A knight moved to intercept me as I approached my legatus. Before the knight was within arms' reach of me, I could feel a mental probe knocking on my mind, demanding entry.

The force of the tendril made me flinch and whimper in pain, hands coming up to my head, "Ahh! Uhh, sorry…" I got out after a moment of heavy breathing and the tendril pulling back from my mental shield. "I have a great deal of mental strain… and damage. Pretty sure I should be in a haze." I tried to give the knight my best smile, but it felt stiff even to me.

I couldn't see past the full-face helm the knight was wearing, but his eyes were visible through the slit. I saw the suspicious squint disappear, and what might have been a flicker of concern passed behind the eyes. It was only there for an instant before the concern also vanished, replaced by resolve.

The knight visibly looked me up and down, the creaking of moving leather and steel audible as he took in my dirt and blood-stained tunic and pants. I was by no means a pleasant sight, as my clothes were hanging rather stiffly on my body thanks to all the bloody grime caked into them.

A moment later, a far more gentle tendril poked at my mind as a soft feminine voice said, "I'm sorry, but I need you to open your mind." Oh, guess he was a she. Whoops. For some reason, I found my mistake hilarious and started snickering to myself.

Pulling back my shield, I felt her suddenly hesitant presence, like a person watching me from the other side of a window. Instead of glass, that window was made from my mind, and her presence alone put pressure on my thoughts. "Answer the questions in order," the knight sent, "Are you human? Do you mean harm to the Legatus or any other member of the legion?"

"No, no, and… no?" I asked more than I said on the last one, wondering if I was supposed to answer twice. A tension left the bodies of the knights surrounding me, a tension that I hadn't even noticed until it was gone. I really need some rest if that slipped past me. I thought, holding back a jaw-cracking yawn by straining my neck.

I didn't think yawning in the face of your commander was punishable, but I didn't want to find out that fact at the end of a whip. It would be fine if I was standing in the crowd watching… Maybe I can get someone from the ex-prisoners to give the report. Centurion Hella would be a great choice because I don't think the legion made him with the ability to yawn. Wonder if it wa—

"—is the message, Scout Green." I blinked, seeing that the Legatus had moved in front of me. More than that, we were off to the side of the gate to the Middle Fort, and the legionaries were marching past us, trying to look as disciplined as possible for the leader of the 15th Legion.

When did this happen? I thought while grimacing slightly. This… isn't good, is it? I felt a flare of pain through my eyes as they focused on the Legatus feet in front of me. He was older, as his hair was more gray than not, and the lines on his face were like looking at a patch of cracked mud left to dry in the sun. However old he might look, I could see his eyes burning with intensity and a sharp intellect unaffected by time.

Slamming my fist to my chest, trying my best to radiate legion discipline, I said, "Domine, as the legion should be aware, I came into contact with a female beastkin out on patrol of the southern bank of the Rush and southern portion of the Northern Forest." I felt a slight pressure on my ears as he nodded, showing he was aware and prompting me to continue. "After we escaped," I slowed for another moment, waiting for him to give another indication that he was aware of the scout's escape, "and I ended up in the Northern Fort, I came into contact with that same beastkin. She is the current leader of the Redtail Faction of the Kin."

"The Kin?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"It's what this… breed? Of beastkins call themselves." I said with a shrug of indifference, "They are far from their savage cousins. While I can't say that all of them are intelligent, I haven't seen a single one that was mindless. I even overheard them talking about their cities and towns."

"This is an invasion them." Stated the Legatus.

"Umm, no, domine. Well, not really?" I said, cringing as I corrected him, causing him to frown. Rushing forward, I continued, "The beastkin are attacking us because their mountain territories are being invaded and conquered. They existed as a secret society, raiding us when they needed skilled labor, food, materials, or bodies for centuries. They knew we were unaware of them, so sending a delegation would be meaningless in the timeline they had to work with. So they chose to attack. They get a foothold we can't push them out of, show us some of their powers and abilities, and get the upper hand in negotiations for peace. Or so I was told."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The Legatus's eyes hardened before glazing over as he looked into the distance and mentally spoke to someone. "They made a mistake. The senators will never let this go… I could see them fully mobilizing the Legion to drive them out." I could see he was saying this more to himself, but I knew the answer.

"Umm, domine," I said, getting his annoyed attention. Again. "They said that won't happen because we are already being invaded." His eyes snapped onto me, and I felt my skin prickle at the intensity of the gaze.

"Explain," He commanded in a cold tone.

"The… Ahh, Letairry — the dark elf force the beastkin are fighting — are masters of subterfuge, as they specialize in the telepathic school of mental powers above all others. Their spies are already within our borders, as they look basically the same as… me, just with… dark purple skin. They have a whole empire on the other side of the Broken Peaks," I said, waving at the mountain home of the beastkins off in the distance. "Kan— Umm, the Faction Leader told me, they saw multiple armies marching into the far side of the mountains, and they disappeared before encountering the Kin…"

The Legatus' face had turned grim, but he did not say anything as he watched me. He could tell I had more to say, and I hadn't even spoken the ridiculous part yet. "And apparently… the dark elves can control," I really didn't want to say it, as if uttering the words would make it true. I took a breath before forcing myself to speak, "The savage beastkins. Not these ones, but all the others."

"What?" He choked out, his face draining of blood.

"It's why they ran. Why they relocated their entire people and abandoned their cities. They know they can't beat the controlled endless hoards of beastkins as they are. The Redtail faction wants to cooperate with us to fight the Letairry, while the Crescent Moon wants to conquer and harvest us to fight the Letairry. Factions among their people made up primarily Foxes and wolves, respectively."

"Do they have proof of their claims?" He asked.

"She said the only reason we aren't fighting off waves of the Lost — what they call the savage beastkins — was that most of their army is acting as a rear guard for the non-combatants. She said we should soon receive news of all of our northern fortresses being beset by hoards of beastkins." I breathed to steady myself before whispering, "Like the hoards of hundreds of thousands our legends speak of… It's why she needed to capture the fort while the other faction failed, to gain her people's recognition and faith in her cause."

From how his eye twitched, I knew he heard me.

"Aargh…" I gasped as a fist clasped my mind, shattering my shield, and squeezed.

"Do you speak only what was told to you, without embellishment or trickery?" The Legatus commanded me to answer.

"Yes." I hissed through clenched teeth, my mind in turmoil.

"So you are telling me a beastwave of old is coming, followed by an army of Reavers, who may already have spies in our midsts. And all of this information was given by a beastkin nation, which has existed within the broken peaks for… centuries? As far as you know."

"Yes." As soon as I answered, the grip around my mind was released, and I fell to the ground panting.

"Do you have any more to report?" He asked, a hint of regret in his voice."

I bobbed my head while it was hanging low between my arms planted on the ground. Gathering my strength, I flopped back so my head was angled up, my butt was on my heels, and my arms were hanging limply at my sides before I spoke. "They… are returning the legionaries captured in battle as a sign of good faith and willingness to negotiate. Any three-man group approaching the Northern Fort will be invited in for talks, but should we send scouts or centuries over the rivers, they will be dealt with strictly."

My commander looked at me for a few more seconds with his hard eyes before he nodded. "Thank you for your report, Scout Green. You should be comm…"

His words trailed off as my attention was caught by something in the sky, not that I really cared what he had to say. Two clouds were passing each other. From my angle, it looked like… a massive tree?

Tree? I thought in confusion. There was something… about a… tree.

"Argh!" I screamed as a mental block in my mind broke. I had never known it was there, never even suspected. It was like an ancient brick dam broke all at once, spilling what had long been crammed behind into my mind.

Rising above all of the other memories and bubbling disjointed feelings, a single voice rose to the top. "Should the time ever come when you remember and you need answers. When you need the power to protect, seek out my heart. The Mantle must be taken up before it's too late, and I believe you are capable of bearing the burden…" Whispered the motherly voice of the World Tree across my thoughts before I passed out.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.