The
Lightstone
Part Two: The Silver Sword
Book One of the Ea Cycle
COPYRIGHT Copyright Dedication Maps 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Keep Reading Appendices Heraldry The Gelstei The Greater Gelstei Books of the Saganom Elu The Ages of Ea The Months of the Year Acknowledgments About the Author Other Works About the Publisher
This novel is a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
HarperVoyager An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
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First published by HarperVoyager 2001
Copyright © David Zindell 2001
David Zindell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780007139965
Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2016 ISBN: 9780007387724
Version: 2016-09-01
DEDICATION Dedication Maps 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Keep Reading Appendices Heraldry The Gelstei The Greater Gelstei Books of the Saganom Elu The Ages of Ea The Months of the Year Acknowledgments About the Author Other Works About the Publisher
For Justine and Jillian
Cover
Title Page The Lightstone Part Two: The Silver Sword Book One of the Ea Cycle
Copyright
Dedication
Maps
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Keep Reading
Appendices
Heraldry
The Gelstei
The Greater Gelstei
Books of the Saganom Elu
The Ages of Ea
The Months of the Year
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Works
About the Publisher
With a strong wind blowing at our backs, it took us only a day and a night of fast sailing to cross the Dragon Channel to Surrapam. There, the following morning, at Artram, the last of Surrapam’s free ports and therefore crowded with ships coming and going through its bustling harbor, we said goodbye to Captain Kharald and the Snowy Owl . After the horses had been led onto the dock, he stood by us telling of the news that had just been brought to him.
‘King Kaiman,’ he said to us, ‘is making a stand near Azam only forty miles from here. It seems our wheat is needed very badly.’
I watched the lean, hungry-looking Surrapam dockmen unloading the bags of wheat from the Snowy Owl’s holds. From nearby smithies down Artram’s busy streets came the sounds of hammered steel and the clamor of preparations for war.
‘Your swords are needed badly, too,’ he said to us. ‘Would you be willing to raise them against the enemy that you say you oppose?’
I remembered Thaman’s request to the Valari in Duke Rezu’s castle; in the months since then, I thought, it had gone very badly for his people.
‘Oppose the Hesperuk armies with this ?’ I asked him, showing him the wooden sword I had carved.
‘Some,’ he said grimly, looking around at the desperate Surrapamers, ‘would fight him with their nails and teeth. But I think you have a better weapon than that piece of wood.’
The day before, when we had first returned to the ship, a chance gust of wind had whipped back my cloak, and Captain Kharald’s quick eyes had fallen on Alkaladur’s jeweled hilt. Since then, I had taken pains to keep it covered.
‘You haven’t told me what occurred on the island, and that’s your business,’ he said to me. ‘But it’s my business to help save the kingdom, if I can.’
Captain Kharald’s new conscience had changed the direction of his efforts but not their vigor: I thought he would pursue his new business with all the cunning and force that he had applied toward making money.
‘We failed to gain the Lightstone,’ I said to him as Kane prowled about the horses, checking their loads. The others stood near me awaiting their turns to say goodbye as well. ‘What more is there to tell?’
‘Only you know that, Sar Valashu.’
Because I hoped it might give him courage, I finally confided in him the story of my receiving the Bright Sword. He looked at me with wonder lighting up his hard, blue eyes. ‘Such a sword and a Valari knight to wield it would be worth a company of men. And with Kane and your friends behind you, a whole regiment.’
I smiled at this flattery, then told him, ‘Even a hundred regiments arrayed against the Red Dragon wouldn’t be enough to bring him down. But the finding of the Lightstone might be.’
‘Then you intend to continue your quest?’
‘Yes, we must.’
‘But where will you go? It won’t be long before the Hesperuk warships close the Channel.’
Kane, stroking the neck of Alphanderry’s white Tervolan, shot me a warning look. Although our journey lay to the east, we hadn’t yet decided its course.
‘We’ll go wherever we must,’ I said to Captain Kharald.
‘Well, go in the One’s light then,’ he told me. ‘I wish you well, Valashu Elahad.’
I wished him well, too, and so did the others. And then, after clasping Captain Kharald’s rough hand, we mounted our horses and rode north through Artram’s narrow streets.
The choice of this direction was Kane’s. Ever alert for enemies and Kallimun spies, he spared no effort in trying to throw potential pursuers off our scent. Artram was a rather small city of stout wooden houses and the inevitable shops of sailmakers, ropemakers and sawyers working up great spars to be used in fitting out the many ships docked in her port. There were many salteries, too, preserving the cargoes of cod and char that the fishing boats brought in from the sea. Most of these shops, however, were now empty, their stores having been requisitioned by King Kaiman’s quartermasters. In truth, there seemed little food left in the city, and little hope for defeating Hesperu’s ravaging armies, either.
Everywhere we went, we saw marks of woe upon the Surrapamers’ gaunt faces. It pained me to see their children eyeing our well-fed horses and full saddlebags. Like Thaman and Captain Kharald, they were mostly red of hair, fair of skin and thick of body – or would have been in better times. Though nearly beaten, they carried themselves bravely and well. I resolved that if I ever returned to Mesh, I would speak out strongly for helping them, if only by taking the field against the Red Dragon.
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