The Broken World Book Two: StarSword

By T C Southwell

Although at war with the land itself, men have survived by paving their streets and surrounding their cities with dried Earthblood. In doing so, they have enraged the souls further, and only the chosen are safe under Chanter’s protection. The Black Riders have also arrived ahead of them, and continue their deadly march across the land, slaying all Truemen in their path. Chanter takes Talsy and Kieran to search for more chosen, who are trapped in the safety of the cities.

The people strive to elude their fate, and a mad prince has inherited a pebble that holds the power to break the world. He sends men to capture Talsy in a bid to save himself, thinking that taking her hostage will force Chanter to protect him. To save her, Chanter does the unthinkable; he creates a forbidden Mujar weapon and gives it to the only warrior amongst the chosen – Kieran. The Starsword holds the Powers of Earth and Fire and, if it falls into the wrong hands, impossible though that should be, it could be used to break the Staff of Law.

• Language: English
• Publisher: T C Southwell
• Release date: Dec 22, 2010
• ISBN: 9781458180889

T C Southwell

T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa. T. C. Southwell has written over thirty fantasy and science fiction novels, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she is now a full-time writer.

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The Broken World Book Two

StarSword

T C Southwell

Published by T C Southwell at Smashwords

Copyright © 2010 T C Southwell

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Prologue

In a perfect world, the breaking of the laws has brought retribution to the alien race: Truemen. A simple peasant girl befriends a denizen of this strange land, not knowing she holds the key to her people’s fate. Truemen hate the immortal Mujar and cast them into Pits, and the Hashon Jahar sweep across the land, slaughtering all in their path. One thing is certain: Truemankind is doomed unless fate changes.

Now destiny has altered for a chosen few, who set off for the Plains of Redemption across the western ocean aboard a stone ship.

Chapter One

Talsy gazed across the deep blue ocean, where dolphins played amongst the foam-capped waves a short distance away, their swift gambolling captivating her. She gripped the stone railing as the tubby ship rolled. The vessel was the product of Kieran’s ingenuity and Chanter’s power. The golden-skinned unman had created it from the bedrock of the beach they had left behind two weeks ago, to carry the chosen across the Wilden Sea. They had only the Mujar’s word that there even was another continent, for no Trueman had dared to sail into the expanse of seemingly endless ocean.

Since the land of her birth had dwindled into nothingness behind them, Talsy had spent a lot of time alone on deck. The sea teemed with dolphins and whales, which, she suspected, the Mujar’s presence drew. The few chosen who had gathered on that distant beach, saved from the gruesome fate that had befallen their towns by their seers’ dreams, now populated the ship. There had been many more before the Hashon Jahar had attacked their camp and slaughtered all but those who had hidden amongst the rocks. Her life had been threatened, too, and she had Chanter to thank for saving her. Kieran had helped, she had to admit, but she was sure Chanter would have managed without the irritating warrior’s aid.

Sheera, the old seeress, had organised the girls to help with cooking and cleaning. When Talsy had asked for something to do, Sheera had informed her that her help was not required. As the First Chosen, it seemed her status barred her from such menial tasks, in the opinion of the seeress and her helpers, at any rate. Her plight was one she shared with the men, who, since the ship required no crew, spent their time lolling about on the deck talking or playing idle games. Chanter spent most of his time in the sea, playing with the dolphins that followed the ship. Kieran had found a perch in the bows and only came down to eat and sleep. That left Talsy with the company of the men and boys, and she had soon become adept at their simple card and board games.

When the water had run low a few days ago, Chanter had called forth a column of fresh water from the sea to fill the barrels. Assured of an endless supply, the chosen had even less to worry about. In fact, they had no worries at all. The wind blew steadily and the sea remained calm around the ship, although they passed storms and rough seas in the distance. If not for the ungainliness of their vessel, Talsy would have welcomed a minor storm to break the monotony. Life under a Mujar’s protection was simple to the point of boredom.

A gull glided towards the ship, its narrow wings tilting in the breeze. It drifted down to settle on the railing a few feet from her and shuffle its wings into place. A lash of wind and the sound of beating wings, the manifestation of Ashmar, transformed the bird into a golden-skinned, jet-haired Mujar. Chanter leant against the railing and gazed out to sea. Talsy wondered what it was like to become another creature and fly or swim amongst them as one of their own. The transformation from something so tiny to the size of a man defied logic. Where did all the extra mass come from, and where did it go when he changed into a gull?

Chanter had tried to explain it to her once. According to him, he was part of this world and therefore could exchange parts of himself with it, but it made little sense to her. Did he draw matter from the sea and air to create his man form, and send it back when he shrank into a gull? That was what he had told her, in essence, but she found it hard to believe. During the voyage’s long, lazy days, she had a lot of time to ponder his mysteries, and had even plied him with a few questions. Although he answered her most of the time, his explanations often only confused her. How ironic that he was now willing to share with her the Mujar secrets Trueman scholars had tried to learn for centuries, and she lacked the brains to understand him.

Sheera approached the Mujar, and Talsy strained to catch the old seeress’ words before the wind blew them away. Shameless eavesdropping was rife in such a boring environment. People were eager to hear any smidgeon of gossip that might occupy their minds for a time. Several other people listened, while trying to appear not to, notably a pair of traders apparently engrossed in a board game. Since Talsy had watched them play the same game every day for the past two weeks, she doubted that they still found it terribly interesting.

The snatches of conversation Talsy caught brought a spark of interest to relieve her boredom, for the old woman informed Chanter that the ship’s food was running low. In their haste to leave the eastern continent before more Hashon Jahar found them, they had brought only the supplies that had been in the camp. The Black Riders’ raid had ruined most of the perishable items and driven away the flocks of sheep and goats that would have been slaughtered and salted for the voyage. An initial, enthusiastic attempt at fishing had died out when the men had caught little or nothing with their makeshift lures. Only one die-hard still trawled a lure behind the ship, but nothing had even sniffed at it for days.

Chanter nodded to Sheera, who went back to her chores below deck, where she ruled supreme over pots of bubbling stew and the sweating girls who stirred them. The Mujar had solved the problem of cooking on a ship, especially with no wood to burn, with his usual casual ease. He had simply caused round areas of the stone tables to become hot, and pots were placed upon them around the clock for hot baths and cooking. With a Mujar providing power for every necessity, the voyage was almost luxurious in its comfort. Only those who suffered from seasickness had been miserable for the first few days.

Curious to find out how he would solve this latest problem, Talsy went over to stand beside Chanter. He raised a brow at her, his eyes slits of brilliant silver-blue in their fringe of black lashes, his skin burnished by the sun. The wind whipped his hair and flattened the crest that sprouted above his fine brows. The alien beauty of his sculpted features was just one of the reasons most Truemen envied and hated Mujar. For Talsy, however, it was just another reason to admire him, and she met his curious look with a smile.

So, what are you going to do?

Find food.

Will you make fishes leap into the ship? she quipped.

He shook his head. You know I can’t.

Then what?

He motioned to the sea ahead. I’ve turned the ship. We’ll find food in a couple of days.

What if you had to make the choice between letting these people starve and killing a few fishes? What would you do?

He smiled. That choice doesn’t arise. If we don’t find food before we run out, I’ll simply stop the ship and provide the people with the means to catch fish. I will not do any killing.

Will you never kill anything? Even if you had to, for example, in order to protect me? If there was absolutely no other way of saving me, would you kill then?

Chanter’s smile vanished. No.

Talsy cursed herself as he strode away, wishing the words unsaid. All she really wanted to know was how much he cared about her, if at all. His feelings remained a mystery, even after all this time, and she longed to plumb the depths of his alien mind and find that he felt more for her than duty. This was not the way to find out, however. Such questions seemed only to offend him. A glance at the bows found Kieran’s dark eyes resting on her, a mocking smile on his lips, as if he had guessed what was going on. The warrior irked her with his knowing looks and black eyes that followed her too often. Shooting him a glare, she swung away.

Two days later, the ship approached what looked like a flat island. As it drew nearer, Talsy noticed that the island undulated with the swells. She recognised the frond-like growths that sprouted from the creature’s back, bright yellow streaked with pink, magenta and blue, swirled with green and turquoise, and spotted with violet. The food beast slumbered on the waves, soaking up the sun. Its size was astounding, for it dwarfed a whale as a shark would dwarf a minnow. This beast was more than four miles across and vaguely star-shaped, its arms encompassing sheltered bays the size of small harbours.

It supported a flock of flying beasts with silken, banner-like wings that seemed to defy gravity as they floated on the wind. They came in a number of different species with similar physiques, and seemed to have no purpose other than to practice aerobatics and play in the sky. A number perched on the food beast’s back and ate the fronds, and chattering bands watched the alien intruders with bright, intelligent eyes.

They honked and cooed to each other, for all the world like groups of old men discussing the weather. Some dived and frolicked in the sea with sleek, seal-like beasts. Talsy marvelled at their carefree existence, lacking, as they did, the need to hunt and kill in order to survive, or to breed vast numbers to replace those that others killed for food.

Chanter brought the ship alongside a massive arm, safe in the calm waters of its embrace, and jumped down onto the smooth, silky skin of the multi-coloured beast. Plucking a frond, he sat down to eat it in the shade of other tall fronds. Talsy started to climb down after him, but Kieran grabbed her arm.

What the hell’s going on?

We need food, don’t we?

He glanced past her at the massive beast. That’s edible?

Very.

The chosen stood at the railing and gaped at the mammoth animal. Talsy shook off Kieran’s hand and said to Sheera, Tell them to bring baskets to gather food.

Talsy joined Chanter, settled beside him with a smile and shared his frond when he offered it to her. Like the land food beasts, the creature gave off an enticing smell, and the frond tasted like the most delicious seafood delicacy. It had the consistency of tough bread, easily torn into bite-sized chunks and satisfyingly chewy, but quick to soften and swallow. The flavour varied in different parts of the frond, blander at the edges and tastier near the centre, the different colours imbued with unique flavours.

Kieran joined them and sampled the frond. His brows rose, and he smiled and beckoned to the people on the ship. The bolder ones climbed down, leaving the timid to watch them with a mixture of trepidation and envy. The food gatherers walked gingerly, as if expecting a violent reaction, but the food beast remained calm. Their delighted exclamations brought the rest from the ship, and soon they all discovered the miracle of the food beast.

When they had eaten their fill, they gathered fronds in baskets to haul back to the ship. For people used to planting and reaping crops that then still needed to be cooked, or raising and guarding animals for slaughter, it was a dream come true. All their gathering barely lessened the number of fronds in the immediate area.

The frond left Talsy’s mouth refreshed, even better than when she cleaned her teeth with a frayed stick and ash. When she could eat no more, she wandered to the shore and gazed into the azure depths. The beast’s back rose mere inches above the water, and she squatted to dabble her fingers in it. Wondering how far down the beast extended, she leant over to peer under it. Something massive and streaked with bright colours shot up from the deep, its open mouth exposing pointed white teeth. Talsy yelped and recoiled, slipped and slid half into the sea. The creature brushed her submerged legs, and she shrieked, certain she was about to be devoured.

Kieran reached her in two strides and hauled her out by her jacket as he stabbed his sword into the beast now just below the surface. The sea erupted as the creature thrashed, almost wrenching the weapon from his grip. Kieran yanked it free and raised it to stab the creature again. Flocks of flying beasts rose from the food beast’s fronds with shrill keening cries.

Chanter appeared, as if out of thin air, and seized Kieran’s sword arm in a vice-like grip. With a savage twist, he wrenched the weapon from the warrior’s fist, breaking his wrist with a soft crack. Kieran staggered back, his face twisted. The sword spun away into the sea.

Chanter’s brows were knotted and his mouth was a grim line. Talsy gaped at him, astonished. Kieran backed away, holding his injured wrist, his eyes riveted to the Mujar. His stance, although a fighting one, held an element of fear that Talsy had never thought to see in him. Although larger than Chanter and a deadly fighter, Kieran was afraid of him. Chanter stopped and relaxed, breathing deeply through flared nostrils.

He stabbed a finger at the sea. "That is forbidden."

It was attacking the girl. Kieran’s voice shook a little.

No. Talsy should have known better. He looked at her. Explain it to him.

Chanter dived into the sea, and Talsy frowned.

Kieran asked, What did I do wrong?

If Chanter’s reaction to Kieran’s attack on the beast from the depths had shocked her, Kieran’s response to Chanter’s anger astounded her. The warrior seemed devastated, his usually stoic expression anguished. After a brief struggle, he regained some composure, but remained pale. Moved by his distress, she searched for something soothing to say.

It’ll be all right. He’ll forgive you, she offered.

Kieran shook his head. I don’t understand.

You didn’t know.

Know what?

Talsy racked her brains for the reason Chanter had said she should have known better than to fear a horrible monster coming at her from the depths. He had not objected to Truemen killing animals before. Why now? Then it struck her. The animal on which she stood was a creature of this world. Kieran had injured a harmless predator that fed on the food beast, a being from a perfect world untainted by the savagery of killing, a beast that was more plant than animal. She groaned. Chanter had trusted them to respect the sanctity of his gods’ children, and Kieran had harmed one. She stared at him, alarmed.

What? he demanded. What have I done?

You… She shook her head, unable to find the words.

He grabbed her jacket with his good hand. Tell me!

Talsy strived to calm herself. Surely Chanter would put it right? Kieran shook her, and she tried to push him away. You injured a beast of this world, you moron! It was harmless!

You’re not making sense!

She shoved him again, breaking his hold. Cows and pigs are Truemen beasts, given to us to kill and eat. The true inhabitants of this world are creatures like this. She patted a frond. They don’t kill; they feed on the sun and sea and air, like plants. The beast I thought was attacking me was a predator that lives on the food beast’s fronds. When the gods of this world allowed the Truemen who came here to live, they hid their creatures so we wouldn’t harm them, and now you have.

Kieran shook his head. The gods of this world? What are you talking about?

Since Chanter had told her to explain it, she sat down and patted the space beside her.

Chapter Two

Chanter swam down into the cool depths. The predator’s whimpers guided him to it, while the food beast’s deep moans of sympathy were like a giant organ’s deepest note. These creatures lived in harmony, shared the same language and obeyed the same laws. The food beast shared the predator’s pain and groaned with mammoth anguish. While Truemen beasts were beautiful and swift, their shapes a pleasure to take on, the creatures of this world were as much his brothers as they were each other’s, and had a different kind of enchantment. Theirs was the magic of the harmless, the wonder of the gentle, fearless and fragile.

Finding that he was not catching up with the sinking predator, Chanter took on a dolphin’s sleek, powerful form. He powered downwards, and soon the predator came into sight, a vaguely ray-shaped beast with vast filmy wings streaked with the many colours that marked all the creatures of this world. Others gathered around it, whimpering in empathy as the food beast high above gave voice to deep moans. Reaching it, he changed back into a man and slid his arms around the silky, bulbous body, filled with joy as a mind-link formed between them. His rapport with a brother of this world was far stronger than with any of the engineered beasts given to the Lowman savages.

The predator gave its name in a rush of sweet emotion, a calling so pure and poignant that no word could contain it. Its pain stabbed Chanter as it opened its mind to him, then the predator’s concern for his sanity stemmed it. He drifted with it as the blue depths grew darker, the predator paralysed by suffering. Chanter rubbed his cheek against its skin, caressing its perfect curves as he sought to gain the knowledge necessary to heal it. His mind was full of god-granted knowledge about Lowman beasts, so he could take on their form, but about his kin, whose shape he was forbidden to wear, he knew almost nothing.

An intricate pattern ridged the predator’s skin, so slight that only his sensitive fingertips could detect it. The pattern held a key, a simple repeated convolution that guided the beast’s life force along it like tiny shocks of Crayash, sparkles of power that warmed its skin and warded off the deep’s cold. The wound disrupted this circle of warmth, and it leaked away from the torn edges. As they sank into the dark depths, he discerned the flickering sparkles that travelled over the beast’s skin, and decoded this animal’s unique pattern. The creature twitched with hurt that Chanter shared, so closely was he linked to it now. Sparked by the pain, a million glimmers passed along the predator’s skin and flashed out to the huge transparent wings in a display of subdued shining beauty that filled in the missing spaces.

Invoking Shissar, he strived to heal the wound, convulsing as he shared the predator’s suffering. The beast’s pure emotion rinsed his mind and washed away the harshness of Lowmen’s cruelties, bringing back the blessed simplicity of this world. The injury healed slowly, not such a simple thing to cure as Lowmen’s flesh. The predator’s metabolism was alien, reminding him of what he had lost by becoming so like the Lowmen and their beasts. The sword had slashed fragile skin and pierced tender flesh, torn a million gossamer nerves and damaged countless tiny organs.

The wound would be fatal unless he could heal it. The predator lacked any natural ability to heal, in a world where nothing should have harmed it. Sharing its mind, he struggled to put back together the delicate flesh that was made up of so many complex things. Tiny crystals that must be aligned in harmony, capillaries that carried sap-like fluid, vessels that carried blood, little bones that meshed the skin in the intricate, life-giving pattern. The minute crystals guided light and warmth from deep within the beast, sending it into transparent bones that carried it over the skin.

The sunlight stored within the predator resided in its giant flu-stone, the heart of the animal. This was exposed only when it basked to absorb light and heat, the rest of the time it was kept hidden deep within the alien flesh to preserve it. The beast’s flesh was rooted to it, grew from it and fed it, a symbiosis of animal, plant and mineral unique to this world. Lowmen would consider the shining flu-stones that littered the seabed priceless. Their ability to store light