I am not going to die here.
What was meant to be a straightforward ride to the Southern forests of Elbafas had turned out to be more than what Bianca had bargained for. Between having her shoulder struck by a wayward arrow as she rode past Caedicus, a border town often home to bandits, and defending her horse from a bear, she now found herself tired and being circled by two wolves. Hungry, snarling, and prepared to strike, they walked slowly around her as she pulled her blade from the neck of the third unfortunate beast she'd managed to kill.
I am not going to die here.
One of the wolves charged, its assault aimed directly for Beynon. Bianca swung her blade hard, fighting against the pain in her left shoulder from the arrowhead still firmly lodged within. It struck the wolf in the side of the muzzle, yet she hadn't put enough force to truly injure the beast. Dire wolves, tough hides and even harsher tempers; she wouldn't be getting out of this easily. The wolf turned sharply and snapped its jaws shut on Bianca's sword. A diversion, for as soon as she struggled to keep her footing the other wolf slammed its body into hers, forcing her to drop her blade and collapse to the ground.
Beynon fell, the mare whinnying and snorting as the first wolf stepped on her neck. "Get the hell away from Beynon!" Bianca shouted, and fire erupted from her mouth and burned the wolf that still carried her sword. It yelped in pain, dropping the weapon and recoiling away. Bianca picked herself up and ran towards the beast that was preparing to devour her horse when her left leg was gripped by the teeth of a now very angry, very burned Dire wolf.
I am not going to die here.
The wolf's mouth salivated as it now stood over Bianca and prepared to end her life when the sound of a bow string pierced the air. The faint whistling of wind, and then an arrow lodged itself in the eye of the wolf that mounted Bianca.
"Saighead!" A voice cut through the wind as another arrow found itself in the side of the second wolf, forcing it to retreat from atop the horse when a stallion rode up to the conflict bearing a man in animal hides and sporting long, thick antlers. He produced an axe and leapt from the horse's back, bringing the blade down on the wolf's neck and severing it from its body.
"Konalan?" Bianca asked as she rose from the grass and dirt. The Faerie turned to her, long, brown hair tied behind his back and a smile complimenting that complimented his amber eyes.
"Not just him, ya know," a woman said as her horse stopped beside Bianca. The Faerie dismounted, and pulled the arrow from the wolf's eye before kicking its corpse back to the ground. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't die just before my wedding, Bianca. Would make for a pretty solemn honeymoon if that's all I could think about, yeah?" She grinned, flashing her sharp teeth devilishly in a devilish smile. Long, crimson hair and green eyes, she wore a simple loincloth and chest wrappings to cover herself. Tattoos in knotwork designs danced along her skin, from her arms and legs to her neck and along her stomach.
Bianca chuckled as she threw arms around the Faerie woman. "Sha'ani, you crazy bitch! You're supposed to be preparing for the big day!"
"Well when you see your sister's being mauled by wolves, you'd stop to help, yeah?" Sha'ani wagged a finger in Bianca's face.
"I was not being mauled."
"Yet." Sha'ani smirked.
Bianca shook her head. "Geeze, well I'm grateful for the assistance. Old Galahan would string me up by my ankles if I let Beynon become lunch for a pack of Dire Wolves." The horse snorted in response. Sha'ani grabbed some rope from her horse's saddle and began to tie it to the hind legs of the wolves.
Konalan aided as well, urging his stallion towards Sha'ani, his mate, and fixing the ropes to the bridles and saddles of the two horses. "Better not let this go to waste. Hey, you reckon we can pull these to the village? Kalara can make anything out of… well, anything." The Faerie man tightened the bindings and beckoned the horses forward. They pulled the bodies of the wolves with ease.
The sisters laughed. "As long as it's not cold by the time we--" Bianca winced in pain, gripping her shoulder tight as she fell down to her knee.
Sha'ani rushed to her side and placed a hand on her back. "Bianca, are you injured?" Sha'ani's hands ran along her sister's shoulder until the sharp surge of pain let Bianca know she'd found the cause. Her sister leaned over and scowled, striking Bianca hard on the back. "How long has this bloody thing been here?"
Bianca didn't want to mention that she'd been harboring the wound for the last day and only tolerated the pain due to an excessive use of Jarreth Root to dull her sense of touch. Yet considering her lack of the drug now, and the fact that her sister now discovered it, she was backed against a metaphorical wall. "Well…"
Sha'ani shook her head. "Konalan, please see this meat to the village before it spoils. I'm gonna get Bianca patched up." Her mate nodded and gripped the large stallion by the bridle and led the two horses towards the forest.
"Understood, my love. Temple is just up ahead." Konalan urged the horses along at a steady pace.
"Sha'ani, you have a wedding to prepare for!" Bianca protested. Sha'ani would hear none of it, though. She lifted Bianca over her shoulder and tossed her onto Beynon's back. "Ouch! Hey!" And then they were off.
---
Bianca couldn't stay annoyed with Sha'ani for long. What was an inconvenience at first was more than needed as Bianca felt the pain from her wound growing more intense while they steadily rode towards the temple. Already she could make out the enormous columns that stood along the stone pathway towards the ruins. An ancient temple that once housed an unknown god from well before her time, repurposed by Christian missionaries that had arrived sometime after the War of the Gods.
"You actually threw wine in his face?!" Sha'ani howled with laughter. "By Segovax, you certainly don't tolerate nonsense, do you?"
Bianca grinned. "Hey, the bastard wanted to buy me as an escort! I'll happily sell my sword arm, my spellcraft, or my wit. My body, however, is for a price children like that could never afford."
"Well said, Bianca. Seek a mate who can fight hard, and fuck harder." Sha'ani snickered as Bianca kicked her in the shoulder.
"Hey, language," Bianca said, wagging a finger.
Sha'ani shrugged. "How do you think Konalan got me to agree to marry him? We must have fought seven times before he finally managed to topple me." That was no surprise. Faeries had many customs involving courtship, most of which would seem completely strange to most. One involved the man challenging the woman to a fight. If the man won, then the woman often agreed to marry. The Fae had a saying: "If a man cannot defeat his woman in combat, how could he be expected to defend her?" Unfortunately, Bianca had never been challenged in such a way, not that she was expecting it.
Finally, they arrived at the stairs to the temple. Bianca tied Beynon to the nearest tree before embarking up the stairs with Sha'ani in tow. Women dressed in the garb of nuns walked about the grounds of the temple, various men and women in common dress gathering together. A man approached as they reached the large courtyard just before the entrance to the temple's interior. He was large, and wore a cross on a silver chain around his neck.
The man smiled as he extended his right hand. "Welcome, sisters. Bianca, it is wonderful to see you again. Same to you, Sha'ani of the Heartland Fae."
Bianca and Sha'ani bowed together in reverence. "Thank you, Father Lankfort." They said in unison. While she may have marched to the beat of her own drum, Bianca at least observed basic manners when in the presence of those who served the temple.
"Oh, Sha'ani. Congratulations on your impending wedding. I pray that it is a wonderful one," Father Lankfort said as he patted the Faerie on the shoulder.
Sha'ani beamed. "Thanks, Father. Do you need any help around the temple before we head back?"
Father Lankfort blinked. "Sha'ani, you have a wedding to prepare for. You don't need to--" He was interrupted by a group of Elf children that ran past, nearly toppling the pair over and running around Bianca. The trio finally came to a stop as they slammed into the foreleg of Beynon who rose up on her hindlegs and kicked out.
"Iacus! Cyrus! Florentina!" A woman called out. An Elf came sprinting from around the corner of the temple, dressed in a modest peasant dress and headscarf. "Father Lankfort, I am so sorry. Truly, I am."
"Peace, dear Lucretia. No one was harmed. All is well," Father Lankfort said, trying to dissuade any fears of wrongdoing. The Elf, Lucretia, smiled slightly before turning to her three children and bending down to face them at eye level.
She held up a finger in their faces. "What have I told you about running about the temple? Look, you ran into a horse! Do you know how dangerous that is?!" Lucretia scolded the children. Bianca had made her way back towards Beynon, trying to soothe the mare as it quieted down. She looked back towards the altercation.
"We're sorry…" all three children said in unison.
Lucretia scowled. "Good, you had better be."
"She's right, you know," Sha'ani said as she placed her hands on her hips and walked towards the group of children. "Listen to your mother. Horses can be dangerous beasts." Sha'ani grinned, and narrowed her eyes before dropping down to eye level with the Elf children. Then, she held her arms out and startled the trio into jumping back.
"But I am even more dangerous!" she shouted in what was equal parts a growl and a scream, earning a squeal of excitement from the children as they began running away from the horse, as well as other temple goers, and towards the other end of the courtyard. "You can run, but you will feel my wrath!" Sha'ani went chasing after the children to the sound of the mother's laughter, as well as Father Lankfort's and Bianca's.
Bianca couldn't help but smile. This was Sha'ani, after all. There wasn't a selfish bone in her body. Most Fae utterly despised the Elves and humans for what had happened many years ago. How Elves had enslaved and tormented Sha'ani's people while the human kingdoms did nothing. Forswaron actually partook of the mistreatment of the Fae while Elbafas and the Eastern Archipelago turned a blind eye to the injustice. By all rights, Sha'ani should despise those children. However, here she was playing with them to raise their spirits. Bianca was lucky to have a sister like her.
With a sigh of contentment, Bianca turned back towards Father Lankfort. "Father, is Sister Giselle available today? Got a bit of an issue I need help with."
Father Lankfort nodded. "Of course, Bianca. Right this way." Father Lankfort beckoned Bianca to follow him, and approached the large double doors of the temple before opening them for the pair to walk through. The interior was just as beautiful as the outside. Limestone bricks made up the walls where tapestries hung proudly. Sweet perfumes of incense lingered in the air as braziers burned brightly, the scent of lavender that was placed on top of the flames filling the house of worship.
The pair passed many chambers, each one containing small desks and beds where travelers could sleep, until they reached the one at the very end. It was slightly larger than most, and it contained a larger desk and several books on medical practices. A woman sat within, her eyes fixed on a tome in front of her. Looking to be in her late twenties, she wore the standard robes of a nun and a cross around her neck. She looked up, her eyes going wide as she caught sight of Bianca and Father Lankfort.
"Bianca Miles. Back from your time in Elvehn, I see." Her voice was kind, albeit gruff.
"I leave Bianca in your capable hands, Sister Giselle." With that, Father Lankfort departed the room. There were only two situations in which Bianca entered the personal study of Sister Giselle; to collect money for bounties that may have been issued by the temple, or to seek healing from the sister. As Bianca began to pull her tunic off of her torso and set it on the desk, it became clear to be the latter.
Bianca covered her breasts with her left arm as she turned towards the bookshelf to the right and out of the way of the door. "Sorry for the sudden intrusion, Sister. Had a bit of an altercation on the way here."
"I can see that, my dear. How long were you carrying this?" Giselle's finger brushed the wound where Bianca had taken an arrow in the shoulder.
"Oh… About a day or so?" Bianca shrugged. The long silence told her that Giselle was less than pleased with the answer. "In my defense, I don't exactly trust many people not to slip a bit of cyanide or nightshade into an open wound. Haven't exactly made a lot of friends in my line of work."
Giselle sighed and went over to her desk to retrieve a small bottle filled with viscous, white fluid. "Well, you've made friends here, Bianca. You remember the bandits you drove off some three years ago?"
Bianca grinned. "Child's play. Bastards want to prey on some poor defenseless nuns, they got another thing coming." She proudly nodded. That was well before Father Lankfort had come to the temple, and before the High Queen offered guards to continue to protect it. Back when it was a simple nunnery, a group of raiders attempted to take complete control and turn it into their hideout. Giselle was one of the nuns Bianca had saved when she arrived and killed the bandits on her most recent contract.
Giselle would never tell her the details, in fact none of them would, but the general story had been that the bandits tormented the younger nuns for several weeks while having outright killed the older ones. Such an ordeal would certainly leave a mark, Bianca mused.
"Hey, you didn't have to serve a bunch of brutish thugs anymore, and I got a free place to get patched up. Pretty fair trade, eh?" Bianca asked as Giselle dug the arrowhead out of the wound with a small knife. The Sister worked wonders with a blade, producing the small projectile from the open gash and setting it on the table where Bianca sat. A sharp stinging sensation shot through Bianca's skin as Giselle poured the liquid over her wound. The sound of water bubbling and squelching came from behind her as her skin began to close in response to the substance. A healing draft, one often produced by mixing standard medicinal herbs with a modicum of earth magic.
"There. You're all set, Bianca. I'm thankful that you didn't show up half-dead again." Giselle sealed the bottle and walked back towards her desk to place it where it belonged. Bianca lifted her arm and moved her shoulder up and down. No pain, no stiffness, she grabbed her tunic off of the other side of the desk and pulled it onto her torso. "Do you need anything else before you depart?"
Bianca tapped her chin with her finger. "A stiff drink and a good plow?" She grinned.
"Bianca…" Giselle arched an eyebrow.
"I'm only joking," Bianca said, chuckling as she adjusted her tunic and pulled up her breeches. The Sister clearly wasn't amused. Sighing, Bianca turned to Giselle and clasped her hands together. "Really, thank you. I don't really trust anyone else for this sort of thing. You're all I got."
It was funny hearing herself say it aloud, that she trusted someone. Funny, and sad. Outside of Sha'ani, no one else really cared much for Bianca. No one would hire her due to her lack of formal education despite being incredibly intelligent for someone almost exclusively self-taught. The only jobs she'd ever been considered for were her current line of mercenary work, or as a lady of pleasure. While the prospect had been tempting given her inability to conceive children due to her half-breed status, the thrill of combat excited her far more than the allure of multiple men to take to her bed.
She loved fighting. The bigger the challenge, the better. Though as a half-breed, both Elves and humans alike all but refused to sell to her. Her only choice was often rummaging through scrap piles after hours at local smithys or arms and armor issued to her on more formal soldier work. As a result, she never kept the same gear for long. She wondered if she would ever own her personal sword or armor one day, but for now she'd continue to allow her employers to outfit her for the most part.
"Right, I've kept you long enough! Let's go see if Sha'ani has--" A child's scream came from the direction of the sanctuary, urging Bianca and Giselle to run towards the commotion. They sprinted past the lodging rooms and towards the large doorway that opened to reveal the main worship hall of the temple. An altar stood proudly at the back of the chapel illuminated by the light pouring in from stained glass windows. Pews lined each side of the walkway, a worn red carpet that stretched from the doors to the altar, and in the middle of the carpet sat a young Elf child, crying as his mother came running to him.
"Cyrus!" The Elf mother from before ran to the child's aid. She glared up at the source of the child's pain. Three tall, burly men in soldier's uniforms and metal helmets who glared down at them.
Sha'ani came dashing in from the side entrance, a smaller door, and placed herself between the men and the young boy. "The hell is your problem?!" she shouted.
The middle brute, a man well into his forties with a thick black beard, snarled as he kept a hand firmly on the hilt of his sword. "Damn Elves, trying to take over what few places we have left."
"This place is for all races who come together in the house of the Lord. I will not have you conducting yourselves in such a way!" Giselle scolded the men. They laughed, pointing to Sha'ani and the mother and child.
They drew swords, and Bianca clenched her fist as magic began to flood through her hand. If this came to blows, she didn't know how much she could do without actually killing them. Still, Sha'ani refused to move. "You're seriously going to let some Faerie whore and an Elf breeding sow in here?!"
Bianca's blood boiled. No one spoke to Sister Giselle that way, or spoke of Sha'ani in such a vulgar manner. Sha'ani tilted her head upwards and smirked towards the man. "Probably jealous, yeah? What's wrong, feeling a bit stressed? Problems in the bedroom?"
The soldier's face grew red as he pointed his blade towards Sha'ani. "Watch your mouth. Look at you, walking around a house of God with your tits practically hanging out. You and your kind are disgusting and have no place here!"
"Yeah, go back to worshipping that dragon you always go on about." The second soldier chimed in.
"Probably drink deer piss and have orgies under the full moon in 'his honor' or some nonsense." The abuse continued. Now they were mocking Segovax, the dragon god that the Faeries of the Heartland Woods worshipped. Bianca wanted to run him through, if she had a sword, but Sha'ani merely stood there, smirking and trying not to laugh.
Finally, she closed her eyes and shook her head, still smiling. "Our rituals don't involve that kind of thing. Interesting fact about our people, though: Our women are drawn to bravery and a strong, honest spirit. Even if we had these 'orgies' you seem to have it in your head that we take part in," Sha'ani said as she inched closer and closer to the man. Now, she was mere breaths from his face as she grinned a wicked smile. "Not a single one of us would want to fuck you."
This was bad. The soldier drew his sword back and prepared to strike Sha'ani down. That is, until a gust of wind surged through the sanctuary. It was ice cold, a chill that sent several of the onlookers stumbling back. Bianca shielded her face, the freezing wind stinging her eyes. When she could finally look, she was amazed to see the men, and Sha'ani, frozen in place. Their bodies were encased in ice, stuck in time where they stood. The braziers that burned now stood unlit, the freezing wind having extinguished their flames.
"My apologies." A voice came from the pew next to Bianca as a man stood up. Long, white hair braided and hanging over his left shoulder with piercing blue eyes, he wore the armor of a hunter. Leather bracers, jack, chaps, and a pair of steel greaves and a wolf's pelt over one shoulder and a hood. The man turned towards Giselle and Bianca, a kind smile on his face. "I don't like listening to such obscenities while trying to pay my respects," the man said.
He walked over towards Sha'ani and placed a hand on her shoulder. The ice melted in an instant, leaving a puddle of water around her feet as she gripped her arms and shivered.
"By Segovax, that's cold!" Sha'ani exclaimed.
"In my defense you were in the line of sight. Next time you don't wish to become a Faerie on ice, step back a few feet." The man never stopped grinning as he brushed the remaining ice out of Sha'ani's hair. Bianca felt her energy calm as the man looked over his shoulder towards her. "Bianca Miles, right? The 'Mongrel?' Heard about you."
Bianca let her hands relax at her side. "That so?"
The man nodded and tapped the ice encasing the three men. The frozen shell fell away, turning to water that surrounded them. One of them, the third one in the back, pointed to the strange man and gasped.
"Y-you're him. I know those eyes anywhere. The assassin known as the Wolf of Winter's Grip." That name must have meant something, for as soon as he spoke the words the other two soldiers turned and fled, leaving the sanctuary in peace. Bianca didn't know who the "Wolf" was, but she had heard of assassination work. Contracts, or writs, given out to a select elite who earn the right from both the ruler of the country they serve and the leader of the League of Assassins. It was a rare privilege, and it paid coin of the highest caliber.
This man was one of them, this Wolf of Winter's Grip. Sha'ani's eyes lit up as she turned back towards him. "With a name like that, you must be a Northwatch! Our people used to live together back in the old days," Sha'ani said.
"Wait, we're getting off topic. How do you know me?" Bianca asked, her furrowed brow betraying her annoyance.
The Wolf smirked as he pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. Bianca unfolded the parchment to reveal a bounty with a painting of Bianca herself plastered along its surface. A reward was listed; over ten-thousand gold. "Elvehn Empire wants you dead. Bad. You've been taking one too many jobs for those Republic upstarts."
Bianca chuckled nervously. "What can I say? Professionals have standards," she said, trying to keep her composure as the man stared her down. "Are you going to kill me?"
The Wolf shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, if I wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Look." He pointed behind her, and as she turned her head she nearly leapt back at the sight of a long, jagged blade of ice that hung in the air mere centimeters from her eyes.
She wanted to run, attack, anything, but the feeling of this man kept her frozen in place. Terror gripped her. This was a man who could easily end her life without a second thought, yet he seemed content to merely have a conversation. "So what do you want with me?"
The Wolf snapped his fingers and the ice dissipated, leaving a fine mist in its wake. "To finish my prayer, and to see the Father. Excuse me." He quietly strode towards the side entrance before turning one final time to the pair of sisters. "Oh, and congratulations on the wedding." And with that, he was off.
***
While Elbafas has no established religion, many of its citizens tend to follow one of two faiths. The first is of the Christian God, or as some call him the Christ, whose missionaries are said to have arrived on Gaol at some point after the War of the Gods many millennia ago. The second is the religion that worships Segovax, the dragon god that supposedly brought all of the races to Gaol and ended the War of the Gods. It is unknown if these two beings ever met, but the validity of the two faiths remains a hotly debated topic to this day.
-From the desk of Lambur Stonetooth of the College of Autumn's Gate