Dark Sun: Prism Pentad 5 - The Cerulean Storm by Troy Denning Read Free Book Online Page A

is one
     of several who claims to speak in Tithian's name,” the sorceress explained. “Because I
     asked the legion to stand ready this morning, they must think we're going to find Agis and
     Tithian. Neither one would like that; they enjoy playing leader too much.”
    “Never mind them,” interrupted Rkard, Neeva's mul son. “What about Rikus?”
    Though only six years old, the boy already stood as tall as most dwarves, with long
     graceful limbs, a sturdy frame, and cords of muscle running across his chest and arms.
     Like Rikus, he had sharply pointed ears and a hairless body, but he also had the
     distinguishing marks of a young sun-cleric: red eyes and a crimson sun emblazoned on his
     forehead.
    “Both Rikus and Magnus are fine,” Sadira said. “They'll be coming along later.”
    “What happened?” Rkard pressed.
    
    
     “If
    
    
     Rikus needed help, it must have been bad trouble.”
    “We can talk about that later, son,” said Caelum. He had the blocky features, pointed
     ears, and hairless body typical of a dwarf, with the same red eyes and crimson mark his
     son Rkard bore. In his hands, the dwarf grasped a closed ironwood box that Sadira had
     asked him to hold during the council meeting. “Right now, we have business to conduct.”
    Caelum offered the box in his hands to Sadira. “Do you need this?”
    “Not yet.”
    Sadira climbed onto the podium and peered over the heads of her fellow advisors. The
     nobles and templars quickly grew silent, for Lady Laaj and Cybrian already stood on the
     respective pulpits for their two factions. But the guildsmen did not stifle their
     contentious discussions for several moments, until a bony, slender-faced man climbed onto
     the last platform. With the sooty apron of a blacksmith strapped over his chest, he looked
     as though he had come to the meeting straight from his shop.
    “Charl Birkett to speak for the guilds,” he declared. “Gar won't be coming today.”
    “Then we can begin,” said Cybrian.
    The templar raised his arm toward the murkiness of the vaulted ceiling, as did Lady Laaj.
     Their hands were closed, save that they held their index fingers open enough to form a
     small circle with their thumbs.
    “What are you doing?” Sadira demanded.
    “You may have convened the meeting, but any orator has the right to call for the wrab,”
     replied Lady Laaj.
    “Surely you haven't forgotten,” added Cybrian. “The tradition's as ancient as Tyr itself.”
    “I remember council practice better than you remember common courtesy,” Sadira replied,
     thrusting her own hand into the air. “Since Kalak's death, it's always been the one who
     called the meeting who controls the floor first.”
    A shrill screech echoed off the stone arches. A tiny winged serpent dropped out of the
     ceiling's shadowy coves. The creature glided around the room, barely distinguishable from
     the gloom above it. Everything about the flying snake was black: the leathery wings, the
     huge eyes, even the scaly body and barbed tail.
    The wrab passed low over Sadira's hand and circled back once. She thought it would perch
     on her finger, but its tongue suddenly flickered in Cybrian's direction. It flapped its
     wings and sailed over to the templar. After coiling up on his hand, it thrust its tiny
     head down inside his curled fingers and remained motionless.
    Sadira lowered her hand, not entirely discouraged. Cybrian would control the meeting's
     agenda for now, but the wrab was notoriously restless. A natural user of the Way, it was
     trained to sense whether or not the assembly approved of the speaker's topic. When the
     crowd's interest began to ebb, it would seek a new roost from the upraised fingers, and
     control of the session would pass to the person it chose.
    “Sadira, will you explain why you were late to your own meeting?” Cybrian asked, smirking.
    “Perhaps later,” said the sorceress.
    Her refusal to answer the question was