They kick your face in oh so nicely (I want more)

If this screws with the feed, I apologize a million times over. *nervous*

Um. Having negative knowledge of both horses and military hierarchy makes writing Nick and Liall kind of difficult since they're kind of nothing but horses and military hierarchy and polygamy. >.> Ah, well. I'll just make shit up as I go! I imagine their ranks and titles will change once I figure out Rothcaran military structure.

Aya's in her early twenties here (setting this nearly forty years before the start of the actual story), and is the youngest officer of her rank in the army, due in large part to her parentage, and a number of lucky coincidences (by which I mean the convenient deaths of a number of her superiors).

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Aya flipped through her personnel reports. "I'm sorry for leaving the two of you for last, Captain Zanadreth and," she pulled out the two files she was looking for and blinked at them. "Captain Zanadreth. Please, have a seat." She silently cursed the fact that she'd been thrown into this situation with no time to prepare and no time to properly familiarize herself with her staff.

"It's not a problem, Lieutenant Colonel. You'll probably be wanting to pick our brains about the rest of the staff, now that you've met them." Captain Vanick Zanadreth was a cavalry officer with an almost impossibly spotless record. Aya skimmed to the bottom of his file to find the reason why: he'd been arrested for horse thievery twelve years ago, then pardoned on a technicality. His record was that of a man who didn't dare set one foot out of line.

He had a disconcertingly insincere smile.

"Exactly. You've been with this outfit for quite some time, and I expect we'll be working together closely in the future."

"Our knowledge is at your disposal, Lieutenant Colonel." Captain Liall Zanadreth had an equally spotless record, without even the tell of pre-enlistment crime to explain her behavior. Her specialty was tactics and scouting, which was a kind way of saying she'd trained with the Justiciar's spymaster. Her file indicated that she also had magical talent, but no war-training, which was curious in and of itself.

It was decidedly odd; Aya herself had no shortage of black marks on her record, but these two were model officers who had risen to their current rank and gone no further. She folded her hands on her desk and gave them her sternest, most authoritative look. She found it often helped to distract her subordinates from the fact that they were nearly all at least ten years her senior. "I'm glad to know you'll be cooperative; you must know that the first questions I have are regarding the circumstances of the late Colonel Askel's death."

They stared at her for half a moment, completely expressionless. "His horse spooked," Vanick said evenly. "He was thrown, and hit his head on a rock."

"A tragic accident, but it could have happened to anyone." Liall clasped her hands together, expression unwavering.

"Why, exactly, did his horse spook?" Aya resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose in irritation; all of the officers she'd spoken to had given the same vague answer with the same blank look. A man who fell off his horse and hit his head didn't end up with the imprint of a warhammer in his skull.

They looked at each other, then looked back to Aya. "A rabbit. Came up out of its warren between his horse's feet." Vanick shook his head. "Colonel Askel always insisted on riding nervous beasts; the one he rode that day was notorious for being high strung."

"Was?"

A muscle in Vanick's jaw twitched, and he looked away. Liall answered, "After the incident, the horse was put down. Orders from the judicial council. Lieutenant Colonel DeLavrey, we understand that Colonel Askel's death does put you in something of an awkward position."

"But the judicial council has already investigated this matter to their own satisfaction," Vanick finished, a warning edge to his voice.

"Not to my satisfaction, Captains." She glanced down at the personnel reports to confirm her suspicions; Askel's was not the first accidental death this battalion had seen. She leaned forward and spread her hands across her desk. "I know the two of you were probably pleased to learn that I was sent to replace Askel. But I will not be intimidated. And I will learn what has happened here." She sat back in her chair. "The third and fourth companies leave at dawn on extended endurance training maneuvers; you'll meet me here an hour before to receive more specific instructions."

Vanick's eyes widened in dismay, but then the corner of his mouth curled upwards. "Yes, sir." He and Liall stood and saluted. They left the tent together, walking perfectly in step.

Aya gritted her teeth and snapped her personnel files shut with more vehemence than necessary. The two captains wore matching silver bracelets on their left wrists; it was an outdated marriage custom, one kept by very few tribes of the Ikatai, and followers of Ishkhahar.

The problem with this situation, she decided, was that she just didn't have enough information. "Xene!"

Her aide materialized beside her desk. "Sir?"

"Bring me all of Askel's records- I want the things they didn't put in these personnel files, tax records, everything. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, sir. Anything else?"

She smiled grimly. "Anything you can find on the goddess Ishkhahar and her followers." If the Zanadreths wanted to play games, let them. She doubted they'd be quite so willing after three weeks of endurance training.

Xene grinned. "I'll have it all on your desk by morning, sir."

"Thank you." She selected another personnel file at random and opened it. Dawn wasn't very far off, and she had quite a bit of reading to catch up on.

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Spot that video game reference! God, I'm such an obscure dork.

I'm a little bit in love with the Zanadreths, actually (they're so bloody cute when they're not being accused of murder), and I seem to be on a backstory kick (when am I not?) so there will probably be more of them in the future. But damn, Aya and Nick would've had the prettiest, most violent and angrily righteous children ever. *sigh*

Blue Rose is responsible for Nick's love of horses- he rides an enormous Friesian (thanks, Wikipedia!) who looks kind of evil but is actually quite sweet and mild mannered, if completely prepared to rip out your throat with his teeth should Nick ask him to. Not sure about the horse's name yet (Nick keeps insisting it's "Horse," and Liall keeps kicking him).

Liall would be comfortable riding a Shrivehorse, but in lieu of a magical planewalking hellbeast, she rides a slightly crazed Arabian named Pazzo. Her family is famous for the horses they raise, and they supply most of the officers of the army with their mounts; this is only partly the reason Nick married her.