[indent][b]Arlanna ap Tadgh[/b][/indent]
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Arlanna was impressed by the eagerness with which Aedthel's messengers took up their tasks. She had scarcely had to wait when a messenger returned to her with Aedthel's reply, which she took and read.

The message did not seem to suggest that Aedthel wanted to see her now, which Arlanna accepted as quite reasonable, as he had probably only just arrived himself and would need some time to get himself and his followers established. With that in mind, she decided to seek out any others who had arrived before her. She had complete trust in her ability to dislike them, but nonetheless they could prove useful.

Arlanna continued at a slow pace through the village, headed towards the hill. She passed many new arrivals along the way, all of varying degrees of brashness, though in Arlanna's eye they were not divided into loud and quiet. They were divided into predators and prey. The predators were neither wolves nor bears nor lions; they were the leaders with the largest of armies, the wisest of counsel, the greatest of reputation. They were either important allies to gain or threats to eliminate. Likewise, not a single rabbit nor deer lay among the prey, but instead were the leaders of those nations that could only flounder until they were devoured by one greater than them. Those nations were nothing more than a resource to be harvested.

One stood out from the group with more clarity than the others. Hridvir, whose fearsome reputation outgrew her natural social circles, was a source of intrigue for Arlanna. Anyone could tell she was was a predator.

A small group sat on the hillside, watching the arrivals similarly to Arlanna, though they had arrived early, which she considered wise. She could make out little detail from this distance, but gut instinct told her that these people would be significant in days to come. Predators.

After a few minutes longer, Arlanna wordlessly turned her horse around and headed back to where her servants had established camp, hoping to reconvene with her own people once more.