'The Temple of Seals has fallen with Lord Murdock,' Zeiss' armour clangs as he runs towards Ellen who is in discussion with Father Yoder, 'Ellen, have you seen Miledy?'

'Wasn't she with us?' Ellen glances at Father Yoder, then Zeiss whose eyes dart furiously throughout the crowd, 'I-I'm sure of it.'

'There's no way those soldiers could hurt her. The only one who might've had a fighting chance was Sir Ga...'

'Children, I must speak with Lord Roy,' Father Yoder smiles at them both before walking on, 'enjoy the rest of your evening.'

Ellen grabs Zeiss' hand, 'we must go back. I'm certain she has gone to find Sir Gale.'

'Gaaaaale!' My scream is hoarse in the cold air. Trifinne's wings beat like sails as we soar over the mountains. They are littered with helmets, snapped arrows, swords and slain men who already appear to be decomposing. I scan the ground for Gale's long dark hair. Trifinne's ears prick up at a familiar growl. It is Gale's wyvern. His umber creature mourns by a rock in the distance. I steer straight for it, 'Gale!'

The wyvern appears melancholic, guarding something with its wings. I dismount from Trifinne and approach Skarlen, 'please... Show me your master…'

Skarlen lifts its wing to reveal Gale, his hair matted with mud. Blood streams across his face and chest, 'Miledy...'

I kneel beside him and warm his limp hands in mine. Trifinne and Skarlen encircle us with their wings to block out the wind. I fumble for some vulneraries in my pouch, 'take these, if only to lessen the pain.'

'Don't waste them,' Gale whispers, 'you fought so... beautifully.' His half-open eyes look up at the moon, 'Father Renault, I let rage consume me... I could never be a true citizen of Bern.'

'You are the most honourable man Bern has seen.' How ironic that my mother once suspected him of being an Etrurian spy when I was the one who defected with Princess Guinevere! 'An admired captain, a Dragon Lord — and the only man I could fall in love with.'

I sidle beside him, intertwining my arm with his. We watch the shadow of a flying beast in the distance, perhaps a bandit hoping to scavenge the wasteland for spoils. If I live to see the end of this war, what will I become? Will I rebuild Bern to its former glory and greater? Or will my consciousness be frozen in this moment, traversing the landscape of corpses and rubble? After the victory parades and celebrations, how many once-brave men and women will find themselves aimlessly wandering during the daytime and reliving their terrors at night? How many will have a home to return to, after so many villages have been ransacked and destroyed?

'I am not a follower of the Eliminean church like you,' I whisper into his ear, catching the metallic scent of blood, 'but once, I confessed my doubt in Princess Guinevere's cause to a bishop.'

'Don't…' Gale murmurs, loosening his grip around my hand, 'doubt…' His eyes close.

'Gale!' I shout but he remains immobile, 'Gale!'

Just then a gust hits me. A beast descends from the sky. I scramble, grabbing a spear lying by Gale's side to point at the new arrival, 'stay away! Wait-!' It is an emerald wyvern with topaz eyes, 'Rubley? Zeiss?'

'I've never flown so fast in my life,' Zeiss pants as he lands, 'I thought my neck was going to break off. Ellen, how are you?'

'A little dizzy. But show me the injured knight.' With Zeiss' help, Ellen dismounts from the wyvern holding a recovery staff. She kneels in front of Gale and plants the staff in the ground with surprising force for her small figure, 'Saint Elimine, merciful goddess, absolve this man of sin and heal his wounds!'

Zeiss and I glance at each other, barely able to see through the blinding blue light that emanates from Ellen's staff. Is this the force of Saint Elimine, the goddess whom Ellen dedicated her life and Gale his faith?

'I can... See,' Gale stares into the light, 'forgive me...'

'What's... Happening?' I jump back, hand cupped over my mouth in disbelief. The blood evaporates. Wounds close into dark scars marked out like continents on his skin. Eventually the orb shatters, causing the staff's glow to blow out. Ellen's knees buckle. Zeiss catches her as she falls back.

'Sister El— AH!' Gale utters when he tries to stand up.

'Saint Elimine's love has saved you,' Ellen steadies herself against Zeiss' arm, 'but you must continue to rest.'

Before I can thank Ellen, I catch Princess Guinevere holding her dress to climb up a hill. A pegasus trots behind her, 'P-Princess? Why-?'

'Miledy, you scolded me for leaving without your consultation only to do the same, putting up the front of a brave knight while your heart bled,' she joins Ellen and Zeiss' side, 'I'll not accept that for you are my friend, not merely a member of the royal staff.' Against the blood-stained battlefield and metal debris, the princess is the blessed presence of Saint Elimine herself, 'we will take General Gale back to the Lycian camp for further treatment.'

Upon reaching the Lycian camp, Shin loads his bow.

'Shin!' Zeiss cries out, 'he's not an enemy!'

'Isn't he a Dragon Lord of Bern?' Shin circles us on his horse. The army descends into shouting and shrieking: 'try him for war crimes!', 'why is she protecting a murderer?', 'I knew that so-called princess' guard was untrustworthy', 'finish him off!' Just as I had begun cooperating with and even befriending some of these comrades, they have turned against me again.

'Everyone, calm down!' General Roy parts the army like a river to meet Gale and me. The shouting fades to a chatter, then silence, 'Lady Miledy, explain the situation: why is a Dragon Lord of Bern among us?'

'General Roy,' I lower myself to support Gale's body which is losing strength. General Roy and the other members of the Lycian army loom over, 'this man's name is Gale. While our country has brought undeniable suffering to this continent, Gale is a just and honourable knight: I would not be engaged to him if he were otherwise.'

The chatter starts again. Ellen restrains the hand of a rogue child from hurling a stone as us. He gnashes his teeth like a wild dog, trying to break free from Ellen's and a mage's grip. General Roy glances at Gale's face, then addresses Princess Guinevere, 'princess, do you know this General Gale?'

Shallow breaths inflate my chest in short bursts as the princess answers, 'yes. I once asked for his help with reinstating Miledy as my bodyguard. I too can vouch for his noble character.'

Her comment calms the crowd. The great saint herself is answering our prayers through the princess' lips! General Roy steps towards us, then crouches to speak at eye level with Gale, 'General Gale, Dragon Lord of Bern. Your commander, Lord Murdock, fell with the Temple of Seals.'

'You were a worthy opponent,' Gale's ribs shake against me with each breath, 'he looked forward to the duel, General Roy.'

'I hope it is not lost on you that King Zephiel sacrificed his own comrades, including his lifelong tutor Lord Murdock. Meanwhile, the Lycian army, guided by Princess Guinevere, is showing you mercy.' General Roy's blue eyes are steadfast and wise. He is far from the naïve puppet in Lord Murdock's politics lectures, 'your fiancée and fellow countrymen retained good feelings for you, even when they themselves had already recognised King Zephiel's cruel game.'

'It is not.' Gale's head leans against my shoulder to gaze up at the boy as if admiring a heroic statue.

'Our healers will treat your wounds, but you must give us something in return,' General Roy eyes the healers in our army. Only Ellen and Father Yoder volunteer, 'though you may not have personally supervised the killing of innocent civilians, your leadership in the Bern army certainly had a role in hindering our fight against King Zephiel's brutality. Once you are in a stable condition, I will interrogate you about the divine weapon rumoured to lie beneath the Bern palace, as well as the remaining soldiers who guard the king. If you really are an honourable man, you will answer honestly and to the best of your knowledge.'

'You have my word,' Gale lowers his head, causing crusted mud to dislodge from his hair, 'General Roy.'