The Chronicles of Kel
disclaimer: No characters that you recognize are mine.
Every great hero had to have a villain or 'bad guy' right? And in Keladry of Mindelan's story, the villain is of yet unknown, until the Chamber of Ordeal.
Kel sat staring at the large chamber door, amazed that she gotten this far. She hadn't visited the Chamber since
when she first was a squire, and those images that passed
through her head were false. She had been picked as a
squire to Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and the King's Own, and
had gotten to fight bandits and such as she had dreamed.
And now she sat here, waiting for that moment when the
chamber door swung open to let her in.
'This is it, Kel, this is really it. People from all
around have been wondering for years if you were going to
make it, and now is the chance to prove yourself. You can
do this.' she thought to herself.
A few minutes after that, the room began to fill.
Determined to keep staring ahead, she didn't look to see
who was there. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her
friends and family looking at her, but she kept staring
straight ahead.
Then she felt priests lift her to her feet and lead her to the Chamber door. And it happened, the thing that she had
been dreaming (not in a good way) about for months now. The door swung open and she felt herself walk into the cold room.
~~
Three minutes later, Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and
Olau felt something in her mind, something out of place.
She looked around at all the other's whom she knew had the
Gift and saw that they too seem troubled. She scratched her
head and tried to concentrate.
~~
Kel stood in the center of the room, terrified at what she saw around her. On the walls were images of her friends and family who were all in trouble. Yet she couldn't help them. They called out to her, and she covered her ears. She
could not scream, however much she wanted to.
And then suddenly she was at the top of Balor's Needle,
dangling from her foot. Her eyes widened and she bit her cheek so hard that it bled. The blood dripped down and hit the ground, far below.
And then, it stopped. Everything was silent and she was just standing in a white room with absolutely nothing in it.
She looked around and then spotted a hole in the ceiling and three hooded figures drop down into the room. She kept her mouth shut and tried to fight back as the grabbed her and made for the hole again. Soon she was being lifted out of the room and into the sunlight, away from the Chamber of Ordeal. And throughout it all she didn't say one word.
~~
Suddenly everything clicked in all the mages' minds.
Alanna cursed and yelled out, "There has been an interference! Something is wrong! I'm not sure if Mindelan is even in the Chamber anymore!"
Several of Kel's friends, Alanna's former squire included, started foreword but were held back by others.
A priest held up his hand and announced, "The Ordeal is over, let us open the door."
The Chamber door swung open and everyone held their breath. It was customary to see a figure stumble out of the door. But no one came. Then the priests searched the Chamber and when they came out, their faces were grave.
"Keladry of Mindelan has been abducted. The only way someone could escape the Chamber of Ordeal is if they had strong magic. And as she has no Gift, she was kidnapped. There is a hole in the ceiling of the Chamber."
Gasps and murmurs were heard throughout the room and
some sobbing from Keladry's mother. Nothing could get the
Yamani-like lady to cry besides something as bad as this.
~~
Kel awoke to darkness and pain. She had cuts on her arms and a broken wrist, but she found that they had been
bandaged. There was movement around her and sudden light. Blinking rapidly, Kel looked around. She was in a wooden
cabin that was gently moving. She was on a boat! But to what
destination was she sailing?
A young man was sitting on a chair on the other side of
the room with his arms and legs tied up. He looked about
twenty, which was two years older than herself, and was conscious.
He spotted her and grinned slightly, "Hi." was all he
said and figeted with his ropes, obviously wanting to be free.
"Where am- I mean are we?" she asked, looking around the room. The young man shrugged and said, "Dunno, I was just knocked unconscious as I was about to take my Ordeal--"
"You're a knight?" she asked. He shook his head, "I was going to be the Shang Panther but I was kidnapped. I'm
Corie Aodee. I'd offer my hand to shake but well." he nodded
to the ropes.
Kel nodded and said, "Keladry of Mindelan, I was in the Chamber of Ordeal to become a knight, when I was abducted."
Corie seemed to frown slightly as he heard that she was a noble but nodded and said, "Pleased to meet ye, although
kind of wish it was under nicer circumstances."
Corie was taller than her by one foot, with short, hopelessly spiked 'dirty' blond hair and large, dark green eyes that were edged with what looked like ice. He had a straight, proud nose and square chin. Being the Shang or Shang-to-be that he was, he was in excellent fighting condition.
There was footsteps and a short, angry looking man entered. He sniffed and surveyed the two, taking in all that he saw.
"Girls attempting to be knights? What will the world
come to next?" he said with disgust. Kel felt a flare of
anger but kept her face emotionless.
"Why was I taken from the Chamber?" she asked quietly.
The man looked at her and said,"My people and master have
been trying to rid of you for awhile, but nothing worked.
So this was the next best thing."
He untied the two but motioned for two guards to lead them from behind with their swords. He walked out of the room and down a large, garnished hallway with the two fighters trailing behind.
"We do not approve of the way certain people run their
kingdoms. And certainly don't approve of useless girls turning the laws of chivalry into a mockery!" he said as he
strolled through the halls.
Corie snapped at the man, "That sorta explains why you brought her here. Now why did you bring me?"
"You, Corie Aodee, like young Kel here could change Tortall. For you are a great fighter, to great a fighter, I'm afraid. If we hadn't interfered, you would have preformed an act so effective, so denting, on Tortall that would bring my people's downfall.
"Now that you are both here. There is only one way you
can ever earn your freedom. for there has been spells placed
upon you that only when three tasks each are achieved."
Kel snorted and said, "What the hell are you talking about?"
The man turned to face them and said, "You may not continue your own lives until you preform three tasks in which I choose. The themes of the tasks that you must play are quite simple.
"You both must complete a task that shows deceit. In that task you must trick someone and get something out of it.
"The second task you must accomplish is the great works of thieving. You must steal something valuable and bring it
back here.
"And the third is one that you two must do together. You must find the Chalice of Courage, an ancient goblet that was supposed to give life to those who deserve it."
Corie and Kel stared at him and Corie leant over to Kel and murmured in her ear, "The guy is a bloody lunatic." Kel nodded and said, "What kind of tasks are those? Deceit, thievery? Are they supposed to be something more... noble?"
The man lifted his head and let out a dissonant laugh.
He wiped a tear from his eye and said, "No, no, you see, we are not noble people. We believe in more, er, shall we say, harsher things."
"Who's this 'we' you keep talking about?" Corie asked.
The man peered around and said, "We are the M'kiri tribe. Twin tribe to the K'miri. While they believe in honor and pride, we believe in deceit, selfishness, and thievery."
"Oh, shit." Corie and Kel mumbled.
~~
"What do you think happened?" Cleon asked his friends.
Owen was the only one of the group missing because he was still a squire. They were in the library, pouring over spell
books for what kind of spell would be needed to break into the Chamber of Ordeal.
Neal shook his head and muttered, "No idea. How could this happen? She was this close," he made a motion with his
fingers, showing a little bit, "to becoming a knight. And now she is gone to Goddess-knows where." He rubbed his eyes wearily. They had been up all night, and had found nothing.
Leaving them to be a bunch of tired, worried, grump young men.