"It is time." The high priestess intoned as her charges both young and old looked up at her from their seats on the ground. "The Goddess has called for six to go out into the world and change the course of history."
Etain sat at the back of the large sunlit clearing her eyes moving over the faces of those around her. The smell of change was in the air. Catching her sister's eye she sent Aeldra a look of thinly veiled annoyance. The high priestess was taking too long. Etain clenched her jaw. Her duties were to stand guard over her priestess sisters with her wolf Arden by her side, not sit in the sun and listen to a lengthy speech as to why the Goddess had called for six of her followers to move out of the safety of Her own protection to change history. Aeldra rolled her eyes and turned back to the high priestess. Today felt different and she didn't want to be distracted by her dark eyed sister.
The high priestess continued. "The names of those leaving us are Aelia, Rhian, Nayla, Eanna, Aeldra, and Etain."
A cry rose up from some of the priestesses, not all were happy with the women chosen. But those who had been called stood up dutifully and moved to stand at the high priestess's right hand. Their destinies had been decided.
"You dare question the Goddess?" The high priestess asked raising her voice.
There was a deathly silence as each priestess lowered her gaze in supplication.
With obedience assured the high priestess turned from her followers to the chosen women at her side.
"Follow me." She said gravely before she turned gracefully on her heel and walked out of the clearing.
The six priestesses followed, their heads lowered in respect.
As the women walked through the forest Etain couldn't help but glance around her, her senses refused to stay quiet as she obediently followed the high priestess.
The small procession stopped only when they stood at the edge of the great river that cut off the lands where they lived and the lands Rome and the Woads had taken for themselves.
"Your belongings and everything you need are on the far bank. But before you leave there are two more ceremonies you must partake in." The high priestess said as she surveyed the women in front of her. "You must all look into the scrying pool and see the future which you must change and then you must all chose names which will keep you safe on your journey from here."
The girls hung back from the pool. It was near the edge of the river and looked to have been naturally carved by the elements. No one was willing to be the first to see an unknown future. It would be their burden to change and their's alone.
The high priestess sighed in exasperation. "Nayla girl, come, you will be first."
Etain watched as a tiny girl stepped hesitantly from the group and towards the pool. She had hair so fair it looked almost white. Her skin was nearly the exact same shade and she had plump pink lips, high cheek bones and blue eyes darkened with fear.
Once at the pool she knelt and bent low over the surface of the water. She stilled there for a few moments before she leant back with a soft sigh.
The high priestess gently smiled and motioned for the girl to stand in front of her. "What will be your new name child?"
Nayla lifted her chin. "Laurel, mother priestess." She said in a soft voice.
The high priestess nodded. "It suites you child. It will be your name until the Goddess shows you otherwise."
"Thank you my lady." The newly christened Laurel said dipping into a flawless curtsey.
"Go and wait with your sisters." The high priestess ordered before turning to the rest of the young women. "Rhian." She called.
The next priestess to step towards the scrying pool had hair dark as a raven's wing, creamy skin, pink lips, feminine curves and midnight blue eyes. She knelt at the pool and leant over the water close enough that her breath made tiny ripples in the surface of the liquid. A moment later she stood up and came to stand in front of the high priestess. Etain noticed that there was a soft smile turning up the corners of her lips.
"My name will be Lynet." She said in answer to the mother priestess's questioning gaze.
"Do you know your destiny?" The high priestess asked.
"Yes my lady." Rhian nodded.
"Go stand with your sisters." The young woman dropped into a curtsey before walking back to her place. "Aeldra." The high priestess called.
Etain watched as her dark haired sister moved to the pool without hesitation and no fear showed in her bright blue eyes or the set of her full lips. She knelt and gazed into the depths of the pool. There was silence from all around and Etain kept her eyes trained on her sister's profile. Suddenly there was a shift in the set of Aeldra's lips. Etain watched as her eyes slid closed for a moment before she took a breath and stood, turning to face their mother priestess.
"You have seen your destiny?"
Aeldra's shoulders straitened and she took up the stance of the warrior she had been since birth. "Yes, my lady." She said.
"And your new name?"
"Lisbet, mother priestess."
With a small nod the high priestess sent Aeldra back to the group.
Etain tried to catch her sister's eye but Aeldra's attention was solely on the next priestess to step forward - a slim, pale, redhead with green eyes called Eanna who renamed herself Kerra. Aelia, the next woman to step forward, was the oldest of the six priestesses by one summer. She had brown hair and delicate features but her hazel eyes stood out, lined by dark eyelashes. Her new name was to be Nola.
Finally the high priestess called Etain's name.
With one last glance at her sister's face Etain stepped to the edge of the pool and knelt fluidly. Leaning over the edge, with the ends of her coal black hair floating on the surface of the water, Etain slowed her breathing and searched the depths of the scrying pool for the vision of her destiny. In between one breath and the next she realised suddenly that she could no longer see the rough stone bottom of the pool. Instead there was only a swirling nothingness pulling her gaze further down into the holy waters. The sounds of the river and her priestess sisters fell away and Etain's ears were met with silence. The darkness suddenly shifted to reveal the bird's eye view of a frozen lake with an army advancing from the right towards eight figures standing in a line at the edge of the ice. Suddenly one of the eight ran forward towards the army and stopped in the middle of the lake. He (and it was a he Etain realised as she plummeted down into the middle of the scene) raised his axe above his head and slammed it down into the ice with a shout she could not hear. Realising her destiny was tied to this man's Etain studied him, locking away his image in her mind. He was taller than any man she had ever seen, with broad shoulders and a shaved head. An ugly scar ran from bellow his eye to the middle of his cheek and another ran across his head. As he raised his axe a fifth time to smash the ice an arrow slammed into his chest. Etain watched in horror as he fell to his knees a second arrow in his side and then his axe came down, slicing into the ice. It cracked and she watched as the giant fell into the freezing water bellow. Without thinking the young woman reached out to help him only to have the scene melt before her eyes. The scene that replaced it made her gasp. She was standing in the middle of a battlefield, the ground beneath her feet slick with blood and gore. Casting her eyes over the carnage in front of her Etain watched as a man with dark curly hair, dressed in black armour, took a crossbow bolt to the chest. His body jerked back a few steps. In a last bid he threw his sword slaughtering an enemy soldier before he fell to his knees his eyes dimming in death. The scene then melted and changed again. She was standing on the same battle-field but in another area. Two men stood fighting. The first had long blonde hair and a beard. The second, she could only see from behind. Suddenly the blonde warrior pulled his sword through the side of the other causing a fatal wound. The injured man spun with the momentum of the attack and fell to his knees with his back to his killer. Etain stepped forward as he started to crawl towards her, trying to see the man's face so that she would know him again to save him. The man who had injured the dark warrior grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him to his feet. The mortally wounded man lifted his head and Etain froze, her breath leaving her body as she caught sight of his eyes. They weren't dark as she had expected but rather an amber colour she had never seen before. The rest of the scene wavered and faded leaving Etain with the memory of those haunting eyes seared into her mind.
"Save them." An unearthly voice entered her mind shocking her. With a gasp Etain pulled away from the scrying pool. Her vision slowly came back to her and she looked up to see Aeldra had stepped towards her.
"Are you well Sister Etain?" The high priestess asked.
Etain turned to look at her. The high priestess knew what she had seen. With a curt nod the young woman stood and moved to stand in front of the mother priestess.
"I know my destiny and my name will be Helena." Etain said before she could be asked. With a swift curtsy the warrior then turned and walked to stand beside her newly named sisters, impatient to leave.
"Well done chosen ones." The high priestess sighed. "A boat will take you to the other side of the river and from there you will begin your journey. Remember all that you have been taught here and go with the protection of the Mighty Mother, Ruler of All." Her blessing given, the high priestess turned and melted back into the tree line of the forest.
The six women were left alone. "Let's move." Aeldra ordered before turning to the river and climbing down the small incline of its bank. The other women followed silently as they piled into the small boat and were rowed to the other shore by an old man. Once on the other side they found their belongings strapped to the backs of their horses. Etain stepped to Chaos, her black stallion's side, and checked the straps of his saddle before she let out a shrill whistle. Her call was met by the soft thud of padded feet and an excited yip as her grey wolf came bounding out of the forest.
"Do you think it is wise to bring Arden, Etain? This is his home." Aeldra asked from the saddle of her grey mare.
"He will not leave me and his protection will be welcome on this journey, sister." Etain snapped as she swung up onto Chaos's back.
"Very well." Aeldra murmured before she wheeled her mount around and started to ride away from the river. "Come we must make camp before dark."
Later that night after the six women had made camp they sat around their small campfire trying to stay warm.
"Where will we go to from here?" Eanna asked in a soft whisper as though she were scared of the answer.
"North." Aeldra spoke up.
"Why north, sister?" Aelia asked.
"The Goddess told me at the scrying pool that we must go north to Hadrian's Wall. It is but a seven day journey from here." Aeldra answered her gaze seeing nothing as she stared into the flickering flames of their fire.
Etain clenched her jaw and stood swiftly upsetting Arden who had settled his head in her lap. "I will take first watch." She said coldly before turning away and moving out into the night. A few minutes later she was joined by Rhian.
"What troubles you sister?"
Etain kept her eyes trained on the darkness in front of her and her ears open for Arden's warning bark if they were attacked. "Aeldra saw something in her vision that upset her. But she will not tell me what it is."
"Have you asked her?" Rhian asked softly.
Etain cut a glance at her. "I should not have to." She murmured.
There was silence between the two for a few moments before Rhian spoke again. "Since we are to be companions on this long and possibly dangerous mission I would like to ask you a question if that is alright."
Etain smirked out into the dark forest. "Since we are on this long and dangerous journey I will allow you your question."
"Your tattoo, what does it mean?" Rhian asked turning to look at her sister priestess fully.
"We are all Sarmatian are we not?" Etain asked.
"Yes, but none of the others have markings such as you." Rhian murmured studying the dark curved writing etched into Etain's left cheek. It stretched from just under her eye, nearly to her jaw.
"Aeldra does. We are from a tribe far in the south of Sarmatia. We live on the banks of the Great Black Sea. Both men and women are thought of as equals when it comes to fighting. Our female warriors are feared even by the Romans. They call us the Death Shadows. My tattoo," Etain lifted her hand and traced the lines. "Is sacred. It numbers how many of the enemy I have slaughtered. Aeldra prefers to hide hers on her arm." Etain brushed her fingers from her shoulder to elbow, indicating where Aeldra's tattoo was. "I prefer my enemies to see the number of their deaths written on my face."
Rhian stood silently mulling over Etain's words.
"Do I disgust you sister?" Etain asked softly.
Rhian smiled. "No. But you must tell me, is it true that you Death Shadows can call down the darkness to cloak themselves and the fog to blind their enemies?"
"If that were true this tattoo would be much longer." Etain smirked with a small twist of her full lips as she glanced at Rhian before she tilted her head to the sky and studied the ceiling of branches above their heads. "You should get some rest sister. Aeldra and I will patrol during the night. There is nothing to fear with us on watch."
"I will only leave if you agree to talk to Aeldra, Etain." Rhian said softly.
"Then you should go and sleep easy. I will talk to her."
"Tonight." Rhian added.
At Etain's resigned sigh Rhian smiled. "Good night, Etain."
"My name is Helena." Etain growled as Rhian turned and went back to the campsite.
Her exasperation was only met with silence and Etain settled back to wait in silence for the turn of the watch. A few hours later she knelt beside Aeldra and shook her shoulder.
"Aeldra, it is time for your watch." She whispered so she wouldn't wake the other women sleeping around her.
Instantly, Aeldra was awake and sitting up, but before she could get up from the ground to patrol the area, Etain caught her shoulder.
"What did you see at the scrying pool?" Etain asked.
Sighing, Aeldra turned to her younger sister. "I saw that I must save you from death. It was not a vision I enjoyed watching." She said wirily.
Etain nodded and let her go, settling down to sleep. "Thank you for telling me."
Aeldra's jaw clenched as she turned from the warmth of the fire and disappeared into the dark.
Five days into their journey Etain was leading the column of women along a forest path when Arden's frantic barking and snarling erupted from between the trees to her right. Wheeling Chaos around she shouted for the others to turn back. The drum of many hooves sounded behind her as the priestesses turned their mounts and tried to flee. Their escape was cut off by three Roman soldiers on horse back.
"No." She heard Aeldra scream as Eanna was dragged from her horse by a soldier. Etain watched as her and her sisters were surrounded by Roman soldiers. There was no time to fight as their escape was cut off in all directions. A glimpse of grey from the corner of her eye made her whistle loudly telling Arden to hide.
"Well, well, well. To journey this far north of Hadrian's Wall is dangerous for women alone." One of the Romans said as he urged his horse forward. "Unless you want your friend to die I suggest each of you dismount and hand over any weapons you may have."
Etain snarled, but seeing the fear in Eanna's eyes and the wicked looking dagger at her throat she obeyed the Roman pig.
Soldiers stepped forward and took the weapons each woman dropped at her feet.
"Good girls." The Roman said again. "I am Captain Leonidus of the fifth cavalry and infantry of Rome and you are all my prisoners. My men and I will escort you to Hadrian's Wall and once there Commander Castus will decide if you are Woad spies."
Each woman was then grabbed by a guard, her hands tied behind her back before being force marched for another five miles before the Captain decided to make camp.
Six stakes were driven into the ground each a foot apart and the priestesses were then forced to their knees and tied to the posts.
"Tell them nothing." Aeldra hissed in their own language when they were finally left alone. "No matter what they do to you, tell them nothing." She was taken by a group of soldiers half an hour later and her screams tore through the campsite drowning out the jeering of the men who had taken her.
Over the next few hours each woman was taken by a different group of men, each one screamed save Etain.
The next night the legion camped a few hours from the wall to 'enjoy their prisoners a little more' Captain Leonidus said.
"Hey, what are you doing Lucien?" A soldier asked as one of his comrades in arms stood from the warmth of their camp fire and walked over to the women sitting huddled on the snow-covered ground.
"This one doesn't scream, they say she doesn't have a tongue." The soldier sneered leering down at Etain. "If she doesn't have a tongue," he continued, starting to unlace his breeches, "then there will be more room for my-" He was cut off as Etain slammed her foot into his groin.
He fell with a scream. Etain pushed herself to her feet untangling her hands from the bindings she had managed to work loose. Two Roman soldiers lunged at her angrily but she grabbed the sword of her fallen victim and easily killed them both. Realising that they had underestimated her, the other soldier's drew their own weapons and stood to fight.
With a cruel smile Etain called Arden to her side. The men stepped back in fear, their minds easily falling prey to superstitious thoughts.
Swinging her stolen sword, Etain pulled out a dagger and threw it to Aeldra, knowing that the Roman Legionnaires' fear would only last for a few moments.
She was right. A moment later five men charged at her. She managed to take down one, and Arden ripped out the throat of another, but they were both overwhelmed by the numbers, and Etain felt her sword ripped from her hand. With one last struggle, she sent Arden away from the fight and threw her last dagger into the chest of a Roman soldier who was aiming an arrow at the wolf's retreating form.
"Enough." A loud shout broke over the scene and the mottled purple face of an enraged Captain Leonidus emerged from his tent. "Bring her to my tent and I will deal with her. And make sure to secure the others and check them thoroughly for anymore weapons." He added before disappearing in a swirl of his heavy cloak.
Etain was dragged to her knees. Her hands were tied behind her and then her elbows were forced together behind her back and cruelly bound as well. She was then pulled to her feet and marched into the Captain's tent. As the tent flap closed behind her Etain felt fear coil in the pit of her stomach for the torture her sister's would endure by the hands of the Romans now that she had failed to free them.
"So you wish to fight." Leonidus said his form bent over a small desk sitting beside his sleeping pallet.
Etain didn't answer and instead adopted a bored look and tried to ignore the pain from her wrenched shoulders and back.
"I have heard my men talk. You make no noise when they take you and you fight until they finish with you." There was silence as Leonidus straitened and turned to her. A chill slid down her spine as she saw the lust glittering in his eyes. "You will learn your place by my hand and I will be the one to break you." He jerked his head ordering his men out of the tent without words. "If you fight me I will kill one of the women out there in the snow and make you watch as the earth soaks up her life blood." Leonidus added as he moved toward her.
Etain clenched her jaw and let her mind wander back to the green steppes and sandy beaches of Sarmatia as his hand seized her throat.
Etain's body landed at Aelia's feet with a thud as the soldier who had dragged her from Leonidus' tent threw her to the ground. For hours the Roman Captain had forced himself on her and tortured her to make her scream but she had refused to give in to the pain or in to him. Finally he had tired of her and she had been dragged back out to her sisters by his guard.
"Are you alright, sister?" Aelia asked close to tears.
Etain glanced up at the women she had sworn to protect. Nayla and Rhian were crying openly but what was more disturbing was to see Eanna sitting curled in on herself and staring silently at the snow wetting her ripped and dirty skirt as Aeldra tried to comfort her. Unable to fight the pain or rage anymore Etain lay her head on the frozen ground and prayed to the Goddess for release for herself and her sisters.