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Canon priority: rev2.5 primary; rev3.1 secondary; rev3.0 tertiary.
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Information
Battle at Birch is the rev2.5 set-piece where a Sun Jin recovery force attempts to reclaim Forza Ninetails while he and Rio Narro are hiding in the farming village of Birch on Caisteal.
The clash culminates in the arrival of Flarion, whose intervention ends the engagement, removes Forza from the battlefield, and leaves Rio behind.
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History (REV2.5)
Lead-up: RD10-003 escape
- Rio Narro extracts Forza Ninetails from RD10-003, disrupting the Sun Jin living-weapon program and forcing an immediate flight from pursuit.
- The escape drives them into improvised cover on Caisteal, where they attempt to disappear into rural life.
Birch: hiding in plain sight
- Rio and Forza take refuge in Birch, a small farming community far from major power centers.
- The choice buys time—but also concentrates their vulnerability: if discovered, there’s nowhere to retreat without exposing civilians.
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The battle
Opening move: Sun Jin recovery strike
- Sun Jin Empire forces deploy to Birch with a single objective: recover Forza alive and terminate resistance.
- The strike includes heavy assets (tanks/armored vehicles) and ground troops sufficient to overwhelm a village-scale defense.
Flarion’s arrival (turning point)
- Flarion enters the battle mid-engagement.
- In order to remove Forza from the recovery attempt, Flarion teleports Forza away.
- The removal requires direct physical contact, and the contact infects Forza—not as a deliberate act, but as an unavoidable consequence of the method.
End state
- With Forza gone, Flarion eliminates the remaining Sun Jin armor and troops (including tanks) and then teleports away.
- Rio Narro is left behind in Birch to survive the aftermath, with Forza’s fate suddenly unknown.
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Outcomes & significance
- Forza: removed from Rio’s protection; infection begins the next phase of his transformation arc.
- Rio: stranded on Caisteal with the recovery force shattered but the mission failed; forced into a new solo survival/problem-solving posture.
- Sun Jin: recovery attempt fails publicly and materially; heavy losses signal that something far larger than a simple extraction is now in play.
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