Hand-carved obsidian and ivory chess
pieces battled across solid silver and gold fields on a board detailed with
blazing phoenixes. The intricate board held plenty of fascination for young
Archel, who gawked over it hungrily. However, Archel’s true interest lay in
understanding the movements of each magnificent piece.
“Wait. Why did you do that? I thought that
prawns could only move forward or take diagonally,” Archel said.
“En passé,” Fintan answered.
“An pass, say what?” Archel asked.
“‘En passant’ is the name of the move,”
the Kaiser corrected.
“Potatoes,” the old bard replied.
“Fintan. I had the impression you were
teaching the boy.”
