Zaos' unit only heard what happened one week after the incident. Despite the fact that they almost were buried alive, Vitalar and his men managed to escape since Zaos attacked one of the sides of the avalanche and enhanced their movement speed.

"What did you say?" Cohnal asked with his eyes wide open due to the Shock.

"I won't repeat myself," VItalar said. "Now if you excuse me, I have many things to prepare since we made a huge discovery."

"You at least tried to look for him?" Melisse asked. "He was caught covering for your group."

"We didn't have time, I won't deny that we survived thanks to him, but we couldn't wait," Vitalar said. "The enemies were climbing down the mountain and their base was nearby, so it was too dangerous to stay nearby. We needed to report this discovery, after all."

"Zaos…" Nyana said with tears in her eyes.

"We will wait for one week, if he doesn't return in a week, we will assume that he died and your unit will respond to me," Vitalar said. "You can't forget that the others our king gave to Zaos also are the orders he gave you. He was a splendid soldier, a bit unnerving due to his attitude, but he alone was much better than dozens of bodyguards."

"Don't talk as if he is already dead!" Cohnal said. 

"That is right, my apologies," Vitalar said. "Still, you should prepare your unit just in case."

Cohnal clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew that Zaos was good at feeling other people's presence, so it was evident that he wouldn't fall for a trap under normal circumstances. If he were in command, he wouldn't have gone missing.

"What are we going to do?" Melisse asked.

"Even under normal circumstances, we would have to follow Vitalar's command, so we can't leave and look for the Captain," Cohnal said. "We will have to stay here and obey his orders… and hope that the Captain will find his way back to us."

----- -----

News about the disappearance of Zaos reached the capital one week later. Strangely enough, or maybe it was due to a joke of destiny, Drannor, and Ameria heard about that one day after their wedding ceremony.

"What?!" Ameria got up from her chair and shouted.

"You have got to be kidding me… what Zaos was doing so further in enemy territory?" Drannor asked.

"Sir, my lady, according to the reports, he was on a mission with the commander in the area when they found traces of some followers of the demon god," The soldier that reported the news said. "The trail left to a village and then, apparently, to the enemy's military base. However, they fell for a trap and a fight happened. Thanks to Captain Zaos, the group escaped, but the fight caused an avalanche and he has been missing since then. Today is the day commander Vilatar decided that he will command the Bloody Knights and declare Zaos dead if he doesn't show up."

After hearing that, Drannor and Ameria went to the throne room, and they found the king, Laiex and Drian. They seemed so happy in the last few days, but now they looked a bit concerned.

"Are you happy now, Father?" Ameria asked.

"What are you talking about Ameria?" Dalyor asked. "Do you think that I planned this to kill Zaos or something? Didn't you hear the details of the news?"

"I heard and I also heard that you promoted a very suspicious man to be the commander of the operation," Ameria said. "It wasn't because of his choices that this happened?"

"Ameria… you don't know how things can go wrong in the battlefield, even I can't tell since it has been a while since I crossed swords with a real enemy," Dalyor said. "I know that you are upset about many of my actions, but I assure you that I didn't act with the idea in mind of harming Zaos. His father is right here, after all. Do you think he would plan with me a way to kill him?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore, you say that you have the best things in mind, but I can only see ulterior motives behind each one of your actions," Ameria said and then left the throne room completely red with anger.

"Your Majesty…" Drannor hesitated.

"Even though I sent him to the North with that in mind, Drannor?" Dalyor asked.

"No, I don't think so… but…" Drannor hesitated once again. "Given how much you have worked to keep Zaos away from us, you need to understand why Ameria thinks that way."

"Yes, I understand," Dalyor said. "Still, that is nothing but a baseless conjecture. Regardless, you should go and help Ameria calm down."

"Yes," Drannor said.

After Drannor left, those three looked at each other. They were worried, but not because of the reasons most people would think of. They were concerned because they kept Zaos in the dark regarding many things. Now, if he survived, he might discover it in the worst way possible: he will learn the truth from the enemy's perspective.

"What do you think, Laiex?" Dalyor asked.

"We might need to consider sending Reinforcements to the North," Laiex replied. "Putting my feelings as a father aside, Zaos's fame only shows that he is hard to kill. I don't think an avalanche killed him, the followers of the demon God might do that, but if they don't… there is a chance that he will join them. He is that naive, after all. Besides, he is special."

"Are you serious? And what do you mean by special?" Drian asked.

"I always knew that something was different with him the moment he was born," Laiex said. "He was smart and he learned magic at a young age. Thanks to that, he heard some rumors about the followers of the demon god, but he never felt the same animosity we feel. With that in mind, he might join them or at the very least, he will return and demand some answers and he will do everything to obtain them. Even raising his sword against us."