A Dance on the Edge of Sanity
"King me!"
Darkwind sighed. He looked down at the game board. He was being beaten by his daughter in checkers. Again. He did as he was told, flipping the round game piece over to show the side imprinted with a crown. With only three pieces left on the board, Darkwind wondered if maybe he should just give up and admit defeat. Then he remembered Elspeth's laughter the first time he lost to Windstar. 'If I give up, I'll never hear the end of it,' he thought to himself. He put his hand on one of his pieces.
:I wouldn't do that if I were you, brother of mine,: a voice said in his head. :Do that and she'll have you in one turn.: Lyra's mindvoice sounded amused.
Darkwind took his hand off the piece. :What do you suggest I do then, genius?: Lyra rode up to be level with the hovering game board. She looked at the situation on the board. "I suggest you learn how to play this game properly, Darkwind," she said aloud. "Or else Windstar will always be able to beat you."
He scowled. "Why don't you play her then, Lyra? You grew up playing this cursed game."
Windstar grinned. "That'd be great, Lyra! Won't you play with me? Please?"
Lyra smiled at her niece. "Aren't you trying to get to know your parents better? I wouldn't want to take up any of your time together."
"Yes, but I'm trying to get to know my family, Lyra. You're my aunt, I need to know you too!"
Darkwind looked at his sister in law. :You've lost, sister. She won't give up until you play a game with her. She's very stubborn.:
Lyra scowled at him. :I wonder where she got that trait, hmm? Oh wait, I bet she got it from her parents. Call your daughter stubborn; that's the pot calling the kettle black.:
Darkwind just shrugged, then looked down at the game board. He was dismayed to find all of his pieces gone; Windstar had just won another game.
Windstar looked pleadingly at her aunt. "Please play with me, Lyra? Father's no good at it."
Darkwind mock scowled. "Well," he said in an over dramatic voice. "If that's how you're going to be, I'll just take myself to people who appreciate me more!" He rode over to Elspeth, who laughed at him and said, "I don't appreciate you more, love. I think it's hilarious that you just lost four games in a row to your ten year old daughter." Darkwind huffed and said, "Well at least Vree still appreciates me. He can see the genius inside." The bondbird looked oddly at his bondmate for a while, then looked in Darkwind's ear. He shook his head sadly at Darkwind. :No genius.: he said solemnly. : Only you.:
Darkwind scowled at the bird. "Well thanks a lot, Vree. It's so good to know somebody thinks I'm special."
Windstar did a big theater frown. "Oh, we made too much fun of Father. Group hug!"
Lyra, Elspeth, and Windstar converged on Darkwind, still on their Companions. They all joined in a big hug with Darkwind in the middle. "I always knew the women loved me, but I never knew I was this popular," he said, hugging all of them back. Lyra glared at him, Windstar giggled, and Elspeth kissed him. He leaned back slightly. "Ah, this is the life. Warm sun, cool breeze, and surrounded by beautiful women. What could be better?" He took a deep breath and frowned. "Has anybody else smelled something strange in the air today? It smells almost like the salt bogs next to the Vale where I was born." He looked around. "And where's Jovel? He usually doesn't just go off without telling anybody."
The group hug broke up. "Where is Jovel?" Elspeth asked. She frowned. :Don't worry, he's safe and nearby,: Gwena said.
The group kept riding in the direction of Kai-ling. They were currently in a great grassy plain area with all kinds of strange animals. Great cats, huge beasts with horns on their noses, and strangest of all, enormous grey creatures with big ears and long noses. They were riding up a small hill. When they reached the top, everyone in the group stopped dead, slack jawed.
Windstar was the first to regain her voice. "What is it?" she asked in wonder.
Elspeth just shook her head, mesmerized by the waves in the body of water many, many times larger than Lake Evendim.
They heard hoof beats to the left of them. Herald Jovel and Lumiri came to them, looking as awed as the rest. "I am guessing, little one, that that is the sea."
Windstar nodded, her eyes fixated on the great blue expanse before her. Then she noticed a large bump in the smooth blue sea, quite far away. "What is that?" she asked, pointing to it.
A shadow fell on them for a moment, then Rymeer landed next to them. "I believe that would be Kai-ling," he said. "It has been so long since I have seen the sea. I had not realized how much I've missed it."
They all stood for a while longer, looking at the wide expanse before them, watching the sun glitter on the water's surface. Grith, the little hertasi who had agreed to come with them, finally broke the silence. "There is a ship waiting for us a few miles north of here," he told them. "If we go now, we can be off latter today."
Elspeth tore her eyes from the water. "A boat?" she asked dubiously. The boats in her land were little tiny affairs, with oars and used only for fishing. She thought the fisher folk of Lake Evendim had some other kind of boat, but those were very small as well, and not suited for traveling the distance between the island and where they were standing.
Rymeer grinned a gryphon grin. "Not the kind of boat you're use to, my friend. Just wait till you've seen this ship. The People of Kai-ling depend on the sea for their lives, thus they depend on their ships. You will be perfectly safe. Long have my people tried to master boat building techniques, and we a very good at making safe boats. But for the Kai-ling, ship making is an art. Each ship is different, all are hauntingly beautiful. You will love them, Elspeth. I think you will too, Windstar. Let us go. I wish to see our ship up close."
~
It was truly a magnificent ship. Made of a very dark wood, it was very long. It's long, sleek body rested gently on the surface of the water, the deck not far off the surface of the water. The boats of Elspeth's people were fat, round, and pudgy looking, with almost no deck space, powered by small sails and kept upright by the will of the gods. Elspeth had never seen a ship like the one before her. There were no curves to it; it seemed to consist of only strict lines and sharp angles. She could see stairs leading down into the bottom off the ship, where she assumed there rooms for sleeping and storage. She didn't know how this ship was to move, she didn't see any oars, but it didn't seem the ship had any sails on it's one mast.
She looked at the man standing next to her, Captain Neroshi. Sent by the Kai-ling empress, he was one of the best captains in the military fleet. He noticed her looking at him. "Beautiful, is she not?" he said. "She is one of the spinere, the arrow ships. Fast as the wind, and almost impossible to tip over." He smile at her. "Her name is Fencaeshan."
Elspeth was glad that the dyheli had been able to transfer the Kai-ling language to her and the others in her group. It was so different from any other language she knew, she didn't know if she would have been able to learn it without the dyheli. There were fewer words in the vocabulary than in Valdemaran, but each word could mean many things depending on the accent, the words around it, and the ending attached. Even with the dyheli, though, she didn't understand the name of the ship. She looked at the captain with the question in her eyes.
He studied her, then he smiled. "Fencaeshan means 'Sky Lark,' lady. She is my love. She is a wonderful ship."
Elspeth looked at him. "Are all ships 'hers'?" she asked.
He nodded. "Look at her, my lady. Do you think anything like her could ever be a him?"
She studied the ship. "No. Definitely a her."
Captain Neroshi grinned at her. "Would you like a tour? She is as magnificent inside as she is out."
Elspeth looked over to the dock where Darkwind, Lyra, and Jovel were helping the Fencaeshan's crew load the ship's cargo. The Companions were reclining on the beach not far away, waiting as long as possible to get on the ship. Rymeer was currently up in the air, enjoying the ocean wind. Grith was helping with the loading. That left Windstar, who was not strong enough to load the ship, standing by herself watching the people move around her. Elspeth smiled to herself.
"Windstar!" she called. Windstar turned to look at her. "Would you like a tour of the ship?"
Windstar nodded vigorously, running up to Elspeth and Captain Neroshi. She presented herself to them, grinning from ear to ear. Captain Neroshi smiled again. "Well, let's be off, then!"
He led them down the plank onto the ship, so they were standing on the deck. "Would you like the official tour, complete with sailor talk, or would you like the tour where I show everything you need to see and tell you what it is?"
Elspeth looked at Windstar. She would love the official tour, but she didn't think Windstar was up to it, so she said, "How about the second one?"
Captain Neroshi smiled. "Okay! Well, right now, you're standing on the deck. Over there is the steering system, we can control everything that happens on the ship right there." He led them to what looked like a long stack of flattened poles made of the same dark wood the ship was. "Here is the sail. It's down right now so that we don't float away. When it's time to leave, we'll raise the sail and check the wind to see if we need to make our own wind or not." He walked to a low cabin and walked down a few stairs into the room. "This is my office and quarters. If you need me on our trip, I'll either be here, on the deck, or in the kitchen."
Elspeth was studying a series of colored, knotted ropes. They glowed with magic, but she couldn't recognize their use. She turned to the captain. "What are these?" she asked, pointing to the ropes. Captain Neroshi smiled. "You noticed them! Excellent!" He walked to them. "These are the most valuable things on the ship, my lady. They are called tesheri, or wind ropes. He took one of the wall. "Just undo one of the knots, and you get wind from the direction you need. Red for wind from the south, blue for north, green for west, and yellow for east. The ropes with more than one color give winds from the southeast, northeast, so on. They are very useful."
Elspeth smiled. "I bet. I'd love to meet somebody who could teach me how to make them."
Neroshi blinked, then shrugged. "When we get to the homeland."
Windstar spoke up for the first time. "How long will it take to get to Kai-ling, Captain?"
Captain Neroshi smiled at her. "If everything works out well and we leave soon, we should get there early this evening. About three candlemarks for you. Just in time for you to get ready and go to dinner. Perfect." He walked out of the room. "If you'll follow me," he said, sweeping his arm. He walked to the stairs Elspeth had seen earlier. "Down we go."
"Here we have the kitchen," he said, opening the door. "You said you have already eaten?" Elspeth nodded. "Right. Down this hall, we have the sleeping quarters. He opened one of the doors, showing them a room with a bed and a desk built into the walls. "We have four of those fancy rooms. We almost never use them. " He walked further down the hall. "The crew sleep in these rooms," he said, opening another door. They saw two beds on each wall, one above the other. He walked further down the hall. "Usually, we would keep weapons and such in these rooms, but since we're on a diplomatic mission, they're all empty." He opened several doors, showing them the large empty rooms. He looked at the two females with him. "The Empress thought it would be best if there were no weapons on this ship. She was quite adamant." He smiled ruefully at them. "We don't even have food knifes. You should feel safe."
Elspeth smiled. She was impressed with the effort these people had made to make them feel safe. She was glad, it seemed they really wanted this alliance and she would be more than happy to help it work.
Captain Neroshi pointed further down the hall. "Down there is where we keep foodstuffs, medical supplies, the stuff that we need for staying alive. I'll show it to you if you want, but it's very uninteresting. We should be leaving soon, would you like to go up top to get ready?"
Elspeth nodded. "That would be good. I would like to get going as soon as possible."
He smiled at her. "Well, we should be leaving within half a candlemark."
~
A candlemark later Darkwind and Elspeth stood at the front of the ship watching as the water rushed past underneath them. The ship sped forward powered by the wind invoked by one of Captain Neroshi's wind ropes. The sun shone down on them beautifully, they had full bellies; and with the gentle rocking of the ship Darkwind felt ready to go to sleep.
Elspeth leaned against her lover. "It's beautiful, isn't it love?" she sighed. "I can hardly wait to see the mainland."
Darkwind's eyelids drooped slightly. "I like it here on this ship. I would be very happy to stay here the whole time. The rocking is very peaceful."
Elspeth smiled. She admired the island rising on the horizon in front of her. "I wonder how big the whole island is," she said sleepily.
The ship's 'first mate' walked up to them. She was an angular woman, much like the ship itself, with a wide face, tan skin, dark hair, and odd, slanted dark eyes. Her face showed little as she neared them. "Captain Neroshi thought maybe you would be having questions about the homeland, lord and lady." she said to them. "Is this so?"
Darkwind blinked. "Yes, actually, we have many questions. For one, how big is the whole island?"
The woman looked considerate. "Your people are measuring distance how? In leagues, perhaps?" Elspeth nodded. "Good. The island is about fifty leagues wide at it's widest, then about three hundred leagues long. It is not the only island, however. The one you see now is the largest of the islands, called Kai-shi. Our capital is located on that island, near our greatest sea port. The port is called Ularng, it is located where Kai-shi's greatest river flows into the sea. The capital is called Shae-kiyn, it is the third largest city in our country."
Darkwind nodded thoughtfully. He looked at Elspeth to see if she had any questions. She did.
"You said there are other islands. How many other islands?"
"Well, all told there are about three hundred island. Many of those are not suitable for living. There are nine main islands, islands where there are major cities and large populations. Kai-shi is the largest, and it is closest to the mainland coast. The two other very important islands of Kai-ling are Kai-hiro and
Kai-mishron. Kai-mishron is the second largest island, it is used mostly for farming and producing the food Kai-ling cannot get from the sea. Kai-mishron is not a very large island; it is where many of our richest families live. It's actually not that nice a place to stay, the monsoons there are terrible. We common folk say it is where people with more money than sense live." The first mate grinned at them. "Kai-mishron is very near Kai-shi. It acts as a very good shield from monsoons. The rich protect our Empress from the winter storms with their own houses. How kind of them.
"Many of the oldest families of Kai-ling hold their own islands. They are like little lands in and of themselves, able to govern themselves to a certain extent; they must follow the High Law, but they may add more laws if they wish. A lord can challenge High Law, if he or she has good reason to, and our judges will see if the challenge is just or not, and if it comes to that, the judges may decide to overturn the High Law." She looked at them. "I'm sorry! I'm probably boring you to death with my ranting!"
Elspeth shook her head rapidly. "No, not at all! This is fascinating. How may a Judge overturn the High Law, may I ask?"
"Well, if a challenge of the law is brought before our judges, they will hear the challenger out, then a chosen representative for the High Law will tell the court the law's ways. There are five judges, we call them Judicea. When both sides of the argument have been heard, the Judicea will retire and think the issue through, each one taking time to carefully meditate on the solution. When each has come to a conclusion, they consult with one another to decide what to do. If they decide to overturn the High Law, then the offending part of the Law must be rewritten. They will have no more to do with it than that. If the new law is challenged again, they will go through the same process again. The court cannot write it's own laws."
Darkwind was very impressed. It seemed like a very good way to handle law to him. He asked, "How are the Judicea appointed?"
"They are elected every three years by the people of Kai-ling. As you can imagine, this means the opinions of our court never stay the same for long. If someone is elected to the court who is completely incompetent, the other four judges can remove that person and appoint a replacement until the next election. Rarely do the people of Kai-ling appoint incompetents, though. We cannot afford to. The court can challenge the word of the Empress herself; it would not do to have idiots in those positions."
Elspeth was very interested with this. She wanted to here more about the court and it's workings. She led the first mate down to the kitchen. "Let's go sit down so we can have a good chat, why don't we?"
~
Grith basked in the sun on the deck. He loved the sea. Before he left White Gryphon, he had been a sailor. He had like Valdemar, but the sea was his true love. He loved the gentle rocking of the boat beneath him, the shimmering of the sea, the smell of the air.... He had missed it.
Windstar sat near him. She had been feeling very strange since she set foot on the ship. She couldn't place how she felt, but she didn't like it.
Grith looked at her through half-lidded eyes. "What do you think of the sea, young lady?" he asked her.
The young mage stared at the water. "It's very pretty. So is the ship."
Grith didn't notice that her answer was a lot shorter than it would have been normally. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" he said. "I love the sea. I love the way it smells, looks, everything about it! I also enjoy this ship. It has been a long time since I have felt the rocking of a boat."
Windstar looked slightly green.
"I remember being rocked to sleep when I was young; back, and forth, back and forth."
Windstar paled and when several shades greener.
"I also remember being tossed around during storms. The deck rolled underneath us, like the floor was turning barrel rolls.... Windstar, what's wrong?"
Windstar shook her head, her hand over her mouth. She ran toward the side of the ship, leaned over the railing and lost her lunch into the sea.
Grith ran up beside her, checking her forehead for a fever. Finding none, he chuckled. "Poor Windstar," he said. "You have the sea sickness. It will get better after you get off the boat." He out his arm around her thin shoulders. "Next time, we'll get a Healer to give you something for it."
Windstar shuddered. "There won't be a next time, Grith. I'm never getting on a boat again."
Grith chuckled. "I knew a boy who said the same thing when he first came on a boat. He turned out to be a fishing boat captain. He loved it, after the initial shock."
Windstar shook her head. "Never." She heaved again.
Darkwind noticed this and ran over, looking pale and worried. He came up on her other side. "Windstar, are you all right?"
"No! I feel like I'm dying!" she moaned.
Grith laughed. "She's sea sick, Darkwind. She'll be fine after she gets her feet back on the ground. It's the boat rocking, you see."
Windstar moaned.
Darkwind smiled and patted her back. He looked to see Captain Neroshi walking to them. "Is something wrong?" He walked closer. "Ah, sea sick, is she? Poor mite!"
"How much longer until we get to Kai-ling, Captain?"
"About an candlemark and a half, sir."
Windstar looked at him like he had just killed her best friend.
It was going to be a long candlemark and a half.
~*~*~*~*~
"No boy, not like that, dammit! Your shielding is terrible! Do it again!"
Eclipse stared at his father. He had been working on his shields since breakfast; he could see the sun setting out the window. He couldn't remember ever being so tired. He tried to raise more magic to shield himself, but knew before he started that he had nothing left.
"No, no, no! How will you defeat your enemy if you can't even shield!?"
"Why should I care? I've never even seen my enemy! I don't even know what's she's done!"
His father narrowed his eyes. "You think you can talk back to me, boy? I, who have made you all that you are? Wrong." He hit Eclipse solidly on the jaw, knocking the boy across the room. Eclipse brought a hand up to his face, feeling his damaged jaw. He glared at his father.
"Tell me why I shouldn't talk back to you. Why should I do as you say?"
The mage in black whom he knew as his father hardened. He grabbed Eclipse by the collar. "I made you all that you are, boy, and I can unmake you as well. You will do as I say, when I say it, and you will do it happily and without question!"
"What if I say I don't care what you do? What if you do 'unmake' me? Surely it would be better for me if I were dead."
The mage laughed. "You may not care about yourself, boy, but never forget that your mother and you little sister lie in my castle, victim to me. Think how you would feel if your mother were to die, Eclipse. How would you like to hear your sister scream until she had no voice left? I could do it. I could do it right now." He turned towards the door.
Eclipse jumped in front of him. "Don't you dare hurt them!" He screamed. The mage blinked. "Or you'll do what, Eclipse?"
Eclipse blinked. "I'll, I'll, I'll kill you!"
His father laughed. "Will you?" He grabbed the boy's collar again, slamming him into a wall and knocking the breath out of him. His face was almost touching Eclipse's. "How?"
Eclipse turned his face away from his father's hot breath. "I don't know," he whispered. He wished he were anywhere else.
Another mind touched his. :Wishes will get you nowhere, boy. Remember, there is no one but me to hear your wishes.: There was a horrible mental chuckle, and Eclipse moaned. "Get out of my head," he whimpered. "Please."
The laugh was both in his head and in his mind now. His father's body pressed him even further into the wall. A fist hit him hard in the gut, the again in the groin. Eclipse curled his body as best he could with his father pressed against him. His father's hands were on his shoulders, pinning him to the wall. "You should know better than to talk back to me by now, Eclipse. I will have to teach you a lesson."
"No," Eclipse whispered. "Please, father, no." He knew it was useless. "Father," he whispered.
The mage smiled evilly as power gathered in his hands. He was ready for his special spell. As he released the power and let it flow into the boy, he wondered what it felt like to have one's nerves set on fire. Then he remembered he didn't care.
He invaded the boy's mind, leaving him no thoughts to himself. He brutally ripped through the child's head, leaving a battered, barely human mind in his wake.
Eclipse could only hear one thing through his screaming. His 'father' saying the same thing over and over again:
"Father's here, my boy. How do you like father's hug?"
~*~*~*~*~
A.N. Well, there it is folks. (reads Eclipse passage again) Sometimes I surprise myself with my own cruelty. Poor Eclipse. Don't worry, things will get better for him. Eventually.
Windstar gets sea sick! Gotta hate that. Ugh. Thank you all for your reviews. I will try to post another chapter soon. I get really busy soon, I'm a CIT at summer camp, gotta chase little kids around, you know. Plus HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX COMES OUT SOON!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!! BE HAPPY!!!! REJOICE!!!
(cough) I also write some Harry Potter fanfiction. I really need to get a life. Oh wait, this is my life. (looks around) I like my life! Don't send me to the shrink!
Disclaimer: Anything owned by Mercedes Lackey is owned by her, not me.