The forest felt foreign to me, if it could even be called that. The dark magic released from my uncle's staff had spread from Avantia almost to the edge of the woods.

Lush green grass once covered these lands. There were all varieties of plants, both magical and mundane, that normally flourished here. Gruffles were commonplace and edowens hid among thickets.

Now the land was ruined. Trees and other plants had dried up and died. The soil became like a mire, blackened with the sludge of decaying vegetation. The creatures who once called this land home had all gone. Those who stayed would eventually be corrupted and twisted by the dark magic that tainted the land, maybe they already had.

The fog, which ordinarily protected Faerelle had ceased to exist, but it would no longer be needed. Seeing the black and twisted landscape, most would turn back immediately.

I prayed this was reversible, though in my heart I knew it was permanent. If the land could be healed then someone would have restored Zeledoana long ago.

Behind me, a force of five hundred light bearers followed while Lumia flew low, just above the trees. In her claws my bond carried an iron box, wrapped heavily with chains. She flew slowly, staying close by, but soon we would make camp in Naori’s meadow and Lumia would fly on alone.

I worried for her, that she would be injured or worse. I didn’t like the idea of having to separate from her, but it was necessary for the plan.

Our plan was too reckless for my liking. There were too many variables, too many unknowns. I wanted to refuse once Amara told me her scheme, but Lumia’s alternative was even worse. She’d have gone all on her own if necessary; at least with the light bearers we had a small chance of success.

I was concerned, but I’d read enough novels to know better than to voice my fears in a situation like this.

When we reached the meadow, there were two figures already waiting. Gladys and another holy knight; they’d gone ahead to clear our path and ensure we wouldn’t run across any cursed beasts or mages.

We didn’t encounter anything or anyone in our way. There were no corpses or evidence of a struggle, so I didn’t think they did either.

The two knights, both covered in mud and gunk, walked out from under the tree to meet us.

Gladys exchanged a few words with Amara, who marched with the larger group, then Amara raised her fist in the air and rotated her wrist twice. The knights all gathered in a circle around her.

“No tents, no fires, no magic,” Lady Amara shouted, projecting her voice so that all could hear. “We won’t be here long, just until Lady Lumia returns; then we march on.”

The knights stamped once and hit their right hand to their chest to show they understood.

Amara repeated the gesture then the light bearers broke into smaller groups. Some took defensive positions around the perimeter and others sat or stood in the empty field as they chatted quietly among themselves.

They seemed calm, collected, poised. As I moved between groups, the fear and anxiety I felt wasn’t reflected in their eyes. It was comforting, and also terrifying.

Ordinary cursed mages might not be so difficult to dispatch. I had seen at least one killed by normal means. Sizal and the man with the floating sword were another story though. I wasn’t sure if both could survive death, but I didn’t think Sizal was the highest ranking member of their army.

Thinking of those two, I couldn’t help but ask myself, ‘Do they know what they're up against, or are they underestimating the enemy?’

It was an unproductive thought, so I squashed it.

Shifting focus, I tried to concentrate on Lumia’s emotions. Through our bond I could feel her anger, a terrible force that seemed to swallow everything else. As I felt deeper, I sensed fear and loneliness as well, but there was more behind a wall she wouldn’t let me through.

“You’re tense,” Amara said as she came up behind me. “Are you sure you can do this?”

I thought for a moment about what I had to do. I tried to picture my uncle's face, but instead all I saw was the face my mother made as she died.

I squeezed my eye lids tightly as I took a deep breath. It wasn’t Vale who killed her, not directly, but he was still responsible. I had to face him, I had to stop him…

I opened my eyes and looked at Amara. She, like the other holy knights, showed no fear. I however, felt my hands tremble whenever I thought about infiltrating the enemy ranks. “Honestly, no. But I will do whatever is necessary to stop my uncle.”

Amara patted me lightly on the shoulder. "Good answer."

I nodded. I knew the battle to come wasn’t going to be easy, and we might not be able to take back Avantia, but as long as we could save Lila, it would be a victory.

Amara smiled at me. “I can teach you something that might help, but you’ll have to learn fast, and without a full demonstration.”

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The distance from here to Avantia wouldn’t take Lumia long to cover. In a few minutes, she’d be back and it would be time to continue the march.

I nodded.

Amara drew her sword and motioned for me to do the same. “You can imbue mana directly into your weapon. Depending on what kind of mana you use, you’ll get a different effect.” With her fingers, she drew a line along the blade's edge as she spoke.

“Wouldn’t that destroy the weapon?” I asked.

“If you’re not careful, yes. Some weapons are also better suited to the technique than others.” Amara replied curtly.

I examined my blade briefly but didn’t think the steel would withstand much mana.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll be able to use that.”

Looking skeptically at my sword, Amara said, “You’re probably right. Not with that thing for sure.”

She sheathed her sword then grabbed another out of the air—summoned from a dimensional storage.

“You can borrow this one,” she said as she handed me the blade. “You might need it against the enemies we face.”

The sword she handed me was nicer than any other I’d seen. When I gripped it, I knew instantly that it was superior to mine in every way. The blade was narrow, double edged, and thin as a razor. At first I was concerned it might be brittle, because it was hard and inflexible; but hitting the two swords against each other, the steel blade chipped while the new blade was unaffected.

The sword’s light weight made it easy to swing and thrust. It was well balanced, although longer than I liked. Overall, I liked the weapon, but it wasn’t mine to keep. I’d use it for this battle and if it performed as well as I expected, then I’d ask her for the smith's name.

"You’re skeptical,” she said, stifling a laugh.

“No, I just—”

Amara held up her hand. “It’s okay, I would be too if I’d never seen a weapon like this one. You can’t be too trusting.”

I couldn’t think of how to reply so I just said, “Thanks.”

She nodded. “It’s made with a mithril magicite alloy, it even has mana crystals set in the hilt. You should be able to pour quite a bit of mana into it without risk of damaging it.”

“Thanks,” I said again. “But what happens if I do break it?”

Amara shrugged. “I guess you’d owe me a hundred gold coins.”

“A hundred coins…alright, I can manage that.” I said as I stored the weapon.

Wind rushed over the meadow as Lumia circled overhead.

A roar like thunder tore through the sky behind her.

Borin was following closely, his teeth just a few feet from her tail.

I didn’t like the idea of leaving Lumia to fight alone, but I trusted her. She felt confident about beating the black dragon, even with his power boost, and I was needed elsewhere in order to actually rescue Lila.

Next to me, Amara gripped her weapon. “Form up and move out!” She shouted. Then looking at me she said, “One hundred gold coins, Silvon. Don’t break it.”

Doing some quick calculations in my head I realized that was basically equivalent to ten thousand dollars. Maybe I could’ve paid it if I was still prince of the elves, but all I had was ten gold coins.

I reached out to give the weapon back, but Amara vanished in a flash of light. Storing the sword again, I chased after her.

As per the plan, I had two sets of armor in a borrowed wardrobe collar—it was basically a device for storing outfits or armor and then immediately swapping them out at will. I’d wanted to try one ever since seeing Lumia change her clothes, but I hadn’t had the opportunity till now.

Under the circumstances, I was less excited and more anxious. I found myself questioning everything.

‘What if the device fails and I end up with grieves on my arms and gauntlets on my shins? Or what if it mixes up the holy knight armor with the cursed mage armor?’

I didn’t have time to hesitate.

I needed to blend in. Setting aside my doubts and fear, I channeled mana into the collar and a suit of light bearer armor materialized over my clothes.

A group of holy knights ran by me, heading towards Faerelle. I mixed in with them.

Borin broke from Lumia and dove toward the meadow, billowing a great column of flame that fell like a red-orange river across the black land.

At least fifty soldiers died instantly, their flesh and bones burned to ash as their armor lay melting. Another twenty lay injured, crawling back from walls of fire that blocked the way forward. Some of them, too badly burned to crawl, lay at the edge of the flame screaming as fire consumed them slowly.

My heart pounded against my chest as I fought down a surge of panic.

Another wave of flames washed over the field, delivering mercy to some who survived the first torrent, killing more, tormenting others, and halting our advance.

The cries of those burned filled the air. Their terrible shrieks, like the cries of tormented souls, struck fear in my heart.

Yet another pillar of flame fell across the field, this time near my group. We didn’t have an opportunity to retreat, but the fire missed us by five feet.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” a knight screamed beside me.

He was only slightly closer to the fire than me, but the heat melted his face into a grotesque lump of flesh.

He stumbled backward, tripping over a charred root and falling into a burning cluster of decaying shrubs.

I watched in horror as his armor fell empty on the ground.

Borin reared back his head and opened his mouth in preparation for another blast, then Lumia appeared behind him, clamping her jaw around his neck and using her left claws to slam him down into the earth.

The dragon was pinned and the knights didn’t hesitate to press on. With a handful of water spells, the flames were quickly quelled and a path forward was forged.

As I passed by the two struggling dragons, I stole one last look at my bond. She hardly resembled herself, the ferocity and anger in her eyes reflected in her ruthless and brutal attacks. Her two rear claws rested firmly atop each of Borin’s wings, digging into the flesh as the black dragon tried to wiggle free.

I felt regret at the pain I knew Lumia was hiding from me. It further solidified my resolve and I decided then that this plan would succeed. It had to.