A Dragon Born (16 page)

"Should we mount a rescue?" Elric suggested.

"No," Boric told him. "Kaledra is a traitor and he is finding out just how honorable the Xallans really are. If anything we would be doing him a service by putting an arrow through his skull."

"You are unforgiving, uncle," Borrican said.

"I do not forgive oath breakers," Boric told him then he looked to both of his nephews. "Kaldra took an oath, to defend this land and its people and he broke that oath. I ought to kill him myself for such a betrayal. Now, if you will excuse me, I would rather not wear this Xallan garb a moment longer."

"Of course," Elric said. "Thank you for bringing this information, uncle."

Boric nodded to his nephew, the young king, then turned and began to walk from the room, but he stopped and pointed at the Ranger. "You, with me."

"Yes, sir Duke," she said and followed him out of the hall.

"Do you think he was serious?" Borrican asked his brother, looking at the giant axe that their uncle had left sticking out of the wall.

"I don't think Uncle Boric would actually kill Kaledra," Elric said. "He is injured and in a terrible mood. Let him get cleaned up and I am sure he will be in better humor."

Borrican was not so sure. He had never seen his uncle in such a dark mood, and something about the way Boric talked to their father was concerning. It was as though the two of them were continuing a conversation from another time. Still, Borrican wondered what old king Eric could do to support the war. He had become little more than a doddering old man who spent most of his time in the kitchens or visiting the game wardens to discuss his next meal. It was as though the war was barely happening for the old king, and perhaps that was part of why Boric was in such a foul mood.

Outside the royal court, Boric walked briskly through the hall toward his apartments, followed by the woman in black.

"What is your name, Ranger?" he asked.

"Margolis," she said. "Most just call me Margo."

"Margo it is," Boric said. "You are my new left hand."

"And your right hand?"

"That's the one that swings the axe."

*****

"Keep the blade level and your grip firm but relaxed," Rolan told her.

Ariana swung the sword in an arc and the elf stepped away, knocking the back of her blade, sending it further than she intended. Before she could react, Rolan stepped back toward her, his long, thin sword, gliding close alongside her neck.

"Once again. You have been slain." Rolan stepped back along the branch.

"Lovely," Ariana said with a frown. A slight breeze blew the hair from her face and she brushed it back into place with her free hand.

"You have all the grace of movement of an elf, but you do are too aggressive in your attacks and you lose your balance every time. I think you are focusing on moving the blade rather than just moving. Do not watch my sword. Do not watch me. Merely observe then let your feet guide you and let your blade find me.

"I don't understand," Ariana told him. They had been practicing with swords for most of the day and, compared to Rolan's quick and lithe movements, she felt clumsy as a child. Perhaps Keira was right to have called her that when she had first come to Elvanar.

"Keira says you run the trees like a squirrel and she is right. You are certainly better than I was at your age. How is it you can do that, but when I put a sword in your hand, you turn into a lumbering beast."

"Wonderful. I am either a squirrel or a lumbering beast." Ariana said, not enjoying either description, especially not the latter.

"You are both," Rolan replied. "It would be preferable to be neither, to progress beyond such comparisons, and that is why we are here. If you plan to last even a few moments against Quenta, we have much work to do."

"I would rather not fight him at all," Ariana said.

"Then you should not have called him a coward."

"He struck me."

"You could have struck him back. That would have been fitting, but now he has made a fuss about his honor and, unfortunately almost the entire court was present when it happened, so word has spread around the entire forest. You have caused quite a stir."

"Can't Laurana just tell people it was a misunderstanding? She is the queen."

"She is the queen, but she does not rule by individual decree except on certain matters. The Elven court is different from the court of Maramyr in many ways, but there are some similarities. Did you father, King Gregor, not have a council that he consulted?"

"Yes, he did. The Royal Council managed the kingdom after his death, with my uncle as regent."

"And your father respected the members of the council," Rolan told her. "I attended the Court at Maramyr many times and was impressed with how your father sought the wisdom of the council, but there also were times when he would make a decision that the council disagreed with, but that was his right as king. He rarely invoked that right, and found that working with the council was often more effective than forcing them to his will. Queen Laurana has the right to make such decisions on matters pertaining to the defence of the forest and some of our older traditions, but on most other matters she must convince at least one of the other thrones and, as you can see, one sits empty and Quenta sits in the other, which creates something of a quandary."

"Why is one of the thrones empty?"

"It was vacated many years ago and has yet to be filled. Only a member of the House of Solari may preside over the court and the last to sit there was your mother."

"So, why not pick another Solari?"

"There are none," Rolan told her, "except you, of course."

"Me?"

"You are a daughter of the House of Solari, are you not?"

"I suppose I am."

"Now you can see why Quenta does not want to recognize you. He sees you as a threat to his position."

"But even if I wanted to sit on a throne in Elvanar, how could I threaten his position?"

"Very easily. In order for a decree to pass, two of the three seats must agree. In the absence of a third member on the triumvirate, the members of court vote. If a majority of the court members vote for something Quenta wants, then he can overrule the Queen, unless she uses her veto, which is something she would not do lightly."

"But can't he just veto something?" Ariana asked.

"No, only the queen has the power to forbid something." Rolan thought for a moment. "That's not true. The members of court can also veto a proposed decree, but their vote must be unanimous."

"Why does it matter?" Ariana asked. "If I am a Princess of Solari, I could just take my seat and even if Quenta doesn't want me to be recognized, then Laurana and I can outvote him."

"Ah, but there's the rub. Even though the court has already recognized you, in order for it to be official, two of the three seats must agree. Since you are not yet recognized, you cannot yet vote. We members of the court voted that Laurana should make the decision, but for it to be official, Quenta must agree. You see the dilemma?"

"Yes, I do."

"So, while it showed great resolve for you to stand up to Quenta and a declaration of strength when you called him a coward, the chance of him recognizing you went from very small to none," Rolan explained.

"Unless I beat him," Ariana said.

"Exactly. Now we have much work to do if you are to have any chance to defend yourself against Quenta. He is very skilled with the blade."

"And I am not," Ariana said, feeling even more discouraged than she had before.

"Your fight will not only involve blades," Rolan told her, "but we must do what we can to improve your skill. Now, I want you to think about running the trees, moving through the forest the way you learned so quickly."

"The trees taught me," Ariana told him, though they had not so much taught her as guided her steps. "They told me what to do."

"Then take what you learned and do the same for the blade. Where does it need to be, when, and how must pressure and speed does it need? Feel the blade instead of thinking about it."

Ariana sighed and readied her sword again.

"I will try," she said. Rolan noticed that Ariana had absentmindedly brushed her hair over the burned side of her face before raising her blade.

Rolan sighed and lowered his sword.

"Before we begin again," he said, "I would like to show you something."

Ariana let her sword drop to her side in frustration. She knew she had only days to practice and the elf had constantly reminded her how every moment would count. Rolan sensed her irritation.

"Come," he said. "This will not take long."

They sheathed their swords and Ariana followed the elf as he leapt from the wide branch and began making his way through the forest. They had traveled a good distance from the center of the forest to find a quiet place to practice, and now, Rolan led her even further away, working his way downward, from branch to branch, and finally dropping from the trees to the forest floor. Ariana realized it had been many days since she had really walked on the bare ground, apart from the stone floor of the palace, and she noticed that she could feel the life in the short grasses and the moss beneath her feet. It was different from how she felt when she touched the trees, but she was still connected to the forest. Ariana also noticed that something was different about the forest, the further they continued in the direction Rolan was leading her and she felt a kind of sorrow growing with every step.

They emerged from the trees into an open place, where Ariana discovered what caused the sadness in the trees. The clearing was a scene of destruction. Giant trees, as big as a house were splintered to pieces as though they had exploded from the inside. Old, dead wood was grey with years of weathering and charred edges could still be seen where a fire had ravaged through the area. The clearing was very large and the way the trees were scattered about, it also seemed as though the land itself has twisted in a vortex. Rolan continued onward toward the center of the destruction and Ariana followed him.

"What happened here?" she asked as they approached the center.

"Sorrow, and anger," Rolan said. "Great sorrow that turned to anguish and great anger that turned to fury, blind and unbridled rage."

"Who would do such a thing? Why would someone do this?" Ariana felt her heart cry out and she understood the pain and confusion she had felt from the forest as they had neared this place.

"A child of fire," Rolan said. "A powerful mage, whose power is like fire incarnate."

"But why? What reason would a mage have for attacking the trees?"

"It was not reason that guided him. Nothing guided him, except grief and frustration. In his pain, he lost control and his power nearly consumed him. It was a very sad day for the forest, made more so by what happened here."

"What would cause such pain, that someone would create such destruction?"

"The death of your mother."

"What?"

"The mage that did this loved your mother very deeply. He loved both your parents, but your mother was everything to him. He was at Elvanar when he learned of her death, and he fled the palace quickly and without so much as a word, but we could see the fire already burning in him. It was not long before we heard the trees crying and felt them dying.

"Many of us rushed to this place and managed to stop the fire before it spread but the damage had been done to this place. Even though there are a few new trees finally beginning to grow and grasses have sprung from the ashes, it will be many years before this part of the forest has recovered and perhaps these scars will never truly heal."

Ariana touched the side of her face and she thought about what Rolan had told her.

"What happened with the mage? What stopped him?" she asked, curious.

"As with most fires, his anger burned itself out and he realized what he had done and he stopped most of the fire himself, though the tragedy of that day did not end there. One of our members was angered by what the mage had done and, against the wishes of the crown and the court, sought revenge and challenged the mage. It was foolish and arrogant and it ended in his death."

"Whose death?" Ariana asked. "The mage or the elf?"

"The elf," Rolan said. "I doubt there are many in this world powerful enough to kill the mage. Zachary is a power unto himself. I think that was part of why your mother was attracted to him even though she was pledged marry your father."

"There is so much I do not know," Ariana said. "I have heard of Zachary. He was the head of the Council of Mages, but I did not know that he and my mother cared for one another."

"They did," Rolan told her. "It was difficult for both of them when the King commanded her to choose between Zachary and King Gregor, who also sought her hand."

"The King? What happened to him?"

"He was the elf who challenged Zachary. He foolishly chose to fan the flames and he too burned like the forest."

*****

Zachary poured more sweetwater into his cup and he turned when he felt someone approaching him. He saw Carly walking through the crowded tavern toward the bar where he sat.