Veiled Eyes

Officer’s Guide to the Baren: Protecting the People from Beasts Compiled by the Council of Commanders — Edition I Command Principles in the End Times Protect. Preserve. Prepare. Your role is not only to fight — it’s to lead. The survival of your people depends on clarity, courage, and control. Fear is Contagious. So Is Hope. Stay calm. Speak clearly. Lead visibly. People don’t follow orders — they follow the person giving them. Identify the Threats Types of Beasts: Stalkers: fast, silent nocturnal predators. Travels in packs. Weakness: fire Burrowers: Earth-dwellers. Ambush from below. Weakness: Vibration detectors & heat traps. Howlers: Tall, humanoid, but with long limbs and pale skin. Powers: sonic speech that disorients victims. Weakness: Target throat or use sonic counterwaves. Leviathans: Water dwellers. Ambush from water sources, Six tentacle-like limbs with scale-armored skin. Weakness: Electric Shocks The Harrowed: Once human, now a prisoner of transformation. When human they look normal. When Harrowed, they do not. Their eyes are all white. Glowing faintly in darkness. Their tears are a black liquid that burns organic matter. Their skin splits in jagged seams to reveal sinewy muscle, black bone, and twisting horns. Limbs elongate, ending in razored claws. Their mouths fill with fangs. Powers: Emits a cold radius — frost forms on nearby surfaces. Technology glitches or fails. Weakness: Silver. Sunlight causes their healing to slow. Avoid at all cost. General Survival Rule: If it’s quiet, assume you’re being watched. If it’s loud, assume you’re already surrounded. Fortification & Shelter. If separated from Haven, the ideal shelter features are: Elevated with multiple exits. Reinforced doors (steel/stone preferred). No direct line-of-sight from open terrain. Soundproofed interiors. Fortification Priorities Perimeter alarms (tripwires, motion sensors, scent wards). Rooftop lookouts with 360° vision. Underground escape tunnel (minimum 1 km distance from base). Tactical Movement. Travel Rules: Never travel alone. Move during dawn or midday — most beasts are dormant. Staggered formations with overlapping vision arcs. Use mirrors, drones, or scouts to test paths ahead. Evacuation Protocol: Pre-assign roles: lead, flank, medic, rearguard. Use flares or signal horns if comms fail. Prioritize children, injured, and knowledge bearers. Civilian Protection & Leadership Organize Civilians into Units: Watchers – Lookouts & alarm triggers. Hands – Builders, scavengers, helpers. Keepers – Storytellers, medics, morale guards. Daily Rituals Maintain Order: Morning drills: readiness and perimeter check. Midday briefing: intel sharing and supply status. Nightfall silence: all noise ceases; curfew enforced. Morale is a Weapon: Celebrate survival wins. Name the beasts your people kill. Keep a written record of the fallen — legacy grants purpose. Combat Doctrine Engagement Tips: Aim for the senses: eyes, ears, nostrils. Fire deters, but smoke attracts. Explosives should be last resort — they call more than they kill. If Surrounded: Form a circle, shields out, weapons ready. Keep movement synchronized — no panic charges. Use distraction tools (noise bombs, bait decoys) for retreat gaps. Knowledge Is Survival What to Train Regularly: Beast recognition drills. Wound triage and infection prevention. Silent communication (hand signals, tapping codes). Crafting emergency weapons from scrap. If a Beast Learns Your Patterns — CHANGE EVERYTHING. Final Words “You are the line between extinction and endurance. Where your boots stand, hope stands with you.” — Commander Aran Vex, Last Sentinel of the Hollow Pass