As I left my ruined camp behind, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret for all the dead Ferrics I was leaving behind. As I left through the crumpled gate, I felt a wave of nausea as I saw a man impaled on a piece of sharp timber. He stared ahead with a horrified expression on his face with eyes that did not see. I walked over to him and gently shut his eyes. After that, I turned around and left, leaving my camp behind, and stepping into the great Hatchwood Wilds. I walked for miles, following a map I had received when I was a small boy. It showed all of the camps in the forest, and the known hazards to avoid like cliffs, ditches, and even a known viper nest. I eventually had to rest, so I climbed up a redwood and perched on one of its branches like a ferron bird, avoiding the choking gas below. I pulled out a sweet makopa and ate it greedily, watching the gas swirl about on the ground. After an hour, I jumped down from my perch, and continued my trek through the ruined world. My destination was Camp Calluna, the biggest camp in Hatchwood. I figured that if the camp was so big, there were bound to be some survivors.
I walked for four days, resting in trees every night, before I reached the grand gates of Camp Calluna. As I approached the massive doors, I heard several screams issue from inside the fortress. Following my ferric instincts, I began to climb the wooden wall of the camp. This wood was hard, made of dried oak from the surrounding forest. I had difficulty digging my beaks into the wall, but I finally managed to reach the top. I perched on top of it and looked down upon the camp. What I saw scared the life out of me. Several Calluans (or warriors of Camp Calluna) were attacking a horrible looking creature that slightly resembled a normal wild boar. It had flaming purple eyes that glowed with rage, and a shaggy back with tumors sticking out of it like extra eyes. Its major difference from a boar though were its 6 legs protruding from its underside. Boars were not supposed to have six legs. It charged a Calluan, knocking him to the ground, and I followed my ferric instincts once again. I shouted a war cry and jumped from my perch, beaks straight above my head as I dived. I hit the creature in the middle of its tumor-infested back, driving it to the ground. As I held it pinned to the forest floor, the Calluans stabbed it repeatedly until it screamed in agony, and then died.
"What in Etherea was that?" I yelled at the nearest warrior. "A mutated creature." he replied quietly. "Mutated? How was it mutated?" I asked. "I assume you have noticed this gas that makes it hard to breathe." he said. "What about it?" "It changes our forest creatures into hideous beings." he answered. "We call them mimics, because they are very similar to their original forms, yet mere mockery of the true creatures. The mimics are parasites that travel through the gas, and enter the animals as they breathe. They take over and change their form. That one was called a Hexaboar."
"How do you know all of this? The Skystone exploded just five days ago!" I said. "Camp Calluna has been under siege by the mimics for a long time. They first started attacking several hours after the explosion. We have had time to observe them, and then name them based on their appearance."
"How come I didn't encounter any mimics on the way to Camp?" I asked. "Because Camp Calluna is further north than your camp. We received the worst of the explosion and gas, because we were the closest to the Skystone. The mimics formed here because the gas never made it that far without dissipating slightly. It takes a lot of gas to turn a creature into a mimic." replied the Calluan. "What is your name, by the way?" "Hawthorn." I replied. "Thank you for the help with the Hexaboar. I'm Ashwood by the way."