We started out travels in the dead of the night, soaring on north as the sun crept its way around the world which turned, finding us soon with our sides against it. We were a small band, but I was not so foolish as to leave my home vacant in the face of a threat. I had not held the seat of the Dragon's Throat for so long by being easy prey to unfriendly faces. Instead, I gathered few close, heading our group with locked wings, my wind rushing behind us as we sailed, a flotilla of dangerously armed warriors across the sky. Three midgets and a giant, we were an odd company, but one should never look down upon odd company. The unknown often held many dangerous surprises, and I would believe that my company was no exception.

My heart began to beat steadily, a drum in the middle of my chest as we arrived upon the crest of the Foothills, flying low behind the trees to avoid unfriendly eyes. Skirting over the tops of the trees, we come to rest with the view of the Heaven's peak in our eyes, with the field down below expanding under the pale golden light of the sun as it painted the sky with unusually red colors, a bloody sky to match an equally bloody day. I catch sight of a thick branch of one of the ancient trees, finding my bulky body landing unceremoniously upon it, balancing precariously as I look out toward the battlefield as the warriors begin to spill in.

My head turns to view Midas peering with longing eyes out toward the battlefield. I know not of his lady Ktulu, only the lady of war. She was my mistress too, for I was born with a warrior's heart, and surely I would die with one in my chest. I can almost feel the reverberations of din of war as it settles on the horizon, a smirk in my eyes as I notice Gaucho staring at me with frustrated silence. At a dull whisper, my gruff voice still sounds strong. "A bloody sun rises," I begin, peering behind me at the trio. My family. "Let it fill with the blood of our enemies and not ourselves. Watch the backs of your kin and our friends. Let us not lose anyone to this day." I smile, a misplaced gesture with rough edges and a sharp glint of my eyes.

"We will return home with our heads held high in victory."
""