The next morning, everyone was down at the port where a huge sending off was in place. The battalion of Water Nation’s best was already on deck… awaiting the leading ship to set sail under General Suho’s command. The four dragons were already at their places on four of the five ships that made up the leading pack. Those were the five ships that will be used by the twelve boys, who remained on land, where they were saying their goodbyes to the King and Queen. They spoke to Lay and Minseok separately, as the others stood waiting.

Finally, the family of four was done, and King Minguk addressed the other boys. He wished them the best of luck and spoke kind words to Suho, Sehun and Chanyeol, showing them the belief he had in them… in knowing that they would bring back glory and peace after the war. “Kyungsoo.” King Minguk called for him, as the others made their way onto the ships. Tao and Kris went aboard the ship with Hunter on it; Chanyeol and Baekhyun were with Aspen; Sehun and Luhan joined Whisper; Kai went to Midnight’s side; and the remaining boys, Suho, Lay, Minseok and Chen went onboard the General’s ship at the head of the army.

King Minguk wrapped Kyungsoo into a hug. “Kyungsoo. I shall tell you what I know Kyōhei would say at this moment… We are ever so proud of you and what you’ve matured into, my son.” Both males stared at each other with teary eyes. “As the Avatar, you’ve carried so much on your shoulders… taking on so much… that we tend to forget how young you are. At your age, you should be enjoying your young years with family and friends… not being where you are right now. You were born into this life, to lead this kind of responsibility. We can never ask more of you that you’ve already given. I am proud to call you the one I’ll gladly follow and serve, my Great Avatar.” King Minguk smiled and inclined his head as a mark of respect. Kyungsoo watched as the Queen and wave and waves of civilians and soldiers aboard the ships bowed their heads to him. His eleven companions and the dragons had their heads bowed too. He looked into Kai’s eyes and read nothing but fondness.

I will follow you to the end of the world and time, my Avatar. My love. Kyungsoo smiled and held King Minguk’s arm, the latter lifting his head and effectively signaling for everyone else to do the same. “Take care of my sons.” Kyungsoo nodded and boarded his ship. Goodbye. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be the last time I see you, Great King of Water Nation. King Minguk waved at Lay and Minseok, who was on the verge of crying; before Suho gave the command for the ships to set sail and they were leaving the harbor. The citizens of Water Nation’s Capital gave them a grand sending off, waving and cheering to the beats and sounds of the War horns.

“Don’t be sad, Minnie. We’ll be back home soon.” Lay comforted his brother. Chen nodded and hugged Minseok, “We’ll find the last egg, kill Zökr, and I’ll bring you home to your family. Safe and unhurt, I promise.” Chen smiled and assured the other. A short roar from their right broke through their conversation. They looked to see Chanyeol sitting on Aspen who looked like he was about to dump the Elf into the freezing waters, as his rider clung on desperately. “Just follow my lead, Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo shouted, atop Midnight, before the Avatar and his blue dragon leapt from the ship and hovered above… waiting for Chanyeol and Aspen to follow.

“Okay… take a deep breath, Chanyeol. You can do it! See how easy it is for Kyungsoo… Let’s do this Aspen!” Chanyeol yelled as his dragon soared up, only to take a last minute head dive into the ocean. It does not help Chanyeol’s cause to learn how to fly on Aspen, if his dragon has a certain affinity to water. Aspen was practically playing and swimming in the waters, as his rider spluttered and coughed out swallowed water, drenched. The boys howled in laughter as Kyungsoo and Midnight shook their heads and facepalmed. It took a particularly long scolding and nagging session from Midnight to get it into Aspen’s head that they had not much time left… if the dragon doesn’t work hard to learn, he’ll be dead weight and killed first thing during battle. That certainly woke Aspen up, and the dragon and his rider were more motivated to train after that.

As Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were busy with their dragons, Kai teleported everyone else to convene at Suho’s ship. “How long till we reach the shores of the Elves?” Sehun questioned. Suho peered at a worn-out map and answered, “Close to five days.” Sehun nodded, “My army will be ready at our borders within three days.” They watched as Midnight caught Aspen in a tight hold and spiraled down to the waters, as the smaller dragon did his best to wriggle out from the other dragon’s grip. His inexperience showed as they failed, and the four took a tumble in the freezing waters before Midnight shot upwards whilst pulling on Aspen’s tail. “Focus!” Kyungsoo yelled at the other pair, before they resumed their training.

“That’s some very realistic mock fighting going on there…” Yifan stared in awe. Luhan nodded, “It’s because we have no time… that’s why we had to speed up Aspen’s training. Whisper and I weren’t put through that. Thank heavens.” Suho cleared his throat and glanced around, “Will we be too late? I mean, five days is a long time… and Zökr might have moved his army to Shadow Nation by the time the Alliance gathers.” Kai shifted nervously, “Have you seen anything to predict when he’ll hit?” He asked Tao. The Seer sighed, “I haven’t seen anything pertaining to the fight so that means something in itself… Zökr hasn’t made a decision yet. So I guess no news is good news? I’ll probably see a vision when he gives the command to move for Shadow Nation… so in the meantime, all we can do is wait and pray that he does nothing for the five days it takes us to get to the Woods.”

Chanyeol and Aspen finally got their well-deserved break during lunch. Hunter and Whisper had come back from their hunt with plenty for Midnight and Aspen to feast on. “Are you alright?” Baekhyun asked as the elf plopped down beside him. “I swear Kyungsoo’s trying to kill me!” Chanyeol stated with a crazed look. Kyungsoo chuckled as he walked towards the group sitting down and waiting for lunch, where Kai pulled him onto his lap. “You’re an Elf, Yeol. it up!” Chen sniggered, “Yeah… An Elf can deal with much worse than that. Unless you want me doubting your identity again… stop whining.” The food was finally ready and Kai made his way to and back from the other ship, arms laden with plenty of food to feed twelve starving boys.

After a hearty meal, Kyungsoo, Suho, Chanyeol, Sehun and Yifan, went off to a corner to discuss battle plans and strategies… while the rest took the time to practice their own powers. The dragons were granted the afternoon to sleep. Minseok was manipulating some of the water surrounding them into ice, as he ran alongside the ships with Chen in wolf form, keeping him company. Lay and Tao, who had more passive skills, were brushing up on their sword fighting skills. Kai was with Luhan and Baekhyun; the three were fighting simulated enemy soldiers born from Baekhyun’s illusions.

Meanwhile, the five were discussing their course of action when reaching Shadow Nation. “We don’t know where the egg is… that’s the main issue I believe.” Kyungsoo stated. Sehun nodded, “Shadow Nation is huge. It can be anywhere… we’re going to have to expend much of our resources if we were to both search for the egg and fight Zökr’s army.” Suho frowned, “Though we have three armies, Zökr’s numbers are almost equivalent to the Alliance’s. We can’t afford to spare men in search for the egg.” It was hard to figure out an effective plan… that was pretty much evident. “The Faer Gonds can kind of sense where the eggs are if they get close enough. Maybe I can take Draken and Kruse to scout around first?” Kyungsoo suggested. “I have an inkling feeling that the egg can be found somewhere in the mountain range Razgard is in. I’ll go check there first thing when we reach.” Suho hummed and unfolded the large map on Shadow Nation.

“I believe the best way to go about this, is to split into two teams.” Suho circled the mountain range with red ink. “Can Kai teleport from the West shores to the mountain range? It’s quite a far distance…” He asked Kyungsoo who shrugged. Just then, a definite “Yes!” was heard, as Kai answered Suho’s question from afar. “There’s your answer.” Sehun smirked. “Our minds are more connected than most.” Kyungsoo blushed, “Why do you ask?” Suho replied, “Kyungsoo and Midnight will search the mountains for the egg, as the rest set up camp elsewhere. Sehun, Chanyeol and I will set up the defensive lines as we fight the enemy and buy time for you till the egg is found. Kai will act as our messenger. He’ll be relaying information since you probably can’t read minds at such a great distance.” Kyungsoo nodded. “Zökr’s men will probably land on the Western shores. We’ll be between him and you. We won’t let him pass.” Chanyeol stated confidently.

“Why not let Kyungsoo fly there with Midnight now? To start searching now would be a head start.” Yifan proposed. Suho vetoed his suggestion right away. “It’s too dangerous for them to go alone. What if Zökr attacks them then? The rest of the Alliance will be too far away to help… Kyungsoo could die! That’s definitely not an option.” Suho crossed his arms. Kyungsoo sighed, “He’s right. We stick to the plan. How are we going to organize the troops?” He referred to the army of Water-benders, Air-benders and Elves. “The great plains near the Western shore would be the most probable battlefield. Our forces should split into three and conduct a three-pronged attack when the Fire-benders come.” Suho looked to Yifan for advice. Yifan stared at the map before circling three areas in red. “Near the foot of the Twin Mountains, South of the Nation, and the Western Plains. This should be where we lie in wait.” Yifan pointed at the Western Plains. “This here would be the first line of defense. The other two groups should wait for Zökr’s forces to engage this group first before rounding them and attacking them from behind. Surrounding them would be a great advantage for us.”

“We’ll have a dragon with each group then.” Chanyeol stated. Kyungsoo nodded, “We mix the three armies to form groups of Elves, Air-benders and Water-benders. Suho will lead the largest group at the Western Plains since that will be the first point of assault. Half of our number will be under Suho’s command. Yifan, Tao and Hunter will be with Suho to assist where necessary.” Kyungsoo looked towards Suho and Yifan, who nodded in agreement. “Lay will be with me.” Suho said. “Sehun will lead the second group from under the Twin Mountains. Get Luhan and Whisper to monitor the situation from the Mountains. You guys will start your attack after Suho’s team engages with the enemy.” Sehun nodded firmly. “I’ll lead the final group from the South then.” Chanyeol s