Luck in the Shadows

and a complicated one. This time, I suspect it'll be to gain control of the Gold Road."
    "This time?" Alec's eyes widened.
    "They're going to have another war? And way up here?"
    "Looks that way. There are those that believe Plenimar means to drive out the Skalan and Mycenian merchants and extend their own political influence over the northern freeholds."
    "You mean by conquering them?"
    "Given their past history, I imagine that will be Plenimar's solution."
    "But why haven't I heard any of this before? In Stone Tor, even at the Harvest Fair, nobody was talking of war!"
    "Stone Tor is a long way from the main trading routes," Seregil reminded him. "The fact is, very few northerners are aware of it at the moment, except those who already have a hand in it. As it stands now, no one will be able to make a move until spring."
    "But Asengai and that man Morden, are they part of it?"
    "An interesting question." Seregil pulled his hood forward again. "I think the horses have walked long enough, don't you? We need to make some distance before dark!"
    The Downs made for smooth riding. Alec knew of a spring they could camp by and set a steady pace until dark.
    He knew the landmarks well, but could imagine what it must look like to his companion. Seregil was clearly uneasy as they left the mountains behind, and kept looking back over his shoulder as if trying to use the distant peeks to gauge their progress.
    But the mountains were quickly obscured by the lengthening darkness and windblown snow. The sun, never more than a pale hint behind the lowering clouds, was their only guide.
    "We'll have to make your food last," Alec remarked when they'd halted for the night. "Most of the summer game has moved south—not that I'd be able to get anything without my bow anyway," he added bitterly.
    "I've got cheese and sausage enough for both of us," Seregil told him. "Good with a bow, are you?"
    "Good enough." In truth, Alec felt like he was missing a limb without one. The bow he'd lost at Asengai's had been the best he'd ever made.
    Dismounting, they scavenged around for firewood but found nothing except low, resinous bushes that burned too quickly, giving off more light than heat. Bundling up as best they could against the wind, they sat close together over their cold supper.
    "You said that the fighting between Skala and Plenimar is an old question," Alec said at last. "What did you mean?"
    "That's a long story," Seregil said with a chuckle, pulling his cloak tighter. "But a long story can make a long night seem shorter, I suppose. To begin with, did you know that the Three Lands were once one country?"
    "No."
    "Well, they were, and they were ruled over by a priest king called a Hierophant. The first Hierophant and his followers came from somewhere far across the Gathwayd Ocean over two thousand years ago. It's from them that your Dalna the Maker comes, along with Astellas and the others. They made their first landfall on the Plenimaran peninsula. Benshal, the capital city of Plenimar, stands on the site of the Hierophant's first city."
    Alec's eyes narrowed skeptically at the thought of a city that old, or his familiar patron deity having such exotic origins. He kept his doubts to himself, though, not wanting to interrupt the tale.
    "Over the years, these people and their religion spread around the Inner and Osiat seas, founding what eventually became Mycena and Skala," Seregil went on.
    "And it was these people who brought the worship of Dalna north?"
    "That's right. The Hierophant's people worshiped the Sacred Four: Dalna the Maker and Astellus the Traveler, whom you know; and Illior Lightbearer and Sakor of the Flame, who never caught on up in these parts.
    "But getting back to the subject at hand, the unity of the Three Lands didn't last. As centuries passed the different regions developed ways of their own. The Plenimarans, for instance, stayed by the great Gathwayd Ocean, a body of water larger than you've ever dreamed of. They're still great sailors and explorers. It was the Plenimarans who sailed south beyond the Strait of Bal to discover the Aurлnfaie—was
    "Hold on! Aurлnfaie ? Like the Faie up beyond Ravensfell?" Alec broke in excitedly, then felt his
    cheeks go warm as Seregil chuckled.
    "That's right. Your Elder Folk, properly called the Hazadrielfaie, are said to be the descendants of a group of Aurлnfaie who went into the northern lands before the time of the Hierophant. Aurлnen lies south of the Three Lands,