The autumn sky was fiery.

They rode with only escorts, seven other men on horseback at full speed northeast of Kilead. They had left the castle that morning and had been riding for hours now, Xanth had let go of the amount of time they had been riding, but the chills in the air and the orange sky told him that it was nearing evening time. None of the men riding with him knew where he had in mind that he was going to, not even Xanth, he had not bothered to ask when they had left the castle because it was Ryder’s hobby to go riding occasionally but this one bothered him a little because they had been riding head-on and Ryder didn’t have the slightest will of turning back.

They had just passed the outskirts of Kilead when Ryder pulled his horse to slow down and so did the rest. They had passed the last village only minutes ago but they were so far away that they could not even see the smoke rising from the chimneys. They were still in Astaroth but had left the capital, what lay ahead of them was a vast valley with a small forest on one side, it would take another hour or so of riding to enter the next village. Villages in the northeast of Astaroth were scanty and spread out wide apart from each other.

“Find us a clearing to stay for the night.” Ryder said to the man closest to him on his left.

“Right away my Lord.” He bowed and turned his horse away, another man following him.

Xanth pulled his horse up to Ryder’s. “I haven’t been able to read you today.” He spoke and Ryder turned to him, no expression on his straight face. Xanth looked ahead and continued. “But this path leads northeast, towards Eldham.”

Ryder sighed and looked on ahead, the place they were was on the elevated ground so they could see the whole valley and some hills on the other side. “If we ride all through tomorrow, we would get past the next village and enter the village of Eldham. Another day of riding would get us through the village and to its border.”

Xanth looked at him now, his unstable horse moved forth and back, bobbing its head as it did. “You’re riding for the border.”

“I have been too lenient with Rocheveron and so they have been developing more and more courage and bravery to disturb Astaroth.”

“You ride unprepared?” Xanth was worried. “You never did mention that we would be riding all the way there today.”

Ryder faced him with a slight frown. “Unprepared?”

Xanth turned back to the other five men on horses behind them. “Riding three days without food and water.”

“And?”

Xanth sighed. “And they are humans, not near immortals like us. And nobody back in Kilead knows of our whereabouts, and the birds are not with us.”

Ryder sighed and turned briefly to look at the men riding with him, then he turned to the other side to see the other two riding back towards them. He faced Xanth. “It’s just a quick trip. We will be back to Kilead in a week.”

“One week is too long to keep yourself away from Lyra, Ryder. Did you forget about Iris’ anger towards her at the breakfast table today?”

“Iris knows better than to take her life.” He replied indifferently.

“And you should know better than to put a distance between you two.”

Ryder clenched his jaw and his grip on the reins tightened, this was one thing that annoyed him about Xanth, he was always too blunt when he needed to be and damned the consequences, if any other person had spoken to him the way Xanth had just done, their heads would have been rolling. But his bluntness was also one thing he liked about him, he was always true.

“My Lord,” The man said as soon as his horse was close enough to Ryder’s. “There is a clearing just by the edge of the forest.”

Ryder leaned his head to the side where the second man still stayed by the forest’s edge and he nodded. “That’s more like an overgrown bush than a forest.” He turned briefly to Xanth but without looking at him then said. “We will rest there for the night and then continue on towards Eldham at first light.” He kicked his horse by the side, causing the animal to walk forward.

Xanth moved his horse behind Ryder but spoke out loud to the other men. “It would be dark soon, set up camp and hunt yourselves something for dinner.”

*   *   *   *   *   *   *

Ryder awoke in fear, breathing deep and fast, tightening his grip on the sword which lay on his chest. The cloak he had on was uncomfortable but he dared not to remove it. Not that it protected him, not that it could exactly, but the feel of his body being wrapped in something gave his body the much-needed warmth, the night had grown cold. He sat up. He had the dream again.

Xanth was asleep, his back to a tree, his grip on his sword was firm like they all had been trained to do - sleep with one eye open and one eye shut. It had taken some time getting used to it when they were much younger and new to training, he could remember every little detail and he smiled. It had been tough, yes, but when you were a soldier in the army of the kingdom of Astaroth, even the seemingly impossible becomes possible.

The only one, or more accurately, the only living things allowed to sleep with both eyes closed were the horses. The soldier who was to keep watch had fallen asleep beside the horses, they were all exhausted. They had ridden from the heart of Kilead to the outskirts and for the fact that they had not started out early enough or even planned to come on this journey, they had gotten farther than he had thought they would, and that was because Ryder had made them ride all the way without stopping to rest.

He looked up, the moon was full and bright and directly above their heads, the constant hooting and rustling of leaves assured him that they weren't alone. They were being watched and he could sense it but who would possibly live in a forest-like bush like this one. Although it was not as dense as the Oerth forest, it was still not a place to find someone living in so deep inside. He stood up to take a walk since he could not fall asleep anymore and in the whisper of the wind, he heard his name.

"...Ryder ... Ryder ..."

Each call echoed further away into the forest, the voice was feminine and she knew his name. It didn't surprise him, he was Lord of Astaroth and he had been for centuries, even the animals would know his name. 

Curiosity seized him and dragged him further down into the forest, towards the sound of his name being called. He got to a tree and the whispers stopped, even the hooting and the leaves rustling ended. He only heard silence, thicker than the blackness that surrounded him. In the heart of the tree was a statue, delicately carved in the features of a woman. He heard his name once more and pulled it out, immediately the tree withered and died.

The wind came and in it he heard laughter, it swirled around him from his feet, up to his body and then out, then it settled. There in front of him was a woman, exceptionally beautiful with enchanting eyes. In a flash she rushed at him with incredible strength, pinning him to a tree, and kissed him. Ryder felt something stir up in him, it filled his body and he felt he was going to explode. His strength failed him and he felt weak, extremely weak. He opened his eyes and she was gone. He was upright in bed looking directly at the open windows, the sway of the curtains reminded him of her. He felt hands on his chest and turned, Lyra was awake and smiling at him.

"I’ll draw the curtains, get some sleep." She told him, smiling tiredly as she spoke, then she turned and threw the covers off her body. He watched her walk to the window, unclad, and his eyes narrowed, he was unable to wrap his head around what was going on. He kept his attention on Lyra for a bit before he turned to the side.

He saw the statue. 

Saw the woman.

And in a second, without giving him time to anticipate, she was kissing him again, he pushed her away and fell back on the bed, felt his head hit a rock, felt his back on hard dirt, the moon was above him and the trees around him. The wind came again and he heard her laugh, heard his name.

His head pounded and he felt pain pulsing in his brain, he reached his hand to the back of his head and felt a cold wetness, he inhaled sharply and knew that he perceived blood. His own blood. Turning his head to the side, he saw her stride away, dancing in her steps until she vanished. He groaned and tried to get back up but he was only able to get to his knees before his vision failed him. Before he passed out, he heard clearly the call of an Eagle sounding very close to him.