A Song of Snow and Ashes

yes perfectly fine. You dash off to fight a raging firestorm with no help and no warning, and now you're laughing? Gods, you had me worried."

  "I appreciate the fact you feel you need to protect me, but you can't protect me forever. I'm the Champion of the Light One. I'm the LightBearer. I need to know what I'm capable of, and you can't help me with that."

  "Just don't do that again," he replied, slightly annoyed that she was so calm.

  They rode in silence until they reached Tallis Marrom. Several other young men on horses were also riding in. People were filtering back to the city. Some saw her as she rode in, and looked at her with amazement and fear.

  "Where do I find the Council?" she asked, unsure of what to think about their reactions. She didn't feel very different, although she did feel a bit more confident.

  "They're waiting for you in the priest's cottage," answered Davin.

  She hopped off Orlice. "Take care of my horse, please."

  He nodded.

  "Good luck," said Aidan. "You're going to need it."

  She sighed and walked to the cottage.

  Jomei opened the door for her. "You're looking well," he remarked, clearly surprised.

  "How should I look?"

  "Sick? Injured? How did you fight that fire?"

  "That's something we'd all like to know," interjected Hialmar, in a stern voice. "I told you to go to your quarters, pack, and evacuate the area with everyone else."

  "I know."

  "Why did you disobey?"

  "Because I knew I could stop the fire and save the city from destruction."

  "How did you know this?" he snapped. "You've had no experience using these powers."

  "With all due respect, how am I ever going to learn if you don't let me try?"

  The Council members muttered amongst themselves.

  "We were going to let you practice, in a controlled environment," he answered.

  "When?"

  "When we think you're ready," he replied harshly.

  "I mean no disrespect to any of you. You have shown me kindness and patience in teaching me your language, your customs, and how to fight. However, you haven't given me an opportunity to demonstrate my abilities to you. I'm the LightBearer. I'm going to have to go face the world and the ShadowWalker sometime, and when I do, I'll probably be alone. I took a chance, I'll admit. I was sure I could stop that fire, even if I wasn't sure how. I wanted to show you that even though I'm still a stranger, I'm worthy to be the Chosen of the Light One."

  Again, they muttered amongst themselves. With their low and hushed voices, she couldn't catch much of the conversation, but she did gather that Jomei seemed to be pleading with them.

  "We need to talk. Go to your cottage. We'll meet with you in two days. After breakfast and before your language lessons," Hialmar said sternly.

  She nodded, then turned and walked away, her bright cloak flowing behind her. To her surprise, Davin was waiting by her door.

  "Convicted? Acquitted?" he asked with a slight smile.

  "Delayed?" she replied, not sure if she had translated the words properly.

  "Ah, a reprieve," he offered.

  "Yes. They're going to talk, and I get to find out what they've decided in two days."

  "Not tomorrow? They think they need a full day to talk?"

  "Is that bad? They wouldn't throw me out, would they?" she asked, with a worried expression.

  "Of course not. You're the LightBearer. There's really no mistaking that now," he remarked, looking her over. He couldn't help but notice that the Armor was well-fitted to her body. "Where did you get that armor?"

  "A gift from god," she answered.

  "Divine armor, a magical steed, all you need is a flaming sword."

  "What for?"

  "To match the picture of a warrior of Light."

  "Is that what you think people picture when they hear the title LightBearer?"

  "Something very like it," he answered. "Probably male, though."

  "Well, I don't think I could be mistaken for male in this."

  "Definitely not."

  She blushed. "I'm tired, and I appreciate you asking about me. But I ought to go to bed."

  "I expect so. You fought a raging firestorm. Let me know how it turns out," he replied, and walked off.

  "I'm not sure what to think of all this," she mused, as she went into her cottage. "Maybe I'll know better after a good night's sleep." She sent the Armor away, changed her clothes, and went to bed. As soon as she laid down, she realized just how exhausted she was, and fell sound asleep within minutes.

  "Donnan. Donnan, wake up," called Alain's voice the next morning.

  He mumbled something incoherently and opened his eyes.

  "You didn't go outside last night, did you? Why'd you sleep in your clothes?"

  He sat up carefully to avoid hitting the ceiling.

  "You did go outside. What'd you do that for?"

  "Seemed like a good idea at the time," he answered vaguely, sliding off the bed.

  "Here, I guess I'll make breakfast this mornin' while you get cleaned up."

  This startled him awake. "Oh, no. You always cook the eggs too long. Give me a minute." He cleaned up and changed out of his badly wrinkled and still damp clothes, then made breakfast as usual.

  "So, what were you doin' outside? It was awful last night. Gods, I could barely see anythin'. Damn streetlighters didn't do their job."

  "Or they did, and the lights got blown out," he suggested mildly.

  "Yeah, you're probably right. Spent half the night with some of the other guys huddled under overhangs tryin' to stay warm and dry. Useless effort, and probably careless, but we figured no criminal in his right mind would be out there either."

  He didn't reply.

  "Damn hard on my armor, too. I've dried it off, but I'm goin' to have to give it a good polish before I go out tonight. Weird weather though. If it weren't autumn, I'd have worried about twisters."

  Donnan nearly dropped his fork.

  Alain didn't seem to notice. "But wrong time of the year for that. Still, we needed the rain. And you still haven't told me what you were doin' out."

  "Uh, curiosity?"

  "Curious about what? It's a storm. You get wet."

  "Never mind," he replied savagely.

  Alain gave him a suspicious look, but let it go. They finished breakfast in silence, and Donnan did the dishes, feeling angry and a little scared. Alain went to bed without a word. When he was finished, he headed straight for the temple.

  He found Dwyer's study easily this time, and was polite enough to knock.

  "Come in," called the priest.

  He stomped in angrily and slammed the door behind him. "What in darkness do you think you're doin'?" he demanded loudly.

  Dwyer looked mildly surprised. "I beg your pardon?"

  "That storm last night. It was a damn twister."

  "Such storms are rare, but not unheard of this late in the year."

  "Don't give me that! I know better. That was unnatural. That damn thing was called," he snapped.

  The older man's face assumed a stony expression. "I'm not the one with the power over the weather."

  He slammed his fist down on the desk. "Godsdammit, I didn't do this," he snarled. "I stopped it from destroyin' the city. I think you called it, to test me. You told me as much last week."

  They stared at each other for a few moments. Then the priest seemed to back down. "Yes, I did indeed send a prayer that you would have a chance to prove yourself a worthy Champion. I did not, however, ask for a storm to destroy the city."

  "So what? You're the priest. You know how your god could answer."

  "I did. I even knew there was a twister coming. I was worried that you wouldn't be up to the challenge, but clearly you were."

  The temperature in the room was dropping rapidly. It was now chilly enough that their breath was visible.

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; "And if I hadn't been? If people had died?" he hissed, furious.

  "I would have to make my amends," he replied, sounding quite genuine.

  This deflated some of Donnan's anger. "And how would you have done that?"

  "Made donations to the city to rebuild. Attend services for the deceased. Perhaps anonymously donated to the individual families."

  Now he was staring at the priest.

  "I would judge by your expression that despite your friendship with Blake you do believe some of the untrue propaganda about the Order. We are not heartless, and we are not evil. Cold and calculating would be closer to the truth. When I prayed to my god, I was fully aware of the consequences, and I had plans to deal with those consequences."

  "How do I know you're not lyin' to me?" he asked suspiciously.

  "You don't."

  He stared at the priest for a moment. "Why did you do that? Why's it so important that I use my power? What do you want from me?" he asked, confused.

  The priest stood up and stared out the window, which was now frosted over. "There's much at stake here. I don't fully understand it myself, but it's very important that you win this fight. You have only until the next fall equinox, at the latest, to learn enough about your powers to fight the LightBearer. That's not much time, and you seem quite unwilling to even try."

  "Yeah, well, you don't know what it's like," he muttered.

  "No, I don't. But I have gathered you don't want to be the Avatar of Darkness. Why not?" he asked, turning to face him.

  "Why not? Why not?" he sputtered. "Because I don't want to be Dark. I don't want to be some evil warlord who goes around killin' people. I don't want to have to fight my own brother some day. It's like your Order. No one really likes it, and no one trusts it. I don't want that."

  Dwyer raised an eyebrow at this frank statement. "Well, I can see part of your point. But do you think being Dark