The Game of Fates (84 page)

This
was a momentous occasion for many in the Kale Gen, and for none more than for
the former members of Durik’s Company.  Manebrow, Jerrig, Arbelk, Troka,
Terrim, Tohr, and Kahn all formed the honor guard at the doorway for the five
former warriors of Durik’s Company, and their former healer and loremaster as
well.

As
the much family and many friends of those to be joined finished gathering in
the Council Chamber of the Kale Gen, Lord Kale’s lifemate entered at the head
of an entourage of whelps, all the younger siblings of those to be joined and
others who had been invited to participate.  As they entered, the young males
carried the ceremonial spears, sticks really with chalk tips on them, that
symbolized the males’ commitment to protect and provide, while the female
whelps threw flower pedals about.  One rather young whelp, Arbelk’s little
sister Iggy as it turned out, made everyone laugh as she threw clumps of flower
pedals about with much enthusiasm in her three year old interpretation of the
traditional flower dance.

Karthan
stood looking at his two sons, Karto and Lat, whom Durik had invited to join
the male whelps along with Manebrow’s three sons, since Durik himself had no
little brothers.  They stood looking as solemnly as they could with Manebrow’s
sons on one side and a handful of Mirrik’s sons on the other.  The new Deep
Guard leader was leading the Sheerface excavation project, but he and Hemmet
had taken leave of it for the joining ceremony.  Their respect for these kobolds
who had come to save them from certain death at the mandibles of the ants was
too great to miss such a significant event.

Khazak
Mail Fist stood looking somewhat wistfully at the procession.  After a few
moments of watching the youngest of the whelps dancing about, he turned to his
old friend and former lord.  “Think we’ll ever find someone to be joined to?”
he asked.

Karthan
thought for a moment before answering.  “Think anyone could put up with us?”

Soon,
all the flower pedals had been thrown about and the little whelps had all taken
their places near the gathering of adults in front of the semi-circular
tables.  At the head of the tables, standing in front of his raised throne,
Lord Kale smiled as he saw those to be joined proceeding down the passageway.

“The
years are passing me by, you know,” Khazak said.  “I’d like to have whelps
before I’m too old.”

Karthan
just sighed.  “Much joy, much pain, much worry you know.”

The
assembled crowd went silent as Trikki, Myaliae, Darya, Miratha, and Kiria
entered the room ahead of their lifemates to be, stepping slowly in the
ceremonial show of reluctance, though all of them were anything but reluctant. 
Their dresses were of green, as a symbol of life and renewal, and on their
hornless heads were wreathes of white flowers on a bed of green leaves.  In
their hands they each held a ribbon.

As
Khazak Mail Fist watched the first of them pass by, across the room he saw
Miratha’s younger sister.  Suddenly he realized she was staring back at him. 
Then she winked at him!  Khazak just grinned back.  After a moment he turned to
Karthan.

“I’ve
heard Miratha’s younger sister is a healer…  and she has yet to find a
lifemate.”

Karthan
looked at Khazak approvingly.  “Well, that would be a perfect match.  You’re
always needing a healer, after all.”

“Aye!”
Khazak replied, nodding solemnly.

“She’ll
have you in stitches,” Karthan said.

“Lame
joke, Karthan,” Khazak said, shaking his head.

“I’m
not the lord of the gen anymore,” Karthan replied.  “I can tell lame jokes if I
want.”

“It
never stopped you before.”

Karthan
looked shocked.  “But you always laughed before.  I thought they were good
jokes!”

“Well,
you said it,” Khazak replied, shrugging his shoulders.  “Before, you were lord
of the gen…”

Karthan
just chewed his lip.

As
the five females took their place in front of Lord Kale’s throne, Trallik,
Gorgon Hammer, Keryak, Ardan One-Horn, and Durik Dragon Slayer entered.  As a
token of their shared experiences, they had collected up five of the suits of
armor they had made in the Krall Gen, over the top of which each wore the
ceremonial crossbelts and sword of a warrior of the Kale Gen.  Trallik had felt
awkward about it when Kiria had suggested it, but true to character Durik and
Manebrow had both provided the armor and insisted he wear it, as a veteran of
the now disbanded Durik’s Company.  In their hands each carried a golden
implement as a token of their joining for both themselves and for their
lifemates to be.

“So
how do you think Myaliae convinced Gorgon to be joined to her?” Karthan asked
under his breath.

Khazak
just chuckled and shook his head.  “For all his talk of being a leader, I think
young Gorgon there got caught up in all the excitement among his friends.  He
did the convincing, you know.”

“Really?”

“No
lie,” Khazak Mail Fist answered.

Karthan
shook his head.  But then, the more he thought about it, the more he remembered
that he’d felt very much the same.  He suddenly felt very old, as a faint
glimmer of how he had thought and felt twenty years before passed through his
heart.

Soon
the five males, resplendent in their armor and ceremonial garb, came in line
behind their future lifemates, each of which looked equally resplendent in
their spring gowns.

“Fellow
Children of Kale,” Lord Kale began, using the traditional greeting for such
occasions.  “We gather together on this Day of Joining to witness the renewing
of hope, the birth of joy, and a uniting among our people.”

Lord
Kale looked at the five couples gathered in front of him.  “Please turn to face
your lifemates,” he said in a low voice to the five females.  In a whisper of
flowers and a splash of expectant smiles, the five of them turned about.

“Since
the days of The Sorcerer, when our first parents were created by Him, we have
been commanded to join together as lifemates. 
Be one together
, as it
states in our Scrolls of Heritage.  Today, you five warriors of the Kale Gen
have come together to obey that commandment, and to reap the benefits of it. 
And you five,” he said looking down the line of females.  “You have chosen to
give yourselves to these five.  Therefore, as lord of the gen, I approve of
these joinings, and I join these kobolds this day.

“My
love, will you please do the honors,” Lord Kale said as his lifemate, Lady
Kamia, the Lady of the Kale Gen came forward, dressed in a resplendent dress of
flaxen yellow, to symbolize her stage in life.  Starting with the first pair,
she took the ribbon out of Trikki’s hands and, as the pair grasped hands, she
wrapped their left hands with the ribbon.

As
Lady Kamia finished wrapping their hands, she stepped back while Trallik
fumbled with the bracelet of gold he had picked out for Trikki, eventually
getting it on her wrist.  In return, Trikki placed on his right hand a
duplicate of the snake-shaped ring she had placed on his left hand before. 
They had their own tokens of love for each other from their self-joining in the
cave under the Dwarven Outpost, but they had felt it important to be joined now
by the authority of the lord of their gen, now that they were no longer outcasts.

Lady
Kamia went down the line from Trallik and Trikki to Gorgon Hammer and Myaliae
of the Krall Gen, both of whom were staring starry-eyed at each other.  Their
passion for each other could be clearly felt, and she hoped that they would
keep together once the realities of being joined began to be felt as well.

Next
in line, Darya beamed with more life and enthusiasm than anyone should be able
to.  Though she was a little more than a year younger than normal, Lord Kale
had allowed her joining to Keryak, based on the abuses she had suffered under
Khee-lar Shadow Hand and his henchmen.  As the Lady of the Gen wrapped their
hands, she could see the deep love and concern Keryak felt reflected in his
eyes.

Ardan,
who had recently received the honor name of One-Horn, was probably the most
reserved of them all, though the same certainly could not be said of Miratha. 
Both of them were well past the age of the rest of the kobolds here being
joined this day, but age certainly hadn’t dampened Miratha’s enthusiasm at all.

Finally,
as Lady Kamia wrapped Durik’s bronze-scaled hand to Kiria’s rust red scaled
hand, and the pair exchanged simple, plain rings of bronze, Lady Kamia nodded
and moved off to the side.

“Lifemates,
embrace each other and be one,” Lord Kale said.

None
of them needed the prompting, but only the permission.  As one, each couple
embraced, each of them soon being joined by their families, extended families,
and many friends.  As Lord Kale and his lifemate stood looking on they could
see that, though they were many different people with many separate desires and
abilities, this day, in this place, they were one.

Review
!

Now’s the time to
help other readers discover great fiction!  Many people rely on reviews to make
the decision whether to try a book or not.  If you liked this book, you can
help them make that decision by writing a 4 or 5 star review.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Joel Babbitt is an officer in the U.S. Army and a
bishop in his church.  He has spent his entire adult life living and teaching
principles of leadership and team building in a warrior environment.  Joel and
his family live in Virginia.

(Joel and
his illustrator in 2006)

Follow the author
at:

www.authorjoel.com

www.facebook.com/authorjoel

@AuthorJoel on
Twitter

1. 
No one is ever alone.

2. 
Take care of yourselves.  Watch your feet for blisters.  Drink lots of water. 
Sleep when we let you.  Keep wounds clean and bandaged so they don’t fester. 
Make sure your teammates are taking care of themselves as well.

3. 
When we’re on the march, move stealthily.  See the enemy first.

4. 
Tell the truth about what you see and remember details.  The rest of the
company depends on you telling the truth, even if you’re scared.

5. 
When on the march, if you can see
as far as a bowshot’s distance, then draw your bow and have an arrow ready.  If
you can’t see that far, then keep a hand weapon out.  Always keep your shield
handy and at least ten arrows in your quiver at all times.

6. 
Keep your armor on at all times unless ordered otherwise, even if it’s hot,
chafes, or is dirty and wet.  It’s when you take your armor off that a sneaky
enemy will attack.

7. 
When making the shield wall, keep your shields together and your heads down. 
Only the top of your head to your eyes should be over the shield wall, and your
weapon should be hid behind it until you stab with it, so you can strike with
surprise.

8. 
When ordered to charge, throw your spear or javelin first, then draw your sword
and hold your shield high to hide your sword so you can strike with surprise. 
Yell ferociously to frighten your opponent and to break his concentration.

9. 
When we’re on the march, teams
stay far enough apart from each other to maneuver.  Warriors in each team stay
close enough to be able to quickly form a shield wall, but far enough apart to
not hinder each other’s movements.

10. 
If we strike soft ground, we spread out so that we don’t make such deep
tracks.  If you’re sure something is tracking you, make a circle and come back
onto your tracks, then figure out whether or not you can ambush whatever was
trying to ambush you.

11. 
When we march, we keep moving until dark, then we shift our resting spot after
dark.  That will keep the enemy guessing and give us the advantage if they try
to ambush us.

12. 
When we rest or eat, we post at least one sentry per team, more if the
situation warrants it.

13. 
Every time we rest or stop you’ll be told where to meet if scattered.  If you
get lost, go back to that rallying point and wait for us.

14. 
Don’t ever return by the same path you left on.  Take a different path so that
you won’t be ambushed.

15. 
No matter whether we’re traveling as a company or in teams, every formation
will keep a scout twenty paces ahead and twenty paces to the rear.  If there’s
enough of us, we’ll also keep scouts twenty paces to each side.

16. 
Don’t use bridges, fords, or narrow passages through rocks, unless there’s no
other way.  Enemies and predators will wait for you there and try to ambush
you.

17. 
Don’t sleep beyond dawn.  That’s when most things that can’t see well in the
dark wake up and start looking for food.

18. 
If we take prisoners, keep them separated until we have time to question them. 
That way they can’t make up a story between themselves.

19. 
Never leave another member of this company to his doom.  We’re all in this
together.  Everyone stands by everyone.