Hello!

Considering the amount of time that's passed since Rarity came out and because Lady isn't anywhere near complete, I've decided to share a short story with you all. I wrote it back in 2014 and submitted it to a publisher to be incuded in a short story anthology-- twice. It wasn't selected either time, so it's been sitting on my laptop's hard drive. I had planned to include it as bonus content for Lady or something else (which I still will for those who don't see my rare blog posts), but I think now is a good time to release it. It's the events in and around the Arbor Cove battle from Catty's point of view. It was written many years before Rarity, so there are some inconsistencies with details of the battle and its aftermath. These will be edited to match the actual events in the version that gets published. It is, as always, my intellectual property and © 2025 by Andrea Irving and Colindrea Press. So, without further ado, here's From Embers!

Andrea.

From Embers

Andrea Irving 

              “The Korlisseans are here!” the crier roared.He’d been shouting the good news for the previous hour and none at Arbor Covewere tired of hearing it. The collective breath the keep’s defenders exhaledcould be felt each time the welcome news was repeated.

     With thearrival of his allies, King Gerald gathered his generals, wielders, andswordwielders to strategize an offensive to not just repel, but crush theShaadi navy. Catty, a mere swordsplayer, was tolerated at the meeting onlybecause her father, Thomas of Arbor Cove, was lord of the besieged keep. Shestood behind him and listened intently.

     “TheShaadi supply lines have been cut off by the Korlisseans,” Lord Errol of MountRathbone was saying. “We need to move quickly before they regroup and smashthrough them in retreat. If we let them go now, the Shaadi’ll just be back in ayear or two. We must end this now.”

     The kingnodded. “I agree—but I think a coordinated attack is the only way to do it. Notjust a naval engagement, like Brandon suggested.” He gestured to his chiefadvisor, who was understandably frowning.

     Cattywasn’t sure whether to cover a yawn with a smile or to cover her smile with ayawn. Brandon of James Lake was always too puffed up with his own importancefor his own good, and she liked to see him brought down a rung or two. And thebattle plans had been discussed ad nauseam. She wished they’d just get to italready. So between showing boredom and glee, she decided it was better toblink a couple of times and swallow to stay awake and save her snickering atLord Brandon for another time.

     “We haveno wielders here who can speak over distances to coordinate with our allies,”the king continued as he turned to a couple of young people. “Do either of youswordwielders have the ability?”

     Dain, LordErrol’s younger son, nodded. “We both do. I’ll be your go-between. Lora can actas backup.” Lora, the mousey girl beside him, nodded enthusiastically.

     “Good,”King Gerald said. He gestured for Dain and Lora to join Lord Brandon and him.“Come over here and let’s get started.”

     Lettingout a breath, Catty felt torn between wanting to help the offensive and beingglad she couldn’t. She was jealous of anyone who could wield magic, but it wasso rare to be able to both wield and use steel weapons like her friends couldthat she usually shrugged it off.

     Usually.

She felt so ordinary as shegripped the hilt of her sword. She had secretly hoped the remainder of the warwould be fought at sea, a cowardly thought for an Academy-trained swordsplayer,but perhaps not so for a woman worried for her home and family.  The Shaadi navy had blockaded Arbor Cove fortoo long, and it was wishful thinking to hope that a destructive wielder battlebetween shore and water wouldn’t come into play. She doubted there’d be araiding party that made it to shore through all the chaos the wielders wouldcause, so she wouldn’t even be able fight to keep her mind off what ruin wouldcome to her home. She couldn’t do anything to help. She tucked a strand of nutbrown hair behind her ear in resignation and followed her father out of thestuffy chamber.

     “Promiseme you’ll stay away from the fighting, that you’ll stay away from the wieldersduring the battle. They’ll be such a target. Promise me that you’ll take chargeof the women and children somewhere,” came a voice beside her ear.

     Smiling,she turned to face her suitor. “Regan, you know I won’t, so don’t botherasking.  You never balked at trying tobeat the tar out of me while we were in training. Why would you think I’d suddenlyturn tail and hide? Why don’t youtake charge of them, my prince?”

     PrinceRegan’s ears turned crimson, and he shook his head. “It was worth a try.”

     She stoodon her toes and boldly planted a kiss on his nose. “It was.” Their courtshipwas relatively new, but they had been friends for years. It was almost expectedthat they would end up together, but she had a hard time seeing herself as aqueen. It would certainly be a challenge for someone as brash as she was, butlike all the challenges she had faced thus far, she was up for it.

#

     Of course,when a group of raiders actually did make it to shore, Catty was left behind atthe keep while practically everyone else went down to the rocky beach. She wason a parapet overlooking the small bay and just out of arrow’s range from thebeach. She was to protect the wielders from harm should the Shaadi breach thecastle. It would never happen, so she looked out to sea, bored, and wound andrewound a lock of hair around her finger.

     “Enemyships approaching, sire,” and elderly wielder relayed to the king. “They appearto have broken away from their engagement with the Korlisseans and are headedthis way. They must have wielders on board—they’re closing too fast to beovertaken.”

     Cattysnapped out of her reverie in time to see the king frown. He caught sight ofher and said, “You. Girl. Tell the runners to relay that to the men on ourbeach. Dain will likely be too preoccupied with the battle to take notice.”

     Shecurtsied as gracefully as she could in her tunic and loose trousers andscurried away. Catty saved her frown and eye roll until she was well away, lestthe king see her impertinence. She quickly found the group of runners in thecourtyard and she had barely finished her message before they were off. Shesighed and returned to the parapet.

     “I sensetwo air mages,” the elderly wielder was saying as Catty emerged from thestairwell. “There’s something else, but I can’t… it’s not clear to me.”

     “Well makeit clear!” the king growled. “They’re nearly here!”

     Catty’seyes grew wide as she saw what was happening out in the bay. The two Shaadiships were close enough for her to make out individual men on the decks. A puffof fire blew out from each of them, and she turned to the king. “It’s not safefor you out here, your majesty. I urge you to move to the keep’s interior. Relyon the runners to be your eyes. You can still command without endangeringyourself out here.”

     KingGerald set his jaw and started to reply when the old wielder shouted, “Moreflames!”

     A hugeplume of flame and smoke erupted out of the side of each ship and extendedalmost all the way to the castle walls. A mist of water quenched the ships asthe flames dissipated.

     “Ready thecatapults!” the king cried.

     “Ready,sire.”

     “Release!”

     Cattyjoined the king as three boulders the size of horses flew from a platform onthe cliffs below them. One splashed into the water and the other two appearedto bounce off a ship and straight back toward them.

     “Thingsare about to get a lot less boring around here, girl,” the king said quietly. “I’mnot sure I’ve ever seen an air shield as big as that one.  Air, fire, and water wielders on a single ship…” He shook his head. “If youintend to be queen, Catherine, you’ll have to face down tougher stuff thanthis.”

     Cattyswallowed, ashamed she had been so obvious. Ashamed to have been bored at all.“Yes, sire.” She hadn’t, in fact, known that King Gerald knew her name. Shesupposed it wasn’t that much of a stretch, considering Regan’s interest in heror their extended stay in her father’s keep.

     The rockssmashed into the cliffs below the castle, shaking it on its foundations. Withits main defense rendered useless, it was ripe for the picking.

     “Ballistaeat their water lines!” the king shouted. “Now! Release!”

     The twomissiles were engulfed in flames halfway to the ships, their embers scatteredon the wind. The flames were close enough for them to feel on the battlements.Catty grabbed the king’s arm. “Please go! I fear—no!”

     Anotherflame burst straight toward them. Catty knocked the king aside and all she feltwas pain. Fire seared flesh. Her vision went dark. She wasn’t even sure if shescreamed.

#

     White.  Everything was white. The linens. The walls.The bandages. The clothes of the healing wielders, so adept at their skillthere was no hint of red carnage anywhere. Catty awoke to the bright white andwinced. Despite the cloud of whatever she’d been given for pain relief, shestill felt on fire.

     “Praisebe,” Regan breathed. “You’re awake.”

     Catty gavea hoarse chuckle. “You’re awfully clean for the middle of a battle. That browntunic’s a little dingy in all this sterile white though.” Her mouth felt odd,restricted by the bandage covering the left side of her face. She sighed. “Whathappened?”

     Reganclosed his eyes. “We destroyed the Shaadi fleet. It will be many years beforethey’re able to send even a smuggler out to sea.”

     “How?”

     “Waterwielders,” he explained. “It seems everything hinged on their two fireboats.Lora and Dain destroyed them with a couple of targeted waves. I guess they hadall their naval wielders on them because after that, the other ships went downpretty quickly.”

     Cattynodded. “How is your father?”

     “Alive,but barely,” he said. “A couple of wielders from the battlements made it. Theysaid you urged him to leave, but he didn’t. There was a flame burst thatinjured you, and it took him as well. The healing wielders can only do so much,so he’s in his chambers covered from head to toe in bandages. Dain… Dain waskilled. Overwhelmed by the wielders in the raiding party and cut down frombehind.” Unshed tears rimmed his bloodshot eyes. Dain had been his best friend.

     “You areking.” She tried hard to process all of the news Regan imparted on her. If theking was injured as badly as he described, she knew he was not long for thisworld.

     “In allbut name.”

     She took adeep breath. “How bad am I?” she asked. Her voice wavered, but she ignored it. “I can’t tell what’s wrong. Ijust hurt everywhere. The left side of my face. My left arm and hand.  They hurt…”

     “Don’tworry about that,” Regan told her. “You need to rest. You—“

     “Reganjust tell me.” Catty felt like she knew, but she needed to hear it.

     “Your handis gone,” he blurted out, his voice catching. “Your ear and eye, gone.” Hestood, turned away from her, and walked a couple of steps. She could see himbiting on his fist, his face twisted in agony.

     Cattysensed her right eye close and understood the sensation she had felt before. Itwasn’t numbness.  It wasn’t compressionfrom bandages.  Her eye, her ear, herhand, gone. She opened her eye and stared at the bandage covering the hand thatwasn’t. Could she strap a shield to her arm? No. That was nonsense. She’d neverfight again with her other handicaps.

     Forcingtears back, she turned to Prince—no, King Regan. She might as well get used tothinking of him that way. “I don’t know what your ultimate intentions were, myfriend, but you have to know that I can never be your queen. Not like this.”

     Reganblinked and turned back toward her. “Of course you can! Don’t be ridiculous!”

     “Regan,you’re essentially the king. I’m the deformed and presumably ugly daughter ofthe Baron of Arbor Cove. The people of our country will never accept that. Thepeople of my own castle will never fully accept me again. If anything happenedto you, your sister, or our children, I’d be the scapegoat. Called a witch orworse.” Catty paused. “No.  I’ll not bequeen, though I thank you for thinking of me. You were always a dear friend,and even like this, I bet I can still best you with a spear.” Her voice falteredas she gave her pretty speech.

     “We’llhave to see,” Regan replied, his voice rough. “When you’re stronger.”

     “Good.  Now tell me about all the heroics you saw anddid.” She forced cheerfulness into her voice. “I want to hear all about it.”

     And so Reganbegan recounting things he’d seen and heard about the battle, uncomfortablyaware of the woman next to him. He made their fallen friends and family intoheroes. He did not mention what had befallen her. It didn’t need retelling whenshe was living its end.

     After awhile, she turned her face away from him, tears in her eye. It turned out, shewas not made of tougher stuff.

END