Volume One: A Cousin's Support

Chapter One: Forest Retreat

'Traot Keep, Sangheili Colony Teeda'ul, 2530 (Eighteen Years Later)

"Ahst! Wake up!"

Ahst 'Traot groaned as she woke to bright sunlight suddenly in her face. Stretching her arms, the young Sangheili yawned widely, her mandibles stretched out as she turned to look out the window. Was it morning already?

"I know you are in there, now wake up!" The voice came from below, and belonged to Keba 'Traotee, a Minor in the Sangheili military, Ahst's closest cousin, and her closest friend. The two had spent many a day together, when Keba would tell Ahst stories of his adventures in the Covenant's navy, serving both onboard ships and on the battlefields of alien colonies.

"Ugh... Do I have to?" Ahst called down to her cousin, still groggy as she stuck her head outside her window, a simple, round hole carved in the stone walls of her family's home.

Ahst's answer came in the form of a small rock that was thrown through the window, landing squarely between her eyes. "Fine." she muttered, tenderly rubbing her forehead. Her cousin's marksmanship was unquestioned, but that did not mean she had been asking for a demonstration.

"I will be nearby! Do not keep me waiting this time!"

Ahst rolled her eyes as she walked away from the window. Her cousin was so high-strung sometimes. While punctuality was considered a virtue by many 'Traot, Ahst did not consider idle chatter with her cousin something of high priority. She had her own morning rituals to carry out first, and she preferred to be alone for them.

Ahst slipped a forest-green robe over her body, an article of clothing that was standard attire for all non-military citizens of the Traot Keep. Trained warriors, on the other hand, whether they were active in military service or not, were expected to remain in armor from dawn until dusk, so that they could step into battle at a moment's notice if the need ever arose. Ahst often imagined wearing a set of armor herself. Did it feel light or heavy against one's body? As a female of the keep, the only sort of covering she had ever known was that of a light, soft robe against her dark gray skin. Things such as armor, weapons, even simple training - that was the domain of the keep's male population.

Walking downstairs into her home's main room, Ahst saw she was alone. Her father, Zylo, was very likely at the usual morning weapons drills, and her mother, Vera, was probably running errands. While most Sangheili children, including the young sons of Traot, were raised in common rooms, where they lived and trained together, Traot females like Ahst often lived at home with their parents. Males were not granted the privilege of knowing their fathers' identities, but females were in charge of managing bloodlines, in order to prevent inbreeding within keeps. It was also Ahst's responsibility as a young female to learn well from her mother, so that she herself would be a dutiful mother and wife in the future.

As no one was around to stop her, however, Ahst cautiously opened the house's front door, peering through the tiniest of cracks in the doorway. Looking around to make sure her cousin wasn't in hiding nearby, waiting to ambush her, Ahst decided the coast was clear, and silently stepped outside into the morning. A few citizens were busily walking down stone pathways, none paying very much attention to the female youngling who had just walked out of her house. Ahst casually strolled down the nearest walkway herself for a short while, stepping closer to the edge of the woods. When no one was looking, she rushed down the path and took cover in the forest.

The Traot Keep was quite young and small in comparison to many of Sanghelios's city-states. Founded little more than a century ago, it was a small community with a population of well less than a thousand Sangheili, likely closer to half that number. Unlike larger keeps on Sanghelios, the 'Traot did not rely on the technology of the Covenant or the labor of alien serfs to provide for themselves. In fact, the kaidon of the Traot Keep had cut off all trade and communication with other keeps, in, as he said, a move to promote self-reliance in his people, so that they would never have to defer to another keep's wishes.

Another factor that immensely added to the city's isolated nature was its location. The entire keep was surrounded by one of Teeda'ul's many vast forests, a maze-like woodland that served the keep as a natural border, fortress, and labyrinth all in one. Visiting outsiders, few as they were, had to be guided from a nearby landing zone by sentries into the keep, or they would almost certainly become lost for days, or possibly even longer. Few who entered the deepest parts of the forest alone were spotted again. To Ahst, however, who had a passion for exploration, and had spent much of her spare time in the woods closest to the keep, it was a sanctuary. She had memorized natural landmarks that most would overlook, and could find her way back home from just about anywhere that was not too far from home. Ahst had even found old, forgotten pathways in the woods, likely leading out of the forest and towards various keeps and settlements. However, her keep's silence and isolation would make her a stranger wherever she went, and it was a status that was not always welcomed with open arms. Even if that were not the case, Ahst also often had her own duties to carry out at home with her mother's guidance, so she had never traveled along these mysterious pathways, never having a reason to.

Racing through the forest, ducking under low branches, leaping over fallen logs, even springing through the thin gaps in-between trees, Ahst navigated deeper and deeper into the woods. In what felt like no time at all, she arrived at her destination - a small pond hidden from probing eyes by thick, gnarled trees and thorny bushes. Ahst had stumbled upon this location by complete accident on one of her usual treks, and had returned home to a lecture by her father about losing blood, and therefore honor, to the thorns. By now, however, she had forged a safe path in-between the brambles, and she was able to seat herself at the edge of the pond, heaving a peaceful, contented sigh as she arrived at the place she had claimed as her personal meditation grove.

Kneeling at the water's edge, Ahst closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall into a deep, silent trance. The soft lapping of the pond's water near her feet, the calls of the forest's many creatures around her; the light of the suns slowly warming her body… Ahst could not imagine life without this tranquility as she imagined herself where she truly longed to be - on the battlefield alongside her brothers. Like many Sangheili, Ahst wanted nothing more than to bring glory and honor to her family's name. Sangheili were proud warriors at birth, so of course the best way to honor one's kin and clan was to fight for that honor. The Covenant had been at war with the blasphemous human race for five years now, and the blood of one of 'Traot's finest warriors flowed in Ahst's veins. Even if she was apparently never meant to take up such a role, the young Sangheili could feel a thirst for blood, glory, and adventure in her that no laws could take away. However, she could only quench her thirst in her own imagination, when she allowed herself to drown in her own thoughts. At the moment, she was allowing herself to hear the clashing of swords, the wailing of plasma fire, the triumphant roars of her victorious brothers-

"There you are!"

Ahst woke with a start, snapped back to reality by Keba's voice. "What are you doing here?" she snapped irritably, rather angry that her cousin had followed her.

"Waiting for you." Keba smiled, sitting beside Ahst. "I always wondered where you went when you disappeared in these woods. How do you find these places?"

"Simple," Ahst replied, a hint of coldness still in her voice. "I take the time to look for them."

Keba held back from laughing. "Do you not have anything better to do?"

"No, since I am not allowed to train with you." Ahst muttered bitterly. "Even though you know as well as I that I would love nothing more than to do so."

"Yes, I know." Keba sighed, putting a comforting hand on Ahst's shoulder. "I wish you could as well."

"Why does the kaidon not allow females to train, anyway?" Ahst asked, tilting her head slightly in thought.

"I am not even sure why," Keba shrugged. "From what I have heard from my brothers-in-arms, females in their keeps are trained to wield weapons and fight, for the protection of home and eggs. And rare as they are, I have seen females in the military before. Though, admittedly, never on the front lines, usually as weaponsmasters. Females with military knowledge are not completely unheard of. It only seems to be that way here in this keep."

"So perhaps I do have a chance after all!" Ahst said brightly.

"Perhaps." Keba nodded. "But your request must still go through with the kaidon."

"Well, perhaps he simply has never had a female ask before." Ahst smiled hopefully. "To think, Keba, I could be the 'Traot Keep's first female warrior!"

Keba smiled at his cousin's enthusiasm, but deep down, his hearts were wracked with pity. She would never accept the truth, knowing her, and she was going to find herself rather hurt whether she accepted it or not.