**Corporal Kira Emberwhisk's Log, Supplemental**
**Atlantian Main Island, Jungle Approach recording**
**37 days after Rothgard's Fall**
The green devours the bold.
We move as roots beneath it.
The Wyvern shuttle skimmed the ocean surface in a low, roaring glide, its stealth engines throttled as it followed the curve of the waves. Spray kissed the hull while the pilot kept the craft dangerously close to the water, using the rolling swells to mask their approach toward the distant green line of the Atlantian Main Island. Inside the troop bay, Kira Emberwhisk sat strapped in beside Corporal Elias Crowe, her fox-like ears twitching at every shift in the engine tone. Across from them sat Corporal Lena Blackwood, Private Soren Vale, and Corporal Selene Varyn. Selene was a quiet, sharp-eyed human scout with a talent for reading terrain and remembering patrol patterns in detail. The air was thick with salt and tension.
Sergeant Elena "Ghost" Reyes stood braced near the ramp, her matte-black tactical gear blending with the shadows. She studied her flexible tablet, fingers tracing planned routes across the glowing map of the island's interior. The capital of the Atlantian Island Kingdom was a major port city, its massive dockworks dominating the southwest coast and feeding directly into the Merchant District like a great artery of trade and supply.
The shuttle banked hard as the coastline appeared, climbing just enough to clear the surf before plunging into the dense jungle canopy. The pilot threaded the craft through a narrow gap in the ancient trees until a small clearing of ruined stone foundations appeared ahead—overgrown remnants of an old watchtower long since swallowed by the forest. The Wyvern settled into a hover, ramp lowering with a hiss of hydraulics. The squad dropped into the humid darkness one by one, boots sinking into soft moss and fallen leaves. The shuttle lifted away almost silently, vanishing back toward the sea.
Sergeant Reyes gathered them in the shadow of the crumbling stone. She unrolled her tablet across a flat rock, the screen casting a pale blue glow across their faces. With quick, precise strokes, she drew glowing paths across the map of the capital. "Listen up," she said, voice low and steady. "We're deep in the interior jungle. The capital is a major port city. Its massive dock works sit on the southwest coast and connect straight into the Merchant District. The Castle District lies at the center, fortified and heavily guarded. The Noble District rings it. The Merchant District spreads outward from the docks. The slums lie to the east, beyond the outer walls. We do not know exact troop numbers or patrol patterns inside the city, yet. That is why we are here."
She tapped the display, highlighting three separate routes through the dense jungle. "Kira and Selene—you take the northern path. It skirts the jungle edge and brings you in behind the Merchant District near the docks. Move quietly, mark guard rotations and any supply chokepoints. Use the comm charms only if compromised. Elias and Lena—you swing on the secondary path through the mid-jungle. Your route gives you eyes on the approaches to the Noble District. Soren, you're with me on the central route. We observe the main jungle trails leading toward the Castle District. We meet back at these ruins at dawn. No heroics. We observe, we mark, we vanish."
Kira's tail flicked once as she studied the glowing lines on the tablet. Selene Varyn gave a single, calm nod, already committing the terrain features to memory. Elias Crowe checked his gear while Lena Blackwood and Soren Vale exchanged a glance. Reyes rolled the tablet away. "Move like the jungle itself—slow, patient, and unseen. The capital does not expect blades from the green. Let's keep it that way."
The squad split into their assigned pairs without another word. Kira and Selene slipped into the northern undergrowth, the dense foliage swallowing their forms almost immediately. Elias and Lena vanished on their secondary path, while Soren fell in beside Reyes as they took the central route. The jungle breathed around them—thick, alive, and indifferent to the war that had come to its shores. Somewhere beyond the green, the capital waited, its massive docks feeding the Merchant District while power and suffering layered the city like rings of stone. The squad moved through it like veins beneath the skin of the land, unseen and unstoppable.