Aneira hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until she released it all at once in a shaky exhale upon seeing everyone she knew from Ledah alive. Ministers Las and Morres were both weary, their clothes displaying burn marks from the initial fires, but still in good shape, relatively untouched by the course of the battle. The two, along with Duke Cadogan, were sheltered in a hidden space where weapons were stocked just outside of the green training space. They were all relieved to see her alive, and upon seeing their hopeful expressions, she realized that they may not have expected to see her again after being captured.

Aneira ensured that they were alright, giving them a hurried rundown of what she'd seen in passing of the battle, before spinning on her heel to slip out again. Las clasped her arm before she could exit, their piercing green eyes once more keeping her in place.

"Ser arden, captain. And best of luck out there. We hope to see you back here safe as soon as duty releases you from her hold." They offered her a supportive smile and Aneira nodded, reciprocating it easily as she always did around the friendly minister of agriculture.

As soon as she managed a quick goodbye to both of the ministers and the duke — promising, of course, that she would do her best to organize the troops and defend the stronghold — Aneira left the small building in search of Carys. Above all else, she had to make sure her friend was okay; she didn't think she'd be able to win this without her.

Her grey eyes scanned the rubble around her as she darted across the edges of the field. Carys wasn't a fighter, so Aneira assumed that she wouldn't have been on the battlefield, unless she had been forced upon it. She chewed anxiously on the inside of her cheek as she hurried around, turning more and more desperate when she still couldn't find the girl.

"Aneira?" A voice asked in a curious whisper. She spun around to see Carys, her dark hair made even darker by the soot. Her blue eyes were as brilliant as ever, wide with a sort of hopeful disbelief, as she rushed over to envelop Aneira in a hug. They held each other tight for a moment, both sinking with relief that both of them were alright.

"I know you want to hear all about what's happened to me since I've seen you," Aneira told her, laughing softly as Carys opened her mouth to speak and then abruptly shut it. "And I promise that I'll tell you everything, after this battle is over. I really need to get out there, but I just wanted to make sure nothing had happened to you first."

She assumed at first that Carys was going to groan dramatically as she always did and beg for Aneira to tell her right then. But instead Aneira saw tears begin to run tracks down her dirtied cheeks as she wrapped her up in another hug.

"I love you, okay? Stay safe. I really don't want to lose you today," Carys murmured. Aneira held her tighter, slightly bewildered by the sudden intimacy between them. She nodded.

"I love you too, Carys. But you don't have to worry about a thing. I'll be back as soon as I can to fill you in on all the drama." She gave her friend one last squeeze before backing away, waving a quick goodbye as she turned and trotted onto the battlefield.

Aneira began to wonder where she would be most useful. It would be hard to get to the front of the fray directly, since there's so many soldiers still fighting. That would promise death for sure. I suppose I could sneak around the back and fall in line when an opening appears, and work my way in through there... She studied the course of the battle for a moment before her eyes caught on something else off to the edge of the field. On a small hill not too far away, a man towered over someone kneeling, creeping up behind them with a staff held at the ready.

She squinted, barely able to make out the details of the silhouettes. Her heart picked up speed, galloping with nerves as she recognized the person crouched down. Devyn. Aneira burst into a run at once, her feet stumbling over themselves until they adjusted to the quick pace. She internally cursed herself for dismissing Claer; it would have been nice to have the dragon's speed with her in that moment.

As the man with the staff — who Aneira soon realized was the Dregian chancellor — stepped closer and readied his weapon, she realized that she had to do something to stop him. It wouldn't have been enough to simply alert Devyn to the man's presence behind her; the girl wouldn't have had any time to react to the threat. She'd have to do something with Kemble himself. Aneira fished for the small throwing knife still strapped to her belt.

Aneira held it up to the light, watching for a moment as the blade glimmered before her. She sent a quick prayer to Sera as she watched the light reflect off of the silver blade. Then she gathered her focus, aligned her aim, and threw the dagger.

The weapon hit her target exactly where she wanted it to, catching the man in the upper part of his leg. Kemble grunted with pain as his knees gave out and he stumbled to the ground. Devyn, still crouching over what Aneira soon realized was a body, spun around upon hearing the noise. Her dark eyes landed first on Kemble as she came to realize the danger she'd just been in, then leapt to hers.

"I figured you'd want to finish him off yourself," Aneira mumbled, offering her a sheepish smile. She felt a light flush crawling its way onto her cheeks, a result of Devyn's fixed stare. "I obviously could have finished him off myself, though. I've got a good aim."

"Obviously," Devyn murmured in response. Her expression was filled with lingering grief and guilt, but she still managed to offer Aneira a small smirk that only made her insides fill with even more butterflies. "I guess you saved me, then."

Aneira shrugged, making her way carefully over to the girl. She stopped a fair distance from the corpse Devyn was kneeling beside; she didn't want to intrude on whatever personal moment she'd been walking in on. Devyn seemed to realize this and inclined her head towards the motionless body.

"This is Rhona. It's... It's really a shame you didn't get to meet them alive." Her voice was hoarse as she quietly uttered the words. She coughed to clear her throat.

"Oh, Devyn..." Aneira whispered. "I'm so sorry." She could feel her own tears leaping to the corners of her eyes upon seeing just how badly the death had crushed Devyn.

The girl nodded solemnly. Her eyes landed again on her friend's body, flitted back to Aneira, and then repeated the sequence a few more times. Her mouth opened partway as if to say something, before she shut it. Now wasn't the time; Aneira could understand that.

A garbled groan split the silence after a moment, bringing their attention back to the injured chancellor. He had sat up with some effort and had pulled the knife from his leg. A bad move, Aneira silently chided. If that wound were anywhere else, he'd be bleeding out as soon as the weapon was removed from it. She leapt forward and kicked the weapon from his hand, causing it to roll across the grass and partway down the low hill they were still gathered on. The man's glare, directed fully at her, turned deadly with rage.

Aneira stumbled back as quickly as she could as Kemble lunged halfheartedly to grab at her legs. "Any chance you could return to this later, Devyn? I'm pretty sure this guy's going to manage to kill me with his bare hands unless you get it over with now."

Devyn raised her head. Aneira watched as she clenched and unclenched her hands, over and over, before nodding and slowly rising. For a moment the vulnerable girl disappeared altogether, replaced only with a coldhearted captain as she paced, shoulders pulled back, to where the chancellor had propped himself up.

Aneira stepped back to watch from the side. Even despite the distance between them, she didn't miss the flicker of panic that flitted through Kemble's eyes as Devyn approached him. The man straightened up a little, opening his mouth to say something. He was cut off after the first syllable, Devyn's boot pinning down his shoulders before he could get up.

"You thought you'd get away with this, hm?" Devyn growled. The man's eyebrows furrowed. "You're never getting away for what you did. You're going to live with regret and sorrow for the rest of your miserable little life. Which won't be long, by the way. You're not leaving this battle alive, Kemble." Those words seemed to make it sink in for the chancellor, because he remained silent as she continued. "You've treated me as nothing more than a servant. A little doll you could mess around with. A puppet, if you will. You made me feel as if I was worth dragon shit. But I'm worth so much more than that, and you must be really hardheaded if you haven't seen it." She slipping her sword from its sheath, the sound of metal sliding against leather a sharp sound amid the mumbles of battle in the distance. "So I'm done with you, Kemble. We're all done with you. There'll be no more tormenting, no more torturing, no more lies, and no more violence. This-"

Kemble finally mustered the courage to cry out. "Chysgod!" He screeched, his eyes wild as he looked to the sky. Devyn gave him a kick in frustration, but he only screwed his eyes shut for a moment before continuing. "Chysgod, my friend! A little help?"

Aneira raised her gaze from the scene as she heard the flapping of wings. Chysgod glided in, having likely been soaring far above the whole while. His milky white eyes glinted in the dim light of the battlefield. The shadow raven let out a soft clucking sound as he observed Devyn and the chancellor. He didn't land, gliding in a lazy circle around the two.

"Chysgod! Come! Do you not listen to your master any longer? What good are you for if you will not?" Kemble demanded. A smile slowly curled its way onto his lips as Chysgod's wings slowed for him to drift down to perch.

But instead of alighting upon Kemble's shoulder, the raven tentatively perched on Devyn's. The dark-haired girl stared at the bird for a long moment, too shocked to move; Kemble was similarly bewildered, not bothering to struggle against the heel of her boot. The bird clicked his beak a few times before ruffling his feathers and beginning to preen.

Aneira had only heard rumors of the shadow ravens. She didn't know what was fact or what was fiction; it wasn't as if her curriculum at the stronghold had focused on magical beasts. From what she had heard about the birds, however, was that they could sense whether a person was good or bad. Chysgod had chosen Devyn over Kemble; that seemed to be a clear indication that the rumor was true. Kemble was not a good person.

Devyn finally managed to shake herself back into focus, returning her gaze to Kemble. The chancellor's eyes were still wild with horror and Devyn seemed to relish it. She swung her blade around to rest the tip of it at the man's throat. Even from where she stood, Aneira could see Kemble's throat bob as he swallowed and turned his attention to the girl above him.

"This marks the end of your tyranny, Kemble; this marks the end of you," her voice was barely a whisper as she jabbed the blade of her sword into the man's neck. Blood pooled up immediately, and Kemble only twitched for a moment before going still. It had been a quick death; whether that was appropriate or not, Aneira knew not.

Devyn slipped her sword out of the dead chancellor's neck, wiping off the excess blood that had collected on the blade. She grimaced as the fabric of her jacket stained a darker red. Aneira stepped forward, hesitantly, and took the girl's hand.

"Good riddance," Devyn spat shakily, shooting the man's lifeless body a sharp glare. The blonde led her away after that, away from the hill of death.