God Stalk

by P. C. Hodgell

  The Arrin-ken disapproved of these changes, but their influence was dwindling as their number, too, declined. The handful of them that remained withdrew into the wilds of Rathillien to consider what should be done next.

  During the long absence of the Arrin-ken, contention grew among the Highborn. By now, nearly 3,000 years had passed since the Kencyrath's arrival on Rathillien, and in all that time there had been no significant clash with Perimal Darkling. True, the barrier between the uninvaded areas of Rathillien and the parts now claimed for Perimal Darkling by the Master grew weaker each year and large areas near it, like the Haunted Lands, had been contaminated. But that hardly seemed as serious as the recurrent attacks by the native rulers, most of whom still considered the Kencyrath itself an unwelcome invader.

  The Highborn no longer agreed on their priorities. They couldn't entirely abandon their traditional role as the guardians of the Chain, but they could divert much of their energy toward carving out a place for themselves on Rathillien—or so many of them argued. This debate came to a head when Ganth of Knorth was invested as Highlord. Ganth lead a great Kencyr host against its enemies on Rathillien, but he was betrayed and the host broken. Ganth Gray Lord presumably died on his way into exile.

  A time of near anarchy followed as the remaining lords vied for power.

  Then a young man came out of the Eastern Lands, claiming to be the Gray Lord's son. His name was Torisen. Although he had neither Ganth's sword nor ring to prove his identity, the war-weary Highborn proclaimed him their lord so that they might have at least a season's peace. No one thought he would last longer than that. But Torisen Black Lord proved himself so superior a leader that his rivals lost heart. They would have been astonished to learn that while Torisen dismissed them almost contemptuously, there was one rival whom he feared, even though he had not seen her in over twenty years. Somewhere out there was his twin sister, Jamethiel—cursed at birth with the name of an arch-traitor, driven out into the Haunted Lands as a child by Ganth, their father.

  But she would come back. She was already on the way. Torisen waited, wondering what would happen when he at last met her face to face.

  P. C. Hodgell writes:

  My parents are both professional artists. I suppose I inherited my interest in craftsmanship and creativity from them, but while they work with paint and clay, my images have always come in words. As far back as I can remember, I've been making up stories to tell myself. In a sense, my heroine and I grew up together, alter egos feeding on each other's dreams. As my world became more complicated, so did hers. I began to see that it had a form and history of its own, with the characters and incidents for a hundred stories. It was marvelous; it was frightening. I did my best to record it and was frequently discouraged by the results as, indeed, I am to this day. My first real encouragement came during the 1974 Clarion Writer's Workshop. I decided then that I really did want to write more than anything else, but by that time I had also made a commitment to graduate school. Since then, life has been a juggling act with either academics or writing in midair at any given moment. I hope soon to take my doctorate in English literature with an emphasis on nineteenth-century fiction—which probably explains why for my first full-length work I have written what in many respects is a Victorian novel. Readers who have difficulty with the plot might bear this in mind.

  THE END

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