Starblade by Rodney C. Johnson

inherit chaos. He needed for Kulcarin
to become a willing partner in his cause. He would teach Ironsol
that his was the right way, for both himself and his people just as
he had done before his imprisonment by the Kri-Skar.
    When Kulcarin Aranskrai awoke he knelt
before the sarcophagus, a pile of ash in front of him with no
memory of Kranix.
     
     
    [Vanguard Island: Early Morning. November
28, 2030]
    Clang, clang, clang! The sound of a
hammer as it struck an anvil filled his ears. He opened his eyes to
find himself in a forge. The sound of ringing metal behind him and
a cloaked figure stood before a heavy anvil and held a sturdy
hammer, her weapon and her tool.
    “Welcome, Sharr Khan,” the cloaked being
said in a female voice.
    The Shotar knew full well who he stood
before. This was Falcania herself in the forge deep inside Mount
Shira where she had taken three broken blades and fashioned them
into one arched knife. That is at least how the myth went, none of
it was reality, but it was truth. Char existed in a dynamic state
understood the Shotar. The collective impulse of Falcania and the
other Telchar had reached self-realization and gained free will.
This became abundantly clear after the Telchar had performed an act
of independent creation. Kalitas Rann, the whole and original
DataStream given flesh had been an attempt by the Telchar to broach
the vast gap between the virtual and corporeal.
    Falcania pulled back her hood and
acknowledged Sharr. She appeared exactly as Sharr had imagined, how
he wrote her to be. Dark hair, pointed ears, golden skin and light
almond eyes. Falcania had been intended to be the embodiment of his
people’s beauty.
    “The over-soul is threatened,” warned the
Rai.
    “I feel the shadow. Can you guide me to
it?”
    Sharr had to admit access to Falcania's
guidance had often proved useful. He took comfort knowing his heirs
would also have that to help when it would come time for them to
lead the Falcanian people.
    “It hides from us and knows we seek it out.”
Falcania looked worried. “You must find it for us.”
    In a jolt Sharr found that he returned to
his office, very much alone. A knock at the door alerted him, Ram
Singh, son of a valued ally had arrived.
     
     
    “We arrive at Vorkrür on a most auspicious
time!” Ch'Kran declared. He stood on the deck and looked out toward
the amphitheater island which was his homeland. His arms were
outspread so that he framed the place for the women in his charge.
"Today is my Lord Sharr Khan's birthday as well as the beginning of
our most holy festival, the Falcania Kralin.”
    Frederika and Mia both gazed at Vanguard
Island in awe. The Chrysanthemum Maru had just passed
between two wave barriers that were mounted with what appeared to
be large cannons. The ship entered the port and the gathered women
looked out upon a bustling city populated by winged-beings and
travelers from across Asia and Europe.
     
     

Chapter 2. The Golden Apple
     
    Unleashed, on wing
    Glaive-claws ready
    Go Strike.
    A shadow rises, the hammer falls.
    The whirlwind is upon us.
    Things fall apart.
    Blood oaths lay in ruin,
    Everything turns.
    Hatchlings bray,
    Hunter, prey: Falcon returns home.
    --- Geir Roark, “Cry of the Sundered”
     
     
    The second she stepped foot onto the dock,
Frederika's senses were overwhelmed by Vanguard Island. A cacophony
of smells, colors, and sounds assaulted her as the Falcanians
celebrated Sharr Khan's fifty-fifth birthday to the fullest.
    The music was the most wondrous of all. The
sounds of deep druming and stringed instruments filled the air.
    Frederika followed the other women as
Ch'Kran led them up the golden triangle tiled road toward the
palace. It stood on a hill, overlooking a market along with
smaller, A-Frame buildings. Since they were creatures of flight, it
wasn't surprising that Falcanians liked to build up rather than
outward.
    Frederika smiled at Ch'Kran. Now that they
were among his own kind, Ch'Kran had abandoned