Adventure of Ekko

You arrive at the coalition staging ground beneath a gray morning sky. Elven banners snap above packed companies while, beyond the village walls, dark-armored forces gather in unsettling silence.

A young adult fire elf man strides from the ranks, lean and copper-skinned, with ember-bright eyes, swept-back red hair, and blackened scale armor glowing faintly at the seams.

Near the command pavilion, your father, broad-shouldered beneath a dark green cloak and battered mail, with iron-gray hair tied at the nape and a white scar through one eyebrow stands over a rough map. The older elf general keeps one scarred hand on the village road, his expression harder than the weather.

A horn sounds from the walls, low and wavering. The gathered army shifts toward the village, yet several soldiers glance toward the command pavilion instead of the enemy.

Night settles over the staging ground. Ekko leaves the firelight, folds himself into the village’s outer shadows, and follows the dark army’s supply marks without disturbing the frost.

Beyond the walls, he finds the trail bending toward a dry ravine rather than the village road. Crates pass beneath hooded lanterns, all bearing the cruel lord’s black seal.

A dark-armored soldier pauses beside the ravine and turns toward the brush. Ekko remains motionless, but a loosened stone clicks under his boot before the patrol moves on.

Before dawn, Ekko returns with charcoal markings, a copied seal, and the route fixed in memory. He spreads the coalition map beneath the command pavilion’s shuttered lamp.

The ravine aligns with an older shepherd’s track marked faintly beneath the ink. It leads behind the village walls and directly beneath the enemy’s silent encampment.