Somehow, Xena managed to pick up Lyceus. Picking her way over piles of dead bodies, many of them friends of hers, she got her brother into Cyrene's inn where she began to tend to him. For two hours, Xena did everything in her power to save him. But the bleeding just would not come under control, and Xena suspected some severe internal injuries as well. Lyceus, for his part, stared blankly at the ceiling, drifting in and out of consciousness. Finally, after two hours, he quietly passed away.
"I did everything I could," Xena said, avoiding her mother's eyes.
"Of course you did. You assembled the army, you fought Cortese, you brought all of this upon Amphipolis. His death is on your hands Xena," her mother responded, eyes cold and hard.
"Xena, you are hereby sentenced by the magistrate to leave town immediately or face criminal charges. The choice is yours. You must be out of town by daybreak." The voice belong to Stenos, the magistrate's right-hand man, who had just entered the inn.
"Let me bury my brother first, and then I'll go. And I won't return," Xena responded, eyes and voice pleading but firm.
"Agreed."
So Xena buried her brother, a task she never imagined that she would have to do. Then her exile began. Exhausted and hungry, she crept out of town, the stars her only companions. She took very little with her, only her sword. It had been a gift from Lyceus, the first real sword she had ever owned. It hurt to look at it, but she hadn't had the heart to leave it behind.
As tired as Xena was, she didn't stop moving until she was far from Amphipolis and the dawn had broken. Then, in the branches of a tree, she slept until dusk. Catching something to eat, she continued moving, unsure of her direction or destination. It was late that night when she stopped moving again. She knew she needed to figure out a plan. If she traveled west, she could start her own army. She'd train the warriors hard and then use them to safeguard Amphipolis by attacking its' enemies. Maybe then her mother could find it in her heart to at least forgive her. But she knew she would never stay in town again. Too many memories were there, most of them connected to Lyceus. And right now, she couldn't think of him. She needed to be tough now.