The Best of the Realms, Book I

CHAPTER 4

The Blooding ritual took place on the third darkcycleafter Liriel's meeting with her father. She was returned to House Shobalar asthe day grew old, for all such rituals began at the dark hour of Narbondel.

When the great timepiece of Menzoberranzan dimmed tomark the hour of midnight, Liriel stood before Hinkutes'nat Alar Shobalar, thematron mother of the clan.

The young drow had had few dealings with the Shobalarmatriarch, and she felt slightly unnerved by the dark and regal figure beforeher.

Hinkutes'nat was a high priestess of Lolth, asbefitted a ruling matron, and she was typical of those who followed the waysof the drow's goddess, the Spider Queen. Her throne room was as grim andforbidding a lair as anything Liriel had ever seen. Shadows were everywhere,for the skulls of many Shobalar victims had been fashioned into faintlyglowing lanterns that threw patterns of death upon every surface and castghastly purple highlights upon the dark faces assembled before the matron'sthrone.

A large cage stood in the middle of the chamber, readyto receive the prey for the Blooding ceremony. It was surrounded on all foursides by the giant, magically bred spiders that formed the heart of theShobalar guard. In fact, giant spiders stood guard everywhere-in every cornerof the chamber, on each of the steps that led up to the throne dais, evensuspended from the chamber's ceiling on long, glistening threads.

The throne room was a fit setting for the Shobalarmatriarch. The matron resembled a spider holding court in the center of her ownweb.

She wore a black robe upon which webs had beenembroidered in silver thread, and the gaze that she turned upon Liriel was ascalm and pitiless as that of any arachnid that had ever lived. She wasspiderlike in character, as well: even among the treacherous drow, theShobalar matron had earned a reputation for the tangled nature of the deals shespun.

"You have prepared the prey?" the matroninquired of her third-born daughter.

"I have," Xandra said. "The younglingdrow who stands before you shows great promise, as one would expect of a daughterof House Baenre. To offer her less than a true challenge would be an insult tothe First House."

Matron Hinkutes'nat lifted one eyebrow.

"I see," she said dryly. "Well, that isyour prerogative, and within the rules set for the Blooding ritual. It isunlikely that recourse will be taken, but you understand that you will bear thebrunt of any unpleasantness that might result?" When Xandra nodded grimacceptance, the matron mother again turned to Liriel. "And you, Princess,are you ready to begin?"

The Baenre girl dipped into a deep bow, doing her bestto dim her shining eyes and school her face into expressionless calm.

Three days in Gromph's household had not quitedestroyed her eagerness for adventure.

"This, then, will be your prey," MistressXandra said.

She lifted both arms high, and brought them down toher sides in a quick sweep. A faint crackle vibrated through the damp and heavyair of the chamber, and the bars of the cage flared with sudden fey light.Every eye in the room turned to behold the ritual quarry.

Liriel's heart pounded with excitement-she was certainthat everyone could hear it. The light surrounding the cage faded, and she wasequally sure that all could feel the hard, cold hand that gripped her chest andmuffled its restless rhythm.

Within the cage stood a human male garbed in robes ofbright red. Liriel had seldom encountered humans and had few thoughtsconcerning them, but suddenly she found that she had no desire to slaughterthat one. He was too elflike, too much like a real person.

"This is an outrage," she said in a low,angry voice. "I was led to believe that my Blooding would be a test ofskill and courage, a hunt involving some dangerous surface creature, such as aboar or a hydra."

"If you misunderstood the nature of the Blooding,it was through no fault of mine," Mistress Xandra retorted. "Foryears you have heard tales of surface raids. What did you think wereslain-cattle? Prey is prey, whether it has two legs or four. You have attendedthe ceremonies; you know what has been required of those who have gone beforeyou."

"I will not do this thing," Liriel said witha regal hauteur that would have done justice to Matron Mother Baenre herself.

"You have no choice in the matter," MatronHinkutes'nat pointed out. "It is the part of the mistress or matron tochose the prey, and to name the terms of the hunt.

"Proceed," she said, turning to herdaughter.

Mistress Xandra permitted herself a smile and said,"The human wizard-for such he is-will be transported to a cavern in theDark Dominions that lie to the southwest of Menzoberranzan. You, LirielBaenre, will be escorted to a nearby tunnel. You must hunt and destroy the human,using any weapon at your disposal. Ten dark-cycles you have to accomplish this.We will not seek you before this time is up.

"But you must take this key," Xandracontinued as she handed a tiny golden object to the girl. "I have strungit upon a chain. Keep it on your person at all times. It is not our purposethat you come to grief: with this key, you can summon immediate aid from HouseShobalar, should the need arise.

"You have much talent, and you have been welltrained," the mistress added in a less severe tone. "We have everyconfidence in your success."

The older female's apparent concern for her well-beinggave Liriel a glimmer of hope.

"Mistress, I cannot slay this wizard," shesaid in a despairing whisper, letting her eyes speak clearly of her distress.

Surely Xandra, who had trained and fostered her, wouldunderstand how she felt and would lift the burden from her.

"You will kill, or you will be killed," theShobalar wizard proclaimed. "That is the challenge of the Blooding, and itis the reality of drow life."

Xandra's voice was cold and even, but Liriel did notmiss the glint in the wizard's red eyes. Stunned and enlightened, Liriel staredat her trusted mentor.

Kill or be killed. There could be little doubt whichoutcome Xandra preferred.

Liriel tore her gaze away from the vindictive crimsonstare and did her best to attend to the ceremony that followed. As she stoodsilently through the matron's ritual blessing, the girl was struck by a strangeand very vivid mental image: somewhere deep within her heart, a tiny lightflickered and died-a harbinger, perhaps, of darkness to come. A moment ofinexplicable sadness touched Liriel, but it was gone before she could marvel atso strange an emotion. To a young dark elf, such a vision seemed right andfitting-a cause for elation rather than regret. Soon, very soon, she would be atrue drow indeed!