Those who ignore the storm are swept away.
• POV: Toma, Zion's brother – The Builder
Toma and Milo begin building defensive stone arches just as a runner from the Tanu tribe arrives, breathless and bleeding.
"It came from the sky. The sigils on our warriors turned…against them."
• Downfall of the Tanu Tribe
The narrative shifts to the Tanu. Their sigils began glowing erratically. Warriors fell sick. Children wept without cause. Then, a thing from the devoured lands—twisted, armored in black veins—emerged and consumed them. The corrupted sigils had marked them.
"Their own strength branded them for death," Zion says after seeing the smoke from afar.
• Priestess & Zion
As the fire from the distant tribe burns the horizon red, Sael confronts Zion alone.
"You warned them. You gave them a chance."
"I should've done more."
"Zion," she whispers, "you are not their chieft. You are ours."
She kisses him lightly and walks away before he can respond.