Progress, not perfection. Take a small step each day. When you’re ready, perfection will find you. Israel’s words to her years back as he crouched before her, hands on her shoulders. Geneve was new to the Tresward, perhaps six years old, and holding a broken practice blade. She’d listened, nodded, and taken the step. She was sure of it. And yet, no matter how hard she tried, the Sacred Storm didn’t answer her call. Geneve’s form was perfect, but no light glimmered along her blade. No thunder rang heaven’s bell. A glass sword was beyond her reach, and she’d never needed it more than now, facing fifty Vhemin, bloodlust in their eyes, rage in their hearts. She held Requiem instead, the skymetal honest, trustworthy, and totally unsuitable for the task at hand. Israel could have taken them. Perhaps even Vertiline, but Geneve Read More …

Night draped a gown over the forest, drawing her shadows close. Meriwether felt tired beyond exhaustion, not helped by the hammering his spine got from Troubles. Be easy. The horse hasn’t slept either. As visibility dropped to near zero, Meriwether called out, “Can we stop?” Geneve reigned in her horse. Sight of Day drew closer, his horse’s liquid black eyes staring into the evening. “We must press on. The Vhemin—” “Will find our unconscious bodies if we keep going,” Meriwether finished. “We’ll knock ourselves out on a low branch. And the horses are tired.” For once, Troubles didn’t try to shift him away, the mare either too tired, or in firm agreement with the idea of rest. Geneve’s skin was a charcoal rubbing in the dusk. “They’ll find us.” “It takes them hours to cut enough trees, build a big fire, Read More …

This saddle’s going to kill me. Meriwether felt little was going his way. The sun was too bright, perhaps because he hadn’t slept. He sat on a horse that wanted him dead, and the only insulation between him and the beast was a saddle designed for an armored Knight. He wasn’t armored, nor was he a Knight. That’s right. I’m a sinner. He winced at his internal monologue. How can it be a sin if you’re born with it? It’s like being a sinner for having red hair. The thought made him glance at Geneve riding at the head of their meager column. The cat rode at Meriwether’s back, making riding look easy. He hated the Feybrind just a little for that, but Sight of Day didn’t seem to care. If anything, the Feybrind didn’t look like he cared much about anything, Read More …

Israel stood on a balcony overlooking Tresward grounds. Below, Clerics bustled to and fro, more than one or two embracing a waddle. Clerics weren’t known for keeping up with Destiny’s Supplicant, and once past their Appeal many faded to softer lines. He didn’t mind; each had their role within the Three’s Light. Knights stood against the dark with shield and sword. Clerics fought with word and censer.  This Tresward keep was a small one. It was barely an outpost, but the gardens were well-tended. Bees hummed a tune through flowers fat and heavy with pollen. The sun’s radiance felt warmer here than the cold southern climes should allow. He closed his eyes, feeling its golden touch on his skin. If he kept his eyes closed, thinking of nothing but sunlight, he could almost forget he’d left Geneve to die. Behind Read More …

Geneve visited her tree a lot. It was peaceful standing in the field, surrounded by other trees waiting for their Knights to be strong enough. She didn’t understand how she’d ever be able to break hers. Five years of growth put thicker bark on the tree and it was now wider around than she was.  The trees were all planted from the same kind of acorn, yet flourished in a hundred ways. Hers was straight as an arrow as it reached for the sun. Israel said the trees weren’t oaks, elms, or hickory. Nothing here carried a name from the outside world. They were just trees, and each belonged to a Knight. Geneve expected all trees to grow strong and true, but many didn’t. Some carried myriad branching limbs, seeking the sky in all directions of the compass. Others were Read More …

Geneve was alone. She walked beside a Feybrind. She already felt the foundations of trust between them, or perhaps something more like friendship, but they needed to make it out alive first. She wasn’t sure of Sight of Day’s motivations, but his golden eyes made her feel warm. There was no malice there. The problem with the situation at hand was she wasn’t sure if they’d get time to be friends. There were a lot of Vhemin between now and five minutes from now. Ahead of her walked the sinner. His face was bruised, lip swollen, and he walked hunched around a pain he carried deep in his chest. But no part of him leaked red, so she’d see him to his trial. Except, neither he nor Sight of Day want him to go to trial. It’s just me trying to get him there. Read More …

When the Vhemin came, they weren’t gentle. Meriwether hadn’t expected any special dispensation, but he also hadn’t expected a kick in the guts to wake him up. He curled over his pain, retching. As he spasmed, he clutched his pole, knocking his forehead against it. The Vhemin towering above him laughed. “Get up, tiny human.” He was, like the rest of his kind, ugly as the sins Meriwether was accused of. And, let’s be honest, I’m guilty of as of a few hours ago. Meriwether groaned, rolled onto his knees, and with an effort found his feet. He watched as Israel and Vertiline stood. The Vhemin cut the bonds at their feet, and if they noticed their re-tied nature, frayed ends, or looseness they made no comment. Hands bound, cumbersome poles fouling their movements, the prisoners shuffled out of their cell. Read More …

While the years hadn’t made Geneve into a mountain like Israel, at ten she was taller than at her pint-sized introduction to the keep. Her memories of life before her arrival remained a mystery. When she’d talked to Israel about it, he’d offered a kind smile, saying only, “They’ll come back. Nothing that’s yours stays away for long.” The Tresward fed the Novices well. Meat with every meal. Fresh baked bread, and fruits brought from the warmer north. It meant her ribs didn’t show anymore, and with Kytto’s help she’d got a little lean muscle on her frame. She’d asked why she didn’t grow larger like the older kids nearing their Trials, and Kytto had laughed. Stop reaching for it. It’ll come to you when you’re ready, was all he’d said.  It was frustrating. Despite Kytto teaching her how to fight Read More …

Following the Vhemin wasn’t hard. The Feybrind could have been a blind human and managed it. The creatures trampled a swath through the forest about ten meters wide. Geneve wondered at their motivations. They normally took better care to cover their tracks. Leading people back to their lair wasn’t good leadership thinking. To be fair, they left you for dead. She winced, rubbing her shoulder. It felt hot, packed thick inside her armor. Getting the plate off would be painful, but that was a problem for Future Geneve. Today’s Geneve needed to get her friends back. They found the ashy remains of a bonfire. Geneve swung from Tristan’s back, the horse snorting as she clanked to the loam. She tried to avoid Sight of Day’s eyes, the Feybrind watching her from Fidget’s back. He leaned forward, as if observing a Read More …

I’m an idiot. That’s it! And it’s all my fault. Meriwether hung by his hands and feet from a pole. It was lugged between two hulking Vhemin. He didn’t like being trussed up and carried, especially since the Vhemin didn’t have the courtesy of using locks. He couldn’t tickle rope open. The strands were coarse and chafed his wrists as he swung like a dead hog. Above him, his knife skewered the wood, wedged in there nice and solid. Tied up as he was, he wouldn’t be able to work it free without attracting a great deal of attention, which he supposed was part of the cruel joke. If he craned his neck he could spy the giant Israel behind, and the slender form of Vertiline ahead. Both were trussed like he was, but also out cold, which was probably Read More …