At the first signs of spring, shipbuilding went into a frenzy. Brandon's Rest had 7 ships that they could send to the fight: The Sovereign, the Black Hand, and the stonekin, smaller, the three treekin vessels, and one extra smaller that had been built. They needed 6 more to defend the harbor, and to make 10 ships to send against the Zon invasion. The first vehicle to arrive from King's Landing had 30 more guns and ammunition on it. It also carried Tyrion, who would help coordinate the total attack with the King's Landing ships. It also carried Belaletrix, who immediately wanted a meeting. When the battle plans were all laid out, he said, "I've studied Zon's naval tactics for years. They will keep their troop ships to the rear; then the sling-weapon ships and the fighting ships will come first. Then, when they face an enemy, they will have ice mages cast fog. It will cover their approach and block gun fire from seeing what it's hitting. We need a way to remove that fog." Hassan was at the meeting, and he called Thea forward. He asked her if it was possible that the gods would allow a clearing of that fog offshore. She went silent for a bit, then said, "It might be possible once. But I would be weakened for a while afterwards."
They didn't think the invasion would come this spring, but they had to be ready in case it did. They sent out three small, fast ships. They each would scan the becalmed zone with a spyeye. They each had a telepath onboard to stay in contact. They were to scan for two weeks, then return, be re-crewed, and then be out for another two weeks. They were not to engage, only watch.
Nymeria was standing guard over their den; her mate was out hunting. Then she heard the cries of the treekin hunters and the sounds of battle. She howled for the pack to aid her, and she ran towards the sounds. When she arrived at the battle site, she found 7 treekin fighting a huge spider. An Empress Spider. The treekin had answered the call of a hunter's village that had been attacked by it. The spider was throwing webs at them and slashing with its clawed feet. One treekin was down, and the others were trying to get him away from the spider's attacks. Nymeria dove in to force the malignant spider away from the downed treekin. She snapped onto a claw and dragged the spider sideways. The treekin jumped in to pull their downed party member out. The spider flipped Nymeria up and caught her with two claws and bit her on the shoulder with its mandibles. It swung a claw to slice her head off, but her mate, all 300 pounds of him, hit the spider in its side, knocking Nymeria free and flipping the spider on its back. Aziraphale leaped in and stabbed down with his sword, killing the spider. The treekin scooped up Nymeria and ran for their enclave to try to save her. When they reached the gates, the telepath pinged Arya, "An Empress spider has poisoned Nymeria, send healers and your potion master fast!"
Arya sent for Lee and Mangana, and the pair showed up in no time. Lee had grabbed his new staff and the one found in the ruins of Thrain. Hassan had called for Thea, and they all loaded up on a fast run to the treekin holdings. It took them 5 hours to reach Treekin Holdings. They nearly ran off the track twice. They literally had to all stand on one side of the car to keep it on the tracks. They found Nymeria on a table with healers gathered around her. Her gums were white, tongue lolled out, barely breathing. Arya ran to her, crying, her sobs the only sound you could hear.
Lee cast his healing power into his staff and poured it out on Nymeria. She glowed green for a full three minutes. "It's not enough," he said. Mangana said, "This poison is more like a scorpion than a spider; I've never seen anything like it. Keep her alive 10 more minutes, and I will do the best I can." Thea hovered over the dying dire wolf, saying words no one understood. But the wolf still lived. At last, Mangana poured a concoction down Nymeria's throat. Some of it went down, the wolf sputtered a bit, and then collapsed again. "I fear this isn't going to end well," he said. Thea snatched up the strange staff and held it hard. It glowed golden with light. "Take her to the temple circle," she said.
They carried Nymeria into the small cove with the three trees watching. They placed the wolf on the mound where an alter once must have stood. Thea held the staff aloft and shouted words no human could understand, and the staff burst into light, it literally came apart in light. A cloud of sparks settled about the wolf and flashed so bright that their eyes could not see for minutes. The staff was gone, but the wolf stirred. Arya went to hug her, but her mate and pups beat her to the wolf. They fairly danced around her. Nymeria lived, she woofed at them all, and struggled to her feet. With her family around her, she wandered off towards home. She turned once to look at the trees, as if they were talking to her.