Recently, the Tauri of the Ruadhi Brute Squad have noticed that their humble atelier has received
a visit from a lady of distinction. The Alikos Tribe have long been isolationist, and even in their settlement at Ruadh, they rarely see Tauri from the outside world. This Lady Akantha, who claims to speak with the authority of the High Council, is unlike anyone of their own kind that they've ever seen. Some whisper that she seems "too human" and her words are "fancy trickery" while others, especially the young bulls, are smitten with her sophistication, her accent, and her tasteful accessorization.At the council meeting in Ruadh, where she was invited to speak in order to make a case against the settlement's neutral position in the war, she was accused of openly recruiting Brute Squad Tauri into the High Council militia. She doesn't deny it. In her eyes, the Tauri must stand and fight as one. To strengthen her claims, she flaunts her Tauri bodyguards, two bulls who long ago left their home tribes to join the cosmopolitan society of Kaliphlin.
Lady Akantha speaks to both the bulls and the heifers, since in the Alikos Tribe, both genders learn the art of war. She holds in her hand a map of Ruadhi territory and beyond, showing that even with the stated position of neutrality, the High Council believes that sooner or later the atelier will be captured or worse. She weaves together both rousing patriotism and conciliatory sympathy in her speech. The older bulls and cows mutter that they've heard this like before, but the youngsters are riveted and listening...