“How are those weapons coming, Arnold?” Remian asked. “And the airships?” “Not good.” Arnold grunted. “I want to make good stuff, I really do. I want to use advanced alloys and composite materials. I want to build military-grade airships like the Red Fang and the Red Helm. But we don’t have the technology or the equipment or advanced materials of that caliber. The best I can do is use wood!” “Wasn’t that the material we agreed upon when designing them?” Remian blinked. “I mean… advanced materials sound great, but I really can’t afford them.” “But Andros gets to use Fire Copper and steel alloys to build the new Tier 4.7 spears and ballistae bolts.” Arnold grumbled. “The stuff he uses need to be able to at least hurt Tier 5 Wilds. We know there’s at least one Tier 6 coming, but what does that tell us about the number of Tier 5’s to expect?” “At least six. Maybe ten. Maybe more.” Arnold subsided. “But I have to warn you, using cheap materials for

The Tide steamrolled Craggy Falls and Rocky Ravine in short order. The Sky Fortress couldn’t stop them, couldn’t even slow them. Less than an hour after it began, the ground was shaking at South Black Depths Lakeside as the last of the evacuations took place. People scrambled to get on board the airship as the signals from the south became increasingly urgent. Some of the less important cargo even got abandoned. Deepsilver watched them go, considering to herself what she should do in this situation. Should she try to help the humans? Defend her turf from the onslaught? Or should she be on the other side, helping the Wilds eradicate the Destroyers from the land? While she went on musing, the Beast Tide arrived and directly smashed everything man-made they encountered. They tore the settlement apart, trampled every construct into the ground, broke everything in reach, including floors, roads and wind. But as for Deepsilver, they did not attack her. They did not enter the lake. Except

“What happened? Why didn’t you stop him and all the Tide with your Super Magic?!” Mindy yelled. “I was trying to be friends with him, not enemies!” “Friends?! Remian, did not see him destroy our town? He’s already an enemy!” “He doesn’t have to be! We need to end this amiably if we’re ever going to have a shot at living peacefully in the Wildlands!” “Peacefully my foot! Now Darrian’s gone, and we’re going to have to hunt all over the Wildlands for him!” Mindy threw her shoe at Remian just to show him how mad she was. Remian ducked and the shoe went flying overhead, over the edge of the airship, and clear into the deep blue sky. *** Darian found himself nauseaous and dizzy after all the whizzing and speeding about. He hadn’t quite learned about the concept of motion sickness, but he was quite sure he was about to throw up. “Ugwuu…” he tried to say something, but his stomach and throat clenched at the same time. “

Note: This is not a poem. Remian dreamed. There were dozens around him, complaining and nagging, but he turned away and walked away from them all. He went south to look for his brother. Because the fear in the voice of his mother overwhelmed All the natter and chatter of the guys’ complaints Because the grief he saw in his father’s eyes Outweighed all the concerns of unsolicited advice Because the trembling query of his youngest sister Held to him a demand as firm as the laws of heaven And the trust in the urging of the oldest of his sisters Held so strong a faith that he would find the lost boy That Remian would not, could not stay And hearing his plans, Asda said, “Leave it to me. The town, and the people, and everything. Leave it to me and my mother. We’ll do what we can, you can go find your brother. So Remian went looking for Darian With Mindy and Tim and ten adventurer teenagers on the Red Fang Twenty boars and one hundred wolfcats on the ground Three hundred ly

Meanwhile, Asda held a deeply private conversation with Andros. Following that, Andros spoke with Arnold. “You’re leaving?” Arnold stared. “But… things were finally looking up! We had basic industries going, we were starting to seriously expand…” “And then the Beast Tide came. I don’t know about you, Arnold, but I can’t keep on like this.” Andros shook his head. “I came here to get away from trouble, not get into more, and the Beast Tides are more than I can handle. I have received a good offer from Asda. Fal’Herim will be safe for our people. We should take it.” “But this… behind Remian’s back…” Arnold struggled to find the words. “How could you do this to him?” “What? It’s the Frontier. Every man for himself. You know that. He knows that. That’s how it’s always been.” “No, it hasn’t! Not since Remian!” Arnold protested. “It’s not like that any more! We shouldn’t be like that any more! We can be different! We can be better!” “