Lady of Nyv

Ona was awoken gently by a small servant girl. She smiled sleepily and thanked the child before dismissing her. She needed to be alone to prepare. She did not want to have anything to distract her from keeping her mind clear. Carefully, she placed her feet on the cold stone floor, placing her hands against the sturdy wall in order to keep her balance.

She counted to five in her head, and just as she had predicted, the black clouds engulfed her vision. She slid her hands along the wall in an effort to avoid falling. She placed one foot in front of the other, forcing herself to move despite having been temporarily blinded. Slowly, the black shadows disappeared. It annoyed Ona how quickly they engulfed her vision and yet how slowly they disappeared. She was grateful, however. She needed her vision to be sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

She made her way to the opposite end of the room, where her hard leather bag sat on her desk. She undid the clasps on the bag and inspected the inside, being sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She wished deeply that she had the space to bring more than just a few minor essentials, but she convinced herself that bringing too much just wouldn’t be practical. She walked toward the chest in which she kept her clothes, and picked out her warmest shirt, pants and jacket. She noticed that there were gloves, boots and wool socks folded neatly on the foot of her bed, and she managed to slip into those as well.

Once she finished dressing herself, she extinguished the hearth and slung her bag over her shoulder. She departed from her room; pausing in the doorway to be sure she hadn’t forgotten anything for the last time.

Then, she closed the door firmly, and walked down the hall way.

She heard voices coming from the dining hall and decided to investigate, after all, this may be the last time she would have a hot meal for at least three weeks. She shuffled into the dining hall and plunked herself down beside Ser at a long wooden table.

“Good morning, m’Lady.” Ser said, studying her with a bemused expression.

Ona smiled lightly, “Good morning, Ser.”

Ser pushed a piece of bread and some ale across the table to her. She nodded in thanks and began to eat.

They finished their meal in silence and made their way outside of the dining hall. Ona spotted Raf standing beside the guards near the eastern section of the castle.

“I shall see you outside.” She mumbled.

Ona wasn’t sure if Ser had heard her over the din of the moving party, but she didn’t really care either way. She couldn’t leave without saying good bye to her Uncle.

She made her way through the party and stepped toward Raf, who was shaking hands and sending out good wishes to all of the departing Members. She waited politely until all of the Members had finished bidding Raf farewell, and enveloped her uncle in a warm embrace. Raf buried his face in her long dark hair,

“Be safe, my dear.” He said solemnly. “Be sure to come back to us, we’ll be waiting.”

“I will, uncle.” She replied, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Raf kissed the top of her head and released her from his grasp.

“Farewell, my dearest Ona.” Raf stated as she walked out of the castle.

As she walked down the stone path leading to the heavy iron gate, she forced herself to take deep breaths. The heavy gates had been propped open, as the guards had been dismissed for this special event. Ona walked through them, holding her head high. She walked toward the group of men who awaited departure, the same as she. She greeted each one with a solemn nod of the head, and looked around for the men which she had assembled only a few days earlier.

She locked eyes with him from across the crowd. He smiled, and approached her, his fiery eyes burning into hers more deeply with every step.

“Greetings, m’Lady” He said, a nervous half smile formed on his pale face.

“Greetings, Kol.” She said warmly. “Where are your men this morning?” She inquired.

Kol took her arm and carefully led her to the other side of the crowd.

She followed obediently and was greeted by six strong-looking men, all with bows slung over their shoulders in an almost half-hazard way.

“Greetings, good sirs. I am Lady Ona of Nyv.”

All of the men smiled and nodded at her greeting.

“These are my men, Gef, Nol, Tai, Wes, Dar, and Cas.” Kol said, pointing to each man in turn.

Ona shook each of their hands, giving thanks and warm greetings.

“Members, new and old, I ask that you gather close and we shall discuss our plans.” Ser said loudly.

Without hesitation, the Members and new recruits gathered in a small ring around Ser, eagerly waiting to be told of their journey. Looking at all the faces, Ona was surprised to see Lug, the hesitant wood-cutter. She gave him an encouraging smile, although he did not seem to pay her any mind. She also saw her beloved brother, Dom, always the clown; he was dancing in a small circle around every one and singing some sort of child’s song.

Ser glared at Dom, and Dom froze, as if his life depended on it- which, depending on Ser’s mood, it could have. Ser nodded approvingly and began to explain their journey to everyone.

After the quest had been explained, Ser asked if anyone would like to leave now, obviously omitting the fact that if anyone bowed out at this point in time, they would not live to see another day. Surprisingly, everyone agreed that they would continue to support this mission, mayhaps in the hope that they would receive a position of authority in their newly-established government in the South- if they succeeded, of course.

After Ser finished his speech and wished everyone good luck, they chanted the words of the North: ‘In our family we trust, in cold we thrive. Bodies of steel remain alive.’ “We are a family now,” Ser stated, “We must keep each other alive.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and they walked away from the iron gates of Castle Nyv into the forested area from which Dom and Ona had emerged only a few short days prior.