Seymore had not been exaggerating when he said that more than enough would answer his call. The kingdom had groaned beneath the Tyrant's rule for generations, and with each generation it seemed worse. Freedom was a story passed down among them, a thing almost legendary, but they all wanted it, craved it. Townsmen and farmers, nobles and peasants, aerians and humans, were-folk and shape-shifters, and even a few elves and a handful of dwarves, they all came. They camped at the fringes of the field, and soon their tents filled the forest, spilled down the hillside and began filling the valley there. There were too many to gather them all on the field at once so each platoon practiced and drilled in turn, while archers honed their skills amid the trees and aerians soared above. Flame had never seen anything like it. Only Radu's magic kept the massive gathering from being noticed.

But it was taking time. Too much time. Within two weeks all who were coming had arrived, but that was just the beginning. Brianna and Flame and the others fretted. Every day that slipped by was that much more chaos leaking into their world, warping and distorting it. But they couldn't challenge Tara alone, they needed Seymore and Radu, and so they waited. Belak joined the dwarven contingent, and apparently impressed them greatly, because he ended up leading them. Brianna spent hours with Seymore and Radu, plotting their tactics, hashing over the possibilities again and again. Lavasida merely brooded, and kept himself in the background. If he was pained by knowing that his double was married to Brianna he didn't show it, but Flame suspected that he was actively avoiding his twin. Lon and Lon, on the other hand, got on like a house afire. Flame's Lon was quieter and more reserved, but apparently a very rowdy sense of humor lurked somewhere in him, because the two of them were always joking and laughing and sometimes even playing pranks together. And occasionally getting drunk and laughing even more. Then one Lon would pick a fight with somebody, and after it was over the other Lon would patch both parties up. Brianna rolled her eyes at them both, but tolerated her husband's behavior. He was not going to be fighting, after all. He would be behind the lines, healing those injured in the battle.

And Flame continued to spend much of her time talking with this world's Lavasida. They had much more in common, she found, than their mutual grief. For one thing they shared another deep sorrow. "It's a rare thing to be accepted as I am here among Seymore's people," said Lavasida softly. "A vampire, even one with a reputation for doing good, is not often welcome. They all appreciate when I help them, but when the crisis is over they don't want to to stay among them."

"It's lonely," said Flame, nodding. "You may have a few friends who understand, but most people just don't. They look at you, and they judge you by what they see, and they never even think to look further and question that judgment."

"Exactly. I'm a blood-sucking monster, never mind that I live on animal blood, and have never taken from someone who was unwilling. Never mind that I wish with all my heart that I could be a cleric and a healer. None of that matters. I am a vampire, therefore I am dangerous."

"Yes. It doesn't matter that I speak, and that I could look human if I chose to do so, I insist on calling this my true form, and so I must be an animal, or a pervert. They treat me like a creature, like I'm not even there, or they treat me like I might contaminate them. And I'm neither of those things. I'm a person, like anybody else, and this is the real me. I don't assume this form because of some sick desire for animals, I assume it because it's how I was born, it's who I am." She sighed and laid her head on her paws. "Aidan... he was the first person I met who just didn't care at all. He treats me the same, no matter what shape I take. Even Brianna, and the others in the Queen's Own, have never quite managed that. They come close now, after all these years they're used to me, but especially at first, they just talked over me, like I wasn't there, and I had to shift to human form to get included in their discussions. That was painful. And trying to find a mate... I nearly fell in love with another shape-shifter once. He seemed such a kind man, and he seemed to really care about me. And if anybody would understand taking other forms, surely he would. But no. We met when I looked human, and when he found that I took feline form because I considered it my true form, he told me what his people think of such things, and he made it clear that he shared their thoughts." She shrugged. "It hurt. The memory of it still hurts, a little."

Lavasida sighed. "Yes. I am lucky in my Brianna. There have been women that I loved before her, but rare indeed is one that doesn't feel afraid or threatened by me. Her courage, as I have said, is very great. I hope..." he trailed off, not wanting to complete the thought, but Flame knew what it was. It was the same thing she prayed for every day. I hope that she is still alive.