They left the cave in quite a hurry at that point; Silver led the way, with Daine in the middle, and Lise bringing up the rear. The cliff that they ran along was at most six feet wide, with a huge rock face on the right, and only empty air on the left. The path curved steadily uphill, and as the minutes passed by, the incline grew steeper.

"Silver, we're trusting that you know where we're going," Daine said gratingly, battling the fear that she was going to fall off the edge as she scrambled to keep up her pace. "Silver!" she said again, more urgently, when the wolf didn't answer her.

"He's busy," Lise said, the cold air rasping in her lungs, "and he won't answer you unless it's important. Incidentally, do you think we could run a little faster? At most, there are twenty men five kilometres behind us and closing," she reminded Daine, panic showing in her voice.

Daine clenched her fists as she kept running. "I wouldn't be scared of the men, Lise. There's something much worse there, something that Silver and I felt, and it's like nothing I've ever heard of in my life. No generic immortals have presences like whatever is there."

Lise swore. "When we stop for breath," she panted, "we are going to wring some answers out of that wolf. We don't even know what we're running from, and you don't know the full story."

Daine agreed fervently, and stopped talking in order to ensure that she'd have enough breath to keep running. Suddenly, Silver stopped, and Daine almost tripped over him as she halted, Lise crashing into her backside.

"What!" Lise exclaimed. "Are we going to keep moving?"

The cliff ends here,– Silver said calmly. –Daine, I want you to look down over the edge there. Do you see the river? Directly below us, you'll see a large rock right by the streambed. We need to go down there.

Daine stared at the wolf incredulously – they'd climbed so far up that the river was now at least four hundred metres down. "Are you insane?" she finally asked.

Do you want to die?– Silver asked flatly. –We have to get away from them, so we are going to jump off the ledge, and as we fall, Daine is going to draw the air together to slow the speed at which we will land. This is going to take effort, Daine. It takes no strength to perform your magic, but this is one of those occasions where you have to concentrate on what you want, and what you want is a much increased density of the air through which we are falling.–

Daine, though her eyes were still moderately wild, nodded. She scooped the wolf up in her arms, and Silver gave her a reassuring little lick on her cheek. "On the count of three then?" she asked Lise shakily, who nodded, just as unsure. "Pleasure working with you," Daine said dryly, as they stepped to the brink of the sheer drop and eyed the distance between them and the ground. "One, two ... three!"

Daine and Lise took deep breaths, and stepped off the rock. As they plunged through the air, Daine clutched at the badger's claw with one hand, letting Silver curl up in the crook of her other arm. Density, she thought vaguely, but she didn't know anything about it at all. Settling for air, she commanded it with the strength of her will to draw together underneath and around them, slowing the breakneck speed at which they were falling. Twice, she nearly lost her hold, but as the ground loomed ever closer, she gained control.

That's right, Daine,– Silver said approvingly, as she gained enough hold on the air to cause the three of them to drift the last twenty metres to the canyon floor.

As soon as her feet made contact with the ground, Lise collapsed. "Shakith," she gasped, "I have never been more afraid in my life. Did I neglect to tell anyone that I'm terrified of heights?"

Daine's eyes widened. "That must've been the bravest thing you've ever done."

"I certainly hope that's the bravest thing I ever will do," Lise said ardently.

Daine allowed Silver to jump down to the ground. –They're at the cave's mouth now,– the wolf announced. –Lise, do they know where we've gone?–

"No," the seer said, after a moment's pause. "There seems to be a leader there, and all he can think of is how disappointed Ozorne will be when he returns without us. It seems there is pain involved in failure," she mused.

"Speaking of Ozorne," Daine said promptly, "I think it's time we've gotten some answers. I want to know what's going on, Silver, and I want to know right now."

Silver sighed. –Very well. There is a slight recess in the rock behind us, and we'll stay put for a while, and I'll tell you the story.–

They moved to shield themselves from view beneath an overhang of rock that sheltered the indentation in the rock face that Silver had mentioned. Settling herself into the sand, Daine leaned forward and propped her chin up on her hand. "Alright, what's going on?"

–I don't want any interruptions or questions until I'm finished,– Silver warned, and continued at the consensus of his listeners.

A long time ago, when the gods made the world, two were designated to rule over Chaos. Uusoae was one, and the other was Zeron. In their very first century of rule, Zeron attempted to use his power to seize control of his brothers and sisters. In his view, he had been cast into inferiority, doomed forever to share a crown with Uusoae, a sister whom he hated. Mithros, on the other hand, was his brightest and eldest brother, and Zeron forever resented the fact that he was the sun god and thus had the largest influence. In his view, Zeron was perfect. Why should imperfection rule over him?

–Zeron failed. Mithros confronted his brother and defeated him, delivering him up to their mother and father, who were ashamed of their son. The Council of Gods declared that Zeron be cast out, lest he try to seize power again, for he was truly unrepentant. Bitter and jealous, Zeron fled the wrath of his siblings, and took shelter in an alternate dimension of hell. When Ozorne died, Zeron could think of no better man to raise from the dead and further his purpose on this world.

–The reason is actually quite simple, and you can't really fault Zeron for his interpretation. He hates your father, Daine, because Weiryn was the one who discovered his plans. Weiryn reported him to Mithros and the sun god took steps. What better way to exact revenge than to pick out the man whom Weiryn's daughter had killed? He brought Ozorne back from the dead, and changed his form back from Stormwing to man.– Silver paused to cough. –You realize I am not trying to be offensive, Daine, by bringing up memories of Ozorne.–

Daine nodded. "Yes, I understand. Please continue."

–A half century ago, Shakith saw the future. She saw you, Daine, and she knew that you would be involved in this struggle. To help you, she created her daughter, Katharine, and arranged her to be born in Everton, a Gallan town not far from Snowsdale. She married William, the blacksmith there, and bore two children, Juliana and little William. On a somewhat stormy night, a young nobleman sought shelter, for his horse could not go on any farther in the snow. Katharine took him in, and during his stay, he and Juliana fell in love.

–Juliana left with Frederick, the duke of Whitecross, as soon as the weather cleared. They were married, and had two children, you, Lise, and your older brother John. Frederick fell in love with another woman shortly before his daughter was born, and left all his lands to his wife before he ran away. Juliana was taken to the Divine Realms, not killed by raiders as all, including her own children, have believed, in order to instil certain values in her youngest daughter.

–And so it stands. The gods are unable to help, and it is the three of us who must return to Tortall. Unless one of your friends finds us first, we're going to have to get back there ourselves. A message will not suffice. When the battle begins at Midwinter, Daine must be within the walls of the palace at Corus, because it is only her inexhaustible power that will be the deciding factor in the victory of the battle. Corus must be evacuated, and castle that is the palace must be changed into something defendable, because a siege will be laid.

–Does that answer all of your questions?– Silver asked finally.

Lise blinked as all her thoughts fell into place. The more Numair loved Daine, the harder he would try to find her. Kaddar loved Daine too, and he would also try to find her, while holding his empire together. It was imperative that Daine return to Corus, because her magic would lend a huge amount of aid to the fight.

"I think," Daine said suddenly, "that we have to move. We have to get there in time to evacuate Corus and to ensure that no guests arrive for Midwinter festivities." She paused, pulling on her nose in true Numair style for a moment, as her overwhelmed mind continued to absorb everything she'd just heard.

Lise sighed. "How are we going to get out of these ridiculous mountains?"

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nikki: Thank you (: And yeah this is my summer but it's not like I have anything better to do =P

gossiptalk: Yeah, I know Numair wouldn't say 'ass', but I was trying to make him in a bad mood and I had to think of some offensive word that fell short of being profane to develop his pissed–off–ness. Do you feel important again? LoL if you keep reviewing you'll keep being down here (: Thanks for the flattery =P

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And the plot thickens once again! So now you know what's happening, do you guys approve? Review and tell me what you think :D