Seven of Wands

Chapter 4:
Seven of Wands

“I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.” -Bob Dylan

      As Kriss ascended slowly through the viscous stuff of fatigue laden sleep her head popped silently through its murky surface and awoke her with a sudden gasp. Her lungs ached as if she had been holding one last breathe all night. She heard voices, most distinctly the deep baritone of Patawpha's, right away. “Careful with that,” he was saying, “I've only got two of those.”

      “Does this hurt?” The second voice was Nora's followed by a deep grunt of pain and then her unsettling, mirthless laughter.

      Patawpha's voice was measured and weighty; it sounded as if he were holding something back. “The last bone you set didn't hurt this much.”

      “We have a long way to travel yet and I cannot waste all my power on you.” There was another grunt of pain that made Kriss wince. “Besides you were a child then. Now...you are a...man.” On the last word Nora's voice dropped menacingly and with a jerk she set the bone. Patawpha's sudden cry of pain had Kriss scrabbling to her feet and in mid charge before she had time to think.

      “Stop! Stop hurting him!” She flung herself at Nora's back but it was Patawpha who stopped her, caught her up in one big arm and whisked her away. “Shhhhhh.....shhhhhhh.....” he whispered, “I'm alright, I'm alright...”

      Nora sat with her back to them, still and unmoving except for the slow stirring of the coals with a long stick. As Patawpha ushered Kriss to the edge of camp she started squirming and kicking wildly, shouting to be put down. Patawpha abruptly obliged and Kriss fell into a cursing, spitting, flailing ball of anger on the forest floor. She was up in a flash, however, startling Patawpha with her speed, hammering blows down on his chest with her fists and screaming at the top of her lungs. Most of what was said was unintelligible but as she began to tire one word rose from deep inside of her and took over until she was only repeating, “why....why....why...” loud and angry at first but soon dropping to a whisper.

      Her lungs heaved once, betraying her, and she fell into Patawpha's chest, crying softly. Patawpha wrapped his muscular arms around her and it felt good to be held in spite of her wild independence. For a time grief washed over her and covered her like an ocean. She found herself alone at the bottom of the sea with nothing but her tears, loss, and the comforting, steady lub-dub of Patawpha's heart.

     It was the long, slow sound of scraping coals that finally found her at the bottom of the sea like an apathetic diving bell. That sound, with all its indifference, brought her back to her senses like a blow across her face.

      None of this was making sense anymore and she felt trapped like an animal in one of her father's snares so she put both hands on Patawpha's chest and shoved violently. This only resulted in her stumbling back a few steps, windmilling her arms wildly while trying to regain balance. She failed miserably at this endeavor and only succeeded in plunking hard again to the earth where she smacked her hands to the ground several times in frustration. The scraping of the coals came to an abrupt stop.

      “Are you quite finished?” Nora asked coldly but Kriss ignored her, staring angrily up at Patawpha instead.

      “What was she doing to you?” she hissed.

      “She was healing me. Fixing my broken arm.” He flexed his arm several times to show that it was alright.

      “Oh...” Kriss's brain whirled. “...but I broke my leg once...it was bad. Father brought a healer from town and he did not hurt me like that.”

      “My choice,” Patawpha extended his once-broken arm and offered Kriss a hand up which she took reluctantly.

      “But...why?” The rest of the camp was stirring behind her now and Kriss noticed Patawpha glance over her head and acknowledge some sort of signal. He looked back at her and sighed.

      “That's something I will try to explain later.” Kriss glared at him. “We must be on our way soon and besides...your sister is up. I think she's feeling better.”

      Kriss whirled around to see Elly rubbing sleep from her eyes. Standing next to her was Kem with a protective hand on her shoulder. Elly looked well enough but it was shocking to see her with no hair. Someone had cleaned her up during the night and every strand of her lovely red hair had come out with the washing. When she smiled at Kriss, however, her heart leaped brightly. She was still as beautiful as ever. Kriss rushed over, grabbed her in her arms, and spun her around. Only when she was good and dizzy did she remember her sister's burns with a start; she gingerly set her down, uttering apologies the whole time.

      Elly just smiled brightly and flexed her arm in much the same way Patawpha had, showing that she felt no pain. They were badly scarred from the fire but completely healed. Patawpha was at her side in an instant before Kriss could ask the question that leaped to her mind. “You have Kem to thank, Kriss. She is second only to Nora when it comes to healing. Always gentle as a lamb.”

      Kem blushed shyly at Kriss's thanks who was overcome with a sudden, inexplicable worry about her appearance. “I must..I must..look..I mean, I haven't even bathed in....” Kriss's voice trailed off as she looked down at her clothes. To her dismay they were burned and torn beyond repair. She looked at Kem whose cheeks reddened further then up to Patawpha who was grinning, clearly at some private joke, then back to Kem who looked away.

      Suddenly Nora's voice spoke from behind her, causing her to jump while bringing her back to her senses. “Here, child. I brought this for you.” Kriss did not like being called 'child' but that was not the reason she snatched the robe angrily from her hands and stomped into the woods to change her clothes. She wasn't even certain why she was angry but she felt embarrassed and vulnerable. To her great relief when she emerged from the woods everyone had begun to eat and no one seemed to notice her. She had, however, taken the time to scrub her face in a stream and tie her hair back with a strip of cloth from her old clothes. Elly waved her over and she broke her fast on a simple breakfast of bread and cheese. Afterward, Nora slice up one of the golden apples, topped it with some sort of spices from a pouch at her belt, and passed them around for everyone to enjoy. It was delicious but Kriss could not taste the spices.

      In what seemed like no time at all the camp was broken down, the fire buried, and the little group of blue-robed Discordians tramped off into the forest. Where once there had been five now there were seven. They fell into formation with the two that were still unknown to Kriss taking the lead, Kem and Elly next, followed by Kriss and Patawpha. Nora took up the rear.

     Kriss did not notice the silence at first because she was lost in her own thoughts. As her thoughts became muddy and distant she tried her best to take in her surroundings but she had to struggle to do so. No one had spoken a word since...never. Her gait was steady, matching Patawpha's stride for stride...matching everyone's stride for stride. She tried to slow down, then speed up, but her limbs were no longer under her control.

      Then she heard it. From behind her came Nora's voice in a low, powerful chant. The words were foreign to Kriss but the cadence matched her footfalls precisely. Kriss began to panic. She hated feeling trapped. As if in response, Nora's voice grew louder and it was if a shade were pulled over Kriss's eyes. Everything went strangely dark like that time Father punched a tiny hole in a leaf so that she could watch the moon gobble up the sun.

      Father...mother....they were gone...gobbled up. Dimly, Kriss's mind struggled to regain control. There was something wrong with Elly. Not her arms...Kriss hadn't heard her speak a word...had she? The shade over her eyes was abruptly ripped away and everything was...

     

      White. Like snow.

      It was snow but yet she wasn't cold. As if in a blizzard, the snow was blowing madly all  around and all she could see as she looked down was a foot. One foot...replaced by another...foot.

     

      ...foot...foot...foot...foot...foot...

      

      How long had she been walking?

      

      There was Nora's sing-song voice again...

       Kriss mustered all her strength. “Wait!-”

      The next thing she knew she was lying face down in a field of lush, green grass. 

      When she lifted her head she saw it.

      The Tower.

Five of Wands

Chapter 3
Five of Wands

“'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood

When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud

I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form

'Come in,' she said, 'I'll give you shelter from the storm.”

-Bob Dylan

      The leader of the little band of interlopers told everyone to take a few moments to eat and rest. Her crew dropped their packs and settled to the ground without a word, pulling out water, bread, and cheese as they did so. After they had settled in a bit she walked over to them and began to eat as well, taking her food and drink from what they offered her.

      Meanwhile Kriss helped Elly to her feet and she silently began to look around, surveying the destruction. There was nothing recognizable but the two sisters held hands and picked their way through the splinters and scorched wood anyway hoping to find something to take with them to remind them of home. There was nothing. Nothing but that horrid stench that Kriss would never quite forget until Elly, with a little squeal of excitement, kicked aside what may have once been part of their dinner table. There lying burnt, brittle, and devoid of string lay her precious bow. She let go of Kriss's hand, snatched it up quickly, and held it over her head with a little smile that held both pride and hope.

      To both of their dismay the bow cracked right in two and smashed to pieces as it hit the ground. Kriss swallowed hard once as Elly slowly lowered her arm and seemed to notice for the first time how badly burned they were, as if she had been oblivious to the pain all along. Whatever delusion had kept the pain at bay was suddenly shattered at the sight. Kriss watched Elly take one long breath which she then released with such awful cries of pain that Kriss and the entire party winced. As Kriss rushed to comfort her sister Elly fought her off with cries of, “Don't touch me! It hurts!”

In an instant the Discordian leader was shoving Kriss aside and as she reeled to keep her footing on the tricky mound of debris she saw a look in the leader's eyes that she did not like at all. There was a mixture of contempt and boredom on her face as if all of this work were far beneath her. Kriss got the feeling that she did not like children at all.

      “Enough!” she shouted at Elly but little balding girl with burned arms would have nothing of it. Her eyes widened remarkably as she began casting her gaze wildly around as if truly seeing everything for the first time. When she noticed all the blood and gore that was hanging from the trees her keening reached inhuman levels of both pitch and amplitude. Kriss watched in wonder as birds rose in massive numbers from the forest around them, chattering and diving about in a frenzy. In the far distance she would have sworn she heard wolves howling their lament.

      “E-NOUGH!!” the blue-robed woman shouted and stretched out her hand. A thin, blue snap of electricity arced from her fingers to the center of Elly's forehead. She was instantly silenced as she crumpled to the earth, Kriss rushing to her side as she did so. Elly seemed to be breathing and none worse for the wear, nonetheless Kriss was regretting her rush to alliance with these strangers. At the time she had only thought, “If they were going to kill us they would have already.” That and the word Discordian stuck out in her head as if something she should know. Her instincts about these things were usually spot on so she had not hesitated. Now, however, she began to wonder if she had allied with the wrong people. It was a tenuous alliance at best and Kriss knew that once they were safely in the woods she and her sister could run away. Kriss knew the woods, knew survival, but Elly was hurt badly and now unconscious not to mention they had no weapons and little knowledge on how to make them.

      Kriss quashed her desire to rush headlong at the lady in blue who stood silently studying Kriss with narrowed eyes. Kriss narrowed her own eyes as she slowly got to her feet and studied the woman in return. Behind her she was dimly aware of the rest of the blue-robes standing up and gathering their belongings. “What did you do to my sister?” Kriss spoke slowly and deliberately letting venom drip off of every word. Her mind, however, was racing like the chickens Elly used to keep in the yard, flitting from thought to thought, tallying up the mistakes she had made so far. Like it or not she was now locked in with these people.

      The blue robed woman spoke softly but Kriss could hear the frustration in her voice.“She is unharmed and no longer in pain. She will sleep soundly until we can make camp and tend to her wounds. I cannot stress enough how quickly we must be off. For her sake. For all of us.”

Kriss cocked her head slightly. “Not yet. Your names. You have us at a disadvantage, after all.”

The woman's face softened a little at this. “Forgive me, but in the rush to find you many things were overlooked. I am Nora, High Priestess and messenger for Eris, goddess of Discord and thrower of the Golden Apple. For you, Kallisti...” Nora produced an apple made of pure gold from somewhere in her robes and offered it to Kriss. Etched into the side of the fruit were the words, “To Kallisti.” When Kriss took the fruit she was surprised to find that it wasn't truly made of gold at all but instead held fast in some sort of illusion. “Taste it.” Nora smiled softly. Kriss took a bite and came to the quick conclusion that it was the most delicious piece of fruit she had ever tasted. She did not show it on her face, however, and chewed in silence waiting for Nora to continue.

      “The rest of us you can meet along the way. We really must be going.” There was an urgency in her voice and Kriss began to wonder what could possibly make such a strong wielder of magic retreat in fear. She decided that was something she really didn't want to know and nodded her head in silent assentation, taking another bite of apple as she did so.

      “Patawpha will stay behind and cover our retreat.” Nora indicated a young man who bowed deeply. Kriss could hear the creak of leather from under his robes as he did so, an indication of the armor he wore hidden there. As if on cue, Patawpha grinned widely at Kriss and began to pull an impossibly wide variety of wicked weapons from robes, deftly stashing them around his person with a little flourish .

      “Ufff!” Nora snorted at Patawpha. “Please tell me you did not bring that audacious scythe with you.”

      Patawpha spread his arms wide and shrugged. “Wherever would I keep it?” His brown eyes were bright with delight as he exchanged words with his superior.

      “I know precisely the place.” Nora retorted. She was unamused. Turning to the rest of the party Nora began barking directions. No one else looked at her like Patawpha did who was still grinning and chuckling quietly as he went to task setting snares around the perimeter of the little clearing. The rest kept their heads low and followed every order to the letter, marching orders, who was scouting ahead, and who was carrying Elly were amongst the many directions Nora spit out quickly.

      The latter fell to a small, attractive blonde woman just a few years older than Kriss herself. She smiled warmly and introduced herself as Kem, politely declining Kriss's offer of help as she effortlessly lifted little Elly into her arms. She was strong yet very careful with her slumbering cargo. Kriss liked her instantly but felt it better to keep that information to herself for now. Before long the whole party, minus Patawpha, were setting off into the forest at a rapid pace. Unencumbered as she was Kriss had no trouble keeping up and easily fell into step besides Kem who greeted her with a welcoming smile. Before she knew it Kriss caught herself smiling back at the pleasant girl, chiding herself as she did so and forcing the smile from her face with a wicked scowl. Kem politely looked away and pretended not to notice.

      It wasn't long before the pace they set had taken Kriss far from the small circle of territory she knew around her home. Her father had promised to start taking her further afield on her next birthday. The very thought of him hit her in the gut like one of Patawpha's cruel morning stars. Try as she might she could not keep her tears from betraying her and soon she was wiping them angrily from her face as if swatting away a swarm of stinging ants. She was startled when Kem's hand slid slyly into one of her own and gave a little squeeze before releasing her grip and leaving Kriss holding a soft piece of blue cloth. Kriss smiled weakly in thanks and wiped the tears from her face. Quite frankly she could have used something to blow her nose into but the cloth was nicer than any she had ever seen and smelled faintly of some heavenly perfume. She folded it carefully as if it were a precious artifact and offered it in return to Kem who simply smiled, shifted Elly gently in her arms, and shook her head. Kriss was struck with the fact that other than the clothes on her back this was now her only possession. After dabbing away a few more tears she secreted the cloth away determined to never let it go.

      The little party continued their rapid march through the woods without pause until darkness threatened to close completely in around them. From her time in the wild with her father she knew that it was well past time to get a fire going with any type of ease. Still, they marched on for another hour or so stopping only when it was too dangerous to be lumbering around in the dark. Although Kriss did not relish spending the night in the wilderness without a fire she was too exhausted and numb to truly care.

      Nora gathered them all in a little circle, explaining how they were now far enough away to build a fire. Building a fire seemed very important to Nora but Kriss didn't know how in any goddess's name she could accomplish the task. With surprising swiftness a little camp was thrown together and Nora indicated for Kriss to sit on one of the logs surrounding the quickly growing mound of kindling, sticks, and large dead branches. One tall lady in particular seemed especially good at finding things in the dark, disappearing into the blackness only to emerge moments later with armloads of wood that should have taken a long time to gather in the bright of day. In an errant shaft of moonlight Kriss noticed the tall lady's eyes shining in the dark like Elly's cat. “Interesting...” she thought and soon she was drying her eyes again with the little blue cloth inwardly chastising herself for crying over Elly's mangy cat.

      When everyone was finished with their duties, which included gently stretching Elly out on a soft blanket, they gathered themselves and sat around the huge mound of wood that loomed menacingly in the dark. Nora stood and walked to the center of the circle, stopping abruptly and spreading her arms out wide. “ALL HAIL DISCORDIA!” Her voice was deeper than normal and full of power. Kriss rocked backward and would have been unceremoniously unseated if it weren't for Kem who caught her gently but solidly with a hand to the small of her back. Grateful yet embarrassed Kriss stared at the ground hoping no one else noticed. Either they did not or simply did not care because they were all now intoning, “All hail Discordia,” in return.

      Nora took a deep breath and began to speak. Her words were deliberate and clear and it began to dawn on Kriss that she was about to hear a speech of some sort. Inwardly she groaned while keeping her face as emotionless as possible. The weariness of the day was hitting her hard and all she wanted now was to go to sleep. Nora's eyes locked with hers and would not let them go as she continued to speak.

      “When one of our flock is missing we must light a fire to guide their way home. This fire must be big and this fire must strong and this fire must burn until they come home.” Kriss felt Nora's sing-song words begin to lull her to sleep but she forced her eyes open as best as she could. She knew the tug of magic when she felt it and it angered her to be so helpless under it's sway. Nora was now in full chant and Kriss could not fight it any longer. The last thing she remembered was an explosion of warmth and color as the fire instantly raged into a conflagration.

      Again Kriss was knocked backwards and again there was Kem's comforting, solid hand at the small of her back. Gently Kriss was helped to the ground and covered with a blanket. With her last ounce of strength she forced open her eyes and looked at her sister sleeping soundly beside her. She wanted to hold her hand but was afraid it would hurt her.

      That night she dreamed of her father, her mother, and that mangy little cat. More than once she thought that Kem was wiping tears from her cheeks and telling her to hush..to rest...but in those vacant hours who can tell what is real or dream? At last she slid into a fitful slumber devoid of dreams, just Kriss drifting effortlessly amongst the stars.

Death

Chapter 2
Death

“Early one morning the sun was shining,

I was laying in bed.

Wondering if she had changed at all,

if her hair was still red.” -Bob Dylan

      Kriss awoke to the chattering song of morning birds and the smell of someone cooking breakfast.

No, that's not quite right, she awoke to the smell of someone burning breakfast. For a moment she lay there with her eyes closed just enjoying the call of the birds and the cool, welcoming breeze over her body but there was something about the smell of breakfast that was wrong. Father, on the rare occasions he tried to help, burned breakfast often but that wasn't quite what she smelled. There was something in the coppery twang that reminded her of liver and she hated liver. Her stomach began lurch unpleasantly in response. There was also a musky, sweet perfume in the air unlike anything she had ever smelled before. Her stomach threatened to betray her again but it wasn't the growing queasiness of her stomach that at last made her eyes fly open, it was the breeze. Lying in the comfort of her bed, even with the windows open, had never felt like this. She was outside. On the ground. And-

      “Elly!” She screamed for her sister, opened her eyes, and scrabbled to her feet all in one disoriented instant. Nothing around her looked familiar yet with growing horror she began to process where she was. The massive pile of smoldering wood next to her had once been her home and where she now stood was what had once been the softest grass in all the world, where she and Elly used to play. Now it was just scorched earth, radiating outward in sooty black fingers. It reminded her of the dried starfish that her father once brought home from his travels. She wondered where he was now and why he had left her all alone. Wanting to cry, she forced herself to be strong and began searching for her sister. She steeled herself for what she might find. Something told her that her parents were never coming back.

      As if on cue something stirred beneath the pile of steaming rubble that once had been their home. Kriss flung herself on the pile and began hurling blackened pieces of wood aside with inhuman speed. The wood was still hot and little devils of embers flew everywhere as a result of her effort, singeing her face, hair, and clothes. She would not feel the damage she did to her hands as they began to blister and burn until much later, after the rush of adrenaline had abandoned her and left her to fend for herself against the pain.

      At last she uncovered the softly moaning swell and was relieved to find Elly lying there. She was barely recognizable. Her shock of curly, red hair was gone along with her eyebrows, reduced to an ugly mass of singed, dead hair that sloughed off under the gentle stroking of Kriss's hands. Kriss carefully carried her sister to a patch of scorched earth and gently set her down. Elly was badly burned, the worst damage to her arms which had been bare at the time of the...attack?

      Knowing that her sister was safe Kriss took a good look around for the first time. There had been an obvious explosion, the scorched earth where she sat with her sister had been the focal point, her childhood home had simply been too close to the flames to survive. Her sword was gone, she knew that instinctively, that it had been the reason for this whole disaster. Why she and her sister had been spared she could not say. Her parents-

      For the first time she noticed the source of the 'cooking breakfast' smell. Chunks of meat and gore hung from the ring of trees that encircled her erstwhile home. Kriss's stomach did one final lurch before she turned her head and expelled its contents onto the black earth beside her. Gently taking her sister's head into her lap she finally began to cry, softly at first but soon her wails of horror, grief, and loss flooded the little clearing.

      She did not hear the small unit of armed men and women when they emerged from the tree line behind her. Their leader held up a fist, indicating that they come to a stop and for a short while they stood there listening to Kriss, shifting on their feet, nervous and embarrassed. At last their leader moved forward and spoke, her voice both soft yet firm.

      “Mistress Moonblade-” was all she got out.

      Kriss spun on her with catlike reflexes, throwing out a dagger from somewhere hidden on her person. The heavy blade flew straight at the leader's head with deadly accuracy and would have easily been the end of her had she not held up one hand, crackling with blue flame, and caught the dagger in midair. Her fingers wrapped around the razor sharp blade and with a quick flick of her wrist the dagger crumbled into tiny pieces that made a soft tinkling as they fell to the earth.

      “Mistress Moonblade,” she continued, unfazed. “On behalf of Eris, the Discordians offer our sincerest condolences. We also offer you and your sister safety to study at out temple. There you will be safe from any who wish you harm and will be able to take advantage of an exemplary education. There will be many courses of study available for both of you.”

      When Kriss did not answer, she quickly continued. “We must leave now. There are others on their way to kill you.”

      Kriss looked down at Elly. She moaned softly and opened her eyes, looking up at Kriss in confusion. “Why are you crying?” she asked. “Did you break my bow?”

Kriss looked over to the strange lady who had just offered them sanctuary. She nodded once. They would go.

The Queen of Swords

                                                                    Chapter 1
(Editor's note: The information contained in this chapter was taken directly from a document smuggled out of Haven by Lord Nipsi after Kriss's voluntary exile. After many extensive interviews with those who knew her it has become apparent that Kriss rarely spoke of her childhood so we owe a debt of gratitude for father's thievery...for once. - ed. Nipsi the Younger)

The Queen of Swords

Kriss was brought into our world in a small cabin in a remote part of the wilderness. There was no midwife, only her nervous, sweating father, who, according to Kriss's mother, was absolutely no help at all. She was three weeks past due and labor was an exhausting 12 hours, almost as if she were resisting her arrival in our world from the very beginning. She was healthy and her parents, proud. Three years later, Elly was born. From the very beginning she was brave beyond her years, not only her older sister's shadow but quite often her protector as well. Her love of animals ensured that their little household was an ever expanding menagerie, much to her mother's dismay (especially where lizards were concerned).

      Kriss's father began training them with weapons almost as soon as they could walk and the two sisters took to their lessons with zeal and determination. While Elly seemed to love anything with an edge or heavy, blunted head, Kriss's love was the sword and there was little wonder why. Her father, whom she loved with all her heart, had the most exquisite blade she had ever seen. He called it the Moonblade and, along with several scars and a milky white mass where his left eye should have been, he had brought it home from the war.

      The Moonblade was light as a faery's wing and covered with strange runes from tip to guard. The pommel and quillian were covered with strange, beautiful gems that, like the runes, glowed faintly under the light of the moon unless the moon was full. Under a full moon they glowed brightly and the sword gave off an audible hum, quivering slightly as if it were full of so much power it was going to explode. Kriss's father did not like to reveal the sword under a full moon, telling her that so much power was likely attract the wrong kind of people. Kriss did not know who these 'wrong kind of people' were but she was not afraid of them. She and her sister could handle anything and the sword was so pretty to look at when the moon was full that she found herself sneaking it out from time to time against her father's wishes.

      When she was eight or nine she had become so proficient with the weapon that she had surpassed even her father's skill with the blade. He promised her that the next time he went to town he would look into hiring the best instructor available. Kriss pestered him for weeks until at last it was either time to go or he had simply given in to her wishes. Most likely the latter since he went alone and came back with nothing except for the promise of a new instructor in the morning. From their favorite hiding spot Kriss and Elly listened to their parents argue about the coming blade master. Mother was concerned about what the man would do upon seeing the Moonblade but Father insisted that all was well. Apparently anyone or anything could be bought for the right sum of gold in town. Kriss wondered just exactly what this 'town' place was like. She and her sister had never been more than a mile or two from the safety of their little cabin in the woods.

      That night the moon was full. Waiting until her parents were deep in slumber Kriss slipped quiet as a shadow from her bed, her feet carefully avoiding the many creaky spots in the wooden floor, and plucked the Moonblade from its hiding place. One of Elly's cats was the only creature to hear her, evidenced by a pair of shiny eyes in the moonlight. Uncaring, the cat's eyes drifted slowly shut as Kriss slipped out the door into the chilly night air. For an hour she practiced her swordplay in the moonlight. She was an impressive sight to behold even at her young age. When at last she grew tired she slipped back inside her home and stowed the sword beneath her bed instead of returning it to its proper hiding spot. She was soon fast asleep and dreaming.

     She was shaken awake by her sister who quickly put a finger over her mouth to keep her quiet. There was shouting outside. Someone was demanding the Moonblade. Her mother was pleading, begging her father to hand it over to them. Her father's voice was shaky, the first time Kriss had ever heard fear in his voice. “It isn't there,” he said. “The hiding place is empty.”

      “He got here first,” a woman said, then she began saying many words that Kriss had never heard and a few she had been told never to say because they were naughty. Suddenly Kriss remembered where the sword was and fished it wildly from beneath her bed. Elly made a little squeak of surprise then quickly covered her mouth with both hands, her green eyes were wide and wild. Her little head full of adorable little red curls made a quick jerking motion towards the doorway. Kriss nodded and quietly pulled the Moonblade from its scabbard as Elly grabbed her bow. The blade was glowing brighter than ever now and its low hum filled the room, threatening to give them away. Elly gave Kriss a withering glare but Kriss could only shrug in return. In desperation she gently ran her finger along the length of the runes. In response the sword quieted itself although the humming was still present. Elly sighed and flicked her head again at the door. Her curls bounced joyfully around her head.

      “What was that?” the woman snapped from outside. “It's here. Kill them.”

      Elly let out a little squeak again as she and Kriss charged for the door. Wish a sharp whistle Elly sent her wolf flying out the door ahead of them, slamming the door open with such force that it shattered into splinters when it banged against the outside wall. Although everything seemed to be moving in slow motion it was only a split second before Kriss and Elly were halfway across the room. Elly was drawing back her bow and Kriss held her sword at the ready as a loud war-cry that belied her age began to rumble past her lips.

      A tremendous explosion rocked them backwards before they could even reach the door. At first everything went white and silent. There was the suggestion of pain. Then everything went black and Kriss began to dream of other worlds.

Prologue

Prologue

The Principia Moonblade

consisting of the lives, lies, and loves

of

Kriss Moonblade,

erstwhile High Priestess of Discordia,

leader of Haven,

and betrayer of man, woman, goddess,

and herself.

As told to Nipsi the Younger

by

Lord Nipsi the Elder,

reluctant leader of

The Lost Lurikeens.

“Black out the sun and hush the tune,

She lived too long and died too soon,

Her name is writ in stars with rune,

She loved, she lost, she hung the moon.”

-from the hymn,

Our Lady Lives Between the Stars