"Stolen Silver" is a short story published in 1991 in the anthology Horse Fantastic, edited by Martin H. and Rosalind M. Greenberg. The story in its' entirety became the prologue of the novel Exile's Honor (2002).
It tells the tale of Weaponsmaster Alberich (first introduced to Valdemar readers in Arrows of the Queen in 1987), who was a Karsite army captain before becoming a Herald.
Characters[]
Characters appearing or mentioned in the story
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
- Leftenant Herdahl - an enemy of Alberich who had expected a promotion
- Unnamed Voice of Vkandis - sentenced Alberich to the fires
- Taver - King's Own Companion
- Herald Talamir - King's Own
- Herald Joyeaus - accompanied Talamir to the border when they knew Kantor would be bringing Alberich
- Herald Aren - brought a Healer for Alberich
Referenced characters[]
- Smoke - Alberich's former horse
- Leftenant Klaus - an enemy of Alberich who had expected a promotion
- Captain Anberg - the deceased officer Alberich was promoted to replace
- Unnamed Voice of Vkandis - promoted Alberich along with a gift of a white stallion (Kantor in disguise)
Places[]
Terminology[]
Synopsis (Warning! Spoilers!)[]
Alberich grooms the new white horse he received along with a promotion to replace his deceased Captain. Two other officers, Leftenant Herdahl and Leftenant Klaus are resentful because they had seniority. They are watching him for any mistake.
Alberich wonders where this high-quality horse came from - it's not the typical broken-down nag that they seize from bandits. It must be from Rethwellan.
In battle, Alberich had an uncanny way of knowing what the enemy's next move would be, and when and from where the attack would come. He had always had a sort of "sixth sense" about things which were about to happen. Instinctively, he hid this ability with the utmost care, for the Sunpriests kept careful watch for anyone exhibiting the "demon powers" which were the hallmark of Karse's greatest enemy--the witch-nation of Valdemar. Those they caught were "cleansed" in the fires of Vkandis Sunlord.
The officers noticed his weakness when he was struck by a vision, and began to suspect him. His uncanny ability was revealed when he directed them to defend a village that no one knew was under attack. The sunpriests found him guilty of magecraft and sentenced him to be burned to death. They put him in a building and set it on fire. His white "horse," who turned out to be Companion Kantor, jumped into the burning building, Chose him, and carried his burned body away to Valdemar.
Publication history[]
For a more detailed publication history see Stolen Silver at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
- Horse Fantastic, edited by Martin H. and Rosalind M. Greenberg, 1991
- Werehunter, a collection of short stories all written by Mercedes Lackey, 1999
- Exile's Honor[1], Heralds of Valdemar prequel, volume 1, 2002
- Stolen Silver, standalone ebook, 2010
- Dragon's Teeth, a collection of stories all written by Mercedes Lackey, 2013
Gallery of cover images[]
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The story was used as the Prologue in the novel Exile's Honor.