Names & Nemeses
Rushing through the trees as best they could, Daine and Numair made their way back to the horses. By now Cloud had found them, she'd broken out of the stables about half a day after Numair had left and stayed on his trail, knowing that if he saw her, he would make her go back. Not that she was worried about what the stork man might do, but she knew he was under a great deal of stress, and would not be able to deal with her.
When Daine saw her, she ran up to her and buried her face in Cloud's mane. You should not act so silly, it has only been a few days since you have seen me, stop being foolish and pull yourself together so we can leave! Cloud sounded disinterested, but as Daine watched her pony give her a thorough examination to be sure she was safe, Daine knew she cared a little more than she showed.
But on the whole Daine agreed with Cloud, she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. So, backing away from the pony, Daine wiped her eyes on her sleeve and mounted her. Turning her head, she saw Numair enacting his usual ritual of struggling to mount his horse. For all that she had been through, the sight of her long love scrambling over his horse's back, legs off the ground desperately fumbling for foot holds brought tears of laughter to her eyes.
When he finally achieved a sitting position he looked over at Daine and glared at her. "I'd like to see you mount gracefully with two legs over three feet long! If you're done jeering at me, can we PLEASE LEAVE!"
Daine nodded and gently nudged Cloud into a trot, they would all feel better when they were away from this place.
+++
As they rode on, Daine was greatly unnerved by what she thought she heard. Since they had left the clearing near midday, a rather fierce wind had picked up, blowing her hair until she tied it down with one of her handkerchiefs. She did not seem to be able to hear any animal voices, though she stretched her magic as far as she dared. But what she did hear, was a sort of eerie whisper that seemed to come from the leaves of the trees that flanked the road on which they traveled.
On and on all afternoon, she heard the same thing, "nowhere to run to, no place to hide. We WILL find you, we WILL defeat you. There is no escape, no hope, you are lost." Again and again, but when Daine tried to focus on the sound, try to hone in on the words, all she heard was normal forest sounds, though still no people detectable.
Trying again to locate a source, Daine did not notice Numair ride up next to her until she felt a gentle hand on her knee. Jumping slightly, she turned to see what it was she had felt. Looking into Numair's eyes, she saw worry, a worry unlike any that she'd ever seen in his face. This was a worry that had no focus, no purpose, simply a feeling that something was coming, but unknowing of what it was.
Daine tried to find something to say, but could find nothing. "I know," he whispered, "I can hear it too, we'd best try to get back to Corus as soon as possible. Are you up for an all night ride, or do you need to stop and rest?"
Daine looked behind them, seeing the darkening sky and the wild wind, she shook her head. Yes, she was tired, but she could never get any rest while they were out here, they needed to get home.
"Right then," he said, suddenly sounding all business, "we'd better pace ourselves then, let me know if you start to get sleepy, you can ride with me for a while, till you feel more awake." Leaning over again, he stoked her cheek softly and gave her a quick kiss, "don't worry Magelet, we're going to make it, I promise." Pulling Spots back, he slowed the pace slightly and continued, muttering to himself in a way that Daine knew meant he was reviewing their options should they run into any unwanted situations on the duration of their passage home.
As they continued on, Daine's thoughts started to drift back to the grove and the things her mother had said. Absently, she stroked her stomach, amazed that it could still feel so normal with all that was going on inside. She started to image the rest of her life, but each time she tried to create in her mind a happy, peacefully scenario dark angry clouds consumed it, destroying everything. Giving up, she turned her thoughts to names for the baby. It was a boy, her mother had made that quite clear. She started with names of her friends, 'Evin, Kaddar, George, Jonathon, Thom, Myles, Sarge.' None seemed to fit. Those names all had identities already attached to them, and she wanted her son to have his own identity, not to spend his life trying to live up to someone else's.
Next she thought of some of the names she'd heard among the people, 'Fleet Foot, Brokefang, Swift Legs, Gold wing.' After only a few of those, she knew she would find no name suitable for her son there. 'So,' she thought, 'where else can I find names.' Now she thought back to names she'd read in books and scrolls or heard in distant conversations, names that had no faces. 'Azriel, Durant, Evander, Caspian, Godfrey, Owain, Lowell, Phelan.' Considering each one, she could not decide, so she repeated them out loud.
"What are those?" Numair asked
"Former lovers," Daine threw over her shoulder. "Names for the baby silly, lord, why else would I be rambling off male names, since we're on the subject, which one do you like the best?"
"I'm not sure," he said, "say them again."
Drawing a deep breath, Daine repeated her list, "Azriel, Durant, Evander, Caspian, Godfrey, Owain, Lowell, and Phelan."
Numair was quiet for a few moments, mulling the choices over in his mind. Finally he said, "do you know where the last one came from?"
Now it was Daine's turn to think, finally she recalled where she'd heard that name. "It's a Bahzir name, it means little wolf."
"Well that's perfect, any son of ours is bound to be a wolf, one way or another." He smiled brightly at her, giving her a hearty wink.
"Only one problem," Daine mused, "any son of ours isn't likely to stay little for very long."
He laughed at that, ending in wiping multiple tears from his eyes. "Yes, but he'll always be little next to his dad," Numair leaned forward in the saddle, appearing even larger than he really was. "I like that name, Phelan it is."
Numair then launched into a great long explanation of why their son would be such a wolf, one way or another. Daine only smiled and patted her stomach, whispering, "well, that's one less thing to worry about."
+++
After riding straight through the night, Daine and Numair managed to reach the castle in Corus around nine the next morning. By then Daine was riding on Spots in front of Numair while Cloud trailed obediently behind. Her head was just beginning to sag against Numair's shoulder when a great deal of commotion brought her back to full awareness.
They had stopped just outside the palace stables, and it wasn't long before the palace animals, and then everyone else, realized who was here. Spots had barely stopped before a virtual mob was descending upon him and his riders.
Daine opened her eyes long enough to see kitten, Tkaa, Onua, Alanna, Thayet, and Lindhall Reed heading the large group that was quickly surrounding them.
Numair slid off Spots and turned just in time to catch Daine as she unsuccessfully tried to dismount herself. She'd kept her guard up till they were well inside the city walls, and only then had she allowed herself the little rest that riding with Numair allowed. Now that they were home and safe, she gave up completely and let the exhaustion of her ordeal over take her. Numair scooped her up in his arms and immediately started for their rooms, trusting the care of Cloud and Spots to one of the stable hands. He answered a few of Onua, Lindhall, and Thayet's questions as they walked. But when they reached Numair and Daine's rooms, he dismissed all but those three, Kitten, Tkaa, and Jonathon who had joined the group on its trudge through the palace halls.
Letting himself in, he laid Daine down on their bed and motioned for Onua to find her some clean cloths. While the others waited in Numair's workroom, Onua and he stripped her travel worn, tattered cloths and changed her into a clean night shift before putting her to bed properly and leaving her to her rest.
As Onua took Daine's old cloths out to give to the Laundry Mistress, she noted substantial bloodstains in the crotch area of Daine's breeches, traveling down the insides of the legs. Holding them out for Numair's inspection, her eyes demanded an answer.
Numair put a hand on Onua's, saying, "it's not what you might think, but I'll explain everything in there."
Trusting her friend's word, Onua disposed of the soiled breeches and joined the others in Numair's workroom. Shutting the door behind her, she took a seat on the edge of the table that stood on the wall next to the door and listened to the conversation that had already begun.
"It was Ozorne," Numair was saying.
"But how," Alanna demanded, "Daine killed him during the battle at Port Legann, how could he have come back?"
"According to Daine," Numair said gravely, "Chaos made him into a chaos vessel so he could survive and he came back to take his revenge."
"If he was Chaos, then how can you be sure you've finished him Numair?" Jonathon asked.
Numair was in the middle of shrugging his shoulders when a deep green light began to shimmer and the figures of Daine's father and badger appeared in the middle of the room, causing the present company to jump to the edges of the room.
Weiryn's voice echoed strangely through the small room as he said, "because we gave this human mage aide to make sure he succeeded."
Now everyone was thoroughly puzzled, though Weiryn seemed to feel he'd explained himself quite thoroughly. It was the Badger who came to everyone's aid, adding, "Myself, Weiryn, and Sarrah all added our magic to Numairs to counteract Ozorne's chaosness. We gods have no chaos in our essence, which is the thing that really separates us from you mortals. Since We were three ordered and a half against one chaos, we clearly had enough power to destroy him, however, he was not alone to begin with, and that is what you must worry about now."
Numair had regained some of his senses, enough so that when the Badger mentioned the others with Ozorne, something finally clicked in his mind. "You mean the shadows that have been coming behind us since we left the grove."
Weiryn nodded solemnly, and the Badger continued, "you are wise mage. Those shadows are what remains of Uuasoe's army. She allowed Ozorne to return and take his revenge on Numair with the understanding that he would then lead her shadows down to Corus to consume that, and then all the rest of Tortall. And branch out from there."
"Great Goddess!" Thayet breathed, "what are we to do."
"You must halt the shadows before they consume anything human." Weiryn said, his eyes drifting to the door, beyond which his daughter lay, oblivious to the danger that was coming ever closer to her.
"How are we to do that." Alanna demanded her voice a little harsh.
"That," Weiryn said, "we cannot help you with, we have no knowledge of how these shadows operate and of what would be of any use against them. We must go now, many things are happening back in the divine realms and we must be there. But first," he pointed at the Numair, "I wish a word with you mage, in private."
Numair nodded gravely and gestured toward the door. Weiryn walked through it, and Numair followed, shutting it again behind him.
They stood again in the bedroom, and Weiryn walked over to lean over his daughter. With a tenderness Numair would not have though possible from a man as fierce as Weiryn, the god reached out his hand to smooth his daughter's hair with the back of his hand. Looking up, he addressed Numair, but this time his voice was not as firm and foreboding as it had been in the other room.
"I do not know what will happen. But I do know this, I love my child dearly, and she loves you. Sarrah has told me of her condition, and we have made a decision. We will watch and do all we can to help you and your friends, but should it get to a point where we feel hope is lost, we will pull you and Daine through so you will be safe."
Numair looked at his hands, he'd expected Weiryn to be protective of Daine, but he never thought the god would care enough to take him to, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be removed like that, leaving his friends helpless.
Meeting Weiryn's eyes, he tried to make his voice as firm and sure as possible. "It would be a great relief to me to know that should loosing be eminent that Daine and Phelan will be safe, but I cannot allow you to take me, I cannot abandon my friends and my king, no matter how dire the situation is."
Weiryn glared at Numair, feeling his rage boil. Stepping out from beside the bed he stood face to face with Numair, they were just about the same height, but Weiryn's firmness made him appear the bigger. "Listen to me MORTAL! I was foolish enough to allow my child to grow up without a father; it almost ruined her, and certainly made her miserable. You will not make the same mistake with my grandchild. You have no choice, fight me all you want, I will win." And with that he disappeared, leaving Numair to his thoughts and fears.
Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge and looked at Daine. For the first time since he had found her, she truly looked peaceful. She had no idea what was coming, what they might have to face. Stroking her cheek, he kissed her head lightly and stood, making for the workroom again.
When he reached the door, he looked back at his bride to be again, and with his magic looked deeper, at the growing form that was their son. And in that instant, he vowed he would find a way to defeat these shadows, not for his king, or his county, not even for himself, but for his family and their future.
Rushing through the trees as best they could, Daine and Numair made their way back to the horses. By now Cloud had found them, she'd broken out of the stables about half a day after Numair had left and stayed on his trail, knowing that if he saw her, he would make her go back. Not that she was worried about what the stork man might do, but she knew he was under a great deal of stress, and would not be able to deal with her.
When Daine saw her, she ran up to her and buried her face in Cloud's mane. You should not act so silly, it has only been a few days since you have seen me, stop being foolish and pull yourself together so we can leave! Cloud sounded disinterested, but as Daine watched her pony give her a thorough examination to be sure she was safe, Daine knew she cared a little more than she showed.
But on the whole Daine agreed with Cloud, she wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. So, backing away from the pony, Daine wiped her eyes on her sleeve and mounted her. Turning her head, she saw Numair enacting his usual ritual of struggling to mount his horse. For all that she had been through, the sight of her long love scrambling over his horse's back, legs off the ground desperately fumbling for foot holds brought tears of laughter to her eyes.
When he finally achieved a sitting position he looked over at Daine and glared at her. "I'd like to see you mount gracefully with two legs over three feet long! If you're done jeering at me, can we PLEASE LEAVE!"
Daine nodded and gently nudged Cloud into a trot, they would all feel better when they were away from this place.
+++
As they rode on, Daine was greatly unnerved by what she thought she heard. Since they had left the clearing near midday, a rather fierce wind had picked up, blowing her hair until she tied it down with one of her handkerchiefs. She did not seem to be able to hear any animal voices, though she stretched her magic as far as she dared. But what she did hear, was a sort of eerie whisper that seemed to come from the leaves of the trees that flanked the road on which they traveled.
On and on all afternoon, she heard the same thing, "nowhere to run to, no place to hide. We WILL find you, we WILL defeat you. There is no escape, no hope, you are lost." Again and again, but when Daine tried to focus on the sound, try to hone in on the words, all she heard was normal forest sounds, though still no people detectable.
Trying again to locate a source, Daine did not notice Numair ride up next to her until she felt a gentle hand on her knee. Jumping slightly, she turned to see what it was she had felt. Looking into Numair's eyes, she saw worry, a worry unlike any that she'd ever seen in his face. This was a worry that had no focus, no purpose, simply a feeling that something was coming, but unknowing of what it was.
Daine tried to find something to say, but could find nothing. "I know," he whispered, "I can hear it too, we'd best try to get back to Corus as soon as possible. Are you up for an all night ride, or do you need to stop and rest?"
Daine looked behind them, seeing the darkening sky and the wild wind, she shook her head. Yes, she was tired, but she could never get any rest while they were out here, they needed to get home.
"Right then," he said, suddenly sounding all business, "we'd better pace ourselves then, let me know if you start to get sleepy, you can ride with me for a while, till you feel more awake." Leaning over again, he stoked her cheek softly and gave her a quick kiss, "don't worry Magelet, we're going to make it, I promise." Pulling Spots back, he slowed the pace slightly and continued, muttering to himself in a way that Daine knew meant he was reviewing their options should they run into any unwanted situations on the duration of their passage home.
As they continued on, Daine's thoughts started to drift back to the grove and the things her mother had said. Absently, she stroked her stomach, amazed that it could still feel so normal with all that was going on inside. She started to image the rest of her life, but each time she tried to create in her mind a happy, peacefully scenario dark angry clouds consumed it, destroying everything. Giving up, she turned her thoughts to names for the baby. It was a boy, her mother had made that quite clear. She started with names of her friends, 'Evin, Kaddar, George, Jonathon, Thom, Myles, Sarge.' None seemed to fit. Those names all had identities already attached to them, and she wanted her son to have his own identity, not to spend his life trying to live up to someone else's.
Next she thought of some of the names she'd heard among the people, 'Fleet Foot, Brokefang, Swift Legs, Gold wing.' After only a few of those, she knew she would find no name suitable for her son there. 'So,' she thought, 'where else can I find names.' Now she thought back to names she'd read in books and scrolls or heard in distant conversations, names that had no faces. 'Azriel, Durant, Evander, Caspian, Godfrey, Owain, Lowell, Phelan.' Considering each one, she could not decide, so she repeated them out loud.
"What are those?" Numair asked
"Former lovers," Daine threw over her shoulder. "Names for the baby silly, lord, why else would I be rambling off male names, since we're on the subject, which one do you like the best?"
"I'm not sure," he said, "say them again."
Drawing a deep breath, Daine repeated her list, "Azriel, Durant, Evander, Caspian, Godfrey, Owain, Lowell, and Phelan."
Numair was quiet for a few moments, mulling the choices over in his mind. Finally he said, "do you know where the last one came from?"
Now it was Daine's turn to think, finally she recalled where she'd heard that name. "It's a Bahzir name, it means little wolf."
"Well that's perfect, any son of ours is bound to be a wolf, one way or another." He smiled brightly at her, giving her a hearty wink.
"Only one problem," Daine mused, "any son of ours isn't likely to stay little for very long."
He laughed at that, ending in wiping multiple tears from his eyes. "Yes, but he'll always be little next to his dad," Numair leaned forward in the saddle, appearing even larger than he really was. "I like that name, Phelan it is."
Numair then launched into a great long explanation of why their son would be such a wolf, one way or another. Daine only smiled and patted her stomach, whispering, "well, that's one less thing to worry about."
+++
After riding straight through the night, Daine and Numair managed to reach the castle in Corus around nine the next morning. By then Daine was riding on Spots in front of Numair while Cloud trailed obediently behind. Her head was just beginning to sag against Numair's shoulder when a great deal of commotion brought her back to full awareness.
They had stopped just outside the palace stables, and it wasn't long before the palace animals, and then everyone else, realized who was here. Spots had barely stopped before a virtual mob was descending upon him and his riders.
Daine opened her eyes long enough to see kitten, Tkaa, Onua, Alanna, Thayet, and Lindhall Reed heading the large group that was quickly surrounding them.
Numair slid off Spots and turned just in time to catch Daine as she unsuccessfully tried to dismount herself. She'd kept her guard up till they were well inside the city walls, and only then had she allowed herself the little rest that riding with Numair allowed. Now that they were home and safe, she gave up completely and let the exhaustion of her ordeal over take her. Numair scooped her up in his arms and immediately started for their rooms, trusting the care of Cloud and Spots to one of the stable hands. He answered a few of Onua, Lindhall, and Thayet's questions as they walked. But when they reached Numair and Daine's rooms, he dismissed all but those three, Kitten, Tkaa, and Jonathon who had joined the group on its trudge through the palace halls.
Letting himself in, he laid Daine down on their bed and motioned for Onua to find her some clean cloths. While the others waited in Numair's workroom, Onua and he stripped her travel worn, tattered cloths and changed her into a clean night shift before putting her to bed properly and leaving her to her rest.
As Onua took Daine's old cloths out to give to the Laundry Mistress, she noted substantial bloodstains in the crotch area of Daine's breeches, traveling down the insides of the legs. Holding them out for Numair's inspection, her eyes demanded an answer.
Numair put a hand on Onua's, saying, "it's not what you might think, but I'll explain everything in there."
Trusting her friend's word, Onua disposed of the soiled breeches and joined the others in Numair's workroom. Shutting the door behind her, she took a seat on the edge of the table that stood on the wall next to the door and listened to the conversation that had already begun.
"It was Ozorne," Numair was saying.
"But how," Alanna demanded, "Daine killed him during the battle at Port Legann, how could he have come back?"
"According to Daine," Numair said gravely, "Chaos made him into a chaos vessel so he could survive and he came back to take his revenge."
"If he was Chaos, then how can you be sure you've finished him Numair?" Jonathon asked.
Numair was in the middle of shrugging his shoulders when a deep green light began to shimmer and the figures of Daine's father and badger appeared in the middle of the room, causing the present company to jump to the edges of the room.
Weiryn's voice echoed strangely through the small room as he said, "because we gave this human mage aide to make sure he succeeded."
Now everyone was thoroughly puzzled, though Weiryn seemed to feel he'd explained himself quite thoroughly. It was the Badger who came to everyone's aid, adding, "Myself, Weiryn, and Sarrah all added our magic to Numairs to counteract Ozorne's chaosness. We gods have no chaos in our essence, which is the thing that really separates us from you mortals. Since We were three ordered and a half against one chaos, we clearly had enough power to destroy him, however, he was not alone to begin with, and that is what you must worry about now."
Numair had regained some of his senses, enough so that when the Badger mentioned the others with Ozorne, something finally clicked in his mind. "You mean the shadows that have been coming behind us since we left the grove."
Weiryn nodded solemnly, and the Badger continued, "you are wise mage. Those shadows are what remains of Uuasoe's army. She allowed Ozorne to return and take his revenge on Numair with the understanding that he would then lead her shadows down to Corus to consume that, and then all the rest of Tortall. And branch out from there."
"Great Goddess!" Thayet breathed, "what are we to do."
"You must halt the shadows before they consume anything human." Weiryn said, his eyes drifting to the door, beyond which his daughter lay, oblivious to the danger that was coming ever closer to her.
"How are we to do that." Alanna demanded her voice a little harsh.
"That," Weiryn said, "we cannot help you with, we have no knowledge of how these shadows operate and of what would be of any use against them. We must go now, many things are happening back in the divine realms and we must be there. But first," he pointed at the Numair, "I wish a word with you mage, in private."
Numair nodded gravely and gestured toward the door. Weiryn walked through it, and Numair followed, shutting it again behind him.
They stood again in the bedroom, and Weiryn walked over to lean over his daughter. With a tenderness Numair would not have though possible from a man as fierce as Weiryn, the god reached out his hand to smooth his daughter's hair with the back of his hand. Looking up, he addressed Numair, but this time his voice was not as firm and foreboding as it had been in the other room.
"I do not know what will happen. But I do know this, I love my child dearly, and she loves you. Sarrah has told me of her condition, and we have made a decision. We will watch and do all we can to help you and your friends, but should it get to a point where we feel hope is lost, we will pull you and Daine through so you will be safe."
Numair looked at his hands, he'd expected Weiryn to be protective of Daine, but he never thought the god would care enough to take him to, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be removed like that, leaving his friends helpless.
Meeting Weiryn's eyes, he tried to make his voice as firm and sure as possible. "It would be a great relief to me to know that should loosing be eminent that Daine and Phelan will be safe, but I cannot allow you to take me, I cannot abandon my friends and my king, no matter how dire the situation is."
Weiryn glared at Numair, feeling his rage boil. Stepping out from beside the bed he stood face to face with Numair, they were just about the same height, but Weiryn's firmness made him appear the bigger. "Listen to me MORTAL! I was foolish enough to allow my child to grow up without a father; it almost ruined her, and certainly made her miserable. You will not make the same mistake with my grandchild. You have no choice, fight me all you want, I will win." And with that he disappeared, leaving Numair to his thoughts and fears.
Walking over to the bed, he sat down on the edge and looked at Daine. For the first time since he had found her, she truly looked peaceful. She had no idea what was coming, what they might have to face. Stroking her cheek, he kissed her head lightly and stood, making for the workroom again.
When he reached the door, he looked back at his bride to be again, and with his magic looked deeper, at the growing form that was their son. And in that instant, he vowed he would find a way to defeat these shadows, not for his king, or his county, not even for himself, but for his family and their future.