"When the Shadowpaw fights alone, he dies brave.
When the pack hunts as one, they feast eternal.
But when pack bleeds defending their own?
That bleeding writes songs that outlive stone."
— Stoneback Proverb, Age of First Clans
battle erupted.
no warning. no horn. just thirty warriors surging forward like flood.
meera's voice cut through: "HOLD POSITIONS! LET THEM COMMIT!"
first wave hit walls. ten warriors. testing defenses. probing weaknesses.
siege ladder raised against northeast section. exactly where grat said to position it.
except they'd moved it three feet inward.
ladder hit air. warriors climbing nothing. confused. exposed.
"NOW!" meera called.
tor released support beam—deliberate weakness built into wall section. wood snapped. warriors fell backward. hard.
rion appeared overhead. dropped burning bundle. oil-soaked cloth landing on clustered targets.
whoosh.
flames spread.
smell immediate. burnt fur. burnt flesh. screaming.
first blood drawn. bloodforge blood.
Scene: Poison and Pack Tactics — Goal: Repel First Wave | Conflict: coordinated Attack | Result: Four Down, Six Retreating
warriors scattered from fire. regrouping. smarter than expected.
four split left. trying flanking.
arin and elyx waiting.
pack tactics kael taught them. synchronized movement. two bodies thinking as one.
arin high. drew attention. aggressive. loud.
elyx low. circled unnoticed. silent. deadly.
warrior focused on arin—male threat, obvious danger.
elyx struck from behind. claws finding spine between armor plates.
warrior dropped. paralyzed. dying.
second warrior saw. turned. too slow.
arin from above. momentum and gravity and fury. claws raking throat.
blood spray. hot copper smell mixing with dust.
third and fourth warriors engaged together. smarter. covering each other.
then sivan appeared.
serpent's kin moving like water. like shadow. there then gone then there.
poison dart from blowgun.
hit exposed neck. contact toxin absorbing through skin.
warrior clawed at injection site. stumbled. vision failing. "I can't see I can't—" collapsed. convulsing.
sivan already gone. moving to next target.
fourth warrior ran. saw two packmates dead, one dying, and decided survival beat orders.
first deserter.
not last.
meera watched from platform. tracking. coordinating. "ZIRA! HARASS THE RIGHT FLANK!"
windborn female dove. stones dropping. not fatal. just painful. distracting. breaking formation.
warriors ducked. covered heads. lost cohesion.
"DRAYN! FIRE LINE!"
emberborn released prepared trap. trench they'd dug filled with oil and tinder. one torch.
whooomph.
wall of fire separating attackers. heat washing over walls. warriors fell back. shielding faces.
first wave broken.
four dead. six retreating. blood and fire and screaming.
ten minutes. felt like hours.
Scene: Varak's Assessment — Goal: Regroup | Conflict: Commander Analyzing | Result: Escalation Planned
varak watched from ridge. expression unreadable.
beside him, lieutenant spoke. "they're more organized than reported."
"because they're more desperate. corners prey fights hardest." varak studied walls. "but also smarter. that trap was planned. the ladder failure. the fire-line. coordinated defense."
"grat's information was wrong."
"grat's information was three days old. they adapted." something like respect flickered across scarred face. "the human is leading well. tactical mind. makes her dangerous."
"we could withdraw. find easier—"
"no." absolute. alpha command. "I said I'd crush this settlement. I keep my word. and besides—" varak smiled. cold. "she killed my pride. called me murderer. said the idea survived. can't have that. ideas are more dangerous than walls."
lieutenant nodded. "second wave?"
"twenty warriors. all at once. overwhelm. they can't defend everywhere simultaneously."
"and the human?"
"alive. I want her to watch her friends die. then we'll talk about her father and ideas and what happens to those who resist."
signal given.
twenty warriors assembled.
battle continuing.
Scene: The Second Assault — Goal: Hold Walls | Conflict: Overwhelming Numbers | Result: Walls Crack, Casualties Mount
twenty warriors charged.
coordinated. professional. brutal.
they hit four points simultaneously. dividing defenders. forcing choices.
meera screamed coordinates. "TOR—NORTHEAST! KAEL—GATE! ARIN—COVER WEST!"
people scattered. running to positions. exhausted already. battle just started.
tor positioned himself at cracking wall section. five warriors battering same point. stone foundation holding. mud brick above failing.
he braced himself. back against wall. became living buttress.
warriors hit. crunch. wall shuddered. held.
hit again. tor's face twisted. pain. every impact transferring through stone skin into flesh beneath.
"I've got it," he growled. "hit them. I'll hold."
arin appeared. bow drawn. shot through gaps. arrows finding warriors. not kills. wounds. slowing them.
kael at gate. three warriors trying to breach. battering ram improvised from tree trunk.
boom. boom. boom.
gate shuddered. drayn's metal brackets groaning.
kael met them when they broke through. barely.
close combat. brutal. claws and teeth and three years of rage focused into violence.
first warrior went down throat torn. second lost arm. third—
fresh. faster. skilled.
they traded blows. kael giving ground. ribs screaming. chest wound reopening. blood seeping.
drayn appeared beside him. hammer swinging.
crack.
warrior's skull caved. dropped instant.
"we're pack," drayn said. simple. helping kael stand. "you don't fight alone anymore."
west wall—elyx holding four warriors. alone. too many.
she fought brilliant. desperate. pack tactics without pack.
but four to one math inevitable.
they overwhelmed her. dragging down. blades finding gaps in flesh.
"ELYX!" arin's scream. pack-grief raw.
he ran. abandoning position. charging across battlefield. stupid. necessary.
tackled warrior off his sister. claws ripping. pure feral fury.
elyx gasped. bleeding from chest. shoulder. leg. "arin... run..."
"never." he stood over her. protective. facing three warriors. "you run or you die here."
they chose fight.
he took two with him when he fell.
Scene: Meera's Choice — Goal: Save or Command | Conflict: Heart vs Duty | Result: Tactical Decision, Personal Cost
meera watched arin fall. watched elyx dying underneath. watched pack being slaughtered.
every instinct screaming help them.
commander instinct louder: you leave platform, coordination fails, everyone dies.
choice. impossible choice.
heart versus survival.
she chose survival.
"SIVAN! WEST WALL! ARIN AND ELYX DOWN!"
serpent's kin ran. medical kit bouncing. disappeared into chaos.
meera returned to coordination. tracking. calling positions.
but part of her died making that choice.
I let them fight alone. let them fall. commanded instead of helped.
leader's burden. necessary. still hurt.
she pushed it down. focused.
"RION! DROP SMOKE BOMBS! OBSCURE THEIR VIEW!"
windborn appeared. dropped clay pots filled with damp moss and herbs. smashed on ground. smoke billowing. thick. choking.
warriors stumbled. coughing. visibility gone.
"NOW! WHILE THEY'RE BLIND! COUNTERATTACK!"
tor charged. massive. using smoke as cover. grabbed two warriors. slammed together. dropped them. moved to next.
drayn with torch. setting warriors ablaze through smoke. screams. panic.
kael coordinating with arin—no, arin was down. kael alone. fighting three. holding position through sheer stubbornness.
battle descended into chaos. smoke everywhere. screaming. blood smell overwhelming.
meera lost sight of people. firing arrows blind. hoping. praying.
then smoke cleared.
warrior standing ten feet from her platform. bow drawn. aimed at her heart.
time slowed.
she saw arrow. saw trajectory. saw death.
couldn't move fast enough.
Scene: The Young Warrior's Debt — Goal: Survive | Conflict: Mercy Returns | Result: Unexpected Ally
figure appeared between them.
young bloodforge warrior. the one she'd spared yesterday. the one carrying wounded brother.
he tackled archer. spoiling shot.
arrow flew wild. hit platform support. thunk.
young warrior fighting his own packmate. confusion. betrayal. desperation.
"YOU SPARED ME!" he screamed at archer. at varak. at bloodforge army. "SHE COULD'VE KILLED US! SHE DIDN'T! SHE'S WORTH DYING FOR!"
archer kicked him off. raised blade. fury in face. "TRAITOR!"
meera's arrow took archer in throat. point-blank. clean kill.
pull from shoulder.
young warrior stared. disbelief. gratitude. determination.
"I'm fighting FOR you now," he said. grabbed fallen archer's weapon. turned to face bloodforge. "changed my mind. name's thorn. I choose this pack."
couldn't process. no time.
"welcome to stupid side," meera gasped. "defend west wall. help sivan with wounded."
"yes alpha!" he ran.
new ally from old enemy. compassion returning dividends.
dad. you were right. mercy isn't weakness.
Scene: The Breaking Point — Goal: Survive Onslaught | Conflict: Exhaustion and Numbers | Result: First Death, Walls Hold Barely
twenty warriors became fifteen. became twelve. became eight.
defense working. barely.
but cost showing.
arin unconscious. bleeding. sivan working frantically.
elyx—
gone.
bleeding out in arin's arms despite sivan's desperate work.
"tell... him..." she couldn't finish. died mid-word.
arin's howl split air. grief given voice. primal. soul-breaking.
first death of family. wouldn't be last.
silence.
absolute. impossible. wrong.
battle paused. warriors stopped mid-strike. everyone— attackers, defenders, dying, living—frozen.
because that howl carried something beyond sound. beyond language. pain so fundamental it transcended species. transcended enemy lines. transcended war.
ten seconds.
felt eternal.
bloodforge warriors stared. some faces showing recognition. they'd lost packmates too. knew that sound. that grief.
tor's stone face cracked. literal tears cutting through dust. remembering isla. remembering loss that broke him.
kael closed eyes. pack-grief resonating. every shadowpaw within hearing felt it. bone-deep. ancient. shared.
drayn's hands stopped heating. remembering sora's death. that same howl escaping his throat three years ago.
sivan scales went translucent. medical detachment crumbling. person beneath professional breaking surface.
meera's arrow fell from numb fingers. watching arin clutch elyx's cooling body. watching brother lose sister. watching family end.
this was cost. real cost. not abstract tactics. not acceptable losses.
person. dead. gone. never returning.
she'd commanded this. kept arin and elyx at west wall. chose coordination over rescue. let them fight alone.
and elyx died.
meera's choice. meera's
cost. meera's—
"KEEP FIGHTING!" she screamed. voice raw. breaking. desperate. "SHE DIED FOR THIS! HONOR HER! KEEP—"
couldn't finish. throat closing. tears blurring vision.
but pack heard. pack moved.
battle resumed.
stillness shattered. violence returning. war continuing despite grief. because grief was luxury they couldn't afford.
yet.
kael fighting five warriors now. moving slower. losing ground. blood everywhere.
tor's wall section cracked. finally. stone skin holding but structural integrity failing.
"I'M LOSING IT!" he roared.
"EVERYONE FALL BACK TO SECOND LINE!" meera commanded. voice cracking. "ABANDON OUTER WALL! REGROUP!"
people retreated. carrying wounded. dragging dead. chaos. organized chaos. survival.
second inner wall held. narrower. easier to defend.
eight bloodforge warriors remained from twenty.
they retreated. dragging own dead. reassessing.
breathing room. brief. precious.
meera climbed down. legs shaking. body screaming.
found sivan working on kael. chest wound reopened completely. blood pumping.
"he's lost too much," sivan whispered. "I can slow it. can't stop it. he needs real medicine. rest. time."
"how long can he fight?"
"minutes. maybe hour. then he dies regardless of wounds. just collapse."
kael's eyes opened. amber fire dimming. "I heard that. I'm fighting. till I die or they do."
"kael—"
"no discussion." tried to sit up. couldn't. drayn helped him. "pack needs alpha. I'm alpha. I fight."
couldn't argue. wouldn't win.
meera looked around second defensive line.
ten standing. arin unconscious. elyx dead. kael dying. everyone wounded.
against varak's remaining twenty warriors. fresh. organized. angry.
math worse than before.
"we can't hold another wave," tor said. quiet. simple truth.
"then we make them pay for breaking us," drayn responded. heating hands. last forge-fire.
"together," sivan agreed. scales dull. venom depleted.
"to the end," rion added. wing broken again. couldn't fly. still standing.
thorn—new ally—nodded. "together. whatever that means. I'm in."
pack pact renewed through blood and death and desperation.
meera touched mother's beads. eighteen beads. nineteen now. elyx added to count.
how many more before this ends?
sun setting red again. battle paused for darkness.
varak's voice carried across blood-soaked ground.
"tomorrow I finish this. rest tonight. die tomorrow."
promise. not threat.
meera looked at her Nine surviving defenders. ten counting thorn.
versus twenty warriors plus varak.
tomorrow they died.
or tomorrow they won.
one or the other.
no middle ground in wasteland.
she touched bow. twenty arrows started with. three remained.
three arrows. ten people. one impossible victory.
"get rest," she commanded. voice steady despite shaking hands. "eat if you can. tomorrow we end this."
one way or another.
End of Chapter 10