Kath stared at Blaine willing him to strike, but the knight remained still as stone, an odd look on his face.
The Mordant’s voice grew in strength. “Swear your sword to me and you will have more than one lifetime of pleasure! Kneel to me and become much more than a base-born knight!”
Blaine shuddered, as if released from a spell. “No! Never!” His blue sword struck true. Sparks flew and the dark metal shattered. The last chain broke into a thousand pieces.
“You’ve failed, knight. Remove him and he dies! He’s mine or nothing!”
Blaine yelled, “Go to hell!”
“Then feel my wrath!”
Tremors shook the cavern. The earth began to shudder and shake, as if a slumbering dragon sought to emerge. Shadows gibbered across the ceiling, claws and fangs reaching down. Stalactites crashed to the floor, hurled like stone spears. Blaine stumbled and fell, a sheen of blood on his forehead. Kath lurched forward, desperate to reach Duncan.
Something grabbed Kath’s hair, yanking her back.
Something else grabbed her ankle, a cold, searing touch.
Kath fell to her knees. The shadows had gained substance! Darker and somehow more dense, the shadows pounced. Icy fingers poked and clawed, trying to pull her to the ground.
Kath whirled away. Drawing her sword, she slashed at them.
They evaded her blade, as if the touch of steel somehow hurt. Slashing left and right, she pushed them back, her blade becoming a blur. Steel proved unable to kill them, yet they shied away, lurking just beyond reach. Making a final slash, she turned and ran for Duncan. Grabbing his arm, she began pulling him from the pentacle.
The shadows attacked, clawing at her, a searing cold. She struck at them with her sword, struggling to pull Duncan with just one hand.
The cavern rumbled and shook, a powerful tremor. Stalactites crashed down, releasing a hail of dagger-sharp chips.
Shadows swooped towards Blaine, too many to count. His blue steel sword slashed through them. Gibbering screams, they whirled away.
Kath sheathed her sword, desperate to pull Duncan to safety.
Bear and Boar appeared at the doorway.
“Help me!”
A stalactite crashed down, nearly impaling Duncan. Rock chips flew in all directions, a storm of stone. The floor tilted and shook like the back of a mighty beast. Blaine struggled to his feet, his blue sword clutched in his hand. The others leaped to help.
Overhead, the shadows howled in rage.
Bear and Boar lifted Duncan to their shoulders. Staggering like drunks, they bore him from the chamber, narrowly avoiding the stone spears. They raced up the long spiral of stairs, climbing as if demons chased them. Kath followed, fearing for Duncan. The earth shook like an angry beast yet the passage remained open. The stairs stretched to forever, but the dawn light finally appeared at the cleft.
They stumbled from the doorway.
Tremors shook the citadel, but these were mild compared to the nightmare below.
“Put him down!” They laid Duncan on the courtyard. Kath cradled his head. “Come back to me.” She covered his mouth with a kiss.
His eyes flashed open, one golden and the other sapphire blue. His mismatched gaze was clear, without any taint of Darkness. “I knew you’d save me.”
She bit back a sob.
His gaze roved to the open sky, toward the dawn light. Seagulls circled overhead, releasing a mournful cry. He took a deep breath and then his gaze sought her face, like a man seeking a long lost sanctuary. “I longed for green, only to find it in your eyes.”
His words lodged in her heart, a searing mixture of joy and pain. She almost cried, but forced the tears back, drinking in his voice, his mismatched stare, every detail dear. “Stay with me.”
A stolen moment stretched to forever but then he gasped and the pain returned, and with it duty. “Beloved, there’s much I must tell you.”
“Let me find a healer first.”
“No, you must listen.” Agony washed across his face, but he fought through it, forcing the words out. “The monk, Bryce, still lives within the Mordant. He spies on the Mordant. He knows his plans. Somehow he spoke to me while I was trapped in the chamber.” He flashed a weak smile. “And the Mordant thought I was no threat.”
A sob escaped her. “You spoiled his plans, my love.”
Someone handed Kath a water flask. She held it to his lips. Her gaze traveled the length of his body. Every dagger wept blood, as if the spell keeping him alive was broken. Tears crowded her eyes, but she held them at bay, determined to be brave for him.
“You must listen. You must remember.” His voice trailed to a whisper.
She huddled close, her ear bent to his words.
A flood of warnings poured out of him, dark tidings and grim plans. He spoke of Lanverness, and the Octagon, and the Kiralynn monastery. He told her about a dark sword and a hallway carved like demons. He warned her of Taals that looked like ogres and dwarves that could sniff magic. Some of the warnings made little sense, a confusing jumble of images, but she listened to it all, struggling to memorize every detail.
Finally his words trailed to silence and his eyes closed.
Fear gripped her throat; she thought he was gone. “Duncan, don’t leave me!” She cradled his head, willing him to live.
His eyes opened, full of light, and he smiled up at her. “I’ll never leave you. But you must promise me two things.”
“Anything.”
A spasm of pain crossed his face, but his eyes remained opened. “You must put an end the Mordant. I’ve learned that evil is real and it must be stopped.”
Hate boiled within her, an easy promise to make. “I promise.”
His hand gripped hers. “And you must promise to live.”
Tears crowded her eyes.
“Promise me.” His voice sank to a whisper. “Promise me and I’ll wait for you on the edge of the Light.”
Her heartbeat quickened. “You’ll wait for me?”
“Yes.”
“I promise.”
He smiled up at her…and then he was gone.
“NO!” She stared up at the heavens, challenging the gods with her cry. “Heal him! Heal him or I will not forgive you!”
Seagulls roiled overhead, screeching a mournful cry…but no miracle came.
“Svala!” The word was a murmur coming from a thousand voices. The courtyard was crowded with her army, a thousand tattooed faces staring at her. They drew their swords and knelt. They’d gained a great victory…but she’d lost her heart. Kath closed her eyes and the world dissolved into tears.
APPENDIX
CASTLEGARD
Three hundred years after the War of Wizards decimated the kingdoms of Erdhe, a group of knights banded together to protect the southern kingdoms from the ravages of the north. They claimed Castlegard, the great mage-stone castle left empty after the War of Wizards, as the seat of their power. Adopting the shape of the great castle as their symbol, they became known as the Octagon Knights.
To bolster their cause, the knights were ceded land running along the length of the Dragon Spine Mountains. Stretching from Castlegard all the way to the Western Ocean, this land became known as the Domain. A series of castles, keeps, and walls were built along the Dragon Spines, allowing the knights to control the mountain passes and deny access to the southern kingdoms. The Domain also includes the only iron ore mine in all of Erdhe to yield blue ore, the rare ore required to forge the knights’ fabled blue steel swords.
As a sworn brotherhood of elite knights, the candidates forsake their lineage and their past when they win their maroon cloaks. Their symbol is a maroon octagon emblazoned on a silver shield.
KING URSUS ANVRIL, King of Castlegard and the Knights of the Octagon, Lord of the Domain, hero of the Battle of Raven Pass, bearer of a great blue sword named Honor’s Edge.
-his wife, QUEEN PHYLA, died giving birth to their only daughter
-their children:
PRINCE UL
RICH, First-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, commander of the wall at Raven Pass, bearer of a great blue sword named Mordbane
PRINCE GRIFFIN, Second-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, commander of Dymtower
PRINCE GODFREY, Third-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, commander of Shieldhold
PRINCE TRISTAN, Fourth-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, slain while leading a patrol into the steppes
PRINCE LIONEL, Fifth-born son of the king, a sworn knight of the maroon, commander of Cragnoth Keep, slain by Trask
PRINCESS KATHERINE, Sixth child of the king, also known as the Imp or Little Sister or Kath. As a female, the Octagon symbol of Castlegard is forbidden to her. Instead she uses the Anvril’s ancient heraldic symbol of a red hawk attacking with talons outstretched on a field of white.
-his sworn knights and retainers:
SIR OSBOURNE, The Knight Marshal of the Octagon, right hand of the King, a one-eyed man with a scar-crossed face, he wields a saber as his weapon of first choice, but then takes up Sir Tyrone’s great sword from the signal tower of Cragnoth Keep.
SIR LOTHAR, knight-captain of the Salt Tower, wields a battleaxe, close friend to the knight marshal
SIR BORIS, knight-captain of Holdfast Keep
SIR DALT, knight-captain of Ice Tower
SIR GRAVIS, knight-captain of Sword Keep
SIR ABRAX, knight of the maroon, champion of the sword, guard to King Ursus, he wields a blue steel sword named Protector
SIR RANNOCK, knight of the maroon, champion of the morning star
SIR ODIS, knight of the maroon, champion of the lance
SIR BLAZE, knight of the maroon, champion of the mace
SIR ADLEMAR, knight of the maroon, champion of the claymore, wields a blue steel claymore named Stalwart
SIR TRASK, knight of the maroon, champion of the battleaxe, assigned to Cragnoth Keep as a punishment posting, slain at the battle of Cragnoth Keep
SIR TYRONE, knight of the maroon with skin the color of ebony, often referred to as the ‘black knight’, he wields a great sword, companion to Princess Katherine, a hero slain at the battle of Cragnoth Keep
SIR MALVOY, a fresh-sworn knight of the maroon
SIR MARIN, a knight of the maroon
SIR AMBROSE, a knight of the maroon
SIR WINTON, a knight of the maroon
SIR VARDINE, a knight of the maroon
SIR MELLOT, a knight of the maroon
HADRIAN, master archer of the maroon
BALDWIN, senior squire of the maroon, serves the King
BROCK, squire to Prince Ulrich
EMMETT, young squire
STEWARD MALT, Steward of the armory of Raven Pass
OTTO, the Master Swordsmith of Castlegard’s forge, responsible for the forging of all blue steel weapons
QUINTUS, the Master Healer of Castlegard
VAL, a stable lad of Castlegard
SIR RAYMOND, branded as an unmade-knight of the Octagon, exiled from the Domain of Castlegard on penalty of death
THE KIRALYNN MONKS
Founded over two thousand years ago by a group of scholars, knights, and wizards, the Kiralynn Order has always presented an enigmatic face to the world, a face that is open yet closed. One hundred years before the start of the War of Wizards the monks withdrew from the southern kingdoms, retreating to their monastery hidden deep in the Southern Mountains. As if erased from the minds of men, the location of the monastery disappeared from the maps of Erdhe. The memory of the Kiralynn monks has slowly faded, becoming little more than legend and myth. Yet select rulers of the southern kingdoms still receive scrolls sealed with the symbol of the Order. History has proven that these scrolls contain an uncanny prescience. Kings ignore the advice of the Order at their own peril.
The symbol of the Kiralynn monks is a Seeing Eye in the palm of an Open Hand. Their seat of power is their mountain monastery. The motto of the Order is “Seek Knowledge, Protect Knowledge, Share Knowledge”.
THE GRAND MASTER, the leader of the Kiralynn Order, his/her identity is a closely guarded secret
-monks and initiates of the Order:
MASTER RIZEL, a Master of the Order
MASTER GARTH, a Master Healer of the Order
BRYCE, an initiate of the Order, he studied to take his vows to become a monk and a healer but was subsumed by the Mordant’s Awakening, becoming a prisoner in his own mind
MASTER AEROTH, an ambassador monk sent to the kingdoms of Erdhe
MASTER ZITH, a Master of the Order, accompanies Kath as one of her companions
-visitors to the monastery:
PRINCESS JORDAN, a princess of Navarre, sent to the monastery for her Wayfaring, she remains locked in a healing coma, felled by the treachery of the Mordant
DANYA, a young woman who sought sanctuary in the monastery with her mountain wolf, BRYX
THE DARK CITADEL
The Dark Citadel is a forbidding fortress-city in the far north. Perched atop three hundred foot cliffs that overlook the Western Ocean, it is built upon a huge monolithic boulder. The tiered city has nine layers spiraling upward around the stone monolith. Each layer holds a distinct class of people, with the palace of the Mordant at the summit. The stone monolith contains steps leading to a cave, the ancient source of Dark power.
The Mordant’s domain also includes the steppes, a vast sea of grass that serves as a desolate greensward for the Dark Citadel, a barren killing field. The northern steppes are divided from the south by a dark wall studded with ten Gargoyle Gates.
The domain also includes the Pit, a massive crater with near vertical glass-sheer walls. Slaves live within the Pit, toiling within the Mordant’s iron mines. Female slaves are forced to serve as whores for the Mordant’s army. Residual magic in the Pit results in the massive abnormalities of newborns. Two new sub-races have been born and bred in the Pit; the Taals, an ogre-like sub-race with massive strength and limited intellect, and the Duegar, also called the Hounds of the Mordant, dwarves with the ability to scent magic.
The symbol of the Dark Citadel is a gold pentacle emblazoned on a field of black. The Darkflamme is the Mordant’s personal battle banner, twelve feet of black silk ending in two silken tails of bright red flecked with gold, creating the illusion of darkness on fire
THE MORDANT- With over a thousand years of life, he is the oldest of the Harlequins, the god-king of the north, the ruler of the Dark Citadel. He wields the Staff of Pain, an iron scepter with a red crystal at the top.
-his officers and priests:
HIGH PRIEST GAVIS- High Priest of the Pentacle, Keeper of the Trials Return, the ruler of the Dark Citadel in the absence of the Mordant
GENERAL HAITH- General of the army of the Pentacle, witness to the beheading of the Mordant in his prior life
GENERAL MARRIS- commander of the cavalry
BISHOP SIFF- Administrator bishop serving the High Priest
DOLF- Master Assassin of the Ninth Rank
BISHOP TYNES- bishop of the border guards
SIR RAYMOND- branded as an unmade-knight of the Octagon, exiled from the Domain of Castlegard, sworn to serve the Mordant
CAPTAIN LORNID- captain of the citadel guard
CENTURION CAYLEX- commander of the third border guard
TAVOS- priest of the border guard
FENTHANE- priest of the border guards, serves Bishop Tynes
JAMIS- a guard of the Door, witness to the beheading of the Mordant in his prior life
-Emissaries to the Citadel:
MERCHANTER TIMOTH- emissary from the MerChanter Sea Lords, vassals to the Mordant
Lords and people of the Pit:
LORD SLEGHORN- the self-styled lord of the Pit and the iron mines
GRACK- a one-armed Taal turnkey, guard of the lower mines
CRIBB- guard of the Pit
HARIT- guard of the Pit
MARDAK- Taal guard of the upper mines
HONORABLE ELSWIN- l
eader of the slave’s Council of Elders, he has the deformity of six fingers on each hand, he is Mara’s uncle
BRAITH- a slow-witted slave Taal, serves as the guard to the Council of Elders
MARA- a serving girl assigned to the upper mines, the niece of Honorable Elswin
THESSALA- patty woman working the dung mountain
Prisoners of the upper iron mine:
KRELL THREE-EYE- prisoner/leader of the upper mines, a massively strong man with the deformity of a third eye in the center of his forehead
NAGA- dark-skinned prisoner of the upper mines
MARCUS-prisoner of the upper mines
Prisoners of the lower iron mines:
CLOVIS- also known as CLOVIS FARSEERER, born of the Pit he became a guard of the Citadel before being condemned to the iron mines, he has a hidden deformity, the hidden eye, the third eye of prophecy
BROCK- prisoner/leader of the lower mines
SETH- prisoner of the lower mines, has rocklung
BRUCE- prisoner of the lower mines
HAL- a slow-witted Taal prisoner of the lower mines
GREN- a Duegar dwarf prisoner of the lower mines
BREDON- prisoner of the lower mines, born with a third eye in his forehead
NEF- prisoner of the lower mines, has six-fingered hands
TRELL- prisoner of the lower mines, has a clubfoot
BRENT- prisoner of the lower mines, is a hunchback
SIMEON- prisoner of the lower mines, is a hunchback
FELDON- prisoner of the lower mines, has rocklung
STAN- prisoner of the lower mines has a cleft lip
BREDAN- prisoner of the lower mines, has a third eye in his forehead
THE PAINTED PEOPLE
An ancient people, forgotten by most of Erdhe, the Painted Warriors are the descendents of escaped slaves and runaway soldiers. Living in the shadow of the Dark Citadel, the Painted People have forged a fiercely independent warrior culture that spans a thousand years. Outnumbered and poorly equipped, they strike back at the Pentacle in lightning raids across the steppes, reaping steel and armor from their enemies. They make their home in a secret labyrinth of caves hidden in the Ghost Hills. Deeply spiritual, they invoke the power of nature by tattooing their faces with the images of beasts and birds, a spiritual melding of man and animal. Divided into dens marked by their tattoos, they are guided by the Ancestor, a shaman of mystical memories, and led by a Council of Leaders made up of representatives from all the dens. A secret and forgotten people, few in the southern kingdoms have ever heard of them.
The Skeleton King (The Silk & Steel Saga) Page 50
