by AS Hamilton
'You read my mind?' Sariah queried, her expression still a little unsure.
'It's more that I am perceptive and I have an insatiable curiosity, which helps if one wishes to follow the path of mage. So I ask myself, how does a blind elvan become a warrior, and what brings her across my path?'
Sariah considered his words for a moment. She would lose nothing by telling the tale... 'My blindness is not natural. I awoke without sight after a raid on my village. I also awoke without a family. Being a child, I was adopted by the very mage who found me and later sought to heal me. His efforts were unsuccessful, so in the face of failure he gave me the best seeing aid he could offer; Kaydyr.'
Still, almost no emotion, yet Brynn could feel a mix of regret, hate, and adoration. He was certain that without his empath talent, he would not have picked up on the subtle tones in her voice.
'The mage,' Sariah continued, 'was, and still is, with the rebel movement, thus my life has been among them.'
'I believe I know him. Is it Riqu?'
Sariah did not look surprised as she nodded. 'He is quite well-known, by enemies and allies alike. To me, he is more than a rebel leader; he is kin.
Father, Brynn heard her think.
'There were some unforeseen advantages when Riqu linked me to Kaydyr, the most useful being that mages mistake my spirit for Kaydyr's. It allows me to move through Abbarane wards without being detected.'
Ah, Brynn thought, that was why he had not detected her until she came to assist him. He made a mental note to carefully observe the connection between the hawk and the warrior, it was worth making sure he could recognise her on the planes.
Sariah put the now-empty bowl to one side and moved Kaydyr to her shoulder. 'For this reason,' she continued, 'I mainly perform courier work, despite being trained as a warrior.'
'I gather you are not undertaking courier duties at the moment, though,' Brynn said, gesturing with his spoon towards her armour.
'Riqu only acquiesced to my training upon my insistence. You see, I have vivid memories of the raid. These made me determined, I would not be left unable to protect myself or my kin. Despite allowing me the training, Riqu rarely lets me take part in raids or high-risk assignments. For a time, I worked with other divisions, as a scout I told him, but I volunteered on every assignment going. It worked out fine as far as I was concerned, even if those first few conflicts demonstrated my lack of experience, I learned from them and improved.'
Brynn set his empty bowl to one side and leaned back. 'I suspect you were wounded badly, because you speak as if you returned to courier work and that indicates something drastic occurred in order for Riqu to convince you to do so.'
Sariah was unsettled by his level of insight and she frowned as she considered the idea that he might, after all, be listening to her thoughts. The barriers Riqu had taught her to set in place were intact though, so he couldn't be intruding on her personal planes. She shook the feeling off, many mages had such perception, it was what made them good mages.
'Yes,' she admitted. 'I almost died but for the fast thinking of a healer and my group's resolve never to leave a warrior behind, and then, well, Riqu found out.'
Sariah shifted restlessly. Leaning forward she started to pack up Brynn's travel stove and the cooking implements. Brynn marvelled at the precision with which she moved.
'Until four moons ago,' Sariah said, using the elvan term for month as each moon cycle was four sennats long, 'I thought my whole family dead. I'd been content dedicating my life to the work Riqu did; the fight against Malithorn Abbarane: the Great Lord,' she drawled with contempt.
'Then I had news undreamt of. My brother, Sentary, was seen by a family friend on a slave auction block in Haranti. I left immediately, but despite my friend's efforts, she lost track of him. I knew he was alive though, and so, my search began. I encountered problems early on, though. Being a blind female did not make information easy to find. I soon found I was at risk of becoming a slave myself despite my ability to fend off most attackers.' The warrior paused to smile somewhat grimly, then said, 'Sometimes even I can be outnumbered.'
'Now that is hard to believe,' Brynn said as he helped her to pack the saddlebag.
'I went back to Riqu. I already knew some simple illusions to help me get around, but he gave me a voice alternator, this armour and my swords. The armour retracts down to a collar, belt and shorter boots. If I am in the city I have an ankle-length dress of a dull wine-red colour — the same colour issued to slaves with travel permits, which Riqu also gave me, but if I can, I wear the armour,' she said, smoothing out segments of the plated skirt.
'My helm, Riqu said, was meant as a tribute to Kaydyr, as are the swords,' she said, referring to the hawk shape of the hilts. 'He had them specially made, the blades will shear through normal armour.' Sariah gave the hawk an affectionate smile. 'Kaydyr considers them a compliment. After Riqu completed these arrangements, we went our separate ways again.' Sariah's expression turned pensive. 'That was several sennats ago. I have lost my brother's trail each time he goes through a city,' she said, 'but this is the longest I have not been able to find a trace of him. I fear I have lost him completely.'
Brynn took a moment to look at Sariah's uncovered face. Black hair with shades of deep red and gold framed a classically elvan face: high cheekbones, long thin nose, slanted, red-gold eyes. The eye and hair colour were trademark Ko-renti bloodline traits. Her pale skin was unmarked with the exception of two small scars, the one above her lip he had noticed earlier, but there was another, above her left red-gold eyebrow. Her nose might be considered a smidge too long and she did not smile enough, her often grim or emotionless expressions diminishing her beauty. Yet, his investigations revealed that not everything about Sariah was as it seemed. There was a longing deep in her heart to reunite with what family she had left and relentless determination to fulfil that desire. Brynn gave her a reassuring smile. 'If I can, I shall find a way to assist you in your search.'
For the first time, Sariah smiled without repressing her emotions. 'If you can just pick up his trail, that will be help enough.'
Brynn said, 'Oh, I think I can do better than that.'
Chapter 4
Day 3 – After Highest Moon
Mehani Woods
(Sey-sjhon River, near Ferneau)
'Wake up,' Brynn urged, nudging a sleeping Sariah. 'We need to leave soon if we want to catch up to them.' It was still dark and riding at night was a risky choice, but they needed to leave as quickly as possible to make it in time.
'Who?' came Sariah's mumbled reply.
Brynn grinned. 'Your brother, Sentary, of course!'
Sariah's red-gold eyes became bright with wakefulness, if not sight. She held out a wrist, and Kaydyr came gliding in to land before hopping onto her shoulder. 'How far?' Sariah asked brusquely.
'If you allow me to use my talent to speed our horses, we can make it by sunset. Indeed, we need to make it by then in order to intercept them just after they reach the woods at the bottom of North Pass in the Voltain Ranges and set camp for the night. The following day they will rest for the night in Idalyn, where the security will be tougher to get past and rescue will be impossible.'
'That will be fine. Riqu has also used his talent for the same purpose. Being able to ride faster and without breaks can be the difference between getting caught and staying free. Treya does not mind as long as she is given time to recover afterwards.' The warrior then shook her head in wonder as she murmured, 'The Voltain Ranges… I was so far off, I would never have found him. How did he end up there? And how did you find him?'
Brynn smiled at the excitement in her voice, it was a rare pleasure to get a result like this so quickly, as normally sennats would be spent in a search and more often than not, the slave was no longer alive. In this case, he'd had a head start, having investigated Sariah's past.
'The slavers that have your brother were in Venshui, but are heading to Sal-Cirus, of all places, for the festival markets, which
requires them to travel around the ranges or use the pass. As far as locating him, well, that is harder to explain. It involved using a link with you and your memories. You must think of him often, for your memories are very clear. Without such a strong or determined need to find him, it could have taken me a lot longer.'
Sariah was already up and saddling Treya, moving with efficient preciseness as she tightened straps and did up buckles. Her expression clouded. 'I miss my family greatly. My memories are all I've had for many turns. Yet surely they were not all you needed?'
'No, getting a link to him turned out to be quite complicated, but I achieved it in the end.'
Sariah shook her head absently as she slung her saddle packs over Treya's back. 'I should have let Riqu assign me a mage,' she mused. Then her head whipped up. 'What of other mages?'
'I was careful to avoid them,' Brynn reassured her. 'I used planes that are rarely travelled, as I do when linking with Sershja to send. A risk, yes, but a minor one. I will use similar masking techniques to hide my use of talent to speed our horses, but as I said, this is a narrow path, we cannot risk going slower. But I will be very careful so as not to attract Abbarane mages.'
The warrior relaxed and turned her attention back to clearing up their campsite. Then she asked, 'Why 'of all places'?'
'What do you mean?'
'You said they are heading to Sal-Cirus, of all places.'
'Oh, I am due in Sal-Cirus, but I have to give my colleagues time to scout a safe route.'
'Colleagues?'
'Ah, other mages,' Brynn answered vaguely, hoping the warrior did not pursue the subject. She might not be a mage, but she was not your average elvan, either, and her intuition and determination could get him into trouble if he was not careful. 'Here,' he said, handing her the sword she had lent him; it was a convenient distraction.
She waved it away. 'No, keep it for now. That short sword of yours is useless.'
'Oh, I would not say completely useless,' Brynn protested, holding her sword out again.
Relenting, Sariah took it. 'No, not completely,' she conceded. 'When we get a chance, we can sell it and get a few coins for our effort.'
Brynn shook his head. 'Some warriors...' he muttered, as he finished getting Sershja ready. 'You can debate the uselessness of a short sword with my seeca, Keysjhon. After a demonstration, I am sure he will convert you,' Brynn promised.
Sariah wrinkled her nose. 'Is this Keysjhon some sort of blade-master?'
'He has been called that. He was one of my tutors. There is also Kassan, she—'
'Kassan! Ghi-nuura?'
'Abbarane soldiers call her that,' Brynn confirmed, smiling at the enthusiasm in her voice. 'Although, technically it is her sword that bears Death-wielder for a name, but I can see why they apply Ghi-nuura to Kassan as well, because whenever she draws the sword, she certainly does wield death, in a way.'
The warrior pulled herself on to Treya and reined her about so Kaydyr could look at him. 'Now, Kassan might convince me a short sword has worth. She was your teacher, you say?'
'One of them.'
Sariah raised one brow and tilted her head. 'One? I gather there were several of that calibre.'
Brynn gave her an ingratiating grin. 'That would be an understatement, although I would have happily traded them all in for a few extra afternoons cloud watching.'
Sariah turned Treya away in disgust. 'Some elvan have all the blessings of Fate,' she grumbled as she activated her helm.
Day 3 – Mid-day
Serenvale Plains
A rhythmic thudding wove itself through his heartbeat. His head seemed to be pounding in a direct counterpoint to it, it was almost like a kind of music, but not one Daniel could appreciate. The rhythmic thudding sounded like hoofbeats. He must be on a horse. But surely that would mean he should be sitting upright, but it felt to him like he was on his stomach, in a very uncomfortable position, across something hard. Daniel tried to frown, but it hurt his head. He wanted to open his eyes, but did not dare. If his head was hurting this badly, light may make the situation worse. He was so confused, how could he be on a horse if he was lying down?
Daniel cracked open his eyes, the world was a blur of light and distorted sounds. He was right, this was worse. He wanted to throw up now. Closing his eyes he wished hard for the sickening feeling to pass. It did. And he took a deep breath of relief. Where was he? What had happened for him to wake feeling this bad? Who had put him on a horse? Because he was, indeed, on a horse, he'd been able to discern the horse's legs when he'd opened his eyes. The ground was hard and rocky, not at all like the forested region of Ancoulan. Where was he? Who was with him?
His memories were a vague collection of images that seemed unable to fall in the right sequence. He was hot, Daniel realised, fever hot. And thirsty. The nausea welled up in the pit of his stomach again, this time filling the back of his throat with the taste of bile. He struggled to remember what had happened. He moaned as pain seared through his forehead with the effort. Sounds, harsh and curt, cut through his senses. Abruptly, a dull pain thudded through his head, like someone had struck him, and then blackness obliterated all thought, granting him a reprieve from the unanswerable questions.
Day 3 – Early Afternoon
Denas
It was with barely concealed disdain that Ko-rayen answered the summons from Abbarane's senior human mage, Liacoren. It was not the mage's race that the Ko-renti mage held against Liacoren, nor her gender. Liacoren was an Abbarane supporter. Technically, she was originally Keldon Abbarane's mage, but she was just as loyal to the son as she was the father. She had also been Keldon's mistress and held the elvan responsible for Keldon's death. Well, the elvan were responsible, so her hatred was not misplaced. It was more than an inconvenience, though, when she took that hatred out on the elvan mages that worked on Abbarane's side.
Yet Ko-rayen had grudging admiration for Liacoren. An orphan, Liacoren had been adopted by an elvan mage, who had also trained her. Not many humans achieved her level of competency. Ko-rayen guessed her to be ninety to a hundred and ten turns old, yet she looked easily half her age. Unlike, Malithorn, Liacoren did not abuse healers to achieve her youth, but applied her knowledge on health and nutrition.
Liacoren's chambers was a contrast of burnt orange and pale yellows. She used cushions and table covers of deep reds and blues. The front half of the room was furnished in the style of a sitting room, with lounges, chairs and small tables taking up the area. The back half was furnished with her desk and shelving for all her various papers and books. Liacoren herself was standing imperiously in front of her desk, dressed in a cream gown of elvan styling, ankle length with draping sleeves. A cream ribbon had been woven into her dark-brown hair, bringing it back from an olive face with wide green eyes. Her lips were drawn out in a straight line of disapproval, her crossed arms reinforcing her irate mood.
'I cannot get in contact with Nisari.'
The voice was a low murmur, but most definitely hard and clipped.
'I am not a message service.' Ko-rayen kept his tone neutral. He stood just inside the closed door; he had no plans to sit down as he wanted this meeting over with as quickly as possible.
Liacoren arched her eyebrows. 'I was not mistaking you for one. I have been equally unsuccessful with Colnba. I want Nisari's report on rebel trade route dispersion, I need to update my mages.'
Sighing, Ko-rayen crossed his arms and shifted his weight back. 'How long have you been trying to contact them?'
Liacoren swung away and stalked the few steps to her large desk in the corner. Turning, she leaned on the desk and huffed irritably. 'Most of the day.'
'Have you considered that Colnba may be asleep? Lord Abbarane has an intense schedule; that requires a lot of planes-bound work. As for Nisari, I understand she is working on the undercover assignment, and would therefore be, quite reasonably, out of contact. A word with…' Ko-rayen searched his memory for the name of the human mage that coordinated between all the mage
s in Denas. 'Navini can give you this information any time you need.' Ko-rayen lowered his chin, his eyes narrowing with barely-controlled impatience. 'I know this because just now, as we stand here, I contacted him in order to give you your answer.'
Liacoren tossed her braid back and grunted softly before stalking around to her seat behind the desk, though she remained standing. 'Fine. Just get me the report. I want it within the hour.'
With that Liacoren sat down and started looking through her papers. Ko-rayen arched one brow and held in a curse. She had too high an opinion of herself. But Ko-rayen would follow the request. Not because she had any real power over him, but because she had accepted his answer. He knew well enough that Nisari was actually heading towards Sal-Cirus. Colnba had told him to say she was ill, but he judged Liacoren would not have let that stop her from insisting Nisari come to her.
Ko-rayen walked his illusion of himself out of Liacoren's office. He included the sounds of his footsteps, breathing, the rustling of clothing. All these details had to be seen to, if not, Liacoren might pick up that he was not there in the flesh. Even an elvan mage would have trouble figuring out it was an illusion, a human mage, even one as skilled as Liacoren, would have greater difficulty, for he did not create the illusion by altering her perception, but manipulated the planes themselves. If she was angry at Nisari and Colnba for their lack of response, she would be nigh on enraged to discover that Ko-rayen did not present himself in person.
He could have sent to her that he was in Sal-Cirus rather than Denas… Like Colnba and Nisari, Liacoren always travelled with Malithorn. Ko-rayen was one of the few elvan unassigned to a thane or city. Colnba argued that Ko-rayen's skills as a battle mage meant he needed the flexibility to move anywhere he was needed. Colnba and Liacoren argued heatedly about this. Liacoren did not trust any elvan, no matter whose side they were on. Malithorn, being misogynistic, often favoured Colnba over his female human mage, despite Liacoren also being a mother figure to him.