As Elyre was so tired, she almost fell asleep on the way to the dungeon. She unwittingly remembered every detail of the last few hours...
Everything was inspiring, unique and unreal. There were only a few lanterns flickering in the darkness. Elyre discovered that she was not nervous at all. She couldn't explain that, but she had felt much more uneasy while organizing the ambush. Now she had lost her senses. She felt neither fear nor worry. Of course! She was Fierce Wind – unafraid of anything.
She stood calm, her mind focused. She put her helmet on in order to hide her identity. The participants in the ambush were waiting patiently for the digeniche caravans. And somewhere in the grass, there were crickets chirping: "Could you please look at Night's eyes? Her shadow rules over the Earth now..."
There were more than a dozen caravans. Then, all of a sudden, a noise was heard. The sylvan dwellers jumped out of their hideouts in the undergrowth. The caravans stopped, and four mage-guards stepped out. Their leader was a well-known mage named Ademon. He held a torch that illuminated his red eyes and white hair and made him look scary. Before he'd had the chance to figure out what was going on, his torch flared up unusually high, a few flames flew away from it and out in the sky, where they dissolved into sparkles. Then they fell on the ground, forming the words, "You've got no chance! – Fierce Wind," against the dark night's background. This definitely caught his attention, which was the purpose of it. Ademon had heard the name Fierce Wind before. He didn't have anything to say but just waved his hand, and the other three mages followed Fierce Wind like a shadow. Some soldiers joined them as well.
Phyllada cried for she almost got caught but she managed to hide somewhere in the trees. She wasn't directly participating in the ambush, or at least she didn't intend to as it would be too scandalous for the Princess of the Wood-Nymphs. But she wanted to get closer to Elyre and be ready to help her. She could hear the voices of Elyre's pursuers. She assumed her sister would need something to guide her through the thick forest so she could flee more easily. Phyllada focused her mind and made a gesture as if she was throwing an invisible ball in the air. Suddenly, a ray of light pierced the sky and a shining pigeon appeared. Elyre had to immediately recognize it. And she did.
Fierce Wind ran straight through the forest, so fast that he transformed into a small twinkle -- something only firines could do. They were, after all, the fastest Allyrian race. Fierce Wind did not have time to count the mages chasing after him now. He followed the wings of Phyllada's pigeon. The deeper into the forest he went, the more branches stood in his way.
Elyre noticed a pale figure of a unicorn in the distance. It was a friend of hers, a unicorn named Storm Eye. At first, it just looked like a strange radiance. It was very good to see him in such a moment. The snow-white animal helped her immediately and asked what was her plan. She fell silent. Then it crossed her mind that the mages had probably realized by now that she was following the pigeon. Therefore, if she went into a different direction from the bird, that would confuse her pursuers.
She looked around and pointed at some cliffs nearby. There was a rift between them. Narrow, but big enough for them to slide into effortlessly. Her only fear was Storm Eye could get entangled in the high wild grass.
Elyre was looking backwards. When she turned forwards, both she and Storm Eye saw a pile of rocks that was going to fall just in front of them, most probably the work of a mage. She directed her hands at it in an attempt to melt it away by the power of fire, but she shook her head for she could not guarantee success. Her heart sank as she closed her eyes. Soon she opened them again. They had got past the danger. They were now out of the cliff region. They headed towards a village named Mahhini, not far from Mediona, the wood-nymph city.
While the mages were after Elyre – no – after Fierce Wind – there was nobody near the caravans. The sylvan dwellers took most of the digeniche and brought it back where it belonged. They planted it again using magic.
In Mahhini village, people waited for Elyre on the main square, which was a part of a plan to save her. When she arrived, she jumped off the unicorn and mingled with the crowd. He disappeared at the same instant, transforming into a small whirlwind. Even though Fierce Wind tried to move unnoticed, one of her pursuers managed to recognize him. Storm Eye appeared again and together with Elyre they escaped into the deep of the forest.
Fierce Wind did not have an idea where he was going any longer. It was the unicorn who led him ahead. Fierce Wind was soon surrounded by some mages while dreaming of a gulp of water. They reached the end of the road. Now there was only a large abyss ahead. This did not discourage them. They'd come so far, they had to continue... Storm Eye jumped over the abyss. His mane flowed, its white color at times darkened and contrasted with his pearly eyes, at others shined brightly and merged with them. How did he feel? Was he tired? Elyre was unable to think. She could only sense her heartbeat in her ears and thirst that made her throat sore. And everybody chasing her.
Meanwhile, Mage Ademon learned that digeniche had been stolen from the caravans. He had actually expected that. But he thought it would be much better if, instead of guarding the caravans, he put all his effort into catching Fierce Wind. He was a wise person, aware of the fact that with such "prey" as Fierce Wind, he would make a very good impression on the Queen, and she would undoubtedly reward him.
So, he was quite angry when his subordinates told him they had failed to catch Fierce Wind. What?! After having focused his entire energy on this task?! It had to be his most unlucky day. But destiny soon proved it could be even worse when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. It was a knight on a horse; a knight who seemed to laugh at Mage Ademon's misfortune, Duke L'Ras.
The mage felt nothing but disdain for him and immediately made a remark, something about the man having outgrown his armor. The latter replied by accusing all mages of being immature and then announced he'd caught Fierce Wind. Duke L'Ras was passing through the forest on his way home, and the criminal bumped into his entourage by chance while on the run. Ademon was so astonished he did not know whether to be happy or disappointed. But, to catch somebody riding a unicorn was a matter of luck rather than skills, he thought, for unicorns were the fastest creatures in the world.
As two soldiers brought Fierce Wind, Ademon realized that Fierce Wind's body seemed too small and actually... it was a woman! Ademon stared at her with a suspicious look. Luckily for him, Duke L'Ras left Fierce Wind there, claiming he was too busy to deal with random outlaws. Ademon produced a piece of jewelry out of his pocket. It was for Elyre, but it had a creepy purpose. It literally absorbed all magic; whoever wore it – be it the most talented mage in the world – became powerless. It was on her wrist before she knew it, and she could sense it was no good.
Now, Elyre was still on the way to the Dungeon, but not for long...