As someone who had already made peace with the idea of being out here during a star beast tide, the appearance of a Bloodthirsty Boar group led by a First Sequence legendary creature didn't particularly unsettle him. Dangerous, yes. Unexpected, not especially.
What caught him slightly off guard was the presence of the awakeners.
During a tide of this magnitude, wandering this deep into the forest was not a calculated risk — it was closer to a death wish. Even the most experienced awakeners who spent the majority of their time operating in the inner regions of the forest had retreated toward the settlement's walls. The tide changed the equation entirely. Distance from the settlement meant distance from protection, and distance from protection, in most cases, meant a quiet and unremarkable end.
Nobody in their right mind stayed out here. Nobody who had other options.
And yet here they were.
He paused on that thought for a moment.
