By the Horns Ch. 06 Pt. 01

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Content Warnings: violence (non-sexual), no sex (yet).

Disclaimer: All characters are 18+.

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Test Your Might: Part 1

"Rest now, Tawo." Rhuno muttered as he gripped the kodo's enchanted reigns, one armored gauntlet gently and reassuringly patting the creature's side, his golden-headed mace hanging off his wrist by its strap. The beast let out a soft groan of relief as its thick, leathery hide became less and less real beneath his hand, the creature swiftly disappearing entirely, leaving behind only the web of leather straps and metal fittings in his hand and a pool of blood amid the dense undergrowth. Rhuno pushed himself to his hooves without another word, stuffing the straps into a pouch on his belt.

"GROOOOAH!" bellowed the massive stegodons, its deep, rumbling cry making the air shake, Tawo's blood still dripping off its frontmost horn. The beast was truly enormous, a mountain of scaly, armor-plated muscle a ridge of bony plates on its spine making it seem even larger, more than double his height, it's body was easily twice as long from wicked horn to heavy, spiky tail, and it stomped and pawed at the earth with such strength the ground shook under his hooves, bringing that blood-stained horn down to bear upon the gleaming silver-and-gold-plated tauren standing before it.

Rhuno turned to face the creature with a fire in his icy-blue eyes. He reached around behind him, gripping the edge of his enormous, circular shield as it sat on his back, drawing it out and fastening it to his arm with practiced ease, a gleaming bulwark of polished silver with a golden sunburst in the center, lines of gold extending all the way to the edges. With a flick of his wrist, he swung his mace up, gauntleted fist closing around the gold-inlaid shaft, the watermelon-sized head a smooth, gleaming orb of gold. He muttered a word of taurahae, and his helmet materialized over his head, masking his expression behind a grate of steel. Another word, and the head of his mace began to glow, softly at first, then brighter, brighter, brighter, until it was almost blinding, bright and hot like a miniature sun. He sank into a combat stance, shield coming up defensively, brightly-burning mace poised to punish anything that dared to get too close. "COME ON THEN, BEAST!" He bellowed, returning the monster's challenge.

The stegodon bellowed back, and pushed off, massive, elephantine legs kicking up clods of dirt as it threw its bulk forward in a charge. Each footfall shook the earth as it barreled toward him, the creature's bloody horn, a fearsome spike of bone almost as big as his entire body lowered, its piercing tip aimed directly toward him. It thundered forward, looming larger and larger, a mountain of armored flesh and raw, primal might...

The ground shook, but not in time with the stegodon's footfalls, then it did it again, even stronger, and then a third time, so strongly that Rhuno almost lost his footing. A deafening roar shook the air, deep and ragged, full of rage and hate. From between the massive trees of the crater emerged a beast that towered over the enormous stegodon, it looked like one of the troll riding raptors, but a thousand times as large and without the colorful feathers. It barreled into the clearing at a dead run, head lowered, mighty jaws parting, revealing hundreds of curved fangs the size of swords, and it brought those jaws down on the mighty stegodon, seemingly not caring about the bony plates on its back. The stegodon cried out, a pained sound, its charge stopped dead as the enormous predator slid to a stop, clawed feet digging deep furrows in the earth as it did, then whipped its neck side to side, wicked fangs sinking deep into the armored beast's hide as the titanic hunter worried the wound, blood pouring from the savagely-mauled giant. The stegodon thrashed for a moment, helpless in the grasp of the mighty beast's jaws, until its tormentor gave its head a mighty swing, neck flexing as it hauled the stegodon up off its feet and threw it to the side, the enormous creature slamming against a tree with a sick crack. It struggled no more as it fell to the ground limp, bleeding as it lay upon the dense undergrowth. The towering predator threw its head back, blood still dripping from its maw, and let out a primal, conquering roar, the creatures of the crater fleeing in all directions, fleeing from the lord of the crater, the top of the food chain, the fearsome devilsaur queen.

Rhuno could only stare in awe as the monster stomped onto the clearing fully, towards its prize, only to stop and swing its blunt head to face the tauren, red eyes gleaming with wicked hunger. It spun and lunged forward, charging at him with far greater speed than any creature of its fearsome size should have been able to manage, letting loose a earthshaking roar as its jaws parted, swordlike fangs gleaming in the light filtering down through the soaring canopy above.

Among the tauren, the Earthmother is spoken of with reverence and gratitude. Often, when referenced poetically, the storytellers speak of her eyes, the sun and moon, or of her embrace, that cradles all life. As the towering saurian predator bore down on him, however, Rhuno could think of nothing better to say than "Earthmother's tits!". The devilsaur's jaws opened wide as it lunged its massive head forward with frightening speed. Suddenly, Rhuno's entire upper half was between the guillotine jaws of the monstrous beast, and they were closing, fast, wicked, serrated fangs closing in on all sides. Rhuno's eyes flashed with golden light as he summoned forth his mana, a sphere of energy forming around him, a powerful barrier of protection, usually saved for the most dire of circumstances. The beast's teeth stopped dead against the shimmering orb of light, unable to penetrate it. Rhuno breathed a brief sigh of relief, the crisis averted... at least, until the devilsaur simply lifted him and his bubble off the ground.

The beast raised its head up to its normal level, mighty jaw muscles flexing as it tried to crush the sphere. Rhuno could feel the orb strain, but it would not give, not to any amount of force... at least, not until the spell expired, which would only be a matter of seconds. The spell was meant to give the sunwalker a chance in a hopeless situation, a brief window to heal, to reposition, to strategize in safety, it was never intended to last more than a few moments. The devilsaur whipped its head side to side, thrashing the bubble this way and that, Rhuno tumbling within it, bouncing off the sides like a bug in a jar. How could he strategize while being tossed around like a ragdoll? How was he going to escape the monster's jaws without being either bitten in half or swallowed whole? His mind raced, but it seemed hopeless...

"Rising Sun Kick!" Came a cry from below. Rhuno barely had time to wonder at it source before the beast's head violently jerked up mid-thrash. He was tossed into the air inside his bubble, time seeming to slow to a crawl as he slowly rotated in the air, turning around to see a pandaren woman with a long braid and a bright green stripe in her bangs floating, mid-leap, just next to his bubble, her hand pulled back at her shoulder. "Tiger Palm!" She shouted, a faint feline claw materializing around her hand as she thrust it forward, slamming the heel of her palm into the shimmering wall of his circular barrier. Suddenly, the wall of the barrier slammed into his face as it was propelled suddenly and violently sideways, throwing him out of the beast's jaws. "Blackout Kick!" She added, spinning around in the air and thrusting out a leg, paw slamming into the side of the devilsaur's head, knocking it away as the force of the kick propelled her the opposite direction, sending her flipping off through the air until she landed against the side of one of the enormous trees nearby paw gripping the rough bark to keep her in place.

Rhuno's barrier hit the ground first and bounced, then he hit the barrier, canceling out its upward momentum with his plummeting ass, the two collectively falling back to roll through the dense ferns of the undergrowth for a moment before the barrier faltered and gave out completely, depositing him face-down in a layer of thick green leaves. He groaned with pain, but he knew he couldn't rest, the monster was still there, and if he did nothing, he'd be in the same situation in mere moments, but he wouldn't be able to manage another barrier so soon. He pushed himself up to his feet, gripping the handle of his mace tight, the white-hot miniature sun at its head scorching nearby plants as he did so, glaring up at the towering tyrant beast with a fire in his eyes.

The devilsaur recovered swiftly, and swung its head to face its new attacker, the pandaren clinging to the bark of the tree, letting out a deep, ragged roar, then lunging toward her, head lowered, looking to crush the tiny morsel against the tree. Suddenly, a brightly-glowing disk came flying in, striking the saurian beast in the face and releasing a burst of concussive golden energy upon impact, jerking the monster's head to the side and filling its beady red eyes with dancing flashes of light, drawing its charge to a sudden halt. The pandaren watched the disc ricochet off the beast's scaly hide and swoop, arching out then down, flying unerringly back toward its owner, striking Rhuno's raised forearm as he charged forward under the towering beast's enormous bulk, golden light dissipating as it became his shield once more. He raised his glowing mace high as he barreled toward the monster's taloned feet, iron-shod hooves tearing up the soft earth underfoot with each step.

Rhuno leapt into the air, gripping his shining mace with both hands, arching through the air like an armor-plated missile from a catapult, and swung it down with all his might upon the titanic creature's toe, the digit alone as big around as his chest. The mace flashed as it impacted the monster's scaly hide, the force of its impact amplified by the tauren's force of will, its touch searing the scales, the shockwave of sacred power making the ground beneath him crack and rupture, holy light pouring up from below, searing the underside of the enormous talon. The saurian tyrant roared with pain, bone shattering and flesh burning from the mighty tauren's strike, hurriedly lifting its foot away from the source of the pain, still dazed from the impact of the shield.

The pandaren saw her chance. She kicked off from the tree, hard, propelling herself through the air toward the fearsome reptile's skull with a spin. "Spinning Crane Kick!" She called out as she thrust her leg out and whirled, twisting her body in the air to rotate faster and faster, until she was practically a blur, leg extended as she hit the tyrant devilsaur again and again, pummeling the off-balance titan with a flurry of powerful kicks, driving it back a tiny bit with each impact. As her momentum ran out she thrust her other leg out, striking the beast's thick skull with one final kick that sent her flipping back away from it and sent the towering beast teetering on its good leg, tiny forelimbs sweeping uselessly at the air to try and regain its balance.

Rhuno knew an opportunity when he saw one, and raised his glowing mace high shouting out to the heavens. "An'She!" He called, and the light answered. A pillar of golden light pierced through the canopy high above, illuminating the titanic creature like a spotlight, and from the heavens descended a ghostly hammer of light, following the beam of light, plummeting toward the saurian monstrosity. It struck like a falling meteor, impacting the monster's skull with a metallic clang that echoed through the trees for a moment before both light and the hammer disappeared into nothingness.

The devilsaur wobbled, swayed, then toppled, like a felled ancient, falling, falling, falling until it finally hit the ground, its impact shaking the earth for hundreds of feet in all directions. The two warriors knew better than to assume their foe was down for good, and braced themselves, eyes locked upon the fallen form of the giant. There was silence for a moment, tension hanging in the air.

Then, the beast moved, rolling over, shifting its legs underneath its enormous bulk. The two warriors readied themselves for more, Rhuno raising his mace high, the pandaren woman pulling the bamboo staff off her back, and, with a flick of her wrist, extending a long, pointed blade from the end. The titanic beast lifted itself up, its massive body rising up, higher, higher, and higher still until it once more towered over them, a mountain of muscle, scales, and hate. The devilsaur shook itself, huffing through its nose as it shook off the impact of the heavenly hammer, then turned, swinging its head to face the two warriors, beady crimson eyes narrowing as it glared at them... Then slowly began to back away, limping slightly on its wounded talon, keeping its gaze upon them.

Slowly, the two began to relax as the monster grew further and further away, and they looked at one-another properly for the first time. Rhuno was the first to break the silence. "So... Thank you for saving me." He offered with a short bow of his head.

"Think nothing of it. I was simply in the right place and time to intervene." She replied.

"What were you doing out here?" He asked in return, shifting to face her more directly.

She smiled, planting the blunt end of her spear on the ground at her side. "I was actually looking to pick a fight with a devilsaur. Looks like I got my wish! Though, I think I might have overestimated my chances on my own..."

Rhuno blinked, dumbfounded. "...Why?"

"Because I haven't done it yet." She replied, simply, then elaborated. "I wanted to test my strength against the biggest, strongest, most dangerous beast of Kalimdor, at least once. And what better beast is there to challenge myself with?"

Rhuno blinked a few more times, then shook his head. "Well... You certainly picked well. What's your name?" He asked.

She smiled, and gave a small bow. "Lien. Lien Lightpaw. Pleased to meet you..."

"Rhuno. Rhuno Sunheart." he replied, returning the bow. "Now, I would love to keep talking, but I think it would be wise to move on before something else shows-" He began, only to be cut off as a deafening roar once more echoed through the crater, and the ground began to shake again.

They turned toward the source immediately, and saw the massive devilsaur charging forward once more, murder and rage in its crimson eyes. The two warriors immediately dropped back into their combat stances, readying themselves for round two as the monster barreled toward them, swordlike teeth gleaming as it opened its mouth, hungry for the flesh of those who would dare challenge its rule as the apex predator...