The mist clung to them as they passed through the narrow gorge at the Vale’s edge. The path was slick with moss, and water trickled down the cliffs in silver threads. Ryan led with careful steps, his hand steady around Olivia’s. Behind them, Kael moved in silence, spear angled to guard their backs, while Maya picked her way with restless vigilance.When the gorge finally widened, the land changed. The air grew warmer, thick with the scent of pine and wildflowers. Grasslands rolled outward in soft waves, dotted with clusters of dark trees. Beyond them, the world stretched vast and open beneath a pale blue sky.Ryan stopped, breathing deeply. After days of jagged peaks and haunted ruins, the lowlands seemed impossibly alive. Birds wheeled overhead, their cries sharp and free. A breeze tugged at his cloak, stirring sparks along his skin.Olivia exhaled a small laugh of wonder. “It feels… lighter here.”Kael was less impressed. His gaze swept the horizon, sharp and assessing. “And exposed

The forest was not quiet for long.Even as the last of the Shadow Priests crumbled into ash, the woods whispered with fresh movement. Ryan’s storm tingled against his skin, warning him before sound or sight revealed anything. The Dominion wasn’t finished.Kael was already scanning the treetops, his voice clipped. “Scouts. Archers. They’ll tighten the noose.”Maya pulled a knife from her belt, spinning it between her fingers as if to steady her nerves. “We can’t linger. They’ll herd us if we move too slow.”Ryan glanced at Olivia. She was pale, but her jaw was set, her wounded arm held close. Her spark still hummed through the bond, faint but steady, feeding his strength. He felt her faith in him — a fragile light, but powerful.“We move,” he said firmly. “Now.”They pressed deeper into the forest, branches snapping beneath their boots, wet leaves slapping against their cloaks. The rain had stopped, leaving the air heavy, thick with damp earth and the lingering tang of lightning.Maya

The Dominion camp sprawled like a wound across the forest clearing. Rows of black tents stretched in neat lines, each marked with the hawk emblem that gleamed silver beneath torchlight. Smoke curled from iron braziers, the acrid scent of burning herbs carried on the night breeze.At the camp’s center rose the command pavilion, taller than the rest, its canvas stitched with golden thread. Soldiers in dark mail moved constantly at its edges, their boots stamping a rhythm of order and fear.Inside, the air was thick with incense and steel. Maps were spread across a massive oak table, pins marking trails through the Vale. A lantern swung gently from the central pole, throwing long shadows over the men and women gathered within.Commander Icarus leaned over the map, his gauntleted hand pressing hard against the parchment. His hawk mask, wrought from iron and etched with crimson runes, lay on the table beside him. His face was bare tonight, sharp and severe, eye