Kades

Chapter 2 Mitiri: The Hawk

Creeping through the undergrowth, sneaking up on the invaders, Mitiri reflected on the events of the past few days. A week ago, a group of raiders had broken past the outer boundaries of her home province. They had slaughtered those unfortunate enough to live in the outskirts, and were now moving closer to the center. It was the job of Mitiri and her squad to stop them. Looking to her left, she signaled to one of her platoon leaders. After a few gestures, the message was conveyed. 'Circle around, cut them off.'
         About a minute later, Mitiri heard a loud, whistling chirp. To the invaders it was only a bird, but to her and her squad, it meant 'in position'. She gave a slightly lower chirp in reply and moved in. When they got closer to the enemy, they slowly stood up and took aim with their bows. The arrows were old-fashioned, made of wood and stone. They were much better for remaining undetected.
         The bowstrings twanged and a volley of arrows came flying from all directions. The raiders were dead before they knew what happened.

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         If you're wondering why an army of children was sent to fight a group of warriors, think about it for a second. Childhood is the most adaptable age of the human life. Children are more easily trained than adults because they don't need to unlearn as much and being small, can easily sneak up on you. Couple that with the experience of a teen, and you have a very good soldier. Of course, they'll never fight in a war.

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         Mitiri gave the signal to break cover. Her small army gathered in the clearing and began to collect whatever the enemy had on them. What could be identified would be returned to whoever it was stolen from. The province would keep what couldn't be. Mitiri looked at her soldiers. They all stood looking at her, waiting for orders. She could imagine what was going through their heads. The ebon haired girl had led them to many victories. They had trained and fought under her for about two years, and in that time they had never let her down. She vowed never to let them down either.
         As one of her soldiers leaned over the final dead body, she didn't notice the hand reach for the knife beside it. The knife sank deep into the soldier’s side, and his knees buckled. Getting slowly to his feet, the man they thought was dead tried to finish off the children who had injured him. Mitiri reached for her sword. Before she could do anything though, six arrows pierced the enemy’s chest. He fell, dead.
         The soldier struggled to his feet. The wound in his side was bleeding hard. His shirt was already saturated. Mitiri rushed over with a field-med kit to help him.
         After she had put disinfectant on the wound, she took a roll of gauze and wrapped it tight. She could see that, in spite of her efforts, the soldier wouldn't make it. She couldn't tell, but it seemed that his liver was punctured. It would take hours to bleed out. That is if he didn't die of shock, first. She ordered her platoon leaders to make a stretcher to carry out the wounded soldier.
         She wouldn't show it, but the knife had hurt Mitiri, too. If she had been more observant, and checked the bodies first, this wouldn't have happened. She had lost soldiers before, but always in battle. Such losses were perfectly acceptable. However, it was not acceptable to lose someone through such preventable causes.
         When they got back to the village, people gathered around to congratulate them then stopped the moment they saw the dying boy. Mitiri rushed him to the infirmary, praying that he would make it, but she knew he wouldn’t.
         Waiting outside the infirmary, she was approached by a tall man wearing dark robes that concealed his face.
         “Mitiri?” he asked.
         “Who’s asking?”
         “I am Solan, an archmage. I would like to train you.”
         She stared at him for a moment, then replied angrily. “I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”
         “I’m not joking.”
         “Well if you are serious, then answer this: why me?”
         “Because you have the gift. With my help you can use it to enhance your arrows, strengthen your sword strikes, and, above all protect your soldiers”
         That last part struck Mitiri like lead, but she refused to show it, “Yeah, right. I’m not leaving my soldiers. They depend on me. I promised I wouldn’t fail them, and I won’t. Now, Goodbye,” Mitiri said, storming off.
         “You could stop him from dying,” Solan called after her, but she continued on her way.
         That night, the soldier died. At the funeral, Mitiri was required, as his commander, to give a part of the eulogy. She would’ve done it if she weren’t required, though. As she laid the torch upon the funeral pyre, she heard footsteps behind her. She knew immediately who it was.
         “I’ll go,” she said, “You can train me”
         Standing behind her, Solan didn’t know whether to cry or smile.