Tristan

Tristan had no idea how long he'd been staring up at the massive burning tree before him, but he strangely felt like it wasn't long enough. There was something about the way its flames flickered that he found entrancing. It was beautiful, which made him even more certain that he and his allies had chosen the correct path. They had to protect it.

[Cinderbark, the Flaming Willow, level 23] {{Living Defender of the Grove}}

It was a shame the Willow wasn't going to see things the same way. The moment they approached, it would see them as invaders and summon defenders to attack them. It was the Grove's defender, after all.

The entire "Cinderbark encounter" was a proper mess, with four possible ways of handling it. Protecting the tree was only part of two of those paths. It was entirely possible to attack Cinderbark instead, either before or in response to the Water Demon's arrival. Those were the "Snuff it Out" and "Weeping Willow" raid paths, respectively.

Tristan was really glad they weren't even entertaining those paths. He didn't even really care that they would eventually go for "All Sides Lose" instead of "Protect the Heart From Devastation." As long as they protected this majestic tree, he felt they were on the right side of the raid's storyline.

Tristan forced himself to turn away from the enormous willow, facing the three branching trails that led toward them. These were where Cinderbark's larger reinforcements would come from. Thanks to their efforts, though, two of the paths were now empty and would be traversed by the water demon's forces. The third trail, far to the left... That was the way to the oozes, which they hadn't cleared. Two bosses still stood, which meant they would send support to "defend" Cinderbark against him and his allies. For some reason, they would not attack the incoming "Great Wave" water demon or its armies--at least not with the same ferocity they would use when targeting his group.

Towering over the trees despite still being so far away, the water demon was like a primal force of nature. It looked to be ripped straight out of the sea, made of roaring currents that coursed endlessly, swirling up and down through the demon's body, yet also somehow formed into well-defined ribs and spiky shoulders. Draped in mists, two arms also extended into grotesquely long, clawed fingers. How water had managed to do that, Tristan could only imagine. Atop a lengthy and thick neck, the demon's face was smooth, with beady little eyes and an enormous, unevenly-toothy underbite. No part of its expression suggested there was any joy to be found in this creature, only determined destruction.

Tristan knew that at the demon's feet would be hordes of other, smaller enemies. Water elementals and demons alike made up its armies.

Armies against just the eleven of them.

He glanced one last time at the Flaming Willow, trying not to dwell on the scope of the grand elemental battle they were about to be in, but instead thinking of why. The beauty of the tree pulled at him.

We've got to protect Cinderbark, he told himself. We're fighting for more than just loot.

After going over their plan at length, Tristan had decided to change his [Combat Switch] sets for this fight. Now he would be able to alternate between the [Oozebane Greatsword] and the [Sanguine Challenger] in a flash, leaving [Hope's Aspiration] on his back. He loved how the new sword's small golden shield rotated around him. As much as he wanted to strike it and hear that beautiful sound again, he only wanted to do so when he used its [Attention!] ability, even if he could activate it with just a thought.

Opie whistled as Tristan took the blade in both hands and went through a few simple moves. "That is a ridiculously beautiful sword!" the healer said. "Are you sure you made it? Why would you keep such a beauty strapped to your back this whole time? "

"Yeah, Opie. Every hour and minute working it was mine, and I actually used it in the last fight, too, but it's really just a tanking blade."

Chessa, Drannis, and Xanax came over quickly to see what Opie was making a fuss about. Soon Manama and Kitara also joined the new circle around Tristan and Sophie. Only Cross and Laura stayed away, sitting quietly together, hands entwined.

"I've not seen its equal at this tier," the raid leader commented, "and I have lived among the greatest dwarven smiths of the Petrified Woods most of my life!"

"It is stunning," Manama agreed. "Its beauty would fit well into a song of legend! Perhaps someday, when you're worthy of such a tale, you'll let me write it!"

Tristan chuckled nervously. "If you ever get to thinking I'm worthy of something like that, I'd be honored for you to write it."

"Oh, he will be famous one of these days," Opie cut in, "if only because of his association with me! My friends and I will be like the Brightshield's party! We'll be freaking swarmed by reporters and historians. I bet some might even get tired of me!"

"We already are," Chessa quipped.

Xanax, on the other side, was still thoroughly examining the [Sanguine Challenger]. "The craftsmanship is exquisite," he said. "I am truly amazed at the beauty of the two mixed metals."

"They're both mythril, by my guess," Drannis offered.

Tristan nodded. "You're right. I got a great deal on the Crafting Ark."

Manama once again looked impressed. "You've been to the Crafting Ark?"

"What was it like?" Kitara asked.

"It was amazing," Tristan admitted. "A true crafter's paradise."

"Would it be possible to make another, possibly for me?" Xanax asked, only taking his eyes off the greatsword briefly. "This is such an incredible work of art and death."

Tristan had never heard a blade described that way before, but he figured it was likely a great compliment. "The problem," he began, "is my Core." And then he tried to explain at least some of it, specifically about Soulbound, to the scaleborn.

"I understand all too well," Xanax replied in the end. "In truth, I am unlikely to part with my own sword, but I would gladly appreciate your craftsmanship even as a display or art piece.

"It is also no wonder you were not more tempted by the arm guards," he continued. "Does that mean you will not find any suitable gear in this place?"

Tristan looked around the circle, noting that many of his allies seemed sympathetic when he confirmed Xanax's suspicion. "It might turn out that way, but some dungeon bosses in the past have dropped Soulbound items for me, so I have hope."

"That's fascinating," Manama murmured.

"Another verse for the ballad?" Opie asked with a guffaw.

Tristan and Chessa both rolled their eyes.

"Let us first master this raid. Then we should all be able to proclaim our justifiable excellence," Drannis said.

A quiet took everyone after that remark, as they spread out a bit, some sitting, all beginning whatever final preparations they might need. Looking around the group, Tristan could only wonder if any of the others had nerves to overcome, like him.

Here, sitting in the bright, powerful light of Cinderbark, with their backs more or less pressed against the wall of the Water Demon's army, the reality of their situation sank in.

Perhaps fittingly, it was Drannis who broke the silence. "The encounter will begin the moment we approach Cinderbark."

A quiet descended again, as no one hurried to respond. They could all see the line he meant, where the brown rocky dirt was suddenly covered by lush, red grasses and flowers.

A full minute passed before Tristan felt a surge of bravery, and he actually spoke up, projecting confidence into the quiet. "When you're ready, come stand with me. We've got a willow to protect." Then he moved a few paces forward.

Drannis was the first to follow, though Xanax, Sophie, and Mister Biggs were only a moment behind. They'd chosen to bring him over Poof since having a third tank should make controlling all the adds simpler. Cross and Laura stood next, and with a brief unspoken look, they joined the growing crowd. Kitara and Manama then rose and moved forward, leaving only Chessa and Opie. The huntress elbowed the healer as she stood, but Opie remained sitting cross-legged on the ground. His only movement was to stretch out his legs straight in front of him. "What's the rush? It's absolutely beautiful here, and honestly I'm not ready to ruin it all yet."

Chessa sighed loudly.

"Hey, someone had to be freaking last."

"Last and least. What, are you trying to grow old and die here?"

"Well, I was about to get up, but now I think I'm going to take my time, thank you very much."

"You might want to check that stubbornness, if you were serious about trying to be famous someday."

"Oh, I won't just freaking try," Opie said as he quickly rose to his feet. "I'll do it."

All together, the eleven of them faced Cinderbark and stepped forward onto the lush carpet of red.

And all the blessed chaos of the realm broke loose.

First came the warcry of a horn behind them, which was immediately picked up and amplified by dozens, if not hundreds, of other horns. It was enough to make the ground shake, all while the air practically pulsed with their grim-sounding melody.

In response, the great Willow seemed to grow taller, and her flames began to burn brighter, going from a dull red to a bright orange that verged on white at its center. Around Cinderbark, dozens of flaming animals and beasts had begun to pop out of burrows, bushes, and branches.

"OUR TIMER STARTS NOW!" Drannis yelled, still barely loud enough to be heard. "TEN MINUTES FOR PHASE 1! PROTECT THE TREE!"

Tristan synchronized his [Clock] skill to the dwarf's call, beginning their unified countdown. Ten minutes. They had to hold for at least that long, and Cinderbark had to stay above 95% health--something only Opie could see--or their "All Sides Lose" path would no longer be an option, and they'd be forced down the "Protect the Heart From Devastation" path.

Tristan gripped his sword and exhaled slowly. The first charge was coming.

The dwarf's words had clearly meant nothing to the hordes of Cinderbark's defenders. In their eyes, Tristan and his allies were just as intrusive as The Great Wave, and anyone coming too near the Flaming Willow had to be removed.

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The first to arrive and crash against the bulwark of Drannis, Cross, and Mister Biggs were the large firecats. Tristan wasn't sure if they were some type of lions, or overgrown house cats, but they were so fast their spots seemed to blur--along with their teeth and claws.

He knew better than to jump in yet. Their plan had been quite clear about how he and Xanax had to wait until the whole first wave arrived. Their enemies were all coming together, drawn toward the healers who were grouped in the middle with Cross and Mister Biggs guarding them from either side.

Laura was already beginning to summon her thundercloud, meaning the fighting would begin any second, yet Tristan still had to hold back. No matter how desperately he wanted to protect his friends, he had a job to do.

Staying back was just far more difficult than he'd thought.

Next came the cinderwolves, which further challenged his patience. They were almost the same size as the dire wolves that had ambushed him in Rockmoor Cemetery... just covered in fire. He gripped his sword tighter but stayed put. His wounds were not so fresh that he couldn't control himself, no matter how much he might itch for revenge.

Then the smaller, but no less deadly, critters of the wilds converged. With a loud roar, Mister Biggs commanded all of their attention. Tristan counted aloud to four, allowing the big astral tank to build enough aggro, and then he and Xanax joined the fray. The first swings of his black and white sword cut through a few of the smallest animals easily. Then his [Cleaving Slash] began to carve up the wolves. Without him being ambushed, these wolves proved much easier to handle, and he looked forward to the larger ones that would come in later waves.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Drannis peeling off, which meant that the first of the "bigger adds" had arrived.

"COME AND FACE YOUR FATE, YOU LUMBERING OAK!" the grinning dwarf shouted.

And a literal walking tree, charred black and noticeably lacking any leaves atop its scraggly-branched head, stomped straight toward him. Tristan couldn't help but use [Identify] on it.

[Charred Ent, level 17] {{Guardian of Cinderbark}}

After a few seconds, Drannis brought the ent back toward--but not into--the cluster of smaller monsters, allowing some of the raid members' area attacks to hit the treant, but preventing the cleaving damage all the bigger adds' attacks did from striking back.

Holding to the plan, the damage dealers all shifted focus to the bigger target. But they didn't quite kill it fast enough, and Cross had to peel away to pick up the next big enemy, a bright white bear.

The process continued so many times that Tristan lost count. Ents, whelps, wolves, bears, and more crashed into their group, not allowing a moment's peace, as the tree itself dropped flaming branches and raised walls of roots in their way. For Tristan, the only real movement was to follow the tanks away from the growing pile of monster bodies or toward the newest target. They weren't quite keeping up with the pace of incoming defenders, but they also weren't so far behind that either Drannis or Cross had to deal with two big adds at a time.

Then something Tristan hadn't considered slurped its way into the battle.

He noticed the smell first. Worse than rotten eggs.

Then he heard them, with their loud, arhythmic squelching.

Finally, he saw them. Nightmarish blobs.

Oozes.

And they were on fire.

He cursed himself for not putting two and two together when they'd mentioned reinforcements coming from that path during their planning and preparations. Cross was pulling it into the pile, and it was oozing its way through the field, absorbing parts of the fallen bodies, growing with each new snack and briefly turning a brackish green before its inner lava burned it all and returned to its reddish hue. It was already taller than Tristan.

Of course there are oozes, he realized. What else would the reinforcements from that wing be?

He still felt a little foolish, only consoling himself with the knowledge that, at least this way, the oozes were a much smaller part of the enemy forces. Had they gone down that path to kill the two ooze bosses, every enemy in their way would've been oozes.

Tristan used [Combat Switch] to bring his [Oozebane Greatsword] to his hands, and he went after the ooze with all the rage such a monstrosity deserved. When its fire finally died out and the lava hardened around and over whatever gore wasn't absorbed underfoot, he switched back to his [Sanguine Challenger] to ease the healing load a little from when he took damage from the random environmental effects.

And then the timer hit the halfway mark, and a new notification crossed Tristan's vision:

PREPARE YOURSELVES! The Great Wave has arrived!

With that, the more difficult part of Phase 1 had begun.

Of course, there wasn't really time to look around and see just how near 'The Great Wave' was. The tide of battle had shifted, as the whole demonic army of nightmares suddenly joined the fight. They charged forward, some attacking the beasts, but most came straight for Tristan and his allies.

"First double-wave incoming!" Chessa announced. "Elementals from the rear!"

That was Cross's signal, and once again he darted away from the kill zone to pick up the new additions. The plan had always been for him and Mister Biggs, who both specialized in tanking multiple adds, to handle the groups once they were all hitting the field.

This was the beginning of the most difficult part of the fight, or at least that's what all the guides said. Phase 1 was already challenging, but when it ramped up in the middle and everything was at its most chaotic, it was much harder than Phase 2, when the Water Demon itself appeared.

Now they were trying to work through those ten middle waves, where new demonic forces were charging along with and overlapping the final Cinderbark defenders. Phase 1 had already been a mess, but now? Tristan could see just how strained the tanks and healers were growing.

Manama shifted his songs to once again add cooldown reductions for the raw damage increase. They had to kill as quickly as possible or risk drowning in the unrelenting tide of enemies.

Cross pulled the elementals into the pile with all of the other creatures attacking Mister Biggs, and they were practically vaporized as soon as Laura's lightning began to strike. It was clear that the thunder mage's magic was super effective against these water-based enemies. It was so much so that Tristan found himself able to focus almost exclusively on the bigger targets, where he could do far more damage with his single-target abilities, pairing [Echo Blade] with [Blade Flurry] and [Descending Crescent], than he could with his cleaving attacks. He only resorted to his cleaving abilities when the other skills were on cooldown.

Meanwhile, Drannis had finally found the first of the four demonic generals they'd have to eliminate before the end of Phase 1. It was clearly not made of water like its allies, but was a striking, alabaster-skinned, grotesquely-muscled behemoth covered in so many bones and horns it clearly had no need for any traditional armor. It had no eyes or ears that Tristan could see, but a large recess that might have been a nose occupied the center of its head between two jagged antlers that any stag would have envied. Its four talons swung again and again at the dwarf, with such precision that Tristan was genuinely impressed his ally was blocking as many strikes as he was.

"First general!" came Chessa's call. "Everyone assist Drannis!"

"NO!" the dwarf responded, "Everyone except Laura! Keep the lightning on those water elementals!"

Tristan didn't wait for any additional orders, and neither did Xanax beside him. He was immediately glad he'd swapped back to his more defensive sword, though, because the demon had some sort of aura that dealt damage just for being close to him. Luckily, it wasn't enough damage to outpace the healing he gained from [Minor Rune: Siphoning].

As the pair of swordsmen began to carve into the bone-covered back of the demon general, he began to notice Chessa's magically-guided arrows doing similar work.

"Follow my arrows. They're weak points!" Chessa called out.

Thereafter, whenever an arrow thudded into actual flesh instead of breaking on bone, Tristan's sword quickly attempted to pierce the same place. It was strange, too, because as soon as he did, new horns would sprout directly out of the wound, preventing him from attacking the same spot twice.

Beside him, Xanax's sword was starting to glow more brightly, with the scaleborn's grin growing in kind. It probably shouldn't have surprised Tristan that the first demon general fell less than a minute later, but it still did.

"Good work!" Drannis shouted, and he might have said more, except a booming voice made every other sound in the entire world seem quiet.

"YOU WOULD FOOLISHLY STAND IN THE WAY OF THE RISING TIDE? YOU WILL BE SWEPT AWAY LIKE DRIFTWOOD!"

Each syllable pained Tristan's ears, and actually cost him some hit points. The threat could only have come from the water demon itself. But if even its voice hurts, how will we deal with it when we choose to fight it at the end of the raid?

All around him, his allies were visibly shaken. But Drannis recovered quickly. "We've got to keep going!"

He charged straight back into the mess of elementals, perhaps already spotting the second general.

Except that, only seconds after he left, Cross cursed, "Shit! There's another big ooze, but I've got to get the new elemental wave!"

Drannis's response was also slightly delayed, but equally strained. "Can the astral grab it? I've just engaged the second general."

Mister Biggs gave a roar, which Sophie translated. "Mister Biggs just used his taunt on all the smaller critters."

Opie shouted, "Well someone needs to freaking do something! The ooze is--! IT'S NEARLY ON ME!"

Making up his mind, Tristan took one final [Cleaving Slash] at the horde of monsters trying to claw through Mister Biggs, then he disengaged. It only took him a second to spot the ooze, as it was gliding right behind Opie, who was doing the most unusual job of fleeing for his life Tristan had ever seen. It was almost like a stutter-stepping dance, where the healer would run a few paces, then stop to cast something, before running again.

"For all the gods' sakes," he yelled. "SOMEONE. FREAKING. HELP!"

Tristan sprinted toward his old friend, not even bothering with the other monsters surrounding them. When he was just outside of the ooze's range, he raised his sword, and he took his first swing--striking the glowing shield orbiting himself.

The most glorious TING! sound Tristan had ever heard, far louder and more epic than his early, sword-on-shield strikes had ever been, swept across the raid. Everyone in his immediate vicinity seemed to fade from view a little, as if a cloud had passed over only them, while at the same time a beam of bright sunlight seemed to illuminate Tristan, granting him extra armor.

Feeling more courageous than ever, he yelled, "LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!"

The ooze jerked around, clearly now focused on him, and maybe it was Tristan's imagination, but he thought he saw its viscous form grin.

Tristan would put a quick end to that. His sword began flashing around him, descending not only in the patterns that Jamal had taught him, but also feeling out additional openings. He was clearly starting to understand what Jamal had meant about being flexible in the heat of combat, not limiting himself to just the fundamentals he'd been taught. Pseudopods like spears shot toward him, and Tristan not only chopped each off it came, but continued his blade's spin and brought it down into the ooze's mass, carving away more of it. Sharpened sickle-like arms tried to slice into him from multiple angles at once, but Tristan out-ranged most of them with his greatsword and deflected the ones that managed to get too close. He had taken the measure of this disgusting glob of evil, and the reach of his [Sanguine Challenger] was longer!

Second by second, blow by blow, Tristan whittled the ooze down until eventually it was unable to hold itself together any longer. Then one final blow from his greatsword brought its accursed existence to an unceremonious end.

"Ooze is down," he announced, and though no one really reacted, Tristan could see the gratitude on the healer's face.

"Second general's almost down," Opie said, more for Tristan's sake than anything. "Tree's still at 97%."

"We can't let anything else through to Cinderbark," Chessa added. "The margin's too thin!"

"Third general spotted!" Drannis called. "I can go and get it--"

Surprisingly, it was the tiny fairy that cut him off. "Not until the second is down. I can barely heal you through one of these monsters. If we end up having to do Protect the Heart instead, so be it. I don't want anyone to die!"

Tristan looked toward where the third general was stomping straight toward the Flaming Willow, clearly ignoring everyone else. Its purpose was clear. It wanted to destroy the great tree. With nearly four minutes left on the Phase 1 timer, it could definitely take more than 2% off its health, ruining their plan.

More than that, Tristan couldn't help but still feel like he had when they started the encounter: that he had to protect Cinderbark. He didn't want to risk delaying and having something happen to the tree, so he made a choice.

He started running at full speed again, not toward the second general but the third.

Opie said the second general is almost down, he thought, praying it was true. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that he was at least a little crazy, because how else could he so easily convince himself that he could do this at all? I'll only have to hold the general a little while, he rationalized.

Hurdling over fallen and broken beast bodies and ducking under the swipes of elementals, Tristan ran to a spot directly between the marching general and the base of Cinderbark.

Once there, he spread his legs wide and assumed a strong stance, pushing down the fear for another day. Today, here, now, Tristan felt like he was the only thing standing between this monstrosity and the tree.

I am Cinderbark's defender.

He held out his [Sanguine Challenger], allowing the black and white blade to glisten in the light of the Flaming Willow behind him. He stood between the hammer and the anvil. It was now or never, and Tristan Hammerson would forever choose now.

Striking out with his sword, he hit the glowing shield orbiting him once again. As the glorious TING! sounded out, and the spotlight shone down upon him, he yelled:

"YOUR PATH ENDS HERE!"

And the grotesquely-muscled demon understood. Its antlers shifted--its pale eyeless head had turned just enough to be obvious that it was now focusing only on him. It brought all four of its taloned arms to bear, two high and two low, catching the light of Cinderbark on the many horns and bones embedded in its torso.

An unworldly shriek drowned out all other sounds.

And it charged.

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