The Hydra held. Damaged, diminished, two heads instead of three — but it held.
The Thornwyrm pulled back. Not because it was beaten — the living wood divine creature was still functional, its Growth-domain regeneration slowly sealing the burns and splits that the Hydra's lightning and teeth had torn open. It pulled back because Siltjaw, the Frogman Warden, felt the shift in battlefield momentum and made the decision that professional handlers made when both creatures were spent: disengage, regroup, survive to fight again.
The Hydra didn't pursue. Gorthan held the creature at the grassland position, two heads coiled defensively, golden eyes tracking the Thornwyrm's retreat with the focused hostility of a predator that had been hurt and remembered it.
