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He said, trying to lighten the moment, "Now you've only had formally what we both knew all along,bredu." He heard himself say the word with a little shock of amazement, but knew he meant it as he hadnever meant anything before.

Danilo said, trying to steady his voice, "I should have ... offered you my sword. I'm not wearing one, buthere-"

That was what had been missing in the ritual. Regis started to say that it did not matter, but without itthere was something wanting. He looked at the dagger Danilo held out hilt-first to him. Regis drew hisown, laid it hilt-to-blade along the other before giving it to Danilo, saying quietly, "Bear this, then, in myservice."

Danilo laid his lips to the blade for a moment, saying, "In your service alone I bear it," and put it into hisown sheath.

Regis thrust Danilo's knife into the scabbard at his waist It did not quite fit, but it would do. He said,

"You must remain here until I send for you. It will not be long, I promise, but I have to think what to do."

He did not say goodbye. It was not necessary. He turned and walked back along the lane. As he wentinto the barn to untie his horse, Dom Felix came slowly toward him.

"Lord Regis, may I offer you some refreshment?"

Regis said pleasantly, "I thank you, but grudged hospitality has a bitter taste. Yet it is my pleasure toassure you, on the word of a Hastur"-he touched his hand briefly to sword-hilt-"you may be proud ofyour son, Dom Felix. His dishonor should be your pride."

The old man frowned. "You speak riddles, vai dom."

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"Sir, you were hawk-master to my grandsire, yet I have not seen you at court in my lifetime. To Danilo a choice even more bitter was given: to win favor by dishonorable means, or to keep his own honor at the price of apparent disgrace. In brief, sir, your son offended the pride of a man who has power but none of the honor which gives power its dignity. And this man revenged himself."

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The old man's brow furrowed as he slowly puzzled out what Regis was saying. "If the charge was unjust,an act of private revenge, why did my son not tell me?"

"Because, Dom Felix, Dani feared you would ruin yourself to avenge him." He added quickly, seeing a thousand questions forming in the old man's eyes, "I promised Danilo I would tell you no more than this. But will you accept the word of a Hastur that he is blameless?"

Light broke in the troubled face. "I bless you for coming and I beg you to pardon my rough words, Lord

Regis. I am no courtier. But I am grateful."

"And loyal to your son," Regis said. "Have no doubt, Dom Felix, he is worthy of it."

"Will you not honor my house, Lord Regis?" This time the offer was heartfelt, and Regis smiled. "I regret that I cannot, sir, I am expected elsewhere. Danilo has shown me your hospitality; you grow the finest apples I have tasted in a long time. And I give you my word that one day it shall be my pleasure to show honor to the father of my friend. Meanwhile, I beg you to be reconciled to your son."

"You may be sure of it, Lord Regis." He stood staring after Regis as the boy mounted and rode away, and Regis could sense his confusion and gratitude. As he rode slowly down the hill to rejoin his bodyguard, he realized what he had, in substance, pledged himself to do: to restore Danilo's good name and make certain that Dyan could not again misuse power this way. What it meant was that he, who had once sworn to renounce the Comyn, now had to reform it from inside out, single-handedly, before he could enjoy his own freedom.

Chapter TWELVE

(Lew Alton9s narrative)

The hills rise beyond the Kadarin, leading away into the mountains, into the unknown country where thelaw of the Comyn does not run. In my present state, as soon as I had forded the Kadarin I felt that aweight had been lifted from my shoulders.

In this part of the world, five Jays' ride north of Thendara, my safe-conducts meant nothing. We slept atnight in tents, with a watch set. It was a barren country, long deserted. Only perhaps three or four timeshi a day's ride did we see some small village, half a dozen poor houses clustered in a clearing, or somesmall-holding where a hardy farmer wrested a bare living from the stony and perpendicular forest Therewere so few travelers here that the children came out to watch us as we passed.

The roads got worse and worse as we went further into the hills, degenerating at times into meregoat-tracks and trails. There are not many good roads on Darkover. My father, who lived on Terra formany years, has told me about the good roads there, but added that there was no way to bring thatsystem here. For roads you needed slave labor or immense numbers of men willing to work for thebarest subsistence, or else heavy machinery. And there have never been slaves on Darkover, not evenslaves to machinery.

It was, I thought, small wonder that the Terrans were reluctant to move their spaceport into these hillsagain,

I was the more surprised when, on the ninth day of traveling, we came on to a wide road, well-surfacedand capable of handling wheeled carts and several men riding abreast. My father had also told me thatwhen he last visited the bills

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near Aldaran, Caer Donn had been little more than a substantial village. Reports had reached him that it was now a good-sized city. But this did not diminish my astonishment when, coming to the top of one of the higher hills, we saw it spread out below us in the valley and along the lower slopes of the next mountain.

It was a clear day, and we could see a long distance. Deep in the lowest part of the valley, where theground was most even, there was a great fenced-in area, abnormally smooth-surfaced, and even fromhere I could see the runways and the landing strips. This, I thought, must be the old Terran spaceport,now converted to a landing field for their aircraft and the small rockets which brought messages from Then-dara and Port Chicago. There was a similar small landing field near Arilinn. Beyond the airfield laythe city, and as my escort drew to a halt behind me, I heard the men murmuring about it.

"There was no city here when I was a lad! How could it grow so fast?"

"It's like the city which grew up overnight in the old fairy

tale!"

I told them a little of what Father had said, about prefabricated construction. Such cities were not built tostand for ages, but could be quickly constructed. They scowled skeptically and one of them said, "I'dhate to be rude about the Commander, sir, but he must have been telling you fairy tales. Even on Terrahuman hands can't build so quick."

I laughed. "He also told me of a hot planet where the natives did not believe there was such a thing assnow, and accused him of tale-telling when he spoke of mountains which bore ice all year."

Another pointed. "Castle Aldaran?"

There was nothing else it could have been, unless we were unimaginably astray: an ancient keep, afortress of craggy weathered stone. This was the stronghold of the renegade Domain, exiled centuriesago from Comyn-no man alive now knew why. Yet they were the ancient Seventh Domain, of the ancientkin of Hastur and Cassilda.

I felt curiously mingled eagerness and reluctance, as if taking some irrevocable step. Once again thecuriously unfocused time-sense of the Altons thrust fingers of dread at me. What was waiting for me inthat old stone fortress lying at the far end of the valley of Caer Donn?

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With a scowl I brought myself back to the present. It needed no great precognition to sense that in acompletely strange part of the world I might meet strangers and that some of them would have a lastingeffect on my life. I told myself that crossing that valley, stepping through the gates of Castle Aldaran, was

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not some great and irrevocable division in my life which would cut me off from my past and all my

kindred. I was here at my father's bidding, an obedient son, disloyal only in thought and will.

I struggled to get myself back hi focus, "Well, we might as well try to reach it while we still have somedaylight," I said, and started down the excellent road.

The ride across Caer Donn was in a strange way dreamlike. I had chosen to travel simply, without thecomplicated escort of an ambassador, treating this as the family visit it purported to be, and I attracted noparticular attention. In a way the city was like myself, I thought, outwardly all Darkovan, but with asubliminal difference somewhere, something that did not quite belong. For all these years I had beencontent to accept myself as Darkovan; now, looking at the old Terran port as I had never looked at thefamiliar one at Thendara, I thought that this too was my heritage ... if I had courage to take it

I was in a curious mood, feeling a trifle fey, as if, without knowing what shape or form it would take, Icould smell a wind that bore my fate.

There were guards at the gates of Aldaran, mountain men, and for the first time I gave my full name, notthe one I bore as my father's nedestro heir, but the name given before either father or mother had causeto suspect anyone could doubt my legitimacy. "I am Lewis-Kennard Lanart-Montray Alton y Aldaran,son of Kennard, Lord Alton, and Elaine Mon-tray-Aldaran. I have come as envoy of my father, and Iask a kinsman's welcome of Kermiac, Lord Aldaran."

The guards bowed and one of them, some kind of major-domo or steward, said, "Enter, dom, you arewelcome and you honor the house of Aldaran. In his name I extend you welcome, until you hear it fromhis own lips." My escort was taken away to be housed elsewhere while I was led to a spacious roomhigh in one of the far wings of the castle; my saddle bags were brought and servants sent to me when theyfound I traveled with no valet. In general they established me in luxury. After a while the stewardreturned.

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"My lord, Kermiac of Aldaran is at dinner and asks, if you are not too weary from travel, that you join him in the hall. If you are trail-wearied, he bids you dine here and rest well, but he bade me say he was eager to welcome his sister's grandson."

I said I would join him with pleasure. At that moment I was not capable of feeling fatigue; the fey moodof excitement was still on me. I washed off the dust of travel and dressed in my best, a fine tunic ofcrimson-dyed leather with breeches to match, low velvet boots, a dress cape lined with fur-not vanity,this, but to show honor to my unknown kinsman.

Dusk was falling when the servant returned to conduct me to the great dining hall. Expecting dimtorchlight, I was struck amazed by the daylight flood of brilliance. Arc-light, I thought, blinking, arc-lightsuch as the Terrans use in their Trade City. It seemed strange to go at night into a room flooded by suchnoonday brilliance, strange and disorienting, yet I was glad, for it allowed me to see clearly the faces inthe great hall. Evidently, despite his use of the newfangled lights, Kermiac kept to the old ways, for the

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lower part of his hall was crammed with a motley conglomeration of faces, Guardsmen, servants,

mountain people, rich and poor, even some Terrans and a cristoforo monk or two in their drab robes.

The servant led me toward the high table at the far end where the nobles sat. At first they were only ablur of faces: a tall man, lean and wolfish, with a great shock of fair hair; a pretty, red-haired girl in a bluedress; a small boy about Marius* age; and at their center, an aging man with a dark reddish beard, old todecrepitude but still straight-backed and keen-eyed. He bent his eyes on me, studying my face intently. This, I knew, must be Kermiac, Lord Aldaran, my kinsman. He wore plain clothes, of a simple cut likethose the Terrans wore, and I felt briefly ashamed of my barbarian finery.

He rose and came down from the dais to greet me. His voice, thinned with age, was still strong.

"Welcome, kinsman." He held out his arms and gave me a kinsman's embrace, his thin dry lips pressing each of my cheeks in turn. He held my shoulders between his hands for a moment. "It warms my heart to see your face at last, Elaine's son. We hear tidings in the Hellers here, even of the Hali'imyn," He used the ancient mountain word, but without

offense. "Come, you must be weary and hungry after this long journey. I am glad you felt able to join us.

Come and sit beside me, nephew."

He led me to a place of honor at his side. Servants brought us food. In the Domains the choicest food isserved a guest without asking his preference, so that he need not in courtesy choose the simplest; herethey made much of asking whether I would have meat, game-bird or fish, whether I would drink thewhite mountain wine or the red wine of the valleys. It was all cooked well and served to perfection, and Idid it justice after days of trail food.

"So, nephew," he said at last, when I had appeased my hunger and was sipping a glass of white wine and nibbling at some strange and delicious sweets, "I have heard you are tower-trained, a telepath. Here in the mountains it's believed that men tower-trained are half eunuch, but I can see you are a man; you have the look of a soldier. Are you one of their Guardsmen?"

'T have been a captain for three years."

He nodded. "There is peace in the mountains now, although the Dry-Towners get ideas now and then.