Summer 1098 SR
Charlaine watched the distant shore as the Valiant made her way northward.
Valiant"It"s so peaceful here," she said.
"The calm before the storm?" quipped Danica.
"I suppose so. You know, it"s strange to think, but it wasn"t so long ago that I was just a simple smith."
"I doubt you were ever simple. You"re here, where you belong, Charlaine, where Saint Agnes needs you."
"I like to think so, but I can"t help but feel she wouldn"t condone all this loss of life."
Danica shifted her feet, looking down at the deck. "I must tell you something…"
"Go on."
"When the Valiant fought those two warships, I thought us doomed."
Valiant"Then why did you fight?"
"We had to, in order to save the rest of the fleet. It wasn"t as if the Vigilant could have taken on seven enemy ships al
