Introduction Welcome to The Seventh Tower Website. Here you will learn about a awesome book-series, & maybe even get a chance to play The Seventh Tower RPG. If you're really into The Seventh Tower, then you can join the Chosen. Email me @ [email protected] , & tell me how many books you've read. Then I will e-mail you a set of questions. Send back the awnsers & depending on the correct amount of answers, I will put you into your Order. I hope that you enjoy the site. Whats My Order? If you havn't read any Seventh Tower books you are a Underfolk. If you're reading the 1st book, you are a white order dimmer. If you have read the 1st book, you are a Red Order Dimmer. If you have read the 2nd, you are an Orange Order Light bringer. If you have read the 3rd, you are a Yellow Order Light Bringer. If you have read the 4th, you are a Green Order Shadow Master. If you have read the 5th, book you are a Blue Order Shadow Master. If you have read the 6th book, you are a Brightblinder of Indigo Order. To be iniated into the Violet Order, you must have 1 person start reading The Seventh Tower series. The more peple who you make read the entire series, the higher you get promoted toward becoming a Shadowlord of Violet. What Happens? Tal was desperate, so he asked his aunts for a Primary Sunstone, but they said they had none to spare, as they smiled making their Primary sunstone jewlery shine in his face. His next idea was to win the Achivements. He signed up for the Athletic Achievment, but that next week, he came an hour early just to be there on time. He looked on the sign-up sheet for the Athletic Achievment, but his name was no longer there. He said to 1 of the instructors that his name was no longer there, & then the instructor suggested he might have signed up for anouther Acheivement. Tal searched the different sign-up sheets until he came to the Acheivment of Music. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have a original piece to proform. He looked at his shadow guard. It had took the shape of an old man. Of course, his Uncle Ebbiet would help him. The Books Book 1. In all the world there's only 1 place that ever sees the sun. A place where 7 slender towers stretch up & up, until the tops cannot be seen. The spiky towers crown the vast castle city of the Chosen, that is itself built upon a mountain few would dare to climb. Only the spires pierce the Veil, a magical barrier that repels all light and shrouds the world in darkness. Still, there is light in the Dark World. The Chosen of the Castle hold a secret � the ability to capture the light of the sun and store it in jewels. Sunstones, they call them, and they use them for warmth and light and magic. The Chosen do not share their secret. But sometimes their Sunstones fall, by accident, from the towers. They are caught by the wind and swept out into the Dark World. Out to the frozen seas where they are found by Icecarls, a nomadic people who know only ice, snow, and the struggle for survival. For centuries this has been the way. The Chosen rule the Castle, intent upon their magic. The Icecarls travel the frozen wastes, searching for Sunstones, knowing nothing of the Castle. Sneak Preiveiw of the 1st bookTal sat down at the game table, and Ethar sat opposite. Tal felt strangely calm now that he had accepted the challenge. He looked down at the seven rectangular depressions in the tabletop in front of him. He knew what they were, but he thought he�d pretend to know less about the game. That way Ethar might underestimate him. "What order are these in again?" he asked, pointing to the rectangles. "Head, Heart, Temper, Skin, Speed, Strength and Special," said Ethar quickly. Each rectangle would ultimately hold one card, and that card would specify the characteristics of the beast. The Strength card would determine the beast�s strength, the speed card would determine its quickness, and so on. When all the cards were in place and finalized, two five-inch high beasts of solid light would be produced, to battle it out in the marble circle in the middle of the table. Whoever played their cards right and produced the victorious beast would win the game. Each card could be changed twice by using light. So even when a card was in place, and your opponent could see it, it might still change. The trick of the game was to make the other player think you were making a certain sort of beast and then change it at the last moment by altering the cards that governed its seven characteristics. There was also luck, of course. There were a hundred cards, but each player was only dealt seven, all of which had three possible variations. Tal hoped that he would be lucky. Tal�s first card was a Phalarope, a marine animal that floated around in the water and had thousands of poisonous tendrils. Its only real use was in the Special category, because then the made beast would have poisonous tendrils. Tal knew that this card would change to a Kurshken if he applied green light from his Sunstone. Kurshken were small but very smart & quick lizards, so would be good in either Speed or Head. Unfortunately, Tal didn�t know what the third variation of the card was. He had a faint memory that it might turn into a Hugthing under Red light, but couldn�t be sure. Hugthings were particularly nasty. They looked like a carpet of comfortable green moss, but could spring up and wrap themselves around you in an instant. For the game, a Hugthing card would be good in Skin or Strength. "I will play first, if you like," said Ethar. This would give Tal a slight advantage, so he quickly nodded to say yes. "Heart of a Borzog," announced Ethar, laying the card down on the second rectangle in front of her. Tal looked at the card, which showed a fearsome, semi-human and very hairy creature roughly the size of three people across the shoulders. This was a good initial play. Borzogs would fight to the death, and beyond. Once they got a grip, they never let go, even when they were killed. Strong hearted indeed. "Um, err, Head of a . . . whatever this is . . ." announced Tal, playing the Phalarope into the Head rectangle. He was going to change it into a Kurshken later on, but he hoped Ethar would think he didn�t know what he was doing. "A Phalarope," said Ethar. She looked at the bulbous thing with its many tentacles and added, "It does look something like a giant brain." "That�s what I thought," said Tal, pretending he was relieved. "A giant brain. Perfect for the Head." The other guard dealt them both another card. Tal picked his up slowly. At first, all he could see was a pair of red eyes in the card. Then, he slowly became aware of an outline around them. The card was showing him something hidden in a cave or a hole, with only the eyes visible. Then Tal remembered, and barely suppressed a shiver of horror. This card was of a Cavernmouth. They were horrible creatures in Aenir, who dug holes for themselves in the side of a mountain and then backed in and opened their enormous jaws. What he thought were glowing eyes were actually something like tonsils at the back of the thing�s throat. In the game of Beastmaker, the Cavernmouth card was unusual. It could be played in Speed, because its jaws were incredibly fast at snapping out. Or it could be played in Special, to give the created beast extendable jaws. "Speed of a Gorblag," said Ethar, playing a card that looked like a large, glowing blue toad that was too fat to do anything. But one of the variations of the Gorblag card was the incredibly zappy Fleamite, an insect that could move faster than a human eye could track it. Tal knew Ethar would change that card later on. "Speed of a Cavernmouth," Tal countered, playing his card. He wouldn�t be changing that. Even if Ethar did change her Speed card to the Fleamite, it wouldn�t be much faster than a Cavernmouth. "You have played before," remarked Ethar. "Few people remember the Cavernmouth can be played for Speed." "I saw my great-uncle use it that way once," Tal said, still trying to give the impression he was an absolute beginner at Beastmaker. The game moved more swiftly then. Within a few minutes, both Tal and Ethar had six of their seven rectangles filled with cards. "You hid your skill well," said Ethar as she changed the mild-mannered Klatha workbeast in her Temper rectangle to the insanely vicious Vengenarl, a creature that attacked even its own kind if they trespassed over its scent-marked boundaries. Tal nodded, but he wasn�t paying attention to what Ethar said. Everything depended on him getting the best beast. Now Ethar had changed the Temper of her beast, Tal thought he knew what to play there. But once he put that card down, his beast would be complete. Did he need to make any changes? Quickly, he scanned the seven rectangles. Head of a Kurshken. Skin of a Samheal Semidragon. Temper . . . that was to come. Heart of a Hrugen, which was a gamble, since that was actually a kind of weed that never gave up, it grew everywhere in Aenir and seemingly could not be eradicated. Speed of a Cavernmouth. Strength of a Jarghoul, a cannibalistic strangling snake of the jungles of Aenir that primarily ate others of its own kind after weeks-long battles to crush each other to death; Special, the ability of the Gossamer Bug to fly. Tal ran over all the variations in his head, while Ethar arched her fingers into a steeple and waited for his move. "To see the Empress, or lose your Sunstone," she said. "What is it to be?" "Temper of an Icefang," said Tal, playing his final card, locking all the others in. This was his greatest gamble. He didn�t know enough about this card or its properties. But he remembered Great-Uncle Ebbitt saying that the Icefangs of Aenir were among the most dangerous of creatures in the spirit world. They never got angry, or demoralized, or had any emotions at all it seemed. They just coldly fought to the very best of their ability, never distracted by danger, wounds, or anything else. "And Strength of a . . . Jarghoul," said Ethar, playing exactly the same card as Tal. "Let the battle begin!" Both Tal and Ethar stepped back from the table as the final cards were played. No one knew how to make Beastmaker boards anymore, but everyone had heard about the one that exploded years before, every Sunstone in it suddenly igniting. But this Beastmaker board seemed to work perfectly. The cards in their rectangles began to slowly glow brighter and brighter, and a luminous mist formed on each side of the table. Then the two clouds of mist drifted across to the battlecircle in the middle of the table, and began to slowly form into shapes. Tal held his breath, wondering what his beast would look like. Inside his head, he urged the formless lump of bright mist on, willing it to be the best beast ever made, a champion that would win his entry to see the Empress. Soon, all his troubles might be over! Then his cloud of bright mist solidified into a brightly colored beast. It was tall and slender, and had the general shape of a lizard except it stood up on its hind legs and had wings. Its skin was scaly and iridescent, sparkling in many different colors. Its huge, delicate-looking wings were also many colored and almost see-through. It was pretty. It was even beautiful. But didn�t look at all tough or dangerous. Tal let his breath out in disappointment and shut his eyes. He didn�t want to look at the opposing beast, which had also solidified out of the glowing ball of mist on the other side of the circle. "Interesting," said Ethar in a puzzled tone. Tal opened one eye a fraction. Ethar�s beast was really ugly. It resembled a blubbery, rust-colored ball that had three arm-legs coming out the top and three out the bottom. It had four pairs of eyes spaced around its middle, and a separate, many-toothed mouth under each pair of eyes. As Tal watched, it flipped over on to its top legs and then flipped back again, very quickly. Then it deliberately fell back and actually bounced high into the air, without using its arm-legs at all. Tal�s beast just watched the bouncy ball thing and stood there, its wings flickering like a hummingbird�s. It was only when Tal looked closely that he realized it wasn�t standing � it was hovering an inch above the white marble of the battlecircle. The battlecircle began to change color from white marble to red, the sign that the combat would commence. Tal took a step closer, as did Ethar and all the guards, who crowded around. Quickly, Tal looked over at Ethar�s cards, hoping he would see some flaw that his beast would exploit. Ethar had played the Head of a Dofyn, which was fairly standard play, since the Dofyns were the enormously clever sea dwellers of Aenir. Then the Heart of a Niphrain Ape. The Temper of a Vengenarl. The Skin of a Blorem, which as far as Tal could remember would give the beast a skin of very resilient, thick blubber. The Speed of a Fleamite. The Strength of a Jarghoul. And finally, the Special of a Urglegurgle. Tal had no idea what that was, but now that he�d seen the made beast, he figured it had to be bouncing. The battlecircle flashed red three times. On the third flash, Tal�s lizard suddenly shot forward, just as Ethar�s blubber-tub bounced. They met in a whirring of wings, teeth, and clawed arms � or legs � and parted just as quickly. "By the Light!! A hit!" cried Ethar, pointing to the drops of bright emerald green blood that were welling out of the lizard-beast�s forearms. "Mine too," said Tal, pointing at some ugly gashes in the blubber of the bouncing beast. But his heart sank, for the blubber was very thick and the gashes did not look deep. Before Tal had finished speaking, the blubber-tub attacked again, acting on its Vengenarl temper. This time, the lizard-beast didn�t meet it, but flew to one side, zipping and darting around in the air as the blubber-tub bounced and lunged, reaching out its multiple arm-legs to grab and rend. The lizard-beast was too quick to be caught, but the blubber-tub was also too quick for it to easily strike. They bounced and flew, feinting attacks and withdrawals, moving so swiftly it was almost impossible to follow. Then the lizard-thing suddenly swooped in and bit out the blubber-tub�s eye. It shrieked in rage, the first sound either beast had made, and one of its three-fingered limbs gripped the very edge of the lizard-beast�s wing. There was a tearing sound, and part of the wing came off. The lizard-beast leaped back, but clearly it could no longer fly. "No!" Tal groaned. The lizard-beast made a yipping sound to taunt the blubber-tub on, as if it didn�t care about its torn wing. The blubber-tub, its eye socket bleeding, threw itself back and then bounced forward to crush its opponent. But even without wings, the lizard-beast was very fast. It zipped sideways, and a claw struck in to take out another of the blubber-tub�s eyes. Furious, the great ball of blubber changed direction to hurl itself at the rainbow-colored lizard. Once again, the lizard-beast got out of the way, just in time. Then it suddenly moved back, as the blubber-tub was changing direction, and bit the bulbous creature on the foot. "Yes!" shouted Tal, punching the air. The lizard had bitten clean through the blubber-tub�s leg, severing the foot. But it still had two on that side, and one of the other legs swung across, smacking the lizard in the head. The brightly colored beast was thrown halfway across the circle by the blow, and seemed to be stunned. It lay there, unmoving, while the blubber-tub did a flip to get back on the three good legs on its other side. "Get up! Go lizard!" yelled Tal. "Kill it!" shouted Ethar. The other guards shouted too, some encouraging Tal�s beast, some encouraging Ethar�s. Slowly and murderously, the blubber-tub advanced on the motionless lizard. Then it started to bounce. A small bounce, then a slightly harder one, until it was bounding up a stretch or more. With each bounce, it got closer and closer to the defenseless lizard. It clearly intended to crush Tal�s beast to death. Tal looked on, horrified. Even though the creatures were only created things of magical light, he couldn�t bear to see his lizard killed. He stopped thinking about everything that depended on this little beast of many colors. He just wanted it to survive. As the blubber-tub shot up for what had to be its final bounce, Tal shut his eyes. He felt sick. Everything was over now. Suddenly the guards roared, but it was a shout of surprise, not triumph, from Ethar. Tal�s eyes flashed open and saw the lizard-beast flying around a stunned blubber-tub, darting in to pluck out its eyes one by one. "What happened?" he asked one of the guards who had been betting on his lizard. "It tricked the blubber-thing," said the guard happily. "That lizard�s got four or five layers of wing. It could still fly, and it wasn�t knocked out. Smart beast, kid." But despite losing more of its eyes, the battle was not yet over for the Blubber-tub. It had the Heart of a Niphrain Ape, so it could not give up. Bleeding from a dozen wounds, it lurched after the lizard, chasing it around and around the battlecircle. "Only a matter of time now, boy," said the friendly guard. "Well�" Whatever the guard was going to say stopped in his throat, as the far door suddenly swung open with the screech of disused hinges. Like everyone else, Tal looked over. Something huge and very, very dark was coming through the door. A Spiritshadow, Tal realized, but one bigger than he�d ever seen. Its head was all spikes and flanges, as wide and tall as the door, so it struggled to get through. A sinuous neck followed, but whatever body lay behind was too big, unless the Spiritshadow chose to shrink it. Suddenly Tal realized he was the only one still standing up. All the guards had fallen to their knees and were bowing in the Spiritshadow�s direction. Tal stood there gawping, till his shadowguard reached up and pulled him down by the front of his tunic. Only then did he realize what . . . or who . . . this Spiritshadow was. It had to be Sharrakor the Mighty, the Empress�s own Spiritshadow. The Shadowdragon who alone among its kind had a name. Sharrakor�s vast head reared up on its serpentine neck, and its jaws opened. Tal saw teeth of shadow, and swirling patterns of darkness. Then Sharrakor spat a great glob of shadow that fizzed through the air, straight at Tal! Tal ducked, but the shadowspit wasn�t aimed at him anyway. It struck the Beastmaker table. There was a flash of light, a sudden sizzling noise, and the still battling lizard-beast and blubber-tub were gone. Tal looked at the empty battlecircle, where small shadows ran like water, over the side of the table and on to the floor. He cringed back as several patches flowed past him, back toward Sharrakor. Tal realized, shivering, that the Spiritshadow had spat some portion of itself. Now all those small shadows were rejoining the whole. Tal cleared his throat, about to protest at the Spiritshadow�s destruction of the game, but his shadowguard leaped up and thrust itself into his mouth, an instant gag. Tal reached up to pull it free, but the friendly Imperial Guard gripped him as well, so he couldn�t move. The last pieces of shadowspit rejoined Sharrakor. The Shadowdragon�s head swung slowly from side to side, as if seeking another target. Then it slowly withdrew back the way it had come. When it had fully withdrawn, the door creaked shut behind it. Tal�s shadowguard dropped out of his mouth and the Imperial Guards visibly relaxed. "What�" Tal began to say, but he got no further. . It will take all their strength to survive... Book 2. The Dark World is a place of ice, wind and fury. A veil of black covers the sky. In all the world, only the Castle shines with light. Tal and Milla are struggling to make it to the Castle, each on a dangerous mission. For Tal, a Chosen, the Castle is home � but now he is unwelcome. For Milla, an Icecarl warrior, the Castle is a strange and mysterious place. Her presence is a threat the Castle dwellers will take notice of � and fight at any cost. From the deadly Hall of Nightmares to the magical chambers of Tal's great-uncle Ebbitt, Tal and Milla must navigate the Castle and elude the sinister forces conspiring against them. Sneak Preiview of the 2nd book For the next four days and five sleeps, Tal tried to roam around the Ruin Ship. But whenever he went to open a hanging curtain or go through a doorway, one of the Shield Maiden cadets would pop up from behind, or in front, or from around the corner and politely lead him back to somewhere he'd already been. Eventually he worked out that he was only allowed to be in the small sleeping chamber he'd been assigned, the Hall of the Reckoner, the Cadets' Feasting Hall where he had his meals (though he never saw anything he'd call a feast), and some of the time, the room where Milla had been ordered to stay in bed. The only combat skill Milla could practice in bed was her bad temper. Since Tal was the only person she could practice on and get away with it, he found that visiting her was not much fun. But there was simply nothing else to do, except watch the ships and tiles get moved around on the Reckoner, and that was about as boring as the lecture on the basics of light that retired Lector Jannem gave every year. On the positive side, though she was cross at being ordered to bed, Milla was bored, too, and sometimes she would actually answer Tal's questions. The Shield Maiden cadets wouldn't speak to him at all, unless it was to stop him from going somewhere or doing something he wasn't allowed to do. "How come there are no men here?" Tal asked Milla on the second day, after he'd ducked a pillow she'd thrown at him. He handed it back to her, noting that her face had lost its sickly gray tinge and was returning to its normal, surprisingly delicate paleness. All the Icecarls were very pale, much more so than the Chosen. Most Icecarls had the same color hair, too, like sunshine mixed with white ash. Tal's hair was the color of dirt, settling just above his shoulders. He felt that cutting his hair short would be an admission that he was no longer a proper Chosen. "No men where?" snarled Milla. "Here, the Ruin Ship." "I told you," snapped Milla, "it is the chief place of the Shield Maidens. It is not like a normal clan ship. There are no families, no children, no hunters, no Selski. The only men who come here would be either lost hunters, messengers . . . or a Sword Thane." "A Sword Thane?" asked Tal, suddenly interested. "Women who wish to serve all the clans become Shield Maidens," explained Milla. "But men do not work so well together, so those who wish to be lawgivers and protectors become Sword Thanes." "What do you mean?" asked Tal. "Everyone knows this." Milla frowned. "Some clans prefer a Sword Thane, though they can be unreliable and hard to find. It makes a better saga, I suppose." "Prefer a Sword Thane for what?" "Trouble!" spat Milla. "When you have trouble, you send for the Shield Maidens, but sometimes a Sword Thane finds you and the trouble first." "But aren't Shield Maidens heroes?" Tal inquired. "I mean, you killed the Merwin. Doesn't that make you a hero - which makes you a Sword Thane?" "I wish to be a Shield Maiden, so I must try to be a hero," Milla repeated. "But only a man can be a Sword Thane. All Sword Thanes are heroes but not all heroes are Sword Thanes." "What?" asked Tal. He was getting confused. "So what do you call a man who's a hero but not a Sword Thane? What if he uses an ax or a spear?" Milla didn't answer. She picked up the Merwin horn sword that never left her side and readied it to throw like a spear. Tal didn't stay to be a target, or for further explanation about Shield Maidens and Sword Thanes. He disappeared around the corner, and did not visit Milla again till she was up and final preparations were being made for their departure. They left the Ruin Ship after a stay of a full five sleeps, the same way they had entered, stumbling along blindfolded, guided by Arla. This time, at least, they were much better equipped. The Shield Maidens had been generous in providing new furs, climbing teeth, ropes of braided Selski hide, and other things they considered essential to climb the ruined road to the Mountain of Light. Tal had used part of the time in the ship to study Longface's map. He had come to the conclusion that the bone had not actually been carved with a sharp tool, but cut by Sunstone light. That meant the Chosen who had done it had been extremely skilled, and that he still had his Sunstone when he had staggered down to the Ruin Ship. But not his Spiritshadow. The tablet gave no clue to its maker's mystery. There was writing on it, in addition to regular marks that were obviously a map. But all the writing said was: Half road down pyramid Imrir fallen 100 stretch entry heatway tunnel Underfolk 7. Tal had puzzled over this for some time, but all he could guess was that it meant there was an entrance to the heating system of the Castle - which he knew went through the mountain, right down into the deep earth. Underfolk 7 was almost certainly a reference to the lowest of the Underfolk levels, which Tal supposed was where the heatway tunnel came out. Presumably the entrance outside would be about halfway up the mountain, near a fallen pyramid. Tal had a dim recollection that Imrir had been the Emperor long ago. The current Empress didn't have a name - Tal had never wondered about that before. Of course, she had been the Empress for much longer than most, fending off old age with her mastery of Sunstone magic. Maybe Emperors' or Empresses' names were only known after they died. All thoughts of the Empress were gone by the time the blindfold came off. Arla left them, without a word. Tal watched with relief as she silently slid away. He felt like a caveroach about to be stepped on when Arla was around. Milla, of course, had a completely different reaction. Arla was everything Milla wanted to be twenty circlings from now. Tal stood alone with Milla and the freezing wind. Far below, they could see the luminous outline of the Ruin Ship. Both of them had moth-lanterns, but the dull green light only showed snow and patches of bare rock. If there was a road - even a ruined one - Tal couldn't see it. "Come on," ordered Milla. She shouldered her pack and headed off. Tal fumbled on his own pack, groaning at the sudden weight. It was full of sleeping furs and climbing gear and food and what felt like at least his own weight in other things the Icecarls considered essential. Tal would have rather had a Sunstone, so he could properly warm himself. Even with inner and outer coats of thick fur, a cloth-lined bone face mask, and a short, hooded cape lined with the soft tails of something he couldn't pronounce, Tal was still cold. Though he couldn't see a road through the amber lenses of his mask, he followed obediently. Either Milla could see something, or Arla had told her a secret sign to look for. It was hard going, but not too hard. At times they had to clamber over great blocks of ice that had slid down from higher up, but it was clear they were on a path made by humans. Once again, Tal regretted the absence of a Sunstone. He wanted to light up the whole mountainside, to see the sheer cliffs stretching up and up, and admire the way the rock had been carved away in precise lines to create the road, switchbacking its way up what would otherwise be impassable terrain. But all he could see now was the occasional evidence of construction, particularly when there was a well-preserved stretch of road and mountainside forming a perfect right angle. At other times, he had no idea how Milla found the road again after it had fallen away. He asked her. "The road smells of ghalt, the melting stone," Milla said. As usual, her voice bore a reluctance to talk to Tal, tempered with a desire to show off how superior Icecarls were. She bent down, swept away a light layer of snow and, with effort, pulled out a piece of black rock that shone in the moth-light. "There are hot pools of ghalt in the far southern mountains," she said, holding the piece under Tal's nose. "When it is hot it pours like water and smells very sour. Even very old, cold ghalt smells. I do not know how the ancients brought it here for the road." Tal raised his mask to sniff at it, but he couldn't smell anything. His face just got cold. As the hours of walking wore on, Tal was no longer interested in how Milla found the road. He was just glad that she did. He was also hoping that she would stop soon so he could rest. She had to be tired, too, he reasoned, since she was still recovering from her wound. But she showed no signs of weariness. When she did stop, it wasn't for a rest. She suddenly backed up, almost hitting Tal. While he gawped at her, she threw her arm around him and wrestled him into the nearest snowdrift, piled up against the mountainside. As they plunged into the snow, Tal felt a great rush of air go past. He caught a momentary glimpse of enormous translucent eyes, each as large as his own head, followed by spread wings of great size. "What was that?" Milla clapped her hand over his mouth, her fur glove almost smothering Tal. He started to struggle, then stopped as she held a knife against his throat and ordered him in a whisper, "Stay still!" They lay together in the snow, not moving. Finally, they heard a terrible screech some distance off, and Milla relaxed. The knife vanished from her hand, and she let Tal sit up. "Perawl," she said. "They can't see you if you stay completely still. They're a bit deaf, as well." "What was the . . . the noise?" asked Tal. The unseen hunters in the air made this place even worse than being on the Ice. At least with the Selski you could hear them coming, and you could see a Merwin's luminous horn. Milla didn't answer, so Tal repeated the question. "It could be any one of a number of things," replied Milla evasively. "The Perawl's meal, I suppose." "So the great Milla doesn't know everything," remarked Tal. Milla ignored him, her attention still focused downhill. "Perhaps . . . perhaps it was the other way around," Tal added. The screech hadn't sounded like something being caught. It had sounded triumphant. "Maybe the Perawl was something else's meal." They looked at each other, expressions unseen behind their face masks. But Milla started off again at a faster pace and Tal followed without complaint.Without his Sunstone, Tal had no idea how much later it was when they finally stopped to rest and eat. As on the Ice, the meal was Selski meat heated over a Selski oil stove. "We will have three watches. I will take the first and third," declared Milla when they had finished eating. "You need only stay awake for the middle watch." "I can stand two watches," said Tal. "Let's have four watches." "Do you know how to count every breath without thinking, even while asleep?" asked Milla. "Uh, no," answered Tal. "What does -" "That is how we count the passing time when there is no other means," explained Milla, as if she were speaking to a very small child. "So I will tell you when to begin and finish your watch." Tal couldn't argue with that. Surreptitiously, he tried to count each individual breath, but he couldn't keep track. He half suspected that Milla couldn't, either, and she was just trying to be superior again. It was a cold camp, and a dangerous one, with a long drop beside the road. They put their backs against the slope, and Tal silently told himself thirty times, I must not walk in my sleep. Sleep did not come easily. The wind howled down the mountain and seemed to want to pick Tal and Milla up and take them with it all the way to the Ruin Ship far below. Because they were higher up, it was even colder than on the Ice, and Tal found himself huddling closer and closer to Milla to stay warm. Milla seemed to take this as normal behavior, but Tal found even her fur-muffled closeness unnerving. He had never been so close to a girl before, let alone one who might kill him if he accidentally threw his arm around her while he was dreaming. That thought didn't help him sleep. Neither did the noises he heard, or thought he heard, in the night. Even when Milla was supposed to be sleeping, she sat up every now and then to listen. Sometimes Tal wondered if she ever really slept. He wouldn't have been surprised to find that if she did sleep, it was with one eye open. The middle watch seemed to go on and on forever. Tal decided to test if Milla was asleep. He leaned away from her, but she didn't stir. So he edged away a little more. She sank back into her furs, and Tal smiled. She really was asleep. He reached across to lightly tickle under her chin, where a tiny square of skin showed clear of the mask and her laced-up collar. Tal had often done this to Gref, trailing his fingernail like an insect across him to see how long it took for his brother to wake up. His gloved hand was just about to touch Milla's chin when her hand snaked out from under the sleeping . Click here to visit the continueing Seventh Tower site. Teloport to the Chosen Orders.
Welcome to The Seventh Tower Website. Here you will learn about a awesome book-series, & maybe even get a chance to play The Seventh Tower RPG. If you're really into The Seventh Tower, then you can join the Chosen. Email me @ [email protected] , & tell me how many books you've read. Then I will e-mail you a set of questions. Send back the awnsers & depending on the correct amount of answers, I will put you into your Order. I hope that you enjoy the site.
Whats My Order? If you havn't read any Seventh Tower books you are a Underfolk. If you're reading the 1st book, you are a white order dimmer. If you have read the 1st book, you are a Red Order Dimmer. If you have read the 2nd, you are an Orange Order Light bringer. If you have read the 3rd, you are a Yellow Order Light Bringer. If you have read the 4th, you are a Green Order Shadow Master. If you have read the 5th, book you are a Blue Order Shadow Master. If you have read the 6th book, you are a Brightblinder of Indigo Order. To be iniated into the Violet Order, you must have 1 person start reading The Seventh Tower series. The more peple who you make read the entire series, the higher you get promoted toward becoming a Shadowlord of Violet. What Happens? Tal was desperate, so he asked his aunts for a Primary Sunstone, but they said they had none to spare, as they smiled making their Primary sunstone jewlery shine in his face. His next idea was to win the Achivements. He signed up for the Athletic Achievment, but that next week, he came an hour early just to be there on time. He looked on the sign-up sheet for the Athletic Achievment, but his name was no longer there. He said to 1 of the instructors that his name was no longer there, & then the instructor suggested he might have signed up for anouther Acheivement. Tal searched the different sign-up sheets until he came to the Acheivment of Music. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have a original piece to proform. He looked at his shadow guard. It had took the shape of an old man. Of course, his Uncle Ebbiet would help him. The Books Book 1. In all the world there's only 1 place that ever sees the sun. A place where 7 slender towers stretch up & up, until the tops cannot be seen. The spiky towers crown the vast castle city of the Chosen, that is itself built upon a mountain few would dare to climb. Only the spires pierce the Veil, a magical barrier that repels all light and shrouds the world in darkness. Still, there is light in the Dark World. The Chosen of the Castle hold a secret � the ability to capture the light of the sun and store it in jewels. Sunstones, they call them, and they use them for warmth and light and magic. The Chosen do not share their secret. But sometimes their Sunstones fall, by accident, from the towers. They are caught by the wind and swept out into the Dark World. Out to the frozen seas where they are found by Icecarls, a nomadic people who know only ice, snow, and the struggle for survival. For centuries this has been the way. The Chosen rule the Castle, intent upon their magic. The Icecarls travel the frozen wastes, searching for Sunstones, knowing nothing of the Castle. Sneak Preiveiw of the 1st bookTal sat down at the game table, and Ethar sat opposite. Tal felt strangely calm now that he had accepted the challenge. He looked down at the seven rectangular depressions in the tabletop in front of him. He knew what they were, but he thought he�d pretend to know less about the game. That way Ethar might underestimate him. "What order are these in again?" he asked, pointing to the rectangles. "Head, Heart, Temper, Skin, Speed, Strength and Special," said Ethar quickly. Each rectangle would ultimately hold one card, and that card would specify the characteristics of the beast. The Strength card would determine the beast�s strength, the speed card would determine its quickness, and so on. When all the cards were in place and finalized, two five-inch high beasts of solid light would be produced, to battle it out in the marble circle in the middle of the table. Whoever played their cards right and produced the victorious beast would win the game. Each card could be changed twice by using light. So even when a card was in place, and your opponent could see it, it might still change. The trick of the game was to make the other player think you were making a certain sort of beast and then change it at the last moment by altering the cards that governed its seven characteristics. There was also luck, of course. There were a hundred cards, but each player was only dealt seven, all of which had three possible variations. Tal hoped that he would be lucky. Tal�s first card was a Phalarope, a marine animal that floated around in the water and had thousands of poisonous tendrils. Its only real use was in the Special category, because then the made beast would have poisonous tendrils. Tal knew that this card would change to a Kurshken if he applied green light from his Sunstone. Kurshken were small but very smart & quick lizards, so would be good in either Speed or Head. Unfortunately, Tal didn�t know what the third variation of the card was. He had a faint memory that it might turn into a Hugthing under Red light, but couldn�t be sure. Hugthings were particularly nasty. They looked like a carpet of comfortable green moss, but could spring up and wrap themselves around you in an instant. For the game, a Hugthing card would be good in Skin or Strength. "I will play first, if you like," said Ethar. This would give Tal a slight advantage, so he quickly nodded to say yes. "Heart of a Borzog," announced Ethar, laying the card down on the second rectangle in front of her. Tal looked at the card, which showed a fearsome, semi-human and very hairy creature roughly the size of three people across the shoulders. This was a good initial play. Borzogs would fight to the death, and beyond. Once they got a grip, they never let go, even when they were killed. Strong hearted indeed. "Um, err, Head of a . . . whatever this is . . ." announced Tal, playing the Phalarope into the Head rectangle. He was going to change it into a Kurshken later on, but he hoped Ethar would think he didn�t know what he was doing. "A Phalarope," said Ethar. She looked at the bulbous thing with its many tentacles and added, "It does look something like a giant brain." "That�s what I thought," said Tal, pretending he was relieved. "A giant brain. Perfect for the Head." The other guard dealt them both another card. Tal picked his up slowly. At first, all he could see was a pair of red eyes in the card. Then, he slowly became aware of an outline around them. The card was showing him something hidden in a cave or a hole, with only the eyes visible. Then Tal remembered, and barely suppressed a shiver of horror. This card was of a Cavernmouth. They were horrible creatures in Aenir, who dug holes for themselves in the side of a mountain and then backed in and opened their enormous jaws. What he thought were glowing eyes were actually something like tonsils at the back of the thing�s throat. In the game of Beastmaker, the Cavernmouth card was unusual. It could be played in Speed, because its jaws were incredibly fast at snapping out. Or it could be played in Special, to give the created beast extendable jaws. "Speed of a Gorblag," said Ethar, playing a card that looked like a large, glowing blue toad that was too fat to do anything. But one of the variations of the Gorblag card was the incredibly zappy Fleamite, an insect that could move faster than a human eye could track it. Tal knew Ethar would change that card later on. "Speed of a Cavernmouth," Tal countered, playing his card. He wouldn�t be changing that. Even if Ethar did change her Speed card to the Fleamite, it wouldn�t be much faster than a Cavernmouth. "You have played before," remarked Ethar. "Few people remember the Cavernmouth can be played for Speed." "I saw my great-uncle use it that way once," Tal said, still trying to give the impression he was an absolute beginner at Beastmaker. The game moved more swiftly then. Within a few minutes, both Tal and Ethar had six of their seven rectangles filled with cards. "You hid your skill well," said Ethar as she changed the mild-mannered Klatha workbeast in her Temper rectangle to the insanely vicious Vengenarl, a creature that attacked even its own kind if they trespassed over its scent-marked boundaries. Tal nodded, but he wasn�t paying attention to what Ethar said. Everything depended on him getting the best beast. Now Ethar had changed the Temper of her beast, Tal thought he knew what to play there. But once he put that card down, his beast would be complete. Did he need to make any changes? Quickly, he scanned the seven rectangles. Head of a Kurshken. Skin of a Samheal Semidragon. Temper . . . that was to come. Heart of a Hrugen, which was a gamble, since that was actually a kind of weed that never gave up, it grew everywhere in Aenir and seemingly could not be eradicated. Speed of a Cavernmouth. Strength of a Jarghoul, a cannibalistic strangling snake of the jungles of Aenir that primarily ate others of its own kind after weeks-long battles to crush each other to death; Special, the ability of the Gossamer Bug to fly. Tal ran over all the variations in his head, while Ethar arched her fingers into a steeple and waited for his move. "To see the Empress, or lose your Sunstone," she said. "What is it to be?" "Temper of an Icefang," said Tal, playing his final card, locking all the others in. This was his greatest gamble. He didn�t know enough about this card or its properties. But he remembered Great-Uncle Ebbitt saying that the Icefangs of Aenir were among the most dangerous of creatures in the spirit world. They never got angry, or demoralized, or had any emotions at all it seemed. They just coldly fought to the very best of their ability, never distracted by danger, wounds, or anything else. "And Strength of a . . . Jarghoul," said Ethar, playing exactly the same card as Tal. "Let the battle begin!" Both Tal and Ethar stepped back from the table as the final cards were played. No one knew how to make Beastmaker boards anymore, but everyone had heard about the one that exploded years before, every Sunstone in it suddenly igniting. But this Beastmaker board seemed to work perfectly. The cards in their rectangles began to slowly glow brighter and brighter, and a luminous mist formed on each side of the table. Then the two clouds of mist drifted across to the battlecircle in the middle of the table, and began to slowly form into shapes. Tal held his breath, wondering what his beast would look like. Inside his head, he urged the formless lump of bright mist on, willing it to be the best beast ever made, a champion that would win his entry to see the Empress. Soon, all his troubles might be over! Then his cloud of bright mist solidified into a brightly colored beast. It was tall and slender, and had the general shape of a lizard except it stood up on its hind legs and had wings. Its skin was scaly and iridescent, sparkling in many different colors. Its huge, delicate-looking wings were also many colored and almost see-through. It was pretty. It was even beautiful. But didn�t look at all tough or dangerous. Tal let his breath out in disappointment and shut his eyes. He didn�t want to look at the opposing beast, which had also solidified out of the glowing ball of mist on the other side of the circle. "Interesting," said Ethar in a puzzled tone. Tal opened one eye a fraction. Ethar�s beast was really ugly. It resembled a blubbery, rust-colored ball that had three arm-legs coming out the top and three out the bottom. It had four pairs of eyes spaced around its middle, and a separate, many-toothed mouth under each pair of eyes. As Tal watched, it flipped over on to its top legs and then flipped back again, very quickly. Then it deliberately fell back and actually bounced high into the air, without using its arm-legs at all. Tal�s beast just watched the bouncy ball thing and stood there, its wings flickering like a hummingbird�s. It was only when Tal looked closely that he realized it wasn�t standing � it was hovering an inch above the white marble of the battlecircle. The battlecircle began to change color from white marble to red, the sign that the combat would commence. Tal took a step closer, as did Ethar and all the guards, who crowded around. Quickly, Tal looked over at Ethar�s cards, hoping he would see some flaw that his beast would exploit. Ethar had played the Head of a Dofyn, which was fairly standard play, since the Dofyns were the enormously clever sea dwellers of Aenir. Then the Heart of a Niphrain Ape. The Temper of a Vengenarl. The Skin of a Blorem, which as far as Tal could remember would give the beast a skin of very resilient, thick blubber. The Speed of a Fleamite. The Strength of a Jarghoul. And finally, the Special of a Urglegurgle. Tal had no idea what that was, but now that he�d seen the made beast, he figured it had to be bouncing. The battlecircle flashed red three times. On the third flash, Tal�s lizard suddenly shot forward, just as Ethar�s blubber-tub bounced. They met in a whirring of wings, teeth, and clawed arms � or legs � and parted just as quickly. "By the Light!! A hit!" cried Ethar, pointing to the drops of bright emerald green blood that were welling out of the lizard-beast�s forearms. "Mine too," said Tal, pointing at some ugly gashes in the blubber of the bouncing beast. But his heart sank, for the blubber was very thick and the gashes did not look deep. Before Tal had finished speaking, the blubber-tub attacked again, acting on its Vengenarl temper. This time, the lizard-beast didn�t meet it, but flew to one side, zipping and darting around in the air as the blubber-tub bounced and lunged, reaching out its multiple arm-legs to grab and rend. The lizard-beast was too quick to be caught, but the blubber-tub was also too quick for it to easily strike. They bounced and flew, feinting attacks and withdrawals, moving so swiftly it was almost impossible to follow. Then the lizard-thing suddenly swooped in and bit out the blubber-tub�s eye. It shrieked in rage, the first sound either beast had made, and one of its three-fingered limbs gripped the very edge of the lizard-beast�s wing. There was a tearing sound, and part of the wing came off. The lizard-beast leaped back, but clearly it could no longer fly. "No!" Tal groaned. The lizard-beast made a yipping sound to taunt the blubber-tub on, as if it didn�t care about its torn wing. The blubber-tub, its eye socket bleeding, threw itself back and then bounced forward to crush its opponent. But even without wings, the lizard-beast was very fast. It zipped sideways, and a claw struck in to take out another of the blubber-tub�s eyes. Furious, the great ball of blubber changed direction to hurl itself at the rainbow-colored lizard. Once again, the lizard-beast got out of the way, just in time. Then it suddenly moved back, as the blubber-tub was changing direction, and bit the bulbous creature on the foot. "Yes!" shouted Tal, punching the air. The lizard had bitten clean through the blubber-tub�s leg, severing the foot. But it still had two on that side, and one of the other legs swung across, smacking the lizard in the head. The brightly colored beast was thrown halfway across the circle by the blow, and seemed to be stunned. It lay there, unmoving, while the blubber-tub did a flip to get back on the three good legs on its other side. "Get up! Go lizard!" yelled Tal. "Kill it!" shouted Ethar. The other guards shouted too, some encouraging Tal�s beast, some encouraging Ethar�s. Slowly and murderously, the blubber-tub advanced on the motionless lizard. Then it started to bounce. A small bounce, then a slightly harder one, until it was bounding up a stretch or more. With each bounce, it got closer and closer to the defenseless lizard. It clearly intended to crush Tal�s beast to death. Tal looked on, horrified. Even though the creatures were only created things of magical light, he couldn�t bear to see his lizard killed. He stopped thinking about everything that depended on this little beast of many colors. He just wanted it to survive. As the blubber-tub shot up for what had to be its final bounce, Tal shut his eyes. He felt sick. Everything was over now. Suddenly the guards roared, but it was a shout of surprise, not triumph, from Ethar. Tal�s eyes flashed open and saw the lizard-beast flying around a stunned blubber-tub, darting in to pluck out its eyes one by one. "What happened?" he asked one of the guards who had been betting on his lizard. "It tricked the blubber-thing," said the guard happily. "That lizard�s got four or five layers of wing. It could still fly, and it wasn�t knocked out. Smart beast, kid." But despite losing more of its eyes, the battle was not yet over for the Blubber-tub. It had the Heart of a Niphrain Ape, so it could not give up. Bleeding from a dozen wounds, it lurched after the lizard, chasing it around and around the battlecircle. "Only a matter of time now, boy," said the friendly guard. "Well�" Whatever the guard was going to say stopped in his throat, as the far door suddenly swung open with the screech of disused hinges. Like everyone else, Tal looked over. Something huge and very, very dark was coming through the door. A Spiritshadow, Tal realized, but one bigger than he�d ever seen. Its head was all spikes and flanges, as wide and tall as the door, so it struggled to get through. A sinuous neck followed, but whatever body lay behind was too big, unless the Spiritshadow chose to shrink it. Suddenly Tal realized he was the only one still standing up. All the guards had fallen to their knees and were bowing in the Spiritshadow�s direction. Tal stood there gawping, till his shadowguard reached up and pulled him down by the front of his tunic. Only then did he realize what . . . or who . . . this Spiritshadow was. It had to be Sharrakor the Mighty, the Empress�s own Spiritshadow. The Shadowdragon who alone among its kind had a name. Sharrakor�s vast head reared up on its serpentine neck, and its jaws opened. Tal saw teeth of shadow, and swirling patterns of darkness. Then Sharrakor spat a great glob of shadow that fizzed through the air, straight at Tal! Tal ducked, but the shadowspit wasn�t aimed at him anyway. It struck the Beastmaker table. There was a flash of light, a sudden sizzling noise, and the still battling lizard-beast and blubber-tub were gone. Tal looked at the empty battlecircle, where small shadows ran like water, over the side of the table and on to the floor. He cringed back as several patches flowed past him, back toward Sharrakor. Tal realized, shivering, that the Spiritshadow had spat some portion of itself. Now all those small shadows were rejoining the whole. Tal cleared his throat, about to protest at the Spiritshadow�s destruction of the game, but his shadowguard leaped up and thrust itself into his mouth, an instant gag. Tal reached up to pull it free, but the friendly Imperial Guard gripped him as well, so he couldn�t move. The last pieces of shadowspit rejoined Sharrakor. The Shadowdragon�s head swung slowly from side to side, as if seeking another target. Then it slowly withdrew back the way it had come. When it had fully withdrawn, the door creaked shut behind it. Tal�s shadowguard dropped out of his mouth and the Imperial Guards visibly relaxed. "What�" Tal began to say, but he got no further. . It will take all their strength to survive... Book 2. The Dark World is a place of ice, wind and fury. A veil of black covers the sky. In all the world, only the Castle shines with light. Tal and Milla are struggling to make it to the Castle, each on a dangerous mission. For Tal, a Chosen, the Castle is home � but now he is unwelcome. For Milla, an Icecarl warrior, the Castle is a strange and mysterious place. Her presence is a threat the Castle dwellers will take notice of � and fight at any cost. From the deadly Hall of Nightmares to the magical chambers of Tal's great-uncle Ebbitt, Tal and Milla must navigate the Castle and elude the sinister forces conspiring against them. Sneak Preiview of the 2nd book For the next four days and five sleeps, Tal tried to roam around the Ruin Ship. But whenever he went to open a hanging curtain or go through a doorway, one of the Shield Maiden cadets would pop up from behind, or in front, or from around the corner and politely lead him back to somewhere he'd already been. Eventually he worked out that he was only allowed to be in the small sleeping chamber he'd been assigned, the Hall of the Reckoner, the Cadets' Feasting Hall where he had his meals (though he never saw anything he'd call a feast), and some of the time, the room where Milla had been ordered to stay in bed. The only combat skill Milla could practice in bed was her bad temper. Since Tal was the only person she could practice on and get away with it, he found that visiting her was not much fun. But there was simply nothing else to do, except watch the ships and tiles get moved around on the Reckoner, and that was about as boring as the lecture on the basics of light that retired Lector Jannem gave every year. On the positive side, though she was cross at being ordered to bed, Milla was bored, too, and sometimes she would actually answer Tal's questions. The Shield Maiden cadets wouldn't speak to him at all, unless it was to stop him from going somewhere or doing something he wasn't allowed to do. "How come there are no men here?" Tal asked Milla on the second day, after he'd ducked a pillow she'd thrown at him. He handed it back to her, noting that her face had lost its sickly gray tinge and was returning to its normal, surprisingly delicate paleness. All the Icecarls were very pale, much more so than the Chosen. Most Icecarls had the same color hair, too, like sunshine mixed with white ash. Tal's hair was the color of dirt, settling just above his shoulders. He felt that cutting his hair short would be an admission that he was no longer a proper Chosen. "No men where?" snarled Milla. "Here, the Ruin Ship." "I told you," snapped Milla, "it is the chief place of the Shield Maidens. It is not like a normal clan ship. There are no families, no children, no hunters, no Selski. The only men who come here would be either lost hunters, messengers . . . or a Sword Thane." "A Sword Thane?" asked Tal, suddenly interested. "Women who wish to serve all the clans become Shield Maidens," explained Milla. "But men do not work so well together, so those who wish to be lawgivers and protectors become Sword Thanes." "What do you mean?" asked Tal. "Everyone knows this." Milla frowned. "Some clans prefer a Sword Thane, though they can be unreliable and hard to find. It makes a better saga, I suppose." "Prefer a Sword Thane for what?" "Trouble!" spat Milla. "When you have trouble, you send for the Shield Maidens, but sometimes a Sword Thane finds you and the trouble first." "But aren't Shield Maidens heroes?" Tal inquired. "I mean, you killed the Merwin. Doesn't that make you a hero - which makes you a Sword Thane?" "I wish to be a Shield Maiden, so I must try to be a hero," Milla repeated. "But only a man can be a Sword Thane. All Sword Thanes are heroes but not all heroes are Sword Thanes." "What?" asked Tal. He was getting confused. "So what do you call a man who's a hero but not a Sword Thane? What if he uses an ax or a spear?" Milla didn't answer. She picked up the Merwin horn sword that never left her side and readied it to throw like a spear. Tal didn't stay to be a target, or for further explanation about Shield Maidens and Sword Thanes. He disappeared around the corner, and did not visit Milla again till she was up and final preparations were being made for their departure. They left the Ruin Ship after a stay of a full five sleeps, the same way they had entered, stumbling along blindfolded, guided by Arla. This time, at least, they were much better equipped. The Shield Maidens had been generous in providing new furs, climbing teeth, ropes of braided Selski hide, and other things they considered essential to climb the ruined road to the Mountain of Light. Tal had used part of the time in the ship to study Longface's map. He had come to the conclusion that the bone had not actually been carved with a sharp tool, but cut by Sunstone light. That meant the Chosen who had done it had been extremely skilled, and that he still had his Sunstone when he had staggered down to the Ruin Ship. But not his Spiritshadow. The tablet gave no clue to its maker's mystery. There was writing on it, in addition to regular marks that were obviously a map. But all the writing said was: Half road down pyramid Imrir fallen 100 stretch entry heatway tunnel Underfolk 7. Tal had puzzled over this for some time, but all he could guess was that it meant there was an entrance to the heating system of the Castle - which he knew went through the mountain, right down into the deep earth. Underfolk 7 was almost certainly a reference to the lowest of the Underfolk levels, which Tal supposed was where the heatway tunnel came out. Presumably the entrance outside would be about halfway up the mountain, near a fallen pyramid. Tal had a dim recollection that Imrir had been the Emperor long ago. The current Empress didn't have a name - Tal had never wondered about that before. Of course, she had been the Empress for much longer than most, fending off old age with her mastery of Sunstone magic. Maybe Emperors' or Empresses' names were only known after they died. All thoughts of the Empress were gone by the time the blindfold came off. Arla left them, without a word. Tal watched with relief as she silently slid away. He felt like a caveroach about to be stepped on when Arla was around. Milla, of course, had a completely different reaction. Arla was everything Milla wanted to be twenty circlings from now. Tal stood alone with Milla and the freezing wind. Far below, they could see the luminous outline of the Ruin Ship. Both of them had moth-lanterns, but the dull green light only showed snow and patches of bare rock. If there was a road - even a ruined one - Tal couldn't see it. "Come on," ordered Milla. She shouldered her pack and headed off. Tal fumbled on his own pack, groaning at the sudden weight. It was full of sleeping furs and climbing gear and food and what felt like at least his own weight in other things the Icecarls considered essential. Tal would have rather had a Sunstone, so he could properly warm himself. Even with inner and outer coats of thick fur, a cloth-lined bone face mask, and a short, hooded cape lined with the soft tails of something he couldn't pronounce, Tal was still cold. Though he couldn't see a road through the amber lenses of his mask, he followed obediently. Either Milla could see something, or Arla had told her a secret sign to look for. It was hard going, but not too hard. At times they had to clamber over great blocks of ice that had slid down from higher up, but it was clear they were on a path made by humans. Once again, Tal regretted the absence of a Sunstone. He wanted to light up the whole mountainside, to see the sheer cliffs stretching up and up, and admire the way the rock had been carved away in precise lines to create the road, switchbacking its way up what would otherwise be impassable terrain. But all he could see now was the occasional evidence of construction, particularly when there was a well-preserved stretch of road and mountainside forming a perfect right angle. At other times, he had no idea how Milla found the road again after it had fallen away. He asked her. "The road smells of ghalt, the melting stone," Milla said. As usual, her voice bore a reluctance to talk to Tal, tempered with a desire to show off how superior Icecarls were. She bent down, swept away a light layer of snow and, with effort, pulled out a piece of black rock that shone in the moth-light. "There are hot pools of ghalt in the far southern mountains," she said, holding the piece under Tal's nose. "When it is hot it pours like water and smells very sour. Even very old, cold ghalt smells. I do not know how the ancients brought it here for the road." Tal raised his mask to sniff at it, but he couldn't smell anything. His face just got cold. As the hours of walking wore on, Tal was no longer interested in how Milla found the road. He was just glad that she did. He was also hoping that she would stop soon so he could rest. She had to be tired, too, he reasoned, since she was still recovering from her wound. But she showed no signs of weariness. When she did stop, it wasn't for a rest. She suddenly backed up, almost hitting Tal. While he gawped at her, she threw her arm around him and wrestled him into the nearest snowdrift, piled up against the mountainside. As they plunged into the snow, Tal felt a great rush of air go past. He caught a momentary glimpse of enormous translucent eyes, each as large as his own head, followed by spread wings of great size. "What was that?" Milla clapped her hand over his mouth, her fur glove almost smothering Tal. He started to struggle, then stopped as she held a knife against his throat and ordered him in a whisper, "Stay still!" They lay together in the snow, not moving. Finally, they heard a terrible screech some distance off, and Milla relaxed. The knife vanished from her hand, and she let Tal sit up. "Perawl," she said. "They can't see you if you stay completely still. They're a bit deaf, as well." "What was the . . . the noise?" asked Tal. The unseen hunters in the air made this place even worse than being on the Ice. At least with the Selski you could hear them coming, and you could see a Merwin's luminous horn. Milla didn't answer, so Tal repeated the question. "It could be any one of a number of things," replied Milla evasively. "The Perawl's meal, I suppose." "So the great Milla doesn't know everything," remarked Tal. Milla ignored him, her attention still focused downhill. "Perhaps . . . perhaps it was the other way around," Tal added. The screech hadn't sounded like something being caught. It had sounded triumphant. "Maybe the Perawl was something else's meal." They looked at each other, expressions unseen behind their face masks. But Milla started off again at a faster pace and Tal followed without complaint.Without his Sunstone, Tal had no idea how much later it was when they finally stopped to rest and eat. As on the Ice, the meal was Selski meat heated over a Selski oil stove. "We will have three watches. I will take the first and third," declared Milla when they had finished eating. "You need only stay awake for the middle watch." "I can stand two watches," said Tal. "Let's have four watches." "Do you know how to count every breath without thinking, even while asleep?" asked Milla. "Uh, no," answered Tal. "What does -" "That is how we count the passing time when there is no other means," explained Milla, as if she were speaking to a very small child. "So I will tell you when to begin and finish your watch." Tal couldn't argue with that. Surreptitiously, he tried to count each individual breath, but he couldn't keep track. He half suspected that Milla couldn't, either, and she was just trying to be superior again. It was a cold camp, and a dangerous one, with a long drop beside the road. They put their backs against the slope, and Tal silently told himself thirty times, I must not walk in my sleep. Sleep did not come easily. The wind howled down the mountain and seemed to want to pick Tal and Milla up and take them with it all the way to the Ruin Ship far below. Because they were higher up, it was even colder than on the Ice, and Tal found himself huddling closer and closer to Milla to stay warm. Milla seemed to take this as normal behavior, but Tal found even her fur-muffled closeness unnerving. He had never been so close to a girl before, let alone one who might kill him if he accidentally threw his arm around her while he was dreaming. That thought didn't help him sleep. Neither did the noises he heard, or thought he heard, in the night. Even when Milla was supposed to be sleeping, she sat up every now and then to listen. Sometimes Tal wondered if she ever really slept. He wouldn't have been surprised to find that if she did sleep, it was with one eye open. The middle watch seemed to go on and on forever. Tal decided to test if Milla was asleep. He leaned away from her, but she didn't stir. So he edged away a little more. She sank back into her furs, and Tal smiled. She really was asleep. He reached across to lightly tickle under her chin, where a tiny square of skin showed clear of the mask and her laced-up collar. Tal had often done this to Gref, trailing his fingernail like an insect across him to see how long it took for his brother to wake up. His gloved hand was just about to touch Milla's chin when her hand snaked out from under the sleeping . Click here to visit the continueing Seventh Tower site. Teloport to the Chosen Orders.
If you havn't read any Seventh Tower books you are a Underfolk.
If you're reading the 1st book, you are a white order dimmer.
If you have read the 1st book, you are a Red Order Dimmer.
If you have read the 2nd, you are an Orange Order Light bringer.
If you have read the 3rd, you are a Yellow Order Light Bringer.
If you have read the 4th, you are a Green Order Shadow Master.
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To be iniated into the Violet Order, you must have 1 person start reading The Seventh Tower series. The more peple who you make read the entire series, the higher you get promoted toward becoming a Shadowlord of Violet.
What Happens?
Tal was desperate, so he asked his aunts for a Primary Sunstone, but they said they had none to spare, as they smiled making their Primary sunstone jewlery shine in his face. His next idea was to win the Achivements. He signed up for the Athletic Achievment, but that next week, he came an hour early just to be there on time. He looked on the sign-up sheet for the Athletic Achievment, but his name was no longer there. He said to 1 of the instructors that his name was no longer there, & then the instructor suggested he might have signed up for anouther Acheivement. Tal searched the different sign-up sheets until he came to the Acheivment of Music. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have a original piece to proform. He looked at his shadow guard. It had took the shape of an old man. Of course, his Uncle Ebbiet would help him.
Book 1.
In all the world there's only 1 place that ever sees the sun. A place where 7 slender towers stretch up & up, until the tops cannot be seen. The spiky towers crown the vast castle city of the Chosen, that is itself built upon a mountain few would dare to climb. Only the spires pierce the Veil, a magical barrier that repels all light and shrouds the world in darkness. Still, there is light in the Dark World. The Chosen of the Castle hold a secret � the ability to capture the light of the sun and store it in jewels. Sunstones, they call them, and they use them for warmth and light and magic. The Chosen do not share their secret. But sometimes their Sunstones fall, by accident, from the towers. They are caught by the wind and swept out into the Dark World. Out to the frozen seas where they are found by Icecarls, a nomadic people who know only ice, snow, and the struggle for survival. For centuries this has been the way. The Chosen rule the Castle, intent upon their magic. The Icecarls travel the frozen wastes, searching for Sunstones, knowing nothing of the Castle. Sneak Preiveiw of the 1st bookTal sat down at the game table, and Ethar sat opposite. Tal felt strangely calm now that he had accepted the challenge. He looked down at the seven rectangular depressions in the tabletop in front of him. He knew what they were, but he thought he�d pretend to know less about the game. That way Ethar might underestimate him. "What order are these in again?" he asked, pointing to the rectangles. "Head, Heart, Temper, Skin, Speed, Strength and Special," said Ethar quickly. Each rectangle would ultimately hold one card, and that card would specify the characteristics of the beast. The Strength card would determine the beast�s strength, the speed card would determine its quickness, and so on. When all the cards were in place and finalized, two five-inch high beasts of solid light would be produced, to battle it out in the marble circle in the middle of the table. Whoever played their cards right and produced the victorious beast would win the game. Each card could be changed twice by using light. So even when a card was in place, and your opponent could see it, it might still change. The trick of the game was to make the other player think you were making a certain sort of beast and then change it at the last moment by altering the cards that governed its seven characteristics. There was also luck, of course. There were a hundred cards, but each player was only dealt seven, all of which had three possible variations. Tal hoped that he would be lucky. Tal�s first card was a Phalarope, a marine animal that floated around in the water and had thousands of poisonous tendrils. Its only real use was in the Special category, because then the made beast would have poisonous tendrils. Tal knew that this card would change to a Kurshken if he applied green light from his Sunstone. Kurshken were small but very smart & quick lizards, so would be good in either Speed or Head. Unfortunately, Tal didn�t know what the third variation of the card was. He had a faint memory that it might turn into a Hugthing under Red light, but couldn�t be sure. Hugthings were particularly nasty. They looked like a carpet of comfortable green moss, but could spring up and wrap themselves around you in an instant. For the game, a Hugthing card would be good in Skin or Strength. "I will play first, if you like," said Ethar. This would give Tal a slight advantage, so he quickly nodded to say yes. "Heart of a Borzog," announced Ethar, laying the card down on the second rectangle in front of her. Tal looked at the card, which showed a fearsome, semi-human and very hairy creature roughly the size of three people across the shoulders. This was a good initial play. Borzogs would fight to the death, and beyond. Once they got a grip, they never let go, even when they were killed. Strong hearted indeed. "Um, err, Head of a . . . whatever this is . . ." announced Tal, playing the Phalarope into the Head rectangle. He was going to change it into a Kurshken later on, but he hoped Ethar would think he didn�t know what he was doing. "A Phalarope," said Ethar. She looked at the bulbous thing with its many tentacles and added, "It does look something like a giant brain." "That�s what I thought," said Tal, pretending he was relieved. "A giant brain. Perfect for the Head." The other guard dealt them both another card. Tal picked his up slowly. At first, all he could see was a pair of red eyes in the card. Then, he slowly became aware of an outline around them. The card was showing him something hidden in a cave or a hole, with only the eyes visible. Then Tal remembered, and barely suppressed a shiver of horror. This card was of a Cavernmouth. They were horrible creatures in Aenir, who dug holes for themselves in the side of a mountain and then backed in and opened their enormous jaws. What he thought were glowing eyes were actually something like tonsils at the back of the thing�s throat. In the game of Beastmaker, the Cavernmouth card was unusual. It could be played in Speed, because its jaws were incredibly fast at snapping out. Or it could be played in Special, to give the created beast extendable jaws. "Speed of a Gorblag," said Ethar, playing a card that looked like a large, glowing blue toad that was too fat to do anything. But one of the variations of the Gorblag card was the incredibly zappy Fleamite, an insect that could move faster than a human eye could track it. Tal knew Ethar would change that card later on. "Speed of a Cavernmouth," Tal countered, playing his card. He wouldn�t be changing that. Even if Ethar did change her Speed card to the Fleamite, it wouldn�t be much faster than a Cavernmouth. "You have played before," remarked Ethar. "Few people remember the Cavernmouth can be played for Speed." "I saw my great-uncle use it that way once," Tal said, still trying to give the impression he was an absolute beginner at Beastmaker. The game moved more swiftly then. Within a few minutes, both Tal and Ethar had six of their seven rectangles filled with cards. "You hid your skill well," said Ethar as she changed the mild-mannered Klatha workbeast in her Temper rectangle to the insanely vicious Vengenarl, a creature that attacked even its own kind if they trespassed over its scent-marked boundaries. Tal nodded, but he wasn�t paying attention to what Ethar said. Everything depended on him getting the best beast. Now Ethar had changed the Temper of her beast, Tal thought he knew what to play there. But once he put that card down, his beast would be complete. Did he need to make any changes? Quickly, he scanned the seven rectangles. Head of a Kurshken. Skin of a Samheal Semidragon. Temper . . . that was to come. Heart of a Hrugen, which was a gamble, since that was actually a kind of weed that never gave up, it grew everywhere in Aenir and seemingly could not be eradicated. Speed of a Cavernmouth. Strength of a Jarghoul, a cannibalistic strangling snake of the jungles of Aenir that primarily ate others of its own kind after weeks-long battles to crush each other to death; Special, the ability of the Gossamer Bug to fly. Tal ran over all the variations in his head, while Ethar arched her fingers into a steeple and waited for his move. "To see the Empress, or lose your Sunstone," she said. "What is it to be?" "Temper of an Icefang," said Tal, playing his final card, locking all the others in. This was his greatest gamble. He didn�t know enough about this card or its properties. But he remembered Great-Uncle Ebbitt saying that the Icefangs of Aenir were among the most dangerous of creatures in the spirit world. They never got angry, or demoralized, or had any emotions at all it seemed. They just coldly fought to the very best of their ability, never distracted by danger, wounds, or anything else. "And Strength of a . . . Jarghoul," said Ethar, playing exactly the same card as Tal. "Let the battle begin!" Both Tal and Ethar stepped back from the table as the final cards were played. No one knew how to make Beastmaker boards anymore, but everyone had heard about the one that exploded years before, every Sunstone in it suddenly igniting. But this Beastmaker board seemed to work perfectly. The cards in their rectangles began to slowly glow brighter and brighter, and a luminous mist formed on each side of the table. Then the two clouds of mist drifted across to the battlecircle in the middle of the table, and began to slowly form into shapes. Tal held his breath, wondering what his beast would look like. Inside his head, he urged the formless lump of bright mist on, willing it to be the best beast ever made, a champion that would win his entry to see the Empress. Soon, all his troubles might be over! Then his cloud of bright mist solidified into a brightly colored beast. It was tall and slender, and had the general shape of a lizard except it stood up on its hind legs and had wings. Its skin was scaly and iridescent, sparkling in many different colors. Its huge, delicate-looking wings were also many colored and almost see-through. It was pretty. It was even beautiful. But didn�t look at all tough or dangerous. Tal let his breath out in disappointment and shut his eyes. He didn�t want to look at the opposing beast, which had also solidified out of the glowing ball of mist on the other side of the circle. "Interesting," said Ethar in a puzzled tone. Tal opened one eye a fraction. Ethar�s beast was really ugly. It resembled a blubbery, rust-colored ball that had three arm-legs coming out the top and three out the bottom. It had four pairs of eyes spaced around its middle, and a separate, many-toothed mouth under each pair of eyes. As Tal watched, it flipped over on to its top legs and then flipped back again, very quickly. Then it deliberately fell back and actually bounced high into the air, without using its arm-legs at all. Tal�s beast just watched the bouncy ball thing and stood there, its wings flickering like a hummingbird�s. It was only when Tal looked closely that he realized it wasn�t standing � it was hovering an inch above the white marble of the battlecircle. The battlecircle began to change color from white marble to red, the sign that the combat would commence. Tal took a step closer, as did Ethar and all the guards, who crowded around. Quickly, Tal looked over at Ethar�s cards, hoping he would see some flaw that his beast would exploit. Ethar had played the Head of a Dofyn, which was fairly standard play, since the Dofyns were the enormously clever sea dwellers of Aenir. Then the Heart of a Niphrain Ape. The Temper of a Vengenarl. The Skin of a Blorem, which as far as Tal could remember would give the beast a skin of very resilient, thick blubber. The Speed of a Fleamite. The Strength of a Jarghoul. And finally, the Special of a Urglegurgle. Tal had no idea what that was, but now that he�d seen the made beast, he figured it had to be bouncing. The battlecircle flashed red three times. On the third flash, Tal�s lizard suddenly shot forward, just as Ethar�s blubber-tub bounced. They met in a whirring of wings, teeth, and clawed arms � or legs � and parted just as quickly. "By the Light!! A hit!" cried Ethar, pointing to the drops of bright emerald green blood that were welling out of the lizard-beast�s forearms. "Mine too," said Tal, pointing at some ugly gashes in the blubber of the bouncing beast. But his heart sank, for the blubber was very thick and the gashes did not look deep. Before Tal had finished speaking, the blubber-tub attacked again, acting on its Vengenarl temper. This time, the lizard-beast didn�t meet it, but flew to one side, zipping and darting around in the air as the blubber-tub bounced and lunged, reaching out its multiple arm-legs to grab and rend. The lizard-beast was too quick to be caught, but the blubber-tub was also too quick for it to easily strike. They bounced and flew, feinting attacks and withdrawals, moving so swiftly it was almost impossible to follow. Then the lizard-thing suddenly swooped in and bit out the blubber-tub�s eye. It shrieked in rage, the first sound either beast had made, and one of its three-fingered limbs gripped the very edge of the lizard-beast�s wing. There was a tearing sound, and part of the wing came off. The lizard-beast leaped back, but clearly it could no longer fly. "No!" Tal groaned. The lizard-beast made a yipping sound to taunt the blubber-tub on, as if it didn�t care about its torn wing. The blubber-tub, its eye socket bleeding, threw itself back and then bounced forward to crush its opponent. But even without wings, the lizard-beast was very fast. It zipped sideways, and a claw struck in to take out another of the blubber-tub�s eyes. Furious, the great ball of blubber changed direction to hurl itself at the rainbow-colored lizard. Once again, the lizard-beast got out of the way, just in time. Then it suddenly moved back, as the blubber-tub was changing direction, and bit the bulbous creature on the foot. "Yes!" shouted Tal, punching the air. The lizard had bitten clean through the blubber-tub�s leg, severing the foot. But it still had two on that side, and one of the other legs swung across, smacking the lizard in the head. The brightly colored beast was thrown halfway across the circle by the blow, and seemed to be stunned. It lay there, unmoving, while the blubber-tub did a flip to get back on the three good legs on its other side. "Get up! Go lizard!" yelled Tal. "Kill it!" shouted Ethar. The other guards shouted too, some encouraging Tal�s beast, some encouraging Ethar�s. Slowly and murderously, the blubber-tub advanced on the motionless lizard. Then it started to bounce. A small bounce, then a slightly harder one, until it was bounding up a stretch or more. With each bounce, it got closer and closer to the defenseless lizard. It clearly intended to crush Tal�s beast to death. Tal looked on, horrified. Even though the creatures were only created things of magical light, he couldn�t bear to see his lizard killed. He stopped thinking about everything that depended on this little beast of many colors. He just wanted it to survive. As the blubber-tub shot up for what had to be its final bounce, Tal shut his eyes. He felt sick. Everything was over now. Suddenly the guards roared, but it was a shout of surprise, not triumph, from Ethar. Tal�s eyes flashed open and saw the lizard-beast flying around a stunned blubber-tub, darting in to pluck out its eyes one by one. "What happened?" he asked one of the guards who had been betting on his lizard. "It tricked the blubber-thing," said the guard happily. "That lizard�s got four or five layers of wing. It could still fly, and it wasn�t knocked out. Smart beast, kid." But despite losing more of its eyes, the battle was not yet over for the Blubber-tub. It had the Heart of a Niphrain Ape, so it could not give up. Bleeding from a dozen wounds, it lurched after the lizard, chasing it around and around the battlecircle. "Only a matter of time now, boy," said the friendly guard. "Well�" Whatever the guard was going to say stopped in his throat, as the far door suddenly swung open with the screech of disused hinges. Like everyone else, Tal looked over. Something huge and very, very dark was coming through the door. A Spiritshadow, Tal realized, but one bigger than he�d ever seen. Its head was all spikes and flanges, as wide and tall as the door, so it struggled to get through. A sinuous neck followed, but whatever body lay behind was too big, unless the Spiritshadow chose to shrink it. Suddenly Tal realized he was the only one still standing up. All the guards had fallen to their knees and were bowing in the Spiritshadow�s direction. Tal stood there gawping, till his shadowguard reached up and pulled him down by the front of his tunic. Only then did he realize what . . . or who . . . this Spiritshadow was. It had to be Sharrakor the Mighty, the Empress�s own Spiritshadow. The Shadowdragon who alone among its kind had a name. Sharrakor�s vast head reared up on its serpentine neck, and its jaws opened. Tal saw teeth of shadow, and swirling patterns of darkness. Then Sharrakor spat a great glob of shadow that fizzed through the air, straight at Tal! Tal ducked, but the shadowspit wasn�t aimed at him anyway. It struck the Beastmaker table. There was a flash of light, a sudden sizzling noise, and the still battling lizard-beast and blubber-tub were gone. Tal looked at the empty battlecircle, where small shadows ran like water, over the side of the table and on to the floor. He cringed back as several patches flowed past him, back toward Sharrakor. Tal realized, shivering, that the Spiritshadow had spat some portion of itself. Now all those small shadows were rejoining the whole. Tal cleared his throat, about to protest at the Spiritshadow�s destruction of the game, but his shadowguard leaped up and thrust itself into his mouth, an instant gag. Tal reached up to pull it free, but the friendly Imperial Guard gripped him as well, so he couldn�t move. The last pieces of shadowspit rejoined Sharrakor. The Shadowdragon�s head swung slowly from side to side, as if seeking another target. Then it slowly withdrew back the way it had come. When it had fully withdrawn, the door creaked shut behind it. Tal�s shadowguard dropped out of his mouth and the Imperial Guards visibly relaxed. "What�" Tal began to say, but he got no further. .
Sneak Preiveiw of the 1st book
Tal sat down at the game table, and Ethar sat opposite. Tal felt strangely calm now that he had accepted the challenge. He looked down at the seven rectangular depressions in the tabletop in front of him. He knew what they were, but he thought he�d pretend to know less about the game. That way Ethar might underestimate him. "What order are these in again?" he asked, pointing to the rectangles. "Head, Heart, Temper, Skin, Speed, Strength and Special," said Ethar quickly. Each rectangle would ultimately hold one card, and that card would specify the characteristics of the beast. The Strength card would determine the beast�s strength, the speed card would determine its quickness, and so on. When all the cards were in place and finalized, two five-inch high beasts of solid light would be produced, to battle it out in the marble circle in the middle of the table. Whoever played their cards right and produced the victorious beast would win the game. Each card could be changed twice by using light. So even when a card was in place, and your opponent could see it, it might still change. The trick of the game was to make the other player think you were making a certain sort of beast and then change it at the last moment by altering the cards that governed its seven characteristics. There was also luck, of course. There were a hundred cards, but each player was only dealt seven, all of which had three possible variations. Tal hoped that he would be lucky. Tal�s first card was a Phalarope, a marine animal that floated around in the water and had thousands of poisonous tendrils. Its only real use was in the Special category, because then the made beast would have poisonous tendrils. Tal knew that this card would change to a Kurshken if he applied green light from his Sunstone. Kurshken were small but very smart & quick lizards, so would be good in either Speed or Head. Unfortunately, Tal didn�t know what the third variation of the card was. He had a faint memory that it might turn into a Hugthing under Red light, but couldn�t be sure. Hugthings were particularly nasty. They looked like a carpet of comfortable green moss, but could spring up and wrap themselves around you in an instant. For the game, a Hugthing card would be good in Skin or Strength. "I will play first, if you like," said Ethar. This would give Tal a slight advantage, so he quickly nodded to say yes. "Heart of a Borzog," announced Ethar, laying the card down on the second rectangle in front of her. Tal looked at the card, which showed a fearsome, semi-human and very hairy creature roughly the size of three people across the shoulders. This was a good initial play. Borzogs would fight to the death, and beyond. Once they got a grip, they never let go, even when they were killed. Strong hearted indeed. "Um, err, Head of a . . . whatever this is . . ." announced Tal, playing the Phalarope into the Head rectangle. He was going to change it into a Kurshken later on, but he hoped Ethar would think he didn�t know what he was doing. "A Phalarope," said Ethar. She looked at the bulbous thing with its many tentacles and added, "It does look something like a giant brain." "That�s what I thought," said Tal, pretending he was relieved. "A giant brain. Perfect for the Head." The other guard dealt them both another card. Tal picked his up slowly. At first, all he could see was a pair of red eyes in the card. Then, he slowly became aware of an outline around them. The card was showing him something hidden in a cave or a hole, with only the eyes visible. Then Tal remembered, and barely suppressed a shiver of horror. This card was of a Cavernmouth. They were horrible creatures in Aenir, who dug holes for themselves in the side of a mountain and then backed in and opened their enormous jaws. What he thought were glowing eyes were actually something like tonsils at the back of the thing�s throat. In the game of Beastmaker, the Cavernmouth card was unusual. It could be played in Speed, because its jaws were incredibly fast at snapping out. Or it could be played in Special, to give the created beast extendable jaws. "Speed of a Gorblag," said Ethar, playing a card that looked like a large, glowing blue toad that was too fat to do anything. But one of the variations of the Gorblag card was the incredibly zappy Fleamite, an insect that could move faster than a human eye could track it. Tal knew Ethar would change that card later on. "Speed of a Cavernmouth," Tal countered, playing his card. He wouldn�t be changing that. Even if Ethar did change her Speed card to the Fleamite, it wouldn�t be much faster than a Cavernmouth. "You have played before," remarked Ethar. "Few people remember the Cavernmouth can be played for Speed." "I saw my great-uncle use it that way once," Tal said, still trying to give the impression he was an absolute beginner at Beastmaker. The game moved more swiftly then. Within a few minutes, both Tal and Ethar had six of their seven rectangles filled with cards. "You hid your skill well," said Ethar as she changed the mild-mannered Klatha workbeast in her Temper rectangle to the insanely vicious Vengenarl, a creature that attacked even its own kind if they trespassed over its scent-marked boundaries. Tal nodded, but he wasn�t paying attention to what Ethar said. Everything depended on him getting the best beast. Now Ethar had changed the Temper of her beast, Tal thought he knew what to play there. But once he put that card down, his beast would be complete. Did he need to make any changes? Quickly, he scanned the seven rectangles. Head of a Kurshken. Skin of a Samheal Semidragon. Temper . . . that was to come. Heart of a Hrugen, which was a gamble, since that was actually a kind of weed that never gave up, it grew everywhere in Aenir and seemingly could not be eradicated. Speed of a Cavernmouth. Strength of a Jarghoul, a cannibalistic strangling snake of the jungles of Aenir that primarily ate others of its own kind after weeks-long battles to crush each other to death; Special, the ability of the Gossamer Bug to fly. Tal ran over all the variations in his head, while Ethar arched her fingers into a steeple and waited for his move. "To see the Empress, or lose your Sunstone," she said. "What is it to be?" "Temper of an Icefang," said Tal, playing his final card, locking all the others in. This was his greatest gamble. He didn�t know enough about this card or its properties. But he remembered Great-Uncle Ebbitt saying that the Icefangs of Aenir were among the most dangerous of creatures in the spirit world. They never got angry, or demoralized, or had any emotions at all it seemed. They just coldly fought to the very best of their ability, never distracted by danger, wounds, or anything else. "And Strength of a . . . Jarghoul," said Ethar, playing exactly the same card as Tal. "Let the battle begin!" Both Tal and Ethar stepped back from the table as the final cards were played. No one knew how to make Beastmaker boards anymore, but everyone had heard about the one that exploded years before, every Sunstone in it suddenly igniting. But this Beastmaker board seemed to work perfectly. The cards in their rectangles began to slowly glow brighter and brighter, and a luminous mist formed on each side of the table. Then the two clouds of mist drifted across to the battlecircle in the middle of the table, and began to slowly form into shapes. Tal held his breath, wondering what his beast would look like. Inside his head, he urged the formless lump of bright mist on, willing it to be the best beast ever made, a champion that would win his entry to see the Empress. Soon, all his troubles might be over! Then his cloud of bright mist solidified into a brightly colored beast. It was tall and slender, and had the general shape of a lizard except it stood up on its hind legs and had wings. Its skin was scaly and iridescent, sparkling in many different colors. Its huge, delicate-looking wings were also many colored and almost see-through. It was pretty. It was even beautiful. But didn�t look at all tough or dangerous. Tal let his breath out in disappointment and shut his eyes. He didn�t want to look at the opposing beast, which had also solidified out of the glowing ball of mist on the other side of the circle. "Interesting," said Ethar in a puzzled tone. Tal opened one eye a fraction. Ethar�s beast was really ugly. It resembled a blubbery, rust-colored ball that had three arm-legs coming out the top and three out the bottom. It had four pairs of eyes spaced around its middle, and a separate, many-toothed mouth under each pair of eyes. As Tal watched, it flipped over on to its top legs and then flipped back again, very quickly. Then it deliberately fell back and actually bounced high into the air, without using its arm-legs at all. Tal�s beast just watched the bouncy ball thing and stood there, its wings flickering like a hummingbird�s. It was only when Tal looked closely that he realized it wasn�t standing � it was hovering an inch above the white marble of the battlecircle. The battlecircle began to change color from white marble to red, the sign that the combat would commence. Tal took a step closer, as did Ethar and all the guards, who crowded around. Quickly, Tal looked over at Ethar�s cards, hoping he would see some flaw that his beast would exploit. Ethar had played the Head of a Dofyn, which was fairly standard play, since the Dofyns were the enormously clever sea dwellers of Aenir. Then the Heart of a Niphrain Ape. The Temper of a Vengenarl. The Skin of a Blorem, which as far as Tal could remember would give the beast a skin of very resilient, thick blubber. The Speed of a Fleamite. The Strength of a Jarghoul. And finally, the Special of a Urglegurgle. Tal had no idea what that was, but now that he�d seen the made beast, he figured it had to be bouncing. The battlecircle flashed red three times. On the third flash, Tal�s lizard suddenly shot forward, just as Ethar�s blubber-tub bounced. They met in a whirring of wings, teeth, and clawed arms � or legs � and parted just as quickly. "By the Light!! A hit!" cried Ethar, pointing to the drops of bright emerald green blood that were welling out of the lizard-beast�s forearms. "Mine too," said Tal, pointing at some ugly gashes in the blubber of the bouncing beast. But his heart sank, for the blubber was very thick and the gashes did not look deep. Before Tal had finished speaking, the blubber-tub attacked again, acting on its Vengenarl temper. This time, the lizard-beast didn�t meet it, but flew to one side, zipping and darting around in the air as the blubber-tub bounced and lunged, reaching out its multiple arm-legs to grab and rend. The lizard-beast was too quick to be caught, but the blubber-tub was also too quick for it to easily strike. They bounced and flew, feinting attacks and withdrawals, moving so swiftly it was almost impossible to follow. Then the lizard-thing suddenly swooped in and bit out the blubber-tub�s eye. It shrieked in rage, the first sound either beast had made, and one of its three-fingered limbs gripped the very edge of the lizard-beast�s wing. There was a tearing sound, and part of the wing came off. The lizard-beast leaped back, but clearly it could no longer fly. "No!" Tal groaned. The lizard-beast made a yipping sound to taunt the blubber-tub on, as if it didn�t care about its torn wing. The blubber-tub, its eye socket bleeding, threw itself back and then bounced forward to crush its opponent. But even without wings, the lizard-beast was very fast. It zipped sideways, and a claw struck in to take out another of the blubber-tub�s eyes. Furious, the great ball of blubber changed direction to hurl itself at the rainbow-colored lizard. Once again, the lizard-beast got out of the way, just in time. Then it suddenly moved back, as the blubber-tub was changing direction, and bit the bulbous creature on the foot. "Yes!" shouted Tal, punching the air. The lizard had bitten clean through the blubber-tub�s leg, severing the foot. But it still had two on that side, and one of the other legs swung across, smacking the lizard in the head. The brightly colored beast was thrown halfway across the circle by the blow, and seemed to be stunned. It lay there, unmoving, while the blubber-tub did a flip to get back on the three good legs on its other side. "Get up! Go lizard!" yelled Tal. "Kill it!" shouted Ethar. The other guards shouted too, some encouraging Tal�s beast, some encouraging Ethar�s. Slowly and murderously, the blubber-tub advanced on the motionless lizard. Then it started to bounce. A small bounce, then a slightly harder one, until it was bounding up a stretch or more. With each bounce, it got closer and closer to the defenseless lizard. It clearly intended to crush Tal�s beast to death. Tal looked on, horrified. Even though the creatures were only created things of magical light, he couldn�t bear to see his lizard killed. He stopped thinking about everything that depended on this little beast of many colors. He just wanted it to survive. As the blubber-tub shot up for what had to be its final bounce, Tal shut his eyes. He felt sick. Everything was over now. Suddenly the guards roared, but it was a shout of surprise, not triumph, from Ethar. Tal�s eyes flashed open and saw the lizard-beast flying around a stunned blubber-tub, darting in to pluck out its eyes one by one. "What happened?" he asked one of the guards who had been betting on his lizard. "It tricked the blubber-thing," said the guard happily. "That lizard�s got four or five layers of wing. It could still fly, and it wasn�t knocked out. Smart beast, kid." But despite losing more of its eyes, the battle was not yet over for the Blubber-tub. It had the Heart of a Niphrain Ape, so it could not give up. Bleeding from a dozen wounds, it lurched after the lizard, chasing it around and around the battlecircle. "Only a matter of time now, boy," said the friendly guard. "Well�" Whatever the guard was going to say stopped in his throat, as the far door suddenly swung open with the screech of disused hinges. Like everyone else, Tal looked over. Something huge and very, very dark was coming through the door. A Spiritshadow, Tal realized, but one bigger than he�d ever seen. Its head was all spikes and flanges, as wide and tall as the door, so it struggled to get through. A sinuous neck followed, but whatever body lay behind was too big, unless the Spiritshadow chose to shrink it. Suddenly Tal realized he was the only one still standing up. All the guards had fallen to their knees and were bowing in the Spiritshadow�s direction. Tal stood there gawping, till his shadowguard reached up and pulled him down by the front of his tunic. Only then did he realize what . . . or who . . . this Spiritshadow was. It had to be Sharrakor the Mighty, the Empress�s own Spiritshadow. The Shadowdragon who alone among its kind had a name. Sharrakor�s vast head reared up on its serpentine neck, and its jaws opened. Tal saw teeth of shadow, and swirling patterns of darkness. Then Sharrakor spat a great glob of shadow that fizzed through the air, straight at Tal! Tal ducked, but the shadowspit wasn�t aimed at him anyway. It struck the Beastmaker table. There was a flash of light, a sudden sizzling noise, and the still battling lizard-beast and blubber-tub were gone. Tal looked at the empty battlecircle, where small shadows ran like water, over the side of the table and on to the floor. He cringed back as several patches flowed past him, back toward Sharrakor. Tal realized, shivering, that the Spiritshadow had spat some portion of itself. Now all those small shadows were rejoining the whole. Tal cleared his throat, about to protest at the Spiritshadow�s destruction of the game, but his shadowguard leaped up and thrust itself into his mouth, an instant gag. Tal reached up to pull it free, but the friendly Imperial Guard gripped him as well, so he couldn�t move. The last pieces of shadowspit rejoined Sharrakor. The Shadowdragon�s head swung slowly from side to side, as if seeking another target. Then it slowly withdrew back the way it had come. When it had fully withdrawn, the door creaked shut behind it. Tal�s shadowguard dropped out of his mouth and the Imperial Guards visibly relaxed. "What�" Tal began to say, but he got no further.
It will take all their strength to survive...
Book 2. The Dark World is a place of ice, wind and fury. A veil of black covers the sky. In all the world, only the Castle shines with light. Tal and Milla are struggling to make it to the Castle, each on a dangerous mission. For Tal, a Chosen, the Castle is home � but now he is unwelcome. For Milla, an Icecarl warrior, the Castle is a strange and mysterious place. Her presence is a threat the Castle dwellers will take notice of � and fight at any cost. From the deadly Hall of Nightmares to the magical chambers of Tal's great-uncle Ebbitt, Tal and Milla must navigate the Castle and elude the sinister forces conspiring against them. Sneak Preiview of the 2nd book For the next four days and five sleeps, Tal tried to roam around the Ruin Ship. But whenever he went to open a hanging curtain or go through a doorway, one of the Shield Maiden cadets would pop up from behind, or in front, or from around the corner and politely lead him back to somewhere he'd already been. Eventually he worked out that he was only allowed to be in the small sleeping chamber he'd been assigned, the Hall of the Reckoner, the Cadets' Feasting Hall where he had his meals (though he never saw anything he'd call a feast), and some of the time, the room where Milla had been ordered to stay in bed. The only combat skill Milla could practice in bed was her bad temper. Since Tal was the only person she could practice on and get away with it, he found that visiting her was not much fun. But there was simply nothing else to do, except watch the ships and tiles get moved around on the Reckoner, and that was about as boring as the lecture on the basics of light that retired Lector Jannem gave every year. On the positive side, though she was cross at being ordered to bed, Milla was bored, too, and sometimes she would actually answer Tal's questions. The Shield Maiden cadets wouldn't speak to him at all, unless it was to stop him from going somewhere or doing something he wasn't allowed to do. "How come there are no men here?" Tal asked Milla on the second day, after he'd ducked a pillow she'd thrown at him. He handed it back to her, noting that her face had lost its sickly gray tinge and was returning to its normal, surprisingly delicate paleness. All the Icecarls were very pale, much more so than the Chosen. Most Icecarls had the same color hair, too, like sunshine mixed with white ash. Tal's hair was the color of dirt, settling just above his shoulders. He felt that cutting his hair short would be an admission that he was no longer a proper Chosen. "No men where?" snarled Milla. "Here, the Ruin Ship." "I told you," snapped Milla, "it is the chief place of the Shield Maidens. It is not like a normal clan ship. There are no families, no children, no hunters, no Selski. The only men who come here would be either lost hunters, messengers . . . or a Sword Thane." "A Sword Thane?" asked Tal, suddenly interested. "Women who wish to serve all the clans become Shield Maidens," explained Milla. "But men do not work so well together, so those who wish to be lawgivers and protectors become Sword Thanes." "What do you mean?" asked Tal. "Everyone knows this." Milla frowned. "Some clans prefer a Sword Thane, though they can be unreliable and hard to find. It makes a better saga, I suppose." "Prefer a Sword Thane for what?" "Trouble!" spat Milla. "When you have trouble, you send for the Shield Maidens, but sometimes a Sword Thane finds you and the trouble first." "But aren't Shield Maidens heroes?" Tal inquired. "I mean, you killed the Merwin. Doesn't that make you a hero - which makes you a Sword Thane?" "I wish to be a Shield Maiden, so I must try to be a hero," Milla repeated. "But only a man can be a Sword Thane. All Sword Thanes are heroes but not all heroes are Sword Thanes." "What?" asked Tal. He was getting confused. "So what do you call a man who's a hero but not a Sword Thane? What if he uses an ax or a spear?" Milla didn't answer. She picked up the Merwin horn sword that never left her side and readied it to throw like a spear. Tal didn't stay to be a target, or for further explanation about Shield Maidens and Sword Thanes. He disappeared around the corner, and did not visit Milla again till she was up and final preparations were being made for their departure. They left the Ruin Ship after a stay of a full five sleeps, the same way they had entered, stumbling along blindfolded, guided by Arla. This time, at least, they were much better equipped. The Shield Maidens had been generous in providing new furs, climbing teeth, ropes of braided Selski hide, and other things they considered essential to climb the ruined road to the Mountain of Light. Tal had used part of the time in the ship to study Longface's map. He had come to the conclusion that the bone had not actually been carved with a sharp tool, but cut by Sunstone light. That meant the Chosen who had done it had been extremely skilled, and that he still had his Sunstone when he had staggered down to the Ruin Ship. But not his Spiritshadow. The tablet gave no clue to its maker's mystery. There was writing on it, in addition to regular marks that were obviously a map. But all the writing said was: Half road down pyramid Imrir fallen 100 stretch entry heatway tunnel Underfolk 7. Tal had puzzled over this for some time, but all he could guess was that it meant there was an entrance to the heating system of the Castle - which he knew went through the mountain, right down into the deep earth. Underfolk 7 was almost certainly a reference to the lowest of the Underfolk levels, which Tal supposed was where the heatway tunnel came out. Presumably the entrance outside would be about halfway up the mountain, near a fallen pyramid. Tal had a dim recollection that Imrir had been the Emperor long ago. The current Empress didn't have a name - Tal had never wondered about that before. Of course, she had been the Empress for much longer than most, fending off old age with her mastery of Sunstone magic. Maybe Emperors' or Empresses' names were only known after they died. All thoughts of the Empress were gone by the time the blindfold came off. Arla left them, without a word. Tal watched with relief as she silently slid away. He felt like a caveroach about to be stepped on when Arla was around. Milla, of course, had a completely different reaction. Arla was everything Milla wanted to be twenty circlings from now. Tal stood alone with Milla and the freezing wind. Far below, they could see the luminous outline of the Ruin Ship. Both of them had moth-lanterns, but the dull green light only showed snow and patches of bare rock. If there was a road - even a ruined one - Tal couldn't see it. "Come on," ordered Milla. She shouldered her pack and headed off. Tal fumbled on his own pack, groaning at the sudden weight. It was full of sleeping furs and climbing gear and food and what felt like at least his own weight in other things the Icecarls considered essential. Tal would have rather had a Sunstone, so he could properly warm himself. Even with inner and outer coats of thick fur, a cloth-lined bone face mask, and a short, hooded cape lined with the soft tails of something he couldn't pronounce, Tal was still cold. Though he couldn't see a road through the amber lenses of his mask, he followed obediently. Either Milla could see something, or Arla had told her a secret sign to look for. It was hard going, but not too hard. At times they had to clamber over great blocks of ice that had slid down from higher up, but it was clear they were on a path made by humans. Once again, Tal regretted the absence of a Sunstone. He wanted to light up the whole mountainside, to see the sheer cliffs stretching up and up, and admire the way the rock had been carved away in precise lines to create the road, switchbacking its way up what would otherwise be impassable terrain. But all he could see now was the occasional evidence of construction, particularly when there was a well-preserved stretch of road and mountainside forming a perfect right angle. At other times, he had no idea how Milla found the road again after it had fallen away. He asked her. "The road smells of ghalt, the melting stone," Milla said. As usual, her voice bore a reluctance to talk to Tal, tempered with a desire to show off how superior Icecarls were. She bent down, swept away a light layer of snow and, with effort, pulled out a piece of black rock that shone in the moth-light. "There are hot pools of ghalt in the far southern mountains," she said, holding the piece under Tal's nose. "When it is hot it pours like water and smells very sour. Even very old, cold ghalt smells. I do not know how the ancients brought it here for the road." Tal raised his mask to sniff at it, but he couldn't smell anything. His face just got cold. As the hours of walking wore on, Tal was no longer interested in how Milla found the road. He was just glad that she did. He was also hoping that she would stop soon so he could rest. She had to be tired, too, he reasoned, since she was still recovering from her wound. But she showed no signs of weariness. When she did stop, it wasn't for a rest. She suddenly backed up, almost hitting Tal. While he gawped at her, she threw her arm around him and wrestled him into the nearest snowdrift, piled up against the mountainside. As they plunged into the snow, Tal felt a great rush of air go past. He caught a momentary glimpse of enormous translucent eyes, each as large as his own head, followed by spread wings of great size. "What was that?" Milla clapped her hand over his mouth, her fur glove almost smothering Tal. He started to struggle, then stopped as she held a knife against his throat and ordered him in a whisper, "Stay still!" They lay together in the snow, not moving. Finally, they heard a terrible screech some distance off, and Milla relaxed. The knife vanished from her hand, and she let Tal sit up. "Perawl," she said. "They can't see you if you stay completely still. They're a bit deaf, as well." "What was the . . . the noise?" asked Tal. The unseen hunters in the air made this place even worse than being on the Ice. At least with the Selski you could hear them coming, and you could see a Merwin's luminous horn. Milla didn't answer, so Tal repeated the question. "It could be any one of a number of things," replied Milla evasively. "The Perawl's meal, I suppose." "So the great Milla doesn't know everything," remarked Tal. Milla ignored him, her attention still focused downhill. "Perhaps . . . perhaps it was the other way around," Tal added. The screech hadn't sounded like something being caught. It had sounded triumphant. "Maybe the Perawl was something else's meal." They looked at each other, expressions unseen behind their face masks. But Milla started off again at a faster pace and Tal followed without complaint.Without his Sunstone, Tal had no idea how much later it was when they finally stopped to rest and eat. As on the Ice, the meal was Selski meat heated over a Selski oil stove. "We will have three watches. I will take the first and third," declared Milla when they had finished eating. "You need only stay awake for the middle watch." "I can stand two watches," said Tal. "Let's have four watches." "Do you know how to count every breath without thinking, even while asleep?" asked Milla. "Uh, no," answered Tal. "What does -" "That is how we count the passing time when there is no other means," explained Milla, as if she were speaking to a very small child. "So I will tell you when to begin and finish your watch." Tal couldn't argue with that. Surreptitiously, he tried to count each individual breath, but he couldn't keep track. He half suspected that Milla couldn't, either, and she was just trying to be superior again. It was a cold camp, and a dangerous one, with a long drop beside the road. They put their backs against the slope, and Tal silently told himself thirty times, I must not walk in my sleep. Sleep did not come easily. The wind howled down the mountain and seemed to want to pick Tal and Milla up and take them with it all the way to the Ruin Ship far below. Because they were higher up, it was even colder than on the Ice, and Tal found himself huddling closer and closer to Milla to stay warm. Milla seemed to take this as normal behavior, but Tal found even her fur-muffled closeness unnerving. He had never been so close to a girl before, let alone one who might kill him if he accidentally threw his arm around her while he was dreaming. That thought didn't help him sleep. Neither did the noises he heard, or thought he heard, in the night. Even when Milla was supposed to be sleeping, she sat up every now and then to listen. Sometimes Tal wondered if she ever really slept. He wouldn't have been surprised to find that if she did sleep, it was with one eye open. The middle watch seemed to go on and on forever. Tal decided to test if Milla was asleep. He leaned away from her, but she didn't stir. So he edged away a little more. She sank back into her furs, and Tal smiled. She really was asleep. He reached across to lightly tickle under her chin, where a tiny square of skin showed clear of the mask and her laced-up collar. Tal had often done this to Gref, trailing his fingernail like an insect across him to see how long it took for his brother to wake up. His gloved hand was just about to touch Milla's chin when her hand snaked out from under the sleeping . Click here to visit the continueing Seventh Tower site. Teloport to the Chosen Orders.
The Dark World is a place of ice, wind and fury. A veil of black covers the sky. In all the world, only the Castle shines with light. Tal and Milla are struggling to make it to the Castle, each on a dangerous mission. For Tal, a Chosen, the Castle is home � but now he is unwelcome. For Milla, an Icecarl warrior, the Castle is a strange and mysterious place. Her presence is a threat the Castle dwellers will take notice of � and fight at any cost. From the deadly Hall of Nightmares to the magical chambers of Tal's great-uncle Ebbitt, Tal and Milla must navigate the Castle and elude the sinister forces conspiring against them. Sneak Preiview of the 2nd book For the next four days and five sleeps, Tal tried to roam around the Ruin Ship. But whenever he went to open a hanging curtain or go through a doorway, one of the Shield Maiden cadets would pop up from behind, or in front, or from around the corner and politely lead him back to somewhere he'd already been. Eventually he worked out that he was only allowed to be in the small sleeping chamber he'd been assigned, the Hall of the Reckoner, the Cadets' Feasting Hall where he had his meals (though he never saw anything he'd call a feast), and some of the time, the room where Milla had been ordered to stay in bed. The only combat skill Milla could practice in bed was her bad temper. Since Tal was the only person she could practice on and get away with it, he found that visiting her was not much fun. But there was simply nothing else to do, except watch the ships and tiles get moved around on the Reckoner, and that was about as boring as the lecture on the basics of light that retired Lector Jannem gave every year. On the positive side, though she was cross at being ordered to bed, Milla was bored, too, and sometimes she would actually answer Tal's questions. The Shield Maiden cadets wouldn't speak to him at all, unless it was to stop him from going somewhere or doing something he wasn't allowed to do. "How come there are no men here?" Tal asked Milla on the second day, after he'd ducked a pillow she'd thrown at him. He handed it back to her, noting that her face had lost its sickly gray tinge and was returning to its normal, surprisingly delicate paleness. All the Icecarls were very pale, much more so than the Chosen. Most Icecarls had the same color hair, too, like sunshine mixed with white ash. Tal's hair was the color of dirt, settling just above his shoulders. He felt that cutting his hair short would be an admission that he was no longer a proper Chosen. "No men where?" snarled Milla. "Here, the Ruin Ship." "I told you," snapped Milla, "it is the chief place of the Shield Maidens. It is not like a normal clan ship. There are no families, no children, no hunters, no Selski. The only men who come here would be either lost hunters, messengers . . . or a Sword Thane." "A Sword Thane?" asked Tal, suddenly interested. "Women who wish to serve all the clans become Shield Maidens," explained Milla. "But men do not work so well together, so those who wish to be lawgivers and protectors become Sword Thanes." "What do you mean?" asked Tal. "Everyone knows this." Milla frowned. "Some clans prefer a Sword Thane, though they can be unreliable and hard to find. It makes a better saga, I suppose." "Prefer a Sword Thane for what?" "Trouble!" spat Milla. "When you have trouble, you send for the Shield Maidens, but sometimes a Sword Thane finds you and the trouble first." "But aren't Shield Maidens heroes?" Tal inquired. "I mean, you killed the Merwin. Doesn't that make you a hero - which makes you a Sword Thane?" "I wish to be a Shield Maiden, so I must try to be a hero," Milla repeated. "But only a man can be a Sword Thane. All Sword Thanes are heroes but not all heroes are Sword Thanes." "What?" asked Tal. He was getting confused. "So what do you call a man who's a hero but not a Sword Thane? What if he uses an ax or a spear?" Milla didn't answer. She picked up the Merwin horn sword that never left her side and readied it to throw like a spear. Tal didn't stay to be a target, or for further explanation about Shield Maidens and Sword Thanes. He disappeared around the corner, and did not visit Milla again till she was up and final preparations were being made for their departure. They left the Ruin Ship after a stay of a full five sleeps, the same way they had entered, stumbling along blindfolded, guided by Arla. This time, at least, they were much better equipped. The Shield Maidens had been generous in providing new furs, climbing teeth, ropes of braided Selski hide, and other things they considered essential to climb the ruined road to the Mountain of Light. Tal had used part of the time in the ship to study Longface's map. He had come to the conclusion that the bone had not actually been carved with a sharp tool, but cut by Sunstone light. That meant the Chosen who had done it had been extremely skilled, and that he still had his Sunstone when he had staggered down to the Ruin Ship. But not his Spiritshadow. The tablet gave no clue to its maker's mystery. There was writing on it, in addition to regular marks that were obviously a map. But all the writing said was: Half road down pyramid Imrir fallen 100 stretch entry heatway tunnel Underfolk 7. Tal had puzzled over this for some time, but all he could guess was that it meant there was an entrance to the heating system of the Castle - which he knew went through the mountain, right down into the deep earth. Underfolk 7 was almost certainly a reference to the lowest of the Underfolk levels, which Tal supposed was where the heatway tunnel came out. Presumably the entrance outside would be about halfway up the mountain, near a fallen pyramid. Tal had a dim recollection that Imrir had been the Emperor long ago. The current Empress didn't have a name - Tal had never wondered about that before. Of course, she had been the Empress for much longer than most, fending off old age with her mastery of Sunstone magic. Maybe Emperors' or Empresses' names were only known after they died. All thoughts of the Empress were gone by the time the blindfold came off. Arla left them, without a word. Tal watched with relief as she silently slid away. He felt like a caveroach about to be stepped on when Arla was around. Milla, of course, had a completely different reaction. Arla was everything Milla wanted to be twenty circlings from now. Tal stood alone with Milla and the freezing wind. Far below, they could see the luminous outline of the Ruin Ship. Both of them had moth-lanterns, but the dull green light only showed snow and patches of bare rock. If there was a road - even a ruined one - Tal couldn't see it. "Come on," ordered Milla. She shouldered her pack and headed off. Tal fumbled on his own pack, groaning at the sudden weight. It was full of sleeping furs and climbing gear and food and what felt like at least his own weight in other things the Icecarls considered essential. Tal would have rather had a Sunstone, so he could properly warm himself. Even with inner and outer coats of thick fur, a cloth-lined bone face mask, and a short, hooded cape lined with the soft tails of something he couldn't pronounce, Tal was still cold. Though he couldn't see a road through the amber lenses of his mask, he followed obediently. Either Milla could see something, or Arla had told her a secret sign to look for. It was hard going, but not too hard. At times they had to clamber over great blocks of ice that had slid down from higher up, but it was clear they were on a path made by humans. Once again, Tal regretted the absence of a Sunstone. He wanted to light up the whole mountainside, to see the sheer cliffs stretching up and up, and admire the way the rock had been carved away in precise lines to create the road, switchbacking its way up what would otherwise be impassable terrain. But all he could see now was the occasional evidence of construction, particularly when there was a well-preserved stretch of road and mountainside forming a perfect right angle. At other times, he had no idea how Milla found the road again after it had fallen away. He asked her. "The road smells of ghalt, the melting stone," Milla said. As usual, her voice bore a reluctance to talk to Tal, tempered with a desire to show off how superior Icecarls were. She bent down, swept away a light layer of snow and, with effort, pulled out a piece of black rock that shone in the moth-light. "There are hot pools of ghalt in the far southern mountains," she said, holding the piece under Tal's nose. "When it is hot it pours like water and smells very sour. Even very old, cold ghalt smells. I do not know how the ancients brought it here for the road." Tal raised his mask to sniff at it, but he couldn't smell anything. His face just got cold. As the hours of walking wore on, Tal was no longer interested in how Milla found the road. He was just glad that she did. He was also hoping that she would stop soon so he could rest. She had to be tired, too, he reasoned, since she was still recovering from her wound. But she showed no signs of weariness. When she did stop, it wasn't for a rest. She suddenly backed up, almost hitting Tal. While he gawped at her, she threw her arm around him and wrestled him into the nearest snowdrift, piled up against the mountainside. As they plunged into the snow, Tal felt a great rush of air go past. He caught a momentary glimpse of enormous translucent eyes, each as large as his own head, followed by spread wings of great size. "What was that?" Milla clapped her hand over his mouth, her fur glove almost smothering Tal. He started to struggle, then stopped as she held a knife against his throat and ordered him in a whisper, "Stay still!" They lay together in the snow, not moving. Finally, they heard a terrible screech some distance off, and Milla relaxed. The knife vanished from her hand, and she let Tal sit up. "Perawl," she said. "They can't see you if you stay completely still. They're a bit deaf, as well." "What was the . . . the noise?" asked Tal. The unseen hunters in the air made this place even worse than being on the Ice. At least with the Selski you could hear them coming, and you could see a Merwin's luminous horn. Milla didn't answer, so Tal repeated the question. "It could be any one of a number of things," replied Milla evasively. "The Perawl's meal, I suppose." "So the great Milla doesn't know everything," remarked Tal. Milla ignored him, her attention still focused downhill. "Perhaps . . . perhaps it was the other way around," Tal added. The screech hadn't sounded like something being caught. It had sounded triumphant. "Maybe the Perawl was something else's meal." They looked at each other, expressions unseen behind their face masks. But Milla started off again at a faster pace and Tal followed without complaint.Without his Sunstone, Tal had no idea how much later it was when they finally stopped to rest and eat. As on the Ice, the meal was Selski meat heated over a Selski oil stove. "We will have three watches. I will take the first and third," declared Milla when they had finished eating. "You need only stay awake for the middle watch." "I can stand two watches," said Tal. "Let's have four watches." "Do you know how to count every breath without thinking, even while asleep?" asked Milla. "Uh, no," answered Tal. "What does -" "That is how we count the passing time when there is no other means," explained Milla, as if she were speaking to a very small child. "So I will tell you when to begin and finish your watch." Tal couldn't argue with that. Surreptitiously, he tried to count each individual breath, but he couldn't keep track. He half suspected that Milla couldn't, either, and she was just trying to be superior again. It was a cold camp, and a dangerous one, with a long drop beside the road. They put their backs against the slope, and Tal silently told himself thirty times, I must not walk in my sleep. Sleep did not come easily. The wind howled down the mountain and seemed to want to pick Tal and Milla up and take them with it all the way to the Ruin Ship far below. Because they were higher up, it was even colder than on the Ice, and Tal found himself huddling closer and closer to Milla to stay warm. Milla seemed to take this as normal behavior, but Tal found even her fur-muffled closeness unnerving. He had never been so close to a girl before, let alone one who might kill him if he accidentally threw his arm around her while he was dreaming. That thought didn't help him sleep. Neither did the noises he heard, or thought he heard, in the night. Even when Milla was supposed to be sleeping, she sat up every now and then to listen. Sometimes Tal wondered if she ever really slept. He wouldn't have been surprised to find that if she did sleep, it was with one eye open. The middle watch seemed to go on and on forever. Tal decided to test if Milla was asleep. He leaned away from her, but she didn't stir. So he edged away a little more. She sank back into her furs, and Tal smiled. She really was asleep. He reached across to lightly tickle under her chin, where a tiny square of skin showed clear of the mask and her laced-up collar. Tal had often done this to Gref, trailing his fingernail like an insect across him to see how long it took for his brother to wake up. His gloved hand was just about to touch Milla's chin when her hand snaked out from under the sleeping .
Sneak Preiview of the 2nd book
For the next four days and five sleeps, Tal tried to roam around the Ruin Ship. But whenever he went to open a hanging curtain or go through a doorway, one of the Shield Maiden cadets would pop up from behind, or in front, or from around the corner and politely lead him back to somewhere he'd already been. Eventually he worked out that he was only allowed to be in the small sleeping chamber he'd been assigned, the Hall of the Reckoner, the Cadets' Feasting Hall where he had his meals (though he never saw anything he'd call a feast), and some of the time, the room where Milla had been ordered to stay in bed. The only combat skill Milla could practice in bed was her bad temper. Since Tal was the only person she could practice on and get away with it, he found that visiting her was not much fun. But there was simply nothing else to do, except watch the ships and tiles get moved around on the Reckoner, and that was about as boring as the lecture on the basics of light that retired Lector Jannem gave every year. On the positive side, though she was cross at being ordered to bed, Milla was bored, too, and sometimes she would actually answer Tal's questions. The Shield Maiden cadets wouldn't speak to him at all, unless it was to stop him from going somewhere or doing something he wasn't allowed to do. "How come there are no men here?" Tal asked Milla on the second day, after he'd ducked a pillow she'd thrown at him. He handed it back to her, noting that her face had lost its sickly gray tinge and was returning to its normal, surprisingly delicate paleness. All the Icecarls were very pale, much more so than the Chosen. Most Icecarls had the same color hair, too, like sunshine mixed with white ash. Tal's hair was the color of dirt, settling just above his shoulders. He felt that cutting his hair short would be an admission that he was no longer a proper Chosen. "No men where?" snarled Milla. "Here, the Ruin Ship." "I told you," snapped Milla, "it is the chief place of the Shield Maidens. It is not like a normal clan ship. There are no families, no children, no hunters, no Selski. The only men who come here would be either lost hunters, messengers . . . or a Sword Thane." "A Sword Thane?" asked Tal, suddenly interested. "Women who wish to serve all the clans become Shield Maidens," explained Milla. "But men do not work so well together, so those who wish to be lawgivers and protectors become Sword Thanes." "What do you mean?" asked Tal. "Everyone knows this." Milla frowned. "Some clans prefer a Sword Thane, though they can be unreliable and hard to find. It makes a better saga, I suppose." "Prefer a Sword Thane for what?" "Trouble!" spat Milla. "When you have trouble, you send for the Shield Maidens, but sometimes a Sword Thane finds you and the trouble first." "But aren't Shield Maidens heroes?" Tal inquired. "I mean, you killed the Merwin. Doesn't that make you a hero - which makes you a Sword Thane?" "I wish to be a Shield Maiden, so I must try to be a hero," Milla repeated. "But only a man can be a Sword Thane. All Sword Thanes are heroes but not all heroes are Sword Thanes." "What?" asked Tal. He was getting confused. "So what do you call a man who's a hero but not a Sword Thane? What if he uses an ax or a spear?" Milla didn't answer. She picked up the Merwin horn sword that never left her side and readied it to throw like a spear. Tal didn't stay to be a target, or for further explanation about Shield Maidens and Sword Thanes. He disappeared around the corner, and did not visit Milla again till she was up and final preparations were being made for their departure. They left the Ruin Ship after a stay of a full five sleeps, the same way they had entered, stumbling along blindfolded, guided by Arla. This time, at least, they were much better equipped. The Shield Maidens had been generous in providing new furs, climbing teeth, ropes of braided Selski hide, and other things they considered essential to climb the ruined road to the Mountain of Light. Tal had used part of the time in the ship to study Longface's map. He had come to the conclusion that the bone had not actually been carved with a sharp tool, but cut by Sunstone light. That meant the Chosen who had done it had been extremely skilled, and that he still had his Sunstone when he had staggered down to the Ruin Ship. But not his Spiritshadow. The tablet gave no clue to its maker's mystery. There was writing on it, in addition to regular marks that were obviously a map. But all the writing said was: Half road down pyramid Imrir fallen 100 stretch entry heatway tunnel Underfolk 7. Tal had puzzled over this for some time, but all he could guess was that it meant there was an entrance to the heating system of the Castle - which he knew went through the mountain, right down into the deep earth. Underfolk 7 was almost certainly a reference to the lowest of the Underfolk levels, which Tal supposed was where the heatway tunnel came out. Presumably the entrance outside would be about halfway up the mountain, near a fallen pyramid. Tal had a dim recollection that Imrir had been the Emperor long ago. The current Empress didn't have a name - Tal had never wondered about that before. Of course, she had been the Empress for much longer than most, fending off old age with her mastery of Sunstone magic. Maybe Emperors' or Empresses' names were only known after they died. All thoughts of the Empress were gone by the time the blindfold came off. Arla left them, without a word. Tal watched with relief as she silently slid away. He felt like a caveroach about to be stepped on when Arla was around. Milla, of course, had a completely different reaction. Arla was everything Milla wanted to be twenty circlings from now. Tal stood alone with Milla and the freezing wind. Far below, they could see the luminous outline of the Ruin Ship. Both of them had moth-lanterns, but the dull green light only showed snow and patches of bare rock. If there was a road - even a ruined one - Tal couldn't see it. "Come on," ordered Milla. She shouldered her pack and headed off. Tal fumbled on his own pack, groaning at the sudden weight. It was full of sleeping furs and climbing gear and food and what felt like at least his own weight in other things the Icecarls considered essential. Tal would have rather had a Sunstone, so he could properly warm himself. Even with inner and outer coats of thick fur, a cloth-lined bone face mask, and a short, hooded cape lined with the soft tails of something he couldn't pronounce, Tal was still cold. Though he couldn't see a road through the amber lenses of his mask, he followed obediently. Either Milla could see something, or Arla had told her a secret sign to look for. It was hard going, but not too hard. At times they had to clamber over great blocks of ice that had slid down from higher up, but it was clear they were on a path made by humans. Once again, Tal regretted the absence of a Sunstone. He wanted to light up the whole mountainside, to see the sheer cliffs stretching up and up, and admire the way the rock had been carved away in precise lines to create the road, switchbacking its way up what would otherwise be impassable terrain. But all he could see now was the occasional evidence of construction, particularly when there was a well-preserved stretch of road and mountainside forming a perfect right angle. At other times, he had no idea how Milla found the road again after it had fallen away. He asked her. "The road smells of ghalt, the melting stone," Milla said. As usual, her voice bore a reluctance to talk to Tal, tempered with a desire to show off how superior Icecarls were. She bent down, swept away a light layer of snow and, with effort, pulled out a piece of black rock that shone in the moth-light. "There are hot pools of ghalt in the far southern mountains," she said, holding the piece under Tal's nose. "When it is hot it pours like water and smells very sour. Even very old, cold ghalt smells. I do not know how the ancients brought it here for the road." Tal raised his mask to sniff at it, but he couldn't smell anything. His face just got cold. As the hours of walking wore on, Tal was no longer interested in how Milla found the road. He was just glad that she did. He was also hoping that she would stop soon so he could rest. She had to be tired, too, he reasoned, since she was still recovering from her wound. But she showed no signs of weariness. When she did stop, it wasn't for a rest. She suddenly backed up, almost hitting Tal. While he gawped at her, she threw her arm around him and wrestled him into the nearest snowdrift, piled up against the mountainside. As they plunged into the snow, Tal felt a great rush of air go past. He caught a momentary glimpse of enormous translucent eyes, each as large as his own head, followed by spread wings of great size. "What was that?" Milla clapped her hand over his mouth, her fur glove almost smothering Tal. He started to struggle, then stopped as she held a knife against his throat and ordered him in a whisper, "Stay still!" They lay together in the snow, not moving. Finally, they heard a terrible screech some distance off, and Milla relaxed. The knife vanished from her hand, and she let Tal sit up. "Perawl," she said. "They can't see you if you stay completely still. They're a bit deaf, as well." "What was the . . . the noise?" asked Tal. The unseen hunters in the air made this place even worse than being on the Ice. At least with the Selski you could hear them coming, and you could see a Merwin's luminous horn. Milla didn't answer, so Tal repeated the question. "It could be any one of a number of things," replied Milla evasively. "The Perawl's meal, I suppose." "So the great Milla doesn't know everything," remarked Tal. Milla ignored him, her attention still focused downhill. "Perhaps . . . perhaps it was the other way around," Tal added. The screech hadn't sounded like something being caught. It had sounded triumphant. "Maybe the Perawl was something else's meal." They looked at each other, expressions unseen behind their face masks. But Milla started off again at a faster pace and Tal followed without complaint.Without his Sunstone, Tal had no idea how much later it was when they finally stopped to rest and eat. As on the Ice, the meal was Selski meat heated over a Selski oil stove. "We will have three watches. I will take the first and third," declared Milla when they had finished eating. "You need only stay awake for the middle watch." "I can stand two watches," said Tal. "Let's have four watches." "Do you know how to count every breath without thinking, even while asleep?" asked Milla. "Uh, no," answered Tal. "What does -" "That is how we count the passing time when there is no other means," explained Milla, as if she were speaking to a very small child. "So I will tell you when to begin and finish your watch." Tal couldn't argue with that. Surreptitiously, he tried to count each individual breath, but he couldn't keep track. He half suspected that Milla couldn't, either, and she was just trying to be superior again. It was a cold camp, and a dangerous one, with a long drop beside the road. They put their backs against the slope, and Tal silently told himself thirty times, I must not walk in my sleep. Sleep did not come easily. The wind howled down the mountain and seemed to want to pick Tal and Milla up and take them with it all the way to the Ruin Ship far below. Because they were higher up, it was even colder than on the Ice, and Tal found himself huddling closer and closer to Milla to stay warm. Milla seemed to take this as normal behavior, but Tal found even her fur-muffled closeness unnerving. He had never been so close to a girl before, let alone one who might kill him if he accidentally threw his arm around her while he was dreaming. That thought didn't help him sleep. Neither did the noises he heard, or thought he heard, in the night. Even when Milla was supposed to be sleeping, she sat up every now and then to listen. Sometimes Tal wondered if she ever really slept. He wouldn't have been surprised to find that if she did sleep, it was with one eye open. The middle watch seemed to go on and on forever. Tal decided to test if Milla was asleep. He leaned away from her, but she didn't stir. So he edged away a little more. She sank back into her furs, and Tal smiled. She really was asleep. He reached across to lightly tickle under her chin, where a tiny square of skin showed clear of the mask and her laced-up collar. Tal had often done this to Gref, trailing his fingernail like an insect across him to see how long it took for his brother to wake up. His gloved hand was just about to touch Milla's chin when her hand snaked out from under the sleeping
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