Renado 20

The day had come at last.  Renado gazed at the work he had done, after a half-hour of sharpening his sword’s blade and polishing the smooth steel.  It wasn’t the same weapon he had wielded last year—to everyone else, two-year’s past—but it would serve him well in the future, he hoped.  He had donned a boiled leather cuirass, which was a little more armour than he was accustomed to.  Still, many of the soldiers of the Great Isle, many days south of them by sails, wore big suits of plate armour. Continue reading Renado 20

Aralim 59

Rain clouds rolled across Rema all morning, as it had the last afternoon.  They first were an opaque sheet of shadow on the southern horizon but charged across the jungles until they shrouded the capital in a translucent cloud of water.

Last night, Miresh heard Aralim’s story of the conversation with the Emperor in disbelief.  According to Rattar, she said, healing scars after injuries was difficult work and time-consuming.  Rattar could not have healed Tag’na’s wound so completely overnight. Continue reading Aralim 59

Farek 21

It took Farek a few days longer than he intended to get everything in order for his trip to Noress-That-Was.  He spent a few hours enjoying a meal with Simi one night, to make certain she’d watch out while he was gone.  He also had to make certain all of his work responsibilities would be handled by the subordinates he chose, and a few conversations with Jannia ensured both his plots in Soros and his finances for their House would be handled if anything in need of attention came up in his absence. Continue reading Farek 21

Aralim 56

As Aralim descended into the Third Court amphitheatre, he looked through the crowd in the direction of the Fortress Marana.  There were twice as many soldiers in front of it, including a troop of about twenty soldiers, standing in block formation.  He had not heard announcements of any military drills, so he claimed his seat with an inquisitive look on his face.  To Dullah, he leaned over and asked, “Have you heard anything?”

“About what?” she asked. Continue reading Aralim 56

Renado 19

“Well, I’m going, obviously,” Woodro muttered.

A few guffaws echoed around the circle, but Ren didn’t laugh.  The remaining members of his original crew stood in a circle with him, along with a few of the crew from Captain Urro’s vessel, as the sun set behind the Isle of Dusk’s strange hill.  Through the trees, the blinding rays became a muted orange glow.  He nodded.  “Woodro, thank you,” he said.  His friend had broken the awkward silence that followed the announcement that they would accept the teleportation spell to reach their destination.  No one was pleased about it. Continue reading Renado 19

Arn 22

Stone pebbles and mossy dirt had ground into Arn’s forearms, knees, shins, and one shoulder, as he had wrestled his raft down the slope on the rollers he had made with Thalla.  It had taken nearly two hours, but Arn wiped his skin clean again with a fur rag after hammering a peg in between a few rocks.  A brilliant gleam pierced the air over the island as the sun broke the horizon at last.

He was sitting on a log of driftwood, watching the salt waves lapping his creation against the narrow gravelly beach.  This was the only stretch of coast this side of their lagoon that wasn’t met with jutting boulders or stark cliffs.  Arn knew because he had walked the whole length of it.

As dawn crept across the mathhar forests and saltwater bogs of Razaad, Arn rose from his tree-trunk seat and picked up the enormous guiding pole he had prepared.  It was time. Continue reading Arn 22

Aralim 55

Aralim listened to the tap of his lantern staff on the old city cobblestones as he and Hayan walked through the old part of town, just north-east of the Ake’ma River.  These neighbourhoods predated the Emperor’s rise to power, back when Rema was a tiny river town connected to a long-vanished sandstone quarry.  He was still coming to terms with the thought of leaving Rema on the Emperor’s new bidding.  On the one hand, he longed to wander once more; on the other, Miresh was building her life here and he wanted to maintain that friendship, both for the care he felt for her and for her role in his progress along the Path. Continue reading Aralim 55

Farek 20

The day of Lord Mavagar’s feast was a restless one for Farek.  He was looking forward to Silea’s company, and to whatever he might learn about their host.  His office in their mansion was littered with stacks of pages and books he had been studying, but he sat in the midst of it all without the ability to focus.

When there were two hours before he would need to meet Silea at her front door, he finally escaped his stupor by marching through the door.  One of his subordinates, a money-counter named Lorg, stuttered as Prince Gallendris brushed past without a word.  Farek’s pace took him quickly off of their property.  He needed a drink—and he had not recently checked the Royal Whale tavern for word from House Viotro.  The sun gleamed off the pink water of Raider’s Bay and illuminated his walk with a burgundy glow. Continue reading Farek 20