And it came to pass that the Tyrant lunged forward, seeking to snare the nearest of the Shard-Pack within her jaws. But the creature was swift, and with the grace of a titan, it avoided her wrath. Yet her strike was not in vain, for it suffered Puck to leap from her crown. The heat of her flesh was as a great furnace, and his hands and feet were scorched. He fled into the breach of the crystal maze, believing himself a burden unto her, seeking only to escape the fray.

In her great fury, the Tyrant perceived not his departure. She lashed out anew, swinging her mighty tail to smite the others. They slipped beneath her legs, striking at her ankles, but her hide was thick and her heat intense; their frozen flesh did melt before her, though the bitter cold swiftly mended their wounds. The great beast slowed, and turning her gaze, she beheld the small one fleeing into the labyrinth. She looked upon her back, thinking him hidden. "O foolish creature!" the Tyrant roared, and she charged forth with all her might to deliver him.

Puck ran until his breath failed him, yet as the din of battle faded, he turned and saw a multitude of icy teeth before his eyes. Time itself did tarry as he threw himself upon the ground, and as the hounds of winter lunged, he sprang upward, rolling over their frosty heads to escape the jaws of death. The pack sought to fall upon the Witness as one, but the earth did tremble as a moving mountain of fire. The Tyrant bore down upon them, and her fiery roar shook the foundations of the maze. The hounds fled deeper into the frost.

She drew back her flames that Puck might ascend her leg, climbing once more unto her shoulders. And she spake unto him, saying, "Depart not from my side again." Puck held his peace, knowing his folly had nearly cost him his life.

They pursued the pack unto a parting of the ways, where the path became three. The Tyrant forsook the right and the left, holding to the center. Puck kept his eyes upon one, but it vanished swiftly into the deep maze. The Tyrant closed the distance, ready to strike, but the hound made a sharp turn into an unseen path. As she sought to follow in the narrow way, her heavy tail smote the crystal wall, rending it asunder and causing her to stumble. In her unsteadiness, a hidden foe struck her leg, and the beast of fire fell heavily upon her side, pressing herself against the wall in a posture of defense.

Puck held fast as she fell, suffering cuts from the shards of obsidian that broke from her back. He beheld the two hounds fleeing once more into the shadows. Blood poured from the deep wound of the Tyrant, but she called upon her inner fire, and the flames did sear the flesh shut. She arose with a heavy limp, bowing her head to seek their scent, but the air was filled only with the smell of the frost and her own blood.

She looked upon the gleaming walls and saw neither gate nor opening. Puck spake, asking, "Is this their manner of hunting?" She answered, "Yea. The prey entereth to consume them, but becomes lost or divided. The Shard-Pack strikes from every side, bleeding them dry or pouncing upon the weak. Might and number avail nothing when the enemy is all around."

Puck asked again, "How then shall we escape?"

"By the slaughter," spake the Tyrant. "For a titan is bound unto its domain. We are pieces of Rahab."

Before Puck could ponder the mystery of Rahab, he saw the cracked wall shifting away. He tapped her crown and pointed. She beheld it also, searching the crystal surfaces. And suddenly, the voice of the dark wind spake anew: "Slay the Witness. Give no ear to false tongues. Ye were given power, power to rule, yet ye chose to follow lies and weakness. Slay the Witness, and remain a piece forever. This is thy final chance."

The Tyrant answered not with words, but with a roar that shook the earth, and the voice was silenced.

Then the walls of the labyrinth shifted with great violence, and behold, an hundred reflections of the Shard-Pack stood before them, their eyes burning with the cruel blue light. They charged as a multitude. The Tyrant lashed out blindly, her tail and jaws striking only the false images, shattering the crystal but finding no flesh.

As she smote a phantom, two of the true pack leapt upon her neck, driving their claws deep and drawing blood. She rushed toward the wall to crush them, but Puck spied the third running beneath her. He cried out, but it was too late; the beast sliced her wounded leg anew. She stumbled, and as she fell, the two upon her neck leapt away lest they be crushed. Yet she turned her descent into a strike, bringing the jagged mountain of her obsidian back down upon the slowest of the hounds.

The blades of black stone pierced him through. The blue light fled from his eyes, and with his final breath he whispered, "The green place," before he was crushed beneath her tremendous weight.

A maddening shriek arose from the remaining hounds as the blue light in their eyes flickered, and they wailed in great torment. The very walls of the maze trembled as if in mourning. They cried out, "We worship Rahab, yet thou slayest us!"

The Tyrant rose again to her feet and rushed forward. Then the mind of Puck was caught up in a vision of the dark forest of the green place. He looked, and behold, the slain hound of winter stood amidst the trees. The ice was melted from his flesh, revealing feathers of bright colors and eyes of warm orange. He was bathed in a golden light, and as he leapt, the light did banish the darkness. The eyes of the forest creatures turned unto Puck.

He returned to the waking world, standing upon the crown of the Tyrant, and cried out with a loud voice, "He is in the green place!"

The flickering eyes of the hounds grew still, and the cruel blue glow was quenched entirely. They looked upon the small one atop the beast of fire. And lo, the Tyrant and Puck saw that they smiled. The Tyrant opened her mighty jaws, and the last two of the Shard-Pack leaped willingly into her mouth.

With a single, thunderous clasp of her teeth, they were crushed. The ground beneath them shook with violence, and the icy wind roared in fury. The Tyrant swallowed their flesh and consumed the remains upon the ground. Then, a great wonder came to pass: the crystal walls crumbled into dust, and from the frozen earth sprang forth green grass, living plants, and flowing waters.

Puck looked upon the marvel, but dark clouds gathered above, and a tempest sought to form. Yet a single, pure beam of sunlight pierced the iron heavens. The voice upon the wind screamed in agony as the light consumed the darkness, burning the storm away.

Puck beheld the renewed earth and spake, "It is as the green place." And when he had spoken, the strength of the Tyrant failed her. She swayed, and collapsed heavily upon the soft ground. Puck fell from her head, his strength also spent. And the two did slumber peacefully upon the green grass, bathed in the warmth of the shining sun.