Halimar Wilds

Tedrin couldn't believe what he was seeing. It didn't make any sense. He was trudging along, in a daze, looking over a vastness much different from that which he'd ever seen in all of his travels. There were thousands of bodies, strewn along the battlefield like rag dolls. Men were resting, towered, three or four to a spear, the blade jammed into the ground, only inches of the handle showing, covered in blood. The smell was horrible, unlike anything Tedrin had ever smelled. He stopped, resting his hand against the pommel of a blood-drenched bidenhander. The blade was one of the few that hadn't been run through one of its own wielders. These honorable men seemed to have turned against each other. None was run through by El'Dren arrow, none were lying, dead, trampled beneath the foot of a Drazyll. Not an El'Dren had battled here, not a Punyimpa had released a spell. These were all men that destroyed one another. These were brothers, friends. Some of the dead were entire families of men, three generations of men, dead on a bloody battlefield. Tedrin needed to look away. He looked toward his feet. Between them, was a boot print filled to brim with blood. There was so much blood.
Men's faces were contorted into gruesome, tortured screams but others had died with faces of glee, of laughter, as if they'd been driven to enjoy what they'd done to their own friends and comrades. The face that stood out the most was that of a younger man, probably only eighteen years old. Tedrin knelt near the young man and reached down to close his remaining eye. An arrow had pierced his head via the other eye. What was most startling about his face was that a smile was present on his face. It was not a smile of peace, or of joy; but of an agonized, forced humor. It was like when you're laughing too hard but you can't stop, your stomach knots, your chest heaves and there is nothing you can do but let the laugh run its course. This man's remaining eye screamed this horrible laughter, as if, even with an arrow through his eye, he'd laughed himself to death. The body was frozen, an arm clutching the ribs, one fist wrapped around the arrow, a smile stretching from ear to ear. There was blood around the young man's mouth, crusted on his teeth. The bite mark had been in his own arm. A chunk had been removed. There was no telling where it was.
Anya dropped to her knees next to Tedrin. It was enough that she found a spot unoccupied by the dead. "What....happened here..." was all that she could say before she pressed her hands into the freshly churned earth and began sobbing.
When Tedrin looked back at the woman, her long brown hair had fallen in front of her face. She was pale. She looked to him as if a specter. Her shoulders pitched forward as she cried dryly to herself. Very little consolation would from him, as he felt the same as she did. He couldn't understand why this had happened.
Their mission had been in vain, as there had been no secondary force of forestfolk to take the pass, no regiment of El'Dren archers to rain down arrows from the mouth of the passageway, no flanking maneuver performed by El'Dren knights upon their gazelle. There hadn't needed to be. The El'Dren had never gotten this far. That led Tedrin to believe that somewhere, the forestfolk had befallen the same fate. No one was going to have a war here....bodies would be here for years. Tedrin kicked a helm out of his way. But this was not out of anger, he didn't know how to be angry at the time. He just felt as if it were more proper to empty the headdress of its sanguinary contents.
Anya pierced the skies with a ear-shattering scream and when Tedrin turned he could see that a man...half of a man, as he was only a torso, was clawing at her, dragging himself through the moist, blood-sodden soil. He was masticating the air, his jaws quickly moving. He moaned, "Mmm, engh, maam, mmmm..." as he dragged himself forward. His eyes were crazed. His empty hand, clinching at Anya. She kicked him away but Oleris was there to drive his blade into the Drag'Konin's back, killing him once and for all. As Oleris twisted the blade to be sure, Tedrin lowered his head, looking away.
In the distance, an Inple was slumped over, on its knees, pierced through the shoulder on its own massive sword. It was also still alive. The blade had been run through the Inple's shoulder, the cross guard against his back. He hadn't been concerned with freeing himself from the blade, he was holding onto the body of a val female, chewing into her neck. Anya turned when she saw the sight, loosing her breakfast into a bloody footprint. Tedrin got to his feet and began the longest walk of his life. He drew his weapon and learned that he could hardly kill the Inple. It was Daakin Yergval. A friend. When the Inple noticed that Tedrin was there....that he was alive, the mighty being tore free of the earth, the blade still piercing its shoulder. It pitched the ragged body of the woman off to the side and the Inple lifted its arms in protest with a roar but Tedrin slid his blade into the man's belly and it dropped to its knees. It slumped forward, the blade of the sword reentering the ground and Tedrin yelled in anger as he severed the head of a good friend and he threw the blade to the side before hitting the ground on his knees. His gauntletted hands sank into the muddy earth and he gripped handfuls of it, only to find that the moisture he squeezed free was the blood of the fallen. he freed his gantlets of it and sat back on his legs. He placed his hands on his knees and looked over his shoulder as Anya came to him.
"Now, you see, Tedrin, they know that you are just another Val trying to do what is right..."
"Why didn't you tell me that I was wrong..."
"It wasn't until now, that I knew you would listen. I was not asking that you show weakness. I was asking that you show that you are like us, that you get back up and move on when times are most difficult. It is easy to say that one is brave when no trials have been faced. But to rise up when faced with adversity, that is when bravery becomes most meaningful..."
Tedrin managed a faint smile and fought to his feet. "I don't know what to do..."
"I don't either..."
"I will let them grieve. They must all have friends here. We must make haste to the capitol, it is a long way...and we must tell them of this.... Leogoryth must know, our king must know, before someone finds this and it is blamed on the El'Dren. If that happens, then there will be no way to cease the war to follow..."
Anya was confused. She asked, "Didn't they want war!?"
"No, very few ever senselessly want war. We were to stop them from opening the Halimar Seal..."
"Then shouldn't we continue in that effect...?"
Tedrin looked toward Anya and said, "Absolutely, yes..."
"Then why wouldn't we?"
"Because the capitol needs to know of this. I can not simply send squires to deliver such important news..."
"I will go..."
"You will what!?"
"I will go, Tedrin. I will take word to the capitol of these atrocities. They will listen to me. I am no knight, this is true, but I have no reason to lie. With a hasty approach, I can get others here quickly for them to see the proof they desire, perhaps bring a falconer back to allow for swifter word to travel."
"That does sound like a good plan..."
"What of a falconer? Do you not have one?"
"I offered him to Sir Hedrion. I am sure any that were here are either dead or have went to find food... There is no telling to what extent this madness has gone..."
"Then relieve me, Sir. Allow me to go to the capitol to deliver word of this massacre here. I will have little in the way of an explanation but I can at the least bring others back. You can continue onward toward the Depths."
"Such a small force on either side would be useless if faced against the El'Dren in full or even...whatever has done this..." Tedrin said and looked off into the distance but his words trailed off.
Tedrin saw a man, walking amidst the dead. He limply held a long sword in his hand. The man's moans were gut-wrenching. There were some still alive but he was making quick work of that. Tedrin called to Anya but she was already on it. She pulled an arrow back, raised it a bit for distance and loosed it. It slammed into the man's right shoulder but he kept trudging along, sliding his blade into the face of any poor soul left alive. She fired again and drove an arrow home through the man's forehead.
Tedrin watched the man as he hit the ground and he said, "No, we stay together. We retreat to the canyon and hold there with a camp. We return to Feneris and send word from there to Temptral. But first....we're going into the wilds to see if things are the same there. Perhaps the forestfolk were ready....bu they never made it here to the war-front."
"Are you sure we shouldn't go straight to Feneris?"
"No, we need information on the forestfolk activity. If they are strewn amidst the trees, bloodied and dying, then we need to be able to explain that they are in as much danger as we. If so...this world is quickly going to change..."

(Dwight....you are ridiculous. That was really good. Felt like I was reading a book.)

Oleris aided Tedrin by slaying the crazed Drag'Konin. He had a hard time comprehending what he was seeing. He'd known Daakin, he'd been a good man and a good father to his three children that he would never see again. Oleris was heartbroken, as he recognized men he'd served with. There was so much blood and the smell was so bad that he had to cover his nose as he walked through the wasteland. He simply couldn't get his head around the carnage that had befallen men he'd known for years. There were no races of men here...there were just fallen soldiers that had come to a place to protect someone, something or some place that they loves, that they cherished. These were all men and women who believed in a king, that understood what it was to fight against the evils of the world. In the end, they'd been turned into it. Oleris lowered his head but his attention was grabbed by Tedrin's yelling. A val solider was not dead. He was listing, lazily, stabbing those that he found alive. Anya was quick to put the man down but the effect of his actions would haunt Oleris' dreams for many-a night. His foot sank in the mud and as he removed his foot, blood filled the emptiness. What had happened here? Oleris wanted to fight. He wanted to punish whoever had done this. He was going to follow Tedrin because the man had resolve....because the man seemed to have a plan...




(I tried but I can't be as good. I'll get better than you.)

Sleza glanced over the vast wild at all of the corpses. So many people who had gone to fight and hadn't returned. She felt like she should be sad, like she should be trying to find a reason to cry or be disgusted at the sight, but nothing would come to her. As she stared over everything before her, she felt not a tinge of pity for the fallen soldiers and their families. She wanted to feel pain, to feel pity, to know what it was that made the others act so hurt. Alas, she could not, not matter how hard she tried. She tried to explain to herself that it had to be something that happened to her before that made her so uncaring, but it still made her sick. Why didn't she care about all of this death? She turned to the rest of the group; seeing how grief stricken they were. She looked down at the ground and thought over everything once more. Slowly, she looked back up at the land again. There was still nothing that fazed her. She sighed softly, before flying a small circle and landing back on Junepei's shoulder. She wanted to speak, to do something that would make her comrades feel better, but there was nothing she could say, because, for whatever reason, she couldn't care.

Night had fallen. The day had advanced but the death in the valley would not simply be pushed away. But they had to move on. They had to.

It wasn't hard to understand why so many were needed to accommodate so few that swung the blades, but the camp was lively that night. There were incense burning in the hope of drowning out the horrible smell of the pit that had once been the Halimar Valley but they did little. The best that could be done was to ignore it. One horse with the body and another with the legs was enough to carry the making of a sturdy table and Tedrin was using it to look over a map with Junpei and Ogava at his side. Oleris was out with Sleza and Anya hadn't been seen for some time. He shook his head said, "I'm just so confused. Tolling over a map will do very little in the way of what we need done. I can send a scout to Feneris but what good would it do to send a man to his doom if he is attacked..." Tedrin swiped the map from upon the table and cursed loudly. He looked toward the others who were looking to him and he called very loudly, "Thomlis!"
The young val was there in less than a minute. He nodded as he entered, asked what the service was that was needed of him and Tedrin said to him, "When we go into the Wilds I will need more. One Drag'Konin that is with us is a man named Balthazar. Have him come to me. I'd left him with the camp at the heas because I needed him to be there just in-case we were overrun. Now, I need him. Go, Thomlis. There is much to do before morning..."
Tedrin looked to the others as Thomlis made his way to fetch the Drag'Konin and he said to them, "Go on, get some rest. We leave in the morning. We must be quick...."

((I assume this is where I say that I showed up... I'm not quite sure. Still kind of fuzzy on the mechanics of the entire thing, but if you'll bear with me I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. Sorry if the camps are closer than I make them appear, kind of confused as to the distance between the two. Again, bear with me.))


Balthazar examined his own map; crossing off zones and various things he believed were unsafe. It was pointless, as Tedrin had already done this exact action, but it gave Balthazar something to do as he waited at the rear camp. He'd assumed everything had gone relatively according to plan, as he wasn't fighting for his life right now. His assumations were soon confirmed as his ears picked up the sound of hoovefalls on stone and grass. Balthazar moved to the entrance of the tent and lifted the flap; peering out into the darkness. A young val Balthazar knew as Thomlis rode up on a messenger pony. The massive Drag'Konin stepped into the darkness to meet the young man half way.
"You bring a message?" He inquired, as he looked over the lad and his tired pony. The boy took a breath for a second before he himself looked over the massive Drag'Konin warrior. He seemed taken aback by the sight, and Balthazar had to clear his throat to bring his attention back to the matter at hand.
"Sir, Teldrin has requested you at the forward camp immediately. He plans on moving into the Wilds come morn and he asks your presence."
"Very good. Rest your horse, Thomlis, and return to the forward camp in a few hours. If you arrive ahead of me tell them I am on my way."
With that Balthazar returned to the tent and slipped through the entrance. Inside a triplet of small lamps hung from the cieling, burning with a golden fire. They illuminated the tent quite well. Balthazar moved over to the armor stand, and examining his chest piece closely before finding it satisfactory. He hooked the massive piece of armor onto the rest of his outfit, before slipping his plate helm over his head and grabbing his war ax. Where he'd left it propped against a log near the fireplace, Balthazar's Tower awaited. The legendary Drag'Konin shield possessed an presence of it's own, and Balthazar looked upon it like it was the first time he'd seen it. After a moment he picked the item up and brought it across his free arm. Everything he owned he had on him; as was the Knights way. Moving to the center of the tent he reached up and extinguished two of the three lamps, shrouding the tent in an eery dark.

Thomlis came in a moment later.
"Sir Balthazar, aren't you going to take a horse?" He inquired as he looked over the massively armored drag. Such bulky armor would make riding a horse difficult; prompting the reason he'd asked.

Balthazar looked towards the boy, hesitating at the entrance to the tent. "No. These wings can carry me far enough; I may not travel as quickly as horseback, but it shant be as if I was on foot. Do not think so little of me."
Then Balthazar was out in the darkness of the night. His massive wings unfolded form where they had been, across his back. They span nearly ten feet. They needed to, the Drag'Konin was heavy even without the massive armor. It took some straining and indignant hopping, but eventually Balthazar was airborne, traveling just over ten feet in the air; and he made good progress towards Teldrin's forward camp in just a few short hours. He'd arrive well within the alotted time.

Oleris noticed the Tedrin was finished with his meeting and that the others were leaving him be. It was getting late, the moon was high, the stars were bright...but he would not sleep. He had tried to rest. He would not be able to. The smell of blood was in his nostrils, death and decay were creeping throughout the camp, throughout the canyon. It was a terrible, poignant stench. Even if attempting to ignore it, something would remind you that you were attempting to ignore it. All that he could see when he closed his eyes were the crazed faces of those that had fallen to the blades of their own comrades in the valley beyond. It was a terrible sight but Oleris needed to try to let the sight go. He left the Punyimpa to her own mischief. Unlike what he'd believed, no one cut a cross eye at the little being. It was not the time for misplaced anger.

It was clear that the El'Dren would not have had the powers needed to drive men to commit the atrocity that had befallen the small army. ut what power would have? Thoughts passed through Oleris' mind as if so many feathers upon wisps of wind but no answers coalesced from the ether.

Oleris walked along the edge of the camp furthest from the carnage and he spent a long while alone, pacing to clear his head.but he continued to see Daakin's face. Would Oleris be the one to tell Daakin' family of what had happened to him? Would he even get that far? Oleris knew hat it was like to feel as if your life was in danger. He'd faced that feeling so many time since he'd become a warrior but now, the feeling crept through his bones, sank to the marrow, plagued his heart and mind. He was terrified to go into battle but it was something that needed to be done. Someone needed to dispense justice and if anyone was going to be able to do it, it was going to be Tedrin Daathkil. Oleris needed to be there when it happened. Oleris finally found a spot amidst a crag in the rocky canyon face beyond the valley and he was finally capable of closing his eyes and drifting to sleep. But specters haunted his dreams...and their smiles stretched from ear to ear as they spilled the bllod of laughing men, willing to die...

(Yeah 666, ya did great.)

Anya Bladestorm
Anya was having a hard time dealing with her own feelings. it was true that she'd really gone to speak with Tedrin in order to express what she thought the group needed. It would still not have been truthful to say that she did not have strong feelings for Tedrin. he was a man that did not need exterior issues dissuading him from performing the task at hand with the proficiency and effectiveness that everyone knew that he could. He was the last commander left from what had once been nearly ten thousand soldiers. Now, he commanded nearly fifty men that could actually wield a blade and a little less than one hundred men comprised of cooks, squires and medics. The extra horses were weak. They were not war steeds, they were pack-mules. The weapons of the spare soldiers were not the best; if not rusty, they were gouged from previous battles and they needed mending. Tedrin's main force, at his behest, was made up of Anya, a mercenary, a man of God, an Inple, a Punyimpa, a mechanized archer and a couple Drag'Konins. It was an impromptu group but they were powerful and worthy of being chosen by him. They would make it through...but what of the small force beneath Tedrin. Most of the squires were young and were the last candidates for battle. She was worried about Tedrin. She was also worried that she would only be at his side because he absolutely needed someone that he could trust. In all actuality, if her commander hadn't been strewn along the battlefield with the others, she'd have been returned to his command. She needed to explain herself to Tedrin but this was not the time to do so.

Sir. Tedrin Landgaard
Tedrin was making his rounds. The tired and fearful faces of the camp members were enough to make his stomach sink. He made his way to the edge of the camp, looking down the canyon as it made its descent were it transformed into the valley bellow. The moon light was bright enough for him to clearly see the carpeting of bodies below. This had been a horrible day. The following day would be just as tough for his small force. He had very few archers and less pikemen. His swordsmen were his strongest units and he'd had the most of them but what he truly lacked was mounted units. That probably wouldn't matter in the forest beyond, in the true Halimar Wilds but it would have been nice if they'd been attacked before getting that far. Understanding the scale of the valley was important. Nearly two square quats of land had been laden with bodies. He didn't know what to do. Had Anya been right? Was he supposed to show the man that this was true. Of course not. They needed a leader. They needed Tedrin. They needed him to be strong, confident and steadfast and he couldn't back down now. it was impossible to let them know that he was unsure of himself because they needed him for morale alone. Terrified men would fall to a blade much faster and easier than a man who has rallied behind his leader. He needed to exude strength, and for the time being, he'd been able to continue doing that.
He simply looked over his shoulder when Anya whispered his name from behind. He didn't say anything to her. He just looked out over the valley.
Anya sat on the ground next to him and he said, "I don't know what will befall us..."
"I know..."
"I am not sure of what has happened here. I don't know what words to use to explain this, to express the scale of this massacre..."
"No one can ask that of you..."
"Leogoryth will..."
"I will watch my tongue in regard to this matter..."
"I know that he is a fool. I am loyal to my people, not to that bigot... He is running us into the dirt..."
Anya smiled and said, "Do you not want to fight the El'Dren...?"
Tedrin looked toward the sky and placed his hands on his hips, "No one shoulder ever want to fight a war. The problem has always been that people do want to fight. They want to wage war, they want to trample their enemies beneath their feet and watch the blood pool in their boot-prints. It will always be this way. We will become smarter, only kill more intelligently. We will become more advanced, only to kill for efficiently and we will learn to turn hundred year wars into ten year wars. We will kill in the name of Gods and because we cannot simply allow the next man to our left believe what he wants. The man to our right may believe nothing...but the man that believes something different is more of a threat.... "
"That is all of our dilemma..." Anya said.
They were silent.
Tedrin took a deep breath and after a while, finally said, "I was so angry with you..."
"I was angry with you..."
"What have you always wanted of me...?"
"Tedrin, I don-"
"Just tell me, Anya..."
"To treat me like an equal."
Tedrin smiled and said, "That is it? That can't be it."
"It is, Tedrin. I've just wanted to be treated like an equal being, of equal measure and of equal importance. I know that we don't live in a time where that is possible. I may never see this. The world may never see this, not of the Val. But if the El'Dren can achieve that feat, then i don't understand why we cannot."
Tedrin looked down at the woman, into her eyes, to see that she was being truthful. "Is that really all that you want?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Yep," Anya said with a smile, "I just want to be treated as if I deserve to be out here because I can place an arrow on target at a farther distance than any man you can pull from our ranks. I can place an arrow on target more effectively than any El'Dren, in fact. And though I do not like the smelly creatures, i can put a round on target from horseback, at a full gallop better than any you may know."
"That is quite impressive..." Tedrin said and his smile faded, "You just want someone to notice...?"
"No, I wouldn't say that I just want someone to see... But maybe... I don't know. For now, yes, just for someone to notice would be nice. It would be a start..."
"Stand up..."
Anya looked up quickly and asked, "What?"
"Come on, Anya, get up..." He held his hand out to the woman.
"Tedrin, I-" she said as she took his hand. He helped her up and she laughed as she said, "Are you going to make me do something silly?"
"No, not at all. I want you to put an arrow out there as far as you can...."
"Out....there, Tedrin. But I would be disrespecting the dead..."
"Trust me," he said with a smile, "I know most of those men. They are most likely getting drunk with the Valkyrie right now, it will be okay..."
"And I have a short bow for traveling with you..."
"No more excuses," Tedrin said as he yanked an arrow from Anya quiver and handed it to her. "As far out there as you can, with a short bow..."
Anya smiled and took the arrow reluctantly. "Fine, give it to me..." She smiled and snickered as she nocked the arrow and drew it back.
Tedrin took a step away from Anya and watched as she drew the arrow back. Her open form was perfect, her posture was beautiful, her movements, graceful yet powerful, deliberate. Her chin was up, her sight appeared keen and Tedrin even noticed that her breasts were perfect. Everything was perfect, even the moon like falling on made her seem even more graceful. She parted her lips as she released a breath and she brushed her hand against her cheek. Her hair was blown away from her face softly as wind energy spiraled around the tip of the arrow and she released it, her drawing hand softly shooting back over her shoulder. She watched the arrow but Tedrin watched her. She smiled before saying, "You see, Tedrin!"
Tedrin shook his head, free of his trance and he looked out over the valley. Anya said, "Tell me of one that you know that can put an arrow out that far. And I dropped it right in the open dirt as not to disturb anyone. A long distance and the accuracy..."
Anya was proud of herself. "Should I do it again?" she asked.
Tedrin turned away from the woman and said, "Your form was all off, your feet were too far apart..."
"Bu- You can't-"
"And I could put an arrow further down range than that..."
Anya was befuddled. She stuttered, "I can't- How can you..."
"You should get more practice, Anya... And maybe tighten up your drawing as well...it's sloppy..."
With that, Tedrin was gone. Anya threw her bow to the floor and grumbled, "Oh, Tedrin Landgaard, you son of a bitch!"

Thomlis had gotten to camp before the Drag'Konin but he was sure that he hadn't been that far ahead. He slipped his head into Sir Tedrin Landgaard's tent, only to find that he was not there. He grimaced and turned away from the tent, going on a mission to find the knight. After a few quick questions he learned that the man was off with some squires, teaching them some swordsman techniques. It was early and a knight was never asked to remove himself from bed so early. This was a dire situation though and these men needed all of the refreshing they could get in a short amount of time. When Thomlis found Landgaard he was knocking a fellow on the ground with the face of a shield. It was true that the combatant was larger than Tedrin, but that didn't matter. "Oh, you see, it is not always to pass your bulk around as a means of attack. it can work against you, especially if you have yet to learn to move yourself. It will slow you down." Tedrin withdrew his long sword and stabbed it into the ground behind himself. He walked forward as the young val got to his feet and Tedrin said, "Okay, come at me again..."
The warrior got ready, bent at the knees and came forward. Tedrin set his feet, put his weight behind the shield and when the val slammed into him, he hunched forward quickly, put the shield into the man and turned his right shoulder over, rolling the man onto the ground. Tedrin turned to face the man and said, "You see, you must learn to fight....even without your weapon." The group of learners praised Tedrin for his skill and he followed with, "Remember, you are not going into battle to injure. It is a terrible truth but you are going into battle to kill. Add a patch of tightly fitting leather to the inside of your shield," he said and withdrew a small knife from behind his shield, "so that you always have a weapon. Be sure to line your shield with a blade of some sort so that you may swing it as a weapon. The last thing most val would expect is for you to slit their throat with the edge of your shield..." Tedrin slid the shield from his arm as he placed the dagger back behind it and he helped the fallen man to his feet. "Alright now, men, get some practice in and get some chow in your bellies. You'll be protecting the camp when we move..." The men applauded Tedrin as he placed the shield on his back, retrieved his long sword and sheathed it. He nodded to Thomlis in passing and said, "What have you got for me...?"
Thomlis followed after Tedrin and said, "I was afraid you hadn't seen me, Sir."
"I tend to see all things around me, Thomlis."
Thomlis nodded and took a quick step to match pace with Tedrin as the man drank from a skin he'd removed from his hip. "Well, I went for Balthazar. He is flying in, should be here soon."
"Okay, good. I like that. Okay, Thomlis, I have asked much of you but now I must ask something very important..."
"Yes, Sir..."
"I must leave you in charge, Thomlis..."
"Sir, I-"
"You can do it. You have done all else that I have asked and I do not have another that I can leave this detail to. I know that you will see to it that my orders are carried out. If you stand strong and cease to stutter then you will do fine. If I leave you in command, no one will question, no one will disobey and all that you have to do is be stern..."
"Yes, Sir."
"I would leave it to Anya Bladestorm but I must take her with me. I need her archery skills in those trees." Tedrin stopped and turned to Thomlis. He place his hands on the young val's shoulders and said, "You can do this, Thomlis, because you must..." Tedrin patted his shoulders and left him there, contemplating.
It was time, Tedrin would send for all of the others. Balthazar was on his way and Anya, Junpei, Ogava, Oleris, Sleza and Kurr had better be ready. The Wilds could be a treacherous place.

Ogava studied the butchers yard, with a stunned expression. Someone really dropped the ball in this command. Blood soaked the ground, leaving his boots up to his ankles red. Ogava studied the others of his unit, as he moved through the carnage. Apparently they had known some of the Val that died here. Ogava offered a short prayer for the fallen... Not because he was in morning, but he did not want to anger any of the others. They made their way to the forward camp, where the smell of incense hung like a cheap musk over the smell of death. It seemed these men were not used to war, or the horrors of it. Ogava could not blame them, he was still adjusting to it himself... Though he was not sure he ever wanted to be fully adjusted. Sleza flew past Ogava reminding him that he had not eaten in sometime. However there were more important things to do first. Following Tedrin into a small command tent with a map laid out, Ogava forgot all his discomforts. As he studied the map listening to plans, he attempted to memorize the map, and all the troop movements that would be happening on it. It was always good to know where allies were... Or should be halfway through your sortie.

Ogava was finally done in the command tent, and he was starving. He grabbed a bite to eat, listening to the stories told by the other soldiers during the meal. They were afraid. Ogava ate in silence, he wasn't shunned by the other soldier per say... but he was a different species from a different unit, there wasn't much reason to talk to him. Their discussion turned from stories, to near panic as the Val began to worry about the next mission. Ogava rinsed out his now empty bowl and walked over to the Val. "If Landgaard is such a bad commander why don't you just leave?" He asked. He knew this might anger them but he needed to distract them from their panic. The men started shouting that Tedrin was the best commander they had seen. Hopefully he is that good or I will not be returning in one piece. "If he is as good as you say he is, then why are you in a panic. Just follow your orders, remember your training, and watch the back of the guys next to you. You will come out the other side." He walked away from the fire wondering how green these soldiers were.

Tedrin decided to start teaching swordsmanship to the troops in the camp. Ogava sat down in a comfortable place where he could watch. Might as well get a feel for how his new commander would shape up. Ogava took off his armour and began cleaning and oiling it as he watched Tedrin. The man had good form, and was skilled with his blade. He held the rapt attention of his men, as he demonstrated a shield bash and take down. A move that was good in one on one combat, however, from what Ogava could see if these Val were in one on one combat their chances were slim. As Thomlis approached Tedrin to relay some information, Ogava finished with his armour and began strapping it back on. He oiled his sword and sheild. Then leaned against a nearby rock, for some sleep before their next deployment.

Oleris was ready. But his head was spinning. A young girl brought his water. He slaked his thirst, thanked the girl and sent her along. This was not the place for a little one but there was no way to know the situation of every person you came about. He got to his feet and a young val came to his side once again. his was familiar. He looked down to hear what the Val wanted and finally, the order had come; he'd been called upon by Tedrin. But there was one thing that he needed to do. He began a short walk that, to him, felt like an eternity. He went to the valley, sloshing through the bloody mud and he went to Daakin. He took a knee next to the body, swatted flies away from it and said, "I don't know what happened to you here, Daakin, but I would like for you to rest now. I would like for you to go and find a place in the after with the Gods and await their call....wait for when the Gods take on the nether....and you fight, you fight hard. And you wait for your family. I am going to fight Daakin and I am sorry, but you are going to have to wait a very long time to see them because I am going to fight so hard that no one ever lay a hand on them. You children will grow old and they will outlive their lovers. So I am sorry that you have passed....and I am sorry that you will be lonely. But the wait will be worth it. You will know that your family lived long lives." Oleris got to his feet and watched as petals of some flower from some place far off wrapped around him on the wind. He liked to have believed that this was Daakin's way of speaking to him. He just smiled. He was ready to return to Daathkil.
This is what it meant to be resolved....

(That was gorgeous Morgan)

Anya was eating a piece of bread when a squire came by to get her. She was quick to her feet, grabbing her gear taking a swallow of water from a goblet and running out of her tent. She dropped her quiver, grabbed it up quickly and stopped by a barrel next to her tent. Not only did she collect arrows for the quiver but she also shoved them into the roll-up pouch she wore horizontally above her buttocks. She fitted the pouch, readied her quiver and slung her bow over her shoulder as she actually managed to run into Oleris and match pass with him. Tedrin was actually coming their way and she nodded to him. He nodded in response and said, "Balthazar is in the camp so we'll go for him. I've sent others to collect the remainder of our force. When everyone is near the valley, we'll move out..."
Anya nodded sharply and asked, "What exactly will we be looking for?"
"Evidence of foul play mainly; bodies, El'Dren weapons, strange tracks and the like. It is detrimental to our cause that we learn what has happened to the army. We will leave most of the force here, that is, in the hope that they will be able to take out attackers with their numbers. I don't know what it will be like to leave them here but I doubt the force that took down the army will return. I feel as if an enemy that could make those men loose their wits and kill each other had to have known that they were coming. From what I understood, war had not officially be declared by the capitol. The El'Dren should not have known that we were coming for such an impromptu movement..."
"Okay, Sir fearless leader," Anya said. "Lead the way..."


(We're going to move into the forest tomorrow (later today). We'll pick up as if everyone met up at the valley entrance. If you wanna post for shits and giggles and character development, feel more than welcome to do so. You can puppet Anya and Tedrin if you see fit during this time if you need to have a conversation. Don't move them from the camp.)

Sleza followed the group as the set up camp. She wasn't exactly helpful in the setting up part, but she stayed close by in case she could do anything. After a while, she had followed the Inple called Oleris toward the outside of the camp. She was going to trying talking to the man, despite being mildly afraid of him due to his generally gigantic size, especially compared to her own. The Inple didn't seem to be in the talking mood though, and soon he had wandered away. She looked down and sighed slightly, before flying back to the more populated parts of the camp. She eventually found some men with food, and asked for small portions, which one or two gave her. Several of the refused, saying something about her being on the other side. She didn't quite understand, but took off with her food none the less. Eventually, she was by herself to eat her food. It was always a lonely thing to eat with no one around, but she had grown used to it. She began to wonder why exactly the men treated her so different. She was uneducated on the war, so it was possible that her race was on the other side, that was true, but if so, that was no reason to treat her differently. Perhaps it was the fact that she was a girl. She hadn't noticed many other girls out here, other than Anya of course, who she personally thought was a top notch fighter.

Sleza looked around the wild, unsure of exactly what to do now. A normal man would probably sleep, but Sleza found herself without the need. She had finished her food, which wasn't much in the first place, as someone as small as her didn't require a Val sized meal to become full. She sighed and looked down once more. There was nothing to do and nothing to say. That was the issue in the whole. For someone her size, it was hard to get around and help like she wanted too. Most of the time, she was just in the way.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a squire came to get Sleza. She had heard him complaining about how hard it was to find something so small as he came up, which had cued her to find him. She left quietly, so as not to bother anyone anymore. She made it to the rest of the group, which consisted of Tedrin, Anya, and Oleris. She wondered if she would even be noticed coming up, as she was rather quiet. She sighed softly and flew up to the Inple's shoulder, her wings feeling tired already. She sat down calmly and waited; trying not to fear being swatted like a bug.

Balthazar kept his word, arriving on the outskirts of Tedrin's forward camp in the time he said he would. Landing rather roughly from his airborne status, a few squires approached him and offered him a waterskin, which he accepted graciously. He drank from the bag before returning it to the squire, and a second one inquired if he was hungry. Balthazar shook his head, politely dismissing the boy.
"I don't see how anyone could eat with such repugnant odor in the air... The sanctity of this place has been fouled."
Balthazar trotted along the perimeter of the camp, looking back the way he had come. If everything went to hell, the lands they'd just braved would have been for nothing. All of this, here in the valley, may one day become the whole world. It was a sobering thought, and the Drag'Konin moved forward in the camp, eventually finding Tedrin. The man demanded respect in his own way, for a Val; and Balthazar found it an admirable quality. He also had interesting taste in personnel, the mottled group that was slowly forming ranks behind him was of many races. Balthazar wasn't even the only Drag'Konin present; although he liked to think he was the biggest. Finally Tedrin's eyes caught sight of the Drag and the two approached each other amongst the men.

"Sir Tedrin," the Drag informally greeted the Val he gave himself the liberty of considering a friend, extending a massive and scaly hand to his comrade.
"Sir Balthazar," Tedrin countered, accepting the crushing force of the Drag'Konin's handshake with nary a twitch. "Are you prepared? The horrors that lay ahead I can barely begin to describe."
Balthazar breathed in deeply, smelling the blood salts in the air, followed by the stench of rot and decay. "You need not waste your breath. The wind itself carries the smell of horror. I am prepared, Tedrin Landgaard; and I will stand beside you until the bitter end..." He chuckled. "As long as you're not running away."

The Inple was collecting himself for the battle ahead when the Punyimpa came near. Not only do the Inple have amazing hear, but they could see quite well. Regardless, Oleris was a very perceptive man and he said hello to the woman as she flew by. He turned to look into the valley when Anya came near and said, "I hope we're all ready for this..."
Oleris smiled and said, "Are you ready, Lady Bladestorm...?"
"Oh, Oleris, please don't do that..."
"Don't do what?"
"I can't do the whole formality thing. I have a hard time not called Tedrin 'Teddy' in front of the others as if. I prefer to be relaxed, even in the company of my own unit. I am no princes..."
Oleris smirked and said, "But you are more beautiful than some that I have seen..."
Anya smiled and said, "Oleris, I'm flattered... Am I being hit on my an Inple for the first time in my life..."
"No, no, Anya, not at all. It was a simple observation...." Oleris said and shook his head with a puff of laughter from his nose.
Anya laughed deeply and walk away. It seemed as if the others were filing in and it was about time to head out.

When Tedrin finished his conversation with the powerful and venerated Balthazar, he realized the man was still alive. For a warrior of his stature to have been destroyed in the proverbial slaughter would have been a great lose. It was all because of Anya. If she hadn't brought the pass to his attention as a proper flanking position for the squires and extra hands, all of them would be dead. He looked toward the woman as she laughed and walked away from Oleris and he shook his head, wondering what was to come of them. When she walked over to him, still smiling, her smile slowly faded and she asked, "What...? Is there something in my teeth? As a friend you should tell me before someone else sees it. I don't need the squires whispering behind my back about how I keep badgers between my teeth..."
Tedrin smiled and shook his head as he said, "Nothing... It's really nothing. Don't....don't worry about it..."
Anya's brow furled as she said, "I'll never get you, Tedrin. I just don't understand..."
"Don't worry. I'm seriously, just let it out of your head."
With that, Junpei walked up and Tedrin greeted the man and asked if he was ready. He was, as always. Strangely enough, Anya greeted the man warmly and said to him, "I'm happy you're not wearing the scowl of yesterday. Though I can understand that the foul sight in the valley beyond has warped everyone's faces into looks of disgust. i trust you are ready?"
"Indeed, I am," Junpei said and smiled just a little.
Tedrin looked about and found Sleza floating off by herself near Oleris. "Sleza," he called, "I'd like you over here as well...." Someone needed to include the little woman.
He looked about for Kurr and Ogava and trusted that he could catch them up as need-be. "Okay, we're going to go into the Wilds, keeping about ten feet between each other. i know there are natural predators in the wild in regards to you, Sleza, so I would ask that you would stay on someone's shoulder until we engage enemies and we need you. We're looking for anything out of order. Bodies, weapons of our enemies, anything... If it's too quiet in there then something is wrong. We will keep free of the Bogs....we just don't need that right now. We will look and whether we find what we're looking for or not, we will return to the camp rest, and move to Feneris to deliver the news of this....debacle..."
Anya asked, "What of our enemies?"
"They will most likely be insects as usual but there is a lot of animate plant-life and those Wilds are riddled with Reptilian enemies. We must be at our bests. I must speak with Thomlis and then we are leaving."

Sleza was distracted when she heard Tendrin call her over. She flew over and listened to his order, before nodding and finding her place on Junepei's shoulder, as it was where she was used to staying at this point. Hearing the words "natural predators" made her shiver a little. There were things out there that would just eat her? She shook her head and clung to Junepei even tighter. There was no way that she would be sleeping here, ever. She turned as Tendrin finished and smiled slightly. More big bugs, just what she wanted to hear. Now that she had gotten into the round with the giant spider, these things shouldn't bother her anymore. They might even be fun!

Sleza was still on Junpei's shoulder and the man was walking next to Tedrin. Anya was walking ahead of them, Oleris behind. Tedrin rested his wrist against the pommel of his long sword and he took a deep breath before saying, "I think we're all ready. Thomlis has his orders and I'm sure that he'll carry them out just as expected..."
Anya looked over her shoulder as she walked around a tent and asked, "Is there anyone else here that you want to take with us...?"
"No," Tedrin said. "Well, that is not entirely true. There are men that I would like to take with us but they will do more good here in case of an attack. I don't know how much good that will do if we have an event like that which killed the men in the valley. For crying out loud, there are ten thousand men down there, all dead, having killed each other, if not themselves in their blind insanity."
Oleris said, "Some that looked terrified somehow looked as if they were enjoying their deaths. Others that seemed as if they died of extreme pleasure...pleasure so great that their hearts were overwhelmed....but their eyes scream hatred and anger...."
Junpei shook his head and said, "The Gods were not with them..."
"What," Tedrin said, caught slightly off guard.
"The Gods...they were not in the valley with those men. The looks on their faces said that they not only felt pain, but they were consumed by an insanity so deep that even though they were in intense pain, they laughed as they died. I don't know of an evil that can twist men to such extents. To believe in the Gods means that you must believe in those that have the powers to oppose them, those that counter their goals. Whatever Gods would bring us to this point, others undeserving of the title but with similar powers have reached from within the belly of the whale to strike down all that can oppose..."
Tedrin thought about what Junpei said and then he smiled and said, "Well, they failed..."
"They have not. They have killed thousands of men."
"They did not kill me," Tedrin said. "Let's finish this."

"At the edge of the world," Tedrin said as the group stood at the edge of the forest. With the valley of death behind them, Anya relaxed and asked him, "What did you say..."
"What?" Tedrin said, as if he'd been in a trance. He shook off the fuzz and said, "Oh, I said 'at the edge of the world'."
"Why would you say that..."
"Well, because the first documented exploration of the Halimar Wilds was done by an excursion team hundreds of years ago. The leader and coordinator of the trip was known as Barton Greenwich. It was documented that when they arrived, he'd said that they were at the edge of the world. It's ironic, because he was the same man that said that you could take a voyage from the east coast of our lands and arrive at the west coast, suggesting that the world we live in is a giant sphere. Some believed that you could only go so far before you simply...fell off the edge of the world. he hadn't meant anything of the shape of the world at all. He'd simply been commenting on our need to explore. For Greenwich and his group, they were truly at the edge of what they'd seen. They were at the precipice, ready to cross into unknown territory..."
Anya smiled and looked toward the treeline. "Well, okay... Let's do Greenwich justice..."

The forest was dank, dark, musty. The trees were thick and tall but their branches curved down low, creating a very low ceiling of foliage. Creatures alerted their kind of intruders but it was nearly impossible to know where the snarls, whistles and warbles were coming from. There were eyes catching faint light in the distance. Tedrin slowed his pace as twigs snapped beneath his boot. He drew his long sword and the others drew their weapons as well. Anya drew an arrow back and lined up her sight with the arrow as a shadow passed in front of the group. Tedrin stopped, raising his weapon in front of himself and he told the others, "Keep your eyes open..."
Anya watched the woods with keen eyes, waiting for movement but nothing happened. She lowered the bow but kept the arrow in place as Tedrin stood erect and surveyed the darkness. A quick flutter in the darkness caused Anya to return her weapon to the ready and release the arrow. Then, it was quite. She'd pinned something to a tree and it was still slithering. Tedrin moved forward and set his blade aflame in order to see and he laughed as he realized what Anya had done. "You've...killed a big...bad..." he said and moved out of the way, "squirrel... Anya, what did this thing do to you? This is why the El'Dren hate us. We kill everything..."
Anya gave Tedrin a middle finger and he laughed before saying, "Okay, now, everyone spread out and look for anything out of the ordinary. El'Dren weapons, bodies, arrows in trees, blood trails... Let's get to it..."

(I tried to create a poll so we could all vote on what to find to change the story direction (but i couldn't) So, I'll put one here.
Just reply to the message after reading it. The path with the most votes gets used. I won't wait forever for replies.

((sorry to be tardy to the party but ill catch myself up now.))
Junpei couldn't muster a single word at the sight of so many dead men. His face was grim, his mouth felt dry. These men had killed each other, this wasn't the work of an enemy it was that of their own weapons. Junpei searched the battle field looking for the sight of a man that he hoped to himself he would not find, then he saw him laying there in the mud dead. It was his brother, not a brother of blood, rather a brother of spirit. They had been friends from a young age. "Serrik....." Was the only word he could manage. His friend had a spear run through his heart, but the expression on his face was twisted, it was like he was enjoying the slaughter of his comrades. Junpei knelt down and closed the man's eyes. He got back up, even with the eyes closed his friend did not look like he was at peace. Junpei could no longer contain his growing rage. He let loose an agonized cry and began punching a tree. "You bastard, you bastard, you bastard!" He shouted as the tree trunk turned to splinters beneath his enraged fists. He could not explain this to himself, what could cause these men to slay one another, but whatever the cause Junpei could never forgive.
Junpei had not been so talkative since the discovery of the bodies and did not care to do anything more than find those responsible for the massacre, whether it be forest folk or otherwise. Junpei had followed the orders of Tedrin closely, but avoided small talk with him for he did not want to be held responsible for what he would say to him by mistake. Tedrin had given the orders to go out and search for what they could find. Junpei was fine with that, he wanted to get to business anyway and had no desire to stay around and do nothing. Without a word he stood up and walked away from the others to look around.

(Looks like we're going to find the dead El'Dren and Punyimpas. Anyone that wants to post finding them can do so.)

As Anya walked away from the others she realized that her heart was racing. It was true, she was just scared. She hadn't been to the Halimar Wilds and being in the valley with all of those soldiers hadn't given her a positive first impression. She hated the way that she felt, like something would jump out and grab her at any moment, dragging her away where no one would be able to save her. She would be examined by some grotesque creature, its foul breath caressing her as the creature worked over her, peeking and prodding over every inch of her. The trees hardly moved but when they did they seemed to speak of an evil that they could not properly communicate. The air was wet and sticky, the smell of rotting underbrush and mold growing on trees was so poignant that it threatened to smother her. It was almost as if a rank mist permeated the bows of the forest, creeping into her throat and nostrils, reaching to wrench her breath from her. She gagged when she walked into a dusty, dark patch of moist clutter and sodden pine straw and fallen leaves but this smell was not shared with the rest of the forest. This terrified Anya. She wanted to run but she was locked in a vice. The trees seemed to lean in toward her, to whisper to her, mouths split in their bark and eyes peered from beneath leafy brows. Long, sinewy branches seemed to point Anya along her way. She couldn't stop walking.
The sodden earth beneath her emitted soft squishes as she moved but with each step, the foul odor emanated, swirling around her as if controlled mist, dancing about her body. In the darkness ahead she saw specters floating and they seemed to be coming toward her. Or was she simply moving toward them faster than she though she was? They were swaying, coming toward her, their hands limply at their sides. Then, there were small crunches beneath her feet. It was as if she was stepping on children of the very trees that were pointing her along her way. Then, she was allowed to stop. She released a soft, pent up gasp of fear. Her lips quivered and she thrust her hands to her mouth to quiet a scream. She took three steps back, the crunching sounding from beneath her feet. She looked down in horror to see the bodies of Punyimpa strewn against the earth. They were pinned to trees and some of them were caressing the heads of others whose bodies were not too far away. Anya took in a deep breath in order to scream but she found herself choking against the stench. The breath was driven from her. She just stared in disbelief as her chest heaved and she began to suck in gulps of air but none would calm her. She began to mutter to herself as she realized that the specters ahead of her were carcases. They were El'Dren, they were the dead; they'd been hung by bow string or held up by spears through the rectum.
Who would do this? What would do this? Anya whimpered, backing away but as she turned to run and scream, she found her face in Tedrin's chest. She went limp, the tears flowed, her chest felt as if someone had slammed into her with a hammer. She released a long, pent-up breath and as Tedrin dropped to his knees, taking her with him, she curled against him and just screamed. The forest would know her sadness.

Junpei had been walking for sometime, he hadn't found anything just trees. The quiet of the night was almost maddening, he could practically hear his own rage inside of him like a thousand fires burning at once. He wanted nothing more than simply to curse and beat another tree to vent but he knew that would solve nothing. His eyes searched for answers but instead found the bodies of Punyimpa that sit dead in the mud. He diverted his eyes briefly to come to terms with what he had seen. When he looked back it was clear that these little ones had slain each other. His rage boiled inside of him, his whole body shook as he tried to keep from exploding and attacking another tree. "Who would do this...." He managed through gritted teeth. The sight of the poor Punyimpa being hideously slaughtered made him burn inside, burn with a passion for revenge, a passion he had not been exposed to before. Then he thought of the Punyimpa that was with their group. These were her own kind and soon he would have to witness the injustice of another seeing her own slain. He clenched his fist so tight that his knuckles were white under his gauntlets. He viewed most evil deeds as ones that deserved punishments, but this new feeling that filled him was something else, he desired nothing more than to take the life of the scum that could do this. He was furious but could do nothing, so he did the only thing he could manage. He let loose an enraged roar.

(I shouldn't even post after that...)

Oleris was shaken by Anya's scream; but it only drew his attention from the dead he'd found. There were pieces of an El'Dren thrown against tree trunks or hanging from limbs and there were Punyimpas hanging from bow strings and there were even those lying in the dirt, covering mud and blood, their wings ripped from their bodies. The deeper that Oleris looked into the forest, the more dead that he could see. They were everywhere. A bloody war had been averted, that was true. But at what cost? It appeared as if both forces that were meant to participate had been made to kill one another. There were no Engineer weapons, no arrows in trees. Oleris walked further to survey the carnage and he saw that an El'Dren was on his knees, holding to dead Punyimpas in his fist. He'd squeezed them to death. Next to him were two Punyimpas. They were dead as well but in their arms were eyeballs, clutched, almost lovingly, as if children. The El'Dren's head was down but there was no stretch of the imagination needed to guess that the dead El'Dren was missing his eyes. There was a soft giggle in the forest ahead of Oleris but he began to walk back. He wanted to meet up with the others. There were no Gods at work here...only demons...

Sleza sat on Junepei's shoulder as the group marched along. Her mind was still somewhere else, back with all of the fallen Val. She wanted to know why her mind was so unfazed by the death, why she was so unfazed by war and fighting. She had noticed that the shoulder she was sitting on didn't feel quite the same. It was low, slouched down. Almost as though it's master had lost the excitement he once felt. She considered asking him what had happened, because she wanted to make him feel better. She wanted to make him go back to the way he was before, but what could she do? She couldn't even sympathize, because she didn't feel the same way. She hugged her knees and let out a small sigh. The air here was putrid. Back at the camp they had burned incense, which were supposed to cover up the smell, but they had only made the death smell a little sweeter. Out here, the smell was uncovered, which was almost better from Sleza's point of view. She would rather face the death then try to cover it up. It once again brought her back to the death and why she was left uncaring...

Suddenly, she was faced with something else to look at. The trees had bodies pinned to them, bodies with crazed expression, corpses trying to comfort each other. They were different this time though, because they were Punyimpas. She looked down as if she was going to cry, but once again, nothing came. She looked up; taking in the view. Her own people were dead, why didn't she care? With an angered expression she flew off of Junepei's shoulder and up to one of the bodies pinned to the trees.

"Dammit!" She screamed to herself. It was bothering her now. She wanted to cry, like Anya. She wanted to feel sad like Junepei. Why couldn't she? "Why don't I care! For all I know, you could be my father or something! Why don't I care that you're all dead?!" She flew around in a huff, examining some of the bodies in hopes of making herself upset, but nothing happened. She eventually landed on the ground beside a corpse of a Punyimpa that seemed to have once been a young boy. She looked down at the him and sighed.

"Why don't I care when I want to?"

Balthazar took Tedrin's orders, stepping off behind a brush at the back of the group. He walked as quietly as he could; examining everything he saw. For the first while the only thing that would catch his eye was the slight scurry of something in the corner of his eye. Once, off to his left, he thought he heard someone cough; and then a half minute later, some far off creature screamed. He lifted some low hanging vines and looked out ahead of him. What he saw made him stop in his tracks. Ahead of him there was a massive pile of naked Punyimpa corpses; black with decay, oozing forest molds just touching at the base of the pile. Balthazar braved forward, approaching it; the squishy marsh ground beneath his feet adding to the racing thoughts inside his mind. When he'd reached the pile, he had to bring a hand to his throat in order to prevent himself from gagging. The small creatures were torn to shreds, mangled in grotesque ways; one dead reaching inside the body cavity of another... It was terrible. But it grew in its atrocity as Balthazar slowly came to the realization that the corpses had not been placed there. They had brought themselves there. An unwelcome image of the still living punyimpas writhing over each other, bathing in the blood of the one next to them as they slit their abdomen open, or another spilling his own intestines and feeding them to another... The foul orgy pile faded from Balthazar's mind as quickly as it had come; but it was too late, and it had left a scar on his soul.

Balthazar The Reknown, one never known to retreat, decided that backing away - for once - was the most sane thing he'd ever done. The Drag'Konin slipped through the vine curtain he'd come through, blocking the sight from his eyes and granting him respite. Even so, the Knight shivered as if someone had just walked over his grave. He took a breath to compose himself; before trudging off back towards the vicinity of the group.
The Knight suddenly felt very alone.

(Wow, you guys. That was some amazing work...)

Tedrin lead Anya away from the grave-like pathway and he allowed her to sit against a tree as she sobbed to herself. Tedrin took a deep breath, calming himself before he asked her if she was okay. through sobs she managed to choke out, "I'm...I'm okay, Teddy, I just- Tedrin, how could thi-"
The tears came again and Tedrin was on his knees, pulling Anya close. In most cases he would not have done this but there was no helping this, there was nothing that could be done aside from to allow them to grieve. Tedrin was not an evil man. Whatever force had done this was evil. That was for damned sure. Tedrin blew an angry breath through his nose as Anya asked him, "Can we even combat this evil that would do this, Tedrin? I can't stand the thought of killing you, of firing arrows into Junpei, of Oleris squeezing the life from my thr-"
"That's not going to happen," Tedrin said, cutting the hysterical woman off. But he didn't know that. He was lying to her. But that was what she needed and there was nothing that he could do about that. She began to jerk as she began to cry again and he wondered what it was about this sight that was so painful that it had this reaction on them. Why hadn't the sight in the valley had this effect? Could one really feel for his enemy so? They'd been angry when they'd found their own comrades, their own countrymen. But to find the enemy, in their own home, slaughtered, drained of blood, made to kill one another, had hurt much more deeply. Such small, happy creatures found with their heads removed, swimming bodies in pools of blood. Some of them had even been choked with their own wings. They'd died, with stares of pure joy on their faces, with their own wings shoved down their throats. This didn't make any sense. He found himself squeezing Anya. But she didn't seem to mind. He left her to her own tears and he found a place to be alone. He clinched his fists and smashed one against a tree with so much force that he splintered it.
His face contorted with anger and he dropped to his knees. He looked down at his gauntlets and his fists erupted with flames. He stared into the darkness of the forest and found himself staring through white hot flames that swirled around his body, burning away the brush, causing the earth beneath him to dry out, to crack, turning to glass.
he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the crackling earth and he simply said, "I don't know if anyone is listening to me... For I have never asked of anything....from any God. But if you are there...if you can hear me, please give me the strength to avenge these deaths..."
Anya screamed Tedrin's name and when he jerked up, the flames extinguishing, a large, strange figure was floating between the trees toward him.

Tedrin gasped as the being whispered, "I knoooow whaaaaat yoooou seeeeek, Siiiiiir Teeeedriiiin..."
Tedrin was quick to his feet. He took a few steps and found Anya's arms wrapping around his left arm. "Who are you...?"
"I aaaaam the spiiiiriiiit of thiiiis foreeeeesst... And a deeeemoooon haaaas coooome heeerrreee..."
"Why....why did he do this...?" Anya asked.
As the being began to speak again, the others found their way to them. The Forest Spirit smiled as they neared and though it was an ugly old smile, it made Tedrin feel better. "Theeee deeemooon waaants to corruuuuupt....eeeveeerythiiing thaaaat iiisss heeerreee..."
"Why?"
"Heeee haaaas beeeen tooolddd to doo....sooooo"
The spirit moved closer to Tedrin, grabbed the tree next to him and wrapped its spectral body around it, taking hold with both of its gnarly hands before leaning in, its face only inches from Tedrin's. "Kiiiiill iiiiittttt..."
"How do we find it...?"
"It seeeennnddds creeeaatuuuures to defiiiilllle my laaaannddds frooommm the Boooggsss... Gooooo"
"Okay... We will go..."
"Buuut yoooou muuuust kiiiiilll....hiiiis....chaaammpiiiooonn..." the spirit said and turned toward Anya. It released the tree, disappeared and appeared again, hanging on to a tree above Oleris' shoulder. "The creeeaaatuuuree is taaaallleeer thaaaaan thiiiis oooone heeeerreee... Buuuut yoooou haaaave yoooouuur reeeee-ssssooooolve... Goooo.... Aveeeenge uuuusss..."
With that, the creature released the tree and was gone.
Tedrin was silent just as the others. He took a deep breath but before he could speak, Anya yelled, "What the fuck, Tedrin!?"
Tedrin shook his head and said, "It looks like we're going to the Bogs of Halimar..."
"But don't we need to go to Feneris," Junpei asked.
"Yes, but this cannot wait. We must go after this demon..."
"Tedrin, I-"
Furious, Tedrin turned to Anya and yelled, "Do you see what he has done!? Do you see how those people have slaughtered each other. They have pulled out their own entrails, they have slit their own throats, smothered their friends and comrades and you dare question me!? Don't you dare, Anya, I swear to the Gods you should think against it! I will not allow this to continue! This thing will die...even if I have to choke the life from its body with my own hands! If you have an issue with it, then go back, run, go to Feneris! Be my guest! I am going into the Bogs. I will find this thing...and I will return its lifeless body to these God forsaken trees. These people need vengeance. There are over ten thousand beings that need this and I am going..."
With that, Tedrin walked around Anya and began trekking through the forest.

(If all characters follow Tedrin, Anya will as well. If anyone wants to go to Feneris, then you may elect to do so, and continue with Anya.)

Junpei watched as the small Punyimpa flew to her own kind. He didn't bother to listen to her reaction as it would only serve to anger him more. He met with Tedrin and Anya. It seemed that he wasn't the only one enraged, but the way Tedrin expressed it made him doubt the man. It was true he was burning with rage but to set the ground ablaze was nothing more than a childlike tantrum. He felt distaste in himself for looking down on the man, but how could he not? He choose to put those feelings aside and ready himself for that which was responsible. A strange creature appeared before them making accusations of a demon that sought to destroy the forest. His rage flared again, demons were creatures that had no place in a world of man. They had no regard for virtue which had been made evident by its careless slaughter of the rival factions. Junpei had made the suggestion of them returning to Feneris so that he could face it alone. He failed to tempt them, only Anya was swayed. Tedrin seemed determined to go to the bog and fight. Junpei stood beside Tedrin and spoke not looking him in the eye. "That creature just now, I have seen nothing like it before. If we do encounter the demon it is likely that they are allied if that is the case we will have walked into a trap. Perhaps those in control of our tempers should be the ones to continue." His voice was cold and accusing, he didn't know why he felt so angered by Tedrin's outburst, but it was certain that Junpei would not allow him to slay the demon responsible. It would be him.