A deafening explosion tore through the forest.
BOOM!
The ground beneath me shook violently.
Trees snapped.
Dirt and splinters blasted through the air.
For a moment, I thought Garron had attacked.
Then a familiar voice reached my ears.
"Alash."
My eyes opened immediately.
A figure stood in front of me.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Wrapped in a dark coat that moved gently despite the violent wind rushing through the forest.
For several seconds, my mind refused to process what I was seeing.
Then recognition struck.
"...Father?"
Duke Vortex stood between me and the battlefield.
My father.
The man I had barely seen throughout most of my childhood.
The man who was always buried beneath responsibilities, politics, and war.
The man I hadn't expected to see anywhere near beastkin territory.
He was here.
Right in front of me.
Water spiraled around his body in several dense streams, moving like living serpents.
Behind him, several trees had been completely destroyed.
