True to her word, Illaya’s rangers woke Valen and Hera sometime later. He was not sure how long they had been sleeping, having fallen asleep almost immediately to Aevra’s rumbling snore, but it was dark out now and the rain, though it had not previously been able to break through the treetops covering the clearing too much, had stopped entirely.

The rangers that woke them moved quietly, but to Valen it seemed more a matter of habit than due to a need for silence. The two were armed the same as all of the other rangers seemed to be; with bows, slung across their backs to form an X with the quiver, and with either a single sword sheathed on their hips or with several smaller blades in their stead.

The only ranger who seemed to wield two full swords was the First Ranger herself.

“It’s time to get moving. The First Ranger awaits you,” one of the two that had woken them said. Groaning, Valen pushed himself up to a seated position. To his surprise, Hera had already gotten to her feet, yawning as Aevra stretched at her feet. He caught a whiff of himself, the sweat and the grime not making the greatest combination. He wished he had time for a good wash, but he knew that was a luxury he could not afford right now.

Valen was pleasantly surprised, however, when the rangers handed both him and his sister a change of attire; cloaks of green, darker than their own, and some simple black linens to go underneath.

“No armor?” he found himself asking before he even realized what was coming out of his mouth. He lacked the skill as a fighter to even put armor, leather or otherwise, to proper use. Thankfully the rangers did not joke at his expense. That might have made things worse. Instead, his sister did the teasing.

“Oh please, Val. Like wearing armor would even help you. You’re too hopeless for that,” she said, giving him a grin as she spoke. For just a moment they were simply siblings again and she was doing what sisters do.

Then they were reminded of their situation with a polite cough from the same ranger who had spoken before and they took the clothes that had been proffered.

“I’ll step out for a minute and let you get changed,” Valen offered. Hera nodded thankfully. He stepped outside and stood between the two rangers, who were waiting so that they could guide them to the others once they were ready. He thought about trying to strike up a conversation with them, but he mentally fussed about what he would even say so long that Hera stepped out and it was time for him to go back in and change.

He changed into the new cloak and clothing quickly, finishing up by strapping the sword belt that had been given to him back in Lakevale around his hips and sheathing his short sword. He might not know how to use it just yet, but having a weapon he knew how not to kill himself with was better than having nothing at all.

Once he stepped back outside and Aevra had found her favorite spot around Hera’s neck, the rangers led them through the camp. They took them past the central command tent all the way across to the far edge. Though it was hard to tell with the way the camp was set up and the relatively circular clearing they were in, he knew that they were probably about to head South since Manidar was in that direction.

A few moments later, the rest of their party came into view. Simon and Samuel stood a little apart from the others, but at the very least they no longer looked distrustful of the rangers. It was more fitting to say they were simply used to not trusting strangers and so took to standing with a small distance between them. When they saw Valen and Hera approaching, however, they both grinned a little and nodded in greeting.

They too wore the new clothing, except that both had them had been offered some of the leather armor that the rangers had been wearing as well. They were also wielding the same weapons that they had been carrying back in Lakevale. Samuel his knives, and Simon his hammer.

“Did you sleep long enough, or do you need some more beauty rest?” Samuel joked, jabbing Valen in the side with his elbow a couple of times once they were close enough as if it helped his joke get any better. Simon rolled his eyes but still smiled at them, obviously glad to see their familiar faces again after spending however long they had been there waiting with the rangers.

“Are you ready to head out, Valen? Hera? Little wylvring?” First Ranger Illaya asked, smiling as she said the last word and looking directly at Aevra. Once again, upon hearing that strange other language, the little wyvern perked up, letting out a shrill cry in response this time as if she were trying to talk back. Valen shook his head in amazement. That was something else he was going to have to ask about when he had the chance.

Illaya was decked out in full ranger gear still, her two blades at her hips and bow slung across her shoulder. This time, however, she and several other rangers led horses, saddled and ready for travel, their saddlebags packed with supplies. Valen was pleasantly surprised to see his own pack that he had left with Orik’s people back in the city slung across the saddle of one of the horses and tied into place as well.

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He had gotten that out here for them, after all, apparently before the city had gone into lockdown. It was not much, he knew, but it was still nice to see some of what they had reached Lakevale with still intact.

“Will you be coming with us, Illaya?” Hera asked and the First Ranger gave her a sad smile as she crouched down to answer her question.

“Unfortunately no, Hera. The rangers need me here, coordinating the rescue of as many of the Children of the Sky as we can manage. I’ll make it to Manidar with the last group of survivors, though, so be sure to watch for me once you make it there, alright? And you will be in very capable hands. Rangers Layne, Hedrick and Samorr will be accompanying you, with Second Ranger Bardus there to lead the way. They’ll make sure you stay out of trouble with the Imperials until you reach Midaris,” Illaya replied. Though Hera looked a little sad about this, she nodded her understanding, while Valen found himself looking around and realizing that the four chosen to accompany them had to be the four without masks on.

Bardus still looked as unpleasant as Valen remembered, although at the very least he seemed to be an obedient man, giving his First Ranger a quick salute in response to her words.

“You can count on us,” he said, and Illaya gave him an approving glance before returning to her feet and glancing back at the other rangers.

Ranger Layne was a young woman, probably only a year or two older than Valen, with skin almost as dark as the First Ranger. She had long dark hair that cascaded in a multitude of long braids that hung like a mane around her head. Her eyes were almost almond brown and though she looked fierce there was also a kindness to her eyes that pierced him to his core. She was also extremely pretty, he realized, and he found himself quickly moving his gaze to the others so that no one would notice his cheeks turning a shade or two redder.

Hedrick was older than Bardus, looking to be in his mid to late forties, possibly even at fifty. He carried himself like someone who had seen more than his fair share of violence and who knew how to dish it out as well if the situation called for it. His hair was short and cropped, and a goatee streaked with lines of gray gave him a dignified cast. He was also one of the tallest men that Valen had ever seen, standing easily at least six-foot-three with a wariness to his gaze that said he was already keeping a look out for any sign of trouble.

Valen was immediately grateful the man would be accompanying them.

Ranger Samorr was the only ranger among them that Valen and the others had not yet met. He was as different from the other rangers as a person could be. He had curly, bright red hair, eyes as blue as the ponds that used to collect in the mountains near their home when it would rain and a scruffy beard that looked as though it still needed to fill in some, with patches of freckled skin peaking through here and there. He was lithe like a whip, and to Valen’s surprise he seemed to carry no weapons, instead wearing thick leather gloves that looked as though they had been made around a set of steel spikes atop his knuckles.

Noticing Valen’s confusion, the red-haired Samorr grinned and pulled back his cloak to reveal a strange contraption slung across the back of his waist. It looked like a sideways bow, attached to a wooden stock of some kind with a strange circular space on the bottom and just under the bow-piece for his hands.

“I prefer a different set of tools, but I still get the same job done,” Samorr assured him. Valen was inclined to believe him. If he had to guess, he would have put Samorr somewhere around twenty years of age, perhaps a year or two more. He also had to guess that the strange ranger was definitely someone they would be glad to have around, just like the others.

In total, their party numbered eight, nine if you counted Aevra - and thinking of Aevra, Valen realized with a start that one more of their number was missing. He started to look around but as if on cue, there was the sound of trembling branches and cracks as some broke and suddenly Raenelir was above them, leaping out from among the trees and spreading his wings wide as he glided around in a circle. He came down to a landing a short distance away, shaking with joy at having been able to fly around for a moment without imminent danger driving him to it.

“It seems that the last of you are here, then,” Illaya said, chuckling. Everyone turned their attention toward her as her voice grew serious.

“One last thing, before you go. My rangers will do their best to guide and protect you all the way to Manidar. Listen to them. Obey them. They know the land and they know the dangers you may face along the way. However, you must also know that, if the riders find you and the danger becomes too great, you will have to fight for yourselves. I hope to save you from that, but you must know that they cannot save you from everything,” she began, before handing the reins of the horse she was leading over to Hera, who stood closest to her.

Then she strode past them, heading back to the camp, the other rangers that were not accompanying them on their journey South handing over the reins they had been holding as well to their respective riders. She did shout one last thing over her shoulder as she left, though, driving home the seriousness of their mission.

“I pray to the Four, to the Great Forger of the Iron Queendom, even to the Great Weaver of the Fae that you find safety and success in your venture. But be ready, for the Emperor has a god of his own, and his god does not suffer the likes of kindness and mercy. Remember that. Remember it well.”

With that, Illaya was gone. Their party was left to mount up on their own, pondering the dangers they would face, left to imagine what could possibly be worse than the Emperor’s dragon riders and just what could possibly stop anything so dangerous from taking their lives if it so wanted to.

The thought of it made Valen shiver.