Invasive Species

"Invasive Species" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
[tentative cw for some heavy facist rhetoric and bullshittery]
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My dear brothers and sisters of noble Central blood, those who have suffered long under the suffocation of our enemies, those who breed like pests, take our land, kill our families and threaten our way of life…hear me.
***
“Dude. Look at this.”
The second scout ripped the scope out of the hands of the first and focused forward across the marshes and rivers of the Central land near their position, which was a tiny, camouflaged setup, constructed by the small team of Rebellion scouts that had been sent to do an extended period of reconnaissance work out in the field. They were scheduled to begin setting up their approach into the city itself over the next few days, but for now, they watched.
“Doesn’t it look weird to you?”
“Kinda…” The second looked around behind him and waved at one of the taller figures that was overseeing the organization of the outer and inner teams. “Mr. Arnason!! Come here! You need to see this!”
“Don’t ever call me that.” The half-breed looked over and came up between them and propped one of his rough, catlike paws against their stone cover, leaning an elbow on his knee and squinting out at the distant white line that was High Central’s protective wall. “What is it?”
He was wordlessly passed the telescope, and he spent a moment reading the scene, trying to figure out what was being indicated to him. Then his ears slowly pinned back.
“There’s…movement…”
The first scout bobbed his head aggressively. “Yeah. Plus, look at the wall. Cleanest siege wall I’ve ever seen.”
“Could be that they were just starving them out…” But Liam himself sounded unconvinced by his own argument.
“We’ve been told that they’ve been at this for years, they’ve been attacking, they knocked down all the bridges. Why leave High Central untouched the whole time?”
The redhead’s face was obscured behind the scope and his hood and Jari’s white scarf, but even the scouts could see the dark scowl on his brow. The summer wind lashed across all of them, hair and clothes waving in hollow silence.
“The Hel?” he muttered after another long minute. “Their uniforms…”
“I noticed they were all mixed up…” the second said hesitantly.
“Yeah, that’s…that’s the problem…that’s not just Vesall armor. That’s, like…holy shit, yeah, that’s Remnant.” Liam lowered the instrument. “Central, too…”
“And Conclave,” the first added. “I recognize them from the Jaw battle. Are they all…y’know, together now?”
“That’s not possible,” the second scoffed.
“It is,” Liam murmured in confusion, “it’s just kind of…insane.”
Zsil can’t be right…he can’t be.
Words danced on the tip of his tongue, as the other two scouts looked at him attentively. His claws tapped nervously against the brass of the scope. Then he decided.
“Call off the infiltration for now. I have to talk to Deo and Akkey.”
***
For decades, we have taken the high road, and shown mercy to the undeserving, been generous to the thankless, and been kind to the cruel. Now, our way of life is under more threat than ever. Warlords and criminals believe they can strike down our caregivers and our protectors, and walk into our halls covered in blood and crown themselves queen.
Dear blood…we will not take this lying down.
***
“That’s the last node.” Darien carefully used his crutch to stand, finding difficulty but not impossibility with his single leg and old bones. “This seems in order…I’m not sure what you detected earlier, but everything is working.”
“Was told to have it checked out every time it does somethin’ odd,” the half-breed snowy owl next to him chirruped, adjusting her wings. Behind her, in the same inconspicuous building that now housed a focal point for the artificial mental network of the Jaw, stood one of the old Conclave mages that had been working with the leadership for several months now. She looked up at their motions as the two of them stepped away from their work. Now that there was a system of widespread contact established in the outpost, it required some upkeep, and the ex-magistrate was glad to assist. Darien dusted his hand on his smock and gave the half-breed a small, gracious smile.
“Well, I’m sure the higher-ups will appreciate it. I’ll find an escort back, but I’ll appreciate both of your help.” 
“No problem! Can’t go out in the summer, it’s swelterin’ out there. So I like having something to do.” She cheerily followed him to the house’s front door, in her odd birdlike strut, passing another antelope half-breed on the way through, who nodded warily at them before scooting past to meet with the mage in the back room. “I’ll let you know if we need more help–”
Darien suddenly winced and put a hand to his forehead, some kind of strange, dark, abstract movement sliding across his mental awareness. It stole his breath and made him pause, shutting his eyes tightly, as it took several moments to pass. The owl puffed up a little, looking at him in worry. “You okay!?”
“I’m fine…” The old man turned and looked up at her, and then his gaze shifted behind her. A small scuffle was breaking out. The hallway was empty, but the door suddenly pushed open, and the same half-breed that had just gone inside quickly stumbled out, trying to use his hoof to catch himself against the wall, and Darien’s eyes widened as it left a scarlet smear across the plaster.
“Stop–!” the half-breed yelped, and he was very abruptly cut short as the door banged open even wider, and the mage lurched out of the room with a glint of silver, plowing into the half-breed before her and the sound of a metal blade piercing flesh filled the house, along with a gutted choke as he slid down to the ground off the knife, gasping for breath and clutching his chest.
It seemed like a hallucination. The mage looked up and met Darien’s eyes, and her gaze was wild, unfocused. Wrong. Then she looked over at the owl beside him, who was completely bristling, quivering in horror as the half-breed slowly died on the floor behind the woman who began moving in towards the shaking bird, her long, bloodstained knife brandished by her side. Darien moved almost without thinking; he slashed his crutch up towards the swing of her blade, and wood splintered and crunched as they slammed together, the edge of the knife sticking in the crutch, and he threw both of them to the side as he used his unstable momentum to throw himself into her, sending them both tumbling to the flagstone ground, and with a painful-sounding thump, the mage’s head smacked into the rock, knocking her unconscious. Darien pinned her down anyways, panting heavily as the delayed rush of adrenaline continued to kick in, making him shake violently.
The owl behind him was keening in horror and shock, and he looked up over his shoulder at her, hoarsely trying to get her attention. “Bindings. Rope. Something. Tie her up. I need to contact the Commander.”
***
The true day of judgment is gone, and the gods left behind those they deemed worthy enough to walk Midgard. But the process is not yet over–the chaff remains with the grain, and only those with enough strength to press forward can continue the divine work left before us, with the tools that we have been graciously blessed with. 
The reaping has passed. The threshing has come, and the winnowing remains.
***
Kendra’s fingers were unusually uncertain. Why are there so many guards here?
Her fiancé lowered her mask and squinted out at the far edges of the Wildereast town they had come across. The couple continued striding away from Daybreak near the beach, who had been a little more fussy upon their leave than normal, but obediently stayed out of the buildings, in order to establish local trust. It was a typical routine, one that they had been doing since the end of their last reprieve at the Jaw. Recruitment efforts had been ongoing and difficult, but very successful, as they stuck to convincing those who had been trodden on by faction forces to join them.
This, however, was the first time they had truly felt unwelcome in somewhere that didn’t seem obviously Central-occupied, and for a moment, Kendra thought they had made a mistake. Her heart beat quickly as heads turned in succession, watching them closely on their approach to the heart of the large village. She saw their mouths moving, but everything was silent, as usual.
Should we go? Jin questioned, as they pressed closer together.
Kendra hesitated, but then shook her head in determination. We need everyone we can get. We have to at least try.
Not only were there a strange amount of guards for such a quiet island, they had clashing armor. Though they seemed to be working together like any established regiment, they didn’t match. Kendra and Jin watched them closely as they began striding past small huts and longer boarding houses and inns.
They’re talking about strange things.
What kind of things? the half-breed asked, holding Jin’s upper arm close as she spoke.
Something about an attack…on High Central. By half-breeds. Jin looked confused, stormy, analytical. They keep repeating a word, or a name of some kind. She tried to fingerspell it without knowing what the word was. F-A-L-C-K-S.
Kendra was bewildered. They were approaching the front drive of what appeared to be the meeting hall. Falx? She made the motion of cutting with a harvesting hook when Jin looked lost. Like the scythe?
Maybe? They keep using it as a name, in front of orders or something. The Falx Missive. Over and over.
How strange… The odd attention from passers-by was making Kendra’s cheeks warm, and even though the cool wind was strong in the East, it was still mid-summer, and she tugged down her hood to her shoulders, letting her braid shake out over her shoulders and her feline ears had a chance to breathe. Despite it still being hot, she felt a chill run down her back as she did, as though even more eyes were boring into her.
They barely reached the shadow of the hall before they were aggressively halted. “Miss, we’re going to have to ask you to state your name and business.”
Jin shrugged, used to this song and dance. “Sure, no problem. We actually just wanted to speak with whoever leads this place–mayor, chief, lord, whichever.”
“No, not with her.” The helmeted man gestured with his spear behind Jin, at Kendra, who was doing her best to try and follow along. “You’re going to have to leave.”
The tall, well-built woman scowled, and made to turn on her heel, gripping Kendra’s forearm. “Well, now that it’s clear, my pleasure. Don’t want to be with your kind anyways.”
They were stopped again, sunlight glinting off of more mismatched armor. “You misunderstand,” he said, a bit louder. “You can leave. She has to stay so that we can take care of her. There’s a new verdict on all half-breed traitors across the land.”
“And just what in the nine realms does that mean?” Jin demanded, an angry glow in her eye. Kendra was extremely tense, fingers digging into her sleeve, and her reaction made Jin’s gut freeze and drop. “You’re not laying a hand on my girl.”
The faceless guard gripped his spear a little tighter, and then very suddenly, it was leveled at them, and Jin had thrown Kendra behind her, drawing her sword, and the air was filled with the sound of ringing weapons, and the lead guard shouted, “They’re together! Execute them for treason!”
Kendra gasped as Jin deflected the first strike from the nearby man wearing distinctly Conclave armor, and then the air was filled with scorching light as Kendra thrust her hand into the air, bringing the rays of the sun down in abundance, to give them cover. She felt Jin give a piercing whistle next to her, and as the guards struggled to recover from being blinded, the sunlight flashed and flickered, and the feel of two pairs of massive Stormcutter wings beat the air as Daybreak swooped down from the sky and grabbed the couple in each foot, both of them hanging on for dear life as the dragon climbed back into the sky. With a few practiced maneuvers, they were both back in the saddle, and Kendra clutched Jin in terror as Daybreak bore away from the town as fast as possible. What happened? What happened? she begged.
I don’t know!! They weren’t like that until they saw you, they must be looking for half-breeds–
I saw Central–
Yeah, they were working together. All of them. All kinds.
We have to go home. All she saw were her family’s faces in her mind. Kendra’s signs were almost unintelligible in her panic. Jin grabbed one and briefly kissed her knuckles before gripping the saddle again, readying for a long ride back.
We’ll go. We’ll be okay.
***
We are the flail that will strike corruption from our land. We will be pure once more, free of traitors, free of hatred, and free of war. Henceforth, do not be afraid to protect yourselves from these insurgents. Stamp them out as you would a stray flame, to keep the wildfire from destroying all we hold dear. 
These animals, and anyone protecting them, are agitators and terrorists. And they will be eliminated.
***
“This doesn’t make any goddamn sense. That’s their profit. Did you see? They just offed the entire caravan…”
“Not the whole thing. I saw the Rebellion go in and save some of them.”
“But they’re long gone now. It’s not safe for half-breeds anywhere.”
“I heard they went south. It’s Rebel land. No factions.”
“To the Jaw?”
“I think so. Gods know that anyone has their best chance of surviving this in a place defended like that…”
“…so what now?”
“…we need to get out of here and find Silvia. I know they were fine when we saw them, but her kids are human-passing and she isn’t. I’m worried…”
“Yeah. You think we take them to the Scrublands, too?”
“…I think the Rebellion is their best shot.”
***
Go. Show them what it means to march under one banner.
***
And slowly but surely, the land felt a massive shift, the prey sensing the dark presence of the predator extending their claws, and the remaining survivors began to bleed away through the land, towards the dry South and the freezing West for safety.