"Humans don't seem to be mentioned in the programming of the Winds. We were supposed to be the apex of the Plan, represented as its ultimate purpose. That's what went wrongno Plan, no accommodation for the arrival of the colonists.
"So a strange double-world has developed on your planet. Each object seems to have its resident spiritthe microscopic mecha, or what we call 'nano', that coordinate that object's place in the ecology. Originally these resident spirits were supposed to have a common goal over and above the survival of their hosts. They were to put themselves at our disposalbe our tools. But now, it's anarchy. War in the spirit 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 3340all 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 demigodsDiadem swans or morphs, if you willby infecting them with mecha that ate them from within, replacing all their biology with mechalogy. 3340 enslaved these much more brutally than even the humans. Cal found a way to turn them against 3340, and she did that during our attack six months ago."
"How?"
"She had to briefly become one of them herself. You or I couldn't have done it, but Calandria was able to leave her humanity behind. She became a goddess, only for a day or so. And she killed 3340."
"If she became a goddess, why
didn't she stay that way?"
Axel shook his head. "Don't know. She could have kept fabulous powers; she would have lived for thousands of years if she wanted. She didn't want to. I think she was crazy to give that up. Don't understand. I really don't."
Jordan was thinking. "So after 3340 died, you came here. To kill his servant, Armiger."
"Exactly." Axel leaned against the battlement, and squinted at the sun. "What does all of this imply about the Winds, now?"
Jordan hesitated. What came to mind was impossible.
Axel nodded smugly. "You're smart. Isn't it clear? The Winds are made of the same stuff as the mecha. They are alive. And they, too, are mortal."
Jordan turned away. "Crazy talk. If the Winds are mortal, then everything could be. The sky, or the sun, or the earth itself."
"You're beginning to understand," Axel said. "Now understand this: what is mortal can be murdered."
At two-and-a-half breaths, he caught himself thinking hey, I can do this! Stop. Back to one.
"Shit." He slapped himself on the forehead. Calandria laughed.
"You're doing well," she said. "You can rest now."
"But I had it once or twice!"
"Good. Don't push it, or you'll get worse rather than better."
He unwove his legs and stood. Two deep breaths, just as she had taught. Jordan felt great, relaxed and able to deal with things. He'd never really felt like this before... oh, maybe when he was really young, and didn't know what the world was like. All his cares and worries seemed distant, and he was able to pay attention to the here-and-now. He smiled, and plunked himself down on the edge of the bed.
"Axel tells me you have quite a mind," Calandria said. "He told me you figured out your own history of the Boros clan by reading their architecture."
"Yeah," he said suspiciously. He and Axel had moved on to talk about that this afternoon, after their conversation about the Winds and 3340 had ended in impasse. Axel had been quite unaware of the contradiction between the Boros' official history and what the stones suggested.
"Do you want to move on to a new study? You must continue to practise what I've taught you, of course."
"Sure!" He felt ready for anything. "What do we do?"