Alianora and Forr of Perth : Together From Beginning to End, They Do What They Set Out To Do

Alianora and Forr of Perth

As youngsters they are joined in battle, and then in marriage. Together they face the foes of their time – and do what they have to do when they have to do it.

From Mamm of Perth:

A scorched-earth campaign by Roman Legions has left many dead and most homeless. Aid comes from an unexpected source.

...   Still the girls don’t notice that anyone is approaching. Their eyes are cast down to the rocks beneath their feet.  But someone in the caravan has noticed them, and a horseman gallops toward them. 

The hoof beats finally get their attention and the youngling girls look up in a kind of shock to see this horseman approaching them seemingly out of nowhere. 

He wheels his horse to a gallant stop and steps down to bow with a flourish, grinning from ear to ear in delight. 

The girls just stare at him, and their eyes track to the caravan coming along behind him. Their mouths drop open, stunned at the sight. 

‘Forr at your service my ladies,’ the man states with an even wider grin. ‘If you are in need of assistance, please feel free to let me be of help.’

The girls blush in embarrassment but gather their wits enough to introduce themselves. 

‘Alianora is my name and this is my sister MammTwo,’ Alianora manages to get out.  MammTwo nods.

‘Ah, and would that be your home over there?’ asks Forr, pointing at their newly restructured, mostly stone now, house - the only one in sight. 

‘It is,’ says MammTwo with a bit more bravado than she feels. ‘And what do you want with it, or with us?’

‘Well, we heard that there might be need of us in this area, and by the looks of things we are needed, so here we are!’

Alianora’s chin goes up a little and she looks him in the eye. 

‘WE?’ she asks. ‘And just exactly who might WE be?’

Forr is a bit taken aback, both by her demeanor and by the question itself. 

After a pause he splutters for another moment and says, ‘WE, dear lady, are Riders of Finn. We have brought you provisions from the north, as you could see if you would care to look.’ 

The significance of the caravan which draws closer now becomes clear to the two youngling girls, and they drop to their knees and stare at it in fascination.

‘Ahem,’ Forr clears his throat to get their attention. ‘If one of you would care to ride with me, we could maybe let your folks know that help is on the way?’

Alianora comes to her senses first and quickly picks her way down the rocks. 

This man has not so very many more than her own eleven years, after all; he’s maybe fifteen and seems pretty young to be riding with such a notorious band of warriors. 

The thought crosses her mind to wonder what on earth a band of famous warriors such as the Fienne are doing in this neck of the woods, let alone bringing carts of goods and herds of livestock with them. She keeps her thoughts to herself, however, and accepts a hand up to sit behind Forr.     ...

From Mamm of Dunnottar:


As Elders it is Alianora and Forr who lead their people in battle as 

they do what they must in order to protect and preserve for future 

generations the Legacy they live and die for. Together.

...   Alianora and Forr take this their last stand over the bodies of their kin, taking arrow, javelin, spear, sword . . . but keeping their feet somehow beneath their dying bodies . . .

holding –

holding –

holding –

‘Needs must, Forr. Needs must . . .’

Alianora’s Voice is but a bloody whisper.

‘Needs must.’

Together they look to the western sky just as the sun slips beneath the horizon.

Bloody smiles light the faces of these the last two of the five thousand.

A whisper from Alianora.

‘We did it.’

...

From beginning to end Alianora and Forr of Perth are true 

to themselves, to one another, and to that which they hold

most dear. Their courage stands strong against all odds; their 

indomitable will cannot be broken.