by Lisa Smedman
The man with the hairy hands growled something in his indecipherable human tongue and Astride the Wind saw that another of his conjured images was gone.
Some seventeen hundred years before, the kenku who would one day form the Soaring Heights Clan were an undisciplined, barbaric race who lived high in the Columns of the Sky and hunted in the Myconid Forest north of Shade Enclave. The kenku sometimes harassed the citizens of the town of Conch, which sat on the eastern slopes of the Columns of the Sky.
They could not speak. They had no written language, and their manners were more like the birds they resembled than the humans they stole from. They had mastered fire and were carving crude tools from shale and wood. Strangely, they were devoid of religion and superstition. They had no mythology or philosophy. They had no fear of gods or mortals.
Kaeralonn Jurneille was determined to put an end to that.
He was called "General," though the title was more ceremonial than a real military rank. The men he commanded were assassins, scouts-the sort of soldiers who went in either first or last, but never in the middle, and never in force. Not all of them were human. Kaeralonn drew his operatives from whatever race or construct was most suited for the mission at hand. He employed everything from enormous, powerful, and mindless golems to fickle and wily sprites.
The kenku were brought to his attention by a farmer who sold barley to Shade Enclave and kept an eye on the village of Conch for the Twelve Princes. Kaeralonn paid the farmer well for a dead kenku, then he erased the man's memory and began studying the bird-men in great detail.
Scouts, Kaeralonn thought. These creatures would make exceptional scouts.
Kaeralonn put the dead kenku on ice and started to think. He walked the streets of Shade, sailed through the cool skies on his private skiff, and haunted the libraries of House Tanthul.
The plan formed quickly enough. It was a simple plan and one he'd used before. Kaeralonn was three hundred years old and did very little quickly. It was months before he opened the self-freezing casket and began to thaw the dead kenku.
As the bird-man thawed, Kaeralonn removed the arrows and sealed the wounds. He set the creature's broken wing and helped some missing feathers to grow back. When the time was right, he brought in a priest of Shar, who muttered his prayers and waved his hands and brought the kenku back to life.
The creature burst up from the table and the sound of its wings unfurling echoed in Kaeralonn's laboratory. The priest grumbled and stepped back, but Kaeralonn smiled and stepped forward. It was a beautiful beast, and Kaeralonn knew it would serve him well.
The kenku twitched its head to take in the chamber, crowded with glass and apparatus. It glanced sideways at the priest, then fixed its eyes on Kaeralonn, who had just finished a hastily-cast spell.
Release me, a voice, shrill with panic and indignation, vibrated in Kaeralonn's mind.
"Is that you?" Kaeralonn asked the kenku, then he thought, That was you, wasn't it?
Release me, the kenku repeated into Kaeralonn's mind, the voice less shrill now and more insistent.
Kaeralonn could feel the spell he'd just cast fill his own mind, wrapping around the kenku's silent speech.
You are among friends now, Kaeralonn thought to the kenku. / would like you to stay.
"I will take my leave now," the priest said, almost startling Kaeralonn, certainly annoying him.
Kaeralonn waved the chubby little man away and didn't watch him shuffle out and slam the door behind him.
Who are you? the kenku asked. Kaeralonn stepped closer to the kenku and held out his right hand. I am Kaeralonn Jurneille of Shade Enclave. I would like us to be very close friends. Please, tell me your name and take my hand.
The kenku tipped its head to one side and stared hard into Kaeralonn's eyes. I am known as Amidst the Blue, the creature responded.
Amidst the Blue, Kaeralonn sent. That is a beautiful name.
The kenku reached out with one feathered arm and put its strong hand into Kaeralonn's.
Good, Kaeralonn thought. You will be a leader among your people, Amidst the Blue. Your name will be written in all the histories of the kenku, for a thousand generations to come-a thousand-thousand.
Leader? Amidst the Blue asked, obviously confused. Written? Histories?
Kaeralonn smiled and responded aloud, "First among many… chief… The rest, you'll learn. I'll teach you magic, as well. And you will teach your people."
Teach, Amidst the Blue repeated. Magic. Yes. You are a friend.
Kaeralonn laughed and drew back so the kenku could step down from the table. There was another rustle of wings, and Amidst the Blue sank to the floor, still a good head taller than Kaeralonn.
The human didn't want to give himself away so he kept the words "charmed'' and "enchanted" out of his mind. He never let himself think the word "slave." He knew what the kenku was and what his people would be-the kenku would figure it out soon enough.
Astride the Wind smashed his curved blade at the human's midsection, but the man with hairy hands was fast enough to drop his heavy black sword to his side and smash the kenku's weapon away.
The mountains, brothers, Astride the Wind sent to the other kenku. Withdraw and let the fools follow.
Astride the Wind faked another slice to the man's mid-section, and when the human drew his blade around to block it, the kenku tucked his wings tight against his side. Astride the Wind fell back and kicked up with one thin, bony leg. At the end of the frail-looking leg was a formidable four-toed talon. His own red cape billowed up behind him and momentarily blocked Astride the Wind's vision. The talon scraped against the human's golden armor with a thin shriek that made the fine feathers along Astride the Wind's spine fluff.
The human dodged backward a step, though, so was unable to take advantage of Astride the Wind's ill-considered, failed attack.
Under the clouds, brothers, Astride the Wind sent as he slid his wings through the air and drew himself back up-just in time to see the hairy-handed human whip his black blade at his neck.
Astride the Wind spanked it away with his scimitar and grabbed the flying boat's thick-walled gunwale with one talon, lifting himself up and out of the way of the human's follow-on attack. One of the magical images passed through him and drew itself up as well. The human's sword connected with the image's scimitar. The resulting clang made the savvy human squint with suspicion.
A flash of green and brown drew Astride the Wind's attention sharply upward. Borne on the Drafts passed close over his head and flew fast away. Looking back down, Astride the Wind sent his scimitar fast and hard in an overhand chop at the hairy-handed human's unprotected head. The two images followed, and the human made a startlingly effective attempt at blocking all three of them. The result was that he actually dodged two of the triple chops-including Astride the Wind's very real and very deadly strike. The human slid his sword up the second image's blade and found the weak space under the image's left wing. The image popped out of existence, eliciting a frustrated grimace from the human soldier.
Two of the other soldiers stepped up, their heavy-booted footsteps sending resounding thumps through the dense wood of the flying boat. Astride the Wind turned and flapped his wings furiously at his sides. The remaining magical image did the same, of course, and the result was three startled, confused human soldiers. Unfortunately the confusion didn't last long-at least for two of them. The human with the scar on his cheek danced forward and pushed the tip of his wide black sword into the image's abdomen. The phantasm disappeared, leaving Astride the Wind alone, standing on the gunwale with his wings outstretched behind him.
The human with the hairy hands came on strong and fast, and Astride the Wind parried one attack after another until the human's blade finally found a way in, slashing the kenku across the chest. The cut wasn't deep, but blood and feathers flew, and Astride the Wind cawed in pain.
Astride the Wind's cry turned into a more complex vocalization as he kicked out with the talon that wasn't still
locked onto the gunwale. He spun to the right and kicked at the man with the hairy hand. The human dodged back, and the kenku's claws pinked harmlessly off his gold armor. The man with the scar on his face tried to take advantage of Astride the Wind's failed kick and attempted to cut the kenku's wing off. Astride the Wind tucked his wing in and down quickly, sending the man with the scar on his cheek off-balance.
Astride the Wind brought his scimitar around fast into the stumbling human with the scar on his cheek. At the same time he kicked his free talon back up into the face of the recovering man with the hairy hands. The kenku took hold of the hairy-handed soldier's face as the scimitar bit deeply into the throat of the man with the scar on his cheek. Blood flew from the scarred man, and Astride the Wind released the power of the spell he'd cast. The man with the hairy hands kicked impotently, and there was the smell of burning flesh. The man's black hair stood up on end as if he were fluffing his plume in some sort of dying ritual.
Both of the humans fell to the deck, dead. One pumped his blood in ever-decreasing gouts onto the old wood of the deck. The man with the hairy hands shivered and tensed, his face black, and his eyes rolled back white.
Astride the Wind saw the man with the copper ring- the man who'd killed Atop the Sky and Suspended in Air with magic fire-pulling another stone from his belt. The human was stepping backward and was pressed against the rail farther along the boat and on the other side. The human's legs touched the solid rail. The copper ring glinted in the sunlight, and Astride the Wind twitched. The man brought the stone up, and Astride the Wind tensed to spring but felt confident he'd be blown to bits, burned, frozen, or disintegrated before he could cut diagonally across the boat. The human's mouth drew up in an unreadable expression, then his eyes rolled back in his head and his eyelids flittered closed. The soldier slumped back, sitting on the rail for half a second before he flipped back and over the rail.
Astride the Wind opened his mouth in surprise and looked back. The other kenku were riding the currents forty yards or more from the boat. Astride the Wind made eye contact with Whirling on High, who had cast the spell.
My thanks, brother, Astride the Wind sent. Whirling on High's thoughts drifted silently across the distance to echo in Astride the Wind's head, Are you with us?
Without bothering to answer, Astride the Wind folded his wings tight against his body-the soldier with crooked teeth swiped at him with his black sword, but missed-and let himself tip over off the side of the boat. The man with the copper ring, still sound asleep, was spinning to his death thousands of feet below.
Astride the Wind fell after him but not very far. He closed his eyes just long enough to will himself invisible, and he faded from the sight of others. It was something he'd been able to do for a while. It had just come to him- come naturally-one day.
Astride the Wind flew fast toward his brothers, zigzagging tightly in case one of the soldiers had another one of those dangerous stones. The other four kenku were already flying fast and in a wide formation toward the distant mountains. Astride the Wind let himself be seen again just as he slid into the head of the formation. There were only two soldiers still alive of the six. Under normal circumstances, two humans who'd seen four of their friends killed would flee or surrender. Astride the Wind knew, though, that what set his people against these humans in the first place was an old and heartfelt hatred. These humans would not flee, and they would not surrender. Astride the Wind was confident that these soldiers would follow them.
Ahead were the low mountains, dry and brown. The Soaring Heights Clan were from the Turnback Mountains, higher than the dry crags ahead of them. They had spent centuries avoiding contact with humans and hunting in the nearby Frozen Forest. Now the old enemy was back — Netherese soldiers in a flying boat.
Astride the Wind looked back and saw the two soldiers turn their boat. The vessel came about, and they followed the kenku. Astride the Wind sent out a roaring call of challenge that faded into a satisfied, avian laugh.
Amidst the Blue was beginning to understand the human language. He'd been with his new friend Kaeralonn for a year and in that time had brought dozens of kenku to Shade Enclave — the massive flying city of the impressive archwizards. Kaeralonn was his friend and had taught him much, but there were things that gave the proud kenku pause.
They were back in the cage room again. Amidst the Blue had been there four times over the past few months. He was there simply to watch, which was all he did. The first time he'd been brought there Amidst the Blue was unable to understand what he was seeing. The second time he was nervous, and Kaeralonn had to speak to him in soothing tones to help calm him down. The third time he started to understand what Kaeralonn was doing. The fourth time he felt… offended… confused… unhappy.
"They can just fly out through the ceiling," the old man said, waving a hand at the cage with the open roof. Kaeralonn shrugged and said, "They'll try." The old man was visiting and Amidst the Blue understood that Kaeralonn was concerned about the stranger's opinion. Amidst the Blue had never seen his trusted human friend so concerned about the opinion of another. "You devised this… protocol yourself, then?" the old man asked. Amidst the Blue could feel his suspicion and doubt.
Kaeralonn shrugged and said, "There is some precedence in the literature, but it's best when modified where appropriate to the subjects."
Amidst the Blue wasn't sure what the humans were talking about. Spoken language was still uncomfortable for him, and some of the words they were using were too complex for the kenku to understand.
Kaeralonn waved to a young assistant who pulled a lever that opened a steel door in the wall of the cage. Suspicious and twitching, four naked kenku passed through the doorway and into the cage. The door slammed shut behind them, startling them, and they scattered to the corners of the cage. One looked up almost immediately and saw the hole in the ceiling. Amidst the Blue thought the kenku prisoner would soar through the opening and out into the free air, but he'd seen the process happen too many times. Though he knew it pleased Kaeralonn when the kenku responded to his teaching, Amidst the Blue was secretly disappointed when the kenku cowered in the corner. "They'll stay in the cage?" the old man asked. "They've all tried to fly out at one time or another," Kaeralonn explained. "Every time one tries it all four are subjected to low-level lightning magic they find most unpleasant. Eventually they stop trying to get through." "How long does that expensive and bothersome process go on?" the old man asked, rubbing his chin and looking at the trapped kenku in a way that made Amidst the Blue feel bad, despite the fact that this was Kaeralonn's friend.
Kaeralonn shrugged. "Some are more persistent than others, but I think this group is ready to move on," he said, then turned to the assistant. "Send in the new subject."
The assistant nodded and opened a second steel doorway in the cage. A young male kenku burst through the opening with a defiant shriek that made Amidst the Blue's heart leap in response. The strong young kenku grabbed the bars of the cage with both talons and used his wings to shake the bars violently. The cage held, and eventually the vital young male looked up. When he saw the opening in the roof, the young kenku leaped into the air — and all four of the other kenku dived on him. Talons tore and wings buffeted, and soon the young male was overwhelmed, held down firmly to the floor by shrieking, terrified kenku. Amidst the Blue could hear the mind-screams of the attacking kenku-a cacophony of single words lacking the complexity and subtlety of Kaeralonn's human tongue.
Pain.
Stop.
No.
Pain.
"Extraordinary," the old man said.
Kaeralonn smiled and said, "They learn slowly, but they learn."
The old man ran a hand through the wispy remnants of his white hair and said, "But you had the lightning ready just in case."
Kaeralonn laughed. "No," he replied. "No need. Not now. They'll be their own jailers now."
The old man nodded, and Amidst the Blue began to silently weep.
; Astride the Wind's laugh was still hanging in the high air when he turned back to look at the flying boat. There were only two soldiers left alive, the one with crooked teeth and the other with sketches of gray in his black hair. They were following quickly. Keep them on our tails, brothers, Astride the Wind told the other four surviving kenku, but not too close.
Ahead of them, deep gray clouds roiled over the jagged tops of the rugged mountains-fertile fields for Astride the Wind's purposes. The soldiers were following them there, and though they'd suffered losses, Astride the Wind had reason to be optimistic. All that was left was for the Enemy to appear. Astride the Wind was sure he would. He had to.
The fog that appeared before them in a supernatural burst of billowing yellow-green set Astride the Wind's feathers on edge. It smelled of poison and foul magic. Astride the Wind tipped the leading edges of his wings down and drew his taloned feet in tightly. His head dipped and the rest of his body followed in a tight, fast dive. He missed the front of the conjured fogbank and twisted in the air so he could see it pass above him. Borne on the Drafts and Embracing the Clouds swerved past it, smart and agile enough to keep even the tips of their wings from cutting the mist. Whirling on High and Above it All were nowhere to be seen. Embracing the Clouds shrieked an audible warning.
Where are they? Astride the Wind asked the minds of his comrades.
They couldn't turn in time to-Borne on the Drafts began then stopped when Embracing the Clouds shrieked again.
Whirling on High and Above it All, proud kenku warriors both, fell from the bottom of the cloud trailing sickly mist and shriveling feathers. Even from a distance Astride the Wind knew they were dead and knew his instincts were correct when he'd avoided the strange fog.
Steel yourselves, brothers, Astride the Wind sent.