I. The March and The Unbroken Silence
The mission began under the deep, cold mantle of night. Construction was halted; deception demanded resource acquisition. Corvin Nyx led the expedition, clad in dark, functional garments, his movement silent and unnervingly perfect. He was accompanied by Veridian Vex, the tactical anchor, and a hand-picked squad of the newly formed Raven Legion recruits.
The march was an immediate test of the recruits' discipline. They covered the twenty miles toward the nearest trade road—the Union's predictable, vulnerable artery—with a fear that was slowly hardening into resolve. Corvin moved in the lead, his superior speed modulated to the pace of the Legion. He did not speak; he only existed as the cold point of purpose that drew them forward, his back upward like a pillar of order.
Veridian Vex, the former mercenary, was the voice of the operation. He moved fluidly among the ranks, using low, sharp whispers to maintain formation. He understood the psychological landscape of the ambush better than Corvin. He knew they had to strike like an act of nature, not an organized army. Being the villagers are newly trained and have never been blooded before works in their favor of creating a scene of chaos and banditry
The target was a Trazarch Union Tax Courier escort—a predictable shipment of coin, weapons, and supplies moving from a market town toward a larger Union hub. A covered wagon with the Union's flag embroidered on the sides, around fifteen trained mercenaries and a tax official.
Veridian selected the ambush location with cold proficiency: a narrow, deep cut in the trade road where terrain forced the transport to slow down, offering minimal escape routes. It was a kill zone designed for efficiency.
II. The Battlefield of Deception
The mission required a layered lie. Before the attack, Veridian and a small, trusted team executed the final phase of the deception protocol.
Veridian directed the effort, carefully creating fake trails leading away from the cut. They deliberately scuffed tracks with heavy boots, dragged branches to obscure their own approach path, and scattered minor, non-Union debris—all to suggest the retreat of a large, disorganized bandit camp. This solidified the "external banditry" narrative, ensuring that when the Union investigated the vanishing couriers, their suspicion would be diverted away from Lithos and toward a ghost enemy.
Corvin, meanwhile, deployed the Black Flock. He ascended to the highest point overlooking the cut, his Eyes of the Abyss confirming the movement and armament of the Union escort. The Unkindness settled onto the highest, densest trees, becoming a silent, terrifying shadow above the ambush site, ready to strike on Corvin's psychic command.
Corvin stationed himself at the center of the kill zone, his only weapon the kinetic power of his body. He felt the cold pressure of his unmeasured strength—a continuous, paralyzing risk. He had to be perfect.
III. The Execution of the Gambit
The Union patrol rode into the cut with the confident, clanking arrogance of authority. They were met by sudden, absolute chaos.
Corvin issued the command. The Unkindness struck first, a terrifying black cloud descending in a chaotic, concentrated maelstrom. They targeted the faces and throats of the Union soldiers, blinding and confusing them instantly.
Simultaneously, Veridian Vex roared his command—a sharp, battlefield cry that served as the final trigger—and the Raven Legion recruits charged.
The fight was instant, brutal, and asymmetrical. The Union soldiers were better trained, but their formation shattered instantly under the dual assault of the blinding chaos from the sky and the human wave from the ridge.
Corvin moved as the apex predator, striking with silent, devastating efficiency. He used his Eyes of the Abyss to navigate the chaos, ignoring the recruits and targeting the most heavily armored Union soldiers—the threats who might survive and raise the alarm. He did not use a blade; he used raw, crushing force.
His physical struggle for control was acute. He intended to simply neutralize a target, but the blow often ended with snapped necks and crushed armor plates—the result of his terrifying, unmanaged strength. Yet, the deaths were swift and clean, ensuring no soldier had time to rally or signal for help.
Veridian Vex was the tactical anchor. He fought with cold, professional discipline, using his blade to protect the flanks of the recruits and ensuring they maintained their focus. He demonstrated the combat technique Corvin lacked, proving the immediate, invaluable worth of his skill.
The killing was absolute, clean, and final. The silence returned, heavy and complete. No Union soldier survived.
IV. The Blood Vow and Acquisition
The ground was littered with bodies armor crushed in, necks snapped, and bones shattered. The recruits stood shivering over their first kills, their faces pale, some trembled and shaking over killing another man, but their axes stained with the proof of their irreversible commitment.
Corvin immediately directed the final phase. The bodies were stripped of every valuable resource: coin, supplies, and, most importantly, Union intelligence (maps, manifests). The bodies were left right where they were slain to reinforce it was bandits targeting these escorts and supply lines. Everything else was made to further cement this scene leading the trails away from where they came from.
Corvin surveyed the results—the cost was low; the gain was immense.
He looked at Veridian, seeing the competence of a true field soldier. "Our deception works, it'll remain stable so long as we keep making it seem like bandits targeting their convoys," Corvin stated. "The construction is now continuous."
The Raven Legion returned to Lithos, laden with wealth and strengthened by the baptism of blood. Corvin had secured the resources necessary to continue the construction and maintain the façade and arm the future villagers he aimed to recruit using the the village Chief. The time bought by the ambush would be spent finishing the tower, and Corvin would now enter the final phase of his self-training: infusing the stone with Obsidian magic and forging the Void Stone.