The Edge of the World by Kevin Anderson

Author:Kevin Anderson
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-04-05T03:00:00+00:00

The king held the session in his large banquet hall, so that more people could crowd in and hear his words. For the important occasion, he had ordered a feast of fish and game, preserved fruits, and many loaves of freshly baked bread. At separate tables sat Destrar Shenro from Alamont, Destrar Broeck and the shipwright Kjelnar from Iboria, Destrar Siescu all the way from Corag, Destrar Unsul from Erietta, and Destrar Tavishel from Soeland. Comdar Delnas was there, representing the Tierran military: the land forces, the city and royal guards, and the evergrowing navy. At the head of the table, Princess Anjine tended to her brother, Tomas, neither of them knowing what their father had in mind. Many of the destrars probably thought Korastine intended to make a long-overdue announcement of Anjine's marriage, since she was twenty-two.

Korastine regarded those gathered here, noting curiosity and puzzlement on every face. Prester-Marshall Rudio invoked a long, traditional blessing for the feast, but even he didn't know what the king had planned.

The king stood, waited for silence, and picked up the royal proclamation he had written himself, unrolling the parchment for all to see. "Twelve years ago, Prester-Marshall Baine received a revelation from Aiden--that our true mission is to expand our horizons, to voyage to new and unexplored lands. To that end, we dispatched a single ship, the Luminam.. .which was destroyed." He paused, drew a deep breath. "But the loss of one ship does not mean the end of our mission! We have allowed ourselves to be distracted by this conflict with the Urecari. Our shipyards have produced only warships and patrol vessels but we must not forget what Aiden truly wants of us."

A ripple of muttering ran up and down the tables. Korastine waved the proclamation. "I hereby decree that an allotment be

made from our royal treasury, a small but vital fraction. We will build a new Arkship, one to rival Aiden's ship that was lost in the fires of Ishalem. We will design and construct a great vessel to carry our people to the edge of the world, and beyond."

The sounds of surprise and uncertainty grew louder from the destrars, courtiers, and military representatives. Korastine leaned forward, sharing a secret with all of them. "I recently came into possession of a map that shows the likely location of Terravitae."

Further gasps rang out. Anjine held herself back with visible effort.

"I may be old," Korastine continued with a deprecating smile, "but I intend to lead the expedition to Terravitae myself. I do this to honor my beloved Queen Ilrida, but I also do it for Tierra and for Aiden--to show Ondun that we have not forgotten why we were created."

Destrar Broeck pushed his plates aside, lifted his large body, and stood tall, looking just as hardened, just as determined as the king did. "Iboria will provide all the wood necessary for the ship! And I assign my master shipwright to manage the project."

Knowing the others would not like it, Korastine added, "Every destrar in every reach, every person in Tierra should be glad to help pay for this expedition.

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