Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [187]
Servant kithmen rushed out of the warliner to prepare the way as Confederation delegates - colourfully dressed Roamers, near-naked green priests, and ornately garbed Theron officials -arrived to greet them. Ildiran bureaucrats and protocol officers with the Mage-Imperator were uneasy with the alien surroundings, yet obviously impressed by the dramatic trees.
Without any particular fanfare, King Peter and a very pregnant Queen Estarra emerged from their group of officials to stand before the Ildiran leader. ‘Estarra and I will never forget our visit to your Prism Palace. Thank you for returning the honour--though our tree city cannot compare with Mijistra.'
Jora'h extended his hand in the human gesture of greeting that he had practised. ‘It does not need to compare. It has a grandeur all its own.'
By the warliner, Anton Colicos and Rememberer Vao'sh stood amazed among the other Ildirans. Nira envied the two men, imagining the thrill of seeing the gigantic trees for the very first time.
Theroc held all the best parts of her past. So much to see, so many memories to refresh, so many foods to eat… Virtually everything had changed after two hydrogue attacks and an explosive wental regrowth. In all that time, Nira had gone from being a wide-eyed dreamer who loved to learn and tell stories, to a damaged woman who had been held hostage and brutally abused. But here, all in a rush, her youth and sense of wonder came back to her.
A group of green priests gave her their own warm welcome, surrounding her, touching her, accepting her. They all knew, in general, what she had endured on Dobro, and through telink she had asked them not to hate all Ildirans for it. She looked at Jora'h, her face full of questions, and he smiled back with an expression so warm and compassionate that she loved him all the more for it. ‘Go. You should be with green priests now. Do not worry about me.'
Nira wrapped her arms around a towering worldtree, touching the golden bark and letting her thoughts flow into the verdani mind. Technically, this was no different from when she used the small treeling back in the Prism Palace, but the full intimate contact against her skin and the synergistic force of so many giant trunks around her made the profound experience more intense than she had remembered.
A skinny young woman of about twenty approached Nira, her forehead marked with an acolyte's tattoo. Her features were elfin, her hair tied back in neat bunches of braids. The girl reminded Nira of young Queen Estarra, and she realized who it was. ‘Are you little Celli?'
‘Not so little anymore! Would you like to climb with me to the canopy? Many of the green priests have already gathered there, and the acolytes would love to see you. We've all heard so much. Everyone knows your tale.'
‘I told you only part of the story, I'm afraid. I wasn't sure how much you could take.'
‘The worldtrees want to know everything. And so do we! I'll be a green priest soon.' »
Nira remembered how enthusiastic she herself had been as an acolyte. ‘I hope to bring other green priests and more trees back to Ildira with me, so I will no longer be alone there.'
Nira gazed at the high fronds and the inviting open sky above. Energy flooded through her muscles, and the trees seemed to offer hand and footholds she had not noticed were there. She scrambled up as if she were a young girl again. Laughing, Celli climbed up beside her.
When Nira poked her head above the topmost fronds, she drew a deep breath. Years of pain and sadness seemed to wash away from her. ‘I had forgotten how wonderful it is.'
After being reunited with Jora'h, the man she loved, Nira had thought she would never consider leaving Ildira. She wanted to stay at the Mage-Imperator's side until she died. But she had forgotten the tempting song of the worldforest. Through telink, the flood of thoughts and knowledge and personalities