She twisted the pendant between her fingers, the chain catching in some of her hair. With a sigh she adjusted it once more, pulling her hair over the top of the chain. It had always been like this, annoying, irritating, but she couldn't bear to have it away from her. She'd worn it from the moment Thom had given it to her, seven years ago now, till this very moment, and if she had her way she'd never take it off again.

Thom, her mind cried, Thom!

Her brother. She had not heard from him in four months before that day two weeks ago. Four months, when they had used to exchange letters on the fortnight. The message she had received a fortnight ago was the message she had feared; the notice brought to her from Liam, her Master, proclaiming her brother's death.

Liam had told Alanna, once she began to grow frantic with worry, that he possessed some 'friends' in Corus who could perhaps find some information out about Thom of Trebond for her – Liam being one of the few she trusted enough to disclose her noble heritage to – and these 'friends' had delivered. Though the news they bore was of the worst kind.

'Thom of Trebond was found to have died in an accident in his workshop in the Palace of Corus seven weeks ago. No suspicion of foul play, despite previous rumours'

She had given some thought to that last sentence, particularly, worrying over what exactly it meant. Eventually she had given up trying to understand just what was- what had been -going on in Thom's life. They'd tried to keep in contact once Alanna left Tortall to become Shang, but it proved too difficult. Thom's devotion to his studies, as well as Alanna's own teachings, had taken precedence. They'd sent letters for most of this time, Alanna harshly refusing to use her Gift to communicate. She had not used it since the day in Maude's cabin all those years ago – and not a single soul amongst the Shang knew that she was even capable of using it.

It still hurt, though. The brother she remembered giving her the pendant she wore around her neck, the one she had played tricks on, and with, in her youth. She'd never see him again, and that fact alone made tears well in her eyes. She did not let them fall, of course.

'To be Shang is to be Stone.' How many times had Liam drilled that into her? He had pressed her to be unfeeling, to be instinctive, to be driven. She had impressed him when she had sent Coram away when she was still only 13 (however much it had hurt her old friend, and herself, when she had done it), true. But she could not be seen to grieve, no matter the reason. She'd not prayed to any God's either, she'd lost all faith in them when Thom had passed on.

"Alanna?" the Shang Master in question popped his head around the corner, his medium length dark hair spilling across his face. "You here?"

"Yes, Liam." She was supposed to call him 'Master Ironarm', or just 'Master' when they were outside, but he didn't mind if she called him by his name in private. She tucked the pendant underneath her shirt once more as he entered, but didn't look up at him as he entered the room.

He walked up to her, crossing the room lithely – Liam was one of the most accomplished Shang in history, and many thought he'd one day become Dragon – before patting her on the shoulder in a display of amicability. Liam rarely displayed his feelings, which made this act all the more telling.

"Come on, Fir- uhh.Alanna." she gave a small smile; he'd been about to call her Firetop, the nickname he'd first used all those years ago when she was introduced to him. She detested it, and had died her hair black a few months ago so as to prevent him from using it. She, of course, had told everyone that she wanted to make herself look less distinctive, but Liam had given her a small smile when he first saw her. He knew why she'd done it, and had stopped using the name since then. Or at least attempted to. "We should be training."

She sighed, and nodded. He was right, of course. She was supposed to be training almost every moment of the day, this late into her training. There was, according to tradition, seven years of training that a Shang Initiate must undertake to be even considered to be raised to Shang. Once the seven years was done, the potential Shang's Master would continue to train them until they believed they were ready to be tested. Liam had told her, recently, that he was confident that she'd be ready to be tested very shortly, and that she must maintain her fitness – the testing could be begun at any time.

Raising herself off the stool, and patting her front to ensure the pendant was still in place, Alanna wandered out of the door, and made her way to the training area; Liam slinking close behind.

***

She walked past the various huts, thatched ones, mainly. This far south they didn't receive much rain, so tiling was a luxury. Her feet stirred up small clouds of dust when they hit the ground, the heat from the ground permeated through the soft leather shoes all Shang Initiates wore. She was used to all this, of course, she had walked this path so often she even knew how many steps it took for her to reach her destination. She knew what was around her almost instinctively now – to her right, the mess hall where Initiates and Shang alike ate, as well as the Initiates' hall where she and the other Shang in training lived. To her left, the bathing tents. Straight in front, well, that's where she was heading now. The training circle.

It was a massive thing, a full hundred paces in diameter. A ring marked out by white chalk, the ground stamped flat by hundreds of feet dancing across it every day. Red dust lay within the circle; perhaps a fitting tribute to the arena in which hundreds of Initiates had been taught to kill.

Of course, Alanna remembered, Shang was aimed at incapacitation and self-defence over killing, but however way you painted it fighting was fighting. She could live with that, however. She had, after all, always wanted to be a warrior and help the unfortunate. Shang was just another way of doing that. She had been excited to join the Shang all those years ago, to be sure, but some small part of her still wanted to meet her youthful dreams. To be a Lady Knight. But, no. Thom's death had revoked all thoughts of 'destiny' and 'Paths' from her mind along with her belief in any higher power – how could they exist, if they had allowed Thom to fall early into his life?

She glanced up at the sun, which was almost directly overhead by now. Yes, she'd been in her room for a long time. Liam should have come to get her hours ago; the fact that he didn't spoke volumes of his respect for her. However much he may convince her of the benefits of having a heart of Stone, he understood that she was in pain. She would have to find some way to thank him for that, without revealing the fact that she was in pain, of course. Her Master would think less of her if she straight out thanked him for his understanding, especially when he was constantly attempting to harden her to such feelings, but there had to be a way.

But that would have to wait. She had reached the circle. She slipped out of the leather shoes, and removed her heavy jacket, showing the cropped tunic underneath. The sun bore down on her bare arms, but she was well used to the discomfort by now, and she immediately set about tying her hair back in place.

As the last strands were collected and bound behind her head, she noticed that Liam had not arranged for an opponent. Usually she fought other Initiates, or another Shang – it was considered rude for a Master to directly test his Initiate in full view of other Shang; the equivalent of the Shang either showing off, or being too harsh on his or her student. Alanna frowned, but Liam merely shrugged.

"You will have to fight someone better than you sometime in your life. Why not adjust to the idea now?"

Alanna was taken aback. Shang talked about each other's prowess all the time, true, but this! This was unheard of. Liam was paying her a great compliment, of this she was sure; to imply that she was far superior to all those she had trained with before, that only he – a potential Dragon – could best her, went far beyond normal training.

Liam kicked his shoes off, before stepping into the circle with her. He gave her a nod, which she returned, and took his place across from her. He opened his palms at his side, and leaned forward on the balls of his feet.

"Begin!"

***

Alanna slumbered. She had been, as was expected, beaten by Liam earlier, though it had been much closer than she had anticipated. Her speed and grace surpassed Liam's own, which offset his greater finesse and strength, or at least to a point. Still, she was beaten, and returned to her rooms almost in a trance after meal time, falling onto her bed after removing her clothing.

Dreams ran through her head, visions of people and places.

She stood on a balcony of a Castle, the cold from the rocks seeping into her feet. With a frown, she looked down and realised that she was naked but for an oversized tunic. The sun broke the horizon in front of her, across the deep blue of an ocean, the golden-red veins of light dancing across the sky in a brilliant display.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

She spun around – taking particular care that the tunic didn't ride up – and came face to face with a painfully handsome man. He looked to be about twenty or so, coal black hair, and with piercing blue eyes. She'd never seen him in her life, and that fact, along with the fact that those eyes were boring into her, made her slightly nervous.

"Uh, yeah." She answered him weakly. "I've never seen a sunrise from this far west before. Very beautiful." She must be on the west coast; to see the sun rise over the ocean so.

"I wasn't talking about the sunrise." The man said, softly.

His eyes. His eyes.

He moved towards her. She couldn't move – she couldn't breathe. He reached up and pushed the copper hair out of her face, taking her into his arms, and she w-…

Gasping for air, Alanna sat up on her bed. The air was stifling hot, and her dark hair was matted to her face with sweat.

That dream was so…vivid. She lay her head back down onto her hard pillow, running what had happened in the dream through her mind. She'd never really considered herself to be a romantic person – being a tomboy in her youth, and having the better part of her teenage years taken up with training and fighting rather than socializing. Oh, not that she hadn't thought about it, no. Some of the other Initiates were quite pleasing to the eye, and when she was younger she had a crush on Liam for a while, but this

The dream was one she'd always imagined a 'proper Lady' would have. It was…beautiful. The sunset, the man – whoever he was, all of it. Beautiful. Something she'd never really considered as being, well, her. Did she like it, though? Yes. There was no denying that. She wanted to know what the man was going to do to her.

Blushing suddenly, she realised she was behaving just as any simpering maiden would be, gushing over a handsome man – a dream man at that! – Wanting him to press his lips to hers, and to hold her. She shook her head, droplets of sweat flying off, and decided she needed a drink. She pushed herself out of her bed, pulling on a heavy jacket as she did, before making her way outside.

The bitter cold of a southern night greeted her, and her teeth chattered momentarily. Glad that she had slipped on her leather shoes, she swiftly made her way over to the mess hall. It wouldn't be open at this time of the night, but she was still going to be able to get a drink from a waterskin. Her steps were silent in the dark of night, as was the norm for any well-trained Shang (or Initiate), and the Shang village was itself silent.

She rounded the side of the mess hall, and made her way towards the rear entrance, when she heard the distant crying of a wolf out in the wilderness. She turned her head out of habit, locating the sound as best she could. When she turned back to the doorway, she was shocked to discover someone standing directly in front of her.

Gasping in surprise – why hadn't she head them!? – she took a slight step back, her hands darting to her sides in an instinctive defence position.

"Calm yourself." a woman's lyrical voice soothed Alanna's nerves, and she dropped her hands. As soon as she realised she had, she frowned, and forced them back to where they were before.

"Who are you?" she hissed at the woman. She still couldn't see much of her, but the voice, as well as a feeling she had, made her believe it was a woman. "What are you doing here, I've never seen you before!" Alanna realised she was being sharp, but the woman had appeared out of nowhere!

"I am the Great Mother Goddess." The woman stated in that same lyrical tone. The words were spoken with such gravity and conviction that one almost believed her based entirely on the way she spoke.

Alanna snorted. "And I'm the Emperor of Carthak."

"If you don't believe me," the woman continued, "Then I see no point in talking with you."

"Fine!" Alanna seethed, before moving towards the door again. The woman didn't move. "Can you move, then, if you don't want to talk with me? I would like to get in that door." The woman looked down her nose at her – definitely a noble. Alanna rolled her eyes, before adding; "Please. Oh Great Mother Goddess." The last said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Surprisingly, the woman took the words at face value. "Good, you're being reasonable. That is a good sign, Alanna of Trebond." Alanna paled, "Oh yes, I know who you are. Even if you yourself have forgotten."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she was getting decidedly aggravated with this woman. Her attitude needed serious adjustment, Alanna decided to herself. As if to prove her thoughts right, the woman waved the question away as if it was of no importance.

"Anyway. Now, since you've decided to be reasonable-" Alanna rolled her eyes, the woman ignored her "-I must talk with you."

"What if I don't want to talk with you? I don't think it's particularly wise to talk with strangers, strangers who appear in the middle of the night out of thin air, and who go around pretending to be Gods! Not to mention the fact that I have had a very strange night, and would like to just get a drink, and go back to sleep! I do have the Shang testing coming soon, and need to be ready for that. So obviously I can't just stop and chat to everyone who comes around!"

"Are you quite finished?" the woman's tone was now icy. "Or are you going to continue acting as a child? I had thought you were almost an adult by now, but obviously I was mistaken."

Alanna glared at the woman – she still couldn't make out much of her features, but she was fairly certain she was glaring directly into her eyes. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Not here. Your room, I think."

"Wha-?" Alanna hadn't even got the word out before the earth lurched under her and tossed her off her feet. She fell to the – hard, not at all dusty – ground with a thud.

"Much better." The woman sat herself on Alanna's bed, and waited for the girl in question to rise. "Now, Alanna, since you now must recognise that I am who I say I am, I would im-"

"Huh?" Alanna broke in, confused. "Why? Because you…transported me here? A Sorcerer could do that."

"Perhaps."

"No. Not 'perhaps'. I know what Sorcerer's can do, and I'm not going to believe that you're a God, since they don't exist."

"Why do you say that? Because your brother died?" The words seemed so innocent, and were delivered in such a compassionate fashion, but Alanna saw red.

"Don't you dare bring him into this." She hissed. "My beliefs are just that; my beliefs. And I'll thank you kindly if you keep your snooty nose out of my beliefs and my business."

"Alanna," the woman sighed reproachfully.

"Stop it! Stop saying my name like you know me!" the woman opened her mouth to talk to her again, but Alanna jumped in again; "No! Why don't you just go away, a-a-and leave me alone! Stop pretending to be a god, and just…leave!" a sudden thought struck her, "And don't go putting dreams into my head either like that last one!"

The woman frowned in confusion, shook her head in disbelief, and then sighed in a distinctly frustrated manner. She rose off the bed in a fluid motion, and stalked towards Alanna. "Now listen to me, Little Girl, you are going to sit down on that stool, and you are going to listen to what I have to say. You will do so, or I will make it so."

Alanna seethed, but she sat. The woman continued; "Good. You have some wits about you then. Don't roll your eyes. Now, anyway, I came to talk to you about your destiny; your future. It wasn't supposed to be like, well, like this."

"What do you mean?" Alanna murmured, her curiosity taking over the more rational part for the moment. "What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing, no. Just that it was supposed to be different in some way. I-I don't know, really." She sighed, "But, no, that's not important. What is important is that you've still got a part to play."

"Lucky me."

"Oh do stop being difficult, Alanna. Honestly, this would be so much easier if you'd learnt some manners." Alanna bit her tongue, "Now, as I said, you've still got a role to play. Things are…different, than what I had foreseen, but I can still tell that you lie at the heart of things. In removing her pawn."

"Huh? Whose pawn?"

"The Queen of Chaos'. Her hand touches this world even now, more so since that unfortunate incident two months ago-" Alanna's breath caught "-Yes. Your brother's death. He was supposed to have a role in the world too, but it seems that things changed for him as much as they have for you."

"What do you know about Thom's death?"

"I know that you don't know enough about it. I know that you are planning to head to Corus to find out anything you can about it."

"How d-? What are you talking about, I'm not planning any such thing."

"Alanna, I know you. You're planning to head there as soon as your training is finished." The woman sat next to her on the bed, "It's understandable. Thom was the only family you ever knew, and you want to know why he's gone, why he was taken away from you. Especially since, well, what happened."

"You-" Alanna choked, she hadn't realised that she was crying, "-you know what happened? To Thom?" the woman shook her head slightly.

"No more than you, I'm sorry. Whatever happened was shielded from me."

"But you're a Godd- uhm…" the woman smiled, a smile of triumph. Alanna rolled her eyes – she may believe the woman, to an extent, but she wasn't going to soothe her tone. "So even you can't tell me what happened to him? What chance do I have of finding something out, then?"

"I will be honest with you, I do not know. The Queen of Chaos' pawn is skilled. Slippery. I can only tell that she has a hand in matters, not who those hands are touching. But, Corus is the only place that will provide you with answers."

"So I should go there? Follow what I had planned to do anyway?" The woman nodded. "Why do you care what happened to Thom, anyway? How does learning the truth help you?"

"Besides finding out who exactly has called upon the Queen of Chaos' touch, you mean? Very well. That is why I mainly need your aid, I will not lie. But you are important to me, Alanna. You should have been my chosen."

"I wouldn't have asked to be."

"You should have been my chosen," the woman said again, tightly. "You would have been, so I watch out for you."

Alanna sighed at that, shaking her head in disbelief. This woman was strange, there was no denying that. Even if she did now believe that she was the Goddess, that didn't really change things. What she had said made Alanna angry, that she was being watched over, but she decided to let it go. "I would be going to Corus anyway, yes. But I want you to do something for me in return." She paused, taking a deep breath, "I want you to stay out of my head. Don't look in on me, or whatever, and stop sending me dreams like you did tonight."

"I didn't send any dreams, Alanna." When Alanna shook her head at that, the woman frowned. "Why do you think that I did?"

"I had a dream that wasn't like me at all, which then woke me up to meet you. I'm fairly certain you can see how I'd reach that conclusion." The woman's lips thinned at Alanna's tone. "Yeah, sorry." She sighed apologetically, "I don't know. This is too much to take in. I just…I just want a drink, at the moment, then to go to sleep." The woman nodded.

"Very well, Alanna of Trebond. I will speak to you again." She placed a hand on Alanna's shoulder, before pulling out the silver chain that held Thom's pendant around Alanna's neck. Grasping the small amethyst in her fingers, she stared intently at it for a moment.

"What?" Alanna asked.

"Keep this close," the woman's eyes broke from the small jewel, moving up again to Alanna's. "Keep it close to you." Alanna opened her mouth to reply, but the woman vanished. The pendant fell against her chest, and she blinked in astonishment.

"Well," she said to herself, pushing aside all thoughts of Goddesses and of the future, "time to get that drink."

***

She awoke in the morning strangely invigorated, as if she hadn't spent a fair hour or so of the night talking with a stranger. The aches she still possessed from the bout with Liam yesterday seemed to be a lot less than they should have been, for which she was thankful. She had originally felt somewhat aggravated by the fact that the woman had done something to her, violated her, in some fashion, but this disappeared once Liam sought her out.

"Come, Alanna. The testing awaits."

***

She was blindfolded, in a room that she knew that she'd never set foot in before. Her palms ached, she'd been fighting for what seemed like ages; with swords, with staves, with fists and feet, and she'd seemed to appease them. Whoever 'they' were, she'd hear voices occasionally telling her of her success, or the like. After the previous 'victory', she'd been blindfolded and walked to this room.

"Now we will test your senses. Be ready, be calm."

She exhaled softly, beginning to concentrate as best she could. No matter how far she had come, utter stillness had never been easy for her to reach. She tried to hone her senses, listening, feeling, even smelling her surroundings.

A whistling sound in front of her telegraphed movement, and she lithely twisted her shoulders, letting – whatever it was – pass by her. She pivoted, bringing her fist around into the attacker. The hardness beneath her knuckles indicated that she'd been too fast for her attacker, striking him solidly on the temple. The man went down with a loud moan, and she nimbly skipped backwards in case he tried to grasp her.

Another sound behind her caught her off balance, a foot striking her in the back of her knee before she was able to fully turn to face the new threat. She gasped in pain, before rolling with the fall, coming to her feet facing – hopefully! - whoever had just struck her. A footfall in front of her told her that the man was advancing towards her, and she dropped to the ground, swinging a leg out wide to trip him. She heard a slight curse as he jumped the leg, though he'd been clipped by it on the way through, and she rolled to the side. Propping herself up on one knee, she cocked her head for a moment, hoping to catch anything that would betray the man's location.

She heard nothing. It was as if the man had disappeared. She rose to her feet swiftly, taking a defensive position as she continued to listen attentively. The Shang Masters would tell her when she had succeeded, and it would be only then that she would relax. Remembering one of the most basic lessons Liam had taught her, she swiftly moved forwards, feet almost flying across the floor, hoping to attack before the man had time to play on her weakness. If she allowed him to dictate how things proceeded, she would constantly be at a disadvantage. It would be the best form of de-

There! A shifting of feet off to her left. Changing direction in the blink of an eye, Alanna sprang towards the man's position. With her hair flailing around her, she leapt headfirst into the man – he surely wouldn't be expecting that. Indeed, he barely had time to mutter a curse before she barreled into him, her shoulder striking his chest solidly, expelling his breath in a deep 'Oof'. Her momentum carried them into the wall of the building, shaking the structure as the man slumped against it. She hurriedly pulled herself up his chest, taking his head between her hands, as was the customary 'kill position' of the Shang. Twisting someone's neck was not the most dignified ways of killing someone, but at least it always worked.

"You are successful." Came the voice of a Shang Master, a different one than had been talking before. "You may remove the blindfold." She did so, hurriedly clambering off the man in front of her. With a shock, she realised that he was very badly injured, his head having collided with the wall when he fell backwards. With a muttered curse she propped his head up, turning him on his side to hopefully prevent any lasting damage. "Leave him for now," the voice continued, "Please make your way out of the door."

She glanced up, seeing the large door to her right. With a last worried look at the prone man before her, she made her way to the door. Opening it, she was greeted by Liam's stony face. A slight grin tugged at his lips, and he bade her to follow him. She fell in behind him as he strode off, quietly massaging her hands. Liam led her into a cavernous room, a good thirty paces across, in which sat a number of Shang Masters arranged in a circle around the center of the room.

"Alanna." Liam motioned that she should stand in the middle of the Shang, which she did, before he strode out of the room. A Shang could not take any role in his or her own Initiates' testing, beyond that of  'guide'.

"Alanna," One of the Masters began – of course, they'd no knowledge of her proper title. She was just 'Alanna' among the Shang, even Liam knew not to think of her as a noble – "You have successfully passed the testing." There. Simple as that. "You are now Shang." A smile spread across her lips, but she fought down the urge to laugh with relief. Barely. She thanked the Master who had spoken, as well as all the other's, and received their congratulations. She noted, with some amusement, that two of the Shang congratulated her a little different than the others. The Shang Bear, a large burly man (who she'd always imagined tried to look and live just like his namesake), was a tad sour with his. He'd never really liked her, and unless she was mistaken, the man she had injured in the testing was his Initiate. The other being the Shang Gryphon, a woman who – at least, until today – had been the youngest female Shang ever. She had often aided and sparred with Alanna, and the two had been somewhat close.

Not that Alanna really kept any close companions here. Liam was the person she was closest to here, and while he was a friend…well, Liam was confusing, to say the least. Some times he was very amicable, asking questions about her youth, making her laugh with stories of his own, he'd even once told her of the women that he had loved in his life, though she was a bit disturbed by that conversation! Other times, however, he'd be almost harsh to her, calling upon her to 'harden her heart' as if it was the most important part of her training. She didn't really understand his split nature, but he was one of her only friends here.

 The Shang Gryphon had embraced her, calling her 'Sister' and wishing her well. Alanna had thanked her formally – as was appropriate, and then was guided to sit with the other Masters. Liam was brought back in, and she was a tad surprised to see a wide smile on his face that beamed when he locked eyes with her. A slight nod in her direction conveyed his congratulations, before he too was seated.

"Brothers and sisters," another Shang began, "We add to our numbers today. Who here will support this Newly Raised?" Alanna had not been told of this part of the testing, though Liam had mentioned a number of rituals that accompanied the testing. She supposed that this must be it.

"I will." Liam responded.

"As will I." The Gryphon added,

"And I will make it three," the Shang who had begun the ritual added, "Three of us to Guide our newest sister through her life, to watch and aide her, should she require it." Alanna frowned slightly, it may well be ritual, but it certainly sounded rather constraining! The Shang who seemed to be leading the ceremony waved to her, "Come then Sister. Come and join us." She looked around in confusion for a moment, before she saw Liam's supportive smile. She made her way over to the Shang, who took her head in his hands. "And on this day do we raise you, Alanna, to the rank of Shang Warrior."

A mighty roar reverberated through the room, with everyone present crying out in approval. Alanna was taken aback slightly, before smiling and joining in the wild cry.

"What is to be her title?" the Gryphon's soft voice asked, after the cry had died down. A few other Shang nodded.

Liam, who had moved over beside her now, whispered to her lowly, "They mean what you will be called. Like the Gryphon, or the Wolf." She nodded to him in thanks.

One of the Masters, the Shang Jackal, one of the few Masters besides Liam and the Gryphon who had been with her for any length of time, spoke up. "I have considered this for a while, prior to her testing." There was a slight murmur – it was strange for a Master to consider an Initiates 'success' before the testing, "And I believe that the Falcon would best represent our New Sister."

The Shang nodded, before Liam stated with pride, "Then let her be born! Our newest Sister, Alanna, the Shang Falcon!"

***

"So what will you do now?" Liam stood in the doorway to Alanna's room, leaning up against the doorjamb. "I take it you're not going to stay around here?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm heading to Corus." He nodded, but gratefully didn't say anything. She was packing, at the moment. Stuffing in the few tunics and breeches that she owned into a bag. She threw a glance down at the soft leather shoes underneath her bed, before throwing them into the bag as well. She turned to Liam, about to ask a question of him, when he held up his hand.

"One moment." She frowned, wondering what he was doing. He ducked back out of the doorway, before picking up a package in his hands. He passed it to her. "A small present." She took it with a questioning grin, opening the package to find just what she'd been looking for – some boots.

A wide smile spread over her face as she examined them. "Oh, Liam." He held up his hand to forestall any comment. "Thank you."

He smiled at her. "Well, Firetop – don't roll your eyes at me Alanna – looks like this is goodbye." He moved over to her, "Remember to get in contact with my friends in Corus."

"George Cooper at the Dancing Dove. I got it."

"Good. I-" he looked down at his feet for a moment, "I'm going to miss you, Firetop."

"I didn't know you cared, Liam." She said, grinning to take the sting out of it. He chuckled slightly. "And here I thought that you followed your own advice. All this talk of 'hardening the heart' was just a way to piss me off, wasn't it?"

"Oh you know it was, Alanna." He was grinning widely too, now. She stood there, looking into his grey-green eyes for a moment, basking in their friendship. She knew that he was just fooling with her, he'd never have taught her anything he didn't think she should follow. He gave a weary sigh, patting her on the shoulder. "You will do well, Falcon of Shang." After a moment, he drew her into a tight hug.

Startled, it took her a moment, but she hugged him back with a similar ferocity. When they pulled apart for a while, he was blushing slightly, as was she.

She looked up at him, before whispering; "I'll miss you too, Liam."

She hurriedly turned back to her packing, placing the boots reverently beside the bed, before jamming some more of her meager supply of personal possessions into the bag.

When she had turned around, he was gone.

***

She strapped the bag to the horse the Shang – the other Shang – had given to her, making sure that the bindings were tight enough. After ensuring that the other provisions she had requested were lashed to the beast as well, she mounted it swiftly. She turned the animal about, before setting away from the Shang village at a leisurely trot.

***

Her breath misted in front of her as she rode through the dark forest, a dark cloak flapping behind her as she urged her mount on faster. A laugh bubbled itself out of her as she sped through the foliage, the exhilarating thrill of the ride mingling with the delightful thrill of what would happen were she to be caught.

Her dark cloak flapped behind her, the colour matching those of her dark breeches and tunic, as she gripped the reigns tightly in her gloved hands. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw His large black stallion pounding the ground behind her.

With another laugh, she shouted over her shoulder. "You won't catch me!"

She heard him grunt, and urge his horse faster. Pushing her own mount, she maneuvered it through the dense woodland, ducking under branches and watching for roots. She threw another glance backwards, and noticing her pursuer gaining ground, flapped her reigns, urging the horse to go faster.

She risked another glance back, and noticed that she'd stretched the distance a little. With a satisfied smirk, she loosened the grip on the reigns. After all, it wasn't quite as fun if he didn't catch her, and sh-

The air rushed out of her as a branch slammed into her chest, picking her up off the horse and depositing her onto the mossy ground in a surprisingly painless maneuver. Her head thumped into the soft moss with a dull thump, and her cloak tangled itself between her legs. But…she felt nothing. No pain, no injury at all. She frowned a little at that.

"Alanna!" a worried voice called out, before the heavy thud of hoofbeats sounded nearby. The large black stallion rode into the clearing, it's rider dropping to the ground beside it almost as soon as the horse began to slow. Reins in hand, he rushed towards her, dropping to his knees beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked, breathlessly.

She looked into those crisp blue eyes, and, again, all words seemed to fail her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, before settling for a nod of the head. He smiled at her, putting his hand on her cheek and settling some of her copper hairs that had strayed. He dropped the hand to her midriff, laying it down about where the branch had hit her. "Are you sure? You seemed to hit very hard."

"N-no, I'm fine." She smiled tremulously. The hand on her midriff began to trace small circles there, and her breath caught in her throat. Those piercing eyes held her own, and she shivered in delight. "Maybe you should check, though."

He roared with laughter, his booming voice reverberating through his arms and into her body. He moved the hand around to her waist, raising her towards him slightly. She raised her own hands, running her fingers through his silky hair. He gave her a smile, before quietly leaning into her, bringing his lips to hers in a pleasantly crushing embrace…

She jerked up, the blankets of her sleeping pallet drenched in sweat. Frowning; she'd been out of the hot climate of the southlands for some time by now, she shouldn't be sweating so profusely. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, before pushing herself to her feet and stumbling over to the waterskin.

Taking a deep draught, she gasped. The dreams hadn't stopped coming, night after night of various scenarios with herself and this blue eyed, black haired man. She might have enjoyed them, truth be told, if she had any say in which way they would go. Tonight's was particularly perplexing – she seemed to be acting as any Lady might under the man's gaze, but she was dressed as she was normally. In a tunic and breeches.

Not that the man's ministrations were particularly unpleasant, just that they were confusing, to say the least. She'd never met any man who looked remotely like this fantasy did, after all. And that's all it was, she chided herself, a fantasy. Nothing more. She couldn't let it distract her from what she had set herself.

A quick look to the west showed her that the village she had camped near was beginning to stir. She'd arrived in the area late last night, but had decided to delay her arrival till the morning. She knew that these small towns were somewhat perturbed by strangers arriving in the middle of the night, and she hadn't want to create a fuss. The sky was beginning to brighten, though, and it appeared that dawn wasn't far off.

She set about clearing up her belongings, before organizing Swift's tack. She'd named the horse on a whim, it wasn't much like her to do so, but she decided that she couldn't be Alanna the Shang Initiate forever. She'd have to define herself somehow beyond that, and naming her horse seemed like a place to start. Kicking the ashes of the fire, she set off towards the village, the dawn just breaking as she set off.