Queen's Guard of Andor  

Valan la'Sher

I was born in a village on the Almoth Plain. At the time, I had an older sister, as well as a mother and father. But while I was a teenager, the Seanchan invaded. They destroyed my village, and all the people in it, including my family. To this day I do not know if anyone but me survived. There were only a few homes in the village, not even an inn or a store.

I was off wandering the plain during the time of the invasion, and I did not know what happened until I came back to see the village burning. I didn't bother to look around, I could see all the dead bodies scattered in the street, and I could see some Seanchan soldiers from my hiding spot. So I fled.

I did not know the area well outside the plain, but I knew somewhere south and east I might find Amadicia. So that's the way I went, south to the end of the plains, then east. There were no roaming parties of Seanchan soldiers, they must not have come this far yet. I did come upon a patrol of the Children of the Light before I got to the Misty Mountains, who told me of a path through the mountains into Amadicia. And that is where I went, into Amadicia, and into Amador.

I had never been to a city before, and knew not what to expect. There were so many people, and houses, and stores, and streets. And around the city were walls like I had never before seen, or even imagined. I did find an innkeeper who was kind enough to offer me a room, meals, and a little bit of coin if I would care for the horses in his stable, so for awhile I was a stable hand at this inn.

Soon though, a man came in, and saw me looking at his sword. We became friends in the next few days, and this man taught me how to use a sword. It wasn't much longer after this, shortly after I became an adult, when I decided my time was done in Amador and decided to see what else was in the world. With the money I had saved up by working at the inn, I bought myself a horse. A tall stallion it was, I could tell it was stong and could run fast when needed. The blacksmith down the street, who I had also became friends with, had forged for me a sword and a knife.

With my sword and my horse, and a pack on my back, I rode out of the city, heading north. I went through Deven Ride and into Emond's Field, where I stayed for a week after the long trip. The food was good at the inn where I stayed, and the bed was comfortable, but I knew I wouldn't stay long. I kept going north, passing through several more villages like Emond's field, except smaller, before I reached Baerlon.

I had stayed for a few years in Amador, so when I came to Baerlon thhe city wasn't so amazing as Amador had been when I first came upon it. Baerlon is a smaller city, and the people there seemed to know most of the others. Here I stayed during the cold winter, there was a nice family who told me to stay, since they had another room not in use in the house. I did what I could to repay the family while I got a job working at the armory.

The armorer gave to me a set of mail armor, along with some boots and gauntlets when the trollocs came. I was of fighting age some years earlier, and I had been practicing with my sword over the years. So I joined the militia, as we took ranks with the elite Lion Warden and the proud army of Andor. We fought the trollocs, killing most while a small number of them fled. It was my first battle, and I made it out alive, so I deemed that I had done well. But I knew now where my path went. I took my horse and belongings, and headed to Caemlyn.

As I approached the city of Caemlyn I could see the grand walls from the distance, and the tops of the taller buildings and towers inside. Even after seeing a few other cities, this was not what I expected. Amador was not close to the size, and Caemlyn had much more people within it, and so many came and went with every day. Several villages were outside it, and even before I could see the city there was greatly increased traffic along the road.

I found an inn where I stayed a few weeks while I began to familiarize myself with the city. I went to the palace, through the guards and into the barracks of the Lion Warden, where I signed up to serve the Queen. I was given a cloak, and the shining gold and red armor of the Guard, and shown to my new home in the barracks. My horse was kept in the palace stable. So I did my service to the Queen, fighting against bandits, trollocs, and Seanchan.

Then the war came. The Two Rivers had started to deny they were part of Andor. The Queen had said this was untrue. We sent some patrols into the Two Rivers to see what the commotion was about, only to have them ambushed and killed. The Red Eagles, the guard of the Two Rivers, sent an army against Caemlyn. We fought them back, and drove them back to the farms they had come from. We gathered an army, the largest of which had ever been seen in Andor, even to this day. And we marched against Emond's Field, the heart of the Two Rivers.

What we found was not what we expected. Alongside the Red Eagles there were not only the expected farmers with their pitchforks, but they had assembled a massive army for themselves, obviously drawing from all the towns in the Two Rivers, but armies were also sent from Amador, and other neighboring countries. The Children of the Light had sent a large number of their soldiers. They brought with them strict discipline and skill in battle, and it showed. It was the nation of Andor at war with half the world as we knew it, battling over the Two Rivers. And we lost.

A great battle it was, and much blood was spilled on both sides. The seige lasted for several months. The town was invaded and taken, then retaken, and taken again. Many brothers were lost to either side, and many bloodlines had been stopped. The greatest battle I know of had begun and ended, and the armies of Andor had been sent home. We lost many great leaders. Lord Oberon had taken a mortal wound, and was thought for dead. Luckily the doctors were able to heal him, if only barely, but enough to where he would live, and get better with time.

We went home, but not in shame, for it had not been a shameful defeat. It was a great battle, but we had been outnumbered, and the will of the farmers could not be broken. It wasn a few months afterwards when I decided once more to explore the world around me. I had seen more than enough bloodshed for my time, and I was still young compared to most. I felt as if there was more of the world I should see, and I took my leave of the Lion Warden.

So once more I wandered. I roamed the lands from Fal Dara to Tear, and from Mayene to Bandar Eban. Some time I stayed in the great city of Bandar Eban, and I assisted in battles with the Seanchan. We fought battles from Bandar Eban to the gates of Falme, and all along the Almoth Plain. I fought long and hard, in battles both small and large. But eventually I grew weary of war and fighting. The memories of my friends and family had been strong as of late, and I had to go elsewhere to put my mind at ease.

So I went east, and I wandered some more, going without purpose through the world. But this is what troubled me, the lack of purpose. Several years went by as I wandered and pondered what I would do, until I came back to Andor. I saw some of my old friends in the ranks of the Queen's Guard, who the Queen had renamed, for reasons unknown to me. It was one of these friends who had convinced me to once more join the ranks, and so I did.

And now I find myself once more serving the Queen and the citizens of Andor, once more I had purpose to my life. My past was behind me, and I was tired of wandering. My old friends had welcomed me, and I have a bed once more in the barracks. It feels good to be back. Caemlyn is my home once again, and it will be for many years to come. The Guard is proud and honorable, and it feels good to once again put my skills to good use against the bandits and murderers who think it a good idea to camp in Andor.