War

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Inuwa sat atop Skall's back as the Asura fairy zipped through the trees of the Alfheim Jungle.

"Hu-mans...near." Skall informs.

Inuwa grabs his bow and several flasks. "I'm ready."

The pair push out of the jungle to the outskirts of Hawthorn. Inuwa's eyes widen as he sees a giant crystalline barrier around the village and the fairy tree itself. A labyrinth of roots had also emerged from the earth to protect the tree on the other side of the barrier. Inuwa knew that it could be no one other than Solas's work. The rogue hunter breathes a sigh of relief. Solas must've still been safe behind the barrier. However, Inuwa's ease of mind didn't remain for long. Just outside of the barrier was the Madocian army, soldier at the ready to respond to the barrier with battering rams made of iron.

The rhythmic thud of the battering rams echoed through the air as the Madocian army intensified their assault on the crystalline barrier. Inuwa, watching from the shadows, felt a knot tighten in his stomach. As the iron battering rams relentlessly pounded against the crystalline barrier, the protective shield began to fracture.

"Hurry, Skall!" Inuwa commands as the barrier's integrity weakened further.

Inuwa, witnessing the impending breach, clenched his jaw in determination. Skall's eyes narrowed as the fairy sensed the imminent threat. He sprinted toward the weakening section of the barrier, hoping to make it in time, ready to defend against the imminent breach. With a thunderous crash, the Madocian army's iron ram broke through, the shattered remnants of the barrier raining down like sparkling crystal dust. With a war cry, the soldiers and hunters poured into the maze of roots, their steel armor and iron weapons gleaming in the moonlight. Skall leapt up through the tree tops allowing Inuwa to jump from his back and throws ice flasks to the battlefield below. From the air, Inuwa spotted his father amongst the crowd entering the maze alongside Bondrewd.

The young rogue grabs several arrows as he decended. The ice flasks shatter, creating a slick sheet of ice across the ground and Inuwa lands onto the ice in a knee slide, spinning and firing flasks arrows in all directions, trapping soldiers and hunter alike in oobleck, ice and gelatinous domes. Inuwa spots his father scaling up over the giant roots along with the Lord Chaplain and aims an arrow at him, intent on stopping the man before he could do what could never be undone.

Inuwa instincts save his life yet again as he dodges a blade meant for his head. The rogue hunter backflips through the air to gain some distance only to see that his attacker was the head of the huntsmen's guild, Ronan.

"Nagona's son, turning against his own people? Why am I not surprised that the would be slave's brat is a traitor? I knew his inauguration would only bring bad fortune.

Inuwa draws his sword, preparing himself for battle. "You and the rest of the fairy hunters don't deserve my father."

"And a traitorous crow doesn't deserve to live."

Inuwa narrows his eyes. In truth, he had wanted to teach this arrogant man what for for a very long time. If Inuwa could subdue him, he'd prove that he and his father were always the best in the guild. Skall was busy dispatching soldiers rushing into Hawthorn so it was just Ronan and Inuwa.

Ronan lunged at Inuwa with a ferocious intensity, his blade slicing through the air. Inuwa parried with swift precision, the clash of their weapons echoing through the chaos of the battlefield. The moonlit night bore witness to the dance of blades between the rogue hunter and the head of the huntsmen's guild.

Inuwa's agile movements allowed him to dodge Ronan's strikes, and with a calculated spin, he unleashed a flurry of quick slashes. Ronan, however, proved to be a seasoned warrior, blocking each attack with a mixture of skill and brute strength. The clash continued, the two adversaries locked in a fierce duel.

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