Title: Knotted Destiny
By: QT
Edited By: buttons7

Summary: A new era is arising as darkness sets over the vast kingdom of Tortall. People are slain ruthlessly, cities are destroyed, people's hope diminishes rapidly. The only one who can turn the tide and return things to a balance is an unknown and unexpected hero.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tamora Pierce's characters, however, I do own this plot.

"..." Talking
'...' Thinking
blah Dreaming

A snarl erupted from behind Kalasin as her sword slashed down upon a fallen enemy. Turning around, the girl's eyes went wide at the sight of an immortal; the beast had wiry gray fur which covered a wolf-like body with two tails. Its eyes gleamed yellow, and its fangs and claws were made of metal.

Orange fire shot from the sky, and covered the wolf immortal. Kalasin looked up, a smile crossing her lips. Arianna Sharp-wing had used stormwing magic to attack the immortal before it could get at Kalasin. Instead of two followers, she had a flock with her, each of them battling a hurrok or other stormwings.

"Wielder of the god's sword, I cannot hold the wolf-beast for long. You are not putting your heart into this battle, lass. Without pouring yourself into this battle, you all will surely fail, and the full potential of that sword will never be reached. Your people are dying all around you, and though you look at what's happening, you are not seeing it. Open your eyes lass, and open your heart!"

Metal claws wrapped themselves around the stormwing's neck. A blood-curdling scream filled the air as blood dripped down the immortal's body. The smell of burnt flesh met Kalasin's nose, and the sounds of screams entered her ears. The limp, pale body of Arianna Sharp-wing fell in front of the girl. A single tear rolled down the girl's cheek as she closed her eyes, her grip on the sword tightening.

Turning around, Kalasin opened her eyes when her sword bit flesh and metal. Swinging her sword in a crescent-moon shape, the girl slammed it down upon the wolf immortal's neck. The immortal's eyes flashed as it let out another snarl before swiping its paw at Kalasin.

The girl ignored the pain that flowed through her body, swinging her blade down upon the immortal over and over until its body went limp. Her blood- and sweat-stained clothes clung to her skin, as she ran her sword through an oncoming soldier's neck. Men and immortals alike fell to the ground, most of them clad in the colors of Tortall. 'Why can I not defend my people?' she thought furiously, 'why am I so weak?'

Light from the setting sun reflected off a metal wing. The girl through up an arm to shade her eyes, temporarily blinded by the brightness. The heat of fire hit her skin, the smell of singed clothing and flesh entered her nose. Her sword and skin glowed a ghostly pale blue. She felt the heat rolling off of her body as it ate away her clothing, but left her skin untouched. Turning around, she glared into the yellow orbs of the wolf-beast. "This is for Arianna," she said as she ran towards the immortal, her sword raised.

The immortal howled, and lunged at Kalasin, easily shoving her down. Kalasin thrust the sword into the immortal's shoulder, gasping for breath that had been knocked from her lungs. Her body and head ached, and once again, she felt alone. 'Lerant, I need your courage, I need your strength, I need you here beside me,' she thought as metal teeth entered the sensitive flesh around her neck. Powerful jaws slowly began to tighten the grip around Kalasin's neck, blocking air from entering her body. Blood dripped around the fangs, causing the beast to bite down harder, excited by the taste of blood.

Lerant scanned the battle before him, finding it devastating. Tortall's soldiers, the half still alive, were being driven back, and Kalasin was nowhere in sight. Alanna, the King's Champion, was losing a battle. Red-colored light shot through a soldier in front of Lerant, spraying blood on him. Grimacing, Lerant looked past the fallen soldier, his heart leaping into his throat when he saw a wolf-beast breaking the neck of some boy. 'No, that's not a boy, that's Kalasin!'

Jumping off of his mount, Lerant ran towards the beast, picking up a spear from the grip of a dead soldier on his way. Yelling, he thrust the spear into the beast's side, putting all of his weight and strength into the attack. The creature howled, and swiped a metal claw at the man, scraping him along his chest. The blow knocked Lerant to the soiled ground, tiny drops of blood collecting at the open wound.

Stumbling to his feet, Lerant frantically looked around for another weapon, or something to defend himself with. The immortal had torn out the spear, and stared wildly at Lerant. Crimson liquid dripped down its side, pooling on the ground. Its claws were covered with dirt and blood, while small drops of blood mixed with saliva dripped from its fangs. The immortal didn't care about the girl anymore. Its target was Lerant.

Roald, who had watched Raoul run to Alanna's aid, gazed at Lerant, and then the body laying beside him. "...Kalasin, no," he whispered, slipping off of his horse. Unsheathing his sword, he ran towards the man and his sister, watching the beast open its mouth.

Fire shot out from the immortal's mouth, just missing Lerant, though the heat felt unbearable. Its tail twitched, and again it roared out fire, and again Lerant jumped out of the way.

Roald's nose burned at the stench of burnt flesh and clothing, his grip tightening on his sword. Yelling, he drove the blade into the immortal's skull, destroying the last bit of life the creature had.

Kalasin felt her strength leaving her, her sight darkening as she clawed at the immortal. Someone's drowned out yell reached her ears when the world around her went dark.

Kalasin frowned as she walked along in darkness, a very dim light illuminating her way. 'Where am I? What is this place?' she wondered, a cool breeze swirling around her, leaving her chilled. Coming to a stop, Kalasin stared at what was giving off the light; Mithros was sitting, staring at his hands blankly. He looked so lost, so frail. 'The light must be his power, which is diminishing rapidly,' she thought, walking up in front of the god.

He gazed at her, his normally lively dark brown eyes glassy. His usually flawless face had deep creases, and his lips were cracked. "If I can't help my people, I can at least help you, can't I?" she asked, hope filling her voice. The god just stared at her, not showing any recognition that he even heard her.

Sitting down in front of the god, she slipped her hands around one of his oddly cold, large hand, and dipped into her magic. Fiery hot liquid poured into the god, and spread through his body. The light grew brighter, and the warmth in the god's hand seemed to return. Smiling, the girl slid her hands away from Mithros, her body feeling weak.

"...Girl, why do you do this?" the great god asked.

"Because I can. I know I'm helping when I use my magic, and I know that you needed more strength. It's not like battle, Mithros, I can't work your sword like I can work my magic."

"Are you so sure of that, my little warrior? Are you so sure that you cannot wield my sword, command it to do your bidding like you command your magic? You're holding back your emotions in battle, but you need to let them go. You need them to take over your body and mind, guiding you as to what to do, but mastering my sword will not win you this battle. What is it truly that holds you back?"

"I-" she hesitated a moment before looking down at her lap. "I'm alone. I know that it can't be helped, but I wish someone was with me, to guide me, to support me in what I do. I feel so empty inside, so helpless."

"You're not alone, my little warrior. Those you hold closest to your heart are with you, you just can't see. They will not leave your side, nor should you leave theirs. People will look to you soon for commands, so be ready to take charge."

"How does your battle fare?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I want to know how much of a chance we all have."

"I'm draining myself. My power seems to have no affect on this prison we're stuck in. Little one, my brothers and sisters are weak as am I. We get our strength from the power of those who worship us. If you, and your people can win this battle, we will grow strong enough to fight back against our sister, the goddess of Chaos. Beware of her, Kalasin."

The girl nodded, frowning when darkness seemed to re-appear. "Kalasin...Kalasin..."

The girl's eyes fluttered open, and gazed into two brown eyes filled with worry. Realizing it was Lerant, a smile crossed her lips. 'He was right, I'm not alone,' she thought as he helped her sit up. "Lerant, I-"

Lerant cut her off, pressing his lips against hers. He held her close, as if she would disappear if he let go. "You're so stupid, Kalasin, so stupid," he said in-between quick kisses.

Kalasin's eyes stung with tears as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt the same comfort she always did when around him, the feeling of safety and love. "I'm so sorry, Lerant. Please forgive me."

The man nodded, brushing stray strands of ebony hair out of her face. "You're going to fight again, aren't you?"

"Yes I am, I know how to work my sword-" She froze, and then frantically looked around, "oh no, Lerant! I left my sword in that creature!"

"No you didn't. Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Roald and I took care of the monster, and started to drag you away, but you were thrashing around wildly, yelling for us to stop. You were screaming for your sword, and when you held out your hand, it flew out of the creature. It was as if you summoned it to you."

"So where is it?"

"Under some fresh clothes. Your clothing had been burnt off of you," he said with a chuckle, as her cheeks grew hot. "Don't worry so much, Kalasin. Your loincloth was still attached, barely."

Kalasin's nose wrinkled as she looked down, finding herself bare. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at Lerant who laughed. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get dressed," she retorted.

Lerant stopped laughing, and took on a serious air, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Do you really want to?" he asked as he slipped his hands to her arms, his voice husky.

Chills went down Kalasin's spine as her stomach felt like butterflies flew around in it. Biting down on her lower lip, the girl gazed into Lerant's eyes, her insides melting at the way he gazed at her. "Lerant, you won't leave me to fight alone, will you?"

Lerant shook his head, a strand of brown hair falling into his face. "Leave you? I won't ever leave you Kalasin. I-"

Kalasin smiled, and pressed her finger against his lips, cutting him off. "I want you to be with me, Lerant. I want you to be by my side as often as you can, alright?"

"You know that won't be for long, Kal. As soon as this battle or war is over, we'll be separated."

The girl grinned, slipping her arms away from her chest. Grasping a fistful of Lerant's shirt, she pulled him closer to her, "will we be separated?"

"No, we won't be. We'll find a way to be together," he said as she unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off of his body. 'I love you,' she thought as she pulled him down to her, closing her eyes as they kissed each other passionately.

Kalasin grumbled as the blankets were pulled away from her naked body. Opening her mouth to protest, she stopped when a warm mouth was pressed against hers. Smiling, she pulled away slowly and gazed into Lerant's twinkling eyes.

"Midwinter's Luck, Milady," he said with a wink, "now, get dressed."

She watched him leave the tent before slipping off of the bed. Slowly she wandered over to a bench where her clothes and sword lay. A few moments later, she emerged from the tent, and was greeted by hushed whispers. The soldier that had told her to turn back the other day stared at her, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. His arm was in a sling, and he had a horrible black eye.

Frowning, the girl briskly walked over to him, and quite ungracefully plopped herself down beside him. "Aren't there any decent healers with you men?"

The man hesitated a moment before responding, "Milady, most of the healers were killed by that mage. The Lioness just made it out alive, she's in recovery right now."

Kalasin bit her lip, shaking her head. "Let me see what I can do for you then," she said. Pressing her hands against his broken arm, she closed her eyes and slipped a strand of magic into his arm, re-growing the bone, and mending the tissue around it. She then let her magic cover his hurt eye, taking the swelling down. When she was done, she stood up, and brushed her hands off. "Your eye will hurt a bit, but I took the swelling down so you can see."

The man just stared at her in a daze, only remembering to bow to her as she turned and left.

Before Kalasin was able to sit down to eat, she made four more stops to do some minor healing. Once she was seated, she gratefully accepted some food, nearly choking when she caught sight of Roald glaring daggers at her. Setting her food beside her, she sighed, and stood up. "Roald, what are you doing here? You should be home."

"As should you, Princess," he spat, "I'm quite vexed with you, Kalasin. You should know better than to risk your life like this, fighting a war you cannot win. You're too much of a lady to fight."

"You're sounding like a no-good conservative, Roald."

"You forget your place, Kalasin!"

"And you forget who you talk to, Roald!"

"I'm taking you home, sister dear, and we're leaving right this minute."

"I refuse to do anything more until I've seen to Aunt Alanna."

"You know Alanna will be fine. Stop stalling."

"Roald, though you may not, I do consider her to be family, whether she is related by blood or heart, and I wish to see her well again." With that, Kalasin strode off towards the tent that she was told the Lioness was in. Taking a deep breath, Kalasin walked over to where Alanna slept, and placed her hands on the woman's arm, pouring her magic into the Lioness. Hours passed as she repaired bones, replaced flesh and blood, burnt out disease, mended muscles, and took away bruises.

When Alanna awoke, she found herself healed, a slumbering body laying half on the bed, half on the floor. Smiling, Alanna pulled the body onto the bed, her smile diminishing to a scowl. The one who had done the healing was a young lady. "Kalasin, it was you that I saw," she muttered. 'She looks so much like Jonathan. I wonder how she made it this far without being recognized.'

Strolling out of the tent, the red-haired woman stopped in front of a tall burly man, her amethyst eyes blazing. "Raoul-"

"Alanna, I had no idea who she was until it was too late. We're taking her home as soon as she wakes up."

"Raoul, she's quite a fighter, don't you think?"

Confused, Raoul gazed down at the purple-eyed woman. "Get to the point Alanna," he said firmly.

"Let her stay and fight."

"Absolutely not!" cried Roald, who had come up beside her.

"My Prince, her heart is in the battle. She needs to fight. I give you my word that she will be safe," she said kindly.

"Alanna, her place is at home, not here!"

"Roald, it's time for your sister to grow up, and become who she wishes to be. She doesn't want people choosing her path for her, so don't. If you love her, let her do what she believes is right."

Roald looked away, stung by these words. He wanted his sister to be safe, but Alanna was right; he was being too protective of her, trying to keep her sheltered from the realities of the world. He had to let her go. "As long as she remains here to fight, I'll be with her."

Alanna smiled as a response.

"Raoul, watch that Lerant fellow," Roald suddenly blurted, his blue eyes ablaze. "I found him and my sister bedding together this morning. Both were asleep, but she's still naive, and I refuse to let someone like him be intimate with Kalasin."

Raoul went pale, as did Alanna. They exchanged looks when Roald walked off, talking to other soldiers. "I'll talk to her about it," Alanna replied as Raoul just nodded, still shocked by what Roald had said.

'Lerant, and Kalasin?' he thought dumbfounded, 'why do I miss the most obvious things?'