The Ironhand's Daughter

'Your father gave me bread and salt the last time I came here, nineteen years ago, by your reckoning. You were six. You looked at my face and asked me why it no longer fit me.' The old man gave a dry chuckle. 'I do so love the young. Their questions are so deliciously impertinent.'

'I don't remember it.'

'It was the night of the twin moons. I had another man with me; he was tall and recklessly handsome, and he wore a shirt of buckskin emblazoned with a red hawk motif.'

'I do remember,' said Fell, surprised. 'His name was Caswallon and he sat with me and taught me how to whistle through my teeth.'

The old man's face showed a look of exasperation. He shook his head and whispered something that sounded to Fell like a curse. Then he looked up. 'It was a night when two moons appeared in the sky, and the Gateways of time shimmered open causing a minor earthquake and several avalanches.

But you remember it because you learned to whistle. Ah well, such, I fear, is the way of things.

Do you intend to share that porridge?'

'Such was not my intention,' said Fell testily, 'but since you remind me of my manners I am obliged to offer you some.'

'It never does a man harm to be reminded of his manners,' said Taliesen. Fell rose and fetched two wooden bowls from the cupboard. There was only one spoon, which he offered to the old man.

Taliesen ate slowly, then put aside his bowl half finished. 'I see you've lost the art of porridge in this time,' he said. 'Still, it will suffice to put a little energy into this old frame. Now ... to the matter at hand. How is Sigarni?'

'She is well, old man. How do you know her?'

Talisen smiled. 'I don't. Well, not exactly. My friend with the hawk shirt brought her to the people who raised her. He risked much to do so, but then he was an incautious man, and one ruled by an iron morality. Such men are dangerous friends, but they make even more deadly enemies.

Thankfully he was always more of a friend.'

'What do you mean brought her? She lived with her father and mother until...'

'The night of the slaughter... yes, yes, I know. But they were not her parents. Their child died in her cot. Sigarni was a... changeling.

But that is all beside the point. I take it the invasion is not under way yet? No, of course it isn't. I may be getting old, but I still have a certain Talent when it comes to Gateways. It is now six days from the end of summer, yes?'

'Four days, but you make no sense, old man,' said Fell, adding more wood to the fire. 'What invasion?'

'Four days? Mmmmm. Ah well, close enough,' said The old man, looking down at his gnarled hand and tapping his thumb to each of the fingers, as if working on some simple calculation. He stood and wandered to the doorway, pulling back the flap and looking up at the sky, scanning the bright stars. 'Ah yes,' he said, returning to the fire. 'Four days. Quite right. Now, what was your question? The invasion. Mmmm. Where to begin? The descendants of the Aenir, the conquerers of the Lowlands. What do you call them ... Outlanders? Yes, Outlanders. They will come in the spring with fire and sword. I know you suspect this already, young Fell. Still, that is not important at this moment, for we were speaking of Sigarni. Is she strong? Is she wilful and obstinate? Does she have a piercing stare that strikes fear into the hearts of strong men?'

Fell laughed suddenly. 'Yes, all of those.' His smile faded. 'But speak plainly, old man, for I wish to hear more of this invasion you speak of. Why would they invade?'

'Why indeed? What motivates the minds of evil men? Who can truly know, save another evil man. And, testy though I have been throughout my long life, I have never been evil, and therefore cannot answer your questions with any guarantee of accuracy. I can hazard a guess, however.'

'I never knew a man who could talk so long and say so little,' snapped Fell.

'Youth was always impatient,' Taliesen rebuked him mildly. 'There are two main reasons I can think of. One concerns a prophecy being talked of in the south, about a great leader who will rise among the peoples of the highlands. Prophecies of this nature are not usually welcomed by tyrants.

Secondly, and probably more important, is the fact that the Baron Ranulph Gottasson is ambitious.

He has two enemies, one is the King, and the other is the Earljastey. By raising an army in the Highlands he can make himself a power again in the capital - especially with a few victories to brag of.' - 'How can he achieve victories when there is no army to fight him?'

Taliesen smiled and shook his head. 'For that very reason, how can he not?'

'But there is no leader. God's teeth, this is insane!' 'Wrong again, boy. There is a leader. That is why I am here, sitting in this cold, inhospitable cave, with its dull company and worse porridge. There is a leader?

Fell stared at him. 'Me? You think it is me?

'Do I look like an idiot, boy? No, Fell, you are not the leader. You are brave and intelligent, and you will be loyal.' He chuckled. 'Butyou are not gifted to command armies. You have not the talent, nor the will, nor the blood.'

'Thank you for your honesty,' said Fell, feeling both aggrieved and relieved. 'Then who is it?'

'You will see. In three days, outside the walls of Citadel town a sword will be raised, and the Red will be worn again. Be there, Fell. In three days, at dawn. By the light of the new sun you will see the birth of a legend.'

The old man stood and his joints cracked like dry twigs.

Fell rose also. 'If you are some sort of prophet, then you must know the outcome of the invasion. Will my people survive?'

'Some will, some won't. But it is not quite so simple, young man. There is only ever one past, but myriad futures, though sometimes the past can be another man's future. Now there is a riddle to spin your head like a top, eh?' The old man's features softened. 'I'm not trying to baffle you, Fell. But I have knowledge gained over twenty times your lifetime. I cannot impart it to you in the brief moment we have. Let us merely say that I know what should happen, and I know what could happen. I can therefore say with certainty what might happen. But never can I tell you what will happen!'

'Even Gwalch is more sure than that,' put in Fell, 'and he's drunk half the time.'

'Some events are set in stone, and a part of destiny,' agreed Taliesen, 'as you will see in three days at Citadel town. Others are more fluid.' He smiled. 'Don't even try to make sense of what I tell you. Just be close to Citadel town. And now I will show you something more memorable than teeth whistling. Watch carefully, Fell, for you will not see its like again.'

So saying, the old man walked towards the wall - and through it. Fell gasped, blinked, then pushed himself upright and ran to the wall.

It was solid rock.

But of the old man there was no sign. For a moment Fell stood there, his broad right hand resting on the rock. Then he turned and glanced back at the fire. It had died down. Adding more wood, he waited until the flames rose and flickered high, then settled down beside the fire. It was pitch-dark and icy cold outside the cave now, but he felt the heat from the blaze and was comfortable.

And as he dropped into a deep and dreamless sleep he heard again the words of the old man.

'Be there, Fell. In three days, at dawn. By the light of the new sunyou mil see the birth of a legend.'

*

Will Stamper moved through the market crowds, scanning for signs of cut-purses or beggars. He had been Corporal of the Watch for two years now, and the burly soldier took his job very seriously.

Beside him the shorter Relph Wittersson munched on an apple.

'More people this year,' said Relph, tossing away the core. A mangy mongrel sniffed at it then moved away.

'Population's growing,' Will told him, stroking a broad finger under the chin strap of his iron helmet. 'All them new houses on East Street are sold now, and they're talking of building to the north. God knows why people want to come to this place.'