The War God's Own

him physical violence, after all-but his blood boiled and his teeth grated as he forced himself to swallow the insult of their low-born hilarity.

He made it to the schooner's deck in one piece and managed to hide his relief as he felt relatively stable footing underfoot once more. He took another moment to settle himself and be sure he had control of his temper, then turned to the halfling he assumed was the ship's master. It was unfortunate that the halfling in question was standing right beside the two hradani, for their proximity made it difficult for Vaijon to ignore them, but he managed.

'Excuse me for intruding,' he told the presumed captain, 'but I was told to meet a passenger on your vessel.'

'You were, were you?' The halfling's gruff, accented Axeman sounded harsh and uncouth beside Vaijon's polished, aristocratic enunciation, and his short ivory horns gleamed against his chestnut hair as he folded his arms and tilted his head back to gaze up at the young knight. 'And who might you be?'

Vaijon blinked, unaccustomed to so direct and challenging a query. He started to reply with the hauteur such impertinence deserved, but he stopped himself in time. The Order of Tomanak taught respect for even the most humble, and those of gentle blood bore a special responsibility to avoid treading upon those who didn't realize they were being insolent.

'I am Sir Vaijon of Almerhas, son of Truehelm of Almerhas, Knight-Probationer of the Order of Tomanak and Baron of Halla,' he said, infusing all the dignity of his ancestry into his tenor voice. 'And you are, sir?'

'Nothing so special as all that,' the halfling replied, then snorted. 'Evark of Marfang, master of this ship,' he said brusquely.

'I am honored to make your acquaintance, Captain,' Vaijon said with a gracious bow.

'Charmed myself, I'm sure,' Evark said dryly as Vaijon straightened. 'Now, what were you saying brings you aboard Wind Dancer?'

The knight drew himself to his full height once more and rested one hand regally on the hilt of his sword.

'I've come on the business of the Order of Tomanak ,' he said. 'I was sent to meet one of your passengers.'

'And which one would that be?'

'I wasn't given his name, Captain. I was simply told that you would have a champion of the Order on board and instructed to guide him to our chapter house.'

'Oh! It's a champion of Tomanak you're looking for, is it?' Vaijon nodded, raising his eyebrows encouragingly as the halfling finally grasped the reason for his presence. 'Well, why didn't you say so?' Evark went on. 'That's him there,' he explained, and waved at the bigger of the two barbarians standing beside him. 'The tall one,' he added helpfully.

Vaijon felt his jaw drop, and then bright spots of anger blazed on his frozen cheeks. Blue eyes flashed dangerously as the halfling mocked him, and the bystanders' howls of laughter only made it worse. His gloved hand clenched on the hilt of his sword, and he took a half step forward, opening his mouth to lash out angrily. But before he got the first word said, another voice spoke.

'Gently, my lad,' it rumbled, and Vaijon paused. It was deeper and more powerful than any voice he'd ever before heard, and amusement flickered in its depths. Amusement at him, he realized with a raw burst of fury, and spun towards its owner.

Vaijon of Almerhas was accustomed to looking even the tallest human in the eye, but he felt the strain in the back of his neck as he glared up at the hradani. He expected to see a mocking expression, but the brown eyes that met his were almost gentle-twinkling with amusement, yes, but oddly sympathetic. Which only made it worse, of course. Bad enough to be mocked by a halfling without having some unwashed barbarian sympathize with him for being made the butt of someone else's bad joke!

'I beg your pardon?' he got out through gritted teeth. 'Were you addressing me?'

'Aye, I do believe I was,' the hradani agreed in that rustically-accented subterranean bass.

'When I require your advice, sir, I will inform you!' Vaijon said with freezing hauteur.

'No doubt,' the hradani replied easily. 'But the problem with that, I'm thinking, is that most often by the time a man's realized he's after needing advice, he's past the time when it might have been doing him some good.' Vaijon's teeth ground audibly, but the hradani went on calmly.

'Take this very moment, for example,' he suggested. 'There you stand, thinking as how Evark here is after making light of you, when he's done naught at all, at all, but answer your questions. It's best you be thinking over the answers before you've the doing of something you'll not be so happy about after.'

Vaijon's nostrils flared and white-hot fury pulsed in his veins. Yet much as he hated admitting it, the hradani had a point. No doubt he thought it was amusing to mock a knight of the Order, but his very mockery had reminded Vaijon of who and what he was. He had a responsibility to protect the Order's honor from public insult and ridicule, but much as he longed to punish Evark's insolent excuse for a sense of humor, thrashing someone as much smaller than he as a halfling, however badly he deserved it, was hardly the act of a true knight.

'I shall take your advice under consideration,' he told the hradani after two or three incandescent seconds, but his eyes were back on the halfling. 'In the meantime, however, I would advise you to direct me to the person I'm here to meet!' he said coldly.

The halfling only shook his head with a curious mixture of amusement, derision, and sympathy, then looked up at the hradani.

'I've my ship to look after,' he said, 'and this un's one of Scale-Balancer's lot, gods help us all. You deal with it.' Then he turned and stalked off, leaving a stupefied Vaijon staring at his back.

'I- How dare- Come back here!' he spluttered, and started to charge off in pursuit. But a huge hand closed on his mailed shoulder, stopping him, and he felt himself being turned as easily as if he were a child.

He found himself staring up at the hradani once more and reached for the hand which gripped him. That hand's wrist was as broad as his own biceps, and a strange little shiver of disbelief went through him as he realized how powerful it truly was, but his eyes flamed.

'Gently, now!' the hradani said, and his voice was sharper than before, edged with command. 'I told you to be thinking over Evark's answers, Sir Vaijon of Almerhas, and you should have done it.'

'What d'you-?' Vaijon began, and the hradani shook his head.

'I'm thinking I've begun to see why himself wasn't after warning you, my lad,' he said. 'You've a way of going at things without thinking at all, at all, don't you just?' Vaijon opened his mouth again, but the hradani gave him a gentle shake.

'Stop now, and take it slow,' he advised. 'I've no doubt the notion comes as a shock, but old Evark told you true, you see.'

'Told me-?' Vaijon froze, and the hradani nodded.

'Aye,' he said almost compassionately. 'It's sorry I am to be telling you this, Vaijon of Almerhas, but my name is Bahzell, son of Bahnak, Lord of Clan Iron Axe of the Horse Stealer hradani and Prince of Hurgrum, and it's me you're after meeting.'

'Y-you're a-a cham-?' Vaijon couldn't force the words out of his mouth as he stared in horrified disbelief, all color draining out of his face, and the enormous hradani nodded gently.

Chapter Two

It couldn't be true. Vaijon knew it couldn't, yet something in the hradani's eyes, something in the timbre of his voice, whispered otherwise. But that had to be Vaijon's imagination. Tomanak had no hradani champions. The very idea was… was… It was blasphemous, that was what it was!

He started to stay so, then stopped and fought to think his way through the impossibility. As a knight of the Order, he was honor bound to challenge any who falsely claimed membership in it, and the thought of matching