fifteenth sunrise in the Realm painted Stonewake in a quiet, golden glow. Their tower stood taller now—rough-hewn stone reinforced by ability and sweat. The clearing was fenced with sharpened logs, and lookout traps dotted the woods beyond. Inside the growing settlement, the Triad trained with the discipline of warriors preparing for war.
Elias sparred with Kaela near the center, Ashbrand's flames flaring with every controlled strike. Kaela responded with a dancer's precision, redirecting with air-split speed. Ryker moved along the upper perimeter, setting magnetic spikes into the barricades. Aerin knelt in the meditation circle, channeling focused bursts of Echoforce into the ground.
Stonewake was becoming more than shelter. It was becoming a symbol.
But peace in the Realm was a fragile thing—easily cracked.
A trap snapped on the western fringe. A string whistle followed.
Ryker was first to respond. "Tripwire."
He sprinted up the tower ladder and peered through his telescope. "Movement. People. Six… no, seven."
Elias was already strapping on his cloak. "They're not lost, are they?"
"They're not wandering," Ryker replied. "They're armed. And they're moving in a formation."
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "They're coming for us."
⸻
No greetings. No words. Just steel.
Seven strangers broke from the treeline, each wearing scavenged armor and wielding mismatched weapons. At their front marched a man with a crescent glaive and a red sunburst painted crudely across his chestplate. They didn't slow when they saw the gate.
They charged.
"Stonewake!" Elias shouted.
Kaela vaulted up and over the barricade with a slicing gale, scattering their ranks before the first blade fell. Ryker reached out and collapsed the dirt beneath two attackers, sending them tumbling into the pit trap.
But the leader didn't flinch. He leapt clear over the trench and slammed his glaive down toward Elias, who barely raised Ashbrand in time to block.
Sparks exploded. Heat met hate.
"You've built something," the man snarled. "Means you've got food. Shelter. Things we need. You think you'll just keep it?"
Elias bared his teeth. "You could've knocked."
They clashed again—fire against steel, instincts against power.
⸻
Aerin defended the eastern wall, fending off a brute with a jagged mace. She slipped past his strike, released a sonic burst to his side, and sent him sprawling.
Behind her, Kaela and Ryker moved in tandem—wind and gravity locking down their flank. One attacker tried to leap the barricade, but Ryker flicked his wrist, and the man's feet turned to anchors. He hit the ground hard.
Still, two others had reached the supply shed near the tower.
Elias spun, fury flaring in his veins. Ashbrand roared, and he swept a wide arc of flame across the ground in front of the shed. Both invaders were blasted back, rolling through dirt and sparks.
"You still think we're just survivors?" he said, voice cold. "This is Stonewake."
⸻
The battle turned fast.
Kaela unleashed razor gusts to box in the fastest enemies. Aerin disrupted weapon swings before they could land. Ryker isolated the largest opponent and slammed him into the earth with a gravitational crush.
Elias dueled the leader until the man's glaive was knocked free. With Ashbrand at his throat, Elias locked eyes with him.
"What's your name?" Elias asked, breath calm but stern.
"…Draven."
"You led them?"
Draven didn't look away. "We came through another portal. Twenty of us. Half dead by the third night. No rules out here. Just survival. I don't beg. I take."
Elias said nothing for a moment. Behind him, the sounds of skirmish faded. Kaela had a bloodied lip but stood strong. Aerin supported Ryker, who held his arm stiffly—bruised, but not broken.
"You're not wrong," Elias said finally. "But this isn't just survival anymore. We're building something better. And you just tried to take it by force."
"So finish it," Draven spat. "Or let me walk."
Elias glanced at the others.
Kaela nodded once. Aerin, too.
"We'll let you live," Elias said. "But you leave everything you stole. Your weapons. Your pride. And you tell the next group that Stonewake doesn't fall."
Draven lowered his eyes and nodded.
⸻
By sundown, the attackers were gone.
The Triad sat together around a fire near the center of Stonewake, battered and quiet. Aerin stitched Ryker's sleeve while Kaela sipped slowly from a cup of boiled herbs. Elias watched the shadows lengthen over the treetops.
"We held them off," Ryker muttered. "We're still standing."
Kaela frowned. "Barely."
"They weren't the last," Aerin said. "Others will come. Maybe worse."
Elias didn't respond right away. He stood and walked toward the perimeter wall, looking out into the deep woods. The wind rustled the branches like a warning.
"They'll come for what we've built," he said. "That means we're doing something right."
"And if they bring monsters next time?" Kaela asked.
"Then we remind them," Elias said, flame curling gently from Ashbrand's edge, "why the Realm fears us."
Behind them, the symbol they'd carved into the tower—three strokes forming a triangle—caught the fading light.
Stonewake had faced its first true threat. And the world was watching.