(M) Primeval Arcana IC

[SikstaSlathalin]

Rated M for possible mature content including sex, violence, language, graphic situations, and drug use.

Primeval Arcana



May the magic of our souls protect the lands of our people.

OOC open to one more sheet.

Once upon a time in an ancient land of magic and primal greatness, dawn meant a joyous reprieve from the terrors of night. Light took back it's dominion and life followed it from the first moment of it's reawakening. Cooking fires sparked up, children squealed with the opportunity to play some games before breakfast, and old women clucked happily watching them bound about like leaves caught in the wind.

Sadly the times of a simple life revolving around hunting game and gathering plants haven't existed for nearly a decade. The morning light only brings the proof you've lived to see another sunrise and gives you more forewarning when death comes looking for you. Cooking fires are only done from within the safety of caves or underground where the smoke can't be seen. Gone are the happy games of childhood from dawn to dusk kids are taught to fight and survive. Anyone old enough to be considered an elder is either dead or silently working on various small tasks like crafting weapons or grinding herbs for healing. The biggest difference though is the silence and fear that hangs over each human head. The dark knowledge they are only living on borrowed time with so few warriors standing between them and the Skorne. And those few warriors are growing fewer each day.

Now as the summer of the tenth anniversary is drawing closer leaders of the surviving clans are gathering under the great Green Peak closest to the dead zone between Human and Skorne lands. Moving under the cloak of night the Nature Lords and their Thunder Lizard mounts are within a few hours ride of their destination and with any grace of the Gods, the first step towards their liberation.

[Arthera]

A young woman seated behind an armored and adorned gold Triceratops fan gave a long loud yawn hunching over the equally tired reptile's head. "HuuuuhhaHHHHHHAH! How much longer Auntie Kaledra? I know it's urgent, but we've been going for like two days straight." The woman almost whined as she adjusted her raptor skull helmet.

Ignoring the same complaint that had been aired at least ten times in the last hour alone, the chieftain of the Wildfire clan finished her descent from the tree she had been in, having surveyed the surroundings. Once on the ground, she glared at the young archer.

"You spout useless words when you could be alert. You laze about when you could be gathering supplies. Worse, you complain about your duty! I shall never know how I manage to endure such childish behavior. Reserve your desire to whine and use it instead to stay on your guard, the border is close. With it, the enemy."

Kaledra moved back towards her own mount, mighty Razormaw, and patted it on the flank, checking her gear.

As the Chief berated her Firefeather seemed to cheer up a little. She knew the woman's secret code, all the mean words and mini-lectures just masked how much she loved her favorite young charge. The girl put on her brightest most endearing smile.

"Cause you secretly love me like the daughter you never had. And I'm plenty alert, there just isn't anything to look at, just grass, and rocks, and that pack of little raptors killing that Gallimimus about ten yards out." She shaded her eyes with her hand watching the little carnivores eat dinner feeling her own stomach grumble at the sight.

She reached into her saddle bags and pulled out some dried meat taking a healthy chomp out of it.
"So have you met many of the other Clans? You don't usually let me come along on meetings with them so I'm curious." She asked continuing to eat her food.

"Yes, but rarely for long." Kaledra ignored the girl's tendency to misunderstand everything and responded to the only worthwhile question coming out of her mouth in the last two days. "The clan leaders all have much to work on, meetings are brief and somewhat rare. Too much to have a child prancing around, bothering everyone. This is the first large gathering since I've been chieftain. It is not sound to gather all of us at the same place for anything less than a last stand. Which may very well be what we will be discussing."

Kaledra was looking at the mana canons strapped to her Suchomimus mount as she spoke. Those had been delivered by lesser members of the clan that made them. Slowed the war down, to some degree. At the very least they were losing much less quickly than they were before the canons had started showing their might.

Feather nodded slowly at her hard Chief's words. That was the whisper going around the camp, the clans weren't dying all the time, but they also weren't winning many battles. Things were stalemating, but the Skorne were planning something. Some scouts they met on the road told them that much. She missed the slight insult Kaledra tossed her way and lumbered Tunka up to the Suchomimus's side.
"So are all the rumors true? Are the Redfists all psyhcos? Can the Blueyes read and control our minds?" Her eyes opened wide at the very idea.

"You will see yourself." Kaledra said with a sigh. "At the very least, I can ask them to control your mind and send you over to slap the Redfist chieftain for fun. If you do not stop with the useless banter that is." In an single, flowing movement, Kaledra clambered atop her mount. "Now let us be off, we still have a few hours of light remaining. We can reach the gathering point if we do not tarry."

Firefeather gives a soft pout. "No, I can't slap a Chief! Especially the Redfist Chief they say he survived being tortured and sexually experimented upon by the Skorne. That it gave him like superpowers afterwards! Also...also...also, my banter is fun and you know it Auntie Kaledra! Why else would you keep me around?" The girl giggled walking alongside her idol.

The amount of times Kaledra wanted to hit the girl numbers more than clan members by now. But... it was expected to bring someone to gatherings in case the chieftain did not make it, and Firefeather was a decent shot with the bow. Not that any of this needed the girl to be aware of.

"I keep you around to be a sacrifice, should the Skorne catch up to us. That is what you are going to be if you do not stop your talking!"

Urging her mount forward, Kaledra took the lead and made haste for the chieftain gathering point.

[Koti~]

As the sun began to settle across the forested ground, Tellos stirred from his watch, feeling tensed muscles relax as a sigh parted his lips. Grabbing the staff from against the tree, he headed over to the ashen coals, grabbing the last bits of cooked fish before they needed to head off. A free stamps of his foot and the coals were smothered, erasing their trace.

With a nibble of the fish, he headed to his sleeping wife, leaning down to gently kiss her on the forehead, the soft stirring of leaves above casting shadows across his half dressed form.

The kiss on her forehead summoned her to wake from a night of rest..well. A few hours of rest, herself ever aware of sounds in the woods here. The sub conscious alert while the body slumbered to to speak. Her eyes fluttering open to see her husband she’d give a soft smile and brush her nose with his own. Here silence was key...so a silent greeting was the most ideal.

A smile crossed his features as he gave her a hand up, offering up the last bit of fish for her to eat. With a motion to the nearby stream, he headed toward his friend flight, stirring him up with a scratch to the chin, rubbing it's muzzle as a soft croon roused it, echoing around the cooling forest before he headed to dress.

Taking the fish with a nod of thanks, their connection mentally would confirm her appreciation. The woman would eat what was there before smothering the fire well to prevent any signs of smoke to peak through the leaves above. Rolling up their sleeping furs into a tight bundle, secured by strong strings of sinew. She would then see that it was strapped to her light pack which would then settle against her back. Nothing fancy...strong hide made the bundle and tree sap mixed with animal fat saw to it being waterproof for the most part.

Nodding his thanks to her bundling up their mats, he gave her another soft kiss, this time locking their lips in a comforting embrace before heading to their campsites, pulling off a branch and rolling it around the ground, stirring up the dirt and breaking apart the flattened ground. A few kick to the small burnt wood sent it tumbling, leaving their resting spot unseen.

With cleanup taken care of, he moved over to Flight and gave him a pat on the side after it had managed to work out it's limbs. He turned to look at his wife before making a nod of his head, motioning back to the river for them to follow.

Miuka knew how they were traveling. She was a key part in that seeing she knew this area varly well. Yet wise enough to never assume it would be the same twice. The river was their best option. She would nod back while stroking the neck of her mount Lucruu. His name meaning swift fire in their tongue. His temper when triggered had plenty of fire alright. For now though there was no need for it. His eyes closing softly to her touch as she brushed his mind. Giving the basic communication that it was time to move on. A snort from his nostrils and sound from deep in the throat had her smiling.

With a swing onto the dino’s back, she would grasp the leather reins and blink slowly to her husband. She was ready,

With his wife ready and the clear sky above them, he led the way against the water, allowing her small nods and mental pushes to lead the way, avoiding danger and detection as they headed towards the meeting point, they only sound being the wind through the night trees.

[Black]

The air inside his tent was warm and cozy but Scarskin knew that he had to rouse the clan soon and be on their way. Extracting his arm from his sleeping companion he lifted himself off his back and away from his other sleeping companion. He looked down at the two with a small smile before getting out of bed and pulling on his breeches to cover his naked form. He then strode out of his tent and stretched into the cold and brittle morning air. Already the Redfist camp was a hive of activity as people went about their various tasks.

The Redfist clan was the only clan that blatantly refused to sacrifice their nomadic and open-skies lifestyle in the face of fear. This cost a heavy toll on the overall numbers of the clan that braved the open skies and very rarely used anything but ancestral caves and forests for shelter. Ultimately this left only the toughest of Redfist warriors alive. Still, despite the size of their clan falling the Skorne had learned not to tangle with the Nomadic warlord and his tribe over the years unless they had a sizeable force of their own.

The Skorne now even hesitated to fly over the Redfists for fear of losing tech and manpower to the rabid warriors. This mutual fear-and-respect suited Scarskin just fine. Just as the Skorne avoided his clan so too did the Redfists avoid Skorne held territory like a plague. But the sacrifice was worth it to travel freely with his people through the seven lands - Even if the Skorne had appropriated a majority of the Redfist’s clans nomadic routes and passes for their own impressive Fortresses.

Still, despite their dwindled number the Redfist clan was a horde in its own right that flowed across the land and through the skies. Always there was someone out hunting, children out playing and learning, adults mending and tending to flocks and other various duties. The clan was never fully gathered together in one place. Even when moving there was work to be done and so like a military camp the true magnitude and size of the clan was never known at any given point in time.

This lifestyle was made possible by a Dinosaur owned not by any one person but by the clan as a whole. An Amphicoelias that served as the mobile base of the Redfists dominated every landscape it entered, they collectively called it ‘Great Father’. Even though it had no mounted Mana-Cannons, all of the clan’s wealth and property was loaded onto the colossal thing’s back. The infirm and sick were also housed in a clan hall built directly onto the Titan’s back. Giant red hands were painted onto either side of the Dinosaur, and whilst outperforming duties, all clan members were required to bring back sustenance for the Dinosaurs upkeep.

Scarskin could see it now, very easily, in the center of the camp, along with its gargantuan child that was barely a year old and already heavier and bigger than a majority of wildlife. Scarskins own Iguanodon squawked off to his left and Scarskin looked over to see the beast with its mate being saddled up by a camp follower for him. All around him hide tents were being deconstructed and carried to loaders who would then attach entire tent bundles to ropes that would be hauled up by a team of loaders on top of the Amphicoelias for storage. All in all, it only took an hour for the camp to be deconstructed and stored away by the proficient wartribe.

Scarskin looked to his sisters tent and then to the cooking fires teetering for a moment on what he wanted to do, eventually deciding to see his sister before he went to get breakfast.

The young woman in question was a perpetually light sleep and even he, the chief of the Redfist clan, had to take care when waking her. Kermes was barely leashed at the best of times and her prodigious ability to become the center of a fight was something to be wary of. That she was bonded to perhaps one of the most dangerous carnivores in the world only furthered that point, particularly because neither of the pair was early risers.

But needs must, as they say.

It was surprising, though, to find that Kermes wasn't in her tent, enjoying the sleep she loved, but was instead perched atop the head of her bonded giganotosaurus, unhappy eyes scanning the horizon for some sign of trouble.

Redfist looked up in mild surprise at Kermes. It was highly unusual for the predator to be awake so early, let alone already looking for a fight. “What do you sense Kermes?” Redfist called up to her.

Her head snapped around to face him, brown-black eyes narrowing for an instant as her nostrils flared before she calmed herself to more normal levels and shrugged. “I don't know. There's...something, though, Giga and I both feel it. Something is going to happen. I...I don't like it.” His sister continued to lock eyes with him for several moments before looking away in a sign of servitude as she huffed and dropped from Giga’s head to the ground, her bonded continuing to scan the surroundings for whatever had him and his bonded on edge.

Kermes patted the armored calf of her bonded before she approached her brother to essentially rest herself against him, her head tucking beneath his chin as she pressed herself against his broadly muscled chest. For the feral girl, it was as good as a warm hug full of laughter, her incredibly close bond with Giga and her own nature leaving her short on social graces and only mildly capable of showing affection.

Scarskin accepted the affection with a smile but didn’t return it in the usual manner, knowing that his sister would view a hug as confining. He allowed the contact for a couple seconds before moving over to his own gear, which was hung up to the left of the entrance of his own tent. Already his female companions were up and deconstructing the tent. Scarskin himself began to dress in a quick manner before picking up his spear and donning his knife.

“Kermes, I need you to perform a task for me that I think you’ll enjoy,” Scarskin turned to her and donned his mask, completing his visage. “I’ve gone too long without an honor guard. Find the toughest warriors in the Redfists and test them. Bring those you deem worthy to me to receive my benevolence,” Redfist smiled briefly beneath his mask before his eyes narrowed, glinting darkly through the eye-slits, and his voice was as cold as Skorne metal, “Do not kill my subjects doing it Kermes.”

Eyes that had brightened at the first part of his task immediately darkened a frown that passed dangerously close to a pout turning her lips about before Kermes marshaled herself and nodded. “...I’ll be careful,” she replied softly though there was a distinct current of disappointment to it. That settled, Kermes turned and began to pass through the deconstruction of the camp, looking for those she knew were accomplished warriors and who could meet the standards she would set for the duty.

With that settled Scarskin mounted his Iguanodon and headed off to help ready the camp for departure. In just under an hour everything was packed away and the horde on the move to the meeting spot. They’d reach it about midday, in roughly 7 hours.

[RisingPhoenix]

The sea was his friend, and he enjoyed spending time with his friend. Py was perched on a rock asleep while Ti’r lay on the beach not far from the Torrent Clan’s base. Morning had come and yet he hadn’t gotten a single ounce of sleep. His hands rested behind his head as he looked up at the sky. It was amazing how the sky changed from such a dark ominous abyss into such a bright welcoming light. It brought about joy to the children of the clan, and he could overhear the sound of movement.

“No rest for the weary,” Ti’r said softly as he watched the sea crash against the shore. It held so many mysteries, many not even known to anyone.

Flying beasts soared through the sky as if to awaken anyone who might be asleep. They were feeding on the smaller creatures of the sea, numerous and vast. Ti’r sat up into a sitting position and drew his knees close. There was so much going through his mind. He hadn’t spoken to the Chief, but he was wondering how they would win this war. The Skorne were advanced, and learned from their mistakes, and he wondered had they learned from theirs. Had they managed to figure out some way to battle the Skorne? Conventional weapons weren’t enough, and luckily the various clans had access to elements, otherwise the human race would be extinct. Standing to his feet, he moved his hand in an elegant motion and the sea responded. It pushed away from him and lifted slightly before falling back with the same motion of his hand. He twirled around and thrust both his open palms in the opposite direction of the sea and watched as two jets of sea water surged forth striking two large rocks before subsiding and returning back to its primordial form.

He relaxed his form and looked out towards the clan. He hadn’t realized how long he had been training. Py had already awoken and had went hunting, and the time of the meeting was nearly upon him. He hoped the Chief was ready. Taking a quick wash, he grabbed his garbs and his weapon, attaching it with a piece of rope made of vines to his back. He looked back at Py and nodded, knowing that the great beast would follow him into the Clan. It would take them time to get to the meeting spot, and hopefully they would come up with a plan of action to defeat the Skorne once and for all.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Dawn, was just ahead of them when Chieft Whitegale and his young Follower Zephyr Wild-Gust crested the last hill that would take them to the scrublands around the Green Peak and the meeting of the remaining clans to discuss the Skorne menace. It was just the two of them for the moment, the rest of the Twisters were down in a protected spur getting ready for the day.

Stopping at the peak the man pulled out his waterskin and took a quick swig, before looking back at the young woman.
"Still awake back there young one?" He jested replacing the skin to his saddle as Broketooth gave a loud yawn his teeth glistening in the early morning light.

Zephyr groggily answered,"Hardly." She was clearly tired and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Gale, on the other hand, seemed to be full of life as he made a little chirping sound directed towards the tired woman. Zephyr was often found tired once having to wake up, but overtime she would grow use to being up and about, and her energetic behavior would come forward.

Thorg chuckled lightly nodding back at the girl.
"Drink some cold water than splash it on your face, it'll help." He clicked his tongue and nudged his Raptor forward who complied with a long hiss and a squawk, obviously he wanted to go back to sleep too. Bouncing slightly in the saddle Chief White gale was more awake than usual, he didn't know why this was, but it could be the sheer gravity of what they were about to undertake. A final push toward liberation for mankind, these Skorne had taken so much from them. In the Wind Clans alone they have removed ten whole clans from existence and many more from the other Elements. Now only seven clans remained and if they survived this war the individual groups would need to somehow rebuild the numbers which would most likely mean more interbreeding between the Tribes which could turn out good or bad depending if their powers remained pure or not.

Shaking the thoughts from his head the Chief watched the Green Peak looming ever closer. Needing to get out of his head he looked over his shoulder at his sleepy Follower.
"Tell me young one, have my granddaughters Swiftcloud and Breeze been good in their training sessions with you?"

"The two have been doing wonderfully, Chief." Zephyr smiled, the thought of the two younglings brought her mood higher, and her sleepiness lowered. She grabbed a leather canteen and drank from it, cold water washed down her throat.

He smiled spotting some other clan leaders moving towards the meeting place. Guess they wouldn't be the first arrivals to this meeting which might be a good thing from a tactical standpoint, just in case the Skorne had trapped this meeting. He hoped that wasn't the case, but nothing in this war would surprise him. All he could do was pray to the Wind to give them enough forewarning should that sort of trouble come their way.
He smiles back at the girl checking the position of the sun they would need to pick up their pace soon.
"That's good, has Breeze learned to proper guard an attack from a small opponent yet? She's a tall strong girl and thinks smaller enemies need some mercy from her."

Zephyr thought about the question for a moment,"Well, not exactly, but she's a fast learner. I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon," she paused,"just gotta push her a bit further."

The Chief nodded to the girl and clicked his tongue urging his mount into a jog.
"Come Zephyr we need to cover some ground." The Twisters pushed their mounts faster and soon found themselves well within the shadow of the great peak.

[Dnafein]

Skakaar stepped out of his tent, his eyes took in the quiet camp. The young chieftain shifted his gaze to the mid morning sky; They were late, but often the biggest of stones didn't move easily. Turning to the tribesmen standing guard near the now empty tent Skakaar fought back a frown, he was still uncomfortable at such treatment.

Instead the chieftain motioned to a nearby cook fire. As if the order had been spoken the majority of the men standing guard separated moving among their sleeping comrades waking them quietly. One extended a hand towards the fire and clenched his fist. On command the fire pit closed swallowing the fire whole.

Skakaar turned away from his tent and moved toward where Angilas had slumbered. The big man greeted those he encountered who were awake; He awaited information from the days assigned scouts, and wondered what troubles the day would bring.

Vigg had hunted and fed along the way, nothing more than a few bites here and there, but sustaining enough. It had been a long night, she knew as soon as she left the old man would take her boy back home to Avalanche lands, safe behind the great stone walls.
Perhaps it was best.
Wisps of smoke still escaped the earth when Atka dismounted, and made her way to the Chief's tent and found him nearby, he at least, she was sure, would be pleased her night had been so dull.

She approached him nodding in greeting even glancing at Angilas thinking that he, impressive as he was, deserved a greeting too.
"Skakaar, I rode the main Eastern trail, only for a day and night, but my mount is swift and we cover land quickly. It is not without dangers" she shrugged " . . . but my own trip was uneventful"

The chieftain returned Atka's greeting. He listened to her while he worked; Angilas however dismissed her quickly focusing on his breakfast. Straightening from his task Skakaar glanced around, before pointing at a pair of tribesmen nearby. "Tell everyone we leave momentarily. Anyone not ready has to wait here with you for the other scouts. Wait till mid day then follow the markers."

The Avalanche devised a series of discreet markings that are created using their unique abilities. Anyone who would leave the tribes hidden mountain home were taught how to read them. Turning back to the scout he motioned towards the camp, "Break down anything of yours then meet me at the lead. We'll follow your path."

Atka gave an affirmative nod, nothing more was needed, naturally she proceeded to leave, plucking a strip of dried meat from a rack as she left.
She was eager to set off, soon she and Vigg would be in the wind, axes at her sides with both cloak and tail trailing behind them.


Skakaar walked the camp helping those few who needed it however briefly he could; once the camp was no more he mounted Angilas and followed Atka. The chieftain glanced back at those left to guide the remaining scouts toward the first marker. Part of him wanted to remain with them, another wanted to call them back. Skakaar gave into neither. They were close to their destination. And their arrival could change everything.

[RisingPhoenix]

The journey to the meeting place was long, but Ti’r did not waiver in his duties as Chief of the Torrent Clan. He was on this journey to find a solution to defeat the Skorne once and for all. Things looked bleak and who knew what the future held. It was dangerous to think of the future, but Ti’r often let his mind wander to the possibility of what mysteries it held. The great Green Peak was the destination for him and his follower. He had left the clan with the Elders providing wisdom to the hunters to protect them should anything happen while he and Shah’ir was gone.

“Shouldn’t be long now Shah’ir, we’re almost there,” Ti’r said noticing the young follower deep in thought. It seemed only yesterday their journey started, but Shah’ir had maintained a great connection with his Chief and had trained wanting to do nothing more than to make his Chief proud and to protect his clan. After all one day he may well be the new Chief.

“Chief, you ever wonder how long this war will last?” Shah’ir asked looking towards the distance, the Green Peak far off in his view.

“Yes, but I know that I can not doubt, I have to push and defeat the foes of our land. They bring death and pestilence to our land, and if we don’t defeat them our world is lost.”

The two rode in silence for a bit before Shah’ir spoke again.

“This is why you’re Chief, I can rely on you when I am troubled. Thank you!”

“You’re stronger than you know Shah’ir, focus and you will be great.” Ti’r looked into the distance, and could tell they were getting close to their destination. Another day and they would be at the Green Peak. “Come Shah’ir, we have much ground to cover.

[SikstaSlathalin]

GM Mover

It was a short time after midday when the last of the clan representatives arrived at Green Peak. The area was completely void of signs of humanity. One would expect many people milling about the imposing mountain fortifying it against attack or scouting for Skorne attack. But there was none of that, less of a target for the Skorne to see and less of a target, perfect for a secret meeting of the human resistance. The Chiefs and their seconds rallied their mounts into a large cave near the main entrance to under the mountain fortress. This was the former home of the greatest of the Spirit Element Clans the Soulfires and rumored to be the original creators of the Mana Cannons. Sadly they were also among the first clans to be wiped out. Only Chief Ether the Spirit Forger, last of the Soulfires remained and he was the one who gathered the remaining clans to this spot and called this war meeting.

The group followed mana arrows visible only to the magic using humans. And it led them deep into the bowels of the mountain. The Avalanches would feel right at home, but not everyone was happy to be so far from the sky and sun. Namely the Twisters, they were servants of the open air and never did well in tight caves and tunnels. But everyone was feeling the tension that permeated the stuffy cavern environment. The hour was at hand and the future was staring them in the faces. After what seemed like hours the fourteen representatives reached the meeting room the invisible arrows guided them to. It was a massive cavern, lit by purple mana flame and sporting beautifully carved stone furniture with lush furs acting as cushion and decoration. They were the only people in this room, but something told them Chief Soul-Forger wasn't far away. The warriors would need to spend some time finding their seats and maybe greeting their fellow warriors while they wait.

[Arthera]

They had arrived.

The area was very much unlike the home Kaledra and Firefeather had left. The heat was less, there was no moist air and no encroaching vegetation everywhere. No flies with the sting of sickness or snakes with venom falling from the trees. Sounds felt too far and distant compared to the background humming-buzzing-croaking of the jungle homes. The area felt... empty, after the packed areas of Ash Mountain and it's surroundings. Cover felt limited, Kaledra counted the proper ambush spots very quickly and felt disappointed. Still, there were good points to contrast all that, to be certain, and the meeting place would not have been selected if it was too exposed or known by the foe.

Dismounting mighty Razormaw, once inside the shelter of the cave, she bade him silently to keep watch. He was far too large to fit inside the tunnels that led underground, and he could shelter in one of the available surface caves to keep an eye on things. The other chieftains, great and small, also had arrived at the cavern and would be leaving their mounts behind. Kaledra had not met any of the other chieftains, but she knew from experience that one did not attain the role easily, and that each had a reason and a story that led them to be here on this day. Despite a lack of complete trust, survivors leading others behind their clan symbols, was to be met with at least respect until they showed their mettle. Clan reputation was one thing, but actions speak louder than words in the end. Still, proper nods of acknowledgement were given to the chieftains present.

As the group made their way down into the very bowels of the earth, Kaledra subtly gestured Firefeather to remain on the lookout. The Wildfire was a clan that had honed strike and vanish tactics to a level likely unseen in the other clans. Jungles and ash-cloud valleys could hide an enemy anywhere, and there was never too much care that could be taken. Kaledra made certain her eyes met every shadow as they came into view, every tunnel and path crossed felt for presence. Darting eyes that some used to wonder and gape in awe were instead honed into alertness. Even when they reached what looked and felt like the final meeting room was not cause to relax completely.

A meeting of chiefs was a ripe occasion for the Skorne, and the smallest sign may warn of impending ambush. Outwardly relaxed, but just below the surface of her tanned olive-colored, her muscles were ready to explode into a flurry of motion should it be required.