Page 76 of Feral Gods
At their center walks a tall woman whose silver hair streams uncovered despite the biting wind, her bearing regal, her power so palpable it distorts the air around her like a mirage. The Matriarch herself—Morwen, crafter of the curse that imprisoned us for centuries, now pursuing her own bloodline descendant.
Kaia's ancestress. The connection still disturbs me, though I've made peace with the irony of it. The bloodline that cursed us now offers hope of liberation through Kaia's untrained but potent magic.
If we survive the coming assault.
I ease back from the ridge, careful to maintain the concealment spell Zephyr crafted before dawn. The enchantment won't fool the purna for long, but it needn't—just long enough for me to return with vital intelligence about our enemies' numbers and disposition.
The journey back to our new sanctuary takes me through dense forest and narrow ravines, terrain deliberately chosen for its defensive advantages when we relocated two days ago. Since Ravik's outburst and Kaia's injury, we've operated with grim efficiency—evacuating the compromised temple, establishing this new position deeper in the mountains, laying false trails to confuse pursuit.
Through it all, Kaia has emerged as our unexpected center—not through command like Ravik or knowledge like Zephyr, but through a quiet strength that draws us together despite the lingering tension. Her confrontation with Ravik in the watchtower changed something fundamental in our dynamic.The hierarchy that once defined us has transformed into something more balanced, more interdependent.
More vulnerable, perhaps—but also more powerful.
The cave entrance appears suddenly between two ancient tiphe trees, their twisted trunks forming a natural archway. The entrance itself remains invisible unless viewed from this exact angle—another of Zephyr's clever concealments. I activate the recognition sigil with a swipe of blood across the hidden glyph carved into the leftmost tree, and the illusion parts like mist to admit me.
Inside, the narrow passage widens into a series of interconnected caverns, their walls glittering with embedded crystal that provides natural illumination when activated by our presence. The largest chamber serves as our command center, where I find the others gathered around a stone table bearing a detailed map of the surrounding terrain.
Kaia notices me first, her dark eyes brightening as I enter. The bruise at her temple has faded to a yellowish smudge, barely visible beneath her tumble of black curls. She's changed since her injury—not just physically, but in her bearing. Where once she carried herself with the careful wariness of prey, she now moves with quiet confidence, claiming space rather than seeking to minimize her presence.
"Thane," she greets me, the simple sound of my name on her lips sending a curious warmth through my chest. "What news?"
Ravik looks up from the map, his amber gaze sharp with command yet tempered with the new awareness Kaia's intervention has fostered. He stands slightly apart from Zephyr, maintaining a respectful distance that acknowledges their still-healing relationship. The scholar himself bends over an ancient text, turquoise eyes lifting briefly to acknowledge my return before resuming his study.
"King Kres leads the dark elf forces personally," I report without preamble, moving to the table. "Forty elite guards at minimum. And the purna contingent is led by Morwen herself."
Zephyr's head snaps up at this, his scholarly detachment replaced by sudden intensity. "You're certain it was Morwen? Not another high-ranking witch?"
"Silver hair uncovered despite the mountain chill. Power that distorts the very air around her. A presence that makes even King Kres maintain respectful distance." I meet his gaze evenly. "Unless another purna matches that description, it's her."
"It's her," Kaia confirms quietly, one hand rising unconsciously to touch the hidden pendant beneath her tunic. "I can feel her... searching. Like fingers probing at the edges of my consciousness."
Ravik's wings flare slightly at this revelation, protective instinct visibly warring with his newfound restraint. "Can she locate you through this connection?"
"Not precisely," Zephyr answers before Kaia can respond. "Blood calls to blood, yes, but Kaia's awakening magic creates interference that obscures exact positioning. It's why they're approaching from two directions—uncertainty about our precise location."
"Small comfort," I growl, tracing the enemy approach routes on the map. "They'll converge at the old temple site within hours. When they find it abandoned, they'll fan out to search the surrounding area. Standard dark elf hunting protocol."
"And the purna will use magical detection to narrow the search area," Zephyr adds, his talon tapping thoughtfully against the ancient text. "Our concealment won't withstand direct scrutiny from Morwen herself."
"Then we face them before they find us," Ravik states, the battle commander fully ascendant in his bearing now. "Choose our ground, set our traps, control the engagement."
"Against those numbers?" Zephyr's skepticism is evident. "Even at our full strength, we'd be significantly outmatched. And the curse still limits our daylight capabilities."
Ravik's jaw tightens, the reminder of our constraints clearly unwelcome. Since awakening, we've discovered our transformation follows predictable patterns—strongest at night, weakened but not immobilized during daylight, completely vulnerable during the transitional moments of dawn and dusk. A tactical disadvantage our enemies will certainly exploit if given the opportunity.
"We don't need to defeat them," Kaia interjects, her slender finger tracing a different path on the map. "Just delay them long enough to reach the deepest caverns. Zephyr's research suggests they connect to the larger network beneath Causadurn Ridge."
"The vrakken tunnels," I confirm, admiration coloring my voice despite the risk her suggestion entails. The vrakken—ancient enemies who retreated underground after their defeat in the Great War—represent a different kind of danger. But Kaia thinks like a true tactician, weighing relative threats against immediate survival.
"It's our best option," she insists, meeting each of our gazes in turn. "We can't defeat them head-on. We can't outrun them in open terrain. But we can outsmart them, lead them into territory where their numbers become a liability rather than an advantage."
I find myself nodding, tactical assessment overriding instinctive desire for direct confrontation. "The narrow passages would force them to engage us in small groups, negating their numerical superiority."
"And the ambient magic of the deepest caverns will interfere with purna curse-craft," Zephyr adds, warming to the strategy. "The residual wildspont energies create natural disruption fields."
Ravik studies the map a moment longer, amber eyes calculating. "It could work. But we'd need time to prepare the deeper positions, set traps along the pursuit route, create convincing diversions to split their forces."
"I'll hold them at the forest edge," I volunteer, a plan already forming in my mind. "Create a defensive position that appears stronger than it is, draw their focus while you prepare our true defense."
