The Room of Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan, Northwatch Fortress on the Scanran
Border
The most powerful mage in Tortall, Numair Salmalín, turned away from the young woman on the bed to the Lady Knight standing in the doorway. "Numair?" the woman asked, confusion in her dreamer's hazel eyes. "I have never seen anything like this, not in all my years of study. No one in their right mind would do something like this…" his voice trailed off as he glanced again at the prone figure on the bed, dark eyes glazed with pity and hints of fear. Keladry of Mindelan gulped hard. What in all the realms could have Numair, the greatest mage the realm had seen, this confused?5 Hours Earlier…
The ride to Northwatch Fortress from Steadfast had been long and hard, the winter rains and snows had made the usually passable rode treacherous, but Keladry of Mindelan had been called to service and go she must. The Scanrans, terrified by the loss of their killing devices, were fighting harder then ever along the border to regain any advantage. At least she had had the company of her friends of the King's Own, who had also been dispatched to Northwatch. Riding in sleet and snow with Dom to warm her with jokes and flirtatious comments had almost been pleasurable. Upon their arrival at the fortress their horses were whisked away from them by quick and efficient hostlers. Listening to the rumble of her empty stomach, Kel decided to find her way to the mess hall before she unpacked her belongings; she would have plenty of time for that later. She was just easing her stiff body onto the bench in front of her full tray when she was clapped hard on the back. Her ribs protesting as she turned, she saw the grinning face and green eyes of Neal.
"Hello Mother!" he said too cheerfully, "How was the ride? You certainly took your time."
Deigning that this comment too silly for a reply she turned her attention to her vegetables. Neal sat in the seat opposite her and chattered away, normally this would have cheered Kel after a ride but she was cold and sore and developing a headache. The latter fact was apparent to Neal as soon as he realized that her silence was not her usual Yamani-like silence. He slipped his ever present healing drops into Kel's tea which she gulped gratefully, muscles easing in her neck and head. She had just opened her mouth to reply when an horn call for 'enemies' sounded outside. Kel and Neal looked ruefully at each other, grabbed their weapons and raced toward the stables.
20 minutes later, armed and riding Peachblossom, Kel joined the men of the King's Own yet again. General Vanget, the commander of Northwatch, had not had time to give the newest knights their assignments and so they were ordered to report to Raoul. Kel stood in line next to Wolset and two places from Dom. He winked at her and flashed a grin, making her heart flutter. Mind on the battle Mindelan, Kel silently scolded herself. Raoul was riding the line, looking to the trees where the Scanran army was advancing,
"Shields up!" he shouted, his voice carrying across the line as a veritable rain of arrows emerged from the trees, heralding the arrival of the Scanrans.
Kel immediately raised her shield to block the arrows and watched coolly as screaming Scanrans broke through the trees into the open air.
"Charge!" was the next shouted order.
The knights and the soldiers moved forward as if one and fell upon the ranks of Scanran 'soldiers.' After initially picking off spear holders from horseback, Kel found herself locked in a mounted battle with a man who, small by Scanran battle standards, appeared to have an uncommon skill with a battle axe. She was very lucky when his axe stuck in the leather cover of her battle shield (the Mindelan shield had been too much a hassle to grab from her baggage) she swung her sword, Griffin, into the opening of his armor between his chest and arm. Looking around she saw that all the Scanrans were in a pitched battle and she had a moment to breath. She took the opportunity to see how her friends fared, looking about her as she grabbed her water skin. Dom also had a free moment and he, true to form, winked at her from across the raging battle field. Kel about to make a rude gesture before returning to her task looked on in horror as Dom fell from his horse. From her vantage it looked as if an arrow had struck him directly in the chest. Fury in her heart mingled with fear for her wounded friend as she cut a bloody swath across the field, friend and foe alike moving quickly from her path. She quickly dismounted from Peachblossom after making sure that she would not be attacked while she knelt. Dom had been lucky; the arrow had struck his left shoulder, just above his collarbone. He stirred as Kel checked his pulse, just to be sure.
"Second time these Scanran whelps have shot me in that shoulder. I do believe I will pay them back for that." He gasped and blanched from the loss of blood.
Laughing with relief, Kel signaled a medic from the rear and, as the man weaved his way through the horses, looked up to see the tide of the battle. It appeared to be over, men nursing their cuts as best they could while remaining wary in case this was an attempt to lull them into dropping their guard. Kel stood to see past the horses to the retreating backs of the Scanrans and immediately knew this was not a true retreat, the movements were too controlled. Just as this thought came to her she felt a strange sensation in her teeth, almost as if they were humming. She had felt this once before, whenever Numair had performed magic back at Haven. Though she could see Numair from where she stood (he was always there now, in case another mage like Blayce had come up with nasty surprises) she could tell it was not him performing the spell. Wolset, also dismounted, pointed to where the Scanrans had clustered to regroup after their first attack. They were forming a wide half circle with a person huddled in the center.
"Spyglass. Now." said Kel sensing a need for urgency. Wolset handed her the desired object which she immediately put to use.
The centered person, who Kel even at a distance could tell, was blond. With the aid of the spyglass the knight could see that the person was also female. That was itself odd, Kel thought; women were not typically soldiers in Scanra and even if this mysterious girl was a soldier or some kind, she was young to be on the battlefield, around the age of 14 or 15 judging by her size. She looked to be about 5 feet 2 inches tall with ashy blond hair. It was matted and filthy, hanging in loose waves down to her knees. This coloring was typically of any Northern dweller but there was still an odd feature to this one.
"Wolset, have you ever seen a dark skinned Scanran blond?" asked Kel confusion coming through her voice; the humming was becoming louder and more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Nay, milady, pale as death, that lot." Wolset replied, equally confused.
Putting the spyglass to her eye again Kel searched for the answer to the girl's darkened skin, so at odds with the rest of her appearance. Further examination revealed that the girl wore only a leather loincloth and a crudely wrapped bandage around her breasts. If she was cold, she gave no sign of it. This lack of covering gave Kel the opportunity to see that the girl was not some sort of mixed blood child but that every inch of her skin, from face to toes, was covered in dark brown tattoos. Just as she was about to convey her findings to Wolset, the humming reached an unbearable intensity. All humans clapped their hands to their ears as their horses danced and bucked, trying to escape the awful noise. There was no doubt now that this strange power was emanating from the girl now crouched 100 yards from the Tortallian line. The humming reached an unbearable level and Kel, still in battle formation, searched frantically for Numair, hoping that he had the answer to this clearly magical outburst.
Two things happened at once: the girl on the Scanran line shrieked: a tormented animal sound that was somehow worse than the humming and a flood of what appeared to be black smoke poured from her mouth and moved in an eerily straight line toward the Tortallian forces. Numair, in the back of the battle formation, raised his right hand and the strange smoke seemed to press against a glass wall. It rolled and bubbled as if it were alive, trying to find a break in the barrier. Numair began sketching symbols in the air with his left hand, sweat forming upon his brow. As his whisked his long fingers in a last flourish the blond girl collapsed. She was immediately surrounded by the Scanran soldiers as Numair's voice sounded in the Tortallian heads, "Somebody get her off the field! Bring her to me!"
Worried about Dom and terrified of this new threat to her friends, Keladry of Mindelan spurred her warhorse, Peachblossom, into action. Hoping that the other soldiers would protect her from any archers in the Scanran lines, she charged the circle surrounding the mysterious girl. Using her glaive's superior reach she cut down two howling Scanrans. Luckily for Kel, one of the Scanrans had already pulled the girl's limp form up to a standing position. Peachblossom reared onto his back legs and kicked the man on the soldier as Kel, risking falling off her saddle, leaned over and grabbed the girl under the arms. While she couldn't pull the girl completely up onto the saddle she could safely gallop away back to the formation. While Kel had been on her mission, the Scanrans had retreated from a hail of well-placed arrows. She reined her horse up next to Numair.