Because no matter how good the Blood Lords were, and they were very good, there was no way the relative handful of fully trained soldiers could stand up to the army that Paul was building.

“Well, we’ll be getting some new recruits from Harzburg and some of the surrounding towns, soon,” Herzer replied, walking Diablo over to his paddock. “Then we’ll have more to do with.”

He dismounted and started stripping off Diablo’s tack as a pony-sized unicorn, followed by a young colt nearly her own size, came trotting over.

“Hi, Herzer,” the unicorn said in a high-pitched voice. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Hi, Barb. Admit it, though, you’re glad Diablo’s back.” Herzer chuckled, opening up the gate and letting his mount into the paddock.

“H’zer!” the colt shrilled then butted Diablo in the side with his short, stumpy horn. “D’ablo!”

“He doesn’t really know who you are,” Barb replied, ignoring the jibe. “He does that with everybody.”

Prior to the Fall, Barb Branson had been through several Changes and just prior to the Fall she had turned herself into a unicorn. The Fall had caught her in that form and, after several unpleasant experiences in the aftermath, she had been recaptured from Dionys’ forces. Despite the fact that she was now in better hands she found herself unable to adapt to “human” society and lived with the horses, and Diablo particularly. The relationship had been the source of some crude jokes initially but now had become so normal the people of the town barely considered it. The colt was the result of mating with Diablo and seemed to be progressing somewhere between a human baby and a horse. He had been able to walk almost immediately but speech was a relatively recent acquisition.