It mattered not; he had to find a way to get them free of the blazing plateau before the fire consumed their edge. Every second it burned closer. But how? Climb down the pillar with them on his back? That had its own risks. He was built for flying, not climbing. Suppose he should slip? He’d never be able to right himself. Or suppose one of them should lose purchase hanging on to him? But what other choice did they have?

“Weysh can shield us from the fire with his body until it burns out,” said Carmenna.

Yenni coughed, her eyes burning. “But he cannot protect us from the smoke. You must heal his wing, Carmenna.”

“I-I don’t know if I can! Healing works best when spells are infused into balms or potions, healing straight through spellcraft is primitive and difficult.” She waved her hands uselessly.

“Try! I will keep the smoke back,” said Yenni. “Hurry!”

She pulled on her wind runes, blowing back the acrid smoke. It took quite a bit of force, and the smoke was only increasing. The fire continued to eat its way through the trees, as if sentient and hungry. She could hear Carmenna chanting behind her, words she couldn’t understand, likely San-Uramaik, the old magic language. Yenni blew and blew at the fire, but she could feel her wind runes failing, her body tiring.

“Carmenna!”

The chanting picked up in volume. Yenni glanced back and saw that the gashes in poor Weysh’s wing were much smaller. A loud crack echoed through the darkness, and a large tree fell toward them. Yenni pulled—fire wards, pain wards, and strength runes—and heaved the tree aside before it could land on Carmenna.

“The trees are collapsing!” Yenni shouted. Carmenna’s voice became ragged, desperate, and Weysh rumbled and moaned as she worked.

“There!” she cried at last. Yenni turned in time to see the last of the ragged rip in Weysh’s beautiful wing disappear.

Weysh crouched down and Yenni hopped nimbly onto his back, as she had so many times before. She reached out hand to help Carmenna. Carmenna held out her arm but then froze, and screamed.

Yenni followed her gaze. Impossibly, against all that was good and right, Noriago rose up out of the gorge. He roared, his wings spread wide. Weysh crouched at the edge of the platform and snarled at him, the runes on his nose bridge glowing brilliant white as he readied another attack. Noriago roared, enraged, and turned tail.