Let their fear collapse, bring no surprise ;;

A ghostly fog clung to the ground, shifting and undulating with no more unrest than the clouds that drifted across the gloomy morning sky. Where it parted, gray-green blades of grass were revealed, glimmering in the ethereal light that seemed not to originate from anywhere. The battlefield was a wide clearing that spanned about a hundred yards in all directions, bordered on every side by dense forest into which the light did not reach more than a few feet.

Shysie stood across from Voraer, close enough to monitor any changes in his position but far enough off to hopefully skew his flame-image of her. Her always-listening ears faced directly forward. The forest lay deathly silent, so any noise would have to come from one of them. Within her, the child stirred, causing her once again to question the decision she’d made. But it was largely because of the life she harbored inside her swollen belly that she desired immediate freedom from the Rajput king. She had waited long enough, and she knew she could not give birth while under his authority. Still, she would not have dared to set a single hoof within the boundaries of the ridges without a way to defend herself and—more importantly—her unborn foal.

She was aware of the other limitations acting on her as well. She possessed only one elemental stone while Voraer possessed many. Still, she was confident in her ability to handle hers with more knowledge and experience than could Voraer. The way she saw it, undivided devotion to one deity would serve as an advantage to her rather than a hindrance. And hers was one gem Voraer did not wear.

She had no battle experience. This would be her first fight. But she had made a point to become well versed in the art of war, watching and learning the ways of the best. Legends that had haunted the Ridges for decades had essentially been made into her mentors, as she memorized battle strategies, attacks, and defenses employed by them.

With liquid grace, she set her body into motion. Moving counterclockwise along the path of a circle with Voraer at the center, she lifted into gentle canter, careful to maintain her balance and the continuity of her motion. As was characteristic of both her bloodlines and personality, although counterintuitive to battle strategy, she kept her head high, her white mane and tail streaming fluidly behind her. When she came to a point where her body was parallel with his, albeit facing the opposite direction, she stopped.

This of course, is dependent upon Voraer standing still. If he chooses to come toward her, she would simply alter her path so that she drew parallel to him sooner, or later if he moved backward. It wouldn’t matter if he turned, because she could simply continue her path until she came to the aforementioned orientation, and if he moved left or right made no difference.

At this point, Shysie turned to face him. Moving once more into a graceful canter, she approached him, collecting speed as she devoured the ground. This time, she held her head low, in the same manner as Rapier often did when setting up for what could be assumed her favorite attack—a flying leap with the forelegs extended sending all the force of her momentum into two bone-dagger hooves. But Shysie had an ace up her sleeve that Rapier did not, and as such her intent was quite different. When she drew near enough to what she hoped was still Voraer’s left side (although it wouldn’t have made much difference), she rocked her body axis back onto her haunches, lifted her forelegs too high for another stride, and sprang into the air toward him.

But she never meant to connect. Instead, she teleported. Using the gift she had possessed for a while but intentionally never used, she opened a wormhole of sorts and completed the leap, landing in front of Voraer, facing away from him, and a little to his right. Planting her front hooves so firmly into the ground that she sliced through the grass and embedded them in the dirt below, she released the stored energy in her hindquarters in a swift, powerful kick with her back hooves a little crooked so that the right was just higher than the left, landing (if all went as planned) the left hoof on Voraer’s right cranial superficial pectoral, impairing limb adduction, and the right hoof on his omotransversarius, the neck muscle which raises the scapula and moves the leg forward.

The region Shysie was aiming for was heavily muscled, so skeletal damage would only be likely if Voraer had begun to shy away from her even slightly as she had approached from the opposite side. Bones in harm’s way in that case included the humerus and the scapula, both of which are instrumental in the movement of the forelimbs. If Shysie could impair these areas, she would have essentially incapacitated her opponent for the rest of the fight.

Up to the few milliseconds before impact, none of Voraer’s movements would have mattered. No matter where he was in relation to Shysie when she leapt, she could have corrected her orientation to the one she desired when she teleported. Having completed the buck, Shysie pulled her back legs underneath her and in a few collected strides had put three lengths between them. She did not stop, but continued forward until she was circling him at a canter once more, waiting.