Human [hyü-mən]

Appearance: Humanoid

Power: Varies. Most have none, but some can master small bits of sorcery.

Habitat: Primarily in towns surrounding the woods, though some brave souls like to live inside the woods themselves.

This guide was initially compiled as a reference for humans who were unfamiliar with the various creatures and plants that can be found in the Faudian Woods. However, as I began to compile these articles, I realized it would be an injustice not to include a section on humans. After all, any specie that can understand the written word can learn from this book.

Humans may not seem that mighty at first glance. They lack the tough outer skin of trolls and the immense powers wielded by elves. And yet they have still managed to survive in this world, through resilience, hard work, and ingenuity.

Although they may seem like easy prey, do not take them lightly. As a human myself, I may be biased in this regard, but I believe that they are a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

As the lightning consumed my flesh, my first instinct was to cry out in pain. The electricity stung my skin and jolted my heart, and when I bit down on my tongue, I could taste blood. I thought I was going to die.

But a moment later, a warmth flooded through my body, softer than anything I had ever felt before. It was as if my blood had been replaced with rivers of felt. I opened my eyes—which I didn't know I had closed—and looked down at my arms. Bands of lightning danced across my flesh, flowing down my arms like water.

I could only marvel at the beauty for a moment. Then I heard an anguished howl.

"NO!" Athia cried, the shape shifter's voice slamming through my skull. "That jar was for me! Now you will die!"

She drew a dark tendril into a fist and hundreds of small vines erupted from the earth, racing towards me. I screamed in panic, flung out my arm, and a burst of electricity shot out of my fingers, zapping the vines to dust.

I stared at my fingers, partly in relief, partly in fear. I hadn't even tried to do that. It had just happened.

"Move, Krista!"

The cry came from Lira, who was still tied up alongside Nathan. I heeded her command and began running in a zigzag pattern, trying to dodge Athia's tireless pursuit.

As I ran past Lira and Nathan, pinned up in the vines, I debated using these new powers to set them free. But then I remembered the way the lightning had flowed out of me in a careless jolt. What if instead of zapping the vines I ended up hurting them? So I just kept running.

Athia sent out another vine with a jerk of her hand. This one wrapped around my ankle, forcing me to stumble. I cried out, raised my hand, and a jolt of lightning hit Athia square in the chest. The attack seemed to startle her and the vine released its hold on my ankle, but a glance over my shoulder revealed that Athia was still in hot pursuit. My lightning wasn't strong enough to seriously harm her.

Which meant I was in trouble if I didn't think of something,

"Quit playing around," Athia said, swirling her shadowy limbs. The earth began to rumble beneath, then roil as if it were an ocean, and I fell to the ground, slamming my knee into a rock. "You are no match for me and my powers."

Powers. Plural. Although Althea had been relying on her earth powers, the shape shifter had also taken Nathan's jar, the one that had granted her the ability to wield water.

And water conducts electricity.

I needed her to use her water power, and I needed her to get herself wet in the process. Only then would the lightning be strong enough to knock her out.

But how could I get her to coat herself in water?

The answer was obvious.

In the next pass I made through the clearing, I lunged for my fallen bag, grabbing it by the strap. I reached inside and dug through my things, trying to shoot blasts of lightning with my left hand to stop her from getting too close. The first thing my fingers touched was my nearly empty bag of salt: not what I had been looking for, but definitely a good distraction. I flung the bag at the shape shifter, the granules flying out in a white arc as I did so.

"AHH!" Athia said, slowing down, but not giving up. The salt had burned her, but I was going to do much worse.

I found what I needed a second later, wrapping my hand around my fire starter and dropping the bag to the ground. Then I ran past Nathan. Before he could protest, I had grabbed his fallen bow and a single arrow.

I was by no means an archer, but I didn't need to be too accurate.

In one fell swoop, I struck the piece of flint on a stone, set the arrow on fire, pulled back on the bow, and let loose.

Althea saw the arrow coming towards her, flames sparkling, and did just what I had wanted her to do: she summoned a giant wall of water. The arrow clattered to the ground, useless, but she had drenched herself in the process.

She was perfect lightning rod.

I extended my hand and lightning arced off my arm, spiraled through the air, and connected with the shape shifter's form. She screamed as it fed off the water, an anguished cry of "Aaaaaagh!" as clouds of steam evaporated into the air and her whole body flashed white and purple. But after a terrifying long moment, the creature collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

The vines holding onto Nathan and Lira crumbled away and they steadied themselves on wobbly feet. They stared at Athia warily.

"Is it dead?" Nathan asked.

Lira was already shaking her head, matted curls bouncing. "Those things are tough. They don't die that easy." She looked at me. "We need to leave. Now."

I nodded and went to pass Nathan his bow.

He grinned. "For a moment I thought you were going to set the whole thing on fire..." But the joke died as he looked down as saw my arms. They were still studded with lightning. His hand paused in midair, unsure if he could take the bow without getting harmed. "Uh... can you turn that off?"

I pressed my lips together and willed the lightning to vanish, but it refused to go away. It danced on my skin like shifting winds "I don't know how."

"We can worry about Krista's magical lightning arms later," Lira said, gathering up all the items that had fallen in the clearing and throwing my backpack over her shoulder. She gestured at me. "Toss him the bow. And let's get moving."

I did as I was told, and Nathan looked relieved that he didn't have to touch my flesh. I felt dirty.

But as we ran into the woods, leaving the shape shifter behind us, I saw Lira's kind smile and she mouthed two words: Thank you.