Name:Flora jane
Rank: queen of the amazons
Apperance:

Name: Acestes Sorentes

Rank: Ruler of a small centaur tribe

Appearance:

Flora walked around the villiage. Everyone was wellfed and happy. The cenataurs had not attacked recently and that was a good thing. Everyone was doing very well. The amazons had a raging battle going on with the cenataurs. There had never been peace between the two. Flora personally wanted peace. She just did not have the ability to walk up to the cenataur villiages and say hey lets have peace. She decided to go out hunting. She got her bow and arrows. It was specially made for the villiage leader. She took off into the forest. She walked slowly and precisely. She knew where she was going and what she had to do and she made sure that no one heard or saw her before she heard or saw them. As she walked she noticed that the forest was very quiet. It was most odd. She walked further in and managed to find a herd of deer. She got down on one knee and shot an arrow killing the buck with one hit. She grinned. She walked over to her deer and began to clean it.

The sound of hooves coming into contact with the ground soon echoes through out the forest. However these didn't sound like the hooves of a deer nor the odd goat. Rather these sounded as if they belonged to a horse, although it was a rather well known fact that wild horses no longer roamed the forest nor would any traveler dare to ride one through it. This of course left only one other option, a centaur. Raven black hair bounced and swayed as the equally black horse legs walked along the ground. Were it not the color that gave away that this centaur was Acestes Sorentes, then his face and side branding certainly would. He was the new appointed leader of a small tribe of centaurs that shared the forest with the nearby Amazonians.

In one hand a spear could visibly be seen, a sign that the lone centaur leader was on the hunt himself. At the moment he was heading towards what was commonly known as the grazing area among his kind. It was an area that animals such as deer and elk common grazed and was a rather ideal spot for hunting. As he made his way towards the area though, he noticed that the forest had grown rather silent compared to the chirping and chattering area that his tribe resided in. This of course made the centaur rather suspicious of the area and instantly put him on guard. He knew that the neighboring Amazons could be dangerous, at least if they were in a group, and he was currently alone.

Slowly he came upon the grazing lands, glancing around cautiously to his sides before directing his gaze towards the area itself. He paused and froze completely as he noticed a female adorning the clothing of the Amazons cleaning a dead buck, probably one that she killed herself. Looking a bit closer he could see the adornments that labeled her as the leader, and thus put him even more on edge. Surely their leader wouldn't be out hunting on her own without some sort of protection escorts...would she? Then again here he was doing the same...

Not paying much attention to her surroundings does not mean that Flora did not hear the approaching hoofbeats. She immediatly stood up and pointed an arrow in the direction it came from. "Come out now. If you do not I will fire my arrow in this direction until I hear a body fall to the ground." Flora generally did not like to fight or kill anyone. She knew however that if she had to she could do it with no problem at all. She kept her arrow aimed and started walking low to the ground towards the hoofbeats she had heard. What cenataur would be out at this time and why would he be here. She made sure she stayed low and kept her eyes peeled. Perhaps it was a child or even a hunter.

Acestes rose an eyebrow at the clear threat issued from the female. He had no real doubt that she would carry out the threat, and at the moment he had no desire to either nurse an arrow wound or make a rapid dash to avoid it. "I wouldn't advise that unless you wish for there to be an even greater war amongst the Amazonians and us centaurs" he stated, slowly revealing himself by coming forward a bit more, spear still in hand and ready to launch in defense or offense if need be. His gaze was cool and seemingly locked onto the stealthily walking Amazon woman. He was still rather cautious, considering others could very well be around to defend the Amazon leader just in case, while he was currently alone and without back up. However he knew that if he were to die that his death would rapidly spread to his tribe's ears and would seek a blood thirsty revenge, or at least they would claim it to be revenge.

In truth he knew that his tribe was a rather bloodthirsty one, with the previous leader starting a rather pointless war against the Amazonians. Since then his tribe had constantly plundered and attacked their village, making it rather clear that they were intent on making them enemies. This had recently stopped however when Acestes rose up and defeated the previous leader to gain leadership over the tribe himself. He couldn't stand the constant losses and pointless killings any longer and so as his first act as leader he commanded that their tribe leave the Amazonians be for the time being. He knew though that if he died the previous leader, Soren, would take claim leadership over the tribe and once more attack and pillage the Amazon villages.

Flora looked at the cenetaur. She lowered her arrow and put it on the ground. "What brings you out here?" She saw no point in starting a fight with this man. He had caused no harm to her or anyone in her villiage personally. Flora was all for peace with the cenetaurs and made it a point not to anger one. "My name is Flora. I am queen of the amazons. I rule the amazonians. I have noticed no attacks as of late. Is there a reason for this?"

Acestes's own grip on his spear softened just a bit as the Amazon leader lowered her bow and arrow that had been directed towards him. It was a bit curious to him as to why she didn't simply attack regardless, after all the centaurs had done quite a bit of harm to the Amazonian villages and there was no real promise that he wasn't an attacker. "I am merely here to hunt the grazers that come here, nothing more nothing less" the centaur male calmly replied, his tone sounding slightly deep but not overly so.

At her introduction he bowed his head slightly in politeness, though was still careful to keep his gaze trained on Flora. "I am Acestes, new and current leader of the centaur tribe that lays claim to the west portion of the forest here and guardians of the streams. The reason why my tribe has refrained from attacking your villages as of late are because of my orders. For the time being my tribe is not to bother you Amazonians unless given a good reason" the raven haired horse man stated calmly, his voice never wavering in the slightest as he stated his own introduction as well as answered the Amazon Queen's question.

She smiled. "So we do not have to fear for the moment then?" This was satisfactory to her that was for sure. She could go home and tell the others not to worry that they did not have to worry about another attack. "Why did you stop attacking so suddenly? We were most out of defences a few more attacks and our villiage would have been conquored." She could not beilive this. The centaurs were no longer blood thirsty and wanting to destroy her people.

Acestes nodded his head slightly at her question. "For the time being no you've no fear of attack from my tribe, however I cannot speak for the other centaur tribes in the forest. There is also no guarantee that I will remain leader for long as any of my tribe can challenge me at any time. As it is at the moment though I highly doubt anyone but our previous leader would attempt such a thing at the moment. In other words I'm saying you shouldn't completely relax just yet" the centaur replied calmly.

He was both a bit surprised and not by her question as to why he chose to have his tribe stop attacking so suddenly. "That is a rather simple answer. I was tired of seeing pointless bloodshed for a cause that was non existent. We have no need nor reason to conquer the Amazonians. Rather our purpose is merely to protect our lands as well as this forest. My tribe simply lost sight of that, so I am attempting to remind them of that purpose. However due to the constant fighting and pillaging of your villages they have turned rather bloodthirsty and desire only destruction, and so it's best not to assume that they won't still try and attack regardless of my orders" Acestes stated as one of his hooved feet pounded against the ground, a habit that centaurs and horses seemed to share.

Flora let out a grin. "Well this is a good thing. Perhaps me and you can arrange a meeting between our peoples and make peace once and for all. If we divide the land between us then there will be no reason for such petty squabbles." She found this solution satisfactory.

Acestes thought for a moment on the proposal. It would require him to go to each leader of the different centaur tribes and get them together to meet with the Amazonian Queen without trying to kill her. He also wasn't entirely sure how any of the tribes, including his own, would feel about dividing up the land, after all as it was no one had quite laid claim to the land the Amazonians had erected their villages on and it would mean them giving up some of their land possibly. "I am not sure how well that would go. The reason your people were attacked was not due to land squabbles or issues, as I said it was a non-existent reason. I'm also not entirely sure that they would be so willing to give up any portions of land that they have claimed. It may prompt more of an attack rather than peace. Regardless I can attempt to speak with the other centaur leaders to at least arrange a meeting with you and your people, though I can not promise it to be peaceful" the male replied, sticking and end of his spear into the ground as he knew that for the time being a hunt was not going to occur just yet.

She smiled at him and chuckled a bit. "I figured as much. Do not worry we can defend ourselves. SO why does the leader not have a few guards with him?" She was trying to see if it was the same reason that she did not include a lot of guards when she went off. She respected them but she perfered to do things on her own. She did not wish to be a prisoner in her own title.

At Flora's words, Acestes couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, after all hadn't she said just a few moments ago that if the centaurs had attacked a few more times that their defenses would fall and they would be conquered? "I could really ask you the same thing. Isn't it dangerous for you to be...alone...out here as well?" he retorted calmly as his gaze did a quick once around to ensure she was indeed alone, after all one could never be too careful. Personally he hadn't felt the need of guards, since he hadn't really planned on encountering any sort of enemy nor the Amazonian Queen.

"Though to answer your question first, I felt there was no need for guards to escort me. Besides I can assure you it's far safer for me to go alone rather than with those whose ideals are rather different from mine. Although I may find attacking you and your people unnecessary and pointless, my tribe members are quite different. I'm sure if they would have seen you neither you nor I would simple be standing and talking here" the centaur replied allowing himself to rest his head slightly on the handle of the spear.

Chuckling a bit as she worked on her deer she had laid to the side. She quickly skinned it and set the skin out to dry. She stripped the meat in about ten minutes and laid that out to dry on a rock. She then said a silent prayer to the god artimis to thank her for this feast for her people. Turning back to the Centaur she smiled. "I am more than willing to accept death when it comes and I refuse to walk around in fear. There is no point in always being afraid when you should just embrace death."

The amazonians believe that death along with life is just another adventure in this world. She had no reason to fear death. Amazonians embraced death every day. They were always in danger of being killed. This was just a fact of life.

Acestes was a bit curious to her own reply. "There is nothing wrong with fearing death however, it just means that you're not ready to accept death just yet and are more willing to live" the centaur replied back with a shrug. It wasn't as if he was trying to push another ideal on Flora, rather he was just stating another opinion. Turning his head suddenly at what sounded like a someone coming caught his attention. From the distance it appeared to be coming from he couldn't tell if it was a centaur or another amazonian. "It seems we'll be having company soon however, so it seems we may have to cut this small meeting short. At least unless you'd feel comfortable with the idea of possibly two of my kind here, or can prevent an attack from your own people out of fear of me" the male said, returning his gaze to the woman before him.

"No one would attack unless I order them. We perfer peace." She stared at the dust cloud heading their way with a frown. Who could be approaching? She was sure it was not one of her people. They were sticking closer to the villiage for fear. She stared at Acestes. "I am not afraid of two centaurs. It could always be worse." She picked up her bow and readied an arrow just in case. She would defend herself if needed.

Acestes frowned at the cloud of dust following behind whatever and whoever was coming. He thought he possibly heard the sound of hoof beats, but from what he could tell they were not ones that belonged to his own tribe, nor could he quite tell if it were actually other centaurs. "Alright well judging from that cloud there it may end up being more than just two centaurs, although I don't think that if they are, they are from my tribe in particular. I can understand that you and your people have no sense of fear in dying, however I don't think now is the time to be acting on that sense of pride. Perhaps it may seem cowardly, but for the time being perhaps you should at least hide and find out what sort of enemy you'd be against instead of simply preparing what could be a rash and hopeless attack, especially if peace with my kind is what you seek. You don't want a person to rise to power that would only endanger your people more after all" the centaur replied, picking up his own spear and readying it.

Nodding in agreement Flora climbed a nearby tree. She hid in the top of it and kept her bow and arrow ready to fire when needed. She wondered if centaurs fought each other for territory as much as they fought other people. Since she was sure by now they were centaurs and there was three of them she knew she had better be ready to help her friend if he needed it. When the cloud got closer one centaur approached closer than the rest.

"We speak for the duvant clan of centaurs. Which clan do you hail from?" He was a stolid black centaur with long brown hair and tanned skin. His voice was deep and defiant. Probably warlord or high up in the army ranks.

Black eyes calmly stared at the three centaurs that were now before him, after ensuring that Flora was hidden at least from their view. A frown crossed his brow as one of the darker centaur stepped forward, announcing themselves from the Duvant clan, one that was currently a rival of his own. "I hail from the Fontem clan. What is it that brings members of the Duvant clan here? As I recall your clan has never shown any particular interest in this section of the forest. You cannot possibly tell me that now your clan wishes to reign claim over it" Acestes said, knowing that just the simple revealing of his tribe's name would probably start a fight amongst the three, causing the grip on his spear to tighten.

He had no doubts on his fighting skills, but then again he was against three of his own race and the Duvant clan wasn't exactly known for being weaklings either. They were probably the only tribe that could truly rival his own in terms of physical strength and going against three at once would be rather tricky for the Fontem clan leader.

Laughing the centaur motioned for his friends to cover the flanks. "You will come with us then. Our clan leader would like to speak to you." He motioned towards their villiage with his staff. His hooves impatiently stomping on the ground.

Flora growled. She would not just sit in the tree and watch him get captured. She shot an arrow from the tree getting one centaur in the neck and laughed as he fell to the ground in pain. The other centaurs began looking around trying to figure out where the mysterious arrow came from. At least she helped the odds some.

Acestes calmly and coolly stared back at the centaur, gripping his spear even tighter as he prepared for a possible fight. "And if I refuse? If your leader has something he wishes to discuss with me, then they can come out here and speak for themselves" the centaur replied back, pointing his spear towards the one who spoke to make his point clear.

At the sound and sight of an arrow the black haired centaur's front legs reared up in defense. He hadn't quite been expecting such an attack, and already knew who could have possibly fired the arrow, if not for the fact that he knew Flora was in hiding then from the fact that he could clearly hear her laughing. "Don't act too joyously...it'll give your position away..." he said calmly, not looking in the direction of the tree she had climbed, although still looking away from the other centaurs to give a false idea. Unfortunately though he knew that assisting the Amazon Queen would not benefit him in the end since it meant forcing some of his guard away from the other centaurs and thus lead to his own possible capture.

At the sound of hooves rapidly approaching him, he turned his gaze in time to see that one of the lagging back centaurs had indeed caught this and was quick to attack him. Quickly he used his spear to block the rather crude sword that the other swung at him, causing their weapons to clash and lock with one another. Acestes knew however that between the two weapons his wouldn't be able to outlast the sword.

The centaur who had showed up was still looking for whoever fired the arrow. Laughing a bit Flora jumped down from the tree and picked up a stick she began to fight the centaurs also. She would not leave her new friend alone in the fight. She managed to cripple one before another knocked her hard on the head causing her to fall to the ground painfully. Her head was bloody and she felt dizzy. She felt herself being picked up and her hands being tied. She growled at the centaurs. "You will let me go or my people will kill you all." She would not make this easy for them and she had plenty of threats. The question was were they valid or was she bluffing? She was sure her people would fight to free her but she did not know who it was who captured her nor did her people. She could only hope things worked out.

Acestes glanced over as he heard the sound of feet hitting the ground. 'And after I told her not to give away her position...' he thought with a sigh as he quickly raised his spear to defend against another swing of the sword. As he predicted however his spear was not able to stand the impact any longer and soon broke in half. 'Damn...' he thought as he stared at the two broken pieces in his hands. The centaur with the sword swung at him again, however the black haired one quickly rose on his hind legs again and kicked the on comer.

Glancing over again he noticed that Flora had wounded one before being knocked back and tied up herself. Quickly he attempted to race towards her, only to find a lasso encircling his neck. Instinctively he held his hands up between the rope and his neck as it tightened, trapping his hands but prevented him from being choked. "Let us go immediately, if you do not then I will have to take this as a sign of-" he started to say before a brown bodied centaur swiftly delivered a fist into his stomach, causing him to bend over slightly and gasp out.

He then proceeded to hit the dark haired centaur with his front legs, causing a hoof to smack into his head rather hard, and causing Acestes to collapse. Once the Fontem leader was down the centaur the brown bodied centaur proceeded to hog tie the black bodied centaur and drag him behind.

They took them to their villiage and tied them both up to giant poles. Flora looked around her with a frown. Many of the centaur children were part human so some of them looked human and others looked like centaurs. She noticed lots of children and adults. She could not move her hands because they were tied above her head. She looked at Acestes and frowned. The poor man looked horrible. His legs were all chained with stones holding them down and his hands were tied behind his back. He had a rope around his neck keeping him tied to a pole.

"Are you ok?" She tried to see how tightly she was tied. These centaurs knew how to tied knots that was for sure. She sighed and looked around her. Her weapons had been stacked on a crate not to far from them but much to far for her to reach that was for sure.