It had been a long time since Haelith was brought back. The guards walked down the hallway, handing food to the prisoners. Barret and Haelith enjoyed wonderful stale bread and watered down soup. It wasn't tasty, but it at least was better than nothing. Once they were done, they waited. The storm still raged outside, and Barret's cell slowly grew humid. Finally, they heard the stomping of boots again. A group of four guards walked over to Barret, and opened the door to his cell. "Get up." Remembering what happened when Haelith fought back, he gave in, and held out his arms to be bound, but they simply pushed him out the cell door, and began to escort him away. Through the fortress they led him, two in front, two behind. Up one floor, they brought him to a large, wide, well lit and warm hallway. Suits of armor lined one side, with coat of arms on the wall between them. On the other side were doors of wood, evenly spaced. They led him past the first several doors, and brought him to the fourth, before stepping aside. One of them knocked, and a faint "Come in." came from the other side.

Barret waited, but none of them opened the door, so he slowly reached. None of them reacted, so he opened the door inwards. The soldiers closed around him, and pressed him through. The room was decorated much like the hallway, with red carpet that had a gold trim. There was a large bed in one corner, a glass window on the far wall, and a rack full of weapons of all sizes, from daggers and shortbows to swords and a halberd. A small writing desk was in the corner, as was a small table with some cups on a platter. But as he closed the door, Barret's eyes were drawn to the back center of the room, where there was a large desk that had a lamp, clock, stacks of papers, and a small collection of journals, one of which was open. There was a chair in front of it, with a cup next to it that had steam coming from the top. Erisdar sat on the other side of the desk, writing on a piece of paper. His armor was hanging on a mannequin beside the bed, where his glaive also rested. "Come in, sit. Welcome to my home."

"I live in the wilds for years, and you live in a castle like a king?"

Erisdar set down the cup he was holding, and smiled. "Well, we could change that. Please, sit." Barret walked over to the chair and sat down. It… was actually quite comfortable. "I have had most of my belongings custom made for Ishtaer. Say what you will, but loyalty is rewarded here. That chair was made to let our bulky tails fit through, so you don't have to sit sideways like you normally would. The mattress is likewise made to be form fitting, and all of my tables have reinforcements on the base to prevent them from being knocked around by a stray flick, and most of my possessions have magnets on the bottoms to help them stick to the surfaces. Here, I made you coffee."

Barret did not pick up the cup, but the strong smell tempted him dearly. "What do you want? I already told you that I would never work with the Templars."

"You are stubborn like I was. I did not want to at first, but I had no other choice. I did not lie to you. I was captured and brought before a man named Sirus, and he gave me a chance to save my life. I took it, and have proven my loyalty to the Templars. They have rewarded me in turn with a lavish lifestyle, with weapons and armor, with money and power. They could do the same for you too. All you have to do is join me, and we can be together again. We can work together as brothers to build a new world, one where we can live without fear."

"One without fear? What would we do, destroy all who stand in our path, kill and make war in the name of peace and life? No. The Templars are nothing but lairs, deceivers, and murderers."

"Is that so? Well, I could say the same about you. I heard that you were fighting for Edinmire? You killed that day, did you not?"

"I fought and killed because I was protecting the civilians. I fought to keep innocent lives safe."

"And do the Templars not do that too? What better way to secure the future of the kingdom than to eliminate those who seek to destroy it?"

"There should be no reason to want to destroy it in the first place! The Templars have destroyed lives, killed innocents, slaughtered them like animals!"

Erisdar scoffed. "Who, the Keidrans? Why do you care what happens to them? They are animals."

"No less than we are! Humans are animals, Keidrans are animals, Basitins are animals, WE are animals! But it is the choices they made that have turned the Templars into monsters. It's what turned you into a monster."

Erisdar leaned back in his chair. "Is that so? Barret, I am not a monster. I am your brother. We don't have to be enemies."

"You aren't. They are."

"Sure, the Templars have done some questionable things, but it's no less horrible than what the wolf clans do. Assassins move through our land, taking the lives of many. They ambush and slaughter men and women alike. There are many burnt villages and homes left in their wake. It was they who started the war by killing the king, if you didn't know."

"That pales in comparison to what I know. The Templars are nothing but horde of demons. I would rather die than join them."

"Barret, what has come over you?" Erisdar leaned back in his chair, setting his coffee down. "I have never known you to carry such hatred in your heart! We've changed in the last few years, and I know that there are things you don't approve of, but of all the things to be stubborn about, why must you-"

"THEY MURDERED MOM AND DAD!" Barret shouted suddenly. Erisdar froze. "They killed them! Murdered them in cold blood in front of me. They destroyed our family. I watched them drive an axe through mom's head. I watched them take the same axe, still dripping with blood, cleave dad's chest open. I have been hunted for months because I ran away from Lyn'Knoll." Barret sighed as his heart pounded, his anger and his pain finally released. "Templars took over the entire city, and have been assassinating people, capturing them and killing them for years, and I escaped. I will not join these bastards. These murderers. These monsters. I knew about you before I talked with you, but I wanted to give you the chance to make the right choice. You weren't the one giving me a choice. I was the one giving you the choice to leave all of this behind. I won't join you. I'd rather go to the gallows. I'll at least see my family again."

Eris sat in shock. "You didn't tell me. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I… wanted our time together to be happy." Tears welled in Barret's eyes as the memories flooded back. "I… I wanted us to enjoy our first few days. We hadn't seen each other in years. I just wanted us to be… us. For a while."

"Then… did… did you give them a proper burial?"

"All of their proper rites."

"And… their scales?"

"Gone now. I had carried them with me ever since Uian. But now I have nothing. They are lost."

"Uian? When?"

"New Year's Day. I found them for all of five minutes, and then… they were gone."

"I… I didn't know." Eris leaned on his hands, face downcast.

"I won't work with these monsters. They are murderers."

"We could change that Barret. Together. We could make a difference." Erisdar said, sorrow in his voice.

"A difference? A difference for who? Us? We could live lives of luxury, while the rest of the world burns? No." Barret stood up and picked up the coffee. "I'm going back to my cell. Feel free to visit me anytime you like." He said with a sneer as he dumped the liquid onto the floor. Walking over to the door, he opened it, and pressed into the guards, who glanced back at Erisdar. Barret didn't stop, but began walking back down the hall, not caring that they weren't following him. Erisdar waved, and the guards caught back up, escorting him through the building.

Eris put his head down as the door closed. His floor was wet now. He tried. And he knew Kalnaroth wouldn't be as patient as he was. Barret was still his brother. Standing up, he walked over to the bed, where he stooped down. There were two bags that weren't his. One he picked up and looked through, to see medical equipment, some rations, and a copper kettle. Putting that down, he picked up a longbow, well used and worn, but high quality. Claw marks remained where it had been gripped by an expert hunter. Setting it aside, he reached for a small satchel that had been attached to the side. Opening it, he saw a wooden charm, one that was normally given to bring luck. But it was what was underneath he was interested in: several scales lay on the bottom, polished by fire long ago. He held one, and looked closely at it, the bright silver gleamed in the firelight, and the edge showed a hint of gold. He picked up another, silver as well, but it shimmered with a rainbow of wild colors depending on how he held it. A heavy sigh escaped him, and he held them close as his eyes welled with tears. "I'm sorry. I failed you. I failed you."

…

The door closed behind him, and he walked over to the cot, not even bothering to try and wake Haelith. He hurt in a way she couldn't heal. His heart was breaking. Laying down, he stared at the ceiling as thunder rolled outside. "You came back." came a woman's voice from the right side of his cell. "Why?"

"I couldn't abandon her. I won't leave Haelith alone. I know it's fruitless to try, but I'm going to find a way out of here."

"You'll die. You know that, right?"

"She deserves a better life than one in prison. I'll find a way to get her out of here, even if it's the last thing I do. She will be free."

"Well… at least you have someone to fight for."

"What about you? Who do you fight for?"

"I used to fight for my daughter. She's a wonderful girl. Kind, sweet, always looked on the bright side. Brightened up the place."

"What happened?"

"They came and grabbed me. Brought me here. I hope she's alright, but I've heard whispers. I heard that my home, Edinmire, was attacked. I hope she got someplace safe."

"What did she look like? I might have seen her."

"You've been to Edinmire?"

"I was there when it was attacked. I helped clean up the ruins, but I left a few days after."

"She looks like me. A snow leopard Keidran named Maeve. She'd be the only one in town."

"She's alive. I saw her. I didn't get a chance to talk to her, but I saw her."

"Thank the masks. Thank you."

"My name is Barret. You?"

"Adira. Thank you, Barret."

"It's the least I could do." It's the most I can do too…