[@shylarah]

There are other less "official" ways to travel besides the Magnagrad train lines. Remember that, thanks to Mother Indira, there is a small subsection of the population who fight for the freedom of slaves. It is extremely likely that they had help, both in planning the escape and executing it.

As for your second point, sure, that makes sense. Killing the ruling families seems like a step too far, and I think that if the Varyan empire had a ruling family of its own there would've been some kind of mercy, but the empire is directly controlled by a God who is the personification of hunger and greed. Varya wants everything and isn't willing to share or compromise and, while not exactly being a tyrant, He rules through fear and brutality, so why lie about killing families and not actually just kill them? Remember also that apart from the Lanostran inquisitors, He had all the other clergy of the different nations put to death.

Also, just a clarification, but T'sarae and Lanostre were the only nations that officially surrendered, while Muraad fought back valiantly until the bitter end over a series of invasion campaigns, and the circumstances behind Omestris' fall are murky, with the Church saying that they stormed the city and captured it, but actual Omestrians know that the city itself was destroyed before the Varyan army could step foot within it.