by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥) illustrated by Ravyn (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/86741.html)   The sun was shining, for a change. Jaren soaked up as much of it as he could while riding along the road through the valley, for once not in the shadow of one of the peaks. He wished the Elite uniform were a darker blue […]

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥) illustrated by Ravyn (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/35750.html) There was nothing quite like the celebratory atmosphere of coming back to camp after a successful mission, Kale had discovered. It had been true even when he’d been an army regular, but nobody knew how to celebrate the way the Elite did. He rode in the […]

by Shinko Hisada (身固之妥) illustrated by Ravyn (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/29048.html) In a country that had been almost constantly at war for more than ten years, a commander who could win battles and keep winning them was a treasure more precious than gold or jewels. When he could do it without excessive loss of troops, he was […]