BOLD

The Time Before Brave

The prequel to my Brave story. This tells about how Lord Domhnull Macintosh met his wife Idelle. Her travelling partners are just for continuity's sake, I couldn't write them in as love interests or even major protagonists. They will eventually fade into the background, as Idelle and Domhnull get more spotlight time.

Before the war, before the need for a king, before marriages and children, and demon bears to complicate things. Many clans found they had a surplus of young, rambunctious first, second, or third sons, doing nothing but kicking their heels and waiting for their inheritances' to come through.

Several clans had already put their heirs on the hunt for ancient weapons from places that existed mostly in legend. Few came back alive, less came back successful. Barbaric as it was, this was an acceptable to whittle down too many heirs to one clan, and keep rumours of invasion to a minimum in rival clans.

One such clan had quite a few sons and daughters, the Macintosh Clan. Illness had taken the oldest son three years prior and still the youngest boy was stronger and clever than his two elder brothers. His four sisters, two a pair of twins and the other two both younger than him, had all been married into advantageous matches. His elder brothers and he were as yet unmarried as all were still under twenty five, and he himself just turned twenty. The wife of his eldest brother had returned to her clan after his death, and not feeling comfortable in her dead husbands clan without a child to tie her to it.

Domhnull watched as his brothers sparred in the training ring. Both were stripped to the waist, and both had many more woads than he did. He had three, each earned in an attempt on his father, or dead brothers' life. His mother had always told him that he would do great things, she had passed away after giving birth to his twin sisters when he was four. Domhnull had held onto her words even after his step mother tried to bend him to her ideals. She had also died in childbirth, leaving his lord father with two more daughters, a newborn and a three year old. Domhnull swore to himself to have only two or three children, and to have only one wife.

As his brothers sparred, Domhnull realized his restlessness. He wanted to lead and be followed, but he could do neither while his brothers were both intent on leading the clan between them. Ramsey would lead in times of peace, his level head and silver tongue had already gotten then clan more land for the apple groves and farming. Raine would be the war chief, he was a brilliant tactician and fought with two swords. He was a whirling devil on the battle field. Domhnull had yet to do more than be in the right place at the most opportune time. He was also thin as a rail and looked ridiculous with his chosen battle mace. Domhnull sighed, boredom had become his closest friend in the past few years.

As he sat, he became aware of being watched, he spun around, looking in all directions. Nothing, this sense had been troubling him for several days and had gotten so intense, that he was unable to sleep at night. He settled back into his position and waited for his turn to spar. Before that happened however, the battle drums sounded, and the screaming began almost immediately.