Queen Zanna paced through her court once more, her third audience this Moon. Her white robe trailed behind her across the smoothed and varnished wooden floors of her throne room. The long gown was adorned with golden stars on her shoulders and a broad gilded metal belt cinched it tight around her slim waist. A tall glass brace around her neck was speckled with silver and gemstones, though around it hung Queb Tylan’s ruby necklace. Continue reading Zanna 4
Axar’s manor in the Low Dales was smaller than the mansion where Nalisa Orr had lived, but it was still as large as the longhouse of the Council of Olston. Two pillars supported the leaning roof over the large front door, where a small potted tree with dark blue flowers grew. The sun-scorched blue shingles above were dusted with ash and the unprotected trees were starting to wilt, like many of the plants in Ith.
Raya looked at the windows on the front face of the house. There was no movement. Continue reading Raya 32
Along the narrow footpath that connected the courtyard in front of the Iron Palace to the temple of Grand Mage Rattar was a selection of broad-leaf evergreen trees and a rather quiet man in a long orange robe.
Aralim was on his way to visit Rattar and Miresh, or so he had told the Aura at the entrance of the Palace grounds, but he paused to speak with the Aura for a moment. To speak to… he thought, correcting his train of thought. The Aura didn’t generally speak back. “Could you deliver a message to the Emperor for me?” Continue reading Aralim 40
“How many ships?”
Captain Maras stood in the office, smiling. “Four, sir. Flying the standard of House Valakono, spears, sun, moon.”
Lerran finished off his rum with a bold swig and slammed the empty mug down on his desk. “Excellent,” he whispered. He brushed around the corner of his desk and strode across the red carpet toward the door. Continue reading Lerran 45
The Iron Palace had a completely different ambience during the Emperor’s private days. Aralim intentionally waited until most of the morning was gone before heading to the capitol; now that he was on the other side of the battle lines, he’d rather not encounter his Ascendance, training with swords in the courtyard.
Of course, once he got there and faced the line of Aura that veiled the entrance to the Palace with brown robes, he remembered just how foolish a notion that was. Continue reading Aralim 38
Though Farek had spent his last few months listening for sounds of corruption and crime in the city—and there were many, about which he did nothing—the biggest of them played out right beneath his nose.
A few days after he had threatened Tog of the Claycroft Inn into passiveness, Jannia Gallendris had returned home. With her came copies of signed documents between Prince Lerran of Sheld and Matriarch Valakono. The day after her arrival, another ship departed, bearing just over five thousand Grey Sea coins in the form of three thousand Gallendris gold bouillon. It was, of course, escorted by two other ships, full of archers and ballistae. Continue reading Farek 9
For breakfast, the servants had prepared a loaf of salty bread, boiled eggs, and a freshly made jam of berries and flax seeds. The table was covered in a blue tablecloth with a black trim, and four braziers in the corners of the room provided ample light as the sun had barely begun to rise. A woolen carpet kept their calloused feet from shivering against the cold stone floor. Aralim usually got up as early as Miresh did, and they shared a meal together. Some days they spoke of her training, others of the Path. Some days they ate in silence. Continue reading Aralim 37
On the south side of Massed Alley, a wide market had sprouted up between the cobblestones and fountains at a spot known as Shoka Square. On this particular day, the stalls had been dragged aside, the wagons withdrawn, and more than twice the bodies packed in. Three of them, standing atop the steps of a trickling stone fountain, were Raya, Benn and Dondar. They listened to the speaker that had drawn the crowds, a man with a shaved head and a slave brand in between his shoulder blades. Continue reading Raya 31
“Can I walk with you today?” Aralim asked.
Miresh stood in the foyer with her orange lantern staff and her folded linen wrap keeping her shape looking small. Narr looked up at Aralim, and Aralim matched his gaze. It was not a glare on either of their parts—Aralim did not dislike Narr. He did not see any hostility between them, just continued analysis. Aralim looked back at Miresh. The young girl smiled, “Of course!”
They set out side-by-side. Ko bade them good-day, the guards smiled and bowed, the regular passersby watched their lantern staves tapping the stones as the two walked down West Corid Avenue toward Iron Way. “Can I ask you something?” Aralim looked down at her as they walked. Continue reading Aralim 36
In the wake of a morning rainfall, Lerran walked along the path behind the manor with Tass holding his arm. It was calming, though Lerran had spent most of the last few weeks feeling anxious. The meeting in Squora had been a storm, and the payday on the horizon was the inevitable sunlight after the thunder. For now, he was in a strange limbo, waiting for peace to come again—as though his life without the Lo Mallago trade had been anything peaceful. Continue reading Lerran 44