Invasion STANDOFF | Bryn'adûl Invasion of SJC held Lexrul, Ruusan, Sev Tok & Shador

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Sev Tok, City of Anvil, City Center, 550 Meters Southwest of The Epitaph
Local Time: 22:31
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Primary Objective: Recover Zephyr Krayt's Body and Armor
Secondary Objective: Defend the City of Anvil Alongside SJC Forces in the Area
Equipment: Loadout 2 (Carrying 1x Portable Clip Recharger in utility Field Butt Pack. Flame Projector swapped out with a CryoBan Projector.)
Friendlies: SJC | Cadere | Zephyr Krayt [KIA]
Hostiles: The Bryn’adûl | Osam [Retreating]

The concussive shockwave from his repulsor on his left vambrace had successfully managed to knock down the colossal warrior on his back as he intended. But in the process, Kranak unintentionally tossed the Jetii a few meters away as the colossal alien warrior’s body was flung at him from the artificial shockwave.

He assumed the Jetii would have been sharp enough to notice what Kranak was about to do, and nimble enough to shield himself from the Bryn’adûl warrior he unintentionally hurled at him, however that was not the case. Regardless of the outcome, without skipping a beat the Mandalorian sprinted at the downed Bryn’adûl warrior when he fell on his back from the blast, seizing the opportunity he had created for himself.

The shockwave must've caught the alien in a weird angle while he fought the Jetii with his Kukri, for the creature shrieked with almost a deafening scream as his previously injured arm was bisected by the Jetii’s yellow lightsaber.

Closing the distance between him and the knocked down Bryn’adûl warrior, Kranak quickly mounted the alien’s bare chest before he had managed to recover and unleashed a flurry of blows with his fists at Osam ’s face. His fists struck the alien’s face with a meaty thud with each strike. He could hear the crack of his facial bones with each hit. The Ori’ramikad intended to beat the creature’s face into a pulp with his fists.

The warrior beneath Kranak’s grapple tried to scurry away from his blows desperately, trying to block the Ori’ramikad’s blows with his left arm. But the warrior was not fast enough. The Ori’ramikad managed to feint a few of his strikes and pass through the Bryn’adûl warrior’s defense. He occasionally fainted his blows to create himself an opening for a strike at the creature’s face, but mostly he exploited the fact that the creature had an exposed right flank, due to his arm being bisected from by the Jetii.

But the creature had stopped bothering with attempting to block blows after a while. Instead, the warrior reached for something hung from his belt. Uncaring of his action for the moment the giant managed to land a few more blows on the creature’s face, until he heard the brittle clack of a grenade’s pin being removed. <Haarchak!> He quickly glanced at the source of the sound and saw the grenade clutched in the warrior’s large hand. A black substance seeped out of the grenade upon activation. The creature then struck the grenade at his own leg, over his armor.

Kranak had no idea what he was attempting, but he knew it would not end well for himself. The Ori’ramikad quickly broke his grapple from @Osam’s chest and rolled backwards, away from the warrior. And just in time, for the sparks the warrior created from striking his own armor had ignited the sinister black substance. The creature was engulfed in flames. Kranak did read reports of the extreme resistance the Bryn’adûl had against heat and fire, but had never seen it for himself, until now.

The creature rose slowly from the ground and gave a glance to his surroundings. Not a moment after, with a monstrous scream, the Bryn’adûl warrior leaped towards the nearest wall in the courtyard. In response, the Ori’ramikad produced a blaster pistol from his left holster and aimed it at Osam . With sharp shrieks, a flurry of red blaster bolts flew towards the fleeing warrior with each squeeze of the hair trigger, but that did nothing to stop the alien warrior from fleeing. The creature hauled himself over the wall he had leapt at and was no longer within Kranak’s line of sight.

The giant’s chest rose and fell heavily with each heave of breath. He slowly lowered and holstered the blaster back into its holster as he kept his gaze at the wall the alien warrior had vaulted over to escape. He was bested in combat by him and the Jetii in this engagement. He didn’t think he would be coming back to retaliate any time soon. At least not while the creature was in his current shape.

There was a moment of stillness and calm after the fight was concluded. Only the distant gunfire and explosions in the distance had disturbed it for now.

Spoiler: Music

“NO! Dammit!”

Yelled the Jetii; his metallic fist clanged as he slammed it on the ground. The giant turned his head towards the Jetii, knelt on the ground. His white glowing visor shrouded the giant’s penetrating, wrathful gaze.

“Why did you do that?! I had him!”

The man screamed at the Ori’ramikad at the top of his lungs. The giant assumed he was still in bloodlust, thirsting for Osam 's blood. The fight that had ensued after the Jetii finished Zephyr Krayt had calmed his nerves, but he of course remembered what the Jetii did.

[“You.”] With a quick pace but seemingly calm on the outside, the Ori’ramikad walked towards the knelt Jetii. Upon reaching him, the giant swiftly grasped the Jetii by the collar of his robes with his right arm, lifted him up and dragged him on his feet with ease towards the remains of Zephyr Krayt .

He shoved the Jetii forward when they were near the body. The remains of the fallen warrior were still burning. He lifted his left vambrace and turned on his repulsor to smother the flames with a small, controlled shockwave. A short energy whine and a deep boom later, the flames that engulfed the fallen Mandalorian were smothered.

He turned his attention to the Jetii now. There was some short, ominous silence in the air before the Ori’ramikad spoke. [“Hut’uun. Do you give up and take the easy way everytime you face challenging odds?!”] The man was slowly welling up with wrath at the Jetii’s actions prior to their fight against Osam . His chest rose and fell rapidly; his muscles were still tensed up, ready for a fight if it ever came to that.

He was not enraged at the fact that Zephyr Krayt had fallen in battle. After all, life was a gift that everyone cherished, but had to return at one point. They were born to die. What enraged him was that the Jetii didn’t even try to save him. The remains of Zephyr Krayt was still engulfed in fire until the Ori’ramikad had smothered it with a small, controlled shockwave from the repulsor from his left vambrace.

What also added up to his wrath was the fact that the Ori’ramikad was trained and equipped to deal with battlefield casualties. Zephyr Krayt could have lived. He did not need to die today in this battle. He could have survived, but his fate was sealed by the Jetii’s decision.

The giant waited for what the Jetii had to say for himself, with his hands clenched into fists; his arms tensed up and hanging from the sides. It would depend on what the Jetii would say next whether they’d be on each other’s throats or not.

 

[Aien Mueller]

You know those types you don't want to meet in a dark alley?​

Spoiler: LOADOUT(unless missions specific):

Armor - Cybernetic suit (GOLD, BLUE and RED Teams), "Dominion" armor(GREEN Team), "Apostle" armor(all, GREEN Team when needed),
Weapons (assault team)- T-73 Handgun, Combat Knife, FTB Rocket(2 FYB Rockets each, 3 with Flame Carpet warhead)
3 Grenades (each), 2 Fire Grenadess (each)
(Infiltrators)- Carbine(Suppressed), T-73 Handgun(Suppressed), Vibroswords, Combat Knife
(Snipers)- M-14 Sniper Rifle, Wrist Blaster, Carbine
(Assault)- RI-17 Assault Rifle-w-LPD53 Grenade Launcher(5 FYB 40mm grenades each), T-73 Handgun
(Heavy Weapons)- Minigun(if in the field), Defender-Automatic Weapon(if in CQC) Assault Rifle

Spoiler: FIRE TEAMS

GOLD TEAM: Azrael(Assault/Team leader), Castiel(Asault/Pathfinder)
BLUE TEAM: Sauriel(Sniper 1), Samael(Heavy Weapons), Michael(Sniper 2)
RED TEAM: Gabriel(Demo/EOD), Bartleby(Tech/Team Second)
GREEN TEAM: Chamuel (Infiltrator/Slicer), Zadkiel(Infiltrator/Assassin), Raziel(Infiltrator/Assassin)

Spoiler: SPACE/AIR/GROUND TRANSPORT TEAM

PEGASUS 1- Jeremiel(Pilot), Barachiel(Weapons)
PEGASUS 2- Ariel(Pilot), Uriel(Weapons)
PEGASUS 3- - Barachiel(Pilot)*
PEGASUS 4- Uriel(Pilot)*
*When needed. Weapons Intercept officers will be assigned randomly

FIST
RONTO 1- Raguel(Driver), Selaphiel(Gunner), Jegudiel(Cover)

ANNUNAKI
Ship Captain/Teams Overwatch - Metotron
Ship Engineer/Tech/Teams Overwatch - Jophiel
Ship Corpsman - Raphael
Ship Pilot(s)/Gunner(s) - Chamuel, Jeremiel, Barachiel, Ariel, Uriel

ORDERS: Take down the Shield Core
Tag: Kranak Vizsla Thirdas Heavenshield Beltran Rarr Cadere Yula Perl Osam Liedran Kathause Aurelian Sigismund Primarch Drek'ma Rurik Fel Heath Valhoun

They’re doing all that they can. The silvers, the allies, all of them had to know this. They had barely made it back into the Epitaph through one of the gaping holes in the ship before the artillery began to tear into it. This was not an issue, the mammoth beast of a vessel had to be taken down one way or another, but the fighting was intense inside.

The team, two more members strong now with the additions of the two Larty-jocks, Jeremiel and Barachiel; had the blessing in disguise of being able to rearm inside the gunship, but the element of surprise was gone. That was the part of the job though and that is why when they were not on it, they were training for it. None of them had social lives, when they tried to, they destroyed any chances they had, this was what they did and who they were.

The drones were difficult enough to take down, but now there were these new “Vandals” that could be heard being addressed. They were fast not to mention strong. Blaster fire was doing the job against them but it was too difficult to go shot for shot, they not only had to “corral” their shots and force the enemy forces into positions where the snipers could perform their specialties but the 40mm grenades were being used. They needed to conserve them. That left the flame carpet warheads for the FTB rockets. It may work, it may not, but it was all they could do. As Samael and Castiel fired off two rockets, Sauriel and Michael fired on those who were dodging the warheads and their intensified incendiary explosives.

Bartleby was running his energy scans, doing the best he could to find the shield core as Azrael was listening to the comms from the ground battle. Heavenshield was performing honorably and well above his pay grade but this was getting to him, the kid was getting bloodlust and that was concerning. War was Malachor, but that doesn’t mean that it should get this hard on people, yes, Omega Squad were useless outside operations and battles, they knew and accepted this but they did their thing so that others didn’t have to.

No, what was going on with this kid was not Aien’s fault, heh, no matter what certain leaders of certain companies of “Paladins” might say, but it was affecting him. It made Aien angry, furious, not at Thirdas, but at the Bryn. This never happened before, you learn to separate yourself from Ops and not “take in” a situation, that was the job and losses happen, that is what you sign up for. Did Thirdas sign up for this kind of emotion? Did anyone?

With a renewed resolve, a renewed energy, he slung his rifle, pulled his combat knife, and Bartleby’s, and started to run at the Drones. He was not fast enough to take on those “Vandals”, nowhere near, he probably was not fast enough to take on the Drones either, but he was not concerned. He was mad. There was absolutely no remorse in the brutality he displayed. He was stopped by several of the Drones, but those were shot by the snipers, those he did get to were gutted… well… gutted in the face. The flames from the explosions were emanating enough heat to singe his body through the armor, time was short.

Luckily the damage seemed to push the Bryn forces back, but this only meant that the ones around them were that much more motivated to come at the team, so they had to move. Of course, the fire that Azrael showed would be left where it lay for the moment. The more important thing was that Bartleby was able to discern, not exactly where the shield core was, but the direction, and that meant two levels down from the “attic” where they were. It was a prudent place to be put, the only known way in was up multiple levels and through hundreds if not thousands of troops and defenses. Getting to it from above was no picnic either, to be sure.

The next level down was something that none of them were expecting. It was full of drones, to be sure, but there was something else, they seemed to be distracted as if something else was going on. This did little to affect the capabilities of the monsters but it meant more that they were able to get past several of them with the FYB carbonite grenades. Not all Bryn were susceptible to simple “cold”, even “freezing”, this was carbonite. They, really anybody were in deep Mopak.

Exhausted, each having some kind of flesh wound and running low on ammunition, there was one good piece of news. The power source that Bartleby was pinging, it was right below them.

Breach.

Covering.

Perimeter.

Perimeter.

Perimeter.

Covering

Covering.

Perimeter.

Each of them now down to their last Flame Carpet rockets (or in this case the pilot borrowing the sniper’s) fired them off in all directions indiscriminately. The purpose was to cover their escape, the accelerant-inspired flames forcing Bryn security to reroute themselves. This was not the way these weapons were meant to be used, but the Bryn on their worst day was better than most soldiers, sailors, and jarheads on their best day, there had to be some kind of counter-move.

The Breaching charge managed to weaken the Kraemon reinforced floor, but the second one brought the hole that they were looking for. Dropping a grenade into the hole gave them the second to either clear out or distract any occupants of the room that they each jumped down into, one by one. There were still more drones and some more Vandals, but Samael emptied the powercells of his “Defender” heavy rifle. That left a carbine and Sauriel’s wrist blaster, but so be it. The room was as clear as it was going to be, and they had little to no time. This was the shield core, it had to be. They had no explosives left, other than the last charge that Gabriel had. They only had enough ammo to get out, maybe, if they didn’t, they were done but at least they were going to finish this right.

Charge set…

Cross your fingers.

Let’s make like babies…

What?

Head out.

They had no other way out though, it was back up the hole. Back into the “hallway” that they just burnt to a crisp. They had to get back up, and up. There were too many troops going down. They had to get to the ceiling. If their luck was good enough, and they were about to blow the shield core maybe the dome would go down and they could get a message up to the Annunaki, maybe whoever else was up there.

There are worse ways to go.

By the time the team reached the hole that they re-entered the ship with, they were out of powercells for their rifles and down to their handguns. That was it.

Blow it.

We’re not a safe enough distance.

Out of options.

Gabriel, the rest of the team, knew he was right. That dome had to go down. Pressing the detonator, they could all feel the rumble along the bulkheads of the explosion. The ship may, and will probably hold, but the explosion was enormous. Blindly, Azrael reached out for the comm-link and Bartleby gave it to him.

All Silver Defense units. All Silver Defense units! This is Commander Aien Mueller, the shield is going down! Repeat! The shield is going down!

Was it? Who was to be sure, but they did all they could, and now it was time to…

Son of a gun!

YeaHA!

Ariel… you old Mynock!

Ariel, the HAAT2 pilot as well as Uriel did indeed crash, but they were able to get the bird back in the air. They did so just in time to get back up and get their boys off the ship.

You boys need a ride?

... yeah, we scare them.

 

[Cadere]

Location: Anvil
Equipment: Lightsaber | Personal Light Armor | Mantellian Vambraces | FF-CAR1
Allies: Zephyr Krayt (Deceased) | Kranak Vizsla
Engaging: N/A

Cas stared at the Mandalorian approaching him, face still frozen in a scowl. Feeling the armored hand grip his collar was a surprise, prompting the Jedi to let out a "What're you--?!" as he was pulled up from his kneeling position. Resisting, Cas was seconds away from swatting away the Mando's wrist "Get your karkin' hands off me!" he yelled, granting his wish, the Mandalorian shoved Cas in the direction of Zephyr's body. The moment his eyes landed on the smoldering corpse that was his friend, Cas slammed his eyes shut, pressing his eyelids together tightly and averted his head from the sight of Zephyr.

Cas' fingers curled into a fist, what was he playing at? Was this some kind of sick game to the Mandalorian? To make Cas feel even worse for the death of his kin? His eyes remained shut as the Mandalorian spoke to him, cursing him out.

"Do you give up and take the easy way everytime you face challenging odds?!"

The Kiffar's eyes quickly shot open, initially beginning to calm, his anger returned in an instant. Easy? Easy?! His fists balled, Cas raised his arm and moved to punch the Mandalorian with his cybernetic hand only to stop inches from his helmet. His fist shook as he fought the urge to deliver the blow but ultimately he let out a frustrated growl and dropped his fist to his side. Although he was still very much enraged, he knew entering a fist fight with an ally was detrimental.

A dry chuckle escaped him "You don't know a damn thing." he muttered, "This was the hardest decision I've ever made! If you think this was easy, you're an even bigger moron than you already are!" Cas then shoved the Mandalorian by his chest plate before stepping up close to him and pointing directly into his visor. "You think I wanted to kill my friend! Zephyr asked me to do it! If you even had the slightest bit of empathy, you'd understand!" Cas yelled, completely unloading all of his grievances with the Mandalorian who's name he didn't care to learn.

Turning away, Cas looked toward the assault on the Epitath in the distance. The courtyard was clear and Vinil was safe being treated somewhere, his job was somewhat done and the least he could do now was help the others. Plus, he couldn't bare to look at Zephyr's body anymore. He took a step in the direction of the Epitath, then stopped and cast one last look at the Mandalorian "Instead of being mad at me, direct that at the one truly responsible. The one you let get away." then continued on.

 

[Yula Perl]

OOC: Dagon won’t be able to post until the invasion is over, so he’s given me permission to NPC him along.

Ally | Dagon Kaze

The Baddies | Sylok'Vanari | Quoron Ver'dum | Seer Kalanthir | Krarolk T'manu

Yula’s Force shout afforded them a pause in the battle, one that was sorely needed.

“Dag,” She gasped, face red and stained with tears from pain. “Dag,” Her good hand grabbed his shoulder, jostling the meditating Jedi roughly. “Snap out of whatever trance you’re in, I’m calling it! We won’t sur—”

The insanity aboard The Epitaph raged back in full force. A deadly blaster bolt rocketed towards her core, but Yula was yanked out of its path by half a dozen eerie glowing tentacles. At least three times as many surged towards Dagon, seeking to wrap their way around the Jedi and feed on his blood.

Yula struggled as the vines had her in their grasp, but she could feel the vigor draining from her muscles. “Wha…” Her eyelids fluttered, head lolling to the side as she forced herself to stay present. “What is…” From behind her, she could hear the hissing of a saber as it whirred through the air, and the grunts of exertion from the Jedi.

He still hadn’t given up.

Live rounds hammered the side of the ship, a sign that the Silvers and their allies were still alive and kicking. Everyone but her, it seemed, still fought on. The hall rocked like a carnival ride, and the sensation turned Yula’s stomach more than it normally would have. The far wall finally gave way to an artillery shell, the force sending Yula spiraling back against the adjacent wall.

“Ughh…”

The Meitkhpu were not feeding from her life force, but something more tangible: her blood. Blood loss made you nauseous, made you woozy, then it killed you. Yula didn’t know what was happening, but she knew that everyone around her was fighting like hell. Everyone except for her.

Angling her pale hand downward, four pointed nails, as sharp as any combat knife, plunged into the tenacle restricting her wrist. With great effort, she sought to tear through the restraint, gathering what remained of her strength. She focused on the sounds of battle, now less muffled thanks to the hole in the wall, to keep focused. Friendly ships, friendly ships….

The whirr of a lightsaber reached her just as she’d struggled through the first bind. The blue blade fought through the dark vines, so close that she swore her cold body could feel the heat of the plasma.

“Dag….we gotta….”

Leave, damnit.

Dagon lifted her arm around his shoulder, and Yula did her best to support herself as they staggered towards the puncture Thirdas Heavenshield had made.

The next sensation she felt was the wind violently rushing through her hair.

 

[Kranak Vizsla]

Location: Sev Tok, City of Anvil, City Center, 550 Meters Southwest of The Epitaph
Local Time: 22:29
Date: -DATA CORRUPTED-
Primary Objective: Recover Zephyr Krayt's Body and Armor
Secondary Objective: Defend the City of Anvil Alongside SJC Forces in the Area
Equipment: Loadout 2 (Carrying 1x Portable Clip Recharger in utility Field Butt Pack. Flame Projector swapped out with a CryoBan Projector.)
Friendlies: SJC | Cadere | Zephyr Krayt [KIA]
Hostiles: The Bryn’adûl | Osam [Retreated]

The giant’s words had provoked the Jetii to the point that he launched a blow with his cybernetic arm right at Kranak’s visor, but the man halted the blow. The Jetii’s fist shook in pure rage but dropped his fist to his side after letting out a frustrated growl. The Ori’ramikad was impressed with his self-control. If he hadn't halted the blow, Kranak would waste no time to return the favor.

Keeping his gaze directed at the Jetii’s face; unflinching from the blow that halted a mere inch away from his visor, the giant listened to what the Jetii had to say. The man let out a chuckle before he spoke.

“You don’t know a damn thing.”

“This was the hardest decision I’ve ever made! If you think this was easy, you’re an even bigger moron than you already are!”

The Jetii then shoved the Ori’ramikad by his chest plate and came closer to him. The Mandalorian barely flinched from the Jetii’s shove to his chest plate; his feet were planted on the ground firmly. The Jetii was pointing directly into his visor.

“You think I wanted to kill my friend! Zephyr asked me to do it! If you even had the slightest bit of empath, you’d understand!”

It took the giant an extra effort not to pummel the Jetii to the ground right then and there. But he did not have the time to waste in another fight, not now. He had to extract the fallen Mandalorian’s body and his beskar’gam from the battlefield, denying the enemy to get their hands on the remains. That would be his top priority until he was back to the Concord side of the frontline.

The Jetii turned his back at the Mandalorian and casted his gaze at The Epitaph in the distance and started to walk towards the field of battle further away. The giant broke his gaze fixated at the Jetii and reached for Zephyr’s buy’ce on the ground, not too far away from his remains. He lost himself in thought as he gazed at the T visor of the fallen Mandalorian; his glowing white visor reflected off from Zephyr’s black visor.

He didn’t expect the Jetii to understand what the death of a fellow vod meant to them. They were aruetiise. Outsiders to the creed, the way of life for the Mandalorians. This was not the first time he had witnessed the death of his fellow brothers and sisters in battle, and it would not be the last.

The way he saw it, Zephyr’s blood was on the Jetii’s hands. He had announced that relief was on its way over the commlink not too long ago. He had to have heard the transmission. But then why did he make the decision to kill Zephyr? He was capable of dealing with his injuries! He hadcome here to dispense medical relief to those who were injured and extract them out of here!

He would nourish hatred at the man from this day onward. He did not know him by name for now, but he would find out one way or the other. It was a hobby of some sort for Kranak to record every fight he entered using his HUD’s holo/vid recording capability to examine it later in his spare time to identify and improve on any shortcomings that occurred during the fight. He did not have his name yet, but he had his face. It wouldn’t take him too long to search up the Concord database and get to know details about the Jetii that way.

The giant snapped out of his vengeful thinking when the Jetii turned around and shouted at the Mandalorian one last time.

“Instead of being mad at me, direct that at the one truly responsible. The one you let get away.”

That was enough for Kranak to erupt. Without skipping a beat, the giant looked up from the Zephyr’s helmet he held in his hands and gazed at the Jetii, walking towards the battlefield in the distance.

[“Your lack of perception got your friend killed! I fought my way here to save the wounded! And you just murder him, like some damn animal!?”] Shouted Kranak in return, his sonorous voice filled with rage. [“His blood is on your hands and yours alone!”] the giant heaved a breath before continuing. [“You will pay for your poor decision making. You can count on it! LAANDUR!”]

But the Jetii did not say anything in return. He was off to the battlefield in the distance. Kranak muttered a curse in Mando’a as he turned towards Zephyr’s remains; his left hand clutching Zephyr’s helmet, he knelt beside his body and sat there in silence for a few moments.

After regaining his composure, the giant quoted a part of an ancient Mandalorian mythological text as he laid his right hand over Zephyr’s chestplate.
[“Bal Kyr'am lap'a a'yaou kaysh o'r beskar'gam be ne'tra ca bal sirbur, Bic cuyir ca'nara.... bal verd ninayr bal sirbur, Meg hiibir gar bid munit, vod?”]

Gazing at the damage the fallen Mandalorian had endured before his death silently after quoting the ancient text for a few moments. <At least you died in the field of battle. There's honor in that, vod.> Thought the giant, trying to give solace to himself. Heaving a long sigh, the giant would gently pick up his body and stand after staying motionless for a while. He would be carrying his body to the Concord lines and ensure his armor found its way to his clan.

Spoiler: Translation of the quote

“And Death appeared before him in armor of blackest night and said, It is time. ...and the warrior smiled and said, What took you so long, vod?”

 

[Sehvis Ynin]

Location: Ruusan
Allies: NJO, NIO, and Others
Enemies: Bryn'adul
Tag: Drel Natrik
​

She saw that her master saw her reaction to this place. Amazed with her newfound abilities of sensing the traces left behind by those who passed to the other side at this place, yet shocked with the terrible potential for the nature of this place the elders alluded to. Sehvis then shook her head a bit to shake herself out of the slight daze the sensation put her in.

Master Drel seemed to shake himself out of slight daze too with the new sense of urgency he conveyed. Sehvis nodded her head, and walked further down the path. The battlefield being ever so slowly reclaimed by nature began to give way to proper wilderness. They were entering a valley that housed a near-primordial forest. The trees towered above the trail, and the wind began to die down a bit from the breeze that was on the open field before. This route was somewhat familiar. She new the village was still a ways away, but they were well beyond halfway there.