The Braided World Read Online Free PDF

amounted to a grand, submerged plaza. Canals—formerly walkways—gave access onto the drowned plaza from three directions, and each of these was clogged now with boats paddling toward the middle.
    “The uldia will present the babes,” Shim said, referring to the order of women who presided over births. “But the king would have you watch from his veranda.”
    “It's too late now. If only I'd known sooner.”
    Bailey followed Shim's gaze up to the high deck of Vidori's quarters where his veranda fronted the plaza. As these quarters were the highest tier of the compound, the roof bore an imposing lightning rod here in this land of frequent rainstorms. On the veranda, she could make out his retinue. There, amid the plumage of state, she saw Anton's shabby green. Nick was at his side, the two of them like matching parrots, gone dull. Zhen might be there too, but was more likely hunched over her tronics than making small talk with the king. Bailey looked down at her own dreary jumpsuit, envying Shim's exquisite lavender and red ensemble.
    Several nobles parted to allow Bailey and Shim a place in front. Bailey smiled at them, remembering not to show teeth. That close-lipped smile took some practice, and always made her feel like a cat with a mouthful of feathers.
    Shim leaned in toward Bailey, murmuring, “See, by the flags there are eleven babes. The uldia have made a special display for so many babes. Most times they would not be in this place, but in the Amalang.” Shim's face brightened as she pointed to one of the skiffs. “That's Deeva, my cousin's cousin. She'll have a nice fat baby girl, thanks be.”
    She nodded at the impressive barge in the middle of the pond. “Oleel is here, of course.”
    Bailey had heard of the woman. Very much a pooh-bah. At the back of the barge, iridescent cloth hung from a hoop like mosquito netting. Within, she could just see the form of a person sitting.
    On the barge, women in robes handed bundles down to waiting skiffs. Those would be the babes. Women receiving their babies. Through it all, the head uldia, Oleel, stayed behind the curtains. What was the point, Bailey thought, of Oleel's attending if she wasn't even going to poke her nose out of the tent?
    At last, the task of allotting babies to the women completed, the barge of the uldia departed, poled along by slaves and accompanied by a flotilla of small boats, including those of the women who were taking their infants to the family compounds. The fathers were irrelevant for a few more years, aside from having sired the whelps… And aside from tithing for the maintenance of women and children in general, the fathers would not know their children until adolescence. When the youngsters’ scent developed.
    These basic departures from normal human functions resulted in a distorted culture, one that elevated some family virtues and ignored others. No child went hungry, or so they claimed. Along with this happy fact was their casual practice of sexual liberty, even incest, for which they had no word. It was all so natural to them—as moral as sitting down to a good family meal.
    Shim was waiting for Bailey under the roofed-in gallery
    “I hope I didn't get you in trouble, Shim-rah,” Bailey said. “Tell them I saw the ceremony from down here. Very impressive. My compliments to Vidori.”
    “Oh Bailey, thankfully you didn't say so to the king. That was the uldia's ceremony, not the king's.”
    “Well, tell him it fell a bit flat, then.”
    Shim smiled hugely, but still no teeth. “Bailey makes a joke.”
    “Tell you what Bailey would really like,” Bailey said. “I'dlike to borrow one of those skiffs and practice my boat-craft.”
    Shim looked blank.
    “What do you say? Anybody here trust an old lady with a quick spin in their canoe?” Her plan was to paddle out of the submerged courtyard and explore the neighborhood. Right now, that neighborhood was a river. They called it the Puldar, one of the three great tributaries of