The first of them charges at me and swings his claws towards me head. I duck under his arm and let Ragnar deal with him. I hear the sound of flesh being ripped apart by steel.

“Great Chiefs! What are they?” Ragnar asks.

“They are flesh and blood,” I reply without looking back.

“Didn’t you see what just happened?”

What’s he talking about?

I keep me eyes on me next attacker. She approaches me while hopping from side to side.

What fighting skill is this?

I swing my axe at her head and she crouches under it. Her claws rip into the side of my clothes but do not penetrate the chain amour I have underneath. I turn around and feint an attack from above. As my axe comes down, she steps to one side and I shift my body to adjust the motion and thrust of my axe. Just as I am about to cut her in half, another native pulls me down from behind. I release my axe, hoping that it will do the job, as I roll on my back and pull out my knives hidden in my boots, and remain crouched on the ground. I look around for the one who pulled me but can’t find him. I see my axe on the ground and scan for any traces of blood on it.

Did I miss her?

A shriek comes from behind me and I turn in time to see another native hurling themselves towards me. I bring both of my hands up and aim the knives at her heart. The instant I feel them entering her flesh, a cloud of sand appears and rushes into my eyes.

What just happened? Did she? Is that what Ragnar meant when…. Compose yourself, you’re on a battlefield.

I get to my feet. While I use one hand to point the knife out in front of me, the other tries to clear my vision. Something hits my legs, knocking me to the ground and kicking the air out of me. I feel my heart beating loudly in my head before I gasp for air. I try to rise but someone knocks me back down. I strain my eyes but the dark blury image shaped by a fiery backlight doesn’t get any clearer. The dark blur mingles with another dark blur and they both move into the far reaches of the dark.

“Sif! Sif!” Ragnar’s voice cuts through the drumming noise in my head. He’s voice is low at first, but gets louder as he approaches. He helps me to my feet and asks, “Are you alright?”

“My head….” I place a hand behind it and feel my dump hair. Bringing my hand to my face I can see a cherry colour on my fingers.

“Let’s get you to the ship.” As we stagger to the ship I pick out Tumak struggling on the floor against three natives. He isn’t more than 10 feet away from us.

“Help him.”

“Who?”

My brother’s gaze travels along the invisible line my finger has made.

“He can go to the Great Chiefs”

“We need him.” We can’t lose any more of our own. If I leave….When I leave, the tribe will need him.

“You are more to me than he is.”

I free me-self from Ragnar, take aim and swing my arm with all my might releasing the knife, praying that I hit at least one of them. One of the natives who was by Tumak’s side, turns into dust and is blown away by the wind. Tumak uses his free hand to pull out a hidden blade to stab and slash his attackers. They quickly turn to dust as well. He looks at me and nods. Ragnar comes to my side and I lean on him as my world slowly starts to fade to darkness and the sound of shrieks and screams gets far away from me.

**********

Dear Commander,

You really should….

A light knock on the door tears me away from the letter. I place it in one of the drawers by my desk before saying, “Yes. Come in.”

Prince Valark opens the door but remains in the doorway.

“Commander, are you busy?”

“Not at all, my prince,” I say as I rise to my feet. “Is there anything you need?”

“I wanted to go through tomorrow’s plan.” I signal him to take the seat across from my desk and he does so rather slowly. “How far is the nearest town, Army Commander?”

At least this one respects me. “About half a day’s ride from here, my prince.” I move towards a small table by my bed and pour a drink into two glasses.

“Couldn’t we get there a lot sooner? Why did you make us ride our horses at a slow pace? Why use horses? We can move much faster on our own.”

Aah, the foolishness of youth. I approach the young prince and offer him one of the glasses. “Prince Valark, if we changed our forms or decided to run all the way to the remaining two towns, we would be exhausted. And if the enemy decided to attack then, how would you be able to take part in a battle?”

His eyes look at me questioningly. Yes Valark, I heard your little conversation with the halfling. I position myself on the edge of the table, take a sip and look down at the young man.

“Then let the horses do the running for us.”

“And what happens if we get to one of the towns and are urgently needed elsewhere?”

He rises from his seat.

“Commander,” he says through gritted teeth. “Our kind need us. Are we going to walk leisurely while they are being slaughtered? Is this what the great commander is good at? Riding on horseback and enjoying the view while our kind lose their lives to humans?”

I know you are itching for a fight, but it wouldn’t be wise to pick a fight with me, boy.

I push myself off the table.

“We can’t be everywhere at once, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be prepared to go anywhere when we are needed. Right now, we don’t know where the enemy will attack, so we preserve our resources and only commit them when we are certain.”

Clenching his fists, he begins to say something, but thinks better of it and avoids eye contact.

“The battles will come, my prince. There is no need to rush into them poorly prepared.”

His arms drop to his side and he takes a deep breath. “I think its best I get some rest. See you in the morning, commander.”

He finishes his drink and returns the glass onto the table.

“Take care, my prince,” I say as he closes the door behind him.

I wait a little while before locking the door and returning to my desk to read the letter.

Dear Commander,

You really should be careful with the way you carry yourself, especially when others are watching. I was amazed at how your kind spoke openly of your hatred for the Beta Prince. Now, if something terrible were to happen to him, who do you think they would suspect? I am merely trying to open your eyes. I’d hate to see a fellow pure-breed believer lose their life.

Am sure by now you have heard of the stupid plan to wed a fairy and a half-blood. If it were up to me the silly girl would be marrying some other creature of her kind or at the very least another pure-breed creature in Kelor, like you my dear commander, but such dreams can only be achieved if we work at it. So, what do you say, partner?

From yours truly,

A Fellow Pure-Breed Believer.