The companions stumbled to the entrance of the Black Citadel, each supporting one another as their battle wounds threatened to bring them crashing to the dusty flagstone floor. Eryne looked up as she faltered, her hands grasping at the cold hard surface. Her body felt as though she had felt the sting of a thousand blades pierce her core, yet she had merely more than a dozen wounds to show for her part in the battle between the band of warriors and the vile warlord Vardemas. She could see the light of the new day dawning through the portal ahead and hoped that she would make it to the doorway to see the radiant splendor as it bathed the land of Maldhrun in its warm, inviting light. Sothicas, the noble priest of Evidorn, laid his weary hands upon the young rogue, his touch instilling warmth into her Amazonian form, and allowing her to regain her feet. The night-long battle had not been kind to the sturdy cleric, as the constant healing, and calling upon the Just One’s power had taken its toll on him. In a swaying motion that warned all of his impending collapse, Sothicas began his descent only to be caught by Belron the Brave who was already using his scabbard to help him walk. Arm looped over his shoulder, Belron helped his brother in arms back to his feet, ignoring his own pain. Radan and Hyfywel waited for the three to catch up, knowing all too well, that should the warrior or the wizard either one falter in their place; that they would be hard pressed to make it out of the great fortress of evil alive. With each pained step that they took toward the light of day, the companions felt one another’s hope. It was the hope that comes when all is new in the world, and evil is made right once again. Beyond the portal, birds sailed by in their morning flight, as if to greet the heroes on their arrival. The group looked over the land below them, seeing at once the splendor of a land that was free from Vardemas’ tyranny for the first time in more than a century. Maybe it was them, but the sun seemed to shine brighter upon the land now that the dark warlord had fallen. Their victory didn’t come without sacrifice though, as their friends Aldren Derinbar, and Thelios Valkar had fallen in the battle. The companions gazed upon one another and the land that they had fought so desperately for, each knowing that their friends’ sacrifice had been for the good of them all. Pondering the victory and their loss, they weighed their own deeds, knowing that each and every one of them had given their all for the final victory. With that knowledge, they basked in the morning sun, watching as it chased the shadows from the land far below. From their place high upon the giant’s skull mountain, it was as though they didn’t exist to the world. Birds flew in merry flocks through and above the trees, waterfalls sang in roaring choruses throughout the vale, exploding into fine glimmering mists that seemed to cloak the landscape in wispy tendrils of fine gossamer. It was a new day. One of many that would come to the Realm of Maldhrun now that Vardemas no longer threatened the mystical lands of the Maldera. The blood of valorous defenders had paid the price for the peace that had settled over the land, but that was how legends were born- and legends were what were told to the young to inspire the heroes locked within, that they may too join in the fight to rid the realms of evil’s cancerous touch. Legends that would forever echo the bravery of those who just found the courage to do what needed to be done when all else seemed futile. For as long as the brave and steadfast of heart, the noble, and the valiant, are willing to defend all that is good and just; then there will always be a new legend to be told. It’s like an unspoken promise.