The Dazhum were tired of bleeding.
Six days. Six failed assaults. Six thousand dead or missing. The Misty Grove had become a shrine to their humiliation, a tangle of mist, dead trees, and corpses too ruined to bury. The crows circled endlessly now, too fat to fly far, waiting for the next feast.
So General Arkat, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Western Spearhead, changed tactics.
He ordered the building of a bridge—not across water, but over earth.
It was an old tactic. One his ancestors had used during the Siege of Morath-Kan in the west, during the early days of the Dazhum Empire's continental expansion. If they could not breach the Misty Grove through force, they would remake the land itself. They would climb over its bones.
The order was issued on the seventh day.
Engineers and labor legions moved first. Slaves, criminals, and auxiliary workers drove shovels into the frostbitten ground, piling stone and soil, building a great rampart toward the raised forest where Altan's forces had withdrawn. A land-bridge, wide enough for two legions to march abreast. Thousands worked in shifts. They moved under vast shield canopies lined with sigils, magical runes etched into bronze to deflect arrows and rainfire.
It was brutal work. Men froze in the night, died of exhaustion, or were buried under collapsed segments. Still, the ramp grew.
When the lookouts saw the earthworks rising, panic swept through the lower ranks of Altan's coalition.
They watched the Dazhum army reach into the sky with towers of earth and iron.
Altan stood on a ridge with his wardens.
The morning frost had not yet melted, and mist still curled around the blackened trunks at the edge of the Grove. A crow with three eyes perched on his shoulder, feathers slick with red. None dared shoo it away. Not after what it had done.
Stormwake, commander of the Qorjin-Ke scouts, tilted his head. "That the same crow?"
Altan didn't look away from the horizon. "He's been with me ever since the Grove turned red. Watches. Waits. Like he knows what comes next."
No one laughed.
The others stood in silence: Nyzekh, dark elf lord of the Virak'tai legions, arms crossed, face painted in war ash. Bruga, barbarian war-chief of the Skarnulf Clans, his axe taller than most men. Commander Varin of the Free Cities, still armored and bloodstained. Wen Tu, Stormcaster of the elemental circles, hood shadowing his cracked lips. Daalo, squat and grinning, still chewing pine resin as he drafted new killzone plans. Ryoku, silent as always, spear planted in the ground.
Altan's voice was low. "They're not crossing the trench. They're filling it. One stone at a time."
"Shielded builders," Varin spat. "Of course. They always did prefer slow slaughter."
Bruga said nothing, but his gaze burned.
"No," Altan said. "They want us to bleed again. Another grove. Another ambush. They want us to hold our ground and die in it."
Wen Tu stepped forward. "Then we burn the ramp."
Altan nodded. "And they'll rebuild it. That ramp is a message. They'll raise the land until it scrapes the gods. They're telling us: We won't stop."
No one spoke.
Stormwake squinted. "So we move?"
"We fall back."
"Strategist's truth," Altan replied. "They'll breach the Grove within two days. When they do, they'll slaughter us to the last. The caldera gives us higher ground. Better positions. Stronger trenches. And the ash trees there can't burn."
Daalo grinned. "The dead roots in that place eat arrows."
"Exactly."
Altan faced them. The crow on his shoulder cawed once, sharp and dry.
"We withdraw by nightfall. Everything we cannot carry—we burn."
That evening, beneath banners of ash and mist, the horns of withdrawal sounded. Not in panic. Not in rout. In discipline. Like an army in step with death.
Stormguard shield walls turned and marched in silence. Skarnulf warriors followed, dragging wounded, hoisting war drums on their backs. The Virak'tai vanished into shadows. Free Cities regulars formed the rear guard under Commander Varin—a grizzled officer of the southern garrisons, who had once held the passes of Marinth with only ash walls and sandbags. Even the engineers abandoned their works, burning what could not be carried.
By nightfall, the Misty Grove was abandoned. The Dazhum scouts crept forward, finding only cold fires and broken watchtowers. But their path now stood open.
The land bridge was finished by morning.
And by morning, the Grove was silent.
The crows had all flown.
But not all shadows had left. In the high branches and hollows, the Virak'tai remained.
The dark elves did not retreat.
They hunted.
As the Dazhum moved in to claim the Grove, the Virak'tai struck with knives, poison darts, and burning oil. They hit supply trains, slashed tethers on warbeasts, ambushed patrols, and vanished. Always unseen. Always fatal. Never still.
For the Dazhum, there would be no peace beneath the trees. Only delay. Only death in the fog.
The Grove had been abandoned.
But it had not been given.
Author's Note: Casualty Ledger of the Six Days War
The Six Days War was not a battle; it was a reckoning. A campaign of precision, fire, and misdirection that ground one empire into ash. Due to the iron discipline of Altan's forces, especially the Stormguards, many of the engagements were one-sided slaughters. What follows is a record of the butcher's bill:
Dazhum Empire Dead:
Day 1 – Misty Grove Massacre: ~24,000 dead (4 entire legions lost)
Day 2 – Insect Sabotage: ~1,000 dead
Day 3 – Hills Ambushes: ~2,500 dead
Day 4 – Southern Shore Slaughter: ~3,500 dead
Day 5 – Napalm Bombardment (failed attack): ~200 dead
Day 6 – Siege and Bruga's Counterattack: ~6,500 dead
Total Estimated Dazhum Dead: ~37,700
Altan's Coalition Dead (Stormguard, Virak'tai, Skarnulf, Free Cities):
~2,000 killed on Day 1 in frontline clashes
~700 during the hill skirmishes
~200 on Day 4 defensive maneuvers
No more than 50 during Day 5 fire warding
~1,800 during Day 6 trench warfare
Total Estimated Coalition Dead: ~4,750
The Misty Grove bled both armies. But only one side left its bones behind.
Remaining Dazhum Forces:
Initial strength: 20 human legions and 2 high elven legions
After six days:
– 15 human legions remain combat-capable
– 2 high elven legions remain, though depleted
Altan's United Gale Forces – Deployed Order of Battle:
Nyzekh – Commander of the Virak'tai Legions (3 legions)
Bruga – Warlord of the Skarnulf Clans (3 legions)
Stormwake – Silent Hand of the Qorjin-Ke elite scouts (1,000)
Wen Tu – Grandmaster of the Stormcasters (battle mages and elementalists)
Daalo – Chief Engineer of siegecraft and arcane logistics
Commander Varin – Field Marshal of the Free Cities Regular Army (3 legions)
Ryoku – Warden of the Stormriders (3 cavalry legions: 1 heavy, 2 light)
Deployed Forces Remaining After Six Days:
Virak'tai Legions: ~2.5 legions
Skarnulf Clans: ~2.5 legions
Stormguard Infantry: ~3.5 legions
Stormriders Cavalry: ~2.5 legions
Free Cities Regulars: ~2.3 to 2.5 legions
Stormcasters (mages): ~700 to 800 battle-capable
Qorjin-Ke Scouts: ~1,000 active scouts
Estimated total combat legions remaining: ~13.3 to 13.5
Support and elite units remain largely intact and operational.