“We thought we outran the human race.
It was a beautiful world, my friends, more so than now. Pure, untouched, and
the sacred sites flourished, tapping the magic of the earth, intensifying the
wonder that was Valaris. I wish you could have seen it the way it was.”
“Lord Vallorin?” Lanto interrupted.
“May I ask something? Who named this world? And what does it mean?”
“I wonder how many have asked that -
maybe you are the first. I named it. This is my world, here in my heart, into
all eternity. We were fleeing after another battle with the humans, one that
went against us that day, when something bright caught my eye, a flash in the
distance of space. There was no time to investigate, but I was intrigued enough
to return later, centuries later. It was a world far from well-travelled
routes, no more than a blue dot. It was simplicity, purity, and I named it
then. Valaris. Ancient Valleur for Land
of Skies. I never forgot where it lay.”
“Wow,” Lanto breathed.
“Land of Skies? Really?” Raken asked
and, for once, he looked at her directly. “Perfect.” She smiled at him, causing
him to look elsewhere again.
“Indeed,” Taranis murmured.
Travel from a Land
of Skies isolated in space to civilisations flourishing underground, from a
chaos curtain to sacred sites and more, in this epic Fantasy/Sci-Fi omnibus.
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