Amber had the kiss of the man she loved.

~

BY THE end of the day, Ralanast was secure, and with every hand turned against them the soldiers of the Black Army were fleeing the city's environs in droves.

After a quick ceremony, Tiesto Telmarran, the new Halrana High Lord, took charge of Rialan Palace, dedicating his first words as High Lord to a fallen soldier named Marcus Toscan.

Marshal Beorn took charge of the army, seizing the former positions of the Black Army as far as half-way to the Louan border. Marshal Rogan set men to work repairing the demolished eastern gate, while in the afternoon Amelia returned to Ralanast and took care of the liberated prisoners.

With the city finally safe, sympathisers and even those who had simply preferred to stay clear of the fighting were rounded up by those who had suffered at the hands of their occupiers. Stones were thrown and names were called, but the Halrana had seen enough of bloodshed, and little more was done.

An hour before sunset High Lord Tiesto ordered the streets to be cleaned up. Soldiers and volunteers from the citizenry set-to willingly; the streets were cleared of rubble, and the bodies of the enemy were taken outside the walls to be burned, while those of the brave Alturans and Halrana who had given themselves for the city were taken to the cargo district to later be buried with full ceremony.

As the sun sank below the horizon the High Lord ordered the bells of the Terra Cathedral to be rung for an hour. The buildings emptied of people as Alturan soldiers and Halrana of all stations massed in the streets, in the square outside the palace, and out the front of the Terra Cathedral.

Music rose from many places in the crowd, and the people's voices rose as they sang simple Halrana songs about the harvest and the beauty of their country. There was little in the way of food and drink, but every man with food in his shop or beer in his cellar sent it into the crowd. They thanked the Evermen they were alive and they mourned the dead. Every Alturan soldier was kissed at least once, and those with no place to sleep soon had one, many by the side of a dark-haired Halrana woman. Husbands kissed their wives, and children were clutched to their father's chests. It was a night when no one was alone.

At a small house in one of Ralanast's poorer districts, an exhausted man opened his front door and slumped against the frame, looking at the sight that greeted him. Tapel squealed and ran to Rogan's side, hugging him around his waist, while a smiling Amelia came forward and wiped the tears from Rogan's cheeks.

"You stayed home, son," Rogan said. "Good for you."