It is a well known fact that citizens of the Grey Tower have terrible luck. They never seem to exist in a position of "things are going well" for very long before something comes along and puts a big boot to the backside of their life, scattering everything in a way reminiscent of either a hornet's nest someone ran over or a jar of marbles, rolling on their way to trip someone else up...
Either way, there is ever a plot twist in each turn of their life. The Pattern made to be less like something down with a skillful weaving on the loom but the world's worst knitter putting together a blanket that looks more a collection of ugly knots.
Theories abound, but the narrator here believes it has something to do with the sadistic (or masochistic? depends on your point of view) nature of the writers. Especially the one who is writing the narrative for this story. No one should trust her; she really just does terrible things to characters, even those who aren't her own!
But, this narrator digresses.
As the first tendrils of morning light began to rise around the group from the Tower, in their multiple states of shelter and wakefulness around the clearing, there was another group in motion. One whose luck meant good things for them and bad things for the group of Gaidin and trainees. (At least, good for the moment. What they were about to do would not be isolated. That's for later, though.)
Revenge does not die easy. And so it was that a very large group of the Children of the Light was about to turn this "simple training exercise" into something else entirely.
[subtitle]Natlya Cade Gaidin[/subtitle]
As false dawn fled into true dawn, it was Nat's turn manning the watch. She had picked a tree with some low branches that she could sit on and gain a better vantage of the clearing and the woods that surrounded it. Typically, being on the lookout is a rather boring thing and that was true of this time as well.
Up until now.
A small branch broke not far to her right, which was her forest side and not the clearing side. She knew it was likely just some forest creature, there were plenty around who braved the area once most were asleep, but she wouldn't take the chance. Her hazel eyes were open and intense, scanning...
A flash of white. Not fur, but fabric. Someone sneaking through the brush, towards the clearing...
Nat hissed an inward curse and dropped to the ground, pulling her sword as she hurried to Riahana's side. "Awake!" she hissed urgently, not wanting to give away that she saw them approaching any more than she had to. Once she saw that Ria was awake, she jerked her head back towards the forest. "Company is sneaking up," she whispered. "Wearing white."
She had no proof it was Whitecloaks, but how many bandits wore white?
From there, she hurried to wake everyone else with as much swiftness as possible. She told them all to arm themselves and for the trainees to move to an inner circle with Gaidin protectively around them...
- Spoiler: show