and golden oranges that would tell her of warm air. It was farther afield than she would have expected, and full of the gray mist that meant moisture. A great soggy warmth over the sea.
She hesitated, frowning. There were two ships on the surface of the water, the sinuous movements of beasts beneath the surface. She moved closer. These had to be Nomads. No one else had ships. She looked back at the warm mass of air. Without surrendering herself to the weatherspheres, there was no way to be absolutely certain, but she was sure that the ships were far enough away. They’d be safe enough. A little rain, a little wind, nothing they couldn’t handle.
Turning, careful of the anchor, like a kite on a breeze, Carcali gathered the chosen currents together, tugging the warmth free of the moisture. Suddenly, she lost control, felt the air mass twisting and spilling away from her. She refocused her attention, and reached for the warmth again, breathing it in, making it more closely a part of herself, building it into a skin around her. Turning, she looked for the place she wished the warmth to be, and found it.
Gently at first, and then with more force, she released what she had gathered, breathing out the warm air, pushing it toward the coastline where western Mortaxa met the Long Ocean, over the islands, across the coastal plain and east to the rolling hills and fruited valleys that needed protection from the frost.
They did not meet the Skydancer until after midday. The wind had been freshening and dying away all morning, making the topsails flap and the ropes creak. The sun that had scorched them so badly the day before was hidden behind a sky heavy with haze, making the air, if it were possible, even hotter and the sea a dull gray mass of crumpled pewter. Parno Lionsmane had taken out his pipes, but had set them aside almost at once. Dhulyn had called for a very short Shora that daybreak, but they both had very little energy in the breathless heat. They had been sailing northeast, and north again toward the waist of the world.
What wind there was now blew against them, and the Wavetreader hove to as soon as the other Pod was sighted. Parno had thought the Wavetreader large, but Skydancer was half again the smaller ship’s size, four-masted, and with at least two more decks. As she bore down on them, Parno glanced around, narrowing his eyes and tightening his grip on the rail when he saw no one, most especially not Dhulyn, seemed at all concerned.
Blooded sailors, he thought. You could never tell whether to be worried or not. It did seem, however, that this was a time of “or not,” as it took the other crew only a few moments to spill the winds from their sails and bring the two ships together, riding side by side—though not close enough to board in the manner of pirates. Parno could see the faces of the Skydancer ’s crew clearly, see gold and silver glinting at wrist and throat, almost make out the color of their eyes. They were much the same physical type as the Nomads he already knew, wiry and small, though there seemed to be more variety of skin shading and hair color than on board the Wavetreader .
“Can’t they get us any closer?” he said to Dhulyn, thinking it must involve some deep seafaring lore he knew nothing of. “At this distance they’ll have to put a boat over the side.”
“Look down.”
Of course. How could he have forgotten. This was more than a meeting between the two crews. Parno scanned the water between the ships and saw Crayx swimming in the open space between the two hulls. Unlike the humans, there was very little variation in color between the two Pods, but somehow Parno knew that he was looking at members of both groups.
#Welcome# #Pleasure#
Parno jerked upright and stepped back from the rail as if avoiding the point of a sword.
“What?” Dhulyn closed her hand around his wrist, her palm cool and dry against his hot skin.
Parno licked his lips. “I heard them just now, they
She hesitated, frowning. There were two ships on the surface of the water, the sinuous movements of beasts beneath the surface. She moved closer. These had to be Nomads. No one else had ships. She looked back at the warm mass of air. Without surrendering herself to the weatherspheres, there was no way to be absolutely certain, but she was sure that the ships were far enough away. They’d be safe enough. A little rain, a little wind, nothing they couldn’t handle.
Turning, careful of the anchor, like a kite on a breeze, Carcali gathered the chosen currents together, tugging the warmth free of the moisture. Suddenly, she lost control, felt the air mass twisting and spilling away from her. She refocused her attention, and reached for the warmth again, breathing it in, making it more closely a part of herself, building it into a skin around her. Turning, she looked for the place she wished the warmth to be, and found it.
Gently at first, and then with more force, she released what she had gathered, breathing out the warm air, pushing it toward the coastline where western Mortaxa met the Long Ocean, over the islands, across the coastal plain and east to the rolling hills and fruited valleys that needed protection from the frost.
They did not meet the Skydancer until after midday. The wind had been freshening and dying away all morning, making the topsails flap and the ropes creak. The sun that had scorched them so badly the day before was hidden behind a sky heavy with haze, making the air, if it were possible, even hotter and the sea a dull gray mass of crumpled pewter. Parno Lionsmane had taken out his pipes, but had set them aside almost at once. Dhulyn had called for a very short Shora that daybreak, but they both had very little energy in the breathless heat. They had been sailing northeast, and north again toward the waist of the world.
What wind there was now blew against them, and the Wavetreader hove to as soon as the other Pod was sighted. Parno had thought the Wavetreader large, but Skydancer was half again the smaller ship’s size, four-masted, and with at least two more decks. As she bore down on them, Parno glanced around, narrowing his eyes and tightening his grip on the rail when he saw no one, most especially not Dhulyn, seemed at all concerned.
Blooded sailors, he thought. You could never tell whether to be worried or not. It did seem, however, that this was a time of “or not,” as it took the other crew only a few moments to spill the winds from their sails and bring the two ships together, riding side by side—though not close enough to board in the manner of pirates. Parno could see the faces of the Skydancer ’s crew clearly, see gold and silver glinting at wrist and throat, almost make out the color of their eyes. They were much the same physical type as the Nomads he already knew, wiry and small, though there seemed to be more variety of skin shading and hair color than on board the Wavetreader .
“Can’t they get us any closer?” he said to Dhulyn, thinking it must involve some deep seafaring lore he knew nothing of. “At this distance they’ll have to put a boat over the side.”
“Look down.”
Of course. How could he have forgotten. This was more than a meeting between the two crews. Parno scanned the water between the ships and saw Crayx swimming in the open space between the two hulls. Unlike the humans, there was very little variation in color between the two Pods, but somehow Parno knew that he was looking at members of both groups.
#Welcome# #Pleasure#
Parno jerked upright and stepped back from the rail as if avoiding the point of a sword.
“What?” Dhulyn closed her hand around his wrist, her palm cool and dry against his hot skin.
Parno licked his lips. “I heard them just now, they
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