GRRRR!
The night split open with a roar.
The Verdant Warden Thorn Crown Behemoth had arrived.
From the south horizon, its shadow rose taller than towers. Its body was jagged, a fortress of living thorn and bark plated with stone. Each step cracked the earth. Each breath made the Rootsite's moss-lamps flicker.
When it bellowed again, walls rattled, dust falling from their joints. Even the bunkers below shuddered.
On the south wall, Clayton stood with his warriors. His hand tightened around Regalia, its shaft glowing faintly in spear-form.
This was not another raid, neither was it a scouting party. This was the kind of monster that could level a city if it chose.
Clayton's eyes were calm and composed, but deeply burning with fire to protect his domain.
The Behemoth trudged closer, spines glinting like hundreds of spears. Its red ember-eyes fixed on the Spire at the Rootsite's center.
"It knows where the heart is," Soren muttered from the line.
