by Lori Hyrup
Aria pulled herself away from Kharra. Before she realized what she was doing, she called forth both of her swords. She planted the tips of either sword in the ground beside her and knelt before Kharra. With her head down, she whispered hoarsely, “Be loyal of word and deed, and serve Mattekan as best you may. Seek those of kindred spirit whose hearts are good and purpose true. I pledge to protect and guard the spirit of Mattekan—the Zumai, the People of the Spirit.
“Kharra il Marquin, I bond my swords and my life to you. I swear to you that I will do you no harm. I swear to you that I will promote the well-being of Mattekan. I swear to you that I will strike down those who seek to destroy it so that your hands know no blood. My swords sing with the resonance of the crystal and the heartbeat of this world.”
Aria opened her eyes slowly. Kharra was standing, her mouth hanging open. She stared at Aria with a look of disbelief.
“Aria,” she said in hushed tones, “how do you know my full name? And what you said, that was the oath of the Sauru swordsaints. How did you…” At a loss for words, Kharra’s voice trailed off.
“Zephyron told me a little bit about your mother, including her name and your family’s history. He told me of that oath as well.”
Kharra nodded. She placed her hand on Aria’s head. A tingling sensation rippled throughout Aria’s body. This was the first time her body had reacted to Kharra’s touch. “Aria Moonblade, or should I say, Aria du Tronalt?” Aria looked up at the use of her real name, something she was certain she had never mentioned to either Kharra or Zephyron. Kharra winked at her. “I have seen the nature of your heart, and I have witnessed you in battle. Responding to the wishes of Mattekan, I, Kharra il Marquin, am minded to accept the offer of your bond. From this day forward, you are known as Aria du Tronalt j’il Marquin.”
Kharra removed her hand from Aria’s forehead. “Zephyron taught me those words long ago as part of my history lessons. I never thought I would ever recite them.”
Recalling her swords, Aria climbed to her feet. Even without physical contact, she continued to sense Kharra’s presence within her mind. When she first spoke, she thought the bond was merely the words of an oath, pledged and obeyed, but she now understood that the bond linked them on a much deeper level. Aria sensed Kharra’s continued pain, so intense that Aria wondered how the woman remained standing.
“Kharra, I know you can’t forgive what I’ve done—” Aria began.
“I already have.”
Aria blinked at her. Within their bond Aria sensed the truth. Despite all the pain, sorrow, and grief weighing heavily on Kharra’s heart, she still maintained the capacity to both forgive and love. Aria was not certain she could have been so strong.
Kharra studied her for a moment. “A kruusta you are no longer. In fact I don’t think you ever were one of them, not really. You were raised by the order, and you carry the shard and talents of their profession, but you are Sauru. That is why Zephyron taught you the oath. You already had within you the ability to call upon the crystal’s power. You were just blocked, though I do not know how or why.
“The Order of the Shard, in an odd sort of way, serves the greater good of Mattekan. However, their ranks have been corrupted by the machinations of Oracle Lukav, and the shards are being drained and destroyed for reasons we still do not fully understand. I still have my mission to complete, but I also can’t ignore what’s being done here. I’m going to need your help with both, particularly in dealing with the order.”
Aria agreed, and as the night wore on, the two women shared their thoughts of how to proceed. At last exhaustion from their physical and emotional ordeal took its toll, and they both retired for the evening. Aria stared up at the sky. Aery was the only moon still visible, the other two having set. Aria took comfort in its silvery-white light. So much had happened in the past few weeks, it was difficult to absorb. She had wanted to live and be free of the curse that had loomed over her head for so many years. Her wish had been answered, but it had come with a heavy price.
“Aria?” came a quiet voice.
“Yes?” she answered, still lost in her own thoughts.
“You were wrong about one thing in your line of thinking.”
Aria propped herself up on her elbows. “What’s that?” she asked.
“You feared Zephyron was in love with me. It’s true we shared a deep bond, but it was not me he loved. It was you. He fell in love with you. It entered his heart the very first moment you two touched.”
“But he said he loved you—”
“He loved me, surely, but while his love for me was great, it was the love that one has for a sister.”
Stunned by the revelation, Aria did not breathe for several moments. Someone had actually loved her…and she had killed him. Aria wept quietly for the next few hours. At last her emotions settled, and her mind began to wander.
As her mind wandered, Aria sensed a distant call in the night. It was not a sound on the wind but a feeling, a sensation of knowledge whispering into her thoughts. It came from deep within the earth and from all directions at once. Aria frowned, not understanding the meaning of what she had absorbed. “Kharra?” she said softly.
“Yes?” came Kharra’s sleepy voice.
“You understand powers of the mind, right?”
“I do, yes.”
“I think I have been given a message. I think it is from the shards, but I’m uncertain of the meaning.”
“What is it?” Kharra asked.
“It doesn’t have words exactly, but it left an impression. It implied that something is sleeping.”
Kharra sat bolt upright in her bedroll. “What did you say?” she asked eagerly.
“Something is sleeping? Do you know what that means?”
Though the dying embers gave off no light, Aery’s moonlight gave off enough for Aria to see new tears forming in Kharra’s eyes. For the first time since their escape, a truly happy smile sprang across her lips. Through their bond Aria sensed…hope.
EPILOGUE
Yron listened for danger and heard nothing for the moment. He was in a strange place deep within a mountain. His stomach hurt, but he had licked the wound enough to stop the bleeding. He sensed Earth Mother’s call strongly in this place. She was upset and sad, both of which bothered him. He became upset as well. Soul Brother had fallen silent some time ago. That also made him upset. They had been companions for so long the silence pained him. How one could go for an entire life with such silence and isolation was beyond him.
More of those unnatural creatures paraded through the tunnels in front of him. They had been created by bringing pain to Earth Mother, by maiming and damaging her. Yron resisted the urge to rush out to them and tear their fragile limbs apart. They would shatter beneath his claws and teeth, but there were too many for him to handle alone. Soul Brother needed to be moved to safety, and a fight would risk Yron’s ability to do that. Even with Earth Mother’s help, Soul Brother barely hung to this side of life. It took a lot of his concentration to keep hold of Soul Brother.
Yron growled lowly as a small creature wandered away from its pack and over toward his location. With a powerful swat of his claw, the corruption crumbled and shattered. No others deviated from their group. Yron skirted up the tunnel, moving in the opposite direction of the vile corruptions.
Yron looked about, noticing how much of these caverns and tunnels resembled earth-home, though much smaller. The walls were made of rock in some places, but Earth Mother’s lifeblood in others. Solidified shards of lifeblood hung from the ceiling and jutted out from the ground. This place was nothing like earth-home, he thought. Though Earth Mother’s presence was just as powerful here as elsewhere, she seemed weaker, as if stricken by some sort of illness. He did not think it was possible for Earth Mother to become ill, but that was the sensation he felt.
Yron pressed on. One of the caverns had collapsed, and he paused to observe it. Several humans, the type who had no ability to sense Earth Mother, were working t
o dig away stone and debris. Were they responsible for her pain? They would crumble even faster than the vile corruptions stalking the tunnels if he chose to attack. No, he must get Soul Brother to safety. Yron dismissed the humans, doubled back, and searched for another exit.
Yron recalled how much he disliked being underground. He revered Earth Mother, but tunnels were not the best environment for his massive frame. He much preferred the openness of the forest and the expanse of the sky above. Confinement caused him to bristle.
A long time passed before Yron finally caught the scent of fresh air. He paused and sniffed several times to be sure. Moving faster but still cautiously, Yron followed the scent. At last he saw light ahead. He picked up his pace even more, wanting nothing more than to be free of this tainted place. Finally he emerged from the tunnel entrance, a place bordered with statues of skyguards and framed by lines so straight that they must have been cut by the hands of men. Odd that men such as these would know anything about skyguards. Brilliant light from the sun nearly blinded him. He blinked several times before the spots in his eyes cleared.
Man voices shouted out to him from above. Apparently this location was guarded. Yron wasted no time and sprinted away, down the mountainside and into the woods. Men, even those who commanded horses, would not be able to catch him. Still, he needed to put distance between him and them before he could stop. So Yron ran, elated at the sensation of being free from the caverns. He worried for Soul Brother’s well-being, but he would find Spirit Sister. She would be able to make Soul Brother well again.
Distracted by his worry, Yron failed to recognize the signs of the trap in time to stop. He struggled unsuccessfully to grab hold of the edge of the pit before falling headlong into it. Fortunately the pit trap had no spikes. Still, Yron understood the workings of men. He had been captured once, long before he had encountered Soul Brother, and he had been forced to kill many men before breaking free. With him holding on to Soul Brother’s life, he would not be able to fight as he had then.
The scent of the men arrived long before they did, and the snapping twigs above announced their arrival. Several faces peered down into the pit. The men wore earthen colors, greens and browns. Each wore a bow around his back and a long knife at his side. Yron growled at them.
“What in Tanoria is that?” one of the men asked.
“I don’t know,” another responded. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
A third man stared down at Yron, his eyes wide with disbelief. “I think it’s a tigron,” he whispered. The other two men looked at him, confusion clear on their faces. “It is a mythical creature, something I learned about as a child. I never thought they were real, but according to the myth, they are more powerful and more intelligent than any other animal. More powerful than a zegu even. It will kill us if we get near.”
“Then let’s make sure we don’t get near,” said the first man. The man held a long tube to his lips and shot something at Yron. The thing struck Yron’s neck. The tigron roared at the man. The other two men held up tubes as well and copied the man’s actions. Each man repeated the procedure two more times. At the end of the third time, Yron staggered and fell over. His only thought before the darkness overcame him was to hold on to Soul Brother as tightly as possible.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you, Lisa Krebs, for spending many selfless hours double-checking both my writing and my sanity as I pushed deep into Aria’s world. You were quick to call shenanigans if something didn’t feel quite right.
Katie, I truly appreciate you venturing into Tanoria and facing off against shard beasts.
Shaun, you dove into the deep end and came out the other side. Your sharp eye and keen insights proved invaluable.
Finally, to my husband, Darrin, and my daughter, Freya. These past couple of years have been difficult ones, but we’ve been able to face them together as a family. Thank you for allowing me to spend the extra time I needed to share this story with the world.
