Sword and Illusion

by Nancy S. Brandt

  The throne was at the center of the room, surrounded by fifteen large golden candlesticks, each taller than a warrior. They held candles as thick as a horse's leg, each colored to correspond to the current Carrick season. Today, that color was a pale yellow to indicate that the weather was turning warmer.

  The back of the throne was taller than a woman could reach and was intricately carved with scenes of legendary victories of the Sarl throughout their history. Black wood inlaid with blue and yellow stones in swirled patterns soared above these tableaux.

  Embroidered blue silk and yellow velvet covered the seat of the throne. The same colors were represented in the carved wooden legs and arms of the chairs, which were also decorated with precious stones in the colors seen in a Carrick sky throughout a typical blizzard — green, red, pink, purple, blue, and yellow.

  "This room never fails to amaze me," Adazzra said as they stood in the doorway.

  Moonrazer looked around the room. "I wish it were possible to meet Whiteshadow in the audience chamber. I feel more at ease there." She looked at her friend, who smiled.

  "You are too finely dressed for the room where you resolve disputes over dead pigs and the price of fish. Besides, if Whiteshadow is the spiritual leader of your people, it is proper to talk to her here."

  Moonrazer cocked her head in agreement. "I know, but this throne is too large and too fancy. Warriors should have simple chairs."

  Adazzra said nothing. She had heard these complaints before.

  "Let us see why Whiteshadow has requested this formal audience." Moonrazer walked up the five steps leading to the throne. She sat.

  "Exalted Warrior," Whiteshadow said as she entered the throne room. "Thank you for granting me this audience."

  She looked at Adazzra as well, and it was clear her sister had not expected someone other than the Exalted Warrior to be present.

  "This is an important matter, Warrior," Whiteshadow said. "May we speak in private?"

  Moonrazer shook her head. "I believe you know my trusted adviser, Adazzra of the Tree Women."

  Whiteshadow bowed toward Adazzra, but she said, "I know that you trust her, my Warrior, but what I have to tell you is about the Sarl. It does not concern Outsiders."

  Moonrazer took a deep breath and stared at her sister. "Adazzra is not an Outsider. She is my ga'Linda, sworn sister, as you well know. If you will not speak in front of her, then I am not interested in anything you have to say."

  Whiteshadow dipped her head in a small bow. "As you wish. You are Exalted Warrior, and your word is law."

  Moonrazer sighed. "Sister, let us drop all this protocol. Why are you here?"

  "I am here to guide and advise the Exalted Warrior in a matter of grave importance."

  "I am your sister, Whiteshadow, not one of your novices. What kind of guidance do I need?"

  "I do not wish to contradict the Warrior," Whiteshadow said, bowing again. "However, it is the job of the Sisters of the Flame to study and preserve the history and writings of our people. We also pray for you and the warriors." She bit her lip and looked at Moonrazer. "How much do you know about the Exalted Warriors that came before you?"

  "Only as much as we learned in school. Grayskin was the first Exalted Warrior, so named because she gathered separate clans together as one people called the Sarl. This was three hundred generations ago."

  "The Sacred Scrolls record all the rituals and laws concerning the Exalted Warrior and her conduct."

  "And you have come to tell me that I have not behaved in a lawful manner?" Moonrazer asked.

  Whiteshadow hesitated before replying. "I am not here to judge your behavior. That is between you and the Holy One. I am here to see that the form of succession is respected."

  "What do you mean?"

  The Mother Prioress smiled. "The penultimate Confluence of the Three Moons of your reign will take place in just a few months, the final one less than a year from then. Both are likely occasions for the Crystal Spirits to choose a successor, and we should have a proper Sword Bearer to listen to their guidance."

  "What is the Confluence?" Adazzra asked.

  "You have never seen one," Moonrazer said. "At the last one, you were back on Awhyrrl dealing with the epidemic. A Confluence is when the three moons of Carrick line up in the sky. The night is nearly as bright as the day then. It is a major day of celebration. At the Confluence of the Three Moons, the Crystal Spirits can become visible and help us decide whether the current Exalted Warrior shall continue her reign, or whether a new one should be chosen. The Sword Bearer is a trusted man who communes with the spirits and listens to their advice. Then he takes the Sword of Justice and either returns it to the reigning Exalted Warrior or names a new one."

  Whiteshadow frowned and said, "Up until now, that snake man has served as Sword Bearer."

  "I am sorry that you disapprove of my friends, sister," Moonrazer said. "But Olaf is wiser and more trustworthy than any other man I know, and I see no reason that he can't continue as Sword Bearer."

  "No, sister," the Mother Prioress said, "you misunderstand my meaning. Tradition states, in the Laws of Lorelii, that the Sword Bearer should be the husband of an Exalted Warrior. Olaf served previously because you had only been Exalted Warrior for a short time and no husband of a prior Exalted Warrior was still alive."

  "I have not chosen a husband."

  "By your fortieth year you must find a mate, or the weakness will come upon you and make you unfit to serve even as a warrior. The Laws of Lorelii state that before then you must furnish a proper husband and Sword Bearer.

  "The astronomers tell us that we face a rare event, two conjunctions of the three moons within the next year. By the second, the Crystal Spirits will choose your successor, but by the first you must marry, and that will happen in less than two months."

  She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "To that end, I believe we should summon men from all of the Known Worlds to come and vie for your hand."

  "What?" Moonrazer said, staring at the Mother Prioress. "You want to bring in a line of men and have me mate with one of them? A man I have never met before?"

  "Few Sarl men would feel worthy to claim you," Whiteshadow said. "The only solution I can see is to invite suitors from all over the Known Worlds as well as any of our own men who are willing to participate."

  Moonrazer shook her head. "No, Whiteshadow. I will not do this. I will not select a mate the way I would choose a horse or a sword."

  Whiteshadow bowed again. "As you say, but you must choose by whatever means before the first Conjunction. What I am proposing is the traditional procedure, but I will leave you now so that you can decide how best to fulfill your duty. Please consider the knowledge I have given you in peace and in prayer." She walked toward the other end of the hall and departed.

  Moonrazer sighed and walked back to the throne. A metal pipe hung beside the chair. She took it and struck a large pole made of the same material. A loud ringing echoed in response, taking its sound deep within the stone walls.

  A moment later, Oakgold reappeared.

  "Go to the Mother Prioress in the guest wing and see that she is well cared for," Moonrazer said.

  Oakgold bowed and left the Throne Room.

  The Exalted Warrior sat down and scowled. "I wonder if I should have told the guards not to let the Sisters of the Flame anywhere near my Tower."

  "That would not have changed your duty, ga'Linda."

  "That is true." Moonrazer said. "What am I going to do?"

  "Seems to me that you have little choice. You will have to find a man."

  Moonrazer thought about this. "No offense, Adazzra, but I would rather we were facing an invasion than this."

  "I don't understand." Adazzra shook her head. "Why would Lorelii have given your people such laws?"

  Moonrazer stood up and started toward the door. "It is Grayskin's Promise, Dazzy. It is supposed to be a blessing. Grayskin had seen forty blizzards when she received the promise from J
anico. When the Change starts varies from one woman to another, of course. Tradition holds that once a warrior has seen forty blizzards, she is treated, and is expected to behave, as though the Promise has begun taking effect within her."

  "Well, maybe it will be a blessing then," the Tree Woman said.

  They walked out of the Throne Room and started down the hallway.

  Moonrazer rubbed her achy shoulder. "I am getting older and, whether I like it or not, I am losing some of my strength and abilities. I disliked leaving the carefree life on the road to become Exalted Warrior, but I did it because I had a duty to my people. While that has been a blessing, I still miss the freedom and adventure. Part of me imagined that when my time as Exalted Warrior was done, I could return to it.

  "But this new requirement, finding a husband and settling down, means the end of that dream. It is hard for me to see that as a blessing."

  ****

  Moonrazer changed out of her ceremonial garments and tossed them into the corner of her room, cursing them and hoping she never had to put them on again.

  Realizing that when she wasn't Exalted Warrior, she'd have no use for these clothes, she stopped lacing up her calf-high leather riding boots and stared at the Ruby Medallion, which hung from a hook behind her door.

  She had only been Exalted Warrior about ten blizzards, but it felt like her entire life. Before she'd found the Sword of Justice, she'd been a simple Sarl warrior working alone, mostly.

  The army hadn't been well organized with no place to call home, so bands of warriors often traveled together, working as mercenaries for whatever king or landowner could pay them.

  Moonrazer had never understood the appeal of working only for money and disdained the warriors whose loyalties shifted with the changing of the pocket from which the money came.

  So, rather than fighting for causes she didn't believe in only for coin, she struck out on her own, working where she could as a courier or bodyguard for nervous noblemen who preferred to have their wives guarded by another woman.

  When the Sarl were threatened over land on which some clan had chosen to camp for a season, she would join the defenders. At other times, she would join someone else's army to fight for what she saw as true justice.

  She'd found the Sword of Justice during a covert trip to Carrick, the ancestral home for the Sarl, while it was under Navin occupation.

  The Navin were a clan of Necroma Wizards who used death and destruction to create their spells. They melted much of the world, thereby flooding areas that once housed entire Sarl villages.

  Even the Temple, which had held the original Sacred Writings, was lost because of the floods.

  During her secret visit to Carrick, ten blizzards ago, she discovered the legendary final resting place of the previous Exalted Warrior. Staffthrower IV had gone into hiding to escape the Necroma, thereby earning her the legacy of Coward Exalted Warrior.

  Moonrazer hadn't been looking for the Sword of Justice and the Ruby Medallion. She'd merely wanted shelter for the night, and the sky was bright with a Confluence of the Three Moons.

  At first the cave seemed empty, but as soon as she went inside and started to build a fire, the Frilled Draxik, a band of Dragons created by, and servants to, the Necroma, emerged from the dark recesses of the cavern.

  Facing twelve Dragons, she believed that she would be killed.

  At some point after she'd defeated the largest of them, she lost consciousness. When she awoke, she saw that the Dragons were gone and the Ruby Medallion glittered at her from across the cave.

  Upon approaching, she saw it was held by the skeletal fingers of what had been, presumably, Staffthrower IV herself. The Sword of Justice was in her other hand, and the position of the bones suggested that she was offering the two sacred objects to whoever found her.

  Remembering that day, Moonrazer blinked back a tear. So much had happened, so much adventure. Now she had to think about giving it all up.

  Shaking her head, she stood and went to her chamber door.

  Just as she reached for the handle, Oakgold burst into the room.

  At once, the servant saw the discarded clothes and set to work picking things up. She opened her mouth to speak, but Moonrazer interrupted.

  "I am going for a ride on the glaciers, Oakgold," she said. "I do not know when I will be back, possibly not before the sun sets. Do not send anyone after me."

  "Yes, Warrior," Oakgold said, but she bit her lip as she began to fold the discarded tunic.

  Moonrazer knew the young girl was concerned about her growing weakness, and while she appreciated the affection that concern indicated, she hated that even the servants could see what was happening to her.

  "I am not yet a feeble old woman who cannot handle the glaciers, and neither is Wind Rider a man's gentle, aged mare that can only prance around a protected corral with sweet flowers to eat. We are both warriors still, and I will ride where I desire."

  Oakgold's eyes grew wide and fearful. "Warrior, let death overtake me if I suggested anything of the kind. I merely…"

  Without waiting for the rest, Moonrazer stomped out of the room, closing the door with satisfying force.

  ****

  Moonrazer stared out at the moonlight reflecting off the edges of the glacier. Her duty was to find a mate and show the importance of accepting the life the Holy One gave.

  She pulled the reins to turn Wind Rider around and go home.

  Suddenly, an unknown warrior on a huge white horse, a large knife held across her chest, blocked Wind Rider in clear preparation for a battle. The curved blade seemed to be formed of two kinds of metal, and a pale blue gem gleamed from the pommel, sparkling like the sun on a summer pond.

  This stranger wore heavy gray and white chaffrick fur, presumably as armor, strapped on with thin silver chains. Her thick hair, the color of mud bricks well-dried in the sun, was bound in a single thick braid, much like Moonrazer wore her own, except the stranger's braid hung over her shoulder in front of her chest.

  A band of dull gold encircled the woman's head, inscribed in alien letters, just beneath her gray-streaked hair. Her face, though still attractive, had a rough weathered complexion. Something about her style of dress seemed familiar, a memory of a legend hidden deep in Moonrazer's mind.

  "You stand in my way," this woman said. Her language was the native tongue of the Sarl, but her accent was foreign and tainted with anger.

  "I am no more in your way than you are in mine," Moonrazer said, "and as I am descending the glacier, it would benefit us both if you stepped aside."

  "You challenge my authority here?"

  Who did this woman think she was talking to? No one had more authority on Carrick than the Exalted Warrior.

  Scowling, Moonrazer replied, "I do challenge whatever authority you believe you have. I am the Exalted Warrior."

  To her surprise, the woman laughed and dismounted, tugging the reins once before tucking them under the saddle. This was a signal to her beast, apparently, because he automatically planted his legs and held his head high as though waiting.

  The strange warrior looked her up and down. "You seem too soft to be the Exalted Warrior. I believe you are an impostor, and it is my duty as a faithful Sarl warrior to challenge you. Show your weapon."

  Moonrazer felt the familiar surge of adrenaline from the anticipation of a battle.

  "This won't take long," she whispered into Wind Rider's ear as she dismounted.

  The stranger placed her feet in a wide stance, her knife high and at an angle.

  Moonrazer drew the Sword of Justice, and it immediately began humming a warning. Faint and fiery white light emanated from its edge, just as it did when asked to judge and found that the defendant was telling the truth.

  Unclear as to what this sign could mean, Moonrazer frowned and dropped to a low fighting stance. Her weapon had superior reach and should be able to reach her opponent's leg.

  She tested the ground. The surface was a bit too slippery. It would
make any attack problematic.

  The Exalted Warrior edged forward, a growl in her throat. The other warrior lunged suddenly, her free hand drawing another blade from somewhere deep within her thick furs. With one of her knives, she pushed the Sword of Justice aside.

  The other weapon was held low and came straight toward the leather armor on Moonrazer's belly, but the mysterious warrior's footing was unsure on the slippery ice.

  Moonrazer weakened her grip, offering no resistance to the attack. The Sword of Justice swung easily back out of the way, further weakening the balance of her attacker.

  Stepping to the side, the Exalted Warrior watched as the strange warrior began to glide past, sliding out of control.