"Glass,.James.C.-.Shanji" - читать интересную книгу автора (Glass James C)

The morning was crisp with cold when Kati was awakened by Ma. A
single oil lamp flickered on the earthen floor of the ger, casting
orange hues on tapestries and rugs covering the walls: scenes of
warriors in battle dress, charging towards a great city of towers and
pagodas spewing smoke and flame. In one, a tall woman in
emerald green stood on a hill, arm outstretched, directing the
charging warriors.

"Time for your first festival, Kati. Put on your leather tunic against
the cold. We will ride two hours before it is light."

Kati rubbed her eyes. In the flickering light, the warrior figures
seemed to move. Baber was already up and dressed, looking like
a ball with legs in his layers of cotton, wool and leather. He stood
by the doorway, watching the commotion outside: hooves
stomping, horses snorting, the bleating of goats and sheep. Kati
had slept naked in her blanket roll on a hide coverlet over the thick,
straw mattress. She put on woolen undergarments, shirt and pants
of puffy wool, then the double thickness pants and tunic to keep
out the wind, grunting as she did so.

Ma smiled. "You grow so fast, it is time for new leathers. I will look
for something at festival. Now I will braid your hair for the
occasion."

"Do we have time, Ma?"

"We will make time. Now sit still."

Kati loved the feel of Ma's gentle hands on her long, black hair,
combing it out, forming two braids and coiling them like snakes at
her temples. The braiding rocked her head rhythmically, making
her sleepy again, and she yawned. "Why do we leave so early?"

"It is best we be well along our way at dawn so the Emperor does
not misunderstand our intention in banding together. He is aware of
the festival, and its location. His flyers will see us headed in that
direction, and leave us alone."

"Da says the Emperor fears us. He thinks we will attack him, like in
the pictures." Kati pointed at the tapestry above her bed.

"He has little reason to fear us, dear. His weapons and machines
are far more powerful than ours, and he is ruler of Shanji."

"So he can tell us what to do, and when to come home," said Kati.

Ma laughed. "Like your father and me? No, Kati, he is not a father
to us. He has put us out of his city, and leaves us to rule ourselves
as long as we don't bother him or his people."