Swordmaster

Era of Rebirth

Leandyr leaned against a thick stone pillar and glanced at Ridivan dancing with Enver amongst the guests. Barish's crown was perched neatly atop his head, a perfect fit. It suited him much better than it had his predecessor, especially since he'd forgone the ratty old cloak and gaudy scepter.

Lady Hiroh was on the other side of the Grand Hall, conversing with Mellidius and Shara, their guests from Kon.

"Leave it you to brood on such a joyous occasion."

Leandyr breathed a laugh. "It's good to see you too Kitaya. Thanks for coming."

The Konian woman saluted him with her glass of wine. "I'll take any excuse to get dressed up. I feel so pretty." She smoothed the folds of her pale green dress.

"Indeed, my dear. You are glowing."

A companionable descended between them, but the hairs on Leandyr's neck stood on edge. Kitaya wasn't one to engage in idle chatter and he hoped whatever she wanted to discuss wouldn't involve a certain dead king.

"So what really happened?" she asked, and it took everything within Leandyr to keep his face passive. "Don't spin me the 'monolith attack' story either."

The monolith attack story was the cover-up they'd devised when their allies started asking too many questions. The tale involved their former king down by the docks when the monolith attack. T'was a story in which Lady Hiroh was the savior of the day rather than Barish's captive. But of course the Konians would see right through it.

Leandyr sighed. Diplomatic relations between Abydon and its allies would collapse if they knew Barish had endorsed the use of forbidden magic. But if he could get Kitaya their his side, she could assist in allaying any doubt amongst the others.

"The Yilmaz had used forbidden magic to trap the Queen's soul in a crystal. Barish was trying to use Lady Hiroh as a vessel," he finally said.

Kitaya choked on her wine. "Forbidden magic? Please tell me you all killed him?"

He grimaced. "He fell on his own sword."

"By the gods..." She took a healthy gulp of wine befor speaking again. "And what of the Yilmaz? I know you wanted them dead since the eve of the Lake War."

"Two are dead. The others missing. Videlia had the guards scour the whole kingdom. They're probably out there somewhere, licking their wounds." Plotting my demise, he added in his head. "Listen, Kitaya—"

"Later. We'll sit down and have a proper talk. But from that tidbit, it sounds to me like you all did the right thing." She shrugged. "I don't particularly care about who does or doesn't used forbidden magic anyway."

Leandyr exhaled in relief. "Thank you."

She gave a dismissive wave before flouncing off. "Save a dance for me."

The musicians struck up another tune and more magicians and capes flocked to the dance floor. Under the light of the chandeliers they moved across the polished marble floors. Ridivan and Enver got lost in the throng of moving bodies but Leandyr wasn't worried. Videlia was out there keeping a sharp eye on them.

A tap on his shoulder pulled his eyes away from the crowd. Lady Hiroh smiled up at him, her painted lips glistening in the light.

"Would you like to dance, Swordmaster?" she asked.

"As you wish, my lady." He downed the rest of his wine, letting the small buzz loosen his muscles before offering her his hand.

Soon they were arm in arm, swaying and twirling amongst the guests like a leaf in the wind. Ayzel's blue dress billowed and flowed with their movements her dark hair glistening in the light.

"So, where will you go from here?" Leandyr asked.

"I'm going to stay in Abydon for a while. To help Ridivan subvert the fears of his allies. They have well-placed suspicions that there's more to Barish's death than we're letting on."

He gave a nod. "I'd like you to sit in on a meeting with the Konians later. We need them on our side. Until then, we should tread lightly with the others. One can never be too careful." He winced as the words came out of his mouth. Barish had said the same thing that day.

They danced in awkward silence for a moment before Ayzel spoke. "I thought about what you said back at the temple that day. You were right. I don't need the gods to be a Hiroh." She gave him a melancholy smile. "You'll make a magician very happy someday Swordmaster."

His face twisted up as bile rose into his throat, and Lady Hiroh laughed.

"That's the reaction I was expecting. You know, maybe your problem isn't that you need to be bonded to a magician, but that you refuse to." Their movements slowed with the music and she inclined her head in a small bow. "Thank you for the dance."

"T'was my pleasure," he said, and she gave him a smile before disappearing into the sea of people.

He turned to do the same and Enver crashed into him. Alcohol was ripe on the scribe's breath and Leandyr had to catch him before he fell over.

"Oh sorry, Swordmaster," Enver said with a sheepish grin. "Would you like to dance, too?"

Leandyr threw an arm over his friend's shoulders and steered him through the crowd. "I'd love to, but I just had one and this crowd is suffocating."

Ridivan was up ahead, his head swiveling frantically and eyes wide. When they finally settled on Leandyr, his face melted in visage of relief. "There you are. Don't scare me like that."

"Hi Van!" Enver gave an exaggerated pout. "The Swordmaster doesn't want to dance." He slipped from Leandyr's grasp and into his magician's.

Ridivan smiled down at him and squeezed his hand. "We'll dance again after we walk the room."

Ever didn't seem to register anything the King at said. His attention was rapt on the crown. "May I borrow this?" He plucked it from Ridivan's head before he could protest.

Leandyr breathed a laugh. "I'll be up on the balcony if you need me." He clapped Ridivan on the shoulder and meandered through the crowd to the stairs.

The festivities would be winding down soon, as noted by the setting sun. Then it would be business as usual in Abydon again, with a new King. A better one. It was a while since their people had an excuse to dance in the streets. Their victory against the Grecians had been made bitter sweet by the death of their Queen.

Perhaps with Ridivan at the helm, they'd finally be able to move past that dark time. And castle Abydon would shine brighter than ever.