"They do say Kash has a fair hand," Ess said. "But I understand. Were they angry with you?"
"Disowned me," Pierce said. "Dad wanted my help setting up a farm. Thought we'd raise raptorions. I refused to go, so he said he never wanted to see me again. Mom and Gauntlet didn't agree of course, but it's hard to go against Father."
"I'm sorry, Pierce," Ess said.
"Thanks, Ess. But it's okay. I have to stick to what I believe is right, don't I?"
"I find that is often the best course of action."
Pierce often wondered if he were destined for the Glorious Paths. He really hadn't studied very... studiously. Did his natural sense of justice match the teachings of his professed religion?
He tried to imagine precisely what Ess believed, with all her vast knowledge. She seemed to be in favor of saving the people of Overland at any rate, so that was a good sign.
"What do you believe is right?" Ess asked.
"To sharpen my blade," he said immediately. "To find my place in Overland and bring justice where it's needed."
"Noble, to be sure."
"Isn't that what Gorgonbane's about?" Pierce asked. "From the tales, it always sounded that way."
"It became that, in time," Ess said. "But I must confess, at the start, the five of us did seek glory, and riches. We wanted to be Lords and Ladies of Overland."
"Wait, five?" Pierce said, puzzled.
"Tales of Flaila are not easy to come by," said Ess, "for she was not with us long. Would you like to hear one?"
"Dearly," said Pierce. He watched Ess speak with rapt attention.
"Flaila of Chasmreach was as strong as she was beautiful. She did not share the yellow eyes of her sister, but instead greeted the world with a gaze of bright green."
"Scythia's sister?" Pierce asked.
"Yes. Besides this, you would be hard pressed to tell them apart from a distance, though Flaila was the younger.
"She had struck out for Grondell and Arena a year after Scythia's departure from home, following in her sister's footsteps. It was at Arena, during a tournament in which Flaila had prevailed resoundingly, that we found both her and Scythia in the first place. Axebourne and Agrathor were both taken with them immediately."
"Back when he had skin."
"Back when Agrathor was enfleshed, and Axebourne was a little prettier, yes. Besides my comrades' attractions, I saw great reason to recruit the two. Of course you know of Scythia's aptitude in gemcraft, but Flaila was a master of all weapons. She could do things with them that you wouldn't believe, though she had little magic in her. Naturally the boys were quick to take up my nomination of the two, and the girls were pleased to accept. We departed Arena to look for work.
"Which we found, in Konta, actually. An archduke whose name I cannot remember hired us to train his men and bolster the Ijan defenses against an expected siege by the Albans."
"Ironok," Pierce said, grinning at having remembered an old lesson. "He used to rule Ija, before his own subjects beheaded him during the Alban wars."
"Very good, my pupil," Ess laughed. "So you see that Gorgonbane did not always serve justice unswervingly."
"And you hadn't been given a name yet. I was just telling Sev about the gorgon plague."
Ess shook her head. "Dark times indeed. So, we did the job, training Ironok's men for a full two years before the siege finally came. In that time, Scythia and Axebourne's love had grown, and promised to flower. We all knew they would be married at the earliest opportunity. Agrathor likewise had fallen into Flaila's arms."
Pierce could already see the implications of this.
"I remember doing my katas under the light of the moon, and looking up to see the two of them on the ramparts, seemingly sleepless, keeping watch and talking about everything under the sun. You could see the green of Flaila's eyes from a hundred yards away, and Agrathor had the most winsome smile."
Ess looked up suddenly toward the rest of Gorgonbane, riding ahead of them. She squinted ever so slightly, and Pierce watched the tiny rise of her cheek. She wore a faint smile, as if remembering the Agrathor of old.
"Sometimes I think that if I could go back to those days, I would. This passion for my craft can be such a... burden," Ess said, and was silent for a long time. Pierce thought about Gorgonbane before their name had even been imagined, and he did not fidget as he waited.
Ess continued at last, "An Alban general named Bellows was the one that finally challenged the city of Ija. He led five battalions of mounted knights clad in the best armor the Alban forges could produce. Yet he claimed that he wished to cause the city no great distress, and was very forthcoming with the notion that he desired possession of the city, but in one piece. He offered up a deal - a contest of champions. If his champion won, we would relinquish control of the city. If our champion prevailed, the Alban army would hold their camp at peace for thirty days, then repeat the challenge, promising not to hinder the coming and going of the Ijans. We never got to learn whether he was a man of his word.
"Naturally we chose Flaila as our champion. After all, she had bested every warrior in Overland's Arena - who better to represent us?"
"Oh no," said Pierce. "She didn't win?"
Ess gave a sly smile. "Have I said that? The sun was bright and pulsing that day, and you could see the heat rising from the rocky flats outside the Ijan ramparts. Our longbowmen lined the top of the walls, watching for treachery. Flaila met the Alban champion in the field, taking with her a single squire loaded with weapons. The Alban champion was another Westerling, a very large man entirely encased in shining armor. Whenever he bellowed, the sound
