Katerin was content with her quiet life of studying the arcane, and wanted for nothing in her life. She had friends, family, and plenty to do.
But life has a way of changing people--a way of pushing them to do things far outside their comfort and ex...
Katerin lurched to her feet and made for the stairs, grabbing her staff and knife belt as she rushed from the room. She nearly ran into a man in the hall as he was rushing past, likely headed to the roof.
"Where's Fykes? And Jon?" she asked as she buckled her belt with trembling fingers. Her voice was more of a shout than she meant it to be, full of all the fear she felt.
The soldier paled and pointed down the stairs, before turning and hurrying away, armor and weapons clanking as he went. She cursed under her breath and charged down the steps two at a time. There was a booming, painful noise, and she felt the stones shaking beneath her feet. She rounded the corner in a panic, redoubling her speed, and there she caught a glimpse of Jon, standing near the doorway. He was peeking out of it as he yelled orders to a man behind him.
She heard his voice, but not what he said, as another explosion deafened her. Once the noise had passed so that only a ringing was left to disorient her, she ran towards Jon and tugged on his sleeve.
"Ah, she's awake!" Jon said, when she reached him. Keeping his good humor despite the deep furrows in his brows.
"What's happening? What can I do?" she said, rubbing her eyes. She could hear the fighting in between the beats of her heart—screams, and the sounds of weapon and shield clashing.
Jon gave her a considering look that changed to a broad smile. "Put that magic of yours to some use! Hit 'em with all you got."
"Where's Fykes?" she asked, sucking in an unsteady breath.
Jon grimaced and pointed to the largest skirmish, the line of men holding the gates, "Out there, determined to be in the thick of it."
She nodded, unable to speak. She wanted to find a quiet corner and hold her knees until the cacophonous noise and the chaos she glimpsed out the door had passed. Instead, she pushed those thoughts away. "I can't do anything from here," she said as she clapped Jon on the shoulder and dashed out the door.
As she ran towards the line of men fighting at the gate, she saw movement towards the back of the keep. The back side of the keep had no walls. Instead, the hills it sat between sloped steeply down, and flattened out into a jagged plateau, before ending in a sharp cliff face. To get around the keep would be no easy feat, but that had done nothing to keep their enemy from finding a way of harassing them from all sides.
A few figures lingered there, just at the edge of her sight in the moonlight. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she watched as they surprised the few remaining men fighting along that side of the keep, killing them without a thought.
She started after them but hesitated. If she was going to meddle in the affairs of others, she should at least make sure she could live long enough to find her own goals. A quick lance of anger spiked through her, and it was as she watched a spear rip open the throat of a soldier that she realized her first question for her mother would be why in the world she had come here.
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