Help Arrives

The next day, Ashreida Solace looked upon the gates of Mearn for the first time in her life. They must have been an impressive sight, once. The ruling council of the city had always been paranoid, concerned both justifiably and not that more powerful neighbors coveted the city’s wealth and influence. Consequently, the council spent lavishly on defense, or at least the appearance of defense. The walls were built tall with good, strong stone, gleaming white with polish. The gates themselves were twin slabs of wood, held fast by metal bracing. When it was built, it would no doubt have been an impressive display of power and wealth. But that had been before the upward expansion of Mearn had truly begun. Now, the walls were dwarfed by the very city they were supposed to protect, and were much diminished for it. With no one able to come up with a practical—not to mention economically sane—proposal to overhaul the city’s protection, the now-inadequate walls remained.

Despite the objective deficiencies of the walls, however, to Ash they had been as much an unreachable fantasy as the Stars. She didn’t live too far from the edges of the city, in objective terms, but she had never had any reason to go there. The areas closest to the walls were some of the most coveted in the city, owing to their relative freedom from the claustrophobic crush of Mearn. Consequently, these were among the wealthiest districts, outdone only by the highest spires. They were not places where a poor thief could wander without getting into serious trouble. Ash had lived her life assuming that she would never see most of Mearn, let alone leave it.

And yet, now that she was at the base of the walls, she was far too nervous to focus on how much her life had changed. Although unaware of the specifics, she had assumed that whatever help the Valkyries had summoned would take some time to get to Mearn from wherever Valkyrie central was. Certainly, neither Tienne nor Solenia had said anything about it for the rest of the previous day, after sending out the message. Ash had figured she was safe to rest and recover for however long a response took; she had no desire to run off on her own again. This state of affairs held through the better part of the next day, just long enough for Ash to get used to it. Then, without warning, Solenia barged back into the inn room and announced that help had arrived, and that they were going to meet them immediately.

The following trip to the gates had been a whirlwind, with the Valkyries apparently both driven to get there as quickly as possible and quite clearly unhappy with the prospect. There was no time or space to ask for explanation. The Valkyries knew what was going to happen, did not like it, and were resigned to it. This was enough for them.

That left Ash standing at the gates with no idea where to look: at the gates themselves, at the Valkyries, or at the manor homes that cost more money than she could ever imagine. If there was somehow any doubt about how much the three of them stood out simply standing around waiting by the gates, it was dispelled by the openly offended glances of well-to-do passersby. There was evidently some understanding with the guards, at least, as those present did not object to the trio’s presence.

After many uncomfortable minutes, a shout finally rose up from the walls, and a dozen or so guards sprung into action. They formed up into two lines flanking the gates, spears and shields held at crisp attention. Ash wondered if their green-and-grey uniforms were supposed to be some kind of fancy. At the very least, they looked nicer than the dingy outfits worn by the even dingier thugs she was used to.

“Whatever you do, do not say anything,” Tienne hissed. The Valkyries—and by extension Ash—were standing at the end of the column of guards.

“No matter how much you want to,” Solenia added, face dark.

Then, the gates opened. On the other side was a legend made reality.

Fifteen women sat on horseback, each in gleaming golden armor with a many-petaled flower emblazoned boldly on the chest. They wore a variety of weapons, though all were of masterful quality. Even their horses had a proud bearing, though tired from hard travel. Ash needed no one to tell her that these were true Valkyries, the figures that even she had grown up hearing stories of. These women were what everyone meant when they discussed Valkyries, the very model of the heroes who had once served the Queen of All Heavens. Belatedly, Ash realized she hadn’t been breathing.

The most unbelievable thing of all, though, was the fact that these legends were coming straight for her. Ash wasn’t sure if she should cheer or run. Luckily, the mental overload kept her in place.

The lead horsewoman came to a halt roughly ten feet away from Solenia. She dismounted, allowing Ash to get a proper look at her, and whatever breath the girl had remaining was snatched violently away. The Valkyrie was a beastfolk of vulpine descent, as marked by the furred ears rising up from auburn hair tied tightly back in a braided bun. A bushy tail of similar color extended from her lower back, fur perfectly straight. Her face was all regal, sharp angles, and she walked with a poise that could only have been cultivated from years of practice. Her beauty defied easy categorization and made telling her age nearly impossible. Even the Words Scribed prominently across her armor seemed to have been written in a graceful hand. This, Ash decided, was a true noble, totally unlike those lazy, greedy pigs in the upper spires that everyone complained about.

A sharp elbow to her ribs brought Ash crashing back to reality, where she was greeted by a severely unamused glare from Tienne. Ash did not regret staring in the slightest.

“Lady Asaomi, it is so nice to see you again,” Solenia said, as the beastfolk Valkyrie approached. She made no attempt to disguise the venom in her voice.

“Lady Solenia,” Asaomi said, part greeting and greater part call for attention. “It was good of you to call us. Now, how long have you allowed this cult to fester?”

“Oh, I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t left out of the fun. And how generous of you to not mention that I have been injured while ‘letting the cult fester,’” Solenia replied.

“Yes, that is unfortunate. But as I have so often told you, there are consequences to the solitude the Red Lily Order so stubbornly insists on.”

“Unlike the great and mighty Chrysanthemums, obviously.”
“Obviously.”

Ash was unsure if she were watching two noble Valkyries talk or two young children bickering. After an indeterminate number of seconds of the two women glaring at each other, Asaomi noticed Ash.

“And who is this, Lady Solenia? Have you picked up another runaway?” she asked. In the corner of Ash’s vision, Tienne flinched.

“I’m Ashreida Solace,” Ash said, stepping forward on pure reflex. “I’ve been helping Solenia and Tienne deal with the Emerald Hand.”

Both Solenia and Tienne sent sharp looks Ash’s way. She blushed in sudden embarrassment and regret.

“…My Lady,” she hastily added.

“Already getting the locals involved, I see,” Asaomi said. At no point had her flat, unreadable expression changed.

“Yes, well, us loners must make do with the resources we have,” Solenia said.

“So you must,” Asaomi sighed. She turned fully to Ash, and gave a short but formal bow. “I am Tamachou Asaomi, Fifth Captain of the Chrysanthemum Order. Do keep safe, and do not cause trouble for Lady Solenia.”

“Y—yes, my lady,” Ash said, stunned by the woman’s full attention.

A younger Valkyrie, around Ash and Tienne’s age, appeared behind Asaomi. Though her hair was shorter and a much deeper red, she too was a vulpine beastfolk and, in many ways, looked like a younger version of Asaomi.

“My lady, we must get to our appointment.”

“Yes, of course,” Asaomi said, and gestured to the other Chrysanthemum Valkyries, who promptly resumed moving. Seemingly as an afterthought, she glanced back to Ash, and indicated the younger beastfolk. “Tamachou Kiniko, one of my pupils.”

“And, by sheer coincidence, her younger sister,” Tienne muttered under her breath.

“We will talk later, Lady Solenia. For now, we must meet with this city’s council and discuss our presence,” Asaomi said, either not hearing or ignoring Tienne’s comment. That said, Asaomi remounted her horse and joined her fellows in riding off deeper into the city. Kiniko gave a short nod, and even a smile, to Ash. Within the minute, the whole group was gone.

A deep, extended groan from behind Ash caused her to jump. She turned around to see Solenia hunched over, and rubbing her eyes.

“So…what was all that about?” Ash asked, already more than a little afraid of the answer.

“That was Lady Asaomi, oh-so-proud and noble daughter of House Tamachou, honored captain of the Chrysanthemum Order, and a massive thorn in my side,” Solenia said.

“She and Lady Solenia had the same teacher when they were trainees. There was some, uh, issues between them, and I don’t think Lady Asaomi has ever forgiven her for joining the Red Lilies and not the Chrysanthemums,” Tienne translated. Ash swiftly decided she did not need to pursue the issue any further.

“Anyway, I thought you said the other Orders could just travel around wherever they wanted?” Ash asked.

“Normally, no. But the Chrysanthemum’s are a special exception to that,” Solenia sighed, forcing herself to calm down to a more useful level. “During the Old Queendom, they basically commanded all the Valkyries, and were the most trusted companions of the Queen. Now they’re the diplomatic face of the Valkyries, but their real role is to deal with issues relating to the Nathrendi. The Treaty of Gal-Kent allows them to go wherever they need to and do whatever they need to in case of emergencies, although invoking it usually doesn’t make many friends.”

“The message we sent yesterday went to one of the outposts the Order maintains to be ready for anything, wherever. We knew Lady Asaomi was stationed at the closes one,” Tienne added.

“Well, that’s a good thing, right? That means they’re here to help us with the Emerald Hand?”

“Oh absolutely. We wouldn’t be able to take on the Hierarch without them,” Solenia said. Then her face broke out into a broad grin. “Now, let’s go talk about how we’re going to screw them over.”