[Y/n], now comfortable with riding on the back of the great wolf Czaer, raced through the woods, the wind whipping past them as they advanced through the heavily forested area. [Y/n] had a few scratches on her face and arms as branches lashed at her like little blades, but the pain was exonerating - it was a pain that reminded her that she was free, and that - soon - she would be facing her enemies.

The great wolf's paws thudded so heavily that [Y/n] could almost feel the earth beneath them shake with each collision. She braced herself each time he leapt over a branch or crack in the ground - it was odd terrain. Occasionally there would be no trees, only stone beneath Czaer's paws, and sometimes it would seem as though they were in the middle of a meadow, with only the sheer drops in the distance to remind them that they were actually close to the clouds.

Back in forested ground, Czaer's pace slowed to a trot, and then to a careful walk. [Y/n] leaned forwards, closer to his great tufted ears, which were now pointed back.

"Is everything alright?" she whispered, keeping a shake from her voice. Now Czaer stopped moving, his head facing the tree canopy above them.

In a sudden movement, [Y/n] was snatched from his back, something tightly wrapped around her waist, constricting her breathing. She placed her hands against it, trying to pry it from her, but her hands made no difference to the sheer strength of the thing. She looked down at whatever it was that constricted her.

A... snake? A bloody large snake. The rest of the snake wasn't in sight, however, only its scaled black tail. She looked down to see whether Czaer was still there, however now she noticed he looked... calm.

Had she been set up?

"Czaer! Help me!" [Y/n] snapped down at the oddly chilled beast, who only let out a chuckle in response. "Czaer!"

"Calm down, [Y/n]," Czaer dipped his head, "this is Linn. One of the eleven captains." [Y/n]'s eyes widened. One of the captains was... a snake?

Or perhaps not, for a human figure - attached to the snake tail from the waist - dropped before her, upside down. His slitted eyes watched her curiously and his medium length black hair tumbled down like a waterfall.

"Hello there," Linn smiled, flashing a toothy grin that exacerbated his enlarged canines, somehow sharper looking than those of the vampires she'd just escaped from.

"H-hello..." [Y/n] stuttered, confused at the snake-man that dangled before her. Linn loosened his grip on her slightly, however didn't let the female go. He looked down at Czaer instead, tilting his head.

"I was also on my way to the meeting. I assume you were our queen's escort?" he questioned. Czaer nodded his head. "Well! What a privilege," he grinned once more. "Would you mind if I steal her from you for now? We're almost there, after all," Linn mused. Czaer grumbled.

"I'm not sure Feron would appreciate that," he huffed.

"I'll explain everything~ don't worry your pretty little head," he smirked, before looking back at [Y/n] and swaying her gently. "Quite the catch, if I do say so myself."

"Can... can you put me down?" [Y/n] asked quietly. Linn shrugged, watching Czaer slowly pad away.

"Let me carry you there," he hummed, ignoring [Y/n]'s request. The girl huffed but allowed the strange man to continue to carry her. He was eerie looking, but also appeared rather charming, in an odd way. Maybe it was something to do with his voice? She felt a similar allure to when she'd heard the siren sing, but it wasn't overpoweringly strong... just enticing. Yet even the reminder of the sensation she'd felt when drawn in by the siren Orennis, which had of course reminded her of Mitzu, made her break away from the strange hallucination the creature was casting on her.

"What... are you?" [Y/n] questioned, her words now seeming a little forced by the mild constriction of her chest; whether it was from Linn's hold on her or her own emotional discomfort, she was unsure. Linn chuckled at her question.

"A naga. 50% human, 50% cobra, 100% handsome," he winked. [Y/n] melodramatically rolled her eyes at his strange behaviour. "You have an aversion to be hallucinated," he observed, "mind if I ask why?"

"It reminds me of something scary, that's all." [Y/n] brushed him off with a downward facing gaze, concluding that now was not the time to spill the story of when Mitzu had forced her to watch the graphic, horrific murders of her three closest friends. Linn watched her curiously, understanding that she was probably reminded of something traumatic, and therefore he kept himself from pressing for answers. They'd arrive soon, anyway.

"I must say, you're rather calm. You seem certain that you can trust me, even though you know I am able to hallucinate people," he said, his voice surprisingly soft at all times, as though he was speaking the words of an ancient storybook to a enervated child. Though his tone was dulcet, the contented way in which he uttered each word made her think back to the way in which the mad doctor spoke when he intended to condescend or contradict someone. It unnerved her, and she began to wonder why had she trusted Linn? He could've manipulated Czaer to say what he wanted him to say. [Y/n] bit her lip, deep in thought.

"I don't really have the energy for mind games right now..." she huffed out, before looking down at her feet. She wore fluffy boots with her leather and fur dress, and she wondered whether her dagger had been hidden inside them. "I doubt I could win against you in a fight, though," she shrugged, "so if you're going to kill me then I don't see why you haven't done so already." Linn sighed.

"When sent somewhere with an ally, surely you should know to not leave that ally?" he questioned, but they had arrived, and [Y/n] was reassured to see familiar faces filling a large hollow, which bordered on another lake.

"Ah! [Y/n], Linn!" [Y/n] heard Al call excitedly. The blonde rushed over to the pair. He looked up with a little confusion, though another voice managed to ask the questions he had for him.

"Where is Czaer?" [Y/n] looked to the back of the group to see a great grey wolf, even larger than Czaer. She had light grey flecks around her eyes and nose, indicating her old age. Her fur was slightly more raggedy than a younger wolf, and her striking blue eyes were lightly clouded over. Yet she looked more formidable than any of the other wolves she'd met.

"Good day Grenne," Linn smiled, "I sent Czaer on his way when I opted to take [Y/n] for the rest of the journey," he explained. Grenne watched him with narrowed eyes, dipping her head slowly, the gesture thoughtful and kindly dismissive. [Y/n] could feel a shocking amount of tension from each of the captains. She gazed around to note each and every one of them.

Of course, holding onto her still was the strange naga Linn, captain of all things serpentine. She noted Feron sitting by the lakeside, Rya standing a little way away from him. Al was directly before her, and a distance away was the newly introduced Grenne, captain of the direwolves. Engaged in quiet conversation in and beside the lake were Derisse of the Sirens and Liere of the Merfolk; Derisse had black hair in a short bob and very tanned skin, with a pair of great feathery wings protruding from her back - blues and greens reflected off the sturdy raven feathers, as through each tiny plume that caught the sun was it's own sparkling jewel. Liere of the merfolk was a perfect counter to Derisse, silvery blonde hair tied up in a messy bun - though wet, it did not lose its integrity like the hair of a human. It instead glistened, but fell as though it were dry. She had a strange tail, and [Y/n] only caught sight of little bits of it as some of it was submerged underwater. From what she could see, the majority of it was a blueish-silver, but it was dappled with pure white, as though the colour had simply been etched away.

[Y/n]'s head spun around to the other side of the group, where she spotted a man - Raye, his name was - who looked much alike the first girl of Vihren she had met - a great centaur, his horse body palomino, the dappled sunlight (obscured by the tree canopy above) melting the colours to pure gold on his back. His skin was pale and he had a long braid of golden hair that fell down his back and tied in with his silvery gold tail. Next to Raye was a small red fox, Krie of the animal spirits, though she held her head with purpose, and [Y/n] could only assume that the tiny creature held as much power as the rest of the captains in the group. She seemed to catch [Y/n]'s eyes and sent a small nod her way. [Y/n] subtly nodded back.

Finally, her eyes rested on the last two captains of the group Jax and Aein. Jax was someone who looked quite alike to herself - were they human? She was unsure. Their features didn't scream male or female, either - they had short-ish wavy brown hair and mildly tanned skin, and wore a long navy cloak which reminded her of the midnight sky; a pendant with a strange looking compass-clock contraption hung from a platinum chain around their neck. Each finger was decorated in its own ring with its own decoration of jewel. Though they seemed human, [Y/n] realised that there was likely a lot more to them than met the eye. And next to them stood Aein, who certainly did not look human. In fact, [Y/n] had almost jumped out of her skin upon seeing Aein - a lesser dragon, like the one who had attacked her in the forest. Aein was not as gruesome looking as the moss-cloaked, bedraggled mess that she had seen previously. Aein was actually quite well groomed. He had blueish black scales that decorated his body, and his wings - unlike the other fully-reptile creature - were lightly feathered. In fact, small clusters of feathers were dotted around all of his body, and a large collection of them flared out from the side of his face now and again. He looked... alluringly prehistoric.

"Are you there?" [Y/n] heard someone say. She realised she'd spaced out quite badly whilst taking in her surroundings. "Hello? [Y/n]?"

"Y-yes! Present," she came out with instinctually, as though robotically answering the school register before class. She processed Feron in front of her, looking quite worried about her state of mind.

"Are you feeling sick? I can take you back now if you're not up to the meeting," he explained, however another voice summoned him from behind.

"[Y/n] looks fine! I think she's just daunted." It was Al, who had a bright smile on his face as he spoke. The pair of wings he'd concealed most of the time in the camp were now boldly on show, and he used them to flutter over to [Y/n], still held in Linn's tight embrace. "Is that right?" he asked, tilting his head. His blue eyes had a childish nature to them, like big blue oceans ready to swallow you up in the waves of curiosity and imagination they concealed. [Y/n] gave a little nod in response to his question.

Feron nodded, looking back to the mix-match group of captains that, at a glance, just looked like a child's messy bedroom. Wings, scales, skin, clothes, fins, fur and all the rest strewn randomly in a pile of all the other magical nonsense that inhabited this strange forest.

"I'm sure you all know why you're here," he said calmly. [Y/n] quickly noticed that all the captains, though seemingly having their quarrels with one another, paid Feron great respect - they nodded immediately, hanging on his every word. "As you are aware, [Y/n] has agreed to lead us into battle—"

This time, Feron was interrupted, and by none other than Rya.

"She agreed to support our battle. You'd better not be thinking about putting her anywhere near the front lines," Rya warned and like a protective mother she took a few paces closer to where [Y/n] and Linn were. The naga nodded his head in agreement with Rya's words.

"Yes. [Y/n] is not cut out for battle in the slightest - they would most certainly use her against us," he hummed. This time, Al jumped in.

"Hang on a second guys... I've seen for myself how well [Y/n] can handle herself! So long as she's protected, I believe she would be fine on the front lines," he said, his eyes wide as though his words were... desperate. "I can protect her! You don't need to worry about it..." he tailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just... I don't know if our troops will bother fighting if they think their Queen is away hiding in some hole. All through our history, our leaders have fought right with the rank and file." Rya seemed shocked at Al's words.

"But do you not think that... oh, I don't know, they'll understand that a human has no power in a war such as this?" Rya rolled her eyes. "Don't you think that they'll be just a liiittle bit unmotivated if their Queen, umm... dies?" [Y/n] shuddered at the thought. She'd survived that place for so long, the idea of going back there to die made her want to retch. [Y/n]'s attention turned to Derisse, the beautiful siren, who cleared her throat in a queue for people to direct their attentions to her.

"I am in agreement with Rya. Sending our Queen into this war is a foolish and dangerous idea. Have you not considered the possibilities of mutinies if our soldiers realise they're fighting under the rule of someone who is dead?" Derisse questioned.

"Not all of us are bloodthirsty sirens, Derisse," Krie squeaked out from her tiny canidae body. "And they have not lost their leader - Feron is also leading the battle," she huffed.

"[Y/n] should not have agreed to the war if she was not willing to fight in it," Aein, the lesser dragon, grumbled.

"Now now, Aein," Jax responded, "you do not know what sorts of things [Y/n] was feeling when she made the agreement. You cannot judge someone you know nothing about," they said softly, before looking around the group, "and that should go for all of us. Why are we still generalising each other based on our species? Krie is a fox, but she is not sly. Linn is a serpent but he is one of the most honest men I know. Feron is a dragon, but his heart is not cold, and Derisse may be a siren but she is also a loving mother of four, and a great, fair leader." Their eyes narrowed as they looked up at the towering figure of Aein. "You of all should understand this, Aein. You are not a bad dragon; you want to better the perception of your own species, do you not?" Aein went quiet, looking down.

"Very inspirational, Jax, but you're dodging the matter at hand," Liere sighed, leaning her head on her arms as she held herself up on a protruding boulder by the lakeside, the tip of her tail dipped in the water still. Grenne nodded her great head, letting out a huff. The pair were about to give their take on the situation, but were - much to their surprise - interrupted.

"I appreciate some of your concerns, but could I maybe have a say in this as well?" [Y/n] managed, her words sounding lightly forced as Linn was squeezing her half to death. Linn quickly realised by her tone of voice that he forgot to put her down, and he promptly apologised before placing her softly on the ground. [Y/n] now, taking a moment to gasp for air, had everyone's undivided attention and freedom to move. There was a small table with a map on it in the centre of the clearing which she had been able to study from her heightened position before, so she strode over to it with as much confidence as she could possibly muster.

Placing her hands softly against the edge of the table, she looked around the clearing.

"Who... is the smallest here?" she asked. Everyone seemed confused, save for Al, who jumped right to [Y/n]'s side.

"That would be me!" he grinned, before splitting and making a version of himself as small as he could manage. His second version was the size of a pea, and [Y/n] nodded her head in relieved approval.

"Perfect. I... I have an idea, where I am on the front lines but not in the same way as you all." She looked down. "I want to be useful to you all... but I know I'm not strong enough to do so in battle. So..." she paused. This idea terrified her, however it was most likely safe, and she could hopefully get something out of it also. "I will be a decoy. Al can send a small version of himself off with me to keep an eye out, just in case things go wrong." She bit her lip. "We will stay around Kutelo and wait for someone to find me. When they do, we will order them to send Nyais our way, and to come alone. And he will... I trust him on that. If any of the vampires we meet refuse to bring him and try to fight us, Al will be with me... and, as far as I'm aware, you should be strong enough to fight a vampire?"

Al let out a laugh. "With my eyes closed," he grinned. [Y/n] let out a sigh of relief.

"Good... then, once Nyais is with us, Feron can lead the attack on Kutelo and flush out all the elites first. With the king out of the scene, there will be anarchy among the elites where they will undoubtably fight against one another for the power to lead the battle." Feron dipped his head at [Y/n]'s idea. It didn't sound problematic yet. "And I understand the merfolk cannot participate in this battle, but there is that lake with the cave down by the main camp of Vihren... I was thinking that some of the pegasi can carry and of our wounded to the lake, and the merfolk can then take them to rest of the way and care for them in the cave, away from all the fighting."

"That is a wonderful idea. Thank you, [Y/n]," Liere smiled. She seemed grateful to have something to do in this battle, as rarely are the merfolk of any use to anyone. Rya smiled pridefully at [Y/n]'s idea.

"I believe you were a battle strategist in your past life, [Y/n]," Derisse hummed, and a couple of the captains nodded in agreement. Feron stared at the ground, clearly weighing out everything [Y/n] had said, and planning forwards to see whether there was anything he'd have to change or add. Eventually, he looked up.

"Yes... well, the sooner the better. There is a chance the vampires already know that an attack may take place. The numbers of soldiers patrolling has skyrocketed, and..." he tailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, "when I had taken off with [Y/n] after Ednae had found her, I saw two figures watching in the undergrowth. They were probably vampires," Feron said, his tone a light grumble. He didn't really acknowledge any of the worried expressions captains sent his way. He was too focused on whether this plan was a good idea or not. Ideally they would have a long time to plan for a battle, but if they waited too long then they would lose the element of surprise. He turned to look back at [Y/n], only to see her eyes wide in shock.

She'd realised that there was a chance the boys had known she was here the whole time. Every time she'd stepped away from the camp without someone by her side, which had happened on many occasions, could've ended her freedom. She was stupid. And that meant that they had to act fast, as Feron had said, so... how long would she have to prepare? She was scared about the idea she'd set forward. She had wanted people to take bits of it and tweak it, or say 'no' and come up with their own, improved version. But if it was going to happen so soon, then that would mean her plan may be used entirely. She felt her chest tighten.

"Tomorrow," Feron said finally. "We'll act tomorrow."

[Y/n] felt her heart drop. Tomorrow was too soon... she couldn't mentally prepare if the deadline was tomorrow! She felt like she was about to break down in tears and cry.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned around to face a worried looking Linn.

"Be careful around the king, dear," he said softly, his brows knitted anxiously, "it sounds like you were both close, from the stories I've heard..." he tailed off, before his gaze turned more serious. "Just because you were close does not mean you can trust him. Love can make people do crazy things."