Thorn on Fire

By Robert Digitale

The action-packed conclusion to The Root of Glory series: The Root is about to be recovered. But who will wield it — Blaze or a human chosen by the ageless rebels in their effort to defeat the King? And what of Blaze's followers? Will Tustin give in to the temptation to use the Root for his own ends? Will Cisly give up the struggle in order to protect her abused son? And will Sorenth let evil befall those who previously hurt him, even if it means abandoning the woman he loves? From the visions Blaze keeps having, one thing seems certain: On the day of battle, Pibbibib will be there to grasp for the Root.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Digitale
• Release date: Dec 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9780983243526

Robert Digitale

A longtime reporter for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Robert Digitale was part of the newsroom staff that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. The topic of their coverage: The North Bay wildfires of October 2017. Robert's front page story on the devastation of Santa Rosa's Coffey Park neighborhood was part of the packet of articles and video reviewed by the Pulitzer judges. Robert retired in 2018 after nearly four decades at the newspaper. During those years, he went to Texas to write about public schools and high-stakes testing. He was trounced at tennis by the late "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz, and he had President Barack Obama (then a U.S. senator) put a hand on Robert's back in order to prevent a collision. (He still has the historic sports coat.) Robert at various times covered City Hall, education, commercial salmon fishing, real estate and Sonoma County agriculture.

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Thorn on Fire Characters

The MuKierin (Clan of the Horse)

Roj: the Horse Stalker Blaze: his son

Noli: Roj’s brother-in-law Roff: Noli’s son

Stannis, Kick, Harney & Quirt: cousins to Blaze and Roff The White Beard: the King’s steward to the clan

Tustin: a slave rescued by Blaze Cisly: a former courtesan Sunny: an insurrectionist Darnelle: Sunny’s sister

Bar MuBarishta: a cadet at the Academy

The King’s People

Healdin: the King’s daughter, Roj’s wife Mirri: Healdin’s servant

Aidyn: Sorenth’s rescuer Burl: Tustin’s guide

Valviraun: an archer and Tustin’s tutor

The Rebels (also known as the Realm)

Pibbibib: known as Backstabber Weakling

Zoirra: the rebel Master

Lord Mackadoo: Zoirra’s key envoy Weej: Mackadoo’s underling Mooschus: commander of the Cleavers Suktoos: commander of the Slinkers

The Pappi (Clan of the Lake)

Bairn: a trader and Pappi council member Sorenth: a former cadet at the Academy.

Bo: Sorenth’s brother & chief cadet at the Academy Lon: a cadet

Tie: a MuKierin and Bairn’s partner

The Quolli (Clan of Thieves)

Yawnna: a Quolli maiden

Ciga: Yawnna’s father

Kitar: Yawnna’s servant

The Jantuun (Clan of the Canyon)

Harek: Lord of Jantuun

The Academy: School for the Clans

Aeres: the headmaster

Previously

From Books One and Two in the Root of Glory: HORSE STALKER and BLAZE & SKYFIRE

A longing burned into human hearts and a struggle for the only power that can satisfy that longing.

Long ago the Root of Glory touched the children of the Dry Lands and left them forever changed. The people stole this great power, killed one another with it and then mysteriously lost it. Now their descendants unknowingly yearn for the Root. Even so, the people would be too afraid to stand before its red column of fire.

A horse hunter named Roj set in motion the Root’s recovery. In his pursuit of a Spotted Stallion, Roj encountered servants of a distant King, the Root’s rightful owner. Roj immediately found himself under attack by giant rebels who seek to somehow use the great power to overthrow the King, their former ruler. Roj came to love the King’s daughter, Healdin; eventually he married her. With Healdin’s help, he also wounded one of the rebels, Weakling, whose cut leg has since tingled whenever the King’s subjects draw near. Another rebel, Pibbibib or Backstabber, has been using Weakling’s new ability to avoid the King’s warriors and continue seeking the Root.

Roj and Healdin had a son, Blaze, the future champion. As a young man, he went to Roj’s clan, the MuKierin, and there collected a group of followers. Blaze sought to take up the Root and with it lead his desert kinsman to a new home in the King’s country, the Green Lands. But Blaze was a healer, not a fighter, a man who refused to shed blood and who himself fell ill whenever tending the wounded. The leaders of the clan rejected him. Some of them tried to kill him on behalf of the rebels, who call themselves the Realm. The attempt to kill Blaze failed, and the rebels invaded the MuKierin in an unsuccessful attempt to catch and kill the champion. In a nighttime showdown, Blaze’s followers challenged a rebel army. In that battle Healdin used the Vine—another one of her kingdom’s three great powers—to defeat the rebel army. Afterward she entered a deep trance. Her final order was that the Vine should one day be given to her son so he could combine it with the Root and the kingdom’s third power, the Thorn.

The great struggle soon extended beyond the MuKierin. The King called his grandson Blaze home to the Green Lands to prepare for the final battle. Blaze sent a young MuKierin named Tustin on a distant quest to find the Root. Meanwhile, a group of military cadets from all the Seven Clans set out on a mission to retrieve the great power for themselves and use it against the rebels. The cadets on the mission include Bo, a member of the Pappi clan, and Bar, a MuKierin who helped in naming Blaze a coward among his people. Bo’s brother Sorenth, a former cadet, set out to find and help his sibling, but he was attacked by members of the Quolli clan and later by warriors of the Realm. Sorenth was wounded but rescued by one of the King’s women warriors. But to his dismay, he was left in the care of one of his would-be Quolli robbers, a young woman named Yawnna.

The rebels’ leader Zoirra, a giant who was blinded ages ago when he himself tried to steal the Root, has set in motion his own plans. He seeks a human to one day wield the great power against Blaze. Of late, Zoirra has begun to suspect a spy resides within the walls of his fortress at Equis, the largest city in the Dry Lands. Could it be that some sneak has taken up a hiding place within the walls?

Insights About Some Key Characters

Tustin and Darnelle: Tustin, a former MuKierin slave, loves Darnelle, a young woman from his clan. Darnelle has not returned his affection. A year ago she was stabbed by her brother Sunny, an insurrectionist who for years has been fighting the clan’s ruthless, slave-holding Elders. Tustin has been sent by Blaze on a quest to recover the Root of Glory. His guide for the journey is a dark-skinned, child-like muleskinner named Burl.

Lon and Cisly: Lon was a cadet of the Academy and a member of the Pappi, the Clan of the Lake. Through a merchant named Bairn, Lon became involved with Blaze’s followers and eventually fell in love with Cisly, a MuKierin and former courtesan. Before a great battle with a rebel army, Cisly challenged Lon to join Blaze’s followers. He did and she declared her feelings for him. Cisly yearns to find her young son, Joxx, who was taken from her by slavers many years before. Lon is friends with Sorenth, who had been a cadet before his leg was crippled beneath a falling horse.

The Academy cadets: All Seven Clans of the Dry Lands sent young men to become cadets at a training school called the Academy. The cadets secretly hope to recapture the Root of Glory and use it against the Realm, the superhuman giants who tyrannize the Dry Lands (and who unbeknownst to most, are in an age-old battle with a distant King). The chief cadet is Bo, a member of the Pappi Clan and Sorenth’s brother. Bo is leading a team on a mission to take the Root. Also on that mission is Bar, a MuKierin cadet who earlier had been used by his clan’s Elders to challenge Blaze to trial by combat and later slapped him with a glove when Blaze refused to fight.

Blaze’s followers: These include Blaze’s cousins, Roff, Stannis, Kick, Quirt and Harney. They have seen their homeland invaded by the rebels, who call themselves the Realm. With Healdin’s help, a group of one hundred followers defeated nearly 1,500 warriors of the rebel army. Roff and other leaders now seek to bring the rest of Blaze’s people to Newell, a refuge that the King’s servants have prepared at the north end of the Dry Lands. Roff has gone to the village of Orres with Darnelle, Cisly and Kick in hopes that some of the residents there will wish to escape the rebels.

Pibbibib and Weakling: Pibbibib, aka Backstabber, an underling of the Realm, has long desired to take control of the Root of Glory. His audacious drive sets him apart from the rest of the rebels, who nearly all fear to touch the great power. His ally, Weakling, received an unusual wound during a fight with Blaze’s father Roj. As a result, Weakling can sense when the King’s warriors draw near or when he's in proximity of the Root. The two warriors long kept this ability a secret from the other rebels. But the two were badly injured one night when they jumped off a high cliff in order to escape the King’s warriors. Later the two were forced into the service of Lord Mackadoo, a great leader of the Realm. The three later found themselves part of the battle in which Healdin proved victorious against the rebels. They somehow survived, at which time Mackadoo learned of Weakling’s incredible gift.

Mackadoo took Pibbibib and Weakling to the Realm’s castle in Equis so their master Zoirra could examine the warriors. The two underlings now sit locked in a dungeon cell.

Root of Glory, Vine of splendor,

Thorn on fire, the three made one;

Only one may hold you and abide your fiery sting,

Behold, the man who is King.

(From the inscription on the Golden Box)

PART ONE: THE HUNT FOR POWER

Chapter One: A New Order

Darnelle wept when she returned to Orres. In winter’s dusk, as dark clouds snuffed the ebbing sun, she stopped her horse on the outskirts of the village. She lifted her eyes, and the tears fell. On the hill above her rock and rubble lay strewn from twenty shattered huts. Walls and roofs had collapsed.

Piles of debris blocked front doors. Darkness seeped from empty windows. Not one home remained intact.

Darnelle turned to her three young companions, Cisly, Roff and Kick. My uncle used to live up there, she said. Before the Elder hanged him.

What have they done to this place? asked Cisly. Something ugly, said Roff. "That’s why we’re

here."

"Cousin, are you sure all the evil ones have left this

village? asked Kick. I’m talking about the giants, not their MuKierin lackeys."

Yes, said Roff, "all the big ones have run off. The King’s servants have been keeping watch on Orres. Mirri says the Realm’s troops left the village after they heard we were coming. Healdin’s victory up north scared them that much.

Too bad it won’t last. In time they’ll come skulking back. We need to be gone by then."

But how will we get the villagers to come with us? Cisly asked. They must be so scared after all they’ve gone through here in these past weeks. Will they trust anybody now?

Maybe not. But Blaze’s father sent us here to offer them our help. So let’s look things over and make a plan before the rest of our friends arrive. Darnelle wants us to start at her great-aunt’s place. So let’s go there first and look in on old Tatti Oom.

The four riders rounded the hill and entered the village. Roff, a stout, sure horseman, led the way. Kick, lanky and small headed, followed with their pack animal. Darnelle and Cisly, their long brown hair hidden by hooded cloaks, took up the rear.

Though they rode along a side road, the four soon came upon a MuKierin sentry blocking their way. Kick whispered to Roff, You take the packhorse and do the talking. I’ll stay behind you and keep quiet. I just want to be ready if there’s trouble. He nodded toward a set of short spears resting atop the packhorse, the same weapons that in the battle west of Kierinswell had pierced shields and blasted holes through the Realm’s warriors.

Just go slow, Roff replied. We want to reason with our people, not blow their insides out.

The guard raised a long spear when the four strangers drew near. Halt! What are you doing out past curfew?

Sorry, we didn’t know about any curfew, said Roff. We just came here from up north. Say, what happened to all those homes back on that hill over there?

Well, if it’s any of your business, that’s all part of the new order. Those folks over there were slow to get on board with our leadership. We helped persuade them. Now everyone in Orres knows to respect the Cause.

The Cause? That’s funny. I recognize that name, but it didn’t used to be connected with knocking over people’s homes.

What a smart one you are. Now show me your papers, nosy boy. Who gave you permission to be out here?

Since when do MuKierin need papers to go places? "Since everything changed. You know you can’t just

venture out wherever you want anymore."

We don’t know any such thing. Look, we’re visiting and all we want is to go to our kin and get some rest for the night. That doesn’t sound dangerous, does it?

Well, I’m going to report you to the Chief.

Go right ahead.

Don’t sass me. When you show up for breakfast, we’ll be looking for the four of you. You’ll go hungry. Then we’ll see how big you think you are.

Roff nudged his horse past the sentry. The others followed. Kick called in a low voice, Roff, what’s that about breakfast?

No idea. I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

The newcomers rode along dark lanes and didn't encounter a single villager. Occasionally a hut door would crack open. Eyes would peer out, but no one stepped outside.

When they reached Tatti Oom’s hut, Darnelle jumped off her horse and opened the door. Auntie! she called. It’s me. I’m back.

The others stayed mounted. What should we do with the horses for the night? asked Kick.

Are you afraid somebody’s going to steal them? asked Roff.

I’m afraid somebody’s going to eat them. Who knows what’s gone on here since the bad ones took over. For all we know they’re starving everyone here. They certainly have the lot of them hiding in their huts.

Darnelle stepped outside. Roff, help. Tatti Oom’s in bed. I don't think she's well.

Her three companions dismounted and tied up their horses. Kick tarried a moment to make sure no horse eaters might be skulking about. The others went inside and felt their way around the darkened hut. Kick eventually joined them and took flint, steel and a candle from a pouch. He soon managed to light the candle and then proceeded to arrange kindling in the fireplace. The others gathered around a cot in the corner of the main room. Before them lay frail, wrinkle- faced Tatti Oom. The old woman wheezed as she breathed. Her bony fingers gripped a tattered blanket.

Auntie, said Darnelle. I’ve brought friends. You know them. Here’s Roff and Kick and Cisly.

You shouldn’t have come, child, Tatti Oom whispered. It’s bad here.

Roff reached down and put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. We know, Auntie. That’s why we’ve come to help. You’ll see. But first we need to take care of you.

Oh, don’t worry about me, child. I don’t care anymore. This sick world has worn me out. But what a poor host I am. I’m sorry I’ve got nothing to give you. None of us dare keep much food around anymore. They took most of it away. I do have a little wood, but they won’t let us have a fire.

Well, we’ll have a fire tonight, Roff said. Kick will get it going in no time. We need to warm you up. Don’t worry. Everything will be alright. He stood up and turned to their host’s grandniece. Tatti Oom needs a taste. It’s time for you to get to work.

A taste of what? asked the old woman.

A taste of the Green Lands, he replied. The King’s own daughter gave this gift to Darnelle and sent her here. It’s called the Living Fire. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll dream dreams and sleep long. And you’ll never be the same.

"Then give me a little, child. I could use a good

sleep."

From her beige blouse Darnelle withdrew a small vial

on a necklace. She uncorked it and placed a drop of Ta Ellowyn upon her index finger. When the wetted finger met the old woman’s tongue, her eyes blinked and she immediately went into a peaceful slumber. Gently Darnelle placed Tatti Oom’s arms beneath the covers.

Kick watched the flicker of amber flames rising in the fireplace. They’re starving our people here, aren’t they? he asked.

So it seems, said Cisly. We may have won one battle, but the Realm still controls this land. It may be like this in all the villages of the clan.

This is bad, said Kick. We aren’t staying here long, are we?

No, said Roff, "just long enough to give these people the chance to come with us. But first the rest of our

friends need to show up. Tomorrow we can look around and make some plans."

That night Kick and Roff took turns sleeping just outside the door by their horses. The hours passed quietly, but neither man got much sleep on the hard, cold stones. Kick finally dozed off a little before dawn. An hour later the hut door opened and out sprang Tatti Oom in her nightclothes. Morning, Kick, she warbled as she tiptoed past.

Huh? muttered Kick, rousing himself. What are you doing out here?

I’ve got to look in on a sick friend. Got to see if that medicine can help her like it helped me.

Kick cocked his head as she flitted away. Darnelle! he called. Your auntie just took off in her nightgown.

Darnelle popped her head out the door. "Where’d she

go?"

That-a-way, he said, pointing up the lane. Darnelle ran barefoot after her. "Tatti Oom, come

back! You need to get back into bed."

The old woman turned and grinned as she shook her frizzy gray hair. Nonsense, child, she said. I’ve never felt better, not in twenty years anyway. I need to take you to see a friend. She’s wasting away, just like I was. But you can help her. I’m sure of it.

By the time Darnelle’s companions had roused themselves and caught up with Tatti Oom, the great-aunt was sitting on the cot of a friend in a hut two lanes away. In the simple bed slept an old woman, one who had just received her first taste of Ta Ellowyn.

What was wrong with her? asked Roff.

I don’t exactly know, said Darnelle. She just looked poorly.

She’ll be fine, said Tatti Oom. "All she needs is a good rest, just like me. But now I’ve got to get dressed and then we can go find her daughter. She’s got a sick baby.

They’ll be down in line."

What line? asked Kick.

The one for breakfast. In the square. Come on, children. What a glorious day this is!

Kick squinted at Roff. I’m going back for the horses, he said, especially the packhorse. From now on I want those spears close by.

In the square, a crowd was gathering in the wintry morn. More than a hundred people stood in line in front of three large kettles, each pot hanging over a small fire. Roff noticed that several men had taken their places at the head of the line, and any new males that arrived cut in front of women and children, who made no complaint about being forced ever further back from the kettles. Everyone held empty bowls and waited.

This is pitiful, said Kick. These people look as ragged as the folks we busted out of prison here last summer.

Yeah, said Roff. "Tatti Oom warned us. It’s bad

here."

Nearby Darnelle and her great-aunt weaved among

the crowd to a young woman holding an infant in a tattered blanket. Child, Tatti Oom called to the mother, this is my grandniece. She’s come to our village and brought good medicine. It helped me and it’s restoring your mama even as we speak. Can she give some to your little one, too?

The young woman’s eyes widened, but then a grimace came to her lips. I have nothing to pay you with, she said. What must I do to get some medicine?

It costs nothing, said Darnelle. I’ve been sent here to help those I can. Please let me give some medicine to your baby. She wetted her finger with the Living Fire and touched the infant’s lips and tongue. The little one immediately closed its eyes and fell to sleep."

Is she alright? asked the mother.

Never better, said Tatti Oom. Look at me, child. You know how poorly I was doing, just like your mama. I’ve been revived, and your babe will be just like me once she gets some rest.

Thank you, said the woman. But, please, my cousin over there has two sick children. Could you come and help them?

Darnelle agreed and soon treated a little boy and girl. Both dropped unconscious and were caught by kinswomen and placed on blankets off to one side. By this time a crowd was gathering around Darnelle and Tatti Oom. Mothers were begging for her help for their children. Older women began to call out for a dose of the medicine. Cisly! called Darnelle. Help me organize these people.

Alright, kinswomen, called Cisly. "Let’s form a

line!"

Soon more than thirty women and children were

standing in a new queue, not seeking food but desiring the healer woman’s touch. A guard with a spear came up to Roff. What’s going on here? he demanded.

Folks are getting medicine, Roff said. Without permission?

Oh, permission’s been granted. By whom?

By the champion. The King’s champion.

The guard sneered. Troublemakers, huh? We’ll see what the chief says about all this. He turned and stomped away.

Kick approached and handed Roff a short spear. You might want to hold on to one of these, he said.

Roff sighed. I suppose you’re right. Let’s keep the tips covered for now. If it comes to a fight, I’d like to rip a hole in just one of these boys. That should keep the rest of them in line.

"Maybe, but I’m going to have two more ready, just in

case."

Darnelle kept tending the sick until the ground around

her lay covered with sleeping women and children. By that time a few older men also had joined the line for her medicine. Meanwhile, a donkey cart pulled up and four men with spears hopped off. They glared at Roff but didn’t

advance. Kick went and got the packhorse so he’d have the spear supply closer at hand.

Up the lane from the Elder’s compound came a bay stallion with a rider atop dressed in black leather. He had shaggy hair, a scraggly beard and a sword slung off his left side. Roff immediately recognized the man as Darnelle’s brother Sunny. Kick, he called, I think I’ve just found my target.

Sunny guided the stallion past the guards standing around the donkey cart. Well, hello, Roff, he called so all could hear. "Isn’t this sweet? You and I have got some catching up to do. The last time I saw you here you were over there tearing down the jail. That was quite a day, wasn’t it?

But now look at you. What are you, some kind of medicine man?"

Nah, Sunny, I’m still just a horse hunter. But look at you. The last time I saw you here you were stabbing your sister. And now you’re some big man for Equis.

What I am is the chief of this town. It’s my job to take care of all these people here. But I still can’t figure you out, Roff. Do you think you’re some miracle worker, some healer who puts folks to sleep, all nice and gentle?

Nah, Sunny. Don’t confuse me with my cousin Blaze. He doesn’t spill blood. I do. That’s why your masters ran away and left you here all alone.

Oh, they’ll be back soon enough. Maybe they knew you’d be foolish enough to come poking around Orres if they just pulled back a little ways. That would have been pretty smart on their part. But what’s your game, Roff? Are you trying to stir up trouble here among my kinsmen?

Your kinsmen? Is that what these people are? They look more like your prisoners. I thought you wanted to help free kinsmen from the debtors’ chains, not enslave them to Equis.

"Don’t start on me, Roff. I don’t need to justify myself to a coward like you. Where were you when the Elders were killing our people? Would you or your so-called champion join in that fight? No, you boys let hundreds of our kin die up

and down this land. Well, the Realm came in and put a stop to that. And I rejoiced when they did. On the night they arrived, I saw them hang our Elder upside down on the wall outside his compound. Can you guess what I did next? I took a rock and bashed in his head, and then for good measure I crushed the head of that no-good captain they hung upside down beside him. When the rescuers from Equis saw what I did, they gave me a commendation and a chance to make a difference here. So, no, I’m not sorry they showed up here in Orres. Haven’t you heard how the enemy of my enemy is my ally? Well, it’s true. We’re in a bit of a rough patch, but we’ll get past it and make this a better place. And we don’t need you coming here and giving folks false hope."

Roff lifted his spear and took a step forward. "You know what, Sunny? If my friend Spider were here right now, he’d call you out for what you did to your sister that day. Yes, sir, he’d take this spear and shove it up your midsection until it burned a hole clean through you. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you? You heard what happened to your masters up north. Well, right now I’m standing in for my friend.

That’s the MuKierin way, isn’t it, Sunny? So it’s just you and me. We’re done talking. You get off your horse and grab yourself a weapon, because I mean to light you up like a branch on hot coals. And we both know I can do it."

Sunny stiffened in his saddle, his lips parting slightly to suck in breath. Everyone watched to see what he would do. He stayed atop his horse and said nothing.

Darnelle, however, strode purposefully to Roff's side. Please, Roff, there's no need for anyone to fight.

He’s already stabbed you once, woman. He’ll do it again, given the chance.

He’s still my brother, Roff. Please. Let him be.

I don’t need your pity, growled Sunny. Save it for someone else.

Just go, she said. Don’t make Tatti Oom watch you die here. Please go now! Go!

Sunny, said Roff, "if you leave here now, don’t you or your boys come skulking back to this square as long as I’m

in town. I’ve got friends coming soon. We aren’t going to stay here long, but I’m not going to put up with stinkers like you sneaking around."

You talk so big, Roff. Let’s see just how big you really are. We’re going now, but we’re taking all the food with us. What are all these people going to do then? Without us, they’re all gonna starve. And you’re the one bringing the misery down on their heads. Let’s see how much they love you when their children start crying from hunger. Sunny turned and rode back to his men. The guards began to load the three kettles onto the donkey cart. Some of the townsmen began to beg for their breakfast, but guards held them back and threatened them with spears. Soon the cart with the food was bouncing back up the lane toward the Elder’s compound.

Tatti Oom touched Darnelle’s shoulder. How you’ve grown, child, she said.

Darnelle shook her head. No, Auntie.

But you have, said Cisly. You forgave your brother, and after all he’s done to you. Indeed, you’ve grown so much.

Maybe. All I know is we have a lot more people here who need this medicine. Let’s get back to work.

Kick walked up to Roff. "Your bluster just might

work, Roffie, if we can keep all those troublemakers from ambushing us."

"What