The air was deathly silent for a scant second. The monsters loomed in the dark of the forest canopy, their eerily bright eyes aglow with hunger and malice. Still, despite the gravity of the situation, Ash couldn’t help but feel a flicker of disbelieving amusement as he eyed his would-be attackers. 

The creatures for all their blood-thirst and aggression oddly resembled parrots, if not one the size of a large dog with a strangely humanoid face. Their bodies were covered with a thick, colourful plumage of reds, greens and yellows, and their scaly feet boasted of razor sharp talons that he had no desire to test against his armour. 

Ash raised his dagger into a defensive position and flared his Fire Bolt brighter in warning. The monsters seemed to either not care or were frenzied enough that they were willing to chance the danger. Neither option boded well for him. 

“Caims. Multiple flocks of them. This ain’t right.” 

“Why?” 

“These things are tier one but more importantly, they’re usually passive an’ rarely attack folk., an’ even then it's usually only to protect their nests.” 

“Are we near to one?” he questioned. 

“No. They build ‘em up high near the canopy. No, this is somethin’ else. Somethin’s spooked ‘em big to force these weak beasties to become so hostile.” 

“No kidding. Any chance that we can get through them without a fight.” 

“We’ll have to see. Stay close.” 

Ash didn’t like the sound of that but he could hardly do anything else. With his Fire Bolt still aflame on his palms, he cautiously followed step after step behind Myr, his attention keened towards the slightest sign of movement from the flock. They seemed to be holding their peace so far, though it unnerved him how intense their beady, yellow-eyed stares were. 

The following few minutes proved almost suffocating for the duo as they made their way through the horde of caims at a quick yet controlled pace. So far, their luck seemed to be holding out well, and after the fifth minute they’d largely cleared past the horde and their pace shot up to an all-out rush towards the village. 

The forest remained deathly quiet as they went save for the crunch of their footfalls against the grass. Ash didn’t like it. The silence was gnawing at his nerves far more than any number of monsters, and he worried what he’d find once they finally reached the village. 

Nothing terrible, he hoped. ‘Please just let it be my nerves.’ 

It felt like a weak prayer, but he sent it out into the universe anyway. 

Unfortunately, like most prayers, it disappointed him. The duo emerged into the clearing that housed the village and found a mass of carnage and ruin spread like a macabre blanket over the grass. Monsters by the dozens laid dead and butchered before the tribe’s walls, and the air was thick with the metallic tang of blood. 

Ash felt his stomach flip as he surveyed the scene and quickly turned his attention towards the village itself. The walls seemed thankfully whole and unbroken. Better, they glowed with the light of the powerful defensive magics that coursed through them. 

That meant that the village had held, at least. 

“These things ain’t meant to be here, Ash.” whispered Myr as her gaze swept through the dead creatures. “Some of these are tier three, and many of the others don’t have territories anywhere in this part of the forest. This is bad. The net’s been broken.” 

“The net?” 

“Aye. Each goblin tribe in the forest has a magical net around their territories that keeps the beasties from wanderin’ into each other's territories. It also keeps the stronger beasties, the tier fours an’ fives and the lot, confined towards the inner forest along with the strongest tribes, so that the weaker tribes don’t get overrun. We’re in the outer forest ring, so if tier two an’ three beasties are here, it could only mean that there’s been a breach in the net somewhere, an’ that’s bad.” 

Ash grit his teeth. Had he walked under a million ladders or something? Why did shit keep going from bad to worse today?! 

“How bad?” he asked whilst unsure if he really wanted to hear the answer. 

The woman hesitated to answer, her brow furrowed as she seemingly lost herself in thought, before she finally refocused onto Ash, a dread look on her face. “For an outbreak this big? Best case scenario, one of the middle tribes had their net broken an’ we’re dealin’ with the fallout. It’s bad, but manageable. For all that they’re constantly fightin’ an disputin’ each other, in situations like this, the tribes’ll cooperate to patch things up as quick as can be.” 

“But if it’s worse than that? If an inner tribe’s been broken... we’re only dealin’ with tier twos an’ threes right now, but shit could get worse than this very soon, Ash. Much worse.” 

The youth swallowed to parch his suddenly dry throat. Kross had been tier three, hadn’t he, and facing the man had still been a situation he had no desire to repeat. What would facing a tier four be like then, or a tier five? 

He didn’t even want to imagine it. 

“Hope I’m wrong.” muttered Myr with no small amount of uncertainty in her voice before the two picked up their pace again. They weaved their way through the field of corpses until finally they stood before the wall. Ash’s skin prickled as he felt the waves of magic contained within the structure thrum at their presence. A moment later, a small gap hardly big enough for a single person to fit through opened up and a goblin beckoned them in. 

They rushed to obey. Inside the walls, Ash was met with a scene of tension and a cloying, almost choking fear that hung in the air. More goblins than he’d seen in any of the times he’d visited lined the military zone, and each one was armed to their very sharp teeth in gear far better than he’d seen before. A few even boasted of clearly magical equipment, and large expensive machines reminiscent of ballistae laid prepared at key areas around the sight. 

There was more to see beyond even that, but neither he nor Myr dallied long in the zone. They quickly sped through towards the outer ring of the civilian zone where they found none of the hustle and bustle they were used to from the Everwatch’s citizenry. There was hardly anyone around, even. 

He supposed that that was to be expected considering the situation. A single goblin emerged from under the shade of a nearby structure and bowed towards them. 

“Trusted human Myr, trusted human Ash. The great and honoured elder has beckoned you to her side.” stated a robe-clad shaman of the goblin faith. He nodded and the two quickly made their way through the deserted village and into the spiritual district where Sylaxxa awaited them. 

They found her in a vast chamber within the underground temple staring at a pit of sand that laid at its centre. The reason why became obvious enough when Ash spied Calixxa seated within the pit, her eyes shut in concentration as mana flowed from the elder and roiled around the girl. 

It alarmed him at first but he noticed quickly enough that Calixxa hardly looked like she was in pain. Quite the opposite, if anything. A peaceful expression graced her childish face and Ash idly wondered whether this was the training that Calixxa had spoken of? What was she doing? The question burned a hole in his mind, but he stifled his curiosity and instead he and Myr both quietly took a place next to the elder. 

Nothing was said for the first few minutes and Ash wondered whether the woman had even noticed their arrival. Surely, she had. She was a tier four, and despite her eyes, he knew well that she didn’t need to see to know exactly what was happening around her. 

Sure enough, a moment later, Sylaxxa finally deigned to break the silence. 

“The hour has come sooner than I’d expected. Much sooner. The girl’s link to the sands of fate are far beyond anything I’ve seen before. Our doom approaches.” Sylaxxa then turned to Ash and despite his expectations, all he saw on her wrinkled visage was a look of calm acceptance. 

“As much as I have dreaded its coming, I find myself almost relieved that the moment is finally here. My days of worry and fear are finally at an end, one way or another.” she admitted with a light laugh, as if they were gossiping over tea rather than discussing the possible end of the entire tribe, if not more. 

“How... bad is it?” asked Myr warily. 

“Worse. The Lords are moving.” 

Myr blanched immediately. Ash watched her expressions and felt the stirring of something unpleasant from within. “Who are... the Lords?” 

“Not who. What. The four lords of the forest, tier six beasts of legend. They’ve broken through the inner circle somehow. The Greenguard Tribe and Endhammer Tribe both have been dealt great blows, whilst the other great tribes are managing to keep three of the Lords contained and at bay. But one has escaped, and they likely will not be able to stop them before it gets where it wants to go.” 

Ash felt his dread coil within and for reasons beyond himself, his gaze drifted to where Calixxa sat meditating. “And where is it going?” he asked though he already suspected what Sylaxxa’s answer would be. 

The air was still for a moment as the elder stared gravely at the two humans stood before her, and then again towards the child atop the sand. “Here.” she answered softly. 

He grit his teeth then, a flurry of emotions coursing through him within the span of a second, before he finally reigned in his tumultous mind and met Sylaxxa’s attention. “What are our chances?” 

“None. The tribes in its way have already either fallen or evacuated. We have perhaps a day. Maybe less.” 

“Why don’t we evacuate too?” 

“We cannot. With the nets broken, there exist far too many powerful monsters roaming our lands for our warriors to effectively protect our people. It is only our walls that have allowed us to hold them off so far. Without them, we are all dead. Besides, many of our hidden evacuation burrows have already been compromised by monstrous infestations.” Sylaxxa laughed then though it was a mirthless, bitter sound. “Our doom is indeed very thorough.” 

It sure fucking was. 

Ash clenched his fists so tight that he might have drawn blood if it weren’t for the mana coursing through his skin.  

“We have evacuated the youngest children, the life-shapers and the oldest elders to one of the few burrows we have remaining under a guard small enough to protect them without sacrificing too many of our defensive forces to the task. For now, that is the best we can do.” 

“Wait, if you evacuated the children, then why is Calixxa still here?” he asked, his eyes wide with alarm and anger. 

“You know why, human Ash. She is the centre of this maelstrom. Hah, to think that the girl boasts enough power to make even the Lords move. Of all the dooms I had imagined, from devastating fires to invasion by other tribes, something to this extent was truly unexpected. No, we cannot move her. Especially not as she is. Her daily meditations have allowed us to weaken some of the ill fate that hangs over us. To break from that will likely worsen whatever is to come.” 

Ash grimaced at that. Fucking magic bullshit! To turn a small, helpless child into a literal magnet for bad luck, and to this degree at that?! It was insanity, and yet it was an insanity that he had accepted nonetheless. For better or worse, he’d grown too attached. 

Ash loosed a long breath and unclenched his fists. Whatever was to come would come. He would play his part in it as best he could. He was a child of prophecy after all, wasn’t he? He had to try some Harry Potter bullshit to get everyone through this. 

“So, this’ll be a last stand then, is it? Against a tier six?” asked Myr darkly. 

“Indeed. At the very least, it will be a fine story to speak of for those that survive.” 

“There won’t be none to speak of this madness!” snarled Myr, wild fury in her eyes. “Pardon my rudeness honoured elder but you an’ the chief are the two strongest goblins in this tribe, an’ you’re both only tier four. If tribes that have dozens more tier fours to speak of, let alone tier fives, couldn’t stop it, how can the Everwatch stand against it?” 

The elder smiled at that, as if the woman had said a jest. The sight confused Ash and inflamed Myr further. Sylaxxa then turned to Ash and reached up to place a hand against his chest. It was a gentle touch but it felt to him then like it bore all the weight of the world behind it. 

“We have the saviour of prophecy with us, do we not? What is there to fear?” 

Myr goggled at her words and turned to look at Ash as if he’d grown a third head. “That’s rubbish! Prophecy or not, he’s a brat that’s just entered the second tier! He can’t even properly best me yet, let alone a Lord.” 

And that was true, he could admit. He had no idea how the hell he was supposed to save the Everwatch and everyone in it. He had no convenient avada kavadra to cast against Voldemort, or a hail Mary return from the dead move to throw into the mix. All he had was the pittance of magic he had cultivated, and the stubbornness that kept him from running to the hills the first chance he had. 

It would have to be enough. 

Ash again turned to look to Calixxa and sighed. Damn his sentimentality.