‘You’re wrong,’ he said eventually. ‘There is more to this than victory or defeat. I will not throw lives away. They matter. My heart broke when my da was slain, and it broke again in Murias when my mam died in my arms.’ He paused, willed the tremor in his voice to pass. ‘And it has broken for every friend that has died in between. Yet I am but one man, surrounded here by hundreds, each with kin, with loved ones. Balur – who is dear to you here? Who would you give your life to save?’

The giant looked surprised, then frowned, his already creased face wrinkling into a place of deep valleys. ‘Ethlinn, my daughter,’ he rumbled.

‘And you, Tukul? Who would you give your life to save?’

‘You,’ Tukul replied without hesitation. He shrugged. ‘Every soul here.’ His eyes fixed on Gar. ‘Most of all, my son.’

A gentle smile crept across Gar’s lips.

‘Every one of us here has those dear to them, hearts that would grieve at their deaths. We do fight for a cause. Against a great evil. But I also fight to save those I love. So I will not throw away their lives unnecessarily.’

‘Admirable sentiments,’ Meical said, though he looked more confused than understanding. ‘Nevertheless, in this case, your sentiment is delaying action, and that will have a worse result – most likely all of us dead, eventually, and Asroth reigning over the Banished Lands. You are our leader. Lead us.’

Corban scowled. Meical shook his head in despair and dropped back, Balur and Tukul following him. Corban’s thoughts churned. Eventually he looked over at Gar.

‘I don’t know what to do, Gar,’ he said. ‘I’m scared.’ He remembered making a similar confession to Gar in a meadow below Dun Carreg, about his fear of having been bullied by Rafe. He almost laughed at the thought of it. It feels like a lifetime ago, yet here I am, still scared. Just scared of something else, that’s all.

‘All men feel fear,’ Gar said.

You’ve told me that before.

‘I know. It’s what we do about it that counts.’

Gar smiled at him.

‘This is different,’ Corban said. ‘I’m not scared of what may happen to me. I’m scared of getting people killed.’

‘Fear is fear,’ Gar shrugged. ‘It will disable you if you let it; freeze you, crush you.’

‘What would you do in my place?’

‘Fight. We have no choice. Try and go around, they’ll pick up our trail and chase us across Narvon. Sooner or later we’ll find someone else in front of us that wants a fight. When that happens you don’t want three hundred men with swords at our back.’