The Fisherman's Daughter (8 page)

“Just humans?”

“Yes. Not even darklings or wolven have this effect. When I went to Artalon to serve in the Imperial Administration, I already had a mate. Another elf. So I wasn’t at risk. The other administrators were the same, or elders. Once we’ve lived five centuries, we are no longer subject to the human glamour.”

Eszhira frowned. “Sidhe who fasten to humans. They were called
saldaka
. Outcast. That’s terrible. I understand not wanting to risk losing your will to chance, but to cast them out? Do you remember how I told you about when I first came into this world?”

Tallindra nodded. “About the Malahkma’s Milk. You were addicted to the drug.”

“I lost my free will. Kristafrost saved me. Where would I be if she had just cast me aside as lost? As…
saldaka
, as you put it.”

The sidhe sat in silence for a moment. “I see your point. But it’s still an awful thought, to have no control over our passions. You don’t understand how overwhelming passion can be for us. How can we risk opening our cities to outsiders?”

Eszhira shook her head. “I don’t accept that. First, you said the risk was only humans. Second… why don’t you try thinking like a gnome for a moment, or even a human?”

Tallindra blinked.

“Why don’t you try
studying
the phenomenon? You sidhe… so calm and deliberate in your approach to art, you fixate on beauty and forsake
understanding
. Even the High Court: They weren’t in love with wisdom. They were in love with
loving
wisdom. You’ve lived so long in fear of this thing. What have you done to learn from it?”

Tallindra shook her head in confusion. “But what do we do?”

Eszhira set her coffee cup down in frustration. “Sidhe live by the ethos, ‘What is beautiful?’. Gnomes live by, ‘What is possible?’, and humans, ‘What is useful?’. Consult with their wizards. Find a cure, or at least a ward. The clue, I think, is in the ghostfish liver.” She frowned slightly. “And possibly Malahkma’s Milk.”

Tallindra stared at her. “You… you might be right. Surely the gnomish alchemists could derive something, something that would prevent fastening against our will. Something to protect us from the glamour. How could we have missed it this whole time?”

“The shamans. They said the ghost trance was the only way to safely meet the sidhe. The High Court had been conversing with them safely, without fastening. That must have been it. They must have found a way to use it, at least in that controlled setting.”

“Much of our ancient lore was lost when sorcerers destroyed our cities,” Tallindra admitted. “Even if we find a cure, it will take a lot of work. But you’re right. The world is changing.” Then: “Will you help me in this?”

Eszhira looked at her friend and smiled. “Yes,” she said. “Let us do this together.”

They spent the rest of the hour finishing their breakfast in silence, enjoying each other’s quiet company as they finished their coffee and watched the sun continue to rise over ocean sails and airborne zeppelins.

And in the canals beneath them, gondolas took sightseers from all over the world. Humans from the far Realms, dwarves, and seelie alike. And ratlings and trolls, and darklings. Even orcs came to Tavenport, for seelie had integrated and intermarried into their tribes too.

Eszhira smiled at seeing a seelie father and children and their orc mother pass by on a gondola. The orc held one of the little elf children in her lap and was pointing to one of Tavenport’s cathedral spires.

Eszhira felt warmth in her heart. If she could get the sidhe to learn from how the other races viewed the world, they’d soon see more sidhe among their numbers as well, traveling, conversing, and safely building friendships across the old divides.

The world is changing indeed.

If this is your first time in Ahmbren, welcome and thanks for reading. The story you just read serves as bookends for the high-fantasy period of Ahmbren. The prologue and epilogue scenes are set after the trilogy
When Dragons Die
, featuring two elves discussing the way ahead into the next period of Ahmbren’s history and how they might solve the problem of elven glamour so the sidhe can intermingle with the world’s other races. Meiri’s story plants the seeds for the epic that begins in
Myth and Incarnation
and crescendos in
When Dragons Die,
which Tallindra and Eszhira just experienced. I invite you deeper into Ahmbren, to continue your journey with the full-length novel,
Myth and Incarnation
,
as your next step.

Now that we’ve sat with these two women at the end of the epic and experienced its earliest beginning, the focus for future books will be to bring Ahmbren forward into a fully-realized steam-age fantasy. I hope you enjoy the ride.

~K. Scott Lewis, December 2014

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Thanks for reading!

If you’ve enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review, even just a few words. Positive word-of-mouth is critical to any independent author’s success, and my gratitude for your kindness will far outlast the memories of this story. It would be a huge help!

Please continue to enjoy additional information about the world of Ahmbren in Appendices in the final pages of this book.

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All Ahmbren stories are available in various electronic formats through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and paperback through Amazon. To see a current list of Ahmbren books with links to all the available formats, visit
www.ahmbren.com

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About the Author

K. Scott Lewis has always had a passion for telling fantasy stories, but stopped writing for a time after graduation and the events of 9/11. He started writing again in 2010 as a means to pass the time during deployments to Afghanistan. His passion for world mythology, combined with overseas military service from Korea and Japan to Belgium and Afghanistan, has inspired depth in his fantasy world building, and Ahmbren has grown into an obsessive passion during his free time. K. Scott Lewis is the creator and author of The Ahmbren Chronicles books:

Myth and Incarnation
(Novel)

When Dragons Die
:

Lightfall
(Volume 1) (Novel)

Covenant
(Volume 2) (Novel)

The Tides of Artalon
(Volume 3) (Novel)

Complete Me
(Short Story)

The Fisherman’s Daughter (
Novella)

Lewis talks about writing and sci-fi/fantasy topics in general at his blog
Inner Worlds Fiction
. You can also follow him @kscottlewis on Twitter, The Ahmbren Chronicles on Facebook, or send an email to: [email protected]