Passage to Baledon

Chapter 1

 "Again," the Mistress' voice echoed off the polished marble walls. "And this time let's not drop our chin, shall we?"

Talia Isarel returned to the center of the gleaming wood floor and sighed. When she had found her position, the delicate string quartet music began. She raised her right arm high in an arc and swirled it down, first around her head, then allowing it to travel the length of her torso. At her waist, her fist shot straight out behind her and the fingers uncurled to reveal a brilliant blue jewel in her palm. Curling her arm back again, she lifted her left leg slowly until it was level with her waist and she was balanced perfectly on the ball of her right foot.

Behind her and off to the side, a tall woman stood. She was clothed in long red robes etched with ornate silver leaves. Each of the leaves was rendered with such detail they caught the reflections of light in the room. They shimmered and seemed to rustle as if set in motion by some unseen breeze. The effect was all the more striking due to the fact that the woman never moved. Only her ageless, green-gray eyes followed Talia's efforts on the floor. They narrowed slightly below finely arched eyebrows that gave her smooth face an elvish look. Her hair was long and black with a single gray streak that curled around to the left of her cheek until coming to rest on her shoulder.

"Line! Pay attention to your line, my dear," the mistress said. "Lift your chin. There is no reason for a princess to be looking at the floor, ever. Line!"

Talia passed the jewel to her left hand and scissor-kicked onto her right foot before losing her balance. Her right hand barely kissed the floor, but the execution of the posture was lost.

"Stop!" the mistress yelled. "You must stop. How many times do I have to tell you? You must keep your chin above your shoulders." She sighed, "Enough. I cannot watch you destroy this posture anymore today."

Talia looked demurely at the Ke'Tal mistress. "I'm sorry, Mistress Dah. I'm not concentrating today."

Mistress Dah shook her head. "You rarely concentrate these days, child. But that cannot be an excuse anymore. No member of the royal family has ever governed without mastering the Ke'Tal."

"But it is only a dance, Mistress," Talia said.

Mistress Dah glared at her. "No!"

Talia was surprised by the ferocity of the Mistress' tone. She looked up, eyes wide.

"It is not a dance," Mistress Dah continued, "These postures are just the basics of something much more. The Ke'Tal are disciplines that are the basis of our culture. They encompass structures for self-defense, but also for negotiating the vagaries of society and power in the Southern Realm. They date to a time nearly 3000 years in the past. They are the oldest connection we have to the First Age. And you must master them if you are to ever ascend to the throne of Baledon."

Talia hesitated a moment. "And what if I don't want the throne?" In her ears it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Mistress Dah stared for a moment and then relaxed her gaze.

"It is not for you to choose, child," she said smiling, "You are the Princess Isarel. That path is already laid before you."

The Ke'Tal Mistress' voice became more soothing. "You will become Empress one day. It is why you are here, why you have been studying these long years, instead of lounging about the palace grounds as your sister does, scaring up trouble every waking moment." Mistress Dah looked as if she might spit on the polished wood floor.

Talia straightened a bit. "I would remind you, you are talking about one of the royal family and a Princess of Baledon."

Mistress Dah laughed. It sounded strangely dry and humorless in the polished ambience of the ballroom.