Westhaven by Rowan Erlking (best sci fi novels of all time TXT) 📕

The Sundri rebellion had also been a sad tragedy rumored among the rebels. Though the patriarch of Sundri had escaped with his family and their wizard along with a team of soldiers to the north, the people of that walled city had scattered. As for all the work Key had done to make them swords, it had been wasted. And with the rebellion’s support along the coast removed, the leaders had to figure out another way to establish rebels in the Northeast Corner. Their spies in Wimanus Town were too well watched by the Sky Child soldiers.

As usual, the leaders of the rebellion met in the caves of the Duglis Mountains near the cleared out camp that used to belong to Herra Raiders. The raiders themselves had moved both north and south. In the north, they trained under General Dalis Holbruk at his camp with other recruits. In the south they hid in the Semple Forest training under Luis the swordsman as support. A few had returned to Herra and Tobi, lending out help to reestablish contacts for future use in the hills. As the leaders met together, peering over their maps, discussing the transfer of weapons as well as food supplies for the soldiers, they also went over what they had to do next.

“The real coastal power is in Calcumum,” said Dinnis, a man from Mistrim who had worked with Mikal at the camp near Yarrding where Dalis trained the soldiers. “Not only is the city a major trade port, the land all around it is some of the most fertile. Our men in that city have only one problem, and that is getting around in it. Their paranoid governor has a fleet of soldiers on patrol in the streets. I suggest we make tunnels in it like the Sundri wizard had made in Winglsey.”

“Can we get the wizard of Sundri over there?” Sadena asked, nodding to Callen.

The warrior shrugged. “They’re pretty much, uh, being tracked right now. They’re laying low. Why don’t you do it?”

Sadena cringed, rubbing one temple. “My gift with molding rock is not as…talented as hers. What about that southern wizard, Soin?”

“Soin is more of a fluid manipulator,” Key said. “Water, smoke, wind…things he can smell. The most solid things he can move are trees and plants, but that is because there is so much water in them. He can’t smell rock and how it moves. Why don’t you do it? You can see magic.”

Groaning, Sadena said, “Making these caves gave me a headache. I’m better with conjuring storms.”

“Then we’ll postpone making tunnels under Calcumum,” muttered Dinnis. He glanced to his comrade, Waed, who was also frowning.

Key shook his head. “No. I’ll go and talk to them. They owe us.”

“They owe you, you mean,” Sadena said with a smirk. “Did the patriarch ever make good on his promise?”

Giving her a terse look, Key replied, “No. The man lied through his teeth. Weston told me the Sundri people are still fairly illiterate. Which is why I’m going. I can give them what for. And with the guilt, I’ll make them build those tunnels.”

She nodded and turned to Dinnis. “You’ll have your caverns. It will be your job to fill them with soldiers.”

Dinnis nodded back, his smile returning even as he glanced at Key whom he knew would do what he said. Key had become known as a man of earnest caliber.

“Any other items of business?” Sadena asked.

Key slowly lifted his hand.

They looked to him, though already from the expression on his face they could tell he was going to bring up another outrageous suggestion. He was famous for such.

“What is it, Key?” Sadena said, bracing herself.

They had gone along with his other ideas. And though the results had been mixed, they were generally favorable for their cause. Their biggest difficulties had mostly been in feeding their growing armies and how to make openings within the Sky Child infrastructure. Luckily they discovered that the deaths of lower level Sky Children didn’t make the news as much as that of the blue-eyed ones, so lynching a few on the highway and falsifying records for their “replacements” went by without so much as a hiccup. The leaders kept up on the Westhaven news to make sure they were not making too much of a stir.

Rising, Key cleared his throat. “I was thinking about our predicament with factory ownership and forging identities. We’ve been successful with the identity part so far, but what we really need are allies with blue eyes.”

The people in the room gasped. This they had not expected from him.

“The Sky Children will not turn traitor,” Dinnis said immediately to nip such ideas in the bud.

“Are you crazy?” Waed snapped, leaning forward.

“Have they sucked too much energy from your brain?” Frad snorted, leaning back.

“Kemdin,” a representative from the Bekir Lake group, a distant cousin on his father’s side whom he knew as Uncle Sten, held a chastening glare along with Lowman Freyman who just stared as if appalled, “What’s wrong with you? You should know better—”

The others grumbled likewise, all of them shaking their heads and examining Key’s eyes to make sure he wasn’t in a daze.

Key lifted his hands to calm them. “I don’t mean that. I mean, why don’t we try another alliance with the Cordrils?”

“Another?” Sadena said blinking at him. The others murmured, though Frad sat back and glanced at the other Herra men with him. Their leader had left about three others to act on the behalf of those from the Herra Hills to remain with Sadena’s camp.

Key nodded to her. “We had one a while back when I was still in the Herra Hills. That ratty magician had ruined it. But I keep thinking if we can get them to steal the form of a brown-eye, forge an identity for him, then we can have a registered factory. He’ll look like a perfect Sky Child.”

“It won’t happen.” Edman leaned over the table to close the distance between them as he gave the young man a tired look. Callen nodded in agreement. “Those Cordrils are not interested in human affairs, just in killing those other blue-eyes. They won’t want a part in our revolution.”

Closing his eyes, Key nodded, trying to calm them down. “I know. I know. But they once suggested to us that we have an alliance. It wasn’t our plan originally, but theirs.”

“Then definitely no,” Dinnis said, rising from his seat. He looked to the others for support to kill the idea. “They were up to something then, and it is a good thing that magician took care of them rather than letting them stay around.”

Key frowned. His eyes scanned the faces around the table, reading the same thing in their looks.

“I’d have to agree,” Sadena said. Her look at Key expressed her pity but also her firm standing with Dinnis. “We can’t battle two kinds of demon at the same time. Some other solution has to be made.”

Nodding weakly, Key sat down. He hadn’t really expected them to jump for joy when first hearing of it anyway. When he had mentioned it earlier to Tiler, his friend had made a face and asked if Key had enough sleep. But Key had wished to introduce the idea with the hope that the leaders of the growing rebellion might get used to it.

After all, as he peered at what they had accomplished and brooded over the failure in Sundri, he wondered if even taking the Sky Children’s technology was enough. Mixing magic and technology would give them an edge, but the Sky Children still had experience of eons of memory on their side, something their group could not gather from their few years of preparation. The Cordrils could counter that. Their memory was just as long as that of the Sky Children.

The council continued discussing their war plans until late in the afternoon, parting only for supper, where after a few of them still chatted over the details. Key knew he had to still talk to Sadena about him going to find the Sundri wizard for the Calcumum underground tunnels. There were details to be sorted out and contacts to arrange in case he couldn’t find them. His plans to keep suggesting peace talks with the Cordrils would have to wait a little longer.

“Key.” Lowman gestured for him to join the Bekir representative and Edman in a conversation with their contact from the southern town of Wendora. The Wendora man was a squat fellow with dark skin not unlike that of a Maldos. Only his rusty colored eyes and faint freckles made him look like a man from their land.

“Not now.” Key waved back to him. “I need to speak to the wizard.”

“Alright then,” Lowman said with bite. “But hurry it up. This man has a deal for you that you might want to hear.”

Key paused, glanced at Sadena who was talking with Callen, then with a shrug, decided she would search him out since it was important business. He went back toward the southern captain.

Captain Freyman, as Lowman liked being called those days since it gave him a sense of importance, grinned slightly with gratification that he could bend Key’s will some, especially since Key was such a willful young man. Gesturing to the Wendora man, Lowman said, “This is Olev Tallar. He’s the former patriarch of Wendora. Currently a Captain Jemmes Lugan has taken his place as head of the town. Your fellow Bekir man says that blue-eye used to run the post in your home village.”

Tensing up, Key nodded. “I remember him.”

“The man who sold you to General Gole,” Lowman added, watching Key to see if he flinched.

But Key lifted his chin and waited for what the former patriarch wanted. He had learned ages ago that Lowman loved to make other people feel small, an annoying habit that Key had learned to ignore.

Olev bowed low. “I ask for a favor.”

Key blinked and waited. “What is it? What can I do for you?”

Lifting his head, Olev said, “My son was sold by that blue-eye also. I want you to find him for me.”

Blinking harder, Key stared. “You what?”

“You know what it is like to be a slave. So you must know how horrible it must be for my son,” Olev said. His eyes now met Key’s, filling up with tears as he begged. “Please. I have heard about your escape as well as your understanding of the blue-eyes. You would know how to sneak in and break him out.”

“I can’t be—” Key’s face flushed then looked to his distant cousin for some help, suddenly flustered. The man merely watched with expecting eyes also. No one since Holm Lake had asked him to save another slave. In fact Key felt a low guilt for never finding that girl’s brother. There was no way he could anyway. Besides not knowing what the boy looked like, freeing a singular slave drew attention.

“I know you can’t be seen,” Olev said, bowing down again. “But I also believe that you are resourceful. I believe that you can slip in to where he is being held and can sneak him out without anyone knowing or following you.”

That only made Key blush more, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to avert his eyes. “I’m not that talented.”

Edman snorted, resting a hand on Key’s shoulder. “Don’t be modest. Besides, I offered to help.”

Whipping his eyes to the witch, Key blinked. Then he tilted his head as he realized indeed one barrier had been knocked down. “Ok. That takes care of the sneaking part. But…do you know where your son even is? Or who his master is?”

Nodding, Olev straightened up, gaining hope. “I certainly do. The captain sold my son to Shillig of Calcumum.”

“Crap.” Key stared directly at Olev, already sorry he had