76 - We Left Our Gods Behind.

There was enough time for the boat-builders to sink their hulls in the basin and the boathouse roof was planted with enough vines that it shouldn’t point to their position, even in the bottom of the canyon.

In fact it was long enough that the builders were starting to look around at Dag and she was about to run back to her cliff-apartment when a jolt came that knocked Silly onto his hocks and everyone else off their feet. The head boat builder was about to climb to his feet when the second concussion knocked him down again.  Everyone stayed down, hands over heads, listening to the distant, enormous thunder that came again and again.

“A dozen it said!” Dag managed to repeat in the gap between concussions.

“Yeh.”

Loose rocks fell from above, though none luckily onto anyone.  The normal warbird flock brust out of their canyon and fled, most trailing broken harness in the dust that filled the air.  Flying lizards and birds exploded out of the terraces and fled as well as a hellish hot wind squalled by overhead.

Even deep in the canyon their silks crackled with the force of that wind, and Silly tucked his head as if it were haboob. 

 “Endarkened owners… was that… was that…”

Dag raised her head slowly.  When it appeared there were to be no more concussions she sat up slowly.  “That… may have been a… fire… or stones… or both… dropped on Nadumon.”

“Nadumon? But dropping a fire… even from the top of the canyon…” “From the moon.” A dozen people gasped.

“Ow,” one lone voice said quietly as they began to understand the kind of weapon Prime was using. “Nadumon?  That’s days away!”—“There’s a thousand featherspitters and ‘kulu of ours aren’t there?”—“I saw ‘em go!”

People lay panting at the thought of how big the fires must have been to be felt so far away, panting and babbling their thoughts.  “We have to catch the flock,” Dag said.  “Tame birds can catch the ones broken free.”  She got to her feet.

“DAG!” Magdah, on her little female, skittered up.  “Director wants you, wants all of us… quick quick.”

 “I’m coming. We should send a relief force to our warriors,” she said absently as she mounted.  “That’s what I would do.”  Enlightened and Endarkened forces, protect my son, my one-time lover… please. Her heart was aching even as she calmly turned Silly’s head up canyon.  Show only the veil or we’ll leave panic behind us.  Show the veil.  Dark and Light, keep them safe… please have saved them.  Please don’t let them be dead in that.  Please… please… There were no gods to call on.  The gods had all been left behind at the home star.