The sand was becoming more recognisable the further they walked. It started off as a dusting on the cracked mud. Carried over by the wind from the red lands in the distance. The trees were thinning and paths were more easily navigable.

Jano watched Gryff trudging alongside one of the giant winged men. They each had an escort now as they were led through the thick woodland. Gryff’s had scars on his face and a gouge cut out of his lip in an awkward triangle. The winged man tended to lick it as he walked, which suggested it was possibly a newer wound freshly healed. Jano could see brief flashes of the tall cliffs they were walking toward through the trees. Steep, sheer brown walls breaking up the greenery of the woodland.

They had been walking for days and Jano had only been given a few sips of water and some measly scraps of food. He felt awful. He didn’t think he would ever miss the grey walls of Qursa, but he was starting to get sick of the thin, pale green trees which surrounded him. Particularly when being led through them by winged giants.

A subtle rustle was all that gave away the threat. The Topoclaws appeared out of nowhere. Their catlike bodies curled as they sprang toward their prey. Jano started to ready himself, his spirit already full. Ready to attack if he needed to. Only to feel his feet leave the floor as he went head over heels into the bush.

He struggled to push himself up with his bound hands. The dusty ground turning his skin to a bright orange. He got to his knees. He saw the two Skybreakers facing three Topoclaws. A fourth was already dead, its head a visible distance from its shoulders.

One of the men punched the ground and it started to tremble. A sharp spike rose from the ground, as high as he was. It crashed through another of the creatures, piercing its body. With a piercing cry it let out its last breath. The other two took a step back. Cautious about their choice of prey.

Gryff charged at his own scout. The Topoclaws watched with interest as the fire prince fired off a burst of flame. The winged man easily dodged but one of the creatures took the opportunity to strike. It slashed at his back. The Skybreaker shouted as it made contact, but it didn’t look serious to Jano. The Skybreaker punched Gryff so hard that he fell immediately to the floor. He was limp, with no sign of life.

Jano felt as though he should check on him but he was in the middle of the fight. And he brought it on himself, to some degree anyway. Then Jano’s escort, if that’s what he was, cornered the two beasts together. They looked ready to strike, but confused that the prey seemed to fight one another.

The Skybreaker then unleashed something which Jano’s spirit picked up on. Whatever it was, it was powerful. Stone began to form, as though getting ready for Jano’s own spears. Instead, more loose stone gathered. It began to spin violently. More energy pulsed between each off cut. Then as quick as it gathered, it exploded. The two Topoclaws were eviscerated. Nothing more than bloody carcasses. The stone all gone or dropped harmlessly to the floor.

Jano stared. He was dumbfounded. The two Skybreakers had just shown a level of mastery over stone that he so desperately wanted to learn. The men discarded both of the creature’s corpses and went to check on Gryff. They stirred over him for a moment and then he seemed to get to his feet. Perhaps he was defeated rather than entirely woozy from the short fight. They checked Jano’s bindings and then they began to walk again. As if nothing had happened. But Jano couldn’t stop thinking about their attacks. It looked like they hadn’t broken a sweat and yet, they had unleashed two very powerful attacks and downed four beasts. He felt a small spark of excitement. He was going to get out of this somehow, and then he’d learn. He promised himself.

——-

The heat was starting to pick up. He couldn’t be sure if it was just summer coming into full swing or whether it was simply a matter of a warmer climate. The cliffs in the distance were a dusty brown, what Jano imagined sun baked stone would look like. Underfoot, it looked like the ground hadn’t seen rain in a few weeks at least. Maybe longer.

Gryff stumbled and fell. The injuries sustained from trying to defend them both before their capture and then again attacking the Skybreakers alongside the Topoclaws were rearing their ugly heads. He was weak and it was becoming more obvious by the moment. His escort looked down at the fire prince and did nothing. He watched expectantly. Gryff was mumbling and though Jano was only a few feet away, he couldn’t make anything out.

“He’s hurt. He needs water and food. We can’t keep going as we have been.” Jano shouted, speaking as much for himself as for Gryff.

The two winged men looked at each other, they were clearly acknowledging reality and they started to confer in hushed tones. Whatever else it meant, Jano realised they didn’t want to see either of them dead quite yet which gave him some small reassurance. They obviously did think they were scouts of some kind, but perhaps not the enemies they originally took them for. He looked at Gryff and he moved over towards him. He was lying on his side, his skin was gray and lined with a thin layer of sweat. “Are you okay?” He pushed him gently. “Gryff?”

“Water. Do you have any? Jano, is that you?” He wasn’t looking at him, but rather his eyes seemed to focus behind him.

Two shadows stretched over him. Then one of the escorts stepped forward and picked Gryff up, he unfurled his wings, which were a series of bright, folded colours in the sun. He nodded to his friend and then with a sudden almighty force he jumped and took to the sky. Before long, he was a small dot in the distance.

Jano watched them disappear toward the range of hills in the distance. Then he turned to his captor. “Wait - so why can’t we just fly away?” Jano asked, feeling more confident when faced with only one of them. The winged man looked at him. His golden skin made the cut of his jaw even more distinctive.

“The Skybreakers, are at war with one another. We cannot simply fly whenever we wish, we may be spotted by our enemy and captured. We are still too close to some of their outposts. Paxos is taking a great risk flying your friend back to our base. Even if we cannot be sure if you are enemies, we cannot take the risk.”

Jano stuttered as he tried to think of a reply. This had been the most he had heard from either of the men since their capture. They had preferred to talk amongst themselves and after Gryff had become delusional with thirst, Jano had only known the sound of their walking amongst the wilderness.

“Skybreakers? You’ve said that before. Is that what your people are called?” He managed, after rather too much thought.

The giant nodded and continued to walk on. Jano was eager to continue a conversation with his captor, if nothing else to try and build some sort of rapport which might help later. The Skybreakers had given no hint as to what they wanted with either of them.

“You are in the middle of a civil war?”

The Skybreaker kept walking. “We are scouts, we heard reports of a large army on the outskirts of our land. Our king believed that you may be coming to the aid of our enemy. So Paxos and I were sent to follow you and report back. Instead, you separated from your people and so we thought it would be easier if you tell us yourselves. We can then know if you pose a threat.”

Jano’s mind raced. “We have no quarrel with you and we were not seeking to interfere in your war. We were heading back to our own land to begin our own fight.”

“The Mind-Weaver will know if you are lying.”

The Skybreaker listened and occasionally looked at Jano as he spoke. The cliffs were more visible through the tree line now. Only now did Jano see in detail a series of shapes atop some far away cliffs which suggested structures, though they were away in the distance and he could not make out anything particular. The rock face tracked across the plain, casting a shower over the woodland below.

“Is that where we are headed?” He asked.

“Yes. It is our kingdom’s second city.”

“Second city?” Jano asked, almost involuntarily.

The giant man sagged a little. He looked at Jano, as if debating whether to respond or not. Then he stomped off ahead.

“My home is Cloviel. It is a land much like that you can see in the distance, but surrounded by beautiful deserts. It is high in the sky, so close to the gods that you could almost touch them. It was taken from us by the usurpers and so now, we fight.”

He pointed toward a mountain range to the south, a large expanse of desert seemed to open up around it. “That is the beginning of our lands. Cloviel is past there.”

Jano caught up to his captor so that the slack from his rope gathered on the floor. “I am sorry. I actually kind of know how you feel. I was cast out of my home, away from my family.”

The Skybreaker seemed to acknowledge his words. Silence hung in the air for a few precious moments. “We will see about the truth of your tale. The Mindweaver will tell all.”

“Is it much further to your… Where exactly are we going?”

His captor stopped at a small clearing. He hid half of his body behind a thick tree trunk, though Jano thought it seemed a fruitless task given the size of him. Small bushes with delicate white berries littered across them lay nearby. Just as Jano debated picking at one, the Skybreaker began walking again.

“We are heading to our base at the Evershade Cliffs. It is a couple of days walk but can be halved by flight. Our king and our army is still there.”

“Apologies if it isn’t clear, but has there been some sort of uprising against your king? I know it is probably complicated, but why are you fighting each other if you don’t mind me asking?” Jano figured he was better off trying to learn as much as possible. The worst he could say was no. If they wanted information, he doubted that he was in any danger unless he tried to attack his guide. He wasn’t stupid enough to try that even if he wasn’t bound.

They headed back into the treeline and Jano checked over his shoulder. Everyone who could possibly help was getting further and further away. “It is, as you say, complicated. If you must know we have two rulers. One is permitted to go to war and defend our lands while the other will stay and look after our people. We were asked away by a long trusted ally to the port city of Mooreditch, to help defend their city against pirates and raiders. When we returned, we were not permitted back into our capital. It seems that King Nigiri wanted the power of the Skybreakers to himself. It is this war which we believed you were coming to assist.”

Jano listened intently. It didn’t sound like he was in trouble, as long as he could persuade these Skybreakers that they had meant no harm and had no intention of interfering in their domestic politics. If he could somehow get his captor onside, that was one less of their kind he had to convince.

“I’m sorry that this is happening to you. I’m Jano, by the way. We meant what we said earlier, we really do mean you no harm.”

The giant man gave a harrumph, as though he was going against his better judgement. “As I said, the Mindweaver will determine whether there is any truth in what you say.” The Skybreaker stopped in his tracks before he tied the rope binding Jano to the thick red trunk of a nearby tree. With a heave, he extended his brilliant wings and jumped just barely above the tree line. He seemed to hover there for a few moments and then with more grace than Jano had expected, landed softly back on the surface of the woodland.

“Come. We are half a day’s walk from a safe distance for me to pick you up and fly you to the Evershade. We must hurry, for I do not want to spend a moment longer near the grasp of our traitorous countrymen, or any closer to your army.”

The Skybreaker untied his charge from the trunk and began to walk. Jano hurried to catch up, but the gigantic man’s stride was hard to match. Suddenly he stopped and looked over his shoulder to an already flustered Jano.

“If it will keep you quiet and make this journey a little more bearable. My name is Trajan.”