Jaibriol glanced at O’Neill. “Only President Calloway will see this document?”
She nodded. “Unless you ever have reason to ask her for it yourselves.”
He let out a breath. “Very well.”
So we both signed. And then we were married.
#
Jaibriol stood with me, both of us looking at the evening sky. Long after O’Neill’s ship had dwindled to a speck and disappeared, we continued to stand there, as if by not moving we didn’t have to acknowledge we were alone and cut off from the rest of humanity.
Finally Jaibriol sighed. He glanced at the entrance of a cave in the hill next to us. “We ought to set up some sort of defense.” He motioned at the heavy forest. “In case anything is out there.”
I nodded. “Yes. Of course.”
But after we walked inside the cave, we just looked around. The feeble light from our hand-lamps revealing a rocky cavity not much bigger than the cabin of the racer. Crates, boxes, barrels, and bundles lay in piles, as well a neutrino transmitter. We had set up an electrified screen, but we otherwise hadn’t done much with the supplies.
Jaibriol took a blanket from a pile. “Let’s go outside. Just for a while.”
The thought of escaping the dark cave appealed to me also. “All right.” I slung the laser carbine over my shoulder and clipped on its power pack.
Outside, we reset up the screen to guard the cave entrance. Then we looked around. A forest of soft-needled trees surrounded us, thinning out to the west into a scorched clearing where the racer had landed. To the north the trees also thinned, opening into what looked like another clearing.
We went north, taking in the feel of the land, and came out onto the apex of a cliff. Peaks spread out as far as we could see, towering slopes that plunged down into valleys and sheered back into the sky, all carpeted by forest. Vertical cliffs showed here and there, their nude faces making patches of white in the otherwise unbroken green. Above the mountains, the sunset burned like red fire lapping against the low clouds. Straight above us the sky had darkened, letting stars wink here and there. In the east, the ragged wedge of a broken moon hung above the peaks.
“It’s beautiful,” Jaibriol said softly.
“Yes.” Beautiful. Wild. Unknown.
After checking the area, we sat on the edge of the cliff with the blanket wrapped around us and the carbine resting on our knees. The wind whispered across our faces while shadows darkened the mountains. More stars appeared, one by one, then tens of them, then hundreds and thousands.
Jaibriol leaned his head against mine. “Home.”
Home. It felt strange to say. We had lost so much; everything we knew, everyone we loved. And despite all that had happened, I knew Jaibriol loved his father. But in exchange for those losses, we had gained the hope that someday we, or perhaps our children, could make a difference in the unending war between our peoples. No guarantees existed, no promises, no certainties.
But the hope was there.
We sat together, warm under the blanket. Soon we would return to the cave to make love and sleep and gather our energy for tomorrow, and the tomorrows after that, as we learned to know each other, preparing not only to survive, but to heal for the future, for that day when we might leave here and resume our heritages.
For now, we were content to sit together and watch night unfold.
Characters & Family History
Boldface names refer to Ruby psions, also known as the “Rhon.” All Rhon psions who are members of the Ruby Dynasty use Skolia as their last name. The Selei name indicates the direct line of the Ruby Pharaoh. Children of Roca and Eldrinson take Valdoria as a third name. The del prefix means “in honor of,” and is capitalized if the person honored was a Triad member. Most names are based on world-building systems drawn from Mayan, North African, and Indian cultures.
= marriage
~ ~ ~
Lahaylia Selei (Ruby Pharaoh: deceased) = Jarac (Imperator: deceased)
Lahaylia and Jarac founded the modern-day Ruby Dynasty. Lahaylia was created in the Rhon genetic project. Her lineage traced back to the ancient Ruby Dynasty that founded the Ruby Empire.
Lahaylia and Jarac had two daughters, Dyhianna Selei and Roca.
~ ~ ~
Dyhianna (Dehya) = (1) William Seth Rockworth III (separated)
= (2) Eldrin Jarac Valdoria
Dehya is the Ruby Pharaoh. She married William Seth Rockworth III as part of the Iceland Treaty between the Skolian Imperialate and Allied Worlds of Earth. They had no children and later separated. The dissolution of their marriage would negate the treaty, so neither the Allieds nor Imperialate recognize the divorce. Spherical Harmonic tells the story of what happened to Dehya after the Radiance War.
Dehya and Eldrin have two children, Taquinil Selei and Althor Vyan Selei. Taquinil is an extraordinary genius and an untenably sensitive empath. He appears in The Radiant Seas, Spherical Harmonic, and Carnelians.
~ ~ ~
Althor Vyan = Akushtina (Tina) Selei Santis Pulivok
The story of Althor and Tina appears in Catch the Lightning. Althor Vyan Selei was named after his uncle, Althor Izam-Na Valdoria. The short story “Avo de Paso” tells the story of how Tina and her cousin Manuel in the New Mexico desert and appears in the anthologies Redshift, edited by Al Sarrantino, and Fantasy: The Year’s Best, 2001, edited by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber.
~ ~ ~
Roca = (1) Tokaba Ryestar (deceased)
= (2) Darr Hammerjackson (divorced)
= (3) Eldrinson Althor Valdoria
Roca is the sister of the Ruby Pharoah. She is in the direct line of succession to the Ruby throne and to all three titles of the Triad. She is also the Foreign Affairs Councilor of the Assembly, a seat she won through election rather than as an inherited title. A ballet dancer turned diplomat, she appears in almost all of the Ruby Dynasty novels.
Roca and Tokaba Ryestar had one child, Kurj (Imperator and Jagernaut). Genetically, Kurj is the son of his grandfather. Kurj married Ami when he was a century old, and they had one son named Kurjson. Kurj appears in Skyfall, Primary Inversion, and The Radiant Seas.
Although no records exist of Eldrinson’s lineage, it is believed he descends from the ancient Ruby Dynasty. He is a bard, farmer, and judge on the planet Lyshriol (also known as Skyfall). His spectacular singing voice is legendary among his people, a genetic gift he bequeathed to his sons Eldrin and Del-Kurj. The novel Skyfall tells how Eldrinson and Roca met. They have ten children:
Eldrin (Dryni) Jarac (bard, opera singer, consort to Ruby Pharaoh, Lyshriol warrior)
Althor Izam-Na (engineer, Jagernaut, Imperial Heir)
Del-Kurj (Del) (rock singer, Lyshriol warrior, twin to Chaniece)
Chaniece Roca (runs Valdoria family household, twin to Del-Kurj)
Havyrl (Vyrl) Torcellei (farmer, doctorate in agriculture)
Sauscony (Soz) Lahaylia (military scientist, Jagernaut, Imperator)
Denric Windward (teacher, doctorate in literature)
Shannon Eirlei (Blue Dale archer)
Aniece Dyhianna (accountant, Rillian queen)
Kelricson (Kelric) Garlin (mathematician, Jagernaut, Imperator)
~ ~ ~
Eldrin appears in The Final Key, Triad, Spherical Harmonic, The Radiant Seas, The Ruby Dice, Diamond Star, Carnelians, and Lightning Strike/Catch the Lightning. See also Dehya.
~ ~ ~
Althor Izam-Na = (1) Coop and Vaz
= (2) Cirrus (former provider to Ur Qox)
Althor has a daughter, Eristia Leirol Valdoria, with Syreen Leirol, an actress turned linguist. Coop and Vaz have a son, Ryder Jalam Majda Valdoria, with Althor as cofather. Althor and Coop appear in The Radiant Seas. Vaz and Coop appear in Spherical Harmonic. Althor and Cirrus also have a son.
~ ~ ~
Del-Kurj, often considered the renegade of the Ruby Dynasty, is a rock singer who rose to fame on Earth after the Radiance War. His story is told in Diamond Star, which is accompanied
by a music soundtrack of the same name cut by the rock band Point Valid with Catherine Asaro. The songs on the CD are all from the book and are available online. Del also appears in The Quantum Rose, Schism, and the novella “Stained Glass Heart.”
~ ~ ~
Chaneice is Del’s twin sister, and is the only one who can calm him down when he becomes agitated. They come as close to sharing a mind as two Rhon empaths can do without becoming one person. Chaniece appears in Diamond Star, Schism, and The Quantum Rose.
~ ~ ~
Havyrl (Vyrl) = (1) Liliara (Lily) Torcellei (deceased)
= (2) Kamoj Quanta Argali
The story of Havyrl and Lily appears in “Stained Glass Heart,” in the anthology Irresistible Forces, edited by Catherine Asaro, 2004. The story of Havyrl and Kamoj appears in The Quantum Rose, which won the 2001 Nebula Award. An early version of the first half was serialized in Analog, May–July/August 1999.
~ ~ ~
Sauscony (Soz) Lahaylia = (1) Jato Stormson (divorced)
= (2) Hypron Luminar (deceased)
= (3) Jaibriol Qox (aka Jaibriol II)
The story of Soz’s time at the Dieshan Military Academy is told in Schism, The Final Key, and the short story “Echoes of Pride” (Space Cadets, ed. Mike Resnick, 2006). The Final Key tells of the first war between the Skolians and the Traders and Soz’s part in that war. The story of the team Soz led to rescue colonists from the world New Day, where she met Hypron, is told in the novelette “The Pyre of New Day (The Mammoth Book of SF Wars, ed. Ian Whates and Ian Watson, 2012). The story of how Soz and Jato met appears in the novella, “Aurora in Four Voices” (Analog, December 1998). Soz and Jaibriol’s stories appear in Primary Inversion and The Radiant Seas. They have four children: Jaibriol III, Rocalisa, Vitar, and del-Kelric.
Jaibriol Qox Skolia (aka Jaibriol III) Emperor of Eube = Tarquine Iquar (Empress, Finance Minister, and Iquar queen)
The story of how Jaibriol III becomes Emperor of the Trader empire at age seventeen is in The Moon’s Shadow. The story of how Jaibriol and Kelric deal with each other appears in The Ruby Dice and Carnelians. Jaibriol III also appears in The Radiant Seas as both a small child and a teenager.
~ ~ ~
Denric is a teacher. He accepts a position on the world Sandstorm to build a school for the children there and teach them. His harrowing introduction to his new home appears in the short story, “The Edges of Never-Haven” (Flights of Fantasy, edited by Al Sarrantino). He also appears in The Quantum Rose.
~ ~ ~
Shannon is the most otherworldly of the members of the Ruby Dynasty. He inherited the rare genetics of a Blue Dale Archer from his father, Eldrinson. He left home at age sixteen and sought out the legendary Archers, thought they were believed extinct when he went looking for them. He appears in Schism, The Final Key, The Quantum Rose, and as a child in “Stained Glass Heart.”
~ ~ ~
Aniece = Lord Rillia
Aniece is the most business-minded of the Valdoria children. Although she never left her home world Lyshriol, she earned an MBA and became an accountant. Lord Rillia rules a Lysjrioli province which includes the Rillian Vales, Dalvador Plains, Backbone Mountains, and Stained Glass Forest. Aniece decided at age twelve that she would marry Rillia, though he was much older and already a king, and she kept at her plan until she achieved her purpose. Aniece and Rillia appear in The Quantum Rose.
~ ~ ~
Kelricson (Kelric) Garlin = (1) Corey Majda (deceased)
= (2) Deha Dahl (deceased)
= (3) Rashiva Haka (Calani trade)
= (4) Savina Miesa (deceased)
= (5) Avtac Varz (Calani trade)
= (6) Ixpar Karn
= (7) Jeejon (deceased)
Kelric is a major character in Carnelians, The Ruby Dice, “The Ruby Dice” (novella, Baen’s Universe 2006), Ascendant Sun, The Last Hawk, and the novelette “Light and Shadow” (Analog, April 1994). He also appears in The Moon’s Shadow, Diamond Star, the novella “A Roll of the Dice” (Analog, July/August 2000), and “Stained Glass Heart” (Irresistible Forces, ed. Catherine Asaro, 2004).
Kelric and Rashiva have one son, Jimorla Haka, who becomes a renowned Calani. Kelric and Savina have one daughter, Rohka Miesa Varz, who becomes the Ministry Successor in line to rule the Estates of Coba.
~ ~ ~
The novella “Walk in Silence” (Analog, April 2003) tells the story of Jess Fernandez, an Allied Starship Captain from Earth, who deals with the genetically engineered humans on the Skolian colony of Icelos.
The novella “The City of Cries” (Down These Dark Spaceways, ed. by Mike Resnick) tells the story of Major Bhaaj, a private investigator hired by the House of Majda to find Prince Dayj Majda after he disappears.
The novella “The Shadowed Heart” (Year’s Best Paranormal, edited by Paula Guran, and The Journey Home, edited by Mary Kirk) is the story of Jason Harrick, a Jagernaut who just barely survives the Radiance War.
TIME LINE
Ancient Ruby Empire
Circa 4000 BC Group of humans moved from Earth to Raylicon
Circa 3600 BC Rise of the Ruby Dynasty
Circa 3100 BC Raylicans launch their first interstellar flights: Rise of the ancient Ruby Empire
Circa 2900 BC Ruby Empire declines
Circa 2800 BC Last interstellar flights; Ruby Empire collapses
Modern Skolian Empire
Circa:
AD 1300 Raylicans begin to regain lost knowledge
AD 1843 Raylicans regain interstellar flight
AD 1866 Rhon genetic project established
AD 1871 Aristos found Eubian Concord (aka Trader Empire)
AD 1881 Lahaylia Selei born
AD 1904 Lahaylia Selei founds Skolian Imperialate
AD 2005 Jarac born
AD 2111 Lahaylia Selei marries Jarac
AD 2119 Dyhianna Selei born
AD 2122 Earth achieves interstellar flight with the inversion drive
AD 2132 Allied Worlds of Earth formally established
AD 2144 Roca born
AD 2169 Kurj born
AD 2203 Roca marries Eldrinson Althor Valdoria (Skyfall)
AD 2204 Eldrin Jarac Valdoria born; Jarac dies; Kurj becomes Imperator; Lahaylia Selei dies (Skyfall)
AD 2205 Major Bhaaj hired by the House of Majda to find Prince Dayj (“The City of Cries”)
AD 2206 Althor Izam-Na Valdoria born
AD 2207 Del-Kurj (Del) and Chaniece Roca born
AD 2209 Havyrl (Vyrl) Torcellei Valdoria born
AD 2210 Sauscony (Soz) Lahaylia Valdoria born
AD 2211 Denric Winward Valdoria born
AD 2213 Shannon Eirlei Valdoria born
AD 2215 Aniece Dyhianna Valdoria born
AD 2219 Kelricson (Kelric) Garlin Valdoria born
AD 2220 Eldrin and Dehya forced to marry
AD 2221 Taquinil Selei born
AD 2223 Vyrl and Lily elope at age fourteen and create a political crisis (“Stained Glass Heart”)
AD 2227 Soz enters Dieshan Military Academy (Schism)
AD 2228 First declared war between Skolia and Traders (The Final Key)
AD 2237 Jaibriol II born
AD 2240 Soz meets Jato Stormson (“Aurora in Four Voices”)
AD 2241 Kelric marries Admiral Corey Majda Corey
AD 2243 Corey Majda assassinated (“Light and Shadow”)
AD 2255 Soz leads military rescue mission to colony New Day and meets Hypron (“The Pyre of New Day”)
AD 2258 Kelric crashes on Coba (The Last Hawk)
AD 2259 Soz and Jaibriol II go into exile (Primary Inversion)
AD 2260 Jaibriol III born (aka Jaibriol Qox Skolia)
AD 2263 Rocalisa Qox Skolia born; Althor Izam-Na Valdoria meets Coop (“Soul of Light”)
AD 2268 Vitar Qox Skolia born
AD 2273 Del-Kelric Qox Skolia born
AD 2274 Radiance War begins (also called Domino War)
AD 2276 Traders capture Eldrin. Radiance War ends;
Jason Harrick crashes on the planet Thrice Named (“The Shadowed Heart”)
AD 2277–8 Kelric returns home (Ascendant Sun); Dehya coalesces (Spherical Harmonic); Kamoj and Vyrl meet (The Quantum Rose); Jaibriol III becomes Emperor of Eube (The Moon’s Shadow)
AD 2279 Althor Vyan Selei born; Del sings “The Carnelians Finale” (Diamond Star)
AD 2287 Jeremiah Coltman trapped on Coba (“A Roll of the Dice”); Jeejon dies (The Ruby Dice)
AD 2288 Kelric and Jaibriol Qox sign peace treaty (The Ruby Dice)
AD 2298 Jess Fernandez goes to Icelos (“Walk in Silence”)
AD 2326 Tina and Manuel in New Mexico (“Ave de Paso”)
AD 2328 Althor Vyan Selei meets Tina Santis Pulivok (Catch the Lightning; Lightning Strike, Book I; Lightning Strike, Book II)
Catherine Asaro
www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro
www.spectrumliteraryagency.com/asaro.htm
Catherine Asaro is a Nebula Award winner for her novel The Quantum Rose, part of her popular Skolian Empire series, and the novella “The Spacetime Pool.” Her novels have three times been named the best science fiction novel of the year by Romantic Times Book Club. She has won numerous other awards, including the Analog Readers Poll award, the Homer, and the Sapphire award. She has an M.A. in physics, and a Ph.D. in chemical physics, both from Harvard, and has done research at the University of Toronto, The Max Planck Institute, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. A former ballet and jazz dancer, she founded the Mainly Jazz Dance program at Harvard and danced on both the west and east coasts. Her near future thrillers include the novels Alpha, Sunrise Alley, The Phoenix Code, and The Veiled Web. Her most recent Ruby Dynasty books are The Ruby Dice, Diamond Star, and Carnelians. For Diamond Star, she also cut a CD of the same name with the rock band Point Valid, which offers a soundtrack to the book. She continues to compose and perform, and appears in concert at science fiction cons. Catherine has written fourteen novels in the popular Skolian Saga—Carnelians being the latest—several fantasies, including The Charmed Sphere, The Misted Cliffs, and The Night Bird.
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