There were eight of them. Years she had spent praying before statues of dragons, studying them, and observing them from a distance, but she had never seen them this close.
Their size was breathtaking. Most were Seiikinese, with silvery hides and lithe, whiplike forms. Impossibly long bodies held up their splendid heads, and they each had four muscular legs, ending in feet with three claws. Long barbels swirled from their faces and trailed like the lines of kites. The majority were quite young, perhaps four hundred years old, but several carried scars from the Great Sorrow. All were covered with scales and ringed with sucker marks—keepsakes from their quarrels with greatsquid.
Two of them possessed a fourth toe. These were dragons from the Empire of the Twelve Lakes. One of them—a male—had wings. Most dragons were wingless and flew by means of an organ on their heads, which scholars had named the crown. The few that did grow wings did so only after at least two thousand years of life.
The winged dragon was largest. If Tané had stretched to her full height, she might not even have been able to reach between his snout and his eyes. Though his wings looked fragile as spidersilk, they were strong enough to whip up a typhoon. Tané spied the pouch beneath his chin. Like oysters, dragons could make pearls, one in a lifetime. It never left the pouch.
The dragon beside the male, also Lacustrine, was close to his stature. Her scales were a pale, clouded green, like milk jade, her mane the golden-brown of riverweed.
“Welcome,” the Sea General said.
His voice rang out like the call of a war conch.
“Rise,” he said, and they obeyed. “You are here today to be sworn to one of two lives: that of the High Sea Guard, defending Seiiki from sickness and invasion, or a life of learning and prayer on Feather Island. Of the sea guardians, twelve of you will have the honor of becoming dragonriders.”
Only twelve. Usually there were more.
“As you will know,” the Sea General said, “there have been no hatchings of dragon eggs for the past two centuries. Several dragons have also been taken by the Fleet of the Tiger Eye, which continues its repulsive trade in dragonflesh under the tyranny of the so-called Golden Empress.”
Heads bowed.
“To bolster our ranks, we are honored to receive these two great warriors from the Empire of the Twelve Lakes. I trust this will herald a closer friendship with our allies to the north.”
The Sea General inclined his head toward the two Lacustrine dragons. They would not be quite as accustomed to the sea as Seiikinese dragons, since they preferred to live in rivers and other bodies of freshwater—but dragons from both countries had fought side by side in the Great Sorrow, and they had ancestors in common.
Tané sensed Turosa looking at her. If he became a rider, he would say his dragon was the greatest of them all.
“Today, you will learn your destinies.” The Sea General took a scroll from his surcoat and unraveled it. “Let us begin.”
Tané braced herself.
The first apprentice to be called forward was raised to the noble ranks of the High Sea Guard. The Sea General handed her a tunic the color of a summer sky. When she took it, a black Seiikinese dragon huffed smoke, making her startle. The dragon wheezed.
Dumusa of the West House also became a sea guardian. The granddaughter of two riders, she was of Southern descent as well as Seiikinese. Tané watched her accept her new uniform, bow to the Sea General, and take her place on his right side.
The next apprentice became the first to join the ranks of the scholars. His silk was the deep red of mulberry, and his shoulders trembled as he bowed. Tané sensed tension in the other apprentices, sudden as a rip current.
Turosa went to the High Sea Guard, of course. It seemed a lifetime before she heard her own name:
“The honorable Tané, of the South House.”
Tané stepped forward.
The dragons watched her. It was said they could see the deepest secrets of a soul, for human beings were made of water, and all water was theirs.
What if they could see what she had done?
She concentrated on the placement of her feet. When she stood before the Sea General, he looked at her for what seemed like years. It took all her strength to remain standing.
At last, he reached for a blue uniform. Tané breathed out. Tears of relief pricked her eyes.
“For your aptitude and dedication,” he said, “you are raised to the noble ranks of the High Sea Guard, and must swear to practice the way of the dragon until you draw your final breath.” He leaned closer. “Your teachers speak very highly of you. It will be a privilege to have you in my guard.”
She bowed low. “You honor me, great lord.”
The Sea General smiled.
Tané joined the four apprentices on his right side in a stupor of bliss, blood rushing like water over pebbles. As the next candidate stepped forward, Turosa whispered against her ear, “So you and I will face each other in the water trials.” His breath smelled of milk. “Good.”
“It will be a pleasure to fight against a warrior of your skill, honorable Turosa,” Tané said calmly.
“I see through your mask, village chaff. I see what’s in your heart. It’s the same as what’s in mine. Ambition.” He paused as one of the men was sent to join the other side. “The difference is what I am, and what you are.”
Tané glanced at him. “You stand on equal ground with whatever I am, honorable Turosa.”
His laughter made her neck prickle.
“The honorable Ishari, of the South House,” the Sea General called.
Ishari made her slow way up the steps. When she reached him, the Sea General handed her a roll of red silk.
“For your aptitude and dedication,” he said, “you are raised to the noble ranks of the scholars, and must swear to devote yourself to the furtherance of knowledge until you draw your final breath.”
Though she flinched at the words, Ishari took the parcel of cloth and bowed. “Thank you, great lord,” she murmured.
Tané watched her go to the left.
Ishari must be distraught. Still, she might yet do well on Feather Island, and she could eventually return to Seiiki as a master teacher.
“Pity,” Turosa said. “Wasn’t she your friend?”
Tané bit her tongue.
The principal apprentice from the East House joined their ranks next. Onren was short and burly, her sun-browned face sprayed with freckles. Thick hair fell to her shoulders, stripped dry by salt water and brittle at the ends. Shellblood darkened her lips.
“Tané,” she said, taking the place beside her. “Congratulations.”
“And to you, Onren.”
They were the only apprentices who rose without fail each dawn to swim, and a kind of friendship had risen from that foundation. Tané had no doubt that Onren had also hearkened to the rumors and stolen out to immerse herself once more before the ceremony.
The thought unsettled Tané. Cape Hisan was scalloped with small coves, but fate had made her choose the one the outsider had arrived in.
Onren looked down at her blue silk. Like Tané, she was from an impoverished home.
“They are marvelous,” she whispered, nodding at the dragons. “I take it you hope to be one of the twelve.”
“Aren’t you too small to ride a dragon, little Onren?” Turosa drawled. “You might be able to perch on one’s tail, I suppose.”
Onren looked over her shoulder at him. “I thought I heard you talking. Have we met?” When he opened his mouth, she said, “Don’t tell me. You’re plainly a fool, and I have no interest in befriending fools.”
Tané hid her smile behind her hair. For once, Turosa closed his mouth.
When the last apprentice had accepted his uniform, the two groups turned to face the Sea General. Ishari, whose cheeks were tear-stained, did not look up from the cloth in her arms.
“You are children no longer. Your paths are before you.” The Sea General glanced to his right. “Four of the sea guardians have performed above expectations. Turosa, of the North House; Onren, of the East House; Tané, of the South House; and Dumusa, of the West House—turn to face our elders, so they might know your names and faces.”
They did. Tané stepped forward with the others and pressed her forehead to the floor again.
“Rise,” one of the dragons said.
The voice made the ground quake. It was so deep, so low, that Tané hardly understood at first.
The four of them obeyed and straightened their backs. The largest Seiikinese dragon lowered his head until he was at eye level with them. A long tongue lashed from between his teeth.
With a great push of his legs, he suddenly took flight. The apprentices all threw themselves to the ground, leaving only the Sea General standing. He let out a booming laugh.
The milky-green Lacustrine dragon displayed her teeth in a grin. Tané found herself locked in those wild eddies of eyes.
The dragon rose with the rest of her kin over the rooftops of the city. Water made flesh. As a mist of divine rain streamed from their scales, soaking the humans below, a Seiikinese male reared up, gathered his breath, and expelled it in a mighty gust of wind.
Every bell in the temple rang out in answer.