"Blaithin! Are you in here?" Rua closed the door quietly behind her, muffling out the sounds of everyday activity in the citadel outside. The midday sun made gold puddles on the floor through the windows and all remained peaceful. There was no answer. Undeterred, she moved into the children's room and sat on the bed facing the oversized chest that held all their belongings. It was carved gaily with flowers and birds and all the things Lugh thought his unborn children might like in his zealous attempts at carpentry seven years ago.
"I heard what happened at the games in school. Ruairi was just cross over losing. He didn't mean it."
The chest stared back at her.
"Things are very different now. Fighting isn't all that matters. There's some people who don't want to accept that because it's all they know and different things scare them. That's why they're mean about it. They're idiots."
The voice from behind the chest was tiny. "I hate school."
"I know, mo stoirin. But there's still a lot you need to learn. Not just how to fight, but about things like honour, courage, loyalty. That's important no matter what you decide to do."
She was answered with a whimper. "He called me a stupid baby."
Rua smiled to herself. "My brothers called me that all the time too. But what happens if anyone else says it?"
"Ruairi hits them."
"You see?"
There was a scuffling behind the chest but still the little girl did not appear. "He said you and Daddy would leave me out for the Tribe to take away." Rua was instantly on her feet. "Now you know that's not true!" She had to bite back the anger from her tone. She was going to be having stern words with her firstborn son tonight. "Will you come out here and talk to me? Please?"
Red curls and green eyes appeared over the lid. Rua smiled at her and held out her hand to her daughter. "It's okay. Come out."
In a flash the girl was out from behind the chest and barrelling into her mother's arms. Rua knelt down and hugged her tight before holding her out at arm's length. "Now listen to me. First of all we'd never give you up for anything. And second, that's not what the Tribe are about. They're not here to take away anybody's children."
Blaithin looked up with big searching eyes. "But last night we heard you tell Daddy about the cat lady you met. You said she was taken from her parents."
Rua looked at her sternly. "You two should have been in bed asleep. What were you doing up?"
There was a moment of panic in Blaithin's eyes as she realised how she had cornered herself. "I didn't want to! It was Ruairi's idea!"
"Well let this be a lesson. When you listen into other people's conversations, you seldom hear the full story." With a sigh Rua stood back to her feet and took Blaithin's hand. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."
"Where?"
"Outside."
Blaithin's eyes lit with delight.
They only went to the edge of the plateau just outside the gates of Armengar, but for Blaithin, as was the case for most children too young yet to fight, it was a whole new world millions of leagues from home. Every few steps she had to turn around and look at the citadel walls from the outside. Each time one of the members of the gate guard would wave back at her. Then the Tribe camp was in full view. Blaithin was rooted to the spot. While most children had seen it from the battlements, it was much more colourful and vibrant from this vantage point. She clung tightly to Rua's hand as they surveyed the ring fort of tal lwooden stakes and the activity within.
"Sit down." Rua lay down her cloak for them both right at the edge. Blaithin sat without taking her gaze from the camp for even a second. When Rua sat beside her she clung onto her arm again.
"What are they doing?"
Rua smiled. "Living. Going about their lives much as we do."
"But they're so..."
"Different. Yes they are. But look, they still prepare food, they still repair clothes, and make armour... they spar, they talk to one another..." As she spoke, Rua pointed out an example of each around the camp. Occasionally one of the Tribe members would spot them and stare back, but no challenge was made.
Blaithin giggled and pointed as a small winged creature flitted across their view. "What's that?"
"I believe that's a sprite."
"And that?" "That's a hobbit. In fact I think that's the one that challenged Mar'Eck as Tribal leader."
She was practically bouncing with excitement now. "Mar'Eck's like Rhianna. I saw him talking to Fraoch and Chareos."
"That's right-"
"And they look like Mactire!" Her pointing was so exuberant Rua had to hold her back lest she tumbled.
Rua laughed and hugged her. "They're beastkin too, yes." Her tone grew serious as she released her. "There's nothing you have to worry about. They're here to teach and to learn and they'll abide by our rules when in the citadel or suffer our penalties. No one in Armengar would allow any harm come to you if they could help it and that's the same for everyone. The Tribe know that too and they're smart enough to know when not to pick a fight. There's a lot of enemies out there but there's also a lot of people - like the Lions - we might one day call friends if we can only learn to trust."
Blaithin spotted something and tugged at Rua's sleeve. "Is that the cat lady?"
Sure enough, a sleek feline walked delicately from the tents to the open area where their fighters were sparring with one another. "Yes it is. Her name is Adileena."
"Is she nice?"
"Seems to be. And she wasn't stolen away, she was of an age to join the Tribe of her own will and her adopted parents were happy for her to chose." Rua ruffled her hair. "Just as me and your Daddy are happy for you to chose your own way. Once your basic schooling is finished."
Blaithin pouted again. "But that's forever!"
"I know it seems that way now but one morning you'll wake up and it'll be over and you'll have lots of choices to make. The kind of choices no one around here has ever had before - you can be whatever you want to be - see what you want to see."
Her voice was little more than a whisper as she looked up at her mother. "Can I come to the Gathering with you then?"
Rua brushed her curls back behind her ears. "In a couple of years after you've learnt to take care of yourself, then we'll think about it, yes. But first you've got to be brave and get through this tough part. Can you do that?"
The smile was positively gleeful. "I'll try really hard, I promise!"
"Good girl." She kissed the top of her head then rummaged around for a pouch. "I have something for you."
"What is it?" Blaithin watched very closely as Rua undid the pouch and pulled out a small black clay shape attached to a length of hide. On the other side was a pentagon with a smaller one inside coloured deep red. The space between the two was segmented into five white walls. Her eyes went wide in wonder. "Gran said we were getting a symbol. Is that it?"
Rua tied it around her neck, leaving it long enough that Blaithin could still pick it up and look at it. "Yes. We never had much need for one before - it was us and the Calebii and we could easily tell the difference. The only flags we ever had were torn from the cloaks of our vanquished enemies. But those of us who went to the battlefield at the Gathering last year realised something. It's not us and them anymore. It's us and a whole lot of other thems and you don't have time to ask if someone is an ally or a foe. You can lose your people too easy. All the nations use flags and banners to rally their people and if we are to take our place in the wider world, we too need a readily identifiable mark."
"What does it mean?"
"That's a very good question. It's roughly the same shape as our citadel. Walk around the inner walls some day, you'll see. When the Farseekers first arrived Mactire drew a lot of different maps. When he began his expeditions to map the whole island, that was the shape he used to represent Armengar. So it stands for the citadel - for strength and defence." Rua drew the five sided shape in the dust. Inside it she drew the smaller one. "And this is the heart of Armengar. Red for courage, loyalty, and the lost blood we should never forget." She sectioned off the rim into five. "Now the walls are white for hope that this peace we now know might be lasting. Five walls just like there's five members to a Talon."
"Wow." Blaithin looked at her pendent, then spotted Rua's and frowned. "Why is yours different? You've got red walls too."
Rua laughed. "Not many people know this but that was an entirely accidental development. When the potter was making the first of these to present to the Volksraad, some of the red paint she used slipped inside one of the walls. It gave her an idea." She disturbed the dust in the flat bottom wall of the sand picture. "Armengar is made up of many different types of people but there's at least five different skills our soldiers are going to need out in the field. The base, the foundation of our society, are the warriors. Swordsmen, shield bearers, archers." She marked in the two adjacent walls. "Their efforts are bolstered by the scouts and the healers. Indeed we'd be lost without them." The last two walls were completed. "Finally the relatively new powers of the incantors and spell casters. Many times they've given us the edge to put us head and shoulders above our enemies."
Blaithin nodded, taking it all in. "So you're a spell caster and a warrior."
"Exactly. What this should mean is when it comes to the crunch our allies will be able to spot those of us with the skills they need when there's wounds to heal or weapons to mend. Hopefully it will take our enemies a bit longer to unravel the meaning."
Blaithin looked back at her own, her tone suddenly maudlin. "What if I'm never any of those things?"
Rua picked up her hand and squeezed it. "That's the beauty of it. You will still have a heart filled with courage, strength, and loyalty. If this peace can only last then you do not need to be a soldier. You will be no less Armengarian for it. And there's some members of the Volksraad that have chosen not to fill any of those walls. Eirlys, Cosaint, - Chareos. There is no shame in it. And you're still young. You may find you have a talent for incanting or spell casting yet."
Blaithin smiled at that. "Then can I be a ritualist like you?"
Rua laughed as she stood, lifted Blaithin to her feet from off the cloak, and threw it back around her shoulders. "One step at a time, mo stoirin. Come on, we'd best get back inside before your Dad starts to worry."
Without another word, Blaithin slipped her hand inside Rua's and skipped along happily beside her. The sun was only just beginning to set behind them but every so often Rua's shadow skipped too.