Tree Singer

just beyond Cather. He was almost as tall as his da, having passed both Mayten and Cather in height this last year, leaving Cather the shortest of the three. He might even be growing into his ears which had always stuck out a bit too far.
Unruly black hair stabbed the air around his head and his almond-shaped eyes sparkled with laughter. His skin looked like creamed coffee. His family were all travelers of various sorts: some traveled on trade ships, some were favored questers who carried the lore of other places and exciting adventures with them when they returned from their quests.
Next to Tray stood his uncle Adven, a famous quester. Mayten shivered as Adven glanced at her with a frown and she looked quickly away.
Adven scared her. He was Tray’s da’s younger brother, but was nothing like Tray’s father. The man seemed to lurk around the edges of the clan, like a cougar you could never quite see but knew was there. With long, shaggy hair, an unshaven face, and a hat that covered one eye, Mayten had never seen him smile.
Adven always made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, yet Tray idolized his uncle and dreamed of being called to be a quester so he could travel with him.
Oleaster bumped her shoulder again and jutted his chin toward the stage. Taiwania stood in the center looking lovelier than ever in a green dress and white apron.
The ceremony was about to begin.
Of course, Taiwania had thought to wear a dress. Mayten snuck a glance at Tray, who rolled his eyes and made her smile. He always could cheer her up. She turned her attention back to her sister.
Every year the youngest story singer received the privilege of singing the First Song. The First Song told of the clan’s beginning and was exhaustingly long. People spread their blankets and sat cross-legged on the ground, settling in to listen.
Taiwania had a beautiful voice, though Mayten hated to admit it. She didn’t envy her sister the position of story singer, though.
Thank the stars I won’t be called to be a story singer. She’d much rather be with the trees and would die of embarrassment before she’d stand on a platform and sing in front of the entire clan.
There were several older boys who seemed mesmerized by Taiwania. Mayten couldn’t blame them. Taiwania’s hair was held off her face by a bow the exact color of her dress and her green eyes were unusual for this island. Her apron, impossibly white with its green embroidered scroll on the bib, marked her as a clan story singer.
Whoever ended up as her sister’s mate had a big surprise in store, though. Taiwania wasn’t all sweetness and light, that was for sure, but she sang very well.
“Come listen to the story of Trigginsfeld and how we came to be.” Taiwania’s clear, sweet voice carried over the crowd.
Her sister sang of the Ocean Clan, explorers from Elan who found they liked the island life so much they never left. And the Sun Clan, originally Ropian slaves who found freedom when the ships bearing them crashed on the rocks. And prisoners from Sapia who’d been left on the island to die and had founded the Forest Clan instead.
As the clans were established and then intermarried, the skin tones and distinguishing features of the clans blurred into varied shades of brown, with the clansfolk migrating throughout the island to live where their gifts and talents were most needed.
Taiwania embodied a perfect combination of their island home. Her hair looked like that of the original island dwellers—long, raven-black, and wavy. Her skin was the mahogany silk of the freed slaves. Her eyes had the almond shape of the sea traders from Caspia who took a liking to the island, but were green like the Sapian prisoners, and she had the body of an Elanian dancer.
It seemed right she had been called to sing their story, to tell the tale of Trigginsfeld . . .
“The trade winds and the currents keep our island fair and warm,
But buried bars of sand and rock, cause ships to come to harm.
Only with the island’s help can sailors find their way,
It welcomes those who mean no harm, the rest it drives away.”
This sounded more magical than it was as Mayten well knew. Cliffs and boulders lined the island’s far side, making it uninhabitable and too treacherous to be approached by ship.
“Three clans there are in Trigginsfeld, three clans to serve the king.
The first great clan are ocean folks, who trade through seafaring.
The second noble sister clan grows fabric for the weave.
With skilled hands and an artist’s eye, designs upon the sleeve.
The third great clan in Trigginsfeld boasts trees beyond compare.
Shipwrights and fine carpenters have skills abundant there.”
The three ports of the Sun Clan, the Ocean Clan, and the Castle Keep—where the king’s family lived and where his garrison of soldiers were housed—were all impossible to navigate without the help of the island’s trained sailors. There were stories of pirates who had gotten through the hazards in the past, however, and had to be fought off.
Taiwania got to the part of the song Mayten liked the best and her heart beat a little faster.
“All three fine clans are kindred of the sea, forest, and sun.
Together we all serve our king, together we are one.”
To Mayten’s surprise, Taiwania looked directly at her as she sang the final verse.
“Today we call forth nine more friends to join us as we serve.
To bring their gifts as offerings and strengthen us with nerve.”
A shiver ran down Mayten’s spine.
“All the gifts are needed; here we honor every one.”
Taiwania gestured dramatically down from the platform toward those gathered on the ground.
“Come forth you nine and join us now, your calling time has come.”
The crowd cheered and jumped to their feet, clapping. The families of the nine initiates dragged the initiates to their feet and pushed them toward the stage. Mayten kissed her tiny siblings, babies too young to understand the intense