Pegasus

There was a rustle of movement and a whisper of suddenly-exhaled breath at the sound of the name Rhiandomeer.

Sylvi stood frozen. She knew she had to say something-but everyone was looking at her-looking at her with those doubtful, sceptical eyes. The great adventure that no one had ever done before: she had had no ritual lines of response to learn because there were no ritual lines of response. When her father had told her there would be an official public declaration of the invitation she had known she would be expected to say something-and sitting surrounded by diagrams of the stress patterns of bridges she had written a few words for this moment, and stared at them till she knew them. But sitting at her desk with no one else present but Ebon and Ahathin and no sound but birdsong and the faintest hush hush of Ebon"s polishing cloth had not made her words strong enough to withstand this moment, and all those wary eyes.... of Ebon"s polishing cloth had not made her words strong enough to withstand this moment, and all those wary eyes....

There was a delicate pinch on the back of her neck, and the tickly feeling of Ebon"s feather-fingers. Say yes, babe, or I"ll spill you off over the Wall next time-got it? Say yes, babe, or I"ll spill you off over the Wall next time-got it?

Sylvi sucked in a great lungful of air and said, "I thank you, my father, my mother, and I especially thank you, King Lrrianay and Queen Aliaalia, who are father and mother of my-my Excellent Friend, Ebon, for this most gracious of invitations. I shall try my best to be-be worthy of your generosity and-and-and a-an acceptable amba.s.sador for my people." She"d had an awful time with that "acceptable." What could she say about herself that she might be able to live up to, that didn"t make it sound as if she shouldn"t go-as if she knew she shouldn"t go?

She tried to find a friendly face to look at as she spoke, a friendly face among all those mistrustful eyes. There had been a minor flurry at the back of the room as her father spoke, and she looked to see who had entered late: Lorival and Prelling. They were both smiling, and Lorival must have seen Sylvi looking toward her, because she held up her hand in one of the most basic sign-gestures, which meant "excellent" or "well done" or even sometimes "thank you" if you were at a loss-or had to be seen across an audience. Lorival didn"t look to be at a loss; she looked pleased to be present at this historic occasion. Sylvi took another deep breath and said, directly to Lorival, "And I"m looking forward to it!"

This proved to be the right thing to say. Some of the watchful faces relaxed, and there was even a faint murmur of human laughter. She turned gratefully to the others on the platform with her, and she could see Lrrianay smiling-was he picking up what she"d said from Ebon, from her father, from the change in the tone of her voice, from hearing the human audience begin to relax and even laugh a little? Fazuur"s hands were motionless, his face turned away from the pegasus king. Now Aliaalia was smiling too-was she smiling to be seen smiling (how many of the humans present could recognise a pegasus smile?) or because Lrrianay had told her what Sylvi said . . . or because a pegasus shaman had translated for her? She recognised Hissiope, whom she knew to be a shaman. Did they have an official translator? Or more than one? There were a dozen Speakers present, including Ahathin, Fazuur, and Minial.

It was all too complicated. For a moment her courage disappeared and she thought, louder than she meant to, Oh, is this all a terrible mistake? Oh, is this all a terrible mistake?

No, said Ebon. said Ebon. It"s the best idea I"ve ever had. You"ve just never learnt to like being the centre of attention. It"s the best idea I"ve ever had. You"ve just never learnt to like being the centre of attention.

But then her mother and father stepped forward to embrace her-and, despite the ban, to embrace Ebon too-and Lrrianay and Aliaalia followed, and did the beautiful pegasus bows, and both of them lightly touched her cheek with a feather-hand. Then Sylvi"s father said to her quietly,"Stay a little while longer, and let everyone congratulate you-including the ones who clearly don"t want to: in fact, especially the ones who clearly don"t want to. You don"t have to say anything but "thank you"-or "you"ll have to ask the king." And then you can go. I"ll face the mob in the Great Court. But I"m afraid you"ll have to come to a few of the discussions about ways and means: breaking tradition always comes with a noise like mountains falling."

CHAPTER 10.

Sylvi was afraid of what great company she would perforce be a.s.signed to, or they to her; if she and Ebon couldn"t go to a country fair without a dozen minders, what would a visit to Rhiandomeer require? And had they figured out how long it would take to climb the Starcloud Mountains on slow human feet? She kept thinking about how the Starcloud Mountains had come by their name: this too was from Viktur"s journal.

Thee land where their Caves do lie, which are thee spirit and thee heart of their people, repose beyond thee mountains to thee north and east. When they do come to visit us, and watch our toil upon thee lowlands to create thee great city-palace Balsin sees so clearly in his mind"s eye, we most of us pause in any work of our hands to watch their approach; and I will not comminate ourselves by declaring us lazy thereby. It is thee sheer sight of thee pegasi that we do not habituate to-cannot so do. I wait in expectation of what our children may make of thee pegasi, for they will have grown up accustomed to looking upon them; perhaps it may be different for them; or perhaps it is a human human thing, to look upon such beauty and fail to encompa.s.s it, either when walking upon thee ground as they do, as lightly as a bird one might hold in thee hollow of one"s hand, or as great winged beings above our heads. thing, to look upon such beauty and fail to encompa.s.s it, either when walking upon thee ground as they do, as lightly as a bird one might hold in thee hollow of one"s hand, or as great winged beings above our heads.It was one evening at twilight, with thee last of thee lowering sunne"s rays upon them, brightening their great wings much as they had been illumined on thee first day we had ever seen them, "tis years ago now, and yet we do still catch our breaths when we look upon them so. There were many of them this evening; thirty or more, for Balsin had called a great Feast for thee laying of thee cornerstones of thee central Palace which was now accomplished, and they did come to honour him and us and thee thing we did create.Thee border mountains behind them were dark against a blue damask sky; and thee beating of their wings did glister and coruscate. My Sinsi, who was working beside me though her belly now did make it difficult for her to bend far, stared at them and said, "They do look like a cloud of stars." This was taken up, till all have begun to call thee border mountains Starcloud.

Sylvi"s party would only be able to ride as far as the foothills of the Starclouds. It was all very well that Ebon had permission to take her to the Caves, but how far far were the Caves? Was she going to be another pathetic human who only got a day or two inside the pegasus border-and then had to turn around and go home again, because they had already been gone too long? were the Caves? Was she going to be another pathetic human who only got a day or two inside the pegasus border-and then had to turn around and go home again, because they had already been gone too long?

And could you walk walk over something called the Starclouds? over something called the Starclouds?

She did, as her father predicted, and upon his request, attend a number of meetings on the subject of her journey. These seemed mostly to be a series of prosy old bores standing up in turn and being prosy and boring, and so it was difficult to pay attention and even more difficult to understand any details they might be trying to put forward, although some of them spoke with considerable vehemence. What she did learn was that about a third of the senators, a quarter of the blood and a delegation from the magicians" guild thought she should not go-and that if there had been so much as one sighting of a taralian or a norindour or a ladon anywhere near the Starclouds, that would have been the end of the matter, and she would have gone nowhere. But there wasn"t, and there hadn"t been for decades. (This didn"t stop her from a small anxious startle every time she saw another travel-stained messenger coming to see one of her parents. It wouldn"t wouldn"t be . . . fate be . . . fate couldn"t couldn"t be so cruel.) She heard her father once say to Lord Cral that he was tempted to suggest that he was sending his daughter away for her safety; at present there were far too many sightings of taralians and norindours and ladons in the human lowlands. be so cruel.) She heard her father once say to Lord Cral that he was tempted to suggest that he was sending his daughter away for her safety; at present there were far too many sightings of taralians and norindours and ladons in the human lowlands.

But she did go.

And only she she went-she and her father. They would not have even one minder, one attendant, one courtier-one guard. And her father was staying only one night, while she was given three weeks. went-she and her father. They would not have even one minder, one attendant, one courtier-one guard. And her father was staying only one night, while she was given three weeks.

The reason for the lack of a grand procession was that they flew. flew.

They flew.

Not as Sylvi and Ebon flew; she and the king were to sit or lie in something like hammocks. The king"s had eight ropes and Sylvi"s had six, and the ropes ended in great loops that hung round pegasi necks, and a spider-work of straps to hold the loops in place-plus a little crucial shamanic magic to make the system work. The pegasi had spent some time inventing them before they"d extended the official offer of transport.

Actually they didn"t have to invent anything, but they did have to find the old plans. I mean, we carry all kinds of stuff in draia-slings-hammocks-when we have to carry anything. You"ve seen us fly in or out with them, haven"t you? But we don"t carry humans. Gohrocoh said we didn"t need plans, that a drai was always a drai, and draia are not a problem, but Dad got all kingly and said that we weren"t in the habit of carrying humans in our draia and this was going to be a historical event, doodah doodah, and he wanted you to be comfortable as well as safe. Which also meant the shamans had to check out the ooffhaloah . . . the . . . the magic web that makes the whole show possible. Ropes and wings are not a best combination to begin with. And if we drop a load of apples or siragaa it"s not a big deal.

What old plans? said Sylvi. said Sylvi.

Well, a long time ago I guess we thought about carrying you around-maybe about bringing you home. I"ve never heard that we ever did- There aren"t any stories about it on our side, Sylvi put in. Sylvi put in. Even Ahathin hasn"t heard of any. Just a few stupid ballads that you know are made up. Even Ahathin hasn"t heard of any. Just a few stupid ballads that you know are made up.

Eah. But we still have the designs for the draia. Dad"s usually right about stuff but I was afraid it would be winter before they found the devil-blasted plans and then I suppose I"d"ve had to wait till your next birthday.

A pegasus delegation brought one of the human hammocks for inspection and approval. You"d think weaving was weaving, Sylvi had thought, the first time she"d seen a pegasus hammock-a drai drai-up close, when an envoy had come with chains of silk flowers and banners for some state occasion, shortly after she"d been bound to Ebon. Most things delivered to the human court were brought in the variety of small bags that usually hung round the pegasi"s necks or possibly in a larger bag slung between two pegasi, and they bowed or knelt and pulled a cord, and the bag collapsed, and whatever it was lay revealed or rolled out. It was, to the little Sylvi, only one more strange, unhuman thing the pegasi did, and she had never thought about it, till Ebon.

The next time she had the opportunity she touched-stroked-not only the flowers themselves but the sling the flowers had been carried in, and the lengths of gauzy fabric they"d been wrapped in. Pegasus fabrics remained rare and exotic in Balsinland. They used several plant fibres in their weaving as well as their paper-making, which produced glossy, drapey fabrics human weavers could not emulate; their silk was finer than any made by humans; they furthermore had perfected the use of whhayahaay, whhayahaay, cobweb or spider-silk. Their silk was not merely finer but stronger than human-made; Sylvi discovered that a pegasi phrase for "well done" was "tight as silk." cobweb or spider-silk. Their silk was not merely finer but stronger than human-made; Sylvi discovered that a pegasi phrase for "well done" was "tight as silk."

The human sovereign had several robes of pegasi weaving, and several human-adapted siragaa siragaa, and many who saw them would have been happy to buy similar for themselves; but there was no regular trade between the two peoples, and any attempt at discussion on this topic foundered on the pegasi"s blank incomprehension. The pegasi seemed to want nothing, and perhaps it was the empathy of the bindings that prevented any of the sovereign humans from demanding something the pegasi apparently did not wish to offer; and any bound human or family which had been so fortunate as to receive a gift of weaving from the pegasi treated it as an heirloom of their house.

You"d know, Sylvi thought, that there was something strange about this weaving even if you didn"t know anything about the pegasi. The fibres themselves were unfamiliar; the weaving was so delicate you couldn"t see how it fit together; and it had a curious shimmer-a shimmer you seemed to see with your fingertips as well as your eyes. The gauze was as soft as chick down; the sling was stiff and strong, and as sleek as Ebon"s shoulder.

The human draia draia were less glamorous, but they still shimmered in the golden afternoon sun as if with their own light. Sylvi knelt by hers; it had some kind of padding woven into it to make it comfortable for the pa.s.senger. It was like pressing your fingers into a thin, well-stuffed mattress: if you pressed hard enough you could feel the rope supports crisscrossing at the back. Sylvi would have been happy to leave at once-not least because it meant she were less glamorous, but they still shimmered in the golden afternoon sun as if with their own light. Sylvi knelt by hers; it had some kind of padding woven into it to make it comfortable for the pa.s.senger. It was like pressing your fingers into a thin, well-stuffed mattress: if you pressed hard enough you could feel the rope supports crisscrossing at the back. Sylvi would have been happy to leave at once-not least because it meant she would would go. go.

She looked up from the mattress-hammock and caught her father"s eye. The drai drai was making it all real. She was going to go-senators or no senators, blood or no blood . . . Fthoom or no Fthoom, since everyone knew who was behind the delegation of magicians. "It"s was making it all real. She was going to go-senators or no senators, blood or no blood . . . Fthoom or no Fthoom, since everyone knew who was behind the delegation of magicians. "It"s perfect, perfect," she said firmly, as if in answer to any unspoken doubts. "I shall want to ride in it forever. forever."

Her gaze shifted to her mother, who was looking worried with that old-general-measuring-up-inexperienced-troops gaze. Hirishy-the least likely soldier"s pegasus-was standing at the queen"s side. As Sylvi glanced at her, she c.o.c.ked an ear, which usually meant yes, except when it meant no. And then she unfolded one wing just enough for her feather-hand to brush the queen"s cheek. The queen glanced down: Hirishy c.o.c.ked the other ear and then the first again, a gesture that meant "Well?" or "There, there." The queen"s face softened, and she stroked a quick, furtive hand down Hirishy"s cheek.

But the discussions among the humans about the princess" journey still went on and on. After one particularly harrowing one, when Lord Bullen and Senator Gathshem, who had never agreed on anything before in their long lives at court, had been on their feet at the same time, positively shouting that the princess should not be allowed past the Wall, in the present unsettled state of the country, let alone be sent off-flown off-like a parcel or a diplomatic gift into the utter unknown, and the Holder of Concord had had to shout louder to regain control of the meeting, Sylvi said to her father, "They can"t stop me going, can they?" off-like a parcel or a diplomatic gift into the utter unknown, and the Holder of Concord had had to shout louder to regain control of the meeting, Sylvi said to her father, "They can"t stop me going, can they?"

When he didn"t answer at once she said in a voice a good deal higher and sharper than she meant, "You won"t stop me going, will you?" won"t stop me going, will you?"

The king sighed. "No, my darling, I am determined you should go."

After another pause she said in a very small voice: "Fthoom. . . ."

"Fthoom," said her father grimly, "is one of the reasons you must go."

There was a pet.i.tion gathering signatures around the senate and the court-asking that Fthoom be reinstated to his old place in the king"s council. Sylvi only knew about it because of Lucretia: "I"m forbidden to tell you, and I don"t know what they"ll do if you let on it was me-cancel my appointment as your lady, I guess. And Glarfin will personally beat me to splinters. But I remember how much you minded that no one told you about your guards-and I"d"ve felt the same. I"d feel the same way now." Lucretia looked at her, troubled, and tried to smile. "Us short women have to look out for each other."

"Thank you," Sylvi had said."I would much much rather know." She looked at her father now and thought, This is not the moment to remind him he was going to tell me, next time. rather know." She looked at her father now and thought, This is not the moment to remind him he was going to tell me, next time.

The next several weeks were an eon at least. Sylvi wasn"t the slightest bit interested in anything but going going; the details threatened to drive her mad. She couldn"t have cared less about what clothing to take with her-that it had to be lightweight, warm and not merely tidy and relatively hole-free which, Sylvi always felt when dressing for a formal occasion was quite enough to ask, but it had to look like, well, like she was a princess. She was going to have to try to look like a princess for three weeks, and it was going to kill her. She did understand about being respectful and so on: "But the pegasi won"t care care what I"m wearing!" she wailed to her father. what I"m wearing!" she wailed to her father.

"Sylvi-" he began.

She put her hands over her ears. "I don"t want to hear it! You"re going to tell me that I"ll I"ll know it! That after you leave I"ll be the sole representative of the entire human race and it"s a huge responsibility and I have to act like I know it and it means something even if I"m the only one knows that"s what I"m doing!" know it! That after you leave I"ll be the sole representative of the entire human race and it"s a huge responsibility and I have to act like I know it and it means something even if I"m the only one knows that"s what I"m doing!"

"I have frequently had the suspicion that Ahathin gets more over to you than we think he does," said her father, smiling.

"It"s not Ahathin," she said sadly. "Or it"s not only Ahathin. It"s you and Mum and Danacor and . . . I"d rather wear clothes with holes in so they didn"t didn"t take me seriously but . . ." She stopped and then added, "Doesn"t it occur to you that if I take me seriously but . . ." She stopped and then added, "Doesn"t it occur to you that if I did did think about being the sole representative of the entire human race I"d just, you know, crumble?" think about being the sole representative of the entire human race I"d just, you know, crumble?"

Still smiling, her father said, "No." And then a runner was announced, with news of another taralian found and dispatched, and Sylvi had to leave, feeling a rather sick-making mixture of pride and dismay.

Even worse was writing her speech. There was going to be a banquet, of course, for her father. And for her, she supposed, since she was there too. She knew about banquets; she"d sat through a lot of banquet speeches. She was going to have to give give one? That was worse than having to look like a princess for three weeks. one? That was worse than having to look like a princess for three weeks.

"It doesn"t have to be long," said her father. "Just a few polite sentences. Oh, and-" He paused.

Sylvi"s heart sank. Every regular at the king"s court learnt to dread the king"s "Oh, and-" with the pause. If the rest of the sentence followed immediately, it would be okay. When there was a pause, there was trouble.

"I"d like you to give it in as much of the pegasus language as you can. You can use sign too, if you wish, but I want you to say at least a few words in our hosts" own language. In what we think we know of our hosts" own language." Briskly he added,"You can ask Ebon to help you with your p.r.o.nunciation."

Sylvi"s heart continued sinking. It would reach the centre of the earth soon. What the humans understood and could use of the oral and kinetic pegasus language was of the grand and the courtly but mostly meaningless variety-the sort of language that appeared in the treaty. Every court meeting where pegasi were present began with a welcome that included hraasa ho uurha hraasa ho uurha,"esteemed allies," and if you met one at a banquet and felt the need to say something, one of your choices was niwhi goaraio whanwaidio niwhi goaraio whanwaidio, which meant something like "I hope you will enjoy your food." She"d been meaning to ask Ebon for a translation check, but it was one of those things she never thought of when she was with him.

"Are you going to speak in pegasi?" she asked mutinously; but she already knew the answer. Even though she had Ebon and he did not, he wouldn"t ask her to do anything he wouldn"t do.

"I"m going to try," he said ruefully. "My speech will be longer than yours, and about half of it will be in something resembling pegasi, I hope. Remember we won"t have any Speakers with us-"

"We don"t need need them," Sylvi interrupted. "We"ll have the shamans, and you and Lrrianay nearly-and away from the palace Ebon and I-" them," Sylvi interrupted. "We"ll have the shamans, and you and Lrrianay nearly-and away from the palace Ebon and I-"

"It"s not the same thing," said the king.

"Like wearing nice clothes," said Sylvi, and sighed.

She did ask Ebon to help her. Your ears are going to twist themselves off if you spin them any harder, Your ears are going to twist themselves off if you spin them any harder, she said crossly. He stopped grinning, flattened his ears sideways and then, after a second or two, let out a guffaw they could probably hear on the other side of the Wall. she said crossly. He stopped grinning, flattened his ears sideways and then, after a second or two, let out a guffaw they could probably hear on the other side of the Wall.

You sound like a donkey, s donkey, she said.

This is going to be fun, he said. he said.

But he did help her. She"d never given a proper speech at a banquet before, even a short one-even in her own language-but she"d become accustomed to saying a few sentences at opening or closing ceremonies at fairs and name days and occasions when she was ranking royalty.

First there was the confusing business of stopping their silent-speech for the words spoken aloud so she could concentrate on the sounds of the oral language; and then there was the decision to dispense with trying to learn any of the pegasi kinetics-there were a lot of what Sylvi thought of as adjectives that the pegasi did in body language. But there isn"t a good way to, uh, translate the, uh, difference in body parts, But there isn"t a good way to, uh, translate the, uh, difference in body parts, said Ebon. said Ebon.

Yes, said Sylvi. said Sylvi. Or that I"ve got ears but can"t wiggle them. The signlanguage is dire enough-and anyway I Or that I"ve got ears but can"t wiggle them. The signlanguage is dire enough-and anyway I don"t don"t want to be saying "it"s a pretty day but I think it will rain tomorrow." want to be saying "it"s a pretty day but I think it will rain tomorrow."

But the meanings of even the usual court-speech words seemed to keep slipping away from her, even with Ebon helping. They ran away like mice, or a handful of sand through your fingers.

It"s weird, isn"t it? said Ebon. said Ebon.

Yes, she said grimly. she said grimly. Very weird. Very weird.

It"s like the binding, said Ebon. said Ebon. When it felt like they were separating us, rather than tying us together. When it felt like they were separating us, rather than tying us together.

They had never said this to each other before.

Yes, said Sylvi. said Sylvi.

There was an awful little silence, and then Ebon said, Well, it didn"t work Well, it didn"t work. We got bound anyway. We got bound anyway.

And then there was her p.r.o.nunciation. You haven"t got a tadpole"s chance at a heron party of saying that so anyone will understand you, You haven"t got a tadpole"s chance at a heron party of saying that so anyone will understand you, Ebon declared in response to her first try, so they had to find other words that she could get her mouth around-could remember long enough to learn. Sometimes by the time they"d found a compromise, the original meaning of what she"d wanted to say had got lost on the way. Ebon declared in response to her first try, so they had to find other words that she could get her mouth around-could remember long enough to learn. Sometimes by the time they"d found a compromise, the original meaning of what she"d wanted to say had got lost on the way. It"s not like you"re such a-such an elocutionist in human, It"s not like you"re such a-such an elocutionist in human, Sylvi said crossly, after Ebon had had to roll over on the ground and kick his legs in the air in reaction to her attempts to say Sylvi said crossly, after Ebon had had to roll over on the ground and kick his legs in the air in reaction to her attempts to say honoured, honoured, which was which was gwyyfvva gwyyfvva in pegasi. in pegasi.

"Hhhhh, eeeee?" said Ebon: Who, me? If the world depended on me giving a speech in human, the world would just have to end, okay? How about "respected"? That"s only Who, me? If the world depended on me giving a speech in human, the world would just have to end, okay? How about "respected"? That"s only " "fffwha," which you might manage. which you might manage.

"Fuwa," said Sylvi. I"ve heard your dad speak human pretty well, I"ve heard your dad speak human pretty well, she added. she added.

"Fffwha," said Ebon. Yes, and he"s impossible to live with for weeks before he does it too. Don"t go there. How"s your dad doing? Yes, and he"s impossible to live with for weeks before he does it too. Don"t go there. How"s your dad doing?

"Fuuuwa," said Sylvi. You could say he"s impossible to live with. Although in my dad"s case, impossible to live with means because you never see him. You could say he"s impossible to live with. Although in my dad"s case, impossible to live with means because you never see him. Ebon raised his head from where he was still sprawled on the ground and looked at her and she looked back. Her father sometimes used a speech-writer for an ordinary human speech. Not this one. Ebon raised his head from where he was still sprawled on the ground and looked at her and she looked back. Her father sometimes used a speech-writer for an ordinary human speech. Not this one.

Fthoom? said Ebon. said Ebon.

Sylvi shrugged. He"s behind the magicians who want me not to go. But . . . He"s behind the magicians who want me not to go. But . . . She didn"t want to talk about it. She didn"t want to talk to Ebon about all the humans-all the courtiers and councillors and ordinary people-who didn"t want her to go. About the pet.i.tion to bring back Fthoom. Who had wanted to turn her into a newt. She didn"t want to talk about it. She didn"t want to talk to Ebon about all the humans-all the courtiers and councillors and ordinary people-who didn"t want her to go. About the pet.i.tion to bring back Fthoom. Who had wanted to turn her into a newt.

You-you are still coming? He sounded as uncertain as she"d ever heard him. He sounded as uncertain as she"d ever heard him.

If they try and stop me I"ll flap my arms and fly over the Starclouds.

I"ll meet you right outside the Wall, said Ebon, recovering his spirits. said Ebon, recovering his spirits. Flying is hard work when you"re not used to it. Flying is hard work when you"re not used to it.

I believe you, said Sylvi. said Sylvi. Now listen. Now listen. " "Fwee henny awwhaha blaiahaanuushor anawha: na, fa, zinanah. Fffwha nor, daboorau." I bow my best bow to you, to each of you I bow once, twice, three times. Respected friends, my thanks and grat.i.tude.

You sound like you have a bad head cold and a mouthful of mouldy reeds. But . . . not bad. And that"s two whole sentences.

Now tell me the one about foes and stuff.

"Liananana oria nolaa, auroneewhala, dom. Norwhee da norwheerela."

"Li . . . dom. Noriwee. Um. Norewela."

Needs work.

But we started there! Remember? We started there. "Foes press round us, as they did at the beginning. But we stand friends." We"ve done it over and over and over and over over. I still can"t remember the foes sentence at all and it"s like it spills over into the friends sentence, which I can almost half remember, sort of.

"Inskawhaksha," said Ebon. Say it. It"s really short. Never mind your p.r.o.nunciation. Just say it. Say it. It"s really short. Never mind your p.r.o.nunciation. Just say it.

I can"t remember, said Sylvi in frustration. said Sylvi in frustration. Say it again. Say it again.

"Inskawhaksha," said Ebon.

"Is-in-" I can"t remember!

It means "my darkest enemy." And you can"t remember it.

If it"s a spell, said Sylvi slowly, said Sylvi slowly, then it"s wearing off on the friendly words first. then it"s wearing off on the friendly words first.

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Sylvi was grateful for her daily practise under the master-at-arms with sword, staff and bow-glad for the excuse to go bash bash at something, and sweat and grunt. Aside from any other considerations, she had fought at something, and sweat and grunt. Aside from any other considerations, she had fought for for this much too hard not to keep to her practise strictly-and now, under the pressure of bearing with the uproar about her coming journey to Rhiandomeer she had the dubious pleasure of being told that, pound for pound, she was the toughest fighter of her family. Diamon himself was not a large man-and Lucretia was a small woman, though not as small as Sylvi. Between the two of them they knew the sorts of things that someone small and quick and accurate can do to upset the advantage of a bigger, stronger adversary; and Sylvi found that a practise sword in an opponent"s hand (especially Lucretia"s) focussed her mind and her reflexes wonderfully. this much too hard not to keep to her practise strictly-and now, under the pressure of bearing with the uproar about her coming journey to Rhiandomeer she had the dubious pleasure of being told that, pound for pound, she was the toughest fighter of her family. Diamon himself was not a large man-and Lucretia was a small woman, though not as small as Sylvi. Between the two of them they knew the sorts of things that someone small and quick and accurate can do to upset the advantage of a bigger, stronger adversary; and Sylvi found that a practise sword in an opponent"s hand (especially Lucretia"s) focussed her mind and her reflexes wonderfully.

It didn"t seem to her respectful not to know how to use a a sword, having sworn fealty to her king on sword, having sworn fealty to her king on the the Sword. Her mother, a noted swordswoman herself, had been fully on her side about this, although the royal family tradition was that the nonreigning women were archers. Her father had looked at her thoughtfully when she suggested, shortly after her twelfth birthday, that she wanted to train properly with Diamon, to a plan and a schedule, but he had let himself be persuaded. "Your mother wouldn"t let me make any other decision, of course," he said, "but she says this was your idea." Sword. Her mother, a noted swordswoman herself, had been fully on her side about this, although the royal family tradition was that the nonreigning women were archers. Her father had looked at her thoughtfully when she suggested, shortly after her twelfth birthday, that she wanted to train properly with Diamon, to a plan and a schedule, but he had let himself be persuaded. "Your mother wouldn"t let me make any other decision, of course," he said, "but she says this was your idea."

"I would have asked you years ago, only I"m so short, short," Sylvi said. That on the night of her twelfth birthday she had discovered one enormous advantage to being small had not eased frustration with her situation elsewhere; and her twelfth birthday was also when she had been obliged to begin going to council meetings, which produced a different form of frustration. "All my brothers started when they were seven. seven. I think Danny was taller than I am now when he was seven." I think Danny was taller than I am now when he was seven."

"My disgraceful heritage, I fear," said her father." There is one more hurdle for you: you must ask your unnecessarily tall eldest brother"s permission as well as mine. He will be your king and commander some day and it is his choice where he would have you to command."