Owlsight v(dt-2

by Mercedes Lackey

  Much to his delight, it was a bathing chamber, as he had found in the guest houses in k’Vala, with a pipe leading into a spacious tub, another into a washbasin, and a water-flushing “necessary” that would be far more comfortable to use than a privy! One of the first things he had learned from Snowfire was how to use magic to heat his bath water, so even the cold water coming from the stream in midwinter would be no problem. Light came from another skylight, and someone in a fit of whimsy had built containers to hold plants all around the edge of the skylight and planted flowering vines in them. Now as long as he could remember to water them, he’d have a touch of k’Vala here all year long!

  The thick walls would keep this place warm in the winter and cool in the summer, the vines screening the skylight would keep out direct sun in the summer, but when they lost their leaves, would allow warm sunlight to penetrate in the winter. There was no direct light in the bedroom, exactly as Darian preferred. If he had designed the place himself, it could not have suited him more - and all of this, hidden under an innocuous mound of leaves!

  He unpacked his baggage quickly, stowing it away wherever things seemed best to fit. What little furniture there was matched the ekele perfectly, being formed of bent, polished branches with the bark removed, or woven of willow withes. And as he put the last of his belongings away, the thought hit him with the suddenness of a lightning strike that this was his own home! He shared it with no one, it wasn’t a guest house, this was his, entirely his to decorate as he chose, to clutter as he chose (or rather, as much as the hertasi would let him), to change as he chose.

  My own place. . . . Bigger than the cottage he had shared with Justyn, and far, far superior to that dark little hovel.

  Dear gods, I think I feel grown up!

  That was certainly the measure by which people judged in Errold’s Grove. You weren’t an adult until you had a house of your own, however tiny and poorly built. Until then, you were a child, and subject to the orders and whims of the adults in whose house you lived.

  He sat down in one of the window seats and took a deep breath, savoring the moment.

  Then he went out to find Snowfire and see this peculiar cliff house of his.

  He knew where Nightwind and Kel had set up housekeeping, of course, so he headed for the lake at the end of the valley and the cliffs overlooking it. Kel was already in residence, stretched out on a ledge near the top of the cliff in the sun, overseeing a line of hertasi carrying baggage up a stair that had been carved out of the living rock. At the top of the stair was a balcony with a low stone railing. A dark recess behind it probably represented the door into the new dwelling. The ledge Kel had draped himself over had a similar dark recess behind it, and belatedly Darian realized that this must be his home as well.

  He followed the last hertasi up the stair, and tried not to think about how far down it was as he climbed, nor how much he wished that there was a railing on the staircase. Though the railing about the balcony ledge was no more than knee-high, he was very grateful for its presence.

  There was a door cut into the rock, and windows, too; that was all he had a chance to see for the moment, as Kel greeted his arrival by leaping to his feet and bounding over to the balcony from his own ledge.

  “Isss thisss not a marrrvel?” the gryphon chortled. “Ayssshen isss a geniusss! Except that it isss a lake beneath us and not an ocean, and the rrrock isss grrray, thisss could be White Gryphon! I feel entirrrely at home!”

  “And so do I,” Nightwind echoed, as she came out onto the balcony. She was smiling broadly and held out her hand to Darian. “Even Snowfire is happy - ”

  “Snowfire is more than happy,” the Hawkbrother interrupted her. He stepped right up to the edge of the balcony and peered down. “Not only is this as high up as any good scout-ekele, but I think I can dive into the lake from here.”

  “Don’t you dare!” cried Kel, Nightwind, and Darian all together.

  “Why not?” he asked, turning away from the ledge, wearing a grin that was the equal in mischief to his cousin Summerdance’s.

  “You’ll break your silly neck, that’s why not,” Nightwind said tartly. “It’s not deep enough, and the cliff slants out, not in. There is at least one thing you don’t have to do to keep up with Starfall.”

  “Yet,” added Ayshen from the doorway, “there’s plenty of time to dig it deeper at this spot.”

  Nightwind threw up her hands in exasperation, as all three males, Darian, Kel, and Snowfire, now went to the edge to look down at the sparkling waters of the spring-fed lake with speculation.

  “I don’t think so,” Darian finally said. “You’d have to dive out too far. Nightwind is right, there’s too much stuff you could hit on the way down.”

  “That, too, could be changed in time,” Ayshen said agreeably. “But we do have many other tasks that will take precedence.”

  “Far too many tasks,” Snowfire confirmed, with a sigh. “And by the time we have the resources, I’ll probably be telling my offspring why they shouldn’t dive off from here. Nightwind will never forgive me if I remove the obstacles in their path.”

  “You can count on it,” his mate said darkly, a hint that a laugh would be out of place at this moment, so Darian choked it down.

  Instead, when everyone but Kel went back inside, he followed. Kel took up his place on his ledge again, stretching out in the sun with a huge sigh of contentment.

  Inside, the walls had been whitewashed just as the walls of Darian’s home had been, and for the same reason, to make the rooms brighter. The windows were larger than Darian had expected, but instead of glass, had that odd transparent substance, tougher by far than glass, that served as windows in tree-ekele. It occurred to Darian that his skylights must be made of the same substance, in case of a hailstorm.

  The furnishings were similar to his own, though there were more pieces of furniture and fewer piles of cushions. Someone had managed to carve a fireplace out of the rock, though Snowfire was perfectly capable of warming the whole home with magic if he had to.

  “The bedroom is as dark as a pit,” Snowfire said, as Darian glanced at a further doorway. “Not that this is bad, mind you. I’ll just have to get used to it. I do admire the bathing room, though, Ayshen, and I do not want to think of the amount of work it took to get piped water up here.”

  “The water comes down, from a cistern of rainwater, until you exhaust it. Then the amount of work will come from your muscles on the pump, my friend,” Ayshen grinned. “No free-flowing water without a full Heart-stone, you know.”

  “It’s worth it, and by the time I’m too old to pump water, we’ll either have a full Heartstone or I’ll be able to delegate the task to the children.” He laughed. “I also appreciate the thick walls of solid stone between the master bedroom and the others. That is one advantage one does not have in an ekele, being able to shut out the shrieks of sibling rivalry or playtime!”

  Darian grinned. Well, it looked like Snowfire really was settling down, if he was making plans and statements that included future children!

  “Why do you think the cliff houses at White Gryphon are such desirable property?” Nightwind responded. “Ayshen, is the rock at the back sound enough to continue to cut new rooms?”

  “Quite sound,” Ayshen replied. “You’ll be able to get a nursery and at least three bedrooms back there before you run into flawed material.”

  “Hmm.” Nightwind’s eyes lit up, and Snowfire looked positively gleeful. Darian blushed a little, decided that he’d seen enough, and went back outside.

  “Come overrr and ssssee my lair!” Kel called from the ledge. There was a narrow walkway connecting the balcony to the ledge, about as wide as the stair had been, but Kel clearly preferred to leap from one to the other, showing off his agility.

  Well, a slip doesn’t have the same consequences for a creature with wings.

  Darian practiced discretion, and used the walk as Kel rose to his feet. Darian was a bit surprised to see that Kel’s l
air had a door and windows very like Snowfire’s.

  For some reason, he had gotten the impression that a gryphon would live in something very like a cave. When Kel opened the door to the eyrie, using a latch made for a gryphon’s talons, he was soon disabused of that notion.

  This place was only a single room. “Forrr now I need only thissss rrroom,” Kel said. “When I find the apprrro-prrriate mate, I will enlarrrge my eyrrrie with a nurrrssse-rrry asss well.” There was no furniture, only enormous cushions covered in furs, leathers, or extremely tough and colorful fabrics. There was also no fireplace, and it was quite clear that the place would be illuminated by mage-lights, not lanterns,

  “Why mage-lights?” Darian asked. “I thought we were keeping magic use to a minimum.”

  “Grrryphon feathersss are flammable,” Kel pointed out, “Ssso I will get to make ussse of magic to heat and light my lairrr. Kyrrree, having no handsss, will have theirrr firrresss tended by herrrtasssi, but the rrrisssk to a grrryphon isss too grrreat to have an open flame about.”

  “This could be very cozy,” Darian observed, trying out one of the cushions, and finding it yielded just enough to make it a good seat. “The view from here during a storm should be fantastic!”

  “I expect ssso,” Kel agreed with contentment. “It isss-ssso at White Grrryphon. I have enjoyed many sssshowsss of lightning frrrom the balcony therrre.”

  Darian resolved to get up here some time when a storm was due; if there was one thing he loved, it was storm watching. Ayshen entered at just that moment, having left the happy couple to arrange their own belongings in peace, and Darian lost no time in telling him what a wonderful job he had done in designing the cliff home and the eyrie. Ayshen couldn’t blush, but he enjoyed the praise, switching his stubby tail a little and stretching his mouth in a grin.

  “Well, I do not design costumes, nor artwork, nor furnishings,” he said modestly. “My talent is only equal to partitioning space, as it were.”

  Kel snorted. “Parrrtitioning ssspace, indeed! Well, I have told you alrrready that you arrre a geniusss, and I ssshall not botherrr with anotherrr attempt.” He turned to Darian. “You ssshould sssee what thisss fellow callsss ‘parrrtitioning sssspace’! He had no chance to ssshow hisss talent in k’Vala, but he isss the chief desssignerrr herrre.”

  “Did you design my place, too?” Darian asked, seeing a similarity in the proportions of his home and Snowfire’s. “It’s wonderful, perfect! I couldn’t have anything better! How did you know what to do?”

  “I did design it,” Ayshen confirmed. “And, I admit, it was with you in mind. I am glad you like it, I tried to remember what it was that you liked and disliked about various ekele in k’Vala.”

  “I’m just curious about one thing,” Darian continued. “How is it made? It’s not rock, but - ”

  Ayshen laughed. “You may not believe it, but I will show you later. Willow withes and earth, little brother! Willow withes and earth! It is the easiest way to build that I know of; it holds in cool or heat, and is altogether an ideal way to make a shelter, so long as you seal the walls well.”

  “Earth?” Darian did find it hard to believe. “But wouldn’t it just turn to mud in the first rain?”

  Ayshen shook his head. “No, I promise you, we build that way in White Gryphon and learned it from the Haighlei, and it is much wetter in their kingdoms than here. We weave the walls, inner and outer, and support them with timber, then pack the space between with earth rammed hard. Then we make a mix of powdered lime and sand and other things into a thick paste, and apply it upon inner and outer walls to make them waterproof. The roof is similar; the drawback is that we cannot alter a dwelling so made, we can only add to it. Windows, doors, and recesses must be built in from the beginning.”

  Darian knew better than to doubt the hertasi, but the idea of a house as sturdily made as his being constructed of such flimsy materials as willow withes and plain earth seemed fantastical to him.

  And yet, what could be more practical?

  “You will get a chance to watch and help in such a construction,” Ayshen promised. “There are many things that we must still build here, and most buildings on the ground will be made this way.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” he replied.

  Ayshen laughed again. “You may regret saying that when you are in charge of a ram!” he cautioned. “But now I must go see to food preparation.”

  “And I mussst go to hunt my food,” Kel chimed in.

  “Then I guess I’ll go see if I can be useful to Starfall,” Darian said, and he followed Ayshen down the narrow stair, while Kel took the more direct route out by leaping from his sunning ledge into the wind.

  Darian did find himself on the business end of an earth ram the very next day, for the first of the large buildings that everyone wanted put up was the one that would contain the “seed” of a new Vale. The walls had to be reinforced with rock as well as timber, for such a large building, and even with every free hand in k’Valdemar working, the walls rose with painful slowness. It was literally painful, in fact; most everyone went to bed each night with an aching back, neck, and arms, for the earth between the inner and outer walls had to be pounded until it was nearly as hard as rock, itself. Now Darian could readily believe that his house would last far past his own lifetime.

  But with so many people at work, the walls were actually finished in a mere week, enclosing quite a large space of land near the lake. Water was brought up from the lake and fed into a channel at the top of the building, to flow into a series of pools and waterfalls exactly like the hot pools at k’Vala. It flowed out again through a channel at the base of the building, and from there to a purifying sand-and-charcoal pit.

  Once the water began flowing, the Hawkbrothers scoured the forest for fallen trees, seasoned, but not rotten, and brought back huge beams and support pillars for the roof. Once these were in place, large squares of the skylight material were seated between the beams, and sealed against leaks. Now the communal pools were ready for their living occupants.

  Tayledras with the gift of accelerating the growth of plants, including Steelmind, went to work with the seeds and seedlings the gryphons ferried over from k’Vala. When they were done, although the growth was a bit sparse, the building contained a miniature Vale, quite large enough to hold all of k’Valdemar’s current inhabitants at once. The colorful little chattering messenger-birds of the Kaled’a’in flew freely in here, as did the hummingbirds that the Tayledras used for the same purpose. A little magic would be used to heat the waters; a luxury, but one that everyone agreed was the sort of thing that made life much easier than it would have been otherwise.

  The waiting Heartstone, now fully awakened, had been fed passively by the newly formed ley-lines for the past four years, and Starfall was pleased with the amount of power that had managed to accumulate in that time. There was certainly enough to set up the soaking pools, magical sentries and protections, and basic shields. Darian helped with that as well, feeling rather proud of his ability to contribute to the magical well-being of his new Vale.

  Next up were communal kitchens, buildings for the sick, for mass laundry, and facilities for those whose ekele - most of them, as it turned out - did not have bathing rooms like Darian’s. Putting such facilities in treehouses was a great deal more difficult without magic - so until there was magic, those who preferred tree dwellings would have to do without. If they had not had Ayshen’s expertise, Darian suspected that neither he nor Snowfire and Nightwind would have had their own private bathing rooms either, but he kept his suspicions to himself.

  The hertasi and kyree already had their dens and lairs dug into the hillsides, and lined with ceramic tiles for cleanliness and comfort so nothing more needed to be done for them, but the dyheli needed a winter shelter, so that was the next building to go up, also made of rammed earth. They didn’t mind an earthen floor, however, so their building was finished quickly.

  Then, with all of the immediate ne
eds taken care of, it was time to make a call on the neighbors.

  The initial greeting committee wasn’t to be a large one. It consisted of the three Elders: Starfall, Snowfire, and Nightwind, of course. To that group were added Ayshen, for the hertasi, a handsome neuter called Hashi (his real name sounded like a sneeze) for the kyree, Tyrsell for the dyheli, and, last of all, Darian. It was Darian who had pointed out that they would make a much more favorable impression on Lord Breon if they came to him, rather than the other way around, so instead of waiting for Breon to come calling, the first thing they did, once the initial settling in was over, was to put that in motion.

  A messenger went to Kelmskeep to ask if they might come to present their respects; he returned the same day with a message of welcome, and an invitation to visit in three days. The reply was phrased formally enough to show that Breon took them seriously, but informally enough to show that he was ready to be friends. So their first impression was a favorable one.