Bunawar The Raid — 'link'

By the time the Serpents reached the village square, they found no one. The huts stood empty. The paddies were still. The shrine’s door hung open, revealing the Seed—a soft, pulsating orb of amber light—floating above a stone altar.

For generations, the Seed had rested in the Shrine of Echoes, a moss-covered stone structure at the village’s center. It drew no attention from the outside world—until the Warlord Tala of the Ash Coast learned of it. Tala believed the Seed could forge him an immortal army. He sent his elite unit, the Silent Serpents, to take Bunawar by night. bunawar the raid

That night, an elder asked him, “What will you tell your children about the raid on Bunawar?” By the time the Serpents reached the village

The village did not celebrate. They simply returned to their homes, relit their lanterns, and buried the few Serpents who had not survived the roots’ defense. Kael went back to mending his net by the river, but now he kept the conch shell around his neck. The shrine’s door hung open, revealing the Seed—a

As her hand reached for the relic, the ground trembled. From the earth around the shrine rose the roots of the banyan trees—ancient, gnarled, and alive with purpose. They moved not like plants, but like limbs. The Seed’s light flared, and the roots obeyed.