S1 EP1: THE RISING STORM
It wasn’t a normal day for the team. Medium winds swept across the outpost, yet the air felt strangely still. Dead. Vanke Hyanger, the leader of the five-man squad, had just been called into an urgent meeting at headquarters. The entire team was on edge; they rarely crossed paths with the Lead Commander himself, Mr. Ryan Parka. Inside the command office, the atmosphere turned cold. “Our agents just intercepted intelligence regarding a secret Brasis operation,” Commander Ryan stated, his eyes locked on the map before them. “They are planning something destructive. They always do. But what worries me is the silence. Our scouts report absolute stillness out there. They sense something deeply fishy.
“The Special Command Team was ordered to deploy immediately and shadow the Border Task Force. They strapped on their gear without a word, waiting anxiously outside the head office. Suddenly, a soldier came sprinting toward Vanke. The man was breathing heavily, his face pale with panic. Vanke grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to sit. “Breathe. What happened?
“The soldier looked up, his skin icy to the touch. “Sir... your younger brother. Bak. He’s gone.”
Silence slammed into the courtyard.
Vanke couldn’t breathe. A wave of fury, confusion, and raw grief shattered his mind all at once. It felt as though an invisible blade had been driven straight through his chest. He had loved his brother fiercely. Bak wasn’t just family; he was Vanke’s partner. Vanke had trained him, protected him, and taught him how to stand tall in a harsh society that didn’t care about them. Blinded by sudden grief, Vanke dropped everything and rushed home.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the sound of weeping filled the house. Mourners surrounded a lifeless form. Bak Hyanger had been one of the top-tier gearmen at the Defense Academy, a prodigy who earned legendary achievements despite losing the sight in one eye.
Vanke stood frozen before his brother’s body. His eyes burned, tears spilling down his cheeks as his brain refused to process the reality. The room fell silent, the family stepping back to watch him. Vanke knelt and hugged his brother one final time. Behind him, his teammates Itamaru and Kruta silently bowed their heads to pay their final regards. His mother threw her arms around Vanke, sobbing uncontrollably. “This is what the world gives us for our service,” she cried, her voice breaking. “We are so sorry, son. It’s all our fault”.
Swallowing the bitter lump in his throat, Vanke pulled away. He placed his official mission letter into his father’s trembling hands. As he turned to leave, his family pulled him into a tight, desperate embrace—a lonely, unspoken goodbye. There was no time to mourn. The threat was still moving.
Supported by Itamaru and Kruta, Vanke boarded the border transport vehicle. Their plan was straightforward: meet the head In-charge of the border walls above the Maruka Range, evaluate the threat, and strike back. The Maruka Range was a brutal terrain of wide mountains and jagged, bumpy hills. It was a suffocatingly hot region, baked by the intensive mining of the rare Mistore mineral. Colossal Derar trees blanketed the slopes where the mighty Mauzau River originated. Towering above the peaks were the Great Walls, built to patrol and protect the kingdom from the unknown.
When the vehicle arrived, the team was met by the head In-charge, Mr. Damin Biskosua. He was a middle-aged man of average height, powerfully built, with short, stark white hair. “Prioritize your safety out there,” Damin advised grimly, laying out the patrol protocols. “The silence out there isn’t peace. It’s a warning”. The team checked their weapons, locked down their gear, and descended into the rocky range. there task was to mainly scan the valley and search for the cause of silence.
Suddenly, a siren wailed, followed by a booming static announcement over the loudspeakers: “All units and towers, alert! A massive hostile force has been identified by security! All units assemble. Gear up!”
Panic sparked in Vanke’s chest. His heart raced as the radio crackled with a frantic follow-up command: “All units, fall back to the walls immediately! Prepare to fight... or sacrifice!” Vanke looked out across the horizon with his brown eyes. Through the haze, a giant, rolling cloud of dust swallowed the valley. Something massive was coming. And they were completely unprepared for it!!
