Ventus by Karl Schroeder

Karl Schroeder / Ventus / Page 299
"It’s beautiful. Nobody lives here?" He could see no
sign of settlement, though he could easily imagine dozens of
farms fitting in near the lake.
"The Winds do. It’s okay to visit, but no one stays."
They sat down again, and Suneil flicked the reins. Over
the past couple of days they had talked a lot about the local
countryside, and Suneil had grilled Jordan at length about the
war between Ravenon and the Seneschals. Jordan had spun a
long tale about the destruction of Armiger’s army and the death
of the general, pretending he had heard it from other travellers.
His own eavesdropping had yielded few results, since the
queen had not met with Armiger since their first encounter.
She was busy with preparations for the siege, and it seemed
Armiger was content to wait.
Jordan had reluctantly admitted to Suneil that he was not
from Iapysia. His Memnonian accent didn’t match his story.
Suneil had asked no further questions, but he had also
volunteered nothing about his own past. Jordan let his
curiosity lead him now, though, as it seemed a natural time to
ask. "Tell me about the war. And the queen. All I’ve heard is
that she’s mad, and that the great houses revolted."
Suneil nodded. "I suppose your countrymen think it’s a
scandal that we’re deposing our queen." He scowled at the
road that rolled down before them. "We do too. Even the
soldiers in Parliament’s army. But things got... out of control."
Jordan waited for more. After a while, Suneil said,
"Iapysia’s a very old country, but it was one of the last places
settled. At the beginning of the world, they say the Winds
made Ventus--and they’re not finished making it yet. But they
didn’t make Man. Some say we made ourselves, some that we
came from the stars, and some say that renegade Winds created
us as an act of defiance. That’s what I believe. How else to