Mercedes Lackey - Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Acknowledgements

Introduction

TRANSMUTATION

THE FEAST OF THE CHILDREN

DEATH IN KEENSPUR HOUSE

DAWN OF SORROWS

HORSE OF AIR

A Change Of Heart

ALL THE AGES OF MAN

WAR CRY

STRENGTH AND HONOR

THE BLUE COAT

SAFE AND SOUND

SONG FOR TWO VOICES

FINDING ELVIDA

DARKWALL’S LADY

NAUGHT BUT DUTY

LANDSCAPE OF THE IMAGINATION

Raves for the Previous Valdemar Anthologies:

“Fans of Lackey’s epic Valdemar series will devour this superb anthology. Of the thirteen stories included, there is no weak link—an attribute exceedingly rare in collections of this sort. Highly recommended.”

— The Barnes and Noble Review

“This high-quality anthology mixes pieces by experienced author and enthusiastic fans of editor Lackey’s Valdemar. Valdemar fandom, especially, will revel in this sterling example of what such a mixture of fans’ and pros’ work can be. Engrossing even for newcomers to Valdemar.”

— Booklist

“Joseph Sherman, Tanya Huff, Mickey Zucker Reichert, and Michelle West have quite good stories, and there’s another by Lackey herself. Familiarity with the series helps but is not a prerequisite to enjoying this book.”

— Science Fiction Chronicle

“Each tale adheres to the Lackey laws of the realm yet provides each author’s personal stamp on the story. Well written and fun, Valdemarites will especially appreciate the magic of this book.”

— The Midwest Book Review

NOVELS BY MERCEDES LACKEY

available from DAW Books:

THE HERALDS OF VALDEMAR

ARROWS OF THE QUEEN

ARROW’S FLIGHT

ARROW’S FALL

THE LAST HERALD-MAGE

MAGIC’S PAWN

MAGIC’S PROMISE

MAGIC’S PRICE

THE MAGE WINDS

WINDS OF FATE

WINDS OF CHANGE

WINDS OF FURY

THE MAGE STORMS

STORM WARNING

STORM RISING

STORM BREAKING

VOWS AND HONOR

THE OATHBOUND

OATHBREAKERS

OATHBLOOD

BY THE SWORD

BRIGHTLY BURNING

TAKE A THIEF

EXILE’S HONOR

EXILE’S VALOR

VALDEMAR ANTHOLOGIES:

SWORD OF ICE

SUN IN GLORY

CROSSROADS

Written with LARRY DIXON:

THE MAGE WARS

THE BLACK GRYPHON

THE WHITE GRYPHON

THE SILVER GRYPHON

DARIAN’S TALE

OWLFLIGHT

OWLSIGHT

OWLKNIGHT

OTHER NOVELS

THE BLACK SWAN

THE DRAGON JOUSTERS

JOUST

ALTA

SANCTUARY

THE ELEMENTAL MASTERS

THE SERPENT’S SHADOW

THE GATES OF SLEEP

PHOENIX AND ASHES

THE WIZARD OF LONDON

And don’t miss:

The VALDEMAR COMPANION

Edited by John Helfers and Denise Little

Copyright © 2005 by Mercedes Lackey and Tekno Books

All Rights Reserved

DAW Book Collectors No. 1346.

DAW Books are distributed by Penguin Group (USA).

All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

All resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

First Printing, December 2005

DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

U.S. PAT. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

—MARCA REGISTRADA

HECHO EN U.S.A.

eISBN : 978-1-101-52437-4

http://us.penguingroup.com

Acknowledgments

Introduction copyright © 2005 by Mercedes Lackey

“Transmutation,” copyright © 2005 by Larry Dixon

“The Feast of the Children,” copyright © 2005 by Nancy Asire

“Death in Keenspur House,” copyright © 2005 by Richard Lee Byers

“Dawn of Sorrows,” copyright © 2005 by Brenda Cooper

“Horse of Air,” copyright © 2005 by Rosemary Edghill

“A Change of Heart,” copyright © 2005 by Sarah A. Hoyt and Kate Paulk

“All the Ages of Man,” copyright © 2005 by Tanya Huff

“War Cry,” copyright © 2005 by Michael Longcor

“Strength and Honor,” copyright © 2005 by Ben Ohlander

“The Blue Coat,” copyright © 2005 by Fiona Patton

“Safe and Sound,” copyright © 2005 by Stephanie Shaver

“Song for Two Voices,” copyright © 2005 by Janni Lee Simner

“Finding Elvida,” copyright © 2005 by Mickey Zucker Reichert

“Darkwall’s Lady,” copyright © 2005 by Judith Tarr

“Naught but Duty,” copyright © 2005 by Michael Z. Williamson

“Landscape of the Imagination,” copyright © 2005 by Mercedes Lackey

CROSSROADS: AN INTRODUCTION

by Mercedes Lackey

Once there was a computer programmer with ambitions—one might say delusions—of being a writer.

Actually she’d had ambitions for a very long time. As a kid, she had written Andre Norton pastiches and illustrated them too (and somewhere she still has some of those illustrations) and occasionally told them as bedtime stories to the kids she babysat. As a teenager she continued to write, submitting short story after short story to her high school literary magazine (and she has some of those somewhere as well). And in college she created an ongoing story arc about a team of psychic spies that she wrote as letters to amuse a friend.

She actually went so far as to take a creative writing honors course with the one college professor who was interested in science fiction and fantasy. His advice: find out what you like, break it down to see what you like about it, then do that. It was good advice, and she’s been following it ever since.

Writing kind of went by the wayside for a while as she (OK, I ) struggled to make a living. But when things weren’t quite so hard, I went back to the writing, pounding stuff out on an old typewriter for fanzines. Good heavens, someone even had a set of those things they asked me to autograph recently. I was joking when I offered to buy them back; but truth to tell, I have a lot of affection for those old zines and stories. I had a lot of fun writing them.

But then one day, at the point where I was actually that computer programmer, something switched over and I decided to get serious.

A novel of Valdemar was not the first book I tried to write. Actually, the germs of that first book became the books I co-wrote with James Mallory. But it was the second. And Arrows of the Queen was the first one I actually finished.

By that time I had written and actually sold several Tarma and Kethry stories—also in the same world—and some Darkover fiction. Most sold to Marion Zimmer Bradley, but some also sold to fantasy magazines. That was the point where C.J. Cherryh volunteered herself as my mentor, looked at the book, said “Commit trilogy,” and it all proceeded from there.

I was incredibly lucky to hook up with Elizabeth Wollheim and the folks at DAW with this first effort. It has been a great relationship all the way.

Even better, the whole world seems to have inspired other people to want to come play in it. Each person has had his or her own take on it that has made it just that much more varied and interesting, and come up with things that made me smile, made me cry, and sometimes made me say, “Boy I wish I had thought of that!”