Princess of Amathar (13 page)

"Thank you, I think," I replied. "I am afraid Norar Remontar is not here to see you."

"I have already seen him in the company offices. It is you I am here to see." She walked in and sat down. "Norar Remontar has asked me to see that you learn of our city and our culture. He has an idea that you can become an Amatharian."

"Do you think I can become an Amatharian?"

"I'm going to withhold that judgment for now," she said. "There is a history of aliens becoming Amatharians, though they are few, and you almost look Amatharian."

"Thank you."

"With that in mind," she continued. "I have brought you this cream." She handed me a small square box. I opened it and looked inside. It was filled with a pale yellow cream, which smelled of flowers.

"This is used by the Holy Order to maintain their traditional bald heads. You may use it on your face. One application will inhibit hair growth for a long time."

"Among my own people, facial hair is often considered a sign of virility," I informed her.

"Without the hair on your face, you have a certain unique charm," she said, with what I thought was a slight smirk. "With that hair on your face however, no Amatharian woman would find you acceptable." That was all it took for me. I went right in to the bathroom, and used the depilatory cream to remove the stubble that had already begun to return to my beard and mustache. When I walked back into the main room to show Vena Remontar my cleaned up image, she reached out and touched my face with her palm. Her palm was cool and smooth, though hardened by calluses.

"Much better," she said, her eyes dancing. "I can already think of several young women who would be interested in meeting you."

"I can't waste time socializing," I replied. "I have to help Norar Remontar rescue his sister from the Zoasians."

"I am aware of that. For good or ill however, it is going to be some time before a fleet large enough to attack a Zoasian city can be assembled. The dispatches have been sent to rendezvous our ships, and the Sun Clan’s newest battleship will soon be out of the shipyard, but until preparations are made, you and I will both have to make good use of the interim. Now I wish to take you out to see the important sites of Amathar."

"I have a meeting with Nicohl Messonar at 01023 city-cycles," I said.

"Well you certainly don't want to miss that appointment," the young woman smiled. "Nicohl Messonar taught me to read, and I can tell you from experience, that if you keep her waiting, she can make your life very difficult."

"I can readily believe that."

"I will meet you here one city-cycle after your meeting with her," and with that she left. It was still some time before my tutor was expected, so I climbed up the staircase and read some of the titles of the many books which lined the walls there. There seemed to be a great many biographies. Most seemed to be entitled simply "The life of..." with the appropriate name inserted. One of the thicker volumes was "The Life of Kennis Berrontar". I pulled the book from the shelf and sat down in a comfortable chair to peruse it.

I flipped through the book, reading the chapter titles, for I didn’t wasn’t proficient enough to engage much more of the text. Towards the center, I found a picture of a handsome Amatharian knight. It was the first photograph that I had seen since my arrival in Ecos, and it had an interesting three dimensional quality. When I turned the book slightly, I could look around the man and the structures in the picture. As I continued to look, the picture suddenly began to move. The knight turned to the left, and met another man who stepped onto the screen to speak with him. There was no sound, so it was impossible to hear what the two were saying. I looked at the page across from the video image, to read some of the text there. It mentioned something about Kennis Berrontar planning the construction of a building. I continued flipping on through the book.

Kennis Berrontar turned out to be a fascinating man. He was an architect and a writer, having apparently produced several plays and overseen the construction of buildings and public works. Of course, in the way of all Amatharians, he was also an accomplished soldier. He was a hero of several dozen campaigns. Then he planned and commissioned an expedition to explore an unknown portion of Ecos. He led the expedition as it left Amathar, and was never seen again.

I was so engrossed in the biography, that I was unaware of the passage of time, which is so often the case in Ecos, until the automated door voice spoke again.

"Nicohl Messonar is waiting at the door."

I was so anxious not to keep my teacher waiting, that I fairly flew down the stairs and flung open the front door. There she stood in all her intimidating glory. She looked me up and down for a moment before entering.

"Have you completed your lessons?" she asked. I quickly recited "The Little Swordsmen", and "Boy's Devotion".

"Very nice," she said. "I see you have a book under your arm. Have you been reading?"

"I have been trying," I replied. "This book is quite interesting. It is a biography of Kennis Berrontar. He seems to have been a fascinating fellow."

"He certainly was," she replied. "He was also my father." I didn't know what to say to this, but as I stood there not saying anything; it occurred to me that Nicohl Messonar seemed just like the daughter of a great man. She probably grew up under his watchful eye-his darling--and became everything she could be just to please him. It seems that fathers and daughters are often so alike. It is a shame that on Earth, fathers tend to push their daughter away as soon as they reach puberty, or perhaps it is the daughters who push. Sons on the other hand, spend so much of their time trying to compete with, and then out-do their fathers, that the relationship is often lost. Not that I have any real insight into such matters, having neither a mother nor a father, nor sons or daughters for that matter. When I returned my gaze to the woman's face, I saw that she was looking at me with a half smile. She took hold of my arm, and guided me to the sofa, where we talked about Amathar and learning and family and books.

"Keep reading the books here at Norar Remontar's home," she instructed, just before leaving. "I will bring you some suitable literature when I return. I will meet you here every thirty city-cycles to check your progress."

Chapter Fourteen: City of the Amatharians

I had literally just closed the door after Nicohl Messonar had left, when the disembodied voice announced that Vena Remontar had arrived. I am sure that the two must have passed in the hall, though I was not fortunate enough to witness it.

"Are you ready?" asked Vena Remontar. "Wear your swords." I strapped my weapons belt on below my tabard and carefully sheathed my swords in their new holders. In spite of the fact that the swords were uncounted years older than the sheaths, they fit perfectly. We started out the door, and down the hallway. It was the first time I had been out of Norar Remontar's apartment since I had arrived, and it felt good.

"We need to stop here first," said Vena Remontar, as we stepped off the escalator onto the fifth floor. The lower floors had much higher ceilings and seemed more spacious than those of the upper floors. Here were located restaurants, shops, and other facilities used by the people in the building. We entered through a large doorway to find a large gymnasium. There were two young girls; I would have thought them about ten years of age, practicing their swordsmanship in a haphazard manner, at the far end of the room. As they noticed us, they stopped to stare at me and giggle.

"I wish to see if the title of swordsman that Norar Remontar laid upon you is warranted," the female knight said.

She drew her long sword and I followed suit. We nodded respectfully to one another. Then with a skill and speed born of battle, Vena Remontar charged at me, bringing her blade down directly toward my face. I raised my own to block the stroke, and just as quickly she swung two more blows. The only thing I could do was take the offensive, so as I blocked the third blow, I swung my weapon on around in a great arc toward her side. The woman was off balance from her attack, so the only way she could block the arc of weapon, was to turn her back on me, and swing her blade outward to meet mine. I expected that this would offer me a chance to attack her back, but it didn’t. As soon as she had done so, she tucked and rolled forward, spinning as she rose to face me. This was a brilliant maneuver and would have put several yards between us, but I wasn't ready to let up. Using my gravity-enhanced strength, I jumped forward, almost landing on top of her. Vena Remontar thrust quickly several times. I blocked those attacks and countered.

"Not bad, thus far," she said.

"Thank you."

As I said this, I swung down. I knew that were we really engaged in battle, her sword would have glowed with power, and sliced through the mundane metal of my own, but for now, the soul was asleep, and we were on equal terms. Actually, I had an advantage of superior strength. She blocked my swing, but was unprepared for the added power, and it knocked her from her feet. Without hesitation, she swung toward my knees. I jumped up, and the blade passed harmlessly below me. The young knight rolled to her feet.

I could see by the half smile on her lips that she was enjoying herself. With a flick of her left wrist so quick that I almost didn’t see it, she whipped her short sword from its sheath and grasped it like a dagger. I chopped down with my blade in an attempt to catch her off balance, but she wasn’t off balance. She blocked my blow with the shorter blade and began to attack with the longer. Then she attacked with both swords, forcing me to defend, and I am sure, hoping to wear me down. Unable to attack for the moment, I began to leap quickly to either side, and then to the back, forcing her to chase me. I knew that it was I who would be able to wear her down first, and after several dozen parries, I could see in her eyes that she was coming to the same realization.

Here was the advantage I needed. I rained a series of blows at her head, and then swung with power at her side. Like she had before, Vena Remontar spun around with her back to me and swung her sword, tip down, outward to meet mine. I expected to have a quick shot at her exposed back and left side, but even as she blocked my attack, she driven her short sword, in her left hand, straight back under her arm, and into my stomach.

"Umph!" I grunted in surprise. I expected that I had been cut through, but the tip of her sword merely pricked my skin.

Vena Remontar wiped the tiny drop of blood from her sword tip onto her tabard, and then sheathed her sword. With the drawing of first blood, the contest was over.

"I'm satisfied," she said. "I thought that perhaps Norar Remontar was being overly generous. But you are quite skilled."

"Still, you defeated me," I said, still holding a hand over my wound.

"It could have gone either way."

The two young girls were now staring at us in rapt fascination, though whether it was me or Vena Remontar who held their attention, I was at first unsure. My companion stepped over to a box mounted on the wall, removed something from it, and returned. She pushed aside my tabard, pressed her fingers through the small slice in my bodysuit, and applied a small adhesive bandage to the cut in my skin.

"I think you will live," she pronounced.

"I know I will live," I replied. "The question is whether I will enjoy it or not." The two girls had edged close enough to speak to us. "Remiant Vena Remontar?" asked the taller of the two. "Is he an Amatharian or an alien?"

"You are rude, child," said the knight. "Direct your questions to the swordsman." The girl bowed stiffly to me. "Please forgive me sir,” she said, "but neither this ignorant girl, nor her friend, has ever seen a man like you."

"No harm," I replied. "What is your name?"

"Neela Esponar. And this is Nona Montendro."

"I am an alien," I said. "I have just arrived in Amathar. I'm staying with Norar Remontar."

"He is my fourth cousin," said Neela Esponar, excitedly.

"Perhaps you can come by and help me with my reading lessons," I suggested, as Vena Remontar began to lead me out of the gymnasium.

"We will," they both giggled.

"They find your pale color fascinating," said the knight.

"Do you?"

She moved her face very close to mine. I hadn’t noticed that her eyes were so large. "It is cute," she said, "in an ugly sort way."

We walked out into the bright Ecosian day. The street was filled with people going about their business, either on the walkways, or beside them. Vena Remontar and I turned to the right and strolled along the flower lined cobblestone beside the moving sidewalks. It was warm, but a light breeze whipped across my face and tickled the leaves on the potted trees.

"My betrothed has related some of your adventures with Norar Remontar," she said. "It must have been quite exciting to battle the Pell in the forest, or the Kartags deep underground."

"It was frightening," I replied.

"I have seen only one action against the Zoasians."

"And yet you are a knight."

"I felt the pull of my soul at a very young age," she explained. "When an Amatharian reaches a certain level of skill, his soul calls out to him, and compels him to come to the Garden of Souls. Some go only to find they are mistaken, and their desire to become remiant made them think they heard their soul, when it was not really calling. Then they either die in the garden, or they return without a soul, and are disgraced.

"When I heard my soul call, many thought it was my youth calling, that I was making a mistake, but I proved them wrong."

We reached the shuttle train station--the same one at which Malagor, Norar Remontar, and I had made our arrival. Descending once again on the escalator, we found the lobby of station much busier than it was on my last visit. I once again marveled at the lack of discarded waste and graffiti. We had barely stepped off the automated staircase, when the train pulled in. The door slid open and the two of us, along with about a dozen others stepped into the car.