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The Blue Star	By : sinaline Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 1900 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the book(s) that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter One

She looked over in concern from the fifth attempt to get the fire started. He still coughed, but he was getting under control. At least she hoped. Not for the first time she questioned her wisdom in taking him with her.
No. She must not question. It was the will of the Gods. It must be. Why else had he been blessed with the shield, even if he could not control it.
Just when the coughing fit ended another picked up again.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Define all right," came the sharp answer.
Marion swallowed her own sharp response, but her eyes narrowed, both at his rudeness,
and at the latest attempt of getting the fire to light. "Crotchety, aren't we?" she said just loud enough for him to hear.
"Crotchety?" he repeated in disbelief. "Let me get this straight. You kidnapped me, and you expect me to be sociable to you? I'm hardly sociable to my own twin brother, let alone someone who drugged me, threw me on a horse, and left said brother behind."
"Calm down, you are doing to give yourself one of your own attacks," she chided him.
He settled back down into the what little blankets she had been able to pack for the flight away from the tavern she had grabbed him out of. While she could still hear mumbling and some colorful cursing from his direction, she ignored it. Finally she sighed and glared at the damp, but not soaked wood. For a moment she was very tempted to use her
magic and tell the wood to light, but she refrained.
He would know then. He would figure it out. It was too soon for him to figure it out.
Only later....
But is it too soon? she wondered. What if I tell him now?
He would not believe me, came her own answer.
That skepticism was the very reason she had kidnapped him. She needed Raistlin
Majere's aloofness to succeed. But right now is was more of a major pain in the... ah
dammit.... she thought as the sparks refused to light.
Knowing that if she didn't get this fire lighted soon he would die, and her as well.
Looking over to the bundle of blankets that held the young wizard, and hopefully kept
him warm, she gauged whether he could see her from where he was. No, that was the
back of his head she saw.
Marion concentrated a little on her left hand, the one that held the damp wood. Thinning her eyes she looked deeper to the water that was within it, keeping it from lighting. A short moment later, "Shirak-dalai."
The wood crackled as it burst into flame and she dropped into the other pieces of wood.
The heat from the incinerated log dried the other wood and soon the fire lit up the
darkness cheerfully. She leaned back in triumph, and doing so she saw the surprised
golden hourglass eyes looking at her. "How in the Abyss did you do that with wet
wood?" he asked quietly.
She shrugged. "I guess the wood dried out."
"Maybe so," those golden eyes thinned in thought, then he moved closer to the fire and
held out his hands to warm them. "But not that dry. No, I refer to your use of magic that
should be beyond a... warrior's use."
"I have some knowledge of magic. It allows me to serve all the better. How else would I survive in this world alone except for the one I serve?" she asked.
"A very good question," he conceded with a tip of his head. "How did you come to be in
the service of the Miiro?"
"Miiro discovered me in Tarsis. I have been serving the Miiro ever since," she answered, a bit cryptically. "When I have no further use to the Miiro, I will be sent away, and another found."
Raistlin crinkled his brow in thought. As far as he knew, the Miiro was a scholar that
was second only to Astinus. Indeed, sometimes others wondered if the Miiro and Astinus
were one and the same. Well, the common people did. Even Raistlin had thought it so
before the Test at the Tower. After the Test, when he had time to read the books there,
he saw that the Miiro was an immortal being that lived as the Balance between Law and
Chaos. Good and Evil were of no consequence, only that ever delicate balance that kept
a whole other extreme from coming to pass.
But so far no one had actually met a person who claimed to serve the Miiro.
Until now.
"Is the Miiro a God?" asked Raistlin, his curiosity piqued.
"Not in the sense that most know as a God," came her answer. "The Miiro is more than
the Gods can ever hope for, and also less. The Miiro was before the Gods of Good and
Evil were even born, but yet also not their equal in power. In a sense."
Okay, now I'm confused, thought Raistlin. And that is quite the feat.... "What kind of sense? Can the Miiro grant powers to their followers like the Gods were reputed to do?"
"No," she answered. "The Miiro is."
"Then why serve the Miiro?"
"To serve the Miiro is... a reward for deeds done to preserve the Balance," she answered. "Or the potential to preserve the Balance."
He blinked in confusion. "No powers. No one knows of your Order. Barely anyone
knows of the Miiro, or if they do, what they know is most likely false. And the reward is
further service..." he shook his head in disbelief. "Not a life for me."

* * *
Caramon Majere sighed in frustration at the cave he searched in. He knelt down and felt the ashes. They were just barely warm, signifying that the damnable woman had again eluded him. Somehow she knew when he was getting close, and even with his brother likely resisting - his lips curled upwards in a smile - she still got away.
He looked over to the elf that had decided to help him, "Gone again."
"I see that," said the elf that was named simply Thorn. "I have infravision. The ashes are still warm, which meant they are about a day ahead of us. The good news is that if you
decide to camp here for the night, it makes a good place to do so."
Thorn was right, as he usually was. Caramon was extremely glad that the ranger had
actually agreed to help him track his brother's kidnapper. Thorn was a strange fellow
sometimes, stranger even than Tanis was. Then again, Tanis was half-elven, not full
elven like Thorn.
And what is with the name Thorn? wondered Caramon again.
"Sometimes I wonder if I don't rest, if I would be able to catch up with them?" he said
aloud.
"You would, but what then, Caramon?" asked Thorn. "You be too tired to take on
Irianda."
"Who?" asked Caramon.
"Irianda, also known as Marion Irianda," answered Thorn. "A vile woman who deserves
nothing short of death. I have been hunting her for a very long time. And this bold move
may prove to be her undoing."
"What did she do?"
"Many things. In her path she leaves a swath of destruction," Thorn's lip curled in
derision. "I hope for your brother's sake that she has not managed to turn him..."
Caramon felt his heart sink, "I should have never left alone! Oh, why am I so stupid.
When I get him back it will never happen again."
With that, Caramon set out to light the fire before the ashes turned too cold to be of any worth.
* * *
The next day was sunny, and she helped Raistlin to mount the horse. Again, she tied his
hands to the pommel of the saddle. He gritted his teeth in annoyance, but said nothing.
She took the reins and looped them over her own pommel, then shifting the Staff of
Magius, which, unfortunately for him, was tied to the saddle on her horse, she mounted,
"With a fine day as this we should be well in the vallenwoods."
Raistlin snapped his head around and saw the trees in question to the South.
"Vallenwoods? You mean Solace, don't you?" he asked. "Why past them? Where are
you taking me?"
"All in good time," she answered, then she made the horse trot through the clearing.
For awhile Raistlin was content to allow her to lead the horse he rode, but with each
passing moment, his agitation rose. If he could untie himself, then somehow get off the
horse without breaking his neck... he could make it to Solace. Or, in the very least, he
could hide in the woods that had been his home most of his living memory. This stranger
would have no chance of finding him. He let the cowl of his brown cloak fall over his
face and he smiled slightly.
It was just finding that right moment to take his leave.
When the sun rose high in the sky, signaling noon, she stopped the horses, but did not
dismount. She brought Raistlin's horse up beside hers, and rummaged in the saddlebag.
Finding what she was looking for, she brought it out with a small show of triumph.
"Lunchtime, Raistlin."
"I'm not hungry," he answered back.
For a moment, her cheerfulness faltered, and she sighed. "You may not be, but all this
riding has made me hungry. And eventually you will be hungry."
Marion then moved the horses into a canter that allowed her to eat and control them with
ease. Finally, Raistlin broke the silence. "Why the rush, Marion?"
"What rush?"
He made his head gesture to the two horses, since his hands could not. Damn, he had not
realized just how much he had relied on the use of his hands in the most inane things
until he could not use them. "Even in eating, we still move. When we are not at rest, you
make the horses almost gallop. To rest them, you still make them walk. Where are we
going in such a rush? It is still summer."
She smiled. "But it may not be where we are going, Raistlin. Nor may we be able to
pass Thorbardin after the first snows. And it will take us that long to get down there."
"Pass Thorbardin?" Raistlin's voice rose sharply. "How in the name of the Abyss do you
expect to pass through Thorbardin... unless you aren't going to... oh no, now I see."
He leaned back and let the sun shine on his face. "Marion, this journey is going to be
months, maybe even nearly a year. And you plan to do this on horseback, with me as an
unwilling participant."
"You may change your mind once you understand..."
"Understand what?" he asked in exasperation. "That you want to take me so far away
that whatever I want in life won't be possible?"
"The Miiro has a better offer."
"Oh no," he said, shaking his head to punctuate his wishes. "I don't want to serve some
unknown God or Goddess for the rest of my life, whose only means to reward his or her
followers is with more service..."
"If you knew how important that work was, you would not say that," she retorted. "The
Miiro is compassionate and never asks for more than what you can give. All she asks in
your best...."
"She?" Raistlin repeated softly and Marion went white with the realization that she had
given away one of the Miiro's most precious secrets: Identity. "And what is so bad about knowing that."
"The main tenet is secrecy. The Miiro... is protected by the lack of anyone knowing
anything that identifies who she is," Marion sighed. "You see, she is not totally
immortal. She can die. And she is the Balance of Chaos and Law."
"I see. So if no one knows who or what the Miiro is, she remains protected and the
Balance remains," said Raistlin, his ire calmed only very little by this newest revelation.
"And what if the Miiro dies?"
"The Miiro is replaced by a new Miiro, but one of the factions of Law and Chaos will
begin to get the upper hand and... well, the last time this happened something very bad
happened..." answered Marion.
"It's not as if she caused the Cataclysm..."
Marion's sudden paleness and silence made a sudden lump form in his throat. "By
Lunitari, that's what happened, didn't it?"
"The old Miiro found the new Miiro, but before he could finish her training, the life left him and she was left alone to figure things out," Marion seemed to fade out again. "In that time, Law got the upper hand, and the Kingpriest, in the grip of extreme Law, called down the wrath of the Gods."
Ouch, not the best way to start out a new career. "But she did not cause it," he said,
making a distinction. "It was not her fault per se. And things did balance out between
Law and Chaos."
Marion nodded, "Not for many years, but a Balance was struck again, and she has been
keeping to her duties with my help."
"Your help? Does she not have anyone else?" asked Raistlin incredulously.
"No, who she had died of old age shortly after I came. The people have forgotten the
Miiro and the role she must take in life," answered Marion sadly. "But she has hopes for
you..."
"Me?" asked Raistlin. "Like I said, I have no interest in serving someone who can only
reward me with more service unless she has a wizard to train me, and you don't look like
a wizard that can, Marion."
Marion sighed in exasperation. "Is that all you think about? What you can get out of a bargain. Have you no compassion? No sense of duty?"
"I have plenty of compassion," snarled Raistlin. "And don't you ever question my sense of duty. I know what needs to be done in life, and I have never shirked my duty."
"Forgive me," she said, apologetically. "I have a habit of telling me people what I think in not the most tactful manner, but at least I work on it."
He gritted his teeth. As much as he had learned, it only brought up more questions.
Finally he ground out, "You may as well leave me in Solace, because I am not going to
help you or the Miiro. Whatever you think I can do, you are mistaken."
"You don't even know what it is yet," her eyes narrowed. "And don't tell me you're not
the least bit curious. I have been watching you for years, Majere. I know what drives
you. You may not come willingly now but you will eventually."
With that, she kicked the horses gently into a gallop, and Raistlin concentrated on
keeping his seat.

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I know that the chapters are a bit short, but I don't want to cram the entire story into a few really long chapters. As you can tell, it's not really MS at all. I was worried too when the plot bunny hit me, but after I wrote it, I saw that it really was not. Give it a chance and you will see.
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The Blue Star