The journey towards the coast was uneventful. While underway, Mariel had held a lively conversation with Johnas, whom too seemed a little sad to know she was going home. Johnas could report that Winqas was being tried for misconduct and would likely be punished. During the first of many breaks, Siah had told Mariel to head a little away from camp. Siah manifested, and disappeared out into the forest, returning soon after, her mouth still having pieces of fur mixed in with the blood stains. Per the satisfied little mindling, she had consumed two hares, one fox and some fish from a nearby river. Now completely satisfied, she had returned to Mariel’s mind. During the second leg of the journey, Mariel felt certain that the passenger in her mind was soundly asleep, and snoring.

At the second stop, they had all spent a while resting, eating and sharing in some friendly competition. The mood was light and cheerful, and some of the other riders had even shown an interest in Siravin and Tizare’s experience of combat.

The evening had already begun to sneak in, and the temperature had plummeted sharply. By now, everyone had wrapped themselves tightly into blankets to keep the cold out, though the speed with which they flew negated most of the benefits of the woollen cover.

“Is it much further?” Mariel tried to partition her sentence enough to conceal her teeth clattering. Johnas nodded and pointed out into the darkness where a faint glow could just be seen coming over the horizon.

“That over there is Delanter’s great lighthouse, it guides ships and avian travellers to it, we should arrive in a short while…”

Mariel nodded.

“Hey, I got a bit of a question… How do you intend to get back home? And, what will you do once there?”

“I’m hoping to board a ship, and make the journey before winter frost… It should still be time… Once there I will head straight back home!”

Johnas pulled Zanasthil into a gentle descent per his instructions. Soon they broke through the few scattered clouds and within minutes, were swooping just over the treetops.

“Ground…” Casindire whimpered, her arms tied tightly around Mariel’s chest. During the whole journey, she had been very quiet. Thanks to her unrelenting grip, Mariel had felt confident she had not fallen asleep, and was at least following events in some way.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be as soon as we land… Yup, right as rain… I’m really glad I can’t see the ground… Pleaseputmedownisweartoneveraskforanythingagain…” Casindire muttered.

“Your friend’s no good with heights?” Johnas turned his head.

“She’s… unaccustomed to travel.”

“I can hear the rustling of the trees… It’s too much… Way too much.”

The group assumed formation and soon they reached the end of the forest, where the land descended down towards the sea. The open hills hosted small farms and an occasional shepherd could be seen huddled around a small bonfire, watching over the livestock fetching the last edible grasses of the season. The glow of the lighthouse had grown ever stronger, but as they closed in, it was clear something was amiss. An order was made to set down in turn, with Zanasthil being last.

“Something’s not right. We need to scout the area up ahead. Any volunteers?” The woman asked, and immediately, two riders stepped forward. They mounted up, but was told to wait momentarily, allowing for Daristan and Tizare to go along for the trip. As the dragons took off, everybody else took some rest and soon had a small fire going. Most of the other riders secured a good perimeter and settled in for a watch.

A good while later, the two returned, and as soon as the dragons landed, Tizare and Daristan jumped clear and hurried over to where everyone was waiting.

“Bad news.” Daristan began, looking very calm despite his ominous words.

“What’s going on?” Mariel was first to ask. They both turned to her and gave her an apologetic gesture.

“We got a war on our hands.” Tizare announced to a deadly silence.

“Huh? What?” What do you mean war?”

“We mean Mariel, that Delanter is under siege, from the sea! And the invaders are disembarking troops and supplies to cut off the land routes too.” Daristan sighed. “It seems, our two kin are about to go to war against each other again.”

A long silence followed. Everyone stood there, contemplating what to do next. Eventually, the female leader of the group spoke out.

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, my liege has not declared war against humankind. So this is where I believe we will have to part… Unless you do wish to fight us… I’m sorry to see that your leaders…” She pointed at Tizare and Daristan in turn. “Have resorted to short-sighted violence… Next we meet may be as enemies…”

“We know… Thank you for all you have done. We will figure something out from here.”

The female nodded and with a swift motion, ordered their kit unloaded and the riders to remount.

“Good luck to you… I’m not usually religious… But I pray, that after we wipe out your foolish leaders, that wiser minds like yours shall inherit their places… Gods only know how much the world needs it… Farewell.”

“Goodbye Mariel! Stay safe, all of you!” Johnas waved, and as they began to fly off, Zanasthil bowed her head to them, before she too took to the skies, and soon disappeared into the darkness.

“Well then… Only thing that remains to do now is to get off this island before we’re killed.” Daristan mumbled nonchalantly while rummaging through his backpack.

“I still want to go home.” Mariel mumbled, only to have Tizare place a hand of his on her shoulder.

“Who knows what has happened over there during this time? Your kin may have been sterilized… Or… Worse.”

“Even so, I need to go there… Home is just across the sea!”

“What’s going to happen to us if we do get back?” Casindire interjected.

“With luck, nothing has changed… Realistically however… All demonkin have been enslaved or purged… Any men of age will be drafted into the military, and the women… Sent off to be trained as caretakers or second-line militia.” Daristan pulled out a big map from his backpack and rolled it out, using a magical fire to light it up for them to see.

“You brought a map… You have a plan?” Siravin shrugged.

“I do. We can’t go to the human continent, or stay here… Fate would on average be the same… We could make for beastkin lands, but the sea routes there are closed during winter due to ice… All that is left, is to visit the elvenkin… At least, they only got a civil war going.”

“War’s everywhere huh?” Saya shook her head, an unmistakable expression of sorrow on her face.

“So what do we do now?” Casindire posed the question almost everyone was thinking about.

“Simple little cheesecake, we should head north, hop on a boat bound for the land of the rambling old guys, and find out when we get there if it’s possible to go further.” Saryssa entered the conversation with confidence, drawing her finger along a route on the map to a small town named Altira. “That place should still have some cargo left to ship before the winter storms.”

“That’s it then… we’re making a detour… Should we stay the night here? Or get moving?” Siravin looked at the others.

“We should be fine staying night at least… It’s only a guess, but starting a campaign now would only be detrimental… I’m thinking the human army will use the port as a staging area… Our fleet is much larger, and from the look of it, the fleet plus whatever remains inside the city, will last them through winter quarters.” Daristan nodded to Tizare whom nodded back, with far less enthusiasm.

“That’s it then… Let’s get some warmth going and make some shelter… We’ll set out in the morning!”