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Chapter 1: Tira's Story

Numbness. I can feel the joy of the crowd around me. They are free. I should be celebrating with them. I should be laughing and smiling and rejoicing that I was not forgotten. I above all should be happy. I who was trapped in the shell of my own mind, while I watched myself move and speak without consent. I most of all should be happy to be free of that control. But all I feel is a numbness.

She was a small girl, hard to see amongst the crowd. She wandered in their general direction, lost in her own thoughts. Although not oblivious to the crowds around her, she seemed unstirred by their seething emotion. She did not understand why she was here, or how. In fact, she did not even know where she was. Where had she ever been except inside the walls of Noradz? Only once had she ever seen the outside of those walls. When she was caged and chained in iron and taken into a place she would never forget.

True, she was free of the Shadowlands, but freedom was a concept she barely even understood. Before the Shadowlands, she had belonged to a people with the strictest laws of hygiene. She was raised with this painfully instilled in her. She had hardly known her parents. Her whole life had been taken up with training. Training to be nothing more that a servant girl. Like everyone else, she had blindly followed the laws of her city, not knowing, and through fear, not wanting to know what the world was like outside. Curios people had a way of disappearing. Change was not something that could come to her people easily. After all, idealists had a way of being silenced.

At the time, it didn't seem to matter. This was life as she had always known it. Her city was built on the ideals of cleanliness. Cleanliness and complete trust in those who preached it. But those ideals had fallen when they were betrayed by their own government. What was she to do with herself now? Everything she had ever known was a lie. So what was truth?

The blue eyed girl was wandering unconsciously. The crowd had halted it's march, but she had continued her steady walk. She didn't realise it, but had been staring at the King and his companions, whilst heading towards the palace stairs. Dimly she could hear what the King had done to protect and rescue his people, and she half saw him receive a bejeweled belt from a palace maiden. Apparently they had a lot to say to each other, although the young girl could not hear what they were saying. She wasn't listening anyway.

"Had you heard this tale?" Lief demanded of Jasmine and Barda. Both of them felt rather awkward, but Barda chose to keep his silence. He was rather amused at the outcome of the rumor. Who would have thought that this foreign stranger in the palace had indeed been Lief's cousin? It never occurred to him that they might have been related. It was obvious that Jasmine had been somewhat more distressed about the rumor than he was though. He also had a fairly good idea why. "Palace gossip. But you are far too young to marry. I always said so." Jasmine had chosen her answer well and expressed it more carelessly than she felt, Barda could tell. Feeling he should give them a moment, he looked around the crowd again, smiling to himself at their obvious joy, feeling proud to have been part of the rescue which brought them this happiness. Then he caught sight of one girl separated from the crowd, looking lost. He muttered an 'excuse me' to Lief and Jasmine as he walked towards her.

"Had you heard this tale?" Lief demanded of Jasmine and Barda. Both of them felt rather awkward, but Barda chose to keep his silence. He was rather amused at the outcome of the rumor. Who would have thought that this foreign stranger in the palace had indeed been Lief's cousin? It never occurred to him that they might have been related. It was obvious that Jasmine had been somewhat more distressed about the rumor than he was though. He also had a fairly good idea why. "Palace gossip. But you are far too young to marry. I always said so." Jasmine had chosen her answer well and expressed it more carelessly than she felt, Barda could tell. Feeling he should give them a moment, he looked around the crowd again, smiling to himself at their obvious joy, feeling proud to have been part of the rescue which brought them this happiness. Then he caught sight of one girl separated from the crowd, looking lost. He muttered an 'excuse me' to Lief and Jasmine as he walked towards her.
"Tira!" she turned and saw Barda. She smiled weakly at him. "Tira. It's great to have you back. I was afraid we would never see the real you back when I saw you in the arena." Then he smiled back at her. "But here you are."

"Yes." The serving girl Tira replied slowly. "I am…here. This is Del correct?" Barda nodded.

"You have never seen it have you?" she shook her head. "Would you like a tour? Not necessarily now, but when you're ready." Tira thought. It was a kind offer, but she had already resolved to show herself around.

"I thank you for the offer, but I will be fine on my own."

"Where will you go now?" He asked her. "You're welcome to make a home for yourself in the palace if you wish, although you will need to find work."

"Mmmm… although I doubt that will be difficult for you Tira." Tira looked past Barda, and saw Lief, who had made the last comment. He was hand in hand with Jasmine, and looked very pleased about it. Tira felt rather awkward. She did the only thing that seemed appropriate. She got down on one knee, and addressed Lief as the King of Deltora.

"Your Highness. Forgive me but, why did you not tell me of your titles? King Lief, Sir Barda and Lady Jasmine." Now it was Lief's turn to feel awkward. Of course. She doesn't deal well with authority. He momentarily let go of Jasmine's hand, and took Tira's, lifting her out of her kneeling position to face him.

"Because I did not know I was king at the time either. And even had I known, I still would not have done things any differently. You are my friend, Tira, and I would not have wanted your servitude. Please just call me Lief." The concept of being friends with authority was new to her too, and looked with slight fear in her blue eyes from Barda to Jasmine. Jasmine smiled at her as Lief took her hand again.

"The same goes for me Tira. Besides, I was raised in a forest, nothing about me is ladylike."

"May I ask, how am I here?"

"Ah that…" Barda trailed off.

"By magic." Lief put in, and he and Jasmine exchanged smiles. An inside joke no doubt. Tira felt awkward again.

"I want to thank you all for your kindness, and for saving me from the Shadowlands. I am in your debt."

"No you are not Tira. If anything, all we have done is repay a debt to you." Barda said with conviction.

"Yes, it was the least we could do after all you did to us." Jasmine added. "Our quest to save even Deltora might have ended there had you not helped us." Tira nodded once.

"Well, we should probably go inside and straighten a few things out in palace. You're welcome to come with us if you choose, Tira."

"Once again I thank you, but I will remain out here. I have…a few things to straighten out also." Lief smiled and nodded, then he and Jasmine started to walk away. Barda turned to go, but looked back over his shoulder a moment longer.

"Tira?" he asked softly.

"Yes?" she replied.

"That was a very brave thing you did back in Noradz."

Tira's eyes met the ground again. She didn't look up until Barda's footsteps could no longer be heard.

"So…"

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Chapter 2: Kain

The crowd had already begun to disperse, but many people had nowhere to go. People like her. Some returned slaves were originally from Del, or at least had friends or relatives they could stay with, but many were as lost as she was. Now the palace staff came into play. It was quickly made known that the coming evening would present a feast for all those returning to Del and the Deltoran citizens. Doctors were also made available to tend to the wounded, and blankets and spare clothes were being given out.

Tira decided to look around. Del was a much larger city than her own, and much more filthy. It surprised her somewhat, but she had no complaints about it. It was very clean compared to her living conditions in the Shadowlands. At least until she had been possessed.

A dog nearby barked at her, and she gasped in fright. Animals. Forbidden creatures in the walls of Noradz. They were the very embodiment of filth. Dirty, destructive and diseased. They bring the rats. But then she remembered that Reece of the Ra-Kacharz had said all those things. Through her anger at Reece, Tira forced herself to calm down. The animal ran up to her and sniffed at her. He barked again in delight and wagged his tail, looking expectantly up at her.

He was a large dog, a light grey colour with a long nose and a bushy tail. Tira reached out a shaking hand to touch the dog. He licked her hand and pushed his head under it. Tira didn't know the first thing about animals, as she had only ever seen them outside the walls of the city at a distance. But the gestures the dog was giving her seemed in no way hostile, so she allowed herself to pet him a little. His coat felt wonderful between her fingers, and the dog lavished the short lived attention.

She pulled back, and felt a rebellious satisfaction at what she had just done. Such a simple gesture, but she felt as though her hands had been dirtied from it. Her hatred of the Ra-Kacharz made her enjoy the feeling this time around. She looked at her hands. They were dirty. Dirtier than they would have been allowed to be in her hometown. It seemed appropriate somehow though. Her name would have just been made as tainted as her hands if she was still at home. She no longer cared. If anything, she wanted to make them dirty.

"Silver!" a young man's voice called. The dog, Silver, whirled around and barked again happily. A moment later, a boy little older than Tira came into view from around the side of a house. The dog bounded away toward him as his owner received him. Tira watched the two of them together. Silver jumped all over the boy, and the boy, though he was trying to fend him off, seemed to be enjoying it.

He was a lean boy, but somehow Tira didn't think he was especially weak. His clothes were not in the best condition, and his hands looked as though they were hardened from years of labour, despite his young age. His light brown hair fell loosely around his eyes, stopping unevenly at about his nose level. He noticed her and looked up, his eyes somewhere between blue and green. He coughed and stood up smiling.

"Sorry, was Silver here bothering you?" She blinked and looked at the dog again.
"Silver…" the dog looked up expectantly at his name. Tira checked herself when she realised what she was doing. They name their animals… "Uh no. Umm…he is very friendly."

"Yeah…" agreed the boy. "Sometimes too friendly. I'm afraid he's going to frighten someone one day and they'll hurt him. He's barely more than a pup, but he's big enough to intimidate anyone who doesn't know him."

"Yes…" Tira agreed. "He may look frightening… but he is not as bad as people think." The boy studied her curiously, then extended his hand.

"I'm Kain." Tira looked blankly back at him. She had never seen a handshake before, and didn't realise what she was supposed to do. Kain seemed to understand this, checked himself awkwardly and withdrew his hand.

"You're not from around here are you?"

"Ah, no."

"Where are you from?" she hesitated.

"Noradz." His brow furrowed.

"Come again?"

"Noradz."

"Never heard of it."

"Umm…have you heard of the City of the Rats?"

"Yeah but, surely you can't be from there."

"Well not exactly. But Noradz was built by the same people to replace the City of the Rats. I am the descendant of those people."

"Ah…I didn't even know there was one. Now that you mention it, history never does tell us what became of the people from that city. So how did you come to be in Del?" Tira had no idea what to say. She smiled weakly and closed her eyes.

"I wish I knew." Kain looked at her strangely, trying to figure out the girl standing before him. He shrugged.

"What's your name?" The serving girl's blue eyes opened again to look back at him. "Tira." Kain grinned.

"It's a nice name. Suits you." He said with conviction. Then his eyes widened. "Oh! I understand. All the people of Deltora who were held as slaves in the Shadowlands were brought home free this morning. People from all over Deltora. Did you come with them?" Tira nodded. He looked at her differently then, with more respect. "Then welcome back. Will you be attending the feast tonight?" Tira opened her mouth, then closed it again. She frowned.

"I'm not sure."

"Well, I'll be going. We haven't had much of a reason celebrate lately, but it's practically a given that you would have a celebration for something like this. You will be missing out if you don't go." She smiled and nodded.

"Maybe." He smiled back warmly.

"I hope you decide to go. Listen, I have to go now and finish my work before the feast begins, but I'll be keeping a lookout for you."

"Okay…" she watched him go.


Some hours later saw Tira resting on a stone by the side of one of the main roads. This city has been through a lot of hardship. She realised that although strict, she had lead what was by far an easier life than many people in Deltora. Always she had been fed, clothed, housed and cleaned. Many people here did not have that. Yet despite that, these people were happy. Maybe it was because they had not been betrayed by their own government and thrown to the slaves. Well, maybe this was not entirely true, but at least the leaders of Del had never betrayed their people.

She was later to learn that although it was true that Del had never abandoned it's people, for many years the people believed exactly that.

Tira was also still wondering about the feast. She knew that customs would probably be very different here, and that sparked her curiosity. She didn't really know where her reluctance was coming from, but when she thought about it, there didn't seem to be a reason she shouldn't go. Besides, there would be many people to meet there. Perhaps she could look for employment and a place to stay. It wasn't that she hadn't been flattered by the offer to live in Del's palace, but it seemed wrong for her to be living amongst royalty and power after she had been under it's thumb for so long. She wanted to start making her own way now, and she couldn't do that if others were still paving her life ahead for her, even if they were doing so out of generosity. She had no doubts that Lief would be attending the feast, but there didn't seem to be any harm in going. She didn't see how she was going to be able to find her next meal if she didn't anyway. Very well then. Kain, it looks as though I'll be making an appearance after all.

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Tira entered the royal gardens when the festivities were in full swing. She had taken the time at a water barrel to wash herself up a bit, and was feeling much more refreshed. She was still wearing the white dress she had been clothed in from the Shadowlands, merely because she had nothing to change into. However, although it was somewhat dirty and a little stained, it looked quite good on her. It was simple in design, light and flowing.

She looked around her, and many differences between Noradz and Del were immediately apparent. The first major difference was how relaxed everyone was. In Noradz, while people hadn't exactly been tense all the time, they couldn't have afforded to let themselves be completely at ease, because dangerous mistakes were too easily made. An outdoor party would have been unheard of in Noradz, and yet here she was, watching people walk barefooted on the grass carelessly, enjoying the fresh, crisp air of a late spring night.

Yet another difference was that the people were allowed to eat…well, freely was the only way to put it. She was quite surprised to see people eating with their fingers, taking their time and helping themselves to anything which was available. While the food in Noradz was more appealing than this, it was always limited to a given quantity, and was never eaten with such careless ease.

When she entered, a small group of Ralad men and women were on the platform, playing a traditional song on the flute.
As it happened, Tira's people had loved the arts before their city had fallen. A city whose name had long been forgotten. The city built afterwards had discouraged performers, and through the years, the arts had eventually been dissolved out of memory. Before hearing the song of the Pirran pipe, Tira had never in her life heard music before. It fascinated her, and she found herself amongst the crowd of supportive spectators, completely wrapped in the melody they created.
While no song could be quite so beautiful as the song of the Pirran pipe, one thing the pipe could not do was create a harmony. Tira was amazed as how perfectly the notes and pitches from seven different flutes interlaced with each other. Sometimes a few flutes would lower volume and pitch to allow another flute or two to be heard more, almost like a solo, yet still backed up by a faintly heard melody. But the parts Tira loved best were when all seven joined into one loud chorus, a catching rhythm that seemed to radiate energy, lifting the spirits of all who listened.

As the song ended Tira felt as though she was waking from a trance, and she was not alone. The crowd broke into applause and the Ralads bowed low. Tira looked around her curiously at the foreign gestures. When she worked out that clapping seemed to mean appreciation, she joined in, nervously at first, then with more confidence.

The Ralads left the stage and the band set itself up again. Whilst it was setting up, Tira made her way over to the tables, giving the occasional greeting to someone she knew. It felt a little strange making the old Noradz greeting again, and she didn't feel that she wanted to make it anymore. It seemed wrong somehow. Dimly she remembered Kain offering her his hand, and realised this had probably been some sort of greeting too, and wished she had known what she was supposed to do.

She looked up and down one of the long rows of tables in front of her. She couldn't remember ever having eaten with her fingers, but that seemed to be the only option here. Delicately she selected a slice of roast lamb for herself, and tasted it. It was salted, and had a strong, rough flavour. It was unlike the careful, subtle, and varying flavours she was used to, but it wasn't bad.

From there she did as the other Deltorans had done. She helped herself buffet style. If she had been more used to it, she probably would have been a lot more relaxed and enjoyed her meal more, but she kept expecting that she would be caught by a Ra Kacharz and condemned for such a filthy act. But even her fellow people of Noradz it seemed, were excusing their own customs and eating as they saw fit.

All around the gardens there were places to sit and rest; garden benches, set-up chairs, relatively comfortable boulders, yet even the grass was fit simply to rest on in comfort. Tira took a small cake with her as she sat on the grass with her back against a tree, a little away from everything. For the next little while, she sat simply watching and listening. She listened to the band play and watched the various instruments, she watched the people dancing, (something else she had never seen before) and she watched the general surroundings.

The band played a few more songs, all of which were thoroughly enjoyed by Tira, then they all put their instruments down to join in the festivities while the next performers came on stage. It turned out that a few of the freed Deltorans; a group of Jalis, had put in a request for a performance. Once again Tira was in store for a new experience, as the Jalis began pounding on heavy drums and dancing a very old war dance. The deep rhythm was both stirring and fear inspiring. The dancers let out well timed war cries as they stomped their feet and slapped their thighs to beating of the drum. Tira had heard a little of the Jalis people in the Shadowlands, but watching their dance made her understand why they were known to be such a proud and strong race.

When the Jalis concluded their war dance, the round of applause was made a great deal louder by the many Jalis in the audience who were familiar with the dance. Their applause sounded much like the war cries of dance. They stepped down, but instead of bringing the band up to play again, a woman stepped onto the stage. A large man behind her carried a harp, while she carried her own stool. Setting both down on center stage, the man departed, and the woman seated herself beside the harp.

Tira squinted a little, trying to get a better look at the woman, who was strangely familiar. Oh! It's Hellena.
She looked stunning. She had changed out of the red gown from the Shadowlands, and was now wearing a dress of silver, beaded down the front in several places, with the fabric flowing down around her ankles. The sleeves were long, but did not cover her shoulders, and a large, elaborate necklace hung around her neck, with a blue stone resting just below the nape of her neck. Her long silver hair was tied back loosely and braided, and she smiled around at the audience before positioning herself to play.

Tira had known Hellena briefly before they were both placed into mental slavery. They had become moderate friends, and Tira was glad to see her looking so happy.
It appeared that the audience had heard her before, because she seemed to have a stage name. 'Syren', they called her.
It seemed to Tira that Hellena's fingers danced along the strings in patterns beautiful as the music she made. She played a short introduction before bringing her own voice into her tune. The song was sung in a language Tira didn't understand, but it felt ancient and powerful to her. The song itself seemed to flow out of her as she played its tune, as though she were meant to sing it. It was riveting and hypnotizing. Although at the time Tira was too wrapped up in the song to notice, very few people in all the gardens had their eyes away from the stage.

Tira was also admiring the way Hellena looked up there. She couldn't help thinking about how beautiful she was, especially her hair. Tira ran a hand over her own shaved scalp. Her head had been shaved right after birth and on a daily basis professionally thereafter. She suddenly found herself wondering what colour her own hair was. Surely not this fine silver that Hellena was graced with, but all the same, it would be nice to know.

The song became slower after two verses, and almost seemed to stop, but just before it did, the band, unnoticed until now, joined the song. The strength of the harmony was so powerful it moved some people in the audience to tears. It was a song that had not been heard in Deltora for many, many years. Majority of the children in the vast audience had never heard this song before. Tira was among them, but it was a song she would never forget. As the song approached the finale, all the instruments in the band played more strongly than ever, before some of them stopped altogether and let the others wind the tune down. More and more instruments stopped playing, until only Hellena and her harp were left to conclude the song. When she did, the applause was deafening. Tira was no less moved by the song than anyone, and even she attempted to show her appreciation.
Hellena stood up, smiling serenely, bowed, and left the stage. The large man who had brought the harp on stage returned to retrieve it as the band started up again and the powerful atmosphere dispersed.