The South

by Nightwind

The sun in heavenly pursuit brightened the sky somewhat and the last of the exhausted farmers finished off a writhing corpse before the sun cleared the battlefield.

I gripped my staff with two hands, trying to hide my trembling. I was not sleeping well. Voices in my head clamored for attention trying to get me to sleep, but I bade them be quiet for a moment, as I went to address the wounds of my people.

An elvish woman came to me with porridge, which I declined and redirected towards others who lay or sat on the field. "I've fed everyone else, mistress," she said. I blinked at her not quite understanding her until a voice in my head translated the elvish for me through my mental mist.

"Thank you, blessings on you!" I said, taking the porridge. I blindly stumbled amongst the makeshift warriors who deserved their rest perhaps more than I did.

Something brushed up against me, nearly knocking me over. Brenhani, my companion wolf, I lay a hand on her shoulder. "Ride," she bade me silently. I limply slung myself onto her back and drank a few gulps of the cereal. "Heal?" she asked.

"Yes." I responded. She walked towards the smell of elven blood, careful not to drop me.

"They can wait, you know?" a gravelly voice said nearby.

"They can not. I will not have their pain in my ears and heart as I sleep."

"They would do this without you, although half as well. They would bind their wounds and limp on into battle. Have you considered that perhaps you spoil them?"

I ignored my wizard friend, who betrayed his own words by carrying a large bladder of water mixed with mead, to give to the exhausted fighters to help them sleep, relieve their aches, and hopefully banish the nightmares, when he himself had not slept for days. But then maybe he didn't need to sleep every day. I only turned my head enough to get the idea of a shadow forming on the ground from where he stood. I groaned and slipped off of Brenhani's back to stoop down and heal a wounded warrior. I didn't pay much mind to what I was doing, I was just too tired. Meanwhile, Brenhani lapped at watered wine from Lupei's palm. Six wolves, two larger and black with glowing red eyes, gingerly stepped between corpses and elves to follow him. They were his. They pointedly ignored Brenhani.

I worked for a few hours during the daylight, healing people, helping identify the dead, giving appropriate condolences and suppressing my own pain for having not planned better, for not having saved them, for not having healed them in time. The last thing I remembered was getting onto Brenhani's back one last time, I awoke in my tent nearer to nightfall, ready to start the nightmare again.

This night, however, was different than so many others. A new event to break the monotony. A new arrival in the camp, a young Sidhe elf named Amethyst, had been there most of the day. The camp was all abuzz with the happenings. They called her a princess, because she was Drendel's sister and Drendel was queen. But the title would be taken wrong by most people here. This was no coddled aristocrat, and she was not in line to take the throne. Amethyst had golden hair spun like a web around her face, similar to her sister's, and there the resemblance ended. Her eyes were violet, she wore silver plate and chain armor, there was a sword strapped at her side. She had a helmet which sat beside her as she spoke in hushed tones with Lupei at a low campfire. She was not much taller than the average mortal elf, which was very different from her statuesque sister, and where her sister was gossamer and spiderwebs, Amethyst was like a shining and bright gemstone, hard and brilliant. She was not afraid to scratch.

She looked up at me and took me in as I came up to the fire. I would be hard to miss, I guess, there's simply no other mortal elves as small as me, followed by a wolf. I gave a sleepy greeting and sat next to the fire for warmth and light. Brenhani curled up at my feet.

"Nightwind, this is Amethyst come down from the North," Lupei introduced.

"It's nice to meet you," she said cordially.

"This meeting blesses me," I responded. "Welcome to our camp. Do you need anything?"

"I've been well cared-for since I arrived this afternoon. Lupei has been a gracious host in your absence and has been telling me about the strategic situation you deal with."

We settled in and wrestled with new ideas with the fresh perspective of another leader.

Nightwind

Brenhani