Tamarrio Washington's Arc

Chapter 3 of 5

The roar came from the tower at dawn. Tamarrio heard the stone crack before he saw the creatures pour out through the broken walls. Dark shapes with too many limbs scattered into the trees, moving fast toward the center of his territory where the woman and her people had made camp. Tamarrio didn't wait for them to regroup. He grabbed the shimmering orb from his trophy shelf and sprinted toward the camp, wind pushing him faster with each step. The woman met him at the perimeter with her sword drawn. "We need a barrier," he said, holding up the orb. "Something to keep them contained until we can drive them back." She nodded and called her people to form a circle around the camp. Tamarrio planted the orb in the center, and light burst outward, forming a wall of shifting color that hummed with energy. But three creatures were already inside the barrier with them. The woman charged the first one while Tamarrio used wind to slam another against a tree. The third circled, claws scraping the ground. He could feel his people watching, testing whether this territory was worth defending. He couldn't just survive this—he had to prove it was his to command. Tamarrio called the wind into a tight spiral and drove it through the creature's chest, pinning it to the ground. The woman finished hers and stood beside him, breathing hard. When the barrier held and the remaining creatures prowled outside it, unable to break through, Tamarrio saw something shift in his people's faces. They'd fought with him, not just for survival, but because he gave them a reason to stand their ground. He walked to the edge of the barrier and looked at the largest creature, the one with a horned, demonic face that seemed to lead the others. A torn banner hung from its back like a trophy of its own. "We need a prison," he said to the woman. "Something strong enough to hold them all. I've seen a fortress deeper in Oldgrowth—stone walls, iron bars, built to cage things like these." She wiped blood from her blade and smiled. "Then we take the fight to them. Lock them up before they scatter any further." Tamarrio grinned. His territory wasn't just claimed anymore. It was defended. And that made all the difference.