218 Loyal Servants (1/2)

It was roughly an hour before dawn when we decided to rest in a grassy field that was far enough from the Westermarch war-front that Garm wouldn't be able to send anyone after us.

To those fairies and viseres who'd been up since the previous night, this choice was a welcome boon. We were all tired, and many of us had been injured too.

Azuma and Luca were both recuperating in the healer's wagon along with two dozen others of our most heavily injured. They were all under the care of Berrian Berrygrove, the elf leader of our small but highly capable healer's squad, and his assistant, Ernak, the drow apothecary who'd originally been part of Thom's group.

I bought liquor from Shanks' caravan out of my own pocket to give the men to help boost their morale somewhat. Not that they needed it. Beating back a great general and escaping the clutches of the Scarlet Moon once again had already been enough of a morale booster.

Something interesting happened in this camp as well. Aura had agreed to take Arah on as her third contracted visere, and so a short ceremony was held in the Commander's tent to complete this.

While they were surrounded by my squad leaders and Ty, Arah knelt on the carpet in front of Aura and offered our elven princess a golden ring I recognized as one of her favorite jewelry. It had been given to Arah by her mother in the eighth grade during the one semester where she'd gotten the top grades in our year. Of course, that was the year my dad died which was probably why my grades dipped, but I never gave that excuse out loud.

”Please take this treasured item as a sign of my fealty and my desire to serve as a visere for House Trickhaven of the Trickster Pavilion,” Arah swore.

I noticed that her oath was an oath of loyalty to Aura's house and not just Aura's. It was a contrast to mine which was an oath of partnership with Aura, and Ty's, which had been a more general oath for the clan.

No, I wasn't being anal about it. These things were important to take note of because the devil was always in the details.

Aura took the ring from Arah's hand and clipped it onto the necklace I'd given her so that there were now three things hanging from it, my mother's locket, Ty's star charm, and now, Arah's ring.

I, Aurana Trickhaven, princess of the Trickster Pavilion, recognize your resolve, Arah Lin Tan, and accept you as a visere of the clan,” Arah said, smiling warmly at the girl who she'd met only a year ago but had obviously grown very fond of.

Varda passed Aura a steel-grade sword that was the standard weapon we gave to our high-ranking Foolhardies. Nope, I was wrong. After a closer look, it wasn't one of our standard swords at all. It looked pricier than the cheap stuff we gave out.

Aura offered this sword with both hands to Arah.

”This is Thistle, a named blade I once carried when I was training to become a shieldmaiden,” Aura explained. ”I give it to you as a sign of respect and a symbol of our partnership.”

Arah accepted the sword while a tear rolled down her left eye.

She lowered her head when she spoke next, ”I will strive to be worthy of this honor you give me.”

”I know you will,” Aura answered. Then she clasped her on her forearm and added, ”Welcome to the trickster pavilion.”

We all gave Arah a round of applause and each clapped her on the shoulder in a gesture of welcome.

However, Ty had to ruin the auspicious moment with his comment, ”You get a cool looking sword but I only got a tree branch?”

”Well, maybe you should use the staff Zarz made out of that tree branch more often, Ty,” Varda countered.

Everyone laughed.

”I'm just glad someone who's less inclined to reckless plans is joining the team,” Ashley added.

”Yes, it is rather tiring having to fight for our lives in every engagement,” Thom agreed.

”Wait… are you guys saying we're free of Dean's foolhardiness?” Qwipps asked in a serious tone.

Everyone just looked at him like he was being ridiculous.

Qwipps sighed. ”What a fleeting dream this was…”

We all laughed, and that was how our battle in the Westersand ended.

Coming home to Mudgard was a little strange now that everything I had to look forward to was in the Fayne. My best friends, my brother, and the girl of my dreams… yup, the Fayne had it all.

But, as I walked over to my bedroom door and opened it, I caught the scent of bacon wafting up from the kitchen and had to re-evaluate my earlier thought. And as aunt Lena called me down for breakfast, I realized there were some things to look forward to in Mudgard after all.