The Bell and the Bow

“Chiron had to carry me back!” Alkara, standing behind the parlor sofa, drapes herself across the back of it. “Carrying me in a sling! Like a kid.” She shakes her head while picking herself up from the awkward position. Alkara subsides into a calmer storm, one on the verge of breaking. “Dre had to cobble […]

Reverie broken, Alkara strains to see the entrance. The edges of her cell block the view of the man’s face. But the voice and posture could only be one person. “Dorië!” Relief cascades through her even as fear hems in from the sides. Dorië had come… but not Tharan. And Dorië had never liked Alkara.

Afanen’s entry line stretches past Alkara’s much shorter one back through the silent sentries of the forest. She shifts her weight from one hip to the other. Her rib reminds her of the now passing annoyance of its healing. Three weeks of waiting had pestered Alkara into speeding up the process. Uncle Iro may disapprove,

The chill outside licks at Alkara’s skin. She kneels to meditate. A shiver crawls across her flesh. What if she can’t hear Urdima? When she really needs to? She bites her lip and tries to push the thought away. Urdan life and features surround her. Alkara pushes her hands through the dirt. Rough scents, disturbed

Warehouse after warehouse of daubed mud occupy most of Alkara’s day. The inhabitants dead, Alkara and the Waste Walkers ripped through the former nests to ensure any eggs were properly destroyed. Squalor, chewed bone, and Nolcerock young met them in those disordered nests. Mottled grey grew rougher on their backs, where the leathery hide turned

“She loves you.” Tharan says after a few moments’ contemplation. They’d finished dinner, and were now lounging in the parlor. Alkara had just finished telling him about the Ironshod incident. She blanches at his assertion, but Tharan continues before she can reply. “It is the only explanation.” Alkara snorts, “She has a funny way of

“She loves you.” Tharan says after a few moments’ contemplation. They’d finished dinner, and were now lounging in the parlor. Alkara had just finished telling him about the Ironshod incident. She blanches at his assertion, but Tharan continues before she can reply. “It is the only explanation.” Alkara snorts, “She has a funny way of

Weeks pass and Alkara finds herself enjoying lunch with Dre and Chiron. They had taken their meal outside the Retrievers’ guild hall to a wide open space that lies Trueward from the hall. One of Alkara’s favorite places to eat lunch. She hates eating in the mess.  And this is one of the last open

“So um…” Alkara begins with a quaver in her voice. “What was that? That thing you did with your voice.” She peers about the glade. “It’s like even the flowers and birds obeyed.” Tharan pauses, outlining the bell under his tunic with a finger. “During my tenure as Bell Keeper, Doë has deigned to give

A strange infestation of jub-jub birds delays Alkara’s next meeting with Tharan. Two weeks of tracking and hunting, then exterminating them in the burrows that were somehow on the good side of the Grecian River. And unlike others, they didn’t connect their tunnels. But if the Waste Walkers hadn’t taken care of them, the pests