"Hurry up!" Alaron called out to Brinn and Lukoss. "I can see those flying things flapping on the horizon," he added as he urged them on while riding on the back of the unicorn. The blond boy slowed to a stop and looked at the scaly creatures which were circling and diving.

"Those are wyverns. Did Aurora teach you nothing?" Brinn huffed as she caught up with him. She was trying not to use too much of her wind magic because she knew that it would be needed all too soon. She was a fast runner even without the wind, but over such a long distance, she was beginning to fall behind her unicorn's gait.

"If she told me, I did not listen," Alaron admitted.

"That's the story of your life," the elf retorted with a snort.

Alaron did not respond. She noticed how much more subdued he had been since she rescued him and made him drink the healing water. She could not decide if the change was a good one. A small part of the elf missed the cocky prince.

"Where's Lukoss? Did he finally give up on us?" The blue-eyed boy pulled Brinn from her thoughts.

"What? Oh, I haven't seen him in a while. We cannot wait for him though." Brinn took a draught of water and prepared to keep going. It had been nearly an hour of non-stop movement.

"You cannot leave me!" Lukoss popped up from the ground a little way off from them. He also looked winded. Like Brinn, he had been saving his magic, but gave up in order to reach the other two. He closed the distance between them while he caught his breath. "I still have to make sure you fulfill your promise before I let you go."

The elf rolled her eyes. "Well, you found me. We need to keep moving." She looked at the exhausted, slightly sunburned gnome and offered him a drink of her water. He gladly accepted.

After sipping at the water skin, Lukoss wiped his mouth and gave a determined nod. His short legs were not much help with running, but he would do his best.

"You aren't going to travel underground?" Brinn asked as she noticed him poised to jog.

"Not if I can help it. I am trying to conserve my magic and anyway, this sandy ground feels like creepy crawlies against my skin. It is far too loose and unpredictable. I nearly fell into a watery sinkhole below the surface back there.

Brinn said something in the ancient tongue to her unicorn. He snorted at her in return and nodded his head as his mane bobbed up and down. "Get down," the elf ordered Alaron. "Lukoss is going to ride."

"What?" Alaron was confused.

Brinn clapped her hands at the boy and rolled them around each other to motion him to hurry. "We need to get their fast. The gnome has shorter legs and you should be fully rested. Now put that healing water to good use!"

"I plan to," Alaron answered as he dismounted.

There was a conviction in his voice that made Brinn curious, but she was too busy helping the short gnome into the saddle to ask. With Lukoss no longer holding them back, they were able to move more efficiently along the ground. It was at least another half hour before they reached the action.

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Coming up on the battle was a shocking sight. They could not see the humans battling, but the magical war was raging in their view. "Can you see the Empress?" Alaron asked, trying not to feel sick at all the destruction occurring.

Brinn squinted. She could see the raised mound. A bolt from it went flying from the ballista on the mound into the enemy lines. "If I had to guess, she is up on the hill where she can see everything," the elf responded.

Alaron shielded his eyes from the sun to peer in that direction. "I need to get to her, now!" There was a mysterious urgency in his tone, and neither of the others doubted his words.

"All well and good, but how do we get there?" Lukoss asked. He could see no openings in the battle line.

The elf raised one eyebrow. "We? You aren't going anywhere close to Aurora," Brinn said firmly.

The gnome sighed, "Yes, yes, you have said that. I will only get as close as you let me. My question still stands: how?"

Brinn surveyed the field. The fighting stretched all the way to the sea, but did not actually go into the waves. It made sense since the gnomes hated the water.

"Can you take us underground? In fact, why aren't the gnomes doing that to get past the elves?" Alaron noticed that the earthy creatures were staying noticeably above ground. "Surely that creepy feeling you described is not enough to keep gnomes from their desire for victory."

The mousey creature unconsciously shivered. "The water here is very close to ground level. On top of a hate for water, it messes up gnomes' ability to navigate in the earth." Lukoss furrowed his brow and rubbed his arm.

"You did ok back there when you caught up with us," Brinn pointed out, reminding him of why he was riding the unicorn just now.

"I counted off how long I thought it should take and even then I was off. I had aimed to come up right next to you, but look how far away I landed! Ha, Gandr really chose the ideal spot to neutralize gnome powers." Lukoss crinkled his small nose and grinned in appreciation of the other's genius.

Alaron raised one eyebrow. "What makes you think it was Gandr?"

"Who else but a gnome would know such things?" Lukoss responded with a shrug.

The elf grunted. "We will go around in the water and hope the archers don't shoot us." Brinn began her movement without waiting for confirmation.

The two males exchanged a glance. 'Hope?' They quickly followed behind her, leaving the unicorn behind because they could not guarantee his safety in the water.

The trio dove into the waves and went out until Lukoss could only breath between each wave. He was miserable, cursing his own life choices with each step. The three moved parallel to the shoreline, slowly passing the enemy lines.

Suddenly Brinn heard a screech that made her dip below the waves. A wyvern, spotting what might have been an easy meal, dove at them and tried to grab her by the arms. Only her quick thinking had the scaly creature come up with only water in its claws.

The wyvern chased them back toward the beach. Only Brinn's wind magic held back the creature long enough for them to scramble onto the shore. Unfortunately, they came up in the midst of the fighting.

A giantess, who had been blinded when an elf used one of Renat's sticky balls, was throwing sand and hitting at anything that made a sound no matter whether friend or foe. Sopping wet and with their eyes on the wyvern, they nearly missed the giantess's large fist coming straight at them.

Lukoss caught the shadow first. "Drat," he muttered, grabbing onto the other two, "Hold on!"

With that, the three sunk below the muddy ground as the fist pounded at the empty space left behind. Lukoss was right about the wet earth being unpleasant. It felt like slugs crawling across the elf's skin, and when she cried out in horror, wet air entered her lungs, causing her to hold her breath.

About the time when Brinn could stand it no longer, they surfaced, covered in sandy loam. It took a moment for her eyes to focus, but already Lukoss was yelling.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know she was there. I couldn't tell where I was going, please!" The mousey gnome sounded frantic.

Brin wiped her eyes and saw where they were. Thinking quickly, she stopped Zan from finishing the gnome off. "He's with me, sort of. Don't kill him, but do not let him near the Empress either."

"Funny, he nearly sunk her in the sand just now," Zan responded with a grunt.

"An accident, I promise!" Lukoss insisted.

Overcoming her shock, Aurora moved toward the red-headed elf and hugged her. "Brinn! You are safe, and wet and sandy!" The Empress motioned for a servant to fetch some clean water and clothes from the command tent.

Aurora's eyes then fell on the third member of the group. The boy was covered in sand, but she knew him easily.

"Alaron!" The fiery-haired woman exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," he began, but the Empress cut him off as tears filled her eyes.

"You are healed!" she exclaimed, happy to see him whole again, but unsure if she should approach him. Their last encounter had not been a happy one, and even now she could see the pain in his eyes.

"Where is Mairwen?" The boy scanned the faces of those on the mound.

"She is with General Nurlan and the human army. I thought she would be safer there," the Empress answered.

The blue-eyed boy nodded with a solemn expression. "Yes, that's good. Always keep her safe. Everything will be over soon enough."

"Why do you say that?" Aurora furrowed her brow.

"Because," Alaron gave a ghost of a smile. "I had a vision."