The two suns of Aleta hung close together in a cloudless summer sky as a band of thirty marched down a broken cobblestone road. The regular crunch of boots on loose stone and scraping of rings on plates mixed with the pattering hoof beats of the ten riders traveling alongside the party. Spears pointed from their ranks to the empty sky. A single bird sang somewhere nearby.

Two women rode ahead of the column, and unlike the other horse riders, sat atop broad shouldered trihorn. Their mounts had their three horns shaped in the curled fashion of war beasts, not the splayed twisting forms used in shows, and the women wore polished steel rather than dyed cotton. Matriarch Vesta Irinio and her eldest daughter, Priya, were on the hunt, not out for pleasure. Raiders from the Alengyr Sea had sailed upriver and were attacking merchants and villages, and it was the Irinio family’s duty to protect their reach.

Priya awkwardly transferred her family’s banner from her right hand to her left, managing to keep her balance while raising the banner’s shaft over and around her mount’s thick neck. She cradled the standard as she was taught to make the weight more bearable. Her mother had told her that her soldiers would not respect a leader who wouldn’t carry their own crest. As such, Priya held the red falcon above her head with pride—and without complaint.

They heard galloping around the bend before they saw the horsemen. Priya tensed as a rank of soldiers surged forward around herself and her mother, setting their pavises down and drawing crossbows. A second line of soldiers stood behind the bows and lowered spears between the shields.

Two armed and armored men rounded the bend. They flew no banner, but Priya recognized her elder brother easily enough.

“Stand down,” Matriarch Irinio commanded.

Her soldiers raised their spears and lowered their crossbows as the two men approached. The riders slowed their galloping horses to a canter then a trot, the beasts breathing heavily and braying restlessly from what must have been a hard ride.

“Devo, Garland,” the matriarch said to her son and to the captain of the guard, respectively. “Have you found anything?”

Both men took their helmets off. Devo’s black curls fell wetly across his forehead as he quickly bowed his head once to the current matriarch and once more to the future matriarch.

“We saw smoke rising from the forest half a mile down and went in to investigate. It’s the raiders, mother. A camp of about 50–more than we thought.”

“They didn’t see you, yes?”

“Aye. They have scouts watching the roads, but I reckon they’re more concerned with the next caravan, not a couple scouts,” Garland Hoss replied. “We were able to slip past to take a look at the camp. As far as we know, there was no alarm raised.”

“Good.” The matriarch turned to her daughter. “Priya, assuming the element of surprise and 50 deserters and mercenaries, what course of action would you take?”

Priya was not surprised by the question. She was 16 now; more than old enough to take over for Mother when the time came. This was not her first hunt, nor was this the first lesson Mother had taught her.

“I need more information.” Priya turned to her brother. “Devo, did you see how active the camp was? What kind of weapons and armor?”

“Boiled leather, steel helms, and old pikes, mostly. We could see only five horses.” Devo paused. “I could smell meat so I think they were eating the rest. The raiders are awake, but half were still tending to their breakfasts rather than their armor.”

Priya thought for a moment. “We should either attack now before they are prepared, or we need to go back then return with more soldiers.” Priya glanced at her mother. The matriarch continued to stare expectantly at her daughter.

“But,” Priya continued, “if we turn back now, we may lose the raiders again until they’ve seized yet another caravan.

The matriarch gave the faintest of nods. “Good. You have command, now.”

Priya resisted the urge to look over her shoulder at the men and women behind her. She did that exactly once before. The soldiers had the same looks of expectation, but they were waiting for orders, not answers. The former weighed heavier on Priya than the latter.

Priya looked at the trees instead. Equal training, better arms, but fewer hands. But with more horses…

Priya turned her crossbow upside down and hooked the steel cord on her trihorn’s topmost horn. She leaned her full weight, stirrup and all, into the weapon until she felt the cord lock into firing position. She frowned at the dead man ten yards ahead. A shaft of wood protruded from his back.

Priya wondered if the man had a wife or children, or if he had a mother and father in some town somewhere. The thoughts were brief. The girl pushed them from her mind as she loaded another bolt. By law, they had given the criminal a chance to surrender. The dead man had abandoned his family when he came to these woods and abandoned them once again when he refused to put down his pike and tried to shout a warning. Priya had made sure he couldn’t cry out a second time.

Once finished with her weapon, Priya pulled her house’s banner from the ground and held it high once more. Flanked by the matriarch and the captain, the girl kicked her trihorn forward through the woods again. Thirty foot soldiers marched wordlessly behind the trio, heavy boots crunching over dead leaves and broken twigs. It didn’t take long for them to start smelling smoke and meat. Sooner still, they heard shouting and metal banging on metal.

The troop came upon the outlaw camp in a small clearing. A large pavilion stood in the center surrounded by several smaller tents. Fires still burned and pots threatened to spill over from heat. This was no longer the brigands’ main concern. Half the camp had barely managed to get their helmets on–at most, a handful had unsecured leather cuirasses over their bodies. A few opportunistic men and women had forgone their armor altogether and started off deeper into the woods with what treasures they could carry.

“HALT!” Priya shouted. She planted the Irinio standard into the ground and pulled out her crossbow. Half the camp did as told while the rest kept outfitting themselves. Priya raised a hand and gestured forward.

A rank of soldiers stepped forward and around the three riders and set down pavises. They pulled out crossbows. This seemed to draw the rest of the camp’s attention.

“Do not make–” the words caught in Priya’s mouth. Her mother glared at her. A matriarch was never forced into actions by someone other than herself. Priya swallowed and spoke again. “I will not repeat myself.”

One of the raiders, who had managed to strap his cuirass on as well as drape mail over his shoulders looked at Priya and pointed his pike at her. “And who are you to ask us anything with less men than us?”

Priya glared at the man then waved her crossbow at her family’s banner. “Are you blind or just stupid? I–“

“Priya.” The matriarch didn’t shout, but the tone of disappointment was enough to make Priya flinch. Matriarch Irinio turned to the brigand. “What my daughter, Matron Priya Irinio, no doubt meant to say was that you—and your camp—are lifting weapons against the Irinio family and our royal guard. In addition, we see that you are in possession of several wagons with sigils of law abiding merchants and villagers of the reach—wagons that have been claimed stolen with deadly force by said parties. Both offenses, by decree of His Grand Majesty, Emperor Galanakis Byroed Hydor, third of his name, are punishable by death. Lay down your arms and we will consider granting mercy.”

Priya felt like like a flower past midsummer, wilting with the heat of each word, but at least her mother’s speech had gotten every brigand’s eyes fixed on them.

The man on the ground momentarily dropped the point of his pike then gritted his teeth and raised the weapon again. Priya could see him mouthing a prayer or a curse through his unkempt beard. “Well, m’ladies, while getting eaten by heldyn seems like a mercy we’d all like partake in, it looks to me that a better thing to do with our time is to let the matriarch and her daughter walk away alive.” There were some mutterings of approval behind the man. “And while we’ve been talking, the boys and girls have all sobered up and are starting to itch for some royal blood.” More cheers this time. “Now looking around, it seems to me that we got twice the spears and twice the riders. And I think Vilirius is starting to wake up.”

Five riders rode up behind the man. Then, as if on cue, both flaps of the pavilion were pushed aside as a fourteen foot tall giant stepped out. Mail hung over his gaunt torso, but his trunk-like legs were covered in rusted plate which seemed to have been stitched together from various bits of scrap. The giant carried a dead tree in its thin arms.

Priya’s heart beat harder. How did Devo and Garland miss this? Retreat then coming back with more soldiers was starting to sound like the better option…

“So you do not surrender?” The matriarch’s words caught Priya by surprise, flinching her out of her thoughts. The matriarch was walking her trihorn forward. She was taking command again.

The brigands all chuckled, including a deep rumbling chortle from the giant. “Well, I’d ask you what your daughter asked me, but I think that would be rude, my lady.”

“Very well.” The matriarch took out her crossbow and unceremoniously shot the brigand in the gut. There was supposed to be a hand signal to fire, but this was obviously the same message.

Priya raised her crossbow and shot at one of the enemy riders as planned. Her bolt, and the bolts of her soldiers, struck two of the outlaws down and dehorsed a third. Priya was reloading when she heard someone on the other side yell “charge!”

“Form up!” yelled Matriarch Irinio. Spears and shields obeyed and stepped up and around the matriarch. The mass of outlaws slowed at the pointed spears but then brought their own longer pikes to bear.

Priya let out one more shot without bothering to see if it hit then picked up the Irinio banner and waved it side to side. She saw movement at the far end of the clearing. A small group of charging horses erupted from the trees, though their stampede made no sound. At the head of the charge was Devo holding a burning scroll. He let the wind take it so he could pull out his sabre. As the scroll fluttered away, the nine horses’ thundering hooves could suddenly be heard.

Many of the outlaws turned, confused, only to be struck from behind. Panic crawled through their ranks, and before they could gather themselves, Matriarch Irinio shouted, “Forward!”

The matriarch opened her mouth to issue another command, but it was lost as a man dressed in Irinio red flew across the battlefield, launched by the giant. The right flank of spearmen were just trying to keep the giant occupied; they couldn’t get close enough to attack any gaps in its armor.

“Priya, Garland, take care of the giant.”

“Yes, Matriarch,” they said as one. Priya planted the standard back down and loaded another bolt. Garland raised his spear and the two wheeled around toward the giant.

Across the sea of fighting, Priya could see Devo bringing the cavalry in and out of the enemy flanks, hammering at their edges while the infantry pressed on. The last two enemy riders were nowhere to be seen, but three of Devo’s were missing as well.

Priya took her eyes off the main battle and focused on the giant. Vilirius. A common enough name for a giant, but more importantly, a name that Priya didn’t associate with any particularly notable accomplishments. However, he was still giant, even if he was unheralded. The Hydorian empire was founded by giants, and humans had only taken the empire using the power of akaramancy. While Devo had used a scroll earlier to silence the cavalry’s approach, he was no trained akarmanacer–nor was anyone else in the troop.

They would have to make do. Priya raised her crossbow and aimed it at the giant’s head. She remembered words from her bowmaster about aiming on a galloping mount and pointed her weapon lower. She squeezed the trigger and felt her weapon shudder as it released its built up tension into the loaded bolt. The steel tipped projectile flew threw the air and pierced Vilirius’ mail shirt, puncturing the giant’s chest. Judging from the reaction—more anger than hurt—the bolt didn’t puncture either of the giant’s hearts.

As Priya wheeled her trihorn out of Vilirius’ reach, Garland galloped by and threw his spear. The weapon struck deep into the giant’s belly, and as response, the giant slammed the ground where Garland had been not a second before, bellowing with rage. The giant grabbed the spear and wrenched it from his gut then threw it to the ground. Thick red blood dripped from the wound, but otherwise the giant didn’t slow down.

One of the foot soldiers, taking cue from her captain, hurled her spear before Priya could stop her. The spear was able to break rings and draw blood, but without the added speed of a mount, it could not pierce the giant’s thick skin. The giant responded by batting the soldier away like a cat playing with yarn.

Priya kicked her trihorn for another charge and let fly another bolt. it struck the giant in the chest near the first bolt. This time, however, blood poured out of the wound rather than merely dripping. Vilirius coughed and spat crimson.

Priya gave a triumphant shout as she wheeled her trihorn around. That was definitely a heart shot. Now they only had to wait until the second heart failed to—

Priya’s thoughts were interrupted by a sickening crunch and sideways lurch. The girl and her trihorn hit the ground hard, and a second series of cracks sounded as the beast fell on top of the girl’s leg. Priya cried in pain and desperately tried to pull herself free from the trihorn. The beast had already gone into shock and wouldn’t move. Priya suddenly found her helmet too stifling and tore it off. She tried to push herself out again, but every shove resulted in more unbearable pain.

The girl’s head was starting to feel fuzzier and lighter. She looked skyward and noticed a large shape block out the twin suns. It raised something over its head. Priya felt the ground rumble somewhere else. Everything went black.

Irinios-Ma is a major trade hub situated on the confluence of the Calmor and Genavais rivers in the central Gyrwolen region of Tal-Hydor. Ore, quarried stone, and akaram stone come down the Calmor from the Cawol mountains (not to scale), and crops come down the Genavais River from the fertile lands around it. From here, goods are shipped either by garagen train to the capital or down the Great Genavais River to the Alengyr Sea. Other goods are brought in by garagen train or river from the Alengyr and are then shipped up the Genavais and Calmor further inland.

The city was originally known as Genevais City, but was appointed the first Patriarch Irinio 500 years ago. 300 years ago, all direct descendants of the Irinio line died in the Second Giant War, thus elevating the first Matriarch Irinio and officially changing the city’s name from Irinio-Se to Irinios-Ma.

Points of Interest

A. Irinio Grand Keep

The royal family lives here. Current ruler is Matriarch Prima Irinio. At the center of the keep is a small natural aquasphere. While not of much practical use due to the surrounding rivers, the giants created a place of worship around it several hundred years ago. The third Matriarch Irinio tore down the old temple (some say out of spite) and constructed the keep around it. The keep features tasteful waterfalls and hanging gardens.

B. Genavais Bridge

The Genavais Bridge was first constructed as a wall during the reign of the giants to stop Alengyr raiders from rowing further up river than the fort could defend. The wall was sturdy enough to be converted to a bridge after the fact. The bridge was later modified to allow akaramancers to rotate a portion of it to allow ships to pass through.

C. First Fort

At the heart of the old Genavais city is the First Fort, which is also the main headquarters of the royal guard. It was built before giants came but was augmented during their reign using human labor. Today’s soaring towers and cavernous halls are the fort’s hallmark.

D. Genavais Lighthouse

Giants were not ship builders, so the lighthouse was not built until after the city was taken over by humans. It is perhaps the second oldest building in the city. A blazing fire is lit after sunsdown every day as akaram lamps do not shine as brightly.

E. Calmor Bridge

The Calmor Bridge was built after the city’s expansion northward. It is tall enough to allow small ships underneath, though the arches are chained to corral unwanted traffic. Train tracks from the garagen station are set into the stone itself.

F. Bella Arena

The tower/skull arena was originally located in the west where the city had its second planned expansion. Patriarch Vicente Bella gave the Irinios a new arena in the city’s newest sector as a wedding present for the former Matriarch Vesta Irinio and his younger brother, Nicollante.

G. Shields of the Falling Sky Keep

The Shields of the Falling Sky have a major outpost and observatory in the city situated in a darker corner of the city’s third expansion. They maintain a watchful eye on the heavens for any heldyn attacks in the greater area around the city. This is also a major stop for the Roaming Shields which keep watch over the Genavais farmland.

H. Naso Garagen Station

Garagen are bred and raised outside the city but are housed here. Currently, the trains only run to the capital. While the linkages were planned to Mara-Ma and the central Marten-Se hub, all progress was halted during the Great Hydorian Civil War.