In a way it was much like the time I had come face to face with my birth mother at the capital for the first time not too long ago. Except now we were surrounded not by a handful of courtiers but the assembled nobles of the kingdom, many of them seasoned warriors. Once again my heart fluttered a little. I straightened back up after bowing and raised my head high, even if it meant that everyone would be able to see that one of my horns had suffered. It was after all better to bear your wounds with pride than to show weakness.

I stepped forward as the harpy herald moved sideways to make room while my two attendants remained where they stood, their cargoes lowered onto the ground for now. I didn't speak up though. After all I had neither been ordered to speak nor had I been asked a question. Thus I waited for the king or one of the attendants flanking him to speak first.

For a moment he took in my appearance and demeanor, then he rose from his seat, an ornate chair of precious, polished wood and equally polished brass. Those few who had been gossiping quietly, quickly fell silent.

My eyes widened a little as I had to raise my head slightly to look up at him. He was tall and his shoulders were wide. He easily dwarved everyone else present, even the trolls, the giants and me. Especially me. The heavy and ornate armor he wore added even more to his bulk. But not even that could completely explain the powerful presence he emanated.

I felt incredibly small under his gaze. It took every bit of strength I could muster to remains standing straight and proud. I firmed my resolve and focused on his face. The face framed by a crown of Illuminium and Titanium fashioned to look like a softly glowing laurel wreath. For a moment I met his gaze and it was as if he was looking directly and deep into my very soul.

Finally he raised his voice. It was deep and powerful but at the same time soothing. “News of the dire fate of your domain and the woman we tasked with raising you has reached us. It shames us that we could not extend the protection your people deserved in exchange for their fealty. Yet you and yours stood true and proud. You came to our aid when we called although we failed to aid you. Please forgive us for our shortcomings.”

These words were like balm that soothed my soul at the same time they brought back memories of the things I and my people had lost. My heart felt elated yet at the same time it ached. Thus it took me a moment, albeit a brief one, to realize that I was expected to answer.

I took a deep breath to steady myself before speaking up. I gathered some Mana to strengthen my voice with a variant of the Lion's Roar spell as well. “There is no fault I could place with our great king.” I tried to keep my voice steady like him. “Our enemies this time are below and beyond what could be expected of any reasonable people. We could not reasonably prepare for such malice and treachery beforehand without knowing of it. All fault lies with them.”

There were some murmurs among the crowd but no one really spoke up. The king in turn just nodded. “We are glad to hear it.” The crowd fell silent again as he moved to continue. “We are glad as well that you joined this battle as you did.” He gestured towards my two harpy companions. “Please, share the news of your part of the battle with us before we move to plan our next steps.”

For a moment my thoughts were in turmoil. Where should I start? Should I focus on yesterday's battle alone? Or should I start at the beginning? At least I had a little time to order my thoughts again, as the king returned to his seat. In the end I decided to stick to the first option for the better part.

I took one last deep breath, gathered more Mana to steady my voice once more and started my recount of events. “The news of the situation here reached us not too long ago while disrupting the enemy's hinterlands. After two days of forced march we arrived just in time to join the battle. We took stock of the situation from one of the hills at the north eastern edge of the gap and I positioned my troops at the foot of that very hill within sight of the enemy to provoke a reaction.”

There were some murmurs among the crowd. Some probably did not like my decision to join battle with exhausted men and women. I kept going anyway. “Up on this very hilltop I instructed my sister Kaele to summon a great storm into the camp of the king of Gothol'uin, who was overseeing the battle from there atop his giant wyvern. The enemy had already rerouted troops to face us and this magical storm devastated any reinforcements they might still have had held back there. At the same time it drew the attention of Gothol'uin's king towards us.”

The mention of the storm provoked the most comments. It had obviously not gone unnoticed. I could pick up some murmured questions but I wasn't done yet. “The wyvern, no matter how fearsome it might have been, did not escape the storm unscathed. It crashed into the hilltop where we waited and I slew it and its master.” I motioned for my harpy companions to step forward. “I present you the beast's teeth and its corrupted master's head.” They unfurled the bundle with the wyvern's terrifying teeth and upended the pot containing the still hissing and gnawing ghoul head with its wretched crown.

Now that got a rise out of everyone present. I could hear the muttered curses as well as the questions. I could see my father's raised eyebrow as well. “Yes, the king of Gothol'uin was a crowned ghoul. As was the lackey he sent to attack my domain beforehand.” I waited a moment for the worst of the commotion to die down again. “We fought another monster atop that hill as well. A vampire looking like a pretty enough human woman. We were barely able to fend her off. We wounded her but she got away in the end.”

I did not address any more questions then and there. “Afterwards we joined the battle at the foot of the hill. The enemy's troops, mostly archers and pikemen, were already too close to disengage safely as they had no cavalry to support them. We on the other hand had a defensible position, strengthened by magic, some cavalry still hidden in the trees and siege experts that proved to be formidable artillery. They never stood a chance. We utterly devastated them. There were no prisoners taken and as far as I know the number of those that got away is not worth mentioning.”

I was almost done now. “We suffered losses in return though. The number of our dead is low but we have many wounded and even those who got through the battle unscathed are exhausted. I have to admit that right now we could not fight and win another battle like this.”

There was much nodding. Plenty of the noble men and women assembled here were wounded as well after all. They probably could sympathize with my conclusion.

As I had nothing else to add, my father, the king, rose again. He motioned some of his attendants forward to take care of the trophies I had brought. At the same time the colorful harpy herald guided me, Quu'za and her companion to join the circle of nobles. Someone had even gotten a banner of Caer'zoth from somewhere.

We stood pretty close to the king's position and for the first time in a while I allowed myself a breath of relief.

Then the king spoke up again. “We have achieved a great victory. The enemy has been destroyed, or in the case of the force that opposed us in the southwest, at least routed. We are not in a position to pursue them right now though. We need to gather our strength before we move after them. And we will have to move after them. After all they have not sued for peace or even an armistice yet. This is not over yet. For now we will retreat though. The nearest fortified settlements are Caer'kael to the southwest and Caer'rath to the northwest. We will set up camp there to shorten our supply lines, gather reinforcements and take care of our wounded. Scouts will secure the gap and any mountain pass we know until we are ready to take the war to the enemy.”

That sounded good. Caer'rath was pretty close to our home. A few days of rest sounded pretty good as well. I was so lost in thought that I almost jumped as someone touched my good arm. I looked up into a face that looked strangely familiar although I was certain that I had never before in my life seen the man. He just grinned at my skittishness. “Please join us in the king's tent, sister.”