We barely passed the highest peaks of the ridge surrounding the valley of the stronghold, when Siaril suddenly pushed me to the side, almost making me land in a cluster of montane bushes. I regained my balance just in front of them and swept around, doing it just in time to see an enormous stream of fire die out in the air. Glancing down, I spotted Armailith, lurking among the rocks, blinking at her would-be prey.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled.

"I'm sorry," the dragoness whined. "I thought it was some ansirths again..."

"Excuse me but I think I differ from an ansirth quite a lot! Be on a lookout for something that shines like a royal treasury, will you!"

"Calm down, you both have reflexes brilliant enough..." she waited a moment for the terror to let go of my nerves and added: "But why do you look like you just escaped from underneath an executioner's sword?"

"Because I kind of did..." I retorted, wondering if I really presented myself so drastically. "Never mind, how are you guys managing?"

"It's hard to say... I think the chances are quite balanced. It's difficult for me to join in, the risk of injuring or killing allies is too high... But the troops coming out of the ravine last weren't very lucky," the dragoness turned her head towards the south.

At the base of the ridge, where the thin thread of the river flowed out of the mountain pass, undefined, blackened shapes littered the ground. Faint, dark stains floated on the surface of the water, heading towards the sea. It was hard to match up to a dragon when it came to spreading chaos and destruction...

"That's a fine mess you've made there..."

"And I have another idea. Ansirths in flight are a wonderful target... Would any of you mind playing the bait?"

"If it's to be one of us, then me," Siaril spoke up.

"No, if it's to be one of us, then both," I corrected him.

"You're horrible."

"So are you," I grinned at him.

Shortly after, we came to a stop above the fighting armies. It was then that I saw for myself to what exactly I exposed us all... The first victims among the soldiers, mostly humans, but also kanh and ansirths. The blood seeping into the soil of our kingdom. The screams of agony and despair. Thicker clouds came from the west, heading for the last rays of the sun flowing down to earth to our left...

"Don't expect a rainbow in hell, Sigrian..." Siaril must have noticed my face losing color. He looked around. So far, no one seemed to pay us much attention. "We need to invite them to the dance floor somehow..."

He raised his hand, a small flame appearing in it, and I quickly picked up the idea. Darting after him towards the ground, I was already looking for a convenient target, and when I abruptly spread my wings just above the soldiers' heads, my flame hit one of the kanh that was being a nuisance for a group of terhials. Siaril in the meantime threw one of the elves off the back of an ansirth on the flank that was just surrounding Tacritia's soldiers. Another one, hit through opportunity in the air, fell with a scream and soon vanished among the troops of Leeshan.

We didn't even manage to ascend half the way back to our original position when a group of around a dozen kanh on ansirths separated from the mass to follow us.

"Didn't we get a little too many at once?" a feeling of uneasiness started to rise in my chest as I watched them quickly reach our altitude.

"As long as they don't catch up, you don't have to worry about anything. Armailith will take care of them."

Those words barely died out when the dragoness appeared as if summoned by a spell. She belched fire, turning two ansirths that were the closest to causing us harm to ash on the spot, sweeping another away with her tail as she flew above our heads. Just a moment and she was taking a turn, going back to repeat the maneuver. I watched her acrobatics for a moment when suddenly Siaril's voice drew my attention back to him:

"Finally!"

I followed his gaze north. From behind the forest that was surrounding the Apries Lake on the west side, dark silhouettes were starting to emerge, clearly heading for the Serelath Valley.

"Are those..." I trailed off, my jaw dropping a little and staying there. The stream of soldiers just went on and on, as if it didn't intend to ever end.

"That's right," Siaril didn't even try to hide his pride. "This is the power of Hreshia."

"But... they're at least as many as Leeshan, Tacritia and Saille's troops together!" I exclaimed in excitement, not even really paying attention to Armailith sweeping another ansirth away behind my back.

We weren't the only ones who noticed the support approaching from the north. Enthusiastic shouts came from the army behind us, and when we turned to look, we saw the crimson flash of Yasenka's scales above the fighters... She soon disappeared from our sight though, when roughly thirty ansirths separated from the troops and dashed towards us. We made a straight shot for Hreshia's forces.

Siaril didn't even bother to land, just drew his sword and pointed it at the approaching beasts. "You know what to do!" he shouted, waited a moment till they were close enough and the men drew their bows, and... "Fire!"

A cloud of arrows raised from the rear ranks of the army, swished past us with a noise resembling a passing flock of birds and exceptionally efficiently deprived the ansirths of their riders. The beasts themselves didn't give up so easily though and soon clashed with the soldiers marching in the front. Without a word, we joined the fight.

We quickly lost sight of each other in the maelstrom that spread on the battlefield, but I knew there was no need to worry about Siaril, considering his level of skill. No one knew that better than I.

Besides, I had other things to worry about. Since the soldiers were already fully absorbed with getting rid of the ansirths, I decided to leave that part in their hands and focus on keeping any danger off their backs. I didn't want to allow further victims, but it seemed inevitable nonetheless...

Even more so when a group of elvish infantry suddenly emerged from some cave under the Ethir ridge, joining the winged beasts.

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Shortly after the arrival of those reinforcements, I clashed with an exceptionally fierce ansirth alongside one of Hreshia's soldiers. When I dodged the bloodied claws a third time, the hybrid roared in frustration and jumped forward like an arrow fired from a bow. We were both forced to fall back a few steps, collided with someone and soon landed on the ground with them. I looked up, stifling a curse, noticing that the soldier we bumped into lost their helmet in the impact...

All I could do was stare in bewilderment when I suddenly realized it wasn't quite a soldier. It was a girl... probably just a little younger than me, petite, the dark green eyes that gave me a look of terror not drawing my attention as much as the earring that was half-hidden in the ink black hair. A halberd wielding dragon...

The growl from the side didn't give me much time to ponder though.

I jumped up, wrapped my arms around the girl's waist and shot upwards a fraction of a second before the huge claws of the ansirth plunged into the soil where she had been sprawled.

"Are you insane?!" I yelled when we reached a relatively safe height. "Siaril will kill you if he learns you're here!"

She moved in my hands rather uneasily. "How did you..."

"I wasn't sure until you just admitted it, idiot!"

Phaladriel fell silent and I was honestly grateful. It was hard to keep us up in the air... She didn't exactly count as very heavy, but my wings, sore after the encounter with Sharish, were not used to carrying two adults... Forcing myself to put a little more strain on them, I headed for the forest.

"Listen..." I huffed after setting her down, leaning against the nearest trunk and breathing heavily. "Don't even think about going back there..."

"I have to. A true warrior doesn't know how to flee from a battlefield..."

"But you're not a warrior," I interrupted her firmly. "You're one of the few treasures that keep Siaril alive..." I allowed my voice to become softer again. "I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to my best friend's sister when I had the chance to prevent it. He suffered enough already... please spare him that..."

"But... but I just wanted to help..."

"I know, you have no idea how well I understand you... But it'd be best if you stayed hidden. For your own and Siaril's good... please?"

She stubbornly kept quiet for a few more moments, but finally nodded.

Only then I relaxed enough to take a good look at her. It wasn't yet a mature woman, rather a stripling of female gender, but of uncommon beauty. Her eyes were darker and just as deep as Siaril's, her features smooth and slender with something aristocratic to them, the long, black hair flowing down the small shoulders shining beautifully in the last, pale sunrays that broke through the thick clouds and tree crowns...

I shook my head a little, calling myself to order. This wasn't a good moment for that.

"Follow this path," I pointed her to a small trail meandering among the trees. "You'll come across a big mansion by a lake, you can't miss it. There's no one there right now so don't be afraid to go in and wait till we return."

Phaladriel nodded and looked me in the eyes for a few more moments. "Are you that Sigrian who Siaril told me about?"

I smiled a little. "I guess I am... now go, I need to return to him."

I waited until her silhouette was absorbed by the wall of trees at the other side of the clearing, making sure she wouldn't stray from the right course, before I ascended again. Almost immediately, two disturbing things caught my eye.

First - heavy clouds now hung directly above the battlefield, threatening with a downpour any minute.

Second - a solitary, probably last ansirth just broke free from the mass of fighters, a half-alive kanh on its back, and headed for the Ethir Mountains, chased by the arrows of Hreshia's soldiers.

"Sigrian!" Siaril's voice came from below as soon as I passed the border of the forest.

My friend was kneeling among the men, helping to bandage one of them. All other ansirths and elves were dead. Unfortunately, the losses were equally terrifying on Earlindon's side... The first, still soundless lightning ploughed through the sky, the trees bowed to each other, greeting the wind with a concordant rustle.

"Don't let him call for reinforcements!" Siaril yelled, pointing at the escaping creature.

Simply nodding, I dashed after it. It was at that weird moment that I realized the lack of a weight at my waist. I probably lost it while saving Phaladriel... It was a pity, but the sword wasn't the most important thing right now.

Catching up to the ansirth turned out to not be nigh impossible. Even with a few arrows sticking out of its side, the beast was still faster than me. I started to get closer only when we reached the ridge. As soon as we did though, my attention was abruptly drawn to something else.

The presence of at least a dozen other living beings.

The almost inaudible, yet so menacing sound of stretching bowstrings.

I didn't even have the time to look down before an arrow whizzed right above my head. The next one barely missed the lower part of my wing's membrane, flying through the gap between my left arm and my chest. If I beat my wings one second earlier, it would have done much more damage than just ripping my shirt... Almost without thinking, I created a fiery shield behind my back, dodged a few arrows from the front... still, one of them penetrated my defense and cut through the skin of my right arm.

It was then that I heard a familiar, commanding voice somewhere below and the assault stopped as abruptly as it started. I landed on the rocks, my heart pounding in my rib cage like a bird wanting to get out, and glanced around. I was surrounded by kanh, bows drawn, every single arrow aimed at that very bird.

"I didn't know that luring a Disciple into a trap is that easy..." said Sharish, stepping forward from between two of his soldiers. "And I didn't expect you to be the one to wander so willingly underneath my blade."

I quickly understood our mistake. That kanh didn't retreat his ansirth here to call reinforcements. Sharish wouldn't have left anything for later, he was too enraged, too torn... Angry at myself, I squeezed my arm above the wound and nervously moved my wings. How much damage would I be able to do before the elves turn me into a wet spot on the mountain rocks...?

"Your blade?" I threw at Sharish, trying to buy some time. "It looks to me as if you'll be making someone else do all the work for you again... and where is Light?"

"I don't care anymore..."

"He's your brother!"

"He deceived me, switched sides, all because I wanted to protect him... But we can't change the past. I have to focus on the present and on the people who still count on me," the mage lifted his hand, and I didn't know what tensed up first - my body or the elvish arms holding the bows. "You had your chance..."

His next movement was a signal for both the kanh and me. I shot up into the air in the same instant in which the bowstrings twanged, sending around a dozen arrows flying my way. My exhausted wings almost screamed out in protest, but I just grit my teeth and beat them harder.

My fire was enough to defend myself from a few arrows, and I even got the opportunity to let two of the elves taste it when I darted above their heads in an attempt to get out of range. Soon though, I had to duck behind a rock, just big enough to hide me, crowning the edge of a deep precipice that ran along the ridge like a huge crack. I dared a glance down. The cavity was impressive, the slope dangerously steep. If a normal human fell down there, he would be dead for sure...

I took a deep breath and, still kneeling down, leaned out from behind the boulder, looking for a convenient target among the dark elves. As soon as I did it, an arrow swished past my head. I quickly backed away and tried on the other side - with identical result. After giving it a brief thought, I decided it would probably be best to take them by surprise. Finding leverage in two small hollows in the rock's surface near its top, I took a deep breath, strained my muscles and pulled myself up...

I only managed to stick my head out, when a strange noise behind my back stopped me in my tracks. And not just me, it seemed. There was an abrupt hush in the entire valley. I saw bewilderment even on Sharish's face, neither of the kanh fired a single arrow despite my head posing a perfect target, frozen right above the boulder. I dared a glace behind...

... my breath and heart froze as well.

Light...

He stood right behind me, his hands leaning on the rock at my sides, shielding me with his own body. My eyes got drawn to the gap under his left arm, a view of a spot across the precipice, two kanh with raised bows on the edge of it...

... but there were no arrows...

A dreadful chill crawled across my skin as I looked back at my mentor. "Light..."

He straightened up a little, letting out a small gasp of pain, as if he only noticed it now...

He then gave me a weak smile, took a shaky step back and fell from the scarp.

Lightning stoke somewhere nearby, the first heavy droplets following it on their way to the bloodstained earth...