Early next morning, Amadeus stretched wide as he awakened. Wow, I must have been exhausted. I slept like a log. The sun was peeking through the mountains, showering their camp with warmth and light.

"Good morning," Rei yawned. He was hunched over and sharpening his frost dagger with a sharpening stone. The stone looked very similar to the one Amadeus saw in the White Harrow blacksmith. One was busy at work, covering over the remains of their campfire with sand. The embers glowed weakly as the sand washed over them, extinguishing them entirely.

Turning to look for Izumi, Amadeus spotted her staring back at him with uncertain eyes. She quickly darted her eyes in the other direction, and her cheeks flushed red.

"Grab your things, we leave in a couple of minutes," Izumi hurriedly instructed. "If we hurry we should reach the Jagged Peaks before noon." She walked away to sit on a sand dune, and started checking her equipment.

"The rest of the night was uneventful," Rei added. "but don't let your guard down. I have no idea if White Harrow sent anyone else after you." He looked towards the distant mountain range and started walking towards it. He motioned for them to follow him.

After the previous day's long journey, the next stretch of walk towards the Jagged Peaks passed by quickly and with ease. Amadeus was thankful for that, as they could no longer drink from the waterskin he had purchased from Da Bez Town knowing that it was laced with night essence. In what felt like the blink of an eye, they were standing at the base of the Jagged Peaks. The mountain cast a huge shadow on the group, sheltering them from the sun.

"Well, here we are Amadeus. The Jagged Peaks, home to the Riders of the Sky."

"You mean the Avianath?"

"One and the same," Rei grinned.

"Why did you call them the Riders of the Sky?"

"Didn't you know?" Rei asked, surprised. "All Avianath ride on birds called Eadren. They are as large as bears and as ferocious as wolves."

Amadeus gazed up at the imposing mountain which stretched vertically upwards for miles. There was no mountain path to walk on. "So uh, how do we get up there?" he asked.

"Well, people say that the Jagged Peaks are so treacherous and steep that no normal person would dare to climb it. We however, are not normal." Rei replied, unfazed by the height of the mountain.

Amadeus hesitated. He stepped forward and felt the rocky base of the mountain face. "Ouch," he exclaimed; the surface felt like daggers.

"They don't call it the Jagged Peaks for nothing." Rei grinned, "Even the Avianath don't climb up. They ride the Eadren all the way up to the peak. It's the ideal place to stay if you don't want any unwanted visitors."

"Well, let's get it over with so we can get back to Ichi." Izumi rubbed her hands together and started making her way up the mountain face. Rei followed suit, easily catching up with her.

Amadeus looked at One and sighed. One bowed down and gestured for Amadeus to go first. "After you, master."

Amadeus cautiously held onto jutting rocks on the mountain face and pulled himself up. He managed to find a foothold and used that to push himself upward to find another rock ledge to grab onto. On and on, he continued climbing upwards. This isn't so difficult; it's like climbing a tree... a very sharp and hostile tree. One followed closely beneath him, looking up protectively.

The wind whipped around them strongly, swirling around them like waves in the ocean. It grew stronger and more intense as they progressed on their climb. The rocks towards the peak were covered in snow, making them more slippery and treacherous to climb.

"So Amadeus, the trick is to never look down," Rei reminded Amadeus after they had put several miles of mountain face behind them.

Amadeus wished Rei hadn't said that. He glanced down, and his knees turned weak. "How long more till we reach the peak?" he panted.

"What is it with you and the 'are we there yet' questions? I told you we're almost there."

"You said that an hour ago. Are you just saying that so that I'll shut up and keep climbing?"

"You know it," Rei grinned. He suddenly felt a gust of wind on his back - the flapping of wings.

"Well, well, look what we have here sister- stragglers," a cheerful voice said. Rei shivered, feeling a cold metal tip pressed against his back.

"What do you people think you are doing?" a female voice asked. Amadeus looked behind to see two young Exiles riding upon a large winged creature each. The creatures both looked the same. They had the face of an eagle but were larger than even the wolves Amadeus had crossed path with near White Harrow. Three people could ride on one of them comfortably. They had large claws which made Amadeus nervous.

"Let's just throw them back down, Bianca." the male rider suggested. He wore a silver helmet over his head which covered the center of his face but left his eyes and cheeks exposed. He wore cured leather armor. In one hand, he held a silver tipped spear which was pointed at Rei.

"Hang on Bastian, I got this." The female rider – Bianca, swept towards Izumi and her creature picked up Izumi with its claws. Rei swiftly removed on of his hands from the mountain face and immediately drew an icicle. His other hand held on firmly on the rock outcropping.

"You don't want to do that Izenth," Bastian warned as he pressed the tip of his spear against Rei's back, threatening to skewer him.

"Noburu," Rei cursed under his breath. This isn't an advantageous position to fight in.

"Easy there, uh... Batty?" Amadeus started, trying to diffuse the situation.

"It's BASTIAN!"

"Right... Bastian, we're only here to see your chief. We just want to talk."

"No outsiders get to see Chief Penn. You're all now trespassing on Avianath territory." Bianca answered while Bastian fumed at the slight on his name. "You have two choices. Go back down the mountain face, or be thrown back down."

"You tell them, sis." Bastian laughed. "No one, and I mean no one reaches the top of the peaks while we're on defense duty." He twirled his spear in his hand.

Amadeus eyes brightened. "You're on defense duty, you say?"

Bastian nodded. "That's right. We Avianath live together with the Eadren. They serve as our mounts and in return, we defend their nests." He petted the creature he was riding on who cooed pleasantly in return.

"So... what you're saying is if someone else was about to reach the mountain peaks, you'd have to leave these people alone and pursue them instead?"

"Stop asking stupid questions, it's our duty to stop anything and anyone from reaching our home on top of the peaks. Our entire tribe is depending on us." Bianca replied.

Amadeus didn't hesitate. He raised his left palm and glanced at Rei. No words needed to be exchanged between them. Rei understood Amadeus immediately and nodded in response.

Bastian and Bianca gawked in surprise as a bright arc of lightning shot towards the top of the peaks. Amadeus glided smoothly upwards along the arc, grabbing Izumi firmly by the waist with his free hand on the way up. Bianca's Eadren tightened its hold onto Izumi, but the force of her ascent was too great. The Eadren's claw slipped and it spun out of control, falling towards the ground.

Being a seasoned flier, Bianca remained calm and pulled up on her Eadren's reins, guiding it back to recovery. "Let's go," Bianca screeched as her Eadren swooped upwards after Amadeus and Izumi. Bastian groaned and followed in pursuit, leaving One and Rei behind.

Izumi trembled, feeling her heart sink into her stomach. She clutched Amadeus tightly and buried her head into his chest. His heart beat faster as he held her close with his right hand. Both of them were carried up along the arc of the lightning, hurtling at an amazing speed towards the peak.

Within seconds they landed gently on the peak. Izumi was still trembling against Amadeus, recovering from shock. Amadeus glanced down at his Lighvel, and saw weak waves pulse along its surface. It was almost out of energy. I wanted to conserve its energy for an emergency, but we were in a pretty bad position earlier. There was no way we could defend ourselves while clinging for our lives on the mountain face. There was no choice.

"You saved me," Izumi whispered, interrupting his thoughts. She took a step back and looked around, relieved to be back on solid ground. The look of relief on her face quickly turned into anger. She balled her fist and punched Amadeus in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" Amadeus pouted, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again! I almost died from fright."

All around them were the tents of the Avianath. The wind blew strongly against the tents, making the fur coverings flutter violently. The Avianath children were playing happily around the camp, in what appeared to be a game of tag. Amadeus remembered playing this game when he was younger. There were some women dressed in leather and feathers drawing water from a nearby stream. Being at the very top of the mountain, the stream looked crystal clear.

"Intruders! Don't move!" a stern voice shouted.

Amadeus turned around to explain, only to come face to face with several spearheads. Drawing two of her frost daggers, Izumi leapt in front of Amadeus. In moments, the Avianath guards fanned out and surrounded them. The guards wore the same helmet as Bastian had, with leather armor and cloaks made of brightly colored feathers. Most of them held a spear in one hand and a large shield in another.

"She's wielding frost daggers," one of the guards said, recognizing the blue blades in her hands.

"They're Izenth. Let's throw them down the side of the cliff," another suggested.

"What is it with you Exiles and killing each other? Can't you guys just get along?" Amadeus said with a sigh of frustration.

"What is he going on about?" growled an authoritative voice. A large man in uniform pushed through the group to reach Amadeus. He looked like he was in-charge of the others.

"The Izenth is asking us to be friends, captain," one of his men replied. The captain looked backed with amusement in his eyes before the entire group burst out laughing, and Amadeus felt like he was back in White Harrow all over again being made an object of ridicule by the others.

"They're ours." Bastian interrupted as his Eadren swooped down next to the group. The laughter immediately faded to silence.

"C-c-captain Bastian, I had n-no idea. I'll l-leave him to you, sir." The guard captain signaled for his men to disperse. "Return to your posts!" The guards all headed in different directions. Amadeus saw them climb up watchtowers made of stone.

Bianca landed next to Bastian and immediately thrusted her spear at Amadeus, stopping only inches from his nose. He could feel the force of her thrust against his face. "This one's tricky, brother. He used magic like a Noble." She turned to look pointedly at Izumi. "He can't be one though; the girl next to him is an Izenth."

"Could it be that the Izenth have formed an alliance with the Nobles?"

"Possible," Bianca replied, with her spear still centered on Amadeus.

Amadeus raised his hands in surrender. "Look, we didn't come here to fight. I had no choice but to intrude because there was no other way up this mountain. I'm actually from White Harrow, and we need your help. Our leader, Old Jarbus. He —"

"Wait, did you say Jarbus? As in the Jarbus?" Bastian's eyes widened with interest. "You say you know him?"

"Who? Old Jarbus? Yes, of course I know him. It's his plan in the first place to—"

"Jarbus was our trainer back in the day. To this day, he is a legend among legends for the Avianath. He left the camp awhile back, but Chief Penn never told anyone why," Bastian explained.

Bianca gave Amadeus a dirty look. "Don't trust them, brother; especially not this one."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Bastian challenged.

"I'm glad you asked," Amadeus replied. Bianca tightened her grip on the spear as Amadeus slowly reached into his belt to lift out the Eadren's feather he had picked from Old Jarbus's cloak.

"Look," Amadeus held out the feather and waved it at Bastian "this is a feather from his cloak. Please, you need to trust me. I really need to see your Chief! Many lives are at stake."

Bianca saw the sincerity in Amadeus' eyes and hesitated for a moment but kept her spear trained on him. Bastian on the other hand enthusiastically dismounted from his Eadren. Taking the feather from Amadeus, he brought it close to his face and examined it intently.

"He's telling the truth sis - it's an Eadren feather. It must be true. Eadren's don't shed their feathers and there is no way this scrawny boy picked the feather off one. The Eadren would sooner maim him than let him steal one of their feathers."

"Fine," Bianca conceded. "Confiscate the Izenth's weapons and take them both to Chief Penn then. Let the chief decide the fate of these intruders. I'll go get the other two stragglers and bring them too."

"Try to be gentle with them," Amadeus requested.

"Hmph." Bianca lifted her spear away from Amadeus and pulled the reins of her mount. "No promises." The wings of her Eadren released a powerful gust of wind which dislodged several pebbles from the ground as she soared away from them.                  

Author's Note: Finally, Amadeus has reached the peaks. Will he manage to convince the Avianath to help his people though?

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