CHAPTER TWO
THE END OF AN IDYLL
When the attack came, it marked the end of an idyll. Rannon had gone below, out of the cold, and I was standing at the stern with Kreeg and Valyan, on what would have been called the poop deck on a sailing vessel. The pilot was in his glass enclosed cage amidships, and Rhandh had positioned himself at the hatch leading below to his Jhesana, his princess. At the prow were a few more of Rannon’s gray-cloaks.
The raiders struck first at the prow. They were mounted on vullwings, huge saddle birds the likes of which had never graced the skies of Earth. Before now, I had only seen such creatures on the ground. There was no comparison to when they were in flight. They were savage and beautiful, their eagle-shaped bodies bearing elongated necks and massive wingsp
