In Ashes Born (A Seeker's Tale From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 1) Read Free

have had a saucer under it. It reminded me of something from long, long ago with its cheery flowers, soaring birds, and generously flared rim.
    I remembered watching her perform this same ritual when I was a cadet. She seldom picked the same cup twice for herself and the cups for her guests always appeared to have some symbolism. I considered the white shape in front of me as she tilted the teapot over it. The rich, dark tea steamed as it flowed into the simple bowl. She lifted the spout and then lowered it to fill her own cup without spilling a drop. I knew part of it was the teapot, a classic from someplace far away. Part of it was her practiced skill in using it. She placed it on a hot stone slab and leaned forward to let the warm steam from her cup waft across her face.
    I tested the surface of my cup with fingertips before committing myself to gripping it. The smooth glaze retained sufficient coolness as the cup’s mass slowly absorbed the heat. I took a careful sip and managed to avoid burning my tongue.
    “You’re out of practice,” she said.
    “With tea?”
    She gave a slight nod toward the practice floor.
    “I let my discipline slide.”
    “You’ve risen very fast, Ishmael.”
    I stared into the simple cup of tea, admiring the smooth lines of the clay and satin finish of the glaze. “I flew too high.” The words came to my lips unbidden but once uttered I knew them too well.
    When Sifu Newmar didn’t answer, I looked across the table. She was smiling at me.
    “What?” I asked.
    She lifted the brightly colored cup to her lips and took a slurping sip from its gold-touched rim. Without taking her eyes from mine, she placed it back down on the table. “What would you have done differently?” The smile never left her lips. “Knowing what you’ve learned? Would you take a different path?”
    I sighed and shook my head, looking down into my cup again. Small bits of leaf and sediment hung suspended in the tea like dust motes in a sun beam. I stared at them, hoping they might offer some insight. “I let myself become too rigid.”
    “Say more.”
    I glanced over at her. “What I learned on the Lois McKendrick , I took with me.”
    “Commandant Giggone will be gratified to learn that.”
    “I took it too far. I ignored the evidence of my own eyes and clung to dogma instead of adapting to new understanding.”
    “Sort of like tai chi, eh?” One corner of her lips curved up and she hid the crooked grin behind her teacup.
    I felt my lips responding with a smile of my own. “I’m out of practice.”
    She nodded and replaced her cup on the table. “You’ve some pruning to do and perhaps some new seeds to sow. You’ll have a few weeks to practice, I think.”
    “I was planning on a few months.”
    “Plans are not actions.” Her eyebrows lifted and her smile broadened. “We’ve rested long enough. Drink up. I have time for a couple more sets before I need to visit a leggy lilac bush across campus.” She stood and crossed to the sideboard to rinse out her cup.
    I lifted my cup and drained it to the dregs. “What would you like me to prune? More roses?” She grinned at me over one shoulder and offered a shrug. “I’d like you to cut down your baggage. Can you weed out enough to get down to one grav-trunk?”
    Her answer surprised a laugh out of me, but it also made me pause. “It’s everything I own.”
    Her eyebrows expressed much more than words might have. She turned to the floor and bowed before stepping into the sunlight.

Chapter Three
Port Newmar:
2374, May 26
    An onshore breeze brought the iodine pinch of saltwater from the bay. The system primary had cleared the tree line but hadn’t yet warmed the air. The coolness of it soothed my skin and made the sweat on the back of my shirt feel chilly.
    I had nearly made it back to my cottage when Cadet Udan found me on the path.
    He saluted sharply but didn’t hold it. Completely understandable since I was out of uniform. “Sar, Commandant’s