“No. They did, once. One for each island. Few live anywhere but the main island now. In their city.”

“Why is that?”

“For many years, landwalkers have attacked them. It is not safe to live on the outer islands.” He glanced at her, his expression grave. “The Elai do not like landwalkers for this reason.”

Auraya frowned. “Why did these landwalkers attack them?”

“To steal from them.”

She scowled. “Raiders.”

“Yes. The Elai are in a much worse situation than the Siyee. Many have been killed by these landwalkers. There are many thousand Siyee, but barely a few thousand Elai.”

“All living in this city. Have you seen it?”

He looked almost wistful. “None but Elai have seen it. Only they can go there. It is a great cave reached by swimming through underwater tunnels. They say it is very beautiful.”

“An underwater city. That would keep them safe from raiders.” How was she going to talk to the Elai if they lived underwater? Were the gods going to give her the Gift of breathing water?

“Not underwater,” Tyrli said. He almost appeared to smile. “They may live in water, but they still breathe air. They can hold their breath for a long time, however.”

She looked at him in surprise. “So the legends are wrong. Are they covered in scales? Do they have a fishtail instead of legs?”

He laughed. “No, no.” She caught a glimpse of a figure in his mind: a near-naked, hairless man with dark, shiny skin and a broad chest. “Huan gave them thick skin so they can stay in the water for many hours, and big lungs so they can hold their breath for a long time. She gave them fins, too—but not like the fins of fish. Their fins are as much like fish fins as our wings are like bird wings. You will understand, when you see them.”

She nodded. “Has any landwalker befriended them before?”

He considered. “One. Long ago. He used to visit us, too. I heard he knew a secret route into Si, though not even Siyee know where it is now. Many people liked him. He was a Gifted healer. He could heal wings that were damaged beyond repair.”

“He must have been a powerful sorcerer. What was his name?”

He paused and frowned, then nodded his head. “His name was Mirar.”

She turned her head to stare at him. “Mirar? The founder of the Dreamweavers?”

He nodded. “A Dreamweaver. Yes, that is right.”

Auraya looked away, but barely noticed the landscape below as she considered this revelation. Was it so surprising that Mirar had roamed these mountains long ago? Then she remembered: Leiard had told her he had memories of the Siyee. Were they Mirar’s memories? And if they were, did Leiard also have memories of the Elai?