QUOTE : Now, girl, do you remember yesterday’s lesson? How shall we trim the sails for a steady wind coming in off the starboard quarter, abaft?” Abaft? Auli-Ambar turned the delightfully anachronistic word over in her mind. These Dragonship Steersmen used the very best words, possessing a unique language of their own to describe navigation, flying, the tying of knots and the multitudinous parts and workings of their vessels. They sailed or made headway above the depthless Cloudlands, tacked against the wind, unpicked knots with marlinspikes, and their enemies were called pirates or corsairs. Who even knew what a marlin was?