Althea wasn't allowed to join her father's soldiers. At first, her father was saying she had to stay home and help her mother to attend to those who were wounded in previous attacks. But everyone knew Althea couldn't remember the healing herbs and with lots of effort managed to remember the poisonous ones – not to ever use them. Her best skill, however, she felt she was archery and forest hiding. Her arrows were always reaching the aims the first, and nobody could ever find her if she didn't want to be found, even though she had long ginger hair.

But then father said the girl could join his crew only after she would turn sixteen, not a day before.

"What's the difference, father? I won't wake up with some sacred knowledge on my sixteenth birthday, why can't I join now?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt, and because this isn't for a woman to fight in such wars. Your mother won't forgive me if something happens to you before you are big enough. You haven't seen what are those monsters and what they do. Your arrows will not harm them, but if you want to see them so much – you'd stay at the back of my crew and return home as soon as I tell you to get back."

And now, just...