“Tell me, sir, will you have your coffee with cream or sugar?”
“Cream, if you please.”
In a room with rich furnishings and the light of candles bouncing off the walls, two men sat. One, with a very dignified face and bright blue eyes was dressed in a smart, red uniform; and the other with a glance of cool, quiet knowledge was arrayed in a blue coat with gold buttons. These two men were sitting by the fire and sipping coffee while glancing at the flames with serious eyes.
“The wind blows exceedingly strong this night,” said the officer.

Chapter the Twenty-eighth

Music rang across the battlefield.
Even the winged monsters glanced up. They did more than that. They shrieked and screeched and buried their heads in their arms- but they couldn’t drown out a single note.
It was a fairy song, a song that banished shadows. And Tamello led it, playing his worn guitar.
"We come through the clouds
To aid in a war!
Who are we?
Reinforcements!

We come with a fury
To protect the Llores!
Who are we?
Defenders!

Chapter the Twenty-seventh

Chapter the Twenty-sixth

There’s trouble these days, both in distant lands,
And here at home on every hand;
From the mountains to the ocean strand,
It’s never hard to find:

The king is away in a foreign war,
A crack runs through my own front door,
My neighbor has lost his finest boar,
And my cows have not come home.

A rowboat sank in the village pond,
And three of the king’s best ships are gone;
My tone-deaf aunt composed a song
And asked my mother to sing.

You put on your best dress that morning;
Your smile was like the timid glow
Of dawn’s first golden breath, and though
You thought no one was watching, I saw
You dancing through the garden singing
“Papa will be home today.”

And I was happy too, you know,
I missed those carefree summer days
Sitting on the mossy banks of Coover Creek
Beneath the oak leave’s iridescent shade
The two of us, with lines cast on the gloomy flow
To chase the shifting, darting shapes
Among the rocks and weeds.

Can you wait just a minute,
and forget right this second,
think back to the past,
and lay down our weapons?

Forget what we've heard
from different sources,
and break down our walls
and knock down the fortress

Put aside the battles
we've lost and won,
work together,
all for one

Forget what's just happened,
start over again,
now is a time
when we can be friends.

Can you wait just a minute,
and let it all slip away?
Can you wait just a minute,
and see the new day?

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

The city torn by age-old war

The holy city of the Jews

Razed by years of war

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

The holy city of the kings

The city of David, Solomon, Judah

The symbol of hope that God brings

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

The city Abraham’s children founded

Where love and laughter once had shown

Now death and dying lay mounded

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

“Luvilia, what is ahead? I thought I heard you jump,” said Menegal.
“You heard correctly. There is a ditch in the path. But be careful not to jump too short,” said Luvilia.
“There is a ditch ahead, watch not to jump to short,” said Menegal, to Ebhali who marched behind him.
Ebhali then said the same to the one behind him and so the word passed on. Swinging over the ditch without trouble, Menegal landed on the other side, while keeping his foot from touching the ground. Ebhali did the same and all the men in Ranifa’s company made it safe across.