“You're sure they got away?” Asked Turaz.

“Yes, sir. They're heading north by northwest, or they were last night.” Sidâl replied.

I wonder how he knows that, questioned Turaz to himself. They were sitting under a cedar's canopy, to keep dry from the last rains of the season, and to avoid being spotted. He wasn't sure what kind of cedar it was, there were at least three kinds in Athair, but it was a very droopy tree.

“So, they're traveling to the March?” Sir Eberis deduced. “Well, it looks like Tempest took the King's words on caution to heart.”

“I wish we heeded them better.” Turaz commented. “We should have seen Reshîv's usurpation coming from a mile away.”

At first, it had been two dozen against the entire court. However, a good number of those two dozen fighting for Aharôs had been fully armored, like Turaz and Eberis, while only the guards in court had been fully prepared for a fight. Naturally, knights with over two decades of combat experience had been a definite boon to their side. Baron Kairôs and Prince- no, King Aharôs were no small contributors to the fight either, having been trained their whole lives for battle. Then, of course, there had been more minor members of their impromptu column who joined them as they made their way out of the throne room and to the stables: a few guards who valued morality above charisma, Sergeant Haior and his men, loyal servants taking up arms, the Thechai soldiers, each and every one, and Brenan too, knocking the enemy of their feet while managing not to seriously harm any...

But, it had been Sidâl who was chiefly responsible for them getting out. Few saw him in action; Turaz was among those who did. The agent of espionage had displayed skills that absolutely unnerved him. Sidâl would seem to jump from dark spot to dark spot, sliding past his adversaries as if he wasn't even there, before striking them where they were vulnerable. When they reached the last hall to the stables, they found it covered in frost and blood, with a heavy metallic stench in the cold air, but devoid of all people. From there, it had been the simple matter of opening the gates, getting the zôshai, and making a break for it. The soldiers at the northern bridge of Vatherîon hadn't gotten word to close the gates yet, and let them through without lifting a finger. Oddly enough, Sidâl hadn't turned up again until late in that first night.

Three days later, here they were, on the slopes of the Dashavon, waiting out the rain. Baron Kairôs and his Thechai men had departed after the first night, heading south to hold down their lands while Aharôs made his eventual way to Ar-Athazîon. On the second day, one of the Blackwind pegasi showed up; Streaming Breeze. She had been wounded, and it was a miracle she had been even able to find them. It was from her that they learned all the others except she had perished. Now Brenan tended to her, they and a few others were hiding under another nearby cedar. Turaz was a bit disappointed he never got his glass eye in Vatherîon, like Brenan had recommended. Well, word is that we're going to Ar-Athazîon. If they have something in Vatherîon I need, they'll have it in the crowning gem of mankind too.

“Where'd Sidâl go?” Eberis suddenly asked. Sure enough, the shady sorcerer was nowhere to be found. It was like he had vanished into thin air!

“He's wandered off again, hasn't he.” Sighed the elder of the two knights.

“No doubt. Perhaps to the King?”

“Perhaps.” Minutes of silence passed; Eberis watched the rain, and Turaz tapped his hands against the metal plates over his legs. “What are we waiting for, anyway?” He asked, too bored to stay silent.

“The King wants to wait until the rain lessens.” Eberis replied.

“We should keep moving...” Grumbled Turaz.

“They'll see our tracks in the mud.” The other knight pointed out.

“Fine.” Turaz folded his arms, noting the mud on his armor, which had not truly taken off since the flight. “But they'll be getting closer.”

“Probably.” Agreed Eberis. If there was one thing Turaz didn't like, it was sitting around while an enemy drew near. Perhaps an enemy was drawing near to Nikadîon as well... I hope the garrison can hold it. But most were with the army in Vatherîon... He could only pray his family stayed safe. Perhaps they'd take a ship to Surana; Turaz still had friends from the old days there. It was a shame he hadn't been able to do anything for the Blackwind pegasi, too. Only three made it out alive.

Turaz grabbed his halberd, and pulled himself to his feet. He might as well go check up on Streaming Breeze. The knight quickly dashed through the rain to the other cedar, where Aharôs, Brenan, the pegasus, and a few others were lurking. King Aharôs had been in a foul mood since they left Vatherîon; he didn't bother acknowledging Turaz. Or anyone else, for that matter. Sidâl isn't over here either, noted the knight.

“How is it?” Turaz asked the dark-red pegasus, as he knelt down.

“It could be worse.” Replied Streaming Breeze. She was bandaged up around her middle, having suffered a blow from a mace or some other blunt weapon. Turaz didn't know the specifics of her injury, but at least it didn't require surgery.

“It could.” Agreed the knight. “When I was a porter, I saw a man get hit hard in the head by a loose beam. There wasn't any blood, but he fell into a sleep he never woke up from.”

“Looks like I got lucky.” Replied the pegasus, with a wry smile.

“You certainly did.” Said Brenan, who was plotting out a course through the Dashavon mountains. “A sharp blow with a mace could kill even the greatest man, when delivered to the right spot.”

“I'll need to actually wear armor next time we get ambushed, then.” Streaming said back.

“That's for sure.” Turaz agreed. “I'm tempted to never take this stuff off again.” He knocked on the steel plate covering his chest. His armor was personally fitted to him, it fit in such a way that its weight was distributed evenly and well. Even if it weighed seventy pounds, it wasn't much of an issue.

“Were it so easy.” The pegasus sighed.

“What's the plan now?” With the Blackwind cause seemingly crippled beyond recovery, Turaz wasn't sure what would become of the three remaining pegasi. Did they come all this way just to have it end because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

“To be honest? I don't know.” Streaming admitted, looking at her hooves. “Coldstar was keystone to all this, she had the skills to orchestrate any counter-invasion. Lord Hearth had the diplomatic connections. But me? I'm just a common soldier, no better than a serf, really. Queen Tempest is completely at the mercy of your people, now.”

“At least she's alive.” Turaz pointed out.

“She won't be able to do this on her own, that's for sure. And I don't see Lady Snowy being able to help. Not without some improvement.” Continued the pegasus.

“Some improvement? The girl couldn't fight a mouse!” The knight scoffed. But the red pegasus didn’t seem to notice the comment. She put her hooves together, with a quiet tap.

“I've been thinking, Sir Turaz... Not once did I ever see Duke Îrilôs pick up a sword or get near a battle in our time in Verâd.” Streaming tilted her head. “And yet... he wielded more power than any other human I've met so far. He's obviously a very clever fellow. And- I wasn't there for this, mind you, but apparently said she had potential. So, maybe, just maybe, Lady Snowy might be of help to the cause.”

“Huh.” Turaz put a hand to his chin, a finger going over the start of a beard. He'd never thought about things like that before. It was true, Îrilôs was no soldier, or even a general. And yet, as Streaming Breeze said, he had such power that he could have King Aharôs removed from the world of the living with but a wave of his hand. Îrilôs was a master of words and schemes. Does Snowy have that potential too? “That'd certainly be something.” Stated the knight.

“It certainly would be.” The pegasus agreed. “Though I find the image of Lady Snowy becoming dangerous rather unsettling. But perhaps I like her better as harmless.”

“Here I was thinking Queen Tempest was the only one who was her friend.”

“Oh no, I'm certainly no friend of Lady Snowy's. But in light of recent events, perhaps it is time to reconsider.” Explained Streaming, looking thoughtful. “Queen Tempest will need all the help she can get. Lady Snowy is with her, and I am too. But between the three of us... Well, you can see that we're a bit short on power. We'll need to put aside our differences to take back what is ours.”

“Sound thinking.” Remarked King Aharôs suddenly. His back was still to them.

“Sire, do we have a plan ourselves?” Asked Turaz.

“Keep heading west until we hit the steppes. We'll loop up around through the March and then take Îrilôs's ship to Ar-Athazîon. From there...” Aharôs turned around, fingers tightening on his sword's handle. “Well, I'll be killing Reshîv one way or another. I look forward to it.”

“No doubt...” The knight said quietly. The thought of kinslaying was not one that made him comfortable. “Do you think we'll catch up with Queen Tempest at Kakâdras?”

“We had better.” He replied. “I doubt many ships would take two Equestrians directly to the capital.”

“Your highness,” Began Streaming Breeze, bowing her head. “After you take care of business at home, what are you going to do about Celestia?” Aharôs gave her a flat look.

“Invade Equestria, of course.”

Author's Notes:

In this chapter: Streaming Breeze gets more lines than in the rest of the story combined.

Oh yeah, there's been a change of plan. Upon contemplating the advice of one of my readers, I've decided to split this story into two separate things. This will be Part I, Part II will address the rest of the happenings. We're already over 100K words, and that can be quite intimidating to newcomers. And while I was re-structuring the story, I decided to eliminate some plot lines that served no real purpose other than to make time pass, thereby shortening this story by roughly 20K-30K words. That's why updates have been slow lately. That shouldn't be the case for long though, so prepare for Part II in roughly 3-4 more chapters!

As always, if you see anything that needs fixing, or have issues with something, just say so. I strive to improve.