Split (1)

train · 9.05k rows

text stringlengths 1.73k 3.83k
should probably find a place to hide, but she was afraid. She was distinctive in her fine dress and would be remembered by all who passed. Her only real hope was to get out of the slums and into the city proper, where she could find her way back to Denth and the others. She carried the rope tucked into the dress’s pock...
though she couldn’t lock it from this side. She left it unlatched and bent down to light the lantern. A set of worn, broken stairs led down into the cellar. Vivenna paused, remembering that Denth had warned her about the steps. She walked down carefully, feeling them creak beneath her, and could see why he’d been worri...
to me the entire time,” she whispered, tears almost unnoticed on her cheeks, heart thumping as she tried to make sense of the world. “Why?” “Kidnapping is hard work,” Denth said. “Terrible business,” Tonk Fah added. “It’s better if your subject never even knows they’ve been kidnapped.” They always kept an eye on me. St...
peace? Quickly! She twisted her arm, slapping it against the back of Tonk Fah’s cloak. “Grab—” Denth, however, was too fast. He yanked her back, covered her mouth, then snatched her other hand, holding it tightly. Tonk Fah stood surprised as Vivenna’s dress bled free of color, turning grey, and some of her Breath passe...
“Maybe once you have an heir, you’ll grow tired of life, then give away your Breath.” First of all, he wrote, I’m still not even sure how I would get an heir. You refuse to explain it to me, nor will you answer my questions. “They’re embarrassing!” Siri said, feeling her short hair grow red. She turned it back to yello...
midtoss, ﬂaring from yellow to red like ink bleeding into a pool of clear water. Then she made it grow. The ability was more instinctive than conscious—like ﬂexing a muscle. In this case, it was a “muscle” she’d been using a lot lately, since she tended to cut her hair off in the evenings rather than spending the time ...
on his arm and closed her eyes. “I think you are doing better than you think. Most people back in my homeland didn’t understand me half as well as you do.” He began to write, and she opened her eyes. I find that hard to believe. “It’s true,” she said. “They kept telling me to become someone else.” Who? “My sister,” she...
before. This will not be odd. He stood, walking toward the doorway. “Wait!” she said. He turned, glancing back at him. “You can’t go to the door like that, Susebron,” she said, keeping her voice quiet, in case someone was listening. “You’re still fully dressed.” He looked down, then frowned. “Make your clothing look di...
very odd, he said. “What?” she asked. “Eating on the ﬂoor?” He nodded. Dining is such a production for me. I eat some of what is on a plate, then servants pull it away, wipe my face, and bring me another one. I never finish an entire dish, even if I like it. Siri snorted. “I’m surprised they don’t hold the spoon for yo...
us. We’re going to get crushed. “Susebron,” she said. “I think we need to find a way to expose what your priests have been doing to you.” He looked up, then wrote, What do you mean? “I mean that we should have you try to talk to the common people,” she said. “Or maybe some of the other gods. The priests gain all of the...
you’re right,” she said. But if you’re not, she thought, then we’re escaping. We’ll take our chances back with my family, war or no war. Annotations for Chapter 36 Thirty-Seven Annotations for Chapter 37 In the slums it could seem like night, even during the full light of day. Vivenna wandered, aimless, stepping over s...
she whispered. “You were there, in the crowd, when I visited the slumlords.” He shrugged. “That means you know who I am,” she said. “I don’t know anything,” he said. “Particularly not things that could get me into trouble.” “Please,” she said. “You have to help me.” She took a step forward. He hopped off his boxes, a k...
raining sometime while she was curled in the mud. It was one of the soft, hazy Hallandren rainfalls. The wet drops kissed her cheek; little streams ran down the sides of the alleyway walls. She was hungry and exhausted. But with the falling rain came a shred of lucidity. She needed to move. The thief had been right—the...
city becoming dead. Or maybe it was Vivenna who had become dead. A Drab. She stood slowly, shivering in the drizzling rain, and wiped the water from her eyes. Then she pulled the shawl—Breaths and all—close and shufﬂed away. Annotations for Chapter 37 Thirty-Eight Annotations for Chapter 38 Lightsong sat on the edge of...
container. “I appear to be a natural,” Lightsong noted. “I get it in every time.” He felt much better, having been given fresh Breath. “Indeed, Your Grace,” Llarimar said. “I believe that Her Grace the goddess Blushweaver is approaching.” “Good,” Lightsong said, throwing another pebble. He hit the target this time. Of ...
head, though. With numbers.” “Are you all right?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Images of warfare ﬂashed in his mind. His best friend, a man he didn’t know, dying with a sword through the chest. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Things have been rather strange for me lately.” She sat quietly for a moment. “You want ...
it, nodding to himself. “Some of the gods have had over a hundred priests report for Service, yet a couple of them have had barely a dozen. Mercystar is one of those.” “So?” Blushweaver asked. “So,” Lightsong said. “I’m going to send my servants to watch and count at Mercystar’s palace, keeping track of the number of p...
of Breath and knew what he was doing. The creature’s blood has been replaced with ichoralcohol. The sutures are perfect. The Commands controlling the rodent were extremely strong. It’s a marvelous piece of BioChromatic art.” “And?” she asked. “And he released it in Mercystar’s palace,” Lightsong said. “Creating a distr...
to have suspicions. I was a person who couldn’t simply sit and let something unexplained slide away into the fog of memory. I was a man who hated secrets. And I’m only just beginning to understand how many secrets there are in this court.” Blushweaver looked taken aback. “Now,” he said, walking away from the pavilion, ...
She kept it with her always. She still hardly believed what Denth and the others had done. She had such fond memories of their joking. She couldn’t connect that to what she’d seen in the cellar. In fact, sometimes she found herself rising to seek them out. Surely the things she’d seen had been hallucinations. Surely th...
The move was reﬂexive. The shawl was the only thing she owned, and—meager though it was—several urchins had already tried to steal it from her while she slept. The guard didn’t reach for her shawl. He just nudged her with his truncheon. “Hey,” he said. “Move. No begging on this corner.” He didn’t explain. They never di...
was crowded with a gang of urchins. The ones who had beaten her before. She left that one quickly as well. The third alley was empty. This one was beside a building with a bakery. The ovens hadn’t yet been stoked for the night’s baking, but they would provide some warmth through the walls in the early morning. She lay ...
of course make time for the high priest himself, should he come to speak to me.” He eyed her, standing tall and straight-backed, wearing the God King’s colors of the day—blue and copper. “You should not antagonize me, Your Highness.” Siri felt a brief ﬂush off anxiety, but caught her hair before it bleached white. “I a...
she said. “I had my women’s issue just a couple of days ago. You can ask my servants.” “Then why have you stopped trying?” “What?” she asked lightly. “Are your spies disappointed to be missing their nightly show?” Treledees ﬂushed just slightly. He glanced at her, and she still managed to keep her hair perfectly black....
“You can’t kill me, Treledees,” she said. “Not if you want a royal heir. You can’t bully me or force me. Only the God King could do that. And, we know how he is.” “I don’t know what you mean,” Treledees said ﬂatly. “Oh, come now,” Siri said. “Did you honestly expect me to sleep with the man and not find out he has no t...
who abandoned our faith and took an easier path.” “We follow the god who came to protect us when your Austre—an unseen, unknown thing—abandoned us to the destroyer Kalad. Peacegiver returned to life with a specific purpose—to stop the conﬂict between men, to bring peace again to Hallandren.” He glanced at her. “His nam...
hoped that giving Bluefingers’s Pahn Kahl a more prominent role in her Service would facilitate that escape. She hoped. With a sigh, she raised the first bit of food to her lips and continued with her tasting. Annotations for Chapter 40 Forty-One Annotations for Chapter 41 Vivenna presented her coin. “One bit?” Cads as...
the drizzle by an awning. Vivenna stared at them, standing in their revealing clothing. It was only two streets into the slum, a place that wasn’t too threatening for outsiders. Everyone knew not to rob a man on his way to visit the whores. The slumlords didn’t like it when their customers got scared away. Bad for busi...
I just can’t take any more, she thought, wrapping her arms around herself. She was exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, completely. In a way, she was glad it was over. She didn’t know what the men would do to her, but she did know it was over. Whomever they sold her to wouldn’t be careless enough to let her escape again. ...
back, propping him up from behind. Vivenna stood alone on a street littered with corpses. A figure descended from a rooftop, lowered by two twisting lengths of animated rope. He landed softly, ropes falling dead. He passed Vivenna, ignoring her, and grabbed the sword. He paused for a moment, then did up the clasp and p...
visibly. “Scoot, set up my pavilion here in front of her palace,” Lightsong said. “I’m going to be sleeping here tonight.” The priestess looked up. “You’re going to do what?” Llarimar asked. Lightsong shrugged. “I’m not moving until I meet with her. That means staying until she acknowledges me. It’s been over a week! I...
It had been a while since he’d come to visit her. In fact...The last time I was here was the night before Calmseer gave up her Breath, he realized. That evening, years ago, when we shared what would be her last meal. He’d never come back. What would have been the point? They’d only gotten together in the first place be...
that way and she followed, a few servants trailing. Allmother moved with the stiffness of age. Is it me, or does she look older than she did before? That was, of course, impossible. Returned did not age. At least, not the ones who had reached maturity. Once they were out of earshot and view of the petitioners, Allmothe...
the city. This mess with the Idrians and their slums, the increasingly fierce arguments among our priests.” She shook her head. “I’m not letting you wiggle out of your part. You were chosen for that place of yours. You’re a god, like the rest of us, even if you do your best to pretend otherwise.” “You already have my C...
“He had you fooled, didn’t he?” She nodded. “Idiot.” She nodded again. He turned back to his meal. “The woman who runs this building,” he said. “I paid her to bathe you, dress you, and change your bedpan. I never touched you.” She frowned. “What...happened?” “Do you remember the fight on the street?” “With your sword?”...
person having a fit with the wonder of it. It was amazing. She could sense life. Could sense Vasher making a pocket of color around him that was bright and beautiful. She was alive again. She basked in that for a long moment. “It’s shocking, when you first get it,” Vasher said. “It’s usually not too bad if you take the...
going to block him.” “Denth was working for me,” she said. “Or, at least, he was pretending to. All of those things he did, they were at my command. He was just playing along to keep me complacent.” Vasher gave a barking laugh, and Vivenna ﬂushed. Her hair—responding to her mood for the first time since her shock at se...
have the swishing of skirts at her ankles. She walked beside Vasher without comment, head bowed, hair too short to even put into a braid. She didn’t try to regrow it yet. That would draw needed nourishment from her body. They passed through the Idrian slum, and Vivenna had to fight to keep herself from jumping at every...
month on the street without getting robbed, beaten, and then captured. Now you claim that I’ve single-handedly brought my people to the edge of war.” Vasher snorted. “Don’t give yourself too much credit. Denth has been working on this war for a long time. From what I hear, he corrupted the Idrian ambassador himself. Pl...
the room. It hit with a clank, skidding on the wood. Then he reached back and pulled Vivenna forward. “Hair,” he said. She hesitated. He was using her just as Denth had. But rather than make him angry, she obliged, changing the color of her hair. The men watched with awe; then several of them bowed their heads. “Prince...
its God King. And then, in the end, the city and its people had simply ignored her. She didn’t matter to them. And that was infuriating. One of the Idrian men, an older man wearing a dark tan cap, shook his head in thought. “The people are restless, Vasher. Half the men talk of storming the Court of Gods in anger. The ...
her from being used as a pawn or a hostage. It could save her life. That was enough for Vivenna. “It’s too late,” one of the men said. “No,” Vivenna said. “Please.” The men in the circle paused, looking over at her. She walked back to the circle and then knelt before them. “Please do not say such things.” “But Princess...
you to Idris.” “Return us to Idris?” one of the men said. “My family has been here in Hallandren for fifty years now!” “Yes, but as long as the king of Idris lives,” Vivenna said, “you have an ally. We can work with diplomacy to make things better for you.” “The king doesn’t care about us,” another said sadly. “I care,...
you have to do is tell people you don’t want a war.” “And if I’m not willing to do that?” she said. “Will you force me?” He watched her for a moment, then swore under his breath, standing. He pulled out a bag of something and tossed it at her. It clinked as it hit her chest then fell to the ﬂoor. “Go,” he said. “Get ba...
led her out onto the street. And so, she thought, I begin again. I can only hope that this time, I’m on the right side. Annotations for Chapter 43 Forty-Four Annotations for Chapter 44 Siri watched Susebron with affection as he ate a third dessert. Their night’s meal lay spread out on the table and ﬂoor, some dishes co...
was his life that was being threatened—he deserved the chance to work on the problem too. “Good,” she said. You’re not mad? She shrugged. “I was just encouraging you to be more impulsive! I can’t complain now. What did they say?” He erased, then continued. They told me not to worry. They said everything would be all ri...
that?” Susebron hesitated, and she could tell he didn’t have an answer for her. Infant Returned. Among her own people, they didn’t believe that a person was chosen to Return because of some virtue they exemplified. That was a Hallandren belief. To her, it seemed a hole in their theology, but she didn’t want to challeng...
who she is. “If she raised you, she’s your mother,” Siri said. “It doesn’t matter who gave birth to you.” He didn’t respond to that. “Maybe she was your real mother,” Siri said. “If they were going to bring you to the palace in secret, they might as well bring your mother too. Who better to care for you?” He nodded, th...
think she can feel hatred. She was always just calm and careful and perfect.” Susebron frowned. “I sound bitter, don’t I?” Siri said, sighing. “I don’t mean to. I really do love Vivenna. She was always there, watching out for me. But it seemed to me that she made too many efforts to cover up for me. My big sister, pull...
by breathing through her mouth, she could ignore much of the ﬂavor. She ate every bite, then washed the taste away with a few mouthfuls of warm boiled water. She was alone in the room. It was a small chamber built onto the side of a building near the slums. Vasher had paid a few coins for a day in it, though he wasn’t ...
by the stress of isolation and trauma of her betrayal, fueled by becoming a Drab and being suffocated by disease. To pretend that was the real her would be to parody those who truly lived on the streets. The people she’d hidden among and tried to imitate. Where did that leave her? Was she the penitent, quiet princess w...
a piece of rope—the one that Vasher had used to tie her up, the first thing that she had Awakened. She’d since retrieved the Breath from it. She went back outside, holding the rope between her fingers, twisting it, thinking. The Commands that Denth taught me were simple phrases. Hold things. Protect me. He’d implied th...
rope now, then command it to hold something later? How would she even phrase that? “Hold things that I tell you to hold,” she Commanded. Nothing happened. “Hold that branch when I tell you.” Again, nothing. “Hold whatever I say.” Nothing. A voice came from behind. “Tell it to ‘Hold when thrown.’” Vivenna jumped, spinni...
was talking about. No conjecture. No wavering. As if he knew everything. She could see why it was sometimes hard for him to get along with people. “Anyway,” Vasher said, opening his eyes. “Did you eat all of that squid?” She nodded. “Is that what that was?” “Yes,” he said, opening his pack, getting out another dried ch...
decided that she’d be a fool to do so. She could find no fault in his efforts to stop the war, and his solemn promise in the basement that first day still stuck with her. She believed him. Hesitantly. She just intended to keep her eyes open a little wider from now on. “All right,” he said. “I guess this is for the best...
Invested. They don’t present an aura when Awakened, but the Breath sustains them, keeping them from needing to eat. They can die, and need a special alcohol solution to remain functional past a few years of Awakened status. Because of their organic host, their Breath clings to the body, and cannot be withdrawn once Inv...
BioChroma doesn’t stick to them very well at all. The result is that they require quite a bit of Investiture—often well over a hundred Breaths—to Awaken them. The benefit of this, of course, is that the Breath can be drawn back out again. This has allowed for quite a bit more experimentation, and that has resulted in a...
object with no sentience. Is there a way to create an Awakened object with sentience? Like a Returned, but inside of something other than a human body?” Vasher stood. “We’ve covered enough for one day.” “You didn’t answer my question.” “And I’m not going to,” he said. “And I advise you never to ask it again. Understand...
his memories of her, but she didn’t understand the truth. Nor could he, really, explain it. Calmseer had come closer to being a divinity than any Returned Lightsong had known. She’d cared for her followers much as Allmother now tried to do, but there had been genuine concern in Calmseer’s regard. She hadn’t helped the ...
is out there that sent me back, why couldn’t you just let me be? I’d already lived one life. I’d already made my choices. Why did you have to send me back? He’d tried everything, and yet people still looked to him. He knew for a fact that he was one of the most popular Returned, visited by more petitioners and given mo...
Of deciding when they should be used. And when they should not be. Still alive... He turned and walked toward the steps. ~ The Lifeless Enclave was technically part of the Court of Gods. The huge building was built at the base of the court plateau, and a long, covered walkway ran down to it. Lightsong moved down the st...
or tortured out of someone. The only mitigating factor was the God King. Apparently, with his powerful BioChroma, he could break Lifeless more quickly. Still, taking control of ten thousand would require weeks, even for the God King. The choice was left to the individual Returned. They could let some of their priests h...
Tones. He was a creature feared and hated by most people in Idris. And he was dozing quietly at her side. A god of color and beauty, his body as perfectly sculpted as a statue. And what was Siri? Not perfect, of that she was sure. And yet, somehow, she’d brought to him something that he needed. A hint of spontaneity. A...
a risk we must take. “And your objections from before?” she asked. “You can’t shout out the truth, and your guards are likely to rush you away if you try something like escaping.” Yes, Susebron wrote, but you have far fewer guards, and you can yell. Siri paused. “Yes,” she said. “But would anyone believe me? What would...
Kingdom of Iridescence was still widely disliked because of the Manywar. “We’d be taken captive, as you say,” she acknowledged. “Plus, if we were in another country, I doubt we’d be able to get you a Breath every week. Without them, you’d die.” He looked hesitant. “What?” she asked. I would not die without Breath, he w...
was difficult. It was like learning to control a second body. Vivenna was quick. Yes, she had a lot of Breath. That made it easier, but true Instinctive Awakening—the ability to Awaken objects without training or practice—was a gift granted only by the Sixth Heightening. That was one step beyond even what Returned had,...
said. “Denth is too clever to get caught like that. He must have figured that you would reveal his location.” Vivenna ground her teeth in frustration, settling back against the wall. Like the other rooms they had stayed in, this one was utterly simple. Their only possessions were a pair of bedrolls and their changes of...
think his name was Nanrovah.” Vasher cursed quietly. “You think it might be connected?” she asked. “Maybe. You know which thieves were actually doing the robbery?” She shook her head. “I’ll be back,” he said. “Wait here.” ~ So she did. She waited for hours. She tried practicing her Awakening, but she’d already spent mo...
his trousers, thankfully, but instead threw on a different shirt. The sleeves of this one were cut into long ribbons near the wrists. “Upon call,” he said, “become my fingers and grip that which I must.” The cuff tassels wiggled. “Wait,” Vivenna said. “What was that? A Command?” “Too complicated for you,” he said, knee...
he said, opening the door. “We can’t afford to draw attention.” She grimaced, then did as told, putting her Breath into her shirt with a basic, and non-active, Command. It was actually the same as giving a half-spoken Command, or one that was mumbled. Those would draw out the Breath, but leave the item unable to act. A...
shock, but managed to keep it in as she recognized Nightblood in the figure’s hand. “Two guards,” Vasher said. “Both silenced.” “Will they do for answering our questions?” Vasher shook a silhouetted head. “Practically kids. We need someone more important. We’ll have to go in. Either that, or sit and watch for a few day...
There was a fire burning at the center, the smoke twisting up through a hole in the ceiling. The upper chamber—the building itself—was probably just a front, for the chamber down here looked very lived-in. There were piles of cloth, bed rolls, pots and pans. All of it as dirty as the men who sat around the fire, laughi...
Vasher’s momentum ripped the blade free, and he tossed it aside, the tassels releasing it. The sword hit the dirt of the cellar ﬂoor; Vasher’s hand snapped up, grabbing the thief’s face. The tassels wrapped around the man’s head like a squid’s tentacles. Vasher slammed the man backward and down into the ground— kneelin...
sword.” Yes...yes there is... He blinked, then saw her. He snapped Nightblood back into place, shaking his head and rushing toward her. He kicked a body as he passed, earning a grunt. “Colorless monsters,” he whispered, looking into the cage. He no longer seemed larger, and she decided that what she’d seen must have ju...
looked again at Vasher, walking with his ragged beard, eyes forward, child in one arm, Nightblood in the other. He walked right up to a mansion’s gates then kicked them open. He moved onto the mansion grounds, Vivenna following more nervously. A pair of guard dogs began barking. They howled and growled, getting closer....
my temper,” he said. “Back in that lair. A warrior is supposed to be calm. When you duel or fight, you can’t let anger control you. That’s why I’ve never been that good a duelist.” “You did the job,” she said, “and Denth has lost another pawn.” They moved out onto the street. “Though,” she added, “I wish I hadn’t seen ...
late, but he was often unpredictable. Important events are imminent, Lightsong thought. They have been building for years now. Why should I be at the center of them? His dreams the night before had been so odd. finally, no visions of war. Just the moon. And some odd twisting passages. Like...tunnels. Many of the gods n...
are nothing if not exhaustive in your self-congratulatory made-up logic.” “I am rather exceptional in that regard.” “Undoubtedly.” “Anyway,” Lightsong said, holding up a finger, “by being far more stunning than you are, I invite people to ignore you and pay attention to me. That, in turn, invites you to be your usual c...
armies. Nobody else wants to be the one who actually sends our troops out to kill and die. They all want to be involved, but nobody wants to be responsible.” He fell silent. She looked up at him, a goddess of perfect form. So much stronger than the others, but she hid it behind her own veil of triviality. “I know one t...
he be part of the entire conspiracy? She trusted him as much as she trusted anyone except Susebron, but her nerves had a way of making her question everything and everyone. She passed through room after room, each one decorated in its own color theme. She didn’t notice how bright those were anymore. Assuming Lightsong ...
said. “You were just waiting—you just had to stall until you had an excuse to lock me away.” “Please, Vessel,” one of the priests said, gesturing for a Lifeless to take her arm. She didn’t struggle; she forced herself to remain calm, looking the priest in the eyes. He looked away. “This will be for the best,” he said. ...
mind twice now on the same issue. He lacks credibility.” “He should explain why he changed his mind, then.” “He might, but I don’t know. If the people knew his child had been kidnapped, it would make some more afraid and they would decide that Idrian instigators had been behind it, no matter what he said. Plus there’s ...
crowd. She felt Vasher approach before he arrived. Not only did he have a lot of Breath, but he was watching her, and she could feel the slight familiarity of that gaze. She turned, picking him out of the crowd. He stood out far more than she did, in his darker, ragged clothing. “Congratulations,” he said as he approac...
stood, verdant in the dimming evening light. “Oh, God,” Llarimar said. “Please. Give me the knowledge I seek. Should we go to war with our kinsmen, the Idrians? Are they rebels who need to be quelled?” Priests were already returning from their supplications. Each held aloft a ﬂag indicating the will of their god or god...
like this!” He shrugged, glancing back. “Actually, I can.” He smiled. “I’m frustrating like that.” And with that, he left the arena, heading back to his palace without giving his vote. Annotations for Chapter 50 Fifty-One Annotations for Chapter 51 I’m glad you came back for me, Nightblood said. It was very lonely in t...
one problem, something neither of them had foreseen. How was an object of steel—an object that was so removed from life that it would find the experience of living strange and alien—supposed to understand what “evil” was? I’m figuring it out, Nightblood said. I’ve had a lot of practice. The sword wasn’t really to blame...
Breathed. The belt at his waist—touching his skin, as always—Awakened. Color drained from the kerchief tied to his leg beneath his trousers. “Climb things, then grab things, then pull me up,” he Commanded. Three Commands in one Awakening, a difficult task for some. For him, however, it had become as simple as blinking....
of chambers, he assumed, on a higher level. He made his way to a stairwell. Fortunately, it seemed late enough that there were very few people awake. The sister, Nightblood said. That’s who you’re after. You’re rescuing Vivenna’s sister! Vasher nodded quietly in the darkness, feeling his way up the stairs, counting on ...
of place in the fine palace hallways. Vasher paused. Something strange is going on here. What do you mean? Nightblood asked. He hadn’t meant to address the sword, but that was the trouble with an object that could read minds. Any thoughts Vasher formed in his head, Nightblood thought were directed at it. After all, in ...
to see you.” Vasher spat again. “Still as eloquent as ever, I see,” Denth said with a sigh. “You know the best thing about you, Vasher? You’re solid. Predictable. I guess I am too, in a way. Hard to live as long as we have without falling into patterns, eh?” Vasher didn’t reply, though he did try to yell as some men ga...
one. A servant provided, as always. He wasn’t drunk. He couldn’t get drunk. “Do you ever feel,” Lightsong said, “like something is going on? Something far greater than you are? Like a painting you can only see the corner of, no matter how you squint and search?” “Every day, Your Grace,” Llarimar said. He sat on a stool...
to?” Lightsong asked. Llarimar sat for a moment. Then, carefully, he removed the large miter from his head, revealing his thinning black hair plastered to the skull with sweat. He set aside the ceremonial headgear. “I speak to you as a friend, Lightsong, not your priest,” Llarimar said quietly. “The priest cannot inﬂue...
would be over. Now she didn’t even have an assurance that she’d live through the next few days. No, she thought. They’ll keep me around long enough for my “baby” to be born. I’m insurance. If something goes wrong, they’ll still need me to show off. That was little comfort. The thought of six months cooped up inside the...
him up and into the room. They took a few moments, Llarimar resting with his back to the outer wall, gasping for breath. “You really need to exercise more regularly, Scoot,” Lightsong said, creeping toward the doorway and peeking out into the hall beyond. Llarimar didn’t answer. He just sat, puffing, shaking his head a...
Bold,” Lightsong said. “It feels good to finally be living up to the title. Now, hush. I can still feel life nearby.” The tunnel was obviously man-made, and resembled Lightsong’s idea of a mine shaft. Just like the image from his dreams. The tunnels had several branches, and the life he sensed was straight ahead. Light...
trying to estimate what was above them. The God King’s palace? he guessed. He couldn’t be certain; it was difficult to judge direction and distance under the ground. He felt excited. Thrilled. This was something no god was supposed to do. Sneaking at night, moving through secret tunnels, looking for secrets and clues. ...
pounding. He took a step. “Your Grace!” Llarimar said, standing. “We should go for help!” “We are help,” Lightsong said. He took a deep breath. Then—surprising himself—he charged down the tunnel. He quickly approached the light, rounding a corner and coming into a section of tunnel that had been worked with rock. In se...
her he was only going on a quick scouting mission. Though he was a solitary person himself, he apparently understood her desire to be a part of things, so he usually let her know where he was going and when to expect him back. She’d never waited up for Denth to come back from a night mission, and she’d been working wit...
down there, ﬂoating in the current with their feet weighed to the ﬂoor. A party of skeletons, having a dance. Dance, dance, dance. No bodies tonight, though. Too bad. That meant fish. Free fish, he didn’t have to pay tariffs on. And free fish were good fish. No...a voice said to him. A little bit more to your right. Th...
he deserved.” Denth backhanded him across the face, causing him to swing from the hook. “Arsteel was a good man!” “Once,” Vasher said, tasting blood. “Once, we were all good men, Denth. Once.” Denth was quiet. “You think your little quest here will undo what you’ve done?” “Better than becoming a mercenary,” Vasher said...

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.