Free The First Kaiaru by David Alastair Hayden Page B

Gyoroe had given any of them: lacquered plates of scarlet and gold, etched with intricate spiral designs and protective runes. Turesobei’s green armor with burgundy trim paled in comparison to hers.
    He breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone had made it through safely. Lu Bei crawled out from his pack and spiraled up into the sky.
    “I’ll see what’s about,” he said, “other than those big uglies.”
    The big uglies stood more than a hundred paces away from them. It was a large group of native zaboko dressed in animal skins, bearing stone tools and a few bronze axes. The gate stood at the edge of their village, a well ordered cluster of huts constructed from timber, reeds, and hides.
    A yellow sun blared overhead. Kurine shielded her eyes. “Is this what your sun looks like?”
    “That’s it,” Turesobei replied, basking in its warmth.
    “It’s terribly bright. And the sky—it’s so blue!” Under the dying red sun of her world, the sky had been purple. “So much warmth, and so many trees! They’re as thick as falling snow.”
    Except for the village’s clearing, a forest stretched in all directions as far as they could see, though Turesobei thought he saw the glimmer of a river in the distance. No doubt, the stream that ran beside the village fed into it.
    The villagers continued to simply stare at them in awe, and more were rushing out from their huts and gardens to come see the strange visitors.
    Turesobei turned to Hannya. “I know every realm is centered on what is, in our world, Zangaiden, but at what point in time is the Spring Realm located? Our future or our past?”
    “Is it important?” Hannya asked.
    “Seems like it could be.”
    “This is three millennia before your time, not long after the zaboko first settled this part of Okoro, driving the k’chasa westward. This was Lord Gyoroe’s first attempt at capturing a portion of Okoro in the past.” She sighed. “You should get moving now.”
    “Will you be okay here?” Awasa asked her.
    “I can handle myself against a few dozen awestruck villagers,” Hannya said with annoyance.
    Everyone gathered near Turesobei. He couldn’t teleport anyone more than ten paces away from him. He closed his eyes and focused his mind. While he had practiced teleporting the others within the Nexus, this was the first time using this particular teleportation spell, and there was no room for error. He had to get it right the first time. He carefully recited the spell, then they were jerked forward through another white tunnel. A few seconds later, they popped safely back into the world.
    Turesobei pumped his fist. “Did it!”
    Zaiporo’s face screwed up in alarm. “Were you that worried about it?”
    Turesobei shrugged. “I was confident. But you never really know till you try.”
    “Comforting,” Zaiporo grumbled.
    This new location was breathtaking. They stood on the mossy, fern-covered bank of a river. The opposite bank was curtained by weeping willow trees. In one direction, the river wound its way out into a relatively sparse woodland. In the other direction, loomed a cliff and a massive waterfall that plunged into a wide pool. Sunlight sparkled on the water.
    “Wow!” Kurine exclaimed. “This…this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”
    “I assumed Zangaiden was flat, more or less,” Zaiporo said. “Since that’s how it was in the Ancient Cold and Deep.”
    “In our world, at least, there’s a relatively flat highland shelf,” Iniru said, “then there’s a drop-off, and the land goes mostly flat again, all the way out to the sea.” She peered around. “This may be the edge of that shelf.”
    “This river probably formed the canyon we traveled through in the Ancient Cold and Deep,” Lu Bei said. He flew up high, circled a few times, and came back down. “I didn’t see anyone or anything nearby.”
    “I don’t like this place,” Awasa said.
    “But it’s gorgeous here,” Kurine replied.
    “Yes,” Awasa countered,