The Green Hydra – The Fall of Millbrook's Ruins
The second hydra moved south from the ashes of Millbrook, its pale green scales slick with the blood of innocents. Eight heads swayed in a hypnotic rhythm, each pair of eyes scanning for new prey. Behind it, the city lay in smoking ruins, its people scattered like broken dolls.
The hunting party found it at dusk.
They came from the east, a squad of twelve—six knights, six mages. Their leader was a woman named Seris, her hair cropped short, her eyes the color of thunderclouds. She carried no weapon but lightning crackled around her fists. Purple level. Law of Lightning. She had faced hydras before, in the northern wars. She knew what they could do.
"Formation," she said, her voice calm, cutting through the wind. "Knights front. Mages back. Healers center. No one engages alone."
