Darkness. Light. Darkness. Light. The constant roll of thunder. The sound of hooves rapidly hammering the ground. The large warhorses slavering from the effort to gallop even faster. The two riders whispering to their mounts, urging them on to greater speed. The knights in battered, torn armour riding low on their mounts. Their faces hidden by the shadows, the flashes of lightning showing stoic features etched in hard lines. No fear is present, only determined resolve to do thier duty.

          Atreus and Ashok ride hard through the night. The only companion being the unnatural storm with its constant thunder and lightning. Lightning flashes. Two men in powered armour riding massive steeds of steel on two wheels. Thunder rolls. Another flash. The image of two battered knights on galloping steeds returns. A distant sound of hooves drumming hard against the earth becomes apparent beneath the sound of the storm. Ashok glances rearward and sees the pursuit closing. Looking across at Atreus, he nods in answer to the unspoken question.

      Looking ahead, they see the roadway leading deep into the forest. As they enter, they spilt, Atreus to the left, Ashok to the left. Each Knight crashing through the underbrush, pushing farther into the forest guided only by the lightning. The knights wheel thier steeds again, heading back out of the forest. As each knight breaks from the treeline, they see thier pursuers on the galloping hard down the road between them. Changing direction one last time they charge forward. Lightning flashes. Two solitary figures clothed in power armour charging on steeds of steel. Thunder rolls. Another flash of lightning. The battered knights image returns. On the road, figures in grotesque armour continue thier madden pursuit. At the last instant, the knights scream thier battlecries, causing their pursusers to pause. The charging knights ram home the advantage and cleave though the middle, leaving several figures lying in torn and broken heaps upon the ground. Turning thier mounts around, the knights charge again. Ill prepared for a second charge, the pursuers suffer more losses from the two incarnations of mounted death.

      Coming around once again, Ashok and Atreus halt and head back up the road way, away from the forest. They slow, allowing the steeds to rest, listening for the sounds of pursuit. Finally, Ashok hears the sound of pounding hooves coming closer. Knowing what is about to unfold, the two turn towards the sound and wait. Neither one shows any hesitation or concern, just a calmness that belies thier fate. Even their warhorses wait patiently, the generations of breeding and training showing through. A calm comes upon the storm, setting the stage for the final act.