Author's Notes: Three uploads in one month! That's a new record for me! It was starting to look like I had a very good chance of finishing the story this year, but then Tears of the Kingdom released. ... Yeah, that's consumed a lot of my writing time. Perhaps I'll recover before it's too late.

StellarLupine - Thanks for the review! I also have some pretty conflicted views on Golden Wildfire. One of the reasons I wrote this story was to challenge Claude's character more than he was in Verdant Wind. It seems the developers of Three Hopes had a similar idea, and some of it works pretty well. It pairs up with the darker vision that Claude is tempted by throughout this story. But... the Almyra content is wasted, and there's a few places where Claude just doesn't feel right to me. Claude citing the Crescent Moon War as a justification for a new conflict with Faerghus might be my second least favorite line in the games (right after Edelgard's "Must you continue to reconquer?", though that at least allegedly has the excuse of a bad translation).


Chapter 46


Day 7 of the Ethereal Moon, Imperial Year 1180


"Are you sure you don't want help carrying some of those?" Mercedes asked Dimitri as they carried books up the stairs towards the library. Dimitri's stack was much heavier.

"I'm fine," Dimitri grunted in response.

"Well, let me know if you change your mind, all right?"

The Blue Lions' classroom had accumulated a large pile of books from a seminar run by Professor Hanneman, and Dimitri offered to take them all back as a reason to avoid conversing with the others at the end of the lesson. Mercedes had unnecessarily elected herself as his assistant for the chore.

His classmates… how could they blather about trivial matters while the people response for Remire were still at large? Had they already forgotten the horror that transpired only a week earlier?

The same cries… the same perpetrators…

Dimitri remained quiet as he and Mercedes sorted the books into their correct positions on the library shelves. His partner eventually mused, "It feels odd to not see Tomas around here anymore, doesn't it? Or maybe we should call him by his true name…"

"The only odd thing is that he's still alive," Dimitri retorted.

"Maybe so…" Mercedes allowed softly.

Dimitri planned to leave her at the soonest opportunity and go to the training grounds, but as they walked down the stairs after finishing, he was distracted by someone shouting in the reception hall. Both he and Mercedes went to investigate the noise. Linhardt was slumped at the nearest table while Caspar paced back and forth complaining about something.

"Is something the matter, Caspar?" Mercedes asked.

Caspar perked up. "Is something the matter? Yes, there is, actually! Maybe you'll be more sympathetic than Linhardt has been."

"I promise to listen," Mercedes said noncommittally with a smile. Dimitri was also at least a little curious to hear what had Caspar so fired up.

Caspar explained, "So get this! A couple hours ago, Dorothea comes up to me and says she'd like to do a bit of training with me. Sounds pretty cool, right? We never train together, so it seemed like a good idea. Well, not so much! By 'training', she actually meant she was dragging me off to a dance practice for the ball! Neither of us are even competing in the cup! Dancing is fun and all, but she kept finding reasons to criticize my form as "unrefined" or something. The whole thing was totally weird and awkward."

"Oh dear," Mercedes uttered while covering a smile. She suggested, "Well, Dorothea needed a partner, and I am sure she only intended to give advice so you would be ready for the ball. The ball may require a more formal technique than you are accustomed to, and I'm sure you'll want to impress a special lady while you are there, yes?"

Caspar considered this. "Well, I don't know. And she could have picked someone else if she just wanted a partner."

Linhardt raised his head and told his friend, "It's simple, really. Our professor was practicing with Flayn, Dorothea doesn't like Ferdinand, and she knows I'm not gullible enough to fall for a trick like that."

"Why not Petra or Hubert or somebody, then?" Caspar proposed. He then shook his head rapidly. "Gah, that's not the point! The point is that I wouldn't have minded if she just said so up front instead of getting my hopes up with 'training'!"

Linhardt looked like he might have fallen asleep, but he still noted, "She could have, but maybe she thought it would be more entertaining to mess with her little brother."

Caspar's face morphed into abject horror. "How did you even hear about tha-."

"Consider it this way," Dimitri interjected before matters could escalate. "She was not exactly lying to you."

Caspar blinked and asked, "Uhh… how so?"

Dimitri was unsure what inspired him to participate in a conversation no less trivial than the rest that week, but he explained nonetheless, "The two of you specialize in entirely different fields, correct? One-on-one training with weapons would not very productive. Dancing, however, has many benefits. Balance, muscle control, footwork… among other things. Such skills are important to everyone. I've heard that Dorothea is quite good at dancing, too, so I'm sure listening to her advice would be beneficial."

"I… guess? I hadn't really thought of it that way."

Dimitri offered, "And if you're interested in more traditional exercises, I would be happy to do some with you. I was just heading to the training grounds now. I'll be completely free until Dedue finishes up his work in the greenhouse."

Caspar's eyes widened. "Really? That would be awesome! But wait… I forgot my stuff in my room. I-I'll see you there in a minute!"

Linhardt raised his head again when his hair was stirred by Caspar rushing by. He muttered, "He'll never learn to stop falling for obvious traps if you reward him for it."

Dimitri admitted, "Perhaps… but I guess I can't help myself sometimes. Anyways, I shouldn't keep him waiting. Have a very productive nap, Linhardt."

"I will. If only everyone else prefaced naps with such a deserving adjective…"

Mercedes walked with Dimitri as far as the classrooms, giggling along the way.

"What is so funny, Mercedes?" Dimitri asked.

"Oh… well… I guess it's just nice to hear you sound like yourself again. You really are very good at conflict resolution, you know."

Himself again…? Dimitri reflected on his recent behavior and was quickly appalled by what he saw. What had he been thinking? His friends were not responsible for Remire, and it was not their fault that only he saw Duscur in those flames.

"I'm… sorry for how I've been acting," he replied. "Everyone is stressed by what happened in Remire, but only I've let it affect how I treat my friends. It was selfish."

Mercedes shook her head. "I don't think selfish is the right word, Dimitri, but I do think this attitude suits you more."

"Probably so. I accomplished more good in a minute than I did in a week of fuming in solitude."

"That's why I always try to stay calm, even when I'm angry. It keeps the mind and soul clear." She smiled embarrassedly and added, "Well… mine, at least. I don't mean to lecture you, Dimitri."

Her friend laughed for the first time in a week. "There's no need to apologize. A prince is no more above reproof than anyone else." He shook his head with a smile. "Dance practice as training! That was a good one! Don't tell Sylvain, though, or he might try it on Ingrid or Felix."

Mercedes laughed in agreement. When it was time to finally part, Dimitri waved to her and said, "Take care, Mercedes. And you can tell the others that I'll do better going forward."


Haven's Cinders- Day 12 of the Blue Sea Moon, Year 1187 (Fódlan Calendar)


Dimitri's boots were splashed in mud as his mount stepped into a puddle on the trail. A brief rainstorm had drenched that area of the Mikdash an hour earlier, and a few droplets continued to drip from the leaves of the tree canopy. Between the sun and the heat, though, it was at least drying out fairly quickly.

It was just as Khalid had explained. That time of year, called the month of Tir in Almyra, was apparently named after an ancient rain god of the Tabarzin. Ironically, most of Almyra was quite dry during Tir. However, hot winds blew in from the southern coast during the season which then cooled at the higher elevations. The stretch of land between western Elam and Fódlan's Throat thus experienced periodic heavy storms.

"I now see the value of bringing you instead of Kamran," Khalid told Sardar Soraya, both of whom were riding alongside Dimitri. "Knowing him, we'd only move at half the rate so he could dodge every puddle we came across."

Marianne, Ariella, Farjad, and Theodora were conversing a little ahead. Demetrius led at the front of the army, while Ridwan directed the Sabaeans at the back. Senusret was riding just behind them to watch Soraya's back, but he was politely staying out of the conversation so the others would not have to crane their necks to talk.

Soraya observed, "I would probably also be a bit obsessive over cleanliness if I was around those tanning vats too often. Instead, I'm just marveled to see some rain. It doesn't happen often in Astane."

Khalid told her, "Your enthusiasm is inspiring but not contagious. I'm sure even the brightness of your joy will be washed out when the rain keeps coming day after day, night after night."

"Still impulsively wrapping complaints within jokes, I see," the sardar teased. "You haven't changed a bit since we first met."

"Neither have you. If anything, I'm pretty sure you've been aging in reverse. Don't worry, I won't ask for too much extra respect when I'm your senior in a couple years."

"Ah yes, the flattery… your other personality trait." Soraya glanced over to Dimitri and asked, "He was just like this back at your academy, I assume? Your patience must be as famous as mine to make this man your best friend."

Dimitri chuckled. "We weren't necessarily best friends back then, but we always got along well. Conversations with him were typically informal and diverting, which was a nice change of pace from most people in my class. But I'm more curious, Sardar Soraya, how you got along with Khalid so easily compared to most other Almyran nobles."

"Probably because he didn't immediately insult me. Why is that? Well, I like to think it was because I'm more intelligent than the others," Soraya joked. "To prove my point, any noble with a sliver of wisdom would forgive his jests and try to build inroads with him. His mother might be from Fódlan, but he's still a prince. You never know when a connection with a royal might be useful, and all the others let me have Prince Khalid to myself."

"And yet you've never asked me for any favors other than making me hang out with Lydia while you were busy," Khalid claimed.

Soraya's lips curled. "Just because I wasn't asking for anything substantial doesn't mean I was not at work."

Khalid frowned. "What is that supposed to mean? Unless…" He brought his horse to an abrupt stop as he gawked at Soraya. "Wait… you've… have you been trying to set me up with Lydia this entire time?"

Soraya's eyebrows subtly rose. "Are you just now realizing this, Prince Khalid? I'm disappointed. I might have kept quiet had I realized this was still a secret."

"But… just what is the age gap, anyways?"

"Smaller than mine with Methodius," she answered.

Khalid snorted. "That's not exactly a high standard."

Soraya calmed, "I don't expect you to marry her this moment, Your Highness. I'm not asking anything at all. I was only laying the groundwork after I saw her take an immediate liking to you. If nothing happens, nothing happens. It will still be a valuable friendship."

Dimitri observed, "You hoped that giving Princess Lydia the backing of the royal family, perhaps even the future king, would empower her to take actions that you've been denied by your aristocracy."

"It would have felt awfully selfish to say aloud, so thank you for sparing me the experience," Soraya said gratefully.

"But… you… huh. How about that," Khalid said to himself as he seemingly reinterpreted old memories with this new context. "I can admit that I sometimes have a blind spot on these kinds of matters."

The prince was pondering matters further when his face suddenly contorted. Soraya told him, "I apologize if the thought is that repulsive to you."

Khalid replied seriously, "Actually, it's not that at all. Does anyone else smell something?"

Dimitri's smell was not the best, but… there was a hint of something foul in the air. Before he could even speak to it, though, people ahead began to chatter, and horses began to whine. His nearby friends stopped to discuss.

Ariella told everyone, "It smells like a forest fire, but this place still isn't fully dried out. It just doesn't happen at this time of year."

"It might behave differently if the combustion is driven by magic. Fire spells still work in the rain, mind you," Marianne informed.

"So some local practicing their spells got out of control?" Theodora suggested.

"That, or more likely…" Khalid trailed off as he squinted ahead.

Soldiers were beginning to panic and peel back up the trail in their direction. Smoke was now visible up ahead, and orange flickering shone between the trees.

"It's an ambush! We've got to get out of here!" one of them shouted to verify the obvious.

Dimitri glanced behind to the east. The situation was not as developed there yet, but more smoke was already visible. He shouted out, "Behind us, everyone! They've got us surrounded!"

Soldiers from both the vanguard and rearguard were now squeezing the army into a disorganized clump, with much equipment behind abandoned in their flight.

Khalid shook his head as he surveyed the situation with as much calm as possible. "There's no way we're fully encircled. Even if their entire military was suddenly comprised of mages, they couldn't cover the complete length of our army. They've blocked the trail itself, but there must be gaps on our right or left."

"So which way do we go?" Senusret asked as he pulled close to Soraya.

Khalid did not have an immediate answer, so Ariella quickly spoke up, "To the right! There's a tributary of the Shahrud maybe a mile north of here. It should be wide enough to halt the flames."

Khalid nodded as he seemingly imagined a map. He ordered, "Good call. To the right, then! Spread the word!"

Demetrius was still up ahead pushing his way through the crowd, so Senusret bellowed to him, "Tell everyone up there to cross the river on the right side of the trail! One mile!"

Demetrius nodded in acknowledgement and spun around to follow the order. Khalid similarly shouted over to Ridwan.

Dimitri's grip on reality began to falter. The convoy, the trees, the flames…

No. No, he had to stay calm.

This was not Duscur, and he had to survive.

Khalid already noticed Dimitri's reaction and began to ask, "Dimitri, are you alri-."

"I'm fine!" Dimitri assured. "Now let's get out of here!"

From then on, it was simply a matter of survival. The trail was quickly dissolving in smoke and flame, so Dimitri led his horse into the northern thicket alongside his companions. The ambushers had picked a merciless location, as the dense underbrush slowed the escape and accelerated the blaze. Dimitri did not make it far in before his horse stumbled into a ditch and tossed his rider while toppling. The steed was so stoic that Dimitri did not realize that his horse's right foreleg was horrifically broken until trying to help him up.

"I'm so sorry, boy," Dimitri told his mount dolefully as he lifted Areadbhar over the horse's neck and swung. It was a much quicker death than being burned alive.

Many others were facing the same dilemma, suggesting that the ditches and potholes might have been designed traps rather than natural features. Some riders simply abandoned their horses when they could not effectively push through the thicket. Before long, Farjad, Theodora, and Soraya had also lost their horses, though Senusret immediately traded his own to the sardar.

"Someone! H-help!" Marianne cried out from behind. Dorte had gotten entangled within a thorn bush and was becoming wrapped even tighter as he tried to extract himself.

Khalid was not pleased by this scene. "Marianne, you're going to get yourself killed! You nee-."

"I'm not leaving Dorte!" she said firmly.

Dimitri was already jogging in her direction, but Theodora got there first and swiftly started hacking away at the bush. Dimitri arrived in time to help pull out the final thorns from Dorte's barrel.

"I'll get the damn horse through this! Go look after the more important people!" Theodora shouted as she pushed Dimitri away. He nodded in agreement and caught back up to Khalid.

Khalid was correct that the mages could not block the entire northern escape route, but there must have been at least a few stationed there earlier. This was evidenced by scattered fires disconnected from the main body of the conflagration. Though easy to avoid at first, they became trickier to dodge as they expanded. Visibility dropped as smoke blanketed everything in sight. It became difficult to make any sense of direction, prompting people to hug into tighter groups to avoid getting lost. Dimitri managed to find Farjad and put a hand on his shoulder as a guide.

"Can you see Khalid anywhere?" Dimitri shouted into his ear.

Farjad responded dryly, "Are you kidding? I can barely even see you!"

The sound of coughs and hacks was soon almost as loud as the fire's pops and crackles. Many soldiers were forced to start crawling to avoid the worst of the smoke around the half-mile mark. The situation neither improved nor deteriorated much during the next minute until Dimitri heard a large snap nearby followed by a crash.

"Gods! I need aid over here!" someone wailed. Dimitri's heart raced as he and Farjad followed the sound.

He thankfully did not find Khalid's dead body, but the actual scene was not much better. Senusret was trying to help a nearly immobile Soraya to her feet. Her horse was prostrate after being crushed by a heavy tree branch.

"It hit the sardar's back when it fell! She's not breathing very well, and I can't get her to stand!" the distraught general explained.

"Here, I can carry her easily. Help her onto my back," Dimitri suggested. Senusret and Farjad lifted her until Dimitri secured her legs and her arms were slung over his shoulders.

"We'll clear a path for you!" Farjad told him. Dimitri nodded as thanks.

Soraya was not heavy, but the going was slower since she added that much extra area that could get caught on obstacles. The two other men thankfully worked tirelessly to clear the path, their bodies covered in sweat from both exhaustion and the heat of the inferno.

The sardar's labored breathing next to his ear confirmed that she was still alive. Dimitri told her, "We're getting close, I promise. I'll find Marianne once we're on the other side."

"Hopefully she'll dunk her head in the river… will be easier to find that blue hair," Soraya muttered back weakly.

At least she was well enough to joke. She had a point, too. Everyone was so covered in soot by that point that they were practically unrecognizable.

"Don't worry. My lance and I will still stick out like a sore thumb regardless, so she'll find me if we can't find her," Dimitri played along.

Soraya chuckled between coughs. "You know, Dimitri… I'm starting to think I don't have any business going on these campaigns."

Finally, the space ahead opened as Farjad and Senusret cut an opening through the final brush on the banks of a river. Ariella was thankfully correct that the waterway was wide enough to prevent the flames from jumping to the opposite bank.

Many other soldiers were already crossing. The current was mild, but the water was deep enough to reach above the necks of even the tallest men. Some were quickly removing their remaining armor before jumping in, while the less patient jumped in fully dressed to mixed success. Dimitri could not remove anything while still carrying Soraya. He thankfully had experience swimming in armor, though, even if his friends doubted his claims. Dimitri jumped in and walked as far as he could before propelling himself forward using only his legs. Farjad and Senusret helped support Soraya on the way across. The sardar's head dipped below the surface for a moment, but she was able to spit the water out.

Farjad found a patch of soft grass out of the smoke and beckoned Dimitri over. Once Soraya was settled, Dimitri looked around for help.

"Marianne? Ariella? Khalid?" he called out, but none of the blackened faces reacted.

A few moments later, however, he finally spotted Marianne and Theodora as Dorte loudly waded across the river. Dimitri waited on the bank and yelled to them, "Sardar Soraya was badly hurt! We need you to look at her."

"R-right!" Marianne responded while trying to keep above the water.

"I'll look after the horse. I've gotten him this far…" Theodora muttered as they finally pulled onto dry land.

Dimitri and Marianne raced to where Soraya was being tended. The sardar's eyes were closed as she focused on steadying her raspy breathing. Her efforts were hindered by periodic coughs that expelled a mixture of water and blood.

While Marianne checked Soraya's vitals, Dimitri was distracted when he heard a warrior floundering in the river suddenly warped to safety. Ariella was nearby, and she and Khalid soon found the group.

"Thank goodness! I didn't kno- wait… what's going on here?" Khalid asked as he tried to clear his lungs. His eyes widened when he finally understood the situation.

"Ariella, can you help me with this?" Marianne asked. "She's hurt badly. We need to cut her kaftan open to see the damage."

Dimitri watched as Ella pulled out her dagger, but he and the other men looked away respectfully before fabric was torn.

"She's already bruising… I'm not exactly a real doctor, but there's surely significant internal hemorrhage," Ella guessed.

"It's not just her breathing… she has a bad arrythmia. Her body is overstressed," Marianne added. "Okay, let's turn her back over."

Farjad elbowed Dimitri to indicate that it was safe to look. Marianne was casting a spell over the sardar's chest while Ariella kept a hand on her head. Soraya's eyes were halfway open. She glanced among the faces until she found Senusret and lifted her index finger several times before he finally realized he was being beckoned. He knelt beside Soraya so she could speak softly.

"You have full command of my army. Don't let any native Shomali tell you otherwise. Take care of my people… our people. Lydia most of all."

"Your Highness, please don't speak as if-."

"My heart and lungs are failing, Senusret… not my ears."

Senusret sighed and allowed, "I'll be ready should something happen."

After another coughing fit, Soraya's eyes focused on Khalid. When he knelt beside her as Senusret had, she suddenly grabbed the prince's sleeve with an alarmed expression that briefly interrupted her surprised healers. Khalid had never seen her so distressed.

Soraya begged, "K-Khalid… please look after her. Don't l-let anything happen… Promise…"

Khalid gently cupped her hand. "I promise, Soraya. On my life."

Her face calmed again. She closed her eyes, and her voice steadied some as she whispered, "Good… I think I'll try breathing freely now."

"That's right. Keep calm and try not to talk," Ella soothed.

Khalid backed away, and the men uncomfortably glanced between each other as the two women spent another minute administering a ceaseless stream of spells.

"Oh… oh goddess…" Marianne abruptly uttered as she placed a hand on Soraya's heart again. "Ariella, we need-."

"Give us some space, please!" Ella ordered sternly as she waved her hand in the direction of the people watching. Senusret looked unwilling to leave, so Dimitri held out his arms and corralled everyone farther away. They probably would have continued to discuss Soraya's condition had Demetrius and Ridwan not approached them.

"Do you have any idea how many dead we are looking at?" Khalid asked Demetrius hoarsely.

The acting grand agha answered, "I have people working on estimates, but it's looking like we got out fast enough to avoid a worst-case scenario. More problematic is the amount of supplies we had to abandon. We lost too many rations and heavier equipment to even consider a proper siege. A direct assault on the citadel is our only choice unless we turn around." After a coughing fit, he complained, "I'm never coming back to this cursed forest. That makes two times in the last year it's tried to cook me alive. We went from natural fire to magic fire… next time it's going to be divine fire from the heavens. I don't how they even pulled this off. Ghalib always discouraged magic within his forces to keep Votary allies happy."

"Then we were clearly wrong to assume Darius is just like his father," Ridwan observed.

"Looks that way," Khalid agreed. "Either he's recruited a bunch of people from the Mikdash, or he's developed a magic corps from the ground up. Either way, our intelligence was bad. Darius is more flexible than we realized."

Farjad and Senusret were too nervous to talk, and Dimitri knew something had transpired when the two men turned around suddenly. He looked the same direction to see Ariella and Marianne slowly approaching. Marianne looked at the ground in complete shame, so Ariella had to give the news.

She rasped, "Sardar Soraya has passed. S-she didn't suffocate or anything like that. Marianne says it was heart failure due to a confluence of factors. I'm…"

Rather than finish her thought, Ella shook her head and turned away as tears started to form. There were a few whispers as the announcement was passed on, but it was otherwise silent. Most people stood still at a loss for words. A few were privately crying. Shomal, Elam, or Saba… it did not matter where each person was from- the collected respect they had for the sardar was incalculable. The other great lords of Almyra all had their detractors, but almost no one disliked Soraya. Dimitri had only known the sardar for a year, but her virtues would be dearly missed. Losing her was like losing someone as pure as Mercedes all over again.

Protector Senusret was usually collected through any situation. In that moment, though, he found a helmet to roughly kick while uttering some harsh words in native Dagdan. When he noticed watching eyes, he wiped at his mouth and walked off to find somewhere private.

People slowly began to speak again after Senusret had broken the silence. Khalid shook his head and muttered, "I told her this was a mistake. I knew it was. I should have just-."

Dimitri told him, "It's not your fault, Khalid. You said what you could, but it was always her choice." Dimitri almost vocalized that it was actually his own fault for not getting Soraya out faster, but he realized that wallowing in self-pity was needless. He did as well as anyone could.

Ridwan approached the pair hesitantly and shared, "If you don't mind, Your Highness… I just noticed a couple wyverns pass overhead."

"Those are probably ours responding to the fire. They don't know where we're at," Khalid reasoned quietly. He turned to Marianne and asked, "Can you give them a signal?"

Marianne nodded subtly, raised her hand, and cast a Thoron spell into the air without ever looking up. Everyone on the ground was startled by the bolt, but wyverns began to circle above them within a minute looking for a place to land.

The process of grieving repeated as the riders dismounted, magnified by the fact that many of them were Shomali. Farjad looked after Satiah, who was not taking the news well, while Khalid, Dimitri, Ridwan, and Demetrius met with Nousha.

"His Majesty and Sardar Lydia must hear the news," Nousha observed. "Are we fine forfeiting a few wyverns to go give the report?"

Dimitri squirmed some upon hearing the newly orphaned Lydia being referred to as the sardar, but Khalid nodded calmly and replied, "We need to keep most of them, but I agree. Send a pair to both Istakhr and Astane."

"Can we even press the advance with all the supplies we lost? Or do we need to withdraw and replan?" Nousha asked the group.

"Tell me if you disagree, Demetrius, but I think we should be fine," Khalid answered. "We have extra rations back in Khoy that can replenish enough stock for the return trip. We should go ahead and send a wyvern to Khoy and order that the garrison start sending those this way. I really don't want to call this whole thing off. Weather conditions will change in a month and make my strategy a lot more difficult to execute. It also gives time for Darius to come up with another plan like this."

Demetrius added, "I agree with that assessment. Darius has proven himself a serious threat, and I'd rather get through this forest before those mages have time to regroup and try something else. The downside is that most people were carrying their new self bows due to the weather, so we lost most of our composite bows in storage. We'll look like fools now if your plan doesn't work."

"Yeah, no pressure…" Khalid exhaled.

"I… I don't want to make this a quest for revenge, but… I would really like to get the people responsible for this," Dimitri told everyone. "We know they're nearby. It might be our best chance."

"I think we can all agree on that. Our wyverns would have spotted them if they took to the air, so they must be escaping on foot or by horse," Nousha said.

Ariella was nearby tending to someone's minor injury, but Khalid waved her over for an opinion. After she was caught up on the discussion, Ella shook her head and argued, "I doubt they're travelling on horseback. There are no decent trails nearby other than the road we were on, and it would be too obvious to flee on that exposed path."

"They've got to have horses, though," Ridwan insisted. "They must know our camel cavalry is patrolling the roads outside the forest. They might slip by quickly enough on horseback, but they'll never make through on foot."

"Maybe they'll never leave the forest at all, then. They could try hiding it out or setting up another ambush," Nousha hypothesized.

Khalid dissented, "They'll correctly assume that we'll implement measures to prevent that from working so effectively again, and Darius isn't going to let such valuable resources sit out the rest of the war. He's definitely bringing them back for the real battle."

"If we reconcile all of your opinions, it sounds like they're probably fleeing on foot to a secondary location where they have horses ready," Dimitri summarized.

Khalid nodded in agreement. "Ella… do you have any idea where such a place would be? They've got a big head start, but we can still catch them by air."

She replied, "I don't know this area of the Mikdash that well. Maybe I could give an opinion if we had a map."

"I managed to save my horse, so I should have some. Assuming they didn't get too wet, that is," Demetrius told everyone. He jogged away and shortly returned with a handful. Many of the maps were too soaked or did not cover the right area, but Ridwan finally found one of use. They all studied it together until Ella placed a finger on a spot.

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "If it were me, I'd stable the horses at this village here. They could make it there on foot in reasonable time, and it has multiple trails leading out of it to the west, forcing us to split up to cover every option."

Everyone whispered between each other as they considered her suggestion as well as other theories before Khalid confirmed, "Ella's hypothesis seems like our best bet, though we should still send some wyverns in a general search pattern just in case."

"I'll get that organized, though I'd like to be with the main group. Sarina can handle the others, because I'm not sure if Satiah is in the right headspace to lead at the moment," Nousha recommended.

Khalid replied, "Works for me. We'll also want the best archers among your corps. Ariella, Dimitri… come with us. Demetrius, Ridwan… look after the army while we're gone."

"I'm coming, too," Senusret interjected. He had overheard the conversation upon his return from wherever he ran off. "It's my duty as the Protect-."

"It's your duty as Protector of Shomal to look after the sardar," Khalid halted as he put a hand on Senusret's shoulder. "See to it that she and everyone else are given decent burials until we can come back. As your friend, Senusret, I think it's best that you sit this mission out."

The Dagdan's face immediately contorted at this claim, but it eventually relaxed as Khalid kept a firm grip on his shoulder.

"… You're right. That's what I'll do," Senusret finally agreed.

It took Nousha a few minutes to get the teams organized, so Khalid used the opportunity to see Soraya one last time. The prince had done a fine job of staying on task, but Dimitri could tell that Khalid was still deeply affected by the loss in private.

The teams promptly launched their wyverns once everything was settled. Ariella led the main group since she knew the area the best. Lingering smoke hampered the search at first, but the experience was much smoother after pushing through the fumes. The stakes were high, but the flight felt remarkably freeing compared to clawing through a forest to avoid burning to death.

Ariella finally held up a hand as she began to descend towards an area where the trees were a bit thinner. Small wooden homes poked out between the foliage and came into focus as the team approached their destination. They landed their wyverns in a small clearing intended for animal grazing. Each wyvern had carried two initial riders. This allowed half of the team to take off again and pretend to scout the forest at random so that the wyverns would avoid drawing suspicion. They would return upon a signal after the operation was complete.

As Dimitri and the other remaining soldiers approached the village, curious residents came out to see what the commotion was about. They only spoke the local dialect, which was somewhat distinct from mainstream Elamite, so Ariella led the conversation. One elderly woman nodded along as they discussed and then waved for the warriors to follow her. They walked along a shaded trail that locals probably considered a "street" until reaching an overgrown, rotting stable several buildings down that was seemingly intended for communal use. The stable was full of strong, healthy horses that were out of place in such an environment. It was filled beyond capacity, and many horses were tied up outside rather than enjoying their own stall. As Ariella continued to speak with the woman, Khalid walked around to count the number of horses.

After another minute, Ariella turned to her companions and explained, "She says Tabarzin soldiers came here a week ago and are forcing the villagers to look after these horses. Maybe it's a distraction and they've got more somewhere else, but we're probably in the right place."

"Nothing we can do but stick to our instincts and hope for the best," Khalid agreed. "And now we have a better number of how many to expect. Looks like there's thirty-five horses."

Nousha asked, "Why is she helping both armies? Can she be trusted?"

Ariella smiled some as she answered, "I suspect they're willing to help whoever shows up carrying weapons. Knowing that I'm from the Mikdash may have loosened her lips, too."

"Did you ask her whether these people were recruits from the Mikdash or the mirza's regular soldiers?" Dimitri inquired.

"I did. She said one of them was serving as a translator. Most of them did not talk or dress like they were from here."

Khalid told everyone, "Then we're looking at experienced warriors rather than experienced sorcerers. I think that covers everything we need to know. We should focus on preparing for their arrival before, you know… they arrive. If I read that map correctly, it's not going to be a long wait."

Nousha observed, "We need to set up an ambush. I'm guessing you asked for my best archers because you want to take the mages out from a distance before they can use any spells."

"That's right," Khalid confirmed. "If we happen to see Darius, Prince Abbas, or Spahbed Youtab, make sure we take them alive."

Dimitri said worriedly, "We know they can use fire, and this whole place is a tinderbox. We shouldn't turn it into a battlefield."

Khalid shook his head. "I hear you, but we don't know for certain which way they'll be coming from. All we know is that this is the inevitable destination. The fight has to be here, but that's why it's so important that we make this quick. We have enough people here to cover each and every one of them."

Ariella sighed. "Should I tell her that there's about to be a battle and that the townsfolk should hide immediately?"

"Please do," Khalid ordered. "The rest of us should choose places to hide and wait."

The woman was understandably alarmed when Ariella told her the news, but she vigorously nodded and started going between doors to spread the warning. It took several minutes for everyone to find acceptable hiding spots. Since they did not know the direction of their enemies' approach, their camouflage had to work from every angle. Khalid and Ariella found spots up in a tree, while Nousha, Dimitri, and a few others hid behind a ledge on the roof of the stables.

"I'm not going to be happy if this decrepit thing collapses because we brought you up here," Nousha whispered to Dimitri.

He chuckled lightly. "I'm more worried about being shot by a misplaced arrow coming from across the road."

Nousha tapped her head against the wood in frustration. "Well, great… now I am, too. I don't trust Ariella with a bow. I've seen you training her to throw that dagger around for some reason. Did you ever think to hand her a bow for practice?"

"I'm sure someone has, but not me, no."

"Delightful. In that case, I'm holding you accountable for my death either way."

They immediately held their tongues when they heard a noise in the distance to Dimitri's right. Just a rustle of wind? No… there was more rustling. More people.

Someone hopped out of the tree line and into the trail, looked around for a few seconds, and called out, "We're clear!" The rest of the mages soon followed their scout onto the road. Dimitri recognized a woman at the back of the platoon as Spahbed Youtab, Ghalib's most trusted subordinate.

The ambushers nocked their arrows and drew their bowstrings before anyone was close enough to hear the noise. Though they had the numbers to immediately eliminate all enemies, there was no way to be certain which mages were being targeted by the other archers. It was also unrealistic that each arrow would be perfectly aimed.

The spahbed's team had just reached the stable when someone in hiding accidentally snapped a weak tree branch. Youtab whipped towards the noise and started to shout, "Ambu-."

A first volley of arrows loosed that struck about half of the hostiles, quickly killing about a quarter of the total while severely injuring many of the rest. Dimitri's shot lodged itself into a woman's lung, who was unfortunate enough to fall forward and drive the shaft even deeper.

Second and third volleys followed just after from the cleverer archers who waited to see who had not been targeted yet. By the end of it, only about six of the mages were in a condition to flee or fight. One of them tried to counterattack after perceiving movement from Khalid's direction, but Dimitri was quick enough to drop his bow and grip Areadbhar. He had just enough reach from his perch to bring the lance down on his enemy's head. The other five hostiles wisely dove into the stable as hastily as possible to avoid being shot at again. Youtab was among them, having shook off a glancing blow along her thigh.

Even while cornered, five mages could inflict serious harm. Nousha and Dimitri hopped off the roof as the hidden archers all began to circle the stable from a safe distance.

One of their subordinates noted, "They can't use their fire magic in there without burning the whole building down."

"They have conventional weapons with them, too," Dimitri reminded. "We'll have a difficult time getting inside without things getting messy."

Khalid nodded and then announced loudly, "This is Prince Khalid! We have you surrounded, Youtab. Whatever you try, you aren't getting out of this. Make it easy for everyone and toss out your weapons. You have my word that you'll be spared."

"What value is the word of someone who attempted regicide?" was the reply back.

"Is that what I am, or is that the story Mirza Ghalib wanted you to stick to?" Khalid asked with a frown.

A woman laughed loudly. "These are my final minutes, Prince Khalid! Don't ask me to dishonor myself so late in the day. I'm ready to die, and so is everyone else here. Are you ready, too, or are you going to send in your underlings instead?"

"Neither. Why bother? I've got a mage here who also knows some fire spells and would happily cook you in there like some tasty koobideh. After your show from earlier, she probably wants them extra crispy this time. If I'm as terrible as you say, I wouldn't hesitate to give the order. You're obviously still figuring the whole magic thing out if you thought it was a good idea to hide within your own funeral pyre."

Nousha raised an eyebrow, turned to Ariella, and mouthed, "You know fire magic?" Ella cringed and shook her head.

Khalid's assertion, however, was met with silence. When it lingered, he motioned for everyone to raise their bows again.

It was not a moment too soon, as the doors to the stable were promptly thrown open, and a flurry of projectiles was exchanged. One of Khalid's archers was struck in the forearm, but the rest of their enemies' arrows were wild misses. Youtab's team, however, had wisely pulled out a large broken door from within the building to use as a shield. This blocked all but two arrows, one of which was a miss while the other pierced someone's shoulder.

Only three members of Youtab's team used their bows. While Youtab herself held up the door, another mage readied a summoning circle and then fired a spell from around the shield.

Ariella was already in motion, however. She cast a wind spell that intensified the blaze but also redirected it to the side. The hostile soldiers were all thrown off balance by the gust, and the fire ignited the door in Youtab's hands. She screamed in pain as she dropped their only protection. Another volley of arrows riddled all remaining enemies just as soon as they were exposed. To Khalid's likely annoyance, that included Youtab.

Despite being impaled in three different places, Youtab tried to crawl away and draw her sword. She was left-handed, but her dominant arm was savagely burned along its length from the misplaced spell. Khalid raced up and pinned Youtab's sword on the ground with his foot. Dimitri walked alongside him with an arrow notched and aimed at Youtab's chest. She was mortally wounded, but there was no reason to ignore caution.

"J-just end it," Youtab beckoned.

Khalid held up a hand to stop his retainer. He told his victim, "We'd be happy to… just as soon as you give me the answers I want. Did Mirza Ghalib give the order to kill my father?"

"Answers? H-ha… May your soul forever wander the depths of Duzakh, Khalid," she said weakly but spitefully.

"And you'll be right there with me and the rest of us unrepentant deceivers. Come on, Youtab… your stay in the well will be much shorter if you just speak now. I'll still be asking while we're there."

Dimitri glanced at his friend uncomfortably. Khalid's face was adopting an appearance much too similar to the Boar. His lust for revenge fell far short of Dimitri's, but his lust for truth could be almost as vicious.

Youtab did not answer, seemingly in too much pain from her seared arm. Khalid looked at her wounds and noted, "It wasn't quite the full bake I promised, was it? My healer can help patch this up and do it all over again. And we'll do it again and again until you finall-."

Khalid was cut off when Dimitri shot his arrow into Youtab's chest. She expired after a long exhale, perhaps thankful for Dimitri's mercy.

"… What was that for?" Khalid asked his retainer tensely. "I was still talki-."

Dimitri gripped Khalid's arm and pushed him farther away so they could speak in private.

"You want to know what that was for?" Dimitri repeated back with equal severity. "You were going too far, Khalid. She clearly wasn't going to tell you anything, yet you watched her suffer and made a mockery of it. I saw it, and everyone over there saw it."

Dimitri pointed to where some of their fellow soldiers were watching the conversation with lingering astonishment. Khalid's features softened slightly as he justified to his retainer, "In all fairness, I was just making empty threats to her. Other than Darius, she was our best chance of getting the truth."

"And no one is going to care if you're innocent if they also see you act like that. It was the sort of thing I did during those five years. I know you want answers, and I know you're angry about Soraya. But… you're supposed to be better than whatever that was."

Khalid's face went through several emotions as he took three steps away. When he returned a few seconds later, he had significantly calmed. He told Dimitri, "You know, James warned me about something similar. I'm sorry… I should have listened."

Dimitri's body relaxed with relief. "People will talk about you tonight, but hopefully it will be forgotten soon enough."

Nousha walked up to them at that time. When she had their attention, she shared, "Ariella is healing one of their mages that survived. He said they've been training for this mission ever since the fall of Metanoiapolis."

"Anything else?" Khalid asked.

"Oh, he's talkative alright. His favorite color is yellow, and he likes his meat without seasoning. But if you're asking if he's going to share anything actually useful, I'm pretty sure that the answer is no."

Khalid sighed. "Yeah, that tracks with everything else this past year. So be it. Let's dig a grave for their dead while Ella gets everyone patched up. Once we're done with that, we should thank the villagers and get out of here. We don't want to keep the army waiting."

Dimitri suggested, "After we give an update, we should work out a plan to collect these horses, though. We could certainly use them after all our losses."

They both agreed, so Nousha went to tell the others. When Dimitri moved to follow her, Khalid put a hand on his shoulder and told him, "That won't happen again. I promise. Thanks for stopping me, Dimitri."

Dimitri smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"I guess so! And what a pair we make," Khalid chuckled.