Bertrice Small - A Distant Tomorrow

The tiny faeriepost messengers arrived two days later. They had flown across the Sagitta, and were exhausted. Delighted with the accommodation made for them in the south tower they settled in to rest themselves for several days. Sirvat had taken it upon herself to personally serve them, which pleased the faeries greatly, for Lara had explained she was the Dominus’s sister. That the Terahn ruler’s sister would see to their comfort convinced the faeries that they were welcome, and would be content in Terah.

Lara placed a safety spell upon the faeriepost band, and seven were dispatched to the headman of each named fjord. All returned unharmed with tales of the Terahns’ surprise at seeing them. But all spoke of the courtesy they had been rendered. The headmen of each named fjord had then sent to each of the village leaders to come with their wives for they were called to the castle. They would come, the faeriepost messengers reported, with all due haste. Messengers were then sent to Arik, the High Priest, at the Temple of the Great Creator; to Kemina, the High Priestess of the Daughters of the Great Creator, and to the leaders of the mountain gnomes inviting them to the castle meeting. Dasras was dispatched to bring Rendor from the new Outlands.

And when all had been assembled Magnus Hauk, Dominus of Terah, told these leaders of his land everything that had transpired. Then he surprised them by introducing Rendor, lord of the Felan, to them. The fjord dwellers were astounded to learn that there were people dwelling beyond the Emerald Mountains. Fulcrum and Gulltopp, the two gnome leaders, understood the Dominus’s reasoning for telling the fjord dwellers that the clan families had always been there. They kept their own counsel and listened.

“My captain of captains, Lord Corrado, has been seeing to the rebuilding of the coastal watchtowers in recent weeks. These towers must be manned at all times from now on,” the Dominus said. “And we must build a defense force to keep Terah safe.”

“We are craftsmen, my lord Dominus,” the leader of the Jewel Fjord said. “What do we know of weapons, and war?”

“If we are strong there will be no war,” Magnus Hauk answered. “And you can learn to wield weapons as skillfully as you wield your jeweler’s tools. Our armies are for defensive purposes only. They are to deter any invasion by indicating our great strength.”

“May I speak, my lord Dominus?” Lara asked him.

“The Domina would speak,” Magnus Hauk said nodding to his wife.

“My lords, I was born in the faerie realm, but raised in Hetar. My father, a mortal man as yourself, was a Mercenary before he became a Crusader Knight. He is a great warrior. There are many great warriors in Hetar. If they come to Terah they will overwhelm you if you cannot defend yourselves. If we show the emissary – who Hetar will surely send us sooner than later – that we are capable of defending our homeland, they will think better of invading Terah. It is likely we will never have to fight them, but it is better to be well prepared. Each of your villages must raise a fighting force. You have no other choice, I fear. It is not a bad thing for a man to know how to defend himself and what is his,” Lara told them.

“It is easy for you, Domina, for you are a woman,” the headman from the Jewel Fjord said. “You do not have to fight.”

“My lords, like my father, I am a warrior. I have slain men in battle,” Lara told them. And she silently called Andraste to come to her.

They looked disbelieving at her, but then gasped at the sword that instantly appeared in her hand.

“This is Andraste, my weapon,” Lara explained. She raised the sheathed sword above her head, holding it by the protected blade.

There was another gasp as those gathered for the meeting spied the face in the sword, and Andraste opened her jeweled eyes to look out at them.

“I am Andraste,” the sword’s deep voice echoed across the counsel chamber. “I drink the blood of the wicked and the unjust. I serve my mistress, the swordswoman Lara, daughter of Swiftsword. Together we have slain many. Who would doubt my word?” Andraste demanded of them.

The chamber was silent.

“Then heed my mistress’s words, men and women of Terah. She walks in the light.” Andraste now fell silent, and her eyes closed once more.

“Women, not all women, but some, are capable of defending Terah. I will teach those who would come to me,” Lara said.

Magnus Hauk put his arm about his wife. The look on his face was one of great pride. “I will now tell you how together we can accomplish what we need to do for our own protection,” he said to them. And over the next few hours he, Corrado and Lara did.

After several days, the headmen of each named fjord, the headmen of the fjord villages and their wives departed back to their own homes. Two faeriepost messengers went with each ship sailing from the Dominus’s Fjord. And just as the Icy Season began, ships from each named fjord – the Silk, the Jewel, the Ocean, the Star, the Green and the Light – arrived filled with men, both old and young, who had volunteered to be trained for the new Terahn army. And Lara, using her magic, brought seven hundred young men from the seven clan families to join the others. She and Magnus had decided that this would be a good beginning toward uniting all their people.

Throughout the winter those men who had served for years as men-at-arms for the castle, and some of the older new Outlanders, taught the younger men their fighting skills. But Lara taught them swordsmanship. And she called upon her old teacher, Lothair, of the Shadow Princes, to help her. He had gladly come. By the time the spring began to show evidence of coming Terah had the beginning of its first army. The fjord dwellers and the new Outlanders integrated well. The fact that there were seven named fjords and seven clan families seemed to draw them together.

Spring came, and the hills around them grew greener. Sirvat easily delivered a son, named Hali. The Sagitta welcomed ships again, and the Terahn trading fleet set out for the season. As Lara had predicted, one of their captains returned with a request from Hetar to send a ship to visit the Dominus. The answer was sent back: no. Any Hetarian ship entering Terahn waters would be sunk. Lara laughed when her husband wrote it, sealing it with the Dominus’s ring seal in the hot wax.

“You are going to intrigue Gaius Prospero even more with such a fierce reply,” she giggled. “He knows so little of Terah, and he so desperately wants to know more.”

Several weeks passed, and then a second message was brought to Magnus Hauk. “He wants to send an emissary. Hetar and Terah will meet at the trading place, and the emissary will transfer to the Terahn vessel with my guarantee he will not be harmed,” the Dominus told his wife.

“Summer is almost here,” Lara said. “Let us wait a while before you reply. Then send to the emperor saying you will consider his suggestion.”

In midsummer Magnus Hauk did just that, and then they waited again.

A new message arrived. The emperor appreciated the Dominus’s courtesy in considering his request. He would await Terah’s final answer.

“Jonah wrote that,” Lara said laughing. “Gaius Prospero is fuming that you have not acceded to his demands. His curiosity is eating him up.”

Finally in late summer Magnus Hauk sent to the emperor of Hetar. He would allow a single emissary to visit him. One man. Not even a servant would be allowed to accompany him. The Dominus would personally guarantee the emissary’s safety while he was in Terahn hands. If the emperor would be so kind as to inform them when the emissary was coming they would make the proper preparations to welcome him. He would not be allowed to disembark from his ship until those preparations were firmly in place. Lara had suggested this tactic to delay the emissary’s arrival even more.