Amara has fought before -- she is no soldier, no hardened mercenary, but she has fought for her life and the lives of others.  But there is nothing familiar here, all the old rules being left behind as they step into this new and frightening territory.  No, not new... now there is enough calm for her to feel that tug again, to be vividly aware of the ruins beyond the carnage.  When she closes her eyes, she sees the column and its writing, letters of fire, letters of pain, that she knows would explain everything, if she could only get close enough, look hard enough.<br/><br/>Marius is moving, and for an instant she thinks the battle is about to begin anew.  She moves to help instinctively, borrowed sword raised -- not even that is allowed to be familiar now, only him, different as he was from the boy she remembers.  But there is no fighting for the moment, only the broken wreck of one man, still clinging to whatever life he's allowed to have.<br/><br/>He must know he's dying, but something -- training or defiance or simply the natural expression of his face keeps any fear from showing.  He only looks up at Marius, evenly, steadily, only the edge of pain in his eyes revealing how close he is to death.  For a long moment, he seems to consider Marius' words very seriously, and Amara lets herself think that he will reveal something -- the fate of the girl, the location of her captors, the ancient and bitter secrets of the ruins.  She steps closer still, her hand shifting edgily on the rapier's hilt.<br/><br/>Then the raider's eyes, now growing dim, turn to the movement, and focus on the girl as she stands next to Marius.  Slowly, a smile spreads across his face, and something like a laugh pours from his lips.  "We have her," he says, his voice filled with gravel.  Now his whole body shakes with laughter, or perhaps his own death-throes.  "We have her at last."<br/><br/>He keeps laughing, and Amara takes a step back, trying to hide her fear by pulling herself up to her full height, trying to stay steady.  Of course he only means the girl from the village, he means Anissa.  But suddenly she feels just as she had back in that cell, dark and chill, trapped, helpless, facing her own end.