The Stories of the Guardians of Tannie

Airia

Airia tried not to itch, the long flowing dress her mother had insisted on her wearing was not comfortable, she knew it looked well on her. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back, it nearly reached her toes. Even with the length of her hair, it still showed curls and kinks here and there.

Her mother was Draconian, she was a thin wispy looking woman who was quite frail. Having Airia alone had nearly killed her, but she had wanted a child so bad she had been willing to risk her life to have one. Her father was an Elven man, he was high in rank and quite stern. 

He had been hoping for a son, but he was contended with Airia. He made sure she had the best of everything, he did not however cave into her every whim and fancy. He was a strict disciplinarian. 

Airia flinched as her mother ran the brush through her hair, it was something else her mother loved to do. She liked styling Airia's long flowing hair and brushing it out. Airia looked at herself in the mirror and wished she could be who she wanted to be.

She was one of the lucky ones, she looked like a full-blood Elven woman, just the curls and kinks in her hair and the slightly shorter ears betrayed her Draconian blood. A fact her mother was proud of. Airia did not know why, she felt like her mother should have been just as proud if she had black hair and yellow eyes. But Airia knew that her mother was proud and happy because Airia did not get some of the askance looks and treatment others who were not full-blooded Elves had received. 

Her mother sent her off finally after a few more tugs at her hair, to go "play" with her friends. As soon as Airia got around the corner she darted down a side path and quickly made her way down to a shed on the fringe of the town, there she looked around before going in and shutting the door.

Here was her hideaway, the one place she could right now be who she really was. Her father wanted her to be like a Lady, like her mother in all her actions and words. Airia wanted to be like her father, she had been wanting to join the scouts at least for two years now. She was now twenty and she knew she could make her own choice but still she hesitated. She knew her father did NOT want her to join, just a year ago one of the men's son's had been taken and he did not want her to share the same fate. 

The father of the young man had now gotten word that his son was safe, but that he was not coming home. Choosing instead to join the military forces of the Draconian. Murmurs of disapproval had been whispered about the place, but not many. Everyone knew that the Draconian military was not at all like the nobility, tales of their deeds had reached the kingdom along with many a happy return of people who would have otherwise been made into slaves and indentured servants. 

Airia had watched her father train carefully, she watched how he trained others carefully and trained herself quietly while she had time on her own. She quickly changed out of her itchy dress and pulled back her long hair to get it away from her face. She took out a long sword and ran her hands over the hilt and scabbard.

With one fluid motion she had the sword out of the scabbard and swished it through the air. The shed was small so she had to keep her moves contained, but in her mind that was all the better. She wanted to be efficient in closed-in spaces. 

Gracefully she swung her sword in the air, moving this way and that keeping her moves as fluid as possible. She then aimed towards an old military dummy she had fished out of the scrap heaps and started to practice on it. 

Time passed quickly, Airia was sweating and she started to tire, she knew she was going to have to get ready to go home soon. With a sigh she changed into her dress, had a quick wash with some water she kept in a bucket nearby and brushed out hair. She opened the shed door and stopped dead.