The line held for the better part of two hours.
It felt like an eternity while they were inside it and nowhere near long enough whenever Vane looked at the numbers still coming through the trees.
They fought in shifts without ever formally deciding to.
Ashe and Valerica anchored the chokepoint's centre. Ashe had stopped trying to overpower every exchange, letting soldiers commit too far before cutting through the opening they gave her. Valerica kept Event Horizon narrow and precise, shifting its weight by feet instead of drowning the whole approach in gravity.
Isole worked the wounded back from the edges.
Gold.
Dark.
Gold again.
She stitched flesh, bound legs, stopped bleeding, and moved on before anyone could thank her.
Mara's lattice covered the rear, folding their combined presence inward and muffling as much of it as the geometry could hold. Facets cracked under the strain and were replaced before they finished falling.
