Elkin wore a gown decorated in the same manner as his own outfit, but pure white adorned with blue sapphires. Her hair had been neatly brushed and set with pearls, but she wore it loose in the manner of a virgin, and her smile toward him was sweet. “Welcome, Erian,” she said, for the whole chamber to hear. “Welcome.”
Erian’s breath caught in his throat. He wanted to reach out to her, but he remembered what was required of him and knelt before her, while beside him Senneck folded her forelegs and touched her beak to the ground.
Kraal spoke first. “Senneck of Eagleholm,” he intoned, “whose power is of stone and earth. I, Kraal, Master of the Eyrie of Malvern, ask you your purpose and your desire.”
“Mighty Kraal,” Senneck replied, not raising her head. “Kraal whose power is of purity and majesty, I come to your nest with the purpose and desire to serve and to honour. I come without design upon your mates, your food or your territory, and do swear loyalty all my days to you, who shall be my Master always.”
Now Elkin spoke. “Erian Rannagonson of Eagleholm,” she said, “whose birth is noble and whose nature is likewise. I, Elkin, Mistress of the Eyrie of Malvern, ask you your purpose and your desire.”
Erian took a deep breath. “My lady Elkin,” he said. “Elkin who is Mistress of Malvern, I come to your home with the purpose and desire to serve and to honour. I come without design on your wealth or your power, or with the desire to harm you or your realm, and do swear loyalty all my days to you, who shall be my Mistress always.”
Elkin gave a small smile and laid a hand on Kraal’s shoulder. Human and griffin stood tall and spoke in unison.
“Do you both swear this, in the name of Gryphus of the Day Eye, who is the god of all life?”
“This we swear in his holy name,” Erian and Senneck said as one.
“Then you have sworn yourselves to us and to Malvern, and shall be friend and follower to us both, and to the council we lead,” Elkin and Kraal replied.
The two of them separated and stepped down from the platform. Elkin came to Erian and laid her hand on his head. Her touch was soft and delicate, and sent a hot thrill through his body. “Rise now as the sun with the dawn, my lord Erian of Malvern,” she said.
Kraal touched his beak to Senneck’s head. “Rise as the Day Eye opens, Senneck of Malvern, and be blessed.”
Erian and Senneck rose as one.
“Senneck,” said Kraal. “You have chosen a Master as you chose a human, and in both things you have chosen well. Come forward now, and my human shall honour you.”
Senneck stepped forward and bowed low to Elkin. She returned the bow and took a pair of enormous gold rings out of a pouch hanging from her shoulder. “Hold out your forelegs, and I shall bestow the signs of honour upon you,” she said.
Senneck did, and Elkin knelt and snapped the rings into place around her forelegs, just below the knee. Once on they stayed firmly in place, locked shut like a pair of slave collars. But they had no spikes on the inside, and they shone as only gold could.
“Rise now, Senneck,” said Kraal. “And return to your human.”
Senneck did, her eyes glittering with pride.
“Now you are lord and partnered to a lord,” said Kraal. He turned his head to look at the rest of the chamber: at the council and at the other griffiners and griffins all watching. “Now let us welcome them!” he screeched. “Griffin and human both, we are now joined by Senneck Earthwings and her human, Lord Erian Rannagonson! Now let us honour them!”
The crowd roared its approval.
Erian, down below them all, could hear them shouting his name and Senneck’s, and felt a fierce pride burning inside him.
I am not Erian the Bastard any more,
he thought.
I am not a peasant. I am Lord Erian. I am a griffiner. I am Lord Erian
.
He felt a gentle touch on his arm and looked up to see Elkin smiling at him. “Welcome,” she said, under the noise of the crowd. “You’re one of us now, Lord Erian. Are you proud?”
“More than I’ve ever been in my life,” he said.
“I’m glad,” she said, moving a little closer so he could hear her. “Kerod tells me you’re doing very well. I knew I was right to choose you for that job.”
Erian felt a strange tightness in his throat. “Elkin—”
But Elkin had already moved away from him. She stepped back onto her platform with Kraal, and the griffin screeched once again.
“Now!”
Silence returned.
“Now!” Kraal bellowed. “Now the ceremony is done, and we are done. Now let us leave here and return to the open air, so that we may celebrate together. We shall feast in the starlight and fly together and rejoice. Now go!”
And with that the ceremony was over. The witnesses up on the stands began to leave and the councillors stood, bowed to their two masters, and filed out, too, leaving Erian and Senneck alone with Elkin and Kraal.
“Thank you, Kraal,” said Erian.
The white griffin inclined his head without saying anything, but at that moment Erian became deliciously aware that he and Elkin were alone in the same room for the first time since his arrival. She smiled down at him from her platform, and he found himself looking at her, really looking, in a way he had not done before. At the fine, delicate lines of her face and her green eyes, so bright against her pale skin and hair, and the white gown she wore. She was so slight, almost fragile, but her body had a woman’s curves beneath the cloth. And he could smell her, too; a faint flowery scent came from her, left by some perfume she must have anointed herself with back in her chambers, when she was naked …
Erian felt his mouth go dry. “Elkin—”
The moment ended the instant he spoke. “
Lady
Elkin,” she corrected. But she inclined her head toward him much as her partner had done, the smile still lingering around her mouth. “My lord Erian Rannagonson, welcome home.” She placed a hand on Kraal’s neck. “We will see you in the garden,” she said, and climbed onto his back. She looked almost lost, nestled among the griffin’s feathers, but there was a surety about the way she sat, and a grace.
Kraal took off with a quick, powerful blow of his wings, and Erian and Senneck ducked instinctively as he flew upward, circled around the inside of the dome for a few moments, and then swooped down and flew through one of the entrances the assembly had used, folding his wings to fit through but not slowing down for an instant.
“Well,” Erian said, his voice sounding small and lost in the huge chamber. “It’s done.”
Senneck nudged him playfully. “Done indeed, my lord Erian. And now we must go to the gardens above and celebrate with your fellow lords and ladies.”
“Yes. And Elkin.”
“You should not have spoken to her that way,” Senneck added, more sharply. “She is your Mistress now.”
Erian nodded vaguely. “She’s just so young—I keep thinking—never mind.”
Senneck looked down at the rings on her forelegs, tapping them with her beak and admiring their lustre. “Beautiful,” she cooed. “Do you not think so, Erian? They are beautiful.”
“Oh, yes,” said Erian, not really thinking about it. “Senneck?”
She raised her head. “Yes?”
“Why do griffins choose humans?” said Erian. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and I don’t think I understand.”
“Why should we not choose humans?” said Senneck.
“Well, you’re griffins,” said Erian. “You’re strong, you’re intelligent, you have magic. You’re so much more powerful than we are. Why would you care about us? Why carry us around and live with us? What does a human even have to offer a griffin?”
Senneck clicked her beak. “Erian. My poor silly little human. Do you not know?”
“No, I don’t. I just don’t understand why you put up with us. You’re always telling me how stupid and weak I am, and sometimes I wonder why you even need me.” It came out in a rush. “I feel useless, Senneck. Weak. I don’t know anything, but you know everything. So why? Why me?”
“Come,” said Senneck. “Let us walk. We should follow the others to the rooftop.”
“Are you going to tell me why?” Erian persisted as they walked away from the platform.
Senneck walked in silence for a time, her head bobbing slightly with each step. “Erian Rannagonson,” she said at last, “you have known griffins for a long time. What have you seen in us?”
“That you’re magnificent creatures,” said Erian. “Better than humans.”
She chirped. “Flatter me, if you wish. No. We are
vain
, Erian. Think carefully. You and I live side by side. I give you my help, my favour, and in return you feed me, clean my nest, bring me water, compliment me, do everything you can simply to please me. We are not like your kind, Erian. We are not interested in riches or possessions or friendship. Our wants are simple, and by living with humans we are given all we could wish for. We have warm homes that we do not have to build ourselves, food we do not have to hunt, treatment for our wounds and illnesses. And by choosing a human, we may have power and respect as well. These rings”—she tapped them again—“are the symbols of all I want, and without you I could never have them.”
“Yes, but why humans?” said Erian. “Couldn’t you just take everything you want and ignore us, or kill us?”
Senneck stopped in the doorway leading out of the chamber. “I have never understood human beings,” she said abruptly. “And why you despise yourselves so much. Turn and look back.”
Erian did. “What should I be looking at?”
“At everything,” said Senneck. “Do you see it?”
“Yes, but—”
“Be silent and look.”
Erian obeyed. The silence drew out, and he took in the painted dome, the shields and spears that hung from the walls below the seats. It must have taken years to build.
“It was not griffins that made this chamber,” Senneck said softly.
T
he top of the tower, where Senneck had first landed, had been transformed for the celebratory feast. Long tables had been set up and covered in dishes of fine foods, interspersed with elaborate flower decorations. Braziers were burning brightly at the top of long poles placed into recesses cut into the stone, illuminating hundreds of men, women and griffins mingling freely. The humans helped themselves to food from the tables, while a line of freshly slaughtered sheep had been laid out for the griffins.
Erian pointed them out to Senneck. “It looks like the others are going to eat them all before too long. You should hurry if you want some.”
“I would like to, but I shall stay with you,” said Senneck. “No doubt more will be brought out later, and for now I should be with you. If I appeared to be more interested in food than in staying by you, it would look … unimpressive.”
Erian hid a smile. “Of course.”
They went in among the crowd, and Erian started to look for Elkin. He found her easily enough, with Kraal beside her, talking to some of her councillors. He wanted to go over to her, but the chances of that were next to nonexistent and became even more so when Kerod appeared.
“There you are!” he said cheerily. “Eekrae and I were wondering where you’d got to.”
Erian tried to look past him toward Elkin. “Hello. Yes, Senneck and I were just—”
Kerod moved to the left, unwittingly blocking his assistant’s view. “Well,” he said, holding out a hand, “congratulations, Erian. Or Lord Erian, I should say. You did well at the ceremony. You’ve done well at everything since you got here, I’d say.”
Erian tugged briefly at Kerod’s fingers. “Thank you,” he said, forcing himself to smile and look directly at the old man. “Senneck and I are very proud. This is everything we’ve always wanted.”
“Except for the part where you had to read eighty-nine letters sent in from Nowhere Village, eh?” Kerod cackled. “Well, I’ve been thinking about that, actually.”
“You have?” said Erian. He was already desperate to get away but knew he should stay where he was lest he insult his master.
“We both have,” said Kerod. “Eekrae and I, that is. You may remember the first time we met, and I said you and I should go hunting some day. Eekrae and I—he’s over there, with the sheep, by the way—think it’s time we made good on that. What do you say, Erian? Shall we go tomorrow? It would be a good way to celebrate your lordship, and we know a good place. What do you think?”
“Oh.” Erian’s mind raced as he tried to recall what had just been said to him. “Oh, well, I suppose so. Yes, of course. I mean, I’d love to.”
“We both would,” Senneck added smoothly.
Kerod grinned. “That’s wonderful. I’ll expect you to be up here at dawn tomorrow, so try not to drink too much, eh?”
“Of course not,” said Erian.
“Good, good. I for one wouldn’t mind having a look at the eats over there, so if you’ll excuse me.”
Kerod wandered off.
“Good gods he’s annoying,” Erian muttered once he’d gone. “I really wish he’d stop trying to be my friend like that.”