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Keiko

All she could do was comfort her friend as best she knew how — a gentle hug, light fingers easing worry as they attempted to neatly arrange the golden hair shorn inartfully away. The sudden hug was a reassurance for the Rhoni, too. Keiko sighed softly and smiled.

However, as Dommi continued the tale of Highside Heather, her worry grew again, her sense of disbelief at such a betrayal was both unimaginable and far too familiar.

The Rhoni had many, many stories. Not all of them were nice stories with happy endings.

Before she could speak again — to question the Young Master, to clarify points that almost but didn’t quite mesh with the tales of the elders — Lyric posed her own questions.

Keiko thought for several moments, brow furrowed as she pulled story pieces together and wove them into the fabric of the Grand Tale. She spared a thought, however, for the whimsy of the currents to have brought together so many disparate folks, each with a word or a phrase that might add to that Grand Tale.

“It began before that, I believe, the tale of the betrayal at Highside Heather. We are all told from a young age the Rhoni stories of what happened that night, and of the terrible price we will pay if we don’t heed the elders’ warnings to avoid the area around Highside Heather as a camp site.

“That night’s tale is only a continuation of one that began at Bordertown, although at the end of the Second Age it was known as the Temple on the Border. It was one of the three grand temples to the Sun Lady, tended by her warriors and priestesses. Some say they numbered a handful times all her followers that exist now in all the world, and all at just one temple. The western temple at Port of Lys was lost at the end of the First Age. The zenith temple at the Border was lost at the end of the Second Age. Only the eastern temple in Dawnview still remains, although...”

Keiko shook her head in consternation. “There are stories and rumors of an original temple, more magnificent than the other three. Some say it was called Dall Gwynn, and that the ballad of that name is a hint at where to find the lost temple.” Then she snorted. “I don’t see how that could be possible, for the song is far too recently written — only in this generation! — and is so contradictory that I think even one of the most brilliant of the Sun Lady’s followers could not find it.

“But the tale of Divine Beings is the one to be told now,” she said sheepishly as she looked at Lyric. “Well, however many their number at the end of the last Age, only a few were sent on ahead — a fullhand perhaps — to help the Archdruid hold the Only Bridge.

“To understand the implications of the betrayal at the bridge — and thank you, Dommi, for adding more pieces to the puzzle — we must put it in the perspective of what happened at the temple... what we believe happened at the temple.

“The hordes from beyond the Black Mountains came to the zenith temple with a sorcerer. And it’s just as Dominic’s friend said — with a big enough sacrifice, anything can be summoned. The first sacrifice was that of the warriors and the unicorns at the temple. This summoned to the human world the Lady and the Lord of Beasts and Earth, the Divine Beings of the Coven.

“They were to be the second sacrifice, to bring forth something even more powerful, something so terrible that it has no name that we have ever spoken. Our stories don’t say how they escaped that fate but somehow they did. I would very much like to hear that story someday, although I fear it is lost to us. Our stories say that none of the Sun Lady’s followers survived at the temple.”

Keiko shook her head sadly before continuing. “The Divine Beings fled in human forum across the Tarn toward the Heartwood. But they were still Divine Beings, and so the Flowered Path sprang up along the route they took to escape. The Flowered Path can still be found from the place outside Bordertown where the temple once was all the way to the Forest.

“There are many stories of what happened as they neared the Forest — some are worse than others — but all agree that the Divine Lady was killed there before she could enter the Forest, and she returned to her Divine form.

“Our stories then say that the Divine Lord went mad from grief, and this new bit of the tale suggests that his follower did as well. It would explain how the Archdruid would have been driven to do anything in his power to avenge the Divine Lady’s death, including the betrayal of his allies, the warriors of the Sun Lady.”

She paused and glanced from Dominic to Lyric. “In their madness and with the help of their God, the Only Bridge was broken. The followers of the Sun Lady must have perished then, as well as any of the Eastern hordes that fought them on the bridge. Was it the Archdruid and his people... was it the Divine Being alone who curse the Forest to be what it is now?” Keiko shook her head. “I am not willing to spend a night at Highside Heather to learn the answer to that question. But with the Heartwood the only avenue from the lowside Tarn to the highside Tarn...”

The Rhoni shivered and held her friend close; it was as much comfort for herself as it was for Tomomi.

“The Heartwood was cursed by the very one who should be its caretaker. Every time I think I might understand why a Divine Being would do such a thing — the Eastern horde had killed his Consort, after all — my mind slips around that understanding to wonder how anyone, Divine or not, could curse the very essence of our world.

“So if we are counting up the Divine Beings in the story, Lyric, there are really only two. And something worse that might have been brought forth. And probably an angry Sun Lady.”

Blinking, she turned to Dominic again. “Here is something I don’t quite understand: how has the Horned One not shed his mortal guise after generations in the Age? Should he not have returned to his form as God long ago, where he and his Consort might be reunited? And in that reunion, would he not have realized that his beloved Forest needed his care? How can it be possible that the gods are as petty and vindictive as mere mortals?” This time she sighed with frustration. “Perhaps this is why the Ancestors chose the path of riding the waves.

“And Dominic... this scholar who looked into a well and found the strength to care enough to break a curse — that is Lady Bekkah’s sister, isn’t it? She is your friend, too?”

She smiled crookedly at him, well aware that she had bombarded him with a cart load of questions. As she looked at Lyric again, her expression was both earnest and compassionate.

“You are from a small place that is even smaller than the Young Master’s little village, and I see that we often confuse and confound you. But Friend Lyric, I have given you my friendship, and so I will not stop caring for you and your wellbeing. It is the same for Tomomi and Emmi and Dommi, for the good people of Waverider’s Watch — even Thomas, who thinks I am beneath his notice but is really rather amusing in his obsession with details. It is the same for all the Kin of Home, and it will be the same for the Kin we seek to free from their beliefs that they are but Tools to be used.”

Perhaps someone who was not Keiko, daughter of Chiyo of the Family Nakano, might have had tears in their eyes then. But that was not Keiko’s way.

“As our friend Dominic has said, caring is often more than just soft words. Tomomi needed to hear why I saw her worth, and it took her time to realize that something as simple as a willingness to have a conversation with a strange Rhoni girl meant more to me that any words could say. And I value your wisdom, Lyric, but I might just value your whimsy even more. You are so different from anyone else I have ever met, and that is such a magnificent thing!”

Without releasing Tomomi, Keiko stretched out a hand to Lyric.

“Perhaps our task is daunting. And perhaps it is simply a matter of doing what comes from the heart — showing hope where there is despair, bringing light where there is darkness, sharing joy where there is sadness. And, perhaps most importantly, giving the Kin seeds of faith where is doubt.

“For there is a seed of faith that Emmi and Tomomi hold in common — Dominic and I knew each of them respectively to be a Person and have always let that certainty lead our interactions with them.”


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Lyric

Lyric accepted the hand, leaning in a little, from where she was still seated at the end of the bench seat. Her expression was that of gentleness and humility. Her voice, soft like the breeze after a spring shower.

"While I can not claim that my wisdom is actually of any value, I do try to offer perspective when I see it myself. My own kin though, they would probably call it all folly and foolishness. That was what I was best known for... Being different. Even in my whimsy, I suppose. Those who disagreed with me, those whose voices mattered most among the kinfolk, they are not the whimsical type I must admit... But I am here now, not there. Choices made and a journey begun. All the good and the bad, I would not surrender any of it... I do believe I am where I need to be. There are flowers to smell, birdsong for the dancing, sinnomon bread to eat... and new friends to feel love for and from... A place where all my songs and stories are new, and all the ones I hear in return are the same to me."

There was a hint though, that at any moment she could get up in pursuit of a sudden distraction, enslaved to her whimsy as it were. A gift and a curse... to be different.

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The Heartwood
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Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.

Dominic simply blinked. Miss Emerald placed a small hand over her mouth, trying not to giggle.

“You are asking me to make sense of a Mad Gardener? I have enough trouble understand My Own Lady let alone her Elders! He doesn’t make fish bite you on the nose and the most I know about plants is that unless it’s a raspberry, apple or a strawberry, if it’s red you probably do not want to eat it!”

Tomomi, however, had no such limitations and just giggled. Dominic looked between Lyric and Keiko, took in a deep breath, bit his lower lip, considered matters and then finally continued.

“I would suspect He has returned to his own realm. It would only make sense, since it was many generations ago. But then, I also would not be surprised to learn that He still haunts the Forest He cursed, that He turned into a weapon to take vengeance on those who took his bride.

“If He has returned to his place, that does not mean He has come to his senses. Vengeance is a curse in itself. It is a path that ends in not one but two graves. If it is not abandoned it is a darkness that never stops growing. One has seen the destruction that vengeance that men are capable of, but the vengeance of a God? That might be beyond our imagination and understanding.

“And just because He has returned to His home, that does not mean His Lady has. I can count the Priestesses of Nature I know on one … wait, no I can’t. Being able to count anything on one hand presumes that there is at least one to count and the sum total of my Coven Priestess acquaintances is a total of, well, none.”

His nose wrinkled a bit.

“Well, maybe, now, uhm, one?

“Everything’s all wrapped up in Her death. Maybe even the divine can’t come back from the dead – the only one who is proof against death is a certain Imperial Lady, who was far away in the Archipelago when this all happened.”

The lording closed his eyes and then shook his head.

“So to tell you the truth, I just don’t really know.

“Now for Lady Bekkah’s sister?”

Dominic opened his eyes and smiled.

“That I do know. Ja, that was her – Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter. I met her in Bordertown, when that all happened. Well, actually I ran away from her for the very first time in Bordertown, not because she was angry at me in particular but she was with the sheriff at the moment and he always suspects me of something when I’m in town.

“I can’t blame him though, he’s usually right.

“Now I don’t really know if I’m a friend, an acquaintance or a nuisance. But she laughs instead of pokes me, so that’s a powerful good sign, ja?”

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Keiko

“Wisdom is in the minds and hearts of those who hear your words,” Keiko said to Lyric, a soft smile lighting her expression, “or so Grandmother would always say. I think she is incredibly wise and she insists she merely has more experience than I do.”

She nodded in agreement with her friend’s words. Marveling once more at the vast chasm that seemed to separate their life experiences, Keiko couldn’t help thinking yet again about the ways the currents and the waves flowed. It was borne out in the similarities the two young women shared. It was a consideration that would likely occupy her mind as she quietly sat with her Cards and merely shuffled them some evening.

At the moment, however, she gave her attention to the Young Master.

She nodded slowly as he spoke of the Horned One. But she shook her head at his supposition about Mother Nature.

“I understand the essence of vengeance, Dommi. I traveled through the mountain passes and the winding roads on the far side of Trundle, I saw beyond the beauty of the Thousand Towers of Kh’Lhy’Ra. Vengeance is an ugly thing.

“But the Lady of the Coven is the embodiment of the cycle of life and death and life. A bird, for example, is born and lives its life. When it dies, it becomes that which feeds one in the living cycle — be it a carrion animal or as fertilizer to plants as its physical form decomposes. And while I have never met a Priestess of hers, I know some who have. There was one who lived along the Path, although that woman may be dead by now. She was old when Aunt Olga met her. And the Caravan that regularly goes to Dawnview Vale has said there is at least one Priestess there, near the Glacier Keep, I think. There may even be others.”

She shook her head. “Before today, I did not think that an odd thing. The Vale and the Allaines are said to be tolerant of most who follow the older Deities, although they themselves are said to follow the Sun Lady.” Keiko shrugged. “The Rhoni listen, the Rhoni remember. The Rhoni don’t often share all they know.” At that, she winked. “But my Lord Dominic has been to Dawnview Vale and is quite intelligent, so I am probably not saying anything that the Young Master does not already know.”

But then Keiko sighed. “If the Divine Lord returned to his realm with the madness of vengeance surrounding him, I am only surprised that the Divine Lady did not take a divine skillet to his divine head to clear it up.” Again she shrugged, this time apologetically. “I don’t say that in a way meant to offend, of course. Our Ancestors, too, were born out of the Shattering and our legends tell us they knew the first Divine Ones when they were still humans and heroes who fought in the Wars. Only the Lords of the East and the Sun Lady are older than they. The Ancestors just chose a different path into the future.”

She was silent for a moment as she bit her lower lip.

“So this betrayal at the Only Bridge means... well, likely means that the Sun Lady’s followers are either not aware of the deception or are far more forgiving than most. If it is the former, I hope that the Coveners now living in the Vale do not suffer for the knowledge of that past betrayal, should it ever come to light. If the latter, then I find myself admiring the Sun Lady’s followers even more.”

Keiko looked from Dommi to Bekkah and then back to the Young Master again, her smile growing ever wider the whole time.

“Oh, I would so very much like to hear more about Lady Daxia! And yes, Dommi... I think if someone is laughing and not poking you, they might be a friend. Or, at the very least, a potential friend.”




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Lyric

Lyric smiled and half nodded at the assertion that Keiko made that Wisdom had to be not only heard but also accepted, interpreted, and understood. One had to have the capacity to be wise in order for Wisdom to be of us.

Lyric found the continuance of the conversation about the Divine Being, this Horned God, who had gone mad with grief when his beloved's mortal self was summoned and trapped in a sacrificial betrayal.

What struck her most was the pain he endured, so great that it was overwhelming him even now that he was willing or able to tend to his Divine Charge.

For Lyric, the forest's pain was tangible, perceptible, and manifest. It pained her to her core and she masked it. Home helped in this regard, for deep within this arboreal bosk of sorrow was a small haven of refuge and hope. Soft was right in that regard... Lyric could find solace here, even if it was a temporary one.

The minstrel was beginning to understand a sliver of what might lie ahead for her and her search for a song to save her people... whether they wanted to be saved or not.

"If he dwells in a mortal form, in a mortal world, still bearing the consuming grief of his loss, then maybe he needs someone to help him... to listen to him, and maybe find a word or two to offer him... He needs Hope."

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Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.

“I do not pretend to understand the rules and order of the Gods and Goddesses, Miss Kieko. I only know of one intimately, and My Lady is pleased when she is amused and haughty when she is displeased.

“And believe me, lassie… being funny is the hardest job in the whole bloody world”

At that the young lord’s head suddenly bobbed forward, as if someone had hit him soundly at the back of his head. He blinked, wrinkled his nose and grumbled, but just a little bit.

“See what I have to live with?”

Next to him, very patiently, Miss Emmi reached up and patted Dominic on the head, like one might sooth a sad ruff.

“There, there.”

Dominic found it hard to hide a small grin. Resting back again in the little window nook, it was Emerald, however, that answered Keiko’s question; or at the least she tried to.

“Death. Death is final. It is taking everything someone has and everything that they could be. What happens afterwards?

“Can one ask the stars to come down from the sky? When the Knights of Rames call upon their Lord for aid, can one take the spirits that make that aid real from His beck and call? When one’s blood feeds the harvest and that grain is made bread and that bread is eaten by a mother to be, while her child is part of that chain, it is a new life, a different one.

“If that is what happened to that Lady, goddess or not, she is still bound by the same laws. She can still be, but the problem with being everywhere at once is that you are, in turn, still nowhere at all.”

Dominic rested his chin lightly atop the Priestess of Krysta’s head.

“I think, chances are, that Lyric is correct. Even if He has returned to his place the Heartwood, the world, has no hand to hold. He has been consumed by his vengeance and has lost all hope.

“Hope is what you need when you get knocked down and have forgotten how to get back up.

Then, however, Dommi’s eyes narrowed. Pivoting atop Emmi’s head, his attention fell straight upon their other companion. The fair Lady Bekkah Yurisdotter.

“Wait a heartbeat!

“Daxia is YOUR sister!

You tell us her stories!”


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Bekkah

She'd remained silent, happy to listen as stories were told. Without having to answer, she'd had the time to consider what was being said, trying to weed out truth from fiction. Then they were looking at her.

"Dazi? I'm no story teller, certainly not after Lord Dominic has shared tales. She's my baby sister. What would you like to know?"

[ooc: And no, I'm not going to go back through years of posts to reconstruct stories of her and my memory is not good. So I'll play along, but it's going to be vague ;)]

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Keiko

Keiko giggled at the Young Master’s reaction to the presence of his Lady.

“Is it good that you make others laugh, too? Is your Lady pleased when those around you are giggling or laughing or even rolling their eyes at the outrageous stories you tell? Or is it only the mischievous and silly things you do that bring her happiness?”

She lowered her eyes and shrugged slightly. “I hope you and she will excuse my impertinence, but it’s rare to hear someone speaking so willingly of their Deity. And the Rhoni tales are sparse on details about the younger Deities.”

She looked up at Dommi again, meeting his eyes.

“I don’t mean to give offense and apologize if I’ve done so by asking questions I shouldn’t. But Great-Grandmother said that after making careful observations, asking questions is the best way to learn. And... well, it’s hard to observe the Divine Beings.”

She listened very carefully to Lady Krysta’s newest priestess explain the cycle of life and death and life from her unique perspective. It was similar enough to the Coven philosophy that Keiko could grasp the idea Emmi was conveying... until her very last statement, that is. The phrasing was odd, but the idea was so Rhoni that Keiko’s eyes grew wide as she smiled.

“That makes perfect sense, Miss Emmi! Thank you.”

But then she sighed. “It makes me sad for her Lord, though. If he has given up all hope, if he can’t find the will to get up as you put it, Dommi, then there is little hope for the healing of the Forest. If the Divine Lady is at the place of Everywhere-Nowhere and she is the only one who can give comfort to the Divine Lord...”

Keiko looked at Lyric. “The World’s currents must move again in such a way to show the Divine Lady a way to be Somewhere again. It is not a thing we who merely walk on the World or ride the waves can affect. Not knowingly and purposefully, I don’t think. I fear it is only the Fates or perhaps the assistance of other Deities that will help the two Divine Beings right now.”

That was when Dommi called on Lady Bekkah to tell the tales of her sister. The Kind One’s response made her smile.

“Oh, just everything!” Then the Rhoni laughed. “I jest, of course. I have younger sisters, too, and wouldn’t know where to begin stories about them. And they’re not even grown to womanhood and have nothing more heroic than loving the world and being curious.”

Tilting her head to the side, she regarded Dominic for a moment before giving her attention to Bekkah again.

“Hmm. I’m quite interested in the rumor that has spread about this curse that was broken at the old temple outside Bordertown. However, I suspect that is such a great and truly heroic thing that Lyric would need to hear the stories of many people to fashion a proper ballad for your sister. Do you think she’d like her own ballad? Is she a truly great scholar? Is it true that she killed a fullhand of demons with a sword made of light?

“And this is a question for both you and Dommi — and Miss Emmi, too, if she’s ever met the Verchovai...

“What do you like best about her?”

Like the Minstrel, the Rhoni lass was interested in the details, in the nuances, in the meanings behind the words — all the things that made for a Grand Story.


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Bekkah

"Well, I can tell you of her as a child. I remember those years fondly, but we were separated for many years when I chose to follow my Lady's call. We only met back up by chance this past year."

"The broken curse at the temple in Bordertown is true. I was there for that one as well as my other friends here."

She smiled as she continued. "A sword of Light, slaying demons? That I don't remember. There was evil to be sure. Old evil. And while she'd deflect all credit, she was the one who led us. She was the one who stood before it, front and center."

"As far as a ballad about her. No. I am quite certain that she would run from such a thing. She'll stand up to anyone or anything, but then she'd prefer to go about her life quietly afterwards. I think we both have that in common."

"I think though it may be too late for that if you've heard of her. I suspect this is how stories begin."

"I will say this, if you've heard that she has a midnight black unicorn as a steed, well that one is true. Well, I suppose steed is not right. He's more a companion that can carry her."

Clearly as Bekkah spoke it was quite obvious that she's not only fond of her baby sister, but also quite proud of her.

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The Heartwood
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Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.


“You can see the truth every night, Miss Keiko …”

And when Dominic spoke that simple honorific, it was just that, simple and friendly, not pretentious or formal at all.

“Look to the sky and in the Dark Path you will now see two stars, proof that He Whose Name Should Not Be Spoken were indeed thwarted.

“Though there was only one Demon. But one Demon is certainly enough for any generation. And it was a different fight; that particular fight happened after the Dark One learned his curse was broken and came seeking revenge. Your rumors, also are not quite right. While Verchovai Daxia – she wasn’t a verchovai yet – fought the Dark One, it was one of her companions that thwarted the Demon. I don’t think she actually killed it, and she ended up in a tree, but the Demon was convinced that it had better things to do then come after us in Bordertown and when dealing with Demons that’s probably as good as you can get.”

In the background there was strange and sudden growling, from somewhere – somewhere near Dominic but its actual source could not be seen.

“Hey. Don’t get mad. You are my partner. You are my partner, Emmi is my bodyguard, My Lady is smiling in her sunset and all is well in the world.”

The growling stopped, just as suddenly as it started.

As for Keiko’s other question, it was also addressed, but the one who spoke first was the one she had asked second. Dominic’s companion Mouse looked up.

“She is smart and bright and clever. Very clever. As clever as a merebeast trying to get out of a box. That’s been locked. Inside another box, inside an even bigger box. On a caravan to Trundle-on-the-Hill. She’d be out before Brementown.

“And she’s nice. I can’t read. But when My Owner …”

Miss Emerald just smiled.

“But when my Dominic was away his older brother, who I was tasked to watch over, he was very sick and Miss Bekkah saved him, because she’s a hero too, well, we would sit on his bed and he’d read me stories from big books and the ones I liked best had big pictures in them so I could see the stories as he spoke them.

“Well, Miss Daxia, she found out.

“And so Midsummers, I got this big fancy package of really wonderful picture books. It made both Lord Tray and me smile. You see, Miss Daxia sent them because she can be fierce and grumpy, but inside she’s really nice. She cares about folks, that’s what I like about her.”

Dominic nodded.

“First, she was nice to Emmi. And all my people. I do have a household – it’s very small but they are more my family than my family except for by big brother. He’s one of us too.

“I like her because she’s fun. She lets me be me and I can include her in my adventures and she doesn’t get mad. Not getting mad is good.

“She may hang me from the rafters or put a hedgehog in my bedroll, but if so I probably deserve it so that’s fine.

“Besides, she’s making a very dear friend of mine very happy. That’s the very best of her.”

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Keiko

Keiko listened with rapt attention to the tale of Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter. Some rumors had already been confirmed; the most central to the Rhoni’s life was the rescue and protection of the Eastern Princess. That deed had rippling repercussions all the way to Kh’Lhy’Ra and back out again across the Black Mountains and the High Tarn. By and large, it was a good thing. That some of the Caravans had needed to leave their traditional routes through the Mountains — circling out past the City of a Thousand Towers and then back into Trundle — well, that was somewhat less good. However, the currents took the Rhoni where they needed to be. Although she had heard some grumbling from younger folks in the Caravans they had met in the mountain pass before she was sent out to Wander, it was only common sense that the lack of war was better for traveling. And the fact that the Rhoni Who Had Married a Gaija With the Blessings of the Elders was being held captive still — no, that certainly wasn’t good for her. Not if the rumors of things worse than death that the Princes and their Priests favored held any truth to them.

“I believe I heard Grandfather talking about a unicorn with someone from one of the Caravans that regularly go toward Bordertown,” she said to Bekkah. “Perhaps that’s what they were discussing — your sister and her unicorn. It was right before I left my Family, so I wasn’t able to hear the news.

“The only story of a unicorn I know is the one about a warrior woman riding a unicorn who came to Trundle to snatch a young girl from the Alley.” She chuckled. “It’s a favorite story of young girls in Trundle. I don’t think the tale mentions the fact that the young girl was the Justice’s sister. Of course, that was before Lady Deynnekko became the Justice...”

So unicorns were more than just fabulous warhorses with a point on their head. She had always wondered if the stories she had been told by her Mother and Grandmothers and Aunts were as fanciful as the ones that were told about the Koromov girl.

The two new stars in the sky had been a mystery and an important portent as well. The stars rarely changed much from one generation to the next. Unless the Eastern Princes came over the Mountains, of course. That there was also a star missing from one of the constellations...

“I was already traveling toward Waverider’s Watch when I noticed the stars in the Dark Patch. That was at Midsummer. Even Grandmother has been known to remark that in the whole of her life she could recall only a single new star, and that one was not so prominently placed in the sky. I was surprised by their appearance, as you can imagine. But that they were placed there after the breaking of a curse...”

She considered the implications. It would help if she knew more about the Children of the Sun Lady. But it had to be a good thing, didn’t it?

“But even before Midsummer, a star went missing from the Spear constellation. Stars don’t disappear, Dommi. And even I laid out the same cards as every other Reader — currents shifting dramatically with unexpected paths and events, all while stressing the value of companionship. We couldn’t help but read the missing star as an important sign, perhaps even a good one, and yet...” Keiko shook her head. “A star went missing! Can you explain that? Any of you?”

Then she just stared at Dominic when she heard the growling. She narrowed her eyes as he spoke to someone? Something? And then blinked as she sat up a little straighter.

“Your cloak is a companion to you like Lady Daxia’s unicorn is to her? Well, not exactly the same, of course, because a cloak is nothing like a steed, but... but..” Keiko tried to puzzle through the peculiar relationships. A partner that was a cloak... and the bodyguard Emmi, whom he also loved dearly... to say nothing of the wife going off with her friends to look at the Keep in the Lake. Finally, she shook her head.

“I would like to understand, but perhaps I can’t really understand because I follow no Deity.

“But who was it then that thwarted the Demon?” She looked from Dommi to Bekkah and back again.

Giving them a break from Keiko’s never-ending curiosity, Emmi broke in to tell about her encounter with the Lady Daxia. Keiko was grinning broadly by the end of it. Oh, to be able to read! And to gift someone with books simply... well, simply for no reason except having a good heart?

“Well, I think warriors are required to be fierce, at least when they’re doing warrior things. And some of them are just plain mean. Oh, but she sounds lovely.”

By this time, Keiko was spilling over will excitement. She had always loved hearing about people and places far away... places she would never visit and people she would never meet. Why someday she would tell stories to her children just as Mother and Father had shared the stories of the Rhoni and the World with her and her sisters and her brother! Keiko could add to the Grand Tale, and those who would be the grandchildren of her grandchildren would know about the Forest’s Kin and how they were blessed by an Atteran... and about a follower of the Sun Lady who broke a curse!

“Oh, Bekkah, you and your sister are so fortunate to have one another! I’m sure you’ll see her again. The Tarn is vast, that is true... but not so large that meeting again on your travels would be impossible.

“And Dommi! Hanging you from the rafters? Why would she do that? If she is kind and laughs at your silliness and doesn’t get mad at you... well, that doesn’t sound like a sensible thing to do. And where would she find a hedgehog? Oh, perhaps they’re common in Dawnview Vale? Who is this dear friend of yours? You have friends everywhere, don’t you? It sounds like Lady Daxia is not a warrior at all, but a... a...” Again, Keiko shook her head, although this time she laughed. “Well, I just mean that I’ve never heard of a warrior who goes around trying to make people happy. Oh! Except for the Knight of the big village... Talesan’s Village. Mmm, Kevin? I think that’s what Broke said his name was. She wouldn’t... well, maybe couldn’t... tell me very much about him. Except that he is very kind to people.”

Her eyes fastened on Lyric.

“Oh, you must write a song for Lady Daxia, Lyric! She is fierce and kind and seems to be every bit as much a hero as Lady Bekkah.” Keiko sighed happily and hugged Tomomi. “The great heroes should have ballads sung and stories told about them. Those of us who do small heroic things can be content with ribbons and friendships.”




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Lyric

...those who do small heroic things can be content with ribbons and friendships. Small things, like watch and follow and write the songs of deeds done by Great Heroes... or of simple people destined to do great things. Isn't that how the best stories begin though? With a simple soul finding strength within do do something great, not because they want to, but because they have to.

Small things? Lyric understood that. All her life she had to be content with hearing stories brought to her. Her people no longer did great things. Maybe once, long ago... but no more. And she had to be content with doing small things for that was the way of it. She had to be content to hear songs and stories, never once thinking that her dreams of seeing great things done... or even, a thing beyond the wildest imagination, to do something great and heroic herself.

She had to be be content.

But she couldn't...

And it nearly cost her life in the pursuit of it. And now? Choices made. The only way to travel now was forward. She no longer had a home.

Lyric had been listening to those around her and dreaming and remembering, almost trance-like in her quiet way.

She smiled and slowly shifted to regard Friend Keiko.

"I suppose I would have to meet her, this Daxia, sister of Lady Bekkah. To look in her eyes and see her soul, feel her life... Aye, my words are silliness, I know, but no song does any hero justice if not written from the the Truth of Heart."

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Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.

“Well it’s kind of a tradition.”

Dominic smiled back at the young Rhoni card-reader.

“And I usually deserve it. Which is kind of important. In my line of work if I can’t take as well I as I give out, that’s when folks start getting mad at you. If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t be telling them.

“Besides, from the rafters I can look down and Dandy favors loooooo----oooooow!”

Yes. Ja. Yup. Miss Emerald had just elbowed Dominic in the side again. The mischievous lordling just raised his brows and then rested his head next to his companion’s.

“See!

“I deserved that.”

Emmi nodded in agreement. Dominic then continued.

"Oh, you must mean Sir Kevin. And that's pretty much true. In fact I believe that's the reason why Talesan's is still the Imperial Mother church. It's because they remember what it really means to be one of the Imperial Court and not just use the church's power and holdings to further one's own place.

“As for the rest, I wasn’t at Midsummers. I was leading a set of angry brothers on a fair chase around the Skaefla Plateau, not that I got any thanks for that! As for black unicorns, I have seen my fair share – in general they give me the nastiest of looks! And my cloak? Lets just say don’t touch it without permission, it’s natural state is grumpy.”

“Not. Is nice.”

Dominic blinked and looked down at Miss Emerald’s interruption.

“To you! And why you?”

To which Emerald looked down and whispered.

“Where do you think your Lady gets them?”

That was right. Sitting with them was a certain brand new priestess of a very particular goddess. And it was that priestess who was able to answer Keiko’s further questions.

“Mebbe that was Miss Scamp’s star. Not that I truly understand, being just a Mouse. But Miss Scamp – that’s Kay Koromov – she was all tangled up in Silk Creek Bridge and Highside Heather and Lady Dazi’s adventures there and it was all about it being impossible to change someone’s past but it is always possible to change someone’s future.

“So maybe for a whole lot of generations she was dead but now wasn’t anymore. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been there at Midsummer’s Court. So instead of being dead she became Lady Dazi’s apprentice. And that could have only happened because she had been dead between then and now and thus couldn’t have changed anything, well, uhm, because she was dead at the time.”

The silver haired Mouse just blinked.

“Ja. It makes my head hurt too.”

Shaking her head back and forth she then added.

“Oh. And Hedgehogs like the little wooded copses across the High Tarn. I’ve never been to Dawnview so I don’t know if there are any there. And his friend would be the Dama Allaine. I am supposed to protect her too when she is in Talantal. The young one. The not as pretty as a Mouse one, but almost.”

She then let her head fall back and looked straight up at Dominic.

“Ja?”

Of he answered, very assuredly.

“Ja.”

Looking across to Lyric, Dominic chimed in once more.

“That’s going to be difficult, Lyric. Last I heard she was heading to Dawnview Vale and that’s kind of the other end of the world from where we are now.”

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Keiko

She nodded to Lyric. “It does seem to be best for you to meet her if you are to give the best accounting of her deeds and bravery. And to say it’s just silliness?” Keiko grinned. “Who knows where the currents will take us or bring her? Next month, next year, perhaps the year after that...” She shifted her eyes to Lady Bekkah for less than a heartbeat and added, “The Lady won’t exactly say so, but I think she misses her sister quite a lot. Why we could even help her find the great hero!”

Yes, she was speaking more than a little fancifully herself now. But even as she had spoken the words, she realized it would be ever so enjoyable to travel the countryside — in places she had never been before! — with Lyric and Bekkah. And Tomomi, too, if she’d be willing to leave Home. It would be strange, of course, for women to be traveling alone, but hadn’t the Lady herself said she’d journeyed for many years before being reunited with her sister? Both she and Lyric had traveled from their homes to find Waverider’s Watch. Keiko’s only restrictions were to stay far from Trundle and the East... and to avoid the Caravans.

Then she giggled at Dommi and Emmi. They were just so sweet together. They could be silly or serious, but it was clear they were a team. Papa always said that was the more important thing in a marriage, even if what they shared wasn’t a conventional marriage. But it was a good partnership.

She nodded at his admonishment to avoid his cloak without permission. Grumpy cloaks! What a peculiar idea. But the world was a strange place — stranger than she had ever imagined. Keiko blinked at Emmi’s little sliver of information about the cloak, however. That was... Well, that was something to contemplate later. Perhaps.

Oh, but the missing star!!

Of course, Keiko took in all the other information Emmi shared, hoarding it like shiny treasures.

It was the thought of the missing star that whirled around in her mind with the greatest fierceness.

“A Koromov? Of the Imperial Family? But... wait, wait, wait. If she was dead, even with the strange magics at Highside Heather, how did your Lady... well, maybe not ‘how’ so much as why would your Lady give up one of hers? I can...” Keiko narrowed her eyes and seemed to look past Dommi and Emmi. “Well, maybe I could understand why she might let one of her Children do...” She waved a hand at Dommi cloak. “...whatever he or she does to help Dommi. Aren’t your Ladies related? I head that they were, but on the other hand, I’ve heard some very strange tales about the Divine Beings and some are more believable than others. That one seems plausible enough.

“So I can understand relatives helping out one another, ja? But for Lady Kay? If she was dead for so many, many generations... how could Lady Daxia bargain with a Goddess for the life of an apprentice?”

She shook her head.

“You’re right. It’s very confusing.”

And then the Rhoni blinked again and barely kept herself from gasping.

“The Heir of Allaine? The Snowqueen? Lady Daxia has made her HAPPY???

This time, she just stared at Dominic as she rested a hand over the Cards tucked into her tunic. She barely heard what he said to Lyric, although when his words did register, she blinked again.

“Do you understand what this means, Master Dominic?” Using one of his titles seemed the surest way to truly gain all of his attention. “She may have changed the world just as surely as Lady Bekkah has.”

She had not thought to discuss the Vale behind Snowgate Pass with the Cards for a handful of months or more. Why it had been well before leaving her Caravan! Why should she? Nothing ever changed when one inquired about Allaine — there was a new Snowqueen, and there was a good chance that the pass would once more be closed for a generation. Well, depending on the combination of questions in relationship to Allaine, it could be several generations.

But a happy Heir meant... no Snowqueen?

Yet again, she stopped and stared at Dominic before blinking and turning to Lady Bekkah.

“Is Lady Daxia heart-bound to Dama Kisa as Dommi and Emmi are to one another?”

Happiness was one thing — especially the happiness of a powerful Noble — and could cause ripples in the currents all across the world. Love, on the other hand? That could change the course of rivers.

This was not something any of the Card Readers had seen! It was as much a surprise as the Rhoni who Married the Gaija. True, it may have been something the crafty Khorall of Allaine had hoped for, but even Linnell Allaine was not powerful enough to command love.

“The other end of the world is only the other end of the world, and will only take more days of walking than to the big village. Yes... many more days, but I, for one, would be willing to walk that far with Lyric to hear this story with my own ears.”


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Bekkah

Keiko's reaction surprised Bekkah. She answered hesitatingly.

"They are close. More than that, you'd have to ask her. It certainly isn't my place to speak for my sister." she said calmly. It wasn't a rebuke, she just wasn't comfortable talking about who Dazi was in love with, even if she'd knew the truth of it.

"But is a happy heir such a rarity?" she asked truly confused.

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Lyric

"If the world has an end, then I would find that a grand adventure to go see it... If for no other reason then to journey with friends and never actually get we are going... except maybe right back here again."

And she laughed at her own humor, though truth be told, it wasn't particularly funny. Maybe you just had to be there... or be Lyric.

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Keiko

The young woman nodded in response to Lady Bekkah’s statement, understanding that her sister’s story was her own to share. Still, Keiko had her suspicions that, if true, would mean the world was a safer place today than when she left her Family.

“Is any Noble who is not a Larsen really happy? Is any person constrained by the accident of their birth, unable to be who they know themselves to be, ever truly happy?”

She ventured a peek at Dommi and Emmi, then smiled at Bekkah as she folded her legs tailor fashion beneath her tunics while holding Tomomi’s hand.

“I can only speak of the stories I have heard and what I have observed for myself. Dominic Korie appears to be a Noble who is happy, but of his family in Grand Talantal, whispers pass from Caravan to Caravan that tell of unhappy Nobles and loveless marriages, although once upon a time the great Dorian Korie might have been a happy man. Emmi has spoken of Lord Tray’s goodness, and in her words, I hear a story of a man who is content to be exactly who he is. That may be the greatest mark of a happy person.

“But of the Allaine Heir, specifically? Ah, now this is something for our Minstrel to ponder. I can tell you about the warnings of the Cards, and I can tell you of the portents seen by previous generations of Card Readers that have led to the current balance of the world.”

Keiko paused to order the tale in the most straightforward way — not an easy task, for the story spanned generations and twisted across the Heartwood, from the High Tarn to both ends of the Black Mountains, and then into Trundle and the lands ruled by the Princes of Kh’Lhy’Ra.

“The story could begin many generations ago, as those of us who Read the Cards share the warnings and portents just as diligently as parents teach their children all the ways of the Rhoni. There were possibilities seen as long ago as my great-grandmother’s youth of dire threats from Kh’Lhy’Ra and, even worse, the near certainty that Dawnview would once again produce a Snowqueen to seal the Vale behind a pass filled with boulders and blood.

“To begin the story in the north, I need only go back to my mother’s generation. In close to the same year her eldest brother was born, a Rhoni girl was born with hair as black as night and eyes the color of amethysts. Indeed, but for the fact that I have a streak of red in my hair, I look enough like her to be her daughter.” Keiko chuckled softly. “Or so my elders tell me.

“That is, I would look like her daughter had she not become the Rhoni Who Married a Gaija With the Blessing of the Elders. To understand her title and perhaps her tale, you should know that a Rhoni may only marry another Rhoni. There may be dalliances as the Caravans travel across the world, especially at Festival times. It is the sons more often than the daughters who engage in such affairs, but it is never anything more than a happy meeting on the road of life. Daughters, of course, are discouraged from giving children to the Gaija, but it happens.” She shrugged.

“The story of Thomas Montgomery and Madoka kha’Ayanna kha’Kame kha’Chikato khal’Homura Akemi Koromov is one well-known among the Rhoni, although it seems only Thomas Montgomery is remembered — quite fondly as the mischief maker he was — among the Gaija. Their story is a happy tragedy, I think you might call it. They had two fierce daughters who have grown up to be the Justice of Trundle and the Captain of a famed mercenary troop, respectively. That is the happy part. Well, that and the fact that they loved one another so much that Thomas and his daughters were stripped of their rightful Imperial heritage, and Thomas did not seem to mind.” She tilted her head to the side. “Knowing Justice Erika Koromov-Deynnekko’s opinion on the matter is something perhaps only the Questioner would know, but the whispers of those who have met Dandelion Koromov indicate she is more than content to serve the Sun Lady.”

Keiko spread her free hand to the side for a moment, an indication that some things are exactly what they appear to be. By all accounts, Captain Koromov accepted that she was who she was, and would likely be considered a happy person.

“But Madoka was a talented Reader herself and saw what generations before her had observed in Reading the Cards. As the story goes, she decided that she and her husband had to intervene or the Princes would once again run rampant over the Heartwood.

“They did not succeed, not then. What is known of their adventures? Thomas died. The threat remained. The Caravans continued to travel their usual routes. Madoka hid, and she did so in plain sight.”

Keiko gave Dommi a knowing smile. “A few Rhoni do choose to follow one of the Goddesses or Gods. Your Lady finds amusement in that, apparently.”

Sighing, she turned to Bekkah and Lyric again. “Then there were the rumors. That Madoka gave birth to another daughter not long after Thomas was killed. That she continued the work she and her husband had begun outside the view of even Rhoni eyes. That she had succeeded.

“And what of the other fork in the path? What of Dawnview at the south end of the Black Mountains?

“As the Cards continued to relay a possibility of another incursion by the Princes, they told the Readers among my Elders ever more forcibly that Dawnview would retreat from this war. That there were too few of the Sun Lady’s followers to stand against the hordes of the East. That the priestesses had grown fearful and would counsel the Khorall to close themselves off from the rest of the Heartwood. This warning became stronger just before I was born, and each passing year there were fewer and fewer possibilities to be seen in the Cards.”

When Keiko paused this time, she took Tomomi’s hand in both of hers as she closed her eyes for a brief intake of breath — drawing comfort from her forever friend’s presence and the words she had heard this morning — before exhaling softly and opening her eyes.

“When word reached us that the Dama Allaine did not attend the Council last summer, when we heard that she had stopped sending ore beyond the Kierkegaard lands, we knew the time of the Snowqueen had arrived. This year, this Midsummer Council, was to have been the turning point in which the world would have changed in horrible ways.”

The Rhoni studied Lady Bekkah’s face. Her serenity was a mask for her emotions; it was a soothing facade, but it was still a veil behind which the Healer’s thoughts were concealed. Did she understand yet what her sister seemed to have accomplished?

“Instead of war, we found the truth in the rumors of Madoka’s plots. She had discovered a way to free the girl who was just a pawn in her father’s game. Madoka... Madoka has likely died in that attempt, but better a true death than that which is rumored to have been the curse of the Dayalan temple outside Bordertown.

“When your party first arrived, Mikal D’Allyne spoke of an Easterner he had befriended — that all of you had befriended. If this Easterner is the one Madoka and her beloved gave their lives to rescue, if your sister watches over her, then I have less fear for her safety. If Lady Daxia is the scholar Dommi says she is, then she will understand that protecting...” She hesitated, then chose circumspection as she continued. “...the princess is of vital importance.

“We found the truth of this great change in the world’s possible fate when the Princes’ expressions of... Hmm. Let us just say that the Rhoni believed we had overstayed our welcome on their roads and in their towns. An oddity, to be sure, for the Caravans have always traveled wherever they chose to travel. But for now, we are no longer welcome in Kh’Lhy’Ra, or in the mountains above Tor-an-Dal and Trundle.” She paused a moment with a far-off look in her eyes. “I’d like to go back up to Dark Down Vale someday. It’s not a journey for a Caravan... too treacherous.”

Keiko said it in a very manner of fact way, as though travel routes changed with the seasons. Her tone was not at all one that hinted at something so peculiar to someone who spent as much time East of the Black Mountains as West of them. She certainly gave no hint that it was something unheard of, unthinkable.

She shook her head and smiled at her whimsy. If the currents led her to those harsh and beautiful mountains again, it would be a journey worth taking with friends. And if the currents led her elsewhere? Well, any journey was made more enjoyable when taken with friends. Keiko addressed the Healer again.

“But from listening to you and Dommi and Emmi, I can puzzle out the hints that the Heir attended the Midsummer Council this year, not the Khorall herself.

“That was not meant to be. The Cards, in all this time, have never hinted that it was ever a possibility — and Readers more skillful than I would have asked any questions that might show currents and potentialities that did not have wholesale death as the ending point. We are fiercely independent, we Rhoni, but we are taught to embrace life and its many journeys, not wholly unlike our newest favored one of Lady Krysta,” she said with a tilt of her head and a smile for Emmi.

“I did not ask the Cards about the great politics of the High Tarn and the Frontier Keeps on my journey. When I left my Family’s Caravan, I knew only what the Cards had said in the Spring — Linnell Allaine would die by treachery at this year’s Council.”

She shook her head again, this time in wonder that a single person could start a wave so great that it rolled across the whole of the Tarn. It was like a gentle nudge of one Doublebluff tile that caused a fullhand times a fullhand of them to click and clack their way down the Highland Path — all the way to the Sea of Opals.

“So, you see, Lady Bekkah, it was a happy Heir — and perhaps a sad and worried Heir — who spent a winter behind that snow-blocked pass and who apparently chose to attend the Council in her mother’s place. Why?

“It is true that we believe the Allaine Heir to be one of the great Pattern Readers — one who can look at the possibilities of the currents and see where each might lead. Would that be enough for her to see that the future of the world, that her own future could be changed?

“I don’t know. But you heard the story Dommi and Emmi shared. You can see that a heart-bond like theirs can save a Noble and a Mouse from captivity. Happiness can make many of life’s problems easier to bear. Imagine what love can do.

“The love of your Goddess and the love you have for Her allowed Her to bestow the greatest blessing on the Forest Kin — because you prayed on their behalf for Her to Heal them. That is a miracle.

“If your sister did not love the Heir... if the Heir did not love your sister... would the daughter of the Great Prince be safe today? Perhaps. Would your sister have done all these great things I have heard in your hints and in the way you speak of her simply because they were the right things to do? Only she can say, but I can hear your belief that she would.

“But if not for the way your sister changed the currents, would the Heir have taken her mother’s place at the Council? I think not.

“To bring the story back around to your question, I would say that a happy heir is less common than many people might believe. From my understanding of the lore of these lands — stories that have been handed from parents to children since the Ancestors chose to walk the World after the Shattering — I would say that a happy Allaine Heir is even more rare than most.”

This time, Keiko laughed. “Lady Bekkah, more than any of her other deeds, I think that might be your sister’s most miraculous.”

But it was Lyric’s comment that caused Keiko to smile with a radiant joy as she clapped her hands. “Oh, Friend Lyric, you have the heart of a Rhoni! Journeys with no destination are the finest of Wanderings.” She sighed with contentment. “It seems a worthy endeavor to me, one that I would be delighted to share with you!”

And then she turned sharp eyes on Bekkah and Emmi again.

“I would very much like to know what transpired at this year’s Council, other than Mistress Emmi receiving a thoughtful and heartfelt gift of books and Lady Bekkah healing Lord Tray. Surely, the Dama Allaine and Lady Daxia and Miss Scamp must have done something interesting! And tell me more about this Scamp! Aside from the confusion of her existence and your Lady’s thoughts on the matter of her being dead and then not dead, Emmi, how did she come by such a name? I would call Dommi a scamp, but he surely has good reason to be the rapscallion that he is. A follower of the Sun Lady, though? It must be an intriguing story.”

Keiko would happily sit the whole morning here in Tomomi’s little nook talking about places she had never visited, people she may or may not ever meet. Storytelling was one of the great joys in life!


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Bekkah

She listened to Keiko with little emotion. Well nothing other than calm. Much of what Keiko described, she did not know. Of course, it must be obvious to any that Bekkah Yurisdotter might be the least political person in all of the lands. So it was no surprise to any who knew her well, that she'd never see the importance of her sister's love interests.

"Well, Kay, scamp as you call her is now my sister's apprentice in a way. She is headstrong, and oblivious of politics and such. She's fierce and loyal." then her smile grew. "But as willful as she is, she's probably nowhere near as willful as my newest apprentice." she began the smile growing from the memory of it.

"I think this princess you speak of is quite safe in these lands. In fact, she is quite loved by the people currently. For she is now one of my Lady's follower's. She has a love to care for others like few I know. She is especially protective and even more so loved by children. Romana may well be the least likely Lady of Attera that you'll ever meet, but you'll find few as devout."

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Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.

Tomomi simply leaned closer to Keiko as the stories continued, resting her head upon her forever friend’s shoulder. They were almost a pair of twins, Dommi and her, two wanderers with companion Mice.

Perhaps all the world’s problems would be solved if everyone had a Mouse for a friend.

“Ja, Kisa was at Midsummer’s, along with her own personal bodyguard. Which truly vexed me, as I was in her lands at the time and we missed each other. Someone was laughing.”

Dominic glanced upwards hesitantly. When nothing happened he smiled. Miss Mouse was the one to continue.

“Miss Scamp? Miss Ekaterina? I think she escaped because her time ended way back then and she got herself rescued and brought to today and it was allowed because it didn’t change the past or the future, it just gave her one.

“In the end?

“I really believe it was because she was, somehow, just very, very lucky.”

Emmi nodded her head once, as if that was the best answer to that particular question.

“Me, I didn’t see much of her, but she was mostly looking after Lady Bekkah’s apprentice. It is odd, Lady Bekkah, that she and your apprentice are a pair in the eyes of Talantal, isn't it? She was the missing Imperial and all and always carried that big spear with its faded and ancient black and white ribbons. She liked poking folks and she was kind of scary. I’ve looked into the eyes of Khollish killers, faced the Knights of Talantal and they may be strong and skilled and talking about fighting and what war and all must be like. But you look into hers and you see someone who has actually knew it, who actually been there, lived it, fought it, faced swords and demons, saw her friends die again and again and she survived and she knows that it was nothing to sing or brag about and that each time you kill someone you lose a piece of you.”

Miss Emmi’s dark green eyes were, somehow, kind of similar.

“Scamp … I think … was called that because she was all alone, an orphan of sorts, but feisty and strong willed and would never let the bad things happening to her bother her.”

The little one smiled.

“I was the one who got her out of Court. Because I knew it was the right thing to do. She got proclaimed as a real live Imperial by the stuffy Hastur Priest, and then she got herself recognized by the Nobles, and Miss Kisa told the Khorall she’d let the iron loose if the Khorall recognized her too and then Talantal and Dawnview became friends. Then she made all the Koromovs Imperial again and then Miss Dandy said no, and she almost said no – she stopped long enough to say anyone can hunt Jakal Montague if they wished – and then she said no, but that means that Miss Dandy sister still is, and that’s supposed to be important but I don’t know why.

“However, mean Lord Jakal looked like he was going to slice her in half and she looked like she’d spit him, and it didn’t matter, if blood was spilled in the Court it would have been bad.

“So I snuck her out.

“I know all the secret ways in the big Keep. Mice are good at that.”

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Keiko

Keiko had to blink several times when Lady Bekkah spoke of Rhomanishkah’ al’Lhahrhonsha al’Khylyrishkatsarinish. The news was more than reassuring, it was positively astounding! She only knew the rumors about the princess, of course, but knowing that the Truth had taken the rumors of her kindness to the highest mountain and offered it to a Divine being? It was nearly unbelievable. That the Divine Lady Attera saw her kindness and accepted her as one of the Kind and Merciful One’s followers?

The Rhoni who never cried discovered several tears spilling from her eyes when she blinked again.

“This is a profound testament to the power of words,” she finally said. “To ask the Cards a question is a serious matter. But to even conceive of a question so powerful that they could point to such a Path that the princess now walks? Oh! But she is not the princess any longer, is she? She is just Lady Romana.” Keiko smiled but then shook her head. “I think only the Questioner himself could find an appropriate question for the Cards to reveal such a possibility.”

Thinking such serious thoughts was best left for those moments when she could meditate on them with no distractions. And perhaps sit with her Cards and allow all this new knowledge ebb and flow between her and the Cards. Also, she had no doubt they would laugh if they could — just as Great-Grandmother did when she had been younger and finally saw something obvious.

So she was grateful that Dommi spoke again. Of course, as was his custom, the circumstances he relayed were really quite amusing... and not just to his Lady Goddess.

“So the Lady Scamp Ekaterina...” she began, puzzling once more through the implications of Lady Daxia’s apprentice, “...was caught with all the other followers of the Sun Lady when they were betrayed. And... and those who find themselves watching the betrayal play out can do nothing to change what happened.” Keiko’s brows furrowed. “Yet, the young Koromov was rescued from that place of dreams by Lady Daxia. Ja, it might be that she has more luck than most. There are old stories, quite ancient really, that tell of a time when luck was a random gift bestowed on some Koromovs, just as a greater talent for Reading the Cards in our Families or seeing the Patterns among the Allaine might still be found at times.

“However, I wonder if it is just that she is Koromov that was the only thing at play that night.

“Yes, she was the lucky one whom Lady Daxia rescued. But the fact that the Spear constellation twinkles more than any of the others does make me wonder if it merely takes the right hero to find the right Dayalan from that night to bring them from then to now. Perhaps they are sadly in a Limbo that Lady Krysta cannot reach. But the Sun Lady has found them and holds them close to Her in the eastern sky.” The Rhoni sighed. “I shall not worry too much about them, at least not unless I find portents in the Cards’ messages that indicate there might be more of the Sun Lady’s followers caught in a trap from which they might somehow be rescued.”

She nodded at Emmi’s practical assessment of the young warrior. She only knew the stories of war and killing, but Keiko could see Emmi’s eyes now and knew the truth told in the stories: those who kill because they must, because there is no other way, are harmed in the killing. Those who kill because they want to kill, because killing makes them feel powerful, are the ones to fear the most.

The Mouse’s jumbled, rambling story needed more time to sift into her mind before the end of it came. Keiko chuckled at the obviousness of the observation. Mice were, indeed, good at finding things.

However, as bits of the puzzle fit into places in her head where information had been lacking, the violet-eyed lass shook her head more forcefully, more quickly. The pieces were falling in the wrong places! Weren’t they?

“What? The Koromovs have regained their Family heritage? Oh, my. Oh, dear. Oh, there are going to be some exciting things happening in Trundle, and perhaps I should be happy not to be a witness to any of it. Oh, my goodness! Dama Erika is an Imperial in her own right, a valid Lady now. I think there will be some Families most distressed by that news!”

Then Keiko shrugged. “Well, they might be Imperial Families, but they aren’t very nice. Not most of them, anyway. And especially not those who spend considerable time with the emissaries of the Princes. I suppose a kind Velikii would be as easy to find as... as...” She pursed her lips, studied Dommi for a moment, shook her head again, and then sighed. “Well, as easy to find as a Larsen who was mean and nasty, I guess.

“But that is important, Emmi, because the Lady Erika now has standing... a right to speak for herself and her Family, and to counsel the Prince as well. And the Koromovs have always and forever been the conscience of the Empire. As the Justice, as the wife of Kiel Deynnekko, she could only say and do so much. The Velikii have whispered in Prince Translev’s ear since Thomas Koromov was banished. Some say it was a Velikii who put the thought in the Imperial Head in the first place. Who knows? I was not there, no Rhoni was... not even Madoka. But I think there will be changes in Trundle. Well, I can hope there will be changes in Trundle.”

She grinned. “I doubt regaining her Imperial title will keep Lady Erika from tossing people from rooftops, however. Don’t ever get on her bad side. That’s a common thing everyone in Trundle knows. Better yet, stay away from her. There are rumors that she tried to eat her son and his father had him sent away for safe keeping. That seems a little farfetched to me. From everything said about her, she doesn’t give the impression of being motherly. However, I don’t think she’d bother to have the boy served up for dinner. No... there must be some other reason to which I am not privy that he was sent to train with his aunt. Oh, that would be Dama Dandelion... er, Captain Koromov.

“But Jakal Montague has been cut from the so-called Noble Family Montague? There is a family to avoid. There had been rumors of another marriage between Korie and Montague... your sister to that foul creature. Even if your sister is not dear to you, Dommi, that’s not a fate for any woman.

“Allaine and Korie are allies, though?” Once again, she peered at Dominic. “You and the Heir are friends. You speak as though you’ve been friends for many years. Hmm. No, your Father the Khorall can’t do that to you. Allaine and even Corliss women make their own decisions. But it is too bad the Heir does not have a brother. Perhaps she has a cousin in Glacier who would suit your sister.

“What? Do you think we don’t know about the politics and machinations of the Nobles Families?” Keiko giggled. “Oh, we watch the Families of Amber as they mix and match sons and daughter. We watch as the Imperial Families and the Noble Families make their alliances for political gain.”

She glanced at Bekkah again. “It is hard to find a happy heir with parents who too often are themselves only pieces played in a game of Horses and Castles.”

Looking at the young Noble, she frowned. “But perhaps the political alliances are less distasteful than what the followers of Lloshad are doing. Who’s to say? Our marriages are arranged by our elders, too. It’s a practical matter, really. There are fewer opportunities for some of the Caravans to gather and allow the younger folks to court. And we know we should not marry someone too closely related. Michi’s parents are not linked to mine in any way for at least a handful of generations in the past, and neither Caravan travels the same route at the same more than once in two handfuls of years.”

Keiko tilted her head to one side as she continued to study Dommi. And Emmi.

“And Mother believes in the kind of love that tramples a person like a destrier and thought I should be struck immediately with this blessing.” She chuckled. “I was not, and she was dismayed, even when I admitted to finding him a pleasant companion. It’s certainly not unreasonable to think that spending time together will allow us to attain the depth of feelings the two of you clearly have for one another,” Keiko said, gesturing to Dommi and Emmi.

“Of course...” She looked at Tomomi and hugged her, a happy smile made her eyes sparkle. “...I think he will need to have a heart large enough and a mind flexible enough to accept my Forever Friend. I think he will. Otherwise, my elders would not have chosen him, ja? And I think you will like him, Tomomi.”

Keiko merely nodded then. She’d only met Michi that one time, but he did seem to be a nice young man. And, of course, her elders certainly would have taken into consideration Keiko’s tendency to be headstrong, as well as her insatiable appetite to learn as much as she could. Yes... if she and Michi were truly a suitable match, then he would surely have the capability to accept not only a Forever Friend but a Forever Friend who was a Mouse.


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Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.

“About Highside Heather? I don’t think that will ever happen again.”

Emerald answered Keiko quietly, shrugging her shoulders.

“In Talantal I learned a saying. Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice … well my Lady will probably say … uhm … never. No. Once is enough.”

This brought an awkward silence to the comversation, one that was broken by Dominic. He shook his head before discussing Noble traditions.

“Having the freedom to choose who you are going to marry isn’t one of those things a member of the Noble Families have. The only chance you have is being one of the younger children, far from succession and it helps being so disreputable no other Family would dare offer their daughters.”

Dominic snuggled his favorite companion closer.

“Ja, I can call Kisa Allaine friend – I was fostered to the Allaines and we are what could be called traditional childhood friends. But even that – I think I was about eleven or twelve when I was brought home, was a political gesture. Talantal and Dawnview Vale may not have been on good terms, but both Khoralls understood that they had to live with each other.

"It was fun being a hostage in Dawnview."

Dommi chuckled, just a bit.

“It is the same for marriages. Alas, though I love my sister; that she is my sister may be the only reason I do love her. She is not the friendliest person in the world. There are those that spoke about her marrying into the Montagues and their conclusion was that they might truly have deserved each other.

“But you are correct; with House Montague being shamed Father will be very likely to find her a new suitor. As she isn’t heir I suspect he will try and bind one of the Manor Lords closer to the Korie family.

“As for love? As Father made sure we learned and learned hard, power is not a gift, you want it you got to give your life up to it. It is the cost of being Noble. I think I sneaked by being the least Noble I could be and I made it a personal goal to run away from power as fast as I could!

“And ta-daa!”

Dominic smiled brightly.

“I believe it may have worked!”

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Keiko

The young Rhoni nodded, but then she smiled at the Young Master.

“Ja, so it seems. The youngest Korie is known all across the mainland — from Caravan to Caravan — to be a rake and a rapscallion, irresponsible and possibly not completely in possession of his senses. Why, I’ve even heard tell that he’s a bit soft in the head!”

Keiko chuckled softly. “And while any of those things might have been true at some point — not the dimwitted part, of course — I suspect the illusion of them will always be more valuable for as you wander the World. Besides, how could you possibly be a rake with Miss Emmi at your side? How could you be irresponsible when someone you consider a friend needs your help? And you are quite aware of the world and its vagaries, m’lord. Quite the intelligent lad, you are.”

Then she giggled. “But you are a rapscallion, and you can’t be anything but a rascal. It’s a good thing, too, because you’re fun. Folks should have friends who are fun. Your stories might not always make any sense, but you have a gift for helping people laugh. I know it’s important that you amuse your Lady, but helping mortals laugh and smile in the process is not as common a gift as one might hope it to be.”

She looked around at those gathered, nodding to herself.

“Power doesn’t seem to anything nearly as satisfying as friendships, but I understand that those who have it would like to keep it. I’ve seen what some will do to make sure they keep their power or gain even more of it.” She was silent for a moment, for perhaps the space of a handful of breaths.

“Terrible things have been done because power is more addictive than Grey, or so the elders have said. I am inclined to believe them. I just don’t have the right perspective to understand it — I am young, I am Rhoni, I am a woman who is not an Allaine or a Corliss.

“I don’t think I want to understand it, either. It seems to be a thing that is harder to control than even an unbroken stallion. Too many fail and are consumed by their desire for power; too few have the delicate touch to remain in control and... Well, and continue to be a good person, perhaps.”

She sighed and shrugged. “You have been to Dawnview, you have seen the Vale.” Keiko looked at Bekkah with a wistful expression. “I would love to go to Dawnview with you. I’m sure none of the stories I’ve heard could possibly do it justice.”


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Attaday, the Eighth Day of Yrick


Bekkah, Keiko, Lyric, Dominic Korie, Miss Emerald, and Miss Tomomi.

Domnic laughed softly.

“Truth be told? And feel honored, lassie, because this rarely happens, that I’ll speak on something so serious and speak the honest and simple truth. I gave up my rakish ways a while back.

“… ohhhhhh at about the same time I asked a certain homeless friend if she wanted to be part of my household.”

To that, Miss Emmi just grinned and nodded.

“I have the world’s best Owner. Uhm, maybe that should be partner. Uhm, maybe the world’s best Dominic.”

Dominic’s shoulders rose and fell, quite philosophically, before he continued.

“But I have to admit, well, I haven’t done much to deny those rumors or put an end to them, because you are exactly right. In my place it better to let folks see what they expect to see because then you can get away with so much more.”

He did not speak again, or at east he did not interrupt Keiko. He was still attentive, he and Emmi, in their listening to the Rhoni lass come to her conclusions, leaving rhetorical questions rhetorical. But at the end he did make his own observation.

“Dawnview Vale is mountains and snow. And I am sure you have seen mountains and snow before. What makes it special is seeing it with those you care for or to go there meet a friend – and it doesn’t matter if it’s an old friend, a new friend or one you just haven’t met before.

“But I guess that is true about most anywhere.

“Which is kind of nice.

“Because that can make most anywhere special too."


[[ OOC Note - unless you want the conversation to continue, which is fine by me, this might also be a nice Fade To Black ]]

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