Storming Heaven: The Age of Bronze: Book 2 by Miles Cameron

Author:Miles Cameron [Cameron, Miles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473232563
Publisher: Orion
Published: 2023-07-19T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

Nicté

Vetluna towered over the ocean, high on the cliffs, a walled city that could be seen for a parasang over the northern seas. Its port was a deep bay with three good beaches set on either side of the rushing waters of the river Limdas where it met the sea. There was a waterfall just upriver, visible from offshore, ten times the height of a man, and the cold northern waters rushed over in an endless torrent, and the roar of it carried for miles.

Nicté was low on sleep, having watched … whatever they’d seen from the aft deck last night. Shooting stars tangled in combat? Gods fighting for supremacy? Whatever it was, it had been strangely beautiful, but she wasn’t sure she should have stayed awake to watch.

Old Jawat came on deck, glanced at her, and then came to the rail. She favoured him with a smile. She definitely liked this one – tough as an old hide and covered in scars. He looked out over the bay and rubbed the top of his head.

‘You are troubled, old man,’ she said fondly.

‘In this bay,’ Jawat said, ‘we fought the Dardanians. Longest day I’ve ever seen.’

‘You were here?’ Nicté asked.

Jawat made a face. ‘Me and every other unfortunate bastard that Gamash of Weshwesh could beg, borrow or steal,’ he said. ‘And a lot of Nikali and Poche from Waxtekka. Even some of yours, Nicté.’

‘A sea battle?’

He nodded. ‘They came to take Vetluna. We came in right behind them and trapped them in the bay.’ The old man watched some fishing boats, clearly lost to memory. ‘We thought we were fighting for a new world,’ he said. ‘Turns out we were just peons in some game of gods.’

Hefa-Asus had climbed out of the aft hold, and now leant his bulk against the rail, which creaked.

‘Well …’ He spoke like a teacher. ‘You were also helping us save the tin trade.’

Jawat made a sour face. ‘Tell that to the dead, smith. Twenty thousand or so, ours and theirs. Godless skies, there were sharks and killer whales coming into the bay all night, eating the meat we’d provided.’ He shook his head.

Nicté looked up at the walls high above them.

‘And the Hakrans fought?’

Jawat shook his head, glanced at Aanat by the steering oar, and said, ‘No. They watched. Some of the northern Dendrownans put a garrison into the town to make sure it didn’t fall, but the Hakrans just watched.’

Nicté made a contemptuous sound. ‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘I have heard of this battle from older warriors.’

Now the bay was full of small craft, and the beaches were crowded with fishing boats and merchants: a few Dardanian craft with long black hulls, and some of the round Hakran trading vessels like the Untroubled Swan herself, as well as big log boats and hundreds of the northern outrigger canoes. A couple were catamaran double hulls with wide decks. On the southern beach was a long Noan ship, her paddlers just preparing her for sea;

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