The Weaver's Lament by Elizabeth Haydon Page B

beneath a clear, unornamented glass dome on an ornate silver stand at the room’s center.
    The diadem was constructed of countless tiny star-shaped diamonds, with eight similarly shaped larger stones forming the center ring of the crown. They glimmered in the sunlight that rained down in heavy sheets from the opening overhead. When Rhapsody approached it, the stones began to glow even more brightly and took on an iridescence that made them seem as if they were made of colored air.
    â€œThe fragments that make up the crown were once the Purity Diamond, a stone the size of a man’s fist that shone with the light of the stars,” Rhapsody said softly, repeating words that had been spoken to her by her mentor in the sword, Oelendra Andaris, a thousand years before. “It was brought by the Lirin of the First Fleet on a ship that was part of the exodus from the Island of Serendair, prior to the Island’s destruction in volcanic fire from the star that had fallen, many millennia before, into the sea. That star was known as the Sleeping Child.”
    The young women, both aware of the history, nodded but listened in silence.
    â€œThe Purity Diamond was given as a sign of friendship to the Lirin tribe Gorllewinolo, the first indigenous people that the Cymrians had ever met in this land. ‘Tomingorllo’ means ‘tower of the Gorllewin,’ the people of the west. When Anwyn destroyed it as part of an agreement with a F’dor spirit to kill her hated husband Gwylliam during the Cymrian War, the diamond lost the light that it had once radiated. Queen Terrell, who had commanded that the diamond shards be carefully crafted into the crown, decreed that anyone who could restore the light of the stars to the crown would be recognized as the ruler of both the Cymrians and the Lirin, who would live as a united people. Until that time, however, they would remain separate, following their own monarch.”
    â€œIt was Hamimen that restored that light,” Cara said with quiet pride.
    â€œNo, it was Daystar Clarion,” Rhapsody corrected.
    â€œIn your hand,” noted Evannii.
    â€œAye. But soon there may be other hands to carry the sword, perhaps even those of your father, Cara,” Rhapsody said. “We shall see. Now, if you are ready, we can discuss what you have asked of me.”
    Both women looked at each other and exhaled.
    The Lady Cymrian and Lirin queen turned to the case and lifted the dome carefully.
    The ethereal diamonds glowed even brighter and began to whirl; then, as if caught by the wind, they floated out of the case and came to rest in a circle above her head like a halo of stars.
    â€œI’ve always loved watching that,” Cara whispered to her spouse.
    Rhapsody closed the case and gestured to the two women to follow her to the throne.
    They crossed the open metal grates in the floor that had been fashioned in the shape of eight-pointed stars, through which the air atop the hill could be felt, leaving the room fresh and clear. Rhapsody mounted the steps, turned around, and sat on the throne’s hard seat.
    â€œTradition,” she grumbled jokingly. “If I had known at the time of my coronation that I would be sitting on this thing for a thousand years, I would have gotten a pillow for it.”
    The women laughed.
    â€œAll right,” the Lirin queen said briskly, “let us invite the wisdom that you seek. At your request of a year ago, I have undertaken to study and master the ancient lore of the summoning of a child, something that is rare in history, and has produced very few progeny. I have, however, seen one such summoned child in my life, and she is a beautiful creation, deeply magical.
    â€œThere always should be caution in such an undertaking, because anything that deviates from the natural path always contains a risk,” she continued as Cara and Evannii looked at each other. “But the history records no negative outcomes from the