Broken World Book Two - StarSword

  The Broken World

  Book Two

  StarSword

  T C Southwell

  Published by T C Southwell at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2010 T C Southwell

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter One

  Talsy gazed across the glistening ocean, where the dolphins played amongst the waves a short distance away, their swift gambolling captivating her eyes. Gripping the stone railing, she steadied herself as the tubby ship rolled. The vessel was the product of Kieran's ingenuity and Chanter's power. The golden-skinned unman had drawn it from the bedrock of the beach they had left behind two weeks ago, forming it into a ship to carry the chosen across the Wilden Sea. They had only the Mujar's word that there even was another continent, for no Trueman had dared to sail into the vast expanse of seemingly endless ocean.

  Since the land of her birth had dwindled into nothingness behind them, Talsy had spent a lot of time alone on deck. The sea teemed with dolphins and whales, which, she suspected, the Mujar's presence drew. The chosen who had gathered on that distant beach, drawn from their towns and villages by their seer's dreams, now filled the ship with their scant number. There had been many more before the Hashon Jahar had attacked their camp and slaughtered all but those who had hidden amongst the rocks. Her life had been threatened, too, and she had Chanter to thank for saving her.

  Sheera, the old seeress, had organised the girls to help with cooking and cleaning. When Talsy had asked for something to do, Sheera had informed her that her help was not required. As the First Chosen, it seemed her status barred her from such menial tasks, in the opinion of the seeress and her helpers. Her plight was one she shared with the men, who, since the ship required no crew, spent their time lolling about on the deck talking or playing idle games. Chanter spent most of his time in the sea, playing with the dolphins that followed the ship. Kieran had found a perch in the bows and only came down to eat and sleep. That left Talsy with the company of the men and boys, and she had soon become adept at their simple card and board games.

  When the water had run low a few days ago, Chanter had called forth a column of fresh water from the sea to fill the barrels. Assured of an endless supply of water, the chosen had even less to worry about. In fact, they had no worries at all. The wind blew steadily and the sea remained calm around the ship, although they passed storms and rough seas in the distance. If not for the ungainliness of their vessel, Talsy would have welcomed a minor storm to break the monotony. Life under a Mujar's protection was simple to the point of boredom.

  Talsy glanced up as a gull glided towards the ship, its narrow wings tilting in the breeze. It drifted down to settle on the railing a few feet from her and shuffle its wings into place. A lash of wind and the sound of beating wings filled the air, the manifestation of Ashmar, as the bird transformed into a golden-skinned, jet-haired Mujar. Chanter leant against the railing and gazed out to sea. Talsy wondered what it was like to become another creature and fly or swim amongst them as one of their own. The transformation from something so tiny to the size of a man defied logic. Where did all the extra mass come from, and where did it go when he changed into a gull?

  Chanter had tried to explain it to her once. According to him, he was part of this world and therefore could exchange parts of himself with it, but it made little sense to her. Did he draw matter from the sea and air to form his man-like body, and send it back when he shrank into a gull? That was what he had told her, in essence, but she found it hard to believe. During the voyage's long, lazy days, she had a lot of time to ponder his mysteries, and had even plied him with a few questions. Although he answered her most of the time, his explanations often only confused her. How ironic, that he was now willing to share with her the Mujar secrets Trueman scholars had tried for centuries to learn, and she did not have the brains to understand him.

  Sheera approached the Mujar, and Talsy strained to catch the old seeress' words before the wind blew them away. Shameless eavesdropping was rife in such a boring environment. People were eager to hear any smidgeon of gossip that might occupy their minds for a time. Several other people listened, while trying to appear not to, notably a pair of traders apparently engrossed in a board game. Since Talsy had watched them play the same game every day for the past two weeks, she doubted that they still found it terribly interesting.

  The snatches of conversation Talsy caught brought a spark of interest to relieve her boredom, for the old woman informed Chanter that the ship's food was running low. In their haste to leave the eastern continent before more Hashon Jahar found them, they had brought only the supplies that had been in the camp. The Black Riders' raid had ruined most of the perishable items and driven away the flocks of sheep and goats that would have been slaughtered and salted for the voyage. An initial, enthusiastic attempt at fishing had died out when the men had caught little or nothing with their makeshift lures. Only one die-hard still trawled a lure behind the ship, but nothing had even sniffed at it for days.

  Chanter nodded to Sheera, who went back to her chores below decks, where she ruled supreme over pots of bubbling stew and the sweating girls who stirred them. The Mujar had solved the problem of cooking on a ship, especially with no wood to burn, with his usual casual ease. He had simply caused round areas of the stone tables to become hot, and pots were placed upon them around the clock for hot baths as well as cooking. With a Mujar providing power for every necessity, the voyage was almost luxurious in its comfort. Only those who suffered from sea sickness had been miserable for the first few days.

  Curious to find out how he would solve this latest problem, Talsy went over to stand beside Chanter. He glanced at her with a raised brow, his eyes slits of brilliant silver-blue in their fringe of black lashes, his golden skin burnished by the sun. The wind whipped his raven hair and flattened the crest that sprouted above his fine brows. The alien beauty of his sculpted features was just one of the reasons that Truemen had so envied and hated Mujar in the past. For Talsy, however, it was just another reason to admire him, and she answered his enquiring look with a smile.

  "So, what are you going to do?"

  "Find food."

  "Will you make fishes leap into the ship?" she quipped.

  He shook his head. "You know I can't."

  "Then what?"

  Chanter gestured to the expanse of ocean before them. "I've turned the ship. We'll find food in a couple of days."

  "What if you had to make the choice between letting these people starve and killing a few fishes? What would you do?"

  He smiled, unconcerned. "That choice does not arise. If we don't find food before we run out, I shall simply stop the ship and provide the people with the means to catch fish. I shall not do any killing."

  "Will you never kill anything? Even if you had to, for example, in order to protect me? If there was absol
utely no other way of saving me, would you kill then?"

  Chanter's smile vanished. "No."

  Talsy cursed herself as he strode away, wishing the words unsaid. All she really wanted to know was how much he cared about her, if at all. His feelings remained a mystery, even after all this time, and she longed to plumb the depths of his alien mind and find that he felt more for her than duty. This was not the way to find out, however. Such questions seemed only to offend him. A glance at the bows found Kieran's dark eyes resting on her, a mocking smile on his lips, as if he had guessed what was going on. The warrior, whom she had met amongst the chosen, irritated her with his knowing looks and black eyes that followed her too often. Shooting him a glare, she turned away.

  Two days later, the ship approached what looked like a flat island. As it drew nearer, Talsy noticed that the island undulated with the swells. She recognised the frond-like growths that sprouted from the creature's back, bright yellow streaked with pink, magenta and blue, swirled with green and turquoise, and spotted with violet. One of this world's vast food beasts that slumbered on the waves, soaking up the sun. Its size was astounding, for it dwarfed the whales as a shark would dwarf a minnow. This beast was more than four miles across and vaguely star-shaped, its arms encompassing sheltered grottos the size of small harbours.

  It supported a vast flock of flying creatures, graceful beasts with silken, banner-like wings that seemed to defy gravity as they floated on the wind. They came in a number of different species with a similar structure, and seemed to have no purpose other than to practice aerobatics and play in the sky. When they grew hungry, they landed on the food beast’s back and ate the fronds. Many perched there in chattering groups, watching the alien intruders with bright, intelligent eyes.

  They honked and cooed musically to each other, for all the world like a group of old men discussing the weather. Some dived and frolicked in the sea with sleek, seal-like beasts. Talsy wondered at their carefree existence, lacking, as they did, the need to hunt and kill in order to survive, or to breed vast numbers to replace those that others killed and ate.

  Chanter brought the ship alongside a massive arm, safe in the calm waters of its embrace, and jumped down onto the smooth silky skin of the multi-coloured beast. Plucking a frond, he sat down to eat it in the shade of other tall fronds. Talsy started to climb down after him, but Kieran grabbed her arm.

  "What the hell's going on?"

  "We need food, don't we?"

  He glanced past her at the vast beast. "That's edible?"

  "Very."

  Talsy looked around at the chosen, who stood at the railing and gaped at the mammoth animal instead of following Chanter's example. Shrugging off Kieran's hold, she turned to Sheera.

  "Tell them to bring baskets to gather food."

  Talsy joined Chanter, settled beside him with a smile and shared his frond when he offered it to her. Like the land food beasts, the creature gave off an enticing smell, and the frond tasted like the most delicious sea food delicacy. Kieran was the first to summon the courage to join them and sample the frond. It had the consistency of tough bread, easily torn into bite-sized chunks and satisfyingly chewy, but quick to soften and swallow. The flavour varied in different parts of the frond, blander at the edges and tastier near the centre, the different colours imbued with unique flavours.

  Kieran's brows rose, and he smiled, then beckoned to the people on the ship. The bolder ones climbed down, leaving the timid chosen to watch them with a mixture of trepidation and envy. The food gatherers walked gingerly, as if expecting a violent reaction to their presence, but the food beast slumbered, untroubled by their invasion. Their exclamations of delight at the strange food's taste brought the rest from the ship, and soon the chosen had all discovered the miracle of the food beast.

  When they had eaten their fill, they gathered fronds into piles and loaded them into baskets to haul back to the ship. For people who were used to the toil of planting and reaping crops that then still needed to be cooked, or raising and guarding animals for slaughter, it was a dream come true. The beast was so huge that all of their gathering barely lessened the number of fronds growing in the immediate area.

  Talsy found the frond tasty and filling, and it left her mouth refreshed, even better than when she cleaned her teeth with a frayed stick and ash. When she could eat no more, she wandered to the edge of the beast and gazed down into the azure depths. The food beast's back rose mere inches above the water, and she dabbled her fingers in its pleasant coolness. Wondering how far down the food beast's under parts extended, she leant over to peer into the depths. Something massive and streaked with pale beautiful colours shot up from the deep, its mouth filled with long white teeth. Talsy shrieked and recoiled, slipped on the silken hide and slid half into the sea. The creature brushed her submerged legs, and she shrieked again, certain that she was about to be devoured.

  In a second Kieran was at her side, hauling her from the water by her jacket as he drew his sword and stabbed it into the beast now just below the surface. The sea erupted as the creature thrashed, almost jerking the sword from his hand. Kieran yanked it free and raised it to stab the creature again. Flocks of flying beasts rose from the food beast's fronds with shrill keening cries.

  Chanter appeared, as if out of thin air, and grabbed Kieran’s sword arm in a vice-like hand. With a savage twist, he wrenched the sword from the warrior's fist, breaking his wrist with a soft crack. Kieran staggered back, his face twisted with shock and pain. The sword spun away and plunged into the sea.

  Chanter's brows almost met over blazing eyes, and his mouth was set in a grim line. Talsy gaped at him, astonished. Kieran backed away, holding his injured wrist, his gaze never leaving the Mujar's face. His stance, though a fighting one, held an element of fear that Talsy had never thought to see in the warrior. Although larger than Chanter and a deadly fighter, Kieran was afraid of the Mujar. Chanter stopped advancing on him and relaxed, breathing deeply through flared nostrils.

  He stabbed a finger at the sea. "That is forbidden."

  "It was attacking the girl." Kieran’s voice shook a little.

  "No. Talsy should have known better than to fear it." He looked at her. "Explain it to him."

  Chanter turned and dived into the sea, leaving them staring after him. Talsy frowned in confusion.

  Kieran looked distressed. "What did I do wrong?"

  If Chanter's reaction to Kieran’s attack on the beast from the depths had shocked her, Kieran’s response to Chanter's anger stunned her. The warrior seemed devastated, his usually controlled expression filled with anguish. After a brief struggle, he regained some composure, although he remained pale. Moved by his distress, she searched for something soothing to say.

  "It'll be all right. He'll forgive you," she offered.

  Kieran shook his head, rejecting her comfort. "I don't understand."

  "You didn't know."

  "Know what?"

  Talsy frowned and racked her brains for the reason that Chanter had said what he had. She should have known better than to fear a horrible monster coming at her from the depths? He had not objected to Truemen killing animals before, why now? Then it struck her. The animal on which she stood was a creature of this world. Kieran had injured a harmless predator that fed on the food beast, a creature from a perfect world untainted by the savagery of killing, a beast that was more plant than animal. She groaned. Chanter had led them to a source of wonderful bounty, trusting them to respect the sanctity of his gods' children, and Kieran had injured one. Chanter's anger had been frightening. She stared at Kieran, alarmed.

  "What?" he demanded. "What have I done?"

  "You..." She shook her head, unable to find the words.

  He grabbed her jacket with his good hand. "Tell me!"

  Talsy calmed herself with an effort. Surely Chanter would put it right? Kieran shook her, and she tried to push him away. "You injured a beast of this world, you moron! It was harmless!"

  "You're not makin
g sense!"

  She shoved him again, breaking his hold. "Cows and pigs are Truemen beasts, given to us to kill and eat. The true inhabitants of this world are creatures like this." She patted a nearby frond. "They don't kill, they feed on the sun and the sea and the air, like plants. The beast I thought was attacking me was a predator that lives on the food beast's fronds. When the gods of this world allowed the Truemen who came here to live, they hid their creatures so we wouldn't harm them, and now you have."

  Kieran stared at her, shaking his head. "The gods of this world? What are you talking about?"

  Since Chanter had told her to explain it to Kieran, she sat down and patted the space beside her.

  Chapter Two

  Chanter swam down into the cool depths, retaining his man form and sweeping the water with powerful strokes of his arms. The predator's soft whimpering cries guided him to it, while the food beast's deep moans of sympathy carried through the water like a giant organ's deepest note. These creatures lived in harmony, shared the same language and were guided by the same laws. The food beast shared the predator's pain and groaned with mammoth anguish. The Truemen beasts were beautiful and swift, their shapes a pleasure to take on, but the creatures of this world were as much his brothers as they were each other's, and had a different kind of enchantment about them. The magic of the harmless, the wonder of the gentle, fearless and fragile.