Priestess of the White

coast.

“I look forward to your company on our journey, and seeing your home, Speaker Tyrli,” she said.

He nodded. “I am honored to be of assistance to the Gods’ Chosen.”

She sensed that he was a little overwhelmed. Moving on, she stood beside Speaker Sirri as the Siyee leader turned to face the crowd.

“People of the mountains. Tribes of the Siyee. We, the Speakers, have called you here to bid farewell to a visitor to our lands. She is no ordinary visitor, as you all know. She is Auraya, one of the Gods’ Chosen, and our ally.” She turned her head to regard Auraya. “Fly high, fly fast, fly well, Auraya of the White.”

The crowd murmured the words. Auraya smiled and stepped forward.

“People of Si, I thank you for your warm hospitality. I have enjoyed every moment of my time among you. It saddens me to leave you, and I know as soon as I depart I will be impatient to return. I wish you well. May the gods watch over you.”

She made a circle with both hands. A few of the children in the crowd copied her gesture. The air vibrated with enthusiastic whistling again. Tyrli moved to her side.

“Now we go,” he murmured.

He leaned forward and, spreading his arms wide, leapt off the outcrop. The wind bore him upward. Auraya lifted herself into the air to follow. As she did, Siyee flew out of the trees and joined her, some still whistling. She grinned and laughed as these young escorts swooped playfully around her.

As they flew farther from the Open some began to glance backward. Gradually their, numbers dwindled as Siyee fell back, some giving one last whistle in farewell. Eventually only Tyrli and his people remained.

Time seemed to slow then. The Siyee mostly remained silent while flying. If they communicated at all, the words they were most likely to use during flight - directions, commands - had long ago been replaced by whistles. To speak to each other while in the air involved flying closer together in order to make out words. Siyee did not feel comfortable flying close together. They felt crowded.

So Auraya was surprised when Tyrli slowed and moved close to her in order to talk.

“You wished to know more of the Elai,” he stated.

She nodded.

“They are ruled by a king,” he told her. “One leader instead of many.”

“Do they have tribes?”

“No. They did, once. One for each island. Few live anywhere but the main island now. In their city.”

“Why is that?”

“For many years, landwalkers have attacked them. It is not safe to live on the outer islands.” He glanced at her, his expression grave. “The Elai do not like landwalkers for this reason.”

Auraya frowned. “Why did these landwalkers attack them?”

“To steal from them.”

She scowled. “Raiders.”

“Yes. The Elai are in a much worse situation than the Siyee. Many have been killed by these landwalkers. There are many thousand Siyee, but barely a few thousand Elai.”

“All living in this city. Have you seen it?”

He looked almost wistful. “None but Elai have seen it. Only they can go there. It is a great cave reached by swimming through underwater tunnels. They say it is very beautiful.”

“An underwater city. That would keep them safe from raiders.” How was she going to talk to the Elai if they lived underwater? Were the gods going to give her the Gift of breathing water?

“Not underwater,” Tyrli said. He almost appeared to smile. “They may live in water, but they still breathe air. They can hold their breath for a long time, however.”

She looked at him in surprise. “So the legends are wrong. Are they covered in scales? Do they have a fishtail instead of legs?”

He laughed. “No, no.” She caught a glimpse of a figure in his mind: a near-naked, hairless man with dark, shiny skin and a broad chest. “Huan gave them thick skin so they can stay in the water for many hours, and big lungs so they can hold their breath for a long time. She gave them fins, too - but not like the fins of fish. Their fins are as much like fish fins as our wings are like bird wings. You will understand, when you see them.”

She nodded. “Has any landwalker befriended them before?”

He considered. “One. Long ago. He used to visit us, too. I heard he knew a secret route into Si, though not even Siyee know where it is now. Many people liked him. He was a Gifted healer. He could heal wings that were damaged beyond repair.”

“He must have been a powerful sorcerer. What was his name?”

He paused and frowned, then nodded his head. “His name was Mirar.”

She turned her head to stare at him. “Mirar? The founder of the Dreamweavers?”

He nodded. “A Dreamweaver. Yes, that is right.”

Auraya looked away, but barely noticed the landscape below as she considered this revelation. Was it so surprising that Mirar had roamed these mountains long ago? Then she remembered: Leiard had told her he had memories of the Siyee. Were they Mirar’s memories? And if they were, did Leiard also have memories of the Elai?

She pursed her lips. Perhaps tonight, if he spoke to her in a dream link, she would ask him about the sea people. Though it sounded as if the Elai were in even greater need of the White’s help than the Siyee, she suspected their resentment toward all landwalkers would make negotiating with them difficult. Perhaps Leiard knew how best to gain their confidence. She needed all the information she could get.

Turning back to Tyrli, she smiled.

“So how long has your tribe been trading with the Elai?”

Drilli sighed and followed her parents out of the bower. They were going to yet another meeting of the fragmented Snake River tribe. The families living among other tribes were using the Gatherings as an opportunity to meet in one place and plan for their future. She glanced at Tryss’s family bower, despite knowing he would be away training other Siyee in the use of the harness. Not even his cousins were hanging about.

As she turned back, her father caught her eye and frowned disapprovingly. She looked away, despite the temptation to glare at him, and obediently followed as he set off along a forest path.

How could he do this to me?

For months they had danced around each other. It had been a good-humored game at first. He would ask what she thought of some young man, and she would give some polite but dismissive answer. He would nod in acknowledgment and leave it at that.

Then she had met Tryss. He was no stronger or better bred than any of the matches her father had proposed, but he was interesting. Most of the young men in her tribe sent her delirious with boredom. Most of the older men did too. Except her grandfather... but he had died during the invasion of her home.

Like her grandfather, Tryss was clever. He thought about things. Really thought. He didn’t pose or boast to get her attention. He just looked at her with those deep, serious eyes...

Her father had lost all patience with her when he learned that she had been spending so much time with Tryss. He couldn’t come up with any good reason for his disapproval of their neighbor’s son, except that Tryss wasn’t of the Snake River tribe.

To Zyll, the need to keep his tribe from being absorbed by others was more important than anything else - even his daughter’s happiness, she was discovering. He had forbidden her to speak to Tryss. He was taking advantage of these meetings to look for a husband for her.

There was nothing she could do about it. Siyee law stated that parents could arrange their offspring’s first marriage. Marrying young had been essential in the past in order to increase the chances of more healthy children being born.

I can always insist on a divorce, she thought. We only have to stay together for two years. That seemed like an eternity. By then, Tryss might have found someone else. And I might have children.