The Edge of the World by Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online Page B

Uraban language.
     Anjine could hear cheers and exotic musical fanfares from the Urecari side of the city.
    After the terms of the Edict had been read aloud in both tongues, and the prester-marshall and the sikara each offered a prayer,
     Korastine took a small dagger, pricked the end of his thumb, and squeezed out a ruby drop of blood, which he pressed into
     the weathered wood of the Arkship’s prow. “This agreement is sealed with the blood of Aiden.”
    He passed the dagger to Imir, who likewise cut his thumb and made a dark red smear next to Korastine’s. “Sealed with the blood
     of Urec.”
    Each leader turned to his side of the hill and raised his hands to the crowds. “Let the celebrations begin!”
    After the signing of the Edict, the two peoples began to accept the fact that there would be peace, but they didn’t know how
     to rejoice together. King Korastine and Prester-Marshall Baine extended an invitation for Ur-Sikara Lukai to say a prayer
     with them inside the main Aidenist kirk—a prayer to
Ondun,
calling for His return, hoping that their demonstration of resolve was the final piece in the puzzle God was waiting for.
     No mention would be made of either Aiden or Urec.
    Looking stiff and out of place, Lukai came into the kirk wearing her bold scarlet gowns. The prester-marshall and the ur-sikara
     stood together before the gilded fishhook in the worship area under paintings of Sapier and the sea serpent.
    Though this was supposed to be a brief and private moment for the leaders of the two continents, Aidenists crowded the doors
     for the service. Soldan-Shah Imir was curious to see the architecture of the foreign kirk; clearly, neither he nor the ur-sikara
     had ever set foot inside an Aidenist house of worship.
    King Korastine, with a thin scholar at his side who served as an interpreter, talked with his Uraban counterpart. “I’m glad
     we came to terms, Soldan-Shah. I have learned as a king that when you cannot win, you should cut your losses and compromise.
     The person who will not compromise in an untenable situation is a fool, not a leader.”
    Imir waited for the translation, then smiled and nodded. “We have finally found a way to peace.”
    King Korastine had already suggested building a Tierran harbor on the northeastern shore of Ishalem, which was technically
     above the Edict Line (although the soldan-shah seemed extremely uncomfortable at the prospect).
    The two men agreed that their Edict was binding beyond any possible breach, because they had sworn in blood on the prow of
     the holy Arkship.
    Across the city, Tierran merchants went to the eastern neighborhoods, meeting their counterparts in Uraban markets. They gazed
     at the Middlesea shore, which had traditionally been cut off from them. The people on both sides of Ishalem would celebrate
     far into the night.
    When the prayers were finished inside the kirk, Ur-Sikara Lukai felt obligated to reciprocate, inviting King Korastine to
     the main church of Urec, so that he could walk the unfurling spiral to the altar. The services would be over well before sunset
     when the main worship began. The Tierran king was exhausted and drained, but triumphant about what he had accomplished for
     the world.
    Direc na-Taya had never sold so many candles in a single day. The feasting, dancing, and singing had lasted through the heat
     of the afternoon and now past sunset. As the streets of Ishalem grew dark and the people were sated with food and fuzzy with
     drink, pilgrims became belatedly pious. They made donations to their respective churches, buying and lighting candles to shine
     a thousand lights up to heaven, so that if Ondun ever chose to return to the world, He could see His way back to Ishalem.
    Within an hour, Urecari worshippers purchased everything the Saedran candlemaker had prepared beforehand. Now, in a crowded
     backstreet not far from the prime church, his small shop was filled with pots of melted beeswax and bubbling tallow; a