At Lythan's aerie in the Weathermother, it is morning on the day of a regional Khruath. Lythan's household will fly to the mountain where the Khruath meets. The household comprises senior family members, their children, the unwed, retainers and their kin. En route, they will be joined by other Stormgate families and, at the Khruath, there will be other choths. Only a few retainers will remain to maintain the aerie.
Clear dawn, streaming tailwind, calling trumpet, lifting wings, gaping antlibranches, thundering takeoff catching an updraft, formation flight east over crags. (Ythrians followed a trumpet call when they attacked human explorers on Ythri during first contact in "Wings of Victory.")
Arinnian, the only human member of this household, flies by antigrav belt, staying close to his friend, Eyath, who sings a traditional carol that Arinnian has translated into Anglic. Later, Arinnian will contribute to Hloch's compilation, The Earth Book Of Stormgate.
If I had read this novel while still at school, then I would have envied Arinnian's ability to fly away from his human fanily, join a choth and attend a Khruath. But I would want to join a choth that combined the best of Ythrian and human traditions: no duels or deathpride. This is feasible because we are informed that choths vary more than we are shown in the texts.
High is heaven and holy.
1 comment:
Social predators tend to be high on aggression, both ritualized and in deadly earnest.
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