In his grace, she walks.

Etain walked among the soldiers as they worked, running back and forth on errands or practicing their combat skills against stuffed dummies and wooden targets or standing bored and unmoving on duty. Those that noticed her would smile or salute, occasionally stopping to ask her for a blessing or to heal a wound, and she would smile kindly and touch them with Ilmater's grace and they would be on their way. Let the men of Tyr stay in their chapel, she thought. That is where they are needed.

On the practice field, two men were sparring. One of them slipped, dropping his guard, and the other swung his sword too far; it caught his partner square in the shoulder and he fell to the ground, bleeding. Etain walked over without a word. She placed a hand against the man's bleeding shoulder, whispering a prayer and feeling the divine light fill her as the wound closed before her eyes. "Thank you, Sister." The man grinned at her as she helped him to his feet.

She bowed her head in response. "Ilmater's blessings upon you, friend." And she walked off without another word. This is where I am needed.

It was your own carelessness that got you cut." Brenna said, giving the man a glare. "You need to watch your footing, or that armor will mean less than the shirt under it. Now come on, get up."

She never liked being rough with others. After years of keeping harm away from her friends and allies, putting them in harms way was a bit of a stretch of her sensibilities. However, this was how she was taught sword-and-shield fighting, and it worked. And she couldn't watch the whole city's walls on her own. The standard trooper had to be strong as well.

Alkayr had been watching everything that had been going on in the training grounds but stopped when a woman healed a man who had fallen in an accident. Who was she? He'd seen others about who were much more rough but had not seen this paladin before. Was she new to the keep?

As soon as Brenna snapped her words out he sighed wondering what it was she expected of these raw recruits. Katriona had just brought these ones in a few days before. But Alkayr was not the type to jump into things right away. He was shy and hardly knew Brenna let alone this paladin. Then again ...

"These are new recruits, Lady Brenna. They both made a mistake. It takes time to learn."

He said it before he thought too hard and remembered how his father would have reacted to that. Well, he'd stepped in it so he might as well take the heat for it.

"If they're not corrected and tested, they'll learn nothing." Brenna said. "And time to learn slowly and carefully is long gone. I would think you of all people would know this, sir Alkayr."

Etain turned back to the practice field when she heard raised voices, listening to the soldiers' lieutenant reprimand them, then an unfamiliar voice disagreeing with her. She was hesitant to take sides, as her opinion was of no consequence to either party, but she added her two cents nonetheless. "These are hard times for all. I fear we no longer have the luxury of patience or time. We will strive to do our best the best way we know how; beyond that, it is not in our hands."

Brenna reacted just as he had figured which was the same as his father but he was very little like his father and nowhere near like his mother who would have walked straight in and put in her copper's worth then show them the real way to do it.

Alkayr sighed as Etain added her own beliefs in the matter. He was always too tender for things like military training as he never could handle the rough and tumble way of teaching processes done for fighters. He could work and fight but the structure of fighting groups such as this stymied him.

"I understand that time is limited but if training is taken in too much speed the only thing one receives is death. But I'm no warrior and have no heart for even the teaching. This is not my place of expertise to speak in the first place." He blushed feeling embarrassed that he had opened up his mouth in the first place.

Brenna heard them both out. "I'll try to keep a reasonable limit to the push in mind, but we need to make sure we're ready. If we cannot handle conflict in training then we are as good as dead when facing a real foe. Now then..." She looked to the soldiers. "Resume sparring for a while longer. Remember, strong footing and use your shield, not your armor."

She took a few steps away from the troops towards Alkayr and a woman she'd never met before. "Miss? Sir Alkayr? What brings you two to the training ground?" She asked them both. "Is there a job in need of a soldier's arm?"

"Forgive my manners, my lady," Etain gave a courtly bow to Brenna, "my lord," and another bow to Alkayr, "I am Etain Kolmora, sister and cleric of the Order of the Lambent Rose and follower of Ilmater. I've come to Crossroads Keep just recently in my travels and stayed on to help where I can. I like to walk the grounds during this time of day, getting to know the Keep and its people. I was passing by your practice field when I saw your soldier fall. I apologize if my actions were out of place."

"Thank you, lady Brenna." Alkayr was not as courtly as Etain but he was also not completely unfamiliar with a bit of graces, "Lady Etain. As the lady Brenna said I am Alkayr ... ah of Firehammer clan. It is nice to meet you."

He bowed his head then looked back to Brenna, "Yes well ... Avera did send me to find some help and thought I should go because of my abilities."

"Your skills as a healer are appreciated, and I'm glad you help the wounded so gladly, but I need to get them used to fighting on past pain and fatigue if I can. They can't expect to be healed all the time. Still, I'm glad we've such able healers within this keep."

She looked to Alkyar when he spoke. "What's the job?" She asked, hoping to prod for details so she might prepare.

"An honor to meet you both." Etain bowed again. She stayed silent and listened to Alkayr, unsure if what he'd come looking for help for was within the range of her abilities, but prepared to offer her services nonetheless.

"Well, lady Brenna ... fighters are needed to check out a supposed incursion of undead. I was to look for someone who has honour and can bless a location." Alkayr said calmly, "It's a ways off. Were you interested? I was thinking of speaking with Casavir as well since he is a holy warrior but I have no clue where he has gotten to."

"While I cannot bless the land, I've no qualms of escorting those who can. The undead can be a handful. If my shield can be of service, than consider it as good as your own."