"I have no idea, but there is no way I'm getting near it."
"Luckily you don't have to. It's going to kill him first."
Rivek howled as the bull ground its horns into his abdomen. One rage-fueled thrust gored him from navel to sternum. He gagged on the sour, burning blood pooling at the back of his throat.
But he felt energy - magic energy - far more than should be found in a single animal, more than should be found in a human being. The twisted horn became a channel, sending power through Rivek's nerves, cooling the overwhelming pain.
His heartbeat quickened, and his eyes shifted from green to gold signaling a primordial response to fend off impending doom in some last-ditch reflex. He drew his arms above his head and drove his knife between the plates of metal and into the monster's brain.
Its unnatural life-force flowed through the blade and into his hands. He gathered enough strength to tear himself from the horn and dropped to the ground, clutching his stomach and praying his intestines would not fall out of their cavity. His sight dimmed as he convulsed on the ground, only mildly aware of the panicked footsteps of his healer.
---
This ended up being another visual design failure but a story design success. Not only does this solidify the aforementioned plot (they bring the bull in for examination), but it gives a reason for the massive scar across his stomach.
Rivek is more a special ops agent than a knight and only sees action when others have failed. However, Willowren, the sole person he takes his orders from, has a distorted perception of dark-magic and tends to over-estimate his ability to fight and her ability to heal. Rivek is probably a quarter the size of and a tenth of the weight of the bull he went up against. Their contract, though, is ancient magic, sealed in blood and unspoken love, so he will always listen to her, even at the cost of his physical welfare.
Poor Rivek, I promise to stop abusing him soon.
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