Treasures of Fantasy - Margaret Weis [103]
Chloe clasped her hands together and said eagerly, “I am going to the Para Dix to watch you fight! And tonight I am going to the palace for the celebration given by the Empress! My father has said I could go. You and Keeper are to come, too! I am so excited. You are my first champion. Now, you must tell me how your training went. What position are you? The woman, the beautiful one with the red hair. What is her name? My father says she is also going to be on your team. He will dress her as an Ogressa. Do you know what that is? What is her position? Now, I’ll be quiet. Tell me everything.”
Skylan thought of Sigurd on his knees puking up his guts. Bjorn bashing headlong into a boulder. Grimuir always in the wrong place and Aki and Farinn backing into each other. He did not know what to say.
“I’m sorry. I ask too many questions,” said Chloe. “My father says I chatter like a magpie. What is your position?”
“I am a . . .” Skylan hesitated, stumbling over the unfamiliar word. “I am a thing called a pradus.”
Chloe clapped her hands again. “Pradus! Perfect! The most powerful piece on the board. And the most difficult to play. That’s the right position for you. And the woman . . .”
“Aylaen,” said Skylan.
“Aylaen is a loris, right? Of course! The piece of mystic power. My father told me she fights for the honor of her dragon goddess.”
Chloe asked another question and another and Skylan soon realized that she was truly knowledgeable about the game. She knew far more than he did, that was for certain, and she explained the reasoning behind the pieces and the movements that Keeper had not bothered to tell them.
After they had exhausted Para Dix strategy, Chloe asked Skylan about his home and his family, the Vindrasi people, and their dragons.
“My father told me he saw your dragon. I am so jealous of him I could spit,” said Chloe. “But since I will never see a dragon for myself, you must tell me about them.”
Skylan had always enjoyed an audience. He was a good storyteller, and Chloe was an appreciative and attentive listener. Telling stories about the Dragon Kahg made him recall his battle with the ogre godlord. He related to Chloe how the ogres had come to his village and told the Torgun their gods were dead. How the Torgun had tried to trick the ogres by roasting the boar he had slain, using the smoke as a signal fire to summon their clansmen. How the ogre godlord had arrived at the feast wearing the sacred Vektan torque and how the Dragon Kahg had come to fight in the battle and how Skylan had killed the godlord, only to have the ogre shaman put a magical curse on him and steal the torque from his hand.
Chloe listened in breathless excitement and sighed when the story came to an end.
“I wish our god was dead,” she said. “I like your gods better. Tell me more about Torval.”
Skylan told her about Torval, the god of battle, to whom every warrior dedicated himself. He told her about Torval’s Hall, where the heroes went after they died to spend eternity drinking and carousing and fighting each other if there was no one else to fight.
“Are there no women in Torval’s Hall?” Chloe asked.
“A woman who is wife to a hero meets him there when she dies,” said Skylan. “There is singing and dancing and the telling of tales. Warriors meet the heroes who have gone before us, such as the great Thorgunnd. We meet our friends there and our families.”
“Do you have friends there?”
“My best friend is in Torval’s Hall,” said Skylan. “His name is Garn. He died fighting giants on the Dragon Isles.”
“Fighting giants on the Dragon Isles!” Chloe drew in a soft breath. “How wonderful that sounds. I mean, not wonderful that he is dead. I am sorry for that.”
“You must not be sorry,” said Skylan. “Garn died a hero and he is with Torval. It is what all of us wants.”
“But you miss him?” said Chloe.
“I miss him,” said Skylan.
He stood up and began to roam around the room. He wasn’t used to sitting for so long and his muscles had stiffened.
“Would Torval mind if I prayed to him?” Chloe asked suddenly. “I know