A Kyralian Christmas (advent calendar 2017)

Hey everybody ? Here comes – two days late, shame on me! – this year's Black Magician Trilogy advent calendar. Until the 24th of December, I'll upload a short story each day. As I'm lagging behind a bit, you'll sometimes receive two chapters at once until I've caught up. The characters, pairings, length and genres etc. will vary, but generally, the one-shots centre around Akkarin, Sonea and Lorlen, sometimes also including Dannyl and Tayend, Regin, Ceryni... Some of the stories are, in fact, not one- but two- or even ?more"-shots; some being canon, others not.

Additional information about each short story (and its possible connection to some of the other stories) can be found in my bio as soon as it has been uploaded.

As always, I'm very happy about reviews! ? ?

This collection of short stories can also be read in German, link below:

s/12745170/1/Winter-in-Kyralia


Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to the wonderful Trudi Canavan!


01. The Magician

Sonea was trembling. Winter had already claimed Imardin, but the girl in the shabby brown tunic, which was actually far too flimsy to be worn at that time of the year, followed her friend, who weaved through the crowd determinedly. It was market day in the north quarter and merchants had come even from the more remote surroundings of the capital in order to put their goods up for sale one last time before the snow would render most trade routes impassable for a few months.

But not only Kyralians had gathered at the North Square; there were a number of travellers from Elyne, loudly advertising various cheeses and wine; some dark-skinned pedlars, carefully arranging spices and exotic fruit peculiar to the hot and damp climate in Lonmar; sturdy Vindos selling cured fish and aromatic flatbread and even a few Lans with colourfully painted skin offering dried meat and the finely ground bark of the Gan-Gan bush. Thankful for the welcome distraction from their daily routine and the cold, the outer circle's residents crowded around the stalls and eyed the goods curiously.

No one noticed the two children skilfully threading their way through the assemblage of people. The dark-haired girl, a little smaller than her companion, tugged at the boy's sleeve. ?What are you up to?" ?I'm getting us lunch." ?But you don't have any money!" ?It's just bread, that doesn't hurt nobody." The boy came to a stop and turned to look at her. ?Jonna says–" ?C'mon, Sonea. She doesn't need to know. Besides, I know that you're hungry. Since you've all begun to sleep at this stayhouse, you've got barely enough money to buy food."

While he was speaking, the boy looked around inconspicuously, keeping an eye on an Kyralian market stall whose owner sold flat, dark loaves of bread and various filled dumplings. Then he started to move. Sonea realised what he had in mind and ran after him to prevent him from putting his plan into action. It was true what he had said about her family's financial difficulties, but despite her young age, she knew all too well what happened to thieves in Imardin if they were to be caught. Cery was her friend and she could not allow him to put himself in danger for her, risking to be caught by the city guards.

As long as Cery was leading the way, it had been easy to follow him through the crowd. Now, people were already closing the gap Cery had left behind, making it far more difficult for the scrawny girl to keep up with him. Cery had already approached the Kyralian merchant's stall and was examining the items on display, successfully feigning indifference. Sonea muttered a curse that would have earned her a stern scolding from her aunt and tried to push past the people blocking her way. She was so intent on stopping Cery from putting his plan into action that she was barely aware of her surroundings. There was no snow yet, but it had been raining heavily the day before and the low temperatures had ensured that the water turned into ice overnight.

Sonea had a hard time trying to keep her balance on the slippery ground and skidded rather than walked. Before she knew what was happening, the girl collided with something solid and slipped. To her surprise, the painful impact with the frozen soil did not come. As looked up, Sonea was faced with two dark eyes that regarded her with mild concern. ?Are you alright?" The person in front of her had grabbed Sonea's arm quickly, stabilising her just in time. Sonea took a step back and was about to thank them, as she realised just who she had bumped into.

Standing next to her was not one of the dwells, servants or merchants, but a young nobleman, probably in his early twenties. Unlike most of the other residents of the city's outskirts, he appeared to be surprisingly clean and wore a heavy dark cloak made of embroidered fabric. Reacting instinctively, Sonea shook off his hand on her arm and backed away from him. As she did not answer, he took a step forward. ?Are you feeling well?" ?I– yes. Thanks." ?You ought to be more careful, girl. The streets are icy." He was quite obviously from the houses, but he did not sound as condescending as Sonea had expected someone of his social standing to be. Well, at least not overly so. With a start, it crossed her mind that she had forgotten Cery.

She glanced around but did not spot her friend anywhere in her vicinity. ?Sorry, I need to go." ?Wait." He reached into the pocket of his cloak, extracted a pachi fruit and handed it to her. ?Here. You look hungry." Surprised, Sonea accepted the fruit. Why are you doing this?", she blurted involuntarily. Amused, the dark-haired man looked at her. ?No reason", he answered, the corner of his mouth curling upwards. Before Sonea could reply, she heard her friend's voice calling out for her from somewhere in the crowd. ?Hai, Sonea!" ?I'm sorry, I really need to go now." ?Take care, girl." Sonea nodded and took a few steps toward the direction from which the call had come. Then, she paused and turned around once more in order to thank the man, but he was gone.

Sonea struggled to move forward in the crowd but Cery was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, she was grabbed and pulled into the entrance of a house. ?Cery! Where have you been?" ?While you've had a nice little chat, I got us something to eat." ?Stole it, you mean." ?Oh, come on, Sonea. It's just a piece of bread. Make an exception, just once. After all, today is the day of the Winter's Feast." Sonea sighed. ?Well, I guess it is too late to return it." Cery broke into a grin, took her hand and pulled her down with him onto a low stone wall, just wide enough to sit on.

He broke the small loaf of bread in two and handed her one of the pieces. ?By the way, what did the magician want from you?" ?The… magician?" Sonea frowned bemused. ?Yes. The man you were talking to, remember?", answered Cery. ?That was a magician?" ?Yeah, didn't you notice what he was wearing?", the boy asked with surprise. ?His coat wasn't that special", replied Sonea with a shrug. ?The guild's incal was sewn into its collar", Cery announced. ?How come you know what it looks like?" Cery merely grinned. ?I have my sources." ?Nevermind, master thief", the girl teased him and hungrily took a bite from her half of the bread. ?Let's eat, lest the merchant catches us with it."

Then she remembered something. She stuck her hand into her pocket and removed the pachi fruit. Impressed, Cery raised an eyebrow. ?Not bad. I underestimated you." ?I didn't steal it! What do you take me for? The… magician gave it to me", retorted Sonea indignantly. ?Well then, what are we waiting for? Looks like we'll have a feast today after all." Sonea smiled and put her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Indeed."


The next story will feature young Lorlen and Akkarin ?