Gallel's Heir

Chapter 1.1: Hallel's Star

"His name means hope and love," said Lianna, as though it were the simplest thing in the world. She was a little baby, yet she seemed to know what was going on.

"Out of the way for the Kel's Guards!"

Canúden was shoved to his back and he blinked several times before he knew he was in Galia again, had probably never left, and that a wind gust had not pushed him over, but a large dog had. And then the pain in his chest and back struck. The Object hung directly overhead.

Three huge guards and as many tracking dogs trampled around Gizelle's flowers and grass. Gizelle was on her back also. One guard held a pathetically pale lantern as though he worked in the deepest part of night. Another had already cut the sling from San Dylin's shoulder and held a screaming Lianna. The third held Dylin, who struggled futilely.

"I wasn't running away," she said. She hung limp.

"You took advantage of the commotion caused by the dark night," said the guard with the lantern. The black dogs yapped at the sky and chased as playful as pups.

"Do what you want, girl." The man who held Dylin dropped her to the grass. "There are plenty of wet nurses who would be more than happy to care for the heir."

"How dare you insult me!" she said as she got to her feet. "I was not running away. You will not take my baby from me. I was simply visiting friends."

"Right," said the first guard. "Leave the baby home next time."

"Thank you, healer, for helping me," she said, briskly brushing grass from her skirt, and stomped after the guards, who already were on the path outside Gizelle's gate. Lianna screamed in their arms.

Gizelle bowed to her. "My pleasure, my Lady."

Canúden only smiled at her. She rushed ahead.

***

The Ball of Shadows sat warm and heavy on Minara's fingertips. The sun had set, but a sign from the Creators emblazoned the sky and eastern ocean and glinted through arched windows into her study. The rays danced on her books of prophecy and trinkets of power, swirled on her rug, and gilded silhouettes in the corner. That Light touched the ball and disappeared like drops of water in a bucket of desert sand. The ball cast neither reflection nor shadow, as though light had no effect on it; instead the ball obscured her flesh in darkness.

Tavaris's face appeared in the ball, and Minara's heart quickened. He had been her companion most of her life, since she'd found the Ball of Shadows, back when her skin was still blue. With her wari sense, her ability to touch and capture the energy in others, she'd done remarkable things to extend that life.

"The time has come," she said. "The sign. The sun has set, and the light rises in the sky."

"That's all very well," said Tavaris, "but what are you doing about it?" His voice was soft, as his face shimmered in the ball - in despite the ball's utter opacity. His features were delicate, his air imposing, and his eyes ice. Vibrations caressed Minara's flesh when he spoke, and a chill touched her spine.

"Turbia's San is my creature." She laughed. "Tamil believes she's in love with me. I speak to her mind while she sleeps. Before long, she'll convince her Council to declare war on Galia."

Tavaris nodded curtly; the gesture - that he approved - thrilled her. "That is well."

"Night with no darkness," she scoffed, glancing out her window over the golden ocean. "It's just like the Creators to think of such a ubiquitous sign. Not that most people will even notice it, distracted as they are with their trivial, petty lives. Most people, if they don't sleep through it, will be as blind as though in a cave. Why don't the Creators make their Light visible to everyone? Why this exclusiveness?"

His eyes sparked. "The Creators are always selective on whom they'll talk to. They're more concerned with freedom than with peace, and look at what a mess the world is. A few people, maybe, notice the Light splash the sky, but to what effect? No one knows who Hallel is anyway. His prophesies are long forgotten. Petty as people are I hardly had to intervene to make his birth irrelevant. He'll be so easy for me to replace because of that." He smiled with confidence.

"I attended an exclusive and ancient school, though no one there really understood these prophesies, not like I do." Minara had given her soul to understand them under Tavaris's tutelage. "Three hundred years is a long time to wait for a silly baby to be born."

"Hallel is hardly silly." Tavaris smirked. "His greatness nearly matches my own."

She blanched. "Of course, my love."

"But he will soon see why I was the first in the Otherworld. I am more ancient by far, and now he's a screaming little baby who doesn't remember who he is."

"And what of him?"

He shrugged. "He'll be in bondage before four years pass."

"How long until I can feel your touch?"

His chin slid forward as she drew the Ball closer to her lips. "Just become the San of Galia already," he said, "get the Ball, and free me from this void."

Tavaris refused to tell her where the Ball of Lights lay hidden. He became angry if she ever brought it up; the Ball seemed to frighten him as much as it possessed him. She suspected it was a key to his imprisonment, as well as to his freedom. The Creators don't talk to me anymore he would say when she asked. She hadn't asked for nearly two hundred years.

"I want your touch. I will free you," she said.

"Of course you will," Tavaris said.

*What did you think of Chapter 1.1? I look forward to your comments and votes! Your comments and support are what keep the story going!*