the_lioness | (no subject)

In the end, it had been surprisingly easy to open the front door and leave Milliways. If nothing else, her experience with Roger had taught her to rely on her instincts and not second guess such grandiose decisions. It simply became a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, opening the door and trusting in the Goddess to lead her home.

The Goddess apparently had a wicked sense of humor. Alanna awoke slowly to a mouthful of reddish sand and a sore hip bone where she had landed on a small boulder. Annoyed with the dust covering her from head to toe, Alanna groaned and took stock of her surroundings. Her pack lay nearby, its contents secure. Grimacing, she rolled her neck to the left and caught sight of an oasis – thirty feet away. The sand looked softer, the trees' shade inviting. Alanna wondered why the Goddess didn't see fit to drop her over there, where she would have been infinitely more comfortable.

Alanna grinned and jumped to her feet, face turned to the strong desert sun. Tortall, she thought. Mithros, it's good to be home. The knight quickly collected her meager belongings and tromped through the oasis. As she had suspected, the oasis was the very one she had been searching for on the day she inadvertently stumbled into Milliways. An intricate marking in the tallest palm tree told her that the Bazhir were nearby. After investigating the water's edge for hoof prints, Alanna decided to abandon her search for Moonlight. The smooth sand of the oasis was undisturbed; the mare had obviously vanished long ago. Alanna sighed, scanning the horizon. The Bloody Hawk village was but an hour's walk from the oasis. With a loud whoop, Alanna grabbed her pack and set off, eager to see her friend Halef Seif again.

The sun was setting in a flurry of rich purple and red hues when Alanna trotted into the Bloody Hawk village. Several youngsters eyed her with blatant suspicion but abandoned their perusal when a woman called them inside a large tent with nervous, clacking tones. Alanna glanced down at her worn breeches and dusty burnoose. With a grin, she slowed her pace, heading towards the central campfire. A meeting of elders appeared to be wrapping up. Alanna snuck up on the gathering and threw her dagger at Halef Seif's feet. The Headman looked up in shock, his startled expression gradually giving way to a genuine smile of welcome.

"Woman Who Rides Like a Man," he boomed. "You have been gone a long time. Welcome. Your students have made you proud in your absence, Shaman."

Alanna beamed, warmly greeting the Bazhir tribesmen seated around the large fire. "It is good to be back, my friend." Her eyes clouded with concern. "Tell me, have you had news from Corus? From the Voice of the Tribes? Is Tortall at war again?"

Halef Seif quirked an eyebrow, surprised by her adamant request for information. Surely the Lady Knight kept in touch with her King? "We have heard nothing of another war, at least nothing beyond the Coronation Day incident." The older man lifted his chin regally and frowned at the Knight. "Perhaps it would be wise to cast your unnecessary caution to the wind and join with the Voice. You will learn what you need to know of Corus and your Northern King. It is time, Woman Who Rides Like a Man."

Alanna gulped, painfully aware that the Headman was right. Communing with the Voice would be the quickest way to learn the truth of Tortall's possible peril. After all, the Voice and the Northern King were one and the same. Jonathan. With a curt nod, Alanna moved to Halef Seif's right side and quietly watched the sunset. Halef Seif looked at her out of the corner of his eye and noted that the typically fearless Knight had her hands clasped tightly behind her back and appeared to be suffering from a paroxysm of nerves.

Each evening at Sunset, every Bazhir man, woman and child joined with the Voice of the Tribes. He knew their every thought, guided them and eased their worries. Alanna closed her eyes, turning inward, and took a deep breath. Her lips mouthed the words "One as Many," the words Jonathan had repeated upon becoming the Voice over a year ago. Suddenly, she was joined with Bazhir across the land, but she felt one presence in particular. Jon, in Corus, reaching out to the tribesmen and women who had adopted him as thier Voice. He was there, in her mind, as he had been during the Sweating Sickness and in the Black City. The Knight smiled.

Jon, she thought, envisioning her words sailing to Corus on the evening breeze. I am here. Please... tell me everything is alright. Tortall? Is Tortall safe? However, first... accept my apologies for my long absence. As King's Champion, I do not expect your mercy. I regret my lapse in duty. As your friend, I can only say that I have much to tell you. So much.

Alanna sensed a probing touch in her brain and saw a flicker of sapphire blue in her mind's eye. Jon was testing her with his own Gift. Not for the first time, Alanna marveled at the Voice's ability to touch all the Bazhir instantaneously. Jon was never that organized.

"Alanna! It is you." Alanna could sense Jon's glower, even across the Great Southern Desert. "Mithros, you had better have a good explanation, Lioness," he replied flatly.

"I do, Jon. I swear to the Goddess. Only... tell me Tortall is safe," she pleaded.

Immediately, the Knight was assaulted with vision after vision of Jon, the Court, a dusty and sweaty Moonlight and the Chamber of the Ordeal. The images flowed together, never clearly resolving, and the colors seemed unnaturally bright. Alanna grabbed her head, gritting her teeth as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Many of the images matched those shown to her by Lochiel, but others did not. Several images revealed Tortall rebuilding, not defending.

Alanna frowned as she felt Jon abruptly break the connection. Muttering, she opened her eyes to find Halef Seif watching her patiently. She addressed him rather sheepishly. "I hate to impose upon your irrepressible hospitality, my friend, but I have great need of a horse." Alanna looked around the village, smiling weakly at the curious faces of several children that had crept around the fire. "There are a few things I need to collect from Kara and Kourrem, then I will be on my way. Thank you for your guidance." The Headman bowed his head in response, indicating that he would honor her request and respect her need to return to Corus. Within the hour, Alanna was galloping North on the back of a large dun stallion. Eyes trained on the horizon, she tried not to think of the last time she had seen the Palace. Thom had died there. Part of her had died with him. Yes, she had much to tell Jon.