I suppose I should stop stalking this thread and actually say something in it. Of course, these are not the words that you want to here.

[i]These are the words you want to hear ...[/i]
[hider=Many words, much reading:]
[color=#e2e2e2][i]“Remember Brahm, if I’m not out in four minutes you come in after me.”[/i]
[i]“And the guards?”[/i] Brahm Veildefohr was among the best bow warriors the regiment had ever seen. He taught Ida everything she knew about it.
[i]“They chose their side. Do what you must.”[/i] ‘Twas a cold sentiment from an even colder person. Ida Blackheart – not a name given at birth but one earned through blood. Stubborn, loyal to a fault, and fiercely protective of the soldiers at her side and her command ... but a ruthless opponent to anyone that stood in her way.

Near a dozen warriors of Ida’s regiment were gathered outside the wall of the compound, yet ever bold one, Ida alone scaled the palisade with not a single blade on her person. Her sheer arrogance at her hand to hand skill would be her downfall, but until that time came it would first be the deaths of any Imperial unwise enough to hold a blade to her. She shimmied along a mortared cobblestone structure towards the main through-path of the compound, and then stepped out casually.
“You there, HALT!” Four Imperial soldiers approached, swords drawn. She smirked right as they stepped into her reach.
 
With a twist and a pull, the sword was liberated from the soldier’s hands, Ida’s gauntlets of thick leather and inset steel guarding her from its sharp edges. Imperial armor was banded at the midsection, leaving a tiny sliver a blade could puncture. Leaning right into a wide step, Ida turned away and planted the stolen steel through the stomach of the adversary to her right. She seized the soldier she had disarmed, grabbing him by the face and leaning back as another swung fast towards her own head. His steel met his compatriot’s throat right as Ida moved along, eliminating the Imperial soldiers one by one with the prowess of a veteran. In shock at what he’d just been made to do, a swift punch to the gut followed by pulling his face into a knee left him bloodied and unconscious. The last soldier thrusted towards her weaker plated leather armor only for Ida to dodge the jab, grab his weapon and rip it from him as well. Twisting back towards him with a fast slash at neck level sent him to the ground, sputtering out his last breaths.

Now armed, she rushed for the holding cell while the entire garrison was scrambling to deal with the loose murderess. This was for sure the place if they had an entire garrison to defend it. Last sighted near the south side, escape under the cover of the wheat fields in the east side was the plan. Climbing onto the rooftops made staying out of view mildly easier, enough so to mislead the defenders’ efforts. Four guards were posted at the building supposedly containing the bride-to-be, no doubt ordered that no one enters or leaves. Returning to ground level between the prison and a warehouse she guessed, she sucked up to a wall momentarily as a herd of soldiers ran down the main through road to bolster the search. Time was short.

She made quick work of the guards, aiming for throats to silence them immediately, and jimmied the door open with her sword. It was terrible to do with a good blade but these weren’t her personal set, so it mattered nothing to her. She took the keyring off one of the corpses, opening the second locked door inside. She pulled open the door and readied her weapon ... only to find a cowering girl not many years younger than herself. The Black Heart of Silverwick saw its first glimmer of white.[/color][/hider]

After doing this enough times I tend to find that "show, don't tell" is a much superior way of going about it. For better or for worse, its much quicker to decide if you like it. I have no idea what kinds of pairings you were planning to take with [b]The Emperor's Chosen[/b], but Ida is what I wrote for that prompt so at the very least, enjoy a very brief snippet.

P.S. It's 1am when I finished that so I kept it on the short side (600 words is way short for a character introduction for me). Its representative [i]enough[/i] of how I write but far from the best work I've ever done.