Author: JS Groves
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Chapter Forty-Four – In which Khanaarre is welcomed by the archons of Ghol Vidar
The formal dining hall to which we were led was only a little larger than Ignmatmar’s breakfast room had been. A fire burned on one long wall, a scenic tapestry depicting the valley below hung on the wall opposite, flanked by banners in the blue and white colors of the house. The foot of the Read more
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Chapter Forty-Three – In which Derrek and the party settle in to Ghol Vidar
The three green-liveried rhu xian made themselves comfortable in the sitting room, taking a tea table by the massive glass window overlooking the city and the valley. I made myself comfortable on a cushion in the corner, out of everyone’s way but where I could look out the window. I had been a child the Read more
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Chapter Forty-Two – In which Khanaarre recovers from her injuries
The wyvern’s venomous spray was, by far, the worst physical pain that I ever experienced in my life. I slept almost all the first day, waking only long enough to drink a thin broth provided by the cyclops healer, Xijuma. The first time I woke, Rennin held me up while Elana fed me by hand. Read more
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Chapter Forty-One – In which Derrek loses his shit a little
Khanaarre screamed. The spray of venom, a half dozen droplets across her face and chest, burned through clothing and flesh and into her blood. Shinova and Vikatan, sheltering Darjaran and Khanaarre with their own mass screamed with her. So, I realized after a moment, did I. The wyvern was already dead: its massive head severed Read more
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Chapter Forty – In which Khanaarre rides into the desert to face a monster
Perhaps I should not have been so harsh with Derrek Rowan. Perhaps I should have left my mind unspoken and played things out by feel. But in that moment, I kept only what silence I could, and said only what was in my heart. He bowed his head low in apparent acceptance and understanding, and Read more
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Chapter Thirty-Nine – In which Derrek contemplates his return to the Holy Empire of the Rhu Xian
When my companions returned from dinner with the archons, they were exhausted and surly. Come morning, they were in little mood to discuss the night’s events. Before I was able to coax the story out of them, Thieria came to whisk them away, again. Having told the truth of who I was – most of Read more
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Chapter Thirty-Eight – In which Khanaarre endures the courtesy of the sao`ashan
I wanted to hate all of it. I wanted the buildings to be ugly, the food inedible, the hospitality crude and lacking. I wanted the sao`ashan – the rhu xian – to be cruel and snide, the unrepentant villains that my people’s tales made them out to be, the ravening monsters of my childhood night Read more
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Chapter Thirty-Seven – In which Derrek tells his story to Khanaarre and Elana
The Archons of Khrigo City could only grant so much in the very moment of asking, but they could offer heir hospitality, and that was was considerable. We were given lodgings equal to the prince’s dignity: a beautiful massive suite in the private home of the archon Ingmatmar, the priestess of the Flame. The suite Read more
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Chapter Thirty-Six – In which Khanaarre confronts her greatest fear and learns of Derrek’s secret past
The giants put me and Elana in one room, and led Derrek away to another. Not a room, I realized quickly. A suite of four rooms: the antechamber in which we had been left with a lack of ceremony that surprised me almost as much as the lack of security, two bedrooms, and a bathing Read more
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Chapter Thirty-Five – In which Derrek negotiates, again
The scouts who found us on the Lightning Plains made no attempts at conversation, seeming to sense our party’s mood despite the language barrier. Elana’s grief was palpable. So was Khanaarre’s terror. I wish I knew how to reassure them, but I didn’t even know where to begin. And though I was not magically bound, Read more