The Queen of Thieves: The Line of Kings Trilogy Book Three (26 page)

Epilogue

Roskel
entered the docks district, thinking hard, but in a kind of drifting manner,
letting his thoughts flow and ebb as they were wont to do.

            He
entered the tavern named 'The Bearded Dragon' and passed to the back room
unhindered, though it was a den of thieves. It did not matter. He was one of
their kind. They knew him well enough, because he visited upon many an
occasion. He was well loved, though such rough men as watched him descend the
long stairway downward to the underworld did not envy his fate.

            Roskel
followed the twists and turns of the underworld of Naeth, down to the Queen's
rooms...downward, ever downward, to the Queen's lair.

            He
thought, perhaps for the first time, of all he knew of her. His mind ticked,
and tocked, and all manner of machinations in between.

            The
Thief King, as he had become to be known, thought how one woman, witch or not,
could know so much, be so powerful...whether she was mortal or not...

            And
realised one thing that he's never noticed before. The one thing that should
have raised his hackles but never had.

            Did
he want her still, knowing now what she truly was?

            Of
course he did. He wanted her by his side. He wanted her more than any mortal
could want...an immortal?

            Yes,
he realised. It was true. Of course she was immortal. Not just long lived, but
a creature that could not die, unless, perhaps, that death were hard fought and
hard won indeed.

            Was
he man enough to take the Thieves’ crown and rules in the shadows with Selana?
Become an immortal himself, or would he be doomed to live out his short life,
aging, seeing his bride ever beautiful?

            His
terrible bride. The only woman he had ever loved. Roskel, dandy, once, had
known many women. And yet there was only one who could take his breath away,
make him flounder. Only one that he had eyes for.

            For
eternity? Until the suns burned out and Rythe herself froze in death's embrace?

            Yes,
he thought.

            Yes,
and forever.

            He
did not knock, but pushed open the door and found her standing before him. As
always, she took his breath away.

            'Tell
me, Selana. Tell me all. For I am yours, but I must know. I must.'

            Selana
stroked his cheek with her deadly nails. He took her hand and held it there. If
she drew his blood, then he would not care, because he knew without doubt that
he was hers and ever would be.

            'I
am an old one, Roskel,' she said with her soft, effervescent voice. A voice to
drown it. 'People called us the Sun Destroyers, once, when my people ruled
Rythe. But a creature came and sinned against us...my brother. Caeus.'

            Roskel
closed his eyes and listened to the tale. It was long, and he loved her more
with each word she spoke, though just how terrible and immense and powerful and
amazing she was brought tears to his eyes.

            'Some
old ones had the power over death, yet death held no dominion over them. But
they wanted to test their powers, so they created servants from the spirit of
the sun. We sinned greatly.'

            'Your
kind created the Hierarchs, didn't they?'

            Selana
nodded, sadly.

            'They
overwhelmed the old ones long ago, so the old ones fled to their strongholds,
vast edifices of magical black stone that sustained them in their slumber.
Sometimes they came out to feed on death, but now Madal had arisen and they
could not feed. I...adapted. I am long lived, Roskel. Longer than any creature
upon this world and many others. I saw the fall of my kind, the rise of our
bastard children and the birth of mankind. I have seen creatures you would not
believe existed, things that are long gone from Rythe and may never return. I
have seen dragon's flight in the setting suns. I have seen the leaving of my
kind. I have seen the Hath'Ku'Atch born in a bolt of lightning...

            'But
my kind...my kind will come again. The battle we fought was not solely for
Sturma, but for the fate of this world. I love this world and humankind,
Roskel. Do you believe that a creature such as I can love?'

            'I
do. I know it,' said Roskel. He knew he was lost to her, and to the world of
men with the realisation.

            'One
day, a thousand years from now, three will come. Three alone. The Sacrifice.
The Saviour. The Watcher. Sturma will see a king again. The time of the Return
seems distant, but for my kind it is but a moment.'

            'A
thousand years?'

            Selana
nodded again and took Roskel's hand. She held it to her neck. He felt no pulse.

            'Don't
you want to see how it turns out?' she said.

            'With
you?' said Roskel, his throat dry.

            'Yes,'
she said, and bared her throat to him, to his love.

            'Then
yes, I do,' said Roskel. And he knew his words were true. Nothing truer had
ever been spoken. He was lost in her, and she in him.

            With
a nod, but no further word, the Queen slashed her own throat with one of her
razor nails. Roskel watched, for a second only, as that dark ichor ran down her
slender neck. Then, without thought, without regret or doubt, he drank.

            The
Queen of Thieves held him in her embrace, and just like her, he would never see
the sun again, but live forever in the shadows.

            And
in all that time, in the millenium of peace and growth of mankind, the slumber
of the Hierarchy, the rise of the Protectorate, they would wait.

            They
would wait for the return of the Sun Destroyers.

The End

Bonus
Material: The Island Archives

The Witch War: The Two Queens

Cast
(Major)

(Not
in order of appearance. Not in alphabetical order. In fact, there is no
semblance of order. Entirely chaotic, just like life. Learning and growing,
eh?)

Rena
-
Flaxen haired
beauty. Previously owner of one pair of blue eyes. Missing. Believed lost to
the blight. If spotted, please return to owner. Would have been Queen, but for
a living husband. Or a horse shoe. Or a pea...there's some kind of fairy tale
in there somewhere...

Tarn
-
The Outlaw
King. A man who fought heroically to avenge injustice, became a bandit. Did
what it took, which was responsibility and stoicism in the face of overwhelming
odd. Then he kicked the bucket and it was all for nought. So, probably a bit
miffed about all that, which might explain why he was quite violent when he was
dragged from beyond Madal's Gates to become the Lich King and thus the evil
Heirophant's undoing. Still, got to feel for him. Never ends well for old Tarn,
does it?

Mia
-
Well, she
didn't last long, did she?
I'm beginning to think that maybe Rena's the
problem here...everyone she touches turns to dust. Doesn't bode well for Asram
Fell. And I liked him.

Tulathia
-
Old witch.
Hey, I'm not being derogatory. She really is an old witch. Oh, and dead. A bit
dead. Well, fairly dead, but spritely, nonetheless...there's a lot of it going
around. Must be the weather. But you have to be realistic, like Ninefingers,
eh? She's deader'n a door knob.

Roskel
Farinder -
The
Thief King and the Lord Protector of Sturma, First Steward of the Crown. Baldy.

Shawford
Crale -
A Lord
among vampires, but still falls foul of that eternal trial that befalls many of
us - parenthood.

Asram
Fell -
Beardy-weirdy.
Good man in a pinch. Fancies Rena a fair bit. Bowman par excellence.

The
Hierophant -
Evil
bugger. Smells of brie.

The
Skald
- Rualanon
Mar’ganathis Mar’ganathor Am’belain, Blade Singer of the Draymar nation, First
Knight of Sturma. Died in the last battle of the Bladesingers...his death will
not go unsung...because, you know. They like a good sing-song, the Draymen.
Known by his mates as Ruan because it's really difficult to shoehorn ' Rualanon
Mar’ganathis Mar’ganathor Am’belain' into the lyrics.

The
Queen of Thieves -
Selana,
the head of the Witches' and Thieves' Covenants...doesn't believe in power
sharing. Possibly the most attractive woman in the universe, which might make
things awkward should her brother Caeus meet her consort...in, oh, a thousand
years or so...but you'll have to read the Rythe Trilogy to find out more! (Ha,
sales pitch in the glossary? Sweet.)

Cast
(Minor
)

Tarn
-
A true minor
role, being a baby and all. Pretty pointless character, to be fair. Almost a
MacGuffin, but a small one so as you wouldn't notice.

Ellisindre
-
Shawford
Crale's insatiable Lady wife. Often introduced at dinner parties as
'The
Late and Present Mrs. Crale
'. Sarcastic bastards, those dinner party types.

Lowan
Haggard -
He
didn't last long, either. Nevermind, eh? Worse things happen at sea...

Rohir
-
Former Steward
of the Crown. Unfortunately, and rather meanly, perhaps, got exploded, like,
KABOOM! Shame, really. Liked him.

Wexel
-
Steward of the
Crown. Still alive, which is certainly something to boast about for a fairly
minor character in a trilogy.

Durmont
-
Cool old
secretary type fella.

Redalane
-
Wily
campaigner and warrior. Veteran of the War of Reconciliation, Thane of Spar.

Shana
Lowboy -
A.K.A.
The widow Lowboy.

Mange
-
Manky fella in
a pub.

Terithan
-
Old bugger.
Yeah, another one. Seems you can't spit without hitting one.
Hathra
was
his ship mate, but such a ridiculously lowly character he's not even worth his
own entry in the glossary. His mum never liked him, either. Hathra, not
Terithan. Terithan never knew his mother. She left him in the care of his
uncle, a vicious Seafaring man and a mean drunk. But just because you can think
of a bit of back story doesn't mean you have to put it in, eh? EH? Not naming
names, though. People in glass houses and all that. 

Klan
Freynard -
Seer.
Wily, a survivor, perhaps...perhaps the predecessor of a whole Klan...perhaps
irrelevant. Truth be told, I haven't decided yet!

Filcher
-
Sneaky
bastard, devious scallywag and short.

Garenhill
-
Improbable
moustachioed thief and confident of the Queen of Thieves.

Beatrain
-
Might have had
something to do with Rena's blindness...also, wicked with a mortar and pestle.

Savan
Retrice
- So
dead even I can't remember who he was.

Orvane
Wense, the
Thane
of Kar
- not really a character in this book, but 'The Thief King'...mind
you, a little plug won't hurt, will it?

Societies
and Nations

Sturma
- A small
nation, pivotal in the events of both The Line of Kings trilogy and the Rythe
Trilogy. Big things to come for the nation of Sturma.

Draymar
-
Sturma's much
larger, aggressive and somewhat invasive neighbour.

The
Feewar
- A.K.A.
The Seafarers...denied landfall for the sins of their forebears.

Lianthre
- The largest Continent on
Rythe, home of the Lianthran people and also the Hierarchy and the Protectorate.

The
Thieves' Covenant
- A loose association of thieves, brigands and cutthroats overseen and ruled by
Selana.

The
Witches' Covenant
-
The most powerful witches of the nation of Sturma.

The
Hierarchy
-
Dark-hearted devils from Lianthre, bastard sons and daughters of the Sun
Destroyers, the original people of the world of Rythe. Their magic feeds on
pain and suffering. They fight to bring about the return of the Sun Destroyers.

The
Bladesingers
-
An old order of magically gifted skalds, but also Judges of the Drayman people.

The
Stewards of the Crown
- Roskel, Rohir and Wexel. Rohir was replaced by Asram upon Rohir's unfortunate
demise.

The
Protectorate
-
Close kin to the Hierarchy...they are not possessed of magic, but are warriors
born.

The
Sun Destroyers
-
The original people of Rythe...long ago banished from Rythe by Caeus...but
destined to return one day. Also known by their true name, the Elethyn.

Vampires
- Honourable
mention.

Miscellaneous

Botany

Kun
Grass/Seer's Weed.

Carmillion

Other
stuff, too. Like grass, and trees and seaweed. But really, no one in their
right mind cares about this entry at all.

Taverns

The
Badger

The
Bearded Dragon

The
Pickled Hare Tavern

The
Wild Man

Ships
(in alphabetical order)

Yargar

Maladies

Collywobbles
and snivel-toed pith-mites, shingles, syndactyly (rampant among seafaring types
- the successful ones, anyway). The Blight.

Artefacts

The
Crown of Kings

Mountains

Thaxamalan's
Saw

Culthorn
Mountains

Celestial
Bodies

Carious
and Dow

Hren
and Gern

Bestiary

Mir
- bird.

Helting
Mir
- upside
down bird.

Teriythyr
- Strange white
furred beasts of the icy wastelands...honourable mention...See 'Rythe Awakes'
and 'The Tides of Rythe' to find out more.

Hath'Ku'Atch
- travel on lightning and
sometimes take jobs in mortal lands as bouncers and doormen. No, really.

Minstrel
- Nominee in the bestiary
category, recipient of the blue rosette for horse names. Roskel's horse.

Dragons
- Mythical. Left Rythe and went
over to G.R.R. Martin. We don't talk to them anymore.

Sandpipers
- I never really thought about
it. Probably some kind of sentient plant with legs. Doesn't matter an awful
lot, does it?

The
Southern Tempath
- Like a badger, but smaller, with feathers and a beak and wings. Possibly not
a badger.

Old
Places

Yemathalan
- The Bladesinger's fortress,
one of the elder buildings, kin to Kuh'taenium and Sebreymeyen.

The
Cathedral on the Plains

Wraith's
Guard

Naeth's
Underworld
-
Selana's lair.

Gods

Madal

Brindle

There
are probably more, but to be honest I got a bit tired, had a nap and moved on.
You should, too. Rythe Awakes is next up, isn't it? Hmm?

*pointed
looks*

*through
red-rimmed, tired eyes, dry and sore from all the writing...years, this took.
Years.*

Places

Spar
- The location of the Castle of
Light, the seat of power for generations of Thanes.

Fresh
Woods
- Smells
like potpourri, or sewers.

Haven
- New city of thieves and
bandits once established by the Bandit King Slain, latterly improved upon by
Tarn, latterly known as 'The Outlaw King'. Bit confusing, all this history.

Kar
-
Had a Thane,
now it doesn't. Kind of an aside, this entry. I'd just skip ahead to the next
one, were I you.

Naeth
-
Pretty much
the capital of Sturma. A lot goes on there, and I'm so close to the end of this
glossary I honestly just want a cup of tea and my pipe. So, I'm gonna leave
that right there, and hopefully see you in the next instalment of the Rythe
tales, 'Rythe Awakes', and meet you in the stupid glossary section. Love
you...thanks for coming!

The
End. Of the glossary.