The Stream of Arobo

Sheel-Da was caught between her own world and the beguiling powers of beings who wandered black seas and fire islands of the cosmos. Her life had been cast in the image of a dark order which had rescued her from death and raised her to serve an alien master. She had fought and clawed for her betterment, endured indignities and suffered pain. No one who knew her would have thought she could be turned from the order which had moulded her. She touched the diamond armband given to her by...
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Sheel-Da was caught between her own world and the beguiling powers of beings who wandered black seas and fire islands of the cosmos. Her life had been cast in the image of a dark order which had rescued her from death and raised her to serve an alien master. She had fought and clawed for her betterment, endured indignities and suffered pain. No one who knew her would have thought she could be turned from the order which had moulded her. She touched the diamond armband given to her by Thoromaz the adventurer, lightly with the tips of her fingers. She had never owned a jewel of her own, they were extremely rare in her own time and place. Later, when the ship was settling down for its second night on the sea of the floating islands, she stood on deck and watched the moon, enjoyed the cool breeze and privately admired the only gift anyone had ever given her without expecting something in return. When Thoromaz consulted Jastogal the clairvoyant, he was told, "The woman named Sheel-Da is like a ghost over the sea on a still night. She is a misplacement from beyond our understanding and she will fade from us through a gate we cannot open." The cause of the misplacement was the Stream of Arobo, and its mission was to destroy the empire that Sheel-Da served.