Fireblood (Whispers from Mirrowen) (55 page)

Tyrus stared at the man’s face. The strain of the music filled the glen, overpowering the thrash of the waterfalls for a moment. A look in the man’s eyes. The force of the music had halted him. Tyrus breathed, unable to know what it meant.

Then with a snarl of anger on his face, the Kishion rushed forward and jerked the chain from Tyrus’s neck, snapping it. He kicked Tyrus in the knee, the pain excruciating and sudden. He lurched and stumbled, seizing the Kishion’s shirt front to drag him down too. He would fight to the last breath. He would use his teeth, his fingernails, every stick or rock he could lay claim to.

Tyrus felt his arm jerk around, and the next thing he knew, he was chewing the dirt in agony. His arm was forced backward in an impossible angle and the pain startled him with its intensity. His wrist was on fire. He was hauled back for a moment, before a knee struck his groin. Every shade of torment imaginable. His stomach revolted at the pain. He would have vomited but the Kishion forbade it, punishing him further.

His thick hair was grasped by strong fingers and his neck exposed. The knife was coming next. He knew it. He struggled with his free hand, groping to find another charm in his pocket. His fingers closed around it, but he was too late.

The Kishion pressed a vial to his lips and poured a foul-tasting liquid into his gaping mouth. He tried to spit it out, but the Kishion had his head cocked in a way that prevented
anything of the sort. He felt the liquid running down his throat, triggering his gag and drowning instincts.

Then the Kishion shoved him to the ground and he flailed and coughed. He could feel the poison working in him instantly. He could feel its magic turning into fire inside his skin. What was it? Monkshood? Banethrush? Villena? It had a sap-like texture and was bitter as yellow citrus.

Tyrus lurched for a stone, to try and plunge his abdomen against it, but the Kishion snatched him again, twisting his arm behind his back, jacking it hard. He screamed in pain, squeezing the stone in his pocket with his left hand. His fingers felt like they would snap.

The Kishion knelt next to him, his mouth near Tyrus’s ear.

“Before we left Silvandom, you said, ‘she is in Stonehollow.’ Who is she?”

Fear.

It was worse than any he had known. He felt his mouth begin to move. He could not stop it. The magic of the potion forced him to speak.

“She is my daughter.”

The Kishion paused, as if listening. “Where in Stonehollow is she?”

“I do not know. I left her in an orphanage run by a man named Winemiller. I have only been there once. I do not know where she is now.”

He hated himself. He hated what he was saying.

“What is her name?”

“I do not know what they call her. I did not name her.”

The Kishion was silent a moment longer. “Who was her mother?”

Dread filled him. “The Dryad tree…in the Paracelsus Towers. The Dryad is her mother.”

The Kishion stiffened. “You left her unprotected then,” he said venomously. His voice began to shift and change. He recognized the voice now. It was the Arch-Rike’s voice. He could imagine him, sitting in his palace in Kenatos, using an orb to speak. “You sent Aransetis to fetch her. You sent the Bhikhu after Cruw Reon and the pup you pretended was your nephew to find Basilides. Know this, Tyrus Paracelsus. They will all die for aiding you. I know the Uddhava far better. I may not kill your daughter. I may bring her to Kenatos, as I brought your sister all those years ago. Kishion—go to Stonehollow and bring her to me. With his scent, you will find hers.”

The Kishion pressed his nose against Tyrus’s scalp. He struggled to unwind his arm, but there was no leverage and the pain only intensified. He felt the Kishion sniff his hair once.

“Kill him.”

A knife plunged into Tyrus’s back. It was a mortal wound. He knew it instantly. He had examined corpses that had been stabbed that way. The Kishion dropped him face-first into the scrub. His heart shuddered. Pain filled him, pinpricks all over his body. The sound of the waterfall was the last thing he remembered.

A
eduan: a race from the southern kingdoms of Wayland and Stonehollow. They are primarily fair-skinned with dominant and recessive traits for hair color, eye color, and complexion. Many consider the Aeduan as mongrels because of the variety of their physical characteristics. However, they have proven to be very adaptable and most resilient to the Plague. The Aeduan were the principal founders of Kenatos.

Boeotian: a race of tribes from the northern territories known as Boeotia. They have no central government, though they purportedly revere an individual known as the Empress. They are nomads with no permanent cities and live off the land. They are strong and typically have brown or black hair and are prone to fight amongst themselves, pitting tribe against tribe. Their skin is heavily veined and tattooed, giving them an almost purple cast. They have sworn to destroy the city of Kenatos, and occasionally unify for the purpose of attacking the island kingdom. Silvandom is the primary defense against Boeotia.

Bhikhu: a class primarily found in Silvandom and Kenatos. These are highly trained warriors that specialize in all forms
of armed and unarmed combat and are trusted to preserve the peace and dispense justice. They cannot own treasure or items of value, and treat life with the greatest respect. They are often mistaken as being cruel, for they will punish and deliberately injure as a way of teaching their morality of painful consequences. The Bhikhu are typically orphans and nobility who have abandoned worldly wealth.

Canton Vaud: the seat of the Druidecht hierarchy, known as the Thirteen. These are the wisest of the Druidecht and they travel throughout the kingdoms to solve social and political problems and to represent nature in disputes over land. When one of the Thirteen dies, the remaining vote to replace that person with a promising Druidecht.

Carnotha: a small marked coin denoting the rank of thief. Showing it to another ensures cooperation in an activity as well as access to information and illegal items. There are purportedly only five hundred such coins in existence, and in order to acquire a carnotha, one must steal it from another thief. They are carefully safeguarded and hidden from authorities. There is one carnotha that identifies the location of all the others and can determine whether one is a fake. The bearer of this one is known as the Master Thief.

Chin-Na: a lesser-known class found in Silvandom and only taught amongst the Vaettir and usually only to nobility. In addition to the martial aspects of the Bhikhu, the Chin-Na train their bodies to exist on very little air and have learned to harden their bodies and focus their internal energy to the point where even weapons cannot pierce their skin. As such, they do not float, but their attacks are so focused and powerful that they can strike down an enemy with a single blow that damages internal organs. Only the most trusted and dedicated to Vaettir ideals are allowed to learn the secrets of the Chin-Na.

Cruithne: a race from the eastern mountains of Alkire. They have grayish-black skin, ranging in tones, with hair varied from pale blond to coarse gray. They are easily the largest of men, in terms of weight and size, but not slow or ponderous. The Cruithne are known for their inquisitiveness and deep understanding of natural laws and spirit laws. They founded the Paracelsus order in their ancient homeland and transferred its knowledge to Kenatos.

Druidecht: a class found in every kingdom except Kenatos. Those in Kenatos consider them superstitious pagans, though harmless. The knowledge of the Druidecht is only transmitted verbally from mentor to disciple. It teaches that the world coexists with a spirit realm known as Mirrowen and that the spirits of that realm can be communed with and enlisted for help. A Druidecht cannot heal innately, but it can enlist a spirit creature that can. When a disciple has memorized the unwritten lore and demonstrated sufficient harmony with nature and Mirrowen, he or she will be presented with a talisman that will enable him or her to hear the thoughts of spirit creatures and communicate back. The variety of spirit creatures is diverse and so Druidecht often only stay in one place for a few years and then move to another place to learn about the denizens there. The Druidecht are the only outsiders trusted by the Boeotians to enter their lands unharmed.

Fear Liath: a spirit creature of great power known to inhabit high mountain country. Their presence causes fog and fear to disorient their prey. There are no recorded descriptions of a Fear Liath, but it is known that they cannot tolerate sunlight.

Finder: a class found in nearly every kingdom trained to search for lost items or people. They can track prints, discern clues, and are often hired as bounty hunters or guides. Finders trained in the city usually do not associate with those trained in the wild.

Fireblood: an innate magical ability possessed by a lost race. The race purportedly are the ancestors of the inhabitants of Stonehollow and are much persecuted. They appear to be a mix of Aeduan with some physical resemblance to Preachán, for most have red or copper-colored hair. Their race is impervious to the Plague, and for this reason they are distrusted and hunted during outbreaks and their blood dabbed on door lintels, which is commonly believed to ward off infection to the household. The real name of the race is unknown, but it is said they can conjure fire with their hands and that overuse of such innate ability renders them permanently insane.

Keramat: a Vaettir word for the innate ability to produce miracles, such as healing, raising the dead, traveling vast distances in moments, and calming storms. The secrets of the
keramat
are zealously guarded by the Vaettir and have not been disclosed to the Archivists of Kenatos.

Kishion: a class originating in the island kingdom of Kenatos. These are the Arch-Rike’s personal bodyguards and administer the city’s justice on those convicted of heinous crimes, such as murder, rape, and treason. Only Bhikhu and Finders are chosen to be Kishion and are given extensive training in survival, diplomacy, and poison. They are unswervingly loyal to the Arch-Rike and to the ideals of Kenatos.

Mirrowen: a concept and possibly a location. The Druidecht teach that the world coexists with a spirit realm called Mirrowen and that the inhabitants of each can communicate with one another. The realm of Mirrowen is said to be inhabited by immortal beings with vast powers. There is little belief in this dogma in the larger cities and they consider the belief in such a place trite and superstitious, a way of coping with the regular horrors of the Plague by imagining a state of existence where
there is no death. The Druidecht suggest there is ample evidence of Mirrowen’s existence and roam the lands teaching people how to become harmonious with nature.

Paracelsus: a class from Kenatos and Alkire. Enigmatic and reclusive, these practitioners of arcane arts study the records of the past to tame vast sources of power. Some Paracelsus excel at forging weapons of power to sell for profit in Havenrook. Others experiment with new sources of energy that they harness into powerful gems to be used by the ruling class. Most Paracelsus specialize in specific forces and phenomena and document their findings in great tomes that they contribute to the Archive of Kenatos. The Paracelsus Tower in Kenatos is the hub of their order, though many travel to distant kingdoms to continue unraveling clues from the past.

Plague: a terrible disease that strikes the kingdoms at least once every generation, destroying entire cities and decimating the population. There is no documented record of the origins of the Plague, and over the millennia the kingdoms have drawn closer and closer together for the preservation of their races. Documents discovered in abandoned towns and fortresses reveal that there are complete civilizations that have been wiped out by the Plague and races that used to exist which no longer do. The island kingdom of Kenatos was founded to be a last bastion for civilization and to preserve all knowledge and a remnant of each surviving race.

Preachán: a race from the trading city of Havenrook. They tend to be short, brown- or red-haired, and have an amazing capacity for deductive reasoning and complex arithmetic. They also have a deep-rooted desire for wealth and the thrill of gambling. They employ the Romani to execute their trading system and are generally devoid of morals. The Preachán take pride that
there are no laws or rules in Havenrook. Those who rule are the ones who have accumulated the most wealth and prestige.

Rike: a class who lead the island kingdom of Kenatos. They are often mistaken as a priesthood of Seithrall, but in reality they are more like academics, physicians, and lawyers. While many believe them to possess magical powers, their power comes from the artifacts created by the Paracelsus order. With such, they can heal injuries and cure Plague victims. They are frequently dressed in a black cassock, but the most telltale sign is the ring that they wear. It is a black stone that purportedly gives them the ability to detect a lie spoken in their presence as well as to compel a weak-willed person to speak the truth.

Romani: a class that has no country or kingdom. Romani can be of any race. They control the caravan routes and deliver goods between kingdoms with the strongest allegiance to the Preachán city of Havenrook. They are forbidden to enter or to operate within Silvandom. Romani are known for kidnapping and organized crime. Starting at age eight, they are sold into service at ten-year increments. Their value increases in age and training and usually diminishes with age and disability. Each decade of servitude corresponds with an earring that they cannot remove under pain of death. Their freedom may be purchased for a single, usually large, lump sum.

Seithrall: a quasi-religion existing in the island kingdom of Kenatos. The term is a transliteration of the Vaettir words for “fate” or “faith,” as one being under the
thrall
of one or the other. While the Rikes of Kenatos do not suggest that the term connotes a specific religion, the populace of the city have given it a mystical quality, as it is not possible to lie to a Rike who wears the black ring.