Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 145
world. The only ones aloof from this war are the greatest
Winds, the Diadem swans, the Heaven hooks and the like."
Jordan had only understood a little of this speech. "But
some people do speak to the Winds," he said. "That’s how the
inspectors and controllers know what crop yields should be, or
where they can build a waterwheel. The Winds tell them
what’s allowed."
"Hm..." Axel raised an eyebrow. "I’d heard that from
other people here too. Up there," he jerked a thumb at the
clouds, "people don’t believe it. They say your inspectors are a
bunch of charlatans, holding onto power by pretending they
can talk to the Winds."
Jordan crossed his arms. "I don’t know. I just know how
we do things."
"Right. That’s fair."
"So what is Calandria May?" asked Jordan. "Is she a
Wind, or a thing like Armiger? Or just a person?"
"She’s... just a person. But a person with special skills,
and enhancements to her body, such as the armor under her
skin. I’ve got that too," he said, rubbing his wrist. "And I’m
still human, aren’t I?" He grinned.
"So how did you get here? I know you followed
Armiger, but..." Jordan had too many questions; he didn’t
know where to start.
Axel frowned down at the distant gardens. "We were at
war against 3340--all humanity was. It wanted us all as slaves.
It had all its godly powers; we had our super-mecha. And a
few agents who were more than human, but less than gods, like
Calandria May. Last year she infiltrated a world called Hsing,
which 3340 had enslaved, to try to find a way to turn the
population against their unchosen god. She found 3340 had
been changing ordinary people into demigods--Diadem swans