(V2) Chapter 1 - Death's Omen

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<3rd POV>

Once Redline was in the clear they took her to the emergency infirmary tents the Guard set up near the western entrance of the Sanctuary. They took her from the quartet and rushed her to another area of the tent where a barrier field went up shortly afterward, allowing no one but those strong enough to break or teleport through the barrier in. Freija, Wreign, Slythr, and Sleeper all looked at the erected barrier with worry, it was a Healing Field barrier mixed with that of a tier three Reflection Barrier but that wasn't strong enough to keep the four of them out if the worked together to break it.

What they were worried about was Red's condition. She was hurt badly by those mines, both of her legs looked unrecoverable and all of them knew that if anything went wrong in that field Poppa was going to tear apart the entire country looking for the leader of whoever was behind this attack, and there were very few in the city of Forge that could stand a chance at stopping him...

Freija and Wreign were corralled away by the other two of their friends to another area of the tent: near enough that both could intervene if necessary but far enough that they weren't able to actually see the active Barriers. Slythr got out a Blue-Green Crystal shaped similar to a gem and he injected a bit of mana into it, the Crystal dully hummed as the target of it's user's mana was reached through a crystal near to them and as soon as it picked up the deep commanding voice of 'The Incinerator' came through from the other end.

"Who's this?" His growl shook everyone to their core and both Wreign and Freija found themselves unable to look in Slythr's general direction while the call was ongoing.

"Slythr." The Alligator-Kin's own deep gravelly voice answered, "Bad Fight. Redline Injured..." The call ended immediately with the Oni's grip having shattered the Crystal on the other end, and Slythr felt an unstoppable force tugging on his mana to follow the source back to where they were.

Not a moment later the giant Red figure of Poppa was seen standing in the center of the resting area they'd found and he immediately made a bee-line over to where the Barriers were before (Teleport)ing inside effortlessly and making his way through the enclosed area beyond. He nearly lost his temper as he saw the state his daughter was in, even though she looked better than the condition she'd been in ten minutes ago.

The many (Lv. 100+ Clerics and Healers) there were working on re-joining the bones and muscle of her left leg while those on the other side were working on repairing her legs to what they looked like naturally with magic. The (Head Priest) overlooking the operation looked up at Poppa with an expression of shock, and then fear but he didn't make a move to speak or try to force the enraged father out of the operating area.

Poppa was still partially covered in the blood and dust of those that had ambushed him at the mansion, and though he'd been able to easily kill nearly half of them thanks to Sc'the's make-shift trap, he still had an unfortunately annoying battle with the Undead Spider-Kin, Ghast, and Caprellia. Killing them was easy enough, but actually getting within range was...annoying. The Undead Spider-kin had the speed to defend the Vampiress (Master Demolitionist) while she made and 'tested out' her explosives, and the (Ghoul King) Ghast was hiding at the back like a typical Summoner.

Thankfully the gigantic blast had gotten the Spider-Kin on their literal last legs so she didn't last long and after killing the Vampiress Ghast lost himself to his rage and was more than easy enough to Incinerate with the reckless last charge ability he'd used upon witnessing the others' deaths. Then he'd been intercepted by Cinder and the fifteen with her before getting the chance to leave and she'd only gotten a question off before he'd gotten the call and promptly left them behind to deal with later.

Redline's condition became more and more stable as time went on and eventually the (Clerics) and (Healers) surrounding Red stepped back and the barrier came down. After a moment's rest, they all quickly followed behind the (Priest) as they evacuated the premises. The (Head Priest) staying behind only a moment to tell Poppa to let her rest and that there were no complications; that she would be able to walk and fight again soon and to keep her off of her feet for around two weeks.

After they'd left Freija, Wreign, Slythr, and Sleeper came in and stood where Poppa had to wait in silence while Redline rested. The white garments she wore made her look like just another resting child, and not someone that had been through intense training and brushes with death. There was a slight shift in her movement as she started to awaken and, with a surprising amount of patience and gentleness, Poppa took one of her paws in hand and waited patiently for her to come to.

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On the other side of the city an inhuman screeching broke the already tense atmosphere of the Western section of Forge near that sides Sanctuary. The noise, muffled by earth and distance, was still loud enough to rattle the metal of the gates edging the Sanctuary and shake the windows of any building a few blocks away. The noise shattered the already tense anxiety of the market and turned it into a sense of looming dread that utterly crushed the mood of any and all that were out shopping or preparing for the upcoming festivities.

It lasted for hours.

When it had stopped, the many squads of Guardsmen tasked with looking around the forest for threats had been rattled to their very core. Even those over Level 200 had been visibly shaken at the mental torture a being in unimaginable pain had sounded like. There was nothing else like it in their world and when the search was called off everyone was all too happy to evacuate the premises immediately and take a moment at the nearest place of spirits and pleasure.

That was the moment everyone referred to as "Death's Omen." Because things after that things in the city never seemed to go as planned...

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Somewhere deep in The Great Expanse, the varying climate of land and forestry beyond the Human Empire, something was brewing. The inhabitants of the forest had been watching the area beyond for quite some time now, taking every opportunity they had to take back more land for the forest, to give new life where they was none, but they'd missed something: A skeletal figure clawed its way through the undergrowth of the forestry, the dark sickly claws dug into roots and plants alike. Infecting them with a disease that started turning the infected area and surrounding foliage a dead black and grey as living wood died and decayed within a moment's notice.

The creature dragging it's way through the forest was missing the lower half of it's body, but such things were of no consequence for such a being. Dead and decayed as it was the only purpose it had was to get as deep as it could before it's expiration. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, an arrow sailed purposefully into it's skull and the creature screeched its last before exploding in a flurry of light blue flower petals.

A figure made their way down from the tree that the creature had been nearing and looked at it's trail of decay and death with a frown. The Moonlight Silver of their waist-length hair shone brightly under the evening sun, moving slightly with the wind to reveal long pointy blue-tipped ears for just a moment before the foliage retook the break in it's all-encompassing shield from the light of day.

They stood there for a moment just looking at the spot the twisted creature had been until they were joined by five others, blue-tipped pointy ears like. Their figures blurred as the group dashed through the forest along the dark, dead path wrought through the center of their territory. The darkness halted in it's expanse as they ran along its border and started to reverse upon itself: the land that had been killed and turned into rotting death disintegrated and in it's place fresh new life took place in the form of green moss, grass, and sapling plants.

When they were sure that all of the darkness had been quelled five of the six departed deeper into the forest, but the female that had killed the abomination stayed behind to look at the fresh life sourly. No words were spoken in that moment as she looked down the trail, but the unwavering determination in her eyes could be easily deciphered from the rage in her glare.

Alright, so hopefully this is a better start than what I had had. It shouldn't mess with anything I have already written, but I did change up the order of chapters to make it fit better with the sequence of events happening in the story.

I thank you all for your patience and I hope that things make more sense now after this.

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