Exhaustion.

Hunger. Pain. Sorrow. 

The Autumn court was a slow train of fae creatures, cold and scared in the unclaimed Wyldes. While we had been in the Autumn lands the seasons outside of it slipped into the chill of late fall, and the unclaimed Wyldes were no exception. 

We didn't risk many fires, we didn't stop to hunt. We just marched on.

Until finally, after so much walking, we reached the first sign of Summer.

The dry leaves crunched under my boots as I walked. Watching where I stepped so as not to trip over a hidden rock or tree root as I went. The morning fog wasn't helping.

Spaulder to my left, Schula to his left, and Puko on my shoulder, we walked. For a long time, we walked.

A large rumble sounded from next to my ear, and I jumped.

'Spaulder?' I asked.

Schula snorted a laugh. 'Are you hungry? We can stop soon. I think we're close.'

'I am fine,' Spaulder insisted indignantly. 'It is not for younglings to pester their elders.'

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. There was absolutely no bite in his words, only a grumbling old dragon tossing empty threats to his triquetram.

Our merriment was cut short as a horn was sounded in the distance. High and bellowing, it rang through the trees ahead that blocked our vision for much of a distance and caused a stir of mumbling in the Autumn court.

"That is the Summer court," Aithne said, stepping forward.

We turned to face her, Puko flapping off of my shoulder to land on Spaulder's horns as we all turned around. 

"What does it mean?" Schula asked.

Aithne looked tired as she turned back to her unit of Summer warriors. Her red patterned skin and once-tight golden bun were now both dirty and disheveled. 

"Hayat, your horn," Aithne held her open hand toward the group. Her companion from the outpost, the water sprite with the halberd, approached her and handed her a small carved horn. As he did it, he kept his serious eyes trained on Spaulder. Fair enough, none of the Summer court had warmed to the idea of the dragon among us. Hells, even some of the Autumn fae weren't convinced, though they had little other choice but to follow us.

"Thank you, Hayat," Aithne murmured before turning back to Schula. "They want a return call that we are friendly. If I don't answer, they will assume we are in danger."

Spaulder rumbled, getting in closer. His dark scales brushed past me. His golden eyes burned as he bent down to better see Aithne. His head was so massive compared to any of us. His closeness to my heart made me forget how fierce he must be to anyone else, and I watched as many of the fae behind us, Summer and Autumn alike, baked away in fear. But Aithne stood still as he drew near. He huffed a breath of air through his nose, ruffling Aithne's hair and clothing. 

No tricks, fae,' Spaulder warned. 

Aithne nodded, lifting the horn to her lips and raising it to the sky.

Her horn sounded, light and melodious as it echoed through the trees of the unclaimed Wyldes. The thin mist still clinging to the trees adding an eerie feeling to the situation.

Schula stepped over to hold my hand as we both listened. The traces of Aithne's reply fading away as they stretched toward the Summer lands.

The Summer lands. 

I was both excited to finally reach a place where we could rest, and dreading what might be ahead for Schula and me.

My heart beat loudly in my ears. Spaulder must have been paying attention, because he moved a little closer, letting his wings and tail wrap behind us in a protective arc. Heat from his body noticeably warmed the air around us as we waited.

Another horn. Two short bursts, and then a longer sound. The Summer court had replied.

"We should move forward," Aithne said. "They will greet us, and they have food."

Food. The word sparked conversation in the mass of fae following us. Summer and Autumn alike, we had all been pressing on for far too long.

"Let's go then," Schula said. It didn't take any more convincing than that for our procession to move again.

'There won't be enough food for a group of this size,' Schula said for me and Spaulder to hear. 'I propose we find some more the moment we get a camp established.'

'Agreed,' I answered. 'I'll forage. I want to see if I come across any plants for spells while I'm looking for food.'

'Good call, I'll hunt,' Schula said.

'As will I,' Spaulder added.

It wasn't long before the clinging morning mist dissipated and the trees opened up. Finally, we were getting our first look into the Summer lands after so long in the unclaimed Wyldes.

Sun. The sunshine was the first thing I noticed. It seemed impossible that the very sun in the sky could feel so different when just a short distance behind us it was chilly and bleak. Here, the golden sun reached down to warm your skin with the kiss of a summer day. I remembered for a moment that the Summer lands were my first steps into the Wyldes with Eberon so long ago. 

Once I got over the warm rays beaming down over us my eyes roamed over the hills. Green, vibrant hills. Crystal clear streams, and abundant trees in the height of summer were scattered everywhere. In a grove of hawthorn trees ahead of us I could already see the Summer fae that were waiting with cautious eyes. Almost all of them were focused on Spaulder, and more than a few had hands on weapons, just in case.

'Friendly,' Spaulder commented.

'No worse than you, Spaulder,' Schula quipped teasingly.

As we drew closer and paused between the borders and the hawthorn grove, the collective train of the Autumn court fae creatures. There were so many of us. They slowly made their way into the warm sunlight of the Summer meadows, a mixture of relief and uncertainty among them.

Aithne went straight to the hawthorn grove to speak with her court. She took her followers with her, many of them giving us one more cautious glance as they passed.

"Schula, what do you want us to do?" A nymph in a vibrant orange Autumn fashioned dress approached us. She looked like she could fall asleep on her feet, the circles under her eyes were dark and heavy.

"I think we will be able to make a camp here," Schula said. "We're much safer now than we were out there."

We all glanced behind us to the unclaimed Wyldes. I shivered, glad to be out of there. I hadn't realized until now, but I think my shoulders had remained stiff the entire time we traveled.

"I'll make sure," Schula said, then turned to me. "Wren..."

"I've got them," I said. "As long as they'll listen to the elven witch."

Schula gave me a sympathetic look before turning away and heading toward Aithne. Puko cawed, taking to the air from his previous perch and flying behind her. 

I took a deep breath and then turned to our group of refugees. The last of the trail of fae creatures were finally gathering around. The group was so large, I worried that we would all be able to make it to safety. We may have left the things of the unclaimed Wyldes behind us, but we were still trapped between the Summer court ahead of us and an army of risen dead behind.

The faces that flashed my way were tired. Weary of me. Some didn't trust me, others didn't trust Schula or Spaulder. And some trusted none of us at all. 

I sighed. 'What are we going to do, Spaulder?' I asked.

He sighed as well. With his giant form it was much more noticeable, and a few heads turned his way as he leaned down and laid on the ground. Draping his neck around where I stood and his tail the other way I was nearly completely encircled in his warmth. 

I closed my eyes, smiling as I walked over and leaned against his neck. 

'At its heart, war is simple,' he began. 'There will always be complications in the details, but in the end it is one side against the other. I cannot tell you what will happen, but I can tell you I will be with you through it all. I have no attachment to this place, these people. My attachment is to you and Schula, and only you and Schula. And if a time must come that the people that you are attached to here will fall irredeemably, I will find a way to save you both. If we have no others, we will have each other.'

I buried my face into his warm neck. 'That doesn't make me feel any better.'

'I will not lie to you, little one. War will end lives. Some of them may be lives you love. But I will promise to do what I can for your cause. I love you, Wren.'

A tear slipped from my eyes and I pulled back to wipe it away. Foolish. There was no time now for tears.

'I love you too, Spaulder.'

'Chin up now. These people need you.' Spaulder lifted away his head and tail, curling instead for his own comfort and not to conceal me any longer.

I took a deep breath, running my fingers along his warm black scales. 'Thank you.'

Stepping forward, I went to the nearest fae as they were sitting in the warm grass. Many had taken to laying down, possibly resting before they were told to move again. I felt for them, but I also needed to make sure we were allowed to stay here.

'I'm back,' Schula announced to me and Spaulder. 'We can set up a camp in the grove. They have some food, but as we suspected it won't be enough to go around.'

I glanced at her across the meadow. She was already on her way back. 'You don't have to come back, I'll let them know. We'll be over there soon.'

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward in the warm grass. My eyes met the closest group of fae. Huddled together and visibly exhausted. Some were weary of my approach, but I didn't let it get to me. It wasn't even close to the scorn of humans. 

"We've been granted permission to camp in the hawthorn grove." I spoke loud enough that I could be heard by many of the Autumn court, and trusted that my words would be spread farther from there. "Some food is present, but we will be gathering more. Please let the worst among us have the first bites to eat and have a little patience while we find more."

I stared out over them. They were tired, but they were even more hungry. I wasn't certain they would listen to me, but finally a few of the fae creatures stood. A dryad. A stone sprite. Two fae. As some stood, more followed until eventually we had a line moving into the safety of the trees.

I let out a slow breath and waited for them all. Some were old, though not many looked it. A trait I still wasn't used to in the magic of the Wyldes. Others were simply small, weak, fearful, or tired. Some were all of those things. 

Though it was daytime and the sun was still rising to its peak, the fae creatures still settled down to sleep the moment they reached safety. The rest of the morning was filled with situating our people into some semblance of order, feeding who we could, and foraging after that. 

I had the good fortune of still carrying my bag on my back as we fled Thanantholl, all of my books and some of my supplies remaining with me. After finding many things that my mother's book had drawn out as edible and a few that were listed with magical properties, I broght back what I could to the grove and sat down to rest.

Before sleep overtook me, I stole away a moment to write down what I could remember of that moment at the wall.

I stole its life. The risen dead. I managed to drain it all away, and the creature fell back into the slumber of death. I shivered at the thought.

But if I could do it again, I would. I still hadn't gotten to talk about it properly with Spaulder and Schula. Even through the long stretches of silence these last days in the Wyldes, I held my tongue.

The cost of what I did was high before, and surely it would be higher if I used it on something stronger. But if we encountered Bara Khalja. If I could just reach him, would it work? Was he still man, or was he as dead as the things he summoned back to their feet?

I put away my pen and closed my book once it dried. I looked over to Schula who was fast asleep on Spaulder. I presumed they were both asleep, but with the dragon I could never quite tell.

Looking up at the sun filtering through the thick green leaves of the trees, I sighed. So many problems to overcome. So many unknowns. Was Thain okay? Eberon? Nassir? Had Thanantholl repelled the attack, or was it still under siege? 

Or something worse?

I rolled over, ignoring the sun. 

The Summer lands. Surely our problems would only grow here.

My eyes fell, heavy with exhaustion. 

Summer. Peyorla. War.

My mind swirled with the thoughts that haunted me, until they all faded away into sleep. The warm sun my blanket, and the grass at Spaulder's side my bed.

Finally... asleep.