At the South Gate of the slave camp, Yawenni Golden Moon sat astride Blaze, watching the slave owners' allied forces charge toward them from the forest. She deliberately let them get halfway there before having Blaze use Wind School magic to issue a warning. She knew the men had already built up too much speed to stop easily.
Sure enough, someone in the cavalry shouted skeptically, "Where'd the Gallop Knight Order come from? This is White Tree City. Get lost!"
Yawenni smiled and patted Blaze. He sent out a second message: "This is the Gallop Knight Order. If you're not bandits, stop at once!"
The opposing ranks immediately broke into laughter. One voice bellowed, "Hey, I'm a bandit! Hand over half the slaves, or don't blame us when we get rough!"
Hooked. Yawenni held a strange square box. Inside was a crystal used for recording, a tool often employed by the Imperial Capital Knights. With so many nobles in the Imperial Capital, they made sure to gather evidence before arresting anyone, to avoid trouble later.
After putting the box away, Yawenni drew a wooden bow from behind her, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the Archmage among the cavalry.
Across the Empire's Knight Orders, archers were rare. Knights' armor was too sturdy for a bow drawn by arm strength to pierce, and archery required years of training.
But the southern Elf clans and the Elf-descendants within the Empire had never dared forget their signature skill. The bows of the Elf royal family were usually made from Magic Vines, which grew over time and became more powerful.
The bow in Yawenni's hands had been made by her father when she was a child. It was now more than two hundred years old. The living Magic Vine was roughly equivalent to a