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Farek 51

Matriarch Valakono arrived with all the pompous pageantry befitting her stature.  Her parade was led by a platoon of soldiers.  Behind the fighting force marched their servants, and then the servants of the lords and ladies in the Matriarch’s troupe.  Each such patrician rode on horseback or was carried in curtained litters, draped in golden gilt and the finest of threads.  The Matriarch herself—to Farek’s surprise—did not relax within a curtained sedan; she sat sideways in the saddle of an enormous barb.  She looked through a silvery veil and surveyed the crowds of Sorosi commoners with a gaze as regal as her standing.  Her sharp wrinkles and sunken eyes seemed softened by the shroud.  Contrarily, the knife-like pins that kept her braided grey hair in its bun remained harshly angular. Continue reading Farek 51

Raya 47

Even sitting in the common room of the Blue Evening Inn with her feet flat on the ground and the solid spindles of a chair against her lower back, Raya could not believe she was this sore.  The bruises on her forearm and hip ached dully, but so did most of her muscles.  Her gashes from the attack on the prison in Pranan’s Hill had healed well, but still itched or stung depending on how she moved. Continue reading Raya 47

Renado 52

Even though it was the dry season, Renado led his men through at least one rainstorm as they crossed the Raderan hills.  It was more than halfway through their journey from Ith to Vagren, and Ren had a few crewmen out in the lead for scouting.  With low-hanging clouds and torrential downfalls that began as suddenly as they ended, he was fearful they would miss Olston altogether on that rainy day. Continue reading Renado 52

Therelin 3

During his six days in Kedar, Therelin learned that meat was eaten with every meal, that healing was costly and time-consuming with the normal healers in the city, and that the Grey Brethren were as prevalent in every venue as any of the other factions.  He spoke a few times with magicians in their ranks, but the religious organization was largely dismissive of him.  Therelin at last gained a meeting with one of the preeminent sorcerers in the city. Continue reading Therelin 3

Aralim 97

After their initial landfall on the edge of the Shrinking Sea, Aralim and his companions hiked across the grassy hills and scattered sands on the fringe of the Expanse.  Each evening, Aralim wiped dry grains from his calloused feet and shook out half the desert from his sandals.  The hills seemed to protect them from the worst of the wind, but their footsteps shifted more often than finding tread.  On the seventh day of their gruelling travel, they at last reached the town of Crossroads. Continue reading Aralim 97

Therelin 2

The water was black.  Therelin had never seen such a sight before—an entire bay that absorbed the low, grey clouds and returned nearly no light at all.  All the waves around Keth City and Portram Point were clear and bright blue, not dark.  Therelin didn’t have enough faith to discern if the gleaming obsidian surface was the presence of harmed or angry spirit. Continue reading Therelin 2

Aralim 96

Worlen’s sturdy fishing vessel wasn’t large, but at least it was sturdy.  With Grendar, his three subordinate guards, Devran, Nilless, Aralim, and the Aura, the fisherman never quite got his watercraft to a speedy skim over the gentle waters of the Shrinking Sea, even when the wind coming off the Amirella Mountains howled through the junk sails.  They rode low in the water. Continue reading Aralim 96

Renado 51

The conversation began innocently enough.  They were sitting around the big round table in the Targon—Ren and his loyal subordinates—reflecting on how long they had been in Ith.  While Kazra and Virn were sitting at the bar, Renado had brought drinks over for the rest of his men.  Even Captain Urro and his First Mate were there, though the rest of the crew stayed at a less pricey inn some distance away.  As they sat about the table, their words turned toward what to do next. Continue reading Renado 51

Farek 50

Farek leaned against the stone archway at the front of his estate.  It was midafternoon and the overhead sun slashed its way through scattered clouds to warm the cobblestones under his sandals.  He was thinking about the Organization again, though Thrane had learned nothing more about the death of Lord Reeyan.  All of the alliance—Thrane, Mavagar, and Jannia—seemed focused on their attempts to gain a foothold in Lo Mallago.  As he watched the scattered bands of shadow shift across Soros, Farek waited for his invited guest to join him. Continue reading Farek 50