Seatair Chronicles: Book 1

Zhara

Avasa stood in front of the large window in her office overlooking the white marble city of Zhara. It stood out against the night surrounded by thousands of stars in the sky and the two moons bright overhead. Her office was simple, a wooden desk with some chairs, a large rug in the middle, gifted by the Songu and some art on the walls that various Naith had made. The door opened, and Umed walked in, although the Naith seemed to glide. They all looked the same, seven feet tall with smooth blue skin, no hair, bright orange eyes and they all wore long orange robes. He stood beside Avasa,

"I have bad news, my friend," she closed her eyes, "Nidra's new body did not take, we have lost another one of our kind," Avasa shook her head,

"That takes us down to twenty-five," Umed put his hand on her shoulder,

"We have to ask for help from the other races. All our efforts to regenerate our DNA has failed. I believe the only way is to inject new DNA into ourselves," Avasa nodded,

"The meeting of the three cities is in two days. I will speak to them then,"

"You will speak to the Talacha too? There is that girl, the half Songu, half Talacha that I would like to study. If I could see how her DNA is constructed it may help me with my research," Avasa scoffed,

"Despite what the Songu think, the Talacha are still part of this planet and have a say. I will ask them for you to see the girl. I am also going to take Indra with us in case they need anything new," Umed removed his hand and stepped back,

"We will save ourselves, friend. It is time for sleep," he turned around and walked out of the office. Avasa sighed, turned towards her desk and turned off the lamp. She walked out of her office and downstairs to the living area,

"Evening, I wondered when you would be coming to bed," Haidar bowed his head as she walked to the kitchen,

"Please do not bow to me. I am a leader in name only, there is not enough of us to be so formal,"

"Of course. Is there anything I can do for you?" she shook her head,

"No, please go to bed. I may be up for a while," he nodded and walked to his room. Avasa took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water, she then walked to her room past the communal living area. All the Naith lived in groups of five, but as their numbers declined, they started to live nearer the centre of the city and rotate jobs every year, so that knowledge wasn't lost. Avasa had only been leader for a week as the previous leader died suddenly overnight, so she was relying on the other heads to get her up to speed. She sat on her bed and stared out the large window towards the sky,

"You created us to kill and then left us here to die. All for some minerals," she took a sip from the glass then stared at it, "and our only saviours are the people that hated us," she put the glass down and curled up on the bed.

"Avasa, Avasa, are you awake?" a voice shouted through the door. She slowly opened her eyes. The sun was just starting to appear over the wall and fall on to her bed. Her room, like the rest of the Naith's decor, was simple. A wooden bed with a mattress made from the hide of the Gaas, a yak type creature they had created using animals from Soir. A bedside table with a lamp and some cupboards. She slowly sat up and cleared her throat,

"I'm up Kantha, please come in," the door opened, and Kantha walked in holding a tray,

"Good morning, friend. How are you on this lovely day?" she smiled standing next to Avasa. Kantha was a new Naith, only a month old. The previous leader decided she should stay in the Manor to learn how things operated. Avasa leant against the headboard and took the tray from her, "I heard about Nidra. It is sad, I was looking forward to having a new friend with me in school," she said, looking at her hands. Avasa patted her hands,