Three. Two. One. Marci shrieked as the horde of the damned crossed the midway point of the valley mouth. I triggered Remote Detonation and the line of buried bombs began exploding four at a time. The horde of the damned was thrown into disarray as the middle section of the horde was decimated in an instant.

Notifications rolled across my vision as the smoke cloud from the explosions obscured the small valley deep on the north side of the Eternal Forest. Marci began to circle around above the horde, looking for any elites left. I waited a few breaths to give Marci time and looked over the kill notifications. No elites died in the explosions, likely none in this horde. Lautree, the former Royal Advisor and now Emperor of Eter, had wisened up to wasting his elite soldiers.

I sent the command to Van and his pack of forest apes descended on the horde with a roar. Van had grown his pack to over fifty forest apes at this time. They operated as a fully functioning legion more than a wild pack of beasts. I watched as his armored melee fighters sprinted in on all fours and crashed into the horde with a devastating effect. Each forest ape was over level forty and able to kill dozens of the damned in short order.

Scouts up high in the trees began to rain down boulders, rocks and large branches. Anything was a weapon when you could throw it hard enough or from high enough. Van himself defended his two forest ape shamans that had received unique classes a few months ago. They chanted and banged their fists against their chest in a rhythmic motion as the Empower-like skill rolled over the rest of the pack. Each ape began to move more quickly, hit harder and recover faster.

Marci hovered over the fight and picked her spots, swooping down with a vengeance to pick out key enemies. With no elites among the horde, she mostly just took out any ranged fighters before they could target her. Lautree had advanced Allain’s spellcraft even farther, able to raise damned that could use bows and slings despite not being elites.

It only took a few minutes for Van and his pack to finish off the horde. Some quick math involving my notifications and better than average eyesight said this horde had numbered around five hundred strong. One of the smaller hordes that had been sent to probe the northern edge of the Eternal Forest as of late. I checked over my inventory and saw that I was running low on standard bombs again, another day of crafting was needed.

Marci landed on my shoulder and nuzzled in, blood staining her dark gray coat. I reached up to stroke her feathers and sent feelings of love and friendship over our bond. As we had both leveled our bond had become even stronger. It was almost trivial now for me to understand what Marci was thinking, she couldn’t read me quite as well but it had improved nonetheless. Marci’s nature as a solitary beast had shown out, choosing not to seek out other falcons as Van had. She preferred to be alone and in silence unless she was interacting with a select few humans.

Reaching into my pack, I pulled out a small slip of paper and wrote down a report on the horde from today and the one from yesterday. Every day Lautree probed the defenses around the forest, searching for weaknesses in our scouting. Eventually he would succeed in slipping a horde in and bring his elites, but not today. There was still one horde to the far north, near where the army of Lucien was defending. They would be able to handle that one without me though, I needed to gather some resources and reset my inventory.

I finished writing my report and sealed the note. Tying it to Marci’s leg, I gave her a last rub down and kissed her on the side of her head. Through our bond I asked her to fly it straight to Nadia and then scout the western edge of the forest on her way back. It was a two day journey for her back to the Old Mining Camp, which was being used as the main base of the survivors of Eter.

Marci unfurled her wings and flew over to peck at Van as she winged south and took off above the forest canopy. He pretended to swat at her as she got close to his head before continuing his celebration with his pack. It was important to the forest apes to celebrate each victory as if it were their last. They would sing, chant and dance with a fervent energy until the light faded from the day.

I sighed and leaned back against the tree I was resting in. It had been six months since the fall of Etes. Six months since I watched my mother die despite all of my planning and efforts. Six months since Eter was broken and its survivors scattered amongst the giant trees of the Eternal Forest. Six months since Lautree revealed himself as the Emperor of both Eter and Norx, ruling both through his control abilities.

At first it had seemed like there would be less than two thousand survivors from Etes after Lautree’s attack on the city. Over the month after, hundreds of survivors from both Etes and its outlying villages had made it to the Old Mining Camp. Every city south of Etes had emptied itself out and fled to the forest to avoid the fate of the capital. Every city north had already been ravaged by Lautree or the Norx before.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The surviving defenders had eked out an existence among the great trees. A sprawling forest compound had been erected by the people with the help of the remnants of Norx under the command of Commander Lucien and aid from Omrock of the Aiath. There were some ten thousand living there now with a fighting force of roughly the same numbers.

Omrock and his people defended the eastern and southern borders of the forest as they were close to their own borders. His people were more effective fighting in the open space of the desert but could manage against the simple hordes. Their great scorpions they used as mounts had trouble traversing the root covered forest floor and many of their mages were best skilled in the destructive arts of fire.

Commander Lucien and his remaining army defended the northern border of the forest that remained in Norx traditional territory. His fighters had quickly built defensive walls and forts seemingly out of nowhere. Their mages specialized in defensive measures such as stone crafting and reinforcing structures. They were fierce and prideful fighters, tired of losing against the never ending tide of damned.

Nadia was the nominal leader of the Old Mining Camp, having been transferred ownership after Arthur's death. She commanded the forces remaining from Eter and defended the most active border of the forest, the western. We had less than two thousand soldiers remaining from the former armies of Eter. The edge of the forest had become a grinder that quickly leveled those who could survive it.

Average level of the army of Eter was hovering around 40 now, many soldiers had developed specialty classes. Classes that worked in synchrony with the forest, such as wood mages, had become especially important in the defense. Massive walls of solid oak that were almost impervious to fire and axe had formed up and down the western edge of the Forest. Several more classes like mine that could bond with the native beasts had appeared.

Thinking of the Eter defenders soured my mood. I had not taken the death of my mother well and after returning to the camp, I transferred ownership to Nadia and left. I roamed the forest for a few months, destroying any hordes that I encountered. Currently I was residing in the famed Giants Grove, where my own father had once disappeared, and defending it from incursion. Marci was my link to the rest of humanity as she delivered messages back and forth.

Nadia had tried to pressure me to return in the beginning but it drove me away farther in my grief. My grief had begun to heal now but the relationship felt strained, awkward. We had fallen into a steady peace where I would defend the entire range of the Giants Grove, allowing Nadia to consolidate her defenders farther south.

The party was still going strong down in the valley as Van’s pack celebrated their victory. I leaned back against the tree trunk I was resting against and closed my eyes. I still saw her sometimes, smiling at me while blood ran down the front of her prisoner's uniform. I summoned my interface looking for any distraction from the pain.

Sylar Till

Age

19

Race

Human

Class

Druid Of The Eternal Forest

Level

67

Strength

70

Stamina

97

Agility

66

Intelligence

55

Wisdom

110

Charisma

-1

Luck

5

Armor

160

Health

219/219

Disposition

Friendly

Reputation

Dire

Titles

Quick to Violence

Fickly Ally

Slayer of Norx I

Slayer of Eter VI

Out With A Bang

Bombadeer

Unorthodox IV

Crafty III

Punching Above Your Weight Class III

Well Rounded III

Slayer of Beast Lords II

Survivor III

Weapon Of Mass Destruction IV

Lord Of Destruction IV