A Decision of the Heart
“W ell,” Fergal said, “you hit the target.”
“Not her own, unfortunately,” Arms Master Gresia replied.
Karigan wanted to break her bow. Her arrow had veered off course again and hit Anna’s.
The other trainees once again approached.
They tended to scatter to a safe place when Karigan took aim.
Arms Master Gresia remained as unperturbed as usual.
It was almost harder than having Drent bark at her.
He’d given up on her for anything except sword and staff training, and hand-to-hand combat, and so she returned to training with her fellow Riders for most everything else.
“Don’t worry, Karigan,” Gresia said, “we’ll keep working on it. Having only the one eye skews your aim.”
Karigan, however, hadn’t been much good at archery, or knife throwing, or anything like that even before she had lost the use of her right eye.
“You got used to swordplay with one eye,” Gresia continued, “and it will be so with archery. We will find a way.”
Her determination was comforting, but perhaps her optimism was misplaced. Karigan had already been banned from training in mounted archery for the safety of the horses.
“We should...” Gresia trailed off and the other Riders started murmuring.
Karigan turned around to see what had caught their attention.
Six Eletians approached led by Telagioth, his cloak drifting behind him.
Enver brought up the rear. Their mere presence seemed to brighten the leaden light of the day.
Anna sighed happily beside her, caught in the enchantment the Eletians all but radiated. They were accompanied by Mara.
“My lords and ladies,” Gresia said with a bow, “you honor us with your presence. How may we be of service?”
“We heard that our Dama was training in archery,” Telagioth replied, “and we wished to observe.”
Karigan wilted inside. Eletians were the most phenomenal archers she’d ever witnessed and now they’d find out just what a fraud their Dama was.
“The king directed me to show our guests whatever they wished,” Mara said, “and this is what they wished.” She sent Karigan a hesitant look, for Karigan’s deficiencies with projectiles were well known.
“I am afraid there isn’t much to see,” Karigan said. Might as well have it said right up front, she thought. “I’m terrible at archery.”
“We would like to see,” Lhean said.
“Why don’t you all line up and demonstrate your training,” Gresia told the Riders.
Bless her, Karigan thought. She wouldn’t be singled out, although it would reveal how inferior her skills were compared to the other Riders.
The trainees took their positions, and at Arms Master Gresia’s word, loosed their arrows. Karigan’s nicked the edge of the target—her own target, which was an improvement. The others had all hit their targets close to the center if not in the bull’s-eye.
“Well done,” Telagioth told them.
“Perhaps our guests would like to provide us a demonstration in return?” Gresia asked. “I have heard that the people of Eletia are unparalleled archers.”
“Some are,” Telagioth said. He looked delighted by the request, but added, “It was not our intention to disrupt the training.”
“You have not. Perhaps these Riders can learn from you.”
Telagioth spoke in Eltish to his companions, and they all stepped forward and took the places of the Riders. They’d their own bows, which were akin to longbows, taller and much more elegant than the beat-up practice bows the trainees used.
Not a word was spoken, but before anyone realized the Eletians had nocked arrow to bow string, white arrows had impaled the centers of each target.
Arms Master Gresia’s mouth dropped open. She then cleared her throat. “Perhaps you’d be willing to offer my trainees a few pointers?”
“Eletians have hundreds and thousands of years to hone their skills,” Telagioth said, “and vision sharper than an eagle’s.
But perhaps I may offer some wisdom.” He gazed at each of the awed Riders.
None had been around Eletians as much as Karigan, and the experience could be overwhelming, the music of their voices, the speed and litheness of their movements, their bright spirits.
They described themselves as beings of magic, she knew, and it was apt.
“You must open yourself to the elements. How does the wind blow in your hair and among the trees? How damp and heavy is the air? This will assist you in knowing how an arrow will travel. You must also still yourself, slow your breathing, slow your heart, and cultivate a belief in hitting your target. That belief must ride upon the arrowhead itself and guide it into your target.”
The first bit about knowing how the elements—wind, humidity, rain, and so on would affect an arrow’s flight was common sense, but the second part about believing and envisioning?
Karigan imagined her face must reflect the perplexed expressions of the other Riders.
She had a feeling they’d all be puzzling out Telagioth’s wisdom for some time.
He asked the Riders to take a few more practice shots, and the Eletians came among them and helped adjust their grips on their bows and their aim. Lhean took time with her to help her sight the target with her one eye and she did much better.
When finally the training session came to an end, Master Gresia said, “I thank you for the demonstration and assistance. It was a fine way to conclude today’s session.”
As she dismissed the Riders, Mara and the Eletians approached Karigan.
“Our visitors wish to speak with you,” Mara said, “so I will leave them with you. The queen has offered the use of her solar and says you may take as much time as you need. I can cover your afternoon duties.” The smile in her eyes indicated there would be some form of repayment required.
Telagioth walked up front with Karigan as she guided them into the castle and to Estora’s solar. The plants grew as wildly as ever, and the Eletians murmured among themselves in approval and admiration.
They found enough chairs so they could all sit in a circle. Enver, of course, did not sit near her. She’d Telagioth to one side and Lhean to the other.
“Your queen has a gift with all that grows,” Lhean said.
“Yes,” Karigan agreed. That was putting it mildly. “Have you finally decided to give me answers?”
“Depending on the questions,” Telagioth said, “we will answer what we can.”
“First,” Telagioth said, “we wish to tell you we are reassured that your king and queen recognize you as a daughter of the House of Santanara. They tell us, however, that you do not wish to be accorded special treatment. Is this true?”
“It is. Frankly, I’d like to be treated as an ordinary Green Rider, but it is difficult when these—these things keep happening to me.”
“You do not wish to be of the House of Santanara? It is an unprecedented honor.”
She hesitated before answering. “I do not wish to give offense, and while I am indeed honored, my life has been complicated enough without this additional title.”
The Eletians responded with silence, and despite the way she had worded her response, it seemed she had offended them anyway.
“It is not merely a title,” Lhean said, “but royal kinship. To reject it is to reject familial ties, if not Eletia itself.”
“I understand,” she said, “and I am grateful for the honor, but honors of this magnitude confer certain burdens I’m not certain I am capable of bearing.
I don’t understand why I have been adopted into the House of Santanara in the first place.
No one has given me an explanation. Why did King Santanara do this? ”
“The king has expressed some reasons openly, but there may be others of which we are unaware. The king keeps his own counsel, but I believe we can assume he sees something of the forthcoming battle and believes you’ve an important part to play.”
She did not like the sound of that. “I expect I’ll be participating regardless. It still does not explain this extraordinary step.”
“No, it does not, but it does offer you a level of protection among those Eletians who have perceived you as a threat.”
So, there were still Eletians interested in killing her? “The wild magic left me long ago.” An Eletian had tried to assassinate her because she’d been tainted by dark wild magic, and it was feared she would cause the collapse of the D’Yer Wall.
“Yes, but not all are convinced you won’t be the downfall of Eletia. Great powers run through and around you, Dama, and it makes some uncertain. Others of our folk thought it would be enough to entrap and control you, and use certain of your gifts as they saw fit.”
So, it was true. The Eletians had used Enver knowing his time of unfolding was near and would give her cause to be taken into Eletia and controlled. She glanced at Enver, but he gazed away into space.
“So that’s it,” she said, anger rising in her voice. “The king named me to the House of Santanara to bind me to Eletia and control my...abilities.”
“It may be that it does appease some,” Telagioth said, “but...”
“But?”
“My sense is that this is mainly an altruistic move on the king’s part.”
She stared at Telagioth, stared into his depthless cerulean eyes. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am, Dama. I have discussed it with my companions, and they agree that the king’s adoption of you was a decision of the heart.”
The other Eletians murmured in agreement.
A decision of the heart, was it? Perhaps, but her interactions with Eletians had made her cynical and she wondered what King Santanara’s true motives were.