"RTR Short: The Sweepers Flight..."
by:
Virgilio F. De leon Jr.
The forest came to an end abruptly as the one known as the Sweeper continued to outrun her pursuers. There was actually no discernable physical change because in the vast Cityscape of Ravnica the city has encroached on everything , it was more like a change in the mana energies that she could sense. The rich , vibrant feel of Green mana gave way to the dark, suffocating but powerful presence of Black mana and yet since being initiated in the arts of the Golgari the Sweeper felt the infusing power of both energies. It allowed her to continue , her feet gliding through the mixed stone and lichen filled pathways.
Her pursuers were more tenacious than she thought , she had camouflaged her aura several times but they were still able to track her , Jarad wasn't kidding around when it came to the development of his pets. These were hungry hounds that were fed the rest of their litter. They devoured the dead and the living alike until they were the only 2 that remained.The result was a breed of survivors that was fast , cunning and tenacious. She was sure that if the hounds could catch her that there would be more development for this breed.
The Sweeper thought back about the events that lead to this chase. A few weeks back an Elven Upstart from the Izzet League decided to join the Golgari. Her name was Aridsta and she quickly became the favorite of the Golgari Lichlord Jarad. With her creativity and innovativeness Aridsta quickly made all Golgari processess efficient. Her gift at Biomancy and Mana Manipulation were helping in all of the undercity dealings of the Swarm. She has become an integral part of the core and was growing in influence day by day that Jarad has left her in charge of minor Golgari tasks on a daily basis now.
Her Brilliance wasn't really as surprising since she Apprenticed directly under the late Momir Vig and actually headed a project under the capricious dragon Niv Mizzet , it was said that she was highly prized that Niv Mizzet threw a fit when she decided to join the swarm.
The reasons for her sudden change of heart is unknown but a lot speculate that she has several mana experiments that would not be completed without the aid of the Golgari mages. Many do no trust her in the guild but her knowledge and expertise are both welcome in improving almost aspects of the day to day workings of the Golgari and everyone had to play along to please their guild master.
The Sweeper was among those who did not trust her and she now carries proof to the guild master Jarad that she has been secretly feeding information to the Dimir and Izzet about the upgrades and their weaknesses. It was a perfect set up for Aridsta who would reap all the profits.She was promised the position of Guild Master by not only one but 3 seperate guilds. These may just be individuals in the guilds and not the entire guilds themselves but she would let Jarad decide on what to do once she has given him all the information.
The Sweeper was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of menacing growling. "These monsters are fast" , she thought. She believe that she has put enough distance between them but the mutant dogs that hounded her were merely a few feet away. She wanted to try another tactic but it would take time. The best would be to deal with them now rather than worry about them later. She used to be an assasin under the employ of Vraska the Unseen and she believed in her. She was able to survive long in a profession that had a very short life span and that was a statement all in itself.
The Sweeper unsheathed her blade and a howl instantly emanated from it. The Howler , the fabled dagger that has ended the life of a 100 Planeswalkers. Their manas trapped within , ready for the sweeper to use it at will , of course the drawback is that using much of the energy drains her life force as well , she knew eventually that her own dagger would pull her in and it would find a new master. The Sweeper did not care about that particular fact just about now. All she knew was that without this knowledge , the Swarm would cease to exist in the next couple of moon cycles. She looked at the oncoming behemoths , their mouths drooling with saliva that she knew carried enough toxins to down several grown Dromods. She held the hilt of her dagger with her left hand and placed the blade evenly on the palm of her right hand.
"The motion should be swift and unyielding" , she remembered Vraska shouting at her. "Swift and Unyielding."
She could her the growls drawing near , the stench of their breath almost overpowering. The 2 hounds pounced at once , sensing that their prey would not be able to deal with such an attack. Then there was a blur of movement , the dagger swung toward the two monsters , swirling colors clinged to the daggers wake. The blade didn't even touch them but the void that it created sucked the monsters in. Without a sound , 2 more lives were added to the mana of the Howler and with it a small of amount of its wielders life force. The Sweeper staggered to the ground on one knee. Her head reeling with the sudden weakness. "I must go on" she whispered to herself and within a heartbeat was gone again.
A short distance away , a tree opened one malevolent eye and recorded all that took place. "Mistress Aridsta" it began its report telepathically. "The Sweeper lives and continues her journey to Jarad , shall we send in more Hunters to track her down."
There was a long pause. "No" the slick voice answered. "Let her go for now , she plays a very important part in the downfall of the Swarm , she hasn't noticed it yet but when she does it will all be over. Retrieve any material you can from the latest hunters and continue observing from a distance."
The tree moved to obey and monitored the struggle that The Sweeper would go through to reach her goal.
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