by David Wind
“Good afternoon, Halan,” Roth said. “Salinar,” he added to the Arms Master’s wife. “All is ready?”
“It is,” Halan replied and nodded to his wife.
Turning, Salinar took two cloth-wrapped items from a shelf behind her: one long, the other smaller. She slid them on the counter and opened the smaller one to reveal two identical knives.
Areenna, looking at the knives, drew in a sharp breath. The workmanship was amazing. “I have never seen such knives,” she whispered.
Smiling at the compliment, Halan picked one up and held it aloft. The knife was nine inches long; the top of the blade had two inches of serration. A center-grooved channel ran the length of the blade. He turned kit over twice. “I crafted these knives from the special metal you gave me, My Lord. I made each knife from a single slice of metal, the handle molded to fit each of your hands. I bound the leather to the handle while the metal cooled so it would become part of the handle. It will wear down over the years but it will never separate from the metal.”
He paused for a breath. “Salinar has blessed each blade, and the knife’s strength will never be in doubt. The blade is sharp and the metal never dulls. This is yours, Prince Mikaal,” he said and extended the knife handle to Mikaal.
When Mikaal took the knife, his fingers curled around the handle and it settled in as comfortably as if the knife had always been his. He opened his palm and laid the knife cross-wise. The balance was perfect and its weight so light it was as if he held nothing. “Magnificent,” he whispered.
Halan lifted the second knife, which was almost but not quite a duplicate of the first. The handle was slightly smaller and the blade that much longer. He offered it to Areenna, who hesitated a moment before taking it from Halan’s hand. When she touched it, a spark of energy skipped across her fingertips. Salinar smiled and nodded.
When she grasped the handle, it fit snugly within her grip and molded to her hand. “It’s wonderful. Thank you, Master Halan, Mistress Salinar.”
Both bowed to her.
“There is one more piece, My Princess,” Halan said and nodded to his wife.
Salinar opened the second wrapped weapon to reveal a bow carved from the wood of a white gazebow tree. “On a journey to Northcrom, at the farthest northern border before the tar fields, I found a white gazebow struck by lightning. I was able to harvest a small and unharmed section of the tree and brought it to Tolemac. I created the bow by carving it whole. It is powerful, yet the draw is deceptively easy. I hope you will find it to be a weapon and a tool of value,” he said, handing the bow to Areenna.
When the bow touched her hands, a gentle warmth flowed from the wood, which gleamed with a light coat of oil. “It is beautiful,” she said. She hefted the bow in her left hand and with her right, drew back the gut. The bow’s power vibrated through her and she knew this weapon would serve her well.
Before she could speak, Halan reached behind and, when he turned back, offered her a wrapped bundle. “Arrows of acont wood,” he said handing her the package.
Looking at the weapon maker and his wife, she said, “Thank you again, both of you. I have not words.”
Halan smiled. “Your face and eyes tell me all I need. Go safely on your travels.”
When they left Halan’s foundry, Enaid said, “We have one more stop.”
Mikaal and Areenna stayed still. “Come,” was all she would say.
Now what? she asked Mikaal silently.
He gave a mental shrug. My mother likes surprises.
They followed Enaid for three short streets until they reached a small shop. Areenna read the lettering on the glass window, which informed all that this was a seamstress’ shop. Inside, behind a small counter amidst the scent of perfumed candles and bolts of cloth, piled high on a myriad of tables stood a tall and very thin woman.
“Welcome, My Lords, My Ladies.” The woman bowed slightly to the five. “I am honored.”
“Thank you Etina, all is ready?”
“Yes, My Lady.” Turning, she lifted a long cloak and held it high. “I used the pelts of rabts, and sewed them to well-tanned and thin beaten dar hide. There are no warmer garments in all of Nevaeh than these two cloaks.”
“They are beautiful, but they seem… so heavy.”
“Come, see if the weight is too much,” Etina said, motioning Areenna to her.
The seamstress draped the cloak over her shoulders, placed the hood over her head, and stepped back. “How feels it?”
Areenna accepted the weight of the cloak and was surprised that it did not weigh her down. “Comfortable.”
“While it is heavy, it is not overly so, and the pelts are balanced in weight. After a short time, you will adjust to its feel.”
“Thank you.” With Areenna’s smile and a nod, the seamstress picked up the second coat and handed it to Mikaal.
He slipped it on and adjusted the fur to his shoulders. “Thank you, Mistress Etina, it is perfect.”
The seamstress smiled. “Wear it in warmth, My Prince.”
“Come,” Enaid said as she smiled at the two wrapped in fur cloaks. “The day is ending and there is still much to be done.”
CHAPTER 7
Sitting at the table in the small hall, their plates and only two glasses remained before each of them: one of wine the other water. The mood was somber. Everyone knew this would be the last shared meal for a long time. The musicians who had been playing behind a sheer curtain had left a quarter hour before.
Talk was over. What remained was to sit and enjoy each other’s company. Although outwardly calm, a strange edginess filled Areenna—not born of fear but of anticipation for what lay ahead.
She glanced at Mikaal, who was looking at Roth. A smile tweaked the corners of his lips. “Try to relax, Father,” Mikaal advised, breaking the silence that had fallen when Roth finished speaking, “we will do what is needed.”
Roth did not smile. “If it were only so easy as saying the words… I wish I could be with you.”
“But none of us can,” Enaid said in a low voice. “We each have our own paths to walk. Neither does it mean we will not be of help when the time comes.” I will be there when you need me, she added silently to Areenna and Mikaal.
Areenna nodded at her mentor’s words. She understood exactly what Enaid meant, and the thought from the High Queen brought her comfort. “When we know what it is we seek, I shall find a way to notify you,” Areenna resolved to the three.
“And Mikaal,” Enaid said pointedly, “your father’s worries are justified. You… you and Areenna are still children—” Enaid held up a hand to forestall Mikaal from speaking.
“—I know you no longer consider yourself such,” she added, turning to look at Areenna as well, “but you are only twenty and eighteen. Old enough to have to do what is necessary, but you are too young to have the experience we have gained; too young to know the depths of evil you face.”
Before either Areenna or Mikaal could speak, a Tolemac guardsman entered the dining chamber followed by a guardsman wearing the markings of Fainhall. The two walked directly to Roth, and bowed their heads. “My Lord, a message from King Nomis.” he announced and motioned for the other to hand Roth the message.
Roth took the message, broke the seal and opened it. “Tell me exactly what happened,” he ordered the guardsman after finishing the message.
“Two villages were attacked, one was destroyed, twenty men and eight women were taken prisoner. Prince Samot has been injured.”
“The injury?”
“He will live, but he may lose the use of his left arm,” the guardsman reported.
“See this man is fed and rested,” Roth instructed his guardsman. “Send in the Captain of the Watch.”
The two left and within moments, Stamel, the Watch Captain appeared. “My Lord?”
“There is trouble in Fainhall. Have the main guard company ready to go tomorrow. Full armor. Send Noslen to me,” he added.
Without a word, Captain Stamel l
eft the chamber.
“She knows,” Enaid said. “I sense this is her work.”
Everyone knew Enaid spoke of the Black Sorceress.
“Why?” Areenna asked. “What purpose does it serve?”
Before Enaid could speak, Roth said, “Disruption. It splits our forces and if I understand the way she thinks, she believes it will weaken us.”
“But it will not,” Enaid said. “She baits us, trying to see what it is we do. That is what this attack on Fainhall was about.”
“You are certain?” Nosaj asked.
Enaid turned to Areenna’s father. “It’s nothing more than she has been doing for these past twenty years. Only this time fear motivates her. She senses the coming changes and fights for survival. Her defeat at the Island pushes her. She is afraid.”
She turned to Roth, “You will need me for this.”
“Understood,” Roth responded as Noslen appeared in the chamber. The Captain of the Six was tall and broad and although he wore no armor, there could be no doubt he was the embodiment of a warrior.
“My Lord?”
“Fainhall has been attacked. I have ordered preparations. Pick two Six groups to lead us. We leave in the morning. We travel light and fast.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“You go as well.”
Noslen smiled. “Thank you.”
Alone again, King Nosaj turned to Roth, “I will bring a small force and join you on the road to Fainhall.”
Roth shook his head. “No, old friend. It is more important for you to ready your people for what is coming.” He glanced at each in turn. “We have spoken our hopes and fears tonight. Sunrise will come soon enough. It is time to rest and ready ourselves for tomorrow.”
Standing, Roth held out his hand for Enaid. She grasped it and let him pull her to her feet.
As they left the chamber, Areenna caught the thought Enaid sent to her. Worry not of this. It is a diversion meant to confuse us. Do not stray from your path.
<><><>
Less than an hour after going to bed, Areenna lay staring at the dark ceiling. After leaving the small hall, she had gone to the parapets and set Gaalrie free to hunt. Then she’d returned to her bedchamber and prepared for her last night of sleep in Tolemac.
The anxiety that hummed through her since the meal had prevented sleep. Enaid’s earlier words rose to taunt her. She and Mikaal were children, it was true, but they were so much more. And so many people depended on them. Can I do this?
A tear slid from the corner of her eye. Oh, Mother, how I wish you were here. In the two years since her mother’s death, there was not a day she did not miss her, but tonight was different, for tomorrow signaled the start of another chapter in her life and, above all else, she craved the comfort of her mother’s arms and words.
The single tear turned into more and as she lay crying silently, she brought up a picture of her mother as she remembered her, so full of life that everyone around her could do nothing but feel the warmth Queen Inaria of Freemorn had radiated. She saw again, the white blond hair framing her oval face and the green eyes—identical to her own—awash with silver motes and a small straight nose above full lips.
With her tears still falling, she wrapped the well-remembered sensation of her mother’s arms around her and slipped into a dreamless sleep broken only when bands of light rose in the east and Gaalrie’s always gentle push rolled into her mind, showing her the beauty of the coming day and the gathering of Roth’s soldiers preparing to leave for Fainhall.
Rising from the bed, she moved quickly. She took care of her needs and dressed in her traveling clothes, a pair of leggings and a short tunic. She strapped her shortsword to her side, where it hung against her left hip. The knife Roth had given her sat in its sheath on her right hip. Then she put on a light traveling cloak, for the day promised more warmth than chill, and went downstairs.
An hour later, with the sun above the eastern horizon, Areenna, Mikaal and their parents stood by their kraals. At the south gate, ninety guardsmen and two Six groups awaited Roth and Enaid. At the north gate, three sure-footed pack kralets loaded with every ounce they could carry awaited Areenna and Mikaal. Only their goodbyes remained.
Enaid laughed. When everyone turned to her, she shook her head slowly. “It was just a thought. As I stood here, I thought how this morning must seem to those who watch us. An army goes southwest, while two young ones go north. Who would think it was the two northbound who carry the hope of Nevaeh upon their backs.”
“We will not let you down,” Areenna promised aloud.
“We know,” her father said, stepping close to her and drawing her into his arms. “Do nothing foolish, I want you back,” he whispered, his mouth touching her ear.
She smiled softly. “I do only what I am meant to, Father. I will come back to you, I promise.”
“A promise I will hold you to,” he said, his words as intense as the gaze he favored her with.
In turn, each said their own farewells and mounted their kraals. When Mikaal and Areenna turned their mounts north, Roth, Enaid and Nosaj turned west. The most direct route to Fainhall lay through Freemorn. Nosaj would journey with the fast moving force until reaching home.
At the north gate, with the kralets’ lead tied to Mikaal’s saddle, they went through the gate. As soon as they crossed out, Areenna sensed something nearby. She searched further, but found everything was calm and peaceful, yet there was a cloying within her head of something… off.
<><><>
On the third day of travel, wrapped in their fur cloaks against the cold, Areenna and Mikaal crested a long rolling hill and saw Brumwall’s capital, Apolis, sitting on a plateau ten miles away. From the distance, it appeared smaller than it was; awash in the afternoon sun, it sparkled like a crystal sculpture. In the hazy distance beyond Apolis, the blue water of the great northern lake lent the scene an aura of peacefulness she only wished she could feel. Areenna drew Hero to a halt and, twisting in the saddle, cast a glance behind her.
From the moment they’d left Tolemac, and throughout the three days of travel, she had been unable to shed the sensation of something being wrong—of something off. She spotted Gaalrie flying above, her cinnamon and silver feathers aglow in the morning sun, and asked her aoutem to scout the road behind them.
Gaalrie flew over their back trail while Areenna spread her senses in all directions, again seeking the cause of the low and cloying emanations. At first, there was nothing, but she pressed on, pushing the distance further, until she found a flicker of gray emptiness hanging in the air.
Directing Gaalrie to the spot, she watched through the treygone’s eyes, but saw only earth, trees, and grass. Yet the gray patchiness remained in her senses.
“What is it?” Mikaal asked, fully aware of Areenna’s concern.
“Nothing… something... I don’t know. I see it not, yet I feel it at the edge of my thoughts.”
“Are we being followed?”
“I can’t tell. It does not have the feel of… her, yet it might be possible. You feel it not?”
“No,” he said.
She pushed into his mind and drew him to the sensation she was hunting.
I feel it, but… “Shielded? Some sort of a blocking?”
“No. It’s something else.”
“If it continues to stay with us, we will eventually know what it is and will be prepared.”
Areenna recalled Gaalrie and they started toward Apolis. A few minutes later she asked, “Be prepared for what?”
CHAPTER 8
From her vantage point high in the keep, Areenna stood at the window and watched as Apolis, bathed in the morning sun, came alive. Shops were opening and farmers were setting their goods on display in the small stalls lining the outer walls of the keep.
Sounds of life emanated everywhere. While she loved the peace and quiet of the country, she also treasured the bustle of multitudes of people going about their lives. Then a wash of sadness gripped her. If they only
knew…
We should be glad they do not, came Mikaal’s thought.
She smiled at the warmth contained within his thought. True.
When are you joining us?
Now, she replied and left the bedchamber.
By the time she reached the dining chamber, King Ecorah and Queen Enna were there. Mikaal’s grandparents were a regal pair, and despite his seventy odd years, Ecorah was physically fit. His head, completely devoid of hair, emphasized alert blue eyes. The color of his skin was the same nutty mocha shade as Enaid. Queen Enna, the same age as her husband, was slim, tall and regal. The queen’s face, carved with lines of wisdom, held the matured beauty of her youth. Her hair was straight and white and contrasted with the golden oak of her skin. The powers stemming from her were strong and Areenna drew comfort from them.
“A good day to you, Areenna,” Enna said with a smile.
“And to you, My Lady.”
“Enna, only, Cousin” she told Areenna.
Smiling, Areenna sat next to Mikaal.
“I’m glad we are together this morning,” Ecorah said. He reached across and patted Mikaal’s shoulder. “I’m concerned about this journey of yours. The Frozen Mountains are not a place friendly to us and your grandmother tells me you must be on this… mission because we may soon be facing the dark ones again.”
“A pleasant way to start our day,” Enna said with a hard glance at her husband.
“Said now or later, this discussion must be had.”
“Grandfather, Areenna has been charged with a duty, and I as well. There is no point in discussion. We have no choice,” Mikaal said, in a vain hope to end the conversation.
“Everyone has a choice,” Ecorah said.
“Yes, and ours was to go to the Island for Areenna’s final training. That choice is why we are here now.”
