Our summons to the lands of holly and rivers
I am a warrior, in training… And so it seems that I can only learn so much from the guarded life I have been brought up in.
But I was given an opportunity to prove myself! Our Chieftain received a letter one faithful summer’s eve, beseeching him to bring warriors over the mountains to a foreign, Elvish land.
He would not have done so if it were not for this one detail, this one thing that changed his mind.
One of our family needed help.
And so warriors were chosen. Not just any, but those closest to blood. It would be then with both axe, tooth and claw we would fight for the ones in need in such strange lands.
My Father and I and the brother to the one who needed our help came down from the mountains through paths only we knew to lend our aid.
We met them on the other side of the Redhorn, there we saw the man from the Westlands, with his Mate… Andri’s sister… Her name is Arindiis. A warm reunion was shared by the two and they embraced for what felt like an hour! But it was not. It was just cold and I was impatient. But it warmed my heart to see her again, it must have been years since! We were only cubs all that time ago. She had changed…
We camped under the ruins of an Elvish castle. The stone as white as snow despite how long it stood. The ruins must be hundreds, no, thousands of years old! And that’s much older than I am!
We were there for a purpose.
This was my first real fight… My first chance to prove who I am… And it was not against Orcs or Wargs, but trees…
Trees… Trees shouldn’t move… Trees shouldn’t talk! Trees certainly shouldn’t be trying to hurt us, we like trees… Why didn’t they like us?
Arindiis explained to us that a dark corruption lay upon them, giving them a malicious mind. They were sick and had to be culled. How she knew this I do not know. Through her own icy eyes she must have seen much since we last saw her.
And so we took the fight to the trees. Axes hewed their roots and fire cleansed them. I didn’t like it. The inferno spread, it was too hot… Too much… I also learned then that this Man of the West hated fire more than I. He feared it so, a miracle he did not flee.
I understand it… I much prefer the comforting crackle of a hearth than the searing din of the blaze that rang in our ears that day. I do not like to talk about what occurred there. It was not glorious.
We weren’t harmed… Much, a few scratches and bruises won’t stop our robust lot! But the lands were scorched black. the corruption cleansed, and we left, ash and dust caking our feet with guilt. But it had to be done. It had to be done to help our family.
It was then my father made the decision. I and my cousin were to join Arindiis and her Mate, to live and train under them for a time… To grow as warriors.
And now I am far away from home, in lands tame and unfamiliar, learning… Training. Longing to return.
And I will return one day, a stronger, wiser and better woman. I will bring Her back, and her mate, if he chooses.
Every one of us matters.
We are not a family unless we are all home.
