[indent][b]Arlanna ap Tadgh[/b][/indent] [hr] Arlanna approached the village at a slow pace on horseback. Though she had left ahead of the rest of the party, aside from a small escort, she had intentionally been travelling without haste so that they would catch up with her only shortly after her own arrival. Besides, she enjoyed the peace of relative solitude here on the road far more than the clamour and bickering that would inevitably take place at the council. She saw no reason to end that peace prematurely. A single crow watched her from the branch of a nearby tree. Arlanna met its gaze and smiled faintly. She had always felt a strange kinship to the birds, and having one present so soon before such an important event was a comforting omen. Arlanna's party was small. Only two guards walked with her - though both were wealthy enough to own swords and skilled enough to wield them, this would still no doubt pale in comparison to of any of the chiefs' forces, including Kerenatam's. They were only really suitable for defending against animal attacks on the journey, or perhaps a lone assassin. Were any real fighting to break out during the council, they would be practically useless. Other than that, maybe half a dozen servants of various roles followed behind, along with another pair of guards watching for anything that might target the tail end of the troupe. All except Arlanna were on foot. The party arrived shortly afterwards. No herald announced their arrival, as Arlanna's mouth worked perfectly well and she preferred to speak for herself. In this case, she could be seen as a kind of herald herself - Kerenatam's herald. She began to seek out the other attendees of the council, leaving the servants to set up the camp but bringing all four guards with her. She soon encountered a very large, hard to miss procession which clearly belonged to a far more important personality than herself. If she hadn't recognised the colours that this chief preferred to adorn his attendants with, she would still have had no trouble recognising him due to the heralds which loudly announced his presence. It was practically imperceptible upon her face, but she was glad Aedthel was here. At a time like this, all familiar faces were welcome. So, without hesitation, she found one of Aedthel's followers and asked them to tell him that Arlanna ap Tadgh had arrived.