"Miro! What happened? Are you all right?"
Amber held Tomas by the hand, Miro was pleased to see. Miro raised his head and shook it from side to side to clear it.
"I'm… fine…" Miro said.
A sudden stab of fear hit him, and his eyes went wide. Miro clutched at his trouser pocket, his hand grasping empty cloth. He began to search the muddy bank, his hands grasping at one handful of silt after another.
"Miro, what are you doing?"
When his hand clutched onto a smooth circle of metal, Miro thanked whatever deity was looking out for him that the ring had fallen out only at the end. He washed it off in the water; he might be covered in mud, but at least it would be clean.
"Lord of the Sky," Miro muttered, "nothing ever goes to plan."
As both Amber and Tomas looked on in astonishment, Miro stood shakily and faced them both. Covered in mud and with chest heaving, he turned to Amber, and sank to one knee.
Miro held out his hand. The ring was of bright yellow gold, with an emerald stone in the shape of a droplet, banded by tiny diamonds.
Amber's mouth dropped open. Miro's hand shook.
"Amber, I tried to make this day perfect, but I know I'm covered in mud, and I know Tomas almost fell into the river. I know I'm not perfect, but you've made me incredibly happy, and I want to give you more." Miro took a deep breath. "This ring was Lady Katherine's… I didn't know her, but she was my mother. It's not the ring she married Tessolar with — it's the ring she wore when she married my father, High Lord Serosa. I'm sorry. I know it's not about the ring. What I'm trying to say is… You and Tomas…"
Amber put her fingers to Miro's lips. "Shh," she said, her lips curved in a smile. "Yes."
Miro looked up. "Yes?" He grinned.
Amber laughed. "Of course, yes, you crazy man. I'll marry you. Mud and all."
Miro slid the ring onto Amber's finger, and then stood. Still grinning like a fool, he kissed her, long and slowly, before breaking away when he felt moisture on her cheeks. Drawing back he saw more tears spilling from Amber's eyes, but she was laughing and crying, all at the same time.
Miro squatted down and hugged Tomas while the boy squirmed. He stood again and held them both for a long moment, realising the day was perfect after all.
Miro looked past Amber's shoulder and between some branches he saw white teeth and sparkling eyes and there was Layla, for once smiling broadly.
Thinking about the mud on his clothes, Miro thought about Tomas on the rock, and realised how little the mud mattered.
Miro reminded himself to thank Layla.
He was glad she came.
2
IT WAS situated high in the mountains, in the very centre of the Empire. It was encircled by the Ring Forts, the five fortresses that had never been taken by force, only by treachery. Grand, yet small, the town of Mornhaven's unique geography was only exceeded by its place in history.
Long ago, the Western Rebellion had ended here, when Tessolar's betrayal of Serosa, the Alturan High Lord, ensured the surrender of Altura and Halaran to the Emperor. The crushing Treaty of Mornhaven the Emperor enforced on the two rebel houses resulted in peace — but only for a time.
Twenty years later, it was at Mornhaven that Miro, Serosa's son, confronted Tessolar, revealing Tessolar's treachery to the world. At Mornhaven Miro was made Lord Marshal, rallying the last free men to his cause.
Now, over two years after the death of Primate Melovar Aspen, Mornhaven had a new place in history. The town no longer flew the flag of Halaran, nor did the five Ring Forts: Manrith, Penton, Ramrar, Charing and Sark. High Lord Tiesto of Halaran had gifted this part of his domain not to one nation, but to the Empire as a whole. Soldiers of all nations travelled daily on the winding mountain roads, and a strict rotation system ensured the different houses occupied the Ring Forts evenly.
It was here, at Mornhaven, that the strange man known as Evrin Evenstar was building the new machines.
The common soldiers didn't actually know where the work was being done, but those who had been at Mornhaven and the Ring Forts the longest tended to look nervously down at the ground. There were catacombs deep beneath the mountains, connecting the town with its protective circle of fortresses, and the rumours said the tunnels stretched for miles, with some caverns so huge they contained actual lakes. Only a few knew if the rumours were true: that a new harvesting plant, extraction system, and refinery were being built down there. But occasionally a rumble could be felt, and there wasn't a man who didn't believe lore was the cause. Many a brave soldier walked gingerly, half-expecting the earth to erupt beneath his feet.