By Pixie

Pixie watched Shsway as she tried to see everything at once. She picked up a small loaf of bread and broke off a bite sized portion, then dipped it in honey and offered it to the startled scout.

"Relax Maicin." Pixie stretched out on the fur behind Shsway, half laying on her side.
Pixie looked out at the crowd, noticing that several warriors had gathered around Litavis. Lyco noticed the gathering too and drew Nightsong closer. ' It's beginning." she stated.

Shsway would have stood up except that Pixie had put her arm around her waist, " Stay still." Pixie whispered softly. Pixie could feel the growing tension in the young scout, "This is only an introduction. Just take your lead from Lyco and I until you stand alone. Then follow your heart and you will be fine."

Litavis walked toward them followed by six warriors. Shsway realized that Pixie intended to make the warriors kneel down in a quiet power play.

One by one the warriors knelt and spoke briefly. The last was a tall blond who never took his eyes off Shsway. A soft barely audible growl filled Shsway's ears, Pixie's embrace was tighter as she rose into a sitting position. What has he done? Shsway wondered. She turned to Pixie and saw a strange anger in the darkening eyes.

He shifted his eyes to Pixie,"Beidh tu maicin agam."

Nightsong sat upright and Lyco hissed, Pixie spoke in a low growl, "Beidh tu saol roimh tu tog Shsway." A drumbeat began and everyone began taking places. The warriors took up torches and walked to the fire ring.

Pixie stood and looked to Lyco, "Well mi suir you should be good at this part." Lyco frowned and walked beside Pixie to the fire ring. Shsway looked at Nightsong for an answer but stopped at Nightsong's expression.

The warriors threw their torches onto the wood, the flames roared to life with intense heat and blinding light. Lyco finished chaining Pixie's wrist together the short chain allowed some freedom.

With a swift movement Lyco helped Pixie flip over the fire, landing gracefully on her feet. Silence rang out through the clearing, the warriors took their places. Pixie nodded to Lyco who walked back to Nightsong and Shsway.

A drum beat thundered as the first spear flew through the air, Pixie moved easily away. As the drumbeats became swifter so did the spears and arrows, a deadly dance that ended suddenly. Pixie moved to the center of the ring and stood still.

Lyco walked to Litavis and took two staffs from him, then walked to Shsway and handed them to her. "It has to be your choice." Lyco said looking at Shsway.

Both Nightsong and Lyco then withdrew from her, leaving her standing alone holding the staffs. She looked up to see one of the warriors leaping into the ring holding a similar staff....

By Nightsong

Nightsong watched in anticipation as the first warrior leapt into the ring. Lyco had explained that it would be one on one, and only a person with a staff could enter the ring. Lyco had also told her that the six warriors they had met would fight them, so as soon as one fell, another would take there place. Nightsong watched Shsway look from the warrior, to the chained Pixie, to the two staffs, and finally, to her.

Nightsong nodded at Shsway, silently willing the young woman to make a choice. Shsway suddenly grinned feraly and threw one of the staffs to her. "Nightie, catch!" Nightsong caught the staff on the fly and she and her apprentice did a simultaneous front flip into the ring.

As Nightsong and Shsway raced to Pixie's side, two more warriors entered the ring. Shsway intercepted the first warriors strike just as he was about to hit Pixie, or try to, since the druid was to swift to be caught by such an obvious blow. Nightsong smiled at her nimble sister,

"Pixie, catch!" Nightsong tossed the staff in her hands to the startled Pixie, and with a smile, faced off against the second warrior who had entered the ring.

This Celt was muscular, but looked like he could move. The Celt smiled and spoke to her in gaelic, "Very silly woman, to throw away your weapon when fighting a Celt."

Nightsong smiled in reply, "And is is very stupid to fight an amazon, especially one with Viking blood!" And with that, Nightsong struck.

Shsway exchanged blows with a less muscular, but skilled warrior. As the vibrations of the blows ran down her arms, Shsway thought briefly about that staff match with Ephfan. "She would be better at this, what am I even doing here? I am not even a warrior!"

As self-doubt took a hold of Shsway's mind, the warrior found a hole in her guard and Shsway was on the ground gasping from the shot to her ribs. She blocked the Celts downward strike and rolled away from her attacker to give her time to catch her breath.

As she came up into a crouched position and briefly glanced at the other two women to see how they were doing. Pixie was holding her own with a staff despite having her hands chained.

Nightsong was sustaining a few blows since she had only her arms and her speed to protect her, but Shsway knew that the Amazon lived by the Viking code of "if you can get in a better blow for the price of a lesser blow, then it is worth the price of your pain."

Shsway knew that these women were confident in her, and if such warriors had faith in her, she must be worth their praise. Shsway leapt to her feet as the Celt approached, and attacked with renewed confidence.

Pixie matched blow for blow with her attacker. Even if her hands were shackled, they did not slow down her feet, and that was her strength. Pixie wove a intricate and painful dance around her attacker, forcing him to be on guard. She knew that he would tire soon, and when he did, this fight was over.

By Eptalk

"JiMMiNeY Crickets!" Eppie shouted looking up from strumming on her lyre.

Only a days walk from the Amazon camp and towering above Eppie stood Xena and Gabrielle, both grinning at her obvious shock and surprise at the sight of both of them towering above her.

Eppie stood quickly, stumbled slightly on her own two feet and gave a bow to her Queen.

It was Gabrielle that gave a gentle touch to Eppie's shoulder while telling her that she and Xena were on their way to Amphipolis for a visit. Xena had explained most of the Amazon Tribe were on a mission of their own while a few tribe members remained in camp enjoying the peaceful warm weather and splendid crops from the flourishing fields.

"You strum the lyre really well," Gabrielle noted about Eppie and her Terpsichord lyre as Eppie smiled and wondered how long these two had been listening to her chord selections.

"What's that?" Xena asked of the boomerang she saw lying on the ground nearby with Eppie's bowie knives and tangled fishing line.

Eppie stuttered out the explanation of the boomerang being a gift given by a friend from down under and how she had fair control but needed some help with the direction of it's flight. Xena had Eppie throw her boomerang several times before she gained better control and felt confident at last on directing it herself.

Time passed too quickly as the Queen and Xena continued on their own journey as Eppie organized and gathered her pack to finish walking to rejoin the tribe. After drawing some of the sweet juices from the fruit Xena had provided, Eppie felt refreshed and assured she could reach camp before nightfall.

By Martman

The young amazonie was resting comfortably in his hut, awaiting the return of his queen and her champion. Both had bid him adieu before they left for amphipolis. he was glad to see them, glad to see them enjoying their time together as such a couple should.

Seeing Xena and Gabrielle so much in love, seeing their magnetic attraction, admiration, and love for each other was enough to help him take his mind off the injury he received the last time the marauders attacked the village.

Before Xena and Gab left, he transcribed a message for them on a scroll, which he asked them to always keep nearby. it was a simple message, but it profoundly explained the bond between them:

You are two souls destined to be together
You are wo souls who's karma's will be entwined forever
Love will be your guide and with it you will never need to hide
Always remember the bond you share and know that nothing else can compare
You are Xena and Gabrielle and you will always be with each other come Heaven or Hell

By Shsway

I am going to have such a bruise when this is over, thought Shsway with a scowl. Her rib felt tender and she hoped the blow hadn't pierced her flesh or worse yet, broke anything.

She was fighting like Tartarus to keep her temper under control, it would do no good to simply lash out and risk making a costly mistake. She breathed deeply in and out, willing herself to remain calm and focused, as Nightsong had taught her to do more than two winters ago. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Shsway decided to use a different strategy.

Enough! Pretending to fall forward and gripping her weapon with both hands, staff extended horizontally before her, the scout executed a full roll, bringing her legs up and out to deliver a blow to the warrior's chest cavity.

Just as she had predicted, he dropped HIS staff with a gasp, and stumbled enough for the dark-haired amazon to quickly regain her footing and deliver a large crack of the wood to his skull. Whoopee for me, out for the count!

She tossed her hair back from her face and looked up to see that NS had already taken care of her contender and Pixie had easily worn hers down enough for him to collapse on his own to her superior skill. Pixie smiled and her mentor gave her an approving nod.

Pixie gripped her staff with purpose, as her friends walked up to stand beside her. She made a clear and commanding announcement in Gaelic, and although Shsway wasn't sure just what she'd said, the next three warriors sudden advance to the circle let her know exactly what was going on.

The tall blond celt they had seen earlier had a feral grin across his face that stretched from ear to ear as he looked at Pixie. The princess in turn, stepped forward to, grace his smug demeanor with a well-placed insult, but was held back by Nightie's right arm at her midsection.

"He's MINE..." she said in a low, almost whispered tone. Pixie nodded, as she turned to face another man coming from her left. Shsway stepped away to circle the remaining man cautiously. He was bigger than most of the ones she'd ever had to deal with one on one. Artemis...help...

Disguising her fear, she clenched her jaw and met the Celt's first attack. Their staffs cracked with each impact, and the sweat that had been running down the scout's shirt seemed to be soaking it no. Her face became flushed and her breathing became ragged. It was going to take all of her speed, instinct and muscular coordination to stay on track, but this guy was slower, and there was an advantage that a smaller amazon could use. As if in a fiery dance, they exchanged blows, staying fairly even.

Shsway got him in the thigh, and while it stung by the look in his eyes, it didn't slow him down. In a moment of creativity, he was able to trick her into swinging one way, as he whisked the staff towards her head. She realized her mistake just soon enough to move her face to the left, but he was still able to strike her hard enough to leave an ugly scratch on her right cheek, and just touching her eye enough for it to shut in pain. Hmmmm, looks like I'll be leaving with a souvenir after all...

In her pain, the celt saw his chance to knock the staff out of Shsway's hands. She was forced to move now to avoid all the blows and she was swiftly getting tired.

Concentrate amazon, concentrate...ahhh, I know!

The warrior was also a little weaker, so when he carried a particularly swing through, his determined opponent suddenly grabbed hold of his staff with both hands.

"Aaaaiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeshhhhhaaaaaa!" Shsway whooped in pleasure, as she she flipped over his head, still gripping the staff and landing behind the big celt. Confused, he paused long enough for her to land cleanly behind him and quickly whip back the staff to crack his double chin. As he staggered back groaning and began to fall on her, she snatched the staff, stepped back, and delivered a final blow to his gut. Out.

The young woman fell her to her knees, her breath coming in gasps and coughs. She wondered if her friends were anywhere close to begin done. She didn't have to wait long to hear a man clearly in agony scream to some celtic god. There goes Nightie's friend, she thought with a grin. Now all they needed was for Pixie to make her definitive move so this round would officially be over.

Of course, I'm gonna need to be carried out by a few of these lovely celtic women if I expect to ever get back home...

By Pixie

Pixie's skills were being pushed to the limit. Hand to hand fighting was still new to her and the first fight had tired her more than she realized.

Rolling away from her opponent, she risked glancing toward the two amazons.

Nightsong was circling the blond celt, she seemed to be prolonging the fight. The feral gleam in her eye promised that he would be hurt even more before she dropped him.

Pixie looked to Shsway just as she jumped up and over him, Wish I dared to try something like that.

A movement brought her back quickly, as a staff came down toward her. Instinctively she raised her arm, the staff struck the padded cuff with a sickening crack.

Pain shot through her arm, Stay focused,she scolded herself, You can't let yourself lose this fight.

She looked over to see Shsway fall to her knees after defeating the large warrior. With a renewed sense of purpose she dropped her staff and lunged forward at the much taller Celt. She surprised him coming up under his staff, grabbing it and driving it into his jaw. Then whirling around with it striking the final blow.

Silence reigned, as Pixie walked over to where Nightsong was checking Shsway for injuries. The young scout had an angry looking scratch on one cheek, her breathing was jagged hinting at injured ribs, and she was pale with exhaustion.

Please Danu don't let anyone challenge my choice. Shsway is hurt and I don't think I can win another fight.

She knelt down beside them, "Thank you. You two are the only reason I am free now." Lyco was beside her within minutes, removing the chains swiftly and tossing them aside with a grimace. Pixie looked down at her left wrist, as she had feared the arm bent at an unnatural angle and the hand was completely numb now

"Do you think you can stand, Maicin?" Pixie asked placing her right hand on the young amazons shoulder. Thankful that no one had noticed the damaged arm. Nightsong had stood and was busy putting her her sword on after receiving it from Lyco.

"Yes, just give me a minute." Shsway said with a grin.

"Take all the time you need." Pixie rose to stand on Shsway's left, Lyco moved to Shsway's right and Nightsong stood behind them.

After a minute Shsway stood up with surprising grace. Pixie looked to Lyco then Nightsong who both nodded back. Then took a step forward.

"Taim Bantiarna Rionnac Dobharchu Bryna," Lyco took a step forward, "Seo mi suir Bantiarna Faela Lyco Oiche." Both took a step outward and looked to Shsway, who tentatively took a step forward.

The crowd began murmuring, as Pixie reached out and pulled the strip of fur off of the silver armband. "Seo mi dlisteanach banoidhre, Bantiarna Seabac Shsway Rionnac." Pixie announced in a loud, clear voice.

The mummers became louder, as the blond warrior regained awareness and stood, " Ni, ni haon Ceilteach!"

"Damnu air, he's going to challenge my choice." Pixie whispered to her three companions, Nightsong was already drawing her sword.....

By Littlearsonist

Littlearsonist sat quietly in a cliffs shadow, watching the end of the trial. "What is that fool child doing swinging the staff one-handed."

Despite her grumbling the pride she was feeling was almost overwhelming. Pride for not only her lover but for their new friends. They had just defeated the champions from three different tribes.

LA stood and began to stealthily pick her way down to the clearing. She stopped respectfully for Pixie's...no Rionnac's proclamation. She looked around finally noticing the attention she was drawing to herself. The quick glances she was receiving were a mixture of fear and astonishment.

LA stood straight knowing that tonight was not going to be pleasurable at all. Rionnac announced her heir to the tribes and as expected there were murmurs of both astonishment and some of disagreement.

She started walking toward the fire ring the crowd parting for her. Her steps faltered when she heard the cold response of the blonde warrior.

She stopped to watch the response of the crowd. Almost all shook their head in disgust. She heard murmurs of how the warrior had gotten it into his head that breaking an amazon warrior would be good sport.

The blonde warrior advanced toward Shsway spouting angry broken sentences in Greek about not losing his amazon bride. The look on Shsway's face, if this wasn't such a serious situation, would have been almost comical.

The warrior reached for Shsway only to have his advances stopped by Pixie grabbing his wrist and shoving his arm away.

"No one," She began through gritted teeth. "Tells me who I can and can't choose as my heir."

The warrior's hand rose...

"I wouldn't." LA spoke coldly. "Not unless you want to start a war." She motioned to the amazons now standing in ready stances.

The warrior turned growling "And just who..." His sentence stopped.

He looked at LA disbelieving. She stood glaring in black leather pants and a black silk shirt. Leather gauntlets, with silver knot work woven into them, covered her forearms. The black leather vest she wore matched the gauntlets. She was every inch the Finnan warrior of legend....a Daughter of Skye.

"Taim Laoch Ceolta di Skye, Coimirceoir di Rionnac." LA announced clear enough for the crowd to hear. Brushing past the warrior, she watched Pixie step back to the right of Shsway. LA half bowed to the small group in the center of the fire ring, then took Pixie's place in front of Shsway.

"Aithim Bantiarna Seabac mar banoidhre." LA announced to the crowd glaring at the now irate warrior. She then continued in Greek, "Rionnac has surrendered herself to preserve the safety of the amazons, needless to say the amazons have surrendered the safety of themselves for her."

She looked back toward the gathered amazons to see the two warriors, Ephfan and Nike join their friends in support of Shsway.

"Rionnac's sister's mate is an amazon. Long ago I myself fought alongside the amazons and pledged my protection to this tribe.", LA spoke clearly, "In our last battle Shsway not only fought alongside, but I witnessed her save a few of you. What is deserving of honor if not that?"

LA looked to the crowd. Seeing the nods and looks of agreement she allowed herself to relax. 'So maybe this isn't going to be so hard.'

She turned back to the small group behind her. "As a daughter of Skye I give you our support Rionnac." She said bowing to Pixie grinning at the look she received.

Turning to a shocked Shsway "And as Pi...Rionnac's guardian, little cub," She raised her voice. "I give you my protection and accept any challenge against you becoming part of our family."

"This is not over Laoch" With a growl the blonde warrior stormed off shoving his way through the crowd....