and Thor was beyond exhausted, but also exhilarated. The first sun was breaking over the horizon, and the vast expanse of sky opened before him in shades of yellows and pinks, and he felt as if he were seeing the world for the first time. He had never felt so alive. He was surrounded by his friends, Reece, O’Connor, Elden and the twins, by Kendrick, Kolk and Brom, and by hundreds of members of the Legion, the Silver, and of the King’s army. But instead of being on the outskirts of it, now he rode at the center, embraced by all of them. Indeed, they all looked at him differently since the battle. Now, he saw admiration in the eyes of not just his fellow Legion members, but also in the eyes of the real, full-grown warriors. He had faced the entire McCloud army by himself, and had turned back the tide of war.
Thor was just happy that he did not let any of his Legion brothers down. He was happy that his friends had escaped mostly unharmed, and he felt a sense of remorse at his Legion brothers who died in the battle. He did not know them, but he wished he could have saved them, too. It had been a bloody, ferocious battle, and even now, as Thor rode, whenever he blinked, images flashed in his head of the fighting, of the various weapons and warriors who had come at him. The McClouds were fierce people, and he had been lucky; who knew if he would be so lucky if they met again. Who knew if he would be able to summon those powers again. He did not know if they would ever come back. He needed answers. And he needed to find his mother. He needed to know who he truly was. He needed to seek out Argon.
Krohn whined behind him, and Thor leaned back and stroked his head, while Krohn licked his palm. Thor was relieved that Krohn was okay. Thor had carried him off the battlefield and had slung him over the back of his horse behind him; Krohn seemed able to walk, but Thor wanted him to rest and recover for the long journey back. The blow of the club Krohn took was mighty, and it looked to Thor that he might have broken a rib. Thor could barely express his gratitude to Krohn, who felt more like a brother to him than an animal, and who had saved his life more than once.
As they crested a hill and the vista of the kingdom spread out before them, there came into view the sprawling, glorious city of King’s Court, with dozens of towers and spires, with its ancient stone walls and its massive drawbridge, with its arched gates, its hundreds of soldiers standing guard on the parapets and on the road, rolling farmland encasing it, and of course King’s Castle in its center. Thor thought immediately of Gwen. It was what had sustained him in battle; it was what had given him reason and purpose to live. Knowing that he was set up out there, that he was ambushed, Thor suddenly feared for her fate, too. He hoped she was okay back here, that whatever forces had put into play his treachery had left her untouched.
Thor heard a distant cheer, saw something glimmering in the light, and as he squinted his eyes at the hilltop, he realized that a great crowd was forming on the horizon, before King’s Court, lining the road, waving flags. The people were coming out in force to greet them.
Someone sounded a horn, and Thor realized they were being welcomed home. For the first time in his life, he did not feel like an outsider.
“Those horns, they sound for you,” Reece said, riding beside him, patting him on the back, looking at him with a new respect. “You are the champion of this battle. You are the people’s hero now.”
“Imagine, one of us, a mere Legion member, turning back the entire McCloud Army,” O’Connor added with pride.
“You do great honor to the entire Legion,” Elden said. “Now they will have to take all of us a lot more seriously.”
“Not to mention, you saved all of our lives,” Conval added.
Thor shrugged, filled with pride, but also refusing to allow any of this to get to his head. He knew he was human, frail, vulnerable, like any of them. And that the tide of battle could have gone the other way.