Tom Lloyd: The Twilight herald

I'hey continued on their way while the light was still good, following the two rangers past the small lake and on towards a spring that ran through the heart of a cluster of ash and elm trees on the periphery of the forest. They hurried past the lake out of habit; still waters were a

poor omen, and only to be used as a last resort. Such places attracted all sorts of spirits. This one was little more than fifty yards wide in any direction, but being so close to a disputed border, it would undoubtedly have its share of swords and axes rusting away in its depths; tributes to the greatest of the Gods, He who had already claimed the owners of the weapons. Not every lake was a certain gateway to Death's realm, but no one wanted to linger.

The sun had sunk below the horizon before they stopped and lit fires. The warmth of the day remained as the darkness drew in, and the little group of travellers ate unhurriedly, then chatted amiably, their hacks resting against tree-trunks, looking up at the comforting light of the stars and both moons.

When the soldiers started settling down for the night, Morghien stood and beckoned for Isak to follow him. The white-eye paused only to sling his swordbelt over his shoulder and indicate to Carel that he didn't want an escort.

Within a minute or two he and Morghien were walking through the trees following the slope of the ground down until they reached a natural hollow of no great depth, no more than twenty yards across. At

the bottom of the hollow was a stone lying half-buried in the earth, its surface worn flat by wind and rain and looking like a crudely carved

table top. Isak glanced back and saw Mihn watching them from the tree. line. The failed Harlequin's face, framed by shadow, was strangely comforting. He gestured for the man to return to his bed, but felt curi-ously pleased when Mihn ignored the order and maintained his vigil.

This is ideal,' Morghien commented, running a hand over the stone surface.

'Ideal for what?'

'A little magic. My skills have never been remarkable, but this is a simple thing li you have the right tools.'

he took out a.small silver hladed knife, battered and worn by years of use Isak could tell it had a simple charm on it, though not what

sort. Morghien scored a faint cross about a foot long on the stone's surface and connected the ends so that the cross was bound within a

diamond. From the same pocket he pulled a golden chain on which was strung a set of fat, oversized coins, all made from different materials

and set with gemstones.

'Gods,' Isak breathed, reaching out to touch one until Morghien jerked it away, 'what are those?'

'It's called an augury chain; it's used for divination. The way they fall and their position in relation to each other can reveal a surprising amount, if the caster has the experience to properly interpret what he sees.' Morghien saw the sceptical look on Isak's face. 'Don't look like that,' he said sternly, 'this isn't the random drawing of cards. Each coin is aligned to a God of the Upper Circle, blessed by a high priest of that God and thus touched by a being outside of time or the laws governing the Land. When cast by a mage, there is a pattern spread over the board that guides the fall of the coins. Trust me, this is not mere chance.'

He held up a blank disc of gold, turning it over to show Isak its flip side, obsidian or polished jet. 'There are two that aren't aligned to the Upper Circle: this one, the Lady's Coin, represents Chance, but in a very specific way, and the Mortal, which is usually the principal coin in a casting, since all events ultimately revolve around people.'

He carefully separated out another coin on the chain as he spoke and held it out to Isak, keeping the others well away. Isak realised it was lapis lazuli, deep blue with a thin speckled line of pyrite. 'This is Nartis' coin, as you can probably guess. I suggest you don't touch any of the others, as you might upset the balance.' He grinned. 'And here's a piece of advice for you: never trust a priest with one of these. Without the balance of alignment they're useless – worse than useless

because whatever is read that way will be horribly skewed.'

'What about the cross?' Isak asked as he ran the dead white fingers of his left hand over the disc's polished surface. The snake symbol of Nartis was engraved in the centre and surrounded by an unfamiliar script Isak assumed was the huntsman's prayer. As Morghien gave an approving nod, Isak realised his magic-marked hand would probably improve Nartis' own coin.

'The cross is our board, divided into quarters: the heavens and the land above, fire and water below. I have owned this augury chain for many years now, and I know its moods well enough. The position "I ench coin in relation to the board and each other once the blanks have been removed should provide an answer to the question in your mind when you cast the coins.'

'The blanks? Ah, only one side is engraved,' Isak said, turning the Nartis coin over. 'What about the Lady's Coin, though? That one's blank on both sides.'

'That one is rather special,' Morghien agreed. 'The obsidian side Indicates that a path is already taken and Fate herself cannot change a mat ter. Here, Fate acts as the idea of chance, or suggesting an oppor-tunity to take. When the black side comes up on this particular chain, However, on my chain, I suspect it represents Azaer.'

The word hung in the air between them as Isak stared down at the- tiny reflection of Alterr, the greater moon, on the coin's polished surface. Though he knew little about Azaer – or the shadow, as King emin called it – he was certain it had been watching him over the last few months. The night normally held no terrors for Isak, who had been walking the Land with only the moons for company all his life, but several times recently he'd felt an unaccountable fear, and found himself fleeing to the light. Even King Emin had been unable to tell him why the shadow did what it did. Isak did not want to be caught up in Az.aer's plans.

Without wasting any further time, Morghien unhooked the clasp holding the chain closed and held the stack of coins above the board. the Mortal was on the bottom. They fell with a clatter onto the stone as the hunter's moon came out from behind a cloud to cast its tinted

light over the stone board.

As Morghien leaned close over them, his hand poised to remove the blanks, a hiss escaped his lips.

isak loo ked down himself, and realised that even he could read what the board was saying only too well: just inside the quarter Morghien had called the heavens lay the Mortal, almost entirely covered by the obsidian side of the Lady's Coin.

'AZAER did not want you to meet Fedei again, and so I lose another dear friend,' whispered Morghien to the night, and he bowed his head in grief

The next day was cooler and overcast, with wide furrowed clouds that darkened towards the horizon and threatened rain. They made for the forest road, riding mostly in silence as every member of the party listened hard for the crash of branches and drum of following hooves. Having abandoned the river, they headed directly north, skirting the borderland between Tor Milist and the lands claimed by the Farlan. Their destination now was the suzerainty of Saroc, a longer journey, but one that avoided the most obvious route home.

One glance at a map made it abundantly clear where the danger lay: on the river that took them up the border between Nerlos and the suzerainty of Tildek, seat of the inordinately powerful Certinse family. Suzerain Tildek and his nephew, the Duke of Lomin, would be overjoyed to catch Lord Isak with only a small force of guards before the- young heir could reach Tirah and assert his claim. Their only dilemma would be deciding between themselves as to which of them should become king.