Now that the little ones were asleep, Madronna could speak to Amicus properly.

"If Ares chooses to go to war with the humans, the results would be catastrophic," the queen explained her reasoning to her lieutenant. "I see your point. I don't disagree." Amicus tilted his head to one side. "But not taking action isn't an option. Something must be done, or war will be upon us. Whether we instigated it or not." Madronna felt anxious. She never felt anxious. For the first time, she couldn't think of a solution to the growing conflict with the humans. The other dragons depended on Madronna for solutions. But for the first time, she was at a loss.

"I must consult with the Brimarian monks. They may have some insight into the best course of action." Amicus nodded in agreement. "That is a place to start." "Please, watch over the children. I must also find answers regarding this Maradian Empire. I need to find out what they are after and what they hope to achieve." "I will do as you ask." "Thank you, my friend. I shall take my leave immediately. There is no time to lose."

The red dragon lifted herself from the ground into the sky.

Deep in the wilderness of the northern hemisphere, there was someone else who set out on a mission. Running through the trees and the shrubs was a striking creature. An onyx unicorn galloped between the tree trunks and over the roots at an incredible speed. Her name is Cierra. The Moonchild of the unicorns. The Moonchild is a unicorn that is born once every ten thousand years with exceptional powers reaching far beyond that of an average unicorn. For this reason, Cierra took it upon herself to travel to the southern region to search for answers.

Unicorns are known to be timid and peaceful creatures, despite possessing powerful magic. But Cierra is anything but timid. Cierra is bold and fearless. She has never been known to shy away from a challenge or flee from danger.

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The danger is where Cierra is headed toward. The increased amount of blood mages coming out of the woodwork was unsettling enough. But the fact that now unicorns were actively being slaughtered for the sake of atrocious rituals enraged Cierra. Her goal was simple. 'Find out if these mages are working for the Empire, find out what the Empire is trying to achieve, and bring the truth home to the others and act quickly.' Cierra changed her form to that of a crow, flying up above the trees. No one will ever suspect a simple crow of actually being a magical being.

Footsoldiers in iron suits of armor and swords of polished steel marched onward towards the city in the distance. Smoke rose above into the sky from the buildings where weapons and inventions were being produced. In the rear ranks of the army, they dragged a large wagon behind them. In this huge wagon were the remains of the desert dragon, Dola, along with the body of a nomadic unicorn they managed to capture and slay.

At the front of the army was a man dressed in deep blue, riding upon the back of a chimera. The mighty creature was exhausted but continued traveling at a steady pace out of fear of being punished by the wizard she carried.

The wizard appeared to be pleased with himself, a tranquil smile on his pale lips. He was slightly disappointed that he was unable to capture any of the young dragons because of the fearsome adult that attacked them. But either way, this was still a productive trip according to him. He had managed to kill the dragon and a stray unicorn. 'They will make for excellent material,' he thought to himself. The emperor would be pleased with their progress, as well. There would be a feast tonight to celebrate becoming closer to accomplishing their goal. His chimera mount stumbled over a sharp rock, stopping for a moment. The poor creature was met with instant agony as the wizard used a spell to cause her pain. "Keep moving, creature!" The creature groaned, forcing herself to keep moving forward.

The man's pale eyes moved upward to look at the movement he glimpsed in the sky before brushing it off. It was just a crow, nothing more.