by Matt Heppe
Ayja took a deep breath. “Now the Orb is like an empty pond, with just the smallest stream filling it. The rivers of power have been cut off. That’s what the Wasting was—the Orb of Creation draining the world of all vitality.
“It will fill again, given enough time, and if no one draws the power from it. You and I emptied it, Telea, healing the injured and putting out fires.” She tried to sink her consciousness back into the Orb, just as she had before, but this time she couldn’t manage it. The Orb just sat there in her hand, warm and pulsing with potential, but also cold and unknowable.
The Orb’s secrets were gone, dispersed into the world around her, waiting to be discovered. Staring into the aether, Ayja followed the strings of magic. She only knew the elemental strands and those of pure ethereal force. She could make fires rage and the wind howl but little else…and there was so much more.
“I suppose we always were friends,” Orlos said, bringing her mind back to the present. He smiled. He had a handsome, but boyish face.
“What do you mean?” Ayja asked. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“Yes you have. You just don’t remember. Well, neither do I. My mother is Maret, and she was your mother’s close friend. My mother was your wet-nurse.”
Ayja gaped. “That’s right—you said you were Landomeri. You are the other child the raiders stole from Long Meadow.”
Orlos nodded. “That’s right. Your mother saved me.” He laughed. “She threw me from the top of a tower, and your grandfather caught me.”
“I don’t know the story,” Ayja said. “Cam knew very little about the abduction. He only really knew the end.”
The smile disappeared from Orlos’s face. “I’m sorry. The loss of your mother devastated my mother, your grandparents…everyone. And they searched for you. Everywhere. The best trackers in Landomere—your grandfather, my father Kael, Calen. No one could find you.”
“Cam…Sir Nidon…was afraid to take me back to Landomere,” Ayja said. “Queen Ilana would have sent soldiers there. They would have burned Landomere.”
“After a while everyone thought you were dead. They gave up hope. All except your grandmother.”
“That’s what Cam wanted. He wanted everyone to stop looking. He wanted to keep me safe from Ilana and her Inquisitors.” She paused a moment. “I have family in Landomere? Grandparents?”
Orlos smiled. “They are wonderful people. I love them like my own grandparents. In a way, they are. They’ll be shocked when they learn of you.”
Ayja leaned forward, clasping both hands over the Orb of Creation. “I want to go. I want to see them.”
“You might see something even more special. Your mother…well…she isn’t…how do I say it…she isn’t truly, really dead.”
Ayja peered at him. “What do you mean? Cam saw her body. How can she—”
“I’ve seen her,” Orlos said. “Her spirit. Her spirit returned to Landomere. I don’t know how. I can’t explain it, but she is part of the Great Spirit now. She appears to me in the forest sometimes. I’m sure she’ll appear for you.”
“What do you mean she appears?”
“She appears as a woman clothed in light, or sometimes as a silver spirit bird.”
“I saw her,” Telea said. “She warned me of Orlos’s peril. Orlos was trapped under the earth and your mother—her spirit—sent me to save him.”
Orlos nodded. “There are others who have seen her, but very few. I’m the only one she often comes to, and even then, it’s rare that I see her.”
“I want to go,” Ayja said. “She named me Enna? I don’t know if I can think of myself as anyone but Ayja.”
“It’s your grandmother’s name. She’s a brave woman. She killed the baron who took you.”
“I have to meet her.”
“Can you?” Telea asked. “You’re a princess. Sir Danalon wants you to be queen.”
Ayja shook her head. “I don’t want to be royalty. I think…I think I want to go to Landomere.” Family. I have family there. Grandparents. I never imagined it. Why didn’t I consider it?
Sir Danalon appeared on the tower roof. “Your Highness, we’ve prepared a meal for you. It’s the best we could do.”
“Thank you, Sir Danalon. Is there a place to wash? I think we’d like to clean up.”
“There is, Your Highness.”
They followed Danalon as he led them down into a tower. He brought them to a large room set with three trestle tables. Two soldiers cleared two of the tables. They bowed as Ayja entered. The third table had wooden plates and food set out for four. The food was simple…bread and hard cheese, cold sausage and early apples. Three horn cups held red wine.
“It is the best we could do,” Danalon said. “My apologies. The fourth setting is for Sir Nidon.” He motioned to a smaller table set along the wall. “There’s fresh water and soap over there.” The room was dark, lit only by faint light coming through four arrow slits and six candles set out on the tables… and by the light of the Orb.
“Join us,” Ayja said. “We’ll make another setting for Sir Nidon.” Could she get used to calling him that?
“Thank you, Your Highness, but I’ve eaten,” Danalon said. He made his excuses and departed.
Telea and the others washed before sitting. Ayja set the Orb of Creation on the table in front of her. It seemed odd not to have it in her hand. When was the last time she’d released it? She realized she never had. Even when Telea had done her healing Ayja had still held the Orb with her. She couldn’t trust that the demon might not emerge again.
For a short time she, Telea, and the demon had all been in the Orb together. Only the combined strength of Ayja and Telea had wrestled the demon out of the Orb and back into Telea. She could have been free of it, but instead she took it back into herself.
Ayja glanced at Telea. She’d never seen anyone with Telea’s dark skin and braided hair. But despite her strange appearances, she was a good woman. She’d used herself as a prison rather than let the demon take the Orb. Now the question was how to get Telea free of her demon.
Telea caught Ayja looking at her, and Ayja quickly looked to her own plate. Telea’s magic had amazed Ayja. Her songs and chants had twisted the strands of magic in ways she’d never imagined. The healing she’d done had used magic in a way that was far more complex than the brute, simple elemental magic Ayja wielded. Can I learn it too? Can I learn the magic of song?
The two soldiers clearing the other tables finished their tasks and departed the room leaving Ayja alone with her companions. Orlos hung Forsvar from the back of his chair as he sat. It no longer glowed with ethereal power; it appeared a simple round shield with Forsvar’s silver lightning bolts upon it.
“King Handrin will want Forsvar…and the Orb of Creation,” Orlos said, glancing at the faintly glowing Orb. “I’m surprised we haven’t heard from him yet.”
Telea shook her head. Before she could speak, Orlos said, “We did promise to return them.”
“We didn’t say when,” Telea said. “And the Orb isn’t ours to give, it’s Princess Ayja’s. We thought we were taking it from Cragor.”
“Don’t call me princess. Just Ayja. Please.” She looked from Orlos to Telea. “Why wouldn’t you give them back? Or not yet?”
“We must take them to the Belenese Empire,” Telea said. And then, as they ate, she told Ayja her story, starting well before she’d crossed the East Pass.
When Telea finished Ayja turned to Orlos and said, “You want to do this? You want to go to Belen?”
“Me?” His eyes widened. “I’m not going. What would I do there?”
“You have Forsvar.”
“It isn’t mine! I stole it from Queen Ilana. I don’t get to keep it.”
“Is King Handrin going?” Ayja asked. “Does he believe your story?”
“He says he does,” Telea said, “but I don’t think he’ll go now that he’s king. And I’m certain he won’t let Forsvar or the Orb leave him.”
Th
e door opened, revealing Cam and Sir Danalon. They spoke for a moment and then Danalon departed. Cam closed the door and faced them. “A long day and a longer night ahead,” he said. He nodded towards their table. “Thanks for waiting for me.”
Ayja glared at him. “You told us to go to the tower. You said you’d be right behind us.”
“Did I?” he said as he went to wash his hands. “My apologies for my lateness, Your Highness.”
“Cam!”
He turned, smiling, and joined them at the table. He was clearly exhausted, as they all were. At some point though, he’d cleaned the blood from his armor and clothes, at least the best he could. They all presented a ragged sight.
“What’s happening out there, Champion Nidon?” Orlos asked.
“Well, Champion Orlos, quite a bit.”
“I’m not really the Champion of Landomere,” Orlos said. “There’s no such thing. King Handrin made it up so that his men would follow me.”
“You don’t say?” Cam said. He poured himself some wine and raised his cup in toast. “Perhaps you earned that title today. You were everywhere. You were tireless. And wherever you went, we were victorious.”
“I’ll toast to that,” Ayja said, raising her cup.
“I don’t deserve that,” Orlos said, looking down at his plate. “The enemy ran from Forsvar, not me. I didn’t slay a single one of them. I’ve never killed anyone.”
Telea put her hand on his shoulder. “That’s not something to be ashamed of.”
“You were courageous out there, Orlos of Landomere,” Cam said. “That’s what counts. You all were. To courage.”
“To courage,” they replied putting their cups to their lips.
“What’s happening?” Cam said, placing his cup on the table. “The city has been made secure again, King Handrin wants Forsvar and the Orb of Creation returned to him, and powerful interests wish for Ayja to seize the throne for herself.”
They all looked at him dumbfounded.
“I told you so,” Orlos finally said.
“You told them that Ayja would be asked to seize the throne?” Cam asked.
“No, that King Handrin would ask for Forsvar and the Orb. Why would anyone want Ayja to take the throne?”
“Queen Ilana wasn’t loved by the people,” Cam said. “There are many who fear that King Handrin won’t be much better—that he was, and will be, her puppet.”
“He won’t be,” Orlos said. “He fled her and worked against her. He worked to save elementars from the inquisitors. We came to Sal-Oras to steal Forsvar from her. He’s a good man.”
Cam shrugged. “Not everyone has seen that side of him. I’m sure he’s concerned, though. He knows Ayja and I are here. He knows who Ayja is. I think, maybe, it was foolish of me to proclaim who we were.”
“Will King Handrin wish us harm?” Ayja asked. “I’m not after his throne. I think I want to go to Landomere.”
“Did you see the King?” Telea asked.
Cam shook his head. “I spoke to one of his messengers. They wish for us to come to the North Bridge tomorrow morning to meet the King.” Cam sighed. “Does he wish us—really Ayja—any harm? I don’t think so. It depends on how we present ourselves and what we do. I’m surprised he’s waiting until tomorrow.”
“He was very weak,” Telea said. “He wants all of his strength if he’s going to face Forsvar and the Orb of Creation.” She paused in thought.
“He wants to meet us on the bridge? It could be an ambush.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Orlos said. “Sulentis—King Handrin is a good man.”
“He’ll demand Forsvar and the Orb,” Telea said. She looked at Ayja and then at Orlos. “What will you do when he asks for them?”
“It’s not my decision to make,” Orlos said.
“I don’t want to be a queen, or even a princess,” Ayja said.
“You’ll just hand them over?” Telea asked, fear clear in her voice. “Didn’t you listen to my story?”
“What story? What are you talking about?” Cam asked.
“Telea says that the Orb of Creation and Forsvar must be taken to the Belenese Empire,” Ayja said. “Tell him, Telea.”
After hearing her story Nidon sat back and shook his head. “It is… hard to imagine.”
“You don’t believe me,” Telea said, sagging back in her chair. “Come to the Great Salador Pass—what you call the East Pass. You’ll see.” She leaned forward in her chair. “There’s a demon there—the one I told you of. A powerful demon. You’ll believe then.”
“What will you do, Ayja?” Cam asked.
“Someone should investigate the East Pass, at least.”
“That’s not enough,” Telea said. “Fall is almost here and the East Pass closes early. There isn’t time to investigate. We were told to bring an elementar, the Orb of Creation, and Forsvar back to Belen. If we don’t cross the East Pass before winter, all will be lost.”
“You said to me before that if we did this, a chorus of singers would come to Landomere and free the spiridus from their prison,” Orlos said.
“I am certain of it,” Telea said.
“We could go now,” Orlos said.
“We?” Telea asked. “I thought you weren’t going.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Orlos said. “The Great Spirit cursed me with nightmares and visions until I found the tomb of the spiridus. I can hardly expect her to leave me in peace. At least not until the spiridus are freed.”
“We can’t just walk out of here,” Ayja said.
“We?” Telea said. “You’ll do it?” She gripped the edge of the table. “Really?”
“Wait a moment!” Cam said. “Think about this. The king won’t let you simply walk out of Salador with Forsvar and the Orb of Creation. And Ayja…are you really considering this? I thought you wanted to go to Landomere.”
“What if Telea is right, Cam?”
“That’s a huge what if.”
“I’m not lying!” Telea exclaimed. “This isn’t some trick!”
“I don’t doubt you believe your mission,” Cam said. “But have you been tricked? Are you an unwitting part of someone else’s plan?”
“The summoners betrayed us because they feared we might succeed. You’ll see the evidence of their betrayal in the East Pass. You’ll see the truth as soon as you arrive in Belen.”
“I think we have to try,” Ayja said.
“Why does it have to be you?” Cam asked.
“I don’t think there’s a long list of available elementars.”
***
Ayja awoke in a dark room lit only by a single lantern. It took several moments to remember where she was. She sat up on the straw-stuffed mattress and saw Cam buttoning up a padded jack coat in the dim light. He put a finger to his lips and nodded towards the still-sleeping Orlos and Telea.
They’d spent the night in the tower barracks—a barracks whose residents would never return. A chill went down Ayja’s spine as she looked at personal possessions and the odds and ends of daily life that would never be touched by their owners again. So many had died.
They’d been given several offers for better lodging, but Cam had rejected them all. “The gate tower is more secure,” he’d said. “We don’t know these people or their plots and plans.”
Ayja washed her face at a basin at the end of the long room. Cam had, at least, accepted some of the many offers of clean clothes made to them by a grateful population. “More than a few of them want you to be their queen,” he’d said before they’d gone to their sleeping pallets the night before.
“They don’t even know me.”
“They know you killed Cragor. They know you put out the fires. They know you have the Orb of Creation. They know you aren’t Queen Ilana.”
While she washed both Orlos and Telea woke. Cam pulled open the shutters covering the room’s four arrow slits and lit another lantern. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he unbarred the door and left.
�
�I didn’t sleep,” Telea said, joining Ayja. “Not until just a short time ago.”
“Nervous?”
“Afraid. Afraid of what King Handrin might do. Afraid of what is happening beyond the Great Salador Pass.”
“You think you’re nervous?” Orlos said. “Imagine how King Handrin feels. Ayja is a rival to the throne, and she has both Forsvar and the Orb of Creation.”
“You have Forsvar,” Telea said.
“I doubt King Handrin sees it that way.”
Cam returned to the room. “There is breakfast made ready. We’ll eat, and then we’ll see King Handrin.”
Ayja went to the bed next to hers. She’d laid clothing out there the night before. “How do I dress, Cam?” she asked. “Do I wear my aketon and carry a sword, or do I dress in finery?”
He joined her and looked down at the clothing. There were three fine dresses, but trousers and a tunic as well. The dresses were gifts from wealthy residents of Sal-Oras. The tunic and trousers were scrounged from the kit of a solider who’d died in the defense of the gates.
“The clothes you wear will send a message to Handrin,” Cam said. “What is the message that you want to send? An aketon and sword might seem like a challenge.”
“But will he treat me as an equal if I appear before him in a dress?”
“Go armed,” Telea said. “You aren’t going as a beggar to ask favor of him. Your blood is just as royal as his is. You killed Cragor and took the Orb of Creation. You saved Salador. Go before him with strength, and tell him how things will be.”
“Dressing as a man won’t gain you any favor amongst the ladies and gentlemen of the court,” Cam said.
Ayja picked up the faded blue tunic. “Do I care?” she asked. “I’ll make my peace with the King, and then I’ll depart Salador.”
“For Belen?” Telea asked.
Ayja nodded. “For Belen,” she said, and then found herself suddenly embraced by Telea.
“Thank you,” Telea said.
They dressed, Telea in a conservatively tailored dress of Saladoran red; Ayja, Orlos, and Cam in tunics and trousers. Ayja and Cam added their aketons, both cleaned and mended by Sir Danalon’s men during the night. Cam and Ayja both wore swords at their waists.