“Very good,” Senalloy said, grinning and nodding. “Impressive.”
“Good?” Bannor gasped. “That wasn’t good. I didn’t do anything except look foolish.”
“Bannor, you have to put your ego aside and have reasonable expectations. Despite my being female, I am bigger, stronger, and faster than you. I have been a veteran of more wars than you have seasons of age. On top of that, I am trained.” She dipped her chin and touched his shoulder. “Like you said, it wasn’t a fair fight. Just the same, considering the massive gap in our relative skills, you have three or four times the capabilities you should have. Considering you didn’t have to work at those skills, I would count yourself blessed.”
Though she made it sound logical and reasonable, he still didn’t like getting pounded so handily by a woman, even one ‘bigger, stronger, faster’.
Bannor looked to where the Baronian did and saw Dulcere now dressed in a sapphire green shift, her gold skin gleaming like polished metal in the early morning light. The Kriar’s thigh length hair was brushed out like a gleaming cloak over her shoulders, the strands glistening as they were stirred by the woman’s movement and the faint wafts of dawn breeze. Though she was not stunningly beautiful like some of the females Bannor had seen, those sparkling dark eyes and sleek skin gave her an exotic allure not equaled by the others.
The lady moved in a way Bannor could only call patient grace, not in a hurry, confident, and dancer-light. There was something different about her this morning from the afternoon previous. Her threads seemed lighter somehow, more relaxed.
“You seem refreshed milady,” Bannor said. “Did you sleep well?”
The gold woman smiled.
“A millennia?” Wren repeated. The blonde savant’s eyes were wide. “Without sleep?”
“It’s what makes her grouchy,” Senalloy said with a grin.
“I’m happy you found the night restful,” Corim said.
The corner of Dulcere’s mouth quirked. It was hard to tell where exactly she was looking because of her all-black eyes, but it appeared she focused on Senalloy.
Senalloy’s mouth opened in obvious surprise. “What?” She turned to Corim with wide eyes. “Did you hear that? She agreed with me!”
The Baronian shrugged. “The Kriar I knew on Karanganoi Homeworld did not get enough real sleep. Those hyper-renewal techniques should be the exception not the rule, I know all you oh-so-efficient Kriar think that sleeping is a waste of time… On the contrary, besides there are other reasons for being in bed besides sleeping you know.” She raised an eyebrow. “If you know what I mean.”
Dulcere frowned at her.
Bannor shook his head.
Corim folded his arms.
“Ummm, Lady Dulcere,” Wren said into the abrupt silence. “Did you hear anything last night about what was happening with the Baronians that were captured?”
Dulcere let out a breath and focused on Wren.
Senalloy’s brow furrowed. “Doing? We were simply doing a little combat practice.”
Dulcere strolled forward off the walk into the enclosed yard and looked up at the sky. She looked to either side and then at Wren’s case of wooden practice weapons.
Senalloy shrugged. “I guess it was more of a test.”
She looked back at Wren’s case and focused on Wren. “May I?”
Wren gestured her to it. Bannor wondered how the Kriar knew the case belonged to Wren. Had those intriguing dark eyes discerned something invisible linking them?
There was a shorter wooden sword in the case. The Kriar woman picked it up and swung it experimentally.
“You know how to use these kinds of weapons?” Corim asked her.
Dulcere turned toward him.
“Survival is being able to pick up a stick and be dangerous with it,” Senalloy translated. “In war, bad things happen, people get taken prisoner and stripped of their tools. Being only able to fight with your best weapons is to be weak.” The Baronian looked down at her sword and then at Dulcere. “Practice?”
The Kriar raised an eyebrow. “I need an excuse to poke you for the bed remark.”
“Ah. By all means.” She gestured Dulcere forward.
Corim backed up. Wren took Bannor’s shoulder and pulled him back as the Baronian and the Kriar circled. The first exchange was like a casual hand-shake, the wooden weapons sliding along each other with hiss of wood on wood. Then the speed increased. Bannor had seen some excellent swordplay before, but these two fought at an unfathomable order of skill, the chatter of the weapons like the snapping of a hill full of battle-flags in a gale. The combat happened at many levels, hands, feet, and bodies. The whistle of their swords sounding like the shriek of arrow shafts. Bannor’s pulse pounded and he held his breath, it was hard to imagine they weren’t fighting to the death. He kept expecting the swords to break under the force and speed of the attacks but they were so masterful at slipping and turning that the weapons held up.
After a riveting few moments, it became apparent that Dulcere was the more experienced fighter—which was hard for Bannor to imagine. Senalloy obviously had the edge in strength and was simply a natural fighter. The Kriar was all training and discipline, she did not revel in conflict the way the Baronian did. The silver-haired woman actually seemed to draw strength from the fight, as fast and hard as they went at it, she was laughing and grinning the whole time.
After what seemed a long time the two of them stopped. Bannor felt exhausted just having watched. Senalloy was chuckling and grinning.
“Thank you, Sister. Thank you!” she enthused. “Your battle has made me alive again!” She tossed her long silver hair and put an arm around Dulcere who seemed half the woman’s size.
Despite herself, the ultra-reserved Dulcere smiled. The Baronian’s laughter and good humor was infectious. It was hard to imagine a creature that could be such a grim battle-hardened warrior could be so jovial.
“That—was—amazing,” Wren breathed next to Bannor. “Look at them, neither of them is even breathing hard!”
“I guess that’s difference between us children and grand elders,” Bannor remarked.
Corim was looking at Dulcere with concern. “Are you okay?”
The Kriar looked up at him. She gave the first smile that Bannor recognized as true affection for the long-haired warrior. She glanced at Senalloy.
Bannor put a hand on Wren’s shoulder. “It was fine to speak in general about there being two-hundred thousand creatures as powerful as Senalloy. The more I see,
the more scary it gets.”
The blonde savant’s brow furrowed. “Yes, I know what you mean. I’m kind of clinging to the idea that she’s special, that not all of them are like her.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said. Senalloy’s abilities brought something back to front of his mind. He moved forward. “Lady Dulcere, Lady Senalloy, might I ask you two a question since you’re both here?”
Dulcere nodded to him. Senalloy made a coming gesture of acknowledgement.
He drew a breath. “While I am fairly proficient at reading people, there are some who are so guarded that I cannot really fathom what they’re up to. Princess Janai is one of those. I was wondering if either of you sensed if she invited the two of you here with some particular motive?”
Dulcere rubbed the back of her neck.
Senalloy was studying Dulcere. “Janai used the pretext of me teaching her magic for my staying here. I believe she has some interest in retaining my services.” She glanced at Corim. “Which I would seriously entertain, because I really like it here.” She grinned. “Especially the beds. I am not exaggerating much when I say the bed I slept in last night was practically as big as the last chambers I stayed in.”
“Sen!” Corim protested. “I told you I don’t have much. I never—”
The silver-haired elder held up a hand. “Peace Corim, that was not a dig at you. Before meeting me, you led an austere life. Since you freed me from Rakaar and I became your responsibility, you have provided for me as your limited resources allowed. I have made due with a few odd tasks that netted me a handful of material goods. The princess is in a position, at the very least, to offer us some monetary stability and considerably more—she is a princess after all.”
That’s what worried Bannor. Janai had Daena. It just so happened that now she seemed to be eying Senalloy as well, who, by all accounts, was far more dangerous. Daena was potentially powerful, a young god, but still fledgling in her abilities. It would be a decade or more before she began to really even touch her potential. The Baronian woman was already a juggernaut, both physically and spiritually powerful.
“Does that mean you don’t mind being a weapon for her?”
“I was a weapon for the Baronian warlords for twenty millennia, and I didn’t even get a decent bed. For that kind of hospitality, and the generosity she showed me last night—certainly. It is what I was born to do.”
“Senalloy,” he said. “Pardon my saying it, but you’re something of a big fish in a small pond.”
The Baronian tilted her head and smiled. “Afraid she’ll use me for aspirations of world domination? I am only one person. I don’t need the headache at any rate—assassins are a bother.”
He leaned forward to emphasize his words. “She still gets an unfair advantage if you are her bodyguard.”
Senalloy tossed her silver hair and looked at him through her lashes. “Everyone has a right to be safe, Bannor. If that is her intention, and I suspect you are correct, I see nothing wrong with it. Just because her body is safe, doesn’t mean her reputation is. She cannot act indiscriminately simply because she has employed me to be a shield.”
The Baronian put hands on hips. “Is that a bad thing? Bannor you’re going to be a member of the noble house for this region. I would think you’d want your sister-in-law to be safe, and for your kingdom to prosper. My understanding is that in other regions of this world, the humans try to crush out the Elves whenever they can. Half-breeds, which your coming child will be, are exceptionally mistreated.”
He stared at the silver-haired woman. She’d obviously put some thought into the situation. They were fancy rationalizations, but it showed that she had at least thought about what was going on.
“Senalloy, let me be honest, Daena scares me. The fact that Janai has her beholden, and is devoting herself to getting the girl’s complete loyalty is troubling. The girl isn’t even a score of summers old yet and look at what she can do. I can’t separate them—the consequences might be worse if I did. Janai really cares for Daena, but despite that… she’s not above taking advantage…”
Senalloy folded her arms. “I wouldn’t worry yourself too much, I suspect that Daena will eventually govern herself. They may get into mischief, but I seriously doubt the Princess is out to wreak havoc. She might subjugate a region or two, but the number of elves is small, and the available territory vast. Which ruler rules is trivial compared to how well they treat the people.” She gestured over the courtyard wall. “Have you seen the city? The elves don’t beat down and disadvantage their citizens. Wouldn’t other kingdoms actually benefit from that?”
“That’s not our choice to make,” Wren said.
“Oh?” Senalloy said. “Why not? Just because were smarter, wiser, and less greedy than the rabble… we can’t play? Where is that written?”
That was the problem. It wasn’t written anywhere. What was wrong with using your gifts to dismiss the injustices in the world? “Because it’s not fair,” Bannor said. “They can’t compete with me, they can’t compete with Daena, and they certainly can’t compete with you. It’s like an adult playing a game with children. Yes, of course you can kick them aside—that’s why you shouldn’t play.”
Senalloy laughed. “Bannor, you’re too preoccupied with being fair. Was it fair when gods were chasing you around trying to kill you? Was it fair when they ganged up to destroy one of their own? Nobody cares about fair. The only people who worry about fairness are losers. It’s harsh—but that’s the reality. Life is not balanced. Predators feed on the weak. Leaders are chosen because of their ability to control, to hunt, and to defend. Do you think the people of a nation care how an invader was repelled? No. What they care about is that their lives remain their own. I understand the concept of honor, and it has its place in personal conduct. However, in broader application and the universe in general, it’s just so much wind. I have a right to a comfortable life, just like you or Wren. If I can achieve that comfortable life by making someone else’s life secure. I’d say that is probably the most innocuous use of my abilities. After all, I could just go take over a kingdom and be comfortable that way. Would that be more satisfactory?”
Corim was staring at the silver-haired lady. Dulcere too.
Bannor didn’t know what to say. Senalloy obviously knew the answer to her question.
“Bannor, you can’t win this argument,” Wren said with a sigh. “I actually admire that you came on the whole non-interference thing yourself. Truth is, no matter what choices we make, we’re going to interfere simply keeping ourselves alive. We’re different. Like Senalloy says, we can either be predators or prey. Fact is, advantage or not, there are one of us to ten million mundanes and they aren’t playing fair either.”
“Why does this have to come down to an ‘us versus them’ thing?” Corim chimed in, arms folded.
The blonde savant shook her head. “It came down to that a long time ago. I’ve fought it my whole life. My savant mentor, Damay, fought it her whole life too. For every enlightened person, there are a hundred cowering in the shadows ready, willing, and eager to destroy anything they don’t understand.”
The burly fighter’s face grew dark. “I wish I could deny that accusation. The teachings of Mataya tell us to abhor such behavior.”
“Well, I appreciate this discussion,” Senalloy said. “Bannor, I understand your worry. If Janai does approach me, as I believe she will, I will make it conditional that my duties be discreet. Would that be satisfactory?”
He let out a breath. “It’s better than nothing. Perhaps you can keep an eye on Daena?”
“I fully intended to do so. I suspect that Janai wishes my assistance in mentoring the girl, she probably accurately acknowledges that the girl will soon be beyond her ability to discipline.”
“I really wish you hadn’t created her, Bannor,” Wren muttered, shaking her head. “She’s so dangerous, it is such a gamble how she’ll turn out.”
“I wish I hadn’t as well, she didn’t want the transformation, Hella forced it on both of us. I about killed myself trying to stop her, for all the good it did.”
Senalloy rubbed the back of her neck. “A solution just occurred to me. You don’t like the idea of me protecting Janai. Would you object to me protecting your wife-to-be?”
He wouldn’t object at all! Sarai constantly worried him. The fact that he had made powerful enemies among the Aesir and Hecate’s followers didn’t make it any better. He had no delusions. His abilities while powerful, were too inconsistent and too unpredictable. He was not the measure of the creatures which might come against them some day. He did not trust Odin to keep his word. How much easier he would breathe to have that titan of a Baronian woman watching over Sarai. The biggest problem would be getting her to agree.
“No I wouldn’t. Where Sarai is concerned I don’t give a whit how fair it is.” He shook his head. “I just wish I could get her to sit still for it.”
“She might be of a different mind, now that she’s with child,” Senalloy said. “There are certainly those who would not want that child born. I’m certain her parents are already guarding her.”
Reality's Plaything 3: Eternal's Agenda Page 19
