**Corporal Sylvana Silverleaf's Log, Supplemental**
**Gnome Borderlands, Exfil recording**
**37 days after Rothgard's Fall**
The dome does not forgive hesitation.
The thunder of hooves rolled across the valley like a judgment. Sylvana pressed herself flat against the weathered side of the barn as an entire company of Imperial cavalry thundered past, their black armor catching the last light of dusk. The ground trembled beneath their charge, and for several long seconds the squad existed only as shadows and held breath.
Sergeant Jax Kane's raised fist kept them motionless until the riders vanished over the ridge. Then they moved. They crossed the open ground in controlled bursts, reaching the base of the towering border wall just as the first golden crystals embedded in the stone began to glow. A low, resonant hum rose from the wall, vibrating through the soles of their boots. To the left and right, more crystals flared to life, their light intensifying with each passing moment.
Sylvana's ears snapped forward. She turned sharply to Kane, voice low but urgent. "They are charging the barrier crystals. The dome is rising." Kane's eyes flicked across the glowing stones, then toward the distant castle. His decision was immediate. "Climb. Now." Grappling hooks arced upward and bit into the stone with sharp, metallic finality. The squad ascended with trained urgency, boots scraping against cracked masonry, muscles burning as they hauled themselves higher. Every second felt borrowed.
Tobin Brasswhistle fought for every handhold at the rear, his shorter frame forcing him to strain for purchase the others reached with ease. Sweat streaked his face as he climbed, breath coming in sharp bursts. Above him, the rest of the squad reached the top and immediately turned, reaching down to pull him up.
Lightning cracked across the horizon.
From the heart of the distant castle, a brilliant golden light erupted into the sky. A shimmering dome of energy billowed outward with terrifying speed, expanding across the landscape like a closing fist. The golden wall raced toward them, swallowing the ground in its path. "Faster, Tobin!" Sylvana called, leaning over the edge, arm extended. The gnome scrambled desperately, fingers slipping on loose stone. Darius and Elara caught his wrists just as the dome slammed shut with a deep, resonant *boom* that shook the entire wall. The golden barrier sealed behind him, missing his boots by the width of a breath.
For one suspended heartbeat, no one moved. Then Kane's voice cut through the silence. "Down. Move!" They dropped to the far side and ran. The jungle swallowed them in shadow and sound. They moved fast and low, weaving between trees as fresh patrols flooded toward the breached border. Every snapped twig and distant shout tightened the noose around them. Sylvana's ears twitched at every noise, her focus narrowed to the path ahead and the squad behind her.
By the time they reached the exfil clearing, their lungs burned and their legs shook with exhaustion. They formed a tight perimeter without a word, weapons trained outward as the last light faded from the sky. Minutes later, the low, steady hum of the Wyvern shuttle approached through the canopy. It descended into the narrow clearing, ramp hissing open before the landing gear fully settled.
The squad boarded in disciplined silence. The Marine cargo master standing by the ramp gave them a crooked, knowing look as the last of them cleared the threshold. "Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?" Kane didn't slow as he moved past him. "Just fly." The ramp sealed with a heavy thud. The Wyvern lifted hard, engines flaring as it clawed upward through the jungle canopy and banked toward the open sea. Below them, the golden dome shimmered over the conquered capital like a second, false sky. Inside the shuttle, no one spoke.
They had escaped.
But as Sylvana stared at the fading light of the barrier, she understood that nothing about this war would ever be the same again.