Edge of Worlds (The Books of the Raksura) by Martha Wells
“Oh, that’s great.” Moon looked at the flying boat again. Figures moved on the deck, but none of the groundlings leapt into the air. Just the idea that they might was nerve-racking.
Above them, Stone rumbled in severe annoyance. Balm hissed and said, “As if we don’t have enough to worry about.”
Jade watched Delin intently. “That groundling said that he was afraid of who else would enter the city. Did he mean what I think he meant?”
“I fear so,” Delin said. “It is the Fell, I am sorry to say. There are signs the Fell have found this strange ancient city. That is what we have to discuss.”
CHAPTER THREE
Moon and the others flew back to the colony while Jade left Aura, Serene, and Vine to watch the flying boat from a careful distance.
Moon carried Delin, and so was able to plan his route to make the most of the moment when he flew out away from the overgrown platforms and concealing branches of the untamed mountain-trees. Delin had visited before but still murmured in appreciation.
The colony tree filled the huge clearing, the multiple branches that reached up to form the green canopy stretching out high overhead. The platforms extended out on the lower branches, many levels of them, some more than five hundred paces across. A waterfall fell out of the knothole entrance, which from outside was nearly big enough to sail a wind-ship through. The water plunged down to collect in a pool on one of the platforms, then fell to the next, and the next, until it disappeared into the shadows and mist far below.
When the court had first returned to take possession of the old colony tree, the platforms had held only overgrown gardens and the skeletons of irrigation systems and ornamental ponds. Now they were neatly planted with fruit orchards, root crops, tea plants and herbs, and the various fiber plants the Arbora used for making cloth and paper. It was obvious the colony was occupied now, with Arbora working or lounging out in the gardens and warriors circling the clearing on patrol.
Moon landed in the knothole and set Delin on his feet, while the others went ahead into the passage that led inside. The channel that fed the waterfall ran nearby, and decorative pieces of snail shell had been set into the smoothly polished wood. Moon lifted a wing to shield Delin from the whoosh of displaced air as Stone landed at the edge of the knothole. Stone shifted down to his groundling form, and Moon furled his wings and shifted too. To Delin, Moon said, “You never really said whether those other groundlings stole you or not.”
“It’s a hard question.” Delin looked around, taking a deep breath. It was cool and damp in the cave-like knothole, and the water mist concentrated the sweet scent of the colony tree. “Your home is so beautiful.”
“It’s not a hard question,” Stone countered. “Did they steal you or did you make them take you along? I know what you’re like.”
“You compliment me.” Delin’s tone was not ironic. Moon supposed that was answer enough. More seriously, Delin said, “I admit I want to see this city they have discovered, and study it. But I know enough to fear what might be there. I wanted to discuss this with others who also know that the answers the city might provide may not be worth the risk.”
“How do you know they aren’t lying to you about it?” Moon asked. “It could be a trick to get you to take them here, to us.” If so it was an elaborate trick, but to some species it would make sense.
Delin cocked his head up at Moon. “They have an artifact. I have seen it. When I show you the drawing of it, it will become clear.”
Moon exchanged a look with Stone. Stone sighed, and said, “There’s something we need to tell you, too.”
They started down the entrance passage, which was too narrow for Stone’s winged form, and full of twists and turns meant to slow and trap attackers. As they walked, Moon told Delin about the shared dream. In the glow of the spell-lights, the furrows in Delin’s face grew deeper as he listened. He said, finally, “A strange omen. I see why you are so disturbed.”
They came out of the passage and into the cavernous greeting hall. It was more occupied than usual, with the warriors who had arrived back from the hunt still here and the Arbora and warriors who had stayed behind gathering to hear about everything that had happened.
Delin’s arrival caused a minor sensation, and he flung his arms wide and headed for the Arbora. “Blossom, Rill, my friends! Niran sends you greetings!”
Stone glanced at the nearest warrior, who happened to be Band. “Go make sure Pearl knows Delin is here.” Moon didn’t think Jade would have forgotten to send someone to tell the reigning queen what had happened, but with Pearl it was always best to err on the safe side.
Band stared. “Me?”
Stone didn’t have time to do more than tilt his head threateningly before Band realized his mistake and leapt for the nearest balcony.
“She’s not going to like this,” Moon said.
Stone gave him an ironic grimace. “That’s putting it mildly.”
Then Pearl dropped out of the upper levels and landed lightly on the hall floor.
It took a while to get Delin through the gauntlet of warriors and Arbora who wanted to greet him before they could hear the whole story. Finally Delin was settled in one of the small rooms behind the greeting hall, with water heating on the stones in the hearth bowl for tea.
Moon took his usual place next to Jade, across from Pearl. Other places were taken by Stone, Balm, Chime, and Heart, as well as Pearl’s warrior Floret. For the past turn, Pearl had been giving Floret increasing responsibility among the warriors, which was a good thing as far as Moon was concerned. Though she was one of Pearl’s favorites, Floret had always been able to get along with Jade’s faction. Her increasing authority in the court seemed to be a sign from Pearl that there would be no more toleration of fighting between the two warrior factions.
Pearl had thrown out everyone else who had tried to subtly slide in.
Delin sat on a cushion with a cup of tea, looking around in appreciation at the carved Aeriat stretching up the walls. Pearl made a gesture with her claws. “So, tell us what this unwelcome visitation is all about.”
Fortunately Delin had met Pearl before, and was also fairly impervious to attempts to insult him when he was focused on a goal. He leaned forward. “I was visiting in the city of Kedmar in Kish-Jandera, when I was sent a message that a group of scholars wished to speak of long-dead cities. Naturally, I was intrigued.”
Stone said, “How did they know you knew anything about dead cities?”
Moon was wondering that as well. As far as he knew, Delin’s scholarship involved mostly other races of the Three Worlds.
“Yes,” Jade added more pointedly, “Who have you been talking to?”
Delin said, “I took what you all had told me of the forerunner city on the northwest coast and the imprisoned being you found there and put it into a monograph, which had been copied and sent to the Scholars’ Colloquium in Kish-Jandera, among other places.”
There was a moment of startled and probably appalled silence. Moon knew he felt pretty appalled. He said, just to clarify, “Including the part that the species we call the forerunners is where the Raksura and the Fell came from.”
Delin nodded. “That was one of the truly interesting parts. Scholars know of many vanished species, but there are many more, of much greater age, we know little to nothing of.”
Moon exchanged a look with Jade. He had known Delin was a scholar, but somehow hadn’t imagined him as being in contact with other scholars who weren’t from the Golden Isles. Now that he thought about it, it had been a naive assumption.
Pearl’s tail lashed slowly. Stone rubbed his eyes and said, “Was that really a good idea?”
Delin spread his hands. “It is what I do. What I did not do was speak of the young Raksura called Shade, of either his ancestry or how he was needed to open the creature’s prison. That knowledge was far too dangerous to share.”
That was a relief. Moon could almost hear tense muscles relax all around him. Only the ri
“My monograph did not include any illustrations.” Delin reached into his shirt and retrieved a pouch that hung on a string around his neck. He opened it and drew out a folded square of thick paper. “Which was why this captured my attention.”
He spread it on the floor and everyone leaned forward to look. It was a drawing of a block or a tile, with a figure carved into it. It looked like an Aeriat Raksura, but there were too many spines, and instead of a mane of spines and frills, there was a solid crest atop its head. A Fell ruler’s crest. Floret, startled, said, “But that’s Shade.”
“No. This object was carved ages before that young consort was born. It came from a wall decoration below the city the Kishan have found. They cut it from the wall and took it away, and I have seen it and examined it myself.” Delin watched them carefully, studying their reactions. “I am correct? This is a forerunner.”
Pearl tilted her head at Jade, who sat back, her brow furrowed in worry. Jade said, “That’s a forerunner.”
Delin continued, “In the monograph, I explained that the account had been told to me by Raksura, but did not include anything such as specific locations of courts.” He admitted, “That’s probably why the Kishan scholars came to me first.”
Jade flicked her claws, betraying a trace of impatience. “Then what happened?”
“We spoke of my monograph, and after some dissembling, they finally told me what they really wanted. Some months ago they had formed an expedition to follow an ancient map that had recently been uncovered, and had found the ruined city.” He looked around. “You have no maps of the western coasts handy? I should have brought my own. I have not seen their map—they guard it jealously—but I think I have estimated its location.”
“You can show us later,” Moon said. “Just describe it.”
Delin leaned forward. “The city was past the sel-Selatra, the seas off the far northwest coast of the Kishlands, that are separated by multiple archipelagos. If one goes far enough north, there are solitary sea-mounts, then the deeps of the open ocean. Those areas are not well-explored, at least as far as the Kish are aware. There are some sea kingdoms that were mapped at some point in the past, and there has been no word from them or anyone who has seen them for many turns. The map led the Kish to a city past the sea-mounts at the edge of the great deeps.” He shook his head in annoyance. “They gave me some descriptions, but they have been withholding information. From what I can tell, the city is inside a formation akin to a sea-mount, but which is possibly not natural but a construction, and the top is protected by high walls. The Kishan party had with them a seagoing vessel, and a flying ship, the one they travel in now. The flying ship could not rise high enough to cross over the escarpment protecting the city, and neither could the lifting packs they use. And they could not locate an opening in the foot of the sea-mount itself. They were able to explore a small structure in the water near the base of the mount, and that is where they found this.” He tapped the drawing. “But with no knowledge of how to enter the city, they had to look for alternate means. They left most of their party with the seagoing vessel, and took the flying craft back to Kedmar to seek assistance.”
“But they aren’t sure it’s a forerunner city, are they?” Heart said. She leaned forward to touch the drawing. “All they have is this.”
“Why would the city have that if they weren’t forerunners?” Floret wondered. She had been with them when they found the forerunner city, but had been left on guard at the top of the shaft that had led to the entrance.
Moon knew she must be thinking of the Raksuran penchant for carving pictures of themselves into almost every available surface of the colony. “But the forerunner city we saw wasn’t like that, there weren’t any carved pictures, just flower and seaplant designs.” A city nearly inaccessibly high in the air did make more sense for forerunners than the underwater city they had found. But they had thought at the time that it might have been constructed as a specific defense against or prison for the creature they had found trapped inside.
“This is a topic for much debate among the Kishan, as well,” Delin said. “When they first began to look for this city, they believed it to be constructed by the foundation builders, another people of ancient times, perhaps far older than the flying island people. The foundation builders left many cities and roads in the lands of northern Kish, but only the barest bones and a few carved writings remain. Some races of the Kishan believe they must be descended from them. To discover if the foundation builders constructed this sea-mount city, they must get inside it.” He added, “They came to me hoping not only that I could provide them with more information on how to accomplish this, but also hoping to commission my wind-ship to reach the top of the escarpment.”
“Will that even work?” Chime asked. “How high is it?”
Golden Isles wind-ships traveled on invisible lines of force that crossed the Three Worlds, and their ability to move up and down depended a lot on the strength of those currents, which varied depending on the location. At least that was how Moon understood it. And the wind-ships weren’t immune to storms and the vagaries of the wind, either. He started to ask, “And what about—”
Pearl interposed, “Both of you, quiet. Let him finish so we can get this over with.”
Delin nodded to Pearl, and continued, “From what they described, I told them I did not think it was possible. The other problem—one of the other problems, I should say—came when they described certain deserted island settlements they had observed along the way.”
“The Fell,” Jade said, her voice grim.
“Yes. The remnants bore the characteristics of a Fell attack.” Delin let his breath out in frustration. “You must understand first, the Fell are not as feared in the lands of the Kish as they are in the Abascene peninsula and the other eastern expanses. The Kish possess certain weapons and a command of magic that is effective against the Fell, and they share this knowledge with those under their Imperial trade agreements. It has made them poor targets for attack. I suspect, somewhere in the deep past, this was the reason for the formation of their trading Empire. I know there are several Kishlands settled by refugees who were driven there by Fell attacks. These scholars and explorers know of the Fell, but not the way we in the east who are their prey do. I fear they don’t understand how much they should be afraid.”
Stone sat back and growled under his breath. Moon felt it vibrate in his bones, and Chime stirred uneasily. Moon said, “And you think you know why the Fell are there. That they’ve been called by something.”
“That is what I fear. What else would draw the Fell so far out to sea, with such distances between the islands, and no large settlements of sentient races to prey on?” Delin scratched under his beard thoughtfully. “Stone and Moon have told me of the strange portent you received, the dream all of you were drawn into. It seems an odd coincidence.”
“More than a coincidence,” Chime murmured. Pearl and Jade turned to regard him, and he said hastily, “I mean, it can’t be a coincidence. Can it?”
“But if the Fell found the city, they must have someone like Shade,” Balm said, with a glance at Jade. “Or there’s no way they could get whatever was trapped inside out.”
Chime frowned, absently running his fingers over a worn spot in the wood of the floor. “Maybe they don’t have anyone like Shade. Maybe that’s why they’re hanging around out there, preying on the groundling settlements nearby.”
“Why would they even go there then?” Floret asked.
Heart’s brow was furrowed as she considered the problem. She said, “These Fell could have missed part of the instructions, somehow. They know to go to the city, but they
Jade didn’t seem happy with either of those explanations, and Moon had to admit he wasn’t either. Jade said, “Is there any other reason the Fell might be there? Besides being drawn there by something inside the city.”
Chime lifted his shoulders uneasily. “It’s possible the flight that captured us in the west was able to share the knowledge of what they found in the underwater forerunner city.” This was all too possible. Individual Fell flights didn’t seem to join together or cooperate with each other much, but Fell rulers could share information within their flight and between flights without physically contacting each other, sometimes over great distances. “The Fell might realize now that there could be other ancient cities that have something valuable, and they’ve started to look for them. This might even be a foundation builder city, like the Kish think, and the Fell just mistook it for forerunner.”
Jade shook her head. “I wouldn’t like to count on that.”
Stone looked like he clearly thought everything they had discussed was just making the situation worse. “And these ‘scholars’ don’t think the Fell are a problem?”
Delin gestured in frustration. “They have read my monograph, and I have told them as plainly as possible about the danger and what the Fell sought in the forerunner city under the coastal island. They say their city may have been built by foundation builders, which is true. They say my tale is a secondhand account, and may be false. I don’t know whose integrity they are impugning, if you are supposed to be liars or I just a fool for believing you.” He sat back. “I admit my own desires are conflicted. I believe the city is more dangerous than the Kish think, but I also believe it could hold a great deal of knowledge about the past of at least this small part of the Three Worlds, whether it is forerunner or foundation builder. These coasts and islands of the sel-Selatra and beyond are very interesting places.” He slumped a little and for the first time seemed tired. “I wish to have access to this knowledge. But I do not wish to die myself, or for others to die, or to set loose a powerful monstrous creature upon populated lands.”