All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) (2 page)

"You have all the proof you need, and more courage than any man before you. Now get out of my cave."

The light was suddenly gone, and Stavin stumbled and swore as he made his way to the circle of light that marked the entrance of the cave. He stopped at the edge of the light and shouted back over his shoulder, "Thank you," but he received no reply.

He stood with his back against the edge of the cave for a moment as his knees shook. He'd done it. He'd done what no one had ever done.
I faced The Fear.
And he was alive to tell the tale.

Now Barvil will say yes. Now Dorvina will accept me, even if I'm not as tall as her chin. Now everyone will have to accept me as a real man, and not a runt. Now I have proof no one can deny.

T
HE PEOPLE OF
K
AVINSTON DIDN'T RECOGNIZE
the gold-clad figure that walked into town near the middle of the next day. Warriors came running with weapons in their hands as the Elders hurried to confront the intruder just inside the town gates.

"Halt where you are, stranger," the Chief Elder said, holding up his hand, palm out.

Stavin stopped as commanded, but he was puzzled. Then he realized that they couldn't see his face and removed his helmet. "Chief Elder Kel'Davin, it's me, Stavin. I've been to the dragon's cave."

Another of the Elders pushed forward and looked down at him. "You expect us to believe
that
? Where did you get that armor?"

Stavin looked up at the Elder and, for the first time in his life, found that the man's aggression didn't frighten him. "I'm wearing my proof, Elder Barvil Kel'Carin. The dragon gave it to me because I faced the fear and didn't run away."

"The dragon has been gone for decades," the Elder snapped. The crowd murmured and laughed.

Stavin shook his head as he answered, "No, Elder Kel'Carin, he has been there. The great mound of gold that everyone has seen isn't his hoard of gold coins. It's his scales. That's what he made this armor out of."

"Liar," Elder Kel'Carin snarled, then stepped forward and reached for the Dragon's Tongue in Stavin's hands. Stavin stepped back and brought the weapon to the ready, stopping the angry Elder in his tracks.

"You dare challenge me?" the Elder hissed, then held out his hand imperiously to one of the warriors. "If you won't surrender it, I'm just going to have to take it from you." He caught the weapon that had been tossed to him without looking at it and took a ready stance.

Stavin put his helmet back on and flexed his knees. "I will not let you take what is rightfully mine," he snarled defiantly as he prepared to fight one of the mightiest warriors in the valley.

Elder Kel'Carin sneered and took a contemptuous swipe at Stavin's legs, but Stavin met the attack with ease. Instead of backing away, he attacked, following the maxim that it is always better to lead when dancing with steel. The staccato clacking as the two weapons met was the only sound as they fought. Stavin was just trying to keep the Elder at bay and not dishonor his name, while Elder Kel'Carin's face was turning red and an expression of rage was twisting his features.

Stavin fought with all the skill he had, trying to keep Elder Kel'Carin from scoring on him. This was the man he most wanted to impress, the man who had driven him to the extreme of going to the dragon's cave in the first place. The man he had faced in a different arena twice already and been turned away. The father of the lovely Dorvina Kel'Carin, the girl Stavin wanted for his wife.

The lack of food and sleep coming down the mountain was making Stavin slower than usual and he let his guard down for just a moment. In that instant Elder Kel'Carin struck, driving his borrowed Dragon's Tongue forward as hard as he could, through Stavin's defenses, and into Stavin's chest, where it—stopped. The finest steel the smith could produce met dragon scale and failed. A point that would pierce the finest armor made by man turned when it hit armor made by a dragon.

Stavin was knocked back a step by the force of the blow and stunned by the implications. Elder Kel'Carin wasn't just trying to score a blow against him. The thought,
He's trying to kill me!
flitted through Stavin's mind as he staggered backwards.

Elder Kel'Carin was standing still, as if frozen by the implications of what he had just tried to do. He had just tried to kill a child of the people, an untested boy of the Cat Clan of Aniston. To kill a child was the most dishonorable act a man could commit.

The crowd roared in protest, but Stavin was focused on the vile act of the man before him.
That's dishonorable! How could an Elder do that! I've proven myself!
Anger that had been smoldering burst into flame and the Dragon's Tongue in his hands flashed in the sun, slicing off one, then the other point from the frozen Elder's weapon, then flashed a third time to cut the haft of the weapon in half in contempt.

Stavin continued to whirl his weapon for a moment, then abruptly came to a stop with his weapon held vertically in front of his chest in the traditional salute of the victor to the vanquished. Relaxing, he let go with his right hand and put the weapon at rest against his left shoulder.

Looking past Elder Kel'Carin, he addressed the crowd. "No one would come with me to the dragon's cave six days ago. No one saw me enter the cave to get the treasure. I faced the fear alone, to prove my bravery to myself since none of you would let me prove it to you. I faced my fear and conquered it. I learned the truth: the dragon never left our valley, and he's still here. He gave me this armor and Dragon's Tongue, made from his own golden scales, as a reward for my courage.
I
was the only one who didn't run away."

Chief Elder Kel'Davin stepped past the disgraced Elder Kel'Carin and faced Stavin squarely. Even as shrunken and bent with age as he was, he had to look slightly down into Stavin's eyes, but his own eyes held nothing but respect.

"Stavin Kel'Aniston, you have indeed proven yourself this day. Your proof is not in the armor you wear or the weapon in your hand. Your proof is not in a cave on the mountain. Your proof is that you fought honorably against Elder Kel'Carin and remembered the law of our people when he had clearly forgotten it. He tried to kill you, but you spared him when the advantage came to you. Honor, above all else, is the proof of a man." He glanced over his shoulder at the man who had been at his right hand for years, then walked away without another word.

When the Chief Elder turned away, the rest of the town's folk turned away as well and returned to their interrupted lives, discussing what they had seen and the revelations that Stavin had presented them with. Only three people remained where they had been standing.

Karlit and Marinis Kel'Aniston stood straight and proud as their youngest child, and greatest heartache, was accepted as a man by their people. Barvil Kel'Carin remained where he had been standing since his dishonorable act, head down in shame.

Stavin walked around the shamed Elder to face his parents. His voice was soft as he said, "I told you I would return a man, or not at all."

Karlit reached out and grasped his son by the upper arm. "That you did, and I'm ashamed to admit that I never thought I'd see you again."

Marinis clasped her son's other arm with a grip that was stronger than her husband's. "I was afraid that you would keep going over the mountain and down into Kavadia, or that the next bunch to go up there would find your bones." She smiled through her tears and tapped his golden breast plate. "I certainly never expected this."

Stavin removed his helmet again and smiled sheepishly. "I didn't either. I thought I was going to die in the cave or go mad. Either would have been better than living here, scorned as a coward and never being anything but a servant in someone else's household."

Karlit looked past Stavin to where Barvil Kel'Carin still stood staring at the ground. "And now?" he asked as Stavin followed his gaze.

"And now," Stavin repeated softly. Turning, he stood squarely looking at the man's back. "Face me," he commanded, and the shamed elder turned, head still down. "Do you have something to say to me, Elder Kel'Carin?"

"I am no longer an Elder. You have dishonored me in the eyes of our people."

"You dishonored yourself," Stavin snarled as he looked the man up and down. "By the customs of our ancestors, your life and all that you possess now belong to me. Also by custom, you have the choice of accepting me as your master or taking your own life to regain your honor."

Barvil finally looked up and stared Stavin straight in the eye. "I will live with the shame my pride has brought upon me. I will regain my honor as a man may, servant or no."

Stavin nodded once. "So be it. You may present me to my household."

Barvil nodded and motioned for his new master to precede him. "My—
Your
house awaits you. I believe you know the way."

Stavin nodded, then turned to look at his parents. "I—"

"We know. Go settle your household. If you need us, we are close by," Marinis said as her husband nodded.

S
TAVIN WALKED AWAY WITH
B
ARVIL A
respectful step behind. The walk was a long one, all the way across town, and just about everyone turned away when they saw the pair. Barvil's shame was a raw wound for the entire population. He had been the favorite to replace Sorval Kel'Davin as Chief Elder when the other retired or died.

When they reached the house, all of the Kel'Carins were lined up on the front porch waiting for them. Barvil stepped forward to face his family. "My family, I have dishonored myself, and placed us in servitude to Stavin Kel'Aniston. He is now master of this house and all who dwell within."

Sahrena Kel'Carin nodded. "We saw your dishonor, my husband." Turning to Stavin, she bowed deeply. "Master Stavin, we welcome you. This house and all in it now belong to you, but I would presume to remind you of this: Custom forbids a man congress with a girl of his household who is not his wife."

As Stavin looked into her eyes he felt his heartache renewed. "And so you remind me that even though I
have
proven myself, Dorvina can still never be mine, for no honorable man may take to wife any girl or woman of his own household." He looked past Sahrena to the Kel'Carin's oldest child and felt the emptiness in his belly grow. "Even so, you get your way," he whispered.

Dorvina answered him boldly. "Not entirely, and not in the way I would have chosen, but it will do." Her words burned like acid on Stavin's bleeding heart, and Sahrena took control before anything unfortunate could happen.

"I have already moved our things out of the master's suite. If you will follow me, I will see you settled."

Stavin nodded and followed Sahrena through the house. Though he had been there dozens of times in the past, he had never entered Barvil and Sahrena's rooms. The master's suite was made up of three rooms. The first room was the library. Shelves of books lined the walls, though there were bare places where books and small objects had obviously been removed. Next was the bedroom, and again it was obvious that many small items had been removed, but Stavin said nothing. While custom made everything in the house his, custom also allowed servants belongings of their own. By not saying anything now, Stavin was acknowledging that those missing items belonged to Barvil and Sahrena. Last was the armory. This room was bare except for the armor stand. Barvil's armor and weapons remained his so he could regain his honor in service to the town.

"If you will stand here, Master Stavin, I will help you with your armor," Sahrena said in a soft voice, but Stavin shook his head.

"Send Kar to help me, please. I'm—I don't want—"

"As you wish, Master Stavin," Sahrena replied with another bow.

As she turned to go, Stavin thought of something. "Please send someone to my parents' house for my clothes."

Sahrena again nodded and said, "As you wish, Master Stavin." Then she left, closing the door behind her.

Sahrena had only been gone for a few moments when there was a knock at the bedroom door. Stavin said, "Come," without looking. He heard the door open and turned to find a figure standing by the armory door.

"You sent for me, Stave—Master Stavin?" Karvik asked in a near whisper.

Stavin waved a hand for him to enter the room. "I need help with my armor, Kar, and I was embarrassed when your mom tried to undress me."

"Mom's that way. You know that. Stand tall," Karvik commanded and Stavin raised his arms slightly so Karvik could get to the straps on his sides. Even though Stavin was older by nearly two years, he still had to look up into Karvik's eyes.

Karvik reached up and started undoing the shoulder straps that held the breast plate to the back plate. "How did you manage on your own coming down the mountain, Master?"

Stavin sighed deeply. "This is so awkward. Coming down the mountain was easy: I didn't take it off. I only had one night, and it wasn't that bad sleeping in it. Not that I slept all that much." When the breast and back plates were off and hung on the rack, Karvik helped remove the rest of the armor. Then came the mail.

"This is finely woven mail. It fits you like a glove. What are you going to do when you start growing again?"

Stavin shrugged as he squirmed out of the mail coat and leggings. "I don't know, Kar. A year ago I was taller than you, but now you're taller by a hand. I haven't grown a finger in five years." Stavin finally got all the mail off, revealing the fine golden cloth beneath. "At least the dragon made the bottom half easy to get down."

That comment drew a snort of amusement from the younger boy. "First rule when choosing armor: Make sure you can squat in a hurry if you need to."

Stavin laughed. "Warmaster Kel'Horval certainly makes that lesson memorable, doesn't he?" he said with a grin. "I don't know how the dragon knew, but he obviously did. Do you know who your mother sent to get my clothes?"

"Zahri," Karvik replied with a grimace.

Stavin groaned. "Great! She might be back by sundown. I'll just have to wear this until then."