The Western Coronan Khruath decided that its region must cooperate with northern Oronesia to defend the Hesperian Sea. This means that mountain-dwellers must confer with island-dwellers and ornithoids (Ythrians) with "birds" (human choth members). To facilitate early mutual understanding, Oronesian "birds" first meet with Coronan "birds" and ornithoids with ornithoids. Christopher Holm is a delegate because he is one of the few human beings in Stormgate. He contacts Tabitha Falkayn because they are already acquainted and because she is a descendant of the Founder which matters in Stormgate if not in Oronesia.
In the Weathermother, while Eyan and Vodan fly together:
"A wind sang..." (p. 33)
We expect it to. We must remember that the Ythrians are the title characters, the people of the wind:
"The Ythrians drank of the wind's cold and swam in its swirling, thrusting, flowing strength. It stroked their feathers till they felt the barbs of the great outer pinions shiver." (ibid.)
Eyath catches a downdraught, glides, flies back up, traces a thermal, catches that and is carried higher. She would not trade this to be human.
(Each species wonders what it would be like to be the other.)
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
It's more accurate to say there were plenty of persons of both species who wisely had no desire to exchange one race for the other. Christopher Holm's pathetic longing to be a Ythrian was morbidly neurotic.
Ad astra! Sean
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