The boat rose and fell in quick succession. Each time, the impact of the boat sent a spray of ocean mist that cooled my face. I turned around and looked up at the mainsail. It was fully expanded, catching the wind and propelling us forward as fast as it could. Still, it didn’t feel nearly fast enough. The light from the two moons created an interesting pattern on the water in front of us. The blue light from the larger moon formed a straight line next to the red light from the smaller moon. In a way, it felt like a strange foreshadowing of the battle to come.

  "Hey," Elysia said, emerging from behind me. I turned and gave her a slight smile but didn’t say anything. She stood with me for a while before speaking again. "We’ll get there in time to stop him." I kept looking forward, my mind flooded with hundreds of thoughts and possible scenarios.

  "Remember, Ryker, the elves have defended that forest for thousands of years. I think they can hold out longer than a day." I considered this for a moment—she was right. The Warden was powerful, but it would take him time to defeat the elves. I turned to her and nodded.

  "Thank you."

  She smiled back. "You need to get some sleep. You’re going to need your energy. We should arrive by late morning, and we have no idea what we’re going to face."

  I turned and scanned the horizon for the mainland, even though I knew it wasn’t there. "I’ll keep watch and wake you if anything happens."

  I nodded, and she motioned her head toward the back of the ship. I walked across the deck, pausing to keep my balance as the boat rocked with the waves. I took the small stairs down to a large cargo hold beneath the deck. The sounds of snoring filled the air as several soldiers slept in hammocks hanging from the ceiling.

  I walked around a bit before finding an empty hammock. I climbed in, lay down, and closed my eyes, trying to sleep. But my thoughts kept racing, always returning to Harald and his family. Eventually, I was able to fall asleep, and when I woke, the sun was up.

  I jumped up quickly and made my way to the upper deck. All the soldiers were already awake, busy with various tasks. I saw Elysia still at the front and started making my way toward her.

  "Hey, Ryker! We're going to kick some Warden ass, don't you worry!" Draken yelled as I walked past him. He was sharpening his spear, along with the rest of the squad, doing routine maintenance on their equipment.

  I raised my fist in acknowledgment, and they all did the same in return. As I approached the bow, Elysia turned to greet me.

  "Good, I was about to wake you. We should be arriving soon, and we need to discuss possible strategies."

  Elysia headed toward the rear of the ship, and I followed. The two older soldiers from yesterday were discussing a battle plan. As we approached, I decided to speak first.

  "So, what do we know?"

  The two men turned to me, and one of them spoke.

  "We know that the Warden has begun his assault, and based on the map..." He tried to unfold a map but struggled with the force of the wind. The map flopped around, and he frustratingly gave up, folding it back and tucking it into his shirt.

  "The forest closest to the castle is the most likely place he’s attacking. It provides him a quick escape should things go sideways, and it also allows him to replace soldiers as needed."

  I remembered my fight with him and how he retreated when the elves trapped him and unleashed barrages of arrows.

  The man continued, "We are landing in a spot that gives us a straight path directly to that area. It’ll take about an hour on foot to get there, but it keeps us away from the forest as well."

  The two men exchanged a look.

  "We want to stay clear of the forest so the elves don’t get confused about whose side we’re on."

  I thought for a moment. "Are there any hills we can use for concealment nearby?"

  The man nodded. "None as large as the one near the coast, but if we crouch down, we can stay pretty concealed. We can stick to your original plan if you choose."

  Just then, I heard someone shout.

  "Land ahead!"

  I turned and saw the mainland in the distance, approaching fast. I turned back to the men.

  "I think we stick with the same plan for now. Once we arrive, we can conceal ourselves and decide the best course of action."

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  The men nodded.

  "Also," one of them added, "if things don’t go our way, we can summon some storms and have a straight path back to our ships to regroup."

  Elysia spoke this time. "It won’t come to that. We are more than capable of defeating the Warden and his forces." She looked at me as if to reassure me.

  I nodded and thanked the two men before heading back to the front of the ship.

  I stared in silence as we approached the beach. When we made landfall, I quickly disembarked and waited as the rest of the army followed suit. As I stood there, Varek and his squad approached. Draken was the first to speak, holding his arms out.

  "Ryker, we're going to make sure you don't get killed!"

  Varek turned and gave him a disciplinary look.

  "Now is not the time to get complacent. We don’t know exactly where the Warden’s forces are. Keep a watchful eye and lower your voice."

  Draken immediately put his hand over his mouth, then spread out with the rest of the squad, keeping a watchful eye on the area. Varek approached and spoke softly.

  "Elysia assigned us to stay with you and aid you in any way we can. She’s going to remain in the rear until we arrive."

  I nodded and turned back to face the land.

  "Let’s get moving. Every moment more people die."

  I started walking inland, and the rest of the army followed behind me. Occasionally, I looked back, feeling a sense of pride at the Stormkin forces behind me. I just hoped, it would be enough.

  As I walked, Varek matched my pace. The rest of the squad followed behind us, spread out enough to watch our flanks.

  "How are you holding up?" he asked. I had been deep in thought.

  "I don’t know," I answered honestly.

  As we continued walking, he spoke again. "Let me give you some advice, since it seems you’re one of the ones calling the shots. Let’s call it a crash course in battlefield tactics."

  I listened intently.

  "When we arrive, get a good visual of the terrain and understand it. Think about how you can use it to your advantage, and what areas might be a disadvantage."

  I thought for a moment. "What do you mean?"

  He continued. "Whoever has the high ground is going to have the advantage. That’s why every stronghold you see will have a high wall around it."

  I thought about the high walls I’d seen with the Stormkin and the Warden. "I thought those were to keep people out?"

  He nodded. "They are, but they also give the defending army the advantage of high ground. From there, they can see which routes the enemy is taking and command their troops accordingly."

  I nodded. "That makes sense."

  He continued, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy. Be ready to improvise. The battlefield will shift rapidly, and you’ll need to adjust your tactics on the fly."

  I wiped my forehead as I felt the anxiety rising in me. Varek seemed to notice the change in my mood.

  "Don’t worry. We have several experienced leaders here to help you," he said.

  I nodded, appreciating his words of reassurance, though the anxiety still lingered.

  "This leads me to the last thing," he continued. "Stay calm under pressure. Battle will be chaotic. Your soldiers will be looking to you for direction, and your ability to stay calm will inspire confidence. If you panic or show uncertainty, it will spread among your troops."

  I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Varek patted me on the back.

  "I’ve been in more battles than I care to remember," he said. "Like I said, we’re here to help."

  We walked for a bit longer, and I noticed a large cloud of smoke in the distance. I stopped for a moment, and the rest of the Stormkin quickly did the same. Varek noticed it too, and before I could say anything, he was already signaling to the back of the group that the battle was nearby.

  We continued moving, my eyes fixed on the smoke as it grew larger with every step. Soon, I could make out the tops of the towering pillars—Kaedras' most prominent feature—rising in the distance.

  Varek motioned for everyone to crouch, and the entire Stormkin force dropped low, moving almost like a crawl. I followed his lead, and we began making our way toward the crest of the small hill.

  As we neared the top, the sounds of battle reached my ears—men shouting, steel clashing against steel. Then, a barrage of arrows flew out from the trees, followed by another wave of shouting and the unmistakable roar of flames.

  By the time we reached the crest and carefully peeked over, what I saw froze me in place.

  Nearly half of the forest was now a black, barren wasteland. The Warden had hundreds of Emberguard stationed behind several large catapults. They were igniting and launching giant fireballs that landed and rolled into the forest, setting everything ablaze.

  The elves were trying to fight back, shooting volley after volley of arrows at the soldiers, but the Emberguard simply hid behind the massive structures, their shields raised to protect them.

  I saw very few Emberguard lying motionless on the ground. However, in the charred aftermath of the forest, several blackened and burned bodies were scattered everywhere.

  I watched as another catapult launched, and a giant flaming ball soared through the air, landing and rolling into the forest. As it came to a stop, vines quickly grew around it, wrapping it in an attempt to starve the flames of oxygen. It worked, and the fire was snuffed out. But the trail it had left behind was quickly ignited, spreading the blaze even further.

  The vines shot up around the new flames as well, but it wasn’t quick enough to stop the damage. Slowly but surely, the Warden would burn the entire forest to the ground, while he and his men remained safely out of range of any close combat. Given enough time, the forest would be completely destroyed, and the Emberguard would charge in, wiping out the remaining resistance.

  Elysia arrived and crouched down next to me. "This is not good."

  I nodded and quickly turned to her. "We need to summon storms over that area and help stop those fires."

  Varek quickly interjected. "If we do that, we’ll immediately give away our position and lose the element of surprise. We need an attack plan first."

  Frustration built inside me. "Look at all those bodies down there!" I snapped.

  Jarek grabbed my arm with a firm grip. "We need a battle plan, or we’ll be among them before we know it. We’ll leave some soldiers here as a lookout, then fall back and come up with a solid plan."

  I jerked my arm away, staring at the chaos unfolding before me. I knew Jarek was right, but all I could think about was Harald and his family.

  I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

  "I’m coming, brother."