Chapter 9

        It was something that he would never tire of.

        Tarrin stood amidships on the port side of the amazing ship that Alexis had provided for their trip to Abrodar and looked down upon the golden desert of Kypernius, with its green and gold band of life where the river Kyper flowed through the barren desert and turned it into a lush and fertile paradise.  It was a secretive and culturally isolated kingdom northwest of Sharadar, which sat on the northwestern edge of the Inner Sea that very nearly cut the continent of Arathorn in half.

        Amusing that both groups called the other's continent after the first kingdom with which they had made contact.

        He'd never get tired of the feeling of it.  Even though gravity kept his furry feet squarely on the deck, he still felt weightless.  It was the perspective of it, being able to look down upon the world from high above and know that though he could feel gravity pulling on him, it could not control him.  It was a sense of utter freedom and liberty, as if gravity was just a symbol of everything that those on the ship had managed to escape.  As much as it had for him when he rode his Fire Elemental over the Sandshield, riding the clever galleon through the skies filled Tarrin with a strange nameless joy, very nearly a giddiness, and put him in quite a mellow and amiable mood.  For Tarrin, that was quite a rare event.

        Two days had not diminished it either.  They were right on the coast now, ready to fly out over what Keritanima would call the Sea of Gold, whose name was changed to the Sea of Glass once one got past the isles of Amazar moving north.  They were only half a day from Amazar, the maps Keritanima and Alexis had shown him revealed.  The isles of Amazar were about two hundred leagues off the west coast of Arathorn, a chain of about fifty islands of varying sizes that stretched from the middle of Arathorn to the southern edge of Telluria.  Arathon was located at the edge of the isthmus that marked the border between the continents of Arathorn and Nyr, the northernmost kingdom of the continent which, in the West, bore its name.  The peoples of Arathorn called it Sharadar, for the ancient kingdom of Sharadar was the very first civilized kingdom to establish itself on the continent, who were themselves remnants of the True Ancients, those humans who had fled from the conquering Urzani so many thousands of years ago.

        For two days, his friends didn't quite know how to take their usually brooding and ominous friend.  Tarrin was talkative, outgoing, almost downright playful from time to time, and reacted with amusement or dismissiveness to situations where he would usually have sent the one antagonizing him running screaming for whatever cover he could find.  He didn't even seem to have too much mistrust and wariness of the strangers that were crewing the ship and the Sorcerers that had come along to supply the magical power to make it fly and deflect the wind.  It was quite a shock for those closest to him, his sisters and his mate, but Triana and Jasana didn't seem to be very surprised at all in this sudden change of temperament in him.  Then again, both of them had rather special insight into the more intimate workings of Tarrin's personality.  Triana had shared his mind with him, and his daughter had been Circled with him, as well as being remarkably observant and keenly aware of the more esoteric elements of her father's complex personality.  They knew that it was Tarrin simply expressing a side of himself that only came out when he felt utterly and completely safe and unfettered, something that Jesmind saw quite a bit when they were alone together, but not quite as exaggerated as it was now.  Sarraya had asked Alexis more than once how she had managed to trick Tarrin into eating the catnip she must have snuck on board, a joke that lost its humor after about the tenth time that she repeated it.

        After two days, even Tarrin was getting a bit sick of how he was acting.  He felt foolish and undignified, but he still couldn't help himself, like a precocious kitten who knew better than to climb up the curtains.  It was all but irresistable.  He was certain that he was going to be absolutely mortified with himself for the way he was acting when they landed, something that he was sure was going to cause him grief with the others.  He had already vowed to himself that the first one that made fun of his behavior when he got back on the ground was going to pay, and pay dearly.  He figured that it was only going to take one object lesson to make everyone absolutely convince themselves else that what they had seen for the last three or so days actually had never happened, and even if it did, then they were obviously mistaken.

        Strange that it would make him feel so completely silly.  But then again, there was a strange sensation in it that he had never noticed before, a more intimate feeling deep in himself that he'd never noticed before.  He'd felt it a couple of times before, the times he could remember, however, he had been staring into a fire.  This was something like the same feeling, but something else was triggering it inside of him.  It really didn't make any sense, and usually Tarrin dismissed things that illogical as things that he'd never understand...so there was no real reason to worry about them.

        That Were-cat mentality, combined with his magical abilities,  were why he hadn't really thought of flying anywhere until now.  Oh, he'd taken a joy-flight or two with his Air Elemental a few times, usually in the guise of teaching Jula how to summon Elementals with Sorcery, but most of the time it didn't cross his mind, despite the fact that he loved to fly so much.  The Cat couldn't fly, flight was a totally alien concept to it, and as such it tended to rule out those alien concepts most of the time, quietly guiding his mind away from thoughts of it.  It wasn't that the Cat hated flying, or that it felt it unnatural.  It was that the Cat's instincts didn't include flight as a mode of travel, and as such he'd always consider modes of travel which were familiar to it first.  On foot was usually the very first thing Tarrin considered when he thought about travelling.  But his human mind overcame that quickly and considered the use of magic as the second option.  Since he could Teleport anywhere important that he wanted to go, he never really considered flying as a viable alternative to travelling...mainly because this was the first time he'd really needed to go somewhere where he couldn't either Teleport or reach on foot, or both.

        But Alexis' wonderful ship showed him that when a Weavespinner needed to go somewhere to which he could not Teleport, then flying was the most appealing alternative.  It was speedy as well as highly enjoyable.

        Jenna had already engaged Keritanima in a bid to get some of the Zakkite flying devices from her, but as she predicted, Keritanima saw the sudden value of the captured magical devices, and demanding a ridiculous amount of money for them.  Despite the fact that they were sisters, Keritanima's hawkish Wikuni merchant mentality had taken control of her.  A Wikuni wouldn't give anything to her own mother for free, and Keritanima wasn't about to budge on the idea of making Jenna pay for them.  But Jenna was desperate, and Keritanima, sensing this, managed to wrangle Jenna into a contract that was ridiculously in her favor.

        Poor Keritanima.  Tarrin had to chuckle about that.  Little did she know that Jenna knew a spell that created temporary gold.  It was a rather pointless spell, since Sorcerers strong enough in the Spheres of Earth and Divine could Transmute real gold, but the fake gold spell had been a viable alternative for a Sorcerer without that kind of power and in desperate straits, at least before the Breaking, when the spell had been lost when the Ancients disappeared.  It was such a pointless spell that Tarrin and Jenna had never thought to teach it to anyone else, if only to prevent a sudden glut of fake gold from destroying the economy of Suld.  He knew his sister, and he knew she'd pay Keritanima with that fake gold, if only to get her back for making her pay for the devices.  Jenna was strong enough to whip up an entire room full of it in a matter of seconds, and the clever part about it was that it wouldn't give off any kind of magical aura to give away its temporary nature, and it would last almost a ride before breaking down and crumbling into fine pyrite dust.  And before that happened, it would look, feel, act, smell, even taste like real gold.  Keritanima would be furious when she found out, but then she'd laugh and silently congratulate Jenna for her clever riposte.

        Jenna may be the Keeper, and may have been greatly changed by the knowledge that Spyder had imparted to her, but the petty, petulant girl Tarrin remembered from his childhood peeked through from time to time.

        The sun was just about to set in the west, and Tarrin had been told that they'd be landing in Amazar just a few hours after staring out tomorrow.  They were planning on leaving a couple of hours before dawn--there would be no danger of accidentally hitting anything out over the ocean--and arrive at the island of Amazar just after dawn.  They were actually only a few hours away, but the ship had landed and anchored at night as a safety measure, to keep it from accidentally ramming into something, to prevent them from drifting off course, and give the Sorcerers who had been powering the ship's flying device with magic the chance for a night's uninterrupted rest.  Besides, it would be generally pointless to show up in the middle of the night, as there would be nobody there to greet them and perhaps touch off a hostile response when half-awake Amazon sentries saw the galleon land in the water and float towards the islands.  They'd probably mistake them for Zakkite raiders in the darkness, and nobody touched off the Amazons like that.  They were much like the Ungardt were back home; highly respected and somewhat feared because of their size and their formidable martial ability.

        They'd be landing a little after sunset, when they got far enough away from the coast of Kypernius that boats and ships couldn't sail out to find the flying ship.  The darkness would prevent that, as there were many reefs and shoals around the Shaullow coast of Kypernius to make sailing around at night a very dangerous proposition.  Tarrin watched it all from the rail with detached interest, for his attention was focused more on Dommamon, the White Moon.  It was full for the first time this month tonight, and would remain more or less so for about four days.  The moons sung to Were-kin in ways that most humans would never understand, a powerful image and presence that kindled their animal instincts, brought them more in touch with their animal halves without the usual dichotomy and warfare that usually ensued between the animal and the Human.  But the White Moon had the strongest effect, probably because of its size and its clarity; of all four moons, the surface of Dommamon was clear and sharp, easily visible with its patchwork of light and dark areas.  The Twin Moons, Duva and Kava, were kind of blurry, and their appearances seemed to change randomly, murky streaks of grey and blue that tended to move around in unpredictable patterns.  The Red Moon Vala was a featureless red disc, a uniform color from one side to the other, aside from what was called Eagle's Point, a slightly darker pinprick of coloration on the moon that only those with very sharp eyes could discern.  Dommamon was fully up over the horizon now, rising in the northeast this day--it tended to wander all over the eastern horizon when it rose, sometimes rising after sunset, sometimes before, and sometimes faintly visible in the middle of the day.  The other three moons had yet to rise, but they woudln't be anywhere near as bright.  Vala was in its waxing half phase, and the Twin Moons were in their waning quarter.  All three would rise within a half hour of one another about two hours after sunset.  It had been six months since the conjunction, when all four moons had aligned, and the short months since then hadn't allowed the moons to drift too far apart from one another quite yet.

        The others seemed content to leave him alone.  Tarrin silently suspected that they thought he was acting a little too weird, and maybe it was a good idea to give him a wide berth.  In a way, he guessed he was, and it was infuriating, but he just couldn't help himself.  He stood there while the ship landed quite some distance from shore well after sunset, staring up at the blazing white moon and letting it sing to him, communing with the power that lurked within it in a time-honored tradition that every Were-kin, no matter what type, observed to one degree or another with every full moon.  The moons were the one true force that bound the Were-kin together, for it was really the only thing that they all had in common.  He stood there for a while, probably much longer than he should have, until a second magnetic force seemed to intrude itself upon him.  It had the same feeling as the moon, but it was coming from behind him.  It took only a half a second to realize what it was.

        Miranda.  She sang to him the exact same way the moons did, and Tarrin was the only one who knew why.  She was an Avatar, a mortal who had been touched with the power of a god, a god who had instilled into the mortal special powers abilities in order to carry out a task.  Miranda had been seriously cheated when it came to that, for the god who had touched her, Kikkali, the Wikuni goddess of sailing, navigation, and the sky, had granted her only a quick mind and undying loyalty to Keritanima.  She had literally been created to be Keritanima's friend, a dependable woman who could be Keritanima's crying shoulder as much as her confidante and closest and most trusted advisor.  Miranda's mind was remarkably complex, and though she wasn't as smart as Keritanima, she had lurking within her an instinctive, probably god-given cunning and awareness of the subtle complexities of a situation that would allow her to see its heart and take care of it.  Miranda acted like an insufferably cute, utterly charming and seemingly completely harmless little flipskirt, but she was in actuality a sober, careful, methodical, and very patient schemer, always keeping her eyes open and luring the darkest secrets out of others with her disarming personality.  She wielded that disarming nature and her unbearable cuteness like a Troll's metal-shod club, smashing through the defenses of her opponents with them and plundering their chest of secrets bare for whatever information she desired.  Miranda was an exceptionally dangerous woman, and she was even more dangerous for the simple fact that nobody who did not have intimate knowledge of her would never believe her be as dangerous as she really was.

        None of the others knew she was an Avatar.  Triana probably did, but she'd never say, and the other Were-cats certainly knew that there was something unusual about her, for they could feel it in her as well.  Not even Keritanima knew, and for absolute certain, Miranda herself had no idea what she was.  And Tarrin would never tell her, because the Goddess had specifically instructed him to never tell anyone.  Not his mate, not his daughters, not his mother, not even his sisters.  Not even Keritanima.  It was one of the very few secrets he had, a secret so secret that not a single soul outside of him knew--at least for certain--and he was sworn to absolute silence.  He wasn't quite sure why, but that wasn't something upon which he ever dwelled.  He was told to keep his mouth shut, and since he'd obey the person who told him, that was that.  He didn't have to understand it, he just had to do it.

        There was a rather unusual and special relationship that existed between the two of them.  They were the best of friends; Miranda was probably his best friend outside of his sisters.  They never judged each other, they never argued over stupid little things, and oftentimes they were both perfectly content to let hours pass in complete silence.  They didn't need to talk to enjoy each other's company.  In reality, Miranda tended to be a quiet person, and when she was with Tarrin, she knew she could indulge her preference for quiet without having him try to fill up the void with inane conversation.  She got enough vapid chatter from the marks upon which she preyed when she was hunting for information, she didn't need even more of it when she was trying to relax and get away from things like that.  Miranda had a soothing effect on him because of the fact that she was the Avatar of a goddess of the moons, and Tarrin often served to keep her company when Keritanima was busy with other things, reminding her that at least to him, she was worth being around.

        Keritanima did tend to take Miranda for granted sometimes, now that he thought about it.  It was never to the degree that it was happening now, but it had been there before.  Tarrin hoped that Miranda's attempts to voice her displeasure would ram that simple fact home.

        She stood by the rail with him for long moments, without either of them talking.  Her scent seemed sedate.  She wasn't upset or irritated.  Perhaps she was just wandering around and decided to come visit him, or perhaps someone had sent her to fetch him.

        "Well," she finally broke the silence, putting her elbows on the rail and leaning onto her hands.

        Tarrit put his paws, four times bigger than her hands, on the rail and leaned well down on them to get their heads closer.  "Well what?"

        "Nothing," she said with a faint smile, glancing up at him.  "Out here for a reason, or just trying to be anti-social again?"

        Tarrin chuckled ruefully.  "Maybe I should be."

        "Now I know where to bring you whenever I have really bad news.  Just a mile or so that way," she said, pointing straight up.

        "I guess the height gets to me."

        "I just know how you feel about flying," she smiled.  "It makes me a little giddy too.  It's like you can do anything in the world, and the stars are almost close enough to touch."  She patted the back of his paw.  "And for you, that would be a very powerful feeling.  The more free you feel, the happier you are.  Quite the change from the dour sourpuss I remember from two years ago."

        "I guess we all change, Miranda," he said with a gentle smile.  "Even me."

        "Gods, I hope I don't," she said with a huff.  "After seeing Kerri in the throes of wedded bliss, I'm about ready to enter a convent."

        Tarrin chuckled.  "They have convents in Wikuna?" he asked.  "Not all orders have them over here.  Karas does, and monastaries too, but I think he's about the only one."

        "Melthis does.  He's the Wikuni god of science and technology."

        "The Wikuni have a god of technology?" he asked in surprise.  "That sounds almost like a paradox.  A god has control over something that might replace the god someday."

        "I see you read that book that Kerri gave you," she smiled.

        "A long time ago," he replied.  "It was rather interesting."

        "Well, I think that as long as the people don't forget the god, it doesn't matter how much we figure out how to do with technology.  There's this one lunatic in the Ministry of Science who is absolutely convinced he can build a flying machine.  No magic," she told him.  "It's supposed to fly all by itself."

        "I guess it's possible," Tarrin shrugged.  "After seeing that steam engine that Donovan built, I'd say that there are ways to build machines that can do all sorts of things we'd never think that machines could do."

        "If you met this one, you'd agree when I call him a lunatic, Tarrin," she told him.

        "People think Phandebrass is stark raving mad, Miranda."

        That brought her up short, and then she laughed ruefully.  "Touchè," she said in a teasing tone.

        "What?"

        "It's a Shacèan word.  Musketeers shout it out whenever they score a hit on their opponent."

        "Weird."

        "That about fairly describes the Shacèans," she winked.

        "Don't let Haley hear you say that.  He'll challenge you to a duel.  He's very taken with them."

        "Oh yes, that handsome Were-wolf," she said in a challenging kind of voice, putting a finger to the side of her little muzzle as she took on a speculative look.  "I wonder if he likes Wikuni."

        "You could always ask."

        "I'll bet he's an absolute heartstealer in his hybrid form.  At least to a Wikuni," she continued to speculate.

        "He may not be interested," he told her.  "I think he has his eyes elsewhere."

        "Oh, yes, Dolanna," she said brusquely.  "I think I could fix that."

        "How did you know about that?" he asked in surprise.

        "Tarrin, I watch people.  Anyone with half a brain would know exactly how Haley feels about Dolanna by watching him around her for five minutes.  She certainly fills his sails with wind, that's for sure.  It's as obvoius as a bolt of lightning in the night sky."

        "I guess others aren't as observant as you, Miranda."

        "Phaugh," she snorted.  "They're either too distracted by spouses or too busy watching you act like a babbling toddler."

        Tarrin grimaced.  "Well, I guess it is true."

        "I'll bet you have a plan to stop any kind of teasing once we get to Amazar," she said with an insufferably cute, cheeky little grin.

        "You know me too well, my friend," he said in a dry, dusty kind of voice that just bordered on sounding ominous.

        "Well, surprise me," she winked.  "I may need a laugh right about then."

        "I'll do that."

        She was silent a while.  "Too bad about Haley," she remarked.  "Dolanna likes him, but she'll probably never feel that way about him.  Add that to the fact that he's a Were-wolf, and you have the recipe for one of those abundantly morose and heartbreaking Torian tragedies."

        "I think Haley knows the realities of it, Miranda," he told her.

        "Maybe I could distract him," she said, licking her chops, as the texture of her scent changed in a very subtle manner, a physical reflection of a shift of mood.  "He is cute."

        "Feeling predatory, old friend?" Tarrin smiled.

        "A little," she admitted, unconsciously smoothing her skirts.  "I wonder what he looks like."

        He knew exactly what she meant.  "Noticably taller than when he looks human," he told her.  "He has a strong muzzle and dark grey fur, with a patch of white under his chin.  He looks very wild and very intimidating."

        "One of those rugged types," she mused.

        "He'd also be about five times stronger than the average Wikuni," he warned her, "and he might accidentally break you in half if you two tried it."

        "You had to go and ruin it," she said accusingly.

        "Just reminding you of a nasty reality, Miranda," he told her.  "Were-cats aren't the only ones who have that kind of strength.  Most Were-kin do, but only in their hybrid forms.  He'd be strictly 'look but don't touch' when he's in hybrid form."

        "Ah well, it was an idea," she said with a shameless smile.  "Oh, here, this is for you," she said, reaching under her wide stomacher belt, withdrawing a small piece of white silk.

        "What is it?" Tarrin asked, taking it from her.

        "It's a handkerchief," she answered.  "I got bored, so I embroidered your name in it.  Right here, see?" she said, pointing.

        Tarrin laughed.  "You embroidered it in Wikuni script, Miranda!" he told her.

        "So?  You can still read it, can't you?" she countered with a cheeky smile.

        He laughed.  "You're terrible," he accused with complete insincerity, carefully tucking the handkerchief under the thin leather belt around his waist.

        "A girl has to keep her reputation," she said airily, then slapped him playfully on the arm.

        Just about the only one that really liked Tarrin in his strange mood was Jesmind.  His sense of freedom made him a bit friskier than usual, and Jesmind was never one to frown on that kind of behavior out of her mate.  Besides, she rather enjoyed seeing him happy.  Jesmind was usually very sensitive to her mate, and often quietly complained to him that he should try to loosen up and be more relaxed.  She knew, like anyone that knew Tarrin knew, that nagging him or trying to change him was a very dangerous proposition.  But Jesmind was determined about it, and approached the situation much like Kimmie had always approached Mist; carefully, calmly, methodically, and ready to turn tail and bolt at the first sign of danger.  It was rather strange to see Jesmind act so logically and calmly, for logic and restraint were certainly not her strong suits.  But despite her irrational, emotional personality, she was actually quite an intelligent woman.  She just suffered from the Were-cat curse of being overly ruled by her instincts and emotions.  She had demonstrated many times in the past that where Tarrin was concerned, she was capable of defying her Were mentality and acting with almost human calm and reason.

        After he came in for the night, Jesmind was more than happy to nuzzle for a while, and they talked about Amazar a while before going to bed.  Neither really knew what to expect, mainly because Camara Tal never talked about her homeland.  The reason for that was as close as the massive Mahuut Knight, Azakar.  He had been a slave, and heatedly disapproved of slavery in any form or manner.  Despite the fact that Amazon men weren't actually slaves, the simple fact that they were owned, bought and sold like property, infuriated the usually laid-back Knight.  Tarrin knew that going to Amazar had to be the ultimate test for him, having to face that which he hated and despised the most, and it explained the utter silence that had greeted anyone who had tried to talk to him since they got onboard the ship.  Because Camara Tal had never talked about her homeland in deference to keeping the peace within the group, it left them with a hole of sorts.  Tarrin knew and understood most of their customs when dealing with a single Amazon, and had a good idea of how their society worked from his many talks with Camara Tal, but had no one really had a solid idea of what would greet them when the ship pulled up to the dock at Amazar.  If there was a dock.

        But serious thinking wasn't really on either of their minds, so that didn't last very long.

        By the time they woke up, the ship was again in the air.  This surprised Tarrin, for both of them were very light sleepers, and the slightest shift of the ship usually was enough to wake them up.  They had slept through the ship's ascent, but the feeling in his stomach told him that the ship was descending, and the light pouring in through the single small window in their cabin told him that the ship was probably preparing to land and dock at Amazar.

        Dressing quickly, Tarrin rushed out onto deck and found everyone else there, all of them looking down with great interest.  Tarrin did so himself, accepting Sarraya's miniscule weight as she landed on his shoulder, and found himself staring down on a rather large town sitting by a trio of heavy stone quays, resting some distance across a flat forested plain leading up to the slopes of a small, steep-sided mountain that had a very thin plume of smoke wafting from its crown.  A volcano.  Camara Tal had never mentioned that Amazar was a volcanic island.  A glance past the volcano showed him that there were two more of them of about the same height behind the first, three peaks that marched across the island's center like a spine.  The town itself was both neat and orderly and somewhat rough-looking, he noticed.  The quays were filled with many small ships, and more were already leaving them, moving out into the open water.  They looked like fishing boats, but a few sleek two-masted ships with narrow beams were moored to the left quay.  Those were rakers, small, sleek, very fast and highly maneuverable ships used as interceptors and pirate chasers by many kingdoms.  Even the Wikuni used them, so that was saying something about their capabilities.  Most of the buildings were made of of a strange beige substance that looked suspiciously like plant leaves, and they had a great many of what looked like unwalled frames, with only a roof.  Then again, in the heat of the tropical island, open-aired areas with a roof to protect against the plentiful rains would only be smart.  There were some stone buildings, as well as quite a few timber log buildings, all of them covered with roofs of a grayish stone, cut into tiles.  Probably slate.  Some of those unwalled roofed frames were also that gray stone, but many of them were simple thatch.  Tarrin could see even from that distance that every building had many large windows in it.  Devices to help air circulate within the buildings, he reasoned.  This was a hot climate, and was plenty muggy.  Air trapped inside a building would quickly become unbearably hot and stiflingly sticky.

        Tarrin saw the layout of the buildings quickly, and realized that a dwelling was not one building, but a compound of several small buildings laid out around a central garden or small pond, the entirety of which often surrounded by a fence that ran between the buildings.  The poorest dwellings were only two buildings and maybe a small shelter in the center of a modest garden, while the richest were huge complexes of upwards of twenty buildings encircling a huge colorful garden which often held a pond within, with many of those roofed shelters scattered throughout it.  Again, only smart.  Small buildings would be easier to cool than large ones, and the layout maximized open air, which would feel cooler than air trapped within the buildings.  Tarrin could see that the Amazons were completely adapted for living in their hot tropical climate.

        And it was hot.  Tarrin often had no inkling of temperature, because he was immune to heat and his Were nature made him extremely resistant to cold.  To him, air superheated by a pool of magma wasn't much different from the wind blowing across a meadow.  He could feel the heat, but it meant nothing to him, and because of that he often forgot to even consider temperature.  The four Knights with them had started out in their armor, but they weren't wearing it now.  Even now, so soon after dawn, it was noticably warm.  If they wore their armor, they'd all die of heat stroke before they put a foot on Amazon soil.  They were all wearing shirts or doublets--and a surcoat, in Darvon's case--with their swordbelts over them to ensure they had at least the weapons to protect the Sorcerers.

        "At least  Triana taught us all Amazon already," Kimmie mused.  "Imagine dealing with that dizziness combined with the movement of the ship?  We'd all be airsick."

        "Amazar would declare war on us," Keritanima chuckled.  "For dropping all sorts of unpleasant things on them if nothing else."

        "There is Camara Tal," Allia said quickly, pointing towards the town.  "She just left that large stone building on the top of rise.  Koran Tal is with her, as well as four others."

        Tarrin leaned over the ship's rail and peered down, following Allia's pointing finger.  That was definitely her.  She was so heavy she looked ready to give birth at any moment, wearing a large smock-like garment in place of her usual haltar, but still wore her tripa skirt.  She was being attended by Koran Tal, who curiously enough stood one pace behind her, and remained that one pace back as they walked.  There was another woman and another man with her, and though Tarrin couldn't make out any subtle facial features from that distance, he had the impression that those two strangers were in some way related to Camara Tal.

        "She looks like a beached whale," Dar chuckled.

        "She'll kill you when she finds out you said that," Sarraya said challengingly.

        "Who's going to tell her?" Dar scoffed.

        "Oh, I can think of someone, unless you do something very nice for her," she teased with an evil little smile from Tarrin's shoulder.

        "Then I guess Camara Tal's going to find out who cut the holes in her haltar," Dar retorted instantly.

        "Holes?" Jesmind asked curiously, which produced almost uncontrollable giggling from Keritanima.

        "Someone cut two small holes in Camara Tal's haltar, back when we were all on the Dancer," he answered.  "You can guess where those two holes were."

        "She had just about everything else hanging out of it anyway, so why not just go ahead and showcase exactly what interests men the most?" Sarraya shrugged.

        Jesmind gave Tarrin a quizzical look, then burst into laughter, as did several others who had heard it.

        "That haltar may come in handy once the baby's born," Kimmie observed dryly.

        "Maybe she could sew little flaps on it," Sarraya agreed with a naughty grin.

        "It seems we are attracting a great deal of attention," Allia told them, still looking down.  "The Amazons are starting to leave their dwellings and move towards those docks."

        "You don't see a flying ship everyday," Jenna said.

        "If you live in Zakkar you do," Auli replied with a smile.

        Jenna fixed the Sha'Kar with a dark stare, but was met with a flippant expression that was probably calculated to make the Keeper even more antagonized.

        The ship slowed in its forward movement and then started descending, making almost everyone scramble to grab hold of something.  It was a reflex action to the lightening feeling in their stomachs, a sensation that they were out of control in some manner.  After that came the feeling that they were very heavy, as the ship slowed in its downward movement, then the slight jar as the keel once again submerged into water.  The ship was some distance from the docks of Amazar, and immediately the sparse crew started preparing the vessel for docking as the ship was propelled forward purely by means of the device that allowed it to fly.  They had lowered their sails for that first day, probably to look grand and majestic in the air, but since then the sails had been and had remained furled.

        Alexis came up on deck with Ianelle as the ship started slowing, preparing to toss out lines to be tied down by haltar-clad women waiting on the dock, behind which began to gather a large crowd.  "Remember, the crew can't leave the ship," she said to Ianelle sharply.  "If they set foot off this ship, they're going to be staying here.  And warn them that the Amazons are going to try to lure them off the ship.  The special exemption we got from the High Queen only applies to the ship itself."

        "They have already been instructed," the Sha'Kar said in her unflustered manner.  "At least the men."

        Tarrin glanced at Azakar, whose expression had turned pinched and dark, his grip on his huge broadsword tightening, but he said nothing.  That was important.  Azakar couldn't have a moralistic fit, or the Amazons would kill him.

        "Alright, remember, everyone, this is a different culture," Alexis said loudly as she approached.  "Men, you're going to be the temporary property of your wives while we're here."

        "Temporary?" Keritanima said challengingly, giving Rallix a teasing smile.

        "Yes, well, that's an issue between you two now, isn't it?" Alexis said dryly, then she continued.  "The Knights are going to be more or less on loan to Camara Tal while you're here.  The Amazons don't expect you to know their customs, but on the other hand, they're not that famliar with yours, so just use a little caution when you're speaking to Amazons you don't know.  Amazons don't offend easily, but they do tend to take whatever you say as what you mean, so be careful using expressions or sayings or such.  Try to be literal at all times."

        "That's all?" Darvon asked.  "No other warnings or anything we should know?"

        "You know Camara Tal, my Lord General," she answered.  "Just treat all the other Amazons like you do her, and you'll do fine.  They're very tolerant of those who don't know their customs.  Just remember that every Amazon you meet will be arrogant and brash, and treat them like at least you pretend they're that much and a pinch of salt besides."

        "What does that mean?" Keritanima asked Tarrin curiously.

        "That they're all the rope in the rigging," Tarrin translated into a Wikuni idiom.

        "Oh."

        The sailors tossed out lines to youngish looking Amazon women at the docks, who quickly and expertly tied them off and allowed the ship's crew to haul in the lines, which pulled the ship up close to the dock.  Two others lowered the gangplank quickly as the Amazon observers approached the ship, with the very pregnant Camara Tal, Koran Tal, and the two others accompanying them leading.  Now that they were closer, those two looked to be relatives of Camara Tal, for there were some facial features that were similar to her.  They had to be parents or uncles or some other older relative, for both had gray in their hair and a few wrinkles on their faces to denote their age.  That was about the only thing that did, for both moved with a spry lightness that belied the age their faces advertised.  The woman wore a tripa skirt and a half-shirt of sorts with sleeves that ended at her elbows, and a hem that stopped just below her breasts.  The man was wearing a simple black leather vest, not much unlike the one that Tarrin favored, and strangely enough, a knee-length skirt or something that looked to be wrapped around his waist, held in place by a wide leather belt with a large gold or bronze buckle that had a sword and an axe crossed etched into it.  It was made of a simple red cloth, and Tarrin racked his brain to remember what they were called.  Binter and Sisska wore something like that.  What did they call them....  Kilts?

        Jenna and Alexis were the first two on the gangplank, and they both curtsied lightly to the older woman after Camara Tal said something to them in hushed tones.  Tarrin picked up Jasana so she could see over everyone, see what was going on, and the group filed in to take their turn walking down the narrow gangplank and onto Amazon soil.

        Few of the visitors attracted as much attention as the Were-cats, and surprisingly, Azakar.  Azakar alighted before Tarrin, and he saw almost every Amazon female suddenly lock her eyes on him, and follow his every movement.  Their eyes stayed on him until Tarrin stepped onto the gangplank and padded down the narrow glorified board, then put his feet on the stone of the quay.  They all stared at him in surprise, this insanely tall non-human creature (though not as tall as the dark-skinned man) who was powerful and regal and radiated his power like the wearing of the finest cloak.  They watched as he set down his daughter, they watched as Kimmie, Jesmind, Jula, and Triana joined him, the three cubs being held firmly by the paws to keep them out of mischief, and they watched as he approached Camara and Koran Tal with a slight nervous twitch in his tail.  They didn't know that being stared at by so many strangers unsettled him in ways that weren't exactly healthy for those who beheld him.

        "Camara," he said with strange directness, totally skipping over any kind of greeting.  "You're about to pop."

        "Not soon enough for me," she said with a slight smile.  "I see Triana taught you Amazon."

        "She taught all of us."

        "Pity I never got the chance to finish."

        "That's your fault."

        She gave him a slight smile.  "Before we go too far, let me introduce my mother and father.  Sulina Tal and Ezran Tal."

        Tarrin's eyebrow rose slightly.  "Sulina Tal?  As in Karaja Sulina, High Queen of Amazar?"

        "That is a title that some use with me, yes," the woman with the slight tendrils of gray in her raven-black hair answered.  "Karaja is my Royal name, in honor of the first High Queen."

        Tarrin's eyes shifted to Camara Tal.  "You never said she was your mother."

        "What difference does it make?" she asked.

        In a way, she was right.  Though her mother was the queen--or High Queen, as every island had its own queen--Camara Tal had no claim or right to the throne.  The High Queen was a position decided by martial prowess, not bloodlines.  Any queen could challenge Sulina Tal at any time for her throne in a battle to the death.  Sulina Tal held her throne by the power of her sword arm and the wits of a grizzled veteran.  Each queen, in turn, could be challenged at any time by any citizen of her island, so long as she was at least thirty years old.  The only Amazons not permitted to challenge for the throne were men and Priestesses.  Because she was a Priestess, Camara Tal would never be a queen, even if she quit the order.

        Tarrin studied this aging woman with a critical eye.  Strong shoulders.  Light on her feet, and her forearms were corded, meaning she had a powerful grip and strong wrists.  Those were critical assets in a warrior.  Yes, this Sulina Tal would be quite a formidable opponent.

        "I see you haven't changed," Koran Tal laughed.  "Decided if she's edible yet?"

        "Koran!" Camara Tal snapped shortly, giving him a hot glare.

        "You know, some think it proper to bow in the presence of the High Queen," Sulina said with a slight, quirky kind of smile that effectively took any kind of offense out of her statement, as if she didn't take the practice very seriously.

        "Ah, but you've forgotten the Were-cat mantra, my Queen," Koran said lightly.

        "What would that be, stepson?" the man, Ezran Tal, asked.

        "Make me," he answered with a straight face.

        Sulina Tal burst out laughing, then extended her hand towards the Were-cats.  "Well, if that's the way it is, then that's the way it is.  I think we can let you slide concerning certain Amazon customs, at least for now.  I'd hope that before you leave you think enough of me to actually bow."

        "I doubt that'll happen," Triana said curtly.  "But if you're anything like what Camara describes, you might almost be worth it."

        "You must be Triana," Sulina said to her.  "My daughter speaks very highly of you."

        "She will if she knows what's good for her," Triana answered in a flat kind of tone that made it clear that she was not joking.

        Koran Tal had an amused smile on his face, and Tarrin looked him in the eyes.  That look told him much.  Koran Tal seemed quite relaxed, even in the presence of Sulina Tal, almost playful and bantering.  That was very much unlike Koran Tal.  Perhaps life on the island and the impending birth of his child had changed him a little.  That unconscious defensiveness that he'd always had when Camara was around was certainly gone, and he looked happy and content.

        After all, that was all that really mattered, when one looked at the big picture.

        "Well, I must say, you're just as intimidating as Camara described," Sulina Tal told Tarrin with a smile, looking up at him.

        "Thank you," Tarrin said evenly.

        The Amazon queen only smiled.  Camara Tal stepped forward and put her hand up on his shoulder.  "We've prepared rooms for everyone," she announced.  "Being the daughter of the High Queen does has some advantages.  One of them is a house with plenty of empty space."

        "Be nice, daughter," Sulina Tal murmured.

        "So let's get all of you out of the eyes of this crowd," Camara Tal said.  "I know how you feel about crowds."

        Tarrin nodded knowingly, and then Sulina Tal swept herself up regally and led the large and diverse group up into the city of Amazar.

        As cities went, Tarrin rather liked it.  The buildings were constructed away from one another, leaving quite a bit of open space, and they didn't cut down all the trees.  There was much grassy lawn separating small compounds or single buildings that had the look of shops or a craftsman's workplace.  The overall effect was much like Aldreth, a population center that was widely scattered across a space much larger than was necessary to hold it all.  That spaciousness kept the place from building up that normal city smell, that and the fact that the Amazons seemed more intent on the concepts of hygiene and the cleanliness of their town.  Any human-generated miasma was blown away by the ever-present sea breeze, carrying the smell of the salty sea up onto the land, and the green smell of the grass and the strange, broad-leafed trees that dominated the town.  They had no leaves but at their very top, with brown trunks that often leaned to the side, with horizontal bands of a sort that ran up the trunks to that poofy canopy at the apex.  The leaves vaguely made the trees look like they were tall creatures with green hair.  Since the buildings were log or stone, it gave the place a rough feel, more like a frontier village than a town, and almost made the place seem laid back.  More like a village than a city.

        The crowd of curious Amazons followed these strange visitors all the way up to the High Queen's abode, a very large compound of about twenty small buildings, some stone, some timber, some to be woven of the leaves of those big trees, surrounding a large garden of lush and breathtakingly beautiful tropical flowers.  There was a copula at the very center, set on a tiny island in the middle of a large, Shaullow pond that was full of small orange fish.  The island had two bridges running to it, two small, arched, high-sided bridges with gracefully carved handrails set into a black glassy stone that formed the walls supporting them.  The floor of the bridges was made of a bone-white wood, at least that was how it looked to Tarrin, for he saw it over a fence between two of the buildings that formed Sulina Tal's compound.  The compound looked to only have one way in, through the largest of the stone buildings, where two haltar-clad Amazons holding pikes snapped them upright in salute as the High Queen mounted the worn, slightly mossy steps leading up to the huge, empty doorway.  It was a simple arch, old and worn from weather, and it was apparent that it did not and had never held a door within it.

        Tarrin noted this as they entered, seeing the weather-worn stones inside that entrance foyer, where rain blew into the building.  So did Phandebrass, it seemed, for he paused to kneel down and inspect the stones carefully.

        "Why isn't there a door?" Jasana asked.

        "It's a symbol of the open nature of the throne," Sulina Tal answered the little Were-cat girl.  "Any who comes to challenge for my throne will find no door blocking them from my throne room," she said, pointing ahead of them, into a large chamber where a simple, unadorned stone chair stood on a very small dais at the far end.  The throne room of Amazar.  There is nothing standing between me and any challenger but the challenger's own fear of facing me."

        "Poetic," Dar noted.

        "I say, I've noticed that Amazons can be a surprisingly poetic people," Phandebrass said as he got up.  "Much of their language and ideology is full of metaphor, it is.  Quite curious.  I say, I think I'll have to look into it, I will."

        "Are we staying here?" Jasana asked her.

        "Not in this building," she replied.  "This building holds nothing but my throne room, my office, and a few antechambers and offices for my staff.  Our private residence is out there.  We'll get to it through the garden."

        There were numerous women and not a few men in the stone building, and even more out in the garden.  Each of them wore a simple white kilt and went with their chests bare, including the women.  The ones with long hair had it tied back away from their faces in simple tails, just like the one Camara Tal wore.  To a being, they all had coppery reddish-brown skin and raven black hair that was as straight as straw.  They all bowed as the group passed, bowing to Sulina Tal, who swept past them without even seeming to register their presence.  She stopped just before the garden and clapped her hands sharply, and not seconds later a rather tall woman wearing a simple white kilt scurried up and bowed.  Just like every Amazon he'd seen so far, she was tall, muscular, but with generous curves that were not hardened in any way by her physique.  Just like Camara Tal, steel wrapped in the seductive and voluptuous blanket of femininity.  It was only natural for him to compare all Amazons to Camara Tal, the only Amazon he knew with any intimacy, but one thing was for sure.

        Compared to Camara Tal, all these other Amazon women, even her mother, were lacking.

        "Sinna Liu is my chambermistress," Sulina Tal announced.  "If you need anything or have an issue with any of the servants, this is the woman to see.  Sinna, we need to accommodate our guests."

        "I have all prepared, my Queen," she answered in a husky, seductive voice, bowing again.

        "Excellent.  Have your staff settle our guests in."

        "As you command, my Queen."

        A very young and rather short Amazon man, looking to be barely seventeen, was the one tasked to lead Tarrin and Jesmind to the room that would be theirs.  Sulina Tal had many rooms, and each person would get his or her own, if that was what they wanted.  Jasana was rather ecstatic over having her own room, in one of the small woven buildings facing one of the two bridges leading to the little island.  Tarrin regarded this young man for a long moment.  Camara Tal had never mentioned servants.  From the way she'd always talked, Amazons didn't believe in them.

        "How long have you been a servant here?" Tarrin asked the male bluntly.

        "I'm not a servant, my Lord," he answered.  "I got caught breaking plant pots.   I'm working towards my freedom price."

        "What does that mean?" Jesmind asked.

        "When we're found guilty of a crime, the judge assigns a price for it, the freedom price.  We have to pay that price to be absolved.  If we can't pay it, we have to work until we pay, our wages going towards our debt until we can meet our freedom price."

        "Sensible," Jesmind nodded.  "I'm starting to like these Amazons."

        "Unless someone refuses to work," Tarrin noted.

        "Oh, we'll work, my Lord," the man chuckled.  "Anyone who breaks the tradition of the freedom price ends up working towards his price in the obsidian mine.  After you come out of there, you'll be wishing you behaved.  If you have hands left, at any rate.  The obsidian cuts you to shreds inside five days."

        The young man showed Tarrin and Jesmind to a simple log building that had nothing but a single room within.  It was a rather large room, but there were no things like fireplaces or privies or closets, just a single room with no door and very large windows, the door and windows having large bead curtains hung within them to conceal what was within.  But not very well.  The open feeling of the place actually irritated Tarrin just a little bit, since his Were-cat instincts made him want to find a cozy place that was dark and confined where he could easily hide, and the exposure to this new place and all the strangers had brought his instincts to the forefront.  This was nowhere near that ideal.

        "Strange," Jesmind said, looking around at the very spartan room.  It had nothing in it except a single very large chest against the far wall, behind a recessed point in the floor that was filled with soft mats and pillows.  A sleeping place, but one under the floor's level instead of above it, as beds were designed.  That was indeed unusual.  There was a simple wooden rack on the wall to the right when stood in the doorway, a large one with pegs for hanging swordbelts, cloaks, or other items.  Everything else was on the floor.  There was a water jug and a washing basin, on the floor.  There was a chamber pot, on the floor.  There were several very large, deep pillows for sitting, also on the floor.  The floor itself was made of stone, despite their dwelling being made of timber logs.

        Tarrin had never seen so empty a room before.  Not even the Selani tents were this empty.  They couldn't carry around any furniture--aside from collapsible furniture that was light and easy to carry--but even their tents seemed populated.  This place was very...bare.  Perhaps the fact that it was a visitor's building had something to do with it, but Tarrin had the feeling that that was not the case.

        "Why would they do things this way?" she continued, looking around.

        "Because it's cool," Camara Tal's voice called from the doorway.  She surprised Tarrin just a little but, for he hadn't scented her, and even pregnant, she could still move on silent feet.  She walked into the room and stopped just before the sleeping area, motioning towards it with her hand.  "The sleeping pit puts you in the coolest air.  Cool air sinks, you know."

        "Why no furniture?"

        "We've never been ones to clutter things," she answered.  "My room has only a writing desk and a few cabinets for holding papers and small objects.  And I have a shelf hanging on the wall over there," she said, pointing to where the rack was, "where I have my souvenirs and keepsakes displayed.  That's just about it."

        "It's weird," Jesmind complained.

        "It's our way.  I think you have entirely too much stuff.  Rooms are for sleeping and nuzzling, not spending all your time in them."

        "I guess it's a cultural thing," Tarrin mused, looking around.  "By the way, where are all your other husbands?" he asked curiously.  "I thought we'd be meeting them."

        "They live on my other holdings," she answered.  "That's more or less why I married them.  They keep an eye on my land and farms.  And besides, Koran won't tolerate them when he's with me.  He's first husband, and he can't stand any competition over me at all.  I never knew he was quite so jealous," she said with a slight chuckle.  "He even made me sell my concubines.  And I made a tidy profit in the bargain," she boasted slightly.

        "A Priestess with lands and wealth?" Tarrin mused, raising an eyebrow when he glanced at her.

        "What's mine I got to keep when I joined the order," she answered.  "It's everything we amass after that is what we have to tithe."

        "Tithe?  What word is that?" Jesmind asked.

        "It means she has to give some of what she earns to the church, as a kind of offering," Tarrin answered absently.  "The Priests of Karas have to give up everything.  They depend on the church for their needs, and the church makes sure to keep them poor by forcing them to give up everything they own when they join the order.  They call it the vow of poverty."

        "Foolishness," Camara Tal snorted.

        "It works for them.  I guess we can't really complain since it doesn't really affect us," Tarrin told her.  "What did you want?"

        "To tell you not to make any plans for tonight.  You're going to be there."

        "Be there?" Jesmind asked.

        Tarrin guessed at her meaning almost immediately.  "You know when you're going to give birth?" he asked with mild surprise.

        "Of course I do," she said in a condescending manner.  "I've known for almost a month.  I should be going into labor in about five hours."

        "You cheated."

        "It's not cheating when it's allowed," she said with a light look.  "Since you're going to be the child's godfather, you have to be there.  You have to be the first person who touches the baby.  It's tradition."

        "What about the midwife?" Jesmind asked.

        "Midwife?" she snorted in reply.  "We don't bother with conventions like that.  I'll deliver the baby onto a reed mat.  Tarrin has to be the first one to touch it."

        "Then you're sensible humans," Jesmind said.  "Were-cat females don't need any help either.  It's just that most humans have this need to complicate a natural process."

        "That's human nature, Jesmind.  They complicate everything," Tarrin said dryly.

        "Except this room," Jesmind grunted, looking around.

        "We're not like most humans you've dealt with, Jesmind," Camara Tal told her bluntly.  "The islands and the climate and our isolation from the mainland means we do things a little different than most others."

        "I noticed," Jesmind said, looking around.  "But that doesn't seem like a bad thing."

        "I'll have a servant come get you when you need to be there," Camara Tal told him.  "Feel free to look around and visit the town, but wander back to where we can find you in about five or six hours.  I know when I'm going into labor, but I don't know exactly when I'll deliver."

        After Camara Tal left, Jesmind continued to look around.  "No wonder they don't spend any time in their rooms," she mused.  "There's nothing in them."

        "I guess they pass their time outside, or in the garden," Tarrin surmised.

        "Unless they enjoy counting the logs in the wall," Jesmind added.

        "Well, want to wander around?"

        "Naw, I'm going to keep an eye on Jasana," she said.  "You know she's going to do something.  I want to be there to head it off."

        "I think I'll go wander around.  I want to see that forest over there," he said, pointing in the general direction of the volcano.  "It doesn't look like any forest I've ever been in."

        "Well, don't forget about the time," she cautioned.  "And maybe taking along someone wouldn't be a bad idea.  So you don't lose track of time."

        "I think I can keep track of time," he flared.

        "Right," she drawled.  "This from the male who disappeared down into his dungeon and came out three days later, thinking it was tomorrow morning."

        "I was busy," he said defensively.  "I was running out of time to finish my studies."

        "I was starting to think Phandebrass had infected you," she grunted as they turned towards the door.

        Tarrin left Jesmind to her observance of Jasana, who was laying on the bridge with Tara and Rina, watching the fish with quiet intent, when Tarrin passed by the garden on his way towards the building that would let them back out into the town.  Tarrin asked Dar to come along with him, but Azakar, Haley, Ulger, and Koran Tal overheard Tarrin's intent and decided to come along.  Tarrin didn't much mind their joining, since he was rather fond of Ulger, if he wasn't an intimate friend, and it would be a chance to catch up on things with Azakar without so many other people around.  Haley had been a bit wary about the four of them, all males, wandering around out in the town unescorted until Koran Tal joined their group.

        Koran Tal was a good guide.  He showed them some of the more interesting buildings in the town, like the chapel to Neme on the highest point in the town.  It was a surprisingly small and modest stone building with a gong hanging from rough timbers outside its front door.  Tarrin had heard of gongs, but had never seen one before.  He pointed out the compounds of some of the richer or more prominent families, and showed them the very long fields that flanked the town, taking advantage of the narrow and fertile strip of land between the forest and the sea.  The farms extended almost four longspans to either side of the town, with the individual compounds that stood in the middle of family lands, and the stone piles that marked the boundaries between them.

        From there, it was a very short jaunt up into the forest, and it truly was something very unknown to Tarrin.  The trees were large, at least a hundred spans tall each, with huge canopies that totally blocked all sunlight to the floor below.  That dark gloom wasn't devoid of undergrowth; in fact, the underbrush, vines, and plants were so thick on the forest floor that they couldn't see more than two spans ahead, and they had to cut their way through with their swords--or claws, whichever was most convenient.  There were no smells that were familiar to him, no trees or plants he could identify, and the few animals they saw were all creatures he had never seen before.  It was all wonderfully new, and he found himself quite excited about being there.  He startled the others when he scampered up a tree faster than any of them could run and popped his head out over the canopy, surveying the sights above the branches.  It was quite interesting; it was a carpet of green that bobbed and ebbed and almost seemed to flow as the wind blew, as the limbs swayed in the breeze, like a vast green cloud or green fog that hugged the land.

        He climbed down as quickly as he went up, dropping the last twenty spans to the forest floor.  "Well, what did you see?" Dar asked.

        Tarrin turned and wove an Illusion in the empty air beside them, showing them the sight he had seen.  Haley whistled, and Dar was quite taken with the image.  "It's like the sea was, but green.  And with leaves," Ulger noted.  "The wind waved the branches like waves in the sea."

        "The wind makes the waves in the sea, so it's not an outrageous idea," Koran Tal told him.

        "I didn't know that," Ulger mused.  "Well, are you going to go all light-headed on us again, Tarrin?  Or were you not high enough?"

        Tarrin said nothing, mentally making a note to himself to get Ulger.  And though he said nothing, Dar's sudden explosion of laughter told him that at least one of his friends was familiar enough with the very subtle shifts in his body language that broadcasted his sudden irritation.

        "Uh, should I run now?" the scarred Knight asked Azakar, his voice only half amused.  Ulger, it seemed, wasn't quite so dense as Tarrin first believed.

        "No.  When his tail stops moving, then you run," Azakar replied in total seriousness.

        "Oh.  I guess I'm alright then," he said with a sudden grin at the Were-cat just before he turned around and started hacking at thick vines with his sword.  He missed the narrow-eyed, vengeful expression from the Were-cat, which made Dar grin wickedly and even made Azakar smile a little.  But then again, Azakar wasn't a total prude.  He did enjoy the occasional prank or joke, such as the war of pranks he got involed in with Faalken, so very long ago.

        Then again, Faalken could always bring that out in people.  He made everyone laugh, even when he ended up the butt of the joke.

        Ulger, he remembered, had been one of Faalken's best friends, and had often been his partner in crime.  Much as Tarrin, Auli, and Dar had terrorized the Tower when Tarrin was human, Faalken and Ulger had been the kings of misdeeds back when they were Cadets.  It wasn't a stretch to think that Ulger may be cut form the same cloth as Tarrin's dear friend Faalken.

        Oh, Ulger was going to pay.  And he knew exactly how to go about getting him.  All he needed was a little favor from Koran Tal.

        They didn't get much further before a sudden weight alighted on Tarrin's shoulder.  He was startled only a short instant before the scent of Chopstick reached him, and he realized that the drakes had either followed them out into the forest, or had been exploring and crossed paths with them.  Tarrin patted his little drake friend in greeting.  "Where's Turnkey?" he asked aloud.

        Chopstick snorted and looked a little offended.

        "I think the two of them are having a fight," Dar warned him.  "They were hissing at each other this morning."

        "Oh.  Sorry, then.  Didn't mean to upset you," he apologized, scratching him between the horns.

        "It may be the rut," Azakar said.  "Phandebrass told me that when their mating season starts, the two of them fight and get cross with each other, even though there aren't any females to impress."

        "Instinct," Tarrin said absently.

        Koran Tal led them deeper into the undergrowth, for almost an hour, until they finally breached it and found themselves standing on an uneven scar of evil black rock, a large field of undulating chaos, like water frozen to ice as it gushed down the hillside and was covered over in black ash.  It smelled sulfurous, and all it took was touching the rock to know that it was hardened lava, from a previous eruption.  It didn't look to be more than a year old, at most, and the stone was noticably warm under his pads.  Even after a year, the cooled lava was probably still very hot deep inside, maybe even liquid, insulated from the cool air by its sheathing layer of surface crust.

        "It's a lava flow," Koran Tal told the others as Tarrin knelt down to touch the rock.  "The volcano erupted a couple of years ago, and this flow burned down all the forest as it came down the mountain."  He pointed up the mountainside, and they could see the black scars cutting into the lush green forest on both sides, the green extending like fingers up towards the mountain's peak, the areas which hadn't been burned by the lava flows.

        "It's not very far from town," Haley noted critically, looking back towards the town, about a league away.

        "The Priestesses would have intervened if it got that far," Koran Tal said dismissively.  "They don't often use their magic, but don't ever think that they don't have much power.  I think because Neme won't let them use it wastefully, it makes it that much stronger when they do use it."

        "That has nothing to do with it," Tarrin told him absently as he patted the rock, feeling a strange tingle in his fingers from the touch.  "It just means that the Priestesses of Neme are very strong."

        "Camara Tal--"

        "Your wife is the most powerful Priest I've ever seen, Koran," Tarrin cut him off.  "She could put the High Priest of Karas in a dress and make him serve drunken sellswords in a tavern like a common barmaid."

        Koran Tal laughed at that image, as did the others.

        "Trust me.  Any mortal who can banish a Demon like that marilith is not a Priest you want to cross.  That takes the kind of power that only one Priest in a thousand ever manages to touch.  Those kinds of Priests are the ones that their gods watch over personally."

        "Well, she is the High Priestess of Neme," Koran Tal said, a little proudly.

        "She is at that," Dar agreed.

        "I think we'd better turn back," Koran Tal said, looking up at the sun.  "If I lead us too far out, Camara will kill me."

        "Then let's turn around.  She may not be able to catch us now, but I don't think I want her to stew on it until she can," Dar said with a chuckle.

        "Especially not when we're her guests," Ulger added.  "All it would take would be one command, and we'd be stuck on this island until she caught us.  I don't think I want to hide in a cave for the next few rides, only to be dragged out by my hair for my trouble."

        "What hair?" Dar ribbed him, pointing to the Knight's extremely close-shaved hair, so short that Tarrin wouldn't be able to pinch it together between his fingers.

        "I need to shave again," Ulger noted, running a hand over his fuzzy head.  "I like to keep it bald.  It keeps my helmet from itching," he explained.

        "I don't have that problem," Azakar told him.

        "My helmet doesn't weigh as much as a breastplate like yours," he shot back.  "That monstrosity probably smashes all your hair flat against your scalp."

        "You couldn't pick up my helmet, Ulger," Azakar said with a straight face, hinting at the humor that Tarrin remembered back on the Star of Jerod.

        "Maybe.  But an Ogre couldn't put his head in mine," he shot back.

        "An Ogre can put his head in anything if he pushes hard enough," Azakar countered, which made Dar burst into laughter.

        "Yeah, well, my mother can beat up your mother," Ulger said with a mischievious grin.

        Azakar's eyes darkened slightly, and he drew himself up to his full height.  "I'm sure she could.  My mother is dead," he said flatly, then he stalked past the startled Knight and started towards the town.  Chopstick took off from Tarrin's shoulder and flew over to Azakar, landing on his wide shoulder as if to comfort the Knight as he trudged away from them with surprising speed.

        "Touchy subject there, Ulger," Dar said quietly as they watched him stalk off.  "Zak doesn't like to talk about his past, and he really doesn't like it when people bring up his family.  I think the Arakites did something awful to his family, but he never talks about it."

        "They did some very awful things to him to boot," Ulger said with a grimace of chagrin.  "I should have known better to say that, even in jest.  I'll apologize later.  At least after he calms down a little," he added.

        Tarrin was about to suggest they start after Azakar, if only to keep close in case one of the jungle cats that Koran Tal had described as they walked up crossed paths with him--to protect the cat from Azakar, not to protect him from the cat--when a thin, distant, strange keening cry caught Tarrin's ear.  His ears turned back towards the volcano and he turned to see what had made the sound.  It was a bird, he saw, what looked to be a respectably sized bird, about the size of a large hawk or small eagle, with a long tail of feathers.  It was plumed in shades of white, red and orange, with a white belly and chest with red feathers bordering it, covering its head and tail and the base of its wings, and the orange covering the remainder of its wings.  Its tail feathers started out red, but flared into various shades of red, white, orange, almost brownish, and even what looked like blue, a riot of mismatched colors as each feather was its own color, and they were scattered randomly through its fan of tail feathers.  It also had much longer tail feathers that ended with little fan-like decorations, and all of those were white on the outside with a red center, in the shapes of eyes.  Tarrin had never seen a bird like it before--he'd never seen just about any of the animals on the island before--but this one seemed...majestic.  Proud, like an eagle.

        "Koran, what kind of bird is that?" he asked, pointing into the sky.

        Koran Tal turned and looked, then he took in his breath.  "I've never seen one flying around this time of day!" he exclaimed.  "They usually only come out in the morning!"

        "What is it?" Dar asked, as Haley shaded his eyes and looked up at it.

        "It's a Phoenix," Koran Tal answered.  "A very rare kind of bird that nests on ledges inside the crater of the volcano."

        "That's an active volcano, Koran Tal.  Wouldn't it get cooked up there?" Ulger asked, but Haley cut him short.

        "Not if that's the kind of Phoenix I think it is," he answered.  "They have birds called Swan-necked Phoenixes in Nyr, but they're not real Phoenixes."

        "Is it me, or is it circling us?" Dar asked.

        Tarrin watched it.  It was circling them, and what was more, it was descending rather rapidly.

        "Go on about that bird, Haley," Ulger prompted.

        "They're magical creatures, something like drakes," Haley told him.  "They like fire, and they don't die--well, sort of.  They do die, and when they do they burst into flame and immolate, but they get reborn from their own ashes.  Phoenixes are said to be a symbol of the continuity of life because of that."

        "How can something that lives in a bloody volcano burn to death?" Ulger asked.

        "Maybe you should ask the gods, Ulger," Koran Tal said with a chuckle.

        The bird circled lower and lower and lower, and Tarrin saw that it wasn't quite as big as he first thought.  It was about the size of a hawk, it was just that its long, colorful plume of tail feathers made it look a little bigger than it really was from the air.  They watched in curiosity as the bird circled them once more, then dipped down and landed on a bulge of rock about twenty spans up the slope from them.  It folded its wings and regarded them calmly, almost curiously, its glowing red eyes--quite eerie to look at!--were locked on them, like burning coals from a blacksmith's forge.  If anything, those eyes demonstrated that the bird before them was not an entirely natural animal.  This was a magical creature.  Its head was sharp, sleek, like a bird of prey, and its eyes were set forward in its head, another indication that this was a hunter, but its beak was more pointed and not hooked like a hawk's; the beak of a bird that didn't subsist primarily on meat.  That beak could carve up a rabbit quite easily, but it could also pick berries, fruits, and nuts off bushes and trees without much trouble.  A beak of an omnivorous bird.  It had tufts of fur to either side of its beak, giving its head a strangely triangular appearance.  Its body was sleek and streamlined, but it had a sturdy chest and large wings, the build of a soaring bird but also with traits of a hunter.  The wicked black talons on its red feet were another indication that this was a predator.

        The bird fanned its tail feathers, raising them up over its head and spreading them, showing them its many long-tailed feathers with those red eye marks on the ends.  Each one was angled towards each other, just like eyes, and there were an even number of them. The result of the display was an eerie sensation that many eyes were upon him, watching him, studying him like he was going to be the animal's next meal.

        "I've never seen a Phoenix behave like this before," Koran Tal said critically, observing the animal with a very careful eye.

        "I remember seeing a painting of a bird that does that," Dar said.

        "Keritanima has some of them in Wikuna.  They call them peacocks," Tarrin told him.

        "It's eerie," Ulger said.  "I feel like it's watching me with fifty eyes."

        "Maybe it's warning us," Koran Tal said.  "Maybe it doesn't want us to go any further."

        Tarrin wasn't sure about that.  It didn't seem hostile, or even defensive.  It was just standing there, like it just wanted to get a better look at them.  And there was something about the bird that gave Tarrin a very subtle, very strange sensation, something that he could neither identify nor describe, something of a tickling of knowlege or understanding that was just beyond his grasp.

        "I think we'd better catch up with Zak," Ulger said in a cautious tone.

        "I think that would be a good idea," Koran Tal agreed.  "I don't think we'd better cross this particlar animal.  It could barbecue us from where it's standing as fast as we can blink."

        "It breathes fire?" Dar asked.

        "To put it mildly," Koran Tal answered.  "Trust me, Dar, you don't want to see what they do with fire."

        "It sounds dangerous," Ulger said uncertainly.

        "Phoenixes are very dangerous, but they don't really cause us any problems, Ulger.  They keep around the volcano and they almost never fly over our settlements.  They're also not very aggressive.  It's like they know we don't mean them any harm, so they don't attack us."

        "No wonder you're surprised to see it land like that," Dar realized.

        "I've never seen one get so close to people before," Koran Tal told him.  "But let's get moving before it does decide to do something.  I'd rather not be who it does it to."

        Haley, Ulger, Dar, and Koran Tal slowly took a few steps backwards, then turned and started walking slowly and smoothly towards the forest, not making any sudden moves.  Tarrin stood there a moment longer and stared into the bird's eyes, not sure what he was feeling, but he was certain that the bird wasn't displaying its feathers as a hostile act.  It was a signal of some sort for certain, but not a hostile one.

        He considered using Druidic magic to talk to the animal, but it calmly furled and lowered its fan of tail feathers, blinked and regarded him for a moment, then turned and took off from the rock.  It circled wide of them, rising higher into the air with each powerful flap of its large wings, then began circling on a thermal to gain altitude to return to its volcano home.

        "Odd," Koran Tal said quietly as they watched the bird fly off.

        "Too bad Zak missed it," Dar sighed.

        They managed to catch up with Azakar not long after entering the jungle again, for the immense man couldn't move very quickly through the extremely dense growth.  The path they had cut served as a trail to lead them back to the town, which they reached about an hour after setting back out.  Dar looked around the  town curiously several times after they had reached its boundary, then looked quizzically to Koran Tal.  "Is it me, or is this place...I don't know, incomplete?" he asked.

        "I was wondering if anyone would notice that," he chuckled.  "You're right, Dar.  This town isn't quite like any other you've ever seen, because all this town does is support the High Queen.  That's it.  Oh, there are some craftswomen here who do their work because the docks makes it easy to sell to traders, and there are the farmers and farmland that flank each side of the town, but it's populated by really nothing more than the Queen's staff, craftsmen, and some of the farmers who have fields just outside the town.  But that's about it. No inns, no laborers or anything like that except what work on the farms, and not too many other people. That's why it's so small."

        "This isn't small, Koran," Ulger noted, looking around.

        "This is small," he said.  "Shining Rock is ten times this big.  That's the city on the island of Raltha," he explained to a few blank looks.  "That's where my family lives."

        "How many islands do your people own?" Dar asked in curiosity as they moved back towards the compound.

        "About sixty," he answered.  "The island chain is mostly a series of very small islands, large enough to comfortably support a small town of people, but most of them are very close together.  If you go to the far side of this island, you can see seven of them," he told them.  "You can see about twelve from the top of the volcano.   There are six large islands, the main ones.  This one is Amazar, the southernmost of all the islands, and it's the one where our history says our people started.  We spread out to the other islands."

        "What do Amazons do mostly?" Ulger asked.

        "Amazons are fishers mostly," he said, motioning out towards the many small boats out in the sea.  "Fishing is our primary food source, combined with what we farm.  Alot of Amazons are craftswomen and builders and engineers, though, especially the men.  We're rather well known for our wood carvings and small ships," he said proudly.

        "Rakers," Haley sounded.  "So good even the Wikuni borrowed the design, as well as about half the seafaring nations on this side of the continents."

        "Captured would be a better description," Koran Tal chuckled.

        "Amazons designed the rakers?" Dar asked in surprise.  "I always thought Yar Arak did."

        "No, we sold some to them, and they copied the design," Koran Tal said. "Wikuna simply captured a raker and tore it apart to learn how it was built.  But the rakers you see in the West were built here.  Yar Arak and Wikuna may know how to build them, but they still can't build them as well as we can."

        "So, women do the fighting and men do the building," Tarrin noted.

        "Actually, we do the designing, and women do the actual building," he corrected.  "Amazon men aren't uneducated slackjaws, Tarrin.  We design the things that the women build.  We're not allowed to do the actual building."

        "Why not?" Ulger asked.

        "Because it's dangerous work," he answered. "We're not allowed to do anything dangerous.  The engineer who drew up the plans is usually on the build site to supervise the construction, but he doesn't do any of the actual building."

        "Building isn't dangerous," Ulger scoffed.

        "Until a ten ton support beam falls on your head," Haley said lightly.

        "That is a possibility," Dar agreed.

        Azakar seemed to be working himself up to speaking.  They were all quiet as the young man seemed to bolster himself, then he finally did in his deep voice.  "I didn't know that men went to school here," he told Koran Tal in a grim kind of manner.

        "Of course we do.  We don't sit around the house all day, Azakar," he said calmly.  "We may have to do what the women tell us to do, but they're actually not that bossy.  We do our things, they do their things, and we're both rather happy with the arrangement."

        "Camara Tal is," Dar laughed.  "Bossy, I mean."

        "Well, my wife is a bit unusual," Koran Tal winked.  "She firmly believes that she knows better than we do."

        "The worst kind of woman," Ulger shuddered.  "I like the Draconian way.  Women are there to keep the house clean, cook, and make babies."

        "Savage," Dar teased.

        "Just call me the original male chauvanist," he said shamelessly.

        "Then you're on the wrong island," Koran Tal chuckled.

        "I'd like to see you say that to Jesmind, Ulger," Tarrin said.

        "She's not a human woman, so she doesn't count," Ulger said flippantly.

        Immediately, Tarrin saw that his previous idea was the perfect means by which to avenge himself against Ulger.  And it would be very easy to set up.

        "I hope you never get married," Haley laughed.  "She'll kill you."

        "There ain't no human woman alive that can beat me in a fight," he said pugnaciously.

        "Ulger, Camara Tal could whip you right at this moment, despite her being about to drop a baby," Dar said immediately.

        "I'll tell you what, Ulger," Tarrin said with quiet seriousness.  "When we get back to Suld, you're going to have to put your money where your mouth is."

        "I'll take on any woman, anywhere, any time," he boasted.

        "Fine.  Then you're going to have a little spar with my mother," he said in a voice that cracked like the sound of doom.

        Ulger paled visibly, then winced.  "Triana ain't--"

        "I didn't say Triana.  I mean my human mother, Ulger.  Elke Kael.  If you can beat her in a fight, I'll pay you a thousand crowns and eat my own tail besides.  But if she beats you, you have to walk the Wall Street three times around in a dress."

        "Easy money," he bragged.

        Haley exploded into laughter, as did Dar.  Even Azakar managed to smile.  "I take it Ulger just talked himself into a dress?" Koran Tal asked.

        Dar managed to regain control.  "I know Mistress Elke," he snickered.  "She'll tie him in a knot!"

        "She's Ungardt, Koran Tal," Azakar said seriously.  "If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Tarrin's mother."

        "Traitor!" Ulger accused, glaring up at the larger Knight.

        "We may be all one under Karas, but even he doesn't mind it when one of his Knights gets the air taken out of him," Azakar responded mildly.

        "We'll see," he said gratingly.  "I'll beat your mother, Tarrin--or her reputation, that is.  I'll prove there ain't no human woman alive that can beat me in a fair fight."

        "Say that again louder, Ulger, and you'll have a line of women ready to see if you're all talk or all action," Koran Tal warned him with a sly smile.

        "He doesn't have to say it any louder," one woman announced, moving towards them from a small compound.  She was a typical Amazon woman; tripa skirt, wearing a vest instead of a haltar, and with a broadsword belted at her waist.  She had a narrow, hawk-like face, and a puckered scar on her right cheek.  She had her hair cut very short, barely reaching her shoulders, and her bangs were pinned back over her ears with two silver barettes.  She was a handsome woman, Tarrin decided, with Amazon bustiness and hips, but not looking very voluptuous with her highly muscular body.  She was the most burly Amazon Tarrin had ever seen.  The most burly female of any species Tarrin had ever seen.  One thing was for sure, and that this woman was strong.  "I heard that, baldie.  Care to put up or shut up?"

        "What do I get if I win?" he asked brashly.

        "What do you want?"

        "I want your skirt," he said with an evil smile.

        "Fine.  When I beat you, I get your pants.  And you're mine for a night."

        "You call that a punishment?" he said with a leer.

        "Unless you're the kind that loves cleaning out stables, yes," she warned flatly.

        "Well, then, if I win, you have to serve me like a man for a night."
        "Keep dreaming," she snorted.  "I agree, but it'll never happen.  I'll have you on the ground squealing like a pig in three minutes."

        "Bring it on then," Ulger challenged, crooking his finger at her.

        "This should be good," Haley said with a gleam in his eye as he backed away from Ulger, who made quite a show out of drawing his sword.

        Ulger never had a chance.  In his own defense, given that he was an outstanding Knight, well versed in all kinds of fighting and warfare, and he had experience with unorthodox opponents, he would have been a serious challenge for the Amazon warrior.  But Tarrin never gave him the chance to so much as set himself in the guard position.  Before he had his sword set, Tarrin stepped up and clubbed him soundly in the back of the head with an open paw, sending the Knight crumpling to the cobblestone street.  The other males with him gasped in shock as the Were-cat calmly withdrew his open paw, gaping at him that he would swat down one of his own companions.  The Amazon looked similarly shocked, giving the Were-cat a wary, uncertain look as his tail writhed behind his body for a short moment, his eyes narrow and unreadable as he looked down at the twitching man before him.

        She flinched slightly when the Were-cat's eyes met hers, but then she seemed to sense that he was no longer hostile.

        "Tarrin, have you lost your mind?" Dar suddenly exploded in a loud voice.

        But the Were-cat ignored the Arkisian.  "Make him work," he told her.

        "I'll put him to cleaning the stables with nothing but his bare hands," she said with a sudden sly smile.  "Naked."

        The others gaped at Tarrin, but then Haley burst into laughter.  "Ye gods, Tarrin!" he chortled.  "I knew you were vindictive, but this is really swindling the merchant!"

        "What?" Azakar asked.

        "Ulger offended Tarrin back on the ship.  Tarrin knocked him out as payback," Haley explained with a laugh.  "He's going to make Ulger work like a dog in revenge!"

        Koran Tal suddenly understood, and he too began to laugh.  "That's something Faalken would have done," Azakar said, and then he cracked a slight smile.

        "At least he didn't kill him," Dar muttered, looking down at the prone Knight, who was just beginning to groan and stir.

        Ulger groaned, rolling over onto his back.  "What hit me?" he asked in a slurred voice.

        "I did," Tarrin said in a flat voice, looking down at him..  "I guess I was just too giddy to control myself."

        "What?  You hit me?" he managed to slur. "What for?"

        "Because I guess I was high enough," he said in slightly dangerous tones.

        Ulger looked up at him, his eyes a bit crossed, then he laughed ruefully.  "I never expected to get pranked by you, Tarrin!" he admitted.

        "I'm just full of surprises, Ulger," he said mildly, turning aside and starting towards the compound of Camara Tal's mother.  "Remember, make him work," he called to the Amazon.

        "Oh, he'll be thanking every god he can remember when the sun comes up," the woman told him with a chilling smile.

        "I'm going to get you, Tarrin!" Ulger said, then he laughed.  "Just as soon as I can figure out how to do it without getting myself killed!"

        "You do that, Ulger," Tarrin told him, stalking away with a sudden spring in his step.

        He was rather sure that the others had explained why Ulger hadn't come back with them when they returned some time after him, probably to go wherever the Amazon woman was taking him and tease him while he toiled naked in her stables.  But Tarrin had the sense that he needed to get back to the compound, and it turned out to be a correct assumption, for Camara Tal just started going into labor about ten minutes after Tarrin came through the stone building that served as the compound's front door.

        Tarrin had never been present for the births of any of his own children, and his memory of Jenna's birth was relatively dim.  He only recalled that he hadn't been allowed in the room with his mother while she was giving birth.  But he did have a rather good understanding of what was going on and what would happen, and he was probably the least squeamish person on the face of Sennadar.

        So, not knowing precisely what was going to happen, but rather certain that nothing would possibly shock him, Tarrin attended Camara Tal as the labor began.  He knew that labor could take minutes, hours, or even days, depending on a set of circumstances that most people would never understand.  Triana would certainly understand them, but Triana was not permitted to be present at the birth; only Koran Tal, Sulina Tal, and Tarrin were permitted to be there during the birth, and Tarrin had to be the first to touch the infant after it was delivered.

        One thing was for certain, however, and that was that the Amazons had a custom of childbirth that was nothing like just about any other human civilization.  Camara Tal, unclothed, did not lay down as most other human women would.  Sulina Tal kept her daughter on her feet, moving around, and whenever the labor pains struck her a little too sharply, she was allowed to lean against one of the walls of the single room stone dwelling that would be the delivery room, a room that was totally stripped of all decoration and adornment, even of all furniture.  It was a bare stone room with a bare stone floor and a tiled roof, that had nothing in it except the people present, a pile of towels, rags, blankets, and a large pot of water, and those were neatly arranged beside a very thick and somewhat soft-looking reed mat set in the middle of the floor.  Tarrin stood quietly near one of the walls and watched Camara Tal with steady eyes, observing her for signs that the birth was at hand and secretly worrying that the labor was taking too long.  He wasn't squeamish, but Camara Tal was obviously in pain, and he didn't like seeing any of his friends suffer.  While standing there, he thought up any number of ways that he could speed things along, but in the end he decided against it.  Camara Tal would be furious with him, and she wasn't the kind of woman that even he would want to cross.  It was Camara Tal's baby, and he had the feeling she wouldn't want anyone making any decisions for her, even if he had her best interests in mind.

        As the day wound into dusk, and then to night, the labor continued.  Camara Tal became coated with sweat as she struggled to get through her labor, as Koran and Sulina Tal walked with her, held her arms, let her support herself on them, and rubbed her shoulders and back to try to keep her from knotting up.  Tarrin said nothing, remaining near the wall, staying out of the way.  Sulina Tal and Koran Tal seemed to have everything well in hand, and they didn't ask him for help.

        Sulina Tal did finally address him about a half an hour after sunset, after it had become dark outside.  "Alright, it's time," she announced to him as she led Camara Tal over to the reed mat.

        "Do I have to do anything?" he asked her quietly as Camara Tal was helped into a squat by her husband, whose face was a mask of reassurance with all the fatherly nerves trying to be buried beneath it.

        "No," she answered.  "I think birthing is something that no man can really help with, you know," she told him with a sudden wink.  "Just be here with us, and when she delivers, all you need to do is pick up the baby and hand it to me.  I'll clean it up, then we hand it to Camara so she can name it."

        "Sounds simple enough," Tarrin said with a nod.

        And it was.  Not required to actually do anything, Tarrin instead knelt before Camara Tal and watched the rather grisly and strangely uplifting process of giving birth.  It looked painful, but the simple fact that his Amazon friend was bringing a new life into the world was much more amazing than anything else.  It was such a rare and special thing, something that a male could participate in, help with, and was required to initiate, but never experienced for himself quite the way that a woman could.  That was something that Tarrin seemed to innately understand, even if he couldn't quite rationalize it with words.  So he simply knelt there and watched the entire process with a kind of clinical interest of someone that was not sickened by the sight of it, and had never seen it before.  He was attentive to how things happened, just in case he was in a future position where he was helping with the birth of another child.

        Maybe even one of his own.

        It was amazingly short, given the hours that Camara Tal had been pacing around in labor.  In a matter of minutes, Tarrin watched Camara Tal dilate, saw the baby's head crown, and then the grayish, wet mass of newborn infant was delivered onto the soft reed mad with an audible plop.  Just like that.  Hours of contractions and pain building up to a crescendo of sorts that lasted but a mere fraction of the time leading up to it.  It was nearly anti-climactic.  Knowing that it was now his turn to do something, he reached down and scooped up the newborn with his paws.  The baby was so small that its entire body fit in the palm of his paw, almost fitting comfortably on the pad on his palm.  The skin under that grayish mess covering her was coppery, just like its parents, and it was born with a thick mass of straight black hair, plastered to its head. The baby kicked suddenly and then let out a very loud, lusty cry, and Tarrin carefully shifted the baby so it was on its back, so he could see its gender.

        "Congratulations, Camara," he told her with a gentle smile, holding the baby out to her.  "It's a girl."

        "Neme smiles on us," Sulina Tal said with a laugh, but Koran Tal looked just a tiny bit disappointed.

        Camara Tal took the wet copper-skinned infant--though the color of her skin wasn't easily discernable under the colored fluids covering her body--and cuddled her to her breast, panting and trying to laugh at the same time.  "Well, seeing as how it took so long for you to get here, and it took quite a bit of determination, I think I'll name you Faith," she told the infant in her arms.

        But that wasn't the word that Tarrin considered to be her name.  It was the Amazon word for faith, which was Shaul.  Tarrin suppressed a smile when he realized that the girl would be known as Shaul Tal.  A pair of short rhyming words.

        "Alright, daughter, deliver out the afterbirth while I cut the cord and clean up your daughter," Sulina Tal told her.

        Koran Tal looked over his wife's shoulder, then reached down and reverently touched her daughter's forehead.  "She's beautiful," he whispered.

        But Tarrin was looking at the infant with different eyes.  Invisible to the others, he could see a faint, indistinct aura of sorts that surrounded this infant, an aura that he had never seen before, but almost instinctively understood what it was and what it meant.  The moment of cognizance was the key, he seemed to understand.  When the infant opened its eyes and took in the world, realized its place within it, grasped the fundamental truth that was life, something it could not comprehend within the womb.  It was in that moment, when the girl opened her eyes and looked at her parents between loud howls, that the aura appeared, flickered, and then winked out almost as quickly as it appeared.

        This one was a Sorcerer.  Just like her father.

        "Hmph," Tarrin sounded in amusement.  "I hope you don't have too many plans for her, Camara."

        "What do you mean?"

        "She may be a girl, but she's her father's daughter."

        Koran Tal seemed to grasp his cryptic comment instantly.  "She's a Sorcerer?" he asked in surprise.

        Tarrin nodded.  "I can't tell how strong she is, though," he told her.  "I won't be able to find that out for several years.  I can just tell that she has the gift."

        Koran Tal looked at him, then he laughed in delight.  "She's a Sorcerer!" he said in glee, clapping his hands.

        "Well, it doesn't change too much," Camara Tal said wearily as S