Mickey Reichert - Flight of the Renshai

Saviar seized upon the pause. "Because he was immortal."

"Yes," Kedrin said, though a twist in his tone suggested it was only half an admission. "And because he kept himself as well as any man can. At the time, he did not know the blood of Thor ran in his veins. No one did."

Saviar nodded, understanding those details well, as all Renshai. As it turned out, Colbey had not known either of his blood parents. His Renshai mother had died in battle, the baby plucked from her womb by Sif and placed in one otherwise barren. He had no siblings; and Colbey still considered the man and woman who raised him, Ranhilda and Calistin, his only true parents.

Kedrin continued, "The Great War was over, the West victorious over the mighty armies of the Eastlands. The scourge of the North had left the Renshai tribe with only two living members; and, of the two, only Colbey survived the War."

Saviar spoke from his Renshai history lessons, "The other was Rache, right? The Einherjar who gave Mama her sword."

Kedrin nodded. "And Colbey was traveling through Erythane with a boy about your age, also named Rache as I recall." He looked askance at Ra-khir, who bobbed his head in assent.

Again, history filled in the gaps for Saviar. Modern Renshai consisted of three tribes, each descended from a couple from the era of Kedrin's story. The first, the tribe of Modrey, his mother's tribe, carried the most ancient Renshai blood. The tribe of Rache, the boy in Kedrin's story, initially carried no true Renshai bloodline. Rache's mother, Mitrian, had married Tannin, the patriarch of the third, half-blood tribe. As this information did not seem significant to the story, however, Saviar kept it to himself and gave his grandfather an encouraging look.

"Rache wound up dueling with and killing a young apprentice knight named Shalfon."

"Killing?" The word startled out before Saviar could think to stifle it.

"Killing," Kedrin repeated. "Duels to the death were a lot more common in those days, and it is likely that Shalfon set that end point as a condition of the challenge."

Kedrin's open-mindedness pleased Saviar. Most would automatically condemn the outcome as a Renshai succumbing to his violent nature.

"In the process of cheering on his charge, Colbey insulted the boy's father, Brignar, resulting in a second duel. There is ambiguity over who actually initiated the challenge, but history records that it was fought immediately and with swords, which suggests that Colbey did."

Saviar had to agree with the assumption. Knights displayed far more patience than Renshai, and ancient knights, especially, preferred mounted combat with pikes.

"In any case, there is no doubt that Colbey won the battle handily, badly humiliating his opponent in the process." Kedrin looked at Ra-khir, who frowned sourly.

Sensing a scandal, Saviar understood his grandfather's hesitation. Yet his own Renshai impatience won out over courtesy. "What happened next?"

Kedrin sighed but dutifully continued, "I'm afraid Brignar did something… unchivalrous."

Knowing Colbey as every Renshai did, Saviar guessed. "Colbey taunted Brignar, didn't he?" A likely scenario came to the fore. "Oh! He turned his back on his enemy."

"The ultimate gesture of a warrior's disdain, yes."

Saviar presumed the rest, gasping at the enormity of Brignar's infraction. "And Brignar attacked him? From behind?"

Kedrin grimaced. "I'm afraid so."

The rest was obvious. Colbey would not have forgiven the crime. "And died." Saviar's brow furrowed. After that, the trail of understanding broke. "But how…? Why would the Knights of Erythane want Colbey to… after he just killed…?" He studied his grandfather's striking features, sucked in by the utter pallor of those white-blue eyes. Do my eyes really look like that?

"It was old law," Kedrin explained. "Long established and only changed within my lifetime." He casually fixed a crease in his sleeve. "When a man bested a knight in fair combat, he earned the knight's position. Once he pledged himself to Erythane and Bearn, he received the position, title, and steed."

"Frost Reaver." Saviar had long known the name and color of Colbey's beloved stallion. It had always seemed strange that a Renshai would choose to ride a beast of such standout brightness, yet Saviar had simply dismissed that as one of the many oddities of Colbey Calistinsson. "Could that be the same horse?"

"It is." Ra-khir blurted, then covered his mouth, eyes wide.

Kedrin only laughed at the interruption. "You're off-duty, Ra-khir. Feel free to speak your mind, even if it is ill-timed."

Ignoring the obvious sarcasm, Ra-khir obeyed. "Like the gods, he eats the apples of Idun to stay forever young. I've ridden him."

Now it was Saviar's turn to barge in without thinking. "You've ridden Frost Reaver! You've ridden Colbey Calistinsson's horse!" Kedrin's story no longer mattered. Saviar had to know. "When? How?" He did not leave time for answers before adding accusingly, "How come you never told us?"

Ra-khir shrugged and flushed and smiled simultaneously. "The time was never right."

"And now?" Saviar could not let the matter rest. He wondered how many other incredible things his father had never found the right time to tell him.

"If you wish." Ra-khir studied his own mount, grazing pleasantly on moss and leaf sprouts. He had not bothered to tie the stallion; Silver Warrior would not stray. "When Colbey embarked on his mission to save the world, he gave me Frost Reaver."

"Gave you…?" Saviar's voice cracked.

"When Colbey survived despite even his own expectations, I gave him back his horse." Ra-khir winked. "There're few things more pitiful than a pleading immortal, especially a Renshai immortal."

Saviar dropped to his haunches, shocked silent. He had heard about his parents' exploits, their missions to rescue the West, his mother's visit to Valhalla. He also knew that Kevral and Ra-khir had fallen in love during these deadly excursions. But he had never heard that his father had a personal relationship with the Renshai's most cherished hero. Unable to wrap his mind around this stunning admission, he pushed his thoughts back to one he might. "So Colbey… pledged his allegiance… to Erythane and Bearn?"

"Shocking, isn't it?" Whether Kedrin referred to Ra-khir's admission or Saviar's question, he did not know. "Colbey did so swear in an informal ceremony before the King of Erythane. Remember, at that time, he was pledged to help protect the Westlands anyway, and he trusted the man who became Bearn's greatest king. Sterrane and Colbey were close friends."

Saviar took the information a step further, "And Colbey was nearly eighty years old. He couldn't possibly have guessed he would go on to live another three hundred years." The implications seemed staggering. "So… has anyone ever called him in to fulfill his knightly pledge?"

Ra-khir grinned viciously. "He's never taken guard duty, if that's what you mean. Colbey's title is not commonly known, even among the Knights of Erythane."

"To my knowledge, no one has called Colbey in for any reason, then or since." Kedrin put a more serious spin on the question, "Who would dare?"

Who, indeed? Saviar wondered, yet he also knew that in times of great trouble men sometimes resorted to desperate measures.

The story of sir Colbey Calistinsson consumed Saviar's thoughts as the three men traversed the highway between Erythane and the mountain kingdom of Bearn. It seemed odd to the young Renshai that he continued to mull the details long after reality sprang to the fore and begged dismissal of the whole idea. The fact that Colbey had accomplished some feat made it no less impossible, and even the great hero of the Renshai had fallen into this situation wholly by accident.