had her shielding ready, Phoran might not have lived to regret those words. The magic Willon threw at the Emperor was strong, and Seraph felt her hastily redirected shields begin to give beneath it. Then Hennea's magic aided hers and turned Willon's attack aside.
"Now, Tier," Seraph heard Hennea say.
"Lynwythe," Tier said.
"Lynwythe," he said, and hoped something would happen.
It wasn't at all what he expected. As soon as the words left his lips, Rinnie's and Hennea's hands disappeared, as did Willon. The familiar weight of his lute was gone as well. Tier was alone.
He stood in a long, wide room with walls, ceiling, and floor all of dove grey and strangely featureless, as if someone merely thought about a room, rather than a real room.
Instinct made him want to return to his family - but Hennea and Hinnum had both thought his speaking of that name was the only possible way to defeat the Shadowed. He disciplined himself, looked around, and began walking.
His sturdy boots left marks on the featureless floor: not quite footprints, just a marring of the surface where the hard edge of his heels touched down. For a moment he felt ashamed, embarrassed that he, a farmer, should dare tread such hallowed halls at all, let alone mar the floors.
He stopped and took a deep breath. "I do not belong here," he said in a more pleasant tone than he felt like using. "I know it, as do you. However I doubt a few marks on the floor are going to bother you much. I am a Bard, sir. I know how to influence people - and I know when someone tries to influence me. I'll thank you to stop."
No one replied, but the feeling that he ought to be cringing and scuttling forward on hands and knees because of his great inadequacies left. Conscious of the danger his family was in, he walked quickly forward. Though there was nothing in the room that he could see, he felt this was the direction he must walk in.
"Why did you call My name, Bard?" The voice was deep and rich.
Tier stopped walking and turned to face the god who'd appeared next to him without a sound or any warning, just his words in a rich bass that part of Tier could not help but want to hear in song, just once.
There was not much else impressive about him. He appeared to be a man a little shorter than average and slight of build. His hair and eyes were as dark as Tier's own.
"Why do you hesitate, Bard?" He said with a small smile that sent chills down Tier's spine. This was not the Weaver. "Do you seek to form lies that might please Me?"
"No," answered Tier truthfully. "It just occurred to me that I'm not certain what the real truth is. The simple answer is that we only had the one name."
"So you called upon Me because you could not call upon My brother? Is there another answer?"
Tier decided to trust his instincts. "I think the barrier the Weaver created limits His ability to work in this world. I think He has interfered all that He can already. If we'd had both names, we would have called upon the Weaver." He took a deep breath. "And we would have failed. The Weaver can do no more to help us."
The Stalker raised his hands. "And you think that I will? Now when My servant, My slave has loosened the bonds that hold Me? He will not have to take many more Orders before I am able to do whatever pleases Me."
"He is not Your servant, nor Your slave," said Tier. "He is a thief who snuck into Your prison and stole Your power without so much as a by-your-leave."
"Even as you have called My Name, Bard, so I must answer like a dog answers the call of his master." The words were bitter and angry, but neither emotion was reflected in the Stalker's face or voice.
"While we speak my family faces the Shadowed on their own," said Tier, then sucked in a breath. You can do better than this, he thought. "I can only apologize for my discourtesy. Offending You is the last thing I wish to do. We need Your help to defeat the Shadowed."
"Indeed," said the god. "What will you give me for this help? Who will you sacrifice? Your wife? One of your children? The Emperor, perhaps?"
"I will not," Tier said, his blood turning to ice in