"Rath and Storm"

Edited by Peter Archer

(Magic: the Gathering. Antology.)

A Dark Room
The room was long and dark, lit only by a single, guttering candle.
The bookcases that lined the stone walls, each loaded with leather-
bound tomes, seemed to lean inward, menacing the slender figure who
knelt by an oen chest. !ild white hair straggled across his face, and
from time to time he brushed it imatiently away. "is eyes flickered
uneasily about the room, esecially toward the high #aulted window
co#ered by hea#y draes. Through a ga in the curtains there flashed
intermittently a harsh, ghastly light.
A muffled boom of thunder rumbled through the room, and a few
books tumbled from the shel#es. The white- haired man, surrounded
by ackets of aers, started and half-rose. Then, shrugging his
shoulders, he returned to his documents.
$o reoccuied was he that he took no notice when a small
wooden door at the far end of the chamber swung oen and a boy
entered. $light of figure with slender wrists, erhas ten or ele#en
years old, he was clad in the brown robes of a student. $oftly he
ad#anced until he was directly behind the man.
%Master ... &%
%!huff'% The older man started again, scattering aers and
nearly usetting the candle. %(on)t do that, boy' Are you insane& *ou
could be killed, sneaking about like that'%
"e aused in his tirade to consider the boy more closely. %!hat
are you still doing here, anyway& *ou should be in bed.%
The boy shook his head, tears starting in his eyes.
%(on)t be angry with me, Master. + was frightened by the storm,
and + saw a light in here. ,ne of the other masters was telling us of a
fire started by lightning that burned down a great library, and + was
worried. + couldn)t bear for all this to be lost....% "is #oice trailed off as
he hung his head, sobbing oenly.
%-onsense' The storm& .ust thunder and lightning. -othing that
will hurt anyone.% The master)s #oice softened. %!hat)s your name&%
%+lcaster, sir.%
%!ell, +lcaster, take it from me that this library will still e/ist long
after you and + are gone. +t can outlast any storm.%
%0ut how, Master&% The boy ga1ed disconsolately about the room,
most of it sunk in shadow. %0ooks don)t last fore#er.%
The master)s hand lightly slaed his uil.
%0ooks'% he said contemtuously. %0ooks are not the soul of the
library.%
%0ut Master, it)s written elsewhere that a library without books is
like a castle without walls, a monastery without monks, a-%
%The true library,% interruted the old man, taing his forehead,
%is u here.%
%!hat do you mean, Master&%
%+ mean, foolish boy, that what matters are the memories in our
heads, not smudges of ink on aer.%
+lcaster wrinkled his brow. %+ think + understand, Master. 0ut then
why reser#e books at all& And why are you bothering with these&% "is
outstretched hands indicated the aers lying about them.
The older man grunted and bent again to his task. %0ecause
although the library is the sum of memories, we need reminding
occasionally. 0ut these aers are erishable. -e#er forget that, lad.
-ow, as long as you)re here, hel me sort these. This art of the
archi#es hasn)t been touched in decades, and + want to clean it u.%
The two figures bent o#er the documents, their shadows
stretching o#er the floor to meld with the deeer darkness beneath the
library walls. To +lcaster it seemed as if the flashes of light were
growing more fre2uent, and the dee-throated rumbles were louder
than before.
%!hat)s this&%
The white-haired man glanced o#er the boy)s shoulder. %A flying
shi. $ee, down there)s her name.%
%!eatherlight. +t)s a retty name.%
%A fine name for a fine shi. 0ut it)s 2uite well- known. (idn)t you
read about her in 3arly (ominarian 4egends&%
The boy hung his head, and e#en in the dim light the master
could see he was blushing.
%5or shame' The story of !eatherlight is one of the great eic
stories of the age.%
%!ell, + ne#er heard it, anyway,% obser#ed the boy. %And + ne#er
heard of a sailing shi that could fly. 5lying is for ornithoters.%
%Ah, well then, naturally you know all about it.% The old man
returned grumily to his aers.
+lcaster saw he)d gone too far. %+ beg your ardon,
Master. + didn)t mean to disbelie#e you. !eatherlight. -o, + ne#er
heard of her. !ho was her catain&%
%Gerrard 6aashen. Though how he came to be catain ...% The
old man)s #oice trailed off and he glanced u at the gloom that
surrounded them.
%Go on, Master. !hat haened to him&%
The master sighed and sread his hands in resignation.
%7ery well. This was many years ago, but still thousands of years
after the 0rothers) !ar-you ha#e heard of that, + suose& +n Argi#e
8eckoning, the date of the 8ath 6ycle would be 9:;<, but the story
actually begins some twenty-si/ years re#ious to that.
%Gerrard was an orhan, li#ing in .amuraa. "e)d been gi#en into
the care of a warclan by his arents before their death, and raised by
the $idar =ondo along with his own son 7uel.%
%$idar =ondo-who)s that&%
%The leader of the warclan.%
%!hy did Gerrard)s arents abandon him&%
%They did not abandon him. They ga#e him o#er to the warclan
for his own safety.%
%!hy& !ho was threatening him&%
%Ah, well. As Gerrard grew older, he heard stories of a mysterious
figure called the 4ord of the !astes. $ome members of the warclan
e#en claimed to ha#e seen this strange figure. They said he was tall,
with burning eyes, surrounded by a halo of flame that destroyed
e#erything it touched.%
+lcaster nodded. %*es, Master, + think +)#e e#en heard of those
stories. $o that)s who was threatening Gerrard)s life&%
%-o, of course not. Those stories were so much suerstitious
nonsense. "alo of flame indeed'% The old man)s eyes grew dim, as if
he were looking dee inside himself, drawing forth memories that had
not been recalled in a #ery, #ery long time. %-o, the real enemy was
someone much worse.%
%!ho could be worse than someone who burns e#erything he
touches& ,r ... someone named the 4ord of the !astes&%
The old man scowled. %+)ll tell you, if you)ll be 2uiet and listen. 5or
the moment, it suffices to say that Gerrard grew u knowing his
arents were dead, murdered by some mysterious force whose true
name he did not know.
%Gerrard was brought to the clan by a sil#er golem named =arn, a
be2uest from his arents. The golem was a mar#elous machine that
you might almost mistake for a li#ing being. 0ut e#en more mar#elous,
the golem carried within it a collection of magical artifacts known as
the 4egacy.
The old man turned o#er a aer. %+ had a list here, somewhere,%
he murmured. %A list of the items that were art of the 4egacy. !ell,
no matter. "ere, boy. $ort through that ile and searate all the
documents headed in red. *ou can do that while + talk.
%The 4egacy had also been be2ueathed to Gerrard by his arents.
The origins of this collection were unknown to Gerrard or, indeed, to
=arn himself. -onetheless, the golem knew the collection was of
sureme imortance and that both Gerrard and the 4egacy must be
closely guarded until some far-off day of destiny.
%Gerrard and 7uel, the sidar)s son, were close as blood brothers.
They layed together, learned together, and together they samled all
the leasures and ains of growing boys. 0ut as they neared
manhood, 7uel grew >ealous of Gerrard, an en#y egged on by a
mysterious fellow named $tarke.%
%Another mystery,% said the boy, drawn by the story. !ho was
this $tarke&%
%-one knew at the time. "e aeared from out of the desert and
sought refuge with the warclan. At first he soke softly and gently. 0ut
some noticed that he sent much of his time watching-watching the
two boys. $ome thought as time went on that $tarke seemed to look
with a secial intensity at 7uel, as if he had some great future lanned
for the young man. And always he whisered in 7uel)s ear, though
what the young man heard from $tarke he ket hidden from all,
including both his father and Gerrard.%
%,thers might ha#e resisted $tarke)s blandishments, but 7uel was
>ealous, 2uick to anger, sensiti#e to slights. $tarke ersuaded the
foolish 7uel-who was also arrogant as only a young man can be-that
Gerrard intended to steal his birthright.
%0ut Gerrard was innocent,% interruted +lcaster.
The old man, in the full flow of his narrati#e, swung round and
glared at the student, who blushed and retended to study carefully an
illustration on the manuscrit before him.
%*es,% conceded the librarian, %Gerrard was innocent of the
intentions $tarke attributed to him. 0ut 7uel belie#ed the whiserings
of the mysterious man, and in all Gerrard)s actions he saw only lots
against his rightful lace in the clan.%
The master aused, and +lcaster, after a moment, said, %?erhas
$tarke was working for the 4ord of the !astes. ,r rather,% he added
hastily, %for the force that had killed Gerrard)s arents.%
The librarian nodded grudgingly. %That)s an interesting guess.
!hate#er the case, $tarke succeeded in turning 7uel against Gerrard
and against his own father. "is lot culminated during 7uel)s rite of
assage.%
+lcaster nodded. %+)#e heard of those. They)re used in some
societies to show assage to adulthood. !as that what this one was
for&
%*es, it was a ritual to which e#ery sidar)s son was sub>ect. To
succeed his father in the leadershi of the clan, 7uel had to ass this
test. $tarke knew this and maniulated matters so that 7uel)s life was
threatened during the ritual. $tarke also knew that Gerrard could not
bear to see his friend in danger and would rescue him.%
The old man sighed. %Gerrard erformed >ust as $tarke had
e/ected, and 7uel was sa#ed from death. 0ut since he had disruted
the ritual, 7uel angrily accused his stebrother of destroying his
chance to become warlord. 7uel brooded on the insult until finally, at
$tarke)s urging he decided to steal the most recious thing Gerrard
ossessed-the 4egacy.
%=arn became aware of this lot, though too late to re#ent it.
,ne night, when the clan slet, 7uel rose from his bed, gathered the
ieces of the 4egacy together, and carried them away with him.%
+lcaster looked u11led. %0ut how could he steal them so easily&%
he asked. %!asn)t =arn guarding them&%
%"e should ha#e been. 0ut the golem was decei#ed by 7uel, like
both Gerrard and the sidar.
%=arn was aware of the theft almost immediately, and ga#e chase
to the treacherous young man. "is >ourney was long, for the golem
could not tra#el nearly as fast as the sidar)s son, and he lost the trail
many times, but at last he traced 7uel to a remote #illage and there
demanded the return of the 4egacy.%
%And did 7uel fight& + wouldn)t ha#e thought he)d ha#e had much
chance against a golem.% +lcaster asked, his tone sketical.
%-o, in ordinary circumstances =arn could robably ha#e defeated
7uel easily. 0ut the young man tricked the sil#er golem. (uring their
fight, =arn was resonsible for the death of an innocent bystander.
"orrified, he stoed the fight, swearing that he)d battle no more lest
others be hurt. And in that moment of weakness, 7uel used a iece of
the 4egacy called the Touchstone to deacti#ate the golem.%
+lcaster wrinkled his brow. %@sed it& (id he use the magical ower
within it to destroy the golem&%
%-o. "e brought it close to =arn, where its ower turned off the
machine that was the golem. 0ut >ust before his consciousness faded,
=arn reached out and clutched the Touchstone, ulling it away from
7uel. All the latter)s efforts were insufficient to ry it loose again, and
7uel was forced to flee the #illage, whose inhabitants had turned
against him. +n fact, the #illagers belie#ed =arn had liberated them
from 7uel, and as a reward they laced the immobile statue of the
golem in the #illage s2uare, where it remained for years.%
+lcaster laughed delightedly, and the une/ected sound seemed to
momentarily ush back the gathering shadows in the room.
%A statue. That)s wonderful. 0ut what haened to the 4egacy&%
%7uel took it with him and scattered it, iece by iece, throughout
the lands in which he tra#eled. Gerrard was left with only a single item
of the 4egacy, a necklace with an hourglass endant. $ee, here)s a
sketch of it.%
%+t)s beautiful.%
%*es, but that was all Gerrard retained of his birthright.
Meanwhile, 7uel, ha#ing scattered the 4egacy far and wide, launched a
war against his father.%
There was another rumble of thunder. 8ain rattled against the
windows. The librarian mo#ed to one wall and checked the fastenings
on the anes before resuming his story.
%Gerrard left the warclan. "e did not know what had haened to
=arn, his guardian from boyhood. ?erhas he felt abandoned, ha#ing
lost both =arn and 7uel. +n any e#ent, he took u magical training
under the tutelage of a maro-sorcerer named Multani. There in the
ca#es where Multani li#ed, Gerrard met Mirri, a cat warrior, and
8ofellos a 4lanowar elf. 5or many years they were his closest friends.%
%+ don)t understand,% interruted +lcaster. %!hy did 7uel still hate
Gerrard so much&%
The librarian steeled his fingers. %"e)d become obsessed-some
might say he was mad. "e was determined to blot out Gerrard and all
who were near to him.% %7uel, in his en#ious rage, ursued Gerrard.
Multani learned of the threat in time and sent Gerrard, Mirri, and
8ofellos away from the ca#e. !hen they returned some time later,
they found the ca#e in ruins and Multani gone.%
%(ead&% +lcaster)s eyes were wide.
The master shook his head. %-one know for sure. 6ertainly the
three comanions did not know. 0ut worse was to come. !hen they
returned to the warclan)s encamment, the site of Gerrard)s youth,
they again found a scene of ruin and slaughter. The warlord, Gerrard)s
adoti#e father, was dead, and Gerrard)s last tie to his ast was
broken.
Gerrard knew this must be the work of 7uel. The three
comanions left the ca#e and tried to make the best li#es for
themsel#es that they could, tra#eling the land as hired fighters. At last
during their tra#els Gerrard, Mirri, and 8ofellos met $isay, a .amuraan
nati#e and catain of !eatherlight.
%$isay' 0ut + thought you said Gerrard was the catain-%
A frown from the old man silenced the boy)s eager outburst.
%+)m sorry, Master.% The boy subsided and huddled close to the
old man)s feet, his eager face turned uward.
%$isay was able to ersuade Gerrard to >oin her. +n oint of fact,
she won a bet against himA his ayment was to >oin her crew.%
%!hat was the wager&%
The scholar snorted contemtuously. %+t was thoroughly foolish.
Aarently the three comanions were throwing kni#es in a low ta#ern
of some sort. $isay watched them for a time, then challenged Gerrard
to a contest of skill. "e acceted confidently and re>oiced when his
knife struck the #ery center of the target. 0ut $isay, whose warrior
skills had been honed by long years of training, slit the haft of his
knife with her own cast. Gerrard was humiliated before his friends, and
sullenly he agreed to fulfill his art of the bet and enlist with her.
%,nce he and the others were aboard, she re#ealed to him that
she)d been searching for the ieces of the 4egacy e#er since 7uel
scattered them. $he asked for Gerrard)s hel, and he reluctantly
agreed to gi#e it.%
+lcaster)s brow was wrinkled. %+ must be missing a iece of this
u11le,% he said. %!hy was $isay searching for the 4egacy& !hat did it
ha#e to do with her&%
The librarian nodded. %!ell you should ask that. +n fact, $isay
herself had a mysterious birthright. 4ike Gerrard she was an orhanA
her arents too had died under strange circumstances. 0efore they
died, they had told her stories of the 4ord of the !astes.%
%0ut you said earlier that was >ust a myth-%
%+ know + did. 0e silent, boy'%
,nce more +lcaster dutifully subsided, but his lower li stuck out
defiantly.
%+t)s true that the 4ord of the !astes is mythological,% conceded
the librarian. %"ad they li#ed longer, + think $isay)s arents might
ha#e told her that. 0ut they died too soon, and $isay did not know the
entire truth. +n any case, her arents warned her that the only force
that had the ower to defeat the )4ord of the !astes) was the 4egacy.
They assed to her their most recious ossession- !eatherlight-and
charged her to go forth and seek out the scattered ieces of the
4egacy. $adly, during one of her many >ourneys on the shi, her
arents died. 0ut meanwhile $isay had accumulated many of the bits
of the 4egacy and stowed them on board the shi.
%This, at any rate, was as much of her history as $isay told to
Gerrard and his comanions. Gerrard sensed there was more, but she
was not yet willing to re#eal it to him.
%!eatherlight)s crew included a good many strange characters
whom $isay had icked u in the course of her ad#entures. Tahngarth,
a Talruum minotaur, was first mateA the na#igator was "anna, an
Argi#ian artificer. Then there was ,rim, a $amite healer, 6ro#a/, a
nobleman, and $2uee, the goblin cabin boy. ,f course there were
many more, but these are the figures who lay articular roles in our
story. Gerrard, 8ofellos, and Mirri >oined this band.
%They searched for some time before an urgent message drew
them back to 6ro#a/)s home in @rborg. +t seemed his estate was
under attack by strange creatures from a lane called 8ath.%
%8ath'% The boy bounced e/citedly. %Master, that)s the #ery word
written at the to of this aer. The 8ath 6ycle)'%
%,f course it)s the 8ath 6ycle' +sn)t that what + >ust told you&%
%-o, Master. *ou said-%
%All right, all right' -e#er mind that.% The old man rose and
stumed about the room, his feet beating out an indignant rhythm on
the stone floor. .ust be 2uiet and listen.
%!eatherlight arri#ed >ust in time to turn back an attack by these
creatures-Gallowbraid and Morinfen their names were. 0ut during the
fight, Gallowbraid slew 8ofellos the elf. As 8ofellos lay dying in
Gerrard)s arms, 6ro#a/ drew on the ower of a cursed artifact that had
belonged to his family for generations, and summoned $elenia, a
guardian angel in the ser#ice of 6ro#a/)s family. !ith her hel,
!eatherlight)s crew beat back the attack. 0ut when the battle was
o#er, $isay and Gerrard 2uarreled. Gerrard wanted to abandon the
search for the 4egacy, a 2uest he blamed for the death of his friend
8ofellos. And nothing $isay said to him could change his mind. Taking
the hourglass endant and Mirri with him, Gerrard left !eather) light.%
%4eft'% the boy almost shouted. %0ut you told me he became
catain.%
%$o + did. And so he did. The story doesn)t end here. -ow are you
finished sorting that stack of aers& Good.% The old man tied the
bundle with a string and thrust it into a cabinet. %-ow do the same for
these two stacks.%
The boy began gathering scattered ackets, stacking them neatly
by the old man)s feet, and then aging through them. The master,
glancing around the room as if to assure himself they were still alone,
went on with his tale.
%@ndoubtedly there was much bitterness on both sides in the
2uarrel. To $isay, it aeared that Gerrard was simly abandoning his
destiny in fa#or of his own selfish interests. To Gerrard, it seemed
$isay ut some abstract commitment to the 4egacy o#er the li#es of
those nearest and dearest to her.
%,ther crew members were affected by the 2uarrel as well. ,#er
the years he)d ser#ed on !eatherlight Gerrard had grown close to
"anna, the na#igator who robably knew more than anyone about the
shi. "er feelings were strong indeed, but she hesitated to seak them
aloud to Gerrard. !hen he left, she felt hurt and betrayed.
%Tahngarth, on the other hand, seemed almost leased to see
Gerrard lea#e, as if the young man was confirming some estimate the
minotaur had formed of his character. At any rate, Gerrard and Mirri
left, and the shi sailed on.
%!hile $isay and the rest of !eatherlight crew were continuing
their >ourney in search of the 4egacy, Gerrard tra#eled to 0enalia,
where he >oined the 0enalish infantry and became a master at arms.
Mirri returned to 4lanowar to inform 8ofellos)s kin of the elf)s death.
And so the two friends arted.
%Meanwhile, $isay had disco#ered a key art of the 4egacy, an
artifact called the Thran Tome. 5rom this magical book she learned
two things of tremendous imortance.
%5irst, the Tome told her that !eatherlight, itself a art of the
4egacy, could actually mo#e between different lanes of e/istence.
This ability to laneshift was made ossible by the crystal that
owered the shi)s engines.
%The Tome also told $isay of a lane called 8ath, the #ery lace
from which Gallowbraid and Morinfen had come to attack 6ro#a/)s
estate. Though the Tome)s entries were not entirely clear, $isay
concluded from them that 8ath had some great imortance for the
future of (ominaria.
%$isay also reco#ered =arn from the #illage where 7uel had
hidden him, and the sil#er golem became a #alued art of
!eatherlight)s cargo of artifacts. Along with =arn, of course, she also
found the Touchstone, still clutched irretrie#ably in the golem)s gras.
%And then $isay stumbled onto a iece of terrifying information.
7uel, the sidar)s son, Gerrard)s deadliest enemy, had left the lane of
(ominaria for 8ath. +n that dark lace, he had become the ruler and
had changed his name to 7olrath. "e brooded there in his great
fortress, the $tronghold, lanning Gerrard)s destruction.
%All this $isay learned from a nati#e of 8ath, $tarke-% %!ait a
moment,% the boy interruted. %!asn)t $tarke the same one-%
%That)s right. $tarke, the same man who had corruted 7uel.%
%0ut why would $tarke hel $isay&% %0ecause, although he)d
heled 7olrath to become the ruler of 8ath, he was horrified when he
reali1ed for whom 8ath had been constructed and who its rulers truly
ser#ed.%
%!ho&% The boy)s #oice sank to a whiser, as if he feared the
answer.
%?hyre/ia.% The old man)s #oice trembled, and as if in answer the
light flashed outside and the walls of the library shi#ered. The old man
cleared his throat and continued his story.
%$tarke had undergone many changes o#er the years. -ow he
was trying to lay both sides against one another. "e)d tried to corrut
6ro#a/, laying on the lo#e the young nobleman felt for the angel
$elenia. 6ro#a/-who had returned to his family estate after the death
of 8ofellos- freed $elenia, smashing the artifact that summoned her.
"e did this out of his great lo#e for her, but in doing so he doomed
both her and himself. $oon after she was freed, the angel was
snatched away from 6ro#a/ through a kind of ortal. The wily $tarke
ersuaded 6ro#a/ to re>oin !eatherlight, hoing to shae $isay)s shi
into a weaon with which he might oose 7olrath)s ower.
%"e had a more ersonal reason for his hatred of 7olrath: the
ruler of 8ath had taken $tarke)s daughter Takara risoner and held her
as insurance against her father)s good beha#ior.%
%"mf'% the boy snorted. %!ould ha#e ser#ed him right if 7olrath
had got wind of his lan.%
%$tarke)s lot was e#en more comlicated than that. "e knew that
7olrath)s great enemy was Gerrard. "e needed a way to lure Gerrard
to 8ath where the young master-at-arms could confront and destroy
7olrath. $o he erformed one last bit of treachery.%
%!hat was that&% The boy, his ackets forgotten, sat oen-
mouthed on the floor.
%$tarke betrayed $isay to 7olrath. The e#il ruler kidnaed her
and stole the bits of the 4egacy she)d so ainstakingly collected. Then
$tarke re#ealed to the crew of !eatherlight who had kidnaed $isay
and begged them to find Gerrard, to force him to accomany them as
they dearted on their greatest mission: to tra#el to 8ath and rescue
$isay'%


I
!3AT"384+G"T


Gerrard's Tale
Michael Ryan

The morning the minotaur arri#ed, Gerrard entered the training
yard in time to see Torsten, the hea#ier boy, bat .a#ero)s blade aside
and dri#e the smaller boy down to the sand on the other end of the
yard. .a#ero)s sword flew from his hands, landing well out of his reach,
and Torsten mo#ed o#er him, between him and his weaon. 0oth
young men were breathing hard under the bla1ing sun. Torsten)s
blonde hair was dark with sweat and grime, and .a#ero)s hands were
sotted with sword oil and blisters. Gerrard was silently roud of both
of them for racticing while the others slacked off. +t was still hours
before e/ercises, yet here they were, de#oted to the art of war. "e
remembered that feeling 2uite well.
%Good mo#e,% he called as he took his hea#y set of keys from the
belt below his #est and mo#ed to the war chests along the wall, %but
you want-%
%Master'% .a#ero cried out in terror.
Torsten kicked .a#ero once in the head, >ust abo#e his ear-the
sound of his boot heel on the thinner boy)s skull made a hollow thock'
that carried all the way across the oen yard-before slashing down
with his sword at his foe)s throat. .a#ero rolled, and the blade cut
sand, knicking his ear and drawing blood. Torsten steed back,
regaining his balance and bringing his sword back to attack osition as
.a#ero struggled to get to his feet. 0lood bubbled from his wounded
ear.
%+t)s too late. "e can)t sa#e you,% Torsten said, raising his sword
again. "e glanced across the training yard toward Gerrard. %-o one
can sa#e-%
The keys caught Torsten in the throat like a claw, tearing oen
the soft sot of flesh beneath his Adam)s ale. "e staggered
backward, one hand to his bleeding wound.
%3asy, Torsten,% Gerrard called. 5rom nowhere he had roduced a
longbow, and an arrow was already nocked on string and aimed at
Torsten. The arrow)s oint glittered in the sunlight flooding the training
yard. %+t)s si/ stes back or si/ feet under, whiche#er you refer.%
Torsten looked o#er at .a#ero, then back at the arrow ointed at
him.
%(on)t make me kill you, too, Master Gerrard,% he rased. "e took
his hand away from his throat and looked at the blood on his
fingertis. %This is a ri#ate fight between .a#ero and me.%
%+t)s ending ublicly,% Gerrard said, %with a corse, if need be. +
could kill you twice before you could e#en get to me, Torsten. *ou)re a
good student, but education isn)t the same thing as e/erience. *ou
should)#e been 2uick enough to catch those keys. -ow take si/ stes
back.%
5or a moment, Torsten hesitated, sweat beading on his forehead.
Then he raised his blade and, with a defiant shout, turned on .a#ero.
Gerrard droed his aim and let the arrow fly. +t took Torsten >ust
behind the left kneeca as his leg bent, dri#ing through the muscle
and carrying the arrowhead and shaft out the other side until the
fletching caught in the wound. Torsten howled, falling forwardA the
shaft snaed behind his legs as he went down. "e droed his sword,
and as the blade knifed into the sand, .a#ero grabbed its hilt. 8aising
it triumhantly as he stood o#er the hea#ier boy, he looked u in time
to see Gerrard nock another arrow.
%+t)ll be the right knee for you,% Gerrard said. %A shameful lim
and no ser#ice in the 0enalish army. +)ll change your entire future with
one easy shot if you don)t ut that sword down, .a#ero.%
%"e was talking to 4ord =astan,% .a#ero rotested, %the assassin
recruiter. The albino. + saw them together at the bridges this
morning.%
5rom the ground, where he was already working the arrow out his
leg, Torsten snarled, %*ou)re a corse.%
%+ don)t care if he is 4ord =astan.% Gerrard began to mo#e
forward, his arrow still at the ready. "is dark beard itched from the
sweat that ran down his face. %+ could be 4ord =astan, and it wouldn)t
change this mess you)re in. -ow ut down the sword.%
.a#ero relented, tossing the sword into the sand and steing
back afterward. Gerrard let his breath out slowly. %Great. -ow we)re all
in better shae. +)m armed and you)re not.%
"e ut his arrow back in his 2ui#er then icked u both swords.
%(id =astan try to recruit you, Torsten&%
Torsten said nothing, but Gerrard held back and let the silence
drag on until it became as hot as the sun abo#e. 5inally, .a#ero said
ner#ously, %+)#e heard that some of the others were aroached, too,
not >ust Torsten.%
%4ord =astan will sew your eyes oen before he kills you,% Torsten
snaed at him, then looked at Gerrard. %+ must see a healer, Master.%
%*ou)#e got it,% Gerrard said. "e held u Torsten)s blade. %*our
sword stays, of course. *ou)re out-you tried to kill .a#ero, you
threatened me, and, if + were a gambling man, +)d bet you took gold
from the assassins. That)s not what + trained you for, Torsten. That)s
not what the 0enalish military is about. *ou)#e shamed the nation, and
you)#e disaointed me.%
Torsten managed to get his weak leg under him, throwing to the
sand the arrow that had struck him. "e grimaced as he ut weight on
the leg and nearly fell. !hen he found his balance again, he was
forced to lean hea#ily to his right, for the wounded leg refused to carry
him. The blood from his throat wound was already drying to a dark red
slotch like a birthmark. "e glared in fury at Gerrard. %Then there)s
more disaointment in your future. *ou)re not the only instructor in
0enalia who can teach a man to fight, you know.%
Gerrard shrugged. %+)m not the only one who can teach you to
dance, either. 0ut no one will now.% "e gestured at Torsten)s leg.
%*ou)re done being a soldier, if you e#er were one.%
5or a moment, Gerrard thought the young man might come at
him. Torsten)s lis locked, his hands clenched into fists, and his
eyebrows met in a scowl. Then he swallowed, took a dee breath, and
said, %0ut +)m not done being a killer.%
"e limed to the training yard)s entrance, ne#er looking back.
Gerrard watched him go. !hen he had disaeared into the dark
tunnel, Gerrard turned to .a#ero. The young man seemed to be ha#ing
a difficult time catching his breath, but the anic was fading fast from
his face. %Thank the gods you arri#ed when you did,% he half-
whisered. %+ ha#e always heard you are one of the best, Master, but +
ne#er thought + would so deserately need you to be.%
%0eing the best usually means ro#ing it.% Gerrard walked to his
keys, icked them u, and turned back to the young man. %5or
Torsten)s sake, + hoe you)re right about all this-and it looks like you
are. 0ut for the 0enalish army)s sake, + hoe you)re wrong. !e ha#e
some things to talk about.%
.a#ero nodded. %A few things, Master Gerrard.%
The two of them retired to Gerrard)s chambers below the training
yard. The three dusty rooms lay in shadows, cluttered with traings
and trinkets from days Gerrard had >ust begun to remember fondly. "e
watched .a#ero mo#e around the main chamber, handling #arious
artifacts and weaons and asking 2uestions. The young man had
aarently forgotten the heat of the battle desite the blood that
trickled from his ear to stain his gold earring. Gerrard let him e/loreA
students ne#er came down here, and .a#ero)s curiosity ket him
distracted while Gerrard considered the imlications of what had >ust
occurred in the yard.
%And what)s this&% the young man asked, gesturing to a skin
hanging on the wall abo#e a row of shel#es.
%The hide of a scarmithal,% Gerrard answered absently as he sat
down behind his disorgani1ed desk. "e wondered if Torsten had gone
directly to 4ord =astan after the fight. %+ was tra#eling with some
friends along the coast of (enawa when we ran into them. +f you wear
the skin, it changes your shae into one so you can ass among the
other scarmithals. =ind of a scarmithal sy)s cloak.%
.a#ero nodded, aused as if he might ask something else, then
gestured at the endant around Gerrard)s neck. %+)#e seen you with
that endant before. !hat is it&%
Gerrard held it u and across the desk for him to see. The
endant was shaed like a small hourglass, hung so that it could be
u-ended to run its sands while remaining on the chain. As .a#ero
leaned closer to e/amine it, Gerrard said, %The last treasure of a life +
abandoned.%
.a#ero was about to seak again, but Gerrard gestured for him to
be silent. This was old soil, hea#ily tilled- memories of !eatherlight,
6atain $isay, and the 4egacy were as untouchable as the gods
themsel#es, and nearly as unforgi#ing. They were art of a time
Gerrard couldn)t change and hadn)t understood at the time anyway.
8egretting it only made him reli#e it. 0esides, there were far more
imortant things to discuss than Gerrard)s ast life as a sailor of the
skies.
%$o 4ord =astan is trying to recruit my soldiers as his
bloodletters,% he said matter-of-factly. %-e#er mind that such beha#ior
is treason in 0enalia. $urely he knows who he)s taunting by e#en
trying. +)m not e/actly known for my dilomatic skills. 3#ery master-
at-arms, ranking officer, and infantry drudge would raise swords o#er
this if word got out. 0ut =astan is >eoardi1ing my career with this
arrogance. +)m obliged to do something about it or risk my entire life in
0enalia. +)ll be damned if +)ll learn about a cure after the lague.%
.a#ero touched his wounded ear and said, %+ guess + should ha#e
been thinking the same way, Master. 6onfronting Torsten was a
mistake. And now he has reason to hate me.%
%*ou should ha#e come to me with this,% Gerrard agreed, %or
taken it o#er my head to 6ommander Alaric. +f + can trust him, you
can. 0ut he)ll still sit oison when + tell him that the assassins are
headhunting in the army)s ranks.%
%*es, sir. + know he will.%
%*ou know he)s going to want the names of the others, e#eryone
who 4ord =astan tried to recruit. There)ll be an in#estigation. The army
has no tolerance for this sort of betrayal. That)s why + got into it in the
first lace. 0ut at least the army will rotect you from Torsten and the
others, so you won)t ha#e to slee with a dagger under your illow.%
Gerrard aused, then asked, %$o who else besides Torsten&%
"e watched .a#ero)s eyes an ner#ously across the room, ausing
on each indi#idual heirloom, and he knew then that the young man
had yet another secret, oorly concealed. %+f + were a gambling man,
+)d bet you)#e been aroached,% he said softly.
.a#ero swallowed, clearing his throat and keeing his eyes
a#erted, unable or unwilling to meet Gerrard)s steady ga1e. %*es,
Master Gerrard. 0ut not by 4ord =astan.%
%Then who&%
%There)s this mercenary band of siege breakers at the docks,%
.a#ero answered. %They)re >ust assing through 0enalia. + met with
their recruiter yesterday, and he told me about their grou-where
they)#e been, what they)#e been doing. *ou know, the ad#entures that
haen to mercenaries.%
%Ad#enture)s >ust another way of saying your day started out
badly,% Gerrard said.
%-o, no. *ou don)t understand.% .a#ero turned abrutly from
Gerrard)s desk, icking u an elaborate rod from the shelf beneath the
hide. Gerrard watched while .a#ero held it u as if his master had
ne#er seen it before. %,ur first day of training, you showed this to us.
)A weaon is only as good as the hand that wields it,) you said. And
then you fired it. Tt was ama1ing, all that magic coming from this little
artifact. !e were all imressed, by both the rod and the wielder.
There)s a story behind this, yes& $ome insane risk you took to find it,
some ama1ing battle you fought to earn it. And here it is, the treasure
that eitomi1es that whole ad#enture.%
Gerrard grinned. %+t)s called the -ull 8od, .a#ero. *ou know why&
0ecause it doesn)t do anything. +t)s all flash. + use it for show. 0ad
e/amle.%
%Then your endant.%
Gerrard)s grin faded, and he touched the hourglass absently. "e
sighed, scratching his thin beard. %*ou)re knight material. + know you
know that. 0ut you ha#e to see your training through. *ou want
ad#enture& ?ut 0enalish armor on, and it)ll come at you tooth and
claw.%
.a#ero shook his head. %$o + can fill out battle reorts and ser#e
as an )honor) guard for e#ery 0enalish noble with a fat gut but a fatter
urse& $entry duty and arades >ust don)t suit me, Master Gerrard.
The army is restricti#e to the oint of strangulation. +t)s not ser#ice,
it)s ser#itude. There)s got to be something more with the siege
breakers.%
%*ou)d be making a mistake,% Gerrard said. %The army is as good
as it gets, and + should know. +)#e been out there. + was first mate on
a shi for years. + tra#eled all o#er the world. *ou know what it got
me& (ead friends. 0ad dreams. + fought as hard as + could, .a#ero,
and + still ended u right here, in )ser#itude) to 0enalia. +)m not saying
you)ll be back, but + am saying you)ll wake u somewhere down the
road with blood all o#er your hands. And you robably won)t know
whose it is, e#en if it)s your own.%
$tanding rigid, .a#ero smoothed his dusty tunic and said formally,
%+)d like to be dismissed, Master.% "e aused and added, %+)m sorry.%
Gerrard rose from behind his desk. This is it, then, he thought.
Two in one day. %All right. +)ll dismiss you if that)s what you really want
... but not without names. +)ll rotect the army)s honor by keeing you
in if + ha#e to, but the door)s oen and your assword out is the
names of the soldiers 4ord =astan aroached.%
.a#ero took a dee breath and began to seak, >ust as Gerrard
knew he would.
B B B B B
Gerrard went directly to 6ommander Alaric)s 2uarters after .a#ero
left the training yard, and he made his reort about 4ord =astan.
Alaric)s chambers, e#en the dark and dusty entranceway where
Gerrard waited to get his commander)s attention, were immaculate
comared to Gerrard)s. Alaric was ure soldier: efficient, strict,
orderly. "e had been in the 0enalish military for more than twenty
years and had been one of the first officers to test Gerrard when he
arri#ed in 0enalia after lea#ing !eatherlight. Gerrard had heard him
referred to by some of the knights as %the first dog of war,% and it
suited Alaric)s character. "e carried himself more like a mountain man
than a soldier, mo#ing through the streets of 0enalia ?ort as if he were
stalking rey. "e was curt, oinionated, and firm, and when he talked,
his thick steel-gray eyebrows drew together so tightly that his eyes
#anished beneath them. Gerrard watched those eyebrows furrow as he
finished his e/lanation of the morning)s e#ents and the list of the
soldiers 4ord =astan had aroached, according to .a#ero.
%This could well be running ramant throughout the military,%
Alaric grunted, rubbing his mustache. "e assed Gerrard a bottle of
wine he had taken from the cabinet and oened >ust before Gerrard)s
arri#al, but Gerrard shook his head and ut it down on the bare table
between them ne/t to his emty glass. %+t could bring us down from
within. +t makes us #ulnerable to defectors, sies, all sorts of other
elements. !ho else knows about this&%
%.ust you and +,% Gerrard said. %At least + hoe so. !hat do you
want to do, 6ommander& !e could bring 4ord =astan in, ut some
ressure on him to flush out his contacts. The students who ha#e been
aroached are all the sharest swords. 4ord =astan is getting access
to the training yards or the testing reorts. 3ither way, we ha#e a
traitor.%
%=astan is an underground assassin. !e)d ne#er find him without
being led directly to him. 0esides, the traitor could easily ha#e been
Torsten or one of the other students.%
Gerrard could tell the commander didn)t belie#e his own words. +t
would drag some knight out of secret back- alley meetings and would
sill blood money from hidden coffers. ,nly someone in authority
could ass reorts to the assassins.
%!atch your students,% the commander said. %$ee if you can get a
sense for what they)#e been offered. 6ome see me immediately if you
learn anything new.%
%And =astan&%
%+)ll ersonally look into finding 4ord =astan,% Alaric answered
ominously.
Gerrard grinned tightly. %!hat)s the saying& )0efore an assassin
learns of murder, he should first learn of suicide.) %
?icking u Gerrard)s wine glass, Alaric retrie#ed the 7esu#an wine
bottle and oured. "e assed the glass to Gerrard. %-o assassin e#er
ut stock in that thought. "ere. 0orlean. 0est in the (omains.%
%-o, thanks,% Gerrard said, wa#ing the glass away. %My drinking
days are long ast.%
Alaric cleared his throat and set Gerrard)s declined glass on the
table before him. %+n truth, boy, those days are about to catch u with
you. The ast arri#ed on a flying shi >ust after dawn this morning.
*our ast.%
Gerrard stared at the dark wine for long moments. !hen Alaric
shifted uncomfortably in his chair, Gerrard looked u, brushing his
dark hair out of his eyes as he did so. %!hy didn)t you tell me this
when + first walked in&%
%0ecause you were wild-eyed about this situation with the
assassins,% Alaric relied. %0ecause + didn)t want to take the fire out of
your belly. *ou, Gerrard, are the 0enalish military. +f any other
master-at-arms had learned what you learned today, they)d ha#e
shrugged it off and gone on about their business.%
%+ belie#e in the army,% Gerrard said 2uietly.
%*es, and that)s where + want your commitment. 0ut + remember
the things you said when you first came to us and signed on. +
remember that same assionate commitment in your #oice when you
soke of !eatherlight)s catain. $isay, was it& $isay.%
%+f + sounded assionate, it was only because + was angry. $isay
had been keeing secrets from me. ?eole died because of what she
alone knew.%
Alaric said gently, %And eole will die now for what you know.
That)s the burden of resonsibility. *ou can)t >ust run away from it.%
Gerrard crossed his arms defiantly. %Are you saying that +)ll
abandon 0enalia now because + might be resonsible for someone)s
death&%
Alaric got to his feet and drew himself u to his full and
imressi#e height, any semblance of subtlety disaearing as he did
so. %+)m saying that you turned away from !eatherlight crew when the
situation became difficult. They)#e come looking for you. 0ut you ha#e
a duty of honor to the resent as well as the ast now- this matter of
the assassins grows within your #ery ranks. *ou)re going to be ulled
in two different directions, and whate#er you choose is honorable ...
and dishonorable at the same time.%
Gerrard stood as well. %$o you waited to tell me about
!eatherlight until after +)d committed myself to the assassin matter&%
%+ ha#e a #ested interest in keeing you with us,% Alaric admitted.
"e icked u Gerrard)s wine glass and held it out to him. %+ make no
aologies for the things + do in the best interests of 0enalia. (o you
want that drink now&%
0ut Gerrard had already turned and assed into the dark
entranceway, banging 6ommander Alaric)s door loudly behind him as
he dearted.
B B B B B
"e stormed through the streets of the city town, dodging through
the oen-air market to a#oid a atrol of guards whose names and
handshakes were known to him. ,ld friends were both the first and
last things on his mind right now. "e didn)t want to talk to any
comrades from the army for fear that he would ti his hand about 4ord
=astan and the assassins, but he also could not sto thinking about
$isay and !eatherlight. !hat did she want& +t had been a long time
since he)d le#eled his accusations at her and walked off the shi, but a
stirring in him made him wonder if maybe it had been too long. The
old, familiar anger clenched in his belly-the things she had known
about his ast that he didn)t, the things she hadn)t told him until one
of their own lay dying, the high-handed self-righteousness with which
she had detailed his destiny to him, lecturing him about
%resonsibility,% these all came back to him now. "e could still see the
disaointment in her eyes. "e could see it in the faces of the others,
esecially "anna)s. A broken heart bled into the eyes, he)d heard, and
"anna was the only one who had cried for him as he left !eatherlight.
The minotaur was waiting for him in the training yard, as Gerrard
knew he would be.
%*ou)#e grown taller, Tahngarth,% Gerrard called out casually as
he let himself in and crossed the sands to the towering minotaur who
had been $isay)s closest ally. %$o when does uberty end for
minotaurs&%
%+)#e not grown,% Tahngarth retorted. %*ou)#e shrunk.%
Gerrard bent down and icked u Torsten)s sword, brushing sand
from its oils as he rose. %+ bet +)m not the only human who rues the
day the gods ga#e the gift of seech to cows.%
"e looked u at the minotaur. %"a#e + mentioned yet that it)s
good to see you&%
%+ am here for a reason,% Tahngarth said gruffly, tossing his
dreadlocks back o#er his broad brown shoulders. A dee breath
eruted as a snort, uffing out his great nostrils. %$isay needs you.%
% )-eed) can be interreted a do1en different ways.% Gerrard
gestured for Tahngarth to follow him. The two of them mo#ed to the
south wall of the training yard, the tall minotaur)s shadow stretching
well beyond Gerrard)s. At the wall, Gerrard knelt and unlocked one of
the war chests where he ket the e/ercise swords. As he fished around
inside for a sheath, he said, %$o which way does $isay think she needs
me now&%
%$he is gone, Gerrard. $he)s been taken risoner to another
lane, a lace called 8ath. The one who holds her is 7olrath, and he
means to kill her if we don)t act on her behalf now.%
%(ammit,% Gerrard grunted under his breath, ulling a battered
sheath from the war chest. "e retended to look it o#er, curled his li
at its condition, ut it back, and continued to search.
Tahngarth said, %*ou know that after you bolted, we continued to
seek out the ieces of the 4egacy.%
%,h&% Gerrard ulled another sheath from the chest. %(on)t you
know that hunting for the 4egacy is the same thing as inning an
archer)s target to your forehead& $ooner or later, somebody gets
killed.%
%And by Torahn)s horns,% Tahngarth roared, %this time it might be
$isay'%
8ising, Gerrard faced the minotaur, glaring u at him. %$isay
knew the risks better than anyone. 4ast time, it was 8ofellos who died.
That elf was like kin to me, you know. And when $isay finally admitted
that she)d tricked me into looking for the 4egacy-%
%*ou are the rightful heir to the 4egacy)s ower,% Tahngarth
interruted, shouting o#er Gerrard)s rotests. %$he knew what you
would not acknowledge, that your destiny lies in wielding the artifacts
of the 4egacy against all the e#ils that would destroy the world.%
%Those same e#ils wied out the clan that reared me,% Gerrard
countered. %My adoted father, the sorcerer who trained me,
e#erybody + e#er knew. All for the 4egacy, a grubby little collection of
mismatched artifacts. + walked away from the 4egacy the first time
because it was surrounded by death, and $isay fooled me into looking
for it )for its financial #alue) the second time. !hy would + come back
to it now&%
%0ecause $isay needs you. And because you walked away from
your obligations, no matter how noble the reason.%
Gerrard sheathed Torsten)s long swordA the fit was tight. %That
doesn)t tell me a thing, Tahngarth. +)#e heard this )you owe us)
argument before. *ou)re going to ha#e to do better than that.%
%*ou owe her. $he is your ast,% Tahngarth said.
-o'% Turning away from the minotaur, Gerrard hurled the sword
at the war chest with surrising force. +t banged loudly against the
chest)s uraised lid, the sound echoing across the large emty training
yard. %3#en the gods can)t undo the ast. !hate#er + owed her was
aid in blood-my clan)s blood, 8ofellos)s blood.%
%*ou ha#e not changed a day,% Tahngarth charged. %*ou throw
things in a tantrum, but your horns are still as blunt as the day you
walked away.%
Gerrard said nothing.
%+t)s true that 8ofellos died because of your choices,% the
minotaur continued. %"e died because you chose to ursue the 4egacy,
your destiny.%
%That)s right,% Gerrard said cynically, %and +)m not going to risk
anyone that way again.%
%Then $isay will die because of what you choose to do now. *ou
will always find reasons for doing or for not doing. The reason for
doing this,% Tahngarth aused, his throat stiff as he raised his head
higher, %is because we need you as well. "anna has re#iewed the
ieces of the 4egacy we ha#e collected and says you may be our only
hoe of using them to reach $isay in 8ath. (o not let her die too. *ou
could not sa#e 8ofellos. 0ut you are $isay)s only hoe.%
At the mention of "anna)s name, Gerrard felt himself soften. "e
remembered all the time she had sent handling the artifacts as each
new iece came aboard, her eyes ali#e with anticiation as the two of
them uncrated some recently ac2uired relic. And he remembered
sitting down with her and his friend $isay, before the bad times, the
three of them sharing wine and discussing the myriad imlications of
each artifact)s ower. $isay had been his confidant. They had shared
moments that none of the others would e#er know about but that he
would rather die himself than lose.
"e sighed. %*ou know this is a trick, don)t you, Tahngarth&
!hoe#er took $isay is robably counting on you to drag me kicking
and screaming back aboard !eather) light. *ou)re going to ut your
hoof right in the tra.%
%Then we will all ut our hoo#es in the same tra, and we will all
walk with the same lim.%
Gerrard considered for a moment. %+ ha#e a ... situation here in
0enalia. +t demands my in#ol#ement, too. + can)t do both.%
%-eed o#errules choice,% Tahngarth said simly. %$isay needs
you.%
The afternoon e/ercises were a blur. Gerrard offered a terse and
uncon#incing story about the absence of both .a#ero and Torsten, then
let the other students lea#e early. "e considered taking aside those he
knew had been aroached by 4ord =astan, but he was unsure of what
to say. !hat rice treason& A soldier)s allegiance is to 0enalia, and if
it)s not, why stain its army with your resence& !here does
resonsibility to oneself end and resonsibility to others begin&
0ut that, he knew, was the real 2uestion, and he didn)t want to
ask a 2uestion to which he didn)t already know the answer.
At sunset, he raked the sand, double-checked the war chest locks,
and sat in the shadows as the light ran away from the training yard.
"e turned his hourglass endant o#er to watch the sands trickle from
to to bottom. ,nce, when he was younger, he had thought it no#el to
count the number of enemies he)d killed. +n the middle of battle, the
significance of sur#i#ing could easily be o#ershadowed by the
e/citement of killing. At first, when there were few, Gerrard
remembered e#ery one of them, their last looks of surrise or ain
before he sent them to whate#er followed life. "e became uneasy with
the reali1ation that they were eole. After all this time he could still
see their faces, hear their cries for mercy. +t was too late for any of
them. 0ut $isay)s was a cry for hel he could still answer.
!ell after dark, he locked u the training yard and went below to
his 2uarters. The lantern in his entrance- way had gone out, and he
aused to light it, fumbling for a moment with his flint in the
blackness.
%+)#e brought you a resent, Master Gerrard,% a #oice snarled
from the darkness as the flint struck.
Gerrard turned slowly, the lantern)s light rising behind him. "is
shadow >umed across the entranceway walls and into the main
2uarters where Torsten stood, his throat bandaged with a black circle
of cloth, a dagger in one hand. +n the other, he held a bloody head by
the hair. As the lantern)s light reached the skull and the shadows fell
away, Gerrard could see the earring, seckled still with blood. .a#ero.
"is bulging eyes had been sewn oen, fro1en in a stare. The stitches
through the eyelids looked like small siders lined across the dead
boy)s face.
Gerrard met Torsten)s stare coldly, swallowing his rage. Torsten
ointed the ti of his dagger at Gerrard)s chest.
%"e was ali#e when + did it,% Torsten said arrogantly. %0ut +)ll
sare you that indignity.%
"e tossed .a#ero)s head to Gerrard)s feet.
%*ou)#e got the ball bearings of a brass man,% Gerrard answered.
"is sword was sheathed, but there were weaons all around the
chamber. $words, a/es, ole-arms- he only needed a moment to
reach one. %+)m a master-at- arms, Torsten, and you show u here
with a dagger. !hy didn)t you come blindfolded, too&%
!a#ing the dagger, Torsten ad#anced. %+)#e been training with
assassins, Master Gerrard,% he said, %and assassins need only a dagger
when they ha#e oison.%
"e slashed with the dagger, aiming at Gerrard)s middle. Gerrard
backedaled, throwing the lantern for effect and watching for his
oening. As Torsten dodged left to a#oid the lantern, Gerrard do#e
right, narrowly missing Torsten)s backhanded cut as Gerrard rolled into
the main chamber of his 2uarters. "e knew better than to come to his
feet. +nstead, he lunged forward, under the table, reaching u under it
as he did so to find the dagger he ket secured there. 0ehind him,
Torsten grunted as he swung, cutting where Gerrard)s throat would
ha#e been had he still stood.
Gerrard tied the table as he rose, sho#ing it hard toward
Torsten, who >umed back. +n the entranceway, oil slattered when
the lantern broke and ignited the curtain that ser#ed as door. The
room began to heat 2uickly.
%*ou might as well be blindfolded,% Gerrard said, dislaying his
own dagger, %because now we)re e#en.%
Torsten raised his weaon again. Gerrard flied his dagger end
for end, caught it by the blade, and threw it at Torsten)s sword hand.
The knife rolled sideways in flight, then buried itself in the back of
Torsten)s hand from knuckle to knuckle instead of from knuckle to
wrist. Torsten wailed with surrise and ain as the blade dro#e
through to his alm. "is own dagger flew from his gri. +nstincti#ely,
he reached to catch it with his unin>ured hand. The blade sliced neatly
across his alm as his hand closed around it.
8eali1ation set in as he met Gerrard)s knowing ga1e.
%Good catch,% Gerrard said.
Torsten began to tremble, droing the oisoned dagger and
looking wildly around the room. "e teetered as if he might fall, shook
his head as if to clear it, then scratched absently at the bandages
co#ering his throat wound. Taking a ste further into the room, he
snatched the elaborate rod from the nearest shelf. "e ointed it at
Gerrard.
%+ remember this,% he said thickly, licking his lis, eyelids
fluttering erratically. %5rom the first day of training. ?owerful magic.%
%+t)s only as good as the hand that wields it,% Gerrard said.
%*es,% Torsten seemed to drift away for a moment, swaying on his
feet again, %and +)m good.%
%-o,% Gerrard answered. %*ou)re dead.%
%Maybe. 0ut +)ll take you with me.% Torsten ointed the rod and
twisted the gri. A magnificent blast of yellow light e/loded from its
core, roaring out the barrel and en#eloing Gerrard. The 2uarters
around them were momentarily bright as day. The rod hummed loudly
as it unloaded its magic on the room. .ust as suddenly, the magic
went away, lea#ing the two men standing in the dimness of the
chamber as they were before. Gerrard smiled.
%+ bet you wish you)d gone for a real weaon,% he said.
Torsten groaned, droed the -ull 8od, and sank to the floor. "is
knees drew u to his chin, and he wraed his arms around them.
Gerrard kicked the oisoned dagger away before he knelt ne/t to him.
The young man)s breathing was 2uickly becoming ragged. Angry red
blotches were already sreading o#er both of his cheeks.
%!here)s 4ord =astan, Torsten&% Gerrard asked. %*ou know where
he hides, where + can find him.%
-odding, Torsten stared u at the ceiling. "is eyelids had stoed
fluttering. -ow he stared as blankly as the eyes in .a#ero)s decaitated
head. %+ don)t want to die alone.%
%+)ll stay with you until you ass,% Gerrard said softly. %0ut before
you go, tell me where 4ord =astan is hiding.%
B B B B B
6ommander Alaric tore a stri of bread from the loaf and assed
it across the table to the albino, who acceted it with a gracious but
awkward nod. The albino)s long white hair whisered o#er his
shoulders as he mo#ed. (esite the late-night shadows dancing all
around Alaric)s 2uarters, the albino seemed to shine, as if the feeble
light from the lanterns set him aglow.
%-o tasters tonight,% 4ord =astan sighed, smiling. "e sniffed the
bread. %+ come ill-reared.%
%*ou)ll notice +)m not ser#ing 7esu#an wine,% Alaric said, sharing
his guest)s smile. %+ seem to ha#e mislaid my only bottle. ,h, now +
remember. +t isn)t 0orlean, it)s 7esu#an.%
%.ust as well. +)#e been told it goes down rough, like oison.%
=astan)s smile faded. %(o you think he knew&%
Alaric shook his head and smoothed his gray mustache. %"e was
uset about this !eatherlight matter. "e was simly too distracted to
drink.%
8ubbing his fingers as if they were cold, =astan said, %0etter,
erhas, if you had encouraged him to re>oin the shi. $a#e us this
bloody business.%
%Then he would remain a wild card. "e could return at any gi#en
moment to raise rebellion against the officers. And he would, too. "e)s
thick with the knights. They)d march against us, for certain. +t would
be ci#il war in 0enalia.% Alaric bit off a mouthful of bread, chewed
slowly, swallowed. %+t)s better this way ... ro-#ided your boy)s u to
the >ob.%
%+t)s not the boy who needs to work, >ust his dagger,% =astan
answered. %!ith a touch of stealth, we)ll get oison to Gerrard)s heart
one way or another.%
Gerrard steed out of the darkness of the entrance- way and
into the lamlight. Alaric choked on his bread. 4eaing 2uickly to his
feet, he dashed around the table to stand between Gerrard and the
albino assassin.
%+ didn)t want to disturb your con#ersation, 6ommander,% Gerrard
said tightly. %+)m glad + waited.%
Alaric ut his hand on his sword. %This is an unfortunate surrise,%
Alaric admitted. 0ehind him, 4ord =astan rose 2uietly, turning to face
Gerrard.
%This would seem to be the day for them,% Gerrard agreed. %+ was
seriously considering staying-+ figured the 0enalish army couldn)t be
corruted as long we were #igilant. 0ut that was before you sent
Torsten after me.%
Alaric darted a look at 4ord =astan, the commander)s eyebrows
knitting in annoyance. %-e#er send an assassin to do a soldier)s work,
eh&%
%+n your command, what)s the difference&% Gerrard snaed. "is
hand droed to his sword)s hilt as Alaric reached for his own blade.
%?erhas,% 4ord =astan said, his #oice barely rising abo#e a
whiser as the two men went for their weaons, %the time has come
for a bargain.%
Gerrard stoed, as did Alaric.
%A command osition of your own,% the albino suggestedA he
looked to Alaric for suort, who nodded curtly. %*ou work closely with
the soldiers. 3#en without reorts, you know who has talent.%
%And there)s always gold,% Alaric added.
%"ow much gold&% Gerrard asked. "e mo#ed into the room,
utting the table between them. "e stoed near Alaric)s cabinets.
%-ame a figure,% Alaric said.
%There are conditions.%
4ord =astan began to seak but Alaric cut him off. %Then name
them' *ou ha#e us by the sword buckle. !hat do you want&%
%5irst, no more assassins are recruited from my ranks. + don)t
care what the other masters-at-arms do, but nobody gets drafted out
from under me.% Gerrard waited for both men to nod before
continuing. %$econd, you clean house among the officers. 4ord =astan
recruits from without, not from within.%
=astan grimaced, but Alaric said, %+t will be difficult, but if it buys
your silence, then so be it.%
%!ell then,% Gerrard said, oening the cabinet and reaching
inside, %that >ust lea#es one more thing. 4et)s drink to our newfound
alliance.%
"e ut the bottle of 7esu#an wine and two glasses on the table.
%After you, gentlemen,% he said, grinning. %$hould + be thinking of
a toast& ,r maybe an eitah&%
%+ should ha#e known we would do this the hard way,% Alaric said,
drawing his sword. %*ou)re a bastard, Gerrard. And a stuid one at
that-we)re two against one. +)#e no doubt you can take one of us, but
the other one will gut you.%
Gerrard drew his own blade. %+ brought a guest.% The minotaur
had to bend to get through the door, but he rose to his full height once
within the main chamber.
"e hefted his own two blades e/ertly, crossing them. Tahngarth
snarled something in the language of the Talruum minotaurs, and his
lis frothed with his fury.
Gerrard gestured at 4ord =astan. %+f he mo#es, cut him down. The
knights should be here any time now. They)ll deal with him if he)s still
ali#e.%
The albino stared u at Tahngarth, taking in the minotaur)s broad
muscular chest and furious stare, then 2uietly sat down again at the
table.
%*ou summoned the knights&% Alaric asked.
Gerrard nodded. %!hen Torsten told me where to find 4ord
=astan, + thought it might be a good idea to make sure he ended u in
the roer hands. +n mine, he)d robably end u dead.%
Alaric turned his sword o#er in his hands, glaring at Gerrard while
he did. %*ou)#e killed me, boy. !hen the knights arri#e, my career
ends. Twenty-two years in the 0enalish military, ground under your
boot.%
%*our own boot, + would say,% Gerrard mused. %*ou were my
friend once, though, 6ommander. $o here.% "e slid the bottle of
7esu#an wine toward Alaric. %+)ll say it was 4ord =astan)s doing. *ou)ll
die with some semblance of honor.%
Alaric stared at him, then down again at his sword. %+f + fight my
way out-%
%They)ll still figure out what you)#e done,% Gerrard finished. "e
ointed at Tahngarth. %*ou ha#e only his silence if +)m ali#e. 6utting
your way out of this won)t sa#e you unless you think you can kill both
of us. +)d bet on us, if + were a gambling man.%
$lowly, Alaric ut his sword down on the table, reaching for one of
the glasses with a firm hand. "e then oured the dark 7esu#an wine
into the glass.
%0efore you ractice murder,% Gerrard said as Alaric lifted the
glass to his lis, %you should first learn of suicide.%
6ommander Alaric nodded. %A hard lesson learned, boy.%
"e drank 2uickly.
B B B B B
They had gathered for 6atain Gerrard on !eatherlight)s deck,
thirty sailors strong in the morning)s first light. Tahngarth introduced
him to those who had >oined since his dearture, many of whom had
already heard of his e/loits. Gerrard acceted their comliments as
well as their uncomfortable stares. 5or e#ery one of them who thought
him a hero, he knew there was one who thought him a coward. +t was
entirely u to him to change their minds.
At the end of the line, he bent to greet $2uee, the goblin cabin
boy who had been so enamored of $isay when he first came aboard.
The goblin shook his hand awkwardly, then hid ner#ously behind
Tahngarth)s knees. Gerrard looked u into the minotaur)s unreadable
eyes.
%*ou)re first mate, Tahngarth,% he said.
%Again,% Tahngarth snorted. %Always a first mate. 5or the
catain)s record, + was catain from $isay)s abduction until this
moment.%
Gerrard grinned. %Two stes u, one ste back. (on)t feel too
alone. *ou and +)ll both get demoted when we get $isay back.%
The minotaur bowed his head for a moment, closing his eyes as if
in rayer. "e let out a great breath through his nostrils, shaking his
nose ring. %+ ha#e been afraid to say )when.) %
%+)ll tell her you said so,% Gerrard said, mo#ing on, %when she
comes u that ganglank.%
5inally, he came to the last crew member. The two stood
uncomfortably facing one other while Tahngarth and the others drifted
to their stations to reare for sailing. "anna smoothed her blonde
hair behind each ear, ad>usted the #arious tools on her work belt, and
shuffled her feet once. $he)s still beautiful, Gerrard thought. "e looked
out at the sails, let his eyes follow the goblin across the deck, and
listened to the sounds of ort life drifting to the shi from 0enalia.
5inally he said, %+ missed you, "anna.%
$he half-smiled, then caught herself and straightened her
e/ression. %!elcome back aboard.%
%Thanks.% "e aused, wondering what he could say that would
change things. +nstead he said, %Tahngarth tells me we)re going to
need a wi1ard to get to 8ath.% !hen she nodded, he added, %"e also
tells me you know someone who can hel us.%
%+n Tolaria,% she said. %+ can na#igate us there.%
%$o why did you decide to come back, Gerrard&% she suddenly
blurted. %4et)s face it: you)#e been running away from the 4egacy since
the day you first learned of it. +t ne#er really meant anything to you,
did it&%
%*ou)re right. +t doesn)t mean a thing to me,% Gerrard said softly.
%+f it gets me what + want or what + know is right, +)ll use it, but if it
doesn)t, +)ll forget about it. !e can >ust toss it o#er the side when we
reach 8ath. +)m back for you, for Tahngarth, and for the rest of the
crew. And most imortant, +)m back for $isay.%
%!ell,% "anna said, bemused. $he cocked her head as Tahngarth
shouted her name from the foredeck. %0enalia made an adult out of
you desite yourself, + see.%
%+t was a bloody battle,% Gerrard said, grinning, %but one of us
had to lose.%
%The anchors beckon, 6atain.% As she turned away, "anna
gestured to the necklace dangling from his throat and the ob>ect at the
end of the chain. %!hat haened to the hourglass you used to wear&%
Gerrard)s grin faded. "e held u the blood-flecked gold earring,
looking at "anna through its circle. %+)m lea#ing it behind,% he said
solemnly. %This is >ust about as #aluable, + think.%
The shi set sail for Tolaria.
"ere ends the Tale of Gerrard

A Dark Room

The master stretched and shook himself. Talking for a long time
tired him more than he remembered. !ith almost a start he reali1ed
how old he was. And how much longer did he ha#e left& A few years&
A few months& ,r erhas less.
At his feet +lcaster sat, staring at the master with shining eyes.
The boy did not seem tired at all, the librarian noted, and his face no
longer seemed frightened and sorrowful. The shadows in the room
were still thick, regnant with menace and the storm raged outside,
but within the little yellow circle of candlelight, all seemed safe.
?erhas this was the way to con2uer fear, the old man reflectedA
to take refuge in stories of bra#e deeds from another age. ?erhas, he
thought, that is why we still tell oursel#es these stories, e#en if we no
longer entirely belie#e them-because they are a reminder to us that
memory goes on e#en longer after we are dead.
%(id they ha#e an easy time finding Tolaria&%
+lcaster)s 2uestion broke in abrutly uon the librarian)s thoughts.
%"ardly that.% The master shook his head sadly. %-othing about their
#oyage was easy, and throughout all their troubles, they remembered
$isay in the clutches of 7olrath and could only imagine what tortures
she might be suffering.
%Their first sto, though, was not in Tolaria but in 4lanowar.%
%+ remember 4lanowar,% the boy said eagerly. %That)s where
whats-her-name was from.% The master looked at him blankly. %*ou
know-the cat erson.%
%Ah, yes, Mirri. $he was not, in fact, from 4lanowar, but Mirri had
gone there after she and Gerrard arted. 0ut now !eatherlight)s
catain needed the hel of and old friend.%
%"ow did he ersuade her to come with them&%
%!ith difficulty. (uring the >ourney, Gerrard settled, somewhat
uncomfortably, into $isay)s cabin. "e used the time to e/amine the
>ournal of his former catain and shimate, as well as the Thran Tome,
which he recei#ed from "anna. 5rom these documents he reali1ed for
the first time the imortance of !eatherlight. "e also disco#ered a
sell that could o#ercome the effects of the Touchstone, the de#ice
used to immobili1e =arn, though the #alue of this was not immediately
clear to him.
%Gerrard wandered around the shi, renewing his ac2uaintance
with its features. Making his way through the hold, he saw the ieces
of the 4egacy $isay had collected in the time after he had left
!eatherlight. Then, to his utter ama1ement, he came uon a silent,
motionless figure standing uright, shining in the dim light. =arn.
%@sing the sell from the Thran Tome, Gerrard reacti#ated his old
friend and guardian. Though =arn had stood motionless for years, his
mind had fro1en at the recise moment of his deacti#ation. "e was in
anguish at the thought of ha#ing been resonsible for the death of an
innocent. 0rokenly he told Gerrard of his resolution to ne#er again
take a life.%
%.ust a minute,% interruted the boy, sketicism in his tone. %(o
you mean =arn would ne#er take a life& 3#en if somebody was
threatening to destroy him&%
The librarian nodded.
%!hat about if someone were threatening to kill Gerrard&%
%A good 2uestion, boy. +)m glad you)re aying attention. +n oint
of fact, it was the #ery 2uestion Gerrard himself asked. The golem
thought long and hard, but in the end he relied that his decision was
absolute: e#en Gerrard)s fate could not o#ercome his choice. "e would
ne#er knowingly take a life-not merely a human life, but the life of any
creature.%
+lcaster considered, chin in hand. %+ think that was a mistake,% he
said at last. %+ mean, + don)t think he should ha#e gone around killing
eole, but e#erybody has to defend themsel#es if they)re being
attacked.%
The master shrugged. %+t was, nonetheless, his decision. And
Gerrard was so o#er>oyed to see the golem that he did not, erhas,
fully understand what a rofound change had come o#er his old
rotector. "e greeted him >oyfully and introduced him to the rest of
the crew.
%And all this time, while Gerrard renewed his friendshi with the
sil#er golem and his familiarity with the flying shi, !eatherlight
steadily drew closer to 4lanowar.%


Tahngarth's Tale
Hannovi Braddok

+n the corridors of my birth-the labyrinths of Talruum-the
riestesses burned shrine lams for the gods and goddesses. -ear the
hearth of my family, before our doorway hung with beads of red,
green, and blue, two lams burned. ,ne was for =indeya, goddess of
learning, and the other for Torahn, god of >udgment. !hen + was still
so young that + only dreamed of ha#ing horns, my mother soke thus
to me: %Tahn, e#ery day you see the two lams burning outside of our
home. Turn your heart to =indeya)s lam, my son, to learning. And
turn away from Torahn. 4ea#e >ustice to the gods who see more than
we do.%
$he sought to bend me from the nature of my clan, but + was
born Three 0eads. As was she. +n the end, >ustice meant more to her,
to me, to all our clan than the eace of Talruum. And so there was
rebellion within the halls. !ar.
That is not the story + wish to tell. + only mean to make it clear
that the fires of >udgment burned hot in me, and that was why +, of all
the crew of !eatherlight, did not want to ask this Gerrard to return to
our shi.
+ stood watching him as we sailed o#er the forest mists of
4lanowar. +t was hard to >udge the age of humans, but + knew they got
their beards later than minotaurs grew their horns, and Gerrard
already had a beard the first time he >oined our crew. "e was not then
a child, nor was he one now. + could grant him no e/cuse of youth.
+ndeed, he wielded a sword well, and had an accurate hand and eye
with the throwing kni#es he wore. "e had accomlishments born of
ractice, born of years.
0ut he had not yet grown wise.
%0last these clouds,% he said, griing the railing with his strange
human hands. (And why did the hands of "anna and ,rim not seem
strange to me& They were also human. 0ut + liked them.) "e s2uinted
as if that would gi#e him a clearer #iew of the land below. The low-
hanging mists let us see only the ground that was directly beneath us.
%There must be a lace to land here somewhere.%
%!e waste time,% + said. + did not seak his language well, so +
ket my utterances short and simle. ?erhas he thought me simle,
too. %$isay needs us.%
%!e need Mirri first. + thought +)d made that clear.%
%$he left us,% + said. %As you did.%
"e turned to look at me. %+)m back,% he said, as if that were roof
enough to banish my doubts.
%!e don)t need her.%
%,ne more time, Tahngarth,% he said as if he were e/laining to a
child, %6atain $isay is cati#e in 8ath. !e don)t know how to get
there. !e can)t ossibly find the lace until the shi)s Thran crystal is
encoded for it. + don)t ha#e magic enough for that. Mirri was always
better with magic than +-%
%$o is any mud wi1ard. $o is any kitchen sorcerer.%
"is >aw tightened for a moment, then he laughed. %*ou touch a
truth there,% he said. "e atted the kni#es that were straed across
his chest. %+ was e#er the better master of a blade.%
+ ointed off the bow. %There,% + said. + turned and shouted across
the deck, %"anna' 5ifteen degrees to starboard'% 0ehind the window
glass of the bridge, she signaled that she had heard me.
!eatherlight)s sails e/tend sideways from amidshis, and they riled
as "anna ad>usted our course.
$ome ha#e said that !eatherlight looks like a flying fish. + ha#e
ne#er seen a flying fish. + would say instead that our shi is like a
goblin)s throwing dart with white bat wings.
%Ahead slow'% + called.
%Tahngarth ...%
%!hat&% + glared at him.
-o doubt he was about to remind me that he was the master of
!eatherlight now. 0ut he held his tongue.
The engine had been humming 2uietly. -ow it droed to a
whiser. The mists began to break beneath us as we flew o#er the
meadow.
%"anna, take us down'% he ordered.
%0elay that'% + shouted. "e ga#e me a shar look, and + said,
%6atain $isay would circle first.% +ndeed, "anna was already steering
a wide arc around the clearing. 5ar edges of the meadow were still
obscured by mist, but there was a strange shadow near the trees. +
ointed at it.
%+s that a funeral mound&% Gerrard wondered as we aroached.
%A barrow&%
+t did look like a mound of dirt, one shaed to look like a man
lying on his face: rounded back of the head, the ridge of sine along a
broad back, and the owerful cur#e of buttocks. Mist obscured the
legs, but beyond that the heels >utted u.
+n what + thought was a trick of the mist, the shoulders seemed to
swell, then settle.
!e were flying toward the head. -ow + could see a green-clad
rider aroaching the mound.
%4lanowar elf,% said Gerrard. %Mirri)s as good as found. (idn)t + tell
you-%
%4ook,% + said, ointing at the mound. + thought it had mo#ed
again.
%"anna'% Gerrard called. %Take us down'%
The whiser of the engine grew softer still. As we slowed, "anna
tied the bow u to kee us aloft. !e began to descend, still on a
course toward elf and earth mound.
The rider)s horse was skittish, shying sideways half a ste for
e#ery ste forward. The elf unslung a bow from his shoulder and set
fire to an arrow ti. !ith a warrior)s ululation, he loosed the missile.
5lame arced through the air and landed with a hiss in the crown of the
muddy head.
The rider turned his mount. 5or a moment, both horse and rider
seemed fro1en by the sight of !eatherlight descending. Then the
mound shifted behind them. The horse)s nostrils flared, and it raced
across our shadow toward the trees at the far end of the meadow.
+ heard a rush of indrawn air, and the bushes near the giant head
stirred as in a wind.
The head lifted itself u from the ground.
!hite eyes stared from the earthen face. 0elow was a ca#ernous
mouth, one shaed for a eretual howl of hunger. 8oots dangled
from its lis.
%Milk of the Mothers'% + cried in my own tongue.
Great muddy arms mo#ed, fingers clutching at the ground. !ith a
sound like a mudslide, the creature shook its hill-si1ed shoulders. %+t)s
an aboroth'%
%"ard about'% Gerrard shouted. %5ull thrust' "ard about'%
The engine hummed, then rose to a loud whine. The shi itched
to ortside. + heard the goblin $2uee yel in surrise below decks.
Gerrard lost his footing, snatched at the handrail, missed, and would
ha#e gone sliding across the deck. + grabbed him by the collar.
The shi righted. Astern, the ground rumbled. The giant was on
its feet. !eatherlight shook as her engine thrusted and we icked u
seed.
The aboroth took one tentati#e ste, then a more confident one,
and then another. ,n its fourth ste, it began to run. Toward us.
!e were o#ertaking the rider, and Gerrard said, %!e don)t need
to be faster than the monster. !e >ust need to be faster than the elf.%
"e looked at the aboroth. +t had co#ered half the distance to the forest
in a few strides. %+n that race, my bet would be on the dirt, if + were a
betting man.%
%+t)s not chasing the elf,% + told him. 5or the blank eyes were uon
us, not the rider. -ear the first trees, the monster assed the elf,
almost steing on him.
The monstrous fingers reached for the sails of !eatherlight. The
claws looked like the tis of lightning-shattered trees. They almost
snagged us....
Then stoed.
!ar cries had eruted from the forest below. 3l#ish warriors,
mounted and afoot, came streaming into the meadow. $omething
stirred among the trees, making the canoy rile.
%!ar machines,% + said. 3#en as we sed away, they grew before
our eyes, these machines of tree trunks lashed together with #ines.
The #ines riled and twisted and tugged at the trunks. As muscle
mo#es bone, thus did the #ines haul the tree trunks and articulate
them. +t was like watching a scaffold that builds itself. The machines
took the shae of headless, legless golems, and then the battle
receded into the mist.
The engines were still shrilling. Gerrard shouted, %8educe thrust'
4e#el off'% 0ut "anna could not ha#e heard him abo#e the whining
engines. + signaled the orders to her. !eatherlight le#eled, and the
engines droed to a hum, then a whiser.
My hand still gried his collar. "e said, %Thanks for catching me,
but you can let go now.%
%!hen you order a maneu#er, think of the shi. "ow it will
mo#e,% + said, releasing him.
%+n short,% he said, grinning, %hold on'%
+ did not return his smile.
%!hat did you call that thing&%
+ told him of aboroths, how some years they grow u out of the
soil near 4lanowar #illages. !hen they awaken, they li#e but a short
while, but in that time, they wreak ha#oc. +t is the custom of the el#es
to assemble for battle near the riening aboroths, to ro#oke them as
they wake and lead them away from the #illages. +f the aboroths can
be occuied with battle long enough, they shrink and die. !hen + was
done, Gerrard said, %!here did you learn this&%
+ chose my words carefully, like choosing a blade. %5rom the elf
8ofellos,% + said. Then slowly + added, %"e told me such things as
friend is wont to tell friend.%
Gerrard ga#e me a long look. %8ofellos was my friend, too.%
%+s that why you made a mockery of his death&%
Anger burned in his eyes. %8ofellos was my friend ere he was
yours' *ou understand nothing'% "is hand touched the haft of his
sword.
%"a#e a care where your hand strays,% + told him. And e#en
though + knew his accomlishments as a man of arms, + insulted him
by turning my back-and came face to face with ,rim. A fringe of
brown hair eeked from beneath the headdress she always wore with
its blue agal. "er eyes, like her hair, were brown and somehow soft.
+ do not know how it is that anyone, minotaur or human, can
frown with anger and yet show gentleness in her eyes. 0ut that was
her e/ression. There was always, in her dress and in her manner, a
softness to ,rim, though she was a $amite woman born of the hard
deserts.
%A word with you,% she said in the minotaur tongue. 5or one
whose mouth was not shaed for the language, her accent was
e/cellent. Most minotaur-seaking humans- and they are rare-know
only the "urloon dialect. ,rim knew the inflections of Talruum. $he
soke well enough to make me long for home.
%Then follow me,% + said. + stomed back to the bridge and took
the controls from "anna. As much as ,rim was outwardly soft,
"anna)s manner and dress were trim and efficient. $he tied her hair
behind her like a warrior. +n fact, she could handle a sword, but she
was an archaeologist and our na#igator. + told her, %Go hel him who
has not the eyes for it find another meadow.%
"anna looked out at Gerrard, who was at the railing again,
eering into the grayness. %"e is unaccustomed to seeing the world
from the air,% she said.
%"e is unaccustomed to many things,% + said, %loyalty among
them.%
"anna went to the hatchway. $he said, %!e need him.%
!hen she was gone, ,rim said, %!ith your iciness to Gerrard, you
free1e "anna, too. *ou know of her feelings for him.%
%-o,% + said, %+ do not. $he may ha#e felt something for him once,
before he left us. 0ut + do not know what she feels for him now. $he
must ha#e her doubts.%
%*ou ha#e more than doubts, Tahngarth. + heard how you
attacked him with the memory of 8ofellos. Gerrard left us because the
death of his friend had wounded him.%
%(id the death of 8ofellos not mark me as well& More than that.
8ofellos sacrificed himself for the sake of this shi and crew. To
abandon !eatherlight, as Gerrard did, was to abandon the memory of
8ofellos, to rob his death of meaning.%
%(o you think Gerrard a coward&%
%+ could forgi#e a coward. "e is something more dangerous to us.
"e is unreliable. And his first command is that we should come to
4lanowar to reco#er his friend, Mirri. !hy& !e might find con>urers of
her e2ual for hire in a hundred orts. And she is e#ery bit as unreliable
as Gerrard.%
%Tahngarth, Gerrard is heir to the 4egacy. "e is, by rights, master
of this shi and its contents, e#en more than 6atain $isay is.%
%"ow can such as he ha#e so much imortance&% + bellowed.
%"ow& $isay is bold' + would follow her into the 6orridors of ?ain where
Torahn gores the wicked ones' 0ut Gerrard ... The man has not the
will to face reality' "e resists what must be'%
,rim smiled. %Tahngarth, e#en as + would begin to seak to you,
you say the #ery thing that must be said. -ow there is nothing left for
me to say.%
%+ do not take your meaning.%
%Think uon your words, my friend. +n them is wisdom: "e resists
what must be.%
$he was much gi#en to riddles. $he left me with those words
hanging in the air.
B B B B B
!hen we landed, the shi)s suort sines dug black furrows in
the meadow grass. !ith the engine shut off, !eatherlight listed on the
soft ground.
Gerrard assembled us on the canted deck. %"anna, Tahngarth,
and + will locate Mirri. !e)re here without an in#itation, and the el#es
may not e/actly welcome us. ,rim, you stand watch on the bridge. +f
el#es aroach, + don)t care how friendly they look. + want this shi
back in the air.%
,rim said, %0ut +-%
%+ know. *ou)re a healer, not a shi)s ilot. 0ut +)ll need both
Tahngarth and "anna with me, unless you)d refer to ick u a sword
and come in "anna)s lace.%
,rim could defend herself if she had to, but the only blade she
e#er racticed with was a scalel-and that only rarely. "er healing arts
had more to do with smokes and balms and essential oils. + said to
her, %+)ll remind you of the controls.%
%$2uee,% said Gerrard, and the goblin, who had been glancing
ner#ously at the forest, >umed at the sound of his name.
%+ wu1 listening'%
%+ didn)t say you weren)t. *ou hel ,rim stand watch. Tell her if
el#es are coming.%
%-asty el#es' They don)t like goblins' They wanna kill oor me'%
%!e won)t let them,% said ,rim, laying a gentle hand on the
goblin)s shoulder. "er touch calmed him a little.
Then to the hulking sil#er statue behind us, Gerrard said, %=arn,
your >ob is to guard the shi.%
%+ won)t fight,% said the golem.
%+ know. .ust walk the decks and look menacing.%
The sil#er head nodded.
And so the landing arty set out, lea#ing !eatherlight in the
hands of an ine/erienced ilot, a cowering lookout, and a acifist
guard.
B B B B B
Gerrard walked in front. +n the middle went "anna, who watched
a comass as she walked. My sense of direction was confused as soon
as the trees had first closed off our #iew of the meadow, and we)d
come 2uite a way since then. + said, %"ow do you hoe to find Mirri&%
%+ hoe that she finds us,% said Gerrard. %+f not, we)ll find an el#en
#illage.%
+ did not think this much of a lan. !e walked a while longer
before + said, %This is 4lanowar. !e could walk right into a #illage and
not know it.%
There was soft laughter ahead of us. A #oice said, %,ne who has
eyes can see.%
Gerrard halted. + hefted my a/e, s2uinting into the forest
shadows. + saw no one. "anna ut away her comass and said, %!e)#e
come in eace.% $he reeated the sentence in the el#ish tongue.
"anna is not ,rim)s match as a linguist, but she has a smattering of
tongues. Then she said it again, %!e)#e come in eace.%
%6learly,% said the #oice. %+ note the eaceful way your horned
friend beckons with his a/e blade.%
%Tahngarth,% said Gerrard, %stow the a/e.% 0ut e#en as he said
this, he folded his arms in a way that was meant to be casual but let
his fingers rest on a knife handle.
+ lowered the a/e, but had no way to %stow% it. And would he
ha#e me stand defenseless before an aarent sentinel whom none of
us could see&
%!e come looking for a friend of mine,% Gerrard said. %Mirri by
name. $he and + knew one who was kindred to this forest. 8ofellos, he
was called.%
%Many come to this forest seaking names,% said the #oice, %but
to know a name is a oor #ouchsafe.%
%Then take us to her.%
4aughter. %*es. And show intruders where a #illage lies.%
%$he)ll seak for us, if you summon her.%
%,h, + ha#e issued summons already. + ha#e raised alarm
enough.%
+ had heard nothing and seen nothing, but + could feel the truth of
his words. + eered at the forest around us, seeing nothing but trees,
yet + knew....
The seaker steed forward, his face emerging from shadow.
,nce he was #isible, + couldn)t understand why + had not seen him
before. "e hadn)t been hiding, yet somehow he)d been hidden.
7ines clung to his clothes and white hair almost as if he were
made of them, and he carried a staff that srouted flower buds and
new lea#es. %The forest has carried my #oice,% the old elf said, %and
my summons has been answered. *ou are surrounded. 4ay down your
weaons.% %*ou)re not e/actly making us feel welcome,% Gerrard said.
"e didn)t mo#e his hands.
%The druid seaks true,% + said. %!e are watched by many eyes. +
feel it.% *et e#en when + had admitted this, my fingers would not
uncurl and let my a/e fall to the ground. +n the "alls of Talruum, we
would die before surrendering our arms. +n this one thing, Gerrard and
+ were alike. (eath was all around us, yet we were both fro1en more
by ride than by fear.
"anna unbuckled her sword belt and laid the sheathed blade
across the root of a tree.
5rom abo#e, a feminine #oice said, %4ea#e it to the lady to show
some sign of manners. As for you, Gerrard, if you draw one of those
kni#es you won)t li#e long enough to regret it.%
4ooking u, Gerrard let his hands dro to his sides. %Mirri&%
$omething mo#ed in the trees. + glimsed golden fur daled with
black sots. The cat warrior droed to the ground almost silently to
stand alongside the druid. "er tail twitched from side to side.
%Tahngarth,% she said, %when an elf in 4lanowar tells you you)re
surrounded, he)s robably telling the truth.%
%+ do not doubt it,% + said, but still could not let the a/e fall.
%0ut let us gi#e e#idence,% said the druid. %$how yoursel#es, sons
and daughters of 4lanowar'%
5rom all sides, el#es emerged in that same mysterious way that
the druid had, each steing forward into #iew. 3#ery elf held a bow.
3#ery one had an arrow nocked.
4ea#es rustled. + looked u to see more el#es in the branches.
And still + gried my a/e.
%That one won)t learn manners e#en as a do1en arrows oint the
way,% Mirri said, wa#ing her hand at me. %0ut +)ll #ouch e#en for him.%
%*our word is your life, Mirri,% said the druid.
%My life,% she agreed, %that Gerrard, "anna, and Tahngarth are no
enemies to 4lanowar.%
The druid nodded, then steed forward. %!hen you seak Mirri)s
name, it means nothing to us. !hen she seaks yours, it means all.
*ou are welcome here.%
Gerrard said, %,ur thanks,% then grinned at Mirri. %*ou do like a
dramatic entrance. "ow long were you watching&%
The cat warrior)s green eyes narrowed with leasure. %A while.%
%!e weren)t in any real danger then&% said "anna as she
retrie#ed her sword. The el#es had lowered their bows. $ome of the
younger ones were crowding close to e/amine us.
%,h, we were in danger,% said Gerrard. %+t wouldn)t be fun if the
danger weren)t real. 8ight, Mirri&%
% !eatherlight% + reminded him.
%*es, the shi,% said Gerrard. %+t)s aground in a meadow.% "e
wa#ed in the general direction.
%Actually,% said Mirri, %it)s more that way.%
"anna frowned and brought out her comass, but Mirri clicked her
tongue. %*ou won)t ha#e much success reckoning with that,% she said.
%-ot in 4lanowar.%
Grinning, one of the young el#es taed the comass glass, then
laughed to see the astonishment on "anna)s face. %"e touched it, and
the needle went sinning'%
To Gerrard Mirri said, % !eatherlight will be unmolested. + can
send word to 6atain $isay if you like.%
Gerrard oened his mouth, but + cut him off. %$isay has been
kidnaed. !e must free her. !ill you come& *es, and we)re away
with you. -o, and we)re away without you. Answer now.%
Mirri)s tail flicked again. Gerrard started to seak, and this time it
was Mirri who cut him off. %The minotaur asks a 2uestion, and +)ll gi#e
him an answer. The #illage where + ha#e li#ed these seasons ast is
close to here. An aboroth was >ust disco#ered growing nearby.%
At mention of the monster, the el#es grew stiff and e/changed
glances.
%There is not time enough to build war machines to distract and
destroy it,% she continued, %so the el#es must fight with their arrows
and their courage. + will hel them.%
%!e go without you, then,% + said, turning away.
%!hen the aboroth riens, we can destroy it together,% Mirri said.
%!ith !eatherlight.%
+ turned back to face her. %$isay needs us now. !e go without
you.%
%$o you would ha#e Mirri abandon her new friends, kin to
8ofellos&% asked Gerrard.
%-o'% + bellowed, and the el#es nearest me >umed away. More
softly, + said, %-o. 8ofellos was my friend. Mirri does right. $he stays
to hel the kin of one who was bra#e. That is well chosen. 0ut must
we tarry here also& !ho knows what 6atain $isay suffers&%
%Tahngarth is right,% "anna said.
Gerrard stared steadily at the cat warrior. %"ow long until the
aboroth riens&%
%Two days,% she said.
Gerrard looked at "anna, then at me. %!e stay and hel. That)s
my decision.%
+ oened my mouth, but he raised his hand and said, %+ ha#e
decided.%
+ felt my hands clutch the handle of my a/e. + thought of the
words ,rim wanted me to onder. "e resists what must be. (id she
think those words would soften my heart&
Gerrard knew we must hasten to $isay)s aid, but he would ha#e
us dawdle here two days' "e resisted what must be, indeed'
B B B B B
The ne/t day, we flew gentle circles o#er the #illage where the
aboroth was growing. The #illage, or so the el#es who flew with us
said, was in the stand of trees close beside the growing monster. +
could see no signs of a #illage in those trees, but + lacked the el#en
eye.
"owe#er, it took no el#en eye to see the monster. 5rom the air, it
was hard to understand how the el#es, who knew their own forest so
well, could ha#e missed the mounds of swelling earth in the little
clearing so close at hand, until the thing was nearly grown.
%There was a hillock there already,% the tallest of the three el#es
said. %!e knew an aboroth was srouting only when the mound began
to change its shae-mere days ago.%
%And can you not dig away the earth, to kill it while it slees&%
asked Gerrard.
+ had long ago asked the 2uestion of 8ofellos when he)d told me
of aboroths. 0ut to dig away the mound only dri#es the white threads
of mycelium deeer, where the aboroth will form of stone instead of
soil. The monster will take more time to form, then, but it will emerge
stronger, bigger, and longer li#ed.
$uch was the answer of the el#es to Gerrard.
The lan, as Mirri hatched it, was thus: The el#es would draw the
waking aboroth away from the #illage. !ithout machines of war, the
el#es could not hoe to stand against the creature for long, but ere it
had born down uon them, !eatherlight would fly close to the
aboroth. 3l#es uon the uer deck would harry it with arrows,
drawing its attention. Then, lest it should knock us from the air, Mirri
would loose some sell on it, a lightning bolt that would distract it
again, drawing it close to her.
%Then the el#es will attack again,% said Mirri. %Then !eatherlight.
Then + again. And so, by trading turns, we may hoe to kee the
wrath of the aboroth from falling s2uare uon us. +n time, it will
shrink, grow weaker, and die.%
%And if the aboroth turns not from one foe to the ne/t&% + said.
%!hat then&%
Gerrard)s laughter boomed, though + could hear the strain in it.
"e was ill at ease, retending. %!hat then& Then we stand and fight
the thing as best we can. !hat else&%
%+n aboroth season,% said the tallest elf, %much of our fate goes
unchosen.%
+ grunted. %And what season is there then, but aboroth season&%
The elf smiled. %.ust so.%
Another elf said, %!e will lan as best we may, and take what
comes. 0e it for good or ill, sring follows winter.%
%?erhas Gerrard may yet hatch a better lan,% said Mirri. %The
artifacts in the shi)s hold might roduce some magical effect. !hat
think you, Gerrard& *ou were always better than + in the wielding of
such de#ices.%
%+ndeed&% + said. + looked at Gerrard. %"e said that he must fetch
you. That you would know artifacts. That you could set the Thran
crystal for the world of 8ath.%
%$et a Thran crystal&% said the cat warrior. %Gerrard was e#er the
better man with artifacts. My talent is for sells.% %Gerrard,% + said,
%you lied.%
%-o,% he relied coldly. %$he may yet knew better than + how to
calibrate the crystal.%
+ shook my head until my beads rattled. %*ou lied' ,r misled us'
The difference is between ice and fro1en water.% + ointed at Mirri.
%*ou wanted to come for her, so you told us what you thought we
must hear'% And + left him there with Mirri and the el#es, who could
now doubt him as + did.
+ relie#ed "anna at the bridge. 5rom there, + watched Mirri and
the el#es continue talking. Gerrard went belowdecks. +n a while, ,rim
came to see me.
%*ou go too far,% she said.
%And so he goes to you and begs your intercession. "e lied to us,
,rim.%
%-o. "e hoed that Mirri would know what he himself did not.%
%!e ha#e lost days.%
%+ know.%
%+ would lief seek out our catain without his hel, without
Mirri)s.%
%+ know.%
%+ do not trust him'%
,rim said, % )"e resists what must be.) "a#e you thought uon
those words&%
%+ndeed' And that is why + do not trust him'%
%*ou ha#e not thought long enough or hard enough.%
$he left the bridge.
B B B B B
!e landed in the clearing where the aboroth still slet. +t would
not be long in waking, the el#es told us.
+ went to insect the i#ot >oints of the masts, to check the
riggings, and, while + was about, to look for $2uee. The goblin had
taken to hiding whene#er we had el#es aboard, and he was neglecting
his duties. The bridge wanted sweeing.
Gerrard aced the deck, a frown on his face. 0rooding.
(id he e/ect an aology& + would grant him none. +n truth, he
did not so much as glance at me. $omething else troubled his
thoughts.
"e sought out "anna, walked the deck with her, talking. At last
he commanded =arn, the sil#ery giant, to follow him belowdecks. They
were gone long, doing + knew not what in !eatherlight)s hold. !hen
they came onto the deck again, the golem)s back was bent beneath a
can#as-wraed burden. !hate#er he carried, it was as big as the
hulking golem himself. At Gerrard)s command, =arn took the burden
forward, to the uer deck where the el#ish archers were to harry the
aboroth. The shis)s lanks creaked and bowed beneath the golem)s
feet.
The can#as fell away, and + saw the yramidal shae of the Thran
forge. Gerrard set to roing the yramid into lace, its surface car#ed
with strange glyhs. + noticed that he wore an amulet-a big unwieldy
thing. 3#en from amidshis, + could see its design: a golden face with
red eyes and a be>eweled mouth.
!hat was it& + did not then know it for the Touchstone. +
understood the imortance of the 4egacy. + knew $isay)s
determination to collect the artifacts that comrised it. 0ut + did not
know the names of all or what each of them did.
Gerrard tied another roe around the base of !eatherlight)s
foremost lam. "e tugged hard to see that it was secure, but left the
rest of that roe coiled uon the deck.
0eneath the shi, the ground shook. The aboroth was waking.
B B B B B
+ had gone to the bridge to ready the shi for launch. Gerrard
found me there. "e was ulling on glo#es.
%!hen we)re aloft,% he said, %forget our original lans. 6ircle in
behind the aboroth. 6lose. 6ome in slow, so + can dro down onto its
head. Gi#e me to the count of ten, and then get away, fast'%
!hat madness was this& + could not find the words to ask him
before he had disaeared from the hatchway. "e srinted to the
uer deck. The el#ish archers had come aboard. !ith "anna, they
>oined Gerrard. ,rim had come on deck, and she went to the railing.
,ther el#es were streaming into the clearing, bows at the ready. And +
saw Mirri gliding swiftly through the grass to another art of the
meadow.
Gerrard shouted, %Get us aloft'%
+ did so. As we rose into the sky, the white-eyed aboroth raised
its face from the ground and howled.
B B B B B
!hat haened ne/t& "ow fared we in this battle with the
aboroth&
+)ll come to that. 0ut first ...
(id + not say from the beginning that the fires of >udgment
burned hot in me& +t was so. + was born Three 0eads. + still wore the
red, blue, and green beads of my clan uon my head. And Three
0eads of Talruum, we ha#e e#er been minotaurs who were swift to
>udge, to condemn.
,rim had said to me, %"e resists what must be.%
+ had not the ears to hear what she meant. 0ut as the aboroth
rose onto its feet, as + circled !eatherlight behind it, + watched
Gerrard. 0y some magical means, he had set the yramidal Thran
forge to glowing.
+ aroached the back of the monster)s head, and Gerrard
shouted something to the el#es. "e grinned as a ray of light flashed
from the forge and showered the aboroth with sarks. $trange, ale
fires flickered across the forge)s surface.
The surface of the aboroth began to change from mud and
#egetation to something shinier, something smooth and lated. 8i#ets
oed u like ock marks.
Madness' + thought, for this would make the monster stronger.
0ut + did as he)d said. + slowed the shi, and we ho#ered o#er the
creature)s head-"anna, eering o#er the bow, guided me with hand
signals. 5rom the bridge, + could no longer see the aboroth below us.
Gerrard threw his roe o#er the shi)s side. "e took the roe in his
glo#ed hands and droed out of sight.
+ counted. The >ourney from one to ten seemed to take all day.
Then + ressed the engine hard, e#en before "anna had signaled.
!eatherlight bucked under the strain, then surged.
The metal-sheathed aboroth was looking u at us as we shot ast
its shoulder. ,ne monstrous hand reached u as if to sei1e and crush
the shi. 0ut Gerrard sat uon the crown of the aboroth)s head,
holding on with one hand and touching the amulet with the other. "e
chanted.
The aboroth fro1e.
+ circled and watched. "anna e/lained it to me later. The forge
had turned the aboroth into a creature of artifice, a being, like =arn,
that could be switched on or off. And the amulet, the Touchstone, was
a switch.
The yramid on the foredeck continued to glow. 5rom time to
time, the aboroth began, creakily, to mo#e. Gerrard would touch the
amulet again, chant the words, and the aboroth would free1e once
more.
And it shrank. As we circled and watched, the aboroth was smaller
and smaller. Gerrard rode its head all the way to the ground until the
aboroth had shrunk into dust, into nothingness.
3l#es shook their bows and cheered. Mirri con>ured a lightning
bolt, >ust for effect. Thunder was a death knell for the aboroth.
"e resists what must be.
+ thought about those words. + thought about 6atain $isay, how
she also might ha#e known how to use the forge and the amulet. 0ut
would she ha#e known how to use them together&
Gerrard was no great sorcerer, but he had a touch with the
4egacy-a touch like no one else aboard !eatherlight would ha#e, not
e#en when we reco#ered $isay.
"e resists what must be. Gerrard had run away from the truth,
from the sacrifices and ain that truth demands.
$o had +.
+ had >udged Gerrard, as was my wont. 0ut + had not >udged
myself.
"e resists what must be. ,rim meant me. + was resisting what
must be.
Gerrard was a man of considerable flaws. 0ut we needed him.
Moreo#er, he needed us to hel him become what he must be: a man
worthy of the 4egacy.
As + landed in the meadow full of celebrating el#es, ,rim >oined
me on the bridge. + said, %"e resists what must be. 0ut what will be,
will be.%
$he smiled gently.
%That doesn)t mean + ha#e to like him,% + grumbled. %-or will +
retend to like him.%
Again, she said nothing, only smiling that smile.
%!e need him,% + admitted with a sigh.
,rim nodded and left me alone on the bridge again. + yanked hard
on the lanyard that rang the shi)s bell. + rang imatiently, reeatedly,
until Gerrard and Mirri said their goodbyes to the el#es and got on
board.
And we left 4lanowar by command of Gerrard, master of
!eatherlight.
May he yet grow to fill his boots.

"ere ends the Tale of Tahngarth


A Dark Room

+lcaster had mo#ed from the floor to a bundle of aers, where he
erched, chin on his hand, as the old man soke. (imly, both could
hear the atter of rain beating against the windows. The wind outside
whirled in an angry gale, and within its moans could sometimes be
heard the hiss and clatter of hail. +t was as if the hea#ens themsel#es
were assaulting the library. *et the two figures were so absorbed-one
in telling, the other in listening-that they no longer aid attention to
the sounds without.
%+ think Gerrard must ha#e been really cle#er,% the boy obser#ed.
%+magine using two artifacts together like that. And he did to the
aboroth with the Touchstone what 7uel had done to =arn once before.%
The librarian nodded. %*es. ?erhas that)s where Gerrard got his
insiration for that strategy. ,r, erhas, he did ha#e a secial way
with the 4egacy, some art of his mind that knew instincti#ely how
each bit fit together to make a unified whole that was greater than the
sum of its arts.%
+lcaster nodded. %*es, +)m sure that)s it. +t must ha#e been-after
all, he was heir to the 4egacy.% "e shifted his legs under him,
stretched, and nestled down on the floor. The old man, looking at him,
was reminded of a kitten curled at the feet of its owner.
%$o now that they had Mirri on board, was !eatherlight ready to
tra#el to 8ath and rescue the catain&% +lcaster asked.
%-o. Mirri was ready to >oin the shi, but she was insufficiently
skilled in magic to maniulate the crystal that would allow them to
laneshift to 8ath. Gerrard turned to "anna, the shi)s na#igator, but
she too was unable to maniulate the crystal. They would need a
wi1ard. "anna)s father, 0arrin-%
The old man broke off. %+s there something the matter with your
hearing, boy&% he growled testily.
+lcaster started and droed the iece of archment at which he)d
been staring. %+)m sorry, Master,% he said. %+ was wondering ... is this
a lan of the shi&%
The old man took u the archment and sread it out beneath the
glow of the candle. %+ndeed it is,% he grunted. %"ere, don)t mo#e that
candle. *ou might get wa/ on it. There)s sufficient light to see by, e#en
with my old eyes. There.%
The two heads bent in unison o#er the archment: one dark and
curly, the other white-haired with atches of scal showing through
the strands.
%$ee now,% said the librarian. "is fingers danced o#er the age,
touching, indicating, almost stroking. %This is the main deck of the
shi. -otice that the sails are feathered back o#er the stern. The
bridge was located about two-thirds of the way back along the deck,
while the row of the shi was taken u with the forward cabins. Along
the hull were sines for landing and suort, so that when the shi ut
down on land it wouldn)t ti o#er. "ere)s the ilot)s station, and here-
%his fingers hesitated for a moment%-here is where the ower crystal
was located.%
+lcaster nodded. %+ see. And that)s what they needed "anna)s
father for.%
The librarian shook his head. %0arrin might hel them, so "anna
said. 0ut she was reluctant to aroach him, since she and her arent
had been estranged for years.%
%That sounds terribly sad. !hy did father and daughter fight&%
%!ell, 0arrin was a wi1ard, while "anna had de#oted much of her
studies to artifacts. $he was con#inced that artifacts were a far truer
art than wi1ardly magic. +ndeed, she held magic in some contemt.
$he and her father had argued on the sub>ect for many years, but
neither had ersuaded the other.%
+lcaster looked thoughtful. %+ don)t think +)#e heard of Tolaria,% he
said. %+ don)t remember seeing it on any mas. !here-&%
%*ou won)t find it on mas of (ominaria,% interruted the
librarian. +n fact, few eole ha#e e#er been there, and the way to the
island is fraught with danger. $ome say that in ast centuries, in years
beyond count, some great disaster occurred there. Many soke of it,
but they a#oided it. "anna, though, knew the way, and Gerrard
ersuaded her that without a wi1ard, they were defeated before they
e#en started. 8eluctantly she agreed to guide !eatherlight to the
island.
%$o 0arrin >oined the comany&%
%!ell, no,% said the master with a knowing frown. %Matters turned
out a bit differently than "anna and Gerrard e/ected.%

Ertai's Tale
Hannovi Braddok

,ne of the things that made 0arrin such an e/cellent teacher was
his ractice of bringing me into his study from time to time to e#aluate
my rogress. +)m always delighted to hear such an e/ert recount my
#irtues, so these sessions in his tower were something + looked
forward to with great anticiation.
At the last such session, seated behind his desk of blue >ade, he
began, as he always did, %3rtai, you are a most, ah, astonishing
arentice.%
%*es,% + acknowledged. + was seated before him, but + let my ga1e
wander out the window, down into the 4otus 7ale where the fields of
flowers shifted colors in the bree1e. $uch a sentence was reliminary
to a discussion of my recent accomlishments. +t was a formula. -ot
that + tired of hearing it.
%*our memory of sells, your subtle sense of shifting energies,
your artfulness as a young wi1ard all continue to ama1e me. *ou are a
credit to this island and to all who ha#e studied the magical arts here.%
%+ know,% + said. And + knew as well the words that always came
ne/t: *ou ha#e tremendous nati#e ability.
+ was so accustomed to these words following the others that
when he said, %"owe#er, there is one difficulty,% + said, %Thank you.%
%3rtai.%
+ turned to find his gray eyes studying me. %+ mean ...% + said, and
stoed. + oened my mouth again, but no words came out. After a
momentary struggle, + managed to utter in a strangled #oice,
%(ifficulty&%
!hat about my tremendous nati#e ability& + wanted to add.
+f 0arrin noticed my changed #oice, he ga#e no sign of it. %A
difficulty, yes. A shortcoming, if you will.%
%A shortcoming&%
"e looked as if this discussion ained him. %This isn)t easy to
confront you with.%
6onfront me. As if + had committed some crime. %Master 0arrin, +
stand falsely accused. + am, as you know, scruulously honest-%
%There we touch on the matter,% he said, leaning forward. %3rtai,
this does ha#e to do with your )honesty.) $ome would call it by other
names.%
+ thought about that. %+f you mean what some of the other
arentices say, they are wrong,% + said tentati#ely. %They accuse me
of boasting. "owe#er, + merely tell the truth, and it sounds like
boasting to them. 6an + hel it that their skills are meager comared
to my-%
+ was going to say my tremendous nati#e ability, but 0arrin
interruted me once more. %+ don)t think it)s a matter of your
tramling on the feelings of others. The truth is, 3rtai, + think the
feelings of others are all but in#isible to you. 0rilliant though you may
be with sells, in social relations you are a little ... slow.%
%$low&% Me& Absurd.
%This is a shortcoming you must address, esecially now that
e#erything is about to change.%
%6hange, Master 0arrin&%
%That)s the first art of the change. 6all me 0arrin, lain and
simle. *ou)#e long since earned your #estments as a wi1ard adet.%
"e stood and went to an oaken wardrobe that bore the >agged sigil of
lightning on its doors. !ith a wa#e of his hands, he discharged the
sell into the ceiling and the clear blue sky abo#e. The island of Tolaria
crackled and boomed with the flash and thunder, and sarks of
electricity still danced between the doors as he oened them.
%*our tunic and chain,% he said, bringing them to me. %?ut them
on.%
$ome wi1ards may doubt they will earn this moment. + ne#er had.
All my re#ious discomfiture #anished. The only 2uestion remaining in
my mind was if 0arrin could bear to lose me as a student.
+ slied the tunic o#er my shoulders and fastened the chain
about me. + would look 2uite elegant wearing them. -o surrise. +
wear most anything with elegance. +t)s a matter of osture, you see,
and a handsome build.
%And now,% 0arrin said, %+ must oint you toward an oortunity.%
And he began to seak.
There were three strangers in TolariaA strangers to me, at any
rate. ,ne was 0arrin)s daughter, who had returned after a long
absence. Another was a 0enalish master-at-arms who wore throwing
kni#es and a swagger. 4ast was a cat warrior whom +)d seen in 0arrin)s
garden, sunning herself on the stones.
%The 0enalish is called Gerrard,% said 0arrin. %"e is heir to a
collection of artifacts known as the 4egacy. *ou know, of course, what
+ am talking about, how imortant these ob>ects are.%
+n truth +)d aid little attention to artifacts during my studies.
There are few artifacts that can do anything a good sell can)t do.
Magical machines are a crutch for lesser wi1ards.
As these thoughts assed through my head, 0arrin told me about
an airshi called !eatherlight, on which these three ser#ed as crew.
5or the resent, Gerrard was ser#ing as the shi)s catain. The craft)s
re#ious catain, $isay, had been abducted and sirited to another
world, a lane called 8ath.
0y means of its Thran crystal, 0arrin obser#ed, !eather light
could tra#el to 8ath, ro#ided a sufficiently owerful wi1ard could be
found to calibrate the crystal. Then, as 0arrin continued, + confess my
mind wandered a little and + thought of tra#el to other lanes-a
fascinating rosect and one + hoe to someday achie#e.
%$he has leaded with me to >oin the crew,% 0arrin said.
%!ho&%
%My daughter,% snaed my teacher irritably. %!eren)t you
listening& 0ut the 0enalish has suggested that instead they take you. +
agree with him. +t)s a chance for you to test your skills outside of
Tolaria.%
And to sread my reutation beyond Tolaria, + thought.
%3/cellent.%
%-o doubt you are wondering what the roblem is between my
daughter and myself that kees me from going,% 0arrin said.
+ wasn)t, in fact, the least bit curious, but 0arrin continued. %All
the time she has been here, she has not once met my eyes-%
%$urely,% + said hastily, %this is a ri#ate matter&%
"e looked at me steadily. %!hy, yes it is,% he said. %+... thank you
for understanding that.%
+ nodded.
%My daughter is an e/ert in magical machineries. *ou might want
to re#iew what you know of artifacts before you meet her.%
%-ot necessary,% + assured him.
%(o remember what +)#e said about your honesty, 3rtai. =ee
more of your obser#ations to yourself. *ou)ll do all right, + think.%
%0etter than all right, +)m sure.%
,n my way down from the tower, + stoed in the niche where a
mirror was hung. To my reflection, draed becomingly in the new tunic
and chain, + said, %And you ha#e tremendous nati#e ability.%
B B B B B
!hen + met the crew of !eatherlight they were hastily wolfing a
meal, refilling water ouches, and relenishing other sulies. + ket in
mind what 0arrin had said. +t was, after all, better for them to disco#er
my remarkable talents for themsel#es, and gradually so they might
not be too o#ercome. After a first course of roasted duck, + sat in
silence, only nodding now and then as 0arrin introduced me and
raised my skills.
The three tra#elers each soke in turn of their ersonal histories.
!hen Gerrard told me of his mastery of arms, + did not note how
meager an accomlishment this was comared to my mastery of a
more difficult sub>ect at, frankly, a somewhat younger age. !hen
"anna told me of her archeological studies at the Argi#ian @ni#ersity
and her interest in artifacts, + did not casually instruct her in the #ast
limitations of artifacts. !hen Mirri mentioned that she had, with
difficulty, learned to cast lightning, + did not call her attention to the
many Tolarian children who do so easily before the age of eight.
All three recounted their long >ourney to Tolaria in the storm-
tossed sea. They had trouble lifting the magical #eil that hides the
island from most mortal eyes. "anna had
been born here, but that heled hardly at all. Merfolk attacked
them, and then after they left their shi moored on the shore, they
struggled through life- saing ?endrell mists to the island)s sunny
heart. + thought of symathi1ing with what must ha#e been an ordeal
for a arty with such limited abilities. +nstead, + merely obser#ed that
Gerrard had not mentioned his own magical training.
%*ou can feel that +)#e had e/erience in the magical arts&%
Gerrard asked.
%My sense of the shifting energies around eole is unusual in its
subtlety.%
%+t)s true,% 0arrin said. "e seemed leased. + was aarently on
the right track toward correcting what he suosed to be a
%shortcoming,% though + still thought that honesty could hardly be
counted as a flaw.
%3rtai has,% 0arrin continued, %tremendous nati#e ability.%
%That may be so,% said his daughter, %but our needs are
seciali1ed.%
%+ should think your needs were general,% + said. %+ sense no
remarkable talents in any of you.%
The cat warrior clicked her teeth together. $he narrowed her
green eyes. %+ think we)#e been insulted,% she said softly.
%More wine&% asked 0arrin, standing to take u the bottle.
%"anna& Mirri, will you ha#e a dro more& 3rtai, gi#e me your goblet.%
%+nsulted&% + said. %!hen is the simle truth an insult& + mean
only that your enemies, by snatching your catain across the lanes,
demonstrate significant magical ower. (o you think you can match
such foes with a childish lightning bolt or two&%
The cat warrior stood, and her chair rattled to the floor. $he
fle/ed her hands, unsheathing her claws.
%3asy, Mirri,% said Gerrard, touching her arm. To me he said,
%?erhas you mean no offense, but you might choose your words more
carefully.%
%+ am meticulous in my choice of words,% + assured him. %+ always
say >ust what + mean.%
%Then we will be as frank,% Gerrard told me. %!hat we need is a
wi1ard, one who can set the Thran crystal and get our shi to 8ath.
6an you do that&%
%+t would be far more elegant to make a direct translation to 8ath,
to oen the gate between the lanes without resorting to some mere
artifact.%
"anna)s face grew red. %Artifacts,% she said, %are the most
efficient, the most reliable ...%
%!ait,% Gerrard said. %6an you do that& 6an you make a direct
translation to 8ath&%
%6ertainly.%
0arrin raised his eyebrows at me.
%-ot at resent,% + amended. %0ut it is within my gras. ?erhas
in another year.%
%!e don)t ha#e a year,% said Gerrard. %$isay needs us now. 6ould
you set the Thran crystal aboard !eatherlight'%
%$ir, there is no magical obstacle that will not in the end yield to
me.%
%0ut the crystal-&%
%Take him'% 0arrin shouted. "e seemed surrised by his own
enthusiasm and said more softly, %3rtai is 2uite astonishing, really.
Gi#e him a try'%
Gerrard looked from 0arrin, to me, to Mirri, who still had not
reclaimed her seat. 0ut it was "anna, staring intently at her emty
late, who soke. $he said, %!e)ll take him if he asses a test.%
As a #olunteer for !eatherlight crew, + e/ected nothing in return
e/cet whate#er fame my e/loits would ine#itably bring me. And the
crew e/ected me to submit to a test& 0arrin had already declined to
>oin them. ,ther adets, e#en those recently romoted, would e/ect
ayment in gold, and !eatherlight did not offer gold to its crew. + was
not only their best choice, but their only choice. ,b#iously.
The ob#ious, unfortunately, was not something they easily
grased. Gerrard and "anna >oined Mirri in insisting uon this test. $o
a few hours later + found myself on a hillto, where they >oined me.
The cat warrior eyed me narrowly, twitching her tail. "anna, with a
sack slung o#er her shoulder, looked sullen. ,nly Gerrard wore a trace
of a smile, erhas a sign that he, at least, was aware of the irony that
the likes of them should test me. 4ike "anna, he carried something in
a bag, something sherical and the si1e of a garden mirror.
+n the #ale below, a fog was gathering. + ket an eye on it, for
Tolarian fogs can be dangerous.
%The test is simle,% "anna said, setting down her burden. $he
oened the bag and withdrew an ordinary looking stone. %+t)s an oral
e/am.%
%*ou)d rather that + talked than ga#e a demonstration&% + said. +
looked at Gerrard. %!hat kind of test is that&% 0ut the master-at-arms
said nothing.
"anna handed me the stone. %+dentify this.%
%+t)s a rock,% + said, looking at it. %And not e#en a clean one.% +
handed it back to her.
$he frowned. %-othing secial about it&%
+ had detected some sectral flow, some energetic flu/ in the
stone, but nothing remarkable. +t might be used to ower an artifact, +
suosed, but as artifacts were beneath my notice, + shook my head.
%+t doesn)t interest me at all.%
%+t is said to ha#e come from a lost +catian tomb.%
%5rom the trash hea of history,% + said. %!hy muck about in the
ast, woman, when you can in#ent the resent or create the future&%
"anna looked at me sternly. %The Argi#ian @ni#ersity taught me
two things: always look to the ast, and ne#er dismiss what aears
useless.%
%My education,% + relied, %has taught me considerably more than
two things.%
The cat warrior ga#e a laugh, cut off at a glare from "anna. +
smiled. +f +)d made one of them laugh, it was a sign that + was winning
them o#er.
5rom the bag, "anna withdrew a helmet of some sort, but one
that was unwearable. Mounted inside it was a stone similar to the one
she)d >ust gi#en me, though this one glowed. %!hat + showed you was
a mind stone, unmounted,% she said. %6ontrol this, and you can ower
one or two smaller artifacts.%
%0ut why would one want to control any artifacts at all& !hy rely
on some dead tinkerer)s construction, when you can con>ure by your
own wits&% The fog below us, + noticed, was shifting in rather
unleasant ways, as if something were being born from within it.
%6ome, ask me to demonstrate something worthy.%
"anna sho#ed the mounted mind stone back into her bag and
hastily withdrew a short rod. There was some twisty wire work at one
end. %!hat)s this&%
+ handled it distastefully, though it was cleaner than the stone had
been. %Another artifact,% + said. + taed the end without wires. %The
effect emanates here.%
%0ut what effect&%
%-othing + care about, + assure you.%
Gerrard laughed. %+ don)t belie#e this.% That was a strange thing
to say. "e could rely, absolutely, on anything + said, and + told him so.
$trangely, he laughed again.
%+t)s the -ull 8od,% "anna said.
%-amed aroriately,% + said. %A rod of nothing.%
%+t)s e/tremely useful,% she insisted.
Mirri was watching the mists, which coiled and writhed, then were
still. %There)s something in the fog,% she said.
%-ot yet,% + said.
%!hat-%
"anna cut her off. %+ ha#e disabled the -ull 8od. +f it were acti#e,
then se#eral of the other artifacts wouldn)t work at all. +t creates a
countering field of-%
%-othing + can)t do better myself,% + told her. %And as for making
the other artifacts sto working, you can do the same by droing
them from a great height.%
%These are great and rare in#entions'% "anna snaed. $he took
the bag that Gerrard had been holding and unco#ered the globe
within. +t was a ball of metal stris. Through gas in the metal, + saw
gears and srings. %(o you know what this is&%
%"ow can + imress uon you the simle truth that + do not care
what it is&% + said, erhas a bit more sharly than + had intended.
%+ gi#e u,% "anna said, turning to Gerrard. %"e knows the names
of nothing, the history of nothing, and hasn)t a clue about how things
work. "ow is he e#er going to set the Thran crystal&%
%+f it)s necessary, if some mechanical trick is the only way to do
something,% + assured her, %+)ll find a way.% "er arrogance irritated
me. The only lesson she)d understand was an ob>ect one. ?utting my
hands behind my back, + cast a web that 0arrin called %Abeyance.%
%+n truth,% + said to "anna, %+ doubt that you yourself can make
this ball of scra metal do anything imressi#e.%
%$cra metal& *ou call a 6himeric $here scra metal&% $he set
her >aw, drew the mounted Mind $tone from its bag, and tried to shift
the shae of the shere. !ith my sell in lace, the metal wared and
twisted itself, momentarily grew head and wings, but collased back
into its unimressi#e shae.
%!ell&% said Gerrard.
"anna tried again, and again her energies only artly charged the
shere, then collased in uon themsel#es. $he looked at Gerrard,
then eyed me with susicion. %+ can)t.%
%That)s the difference between us,% + said mildly. % )6an)t) is not a
word you)ll hear me say.%
%*ou)#e got to like his confidence,% Gerrard said, laughing.
%+t)s confidence well earned,% + said. %4ook'% + wa#ed my hands at
the sky. A 6one of 5lame gyred and twisted with orange intensity.
%!here)s the artifact that matches that& ,r this& +f your enemies
attack you from across the distant lanes, what artifact will burn them
as they cross&% As the 6one burned itself out, + cast an Aether 5lash.
3arth and sky flickered red. %The gateway between lanes is set afire.
*our enemies would si11le before their feet touched ground.%
The energies of these sells dissiated. + disenchanted my own
web of Abeyance and cast a final, longer lasting sell. +n a uff of
smoke my familiar settled uon my shoulder, red eyes eering at my
%e/aminers.%
Mirri laughed. %That sotted blue li1ard is meant to imress us&%
%"e)s small,% + said, %but your e2ual in battle.%
$he bared her claws. %Again the insults'%
+ threw u my hands. %*ou erle/ me. + ask you again, where is
the insult in a simle truth&%
%6an you summon other beings&% Gerrard asked.
%+ can summon a d>inn,% + told him. + did not mention that the
creature was almost as dangerous to me as to anyone + might turn it
against. ?erhas, after all, 0arrin was right that some honesty was
e/cessi#e.
%*ou can)t be lanning to take him,% "anna cried. %"e)s hoeless
with artifacts'%
5rom the comer of my eye, + saw something gray gliding through
the sky. Mirri turned to face it at the same time + did. A tendril had
arted from the fog in the #alley, and at the end of that tendril was a
ghost, a mist hantom with teeth and claws that glittered like ice. ,r
steel.
"anna saw it too. %5og elemental,% she said.
%(angerous&% Gerrard asked.
%,nly when they are in a wicked mood,% + obser#ed. %0ut that)s
the only mood they e#er seem to be in.%
The elemental was drifting in a circle around us, erhas selecting
its rey. Mirri)s sword rang as she drew it from its long scabbard.
%-ot much hoe in that,% + said. %+t)s owerful. +t gets in one
strike before it melts into ordinary #aor, but that blow would be
enough for any of us.%
The elemental seemed to ha#e decided uon its target. $ilently, it
swelled and oened wide its #aorous arms and began to siral
nearer.
%3rtai,% Gerrard said, %this is your best chance to imress me.%
+ thought 2uickly. ?erhas he was right. ?erhas it was time to
imress all of them. "anna was reaching into her bag. + snatched it
from her.
%"ey'%
"anna had >ust drained the energy from the mounted Mind $tone,
but the unmounted one, dirty as it was, had an untaed charge. +
looked at the 6himeric $here, feeling for sectral lines in the Mind
$tone and in the metal ball.
The fog elemental sun closer.
%!hat are you doing&% "anna said. %4et me ha#e that'%
!ings srang into shae on the shere. %-ot the shere'% "anna
cried. %+ ha#e a bett-%
+ turned my shoulder to her, keeing the bag out of reach. %*ou
wanted a test'% + snaed.
My control was imerfect as + set the wings to bu11ing. +merfect,
but why should it be any better when, as + say, artifacts are beneath
my notice& + managed. The shere lifted into the air as the fog
elemental made a sound like the long inward rush of breath. Glittering
claws descended.
And closed on metal.
There was the sound of metal bands snaing, srings cracking,
and ri#ets creaking until they oed.
The elemental melted into mist, and what was left of the 6himeric
$here fell to the ground with a crash. + handed the stone to "anna
and brushed the dirt from my alms. %*ou might clean that rock,% +
said. %+t)s 2uite unleasant to handle.%
%My shere'% $he ran to kneel beside it.
Turning to Gerrard, + said, %+ trust + ha#e ro#en my ability.%
%,h, it)s been 2uite a demonstration,% said the master-at-arms.
%Thank you,% + said. And + bowed.
%*ou)#e uset my daughter,% 0arrin told me in his study.
%$ome eole are ill e2uied to encounter their own limitations,%
+ sighed.
%Ah, yes,% 0arrin answered.
%+ look forward to >oining the shi.%
%3rtai, + hoe that when you meet the rest of the crew, you will be
careful to make a fa#orable imression.%
%,f course. They will 2uite naturally admire my abilities.%
%Ah, yes,% he said again. %0ut erhas you might make some
effort beyond, ah, >ust being yourself. After all, what would you do if
there were a clash of styles, as it were, and they asked you to return
to Tolaria&%
%*ou mean dismiss me&% + laughed at the idea.
%+)m serious.%
0arrin was getting old, and the old sometimes ha#e curious ideas.
+ humored him. %0arrin, you ha#e been a most e/cellent teacher. +
shall take your ad#ice.%
"e looked relie#ed.
And + did as he suggested. !hen + followed the trio back to their
shi, + made an effort to connect in the most friendly way with the
other crew members. +ndeed, they were the only comany a#ailable to
me, since "anna sent too much of her time fiddling with that
6himeric $here, Gerrard was brooding in his cabin, and Mirri had,
curiously, lost the ability to seak. ?erhas she was ill.
The minotaur, who busied himself with the shi)s rigging, was
easily drawn into con#ersation. + admired the construction of
!eatherlight, a sub>ect about which he was 2uite enthusiastic. +
shared my suggestions for how the shi might be imro#ed, but +
changed the sub>ect when his mind seemed to wander. + asked why he
was not decorated with scars as minotaurs always are.
%*ou think of the "urloon,% he said. %+ am Talruum. !e do not
scar our bodies and our horns. +t is an abomination before Torahn.%
%!ell Torahn should reconsider,% + said. %(ecorations imro#e a
minotaur.%
"e returned to working on the rigging, no doubt considering my
ad#ice.
,rim was the shi)s healer. + o#erheard her fussing about the
clutter of ointments and owders in her 2uarters, so while she was
abo#e decks, + did her the fa#or of sorting through her harmacy and
throwing out those things + knew to be useless. + offered to arrange
what remained alhabetically, but she said +)d heled 2uite enough.
And finally, there was the goblin. + layed a friendly >oke on him,
showing him the eelskin ouch + carry and asking if he did not think it
was e/actly the right color to be made of goblin skin. + did not, of
course, actually lie to him. + am scruulously honest.
+ think my >est made an imression uon him. +n fact, and + say
this with all modesty, + ha#e made an imression uon them all. +
hadn)t gi#en it much thought before, but without the slightest effort, +
seem to ha#e a knack for making first imressions.
+t may ro#e to be another thing, besides magic, for which + ha#e
tremendous nati#e ability.

"ere ends the Tale of 3rtai


A Dark Room

%!as 3rtai the last of !eatherlight)s crew to come aboard&% asked
+lcaster.
%-o,% relied his master. %They went to @rborg to ick u 6ro#a/,
whom they found before the cryt of his family. All his family had been
slain by the deni1ens of 8ath, and the estate itself was in ruins.
6ro#a/, too, was twisted and bitter, yearning for his lost $elenia. "e
came on board, #owing destruction against 7olrath as much as loyalty
to $isay.%
The old man sighed, and his hand absently ruffled his uil)s hair.
%"ate is a terrible curse, +lcaster. +t destroys those whom it consumes.
That is the true tragedy of 7olrath himself. And it became the tragedy
of 6ro#a/.%
The boy twisted imatiently. %0ut what haened, master&%
%They had one more assenger to ick u: $tarke.% The master
raised his hand. %+ know, + know. 0ut they needed his knowledge of
8ath.
%0ut Master, surely as treacherous as $tarke was-%
%Treacherous he certainly was. 0ut $tarke was e2ually
treacherous toward 7olrath.%
%"ow do you mean that, Master& $tarke was working for 7olrath,
wasn)t he&%
%True, but eole change, and $tarke had been through many
changes o#er the years. 5irst he had been 7uel)s mentor, urging him
to kill his father and Gerrard, always ushing him toward the dark
destiny that awaited him. Then when 7uel was transformed into
7olrath $tarke became the e#incar)s loyal ser#ant. 0ut one should
ne#er forget that $tarke was also working for those whom 7olrath
ser#ed-the ?hyre/ians. And soon he reali1ed that 7olrath might not
ser#e their interests as much as his own selfish ends. $tarke fled from
7olrath to (ominaria. +t was there he learned that his daughter,
Takara, had been taken hostage by the e#incar.%
+lcaster nodded. %*es, you said something about that earlier. That
was why $tarke maneu#ered $isay)s kidnaing-so that Gerrard would
go to 8ath.%
The old man snorted. %$tarke was trying to lay both sides
against the middle. +n fact, from his oint of #iew he would win no
matter what haened. +f 7olrath catured and killed Gerrard, $tarke
would get the credit as the one who had lured the 4egacy)s heir into
8ath. And if Gerrard killed 7olrath, well, Takara would be free and
$tarke, too, would be liberated from the e#incar)s control.%
%5inding $tarke wasn)t easy for Gerrard and !eatherlight)s crew.
"e was a risoner of a warlord named Mara/us, sent by 7olrath to
kee an eye on him. +n the warlord)s hands he twisted and turned,
looking for a way to sa#e his life and turn the situation to his rofit. "e
was reared to sell Gerrard to Mara/us, Mara/us to 7olrath, and
$isay to anyone. -onetheless, !eatherlight)s crew succeeded in
snatching him away from Mara/us. The warlord ga#e chase, ursuing
Gerrard, Mirri, and Tahngarth (the three who had rescued $tarke)
through a series of narrow, twisting canyons. At first light, they were
cornered by the warlord)s army. As the hulking figure of Mara/us
steed toward them, $tarke ulled free of Mirri)s restraining hands
and threw himself facedown before Mara/us. "e whined that he had
ersonally led Gerrard and his friends into a tra >ust so Mara/us could
destroy them, fulfilling the lans of 7olrath, their mutual master.%
+lcaster)s mouth was oen. %!hat a horrible thing to do'% he cried.
%!hat treachery' !hat-%
The old man nodded his head and again lifted his hand. %!ell,
well, such is the nature of those who betray. ,nce they begin, they
find it difficult to sto. $uch, erhas, was the case with $tarke. "e
saw the world through a series of twisted, tortured angles, all
con#erging uon himself. That, after all, was always his rimary goal:
to reser#e his own miserable skin.%
The librarian chuckled. %5ortunately, >ust at this oint, as
Mara/us)s soldiers were ad#ancing on Gerrard and his comanions,
and as they drew their swords, reared to sell their li#es as dearly as
ossible, there was a great shadow from abo#e. !eatherlight droed
from the sky uon the soldiers of the warlord, crushing some,
frightening others. 4ike all bullies, they fled in disorder, lea#ing behind
only Mara/us himself. =nowing that if he failed he would ha#e to face
7olrath)s anger, Mara/us rushed uon Gerrard, sword drawn, and the
two thrust and hacked at each other, the noise of their battle echoing
through the surrounding canyon.
%As Gerrard battled the warlord, seeking only to defend himself,
$tarke had one last bit of treachery u his slee#e: aearing suddenly
from behind a boulder, he buried his dagger in his cator)s back.%
+lcaster gased, then laughed aloud. %$er#ed him right'% he said.
%*es,% agreed the Master. %Gerrard was angered by the
dishonorable killing, but he forced $tarke to agree to guide the shi to
8ath. Together they boarded the shi. And so, at last, they set out
toward the unknown lane.%


II
T3M?3$T

A Dark Room

An enormous crash of thunder resounded, and a flash of lightning
slit the sky. There was a slintering from beyond the library windows.
That will be the oak tree in the courtyard, the old man thought sadly.
5or how many years has it stood& "e sighed and turned back to the
room)s interior, where the boy erused a leather-bound #olume, his
finger following along the lines.
% ) The hum of !eatherlight)s engines droed an octa#e as the
flying shi emerged from the aether between worlds. (ominaria
slied ast its hull like water running down glass ....)%
+lcaster broke off his recitation from the book and looked u at his
master. %$o they did manage to get to 8ath. And did they rescue
$isay&%
5rom beyond the window came the faint echo of cries, as if others
had seen the destruction wrought by the lightning bolt. The white-
haired librarian sighed.
%0ar the door, boy, so we won)t be disturbed'% he said. %+ don)t
feel like rushing about outside on a night such as this.%
+lcaster lifted the solid wooden bar with some difficulty and
slied it into the large metal stales on the iron-studded doors. "e
stared at them for a moment, then turned abrutly to the librarian.
%!ell, what haened&%
The man looked at the boy with the first signs of tenderness.
%7ery well. As the shi entered 8ath, the crew came uon a strange
and #iolent world. 6louds stretched from the hea#ens to the earth in
swirling columns of black and #iolet. 5ar below the #ery ground
seemed to sway and flow below the shi, as her sails flaed in a
raging storm.%
The Master fumbled for a moment through the ile of documents
through which the boy had sorted, then finally lunged his hand into
the middle and drew forth a slender #olume, bound in black leather.
,n its co#er was the faded title, The 0ook of 8ath. The librarian ran his
hand lo#ingly o#er the sine. %"ere,% he remarked, %is the most
comlete account of 8ath.% "e held it out to the boy with both ride
and treidation. %0e careful now.%
+lcaster took the book cautiously and looked somewhat
susiciously at the dense columns of writing. The librarian leaned o#er
his shoulder, fliing e/ertly through the fragile ages.
%Ah, yes. "ere.%
+lcaster s2uinted at the heading on the age. %5low- stone.% "e
traced the faded letters with a slender finger as he read aloud.
%The entire realm of 8ath is comrised of this artificial substance,
an aggregation of cell-si1ed ?hyre/ian de#ices. These nano-machines
collecti#ely form a material that is malleable, ultra-tough, and
resonds to mental commands, usually gi#en by the current 8athian
go#ernor.
?hyre/ia constructed a titantic mechanism to roduce this
substance in #ast amounts. This factory created the #ast mountain in
which the $tronghold, seat of the e#incar of 8ath, is located. !a#es of
newly created flowstone are constantly sewed from the to of the
eak and hurtle down the mountainside, creating enormous flowstone
lains.%
The boy finished the assage and looked rather hellessly at his
mentor, who sighed and took the book from him. %5lowstone,% he said
se#erely, %is-or rather, was- roduced on 8ath by a factory located
within 7olrath)s stronghold.%
%0ut what did it mean, Master, about resonding to mental
commands&%
%.ust what it said. The flowstone mo#ed, flowing from one lace to
another, e#en engulfing unwary intruders, at the sionic orders of the
e#incars of 8ath. That made it one of the most dangerous ha1ards with
which Gerrard and !eatherlight had to contend.
%As the crew ga1ed o#er the side of the #essel, they saw the
seacoast below gradually gi#e way to forest. Trees clung to one
another so closely that the ground was hidden. $tarke told Gerrard
that this was the #ery edge of the great $kyshroud, a #ast canoy of
trees that hid a swam beneath. 0ut, he warned the new commander
of !eather) light, the true dangers of 8ath often came suddenly uon
the unwary from those things not seen.
%As if to confirm his words, Tahngarth the minotaur, first mate of
the shi, cried aloud in warning. And from out of the clouds abo#e the
shi, lunged a dark and menacing #essel. +t was ?redator, and on its
bridge !eather) light)s crew, if they looked closely, might ha#e been
able to see its catain: Gre#en il-7ec.%

Greven's Tale
Philip Athahs

7hati il-(al knew that he was about to die. The rough, sickly
urle hands of his catain, Gre#en il- 7ec, held 7hati)s coiled locks in
a gri like a steel tra, and the first mate didn)t bother to struggle. "e
knew he was going to die, but that didn)t make the rosect any less
terrifying. "e tried to scream but only oened his 2ui#ering lis to his
furious master)s face in a tormented rictus of deseration.
%Ambition, 7hati il-(al,% Gre#en hissed at him, the e#incar)s face
so close to 7hati)s own that their breaths mingled e#en in the shar
warm wind of the skies of 8ath, %is a meal that oft times bites back.%
%(amn you,% 7hati managed through his tight chest.
Gre#en laughed, and 7hati imagined that hideous sound riing
into his chest to free1e his e/loding heart.
%(amn me,% Gre#en growled through the shrieking hiss of his own
laughter. %That)s a good one'%
7hati felt his feet lea#e ?redator)s deck, felt the frigid ?hyre/ian
metal of the rail slide down his back. "is master, his catain, his
murderer was a huge man, twisted and distorted-a horrid arody of
the human he had once been. Gre#en wore black ?hyre/ian armor, all
graceful sikes and flowing metal that ga#e him the aearance of a
monstrous crab. "is bare arms were corded muscle and twisting #eins
of urle against ale flesh. The commander was drenched in the
mingled blood of scores of mogg goblins and humans. A thin trail of
red trickled from a corner of Gre#en)s small, tight- lied mouth. The
e#incar)s face seemed grafted onto a steel-hard skull. "is glaring eyes
sloed in sharly to meet a flat nose.
The blood was beading on Gre#en)s face, the skin-if it could be
called skin-shining whitely beneath the scarlet. The fingers that held
7hati)s hair were long, owerful, and tied in ointed cas of the
same black metal as his armor. 7hati wanted to scream, almost cried,
but still he managed, as his leather clad rum slid o#er and off the rail,
to say: %+ die for my failure, Gre#en, not for my treachery.%
%The fall,% Gre#en told him, smiling as he always did when he was
about to kill, %will gi#e you time to think on your failure.%
7hati had time for a scream and four last, gasing breaths as he
fell through the roiling gray skies of 8ath. Tumbling end o#er end he
saw but couldn)t understand the bulking horned form clinging to
?redator)s black keel. +f he thought at all it was to wonder what
Gre#en would do now that the fight with !eatherlight was o#er and his
first mate had been tossed o#er like the morning)s chamber ots. The
4egacy, the ieces of which they had sought, was safely stowed in
?redator)s hold, along with =arn, the strange sil#er creature whom
Gre#en)s goblins had catured in the course of the fight, and whom
Gre#en had ordered hauled aboard with e#ery aearance of glee.
-ow the commander)s shi would make for 7olrath)s $tronghold, and
no one would e#er seak the name 7hati il-(al again.
7hati felt the wind whistle through his ears, and saw his long
braids streaming by his face. 4ightning flashed around him, and he
screamed again and again, his cries lost in the sound of the storm.
Then, against the dark background of 8ath)s sky, he caught a glimse
of a figure of infinite grace and beauty: the fallen angel $elenia, wings
outstretched. "er hands seemed to gesture toward him, and for a
brief, eternal moment 7hati imagined he was sa#ed. Then he reali1ed
her face was smiling, that she was mocking him, re>oicing in his
downfall and imending death. "er wings beat, and she was gone.
"e felt the to of the tree uncture leather then skin, and he
knew it came out his back. 0lood e/loded before him in a red ha1e.
$liding down the enetrating branch hurt him the worst, but it was a
ain that lasted only the sace of a single grunt. 7hati il-(al was dead.
B B B B B
Gre#en didn)t bother watching his former second-in- command
fall. ,ne more death, one more tiny, hollow #ictory, and it was back to
the task at hand.
%0ring us about,% he shouted into the confusion still winding down
on ?redator)s wide deck. "e didn)t bother waiting for a resonse and
didn)t look to see that his order was carried out. "is crew knew how
high they were. %0ack to the $tronghold. !e ha#e a ackage to
deli#er.%
A ackage indeed, Gre#en mused. Most of the 4egacy had been
brought aboard and as the commander mo#ed amidst a flurry of
scurrying moggs to the stairs that would take him to ?redator)s #aults,
he smiled at 7hati)s ob#ious timing. The second-in-command had
waited until !eatherlight)s e/2uisite booty had been brought aboard to
begin his feeble grab for ower.
Gre#en had been aboard the enemy #essel, crossing swords with
its catain: Gerrard, whom they had been warned of and told to sie1e
the moment he entered 8ath. 7hati, who had stayed behind to look
after ?redator-look after her, not sie1e her, Gre#en thought angrily-
had sun the mogg cannon around on its mount himself.
B B B B B
,n board !eatherlight, Gre#en hacked and slashed at Gerrard,
watching his oonent)s sword carefully as it arried the thrusts of his
olearm. 5or a moment he got ast the man)s guard, and Gerrard
staggered back. Gre#en mo#ed in for the kill. Around him he heard the
war cries of the moggs and the shouts and screams of !eatherlight)s
crew as they battled the in#aders. Gre#en ga#e a shout of triumh.
7ictory was before him, and he closed his fist around it.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw 7hati sho#e the
sla#ering mogg into the cannon with hands Gre#en thought must ha#e
trembled. 7hati was a coward, but he was an ambitious one. !ith
shaking hands, he lit the cannon, and the mogg came at Gre#en with a
seed no natural thing had e#er achie#ed before the in#ention of this
cruel and effecti#e weaon. The mogg o#ershot Gre#en, and 7hati
screamed a command to the other gunners aboard ?redator, a
command that Gre#en had not time to countermand.
The human)s sword rang out again on the ?hyre/ian steel shaft of
Gre#en)s black olearm, less than an inch from the commander)s
temle. Gre#en saw his triumh dissol#e in a flurry of flashing steel,
and now it was Gerrard who was laughing.
The human had fought well, Gre#en remembered. The sword
shrieked off Gre#en)s olearm with a shower of blue-white sarks, and
a mogg behind Gre#en screamed at the sound. The commander swung
the ole around, letting it roll through his long fingers. Another mogg
raider came out of ?redator)s cannon, then another in the eye- blink it
took for Gre#en to bring his blade to bear. There was a blast of heat
and that lo#ely sound from the weaon that had first brought to heel.
7hati was using e#erything ?redator had, and that was a lot.
!eatherlight)s deck shook again from a mogg cannon barrage, and for
the first time Gerrard, the stuid, courageous human, faltered.
Gre#en)s night-black blade traced a ra1or line across Gerrard)s ink,
sweating face, and the human let out a shar hiss.
Gre#en)s olearm sun around again, and Gerrard took a ste
backward, his sword coming to the ready, to defend or attack as
oenings resented themsel#es. -one did.
-either Gre#en nor his enemy had time or oortunity to strike
again before a mogg goblin fired from 7hati)s own cannon ried one
of !eatherlight)s fragile stabili1ers and the shi slumed into a shar
starboard list. Gre#en held his feet in a wide stance, and !eatherlight
began to sin. +t was going down by the bow. 6rewmen-silly,
screaming humans in shirts the color of their own silling blood-
staggered across the deck like autumn lea#es before a storm. $ome of
Gre#en)s moggs continued to grale with the humans and were slain.
-ow two of !eatherlight)s crew members lost their footing.
Together with one of the moggs, they toled o#er the narrow railing
that ran around the shi)s decks. Their screams faded, as they fell
toward the $kyshroud forest far below.
Gerrard)s foot slied. "e)d already backed away from Gre#en
who had slid a bit himself on the deck, now awash in human and mogg
blood. The human ut a hand u to his slashed face, trailing tendrils of
hot blood into the whiing wind. %Too high, 6ommander,% Gerrard
snarled. %*ou won)t kill me today after all.%
Gerrard came at Gre#en then, all at once, his blade raised high
and his face twisted in anger. Gre#en growled, bringing his olearm u
across his chest to meet the human)s downward arching blade. The
deck bounced from another mogg cannon barrage and Gerrard, his
face a comical mask of surrise, went o#er the side.
The moment came and went so 2uickly that Gre#en)s shock,
delight, and disaointment at being deri#ed of his foe manifested as
an absurd s2ueal. "e ad#anced in three 2uick strides down the listing
deck and clutched the rail as he stared o#er it, searching for the falling
body. 0lood from Gerrard)s wound streamed from the blade of
Gre#en)s olearm to slatter against Gre#en)s face, and the
commander grinned at the iron taste of it.
"e ulled himself back to the resent. There was no time to sa#or
the momentA 7olrath would want to know as soon as ossible of the
death of Gerrard and the cature of the 4egacy. Gre#en shouted the
order to withdraw and turned back for ?redator.
"is sine tingled then bla1ed to life. Gre#en let out a grunt.
7olrath was disleased. The sine that 7olrath had grafted into
Gre#en)s back was an alien, torturous thing. +t couldn)t mo#e Gre#en,
but it could nudge him with ain. +t could hurt him, unish him, and
most of all remind him. 6atain and master he was, but only at the
whim of 7olrath.
Gre#en, accomanied by those mogg raiders who sur#i#ed, oised
on the rail, balanced abo#e the #oid. Then he leat. As he did so, he
felt !eatherlight fall away beneath him. "is hands reached out for his
own shi, scrabbled #ainly for a moment, then found something to
gras, to hel him haul himself aboard ?redator. A few of the moggs
were not so lucky, and he heard their shrieks die out of earshot below.
Gre#en told himself that when he)d come aboard his enemy)s #essel,
he)d had only a bit less trouble.
B B B B B
The difference between tactics and cowardice is decided by the
#ictor. +f he)d lost the 4egacy and failed to kill Gerrard, Gre#en)s
following a horde of sla#ering, ramaging, inet little moggs onto
!eatherlight)s deck would ha#e been described as cowardice. +nstead,
Gre#en told himself, the moggs had been there to soften the human
defenders and cut a wedge into !eatherlight)s deserate, fearful crew,
a wedge that Gre#en could walk through, straight to Gerrard.
The tactic worked almost according to lan. The wedge was
thinner than Gre#en had wanted, and he found himself ha#ing to ush
many of his goblins back into the fray. A human)s sear came nearly
close enough to take the commander)s nose off, but for his suerior
refle/es. Gre#en had to tri the mogg to his left to get his olearm u
in time to kill the not-lucky-enough human. "itting the deck on its
rum led to a slightly faster death for the mogg he)d tried. The
human who beheaded the mogg couldn)t get his battle-a/e free of the
deck lanks in time to deflect the three simultaneous blows from mogg
swords that ried him to shreds.
Mogg goblins, by anyone)s estimation, were athetic creatures at
best, monsters at worst. ,nly the tallest of them were eye-le#el with
Gre#en)s chest, but they were solidly constructed beasts. Green skin
was stretched tight o#er their riling muscles. They wore no clothes-
robably couldn)t work a button or clas to sa#e their li#es- or armor,
but all of them were armed. @ncharacteristically delicate icks set ato
black metal oles were fa#orite weaons, as were the wide, cur#ed
cutlasses or simle short, straight swords. Their heads were
dominated by huge, red, sali#a-soaked mouths lined with rows of teeth
meant for rending flesh from bone. To say that a mogg goblin has a
sloing forehead is an understatement, thought Gre#en dryly. A ridge
of bone caed their neck-less heads. Gre#en had always wondered
what that bone was meant to rotect until he saw a mogg goblin kill a
mountain goat by butting it head to head.
The moggs had ears more like an elehant)s than anything else)s,
and they could hear as well as they could fight. Gre#en had so many
at his disosal he)d lost count of them weeks ago. 7olrath)s stronghold
held no limit of them. They bred, or were roduced, like maggots.
B B B B B
5rom his osition in the center of the fray Gre#en saw wa#es of
howling moggs mobbing, o#ertaking !eatherlight. The smaller shi
was awash in goblins faster than Gre#en had dared hoe, but the
humans were fighting back. "e could see the moggs now flooding into
!eatherlight)s hold like water draining. The smell of the moggs-sweat,
anger, fear, and urine-was as nauseating as it was e/hilirating.
Gre#en killed only a few humans in the ne/t few moments and
shouted fewer orders. The moggs had made it to the holds and were
now starting to emerge, beaten, bloody, some e#en missing an arm,
an eye, or an ear. Two of them emerged clutching a stick with a tangle
of wire at one end. The -ull 8od. Gre#en allowed himself a smile to
accomany the grudgingly areciati#e tingle in his alien sine.
%To ?redator with it,% he screamed o#er the din of battle. The
order was unnecessary. The goblins knew what to do and were too
stuid to change their minds.
.ust then Gre#en caught sight of Gerrard)s sweating, angry face
and sared only a glance at the mogg who emerged from
!eatherlight)s hold, bearing a small shere shining like sunlight in a
dark lace. The mogg carried the delicate artifact in its right arm and
its se#ered left arm in its teeth. Gre#en ad#anced on Gerrard, smiling.
The human catain cut down two moggs, but soon found himself
hard ressed by three moreA now Gre#en was only a few aces from
his enemy. $omething wet, hot, and soft hit him across the side of the
head and nearly caused him to misste. +t was a dead mogg, its head
crushed. A sailor wielding a cutlass had cut down the goblin and flung
it through the air.
+nstincti#ely rotecting his flank, Gre#en looked toward the source
of this grim ro>ectile. The sailor mo#ed away, slashing at a crowd of
attacking creatures, and Gre#en could easily see the surreal form of
the sil#er golem =arn towering o#er a cloud of moggs. +t almost
aeared to Gre#en that the golem was intentionally allowing itself to
be o#erwhelmed by do1ens of fear-soaked goblins. ,ne more art of
the 4egacy to be added to ?redator)s haul.
Gre#en didn)t ha#e time to re>oice, e#en if he would ha#e
considered such beha#ior. Gerrard was now free of his moggs, who
had begun to art to allow their catain his ri1e. The catain of
!eatherlight ad#anced on Gre#en, his sword at the ready and his fear
ushed back enough to be dangerous. Gerrard was only angry now,
Gre#en could see it. The human knew he was losing, but he must ha#e
know all along that he would. Gerrard must ha#e known that the
moment !eatherlight aeared in 8ath, the second that its resence
was detected. ?redator had come at !eatherlight like a hawk-from
abo#e.
As !eatherlight steadied in the roiling #iolet-gray clouds of 8ath
and began to lose altitude, shying away from the sky)s destructi#e,
lightning-laced fury, ?redator droed uon it. Gre#en himself fired
the first shot from ?redator)s main gun. A blinding, blue-hot flash of
energy e/loded outward and slammed hard into the smaller shi.
3#en from a distance, and e#en amid the whirling, thundering winds of
8ath, Gre#en could hear !eatherlight tremble at the weaon)s touch.
Gre#en knew then that his #ictory was at hand. The shouts of
!eatherlight)s human crew finally bridged the #iolent san of the sky,
and 7olrath)s commander ordered his moggs to gather.
!eatherlight was damaged and confused, and ?redator came in
fast. The distance between the two shis closedA Gre#en didn)t ha#e to
bother gi#ing the order to cast the graling hooks. 7hati il-(al
snaed a command and the roes shot through the gray sky to their
target. Gre#en laughed, and 7hati looked u sharly. Gre#en stared at
his first mate, estimating >ust how far 7hati might go to destroy him.
%$tay behind,% snarled Gre#en to the mate. %4ea#e the fighting to
those who ha#e the courage for it.% And with those words, he leaed
through the air toward the enemy shi. "is moggs followed him.
A few of the goblins in the front ranks either o#erestimated their
ability to >um or underestimated the distance still searating the two
shis. 5ully a do1en of them fell to their deaths. Gre#en snorted
irritably at the waste and the stuidity. +t was a good thing he)d
brought so many of them.
6rews of sla#ering moggs ulled hard on the roes and dragged
!eatherlight, resisting feebly, closer still. -ow a wa#e of moggs were
able to >um the distance easily.
The battle was >oined by !eatherlight)s crew, who immediately
started falling back, ushed at the front of an ad#ancing tide of
creatures that had no 2ualms about standing astride their fallen
comrades to ress the attack. !eatherlight was soon awash in blood
and moggs.
A thin human with a shock of blond hair and some ridiculous
tabard lofted a gnarled staff into the air. Gre#en)s skin crawled with
the magic that suddenly coursed through him. The sine that 7olrath
had grafted to his body bristled with static and made Gre#en itch. The
sensation dro#e the commander forward.
!eatherlight twisted #iolently on its roes like a gaffed fish, and a
few moggs, no more than a half do1en, were bucked to their deaths.
The wi1ard)s feeble magic couldn)t ull his shi away. +t couldn)t sto
the tide of red-driing green flesh that was ha#ing its way with
!eatherlight)s crew. ,nly in retrosect, as ?redator got under way
with a full cargo hold did Gre#en remember that glimse of the flowing
sil#er figure that in some bi1arre form of honor or mislaced ity,
refused to kill the drooling moggs that swarmed it like mos2uitoes with
steel blades.
Through all this initial assault ?redator)s guns had ket u a
constant barrage. !hen Gre#en was satisfied that the moggs had
things as well in hand as a mob of moggs was e#er likely to, he
shouted the cease-fire order across the gulf. 7hati il-(al echoed the
order, as he was trained to do, but it sounded hollow, as if he were
mimicking his catain. Gre#en knew then that, one way or another,
7hati il-(al would ne#er see 7olrath)s $tronghold again.
B B B B B
5or the rest of that battle)s e#ents Gre#en ut 7hati il-(al out of
his mind. "e knew art of his strength as 7olrath)s commander was his
single- mindedness, fueled by his master)s torturing sine. 0ut by the
time he)d regained ?redator, swet back to his shi in the receding
tide of moggs, he knew it was time to kill his first mate.
0elow his craft, !eatherlight was losing altitude fast, and Gre#en
resisted the urge to watch it fall. "e went fast and straight to 7hati il-
(al. The mate, in an une/ected show of courage, stood waiting for
him.
%+t ends, 7hati,% Gra#en told him, in a #oice like mountain snow-
smooth but unrelenting, ermanent, and cold.

"ere ends the Tale of Gre#en


A Dark Room

%Gerrard died.% +lcaster ut his head in his hands and groaned.
%!hy do heroes always ha#e to die&%
%(id + say he died&% snaed the master.
%!ell, no, but-%
%0ut me no buts. *ou ha#e made a deduction unsuorted by
e#idence, a sign of ill-thinking and careless logic. (oes Tramian
$aldath not say in the forty-third book of The 5oundations of 6oncise
Thought, as 3/ounded by the $ages of 4at--am from the $econd
Millennium-%
%Master'% inter>ected the boy.
%!hat& (on)t interrut me. + ne#er saw such a boy for
interruting. !hat is it now&%
%*our robe is on fire'%
+n the energy of his er>oration, the master had brushed against
the candle, and the flame had run u the seam of his tattered gown.
The librarian leaed u with a shriek, beating himself with his gnarled
hands. $wiftly +lcaster smothered the flames and gently led the old
man to his seat again.
%!on)t you sit 2uietly, Master, and tell me more of the story& +
romise + won)t interrut again.%
The librarian glared at him but relented and continued the tale.
%7ery well. !here did + lea#e off&%
%!ell, Master, Gre#en had >ust hurled 7hati il-(al o#er the side of
?redator.%
%Ah, yes. -ow + remember. !e ha#e se#eral accounts of what
haened ne/t, and some of what we know can be reasonably
deduced from the careful correlation of these stories. +f we comare
these different #ersions-%
%*es, Master, but what haened&%
+lcaster claed his hand across his mouth as the words left it.
The old man, one finger lifted in a hortatory osition fro1e, glaring at
the boy. There was a ainful silence, during which a high, dam wind
whirled and shrieked outside, rattling the windows, and bringing with it
a rich smell of running water.
%As + was saying% growled the librarian finally, %if we comare
these different #ersions, we learn that the fallen angel $elenia, floating
in the air far below ?redator, saw 7hati fall to his death. $he did
nothing to aid him, ha#ing business of her own to reort to Gre#en.
%!hat neither she, nor Gre#en, nor indeed many of the members
of !eatherlight crew had obser#ed was that as ?redator ulled away
from the smaller shi, Tahngarth the minotaur, with a shout of rage,
clased a trailing roe and hauled himself hand o#er hand u to the
hull of Gre#en)s shi. "anna caught a glimse of his figure as ?redator
ho#e out of sight, and she breathed a silent rayer for his safety.%
%$o,% obser#ed the boy, %now both Tahngarth and =arn were
aboard ?redator.%
%That)s right. 0ut at least at this oint, Gre#en knew only about
=arn, taken risoner by the moggs. Tahngarth intended to rescue his
friend the golem, though how he e/ected to get them away from the
shi is more than anyone can guess.
%-ow meanwhile, as Gre#en il-7ec thinned the ranks of his own
crew and Tahngarth searched the lower decks of ?redator for =arn,
"anna and Mirri were eagerly seeking some sign of what had become
of Gerrard. ?redator, of course, had gotten clean away, carrying with it
=arn and those arts of the 4egacy !eatherlight)s crew had stored in
its hull after so many years of ainstakingly collecting them. 0adly
damaged, the shi siraled down into the thickly shadowed forest,
crashing through the canoy and coming to rest amid the muck and
swam water beneath the $kyshroud.%
%6ould they relaunch the shi&%
The scholar shook his head. %-ot without considerable work.
"anna set the crew to their tasks, reairing the hull and tallying their
losses. Meanwhile ,rim was busy tending to those wounded in the
fight. 0ut amidst all this acti#ity the na#igator)s thoughts were
constantly on the shi)s missing catain.%


Hanna's Tale
Miranda Horner

%Any sign of him&% "anna asked Mirri and 6ro#a/. $he felt sure
that she had ket her #oice steady, but 6ro#a/ turned from his
osition at the railing and ga#e her an araising look.
%-o. 0ut then + don)t see how he could ha#e sur#i#ed that fall,
"anna. 3#en if he did, we wouldn)t be able to ...%
%+ agree with "anna,% Mirri cut in without turning from the railing.
%!e must land to fi/ the shi. + would like to gi#e him a decent burial
if we can find him down there.%
"anna >oined Mirri at the railing, looking at the dense treetos
oking through the e#er-increasing mist. %7isibility is low, and
!eatherlight isn)t in #ery good shae. -ot only are we descending
2uickly, but +)#e checked the
Thran crystal. Those moggs cracked it e/tensi#ely when they tried
to ry it loose. !ithout the crystal, we won)t be able to shift off of this
lane once we)#e found $isay. !e ha#e no choice but to land here and
attemt to reair the shi.%
%(o you see what + mean about the sueriority of sorcery o#er
artifacts, "anna&% came a #oice from behind. The wi1ard adet 3rtai
mo#ed into osition ne/t to her, his e/ression e#en smugger than his
words. %0ecause we are deendent on that crystal to mo#e between
lanes, we find oursel#es stuck in an untenable osition,% he obser#ed.
%+f you had had the atience to allow me to de#elo my magic so that
we could make a direct translation to 8ath we would not be marooned
here now.%
5lashes of ast lectures that her father 0arrin had gi#en her while
she was growing u assed through the na#igator)s head. Grief for the
loss of Gerrard mi/ed with the anger that her father)s arguments-now
ut forward by his uil-always brought to the fore.
To re#ent 3rtai from seeing that his words flustered her, "anna
mentally counted to three before relying, %!hen you come u with a
sorcerous way to shift between lanes, come talk to me. @ntil then,
lease continue heling ,rim with the wounded as Mirri asked you to
earlier. !e ha#e #ery little time before we land.%
%0e assured that + will,% 3rtai said, sauntering back toward the
healer. %-o doubt + can show her a more efficient way of healing ...%
"is #oice assed out of hearing.
%That one must always ha#e the last word,% Mirri commented
while scanning the forest below. %5or him and for your father, sorcery
is the final answer to e#erything. *et this shi and the 4egacy clearly
indicates otherwise.% Mirri turned to "anna with a grim e/ression.
%"ow soon before we land&%
,rim)s #oice momentarily cut through their con#ersation. %-o,
no'% she e/claimed. %*ou two should carry him by the shoulders and
feet' And watch out for that wound on his arm'%
"anna, Mirri, and 6ro#a/ looked o#er to where the healer was
directing 3rtai and other crew members in mo#ing the wounded
belowdecks. 3rtai)s smirk was gone now, relaced with concentration
as he le#itated a wounded crewman >ust after the mishandled one.
%Mind his head,% ,rim warned the young wi1ard. 3rtai frowned briefly
and then ad>usted the crewman)s osition in the air.
0oth "anna and Mirri turned away from the sectacle at the same
time. Although "anna was startled at Mirri)s suort of her >ust now,
she decided to answer the cat warrior)s 2uestion before she
commented on the reference to her father. %!ithin two minutes or so,
!eatherlight should be able to handle a decent landing.% $he turned to
6ro#a/. %+)ll need you and Mirri to hel me ready the shi for landing.
!ithout Tahngarth or Gerrard here, we)re a bit light on command
crew.%
%Two minutes&% the nobleman e/claimed. %$o soon& "ow are we
going to break through those trees& They)ll break us, most likely'%
%+f we don)t choose to land in two minutes, the shi will breach
those trees not long after that anyway. + should be able to maneu#er
the shi into a better landing osition-with your hel.% $he hoed that
the shi could withstand some amount of rough tra#el through the
dense treetos. %+)ll need you and Terrance to stand lookout and tell
me what ad>ustments, if any, + need to make while +)m steering.%
%!ell, + hoe you know what you)re doing,% 6ro#a/ muttered
before walking off.
"anna turned back to Mirri. %Thank you for your suort, Mirri. +t
couldn)t ha#e come at a better time.%
The cat warrior shrugged. %+t was necessary. 0esides, +)#e
watched you long enough to ha#e faith in your >udgment and abilities.
-ow, what can + do to hel&%
,nce again, "anna was startled at Mirri)s unconditional suort.
$he must ha#e changed during the time she and Gerrard were absent
from the shi. 0efore the moment could lea#e, though, "anna sei1ed
control of it. %Mirri, can you hel gather the rest of the crew that isn)t
wounded and ha#e them stand ready to hack at tree limbs on the way
down& That forest canoy is so thick that e#en my best efforts will still
lea#e us with a lot of branches to deal with. 6an you also send
someone u to me to hel in the bridge &% %+ shall do so.%
"anna ran u to the command center of the shi, ushing aside
thoughts of Gerrard. 6oncentrate, she told herself. Think about how to
aroach this landing. $he narrowly a#oided walking into $2uee, who
was running ast her from below decks.
%$2uee' !here ha#e you been& !e thought you were dead'%
The goblin aused but still looked around as if searching for
something. %They)re gone& -o more moggs&%
%-o more moggs, $2uee,% "anna reassured him. %!hy don)t you
go hel Mirri or $tarke& !e ha#e to land soon.%
The goblin nodded and then scamered off toward the cat warrior.
As she continued toward the bridge, she heard $2uee ask Mirri about
Gerrard)s whereabouts. 5or a moment, sorrow almost o#erwhelmed
her, and she felt tears coursing down her cheeks. Then, with a hea#y
sigh she brushed them away. There would be time for grie#ing later.
The na#igator oened the door to the area that held all of the
steering and na#igating e2uiment that guided !eatherlight through
her >ourneys.
%*ou need my assistance&% came 3rtai)s #oice from behind her.
"anna turned toward him and noticed that he seemed #ery
reoccuied. $he was startled for a moment at his resenceA then she
reali1ed Mirri must ha#e sent him to the bridge to hel with the
landing. (esite his arrogance, the young wi1ard could be useful to
her.
%*es. + need to set u our descent. +f you could aid me, it would
go much more smoothly.%
3rtai nodded briefly, still distracted. %*es, + am sure it would.
Though + should think your limited abilities as a na#igator would be
sufficient to crash- land a shi.%
"anna ignored the comment. %5irst of all, kee an eye on
Terrance and tell me if he directs us to make any ad>ustments.% $he
gestured at the windows that looked out o#er the foredeck of the shi.
%!atch him closely: This is going to be tricky, if we)re to a#oid
uncturing the hull. Then, when + tell you to do so, ad>ust those knobs
o#er there.% $he ointed to a bank of controls to the left of the wheel.
%"a#e you e#er had to do something like this before&% 3rtai asked
as he stared out the windows.
"anna changed a few of the settings, turning knobs and unching
buttons before answering. %-ot really,% she admitted, as she set the
aroach #ector. %!ith any luck +)ll finally find out e/actly how the
controls on this anel work....%
3rtai was sufficiently startled to half turn toward the blonde
na#igator. %5ind out&% he e/claimed. %(o you mean to say you don)t
know what all these things%-he gestured to the array of rotuberances
around them-%all these de#ices do&%
%... Making my knowledge of this articular station almost
comlete,% the na#igator finished calmly. $he stared out the window,
nudging the wheel this way and that. %My training in artifact studies at
the Argi#ian @ni#ersity, along with some good instincts in matters
dealing with artifacts, has been of great hel in learning about this
shi, but the fact is no one on board !eatherlight, not e#en $isay,
knows all about this shi. $ometimes it seems as if it)s changing
beneath our feet, finding new ways of doing things.%
"anna turned toward 3rtai, who was staring at her, looking as
astonished as it was in his nature to be. %My e/erience has led me to
belie#e that the urle le#er with the iridescent markings allows the
shi to make controlled falls. +n ast tests with this knob,% she
continued, %the shi seemed to fall for a limited distance. ,#er time, +
changed the setting and ushed in the knob to see what haened.
(eending on the setting of the le#er controlling the )wings) and the
marking on the urle knob, the shi dros straight down at a certain
seed for a certain distance.%
3rtai)s eyes ne#er left the window. "is hands mo#ed this way and
that, relaying signals from Terrance, who stood on the far forward
deck, leaning o#er the rail, watching the tree tos as they drew e#er
closer.
%$o !eatherlight still holds some mysteries for you&% the young
wi1ard asked.
%Cuite a few, actually. +)#e disco#ered a lot of them, but >ust when
+ think that + comletely understand something, + find out that some
other knobs, le#ers, or buttons ha#e more of an imact on the one +)m
testing than + originally thought.% "anna shrugged. %+ think +)#e got
enough of an understanding of this articular knob to use it to bring
the shi through the canoy of trees to the land below with minimal
damage. "old onto something, >ust in case,% she added with a half
smile.
-ow that she had set the shi for a straight course instead of the
siraling one that they had been on, the na#igator mo#ed o#er to
stand by 3rtai at the control station.
%(uring my time on board !eatherlight% she told the young man,
%+)#e disco#ered what most of the controls on the na#igation and
command stations do. "owe#er, my understanding of the station that
deals with lane- shifting is not as comlete.% $he ointed to a anel
to the right of the central command area. %$ince the Thran crystal is
damaged, this is dark.% The command anel, howe#er, seemed to be
in good working order. "anna lifted a long tube and blew into it,
rearing to make an all-hands announcement. %+s the crew ready&%
she asked 3rtai.
%+ belie#e so.%
4ooking out o#er the foredeck, she noted at a glance that ,rim
had finished taking all of the wounded belowdecks. $tarke and
Terrance were stationed at the front of the shi where she and 3rtai
could see them. Mirri, $2uee, and the unwounded ortion of the crew
waited with machetes and other weaons to hel the shi)s rogress
through the trees. They looked as ready as they would e#er be.
%?reare for descent'% "anna announced into the seaking tube.
%+)m taking the shi down now.% $he feathered back the shi)s long
wings delicately. %$tarke, Terrance, we should be heading for that di
hidden by the fog. +n about fi#e minutes, we should be o#er it. !a#e
to me >ust before we reach it.%
$he mo#ed o#er to the na#igation station to reare the
controlled fall that would be necessary to sink through the trees. !hen
they had first assed o#er the fog-filled di in the trees, she had
noticed that it seemed to be one of the few areas with less trees
clustered together. $he hoed they would be able to sink to earth
without causing too much damage to the shi.
%3rtai, lease stand o#er here and be ready to ush the green
le#er all the way down,% she told him after setting the wings into a flat
osition. %+)ll take o#er the command station now.%
3rtai nodded and mo#ed o#er. -ow she had a few minutes to
think before she needed to imlement the na#igation changes on the
command anel.
+n the ast $isay had stood at this anel, ready to translate her
na#igation commands into reality. 3#en further back in time, she
remembered, it was Gerrard who had stood there. -ow, both he and
$isay were gone to fates unknown. Although she missed them both
intensely, Gerrard)s 2uestionable fate caused her more ain than
$isay)s absence had.
$he remembered her first meeting with Gerrard. $isay had
brought him on board, accomanied by Mirri and 8ofellos. "e was
sulky, almost like a child. *et she somehow knew that he would be
imortant to her. ?ast battles taught her to rely on his steadiness,
while causing her to worry o#er his well-being.
Most clearly, though, "anna remembered the moment when she
reali1ed the true deth of her feelings for Gerrard. Those feelings had
gi#en her the most >oy in her life as well as the most ain. The >oy
came from the knowledge that he was someone she could lo#e without
reser#ation and that he seemed to ha#e warm feelings for her. "er
ain had come in a sudden >olt when, >ust as she and Gerrard were on
the brink of full understanding, he deserted both her and the shi.
At first, she)d thought that she was somehow resonsible for
Gerrard)s decision to lea#e the shi. +n time, her usual good >udgment
and wisdom re#ailed. $he was not, she thought wryly, the center of
the multi#erse-e#en if she wanted to be for him. Gerrard)s decision
had been reached out of his own agony of self- doubtA she was no
more than one of many factors in his calculations.
,nce she got through the hase of self-blame and self-doubt,
howe#er, "anna had to deal with the ain of his absence. As in the
ast, when she had to confront the ain of anger that her father dealt
her, "anna fell into her old solution: work.
$ince childhood "anna had been intrigued by-u11les. This was
one of the reasons she had ursued the study of artifacts so a#idly.
0ecause !eatherlight was art of a collection of artifacts, it sarked
her interest. After Gerrard)s dearture, "anna, with $isay)s
enthusiastic suort, threw all of her sare time into trying to
understand how the Thran crystal worked. The time that she sent on
this u11le brought her e#en closer to the shi.
,ccasionally she found herself thinking of the shi- a art of the
4egacy, after all, and thus ossessing some deeer destiny-as ha#ing
some tye of base intelligence, erhas a #ery low-le#el self-
awareness. $he would suddenly understand what function a certain
control erformed, and the lea of understanding felt like more than
>ust an instinctual guessA somehow it seemed guided. ,f course,
"anna ne#er shared these thoughts with anyone else. Telling eole
that a shi, e#en an artifact shi, had an intelligence might cause
them to doubt her sanity.
,nce again, "anna)s brow furrowed. $he had tried to grab for
Gerrard as he fell o#er the shi, but he)d been out of her reach as he
battled the monstrous commander of that other shi that had fallen
uon them so suddenly from abo#e. +mages of him falling to his death
caused a renewal of that familiar yet sharer ain. +f he were dead, as
6ro#a/ had suggested, what would she do& !hat would they all do&
"e was the key to the 4egacy.
%"anna, $tarke is wa#ing his arms,% 3rtai announced. %+s there
something + should be doing&%
%-ot yet.% $he immediately imlemented the new na#igation
instructions and set the control station to manual control. (uring the
early years on !eatherlight, $isay had flown it comletely by manual
control. "owe#er, as "anna disco#ered more about the na#igation and
control stations, she learned that it was ossible to set long-range
courses so that the shi could automatically mo#e on course without
someone guiding it at all times. !ith the situation they were in now,
though, "anna needed all the control she could muster o#er its
mo#ements.
,utside, Mirri, $tarke, and the others were already cutting or
knocking away branches as they reached for the shi. "anna mo#ed
the shi slightly to starboard >ust before $tarke wa#ed her in that
direction. As they assed further down, tree limbs bounced back into
lace abo#e them, sometimes rocking the shi #iolently. "anna found
herself tossed from side to side, clinging to the wheel as she tried to
steer a course.
%"old on, 3rtai,% she warned. $he gritted her teeth against the
ner#e-wracking sound of scraing branches and continued their
descent. After $tarke wa#ed his hands in an effort to direct her to the
right, and "anna 2uickly ad>usted her course. The trees continued
their rotest at the shi)s descent, but not 2uite as #ehemently.
0roken branches from abo#e fell onto the decks, knocking crew
members hard into the railing, but thankfully not o#er it. After a few
more moments, "anna mo#ed the shi to ort and then hard aft again
at Terrance)s behest. !ith a last bit of rotest, the lower limbs of the
trees ga#e way with much yawing and scratching. A shuffling of lea#es
and flurry of branch was Terrance)s only warning before a articularly
large damaged branch fell from abo#e, hitting the crewman and
flinging him against the railing. "anna saw that his head had been
knocked against the shi)s wood before she turned her attention back
to what she needed to do. + hoe ,rim can get to him in time, she
rayed.
"anna ad>usted the seed of the shi)s descent. 4ike some
damaged bird, its wings broken, it floated down to the ground. "anna
let go of the le#ers and stood back from the anels with a sigh. $he
felt drained. %Go ahead and ull that le#er down, 3rtai.%
The door to the command center slammed oen as
$2uee rushed in. %*ou did it, "anna'% "e slammed against her
legs and held them in a tight embrace. %!e)re down. 0ut not inna
good lace,% he warned in a somber #oice. %Mirri is gettin) ready to
find Gerrard. +)ll stay on da shi with ya.%
%*es, you)ll stay on the shi,% "anna announced as she walked
2uickly out of the room, %but +)ll be going with Mirri to find Gerrard.%
B B B B B
,utside, the crew were already collecting the broken tree
branches that had fallen onto the shi to throw them o#erboard. Mirri
was oised on the railing and looked as if she were about to >um to a
nearby tree and shinny down it. %!ait'% "anna cried out. %+ want to go
with you'%
Mirri turned around. %+t is not necessary. *ou should stay with the
shi and direct reairs on it.%
"anna leaed o#er a limb and ran to stand beside the cat warrior.
%The others can handle the shi)s reairs. ,nce they get the decks
cleared, the crew can start working on reairing any hull damage while
,rim, 6ro#a/, and the others bury the dead.%
,rim, who was standing nearby, turned when she heard her
name. %,f course we can take care of this. Go find Gerrard,% she said
brus2uely, immediately turning back to direct the crew in the remo#al
of a large tree branch co#ering Terrance. The crewman was aarently
unhurt, but his body was inned against the deck. $e#eral of the crew
strained as they ulled at the hea#y branch. $uddenly, with an
imatient grunt, 6ro#a/ brushed them aside and with little aarent
effort lifted the branch and tossed it high o#er the side. ,rim stared at
him and started to say something to "anna, who was, howe#er, too
absorbed in her argument with Mirri to hear the healer.
%!ell&% "anna asked. %The crew knows what they)re doingA $isay
trained them well.% Mirri stared at her, her green eyes large and
unblinking. %+ need to see him- dead or ali#e,% the na#igator added
softly.
Mirri shook her head. %!ith Tahngarth gone, + am ranking mate of
the shi. *ou must ha#e my ermission to lea#e !eatherlight,%
-ot that + wouldn)t lea#e anyway, "anna thought.
Mirri, as if she read the na#igator)s mind, ga#e a slow nod. %*es,
we are sisters in this concern of ours,% she said. Then she turned and
with a fluid mo#ement leaed from the shi onto a nearby tree.
0efore "anna could follow, ,rim came u behind her and laced a
water skin into her hands. %*ou)ll need this. +f you need food, you)#e
been gone too long.%
"anna nodded her thanks, threw the stra of the canteen o#er
her shoulder, and gathered herself for the >um. 5ortunately, the tree
consisted of two main trunks, forming a 7 that allowed her to get a
foothold. ,nce she made the lea, scraing her hands on the rough
bark in the rocess, she cautiously made her way down to the ground.
The %ground,% howe#er, she disco#ered consisted of the twisted roots
of the trees and murky water. 4ooking around, she saw that Mirri had
already mo#ed se#eral trees away from the shi. 6arefully >uming
from root to root, "anna mo#ed to Mirri)s side.
%This lace is strange. + don)t see any dirt->ust roots and water,%
"anna declared, a hint of wonder in her #oice.
-ow that "anna could look around, she noticed many more details
about the forest in which they found themsel#es. Thanks to the hole
knocked into the forest)s canoy by !eatherlight, she could see
se#eral yards out from her current osition. After that, the tall, thick
trees allowed little light to filter down. +f the whole area consists of
tree roots growing from water, "anna thought, the lack of light could
ro#e to be a roblem. $he bent down to look more closely at the
water ooled between the roots. $tartled at what she saw, she glanced
u at Mirri for confirmation.
%*es, the trees grow out of dee water,% Mirri stated. %(on)t fall
in. Things robably li#e down there.%
"anna straightened u and nodded a little fearfully. +n the murky
deths of the water, she had seen something staring u at her-and it
wasn)t her reflection. %4et)s kee mo#ing,% she suggested. +nwardly,
she was grateful that she always carried a small dagger. Mirri)s sword
might not be the only weaon needed if they met something hostile.
,nce they left the lighter area of the watery forest, "anna found
the going tougher still. Mirri, with her cat eyes, could see in darker
conditions. "anna, on the other hand, found herself stumbling.
5ortunately, the trees grew so thick in this forest that she was able to
regain her lost balance by grabbing onto their trunks before she fell
into the water. $craed alms, she thought, were an easy rice to ay
for not lunging into the deths of the swam and encountering
whate#er lurked down there, whate#er was still watching them with
unseen eyes.
Mirri continued to mo#e ahead of her silently, her cat)s grace
allowing her to kee well hidden in the shadows. "anna attemted to
mo#e the same way, but ga#e u when it made her e#en more clumsy
than before. Mirri glanced back occasionally with her normal
inscrutable e/ression. "anna imagined that the cat warrior was
regretting her decision to allow the clumsy human along. ,r, "anna
thought to herself, she has the same sense of being watched that + do.
As they mo#ed farther away from the shi, Mirri ointed out some
characteristics of the forest that "anna missed in her efforts to
maintain her footing. %Those trees you kee hugging form art of the
canoy,% she said. %$ince they need the light to li#e, + would think they
srout u 2uickly and don)t form branches until they aroach the
height of their older relati#es.%
"anna noticed that these infant trees were a strange, mottled
gray color with ulsating roots. $he theori1ed that the trees must ha#e
a source dee below the water for their nutrition for the first year of
growth. After that, their roots robably solidified into the huge,
gnarled walkways that the two of them were currently tra#ersing.
,ther trees grew in strange tangles. %This tye of tree might grab
art of Gerrard)s clothing-if he were still ali#e and walking,% Mirri
ointed out.
"anna stoed for a moment, staring at the daled figure of the
cat warrior. !as it ossible she belie#ed Gerrard still li#ed& "anna had
seen him fall. -o one could sur#i#e a fall like that.
The limbs of these trees held many sets of branches, causing
them to sread out instead of grow u. $ince they tended to grow in
clusters that acted as obstacles to forward rogress, Mirri led "anna
around these trees instead of into them. The lea#es on these tangled
trees ranged from light gray to ebon black in shade, causing occasional
whitish blurs in the distance to "anna)s eyes.
%Mirri, he)s dead,% "anna said, a dee ache resonating within her.
%"e fell a long way.%
%(o not make assumtions,% Mirri declared. %+)m looking for signs
of his assage without >udging what might ha#e occurred.% "anna
shrugged her shoulders and doggedly followed.
Mirri stoed abrutly. "anna fro1e, following the cat woman)s
ga1e. Moments assed, and "anna could see nothing. $uddenly, Mirri
started forward again at their normal ace.
%!hat)s wrong&% "anna whisered to the cat warrior.
Mirri turned back and said merely, %!atch for watchers,%
B B B B B
Mirri and Gerrard had >oined the crew of !eatherlight at the same
time, but "anna knew little of Mirri)s ast. Gerrard had once
mentioned that Mirri had been abandoned when she was young, but
that was the most that she had been able to disco#er about the cat
warrior. $ince Gerrard and Mirri had returned to the shi, "anna
sometimes felt that Mirri disaro#ed of her. $he couldn)t inoint
e/actly what made her think this, but Mirri clearly trusted no one but
Gerrard. +ndeed the cat warrior had once said as much to Gerrard
within earshot of "anna.
Ahead of her, Mirri aused again. This time, as they waited,
something winged in front of them and continued on into the darkness
of the forest. A mournful cry echoed off the trees and water for a few
moments, and then the forest swallowed it u. ,nce again, silence
took o#er. Mirri turned back to "anna.
%$omething besides us startled that creature,% she whisered.
%That is strange if our watchers are as skilled as + think they might be.
=ee an eye out.% "anna nodded shakily and followed Mirri.
They walked for some time before Mirri stoed them again,
utting out a hand in warning. %$omething is following us closely,% she
whisered back to "anna. %8emain still.%
They stood still long enough for the na#igator)s muscles to start
craming. Around them, the forest remained silent. Then there came
again that mournful cry, echoing through the #astness of the swam.
"anna noticed that now and again bubbles rose to the water)s surface
at their feet. 0efore she could bring this to Mirri)s attention, the cat
warrior motioned them forward again. As "anna stood u, she noticed
that the bubbles beneath them were growing larger. $omething white
glimmered below the surface of the water, slowly growing in si1e. $he
saw a humanoid form with light-colored hair mo#ing uwards.
%"anna'% Mirri whisered.
$he looked u for a moment and then back down. The form was
gone. $haking her head, she mo#ed o#er to Mirri.
%!e)re still being followed, "anna. ?lease stay close by. + don)t
wish to lose another comrade so soon.% The cat warrior ga#e her
comanion a look of startlingly intensity.
"anna was surrised to hear this sentiment. %+ wasn)t sure you)d
care that much,% she whisered in return without thinking.
Mirri turned away for a moment and then looked back at her. %+
didn)t like you when we first met, + admit that. 0ut + changed my mind
about you a long time ago.%
Then, with an abrut change of sub>ect, the cat warrior said,
%-ow that you)#e figured out how to walk in this forest, watch our
backs for us. $omething strange is haening.%
"anna did her best to look behind while mo#ing forward, but it
took e#ery ounce of her concentration. They tra#ersed se#eral hundred
yards of the forest, with no sound but the steady dri of moisture from
the lea#es o#erhead.
There was a whirling blur of motion from before them, and a wa#e
of water that swet against the tree trunks with a sound that beat
back the silence. The two comanions staggered back, as a feral snarl
filled the thick, dam, heat-laden air.
Mirri)s sword was out in an instant. "anna watched as the cat
warrior nimbly mo#ed o#er the roots of the tree, taking her first strike
at their foe. A clang sounded throughout the forest as the enemy
flourished a sword, refuting Mirri)s blow. Mirri danced away to a#oid
the counterstrike, allowing "anna to get her first glimse of the
creature.
+t was Mirri' And now "anna' And now it looked like a nightmarish
combination of them both. "anna)s mind refused to acknowledge it at
first, but the foe that they were facing seemed to be a mi/ture of both
her and Mirri. Mirri was also e#idently taken by surrise at the shifting
form of their foe. "er momentary hesitation allowed the creature)s
sword to sli ast the cat woman)s guard and cut her left arm. !ith a
hissed e/clamation, Mirri steed back, barely managing to retain her
footing on the gnarled roots.
"anna ulled out her small dagger and made as if to mo#e
forward, but Mirri hissed angrily, %$tay back. + can)t worry about you.%
The shaeshifter-for that was what it was, "anna decided-
mirrored Mirri)s form e/clusi#ely now as "anna steed out of its
range of #ision. !hen Mirri ressed another attack, it seemed as if she
battled against herself. 3ach fighter launched a flurry of attacks and
counterattacks. 5inally, arrying a low, wicked thrust, Mirri-the real
Mirri, "anna reminded herself-lost her footing and staggered. The
shaeshifter)s sword bit into the cat warrior)s left leg.
Mirri stumbled, trying to catch her balance again. "anna lunged at
the air of fighters. The shaeshifter hadn)t seemed as fast when it
tried to take on both her form and Mirri)s. $ome art of her mind told
her that she didn)t ha#e the same grace or 2uickness ossessed by
Mirri, so when the shaeshifter took on art of her own form, it lost
some of the agility and seed that the cat warrior had.
Mirri regained her balance and ressed another attack. "anna,
with her dagger ready, circled around behind
Mirri, attemting to osition herself within #iew of the
shaeshifter while maintaining a good distance from the fight.
The shaeshifter saw her, and its body twisted and melted. +t
began to take on some characteristics of "anna, while losing some of
Mirri)s. This abrut shift caused it to lose some balance and allowed
Mirri to strike a good blow to its sword arm. As an e2uilibrium was
reached within its form, howe#er, it attacked again. $word clanged on
sword. The shaeshifter used some of its new strength to ush Mirri
back. $he tried o#er the tree root again, and before she could regain
her balance, the creature sliced her other leg.
Mirri)s warrior training and e/eriences stood her in good stead.
$he fell across the gnarled roots but held onto her sword, using the
momentum of the fall to roll away down a wider tree root and end u
back on her feet. 0ouncing off of a nearby tree trunk ga#e her e#en
more seed and set her u for an e/cellent strike at her astonished
foe.
"anna watched Mirri)s comeback with ama1ement. The cat warrior
hacked a blow through the shaeshifter)s chest, at the same time
sho#ing her foe back into a small ool.
"anna breathed a small sigh of relief at the #ictorious outcome.
%"ow did you-&% she started to ask, then broke off as the shaeshifter,
now in Mirri)s form, burst from the ond in a sray of water, mud, and
algae.
The creature, aarently undamaged by Mirri)s stroke, srang at
the surrised cat, knocking her against a tree trunk. Mirri)s sword went
flying and would ha#e fallen into a ool of water but for "anna)s 2uick
grab for it. @ndeterred, the shaeshifter slammed the cat warrior)s
head against the tree and let her lim body slide to the ground
unconscious.
"anna cried out incoherently to get the shaeshifter)s attention
and rushed it. The creature looked away from Mirri and u at "anna.
+ts form shifted with startling seed, but before it could take her form
comletely, "anna bowled it o#er against another tree.
The na#igator slied on the rebound and found herself on her
back, recariously balanced on a gnarled root. 5ortunately, she
retained her gri on Mirri)s sword and on her dagger. As the
shaeshifter and "anna rose, they both mo#ed onto the wider root.
"anna raised Mirri)s sword as the shaeshifter mo#ed nearer and
feinted an attack. $he knowingly left her left side oen, e/ecting the
shaeshifter to take ad#antage of the oortunity. The creature stared
back at her with her own blue eyes, but dead and emty of any
e/ression. They narrowed slightly, and "anna braced to mo#e out of
the way of the attack.
The creature leaed, and "anna leaed as well, managing to
mo#e out of the sword)s ath while making a mo#e she had seen Mirri
e/ecute a few times in ast years. Admiring it, "anna had racticed it
on her own in her cabin aboard !eatherlight:. -ow she twisted,
kicking one foot high, aimed directly at her oonent)s sword. $he
ended u on the ground again, as she knew she would, but a swift roll
ut her in a osition that allowed her to come u beneath her
oonent with her sword ready to e#iscerate it.
The blade sliced through her oonent)s lower torso. 0lood oured
out on the ground, slashing the na#igator)s face and hands. !ith a
#iolent hea#e she ushed herself out of the way. As she watched, the
thing slowly shifted into a larger, buglike form. "anna)s astonishment
lased into resol#e. 0efore it could shift fully into its new, chitinous
form, she ran her sword through the fleshy abdomen as high as her
arms would reach and then brought it down. $he >erked the sword out,
ready to do the same again. The weird amalgam of bug and human
tottered backward and fell into the ool of water, disaearing beneath
the black, oily surface.
The na#igator turned back to Mirri)s still form. 4aying the ichor-
coated sword beside the cat warrior, "anna checked her ulse. $he
breathed a 2uick rayer of thanks when she found one.
%Mirri, wake u,% she whisered. %6ome on, Mirri. 6an you mo#e&
!e need to lea#e this area.%
Mirri stirred a little and then oened her eyes. %!hat haened&%
the cat warrior asked.
%The thing knocked you out, and then + killed it.% $he shuddered,
remembering how much it had looked like the na#igator before it
changed into that hideous bug- thing.
The cat warrior was staring at her with unblinking green eyes.
%5orgi#e me,% Mirri whisered. %+ thought you a burden, and you sa#ed
my life.%
"anna nodded, 2uietly acceting the aology. +nwardly, she still
couldn)t 2uite belie#e that she had succeeded in killing the creature.
%4et)s bind you u before you lose more blood,% she whisered.
$he cleaned the cat warrior)s wounds with the water from the skin
and then bandaged them with the fabric that Mirri carried in a small
ouch. "anna)s own aches set in. %*ou know that mo#e you do where
you kick the sword out of your oonent)s hands and then slice him
oen&% she obser#ed to her comanion. %"ow do you do that without
bruising e#ery muscle in your body&%
"anna stood u stiffly, her muscles rotesting e#ery mo#e. !ith
"anna)s hel, Mirri slowly stood u as well. %+t takes ractice,% relied
the cat warrior in a 2uiet #oice as she leaned on "anna)s shoulder.
%3#en then, some bruises still result. +f you do it right, you don)t
dislocate your shoulder and tear your leg muscles.%
%,h. + must ha#e done it right then.%
Mirri atted her gently on the shoulder suorting her. %*es, you
did it right. + wish + could ha#e seen you.% "anna heled Mirri o#er one
root and onto another. %+ used to watch when you racticed against
Gerrard,% she said. %Then + would ractice the mo#es you two did in
my cabin. + don)t want to be a burden on others.%
Mirri nodded wearily. %!e should ractice together sometime.%
%+)d like that. -ow, let)s see if we can find what we came for.%
B B B B B
Mirri ulled them to a sto. %4ook'% she urged. !ith "anna)s hel,
Mirri bent o#er. %Gerrard has been here,% she whisered. %And since he
is not here now, he has either been carried off or he mo#ed away on
his own.%
"anna)s heart skied a beat. %Are you sure&% she whisered
back. %"e)s ali#e& "ow is that ossible&%
Mirri looked u and ointed. %$ee those branches& +t looks as if he
fell here. This scra of clothing ro#es it,% the cat warrior handed her a
bit of brown cloth.
Although she couldn)t see the branches that Mirri soke of, "anna
knew that the shred of fabric came from Gerrard)s clothing. $he
remembered seeing him in the brown trousers and leather >erkin that
morning. %+ would ha#e missed these signs myself,% "anna admitted in
a soft #oice. %!here do we go ne/t&% she asked 2uietly.
Mirri ointed to their left. %!e should be able to track him desite
the water e#erywhere.%
Mirri and "anna mo#ed forward a few more aces. %+t looks as if
there was a fight o#er here,% she stated. Mirri suorted herself on a
tree trunk. The roots of the trees in that area were scuffed. The water
ool between the roots looked larger than most. +t aeared as if
something huge had blasted its way out of the water, breaking roots
along the way. %That way,% Mirri ointed straight ahead.
,nce again, they mo#ed forward se#eral more aces before
stoing. %Gerrard is running from something at this oint,% Mirri
declared, holding u another swatch of cloth. %"e is ali#e.%
"anna felt a 2uiet >oy sread o#er her. 0ut, he might ha#e yet
died at the hands of whate#er was chasing him, her inner #oice
warned her.
%My guess is that something came out of that larger ool back
there and attacked Gerrard,% continued Mirri. "e broke free from the
attack and ran this way. $ince he is running, we should be able to
track him fairly easily. =ee an eye out for waterfolk, though.%
"anna nodded and once again heled Mirri mo#e forward. %The
light is changing,% the cat warrior announced in a whiser. %+t is
brighter ahead.%
%(o you think it)s another hole in the trees&%
%?erhas,% came Mirri)s resonse. %!e should be careful, though.
Gerrard)s trail takes us in that direction.%
Together, they made their way along Gerrard)s ath. As they got
closer to the lighter area, they disco#ered that it was indeed caused by
a break in the canoy of trees abo#e them. The light from the break
centered o#er a lightly bubbling sring. Around the sring, the trees
seemed somehow healthier. %They stand taller, straighter, and
thicker,% Mirri noted after "anna remarked on this.
%?erhas the sring has healing water flowing from it,% "anna
suggested.
%!ater would be good right about now,% Mirri agreed. %*ou used
the water in the canteen to clean my wounds. -ow would be a good
time to refill it.%
Mirri and "anna settled down ne/t to the sring. %+s the water
okay&% "anna asked.
Mirri hunched o#er and smelled it. Then, she died her fingers
into it and touched it to her lis. %*es, it seems better than okay,% the
cat noted.
"anna died her canteen into the water and handed it o#er to
Mirri to drink. As she took another si of the water, "anna noticed that
Mirri straightened a little and seemed to lose her e/ression of
weariness. %+s it healing water&%
Mirri nodded. Then, as if arehensi#e, she looked around at the
dark tree trunks, marching in endless ranks down the aisles of the
wood. %!hen we first set out from the shi, we assed se#eral unusual
life forms,% she obser#ed. %!hen these disaeared, + knew that
something was wrong. Then, that strange black creature went by. +
ha#en)t seen any life besides trees and the shaeshifter since then. +t)s
as if something has warned all the local animals to stay away.%
"anna stared about them. $he had the itchy feeling that they
were being watched again, and she whisered her fear to Mirri.
%+)#e had the same feeling for 2uite a while now,% Mirri admitted.
%.ust kee an eye out once we start mo#ing.%
"anna nodded her assent, and Mirri got u and took a ste
forward. $uddenly, she went comletely still. "anna looked around
wildly for the thing that had caused this reaction but could see
nothing.
%(on)t anic, "anna. $tay still. !e are surrounded,% Mirri
whisered.
%$urrounded& 0y what&% "anna)s hand cret down to her dagger.
%-o' 4ea#e it be. !e must not resist,% Mirri declared in hissed
tones. Then she straightened u and called out, %*ou may come out
now. !e will not resist.%
%!hat&% "anna cried. %!ho is it&%
0efore Mirri could resond, se#eral lithe forms steed forward.
Their ale skin told of li#es sent beneath the shroud of trees.
Mirri stared at them. %These el#es will do us no harm as long as
we do not resist their will,% she informed the na#igator.
"anna wished she had the cat warrior)s confidence. The el#es
were clad in snakeskin and wielded swords, sta#es, and olearms. As
"anna watched, about twenty el#es re#ealed themsel#es. %"a#e they
been following us for long&% she whisered to Mirri.
%!e know of your shi and are readying to mo#e on it,% answered
one of the el#es. "e steed forward with two sets of #ines.
"anna looked at Mirri 2uestioningly. $urely the cat warrior didn)t
mean for them to be catured like this& she thought. Mirri ga#e her
one of her inscrutable looks and then held out her arms so that the
aroaching elf could bind her with the #ines. $hrugging, "anna did
the same. After ha#ing li#ed with the 4lanowar el#es for as long as she
did, the na#igator concluded, Mirri must ha#e some insight into the
beha#ior of these el#es that was denied her.
%!here are you taking us&% she asked the elf as he bound her
wrists behind her back. Another elf took her dagger and Mirri)s sword
and flatly ignored her 2uestion.
They walked for another eternity before reaching the el#es) goal.
(uring their >ourney they saw no other creatures, though once they
heard the same unearthly howl that had disturbed them early in their
search.
A massi#e entanglement of roots suorted the many huts of the
el#es) #illage. To "anna)s surrise, no water was #isible once they
entered the #illage. Their escort immediately surrounded the two
risoners, blocking their #iew of the #illagers, although "anna did see
a few younger el#es drilling together. 3#idently, these el#es were
always ready for battle.
They were taken to one of the larger huts. "anna noted before
being sho#ed through the door that the building itself consisted of an
intermeshing of li#ing roots shaed to form the walls and ceiling of the
hut. A light feathering of dark lea#es co#ered the roof, no doubt
re#enting any rain from driing into the building. Their escort
gestured for them to sit down, untied their hands, and then left the
room with all but two el#es, who stayed behind to guard them. The
guards withdrew to stand on either side of the e/it.
Minutes assed before "anna dared ask a 2uestion of Mirri. %!hat
is going on&%
Mirri shook her head. %May + ha#e some water&% she asked
instead.
"anna handed the cat warrior the canteen and watched as she
took se#eral swigs. %-ow, you must ha#e some,% Mirri ordered.
"anna looked o#er at the guards, but they stared imassi#ely
back at her. $he took the canteen from Mirri. The water was a bit
sweet to the taste, "anna thought as she took a si. The water 2uickly
sread its healing effects throughout her body. The ain of her #arious
bruises eased. "anna watched her scraed alms heal. %!ould you like
some more&% she asked Mirri.
Mirri shook her head and leaned o#er to "anna. %My wounds are
gone,% she noted in a low #oice.
"anna nodded. $he took comfort in the fact that the cat warrior
could once again defend herself should matters turn worse. They
remained silent for se#eral more minutes before "anna asked another
2uestion. %!hen did you change your mind about me& And why&% she
began.
6haracteristically, Mirri thought about the 2uestion for a few
moments before answering. %+ would ha#e to say when Gerrard and +
left the shi,% she relied at last. %At times, + can be stubborn about
how + see things. +t took lea#ing the shi for me to reali1e that you
were a ositi#e, steadying influence in all of our li#es. *ou remain calm
and collected in the face of ad#ersity, which is a soothing thing to ha#e
near you when ad#ersity abounds. 3#en when faced with the rosect
of returning to a roblematic family relationshi, you remained calm
and admitted that the action was necessary.%
"anna thought this o#er for a few moments. $he wondered
e/actly how much Mirri knew about her relationshi with her father.
%!hy didn)t you like me in the beginning&% she asked finally.
Mirri)s answer was brief. %+ did not know you. 4ater, when +
learned you had bad relations with your father, + did not understand
you.%
%!hy&%
%0ecause + do not ha#e a family and would like to think that +
would cherish them if + did,% Mirri admitted. %*ou ha#e a family and
don)t. !hile + still do not understand, + know you well enough now to
reali1e that you must ha#e your reasons.%
"anna thought about this for a moment. $he didn)t want to tell
the whole story, but she did want to hel Mirri understand her
osition. %"e wanted me to follow in his footstes so that we could
learn more sorceries and make e#en greater magic sells,% she said
finally. + was a tool to be used, not a family member to be lo#ed and
cherished.% $he thought a moment, then continued with a sigh, %!hen
+ started showing an interest in studying artifacts in Argi#e, he
e/ressly forbade me to think about it.%
%0ut you went there anyway.%
%Although Tolaria)s library didn)t ha#e much material on artifacts,
some of the students had studied the sub>ect,% "anna relied. %As
students came and went while + was growing u, + found the ones who
knew about artifacts and learned from them what + could. Then, to
comlete my studies, + decided to go to the Argi#ian @ni#ersity with a
student who left the island to study there. 5ather had already refused
to let me study artifacts.%
"anna aused in her tale, and Mirri asked, %(id you tell your
father you were lea#ing&%
"anna hesitated before answering. 8emembering this made her
both angry and sad at the same time. %0efore + left with the Argi#ian
student, + tried to tell my father how much studying there meant to
me. "e didn)t understand. +nstead, he set a few wards around my
room and the island that would ha#e re#ented me from lea#ing. "e
was #ery angry when + foiled them-he underestimated my sorcery
abilities.%
%+t seems as if a lot of eole underestimate you, "anna,% Mirri
said wryly. %!hat haened then&%
%+ recei#ed a letter from him telling me that + must return. )*our
duty is to sorcery, not artifacts,) he wrote.% "anna shook her head.
%-ot once did he say that he missed me or lo#ed me.% $he sighed
again. %+ didn)t see him or talk to him again until you and Gerrard
>oined us to hel find $isay.%
$e#eral minutes assed before Mirri said in a soft #oice, %$till,
ha#ing a father whom you dislike and who misunderstands you must
be better than ha#ing a family that disowns you comletely. 8ight
now, + consider Gerrard my only family, but he is not of the blood, and
he was not always there.%
"anna heard the guards sna to attention suddenly. Another elf
entered the room, followed by the one who had lead their cators.
%Ah, the ones who left the shi,% he noted as he assed them. %Good,
(reanilis.% "e turned to his cati#es. %!e shall soon attack your shi,%
he obser#ed with a cool smile.
The one called (reanilis smirked. %+)ll attend to that gladly, my
lord.% "e motioned for the two guards to stand behind Mirri and
"anna. %+n the meantime, we ha#e other guests.%
The sound of #oices came from outside the hut. 5or a moment,
"anna thought that one of the #oices sounded heart-rendingly familiar.
Then the hut door oened, admitting se#eral eole.
%There you are,% the man (reanilis had called %lord% noted. %+
would like to warn you that + ha#en)t much time to waste on
foolishness, ,racle.%
"anna)s guard knocked her head forward before she could see the
eole, but the erson she had thought she)d heard earlier soke
again. %!e don)t ha#e time to waste on foolishness, either, 3ladamri.
?lease listen to the ,racle.%
%Gerrard'% "anna cried. $he >umed u from her kneeling osition
and nearly fell o#er when the guard sho#ed her again. %*ou)re ali#e'%
Another sho#e from the guard brought her to her senses. "er
heart ounded with relief and the cessation of worry and fear for him.
%!e feared you had erished,% she managed to say in a more e#en
tone.
The elf whom Gerrard had addressed as 3ladamri interruted her.
%They came from that shi you mentioned. !e found them in the
forest, no doubt looking for you.%
Gerrard was looking at "anna with a strange e/ression on his
face. %*es,% he said finally, %these are two shimates of mine. The cat
warrior is Mirri, and the woman is our shi)s na#igator, "anna.%
3ladamri ga#e a short, mocking bow. %$o leased to meet you,%
he said in a lilting #oice. %-ow, onto business. !hat)s this you say
about >oining forces to challenge 7olrath&%
An old woman stood beside Gerrard. $he was ale and clad in
white, a turban bound around her head. Gerrard bent his head as she
soke in a gesture of resect. The woman stared straight at 3ladamri
and stated, %This man is the =or#ecdal, the @niter.%
%*es, yes, you)#e said that already.% the elf said imatiently,
leaning forward. "e addressed Gerrard. %*our shimate mentioned
something about rescuing someone. +s this someone under 7olrath)s
control& (o you lan to face the e#incar&% The elf seemed bent on
egging Gerrard on, as if seeking some definite reaction from him.
%!e of !eatherlight ha#e a rimary goal. !e must find our shi)s
catain, $isay, and rescue her from 7olrath. +f 7olrath chooses to
fight, we will most certainly oblige him. (oes that satisfy you&%
Gerrard growled. 6learly, "anna thought, the elf had gotten under his
skin.
%*es.% 3ladamri turned to the woman. %,racle, e/lain to me why
this man is the =or#ecdal,% the elf demanded.
%7ery well, 4ord of 4ea#es,% she answered with a firm, yet 2uiet
tone. %As rohesied, the =or#ecdal, or @niter, will come to rally the
humanoid tribes against the e#incar. "e,% here she ointed to Gerrard,
%is the =or#ecdal. + found him at the aointed sot at the aointed
time, as the rohecy tells us. !ith his hel, we can bring together a
force of arms that will surely bring down the e#incar.%
The old woman stoed, and a troubled e/ression crossed her
face. $he reached out a trembling hand and touched Gerrard)s face.
"er fingers traced a long gash on his cheek where Gre#en)s sword had
cut him during the fight on !eatherlight. %There is something else,%
she said. %$omething e#en + do not fully understand. The =or#ecdal
means so much more to those oosing the e#incar than e#en +
know.% $he let her hand dro back to her side and returned her ga1e
to 3ladamri, her #oice growing in ower and fer#or. %$urely you can
see that by coming together our forces will be stronger' !e must do
this, for the sake of the rohecy and for an end to the e#incar'%
%$tronger, yes, but will it be enough to defeat 7olrath& +t has
always been our duty to endure, not re#ail,% 3ladamri said.
%+)#e had enough of this,% Gerrard snaed suddenly. "anna
almost >umed at the force in his #oice. %+f you don)t wish to >oin
forces, lease let my shimates go. !e need to return to the shi. +f
you could assist us in finding it, we will lea#e you to endure or re#ail,
whiche#er you choose. !e can fight with you or against you. After the
day +)#e had, +)d refer the former.%
3ladamri mo#ed around the low table, dee in thought. %!e ha#e
already surrounded your shi,% he stated in a detached tone. %0ut with
a fire such as yours on our side ready to attack the e#incar, + think it is
time that the $kyshroud el#es do more than >ust endure. 7ery well, +
will tell our eole to stand down from their offensi#e against your
shi. *our shimates are free. ,racle en-7ec, we must discuss a few
things.% The elf looked u sharly at Gerrard. %!e will return in a few
moments. 0e reared to lea#e for your shi, =or#ecdal. !e must sto
the attack by our resence, though +)ll send word ahead.%
,nce the el#es and the old woman left the room, "anna flung her
arms around Gerrard, reassuring herself by touch that he was indeed
ali#e. %!e were so worried,% she murmured. $he could feel their
hearts beating together. $o many torn feelings and so much
heartbreak remains between us, "anna thought. + ha#e no idea what
he feels.
%*ou were worried,% he muttered darkly. "anna looked u at him
with a smile on her lis, about to comment, when his eyes caught
hers. $lowly, hesitantly, he died his head down and ressed his lis
to hers in a long, drawn-out kiss. This is the way it should be, "anna
thought, as warmth sread through her limbs.
%Ahem,% Mirri cleared her throat in a kind of half- growl that
brought them back to the real world. Gerrard reluctantly released
"anna, and they mo#ed aart.
%!e ha#e much to discuss before they come back,
Gerrard,% obser#ed the cat warrior. %(uring the fight on the shi,
the in#aders stole the 4egacy, including =arn. Tahngarth leaed to
?redator, robably to try to sa#e the golem. 0ut we don)t know what
haened to him, and the shi needs reairs. Tell him, "anna,% Mirri
urged.
Throughout Mirri)s brief reort, "anna stared into Gerrard)s brown
eyes. There is a warmth in them that + ha#e not seen before, she
thought. At Mirri)s behest, she continued the reort.
%After you fell, + disco#ered that the damage to the shi was
causing it to slowly sink. !e had to crash through the trees and land
so that reairs could be made. + wasn)t able to get an idea of the full
e/tent of damage to the hull before + left, but + know that our descent
through the trees did some damage. The crew is effecting reairs to
the shi)s interior. The worst of it is that when the creatures >umed
aboard from the other shi and tried to take the Thran crystal, they
cracked it retty badly.% $he looked full at Gerrard. %!e can)t
laneshift anymore. @nless we can find some way to reair the
damage, we)re traed here.%
Gerrard)s brow furrowed. %!e)ll ha#e to find a way off this lane.
?erhas the ,racle can hel us. $he seems to lace a lot of
imortance on my being this =or#ecdal erson.%
"anna shook her head in u11lement. %!ho is the ,racle,
Gerrard& And what haened to you after you fell from the shi&%
"anna knew that she would be haunted by images of Gerrard)s fall for
weeks to come.
Gerrard sighed. %A lot haened after + tumbled off !eatherlight,
more from my own stuidity than anything else. + think + used u all
my good luck and all my bad luck in the same fall,% he admitted with a
wry grin. %$ince we don)t ha#e a lot of time, though, +)ll gi#e you the
short #ersion. ,n my way down, 6ro#a/)s dark angel $elenia snagged
me with the intention of taking me to
7olrath. + fought my way out of her gras and crashed through
the trees to the forest below. $ince she)d broken my fall, + wasn)t
in>ured nearly as badly as + might ha#e been, and + had the good
fortune to fall into water. $elenia tried to find me, but + hid until she
left.%
"e shuddered slightly and continued. %Then, the merfolk who
e#idently li#e in the water attacked me. + broke free and fled from
them, but they were gaining on me. .ust as + thought my luck had
comletely gi#en out, + stumbled into a rocession of humans who call
themsel#es the 7ec. + gather they)re nati#es of 8ath- making some
sort of ilgrimage through the $kyshroud. + met the ,racle after that.
$he was looking for me, somehow knowing what would befall me.%
%"ow did she know that you were there&% Mirri asked curiously.
%$he has the gift of rohecy, so she >ust knew where to look,
e#idently,% Gerrard e/lained. %$omehow, she knows that + am the
=or#ecdal, or the one who will unite the human tribes to fight 7olrath.
This rohecy holds great imortance to these eole. +n fact, the
,racle told me that she doesn)t know the full ramifications of the
arri#al of the =or#ecdal. My thinking is that +)ll work with this situation
and turn it to our own endsA + don)t really care if + am their @niter or
not'%
%$o, what is our ne/t ste&% "anna asked.
%!e must get back to the shi and ensure the el#es don)t attack
it,% Gerrard declared. %Then, we must find a way to reair the shi and
the Thran crystal. After that, we find $isay-and now also, e#idently,
Tahngarth, and =arn. The shi that attacked us would ha#e taken the
4egacy back to 7olrath. $o we)ll continue on to the $tronghold, >ust as
we would ha#e done in any case.%
As Gerrard finished seaking, the door to the hut oened and
admitted 3ladamri. "anna wondered for a moment if he had been
outside the door, listening to
Gerrard)s tale. +f so, he showed no signs of it. %!e must lea#e for
your shi,% said the elf lord. %Are you ready&%
Gerrard steed forward, with "anna and Mirri close behind.
%4et)s go'%

"ere ends the Tale of "anna


A Dark Room

%+)m so hay Gerrard sur#i#ed,% +lcaster sighed. %+ lo#e a hay
ending.%
The master snorted. %"ay' !ho said anything about hay or
the end& "ad they found $isay yet&%
%!ell, no, but-%
%"ad they entered the $tronghold yet&%
%!ell, not yet, but-%
%"ad Gerrard confronted 7olrath yet&%
%-ot e/actly, but-%
%+n fact, at this oint in the story they had not accomlished
anything of their 2uest.%
%0ut surely getting the el#es to agree to hel them fight 7olrath
was imortant'% +lcaster ushed back a lock of blond hair that had
fallen o#er his flushed face. -either he nor the master seemed any
longer to hear the wind that filtered faintly through the high glass
windows and stirred the thick curtains.. 0oth knelt o#er the chest, its
aers silling about them, the candle casting long shadows that
streamed away across the flagstones. The master drew ackets from
the chest, ointing to where the boy should lace them on the shel#es.
As he did so, he continued seaking.
%,f course it was imortant' 0ut !eatherlight had a long way to
go yet.%
%!ell, + thought-%
%*ou thought' *ou thought' That)s your trouble, boy: you)re
always thinking and ne#er listening.
%!hile Gerrard was consulting with 3ladamri and the el#es,
6ro#a/, 3rtai, and ,rim were burying their fallen crewmates in the
forest. .ust as they finished, though, they were surrounded by the
el#es) atrols, swords drawn. @nder the control of el#ish magic, the
#ery shrubbery of the $kyshroud grew around !eatherlight, inning
the shi to the forest floor.
%5ortunately Gerrard chose >ust this moment to return to his crew.
!hile he ut the fears of the el#es to rest, 3ladamri in#ited them to
return to his #illage for counsel.
%Gerrard informed 3ladamri that the attack that brought down
!eatherlight, damaged the Thran crystal that enabled them to
laneshift. @nless it could be reaired, they would be condemned to
fore#er remain in 8ath.%
%5ore#er,% softly reeated +lcaster, with a shi#er.
%3ladamri knew the el#es had not the magic to reair the crystal,%
continued the master. %0ut he suggested to Gerrard that there might
be another way out: a ortal, though none knew where it led.
%The elf lord also romised that his forces would besiege the
$tronghold. +f nothing else, their attack might ser#e to distract
7olrath)s attention long enough for Gerrard and his friends to enter the
fortress and steal away $isay, Tahngarth, and =arn.
%Through all this talk, $tarke sat silent, listening. A thousand
thoughts and a thousand schemes flitted through his mind. Most he
feared the ,racle. $he was en-7ec, while he was il-7ec-%
%.ust a minute,% interruted the boy. %+ don)t think + understand.
!hat)s the difference between it and en&%
%+ e/lained that earlier&%
%-o, Master, you didn)t. Though you said Gre#en)s name was il-
7ec. 0ut + thought that was >ust art of his name.%
%-o, no, you)re confused, boy. +)m not surrised.% The librarian
looked at +lcaster)s eager face, and his tone softened. %!ell, it)s a bit
confusing at that, + suose. -o, the 7ec were a eole, long ago
accidentally traed in 8ath. They came originally from the lains of
(ominaria, and in 8ath they li#ed a semi- nomadic e/istence, trying
deserately to sur#i#e. $ome members of the tribe, howe#er, turned
their coats and >oined with the forces of 7olrath. Their own eole
renounced them, and they became il-7ec, while the others were en-
7ec.%
%+ think + see now,% said +lcaster haily. %$o Gre#en actually
used to be an en- 7ec.%
%That)s a bit simlistic, but yes. And in fact, though none of
!eatherlight)s crew knew it, $tarke was also il-7ec. This was what he
feared the ,racle might disco#er. And so he watched and lotted.%


Starke's Tale
Jennifer Clarke Wilkes

%+t)s only going to get more difficult.% $tarke sweated and looked
meaningfully at Gerrard across the el#en council table. %5rom here on
in, the way to 7olrath is full of danger e#en worse than what we)#e
>ust escaed.%
%$till, we ha#e no choice.% Gerrard)s dark eyes no longer held
their twinkle. %7olrath not only has $isay, he has the 4egacy. And if he
thinks +)m dead, erhas he)ll let his guard down.%
%"is guard is ne#er down,% $tarke muttered. Then, more audibly:
%And how are we to lea#e once you)#e accomlished your mission-
assuming you do& *our na#igator has already told us !eatherlight)s
Thran crystal is damaged, destroying any hoe of shifting from this
lane.%
%There is ... another way.% 3ladamri, the glowering elf lord, soke
now for the first time since the ,racle en-7ec had roosed this >oint
camaign against 7olrath.
3ladamri continued, %!ithin a dee canyon, a long way from here,
there lies an ancient gateway. 4egend says it is a ortal to some other
world, though none know if it is a better lace than this. At least it
does go elsewhere.
%As for defeating 7olrath, do not forget the many allies who will
fight at your side. At last we can reali1e our dream of escaing this
e#il. And while we take the war to the e#incar)s gate, you can enter
forgotten assages to find your comrades and your treasure.%
%!hat assages&% Gerrard asked. %-obody told me about these
before. And don)t be so eager to rush into battle when you)re unlikely
to win the war.%
%!e can win. !e will win. !e must win.% 3ladamri folded his
arms. %There will be no discussion on this oint.%
%"e)s right about a back way ... sort of,% $tarke chimed in. %+t)s
unbelie#ably dangerous, but we robably would be able to sli in
unnoticed.%
%A con#enient iece of information,% said Gerrard susiciously.
%!ere you lanning to tell me of this at any oint on our way& ,r did
you simly intend to lead us to the slaughter&%
"as he heard something& $tarke sweated a bit more. %*our
mistrust wounds me. (o you think +)m in a hurry to die& + barely had
the oortunity to get our bearings when ?redator attacked us. -ow +
ha#e a better sense of where we are, and can more effecti#ely guide
you to the heart of 7olrath)s realm.%
%Go on.%
%!ith you aarently dead, 7olrath will turn his attention to the
artifacts he stole. That gi#es us a chance to mo#e without being
noticed. The mountain that co#ers his $tronghold is ierced by furnace
#ents and tunnels. These assages are narrow and erilous, but they
offer access to the fortress if we can na#igate them.%
%4et me see if +)#e got the lan straight. *ou%- Gerrard ointed to
3ladamri-%throw yoursel#es at the front gate by the thousands, while
we s2uee1e through some crack in a mountain, with a good chance of
burning u or being eaten ali#e. And then, assuming we make it out of
there again, we run to a magic ortal that could take us somewhere
worse&%
"e grinned wryly. %$o tell me: what)s the downside&%
B B B B B
The war council wore on long into the night-not that it was easy
to distinguish from 8ath)s dreary day, esecially under the o#erhang of
$kyshroud forest. $tarke)s mind wandered, and he thought again of
Takara caught somewhere in 7olrath)s dungeons. $he was so
beautiful, so like her mother. "e could not let her end the same way.
"is wife)s death still tore at the heart, and he winced with the ain of
it.
"is thoughts were interruted as he reali1ed the ,racle was
looking at him. $tarke had a sense that she was trying to recall
something. About him& "e felt a trill of dis2uiet.
$he and her foolish 7ec hoed to bring down 7olrath. They really
didn)t understand what they were dealing with. $urely the only
sensible resonse was to side with the winner. 0ut they didn)t see
that. ,nly a few like him had the sense to offer their ser#ice to this
world)s masters. +f these fools knew who really stood behind 7olrath....
$tarke shuddered, but 2uickly caught himself as he remembered the
,racle)s stare.
More than twel#e years had assed since $tarke had tra#eled to
.amuraa on his insidious mission. "e)d had his orders, and
disobedience was out of the 2uestion. Their disleasure was too
horrible to imagine.
B B B B B
8ath shall be his 4egacy. The rohetic words suffused $tarke)s
thoughts in slee and in wakefulness, a sreading stain. They were the
last things he)d been aware of before he was cast between worlds as
heedlessly as a bit of rubbish.
-ow he lay face down in the dust, arched and aching and close
to death. They had left him here for the local tribesmen to find. 0ut no
one had come. $tarke knew he had little time left.
"e lifted his head and again began to crawl toward the distant line
of hills where surely he would find water. 3ach surt of effort brought
him a few more short aces, but each time it took him a little longer to
get u again. The air swam with heat, filling his eyes with illusion. That
couldn)t be Aniyeh stooing o#er him, unless she had come to witness
his death.
$tarke awoke with nostrils wrinkling at the fetor of beasts and
unwashed clothing. "e rested on something soft, and his mouth no
longer cracked with thirst. ,ening his eyes the merest slit, he saw
that he lay within a rough tent whose hide anels dimmed the sun)s
glare to a soothing twilight. -earby, a figure sat with crossed legs on a
mound of skins and worked at something unseen in his hands. -ow
$tarke could hear bleating outside, and he guessed that this was the
home of a goatherd.
The man looked u and set aside whate#er he had been working
on. "e came o#er and laid a hand on $tarke)s brow, muttering softly in
words $tarke could not understand. "e reached aside and then
brought a dam cloth to $tarke)s mouth.
$tarke drew at the water greedily, e#en though the fabric was not
the cleanest. "e tried to seak, but his dehydrated throat wouldn)t
allow much more than a croak. %!here ... &%
The other shook his head and motioned silence. Again he soke in
alien words, but $tarke understood well enough that he was being
ordered to lie still. That was fine with him. "e closed his eyes again.
!eeks assed in the comany of the goatherd, who $tarke
learned was named .umok of the 6heetah warclan. $lowly $tarke
attained a halting gras of the Dhalfirin tongue as the two tra#eled
along the goatherd)s circuit, mo#ing the flock from one #anishing
water hole to the ne/t. ,nce the rains came, .umok returned to the
clan)s central #illage to celebrate the annual har#est festi#al and, later,
to obser#e the rites of assage.
(uring those con#ersations, $tarke learned about $idar =ondo of
the Triangle, sureme leader of the warclans, whose son 7uel was to
undergo the rite of assage this year. "e learned also of =ondo)s
adoted son, Gerrard, a ale-skinned youth from some northern clime,
who was 7uel)s closest comanion and widely seen as a ri#al for the
old man)s affection.
$tarke knew the name of 7uel. They had imressed it on him
before sending him here. This one has otential, the #oices hissed, a
great gift for destruction. "e is an e/cellent candidate.
And who better 2ualified than you to seek him out& Aniyeh)s #oice
snarled in his mind.
B B B B B
$tarke)s memories yielded to the resent when the council finally
broke u with a general agreement to take the war to 7olrath. +t
seemed that Gerrard had been ersuaded by this talk of a ortal and
was lanning to take !eatherlight there now to in#estigate. $tarke
stirred himself, trying to argue against this action. %+t will delay our
arri#al at 7olrath)s stronghold,% he said. %3#ery moment that you take
away from this goal means that much more torment for your
comrades and less oortunity to infiltrate unnoticed.%
%The ortal is the only way we can lea#e this world,% relied
Gerrard. %That)s assuming it works. !e need to know that first.%
%+f it doesn)t work, will that change your lans&% $tarke
countered. %!ill you abandon your search then&%
Gerrard)s face darkened. The fresh scar stood out >ust abo#e the
narrow line of his beard. %!e will sa#e our eole and reco#er the
4egacy. 0ut if we can do so and get out of here safely, then that)s our
best course of action. !e)re going to the ortal, and that)s final.%
$tarke sighed, but he knew he couldn)t o#erower Gerrard)s will
any more than he could his masters).
"e felt the touch of eyes, and looked u to see that accursed
,racle araising him again across the table. 6learly she knew him,
though they had ne#er met in the flesh. "ow much did she know, was
the 2uestion. And what would she do with that knowledge& $tarke
again felt himself at a disad#antage.
!ell, he)d get the better of this bargain, he thought.
4ater $tarke aced the courtyard outside 3ladamri)s council hall
as the delegates drifted from the meeting. $cattered lanterns dimly lit
the el#en #illage. -o other light broke $kyshroud)s close night. There
were no stars, no moon in this sky of lea#es. -ot many stes away,
Gerrard and the ,racle were con#ersing 2uietly. !hat was she telling
him& $tarke fingered the edge of his dagger, hidden in the folds of his
cloak.
Gerrard made a slight bow to the ,racle, then dearted for the
night with his comanions. The ,racle, too, retreated to her billet.
$tarke, seeing an oortunity, casually aroached the door.
A 2uiet welcome from within resonded to his gentle knock. The
,racle looked u from her rayer mat as
$tarke entered.
%Good e#ening, 8e#ered ,ne.% $tarke ainted an aroriately
resectful look on his features.
%Good e#ening to you as well, child.% The ,racle)s eyes crinkled in
a concerned smile. %+ see how fear sharens you.%
$o erceti#e, thought $tarke with an inner sneer. + guess that)s
why you)re the ,racle. 0ut outwardly he only nodded. %*es. This
attack on 7olrath is dangerous. And + don)t like wasting time.% "e
edged a little closer.
%!e all shrink from the e#incar, yet we also thirst to destroy him.
!e must ha#e atience. 8ash mo#es lay into our enemy)s hands.%
$tarke was confused. The ,racle aeared genuinely interested in
him. $he seemed not to recogni1e him at all now. Again, she smiled
warmly. %!e will o#ercome, child. *ou must ha#e faith.%
Then she closed her eyes, >ust for a moment. "er eyes oened
again and, glinting, fi/ed $tarke. %Trading in hearts earns oor rofit.%
"e recoiled as though from a blow. %!hat)s that suosed to
mean&%
%+ say what + see. The listener understands.%
$tarke co#ered his arehension with a mocking chuckle. %+ guess
that message was meant for some other listener, then. +t certainly
didn)t make any sense to me.%
%+t seems bad business takes a toll.%
%$to that'% "ad she really heard his thoughts& %*ou might call
yourself an oracle, but you don)t know anything about me. Maybe +)m
>ust annoyed by resumtuous old women.%
%,r erhas you are troubled by bad bargains. !hen the market
is soft, is it not wise to consider a change in commodity&%
%!hat do you know of business& 4ea#e me alone'%
%+f you insist. 0ut think about this: disaster may dri#e u a rice
in the short term, but success means continuing roserity.%
$tarke was close enough. "is knife blade could end it all now, still
that croaking #oice so it would ne#er call him out, ne#er taunt him
again. A 2uick cut, the body into the swams-erhas they)d think the
merfolk did it.
*et he hesitated. Those words had struck close to home. "e
shaed his mouth to make an answer, but nothing would come.
%!ise one'% A man)s #oice enetrated the doorway from the
darkness, followed by the tall form of one of the ,racle)s guard. %*ou
should not be alone, Mistress.%
%My guard,% sighed the ,racle, with a tired smile toward $tarke. %+
choose not their duty, but duty chooses me.%
$tarke mumbled something, bowed, and backed away awkwardly
from her 2uarters while the guardsman took u his ost. The
oortunity was gone. "ad he lost his touch entirely& "e)d been #ery
good, once. After all, that was how he got into this.
B B B B B
6loud-dark skies and sultry air heralded the onset of the rains.
.umok turned his charges to the east and the distant hills where the
#illage lay. 0y now $tarke had con#inced the man of his friendshi,
and on their arri#al he was welcomed into the home of .umok)s family.
0ut they were far from his thoughts as the time of 7uel)s assage
aroached.
"ow to tra the destiny of the sidar)s son& "e hadn)t much time
to find a way to oen 8ath)s dark doorway for 7uel.
+n idgin Dhalfirin, $tarke asked all he met about the rite of
assage and what it entailed. The #illagers were remarkably atient
and willing to offer any information-the trusting simletons. They told
him that the child must sur#i#e alone a dangerous test of both hysical
and siritual strength.
3#eryone knew that 7uel)s successful assage would ensure his
leadershi of the warclans. $o, reasoned $tarke, interfering with that
inheritance might be >ust the thing to direct 7uel)s thoughts toward a
different destiny. There must be some way to turn the encounter to his
fearsome masters) uroses.
!eakening the candidate so that he would fail, without destroying
that #aluable roerty, would be best. ?erhas a drug would do, in
2uantities sufficient to disorient but not to seriously harm. +ntroducing
the drug would be a roblem, though, since $tarke had found out that
candidates underwent urification and fasting in the week receding
the rite. "owe#er, the oening ceremonies of e#ery such rite were
identical and included songs, rayers, dances, and ritual body ainting.
This last resented a ossibility. Getting someone to consume
oison wasn)t as easy as the storytellers would ha#e you belie#e, but
aint-who would susect that medium& And who would notice, in the
midst of the general merrymaking&
$tarke had some familiarity with drugs and oisons. "e)d learned
not to be too fussy in acceting commissions, or to ask too many
2uestions about the destination. A coule of simle herbal rearations
could ser#e his urose, if such things e/isted in this world.
6on#eniently, the clan)s mundungu, its healer and chief shaman,
had been one of those most eager to teach the newcomer of their
ways. The fool would ne#er think twice about an innocent re2uest to
learn more of how the aint was made. 3#en a con#ersation about
treating the sick would gi#e $tarke the oortunity to eruse some of
the shaman)s materials.
+t was >ust that easy. !hile the old hedge wi1ard rattled on
about his healing herbs, $tarke took careful note of the less salubrious
ingredients within the worksace. *es, there was bitterleaf, and
thoughtsease too. 0oth could be reared for absortion through the
skin. +t remained only to obtain a 2uantity of the herbs, and to
somehow introduce them into the aints.
0ut that, too, was simle, for no one here thought to lock their
doors against thie#es. They wouldn)t last fi#e minutes on 8ath,
thought $tarke, where e#en the dirt is an enemy. +t was child)s lay to
sneak into the worksho in the dying hour, that time of night when
souls) ties were weakest, and gather a few of the recious lea#es and
roots. And another %tutorial% while the mundungu mi/ed his aints
offered $tarke the oortunity he needed.
This wasn)t so different from his commission for the il-=or client.
A inch of owder, ne#er seen again, and a tidy rofit-if only Aniyeh
hadn)t interfered. !hy had she reacted that way& $he wasn)t in#ol#ed.
$he could ha#e ket 2uiet.
$tarke cursed and shook his head #iolently. ,ld thoughts. @seless
clutter. "e had to kee his mind on the task. The rite of assage would
take lace in two days) time.
B B B B B
Two days had assed since the war council)s conclusion.
!eatherlight sailed o#er the eyeless 8ootwater deths and into the
emty lands beyond. (ay and night assed in e2ual drear, until at last
the ground began to crack like raw skin. $mall hills, gullies, and
boulder fields broke u the flat terrain. 0efore them, one e/tinct
ri#erbed oened into a deeer cleft that twisted between walls of
scabby stone.
%This must be the lace,% murmured Gerrard absently as he stood
at the shi)s bow.
%+ must rotest again this delay,% said $tarke. %7olrath is
strengthening his forces and growing more ambitious. 3#ery minute
makes us that much more #ulnerable.%
%+ know.% Gerrard)s #oice held a tired edge. %0ut we ha#e no other
choice. !e)re not turning back now.%
8age flared in $tarke. The arrogance of the man' "is #oice grew
more insistent. %"a#e you e#en thought about how to oerate this
ortal& +t)s ancient, foreign magic. 6an we afford to take the time to
figure out its workings&%
%+)ll >ust ha#e to worry about that when we get there. 6omlaining
won)t make things any easier. !e do ha#e a wi1ard with us-3rtai.%
Gerrard winced faintly as he indicated the fair-haired youth. %Maybe he
can find the way to acti#ate it.%
3rtai didn)t notice Gerrard)s e/ressionA he stood straighter at the
mention of his name. "is eyes gleamed and he soke u confidently.
%Gerrard resects my talents. There is no de#ice whose mysteries can
elude me for long.%
%0old words. !e)ll see,% grumbled $tarke.
%Meanwhile,% said Gerrard ointedly, %you might think of ways for
us to aroach the $tronghold safely. *ou are the e/ert, after all.%
$tarke wondered if Gerrard knew >ust where his e/ertise lay.
B B B B B
3ach year when the rains taered, bringing a sort of sringtime to
the .amuraan lains, the warclans reeated their timeless
acknowledgment of life)s wheel. The har#est was ast, and the young
had come of age.
(awn came early now, and there was a romise of warm weather
as the ceremonial day began. The #illage was a- bustle e#en before
the sun cracked the cloudsA the smell of bread and roasting meats and
sweet brew cret among the houses. There would be great feasting
this day, after the trial of the sidar)s son, who would share in the
celebration once he was a man.
$tarke tra#eled about the ublic saces, greeting friends with an
oen smile but searching e#ery unknown face for the one he sought.
!hen he sotted the tall, dark youth with the haughty bearing, he did
not need to ask the stranger)s name. 7uel caught $tarke)s ga1e and
regarded him for a cold second before turning away, lea#ing $tarke to
feel like a grubby child wandering about a ban2uet. +ndignation burned
behind the il-7ec)s outward smile.
The chieftain)s son continued toward the sacred enclosure. At his
side strode his ale half-brother. The two youths con#ersed in
whisers, smiling and sometimes laughing 2uietly, sharing an easy
intimacy. $tarke noted an old scar across the back of Gerrard)s hand
and another, its mate, on 7uel)s.
The time of the ritual had come. 7uel steed into the circle of
the clansfolk and resented himself to the war chiefs and the
mundungu. "e stood roudly before the ceremonial fire, naked but for
a knife bound at his waist. The ritual words were soken and the
sacred symbols ainted across his body.
A drum began a slow ulse. The crowd began to sway and chant
in unison with the mundungu)s recitation. A ram)s horn blatted, a
stone-filled reed rattled. 5lutes ululated while the drum)s throb grew
more insistent. The eole danced and shouted. 7uel turned in their
midst, arms uraised, singing the ancient words so many had uttered
before him. "is eyes closed and he swayed with the ecstasy of the rite.
The mundungu soke one shar syllable.
$udden silence. All eyes were on the youth, whose bright eyes
met those of the shaman ronouncing the form of the trial. $tarke
could not make out all the words, but the gestures con#eyed the
message. The mundungu turned and ointed to a >agged sire of stone
erhas a mile distant. "e returned his ga1e to 7uel and soke words
of closing.
The sidar)s son made the ritual resonse, then held his arms out
with steel hooks bound tightly to his wrists, 7uel thrust his hands into
the fire. After a second of anguish, he ulled them back and raised
them briefly o#er his head. Then he set forth resolutely toward the
sire. 0ehind the youth came the mundungu, then the chieftains, then
Gerrard. The rest of the clansfolk followed at a distance, maintaining a
silence at once re#erential and tense.
7uel came to the tumbled rocks at the crag)s foot and without
hesitation dro#e a climbing hook into the rock face. "e ulled himself
u and clawed with the other. The ale scar on his dark hand gleamed
in the afternoon sun, and $tarke saw Gerrard glance at the matching
mark on his own hand before turning his eyes uward.
7uel was climbing 2uickly now, eager in his 2uest to seek the holy
#ision. "is aint-limned skin was slick with sweat. "e reached again....
$omething was wrong. The hand hung in midair, and 7uel shook
his head like a goat lagued by flies. =ondo)s hands clenched
hellessly, and worried glances flashed between the other chiefs. The
crowd drew a collecti#e gas, but $tarke smiled inwardly. The drug
was taking effect.
7uel)s head drooed for a moment, then lifted weakly. The hook
flailed weakly at the cliff face and missed. "is footing ga#e. 7uel fell.
=ondo turned away his eyes. $omeone sobbed audibly. The youth
tumbled, hundreds of feet u, death certain. $tarke)s stomach gaed
with terror. -o' + need you ali#e'
,ne hook somehow caught an outcroing, bringing 7uel)s
headlong lunge to a momentary halt. 0ut it was recarious indeed-
the da1ed youth dangled two hundred feet abo#e the ground.
=ondo looked u again, anguish on his face. "e could not do a
thing. The youth had to sur#i#e the assage on his own or die in the
rocess. Tears tracked his cheeks, but he ket his eyes on his son.
Many others turned away.
$tarke too could not take his eyes off the drama. "e wasn)t about
to risk his own hide, but this was going all wrong. 6ome on, he urged
silently, you)#e got to make it. "e was sweating almost as much as the
sidar)s son.
$uddenly a figure aeared on a ledge, >ust abo#e 7uel)s flailing
arm. Gerrard stretched out his scarred hand to his imeriled half-
brother. "ow had he got there without hel& 0ut there was no time to
wonder. $tarke watched an/iously as 7uel shouted something to
Gerrard and drew back his free hand. "e rocked dangerously, and the
hook slied from the outcroing. Gerrard cried out and grabbed at
7uel)s wrist, ulling him onto the rock.
The crowd gased again, but this time in sorrow rather than fear.
$idar =ondo)s face fell. "e hung his head, turned, and slowly walked
away. The others followed suit.
Meanwhile, Gerrard had slung the fainting youth o#er his shoulder
and carried him with difficulty to the foot of the crag. "e bent o#er his
half-brother with concern as 7uel raised himself groggily. 0ut there
was no gratitude in that one)s eyes. "e screamed at his rescuer,
hurling him backward with his words.
%*ou ha#e stolen my legacy' +t was my right to win my destiny or
die in the attemt'%
Gerrard, stung, shouted back, %!hat did you want me to do, >ust
let you die&%
%*es, damn you' +t is my life. My choice how it shall end. 5ar
better to die than to be disgraced like this'%
7uel ushed away his half-brother. "e draw his knife and cut the
hooks from his arms with furious strokes. Then he slashed #iciously at
the back of his own scarred hand. "e sat at Gerrard)s feet and
stalked away.
-o one said a word.
B B B B B
The stony face stared wordlessly into $tarke. 0elow the sculture
surmounting the ortal)s arch and the tethered !eatherlight, two
figures studied the gateway)s car#ings. $tarke could see them wa#ing
their arms, the young wi1ard)s e/citement ob#ious. The $amite healer,
,rim, was nodding her head thoughtfully and seemed to be asking
2uestions. At one oint there was a flash, and 3rtai actually srang
into the air. 5inally ,rim made a gesture of aro#al and returned to
the shi, while 3rtai continued to run his fingers o#er the walls.
%3rtai belie#es he has the ability to oen this ortal,% the healer
reorted. %"owe#er, it will take some time. The symbols are #ery
ancient and, as 3rtai has disco#ered, do not react well to random
meddling,% $he stifled a chuckle. %$o 3rtai suggests that he remain
here to study the runes and learn how to roerly acti#ate the de#ice.%
%!e may be gone 2uite a while, and we don)t know how safe it is
here,% ointed out $tarke. %!ouldn)t we be better ser#ed by ha#ing a
wi1ard with us when we enter the $tronghold&%
%+f we can)t get the ortal oen, it won)t make much difference
what haens there,% said Gerrard. %+ agree, though, that we don)t
know how safe it is here.%
%!ell, you know 3rtai.% ,rim smiled. The rest rolled their eyes.
%"e is #ery confident of his ability, and assures me that he can take
care of himself.%
%"ow will we know if he succeeds&% $tarke ressed.
%!e)ll know if he)s done it when we come back. There)ll be good
cause to worry if we bounce off the door.% Gerrard)s lis twitched in a
faint smile. %Meanwhile, + think this is the best otion we ha#e. !e)ll
send the rest of today here getting 3rtai set u with the sulies he
needs and cast off in the morning. Make sure to ost a guard with him
o#ernight.%
"e turned to face $tarke. %This is where we need your hel the
most. 5rom here on, you)re the only information we ha#e about the
$tronghold and the aroach to it.%
%+t)s #ery dangerous, as + said before,% $tarke relied, %and things
are going to be e#en trickier since we took this side tri. "owe#er, the
)rear entrance) is unlikely to be guarded, esecially with the el#es and
7ec ro#iding a distraction.
%0ut the eril is great. To be honest, + don)t know if the shi will
fit through all of the oenings. And we could lose some of the crew.
0ut attemting the main gate is certain death for e#eryone.%
%+ need to know e#erything you can tell me. 0ut first + need to
know what heading we should take.%
$tarke considered. (estiny lay before him, and behind.
B B B B B
The stunned clansfolk were making their way back to the #illage
in mumbling grous. 0ut at the moment of 7uel)s disgrace, $tarke had
felt what he)d been sent to retrie#e-a owerful resence, otential
ad#antage. "e chose a different route, tracing the young .amuraan)s
angry ath away from cliff and clan.
The tall figure was no longer #isible, but he had left tracks in the
drying mud of the lains. $tarke followed the trail eastward into the
foothills of the Teremko mountains. At that oint the rocky ground
obscured the footrints. $tarke was comelled to trust his instincts.
(usk was aroaching raidly. $tarke reasoned that 7uel would
seek shelter for the night, robably not too far from where he had
entered this rugged country. All the while, he ket an inward ear
cocked for the rage that had been almost tangible.
+t was nearly full dark when he came uon the youth, crouched in
a hollow near a trickling stream. 7uel looked u sharly at $tarke)s
aroach and leat to his feet, knife in hand. %!ho is there&%
(rawing near, $tarke became e#en more aware of the ower
behind that burning ga1e. "e ran a hand across his balding ate as he
smiled and soke gently. %+ mean you no harm, son of =ondo. + am a
friend. ?erhas + can hel you.%
%+ am son of no one,% growled 7uel. %+ need no hel.% "e wa#ed
the knife in unctuation. %4ea#e me'%
$tarke stoed and sread his hands. "is well-oiled #oice slid into
the e#ening. %Then you do not wish to claim your legacy&%
%+ ha#e no legacy.% 7uel)s eyes were flat and hard as they focused
on his interlocutor. %As you well know. + remember you. "a#e you
come >ust to mock me&%
%+t would hardly be worth my while to follow you all this way for
such a etty thing. -o-+)#e come to offer you destiny.%
%My destiny was with the warclan. That is gone fore#er.%
%A road has many bends, and fate can find the way no matter how
twisted. *ou do ha#e a destiny, 7uel-far greater than the one you)#e
lost.%
%The only destiny + wanted + cannot ha#e.% 7uel turned away. %+
am outcast now. + will die here, naked and filthy, like a wild beast.%
%+s that what you really want& "ow can you let yourself be thrown
away like this&% $tarke)s #oice took on a wheedling tone. %!hat if you
could take what was stolen from you& + ha#e influential friends. !ith
their hel, you can ha#e ower far beyond anything you)#e imagined.%
)Taking the clans by force won)t restore my inheritance. +t is
worse than destroyed-the ancestral talismans will fall to the hands of
another. +t would be better if nothing remained.%
%That can be arranged,% $tarke said 2uietly.
7uel stared.
%+ come from another lace, somewhere most eole ha#e ne#er
heard named. +ts masters call it 8ath.%
An unidentifiable e/ression washed o#er 7uel)s face. %+ ha#e
heard that name before.% "e seemed to be seaking to himself. %!hen
+ was a boy, a wise woman assed through our #illage, seeking alms in
e/change for her #isions. $he stoed before me and said, )!rath will
be your legacy.) + thought she meant some conflict in my future. -ow +
see.%
"e glared at $tarke again. %And these masters-your )friends,) +
take it-who are they&%
%5or the moment, it)s enough to say that they are beyond
anything you)#e known. 0ut they cannot yet enter this world. They
need a mighty leader for their camaign. +n you they see that leader.%
%And why should + ser#e their will&%
%!ith them, you can a#enge your shame. +f your father hadn)t
taken in that northerner, none of this would ha#e haened. *ou
would be rightful chief of all the clans. =ondo is as much to blame as
Gerrard. Make them ay'
%And once you)#e unished them, you can sei1e the sidar)s
talismans for yourself-the ones that Gerrard stole from you along with
your title. *ou)ll ha#e taken the first ste toward your true legacy:
ruling a world'%
$tarke roduced a fist-si1ed amulet from his ouch and dangled it
before the youth. %This is the Touchstone. +t is the first iece in
claiming your true legacy.% +ts >eweled sil#er face reflected the
moonlight onto 7uel)s. %*ou may ha#e death and disgrace, or re#enge
and ower. "ow will you choose&%
B B B B B
Gerrard had considered $tarke)s ad#ice, then gi#en his orders to
the helmsman. !eatherlight headed south, then west toward the
dreadful heart of 8ath.
The fuming mountain rose to starboard, erhas thirty leagues
away from !eatherlight, 3#en at this distance it seemed to claw the
wounded sky. A weird glow lit its eak and cast wriggling shadows on
the tortured land about its feet.
As they looked at it, $tarke soke to Gerrard. %That is the "ub,
the center of 8ath, where 7olrath)s $tronghold lies. The world flows
out of that mountain.%
%*ou say the assage is on the south face&%
%*es. !e should dro down as far as we can. There are usually
sentries about, though they mainly watch the front entrance.
%To aroach we will ha#e to ass through the area where the
$tronghold)s furnaces e/haust, a nasty mi/ of sludge and ash called
the 6inder Marsh. $ome things li#e there, but they)re crawling beasts.
They aren)t dangerous as long as we kee off the ground.% At least,
$tarke hoed so.
%,nce ast there, the going)s much stickier. !e)ll ha#e to get into
one of the e/haust #ents. A few of them are wide enough to admit the
shi, though the inner assages can get #ery narrow.
%+)m also less sure about what we)ll meet there. $ome things +
know ofA others +)#e only heard about. ,ne eril + do know of is the
)sli#ers.) There is a great nest of the things. +)#e seen them before, but
+ don)t know much about them other than the more there are, the
stronger each becomes.%
Gerrard was thoughtful. %The same is true of the 4egacy. ?erhas
we can use the same tactics as 7olrath. !hat else&%
%As + said before, this is where the $tronghold dums its wastes.
There are slag heas, furnaces, and other things whose nature + can)t
e#en guess at. + sent some time here, but + was not ri#y to e#ery
secret. !e)ll ha#e to be on the lookout for anything.%
Gerrard ordered the change in course. "e looked grim. %+f that)s
the back door, then + hoe for their sake that the el#es and 7ec ha#e
changed their minds about attacking the front gate.%
B B B B B
7uel chose.
"e came to manhood in a ritual of slaughter. The ne/t two years
were ainted with the blood of the warclans as the #engeful son of
=ondo waged war on all who had dishonored him. And behind him
cret $tarke, his mentor, instructing him in how best to use the
dreadful owers with which he had allied himself.
5irst fell the 4egacy, torn from the belly of a sil#er golem who was
left to stand forgotten in a distant #illage. $tarke knew the function of
many of those artifacts and sent long days disclosing their abilities to
7uel, whose thirst for knowledge and for re#enge grew with e#ery act
of destruction. The items with no immediate use were sold for funds to
raise troos.
-e/t came the warclans. ,ne by one 7uel crushed their #illages
and ground their bones into the Mtenda)s dust. They resisted
heroically, but the end was ine#itable. !hen 7uel learned that Gerrard
had been sheltered in the ca#es of a maro-sorcerer, not e#en that
one)s ower could withstand the forces ranked against him. 7uel)s
armies ried through the ca#es and killed all they found, but Gerrard
was not among them.
And finally 7uel confronted =ondo himself. =inshi was emty to
7uel now, and nothing the sidar said would sway him. At the last they
faced each other, and one on one amid the corses of the final battle,
7uel blasted the life from his grim-faced father)s body.
$till it was not enough. 7uel bayed for the blood of
Gerrard, but he was nowhere to be found. The lains were emty
and 7uel)s heritage meaningless.
%+s this my destiny then, fat man&% +nside his command tent, 7uel
snarled at $tarke. %+ am the leader of no one now. !here is the ower
you romised me&%
%*ou wanted re#enge. *ou got it. That was >ust the first stage.
-ow that you)#e ro#en your worth, you)re ready for your true role.%
$tarke roduced an ob>ect. +t resembled a lantern but was shaed
in ways 2uite foreign. "e set it down on the general)s desk. %The gate
key,% he e/lained. %+t)s time for your audience. Are you ready&%
7uel drew himself u coldly. %There is no reason to remain here.
(o whate#er you must.%
$tarke)s brow glistened as he wordlessly bent o#er the de#ice. A
foul green light srang from the central globe and bathed the floor in
its gangrenous glow. $tarke motioned toward the li#id ool, eyes
a#erted. %There is the doorway. After you.%
7uel sneered at the cowering $tarke and steed without
hesitation into the circle of light. As he did so, his body swirled into a
black sire of smoke that was drawn into the lam like brew through a
straw. !hen the last trace of smoke had #anished, $tarke 2uickly
snaed off the beam, shuddered, and ocketed the de#ice. "e
strolled with forced casualness out of the general)s tent.
B B B B B
!eatherlight glided slowly o#er the 6inder Marsh. The ground
below seemed indistinct: it hea#ed like something ali#e, and from time
to time a sarkling shower srayed across its surface. The sludge was
unctuated by chimney-like growths that occasionally souted ash and
gobbets of molten metal.
%This whole lace could use a good coating of sand,% muttered
Mirri. The cat warrior looked disgustedly o#er the shi)s side.
%!e should ass through here safely enough unless we get forced
down to surface le#el,% $tarke said, sounding more confident than he
felt. %!e should make for that inacti#e chimney ahead. +t)s a good-
si1ed one, and we)ll need that to get inside.%
The shi mo#ed to the li of the fearsome #ent, but unlike the
others its maw was cold and dark. The helmsman)s face was white as
aer, but he obeyed Gerrard)s command to steer !eatherlight into
the gaing it.
$lowly the shi droed into the shaft. $ailors swarmed o#er the
deck, lighting lams fore and aft to lessen the gloom somewhat.
$tarke, Gerrard, and Mirri watched in silence as the blackened
chimney walls slid ast.
The assage narrowed to a tight tunnel, sometimes so strait that
the shi)s masts nearly scraed its walls, yet it admitted them. The
mountain)s mass seemed to be aware of their resence but for the
moment was indifferent. The tunnel became a winding duct
uncomfortably reminiscent of intestines. -a#igation now became an
intricate rocess of climbing, sinking, banking, and yawing. "anna
stared ahead, straining her eyes against the darkness.
%"ow far is it to these sli#ers&% Gerrard asked in a whiser. The
closeness of the lace seemed to demand 2uiet.
%They li#e in the #entilation ducts of the fortress, which branch off
the assages we)re tra#eling through. !e should be esecially
watchful from now on.%
Gerrard soke to Mirri. %?ut the crew on battle alert. !e could be
attacked at any time.% $he nodded and went aft, tail twitching and
bristling in anticiation of combat.
As !eatherlight ainfully rounded another bend, the walls sread
into a ca#ern. At the same time, an insistent ounding filled the air like
the rush of blood in the ears before slee.
Gerrard looked about. %!hat)s that sound&%
%+t must be-% but $tarke didn)t get a chance to finish. 5rom all
sides of !eatherlight burst clusters of reddish creatures. They looked
like needles, but sorted birdlike beaks and insectoid build. They flung
themsel#es from the ca#e walls and shot toward the shi. The slashing
beasts were among the crew almost before swords could be lifted.
Gerrard shouted frantic orders and hacked at the nearest one.
0arely had the crew engaged the first wa#e when the shi
shuddered under an assault by bulky, toothed #ersions of the
creatures. They smashed into and clambered u the timbers. The
whilike sli#ers already on deck became more muscular and owerful,
while the lumbering ones sleekened and sed.
Another cluster of the things droed from the ceiling, bristling
with sines and tearing at flesh. +nstantly the others also began to
srout sikes. +ntersersed among the fleshy creatures were others
that glinted with a metallic sheen. They too became more owerful,
siny, and swift along with the others.
$tarke, with only his useless dagger at hand, fled. "e shrieked as
something gouged his back. "e slied in something-gods, was it his
own blood&-and fell forward. The dagger skittered from his gri. "e
scrambled after it, crying out again in ain. A shadow fell o#er him. "e
sobbed in anic.
The sli#er fell in two ieces by his face. $tarke looked u in terror
at 6ro#a/)s dark and tragic features. 0ut the @rborg noble barely
glanced at him before he sun again into the fight.
$tarke stared at the metallic corse. "e touched it and recoiled
from the sense of e#il that almost screamed from the metal. "is eyes
grew wide. "e began to back away, then turned and ran for the
nearest hatch.
The sli#ers o#erran !eatherlight.
"anna shouted, %They)re all sharing the others) characteristics'
!e)#e got to break that link somehow'%
Gerrard gased, %$tarke said these things get stronger the more
there are. !e ha#e to find a way to cut their numbers.%
%$ome are artificial,% called back "anna. %Maybe they control the
others. +f + can destroy enough of those, that might weaken the
swarm.%
!ithout waiting for a resonse, she turned toward one of the
metallic creatures lunging at her. $houting a few harsh words, she
slaed an armband and gestured at the attacker. +t crumbled
instantly. $he whirled toward another bearing down on Mirri, who was
screeching with blood-lust. That sli#er, too, #anished into flecks of
rust.
0ut their destruction had no #isible effect on the rest of the
things.
"annah cursed loudly-an unaccustomed sound. %That didn)t work
at all.% $he aimed her sword at another creature. %+ don)t understand
the urose of the metal ones. ,b#iously they aren)t the leaders,
though. +f only we had a chance to study them....%
%6ouldn)t you wait till they sto trying to kill us&% anted Mirri.
%Get our backs together'% Gerrard shouted. %!e can take them,
as long as we can see them coming.%
Another grou of sli#ers swooed in to attack, this time from
abo#e. +mmediately, others around them began to take to the air.
Gerrard growled angrily to himself. (imly, abo#e the noise of
battle, the others heard him admit, %Maybe that wasn)t the best idea.%
%!e are doomed.% 6ro#a/)s tone was fatalistic, e#en as he cleft
another attacker. %!e cannot hoe to o#ercome this many.%
%!ait'% cried "anna. $he ointed. %4ook at that. The ones nearest
us are flying-but those farther away are not. Maybe their influence is
limited.%
%+f that)s true,% Gerrard grunted, %then the worst thing we can do
is bunch u together like this. $catter'%
=nots of combatants mo#ed out across !eatherlight)s decks,
ushing fore and aft. 4ike iron filings to a lode-stone)s oles, clums of
sli#ers followed each grou.
+t was working. 5ighters concentrated their attacks on the flying
sli#ers, and the others droed. They flailed at the brutish ones, and
the rest grew less bulky. More and more insectoid bodies littered the
decks. $uddenly the remaining swarm ulled away and #anished into
its in the walls. The crew of !eatherlight stood knee-dee in corses.
,rim immediately busied herself with tending to the wounded-and
they were many-while Gerrard and "anna insected the slaughtered
creatures. +n death, each had re#erted to its basic form and lost the
shared characteristics of its hi#emates.
A hatch oened. A dishe#eled $tarke eered about at the mounds
of dead sli#ers, then hauled himself from the hatch. 0ehind him, a
small goblin)s head oed u briefly, goggled, and ducked below
decks again. The hatch door clanged shut.
$tarke went u to Gerrard with a grin of relief. %8emarkable' Truly
remarkable' *ou)#e somehow learned the secret of the sli#ers)
destruction. +)d ne#er been able to figure that out.%
Gerrard whirled angrily, his hand striking at $tarke)s cheek.
%!here were you, our trusted guide& !e needed your hel.%
(oes he e/ect me to die for him& $tarke snarled inwardly. Aloud
he said, %That)s right-+)m your guide, not a bodyguard. !ould you fare
better if +)d fallen defending you with my mighty dagger& + ga#e you
the best ad#ice + could. -ow that you)#e figured out how to defeat the
swarm, they won)t be a roblem again.%
"anna soke u. %!hat about the artificial ones& + thought they
must be something secial, but destroying them had no effect.%
The blood drained from $tarke)s features. +t was a moment before
he answered. %7olrath)s ower is greater than + e#er susected. !e
must be e#en more careful from here on in.% "e walked away without
another word, lea#ing "anna and Gerrard to look at each other with
u11led concern.
B B B B B
"is duty discharged, $tarke hurried away from 7uel)s
encamment. The otherworldly lam he smashed with a rock, burying
its remains. -e#er would they use it to drag him back.
"e crossed the de#astated lains as 2uickly as he could, following
the great 5emeref trade road to the sea. Get as far from here as he
could, that was the idea. Maybe they would lose track of him and lea#e
him alone at last.
"e felt a guilty ang for lea#ing Takara behind. $he)d raged and
wet and ounded his chest with helless fists. The look of
abandonment on her face was almost more than $tarke could stand.
0ut she did listen, e#entually, and went reluctantly to stay with the
family of Aniyeh)s brother in the (al #illage of =horin.
At least she)d be safe there. The gods alone knew it would ne#er
do to ha#e them know of Takara)s e/istence. 0ad enough they had
learned of her mother)s end-and how $tarke had %demonstrated useful
abilities.%
"is usefulness was at an end now, and he didn)t need to ask what
his fate would be. "e could afford to lea#e no trace.
A month later, he aced the streets of another in an endless
string of wretched dockside towns. $tarke headed for the dingy inn
he)d seen from the docks. +t would do until he had a chance to scout
out the land and erhas this time locate a wealthy atron. Too
e/hausted to consider a meal in that dreary hall, he went straight to
his room and bed.
"e started from slee at a scratching sound. 4istening again, he
reali1ed that the scrabbling was intended to be a knock at his door. +t
was the most timid e/amle he)d e#er heard.
(agger in hand, $tarke wraed his nightshirt about him and
mo#ed to the door. %!ho)s there&%
%?lease, sir. +)#e a message for you, sir.% The #oice seemed to be
that of a child. 0oy or girl, $tarke could not tell.
%!hat is it&%
%+ don)t know, sir. +t)s all wraed u.% %5ine, then. .ust sli it
under the door.% %+ can)t, sir. +t won)t fit.% %Then oen it u and tell me
what it says.% After a long silence: %!ell&%
%+ wouldn)t know what it says, sir.% The tiny #oice was e#en
smaller. %-e#er learned my letters.%
Grunting in e/aseration, $tarke swung oen the door. "e ket
his blade at the ready. A tattered waif was standing there with a
grubby ackage, a sli of aer rotruding from it.
%!ell then,% he forced a smile. %4et)s see what we ha#e here,
hmmm&% $tarke ulled out the sli of aer and raised it to his eyes-
and screamed as his ga1e was drawn across the mystic scrit and the
room swirled away behind him and the stench of tortured metal filled
his senses.
$tarke was lying on his back in a #ast hall. Abo#e him, srawling
across a cruel throne crafted of unearthly metal, loomed a hideous
figure. ,nce, erhas, it had been human but now it was twisted
beyond recognition. 5leshy, hornlike flas framed the allid face, and
lates of weird metal cased its body like armor.
%,ld friend. +t is so good to see you again. + ha#e missed you.%
The figure smiled, and $tarke wished he)d been looking somewhere
else. 0ut he recogni1ed the #oice, altered though it was.
%7-#-#-#-% $tarke suttered as he struggled to his knees. %7uel&
+s that you&%
The horror chuckled. %There is no 7uel. That name died with a
stolen destiny. 8emember& The one you heled to steal&%
$tarke cringed.
%,h yes,% said the other, and there was no smile now. %+ ha#e
learned a lot since we arted ways. *our friends had much to tell me. +
wish you could ha#e been there.%
%+ really did mean to come' $omething went wrong. +- %
%0e silent'% The ground beneath $tarke hea#ed like a beast
stirring from slee, knocking him to his belly. %+ am not interested in
your story, fine though + am sure it is. *ou will ay roer resect.
%(o you think it was an easy thing to win an entire world& +
suffered for eternities. + abandoned my flesh as well as my soul. To
wrest the throne + had to challenge my redecessor. + re#ailed,
though at great cost. "ow do you like my insignia of office&
%7uel is dead. + am 7olrath. This world answers to me.%
$tarke trembled and ressed his face against the s2uirming floor.
"e dared not seak.
%$till, you ha#e done me a fa#or, little man. "ere is ower beyond
my dreaming. +n that, at least, you did not lie.
%My destiny, howe#er, is not 2uite comlete. +t seems your
associates ha#e need of certain ingredients, and they ha#e charged me
with obtaining them. + know that my loyal friend and mentor $tarke
will be eager to hel me in this 2uest.%
$tarke raised eyes trembling from the floor. %Me&%
%!ho else is so well 2ualified&% The words crushed $tarke)s face to
the floor once more. Again he saw
Aniyeh)s face, her eyes e#en more terrible than 7olrath)s. %*ou
ha#e ro#en yourself caable of anything.%
$o began a new cycle of ser#itude, disco#ery, and terror. $tarke
was at once the e#incar)s chamberlain and his whiing boy, and there
was no way to tell which role he would fulfill at any gi#en moment.
7olrath often sent $tarke on tri#ial errands within the $tronghold,
a lace much like the memory of Aniyeh)s death-at once frightening
and horribly fascinating. Around e#ery comer was something e#en
more ugly than the last. ,#ersi1ed insects rowled the #ents. 6lots of
moggs and their taskmasters blocked most corridors. $ometimes a
stronghold guard swet ast, animate shadow in ornate armor. The
oo1ing flowstone constantly altered the athways, so that no
landmarks remained for long.
0ut these e/editions, unner#ing though they were, caused
$tarke far less terror than the e/ternal tasks the e#incar charged him
with. Too often he was comelled to walk the stinking deck of ?redator
with its glowering commander and barbarian crew, raiding for treasure
and e/erimental sub>ects, or ressing #illagers into 7olrath)s ser#ice.
"e rayed Takara hadn)t seen him when the shi lowered o#er
=horin)s sky.
!orse yet, sometimes he was sent out of 8ath again in search of
Gerrard or clues to the 4egacy. There was no satisfying 7olrathA he
was susicious and imatient, and e#en when $tarke brought him the
commanded ri1es, they were ne#er 2uite what he wanted. 7olrath
found fault in e#erything $tarke did.
There was no chance to escae this time. (esite $tarke)s efforts,
7olrath had found his dear Takara. -ow she was traed in the
e#incar)s dungeons-the final indignity, the end of e#ery bargain.
B B B B B
+n his cabin, $tarke began to shake, 2uietly at first and then with
increasing force. "e clutched his head as the ainful memories
swooed about him.
$tarke had always considered himself a ragmatist. All he)d e#er
wanted was to make the best deal, ocket his rofit, and stay out of
untidy moral issues. "e)d had a commission, and he)d fulfilled it.
And when the situation changed, $tarke had offered another deal:
$isay as bait to bring 7olrath)s enemy to him, in e/change for Takara.
$tarke had ket his side of the bargain, though with e#ery moment on
board shi he dreaded the truth)s escae.
And still 7olrath ket Takara in his dungeons, forcing $tarke to
erform yet another task for him, and another, and another. 6learly he
would ne#er release her. ,ne bad bargain deser#es another, $tarke
mused darkly, then started as he remembered the ,racle)s crytic
words.
-ew horror woke at the throbbing ain in $tarke)s shoulder where
that beast had bitten. "e knew there had been no metal ones among
the sli#ers when he had encountered them, but now these constructs
were art of the hi#e. +t was unner#ing how 2uickly and easily 7olrath
had infiltrated their oulation to e/ert his own influence o#er them.
0y doing so, he was ri#y to their shared thoughts.
And now the hi#e knew $tarke was here with Gerrard.
7olrath was becoming something much bigger than $tarke had
e/ected, erhas bigger e#en than his dark masters had lanned.
$tarke trembled at the thought of their reaction. -o doubt he would be
blamed for 7olrath)s designs.
?erhas, if Gerrard retrie#ed this 4egacy, he could defeat 7olrath
and his o#erlords. At least with him $tarke stood a chance of getting
out of this in one iece, and maybe e#en rescuing Takara, too.
0ut now 7olrath knew he was coming. "is daughter might be the
rice for escae. 6ould $tarke ay it& Turning against him meant
turning against them, and their fury at betrayal would be immense. "e
moaned at the imossible choice, but he knew which way he would
decide in the end.
$tarke chose.

"ere ends the Tale of $tarke


A Dark Room

%$o what haened to 3rtai at the ortal while the others were
tra#eling to the $tronghold& (id he >ust wait there for them&%
%-o, not recisely.% The librarian ga#e a knowing smile. %!aiting
atiently for anything was not really 3rtai)s strong oint.
%As you)#e heard, ,rim the healer was able to read the ancient
scrit that was car#ed on the archway abo#e the ortal. +t e/lained
how the ortal might be oened, but ,rim ointed out to Gerrard and
3rtai, who crowded close behind her, that acti#ating it would take
some time, and, once oen, it would not stay so for long.
%3rtai #olunteered to stay at the ortal and work the necessary
magic, and Gerrard hastily agreed. "e and ,rim reboarded
!eatherlight, and the shi disaeared into the blackness of the
canyon.%
The master stroked his chin absently. %+t)s hard to say recisely
what haened ne/t at the ortal. +t seems clear that while 3rtai was
there, someone aeared to him.%
%!ho, master& !ho else was in such a barren lace& $urely not
the el#es.%
%-o. A humanoid named 4yna. $he e#idently told him she was a
$oltari, a race of eole ulled through the ortal into 8ath years
before, together with their enemies the (authi and another grou
caught in the conflict, the Thalakos. These eoles, she told the young
wi1ard, were unable to react with the real world. 8ather, they e/isted
in it as shadows. +n this form, they continued their war on one another
as ghosts uon the 5ield of $ouls.%
+lcaster taed his chin thoughtfully, unconciously imitating the
librarian. %An eternal war of ghosts. +t sounds like a fairy tale.%
%+t does a bit,% agreed his master. %0ut for the $oltari it was all
too real-a ne#erending torment. +n the resence of !eatherlight and
her crew, she saw the sal#ation of her eole.
%+t would seem she and 3rtai struck a bargain: she and the $oltari
would hel him to oen the ortal if he would agree to let them ass
through it. $he told him other things about 8ath, but her words were
crytic and riddling, and when 3rtai imatiently asked her to e/lain
herself so that a normal erson could understand, she was e#idently
unable to do so.%
+lcaster aused in his sorting through the aers. They were
neatly stacked in heas before him, and he icked u a roll of twine to
begin bundling them. %Master ...%
%!hat is it, boy&%
%!hy do you say, )e#idently) and )seemed)& (on)t we know what
haened from 3rtai)s account&%
%3rtai didn)t lea#e an account of this art of the #oyage.%
%!hy not&%
%All in good time, boy. -ot so imatient' "urry, hurry, that)s all
you young folk do. .ust take my word for it, that while 3rtai was at the
ortal talking to 4yna, !eatherlight had entered a long tunnel leading
to the $tronghold, 7olrath)s fortress, set in the middle of a hollow
mountain.%
+lcaster shuddered. %The $tronghold sounds like a horrible lace.%
The master grunted. %*es, it was. *ou can imagine any lace that
held such a being as 7olrath would be.%
%+ don)t comletely understand, Master. !hat e/actly did the
$tronghold look like&%
The librarian fumbled among the aers remaining in the chest
and finally ulled forth a crumled and grubby archment. %"ere)s a
drawing that ,rim made of the $tronghold. +t might not be entirely
accurate, though. 8emember, the crew only saw arts of the whole
thing.%
+lcaster bent eagerly o#er the document, his eyes straining in the
faint candlelight.
%+ think + see. "ere)s the mountain, and here)s the $tronghold,
right inside it. !hat)s that below it, though&%
%A city.%
+lcaster)s mouth formed a small ,. %The mountain was big enough
to fit a whole city inside it&%
%That it was indeed, boy. The mountain of 7olrath)s $tronghold
was three miles high. The $tronghold itself was a mile and a half in
height. The cone of the mountain touched the sky.%
+lcaster was lainly more imressed with this detail than with
anything thus far in his master)s story. %!ho would build such a
thing&% he finally asked. %!as it 7olrath&%
The librarian shook his head. %-o, in fact not e#en 7olrath had the
ower to create such a #ast construct. !here it came from none ha#e
e#er said. +t was mighty beyond human concetion-that much is sure.%
%And now !eatherlight was on its way to that lace&%
The master nodded. *es. *ou see they had to aroach it down
this long assageway to a#oid being seen.
%0ut master, what)s this mean: 5urnace of 8ath.%
The white-haired man took the document from the boy and
caressed the aer thoughtfully, his eyes far away.
%,rim)s account is not entirely clear. $he writes of tra#eling
through twisting tunnels of rock, barely large enough for the shi to
edge its way along. $he says they emerged abo#e a lace where
geysers of flame sewed into the sky, and lightning flashed from
abo#e and below, filling the ca#ern with fire and light. Then she
mentions tra#eling near a lace of blackened oil, where skeletal hands
clawed at !eatherlight)s hull.% The old man worked his lis in and out
in thought. %?erhas that lace of flames was the 5urnace of 8ath.
This second lace ... +)m not sure. Maybe ...%
There was a ause, and then +lcaster said gently, %Go on,
master&%
%There)s a reference in another document ....% The librarian
shuffled among the aers ne/t to the chest. %*es, here it is. The
(eath ?its. That must ha#e been the lace with the skeletons.%
%0ut they got through,% the boy said solemnly.
%,h, yes. They got through. 0ut their trials were not at an end.%


III
$T8,-G",4(

A Dark Room

%"a#ing defeated the sli#ers thanks to "anna)s ingenuity,
!eatherlight made its way into a #ast oen area, framed by enormous
illars. "ere the air was scalding, and bolts of electricity shot randomly
through the dry, crackling air. This was the 5urnace of 8ath. As the
shi wa#ered and bucked on the currents of hot air, fires broke out
here and there on the wooden deck. 6rew members rushed with
buckets of water to 2uench the flames, but some were seared and
scorched. ,ne, caught in the midst of a lightning bolt, burned like a
torch, screaming until 6ro#a/ hurled him o#er the side to erish in the
flames below. ,rim worked frantically to heal the crew, but when she
emloyed white magic in her healing, the anger of the 5urnace seemed
to focus on her.
%5lashes of light surrounded her, and Gerrard shouted to
"anna to get them out of that horrible lace before the healer was
fried to a cris. Then the crew saw that she had wrenched a thin metal
rod from the shi)s rails. "anna laced it on the bow of !eatherlight,
where it drew the electrical bolts, saring the crew-and her-from the
threat of sarking death.
%The shi struggled u out of the 5urnace through another ma1e
of assages until at last it emerged o#er a dark, oily mass that swayed
and bubbled.%
%!as that the lace you called the (eath ?its&% +lcaster shi#ered.
%*es. There 7olrath)s ser#ants )brought those e/eriments of their
master that had failed to meet his e/acting re2uirements. The black
oo1e swayed and surged beneath the shi and then rose in a great
wa#e, threatening to o#erwhelm !eatherlight. ,n the crest of the
wa#e rode skeletons who leaed aboard the shi, graling with the
crew.%
+lcaster shook his head. %,ut of the frying an, into the fire,% he
said solemnly. %+t >ust seems like e#ery creature they met was worse
than the last.% %+t seemed that way to the crew, +)m sure,% agreed the
librarian. %+n any e#ent, they anicked, rushing this way and that,
tumbling down the hatches belowdecks. $2uee, the goblin cabin boy,
howe#er, climbed u one of the masts.%
%(on)t tell me,% said +lcaster, %that)s the end of $2uee.% %(on)t get
ahead of me,% cautioned the old man. %$2uee, as + say, climbed the
mast. Gerrard, seeing the little goblin in danger, went after him. The
skeletons swied at the catain, but $2uee, who clutched the
$al#ation $here, an artifact for which he)d de#eloed a eculiar
attachment, accidentally acti#ated it. +ts gentle glow suffused both
$2uee and Gerrard, and the skeleton attacking them hesitated and
turned away. 3#idently the $here could sto the skeletons. The other
creatures ga#e way before Gerrard as he carried $2uee, who carried
the $here, and the shi mo#ed 2uickly away from this dangerous
lace.%
+lcaster breathed a sigh of relief and settled once more at the
librarian)s feet. 5rom beyond the walls, came a new wa#e of rain and
hail. +t shrieked and groaned, as if the hea#ens themsel#es were being
tortured. 0ut neither the boy nor the man aid any heed to it.
%!ith the (eath ?its behind them, the crew brought !eatherlight
to the $tronghold itself. 5or long minutes that seemed to stretch into
hours, "anna, standing at the wheel, searched for a sheltered sot on
the lower art of the hulking menace in which to dock the shi. At last
she drew u alongside a tiny balcony. 0eyond it, a dark entry-way
gaed in shadow.
%.ust as the shi drew u to the balcony, a guard emerged from
the door. "is mouth oened to cry a warning, and instincti#ely he
steed back.%
%!hat haened&% The boy was oen-mouthed.
%Mirri the cat warrior leat from the shi)s side and smothered the
guard in a sudden flash of claws and fur. The guard was dead before
he knew what had struck him.%
%+)d lo#e to ha#e seen Mirri,% the boy murmured. %Are there any
ictures of her&%
%,ne. "ere.% The librarian oened a raggedly bound manuscrit.
The boy stared thoughtfully. %$omehow + thought she)d look
fiercer, more warlike.%
%(on)t underestimate her. 5rom all accounts, she was a suerb
fighter. Gerrard make it #ery clear in his notes that Mirri was more
than able to take care of herself.%
The boy nodded. %$o she killed the guard. !hat did they do
ne/t&%
%Gerrard, $tarke, and 6ro#a/ >oined her on the balcony. Turning,
Gerrard told "anna that if anything haened, they)d rende#ous at the
Gardens.%
%Gardens& *ou mean the $tronghold actually had Gardens&%
%*es, but far abo#e the lace where !eatherlight was docked.
$tarke ga#e hasty directions to "anna on how to find them, and then
the rescue arty stole into the $tronghold.%
+lcaster shi#ered. %+)m glad + wasn)t there. +)d ha#e been too
scared to go with them.%
%(on)t be too sure of that, my boy.% The librarian looked at him.
%"eroes can come from the most unlikely material and in the most
unlikely laces.
%-o sooner had they entered the fortress than they encountered a
beast, its limbs twisted and misshaen. 6ro#a/ ursued it, sword
drawn, and the others followed the assage as it twisted and turned
deeer and deeer into the $tronghold. After what must ha#e seemed
hours to them, Gerrard, $tarke, and Mirri burst into an oen sace,
>ust in time to see 6ro#a/ standing o#er the fallen body of the
creature. "e was hacking at it, slashing its body to ieces, though it
was already dead. !hen Gerrard remonstrated him the noble relied,
The 4egacy may be your destiny, Gerrard, but $elenia is mine.) %
+lcaster shook his head as if trying to clear it. %That)s an odd thing
to say. !hat did he mean&%
%*ou)ll see.
%Gerrard and the others looked about the room in which they
found themsel#es. +t was a massi#e chamber ringed with seats around
a central command table. ,n to of the table was a three-dimensional
ma that Gerrard, with his years of tra#eling, recogni1ed immediately
as (ominaria.%
%(ominaria& 8eally&% the boy asked. %0ut why was 7olrath
interested in (ominaria& (id he ha#e some lan to ... &% The lad)s
#oice faded slowly as the imlication of what he was about to blurt hit
home.
The old man looked at him soberly and then continued. %Gerrard,
of course, didn)t know anything about it, but from the ma he reali1ed
something of what 7olrath was intending. "e maniulated the figures
of it, including a tiny model of ?redator. "e saw a dark blanket sread
across 0enalia in the wake of Gre#en)s shi. And in that moment he
wondered if he and the 4egacy were all that stood between (ominaria
and an eternal darkness.%
The librarian walked to the window and looked out at the storm,
then resumed his tale.
%Gerrard and the others left the ma room and climbed through
the ma1e of assages winding through the $tronghold. "igher and
higher they ascended, until !eatherlight must ha#e been far below
them. $till they remained undetected, and still they searched for their
comanions. And then, at last, they found them.%


Karn's Tale
J. Robert Kin

=arn stood in a dark, hot cell. "is massi#e arms hung de>ectedly
at his sides. "is sil#er bulk was statue-still. 7oluntary deacti#ation. +t
was his last refuge when the chaos around him or within him grew
o#erwhelming. +n such times of trouble, he would not act, but simly
stand and wait.
The chaos around him now was terrible. !eatherlight had been
criled by ?redator, Gerrard had fallen o#erboard during the fighting,
=arn had accidentally slain a mogg goblin before surrendering, and
Tahngarth had boarded Gre#en il-7ec)s shi to sa#e =arn, only to
become a fellow risoner within the $tronghold. "e was e#en now
shackled to the wall of an ad>acent cell. The sound of his struggles
stabbed beneath =arn)s stout cell door.
And Tahngarth would die. There would be torture, of course-
?hyre/ians thri#ed on torture-and after that, death. 5lesh and blood
cati#es did not last long among the ?hyre/ians. They were either
e/ecuted or transformed-filled with metal studs, trussed u with sinal
imlants, wared into monstrosities. ?hyre/ians belie#ed in the
erfection of flesh through ain, turning muscle into metal, and when
they were finished with Tahngarth, he would be dead or so changed he
would wish he were dead.
0ut the chaos within =arn was e#en worse. "e knew he was
resonsible for his friend)s light. Guilt. $hame. 8egret. 8age. "atred.
Though outwardly =arn was motionless, inwardly, he boiled. (esair.
(eseration. 0loodlust. 3motions churned chaotically through him,
fighting to emerge. 3#ery threat Tahngarth shouted at their cators,
e#ery sound of minotaur limbs thrashing against imlacable shackles,
fanned the firestorm in =arn.
0ut none of it boiled forth. (esite the temest raging in him,
=arn stood, inward chaos masked by outward calm. +t was his final
refuge. -o matter how terrible the temest within or without, he could
always stand and wait.
Meanwhile, shackled in flowstone, Tahngarth still fought. That was
the real difference between =arn and Tahngarth. 0oth were massi#e,
owerful, hysical creatures, unswer#ingly loyal to their masters,
ra#aged by inner storms of emotion. =arn)s rage ended in aralysis,
and Tahngarth)s in-
%+)ll kill you, Gre#en il-7ec'% seethed the minotaur between gass
of e/ertion. %+)ll break loose and hunt you down and kill-% The threat
ended in another roar of fury.
=arn)s massi#e >aw ground slowly, and his fists clenched. Guilt.
$hame. 8egret. The chaos of emotion threatened to tole him. Twice
before, #iolent assion had unbalanced him, and death had resulted.
-ow, honor and moral resolution bound him, held him firm-stronger
shackles than any other. And he stood. +t was his last refuge. To
stand.
B B B B B
"e had been standing that way the night it all began, the night he
had slain an innocent. +t had been dark then, too, but it was a #erdant
darkness, a darkness filled with the sibilance of insects and growing
things.
=arn did not breathe, but he wished he could. "e wished to feel
the #ibrant heat of the foothills sliding into him, the warm balm of life.
+nstead, he stood, still and listening, among fat green stalks of
bamboo that grew near the water hole. A gentle bree1e stirred fronds
and lea#es. 7ines bu11ed with rows of cicadas. 0eyond the lush
greenery of the oasis, the desert brooded: arid, imlacable, and
deadly. 0ut here was water, and life.
,#erhead, $idar =ondo)s arboreal #illage glowed, bamboo
windowsills warmed with oil lams. "ere and there, human #oices
sung lullabies or soke 2uiet assurances to fretful children. "ushed
laughter circled amid cycles of stories and latters of food. 0are feet
added 2uietly along bamboo walkways. Guards eered out into the
lush night that surrounded =arn, watchful and contented.
=arn was a #illage guardian, too, though unlike the others, he
remained on the oasis floor ... and remained discontented. !hile
sounds and smells of life bree1ed o#er and around him, a gale of
emotions mo#ed through him. $trange, wild, e#er-changing, this storm
of assions was as troubling as it was wonderful. ,ne moment, his
sirit would e/ult in the ma>estic symhony of tree frogs and songbirds
all around, and the ne/t, he would tremble with the thought that a
snake might somehow slither ast him and climb the bamboo stalks to
the loft abo#e, where Gerrard slet.
=arn thought then of the boy, si/teen years old, brown-haired,
keen-eyed. "is skin was as light and fragile as orcelain, unable to
bear #ery long the direct sunlight that had so handsomely burnished
the other #illagers. The orhan Gerrard was out of lace in other ways,
too: a year younger than his stebrother, 7uelA a bit too young to
na#igate the lofted courts of his stefatherA cut off from $idar =ondo)s
successionA instrumental in 7uel)s estrangement from the sidarA heir to
a much-co#eted magical treasure that 7uel had e#en now illaged
Gerrard was caught s2uarely between the eaceful grandeur of his
stefather)s lands and the #iolent re#olution his stebrother was
fomenting. The effect of 7uel)s betrayal of the tribe had been to make
Gerrard seem younger than he was, as if he sought to bury the
memory of his once blood brother by re#erting to the simler days of
childhood. =arn told himself that this stage couldn)t last, but it had
already lasted longer than he e/ected.
At e#ery turn, danger awaited the boy, and that fact stirred a
storm of worry in =arn. "e felt a sudden stab of guilt that he was too
hea#y to ascend to the bamboo latform where Gerrard slet, beneath
the green canoy of the frond roof and the sangled black #ault of
night. Guilt ga#e lace ne/t to ride, for Gerrard was among the
smartest and strongest boys his age in the #illage, treated by the sidar
as his own son. -e/t came regret as =arn thought again of the sidar)s
true son, 7uel, embittered and rebellious, declared foe of =ondo and
Gerrard, alike. Then anger about the stolen ieces of Gerrard)s 4egacy.
+nto the midst of these emotions came sorrow. +t took some moment
before =arn recogni1ed the source of this feeling-a soft sobbing sound
from the sleeing latform abo#e.
6raning backward, =arn looked u at the magically susended loft
and called out 2uietly, his #oice rumbling in the #erdant air, %Gerrard,
what troubles you&%
A head aeared at the edge of the latform. Though shadowed
and sleey, the boy)s eyes seemed to glow sil#er in the night.
%-othing,% he said sullenly. "is sleey #oice made him seem younger,
almost a child. %+)ll go back to slee.%
=arn stared, watching imassi#ely until the face disaeared.
%Goodnight, Gerrard.%
The boy)s #oice came o#er the allet)s edge, %-othing you would
care about.%
=arn ga#e a slow nod. %All right, then. $lee well, Ger-%
%+ mean,% interruted the boy, %you don)t e#en care that already
7uel stole my Touchstone and some of the other stuff that)s suosed
to be mine. !e were blood brothers, but he wasn)t to touch those
things unless + say so and you don)t e#en care about that-%
$omething lay behind the boy)s words, something =arn did not
2uite understand, something from that dark land of emotion where
=arn was only a fearful so>ourner. %*our stefather has sent warriors
to bring back those ieces of your 4egacy. + belie#e the warriors will
succeed. + don)t understand what you mean by saying + don)t care.%
Gerrard)s head reaeared, and he was still talking, %They)re art
of you, after all, the ieces of my 4egacy. *ou)d think maybe you)d
miss them >ust a little bit since they)re art of you like my lungs and
li#er are art of me, but + don)t hear any comlaining from you about
it, let alone anything like if you cared what was haening.%
The lung-li#er comarison boggled =arn. %+ do not resire air or
metaboli1e liids-%
%*ou didn)t e#en notice when we were by the lake and the other
boys were making fun of me and saying that my brother was off in
Albiuto selling my 4egacy to buy an army. ,ne of them e#en said his
brother had signed u, said he got a new li1ard-skin #est and a knife.
That was art of my 4egacy, what that boy got-my 4egacy and arts of
your body is what he got, like it wasn)t li1ard skin but your own skin-or
my own skin, since you don)t e#en ha#e skin. (oesn)t that make you
mad&%
+t did. Anger set =arn)s >aw on edge and made his >oints stiff.
$till, what use would such feelings ser#e& %Gerrard, you are si/teen
years old, on the #erge of manhood, so this comlaining ill-beseems
you. The warriors ha#e gone to get your 4egacy back-%
%+n fact, the boy e#en said that his brother said that 7uel said that
you)d be too scared to do anything about it. 7uel said you wouldn)t
e#en care, and e#en if you did care you wouldn)t do anything about it
because you wouldn)t want to scratch your olish, that you were no
more dangerous than a sil#er soon that + was born with, and +)m
starting to think maybe he was right. + mean, wasn)t he right, after
all&%
!asn)t he right after all& The words grated like a saw blade
through =arn. "is insides began to boil, and his #ision narrowed to red
tunnels. !hat good would such feelings of anger ser#e& -one here,
beneath a well- guarded arboreal #illage, but in Albiuto& +n Albiuto,
rage could do some real good.
Gerrard sighed gustily. %+ should ha#e known you wouldn)t go.
$er#es me right for thinking you were more than a guardian, for
thinking you were actually my friend.%
That last comment hurt worst of all. =arn lowered his ga1e from
the sleeing latform and eered out through the dense black night.
"is metallic head ratcheted slowly about until his direction-sense
homed in uon the e/act osition of Albiuto. +t was higher in the
mountains, some eight leagues distant. A shallow ri#er, now dry until
the desert rains came, a dee chasm, and the higher foothills lay
between =arn and the town, which itself floated uon the surface of a
shallow black mountain lake. 0ut these obstacles were nothing. =arn)s
anger could sear away ri#ers and melt mountains. +f he strode out
steadily, he would reach the town a few hours before daylight. The red
rage growing in him at last blossomed in the first ste he took toward
Albiuto.
A furti#e shuffling sound announced Gerrard)s surrise. %*ou)re
going& *ou)re doing something about my 4egacy&%
%+)m going,% =arn said simly.
The boy)s #oice was e/cited now. %(on)t worry about me. +)m safe
here. 5ather has fi#e guards working tonight.%
=arn had, truth be told, 2uite forgotten his ledge to fore#er
guard Gerrard, and that fact alone ga#e him a moment)s hesitation.
-e#er before had he abandoned his charge. 3motion was a strong
thing, indeed, if it could blind him so fully to his duty. $till, the ause
was only momentaryA =arn had already gi#en himself o#er to fury, and
it was into/icating. 0esides, there were fi#e other guards. The boy
would be fine when the sil#er golem saw him again.
=arn)s long strides carried him 2uickly from the #illage. The
glowing windows retreated behind him in the trees until they seemed
only distant fireflies. 0eyond, the desert was darker, denser. ,nce the
golem assed the boundaries of the oasis, the sounds of night animals
faded, and he could hear nothing but the moan of the desert wind and
the faint hissing of the sands. -one of this mattered to =arn. "is eyes
could see in utter darkness, his sil#er skin was roof against rocks and
snake bites, and he heard nothing but the loud bu11 of anger in his
head. "e thought of Gerrard-fragile, besieged Gerrard-and the anger
grew.
%"e treats me as a friend,% =arn muttered darkly to himself, %but
what kind of friend am + &% $toic, unimaginati#e, unimassioned, slow,
immense, and now uncaring. ?erhas this one night, this one decision,
would change all of that, would ro#e something at least to Gerrard,
and erhas e#en to =arn as well. %+ must earn his trust.% The forest
fell away 2uickly to his relentless stes. The ri#erbed was cool and
stony after the heat of the sands. +t crunched beneath his feet. The
chasm beyond took one mighty lea to cross. Then, slowly, atiently,
he rose higher into the mountains, where 7uel, his mercenary army,
and ieces of Gerrard)s 4egacy awaited.
+n time, ancient, rock-bound 4ake Albiuto aeared ahead. At its
center, arrayed in a glowing circle, was the town itself. "eld ato the
water by means of magic and ontoon alike, the town was anchored to
shore by day, and to the center of the lake by night. Around the lake
stretched a thin stri of greenery, lea#es swaying gently in the wind.
,n one side of the city, numerous ganglanks of bamboo and reed
were drawn u, and on the other, >utting docks were full of boats.
0etween the two were a collection of tall, imrobable buildings,
>umbled together on the #ast floating 2uay. 4eaning on each other,
connected by a series of wood bridges and roe walkways, the houses
and shos of Albiuto were tall, ornamented with bay windows, turrets,
arches, and towers, all in wood and bamboo, thatch and reed. That
night, the town glowed with festi#al fires, its walkways crowded with
re#elers in warriors) armor.
$o, 7uel was mustering an army, and he had chosen a most
defensible sot to do so. ,n that floating settlement, 7uel could safely
gather thousands of warriors before marching. The town was safe from
in#asion by any but a2uatic creatures or armies with boats ... or sil#er
golems that did not breathe.
3merging from a brake of cane, =arn waded down into the black
water of the lacid lake. 6ool silt rose around him, caking his legs and
grinding in ankles and knees, but still he continued. $oon, water
oured into the dee sil#er collar around his neck, and laed at his
>aw. "e sensed, too, the emty inner ca#ities of his torso filling, the
saces that were suosed to hold the items of Gerrard)s 4egacy.
Though cool li2uid coursed into his innards and water closed o#er his
head, =arn)s anger felt hotter than e#er. The roes of seaweed that
dragged ast him as he descended into the murk only stoked the
flames of fury. 7uel would ay not only for the in>ustice of taking his
stebrother)s ossessions and using them to buy an army, but also for
the indignities suffered in reco#ering that 4egacy.
The bed of the lake droed away in lightless stees to a bottom
erhas fifteen fathoms dee. The cold, muddy deths did not deter
=arn. "e could see ast the blackness to the sot below where fi#e
gigantic anchors clutched the bottom. Tireless, =arn strode to the
central one, grabbed hold of the massi#e chain that rose from it, and
climbed.
Abo#e, the festi#al lights in the center of the town made a gold
and fer#id glow in the water. Through the undulating surface, =arn
caught glimses of drumming hands and leering faces, li1ard-skin
#ests and feather- festooned sears. There were cus of ale there, too,
and roasting haunches of ork. +t was 2uite a feast that 7uel threw for
his men, the kind that recedes a great battle, and all of it bought by
ransoming Gerrard)s future.
"and o#er hand, =arn ulled himself u through the turgid flood.
"e reached the bright-shining surface and hauled his streaming metal
frame onto the wooden suerstructure abo#e. "e found himself in the
slanted hold where the anchor was ket when it was raised, and from
that concealment, he eered o#er the castan to sur#ey the center
s2uare of Albiuto.
After the cold, muffled murk of the lake bed, the center of town
was loud, hot, crowded, and bright. The settlement was the center of
many cara#an routes and was rich in commodities brought from faroff
arts of .amuraa. $oldiers milled about in laughing, arrogant clusters,
their cus of ale so full they foamed down uon the lanks at their
feet. Torchlight glimmered from their dark faces and the iridescent
scales of their li1ard-skin coats. "ere and there, >esters ca#orted,
entertaining the crowd by >uggling torches and kni#es, singing songs,
and e/changing items from their own many ockets with those of
others). 4ong, low benches-fat logs slit down the center and laid out
uon the deck- held steaming latters of ork and grilled leeks.
!agons laden with raw haunches of boar and bags of onions stood
here and there about the s2uare.
At the far end of the oen sace, a more orderly grou of warriors
clustered around a broad table where a ma lay sread. Abo#e it stood
a lean, young figure, bare to the waist, his owerful hysi2ue
glistening like car#ed ony/ in the torchlight. "e was oised on an
uturned barrel, a cane of bamboo in one hand, with which he
gestured imeriously at the ma.
(esite the distance between them, =arn immediately knew this
to be 7uel, rebel son of $idar =ondo, and knew the ma to be a
schematic of his father)s arboreal #illage. =arn tuned his ears to the
e/act timbre of 7uel)s #oice and heard the lans of war.
%There will be three main bridges from the ground to the treetos.
,nce they are cut, the #illagers will be traed. Then we set fires here,
here, and here. The largest will be beneath the warriors) lodge. !e)ll
roast them in there like grub worms%-harsh laughter interruted this
comment-%but + also lan a articularly fiery end for 5ather, here.
There will be lenty of lunder, of course. 4arders and strong-bo/es,
>ewels ... and our famed women. 0amboo-dwellers ha#e strong hands
and long legs, you)ll find.% More laughter. %!hile the rest of you are
finding sort elsewhere, +)ll be conducting a boar hunt of my own-
chasing down a s2uealing little iglet that has the retense of calling
himself my brother. "e)ll be stuck more than once before the hunt is
done.%
$till streaming algid water and slimy muck, =arn rose from the
anchor hold and strode wetly onto the deck, into the midst of the
re#elers. "is mere resence ended the laughing and drinking. !arriors
fell back, droing cus of ale and lifting swords and sears. =arn
ushed ast them with no more interest or concern than he had shown
in ushing ast brakes of cane and bamboo. Those few with ner#e
enough to take a swing at the massi#e man of sil#er found their
swords >angling in ner#eless hands, their sear hafts crunched in the
golem)s gri.
Ahead, 7uel stoed his battle lanning and raised his eyes. A
broad smile broke out uon his face, and he gestured widely with his
arms. "e shouted o#er the muttering soldiers, %Ah, if it)s not my
stebrother)s sil#er soon, come to >oin in the fun. !e could use a
sil#er golem-if you)ll fight. $o, you want to kill the bastard as much as
+ do, eh&%
=arn)s metallic face was incaable of scowling, but he susected
the fire in his belly shone bright in his eyes. %+ am not here to >oin you.
+ am here to warn you. Anyone intent on harming Gerrard will ha#e to
deal with me, first.%
6atching the fliant sirit of their leader, the warriors around
7uel let out a moan of feigned dread.
7uel >umed from the barrel head and, swaggering, aroached
the sil#er golem. %A terrible threat, indeed. These warriors ha#e
battled goblin armies and giant serents, but an encounter with you&
All that sermoni1ing and angst-e#ery last fighter would be bored to
death'% The hilarity that followed this comment was e/aggerated,
erhas as much from fear as from derision.
0ut =arn could not discern such subtle differences, and his fury
mounted. Gigantic hands mo#ed with sudden, fierce seed. =arn
grabbed 7uel by the torso and hoisted him into the air. The ring of
soldiers around the two widened, and those in front lifted weaons
high.
7uel gased, true dread blossoming in his eyes, and his face
reddened with the ressure of blood filling it.
=arn hissed at him, %*our stebrother is destined for greatness.
"e is the heir to the 4egacy. "e is the one child born to defend this
world. "e was forged of flesh as + was forged of sil#er, and each of us
bear within the hoe of generations.%
Mastering his terror, the young rebel sat on the sil#er golem)s
face. %!hat good is my brother)s 4egacy&% he cried. %Greatness cannot
be handed to a man. "e will denigrate and desise it. -or can
greatness be stolen from a man who truly ossesses it. + am the one
destined for greatness, not that little iglet. + ha#e taken Gerrard)s
recious 4egacy, what was ne#er truly his, and with it, + ha#e raised
this army. And now, + will take what belongs to my 5ather, and soon
what belongs to all the world.%
=arn growled. %+ ha#e come to take back the 4egacy.% %-o,%
relied 7uel, his #icious smile returning, %you ha#e come to fall into
the tra + set for you. *ou ha#e come because + wanted another iece
of the 4egacy- you.%
A wa#e of dread mo#ed through =arn, but his hold on the rebel
only grew stronger. %+ will kill you if + must.%
7uel shook his head, eyes creased in ain. %*ou wouldn)t kill the
sidar)s son. *ou couldn)t bear to see the look in =ondo)s eyes.%
%+ will kill you unless + get the 4egacy.% %+ am not afraid of death.%
!ith slow deliberation, =arn s2uee1ed his hands together. %$o be
it.%
7uel let out a blast of breath, lungs emtied by the massi#e
ressure. =arn curiously felt the man)s flesh slithering away beneath
his touch. "umans were such fragile things, soft as soa bubbles. "e
ga1ed into the man)s bulging eyes. 7uel)s face clenched in a knot of
ain, and his mouth oened to shriek, but there was no air to bear the
sound. +n the sudden silence came the ominous o of ribs.
The warriors around rushed forward en mass, ummeling the
sil#er giant with swords, clubs, sears, whate#er came to hand. =arn)s
own frame rang with the assaults, mournful bell-tones from the emty
chambers where the 4egacy once resided. 0ut none of the ummeling
weaons left e#en the slightest scar on him.
%Tell me where the rest of the ieces are, or die,% =arn said, and
he mar#eled at the cruel glee in his own #oice.
7uel resisted for one more moment before his hands wa#ed
frantically about him. =arn released the ressure, and the warriors fell
back. !eak as a kitten, 7uel hung in the sil#er golem)s slackened gri.
"e anted brokenly, and his sides trembled in ain.
%!here are they&% =arn demanded.
"ead drooing in surrender, 7uel gased out, %0ring out ... the
man.%
The crowd of warriors arted, some mo#ing urosefully toward a
locked, bolted, and guarded doorway. The building was erhas the
most solid one in the town, constructed of #ast timbers and reinforced
with iron. A rison. As the guards worked at unlocking and oening the
front double doors, a murmur of dissatisfaction and incredulity mo#ed
among the gathered warriors.
%*ou won)t be able to ... to get them that easily, though,% rased
7uel. %+ hid them ... well.%
A manacled man emerged from the rison, flanked by four
guards. The man was huge, a head taller and twice as wide as the rest
of the crowd. "is figure was enormous and muscled, his eyes roud as
he shuffled forward in rags and chains, steadying himself on the
running board of a laden wagon.
%The 4egacy is a #aluable treasure.... -ot something to be left ...
lying about,% 7uel continued. %+ was so imressed by your ersonal
guardianshi that ... + came u with another guardian. + found ... the
biggest #illager in Albiuto-turned out to be the blacksmith-and cut him
oen ... stashed your treasures inside.%
,nly then did =arn notice the long, crude #ertical slice u the
blacksmith)s distended belly. The skin had been stretched to
accommodate the stolen ieces of the 4egacy, and then thick leather
thongs had laced the man)s muscles back together.
%+ don)t know his real name,% 7uel continued. The smile had
returned to his wicked features. %+)m not interested in such trifles. To
me, he is simly =arn-my #essel for the 4egacy. ,f course, now that +
ha#e catured you, + don)t need him anymore. ,ne =arn will ha#e to
die.%
$tunned, =arn droed the grinning rebel to the lanks and
waded through the crowd toward the man with the butchered belly.
8eaching the wagon beside which the blacksmith stood, =arn e/tended
a sil#er hand and said in a #oice choked with ity, %6ome with me.%
7uel staggered after. %,h, he can)t come with you. To make room
for all that stuff, we had to ull out his own innards. "e is ket ali#e
only by the workings of my arch-mage, to whom a number of the
4egacy artifacts are romised when + am through with them. +f you
take my =arn away from me, he)ll die.%
,#ercome, the sil#er golem droed to his knees before the man,
and ga1ed into his eyes. @nblinking, the blacksmith returned this look,
courage and sorrow written across his tormented features.
%$o, you see,% came the haring #oice of 7uel, %the only way you
and your recious Gerrard can ha#e the 4egacy back is if you kill this
man to get it. And, if you wouldn)t kill me, the atricidal son of the
sidar, how would you e#er kill an innocent man&%
$hame, dread, and fury warred within =arn. "e had been a fool.
"e had fallen into 7uel)s tra. "is emotions had not been his own to
command, but marionette strings ulled by 7uel. "e was nothing more
than a sil#er soon, as 7uel had said, nothing but a retty tool to be
traded and used. -ow, to all the other emotions =arn felt, there was
also self-loathing, utter desair.
And 7uel was laughing. The rebel clutched his aching chest as he
laughed, but he laughed all the same. The warriors around him added
their guffaws, and merriment sread mockingly through the crowd.
$oon, the whole s2uare broke forth in eals of laughter, the whole
s2uare e/cet the two figures at its center. =arn and his namesake
regarded each other.
"olding his sewn-u belly, the blacksmith soke, softly and
e#enly. %+ am dead one way or another. + cannot blame you if you
reach within me and draw forth what is yours. 7uel has killed me, not
you.%
,#er the roaring crowd, 7uel shouted, %0ehold, the helless
guardian' 0ehold, the sil#er golem with a heart of glass and a gut of
aer. 5ear him. Tremble before him'%
The blacksmith was still seaking, %,ne way or another, you must
act, =arn. 4isten to your fear and flee, or listen to your fury and take
what is yours. 8eturn to Gerrard and guard him from 7uel, or strike
me down and, with the treasures once again in your gras, strike
down 7uel once and for all.%
%-6reatures like this one, hulking owerful creatures that are too
fearful of their own might to use it, are the creatures that will roll o#er
before us and grant us the world-%
%*ou must act, =arn. *ou must act.%
=arn crumled slightly forward. 7uel was right. "e couldn)t kill
this man. "e couldn)t kill e#en these hyenas. +n rage, =arn reared his
head back, howled, and flung out a massi#e arm. "is fist struck the
food-laden wagon. +t lurched u into the air. 8aw haunches of ork
tumbled u. ,nions elted down. !heels turned in languid susension
abo#e the ground. $oldiers scattered, and with a great crunching
boom, the wagon smashed onto the 2uay. +ts rofound imact was
followed by shocked silence from the warriors.
%0ehold-% crowed 7uel #iciously, %the guardian has slain someone
at last'%
=arn looked. There, >utting from beneath the wagon)s ruined bulk,
were the lifeless legs of a small #illage boy.
%3nough'% shrieked the blacksmith. "e reached with manacled
hands, dug fingers into his own flesh, and ried wide the wound.
%"ere is your 4egacy'% ,ut tumbled the glistening items.
(umbfounded, =arn caught them one by one in his imloring
hands. 3#en as the blacksmith crumled, dead, beside him, =arn saw
that he held not >ust the items of the 4egacy, but also a great, wet
gem. The Touchstone, one of the few magical de#ices with the ower
to shut him down. And this one worked on contact.
The rage was suddenly gone. 3#en the fear. 3#en the desair.
=arn was shutting down. (esire was draining away. $ensation followed
2uickly after. 7uel)s mocking laughter dissol#ed into silence. =arn was
defeated. "e was deacti#ating.
+n one final e/ertion of will, =arn clutched the grisly Touchstone
tighter, irretrie#able, within his sil#er gri. !arriors rushed him as
they saw what he did, their hands clawing at his imlacable fist, but
they were too late. Already, he was as still and dead as stone.
The rest of that night-the rest of the ne/t decade- he e/erienced
in fleeting, fragmentary imressions. The world mo#es all too 2uickly
when one is a statue.
=arn felt 7uel rying futilely at his hands of sil#er.
=arn saw warriors standing in de>ection and defeat.
=arn glimsed fires-torches-born by #illagers, and oars and gaff
hooksA shouts and slashing waters.
7uel and his mercenaries were dri#en off the docks into the lake.
The slain figure of the blacksmith was born away.
(aylight came, and darkness after that, and daylight again.
The smith was brought back, this time within a great seulcher,
and a shrine was made in his honor at the foot of the sil#er golem
statue. They were insearable then, the metal =arn and the fleshly
=arn, each in his time a bearer of the 4egacy, each emtied now of
what had once made him great. +t was in ga1ing at that sarcohagus
that =arn made his acifistic #ow, ne#er again to fight or slay. ?erhas
it was only the con#iction of a moment, but as the sun circled abo#e,
the thought became cemented into an eternal #ow.
And =arn stood. +t was his final refuge.
At first, the townsfolk remembered him as the strange sil#er man
who had come to rally the eole of Albiuto and dri#e out the army of
7uel. 4ater, they remembered him to be a mere statue of that man.
4ast of all, he became only a ublic erch for cowbirds and swallows.
To be deacti#ated so long grie#ed =arn, of course. "e agoni1ed
o#er the fate of Gerrard. 7uel)s attack on his father)s #illage must ha#e
been somewhat successful. -either Gerrard nor =ondo nor any of their
warriors had come seeking =arn. ?erhas they were all dead. 0ut
7uel)s success could not ha#e been comlete, either, since he himself
had ne#er returned. All =arn was left with, then, was worry and days.
+t became the attern for his life, a temest of emotion wraed in a
cold, still shell.
At least, deacti#ated, he could not kill again.
Tarnish and bird droings and #arious substances con#eyed uon
the 2uesting fingers of children consired to make =arn almost
unrecogni1able by the time he was at last disco#ered. 3#en then, it
was not Gerrard, or =ondo, or e#en 7uel that strolled into the ublic
s2uare and, arms clased, sur#eyed the immobile sil#er golem. +t was
$isay, catain of !eatherlight, a shi that was one more iece of
Gerrard)s lost 4egacy.
$he bought the shabby old statue and hauled it into the cargo
hold. $till, she could not awaken the slumbering giant, who held the
Touchstone in his gras. $o, =arn had been rescued from a sunlit
ublic s2uare only to stand immobile, within a dark, wooden hold.
There he remained, outwardly as still as a statue but inwardly ra#aged
by sorrow, guilt, anger, dread, and rage.
At long last into that storm of emotion came a new imulse->oy. +t
came at the touch of a crew member, a man in a white shirt, brown
waistcoat, and black ants. The man had dark hair and a neatly
trimmed beard. $omething like mirth danced in his shar eyes as he
scrubbed the grime away from the golem.
%"ello, =arn. 8emember me&% he asked, blowing a stream of dust
from the sil#er collar. %+)m the kid that got you into all of this.% The
man laced a hand on the Touchstone. +t shimmered, huge in the
lantern light of the hold. Gerrard, trained in magic by the maro-
sorcerer Multani, ut forward what ower he ossessed, focusing on
the Touchstone, knowing the trick of the thing, ositioning it to
reacti#ate the golem.
Metal shuddered as life surged back in. .oints creaked and limbs
mo#ed, trailing great curtains of grit.
%!ake u. +)#e come back to get you out.%
%Gerrard,% =arn said. "is #oice sounded metallic and hollow after
so many years of silence, but there was a world of feeling in that one
word. %+)m suosed to rescue you.%
%*es, my friend, but sometimes flesh is stronger than metal.%
B B B B B
%!ake u. +)#e come to get you out.% +t was not Gerrard who
soke this time, but a ?hyre/ian guard, a creature whose flesh was
stretched and hyertroic beneath web-works of steel and bone.
=arn shifted, his ga1e swinging toward the hideous figure in the
oen doorway of his cell. The woman)s bald skull terminated in a >ag-
tied sagittal crest, and the base of her chin sorted a bare >utting
bone. =arn had seen this guard before, had seen her chin-horn strike
daggerlike into Tahngarth as she escorted him to his cell. The edge of
the mutated bone was still stained with the minotaur)s blood.
%!here are we going&% =arn asked dully.
The woman)s lis drew back from filed teeth, and an e/ression
that could not be called a smile stretched her neck muscles like steel
cables. %+t)s torture time.%
After his long stillness, =arn)s body felt rofoundly hea#y. !ith an
effort of will, he took a ste back and turned around. %+ must re2uest
mercy for my comrade, the minotaur,% =arn began, his metallic #oice
tremulous. %"e is cati#e only because of my-%
%Too late,% the guard said curtly. $he gestured toward the corridor
outside, where three more ?hyre/ians and a assel of sho#ing,
chattering mogg goblins clustered. %!e)#e already mo#ed him. +f you)d
like to see him, to gi#e him a word of encouragement....%
%+ would #ery much areciate that.%
%+)ll take you ast his torture cell ... on the way to yours.%
=arn mo#ed out among the clutching goblins and wondered what
other torments awaited. !atching his friend)s suffering and death
would be the worst torture =arn could think of, but ?hyre/ians were
artists of ain, and their #iolent imaginations were boundless.
The grou escorted =arn into a dank and tortuous tangle of
assageways, as rank as the bowels of a le#iathan. =arn reflected that
this was, in fact, a kind of digesti#e system for the emire. 3ach cell
along the twisted hall contained a creature that had been swallowed by
the #ast war machine, and thereafter sub>ected to kni#es, teeth, acids,
and fire and slowly dissol#ed away, the comonents of his flesh and
fragments of his mind and rags of his ain borne outward to nourish
the ra#enous 0east. The same end would come to Tahngarth, too. "is
body and soul would go to ower the mustering monster of ?hyre/ia.
"is flesh would be food to them, his agony would be their wine.
The rocession of goblins and ?hyre/ian guards came to a halt,
and =arn drew himself from his re#erie. The guard with the sagittal
crest gestured to a stout, round door of flowstone, bolted tight to the
cur#ing walls. 6rimson and hot, the door seemed a #al#e leading into
another organ of the le#iathan. The guard set her hand on a slide in
the door and drew it back, careful to kee her eyes away from the
coruscating orange light that stabbed out from the sace. !ith the
light came roars of agony and rage.
%Tahngarth,% muttered =arn, a frisson of dread mo#ing through
him.
The guard grabbed =arn)s hand and drew him toward the slot.
%*ou had something to tell your friend&%
=arn leaned inward. The light that glowed across his eyes seared
like flame.
The chamber within seemed a smooth-walled, high- ceilinged
o#en. +t was bathed in a fiery glow that originated from a single,
dancing beam of light that stabbed down from the ceiling. !here#er
the ray assed, it blistered the flowstone floors and walls.
Tahngarth fled that stabbing light. "e leat u a sloing wall to
escae its stabbing ray. The beam swet >ust beneath his hoo#es,
melting and scarring the flowstone. Tahngarth slid back to the floor,
gathered his feet beneath him, and di#ed from the returning shaft. +t
struck him e#en so, in a diagonal line from hi to shoulder. The flesh
caught in the wake of the beam mounded and roiled. Tawny fur turned
white.
Tahngarth released a roar of anguish and scrambled away from
the beam. "e fetched u against the oosite wall and anted
raggedly, his eyes glowing as he watched the beam swee once again
toward him. 4aunching himself along one side of the chamber, he
struggled to skate ast the ray, but it #eered and lashed across his
face. "is horns, once thin and straight, began to thicken and twist.
8eddish-brown eyes suddenly glowed yellow, like a air of candle
flames.
0linded, Tahngarth clutched his face and crumled, his body
bucking in#oluntarily. Another furious shriek eruted from him.
=arn was shrieking too. "e reali1ed it only when the guards, all
three, sho#ed him back from the doorway. "e had felt each stabbing
ass of that mutagenic ray as though it had struck his own body. "e
had twitched and swayed with each dodge and >um the minotaur
took. "e had screamed with e#ery scream of Tahngarth.
Guilt. 8age. $hame. "atred. 5ury ...
=arn)s arms trembled, aching to crush the goblins around him as
if they were graes, to aint the walls with the blood of the ?hyre/ian
guards, to smash down that door and free Tahngarth. *es, he would
do it. The storm of deseration mounted within him. *es, he would kill
them, and then he and Tahngarth would flee through the citadel, side
by side, metal and machine, slaying whate#er got in their way. They
would lea#e a trail of bodies and blood. They would die, yes, but die
fighting.
=arn)s sil#er hands drew into fists, and he swooned, hungry for
blood.
%+ cannot blame you if you reach within me and draw forth what is
yours.%
The storm of hatred did not abate, but =arn ressed down uon
it, sealing it away once again. "e staggered, almost o#ercome, and
turned to face the guard.
%!h-what)s haening& !hat are you d-doing to him&% =arn
imlored.
%+mro#ing him,% the guard relied #indicti#ely. %"e)ll ha#e to be
considerably stronger, a bit more bloodthirsty, and a damned sight
more submissi#e before he can be Gre#en il-7ec)s second.%
"is second' Tahngarth)s misery was only beginning. "e would not
merely be turned into a hideous monster, but then also be susended
on strings, a uet in the ser#ice of e#il. +t was Tahngarth)s greatest
fear, reali1ed. Gre#en was doing to Tahngarth what 7olrath had done
to him.
%*our master)s hatred must be great to do such a thing,% =arn
hissed.
%+)ll ass along the comliment,% the guard sneered. %4et)s go.%
As =arn i#oted to follow, a thunderous ounding came at the
door.
Tahngarth)s yellow eyes glowed fe#erishly on the other side, and
wiss of acrid white smoke drifted u from his battered head. %=ill
them, =arn' =ill them, and oen this door'%
Ga1ing iteously back at his friend, =arn droed his head in
sorrow.
%=ill them' *ou must act, =arn' *ou must do something-% the
shout dissol#ed into a shriek, and Tahngarth crumled down, out of
sight.
%+ am sorry, my friend,% =arn whisered. %Anger is fleetingA
remorse is eternal.%
,ne of the ?hyre/ian guards slid the slot closed, and the band
mo#ed their risoner forward.
=arn shuffled along, de#astated, his hide ringing hollowly with
each ste. "e could not imagine greater torment than what he felt
now. "is #ow of acifism had not only brought about Tahngarth)s
cature, but had also made imossible his rescue. The minotaur would
die, or he would be so altered he would wish he were dead.
!hat greater torment could await&
%"ere is your cell,% said the woman. $he gestured toward an oen
doorway that led into a bare cube. There were no furnishings, no
windows, no ort in the ceiling for a mutagenic ray-only four red-
glowing walls, a floor, and a ceiling. %Get in.%
=arn ga1ed for one long moment at the blank sace- his solitary
hint of defiance-and then mo#ed 2uietly inward. "is sil#er shoulders
scraed the door frame as he ushed ast. Mogg goblins clustered
about his feet, intent on herding him within. The walls ga#e back the
echo of =arn)s onderous tread as he marched to the center of the cell
and stoed.
%Get in there'% shouted one of the guards, and three more moggs
came skidding in among the others. Then, the door slammed and
locked behind them, closing nearly twenty of the desicable beasts in
with =arn. The slot in the door whisered oen, and =arn i#oted to
see who looked in.
%*ou should still be able to hear your friend)s screams here,% the
woman said. A moment)s ause confirmed the rediction.
=arn hunched down, miserable. %*ou torture him with action, and
me with inaction. "ow fitting. *ou bla1e away his body, and kill both of
us in doing it. And you lock me away with these, these-% he gestured
to the goblins climbing u his legs, gnawing on his fingers, fighting to
scramble onto his shoulders %-reminders of the last creature + killed.
*ou twist Tahngarth)s body, and you twist my soul.%
The guard seemed to shrug. %*ou could ha#e stoed it. *ou
could ha#e killed us and stoed it. *ou could kill these moggs e#en
now.%
%+ want to. 0elie#e me, + do, but then you would surely ha#e
won,% =arn said, atiently lucking away a goblin that had been
laying his head like a drum. As =arn stared at the wriggling, cursing
creature, the temest of guilt and fury welled u in him again. %This
way, + may be tortured, but + will not be damned. As long as + stand
here and endure, + am still not yours.%
%,h, really&%
%*es. + am #ery good at standing and waiting. + ha#e stood and
waited while the years crawled all o#er me, and
+ can stand and wait again here, with these ests, too. + will not
be goaded into #iolence. *ou cannot make me kill again.%
%!e)ll see about that.%
That was when the floor tilted, suddenly, #iolently. =arn was
thrown off his feet amid a sinning cluster of goblins. They all
simultaneously struck the tied surface and slid 2uickly down to
smash against one of the flow-stone walls. 3#en as =arn)s body rang
with the imact, goblin blood srayed out from beneath him. The floor
rose back to le#el, and =arn staggered u. 0ehind him, he left three
broken bodies, crushed with the rints of his sil#er frame.
%(amn you,% =arn growled as he stood, his feet slick with gore. +t
was as though the ?hyre/ians had read his mind. They had stolen
away his last refuge against the chaos around and within him. -ow he
couldn)t e#en stand. They had taken away his one sal#ation. -ow, his
#ery e/istence meant killing. %(amn you.%
%!e)ll bring more moggs when you)#e gone through these. They
breed like roaches. *ou)ll robably go through a hundred or so a day.%
There was a #icious tightening of her eyes-that same non-smile->ust
before the slot slammed closed.
And the floor toled again.

"ere ends the Tale of =arn


A Dark Room

%Gods, that)s horrible'% +lcaster stared at the librarian, aalled,
his mouth oen. %!hat a fiendish torture. "ow long did it go on&%
%4ong enough,% relied the old man grimly. %4ong enough to
almost dri#e both Tahngarth and the golem mad. +t was the cle#er
cruelty of 7olrath to find that element in both risoners that would be
the greatest torture to them: for =arn it was the denial of his acifism,
and for Tahngarth it was the destruction of his looks.% "e leaned
forward and atted the boy)s shoulder. %-e#er mind, lad. +n time +
romise you they were both rescued by Gerrard and his friends.
%And did they find her as well&% asked +lcaster.
%!ho&%
%$isay, of course' After all, that)s the erson they came to 8ath to
find.%
%Ah, yes. !ell, as you)#e already seen, lad, the search was not
simle. 0ut yes, e#entually they found her.%
%Good. + was worried she)d be dead by the time they got to her.
,r worse.%
%-o, $isay was ali#e. 0ut Gerrard was forced to wonder if finding
her hadn)t somehow been art of 7olrath)s lan.
%After they left the ma room, Gerrard, $tarke, Mirri, and 6ro#a/
continued on their way, climbing e#er higher in the $tronghold. They
found it increasingly necessary to cross bridges and walkways formed
of flowstone. At last they came to a tower that $tarke identified for
them as the rison tower. There were no guards about it, but it could
only be reached by a long, narrow flowstone bridge without rail. 0elow
was only blacknessA Gerrard knew that somewhere down there
!eatherlight waited for him.
%Gerrard, ordering the others to stay behind a moment, set one
cautious foot after another on the bridge. As he did so, roes and
tentacles of stone formed and flowed toward him, seeking to ensnare
the intreid ad#enturer.
%"astily, Gerrard beat a retreat. "e thought for a while, as his
comanions stood silent, near to their goal yet searated by an
aarently unbridgeable gulf. Then, chuckling to himself, Gerrard
disaeared back into the tower as the others stood wondering. "e
reaeared in a few minutes, bearing with him the body of the
shaeshifting creature killed by 6ro#a/. !hen he hurled it onto the
bridge, the roes and tentacles rushed at it, and as they were busy
crushing it and ulling it to ieces, Gerrard and his friends 2uickly
crossed to the tower.
%!ithin they 2uickly, and with little trouble, found the cell
containing =arn-%
%Good'% interruted +lcaster. %$o they stoed the torture&%
%*es, of course. Those Moggs still ali#e within the cell fled
shrieking into the darkness while Gerrard comforted his old friend.
%5arther down the same corridor, Gerrard found and freed
Tahngarth, and though the minotaur was ashamed of his newly bulked
and twisted body, he >oined them in their search for $isay, the final
ob>ect of their 2uest.
%At length they came to a laboratory, clean, cold, and indifferent
to their resence. There, at last, they saw the body of their long-
sought catain, imrisoned within a strange glass cylinder. !ith some
difficulty they freed her from the glass >ail. $he stared at them,
seemingly unaware of their resence. Then Mirri, who was holding one
of her arms, hissed in alarm.%
%!hat was it&% cried the boy. %!as 7olrath coming&%
The master shook his head. %-o, something much worse. 0efore
their horrified eyes, the body of $isay swayed and changed into an
armored guard.%
+lcaster brought his hand down on a small table, raising a cloud of
brown dust from its surface that floated in the yellow candlelight.
%Then it wasn)t $isay at all'%
%-o,% agreed the librarian. %.ust one of 7olrath)s many tricks. The
guard fled the laboratory, and the comanions were left alone again.
%-ow, bewildered, they agreed to $tarke)s suggestions to search
for the (ream "alls. 0ut since the way led back across the flowstone
bridge they)d crossed earlier, Gerrard suggested they should seek a
different ath. And so they did.%

Crovax's Tale
Ki! Johnson

This is 6ro#a/)s tale, though he is not the one who tells it.
0ut there is no one else who will tell it, and so it is left to me,
,rim, to make sense of what has haened to him. My eole belie#e
that each life is a tale, and further, that to tell the story of a life
roerly would take as long as the life itself. And so we do not often
tell stories of this sort. And yet there are li#es that should be recorded.
6ro#a/)s is one of them, though his tale is not finished yet.
4ike all tales of this sort, the story is as much about me as about
6ro#a/. 5or this + must cra#e the indulgence of my listener. Mine is an
unimortant story. 4isten and think only of 6ro#a/ and his guardian
angel.
B B B B B
!e came to 8ath willingly but reluctantly, each of us for our own
reason: rescue, loyalty, anger. + came because !eatherlight was my
shi. $isay catained it and then GerrardA and "anna understood the
alien clockworks of the shi itself better than any of us. 0ut a shi)s
heart is its eole, and + was the one who ket them well and listened
to their secret hurts when they felt inclined to seak of them.
6ro#a/ came for the angel $elenia, walking already under a
shadow + could not see. "e held his secrets closer than a lo#er, but
e#en he soke sometimes, to me or to Gerrard. $elenia was a
construct, a thing of raw mana and sells, created from an artifact to
watch o#er his family. The brother had used some sort of artifact to
craft her. !hen we found 6ro#a/, the angel was long gone, erhas
catured by 7olrath. +n her absence, his family had been destroyed by
7olrath)s eole. ?erhas re#enge dro#e him to 8ath, but strangely, he
ne#er soke of this, only of $elenia, his guardian angel, traed by
7olrath for unknown reasons.
8ath was a horrifying lace. + am used to the many forms life
takes in our world, but 8ath was horrible-a lace where rock flowed
like tortured boneless flesh, or hea#ed like a beached cuttlefish
dragging itself back to water.
The sky was no infinite sace of air and light o#er our headsA it
was low and hea#y, sullen blues and urles that hea#ed less like
clouds than like restless magma. "a#ing gotten to 8ath, we were
unsure e/actly where to go ne/t, and so !eatherlight drifted high o#er
a strange choy sea of urle-black waters, along a coastline
shrouded in misshaen trees. + went below to my cabin. + had one
small orthole, and my ossessions, my >ournals and medical books:
8ath would not seem so o#erwhelming there.
To distract myself, + read an old herbalist)s manual + had ac2uired
in .amuraa, trying not to think about the gray-urle tone of the light
that seeed in through the orthole. 5rom the corner of my eye, +
caught a flicker of brown and white and black, of feathers and steel. +
glanced u, but it was already gone. ,dd, + thought. !e had seen no
birds or flying things in the hostile skies of 8ath, and whate#er it was +
had seen did not linger in my memory as something easily droed
into a familiar category: bird or bat or drake or great insect. + frowned,
trying to reconstruct what + had glimsed.
The sudden cries on deck startled me. There was a tone of anic
unusual for any regular maneu#er. + hadn)t e#en registered what was
wrong when + heard a thundering, like cannons in a fight on the sea.
There was a flash of indigo-white light ast my orthole in the hull,
and the screaming noise of an electrical bolt tearing the air. 0oth were
gone before + had time to reali1e what they were and >um back. +
droed my manual and looked out the orthole. A shi, a flying shi
like our own, swet at us from abo#e and behind, like a drake dri#ing
an eagle to ground. 0ut it did no such thing, >ust matched its ace to
ours and settled o#erhead, so that + had to crane to see it through the
orthole, and then it was no more than a huge dark shae o#erhead,
hiding the brooding sky from my #iew.
!eatherlight)s mo#ement stoed suddenly, as if it had snagged
in a web. + fell to my hands and knees, then >umed u, grabbed my
knife and slammed oen my cabin door to ause for a moment in the
assageway. ,ne crew member-6saba, hair still wet from washing and
twisted into a driing knot-ran toward the aft hatch, straing her
sword belt as she came.
%!hat)s haening&% + asked, but she said nothing as she assed,
only threw me the sa#age e/ectant smile of battle fe#er.
+ turned to go to the infirmary. ,ne cabin door was a>ar, wa#ing
oen and closed with the rocking of !eatherlight. +t was 6ro#a/)s
room, and from inside + heard a keening sound, like the cry of a
tortured animal. !ith one foot, + sho#ed the door oen, knife ready.
6ro#a/ was there and the terrible hurt noise was coming from
him. "e clutched his head as if he had been stabbed there, and
staggered across his room, slamming into furniture and walls as if he
had not seen them. The only light in his cabin came from his orthole-
the same bruised color that made me shi#er.
%6ro#a/'% + cried and caught his hands. %*ou)re wounded&%
!ith the shriek of a madman, he ulled free and hurled himself
away, into another wall.
%6ro#a/'% + said more gently, fearing concussions, head in>uries,
damaged eyes. !hat ain could cause such a sound as this keening& +
carefully touched his shoulder. %+t)s me, ,rim. 4et me see.%
"e seemed to calm then, and let me ull his hands away from his
head. The keening 2uieted to a barely audible moaning, carried on
each of his anting breaths.
,nly then did + see his face. "e was not in>ured, at least not by
slinter or blade or any hysical thing. 0ut his e/ression was one of
torment and betrayal and loss and horror. And, strangely, something
else: lo#e. +t is the nature of a healer to #iew ain, e#en the ain that
destroys souls, the ain of lossA but + ha#e ne#er seen such desair.
This is not true. + ha#e seen it once since. There will come a time for
that in this telling, as well.
%!hat is it&% + whisered.
"is #oice was as raw as an infected bite. %+ saw her. $elenia. The
angel.%
%$he)s here&% More screams abo#eboard. + had to go, but + could
not lea#e 6ro#a/ like this.
%$he led them here. $he-% "is #oice broke on a sob.
%!hat&% + said. There were noises in the hatchways now, but he
continued as if he hadn)t heard.
%This is 7olrath)s attack. $he is 7olrath)s creature now.%
"is #oice trailed into silence, but his lis formed another word.
0etrayed.
"e soke as if watching his life)s blood dri to the deck, but there
was no wound. And others abo#e decks were wounded, erhas dying.
The cabin door had swung shut, but + heard bare feet attering along
the assageway now. There were too many feet, and too small to be
crew. "is sword in its sheath hung o#er his cot. + snatched it down,
unsheathed it and forced the dark- hiked blade into his hand. %$a#e
your life, 6ro#a/. And fight for us. !e will talk later.%
+ ushed oen the cabin door. 3#erything in 8ath seems an
o#ersi1ed twisted #ersion of something in (ominaria: the corridor
seemed filled with goblins, but they were what $tarke called moggs,
o#ersi1ed goblins ugly e#en by the low standards one brings to >udging
goblin aearance. They raced ast, ignoring us. + led 6ro#a/ to the
forward hatch. %@'% + shouted at him. %5ight'% ,bedient as a child in
shock, he climbed and + followed him. + hoed the fighting would bring
him back to himself.
+ am no warrior. ,thers can tell the tale of the battle between
!eatherlight and ?redator better than +. My first and only imression
was of total chaos. ?redator hung o#er us, linked by scores of
graling hooks and lines. Moggs swarmed down the lines and across
the deck. $e#eral !eatherlight crew members were down. + cast a
hasty ward o#er those crew members closest to me, and braced
myself against the railing near 6ro#a/. Though he held his sword at
the ready, his dark face was blank, as if surrised by a stab wound.
My eole were falling, slashed on knee or belly or chest by too
many mogg blades. + tied tourni2uets and held ressure bandages,
and threw sell after sell at those + could not reach to hel: e#en so +
lost 7idats, and +neka Termuelen and my countryman ,1el son of $uk,
their li#es sliing through my fingers, sand in the hot wind of 8ath.
And still the moggs came. + wet with anger as they killed and
killed again. + had to use my knife three times against moggs who
attacked me. + hated the feeling, the slide of steel into flesh, the slight
resistance of tendon or the sudden halt against bone, and the
sickening feel and sound when + ulled the blade free. + hated it but +
did it: if + did not sto these creatures, + would not be there to hold
my wards or heal my eole)s wounds.
?redator fired on us again. My ward had been set, and it glowed
in my mind)s eye, but it was not enough. My hands trying to sto the
bleeding from 0ariel)s se#ered arm, + closed my eyes and rayed.
There was the huge noise of !eatherlight)s metal hull torn by the
electrical attack. The shi shuddered and slewed to one side until it
hung nearly sideways. 6rew members slid along the #ertical deck,
catching whate#er they could. + lost my gri on 0ariel and felt myself
falling. There was not e#en time to scream before + felt a warm arm
tight around my waist. + oened my eyes. !ith one hand 6ro#a/ had
caught me in the crook of his sword armA the other clung to the
railing. 5or an instant our faces were inches aart: his eyes no longer
had their drowned look. !eatherlight righted herself and he released
me. %6areful, healer,% he said in his low #oice. %They need you.%
+ started shaking. There was a shout from ?redator, and the
moggs returned to their shi, ouring from the hatches and swarming
back u the roes, loaded down with artifacts. ,ne aused to swing
his ragged blade at me but 6ro#a/)s sword skewered the mogg, and
he #anished from my sight. The lines that had connected the two shis
cast freeA but Tahngarth hung from one, swinging wildly.
3#en as + did what + could, + could not sto shaking. 6ro#a/ no
longer looked numb, but his e/ression was more frightening, more
horrible, than it had been, for now his eyes were the eyes of a damned
man.
They need you, he had said. As if he were saying: but + will not.
B B B B B
!e crashed in the $kyshroud, a forest of tall twisted trees and
roots sunk dee in the ugly waters of the sea. The sur#i#ors came
then, as they always do, those who could not walk carried by friends
who left them in my infirmary and rushed back to their osts to do
what they could to secure the shi and reare for any attack that
might come. There were not enough: some of the in>ured had fallen
from !eatherlight when she had tied to the side. 0ut + cleaned and
stitched shut ragged cuts and listened. The sur#i#ors struggled to
make sense of what had been at the time no more (or less) than
instinct and courage and fear. There was horror and the otent >oy
that comes from being ali#e when so many others are not. As + always
do, + said the things that would hel and comfort: time enough later to
face the darker feelings, the shame and guilt that comes from sur#i#al.
!hen + had done what + could, + walked on deck for a moment,
longing to stretch my muscles and ease my eyes- longing for fresh air.
+ had forgotten the hea#y sky, so close o#erhead it seemed + could
touch it.
6ro#a/ stood by the rail, staring out at the trees that surrounded
us. + think he had not mo#ed since sa#ing my life. + saw his rofile
only. The lanes of his face caught the colors of 8ath. ,ne hand held
his ribs absently like a man suffering from heartburn, but blood
dried between his long fingers.
%6ro#a/'% + said. %*ou)re wounded.%
"e glanced down as if surrised. + ulled his hand from his side
and showed it to him alm-u. "e frowned when he saw his blood.
%!hen did this haen&% + asked. +t had been some hours now.
"e shrugged.
%6ome to the infirmary. + will heal this.%
%-o,% he said.
%Then + will look at it here,% + said. "e stared out at 8ath, but did
not try to sto me as + eased off his leather and scale mail and the
black-and-red silk tunic beneath. A ragged gash as long as my thumb
angled along his torsoA fresh as it was, its edges were already uffy.
%!hat did this&% + asked.
%A mogg.%
%Then it)s infected. Goblin blades are always filthyA + can)t imagine
the moggs are cleaner.% + always carry a flat >ar of sal#e tucked into
my belt. + ulled it out, and scooed u some of the green ointment. +t
smelled fresh and sweet and shar, of calendula and bite-weed, of
bright meadows a long way from 8ath. ?erhas the cris scent of more
familiar lands awakened 6ro#a/ from his trance. "e began to seak as
+ smoothed the sal#e into his cut.
%$elenia.% he swallowed. %+ lo#ed her and ne#er wanted to be
away from her. "ow could + not lo#e her&% "e said, and his eyes
bla1ed at me, anger and anguish in e2ual measure. %$he was my
angel, mine. + should ha#e gi#en her to my brother to guard the
family, but + ket her with me. My guardian angel.% "e laughed once,
a single shar noise like a crow when a hurled stone connects. %$he
watched well: no harm came to the family in the time she watched
o#er us. 0ut then she was gone. And + watched my family die, because
she wasn)t there. They blamed me for it.%
+ sat silently. The fire in his eyes dulled. %+ lo#ed her. !e talked,
we were friends. $he had no memories, so + ga#e her mine. And then
this.%
The only sound was the air hushing ast !eatherlight)s hull: a
sound so familiar to us that it was silence. + ulled
a clean bandage from one of my ockets to tie o#er the wound.
%+ had hoed-+ did not want a guardian,% he said finally. %,r not
her. 0ut she was lost to me. $tolen. 0ut she is here'% "e caught my
hand as it finished tying, caught it between his blood-stained fingers,
hard enough to hurt. + said nothing, only met his dark eyes as he
looked down at me. %6an you understand& $he was like light, like half
my soul, guardian and comanion and friend and true lo#e. And she is
here.%
%*es.% + ulled my hand free.
And + did understand, though erhas he did not yet.
B B B B B
!e tra#eled across 8ath, on our way to 7olrath)s stronghold. !e
had lost Tahngarth, dragged behind ?redator and we did not know if
he li#ed or died. + had not seen it, but Gerrard had fallen from
!eatherlight during the battle with ?redatorA "anna and Mirri
retrie#ed him in the $kyshroud 5orest, the interminable dark woods in
which we crashed. !e fought and then forged an alliance with the
el#es that li#ed there. The shi was damaged by the crash. !e could
still fly, but "anna said the crystal that dro#e the shi would not be
able to laneshift away from 8ath. !e took !eatherlight to a ortal
we had been told about, the only lace that might ermit us to escae.
3rtai and + insected the site, and he chose to remain there to oen it
for us. !e sailed on through the 6inder Marsh, followed a lume of ash
to the 5urnaces of 8ath. !e were struck by an arc of lightning there. +
fought to sa#e the crew members in>ured by the e/losion, but + lost
them all. The 5urnaces fought my healing sells, and when + tried to
sa#e =ad#e, too in>ured to be remo#ed from where she lay, creatures
of shredding sinew and bone killed her and cornered us.
6ro#a/ carried a strange rage inside him. !hen he fought (which
was often, for 8ath is a hard lace), he fought as if for his soul. + said
nothing of the angel, but there were occasions, weary moments of
waiting between disasters, when he came to sit with me in the
infirmary or on deck. +n difficult times, + find it soothing to take bright-
colored silks and sin them into threads as fine as sider webA erhas
he found watching it as calming, for he seemed to seek me out >ust to
watch the whirling of my hea#y sil#er dro sindle.
"e ne#er looked at me, but he would seak, confessing his
secrets to the sil#er and silk as they sun. $ometimes he soke of his
estate, hidden in the shadowy swams of @rborg: a roud but
decaying lace, haunted now by the sirits of his many ancestors who
(he said) e#en in 8ath whisered to him sometimes in the night,
warning him of an undefined but horrible destiny.
"e also soke of his father and his brothers. There is a oetry
style in my land, where only half the oem is written down and the
reader must seak aloud the missing lines as she belie#es they should
be. There is great skill to reading this oetry, >ust as there is in writing
it. + listened to his words, and soke in my mind the lines he withheld
from me. "is father was distant and cruelA as his family died, one by
one, they blamed him for their destruction. There were other secrets in
his family, and + could imagine some of them.
There were times he talked of the angel. "e remembered her
laugh, low and sweet as a bell, and her erfect face, wrinkled as she
learned a game he tried to teach her. "is face softened when he soke
of her. ?erhas he longed too much for her, or in the wrong way.
Angels are made of magic and destiny, not flesh and blood.
"e ne#er asked about my life, my family or ast, too traed in
the misery of his memories to think of another. + did not mind-my old
master would say that a healer)s strength is not in her mouth but in
her ears. $o + sun and + listened and gathered his tale to me, like the
cold comfort of a thin blanket in a fro1en time.
B B B B B
The 5urnaces were a ma1e of stalactites and stalagmites that
clung to the low stone ceiling and the rough stone floor. !eatherlight
slid between great illars as broad as we were long and fought
whate#er came to us. After a time, the ceiling began to lift and the
rock shaes grew less common. The sky of 8ath had seemed hea#y,
but now we knew what true weight was. !hate#er + did-e#en in battle,
when li#es hung erilously on my actions-+ could not escae the
unimaginable weight of stone hanging o#erhead. At times it seemed to
s2uee1e the air from my lungs. !e all felt this, all but 6ro#a/, whose
life focused down to a single blinding oint: his angel.
3#en a league and more away, we could see 7olrath)s stronghold.
The roof o#er our heads raised still more and showed us that we were
in the heart of a great hollow mountain. ?ale cold light sifted down
from abo#e to silhouette the #ast mass of the stronghold. The crew
clustered on deck, swords and cutlasses ready for whate#er trouble
might come. !e drifted forward, but no enemy shi rose to greet us.
-o one seemed to see us at all. !e ghosted closer, and closer.
The $tronghold loomed, a shae like claws and bones and teeth,
like the standing tendons of someone ulled on the rack. Gerrard)s
face was ale but set. ,thers faced their fear in whate#er way they
could. 0ut 6ro#a/ stood by the deck railing, his lis ulled back to
e/ose his teeth. +t might ha#e been a smile.
The organic shaes began to make a little more sense. +
recogni1ed what might be walkways, and a bridge of sun stone that
looked as fragile as a sider web. 6loser, closer.
"anging in the outrigging, Mirri saw the guard before any of us.
!e were bare yards from the $tronghold)s side, looking for something
we might tie to, a ledge or ganglank of some sort. !ithout warning,
Mirri leat across the sace between !eatherlight and the $tronghold,
sword ulled out, teeth bared in a nearly silent snarl. $he landed on a
narrow walkway-an arm)s length from a startled guard. The guard died
before he had time to cry out.
This was as good a lace to land as any we)d seen. "anna secured
!eatherlight)s engines as Tice threw a roe across to Mirri. $he tied
off the shi, then leat back. $he showed her shar-toothed smile to
Gerrard. %0est thing to hear from a guard& -othing.%
Gerrard sighted along his sword blade, then slid it back into its
sheath. %-ow we go in. $tarke, you)re the only one who can lead us to
$isay.%
The man flushed. %And my daughter. *ou won)t forget my
daughter.%
%!e won)t forget her,% Gerrard said gra#ely, showing considerable
restraint, + thought. Gerrard did not like $tarke much, + knew. %Mirri&%
$he snorted, slaed her sheath. %,f course.%
6ro#a/ had not soken to Gerrard lately. "e had soken to no one
but me, really, but now he caught Gerrard)s arm. %Take me,% he said
softly.
Gerrard nodded. %5our is good.%
+ steed forward. %+ also will go, Gerrard.%
"e laughed that sardonic laugh of his. %0loodthirsty, ,rim&%
+ bit my li. %!hat if someone is in>ured& $isay, or you, or-%
%-o, four is bad enough. $orry, ,rim, but you)re no tracker. *ou
would not get a thousand aces before you would hear some goblin
screaming and run off to find out why.%
+ flushed. %*es, but-%
%*ou ha#e an infirmary full of eole.%
%,nly three-% + began.
%-o,% he said, suddenly catain. %,rim, you remain here with the
shi.%
%+ understand,% + said, and stayed. + suose it made sense.
There were only four bra#ing the $tronghold and o#er a score on the
shi. 0ut it was Gerrard and Mirri and 6ro#a/ lea#ing (and $tarke). +
was not hay with the decision.
B B B B B
They entered 7olrath)s $tronghold cautiously. $tarke said he had
been there before, and had warned them of certain redictable risks.
"e knew of mogg latoons acing the $tronghold)s corridors, and
certain magical tras he knew of. $tarke went first, beside Gerrard,
with Mirri and 6ro#a/ close behind. The halls were irregularly shaed,
as if they had grown from 8ath)s rock, and the torches that lit the
corridors flickered in strange warm air currents, so that the walls and
ceilings seemed to alter in the inconstant light. $ounds trickled down
the halls, echoing until they were unrecogni1able, e#en as #oice or
scream or clockwork.
They entered a large corridor, broad enough to walk four abreast,
with a roof that soared into shadow far o#erhead. +t seemed directed
toward the $tronghold)s core, and so they walked along it, checking
each branching hallway. 5or the heart of an emire, the lace seemed
emty, desite the noises.
Mirri stoed suddenly. %!ait.%
%!hat&% $tarke said ner#ously, but she only gestured imatiently,
ears swi#eling and nose twitching.
%There.% $he ointed at an odd outcroing on the wall, ulling
her sword. %There)s a thing there.%
The section of wall she had ointed out >umed forward. +t was no
wall, but a li#ing creature. +ts misshaen body might once ha#e been
that of a mogg or an elf, but its limbs seemed oorly attached and
unmatched, like a child)s bad drawing. +t crouched on the ground,
narrow unformed head lashing from side to side as it looked for an
escae. Mirri darted ast it, traing it. !hen it tried to rush ast, she
slashed at it. %+ don)t think so.%
+t bared its ragged teeth and recoiled. Gerrard steed closer,
sword in his hand. %$o what are you: animal, #egetable, or mineral&%
he said in a con#ersational tone. The creature looked around again,
then u, for the first time seeing the soaring ceiling.
4ike aint in rain or clay under in#isible hands, its body began
shifting, to become a woman)s slender torso, clad in the shadow of
armor and silk. 4imbs resol#ed themsel#es into arms with long-
fingered hands and legs ending in slim booted feet. 5lesh shifted: a
face formed, that of a helmet-ed woman with cold ure features,
eyebrows shaed like the twisting of a falcon)s wing. And then came
the wings themsel#es. ?ulling from the creature)s shoulders, erfect
feathers made of layered flesh beginning to fill out shaes like the
wings of birds-or angels. %$elenia'% 6ro#a/ gased.
%-o,% Gerrard said. %+t)s some sort of shaechanger. ?erhas we
can-%
Gerrard ne#er finished. !ith a howl of rage, 6ro#a/ hurled himself
at the creature. $he whirled, half-formed wings flaring.
"is sword came down where she had been, but half- fledged, she
leat an incredible >um that took her o#er Mirri)s shoulder and into
the corridor beyond. 6ro#a/ knocked Mirri out of the way, and bolted
after the shaechanger, bare sword in hand. Mirri, Gerrard, and $tarke
ran down the halls after them, but 6ro#a/ and the shaechanger easily
outaced them.
6ro#a/ caught u to her in a huge room filled with seats like an
amhitheater around a mysterious de#ice. There were se#eral doors
out of the room, and this is what killed her. $he aused to choose, and
in that moment, 6ro#a/ threw himself at her. "e caught her by one
slender arm. $he screamed wordlessly at him, and bared her teeth,
clawing at his face. Teeth and nails began to lengthen, shaing
themsel#es to a fiercer function. "e slammed his fist into her changing
face, and again. $he clawed at him, but he caught her hand in his, and
twisted her arm until he heard a cracking noise. "e grabbed one
strange flesh-feather wing in his hand, bracing his other hand against
her shoulder. $he screamed again. "e bared his teeth as he ried the
wing from her body, black-red blood uming into his face.
Gerrard and Mirri ran in to find him tearing the shaeshifter)s
limbs free. $he still bore the angel)s form, but she was melting as she
died.
6ro#a/ cursed as she died, slamming his fist into the remains of
her face. %My family died' !here were you, when 7olrath)s eole
came to the estate, killed them, one by one& "ere&%
There was no answer.
Gerrard and Mirri looked at one another in horrorA it was Gerrard
who at last aroached 6ro#a/ where he knelt in the ruins of the
shaeshifter. $he was not much more than rags of flesh, smears of
blood. The fist he ket ounding into her was hitting the floor now,
slitting his knuckles so that his own red blood slashed o#er the thick
darker blood of the creature. %6ro#a/,% Gerrard saidA then, when
6ro#a/ did not sto, more loudly. Gerrard laid a hand on 6ro#a/)s
shoulder. "e whirled, eyes drowned in madness, and raised a gore-
smeared fist. Gerrard droed back a ste. %6ro#a/, come back to us.%
The madness ebbed. 6ro#a/ blinked and shook his head, raised a
hand as if to rub his face and stoed when he saw the mess. "e
stood 2uickly, looked down at what he had done.
%+t looked like $elenia,% he said, swallowing hea#ily Gerrard shook
his head. %+t was a shaechanger. +t saw her and took her form, that)s
all.% Their #oices droed into the immense sace without an echo,
like a coin droed into a bottomless well.
%+t should not ha#e taken her form.% 6ro#a/)s hands were shaking
now. "e ressed them against his thighs, lea#ing glossy rints on his
leggings.
%!hat haened, 6ro#a/&% Gerrard gestured at the shaeshifter)s
remains. %*ou could ha#e >ust grabbed it.%
6ro#a/)s #oice caught as he tried to resond. "e cleared his
throat and tried again. %+ had to kill it. +t belongs to 7olrath. +t would
ha#e betrayed us.% %*ou didn)t ha#e to kill it like this.% %+ saw her,%
6ro#a/ said finally. %$elenia. !hen ?redator attacked us, she was
there.%
Gerrard frowned. %+ know. That doesn)t e/lain this.% "e looked at
Mirri, who shrugged and shook her head. %$he was there. + think she
led them to us.% %!hy&% Gerrard said. %+ thought she was your
guardian angel.%
%+ thought so, too,% 6ro#a/ sobbed. %+ thought she did not sa#e
my family because she was imrisoned in some way. 0ut now-%
%$till,% Gerrard said, %the shaechanger was not your angel.%
6ro#a/ said nothing. Mirri and $tarke watched, silent. Gerrard
watched him for a long moment. %+ don)t think you)re a good risk for
this. *ou ran off without thinking about safety, and then-% he gestured
to the wreckage on the room)s floor. %!e)re still close to !eatherlight,
6ro#a/. + want you to return there.%
%-o.% 6ro#a/ frowned. %-o, + can)t. $he)s here, Gerrard. + ha#e to
find her.%
%!hy& $o you can ri her to ieces, ull her wings off&% Gerrard
took an imatient ace away and turned.
%-o, we can)t risk it.%
Through clenched teeth, 6ro#a/ said, %-o. The shaeshifter had
no right to her form, that)s all. *ou need me. $elenia was created to
watch o#er my familyA she is #ulnerable only to the members of my
family. (o you want to ha#e her kill Mirri here& Maybe yourself&% Mirri
oened her mouth to seak. 6ro#a/ continued, %+ am the only one who
can sto her. And + must.%
Gerrard stroked his beard.
%?lease let me find her,% 6ro#a/ said, in a #oice as raw as a
wound. %The 4egacy is your destiny, Gerrard, but $elenia is mine. (o
not deny me this.%
Gerrard tied his head back and sighed deely. %7ery well. 0ut
control yourself, 6ro#a/. The deeer into the $tronghold we get, the
longer your walk back to the shi will be.%
B B B B B
+ was not there. + was at the shi, atient ,rim, waiting and
sinning and clearing the last crew members from my infirmary. 0ut +
know 6ro#a/ and Gerrard. These are the words they would ha#e said,
the gestures they would ha#e made. -o one knows 6ro#a/ better. "e
soke to me when he soke to no other, and +, trained to see illnesses
of the soul as well as of the body, heard the things his words did not
say.
B B B B B
The room they were in was #ast, big enough to float !eatherlight
in. The walls were green glass clinging like soa film between brassy
suorts, but e#en large as it was, it was dominated by the
mechanism in its center. $trange mechanical >aws e/tended from
ceiling and floorA susended between them was a huge shere, like a
giant earl in a deformed setting. Gerrard was the one who recogni1ed
it as a ma of sorts, a sherical ma of all of (ominaria- home. Mirri
and Gerrard u11led it out between them: 7olrath was lanning to
in#ade us, and this was his guide. $tarke contributed little, obsessed
erhas with rescuing his daughter. And 6ro#a/ said less, only wied
his hands on his leggings again and again, as if trying to remo#e the
stains from them.
The four of them tra#eled through the mountain)s heart. Many
things haened, but though he was there they are not truly art of
6ro#a/)s story. They crawled through narrow assages, cret across
arching bridges. They found =arn. "is gentle nature had been ra#aged
by 7olrath, who forced him to kill. They found Tahngarth, his form
changed by 7olrath)s tortures. They found $isay traed in a crystal
cylinder, but when they freed her she was >ust another shaechanger.
6ro#a/ did not fall into the killing fren1y again, but he was silent,
grim- faced. + think he sent much of the time thinking about the
angel. They still searched for $isay and the 4egacy and $tarke)s
daughter. $tarke thought erhas they were in 7olrath)s (ream "alls,
and so he led them to yet another stone bridge.
6reated of ragged stone that looked as though it had slashed
and fro1en in lace, the bridge was a slender arch, without a railing.
The crew members mo#ed cautiously onto it, forced by its width into
single file. $tarke knew where they were going, so he was first,
followed by 6ro#a/, then Mirri, then =arn and Tahngarth silent and
shaken from their tortures, and Gerrard at the rear. ,nly 6ro#a/ and
Mirri had swords outA if 7olrath)s eole saw them and chose to kill
them, it would be a simle matter to destroy them from a distance,
with arrows and crossbow bolts. !hat good would a sword do& And the
ath was narrow, e/cet for Mirri (who had the erfect balance of her
kind), and 6ro#a/ (too dri#en by his destiny to fall), e#eryone used
both arms to balance themsel#es against the strange hot air currents
that blasted them.
B B B B B
They were halfway across when the attack came, but it was not
arrows. 0uffeted by a sudden wind, $tarke lost his balance and fell to
one knee. The rest of the arty aused for a moment, to let him catch
his breath. They watched both ends of the bridge, looking for signs
they had been detected.
The scream o#erhead took them all by surrise. +t might ha#e
been a woman)s #oice raised in wordless ain, or it might ha#e been a
falcon)s killing cry. +t was neither and both-it was $elenia, the
guardian angel.
$he attacked from abo#e, di#ing like a great hawk, dark wings
sread wide. $he held her sword in both hands o#er her head like a
giant dagger ready to lunge down. "er ale face was beautiful in the
way a well-made knife is beautiful, and colder than steel.
$he aimed directly for 6ro#a/. And 6ro#a/, armed though he was,
stood stunned and watched her dro toward him, like a rabbit under a
rator)s claws.
Mirri snarled and >umed forward. 5rom the end of the line,
Gerrard shouted %-o'% but Mirri was already in motion, sword arcing
u to intersect the angel)s downward swee. @nable to get through the
defense, the angel changed targets. "er blade ran with the reflected
colors of 8ath)s skies as it sliced sideways. Mirri screamed as the blade
connected. The cat warrior droed her sword and fell to the bridge,
hands ressed against a dee wound across the abdomen, from
hibone to hibone. The angel fluttered back from the bridge, then
ducked in again to kill Mirri.
0ut 6ro#a/)s sword stoed her this time. $teel against steel,
angel in air and man braced on stone, they hung.
%?lease don)t do this,% 6ro#a/ cried in a #oice barely human.
%+ must,% she relied. "er #oice was like a broken bell. Tears
glittered in her eyes. !ith shrieking of steel, the swords slid aart. The
angel)s blade struck the stone of the bridge, and sarks showered
down.
%"ow can you do this&% 6ro#a/ shrieked as he swung o#erhead at
her. The angel danced backward on the air >ust out of reach before
whirling forward again. The swords met o#er 6ro#a/)s head, crossed
steel. Tears blinded him. %*ou were my angel, mine'%
%+ wish you had not come to 8ath,% she said. The ice in her face
seemed to melt, and she sobbed. %!hy didn)t you stay safe on
(ominaria, safe at home&%
)%$afe&%) 6ro#a/ swung again. %*ou left us, and my family were
killed. + am the last of my line. !here is the safety there&% "e swung
blindly, to kee her out of range until he dashed the tears from his
eyes and could see again.
%?lease don)t make me do this,% she cried. %+ don)t want to hurt
you.%
%And now you betray me.% The final word ried into an
inarticulate roar, and he >umed forward at her, inches from lunging
off the bridge)s side.
%+ had no choice'% "er sword flicked out and caught him. !ith a
cry he stumbled back, blood blooming from a cut along his cheek. %+
am what + was made,% she said. %!hy did you not stay away&%
%0ecause + lo#ed you,% he answered through clenched teeth.
%Then you were twice fool,% she said bitterly and swung again.
%,nce for coming to 8ath, and once for lo#ing an angel.%
%(on)t do this'% 6ro#a/ blocked and thrust. %+f you feel anything
for me, sto.%
%(on)t'% she cried. %+ cannot sto your destiny-or mine.% $he
attacked as if to silence him, flickering steel ringing between them. "e
fell back to one knee.
$tarke was gone, of course. "e had bolted for the bridge)s end as
soon as the attack had begun. =arn watched, araly1ed, still da1ed
from 7olrath)s tortures. 0ehind =arn, Tahngarth cursed and ounded
on his back, but there was no way ast the golem, no way but the one
Gerrard found. "e droed to his belly and snaked between
Tahngarth)s and =arn)s legs to get to Mirri. "er abdomen was slashed
oenA he saw gleaming tissues inside in the second before he ressed
both hands against the wound, trying to sto the bleeding.
The fight continued between 6ro#a/ and his angel, in silence now.
They each wet as they fought, and the tears on 6ro#a/)s face mingled
with his blood. $elenia)s tears slied ignored from her face, and
shone as they droed into the deths. Mirri)s blood still leaked onto
the bridge and ran along its irregular surface. 6ro#a/ steed back
and slied, barely catching himself. As he fought for balance, the
angel)s blade flicked in again and sliced oen his arm. 6ro#a/ was
losing. +t is imossible to fight an angel: she made her sword dance as
easily as before, though his blocks grew slower and slower still.
%*ou should not ha#e come,% she said. %+ would do anything to
sa#e you, but + cannot.% $he raised her sword one last time and fro1e,
as if listening to an une/ected #oice calling her name. "alf-blinded
and e/hausted, 6ro#a/ gathered himself and thrust wildly. And it
connected, iercing her heart, or where it would ha#e been, had she
been woman and not angel.
$he did not die, or not e/actly. $he arched u into the air abo#e
6ro#a/, wings a great shadow o#er him. $he looked down for a
moment with great black eyes and whisered, %+)m sorry ,ur destinies
are comleted. !e are both doomed.% Then her stabbed body
shattered into countless glittering shards.
6ro#a/ was lost in a bli11ard of flakes of feather and blood that
shifted to white and black crystals and then back. The shards that had
been $elenia burst out into a huge shere, but whirled like a cyclone
back together, a funnel of light and dark, of light and shadow, forming
and reforming the shae of wings as they fell onto 6ro#a/. "er great
sword clattered to the bridge beside 6ro#a/. "e cried out and the
shards swet into his mouth, then gathered around him, thrusting
themsel#es into eyes, ears, and mouth. "e screamed hoarsely and
clawed at his face. "e shuddered as if struck while the crystals forced
themsel#es into his body.
And then they were gone. After the screaming and the whirlwind,
the sace seemed filled with ringing silence. The only sound was Mirri)s
anting as Gerrard ressed against the gash in her belly.
6ro#a/ stood unsteadily.
%6ro#a/, are you all right&% Gerrard said.
6ro#a/ said nothing, took a ste toward the bridge)s edge.
%6ro#a/, you had to kill her,% Gerrard said. %=arn& Tahngarth& +
can)t let go of Mirri.%
=arn still did not mo#e. !ith a grunt, Tahngarth #aulted o#er him
and leat across Mirri and Gerrard. "e caught 6ro#a/ >ust as he
steed off the bridge.
%4et me go,% 6ro#a/ croaked.
%-o,% Tahngarth said. %+ can li#e through thisA you can too.%
Their eyes met for a long moment, and then 6ro#a/ collased to
the bloody stone of the bridge. "e cuddled the angel)s sword to
himself, and wet.
B B B B B
Tahngarth brought Mirri and 6ro#a/ back to me, one o#er each
shoulder as if they were sacks of grain. + heard his #oice and ran u
the gangway. Tahngarth, hideously misshaen, was lowering Mirri into
the arms of (a##ed and Dinaida. At the change in osition, Mirri
murmured incoherently and struck out at (a##ed, who caught her
clawed hand easily as he took her weight onto his shoulders. 0lood
dried onto the deck from a stained bandage around her belly. %+nto
the infirmary'% + shouted. + touched her face as (a##ed carried her
astA she was hot to the touch.
Tahngarth lowered the other body. +t was 6ro#a/.
%!hat haened&% + said. 6ro#a/ was conscious but his skin was
as ale as the dead. "e breathed the fast shallow breaths of an
animal.
6ro#a/ said nothing. Tahngarth said only, %"e is ill. (o what you
can.%
%6ro#a/, talk to me.% + tied his head u to check his uils for
signs of concussion. "e ulled away. + bit my li, trying not to cry.
%6ro#a/, come downstairs.%
"e followed me, but + do not know why.
B B B B B
Mirri lies on her cot, swathed in bandages. $he had the
beginnings of fe#er, which + brought down with herbs from home and a
sell taught me by my old masterA now she slees, with the near-
silent breathing of her eole.
6ro#a/ sits in the infirmary, face in his hands. "e has no ma>or
in>uries from his fight with his angel, and yet there is blood on his li
and his glossy dark skin is ale and lightless. + remember his face,
when + tied it to the light u on deck. "e snaed away, but not
before + saw that his eyes had changed color, from brown to a sick
yellow-white without uil or iris. And not before + saw that his teeth
had grown ointed and ierced his li.
$omething haened when the angel died. $he entered him in
some fashion. A guardian angel is meant to be good, but with her
death she is changing him into something different, and + do not think
it is good.
Mirri is the in>ured one, and yet for some reason, + feel 6ro#a/ is
the one + am losing, to a disease + cannot name, unless + call it
damnation.
+ would do anything to heal him, but + am owerless. A healer
grows used to losses, e#en horrific and incomrehensible losses such
as this one. 0ut e#en a healer feels desair when it is one she lo#es.
6ro#a/ lo#ed the one he thought of as his guardian angel. 0ut he
did not reali1e that in the end, it was not $elenia who watched o#er
him and longed for his hainess and fought for his life.
And + failed.
"ere ends the Tale of 6ro#a/


IV
3E,(@$

A Dark Room

The old man had left his seat and was oking among the aers
stored in a large oaken cabinet set to one side of the hall. (ust rose
from the iles he disruted in little surts and clouds.
%!e)re almost done with this bit,% he said with some satisfaction.
%This corner of the library has been undisturbed in decades. -ow
erhas scholars can get some use out of it.% "e rubbed his hands on
his robe, cleansing them of dust.
The boy shifted imatiently. %$o what haened ne/t& !as Mirri
badly hurt&%
%,h, yes.% The master bent his face to read one ancient
archment on a table. "is nose seemed to smell the aer before he
flicked it aside to >oin a hea of other scras on the floor. "e turned to
look at the student, his head slowly oscillating from side to sideA like
some strange creature, the boy thought, and for a single shocking
moment he seemed to see the white-haired old man as something
horrible and alien. Then the moment assed, and he reeated his first
2uestion.
%$o what haened&%
The master sat down once again, resting his chin in his hands.
%Mirri and 6ro#a/ were both in>ured. Mirri was bleeding hea#ily from a
slash across her abdomen. Gerrard and $tarke bandaged her as best
they could, but they knew time was growing short. $o Gerrard, seeing
no alternati#e, ordered Tahngarth and =arn to return to !eatherlight
with the two in>ured comanions.%
The master shook his head sadly. %+t might ha#e turned out better
if they had left them there. ,r at any rate, if they had left one of them
...%
%!hich one&% The boy broke into the master)s thoughtful silence.
%!hich one& !hich one&% The master turned back to his listener.
%"a#en)t you been aying attention& +sn)t it ob#ious which one&%
The boy considered for a long, silent minute. +n the stillness of the
library, the rumblings from beyond the walls sounded louder.
%!ell,% he said at last, %+ suose something horrible was
haening to 6ro#a/. $o maybe if Gerrard had >ust left him, he would
ha#e died.% "e looked u, eyes round. %0ut Gerrard wouldn)t do that'
A real hero ne#er lea#es his comanions behind'%
The old man looked at him. %*ou think not&% he said at last. %!ell,
maybe being a hero is something more than heling your friends.
Maybe it has something to do with resonsibility, with seeing a bigger
icture. Maybe that was the roblem that lagued Gerrard all along, all
through those years when he ran from the 4egacy.%
The boy screwed his face u in thought. %Maybe,% he said after a
time of intense concentration. %0ut how can a hero >ust lea#e his
friends behind. + mean, 6ro#a/ and Mirri were hurt. Gerrard couldn)t
abandon them without abandoning his honor.%
%And do you think that)s what heroism is about& +s it about
honor&%
%!ell, Master, honor is at the heart of-%
%"onor can be >ust as dangerous as cowardice,% the old man
interruted harshly. %Gerrard had to learn that to cling blindly to
honor, to #alue friendshi abo#e the fate of the world, that is fatal. To
be a true hero is to recogni1e one)s own lace in the world and to rise
to the challenges that fate throws in one)s way. @ to now Gerrard had
always re>ected those challenges. 0ut in the $tronghold, in the heart of
8ath, he was once again forced to choose, and this time he chose the
right ath.%
%And what was the ath he chose&%
%!ell, listen.
%Gerrard ordered the minotaur and the golem to carry Mirri and
6ro#a/ back to the shi, while he and $tarke continued the search for
$isay and Takara. Tahngarth and =arn reluctantly agreed and began
the tortuous >ourney back to where Gerrard told them !eatherlight lay
waiting for them-not, howe#er, before the minotaur mate had
e/tracted from $tarke a detailed e/lanation of how he might re>oin
the two searchers once he)d relie#ed himself of his burden.
%The two comanions carried their friends through the twisting
tunnels of the $tronghold. At e#ery stage they checked and rechecked
the directions gi#en by Gerrard. At last Tahngarth sensed they must be
drawing near to the shi. 0ut suddenly he was halted by a call from
=arn. The sil#er golem stood in the tunnel, swaying back and forth.%
%!hy, master& !as he wounded&%
%4ittle could wound the golem. 0ut he told Tahngarth that he
somehow felt the nearby resence of the 4egacy.
7olrath had e#idently secreted it somewhere 2uite close by.
"astily the golem assed the body of 6ro#a/ to Tahngarth. )*ou must
carry them both to the shi,) he told the minotaur. And then, without
another word, he was gone.%
%Gone' !here&%
%Ah, well, Tahngarth didn)t know either. 0ut he trusted the sil#er
golem, and so, hefting the bodies of Mirri and 6ro#a/ in his mighty
arms, he stolidly resumed his >ourney toward !eatherlight.


The eatherlight's Tale
"ancis #ebaron

(ee in the heart of the shi, a glowing crystal hums softly, its
light washing o#er the wooden beams and struts of the lower decks.
The light is fragmented and distorted by a long crack that runs through
the crystal from to to bottom. At the heart of the crystal, almost as if
it were contained within that fracture, gleams a single oint of light, so
brilliant that a star might ha#e descended from the hea#ens to
illuminate the darkness. Abo#e is the clatter of feet, the thum and
grind of human acti#ity. A long scraing noise as something is dragged
across the deck and thrown downA then the feet are off again, racing
along the boards on an urgent errand as a clear female #oice shouts a
word of command. 5ootstes resound on the ladders, and there)s the
hum of roes #ibrating in the unnatural winds that swee across 8ath.
0ut here, in the sheltered center, the crystal glows serenely.
"anna stared about her in the dim light, seeking out the tiny
figure of !eatherlight)s cabin boy. %$2uee' !here)s that roe&%
%"ere. 8oe. -uthin) else you need& Good.% The goblin)s body
shi#ered as he glanced about them. %+)m goin) down below decks.%
%,h, no, you)re not.% "anna grabbed him and twitched him away
from the oen hatch. %+ need those graling hooks brought forward
from the aft ort side. Mo#e it, $2uee' ,r would you like to e/lain to
Gerrard when he gets back why you sent your time cowering below&%
The little goblin disaeared in the direction the na#igator had
indicated, not before "anna heard a muttered, %+f he comes back....%
$he ushed away the thought as 2uickly as it had come and
returned her attention to the scene around her. 3#erywhere crewmen
struggled with recalcitrant can#as or brought forward bundles of
sears and swords, working at fe#erish ace to make the shi battle
ready. "anna sighed and allowed herself a momentary glance toward
the brooding darkness beyond the shi)s decks that she knew was the
$tronghold. -o' $he would not think about it. 8ight now she had a >ob
to do. 0est concentrate on that, and that alone.
%$ti#ale' *ou and Grifel reef the ort sail' $te li#ely' !e)#e not
got all day' And while you)re at it, try to make a bit less noise.%
$he turned to gi#e another order and suddenly staggered back.
0efore her, a lithe figure aeared on the shi)s deck, forming out of
thin air. There was a sudden silence, as if e#ery crewman had been
fro1en for a slit second in actionA then, with a low cry, "anna drew
her sword and sent it whistling through the air. +t slashed through the
figure)s midriff, but met no more resistance than the air.
The woman-if she was, in fact, a womanA the figure was
sufficiently androgynous that it was difficult to tell-stared blankly at
"anna for a moment, and then soke.
%3rtai and 0arrin'%
%!hat did you say&% "anna stoed in astonishment, her sword
already drawn back for another blow.
The woman calmly steed forward. $2uee, who had reaeared
from his errand, droed a bundle of roes he was carrying and stared
at her, oen-mouthed.
%+ am 4yna of the $oltari.% The #oice was low and gentle, but with
a hint of steel behind it. %+ ha#e been seaking with 3rtai, your wi1ard.
"e suggested + seak his name to you, as well as the name of your
father. 3rtai is a #ery ... caable man. % 5rom her tone, "anna almost
felt the woman was laughing to herself. %+ ha#e informed him that the
ortal he guards may lead to many destinations,% the woman
continued. %$ome may be laces where your shi will find refuge. +
and my eole will hel 3rtai oen the ortal. 0ut you must hurry.%
There was a subtle change in the tone of her #oice, a new note of
suressed urgency.
"anna shook her head. %!e can)t lea#e yet. !e ha#e comanions
who are not yet aboard.%
4yna looked at her unblinkingly. %Time grows short. *ou must
reare to lea#e.%
$he wa#ed her hand at the staring crewmen. %@nleash the lines.%
%-ow >ust wait a minute'% "anna sun on her heel and gestured
angrily to the crew. %0elay that' -o one is going anywhere on the say-
so of someone we)#e >ust met. !e)ll stay here until Gerrard returns,
or-%
"er words cut off abrutly as 4yna stretched out a hand to
"anna)s face. The fingers were long and slender, and the touch,
though seemingly gentle, was hard as iron. The tis of the $oltari)s
fingers rested on "anna)s throat, and the thought flitted through the
na#igator)s mind that if the other were so minded, she could-would-
slay her with a touch. 4yna)s #oice, as well, was still gentle but
brooked no disagreement.
%*ou must lea#e now. There is no time.%
"anna stared into the deths of the $oltari)s fathomless eyes.
%*es,% she murmured, more to herself than to the crewmen. %-ow.%
.erking back, she turned again to the crew. %!hat are you waiting
for& 6ast off'%
%!ait'%
The shout came in 2uick answer to her snaed order. ,ne of the
crew, a tall, dark sailor named .a#an, hung o#er the side of
!eatherlight staring into the murky air. "e turned back to glance at
"anna, then wa#ed his hand to someone beyond her sight, someone
who was now climbing onto the deck, sweat driing from his flanks.
%Tahngarth'% "anna cried gladly. Then, seeing him in the light of a
flickering shi)s lantern that swung from a beam, she gased and
reeated softly, %Tahngarth'%
The minotaur)s features seemed strangely changed. "is chest and
shoulders were grown larger, muscles bulging beneath the skin as if
swollen by some illness. +nstead of roudly flaring from either side of
his head, his horns were twisted and in#erted. 0ut to "anna the most
shocking change lay in the twisting and bulking of the great minotaur)s
bone structure. +t was as if an in#isible hand had reached inside of
him, distorting his anatomy in a arody of what he had been.
%Tahngarth,% the na#igator whisered. %!hat ha#e they done to you&%
+n each of his great arms the minotaur clased a lim body. ,ne,
"anna saw, was Mirri. "er tail hung limly and she bled from a great
slash across the abdomen. The other-lamlight shone on the features
of 6ro#a/, and the na#igator shuddered at the change she saw. "is
face was allid, skin stretched tightly across the bones. "is eyes were
wide oen, staring, red-rimmed, the uils a sickly yellow. 0lood
trickled from one side of his mouth, and "anna could see the white
tis of his teeth rotruding from his lis.
"anna wrenched her eyes from the ghastly trio and yelled to the
crew for assistance. .a#an, steing swiftly to Tahngarth)s side,
relie#ed him of Mirri, while another sailor gathered u 6ro#a/.
The minotaur leaned against the rail, his breath coming in ragged
gass. $weat dried from his fur and ooled on the deckboards.
"anna aroached him and laid a trembling hand on his arm. $he
could feel the swollen muscles tense and tremble beneath the skin.
The minotaur seemed to be fighting some inner conflict, as if he were
forcing himself to stand still and rest before mo#ing on to some larger
challenge. "e raised his head and stared at the na#igatorA she
shuddered. +t was as if someone had wied a dam songe across a
ainting, blurring some features and obliterating others.
%(id you find $isay&% she asked.
Tahngarth shook his head. %+ don)t know. They were still
searching for her when + left. Gerrard ordered =arn and + to carry
these two back to the shi, but the golem left meA he claims to ha#e
found some clue to the whereabouts of the 4egacy. !e fought $elenia,
and 6ro#a/ killed her, but Mirri was hurt.%
%Take them below,% "anna instructed, turning to the crew who
had clustered around to hear the minotaur)s words. %And somebody
get ,rim to tend their wounds. *ou, also.% $he turned back to
Tahngarth, but the minotaur was already on the side of the shi,
oised to lea back to the $tronghold)s balcony.
%+)m going back to Gerrard,% he called o#er his shoulder.
%!ait'% "anna shouted. %!e ha#e to lea#e now' Tell Gerrard to
meet us at the Gardens.%
%The Gardens,% he flung back o#er his shoulder. %!here are
they&%
%$tarke ga#e directions to Gerrard before they set out. "e can
guide you. Tell Gerrard to get there as fast as he can.%
Tahngarth nodded, leat, and was gone. "anna turned back to
4yna, who, during the e/change with the minotaur had stood silent,
unnoticed in the shadows.
%!ell& $atisfied&%
+f 4yna noticed the hostility in the slender woman)s #oice, she
ga#e no indication. $he bowed her head in acknowledgment and said
calmly, %7ery good. + shall return to 3rtai. !ho knows& "e may need
my assistance in oening the ?ortal, desite his tremendous nati#e
ability.% "anna thought she detected a half-smile on the $oltari)s face.
Then, with the same ease with which she had boarded the shi, the
woman faded and was gone. "anna ran to the side and stared into the
thick, fetid air, but she could see nothing. $he shaded her eyes. $urely
that was something mo#ing in the dark assage that emtied from the
balcony& -o' *es' *es'
A cry came from the $tronghold. "anna grased a coiled length of
roe and hurled it from the shi. A moment later she and two sailors
were hauling on it with all their force. $lowly, the end came u,
bearing with it the bulky form of =arn. ,ne massi#e four-fingered hand
gried the roe. The other clased a de#ice the na#igator had ne#er
seen: a seemingly senseless twist of metal.
%!hat is it,% she asked, as soon as the golem was safely o#er the
side.
=arn could not recisely shrug, but the sil#er golem looked as
though he would ha#e, had he been able. %The $kyshaer. + retrie#ed
it, along with other ieces of the 4egacy, from the $li#er Cueen.%
%The $li#er Cueen '%
%*es. $he was the guardian of the 4egacy, set to the task by
7olrath himself. And now + ha#e reco#ered it.%
?roudly the golem gestured to his chest. %+t lies within here.% "e
turned back to the $kyshaer and stared at it thoughtfully. %0ut this
belongs to this shi. +t should make
!eatherlight go faster, in fact. + wonder ...%
%Time for wondering later.% "anna soke more brus2uely than she
had intended.
%!e need to go. !e)re to meet Gerrard and the Gardens, and we
ha#en)t much time.%
$he turned to go, adding o#er her shoulder, %Take that thing
down to the engine room. +f it hels the shi go faster, we may well
need it soon enough.%
B B B B B
The light in the heart of the crystal sarkles and flames, as if in
sudden anger. Around it there is a sustained groaning and creaking, as
if some giant beast were stirring from a long winter)s slee. Then,
steadily, a gentle hum fills the air. The shi backs away from the side
of the great fortress, graceful as a dancer, i#ots, and in silence
streaks into the darkness. 5rom abo#e a great wa#e of air surges down
to fill the #oid where a moment ago the shi stood oised, like some
giant insect by the side of its hi#e. There is a resounding boom that
echoes and reechoes in the giant chamber that encloses the fortress.
"ere and there in the looming blackness of the $tronghold, lights
gleam and glitter before they slowly dim and disaear. And now the
only noise that fills the silence is the slow, e#erlasting cry of the
tortured earth. *et far away, almost out of sight of someone standing
where the shi had stood a moment before, an obser#er might ha#e
seen a faint ri#er of light, as if an army carrying torches was surging
u to the $tronghold)s entrance. And then, through the musky air,
deadened by the immense distance, comes the roar of faraway battle.
0ut !eatherlight hears none of these things.
B B B B B
=arn stared from the skyshaer to the comle/ of bums and
deressions on one side of !eatherlight)s engine room. "e remained
in that osition for so long that the crewman who stood near him
finally cleared his throat. %=arn&%
=arn looked u slowly, and, as always, the crewman e/erienced
a slight sinking sensation in the it of his stomach, as those gra#e
eyes refocused and contemlated him.
The golem shook his massi#e head. %+ cannot understand it. This
seems to belong here, but there is no roer lace for it.% "is fingers,
delicate in their gestures, robed the engine assembly, while his other
hand twisted the $kyshaer as if fitting it into an in#isible ort. %+t
must fit, Tomalan. 0ut where&%
Tomalan nodded symathetically. %*es. 0ut erhas it)s meant for
a different kind of shi&%
=arn looked at him unblinkingly. %-o. +t is art of the 4egacy. And
+ know it belongs with this shi, >ust as the 4egacy belongs with
Gerrard.% "e turned back to the engine and mo#ed methodically along
it, nearing the comle/ that housed the glowing Thran crystal that was
at the heart of the shi. Then, suddenly, his hands seemed to sli, and
he stumbled, almost falling. Tomalan fell back against the oosite
wall as the shi ga#e a start and a drunken lurch. 5rom the deck
abo#e came a general shout, torn from a do1en throats.
%Attack'%
Tomalan reco#ered his feet and rushed across the swaying deck
to =arn. The golem had risen and without aarent haste was
continuing the search the engine. Then came an e#en more #iolent
start, as if the shi were trying to tear itself aart. Tomalan once again
lost his footing and fell against the golem. "is hands, clawing for
suort, grased the $kyshaer.
There was a click and a loud hum. A anel slid back, re#ealing a
hidden recess. =arn looked at the fallen crewman.
%6ongratulations, Mr. Tomalan,% he obser#ed 2uietly. %+ belie#e
you)#e >ust sol#ed the u11le.% "e glanced about the engine room and
turned back to his assistant. %*ou)d better get abo#e decks. *ou)re
more needed there.%
Tomalan needed no second order. !ith a lea he was at the
ladder leading uward. +n a second more his head thrust abo#e the
deck le#el, and he emerged into a scene of steel and fire.
The deck itched beneath him, and he almost lost his footing
again. At the row, "anna shouted orders, while crewmen rushed too
and fro. $ome few lay fallen on the deckA one, whom Tomalan
recogni1ed as a young riggings rat, was lying on his face near the
mast, a ool of blood around his head.
A dark shadow, a deeer blackness sread across the deck like
ink. Tomalan glanced u and saw a sight he)d earlier tried to ut out of
his mind: the sleek, hulking shae of Gre#en il-7ec)s shi.
?redator.
There was a flash and a roar from the dark shi)s side. 5rom its
guns srang long snaking lines tied with steel bolts. Two of them
hammered into !eatherlight)s deck, while one buried itself in the rail,
binding the two shis together.
Almost simultaneously, two sailors lifted cutlasses and slashed at
the haroon lines on the deck. The roes arted. Then ?redator ulled
uward, and the remaining line went taut. !eatherlight >erked, and its
timbers seemed to cry out to Tomalan. Another #iolent >erk from
?redator hurled most of the smaller shi)s crew headlong. 5rom dee
within the bowels of !eatherlight came a sudden cry, as of a great
beast in torment. Another >erk of the line. Tomalan could almost hear
a faint echo of the manic laughter he)d heard in those first horrible
hours when they entered 8ath.
The laughter of Gre#en il-7ec.
Tomalan clenched his fists. That laughter, louder now, seemed to
free1e his heart, to shred it, cut through it to the core of his being with
a surgical indifference. +n a fro1en instant, he saw e#erything about
him with absolute clarity. "anna stood before him, her face streaming
with tears of helless rage, clinging to the shi she lo#ed. And in that
instant, Tomalan knew that he too lo#ed the shi, that he could not let
it die. !ith a cry, he drew his own cutlass and leat forward to the rail.
"e raised the gleaming blade abo#e him to cut the line. (imly he
heard another roar from abo#e and felt a tremendous blow. "e stared
stuidly from a moment at the steel haroon sticking through his
chest. And in the instant before his heart burst and darkness claimed
him fore#er, he brought his blade down in a whistling stroke that
se#ered the haroon line.
"anna shrieked as Tomalan was >erked from the shi)s deck by
the line still imlanted in his body. At the same moment, she saw that
?redator)s cannons had lanted other roes in the smaller shi. $he
could see moggs on board Gre#en)s shi frantically cranking winches,
trying to draw !eatherlight closer, to ready it for the killing blow.
6lutching the rail, she yelled a frantic order to the steersman. +n
resonse, !eatherlight suddenly shifted and turned, ulling ?redator
behind it.
All right, thought the na#igator grimly to herself. +f he wants to
lay this game, that)s >ust what we)ll do. $he shouted further
commands, as !eatherlight dodged and wo#e. 0ehind her she could
hear goblin screams from ?redator as it smashed into the $tronghold)s
foundations. 6annon roared again, and "anna reali1ed that the larger
shi had used its fireower to destroy a art of the $tronghold directly
in front of it. $he set her >aw, and stared into the dark air before her.
B B B B B
The crystaline hum shifts uward an octa#e, two, three, then
intensifies to an agoni1ed shriek. The boards are trembling, and
throughout the shi lights dim and flicker in mourning for a lost soul.
Abo#e the crying crystal can be heard the dee-throated roar of its foe
as it falls back, leas forward, ounces, and is dragged behind with the
crack of a whi. The crystal murmurs in triumh, and now it seems to
feel something else, something resting near it, not yet acti#e but
reared to aid it, should need arise. The humming is more confident
nowA the shi laughs at its oonent as it twists and tears through the
air.
5ar away the armies of the 7ec, =or, and (al are assaulting the
mighty fortress. The owers that hold 8ath in sway slowly gi#e way,
stumbling back, staining the stone halls and stairways with their blood.
And before the el#en armies, 3ladamri gi#es a cry of triumh as he
sees #ictory in his gras.
B B B B B
"anna saw the flash of fire abo#e and behind her. 5or a moment
she waited, cowering, for the blow from ?redator)s cannons. Then, in
growing astonishment, she reali1ed that the flames were on the other
shi itself. Tendrils of orange ran u and down ?redator)s rigging. A
goblin caught in the inferno bla1ed suddenly and fell shrieking into the
abyss below. 4ooking at the scene, now lit with the ghastly light of
bla1ing shi and burning moggs, "anna thought she could see the dark
form of Gre#en gesturing furiously, shouting orders to those of his
crew still standing. !eatherlight #eered again, dragging the now-
cati#e ?redator behind it. Then, suddenly, "anna felt her shi lea
forward, as if released from a great burden.
$he turned again. Gre#en)s goblins had slashed through the lines
that bound the two #essels together. The shi was free.
3#en now ?redator was falling behind. "anna almost laughed
aloud.
An odd thuming sound came through the air, and she saw two
ornithoters-clumsy flying machines-swoo u from Gre#en)s decks.
Moggs clung deserately to the fliers) delicate structure. 3ach had a
bundle of round ob>ects in his hand.
Goblin bombs. "anna)s heart beat hard and fast in her chest.
Gerrard had told her what these de#ices could do. They could shatter
!eatherlight once and for all. The battle was far from o#er.
"anna clawed her way along the deck and lunged onto the
bridge. "ere, too, was chaos: $armiane the steersman fought to
control the #essel, other crewmen rushed about, shouting
contradictory ad#ice and instructions to him, while almost unnoticed,
the green form of $2uee shi#ered con#ulsi#ely in a corner.
"anna grabbed $armiane)s shoulder and dug her nails into his
flesh. "e winced, but ket his eyes on the ath of the shi.
%8ise,% she snaed in an urgent whiser. %6limb faster than
you)#e e#er climbed in your life. 0ecause if those ornithoters get too
close, this will be all the life you)ll e#er get.%
There was a muffled s2ueal from $2uee, and the other crewmen
grew silent, drawing together behind $armiane and the na#igator.
"anna reached to one side of the great wheel and flied oen a
anel, re#ealing a small dial and a bewildering #ariety of switches and
le#ers.
$armiane glanced at the array. %!hat)s that&% he grunted. %-e#er
seen that before.%
%+t)s something new,% "anna returned briefly. %Turn and face the
ornithoters.%
%!hat'% $armiane almost lost control of the wheel, and the shi
lurched drunkenly to ort. %Are you insane&% he shouted harshly.
"anna drew herself u. %That is an order, Mister' (on)t argue with
me->ust do it' -ow'%
$armiane glared at her for a moment. Then he shrugged. %,h,
well. +t)s been fun. $tand by to come about'%
!eatherlight turned, wind whistling through her rigging. $2uee,
flung from his hiding lace, went rolling across the bridge and bounced
into the wall. "anna aid no attention. "er eyes were on the
ornithoters, as she delicately turned the wheel this way and that. A
small beam of light shot out from the center of the shi)s wheel and
focused on the nearest ornithoter.
%$armiane, try to hold us steady for a minute.% "er fingers were
busy with the other controls. Then she flied a le#er, and suddenly,
without a sound, the light beam intensified into a blinding flash. The
lights throughout the cabin dimmed simultaneously, and the crew cried
out as one man. $ome turned their heads away, while others clutched
their eyes, tears silling between their fingers. "anna alone seemed
unaffected by the beam, though $2uee, eeing cautiously out, also
seemed not to mind its brightness.
The ornithoter on which the light was focused wobbled #iolently,
silling its goblin ilot. "e fell with a scream, and a second later the
bombs he)d been carrying blew u as his body struck an outcroing
of the $tronghold. The e/losion shook !eatherlight, and $armiane
almost lost control of the wheel. A few seconds later, there was a
second, greater e/losion, as the emty ornithoter loughed s2uarely
into the side of !eatherlight..
"anna felt her feet go out from under her. "er head struck
something hard, and awareness ran away from her, like water driing
from a stone.
$he was aslee in her old bed at home. "er father was calling her
name. -o, no, it was her mother, long dead and nearly forgotten.
%"anna, "anna' Time to get u' 6ome and ha#e your breakfast, child'%
%"anna'%
%All right, mother. +)m coming.% "anna sat u, and immediately
sank back down into the arms of ,rim. $2uee crouched before her, his
wrinkled goblin skin ne/t to hers. $he could feel its dry, slightly scaly
te/ture rubbing her arm, as he furti#ely stroked her. $he smiled, and
felt a wa#e of une/ected tenderness toward the little goblin. Then a
wa#e of nausea swet o#er her, and she turned to one side, retching
and choking.
%All right, "anna. That was a bad knock.% ,rim)s fingers were
busy ulling, oking, e/loring "anna)s head. $he ressed carefully in
se#eral laces, and the shar ain and nausea receded, lea#ing only a
dull, throbbing headache. "anna looked u at her friend, then slowly,
carefully, rose to a fully sitting osition.
%!hat)s haening& !here)s the other ornithoter&%
$armiane, still at the wheel, glanced at her and smiled broadly.
"is eyes still seemed slightly gla1ed, from the effects of the light beam
that had destroyed the one flier. %+t)s still there, but a good ways back.
+ think we can outrun it, if we need to. 0ut right now, it)s hanging
back. ?robably wondering what we did to its friend.% "e aused a
moment, and cleared his throat. %0y the bye, what did you do&%
"anna shrugged off ,rim)s rotesting arm and got to her feet.
%+t)s a new weaon. + concocted it by >ury- rigging the lighting system.
+)#e e/erimented with it, but + ne#er had to use it against anything
before.% $he brushed a hand against her aching, bruised forhead,
feeling the lace where she)d struck against the wheel casing. %As far
as + can tell, it uses the same mana source that owers the lights on
the shi. +t >ust takes a tiny beam of light, focuses it, and makes it
into a giant beam of light. The goblin on that ornithoter robably
ne#er knew what hit him. +t must ha#e been like staring into a
thousand suns at once.% $armiane glanced behind him. %*ou want to
use it against that fellow back there&% "e gestured toward the distant
ornithoter.
"anna shook her head wearily. %-o. ,ne time)s all it)s good for, at
least for a while. +t seems to need to recharge after e#ery use.% $he
looked ahead. %$teady on, Mr. $armiane. $teady on.%
B B B B B
The tiny crystal, calmer now, sends out its light to illuminate the
recess where the golem, whose sil#er skin shines dully in its light, has
laced the $kyshaer. The light caresses the new de#ice, stroking it,
kissing it, welcoming it on board. And yet at the heart of the tiny
gleam)s warmth, there is a hint of adamant, one that will admit no
challenge. The golem stes back in satisfaction, staring at his work.
%*es,% he whisers to himself. %-ow it is comlete.%
%0y the way,% asked "anna, as ,rim turned to lea#e, %how are
Mirri and 6ro#a/&%
,rim stoed, her teeth worrying thoughtfully at her lower li.
$he hesitated before seaking, and "anna turned to look her full in the
face.
%Mirri is reco#ering. The wound was serious but not life-
threatening. $he will be fine, gi#en time and rest. 6ro#a/...%
%!hat about 6ro#a/&% "anna asked 2uickly.
,rim shook her head, as if u11led. %6ro#a/ has undergone
certain changes. + do not understand them. "e was not wounded, yet
he slees as if he were. And he seems a soul in torment. "e has called
out se#eral times in his slee to $elenia. And whene#er he calls her
name, his face burns as if with fe#er.% $he sighed. %+ must go now.
,thers need my hel as well.%
$he assed out of the bridge, and "anna returned her attention to
the murky way before them. Another crewman entered the bridge and
steed to her side.
%M)am, with resect, =arn the golem says he)s got the $kyshaer
in lace. "e)s not sure what it)ll do, but he says if you want to try it,
he)ll figure out how to get it started.%
"anna hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. %-o. 4et)s
wait. !e don)t know e/actly what hel it will gi#e us. ?erhas it)s
better to wait until we)#e reco#ered Gerrard and the others. !e may
need it on our way to the ?ortal.%
%$eaking of Gerrard,% $armiane broke in, %there)s the Gardens
ahead, if +)m not mistaken.%
0eside the shi as it rose ast the $tronghold, a sace suddenly
oened, as the stee walls of 7olrath)s fortress fell away. 0elow them,
"anna could see a series of terraces, on which trees and shrubs
huddled together, seeming to shelter from the raging skies. $he
caught a glimse of ools and streams of water flowing through the
heart of the gardenA aths and a#enues wound through the greenery,
looking incongruously domestic amid so much chaos.
!eatherlight swet lower, its keel brushing the tos of the tallest
trees. "anna stared into the shadows, straining her eyes for a glimse
of Gerrard. $he caught a flurry of mo#ement and bent farther o#er the
rail, ignoring the restraining hands of the crew.
%There'% she cried, ointing.
%4ook out'% The cry came at the same moment from $armiane, as
he wrenched the shi hard to ort. The ursuing ornithoter had finally
caught u to them and swet ast in a flare of beating wings. "anna
caught sight of the mogg)s staring face, as he fought to control his
machine. The ornithoter flashed into the distance, then swung
around, readying itself for another ass.
$armiane was ha#ing a hard time steering his own #essel. (esite
his best efforts, !eatherlight bucked like a frightened horse. "anna
grabbed it, her slender hands o#er his larger ones, struggling to
control the shi. +n the stronger light o#er the gardens, she could see
the damage the first ornithoter)s collision had done to her shi: the
sails were full of holes, and arts of the aft hull aeared cracked and
crumled. The first midsar was entirely gone and the remaining sars
on both sails were broken, hanging loose by a slinter. As $armiane
lowered the shi toward the garden, it collided with trees, and "anna
shuddered to hear sounds of further tearing along the hull.
They were close enough now that the rest of the crew could see
the figures racing toward them. A woman whose red hair streamed
behind her heled $tarke, who seemed to stumble as if blind. 0ehind
was Gerrard, arm around a dark woman, staggering, da1ed, but still
ali#e: $isay'
0ut Tahngarth& !here was the minotaur& $urely he had found his
way back to Gerrard. "anna oened her mouth to shout a 2uestion to
the bearded young man running toward the shiA then, suddenly, she
saw the first mate of !eatherlight.
"e was climbing a tree, hand o#er hand, his beaded mane
streaming behind him in the wind. @ and u he went, seemingly
effortless. "e grased a high branch and swung his massi#e body onto
it. The branch swayed and bent, but Tahngarth hesitated not a
moment. "e was at the highest oint of the tree now, almost le#el
with the deck of !eatherlight but some fifty feet away from it.
"anna heard the ominous beat of the ornithoter)s wings. +n a
flash, she saw what the minotaur intended. As the goblin steered the
ornithoter toward the shi, Tahngarth >umed, an imossible lea for
a man and a mighty one e#en for a minotaur. "e landed full on the
machine, and the ornithoter swayed and itched from the une/ected
weight. The goblin ilot sun around, looking for the source of the
roblem. The tiny flier >erked uward and suddenly the goblin was no
longer on board. Tahngarth alone held on, ulling himself into the
control seat.
"anna stared in ama1ement. The mogg had #anished comletely.
"ad he fallen, or, no' $he stared in fascinated horror.
A rotruding branch from a dead tree had lucked the mogg from
his seat, inning him neatly. "is body writhed on the end of the oint,
arms and legs flailing in his death agonies. $he heard his thin, dying
s2ueal, and then the body went lim.
Tahngarth was ob#iously ha#ing a great deal of trouble controlling
the tiny ornithoter. "e was unfamiliar with the controls, and the flier
was unfamiliar with his weight. +t bobbed and wo#e, diing and
rising. The minotaur was trying to twist the course of the flier about to
bring it down near Gerrard. The ornithoter, though, was fighting back
as if it were a li#ing thing. +t swet closer to !eatherlight, assing
abo#e it in a rush of wings. "anna shut her eyes. $he knew that any
moment she would hear a cry as Tahngarth was hurled from his
recarious erch into the trees. There would come a long, drawn-out
scream, followed by the horrid crunch of a hea#y body striking the
unresonsi#e earth.
$omething thudded on the deck beside her, and her eyes >erked
oen. Tahngarth stood there, anting but calmly watching as the now
riderless ornithoter sun in an e#er-tightening siral downward
toward the far edge of the Garden. A flash of yellow and orange flame
marked where it struck, igniting the #egetation around it.
Tahngarth turned and looked at "anna. %Time to go home,% he
said.
B B B B B
The Thran crystal at the heart of !eatherlight hummed softly.

"ere ends the Tale of !eatherlight


A Dark Room
The boy was frowning, one foot scuffing at the aers heaed
before him. "e made no retense of trying to sort through them.
%Master, so many things are unclear. !hat haened to 7olrath&
(id Gerrard kill him& And what about 6ro#a/- what was haening to
him& !as $tarke blind& And did Mirri get better&%
%,h, is that all you want to know&%
%!ell, no, not e/actly.% The boy shuffled his feet again. %+ guess +
want to know if Gerrard is really a hero.%
%!ell, the answer)s comlicated. 0ut it)s bound u with what
haened ne/t.
%Many things had befallen Gerrard and $tarke since Tahngarth
and =arn left them, bearing the bodies of Mirri and 6ro#a/. 5ollowing
$tarke)s ad#ice, the two sought a assage to the (ream "alls through
a twisted garden. 0ut as they tra#ersed its dark aths, they found
shelter beneath a tree and Gerrard, looking at it closely, made a
startling disco#ery: it was a (ominarian tree, ried from 4lanowar.
Gerrard u11led o#er what a tree from (ominaria might be doing on
this lane. The conclusion he drew was not a comforting one.
%!hat was that, Master&%
%+t was that 8ath was actually absorbing arts of (ominaria,
slowly insinuating itself into Gerrard)s home lane. -ow the ma they
had found earlier made more sense, and Gerrard began dimly to
understand the shae of 7olrath)s ultimate lan.%
The old man oened a drawer in a large cabinet and ran an
e/erienced eye o#er the contents. Then he took the aer he)d been
studying and inserted it into the drawer. 6losing it and wiing his
forehead with a wisy handkerchief that he drew from the folds of his
robe, he resumed. %3#en as Gerrard made this disco#ery, he and
$tarke were attacked by sikes-sluglike creatures that fell from the
trees to rey on them. The two retreated, finally finding their way back
into the ma1e of corridors that led to the (ream "alls.
%At last they found the lace they were seeking. 0ut oddly, the
tower that $tarke claimed held the (ream "alls had no entrance. The
only aarent way of egress was through the balconies that towered
high o#erhead. Gerrard, his sword bound at his side, slowly began to
climb.
%After struggling against the e#er-changing flowstone, he reached
the to. ?ausing only to catch his breath, he entered and was blinded
by an array of #isions.
%All his early life came back to him. Gerrard saw he and 7uel
sorting together as boys. "e saw 7uel)s rite of assage and his own
struggle to sa#e his blood brother)s life. "e saw 7uel)s hatred of him
growing, and the sidar)s son)s theft of the 4egacy. The death of his
stefather at his own son)s hands rose u before Gerrard. ,nce again
he was at Multani)s ca#es with Mirri and 8ofellos. Then he saw 7uel,
now surrounded by dark shaes, horned monstrosities that slowly
di#ide and recombine into one terrifying creature, bestowing owers
uon 7uel that transformed and corruted the young man. All this
Gerrard beheld with horror, and with sadness for the fate of his former
friend and blood brother.%
+lcaster sat silent at his master)s feet as the old man, a hand on
the boy)s head, soke in a kind of chant, the sound of his #oice rising
and falling against the walls of the room.
%Gerrard also saw #isions of the future-the future as 7olrath
wanted it: armies sweeing across (ominaria, Gerrard bound and
cringing at the e#incar)s feet. Then, to Gerrard)s ama1ement, these
images began to seak to him in 7olrath)s own #oice. The shae of the
ruler of 8ath aeared before Gerrard, standing, mocking him.
%$tarke aeared suddenly behind 7olrath and lunged a dagger
into the e#incar)s back. 0ut it had no effect whatsoe#erA 7olrath
lucked it forth, casually swatting $tarke aside as his flesh closed o#er
the wound.
% )The warclan was my future from the moment + first oened my
eyes,) declared 7olrath. )*ou took it all away when you sa#ed me
during my rite of assage. + ne#er co#eted your 4egacy, e#en though
your destiny became my father)s rimary assion in life. "is ser#ice to
your 4egacy cost me a family, and you cost me a clan.)
%Gerrard could stand no more. "e hurled himself forward at
7olrath, his sword raised. The image retreated before him, and now
two other figures came at him: a red-haired woman, sword raised, and
$isay.%
%0ut was it $isay, Master& ,r was it >ust another shaeshifter&%
%-o, it was $isay, right enough, but now she was under 7olrath)s
control. Gerrard fought deserately against she and Takara-for the
red-haired woman was $tarke)s daughter-while trying to a#oid hurting
them. $tarke cried out and lifted his arms to Takara, but she,
unreali1ing, slashed him across the face, blinding him.
%At last, after se#eral moments of bitter conflict, Gerrard
succeeded in disarming Takara and knocking out $isay. 6hasing after
7olrath, who fled the chamber, he cornered the e#incar >ust as
Tahngarth, roaring in rage, burst into the room. Together the two
friends slashed at 7olrath, and Gerrard dro#e home the killing blow.%
%$o 7olrath was dead.% The boy breathed a final sigh of relief that
seemed to go through his entire body.
The librarian looked at him aologetically. %!ell, no. .ust as the
body fell to the floor, it shaeshifted into one of 7olrath)s e/eriments.
The e#incar had escaed Gerrard once again. +n a rage Gerrard hacked
at the corse. )$hould + ha#e let you die back then, 7uel&) he shouted.
)!ould that ha#e satisfied you&) 0ut the minotaur ulled him away
from the shaeshifter)s body and brought him back to reason.%
The boy shook his head in resignation. %!ell, but at least they had
$isay.%
%*es,% agreed the librarian. %They had $isay and Takara, and with
them they began the long >ourney to the Gardens where, they hoed,
"anna and !eatherlight awaited them.%
The boy nodded. %+ see. 0ut you still ha#en)t answered my
2uestion, Master.%
%0less me, boy, +)#e answered more 2uestions tonight than + ha#e
in a decade. !hat 2uestion&%
%+f Gerrard is a hero.%
%Ah. A good 2uestion. +)m glad you)#e been listening, +lcaster.
There may be hoe for you yet.%
%$o if there)s hoe for me, master, will you answer my 2uestion
about Gerrard&%
The old man looked at him thoughtfully. %+ don)t know if + can
answer you, +lcaster. 0eing a hero, it seems to me, is not something
you areA it is something you become. Gerrard was not born a hero-but
he might become one if he assed the challenges that fate ut in his
way.%
+lcaster wrinkled his brow. %(o you mean, Master, that a hero
needs challenges&%
%+ suose so.%
%Then wasn)t 7olrath really doing Gerrard a fa#or& (idn)t Gerrard
need the e/erience of fighting 7olrath to become a hero&%
The master looked at the boy for a moment, a smile half-formed
on his lis. %*es,% he said. %*es, that)s it. A hero needs enemies, needs
monsters to slay, foes to outwit, mountains to climb.%
%,r,% said +lcaster, %in this case, to enter.%
The old man grunted. %*es. *es indeed. 0ut the challenge is not
enoughA the hero must gi#e u something.%
%!hat do you mean&%
The master sat down on a bo/ and ut his chin in his hand. The
boy mo#ed closer, as the dim candlelight dro#e back the shadows
around them. 5ar abo#e, in the windows, the flashing light seemed to
be slowing, and there were the first hints of true light, beneath which
might be glimsed roiling clouds laced with rain. 0ut neither figure
aid any attention.
%+ must tell you, +lcaster, that + am not entirely sure of this
roosition myself. 0ut it seems to me that a true hero is made not
merely by the accretion of heroic deeds but by the shedding of art of
his old self. Think of a snake in the sring, when the season turns and
the new year is blossoming.%
The boy nodded. %+t sheds its skin.%
%3/actly. And it emerges, clad in shining new armor, reborn into a
new year. +t has left behind something of itself, something it has
grown beyond. -ow, in my oinion, a hero goes through a similar
rocess. "e lea#es behind something of himself at each stage of his
growth. Gerrard had already done this. "e)d lost his arents, his
teacher Multani, his friend 8ofellos, and his home in 0enalia.%
%+ think + see.% The boy taed his fingers together in imitation of
his tutor. %0ut what else was there to lea#e behind&%
%$omething that casuli1ed his old life. $omething that summed
u all that he had been u to that oint. $omething that reresented a
choice he had to make, a fork in the road, so to seak.%
+lcaster thought again, then shook his head. %+)m sorry, Master,
but + still don)t see-%
%,f course you don)t'% $omething of the acerbity of his former
tone had returned to the librarian)s #oice. %*ou ha#e to be still and
listen.%
%8emember that 6ro#a/ and Mirri had been taken below when
Tahngarth brought them aboard the shi& !ell....%

!irri's Tale
#i$ Holliday

The darkness was mo#ing.
Mirri stared at the door that led from her cabin out into the crew
2uarters. (esite her ain-dulled senses, she was intensely aware of
the itching and yawing of !eatherlight beneath her, of the ras of
her breath in her throat, of the muted sounds of shouts abo#e. +t
wasn)t right. "er friends needed her. They needed her sword at their
sides. !as it her imagination, or could she hear the sounds of battle&
$he had tried to tell them she was well enough to fight, but they
hadn)t listened. 8est, $isay had said. Get well, Gerrard had said. !e
will need you well, for what is to come. And so they had ut her here,
in the darkness, like an 3lder waiting to die.
And now this.
The shadows, mo#ing. "er hands curled refle/i#ely, body tensed,
sending little shockwa#es of ain through her from the wound.
?robably one of the others, come to see how she was. $isay,
erhas. ,r Gerrard. $he brightened at the thought, but she couldn)t
rela/. $omething smelled wrong.
The scent was tantali1ingly familiar, yet she couldn)t lace it.
3nemy, she thought. That was stuid. The ain wouldn)t let her think
roerly. Animals smelled. ?eole smelled. *ou could say someone
smelled like an enemy you already knew. 0ut animosity and e#il had
no stink of their own.
And yet whoe#er was watching her smelled like an enemy.
+f she were wrong, best to find out now, and ha#e one less thing
to disturb her rest. +f she were right... well, enemies were to be
disatched or neutrali1ed, and in>ured or not she would do so.
%$how yourself,% she called.
The darkness mo#ed. A shadow detached itself from the deeer
darkness behind it.
%+t)s >ust me-6ro#a/,% said a #oice. +t sounded like him: weary
erhas, but certainly him. *et there was that smell ... %+ was worried
about you. The way $elenia cut you-%
%They)re fighting u to,% Mirri said. %*ou should be with them.%
+t was intolerable. $he should be with them. $tanding with
Gerrard. $tanding at Gerrard)s back, in the only lace where her life
made sense.
6ro#a/ shook his head. %There)s no fighting, Mirri. *ou)re
imagining things. There)s a lull-%
%+ can hear them,% Mirri said.
6ro#a/ mo#ed forward. "e was swathed from head to foot in a
silken robe of midnight blue, comletely hiding his usual foish
clothes. Mirri struggled to sit u.
%(on)t,% he said. %8eally, there)s nothing wrong- nothing you can
do to hel.% "e was by her bed now, looking down at her. 5or a
moment his eyes looked golden in the candlelight, like a wolf)s in the
darkness.
$he stared at him. The stench, the enemy stench, came off him
like sweat. 6oery, it was, like blood.
%$tand back from me,% she said. $he felt the claws in the tis of
her fingers e/tend, felt e#ery muscle tense and her fur bristle.
%Mirri, what)s the matter&% "is #oice was thick, his words slurred.
"is eyes. $he couldn)t sto herself from staring into his eyes. Golden
eyes ...
... and suddenly she saw Gerrard, his bright sword flashing as he
stood on the foredeck of !eatherlight, though whether it was dream
or memory or #ision she could not ha#e said. "is face and arms were
laced with blood-his or his enemies, Mirri could not tell. Three of
7olrath)s ser#ants circled him, warily, keeing out of range of his
blade. 6ircled like wol#es, but he would tire, and they would close on
him. They would bring him down like the dogs they were. There would
be no hel from the others: they had their own battles to fight, and
besides, they did not... did not care for him as she did. They were not
so loyal.
%"e needs me,% she murmured and began to rise.
6ro#a/)s hand clamed o#er her wrist. %"e does not. There is no
battle, and it is his wish that you rest.%
Mirri stared at 6ro#a/. $omething wrong with that statement, she
thought. Gerrard was-Gerrard was ... it was too comlicated. $urely if
he hadn)t actually said she should rest, he would if only he thought of
it.
0ut he had gone. *es, she thought, and started to sit u. "e
wasn)t on !eatherlight. "adn)t been. !hat was 6ro#a/ doing to her&
$he saw her cutlass on the shelf by her cot. $he started to reach for it,
but 6ro#a/ was somehow in the way. $he stared at him for a moment.
At those eyes, dark as night. $he could not break away.
"is hand caressed her arm. $he sank back against the bed. +t was
easier. $he felt a warm lassitude cree through her. %$hould rest,% she
said. +t was what he wanted. !hat Gerrard wanted.
%*es,% 6ro#a/ whisered. %Good Mirri. Gerrard knows you would
go to him if you could.% "e stroked her face with the back of his hand.
+t oened old scratches. They stung, but it was nothing. $he was doing
what Gerrard wanted.
$he saw him again, then. $aw him thrust and arry and feint and
slice. $aw his enemies watching him ...
There had been another time when she had watched him so. The
yellow moon had stood full against the indigo sky, and he had fought
for her. 5or himself, too, but for her.
"e had won. "e had sa#ed her, but he had killed her too. =illed
the heart as it beat within her.
A foolish child she had been. And he so beautiful, with his dark
eyes and darker hair and smooth human skin.
They had been students together, learning magic from the maro-
sorcerer, Multani. $he had ne#er soken of her feelings for him. "ow
could she-outcast that she was, what did she ha#e to offer him& And
then Multani had asked them to take a message into the (ee 6ountry
for him.
6at eole. "e had not told them that his message was for a tribe
of the cat eole, only that he had thought Mirri would be best suited
to the task.
6hild that she was, she had leat at it. To be of use to someone,
to reay her debts. To ha#e a lace in the world that she had earned.
And when Gerrard had offered to go with her-to stand at her back-her
>oy had redoubled. Alone with him, she had thought she would surely
find the courage to seak of her feelings.
0ut she had not. They came at last to the border markings of the
6hitr)in, and her shock had been intense. "ow their scent filled her
senses-a scent she had not smelled since she was a kit, before she
had been abandoned by her tribe.
%0e easy, Mirri,% Gerrard said. %(on)t let them see you afraid-%
%+)m not afraid,% she snarled.
%,f course not.% "e atted her arm. %Angry, then. @set.
(ilomacy is like magic. As Multani would say, magic is best
aroached with a cool heart and fast thinking.%
$he nodded. The 6hitr)in ... she could not remember e#er ha#ing
heard of them, though that meant little. "er memories of her time
with her tribe were scattered and sarse, a montage of laying in the
dirt at catch-claw and sneakshotA and of drowsing by the camfires
while the 3lders discussed olicy and hunting tactics, and the shamans
drummed to bring the rey-beasts closer.
$oon her memories were irrele#ant. The 6hitr)in came, aearing
as silently as smoke from between the trees. !arriors at the back,
magnificent in dyed and ainted hunting leathers, their arms and
torsos scarified with kill tattoos and crisscrossed with weaons belts.
And at the front, three elders.
%*ou #iolate our lands,% said the middle one, in Trader-tongue.
%$eak,% said the one on the right, who was dressed in robes and
furs, rather than fighting leathers.
%,r begone,% said the one on the left, when Mirri did not answer
and Gerrard would not, because it was her lace.
%!e come in eace,% Mirri said, and cursed herself. They would
think they were dealing with uling weaklings. %To negotiate terms on
behalf of our master, the sorcerer Multani, who would trade with you.%
%+ am the shaman of this tribe,% said the robed elder on the right.
%!e know nothing of outland sorcery. !e wish to know nothing.%
%*ou are a erson, girl,% said the middle 3lder, using the 6atling
word for erson, which e/cluded humans and others from
consideration. Mirri felt her ears go back, and fought to sto it. They
must not know they discomfited her. %Are you a sla#e, to call another
master&%
%+ learn at his sufferance,% Mirri said. %+t is human custom to call
their teachers Master, but he does not own me.%
The elders consulted.
%+t is well,% the middle 3lder said, but her ear twitched and Mirri
knew she had not 2uite won the argument. %+ am $eyen, Most ,ld of
the 6hitr)in. 0y my will, you will accet our hositality tonight, and
tomorrow tell us what this Multani wishes with us.%
That night, the 6hitr)in drummed while the great trile ies as
long as a man howled discords, and the warriors danced. The fires
burned hot, sending wreathes of flesh-scented smoke into the cool
night air. $he had sat with Gerrard on her left. To her right, there was
the Most ,ld $eyen, who said nothing more to her but from time to
time burdened her with a glance or a long hard stareA and more often,
he looked at Gerrard.
The shaman, who still had not named himself, was here and
there, always watching them.
Most ,ld $eyen lans, Mirri thought. $he sees ad#antage, and she
wants it. ,r she sees the ossibility of disad#antage and wonders how
it may be a#oided. That was well enough. !hat else should a leader do
for her eole& 0ut whether the Most ,ld was to be trusted, that was
another 2uestion. And what her other elders wanted, that was another
matter entirely.
All her life, Mirri had tried to li#e u to the code of the 6at ?eole,
the code she remembered only #aguely. "ow they had soken of it,
the warriors of her clan that she remembered. ?roud they were, and
#icious. And when they ga#e their word, they ne#er were foresworn.
$o she said, and Multani agreed with her in that gra#e way of his. 0ut
was it so& 8eally so, or >ust the half-memories of an abandoned child,
deserate for some great heritage to cling toA and the agreement of a
wise old sorcerer, e2ually deserate to gi#e her something to be roud
of&
Their li#es might deend on it. And she did not know.
The Most ,ld stood u, still lithe desite the graying fur showing
between the stras of her leather armor and the stris of coarse linen
that co#ered it. $he mo#ed to the centre, to the dance, and the
warriors made room for her. 8ound they went, and u and down and
round and down and u, while all the time the drumming beat the
night and the drone of the trile ies moaned an eerie counteroint.
Mirri found that her fingers were taing out a rhythm of their own.
$ome of the tribesfolk who were not dancing were beating their hands
against the acked earth. $he wondered if it would be all right to do
the same. $he leaned across to ask Gerrard his oinion, but before he
turned to her, the warrior seated on the far side of the Most ,ld stood
u.
=eilic, he was called. "e had introduced himself in halting Trader
before the feast had begun. 0ut $eyen had seen him and gestured
sharly, and he had left them.
"e took a ace. Two aces, and he was directly in front of her,
rimlit by the dancing light of the flames, his fur gleaming as if it had
been oiled. "e began to dance, those strong legs staming out their
own rhythm, between and around the comle/ ounding of the drums,
and she understood that he danced for her.
"e was watching her. The #ertical slits of his uils were almost
round in the darkness, and his eyes glittered like toa1. (ance with
me, they seemed to say. (ance with me, by the fire, under the stars.
(ance with me till morning comes.
0ut she did not want him. (id not want his fur, gleam though it
might, or the strong e/citing cat-smell of him.
$he wanted a smile that ut the world to rights and which
re#ealed blunt white teeth, not shar cat fangsA and ale skin, tanned
to gilt by the sunA and round brown eyes.
$o she stared u at him, but did not mo#e. "e wo#e a dee bow
into the taestry of his dance. %(ance with me,% he said, in 6atling.
%+ do not want to,% she answered.
Gerrard leaned toward her. %+ think he wants you to dance with
him,% he said. .ealousy& "oe rose u in her.
%+ don)t want to,% she reeated, but she thought, + want to dance
with you instead.
%*ou should-they might be offended,% Gerrard said.
The words hit her like a blow. %+ do not want to,% she said again.
$he stood u, unsure what she would do. "e would gi#e me to him,
she thought. +f it would hel to get what Multani wanted, he would
gi#e me away.
+t was more than she could bear. $he ran, then, into the
darkness.
4ater, of course, Gerrard aologi1ed. 0ut that was after the cat
warrior challenged him, and after all three of them took the sirit walk,
and after he stood alone in the darkness drenched in blood, and Mirri
foresaw his death....
(renched in blood. ?ressed u against the wall of her cabin, with
6ro#a/ crouching o#er her, she whimered, and then hated herself for
her weakness.
%*ou should not o#erta/ yourself, my dear,% 6ro#a/ said. %*ou)ll
start your wound to bleeding again.% "e licked his lis. !hene#er had
his teeth been so shar& Almost like a catling)s Mirri thought.
"is hand drifted toward her again. $he did not want him to touch
her. 0ut he was a friend. A friend who smells like an enemy, she
thought. "is hand touched her neck. "is face lowered toward hers-
$he lashed out. "er claws connected hard with his cheek. 5lesh
rent under them.
"e screamed and staggered back. "is hands went u to his face,
then came away bloody. Good, Mirri thought. Good. The shi itched
#iolently. 6ro#a/ slammed back against the door >amb.
"e licked the blood from his fingers. "is tongue flickered across
his dark skin, and now it was ob#ious that his teeth had become fangs.
$omething)s haened to him, Mirri thought. $he rolled out of
bed, and by the time she was on her feet, her cutlass was in her hand.
The deck rolled beneath her. $he struggled like a human to kee her
balance. ?ain from her wound >agged through her as she stretched.
$he took a ste forward. Another. 6ro#a/ mo#ed backwards.
$omewhere abo#e, someone screamed. (on)t think of it, Mirri
admonished herself. (on)t think of the battle abo#e, think of the fight
here. 5ocus. 5ocus. $he strode toward him. ,ne more ace, and he
would be within striking range.
$ali#a glinted on his fangs. "e smelled of fear and anger.
!hat ha#e you become& $he wondered, but she did not say it.
$he knew better than to waste her breath during a fight.
$omething like $elenia, she thought and knew then why 6ro#a/
smelled like an enemy. 4ike $elenia, who had almost killed her.
$he would not gi#e 6ro#a/ the same oortunity. $he raised her
cutlass. "e barely seemed to mo#e, but the >ewel at his neck flashed
and glittered in the lamlight. +t gleamed in her eyes. Tears blinded
her. !hen she could see again, he was gone.
There were so many laces he could ha#e hidden. ,n any normal
shi, it would not be so, but !eatherlight was far from normal.
$trange bits of machinery dotted the #astness of the lower deck,
scultural in the half dark. The area belowdecks was filled with ulleys
and wires, illars ierced with holes and strung with filaments and
crystal risms, clockwork mechanisms and things that might ha#e
been clockwork e/cet that none of the cogs interlaced. All this was
there, and the rolled and slung hammocks, the bo/es and crates of
food, and the bales of sare sail material that any great shi might
carry in its hold.
And somewhere in here, 6ro#a/ waited.
Mirri inched forward, e/ecting attack.
Again, there was that faint scent of... blood. $he had it now.
$elenia, coming at her, dark wings iridescent by candlelight, sword
flashing-
$omething slammed into her back. $he stumbled forward,
momentarily unbalanced. "er incisors dro#e into her bottom li, and
she tasted blood.
%(on)t fight me, Mirri,% 6ro#a/ said. %This is my destiny. + must do
this, as surely as you must yield to me.%
$he felt his hand on the sleek fur of her nae, and felt his breath
on her cheek, as his other arm came round her neck to secure her.
%3nough,% she shouted, and rammed her elbow into his belly.
"e grunted. "is arm locked round her neck and >erked her back.
$he couldn)t breathe. 5or a moment, they were held there, as if fro1en
in time. Mirri)s #ision turned red. $he bit down on 6ro#a/)s arm. "er
teeth scissored through layers of cloth, into flesh.
"e screamed. "is gri loosened. 0efore he could regain it, Mirri
reached u o#er her head and grabbed him by the shoulders, droing
low as she did so. $he yanked him hard. "arder. "er muscles strained
against the ried fabric of her shirt. ?ain seared across her chest and
belly. $he felt the stitches in her wound start to o. $he ignored it all.
There was an enemy to fight. $o fight.
$he yanked 6ro#a/ o#er her head and hurled him at the
bulkhead. "e slammed against the wall. Mirri stared at him. $he was
breathing much too hard, and the long cut across her belly burned like
fire. The world swam in front of her eyes.
5inish it, she thought. 5inish it before the wound finishes me. The
darkness was encroaching, swirling round the edges of her #ision so
that all she could see was 6ro#a/.
$he went toward him. + ought to ut an arrow through his heart,
she thought. $afe. 5rom a distance. 0ut she had no bow, not e#en a
throwing knife.
There was a blur of motion. $omething swung at her. $he got her
arm u in time, but it clied the side of her head.
$he fell.
B B B B B
(arkness took her, and she was running through the forest again,
fury owering her legs.
There was a noise behind her. $he turned, and saw Gerrard
crashing through the undergrowth. Cuickly, she steed behind a tree.
$he ought to seak to him. 0ut there was no way to e/lain without
telling him how she felt: what he meant to her, what she wanted there
to be between them. And she couldn)t. $he would ha#e fought the
Great !olf alone and unarmed before she would ha#e told him any of
it.
%Mirri'% he yelled. %Mirri.%
A shadow slied out from the tree behind him. %$he is not here,
human.% +t was the cat warrior, =eilic. %$he has run from your
ensla#ement.%
%$he isn)t my sla#e.%
%$o you say,% said =eilic. %0ut when you try to gi#e her away,
when she is unwilling, then what else is she, human&%
%$he is here to accomlish a mission, as am +,% Gerrard snaed.
Mirri)s ears went back. +f she failed Multani because she could not
control her wayward heart.... %,ur master is deending on us.%
=eilic)s lis skinned back from his fangs. %+ know you humans. "e
is not of your tribe. *ou would ut his needs against your loyalty to
your-%
%$he)s my friend,% Gerrard cut in. %!e are not of a kind, cat man.
!ould it lease you if there were more between us&%
%+t would lease me if you treated her with the resect she
deser#es,% =eilic said. %That you don)t tells me you ha#e no honor. *ou
are not to be trusted.%
%$eak softly,% Gerrard said. %+)ll not be insulted by the likes of
you, cat man.% Mirri noted to her horror that his hand was on his
sword hilt.
%$o much for your mission, human.% =eilic steed forward. "is
ears were flat against his head. 8ed lights glinted in his eyes. %*ou
ser#e your master well.%
Gerrard)s sword hissed as he drew it from its scabbard. %+)ll ser#e
you better,% he said.
$uddenly, there was a dagger, cur#ed and white as horn, in
=eilic)s hand. 5or a moment, human and cat warrior faced each other.
Gerrard shifted. =eilic followed him. Another ace. And then the cat
warrior leaed, so fast he was inside Gerrard)s guard before the man
could react.
Gerrard went down, =eilic on to of him. The human)s sword
flashed in the moonlight as it tumbled away from him. Mirri saw his
hand scrabbling at his belt for his oniard and saw =eilic)s dagger-
hand come u.
... and saw no more, because she was in motion. $he leat at
=eilic)s back, but by the time she landed, his dagger had slammed
down and re#ersed, so that the ommel crashed into the side of
Gerrard)s face. A gash along his cheekbone wet blood. The salt smell
of it enraged Mirri. $he grabbed =eilic)s scruff and hauled his head
back.
%This is not your fight.% "er heart slammed in her chest.
=eilic said something fast and hissing in 6atling. Mirri did not
understand. $he tightened her gri.
%+t should be your fight,% =eilic said in Trader after a moment.
%The human dishonors you.%
%+ make my own decisions,% Mirri interruted. $he sho#ed =eilic
away from Gerrard. %*ou talk of resect, but you do not resect that.%
@nder her light armour, her fur was riling with the adrenaline surge
of anger.
Gerrard scrambled to his feet. %!e are friends,% he said. "e
glanced at Mirri. 5riends, she thought, and stro#e to kee her face
imassi#e. +f it was all she could ha#e, it would ha#e to be the best
she could ha#e, she decided. -o more dreams. -o more wild thoughts
of what they might ha#e together. 5riends. 0ut Gerrard was still
talking. %!e study together. !ork for the same aims, as the members
of your tribe.%
%*ou mean, she makes comromises,% =eilic said. %4ook at her.
"ow blind are you, that you can)t see what she wants&%
"ow dare you, Mirri thought at him. "ow dare you think you know
my mind. $he took a ste forward, so that she was between the
others. "er hand rested on the hilt of her sabre. %3nough,% she said.
=eilic seemed not to ha#e heard her. %+t leases you to let her
near you' "ow leasant to ha#e a beautiful woman urring round your
feet' And it leases your master, for he can learn as much from her as
she can from him. 0ut in truth-%
%+ said, enough,% Mirri roared. $he drew her sword. The blade
glinted coldly in the moonlight. $he turned to Gerrard. %*ou,
understand that + do for Multani as much as + deem wise and fair, and
no more.% $he swung round to face =eilic. %And you, understand that
my tribe abandoned me when + was but a kitling. +f my loyalties are
other than-%
%0ut erhas your loyalties are wrong,% =eilic said. %0lood goes to
blood, stranger. !hat)s bred in the bone can)t be denied. +f you try to
deny it, you)ll lose yourself.%
=eilic)s words sent a shi#er through Mirri. 5or a moment she felt
dislocated from herself and from the scene around her. Then anger
raged through her. %*ou seak in riddles and nonsense,% she said. %+
li#e my life. + am hay with my life.%
%Are you&% =eilic)s #oice was soft, almost soothing.
%*es'%
%,nly your words say that. *our eyes don)t. The way you hold
yourself doesn)t.%
%*ou)#e had your answer, cat man,% Gerrard cut in. %Go back to
your fire and your dance before the Most ,ld notices you)re missing.%
%,h, + will,% =eilic said. %The only 2uestion is whether she comes
back with me, or whether she chooses to li#e her life alone.%
%+ am not alone.% Mirri)s anger was fast being relaced by
imatience. %+ ha#e my teacher and my friends.%
%+s that enough, though& !ill you li#e a lo#eless, >oyless life
among the humans& (o you think he)d e#er accet one as different as
you into his-%
%That)s sufficient'% Gerrard steed u close, to face off to =eilic.
The scent of his sweat mingled with the resiny smell of ine. Mirri
wanted him so much she almost ached. %!hat does she ha#e to do to
con#ince you&%
"e didn)t e/ect an answerA Mirri could tell by his tone. 0ut =eilic
ga#e him one anyway.
%Take the sirit walk,% he said. %All three of us: let the shaman
lead us along the ath of the Great 6at, and we will see which ath the
ancestors think she should take.%
Gerrard made a little sound of disgust. %!hat nonsense'
Magic is magic, but this is >ust suerstition.%
Mirri stared at him. 5or a moment, he met her ga1e. Then he
looked away. %+s it&% she demanded. %+s that what you think of my
eole)s beliefs: >ust nonsense to be dismissed&%
%They aren)t your eole.%
%0ut we could be,% =eilic said.
There was an instant in which Mirri barely knew who she was. A
cloud slid in front of the moon. The darkness was absolute. 3#erything
changes, she thought. -othing)s fore#er. ?erhas it)s for the best.
%Tell your shaman + will walk the sirit ath,% she said.
B B B B B
The rough wood of !eatherlight)s lower deck bit into Mirri)s
cheek. 5or a moment, the half-dream held Mirri. $omething about the
sirit walk ... something she must remember. 0ut the shi lurched
under her, and u abo#e, eole were shouting across the sounds of
the lurching shi.
%6ro#a/,% she muttered. The stink of him-blood and sweat and
that indefinable smell of enemy-was e#erywhere.
Mirri hauled herself to her feet. "e had meant to kill her. +f he
hadn)t, it could only be because he had greater harm in mind.
"ow long had she been unconscious& -ot #ery long, she thought.
$he looked round for her sword, but it was gone. 3ither he)d taken it
or it was lost somewhere in the >umble of lashed down crates and
barrels that acked !eatherlight)s underdecks. -o matter. $he swung
her head hea#ily from side to side, trying to sense a difference in the
density of the smell. -othing. 0ut on the decking was the most minute
of scuff marks. There were a few dros of blood on the deck a little
further on. $he rubbed her thumb against them. They were still dam.
$he hadn)t been out for #ery long, then.
6autiously, she made her way between the bo/es and crates of
!eatherlight)s sulies. There was too much co#er here. 6ro#a/ could
be anywhere. Mirri)s ears flickered at a faint sound. "e was u ahead
then.
%(amnation,% she muttered. There was a comanion-way u
there, and nothing much else. (esite her ain, she hurried on,
ushing her way through the crowded hold, not worrying now about
ambush.
$he got to the bottom of the comanionway >ust in time to see
6ro#a/)s dark leggings whisking u through the oen door at the to
of the ladder. $he went u the rungs three at a time, ignoring the
agony that screamed through her with e#ery e/tended mo#ement.
$he clambered onto the uer deck. !eatherlight)s mighty wings
beat the air, causing a wind that clawed at Mirri)s face. All o#er the
shi, the crew leaned o#er the railings, staring at the scene beneath
them. ,#erhead, an ornithoter swung back and forth erratically. 3#en
as Mirri watched, a form came hurtling down from it to land on the
deck: Tahngarth. The abandoned ornithoter shot ast the shi and
disaeared in the foliage a way beyond in a cloud of flame.
Mirri stared around wildly, looking for Gerrard. $urely, surely he
had returned to the shi by now with $isay. $urely he)d drawn
!eatherlight)s catain from the dark and awful center of the
$tronghold. Gerrard was ne#er one to walk away from a battle. Again
she had that flash of memory, of the $irit !ay they had walked
together, of his blood-drenched figure slumed against a sire of rock.
$he shook her head. $irits be damnedA she had to concentrate. 0ut
he was nowhere in sight, and she reali1ed that they must not yet ha#e
icked him u.
That must be why they were ho#ering here instead of running for
the ortal and the waiting 3rtai.
0ut where was 6ro#a/& $he clambered onto the comanion
housing to get a better #iew. $he turned and saw him. "e was u near
the bows, about one hundred and fifty feet away. "e had his back to
Mirri, but she could see that he was fiddling with something,
aarently undisturbed by the fighting going on all around him.
Mirri leaed off the comanion housing. $he landed lightly
enough, but the imact still sent ain tearing through her. +t was
nothing, she told herself fiercely. $he ran toward 6ro#a/, leaing o#er
bits of the shi)s suerstructure that had broken in their #arious
battles. !hat was he doing& $he had ne#er aid much attention to the
working of !eatherlight. -ow she wished she had.
$he slammed into him and grabbed his hea#y coat in both hands.
"e turned in the loose folds. $he glimsed an oen hatch behind him,
and a comle/ mass of cogs and wheels and rods.
The sails, she thought. The housing co#ered the mechanism that
transferred ower directly from the Thran stone to !eatherlight)s
great wings. !reck that and the shi would lummet into the tangled
Gardens below.
%Tschakren,% she yelled at him. +t was the worst catling oath she
knew.
"e didn)t answer, >ust slied from her gras and danced away.
0lood glistened on his cheekbone and on his arm, where she had
bitten him.
%(on)t try to sto me, beast woman,% he snarled. The #oice was
no longer 6ro#a/A it was deeer, stronger, somehow alien to
e#erything she remembered about the nobleman. %*ou could ha#e
>oined me,% he continued, %but it)s too late now. My destiny is fulfilled.
*ou had your oortunity, but it)s ast.%
%Then + won)t try,% Mirri said, and launched herself at him. %+ will
simly do it.% As she yelled the last word, she crashed into him.
The force of her attack sent him staggering back. $he went with
him. There was no chance now to use her sword. +nstead she rammed
the heel of her hand u into his face. "is head cracked back, and she
she dro#e her fist into his gut. "e flailed at her, connecting with the
side of her head. 0ut the battle rage was on her, and she hardly felt
the blows. $he tried to loo her leg round his, seeking to unbalance
him. $he failed, and he grabbed her free arm and started to force it
u. $he >abbed at his eyes. "e yanked his head back, and her fingers
met cold flesh instead. $he hit hard enough to force him back again,
and now they were hard u against the taffrail. .ust beyond them, the
great wings stirred.
Mirri was tiring fast now. $he could feel blood from her leaking
wound soaking the thin fabric of her tunic, gluing it to her skin. "e was
ounding at her now, slamming his fists reeatedly into her face,
chest, belly-anywhere he could. +f she were e#er going to finish it, it
had to be soon. $he let his ne/t blow mo#e her back. .ust a little. Then
she rammed her knee hard u between 6ro#a/)s legs. "e screamed,
and folded u. As he went down, she slammed her oen hand into his
face, catching him under the >aw.
5or the sace of a heartbeat, she fumbled for her dagger before
she reali1ed she wasn)t wearing it. The mistake cost her dear. 6ro#a/
bellowed. "e leaed at her, face contorted in rage and agony. 0efore
she could react, he had grabbed her. "e lifted her bodily off the deck
and swung her round. 5or a sickening moment, she hung susended
o#er the side of the shi, with nothing between her and the >ungle
below e/cet a atchwork of the o#erlaing sails of !eatherlight.
"is hands loosened. $he clamed her hands )round his wrists. $he
fell, then stoed with a >erk, anchored by his weight. 0ut the
momentum of her fall was too great. $lowly-so slowly-he tumbled
forward. A section of the taffrail came away with him, and then with a
shriek of tortured wood they were falling.
Then they were in free air, with the green canoy of the Garden
rushing u to meet them. Mirri tried to sread her arms and legs and
tail out, hoing to slow her fall. 0ut 6ro#a/ was thrashing around,
sending them tumbling. 4oosening her hold was the easy otion, but it
would ha#e meant ossibly ha#ing him free on the ground, free to run
to 7olrath)s creatures, or attack from behind. There was Gerrard)s
raiding arty to consider. $he tightened her gri, and was rewarded
with a look of ure hatred.
"e screamed something, but she couldn)t work out what it was.
The moment seemed to stretch out for e#erA e#erything was
haening #ery slowly. The fall was taking fore#er.
The world sun around her, green of the >ungle, blue of the sky,
green, blue, green, all smeared through the tears that the wind
whied into her eyes, while 6ro#a/ >erked and flailed, so that her
arms felt as if they were being ulled from their sockets. "er chest
burned with the effort of breathing.
And then there was no more time for worrying about anything,
because the canoy of the >ungle was rushing u to meet them.
6ro#a/ was under her. $he let go of one of his wrists and
managed to get her arm u in front of her face before she smashed
into the trees, only glad that it was 6ro#a/ that was breaking the ath
for them. $he lummeted through a chaos of branches and #ines.
4ea#es as shar as blades tore at her. Thorns stabbed her. The sweet
smell of utrefaction was e#erywhere, threatening to o#erwhelm her
senses.
6ro#a/ slammed into the solid branch of one of the trees. "e
screamed. Mirri i#oted on the fulcrum of his arm and crashed into the
thinner end of the branch. +t broke beneath her weight, and her fall
continued. 0ut, by refle/ she had clenched her hand still tighter round
6ro#a/)s wristA now they fell much more slowly, and Mirri was
underneath. 3ach new imact with a branch or leaf sent new agonies
>agging through her.
$he reached out to grab a branch-anything to sto herself falling-
but it was imossible. $he twisted round as they slammed into the
ground.
B B B B B
6onsciousness slied away from her. $he fought to hold the
world in lace, but it seemed to her that she was no longer in the
>ungle fighting 6ro#a/. +nstead, she was on the $irit !ay with
Gerrard and =eilic. The dark ath: it was night, and by starlight she
saw a ath lead u onto the stony side of a hill. $omewhere in the
distance, the 6hitr)in were drumming. The otion the shaman had
gi#en her to drink was bitter on her tongue.
$he was dressed in the fighting leathers of the 6hitr)in, and in her
hand was one of their ra1or-edged horn kni#es.
%-ow&% she said, bewildered.
%-ow,% =eilic said from behind her. %*ou find your sirit beast and
defeat it, and in the defeat know the ath your fate lies uon.%
%And you&%
%!e are your choices. !here else should we be but at your right
hand and your left&%
Mirri glanced behind her. $ure enough, =eilic and Gerrard were
behind her. =eilic was dressed in the full anoly of the 6hitr)in
warrior, his fur and leathers brightly ainted, feathers and beads at his
ears and throat and wrists. Gerrard was dressed simly, in his rough
breeches and white shirt. -either of them were armed.
This is my fight, then, Mirri thought. $he led the way u the
hillside. +f there was a choice to be made, she could not see it. The
ath led u between a cliff on one side and a sheer dro on the other,
all made of black rock, without a #estige of lant life.
Ahead of her, there was a ca#e mouth. ?lainly, she was meant to
enter. $he wished she had her sword to hand instead of >ust the
dagger.
!arily, she aroached. 0ehind her she could hear Gerrard)s soft
footfalls and =eilic)s, softer yet. $he aused at the ca#e mouth. After a
moment, her eyes ad>usted to the deeer darkness within. $hadows
were layered uon shadow.
,ne of them mo#ed.
+nstantly, Mirri droed into a fighting crouch, knife held low and
ready.
The shadow uncurled and became a #ast black cat. +ts tail swet
the floor. Twin coals burned in the its of its eyes. +ts mouth stretched
oen, re#ealing yellow fangs as long as daggers. The stench of rotting
meat rolled o#er Mirri.
%Am + to fight you&% Mirri asked. +t was a stuid 2uestion, yet
nothing was clear to her.
%(efeat me and + will kill whiche#er of those two you choose,% it
said-or thoughtA Mirri could not entirely tell if the #oice echoed in her
ears or in her mind.
%$uose + do not wish you to kill either&%
%Then you will not defeat me. + am your destiny. Make your
choice, or let the $irit !ay take you where it will. 0ut + will feed on
the choices you lea#e aside.%
%6hoices, yes. 0ut those are eole-%
%They are on the $irit !ay,% the cat said. %They are mine.% And it
srang at her.
+nstantly, she was ready for it, braced and with the knife ready to
lunge into its soft underbelly. +ts claws raked her cheek, but she
ignored the ain and sliced u into its belly. $he felt the blade gra1e a
rib, and ried backwards. The cat screamed with ain. 0lood and
slime slashed o#er Mirri.
And then, somehow, the cat twisted into nothingness and was
gone. ,nly a faint hint of mist remained. 0ut before Mirri could mo#e,
the mist coalesced, and once again the great cat sat regarding her,
now comletely unin>ured. $omething glistened on its foreaws. "er
blood, Mirri thought, and knew it for truth. 3#en as the certainty grew
in her, the cat raised its aw to its mouth and began to lick it clean.
After a moment, it lowered its head, a#erting its eyes. %+ am
defeated and yours to command,% it said.
%This is too easy,% Mirri said.
%5or you, erhas. !hat would you ha#e me do&%
%4et me go, and them.%
%*ou must choose.%
%+ will not.%
%+ am the $irit !ay,% the cat said. %+ will choose for you.%
Again, it launched itself at her. 0ut this time, it leaed o#er her
head, and landed between her and the two men. +t crouched there, tail
swishing, head wea#ing back and forth, back and forth as if it were
getting their scent.
6hoosing.
5aintly, in the distance, there was the sound of the 6hitr)in
drumming. This is the $irit !ay, Mirri thought. -othing hear is real.
,ur bodies sit entranced by the fire. !e cannot be hurt, not here. *et
the claws of the great cat had felt real enough when they raked her.
-othing here is real, she insisted to herself. ?robably.
The cat stretched itself out and began to smell =eilic, from feet to
head and back again, letting its face come right u to his. "e held
erfectly still. $o did Gerrard, when his turn came, though Mirri could
tell by the way he held himself that he found it hard.
%$he would ha#e much honor, in the way of your tribe, if she
stayed with you, 6hitr)ini,% the cat said at last. %And when her fighting
days were done, she would gi#e you many fine cubs. *our line would
be strong, aye these many years. And yet, she would yearn always for
the soft-skinned one, and for knowledge of the world and ad#entures
of a kind you could ne#er gi#e her.%
%+ would gi#e her all it is fitting for one of the 6hitr)in to ha#e,%
=eilic rotested. %$he would be hay-%
%After a fashion,% the cat agreed, and turned its attention to
Gerrard. %+f she goes with you, she will be your strong right arm, e#er
at your back. $he will gi#e you more than you can e#er, waking, know.
All her loyalty, all her heart.%
%*et she will be incomlete,% shouted =eilic.
%0e silent, catling,% the cat roared. %*ou ha#e forgone your right
to seak.% Mirri looked away. %*et + tell you,% the cat went on, in a
milder tone, now addressing Mirri directly, %you alone will remember
what transires here- of those who li#e.%
Mirri nodded. The great cat turned back to Gerrard.
%All her heart,% it reeated. %*et in gi#ing all that she has, she will
lose who she is. "ow can it be otherwise, when you will deny her
heritage&%
%$he could learn the way of her eole,% Gerrard said. %$he is my
friend, my closest ally. "ow can + gi#e that u&%
%*our friend, yes,% the cat said. %0ut you ha#e her heart. (o you
hold it gently&%
@TFFF%
%(o you want her&%
-ow Gerrard looked away. %+ lo#e her as + would lo#e a sister,% he
said at last. %"ow can it be otherwise& !e are too different.%
Mirri felt her heart die within her. +t was as she had feared. The
world turned to ash and saltwater around her. The great cat turned to
her. +t stared at her for a moment. $he did not seak, but erhas
something in her stance ga#e her thoughts away.
The cat turned back, and in a single fluid motion, srang at
Gerrard. @narmed and ill-reared, he went down before it. "e
screamed as it slashed at him with his front aws. +t scrabbled at his
belly with its strong back claws, seeking to rake and gut him oen. The
mouth oened. $ali#a glistened on the yellow teeth. +t roared fury to
the world.
All this in the sace of a heartbeat. +n the ne/t, Mirri threw herself
against the beast. +t was too hea#y to knock off balance. $he ushed
back and raised the horn knife in both hands. +t would be a difficult
blow, for the cat)s soft arts were rotected by its thick coat and rib
cage. $he struck once, but it twisted lithely away, and the knife did no
more than scratch it. +t ignored her, and swung back to Gerrard. +ts
>aws oened, and it snaked its head out to tear out his throat. 0efore
it struck, Mirri hurled herself forward and down, then sho#ed the
dagger u into the soft tissue of its throat.
+t thrashed around, digging its claws into Gerrard sasmodically
and causing e#en him e#en more damage.
%"ow many times,% Mirri said, anting with the e/ertion of dri#ing
the knife home, %do + ha#e to kill you, cat&% $uddenly the beast went
lim. Mirri ushed it off Gerrard. "e fell forward. $he caught him. "e
was slick with his own blood, and there was more uming out of the
dee wounds in his chest and belly and back.
%$o you ha#e made your choice, catling.% +t was the cat)s #oice,
from behind her. Mirri turned. 5iery eyes regarded her.
%+ lo#e him,% she said. %"e does not lo#e you.%
The words were like a sla across the face. %After his fashion, he
does.%
%After his fashion,% the cat agreed. %Though you will come to find
it is not enough.% %-o.%
%After you ha#e died a little each day, watching him, knowing he
will not hold your heart, you will come to find it is so.%
%+f that)s the rice, +)ll ay it,% she said. %*ou may know the
hearts of your catlings, but you do not know the hearts of men, and +
was ne#er yours.%
%-o,% the great cat agreed. "e swung his great head to face =eilic.
%6hitr)ini, she has made her choice. !ill you accet it&%
%+ would ha#e gi#en her my life. "ow can + do other than accet
her choice&%
%Then stand ready.%
Mirri watched, horrified, as =eilic droed to his knees and threw
back his head, e/osing the soft flesh of his throat. The cat added
o#er to him.
%!ait'% Mirri said. %*ou can)t-%
%*ou ha#e re>ected him. "e is mine.%
%*es, but-%
%This is the $irit !ay. There must be choices.%
%+ do not wish anyone to die.%
%This is the $irit !ay,% the cat reeated. %The only death here is
the death of the life you might ha#e had.%
%Mirri&% Gerrard called. "is #oice was weak.
%Go to him,% said the cat. %"e is your life now.%
0ut Mirri couldn)t mo#e. The cat turned back to =eilic, who was
waiting still as stone. !ithout saying anymore, it sliced down with its
huge fangs and tore out =eilic)s throat. 0lood surted across the ca#e,
drenching the cat and the stone behind it.
=eilic)s body disaeared into the mist and did not reaear.
%+ am done here,% the cat said. %Attend your lo#ed one, catling.
5or + tell you, your time with him will not be long, and when his end
comes, it will come at your hands.% And with that the cat mo#ed back
into the shadows. 5or a moment, its eyes of flame watched them.
Then those, too, disaeared.
B B B B B
A great weight was ressing down on Mirri. $he oened her eyes.
6ro#a/)s face was inches from her own. "is thumb mo#ed across the
side of her face. $he tried to sho#e him off, but he had inioned her
hands behind her back, and he had his knee across her thighs.
%$weet Mirri,% he whisered. %5oolish Mirri, you shouldn)t ha#e
resisted me.% "is hand continued to caress her, along her face, her
>aw. "er neck.
$he thrashed around, trying to get free, but the hand under her
and the knee across her were too strong. %!hat we could ha#e
together... such burning ower you ha#e ne#er tasted,% he said. "e
brought his head down toward her. +mmediately, she arched uward
and sank her fangs into the side of his throat. "is blood tasted bad.
?utrid. $he wanted to sit it out, but instead she hung on, wishing only
that she had managed to strike true into a large artery.
"e moaned, and for a moment went lim against her. Then he
>erked back, at the same time slamming the heel of his free hand
against Mirri)s face. There was a terrible rending sound, and he was
free. $ome of his flesh was stuck to Mirri)s teeth. $he started to sit it
out, but he co#ered her mouth with his hand, dri#ing his thumb u into
the base of her >aw to kee it shut.
%*ou will >oin me,% he gased. %*ou will stand by my side.
Together we can rule this world.%
"e bent his head to her neck and dro#e his fangs dee into it. $he
gased, and lashed her body around, trying to get free. +t was no
good. 0esides, the blood was burning round her body, bringing with it
a glorious warmth and e/hilaration.
"ow had she had resisted this& !hy& 6ro#a/ remo#ed his hand.
%*ou see&%
%*es,% she said, staring into his li2uid eyes. %*es.% $he drew his
head down to hers, and began to suck at the wound she had made in
his neck. -o longer did it taste bad: rather, it was the sweetest nectar
she had e#er drunk. %Mirri'% The #oice came at her out of the fire that
her world had become. $he ignored it. -othing mattered, nothing but
slaking her thirst. %Mirri'%
$he knew that #oice. +t burned into her, burned brighter than the
searing delight that coursed around her body. $he looked u.
Gerrard was fighting in the Garden beyond her. $he could see
himA she would ha#e known him anywhere. "e was fighting ... battling
the misshaen one who had attacked !eatherlight when first they
entered 8ath. Gre#en. That was his name. Gre#en il-7ec.
3#en as she watched, he slashed at Gerrard and oened a wound
in his shoulder.
8age oured through Mirri. "er Gerrard. "is blood was hers. $he
had rescued him from the $irit !ay for this& -o'
%$ee,% 6ro#a/ murmured. "e rolled away from her, and ointed
u at the fight in the uer branches. %$ee, he surns you. "e gi#es
his blood to another. "e is not the chosen one.%
%*es,% she said. Gerrard should be hers. That was right. That was
what she had been romised on the $irit !ay.
$he remembered the breath of the great cat on her, rancid with
rotten meat, and warm. *our time with him will not be long, and when
his end comes, it will come at your hands.
$he stared at her hands. The fur was matted with 6ro#a/)s blood
and her own, and there were shreds of flesh under her claws.
"er claws, tearing into Gerrard)s flesh, she thought. +t was hard
to think, with the warmth still ulsing through her, burning out logic,
searing her senses with its white-hot ower.
"ow it had hurt. 6ro#a/ had hurt her. "e would ha#e killed her.
"e would make her hurt Gerrard.
%-o'% she screamed and rolled away from him. 6ro#a/ was
smiling now.
%!ill you hurt me, now& !hen +)#e shown you the way to ower&
*ou can ha#e anything you desire, Mirri. *ou can ha#e Gerrard.%
+t was hard to think. Gerrard)s face. Gerrard)s eyes. Gerrard laced
in blood, sluming in her arms on the $irit !ay.
"is end, when it comes, will come at your hands.
+f thinking was too hard, then she must not think. $he launched
herself at 6ro#a/, in a fury of slashing and biting and unching.
+t was sweet, his blood on her tongue. 0ut not as sweet as
Gerrard)s would be. -o reason she couldn)t ha#e both. The trick was
not to do what 6ro#a/ told her, but to do those things that leased her
anyway.
%Mirri'% +t was Gerrard)s #oice, calling her again. "e)d seen she
and 6ro#a/ battling. -ow !eatherlight was droing roes to haul u
those who)d emerged from the $tronghold with Gerrard: $isay, $tarke,
and a red-haired woman who Mirri did not recogni1e. All that stood
between Gerrard and his shi was Gre#en il-7ec.
And all that stood between Mirri and Gerrard was 6ro#a/, and he
was nothing, nothing at all.
0ut from the edge of the Gardens, a shadow emerged, black
against the dee urle of the sky. ?redator was coming. Mirri saw
that it was almost uon !eatherlight. +n a moment it would be
alongside the smaller shi, and this time, Mirri knew in her heart,
there would be no escae.
Mirri saw Gerrard beat down Gre#en)s sword and kick 7olrath)s
commander away. The twisted features of ?redator)s catain were
contorted with rageA Mirri saw his lis mo#ing as he shouted
commands to his shi, though it was still too far away to hear them.
6ro#a/ slashed at her with a bit of broken branch he)d got from
somewhere.
$uddenly, Mirri understood. "e was trying to delay Gerrard. +f
6ro#a/ couldn)t kill him, at least he could slow !eatherlight down long
enough for ?redator to catch her.
+f Gerrard remained, Mirri could ha#e him. "ow sweet it would be,
to finally ossess him. And then there would be the others on
!eatherlight. ?erhas e#en on ?redator as well.
B B B B B
Gerrard)s blood. "e had fallen into her arms on the $irit !ay,
coated in his own blood. 0ut when they had come ne/t to the fires of
the 6hitr)in warriors, there had been no blood on him. -or on =eilic,
who was also unharmed. $hakily, she had told the shaman her
decision. "e had nodded slowly and had taken off the mask of the
Great 6at he had worn throughout the ceremony.
0itter smoke from the fires billowed about them. Gerrard,
remembering nothing, strode off toward their tentA =eilic, more
subdued, also went his way. Mirri considered following him. $he was
doubting her decision now. +f anything in the ceremony held true, all
of it did. Gerrard would die before long, at her hands.
0ut as she started after =eilic, the shaman)s hand shot out and
grased her wrist.
%*ou are troubled, child. The $irit !ay is often troublesome to
those who follow it.%
%+ am, 5ather,% she said. $he could not look him in the eyes. The
amber glints in them burned too bright, reminded her too #i#idly of the
embers of the great cat)s eyes. %+f + follow my heart, + will ne#er ha#e
my lo#e, and he will die before his time, at my hands. $o said the
great cat.%
%The great cat knows the hearts of his 6hitr)in,% the shaman said.
%0ut he does not know the hearts of men. And you were ne#er his.%
Mirri started, remembering what she herself had said on the $irit
!ay.
0efore she could say anything, the shaman said, %!hich worries
you more: that he will ne#er lo#e you, or that you will kill him&%
%That + should kill him,% Mirri said. The shaman glared at her,
imlacable. %+ will ha#e what lo#e of him + can,% Mirri finished at last.
%*ou are wise enough,% the shaman said at last. %Though + would
ha#e it that you had learned other lessons from the $irit !alk. A
6hitr)in without her heart is no 6hitr)in. -e#ertheless, + say to you: if
you will ay the rice, you can ste away from the ath the $irit !ay
has decreed.%
That was it, Mirri thought. That was what she had stri#en to
remember.
All she had to do was ay the rice.
B B B B B
Gerrard was beyond her, between her and the roe leading to
!eatherlight, hesitating. Another heartbeat and he would come for
her. !eatherlight would be lost. The 4egacy would be gone fore#er.
$he steed forward toward 6ro#a/, her aws down, her neck
bared.
"e came toward her.
%Mirri'% Gerrard called from somewhere far off. 0urning gold
umed through Mirri)s #eins. $he struggled to kee her eyes oen.
(amn, she thought.
As through a red mist, she saw Gerrard)s faceA he stared at her
for an eternal moment and somehow read the message in her eyes.
"e turned and leat for !eatherlight)s ladder.
Go, she thought. Go with my lo#e.

"ere ends the Tale of Mirri

Da"n
0eyond the high windows of the library, the soft light of dawn
steadily grew. The rumbles of thunder seemed now no more than a
distant backdro against the morning. Amid the iles of manuscrit
and tremulously leaning books, +lcaster sat silent, tears streaming
down his face. "is breath came in short, sobbing gass. 0efore him
the old man also sat in silence. "is face, as he ga1ed at the young
man, was filled with comassion, yet there was in it as well a kind of
watchfulness, as if he were waiting for some thought, now barely
stirring, to burst into full flower.
The light brightened slowly, and +lcaster)s sobs grew softer. At
last he sniffled, ushed the dam hair from his face, and looked at the
librarian.
%!hy&% he asked, his #oice cracking with emotion. %!hy did she
ha#e to die& !hy didn)t Gerrard sa#e her&%
The silence again lay between the two, until the old man laid a
hand on +lcaster)s shoulder. 0eneath the archmentlike skin, the boy
could see the #eins, blue as sahire, and the slender bones, worn and
brittle with age. *et he also saw, for the first time, an inner strength
that he had not before recogni1ed.
%+ told you,% the librarian said 2uietly, %that a hero is not >ust an
accumulation of deeds. "e is also one who has sacrificed, who has
gi#en u something rofoundly imortant to him. 5or Gerrard, Mirri)s
death was the last ste on the first stage of his >ourney. +n that
horrifying instant, as he stood caught between !eatherlight)s safety
and the life of his friend and comanion, in that moment he knew for
the first time in his life where duty lay, where his road ointed. +t was
not a road he had chosen, but it was one that had been icked out for
him long before he was e#en born. And now he knew that to take it
would mean more ain than he had e#er imagined.%
+lcaster snuffled again, wiing his nose on his slee#e. %$o what
haened after ... after Mirri died& (id they get out of 8ath through
the ortal&%
The old man nodded slowly. %,h, yes. 0ut again, it was not a
#ictory without cost.
%The shi sed o#er the Gardens. Gerrard, looking back, glimsed
the still body of Mirri lying on the ground, while 6ro#a/, now only a
shadow against the grass, flitted back toward 7olrath)s (ream "alls.
The shi gained seed, but Gerrard and $isay, clinging to the rails,
could see behind them the looming shae of ?redator hurtling in
ursuit.
%Gerrard shouted to "anna to ut on more seed. The na#igator
frantically clawed at the shi)s controls, but it was ob#ious that the
larger shi must shortly catch u to them. "anna gestured for $isay to
take the wheel and fought her way through the shrieking wind to
Gerrard)s side.
% )!e)#e got one chance,) she shouted in his ear. )The $kyshaer.
=arn)s fitted it into the engine. + don)t know what it)ll do....)
% )0ut it can)t make things any worse,% finished Gerrard. )Go
ahead and acti#ate it on my mark.)
%-ow !eatherlight lunged across the barren landscae. +n the
distance, the crew could see the stee walls of the canyon wherein lay
the ortal-and, erhas, safety.
% )Gerrard stood at the row of his shi, hair whied back by the
wind. "is face was wet with tears for Mirri- and for 8ofellos, for
6ro#a/, for all the souls lost to hel him gain his 4egacy. 0ut now
within his heart there was no more doubt.
% )-ow') he shouted to "anna, and the na#igator bellowed down
into the dee recesses of !eatherlight, )-ow')
%The shi ga#e a great shi#er, as if a giant hand had sei1ed it.
Then it shot forward, in a blinding burst of seed. The landscae
rushed by, and now Gerrard saw the ortal, light swirling within it. As
he ga1ed, he seemed to see a ghostlike arade of figures flitting
through, escaing the dark rison of 8ath. Abo#e the ortal, clinging
to a roe that swung from the arch abo#e the ortal, was the slender,
blond, boylike figure of 3rtai.
% )$low down so we can get 3rtai') Gerrard shouted to "anna.
% )+ can)t' she yelled.
%!eatherlight seemed to be mo#ing e#en faster. 0ehind them,
?redator had also accelerated. Gerrard e#en fancied for a moment he
could hear the shouts of Gre#en il-7ec, demanding #engeance for his
defeat. "e looked u, and for a drawn-out second that seemed to go
on fore#er, he saw 3rtai)s face-white with fear, or anger- and then the
shi shot through the ortal.%
B B B B B
%That)s it& That)s the end& !hat haened to ?redator& !hat
haened to 3rtai& !hat about-%
The old man held u his hand. %Cuiet, lad, 2uiet. There)s more to
the story, of course. 0ut erhas now you should get some rest. The
night is o#er, and the dawn is breaking.% "e looked out the window.
The clouds were beginning to break u. "e nodded slowly, as if to
himself. %The storm is assing,% he said 2uietly. %0ut it is not yet o#er.
There is another yet to come, one mightier than any we)#e yet seen.
0ut for today, it has assed. 8est now, lad. 8est while you can, that
you may be more ready for tomorrow.%
+lcaster yawned tremendously. %?erhas you)re right, Master,% he
muttered. %+ do feel awfully sleey. Maybe >ust a little na, >ust a
little ...% "is #oice trailed off as his head sank on a ile of books. "e
stretched his cramed limbs out, and a whiffling snore came from his
throat.
The librarian smiled to himself and, oking in the distant recesses
of a dark cuboard, came forth with a moth-eaten blanket, which he
sread o#er the sleeing youth. Then he stretched as well, mo#ing his
neck about to work out the kinks. The library was brighter now, and
soft motes of dust drifted in the early morning sunlight. The old man
turned to go when one more aer caught his eye. "e lifted it, studied
the archaic scrit, and read softly aloud to himself.
%!eatherlight assed from 8ath through the ortal to a lace
unknown. 3#en as the wi1ard 3rtai let go the roe abo#e the ortal, he
saw, to his horror, the gateway slam shut. A slit second later
?redator slammed into the archway, its decks cracking and slintering
with the imact. The arch crumbled and fell. 3rtai tumbled downward,
landed on something solid with a resounding thum, and ga1ed u into
the angry #isage of Gre#en il-7ec.
%"igh on a hillside o#erlooking the lace where the ortal used to
be, 4yna of the $oltari stood. 0eside her was a hooded figure, tall and
silent. "is face was hidden, but a beard bristled in the shadows of his
cowl.
%4yna turned to him. )+t was good luck the ortal closed when it
did,) she said.
% )*es,) he agreed, and turned away.%
At the #ery bottom of the manuscrit, in fading ink, the librarian
read, %And so !eatherlight assed from 8ath. ,f its further
ad#entures ...%
The handwriting ended at the bottom of the age.
The rest of the manuscrit was missing.
The librarian stood ga1ing at it for a moment or two. 0ehind him
he could hear the gentle breathing of +lcaster the uil, who lay
dreaming of heroes and 2uests, of bra#e deeds and sorrowful deaths,
of tragedies and of triumhs.
%After all,% he said thoughtfully to himself, %what matters are
memories.%
"e let the last manuscrit age of The 8ath 6ycle sli from his
fingers and flutter gently to the floor. Then he turned his back on the
rest of the library and walked through the doors into the sunlight.