It is Before Friday Thursday and I am finally back from vacation with my family, which means that I can actually start writing more than the two measly chapters a week that I have these last two weeks. Funny how vacation means that there is no time for personal indulgences...

Anyway, enjoy the last chapter of Alagaësia as you know it.

You are not getting away that easily

Loivissa POV
He is leaving again?, Loivissa thought dumbfounded, leaving so soon after returning?

Mercury had left her not even a few minutes ago because of some unknown message. It was not how this had been supposed to turn out. Granted, Loivissa had not really made any plans for what was to happen after she had brought Mercury back north.

She had had no idea that he would have ended the war so swiftly, so her first priority had been to get him to safety, and then…what? It was something that Loivissa only just realized now; she had not even given a single thought to what would happen afterwards, but had likely subconsciously just waited for someone to tell her what to do afterwards, that someone most likely being Mercury.

…And now he was leaving again, just like last time, except that this time, she was not confined to a bed and had no intention of letting him get away that easily.

With that single-minded determination, Loivissa stormed out of the room, but found that despite the fact that Mercury had not left long ago, and that there were still people mulling about in front of the keep, he was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Mercury?", she asked one of her nearby guards that had taken up the post as a temporary city guard at the gates until everything calmed down.

"I thought that he was with you?", the confused guard said.

"But he left a few minutes ago, you must have seen him exit here?", Loivissa continued.

"I am afraid not, my lady. The only ones we have seen through here were a young couple in brown cloaks", the guard answered, "should I initiate a search for him?"

"No, it does not matter. I think that I might know where he has gone", Loivissa rejected the offer and then proceeded to try and push her way out of the crowd.

Doing so proved to be more difficult than she had imagined, especially after someone recognized her as the same woman that had accompanied Mercury down the ship. In the end, it took Captain Lauran and a few of her guards to get people to keep their distance and let her pass.

When she finally arrived at the docks, the sun was already setting. The dökkálfar seemed to be hard at work carrying caskets and barrels up the plank to the ship. Most of the cargo looked to be either food or materials that could be used to repair a ship in an emergency, so Loivissa guessed that they were preparing for their departure already.

The plank up to the ship was guarded by a pair of dökkálfar with longswords tucked into their brown leather belts, but which were otherwise dressed mostly in plain civilian clothes consisting of a couple of cream-coloured tunics and black leather pants.

Quickly deciding that there was only one way to go from there; forward, Loivissa approached the two guards at the plank as neutrally as possible. When she came within a few metres distance from them, their hands automatically snapped to the hilts of the swords, but other than that, they remained calm and unmoving.

"Let me pass, I need to see Mercury", Loivissa said to them when she arrived.

They looked to be confused for a moment, before the one on the left said something in that same guttural tongue that Mercury and that female had used when they had conversed earlier.

When they noticed her equally confused expression, the one on the right tried the Ancient language, "Do you understand me?"

"Yes!", Loivissa responded, happy that they had found some middle ground, "I was looking for Mercury, the one with silver eyes that sort of resembles my people in body", better to be certain that they knew who she was referring to.

"We know the lieutenant commander", the one on the left said, "he told us that he was not to be disturbed".

"He wished to speak to me", Loivissa said, and although it was not an actual lie, it was not the complete truth either. He had wished to speak to her earlier, but they did not need to know that that was what Loivissa was referencing to.

"I think that I recognize her from before. She was that prisoner that the ra'zac brought aboard", the one on the right contributed.

"Hmm, it seems that everything is in order then", the one on the left said and let her pass.

It was almost too easy getting aboard, but that was one of the things that she remembered the best from her previous journey with Mercury; people in general seemed to put too much trust into the Ancient language's inability to lie to even begin considering deceit.

Not really knowing what way to go from there, Loivissa did the only thing that she could think of: ask the guards from earlier for help, "excuse me again, but I do not know the layout of this ship, so where exactly can I find Mercury?"

"His quarters are through the first door on the right at the boundary between the stern and the main deck", one of the guards replied back with a helping hand pointing in the right direction.

Loivissa thanked them again and continued on her way. When she reached the door, she found it guarded by another two guards, but after relaying the same half-truth again, as well as the fact that the guards at the plank had shown her the way, she was allowed to enter.

Just on the other side of the door, there was a partition blocking the view further inside. No one seemed to have noticed the door open or close, as Loivissa did not detect a single discrepancy in the speech further inside.

She had no idea what was being said, as the same guttural language was being used again, but she did recognize one of the voices as Mercury's. Not really knowing whether she should announce her presence, and what reason she should say she had for sneaking inside, Loivissa chose to wait on this side of the partition.

Since she could not understand what was said, it was not the same as eavesdropping, at least not in her own mind. During her wait, she thought that she was able to sum up the different voices to three besides Mercury's, and more than once, one or more of these three had been raised, which had quickly been followed by others, including Mercury.

Clearly there was some sort of disagreement between them, but without further information, Loivissa had no idea what it was about. She was just about to come out of her not-hiding, when Mercury's voice suddenly switched to the Ancient language, "I keep telling you that we do not have enough men for that. We cannot pull Kilgharrah out of The Capital, because we need him there in case the lethrblaka decide to try to retake the city, and if they do, then everything is lost, and without him to support us, we won't make it through that way without risking if not all then at least half of our ships".

"But if we were to go through the northern channel, then we would add at least an extra week to our voyage because of the maelstrom", the same raised voice from before argued back, "the Supreme Commander told us to get there as quickly as possible, or all might be lost anyway".

The fact that they had reverted to argue in the Ancient language signified to Loivissa that both sides wanted to emphasize their points, but it also provided her with a way to figure out what was really going on.

"We are no good to them dead either", a third voice piped in. Was it just her or did everyone of this crew know the Ancient language fluently?

"It would not have been a problem if the last Supreme Commander had not botched his amphibious assault on Atkins. Now look where it has gotten us; we do not even have the manpower to secure the southern coastline from the feeble remnants of their fleet anymore", a fourth one said clearly irritated.

"It is no use blaming the dead", the third voice argued, "he and his command staff all perished during that assault, and it is only thanks to the swift actions of the current one that some of the men are still alive and recuperating in Hydronium".

"I know, I know. Still, it is a shame. I was planning on using these three weeks to see what happened to the Ancestors afterwards", the fourth one admitted.

Since much of the later bits of the conversation had not needed to be emphasized by the Ancient language's boundaries, it seemed to Loivissa that everyone was so fluent in both languages that they had not noticed the shift.

"Keep your vacation plans to yourself. We have a decision to make", Mercury scolded the fourth voice, "you are all capable captains of your own ships, and I asked you here to seek your advice on how to approach this, but so far we have not been able to come up with anything. The safer northern route would potentially take too long, especially with things as unsteady as they are now, where we need every able-bodied warrior the most, but the faster southern route runs straight past Atkins, which could potentially lead to a naval combat that we cannot win without more ships or Kilgharrah aiding us. I will not have this turn into another battle of Dread! I want everyone to forget about the old plans and try to think of something new, no matter how crazy it might be".

Before Loivissa had time to reconsider her actions, she practically burst through the partition that had previously hidden her from view. The moment she did this was also the moment where she caught her first glimpse of the other occupants of the room.

There was Mercury, who was now dressed in an inconspicuous brown cloak with its hood down and had a pair of regular leggings and a tunic underneath. Then there were three male dökkálfar, all dressed in chainmail with leather belts that had swords, which were already moving out of their sheaths, around their midriffs. And then there was the same shorter female from earlier, who was dressed the same as before, but had apparently not said anything during the meeting, although she already had a dagger well out of the sheath on her left arm that Loivissa had failed to spot earlier because of its identical colour to the clothes underneath it.

All of them were standing around a desk at the end of the room that had a giant map spread out over it. There was a bed located at the left side of the room, while the desk, which Loivissa guessed to be Mercury's usual work-desk, was situated in the centre of it. The walls were decorated with many things, mostly strange and foreign looking ones, which Loivissa would have loved to question Mercury about at any other time.

"Wait!", Mercury commanded with his right hand raised in a sign for them to stop their actions, which might have been just in time, as most already seemed to have been ready to jump her.

"Loivissa, how did you get in here?", Mercury asked slowly, as if restraining himself, in the human tongue. Apparently, he thought it best not to include the others in their conversation until he had decided what to do.

"I told them that you had wanted to speak to me", Loivissa answered.

"I see that you at least remembered that bit well enough", Mercury sighed, apparently already guessing how exactly she got in, "remind me to teach it to the guards one day. Now, tell me why you came in here and why you felt the need to bust through a perfectly good partition".

"I overheard that you had a dilemma that required a dragon's touch, so I decided to offer you Adûn's and I's help", Loivissa answered. She had not actually gained Adûn consensus to this yet, but she was sure that he would either agree or at least follow after her.

"No", Mercury shot down her proposal with one word.

"No? What do you mean, no?", Loivissa argued, "you said yourself that you needed a dragon to take the shorter route safely, and that Kilgharrah was stuck in some capital, so I am offering you a solution to your problems".

"No, I do not want you to get involved in this war", Mercury said sternly, "it has nothing to do with you, and you would be far better off staying here in Alagaësia, where there is peace".

"Neither you nor the dökkálfar would be in this war either, if I had not written to you, so I feel responsible for what happens", Loivissa argued, "I cannot sit idly by, while knowing what I know".

"Listen, from your letters, I was able to surmise that you never participated in any campaigns or sieges", Mercury started to say, but was cut off by Loivissa saying, "I fought many battles against the ra'zac during the war, so do not presume to think of me as some untested weak human female".

"That was not what I was about to say", Mercury said sternly, "what I meant was that there is a major difference between fighting battles and fighting wars. When fighting a war, you sometimes have to make hard decisions that may seem immoral to everyone around you, and you will quite certainly see thousands upon thousands of bodies, some killed by your own hand and some by your enemies. Are you sure that you want to follow this path?"

"It is my duty to-", Loivissa started to say but was hastily caught off by Mercury angrily saying, "No! No duties! If I am to even consider bringing you along, I need to know that YOU chose this, not some sense of duty to an order that could not care less about what happens outside of Alagaësia. I can promise you nothing more than blood and tears, and in exchange for this, you will be required to follow every order given to you, as well as make sure that Adûn follows them, no matter what your personal opinion on the order might be. Too many lives could all too easily be lost if you suddenly decide to falter. Are you sure that you still want to do this?"

Loivissa took a moment to think this one over. Could she really do this?

...Yes! Yes, she had to. There was no other way for her to atone for all the deaths that she had inadvertently caused. The least she could do was to try and end the war as quickly and decisively as possible.

"I will, as long as they come from you", she bound herself in the Ancient language.

"Welcome aboard then", Mercury acknowledged her with a small dip of his head, before switching to the Ancient language again, "the Lady Loivissa and her dragon are coming with us to help us. This means that we take the southern route. Any disagreements?", when there were none, he continued, "good, then you are all dismissed. I will have Naina send a rendezvous point to the other ships in your absence, so that we can redistribute the supplies for the trip".

All of the male dökkálfar punched their left chest with their right fists, which Mercury and…Naina?...responded with the same gesture, before the three departed the cabin.

"Naina, could you be a dear and get some quarters for our new comrade?", Mercury said to the female dökkálfar, whose name apparently was Naina, before he turned to Loivissa and said, "you have until morning to sort out any and all affairs in Alagaësia".

"Uhm, I am afraid that there are no more partitioned rooms available", Naina said, "but if she does not mind, then I suppose that I have some room in my quarters".

"I do not mind", Loivissa quickly said. Compared to sharing a room with a bunch of sleeping males, the former option was pretty much luxury.

Naina looked back at Mercury for confirmation, to which he only shrugged in a way that said that it was her choice, before she left the room with Loivissa in tow, but without doing the strange thing that the others had done.

"You speak the common tongue of Alagaësia?", Loivissa questioned on the way there.

"Yes, Mercury taught me many years ago", Naina replied.

Okay, that was strange. Why would Mercury have taught her something like that without this journey in mind?...and what did she mean by many years ago?

"What was that punch-to-the-chest-thing?", Loivissa tried to change the subject.

"That is my people's way of saying farewell politely", Naina responded simply, "we use it even when we will see the same person later the very same day".

"Then why did you not do it when you left?", Loivissa continued.

"It is only meant as a polite formality, and therefore it is not considered common practice among people in close relationships, be they friends, family or something else", Naina replied curtly, before stopping at a wooden door, "this is my room. I will see whether I can have a cot or bed procured in Feinster, but know that after tonight, everything on the left side will be mine and therefore not something that you are allowed to touch without my permission".

"Yes, I understand. Thank you very much for allowing me to share your room", Loivissa politely said, wondering whether she had struck a nerve or something.

Later that evening
Loivissa had spent the entire evening preparing for her sudden rush-trip. Adûn had taken the news that they would be leaving…well enough…all things considered, although he had made a not-so-friendly remark to Mercury that if he ever suspected foul play on Mercury's part, then he would grab her on the spot and fly her away, with Mercury's head preferably between his teeth.

Mercury on his part had merely cocked an eyebrow in response, before asking whether Adûn was finished. Somehow it seemed to be a much more potent response than any direct answer Loivissa could think of.

After that, Loivissa had begun the tenacious ordeal that was getting her prepared to leave. It was not so much material possessions, as almost everything of value to her was either safe in Nolondil or on her person, but rather the administrative work needed for her trip.

Who would have known that something that seemed as simple as just leaving for possible a year or two could demand so much work? Firstly, she had had to tell the men with her what to do afterwards, as well as spend an entire hour explaining that no, none of them could come with her.

It was made all the more difficult by her being forbidden by Mercury from even mentioning the war that she was going to, let alone the dire situation that they seemed to be currently in, to anyone.

In fact, Mercury had already begun circulating rumours that he was only leaving because he wanted to visit the northern coastline of Alagaësia, which would hopefully prevent the ra'zac from catching on for a few weeks or so, which was all the time needed for any hope of regrouping their army to have vanished.

Next, she had written a letter to the duke in Gilead, her technical liege, explaining to him that she would be taking a few years vacation, but assuring him that any and all affairs concerning Eregion would be settled by her appointed substitute.

Then she had had to scry her parents to get their approval for leaving, as she was still a dragon rider under their jurisdiction. They had not taken the news well, especially not her father after hearing that she would be accompanying Mercury on her trip. It could also have had something to do with the fact that she could not tell them exactly why it was that she was leaving so soon after the war had ended, the news had apparently already reached them by then.

There had been logical arguments, like that now that the Second Ra'zac War was over, she was not desperately needed here, but in the end, she had had to resort to threatening to quit the order if they would not grant her this one vacation after her many years of service, although both parties seemed to know that no one would fight so vehemently over a vacation.

Now the real tough one awaited her; calling home to tell her brother and niece about it.

"Hello brother", Loivissa said when her brother's image came into view after having had a very startled man go get him.

"Sister, how are you?", her brother questioned, "rumours have begun to spread that the war is over?"

"Yeah, that is partly why I am calling you", Loivissa answered and scratched the back of her head, "you see, it kind of is".

"That is great!", he answered with the biggest smile that Loivissa had seen on him since Celiste had died, making this next bit more difficult for her, "but why do you look so pensive then?"

"Could you wake Helen, there is something that I need to tell the both of you", Loivissa avoided his question.

"She is sleeping now. Can it not wait until tomorrow?", her brother said slightly confused.

"No, I am afraid that it has to be now", Loivissa answered.

"Alright, I will go wake her up then", her brother sighed and walked away from the mirror, but Loivissa knew her brother well enough to know that he was quite nervous about what she might say that could not wait until morning.

Not fifteen minutes later, her brother returned into sight with a sleepy-eyed Helen in tow. Helen looked confused as to why she was there, but upon seeing Loivissa's image in the mirror, she immediately perked up, jumping forward and shouting, "auntie!"

"Hi Helen", Loivissa answered back somewhat more cheerful than she felt right now, "do you still have that bracelet that I gave you to hold on to?"

"Yes, I have it right here", Helen answered and showed her right wrist with the bracelet hanging loosely from it.

"I am afraid that I am going to have to ask you to keep that safe for me for a little longer than we agreed, can you do that?", Loivissa asked pensively.

"Why?", Helen asked, having already sensed that something was not right.

"I have some work to do, so I have to go away for a while", Loivissa answered, "it may take more than a year before I can return again".

"But you promised to come back next month!", Helen protested, "you promised!"

"I am sorry about not being able to keep my promise", Loivissa said sadly, "but I am afraid that this is something that I have to do, so could you please promise me to keep it safe until then?"

"Fine! But you better come back, or I will not forgive you", Helen eventually relented after a little while had gone by.

"I promise that I will try my best to do so", Loivissa answered while laying her palm on the mirror on her side, which was soon mirrored by Helen on their side, "but for now, it is time for bed for you, or else you will never get to grow up".

"I will too", Helen pouted playfully, before she said her goodbyes and left the room, leaving only her brother and herself in it.

"So why do you have to leave?", her brother asked completely serious.

"I cannot tell", Loivissa answered, clearly remembering Mercury saying that not even her closest family could be allowed to know for now.

"Where are you going?", Evandar continued.

"I cannot tell", Loivissa repeated.

"Has this got anything to do with Mercury?", Evandar began getting irritated at her lack of answers.

"Yes", Loivissa finally gave an answer.

"Did he make you to do this?", her brother asked suspicious.

"No, he initially did not want me to come", Loivissa denied a little insulted.

"But he is the one that prevents you from telling us about it", her brother stated, not asked, before continuing, "can you at least promise me that you will be safe?"

"No", Loivissa denied.

"I do not like this one bit", her brother said angrily, "are you at least bringing the men with you?"

"No, it will only be me and Adûn", Loivissa said, before anticipating what was about to happen, "and nothing you are going to say will change my mind, so you might as well not say it. I would prefer that we parted on friendly terms".

Evandar grumbled silently for a little while, but otherwise remained quiet, until he finally said, "fine, but tell that person that if he as much as looks at you the wrong way or in any way brings harm to you, then there is nowhere where he can hide from my retribution".

"He already had Adûn tell him that earlier without batting an eye, but I will pass it along anyway", Loivissa said a little more cheerful, "oh, and could you tell Captain Tyke to hold down the fort until my return?"

"I will pass along the message", her brother grumbled, "may the stars watch over you, and please be careful".

"I will try", Loivissa promised, "and may good fortune rule over you", before they ended their scrying session.

Now she was finally ready to leave.

Before you even say anything, let me just say that yes, Loivissa's pledge in the Ancient language was not thought fully through, but she had been going on a rollercoaster of emotional turmoil at the time, not to mention the rush of the situation, so she was not exactly thinking completely clearly.

For those that thought that the dragon rider order, or Alagaësia in general, would follow Mercury to war, know that this is not going to happen. The war, for them at least, is considered over, since Mercury does not believe that he can afford anyone in on his bluff without risking it being revealed to the ra'zac army in Alagaësia.

Now that this is out of the way, the second act can finally be allowed to begin.