In a Foreign Land: The Fourth Millennium
The Cloudflow Tower standing on the plains brought the latest news: the great Lord of the Tribe had ended his journey through the fourth millennium ahead of schedule and returned to this land he had shaped and sheltered.
As the youngest "audient" in the tribe, today was a very special day for Mabel.
She had been chosen as an audient on the day the Lord of the Tribe's primary consciousness departed this land. During the years of service that followed, all she had faced was the Lord of the Tribe's shell left behind on the ground. That silent, imposing shell had remained asleep day after day, never responding to Mabel's care or greetings.
The young audient could only infer what sort of being the Lord of the Tribe was from the scattered remarks of her older colleagues. She imagined how she ought to establish communication with that great existence and how, when the Lord of the Tribe returned to this land and that imposing shell suddenly awakened, she should conduct herself more properly and thoughtfully.
And now, that day had arrived early.
Morning came, and the dawn gradually brightened.
The bright orange-yellow sun had risen beyond the horizon, slowly climbing high into the sky like a dazzling fireball. Splendid sunlight shone across the plains, gilding the crops, towns, and roads in gold. Mabel stepped out of her room, took a deep breath in the sunlight, and turned her gaze toward the Supreme Nest in the distance.
That ancient, mysterious fortress still stood quietly at the foot of the cliffs. Its Tough Alloy ramparts merged with the cliffs like blades. The towers and atmospheric probes near the fortress gave off a low hum beneath the sun, and now and then, a faint ring of