"Not many people have ever seen them. I'm wondering. I managed to translate some inscriptions from Chahnn.... The Zarno aren't human, are they?"
Garth didn't answer. Paula went on.
"The Ancients knew them, though. They tried to educate them—like Rome colonizing savage races. That's probably why the Zarno are supposed to speak the Ancient Tongue."
"They do."
"And then the Ancients died out—somehow. The Zarno were left. They became barbarous again. I wish I knew what they were like. Natives who've seen them don't seem able to describe the creatures. They wear shining armor, don't they?"
Garth closed his eyes, trying to remember. A vague, dim picture was growing in his mind—man-like figures that glowed, faces that were craggy, hideous creatures....
"I've seen them," he said, "but I've forgotten. The Noctoli poison—it wrecked my memory."
"You don't recall anything?"
"I—" Garth rubbed his forehead. "Not human—no. Creatures like living statues, shining and moving.... I don't know."