Promising
prospects would be advanced to a regular company for further training
with seasoned veterans. Not-so-promising prospects would be moved to a
training company where experienced instructors would hone their raw
skills. Probably more than half of the candidates would be rejected.
The Warrior Princess could afford to be choosy, since hers was the most
feared and successful army in the region.
Cirra was a typical town that she wouldn't have bothered with
normally. It had no real militia and was too far away to call on a
nearby city for aid, which made it no challenge at all to sack. One
thing the well-traveled warrior loved were obstacles that she could
overcome. The killing and looting she acknowledged were necessary and
practically unavoidable. She relished going up against another army and
defeating it because she had wielded her forces better and more
effectively than the opposing commander.
But for a short initiation she didn't want to be distracted by a
capable opponent. It wouldn't do to get a bunch of rookies killed
before they could be trained, so a ripe and innocent town like Cirra
was the perfect target for her purposes. It wouldn't be long now...
Dinner had been
delicious. Both girls ate as if this were their last meal. Arleia was
pleased to see her children so happy and animated. Maya poked and
kicked Callisto until she got a response from her elder sister, who
proceeded to tickle the little one into uncontrollable fits of laughter.
The three spent some time together washing the dishes. Arleia washing,
Callisto drying, and Maya putting the various dishes away. They talked
about little things. Arleia was content to let Maya and Callisto ramble
on about their day's adventures.
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Callisto heard
the sounds first: the warcry of dozens of men along with the pounding
hooves of approaching horses. The blonde teenager stopped what she was
doing and ran to the door to take a look. Arleia was starting to wonder
what her eldest daughter was doing when she also heard the sounds of
impending doom...
The raiding party
swarmed into Cirra and took the villagers by surprise. A few of the
townsmen came out with whatever weapons they had on hand: knifes,
swords, clubs, pitchforks. But the defenders were disorganized and
isolated, most being quickly cut down by the marauders. The warband's
leader calmly walked her steed through the town, watching and
evaluating the action of her troops...
Callisto knew Cirra was in dire danger. As she stood in the
doorway of her home she could see that the brigands were winning.
Resistance had crumbled and no more people were coming out to defend
their homes. With her mother asking the determined youth what she was
doing, Callisto grabbed a large kitchen knife and ran outside to
confront the raiders...
Several fires had started as her men continued their attack.
Sporadic fighting marked the spots where the surviving defenders fought
on against overwhelming odds. The Destroyer of Nations ordered some of
her warriors to put out the fires. Some of her more exuberant recruits
had dragged women and young girls out of their homes, which she had to
stop emphatically. She had a rule against harming women and children,
which she would enforce, painfully if need be...
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