Snare
, by Kerr, Katharine
- ISBN: 9780812551747 | 0812551745
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 5/16/2004
The author of the beloved Deverry series ("Dragonspell, Darkspell") turns her hand to a new kind of tale with this epic fantasy of religious pilgrims on a hostile desert planet.
Katharine Kerr is the author of eleven novels in the Deverry series, popular in the United States and wildly successful in Great Britain. Her novels for Tor include Freeze Frames, and the recently published Snare, a sweeping fantasy of the far future. She lives just outside of San Francisco, California.
THE GREAT KING CHURSAVVA of the Chiri Michi said to the leaders of the Humai, “You have broken taboo. You have come to the forbidden country. Your power shall be deadened forever, and your [toys? trinkets?] smashed and broken.” Thus said Chursavva on the first day of the council, and all the Humai wept and wailed in terror. Then the captain of the Humai rose and spoke boldly to the king's face. “We did not mean to break taboo. Yet we will accept your terms, as proof of our kind hearts and pure minds.”
And the great king Chursavva of the Chiri Michi said to the leaders of the Humai, “You keep the spirits of many animals bound into the crystals in the jars and cabinets of your flying boat. You may choose two large ones and two small ones and two winged ones to accompany you into your long exile.” Thus said Chursavva on the second day of the council, and all the Humai moaned in confusion. Then the captain of the Humai rose and led his chiefs apart into their fort so that they might choose the animals.
Over the two small animals there was no dissension, for all loved the beasts known as the eeka and the cat. Over the two winged animals there was no dissension, for all loved to eat plump fowl and to see hawks fly. Over the first large animal there was no dissension, for all agreed that the sheep would provide clothing as well as meat. But over the second large animal there was dissension. Some wished for a beast known as the cow, which gave much milk and meat, but which required much land on which to live. Some wished for a beast called the goat, which gave some milk and some meat, but which could live in the waste places of the wild lands. And so they argued, until an old woman rose and called for silence.
“It is truly said that the cow and the goat, and yes, even the unclean pig, will give us food and give us skins for our clothes. But you are all forgetting the beast known as the horse.”
Many of the council members jeered, saying that the horse was tough and stringy and would give little food. The old woman called again for silence and continued her speaking.
“Little food, yes, hut it will give us something greater, something that Chursavva can never foresee.”
“Indeed?” said the captain of the Humai. “And what is this marvelous gift?”
“Speed” The old woman paused and smiled. “And eventually, freedom.”
And the council members fell silent, thinking about ancient wars in the history of the Humai, until one by one they smiled, too, and pronounced the old woman wise beyond belief. And because a woman chose the horse, to this day among the Tribes women alone may own them…
—from the Histories of Ahmed, the Last Hajji
* * *
IN THE WARM NIGHT, the scent of true-roses hung over the palace gardens. Among the red spear trees and the obsidian statuary, water splashed in fountains and murmured in artificial streams. In a cluster of orange bamboid two persons sat side-by-side in the lush true-grass, one a young slender woman, shamelessly bareheaded, and the other a heavy-set soldier with a touch of gray in his dark curly hair. Anyone who saw them would have known that they were lovers, but Captain Idres Warkannan was hoping that this truth would hide another, that they were also plotting high treason. Lubahva Shiraz acted her part by giggling in the most vapid way she could manage. Her gold bangles chimed as she laid a slender, dark-skinned hand on Warkannan's arm.
“Do you see why I thought you needed to hear this?” she whispered. “Right away?”
“I certainly do. Send me another note if you hear more.”
“I will. We'll be doing the dinner music tomorrow for the same officials. They forget about us once we're behind that brass screen.”
Lubahva kissed him good-bye, then got up and trotted off, hurrying back to the musicians' quarters. Alone, hand on the hilt of his saber, Warkannan made his way through the palace grounds. As an officer of the Mounted Urban Guard, he had every right to be in the Great Khan's gardens, but he hurried nonetheless, cursing when he found himself in a dead end, striding along fast when he could see his way clear.
The palace buildings rarely stood more than a single story high, but they dotted the gardens in an oddly random pattern. Beautiful structures of carved
Copyright © 2003 by Katharine Kerr
And the great king Chursavva of the Chiri Michi said to the leaders of the Humai, “You keep the spirits of many animals bound into the crystals in the jars and cabinets of your flying boat. You may choose two large ones and two small ones and two winged ones to accompany you into your long exile.” Thus said Chursavva on the second day of the council, and all the Humai moaned in confusion. Then the captain of the Humai rose and led his chiefs apart into their fort so that they might choose the animals.
Over the two small animals there was no dissension, for all loved the beasts known as the eeka and the cat. Over the two winged animals there was no dissension, for all loved to eat plump fowl and to see hawks fly. Over the first large animal there was no dissension, for all agreed that the sheep would provide clothing as well as meat. But over the second large animal there was dissension. Some wished for a beast known as the cow, which gave much milk and meat, but which required much land on which to live. Some wished for a beast called the goat, which gave some milk and some meat, but which could live in the waste places of the wild lands. And so they argued, until an old woman rose and called for silence.
“It is truly said that the cow and the goat, and yes, even the unclean pig, will give us food and give us skins for our clothes. But you are all forgetting the beast known as the horse.”
Many of the council members jeered, saying that the horse was tough and stringy and would give little food. The old woman called again for silence and continued her speaking.
“Little food, yes, hut it will give us something greater, something that Chursavva can never foresee.”
“Indeed?” said the captain of the Humai. “And what is this marvelous gift?”
“Speed” The old woman paused and smiled. “And eventually, freedom.”
And the council members fell silent, thinking about ancient wars in the history of the Humai, until one by one they smiled, too, and pronounced the old woman wise beyond belief. And because a woman chose the horse, to this day among the Tribes women alone may own them…
—from the Histories of Ahmed, the Last Hajji
* * *
IN THE WARM NIGHT, the scent of true-roses hung over the palace gardens. Among the red spear trees and the obsidian statuary, water splashed in fountains and murmured in artificial streams. In a cluster of orange bamboid two persons sat side-by-side in the lush true-grass, one a young slender woman, shamelessly bareheaded, and the other a heavy-set soldier with a touch of gray in his dark curly hair. Anyone who saw them would have known that they were lovers, but Captain Idres Warkannan was hoping that this truth would hide another, that they were also plotting high treason. Lubahva Shiraz acted her part by giggling in the most vapid way she could manage. Her gold bangles chimed as she laid a slender, dark-skinned hand on Warkannan's arm.
“Do you see why I thought you needed to hear this?” she whispered. “Right away?”
“I certainly do. Send me another note if you hear more.”
“I will. We'll be doing the dinner music tomorrow for the same officials. They forget about us once we're behind that brass screen.”
Lubahva kissed him good-bye, then got up and trotted off, hurrying back to the musicians' quarters. Alone, hand on the hilt of his saber, Warkannan made his way through the palace grounds. As an officer of the Mounted Urban Guard, he had every right to be in the Great Khan's gardens, but he hurried nonetheless, cursing when he found himself in a dead end, striding along fast when he could see his way clear.
The palace buildings rarely stood more than a single story high, but they dotted the gardens in an oddly random pattern. Beautiful structures of carved
Copyright © 2003 by Katharine Kerr
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