Dawn broke late across the valley. Rising, Tyrrick, Agmentha's voice broke into his hazy mind and drew him fully awake, and the ghost of warmth across her scales washed over his senses like a long ago memory. He rolled his head as if to escape the heat, and his eyes finally opened to an unfamiliar room.

What... the thought trailed off as the previous day and night's events came rushing back to him. His gaze fell upon the gift around his wrist, which had finally stilled and cooled into solid amber once more. What are we going to do? He sent her.

Find Serena. Depart. Agmentha sent an image of a Draconian approaching. This man says he is here to feed us. Beliax seems familiar with the process, so we shall join him. Reach out if any trouble arises.

And you, Tyrrick sent back. He yawned and stretched, then stood up and turned to check on his master. Aldrus was already awake and sitting cross-legged on a low stone bed.

“Morning, Kand.” The Deiman lowered the book in his hands and swung his legs out over the edge of the bed. “Kaikha relays that the dragons are being led down to the lake to catch monstrous fish the size of men. Judging by the rows of angular teeth I've just seen, I wouldn't advise we dip down for a refreshing bath.”

Tyrrick offered the senior rider a bow and straightened at Aldrus dismissive noise. “Agmentha suggested we find your sister and leave. I agree. This place is confusing.”

Aldrus nodded. “Aye, that's saying the least of it. This place belongs among the lush fields we protect, not the heart of the Rehilo Nex Draconians and their dark god.”

“So you didn't know about this either?”

“No. And that concerns me. Nowhere in our history books details this domain, not in the reports of rescued Deimen or cut down Draconians. It shouldn't exist.” Aldrus’ gaze shifted from Tyrrick's to just over his shoulder, where the man from the night before had appeared at the entrance.

“Well, at least the two of you listened to reason and stayed put,” Allain said by way of greeting. “Half the alliance had to be rallied to find your other Deiman the last hour, and the sooner the lot of you are reunited, the less of a headache is on our hands.”

Tyrrick couldn't find any sympathy for the man's plight. He shared a look with Aldrus that conveyed his master felt the same. Turning sideways, he asked, “Are you here to guide us again?”

“Yes, child. And choose a sword from the collection here, it's not as if Kendrell will be using them again. But Reeves wants to see a demonstration of your swordsmanship to have brought the man down." Allain crossed his arms and tilted his head, adding, "He was the best among the present alliance. Not many out of history were his better.”

Tyrrick glanced to the swords on the wall again, then to Aldrus, who nodded his assent. He approached the first one, a long white blade, and picked it up. It felt the same as any other in his hands, and with a frown he reached toward the bond as he hefted it into the air, yet feeling nothing more than Agmentha snatching a gargantuan fish from the cool waters, he let go of the bond and reluctantly slid the sword into the sheath at his hip. It was a little longer than his original sanctified sword, yet with his hand on the hilt, it would stay put.

Aldrus had climbed to his feet by that point and strolled past Tyrrick to gather up his armor. Inside of a minute, the Deiman was fully dressed and bending over again lest his crown scrape the ceiling. “Lead on,” Aldrus said coolly.

The Draconian nodded and turned on his heel. Aldrus and Tyrrick followed him. Rather than dine in the same room as before, they were led to the north, passing many more side rooms and stairwells. Eventually they emerged to a large open space, where numerous Draconians were scattered and seated expectantly. And for the first time in three months, familiar hazel eyes found them and the amethyst-garbed Deiman they had come to rescue was marching across the distance at a brisk pace.

“Lady Serena--” Aldrus began with a warm smile. Her fist collided with his jaw, and as he reeled, the ire burning in her gaze turned to Tyrrick, whose own smile rapidly washed away. He offered her a bow, and for his troubles received a whack to the back of his head that left him reeling. The two men took hesitant steps in retreat, only for Serena to grip them and force them upright.

“Fools!” she hissed. “Now he has three of us at his disposal, and it will be next to impossible to escape unnoticed!”

Aldrus winced. “I understand that you are upset,” he began.

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Her gaze bored a hole through his own. In the fire light, flecks of gold seemed to fill her hazel eyes. “I was days away from completing my mission here,” she said in a low voice. “And now I have to rescue my foolish brother and his equally stubborn apprentice.”

“Not the touching reunion you were expecting?” Allain offered from several steps away. He was openly grinning.

She whirled on her foot and had her purple blade drawn in the same beat, leveled toward his neck. “You’ve completed your duty, now scurry back to your master,” she stated.

The Draconian shook his head. “Your refusal to turn is such a waste. You would easily surpass Kendrell now.” Yet he heeded her words, and retreated to another table.

With the three of them alone again, Serena stowed her sword and spun back to face her brother. Some of the heat had lifted, and she sighed. “What were you thinking, Aldrus? Flying out here alone? With Kand in tow, no less?”

“I wasn’t thinking,” Aldrus admitted. He rubbed at his jaw, and a measure of the enlightening was already softening the bruise before it could finish forming. “We heard about the skirmish at Harkon Village after being assigned a purification mission.”

“And you immediately rushed here?” She looked over to Tyrrick, and her eyes settled upon the wrong colored blade at his hip and the band around his same wrist. “And what happened to you?”

“I don’t mean to protest, but can we sit down to feast while we talk?” Aldrus said. “We’ll explain in full. And I would appreciate the same from you, sister.”

“Ah, I had forgotten about the hunger,” she said. Tyrrick’s eyes widened. “Very well. The horrible creatures of the lake should be ready by now.” She led them to an empty table, and out of another doorway a set of Draconians were bringing in slain fish and vegetables, tankards of fresh water.

Most of the food was reserved for the Order, yet here and there a Draconian took some small serving of sustenance and returned to their table, and a portion was reserved strictly for Damon Reeves at the far end of the room.

For minutes the only sound that passed between the three of them was that of eating, mostly from Aldrus. At last, he began explaining all that had transpired the previous day, while Serena listened. She shook her head at their rush into the infernal lands, and the first duel at the watchtower, yet her gaze sharpened as the events of the second took place. “And Kand’s Coronacrux shattered. I mustered the last of my strength to rise and challenge the foe, and Agmentha’s mad thrashing finally shattered the rooftop as he charged at me. I took advantage to decapitate him in a final blow.”

“And then?” she pressed.

He relayed Kaikha capturing him at the last moment, and depositing him next to the stairwell, and checking on Tyrrick ere he passed out. At that point, the two of them turned to face the drakin, who picked up the tale.

“When I woke up some time later, I felt as if the bond was severed. A deep gulf lay between the two of us, but it gradually softened and filled in, and I think this is why,” he said, lifting the bracelet. “I think that Lord Odhran found a way to replicate the bond using his own energy as a substitute. I keep feeling like someone else is there, waiting and watching, when I delve any deeper than the surface level.”

A pained look came over Serena’s face. “I know well what suffering you have endured, Kand. We both do. But it shouldn’t be possible to substitute Dei’s grace with a mere Deiman’s will. Something very wrong has taken place.”

“I’ve already warned him not to use the bond more than needed,” Aldrus said. “And until we can question Lord Odhran himself, we can only guess at what he has done.”

Serena gave Tyrrick a critical look, yet she only sighed. "So be it. I do not like this, but the matter may rest until we have departed these infernal lands."

At that, Tyrrick spoke again. "Lady Serena, why is this territory so... alive, and whole, compared to the rest of the scorched and blazing domain?"

"Because Corina Dei laid her power into this place when slaying her monstrous foe could not be accomplished. The barren and broken lands healed, forming this vibrant valley in the heart of such chaos, forever chaining Saturna Nexus. I'm afraid that will soon wither, however." She glanced over to where Damon Reeves sat, and said, "My mission here began with Dagan-dei's final orders. Infiltrate and finish what once was started. I have been quietly gathering the fragments of Corina Dei's left behind power to fulfill the duties of the champions of old."

Aldrus stared at her. "How is that possible?" he asked.

Serena looked at him again. "Because that power is not unlike the font of Dei's grace that we gather to forge true sanctified swords and our gems from dragon scale. All this time, it merely awaited the right champion to draw upon it again. I have grown stronger, faster, and the hungers of the bond have abated. All that remained was to finish absorbing the last of that power in the deepest chamber, and deploy it all in the execution of the monster itself." She sighed again, and that cross look came to her features. "Now, however, even if I can succeed in what she began a thousand years ago, I have to make sure that we can all escape alive. One figure, fleeing in the disorder and mayhem? Easier accomplished than three."

Aldrus bowed his head. "I had no idea," he said.

"Which is why you should have stayed at Harkon Village, or at least reported back to Mount Dracaena ere you flew out here! In that time, I would have finished and joined you again." She took a sip of water and stood up. "What is done is done. When Reeves approaches you again, bide your time. He is seeking a sacrifice to Saturna Nexus in order to clear away the dispersion, and he intends it to be a living Deiman. By the terms of the truce I brokered with that late Draconian three months ago, I was safe by his own honor. Under what terms have you been brought here?"

Aldrus explained the rough details of their agreement. She shook her head. "He won't allow this chance to slip through his fingers again, after Odhran Calambur a decade ago. I've gathered that was the beginning of his plans."

"What can we do to assist you, sister?"

"Stay alive. And be prepared to fly at a moment's notice." With that, she gestured for Tyrrick to stand up and follow her. "I understand that your swordsmanship will be tested shortly. Can you truly defend yourself without enlightening, Kand?"

"That was what we were told. I can do my best, Lady Serena."

She eyed him warily. "And what is your best?"

"Do you intend to test me first?" he asked.

"That your blood not be spilled? Yes." Her hand settled upon her hilt and she motioned him into the open, across from her.

He drew the borrowed Coronacrux and took a stance.