‘At this time, there came Men from beyond the Western sea. They had made a great journey, sailing in tall ships, the like of which we had never seen.’
Haloch had Mraan’s undivided attention now, if not that of the false Adjunct. Both had heard mention of these travellers from the past so seldom that they had assumed that Haloch’s knowledge of them was confined to folklore and hearsay, and they listened with growing wonder.
‘These men were explorers, and didn’t stay long amongst our people. Their curiosity was, for the better part, consumed by the strange stars they saw in our heavens, the geography of our lands, the creatures that lived in them, and such; their interest in us was largely short-lived.
‘The truth be known (you will read this is none of the surviving records, but only a fool could fail to see the truth of it once he has read them through), these Men looked down upon us, and what they saw in us was cause for argument and discord amongst them-’
‘Why?’ Mraan inturrupted, partly curious, partly incensed. The false Adjunct found himself wishing that he, too, could ask questions, instead of merely listening.
‘In some ways, our Faerie kindred have always asked that same question of us,’ his father replied, cryptically. ‘Answer that question, and you will have your answer.