(Poul Anderson, "Outpost of Empire" IN Captain Flandry: Defender of the Terran Empire, Riverdale NY, 2010, pp. 1-72 AT p. 1.)
This opening sentence is designed to make us think that we are reading a fantasy. The impression is intensified by references to "Mistress Jenith," "Gallows Wood," "The sweet, unhuman voice of the [winged and feathered] messenger...," and a character named "Wolf" (ibid.)
But then a reference to the Anglic language near the end of the page makes us realize that we might instead be in Poul Anderson's Technic Civilization History. Of course, we already know this if we are reading the story in The Technic Civilization Saga, Volume V, Captain Flandry. But, in order to appreciate the text on its own terms, we need to notice how it introduces the necessary background information to the reader. Thus, we should imagine, first, that we are reading the story on its original appearance in Galaxy magazine, 1967, and, secondly, that Galaxy gave no indication to the reader that the story was part of a series. (I do not know whether it did or not.)
The winged and feathered messenger was speaking "...bird language...," not Anglic, so it is indeed a bird. Presumably "dragon" is its idea of a flying vehicle since it is a settler city with a single skyscraper and a cathedral that is being spied on. So are the spies hostile natives? No, human colonists that have gone native or, at least, have blended with their environment. We must read on to learn more of the details.
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