A month had passed since the matriarchs had been destroyed, but the cost had been high. Over a quarter of the Talon had fallen on the walls to spider venom and acid while Lanek, the founder of the Talons, had given his life to keep their home safe from a second horde. Thankfully, the monastery itself had come out of the battle unscathed, although the same could not be said for the surrounding land.
Where there had once been hundreds of homes and shops to the east and southeast, there was now only burnt out husks and rubble. In addition, despite a month of hunting, the power supply to the various systems in the monastery had not fully recovered. This was concerning as the first snowfall appeared to be only weeks away according to the shamans and the monastery’s heating systems had not been recharged. Only the water purification and food preservation systems were powered at this point.
Talwarg sighed in frustration, eyes turning toward the southeast and the tree that marked Lanek’s passing, although the tree was out of sight. He had been relieved when Lanek had taken over and placed him in charge of military matters, but now that Lanek was gone he was the natural replacement. He didn’t care for it, if he was being honest. It was one thing being in charge of a nomadic group that could simply flee from a dangerous area, but it was a whole other set of responsibilities to stay in one place and have to worry about infrastructure and defenses alongside the slew of other issues.
He also hadn’t expected to deal with the potential loss of some of their fighting strength. Liv had been poring over maps of the continent over the last week and had confided in him that she was looking for the best possible route to get back to her people safely. She wouldn’t say if she was planning on bringing them back. To make matters worse, where Liv went Yuri would follow. If Yuri left, then Letha was bound to follow her cub.
Talwarg had also been concerned about Lira as she had taken Lanek’s loss especially hard, but she had surprised him. After grieving for a few days, she threw herself into the running and protection of the monastery. If anything, she seemed downright angry and even more determined to reclaim her city. Frankly, he would be afraid if he were the dungeon monsters considering what she was capable of with enough mana.
For his part, Ivan was busy working on a new mana storage solution based on the ones the monastery already had in place. His plan was to have it filled once all the other systems were at full capacity and have it be exclusively for Lira’s use. It seemed like it would take a while, however, as those systems were incredibly complex.
In the meantime, Talwarg, Nerek, and Shel were working on the exterior of the monastery. Talwarg had been coordinating the workers to remove the stone slabs from the plaza for use in creating fortifications while Khurzag led the warriors on hunting trips. Once the slabs were removed, Shel had gotten started on cycling the earth beneath the plaza, pulling deep fertile soil toward the surface. Granted, they weren’t going to be able to plant this season, but it should be ready by spring.
Nerek had been leading his shamans all over the former plaza to those places Talwarg’s workers had determined would make good spots for future walls. Once there, the shamans would begin painting symbols and placing totems to create small sanctuaries. While these sanctuaries would not repel the enemy alone, they would provide numerous buffs to defenders and a few debuffs to any attackers. Since the totems would feed off of ambient mana in the air, Nerek wanted them up as soon as possible so that they could be fully charged, or close, before the walls were put into place.
Thankfully, the one thing Talwarg had not had to deal with had been talk of abandoning the monastery entirely, at least not from the former Ebon Shields or Night Arrows. For that matter, Ivan didn’t want to leave either as he had determined that his homeland either didn’t exist in this world or it was on an undiscovered continent. There just wasn’t any information, nothing about the lothenae race or any landmasses that looked familiar to Ivan. When Talwarg had asked him about it, Ivan hadn’t been bothered, stating that he didn’t really have any close family back home anyway.
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Talwarg sighed once more, before returning to work. Trying not to think about the myriad problems they faced or the ever present mystery looming to the southeast. When Talwarg had returned to the tree that marked Lanek’s resting place with those of his people that wanted to pay their respects, he had discovered the unwelcome presence of the Ashborne Myrmidons arrayed around the tree. As much as he had been outraged at their presence, he knew that the combined strength of his people wouldn’t be enough to take on a single Myrmidon, much less eight of them. So, with a heavy heart, they had left the tree in the dungeon’s grip.
On the upside, Talwarg mused, At least no gaunts are willing to approach from that direction anymore. I wonder how many of them were slaughtered before they got the idea? The thought of hundreds of dead gaunts did put a smile on his face as he returned to his duties.
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The wind rustled through the leaves of the sole tree within Caelis, not that there was anyone to appreciate it. The Myrmidons cared for one thing and one thing only, to follow the Ashen Depths’ commands. They knew not why the dungeon had dispatched them here, nor did they care. It had decreed that any creature that approached the tree too closely was to be killed and so they were.
First it had been gaunts, attracted to the area by whatever passed for intelligence in their kind. Waves of them had approached, only to pause at the sight of the Myrmidons and wait for reinforcements. Hundreds had gathered, included a few of the advanced evolutions, but it didn’t matter. They fell all the same.
Next had been the feral orcs, sniffing about the aftermath of the battle for any loot that had been left behind. A thrown spear pinning their leader to the ground had been enough to convince the rest of the war party to turn tail and flee back to their stronghold.
Finally, they had been approached by a massive flying beast, so powerful that even the Myrmidons prepared themselves for death even as they readied themselves for battle. However, their lives had been spared when the Depths itself had ordered them to stand down, leave the beast alone, and back away far enough to allow it to land. The Myrmidons had watched from a distance as the winged creature landed, dug into the earth, and flew away after giving them a warning screech. The Myrmidons felt an odd sense of satisfaction from the Depths at that point, confusing them. However, it was not their place to question, so they simply took up their positions once more.
Meanwhile, deep within the Depths, a set of amber eyes looked quietly out into the cavern that made up its home. It had been so very hopeful when the human had arrived in the city, silently cheering him on as he persevered and fought to keep his people alive. It had even hoped to aid him at some point, but those hopes had been in vain and it had grieved alongside his people when Lanek fell. Although, it felt a glimmer of hope rekindle when it saw the great gryphon landing at the odd tree. It wasn’t sure why the gryphon had come, but it could only hope that there was more to it than simply paying its respects.
Turning its attention back to the tree, the creature stared at it through the eyes of its minions. How long had it been since it had seen such a thing? Touched its bark or lounged within its branches? It would give so much to experience such simple sensations that it had almost forgotten in the last thousand years or so. Even more than that, it wanted its minions to experience those things as well, but they were stuck hiding in the shadows as much as it was. With a quiet murmur filled with longing, it curled up and let sleep take it.
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In a grove deep within the forest far to the west of Caelis a primordial sat regarding a small flame flickering in the air before him. Eldros had felt the loss of his follower keenly, but that feeling of loss and grief had quickly been supplanted by curiosity. Natural life had sprouted in a place long devoid of it.
Not only had life sprouted once more in the ruins of Caelis, but it had sprouted with such power that he could feel it from his grove. In fact, that single tree promised so much potential, enough that it could possibly grow into another one of his groves, the first in many thousands of years.
Of course, he remember the dranrid and their affinity for nature in all its forms. He remembered that their deaths would revitalize the world around them, triggering rapid growth and rejuvenation. However, none that he could recall had ever created the core of a future Wild grove. If he could contact any of his kin that governed the other aspects of nature, he would ask for he knew that the dranrid had also been quite fond of the oceans as well.
“What are you?” Eldros asked, peering at the soul floating above his hand.
End of Book 1.