Chapter 1 : Spring's End
"Class, please write your name and the date on the top of the exam, you may begin when ready," Solyma said primly, finishing writing the date on the chalkboard at the front of the class. She turned and surveyed the lecture hall, watching as the hundred or so heads bent over their final exam of the season.
It was finally Firsday and the weekend lay open like an inviting lake in summer. Only three days until the beginning of summer and the Festival of Liaya. Solyma grinned as she sat down behind the single table in the lecture hall and leaned back to put her feet on it, ignoring the fact that her dress slid down her calfs almost to her knees. She loved the Festival. Every time she had been in Corannon for it, she had had a wonderful time and this year looked to be no different. She was still riding high on the relative success of her trip to Merglise, complete with a small commendation by the king and a bump in pay from the College. Life was very good, although the prospect of grading more than a hundred written exams on the fundamentals of elementary magic didn't sound like an appealing way to spend the weekend.
Solyma shrugged as she picked up a book just checked out from the College's library. It wouldn't take too long and she could do it outside in the gardens. Hmm, maybe have Hector pack a lunch and make an afternoon of it. In any case, it wouldn't take too long, she thought as she opened the book.
It was one of the restricted tomes that only faculty were allowed to see. Most of the others were spellbooks of some power or knowledge that couldn't be allowed in the hands of students. This one was a spellbook, of sorts anyway.
The Book of Liaya had been written by one of her priests or priestesses shortly after the Treaty of Isider and the Unification. The priest or priestess had apparently wanted to record his or her legacy of a lifetime of service to the goddess of love and life. Not much really, a lot of recipes for aphrodisiacal foods and some ointments and unguents to help both sexes if they had some specific sex related problems. Nothing that hadn't been written in dozens of other books over the years since books became common enough to warrant a market in them.
But the Book of Liaya had one thing which set it apart from all those other books sold in shops with severely plain storefronts and carried out in plain paper bags. It was one of the few books with diagrams of working magical weaves. Solyma had checked it out for the Sexuality and Magic class she was teaching in the autumn, but from the looks of things she couldn't really use it. The weaves were extremely complicated and powerful. There were a few lesser ones which could accentuate the carnal pleasures of life, but so little that it was hardly worth the effort.
No, it was the one weave tucked away towards the back of the book that made Solyma reluctant to use the Book of Liaya. The weave, if spun correctly, could create a pleasure in someone as intense as any drug or herb. It was far to dangerous to risk some enterprising student casting it and falling into a magically induced pleasure state, channeling more and more magic through themselves and into the weave until they died of pleasure. No, far too dangerous, she thought as she scribbled down some of the other weaves and recipes on a notepad.
Solyma folded the piece of paper and tucked it in her pocket as she closed the book and placed it on the table, idly looking around the lecture hall at the students. They were all studiously writing their exams, looking back and forth from the exam paper to their answer sheet. Solyma leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand as she watched a certain blonde haired elf girl.
Penelope, Solyma sighed inwardly. The initial lust and love that she had felt for the elf princess had cooled into something different, a longing that never faded completely from her mind although she could at least ignore it for the most part. Somehow though, it was worse than that first red hot lust. Solyma leaned back again and idly began to imagine what it would be like to finally get the elf girl to go to bed with her, something which she had been doing more and more lately.
Before she had met the elf girl she would have eagerly attempted to seduce anyone or anything that she wanted. Something had changed, something Solyma couldn't quite define. Maybe it was seeing Kerrith and Selene in love or that poor elf girl Ismene sobbing her eyes out over the corpse of the Lord of Merglise. Sure, she could go out and pick up any bar maid or city guard that caught her eye. Not that she had done so in at least three months, she thought darkly. But she couldn't do that with Penelope, as much as she wanted to.
Solyma blinked and straightened up when she realized that the class was looking at her. Had she been talking out loud? No, she realized when she glanced at the grandfather clock by the door, time was up for the exam.
"Alright class, turn in your exams here," she said, patting the front of the table. "I hope you have a pleasant summer." Letting school out for the summer was an old tradition from the early years of the kingdom when even student mages would be needed back home to help get in the harvest. Now, with those new harvesting and threshing machines that the Knights of the Tome had invented even very little labor was needed on the farm as long as you had some good horses.
"Penelope, Selene, and, um, Edgar," Solyma said. "Stay after, will you?"
Penelope looked calm and happy, as usual. Selene looked nervous, as she usually was around Solyma, and Edgar was scribbling something down in the pad of paper he habitually carried around. "You three have been my best students this year- Edgar? What are you doing?" Solyma asked.
"Sorry, Professor van Dolceis," he said as he put away his notepad. "I think I just found a better way to-"
"Yes, yes, that's fine," Solyma said.
Edgar was only about sixteen and he tended to get carried away when talking about his newest project. Sometimes she wondered if he should be at the College at all instead of at the headquarters of the Knights of the Tome. But they didn't accept anyone as young as him and the College did have a very good engineering department. "Well, you three have been the three top students in the class and I thought I'd treat you to a nice night on the town."
Solyma sighed as Selene paled and swallowed nervously. She had once surprised the young woman in the College's baths and Selene had nearly broken her leg trying to get her towel around her while climbing out of the bath. "Bring Kerrith, why don't you?" Solyma said and saw Selene breathe a sigh of relief. "That goes for any of you, bring a friend if you like." Solyma watched as they left the classroom, Selene running off to meet Kerrith and Edgar hunched over his drawings. "Penelope?" she called out before the elf could leave. "Will you be bringing anyone?"
"Oh, no, Professor van Dolceis," Penelope said with a small smile.
"Really? How about Mathieu?" Solyma was surprised to see a look of faint anger cross the usually cheerful elf's face.
"I'm not seeing him," Penelope said. "You were right about him, he did try to get my clothes off. Laros broke his arm in two places."
Solyma could barely say goodbye as Penelope walked out of the classroom. She had been exaggerating wildly when she had told Penelope what to expect on a dinner date with the son of Duke Adelard Quiton. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Solyma thought with a shrug.
"Now, I promised you that I'd have a treat for you today since it's the last day of classes," Professor De Thien said. "So, since we're finishing up with the history of the Knights of the Shield, I'd like to introduce Sir Kerrith Archotos."
Kerrith smiled as best he could and gave a small nod to the fifteen or so students sitting in the classroom. He had drawn the short straw when Professor De Thien had come around to the barracks asking for someone to give a lecture on the history of the Knights. Kerrith had hoped that Jaric would have been back from his patrol of the city by now, the Knight was so earnest and sincere that he always was popular with the students. It didn't hurt that he was also generally considered to be the most handsome Knight by the women of Corannon.
"I-uh, er," Kerrith said as he took the podium and looked down at the jumbled and crumpled mess of cards that he had written the night before. What he wouldn't give to be out of here with Selene. She was staying in Corannon for the summer and he had some leave coming up, maybe he'd finally ask her to-
"Sir Archotos?" Professor De Thien said and interrupted Kerrith's train of thought.
"Oh, yes. The Knights of the Shield were founded roughly three-hundred and sixty years ago by a group of warriors who were the followers of Erys Ivraim." Kerrith coughed and looked around the intent faces of the students. "So, Erys was the wife of farmer. In 190 B.U., she saw her family killed by the Dathuz and vowed revenge," Kerrith said, trying hard to remember all of the old legend. "In the ensuing war against the Dathuz she became the finest warrior the kingdom had ever known. At the battle of Armis Pass she," he coughed again and gratefully took a glass of water from Professor De Thien. "Stood alone against Tarakash's army and held the pass long enough for the allied armies to reorganize arrive and take their positions. Mortally wounded, she killed and was killed by Tarakash, throwing his troops into confusion and allowing the allied forces to scatter and defeat the numerically superior Dathuz forces."
Kerrith went on to detail the construction of Erysia Castle in Armis Pass and the beginning of the Knights of the Shield. He had gotten as far as the series of wars with the remaining Dathuz that had cemented the Knight of the Shields' role as the elite protectors of the kingdom of Krisephyr when the clock struck the hour and class was dismissed.
"You get all the plum assignments, Kerrith," Jaric said as he walked into the classroom after the last of the students had left. If it had been anyone else, Kerrith would have thought that he was being sarcastic, but Jaric was as honest as usual. Kerrith had no doubt that he actually thought giving a lecture to a class of students who's only desire was to get out of school was something to be envied.
"I have all the luck," Kerrith said dryly as he dropped the cards into the bin by the door. A representative from the Guild of Paperers would be by later to collect all the scraps for reuse or recycling into new paper. Normally Kerrith didn't have much use for the guilds, as a Knight he rarely had contact with them outside of normal everyday business, but he did love the benefits that having skilled artisans and craftsmen brought. His father had told him stories of the days before Corannon had a developed glass industry. Kerrith still couldn't quite imagine living without glass in the windows and all its other uses. Now the glass blowers worked almost day and night to churn out sheets that would be cut into windows or spectacles or whatever else people could use glass for.
"Kerrith?" Jaric said again, bringing the older Knight out of his reverie. "You said you wanted me to meet you here."
"Yes, I actually was going to let you give the lecture- no, don't thank me," Kerrith said as Jaric beamed in thanks. "But since you couldn't, would you care to join Selene and I for dinner?"
"I'd love to," Jaric said as they walked down the now quiet hallways of the College. "But are you sure you wouldn't rather be alone with her?"
"I don't think we'd be alone, she mentioned that she wanted to bring a friend of hers to dinner. An elf, I think."
"Really? That must be Princess Taladron, she's the only elf enrolled at the College."
Kerrith was prevented from answering as a dark haired shape crashed into him and kissed him fiercely. "I've been looking all over for you," Selene said when they finally parted.
"I'm happy to see you too," Kerrith said as he started to kiss her again. He reluctantly stopped as Jaric coughed and cleared his throat several times. "Selene, I'd like to introduce a friend of mine. He's a Knight as well. Selene, Jaric D'Allovet, Jaric, Selene Arrowsmith."
"Is he coming to dinner? I only hope that will be alright with the professor."
"If it's any trouble, I-" Jaric started.
"She's coming to dinner?" Kerrith said, a little more sharply than he intended. He had never really liked the mage, she was too dishonest for his taste. "Why?"
"She's taking her top three students out to dinner," Selene said with a proud smile. "She said we could bring a guest, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we brought Jaric." In a low whisper she added, "I think she'd really like it if we brought Jaric, she's seemed lonely."
"Well, Jaric," Kerrith said. "Would you care to join us?"
Tancred was idly polishing his dark spectacles as Solyma graded papers in her office. He was sitting in front of her desk and kept putting his feet up even though she'd push them off again almost immediately.
"Come on, Solyma," he said in an almost whine, "we haven't done anything fun in ages!"
"I've got obligations, Tancred," Solyma said without looking up from the exam she was checking. "You can go ahead to the docks without me. I'm going to have dinner at Natharisus."
"Oh come on, a restaurant?" he said as he sat up and put on his glasses. "Remember what we were like before we got "civilized'? We'd stay up for days, weeks at a time! Remember that harem we snuck into? Wasn't that fun?"
Solyma looked up with a faint smile and brushed a lock of her coppery hair out of her face. "That was fun," she said softly. "What was the name of that girl, she could do that thing with her toes?"
"Rehcue," Tancred said. "She was inventive, wasn't she?" He stood and leaned on Solyma's desk. "Why don't we go do something like that again for the Festival? We can sneak into the palace and seduce the harem."
"The palace doesn't have a harem," Solyma said as she returned to grading the exams. "Hasn't had one since the unification."
"Damn," Tancred said as he sat back down heavily. He suddenly felt old, very old. He had been around for more than four hundred years, long enough to remember the unification of the scattered towns and villages into the kingdom of Krisephyr. Old enough to remember the wars that had plagued the continent and old enough to remember the celebration when the Treaty of Isider had been signed and ended the wars. "One hundred and seventy-one years," he said to himself. "Dirkran's bloody nails, has it been that long?"
"Yes," Solyma said. "Do you ever think about settling down? Maybe finding another vampire to share your time with?"
"I-I don't think about anything like that," Tancred said. There weren't as many vampires around these days, not like in the old days when they had formed extensive alliances with each other. Most had just gone away, disappearing into the night, never to be seen again. There was the occasional new vampire created, but not many. "Do you? Ever think about settling down?"
Solyma's face darkened as she looked back up at him. She looked angry for a second and then she just looked tired and sad. "Yes. I thought I'd always love adventuring and travel enough to keep going, but now all I seem to care about is a hot bath and soft bed," she said quietly. "Ahh, enough of this depressing talk, come with me to dinner. You can impress Selene and Penelope and we can all get something good to eat. Afterwards, maybe we'll head down to the docks and see if we can pick up some barmaids. Deal?"
That sounded like the Solyma Tancred knew. "Deal," he said.
Ismene Isalisos stepped off the gangplank and wrapped her cloak tightly around her. She hadn't been scheduled to go home for another two weeks when the birthday celebration for Princess Taladron would be held, but she couldn't stay in Merglise any longer. It had broken her heart to leave the children with their uncle and aunt, but she had to leave or she would have joined Arcin.
She shivered as she looked around the busy docks of Corannon. She easily had enough money saved to get a room for the next two weeks. She could manage to do some shopping and still have enough left over to buy a nice dress for the celebration. A month ago that would have sounded like a wonderful way to spend two weeks. Now, now she just wanted to sleep.
"'Scuse me, honey," a sailor said as he brushed by her carrying a sack of apples. He gaped when Ismene drew a long dagger and glared at him until he ran off. Ismene looked around at the wondering faces of other travelers and sailors until they turned away.
"Talas and Taleh," Ismene whispered to herself as she put away her dagger, "what's become of me?"
The restaurant was located in one of the large four story buildings that surrounded the Great Library and were some of the most valuable real estate in the city. It wasn't so much because of the imposing presence of the hundred foot bulk of the library, but was because of the superb view the buildings commanded. From the rooftop tables of the restaurant, Solyma could see clear across the city, from the main gate to the east, to the docks to the south, to the palace in the west. She also had a wonderful view of the sun as it sank into the waters of the Sea of Dreams off the coast of Krisephyr. Fitting considering the name of the restaurant, Natharisus, sunset in old Alathanian.
The city of Corannon was built on a large peninsula that curved to form part of the coast of the Bay of Corannon. The palace, Library, and College were all built on a rise of land that filled the westernmost part of the peninsula. The rise started near the center of the city and rose shallowly until it reached the Library square where the restaurant was located. From then on it flattened out until it dropped away in cliffs at the very tip of the peninsula.
"This must be costing a fortune, Solyma," Tancred said as he pushed his dark spectacles up his nose and leaned back in his chair. "I mean, I don't come here more than once a year, and I'm rich compared to you."
Solyma shrugged. She still had a tidy sum put away from her adventures before she had accidentally summoned the Corthronos. She had been saving it to buy or build her own tower, but had since decided to just spend it. After all, mages in the city didn't have towers, they had town houses which were much nicer to live in and much cheaper to own. "I may as well treat everyone, it's not like the money's doing any good in the bank," she said as she took a sip of her fruit juice.
"Except earning interest," Tancred said. He personally didn't like the idea of letting someone else take care of his money, especially when he had learned that the bank didn't actually have all his money on the premises. They loaned it out or something to make money off the interest they collected on the loans. He had considered letting them keep his account open, but the old and very paranoid part of his vampire soul had rebelled against the idea of keeping money anywhere that wasn't within reach of his bed.
"You should talk, I've heard stories about you and banks from the Chancellor," Tancred snarled in mock anger and stood.
"I'm going to get a drink, want anything?" he asked.
"No thanks, I'm fine," Solyma said as she turned her gaze back to the sunset.
Jaric stopped as he walked onto the rooftop, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. Kerrith and Selene had stopped to see to the coach while he had gone ahead to find their table. All thoughts of his errand flew from his head when he saw the enthrallingly beautiful woman sitting alone at the best table in the house. She was looking at the sunset with a calm and slightly wistful expression on her face.
Jaric blushed when Kerrith and Selene walked up next to him. "What's wrong? Isn't there a table for us?" Kerrith asked.
"No, no, I didn't look for it yet. By all the gods, isn't she beautiful?" Jaric said, only half-hearing Kerrith.
"Who?" asked Selene as she looked curiously around the roof. She liked Jaric, he always seemed lonely although he hid it with his steadfast devotion to the Knighthood. It was about time that he found someone, she thought and then she realized that he was looking at Solyma.
"Jaric," she began, "I don't think she's really your-" Her voice trailed off as she realized that Jaric wasn't paying any attention to her. All his attention was focused on Solyma.
"By the gods, Kerrith," Jaric said as he stared at Solyma. "Who is she? She is the most enchanting woman I've ever seen!"
"Who, Solyma?" Kerrith asked incredulously with a glance over at his friend.
"Is that her name? It is as beautiful as she is," Jaric sighed. "She must be a high born lady, isn't she? A daughter of a king."
"She is a Lady, Lady van Dolceis, I think," Kerrith said. He was somewhat puzzled, Solyma was good looking, yes, but to inspire such admiration from Jaric...To be honest with himself, he had always thought her to be a bit of a...wanton.
"Lady Solyma van Dolceis," Jaric said softly. "Is she married? She must be, or engaged to some prince."
"Not to the best of my knowledge," Kerrith said.
"Amazing, you're sure of this?"
"Yes. She does spend time with Sir Guiscard."
"The vampire? She must be trying to save him from his debauched ways, such a brave soul." Jaric sighed again and stared off into space, imagining the way the sunlight shone off the woven copper strands of her hair, imagining her spellbinding face, with its emerald green eyes and lovely full lips that inspired quite impure thoughts in him.
Kerrith shrugged in response. Tancred hadn't seemed especially debauched to him. Lazy, yes, at least when he could get away with it. But debauched? Kerrith couldn't remember him so much as touching a bar maid when they had been waiting in Merglise for a mage from the College to arrive.
"Ah, so beautiful," Jaric murmured. He sighed loudly. "How could anyone like me ever meet someone like her?"
"For one thing, you might sit down. We're having dinner with her," Selene said.
"How do I look?" asked Penelope. Laros shrugged his shoulders in reply and continued to watch the crowd outside the carriage. "You didn't even look at me!" Penelope said in dismay.
"Princess, you always manage to look more beautiful than the day before," Laros said, his eyes still flicking over the people walking outside the carriage. He had been especially careful to stay near the princess after the incident with the incubus. His lack of caution and decision to give her space had nearly gotten her killed. In the past months his close attention to her had paid off, allowing him to intervene when the despicable human noble tried to have his way with her. The damage he had done to the human had almost caused a minor international incident, but it had soon been smoothed over by the boy's father, a high ranking duke, and the ambassador from Taladros.
"I'm glad that you're having dinner with us, Laros," Penelope said to her bodyguard.
Laros shifted uncomfortably. He was unused to eating at a table, usually he just grabbed whatever he could and ate as he stood guard over Penelope. Still, the spells that were woven into his body would allow him to detect any threat even if he was sitting down.
"Yes, my lady," he said as the carriage pulled up outside the restaurant.
"I'm sure you'll like them," Penelope said as the door was opened by a footman and Laros stepped out. His lean form was tall for an elf, standing easily a head taller than Penelope. Though he was slight of build as were most elves, he was as strong as any human and faster than most elves. More than a century of training and magic had resulted in him, quite possibly the finest bodyguard on Alderest.
Solyma looked up and waved as Selene, Kerrith, and another Knight walked over to the table. Solyma's eyes flicked over the Knight once then jerked back to him when she registered what she had seen. He was very attractive with the most incredible brown eyes she had ever seen. Having the superb body of a Knight also didn't hurt.
She said a quick greeting to the others as they sat down before turning her attention to the Knight. He seemed a bit shy, surprising considering how good looking he was. She would have assumed that he was a ladies man but so far he had barely managed to make eye contact with her.
"Hello," she said, finally catching his eyes, "I'm, ah..." Solyma thought furiously, trying to figure out which of her titles to use.
"Professor van Dolceis," Tancred said as he sat down. Solyma glared at him and he glared back, making a face before picking up his menu and taking a sip from his drink.
"It's an honor to meet you, Professor van Dolceis," Jaric said. "I am Jaric D'Allovet, Knight of the Shield."
"It's a pleasure," Solyma said, drawing out the last word and extending her hand to him. He blinked rapidly and then managed to kiss her hand. Solyma barely managed to hide the shudder of pleasure that his lips sent through her. "You certainly are a fine specimen of knighthood."
Jaric coughed and sat up a bit straighter. "Oh, thank you, Professor van Dolceis," he said, again avoiding her eyes and looking out towards the bay.
"Please, call me Solyma," Solyma said, ramming her elbow into Tancred's side under the table. He smirked and pretended to be absorbed in his menu.
"Hello!" called out Penelope as she skipped up the stairs onto the roof. Laros was close behind her, ready to move at any sign of danger. The people seated around the table called out greetings and waved as she and Laros sat down.
"That's almost everyone," Solyma said. "We're only missing Edgar."
"He's downstairs," Tancred said as he finished off his drink and waved his empty glass at a waiter. "I think he was sketching the masonry."
"Will you be a dear and fetch him?"
Tancred grunted and nodded, mumbling to himself about inadequate service as he walked towards the stairs. Solyma turned her attention back to Jaric. He seemed increasingly nervous, seated as he was with Penelope on one side and Solyma at the head of the table on the other. She was about to strike up the conversation when Tancred arrived with Edgar and a waiter in tow. As she bent her head to study the menu, she could see him glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. In between deciding between the Pasta Alathan or the Steak Socratan, she smiled as she enjoyed being the subject of someone's admiring gazes.
"So, how long have you been a Knight?" Solyma asked Jaric over the remains of her steak Socratan. Everyone else had already finished and ordered dessert, not something that ordinarily happened, usually Solyma would have been one of the first to finish. This time, however, Jaric had proven enough of a distraction to slow even her voracious eating habits. He toyed nervously with the bowl of fruit he had ordered and coughed.
"Seven years now, my lady," he said. He avoided her eyes as she sucked the last slice of mushroom off her fork and licked a stray bit of sauce from her lips. Jaric looked out past her towards the ocean, watching the lighthouse perched on the tip of the peninsula and trying not to imagine what it would feel like to kiss those lips...
"Seven years? My, how dedicated of you," Solyma said. Around the table it seemed everyone had finished with their dessert. Dinner had been surprisingly pleasant although Tancred had been somewhat curt with Jaric and Laros had been eying Tancred warily the entire time. "I suppose it's getting late, I imagine the young ones want to be off to celebrate the end of the school term."
Solyma raised an eyebrow when she saw Kerrith gasp and jerk in his seat, flushing deeply. Across the table from him, Selene was watching him coolly with her chin resting on her hands. She smirked and Kerrith kicked back his chair and jumped to his feet.
"I'm sorry, I really should be going," he said hurriedly. "There's so much to do tomorrow, preparing for the festival and all." Solyma smiled as he extended his arm to Selene. "Would you care to allow me to escort you home?" he asked her.
"I'd be delighted," Selene said as she stood. "Thank you so much for dinner, Solyma. It was wonderful."
"You earned it," Solyma said as she nodded. "Keep up the good work, I guess I'll see you in the fall."
"I'll actually be here for the summer, I'm doing a special tutorial with Professor Icarii," Selene called out as she hustled Kerrith off the roof and down the stairs.
"Uck, why would she want to study with him?" Penelope asked.
"He's the necromancer, isn't he?" Tancred said. "Didn't he pick up the books that Lord Volchim had in his library?"
"I think so," Solyma said as she stood. "Still, he is a good mage. Selene could learn a lot from him."
There was a round of thanks and farewells as Penelope, Laros, and Edgar headed off to their respective homes, leaving only Solyma, Tancred, and Jaric. "My lord, would you care to escort me home?" Solyma asked.
"Why certainly-" Tancred began before he realized she was addressing Jaric.
"I'd be honored," Jaric said with a bow.
"Solyma, weren't we going to head down to the docks-" Tancred said, stopping when he saw the dark look on Jaric's face.
"Do not think that you can freely attempt to corrupt so innocent a-" Jaric began.
"I'll talk to you later," Solyma said to Tancred, making frantic cutting gestures with her hand from behind Jaric.
"Yeah, sure," Tancred said glumly as he looked around the rooftop patio. They had been the last patrons and the waiters were stacking chairs and sweeping as they closed up. It didn't surprise him to see that Solyma had left him the check.
Continued in Chapter 2
The World of Alderest - V - Festival - Chapter 1
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