A/N: Hello again! I wasn't going to do this fic till On the Other Side of
the Mirror was finished, but I've had the idea for a while, and so I
thought: What the hey? I'll do it now.
There are a few (but not many) fics where Roger succeeds in gaining the Tortallan throne. A really good one is Seat of the Magpie, by Aer, but under Kalle's name. But I've never seen one in which Roger succeeded the /second/ time. So I thought I'd try it.
Disclaimer: This will cover the whole story. Everything (characters, places, etc) in Alanna's time belong to Tamora Pierce. Some characters and settings in future chapters (ie, 6+ years after Lioness Rampant) belong to me. Ask me before you use them, k?
This continues directly on from page 292 in my version of Lioness Rampant, but because a lot of the stuff Roger says and dose in the pages before hand is important, and I couldn't think of anything better to do, I'm including everything from the bottom of page 288. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. My part starts when Roger calls the sword.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tombs ended, opening onto a great stone floor. In its centre, a large, circular design - apparently of white sand - was drawn, its many curls and loops and whirls dizzying to see. On its edge, near her, was a splash of still-wet blood. /Si-cham's, I bet,/ Alanna thought as she gulped back a surge of bile. This was the variant on the Gate of Idramm normally used to summon elementals, a spell to drain off the Gift of anyone unfortunate enough to step onto it. This was also the spot where Si-cham lost his hand.
Behind the Gate was an abandoned structure. Legend said it was a temple. Roger lounged there against a fallen pillar, arms crossed over his chest. The air around him was filled with bloody fire that glittered evilly on his black silk robe.
He smiled. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. You took longer than I had anticipated"
Alanna prodded one curl of the Gate with her sword, to find the sand of the design was melted into the rock. White heat flashed up Lightning's edge; she yelped, pulling the blade away. He was scrutinizing her. Suddenly she knew why. The knight spread her hands with her old, reckless grin. "Didn't you know, Roger? I'm Giftless. There's nothing for your Gate to take from me."
His eyes narrowed. "How did that - ah. Si-cham. Now I understand."
"That's why your earthquake spell hasn't succeeded," she taunted. "Jon's stopping you. He's got the jewel, the crown, my Gift - even magic I bore for Thom. Which means he's stopping you with some of your own Gift."
He shrugged. "So that's why I didn't have enough to bring this comedy to an early finish. It doesn't matter.'
"It does matter," she snapped. "There are no more chances for you, Roger. You've bought an ugly death on Traitor's Hill. When it's over, I personally will scatter your ashes on the wind!"
"You think I left any of this to chance, dear one? I had a long time to plan. You see, I wasn't quite dead when they buried me." She opened her mouth to deny it, but he shook his head. "If we had time, I would explain a powerful working called 'Sorcerer's Sleep'. For your purposes, I was dead. For my own-" His face was bleak, terrifying. Then he waved the mood away.
"I planned carefully because you, sweet Lioness, too often escape me - you and my kingly cousin. He studied well, better than when I was his teacher. Where he got power that smells of the desert, I suppose I shall never know.
"You saved yourself from my Gate, but you're tired. Come within my reach -" He smiled and picked up a blade lying beside him; it was bloodstained. "I need only lop off a small part of you, as I did Si-cham. That bit will give me a tie to your inner self, and thus a clear road to Jonathan and the sorcery he wields" Alanna paled and stumbled back a step.
Roger put down the knife to walk to the rim of the Gate. "You've grown so prudent, it may be you won't allow me that easy way. Tell me, then - how long can Jonathan last?"
"Forever!" Alanna threw it at him like a challenge.
"Perhaps" He stepped onto the Gate as the energy whipping through the design tugged at his robe. Silver glittered against black; the Gates design was duplicated on his clothes. "If Jonathan musters no other sorcery against me -and all those who might make a difference are accounted for - I need only to wait." He came forward until he stood at the Gate's centre. "The Earth has her own means of dealing with unbearable pressure. She sheds it, redistributes it, expends it in small tremors. When she can do nothing else, she convulses - and continues to do so, until the pressure is gone. Even the gods cannot stop such an earthquake. Jonathan holds the land, but the pressure of my spell remains. How long, do you think, until that inescapable convulsion begins?"
Alanna felt cold and alone. "You'll be just as dead," she croaked.
His smile was frightening. "Indeed, I hope so."
She gripped her sword, measuring her strength against his. "Why'd you tell me any of this?"
"Because, lady knight, you will share it with me. Did you think I would end it without you?" He chuckled. "I'll tell you a secret. Years ago, when I was your age, just finding the limits of my power, I took up jewellery making. To each thing I made, I attached a bit of my Gift, to mark it as mine. Necklaces, rings - sword hilts. I even forged swords, to create a masterpiece of a weapon. Why you had to corrupt my design is beyond me."
"It was warped."
"You would think so. " He reached out, red fire eddying around his fingers. Voice soft, he said, "/With silver and stone I made thee; With Gift and blood I bound thee; With my name I call thee!/"
Lightning jumped, straining toward Roger. If she had still carried his original sword, instead of melding it with Lightning for a whole blade, she never could have kept hold of it. As it was, enough of the crystal blade and its hilt remained to wrench her arms as Alanna gripped it. Her cold eyes met his.
"It will come to me eventually," he said. "And you will follow."
All her muscles knotted; the scars on her palms broke and bled. She dug in her heels and held. She held for what felt like hours as the ground trembled from the mini shakes. But the pull of the sword was two strong, and gradually she felt her feet start to slide across the floor. But as she slid, she knew one thing: She must not let go of the sword.
It dragged her to him. She couldn't stop it. Maybe if she hadn't been tired from the fight with Alex, or if she still had her Gift, she could have held out. The sword stopped moving when it reached the Duke.
"Alanna," called Roger. "Alanna, I'd like my sword back now."
She had no strength left to fight him. She knew she had to make her exhausted body do /something/, but she couldn't. Dimly, she realized what must have happened. Roger had placed a light sleeping spell on her. It wasn't enough to knock her out; just enough to stop her from doing anything to resist him as he gently pried her fingers from the sword.
"Give me your hand Alanna."
"No," she mumbled. She was fully within the Gate now, collapsed at his side. He reached down and took her left hand.
"You really have very nice hands, don't you?" said the duke softly, caressing it gently. "A pity you had to get them covered in so many scars."
He held out the sword, and in a swift motion, cut of little finger. It fell onto the Gate.
Clutching the ember stone in her right hand, she saw a band of power, of no particular shade, stretch from her finger on the floor, to her, then up through the roof, in the direction of the Hall of Crowns. Suddenly, another beam of power lanced down from where the other one ended, racing straight for Roger. Unlike the other one, this rippled with colours - sapphire blue, amethyst purple, darker purple, blinding white, pale blue white, yellow, and blood red. Alanna could name where they all came from. (A/N Can you?) The beam stabbed into Roger, it's force knocking him backward into the temple. Slowly, he stood up, smiling.
He stepped back into the Gate, and pulled Alanna to her feet. "And now Lioness, we die."
Alanna barely had time to register what he had said, when a giant earthquake hit the palace. /Jon can't hold it,/ she realized. /Roger's drained his magic, all of it./
Debris was falling from the roof, and Alanna heard a huge crash from above. One of the upper floors had collapsed.
The next floor to go was one directly above Alanna and Roger. Giant cracks appeared in the pillars as the weight above them shifted. Then the ceiling buckled and fell in, covering the tombs with fallen debris, large and small.
Alanna's instinct was to run, to get out, to RUN! But Rogers grip on her arms was too powerful, and she was too weak. She caught a glimpse of his face, and what she saw there scared her. Roger was grinning like this was the best thing in the world, standing with the destruction all around him. Then a large piece of the ceiling broke free of it's supposts, and fell directly on top of the Gate, crushing Alanna and Roger.
/This is it,/ Alanna realized. /This is Death./
But as her consciousness slipped away, she saw in front of her eyes, a swirling design, silver white with loops and twirls spinning before her, a living Gate of Idramm. And a voice, a strong male voice belonging to the person next to her.
//Aa' mente nauva calen ar' maltra alequenle! Aa' mente nauva calen ar' maltra alequenle! Aa' mente nauva.........//
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: So how did you like it? This is hopefully going to be updated a little more regularly than OTOSOTM, but, sadly, I've hit a wall.
I've got the next two chapters written, but how to start the quest part completely eludes me. I'm aiming for something on the same level as Search for the Six by Lady Katherine Heartspark. I did ask her for help, but she claims she is never writing again, so I need other help.
I need someone who will keep my ideas secret, and who has preferably written some quest thing before. PLEASE HELP ME!!!
As always, review and tell me what you didn't like, so I can fix it up. Also review if there was nothing wrong with it so I can read you're stories. And especially review if you are willing to help me!
I'm going to post this now, so toodles.
~Martina
There are a few (but not many) fics where Roger succeeds in gaining the Tortallan throne. A really good one is Seat of the Magpie, by Aer, but under Kalle's name. But I've never seen one in which Roger succeeded the /second/ time. So I thought I'd try it.
Disclaimer: This will cover the whole story. Everything (characters, places, etc) in Alanna's time belong to Tamora Pierce. Some characters and settings in future chapters (ie, 6+ years after Lioness Rampant) belong to me. Ask me before you use them, k?
This continues directly on from page 292 in my version of Lioness Rampant, but because a lot of the stuff Roger says and dose in the pages before hand is important, and I couldn't think of anything better to do, I'm including everything from the bottom of page 288. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. My part starts when Roger calls the sword.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tombs ended, opening onto a great stone floor. In its centre, a large, circular design - apparently of white sand - was drawn, its many curls and loops and whirls dizzying to see. On its edge, near her, was a splash of still-wet blood. /Si-cham's, I bet,/ Alanna thought as she gulped back a surge of bile. This was the variant on the Gate of Idramm normally used to summon elementals, a spell to drain off the Gift of anyone unfortunate enough to step onto it. This was also the spot where Si-cham lost his hand.
Behind the Gate was an abandoned structure. Legend said it was a temple. Roger lounged there against a fallen pillar, arms crossed over his chest. The air around him was filled with bloody fire that glittered evilly on his black silk robe.
He smiled. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. You took longer than I had anticipated"
Alanna prodded one curl of the Gate with her sword, to find the sand of the design was melted into the rock. White heat flashed up Lightning's edge; she yelped, pulling the blade away. He was scrutinizing her. Suddenly she knew why. The knight spread her hands with her old, reckless grin. "Didn't you know, Roger? I'm Giftless. There's nothing for your Gate to take from me."
His eyes narrowed. "How did that - ah. Si-cham. Now I understand."
"That's why your earthquake spell hasn't succeeded," she taunted. "Jon's stopping you. He's got the jewel, the crown, my Gift - even magic I bore for Thom. Which means he's stopping you with some of your own Gift."
He shrugged. "So that's why I didn't have enough to bring this comedy to an early finish. It doesn't matter.'
"It does matter," she snapped. "There are no more chances for you, Roger. You've bought an ugly death on Traitor's Hill. When it's over, I personally will scatter your ashes on the wind!"
"You think I left any of this to chance, dear one? I had a long time to plan. You see, I wasn't quite dead when they buried me." She opened her mouth to deny it, but he shook his head. "If we had time, I would explain a powerful working called 'Sorcerer's Sleep'. For your purposes, I was dead. For my own-" His face was bleak, terrifying. Then he waved the mood away.
"I planned carefully because you, sweet Lioness, too often escape me - you and my kingly cousin. He studied well, better than when I was his teacher. Where he got power that smells of the desert, I suppose I shall never know.
"You saved yourself from my Gate, but you're tired. Come within my reach -" He smiled and picked up a blade lying beside him; it was bloodstained. "I need only lop off a small part of you, as I did Si-cham. That bit will give me a tie to your inner self, and thus a clear road to Jonathan and the sorcery he wields" Alanna paled and stumbled back a step.
Roger put down the knife to walk to the rim of the Gate. "You've grown so prudent, it may be you won't allow me that easy way. Tell me, then - how long can Jonathan last?"
"Forever!" Alanna threw it at him like a challenge.
"Perhaps" He stepped onto the Gate as the energy whipping through the design tugged at his robe. Silver glittered against black; the Gates design was duplicated on his clothes. "If Jonathan musters no other sorcery against me -and all those who might make a difference are accounted for - I need only to wait." He came forward until he stood at the Gate's centre. "The Earth has her own means of dealing with unbearable pressure. She sheds it, redistributes it, expends it in small tremors. When she can do nothing else, she convulses - and continues to do so, until the pressure is gone. Even the gods cannot stop such an earthquake. Jonathan holds the land, but the pressure of my spell remains. How long, do you think, until that inescapable convulsion begins?"
Alanna felt cold and alone. "You'll be just as dead," she croaked.
His smile was frightening. "Indeed, I hope so."
She gripped her sword, measuring her strength against his. "Why'd you tell me any of this?"
"Because, lady knight, you will share it with me. Did you think I would end it without you?" He chuckled. "I'll tell you a secret. Years ago, when I was your age, just finding the limits of my power, I took up jewellery making. To each thing I made, I attached a bit of my Gift, to mark it as mine. Necklaces, rings - sword hilts. I even forged swords, to create a masterpiece of a weapon. Why you had to corrupt my design is beyond me."
"It was warped."
"You would think so. " He reached out, red fire eddying around his fingers. Voice soft, he said, "/With silver and stone I made thee; With Gift and blood I bound thee; With my name I call thee!/"
Lightning jumped, straining toward Roger. If she had still carried his original sword, instead of melding it with Lightning for a whole blade, she never could have kept hold of it. As it was, enough of the crystal blade and its hilt remained to wrench her arms as Alanna gripped it. Her cold eyes met his.
"It will come to me eventually," he said. "And you will follow."
All her muscles knotted; the scars on her palms broke and bled. She dug in her heels and held. She held for what felt like hours as the ground trembled from the mini shakes. But the pull of the sword was two strong, and gradually she felt her feet start to slide across the floor. But as she slid, she knew one thing: She must not let go of the sword.
It dragged her to him. She couldn't stop it. Maybe if she hadn't been tired from the fight with Alex, or if she still had her Gift, she could have held out. The sword stopped moving when it reached the Duke.
"Alanna," called Roger. "Alanna, I'd like my sword back now."
She had no strength left to fight him. She knew she had to make her exhausted body do /something/, but she couldn't. Dimly, she realized what must have happened. Roger had placed a light sleeping spell on her. It wasn't enough to knock her out; just enough to stop her from doing anything to resist him as he gently pried her fingers from the sword.
"Give me your hand Alanna."
"No," she mumbled. She was fully within the Gate now, collapsed at his side. He reached down and took her left hand.
"You really have very nice hands, don't you?" said the duke softly, caressing it gently. "A pity you had to get them covered in so many scars."
He held out the sword, and in a swift motion, cut of little finger. It fell onto the Gate.
Clutching the ember stone in her right hand, she saw a band of power, of no particular shade, stretch from her finger on the floor, to her, then up through the roof, in the direction of the Hall of Crowns. Suddenly, another beam of power lanced down from where the other one ended, racing straight for Roger. Unlike the other one, this rippled with colours - sapphire blue, amethyst purple, darker purple, blinding white, pale blue white, yellow, and blood red. Alanna could name where they all came from. (A/N Can you?) The beam stabbed into Roger, it's force knocking him backward into the temple. Slowly, he stood up, smiling.
He stepped back into the Gate, and pulled Alanna to her feet. "And now Lioness, we die."
Alanna barely had time to register what he had said, when a giant earthquake hit the palace. /Jon can't hold it,/ she realized. /Roger's drained his magic, all of it./
Debris was falling from the roof, and Alanna heard a huge crash from above. One of the upper floors had collapsed.
The next floor to go was one directly above Alanna and Roger. Giant cracks appeared in the pillars as the weight above them shifted. Then the ceiling buckled and fell in, covering the tombs with fallen debris, large and small.
Alanna's instinct was to run, to get out, to RUN! But Rogers grip on her arms was too powerful, and she was too weak. She caught a glimpse of his face, and what she saw there scared her. Roger was grinning like this was the best thing in the world, standing with the destruction all around him. Then a large piece of the ceiling broke free of it's supposts, and fell directly on top of the Gate, crushing Alanna and Roger.
/This is it,/ Alanna realized. /This is Death./
But as her consciousness slipped away, she saw in front of her eyes, a swirling design, silver white with loops and twirls spinning before her, a living Gate of Idramm. And a voice, a strong male voice belonging to the person next to her.
//Aa' mente nauva calen ar' maltra alequenle! Aa' mente nauva calen ar' maltra alequenle! Aa' mente nauva.........//
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: So how did you like it? This is hopefully going to be updated a little more regularly than OTOSOTM, but, sadly, I've hit a wall.
I've got the next two chapters written, but how to start the quest part completely eludes me. I'm aiming for something on the same level as Search for the Six by Lady Katherine Heartspark. I did ask her for help, but she claims she is never writing again, so I need other help.
I need someone who will keep my ideas secret, and who has preferably written some quest thing before. PLEASE HELP ME!!!
As always, review and tell me what you didn't like, so I can fix it up. Also review if there was nothing wrong with it so I can read you're stories. And especially review if you are willing to help me!
I'm going to post this now, so toodles.
~Martina