Refract - 3

Three days have passed since the group has collectively fled from Alyse’s home. With the lack of space and privacy, tensions have been slowly starting to build, but everyone does their best to cooperate. While studying the tracks of a hunter different from the one they keep running into, they stumble across an anomaly in time. An illusion. Xander feels the black shard speak to him. He peels away the falsehood of reality, everyone now finding themselves in an open field with a stone pillar in the center. As they approach, a man and a woman are flung out from behind it, appearing out of thin air. Two mages. Katherine and Sean. Before they could get well-acquainted with one another, they are interrupted yet again by the hunter, but this time the skirmish lasts a little bit longer. Throughout the fight, they found themselves unable to use their gifts of the blood, nor could the mages work their will upon reality. Tim, Xander and Erin manage to hold him off, wounding him just enough to consider retreat. Before he manages to slip away again, he fires a shot at Xander. It lands, burning him from within also rousing the red fear from his beast. Everyone helps treat his minor wounds and proceed back toward their home, the mages also following suit. They spend time becoming well-acquainted with everyone, whilst also exchanging information with Tim, Xander and Erin about the intricacies of Eventide, from their technological advances, to their systems and politics, how it was created and what may become of it.

The following night, Tim, Xander and Erin head back out to see what more can be found, but something finds them. It cuts across the moon. A black line splits and spreads, casting a shadow down below. Trees begin to vanish. They run. Xander, knowing this has something to do with the shard, tosses it behind him. The shadow stops, as does the shard and it is slowly pulled upwards into the sky. The line recedes. And they are left in eerie silence. After reflecting upon whatever it is they just encountered, the three of them connect it to the chasm that divides the land, no doubt caused by what just chased them. The three of them now prepare to investigate it.