Frozen Tears: The Sky Panther's Fall
The sky was like a vast, endless expanse of cold blue, unbroken by clouds or the faint shimmer of distant mirage. Underfoot, the ground was a wasteland of frost and ice, where even the strongest winds carried the chill of a thousand forgotten winters. The air itself seemed to thicken with the weight of unspoken secrets, carrying the faint, metallic tang of blood and the sharper bite of snow that had yet to melt. This was the realm of the sky panther — a domain untouched by the touch of human hands, where only the wind and the snow dared to stir.
A snow leopard, one of the most elusive predators in these harsh lands, made its home in the high plateaus beyond all mortal reach. And for the sky panther in particular, there was no comparison. The basic laws of pursuit were already skewed in favor of the hunted. Add to that the creature's mastery of stealth, its silent mastery of the shadows cast by jagged rocks and the blinding glare of snow, and one quickly learned that the hunt was never short. Days stretched into weeks, sometimes months, in the endless search for a single animal that could vanish without a trace.
If they had followed Ahor's suggestion and assembled an elven hunting party, they would have needed far more time than this. While the group debated, another group might fall victim to the same predator. Ashtien feared exactly that possibility, and so she had come herself.
The beast was no mere hunter that struck only when starving. Among the cat family, hunger was not the sole trigger. They hunted even when full. A cat that caught a mouse was not driven by need; it simply enjoyed the act. The same held true for this snow leopard. It did not wait for the next meal; it struck because it could. And it could strike today, right now, against a human.
If it decided to hunt, there was no point in hesitation. The one who could end it quickly would be Ashtien. And yet the location of its lair was almost impossible to locate. Ashtien answered the unspoken question with a calm, knowing smile.
"Experience."
The more experience one gained, the easier it became to predict. Mark the candidates, rank them by likelihood, and the rest would follow. She explained further, her voice steady as the wind.
"In summer, the swallows return to the grasslands. They dig burrows along the muddy banks of lakes and streams. Knowing this, finding the birds is simple. First find the lake."
The same principle applied to the sky panther, though the task was slightly more demanding. Every predator had its preferred terrain, its favored winds, its chosen prey. Ashtien knew these patterns intimately.
It sounded deceptively easy, yet few could make the comparison. Swallows and sky panthers occupied entirely different worlds.
The party moved forward without pause toward the point Ashtien had marked.
"Khan."
Ah or pointed to a cluster of boulders. In the shade cast by the rocks lay a piece of meat, shaped like the hind leg of a horse.
"A centaur's leg?"
The region endured cold year-round, so the beast had learned to preserve its kills in this manner.
"We've found it."
The territory was unmistakably that of a sky panther. Ashtien's insight had shone through.
"We should encircle it."
The sky panther was a flying creature. Cornered, it might simply take flight to another ridge.
The group split. Vesta moved with Ashtien.
The skilled hunters began to close the net. As Ashtien kicked aside pebbles, the tracks appeared one by one.
"This is strange."
Ashtien whispered, her voice barely above a breath.
"The beast leaves a trail to announce that this is its territory. It prevents other animals from intruding. It is a very effective strategy."
A predator would not want to fight another animal. Even a minor injury could cost it its hunting ability. So when it detected the signs, it usually retreated.
"But because of this effective strategy, the beasts never hunt humans. A discovered predator can only be hunted."
Ashtien spoke while lifting her gaze.
"We cannot mix with each other. And if only one can survive, then the human must be the one to remain."
Her eyes fixed on the target.
The sky panther stood there — a massive white-furred beast, larger than any lion or tiger. Its paws were huge and powerfully built, its center of gravity low, its hind legs sturdy. The tail was long and thick. From its form one could see the difference in purpose from that of a lion or tiger.
"Ready."
"Yes. From now on, you will witness something extraordinary."
The creature hurled itself toward the steep slope.
It raced down the near-vertical cliff face. Unbelievable.
It seized the uneven rocks with its enormous front paws, twisting its tail like a rudder. It leaped as if falling, yet never fell. The distance closed in an instant.
"The hardest beast to hit with an arrow is the panther charging at a human."
Ashtien looked calm. Almost relaxed. Not careless, but as if she knew no fear.
She drew the bowstring.
"Far more than that."
The sky panther, racing down the cliff in perfect control, rose into the air.
"But."
It spread its wings — white as the extreme cold of the high plateau, like an eagle of the farthest north.
Whang.
The wings had been spread for only that single moment of launch.
Then it folded them and began to glide. For the first time, the snow leopard touched the earth and broke free from the limits of its kind.
"I have never hit one like that."
Thwack.
The arrow flew.
Ashtien thought:
She had risked everything to pull the panther close enough for the perfect moment to rise. For a more accurate and powerful strike.
But if she had followed her own instincts — if it had been the young girl she once was, hunting alone in the cold — she would not have done so. She knew that herself.
She would have fired from afar, increasing the chances of hitting. She would have fired again and again, wounding the beast as much as possible.
What had changed?
Perhaps the presence of someone else. Someone named Vesta.
Vesta had stood in front of Ashtien like a soldier protecting his commander, sword drawn, back turned in bold defiance.
"You."
Even if the arrow missed, he would protect her.
"It is different because of you."
A long-forgotten memory surfaced. The memory of a girl trembling in the near-freezing cold, waiting alone for a sky panther.
"The girl was alone. She had no choice."
The girl was not someone who sought understanding from others. She was proud or stubborn, as the mood took her.
If Vesta had been there then, beside her...
How regretful. If only they had met sooner.
If they had met sooner, the lonely times of that girl would have been fewer. Ashtien thought.
The arrow rode the rising air currents, seeming to be sucked straight toward the target.
Thud.
The heavy hunting arrow pierced the sky panther's neck, tearing out a large chunk of flesh.
Grrrrr.
The wounded body lost control of its brain. The panther crashed to the ground.
Boom!
It tumbled across the rough rock. The impact would have shattered a human's spine and skull.
Thanks to the extremely flexible joints and the instinctive righting reflex of the cat family, the creature barely retained its shape.
It came to a stop twenty paces from Vesta and Ashtien.
Grrr... grrr...
The sky panther let out a desperate howl. Having injured its throat, it could no longer produce its usual sharp cry. Only a bubbling sound emerged from the blood.
It poured out an enormous amount of blood. It would die soon.
"Bigger. No, gigantic."
It was nothing compared to a werewolf. By any measure, larger than a panther. To a human, it was a mountain of death.
"The danger was closer to a griffin than to a panther."
Vesta walked toward the beast, to finish the job.
In truth, he did not need to. But he sensed, like Ashtien, that he was being protected, and that sense pushed aside any caution.
The predator of the rock range revealed its fangs to the small human.
Its mouth was large enough to bite a human head clean off. Vesta showed no fear.
Why? Why did it look like it was trembling?
Because it was the king of all beasts on the steppe. The blessing of Ekarquide had awakened in its eyes. To the panther, Vesta was not a human but a small predator.
But Vesta's thoughts did not reach that far.
He simply walked forward without hesitation, then stopped at exactly the right moment.
Whoosh.
The front paw slashed through the air. The razor-sharp claws ripped open empty space.
Vesta and Ashtien knew the attack would miss. Vesta moved.
He dodged the charging jaws and drove his sword straight in.
The beast's jaw locked shut around the blade. It was effectively sealed. Blood dripped steadily down the edge of the sword.
Indeed, the blood of a ghost was pitch red.
The panther sensed its own death. It tried to pull away. The main weapon remained buried in its jaws. It could not be removed.
The instant it moved, Vesta drew the second blade and severed the wing membrane. The sound was sharp and clean as the leather tore.
Now the panther could not flee into the sky.
Grrr...
The bubbling grew louder. It was time to finish.
"With the weapon—"
The second blade could not cut its throat. But now, he could strangle it. Vesta could do it. He had seen a bear killed that way before.
His hands would be stained with blood, but that was all.
He stabbed the second blade into the panther's neck and moved.
At that moment:
"Take this."
Whick.
Ashtien had thrown him the sword.
Sthunk.
He drew it immediately. The blade was wide. It could deliver a fatal wound. Without hesitation, he drove it into the panther's shoulder.
"---!"
The sword found a weak point untouched by muscle or bone. A wet sound. Blood spurted from severed vessels. He pushed the blade deeper. Blood welled up.
No living creature could survive this.
Boom.
The massive beast collapsed lifelessly.
"Hah."
Vesta exhaled deeply. The anger seemed to leave him.
Ashtien approached.
"The sky panther cannot match the enemies of the arena. But I have learned something."
"The creature had its throat pierced. What of it?"
Even if Vesta had left it, it would have died soon. Ashtien could have finished it herself easily.
Ashtien examined the panther.
"It is a female."
She did not look happy to have succeeded in the hunt.
"It must be a mother raising her cubs."
Most cat-family predators learned hunting skills from their mothers. To them, the mother was both protector and teacher.
"There is no prey here on the rock range that the cubs can eat. Will they hunt goats or wolves?"
The goats of the rock range were deadly weapons that could kill even fully grown werewolves.
"No matter how powerful the sky panther, if the cubs cannot grow, it is meaningless. They will all starve."
As she spoke, there was no regret. Ashtien was not the type to harbor foolish thoughts. She had already considered this ending.
Ashtien lowered her body and brushed the fur of the dead panther.
"Do not blame us. We were born to kill and be killed by each other. But I will say this: you did not die because of a crime, but because of blood. This is the order of the elves."
It was impossible to apply the crime of murder to a panther.
Blood had simply flowed. And once blood flowed, someone had to replace it. That was the way of the elves.
Ashtien stood. She looked at Vesta.
"Let's return."
"Yes, let's go."
Ashtien did not claim the panther's hide.
Two figures left the spot.
The white beast revealed itself. A mysterious creature with six legs.
If any nomad on the steppe had seen it, they would have called it a princess in a collar.
The beast walked calmly toward the body of the mother panther.
It was gathering her body.