Oh Great Verdan. A land of nobles, a kingdom against magic, and home to three girls who cannot get enough of the woods.
Alita was known to her friends, Mila and Gordette, as a mysterious girl who knew more than what she let on. Her keen sense of nature and her knowledge of the woods were unparalleled, thus making her the perfect guide for their walk in the woods. As they wandered through the forest, Alita shared with her friends the secrets of these woods.
"Have you ever wondered what lies beyond the swamps of the Mores?" Alita asked as they walked through the dense foliage.
"Certainly." Mila and Gordette chorused. "Legends say that The Great Merlin's early settlement lies just beyond it." Mila recalls.
"The legends may be true, but my father and I have been there, all we saw was the Verdani river." said Alita.
"What if it's under water? The Verdani river has been known to rise and drop for centuries, no?" Gordette suggests.
"This is possible. I can recall going there only in the monsoon season when the water levels are high. I guess we all know our next adventure" said Alita.
As they continued through the forest, they stumbled upon some hares.
"Look, a drove of conies!" whispers Mila. The girls all slowly ducked behind a big rock nearby and began plotting to capture a hare.
"Catchers -- Keepers!", Gordette suggests a contest where whoever catches a hare keeps it as a pet.
"Agreed!" Alita and Mila concur.
"So here's the plan. We split up and --" Mila tries to lay out her ideas, but was cut short by Gordette who immediately began chasing the group of hares.
Alita immediately followed, "Less talkey, more catchy!"
The hares synchronously reacted with a dash, as they scatter eastward of the forest. Mila tries to prevent their displacement by flanking them against Alita's run. This required her to run even faster than Alita. The chase was intense. Gordette locks in on one of the hares which strayed from the group. The hares were so fast and agile. Just as the girls were loosing hope, they spotted the old, abandoned abbey just ahead.
In moments like this, Alita could use her magic, but she remembers the warnings of her late father who passed on the gift of magic to her before he was captured by the enemy during the Siege of Verdan. "Ears cannot hear of it my child. Tell no soul."
"Keep the pace! If we can chase them into the abbey, we can corner them in there!" Alita yells as she bends her run to guide her target towards the entrance of the abbey. Most of the hares scatter around the fence. Only one hare ran straight through the entrance and into the cemetery.
They had barely made it thirty yards away from the abbey when Gordette hears a crackling sound, followed by a high-pitched wimpy cry coming from behind the low overgrowth that covered the cemetery. Gordette was the first to halt her run. She stops the others from running further in. A low grunt can be heard from the corner of the abbey.
"Girls... What is that?" asked Mila. They started to back away slowly, but before they could reach the exit, a massive grizzly bear came charging towards them.
"Run!" Alita screams. They panicked and ran out of the abbey compound in the hope of finding a hiding place. "Split up!" Alita ordered.
"What? No way! This isn't catchers-keepers!" Gordette refuses.
"Trust me! Split up!" Alita orders again and runs away from the group. Mila seeing this, also began to split up from Gordette. The bear struggled to pick a target, as zigzaging through the trees of the forest was already tasking enough.
As they ran, Alita monitors the animal's decision. When she saw that it was after Gordette, she start running towards the bear's path. She ran as fast as she could and managed to run across between the bear and Gordette, screaming loudly to attract its attention, but it failed as this beast was still locked on Gordette.
Gordette stumbled upon a cave and runs in to hide, but it followed her in. The bear took a swipe at her left ankle and she fell to ground wounded in the attack. She began to crawl backwards quickly into an old hollow log. The animal stuck its head in the log trying desperately to take a bite at her feet. The opening of the log gradually started breaking apart the more the bear forced its head into it.
Alita picked up a rock and threw it at the bear immediately she entered the cave. The rock struck the bear on its back and made it even angrier. It withdrew its head from the log, stood on its hind legs eight feet tall, and lets out a roar. Alita knew not to reveal her magic, not even to her friends, but the situation is critical. She had no choice but to use her magic if she wanted to save her friend.
The laws of magic interweave with the laws of the universe. You cannot create something from nothing. One who casts a spell must source their energy carefully, lest they drain their own life force.
However, she had to be careful. Magic can be dangerous and unpredictable. She knew that she did not have the energy to cast a spell, but she couldn't waste any more time. To source for energy, Alita quickly crouched, placed both her palms flat on the ground and began to cast her spell on the beast.
"AUDI ME, O BELLUA SILVARUM, TE LEX MAGICA URGET. EGO PRAECIPIO TERRAM IN QUA STATIS. IN GRAVI SOMNO ELABITUR".
Hear me, o beast of the woods. The law of magic compels you. I command the ground on which you stand. Slip into a deep slumber.
As she spoke, a glowing aura began to surround her body, and the bear became agitated. A glowing trail of light can be seen underneath the earth between Alita and the beast. The animal thrashed around, trying to break free from its magical restraints, but Alita held firm. Her magic was draining her energy, but she refused to give up.
Gordette's eyes widened in disbelief of what she was witnessing. Despite being weakened by the bear's constant struggle, Alita remained focused. The bear eventually gave in and dropped into a deep slumber. Weakened by the spell she casted, Alita struggled to get back on her feet. Gordette crawls out of the log and limps around the sleeping bear.
"We must hurry, the spell will not last long", Alita warns.
"It's not dead?" asked Gordette as she helps Alita up to hurry out of the cave. "No. It's asleep", Alita replies.
"Alita, you have magic?"
"Listen, I know I should have told you this a long--" Alita begins
"Brilliant! Brilliant! What else can you do? Oh-oh can you freeze time or move objects with your mind? Or fly? Please tell me you can fly.." Gordette cuts in.
"Not yet. My magic is not strong enough for that. But I can heal your wound." said Alita.
"Yes! Yes! I want to see that!" Gordette excitedly replies.
"OK. I'll show you. But first, we have to find Mila", said Alita.
"I can't wait to see the look on her face when she finds out. Now where did she flee to?" asked Gordette as she scans the woods.
