He let out a piercing shriek—a warning that echoed from the damp floor to the highest leaf. The rainforest was a masterpiece of millions of years, now holding its breath, waiting to see if its inhabitants could survive the one animal that didn't know how to share the sun.

He banked left, his talons tucked against his snowy chest, and dove into the "Understory" [5, 9]. Here, the light turned into liquid gold, filtered through layers of mahogany and liana vines. He spotted Jara, a Jaguar with fur the color of a dying fire, prowling the edge of a black-water creek [1, 2].

In the rainforest, every life is a thread in a tapestry. The ants fed the soil; the soil fed the trees; the trees gave Kael his throne and Jara her shadow [7, 8]. But the "thumping"—the sound of steel meeting wood—was cutting those threads.