admin With a single powerful swipe of her sword, Dessine lopped the head from the shoulders of the boy who had felled Sabit. Leaping over Sabit’s crumpled form, the chief huntress of the Pride charged toward the village center. Her high-pitched war-cry overwhelmed the sorcerer’s low, soft chanting. Keeping her eyes low, Dessine ran straight toward … Read more
The eyes of the villagers were wide and bloodshot and devoid of awareness. Their fists and feet struck Dessine and Sabit without the skill and strength of those trained in the ways of battle. But the villagers’ numbers could not be denied as they piled on the two fallen warriors. Sabit parried and blocked the … Read more
Sabit’s arm would not move. Her head would not turn. Her eyes would not blink. The sorcerer’s gaze bored into her skull like a dagger. Sabit’s muscles were locked as tight and unflinching as if she had been bound in steel chains. The mass of enthralled villagers turned and charged toward the spear woman. Sabit’s … Read more
Days later, Sabit crouched behind the curving stone wall of a village hut, her trusty iron-tipped spear in her hand. Dessine and the other members of the Pride crouched close behind her. The group of warriors took care to silence their movements through the unseasonably cool mud of the village roads. They need not have … Read more
The next morning, Sabit was roused from her slumber while the sun still hung low in the sky. The warriors of the Pride gathered their newest members in front of their stronghold. The head of the entire Sisterhood, Meriama, had arrived. Walking quickly through the gate from the outer courtyard, the head of the Sisterhood … Read more
That night, Sabit danced with her fellow initiates into the small hours. Still weary from the hunt, her steps were clumsy. Always stubborn, Sabit made up for her lack of skill with a bottomless energy that outstripped the stamina of even the fully-established Sisters who had not hunted. By the time the bonfires burned low, … Read more
Chief huntress was her title, but Dassine bore the cold, reserved gaze of one who had slain more than beasts and fowl in her day. Her right cheek showed the roaring lioness, the tattoo ink dark against her tan skin. A torc of gleaming copper cradled her throat, the only adornment of her garb—yellow tunic … Read more
The Sisterhood of the Lioness allowed only the strongest initiates to join the ranks of their most honored warriors: The Pride. The hunt was the final task of five days of trials the initiates faces. Walking the gauntlet of the established warriors was the last part of the hunt. Sabit took a slow, deliberate step … Read more
Sabit struggled under the weight of the ibex carcass draped across her shoulders. She had walked half the day up and down steep ridges and rocky slopes bearing the prize of her hunt. With only a stone knife and her innate stealth, Sabit had tracked the ibex herd through the night. Careful to keep herself … Read more
Several days later, Sabit stood on the eastern wall of Bahteel. The morning sun bathed the fields of ripening grain in a crimson light. The packed earth line of the great eastern road cut through the blood-red fields like an open wound. Where the dark brown expanse of road met the wall—gleaming a white-gold light … Read more