The silence is deafening. Luc, Elizabeth and Daf are moving with a hurried grace
along the dirt roads along the border of the Jojatiim wilderness, with none of
them saying as much as a worse. There are no birds singing, nor any sound of
animals rustling in the undergrowth. Elizabeth is pulling ahead, with Daf close
by and Luc last in line.

"So... you really know nothing about the people following us?" Luc's voice
shatters the silence, and though calm, the suddenness of it makes Elizabeth
wince visibly.

"I am afraid not. I am not even certain that you are being hunted. I was merely
warned that it was likely." Daf responds in a completely unaffected voice. He
tilts his head curiously as Elizabeth turns to stare at them, but the moment
does not last long.

"If you've breath to talk, you've breath to walk faster." Elizabeth says with a
frustrated growl.

"Mom. I am just as shocked as you are that Grandfather is dead, but that is no
reason to charge out of Sendan with no cart, no animals, and only the supplies
of our backpack."

"We'll travel faster with a light load, and if we're to take the short-cut over
the lakes then we can't bring the wagon. I already told you that."

"But you did not tell me why the rush." Elizabeth stares harshly at Luc, but Luc
merely throws the glare back. "This won't work today mom."

"You really have to ask? You need to ask why I am in a rush to avenge my
family?"

"Of course I do!" Luc stops in her tracks, forcing the other two to halt their
progress as well. "You've always taught me to act with honour and care, yet now
you act with neither. You're abolishing the safety of the cart to get back home
quicker? At any other time I would be overjoyed that we're rushing home, but
what are we hurrying home for? To face a home where we are no longer welcome?"

"Yes. It will be our duty to return to the kingdom and reclaim the position that
belongs to us." Elizabeth frowns. "That is the honourable act."

"Then what if he lies? What if he is leading you into a trap? You've bought
everything he told you, and while it was certainly coherent you never even
stopped to consider it a trap. A lie created to trap you."

Elizabeth delivers a harsher growl now, and Luc backs of slightly. "Yes. A lie,
even though a simpler and more efficient trap could be laid. You're being
difficult Luc, but I will make it simple for you. If he is honest, then we need
to hurry back to stop the political mess. If he is lying, and indeed, leading me
into a trap then we must face that trap, defeat it, then continue home to reveal
whatever plot requires them to try and assassinate me. Understood? Good.
Then..." Elizabeth stops talking and looks behind herself. Luc and Daf do the
same, and the three tense their grip around their respective weapons.

"Hmm..." Luc coughs lightly. "What is this prickly feeling?"

"Ether. It's ether! Get down." Daf jumps onto Luc's back and knocks her prone,
just as a stream of crackling purplish energy flies directly over them. They
quickly jump back up on their feet, just as three distinct shapes emerge from
the undergrowth.

"I told you not to open the spirit channel, but no, you just had to fill the
area with ether and warn them didn't you?" The first one says. In the light, he
appears as a tall, highly muscular Loboshigaru covered in a thick pelt of a
bright sandy colour. He has a pair of deep blue eyes and his muzzle is bared in
a feral grin. A soft halo seems to surround him, the light strengthened by his
bright white robes, and the glowing rosary he has twisted around his left arm.

"I don't miss. There's no need to hurt them if they surrender peacefully." The
second one, a tall, white-furred Aslaran with purple robes and green eyes
respond. He wields a long, purple staff of swirling purple energy in his right
paw. "So how about it. Give up now and it'll all be over in a blink."

The last person is far more unique. She is tall, even taller than the
Loboshigaru, but her frame is much more slender. Her legs are a deep black,
while her waist fade through gray into a white upper body. Her face is more
muted than the whiteness of her chest, having a hue that mixes light pinks and
yellows with white. She is wearing a helmet that covers her eyes, along with two
bracelets, a choker and a pair of shoes, all made of brass. She says nothing,
but merely stands silently behind the other two.

"I can't believe it." Elizabeth says, her voice filled with genuine disbelief.
"A Power? You are bringing a Power against me? The Ethermancer I can understand,
but you, a member of the Ordo Exusiai, threathen me?"

"Hey woman. The order isn't just for preachers you know. Sometimes we need to
ensure that peace is kept, which means some of us bring the will of the Exusiai
to crooks like you."

"Claim disbelief if you wish. It does not alter a thing. You will surrender or
you will die. Make your choice."

"You are a fool to think that I will surrender to the likes of you. I will show
you just how foolish you are."

"As you will. But you will come to..." The Loboshigaru stops speaking and his
body tenses in surprise as Elizabeth begins an incantation.

"O Principle of the Light. In the depths of despair, shine the glory of thine
holy sword." As Elizabeth draws the blade, a flash of blinding light envelops
the area, while a powerful wind gusts the Loboshigaru and Aslaran away from her,
though the Power is unaffected. The Power tilts her head up, but stands
otherwise rigid.

"Mother!" Luc screams as she covers her eyes to shield herself from the flash of
light. She feels someone bump into her, and her blade is knocked out of her
hands. She frowns and freezes in place for the moments it takes for the light to
dim, before she quickly snatches up the sword and glances around to find Daf
picking up his lyre.

"You two run ahead." Elizabeth says, her back turned towards her daughter.

"What? But mom."

"I can handle these two losers easily, but I do not want you to fight. You can
not survive the demesne of a skilled Ethermancer. It is my fault for not
training you in this, but such is the truth. Leave, now. Daf, you will protect
her, and if you fail to do so, pray you find sanctuary among the Principles."

"Yes my lady."

"No. There is no way I'm leaving you to fight these guys on your own mom. We're
a team. We have always been a team. Daf. Support me here. You're a herald right?
You know the stories. It never ends well for the one left behind."

"Miss." Daf begins, but is quickly cut off by Elizabeth.

"This is not a fairy tale, and I'm not some incompetent nameless bastard. My
skill with the blade far exceeds yours, and while I can recite the Litanies, you
cannot even chant a cipher. Run. Now!"

"Lady Luc. We will leave." Before Luc can object again, Daf plays a few chords
upon his lyre, and Luc finds herself compelled to fall in line behind him. The
young furrikin then begins to run away, magically dragging Luc after her. It
does not take long before shafts of blue light spring up from the ground behind
them, followed shortly. Luc throws one last glance behind her, only to see her
mother struggling in close combat with the Power. The sight of the Power
blasting her mother with beams of light becomes too much for Luc to handle, and
she turns away again, running past Daf with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm a coward. I'm such a coward."