Originally Posted by maidenroseheart

Sharana looked out over the cliffs. Behind her was the outpost that had served as her home for the last several years. Protecting the mountain trail that led into the mountain range itself, the outpost was sturdy and stood the test of weather and wild animals both. Below her was the beginning of the foothills and her home settlement. She patted Shakespeare's neck and a simple shift on his back had them both heading away from the cliff and towards the mountain trail. Rugged and steep, it was a challenge by itself. However she kept her blades free. The terrain was the least of her problems in these rocky cliffs and crevices. Beyond the slippery moss and dripping pines was predators with fangs and claws. Some a mere scratch poisoned you to a certain death.

Unlike the others at the outpost, she was the only mounted Nircoti here. The rest were proven warriors who had lived and trained youngsters for years. It was unusual for a mounted to be apprenticed here. She had learned raising, training, and fighting with their famed horses, however she had taken on a career choice few envied but everyone knew was necessary. She was to be an ambassador and guide that traveled regularly outside the Nircotian Wilderness. She would keep tabs on their spies and ensure that if any plots or invasions against them were forming, the Nircoti would be warned and ready. That is, if she survived her final year.

At the age of 15, she was almost done with this part of her education. The brutal survival and fighting tactics necessary to live near, much less travel through, the mountain ranges that surrounded their valley. Eager to join her master that would take her on as an apprentice, she had one final test. Getting to, through, and from the mountain pass. Her master waited for her at the outpost on the other side partway down the mountain. If she could reach him, then she would be ready to start the next part of her life and education.

Shakespeare was doing remarkable. When they had arrived 5 years earlier, they had both been out of breathe quickly. Now they were stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally. Tales of what the other races were like guided her in her passion to protect her people. The repeated betrayals and attempted invasion fueled an anger at her. An anger that was about to be fed as she met and experienced for the first time the greed of others for her home and it's resources.

Originally Posted by maidenroseheart

The snow slammed like ice picks against her. She kept her hood up and hunkered down low over Shakespeare's neck. Both of them were trembling from the cold. Despite his strong muscle tone and her thick clothing, the weather near the pass was unmistakably vicious. She wanted nothing more than to pull her hands across her chest, but memories of her first few months in the mountains kept them where they were. One hand gripped a sword hilt, ready to draw. The other, with leather armor on the back of her arm, had a knife that extended from beneath the wrist and across the palm. Her vigilance seemed more tiring to her, but experience warned her of the necessity.

Just as she was thinking this, from the blur of snow jumped a large white form. A Reacting out of habit, she swung her sword around to strike along the form without allowing it to be knocked away. In addition to this, she leaned off to the side so that she could control her own fall. Landing on the rocky ice below, the wind was knocked out of her. Groaning, she lost a few precious seconds struggling to stand despite the dizziness. Shakespeare covered for her with his hooves. Then she let a dagger fly. Not waiting for it to hit, she leaped on the large white cat and sank her hidden danger from her wrist into it's brain via an eye. It howled before sinking down. She sat on it's neck a moment longer, then stood to clean off her blades. Her breathing came heavily and she looked at Shakespeare. He stood guarding her as she collected her emotions and was again alert to her surroundings.