"Did you get him?" The Queen asked Barda as he flew in the city late that night. Despite the devastating attack the previous night, the city of Yuniah still stood and was still under Tristan's rule.
Now, it was more confirmed after seeing the death of their monarch, Lady Gwendolynn, and the retreat of Gumina. Many Yunian warriors had gone back to their city, surrendering themselves to Tristan.
"He managed to get back to Reuze before I could get to him," Barda answered dejectedly.
"No matter, you're back!" The Queen said as she gave Barda a warm embrace, one that she had been dreaming of for the past couple of days. He returned the embrace and met her lips with a long-overdue kiss.
"My Lord, My Queen," General Morio thought the young couple had forgotten they had company, and so he took it to himself to clear his throat and get them back on track.
The entire Tristan Queen's court had come to receive him, at least, those that were in the city of Yuniah at the time apart from Commander Greer, who was currently in bed having incurred severe injuries both physically and mentally. The physical attacks the mages could handle, but the mental attacks were beyond their control.
At the moment, Barda had a long, unkempt, and overgrown beard that extended up to an inch in length. However, his eyes were much brighter and had an inexplicable glint, commanding respect, and fear whenever he turned.
The Queen was still her regular beautiful self, although she still had some shock residue after the day's fighting. Coming that close to death does a number on someone.
Not just the Queen, but the entire court seemed to have been shaken. Even Lord Abu did not exude his usual confidence. The fight had taken a toll, but they were not done yet.
The soldiers had more bodies to bury than expected, but far lesser than they what they would have had to bury if Barda had not come when he did.
The sight of a single man chasing an entire unit which included Gumina's royal guards were still fresh in their mind, but not as fresh as the sight of him emerging from a meteor. Even now, people were unclear on what happened with the burning fireball, but one thing they were sure of, its disappearance had something to do with Barda.
Many people had seen the pegasus flying in. The forlorn environment was immediately lifted, and many even expected to hear that Gumina was destroyed. Unfortunately, things were not that easy, but learning that Gumina had tucked tail and ran was always good news.
By morning, the city was transformed. The previous day, it felt like a hard-fought and closely-won victory. In the morning, it felt as though they had been overwhelming victors. The soldiers were charged up and ready to get at the invaders.
With more than 234 ships put out of commission, Barda could only spare 700 ships for the attack, while the rest were left above the city, maintaining the peace.
The Mage and pegasus division was the most hard-hit, with only 50 pegasi riders and around 1,500 mages left, enough for there to be at least 2 in every ship. More than 30,000 chariots had been lost, but that still left something close to 70,000 chariots in service.
The number of Grand Mages had reduced after 4 had fallen, but they had taken out more than 10 Gumina Grand Mages. A Grand Mage was a powerhouse that could change the situation on the battlefield singlehandedly. Losing one was like losing a major siege engine.
Further reinforcement could be obtained, but not without sacrificing much time, which was not what Barda wanted.
This time, Barda did not plan on dallying any longer. The sooner he got to work raiding Gumina and Reuze, the better for his chances. Taking the time to recover from the war would only give the enemy an upper-hand and sacrifice the leverage they had.
Moreover, considering the losses, Gumina had lost a lot more than they had. Moreover, Gumina had lost, period. If they did not build on this victory, they would never get a better chance.
***
"Why so downcast? It doesn't match the mood of the ship," Barda asked Lady Maara as they both stood on the deck of one of the ships. The Queen had been in such a horrid mood even after he came back. His arrival did little to liven up the situation.
She did not seem as though she had heard his question, but deep down, she was bubbling with emotions. A tear dropped down her face, followed by a free flow of the river. Barda reached out and held her tightly, and she clung closely to him.
"He died for me," The feel of Lord Karia's arm growing colder by the moment. The outburst was unexpected, and Barda took a moment to consider where he was. Nevertheless, seeing her delicate look and her tears, he had to be there for her.
"A great many people would willingly give their lives for you, and as Queen, probably a lot more will," Barda said the truth as a way of comforting her, "I can tell you this though, as someone willing to do the same, it feels great to see these tears."
At the same time, side glances were being sent his way. While it was not very Queenly to weep in front of the men, Seeing that she was mourning a guard was enough to stoke the flames of many onlookers. Young Maara was quickly fitting the robes.
***
"So, Tristan is coming?" The prince of Gumina commented more to himself. Previously, he had 3 royalties to bash heads with. No one else had the nerve to challenge him. Yet now he was all alone.
This was the first time he was ever lonely. Not that he missed those bores, but their yammering got his competitive juices flowing. He needed to get back at the man who took away so much, but he had just got word his enemy was coming over.
This was it, the last stand in this continent. If he lost Reuze, he would have lost the continent and the war. He did not want to go back to his father empty-handed, but given the kind of enemy he had met, he wondered if by the end of it he would be fortunate to escape with his life.
No, he was giving that enemy too much power. He had just been caught unprepared. Next time, this time around, he would be ready, and that little fool better not think his appearance would make a difference this time around.
***
"So, did you get the key?" All this time, Lord Abu had been waiting to hear what Barda got from his amazing trip. He had been holding on to that doorway for so long, now that he had sent someone and they came back, did that mean they had achieved their target.
"There was no key," Barda said as he turned.
"So you know?" Lord Abu asked excitedly.
"Know what?" Barda's curiosity was picked. There was no way Lord Abu could be alluding to the secret he had uncovered or was that all just some tall tale cooked up by an old lonely man?
Barda did not know how to react to all that yet. More importantly, he still hadn't decided which side he wanted the chips to fall.
"The real secret of Thogodan is, his Key is not a key," Lord Abu said this in mysterious key.
"What is it?"
"No one knows, I was hoping you might tell me that, seeing that you came out so quickly."
Barda thought about the conversation he had with Rowan and all that was said. How much of that was he willing to disclose, none so far. Not until he had verified the truth for himself. Besides, he apparently could not tell the secret even if he wanted to.
"The truth is, I ended up more confused from all that I got there. A lot of mysteries to uncover. There was also a lot of information that could be helpful to us, especially in the upcoming battle. How good are your mages?"
"Wait, you did get it, the Key!" Lord Abu exclaimed in shock.
"What do you mean?" Barda asked.
"The key, I just had to hear it from your mouth to confirm the truth. Now I am sure!" Lord Abu was mumbling mostly to himself, seemingly deep in thought.
"What are you talking about, sir?" Barda was getting impatient.
"The key left behind is some information about Thogodan's treasures, and how to unlock them. Of course, this information is encoded in mysteries to protect the information contained. Only those that have passed Thogodan's trials can qualify to move forward in the step to dominating the whole world!"
'Hmm, there seems to be more to this than meets the eye,' Barda thought to himself but was pulled from his reflections when Lord Abu did an unexpected thing.
He knelt before Barda with his hand on his chest before saying, "I pledge my fielty to you, My Lord, if you'll have me."
All this was done in full view of many in the ships since the 2 were discussing this matter above deck.
What they did not know was that their conversation was being listened to by several powerful beings, too powerful for either of them to notice. Barda was drawing the kind of attention he did not want, but he still did not know it.