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By Root 1400 0

thick of the fighting outside Kan Avor, his beloved city, and survived only because his own Shield had disregarded his commands and dragged him from the field. The wound on his cheek was little more than a scratch, though. Hidden beneath his robes, and beneath blood-heavy bandaging, other injuries were eating away at his strength. The lance of a Kilkry horseman had pierced the Thane through from front to back, breaking as it did so and leaving splinters of wood along the tunnel it drove through his flesh. He had a fine company of healers, and if there had been time to set his tent, to rest and tend to his wounds, they might even have been able to save his life. Avann had forbidden such a delay, and refused to leave his horse for a litter.

What was left of the Thane’s armies came behind. Two years ago the warriors of Gyre had been one of the finest bodies of fighting men in all the lands of the Kilkry Bloods, but the unremitting carnage since then had consumed their strength as surely as a fire loosed upon a drought-struck forest. In the end virtually every able-bodied man—and many of the women—of the Black Road had taken to the field at Kan Avor, drawn not just from Gyre but from every Blood: still they had been outnumbered by more than three to one. Now barely fifteen hundred men remained, a battered rearguard for the flight of the Black Road into the north.

The man who rode up to join his Thane was as bruised and weary as all the rest. His helm was dented, the ring mail on his chest stained with blood, his round shield notched and half split where an axe had found a lucky angle. Still, this man bore himself well and his eyes retained a glint of vigor. He nudged his horse through the crowds and leaned close to Avann.

“Lord,” he said softly, “it is Tegric.”

Avann stirred, but did not raise his head or open his eyes.

“My scouts have come up, lord,” the warrior continued. “The enemy draw near. Kilkry horsemen are no more than an hour or two adrift of us. Behind them, spearmen of Haig-Kilkry. They will bring us to bay before we are clear of the Vale.”

The Thane of Gyre spat bloodily.

“Whatever awaits us was decided long ago,” he murmured. His voice was thin and weak. “We cannot fear what is written in the Last God’s book.”

One of the Thane’s shieldmen joined them, and fixed Tegric with a disapproving glare.

“Leave the Thane be,” he said. “He must conserve his strength.”

That at last raised Avann’s head. He winced as he opened his eyes.

“My death will come when it must. Until then, I am Thane, not some sick old woman to be wrapped warm and fed broth. Tegric treats me as a Thane still; how much more should my own Shield?”

The shieldman nodded in acceptance of the reprimand, but stayed in close attendance.

“Let me wait here, lord,” said Tegric softly. “Give me just a hundred men. We will hold the Vale until our people are clear.”

The Thane regarded Tegric. “We may need every man in the north. The tribes will not welcome our arrival.”

“There will be no arrival if our enemies come upon us here in the Vale. Let me stand here and I will promise you half a day, perhaps more. The cliffs narrow up ahead, and there is an old rockfall. I can hold the way against riders; spill enough of their blood that they will wait for their main force to come up before attempting the passage twice.”

“And then you will be a hundred against what, five thousand? Six?” Avann grunted.

“At least,” smiled Tegric.

An old man fell in the crowds that surrounded them. He cried out as a stone opened his knee. A grey-haired woman—perhaps his wife—hurried to help him to his feet, murmuring “Get up, get up.” A score of people, including the Thane and Tegric, flowed past before she managed to raise him. She wept silently as the man hobbled onward.

“Many people have already died in defense of our creed,” Avann oc Gyre said, lowering his head once more and closing his eyes. He seemed to shrink as he hunched forward in his saddle. “If you give us half a day—if it has been so written in the Last God’s book—you and your hundred will be remembered. When