Brad’s flyer landed in the open area beyond the bridge, the place where Avaril and his army had camped. Eldri stood back with Garlin, shielding his eyes with his hand as the craft settled down. He tried to contain his agitation, but it seemed forever before the machine rumbled into silence.
Eldri started forward, his heart beating hard. Then the hatch opened. Brad jumped out and waved, a great smile on his face. Eldri blinked. Although Brad always seemed to enjoy his visits, at least when he wasn’t starving in a siege, he had never looked this happy to see Eldri and Garlin before.
Eldri came up to him. “Hello, Brad.”
“Hello.” His smile widened. “I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Eldri asked, perplexed.
A woman appeared in the hatchway of the flyer.
In that moment, for Eldri, the world stopped. He didn’t feel the wind blowing or the sunlight on his face; he didn’t see the towering mountains or the sky above them; he didn’t taste the air. He knew only the sight of the woman.
Roca.
Eldri ran forward as Roca jumped down from the flyer. He almost threw his arms around her, then jerked to a stop when he saw the bundle she carried.
A baby.
“By the suns,” Eldri said. “What beautiful child have you there?” His eyes suddenly brimmed with moisture.
Roca extended the baby to him. “Your son.”
He took the boy into his arms, holding him the way he had held so many children of his friends and servants. His son looked up at him and gurgled.
“He smiled!” Eldri gave a shaky laugh, his heart filling with an indescribable emotion. “He smiled at me.”
A tear ran down her face. “I saw.” She came forward, and he moved the baby in his arms so he could hold both his son and his wife. As he hugged Roca close, his tears mingled with her hair.
His family had come home.
Roca and Eldri relaxed on the rug before the fire in their bedroom, Eldri with his arms around her waist and Roca reclining against him. Eldrin was curled in her lap, playing with a ball of polished blue glasswood.
Eldri was finally content. He had been torn in two; now he was complete. But he ached for the tragedy that had devastated Roca and her family. He didn’t comprehend all its nuances, but he understood that the truth could destabilize her government. A new Imperator ruled. The Assembly called her father’s death an accident, letting the story spread throughout their realms. Her family had to be preserved, lest it weaken this “Kyle web” that held their empire together. But speculation ran wild: the grandson had killed the grandfather to take his throne. Given what Eldri had seen of his wife’s firstborn son, it didn’t surprise him that no one wanted to naysay that great, metallic warlord.
Roca had been restrained since she came back, mourning for her father, who had somehow died and not died. Eldri wished he could heal the wounds in her heart.
“Will your family be all right?” he asked.
“Someday.” She spoke softly. “It will take time.”
He bent his head over hers. “If only I could help.”
“You do, just by being here.”
So they enjoyed the warmth of the fire. After a while, she said, “ISC is going to build a medical clinic near Dalvador.”
He still couldn’t untangle the mess of relations between her people and Brad’s. “ISC is the Skolian army, yes?”
“That’s right.”
“Lyshriol is part of Brad’s Allied Worlds.”
“His people have agreed to relinquish their claim.” Dryly she added, “It will take much debate and bargaining to settle on terms.”
He thought of the Dalvador Plains where he had lived all his life. “Will the starport stay in the same place?”
“I think so. ISC will probably buy or lease it. Brad has asked to stay on, as a liaison for your people and mine.”
“I am glad. I like him.”
“I too.” She hesitated. “What will happen with Lord Avaril?”
He grimaced, acknowledging the unease he hid from everyone else except Garlin. “He has gone away for now. I fear though that someday he will return.”
“You’ll be ready for him.” She closed her eyes. “My people can help. We can do a lot for your people.”
He tensed. “You must not change Lyshriol.”
“We won’t. You will oversee anything we do.” She traced her finger along his arm. “Perhaps someday we can understand your people, why you are so different from us.”
“These psychologists ask many questions.” He sighed. “They say odd things, that we are a living ‘computer.’ They want to know why we interpret symbols differently than your people, why we can do math but not read. I don’t understand a lot of it.”
Roca laughed softly. “They don’t, either, yet. Pieces are there, like the way you count in octal instead of decimal, or the binary aspects of your world: two suns, two moons, two sets of opposing fingers.”
“Do you think they will make sense of it?”
“Someday.”
It would be interesting if they did, but Eldri wasn’t holding his breath. “Well, perhaps that will make them happy.”
She smiled. “Perhaps.”
They relaxed for a while, watching the flames. Every time Eldri looked at his son, he marveled anew that this boy was his. Surely no child had ever been so fine. Even his hands were normal, with a hinge and four fingers.
“Tell me,” he murmured to Roca. “How many children would you like to have?”
A hint of her mischief sparkled. “A hundred.”
“Ai, Roca! It would be bedlam.”
She laughed. “Perhaps so. How about ten?”
“Ten. Yes.” Although he could tell she was joking, he liked the idea. Among his people, ten wouldn’t be unusual. He contemplated a family full of laughing children with gold hair and eyes. “What should we name them?”
“Althor for the next boy, after you.”
“If it is a girl, we must name her Roca.”
A memory stirred in her mind, one so vivid, Eldri picked it up: the statue of the warrior goddess in the corridor outside his suite, the one Roca had run past when she had gone to Brad’s suite during the battle and sent off the fliers.
“Her name should be Sauscony,” Roca said. “After your goddess of arrows.”
“Not Roca?”
She shook her head. “But I would like her to have my mother’s name. Lahaylia.”
“She will be strong and beautiful.”
“That she will.” Roca tickled her finger along the back of his. “Pick another name.”
He considered. “For a boy, Kelricson.”
She smiled. “Who is Kelric, that our son should also be his?”
Eldri nuzzled her ear. “The god of youth.”
“Ah. I like that.”
“Roca?”
“Hmmmm?”
Eldri spoke with care. “We must name our children after your family, too.” He made himself say it. “Including Kurj.”
Her mood turned somber. “Thank you.”
“Why?”
“For not hating him.”
He brushed back her hair. “I cannot hate those you love.”
Roca turned to him, with Eldrin cradled between them. Her voice gentled. “You are my life, Eldri.”
“As you are mine.”
So they sat together, symbols for an empire that had seen too much death, offering instead, in simply their existence, a promise of new life and a future for their people.
Family Tree: Ruby Dynasty
Boldface names refer to members of the Rhon. The Selei name denotes the direct line of the Ruby Pharaoh. All children of Roca and Eldrinson take Valdoria as their third name. All members of the Rhon within the Ruby Dynasty have the right to use Skolia as their last name. “Del” in front of a name means “in honor of.”
= marriage + children by
Characters and Family History
Boldface names refer to Ruby psi
ons, also known as the “Rhon.” All Rhon psions who are members of the Ruby Dynasty use Skolia as their last name (the Skolian Imperialate was named after their family). The Selei name indicates the direct line of the Ruby Pharaoh. Children of Roca and Eldrinson take Valdoria as a third name. The “del” prefix means “in honor of,” and is capitalized if the person honored was a Triad member. Most names are based on world-building systems drawn from Mayan, North African, and Indian cultures.
= marriage
Lahaylia Selei (Ruby Pharaoh) = Jarac (Imperator)
Lahaylia and Jarac founded the modern-day Ruby Dynasty. Lahaylia was created in the Rhon genetic project. Her lineage traces back to the ancient Ruby Dynasty that founded the Ruby Empire. Lahaylia and Jarac have two daughters, Dyhianna Selei and Roca.
Dyhianna (Dehya) Selei
= (1) William Seth Rockworth III (separated in 2205)
= (2) Eldrin Jarac Valdoria
Dehya becomes the Ruby Pharaoh after Lahaylia. She married William Seth Rockworth III as part of the Iceland Treaty between the Skolian Imperialate and Allied Worlds of Earth. They have no children and later separate. The dissolution of their marriage would negate the treaty, so neither the Allieds nor the Imperialate recognize Seth’s divorce. Both Seth and Dehya eventually remarry anyway. Spherical Harmonic tells the story of what happens to Dehya after the Radiance War. She and Eldrin have two children, Taquinil Selei and Althor Vyan Selei.
Althor Vyan Selei = ’Akushtina (Tina) Santis Pulivok
The story of Althor and Tina appears in Catch the Lightning. Althor Vyan Selei was named after his uncle/cousin, Althor Izam-Na Valdoria. Tina also appears in the story “Ave de Paso” in the anthology Redshift and The Year’s Best Fantasy, 2001.
Roca
= (1) Tokaba Ryestar (deceased)
= (2) Darr Hammerjackson (divorced)
= (3) Eldrinson (Eldri) Althor Valdoria
Roca and Tokaba had one child, Kurj (Imperator and former Jagernaut). Kurj marries Ami when he is about a century old. Kurj and Ami have a son named Kurjson.
Although no records exist of Eldrinson’s lineage, it is believed he descends from the ancient Ruby Dynasty. Skyfall tells the story of how he and Roca meet. They have ten children.
Eldrin (Dryni) Jarac (bard, consort to Ruby Pharaoh, warrior)
Althor Izam-Na (engineer, Jagernaut, Imperial Heir)
Del-Kurj (Del) (singer, warrior, twin to Chaniece)
Chaniece Roca (runs Valdoria family household, twin to Del-Kurj)
Havyrl (Vyrl) Torcellei (farmer, doctorate in agriculture)
Sauscony (Soz) Lahaylia (military scientist, Jagernaut, Imperator)
Denric Windward (teacher, doctorate in literature)
Shannon Eirlei (Blue Dale archer)
Aniece Dyhianna (accountant, Rillian queen)
Kelricson (Kelric) Garlin (mathematician, Jagernaut, Imperator)
Eldrin appears in The Radiant Seas and Spherical Harmonic
Althor Izam-Na
= (1) Coop and Vaz
= (2) Cirrus
Althor has a daughter, Eristia Leirol Valdoria, with Syreen Leirol, an actress turned linguist. Coop and Vaz have a son, Ryder Jalam Majda Valdoria, with Althor as co-father. Althor and Coop appear in The Radiant Seas. The novelette, “Soul of Light” (Circlet Press, anthology Sextopia), tells the story of how Althor and Vaz met Coop. Vaz and Coop also appear in Spherical Harmonic. Althor and Cirrus also have a son.
Havyrl (Vyrl) Torcellei
= Lilliara (Lilly) (deceased in 2266)
= Kamoj Quanta Argali
Havyrl & Lilly marry in 2223. Their story appears in “Stained Glass Heart,” a novella in the anthology Irresistible Forces, February 2004. The story of Havyrl and Kamoj appears in The Quantum Rose, which won the 2001 Nebula Award. An early version of the first half was serialized in Analog, May 1999–July/August 1999.
Sauscony (Soz) Lahaylia
= (1) Jato Stormson (divorced)
= (2) Hypron Luminar (deceased)
= (3) Jaibriol Qox (aka Jaibriol II)
The story of how Soz and Jato met appears in the novella, “Aurora in Four Voices” (Analog, December 1998). Soz and Jaibriol’s stories appear in Primary Inversion and The Radiant Seas. They have four children, all of whom use Qox-Skolia as their last name: Jaibriol III, Rocalisa, Vitar, and del-Kelric. The story of how Jaibriol III became the emperor of Eube appears in The Moon’s Shadow. Jaibriol III married Tarquine Iquar, the Finance Minister of Eube.
Aniece = Lord Rillia
Lord Rillia rules Rillia, which consists of the extensive Rillian Vales, the Dalvador Plains, the Backbone Mountains, and the Stained Glass Forest.
Kelricson (Kelric) Garlin
= (1) Corey Majda (deceased in 2243)
= (2) Deha Dahl (deceased)
= (3) Rashiva Haka (Calani trade)
= (4) Savina Miesa (deceased)
= (5) Avtac Varz (Calani trade)
= (6) Ixpar Karn (closure)
= (7) Jeejon
Kelric’s stories are told in The Last Hawk, Ascendant Sun, The Moon’s Shadow, the novella “A Roll of the Dice” (Analog, July/August 2000), and the novelette “Light and Shadow” (Analog, April 1994). Kelric and Rashiva have one son, Jimorla (Jimi) Haka, who becomes a renowned Calani. Kelric and Savina have one daughter, Rohka Miesa Varz, who becomes the Ministry Successor in line to rule the Twelve Estates on Coba.
The novella “Walk in Silence” (Analog, April 2003) tells the story of Jess Fernandez, an Allied starship captain from Earth who deals with the genetically engineered humans on the Skolian colony of Icelos.
About the Author
Catherine Asaro grew up near Berkeley, California. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Physics and her M.A. in Physics, both from Harvard, and a B.S. with Highest Honors in Chemistry from UCLA. Among the places she has done research are the University of Toronto, the Max Planck Institut für Astrophysik in Germany, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. A former ballet and jazz dancer, she founded the Mainly Jazz Dance program at Harvard and was a principal dancer and artistic director of Mainly Jazz and the Harvard University Ballet. Her husband is John Kendall Cannizzo, the proverbial rocket scientist. They have one daughter, a ballet dancer and mathematics enthusiast.
Catherine has also written Primary Inversion, Catch the Lightning, The Last Hawk, The Radiant Seas, Ascendant Sun, The Quantum Rose, Spherical Harmonic, and The Moon’s Shadow, all part of the Skolian Saga; The Veiled Web, The Phoenix Code, and Sunrise Alley, near-future science fiction; and The Charmed Sphere, a romantic fantasy. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Nebula for The Quantum Rose. She can be reached by e-mail at
[email protected] and on the Web at http://www.catherineasaro.net. To receive e-mail updates on her releases, please e-mail the above address.
Tor Books by Catherine Asaro
The Saga of the Skolian Empire
Primary Inversion
Catch the Lightning
The Last Hawk
The Radiant Seas
Ascendant Sun
The Quantum Rose
Spherical Harmonic
The Moon’s Shadow
Skyfall
Triad
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my gratitude to the readers who gave me input on Skyfall. Their comments greatly helped the book. Any errors that remain are mine alone.
To Aly Parsons, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Trisha Schwaab for their thorough readings; and to Aly’s Writing Group for critiquing scenes: Aly Parsons, Simcha Kuritzky, Connie Warner, Al Carroll, Michael La Violette, and J. G. Huckenpöler. A special thanks to my editor, Jim Minz, for his insight and suggestions; to my publisher, Tom Doherty; production manager, Fiorella de Lima; art director, Irene Gallo; publicist, Jodi Roscheff; copy editor, Nancy Wiesenfeld; Natasha Panza; and to all the other fine people at Tor and St. Martin’s Press who did such a fine job making this book possible; to my excellent agent, Eleanor Wood, of Spectrum Literary Agency; and to Bin
nie Braustein, for her enthusiasm and hard work on my behalf.
A most heartfelt thanks to the shining lights of my life, my husband, John Kendall Cannizzo, and my daughter, Cathy, whose constant love and support make it all worthwhile.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
SKYFALL
Copyright © 2003 by Catherine Asaro
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
Edited by James Minz
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
www.tor-forge.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Asaro, Catherine.
Skyfall / Catherine Asaro.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN: 978-0-7653-0638-8
1. Skolian Empire (Imaginary place)—Fiction. 2. Life on other planets—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3551.S29S58 2003
813'.54—dc21
2003055985
Catherine Asaro, Skyfall
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