The early morning had been a long one, and difficult to track the time with the hidden sun, but he guessed it was somewhere around mid-morning. If he was lucky, he could reach Verlain by midnight, but there were too many factors to  know for sure. If he could avoid his followers for another full day, it was likely that they would return back to Dara. The three days that had passed since his escape felt like an eternity . One thing he quickly observed was that all the gold pieces he possessed couldn't buy food out in the middle of this forest. Although the former champion was one of the deadliest swordsmen Dara had ever seen, his huntings skills were far from being up to par.<br/><br/>With the council destroyed, and others loyal to him slain, he posed little threat to the rebels that had taken over.  Xesyl shivered and broke his concentration. It was growing colder in the high country, and being surrounded by tree's wasn't easy on the eyes, either. He had never traveled this far noth before outside of Dara, or any of the other realms for that matter. It was a surprise war hadn't plagued these lands, yet. It wouldn't be long before it did reach the edges of the forest, he reasoned.<br/><br/>The ground below his leather boots were muddy, the heavy rainfall having been consistant for the better part of the last three days. The woollen socks provided little comfort in his journey, and his stomach had been growling constantly for the last hour. Xesyl continued north, leaving tracks that any man could easily follow. After another hour he came upon a long rocky edge, and he jumped down onto the surface. His boots stained it with mud, and he worked quickly to wipe them clean. Climbing back up the ridge, he merged onto a narrow tree line, scanning the open ground as to not leave a single foot print. He headed north-east now.<br/><br/>It was then something caught his attention, his gaze shooting upward as he saw a large object quickly pass through the sky. Xesyl squinted his enigmas orbs in attempt for a better look. From what he could see, it was armed too, which instantly alarmed him.The object looked foreign, definetely not anything like the animals he was accustomed to seeing back home. Sure, he had heard strories of mythical creatures as a child, but those didn't exist, right?<br/><br/>The digits from Xesyl's hand curled around the bronze hilt of his shortsword. Tightening his grip he slowed his pace along the tree line, looking up as the object flew past once more. The warrior came to a quick halt as the object dived down from the sky, seeming to land about a hundred paces ahead. A whisper like sound cut through the air as he blade cleared from the sheath. Voices could be heard as his mud covered boots inched him closer to whatever it was. He recognized one of the voices to be that of a young woman's, which confused him for a moment.<br/><br/>Whatever it was, he knew that if it took flight again he would become noticed from being so close. For now, all he could do was prepare himself for the uninvitable fight that was to come. His free hand slide across his waist, where it would rest upon the ivory hilt of his second shortsword.