Chapter Twenty-Nine
MEETING
Set in the foothills above the endless plains, the Uri’madu’s base on the Eastern Continent was an island of warmth in a landscape still gripped by winter. Inside the marquee, a predominantly female gathering clustered in small knots around the central hearth.
Huldar raised his hand. “A little quiet, please?”
Slowly, conversation died.
“Thank you.” He turned to the healer. “Ubaid?”
Ubaid stepped forward. Outside. the thin wind made an eerie song in the guy-ropes. Further away, he could hear the arrhythmic slap of an unsecured doorway.
“Many of you are scared right now,” he began. “I know I am … a little. Nothing like this has happened in all the long history of the annangi. This situation is absolutely unique, so it’s hard to know how to proceed.”
“But w
