Although not always in agreement with Joanna, Aidan knew she was right in the argument with Horse about Bloodnames the night before. Being a warrior nourished his life, but winning the Bloodname would nourish his soul. The argument was moot now that the ritual prelude to the contest was about to begin. Joanna and Horse stood beside him as the three of them awaited the summoning by the House Leader.
Aidan wondered if Lopar, his slim opponent standing across the way, was experiencing the same excitement. If so, not a trace of it showed on his face, which displayed only hatred. The glare he gave Aidan was more than just the typical warrior pose, the ritual body language meant to intimidate an opponent. No, this was the real thing, hatred deep and pure.
So you hate, do you, Lopar? Aidan thought. Would you be surprised to know that I do not hate you in return? I would not waste it on a fool like you. Hate me well, then. It will bring you down, for I will be sure to find a way to exploit it.
Risa Pryde stood in the center of the vast chamber where the Bloodright ceremonies took place. She had already orchestrated the ritual for most of the thirty other combatants. Aidan and Lopar were next to last.
Watching the others, Aidan felt a thrill. Since his days in the sibko, he had dreamed of standing in just such a hall, awaiting the chance to win a Bloodname. He had never imagined it would happen like this, under such adverse circumstances, but how could he ever have foreseen that he would live posing as a freebirth, go through a Trial of Refusal to vindicate his trueborn status, and then enter the Bloodname contest with every one of his opponents having taken a secret vow to kill rather than merely defeat him? Even now, the other warriors in the Trial often glanced his way, their expressions ranging from distaste to disgust to utter gall. Well, he thought, I will as eagerly destroy any of you that I meet on any field, so we are even.
Finally Aidan and Lopar were summoned to the central dais, where stood Risa Pryde, surrounded by other members of House Pryde. Before withdrawing, Joanna and Horse each touched him briefly on the shoulder. Aidan walked briskly to the dais, remembering that Joanna had instructed him to show no hesitation at any point in the ceremony, no matter what happened. Marthe was near the end of one row of seated Pryde warriors, but she carefully avoided looking at him directly. None of the other Bloodnamed Prydes knew of her support for him, for Marthe believed she could do more by keeping her activities clandestine.
Risa Pryde wore the ceremonial robe of the Jade Falcon Clan, a striking cloak woven from brilliantly colored feathers. Before the melee she had seemed diminutive, but in full regalia, with the massive cloak sweeping down her back, she seemed taller, more impressive.
Nodding to the two contestants, she announced that she would be the Oathmaster and would represent House Pryde. "Do you concur in this, warriors?"
"Seyla," replied both Aidan and Lopar.
"What happens here, warriors, will bind us all until we shall fall." The words of the ceremony were similar in all the Clans, and Risa Pryde uttered them with deep feeling. Spreading her arms out, she said, "You represent the best of House Pryde and have so proven."
At this, many of the assembled warriors muttered among themselves, despite the rule forbidding anyone but the Oathmaster and the warrior contestants from making a sound. Aidan knew that it was the ritual reference to his being among the best of House Pryde that made them break the ritual silence.
Risa Pryde finished the introductory portion of the ceremony, explaining that the warriors would battle for the right and honor to claim the name of Pryde. Then she turned to Lopar. "You are Lopar and are twenty-five years old. Tell us why you are worthy to fight for the Bloodname of Pryde."
Lopar said proudly that he had earned his nomination by another Pryde warrior through his courage and heroism in several conflicts, including a defense of the Jade Falcon settlement on York in a territorial dispute.
Risa Pryde then turned to Aidan and asked him to verify his worthiness. The muttering began again, but the House Leader silenced the complaining warriors with a hard stare.
"I am not nominated, but come here as the winner over more than a hundred combatants in the Grand Melee. As a warrior of the Jade Falcon Clan, I have served well in several assignments. In the Glory Station battle defending the spawn of Kael Pershaw against predation by Clan Wolf, I turned the tide of battle. Against significant odds, I invaded the Clan Wolf camp and destroyed its communications center, thus effectively ending the conflict."
In coaching him for this speech, Joanna had insisted that Aidan not mention his masquerade as a freeborn, nor—as warriors frequently did—any of his achievements in the sibko.
A flash of consternation briefly lit Risa Pryde's eyes, as if she too felt shame at Aidan's participation in the Trial of Bloodright. But she completed the^rest of her speech, which praised the qualifications of the two candidates, then asked them to present the coins that were the tokens of their legitimate right to compete. Aidan noted that she stumbled a bit over the word legitimate,but at least no further grumbles of protest came from the audience. A conelike device rose from the floor of the dais. It was called a gravity funnel, and was used to decide which warrior chose the weapons and which chose the venue.
The Oathmaster demanded a look at the coins, which she examined briefly to verify that the back of each was inscribed with the correct name.
Holding up both coins, she then announced, "These coins will pursue one another in the Well of Decision. This randomness imitates the conditions of battle, which no warrior can control. A worthy warrior must rise above the difficulties and defeat even superior enemies, overcome even apparently overwhelming obstacles. The Trial of Bloodright reflects this chaos of war. One of the bearers of these two coins will emerge as the hunter, who chooses the style of combat. The other will then decide the venue. You both understand this well?"
"Seyla," the two warriors affirmed.
The Oathmaster set each coin in a separate slot of the Well of Decision, a kind of gravity funnel, then pressed a button that sent them tumbling down into the funnel. Although the container was transparent, so rapidly did the coins whirl that it became impossible to distinguish one from the other.
To Aidan, the wait to see which coin would emerge first from the funnel's lower cylinder seemed endless. He and Joanna had decided that winning the role of hunter, and thus the choice of how the two would fight, was the outcome to be desired. Because Lopar was reputed to be a fine 'Mech pilot, Joanna thought it logical to choose some other style of fighting. Aidan had protested that he would rather fight in the style to which the other warrior was accustomed. He wanted no taint on any of his victories, he said. But Joanna was adamant, and Aidan finally gave in. Now, however, Aidan was not so sure. Looking across at the fierce-faced Lopar, he decided that, if luck deemed him the hunter, he would choose BattleMechs and beat Lopar at his own game.
When finally one coin emerged, then the other, the Oathmaster took care to remove them in correct order, the hunter coin in her right hand, the venue coin in her left.
"The hunter is Lopar," she said, holding out her hands, "and Aidan will choose the venue." It really did not matter one way or the other, Aidan thought, because he was sure Lopar would choose the same style. Perhaps the choice of venue was going to turn out to be the advantage. Then Lopar astonished Aidan and everybody else in the room.