Lodestone Book One: The Sea of Storms by Mark Whiteway

more.
    “You Come.”
    With an exasperated sigh, Keris
wrapped a fur around herself as best she could and
followed.
    There was a narrow path which
spiralled downward along the inside of the vast trunk. Small
windows at irregular intervals looked out onto stunning views of
the forest and hills beyond, but Keris did not linger. They
descended without exchanging a word.
    The path
continued down in a seemingly endless curve. Every now and then
they passed other Chandara, which scuttled past them on all sixes.
They were curious creatures, unlike any she had encountered before.
In other circumstances, she might even have found them amusing.
However, she was too preoccupied. She reminded herself that she
owed these peculiar beasts her life. It might yet be that they
would exact a price for that. She was feeling distinctly
vulnerable. They already had her clothes and her equipment. They have me right where they want
me.
    Without warning, the Chandara
turned through a narrow doorway. Keris ducked and stepped through
after it. She found herself in a much larger chamber, filled with
dozens of them. It looked like a disorganised melee. The creatures
were pushing and climbing over each other. However, despite the
apparent overcrowding, two areas were left clear; the one in which
she was standing, and a second in the centre of the chamber where
three Chandara stood erect on their hind limbs. The one in the
middle was grasping a gnarled wooden staff with its left middle and
forelimb. The one to the right carried a device that Keris did not
recognise. In front of them, a thick branch extending from the
floor was cut off, making a flat table about half the creatures’
height. She walked forward, the creatures clearing a path for
her.
    The one with the staff spoke.
“You Are Kelanni?”
    It seemed an obvious and
pointless question. However, Keris decided that the best thing
would be to follow along and see where this was leading. “My name
is Keris.”
    “We Were Asked To Bring Kelanni
Here. There Is Great Danger To Your People.”
    “Danger? From whom?”
    “From The
Unan-Chinneroth.”
    The Unan-Chinneroth. The name
given to the Prophet in the ancient tongue. It was used in
services, though not generally in casual conversation. How did
these primitives know of it? And why did they believe the Prophet
to be a danger to the Kelanni?
    “I don’t understand.”
    The chief motioned with his staff
towards the creature on Keris’ right. The Chandara stepped forward
and set the device down on the truncated branch in front of her.
The machine had a circular flat base, silver in colour, with an
intricate mechanism of silver, red and gold. The creature pressed a
switch on the side.
    A glowing light appeared and grew
in the air above the apparatus, finally resolving into the image of
a woman dressed in white, in a style Keris did not recognise. The
projection shimmered slightly, giving it an air of unreality. The
mouth moved, and a voice spoke from the depths of the
machine.
    “You are
Kelanni?” The same question
again.
    “Yes, my name is Keris. To whom
am I speaking?”
    “I am called Annata.
You must listen carefully, as I do not know how long this link will
stay open, Keris. I am speaking to you from what you know as your
past–three thousand two hundred and thirty-one turns
ago.”
    Keris’ mind reeled. “How is such
a thing possible?”
    “We were able to use
the power of the white sun. It can be used to…stretch time,
enabling me to speak with you.”
    “How–?”
    “In my time the
Kelanni are a great civilisation. We have advanced to the point
where we have found out how to do many things that you cannot.
However, a great disaster has befallen us.
A plague is sweeping through our race. Whether it is natural or
artificial we do not know, but our physicians and scientists have
been unable to stop it.
    “Some have taken to
building ships to take us away from this world, but they can carry
no more than a few thousand at most,