“Aw, that’s not an answer,” Sam said. “Stopbeing such a pussy and pick a side.”
“No, no,” Eamon said. “I want to hear what hehas to say.”
Shea stared at them, running her tongue overher teeth. How much should she tell them? “You know by now that theLowlands aren’t really a country. There’s no central governmentruling the people. It’s just a bunch of isolated villages and townswith loose ties to each other. Each governs itself and outsidersare viewed with suspicion.”
“This isn’t news,” Buck groused. Flint,sitting next to him, gave him a shove.
“I say ‘maybe’ because thereisnoreal ruling body that Hawkvale can defeat. Since that’s the case,he’s going to have to conquer each village individually, not onlythat, but he’ll have to find a way to rule people used to having noruler.”
“On the other hand, no real government meansno standing army to defend the land,” Eamon pointed out.
“True. I’ll give you that. But right now, youcan’t even find all the villages because even the villages aren’tsure where each stands. I think there’s a strong possibility thathe’ll claim some of this territory for his people, but the moreisolated sections that no one ever visits?” Shea shook her head. “Idon’t see that happening. The Lowlands haven’t been united in overfive hundred years. Not since the cataclysm. Who’d even want toanyway? Place is a shit hole. Just a bunch of uneducated,superstitious louts afraid of the outside world and unwilling tochallenge the status quo.”
“Spoken like someone who’s never been thirstya day in their life,” someone muttered.
Shea jerked towards the voice but couldn’tidentify the speaker. Her lip curled. “You think this place isn’tfull of challenges? Look closely next time you’re in a village. Youmight be surprised at what you find.”
She looked each man in the eye, noting thosewho dropped their gaze after a moment.
“You speak like you’re not one of them,” Buckobserved.
That’s because she wasn’t.
“I’m a throwaway, remember? Not a lot of lovelost on either side.”
“That’s cold. Don’t think I could take thatviewpoint even if I was exorcised from my clan,” Sam said.
“And you? What do you think?” Shea askedEamon.
He might have said earlier, but she hadn’tbeen listening.
Shadows danced across his face as the fireflickered. “In the end it doesn’t really matter what I think.Possible or not, Hawkvale thinks the Broken Lands can be united asthey were before the cataclysm. That’s enough for me.”
“That’s a lot of faith to have in oneman.”
“Fallon Hawkvale is a hero to the Trateri,”Sam said softly. “His grandfather was the last Hawk of the Trateriuntil he was challenged by his nephew and killed throughdeception.”
“That was a dark time,” one of the older mensaid.
There were murmurs of agreement.
“We lost entire tribes warring against eachother,” Sam said. “Resources are scarce in our land, and thebattles for them can be savage. He instituted brutal laws thatbenefited him and his council. We broke apart as a people. Hawkvalechanged all that when he won the right to rule and began unitingthe clans. The Trateri believe he will lead us into a golden agethat will rule over all of the Broken Lands.”
Sounded like Fallon had united the Trateri bygiving them a common enemy. People tended to forget theirdifferences and band together when they had something to fightagainst.
From their story, it didn’t sound like he’dbe content to conquer just the Lowlands. To unite the Broken Lands,he would have to conquer the Highlands, Shea’s home. That couldn’thappen.
She looked at Eamon. “And you? Do you believehe will lead the Clans to a golden age?”
“I don’t know.” Eamon’s eyes, even cast inshadow, pierced through Shea. “But if any man can, it will behim.”
Focus shifted off Shea and onto conversationabout their friends and family. Shea didn’t know any of those theywere talking about, so it gave her an excuse to bow out of theconversation.
Her mouth full, she chewed thoughtfully asshe listened to them giving each other a hard time. They seemed toenjoy coming up with the best insult. It was easy to be aroundthem, and more than once she smiled in response to a particularlygood zinger.
This was what she liked about being in thefield, the easy camaraderie. It was something that had been missingin her life for a while now.
Before long, she made her way into thedarkness to relieve herself, making sure she was far from pryingeyes. Preparing to turn in, she found a relatively flat spot on theground and pulled out a small blanket to cover her body, laying herjacket on top for extra warmth and arranging the pack she’dretrieved from the top of the cliff behind her head as apillow.
