“They do as they have done for the past hin,” came the voice of Ennat as she drew rein beside me, as calm as Chaldrin. Large was this Ennat, brown-haired and brown-eyed and newly come to the position of Keeper of the clans which had so lately been enemies to those whom I led. That I rode in Mida’s name was clear to her, as clear as her gladness that her clans now did the same. Her Keeper’s covering, ankle-length as befitted her station and of all the colors of her clans, hiked up high upon her thighs to allow her a seat upon the kan she rode. Always impatient, Ennat the Keeper did not indulge in the niceties of her new office; rather than allowing herself to be carried about upon a Keeper’s seat, she straddled a kan and rode where she willed.
“Are we not yet prepared to ride forth and brace those who lay siege to the city?” asked Ennat, sounding more like a warrior than a Keeper. “For what reason do we delay?”
“We must await the arrival of Aysayn and Mehrayn,” said I, calming the dancing of my kan with a stroking hand to his neck. “To advance unnecessarily before all of one’s forces are properly placed would be foolish. I will not be delayed in reaching the city because of fearful attack from those we will ride toward.”
“The males remain encamped, Jalav,” said Ilvin, for she had crept to the crest of the hill to observe those about the city. Her long, pale hair was cinched by war leather, as was mine and each Midanna who rode with us including Ennat, and the blue of her clan colors about her hips was sharp against the green of the grass she lay upon. Her Hitta blue was somewhat different than the Summa blue upon Wedin and Dotil, but clan differences were forgotten in the face of the unity Midanna now enjoyed.
“A knot of the males seem prepared to approach more closely to the walls of the city,” said Ilvin, her light eyes keen. “Should they be foolish enough to attack, they will learn that those within have little need of the force which rides with us. I see forms upon the walls, clearly Midanna, yet can’t make out their clan.”
“We will learn soon,” said S’Heernoh, his words drawing my eyes to his tall, lean, gray-haired form. “The Prince of Sigurr’s Sword and Sigurr’s Shadow now approach.”
His words were truth, for beyond him, to our left, I was able to see Mehrayn and Aysayn riding calmly toward us. The two Sigurri, the first red-haired and green-eyed, the second light-haired and brown-eyed, both large and well-made, rode leisurely, which annoyed me. Behind them were the two Sigurri warriors, Gidain and Rinain, who had ridden with my set from their city, all four seeming to ride just to pass the hind of an otherwise idle fey. I was tempted to berate the males, but that would only have delayed us further. Though the males had earned the right to be named brother to me, supreme war leader, still were they, above all else, male.
“Our legions will not show themselves save at our signal,” said Aysayn as he and the others joined our set, his dark eyes filled with satisfaction. “And, as I see by the presence of Ennat, Wedin and Dotil that the wenches have also been deployed, there is little reason for us to remain behind the shoulder of this rise. Let us advance now, and learn for what reason those men besiege the city and the wenches within it.”
“Their reasons may well relate to the coming strangers,” said I, frowning thoughtfully. “Yet how knowledge came to them concerning the place the strangers would appear I know not, for Mida spoke directly to me. Much do I doubt that Mida would have spoken to them in the same manner.”
“Indeed, your goddess Mida speaks to few beyond her own Midanna,” said Mehrayn, seeming amused. “Little does she give others, save perhaps an occasional boon.”
My annoyance flared at his amusement, an amusement I had had far too much of in the previous feyd. My humor had grown so foul during the journey just past that I would have welcomed battle of any sort, even beyond a Midanna’s ever-present eagerness for it. Had the male been raised properly as a Midanna warrior, he would not have refused my need to bare blades considering even my vow that no more than first blood would be spilled. His refusal had remained adamant and his amusement undiminished, and no other had there been among Midanna and Sigurri who might reasonably have faced me with a skill near to my own, save for Aysayn and Chaldrin. Aysayn, he who was called Sigurr’s Shadow, might well have been convinced to join what he termed sport, yet had Mehrayn spoken a refusal for him, and he had abided by the wishes of his brother. Chaldrin, unlike the others, truly a brother to me, would have faced me had I asked it of him, yet I refrained from asking. Despite his undeniable skill I felt I had already taken the measure of Chaldrin, and to do so again would have brought little pleasure.
“They most certainly could not have learned of the thing from the Snows,” said S’Heernoh, sounding sour at the thought of the efforts he and I had wasted in attempting to reach the White Land. “Once again does that damnable fog cover the paths of that-which-is-coming-to-be, barring all from looking upon it. I dislike this, lady war leader, for I feel it greatly unwise to continue on in so bold a manner while we are blinded and bound. Perhaps it would be best if we were to bide our time, observing these others unseen the while, and then consider . . . .”
“We ride now,” said I, not dissuaded, my eyes fixed only on the path which would take me forward and on toward the meeting with the strangers. This, the coming battle, was the last of the duty demanded of me by the gods, the last I would consider attempting. Were I to survive the battle, no longer would I be chosen, no longer would there be so great a number of others looking to me for leadership. Jalav would be Jalav’s alone, to ride and do as she wished, to concern herself with neither gods nor warriors nor males. No delay to this end would I brook, no words of male-like caution would I allow to slow me, for males were well-known to dither and delay, as true warriors rode ahead boldly.
Rather than await further converse I put heels to my kan and moved ahead, finding that Ennat, Ilvin, Wedin, Dotil and Chaldrin accompanied me without hesitation. Ilvin had reclaimed her kan and rode beside Chaldrin, her hand going briefly to her sword to loosen it in its scabbard, her position to Chaldrin’s left, where she might guard the male were we to abruptly find ourselves in the midst of battle. The male, of a size with Mehrayn and Aysayn, dark of hair and eye and powerfully built as warriors were not, smiled faintly at Ilvin’s doing and made no attempt to deny it. Though he knew as well as I that his blade skill far outstripped that of Ilvin, he would not dismiss the Hitta’s concern for him with a mere gesture of amusement. The protection offered by a Midanna warrior would be accepted in the spirit in which it was given, though no other males save Sigurri seemed able to do likewise. To all others Midanna warriors were wenches, a foolish male notion they would soon be abused of.
Before the brow of the rise was topped, our full set rode together. Aysayn and Mehrayn seemed concerned by the disturbance of S’Heernoh, yet not to so great an extent that they spoke of it. All eyes joined mine in looking ahead toward those whose ranks we approached, those males who had camped about the city in demand unknown to us. To our right were the males from the city of Galiose, the city Ranistard where the Hosta lay captive and unable to free themselves. Thigh-length coverings of cloth in many colors did these males wear, and among them moved those of Galiose’s guard who were clad in metal and leather above their coverings. Most of them continued to sit and lie about the camp they had made, inert, no expectation that soon they would be called into battle. They lazed beneath the warmth of Mida’s light, some attempting to follow what occurred nearer to the city, most more concerned with feeding.