Keeper of the Eastern Grove

Ancient power surged through the dazzling beam as it tore across the sky. Its force made friend and foe alike turn away before it struck Grunk square in the center—and, for one breathless moment, time seemed to freeze.

"BOOOOOOOM!"

The impact erupted with a deafening blast, sending a shockwave through nearby windows and hurling debris in every direction.

"What the--?" Eilist stumbled back, his smirk gone as blinding light washed over the square.

Vexes narrowed his eyes, his composure finally cracking. "That spell..." he growled. "That's... not possible."

As the light faded, Grunk remained motionless, smoke rising from the charred wounds across his chest and arms. His grip on Oreon had already gone slack, and the human dropped from his grasp with a dull thud.

Yet Grunk remained frozen, eyes wide and vacant as glowing cracks spread across his body.

"Grunk?" Eilist called, uncertainty entering his voice.

Grunk's knees slowly gave way. After dominating the battle, the enhanced dark elf toppled like a felled tree and struck the ground face-first, the thunderous impact shaking the square.

Everyone stared in disbelief.

"No... No way...What...What just happened?" Yvonne's grip on Sylvanie loosened tremendously. "Did Grunk just...Did Grunk just die?" She questioned, doubt heavy in her voice.

Sylvanie didn't waste a second. The moment Yvonne's grip loosened, she twisted violently. "Get—OFF ME!" Her elbow struck Yvonne's jaw, driving her to one knee. Sylvanie seized the opening, grabbed Celestia, and summoned a shadow that swallowed them both. She conjured another beside the wounded Oreon, and the two tumbled free.

Sylvanie dropped beside Oreon, her hands hovering over his battered body. "You'd better still be breathing, stupid human." She spoke urgently.

Despite her weakness, Celestia sat up next to them. "Is he—"

"Don't worry about him; he may have taken a beating, but he's been through worse." The voice came from above as Meara landed before them, an ancient Elven bow in her right hand.

"Old tavern woman!" Sylvanie's eyes shot up in surprise.

"Ms. Meara?" Celestia's voice was softer than Sylvanie's, but her face showed the same shock.

"That's right." Meara drew her bowstring, aimed at the remaining Jaegers, and gave a quiet, amused chuckle. "Though I prefer 'Meara' over 'old tavern woman,' thank you very much."

Celestia's words tumbled out. "You... You're"

"Wielding an ancient bow, given to me by the Grove itself." Her eyes never wavered from her target.

"The Grove...?" Celestia's voice trembled with disbelief. "But that would mean you're..."

"A Keeper of the Eastern Grove, yes," Meara confirmed, her demeanor outwardly composed despite the charged atmosphere as she faced the Jaegers. "Although I haven't been a Keeper out in the open for about 200 years or so." Her bow remained fixed on her foes, and her voice stayed even. "However, with the Order around, it's hard for this old Keeper to retire and just run a simple tavern of her own."

Meara's arrival prompted a growl and a glare from Vexes. "...Keeepppeeerrr." Vexes drew out the word with quiet malice as he locked eyes with Meara.

Meara's expression didn't waver, but something dangerous flickered in her eyes. "Vexes..." She spoke his name like a curse. "I see you didn't heed my warning last night." She tilted her aim towards Vexes in particular. "I told you, where I stand in this town is under my protection. You and your band of traitors are not welcome here."

Vexes's lips curled into a dark sneer. "Your protection?" He let out a cold, humorless laugh. "You're nothing but a relic, Keeper. A fossil clinging to a dead era." He spoke in a hateful tone. "A long-forgotten line of those who lost their lives because of some silly Oath. Tell me something, Keeper. How long do you think you can keep defying the Order? Playing pretend in some backwater town?"

Without loosening her grip on the bow, Meara's expression hardened. "As long as necessary," she replied sharply. "Make no mistake, Vexes. I've outlived empires and watched kingdoms of all kinds grow and fall. Your Order will be no different. No matter what, everyone answers to their consequences...Even your beloved purifier."

"Your words mean nothing, Keeper." He spoke coldly. "The Grove's power has faded, while the Order continues to rise. Even if you make a stand here, your power won't be enough." He let out a low chuckle. "You should have stayed hidden; you would have lived longer."

Meara's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps...But I didn't survive two centuries by running away when things got difficult." She countered. "And I certainly didn't survive by letting children fall in front of me."

Meanwhile, Eilist's face twisted with anger. "This old human? This old human was going to feed me to Grove." He growled, recalling how Meara had invoked the Grove's ancient power to warn them the night they arrived. "Your kind is supposed to be extinct! The Order saw to it..." He gritted his teeth.

"Is that what they told you?" A sly smirk appeared across Meara's face. "Well, I assure you, the Order tried...But they weren't quite thorough enough, because as you can see." Meara lightly gestured to herself with a slight head nod. "I'm alive and well—proof that your precious Order isn't as powerful as you believe."

Eilist's jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists. "You--"

"Enough, Eilist." Vexes cut him off sharply, his eyes never leaving Meara. "Don't let her provoke you." He kept his composure as he crossed his arms. "She's buying time. That's all this is."

Meara's expression didn't change, but her fingers tightened slightly on the bowstring. "Smart man." She acknowledged. "But you're wrong about one thing--I'm not buying time." Her eyes flicked briefly to Grunk's fallen form. "I'm making a point."

Vexes followed her gaze, his expression darkening. "You felled one dark elf. So what?"

Meara's smile widened ever so slightly. "That 'one dark elf' was enhanced with your Order's divine blessing, was he not?" She let the question hang in the air. "And yet...one arrow. That's all it took." She pointed out. "Makes you wonder...If your so-called 'Divine power' is really as absolute as you claim."

Meara's remark darkened Vexes' expression. "Spew your nonsense all you want, Keeper. But the world you know has changed while you cling to a dying dream. To an alliance that crumbled long before the Order stepped to our doors. Face reality, Keeper. The Grove is nothing but a memory, lost to an era the day the Order decided to showcase its strength." He looked over at Celestia and Sylvanie. "And your precious Elves." His eyes darted back to meet Meara's. "They're lost fragments of a failed kingdom.

Matching his hostility, the human Keeper glared back. "Death awaits you, Vexes. There's no forgiving what you have done."

Another dark chuckle escaped Vexes. "Death awaits us all, Keeper. The only question is who meets it first." He kept his arms crossed. "And I have no intention of being the one to fall today." With a violent crackle, Eilist fired a serpentine bolt of dark energy at Meara. She met it head-on with an arrow charged by the Grove, and the two attacks collided in a thunderous explosion.

Before anyone could react, Divia shifted into her gargoyle form and lunged at Meara, claws poised to strike. Meara instantly tracked her and fired an arrow at point-blank range.

Divia's eyes widened, but it was too late. The arrow struck her chest with devastating force, flaring emerald as it sent her spinning through the air. She slammed into a nearby wall and fell as the structure crumbled over her.

"You're too slow, girl. I've hunted wildlife faster than you." She nocked another arrow and aimed.

Yvonne gritted her teeth and charged at Meara, wheel blades gripped in both hands. "Damn you! You'll pay for that!"

Meara's eyes shifted toward Yvonne. "Another one?" She pivoted smoothly, her bow already tracking the movement. "You children never learn, do you?"

"Keep your words to yourself, old woman!" Yvonne landed before Meara and swept her wheel blades at the Keeper, aiming to cut her in two. Despite her age, Meara moved with the speed of her prime, evading every strike.

"Tch—" Yvonne's frustration showed as she missed again. "Stop—moving!" she snarled, her wheel blades carving through empty air as Meara sidestepped another strike.

"And why should I make this easy for you?" Meara replied calmly, dodging another attack as a blade harmlessly passed her face. "Your footwork is sloppy, and your breathing--" She ducked under another horizontal slash and then sidestepped Yvonne's next attack as she tried to slash up Meara vertically. "Completely off." She dodged again. "And you're swinging those blades like you're trying to swat flies." She continued, sidestepping another attack. "This is a shameful performance if the Order is the one who taught you, little girl."

Yvonne's jaw clenched, her teeth grinding together. "Shut up! Shut up and die, old woman!" She spun fiercely, both wheel blades whirling toward Meara. As the blade in her right hand closed in, Meara stepped back, letting it whistle inches past her face.

"Predictable," Meara muttered, easily tracking Yvonne. She swept her ancient bow toward Yvonne's face, but the red-haired dark elf leaped back. Meara instantly spun the bow, took aim, and fired. Yvonne's eyes widened as the arrow streaked past her cheek—then struck Eilist as he charged another attack. The impact exploded, hurling him backward.

A puff of smoke rose as Eilist leaped back, his boots skidding across the ground. "Gah—Damn woman!" He pointed his staff towards Meara. "SERPENT FLAME!" A torrent of unholy black fire erupted from his staff, twisting toward Meara like a living serpent. The flames hissed and warped the air with their heat, but she merely scoffed.

"Hmph, child's play." Meara's voice pierced the chaos as she nocked another arrow, the ancient bow humming with intensifying emerald light. "SALANTRES!" she cried. The arrow split mid-flight into three glowing projectiles that spiraled into Eilist's serpent flame. Their collision erupted in a powerful blast, sending shockwaves through the square as dust, smoke, and debris billowed outward.

Yvonne used the cover to close the distance, her wheel blades spinning as she lunged at Meara from the side. "Got you--!"

Meara was already in motion. She twisted aside, the blade grazing past her hair, then drove the bow's lower limb into Yvonne's ribs with a sharp crack.

"Gah!" Yvonne gasped, jumping back to gain distance and clutching her side.

"What the hell!" Eilist gritted his teeth and looked back directly at Meara. "Is this really a Keeper? This old human woman. Did she really accept the Oath and make a pact with the Grove?"

Yvonne landed beside Eilist and Vexes. "She's reading every move before we can even make it. What the hell do we even do against something like that?"

Vexes's expression stayed cold, his gaze studying Meara as she nocked another arrow. "She's not invincible." He spoke. "However, she is far from weak." He squinted at her. "The Keeper's role comes with a deep connection to the Grove. A rare feat for a mere human." He paused, eyeing Meara's stance. The way she held herself, the subtle glow emanating from the bow. "But even Keepers have limits," He continued. "She may have the Grove's power, but the flesh weakens over time. Her body won't be able to sustain that power for long."

Eilist gritted his teeth. "Easy for you to say." He muttered under his breath, then rose and took up his staff again. "We have a mission, Vexes. If this fails..." He glanced over at Vexes.

Vexes's cold eyes remained fixed on Meara. "Then don't fail." His grip tightened on his curved blade. "The Order didn't send us here to retreat at the first sign of resistance. You've all been blessed by the purifier himself. The power of the Order flows through your veins; don't tell me some senile old woman playing with power that she doesn't comprehend has you ready to run with your tail between your legs."

A slight grunt escaped Eilist's throat before he stepped in front of Vexes, ready to face off against Meara again. "Tell me something I don't know," he said. His pupils shifted to match Yvonne's as the Order's sigils appeared. An unnatural light coiled around his staff, taking the shape of a serpent with its head poised at the tip. "Now, Keeper. Let's try this again."

Meara watched Eilist's transformation without flinching. "So... The Order's blessing finally shows itself within you as well." She drew the bowstring as emerald energy gathered around the arrow. "Come then, let's see how well you can dance with this old woman."