Something was about to happen, he could feel it. The very air seemed to hang still and calm, like before a huge storm. Trace wandered the house trying to figure out what the issue was, but to no avail. The Datters were working on dinner, Eric was helping Kathrin with a painting she was making, Zen was recovering well and had spent the last few days in the library with Sythe. Richard joined them regularly to read through the vast volumes of military manuals and guides that Trace had acquired over the years, while Reni had left three days ago to go north to Morlin Hall to try and find out what was happening there. Even Natani was simply relaxing on the back porch, happy to enjoy the quiet of the afternoon. Keith had gone down to Edinmire that morning to talk to Jade and Telk about their materials and storage of gunpowder. Still, Trace could not for the life of him figure out what was going to happen. "Nothing. I can't shake this feeling, but everything is just as we left it."

Flora watched as he fell heavily into his desk chair. "Maybe you're just imagining things? Everything has finally been going smoothly for us. Well, mostly smoothly. Ever since the wedding, I've been happy with the quiet around here."

"I know, and I'm happy too." Trace tried to put on a brave smile for her, but couldn't keep up the facade. "It just feels too quiet. We're less than half a day from the front lines on both sides of the war, and the Wolf clans haven't tried anything since last spring. I'm not complaining, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like they're just waiting for the right time to strike. And the Templars, they won't let Edinmire stay in the way, even if they have to flatten it. Everything just feels like the calm before the storm, the moment before the world breaks. We've been blindsided before, ambushed in our own home, chased for months, and every time it feels like this. Stale. Frozen. Like time through an hourglass, it just trickles through." He let out a heavy sigh, and glanced over to her. "What are you doing?"

Flora froze as she tried to step in front of the bag that lay on the bed. "Nothing. Keep talking."

"What's all this? Are you… are you packing up?"

Flora blushed and stepped aside. The bag was almost filled with clothes, bandages, and dried rations, and had a bedroll sitting beside it. "I… I was going to tell you." Her voice cracked as gentle tears welled in her eyes. "I can't stand it anymore. It's been months since we saw Barret. Every time I close my eyes, I can see him. I can hear his voice. I know he'll be back, but I can't stand waiting any more. I'm going to go find him. I'm going after him, and I won't stop until I find him. He promised that we would see each other again. I'm going to make that a reality. I'm going to go find him."

"Flora…" Trace couldn't find any words, but pulled her close.

"I… I wasn't planing to go alone. I packed your things too." she cried into his chest, and Trace could feel just how much she was shaking.

"Flora. Let's go find him." Trace said as he pulled her off, her face stained with tears. "I think you're right. We need to find him. I'll go tell Natani and Zen, then we can get Keith, and set out again. We won't stop until we find him."

"But what if he comes back and we miss him? Then we'll be wandering the wilderness without him."

Trace smiled and reached into his desk. "I have this." The key was still on the black thread, a layer of dust on the edge that had been pointed up. "Ever since we got back from Lyn'Knoll, I've kept this closer to me. It's a bit big to just carry around all the time, so I haven't taken it everywhere with me, though maybe I should. I also don't think it will let more than one person through at a time, Rose did tell me that it was only for emergencies."

"So you would be able to come back and check…"

"But not anyone else." Trace frowned. Flora sat down on the bed, and Trace sat next to her. The sudden silence between them spoke volumes about how they felt, the wariness and fear. "Look, it's been months. We can't wait for him forever. We'll find him. I promise, we will find him."

"Well, that won't be hard." Keith's voice suddenly made them both jump. He was standing in the doorway with a wide grin on his face, his arms crossed and his tail flicking back and forth.

"What do you mean that won't be hard? Do you know where he is?" Flora suddenly stood up, her excitement clear as she bounced on her heels. Keith said nothing, but stepped back from the door. Heavy footsteps echoed in, and they watched in wonder, as though they were seeing an illusion.

"It's been far too long." Barret walked into their room, worn out, but smiling. Trace stayed put, not believing his eyes or ears, but Flora leapt over to him in a single bound, throwing her arms around him, squealing wildly as she threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his weathered and battered shirt. Tears of joy rolled down her face as she held him tightly, smiling so widely that Barret couldn't help but smile back. "I missed you so much. I'm so sorry I left like I did, but I needed to go. I needed to do this, and I knew that if I said goodbye to everyone, I never would have left. I'm so sorry."

"You're here now. That's all that matters." Trace said, walking over. "I'm glad you're back."

"Tell us everything!" Flora tried to pull him into the room, but wasn't strong enough to make him even budge.

"I promise, I'll tell you all everything. Let's find everyone else, and we'll all meet in the fireside room, just like we did a few months ago. We'll have coffee and swap stories, because I heard you have some tales of your own."

…

The whole house was a flurry of activity like never before as Haelith began walking around. She had already found Maren, Sythe, and Richard, and while she was pleased to see them, she still felt like a stranger in this house. Still, it was nice to have a roof over her head. "Welcome back, young hatchling." Haelith turned around to see Lynn walking over, a gentle smile on his face.

"I didn't know you were still here."

"I go where Keith goes, and as he has come back here, so have I."

"I forgot that you're his… servant?" She struggled to come up with a better word, but it just didn't fit.

"Not quite servant, but close enough." Lynn said with a smile. "I am glad to see you safe."

"I'm glad to be back. I didn't think I would miss everyone like I have, but it's nice to be back."

"And yet you seem to be uncomfortable."

Haelith rolled her eyes. Nothing got past him. "I'm in the house of the person who killed my father. I guess the fear is always going to be there that Trace may decide to finish what he started. I know that he's changed now, I keep hearing that he has and seeing that he has, but fear will be fear, no matter what I do."

Lynn put his hand on her back, and sighed. "Fear drives men to do many things. In my years, I have seen only one other force overcome fear."

"And what is that? Love?" Haelith was sarcastic, but Lynn chuckled.

"It drive men to do many things, from the most wonderful to the most terrible. It almost cost Trace his life when Saria, his first wife, was killed in his arms. He pushed himself to the very edge of death to try and bring her back. And yet, it has driven him to change the fate of the world for the better every day since he met Flora. Richard has watched every day for Raine to come back, and if it was not for his role here, I suspect he would have ran off after her months ago. Can you honestly tell me that you have never seen such power before?"

Silence fell between them for a while as they walked out onto the back balcony. "I grew up without knowing love for so long, without a home or family for years. And yet, when I finally had both, they were ripped away from me. I know how powerful love is. It drove my father to stand up to Trace, to die to protect me. I know how strong love is. And… I know that it has driven Barret to do things for Trace. For Flora. …for me."

"He cares deeply for you. That is obvious just by the way he acts around you."

"I thought it would be obvious because we're engaged."

Lynn's eyes went wide. "Oh? I did not realize that you felt that way about him."

"I know it may be strange, but he's been there for me when no one else has. He was willing to put his life on the line for me, and I have come to love being with him. He's kind and strong, and at the same time, we both know what it's like to lose everything. I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him. We'll have to rebuild from nothing, but that's fine. I'll be by his side." Haelith leaned on the railing, looking east. "I don't know if that explains it, but there's not enough words to say everything I feel about him."

"You do not need to explain anything to me. As long as you understand it yourself, then that is enough. I have some paperwork to finish filling out, so I will see you later."

"You always have paperwork to do." Haelith said with a smile.

"Perks of the job."

…

Karen rushed over, squealing with joy as she threw her arms around Raine's torso. "You're back! You're back! Tell me everything!"

Raine laughed and tried to pull the ball of energy off, but to little success. "It was good, but I'm glad to be back. Have you seen Richard?"

"He's in the library. I'll go get him!"

"Wait!" Raine suddenly grabbed her arm before she bolted off. "I… I'll go myself. We're all meeting in the fireside room this evening to catch up."

"Oh! Just like last time! I'll tell Maren to make plenty of coffee!" Raine chuckled as Karen practically flew down the stairs. She then turned to the library, which was at the far back of the building. On the way, she had short conversations with Sythe and Zen, but they both knew who she really wanted to talk to, and didn't keep her long, and she saw Haelith talking with Lynn on the balcony, but she had one person in mind. Softly, she opened the door of the library, sneaking through the hundreds of books. He was still silently reading by the window, four different books scattered around him, and a map in front of him. His eyes scanned one page, then another, only to go back to the map and write in a third book.

"Are you… reading?" Raine asked, barely able to contain her chuckling. Richard's head had never spun so fast as he heard her voice.

"Raine?! Raine!" He got up and bolted over, not caring that he knocked two of the books onto the floor. He threw his arms around her tightly, as though if he let go she would vanish. "I can't believe it! You're back! You're actually back!"

"I am, but I can't breathe!" Raine managed to choke out. Richard loosened his grip, and looked her over.

"You're a mess. What happened? Did you learn how to control your power?"

"Well, not quite. It's still a struggle, but I know I can control it."

"That's good! But that hardly explains all this." Raine looked down at her shirt. It was covered in sweat, dirt, twigs, leaves, pebbles, and bits of blood from when she helped carry food.

"Oh. Well, it wasn't exactly a vacation. We crossed open country the entire time, and we haven't really had a chance to slow down and clean ourselves off." Raine went to brush her hair, but found that it too was a tangled mess of knots.

"Don't worry. We'll get cleaned up while we catch up a bit." Richard didn't seem to care that his own shirt was also a mess now, his smile wider than ever.

"Cleaning up can wait a minute, what are you doing in here? What are all these books?"

"Oh, just a bit of training. I've noticed that everyone else has changed, shifted their focus, or otherwise gone in a new direction, so I'm doing the same. I never read when I was at the academy, but now that the war is really starting to affect me, I've begun pouring my time into thinking about strategies. Trace has a shockingly large collection of combat books, everything from fencing and dueling stances to 'Dioikoun Legeones'* which is all about positioning ranks of troops to be the most effective. It's not much, but it's kept me busy the past few weeks."

"Not much? You have three books, a journal, and a map, all of which you are cross referencing while taking notes. That's a bit more than not much."

"Okay, so I needed something to focus on while you were away. Can you really blame me? I've always been… unfocused. I couldn't stop my brain from imagining the worst possible things happening to you, but I knew you needed to go, and I knew I was needed here. I was spiraling out of control almost daily, ready to charge into the wilderness after you, but I knew I couldn't. So, I got help. Keiren started playing war games after the Basitins showed up, and I joined in. I wasn't very good, but I learned. It gave me something to focus on, something to draw my mind, something… other than you." Richard blushed hard as he picked up one of the books. "I missed you more than anything. But my place was here. And yours was on the other side of the world."

"Well, everyone else is going to go to the fireside room in a few hours to catch up, but I need a bath, and fresh clothes." She suddenly took the book and set in on the table, before grabbing his shirt and dragging him behind her. "Perhaps you can brush my hair while I scrub my clothes."

…

That evening, Maren, Karen, and Kathrin were serving food to everyone. Barret had gone back down to Edinmire for a few hours to check on the people he had led there, to make sure they were getting all the proper care. He returned an hour before everyone met and put his scarce belongings in the room he had once claimed months before. In the fireside room, most people were happily catching up, laughing, eating, and drinking coffee. Barret, Haelith, and Raine devoured any food they could reach, their appetite insatiable as the hunger caught up to them. Though Barret was eager to sleep in a bed with a mattress again, he knew that it would be easier to just catch up with everyone at once. Finally, with bellies full and fresh coffee in hand, they gathered on the couches and chairs in front of a roaring fire as the sun set outside. "Alright, start talking Barret. Tell us what happened!" Zen said, putting his feet up as he leaned back.

"Actually, I think it would be better for you lot to start." Barret said as he put his arm around Haelith. "We've… we've got some big news. Both good and bad. You should start." Silence followed as people exchanged glances, wondering what it could be.

Trace leaned forward, and began to talk. "Well, after you left, we were pretty lost. We hadn't really considered our next steps, and everyone only had one day to actually be together again. You and Haelith left with Raine, and we didn't know what to do. In the wake of the Wolf Clan attack on Edinmire, Lynn hatched a plan that could change the tide of the war. Edinmire became the host of a Basidian relief force, I stepped down from my position as Duke, and Keiren took up the mantle. It wasn't long after that when Edinmire was truly independent, and with the full might of the Basidian military to back them up, the Wolf clans backed down. The Templars, however, were not so kind, attacking the city about almost two months ago. We managed to repel the invasion, but it was a costly battle. After that, I realized that I would rather spend every day of my life knowing that I had committed myself to the person I love the most. So sorry, but you missed the wedding."

"What?!" Barret scoffed. "You got married without me being there?"

"I wish you could have been there, I really do!" Flora pouted. "But we had no idea how long you would be gone. I kept worrying that I would lose Trace in battle, and I wanted to make sure we were actually married before something bad happened."

"And something bad did happen." Keith continued. "We actually could have used your help during the wedding, because not even a minute after they finished their vows, we were ambushed by Sentinels." Barret's eyes went wide.

"Sentinels? As in, more than one?"

"Fifteen of them came crashing into the garden." Natani sneered. "Wounded King Adelaide, battered Richard, and nearly killed Zen. We very nearly didn't survive the battle, and we were even ready for an ambush." Barret was speechless, though he tried to say anything.

"I'm on the mend now!" Zen said with a smile, looking down at the bandages on his arm. "I don't need my bandages changed every day anymore, and I move my arm a bit."

"I could try and heal you if you'd like." Haelith smiled, but Zen sighed, the smile vanishing as he turned away.

"The Sentinels did more than just a surface level wound." Trace said morbidly. "They used a pike made of clay, with a serrated blade. They didn't just stab him, they scraped the very flesh from bone, destroyed his arm. There's no amount of magic that can restore his arm completely. We had a Basidian doctor here for weeks trying to patch him together."

"I appreciate the offer, but Trace is right. My arm will never be the same." The horror was clear as day on their faces. Raine had already watched Zen be nearly killed before, and knew how much he could handle, which made the pain all the worse. Haelith was sorry for him, but also for herself, wishing that she could do more for him. Barret was scowling, the nightmares of the past were coming back, the fear was growing in the back of his mind, but he said nothing. Zen could see their faces, and smiled. "Don't feel bad. There's nothing you can do about it now, and I've learned to deal with it. I've been learning to read with Sythe, and in turn have been teaching him self defense."

"Beyond that, most things have been pretty quiet." Maren said "Sure, there's the occasional thing going on down in Edinmire, an excursion here and there, and a couple of them went to an old watchtower to begin patching it up, but not much else of note has happened."

"And Flora's pregnant again!" Karen blurted out, causing several people to spit out their drinks. "Oops!"

"Really?" Haelith asked, but Barret chuckled.

"I saw earlier, but figured it would be better for you to tell me, rather than just assume."

Trace mopped up the coffee on his shirt with a nearby towel as he sighed. "Your turn. Tell us everything."

"I suppose that's only fair." Barret shifted in the chair, his tail uncomfortably stuck behind him. "Well, we went north. Way north. Way, way north. We did find a tribe of Ishtaer nomads up there, and they were kind enough to teach us magic. Haelith learned to focus on healing while I studied combat magic. I'd rather study something less… violent, but I understand my role in life. I'm not just a hunter anymore, I'm a protector. Vehc, the man who taught me, showed me how to make shields and bursts of force."

"I studied with the tribe elder, and she helped me learn how to channel my power a bit better. It's not perfect, but I understand myself more now." Raine smiled, just happy to be with the people who knew her best again.

"We stayed with them for a little over a week, getting the most basic of studies of magic, but a few things changed. First, we all knew we couldn't stay there forever, we had to come back eventually. Second… we… ran into an old adversary. Aezr found us." The air got more tense as the name was said. Natani's fist clenched, Keith's ears went back, and Flora scowled at the name. "We left the next day, going south. We were going to come right back but…" Barret trailed off, pain clearly in his voice.

Haelith picked up as tears welled in his eyes. "We were on our way back when we were attacked by a Sentinel. Barret got knocked down, but we were saved by a passing traveler. When Barret came to, he came face to face with his brother, Eris."

"I thought Eris was dead?" Zen asked.

Barret mumbled "He is now."

Raine picked back up as Haelith put her arm around Barret. "Erisdar helped us destroy the Sentinel, and started leading us southwest, to what he claimed to be a free city like Lyn'Knoll. He was actually leading us to a Templar fortress called Wenmoor. Barret managed to find out before we all got there, and we confronted him that night, but got overwhelmed. Aezr was following us, and attacked Haelith and I while Barret confronted Erisdar. Haelith managed to buy me enough time to run away, but I couldn't abandon them. I followed them to Wenmoor, and started hatching a plan to try and break them out."

"So when you told me that everyone was prisoners, you really meant that?" Keith asked, and Barret nodded.

"Eris betrayed us, and tried to convince me to join the Templars like he did. He'd been working with them for years, but was betrayed by them. He had shown his loyalty, only to be told to sign for my execution or join me in the gallows. He betrayed them back, and helped over a hundred prisoners escape. They were there because of him, and they are now free because of his sacrifice. He killed his commander, endured a hailstorm of arrows, and stopped the gate as it fell on him. It was… impressive. He did not survive the escape. It seems to be my Fate to watch my family die in my arms." Barret shuddered, tears streaming down his face.

"Once we got out, no one had anywhere to go." Raine sighed, knowing how hard it was for Barret to talk about his brother. "We turned back to Edinmire, and the prisoners followed us. Almost a hundred Ishtaer are down in Edinmire right now, getting medical attention. We crossed half of Mekkan in about seven weeks, with few stops."

Barret wiped the tears from his eyes, and looked over at Haelith, and he couldn't help but smile. "It was during this time that I realized the same thing Trace did. I want to spend every day making Haelith smile. It wasn't formal, or fancy, or anything special, but I proposed, and… we're engaged." Everyone's faces lit up at the news, but before anyone could say anything, he continued. "We've been through a lot, but this isn't over yet. We had to move quickly because of the Templars. There's a large army about a week away from here. Ten thousand strong, with heavy siege weapons, cavalry, knights, lancers, everything. The war isn't coming. It's already here."

"We've fought them off before." Trace scowled. "We'll do it again. The Basitins have weapons that the Templars have no counter to, and we are in a defensive position. They will break upon the walls like water upon rock."

"You may think that, but you aren't the only ones who have new weapons." Raine frowned as she pulled out one of her journals. "We had to stop in Durlon for provisions, and I heard that the factories in Valinos were making some sort of new weapon. What exactly, I have no idea, but they are confident enough to try and attack the city again."

"Keiren is already evacuating the civilians." Keith said as he rubbed his chin. "We should go down and help whenever we can."

"I agree." Barret said, but he glanced out the window to the inky black sky as he yawned. "But I've been looking forward to sleeping on a mattress for weeks. I'd like at least one good night's rest before going back."

...

*Greek for "Commanding Legions"