The Riven Shield Read online

  “JEWEL. YOU ARE SEER-BORN. IT IS TIME THAT YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS.”

  The mists were giving way to flat plains.

  “I will tell you. If the seer-born choose to do so, they could see the past of a man almost as clearly as they could see the shadows he cast. The future is a place of possibility; the past is fixed. The road between the two is often connected, and once the path is found, it can be followed. The Oracle invited you to walk upon older roads than could be found in even the Stone Deepings. Walk them, Jewel, and in the end, I will be able to hide nothing.”

  She felt cold. Looked down at the hands that had slowly fallen to her sides, and saw, cupped in them, a round, glowing orb. She blinked; her hands were empty.

  But the mist had given way in a sudden gust of wind, pulled like curtains to either side.

  Beneath her, extending for as far as she could see, lay a sea of tents. She saw horses, haltered, impatient; saw men, some with spears, some with swords.

  “Where are we?”

  “We are, if I guess correctly, at the border of the Terrean of Raverra. And this is some part of the army the young kai Leonne faces.”

  Avandar caught her hand in his. He began to walk toward the body of the army. . . .

  The Finest in Fantasy from MICHELLE WEST:

  THE SUN SWORD:

  THE BROKEN CROWN (Book One)

  THE UNCROWNED KING (Book Two)

  THE SHINING COURT (Book Three)

  SEA OF SORROWS (Book Four)

  THE RIVEN SHIELD (Book Five)

  THE SUN SWORD (Book Six)

  THE SACRED HUNT:

  HUNTER’S OATH (Book One)

  HUNTER’S DEATH (Book Two)

  The

  Riven Shield

  The Sun Sword: Book Five

  Michelle West

  DAW BOOKS, INC.

  DONALD A. WOLLHEIM, FOUNDER

  375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014

  ELIZABETH R. WOLLHEIM

  SHEILA E. GILBERT

  PUBLISHERS

  http://www.dawbooks.com

  Copyright © 2003 by Michelle Sagara.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Cover art by Jody Lee.

  Map by Michael Gilbert.

  DAW Book Collectors No. 1262.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via 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, July 2003

  DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

  U.S. PAT. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

  —MARCA REGISTRADA.

  HECHO EN U.S.A.

  PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

  Version_2

  This is for Terry Pearson,

  who should know why.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As always, I owe Sheila Gilbert a debt for her patience and her understanding. Debra Euler, called DAW’s Valkyrie by Tanya Huff, provided timely reminders and her particular brand of encouragement. Alis Rasmussen read the early chapters of this book when I despaired of it being a book, and as always provided insight and advice. Graydon Saunders also provided a different kind of insight, meant for a later work, which did help for this one.

  And Thomas, Daniel, and Ross patiently gave up their time while I wrote, complained, tore out my hair, and wrote more.

  Author’s Note

  I know that I told a great many of you that I was working on the last book of The Sun Sword—and this was completely true.

  A bit about how I work. I don’t have a formal outline, or rather, I have several, and none of them are binding; they change with time. I approach my novels as if they were a collection of people I grow, with time, to know, and the motivations of those people change everything, time and again.

  I have never been good at determining the length of a given story. This has led to much good-natured humor at my expense, and because it’s deserved, I accept it.

  So . . . I was working on the last book of The Sun Sword. Family matters brought the book to a screeching halt in January of 2002, as they often do. But we recovered, and the book recovered, and I continued to write it. At the worldcon in San Jose, I was still telling people that this was the last book.

  But about a month after I returned home, I realized that I was actually on page 1700 of the manuscript, and by best guess—see above re: me and length—it was going to come in at 2000 pages. So I phoned the DAW offices, and reached Sean Fodera, the rights manager (the wonderful thing about the DAW offices is that you never quite know who you’re going to reach, but it’s always a pleasure, regardless), and I said, “Sean, I think this is going to go a bit on the long side.” He laughed and said, “So what else is new?” And after several minutes of ribbing, which I won’t recap here, he got down to business and asked, “How long is long?”

  And I said, “Ummm, at least 2000 manuscript pages.” (Writers are not, thank god, paid for conversation).

  All laughter vanished at that point, and he said, “Now you have a problem. You’d better talk to Sheila.”

  So I did, and at length, and it was decided that instead of attempting to hack 600 pages out of the book, we would split it.

  Which is a good thing, given that I’m now at nearly 2100 pages, and although the end is definitely in sight, it’s not there yet.

  I want to apologize to all of my readers for this. I didn’t intend to mislead anyone, and I didn’t intend to disappoint; to shorten the book would have been to carve out whole characters, and at this point in the story, it seemed to serve no one’s purpose. The Sun Sword is almost finished, and it will definitely be the concluding volume; I hope that you don’t find The Riven Shield, the first half of that longer work, a disappointment because it’s not quite the end.

  Annagarian Ranks

  Tyr’agarRuler of the Dominion

  Tyr’agnateRuler of one of the five Terreans of the Dominion

  TyrThe Tyr’agar or one of the four Tyr’agnate

  TyranPersonal bodyguard (oathguard) of a Tyr

  Tor’agarA noble in service to a Tyr

  Tor’agnateA noble in service to a Tor’agar; least of noble ranks

  TorA Tor’agar or Tor’agnate

  ToranPersonal bodyguard (oathguard) of a Tor

  SerA clansman

  SerraThe primary wife and legitimate daughters of a clansman

  kaiThe holder or first in line to the clan title

  parThe brother of the first in line; the direct son of the title holder

  Dramatis Personae

  ESSALIEYAN

  AVANTARI (The Palace)

  The Royals

  King Reymalyn: The Justice-born King

  King Cormalyn: The Wisdom-born King

  Princess Mirialyn ACormaris: Daughter of Queen Marieyan and King Cormalyn

  The Astari

  Duvari: The Lord of the Compact; leader of the Astari, the protectors of the Kings

  Devon ATerafin: Member of the Astari and of House Terafin

  Gregori ATerafin: The second of the Astari to take the Terafin oat
h

  The Hostages

  Serra Marlena en’Leonne: Valedan’s mother; born a slave but granted honorific “Serra” because her son has been recognized and claimed as legitimate

  Ser Kyro di’Lorenza (Sorgassa): The oldest of the hostages

  Imperial Army

  The Eagle: Commander Bruce Allen—commands the First Army

  The Hawk: Commander Berriliya—commands the Second Army

  The Kestrel: Commander Kalakar—commands the Third Army and the Ospreys

  THE TEN

  KALAKAR

  Ellora: The Kalakar

  Verrus Korama: Her closest friend and adjutant

  Verrus Vernon Loris: Friend and counselor

  The Ospreys

  Primus Duarte: Leader

  Alexis: (Sentrus or Decarus)

  Auralis: (Sentrus or Decarus)

  Fiara: (Sentrus)

  Cook: (Sentrus)

  Sanderton: (Decarus)

  Kiriel di’Ashaf

  BERRILIYA

  Devran: The Berriliya

  TERAFIN

  Amarais Handernesse ATerafin: The Terafin

  Morretz: Her domicis

  Jewel Markess ATerafin: Part of her House Council; also seer-born; her den are:

  Finch

  Teller

  Angel: He is not ATerafin

  Carver

  Arann: House Guard

  Jester

  Daine: Healer-born

  Ellerson: He serves the den as domicis

  Avandar Gallais: Also known as Viandaran; he is Jewel’s domicis

  The Winter King: Great stag, taken from the Stone Deepings

  Lord Celleriant of the Green Deepings: Compelled by Arianne to serve Jewel for his failure, he is Arianni

  Ariel: Young child given Jewel by Lord Isladar for her protection

  Rymark ATerafin: Member of the House Council

  Haerrad ATerafin: Member of the House Council

  Elonne ATerafin: Member of the House Council

  Marrick Tremblant ATerafin: Member of the House Council

  Torvan ATerafin: Captain of the Chosen

  THE ORDER OF KNOWLEDGE

  Meralonne APhaniel: Member of the Council of the Magi; first circle mage

  Sigurne Mellifas: Member of the Council of the Magi; first circle mage

  Gyrrick: One of Meralonne’s warrior mages; seconded by the army

  SENNIEL COLLEGE

  Solran Marten: Bardmaster of Senniel College

  Kallandras: Master Bard of Senniel College

  ANNAGAR

  THE CLANS

  LEONNE: Ruling clan of the Dominion of Annagar

  Ser Valedan kai di’Leonne (Raverra): The heir to the Dominion

  Markaso kai di’Leonne: The assassinated Tyr’agar, Valedan’s father

  Serra Diora en’Leonne: Also Serra Diora di’Marano

  Serra Diora’s harem wives

  Faida en’Leonne: Oathwife to Diora; dead

  Ruatha en’Leonne: Oathwife to Diora; dead

  Dierdre en’Leonne: Oathwife to Diora; dead

  In Service to Leonne

  Ser Baredan di’Navarre: Former General of the Third Army, under Valedan’s father

  Ser Anton di’Guivera: Foremost Swordmaster of the Dominion; twice winner of the Kings’ Crown

  Ser Andaro di’Corsarro: Tyran; the only Tyran who serves Valedan kai di’Leonne

  Ser Laonis di’Caveras: Healer-born; he has left his home in the North to travel with Valedan

  Aidan a’Cooper: Standard-bearer or mascot; young boy

  CALLESTA: Ruling clan of the Terrean of Averda

  Ser Ramiro kai di’Callesta: The Tyr

  Serra Amara en’Callesta: Wife to the Tyr

  Eliana en’Callesta: Concubine to the Tyr

  Aliane en’Callesta: Concubine to the Tyr

  Maria en’Callesta: Concubine to the Tyr

  Sara en’Callesta: Concubine to the Tyr

  Deana en’Callesta: Concubine to the Tyr

  Ser Fillipo par di’Callesta: Brother to the Tyr’agnate of Averda; Captain of his Tyran

  Ser Carelo kai di’Callesta: The heir to Callesta, Ramiro’s oldest son; dead

  Ser Alfredo par di’Callesta: Youngest son of Ramiro, and now his heir

  Ser Karro di Callesta: Tyran; half brother (concubine’s son); the oldest of the Tyran

  Ser Miko di Callesta: Tyran; half brother (concubine’s son)

  GARRARDI: Ruling clan of the Terrean of Oerta

  Eduardo kai di’Garrardi: The Tyr’agnate of the Terrean of Oerta

  LAMBERTO: Ruling clan of the Terrean of Mancorvo

  Ser Mareo kai di’Lamberto: The Tyr’agnate of Mancorvo

  Ser Fredero par di’Lamberto: Younger brother to the Tyr’agnate; left the clan in order to become the kai el’Sol, the leader of the Radann

  Serra Alina di’Lamberto: Once given as hostage to the Imperial Court in Essalieyan, she now advises Ser Valedan kai di’Leonne and travels with his forces

  Serra Donna en’Lamberto: Mareo’s Serra

  Ser Galen kai di’Lamberto: The kai (former par)

  Ser Andreas kai di’Lamberto: The dead kai

  Renaldo: Tyran; sent to Lamberto by the former kai el’Sol

  Marano:

  Ser Adano kai di’Marano: Tor’agar to Mareo kai di’Lamberto

  Ser Sendari par di’Marano: His brother; Widan; also called Ser Sendari di’Sendari, the founding name of a new clan

  Serra Fiona en’Marano: Sendari’s wife

  Ser Artano: Sendari’s oldest son

  Serra Diora di’Marano: Sendari’s only child by his first wife

  Serra Teresa di’Marano: Sister to Adano and Sendari; companion to Yollana of the Havalla Voyani, aunt to the Serra Diora

  Clemente

  Ser Alessandro kai di’Clemente: The Tor’agar; his Tyr is Ser Mareo

  Ser Janos kai di’Clemente: The son of Ser Alessandro’s dead brother, and the heir

  Serra Celina en’Clemente: Wife to Ser Alessandro

  Ser Reymos: Toran to Ser Alessandro

  Ser Adelos: Toran to Ser Alessandro

  Manelo

  Ser Amando kai di’Manelo: The Tor’agnate

  Ser Franko kai di’Manelo: The former kai; killed in combat after being accused of attempted murder by the kai el’Sol

  Darran di’Sambali: Village clansman, almost killed by Ser Franko

  Talia en’Sambali: His wife

  LORENZA: Ruling clan of the Terrean of Sorgassa

  Ser Jarrani kai di’Lorenza: The Tyr’agnate of Sorgassa

  Ser Hectore kai di’Lorenza: The kai, heir to Sorgassa

  Ser Alef par di’Lorenza: Hectore’s younger brother

  Serra Maria en’Lorenza: Ser Hectore’s wife

  THE SWORD OF KNOWLEDGE

  Ser Cortano di’Alexes: The Sword’s Edge; the ruler of the Widan

  Ser Sendari di’Marano: Widan

  Ser Mikalis di’Arretta: Widan

  THE RADANN

  Radann Fredero kai el’Sol: The former leader of the Radann; died in the Lake of the Tor Leonne, drawing the Sun Sword

  Jevri el’Sol: His loyal servitor; he also serves Lamberto after the death of the kai el’Sol

  Radann Peder kai el’Sol: The man who now leads the Radann

  Radann Samiel par el’Sol: Youngest of the Hand of God

  Radann Marakas par el’Sol: Contemporary of Fredero; healer-born

  Radann Samadar par el’Sol: The oldest of the par el’Sol

  Radann Jordan el’Sol: A servitor wh
o is a faithful follower of the ways of Fredero within the Radann

  Radann Paolo el’Sol: Another of Fredero’s servitors

  Radann Santos el’Sol: The leader of the Radann in the city of Sarel

  Radann Fiero el’Sol: The leader of the Radann in the city of Callesta, and therefore the most senior Radann in the Terrean of Averda

  THE VOYANI

  Arkosa

  Evallen of the Arkosa Voyani: The former Matriarch

  Margret of the Arkosa Voyani: The current Matriarch

  Elena Tamaraan: Margret’s heir, Daughter to Arkosa

  Stavos: Travels with Yollana and the Serra Diora

  Havalla

  Yollana of the Havalla Voyani: Matriarch of the Havallans

  Nadia: Her oldest daughter, and Daughter to the Havallans

  Varya: Yollana’s younger daughter

  THE SHINING COURT

  The Lord of the Shining Court: Allasakar

  THE FIST

  Lord Assarak

  Lord Alcrax

  Lord Ishavriel

  Lord Etridian

  Lord Nugratz

  THE COURT

  The Kialli

  Lord Isladar

  Lord Telakar

  Anduvin The Smith

  The Humans

  Anya a’Cooper: Powerful mage, serves Ishavriel—sometimes

  PROLOGUE

  17 of Scaral, 416 AA

  THE wind was a wild taste in her mouth, a thing that kicked at the tongue and the lips with its strangeness.

  It carried the embers of a dead fire, wood ash long past the point of burning, in the lengthening shadows of the coming evening. The living fire burned around it, swirling like eddies of brightly colored water. Wrong, wrong. She lifted a hand, rubbing her mouth with the back of it as if the taste would somehow come off. As if she could clean it away.

  “Anya,” Devlin said. He caught her hand before she could cut her lips against her teeth; she’d been rubbing too hard, without thinking.

  Almost, she pulled his fingers back, but as she touched them, she realized that his skin felt the cool, crisp color of blue—and she knew it was happening again. The tears started, and as they ran down her face, they tingled, a jumble of red and exquisite yellow, burning brightly. She heard the wind, held its voice a moment before it slid into something that she did not understand—some thing that made her mouth water, a smell.