Phoenix Heart - Chapter 1: Escape (standard:fantasy, 0 words) [2/2] show all parts
Author: Sounasha	Added: Jul 05 2001	Views/Reads: 2732/2226	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Story Summary: Listen all, to my tale- a tale of a page who grew into her blade; a tale of love and loss, magic and royalty, courage and freedom. It is the story of the Fire Queen, the lady knight with the heart of a phoenix... Listen, all, to the tale of

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"You've been a page for four years, Tyrona," the master knight pointed
out. "It's time you become a squire.  I'll train you." 

The girl balked slightly. "I've never had the graduation ceremony..." 

"Page Tyrona!" Kyron snapped. "At attention!  Is that how you speak to a
master knight?" 

Startled into obedience, Tyrona snapped to attention, staring straight
ahead. "No, sir," she answered. 

"Then why are you arguing?  You are now Squire Tyrona, and Chaos take
any chaotic ceremony!  Help your mom pack the bags." 

"Yes, sir!" Tyrona hurried off to help pack, leaving Kyron to shake his
head in mingled amusement and disbelief. 

~*~ 

"How're we supposed to get out of the city?" Tirra whispered, ushering
her young son into the waiting cart.  Kyrrol obeyed meekly, his quiet 
nature a stark contrast to his older sister's protean emotions. 

Tyrona checked the harnesses on their two seal-brown mules, then hopped
into the driver's seat and picked up the reins.  Kyron mounted his big 
gray shire war stallion and looked over at Tirra. "We'll just walk 
out." 

"Looking as if we're leaving on a very long trip?" his wife asked
scornfully. 

Kyron patted his sword's hilt. "I may be in my fourties, but I'm still
one of the best swordsmen in Cascadia." 

Tyrona shifted her cloak until her quiver poked out of the side.  She
held a bow in her hand. "And I c'n shoot as well as any.  Mom's a good 
shot, too." 

"Mom has her own sort of weapon," the knight said with a smile.  "That
powdered herb she likes so much." 

Tirra sighed. "I don't like using it... And what if one of us breathes
it in?  We'll be paralyzed!" 

"We'll hold our collective breaths and gallop on through!" Tyrona said
gaily.  "C'mon!  Let's go!"  She slapped the reins on the mules' backs 
and clicked her tongue, setting them off at a quick trot.  Kyron 
laughed and kicked his stallion into the same gait. 

~*~ 

"Halt!" 

The command of the hulking orc soldier brought the cart and rider to a
stop.  "Why leaving?" 

"Just to Kiridia, sir orc," Kyron said respectfully, bowing from his
saddle. 

The orc's gold and red eyes narrowed in suspicion.  "You human. Humans
not respect orc-kind.  Too damn proud." 

"Most humans," Kyron corrected. "I and my family are glad of Chaos' aid
in protecting our walls." 

The orc squinted. "You not loyal to Chaos.  Hair brown.  Eyes blue." 

"Mage's work, sir."  He looked about furtively. "We're to spy for Chaos
and root out any not loyal to King Zurach, may he live forever." 

"Huh.  An' leavin' why?"  The Chaosian's squashed pig-like snout
wrinkled as he peered at the cart. 

"Why, to spy out Kiridia, of course.  The rebels in Cascadia have known
about us for some time now, and so we're useless here.  We've been 
relocated to Kiridia." 

The orc looked at them askance a while longer, then shrugged and waved
them on. "Go," it grunted. 

The master knight bowed again.  "Thank you, sir!"  He spurred Deuld, his
mount, to a trot at the same time as Tyrona, and they left the city 
without further trouble. 

Once out of the orc's earshot, Kyron laughed. "Well!  That was easy! 
And no need of that powder or those arrows, either!" 

Tyrona grinned back, as good-natured as her father.  "That was one
stupid orc..." 

"What'd I tell you, Ty?  Unless they've got wings, Chaosians are
idiots!" the knight said. 

"They keep their brains in their wings?" Kyrral asked, confused. 

Tirra chuckled. "No, Kyr.  They keep their brains in their heads, same
as most other creatures." 

"'Cept some I know, who keep them in their as-" 

"Tyrona!!" the healer exclaimed, shocked. 

The squire ducked her head sheepishly.  "All t'other Knight Guilders
swear... I kinda picked it up." 

"Dad doesn't swear," Kyrral pointed out, his face the picture of
seriousness. 

Tyrona laughed and opened her mouth to disagree, but Kyron cleared his
throat loudly. "Errhem!  Um, sorry- something got stuck in my throat.  
Tyrona, your mother's right.  You shouldn't swear." 

She shot a scornful look at the knight, snorting derisively, showing in
no unclear actions that she knew he was covering up.  She shrugged. 
"Yessir.  If you don't swear, I won't swear." 

Kyron glared darkly at his daughter, then spurred Deuld forward.  Tyrona
grinned at her dad's discomfort, then clucked to the two mules.  They 
continued down the dusty road. 

~*~ 

"Well, we're here!" Kyron sang out cheerily, reining his stallion in. 
Ty looked over the mules' backs for a sight of their new home- a 
sprawling ranch in a sheltered valley.  Several horses grazed in the 
paddocks, with cattle in a separate field and a wide expanse of hay.  A 
good-sized garden was situated near the part-wood, part-stone house. 

"When did we get this place?" Tyrona asked, gaping. 

"We've had it for a while.  Do you think we got the extra money by
guarding and healing?" Kyron smiled. "Starfyr horses are the best this 
side of the Sierac Mountains!" He winked at his daughter. "It's high 
time you learn the family trade, girl." 

Her face fell. "You mean- I'm not going to be a knight?" 

"Did I say that?" the master knight asked.  "Someday you're going to
tire of fighting, and the horses'll be here for you. Or for Kyr, if he 
wishes." 

"I'm gonna be a healer, not a horse breeder," the boy said in distaste. 

Kyron shrugged. "Your choice, son."  He nudged Deuld into an all-out
gallop. "Yaaha!" he shouted. 

Tirra sighed and shook her head. "Men," she muttered.  "They never grow
up." 

Tyrona glared at the mules as she slapped the reins.  They moved along
at a slow trot, and wouldn't speed up no matter how much she coaxed or 
cursed.  "Chaos-spawn!  Get a move on, you slowpoked arsil-" 

"TYRONA!" 

"Sorry, mum..." 

~*~ 

"Ho, the house!" 

It was six years after the Starfyr family's flight from Cascadia, and
they watched the incoming rider warily.  Tyrona held a notched arrow to 
her bowstring, while Kyron placed a calloused hand on the hilt of his 
broadsword.  The rider turned out to be not a rider at all, but a 
winged centaur.  The tall palamino pterocentaur looked down at the two 
humans with the disdain typical of his kind. "You are Kyron Starfyr?" 
he asked of the knight. 

"I am," Kyron affirmed, his fighting stance not changing. "What do you
want?" 

"I come as a messenger.  A month ago, Zurach died." 

"Oh, wonderful," Tyrona said sarcastically. "Who's the next tyrant?" 

The pterocentaur's jaw worked in irritation. "King Ryntan is sending out
a call for all available knights to come aid in driving out Chaos.  You 
are a knight, sir Kyron.  Will you fight?" 

Kyron was silent for a moment as he pondered on the decision.  "So we
finally have a decent king, hm?"  He sighed. "I'd help if I was asked 
ten years ago, but I've got a squire to train and horses to breed.  
I'll send with you ten of my war-trained horses and ten green ones, but 
that's the best I can do." 

The messenger blanched. "I can't control all those!" 

The knight turned and raised his voice to a deafening bellow.  "CORRIM!"


A short, compact elf with streaks of silver through his black hair
jogged out of the barn. "Yeah?" he called. 

"Take ten of the warhorses and ten trainable ones and help this
pterocentaur bring them to our new king!" 

Corrim glanced at the centaur appraisingly, and then finally nodded.
"Arright.  I'll go." 

As soon as the pterocentaur and city elf were out of sight, Tyrona
stared at her father. "You're just going to believe him?  No proof?!" 

"I knew already, Ty-sky," he said. "I was waiting for someone to come
along so I could send them off with the horses." 

The squire shook her head in bemusement. "If you say so..." 

~*~ 

The clang of steel on steel sounded loudly in the practice yard, ringing
out to the ears of anyone who could hear.  Two sweaty, grim figures 
parried and thrusted, feinted and blocked.  Back and forth they danced, 
around in circles, their graceful dance of death amazing to watch. 

The slimmer figure suddenly slipped her blade past the taller one's
sword, the tip tickling his throat.  A moment passed silently, and then 
the loser's laugh echoed throughout the twilit night.  "Good, Tyrona!  
Excellent!" 

Tyrona, now twenty, grinned at her gray-haired father of over fifty
years. She sheathed her red-bladed, blue-pommeled sword, wiping sweat 
and a loose strand of hair away from her forehead. "I beat you again!" 
she crowed. 

"That's 'cos I'm getting old," Kyron excused himself. 

"Oh, c'mon!  The knight guildmaster himself couldn't defeat you!" Ty
joked. 

"Not you, at any rate," the aging knight conceded. "You're a
journeywoman, now." 

"Ceremoniless  Chaos-friend," Tyrona said with a grin. 

"Disrespectful, ogre-minded, Chaos-loving brat," Kyron returned. 
"You're a journeywoman knight in your own right, girl, and who cares 
about any blasted ceremonies?" 

Ty shrugged. "It'd pro'lly be long and dull anyhow.  So what do I do
now?" 

"Well, you've got that flame-blade of yours, and you have your mule..." 

"You bred him yourself!" Tyrona grumbled. "You know perfectly well that
Mudiirf is an excellent shire warstallion." 

"And you're the one who trained and raised him from foalhood," Kyron
agreed. "There's a war going on to drive Chaos from this land.  You're 
a knight.  You made your vows to the land and the gods and all that is 
good long ago." For once, his eyes were not filled with laughter.  No 
smile tugged at his mouth or wrinkled his laugh lines.  The knight was 
dead serious. "You're young.  You can go fight Chaos, help keep Shadow 
Star free.  Will you?" 

Tyrona nodded firmly, not hesitating. "Yessir.  I'll go get Mudiirf." 


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