by Dianna Gunn
Calvin sat at the head of the table, a green cloth tucked into his collar the way one would tuck cloth into a baby’s collar to protect their clothing. His cheeks were already red from ale.
A giant of a woman with dark eyes and even darker hair sat on Calvin’s right and Talyn sat on her left. Both glared at Lai as she approached the table, but Calvin’s eyes lit up when he saw her.
“Ah, yes, my savior!” Calvin raised his tankard. “Sit next to Talyn and pour yourself some ale. I was telling my wife how you saved me from those bandits.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed and Talyn scowled at his father. Lai forced her own face to remain expressionless and took the offered seat. She kept her eyes on her plate and the exquisite silver cutlery on either side of it, but the ornate dishes only made her feel more uncomfortable. Even Pa didn’t possess this kind of wealth.
The cook bowed and left the room, obviously relieved her job was done. Lai wished she could follow and eat in the kitchen. She consoled herself by filling her tankard to the brim and drinking it in three gulps. She had grown quite fond of the beverage over the past few months. It made Alanum—and Calvin—more tolerable.
Calvin began loading food onto his plate but the other two didn’t so much as look at theirs, still glaring at her. Lai filled her tankard again and gulped it down. She wished they would accuse her of something instead of all this staring.
“Isn’t anyone else going to eat?” Calvin asked.
Nobody responded. Calvin shrugged and stuffed a massive piece of meat into his mouth. Gravy dribbled down his chin. Lai turned away, disgusted.
“It would be a shame to waste any of this delicious food after Cook worked so hard,” Calvin said, scooping up one of the strange stuffed vegetables. “Please, Lai, help yourself.”
Lai shifted uncomfortably and reached for the closest platter of meat. Refusing a host’s meal was the ultimate insult. She took three small pieces of meat and one of the strange orange vegetables.
Talyn shot his father a dark look and reached for one of the meat platters. Calvin’s wife didn’t move at all, her eyes still fixed on Lai. She remained that way through the entire meal.
Darkness pressed in around her, a darkness that was all too familiar. Lai moaned and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. The darkness will be gone when I wake.
A painfully bright ray of light appeared, bearing down on Lai’s head from somewhere behind her. She turned slowly, her body heavy with dread.
Calvin’s wife stood above her, only here Calvin’s wife was even larger, twice the height of anyone Lai had ever seen and easily three times as wide. The giant scowled at Lai and reached forward with an open hand.
Lai’s mind screamed at her to run but her body was frozen with fear. The giant’s hand closed around. Laughter sounded in the distance, laughter even more familiar than the darkness. Something crashed into her chest, taking all the wind from her lungs.
She gasped for air and bolted upright, staring at the floor of her room in Calvin’s mansion. The heavy green blanket was wrapped around her legs, one end still on the bed.
She wiped sweat away from her brow and kicked the blankets off of her, not caring how cold the room was.
Angry tears rushed down her face, soaking her cheeks.
When the tears ended she wiped her cheeks on her sleeves and stared at the ceiling. She felt hollow, like the tears washed away her entire being, not just the rage and the sadness. Or maybe that’s all I am now.
“Why did you send me here?” she asked, although she didn’t really believe the gods were listening anymore. Not even Taelanna, the goddess she loved most. “Why?”
If they were listening, the gods certainly didn’t answer.
After several months of hiding in her room, the time came for Lai and Calvin to begin traveling again, this time heading north to invest in furs.
The morning they left Calvin’s wife and their sons stood in the manor doorway, waving at them until Lai and Calvin turned a corner and the house disappeared from view. The sight left a bitter taste in her mouth. She already knew he wouldn’t miss them on the road.
They traveled north for three weeks before Calvin set up shop in a small city, renting land for his caravan and horses from one of the local lords. Every day he went to market, selling his goods to the few who could afford them and handsomely rewarding those who brought him clean furs. Lai went with him, watching, always prepared for a fight.
Every night Calvin went drinking, usually with at least one of his other guards. Sometimes they all went out and she stayed to guard the caravan, but other times one of them stayed behind and she went out for a drink of her own at a run-down inn she knew Calvin wouldn’t go into. A place where she could forget all her troubles.
A new bard came to the inn each week, singing songs about great heroes or dead kings and queens. She always sat near them, getting lost in their stories as she drank herself into enough of a stupor to sleep without dreams.
One bard in particular caught her attention. He told stories of many places other than Alanum: a kingdom of black-skinned men across the eastern sea, a valley filled entirely with redheads, a mountain tribe ruled by twin goddesses, goddesses of earth and sun. It was these last stories that fascinated her the most.
“The mountain is defended by a band of women warriors called Keepers of the Dawn, who are also the greatest smiths in the land,” he said.
Lai straightened up and leaned forward to get a better look at the old man. Could he be telling the truth? Did Keepers of the Dawn exist in the mountains? More importantly, were they actually women?
“They forge the red blades the king’s elite men use with the blessing of their goddesses. They are only sold to those deemed honorable warriors by the Keepers of the Dawn.”
With every word she grew more intrigued, her drink completely forgotten. The goddesses could only be Taelanna and Ravina. What other deities could Keepers of the Dawn possibly serve?
“Then why do they trade with the king’s men?” someone in the crowd yelled.
The bard chuckled. “They don’t. Each of those blades is over a century old, sold to kings of better days. They don’t associate with the current bastard.
“On the longest night of the year the mountain people build a bonfire so grand you would never know it was winter at all,” he went on. “It’s said to bless the coming year, and they drink and dance around it until dawn. Now there are people who know how to celebrate!” He paused and took a massive gulp of his drink.
Lai watched him intently.
The bard went on to tell a story about a woman he met in the mountain town. But Lai didn’t want to hear about the woman or the romance. She wanted only to hear more about the customs of these people, about their goddesses. My goddesses. If their Keepers of the Dawn really were women she could find this tribe and devote her lives to the goddesses she loved most.
Eventually the crowd cleared out and the bard sat alone with his last drink. The inn keep started cleaning up, humming an unfamiliar tune. Lai downed the last of her ale and strode towards the bard. He glanced up as she approached and gave her a smile that made her skin crawl. She stopped a few feet away from him, absently holding the handles of her blades.
“How do I find the mountain tribe?” she asked.
His smile vanished. “Why do you care?”
She took a deep breath. If she was wrong, she would make quite the fool of herself. “These goddesses... I worship them too.”
He laughed. “If you did, you’d know how to get there. Nobody I’ve met down here even knew their names, except the merchants who took me there in the first place.”
“Taelanna and Ravina.”
His leer vanished, replaced by an expression of intense curiosity. “Who are you? And where are you from?”
“South. Beyond the desert.
”
He drained his drink and slammed the empty pint on the table. “Even if I believe you,” he said, “my information isn’t free.” He gestured at the room around him. “The people here paid for my stories with a meal and many drinks. How will you pay?”
Her first impulse was to threaten him, but she didn’t want to make a scene. “I can buy you another drink.”
He leaned back as if considering her offer, his gaze lingering on her chest. His thoughtful expression cracked into a lecherous grin.
“And what if I want another kind of payment?” he asked. “I’m already drunk, but a beautiful woman has other things to offer.”
Lai took a deep breath, pushing down the spark of rage that ignited in her chest. I will not start a fight here.
“Maybe I do,” she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out two gold coins, laying them on the table. “This is more than enough, am I right?”
His eyes widened and he nodded. “Travel one week north, then one day east to find the path.”
The path back into the service of my goddesses.
Chapter Seven
Lai woke before dawn to pack, eager to get on the road.
She found Calvin eating a massive breakfast, a plate full of eggs and a separate plate of sausages. Her stomach churned as he stuffed an entire sausage into his mouth.
“Lai, what a pleasure!” He stumbled over the words, his mouth still full of food. “Sit, I’ll have Cook bring some for you.”
She forced herself to smile at him as she always did, then cleared her throat. “I didn’t come for breakfast.” She preferred eating with the servants, away from Calvin. “I came to tell you I’m leaving.”
“Where will you go? You told me yourself you cannot go home.”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t want Calvin to know about the mountain tribe, though she couldn’t place why. “Something in my dreams is calling me further north.”
“I’ll double your rate if you stay,” he said, setting his fork down. “I may have other guards, but you’re the most skilled.”
She was the only skilled warrior. Most of Calvin’s other guards were simply big brutes who could intimidate most men out of fighting at all.
She shook her head. “It’s time for me to find my true purpose.”
“Well, I can’t stop you, but you’re always welcome to return to my service.”
He returned to his plate as if she had already left the room, this time pushing two sausages onto his fork and stuffing them into his mouth.
Soon she and Maia were heading north again, laden down with all the supplies they could carry. The air was already growing cold, bringing winter to the kingdom, but for once she didn’t mind it. Nothing could ruin the peace settling into her soul, the certainty that she was on the right path again.
For the first time in many months she slept peacefully without the help of ale, her nightmares replaced with happy dreams, dreams of running through the forest with Mir as children, listening to her mother read a story, learning to ride the family pony.
On her fourth day of travel the mountain range came into view, a long dark mass on the horizon. She pushed Maia to go faster, all caution forgotten. With every mile the dark mass grew larger and her heart grew lighter.
At the end of the sixth day they came upon a small village with a tavern that seemed much older than the village itself. She let a scruffy attendant take Maia into the stables and entered the tavern through a side door. Her legs felt like jelly after so many hours on the road. She needed real, warm food and good rest.
She hurried up to the unexpectedly shiny redwood bar and ordered a meal and a room.
“Have as much as you want,” he said, shoving a bowl of stew in front of her. “The men won’t return from the mountain camp until winter.”
“Mountain camp?”
“They work the mountain quarry. A day’s ride north and another day’s ride west. It’s the only work most of them know, but it means there’s nobody here for over half the year.”
The mountains are only a day’s ride north. All her aches and pains seemed to melt away. “I see.” She stared into her bowl. The murky liquid looked barely edible, but her stomach growled at the sight anyway.
She shoveled the food into her mouth as quickly as possible, trying to ignore the awful taste.
“I’ve never seen anyone eat a bowl so fast,” he said.
“It’s been a long day.” Lai dropped her spoon in the empty bowl and stood up. She made a show of looking for the right amount of money and gave him a handful of bronze coins.
Lai set out again at dawn, the cloak Calvin gave her last winter wrapped tightly around her. She ached to push Maia into a gallop, but she forced herself to be content approaching the mountain at a trot. Maia would need all her energy for the final portion of their journey.
She reached the mountain path at midday and slowed Maia down to a walk, watching the ground for any loose stones that might send them tumbling. A bitter cold wind started as they reached the first curve. Lai pulled her hood close around her face so only her eyes were left uncovered. Maia snorted angrily but kept pushing forward.
The sun disappeared behind the mountains as she came around the last bend in the path, giving the final stretch an eerie glow. A pair of massive evergreen trees stood at the edge of the plateau, keeping most of the town hidden until she passed between them.
Her heart jumped into her throat, her eyes darting in every direction. The town—and the stone plateau it sat on—was far bigger than Lai expected. Even the smallest house stood two stories tall, although the second and third floors on many were obviously hasty extensions. The bottom floors of these houses were beautiful with figures of fairies and elves and griffons carved right into the buildings, but the tops were simple, as if they had been built in a hurry to accommodate an influx of new people.
At the end of the road stood a massive stone building that could only be the temple. Its great double doors were made of light red wood with dozens of symbols she didn’t recognize carved into it and a few she did: a phoenix, a crescent moon, a sun.
Almost there. Lai pushed Maia into a trot, crossing the town in moments. She didn’t see a single person but the smells of a hundred delicious meals wafted up her nostrils. Her stomach grumbled, longing for some soup to warm her hands and belly. She gritted her teeth and rode on. I’ll have food soon. If nothing else the temple would feed her. Ravina did not believe in turning weary travelers away.
She dismounted a few feet away from the temple stables and led Maia towards the wooden structure. A scrawny boy covered in dirt popped his head out of a stall as they entered. He barely noticed Lai, staring at Maia as if he had never seen such a horse before. A flash of pride flared up in her. Her people really did breed the best horses.
“W-who are you?” the boy asked after a moment. He spoke Alanum’s tongue about as well as she did, though his accent was very different.
“A weary traveller,” she said.
He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her weapons. “Not many travel this way.”
“I came to see the twin goddesses.” It was true, if only a portion of the truth.
He brightened. “So their word has spread!” He took Maia’s reins, all suspicion gone. “Welcome to Taurim.”
Part Three
Taurim
Chapter Eight
Inside, the temple was magnificent. Three crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each one larger than the last, all filled with tiny balls of magical light. The largest must have held over a hundred lights.
Tapestries lined the walls, images of a valley filled with mystical creatures. Unicorns, fairies, the child-like elves once said to roam all the forests, even centaurs populated the tapestries. Lai moved closer, inspecting the centaurs, the bare-chested female and the male with his stunted antlers, not qu
ite as beautiful as an elk’s. These creatures were painted often back home, but never with such loving detail.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
Lai straightened up and turned to face the woman who had spoken. She wore a long sleeved burgundy shirt and matching breeches. Even her boots were burgundy. She wore a sword at her waist, the golden sheath vibrant against all that scarlet.
A Keeper of the Dawn. She wanted to say a dozen things, ask a hundred questions, but nothing came out. She was finally here and she couldn’t say a damn thing.
“The Elder wishes to see you,” the Keeper of the Dawn said. “But I’ll have to hold onto those.” She gestured at Lai’s knives.
Lai hesitated, hands hovering over the blades. She hadn’t gone anywhere without her niro since she fled Valasharn. She even slept with them beside her head, ready to be grabbed at a moment’s notice. They were her life now, her livelihood.
I need these people to trust me. Her own people would ask the same of any stranger wishing to see Ellanora. She unclipped the niro from her belt and held them out. The other woman took them and smiled.
“Follow me.” The Keeper of the Dawn turned and led her towards the end of the chamber.
A massive stone altar stood at the end of the chamber, with statues of the goddesses standing behind it. Their bodies were simple gray stone, but Taelanna’s hair was made of a thousand tiny rubies and Ravina’s consisted of many green jewels set in ancient branches. The branches were so old the wood itself had turned gray, but powerful magic kept the leaves green.
She wanted to stop and examine the statues, but the Keeper of the Dawn ushered her through a door behind the altar. The door opened into an impossibly long hallway. Every ten feet or so they passed a pair of red doors, each painted a slightly different shade. They stopped at the end of the hallway and went through a crimson door on their left.
The Elder’s office was spotless and smelled heavily of incense. Scarlet swords and knives of every shape and size hung on the walls, each one carved with tiny, intricate runes. Lai couldn’t resist gaping at them.