To Play the Lady

by Naomi Lane

  Lady Crystelle of Merrin – Daughter of Lord and Lady Merrin who rule the western province. A Queen’s Lady.

  Lady Becca – Crystelle of Merrin’s younger cousin. A Queen’s Lady.

  Lady Yolanda – Daughter of the count ruling the province where Salara is located. A Queen’s Lady.

  Aurelia of Vermillion – Daughter of Lord and Lady Vermillion who rule the southeastern province, also the wealthiest province. A Queen’s Lady.

  Princess Aylin of Khazaran – Only daughter of the Khazaran King. Recent arrival to Sevalia and assumed to be a marriage prospect for one of the three princes. A Queen’s Lady.

  Toivo “Tony” Mallory (deceased) – Jenna’s paternal grandfather. An escaped Tenarran slave.

  ‘Dark Mage’ – A mysterious mage Jenna finds living in a castle in the Zidarian mountains. Suspected to be Khazaran.

  Master Durand – The Queen’s Ladies’ riding instructor. Formerly the riding instructor of the knight trainees. He left his position over a conflict with Lord Nigen.

  Tobin – Stable hand working under Master Durand.

  King Antony – Sevalian King and fire mage.

  Prince Sebastian – Third and youngest Sevalian prince. Only known living defense mage. Knight trainee.

  Vincent of Vermillion – Lady Aurelia’s brother and Peter’s friend. Knight trainee.

  Lord Nigen – Tenarran Lord in exile in Sevalia. Assumed the position as the knight trainees’ riding instructor.

  Magista Delia – Queen’s Ladies’ magic instructor. Guild healer mage.

  Volta (myth) – Seventh daughter of King Maximilian. A mind mage.

  Lord ‘Lucas’ Harcourt – Lord of Harcourt Tower and high mage of all Sevalia. Last known mind mage in the Towers.

  Master Barrett – Sevalian court stable master.

  Sevalla (myth) – Eldest daughter of King Maximilian. A defense mage.

  ‘Black Magister’ (deceased) – Half-Sevalian, half-Khazaran mind mage. Tower-trained before going rogue and joining Khazaran in the mage wars, where he was defeated and killed some two hundred years prior to the story.

  Violeta Mallory – Jenna’s paternal grandmother. Originally from Zidaria.

  Rafid – Jenna’s uncle. Johara’s brother. A Rahtani mage.

  Prince Dominic – Sevalian Crown Prince and avid horseman.

  Prince Eamon – Middle Sevalian Prince and avid swordsman.

  Sir Raymond – The heir to the title of Lord Tal-Kenn until his father disinherited him. Prince Dominic’s close friend.

  Sir Gerard – Navian knight and family friend of the Mallorys. Lord Fyrian’s son.

  Lord Martis – Tenarran Lord in exile and nephew to King Antony. His entire immediate family was killed in the Tenarran rebellion. Becomes a knight trainee.

  Elizabeth “Bets” Mallory – Jenna’s aunt who owns a dress shop in Salara.

  Lady Constance – Daughter of the Healing Guildmaster. Niece of Magista Delia. A Queen’s Lady.

  Gerald Landon – King Antony’s steward.

  Places:

  Sevalia – A magical kingdom with six provinces, seven if including the royal territory ruled directly by the King, which is referred to only as Sevalia. Each province is ruled by a Lord and has three counties each ruled by a Count. (Capital is Sevale)

  Vermillion – Southeast Province, east of the Sevalla River, south of the eastern road, west of the Zidarian Mountains. Consists of both high and low plains which have the best farmland in the country, helping it become the wealthiest province. (Capital is Ferrea)

  Arvolis – Southwest Province, south of the western road, west of the Sevalla River. Contains mainly high plains, and some low plains. Good farmland and people are also known to be horse breeders. (Capital is Theas)

  Merrin – Western Province, west of the hills along the coast. Has some farmland and a large fishing fleet. Includes island chain off-shore. (Capital is Sur)

  Tal-kenn – Northwest Province, west of the northern road, north of the western road. Hill country with pasture for a variety of animals. Some plains and clay soil for pottery. Considered poorest of the six provinces. (Capital is Kalkara)

  Andur – Northeast Province, north of the eastern road, west of the Zidarian Mountains, east of the northern road. Is a thickly forested province and lumber exporter. (Capital is Crennard)

  Zidaria – Easternmost Province, around the Zidarian Mountains. Main wealth from mining, but also pasture lands. People known as great masons. Khazaran influence in culture and language. (Capital is Dava)

  Verlesti – Zidarian county.

  Landon – Sevalian county (part of the King’s territory).

  Doros – Arvolian county.

  Khazaran – Southeastern neighbor of Sevalia and former Sevalian enemy. Last major war stripped Khazaran of most of its territory.

  Tenarra – Name for the old kingdom that until recently bordered Sevalia in the north. Shared cultural similarities with Sevalia. Known for its powerful fire mages.

  Zidarian Mountains – Sevalian eastern mountain range.

  Badlands – Land east of the Zidarian Mountains where nothing grows after being damaged in the mage wars. Formerly Khazaran territory.

  United Northern Republic ‘UNR’ – New name for the country that was Tenarra after the rebellion.

  Southern Sea– Sea that borders Khazaran and Sevalia to the south.

  Great Desert – Land across the southern sea. Home to the Rahtani tribes.

  Salara – Port city on the southern coast at the mouth of the

  Sevalla River. In Arvolis province.

  Navia – Sister city of Salara located in the same area but across the river in Vermillion province.

  Religious and Magical Terms:

  Sevday – Sevalia uses seven-day weeks. The first day, Sevday, is a day of rest. Guild and noble houses hold prayer sessions where people may pray to any god of their choosing.

  Midwinter Festival – The Sevalian festival to celebrate the beginning of winter. Traditions depend on the province.

  Gharzir – Rahtani term for mage.

  Magistrice – Term referring to a mistress of a Sevalian noble. A magistrice is traditionally a Tower mage, but must have some magical ability for the term to apply.

  Magitor – A male ‘magistrice.’

  Rota – Magical symbols used solely in the Sevalian Towers.

  Brief History of Lands and Peoples

  Sevalia

  Founded roughly 1,000 years before the story takes place, Sevalia is a land of many peoples with many traditions. According to legend, it was united when the first Sevalian King, King Maximilian, conquered the tribes in the six lands: the Andur forest, the Zidarian Mountains, the eastern and western plains, the western coast, and the Tal-kenn hills. His conquest was facilitated by his powerful defense magic that made him practically invincible.

  He effectively ended warfare among the tribes, but did not keep all power centralized under his rule or that of his heirs. Instead he had no sons, but seven daughters six of whom each married a man from a different tribal culture, forming the six provinces. The eldest daughter married the son of King Maximilian’s closest friend and carried on the royal line that retained power over interprovincial disputes and the military.

  The Towers and mage guilds began to form soon after he consolidated power and are supported by Sevalian taxes.

  Khazaran

  The kingdom of Khazaran is even older than Sevalia and was founded after some nomads conquered the plains east of the Zidarian mountains. They interbred with the locals and instantly recognized the power of mind magic. Using their new power, they planned invasion of the land now called Vermillion province in Sevalia.

  Maximilian rose to power and stopped the invasion, but could not fully conquer Khazaran. His failure to unite all of the known lands opened Sevalia and Khazaran to future wars, which did occur with regularity. However, on the day the so-called ‘Black Magister’ was killed, the Badlands were also formed which wiped out
two thirds of Khazaran territory. But it was not a clear Sevalian victory, as the Towers took heavy damage.

  An accord was struck. The Khazaran royal heir was married to a Sevalian, and things remained more peaceful, but Khazaran’s standard of living was poorer than Sevalia’s, and its people were dissatisfied. Gradually its old aristocracy lost power in favor of a new oligarchy led by the most powerful merchant families. As Khazaran’s wealth has increased, trade and diplomacy with Sevalia has also increased, as evidenced by Princess Aylin’s invitation to become a Queen’s Lady.

  Tenarra

  The Tenarran kingdom was founded when Sevalian fire mages invaded the northern territory. They believed the natives there were easy prey and in need of ‘civilizing’ after resisting multiple offers for them to join Sevalia peacefully, the first during the time of Maximilian. They also refused to support Sevalia in the mage wars with Khazaran, and the fire mages were convinced this was unjust because the northern tribes still benefitted from Sevalia’s protection. The Sevalian royalty did not approve of the conquest, but did not act to prevent it because it could not afford to move military strength away from the eastern border.

  The fire mages then founded the new kingdom, mimicking many Sevalian ways, adopting its language, erecting three new Towers and creating a similar system of provincial government, but without guilds. There was only one type of magic in Tenarra, fire magic, and the mages’ strength was enhanced through breeding, often by force, with the native northern mages, many of whom were enslaved.

  Tenarra’s harsh rule incited multiple rebellions, but none were successful until the latest, most of which occurred just before the story takes place.

  The Rahtani

  The term Rahtani refers to the ancient race of people living in the Great Desert, though rather than one cohesive nation, they are really separated into various tribes which, by choice, have had little contact with the outside world. This, however, has been changing as the Hadast tribe has consolidated power with the goal to unite all the tribes. Hadast has also expanded trade with both Sevalia and Khazaran.

  About the Author

  Naomi Lane has been daydreaming up silly stories for as long as she can remember, and one day she thought it would be fun to write some of them down. After finishing the first story, everyone kept asking when they could read it, so she self-published To Play the Lady.

  When not daydreaming about fantasy worlds she works as an energy consultant in downtown Boston and also lives in Boston with her husband and their two cats.

  Email her at toplaythelady@gmail.com or visit her website at www.sevalianchronicles.com.

  Further Reading

  Sadly, I have not yet finished the sequel to To Play the Lady. While you wait, I highly recommend the Unfinished Song series by Tara Maya. Here is an excerpt from the first book…

  Initiate

  The Unfinished Song, Book One

  Tara Maya

  Review

  "Wow. Holy smoking wow. This is one of the few books I've read that I can honestly say was totally, 100% original.... However, as unique as it is, it was insanely easy to slip into the story..."

  --Emi London, Octopus Ink

  "More than a simple tale of growing up in a magical setting, INITIATE is a fantasy reader's fantasy."

  --Anthony Pacheco

  "I was enchanted by Initiate, drawn into a world that felt as comfortably recognizable and uniquely untried as Narnia, Hogwarts or Middle Earth."

  --Casee Marie, The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower

  Product Description

  About the twelve-book epic fantasy series, THE UNFINISHED SONG

  Love is not stronger than Death. Except in faery tales...

  Welcome to Faearth. The world is still young, fairytales are real, and humans are trapped between the immortal fae and the minions of Death. The war between the fae and the Deathsworn will tear apart two lovers.

  This is an epic adventure, a timeless romance, and, above all, a faery tale.

  "I recommend this [series] ...to fantasy and epic saga lovers and readers who liked reading Lord of the Rings, but found the length of the book overwhelming....This book series has a unique concept - breaking down the traditionally long Epic Fantasy tale into shorter more manageable books." - Gina, My Precious: Ramblings of a Kindle Addict

  About INITIATE, the first book in The Unfinished Song series

  A determined girl...

  Dindi can't do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi's clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan.

  An exiled warrior...

  Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn't commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don't kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father's wars and his mother's curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her... assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.

  Chapter One

  Dance

  Dindi

  Dindi scanned the crowd, hoping to slip into the plaza unnoticed. Barter Hill swarmed with people because aunties from the three clans met here to trade every half-moon. A kraal at the bottom of the hill held aurochsen and horses. Interconnected rectangular adobe buildings created a square around the top of the rise. The old uncles, to suit their dignity, leaned against the wall on a log bench, under the shade of the eaves of the buildings, drinking corn beer, chatting amiably. They hid their thighs with waist blankets and caped themselves in shoulder blankets that reached the ground. Dindi slithered by them.

  Unfortunately, the first person Dindi locked eyes with was Great Aunt Sullana. Though the whole plaza separated them, Great Aunt Sullana tore across the market like a tornado on the Purple Plains. She would demand to examine Dindi’s basket, and finding nothing in it except a kitten, pinch her cheek until Dindi stuttered some explanation. The natural and obvious defense would be to lie, but frankly, Dindi had always been a terrible liar. Her whole face ripened like a tomato, her eyes slid this way and that, she couldn’t convince a child honey was sweet never mind fool Great Aunt Sullana, who ate secrets for morning meal.

  Evasion her only option, Dindi darted past a couple of elder women haggling over an exchange of vegetables for pottery. Married women, with their salt-and-pepper hair coiled in stacked rings atop their heads, sat with their wares on blankets arranged all around the dancing platform. Dindi wove a path around multifarious piles of tubers and bone awls, behind bunches of water gourds hung like grapes over racks of smoked venison. Aunties shouted and tried to call her attention to bargins by slapping her calves with horse-hair whisks.

  Great Aunt Sullana changed course to track her. Dindi hopped behind a group of bare-chested warriors who mock-fought one another, to the annoyance of an auntie whose tower of baskets they upset. A gaggle of girls giggled at their antics. Great Aunt Sullana kept walking in the wrong direction. Dindi sighed in relief.

  A slow drumbeat reverberated throughout the market square. The Tavaedies! No one could see the drum, but each beat shook the ground like earth tremors. Heads jerked up and eyes began to sparkle. Rattles and flutes supplemented the drumbeat. From a hole in the ground in a clear space just in front of the dancing platform, a line of masked dancers emerged. Each costume was slightly different, determined by the dancer’s color of magic and the dance the troop performed that day. A large headdress and a matching mask of either cloth or paint disguised each face. Each Tavaedi wore a costume entirely dyed and painted in shades of one of the primordial six colors.

  Dindi had
never told anyone she aspired to become a Tavaedi. She wasn’t interested in reaping snickers or commiseration. Besides, what did she care what the others thought of her? She knew how hard it was, but she had a plan.

  Every head in the square was riveted on the Tavaedies. Drum, rattle, and flute flared into dramatic music. The masked men and women leaped into motion. Occasionally, to emphasize the moves, the dancers chanted or shouted as well.

  Dancing wove magic. Some ritual dances, or tama, ensured bounty, others averted drought. This tama, Massacre of the Aelfae, recalled history. The Tavaedies only performed it once a year, and as a child, it had been her favorite—until she understood what it was really about.

  Half the Tavaedies wore wings. “We are the Aelfae, we are the Aelfae,” they chanted.