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FSFNET Fantasy Sci- fi magazine Vol.7 #3
1 +-+ +-+ +-+
+-+--+-+--+-+ VOLUME SEVEN NUMBER THREE
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| | BITNET Fantasy-Science Fiction Fanzine
___|___________|___ X-Edited by 'Orny' Liscomb <CSDAVE@MAINE>
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CONTENTS
X-Editorial 'Orny' Liscomb
*Through the Veil: Atros 5 Joseph Curwen
*Duty John White
Date: 021687 Dist: 274
An "*" indicates story is part of the Dargon Project
All original materials copyrighted by the author(s)
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X-Editorial
Welcome comrades to glorious issue VOL7N03 of electronicheski
magazine FSFnet, hot on heels of last very glorious issue.
Unfortunately, due to inexplicable and unforseen circumstances,
many readers did not receive their issues until several days after
the issue had been sent. Hopefully, the situation will not continue.
In this issue, you've really got a treat. For those of you who
have been following Atros, there is a pivotal installment in this
issue, and an excellent well-spun tale by John White. I'm sure you
will all enjoy the issue.
-'Orny' Liscomb <CSDAVE @ MAINE>
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Through the Veil: Atros 5
Atros dreamed for the first time in many weeks. It had taken a
great effort of will to break the bonds of the nepenthe still
tainting his blood, but Atros had succeeded. Still, there was much
more to been done, much more to experience. Atros should not relax
now that he had overcome the first, and possibly the easiest, barrier.
In spite of this, for several moments Atros hesitated to open
his eyes. He needed more time to solidify his resolve. Atros let his
attention turn inward. He knew that he was dreaming. Something deep
in side him sensed it, but he also knew that this was a dream unlike
any other. His mind was clear, unclouded by the fog of uncertainty
or forgetfulness. Not only could Atros remember his identity as a
rogue scholar in Dargon, but Atros could also recall in detail a
hundred other lives that he had led in previous dreams. This
terrified him. He remembered the pain and loss, but he also
experienced a sense of detachment that helped support him against
the pull of insanity. His mind was very clear, his thoughts precise.
>From a solely inward inspection, Atros could be certain that he had
arrived where he had wanted to go. It was very difficult to believe
that this was only a dream.
Atros slowly opened his eyes. He lay on a vast floor composed of
huge, gray stone blocks. Above him was a high vaulted ceiling
sloping gradually down to the floor on two sides. The stone ceiling
bore criss-crossing arches whose shadows gave the chamber an eerie
organic feeling. There was a distant light in one direction and
darkness in the other. Atros raised himself to his feet before
noticing his clothing. While he bore the same body that had settled
to sleep in Pravo's house, he now wore a soft white robe belted with
a thick black ribbon. He felt very healthy and strong. There was no
trace of the fatigue or wounds that he had received in the street
fight only hours before.
Atros' course seemed obvious. Though he was suspicious of being
led, he set out in bare feet across the coarse stonework toward the
distant light. After several hundred yards, Atros could dimly
discern a figure standing before the light source. Impatient to
finish this destined meeting, Atros quickened his pace.
The figure was that of a healthy old man. His face was ridden
with the wrinkles of age but he stood tall and straight. He too was
dressed in purest white with a belt of black. Atros took a long look
at the man's smiling countenance then glanced down as he approached,
unwilling to face him.
"You have found what you have sought. Though you don't know what
that is," the man spoke mirthfully. His voice was deep, fatherly.
"I thought perhaps you were gods?" Atros suggested rather weakly.
"No, Atros, we are not gods. We are something other than that,"
He pronounced and then lapsed into quiet contemplation for long
moments. "Do you remember reading Fendle, Jung, Carstoe, Van Keltii,
Reinhelm, and the others?"
"...yes..." Atros replied in a hollow whisper.
"We are a fraction of Siger's world-soul, a splinter of Byron's
oversoul, an isolate disembodied collective subconsciousness. We are
a collective entity which germinated in minds such as your own but
has grown to surpass such boundaries," he paused for a moment.
"Well, at least partially. Your and our mind overlap in a region of
your subconscious, though only a small part of ourself is yourself
and vice versa. You understand that I use the pronoun 'we' only
because such constructs as 'I/we/you' are very awkward in your
language. I am an individual, a collection of individuals, and a
portion of your own mind. I am empowered to speak for each of these
entities. You have many questions which I now will attempt to answer."
"What are you called?" Atros' mind was struggling with these
ideas. He cast out this question to buy the time he needed to adjust.
"We could ask the same of you. At this instant you could
rightfully answer to half a thousand names, which you remember
bearing during some part of your existence. Yet none of those names
adequately describes the individual that you are now. We are much
the same. We have both too many names and no suitable name, but if
you prefer, you may call us Morpheus as that might best describe us
from your point of view." Morpheus' tone seemed almost too friendly.
"What is this place?" Atros asked. He had decided that if he had
to meet his maker, he did not wish to show weakness. And yet, he was
still confused. Too much seemed to be happening too quickly to
follow. Perhaps, he should have waited until he was better prepared
for all of this.
"A creation based on patterns deep within your own mind. We have
gone to the trouble of making everything appear as closely as
possible to the way you inwardly expected it to appear. Even my own
appearance is drawn from your own imagination. We chose to craft
forms that would be meaningful to you, literally and symbolically.
We wished to convey our message with the least amount of confusion
or fright." Morpheus spoke without gestures.
"Then you can eavesdrop on my thoughts?" Atros asked suddenly
feeling vulnerable. He sought to conceal his fright by straightening
his shoulders, raising his head, and peering deeply into the black
eyes of the man/enigma before him. In the long verbal pauses, Atros
could hear only the sound of his own breathing.
"On that portion of your mind that is part of us already, yes.
With the rest, let us just say that we can do a fair job of
anticipating your mind," Morpheus answered meeting Atros' glare.
"What do you want of me?" Atros asked trying to sound defiant.
"Very simply, we would like you to join us. To allow us to
experience a greater portion of your mind and to allow you to
explore our being as well. We wish to live with you, teach you, and
work with you. We have need of you and we have much to offer in
return." Morpheus' tone was even and his voice smooth. He portrayed
no emotion except fatherly concern and fatherly strength.
"What do you offer?" Atros was tempted to sneer but he realized
that it probably wouldn't be convincing.
"Power, knowledge, a near infinite number of new experiences,
and an end to your loneliness," Morpheus offered smiling. His
mention of loneliness struck Atros as a blow.
Atros spoke before he was fully recovered from this, "You must
know that what you imply frightens me. The alienness of it...the
loss of individuality."
"Individuality will still be possible in a fuller, more
integrated sense," Morpheus pronounced with a glistening polish.
"Integrated individuality? How can that be possible?"
"You are accustom to thinking of life and consciousness in
discrete organic units. The separation between souls is much less
distinct. Yes, your consciousness would lose its boundaries but the
center of your consciousness, its seat, can preserve its
individuality untarnished," Morpheus replied.
"After all that you have done to me...the torment...the anguish,
do you seriously believe that I will join you willingly?"
"Perhaps we know you better than you know yourself. In time, you
may see things differently. Until then, you need not commit yourself."
"But why? Why have you led me into cycles of love and loss, fear
and hatred?" Atros' shield of cool intellect was cracking.
"We have tried to explain that. You remember the dream of the
forge?" Atros confirmed this with a nod. Morpheus' voice took on a
lecturing quality. "Pain and suffering are the only true sources of
wisdom and strength. Think of what you have undergone as a
necessary, if painful, initiation."
"An initiation I did not chose to undergo," Atros accused.
"No one truly chooses their role in life. We believe free will
to be be even more of a fallacy than it obviously appears."
"You believe? You do not know?" he said with a touch of mocking.
"We are not omniscient. Not nearly so. Proof of the existence of
absence of free will is far beyound our means. We accept our
beliefs, and in fact all our knowledge, as provisional.
Interestingly, though we doubt the existence of free will, we
recognize the force of will as the source of our power. If one
considers it, this is not contradictory. But even if it were, we are
not above a bit of hypocrisy if such a stance is the only pragmatic
solution." Morpheus remained unresponsive to Atros' jibes.
"How do I know that everything you've said isn't a lie and your
proposals a trap?" Atros proposed.
Morpheus' expression suddenly changed. He burst into a heavy,
haunting laughter that echoed through the hollow chamber. Atros'
anger grew with this obvious mocking, but he kept silent until
Morpheus abated and spoke more, "Excellent! We have crafted you well."
"You desired cynicism and distrust?" Atros asked angrily.
"No, we desired that you be wise enough to continually question
and doubt, so you can be an independent thinker. We do not need
slaves. We have enough of those and we can always fashion more
Gilmans. We need equals...partners." Morpheus used his eloquence in
an attempt to soothe Atros.
"You could still be lying to me," replied Atros.
"Yes, Atros, we would delude or misdirect you to obtain own
desires and we have done a bit of that in your past, but now we are
truthful. Though we realize that what we say might frighten you,
truthfulness now is best in the long run."
"You can see the future?" Atros asked incredulous.
"Only its possibilities. But that is usually enough."
"You still have not given me sufficient reason to join you."
"You are already with us. You have been so since birth. Your
subconscious has always been with us. Much of what your
consciousness is comes from your association with us. We are lodged
deeply in your being."
"Then I can escape you only in death," Atros stated in a whisper.
"No, Atros. We will go beyound that barrier with you. There is
no escape. What happens between us is destined to be. It cannot be
avoided." There was just the slightest hint of sadness and regret in
Morpheus' voice.
"I could keep increasing my dosage of nepenthe. I could evade
the dreams," Atros suggested clutching at faint hopes.
"But surely you realize that these are more than just dreams.
Already it intrudes on your waking life. How long will you be able
to withstand attacks like the one you experienced last night?"
"What do you know of that!?!" Atros' anger flared. Only reason
prevented him from bodily attacking Morpheus.
"Calm yourself, Atros. Remember that it was our servant Gilman,
whom we sent to watch over your safety, that came to your rescue."
"Yes, that is true," Atros admitted.
"Many more such attacks are possible. It seems your connection
with us has been discovered by an enemy of ours. It seeks to hurt us
through harming you or perhaps converting you to their cause."
"What is this enemy?"
"It is a collective consciousness much like ourself but slightly
weaker and younger. We are rivals for the same resources."
"And it has attacked me and Darla because of you?" Atros accused.
"Our enemy is a bit irrational and blood thirsty. It will
continue harassing until you until it succeeds or grows bored. It is
a threat to our continued existence and growth as well. We need your
help in combating it as surely as you need us."
"How could I aid you in fighting such a thing?" Atros asked.
"We will teach you how to use your undiscovered talents. This
instruction comes with no obligation. Do you consent to let us teach
you to defend yourself against our mutual enemy?"
Atros hesitated a long while. But his mind kept returning to the
a single question: How else could he protect Darla and himself?
Finally, on this basis he decided, "Provided that I may withdraw
from these lessons at any time I choose."
"Of course. Even if you will not join us now, we have no desire
that you be killed or enveloped by our enemy. Go now. Rest. Prepare
your mind, your lessons will begin in several days." With Morpheus'
pronouncement, the scene began to quickly fade. Atros began the slow
return to wakefulness.
-Joseph Curwen <C418433 @ UMCVMB>
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Duty
Morion caught himself staring at the moon again, and turned his
attention back to the roll of parchment on his desk. He snorted in
disgust when he realized that he had read the first paragraph at
least four times without understanding it. He hated having to wade
through legal documents. They were written in the most obscure and
lengthy terms so that lawyers were never done out of a job by
someone with the ability to read. He trusted the lawyer he employed,
but he refused to sign anything until he understood exactly what he
was signing. Elaref, his lawyer, had explained over and over the
basic terminology, but Morion was a fighter, not a scholar, and it
took time and practice to master those knotted words. Grimacing and
steeling himself for the effort, he went back to the thick parchment
with the intent to get through it this time. It was the last one he
had to sign and seal.
Half an hour later, he was startled out of a reverie concerning
the signet ring he wore on his left forefinger and how he had come
to bear it by a knock on his chamber door. He glanced at the scroll
and realized with dismay that he had only read to the second of six
paragraphs. Rolling it up to do tomorrow, he said, "Come!", and
turned his attention to the door.
He had been expecting his seneschal, Riachon, calling him to his
late and probably cold supper. The water clock in Morion's study
worked perfectly, and Riachon hated it when people ignored
appointments, even dinner ones. His seneschal always made sure that
Morion got dinner if he didn't come down by himself. But, he made no
guarantee as to its condition.
The figure that stood limned in the torchlight of the hall was
not the middle-aged and somewhat portly one of Riachon. The tall,
slim, young man that stood there was wearing the official tabbard of
the Falcon Herald of Baranur, colored gold and green with a blue
falcon displayed in the center. His long black hair was held back
with a silver circlet bearing one small stone in the center of his
forehead. An amethyst of that deep and pure color was very rare. It
identified him beyond doubt as Coridan the Falcon Herald. The stone
had been a gift of the Queen when Coridan was given the Tabbard, the
Staff, and the Keys to the Great Books of Arms upon ascending to the
position of Royal Herald of Baranur. Coridan was not dressed in
riding gear and Morion wondered how long the herald had been in the
castle before knocking on his door.
"Castle Pentamorlo is honored in receiving you, Master Coridan.
Please, enter and have a seat. Shall I have some wine or other
refreshment brought for you?" asked Morion.
"Thank you, Baron. Perhaps a little of that wonderful Huulon
wine, if you kept any for yourself. I must thank you again for the
wagonload you gave me - it is the best wine I have ever tasted."
Morion stepped over to the dumbwaiter, wrote his wishes on the
slate inside, and sent it down to the kitchens. "Come, Master
Coridan, let us sit before the fireplace and be a little more
comfortable." The young herald settled himself while Morion poked up
the fire until it was roaring. Little bells in the dumbwaiter
jingled, and Morion retrieved the tray bearing two crystal goblets
and a cool bottle of the golden wine of the type that he had given
to Coridan as an Elevation gift.
After he had poured the wine and settled into a chair across a
small table from the herald, Morion said, "What brings you to my
school, Coridan?"
Coridan sipped his wine and smacked his lips. "As good as ever,
Baron. Ah, but my news. Well, it seems that the King needs your help."
Morion's ice-grey eyes narrowed, and his mouth compressed into a
thin, hard line. He had anticipated Coridan's words, echoing as they
did almost countless other pleas from the Crown he had received
month after month for years. But, the King had never sent so
important a person as the Falcon Herald to ask his futile question.
"For what?" Morion demanded. "He has an army, and a whole legion of
instructors. I wouldn't teach his soldiers anyway. What could he
possibly want that I would give him?"
Coridan looked at Morion, his aquamarine eyes seemingly wide and
innocent. He said, "He needs your help, Baron. It IS your duty."
Morion shouted, "No it is not!" and slammed his goblet down on
the table between them hard enough to snap the thin stem and shatter
the base. He looked at the broken goblet in his hand. With a
muttered, "Sreth!" between clenched teeth, he hurled the bell of the
goblet into the fire where it smashed loudly.
He stood and whirled around behind his chair, an angry scowl
marring his face. Less loudly, but no less angrily, he said, "When
is Haralan going to understand that I pay fealty to no one. My lands
are my own, not held in fief for the Crown. You know as well as I
that I and my family received special dispensation from King Nun as
reward for a personal service I rendered him. That parchment was
sealed in turn by Arenth, his brother, when Nun died and Arenth
received the Crown, and then by Haralan, Arenth's son and present
King. That third seal made the dispensation permanent and
irrevocable. My lands are my own and my family's, with no
requirement for fealty to anyone. The taxes I pay, I pay out of
courtesy. I owe the King or Crown nothing. And no one calls me Baron
- I gave back the six-pearled coronet to Nun, to Arenth, and to
Haralan when they each tried to give me that title, with all the
strings that go with it. I will not help!" His knuckles were white
on the back of the chair by the time he finished.
Coridan bore Morion's outburst with the air of one expecting it.
He patiently waited while the older man ranted about the severing of
his feudal obligations to Crown and King, granted and affirmed by
the past three Kings. He knew about Morion's refusal to bear the
identifying coronet of a Baron, but a King's award could not be so
easily denied. The fighter had refused the obligation of further
fealty to the Crown by refusing the circlet and title, but Coridan
was a herald, and titles were important to heralds - especially
acknowledging with respect one who bore a title, at least on paper.
When Morion was finally done, the herald said, "I must apologize
for not making myself clear, my Lord. The duty that the King calls
upon is not that of vassal to liege, but a duty that you, yourself,
have taken on - the responsibility for those you have trained in
this thriving school of yours.
"Reports have been coming in for several months now of trouble
to the south. At first, the news was of what seemed to be an
unconnected series of outlaw raids on caravans and other travelers.
But, the attacks were not robbery. In every attack the travelers
were killed to the last draft animal and all of the posessions were
burned or broken and left behind.
"Then, three months ago came word of the first village
destroyed. As with the caravan raids, everyone in the village was
killed, and the buildings were set afire. The villagers didn't have
a chance.
"The attacks have been getting more and more frequent, from two
a month to almost one a week. King Haralan has had legions of the
army in the area, but the outlaws attack randomly and the King has
had no success at all in even spotting them.
"However, our best seers have located the outlaws' hideout. In
the valley where the Zyaran river flows out of the Skywall Mountains
there is a vast lake that Zyaran feeds and flows from. On an island
in the lake's center there is now a fortress without window or door,
nor is there a bridge or causeway that links land to fort. Even
knowing the location of the outlaws' stronghold is no help to the
King for the island is unassailable. Also, the leader controls a
magic that is able to transport his men and himself directly to the
scene of their attack. The few surviving observers have likened this
magic to a giant floating mirror that the outlaws ride into, but not
out the other side.
"The leader of these outlaws names himself BlueSword, and we
have learned that he is a former pupil of yours. Two weeks ago in
the ruins of a small village he had just sacked, the King's men
found a man, cruelly mutilated but still alive. He bore a message
branded into his flesh. It was a challenge. BlueSword wants to fight
you, Morion, and he intends to kill you, and then to destroy Baranur
little by little. King Haralan asked me to deliver this news to you,
in the hopes that I would at least get to your ear before your ire
got me thrown out. It seems that he did choose the right messenger,
although just barely."
Coridan's open smile eased the sheepish tension in Morion, and
the teacher returned to the comfortable side of the chair and sat
down. He sat silently thinking for a time, then said, "I must
apologize for my outburst, Coridan. I was just fed up with Haralan's
incessant petitioning of my talents to 'mold his fighting men into
an unbeatable force.' I...ah, souls and swords, I just never
expected this of Kyle. Something is strange here." He was silent for
several moments more, trying to fit his memories of Kyle, who had
been nicknamed BlueSword while learning here, to what he had just
been told. Finally, he remembered his duties as host, and said,
"Please accept the hospitality of my house, Master Coridan. If you
can stay until lunch tomorrow, perhaps we can talk further, but now
I must think on this. Thank you for bringing me the news. If I don't
see you tomorrow, you can assure the King that I will respond to
BlueSword's challenge to the best of my abilities." Both men rose,
and shook hands, and Morion walked the herald back down to the Main
Hall. Grabbing a platter full of dinner leftovers, Morion then went
back to his study to think about Kyle, now known as BlueSword.
Once again seated comfortably in the chair before the fire,
Morion idly nibbled at the food on the tray, sipped from the leather
flagon of mead he had brought up with the tray, and stared into the
fire remembering Kyle. Young, mid-twenties, of an age with Coridan,
fair haired, open-faced, very likeable and pleasant. He had come to
the school with just enough money, mostly in small denominations, to
cover the entry fee. But, he had exhibited plenty of raw talent and
Morion had accepted him readily. He had taken to training like a
goat to a mountain side, rapidly climbing the ladder of ability that
Morion privately used to grade his students. In three and a half
years, he had learned all he wished to, and had graduated with
appropriate honors. He had left a little more than a year ago, and
now it seemed that he had turned into some kind of monster bent on
death and destruction. That just didn't sound like him.
BlueSword. A nickname given to him by his fellow students, and
for good reason. He had painted the blade of every one of his wooden
and rattan practice swords a deep, almost purple blue. He didn't
tell anyone why until he passed the test of beating Morion himself
using a large shield and a long sword against the teacher's single
short sword. At the simple ceremony after dinner that night, Kyle
had brought out a magnificently wrought sword, said it had been in
his family for generations. It had a simple yet elegant silver and
gold hilt, with gently curved quillions and a large polished ball
for a pommel. It also had a beautifully blued blade; a deep,
metallic blue that rivaled the twilight sky. From then on, BlueSword
wasn't a joke any more - Kyle had earned it, and carried it proudly.
It bothered Morion that this should fall to him to resolve. He
had no worries about beating Kyle BlueSword on the field. Morion's
skills had been earned over long and hard years of practice and use.
Kyle's months at the school and the months after could not have made
him a match for the former soldier. Except for the thing that had
turned Kyle into a madman. Morion almost fell asleep staring into
the fire and wondering on that point, his mind circling the problem
endlessly. Riachon finally came up and herded him off to bed,
clucking absently about the leftovers that Morion had wasted by not
eating what he had taken to his room.
After his morning workout and several sparring sessions with his
pupils, Morion sought out Coridan and they talked over a light
lunch. The herald said, "The note BlueSword left named a time and
place for the duel. 'MeredsDay of LastSummer' is what it said. What
might MeredsDay be, if you know?"
"Kyle's people have many gods and they name each day of a month
by one or another of them. MeredsDay is the 15th or 16th day of the
month, depending on the month. LastSummer is next month by their
reconning. Not much time - just a little over two weeks. Where?"
"The east end of the lake that holds his island. He wants you to
come alone. Don't." Coridan's face was sincere, and even a little
apprehensive as he gave the teacher his advice.
"I'll leave tomorrow. Two weeks leaves little leeway to travel
so far, but Staarion is a fine horse. We'll make it, and hopefully
with enough time to rest up a little before the battle. I will go,
and hope that his honor hasn't been lost along with his sanity."
"Fare well, Sir Morion. May all of Kyle's gods smile on you, as
well as all of Baranur."
Morion just smiled as he went to talk to his two assistant
teachers, to tell them of their impending responsibilities. Morion
was a man who believed in himself and little beyond that. The gods
had little or no place in the reality he perceived. Still, he was
glad the young herald wished him well. He would need all the luck he
could muster if there was more than Kyle behind the upcoming duel.
Nine days of perfect riding weather ended in a thunderstorm so
fierce that it forced Morion off the road. Huddling in a makeshift
camp under some trees, using Staarion for the little shelter the
horse could provide, he spent the balance of the day, and all night,
soaking wet and miserable.
The next day, he tried to ride on through the still hard rain.
But just before noon another heavy thunderstorm forced him into camp
again. Morion began to worry about having lost two days so far. He
fervently hoped that the morrow would be drier.
It was, but not by much. The rain still fell, hard and fast, but
the violence of the thunderstorm had passed. It was not traveling
weather, but Morion had no choice. The rain would slow him down to
less than half his normal speed, and that wasn't enough time to make
it to the lake. Morion mounted Staarion and, pushing the animal to
the limits of safe movement, rode off trough a grey-walled world of
chill wetness.
Around mid-morning Morion suddenly had company in his wet and
short-horizoned world. The strange horse and rider loomed up out of
the hissing raindrops to his left and stopped athwart the road,
halting Morion's slow progress.
The horse was larger and so captured his attention first. Once
it did, he stopped calling it a horse. There was something
distinctly goatish about the mount - the cloven hooves, the tufted
tail, the ears, and the little growth of hair under its chin that
gave a name to the way some men wore their beards. It was easily as
large as a horse, with the glossy fine hide of a horse as well. And
then, Morion saw the flickering of a white, horn-shaped flame that
hovered over the beast's forehead. Unicorn.
Immediatly, the fighter's attention was drawn to the rider. She
sat tall in her saddle, back stiff and straight. Her face was turned
toward Morion, appraising him as he examined her. She had long hair
that seemed in the uncertain light to be pale blue, bound back by a
thin copper wire around her head that bore a small, dangling
ornament at each temple. Her face was long and thin, much like the
rest of her, and her eyes were the strangest color. Red, not like
the washed-out pink of an albino, but a deep, fiery red, like a fine
ruby. Her nose was long, her mouth small and almost lipless. Her
long throat was hidden by a thin, silklike scarf that matched the
rest of her clothing. She rested her hands on the high cantle of her
saddle; there didn't seem to be any halter or reins on the unicorn.
Her long, slim legs came out from under her skirts and went into
soft high leather boots, which rested in large stirrups. A flowing
cape attached to her tunic by copper buttons reached down her back
and across her mount's whithers. And, most amazingly, she seemed
totally dry.
She opened her mouth to speak and strange, music-like sounds
came out. But, the song of her words did not fit the movements of
her small mouth. When the song reached his ears, words he could
understand popped up in his mind.
The words in his head said, "The Dance of Ahar'yKinel enters its
second mode. Thyerin's webs have drawn you into your proper place in
the pattern of the Dance, which will end with the freeing of a
spirit too long held captive, and the end of an evil that could
unmake this world."
With the words came an understanding of their meaning, so that
Morion 'knew' that Thyerin the Weaver was a god from a pantheon he
had never heard of. Apparently, he had been drawn into some kind of
scheme by this Thyerin, a plan that the god and this woman named a
Dance. As the woman spoke/sang, the magic of her words enabled
Morion to almost see the pattern she mentioned the way she saw it,
like a half-finished piece of cloth on a loom, with part of its
pattern finished and showing, but the rest of it hidden in the
strands that would go into its making.
However beautiful the imagery, Morion resented the implication
that he was subject to the whim of an idea some people called a god.
Also, he was being delayed even further in his mission by this
woman, and he had no idea why she had stopped him. He said, "My good
Lady, while I would at some other time love to discuss this fantasy
of yours, I am late for an important meeting and have no time to
waste on mythical gods and the many ways stories are told about
their intervention in mortals' lives. If you would pardon me?" He
put his heels to Staarion to ease his mount forward, but his horse
refused to budge.
"Your belief in Thyerin does not affect his reality. Everyone
believes in something, even you, Sir Morion. The code of honor you
serve is as much a god to you as Thyerin is to those who follow him
under that, or any of his many other names. Even believing in
nothing is believing in something.
"I am named Kimmentari, and I know of your appointment. It is
part of the Dance, the meeting between you and Kyle BlueSword. I
have come to tell you three things. First, Kyle and his raiders will
attack the village of Belliern, which is just over a day away if you
shift your path to the east from here. Your King has been informed
of this by another agent and has sent two companies of the Army to
meet you there. If you meet Kyle there, and defeat him, the King's
soldiers will take care of the rest of his outlaws. If you wait
until the time and place that he has chosen, then there is no place
in the pattern for your victory.
"Still, wherever you choose to meet BlueSword, beware. He is not
the man you knew. Do not take for granted the skill you believe him
to possess. Also, you must kill him. The path that he has taken he
cannot be delivered from except in death. Do not let your former
friendship blind you to what must be done.
"And, lastly, when he is dead, remove from his left wrist the
bracer he wears and place it upon your own left wrist. For a short
time thereafter, you will be able to enter his citadel as he did
through a dimensional lens. Once within, you must find a
silver-bound crystal circlet that he had made for himself. It is
unfortunate that he never had a chance to use it, but it has a
further purpose. When you have the circlet, you must take it to
Dargon and deliver it unto one of your former pupils, the one named
Je'lanthra'en. She, too, has a part in this Dance and the circlet
will be of immeasurable aid to her.
"Once that is accomplished, your part in the Dance will be over,
and you can go back to your ways of not believing. From here, the
choice is yours. If you do not go to Belliern...that, too, is in the
pattern, and we will have to get someone else to play your part.
Farewell, Lord Sir Morion. I shall see you again. Until then..." And
she rode swiftly back into the greyness and vanished.
Morion stared after the strange woman for quite some time. He
couldn't quite believe the matter-of-fact way she had dictated the
next couple of days of his life to him, giving him the option to
reject her counsel but expecting him to follow it. Long after she
was gone, he still sat and thought, already so wet that he could sit
in the rain for days and not get wetter. Finally he decided to heed
her advice. More for practical reasons than anything else. He
suspected that Kyle would have something devious planned for their
proposed meeting on the shore of his lake. Even if he didn't, and
Morion succeeded in killing him, there would still be his outlaws to
contend with. If Kyle were truly going to attack Belliern, then
meeting him there with the King's men would be the smartest move he
could make.
He urged Staarion into motion again, and rode on thoughtfully
through the driving rain.
Morion propped himself comfortably against the lip of Belliern's
public well and looked around. The village was deserted and had been
since the King's men had arrived to tell them of BlueSword's coming
attack. Not a single resident of the village had elected to stay.
The infamy of BlueSword had spread swiftly, and no one wanted to
challenge it.
The village square, which should have been the busiest spot in
Belliern, was lifeless except for Morion and a few hidden sentries.
The shops that faced the square were closed and shuttered. The four
main spokelike streets were empty, as were the alleys that poked
between shops around the perimeter of the square. The day was
overcast, grey and cool for the end of summer. A gentle wind stirred
the dust on the ground and the sparse brown and green grass
scattered about the square. There were very few natural noises to
break the unnatural stillness of the village.
The two companies of the King's army were hidden in strategic
places around the village waiting for the attack that would occur
sometime that day according to Commander Rian's information.
Sentries were posted to carry information on Kyle's coming to the
ready soldiers. The waiting was the hardest part for them, of
course. Even after two days of good sleep and fair food at the
village's largest inn, waiting in hiding for an uncertain attack was
wearing on the nerves and body. They were at the mercy of Kyle whom,
if this day went right, they would never have to worry about again.
Morion sighed, and settled himself a little more comfortably on
the well's wide edge. He had resigned himself to this combat over
the days since he had diverted to Belliern. He had answered or
pushed away any hesitations and questions in his mind about whether
this was the right thing to do. As he drew his sword and settled it
across his knees, he thought about his reluctance to kill. He picked
up the whetstone and soft cloth lying beside him and began to hone
the blade that had been his livelihood for many years. He had done
his share of killing, both in the service of the King and on his own
later when he became a mercenary. And somewhere in that time, he had
become tired of killing. So often there had been no wrong or right
in the battles he had fought, just a desire for land, property, or
blood, and a sum of money to buy swords to fulfil that desire. It
had eventually become more than he was willing to deal with, and he
had packed away his blade forever. But, the inactivity was almost as
bad as the killing, so he had opened his school, trying to instill
in his students more than just the ability to destroy. As part of
his philosophy of 'restrained violence,' he tried to teach when it
was right to fight. He had finally convinced himself that this was
such a time and that he wasn't engaging in this duel for himself.
Kyle was destroying whole communities and killing innocent,
defenseless people. Someone had to stop him, for the innocents' sake
at least. Kyle had issued the challenge, and Kyle would have to face
the consequences.
Polishing and sharpening his sword calmed Morion. His world
narrowed to that blade and the coming fight. The simple activity
pushed moralizing out of his mind and got him ready to fight, made
his body and mind one. Soon, he was again the fighting machine of
his sellsword days and ready to duel Kyle BlueSword.
Shortly after noon, Morion felt a tingle, faint and subtle, move
like a wave across the square. He looked up, putting his polishing
materials down, and turned his gaze to the east-facing main road of
Belliern. He saw a thin grey line draw itself from the ground up to
ten feet in the air. It broadened into a thin, pointed-ended oval
which hovered for a moment and then twisted strangely,
eye-wrenchingly, like a lens of glass seen first edgewise then
turned broadside to vision. It twisted until it was a large grey
circle that filled the near end of the street. With a shiver and a
ripple, it flashed a bright silver, mirrorlike but reflecting nothing.
After another ripple brushed across the its surface, Morion saw
a shape begin to bulge out of the lower portion of it. It looked
like a man walking through a sheet hung on a line to dry. The
surface of the mirror stretched around the advancing form, then,
silently broke away from it to reveal a man dressed in fancy, fluted
blue plate armor with a lightning bolt on the breastplate that shone
like real gold. He wore no helm unlike his men who were armored in
ganbezons of leather. They were popping out of the mirror behind
their leader and forming into ragged ranks around him.
Even though the leader's head and face were uncovered, Morion
had some difficulty identifying Kyle. If not for the sword he held
naked in his right hand, Morion could not have been certain at all.
Kyle's face was darker, coarser, with a scraggly beard that altered
the planes of his face. There was something subtly twisted about the
face; something that made Morion think that perhaps Kyle had been
driven insane. And, the man's eyes glowed with a pale green light
plainly visible in the muted daylight. Only the sword assured him
that the leader was Kyle - it was the heirloom that Kyle was so
proud of.
Kyle BlueSword stepped through the dimensional lens into his
latest target, Belliern. Kyle immediatly noticed that the village
square was deserted but for one. He recognized the black armor and
the stylised gryphon on the breastplate. He recognized the black
helm with the silver decoration around the eye-slits that the man
was lifting from the edge of the village's well and settling on his
head. Lord Sir Morion of Pentamorlo, his former teacher.
He laughed, and said, "Ah, Teacher! You want to duel now? Fine,
just fine! Men, you know your jobs. Get to it while I take care of
this fool. I'll join you in a minute or two. Hah hah!" He waited a
moment to watch his outlaws slipping away in twos and threes down
the lanes of the village, destruction and mayhem on their minds.
After setting the lens to vanish, he walked to the square to meet
Morion. Kyle was as confident of victory as he sounded even without
the little surprises he had set up for the pre-planned duel.
Morion walked calmly to a position midway between the well and
the now vanishing mirror, ignoring Kyle's bluster. He watched the
outlaws moving away into the village. He hoped that the sentries had
alerted the soldiers. However, that was in the hands of Commander
Rian. He had a duel to fight. He located a level patch of dirt and
planted his feet firmly, shifting them slightly until he felt the
feedback of solidity that made him almost part of the ground. It was
a part of his favorite and best technique, the Rooted Form, a
fighting style that made the fighter immobile, rooted to the ground;
a rock in the face of his opponents. Morion lifted his blade in a
loose two-handed guard and waited, ready for anything.
Kyle strolled toward Morion, sword held loosely, point down, in
one hand. But, barely ten paces from his former teacher, Kyle
blurred into action faster than an eye could track. In an instant he
brought his sword up into a guarded attack position and began to run
at Morion, full speed from the first step.
He moved much faster than Morion thought possible. It was all he
could do to wrench himself from his rooted stance, move his sword
between himself and Kyle's blade, and dodge as Kyle barreled through
the space where Morion had been standing. Morion whirled around,
shuffled his feet until he found the feedback of the proper stance
and faced Kyle again. He was more prepared this time for the rush
that Kyle was already mounting. Part of the Rooted Form involved
stopping and engaging an opponent to keep him from darting in and
out and around one. With a skill that almost surprised Morion
himself, he leaned into Kyle's attack, feeling the strength of his
stance pour up his legs and into his body. With a darting sword and
a braced body, he let Kyle crash into him. Morion watched as the
speeding man simply bounced off of the front that he put up, the
inertia of Kyle's rush absorbed and syphoned off.
Kyle recovered with the same lightning swiftness that he had
charged with, and soon Morion was encased in a web of flashing blue
light from the multitude of blows that rained down at him from
Kyle's impossibly fast arm. It took all of his skill to keep himself
from being wounded. Morion had done his best to eliminate any
prejudging of this contest by what he knew of Kyle's skill and
ability because of what the strange woman Kimmentari had said. Now
he had to rethink his moves in terms of this incredible speed. He
gradually came to realize that he could not possibly defeat Kyle if
he stayed in one place. He knew that it was just a matter of time
until his reflexes didn't respond fast enough to block one of Kyle's
blows. The speed of BlueSword's attack left him no time to riposte.
The smile on Kyle's face told Morion that the outlaw had him
right where he wanted him, almost as if he had expected Morion to
use the Rooted Form and knew that it was futile. Morion decided to
use a change in tactics to surprise Kyle to perhaps gain an advantage.
He gradually eased his feet free, surprised by the increased
difficulty he now had blocking Kyle. He hid any differences from his
opponent, making it seem that he intended to stay Rooted until he
was killed. He gathered his resources into himself, storing them up
until he felt he could manage a fast burst of action, blocking with
more and more economy he hoped would seem to Kyle like weariness.
Finally ready, Morion sped into action. Judging his moment to
the half-second, he dodged to the left under an almost-patterned
blow. In the slight hesitation Kyle made when his blade didn't meet
the expected resistance, Morion was able to bring his blade around
and under Kyle's defence. He swung with all of the force in his body
and connected with the armor under Kyle's right arm and dented it
enough to at least bruise if not break some ribs. Continuing the
motion smoothly, Morion slipped out of range and took up a light,
shifting stance, ready to move, dodge, run, or whatever else was
necessary to defeat BlueSword.
Something was wrong. Kyle wasn't charging after Morion. He stood
and turned just enough to look at his former teacher. Morion noticed
that the swarthy look and the glowing eyes were gone, as if a mask
had lifted, leaving a very bewildered, weary and recognizable Kyle.
Kyle took a hesitant step toward Morion, and said, "H-help m..."
The return of the mask cut off his plea, and once again Kyle was the
dark-skinned, evil-eyed man who had walked through the mirror. "Good
try, teacher," he said. "First blood to you. I didn't think you
smart enough to leave your stance even when it was killing you. But,
you still have no chance of victory. I shall not be caught off
guard, and I am better than you! Diiiieeeeee!!" He charged with the
same speed as the first time, not even slightly slower. It was as
though the minutes of fighting hadn't tired Kyle in the least.
Although feeling the fatigue that Kyle was not, Morion was more
ready this time than before. He spun and swung with Kyle's rush,
moving with the midnight-blue armored man so that he didn't have the
time to turn and run again before Morion's sword was there to be
blocked. Kyle attacked in a flurry of blows that Morion blocked. Now
that he wasn't hemmed in by his useless stance, Morion recognized
that there was more speed than skill in Kyle's attack. There was
also a fatal tendency to attack in a pattern. As he and Kyle fought
back and forth across the village square, Morion grew more and more
certain that, given half a chance and enough time to discern the
pattern in Kyle's attack, he could win.
Neither dueler noticed when the fighting in the rest of the
village reached the square. The King's men had reacted swiftly to
the advent of the outlaws, ambushing and slaughtering the small
groups as they searched the village for something to kill. Of the
original two and a half score only ten survived the initial attacks.
With the advantage of more experience in guerilla tactics than the
soldiers, the outlaws, though few in numbers, managed to take a high
toll on the King's men as they slipped through the alleys and houses
of the village. Finally the outlaws were driven into the square
itself by the numbers of King's men alone. There, one by one, they
fought and died, outnumbered but not surrendering.
Morion finally got his chance. He backed Kyle up against the
well with a flurry of hacking blows that seemed wild but were not.
Using every trick he knew to keep Kyle from breaking away from him,
he studied Kyle's pattern, even going so far as to take a hit or two
to judge the man's reaction. When he was sure, he made his final play.
He attacked, and Kyle followed up as predicted. Another
half-dozen blows, all as planned. One more, two, three, and - as
Kyle's blade came up from terce in a backhand return, Morion moved.
His blade went down, forcing BlueSword's to slide up and out. His
blade came up from the same place and angle that his opponent's had.
It caught the man in now-dusty blue just under the lower edge of his
breastplate, cutting deeply. He recovered the blade quickly, and,
while Kyle was staggered with the first blow, he swung with all his
might, leaving himself dangerously open, and struck home deep into
Kyle's left side, his blade piercing the armor and sinking deep into
Kyle's chest.
Kyle's face twisted even more as he grimaced in pain. For a few
moments, there was nothing left of Kyle's features, but rather
something out of a nightmare. Fangs, horns, pointed ears, excessive
hair, no eyes but rather twin orbs of flickering green light nestled
under its brows; the green light that had shone through Kyle's eyes.
In a voice that was deep and gravelly, and very loud, the thing
said, "You have won, mortal. But, I never forget. You will not be so
lucky next time. My time is limited on this plane now, but I shall
have my revenge. Beware, Sir Morion. Beware!" And, the alien
features faded leaving the now pale but familiar features of Kyle.
Kyle's body sagged, knees buckling, sword falling from nerveless
fingers. Morion released his own blade, still wedged in Kyle's
chest, and the body dropped lower until he was sitting propped
against the rim of the well. Morion dropped into a crouch beside
Kyle, bewildered by what had driven Kyle to this pass, and saddened
by his friend and pupil's imminent death. He briefly wondered if
Kyle could be saved, but from the amount of blood that was pooling
on the ground below him from the two wounds he had received, Morion
knew that Kyle was as good as dead.
Kyle's eyes fluttered open, and their grey-brown irises locked
on Morion. Weakly, he said, "M-Morion. Th-thank you. Really, thank
you. Y-you have released me. Th-thank y-y-y..." He slumped down,
eyes shutting again, not yet dead but not strong enough to speak.
Morion knelt beside him, wondering whether or not to help his friend
to a swifter end.
Then, the woman with the pale blue hair and ruby eyes was beside
him. Kimmentari touched Kyle's forehead lightly, and he seemed to
receive a jolt of energy from her fingers. As his eyes opened, she
said in her music-voice, "Kyle, explain."
"E-ex-x-plain?" quavered Kyle.
Kimmentari's fingers pressed more firmly on Kyle's brow, and
Morion thought he saw their tips glow faintly blue for a moment. In
response, Kyle's eyes regained some of their normal glitter, and he
drew himself up a little, ignoring the shaft of steel in his chest.
The strange woman said again, "Explain, Kyle. Discharge your duty,
and then go to a peaceful rest. Tell Sir Morion your tale."
"My tale." Kyle looked almost healthy, the color back in his
face. No more blood dripped from beneath his breastplate, but Morion
wasn't sure if this was because his wounds had been staunched, or
because he had no more blood in him. "My tale," Kyle repeated.
"I came to Pentamorlo School not..."
I came to Pentamorlo School not knowing exactly what I was going
to do with the training I might receive. My father had died four
years before, and my mother remarried into a family I didn't care
much for. I dearly wanted to be able to use the sword that was my
only heritage, so I sold everything I could and went to study under
Sir Morion.
One day, while I was visiting Tench, about a year after I joined
the school, I met a man named Mygrul. I liked him the first time I
saw him. There was a kind of energy, a happiness in everything he
did that drew me to him. We talked, bought each other drinks, talked
and drank more, and decided that we were buddies and planned to see
each other again. He was a mercenary who mostly hired out as
travelers' guard, so he knew when he would be in town again.
There was much in Mygrul that made me want to be like him. He
was good with the sword, learned mostly by a five year stint in the
King's service. He had managed to keep his sense of humor by taking
easy but lucrative jobs, ones that didn't involve a lot of
unnecessary killing. When we had gotten to know each other better
and had become friends, he offered to team up with me when I got out
of school. His reputation was such that he had the pick of guard
positions, and with me as part of the team, he could get even better
pay for both of us. I readily agreed. It was perfect, exactly what I
was hoping for.
When I graduated, I went to Tench to wait for him. A few days
later, the caravan he was escorting arrived. With a few words to the
master of the caravan, I was hired on the spot, and Mygrul and I
began our partnership.
That first caravan was uneventful, but during the second one we
hired out with, the train was attacked twice. Mygrul and I, with the
help of the sling-armed drivers, drove off nearly a score of
half-organized raiders. When we reached our destination, Mygrul and
I got drunk in celebration of our victory. He made some comments
about us being a perfect team. That got me thinking. Still a little
tipsy, I suggested we swear ourselves blood-brothers, knife-kin by
the custom of my people. He agreed, and we swore the never-parting
oath and sealed it with blood. Then, we went back to the taproom and
got drunk again.
My life was perfect after that. I had a brother, something I had
always wished for. I had a job that I loved, a purpose in life.
There wasn't anything I lacked, not even women - our gold and
reputations gave us free run of the red-lantern district in every
city we visited. Until four months ago.
Mygrul and I had just escorted a caravan from Baranur to
Easryun. As soon as we arrived, we had offers for a return trip from
a dozen merchants. But we wanted to rest, so we rented rooms in the
best inn in the city, paying a week in advance, and went out to
explore the city.
We were walking down one of the streets that opened off the
upper marketplace. Here the more prosperous merchants had shops that
had stood almost since the walls of the city were built. We stopped
by a trinket shop and were looking at the wealth in the window,
arguing about whether the jewelry was real or not, when we were
challenged by a quartet of young toughs with more steel than sense,
and more ale in them than both. They were well dressed, not part of
the underside of the city but probably merchants' or nobles' sons
out looking for trouble.
They taunted us, trying to goad us into a fight. Mygrul refused
to even draw steel, and kept me from drawing, too. He tried to
reason with them, and finally even offered them gold to leave. They
were intent on their evening's fun. They edged closer and closer
until one, probably the leader, lunged forward almost awkwardly and
skewered Mygrul low in the chest.
I cleared my blade a second later, and attacked. I didn't reach
Mygrul's killer because the other three were crowding me. With more
fury than skill, I disarmed one, knocked another out of line, and
disabled the last by nearly cutting his sword arm off. When they
realized that they were up against someone more skilled than
themselves, they backed away cautiously, and when I didn't keep pace
with them they turned and ran.
I went to Mygrul, who was coughing weakly, blood trickling from
the corner of his mouth. I tried to help, but the wound was too
deep. I thought of a healer, but I had never been in Easryun and had
no idea where I might find one. As I was ready to go for help in the
market, Mygrul said, "Ah, what a fool. Never trust bared steel. What
a way to d...." And he was dead.
Rage burned through me, rage and anger at those hotheaded fools
that had killed my best friend and brother, a lesser anger at Mygrul
for letting them kill him, for not wanting to fight. Vengeance was
what I needed, what I owed to Mygrul. It was my duty, what I had to
do. The oath we had sworn saw to that, as well as the nagging
thought that I should have protected him, even from his own folly.
A glow caught my eye as I thought those things. I looked up and
saw that one of the displays in the window was glowing. A polished
quartz egg sitting on a blackwood stand was giving off a bright,
pearly light. As I looked at it, I felt a pulling in my head, a
feeling that if I touched the egg, if I took it, I would be able to
get my revenge. The feeling pulled at me, feeding the rage and
hatred inside of me, showing me images of the dead and tortured
bodies of those Shuul-damned kids. It urged me to break the window
and take the egg. I tried to resist, but not for very long. The
images, the promises were too good to let go. I stood and shattered
the window with the hilt of my sword. I reached in and took the egg.
I stared into the depths of the egg as a voice said, "Pact.
Freedom for vengeance. Accept?" I didn't even need to say yes. When
it voiced the question, it gleaned the answer from my immediate
reaction, which was acceptance. With a flare of light that startled
me into dropping the egg, the creator of the voice flowed into my
arm, and then into my entire body. I watched distantly as the egg
shattered as if it was made of shell and not stone. When it did, the
thing in me laughed. It told me that my last hope had been that egg
and that now it would live in me forever.
That in me which was myself was pushed into a small corner of my
mind, able to see what the invader did with my body but unable to do
anything about it. I watched while the murderers of Mygrul were
hunted down and killed. I watched while the invader searched out
magic that was hidden in secret vaults. I watched as the outlaws
were gathered and as a citadel was built on an island in the center
of a lake. And I watched as the invader murdered and destroyed in my
name and finally challenged you; and, at the last, fought and lost
to you, Morion. Thank you again, and farewell.
Kyle sighed peacefully and died without pain, his body and soul
at rest. Morion turned to the blue haired woman who was sitting on
her knees a little back from the pair. As his eyes fell on her, she
said, "You needed to know. As a lesson. Do not let your honor or
your sworn word overwhelm your sense of right. I know that you try
not to, but I know that your honor is your life to you. Do not let
it be your death.
"One more meeting is given to us by Thyerin in this Dance.
Beyond that I cannot see, but I could wish for further contact.
Beware the citadel of BlueSword, Sir Morion. All is not as it seems.
Remember your friend's story and go warily. The circlet must get to
Je'lanthra'en by DorthsDay in Harvest to be of use to her.
Farewell." She lifted Kyle's sword gingerly by the hilt, took a
step, and vanished.
Morion stared after the woman wondering at her words yet again.
In his own terms, DorthsDay was the last day of Ober and over a
month away. More than enough time to get to the citadel, and then to
Dargon. He looked around the square and saw that the battle with the
outlaws was over. The King's men gathered in the square to report to
their captains on their individual fights. No one was looking his
way, probably, he thought, part of Kimmentari's work.
He looked down at Kyle appearing asleep rather than dead. Kyle's
tale had been strange, and he wondered briefly if all of this, from
Kyle coming to his school to this moment, had been arranged so that
a crystal circlet could be given to another former pupil of his.
Briefly, his temper flared at the thought of callous so-called gods
meddling deviously and catastrophically in mortals' lives. But that
anger caused him to abandon the thought as useless and dangerous. He
would never know, nor truly want to, just how much immortals dabbled
in his life and those around him.
Morion took hold of Kyle's arm and saw the bracer there. With
some difficulty he unlatched it, and slid it off. It was plain steel
except for a little sigil near the cuff that looked like a grey
lens. He closed it about his own left wrist and wondered how Kyle
had used it to control the mirror. However, just thinking that made
the little sigil light up, and he watched as the mirror opened up in
the street as it had before.
Now, the soldiers noticed him, the dead BlueSword and the travel
mirror. Commander Rian was striding over to him, but Morion didn't
feel like talking to the man. With the last of his tasks in mind, he
walked over to the mirror and stepped in.
It was strange walking inside the mirror, like traveling through
a mountain pass blanketed in heavy fog. He took two steps that
seemed to stretch for days, and then he was out of the greyness and
standing in a courtyard.
He looked around and saw the mirror vanishing. The courtyard,
castle on one side, protective wall on the other, was deserted.
Cautiously, Morion climbed the set of stairs that let to the top of
the wall and he saw, peeking between two merlins, the vast lake that
protected the citadel of BlueSword far more effectively than the
wall he stood upon.
As Morion cautiously explored the castle and out buildings, he
found the whole complex was as deserted as the front courtyard.
There were signs of occupancy - the outlaws were not very neat
housekeepers - but they left no one behind when they went on a raid.
Morion wondered briefly whether there were servants chained away
somewhere, but he found none.
When Morion was sure that he was alone in the citadel, he began
searching for the circlet. Remembering that Kimmentari had mentioned
a time limit of sorts on his use of the mirror at their first
meeting, he decided to be as methodical as possible in his search,
to be sure that he looked everywhere in as little time as possible.
He went through the cellars, where there was much treasure but no
circlet. He pried into every nook and cranny from the first floor
up, searching for secret panels and hidden rooms, anywhere that
valuable items might be hidden. He looked behind curtains and
arrases, under furniture and around shelves, even under the rugs.
Finally, on the top floor, in what had to have been Kyle's room,
Morion found a panel behind the bed's headboard. In the small
opening it revealed was the circlet, a thing of simple beauty,
resting on deep blue velvet. Also in the cubbyhole was a smaller
square of black velvet, on which rested a small, reddish stone.
Morion reverently lifted the circlet and examined the pure
craftsmanship in it. He lifted the blue velvet out and wrapped the
circlet in it, then set it aside for a moment. He picked the red
stone up off of its rest and held it cupped in his palm. In the same
instant that he realized it was egg-shaped, he felt needles spring
into his palm. The pricks weren't very painful at first, but fire
began to course through him from each needle tip, pain that raced
faster and faster throughout his whole body. He tried to shake the
red egg from his palm, but it seemed to be holding on as it pumped
poison into him.
Morion fell on the bed, body rigid with escalating pain. He
looked at the stone and could see the thing that had possessed Kyle
standing in a cloudy, grey place. The being said, "Sir Morion. I
said I'd get my revenge. You are dying, and with you dies the thread
that circlet would have woven. My masters will be pleased with me, I
think. Die slowly and in much pain, Sir Morion." The being's
laughter faded with its body into the greyness. A convulsive twitch
finally loosened the little egg from his palm, and it rolled onto
the floor. The last thing he saw as blackness welled up behind his
eyes was the blue-haired woman Kimmentari coming through the door
and stepping casually on the egg, a look of dismay and concern on
her face. She said something in her music-voice, but he couldn't
hear her through his pain. And then he knew no more.
-John L. White <WHITE @ DREXELVM>
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