First Battle - Lady Dominicale: Quiet Thoughts in the Moonlight

   In the grey light of dusk, under a copse of gently rustling trees, soft grass was flattened beneath sensible boots. They tromped to the edge of a circle of dirt, where a pile of dead leaves and twigs lay ready. An armful of larger sticks clattered onto the pile. The owner of the boots crouched down, brushing a loose strand of purple hair out of her right eye and arranging the sticks into a fire base. From a hidden pocket she pulled a small pouch, which held a curved piece of metal and a chunk of flint. 

   "Hold your hands out, palms facing the table. Now, focus on the bed of coals."

   In a few moments, tiny flames licked hungrily, smoke from the leaves billowing into the air and straight at Dominicale. 

   "Hmm. Try the flag. Concentrate on the flapping."

   She coughed and waved the smoke away from her face, feeling a burning sensation tickle her throat. 

   "Now the bowl of water. Watch the ripples."

   She raised her canteen to her lips and drank slowly. Then she set it aside, scooched away from the fire, and began to work on her bow.

   From the satchel hanging off her waist she produced a long, thin bow cover and a small jar of beeswax. She coated her fingers in wax and rubbed it into the bowstring with quick pulling motions. 

   "The flower. Now, the pile of rocks."

   Dominicale stood and put her left leg through the space between bow and string. She turned it to align the bow behind her leg, pressed into the top with her left palm, and pulled the string out of the groove with her right. The bow was slipped into its snug cover and set aside.

   "Do not be discouraged. She is working quite diligently, but for some children the process will take longer."

   "It's taken quite a bit of time already, wouldn't you agree?"

   "Indeed it has. But have faith, my Lady."

   Dominicale sat down with a strip of dried meat and chewed it thoughtfully, lifting her gaze to see the moon shining down through the leaves. 

   "Danae, Theo is more respected than the other Seers. We can afford the extra time."

   "The longer this drags out, the more convinced I am that he's one of those charlatans draining us of our stores! Dominicale is smarter than the other noble children, why-- oh, do come in!"

   "Lord, Lady, please excuse the interruption. The Seer says she has manifested. It is Earth"

   The fire crackled softly. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves overhead.

   Rustle, rustle.

   That hadn't come from overhead. Dominicale's head snapped up, her eyes locking onto the bushes to her right. She stared, body tensed.

   A slime rolled out of the bushes and stopped, mere feet away, jiggling like jelly. 

   Dominicale sprang up into a battle stance and held her right hand out. Ice blue light shimmered in her palm and solidified, turning into deadly pointed crystals. Staring intently at the quivering slime, she readied herself for a fight.