Tanza Read Online Free PDF Page A

soft and deep. Though his silvery lips moved with the precision of a human being, out came a thick, husky sound. His accent was odd, even compared with the other Tanzans I had heard. He seemed to favour long vowel sounds like ‘ay’ and ‘o’. And so he spoke my true name.
    ‘It is real, Theon.’
    It resounded like a bell in my mind; a new turning point in my life. I was now Astor Theon, a man with a great destiny, a man who no longer feared birds, a man with the most tremendous Sleffionkin in the world. The skyearl pushed me to my feet and grinned at me. The intimate wave-link we had shared a moment ago snicked closed and I staggered a little as I regained my equilibrium, both physically and mentally.
    ‘You have done well to take all that in, kindred,’ the skyearl spoke. ‘But we will share information through speech for a while. I don’t wish to overwhelm you.’
    ‘You’ve already done that,’ I responded without malice. ‘I don’t even know who I am anymore, let alone who you are. We’ll have to take this slowly.’
    ‘What would you like to know?’
    I scratched the back of my head, staring up at the skyearl’s massive body. The skyearls I had seen in Sarm many years ago hadn’t seemed quite so magnificent.
    ‘Are all the skyearls in Tanza this big?’ I asked.
    ‘Nay.’ He lifted one purple claw to scratch his neck. ‘I am of the old breed, but even among the Keltoar I am the largest and oldest skyearl in Tanza. My name is Ciera.’
    I blinked, licking my lips. ‘Ciera… the Emperor Ciera?’
    ‘The very same,’ he said with amusement.
    My hopes suddenly flared. ‘I was sent here because of your invitation to all Kriites, Ciera. My people sent me even though I was their only Anzaii, and now Jaria Village has been wiped out by Zeikas. Will you fly back with me to free the survivors who’ve been enslaved?’
    ‘We will go back when the time is right,’ Ciera started gently, ‘but I feel that won’t be for a while yet. I have not waited three hundred years for you so that you could rush through our bonding and fly me off without learning a thing or two about your new gifts and responsibilities.’
    ‘Can’t you do something now, like send a squadron of warriors in our stead?’
    ‘I could,’ he said aloud, ‘but against the wishes of the king of Tanza. Skyearls have hardly been seen in Telby for decades because we were exiled from that land. In fact, Jaria had some part in that. So it is a delicate matter to send in warriors uninvited.’
    ‘My own father had some part in the exile,’ I muttered, ‘but even he recognised that Tanza and Jaria were not enemies. Besides, the ban against the Zeikas has been lifted—perhaps it’s a free-for-all now.’
    ‘It is not my place to make decisions for Tanza that may have political ramifications,’ Ciera replied.
    ‘Please…’ I began, desperation blinding me to the possible consequences.
    Ciera sent a thread of calmness through the waves, which sank me to my knees. A vertigo more powerful than drunkenness grasped me, yet would not let me rest. I closed my eyes and thought I heard a faint tune.
    ‘The first thing we must do is make sure you go through the proper training of a Sleffion,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll go on to Centan where you may present your concerns to the human king. You mustn’t take the Sleffion gift or the full rank of Astor lightly.’
    Frustration flared in me at his words. I didn’t take them lightly—I was merely worried sick about my home. I wanted to protest, but the emperor’s mind was too strong. A hint of music flowed between us; so soothing and entrancing that I began to relax. It was like a steadying heartbeat with the shaking of a seed-pod and a slowly emerging clavichord, followed by pipeflutes and strings. Never before had I heard such diversity in music or been so entranced by it. Slowly the melody made itself known, pleasantly dramatic, underscoring my emotions.
    My hatred for the Zeikas seemed