Chapter One: Return

The first Chapter of War Cry

Leyesha sat upon her mount staring over the field that she and her Captain would have to cross in order to get back to the town of Freluna, the town founded by her cousin, Fyrethil Fyrexetha to base the Phoenixfire Mercenaries.  She was now a member of the corps, though it took her years to convince Fyre that she wasn't the little girl he'd remembered her to be.

She was now a Lieutenant, personal assistant to Captain Loraina, who had been voted back into office after Fyre left and they realized that she was the best choice they had.  They had spent months trying to find her with Gorta and Jeena acting as temporary Captains, switching off by week.

Leyesha was highly respected and not just for being kin to the "Great Captain Fyrethil."  She was a perfect fighter, too good for the corps to be without apparently.  Though when she'd first joined, they new immediately that she was strange.  They would always question her sexuality, and the rumors about her falling for other women were true.  Some of the other female mercenaries felt uncomfortable around her for the longest time until Fyrethil stepped in and made the announcement that she already had a lover.

That little announcement made things much easier for her in the corps.  No more slurs, no more crude jokes.  Then there was something that was added to it just a few weeks ago that caused people to give her a profound amount of respect.  On her right ring finger was a ring of gold banding with a gorgeous diamond in it.  The band wrapped around the diamond in the shape of two dragons' jaws clowing over the stone.

But enough about the past, there was a challenge to be faced, she and Loraina had to cross the field to get back to Freluna, and who knew what kind of tretchery their enemies had waiting for them down there.

Loraina sighed and shook her head, looking at Leyesha with a smile, her long white hair blowing slightly in the wind, her elven ears twitching intricately.  "Ready, Lieutenant?"

Leyesha turned her head to look at her Captain through deep blue eyes, her blue and black wings fluttered gently, and her blue hair fell over one eye while the rest flowed down her back.  "As ready as I'll ever be, Captain...it's better to go now while there's still light."

"Too true," Loraina replied her heels digging into her mount's flanks causing it to take off at a full gallop.  Leyesha did the same and the next thing she knew they were racing through the field, ready to face anything that would come to oppose them.

What they didn't know is how soon that opposition would come.  Before they got half-way down the field, an arrow came flying through the air, and the cold metal of the arrow head penetrated the divide between Ley's shoulder armor and chestplate.  The arrowhead dug into her skin and sent blood splashing out the back of her shoulder as it broke through both ends of skin.

She let out a small scream and tumbled from her mount, rolling a few times causing the fletching of the arrow snap off and bury the shaft deeper into her flesh.  This made her yelp in pain even louder, but she bit it back and drew her blade in time to knock another arrow away.

"Loraina, keep going!"

"No!  I won't leave a soldier behind to die!"

Loraina came charging back atop her mount, blade out, ready to cut someone down.  She came up behind the archer fast and with one clean cut, his head slipped off of his neck, hitting the ground with an audible splat.

Ley rolled and got to her feet, blocking a slash from a blade, managing to force her attacker back and land a slash to his leg, taking it clean off.  Aware of someone behind her, she brought her arm back to find her blade digging into the skull of yet another attacker.  Now she spun, letting her wings catch flame.  Her wings incapacitated each of the twelve assassins that had popped in out of nowhere.

"Ley! Run!"

Leyesha looked up and spotted her mount and began to run as fast as her wound would let her.  Without hesitation she jumped up into the saddle and dug her heels into her mount's flanks.

They'd managed to escape and reached the gates of Freluna in a shorted time than they'd expected.

"Leyesha...go to the infirmary and get that wound looked at, then get some rest, you can have the day off tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am...thank you ma'am..."  Leyesha said and turned to go, only to hear the sound of her head hitting the cobblestoned courtyard.

Reviews

[Sarah Morgan]

So far So good... : ) now for chapter 2