"...and as an expression of our gratitude for the discovery of a technique capable of healing one of our most revered Elders I, Queen Islanzadí, bestow upon you this ring and the title of Elf Friend." It was a nice speech, full of emotion and regality. Too bad the look in Islanzadí's eyes made it clear she would rather french kiss a donkey than compliment me. But when someone delivers on a way to heal Oromis's injury and proves it works, that person needs to be recognized for the achievement. Queen's misgivings or no.

Of course Islanzadí went out of her way to do the whole ceremony in Common despite me proving myself perfectly fluent in their native language. As a favor to me of course. Just so there was no mistaking how much the Queen valued my presence.

Bitch.

Still, I accepted the ring and took a moment to admire the Yawë symbol carved into the face of the bright green gem set into it before slipping it on a finger. I started reciting the customary response Arya had drilled into me but my mind was already elsewhere thinking about tomorrow.

Tomorrow we were heading back to the Varden.

Well Arya and I were.

Eragon had decided to try for a relationship with my friend again after the ceremony and had even gone so far as asking Arya to share all her memories with him so they would be the same experience-wise. A move by an infatuated boy riding high on the miracle night before or not, it had been the final straw and now Arya was eager to leave Ellesméra as soon as she could. I decided to go with her now that I had found a way to at least put a band-aid on the mess that was my soul condition and Eragon no longer needed me patching him up after one of his seizures.

Orik was staying behind as the continued observer for Eragon's training but I could tell he was jealous I was free to leave. There honestly wasn't much here for the dwarf to do and, unlike me, there wasn't a passion project he was focused on to sink his time into.

I felt for him, but since he was determined to stay even when I offered to let him come with us there wasn't much I could do for him.

So without further fanfare, Arya and I left the elven capital and began our journey south. And without the need for secrecy or people unable to keep up with us we made incredible time. So much so that we were in Surda, a small independent country between the Empire and the Beor Mountains, within a week.

-o-

"So, you ever been here before?" I asked my traveling buddy as we waited for someone to alert Nasuada of our arrival.

Surda as a whole wasn't much different than what I imagined a typical medieval country to look like, with most of the population being focused on farming or fishing and the wealthier members occasionally dabbling in more intellectual pastimes. King Orrin in particular was known to be a lover of the sciences.

"I have not," Arya replied. "Most of my duties kept me in the Beor Mountains as it was too dangerous to wander close to the Empire. But from what I understand it isn't too dissimilar from the average town in the Empire in many ways."

Yeah, that was about what I expected.

Without a way to increase the production of food through technology or magic, most towns would be fairly similar beyond the occasional specialty or art produced as hobbies by the workers rather than the dedicated artisans the elves and dwarves had available.

I made a note to talk to Nasuada about requesting someone to come down and teach the local farmers any techniques they could. If they had something like crop rotation, irrigation, or even just better tools then in a few years there might be enough spare food for a mini renaissance in the bigger towns.

Or not, but that wasn't my problem.

"Guess we get to visit a new place together then." I smiled at her before scowling at the guards keeping us out of Nasuada's meeting room. "Or at least we would if we ever get to this stupid meeting."

Besides one of them swallowing heavily, none of the four made any movement. Which was actually impressive considering my reputation in the Varden. The 'Lightbringer' title had made the journey into Surda along with the army and I was sure the story behind it had only grown in the retellings.

Still wasn't enough to let me walk freely up to the Varden's new leader without at least being announced.

My grumbling was interrupted by a door opening and the arrival of Nasuada and Jörmundur. "Alexandria, Arya. Your timing couldn't be better. Is Eragon with you?" Nasuada asked after she greeted us.

"No, he is still in the middle of training. Has something happened?" Arya replied.

"Not yet, but we have word from our spies and through our scrying that Galbatorix is sending an army towards Surda." Jörmundur answered. "We plan to give Eragon as much time as possible before recalling him, but the Varden will need to prepare to meet them soon."

I frowned at that. There was something about Galbatorix's army I was forgetting.

Not the inclusion of Murtaugh as a dragon rider, that I remembered just fine, but something about the army itself that caused problems. But no matter how much I tried, I simply couldn't recall such a small detail.

Shaking my head, I gave up on trying to remember and refocused on the others.

"...preparing to move out in two days." Nasuada finished saying. "But enough of that for now. What brings you two here? I would have thought you would stay with Eragon until we called."

"Is there anything you need us to help with?"

"Not anything specific of you, Arya. But if Alexandria could get a handle on her followers it would be appreciated."

Huh?

"I'm sorry, my what?"

I couldn't quite decipher what kind of smile was on Nasuada's face. "Yes, your followers. After you left with Eragon, your apprentice was quite active in spreading your teachings. She began gathering every healer – magical or mundane – into her new guild much to several people's displeasure. Not that many can be openly critical. She has managed to draw many of our most talented into her organization. It's been…interesting seeing how quickly Leona managed to secure her position."

Leona? The girl I had used as a gopher/secretary/assistant?! What the hell has she been up to?!

"You seem surprised. Did you not instruct her to do so?" Jörmundur asked.

I shook my head. "I have no interest in staying here long. There's no way I would shackle myself here by starting an organization…oh."

Arya glared at me. "I know that tone Alexandria. What did you do?"

I scratched the back of my head while avoiding the gazes of everyone present. "So during one of my lectures I may have complained about the lack of standardization and collaboration between healers a few times. Leona and a couple others asked about how others did it and I passed on some things. I didn't think she would take that as permission to create a guild in my name or something though!"

"Well, good to know you created a political faction by accident rather than in an effort to undermine my position." Nasuada commented dryly. "And as much as I'd like to continue, I need to begin coordinating the army's departure."

Arya tilted her head. "Are we pressed for time then?"

"No, as I said, we have a good idea where his army is located. I just prefer to be prepared."

-o-

I wouldn't admit it but I was a little nervous about meeting Leona after my discussion with Nasuada.

It wasn't everyday you found out someone started an organization in your name.

It was even rarer that that organization turned out to be one of the more influential factions in a rebellion but I suppose the old adage still rang true. Never piss off your healer.

Thankfully, from what I learned from talking to, Nasuada the Healer's Guild as it was now known was more interested in actually teaching people how to become qualified healers and sharing the knowledge I had given them – limited as it was – than gaining political power. There were a few that tried but Leona and a few others had quickly kicked them out, banning them from the resources and lessons I left behind and basically had them blacklisted. At first it didn't do much, but as the Guild grew in reputation it practically forced those who had been blacklisted to leave for other towns just to find patients willing to accept their treatment.

I honestly had no problem with that. If the guild was going to drive out greedy or underqualified hacks then that just meant standards would rise. What I had an issue with was that it was done in my name. The last thing I needed was some noble complaining to me about things I had no hand in.

So that was what led me to the Guild's temporary headquarters and waiting to speak to a receptionist.

Sure, I could announce myself and get to Leona that way. But I wanted to see how service was to the average person seeking help.

"Greetings, Lady Alexandria. Guild Master Leona and the others have been expecting you." The receptionist said the moment I made it to the front.

I grimaced. Guess it was stupid to not try disguising myself.

So much for that plan.

"Ah, hello there." I said helplessly, trying to pretend that I wasn't floundering. "Which 'others' are you talking about?"

"Oh! Besides the Guildmaster, Master Hendrickson and Miss Angela are also here." came the helpful reply.

I thanked her and was quickly led to what looked like a conference room in the back where I was promptly abandoned to the attention of the three people in the room.

Angela caught my eye first by virtue of being the one already facing the door.

She looked quite a bit different now that she was out of armor and her hair was down and not speckled with the blood of her enemies. Much more like the herbalist she passed herself off as rather than the many-hatted warrior I first met.

I gave her a polite smile and a wave before glancing over the only man in the room. Who, honestly, wasn't very interesting.

He was a bald, older man with a thick white beard and looked like he spent most of his life outdoors like many others I had seen but that was about it. I didn't recognize him from my classes or the battle and he was wearing rather plain clothes so he wasn't some kind of noble.

And finally there was Leona. She had actually changed quite a bit from the last time I saw her.

Instead of the simple green robes I first met her in, she had a rather striking red and black silk dress that seemed loosely inspired by my battle-costume. For a moment I worried she was using my name to enrich herself, but then I saw a rather hefty leather belt practically bursting with papers and writing supplies that clearly showed she was still in the habit of writing everything down and keeping it on hand if she needed it for later, something I noticed from when she would shadow me after Farthun Dûr. If she was still doing that, then she was obviously working seriously. Not just reaping the benefits of her new position.

By now, the other two noticed my entrance. Master Hendrickson was rather reserved but Leona perked up at the sight of me.

"Lady Alexandria, you're back!" I had a brief hallucination of a dog tail gleefully wagging behind her. "How was your trip to the elves? Was it productive? Also, I was hoping to get your opinion of how to rank healer initiates, currently we are putting them through your standardized courses but at some point we will need to judge between novice, journeyman, adept, master, and possibly a few more. I was thinking we could…"

I blinked at the sudden rush of words. It seemed the time creating a guild had burned away much of the young woman's shyness because this was a far cry from the person who practically panicked at being made my assistant.

"Okay, okay…just wait a second." I held up a hand to cut her off. "First off, I could have sworn I told you just to call me by my name."

"Y-yes, Lad- I mean Alexandria! It's just…you've helped us to begin building something great." Leona gushed. "We were just speaking with Master Hendrickson about expanding the Guild into Surda. Once we get the details ironed out, we'll be able to start spreading out into the surrounding villages and towns. Soon we might have a branch everywhere! All with the training to reliably deal with all sorts of ailments rather than just the few they've specialized in or they're just guessing at."

Ah, that explains why I didn't recognize Hendrickson. And good for Leona, it sounds like she was really passionate about this.

"I have to admit, this is one of the more interesting ventures I have seen." Angela commented. "That it isn't just a better way of teaching how to bash someone in the head or horde everything for a select group is rather refreshing."

Hendrickson huffed. "If it works."

"I guess that means you've been helping out, Angela?" I asked, ignoring the comment.

"Oh yes, it's been endlessly entertaining. Watching the crushed egos of those who fail the mastery test is a treat, and I've rather enjoyed speaking to the few that have more than one trick and a mess of superstition between their ears."

"Angela has also been a great help in making sure no one tries abusing the Guild for their own gain." Leona added. "She seems to just know when people are about to cause trouble."

"A small talent. Hardly worth talking about."

I smiled at that because I doubted it was as small a thing as Angela made it out to be.

"As much as I would like to let you all catch up, I do have a schedule of my own to keep." Hendrickson interrupted, though not rudely. "If we could return to the topic?"

Leona practically jumped up and started shifting through papers. "Of course! Right, as we were saying while magicians have a significant advantage in the range of options available to them as healers, the Guild has several courses and techniques that can be learned by anyone that significantly reduce the need of magic for a wide range of common ailments. One such thing is how to minimize the chance of infection through proper preparation like boiling bandages and using clean hands and tools. The reasoning for this is…"

Once again I smiled and took a step back as Leona dove into her pitch on the benefits of expanding the Healers Guild across Surda and including everyone who wanted to join, magician or not, into the fold. While I still needed to speak with her about whatever she was doing that was making her seem 'uncontrolled' to Nasuada, to understand the perceived problem if nothing else, that could wait until we were in private. From what I had seen it wasn't urgent and I wouldn't let politics get in the way of what was being built here.