The Branchalite Legionnaires

Chapter 16: Defending Waw with arrows.

Michelle looked at the forest about three hundred feet away, as the sun set behind her. Golden tones reflected off the snow and the debris of a long fall, tinting the collage in a myriad display of nature's glory and for a moment, Michelle could forget where she was, why she was there and what was left for her to do; for a moment, a sense of peace and the Song of Life filled her, the natural rhythms of the seasons and the enduring power of the life that followed them. Then the moment passed, and Michelle was drawn back to the present and her responsibilities.

No enemy patrols that day. Michelle wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. The second trail out of the opening in the cliff lead off to a path along the coast. Michelle suspected it would take a wanderer all the way along the coast to Alsip. She turned then, looking back across her team, lining the wall. She gave Sarah, standing next to her, a smile and then looked along to where Fandy and her best new friend Stura were chattering away in the gully dwarf language. Stura had come out to join them around midday, in studded leather armor with a sword almost as big as she was. Michelle had assigned her to Fandy and they had been talking ever since.

Steven and Talitha were assigned to posts as far apart as possible and they had kept their minds on the task as far as Michelle could discern. Lady Gilleana and Sir Ailea had been given positions in the center, where they could work together. Michelle had taken a position on the flank and had spent a good part of the day working with Dominic and a team of aghar, trying to reinforce an ancient part of the inner wall that was barely more than a rise in the ground now. They were a little more prepared then they were at the start of the day, but the plans and strategies were yet to be put into action. Michelle felt anxious, almost as if she were disappointed there had been no violence.

She waved and called the order to switch to night time standing, many of the people departing back for dinner. Michelle stayed and so did Dominic, his youthful features directed out to the forest, much like Michelle's. "My parents were lost in Swiftwater. My brothers and I saw them fall under ogres. Much like the ones we've done battle with here. For me, this is about making their sacrifice mean something. As if before the ogres came we were just playing at undermining the Nerakans and now we are doing something much more meaningful." He turned his regard to Michelle then, his eyes bearing the wisdom of sorrow and the grief of a man far older than his youthful features. "Is it always like this, Anineysi?"

Michelle turned and caught the serious young man's grim expression and then she smiled, bright and warm. "Goodness no," she told him with a dry chuckle. "There will be days of laughter and days of sorrow, and some days that just are. Like today. But if you're asking if we live in a world where tragedies occur and the Legion is called on to do the right thing and to never give up... those facets are part of the legacy. It's not written for a reason, but we have to understand our own limitations, and that can only happen if we are given time for reflection. That's what days like this are for, Dominic. I will tell you this though. The most important part of the Legacy for me, and for the senior members who work with us, is encapsulated in that one phrase of Steel Brightblade's that you've heard each of us use more than once: all that we have is each other. You will experience a sense of comradeship that goes beyond the surface, because you serve with people who feel just as strongly about the same things that you do. Cherish your friends in the Legion, for you will never have any closer."

Dominic blinked and then averted his eyes a hint of color in his cheeks. He said, "What if I start to have even deeper feelings for someone I serve with?"

"Then like Steven and Talitha, you have to figure out first if those feelings are reciprocated, and how best to deal with them and still perform your duties to the best of your ability," Michelle said with a smile. "It's not always easy. As you may have guessed from some of Talitha's stories, I've had to dance about that issue quite often. Whether it is a feigned flirtation for the passage of information, or something a little more extreme to save the life of a respected colleague, we have to be prepared to do what is needed. Some lines we cannot cross. That has been a debate in recent years in the Legion – where that line is to be drawn. Sara Dunstan refused to permit the Legacy to be written – she feared the stringency of the Code or the Measure and knew how that had lead to terrible situations in both knightly orders in the past. She wanted something more flexible to avoid that, but it means each Legionnaire could interpret it slightly differently. Would you like to know more about the precepts?"