James didn’t think, he simply reacted, running down the hill towards the flame thrower. The nervousness lifted from his shoulders. He wasn’t going to make it out of this, but at least he could get rid of that awful weapon. What did surprise him was the sound of Celeste charging down the hill behind him. He felt happiness at knowing he wasn’t alone, and terror for the same reason. He had dragged her into this, and part of him wished she had turned and ran. A foolish hope, he knew. She had never been one to run from a fight.

Loud footsteps sounded to James’s left as the valley returned to darkness, the fire having completely dissipated and the bright light having vanished. He vaguely realized that the forest was completely dark as well.

Lit only as a silhouette in the light of Shamran’s lamp, James could see Duke charging after him. Not far behind were Charlie and Sven. James leapt over rocks and charred branches, Celeste by his side. He was beginning to think that all that time hiking up the mountain had trained him to move faster over the uneven ground when a firm hand gripped his collar. Duke lifted him in the air, his off-shade white teeth barely visible as he smiled at him. Celeste punched him in the stomach, withdrawing a sharp grunt from Duke’s mouth. He looked down, smile still etched across his face, and kicked Celeste in the chest. She rolled several feet, and James screamed in anger.

Charlie and Sven reached them a moment later. However, rather than assisting Duke at detaining him and Celeste, Charlie did something James wasn’t expecting. He decked Duke right in the side of the head, causing him to tumble to the ground. James was thrown to the ground in the chaos. Through the cloud of ash that clouded his already diminished visibility, he saw Charlie lunge for Duke who had begun to regain his footing. The two rolled on the ground, pinning each other and exchanging blows.

“What are you doing!?” Shamran yelled from near the lantern. “The boy! Get the boy!” Duke and Charlie continued to struggle on the ground, the sound of cursing filling the air. “You, Sven! Get the boy!”

Sven looked down at the two men wrestling on the ground, then over at James and Celeste.

“Yeah, I’m gonna take my break now,” he said, placing his hands on his hips.

“What!?” Shamran bellowed.

“Just a quick walk. I’ll be back in fifteen or so.”

And with that, he turned and left over one of the many surrounding hills.

“Useless!” Shamran roared. “I’ll just have to solve this myself.”

Shamran moved to the side, out of James’s line of sight. James quickly jumped to his feet. He wasn’t about to find out what Shamran’s solution was. Celeste crawled to her knees a short distance from him, clutching her chest. She glanced up and waved him forward. James didn’t want to leave her, but they didn’t have much time. They at least needed to make sure that the flame thrower was destroyed. Reluctantly, he charged towards the weapon. Shamran’s voice echoed behind him.

“Stop!”

James kept running.

“Stop, or Jarl dies!”

James’s pace slowed, then halted. He turned to see Shamran holding something to Jarl’s head. James didn’t have to see it to know it was the weapon he had used on the ship. James’s heart pounded against his ribcage, making his fingers twitch with adrenaline. Should he keep running, hoping that Shamran was bluffing? Should it even matter if he’s bluffing? He was, after all, a man who contributed to his parents’ deaths. James felt sweat coalescing at tip of his chin and on his upper lip. A decision needed to be made, and it needed to be made soon.

With a sharp inhale, James darted towards the flame thrower—or at least tried to. His muscles seized up, refusing to move. He glanced up at Jarl, hearing Captain Shamran’s shouts as only muffled noises, and instantly knew he couldn’t do it. Deserved or not, he wouldn’t let anyone die on his account. His knees weakened and his body slouched, the sense of defeat becoming an overbearing presence in his mind.

A blur of motion swept past him, sending ash into the sky. James sat in stunned confusion for a few moments before his brain translated what was happening. Celeste had leapt to her feet, kicking up ash for cover, and sprinting over to the flame thrower. She reached it in seconds, pulling out a long, sharp knife—the same one she had tried to kill Jarl with. She grabbed one of the cords that fed the fuel to the gun and held the knife up to it.

“Do it and he dies!” Shamran roared.

Celeste cut the cord, sending liquid spewing to the ground. Shamran bellowed in rage, throwing Jarl to the ground. He hit with a labored grunt.

James’s satisfaction over the cut cord lasted only a few seconds, freezing in his veins and turning into an icy cold chill as he watched Shamran level the weapon at Celeste. James heard a loud bang and ash puffed into the air beside Celeste. She looked down, eyes wide, and launched to the side. James instinctively ran towards her. Another bang rang through the air and James watched as another puff of ash shot up from the ground right where Celeste had been standing. Shamran leveled his weapon at her again, causing James to tense in fear. He wasn’t going to make it, and, even if he did, what could he do to save her. He reached out for her, and she to him, just as another bang filled the air.

In the same moment, a large mass with glistening fur jumped in front of her. James heard a thud, followed by a high-pitched grinding sound. The mass of fur, which James realized was Tor, and Celeste both fell to the ground. James reached them moments later, only halfway aware of the constant clicking that came from Shamran’s gun each time he pulled the trigger. He knelt down, grabbing his sister by the shoulders. She was trembling, and he looked down to find blood on her hands. He quickly realized it wasn’t hers. Tor’s glistening coat of fur now bore a patch of blackness, like a bottle of ink dumped onto a fresh sheet of paper.

The blood drained from James’s face as he watched Tor inhale and exhale several deep, labored breaths. He looked up at Shamran, his anger having drifted away to emptiness. Shamran pulled at his pocket, frantically withdrawing something small and rectangular. James could hardly see its shape in the darkness. Shamran shoved it into the weapon and James heard an audible click.

“Why won’t you two just listen. I’m protecting our way of life—our people! That girl… She can save us all. It’s the only way. Without her, we all die.” Shamran paused, waiting for a response. James just stared at him blankly, and Celeste’s gaze was still fixed on Tor. “I really didn’t want to have to do this,” he said, raising the gun. “Tell me what I need to know, Jameson… or watch your sister end up like that beast.”

The last few days seemed to crash down on James, sending waves of exhaustion through his body. It was finally over. He could never sell out Kiri’s whereabouts. Even if he did, Celeste would never forgive him for it. No, they would die here as martyrs, just like their parents.

“Wrong choice,” Shamran said, shaking his head.

James closed his eyes, waiting for the bang to fill the air. His resignation turned to confusion as a different sound entered his ears—the thud of something hitting the earth, muffled by the several inches of ash that layered the ground. James opened his eyes to see a puff of ash rising off the ground not far from him. He quickly glanced at Shamran only to find him looking just as confused as him. James turned back to the puff of ash and spotted something he hadn’t before. Barely visible in the light was a thin rope that extended from the ash into the blackness above them. As he looked up at the void of darkness, he spotted something. A faint speck of blue appeared as a star in the night. As he stared at it, he realized it was getting brighter and was… moving. A smile carved its way over his blank expression as he realized it wasn’t merely a light, but Kiri descending the rope at an alarming speed.

She hit the ground, causing an impact that James would almost call graceful. The second her feet touched the ground, a wave of light coursed through the ground. In an instant, James felt full of energy again. He watched as sapling trees started to sprout from beneath the ash, lighting up the valley. He was glad for the light; it allowed him to see Shamran’s expression of concern.

“Stop right there, girl!” Shamran yelled, pointing the weapon in her direction.

James leapt to his feet but froze when he heard the sound of growling—lots of growling—all in different tones and pitches.

“What is that!?” Shamran asked in alarm. He spun around in a circle trying to catch a glimpse of what was making the noise.

Eventually a series of glistening coats rose above the surrounding hills, each one accompanied by a set of brilliant, sharp teeth.

“No… No! Stay away!” Shamran yelled, raising his weapon. A loud bang hit James’s ears, and he watched as a puff of ash lifted into the air next to one of the snarling beast’s. The creature jumped back, and James’s watched as its four eyes narrowed on Shamran. A deep noise, like that of a rockslide, rose from the beast’s throat, sending chills down James’s spine. Whatever James felt, Shamran felt it more, nearly loosing grip of the weapon as he tried to steady his aim on the beast. Just as he was about to fire again, a blur of motion came from the sky, knocking the weapon from his hands. Countless birds followed after the first, scratching and shrieking at Shamran, who flailed his arms about, trying to knock them away. His hand clipped the wing of one, buying him enough time to lunge to the ground for his weapon. He snatched it out of the ash, where it had sunken in several inches. His back pressed firmly against the ground, he turned towards the sky and fired… again… and again… and again. Eventually James heard the same clicking coming from the weapon as before. Whatever fueled the weapon was gone. James just hoped Shamran didn’t have the ability to refuel it again.

James stood for several tense moments waiting for something to hit the ground. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when he heard nothing. The birds, he hoped, had escaped unharmed.

A growl brought James’s attention back to his surroundings, where creatures of all shapes and sizes were advancing on Shamran.

“Get back. Back! Leave me be!” he yelled, climbing to his feet and throwing the empty weapon in desperation. It bounced harmlessly to the ground.

James felt a wave of relief. It was over. Shamran was defenseless. They had actually stopped him. He looked over to Kiri with an exhausted smile, only to find her still staring at Shamran. It was then that he noticed the beasts hadn’t stopped advancing.

“Kiri. It’s done. He’s defenseless. You can stop now,” James said.

His concern grew when she didn’t respond, her bright blue eyes locked onto Shamran, and her fists clenched in anger.

“Kiri?” he asked. She gave no reply. “Kiri!?”

Shamran stumbled backwards, falling to the ground.

“Kiri. You have to stop,” James said, leaping to his feet.

He ran to her side, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“You have to stop! They’ll kill him—you’ll kill him—if you don’t!”

James looked into her eyes and saw only sightless fury. Behind him, he heard Shamran scream in pain. He turned to find several of the beasts tearing into him. Letting impulse guide him, James charged over to the circle of snarling teeth and tried to pull the beasts off of him. Wrapping his arms around one and pulling as hard as he could, he was able to remove it from the fray. This opened a slight path to the center where he could see Shamran. Blood soaked his hands and James could see some dripping down his face. James reached for him, furiously struggling against the mass of fur that threatened to block Shamran from view. Finally, he grasped onto Shamran—his coat to be exact—and was rewarded with the feeling of intense pain running through his arm. He blinked, realizing that one of the beasts had sunken its teeth into his arm. For a few seconds, he sat looking at his arm in shock, feeling only a mild annoyance. Behind him, as if from a very far place, James heard someone scream. It took him several detached moments to realize it was Kiri. That mild annoyance turned to agony as he spotted the blood dripping down his arm. He tried to jerk his arm back, but the beast held on, releasing a deep growl at his struggle. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kiri, horror and guilt on her face.

“Stop! By Kodama’s will, stop!” she pleaded.

James turned back to the beasts with a fleeting hope that they would listen to her words—feel their connection with her—and stop their attack. The hope faded as he watched the beasts continue to snap at each other, clawing at both Shamran and James. A sharp pain slid along James’s back as one of the beasts dragged a claw filled paw across it. James barely had the time to react to the pain before another beast clamped down on his shoulder. Its teeth were dull, but the strength of its bight was strong. James gritted his teeth in agony as he heard something crunch within his shoulder. At the same time, a powerful impact hit him from behind, sending him to the ground. He rolled to his back and found his vision blurred. The beasts moved like dancing blades of grass. It was almost peaceful, watching them snap at each other, their anger taking over any sense of rational. James looked down, noticing the blood that covered the majority of his body. He knew he should feel terrified at the sight, but all he felt was a detached curiosity. The pain was fading quickly, and, looking up at the snarling teeth of the beasts, James felt only acceptance, as if he were about to return home for the first time in a very long time.

The beasts leapt, bearing down on him like a wall of bloodstained white. James cast his gaze upward, where he saw the blanket of clouds drifting about, casually, as if it were unaware that it separated two worlds—two ways of life.

A vibration ran through James’s body. With his senses dulled as they were, he almost thought he had imagined it. James blinked, looking up at several sets of teeth hovering inches from his face. They growled, fury visible in their eyes. Another vibration went through the ground, causing them to whimper and back away from him. Yet another vibration sent them to the ground, heads bowed submissively.

Seconds later, James was looking up at Kiri, tears streaming down her face. One dropped onto his face, surprising him at how acutely he felt it. Another vibration went through the ground, causing Kiri to look up. James tried to follow her gaze but could only move his head a slight distance. Out of the corner of his eye, James could see a familiar shape rise over one of the nearby hills. Kodama’s messenger towered above them. An unnatural silence fell upon the valley, as if every living creature was holding its breath. The messenger knelt, allowing his snout to touch James’s chest. Light seemed to pour out of it, soaking James in a mixture of blue, green, and purple. James felt a sudden rush of warmth go through his body, as if he were back on his ship with the sun beaming down on him.

“Sleep, child of the sky.”

James felt the voice as a rumble through the ground—a vibration in his body. As if summoned by the messenger’s words, James felt a deep peace willing him towards unconsciousness. He was awake long enough to watch the beast swivel its head towards a figure a short distance away—Shamran, James realized. He watched as Shamran stared up into the messenger’s eyes, his expression falling to despair.

“No… No! I had to! It was the only way! It was…”

That was all James heard before slipping into a deep, blissful slumber.