CH-7

May, 25th 285AC

Meera Reed wandered the swamps of the Neck leaving her escort at camp as she lost herself among the canopies and mangroves listening to the ever present buzz of the bugs and critters that made this place their home.

Well she really couldn't be lost anymore, last month she remembered her old life, a girl, a Father that had shut down emotionally when his wife and her mother was killed then a sister turned betrayer by trauma and outside Influence.

Then she became a warlord, killed a baby, and even killed an eldritch god that was trying to destroy her planet all with the power of Arthropod control. She then willed a rather large spider to crawl over and dance among her fingers as she contemplated her power again.

Her power had changed. She knew that her control and range remained the same but what was behind her power had changed, after Bonesaw altered her power she was closer than any human other than Contessa to her power she did not understand fully what her power was but she grabbed a small sliver of it.

That wasn't what she had now wasn't that, there wasn't any intelligence or Push to use her power she could now completely turn her power off.

So when she awoke in her new life she was at first pissed to be in a Medieval world with its backwards technology, the lack of tea, or even comfy beds she was more than happy to have a family again.

Her parents were amazing people, her father a short but stout man who was brave and never afraid to speak to her about what she was going through or teach her whatever she wanted to know.

Most of all she was sure he had powers of some kind he knew when things would happen sometimes, when she asked him about his powers he told her that they were gifts from the Old Gods from the times of the First men.

She took that with some skepticism but she respected him and what he did with those abilities.

Her mother looked so much like her old mother it made her heart ache sometimes, she was just as smart and willful as her old life.

She wanted all of her children like all people of the neck to be able to fight and defend their home, her father had no problem with this and taught her everything about shooting a bow.

Then her old life memories came and she began to play with her power like she had never done before, she noticed that the animals she was able to control had expanded to lizards as she could control the massive Lizards Lions that swam in the Swamp, all animals seemed to listen to her better along with training them seemed also most second nature.

She snuck out one night and began training a couple of the monsters to listen to her or other. When her father discovered what she was doing he was terrified and when she showed what she could do he was elated, she apparently was "blessed" by the old gods as a Warg.

Then With her father's guidance she helped boost the income of their home, using the various bugs and other critters she made dyes, spun, silk and even made some custom armor for her extended family.

Then her little brother was born, she was so happy that her family expanded, her brother Jojen was the cutest thing in the world. Then it hit her one day while she was playing with her brother, he would inherit the lordship not her.

She didn't blame her little brother in any way but it still hurt as there was little her father could do to change the millennia of tradition for sons to inherit.

So her father allowed her to have more input on her marriage than many southern ladies would have. She did have her pick of northern nobles but her people were looked down upon by her country men calling them frogs.

So when Lord Dustin sent a letter asking for permission to court she was very surprised and she decided to investigate the man.

So with her father allowing it she sent some men to make detailed reports on the Barrowland now that it was under his guidance.

What she found surprised him, he was innovating, she was tutored by her mother and father who told her how little had changed in the past thousand of years since the Andels came.

He founded and supported numerous educational institutions while his technological innovations were nice and the political reforms were easy to connect to someone who was consolidating power.

Which meant he was definitely not of this world like herself and more than likely was a reincarnated person like herself, so she agreed to the courtship then began her journey North West to the Barrowlands.

She of course made sure to gather a large amount of various poisonous animals and bring her monstrous alligators.

Off in the Distance she hears, "My lady Reed it's time to go, we should reach the halfway point by mid day if we go now."

Yelling an agreement to her guide/escort she gathered her gators and made her way to the group she had a man to meet.

——————-

June, 1st 285AC

On the Bank of the River Fever Rodrik sat next to Moose looking into the mess of Mangrove trees that acted as an impenetrable wall: him, his guard and a team of carriage for Lady Reeds men to ride in.

But there had been so sight of them in the swamps which we all agreed would be our death if we stepped a single foot inside the swamp, so for three days they camped and waited for Lady Reed.

Then he saw the smallest shift of movement in the mangroves, Moose hopped to his feet and let out a loud bark as a group of men looked to suddenly appear from the tree line.

Letting out a loud whistle his men gathered quickly by him not with weapons ready but ready just in case,soon the group of thirty odd men and a handful of women left the treeline.

He couldn't immediately tell who Lady Reed was so he waited but approached the bank of the river and offered his hand to the closest Crannogman. "You all must be Lady Reeds party you not?" The man took his hand pulled himself free of the mud and Rodrick's men followed suit helping the men and women out of the muck.

Then a woman taller than the rest of the party came forward and took Rodrick's hand and joined him on the bank.

"That is Correct Lord Dustin, thank you for the welcome party now if you do not mind waiting for another night for my men and I to rest and dry off."

Her voice was smooth in a way Rodrik had not heard since his old life listening to radio, not seductive; it just made a listener pay attention.

"No Problem Lady Reed our camp is just a short walk away, now is this your entire troop or do you have stragglers."

She gave Rodrik a sly smile and pulled a small handled whistle like device ,"Don't shoot my pets please." She then took a deep breath and blew into her war horn Rodrick then realized as two monsters appeared from the river.

Rodrik in his old life grew up in the Swamps of America and knew what an Alligator was. This wasn't that, this was a Spinosaurus scaled down to the size of a person.

My men quickly backed away not fleeing they would later say rather a tactical retreat, the Crannogman looked amused and mildly terrified at what they considered to be the most dangerous creatures on the planet act like happy dogs playing with their owner with their Lady Reed.

Rodrick stood ramrod straight as the two Dinosaurs sniffed and circled the Lord not in a predatory way. There was too much intelligence behind the eyes like it was trying to figure out the man near their mother.

Meera laughed and patted the heads of both creatures who calmed down and laid at her side waiting for orders. "These are my pets Angela and Brutus, I hope it is no problem that they join me for my stay."

She gave Rodrik a pleading look, "I will have to send word ahead if you would kindly tell me what housing your pets(?) need."

Waving over one of his men that is lightly armored and has a massive eagle sat on his shoulder who kept his distance from the Dinosaurs but saluted the two nobles and pulled a pen and piece of paper for note taking.

"Lady Reed, please tell Röskva here your requests and he will travel ahead of us with his partner to Barrowtown." Röskva gave a polite, if quick bow and wrote down the list for her pets to have access to an amphibious habitat and lots of fish for feeding.

As the messenger begins to run off, Rodrik stops him for a moment away from Lady Reed, "Fly fast and tell my mother we have another Dreamer or she remembers, she will understand now, go."

Ros then runs as fast as he can over the nearest hill as his partner Palewind took flight till the crested a large hill and Palewind divided towards her partner, and as flew down Ros jumps into the air and joins his partner as one taking the form of a Eagle the size of a man took flight towards Barrowhill.

Back at the camp the two groups begin to mingle and break bread to help ease the tension, within the hour both sets of guards are exchanged stories with one another.

Both sets have a variety of stories about their bathsit crazy nobles they have to watch over who are off to the side talking to one another, as Rodrik has gone past scared and into fascinated pulling out various scientific equipment to study the creatures.

"If you and our pets would allow it My lady, may I study them and sketch them. The University would love to have some notes on Lizard Lions, As it is clear now what we did have is entirely wrong." Rodrik had a smile across his face as he doesn't love dinosaurs.

"I have no problem with that Lord Dustin and please call me Meera, just do not try and gather blood they may not like that." She herself was more than happy to gain more information on the young lord who it seems had more skills and knowledge than she thought looking at the various tools that shouldn't be available at this time.