Chapter 3 - The Long Road Out Of Eden

In the darkened night, amid the hasty planning, Hrothgar beamed a smile at the others. "No. No, I think I'm done. Magan has many shields already. In such fights, I would make no difference. I could be shot dead by an arrow in the first charge as easily as I could fight a dozen men." He turned to Goewyn, his tired eyes thankfully masked by the night. "I'd like to stay with you, your brother, and these children, if you'd allow. Fighting put me in chains, fighting set me free, but I can see that's all there is to it."  His mind drifted back to a bygone age of salty air and rocking decks. He remembered standing at a threshold with bloody intent, then shame soon after. Rescuijg Egon- or Adelmar for some reason - set these memories at ease, as though he was able to choose the right path this time. "I want to build. I want to grow something. I want to hang up armour and weapons, and only fight to keep things from falling. Magan leads a force bent on death. I'm sure he wants me to come back, but I just don't seem to have it in me anymore."  His tired eyes lingered on Goewyn. In the darkness, he felt more emboldened to hold the gaze.

Beyond the shadows of Canterbury’s walls, the companions part with words heavy as iron and hearts still raw from battle. Goewyn, her brother and the other children began their long journey toward home, with the promise of safety carried in every careful step. Hrothgar choses to walk beside them, seeking redemption not in blood, but in the quiet work of building and protecting. Adelmar and Muireann, bound now by shared defiance and fury, turn their faces towards war and the storm that will follow in Magan’s wake. The night swallows them all and, though their paths diverge, each is marked with by the same truth. There can be no return to what has been, only the uncertain road ahead.