Fall of the Evyn-din

Bevan knelt down to the forest floor and ran a hand through the layer of dead leaves and browned nettles. "Kraith," he looked up at his friend. "You good at trapmaking?"\n\nThe older Ermehn shrugged, looking embarrassed. "Not really, no."\n\nWonderful, Bevan sighed, then stood up. "Alright, then we'll have to make do. You try to find a promising-looking grouse nest, I'll look around for the supplies and build a bird trap." He pointed to the ground. "We'll meet back here shortish."\n\nKraith nodded and took off into the forest while Bevan [[considered his next move.|Forest_center]]

Bevan reached a hand out to his friend's shoulder and jostled him awake. Aside from a sharp intake of breath as slept left him, he didn't make a sound. Bevan knew he wouldn't be able to see him in the darkness, so he leaned in close to his ear and whispered one word:\n\n"Canid."\n\nIt might not have been, of course, but Bevan didn't have time to explain. He could hear Kraith's breathing pick up a bit, but other than that, he went still as a corpse.\n\nGood, Bevan thought. And with that, they waited silently for whatever it was below them to move on.\n\nThere was a rustling on the forest floor about ten paces from the trunk, but that was as close as anything got before the footsteps carried off back toward the center of the forest. Finally, all went deathly quiet once more.\n\nWhen he was sure they were in the clear, Bevan finally allowed himself to peek out of the tree. Nothing.\n\n"We're safe, for now," he said, leaning back into the safety of the tree branches.\n\nNeither of them managed to fall back asleep. Both sat silently in the tree [[until dawn.|Dawn]]

Evening came quicker than either of the two Ermehn scouts would have liked. They had just cleared the valley and entered a large forest of dead birch trees and spire-like conifers when they realized it would be impossible for them to return to their respective tribes that evening.\n\n"They'll probably wonder where we are," Kraith mused.\n\n"Technically we're not dead to them until we've been gone for three days," Bevan said, sounding a great deal more optimistic than he'd planned. "Don't think we'll warrant a search party, thankfully."\n\nKraith chuckled. "Thankfully? Not sure how I feel about that."\n\nThe two Ermehn scouts took a moment to look around. They had maybe another hour before hunting became an impossibility, but that was just enough time for them to [[build some traps|Build_traps_1]] and set them near the land-bound openings of grouse nests.

Bevan wasn't about to lose another dagger from his set -- they simply couldn't be replaced, and he'd already lost two.\n\nThrowing caution to the wind, Bevan ran forward toward the felled Canid. Behind him, he could hear Kraith shouting something.\n\nCan't stop. Can't stop now.\n\nBevan slid across the dirt and grass. With a single tug, the dagger came free from the Canid's neck.\n\nGot it! That wasn't so bad!\n\nHe turned to see where Kraith was, but his friend was gone. No doubt he'd run while he still could. Bevan was about to follow him when he felt something hard strike him on the back of the head. He crumpled to the ground, his dagger landing blade-first into the earth.\n\n[[All went dark.|Outpost_death]]

Bevan quickly slipped farther into the field. He was immediately glad that he did, as two Canid arrows slammed into the ground where he had been crouched just moments before.\n\nThe second Canid in the grass grunted, then fell hard into the tall grass, Kraith's arrow sticking out from his back.\n\n"Damn!" One of the Canid archers on the edge of the field fired into the grass where he'd thought the arrow emerged. Nothing happened.\n\n"Fall back!" The other archer yelled, then let loose a howl that filled the air. They were calling for reinforcements.\n\nGives us a little bit of time, at least... Bevan watched silently as the two archers ran back to the forest center -- they had won this battle, but they would no doubt return with speed.\n\n"Kraith?" Bevan stood in the grass. "They've gone. We need to-"\n\nHe stopped.\n\n"Kraith?" Bevan looked around. "C'mon, mate. Not funny. We need to get out of here."\n\nNothing.\n\nOh no...\n\nBevan worked his way over to [[where the Canid arrow had fallen.|Kraith_dies]]

It was to be war.\n\nThe Evyn-din and Havran-din had lost their final scout to the roving Canid soldiers -- the tribes knew something had to be done. Bevan just wasn't sure how the Ermehn had any chance of winning such a battle. It was not until Evyn summoned his nephew to his tent a week later to look over the battle plans that Bevan come to understand the true nature of what was happening.\n\nBevan found himself looking down at an elaborate hand-drawn map of the Wastes. The locations of the Evyn-din and Havran-din were marked out to the north, and three Canid strongholds were marked with X's. Two were smaller outposts, a few Canid each. It was from one of these that the four Canid soldiers that had hunted Bevan and Kraith originated.\n\nFarther south, a large X mark designated [[Deltrada Garrison|Deltrada]].\n\n"We're attacking their garrison," Evyn said without a hint of reservation.\n\nBevan squinted a bit. "We? You mean the Evyn and Havran-din?"\n\n"And a few other smaller tribes," his uncle nodded. "No Ermehn appreciate the treatment of our Canid neighbors. They would be more than happy to help us rid these lands of them once and for all."\n\n"What of their defenses?" Bevan asked. He ran a claw around the X in a large circle. "They have the two outposts just outside the garrison walls. If just one of those Canid soldiers manage to let loose one of their howls, every Canid in Deltrada will know you're out there."\n\nEvyn smirked -- Bevan found it to be a naive gesture.\n\n"Nothing can stop the Ermehn, Bevan. Nothing can stop the Evyn-din. The Canid will fall before us, and we will take back what is ours at long last."\n\nI don't believe it, Bevan thought. I actually prefer Havran's cowardly ways to this nonsense..\n\nBevan bowed politely and [[backed out of the tent|Hardin_intro]].

Bevan knew better than to travel closer to the Canid patrols, especially if he had a choice in the matter. There was still plenty of time to search in the relatively safety of the valley.\n\nAfter a few hours of picking through the boulders, however, neither Bevan nor Kraith could find anything but a few rock-hard tubers.\n\nBevan sat down on the ground in the shadow of one of the large boulders -- the tubers growing just around the base. He ripped them from the earth with one of his daggers and brushed the dirt from them. "Not even a tasty kind. We can't go back with just this."\n\nHe gave one of the tubers to Kraith, then put the other one into his satchel.\n<<set $collected_tuber = "yes">>\nKraith looked up at the sun. It was just beginning to dip over the western mountains. "We've still got a good deal of time before night falls, Bevan, but I think it's pretty clear there's nothing left in this valley."\n\nKraith was probably right, of course, but traveling south was a dangerous proposition.\n\nIs it any more dangerous than hunting in this valley after night falls? Bevan pondered. Knowing the poor luck of the Ermehn, Canid patrols were out in force either way.\n\nIf they decided to [[keep looking in the valley|Stay_in_valley_2]] it could spell just as much disaster as them deciding to [[travel south to hunt for better game|South_too_late]].

"You're right, Kraith," Bevan relented. "I just hope we aren't too late."\n\nBevan's hunting companion only offered a dire expression in return as he began to hurry south.\n\nThey picked their way through the valley as quickly as possible. They still had a couple hours before the sun left the Wastes completely shrounded in darkness, but that was the least of their concerns. Canid patrols in the valley were most active at night, but the farther south one traveled, the greater chance of running into them in the daylight.\n\nBevan mantled up onto a large boulder to get a better look at what lay ahead.\n\n"Anything?" Kraith asked.\n\nHe didn't respond right away. He squinted and scanned the horizon, from one edge of the valley to the other. The boulders were beginning to thin out, the high grassy walls of the valley leveling off. In the distance, a large forest stretched onward to the south.\n\nThen, from behind a rock about half a league away, there was movement.\n\nIn a flash, Bevan was off the boulder and drawing one of his [[remaining three daggers|Daggers_desc_2]]. "Canid patrol," he whispered. "[[Three of them. Two of 'em have bows.|Speech_type]]"

Fall of the Evyn-din

The two Canid soldiers remained close together, back-to-back, as they slowly made their way through the grove of pines. Each had their sword drawn and keen eyes quickly darting from behind the tree trunks to the dense nettles above them.\n\nBevan took long, quiet, controlled breaths. They were closing the distance below his hiding spot, a mere five paces away.\n\nThe dagger was heavy in his hand. He could [[slay one of the Canid soldiers|Single_dagger_impatient]] right at that moment, or [[wait for a more opportune moment|Single_dagger_wait]].

Kraith needs my help, Bevan thought, the grip on his dagger so tight that his hand was shaking. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm his nerves, then leapt from the tree.\n\nHe hit the ground hard, sending up a flurry of nettles from the ground. The moment he recovered, he looked around, ears twisting this way and that to find where the Canid pair had gone.\n\n"There he is!" The Canid pair was close -- too close. They emerged from behind a nearby tree, blades drawn. "Drop the knife," one of them snarled. "Drop it, or we'll drop you."\n\nBevan was loathe to [[drop his last-remaining dagger and surrender|Outpost_death_pre]], but it was clear the battle was impossible to win.\n\n[[Or I can run|Run_away]], he thought, eyes shifting the slightest bit toward the dense forest behind him. If he put enough distance between himself and the Canid soldiers, he could once again gain the element of surprise.

Making his way west, Bevan found himself standing amongst a ghastly white cluster of [[dead birch trees|Dead_birch]]. Their foliage was long-gone, evoking an image of gnarled, skeletal hands reaching up to the sky.\n\nJust beyond the stand of birch trees, the grass grew tall and wild -- the perfect location to catch grouse. \n\n<<if $collected_trap_string eq "no">>Bevan could also just make out [[Kraith|Hi_Kraith]] as he stalked through the grass looking for just such a nest.<<endif>>\n\nBevan looked around for any other distinguishable landmarks, but all he saw was the path leading [[back to the center of the forest|Forest_center]].

The Canid soldiers remained in their back-to-back configuration for a minute or two longer, working their way past Bevan's tree and farther into the grove.\n\nAnd so Bevan continued to wait. The Canid soldiers had to be nearby, as he could still hear their feet crunching the carpet of dead nettles scattered across the ground. The sound bounced off the trees at odd angles, making it difficulty for the Ermehn scout to target their origin point.\n\nThe longer I'm in this tree, the longer Kraith is out there by himself. Bevan's thoughts turned to his friend. Kraith was a good scout, but he wasn't a warrior by any stretch. Bevan had to help his friend.\n\nAye, but you're no help to him if you're dead.\n\nBevan shook his head. He was getting impatient. If [[he jumped out of the tree now|Single_dagger_tree_jump_early]], there might be a chance he could run back to Kraith without alerting the Canid pair.\n\nOf course, they could be anywhere now -- if they saw him, he could try to lose them in the conifers, but he could also just [[continue to wait|Single_dagger_wait_proper]] in the tree for the right opportunity to strike.

The night was deathly quiet. A stiff breeze worked its way through the trees occasionally, but nothing more. There were a few chirping insects this time of year; crickets, cicadas, the like. They seemed quiet and far away, far below.\n\nEverything seemed to be far away, far below. Somewhere to the north, far away, far below, his mother and father were waiting for him to come home. Somewhere to the north, far away, far below, his tribe was on the edge of starvation. From what he heard, it was the same all across the Wastes.\n\nAt that moment, his current predicament seemed almost silly in its futility. There Bevan was, sitting in a tree in one of the most dangerous parts of his homeland, risking his life for a few days'-worth of food.\n\nAnd what of Kraith? His best friend was trapped in a tribe controlled by the biggest [[c'oth|Coth]] he'd ever met. If they hadn't allied themselves with the Evyn-din, Bevan had little doubt they would have either been forcibly taken over or wiped out by Canid patrols in less than a season.\n\nThe Ermehn were dying. It didn't take a Felis Scholar to figure that one out.\n\n[[But what can I do? What can any of us do?|Patrol_approaches]]

Bevan's southerly route took him farther into the dense conifers. They surrounded him on all sides now, towering above him like emerald monoliths. When the time came for them to sleep, these massive trees could potentially shield them from any Canid patrols.\n\nThe way back to the [[central area of the forest|Forest_center]] stretched back behind him, carving a lazy path through the endless trees.\n\n<<if $collected_trap_sticks eq "no">>Bevan took a deep breath and narrowed his gaze at his surroundings: time was short, and he needed to [[search for anything useful nearby.|Search_south]]<<endif>>

"I think I remember a good spot back to the west," Bevan said, jerking a claw back the way they came.\n\nKraith frowned. "Could've mentioned that sooner, I suppose, but if you say so."\n\nThe two of them wandered back in the dying light, making it to the stand of skeletal birch trees right as the last vestiges of light left the forest.\n\n"We sleeping in the tall grass?" Kraith sounded skeptical.\n\n"We'll be safer off the ground," Bevan nodded to the nearby tree. "Don't want a Canid patrol stumbling over us in the dark. Let's find a couple of branches to bunk on."\n\nKraith crossed his arms and regarded the tree nervously. "You sure about this, Bevan?"\n\n"Why wouldn't I be? Hey, it works for the Tamian, right?" The younger scout frowned at his friend as he pulled down on one of the branches to test its heft. It seemed strong, so he dug his claws into the trunk and hoisted himself up. "C'mon," he lowered a hand.\n\nThe older Ermehn chewed his lip nervously, then offered a shrug. "Well, guess it is better than the ground." Kraith grabbed Bevan's extended hand and allowed himself to be pulled up into the tree.\n\nThe two Ermehn spread themselves out over a couple of larger branches and, deciding they were safe enough from Canid patrols in the treetops, fell asleep almost immediately.\n\nNeither one was awake to spot the Canid patrol that routinely passed through the forest. It didn't take long for their keen eyes to spot the two slumbering Ermehn in the birch tree -- especially since there was no foliage to conceal their presence.\n\nThe Canid soldiers unsheathed their blades and shared a wicked grin; these would be the two easiest Ermehn heads they'd ever claimed.\n\nTHE END.

In the peaceful solitude of the massive conifer, Bevan's wandering mind kept him awake longer than he'd expected, but that turned out to be most advantageous.\n\nThe quarter moon hung high above, casting a dim white light over the forest. It was just enough for the young Ermehn scout to notice movement through the nettles and branches just below him.\n\nHe was too far back through the branches to see anything clearly, and trying to [[get a better look|Move_closer]] would not be that smart. If they were Canid soldiers, they would certainly notice the unnatural rustling branches of a lone tree.\n\nThe only alternative Bevan could think of was to be as still as possible and silently wait. But then, it wasn't just himself he needed to consider: [[Kraith was sleeping nearby.|Sleeping_Kraith]]

"So," Bevan leaned forward to match the stranger's pose. "Who are you?"\n\n"Hardin." He barely turned his head, like it didn't really matter what his name was.\n\n"What tribe do you come from, Hardin?" Bevan rubbed his chin pensively. "Those markings on your face-"\n\nHardin cleared his throat. "The markings on my face show where I come from. What they can't show is where I'm going. Where we're going." He gestured around at the camp. Many of the villagers were girding themselves for battle. "Us, Ermehn."\n\nBevan shrugged. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to war."\n\n"We've been fighting a war for a long time," Hardin said in a flat tone. "Ermehn and Canid alike have both fallen. What makes this friend of yours... this Kraith, any different?"\n\nHow dare he!? Bevan thought, his mind snapping to anger. Still, this Hardin fellow had a point -- why was Kraith's death being used to launch such a monumental attack? Bevan couldn't decide whether to [[reprimand the stranger|Hardin_yell]] or to [[inquire further|Hardin_calm]].

Bevan knew the perfect opportunity when he saw it -- he wouldn't get a better chance than this to take out both the Canid soldiers in a single attack.\n\nHe took a silent breath. Held it. The daggers in each hand felt like natural extensions of his arms.\n\nHere we go.\n\nHe launched himself from the tree like a hawk, arms outstretched to each side, daggers glinting in the morning sunlight. It was just enough movement for one of the two Canid soldiers to turn his head and look up as Bevan descended. His golden eyes widened in shock, but that was as much a reaction as he had time to produce.\n\nBevan tensed his arms, feeling the slight pressure of his daggers entering the unprotected necks of the two Canid soldiers. He continued his downward descent between them, falling into a kneeling position as he dragged both Canid down, sending them falling face-first into the forest floor. They were both dead before they hit the ground. Then the forest was still once more.\n\nThe Ermehn scout allowed himself a deep breath, then stood from his kneel, pulling both daggers from his victims.\n\nKraith! Bevan's focus shifted almost immediately back to the forest path. Kraith was a good hunter, but certainly no warrior. If Bevan wasn't there to help him, he was certain his friend would perish.\n\nSheathing the two daggers, Bevan sprinted as quickly as his feet would carry him -- back to the [[grassy fields where Kraith had been luring his pursuers|Western_fields_Kraith]].

Bevan raised a hand and waved to Kraith. He nodded in return but otherwise kept quiet, dedicated to his task and determined not to be the cause of another lost catch.\n\nHe's learning! Bevan smiled.\n\nJust then, his eyes drifted away from Kraith and over to a nearby tree. Leaning up against it in plain view was Kraith's bow. Sitting next to it, a small cloth bag with an extra bow string.\n\n<<set $collected_trap_string = "yes">>Oh, that'll work! Bevan thought, quickly removing the extra string from the bag. He didn't even need to test the strength of the line -- no way was a grouse going to snap a bowstring.\n\nWith the string he needed for the trap in hand, Bevan [[made his way back to the forest center|Forest_center]].

<<if $daggers eq 1>>Bevan unsheathed his last remaining dagger, holding it tightly in his right hand as he stood defiantly in the middle of the forest path. "You won't leave these woods alive, Canid."<<endif>><<if $daggers eq 2>>Bevan unsheathed his two daggers, holding one in each hand, standing defiantly in the middle of the forest path. "You won't leave these woods alive, Canid."<<endif>>\n\nThe four Canid soldiers offered nothing in return, instead choosing to quickly flank the two Ermehn.\n\nKraith quickly nocked an arrow, but his hand was shaking -- Bevan could hear his heart beating from where he stood.\n\nThere was a brief stand-off, then Kraith fired off his arrow. He was so nervous that it flew well off its mark, and he never had the opportunity to set another one. The Canid quickly dispatched him with a slash to his neck.\n\nBevan threw his dagger with pinpoint precision, managing to strike the patrol leader directly through the right eye, killing him instantly. While he relished the momentary victory, the three remaining Canid soldiers surrounded the young Ermehn scout, running him through with their blades and hastily ending his life.\n\nTHE END.

"On second thought," Bevan offered quietly, "I've got a better idea." He pointed to the forest. "If we can get in there without them seeing us, they'll never even know we were here."\n\nKraith seemed disappointed by this, but didn't argue. He slid the arrow back into his quiver. "Those Canid will just come back, you know."\n\nBevan frowned. "I know. But if we kill them, they'll just send more." He sheathed his dagger. "They always send more."\n\nThe two of them slid down around the side of the boulder and, keeping low, made their way to the left-hand side of the valley, using the boulders to mask their presence from the Canid patrol.\n\nSuddenly, Bevan heard a wayward crunch of earth from somewhere nearby.\n\nDid they split up? Do they know we're here? Bevan's breath quickened. There was a Canid soldier just on the other side of their boulder. There was no way they were going to [[sneak past it|Sneak_death]].\n\nKraith looked on nervously, but knew better than to say anything. Bevan knew if they were going to make it to the forest, they'd have to [[kill this Canid soldier|Valley_assassin]].

"Bevan!"\n\nThe voice rang out loud and unimpeded across the floor of the glacial valley. A few large boulders dotted the green landscape of this picturesque southern region of the Wastes, but they weren't nearly enough to stop the Ermehn scout from hearing his friend's voice. \n\nUnfortunately, if Bevan could hear the voice, then so too could the grouse he had been stalking. The bird turned in surprise and immediately spied the young Ermehn stalking it from behind, throwing dagger raised for the kill. Before Bevan could react, the bird took off like a shot.\n\nGreat. Bevan sighed, head lowered in defeat. That grouse could have fed his family for the next several days, and in the Wastes that was no small miracle.\n\nWell, now there was nothing to be done about it. The Ermehn scout [[turned behind him|Kraith_Intro]] to see where the voice had come from.

Kraith pointed Bevan to a spot in the tall grass to the west that he'd marked with an "X" in a nearby tree. Bevan placed the trap and stepped back carefully so as not to set it off accidentally.\n\n"Is that it?" Kraith asked. "No bait or anything?"\n\n<<if $collected_tuber eq "yes">>Bevan's eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Good idea, Kraith." He quickly produced the tuber he had found earlier that day in the northern valley. "Bait's not necessary for these kinds of traps, but they do help."<<endif>><<if $collected_tuber eq "no">>"Ah, th'ul," Bevan uttered an old Ermehn curse when he realized bait would've probably helped them land a bigger catch. "Well, it's not necessary for these kinds of traps, but it wouldn't have hurt." He looked up at the darkening sky. "No time now, though.<<endif>>\n\nKraith and Bevan began to walk out of the tall grass.\n\n"Well," Bevan said, "guess we need to [[find a safe place to lay low until dawn|Where_to_sleep]]."

Bevan narrowed his eyes at his friend, jaw clenched in poorly-contained anger. "I had a bead on that grouse, Kraith. Another few moments and my family would've been set for a week!"\n\nThe elder Ermehn winced in embarrasment. "Ah, sorry, Bevan. Didn't see you had a quarry 'til it was too late. Next time I'll be more quiet."\n\n"Next time you'll be completely quiet," Bevan said, spinning his dagger idly around his claws. "We shouldn't be yelling, anyway. You know the Canid patrol this valley. If they found us-."\n\nKraith offered an impish grin and held up a paw to cut off his friend's worrying. "We're Ermehn scouts, Bevan. We know every boulder and blade of grass in the Wastes. We could run circles around those Canid scum."\n\nWith that, Kraith nodded farther down the valley. "If it's grouse you're after, I'd suggest we [[go south|Travel_South]]. I know the Canid are more likely to be patrolling there, but that can't be helped. Or we can play it safer and [[keep hunting around here|Stay_in_valley]]. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and find another bird. Or we could settle for grubs and tubers like those poor sods up north." He smirked. "I'll leave it up to you."

Bevan approached the nearest birch trees and ran a hand along the trunk. Birch bark made for decent tinder wet or dry, but there would be no fires that night -- not with the Canid lurking about. Fires drew too much attention, and the sharp-nosed Canid patrols would smell the smoke from a league away.\n\n<<if $collected_trap_sticks eq "no">>For a moment, Bevan considered collecting some birch twigs for his trap, but the wood was far too brittle, snapping at the slightest provocation. He needed to look elsewhere.<<endif>>\n\nWith nothing else to look at, Bevan [[backed away from the birch trees|Go_west]].

"Then what?" Bevan asked, a burning fire in his eyes. "Tell me how we're going to win, Hardin. Tell me how we win."\n\nHardin smiled. "I'm assembling a tribe of my own, Bevan. The best Ermehn from the best tribes."\n\nBevan blinked, then glanced away in thought. "Wait... how do you manage that? Wouldn't their tribal leaders get upset?" \n\n"Of course," Hardin nodded. "But the Ermehn have laws for such eventualities. A trade, a mutual agreement, or I take over the tribe by slaying the tribal leader in open combat."\n\n"Of course," Bevan sighed. "Evyn won'y let me go without a fight, Hardin. He's my uncle. We're family."\n\nHardin put a hand on Bevan's shoulder. "As I said, he'll be dead come morning. The Canid will not allow him to live. If you come with me now, the worst he can do is think you a coward until he dies tomorrow."\n\nThe tribal leader of the Evyn-din stood on the other end of the camp, near-ready for war.\n\n"You wanted to know how I plan to win?" Hardin stood up before Bevan then, arms crossed. "Simple." He nodded to the darkness outside the camp. "We travel into the Four Kingdoms."\n\nBevan's jaw dropped. "But... no Ermehn is allowed past the border. The Canid-"\n\n"The Canid are a mountain," Hardin said. "Strong, tall, seemingly indestructible." He knelt down and cupped a handful of dirt-covered snow from the patchy ground. "The Ermehn, then, must be like water. Flexible and adaptable. The mountains of the Wastes seem impervious, but water still manages to find the cracks and flow from north to south." Hardin dropped the snow and clapped his hands free of dirt. "I have a plan."\n\nThat was enough for Bevan. The time had come to make a decision: to go with this strange Ermehn and [[join his tribe|Bevan_goodend]], or to remain in the Evyn-din and [[fight with his family and tribe|Bevan_badend]] the following morning.

"One arrow, one Canid," Bevan insisted, as if his words had any bearing whatsoever on what Kraith could accomplish.\n\nThe older Ermehn nodded bravely and, with little hesitation, slipped around the boulder, bow at the ready. The Canid patrol wasn't aware of their presence yet, Bevan realized. There was still time to pull Kraith back and try for a [[more stealthy approach.|Valley_sneak]]\n\nEither that, or [[picking them off one at at time.|Valley_assassin]].\n\nThe Canid patrol was drawing nearer. Kraith drew an arrow back. Any second now, he would [[fire at the approaching Canid patrol|Valley_Kraith_dead]].

"Aah, just a moment, I-" Bevan made as if he was about to say something -- the Canid soldiers, slightly puzzled, lowered their guards for a split second. That was just enough time for Bevan to turn tail and sprint away from the two as quickly as his feet would carry him.\n\nHe heard the Canid howl with anger behind him -- also perhaps a call for reinforcements, though Bevan personally hoped they were too far into the wilderness for any others to hear them.\n\nBevan leapt over tree trunks and weaved through the trees like a madman. The forest was thinning out, and a putrid smell began to assault his nostils as he took more frequent breaths thanks to his running.\n\nA swamp! That would be the perfect place to lose those Canid soldiers! In a matter of moments, he came to the shore of the mire. Squinting into the foggy distance, he could see the edge of the grassy field that has lain on the western side of the forest.\n\nI must have run completely around to the opposite side, Bevan thought. Still, if he could find a way either through or over the muck of the swamp, he could find Kraith in a matter of minutes.\n\nHe stuck a foot in the water and shifted his weight onto it. The swamp sported a shallow veneer of brackish water, but just beneath it, Bevan could feel a quicksand-like mud sucking his leg under.\n\nWonderful. Bevan looked at his surroundings. Sickly, skeletal trees dotted the landscape of the swamp, their spindly interconnected branches could possibly provide an overland route if Bevan [[climbed up the nearest one|Swamp_death]].\n\nAlternatively, Bevan noticed [[a series of boulders and bogwood sticking up from the muck|Swamp_escape]]. There were more than enough to grant him a path to the other side of the swamp.\n\nHe could hear the Canid soldiers thundering toward him. He needed to make his choice, and quickly.

Kraith tested the draw on his bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver with a shaky claw. "I've never, ah..."\n\nBevan sighed. "Never gone up against the Canid?"\n\nWonderful.\n\nThe older Ermehn shook his head. "Not without the rest of my tribe behind me, no."\n\nWell, Bevan thought, I can try to be the [[motivational type|Motivational]], or I suppose I could just [[tell Kraith like it is|Realistic]].

<<if $collected_trap_sticks eq "yes" and $collected_trap_string eq "yes" and $collected_trap_rock eq "yes">>Bevan finally had everything he needed to [[build the trap.|Construct_trap]]<<endif>><<if $collected_trap_sticks eq "no" or $collected_trap_string eq "no" or $collected_trap_rock eq "no">>Bevan considered the list of [[items he needed to build his bird trap|Trap_needs]].<<endif>>\n\nTo the [[south|Go_south]], the conifers grew taller and thicker as they neared the border between Aisling and the Northern Wastes.\n\nTo the [[east|Go_east]], Bevan could make out a small clearing, and could just barely make out the sound of a babbling brook.\n\nTo the [[west|Go_west]], there was what appeared to be a small stand of birch trees clustered together.

The two Canid soldiers were betrayed by the sounds of clanking armor and the rustling of foliage as they knocked errant branches away from their faces.\n\n"Through here," one of them growled to the other. They came to a halt about twenty paces away from Bevan's hiding spot up in the tree. He remained perfectly still, observing them through the tiny gaps between the nettles.\n\n"See 'im?"\n\n"No. Be careful, though." One of the Canid soldiers looked up into the trees. Bevan held his breath as the soldier's golden eyes passed over his hiding spot. He wasn't spotted.\n\n<<if $daggers eq 1>>Bevan slowly unsheathed his last-remaining dagger and held it tight. If he threw it, he'd be without a weapon, and realistically it would only take out one of his two pursuers. His best and only option was [[to wait for the right opportunity to strike|Wait_one_dagger]].<<endif>><<if $daggers eq 2>>Bevan unsheathed his two daggers, holding them tightly in each hand. He couldn't throw them without revealing himself first in the tight confines of the tree, which could spell disaster. Still, two daggers and two Canid -- he liked his odds, but first he would need [[to wait for the right moment to strike|Wait_two_daggers]].<<endif>>

The two Canid soldiers remained close together, back-to-back, as they slowly made their way through the grove of pines. Each had their sword drawn and keen eyes quickly darting from behind the tree trunks to the dense nettles above them.\n\nBevan took long, quiet, controlled breaths. They were closing the distance below his hiding spot, a mere five paces away. This was it: [[the opportune moment he'd been waiting for|Two_daggers_impatient]].

"The most important thing to remember," Bevan said in his most optimistic voice, "is that you're stronger than they are. They may be tougher and bigger than we are, but we're the ones who have to live up here in the Wastes."\n\nKraith offered Bevan a grin, the grip on his arrow more relaxed. "Yeah, those Canid scum fight for their generals. We fight for the good of all Ermehn."\n\nBevan returned the grin and flipped his dagger around as he peered past the boulder. Nothing yet.\n\n"I feel like I could take on the whole Canid army right now," Kraith whispered. "Just point me where to go, and I'll fill those barbarians with more arrows than they've got hairs on their heads."\n\n"That's the spirit," Bevan nodded. "But we have to be careful. Three of them, two of us. And we've only got one bow, they have two. Means they could get both of us in a single volley."\n\nKraith narrowed his gaze. "If I [[take out one of them right now|Valley_head_on]], we'll be on more even footing. Let me try."\n\nA head-on attack was probably not smart -- if Kraith missed, they would lose the element of surprise. If they kept silent, maybe they could [[somehow sneak past|Valley_sneak]] the Canid patrol -- though that was a dangerous proposition.\n\nThe alternative was Bevan's preferred method: to split up and [[take out the Canid troops one by one|Valley_assassin]].

Bevan waved sharply to Kraith, dropping low to the ground and whispering to him. "We're not getting around these Canid. Go that way around the boulder-" he gestured, "-and wait for my signal."\n\nKraith nodded and readied his bow. Bevan drew his dagger and slipped around the opposite side. There was a single Canid soldier coming around now. Bevan sidled up flat against the rock - his fur and clothing helped him blend into the moss-covered rock and patchy earth.\n\nA single Canid soldier walked right past Bevan, sword held out. There were no others.\n\nBevan raised his arm, signaling to where Kraith was lying in wait. In a flash, his friend stood up from behind a rock, bow raised. The arrow was loosed, but the Canid soldier turned at just the right moment, sending the steel arrow harmlessly ricocheting off the chain mail armor. Kraith was petrified as the Canid raised his sword and prepared to call for reinformcents.\n\nNo! Bevan leapt forward, grabbing the Canid soldier's head and stabbing into his neck with his dagger. He didn't let go until the soldier had collapsed to the ground.\n\nWhen Bevan looked up, he could see another Canid about twenty paces away, readying his bow, the arrow aimed directly at him.\n\n"Kraith!" Bevan shouted. But Kraith was still staring at him, shocked at the sight of seeing his friend single-handedly take down their attacker -- he hadn't even nocked another arrow. With no recourse, Bevan pulled the dagger from the dead Canid's neck and summoned every ounce of skill he had to throw it straight at his would-be killer.\n\n<<set $daggers = $daggers -1>>The dagger spun in a near-perfect arc and took the Canid right between the eyes.\n\nA howl suddenly pierced the cold evening air throughout the valley -- the third Canid calling for reinforcements from somewhere amongst the boulders farther in the valley.\n\n"Kraith, we need to go!" Bevan was about to go for his dagger when a Canid arrow slammed into the ground in front of him.\n\nDamn! He turned and could see Kraith running toward him.\n\n"Leave it, Bevan!" He shouted. "We need to get out of here!"\n\nBevan turned back to the dagger -- to some degree, his daggers defined him as an Ermehn warrior. They were irreplaceable in these barren lands, and once he ran out, the chances of him finding a set of equal quality were nill.\n\nAll he needed were a few more moments to [[try and reclaim it|Run_to_dagger]].\n\nBut then, maybe he didn't have those few moments. He hated the idea of losing one of his precious daggers, but maybe [[running away truly was the only option.|Escape_valley]]

Bevan looked around the forest, thinking. They were much farther south than usual, and that meant the chances of a Canid patrol stumbling across them in the middle of the night was higher than ever. Neither one of them was equipped to fight them, so they would need to conceal themselves appropriately.\n\n"It's getting dark real quick, Bevan," Kraith sounded concerned. Bevan could relate: Ermehn eyes were not built for the dark, while the Canid's sharp eyes were not at all deterred by it. They needed to find a place to sleep, and quickly.\n\n"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Bevan tried to sound calm, but he was close to panic as well. If they couldn't find a good hiding spot, they'd be visible to any passing Canid patrol.\n\nBevan thought back to his search for the trap components. Surely he could remember a good hiding spot if he thought hard enough. Wherever he led Kraith, they would have to make do with Bevan's first choice.\n\nHe could go [[south|Sleep_conifers]], [[east|Sleep_ground]], or [[west|Sleep_birch]].

Bevan looked around the conifers, searching for anything he could use for the trap.\n\nAfter several minutes of searching, he stumbled across a massive conifer that had long collapsed to the forest floor, its limbs snapped and scattered across a sea of brown pine nettles. \n\n<<set $collected_trap_sticks = "yes">>The Ermehn scout picked his way through the broken limbs to find the sticks he needed to fashion his trap.\n\nFeeling rather pleased with himself, Bevan [[returned to the central area of the forest|Forest_center]].

Every Ermehn had their weapon or weapons of choice. From an early age, Bevan knew his aim with thrown weapons was far greater than any other in his tribe. \n\nWhen a traveling Ermehn merchant came through his village many years before peddling wares from across the Four Kingdoms, Bevan had bartered away his most prized possessions for a single set of six perfectly-balanced throwing daggers from the Vulpin kingdom of Navran.\n\nWith those daggers, Bevan quickly made a name for himself in the Evyn-din. Unfortunately, the rare nature of the daggers made them impossible to replace, and three had already been lost.\n\nOne had been irreparably broken several years back when he accidentally threw it full-force into a rock as he tried to chase down a hawk. \n\nA second had been lost shortly after that down a rocky crevasse a day or two's journey west of his home. He had nearly broken his ankle climbing down after it, and was ultimately forced to give it up.\n\nThe third dagger had been used to slay a Canid soldier from afar. That was one dagger Bevan was less disappointed to have lost. The soldier had been felled silently -- a perfect kill -- but Bevan knew not to push his luck with so many other Canid soldiers about. He hid, waiting for the others to leave, but their howl for reinforcements forced him to fall back. When he returned later, the Canid (and his dagger) had been removed from the tundra.\n\nStill, even with just two daggers remaining, he knew he was a force to be reckoned with. So long as he didn't lose any more of them, that was.\n\nWith the sun hanging lower in the sky, Bevan and Kraith [[continued south|Canid_Territory_1]].

C'oth. One of the few words in the Ermehn language still widely used to the present day, and also one of the harshest in its lexicon.\n\nThe rough translation into the modern tongue was "Those who idle." Taken at face value it didn't seem so bad, but there was a greater context to it.\n\nAfter the Ermehn Purge and the signing of the Treaty of Cenolau, the Ermehn became a race without a kingdom, left to their own devices in the hostile Northern Wastes. There were attempts to create a cohesive society, but the Canid made absolutely certain that any Ermehn who posed a threat was hastily dispatched. Civilization fell apart, and the Ermehn culture devolved into its current incarnation -- tribes fighting tribes for power and scraps of food.\n\nIn all this, C'oth. Those who idle. Those Ermehn who stand by and watch their kind wither away and die. Those Ermehn who refuse to lift a claw to aid their kind rise up once more. C'oth -- it was the worst insult for any self-respecting Ermehn. To call an Ermehn a c'oth was to tell them they weren't worthy of being Ermehn. To call an Ermehn a c'oth was to tell them that their life's work was futile and without merit.\n\nBevan shook his head. He knew many c'oth in both the Evyn-din and Havran-din, but dared not say anything to their faces. He wanted to change their ways, wanted to make the Evyn-din a powerful tribe that could push back Canid troops... but that was a futile dream. Nothing could push back Canid troops -- at least, not forever.\n\nHow long has my mind been wandering? Bevan forced his eyes shut, held them, opened them. He blinked a few times. He was still [[on watch|Keep_watch]].

"Let's head east," Bevan insisted.\n\nBy the time the two of them reached the open clearing, it was pitch-black outside. Clouds blocked the quarter moon from casting any light into the forest, and neither Ermehn would risk lighting a fire.\n\nKraith groaned. "Where's this hiding spot, Bevan?" He sounded skeptical. "I hear the brook. Are we hiding underwater all night?"\n\nBevan bit his lip -- coming to this clearing was a mistake. "Look, we're here, we might as well get comfortable." He removed his shawl and rolled it up into a pillow, setting it at his feet (which he could barely see in the darkness). "We'll take turns on guard duty," he insisted, trying to sound optimistic. I'll even go first, if that helps."\n\n"Not particularly," Kraith grumbled, edging up against a nearby rock. "Not the worst place I've had to sleep, but I think we could've done better out here, Bevan."\n\nDespite his complaints, Kraith quickly fell into a deep sleep, leaving Bevan alone with his thoughts as he held watch and tried to keep his eyes open. Eventually his eyes did adjust to the darkness, though the wall of trees surrounding him did little to calm his nerves. Time passed slowly in the darkness, and the slightest crack or rustle in the nearby trees could have been mistaken for any number of savage, wild creatures.\n\nUnfortunately, the only savage creatures Bevan needed to worry about were in the Canid patrol that had spied him silently from within the treeline. With Kraith sleeping peacefully and Bevan distracted by his own wandering thoughts, the Canid soldiers were able to surround them on all sides of the clearing, then sneak up right behind the both of them.\n\nBevan hardly even felt the dagger sliding across his throat.\n\nTHE END.

Bevan tore south, winding his way through the trees, trying to throw off his two Canid pursuers. Several-dozen twists and turns later, he had temporarily shaken them off -- just long enough for him to climb up one of the massive pine trees that surrounded him.\n\nThere he waited, camouflaged by the thick nettles. The pair of Canid soldiers would show up [[any moment now...|Tree_wait_1]]

Bevan waited for the Canid to attack. He easily dodged under the sword blade and repeatedly tried to stab the Canid in the side, using his speed to his advantage. Unfortunately, the soldier's thick chain mail and plate armor deflected the blows entirely.\n\nAgain and again he tried, but the Canid's armor was too strong. All the Canid had to do was wait for Bevan to tire himself out. He couldn't run, he couldn't throw the dagger at the Canid's unprotected head at such close quarters -- all Bevan could do was keep trying to pierce the Canid's impenetrable armor with his tiny throwing dagger.\n\nFinally, after several failed attacks, Bevan finally made a mistake, allowing his dagger to hang in the air for just one moment too long. The Canid took advantage almost immediately, connecting his sword with the wayward dagger and sending it flying well out of reach. Before Bevan could react, the Canid soldier's vice-like claws wrapped themselves around his throat.\n\nThe Ermehn was quickly lifted from the ground as if he were no more than a plaything. In a matter of seconds, Bevan's struggles ceased as the Canid's claws crushed his throat like an overripe fruit.\n\nTHE END.

The Ermehn was dressed in a thick tartan kilt, all shades of green indicating he came from a tribe in the grasslands and not the bitter northern mountains (where clothing biased to lighter colors to aid with camouflage). \n\nA matching sash reached over his chest and around his back, obscured by a heavy green cloak. In addition to the standard arm and leg wrappings of the Ermehn, this stranger also sported tightly-wrapped strips of cloth around his hands -- the mark of a creature that favored nimble, close-quarters daggers.\n\nThe stranger's tattoos revealed a little bit more about him. While Ermehn tattoo markings could often have multiple meanings depending on which tribe gave them, Bevan still knew enough about them to try and discern the stranger's own.\n\nA trio of horizontally-aligned jagged spikes wrapping around the stranger's ribs and wrapping around his upper arms indicated his home tribe had been large and powerful, though it was hardly uncommon knowledge that many Ermehn tribes added similar markings to make their tribes seem more important. That alone did not offer much to Bevan.\n\nTwo dark lines on either side of his neck most-likely indicated the stranger had come from a powerful family within his tribe, and was either a tribal leader or directly related to one. By contrast, Bevan had a trio of black dots along his neck, indicating his relationship to Evyn, his uncle, tribal leader of the Evyn-din.\n\nA curved mark close to the stranger's eyes resembled Bevan's own -- indicating that the tribe from which Hardin had originated was located somewhere in the central wilds of the Northern Wastes. Three black dots underneath narrowed the location down even further, suggesting to Bevan that this stranger lived no more than three days' trek in any direction -- if similar tribes' markings were anything to go by.\n\nLastly, and perhaps most tellingly, a black line and a square stretched beneath the stranger's eyes. This was the sign of an Ermehn marked for greater purpose -- one who could see challenges ahead and plan for them, or one who would bring their tribe great fortune in the years to come.\n\n[[The stranger and his sudden appearance in the Evyn-din camp intrigued Bevan.|Hardin_pitch]]

Bevan lingered on the thought of the treewalkers. He'd never seen one himself -- just heard stories from some of the travelers and elders. The idea of one, just one, living on the same earth he inhabited was enough to strike fear into his very bones.\n\nAccording to legend, the Tamian race had been fighting them in the forests of the Western Deep since time began, slaying them with poisoned arrows, strange swords, and aerial combat so complex that a land-bound creature like himself wouldn't even be able to comprehend it.\n\nThe treewalkers though -- that was the thing that always stuck in Bevan's head: a massive insect-like creature, no less than three [[perches|Perch]] long, with a deadly set of jaws that could rip a Tamian warrior clean in half.\n\nBevan shivered -- though he wasn't cold. No, the idea of a treewalker gliding silently through these forests in search of food was far more terrifying to him than any Canid patrol.\n\nFortunately, at least as the travelers and elders said, the Treewalkers never came north of the border. Nobody had even seen one farther north than the Deep, there was probably nothing to worry about.\n\n[[Probably.|Keep_watch]]

The Havran-din was a small but well-established tribe located in the midst of a boulder-laden plain farther up north and to the west. They had recently formed an alliance with the [[larger Evyn-din tribe|Evyn-din]] in a bid to improve their defenses against nearby Canid troops.\n\nKraith was a hunter and scout for the Havran-din, but while he was Bevan's elder, it was clear to Bevan that even the most well-trained of the Havran-din were mediocre compared to those of the Evyn-din.\n\nBevan chalked this up to the leadership of the Havran-din. Havran, the tribal leader and reason for the tribe's namesake, was an ineffectual warrior and lacked the drive and ambition necessary to survive in the hostile Northern Wastes.\n\nThe young Ermehn scout considered this as he watched the grouse he had been close to slaying continued to fly away, now nothing more than a black dot in the distance. Truth be told, Bevan still wasn't sure whether to [[let Kraith off the hook|Forgive_Kraith]] for ruining his catch or to [[give the less-experienced hunter a piece of his mind|Admonish_Kraith]].

Bevan gripped his dagger tightly -- he'd only have one shot at this. Careful not to rustle the grass any more than the morning breeze, he flanked the nearest of the two Canid working their way through the tall grass with their swords.\n\nCareful to maneuver the soldier between himself and the two archers waiting at the edge of the field, Bevan struck.\n\nHe launched himself up from the field like a shot, using the Canid soldier as a shield from the waiting arrows. While the archers held their fire on their friend, Bevan slammed his dagger into the Canid soldier's chest, burying it to the hilt as he dropped back into the tall grass, dragging the Canid down with him. The soldier let out a coughing plea, but death took him quickly.\n\n"NO!" The remaining Canid soldier began to storm over, sword at the ready. If [[Bevan waited|Stab_death]], Kraith's arrow would find the Canid and then they could turn their attention to the archers. His only other option was to [[carefully slip farther into the field|Stab_retreat]] and then around to Kraith to regroup.

Bevan thought back to the village elder. A perch, that was 20 feet. That, along with leagues (three miles) were the most common units of Ermehn measurement.\n\nA perch, after all, was considered the safest distance to avoid Canid patrols and their long-pikes.\n\nIt won't protect you from their arrows, Bevan thought. But then, if you're close enough to be worrying about that, distance is probably the least of your worries.\n\nThe league -- that was the distance an Ermehn could walk in a single hour. Time itself was a loose concept to most Ermehn tribes. Most Ermehn sun dials were improperly made, making the concept of an "hour" nearly useless outside of a given tribe. But the league, that was a concept the Ermehn could get behind. If you didn't stop walking in a straight line from one sunrise to the next, you could walk 24 leagues. At least, most Ermehn liked to think so.\n\nBevan grunted to himself. You walk in any direction for that long in the Northern Wastes, you'll either walk off a cliff, into an Ermehn bandit, or a Canid patrol\n\nHis mind wandered this way and that. [[Sleep seemed elusive.|Keep_watch]]

"Listen, Kraith-" Bevan started, but he didn't get more than two words out before another voice cut him off.\n\n"Stop right there, Ermehn scum!"\n\nDown the path, both could see a contingent of four Canid soldiers, swords drawn. A well-armored patrol leader pointed a menacing claw. "Get them!"\n\n"Bevan...!" Kraith tensed up -- he wasn't sure what to do.\n\nBevan had to think quickly -- they could [[split up|Split_up]], which would divide their pursuers two and two. Bevan could have made that work, but he knew Kraith wouldn't last long against them by himself.\n\nAlternatively, the two of them could [[stick together|Stick_together]] -- but that would make losing their Canid attackers a much more difficult proposition.\n\nOf course, they could always [[stand and fight|Last_stand_death]], but Bevan knew better than that.

Bevan leapt onto the nearest boulder, lowering his center of gravity and using his dagger to dig into the stone for purchase. Because of his light frame, Bevan was easily able to orient himself on the mossy rocks.\n\nThat wasn't so bad. Bevan allowed himself a grin before looking for his next destination. Another boulder. Then a tree trunk. In less than a minute, he'd made it halfway across the swamp.\n\n"There he is!"\n\nBevan turned at the sound of the Canid voice -- at the edge of the swamp, the two soldiers stood, blades drawn.\n\n"You won't get away that easy, Ermehn scum!" One of them shouted. In an instant, the two Canid were leaping across the swamp. Unfortunately, their bulkier frames and heavy armor served them little in the swamp. The moment their feet came into contact with the moss-covered boulders, they slipped right off, sending the two Canid soldiers spilling into the swamp.\n\nBevan grit his teeth, pushing away any instinctual urge to help creatures begging for his aid. These were Canid -- they would have killed him given the chance, and if Bevan had been in their position, they would no doubt have watched him drown.\n\nAs the Canid soldiers sank down into the mire, Bevan forced himself to turn to the other side of the swamp. Kraith still needed his help.\n\nBy the time Bevan leapt onto the opposite shore, he could no longer hear the shouting of the Canid soldiers. He closed his eyes and shook his head.\n\nIf it had been any other race... any at all... I would have helped them, he rationalized to himself, though it hardly made him feel better.\n\nBefore him, the [[grassy fields at the western edge of the forest|Western_fields_Kraith]] lay.

Bevan felt weightless for but a moment. He fell silently through the air, the Canid soldier below only becoming aware of the descending form filling his peripheral vision when it was far too late to do anything about it.\n\nWith all his weight behind him, Bevan's dagger had no problem burying itself into one of the soldier's throats as the Ermehn scout dragged him down to the ground.\n\n"What!?" The other Canid soldier was right where Bevan had thought he was, standing in plain sight about 15 paces away.\n\nIn a single, fluid motion, Bevan slid the dagger out from the dead soldier's neck and tossed it straight into the air as he stood. With a practiced flourish, he reached an arm out, snatching the blade of the daggering between two claws and, with a swish of his arm, threw it straight at the second Canid soldier. The blade buried itself into the soldier's left eye, killing him silently and instantly.\n\nBevan allowed himself a deep breath. The forest was quiet once more.\n\nHe fetched his single dagger from the Canid soldier, then hurried back to the [[western edge of the forest, to the grassy field where Kraith had lured his pursuers|Western_fields_Kraith]].

Alex Kain\n\nBased on the comic series "Beyond the Western Deep"\nBy Alex Kain, Rachel Bennett, and Jerome Jacinto

"Th'ul," Bevan cursed under his breath. He knew a hopeless fight when he saw it. He dropped his last dagger to the ground.\n\n"Smart," one of the Canid soldiers began to approach him, nodding to his compatriot as he did so. "Keep a bead on him."\n\n"What are you going to do?" Bevan asked, not really sure he wanted to hear the answer.\n\nThe Canid disappeared behind him. "You're going to help us."\n\nBevan sneered. "And why would I do that?"\n\n"Because-" the Canid started. Just then, Bevan felt a horrible pain in the back of his head that sent him sprawling forward. His vision was nothing but bright lights, a horrible ringing in his ears. \n\nAbove all that, the Canid soldier's cold voice rang clear: "Your screams for mercy and death will fill the Northern Wastes until you do."\n\n[[Bevan's vision clouded over. All went dark.|Outpost_death]]

"How can I betray my family?" Bevan pressed. "They raised me, helped keep me alive in these forsaken lands-"\n\n"And now they can waste your life?" Hardin sneered. "You just survived against incredible odds, Bevan. You survived a patrol of four Canid soldiers far from home, with limited resources. You are among the pinnacle of Ermehn, and now your leader wants you to die with him for what?"\n\nBevan grunted. "Honor, perhaps? You familiar with that?"\n\nHardin grit his teeth. "The Ermehn are not honorable, Bevan. They're opportunistic, barbaric savages. That's why the Canid have such an easy time killing us."\n\n"These are your people too," Bevan said. "You should fight with us?"\n\nHardin laughed. "And die for honor? You all go fight tomorrow, you all die. The only story that leaves the plains is that the Evyn-din failed. No victory ever comes of that. Morals are never learned. Heroes are never made because the Canid would not allow that to happen." He leaned in close to Bevan, eyes ablaze with purpose. "If you go out there tomorrow, you will all die, and nobody will remember you. Your tribe will be wiped from the Wastes for all time except as a name of failure. Tell me, is that honorable? Does that avenge your friend?"\n\nBevan took a sharp breath, Hardin's words stinging like only the truth could. And yet, there was some innate hypocrisy to it all. "You say the Ermehn cannot defeat the Canid. How can we have any hope at all, then?\n\n"The Canid are a mountain," Hardin said. "Strong, tall, seemingly indestructible." He knelt down and cupped a handful of dirt-covered snow from the patchy ground. "The Ermehn, then, must be like water. Flexible and adaptable. The mountains of the Wastes seem impervious, but water still manages to find the cracks and flow from north to south." Hardin dropped the snow and clapped his hands free of dirt. "I have a plan."\n\nThat was enough for Bevan. The time had come to make a decision: to go with this strange Ermehn and [[join his tribe|Bevan_goodend]], or to remain in the Evyn-din and [[fight with his family and tribe|Bevan_badend]] the following morning.

"Bevan?" Evyn approached the center of the camp. He was already dressed in the ceremonial armor of the Evyn-din, a large axe held firmly in his right hand. "Bevan, where are you?"\n\n"Right here," Bevan turned to Hardin and cleared his throat. "My friend was just leaving."\n\nHardin took a deep breath, looking hurt. The hurt quickly turned into anger. "Your mind is made up?"\n\nBevan nodded. "The Ermehn have nothing left but their honor. If I can avenge my friend by slaying a few Canid soldiers, then perhaps that is what I was fated to do."\n\nEvyn narrowed his gaze at the stranger. "Who're you, then?"\n\n"Nobody of consequence," Hardin said. "Your nephew is a gifted Ermehn, it's a shame that-"\n\nEvyn cut him off and grabbed Bevan's arm. "C'mon, lad. Let's get you ready for tomorrow. We'll need your sharp eye if we're gonna clear away those ramparts!"\n\nAs Evyn dragged Bevan away, the young Ermehn turned to look at Hardin one more time. There was nobody there.\n\nThe following morning came and Bevan joined his uncle and the other warriors of the Evyn-din, Havran-din, and a dozen other smaller tribes from throughout the Wastes.\n\nTheir twilight march to Deltrada went without issue, but the moment they got close to one of the smaller outposts, Evyn's clumsy attempt at a stealthy attack resulted in the alarm being sounded. Every Canid troop between the outpost and Deltrada howled as if their lives depended on it.\n\nBy the time the Ermehn army reached Deltrada, the walls were thick with archers, and the gates had been sealed up tight. Still, Evyn issued a charge, sending every Ermehn warrior directly into the line of fire. Their paltry wooden shields deflected some arrows, but hardly all of them.\n\nBevan felt an arrow slam into his leg as he approached the imposing gray walls of Deltrada. The only way forward was up -- he and the other Ermehn would need to ascend the walls and overrun the Canid within.\n\nAbove him, arrows fell at every possible angle and in every possible configuration. Bevan held his small wooden shield above him, feeling the pressure and loud thunks of steel arrows slamming into it.\n\nBevan's leg gave out, then -- the wound from the arrow rendering it useless. He fell against the impenetrable wall, shield held above his head, but his arm getting weaker by the second.\n\nWhy am I here? He suddenly thought to himself. Why throw my life away?\n\nHe was yet another Ermehn about to be killed by the Canid. There was no honor in that. His name would not be remembered, nor his exploits passed down.\n\nMaybe Hardin was right. Maybe I could have made a difference.\n\nBevan's vision was beginning to blur. He looked up and could see numerous Ermehn warriors looking to the sky, their eyes wide with terror. When Bevan followed their gaze, he saw that the Canid had turned from firing arrows to spilling boiling hot tar.\n\nThe deluge engulfed Bevan in an instant, but did not end his life for several agonizing minutes.\n\nHardin watched it all happen from afar, standing atop a rocky mountain range high above with the other members of his tribe. With stone faces, they watched as the Evyn-din, Havran-din, and all neighboring tribes fell in less than a single hour to the Canid might of Deltrada Garrison. Soon, they could see the Canid soldiers leave the garrison to finish off any survivors.\n\n"Foolish." That had been Ashtor, an elder amongst Hardin's tribe. "The folly of the Evyn-din has doomed all Ermehn of this region to a merciless, painful death." He turned to Hardin. "We'll have our work cut out for us."\n\nHardin sighed. "I can't believe he threw his life away, after everything he'd been through."\n\nAshtor turned away from the carnage, stepping from the overlook. "Not all Ermehn see reason as we do, Hardin. Whatever this Bevan's skills may have been, they won't do anyone any good anymore."\n\n"Yes," Hardin turned away from Bevan's final resting place in the valley below. "Now he is simply one more corpse among the lost. Another wayward Ermehn soul to fight for."\n\nThe two Ermehn made their way down into their hidden camp behind the overlook. There, the Sratha-din continued to prepare their grand plans against the Canid.\n\nTHE END.

Bevan walked back to the center of the Evyn-din camp and sat down on large log bench. It was evening now, and a communal fire was roaring. The young Ermehn kicked a branch into the fire distractedly, sending sparks and smoke billowing to the sky. When Bevan followed their path, he noticed a silhouette of an Ermehn standing on the other side of the fire pit.\n\nThis Ermehn was not of the Evyn-din or Havran-din. As he drew closer, Bevan tried to make out where he had come from [[based on his clothing or tattoos|Hardin_desc]], but could not place it.\n\n"What brings you here, friend?" Bevan asked. "Come to help us rout the Canid?"\n\nThe stranger sat down on the log next to Bevan, elbows on his knees, apparently deep in thought. After a few moments, he shook his head. "Actually, I'm here to speak with you, Bevan."\n\n"Very well," Bevan shrugged, expecting more consolation for having lost his best friend. [["I'm listening."|Hardin_pitch]]

The monolithic fortress to the south was the center of all Canid activity in the Northern Wastes. Wedged between two sides of a narrow mountain pass, it was once the safest means of travel through the mountains that separated the Northern Wastes from the rest of the world. A small fortress had been built by the Ermehn during their golden age, but nothing more until the Ermehn Purge a hundred years before.\n\nAfter the Ermehn Purge, the Canid commandeered the old fortress, laying stone upon stone until the walls of Deltrada stood at least two perches tall, towering over the still cold of the Wastes like a towering sentinel.\n\nIt was protected day and night by a contingent of Canid soldiers. Nobody was sure of the exact number, as the stories always ranged between fifty and five-hundred. Bevan always assumed it was the higher number, just in case.\n\nEven if the Ermehn could muster an army to take down the garrison, the Canid still had the advantage of a single accessible gate, which remained closed at all times save for when a patrol was marching into or returning from the Northern Wastes. The gate could theoretically be destroyed, but the archers and cauldrons of boiling hot tar from the ramparts above would thin out any Ermehn line in a matter of moments.\n\nEvyn hadn't addressed any of these issues -- only that the garrison needed to fall. Bevan bowed respectfully and [[backed out of Evyn's tent to think.|Hardin_intro]]

<<silently>>\n<<set $collected_tuber = "no">>\n<<set $collected_trap_sticks = "no">>\n<<set $collected_trap_string = "no">>\n<<set $collected_trap_rock = "no">>\n<<set $health = 2>>\n<<set $daggers = 2>>\n<<endsilently>>\n**An account by Felis First Scholar, Gamil, excerpted from his annual Tour of the Kingdoms.\n\n"The Ermehn of the Northern Wastes are a lost and dying race. They have been for nearly one hundred years, since the Ermehn purge in Year 133 of the 2nd Era (2E:133).\n\n"Despite the fact that no Canid soldier would ever allow the Felis to send a scholar into the Northern Wastes to chronicle the current state of Ermehn society (for our own protection), we have our ways of obtaining [[information we desire.|Start_2]]

Bevan had never seen the Felnach with his own eyes, but most Ermehn knew about the massive lake that lay just east of Deltrada Garrison. \n\nMany had tried to navigate the rivers of the Northern Wastes in a bid to sail across the lake and slip into the Four Kingdoms to the south, but a combination of Canid checkpoints, fast-moving rapids, and deadly pikes in the water kept most Ermehn from making it that far.\n\nOf course, assuming one managed to make it from the rivers of the Wastes into Lake Felnach itself, they still had to cross its choppy waters to reach the southern shore before the currents dragged them too close to the Canid capital of Arklow. Even then, there were still many days of traveling overland through Aisling before they reached the forests of the Deep, where bandits and other savage beasts roamed freely.\n\nBevan sighed. Lake Felnach was no easy exit for the Ermehn. [[He turned his attention back to brook|Go_east]].

The forest opened up in a clearing, granting Bevan a view of a peaceful brook winding its way farther east. He wondered idly if this could have been a tributary that emptied into [[Lake Felnach|Lake_Felnach]] somewhere through the mountains.\n\nBehind him, the path [[back to the middle of the forest|Forest_center]] wound through the trees.\n\n<<if $collected_trap_rock eq "no">>Bevan took a cursory look around the clearing to see if there was anything there he could use for his trap. [[The brook caught his eye|Search_east]].<<endif>>

"I'm sorry, Bevan.” Kraith whispered in a raspy voice. "I was too slow. I was... I was-" He began to cough in terrible fits. Bevan was quick to put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.\n\n"Hey, Kraith," Bevan forced an uneasy smile. "You took 'em both down yourself. I'd say you were plenty fast."\n\nThe wounded Ermehn returned the weak smile. "Yes, just not fast enough."\n\n"Let me get this arrow out of you," Bevan said. He wrapped a hand around it, but Kraith stopped him.\n\n"Leave it," he whispered. "Oh, just leave it."\n\n"But-"\n\n"I said leave it! Kraith said harshly, sending him into another round of coughing fits. "I'm gonna die, Bevan. Can't stop it now. At least let me die without the pain."\n\nBevan took in a sharp breath, feeling the pricks of tears forming in his eyes. "Kraith, c'mon-"\n\nKraith raised a weak hand. Bevan took it. "You're my best friend, Bevan. Always have been."\n\n"And you mine," Bevan said quietly. He took a deep breath, and it came out in a staggered whimper. "Sleep, Kraith. Sleep peacefully."\n\n“I will... Just promise one thing.” \n\n“Anything,” Bevan said.\n\nKraith smiled. “Don’t... don’t let this change you. Be the light the Ermehn need.”\n\nKraith's eyes clouded over as his final breath escaped him. He was gone.\n\nBevan remained by Kraith's side for several long minutes, the reality of his loss coursing through his mind. Memories of a near-lifetime of friendship, and the anger he felt of years deprived -- all because of the Canid. That was what they wanted, of course; they wanted Bevan to feel the pain and loss, to feel like fighting them was a fruitless endeavor, always destined to end in failure.\n\nDon’t let this change you. Be the light the Ermehn need.\n\n“You’re right.” Bevan sniffed, then rubbed his face free of tears. "Don't worry, Kraith." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You won't be the last Ermehn who dies in this war, but so long as I continue to draw breath, each one will go toward ending it."\n\nUsing his bare hands, Bevan spent the next hour digging Kraith a shallow grave. It pained of inadequacy for his best friend, but the usual tradition of a funeral pyre was a luxury Bevan could not afford. Soon, the grave was covered over with dirt and rocks. Bevan even went so far as to decorate it with a collection of shiny pebbles pulled from the brook nearby.\n\nThe field was silent, then. Even the insects and birds seemed to go quiet out of respect for Bevan's fallen friend. The Ermehn closed his eyes and, bending one knee to the ground, whispered the traditional Ermehn words of passing to his friend.\n\n[[After another moment, Bevan stood, offered his friend one final goodbye, and began the long journey back to his home tribe.|Act_3_Start]]

Bevan awoke some time later in the dungeons of what appeared to be a rather large Canid garrison, his arms held fast above him by large iron shackles. He pulled at them, but it was clear they weren't just for show.\n\n"Welcome to Deltrada Garrison." A gruff voice could be heard from somewhere across the room. A well-armored Canid officer stepped out of the shadows. "Soon to be your grave."\n\n"Soon?" Bevan tried to hide the fear in his voice.\n\nThe Canid laughed. "Don't worry, it will come quickly enough. Assuming you tell me everything I want to know..." He nodded to his side. A smaller but equally-menacing Canid soldier entered the room and opened a pinewood box that seemed to be filled with all manner of sharp, pointy tools. \n\n"... Like where we can find your friend, and the rest of your miserable tribe." He crossed his arms and waited.\n\nBevan's breath quickened. He began to pull desperately on the chains binding his arms, but nothing came of it.\n\n"Seems we need to loosen your tongue." The Canid officer nodded to the interrogator. "Let's get started, then."\n\n"Not to worry," The interrogator said, approaching Bevan. "You'll tell us everything. You all do." He smirked. "Eventually."\n\nTHE END.

I can hide from the Canid patrols in those reeds! Bevan sloshed his way into the water, pausing only for a moment -- like there was something important he'd forgotten.\n\nHe snapped off a hollow reed and, after sucking a few breaths through it to test it, dipped his head below the surface.\n\nDon't know what I was worried about. This is a perfect hiding spot. Bevan concentrated on his breathing through the narrow reed. Everything went deathly quiet under the water.\n\nSuddenly, Bevan felt a tremendous pain radiating across his arm. He turned his head and quickly remembered what he'd been worried about before: a massive pike had wrapped its jaws around Bevan's right forearm. Before he could react, another chomped down on his left ankle. Then another on his left arm.\n\nThe young Ermehn made to scream, instinctually rising from the water of the brook. The two Canid giving chase spotted him immediately, but held back when they saw his predicament. Trading a grin, they realized the pikes were going to take care of everything for them!\n\nWith a desperate cry, Bevan was dragged back under the water's surface by the ravenous waterbeasts. The Canid soldiers didn't even bother fetching his remains.\n\nTHE END.

Bevan and Kraith walked out of the tall grass, heading back toward the center of the forest, where the path north would take them home.\n\nIt had been a harrowing hunt, no doubt about it. Bevan often considered the choices he'd made that brought him to that moment in time, but for some reason, all he could do was think about how many times he had escaped certain death over the last day.\n\n"You ever wonder where it's going to end?" That had been Kraith. Bevan narrowed his eyes a bit.\n\n"What do you mean?"\n\n"I mean," Kraith cleared his throat. "The Ermehn. The tribes keep getting smaller and the hunts get more and more dangerous..." He nodded to the satchel around Bevan's shoulder that contained the grouse they'd just claimed.\n\nBevan allowed himself a sigh. "I think about it all the time, Kraith. Who couldn't? The elders talk about the Ermehn golden age all the time. We had castles and crops, farms and fields..." He adjusted the strap on his satchel. "Now we're traveling a day into enemy territory to risk life and limb over a single grouse."\n\nKraith looked despondent. "I've heard Havran saying that the Ermehn are a cursed race."\n\nBevan [[wanted to tell Kraith that wasn't true|Canid_ambush]] -- that the notion of an entire people being somehow cursed was impossible. But then, [[there was a part of him that agreed.|Canid_ambush]]

Bevan used one of his daggers to fashion a tall pole from one of the sticks he'd found, then made a small divot near the top where he strung up a smaller stick as a perch for the grouse.\n\nIf a grouse perched on that stick, it would dislodge from the base and, with the aid of a counterweight tied to the stone he'd pulled from the brook, tangle up the grouse's legs and make for an easy catch.\n\nKraith returned part-way through Bevan's construction, looking rather pleased. "Think I've got a good spot," he said. "Couldn't get too close, but I'd say if this trap works, we'll be able to go home first thing in the morning."\n\n"I like the sound of that," Bevan said, testing the balance on the trap. [["Let's get this set up."|Place_trap]]\n\nBy the time Bevan was done constructing the trap, night was just about to fall.

Every Ermehn had their weapon or weapons of choice. From an early age, Bevan knew his aim with thrown weapons was far greater than any other in his tribe. \n\nWhen a traveling Ermehn merchant came through his village many years before peddling wares from across the Four Kingdoms, Bevan had bartered away his most prized possessions for a single set of five perfectly-balanced throwing daggers from the Vulpin kingdom of Navran.\n\nWith those five daggers, Bevan quickly made a name for himself in the Evyn-din. Unfortunately, the rare nature of the daggers made them impossible to replace, and three had already been lost.\n\nOne had been irreparably broken several years back when he accidentally threw it full-force into a rock as he tried to chase down a hawk. \n\nA second had been lost shortly after that down a rocky crevasse a day or two's journey west of his home. He had nearly broken his ankle climbing down after it, and was ultimately forced to give it up.\n\nThe third dagger had been used to slay a Canid soldier from afar. That was one dagger Bevan was less disappointed to have lost. The soldier had been felled silently -- a perfect kill -- but Bevan knew not to push his luck with so many other Canid soldiers about. He hid, waiting for the others to leave, but their howl for reinforcements forced him to fall back. When he returned later, the Canid (and his dagger) had been removed from the tundra.\n\nStill, even with just two daggers remaining, he knew he was a force to be reckoned with. Even so, [[with two daggers and three Canid, confrontation could quickly spell his end if he wasn't careful|Speech_type]].

Bevan pivoted on the log and grabbed a handful of Hardin's sash, pulling him close and sneering into his face. "Don't you dare speak ill of my friend, c'oth!"\n\nWhile Hardin hadn't made any move to prevent Bevan from grabbing him, the utterance of the word "c'oth" seemed to change the Ermehn's disposition in an instant. "How dare I?" Hardin raised an arm sharply, removing Bevan's hand in a quick sweep across his front. "I meant no disrespect to your friend, so don't you dare disrespect me."\n\nBefore Bevan could respond, Hardin stood up, holding both arms out to the camp in an explanatory gesture. "This, Bevan. Is this what you see when you imagine a thriving Ermehn civilization?"\n\n"Thriving?" Despite being upset at Hardin's earlier transgression, he couldn't help but allow himself a single, sharp chuckle. "The Ermehn don't thrive anymore. We survive. That's it. That's all we get."\n\n"And why is that?" The stranger crossed his arms and turned to face Bevan. "Because our ancestors lost some war a hundred years ago?"\n\n"I-" Bevan tried to respond, but Hardin cut him off, raising a hand.\n\n"I heard about your exploits to the south and I'm sorry about your friend, but you know as well as I that this attack on Deltrada will fail."\n\nBut was that true? Bevan knew his uncle was a strong warrior who had led his people to countless victories, so [[success may have been a possibility|Bevan_optimistic]].\n\nThen again, all those battles had been against small Canid patrols or other Ermehn tribes. [[Failure was just as likely|Bevan_realistic]].

"The conifers to the south will be perfect," Bevan said. "We climb high enough inside one of those and nothing would ever know we're in there."\n\nThe two Ermehn traveled south along the path, the pine trees looming in the oncoming darkness. By the time they reached the first large grouping of pines, total darkness had fallen on the forest.\n\nBevan looked around, blinking his eyes in an attempt to get them to adjust quicker to the darkness, but Kraith already seemed to be ahead of him. "Hey, Bevan," he said. "Think I found something."\n\nThe voice led Bevan to his right, forward a few steps, then face-first directly into a tree.\n\n"Oof!"\n\nKraith stifled a laugh. "C'mon! Get up here. Straight up, let's go." \n\nBevan dug his claws into the tree and blindly pulled himself up. Kraith's own hand wrapped around his forearm from above, hoisting him farther up the tree.\n\n"Got it?" He asked, making sure Bevan had purchase on a branch before ascending higher.\n\n"I got it," Bevan grinned a bit. "Look at us, huh? A couple of proper Tamians."\n\nThe two Ermehn continued climbing until they were [[well off the ground.|Get_ready_sleep]].

Bevan scratched behind his ear with the tip of the throwing dagger as his friend approached, trying to act as casual as possible. "So, find anything?"\n\nKraith shook his head and offered up a disappointed sigh of his own. "Not so much as an eggshell. At this point I think I'd settle for grubs or tubers."\n\nThe younger Ermehn scout stretched a bit, offering his hunting partner a wry grin. "Don't joke about that. Those tribes way up north in the mountains don't even have birds to hunt. They're lucky if they can roast up a good grub."\n\n"Yeck." Kraith's face contorted. "Guess we're lucky down here."\n\n"We won't be if you keep shouting like you did before," Bevan said. "You need to be more careful out here. You know how often the Canid patrol this valley. If they catch us out here..." He drew his dagger mockingly against his neck. "Sshrrrkk!"\n\nKraith rolled his eyes and nodded several times. "Yeah, yeah. But if we're going to survive on anything other than grubs and tubers, we'll need to push a bit farther south."\n\nBevan frowned. Each step south they took increased their chances of running into the Canid patrols. It was safest to [[stay where they were|Stay_in_valley]], of course. But his friend was right: the best game was [[closer to the southern border|Travel_South]] between the Wastes and Aisling, dangerous as it was.

That very same evening, immediately following Bevan's return to the Evyn-din, a joint-council including both the Evyn-din and Havran-din was convened at the center of their camp to hear the young Ermehn's tale.\n\nIt was perhaps the most trying moment in Bevan's life: explaining to his elders just what had happened in the southern regions of the Wastes. In as much detail as he could render, Bevan explained how he and Kraith had traveled south in search of better game, then run afoul of a Canid patrol the following morning. \n\nBevan wasn't sure how the village elders would react. After all, Havran, leader of the Havran-din, wasn't known to be very aggressive -- his first instinct was usually to lay low or move the tribe to another location. Evyn, however, was a different story altogether. Bevan knew his uncle well, and therefore knew that Evyn was not the sort to let Kraith's death off lightly. Bevan's slain friend may have come from the Havran-din, but the alliance between Havran-din and Evyn-din made him as much a member of both as one could be.\n\nHavran and Evyn stood together, and Evyn raised a clenched hand in anger. "The Canid have taken another of our promising young warriors. Kraith was known for his courage and utter devotion to the Havran-din, and now, his spirit passes to us, to all of us."\n\nA tight arrangement of dried grass was set alight, smoke gathering into a cloud about the tribe. The smoke represented Kraith's spirit, and by inhaling it, his spirit was said to be passed on to the rest of the tribe.\n\nBevan inhaled deeply. He wasn't sure what the tribes would do in response, but he knew such an act [[would not go without a response.|Act_3_cont]]

The young scout bowed his head. "He showed me the plans, Hardin. He might as well have just drawn a big arrow pointing to Deltrada with the word 'attack' next to it."\n\nHardin sighed, looking down at the ground as if he might find the right words down there. "Your leader has clearly seen you through many battles for your tribe to grow so large, but you and I both know this is not a battle that can be won."\n\nBevan looked at this uncle's tent across the camp. Evyn was there, barking out orders to some of his best warriors. Hardin followed his gaze, frowned, then knelt down in front of Bevan, looking him in the eyes.\n\n"Listen to me. If you go with them, you will die. Do you understand that? You got lucky down south, but that doesn't happen twice."\n\n"What are you saying, then?" Bevan narrowed his gaze. "That I abandon my tribe? My family?"\n\nHardin nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. Abandon this idea that the Ermehn are only good at dying at the end of Canid blades. I heard of your exploits down south, Bevan, and I want you to join my tribe."\n\n"And what tribe is that?"\n\n"The only one that matters now."\n\nBevan regarded the stranger with suspicion. "You wouldn't want to fight the Canid?"\n\n"Like this?" Hardin waved at the battle preparations going on around them. "A mindless charge on the most well-protected military garrison in the Wastes? No, not like this."\n\nThis was his family he was dismissing, of course -- almost as if they were already dead to him. [[How could Bevan ally himself with a complete stranger on the eve of his tribe's largest battle?|No_Hardin]]\n\nBut then, how could it be that a stranger he had just met that same evening could prove to be such a [[promising alternative|Go_Hardin]] to what was almost assuredly a violent end at the hands of the Canid soldiers in Deltrada.

"That's my friend you're talking about," Bevan said coolly. "He died fighting the Canid, that's all that matters."\n\n"Is it though?" Hardin asked, seemingly intent to push his luck even further.\n\nBefore Bevan could respond, Hardin stood up, holding both arms out to the camp in an explanatory gesture. "This, Bevan. Is this what you see when you imagine a thriving Ermehn civilization?"\n\n"Thriving?" Despite being upset at Hardin's earlier transgression, he couldn't help but allow himself a single, sharp chuckle. "The Ermehn don't thrive anymore. We survive. That's it. That's all we get."\n\n"And why is that?" The stranger crossed his arms and turned to face Bevan. "Because our ancestors lost some war a hundred years ago?"\n\n"I-" Bevan tried to respond, but Hardin cut him off, raising a hand.\n\n"I heard about your exploits to the south and I'm sorry about your friend, but you know as well as I that this attack on Deltrada will fail."\n\nBut was that true? Bevan knew his uncle was a strong warrior who had led his people to countless victories, so [[success may have been a possibility|Bevan_optimistic]].\n\nThen again, all those battles had been against small Canid patrols or other Ermehn tribes. [[Failure was just as likely|Bevan_realistic]].

Bevan relented, crossing his arms and looking at the southern path out of the valley. "Much as I think we should be playing it safe out here, I think you've got a point, Kraith."\n\nThe older Ermehn scout offered a nod in return. "I think it's the only option. We'll just have to be careful, is all."\n\n"Oh, is that all?" Bevan rolled his eyes and checked his bandolier. He had [[three daggers left of his original five-dagger set.|Dagger_Desc]]\n\nKraith noticed him eyeing the missing daggers in his belt. "Don't worry," he grinned. "I'll make sure you don't lose any more of your precious daggers." The older Ermehn hefted his bow. "You know I'm a pretty good shot with this."\n\nThat was true: Kraith was an amazing shot with his bow... if the target wasn't moving. Bevan, on the other hand, could strike closer targets with near-pinpoint precision, even if they were moving. They just had to be close.\n\nTogether, the two of them [[continued farther south|Canid_Territory_1]] as the sun began to sink lower behind the westerly mountains.

Bevan clambered up the dead tree as quickly as he could. The first branch he grabbed snapped clean off in his hand, but the second supported his weight as he launched upwards like a shot.\n\nAfter reaching a high enough height where he could leap from tree to tree, Bevan pushed off the trunk and began to scamper along the extended branches, their ancient limbs creaking and groaning under his weight.\n\nThe first few trees closest to shore gave Bevan no problems. He leapt from tree to tree as nimble as a Tamian. However, once he got far enough away from the shore, the trees became more brittle, their nutrient-starved forms offering little support for the Ermehn scout. After a few cautious steps on a tree at the center of the swamp, Bevan's luck finally ran out. \n\nHe put all his weight onto a decayed tree branch, and it crumbled under his feet like ash, sending the Ermehn howling into the swamp below.\n\nBevan landed on his feet, but not on solid ground. Almost immediately, the muck was sucking him down into the dark depths, and it seemed the harder he tried to move, the faster he sank.\n\nAt the edge of the swamp, the Ermehn scout spied the two Canid soldiers that had been pursuing him. They made no move to help him. Instead, they simply stood and watched him sink, arms crossed expectantly, twisted grins on their faces.\n\nBevan twisted and pulled helplessly in the mire, but it was to no avail. Soon he was up to his knees. Then his waist. Then his neck. It wasn't long before he disappeared completely from sight, never to resurface again.\n\nTHE END.

Bevan took a breath and held it. The Canid soldiers stepped closer still to the tree. Three paces. Two.\n\nHe launched himself from the tree, single dagger held out to the side. With all his weight behind him, Bevan's dagger had no problem burying itself into one of the soldier's throats as the Ermehn scout dragged him down to the ground.\n\nIn a single, fluid motion, Bevan threw himself away from the remaining Canid soldier, who stumbled back in surprise at Bevan's brazen attack.\n\nAfter a moment, the Canid soldier raised his sword menacingly. "That was my friend, Ermehn scum."\n\nBevan sneered. "You want to know how many of my friends you've killed?"\n\nThe Canid narrowed his eyes, pacing around Bevan in a circle. The Ermehn scout kept his bloodied dagger raised. This was exactly the sort of confrontation he'd been trained to avoid: going up against a Canid soldier face to face. [[He quickly learned why|Canid_confrontation_death]].

"Bevan?" Evyn approached the center of the camp. He was already dressed in the ceremonial armor of the Evyn-din, a large axe held firmly in his right hand. "Bevan, where are you?"\n\nBut Evyn's nephew was gone by then, having followed Hardin from the village of the Evyn-din with naught but <<if $daggers eq 1>>his single remaining dagger<<endif>><<if $daggers eq 2>>his two remaining daggers<<endif>>, the clothes on his back, and a simple cloth hood he had spirited from his tent — a gift from Kraith many years prior.\n\nThe battle went ahead the following morning, with hundreds of Ermehn warriors throwing themselves at the gates of Deltrada Garrison in a hopeless attempt to breach it. A few of the more agile Ermehn managed to get a handhold on the walls of the garrison, but all were quickly dispatched by a hail of countless arrows and the suffocating, burning embrace of hot tar spilled from above.\n\nBevan watched it all happen from afar, standing atop a rocky mountain range high above with Hardin and a few of the other members of Hardin's tribe. With stone faces, they watched as the tribes of the Evyn-din, Havran-din, and all neighboring tribes fell in less than a single hour to the Canid might of Deltrada Garrison. Soon, they could see the Canid soldiers leave the garrison to finish off any survivors. The Ermehn band in the mountains watched their dire work.\n\n"Foolish." That had been Ashtor, an elder amongst Hardin's tribe. "The folly of the Evyn-din has doomed all Ermehn of this region to a merciless, painful death." He turned to Hardin. "We'll have our work cut out for us."\n\n“We do.” Hardin frowned, then looked to Bevan. “Are you going to be alright?”\n\n“When Kraith died, I made him a promise,” Bevan said. He took a deep, calming breath, then nodded to Hardin. “I’m going to be alright.”\n\nAs day turned to night, the Canid began to send out dozens of heavily-armed patrols in force. The hornet's nest had been stirred. \n\nBevan stood on the rocky perch, gazing out over Deltrada from under his hood. The Canid had taken everything from him -- everything but his life, which he'd pledged to Hardin and his tribe, the Sratha-din.\n\nHis eyes trailed up to the starry sky. "Kraith," he whispered. "Don't worry. Hardin knows what to do." \n\nBevan turned from the overlook, walking back toward the hidden camp where the others were waiting. There was some laughter, a small campfire -- his new family awaited.\n\nTHE END.

"C'mon!" Bevan hit Kraith's shoulder with the back of his hand as he turned tail. "Run!"\n\nKraith didn't need any more encouragement than that. The two of them dashed back to the west, past the birch trees and into the tall grass. The Canid were close behind.\n\nThe moment they made it into the grass, Bevan pulled Kraith down and out of view. "They'll know we're in the grass, so we won't be able to get away," he spoke quietly, mind racing for a plan. "But we can take them out if we work together."\n\n"I'm with you," Kraith nodded. "With your daggers and my bow, we should-"\n\nThe Canid patrol had made it to the edge of the grass. "They're in there somewhere."\n\nSilence, then: "You two, here on the edge, bows ready. They stand up, you put them down."\n\nThe stretch of a bowstring was unmistakable, followed by another just the same. The two remaining Canid began to shuffle through the grass, cutting at it with their swords.\n\nKraith looked to Bevan, waiting for him to [[make his move|Bevan_stabs_first]].

Bevan held his breath and tried to work his way around the boulder as the Canid soldier walked around the opposite side. Kraith tried to keep up, but it was for naught.\n\nThe Canid reared his head back and howled loudly into the sky. He'd seen them! The call was for Canid reinforcements -- but even with just the three Canid in the patrol surrounding Bevan and Kraith, their victory was all but assured.\n\nBevan and Kraith had no choice but to surrender to the patrol. Their heads would later come to adorn the walls of a nearby Canid outpost -- the same one where they were tortured to death.\n\nTHE END.

Bevan took a silent breath, trying to calm his nerves.\n\nNo, I'm better than this, he thought. He was an Ermehn scout. A hunter. He struck from the shadows and disappeared. Above all, he was patient.\n\nWell... most of the time, I suppose. He grinned -- not just because of his observation, but because he could hear the Canid footsteps again. One pair of feet was close -- very close. The other about fifteen paces away. They had split up.\n\nThe closest Canid soldier was approaching the very tree the Ermehn scout was hiding in. Bevan would normally have been worried, but the Canid's eyes were locked forward, as if it was sure the threat was hiding behind one of the numerous tree trunks before him.\n\nThis was it. This was the moment Bevan had been waiting for. He clutched his last remaining dagger and took a breath. Held it. [[Then he jumped.|Single_dagger_success]]

Bevan approached the small brook and knelt down on the sandy bank. No fish swimming around, unfortunately, but the bottom of the brook was lined with smooth rocks of all shapes and sizes.\n\n<<set $collected_trap_rock = "yes">>"Gotcha." The Ermehn reached into the cold water and wrapped a hand around one of the rocks. He pulled it out and tossed it to himself, testing the heft.\n\n"Perfect," he smiled.\n\nBevan lingered for a moment longer. The water was clean, so why was it devoid of fish? He looked upriver, at the reeds and rocks.\n\nPikes. The only explanation. He needed to remember that -- those waters were not safe.\n\nBevan stood from the sand and made his way [[back to the center of the forest|Forest_center]].

Bevan waited for Kraith's arrow to find its Canid quarry. Any moment now, that damned Canid would utter the shocked gasp of a creature stuck in the back by an arrow.\n\nBut it was not the Canid who uttered that terrible gasp.\n\nA pair of arrows struck Bevan then, one in the shoulder, one in the knee. Of course, when he had stabbed the first Canid soldier, he'd given away his position. Even if Kraith killed the other Canid, the archers still knew where Bevan was skulking.\n\nKraith's arrow had indeed found the second Canid, but the remaining two had found Bevan. Before Kraith could ready another arrow, the two Canid archers let loose another volley. Bevan could do little save for trying to stumble away through the grass, but with a wounded knee he didn't get very far.\n\n"Kraith!" Bevan shouted desperately. "Kraith, do somethi-!"\n\nHis final words were cut short as both arrows once again found their marks, this time piercing through Bevan's back. He fell to the ground in a lifeless heap, buried in the tall grass.\n\nThe last thing Bevan heard was Kraith shouting out his name, giving away his position and letting the Canid archers finish him off as well.\n\nTHE END.

"You go back to the west," Bevan gestured with a snap of his head. "I'll lead the others off. Think you can handle two of 'em?"\n\nKraith offered a nervous grin before taking off like a dart. Bevan looked around quickly -- he didn't have much time to make a decision on where to run.\n\nHe could run [[south|Bevan_chase_south]] or [[east|Bevan_chase_east]].

"Kraith?" Bevan whispered. He had poked his head out from a tree, the grassy fields before him where Kraith had run off to when they split up.\n\nThe tall grass had been matted down and cut, stained with blood where the two Canid soldiers that had been pursuring Kraith lay dead on the ground. Bevan allowed himself a grin -- it snuck onto the side of his face for a split second before he realized his friend was still missing.\n\n"Kraith?" He repeated, dagger held up just in case it was some kind of Canid ambush. The chances of that seemed unlikely, but the Ermehn didn't survive by underestimating their bitter foe.\n\nBevan worked his way carefully around the deceased Canid soldiers. Both had been graced by the presence of Kraith's arrows, one lodged in each.\n\nThen, from about a dozen paces away, Bevan heard a weak voice call out to him.\n\n"B... Bevan...?"\n\n"Kraith!" Bevan ran over to his friend. He was lying on his back in the matted grass, a [[Canid arrow sticking from his chest.|Kraith_dies]].

Bevan threw himself downriver, spotting deeper, darker water a short distance away. He wouldn't be able to stay submerged for very long, but he could use the darkness below to mask his presence and hopefully lose his pursuers farther downstream.\n\nHe dove headfirst into the deep water and swam deep -- down into the darkness. Once he was sure he couldn't be seen from the water's edge, he thrust himself downriver. All he needed was one good bend before he could resurface -- that would hopefully be enough to shake the Canid pair on his heels.\n\nAlmost there, he thought, seeing the river take a sharp turn just up ahead. A few more seconds, that's all. \n\nBevan grabbed a large rock jutting from the bottom of the river just past the bend and kicked off it, launching himself back up to the surface. Even with his lungs on fire and air so close, he was sure to rise slowly and carefully from the water, so as not to betray his location.\n\nThe Canid soldiers were nowhere to be seen, but Bevan could hear rustling and shouting across the brook, deeper through the forests to the east.\n\nThey must think I kept running past the brook, he thought. Perfect.\n\nBevan slipped back to the [[western fields|Western_fields_Kraith]], where he knew Kraith would be waiting.

The two Ermehn scouts ran south, faster than they'd ever run in their lives. The howls of the Canid soldiers soon disappeared behind them, and the trees of the forest quickly swallowed them up.\n\nAfter both Bevan and Kraith were sure they'd lost their Canid pursuers for the time being, the two stopped to catch their breath and take stock of the situation.\n\nBevan's hand went to his bandolier -- now he only had two daggers left. Kraith noticed this and offered an apologetic sigh.\n\n"Look, Bevan, I'm sorry." He managed between breaths. "If I'd been quicker on the draw-"\n\nThe younger Ermehn waved him off. "Nothing to be done about it. Just be quicker next time."\n\nHe stood and took a few gulps of the crisp northern air. "Those Canid will be searching for us, but they won't expect us to go farther south."\n\n"Right," Kraith grinned despite himself. "What Ermehn would be stupid enough to go south with Canid on their tail?"\n\n"You're looking at 'em," Bevan grunted humorously and turned to look deeper into the forest. "We can't forget why we're out here. Even with Canid on our trail."\n\nKraith nodded. "Yeah, but how much longer do you think we have to hunt before nightfall?"\n\nBevan looked up through the trees. They had maybe another hour before hunting became an impossibility, but that was just enough time for them to [[build some traps|Build_traps_1]] and set them near the land-bound openings of any nearby grouse nests.

The brook! Bevan was gambling on being able to elude his pursuers somehow in the waterways. That was really his only option to the east, as the large clearing around it provided little in the way of hiding places.\n\nBevan came upon the brook in short order. The water nearest to the clearing was too shallow and clear to work as a hiding place. His two options were to travel [[upriver|Upriver]] to the reeds and rocks or [[downriver|Downriver]] to the deeper waterways.

The two Ermehn scouts made their way down the massive pine tree and back to the western edge of the forest. There, in the tall grass, the bird trap lay. Bevan noticed from afar that the perch had been dislodged.\n\n"I think we might have something," he said, his voice rising with excitement.\n\n<<if $collected_tuber eq "yes">>The tuber had done its job! The grouse that had been lured to the trap was plump and had been healthy -- right up until its demise, of course. Bevan and Kraith quickly removed their catch from the trap. It was time to [[go home|Back_north]].<<endif>><<if $collected_tuber eq "no">>The grouse that had stumbled into the trap was on the smallish side, but it would suffice for the time being. Bevan couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, but a catch was a catch. Either way, [[it was time to go home.|Back_north]]<<endif>>

"I don't think we should risk our safety on a whim," Bevan said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "I want a full meal as much as the next Ermehn, but I also don't like the idea of my head ending up on a Canid pike."\n\nKraith looked more than a bit exasperated. "I'm all for safety, Bevan, but we just need to find something soon. Knowing Ermehn luck, the Canid patrols are probably already out and about."\n\n"Right," Bevan nodded. "And Canid patrols love to ambush unsuspecting Ermehn in the dead of night." A pang of unease struck the young Ermehn, but he brushed it aside. "Let's keep looking."\n\nThe sun began to hang low in the sky over the mountains. Time was growing short, and neither Bevan nor Kraith could find anything in the rocky valley.\n\n"We're out of time, Bevan," Kraith offered in a terse voice. "These hunting grounds are barren. We have to [[go south right now|South_too_late]] if we're going to find anything before it gets dark."\n\nBevan sighed, kicking over an errant stone with his foot. Kraith had been right an hour before, and he was right then -- the valley may have been safe during the day, but with night fast-approaching, [[choosing to stay in the valley|Stay_in_valley_3]] could be the last mistake he'd ever make.

"I'm sure there's got to be something here," Bevan insisted.\n\nKraith grit his teeth. "You're a fine hunter, Bevan, but I fear those Canid have you running so scared you can't see straight."\n\n"Why shouldn't we be scared?" The younger Ermehn snapped. "No, no we're staying here in the valley until we've found something worth bringing back." He turned away, took a few hasty steps, then wheeled back around, a claw pointed at his friend. "We wouldn't be here now if you hadn't scared off that grouse in the first place."\n\nKraith grunted. "Oh, this is my fault now, is it?" His voice rose in anger. "If I recall, you're the one who wanted to hunt in this forsaken valley in the first place!"\n\nAs the two Ermehn continued their argument, the sun sank behind the mountains, throwing the whole valley into darkness. The only light came from a quarter moon sitting high in the sky, blocked by a few errant clouds. \n\nIt was just enough light for Bevan to see when Kraith collapsed to the valley floor, an arrow piercing his chest. It seemed that a nearby Canid patrol had been drawn by their argument, and in their distracted state had managed to flank the two Ermehn on either side of the valley.\n\nBevan blinked in the darkness -- his eyes adjusting just enough for him to make out at least a dozen Canid soldiers surrounding him on all sides, bows drawn. He barely had enough time to register the image and take in a surprised gasp before all the arrows were loosed on him.\n\nNone missed.\n\nTHE END.

The young scout shook his head, rationalizing his uncle's aggressive behavior as he had many times before. "The Evyn-din is one of the strongest Ermehn tribes in the Wastes. With the help of the other tribes, we'd be near-unstoppable."\n\nHardin sighed, looking down at the ground as if he might find the right words down there. "Being the most powerful tribe of the weakest race in the Four Kingdoms means little, Bevan. Especially when you're going up against the most powerful, well-trained military this world has ever seen."\n\nBevan looked at this uncle's tent across the camp. Evyn was there, barking out orders to some of his best warriors. Hardin followed his gaze, frowned, then knelt down in front of Bevan, looking him in the eyes.\n\n"Listen to me. If you go with them, you will die. Do you understand that? You got lucky down south, but that doesn't happen twice."\n\n"What are you saying, then?" Bevan narrowed his gaze. "That I abandon my tribe? My family?"\n\nHardin nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. Abandon this idea that the Ermehn are only good at dying at the end of Canid blades. I heard of your exploits down south, Bevan, and I want you to join my tribe."\n\n"And what tribe is that?"\n\n"The only one that matters now."\n\nBevan regarded the stranger with suspicion. "You wouldn't want to fight the Canid?"\n\n"Like this?" Hardin waved at the battle preparations going on around them. "A mindless charge on the most well-protected military garrison in the Wastes? No, not like this."\n\nThis was his family he was dismissing, of course -- almost as if they were already dead to him. [[How could Bevan ally himself with a complete stranger on the eve of his tribe's largest battle?|No_Hardin]]\n\nBut then, how could it be that a stranger he had just met that same evening could prove to be such a [[promising alternative|Go_Hardin]] to what was almost assuredly a violent end at the hands of the Canid soldiers in Deltrada.

Bevan held back, dagger held up and at the ready.\n\nThe Canid patrol turned around the boulder and was met by Kraith's single arrow. It took the Canid soldier in the front in the chest, felling him immediately, but leaving his two friends very much alive. And angry.\n\nKraith tried to draw another arrow, but the two remaining Canid soldiers were quick to close the distance with their blades. With a powerful slash and not so much as a scream, Kraith's head was removed from his body.\n\nNO! Bevan's jaw dropped and his heart sank. In a rage, he stepped from behind the boulder and threw his dagger, catching one of the two remaining Canid soldiers in the neck.\n\nSuddenly, Bevan felt something hit him hard in the stomach. An arrow from the third remaining Canid soldier had taken him completely by surprise.\n\nBevan fell to his knees, managing to look up just in time to see the Canid sword swinging at his neck.\n\nTHE END.

Bevan already knew the trap he wanted to make: a bird pole snare, constructed from a long stick stuck straight into the ground, a smaller stick for the bird to perch on, a rock to act as a counterweight, and a length of string to snare the bird.\n\n<<if $collected_trap_sticks eq "no">>Bevan still needed to find a few sturdy branches to fashion the trap frame.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $collected_trap_string eq "no">>Bevan still needed to find a length of string to fashion the snare.<<endif>>\n\n<<if $collected_trap_rock eq "no">>Bevan still needed to find a medium-sized rock to tie the string around and spring the trap.<<endif>>\n\nTo find everything for the trap, he needed to [[continue searching the forest.|Forest_center]]

Against his better judgment, Bevan leaned forward into the pine nettles, slowly parting the branches just enough to get a good look at what was approaching.\n\nFrom below, he heard a gruff voice: "There! In the tree! It's an ambush!"\n\nThe last thing Bevan heard was the howl of the Canid patrol as it called across the forest for reinforcements.\n\nThe last thing he felt was the sting of steel arrows.\n\nTHE END.

"After many months of first-hand observations, we, the Scholars of Gair, have concluded that the Ermehn race is unsustainable. Tribes vie for power, and those that band together are quickly destroyed by roving Canid soldiers intent on wiping out their former aggressors.\n\n"Unfortunately, so long as the Treaty of Cenolau remains in effect, even we cannot sway the high king of Kishar to send aid to the Ermehn or calm the war-hungry generals of the Canid armies.\n\n"If the Ermehn are to avoid being permanently extinguished from this world, they will need to create their own heroes from nothing, they must survive against overwhelming odds, and they must turn the world against the most powerful military force in the known world.\n\n[["As such, there is little hope that the Ermehn will last much longer."|Bevan_Intro]]

As the next day approached, light began to bleed through the trees, filling the forest with shafts of brilliant, pale yellow light.\n\nBevan yawned. He had been robbed of sleep, but couldn't let that affect him. With a quick stretch, he turned to Kraith and nodded down the tree. [["Let's check the trap."|Check_trap]]

Footsteps pattered across the stone and grass. From around a nearby boulder, another Ermehn made his presence known. He was about a year Bevan's elder, donned in a mottled green kilt and matching arm-wraps to keep warm in the frigid northern weather. At first glance, one might have mistaken Bevan and Kraith for brothers.\n\nKraith's tattoos, however, told a much different story. While Bevan sported a bent line and two dots along each side of his nose, Kraith's were more of a spiral display that stretched across his cheeks and down both sides of his neck. Bevan was a member of the [[Evyn-din tribe|Evyn-din]], and Kraith a member of the nearby [[Havran-din|Havran-din]].\n\nAs his friend approached, Bevan was of two minds. One of them was simply to [[greet his friend|Forgive_Kraith]] and pretend he hadn't just ruined his hunt. The other wanted to [[admonish him|Admonish_Kraith]] for his carelessness.

"The most important thing to remember," Bevan said, "is that they're stronger, better-equipped, and have better aim than you do."\n\nThe color drained from Kraith's features. "Thanks for that, Bevan. Nice pep talk."\n\nBevan crouched low to the ground and peered around the boulder. Nothing, yet.\n\n"The point is that you should never under-estimate the Canid, and you should never, ever go up against one face-to-face."\n\nKraith nodded. "Right, or they'll tear me apart."\n\n"Now you've got the right idea," Bevan said. The valley somehow seemed more claustrophobic than ever. The chances of them somehow [[sneaking past the three Canid|Valley_sneak]] in that rocky field felt slim to none, though the notion of avoiding conflict altogether seemed advantagous.\n\nThe only other realistic alternative was to find a way to [[pick the Canid off one by one|Valley_assassin]].

"I think this'll do it," Kraith said, leaning against the trunk of the tree from their vantage point about a [[perch or so|Perch]] up. "Think we'll be safe?"\n\nBevan squinted in the near-dark, holding his breath. He couldn't see much through the nettles, but that also meant anything on the other side would have just as much trouble. "Well, I don't think we'll fool the [[treewalkers|Treewalkers]], but if we're quiet and don't do anything stupid, we may just survive the night."\n\nHe could hear Kraith chuckle in the darkness. "Always the optimist."\n\nKraith fell asleep almost immediately. Bevan wasn't sure if he should [[keep watch|Keep_watch]] or [[let sleep take him|Sleep]]. He was so tired then that he wasn't sure it mattered either way.

Bevan closed his eyes and waited, but nothing happened. Where sleep would normally have taken him, his mind seemed to have other ideas. It skittered back and forth restlessly, keeping Bevan from ever being able to make the blissful transition to sleep.\n\nWonderful. Bevan rubbed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment before instinctually [[taking watch|Keep_watch]], keeping an eye on what he could see of his surroundings.

The Evyn-din tribe, to which Bevan belonged, was a rather large tribe just to the north of the valley where Bevan and Kraith hunted. It has recently formed an alliance with the smaller [[Havran-din tribe|Havran-din]].\n\nEvyn, the leader of the tribe and reason for its current namesake, was Bevan's uncle. Like many tribal leaders in the southern regions of the Wastes, closest to the Canid garrisons along the border, he was also the strongest Ermehn in the tribe and defacto warrior protector.\n\nBevan wasn't too fond of his uncle and found his leadership lacking. There had been many Ermehn hunters of their tribes that simply disappeared -- no doubt captured or killed by Canid troops in the wilds -- yet nothing had been done.\n\nThat was why Bevan had brought Kraith along for the hunt. After all, having another scout around only increased their chances of spotting trouble before it reared its head.\n\nHowever, after losing that grouse to Kraith's yelling, Bevan was torn between [[blowing off the slight|Forgive_Kraith]] and [[admonishing his friend for his carelessness|Admonish_Kraith]].