conquering Rethven.”
“Are you doubting the King?” Torvil demanded.
“Never. I saw something coming today, but I didn’t think it’d be like this. I just expected to be, I dunno, bigger. Inside. Or something,” Kammen finished, lamely. Seldar nodded.
“I know just what you mean. I am very glad to be knighted, but I do not yet feel like one. Does that make sense?”
“I think so,” Torvil said. “When do we start to be really knights? After our first battle?”
“You already started,” I told them. “Now, what do you think you still need to be a good knight? Kammen?”
“I’m good with a sword and shield, I think, but pretty shaky with a lance. I can use a bow. I hate maces and flails, ’cept from horseback, so I ain’t so good with ’em, either. I just don’t see how I can be a knight. I mean, yes, because you say, but maybe you see something I don’t, and I’d like to see it, too, if I can.”
I nodded, thoughtfully, and almost said what I was thinking. Nobody is ever going to live up to the example of Galahad, probably not even Lancelot. Which was fair, I suppose; I was certainly no Arthur.
“There is a difference,” I said, slowly, still thinking of what it meant—or what it should mean—to be a knight, “between being a knight and being worthy of it. I believe you are worthy of it. It is up to you to justify my faith in you.”
“How long’ll that take?” he asked.
“The rest of your life. Someday, when you’re dying, you’ll have an instant to look at your life and see if you did the best you could. Only then will you know if you were worthy.”
The three looked at each other. I could almost see thoughts flicker between them.
“Lord?” Torvil asked.
“Yes?”
“When do we start?”
“I guess that depends. You guys came here for a purpose, right?” They nodded. “Are you done?”
“We’re done when we get back,” Torvil said. “We have to make the journey, make sacrifice, stand vigil over our swords all night, endure any tests or trials or visions, and make it back, all without going mad.”
“Or getting killed,” Seldar added.
“I imagine that would be an unsatisfactory ending to your quest,” I noted. “Vigil ends at dawn, I’m guessing?”
“Yes.” Three-way stereo. It’s eerie how they do that. It looks as though I’ll have to get used to it.
“Then you pack up and head back to Mochara?”
“Yes.”
I fiddled with the four lengths of chain still attached to the horsecollar. I bent some links open, carefully, and hooked others together to make two equal chains.
“First, you finish what you started. As a general rule, that’s a good one. Sometimes you have to learn to walk away from things—there’s a thin line between determined and stubborn—but in just in general. What happens after you finish your quest?”
“We are knighted,” Seldar said, “in the normal course of events. Since that has already occurred, we will be presented before the orders of knighthood that our fathers deem fitting.” Torvil and Kammen glanced at each other.
“Um,” Kammen said.
“Yes?”
“What do we name our swords?” he asked.
“Whatever you like,” I told him. “They’re yours.”
“But you gave ’em to us. Well, sorta.”
“And I’m also giving you the right to name them,” I said, smoothly. “Use them. Get a feel for them. Then decide on names for them. Fair?”
“Very much so, Your Majesty,” Kammen agreed. Torvil cleared his throat and I nodded to him.
“Which Order do we belong in?” Torvil asked.
“Which Order do you think you belong in?” I replied.
“Shadow,” the three of them said, in unison.
“So be it. But I may change my mind. I need to know what’s been going on in my kingdom since the incident at the Edge of the World.”
“That will take some time, Your Majesty,” Torvil pointed out. “Rethven’s a big place, and we usually just get traders from along the coast.”
“Rethven isn’t my
“Are you doubting the King?” Torvil demanded.
“Never. I saw something coming today, but I didn’t think it’d be like this. I just expected to be, I dunno, bigger. Inside. Or something,” Kammen finished, lamely. Seldar nodded.
“I know just what you mean. I am very glad to be knighted, but I do not yet feel like one. Does that make sense?”
“I think so,” Torvil said. “When do we start to be really knights? After our first battle?”
“You already started,” I told them. “Now, what do you think you still need to be a good knight? Kammen?”
“I’m good with a sword and shield, I think, but pretty shaky with a lance. I can use a bow. I hate maces and flails, ’cept from horseback, so I ain’t so good with ’em, either. I just don’t see how I can be a knight. I mean, yes, because you say, but maybe you see something I don’t, and I’d like to see it, too, if I can.”
I nodded, thoughtfully, and almost said what I was thinking. Nobody is ever going to live up to the example of Galahad, probably not even Lancelot. Which was fair, I suppose; I was certainly no Arthur.
“There is a difference,” I said, slowly, still thinking of what it meant—or what it should mean—to be a knight, “between being a knight and being worthy of it. I believe you are worthy of it. It is up to you to justify my faith in you.”
“How long’ll that take?” he asked.
“The rest of your life. Someday, when you’re dying, you’ll have an instant to look at your life and see if you did the best you could. Only then will you know if you were worthy.”
The three looked at each other. I could almost see thoughts flicker between them.
“Lord?” Torvil asked.
“Yes?”
“When do we start?”
“I guess that depends. You guys came here for a purpose, right?” They nodded. “Are you done?”
“We’re done when we get back,” Torvil said. “We have to make the journey, make sacrifice, stand vigil over our swords all night, endure any tests or trials or visions, and make it back, all without going mad.”
“Or getting killed,” Seldar added.
“I imagine that would be an unsatisfactory ending to your quest,” I noted. “Vigil ends at dawn, I’m guessing?”
“Yes.” Three-way stereo. It’s eerie how they do that. It looks as though I’ll have to get used to it.
“Then you pack up and head back to Mochara?”
“Yes.”
I fiddled with the four lengths of chain still attached to the horsecollar. I bent some links open, carefully, and hooked others together to make two equal chains.
“First, you finish what you started. As a general rule, that’s a good one. Sometimes you have to learn to walk away from things—there’s a thin line between determined and stubborn—but in just in general. What happens after you finish your quest?”
“We are knighted,” Seldar said, “in the normal course of events. Since that has already occurred, we will be presented before the orders of knighthood that our fathers deem fitting.” Torvil and Kammen glanced at each other.
“Um,” Kammen said.
“Yes?”
“What do we name our swords?” he asked.
“Whatever you like,” I told him. “They’re yours.”
“But you gave ’em to us. Well, sorta.”
“And I’m also giving you the right to name them,” I said, smoothly. “Use them. Get a feel for them. Then decide on names for them. Fair?”
“Very much so, Your Majesty,” Kammen agreed. Torvil cleared his throat and I nodded to him.
“Which Order do we belong in?” Torvil asked.
“Which Order do you think you belong in?” I replied.
“Shadow,” the three of them said, in unison.
“So be it. But I may change my mind. I need to know what’s been going on in my kingdom since the incident at the Edge of the World.”
“That will take some time, Your Majesty,” Torvil pointed out. “Rethven’s a big place, and we usually just get traders from along the coast.”
“Rethven isn’t my
Similar Books
