensitivity to demonic creatures—it's almost like they can feel the malice in the air.
When they sense that they're being hunted, their bodies respond like prey. Fast. Fearful. Uncontrollable.
It made them unreliable once inside a place like Silverwood.
"It'll be quick—if you're only aiming to test it on a Boaream," Kev said as he stepped up beside me.
"I know where to find them."
I gave him a quick nod.
Boaream—a type of demonic beast with the body of a boar, but nearly twice the size.
Its skin was like stone, hard enough to deflect arrows and even dent steel if struck wrong.
Exactly the kind of target I wanted.
"Lady Clara, please stay close to us. It will be dangerous," Sir Hemson urged, his voice low but firm.
Behind me, the other knights moved carefully, their eyes scanning the shadowed treeline as they formed a protective perimeter.
I turned and offered him a calm, reassuring smile.
"Yes, Hemson. I understand."
It was true—he was worried.
After all, this was my first time stepping into Silverwood.
A place known not just for its beasts, but for its unnatural silence and the things that waited beyond it.
=========================
After walking for a while through the dense paths of Silverwood, we finally spotted one a Boaream, just as Kev had predicted.
It was resting beneath the shade of a massive, moss-covered tree, its massive stone-like body heaving with slow, heavy breaths.
Kev's party quickly spread out, silently scouting the area and taking position. Their movements were swift and practiced, they were there to make sure I had a clear shot and a safe perimeter.
If anything went wrong, they'd be ready to eliminate the beast immediately.
I nodded silently and stepped forward.
Taking a deep breath, I reached into my pouch and carefully loaded a bullet, a compressed shard of hardened steel, into Shooter's chamber.
Then, I added a small pouch of blackpowder, clicking the mechanism shut with a soft metallic snap.
I adjusted my grip and raised the Shooter, aligning the sights.
The Boaream was just about five meters away, completely unaware of our presence.
I steadied my breath.
And then,
I pulled the trigger.
A deafening bang erupted from Shooter, echoing through the forest like a thunderclap.
The shot was perfect.
The bullet pierced straight through the Boaream's stone-like skin, driving cleanly into its skull. Blood burst from the entry wound, pouring down its face as its massive body slumped to the ground without so much as a twitch.
My heart pounded, not from fear, but from pure exhilaration.
"Damn… it really worked?!"
Kev approached with wide eyes, his party close behind him.
"Is it magic? What even is that thing?!"
"Yes—" I started to answer, proudly.
But I was cut off.
"Everyone, duck!"
Kev's voice turned sharp, almost panicked.
Arrows shooted at our direction from the bushes with deadly precision.
"Let's get out of here !"
Kev noticed the arrow and his face became pale as he called everyone to retreat and get out of the forest.
"We're under attack!" one of the adventurers shouted.
Kev's eyes scanned the treeline, his face going pale when he noticed the arrow.
"Everyone, fall back! Get out of the forest, NOW!"
I couldn't understand what was happening or who had fired those arrows.
All I knew was that we were being hunted.
Sir Hemson and the knights quickly surrounded me, shielding my body with theirs as we sprint away.
"Incoming—arrows!!"
The shout came from one of Kev's adventurers, just a heartbeat too late.
An arrow pierced clean through his skull, and he collapsed mid-run, lifeless.
"Form up! Battle formation!"
Kev's voice cut through the chaos.
He and his party immediately moved into formation, steel clashing as they prepared to fight whatever had just ambushed us.
Hemson and the knights hesitated.
Kev turned to us with a sharp glare.
"You soldiers! Protect your lady and get the hell out of here! Find a way out—now!"
Then they came.
Figures in black robes, moving like shadows through the trees. Faces hidden, bodies cloaked, weapons drawn and fast.
Hemson grabbed my arm, and we turned and fled—running deeper into the forest, away from the clash of steel and the blood-soaked cries behind us.
The last word I heard before the trees swallowed everything was a single shout:
"Dark Elves!"