Inception.A people hewn from the threat of extinction, the harshness ofsurvival, the hardships of wholesale migration, the relentless toilof civilization started anew and the inevitable adversities ofevolution. A mercurial race, as capable of bringing down empires asraising them, undertaking both with equal fervor. We are the resultof the journey upon which those long ago gallant hearts embarked in adesperate bid to preserve their kind.Theywere the Naere and we, the Deira of Aisen, are forever indebted tothey who were our forebears, sprung from a world that no longerexists except in blessed memory.JoramEssendriRikara,Ylandre Year 825 C.A.ChapterOneHappenstanceTalEreq, in the 2996th year of the Common AgeTheair was redolent with the lush aromas of an Ylandrin summer.Cranapples, sugar pears and honeyberries sprouted in profusion. Butthey failed to distract Mithre Idana as he strode down the orchardlane, peering up at overhanging branches along the way.Aflash of pale blue amidst the green, rose and brown of a cranappletrees canopy caught his eye. He stared into the thick foliage andespied his quarry seated on a stout limb, a half eaten fruit in hand.Lassen!Asheepish chuckle greeted his call. Mithre waited patiently until hisson shifted on his perch and gazed down at him, so sweet a smilecurving his lips that Mithre was hard-pressed to remain stern.Comedown now, he said, his lilting speech marked by the elongatedvowels of the south. The delegation will be here very soon.Yes,Adda.Lassenlightly dropped to the ground. Straightening, he tucked a straystrand of sun-bright hair behind an ear and attempted to smooth downhis rumpled shirt. Mithre shook his head reprovingly.Thatwont do at all. Go bathe and dress properly. Or do you wish toshame your sire?Nay,I dont want that. But is there still time?Thereis. Youd better hurry though if you wish to see them come out oftranslocation. Mithre grinned when Lassens eyes widened. Andthats a very rare sight in these parts.Lassenraced home, barely waiting for his father to finish speaking. Mithrefondly watched him go. Ah, to be that young again and unburdened byworries, he smilingly mused as he walked back.Meanwhile,Lassen set about making himself presentable, settling for a quicksoap and rinse over a leisurely soak in the tub. Thank Veres itssummertime, he thought, as cool water sluiced down his slender frame.He tossed the dipper back into the shallow basin and briskly toweledhimself dry. Pulling on a robe, he exited the bathing room andhastened up the stairs to the residential quarters and the bedroom heshared with his brother.Aglance out the window showed scores of townsfolk scurrying down thestreet toward the main gate. Lassen threw on a pair of thin drawers,a white full-sleeved shirt and long pale grey breeches. He eschewedthe usual tunic however and donned the sleeveless aquamarine jerkinhe wore during his begetting day celebration the previous springinstead. It was a sunny day and he would be just one youth amongmany. Who would notice, much less care what he wore?Thevolume of chatter from outside increased. Lassen plaited his hair asfast as hecould,twisting the flaxen locks framing either side of his face into twothin braids, which he pulled back and bound with a narrow riband. Thestyle kept his face clear of untidy