When the world was much younger, there lived a young, strong military soldier who was destined to raise in the ranks and become rich. He had potential in the stars to even marry a princess if he wished. But, between his joining the military and becoming the husband of a princess, he came across a small child among one of his troops many tours to take down other nations or cities said to be gleaming with gold and treasures. This child had seemingly fallen from the heavens and so he stored her away in one of the many baskets of treasures and food. Surely, thought the soldier, this toddler would make the journey back and she would be taken care of by someone great.
And so, this child came to be the daughter of a strong, powerful, and feared military man and his infertile, first wife. The child grew to become a beautiful, young woman. There were many suitors for this young woman, Alexia. None of them were wanted by her. They were too strong or knew too much or had too many wives or were too old, which caused many scoldings from her father. Alexia would become bitter and cold at most meals where a suitor was suspected to be present, and often she would throw food at the suspected suitor and her father, always praising the slaves over the lot of them. She would have none of their nonsense, and would call forth a slave man to take her to pray, as she lived in a country where women were not permitted to be seen outside their houses without a male escort.
The place of her prayer was always a different temple to a different god or goddess, as she wanted to be heard by them all. She prayed for the suitors to stop coming and instead to be taken away by some poor man who knew love and knew to love her. Her lists included fishermen or farmers in general or small foot soldiers. She did not want a man who was some filthy aristocrat with many wives and no time for her and no love for her or anyone else for that matter. Of course, she was aware of how picky and unreasonable she was being, and she would tell the gods such. By the end of her prayers it would be very late and she would leave them lavish goblets that she had taken from the table that night.
Once, her father had followed behind, worried that she may have been in love with his slave, and heard her prayers for a man weaker than herself. So, the man began to take his daughter to train with his troops. Alexia proved to be stronger than his best man over time. Had he started her upon this sport sooner, who was to say her power would have rivaled Artemis's bow. But, knowing the risk of comparing a mere mortal to the gods, the man never said a word and told her she was a pathetic excuse for a soldier, and a worthless, little, girly daughter at that. Alexia would join her father on his tours as well, but was never permitted to leave his tent without permission and a escort.
She walked during part of the journeys with her father's troops, but usually was told to stay perched on a wagon of supplies as relief for the men. Her father would say, "As long as there is a woman in sight, there is hope and something to fight for. You are their reminder, my child." Most of the time, Alexia would roll her eyes at her father's remark, but other times she would smile for the man who raised her even after his first wife's death. At times, she would playfully reply from atop the supply wagon, "Oh, Father, how silly you are. These men are here to try and prove their worthiness to you and the gods. There is no reason for them to want a petty, little girl like me who is thin and has no physical proof of her father's wealth."
At one time, she had come down from her post on the supply wagon so it could be dismantled for the crossing of a river no deeper than the height of her legs. However, she crossed first without her father's permission, but with the escort of one of his high ranking officers. To the gods Alexia prayed the man did not want a wife but a man as she held onto his arm and waded through the water. The earth seemed to want to claim her. The trees seemed to call for her, the water seemed to want to take her to the ocean, and yet she still made it to the other side. It was when one of the foot soldiers slipped on a moss covered rock under the water, that she proved her worth to the men. The soldier was taken away to a deep part of the river, yet Alexia dove into the icy waters after him. The whole troop was forced to wait for their return after they all crossed the river. It was the gods doing that they had, because come nightfall Alexia had returned through the water with a scowl on her face and the soldier's arm linked to hers. It was relevant that she was cold and that she had saved this soldiers life, but still her father scolded her for risking her life for a the pitiful excuse of a soldier.
The soldier, Darius, had medical attention as did Alexia, but it was a wonder that the young woman needed bed rest for only one night while the man was sick for the entire three month tour. Whispers among the troop's campgrounds asked how a woman, the supposedly weak, needed only one night of Artemis's light to become well; while a man, rumored to be the strongest creation of the gods needed three cycles of the moon to become well again.
Once back with glorious prizes of their battle, the young woman was bid to stay in the comfort of her room rather than join her father and his wives and their ruler for a glorious feast in their success. Yet, Alexia, being young and restless, ordered one of her servants in hushed tone to go into the halls and listen in on the conversations being held at the feast. The servant, having been saved from a forced marriage as a prize from the defeated city, vowed to forever be loyal to her young mistress and did exactly as she was told to do. When she returned early in the morning to help dress her young mistress, she told the girl everything she had heard.
"The man is proud of you, but the ruler suspects that you may be some sort of spirit or naiad. The woman ruler and your father's wives suspect they should keep you as a trophy for the ruler's son. They believe you would be the perfect present for his coming of age, but then your father spoke up and said he would have none of that. He says you are a fighter and would kill the boy before he could even reach the next moon if that were to happen. My Lady, you must prepare to be challenged. The master had voiced his thoughts of you possibly being Ares daughter." There was a long pause as the servant put teal and silver jewelry in Alexia's corn rows. "The man thinks highly of you, and he will make sure you are damned if you fail his expectations, Mistress."