she’d returned to their trading post, which had been transformed into a small fort—built from stone and staffed by soldiers and two scribes. The humans had a message for her there. The human king wished to “formalize relations” with her people, whom they referred to as “Parshendi.”
She’d returned with the message to find this: Venli sitting among the elders. Venli, so sure of herself. Venli replicating human techniques that Eshonai—despite spending the most time with them—hadn’t heard them discuss.
“Thank you, Eshonai,” Gangnah said to Appreciation. “You have done well on your expedition.” Workform had carapace only along the backs of the hands in small ridges, and Gangnah’s was beginning to whiten at the edges. A sign of her age. She turned to the others and continued. “We will need to respond to this offer. The humans expect us to be a nation. Should we form a government like they have?”
“The other families would never follow us,” Klade said. “They already resent how the humans paid more attention to us.”
“I find the idea of a king distasteful,” added Husal, to Anxiety. “We should not follow them in this.”
Eshonai hummed to Pleading, indicating she wished to speak again. “Elders,” she said, “I think I should visit the other families and show them my maps.”
“What would that accomplish?” Venli asked to Skepticism.
“If I show them how much there is to the world, they will understand that we are smaller as a people than we thought. They will want to unite.”
Venli hummed to Amusement. “You think they’d simply join with us? Because they saw maps? Eshonai, you are a delight.”
“We will consider your proposal,” Gangnah said, then hummed to Appreciation—as a dismissal.
Eshonai retreated out into the sunlight as the elders asked Venli additional questions about creating gemstones with trapped spren. Eshonai attuned Annoyance. Then, by force, she changed her rhythm to Peace instead. She always felt anxious after an extended trip. She wasn’t annoyed with her sister, just the general situation.
She let herself rove outward to the cracked wall that surrounded the city. She liked this place; it was old, and old things seemed … thoughtful to her. She walked along the base of the once-wall, passing listeners tending chulls, carrying in grain from the fields, hauling water. Many raised a hand or called to a rhythm when they saw her. She was famous now, unfortunately. She had to stop and chat with several listeners who wanted to ask about her expedition.
She suffered the attention with patience. Eshonai had spent years trying to inspire this kind of interest about the outside world. She wouldn’t throw away this goodwill now.
She managed to extract herself, and climbed up a watchpost along the wall. From it, she could see listeners from other families moving about on the Plains, or driving their hogs past the perimeter of the city.
There are more of them about than usual, she thought. One of the other families might be preparing an assault on the city. Would they be so bold? So soon after the humans had come and changed the world?
Yes, they would be. Eshonai’s own family had been that bold, after all. The others might assume Eshonai’s people were getting secrets, or special trade goods, from the humans. They would want to put themselves into a position to receive the humans’ blessings instead.
Eshonai needed to go to them and explain. Why fight, when there was so much more out there to experience? Why squabble over these old, broken-down cities? They could be building new ones as the humans did. She attuned Determination.
Then she attuned right back to Anxiety as she saw a figure walking distractedly along the base of the wall. Eshonai’s mother wore a loose brown robe, dull against the femalen’s gorgeous red and black skin patterns.
Eshonai climbed down and ran over. “Mother?”
“Ah,” her mother said to Anxiety. “I know you. Can you perhaps help me? I seem to find myself in an odd situation.”
Eshonai took her mother by the arm. “Mother.”
“Yes. Yes, I’m your mother. You are Eshonai.” The femalen looked around, then she leaned in. “Can you tell me how I arrived here, Eshonai? I don’t seem to remember.”
“You were going to wait for me to get home,” Eshonai said. “With food.”
“I was? Why didn’t I do that, then?”
“You must have lost track of time,” Eshonai said, to Consolation. “Let’s get you home.”
Jaxlim hummed to Determination and refused to be budged, seeming to become more conscious, more herself by the second. “Eshonai,” she said, “we have to confront