Bloodname

She had also heard that one major reason for the ardent interest in this trial was the stature of the Bloodname in question. Its original holder, Aeneas Pryde, had been a member of Aleksandr Kerensky's command staff even before the Exodus. As a Star League officer, he had distinguished himself in battle as a member of the 131st Battle Division, the so-called "Hercules Division." So daring were the celebrated exploits of the 131st that they had been compared to the arduous tasks of a mythical hero named Hercules.

Joa

Ileana Pryde, the previous holder of this version of the Bloodname, might have been more sympathetic to Aidan's cause, for she was known for a similar stubborn persistence and fortitude.

Joa

Joa

Loremaster, the Advocate, the Inquisitor, and the current Khan of the Jade Falcon Clan, Elias Crichell. Elias Crichell had earned fame as a great warrior and shrewd politician. He was also said to be a harsh judge, who believed in severe punishment for even the smallest offense. Many credited him with the Jade Falcons' success among the seventeen clans.

Joa

* * *

Aidan had watched Ter Roshak come in. The two had not met since Aidan left Ironhold several years before. Roshak had vowed to kill Aidan if he revealed any part of his deception. Though the threat had not frightened Aidan, he had remembered it often enough.

He wondered briefly if he should regret his action, which would surely ruin Roshak's career. But what good was such a career if the man violated Clan law? Of the three under various accusations here in Clan council, Roshak was the only one who deserved to be on trial. Neither Aidan nor Joa

Aidan, however, was appalled by the murder that Roshak had pla

Clan culture did not hold life so dear as did Terran, he knew, but the killing of cadets with warrior potential merely to create an identity for him was not moral. Yet sometimes he even scoffed at himself. What did he care about morality? Murder like the one Roshak had committed might have been a mistake, an error of command judgment, but morality was not a factor in Clan actions.

Warriors were still filing into the chamber. It would be some time before the trial would begin, and Aidan was restless. He wanted to speak with Joa

The only speech allowed at present was between the officers of the court, who were sitting at the long table across from Roshak. They maintained an incessant if undecipherable murmur. In the whole time since Roshak had entered the room, he had not looked at any of the officers of the court.

The Advocate for all three defendants finished off his conversation with the Inquisitor and with Khan Elias Crichell, who sat aloof and, truth to tell, apparently oblivious to events. The Advocate stood up and walked toward the table where Aidan and Joa

"The proceedings will begin soon," Qwabe said. "I am instructed to tell you that you may reduce participation in the trial by admitting guilt, invoking the rite of forgiveness, and taking your chance on whatever punishment the Khan chooses for you. Based on what I know about the two of you, I believe that you would reject such an offer, quineg?"

Both Aidan and Joa

Beck Qwabe gave them their last instructions on trial procedures. Aidan had received this same briefing so often since arriving on Ironhold that his mind wandered. As had Joa

Suddenly one pair of eyes caught his attention, not because of their malice or even their coldness, but because of their familiarity. They belonged to someone sitting far up in the tiers, so far away that the eyes were little more than dots. Yet Aidan knew from the eyes and the erectness of her posture that it was Marthe staring down at him. It could be no other.

And it was logical. With two victories in her Trial, one of them over Aidan, Marthe had entered the warrior ranks at the level of Star Commander. Enough time had passed for her to rise further and to have fought for a Bloodname, for another of the Pryde Bloodnames. Though this was the first time Aidan had chosen to compete for a Bloodname, he had known of two other times that a Pryde Bloodname had become available during his years as a warrior. Marthe must have fought for one of them and won it.