She looked at the beads as she strung them. They were the colors of her life in the Tahira: the ever-present black and tan of the uniforms, and the red of the clay soil. Or blood…

She would not think of that now. There would be time, when they were safely through another contract. Perhaps she would contemplate death in the courtly splendor of Erienthe. Or not, not until it was truly necessary. That was what it meant to be Tahiran - to do what was necessary.

She ran her fingers along the differently-shaped beads. The black ones still carried the imperfections of the original stones. We did not come here to smooth the rough edges. Mahlia had said that, ten years ago, on Lahari, before she and half of the Tahira were killed there. Now Phoenix Division was going to Erienthe for the biggest contract they'd had since then. And she was afraid, for the first time in awhile. But she would go there, to the chaos and the riots, and see what she could do.

Some of us came here to have our rough edges sharpened. I did, and I’m still here. She tied the leather cords to finish the armlet. This is my choice.

The Tahira is an all-female mercenary company who live on a small group of island called Tahir, off the west coast of Cytherea. They were founded about 500 years before the time of my novel, by some disgruntled women who had found themselves without jobs when the Agyllan army "downsized." ("Coincidentally" letting a higher percentage of women go. Societal change sucks sometimes.) At first, the company was very Agyllan influenced (which is possibly how the Tahiran love of armlets began.) They recruited all over the continent and the nearby islands, and finally in Anand Omu. They entered into their first "extended contract" (the closest thing they have alliances) with the Omuli. Eventually, the high percentage of Omuli joining the company led to Anandish becoming its official language. Later, they had extended contracts with the Cytheran Conclave of Sorcery and, most recently, Oryne.

There are a thousand women in the Tahira total, and about 500 on active duty. They live on one of the islands in a semipermanent Encampment. A civilian (mixed-gender) community live on a nearby island and support the company. Every year, one of the three divisions of the company (Phoenix, Falcon, and Harpy) get recruits from all over.

This armlet also doubles as a choker. The black tourmaline beads have some rough areas - you can sorta tell from the picture. And the flavor text is actually novel-plot related. Woohoo!

Black tourmaline, red jasper, picture jasper, tigertail, tan suede.
Beaded part: 11 inches
Total: 23 inches