*Disclaimer* I do not own any of these characters except Yuka and Damare (and possibly a few more…). All other characters, places and Gods belong to the almighty David Eddings.
The rain poured down.
Her horse was sweating. She had been riding hard through the day. The horse needed a rest, but she was nearly at the city of Acie in Deira, her destination. The sun had just set, the slate grey clouds only faintly stained with orange, as the city gates came into view.
"Business?" the gatekeeper enquired sleepily. He was apparently only just awake for business.
"I am here to deliver a message to the Preceptor of the Alcione Knights," she said breathlessly. "The message is from…"
"Alright, young lass, I didn't ask for your life story," the keeper grunted. "In y' go." The heavy gates swung open. "Take my advice," he called to her as she trotted her horse through, "and get to a nice tavern somewhere to get dry and warm."
"My message cannot wait," she replied without turning around.
The Alcione chapterhouse lay not far inside the city walls. It was a large, grey stone building, looking very commanding and cold against a backdrop of the pretty town. Two wide-awake sentries stood guard at the entrance.
"State your name and business," the right-hand guard said crisply as she dismounted. The other looked curiously at her as she pulled herself to her full height, which wasn't all that tall.
"I have a message for your Preceptor," she said boldly, realising all too late that her master hadn't actually told her the name of the man who was to receive her message. "I speak for the Pandion Knights of Elenia."
"We know where the Pandions are from," snapped the guard on the right. "What is your name? We cannot allow you to pass unless you tell us, and we make sure you are trustworthy." He was speaking very slowly, and used short, simple words. She narrowed her eyes.
"Just because I am Styric does not mean you have to treat me like an ignoramus," she snapped. "I bring an urgent message from my master, Lady Kaeli, and from the Preceptor of the Pandion Knights."
The two guards looked at each other uncertainly.
"We know of the Lady Kaeli," the left-hand one said nervously.
"Good," the girl said abruptly. "Then you must let me pass. I must speak with your Preceptor this instant."
She pulled her robe tighter around her slim figure. It was very cold, and she was soaked to the skin.
"Remove your hood," the right-hand guard said suddenly. She blinked. "Do as I say!" he ordered. "Now!"
Reluctantly, she pulled back her hood and smoothed her black hair down. The left-hand knight had gone pale. The right-hand one gazed at her a moment, then nodded slowly.
"Go ahead," he grunted. "Your face is known to the Alcione Knights."
She smiled gently.
"That is a relief," she said very softly. "I wouldn't have liked to be out here all night in this rain. Would one of you kindly escort me to your Preceptor?"
The left guard swallowed. "We are not permitted to leave our post, Lady, but if you go in, there are bound to be a number of knights willing to take you." The right-hand guard was opening the gate for her. She inclined her head to the pair and entered the chapterhouse.
There was a small paved courtyard, which she crossed, seeing nobody. She climbed a small flight of stairs and pushed open the heavy doors; the weight was almost too much for her.
The interior of the Alcione chapterhouse was warm and pleasantly lit, with candles and torches burning gently in many places. She was feeling slightly lost when a knight approached: a tall man with massive shoulders and his face in shadow.
"Do you need any help?" he asked her, his voice kind. She felt suddenly overwhelmed, and very small, by the presence of this large knight.
"I-I wish to see the Preceptor," she stammered. "I have a message for him…" She bit her lip and looked away, ashamed of her unexpectedly weak and feeble voice.
"I'll take you to him," the knight said calmly, not seeming to notice her timidity. "Come with me, Lady." She did so, following him up some red-carpeted stairs and along a wide corridor with a floor of smooth beech. At the end of the corridor was a large door, on which the knight knocked.
"A Styric lady to see you, my Lord," he called.
"Send her in," a gravelly voice replied. The knight turned to her.
"Go on in, Lady," he said with a smile. Then he hesitated. "Do you have a name?" he asked after a second. She inclined her head gently.
"My name is Yukana Hoshi," she said very softly, before smiling faintly at the knight and entering the room of the Preceptor of the Alcione Knights.
He was sitting in an armchair in front of a roaring fire, a strong, brown haired, bearded man. "Well, if it isn't the Lady Yukana," he said appraisingly. She nodded to him, smiling politely. "Do sit down, my Lady," he said quickly, jumping up from his chair. "You're wet through." Gratefully, Yuka sat in the soft chair and felt the warmth of the fire heating her chilled body.
"Thankyou, my Lord," she murmured. "You are most kind to an unimportant girl like myself."
"Unimportant? Nonsense, girl." The Preceptor pulled up a chair for himself. "You have a message for me?" he pressed, before it slipped his mind.
"I do," Yuka said quietly, pulling a small piece of folded paper out of an inside pocket in her robe. She handed it to the Preceptor, who unfolded it and read it through several times. Then he waved it at her.
"Did you read this?" he demanded. Anxious, Yuka shook her head.
"N-no, my Lord," she said, "my Lady Kaeli said I was not to. I did not read it, sir, and I don't know if I could have understood it if I did…"
"You are like the Lady Sephrenia," he said, sounding relieved. "You do not read Elenic?"
"Not well, my Lord," she said softly. "I have trouble…"
"Very well, Lady Yukana. Can I get you a warm drink? It's bitterly cold outside."
"A cup of tea would be very pleasant, if you have it, my Lord," she whispered, shivering.
"Of course I have it," he replied with a smile. He got up and rang a bell on the wall. Immediately a servant entered the room.
"Can I help, my Lord?" the attendant asked. The Preceptor nodded.
"Get this young lady a pot of tea. And I'd like a mug of ale, if you please." The servant bowed his head gravely and left the room. "It will only be a few minutes, Lady Yukana," he said to Yuka. "I hope you do not mind waiting?"
"Not at all," replied the half-Styric. "The fire is already warming me." The Preceptor sat again.
"Do you know of the current situation in Elenia?" he asked her. Yuka hesitated.
"I know that all is running smoothly, my Lord, although the Princess Kaijia is still very sick. Doctors do not hold out much hope for her, I am afraid." The Princess Kaijia was three years old, a tiny girl born very prematurely, and had always been a very sickly. Her sister, the Princess Danae, was the first child of Queen Ehlana and Prince Sparhawk.
"I know of the Princess's condition," he said. "You realise, of course, that this child is special?" Yuka blinked.
"Well… of course she's special, being the Princess…" She trailed off, knowing somehow that that was not what the Preceptor meant.
"That is not the only reason. I am permitted to tell you this. I believe everyone of some importance-" Yuka blushed furiously at that- "should be informed of this. You know of the poisons Darestim and Jalenum?"
"Yes," she replied. "The two incurable poisons. Darestim is found in Rendor; Jalenum on the Isle of Valesia, am I right?"
"You are, Lady Yukana. Those two are the only poisons without a natural cure. Well, Lady Kaeli, your mentor, has discovered, during a spell to find out what was wrong with Princess Kaijia, that the child carries in her blood the cure to these two poisons. We none of us know how it come to be there, only that the antidote in her blood is what is making her so sick."
"No!" Yuka exclaimed, astounded. "An antidote!? Are they going to be able to get it out of her?"
"That's the crisis we are facing, my Lady. If the antidote that is in its turn poisoning the Princess is not removed, she will die, and so the antidote to the incurable poisons will be lost for God knows how long. But we have no method of removing it from the child's blood. There are no Styric spells capable of doing such a thing. Bhelliom could have done it, I expect, but it has gone, and we have seen nothing from it since. There are rumours…" He thought for a minute. "A spear in Tamuli, rings in Zemoch, ah… a possibly a bracelet in Pelosia… and a clear stone in a necklace in Rendor, across the vast desert in lands almost unknown to us Elenes. Those are the objects infused with the power of the Gods that could possibly cure Princess Kaijia. We know of no others."