Queen of Song and Souls (54 page)

For one instant, Talisa's husband stood there, bulging eyes rolling back in his head, body convulsing in violent seizures. But then Adrial's magic ignited the flammable gases he'd expanded inside Colum's body, and diSebourne exploded in a fiery blast of light and magic.

When the blast faded, diSebourne was gone, the vortex around them had died, and Adrial fell heavily to his knees. The captain of the king's guard cried out a command, and a volley of arrows darkened the sky. Adrial's body jerked as dozens of the missiles pierced his chest and back, but the arrows only finished the job Talisa's death had already begun.

"Shei'tani,"
he breathed on the last gasp of air in his lungs. His body toppled across hers and he gave himself willingly to the waiting darkness of the Well.

With his
shei'tani's
body in his arms and her name emblazoned on his soul forever, Adrial vel Arquinas passed through the Veil and was no more.

The Fey sang bittersweet songs of lost love and second chances and the promise of future joy as they prepared to send the bodies of their brother Adrial and his
shei'tani
back to the elements.

Once Rain had shared Hawksheart's warning that the battle would begin on the morrow, the king and his army had broken camp and continued their northward trek. A bitter Lord Sebourne had gathered his men and ridden off towards Moreland. Only Cannevar Barrial and his sons remained with the Fey to tend the bodies of Adrial and Talisa.

They garbed the pair in snowy white as a symbol of their ascent into the Light and laid the couple side by side on a crystal bier fashioned by the Earth masters. When all the songs were sung, and Cannevar and his sons had said their last goodbyes, the Fey gathered around the truemates' bier and summoned a dense weave of magic that settled over the bodies like a blanket of light. The weave flared bright and when it faded, nothing remained of Adrial and Talisa except a single, sparkling cabochon crystal. Adrial's
sorreisu
kiyr.

"Three lives needlessly lost." Anger mixed with the terrible grief in Ellysetta's heart. Her hands clenched in fists at her sides. "I failed them. I should have been able to save them."

Standing beside her, Rain shook his head. "It was too late,
shei'tani.
There was nothing you could have done. Nothing anyone could have done. They had already passed beyond the Veil."

"But—"

"Nei.
No buts." He brushed silencing fingers across her lips. "Not all battles can be won. Not all lives can be saved. And no matter how we wish it, not all songs end in joy."

She frowned and tilted her head back to look up at him. "Will ours?"

"I pray so." Somber acceptance darkened his eyes, and he stroked her cheek in a light caress. "But even if we do not find joy in this lifetime, we will be born again to love once more. That much, I believe without question. In this lifetime, or the next, or even the lifetime after that, our souls will be one ... as will Adrial's and Talisa's."

She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder, letting the tumultuous roil of anger and grief drain from her. In its wake bloomed a small bud of infant hope that no matter what happened in this life, joy would ultimately be theirs, as it would for Adrial and Talisa.

"Come, my friends," Rain said a few chimes later. "When the battle begins, King Dorian will need us." Together, the Barrials and the Fey left the scene of their tragic loss and travelled the remaining distance to Kreppes.

By the time they reached the fortified stone keep perched on a mountain overlooking the Heras River, night had fallen. As the quiet whoosh of Rain's wings carried them forward, Ellysetta swept her gaze across the darkened horizon. A small light, noticeable for its surprising brightness, sparkled low on the horizon. The sight made her heart skip a beat.

Erimea—or as the Celierians called her, Selena, Shadow's Light—was shining in the sky over Eld.

Celierian Language / Terms

bell—hour

chime—minute

dorn
—a furry, round somnolent rodent. Eaten in stews. A "soggy
dorn
" is an idiom for someone who is spoiling someone else's fun. A party pooper.

Lord Adelis—god of light. While Celierians worship a pantheon of gods and goddesses (thirteen in all), The Church of Light worships Adelis, Lord of Light, above all others. He is considered the supreme god, with dominion over the other twelve.

Lord Seledorn—god of darkness, Lord of Shadows.

rultshart
—a vile, smelly, boarlike animal. The term is often used as an insult.

Elden Language / Terms

Primage—master mage

Sulimage—journeyman mage

umagi
—a mage-claimed individual, subordinate to the will of his/her master.

Fey Language / Terms

In Feyan, apostrophes are used in the following ways:

• Meaning "of."
Kem’falla...
my lady, literally "lady of mine."
E'tani,
literally "mate of the heart."
Shei'tani,
literally "mate of the truth/soul."

• In lieu of hyphen, and to indicate emphasis for words combined of multiple root words.

• Sometimes used to replace missing letters/vowels.
Ni
v'al'ta!
(literally
Ni ve al'ta.)

aiyah
— yes

ajiana
— sweet one

Azrahn — common name of Azreisenahn, the soul magic

bas'ka
— all right

beylah vo
— thank you (literally "thanks to you")

bote cha!—
blades ready! (weapons at the ready! )

Cha Baruk— Dance of Knives

cha'kor—
literal translation is five knives. Fey word for "quintet."

chadin
— little knife; literally "small fang"; a student in the Dance of Knives. Each student is paired with a mentor who guides their progress through four hundred years of training in the school. It is an apprenticeship of sorts, though many teachers will contribute to the actual education.

chakai
—First Knife or First Blade. Champion.

chatok
— Big Knife (mentor, leader, also teacher in the dance of knives.)

chatokkai
— First General (leader of all Fey armies, 2nd in command to the Tairen Soul). Belliard vel Jelani is the
chatokkai
of the Fading Lands

chervil
— a Fey expletive. Bastard, as in, "You smug
chervil
."

dahl'reisen
— Literally "lost soul." Name given to unmated Fey warriors who are banished from the Fading Lands. They either seek
sheisan' dahlein
or serve as mercenaries/assassins to mortal races.

deskor
— bad

doreh shabeila
de
— so be it (so shall it be)

e'tan—
beloved / husband / mate (of the heart, not the truemate of the soul)

e'tani
—beloved / wife / mate (of the heart, not the truemate of the soul)

e'tanitsa—
a chosen bond of the heart, not a truemate bond

faer
—magic

falla—
lady

Felah Baruk—Dance of Joy

Fey'cha—a Fey throwing dagger. Fey'cha have either black handles or red handles. Red Fey'cha are deadly poison. Fey warriors carry dozens of each kind of Fey'cha in leather straps crisscrossed across their chests.

Feyreisa—Tairen Soul's mate; Queen

Feyreisen—Tairen Soul; King

jaffed—a Fey expletive. Used a as in, “We’d be jaffed if that happened."

jita’nos
-—sister's son

kabei
—good

ke vo son-—
I love you

kem’falla
—my lady

kem’san
—my love/ my heart

krekk
—a Fey expletive

ku'shalah aiyah to
nei
—bid me yes or no

las—
peace, hush, calm

liss
—light

lute
—red (also blood)

Massan—the council of five powerful Fey statesmen who oversee the domestic governance of the Fading Lands. They do not convene without the
Shei'dalin
and the Feyreisen except in times of extreme need.

Mei felani. Bei santi. Nehtah, bas desrali
—Live well, love deep. Tomorrow, we (will) die.

meicha
—a curving, scimitarlike blade. Each Fey warrior carries two
meicha,
one at each hip.

Miora felah ti'Feyreisan
—joy to the Feyreisa (literally "Joyful life to the Feyreisa")

parei
—stop

sel'dor—
literally "black pain." A rare black metal that painfully disrupts Fey magic.

selkahr
—-black crystals used by Mages. Made from Azrahn-corrupted Tairen's Eye crystal.

setah!
—enough!

seyani
—a Fey warrior’s longsword. Each Fey warrior carries two
seyani
swords strapped to his back.

sha
vel'mei—you're welcome

shei'dalin—
Fey healer and Truthspeaker; capped when referring to their leader.

sheisan’dahlein
—Fey honor death. Ceremonial suicide for the good of the Fey.

Shei’tan
—beloved / husband / truemate

shei'tani
—beloved / wife / truemate

shei'tanitsa
—the truemate bond

sieks'ta
—I have shame (I'm sorry; I beg your pardon)

sorreisu kiyr
—Soul Quest crystal

Spirit—lavender color, the mystic magic of consciousness, thought, and illusion

Tairen—flying catlike creatures that live in the Fading Lands. The Fey are the Tairenfolk, magical because of their close kinship with the Tairen.

Tairen Soul—also known as Feyreisen; they are rare Fey who can transform into tairen. Masters of all five Fey magics, they are feared and revered for their power. The oldest Tairen Soul becomes the Feyreisen, the Fey King.

teska
—please

Ver reisa ku'chae. Kem surah, shei'tani—
Your soul calls out. Mine answers, beloved.

Naming Syntax

Truemated men go from vel to v'En. Mated men go from vel to vel’En.

Truemated women go from vol to v'En. Mated women go from vol to vol'En.

For example:

•Marissya and Dax v'En Solande are truemates.

•Rain vel'En Daris and Sariel vol'En Daris were mates