Location: Thornhaven Village
Date/Time: 3-4 Ashwhisper, 9938 AZI
Realm: Mid Realm
Thornhaven appeared through the trees like any other outcast settlement.
Voresh catalogued the details with the clinical precision of thirty thousand years: two hundred souls, perhaps two-fifty. Wooden palisade, reinforced with minor essence work—Peak Inferno-tempered at most, perhaps one Blazecrowned elder's touch. Guard rotation is predictable, and patrols are competent but not exceptional. Central clearing for gatherings. Mixed-species architecture reflecting the community's nature.
Tactical assessment: minimal threat. Infiltration unnecessary. The direct approach is optimal.
His copper eyes—tarnished to dull bronze by age—tracked movement at the western gate. Two sentries, both Inferno-tempered. Adults, competent, but no threat to an Apexblight cultivator. They'd spotted him already. Good. Demons weren't forbidden in the Mid Realm, and approaching openly served the mission better than stealth.
