"The resistance has been less fierce than I feared, Your Majesty," Nurlan commented as he wiped the sweat from his brow and the blood from his sword.The most recent skirmish in their northward sweep had been anticlimactic. A small band of men had tried to ambush the grey-eyed Emperor. The battalion seemed to be solely intent on killing Devrim and the Princess at the expense of their lives. Surprise had been their biggest asset.Fortunately they had been unsuccessful. A scout has told warned that the men were lying in wait, but it was decided that the imperial troop should deal with them now rather later. The more of Cafer's allies they could eliminate, the better in the end.Using himself as bait, the Emperor along with Mairwen and a dozen others rode into the high grass. They appeared to be alone."I love the ardor of our men," Devrim said to Nurlan, "but it is also nice to get away from the noise.""I understand, Your Majesty," Junayd responded woodenly. "I am also glad we left beh

"...Zan?" the other man threw back his hood to reveal a set of silver eyes exactly matching Zan's. His hair was the color of brown oak and his face was of a man in his early thirties. Despite the fierce voice which he had used with him before, he seemed quite delighted just now. "Zan! We thought you were dead!""It is not the first time and I fear it will not be the last. The life of a Guardian is anything but peaceful, as you know." Zan laughed. Vahan stowed his sword within his brown cloak, and the two men embraced."Why did you not come and join us in the Fellowship this year?" Vahan scolded."I have just now made it this far south. I thought about dropping in now, but figured all of you would have joined His Majesty and the army already." There was a slight accusation in Zan's voice, but it did not seem to bother the other Guardian."And we intended to, but then the rumors of more and more magical creatures coming down from the land of magic reached our ears. You know we could not

"I am so sorry! I did not know it was you all those years. Even so, I still should have freed you. Forgive me," the words ran from Gandr's mouth like water from a fountain. They would have kept coming had not his mother silenced him by covering his lips with her delicate fingers."I am here now. You are here now. That is what matters. We will not dwell on what should have been. The future will be our focus. We cannot let the past define us." Bukuri's words were salve to the halfling's aching heart. The emotional wound, which had been carrying for too long, could finally begin to heal.Gandr stood and kissed his mother on the cheek. She smiled, stepped back and used her wind magic to brush away the halfling's disguise. Under the gnomic facade, which looked mostly human, was the true form of the halfling.His ears were somewhere between rounded and pointy, as if something they were only half finished either direction. His skin was not the pasty paleness of the gnomes or the gold of the

The morning dawned and the Emperor and Empress exited their tent looking, for the first time in a long time, like the world was not resting on their shoulders."It is amazing what a good night's sleep can do," Devrim said as he wrapped his arms around his wife. "Perhaps we should go back and rest a little more, you know, to make sure we are at full strength."He tugged her slightly, and she nearly gave in. But her senses returned at the last moment and she resisted. "We need to rally and plan our attack. The New Emperor's army will come for us any day now that we are together. We cannot lose any more time on such…wonderful pursuits." The woman blushed slightly.Devrim wanted to press further, but knew he could not. He released his grip and reached for the Empress's hand instead. "Of course you are right, but at least we had one night. I know we had good men watching out for us, isn't that right, Junayd?"The General appeared from some hidden location. "Everything is in order, Your Maj

*Two days prior*Brinn arrived in Valiant on the back of her unicorn just as the light was beginning to dawn. Her wind magic and the unicorn's speed brought them swiftly toward their destination: the palace.Finding a safe place to stow her steed, she used her stealth to approach the fortress unobserved. 'I hope Aurora was right,' she thought as she waited for the palace gates to open for the day.Brinn's mind wandered back to the morning after arriving at the Beachy Plains where Aurora had shared her concerns with the spymaster."If Alaron is as opposed to battle as you say, then there is no way that Cafer will bring him here," the Empress had said.Brinn considered her words. "You think the gnome will leave him at the palace.""I would bet on it. Cafer needs a competent leader for the human troops to follow. If he drugs Alaron and tries to bring him along, a lot can go wrong, and his soldiers will lose faith." Aurora reasoned."So…let me guess. You want me to fetch the wayward princ