The Battle That Does Not End

Talua felt her long before she saw or heard her. A suffocating presence like a wet blanket across your soul, but also a feeling like an unquenchable rage in your very bones and blood. The trees of the forest trembled, and the surface of the lake rippled. The air seemed to still, like a wildfire was sucking all life from it.

Just as suddenly the feeling broke, like the skies clearing after a rainstorm. Talua exhaled a sigh of relief for a moment, but wondered what caused it. Looking around, she spotted a woman at the edge of the lake. The woman seemed to be angry and was shouting at the lake, and as Talua cautiously drew nearer, the words became legible.

"Fight me!" The woman shouted. "Get out of the water and fight me you coward!"