The First Warrior

Hravanis was just forty the first time she was forced to strike out in violence, to kill something she hated. The first time anyone had done so, in fact. But from that moment on she could do nothing but. Peace and running and hiding were not just useless, they were shameful. Hravanis called people cowards before they even had such a word. She called fishermen and seamstresses and healers and her elders cowards for not fighting back. She was too young, too angry and too full of hatred to see how unfair she was being. And her anger and charisma drew other young quendi to her. She became a leader without knowing how, began commanding a guerilla war without knowing how, lead child soldiers without knowing how. And they all learned together, eventually, how to fight and how to kill and how to do it well. But Hravanis' hatred and fury blinded her often and many were lost because of her recklessness.