A dry wind blew across the plains of the western borderland as the ground shook under the march of thousands of feet. It carried with it the stench of smoke, ash, and bloody conflict as the Doan delaying forces were trampled underfoot. The day had been fraught with conflict as small contingents of desperate men did their best to delay the Dragon knights. To some degree, their plan was bearing fruit as the two moons rose high in the sky. Bal, the silver moon was at its full glory, the magic of its light evident even in the day. However, the black moon drew closer, threatening to eat its greater cousin and trigger the merger that happened only once every thousand years.

Time was running out, and the army grew desperate as every bridge, ford, and pass was barricaded, fortified, and held by suicidal defenders. Gersius smashed them all, but precious time was lost in every battle. The fate of the dragons, the world, and the goddess Balisha hung in the balance as they pressed on, marching to the next battle before the wounded were fully treated from the last. The time was gone, and the moment had come. They had to reach the crater where the dark goddesses heart lay as an ever-present curse on the dragons.

Gersius could feel the tension inside Lilly as she was acutely aware of the danger. She was trying to be strong even as the moons grew closer, but she feared the coming battle. So much of what she hoped for was at stake, including the lives of dragons who stood in their way. Despite Lilly's desire for a home and family, she still didn't want to see dragons die to achieve it. She had come to see her kind as a tragic victim in a reaction of fear to something unexpected. Solesta never expected the dragons to learn to love or fall in love with humans. Her panic when they did and Balisha's subsequent blessing to allow a dragon and human to mate sparked a war that tore the dragons apart. Now, their species had suffered for thousands of years to protect them from becoming like Lilly.

Thayle felt sick as thousands of women of Ulustrah poured over the landscape. Over half his army was made up of women who were meant to bless wombs and fields with fertility. They had been tragically targeted for the crime of knowing the truth and punished for their skills. However, this act of cruelty brought tens of thousands of women out of retirement and gave them a common enemy. Now, they fought for their goddess under his banner and sought to end the madness.

Gersius held his breath as they rode on Lilly's back to the crest of a hill and looked down to see the beginning of the end. Before them was a vast plain split by line after line of hurried fortifications. They were made of piled stone, dug earth, and spiked logs, creating rings of defense before reaching a firm brick wall that circled the broken mesas that marked the crater.

Hundreds of thousands moved about as horns and drums filled the air. The last of the Doan armies were waiting to make a final bloody stand in service to a lie spread by dragons. All they had to do was keep them at bay until the eclipse was completed, and the enemy would have won. Gersius called a halt as Lilly stood tall on the hill, and the army marched to his side, spread out over a mile. To the Doan, it must have seemed like the whole of the empire had come out to meet them, but this was only half his army. To the east, a second army approached, led by Gams and ready to bring war to the enemy. He was a little behind, but with any luck, Gams would reach the fortification short after Gersius did.

Despite the hard march, they had run out of time, and the eclipse was only hours away. Gersius had to cross several miles of heavily defended and prepared land just to reach the hills that marked the crater. The hurried defenses he could explain, but the large walls in the back could only have been made by hard effort over the years. It was more proof that the enemy had been laboring in secret for far longer than anyone expected.

“By the Goddess,” Thayle gasped as she sat before him on Lilly’s back. “There are still so many, even after all we have slain.”

“We will break through,” Gersius said with deadly confidence. “We did not come this far to fail.”

“So many will die,” Lilly stated, looking skyward where Sarah was aloft with Shadros. “Dragons and men alike.”

“There is no other way,” Gersius said as he put an arm around Thayle. “I wish I knew another way to stop this.”

“We never had a choice in how this would end,” Thayle said. “The enemy chose this course and forced us to walk it.”

Gersius nodded as the army took up formations, hoisting their banners high to let the enemy know the empire had come. He admired the Doan's unwillingness to yield their beliefs even as the plans made by their masters unraveled. They expected to be rampaging through the empire by now, and instead, they faced death at some pointless crater.

“Do you think the dragons told them what they are going to die for?” Thayle asked.

“I doubt they know any more than Dances with knives did,” Gersius replied. “They were never meant to know the truth, only obey and die for this Gorromogoth.”

“Why would anyone follow such a terrible leader?” Thayle asked.

“It's their culture,” Lilly replied. “They are devoted to the idea that glory and honor can be best achieved in combat and that no enemy is as great a test as empire. They are told never to question their beliefs or think beyond what they are taught. They were prepared for generations for this war so they would never think twice when the call came to die. I am sorry that dragons caused all of this.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Thayle replied. “None of you are to blame. The goddess who acted as your mother brought this on us.”

“And we are going to correct it,” Gersius stated firmly.

“Aren't you worried about this Gorromogoth?” Thayle asked. “He nearly killed Sarah and Numidel in the dream and knows things about the weave that even Sarah doesn't.”

I am aware of the danger,” Gersius replied. He understood this enemy was more powerful than Sarah, but he was just one dragon. Gersius had Sarah, Lilly, and Thayle. All were champions of the divine and blessed by their chosen powers. They would meet this threat together, and together, they would put an end to the dragon's curse.

“I hope you’re right,” Thayle said as she used the bind to read his thoughts.

“The divines protected us this far,” Gersius replied. “Even when my faith failed, they protected us. I trust they will protect us here.”

“Their goal was to get us here,” Thayle said. “Now we have to make it matter. We must reach this Gorromoth and find a way to defeat him. The divines can't meddle in this any further.”

“They don’t need to,” Lilly replied as she lifted her head high. “But we do need to hurry.”

Gersius wondered what that comment meant, but there wasn’t time to ask. Lilly was right, the moons were growing close, and the battle needed to be started. Alayse, his overall commander, rode up to meet them on the back of her charger, her curling blond hair blowing in the breeze.

“They have had time to prepare,” Alayse said, pointing her sword at the enemy. “This is meant to delay us.”

“So they have, and yes, all they want to do is buy time,” Gersius agreed as his face took on a stone expression. “They know they have lost the war and hope the dragons can save them. Today, we prove the dragons were never their allies and break the Doan nations for a hundred years. The prophecy ends here, and so does the curse at the blades of the dragon knights.”

“I think we need to use your second plan,” Alayse said as she studied the defenses. “We don’t have time to break this carefully.”

“I am afraid we will,” Gersius agreed as he felt Lilly tense. She knew the second plan would lead to escalated casualties but would get them inside faster. It was a necessary cost if they were to achieve their goal, and there was no way to avoid paying it.

“I suspect you were right about their formation,” Alayse said. “They will deploy their women to the front to weave from the safety of those low walls, then pull them back wall by wall so they can keep us under fire.”

“They will,” Gersius agreed with a nod. “But their plan will not work, and we will make them pay for it.”

“It will be costly,” Alayse said as she turned her horse to look over the thousands before them. “We will have to commit everything in one massive push and suffer the casualties to close the gap.”

“I understand,” Gersius replied as he silently prayed they would somehow escape the death toll that loomed before them. “Commander Alayse,” Gersius said as he drew his sword, the red blade of Astikar’s holy weapon glowing brightly as he pointed it at the Doan. “Get us to those gates before it is too late.”

“It will be done,” Alayse replied in a voice committed to the task of shedding blood. She turned her horse and rode off, barking orders as captains began to echo them. In seconds, the army understood and readied to engage in the final battle.

“The wheel is in motion,” Thayle said as she steeled herself for what was about to happen. “Nothing can stop it now.”

“Victory or death,” Gersius said as he turned to face the army and dipped into the dragon's voice.

“Victory or death!” he shouted, the power of his voice echoing across the plains. It was echoed back as the thousands under his banner replied in unison. They began to chant as Alayse put the army in motion. Thunder rumbled in the dark clouds above as if the Earth Mother herself were echoing their mantra.

“Let’s go,” Gersius said as Lilly strode forward, her blue scales a beacon against the dark backdrop of soldiers. The army followed, the ground shaking as the followers of Balisha held aloft their banners to tell the enemy the goddess had come. They flanked Lilly, lifting their voices in song to the goddess to defy the enemy's desire to see her destroyed.

Horns and drums answered the song as the Doan began to shout in defiance. To them, Balaisha was the destroyer, and her return would mean a second shattering of the world. This would be a fight to the last, as they stubbornly died to protect a lie perpetrated for generations.

The distance closed as the Doan assumed formations behind primitive walls of earth and stones. Gersius knew the walls were there to prevent the wide-scale use of cavalry, but that wouldn't stop Alayse. He was also aware that there was no apparent source of this material and couldn't imagine them hauling it over great distances. He recalled how they dug massive pits and trenches to defeat the army from Whiteford and used the material dug from those pits to make earthen defenses. The Doan had the same defenses, but where were the pits?

“Why aren’t they using any Bandersooks?” Lilly asked as the army swept over the hill, marching at a methodical rate. “They have been using them by the thousands in every battle.”

Gersius nodded as his mind began to work. Lilly was right; where were the enemy's favorite shock troops? Surely they had no intention of letting them march on the walls unimpeded? He used the bind to reach Sarah flying high above and asked her if she could see the bandersooks.

“None,” Sarah replied as she studied the ground below. “It’s all lines of Doan warriors starting at the first wall. The first five ranks are all women, with the nearest men behind the third wall. They have teams of horses in long rows beyond that, but they don’t have riders.”

“So the women are going to retreat to the second wall when we get close, then behind the men after that,” Thayle said.

“But where are the bandersooks?” Lilly asked as she took a deep inhale. “I can smell them.”

“Pikes to the front!” Gersius shouted in the dragon's voice. “Quickly, rotate!”

“What?” Thayle gasped as Gersius shouted orders that echoed down the line. Men began to move in practiced steps, with the long pikes rushing forward to create a wall of layered points.

“We are walking into a trap,” he growled as the army began to move. Suddenly, there was a blaring of horns, and Gersius looked to the distant lines. “The horses,” he growled as he understood the danger. Doan drivers began to whip the animals, causing them to lumber ahead, dragging long ropes that trailed behind. They saw the lines of rope grow taught as they raced toward his advancing army, the soil, and plants used to bury them falling away.

“What is this?” Thayle gasped as they lurched to a stop then it all made sense.

The ground before Gersius's army suddenly shifted as wooden platforms carefully hidden by planted grass were dragged away. They opened earthen ramps to dark tunnels, and out poured the wailing savage beasts known as Bandersooks.

The beasts were barely fifty paces ahead as they came racing out, flailing made maddened wolves. They ran headlong into row upon row of lone pikes, barely in place to meet the savage hoard. Lilly used ice to clear the path before her, turning dozens into frozen corpses while the rest veered away, not brave enough to face a dragon.

“Choke the tunnels!” Gersius commanded, and women went up in song. Plants and vines began to grow around the ramps, becoming dense brambles that the monster struggled to get through. Slowly, the women combined their might, calling on the magic of Ulustrah to fill the tunnels with plants so dense the bulk of the bandersooks could not get through. The thousands that did make it out were hurled against the walls of his pikes and spears, the men marching in rotation as they slowly cut through them.

“We nearly walked into that!” Thayle gasped as they began to step over dead beasts.

“The pits will be a marker,” Gersius said as they drew closer, and the army had to create gaps to pass around them.

“A marker for what?” Lilly asked as more horns blared from the Doan lines and was answered by a practiced war cry. Wooden machines went into motion with arms swinging and baskets flying forward. Stones as large as Lilly's head sailed into the air, racing across the distance, and calls for shields went up. All across the lines, women broke into song, and green discs of divine power formed in overlapping precision like the scales of a dragon. They created a wall of defense before the arm as the stones came racing in, crashing on the barriers and shattering. Some barriers broke to be quickly replaced, and some stones were so heavy they came through. Bodies shattered as they crashed into his army, killing or maiming dozens of soldiers. Gersius grit his teeth as people began to scream, letting the army know that many more were soon to follow. Thankfully, these weapons were slow to reload, and he would be on them before they could do any real damage.

“Pikes to the rear, Astikar shield wall to the front!” he shouted as the gap closed to where he could start to see the women behind the first low wall. His army moved, the lines rotating with perfect precision until the first three ranks were all men of Astikar. They presented their large shields as they took up a powerful chant, lending the strength of their god to the army's protection. In answer, the women of the Doan took up chants of their own, and red lines of twisting death began to race forward. The weave was known as a bold of Daghost, and Gersius had seen them cut through a horse. They crashed into the blessed shields of the priests of Astikar, creating a shower of red sparks as they drove men back. The bolts came in by the hundreds, filling the air with a red haze as stone continued to fall on his deeper ranks. Men began to falter as the sheer volume of bolts took down protective wards and blasted smoking craters in shields. Some of the spells started to get through, cutting lines of death through his ranks.

Alayse was everywhere, rotating soldiers and pressing the women of Ulustrah to layer their shields over the men of Astikar to increase their defense. Seeing the Doan women through the terrible flash of red death was difficult. He knew it was just a little closer, and this would all come to an end.

“Now!” Alayse screamed as the army suddenly lurched, packing tightly to create causeways between formations. Cavalry waiting in the rear charged forward, their hooves shaking the ground as they raced down the gaps. The lead two ranks were heavy cavalry with men in thick armor with long lances and shields. But behind them came hundreds of horses with two women each as the women of Ulustrah took the lead in bringing the battle to the enemy. They spilled into the field as more women spread their shields before the surging cavalry, buying them as much protection as possible. Men and horses suffered horrific injuries as limbs were cut off and blood filled the air. Metal lances were leveled at the women who bristled behind their low walls, assuming the cavalry had just been wasted.

The women riders broke into song and sent their green shields ahead. They layered them before the walls, creating ramps up which the horses ran. Suddenly, the cavalry was leaping the wall and spilling into the women, lances breaking as they ran Doan women through. There was a panic as hundreds of horses rampaged through their lines, and the woman fled for the second barricade. The second riders dismounted and formed advanced units, charging the second wall as women fought women in a bloody battle for supremacy.

Gersius felt sick to see women dying by the hundreds as faiths collided in a battle straight from legend. However, there was no time to mourn as this part of the plan was crucial. The cavalry spread out, using the inner wall for cover as they rushed down the lines, slaughtering the women. Some Doan men ran forward, breaking formation to save their wives, sisters, and daughters. They threw themselves into the fray in scattered clumps, becoming easy prey for heavy cavalry and the priestesses of Ulustrah.

Alayse ordered a rush, sending the army ahead at a near run. They needed to take that first wall so the cavalry could retreat and regroup the rear for another charge. It all happened so quickly as the army swept across the landscape, closing on the wall and crossing it. Lilly used her claws to tear a wide hole, and they poured in, quickly racing the hundred yards to reinforce the women of Ulustrah. The Doan men had broken formation in a dozen places, racing for the wall as their dying women screamed for salvation. They leaped over the second wall, savagely attacking the women of Ulustrah just as his heavy infantry caught up.

Now, it was a battle of pure bloodshed as the two armies collided in a terrible impact. The cavalry retreated to reform for another attack as his army pressed in, blood spilling as the air filled with savage screams. Now Alayse was in charge, and her only goal was to make a hole and get them to the gates. Lilly would lead her small army of Balisha to the gates and tear them down to get inside. It was all going to plan until a gout of fire raced over his lines as the first of the enemy's dragons appeared.

“Sarah!” Gersius shouted over the bind as a hundred of his soldiers burned in a screaming death.

“I am already engaged!” Sarah replied, causing Gersius to look up and see two more dragons twisting through the skies.

Sarah twisted to avoid a spear as a red nearly her size dived passed her. A blue with a long barbed chain flew by, swinging the weapon in an effort to tangle her wings. She knew of the tactic from the battles long ago and was wise enough to fold her wings in tight, accepting the loss of control to save her wings. She responded with a hammer of Astikar, hurling the hammer of glowing light after the blue, but missing as the beast dived away.

Claws raked, and teeth snapped as the red engaged Sarah head-on. The two collided in the sky with a thunderous roar full of flames. Sarah was called a traitor to her kind and a filthy thing for mixing with a human. She didn't care what this beast thought of her as she fought for a greater purpose. She would do anything to preserve the truth she had come to learn through Lilly. I was a truth no dragon could know without the blessing of Balisha. That love and family were all that mattered to her heart. If this Gorromogoth wanted to take that right away, then he was the traitor, not only to his kind but his heart.

She dived out of the way of a tail slash when she noticed the metal rings studded with spikes. It was another weapon of the ancient wars, used to turn even a dragon's tail into a lethal weapon. The beast chased after her, but Sarah had a plan and headed low as Shadros dived out of the sky, his black scales streaking down. On his back were a dozen women of Ulustrah riding in a saddle made just for them. They were strapped in so firmly that none could move below the waist. Even so, Gersius had insisted they train in the saddle, flying every day until their nerves were steeled to being up so high.

He raced down, heading for the dragon but not daring to get too close. It was a plan they worked on and practiced with Sarah as the target until they made it work. As Shadros passed close by, the women of Ulustrah were already in song, calling on the goddess for chains. Green spiraling bands raced from their hands, tangling in the red's wings as they passed. The beast lurched and fell, tumbling from the sky as Shadros dived for the ground. The key was staying close enough that the women could keep the dragon tangled. He had to dive as fast as the dragon fell, carrying it low enough so that when he pulled away, the dragon wouldn't have time to stop.

A burst of flames raced over his back as the dragon realized the danger. It tried in vain to cook the women out of the saddle, but Shadros breathed a cloud of frost before him so the woman on his back would pass through the chilled air and avoid the heat.

Lower and lower they went, the ground drawing closer until, at the last second, he spread his wings and caught the wind. The larger dragon had to roll over first, needing more room to stop its descent. It crashed into Gersius's army, shaking the ground as it instantly killed everyone beneath it. The impact left it broken as stunned soldiers staggered out of their daze to use swords and spears to finish it off.

Lilly had to look away as the dragon fell on their ranks, shattering a company of infantry. She knew those soldiers were dead the moment she felt the ground shake. She was grateful the plan had worked, but her heart ached to see yet another dragon die for a lie. The pain of that loss was magnified when she looked up to see Sarah pummeling a smaller blue with a hammer of Astikar. Dragon blood rained on the lead ranks as they marched ahead with silent resolve. The killing had come, and even fewer dragons would live to see who had won.

The last red came back for another pass, but the surprise was lost, and Gersius had weavers of his own. His were reserved exclusively to fire on dragons, and this time, the beast found the air full of red lances. It attempted to veer off as it's wings were punched full of holes. It bled and roared as it turned away, losing altitude to crash behind the Doan lines.

Lilly was at the second wall, breathing ice into the lines of Doan warriors, who were madly charging them. She shattered the wall to open a gap and led the charge in with the warriors of Balisha on her flanks. Everything was funneling around Lilly, pushing harder and harder for the gate on the inner wall. Above, the moons were about to touch, signaling the beginning of the end, and time was running out.

“Look to the east!” came cries of hope as Gersius saw distant pillars of fire fall from the skies. It could only mean one thing: that Gams and the second army of the empire had engaged the enemy, his army attacking from another side.

“They will have to divide now,” Thayle shouted as she held on to a twisting Lilly who was crushing Doan warriors underfoot. Her jaws were full of blood, and she had been wounded several times, but there were healers all around her, and she quickly recovered.

Gersius thanked the divines as the enemy could no longer focus their full strength on him. He set his gaze on the distant gates and prayed they could reach them in time. Then he saw the smoke burning behind the distant lines, and his heart began to sink.

“What is that?” Thayle asked as thick black pillars of smoke poured into the air.

“They have lit fires,” Lilly replied, using her keep dragon sight to look ahead. “They are setting fire to their weapons.”

“No,” Gersius said as his blood ran cold. A second later, flames streaked into the sky, trailing long fingers of black smoke. Green shields went up in defense, but the objects came down with wet splats and continued to burn.

“Tar!” Gersius shouted as fire began to rain from the sky, sticking to the protective barriers as it piled up. The air filled with choking smoke, and concentration was lost, spilling molten blobs of tar into the helpless ranks of his army. Now chaos erupted as ranks broke to escape the flames and burning black ooze that stuck to armor. The Doan fired on their own people, desperate to slow the army at any cost. No army could hold formation as the ground burned with thick black oil, creating impassible barriers.

“What do we do?” Lilly cried as a hail of the terrible stuff went to fall on her faithful at her side. She saw the faces of her acolytes and followers as they saw their doom approaching and spread her wing in defense, catching the tar as it burned on her wings. She didn't flinch, as she was protected from fire by her love for Sarah, but elsewhere, the soldiers were not so lucky.

“Use the cold!” Gersius shouted to his faithful in Balisha. “Freeze the tar, and it will stop burning!”

Lilly was the first to breath a jet of cold over a large fire, turning the tar into frosted glass. Her followers did the same, calling on the blessing of cold to quickly beat down the flames. It was working in his little pocket, but he could not protect the entire army. He desperately needed some way to stop the flames when the enemy's siege engines suddenly exploded in a wall of fire.

Gersius assumed it had been an accident, a trick of fate that saved him from another volley; then, he noticed other fires suddenly leaping into the air and racing across the sky. Gersius turned to see a loan figure walking through the carnage, his wide-brimmed hat tucked low as he danced his fingers in the air and commanded the fire to obey him.

“Tavis,” Lilly cried as the flames poured to him, collecting in his palm and vanishing when he closed his hand.

Gersius was impressed by the power put on display by the man Sarah had been coaching whenever she had the chance. She said he had a rare gift for the flame and only needed to know the delicate method of control. Still, his training wasn't done, and he was putting himself at risk to control so many fires.

“He has put out the flames, but many are still burned by hot tar,” Thayle said as hundreds staggered in pain.

“We will pay them in kind,” Gersius said and raised his hand to call a dragon's claw of Balisha into being. He sent it high into the sky to signal Alayse that he wanted to accelerate the plan and reach the distant siege engines. Alayse and her sub-commanders quickly reorganized and pressed over the walls, formations of mixed light and heavy infantry slamming into the staggered enemy. The tar had caused the Doan to fall back, pulling away and giving his army a chance to cross the second wall completely. Now, the battle was for the third wall as Sarah dived low with another red dragon on her tail. Shadros was right behind but still out of reach. Sarah dragged the monster over her own army as red bolts rose to tear him to shreds. He fell clear of the army, rolling to the duty plain as he bled from dozens of deep punctures.

“This is taking too long,” Sarah cried. “The moons are touching!”

Gersius looked away from the carnage to look up and see she was right. The dark moon was beginning to consume the light of Balisha, opening the door to Solesta’s heart.

“Alayse!” Gersius shouted. “Pay the price!”

He never heard her reply, but he knew the order had been received when his army suicidally rushed into the enemy. Lilly went savage, stomping and snapping at the enemy as she fought to get through. They pressed everything into a single point, trying to break the army through to the gates. The Doan threw everything they had at them, but it wasn't enough as priests of Astikar called fire down from their god. Huge swaths of Doan soldiers were incinerated as the army pressed relentlessly forward. Gersius could see the gates and the few thousand soldiers who stood before them. If they could break through these last lines, Lilly could charge the hundred yards or so and meet what he hoped was the last line of defense. He called on his power, the sword of Astikar glowing as he threw hammers so mighty they blasted a dozen men down in a single blow. It was like a god had joined the battle as his eyes glowed with red fire, and he called for the army to push harder.

“We aren't going to make it,” Thayle cried as she looked up, barely holding on to Lilly, who was savagely chewing a man in half.

“We are running out of time,” Sarah cried over the bind. “I will fly over the walls and face him alone.”

“No!” Gersius roared, knowing that was suicide. He felt sick to have to say it, but he gave the order he absolutely dreaded. “Lilly, abandon the army!”

The pain that swelled in his wives echoed his own as they knew what it meant for the heroes of the army to abandon them. Moral would collapse, and the death toll would soar, but time was running out.

Without hesitation, Lilly spread her wings and leaped into the air. He could feel the pain and dread in her heart as she left her faithful behind to die without her. She didn't dare go too high, or she would make too easy a target, so she soared just a dozen feet above their heads, heading for the open ground before the gates. She hit the ground in a full run, charging the gates as Sarah landed behind her. Now, only a few thousand men stood between them and the crater. They had to break those gates, and Sarah could do that easily. The ground shook as the two dragons closed on the men in a full run. Gersius's eyes and sword glowed with red fire as he shouted a war cry that promised oblivion. The men rushed forward, spears and swords in hand, determined to make a final stand. They had mixed ranks of women, weaving their deadly bolts as they fired on Sarah and Lilly. Gersius called on his divine power to protect Thayle as the dragons collided with the enemy.

A great gout of fire ripped through the lines as Sarah charged through. She bled from a dozen places as twisting red bolts tore at her. The hail of deadly fire continued from every side, but from straight ahead, all was quiet. Gersius realized that the bulk of the gates defenders hadn't moved, and only a few hundred had come to stop them. Several thousand men stood motionless, not lifting a finger to aid in the battle. Gersius couldn't understand the strange display; surely it was wiser to attack with all they had? He jumped down to lend his sword to the battle, cutting through the Doan as Thayle fought from the saddle. Even with their numbers, the Doan were no match for Sarah and Lilly, whose ice and fire decimated their numbers. They broke and fled, running for the sides, but none daring to go near the gate. Still, the garrison stood silent, watching as the dragons broke through and continued their advance.

“Why are they not trying to stop us?” Thayle cried from Lilly’s back as Gersius fought from the ground, the red sword of Astikar blazing as he charged after Sarah.

“They must have another trapped planned,” Gersius replied. “But we can’t afford to wait. The eclipse will start soon. We must get through those gates!”

“Then we need to fly over them!” Lilly insisted. “We have to risk what is waiting on the other side.”

Gersius hated the idea of flying over that wall, not knowing what might be waiting. Considering how carefully this battle had been planned, he could only assume the far side was a death trap. No doubt they had more weapons to hurl black spears into the sky and bring down any dragon foolish enough to cross over. No, the safer route was through the gates, but could Sarah tear them down in time? Already, she was slowing from her wounds, spears sticking out of her hide that was slashed with gashes.

Behind them was chaos as the two armies fought, but dead ahead, five ranks of Doan warriors stood with interlocked shields, defiantly barring the gate. Sarah bore straight at them, knowing that if she failed, she and Lilly could lose their human form forever. The hope and dream of the family they desired would be gone, and an age of sadness would settle on the world.

“We can’t possibly break that line,” Lilly shouted as they rushed the gate. “We don’t have any soldiers with us.”

Gersius knew she was right, but there was no time to rally the army and make a proper breakthrough. They would have to fight this battle alone and pray the divines took favor on them or the war was over.

“Wait,” Thayle said as she pointed with her sword. “Are the gates opening?”

Gersius looked as the gates shuddered and began to slide apart as if welcoming the invaders. The army before them also parted, dividing in two and stepping aside as a single man strode out, a long fur cloak flowing with his dark hair.

“No,” Lilly said in shock as Gersius felt a terrible pain clutch her heart.

“What is it?” Gersius asked as they slowed, approaching the single man who strode out with no weapon raised to meet the invaders. Lilly turned to him, her eyes full of pain as the man raised his hand and addressed her by name.

Gersius knew instantly who this man was by the way Lilly winced to be called by name so informally. This was the man who had tried to protect her when she foolishly went among the Doan to try and save them. This was the man who married her according to Doan custom in order to save her from another. This was Hurrock, and Gersius was not pleased.