The Wyrmling Horde

Then it was queries about ancient history. Where did the wyrmlings hail from?

It was a question that Kirissa had never heard an answer to. The study of history was not important to wyrmlings. Time wiped away all clues to the past.

The horse-sisters grilled her about leadership. Sister Gadron asked what the emperor planned to do with the small folk? What would he do if he was attacked?

Kirissa told her, "I can only guess at the emperor s plans, but what does that matter? The Great Wyrm now walks the labyrinth. Despair himself is in charge. The emperor is now just another Death Lord, a shade."

"Who is this Great Wyrm?" Sister Gadron asked.

"Despair, the creator of heaven and earth, the great lord of all wyrms. It takes human form from time to time, and two nights ago, the Great Wyrm seized the body of a new host."

At last Sister Gadron was satisfied with Kirissa s story, unsettling though it might be. Now the questions turned to Cullossax.

"What did Cullossax do in Rugassa?" Sister Gadron asked.

Kirissa answered, "He was a tormentor. It was his job to torture and punish those who broke wyrmling laws, whether their offense consisted of actively doing wrong, or failing to do well. By killing the weak and unruly, he culled the horde."

"Why did he run? Was he your lover? Your father?"

Kirissa hesitated. "I think he wanted to destroy the horde, to help create a better society."

"So you converted him?"

Kirissa shrugged. "It appeared so."

"Can many wyrmlings be converted, do you think?"

Kirissa had never considered that question. "No," she said. "Most of them would be too afraid to run. They have heard of the terrors of life outside the keep-the burning sun, the merciless humans. I ran only because I knew that there was a better life."

Sister Gadron s next query was foolish. "Did he love you?"

"Humans love," Kirissa answered. "Wyrmlings merely spawn. It is not the same."

"Why do you have nubs on your head?" Sister Gadron asked.

"Because I am old enough to grow them."

"Do you have a wyrm feeding upon your soul?"

"How would I know?"

"Why do you want to give your soul to a wyrm?"

Again, Kirissa hesitated. "I never wanted that. Not all wyrmlings do. Only the most devout have such hopes. I was always afraid that the wyrms wished only to feed upon us."

"How many of your own wyrmling people have you killed?"

"Two," Kirissa said. "I killed another girl when I was four, and one when I was eight."

"Why did you kill them?"

"They angered me. Among the wyrmling horde, what I did was not considered wrong. I fought them with knives, and won the respect of others."

"Do you know right from wrong?"

"I know wyrmling law," Kirissa said, "and I know Inkarran law. I have a feeling that matters of right and wrong go deeper than either law."

"You said earlier that when Cullossax took you from your school, he was supposed to lead you to slaughter. Have you eaten the flesh of your own people?"

"I ate what was put before me," Kirissa said. "Among the wyrmlings there is a saying, Flesh is flesh. It does not matter whether it is human or animal, but some prefer wyrmling flesh."

"Why is that?"

"It is said that wyrmling flesh tastes better than that of other animals. The meat of a child is sweetest of all."

"When you killed other children, did you eat them afterward?"

"That is an honor that I won," Kirissa said.

Sister Gadron rephrased some of her questions. The small woman asked again about wyrms. Do you have a wyrm in you? Do you take orders from a wyrm? Are you infested with a wyrm?

At last when she was satisfied, the woman with wings asked a question, and Sister Gadron translated. "Can you draw a map of Rugassa?"

Kirissa hesitated. For two hours she had been burning with curiosity about the winged woman. Now she dared ask the question that haunted her. "First, may I have the honor of asking some questions?"

The translator said, "I suppose."

"Who did you kill to get those wings?"

The translator spoke to the winged woman, and she answered, "I slew a Knight Eternal, at the battle of Caer Luciare."

The news made Kirissa s heart swell with relief. She began to weep tears.

"Why are you crying?" the winged woman asked.

"Because the Knights Eternal can be killed," Kirissa said. At her hosts expression of bafflement, Kirissa continued, "From the moment that I decided to run, one question has burned in my mind: will the wyrmlings kill us all, or will we be able to fight and destroy them. When the Earth King died, he warned me that the time will come when the small ones of the world must stand against the large. But having seen the wyrmling horde, I am terrified. My fear is that they will overwhelm us. I have heard rumors of strange things happening-beasts being brought from shadow worlds, and the coming of Despair. The wyrmlings are more dangerous than you know."

Kirissa continued, "But if you can kill a Knight Eternal, if you can strike down their leaders, then there is some hope."

Kirissa studied the winged woman, her pale red hair and strong cheeks. There was an air of dangerousness about her. She had the taut posture of one who has practiced with the sword for long hours, and the thickness of her thighs, calves, and biceps all bore witness to such labors.

"Do you have a name?" Kirissa asked.

"Rhianna," the woman said, and Kirissa repeated the name in her mind, over and over.

Rhianna, she thought, my savior.

Rhianna asked her question again, this time speaking in Inkarran. "Can you draw a map of Rugassa?"

"That would be impossible," Kirissa said. "It is said that no one knows the labyrinth in whole-at least not among the common folk. The labyrinth is vast, and there are many passages with many twists and turns. The corridors rise and fall, so that you never know what level you are on. I knew only a small part of it. I could try to make you a map, but I know some passages by their look. If I were to miscount the doors you had to pass to get somewhere, you would be forever lost."

"Do you know where the wizard Fallion Orden is kept?" Rhianna asked through the interpreter, and there was a depth of longing in her voice.

"He is in the dungeon, in the human wing," Kirissa said. "I saw him."

"Was he alive?"

"Yes," Kirissa said, "last that I saw."

"Do you know where Areth Sul Urstone is kept?"

"I do not know what cell he is kept in."

"Is he alive?"

"I do not know."

"Could you lead me to them? Do you know the labyrinth well enough?"

Kirissa pondered. "No. I was there once, but only once. My tormentor cuffed me unconscious along the way. I don t remember how to reach the dungeons. I m sorry."

Suddenly Rhianna fell silent, became thoughtful.

Kirissa asked, "Are you going to free me?"

"If you were free, what would you do?" Rhianna asked.

"Go home," Kirissa said.

"How could you go," Rhianna asked, "knowing what the wyrmling horde is going to do? Would it not be better to fight? You could be a great help to me."

Kirissa bit her lower lip, and considered. Somehow, in the back of her mind, she d known when she left the keep that it would come to this. The Earth King himself had warned her that this time would come.

"I ll help you," Kirissa said. "What will you ask of me?"

Through her interpreter, Rhianna said, "We are going to rescue Fallion Orden and Areth Sul Urstone."

Kirissa recalled the guard that she had heard about in Fallion Orden s cell. "That will be difficult. Vulgnash guards him, and it is rumored that he has taken many endowments."

"Of course," Rhianna said, undeterred. "We anticipate that the wyrmlings will do all within their power to thwart us. But we must try anyway. Will you help us?" she asked. "You have said that you want to make a better world. This would be a fine place to start."