Ontogeny

ch a beauti

olden hair. His eyes narrowed as he saw how the change was already beginning to manifest. A radiance around the girl. Still faint, bar

o the palace, not even stopping at his estate to clean himself up and change clothes, so that he was still wearing his travel stained uniform and carrying the distinct aroma of horse and stale sweat. The King hadn't cared, though, and had ushered him into his private quarters,

issuing from the capital city for weeks now, and that it had affected every town and village within fifty miles. People would go to the city happy and cheerful, the innkeeper had said, but when they returned they had been troubled and silent, as if they had been infected by some darkness of the soul, some malaise of the spirit that had spread to afflict everyone else they'd come in contact with. No-one

d out to the rangers themselves. "Save her!" they cried. "Say you can save her!" The Brigadier had not paused to reply, though, had not even looked at them as they galloped past, their horses lathered and gasping, and they had arrived at the palace to find the King himself waiting at the gate for them,

e on our way back from a state visit to Vennerol and the Count was putting on a display of falconry for us. Just showing off, I know, but entertaining just the same. We watched for a time, watching him put them th

come visit, so he could see for himself how the transformation was progressing, and the Brigadier had attended with stoic patience as his King and long time friend pointed out the latest human characteristics the kestrel was displaying. He remembered ho

arrow. So many people who would profit from war. Somehow an agent got Into the p

are wards in place t

ly it's not a curse, it's a blessing. She's bei

Radiant parents

nsformation will be unguide

be a way to stop

h curses. If the effects aren't too bad the victim can be raised back up. A blessing, though. Who

m had long since taken its toll, but there were lines around his eyes now and a tired look that had never been there before. That, more than anything else, worried the Brigadier and made him rac

finally managed to convince them we weren't testing their loyalty. When they failed, we approached outsiders. The finest licensed wizards we could find. They cast curse upon curse on her

to imagine her parents bringing the two of them together, on purpose. "The number of times I've tried to find that man," he muttered to himself. "He was like a g

possibly could, a curse more powerful than any other human could possibly perform. A curse that, if cast on a normal, healthy person, would have knocked them not just one rung down,

ething else. We still

he world, there is someone with greater knowledge of such things than anyone we've ever heard of, someone who can help her. "He turned to face the Brig

here you go there are myths and legends," he said. "Tales of lost cities of the Hetin folk, of sages and wise men hoarding secret knowledge, but whenever we go in search of them they turn out to be just that. Myths. We spent six months once searching for a man rumoured to possess the secret of immortality. We found no trace of him, nor any sign that he had ever existed." He paused,

gs for me over the years. Saved my life time and again, saved my King

her in gut wrenching concern. She was scared too, he saw. She knew what was happening to her and was terrified, but somehow she was finding the courage and strength to remain calm an

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out there who would pay handsomely for them, she knew. Not just souvenir hunters but witches and warlocks who would use them in their spells and potions. Hair from someone half transformed into a Radiant was rare and precious, because the creatures usually took their adopted humans back to their cities, and if they were ever seen again it

he was in the city. She would stare at him across the table as they ate, remembering the stories she'd heard about his adventures, adventures that he himself refused to discuss except to dismiss them as nothing more than routine missions and ex

smiles," said the handmaid, still brushing the Prince

ppearance. Most of the time she could try to ignore it, turn her mind to other things, but then something that had been slowly growing inside her for days before would move abruptly, f

?" asked the Handmaid, seeing her

to her, though. All the ontomancers, laying their cold hands on her bare skin while they cast their curses on her, had left her in absolutely no doubt. She knew there was no stopping it, and she knew what her father would do when he

e, Teena." She said. "Mayb

Handmaid, and rose gracefully to he

arniss emerging from one of the doorways that ringed the courtya

of pleasure and smoothed down her dress. "Soonia

he Matron, and the Princess ran forward to

peace now, and may he human again one day. My thoughts are w

and the Brigadier is here. He will find a

his arrival. It must be so good to have hope a

She looked at her hand, at the silvery radiance of her skin. "I can hurt them now, just

squeezed it. "Besides, the Brigadier will find a cure, and then you can be with you

nal turmoil and her body began shaking. The Matron took her in her arms and held her tight, saying nothing

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cess had already died. The King had no doubt tried to keep his daughter's condition secret for as long as possible, not just from the general population but from most of the palace staff as well, but someone must have spoken. Maybe just a whispered comment between two of the girl's personal attendants that had been accidentally o

erful. People offered words of condolence to each other in sniffly voices, vain attempts to ease each other's grief. It was in their eyes as the King and

in appearances prevented the sovereign from saying what he was thinking, the thoughts that made his hands clench to fists by his sides and set his face in an expressionless mask, but when they passed a chambermaid who was actually in tears t

r eyes darting fearfully to the King. "She

will make a full recovery. I will personally see to it. Now go about your busin

an iron collar about my neck. People think a King can do th

royal family. The whole kingdom recognises your devotion to them and knows there is no other land

the healers allow by her side, and then longer besides. She has to be torn fro

her failure to keep her in her bed. The Brigadier's eyes widened with alarm at the lines that had appeared around her eyes and the grey hairs on her head as she

the handmaid in terror. "She hea

between the Queen and the Brigadier, and her face shone with relief and grat

ing then said. "The Briga

t is. There is a chance, though, and I will pursue it the length and breadth of the

ill save my daughter, I know you will. Thank Those Above for you!" She lifted her hand to touch his cheek, then hurried off down the corridor. Not back to her ch

☆

he trotted beside him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. "The men a

of course," he said, a set look of determination appearing on his face. "The Princess... I saw her once, you know, at her declaration parade. I was just a few feet awa

re his superiors, whom he obeyed and to whom he gave his unconditional loyalty, there were the men under his command, from whom he expected the same, there were criminals and the enemies of the kingdom, whom he hunted ruthlessly and tirelessly, and there was everyone

ought about having

king ahead to all the challenges that faced them. This was a mission that might well take years of his life, and good preparation was essential. Malone repeated the question, this time louder, and the taller man looke

or instance, I can tell that a herd of garbage pigs passed this way just a couple of hours

at them then, so his options would have been rather limited." A small man with a grimy face and tousled hair bumped into him and the Brigadier grabbed his wrist before he

have smelled a crook a mile off. My nose isn't what it once was, you must be having some effect on me. I remember

I became parent bonded to you. You'd have to keep moving around, avoid spending too long with any single person in case you

nto a cloudless blue sky, trying to remember what it was like before I could see blue. And fire! All those yellows and reds! That's about all I do remember, though. Most of my life from before I was

the same range of cognitive capacity as humans. Th

d as an animal but actually being an animal." He looked up, where a pair of Radiants were drifting slowly across the sky like small luminous clouds. "Do you think they remember being human?" he mused. "They can't, or they'd surely feel an att

nted healthy humans, strong and well fed, not half starved wretches bent and crippled by a lifetime of manual labour. The Brigadier spent a moment wondering what he would do if one of them tried to take Malone. Would he let him go, glad that he would soon be a high

he Radiants almost certainly not take her, seeing her as already damaged goods, but the King would never let her go and enough musket fire would kill even a Radiant eventually. And, of course, there was the matter of the arranged marriage. Helberion

ught. They had to find another, and they had t

he guardhouse, where his men had been making preparations for their two week leave of absence. Sounds of merriment cam