The Knights had been marching for weeks now. They started before dawn and ended late at night. Jeth's knee hurt all the time now, but he did not complain. The only interruptions to the days of marching were battles. The Knights were outnumbered by Darkomal's soldiers, but still made progress toward the capital, though it was slow. Darkomal had underestimated their resolve. The faces of the men Jeth had killed loomed in his mind at night. Only a few short months ago, his father had been alive. He had had a home. He had been happy. He had not had the blood of other human beings on his hands.

He confided these thoughts to Gavin. Gavin looked at him with sad eyes and said simply "I know." He did not try to assure Jeth that everything would be alright, because there are no guarantees in life, especially in wartime. But they would face it bravely, together.

Gavin thought he had it better than Jeth at this point in time, though. He had been reconciled with his father. Talon and Rauroc had their families. But Jeth no longer had a family. 

So it went on, day after day, battle after battle, mile after mile. Eventually, they met up with the rest of the forces. Finally, they reached the capital. It was time to attack Malgard Fortress. 

On the night before the great battle, the Knights made camp in a forest which bordered the stronghold on one side. On the other side of the stronghold was the town. It had rained and the wood was wet, so it was difficult to make a fire, though they couldn't make very large fires anyway, even behind the trees, or their presence could be detected. Eventually, they succeeded in making several small fires.

Gavin sat beside one of these fires. He was frightened, more frightened than he had ever been before. He gritted his teeth. He was shaking slightly, even beside the warm campfire. He must be strong, for Jeth, he told himself. He must be calm. He must not show his fear. Jeth had helped him so much back in Derlos, helped him to see he was still worth something, even when his father seemed to think he wasn't. He remembered all the times he had gone over to Jeth and Joseph's house for dinner, and the times he had slept there when Steph had been very drunk. Jeth would never know how much he had helped. Gavin thought he could never repay Jeth. He thought of Jeth sitting beside him back in Derlos, going fishing with him, and, more recently,  tossing and turning from nightmares in their makeshift tent. He thought of his father, Steph, who he had so recently made peace with. He thought of Talon and Rauroc, who even now were sitting near him, joking around, as usual, though he knew it was only to hide their fears. He thought of home. What if he never saw it again? Was it even still standing? What if he died? What if his friends died? This was the worst thought of all. Jeth especially was as close as a brother. How could he live on , if Jeth did not?

Jeth came to sit beside Gavin. He knew Gavin was frightened, no matter how much he tried to hide it. He said "worrying won't help, Gavin. It doesn't change a thing. We are fighting for a just cause, and whatever happens, we will know that. But we will prevail, and if not us, then those that come after us, for good always triumphs in the end." These words were oddly comforting to Gavin, though they did not really address his fears. Maybe it was Jeth's calm and accepting tone of voice. 

Jeth looked at Gavin, Talon, and Rauroc. Gavin had always been his best friend, but now Jeth thought of him as a brother. Rauroc and Talon had been people who were fun to spend time with, but now they were comrades at arms. How things had changed in the past months. Jeth hoped desperately that they were all still alive in 24 hours.

The next morning, before dawn, the Knights came out of the woods. A small, elite team began to scale the walls. They were able to open the gates. Then the rest of the Knights poured in as finally the alarm was sounded and Darkomal's army poured out.

Gavin stayed beside Jeth, but the two of them were soon swept away from Talon and Rauroc by the tides of battle. Darkomal's soldiers had thicker and stronger armor than the Knights, which made them harder to kill, but it also made them slower and less maneuverable. Jeth saw Maldrodn and charged toward him. Having a proper weapon now, he figured he would stand a little more of a chance. He danced around Maldrodn, being lighter and quicker, but if this went on for too long, Maldrodn would exhaust him. Maldrodn hit Jeth's helmet with his sword. That helmet saved his life. Jeth stumbled, dazed by the blow, and Maldrodn tried to press his advantage. But Jeth, recovering a little, lunged forward and managed to drive his sword through a chink in Maldrodn's armor, killing him.

The battle raged on. Jeth saw Aldros fighting with staff and sword against a soldier in red and black armor. This soldier was Darkomal himself, come out to lead his army in Maldrodn's stead. Jeth saw Aldros fall, slain by Darkomal. He ran forward angrily to challenge Darkomal. But he wasn't as good a fighter as Darkomal, and he was already injured. Darkomal slammed his sword down on Jeth's right shoulder, the shoulder of his sword arm. He could no longer raise his sword to strike Darkomal, and Darkomal was about to strike a killing blow. Gavin saw this and wild eyed, no longer thinking, leaped in front of Jeth, knocking him out of the way. Darkomal stabbed Gavin and turned back to Jeth. 

Just then, Bran came at Darkomal and they engaged in combat. Jeth crawled toward Gavin. Gavin was very pale, but he tried weakly to smile at Jeth and call his name. He was barely breathing, barely conscious. Jeth remembered his nightmare. This could not be happening in real life this time. He wouldn't let it happen. He slid his good left arm around Gavin's shoulders. Gavin managed to wrap his right arm around Jeth's shoulders. Jeth stood up and began to walk. Gavin tried weakly to help by moving his feet. Jeth knew he had little chance of getting Gavin off the battlefield, and even less chance of Gavin surviving beyond that if he didn't get help. Jeth was not medically trained. But he had to try. Jeth staggered under Gavin's weight as Gavin lost consciousness. Then he moved on, slowly. 

Then, a voice. "Here, let me help," it said, and Gavin was lifted off of him. Jeth looked up, and to his surprise, saw Joren. He watched as Joren carried Gavin away. Then Jeth stumbled forward for a few more steps, before his knees buckled and he surrendered to the darkness.

Darkomal's sword clanged against Bran's. They fought back and forth, now one gaining ground, now the other. Darkomal had to admit that Bran was every bit as good a fighter as he was. Finally, Darkomal, exhausted, surrendered. Bran smiled.