Mark G. Manley

 “We shouldn’t be here!” My-re pulled at her older sister’s arm. They were looking at a campsite at the edge of the desert grasslands of the Rirorni plains. “Lea, please!”

    “Stop it, My-re. I just want to look. You can stay here if you’re chicken.”

    My-re watched Lea creep through the tall grass until she was out of sight. She didn’t like being alone, but liked even less being called a coward. She looked to ensure no one else was around then followed Lea.

    The deserted campsite was small with a stone fire circle and two one-man tents. Inside each were fur hide blankets and some cookware.

    “The fire’s cold,” Lea said stretching her hand over the ashes. “Whoever’s here has been gone awhile.”

    “They’re probably hunters,” My-re said.

    Lea shook her head. “These tents don’t look like hunters’ tents. They look military.”

    “Father said never talk to soldiers,” My-re reminded her.

    “I know. They wouldn’t leave their equipment, so they’ll be back. Let’s go.”

    My-re heard horses neighing in the distance and felt vibrations in the ground. Riders were approaching, fast.

    Lea said, “Hide in that tent and we can slip out the back.”

    It was a tight fit for the two sisters. Lea watched through the opening.

    “I see them. Go.”

    Iron stakes at the corners stretched the tent’s thick hide tight. “I can’t lift the bottom,” My-re whispered frantically.

    “Cut it!”

    “I don’t have a knife!”

    “Find something, they’re coming!”

    My-re searched through the furs and cookware and found a two-pronged fork with a spiral metal handle. She slashed at the hide with little effect, then stabbed and tried to push the fork through.

    The center pole leaned to one side. Lea grabbed it to keep the tent from collapsing.

     “Lea, I can’t cut it!”

    “I’ll distract them. Stay low and run. I’ll meet you back at the horses,” she told My-re.

    “I’m scared.”

    “I know, but whatever you do, don’t scream.”

    My-re nodded and took the tent pole.

    Lea watched from the opening. “Two riders,” Lea said and then disappeared through the opening.

    “Lea!” My-re whispered harshly. She tried to insert the pole in the hole, but it slipped in the dry earth. She had to keep it up to avoid giving away their position.

    Lea reappeared. “You can let it go. They sprinted right past at full speed without even slowing.”

    My-re let the pole go and the tent collapsed. Crawling out, she held the fork for protection and asked Lea,  "Where were they going?”

    “North, towards Trocar.”

 

* * *

 

     “Our spy network in the Rirorni Empire has gone silent.”

    Lady Sheila Greywand thought for a moment and then rose from her seat in the Crown Council audience chamber on the Isle of the Eye. In her flowing gown, she walked over to the two men who had delivered the news, Spymaster Timshard and Captain Darien her military attaché. Almost six feet tall, Sheila had straight, raven black hair and brown eyes. Her olive skin covered wide cheekbones, a strong jaw, and a long nose, a feature that made her more striking than beautiful.

    Sheila said to Timshard. “Spy network has such a negative connotation. How long has it been since we’ve heard from our emissaries?”

    “Six months.”

    Sheila’s brow rose at the comment and said, “Why wasn’t I notified three months ago, Timmy?”

    Timshard’s blue eyes narrowed and his fair complexion with a splattering of freckles across his youthful face turned red at the detested nickname. “M’lady, it didn’t seem important enough to trouble you with this routine matter of state.”

    “A missing report from one or two--maybe even three--emissaries may not seem important, but we’ve heard nothing from my entire network in the Rirorni Empire?”

    “Yes, m’lady. This is why the matter is being brought to your attention.”

    Captain Darien snorted.

    Sheila turned her head to Darien. “Something to add?”

    Darien wore well-oiled leather armor. His golden-brown arms and legs boasted perfectly carved muscles. His round helm covered his entire head, including a nose guard with thick rivets around the opening, so only his scowling mouth was visible. His helm hid his eyes in shadow.

    “The Rirorni are on the move,” he said.

     Timshard protested. “That’s highly unlikely. There hasn’t been an incursion in almost sixty years. A massing of troops surely would have been reported…”

    “Now you realize the gravity of your misinterpretation,” Sheila said. “What kind of horde could the Rirorni Empire muster?”

    “Our best estimate is anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000 horsemen.”

    Darien exclaimed, “By the gods, we’ll lose all the southern cities in Alastari! Lady Greywand, I’ll send a detachment of Lord Protectors to Trocar immediately.”

    Sheila walked past the two men and said, “You don’t understand. The cities are already lost.”

 

* * *

 

    My-re breathed a sigh as they approached their home. They heard their mother calling them for dinner.

    Living on the vast southern Rirorni plains had its share of dangers, wild animals, drought, and with the exception of this afternoon, boredom. There was enough boredom to fill two lifetimes.

    My-re had been happy though, living on a ranch with her mother, father, and older sister Lea. Their two-story wooden dwelling and a barn nestled between two grassy hills offered a beautiful view of the plains beyond. It also provided a clear observation point to monitor their cows, horses, and bulls grazing in the fields. When it rained, canals at the bottom caught water from the hills and channeled it to their crops. In the spring, violet flowers bloomed, bathing everything with their fragrant smell. In the summer, My-re kept cool from the sun’s heat by playing in the creek.

    My-re was ten years old, officially a ‘big girl’. Her status came with responsibilities. When their rooster bellowed forth its morning call, it woke everything on the ranch except Lea, who just turned eighteen. For the past couple of years Lea’s sole interest was boys, any boy. However, Lea had a hard time keeping them. She had a habit of beating them at everything, especially archery. Lea was an excellent shot and only her father was better, but just barely. Lea said the secret of her speed and accuracy was holding the arrows and firing not from the left, but the right side of the bow.

    At dawn, My-re’s first duty was to ensure her older sister got up. My-re’s favorite method was to jump on Lea’s bed. A short chase would usually ensue, but Lea seldom caught her. Their father said in the past, ‘If anyone could outrun a rabbit, it’d be My-re’. My-re’s duties also included collecting chicken eggs, milking their four cows, and feeding the pigs. Then she would have a good twenty minutes to swing on the nearby tree before her mother called her in to wash up and help make breakfast. Since her father and Lea would be tending the cattle, it was My-re’s responsibility to ride out to the fields to call them in. Her mother, the smartest person she knew, schooled My-re and Lea. My-re was happy in her little corner of the world, even with her annoying sister around.

    “Lea and My-re, I need you to gather your things after supper,” her father said at dinner that night.

    Her father, known as One-Eye, had once been a prison warden in the town of Rocanis, before he had their ranch built where they now lived. A worn brown leather patch covered his right eye and part of a long scar that stretched to the bottom of his cheek, the result of a long-ago battle when he had been ‘young and foolish’. He had dark skin with a rough texture from a lifelong exposure to the intense sun. A rawhide band across his forehead held back his black hair. He had a stout, solid build and could still pick up his youngest daughter with one arm and give her rides on his broad shoulders.

    “Are we going on a trip?” My-re asked excitedly, around a mouthful of potatoes. They were buttery and spicy, just the way she liked them. She used the two-pronged fork she acquired from the abandoned campsite earlier today.

    “No, not exactly, dear,” her mother replied. Fortuna was One-Eye’s ‘raven-haired beauty’. Both My-re and Lea strongly resembled their mother who had dark chocolate eyes, tanned skin, and long black hair. Her smooth face was both wise and forgiving.

    “What should we pack, Father?” My-re asked.

    “Everything.”

    “Everything?” Lea echoed, pausing midway through a bite of fish.

    “Everything. We’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”

    “What? I’m not moving anywhere! You just don’t like that new boy I’ve been seeing.”

    “Lea, this isn’t about any boy.”

    Folding her arms tightly across her chest, “This is so unfair!” Lea shouted.

    “Tone, young lady,” Fortuna chastised.

    “Why are we going?” My-re asked.

    My-re’s father glanced at his wife who shook her head.

    After a moment, he said to his daughters, “There has been some disturbing news from the south. This is just a precaution, but your mother and I have decided it’s not worth taking a chance.”

    “What news?” My-re asked.

    “Don’t talk with your mouth full. You don’t need to worry,” Fortuna said.

    “Is it a monster?”

    “No.”

    “Is it a dragon?”

    “I said it’s not monsters and My-re where did you get that fork?”

    My-re paused mid-bite in panic, felt her face turn red, and looked to Lea.

    Lea’s eyes narrowed in anger at her.

    There was silence for several heartbeats. Their parents’ stares demanded an answer.

    “I saw some soldiers galloping across the plains today,” Lea said meekly.

    “What! Why didn’t you tell us?” Fortuna asked.

    One-Eye interrupted his wife. “Lea, I’ve told you to never talk to soldiers!”

    “Father, I know that, so we hid from them.”

    “What do you mean, ‘we’?” Fortuna probed.

    Lea hesitated then quietly said, “My-re was with me.”

    “Lea!”

    “Mom, they were riding so fast, I doubt they would have stopped even if they saw us!”

    “Good girl.” One-Eye gestured calmness to Fortuna. “What direction were they heading?”

    “They were riding from the south, heading northward. They kept looking over their shoulders and were riding hard and fast, like Undgari, the Rirorni the God of the Dead himself was after them,” Lea said.

    My-re cringed at the mention of the God of the Dead. “I hope I never meet Undgari. I just know he’s big, ugly, and scary.”

    “Don’t forget stupid, just like you,” Lea snorted as her eyes shifted from My-re, to the stolen fork, then back to her.

    My-re had a habit of acquiring things, but they were always items someone had forgotten or no longer needed. She didn’t see any reason to abandon the fork on the plains. It was a memento of her adventure. However, she knew it was the cause of the scolding. She avoided Lea’s gaze and asked her parents, “If we’re not staying here, then where are we going?”

    “We are going to stay at your aunt and uncle’s house in Whitehorse. They are off shoring up lodging for us in Rocanis,” Fortuna replied.

     “Rocanis?” Lea complained, slouching in her chair. “That is forever away!”

     “Oh Mom, can we see the duelmaster games?” My-re asked excitedly. “I always wanted to see the gladiators fight.”

    “No, of course not,” Fortuna said, as if her youngest had asked to play in mud.

    “Maybe we’ll see a Lord Protector? I hear they are handsome. I’m sure you’d just love to kiss one, Lea.” My-re made kissing noises.

    “Shut up!”

    “What about the animals?” My-re asked.

    “We’ll bring the dairy cows with us, but the chickens, pigs, and cattle will have to fend for themselves until we return,” One-Eye said.

    “They’ll starve! You can’t leave them to die,” Lea said in shock. She dropped her fork sending bits of food flying.

    “Lower your tone at once, young lady,” Fortuna scolded.

    “We don’t have a place for all the animals,” One-Eye explained. “I hope we aren’t gone long. The cattle and chickens will be fine and I’m going to let the pigs loose to root in the fields with the cattle. I’ll leave grain for them to feed on.”

    “But--”

    “Lea, I’m sorry, but there is no room for debate. You need to pack your things.” His stern tone ended the conversation.

 

 * * *

 

    After dinner, while My-re tried to pack and stay out of her sister’s way, Lea made every opportunity to stomp around and slam the doors to signal her displeasure, but not enough to provoke their parents’ wrath.

    Later that evening, their father called them to the living room.

    He sat in his favorite red cushioned chair next to the lit fireplace. He wore a green plumed helm and held a well-oiled short, composite bow in his hands.

    “Girls would you like to hear the story of how I rescued those gladiators on the Rirorni plains and how I helped defend Rocanis from the Delarquan city of Jhans?” he asked.

    “And how that Lord Protector saved your life?” My-re prompted.

    Both girls had heard the tale many times before, but this one was their particular favorite, as they were characters in the story. The telling went well into the night, way past their bedtime. Fortuna sat knitting, as their father recounted the saga with great fanfare. His family gasped, cheered, and laughed in all the right places.

    It would be the last night My-re spent in her home, one she would remember the rest of her life.