Stories of the Raksura: Volume One

by Martha Wells

  Chime grimaced. “When I’m having sex I’m not worried about falling to my death.”

  “If you fall to your death, I’ll catch you,” she said.

  Chime stared at her. Balm apparently expected him to fly. “I’m not going to fall because I’m not going to be in the air. I was just … just …” He didn’t really know why he had come out here, he had just been drawn to the sun and the wind.

  Balm folded her arms. “Chime, you have to do this. This is what we are. If you won’t fly, you won’t be an Arbora, but you won’t be an Aeriat either.”

  “I know that! I know.” He took a deep breath. “I need more time.”

  “If you put it off today, you’ll put it off forever.”

  “I will not.”

  “You will.” Balm stepped forward, her expression stony. Her disapproval was much more intimidating than River’s, mainly because he actually cared what she thought of him. “You’ll let fear rule you.”

  “I won’t.” He hissed at her. “You think it’s easy to be a mentor? Making simples that could kill if we get the slightest element wrong? Making light and heat with our hands? I won’t let fear rule me because I never have before!”

  She laughed. “That’s easy enough to say.”

  Chime snarled, whipped around, and stepped to the edge of the platform. The river was below, and the green of the jungle, a flight of white water birds just lifting above the trees in the distance. Chime spread his wings, or his wings spread of their own accord, he wasn’t sure. The wind caressed his scales and he wanted to lean into it.

  Before he could change his mind, he did.

  Suddenly he was gliding, the river and the spiral trees flashing below. Don’t panic, he told himself, but Balm was right. He could feel the wind against the inner scales of his wings, and it was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was like folding paper with your fingers, or molding clay. Like the wind was a solid substance he could smooth or bend at will.

  “Chime!” Balm was suddenly under him, and he stared at her. Her spines were flat, her wings fully spread. He had never seen her, or any other warrior, from this angle before. We’re beautiful, he thought. She shouted, “Pull your wings in!”

  “What?” That didn’t sound like a good idea. “Why?”

  “You don’t know how to land!”

  “Oh!” He concentrated and his wings snapped in, much faster than he had expected. He dropped like a rock, but Balm snapped her wings in and rolled, caught him as he fell, and twisted back around. Her wings unfolded and cupped the air, and they sank to a gentle landing on a sandbar in the river. Chime let go and stumbled away, ankle-deep in the cool shallow water. “That was … That was …”

  “A good start.” Balm smiled.

  They practiced most of the morning, and Chime never did manage to land on his own, mostly because he was afraid to try. But he could glide now with a degree of confidence. And he had admitted to himself that it was stupid to have wings and not be able to use them.

  After that, Chime ate in the teachers’ gathering room, then went back to Flower’s bower and slept most of the afternoon. It surprised him how exhausted he was; flying was apparently more like work than it had always looked. He didn’t wake until Flower walked into the bower and sat down beside the bowl hearth.

  Chime sat up, rubbing his eyes blearily. Then he saw Flower was holding an old scroll-book, and that woke him up. His heart pounding, he said, “You found it.”

  Flower set the scroll aside. “Yes, we found a mention of it in the histories of other courts.”

  “You did?” From her expression, it was easy to see it wasn’t good news. She looked tired and discouraged. His heart still sank, though by this point he hadn’t really expected anything else. “I won’t go back to normal. This is permanent.”

  “I think it must be, Chime.”

  He watched her face carefully. Flower looked far more upset than that news warranted. Everyone had pretty much expected it to be permanent; the idea that it might not be had been a last-ditch hope. Uh oh, Chime thought, suddenly convinced he was going to die. “But there’s something else.”

  Flower pushed the hair out of her eyes, weary and discouraged. “This has happened before, in courts that were on the verge of collapse. Warriors can travel further, don’t breed, so they’re more useful than Arbora when a colony fails. It’s a natural process.” She sighed. “A natural process for colonies that are … dying out.”

  “But we’re not—oh.” A great many things flashed through Chime’s mind. All the sicknesses that had come and gone over the last ten turns or so. The lack of young consorts, which had always seemed a temporary thing while Pearl was grieving for Rain, but Rain had been dead for so many turns now. The blight on the vines at the top of the colony, that no one could cure. Pearl knows, he thought, remembering her cryptic comment about “our time being limited.” Jade knew, they all knew. “How long? I mean, how long have you known …”

  “We didn’t know.” She shook her head. “We suspected. We feared. Now we know.”

  Chime sat back. His problems suddenly seemed small to the point of complete insignificance. “We have to do something,” he said. “There’s got to be a reason. There’s got to be something we can do.”

  “Stone has some ideas,” Flower said, but didn’t explain. She reached over and squeezed his wrist. “Don’t say anything to the others yet.”

  “I won’t,” he promised. Flower got to her feet and left. She had left the book, and he sat there for a time, his hand on the cover. As a mentor, it would be his job to study the histories and try to find solutions to offer the queens. As a warrior … Whatever his job as a warrior would be, it was going to involve flying.

  Chime got to his feet and went to look for Balm again. It was time to learn how to land.

  APPENDICES

  APPENDIX I

  THE COURT OF INDIGO CLOUD AERIAT

  Queens

  Pearl—Reigning Queen.

  Jade—Sister Queen.

  Amber—former Sister Queen of Pearl, now dead.

  Azure—the queen who took Stone, now dead.

  Frost—a fledgling queen of the court of Sky Copper, now adopted by Indigo Cloud.

  Indigo—the Reigning Queen who originally led the court away from the Reaches to the east.

  Solace—a Sister Queen in an earlier generation of the court, who was the first to visit the Golden Isles.

  Cerise—a past Reigning Queen; Indigo’s birthqueen.

  Consorts

  Stone—line-grandfather.

  Rain—Pearl’s last consort, now dead.

  Moon—Jade’s consort.

  Thorn and Bitter—fledgling consorts of Sky Copper, now adopted by Indigo Cloud.

  Cloud—the consort Indigo stole from Emerald Twilight.

  Sable—Solace’s consort.

  Dust and Burn—young consorts given away by Pearl when Rain died. Dust became the second consort to the reigning queen of Wind Sun.

  Warriors

  River—leader of Pearl’s faction of warriors. A product of one of Amber’s royal clutches.

  Drift—River’s clutchmate.

  Branch—River and Drift’s clutchmate, killed in a Fell ambush.

  Root—young warrior from an Arbora clutch; a member of Jade’s faction.

  Song—young female warrior; a member of Jade’s faction.

  Spring—fledgling female, one of only two survivors from Amber’s last clutch of warriors.

  Snow—fledgling male, Spring’s clutchmate.

  Balm—female warrior, and Jade’s clutchmate. Jade’s strongest supporter and leader of her faction.

  Chime—former Arbora mentor, now a warrior; a member of Jade’s faction.

  Vine and Coil—male warriors of Pearl’s faction, though they chafe under River’s rule.

  Floret—female warrior of Pearl’s faction.

  Sand—a young male warrior of Jade’s faction.

  Serene—a young female warrior of Jade’s
faction.

  Band and Fair—young male warriors of Pearl’s faction.

  Sage—an older male warrior of Pearl’s faction.

  Serene—a young female warrior of Jade’s faction.

  Briar and Aura—young female warriors, inclining to Jade’s faction, but currently unattached. Aura came from an Arbora clutch.

  Sorrow—female warrior who took care of Moon as a fledgling, believed to be the last Aeriat survivor of his court, killed by Tath.

  ARBORA

  Mentors

  Flower—leader of the Mentors’ Caste.

  Heart—young female mentor, one of the Arbora rescued from the Dwei Hive by Moon.

  Merit—young male mentor, rescued with Heart.

  Copper—a young male mentor, still in the nurseries.

  Thistle—a young female mentor.

  Teachers

  Petal—former leader of the Teachers’ Caste, killed in the Fell attack on the old Indigo Cloud colony.

  Bell—new leader of the Teachers’ Caste, and clutchmate to Chime.

  Blossom—an older female, one of only two teachers to escape during the Fell attack on the colony. Later learned to pilot a Golden Isles Wind-ship.

  Bead—a young female, she escaped the colony with Blossom.

  Rill, Bark, and Weave—female teachers.

  Gift, Needle, and Dream—young female teachers, rescued from the Dwei Hive by Moon.

  Snap—young male teacher, also rescued from the Dwei Hive.

  Dash—a very old male teacher.

  Gold—an older female teacher, and the best artisan in the court.

  Merry—a younger male teacher, and Gold’s student.

  Hunters

  Bone—leader of the Hunters’ Caste.

  Braid, Salt, Spice, Knife—young male hunters.

  Bramble, Blaze, Plum—young female hunters.

  Wake—an older female hunter.

  Strike—a very young hunter, male, who volunteered to test the Fell poison.

  Soldiers

  Knell—leader of Soldiers’ Caste, and clutchmate to Chime.

  Grain—the first Arbora to speak to Moon and to order him to leave Indigo Cloud.

  Shell—Grain’s clutchmate, killed in the Fell attack on the colony.

  Sharp, Ginger, Sprout—young female soldiers.

  THE COURT OF EMERALD TWILIGHT AERIAT

  Queens

  Ice—reigning queen of Emerald Twilight.

  Tempest—senior sister queen, Ash’s birthqueen.

  Ash—youngest daughter queen.

  Halcyon—another sister queen, Tempest’s clutchmate.

  Consorts

  Shadow—first consort to Ice.

  Fade—second consort to Tempest, now dead.

  Ember—consort sent to Indigo Cloud, from Tempest and Fade’s only clutch.

  Warriors

  Willow—a female Warrior who greets visitors at Emerald Twilight.

  Torrent—female warrior, from a queen’s clutch with Tempest and Halcyon.

  Beacon, Prize—female warriors of Tempest’s faction.

  Dart, Streak, Gust—male warriors of Tempest’s faction.

  THE COURT OF OPAL NIGHT AERIAT

  Queens

  Malachite—reigning queen of Emerald Twilight.

  Onyx—sister queen.

  Celadon—daughter queen, of Malachite’s line.

  Ivory—another daughter queen, of Onyx’s line.

  Consorts

  Dusk—first consort to Malachite, killed after the attack on the eastern colony.

  Umber—first consort to Onyx.

  Shade—young consort, son of Malachite’s consort Night.

  Warriors

  Rise—female warrior of Opal Night, of Malachite’s faction.

  Saffron—female warrior, clutchmate of Ivory.

  Sorrow—female warrior who took care of Moon as a fledgling, killed by Tath.

  Horn, Tribute—male warriors of Ivory’s faction.

  Gallant, Fleet—female warriors of Ivory’s faction.

  Dare, Rime—male warriors of Celadon’s faction.

  ARBORA

  Mentors

  Lithe—female mentor, young but powerful.

  Tear—older female mentor, now dead.

  Reed—young female mentor

  Auburn—an older male mentor.

  Teachers

  Feather—female teacher, survivor of the eastern colony.

  Russet—female teacher, survivor of the eastern colony.

  Twist, Yarrow—two male teachers killed in the eastern colony.

  Luster—a male teacher.

  Moss—a young male teacher.

  Hunters

  Fair—a female hunter killed in the eastern colony.

  THE COURT OF VERIDIAN SEA

  Amaranth—reigning queen.

  Flint—her first consort.

  THE COURT OF SUNSET WATER

  Zephyr—a sister queen, daughter of an Emerald Twilight consort, Shadow’s clutchmate, who was given to the reigning Sunset Water queen.

  THE COURT OF OCEAN WINTER

  Flame—a sister queen.

  Garnet—a daughter queen.

  Venture—a female warrior, clutchmate to the reigning queen.

  Violet—a female mentor.

  Appendix II

  EXCERPT FROM OBSERVATIONS OF THE RAKSURA: VOLUME THIRTY-SEVEN OF A NATURAL HISTORY BY SCHOLAR-PREEMINENT DELIN-EVRAN-LINDEL

  The Two Breeds of the Raksura

  ARBORA: Arbora have no wings but are agile climbers, and their scales appear in a variety of colors. They have long tails, sharp retractable claws, and manes of flexible spines and soft “frills,” characteristics that are common to all Raksura. They are expert artisans and are dexterous and creative in the arts they pursue for the court’s greater good. In their alternate form they are shorter than Aeriat Raksura and have stocky, powerful builds. Both male and female Arbora are fertile, and sometimes may have clutches that include warrior fledglings. This is attributed to queens and consorts blending their bloodlines with Arbora over many generations.

  The four castes of the Arbora are:

  Teachers—They supervise the nurseries and train the young of the court. They are also the primary artisans of the court, and tend the gardens that will be seen around any Raksuran colony.

  Hunters—They take primary responsibility for providing food for the court. This includes hunting for game, and gathering wild plants.

  Soldiers—They “guard the ground” and protect the colony and the surrounding area.

  Mentors—They are Arbora born with arcane powers, who have skill in healing and augury. They also act as historians and record-keepers for the court, and usually advise the queens.

  AERIAT: The winged Raksura. Like the Arbora, they have long tails, sharp retractable claws, and manes of flexible spines and soft frills.

  Warriors—They act as scouts and guardians, and defend the colony from threats from the air, such as the Fell. Warriors are sterile and cannot breed, though they appear as male and female forms. Their scales are in any number of bright colors. Female warriors are usually somewhat stronger than male warriors. In their alternate form, they are always tall and slender. They are not as long-lived generally as queens, consorts, and Arbora.

  Consorts—Consorts are fertile males, and their scales are always black, though there may be a tint or “undersheen” of gold, bronze, or blood red. At maturity they are stronger than warriors, and may be the longest lived of any Raksura. They are also the fastest and most powerful flyers, and this ability increases as they grow older. There is some evidence to suggest that consorts of great age may grow as large or larger than the major kethel of the Fell.

  Queens—Queens are fertile females, and are the most powerful and deadly fighters of all the Aeriat. Their scales have two brilliant colors, the second in a pattern over the first. The queens’ alternate form resembles an Arbora, with no wings, but retaining the tail, and an abbreviated mane of spines and the softer
frills. Queens mate with consorts to produce royal clutches, composed of queens, consorts, and warriors.

  Appendix III

  EXCERPT FROM ADDITIONS TO THE LIST OF PREDATORY SPECIES BY SCHOLAR-EMINENT-POSTHUMOUS VENAR-INRAM-ALIL.

  Fell are migratory and prey on other intelligent species.

  The Known Classes of Fell

  Major kethel—The largest of the Fell, sometimes called harbingers, major kethel are often the first sign that a Fell flight is approaching. Their scales are black, like that of all the Fell, and they have an array of horns around their heads. They have a low level of intelligence and are believed to be always under the control of the rulers.

  Minor dakti—The dakti are small, with armor plates on the back and shoulders, and webbed wings. They are somewhat cunning, but not much more intelligent than kethel, and fight in large swarms.

  Rulers—Rulers are intelligent creatures that are believed to have some arcane powers of entrancement over other species. Rulers related by blood are also believed to share memories and experiences through some mental bond. They have complete control of the lesser Fell in their flights, and at times can speak through dakti and see through their eyes. (Addendum by scholar-preeminent Delin-Evran-lindel: Fell rulers in their winged form bear an unfortunate and superficial resemblance to Raksuran Consorts.)

  There is believed to be a fourth class, or possibly a female variant of the Rulers, called the Progenitors.

  Common lore holds that if a Fell ruler is killed, its head must be removed and stored in a cask of salt or yellow mud and buried on land in order to prevent drawing other Fell rulers to the site of its death. It is possible that only removing the head from the corpse may be enough to prevent this, but burying it is held to be the safest course.