"Foes approach from the north! To your arms, soldiers of Morrovale!" She shot past the sentry who looked at her, stunned for a moment, as she knocked the bow from his limp fingers. She snatched the horn from his belt and the cord snapped as she kept running. Pressing it to her lips, she blew a long horn call, the call to arms for elven communities. Men began piling out of tents and rolling out of bedrolls and off of blankets. They seemed confused for a brief moment, then the sergeants began to take over. Echoed calls of to arms began to rattle through the camps, and men began donning their armor and picking up weapons in haste. By the time she reached the baron's little pavilion in the middle of the circle, several of the better-drilled units were already forming ranks on the north side of the circle.
It was none too soon, the orcs began pouring from the wood. A small group of sappers grabbed up large wooden tubes and set flame to the bottoms as they pointed them into the sky. Suddenly it was daylight as the mortars boomed and launched bright flares into the night. The orcs flinched at the sudden bright light to their night-sighted eyes. The men were heartened, though, and bows began to sing in the darkness. The flares would hang for only a few moments, but new ones were being launched constantly, keeping the sky lit brightly with their stunning brightness.
The baron came out of his tent and began mustering his knights, forming them into a phalanx and charging to the front to drive a wedge into the orcish line. Hyandai's own bow began to thrum as she fired at orcs almost a hundred yards away that had managed to bypass the main defensive line and were running among the tents seeking stragglers. Soon she saw Harlen, near the front line, hewing a massive orc with the sword he had gotten from the other orcs. She smiled and watched him a moment. "He is a warrior." She said to herself as she watched him do what he did best, which was stalk prey.
He would spy a particularly dangerous orc at some distance, watching for the fell creatures that seemed to be giving the defensive group the most trouble. Then he would move quickly and cunning toward him, striking quickly and delivering a careful killing blow. She glimpsed another orc in the camp itself, and fired an arrow into its chest, and watched it fall.
Within fifteen minutes the orcs fled the battle, suffering great loss from the pursuing soldiery and especially the cavalry, who rode them down in great numbers as they routed.
Harlen finally saw Hyandai, and moved to her. "What happened?" He asked, his face marked with concern. "I awoke with the horn call and you were not with me. I was terrified." He said. She smiled. "I felt something, and had to go look, my betrothed." She said. "The feeling was right." She pointed at the orcs lying scattered on the small field. "They were trying to sneak attack at night."
The baron rode up on his white charger. "Well done, elven lady." He said. "Were it not for you, that band would have done grave damage to our force." His sword was coated in blood, as was his horse up to its neck. "As it is now, only a small number of ours lost their lives this night."
"Still, that is a tragedy." She said, her eyes downcast.
He nodded. "It always is so, in war, lady."
The men were cheering though, heartened by their first victory. And it was caused by their unofficial good luck charm, men were saying, loudly enough for Harlen and Hyandai to hear.
"I only warned you they were coming." She said humbly.
The baron laughed heartily. He was one of those men that thrived on combat, not a bad thing in and of itself. It was like looking at a human with a fey of his own to deal with.
"You did just that, which we would not have known." He said. "Our patrols didn't expect such a large sending this far west, and were taken unawares, apparently. We will be more cautious in the future." He said, eyeing the dark woods suspiciously.
Hyandai nodded. "Please be so." She said. "Scant time was given me to sound the warning, for they move quickly when they seek to strike."
He nodded. "I underestimated their cunning. It will not happen again." The baron said. Then he looked at Harlen. "Protect this lovely creature well, Harlen, for she is a blessing with fiery hair."
Harlen smiled and said. "Would that I could keep her near enough to protect. And I often wonder, when I see her in action who is protecting whom."
The baron laughed heartily at that. "I can see she is no frail waif." He said. "But I meant her heart. Any man in this realm would give all he had for her love after this night."
He rode off to go congratulate his men and distribute praise for individuals worthy of it after the fight. Hyandai seemed very concerned searching through the throngs of men and looking around everyone before her. Harlen finally asked. "What are you looking for?"
She looked back at him, very worried. "Dannes." She said. "I know it is a little thing, but when I kiss someone, I hope they will live out the night." She smiled wanly. Harlen thought he kind of understood. Despite her huge love for him, from all he could tell, when she kissed or touched another, a part of that love was with them also. With that kiss Dannes had become important to her, and she was very worried.
Finally she spied him, standing with his father near some tents. The couple approached them. Harlen noted a change in her walk as she neared the two men, it had more wiggle again, and her stride grew longer. He smiled to see her, without so much as a thought, change into a totally different person as she drew up to them. "Hail Dannes." She said, smiling. "I see you made it through your first battle, though not unmarked." She eyed a deep cut on his meaty bicep.
His father was smiling far too broadly for a normal moment. "Milady, my son has done us great honor, and the baron has granted him his fee and freedom for his actions on the field." The lad beamed.
She smiled at him. "Really? What is it you have done, brave Dannes?"
He looked down, suddenly self-conscious. "I killed a few orcs." He said meekly. The men nearby started catcalling and jeering him.
The father laughed. "A few?" He said with a look of shock on his face. "You slew at least a dozen!" He yelled and the crowd nearby cheered. He looked at Hyandai with his florid face. "He was a madman, milady, our group hadn't formed up properly and he and four other lads held off a small hoard of the fell creatures until we could form up and help them."
She smiled broadly at the lad, but Harlen could see a little brittleness in her expression. She walked to Dannes again. "Well, brave soldier." She said. "You are in need of fresh blessings." and she kissed him again. This time he kissed her back, at least he did more so than the first. She then put her mouth to his ear and said something into it. The crowd was cheering so boisterously that none save Dannes heard her words. His expression changed, though, and his embarrassed smile shifted to a considering one. She pulled back and then took his arm, blowing gently upon his cut, which looked bad, but was actually pretty minor. A few moments later she placed a gentle kiss on the new pink skin there.
She took Harlen's hand and led him from the camp. "What did you tell him?" Harlen asked.
She smiled back at her betrothed. "I asked him that if he goes and does insanely brave acts and then dies, how can I bless him further afterward." She said, then kissed Harlen's cheek. "You are a very patient man, I love you."
The managed to get back to their little camp, unmarred by the battle, save a flare's burnt out husk lying near their blankets, still smouldering. "I've never seen these before." She said, pushing it with the toe of her boot. Harlen nodded. "Since so many races other than us men can see well at night, we have found ways to mitigate that advantage." He said. He picked it up and dropped it into the fire, where it began to curl and wither. "Alchemists make the chemicals that go into them, then men called 'munitioneers' build them. She sniffed the sharp tang of the material used in the flare. "It reeks, but seems to help men at night, which is a boon, I am sure." She said, eyeing the withering husk dubiously.
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