"Spread out boys! Don't give 'im anywhere to run! We'll 'ave his back to the wall when we hits the veil!" Risni didn't need to look back over his shoulder to know the bandit's men were heeding his words. He could hear it in the crunch of their heels on the scorched sand behind him. It mattered not, if they felt they had him cornered against a wall at the edge of the forest, they were in for a surprise. He just had to keep moving. His pursuers had chased him all the way to the edge of the wastes, out of the canyons and crags and ruins that surrounded the crater and into the vast expanse of sand. At the very least, he could his forest, as well as the thin strip of plains that separated it from the wastes. It seemed to grow smaller every year, and he could only wish it was because the forest was growing.<br/><br/>Behind him, Risni could hear chanting. Planting his next step into the ground hard, he braced himself and jumped to his side, hitting the ground running as best he could, trying not to loose too much momentum as the bolt of flames shot past his left shoulder, singing the dried leaves that camouflaged his armor, turning the brownish grey to a dark black. The sand a few feet in front of him exploded with the impact of the flame, some melting into a smokey, molten mess.<br/><br/>At both his left and right, Risni could make out men closing in on him, the one to his right swinging a length of rope tied to a heavy iron ball. He'd already taken a few hits from it, though the thick leather under the dead leaves helped to pad it, and he had been careful enough to avoid being caught in the rope. They'd been chasing him for leagues, the entire way from the edge of the canyons where he unwittingly had walked past their camp. He was out of his element in the wastes, his comfort with his own abilities made him far less cautious than he should be in areas where they couldn't be used.<br/><br/>"There's nowhere to run, now!" The leader shouted at Risni as they hit the end of the sand. The wastes ended as quickly as they began, the plains springing up everywhere that magic hadn't scorched, with his own home just beyond. "The Veil will offer 'ye a worse death than we ever could!" For most, is was true enough. The guardian beasts and fae of the Wooded Veil showed no mercy for those that disrespected the sacred forest, and were especially quick to make reminders of humans who disrespected it or even dare tread inside. Many tribes had attempted to hunt it's bounty or pluck it's trees, and often, the examples made of them were enough that each tribe rarely tried more than once. For all these bandits knew, Risni was far better off in their hands. "Stop all peaceful like and we'll make it quick!" their leader bellowed. On fair ground, they'd be all the harder to outrun.<br/><br/>Sure enough, Risni came to a stop, turning to face his pursuers. For a brief moment, he and the leader simply stared at one another, Risni catching a deep breath as he pulled the loose strands of dark black hair from his face aside, the leader of the raiders simply looking dumbfounded, as did most of his men, than his 'promise' had seemingly worked. "Decided to stop running then?" he finally bellowed, breaking the silence, the mage to his left already beginning another incantation.<br/><br/>"No more need." Risni replied plainly, his tone empty, neither sarcastic nor jovial. He was simply stating a fact. Dark blue eyes scanned each of them men in turn as each of them began to shake off their confusion and advance. With a few steps back, he took in one last deep breath. The feel of grass under his feet once more, the freshness in the air, the forest to his back... it was all... invigorating.<br/><br/>"The hell is this?" The man formerly to Visni's right demanded, startled enough to let his own iron smash into his leg. As Visni stood there, the dead leaves that covered his armor had begun to turn, first to all hues of yellow, orange, and red before darkening and turning a vibrant green. A modest wind swept in from the direction of the veil, tossing his braid up over his shoulder, the ground trembling around them, causing the raider's caster to lose his footing and fumble with his spell.<br/><br/>"It's the avatar of the Veil!" one man shouted, turning to flee back to the sands, basely crossing the edge of the plains in time. With an unnatural swiftness, Risni plunged his fist against the ground. Massive vines and roots tore up from under the plains, snaring and tangling all those around him, snaring all but the one who made it back to the sands. The caster who had lost his footing never had a chance to stand back up, and found himself trashing against the vine at his neck as he coughed and struggled to breathe.<br/><br/>Taking a step forward, Risni pulled his bow from his back. He had long since run out of arrows before he had even ran across the raiders, though that too was no longer a problem. As made his way towards one of the bandits, grabbing an arrow from his quiver, a small bush was already sprouted and blossoming at his foot, bearing a dark purple fruit which Risni jabbed at with the arrowhead before notching his bow, pulling back the heavy string, almost half the length of himself, with ease, releasing after only a moment's aim, striking the runner in the back, sending him topping to the ground, going into small spams without ever standing again.<br/><br/>"What do you want?" The leader of the raiders begged, barely able to hold back the vine that had crept up along his body and was currently coiling around his neck.<br/><br/>"To return home in peace." Risni replied simply. "It was you who attacked me, after all. You brought this upon yourself. All over this..." Risni reached into his pouched, pulling out a shimming piece of crystal, suspended in a coil of silver without ever actually touching any part of it. "An artifact? One you didn't even find yourselves. You're willing to fill your own kind over gaining a trinket?" The leader didn't answer, though it was more likely because of the vine tightening at his neck. "Had you have just let me go, I'd of done the same. Instead, you had to threaten me and my-" Risni cut off, gripping his chest with his hands and groaning in agony, falling to his knees, nearly doubling over in pain as he turned about. One of the bandits Had managed to get to his weapon, hacking away at the roots that gripped him. With each swipe, Risni, winced in pain. The raider wasted no time catching on; what the roots Risni had called felt, Risni felt, from the pleasant glow of the sun to the pleasure of another's touch, to the sudden pain of being severed. It was all he needed to turn the tide, raising his weapon once more. "Stop!" Risni demanded, the vines wrapped around both remaining bandits suddenly bursting with thorns that grew from their stalks within moments. It was far more than they could bear, the weapon hitting the gross with a soft thump with one last wince from Risni, before everything went silent, aside from the sound of the breeze from the woods, and the chirping of passing birds. Slowly, Risni got to his feet, staggering with his first few steps as he made his way to the veil. At last, he was home again.