"Are you really going?" Denara asked as he shouldered his trusty satchel. Canelis's sword bounced against its sides—safe and sound.

Nyxis spent last night raiding Denara's stash of clothes and found himself a decent tunic, a pair of trousers, a pair of tight, buckled boots, and some interesting things. In his search, he uncovered ancient female armor consisting of a sculpted breastplate, a belt that connected to greaves that covered thighs, and at least four shoulder pads and arm covers. All of them shone in a strange sheen that he hadn't seen for a long time. They were made of Dwarven metal.

So was an ensemble of weapons kept wickedly sharp and functional. Daggers, swords, maces, scythes, and axes. What had she hid those for?

Back in the present, he studied Denara's frame and cursed himself for not seeing it earlier. This woman was a warrior as testified by the sculpted muscles in her arms and the callouses in her hands. She could wield a sword as well as any of them and she has great control over water. She's someone they need in the war.

Nyxis shook his head, dispelling that thought. Denara was fine here. Besides, it's not like she could leave as she wished. He heaved a sigh and jerked his chin to where he first found her armor. "Get ready to use those weapons. The war will reach you whether you like it or not."

"We are talking about you leaving," Denara braced her hips with her hands and cocked her head to one side. "The war will not find me here."

"I found you," Nyxis raised an eyebrow. The lip of the cave that met the raging ocean was coming closer as they walked side by side. "There is no stopping any of them up there either. You are not as invincible as you think you are."

Denara hummed, unconvinced. "I can fight an army and live. Trust me, I am fine here, Nyxis," she glanced at him and gave him a quick look up and down. "I am more worried about you."

Nyxis shrugged. "I can fight an army and live," he snickered when Denara frowned at his attempt to throw her statement back at her. "You have not seen what I can do."

"Oh, I do not want to find out," Denara crossed her arms even when a smile was already playing on her lips.

"When the war is over," Nyxis blurted. "I will come back for you."

What in Umazure was he spouting now?

Denara snorted.Yes, there's no way she would take that seriously. "I am done hoping for things to come back," she looked straight into his eyes and damn, were they so...mesmerizing. "Especially you."

Good. That's better, right? "No, this is a promise I intend to keep, no matter what," Nyxis's mouth said. Oh, come on! "I am not the only one given a second chance. Perhaps, you will be too. I will free you from this cave."

"Boys and their silly promises," Denara rolled her eyes, pushing him gently forward. Walk faster, she seemed to be implying. "You are not fooling anyone here, Nyxis. Just go and do what you have to do. Win this war for me. I would hate it if someone I spent loads of rare potions on would just end up as a corpse somewhere."

Nyxis found himself laughing even if the humor erred to the dark side. "I promise I will come back for you after everything is over. I swear on Daexis's name. Let me pay you back for all that you have done for me."

Denara paused. She knew how heavy those words were. Nyxis did too. To swear in Daexis's name meant severe punishment in the afterlife in the event of not being able to fulfill it. "Now, do not ever think that I am not serious," Nyxis winked at her. Well, there's no taking it back now, right? It's there. His heart had spoken what his mouth wouldn't in a thousand years.

Denara opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water.

Nyxis chuckled. "Just work your magic and let me pass," he waved his hand over the raging waves now creeping up on the horizon.

Denara unfroze and jogged towards the lip of the cave to do her work. Within seconds, the same wall of water greeted him. This was it. He was really going back. Nyxis took one step into the dry ground that was dominated by water before. The world would kill for such raw power as this.

He took a step and another, each one carrying him farther from the place where he found something more than himself. He didn't dare look back since he was afraid that he would never want to leave. Farther and farther, he walked. One step closer to the one that has been calling him, singing its wild song in his heart and mind. With every step forward, he got closer to his throne.

Unfortunately, to the brewing war too.

Nyxis lost count of how many days he's been on the road.

It didn't take long for him to realize what the world had become after a long time in that cave. In Dwanzeig, imperious forests have now been reduced into barren fields. Fairy-shaped figures made from straw decorated with swords and daggers stuck into their bodies lined these fields, too weary and dry under the harsh sun. Were they supposed to be...training dummies?

What did Jonadrin have to say about these developments? What was Dwanzeig doing?

Over the past few days, his memory guided him towards borders. He fell in line for indefinite numbers of hours along the structures of patched mud and small huts called outposts. It's a good thing that no one knew him outside his circle of friends. He was hardly stopped as guards took one look at his face and decided that he's not worthy of attention.

Just as he intended.

As he traveled, he made it a point to stop checking his hair or his face. He stole a cloak from one of the training dummies on one of the numerous fields he had passed by and tucked his satchel close to him. Don't look anyone in the eye. Don't raise one's head above others. As a safety measure, he had been dunking a potion that made his face hazy to anyone trying to scrutinize him.

The border between Diven and Flaron now lined Nyxis's horizon as he walked through Diven's roads. Nyxis narrowed his eyes at the trees flanking the road and scratched his hair. The landscape had changed since he was last here. The grove was thinner. Why did Diven look so...dead?

As if hit by a sudden realization, he looked around. The once-bustling roads filled with merchants and brownies mingling and doing trade were now quiet and still. The wind blew notches colder—a feat that rarely happened in the North, especially Diven. There were a lot of suncrowns growing here and the cold wouldn't be ideal for them.

Indeed, as he walked the roads leading northwest while following that burning feeling curling around his magic, limp plants waved at him from their lines by the forest floor. Even the trees looked like they were barely standing and could topple over any moment.

A distant memory ran through Nyxis's head. Jonadrin, after having invited Nyxis to Gandirk, reported that Alkara was taken over by the Sovereign early on, and that Cyrdel, Ravalee, and Airene were missing. Should he try looking for them since he's already in the area?

The warmth in his veins told him no. He should focus on finding his throne. The only question was...where was it?

He reached into his satchel and pulled the last of the orange crop Denara had given him. It had been his staple food during his travels and he's getting tired of it. He glanced around the current road he's in and frowned. The absence of merchant caravans parked on their usual place by the path was a glaring problem. That meant he couldn't buy crops. He had no taste for metal trinkets either.

He shook his head for the thirtieth time as a brownie waved her wares at his face. He had passed at least fifty brownie shacks—all containing some kind of inventor selling things for a small amount of versallis. On a normal day, these inventions would fetch a high price in the market or even the underground trade, but this wasn't the case right now.

During the times he was forced to fall in line on borders, he chatted up the people around him and learned that Cardovia had been closing off trading routes and the merchants who wished to pass were charged a hefty amount just to get to the other side. Some big trading companies were able to pay but small businesses either got locked in the city they're in or they couldn't pass through to conduct their trades.

In short, it was a disaster.

Nyxis saw the effect of that here. More than half of the brownie population in this city were merchants and with most of them not able to go home, the city was reminded of their absence. Trades shut down. Those who remained home couldn't go out to make money.

The stocks should have fed a lot of brownies here but from what Nyxis could see, it seemed that even nature gave up on them. In just two months, the plants withered, the trees drooped and bore fruits less. Water running their course in rivers and springs dried into weak sputters. In just a short while, the brownie territory had succumbed into the most miserable condition there was.

It made Nyxis's stomach churn every time his thoughts wandered towards that.

Now, as he fell in line waiting his turn to pass through to Flaron, he stared up a brownie with thick hair and a dusty cloak. His feet ached and his shoulders were stiff but he needed to do something. He was also looking forward to catching a few hours of sleep in Flaron.

Nyxis made a show of craning his head up the wall in awe before sidling close to the fairy in front of him. "Nice day for border-crossing, eh?" he made sure to crack a laidback grin.

The man turned out to be a fairy whose jaw was clad in rugged facial hair. "I am just trying to get home, you know?" he said in accented Ylanenla.

Nyxis resisted the urge to wince. Northern people and their thick accents, especially the local brownies—they're one of the hardest ones to understand. He had heard the Crown Prince speak and Nyxis could swear that even Cyrdel, as trained as he was to master a neutral accent in dealing with matters of the court, slipped into that fancy accent especially when he got riled up.

"Where are you from?" Nyxis said. Empathy. He needed more empathy in his tone.

The man stared at him with dark brown eyes, almost as dark as Xanthy's but without the additional sparkle. "I am a merchant from Lanteglos," the brownie glanced at the people behind Nyxis as if they posed danger. "Luckily, I got out before the Seelie Court seized the trade routes and closed it all down. Things had been chaotic ever since the High Queen died."

Nyxis bobbed his head. He knew because he was there when she did. He tore a huge chunk off of the Imperial Palace because they wounded his face. Of course, he wouldn't tell the man he just met on a line by the border that piece of information. Instead, he just cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea what lies in Flaron?"

The man glanced at the sky now void of colorful canopies that once turned the forest floor into a dappled painting. "Not much," the fairy scratched his beard. "The latest news the Daily Trinket spat out was that there was some sort of a forest malfunction with regards to the trees."

Nyxis knitted his eyebrows, looking around for some hint of it. He found none. The cobbled roads continued to be polished albeit a bit dry and lifeless. "Forest malfunction?"

"According to the news, trees just snapped in two and started falling," the man gestured to the line of trees decorating the horizon, marking the point where Nyxis had just come from. "These are not just normal, twig trees with twig branches. No, they are ancient Helditais."

Nyxis raised his eyebrows. Heldita? Those were as hard as stone and often required a different kind of metal for fairies to be able to cut one down. If they just fell without anyone doing anything, then things on the island were worse than Nyxis had originally thought. "What else?" he forced out despite the ringing that began in his ears.

The man shrugged. "I do not know, some fugitives making it in, perhaps? There was some talk about the Imperial Crown Princess being sighted around these parts but I cannot be too sure about that."

Nyxis bobbed his head. Ah, good, old April. She's still on the loose? That big white vulkraine was still terrorizing people? Was she behind the forest malfunction? He schooled his face to a neutral facade. "No one can be too sure these days from what I have seen," he said.

Their conversation died when the man looked away with a grunt. Nyxis wasn't concerned with what he learned. He didn't know how many days passed after the malfunction happened but whatever that was must have passed by now. Besides, if it came to falling trees, Nyxis had better luck since he technically returned to life just now.

The line moved further. Thanks be to the gods. The usual border sentries were present, haggling everyone of their passes. Nyxis may or may have not snagged one from an unsuspecting bystander back in Thenaserine. He should be safe if he just sneaked past one border and not everyone he came across.

When it was his turn to finally be checked, Nyxis dug around in his pockets and produced a crumpled piece of parchment where a single name was scrawled on it. Haemir Luthor.

The sentry looked at Nyxis with hard, green eyes. His helmet shielded most of his head but Nyxis could tell that he was probably a pixie or a shard fairy hiding his wings. He could never be sure about border sentries these days. Most of them were people looking for jobs. That made crossing borders easy if Nyxis was not a wanted criminal or someone that happened to look like one.

To prove his point, the sentry in front of him took one look at the name scrawled at the pass and back at Nyxis. "You're Haemir?"

Nyxis nodded mutely. It's no use responding since his accent or his use of Ylanenla might be a dead giveaway. He was quite thankful to Xanthy and June for speaking so much Keijula around him that he was able to understand a few words but not enough for a direct conversation.

"Mute, are ya, boy?" the sentry asked before giving Nyxis a not-so-subtle hit on the head. "Run along to your mother while she still lives!"

Nyxis gritted his teeth. The other border sentry chuckled at the apparent joke they shared. He swallowed his retort and passed between the two sentries and into Flaron. What was he supposed to feel at the reference to his mother? They didn't even know her. She's dead, witches.

A sigh tore from his lips. Just go. These people didn't deserve to see a single spell from him no matter how inglorious it was. They weren't worth the time.

Then, the warmth in his veins intensified, filling his head with the guidance that he needed. It's...not here. He walked farther, the forest still thick yet lifeless around him. There were fewer animal sounds peppering the air. His eyes scanned every direction available. Light steps. Magic at the ready. If there was anyone who had the courage to leap at him in this forest, they would have to die first.

He continued walking for at least an hour. Or was it two? He wasn't sure. His intuition was what guided him through Flaron. If it somehow led him towards a cliff to die, then so be it. He passed tree after tree and there's still no traces of the so-called forest malfunction.

Has there been no rain for a long time? Really, in Flaron? He tapped a foot against the ground and instead of the soft and almost muddy earth, he was greeted with chalky dust. This was...

"You won't summon anything with that kind of ritual, you know?" a voice spoke behind Nyxis.

Nyxis whirled, a spell already flying out of his lips as his magic tore out of his hand and into a man that wore some kind of a robe. Was it...blue? The man dodged with grace fit for a breeze, extended his hand, and a force made out of ice crystals slapped Nyxis's spell out of the way. It exploded into a shower of shards and light and soon, the ground was wet with...water.

Ice and water.

Nyxis stared at the man that he had just attacked. Pointy ears stuck out from the sides of his head. Dark eyes were trained at Nyxis. Black hair so much like Nyxis's fell in straight locks and framed the fairy's face. It's...what Adresin looked like when he got into a crazy phase of growing out his hair.

This was...

The man smiled, his pale complexion a stark difference against Nyxis's tan skin. "Come with me," he said in a calm yet authoritative tone. "Your throne awaits you."