The Heartwood The Satin River Road Attaday, the Second Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Kisa, and Tomomi
Kisa's response to all this discussion was a simple nod before she quietly walked her horse along the Satin, across the ford to the other side. There she paused, between water and forest, waiting for the others. As they moved to follow, Tomomi tucked herself even closer to Keiko.
"According to Lady, I have lots and lots of sisters.
"That's because we are all one Family, all of us at Home. It is really nice, and it helps lots when you aren't supposed to be."
She paused as their horses splashed through the cold water. Once they were on the other side, she continued.
"Having lots of sisters is nice. But a real true sister? I am not sure we'd know. I suspect that there may be other Mice who had the same mother as I, except, well, well, well, well, when we became Forest Folk, they kind of forged that out of us. Broke us of family. Maybe to make us be better tools. I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Lady says being a family is only part blood, the rest is the heart, and all that matters then is how big your heart is.
"That way you can have forever friends who are family too. Especially now when, because of Lady Bekkah, we can really and truly have both."
Kisa's head tilted as she caught a hint of the conversation, as the others joined her on the Corliss side of the Satin River. She raised a brow, looked between Daxia and Bekkah, back to Keiko and Tomomi, and then to Lyric.
"Then there are the days when you can't find your favorite tunic because someone got invited by the apple-cart boy to an orchard dance and she wanted to look older than she actually was."
Daxia also proved to be the most annoying of younger sisters: that is, she was right, of course. Traditionally that was the older sister's prerogative. No matter how blurred the border between the lands of Corliss and the lands of Amber might be out here in the plains, being on the north side of the Satin definitely put one in Corliss territory. Once they were there and it became apparent that they were going to stay there, the Nehrimstel priests and their wild horses faded away, returning to their own lands.
Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
The rest of the ride was much like its beginning, although the closer one got to the Black Mountains, while the rain came less and less, the winds became colder. Those like Daxia, Bekkah, and Kisa were better protected than the rest. Having grown up with these winds, their cloaks — which were often seen as too heavy in the west — were well-suited to the climate. Tomomi's travel cloak also served the Mouse well — while patchwork, it was of heavy leather and lined with wool. Perhaps the well-traveled Renyard had a hand in their design.
Corliss Manor rested on a small foothill, literally at the base of the mountains that surrounded Dawnview Vale. It was perhaps the oddest of the mainland keeps. Most keeps rose in a series of towers over some important vantage point. Corliss Manor was not tall. Its honey-colored marble walls wrapped around its hill, surrounding its little town with what looked to be a well-fortified manor house in its center. In that, it felt more like Bordertown than Talantal, but definitely more imposing. One could imagine the Chaos Riders from the forest breaking against those walls like the Sea of Opals against stone cliffs: that is, with little effect. The most prominent part of the manor was a tall watchtower, providing an excellent view of the approach to the Vale.
There was, however, a small group of buildings outside the manor walls. They included an inn and several barns, a smithy and a woodworking shop. They were a perfect staging point for merchant caravans going in and out of Dawnview without being distracted by the town itself. It also provided a modicum of privacy.
That privacy ensured that the nature of their party wasn't discovered by Family Corliss until they had left that morning. The little group had reached the base of Snowgate Pass when they learned they had been noticed. Kisa just paused, looking up as the signal fire in the Corliss watchtower was lit. It was then answered as other watchfires came to life, one after another, rising along the ramparts that formed one side of the mountain pass.
The climb up the pass was hard.
It was hard not just because the path rose steeply into the mountains, but because it was narrow and far more imposing than any trail in Kierkegaard. The sheer rock walls rose up over a hundred feet on each side. It also was hard because of the rubble rock through which a road had been blazed. With each pace there were grim reminders of just what had happened here: a spear, its shaft dried and grey, its steel tip pitted with rust here; a bit of armor, now just a mauled piece of junk there. Last was the sheerness of the cliffs. It was not natural here; the rock had been shorn to bury those loyal to the Empire and those loyal to a girl who would forevermore be known only as the Snowqueen.
Kisa rode up that pass with her hood up.
By the time they reached the top of the pass, there was snow on either side of the broken trail. It was not as much due to to the weather but the altitude. This high up the Storm Season lasted longer than on the plains below. Indeed those well-traveled or familiar with the Vale knew that some years the snow never entirely retreated and hence the name: Snowgate Pass.
Snowgate Keep was also equally well named.
It rose, like most other mainland keeps, in three tall and slender levels, each with its own ramparts and towers, up one side of the pass' cliffs. Its topmost towers rose higher than the pass itself, watching over the approach to Dawnview Vale on one side and the Vale itself on the other. What was most foreboding, however, was the tall marble wall that crossed the pass, barring the way. A pair of windmills defined the entrance to the Vale on either side of a set of sturdy wooden doors. The doors were massive, large enough for several wagons to pass through side by side. Their age was betrayed by their fittings.
The fittings on the door were made of white metal. That, in itself, spoke louder than any herald. They boldly proclaimed that no one would ever enter the Vale that the Vale would not let in. History had so far proven the correctness of that claim. In the end, while they had technically won, no Imperial force had ever set foot past these gates.
The windmills reminded Cesare of a similar place: Lord Faast's Keep. The chances that those windmills powered the mechanisms to open and close those gates were very good.
The gates, at this moment, were open. Beneath them, a handful of people watched and waited — a welcoming party of sorts.
Three of them were mounted. While they wore black and silver surcoats, their horses were but ordinary critters, no unicorns at all. They were armored, and they had round shields and swords but no spears or lances. They seemed to be guards of some sort. If they were guards, those they were guarding would be the two women who stood before them. One was a tall stately-looking woman with long white hair, the only thing that might be a hint about her age. It would have hung straight, almost to her waist, except it was continuously tousled by the breeze that swept up Snowgate Pass. She wore a very heavy cloak, unmistakably Kierkegaard made, with tunics and surcoat of black and white. In front of her was a second woman, much younger, also with red hair. This one had — perhaps in a fit of rebelliousness — shorn her hair short just to shoulder length. She too wore a heavy cloak and, while her clothes were also predominantly black and white, hers were also splashed with broad bands of red. This one shifted her weight from one foot to the other, bouncing on her heels every now and then as if, among her many virtues, patience wasn't one of them.
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
Daxia looked up at the watchfires as they blossomed along one side of the pass on the ramparts above. She shrugged philosophically.
It was probably better that the Snowgate Keep House Guard knew they were coming. It would save time at the Gates.
The last time — the first time — she had come through the Pass, she hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the details of her surroundings. She’d had a big, goofy smile on her face. Gilly had been chuckling indulgently. It had taken Cragside and the process of collecting her little gang of misfits to bring her back to the harsh reality of the world.
No, it wasn’t easy riding back up to the Vale. The hardest part was seeing the weight of history on Kisa’s shoulders. It reminded the Starlord that she was bringing Kisa home to rule the Vale and speak for the Noble Family Allaine. She had absolute faith in her friend, but she worried, too. She worried that it would be all too easy for Kisa to forget how to be lighthearted and let the weight of responsibility keep her eyes from smiling.
That’s one of the reasons she stopped at an outcropping that couldn’t be seen from either the keep above or the gates around the next bend in the road. Morning Star stood crosswise, preventing anyone from passing him as he gave her a baleful look.
“Oh, stop it,” the knight said to him. “I’ll be down in a moment.” Then she looked at the Heir, holding a hand out to her. “Kisa?”
Her beloved would assuredly recognize this very spot from a day in late Yrick, a year and a half ago. Despite knowing that Kisa’s mother was rarely surprised by anything Kisa did, Daxia was reasonably sure that the Khorall would be losing a battle in keeping a smile off her face if she could see how Kisa climbed to her level with the surefootedness of a mountain goat.
“A long time ago, you tied a ribbon around the hilt of my sword. It was a symbol that warmed my heart on days that were dark and cruel. It reminded me that I had promises to keep to Dawnview, to people who had put their faith in me, in addition to my vows to Dayala.”
She reached into her pouch and pulled out a ribbon meant to be tucked around a tunic belt or hung beside a waist pouch or even worn as a bracelet or short necklace. The ribbon itself was red, and it was edged with lace made from black and white threads. From each end dangled a small tile, painted in bright and sparkling colors with exquisite care — one a Horse, the other a Tower.
Both the Mouse Girl and the Rhoni lass had kept their activities secret as they had crafted the item at Daxia’s request.
“I’m giving you my Favor, Dama Kisa, so that you remember to smile, you remember that we have made a difference you and I, so that you remember I will always come back here to the Vale. It is home. And you are family.”
Kisa didn’t say a word.
But she did take the offered gift. Still quiet, she raised it up, considering options and answers. Tradition would have it on her belt, and the second obvious place would be bound around one wrist. Instead, she took the ribbon and drew it close, looping it behind her neck and tying it loosely at her throat so that the small tiles rested as close to her heart as practical.
Then she smiled.... softer than snow and brighter than the all the stars.
Daxia chuckled and leaned forward to whisper in Kisa’s ear.
She stood there for a moment, surveying the Pass — looking up at the opposite sheer face of the pass, south toward the Vale, and finally north to look at the rest of the group. A pair of Rhoni, a Mouse, and a minstrel accompanied the three daughters of Dawnview home. There was nothing at all unusual about any of that!
Well, maybe the Mouse. A little bit.
As they approached the enormous Pass Gates, Daxia was riding beside Kisa in front of the others. With a glace and wry smile for Kisa, they both dismounted, knowing that Rekasve would stay exactly where she was and Morning Star would do whatever he pleased.
“Tut tut, my liege,” Daxia muttered when Kisa moved to step in front of her. “They hauled out the guards from their cozy barracks. Either Eleni forgot what that means and Dama Nadya didn’t remind her, or Eleni likes ceremonies too much. In either case, your devoted bodyguard had a duty before you put your life in the hands of these people, da?” she said with a serene expression and laughter in her voice.
She stepped in front of Kisa several handfuls of paces in front of the welcoming group and bowed to the Regent and young Khorall using the obscurely and ridiculously unnecessary form Kassia had taught her — with arms crossed against her midriff and hands near her weapons. It was ridiculous mostly because it would have been hard to draw either weapon effectively.
Also, she recognized the Khorall without difficulty — after all, she’d know the girl for years. Seeing her short hair didn’t surprise Dazi in the least. Khorall Linnell’s younger daughter wanted to be a Dayalan warrior more than anything. Her mother might have, maybe, given her daughter leave to pursue that path if she’d shown a talent for it. Sadly, she didn’t.
And she’d seen the Regent in court on a number of occasions. The woman was old enough to be Linnell’s mother, or so Dazi had heard, but the only evidence of that was her white hair... and the laugh lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth.
Still, as the Heir’s bodyguard, she was supposed to be prepared for anything — thus, the display. At the moment, it was probably the young Khorall in the most danger, and that danger would come from the Heir behind Daxia.
After smiling at the Regent and young Khorall, Daxia looked at the mounted guards and announced the group.
“Bekkah and Daxia Yurisdotter, returning from training and Duksheviya respectively, escorting the Heir of Allaine, accompanied by friends.” Her eyes took in the Starriders and their demeanor. They didn’t look entirely happy to be standing here at the Gate. She could understand that — this was definitely not the appropriate protocol. Visitors were customarily met by the Khorall at the gates of the inner keep.
However, her smile grew slightly as her gaze lowered again to the young woman bouncing impatiently — the one who very likely had insisted on breaking protocol.
“It’s nice to see you again, Dama Eleni. I see you’ve nicked one of your sister’s tunics again, haven’t you?”
Before turning to her duties as the Heir’s bodyguard, she winked at the young woman. She stepped back and turned to face Kisa, only to find a unicorn trying to present himself to the assembled dignitaries.
“Hoi! You’ll get your turn,” she stage-whispered to him. “Let me finish this ritual first, will you?”
She rolled her eyes and tried to keep from laughing as she looked at Kisa. At least Kisa was mostly used to the unicorn’s... incredibly high opinion of himself, even though his pronouncements had to be relayed via Daxia.
“Lord Kisa, the Regent Nadya Ferreni and Khorall Eleni Allaine stand ready to greet you on your return to the Vale.”
That was another reason why the guards might look as excited as Daxia was at this moment — all this pomp and circumstance was unquestionably appropriate in certain places and at certain times. Standing in the cold at the Pass Gates would not be that place or time. It was silly.
They rode for days. Seven? Eight? Lyric lost count. It's not like it was ever something she bothered to count before. The weather didn't help much either. Ja, the rain had relented but the winds were stronger and so much colder. 'Colder' was hard for the Minstrel. It made her hands stiff, her ears and nose tingle, and her felt felt a numbness seeping into them. The wind cut through the heavy High Tarn cloak to make the clothing she wore seem useless to her. These were all the clothes she had and even when all of it was layered she could still feel the wind.
Days earlier she saw the distant range of the Black Mountains, but they were capped with white blankets and made their name a little confusing to her. Each day they rode closer they were also going up. Always up. Even if there was a bit of down it was always followed by three times as much up. Up and up, closer and closer, the mountains beginning to loom larger and so much more impressive in their daunting magnitude.
If the winds were merciful and relented their assault on the poor Minstrel, the biting cold never did. Often she simply hunched up with her head down and the hood pulled as far over as possible. With every inch of herself hidden beneath the cloak, she let Lisica have rein to follow the group.
Closer and closer and it seemed to be getting even colder. She couldn't understand how that was even possible. And who would want to live in a place like this anyway? Those thoughts were sometimes accompanied by woeful glances at Daxia and Bekkah and Kisa, whom she was led to believe had grown up in these lands.
They wound themselves through the low hills as they got very close, still following the Dawnview road. Gaining elevation as they did meant the road had to switch back and forth to follow the topography. Often they would lose sight of the Mountains themselves because they were nestled between those hills and lesser peaks. But always up, always colder. Ride for time and turn, ride some more, turn... following the road.
You would have to be a fool to invade these people. You would have come so close to them, but then you seemingly travel the same distance again in just cutting back and forth to follow a path upwards to a pass that lead back through those massive peaks into a Valley. A fool indeed. They weren't invading anyone, but Lyric sure believed their venture was a folly by this point, and they hadn't even gotten out of the lower hills yet.
The ground was increasingly more barren of grasses and even leafy trees. Rocks and gravel and boulders began to dominate the the edges of the trails. What grasses could be found in patches were hardy but thin of beauty. It was a hardscrabble life for the plant life as well as any creatures that might make this their home. Mosses and lichens were often more green than the grasses. In some of the low lying drops in the trail, there might be some evidence of better flora, but staying there for any length of time beyond a short respite to stretch legs and dewater was impractical because the cold had taken full control now, and the sun seemed wholly ineffectual at offering her Warmth.
And this was where a religion dedicated to a Sun Goddess has chosen to call home? Oh, she would never say that aloud though. Even half frozen the Minstrel had wisdom enough to keep her cranky thoughts to herself. And her thoughts had turned more grim and dour and cranky these past few days now. She even wondered if dying in the Ring of Standing Stones would have been a better end than to be frozen to death on a road in the Black Mountains.
She was not in the most cheerful of spirits by the time they reached the Manor house at the trail head for the Dawnview Pass itself. She hadn't sung in days and unwrapping the mandola was completely out of the question. Her hands couldn't form a proper chord nor grip a pick properly if her life depended upon it. Besides, all her energies were spent keeping herself tightly bundled as possible. She had vowed some days ago to find a better cloak for the climate in the mountains. Surely there would be someone selling them. With a bit of pique, she wondered why there weren't merchants here and further down the the road selling them for those who had no idea what madness they were embarking upon as they headed for a frozen demise.
She didn't like the cold. No, not at all. Not even a little. She fairly believed she knew this from a very young age, but that cold and this cold were nothing alike. There was simply no escaping it. Even borrowing extra garments from others who might have taken pity on her seemed not to stave off the cold that actually felt painful in her joints. Her poor ears... She now rode with one of Tomomi's tops tied around her head, and her hood drawn up fully all the time, like some refugee who subsisted on charity alone.
Overnight outside the manor house did nothing for her mood either. She just wanted it to be over. The trip... maybe even her life. She saw no hope for regaining feeling in her toes and fingertips, and what was life without toes to dance and fingers to strum strings. She longed for a flower too. Any flower. Even a scraggly weed blossom might give her some cheer and a reason to hope.
To see the others faring better and adapting made her realize just how poorly she was accustomed to change. And that kept her emotionally vacant around a small fire while others told stories and laughed and joked. She looked miserable and felt miserable, and tried to keep it to herself so that she wouldn't make others miserable as well.
The watch fires that came to life as they started up the harsh and unforgiving Pass road. Lyric glanced momentarily at them and when she reckoned they could not offer her any heat, no matter how many of them were lit, she hung her head again and urged Lisica forward. And up and up, with no down, just up. Steeply up. Slow moving, step by careful steps, horses following each other in many places. Walls of rock rising to block the view of a dreary sky left them in cold shadows where the sharp knife-like winds ran the canyon without mercy. Again, who in their right minds would ever try to come up here and invade these people that they needed such massive structures. Sheesh, just let them have the rocks and the wind and the cold, and more rocks.
When the were near to the summit of the pass Lyric saw another fortress of massive proportions ahead of them, wholly blocking the Path to whatever lay beyond, and she understood a truth... Any fools in an Army of Fools who survived to get to this point must surely face an overwhelming resignation to to Death at this point. All the challenges to get here and you find they build a monstrosity that you will never be able to siege with enough men or engines of war to break. Just surrender...
They rode closer and Lyric realized they were now so far up that the white stuff was all around them on the trail, on the rocky ledges going up the pass walls. This was the closest she had gotten to any of it. From a distance it was just a nondescript whiteness, a covering or a blanket of white something. As weary and cold as she was, she had to know what it was.
As the group started moving forward toward the massive keep, she dismounted. It was agonizing enough but the curious spirit in her still managed to overcome her physical limitations. She trudged with heavy dragging steps, reins in one hand to a spot where the white stuff could be reached easily enough. She looked at it for a time before finally giving in and touching it. It was cold. And malleable. It felt a little crystalline, like its surface had a fine sheen of Ice. She knew what Ice was. But that layer cracked and what lie beneath was soft and powdery... but not dry. It too was wet. She touched that more fully, pushing her numb fingers into it and then her whole hand. She opened her hand and scooped some up. It began to melt in her hand. it was water in a state that wasn't quite frozen, not like she knew water to freeze. It was something in-between. Cold but full of space and air.
Lyric was mesmerized by it, even as it started to melt, proving that her hands were still a little warmer that the white stuff. She smiled, cocking her head, and then a strange notion tempted her. She reached down again and got another handful of the white stuff from this place called Snow Gate Pass and held it for a moment to watch the light make it sparkle a little and then... she tasted it with the tip of her tongue. It didn't taste like much, no distinct flavors, but it was fresh, like spring water. She was positive this was water in some mostly frozen state. And so, she bit into it, wondering if sinnoman could be sprinkled on it.
OOC: stopping here in case any who haven't posted yet want to add something before I catch Lyric up to the events at the gate.
The Heartwood Snowgate Keep Dawnview Vale Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Kisa, Tomomi, Eleni, Nadya and their Starrider Guards
Silly or not, it was what it was. And as for propriety, at the moment it was something defined by a young woman with red hair, the one that bore a very striking similarity to her older sister, the well-traveled Dawnview heiress. She stood there, a bit awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, like a child at a confectionery stall on Marketday. There was Kisa. There was her Knight. There was a black unicorn. There were a minstrel, two Rhoni and a small person in a patchwork cloak. And a Priestess of Attera. So many to choose from. So very, very many. Her attention darted from one to another to another to another. It ended on the proud and valiant... unicorn.
Morning Star, of course, raised his head and proudly shook out his mane, looking very much the picture-perfect Magnificent one he claimed to be...
...only to look like he had been hit between the eyes by a large stick as Eleni skipped and bounced right past him. Kisa stood her ground. She had already braced herself for the step and skip as her younger sister darted forward to leap up and wrap her arms tight about her.
"KITTEN!"
Kisa blinked, her eyes went wide, and she made sure her return embrace included her hand making a small fist to rap Eleni on the top of Eleni's head.
"Sister, proprieeteeee..."
Eleni didn't even let Kisa finish her sentence. But she did complete her sister's word for her.
"Propriety? Dayala's tangled locks on a frozen morning after a night's rain! You aren't a diplomat from Talantal, we got five of them, nor a Kierkegaard with flowers, because Auntie's still trying to marry me off, nor are you the farmer who is mad because the horse he bought turned out to be a mule or one of the cooks trying to explain why we ran short of cream in a storeroom full of slinks.
"You are Kitten, my sister! Come back from adventures and everything! Lady Karina is so, so, so angry, and Mother just rolled her eyes, and I had to deal with the caravan of wheat that came up the pass demanding steel in return.
"Wait in the keep?
"Are you mad?"
Eleni tossed herself into Kisa's arms again.
"Welcome home, Kisa."
She bounced back, folding her hands behind her as she surveyed her sister's companions. She then walked right up to Daxia, until she stood almost nose to nose to her.
"Miss Dazi! You are famous now! They even got a song about you, or so I've been told! I have heard it! How much of it is true? All of it? Some of it? Which parts? Was fighting an Avatar as passionate and vital and dashing as they say? Or is it grim and horrible and full of blood and guts like Verchovai Kassia would say when we asked her about anything? I hear you have an apprentice too! All fierce and Imperial. That she beat up half the Horde and all of Talantal's Knights! Somehow I can't believe that all is true, because that's a lot of Knights and Raphael Deynnekko has never lost a fight, not once in his life.
"Especially because you have a unicorn!"
She did the same thing to Morning Star.
"Cor... a unicorn too! Are you smart? I bet you like apples. Or are you just old?"
With a sashay, she worked her way down the line.
"Welcome home, Lady Yurisdotter. It's very good to have you in the Vale once more! Are you going to stay? We can make sure you get a proper hospice. Right here in fact. We see all the folks that come in and out of the Vale, and they all have interesting stories to tell. You also won't have to worry about the Temple, where they think hard knocks build character. I have never understood that. Does that mean if you get beat up all the time you have more character than someone who has figured out how not to get into fights? I mean Dominic Korie has tons more character than any member of the Brute Squad."
Eleni then winced.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Nadya, I know they are the Temple Knights. Not the Brute Squad. But sometimes they... fine... fine... I'll stop talking now."
Then she stopped, stopped and looked at one of them and her head tilted.
"You poor, poor lassie! Here, come, take this."
The Khorall of Snowgate Keep swirled off her cloak and passed it to Lyric.
"Now, put that on and stand like this."
Eleni crossed her arms and stuffed her hands into her armpits.
"Warmest part of your body, that is, so you stand just like that, and it will turn your hands to the right shade of pink. Are you from a far away village? Have you traveled far? Is that your mandala? Do you sing too? Can you sing of your adventures with my sister and her Knight? Or have you just met them? But if you just met them, that means you are a right friendly lass, because it takes a long time for my sister to warm to anyone. Not that you can tell. Mother says that of the two of us I got all the words which is why she's so quiet. Do you want to know the secret of making it through winter? In summer all you do is sweat and it's all you can do to find cool shadows to hide from Her gaze in. They say Imperial ladies in Trundle have poor folks fan them with leaves, but if that's true, they got to have really big leaves in that city. Waving a maple leaf doesn't work at all. I've tried it. In winter you have hot tshokolat and mulled cider and warm fireplaces, and blankets big enough for you and a sister and some cats and a ruff or two and that makes getting warmer close and comfortable and much better than being hot where even the thought of being next to someone else makes you faint. Kisa, of course, like slinks and I like ruffs. Which do you like?"
She then turned and gave Keiko and Cesare a squinty-eyed look before walking over to them.
"Hallo! Are you also friends of my sister? Even if you aren't, welcome to Dawnview! Are you related? Are you Rhoni?"
She leaned in so very close to Keiko.
"Pretty Rhoni eyes. I bet I'm right! I sometimes am. Are you brother and sister? Cousins? And I mean close cousins because I know all Rhoni are family, except when they are not. And that's sometimes a good thing. Well, maybe not for you but for us. It's kind of sad when someone you like has to leave, and because they are traveling all over the world, you probably won't ever see them again. It may be the way the world is but that doesn't mean it's nice.
"Do you dance and play an instrument? Do you know about the Rhoni cards? I would ask if you read them but Mother says that's not polite so I won't."
And then... then she saw the one in a patchwork cloak.
In a spiral, she circled Tomomi, once, twice, thrice, until she was face to face and close enough to peer into the Mouse girl's hood. Tomomi froze. People weren't supposed to get that close. Then Tomomi caught her breath as if she had just noted something no one else might. That, however, did not stop Eleni one whit.
"Oh my.
"Oh my.
"Are those whiskers? Real live whiskers? And those ears and did I almost step on a tail? What are you? Who are you? Are you Dominic's little servant I've heard rumors about? But then where is Dominic? He's not here so you can't be. What are you? Just what are you?
He is amused by their greeting. Eleni reminds him of Dydd is some ways and he thinks he might like her too. She is refreshing. And it seems she has all the words that Kisa doesn't. Well he guesses anyone can have too much of a good thing.
When his turn arrives he manages a short response before she is distracted totally by Tomomi. Understandably.
"Yes Rhoni but not related." He is grinning now.
He is aware that he is the only male in the group and this place will be mostly female too. He has no problem with that. Many men would envy him this position but his past experiences have taught him that as many folk as there are, there are then that many opinions.. and these can often be quite far apart. So his plan is to be friendly and polite.. for him anyway.. and maybe a bit more reserved than usual. Any fire needs sparks to light it.
Bekkah's smile was big and bright as Eleni greeted her own sister. She loved the younger girl's exuberance. She always encouraged that visible sign of happiness and joy.
"Stay here? Perhaps one day little one, but there are many outside our vale that need my Lady's touch. I do not yet think that She wants me to stay put."
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
As prepared as she thought she was for the force of nature known as Eleni Allaine, Daxia still couldn’t maintain her usual level of seriousness in the girl’s actions.
Snubbing a unicorn for her sister?
While clearly not something to be expected — especially given the look on Morning Star’s face — it was well within the bounds of normal behavior for the youngest Khorall in Dawnview.
Her torrent of words gave Daxia a lot of information, not just about the current state of affairs in the Vale and at Snowgate Keep, but about Eleni’s state of mind.
She waited patiently, as always, through the young woman’s questions for her. Then, as always, she took one of Eleni’s hands in both of hers and looked into the youngster’s brightly intelligent green eyes. Ordinarily, her answer would come out in the crisp accent of the Jambles, but not today.
“First, you have gotten taller again. Do you plan to stop anytime soon?” she asked with a grin before her smile faded.
“Minstrels write songs to stir the hearts and imaginations of the people who hear them. That particular minstrel seems to have a passing acquaintance with the truth and prefers to rearrange it to his own liking, then uses it as a cliff from which to dive into hyperbole. How much is the truth?”
Daxia shrugged.
“All of it. None of it. Whatever Verchovai Kassia said about battles was a cheerful bedtime story compared to the reality of them. However, if you truly want to know about the reality behind the song...” She glanced back at Nadya for an instant before looking Eleni in the eyes again. “...I will tell you the truth.”
Her demeanor changed in a heartbeat when she referred to Kay.
“While my apprentice probably did fight half the Horde, I wouldn’t say she ‘beat them up.’ There might have been a tavern brawl involved, but I suspect it was more of a sparring session for her — testing her skill against new opponents. Nor did she fight with any of the Knights in Talantal. That would have been quite improper. She may have sparred with Rafe but, as you noted, his skill is exceptional.”
Dazi chuckled as she let go of the Khorall’s hand. “I do think you’d find her interesting.”
She grinned at Eleni’s questions for Morning Star.
“He’s the Font of All Knowledge — your pardon, the Magnificent Font of All Knowledge. There’s very little in this world he likes more than apples. And he’s immortal, so...” She shrugged and didn’t bother finishing that thought... of course, he is old.
Dazi turned to Kisa as Eleni continued greeting people, picking out a comment she made to Bekkah. “When did she start referring to the Temple Guard as the Brute Squad?” she whispered.
When Eleni turned her attention to Lyric, Daxia saw the heart of a great Khorall in the making. It wasn’t all about dealing with diplomats or settling disputes among her people or learning to run a household. All of that could be learned and Eleni seemed to be learning her lessons under Nadya’s expert tutelage.
No, this act was about the heart of a leader who cared more for her people — even guests — than she did herself. Kisa had that quality too. The Heir had simply needed some time among ordinary people to learn how she could best demonstrate her commitment. Eleni came by it naturally... even if it was her defense mechanism.
As Eleni moved along the line of her guests, Dazi looked at the bundled minstrel and chuckled before excusing herself from Kisa’s side, nodding to Nadya.
Her smile was wry as she approached the Regent. “I wonder, Lady Nadya, if our dear Eleni refuses to wear her cap because she dislikes the style or the color this week.”
Nadya smiled. “I believe it was both, although she seemed to think it most important for her sister to appreciate her shorn locks.”
Daxia merely tilted her head to one side. “They did look entirely too much like mine when I take my knife to them.”
The older woman simply nodded. Apparently, Eleni had cut her hair just before coming to greet them and there had been no time to at least make the ends even.
“You have her cap?”
One of the Starriders pulled a long knit cap in a shade of blue that would rival Sapphire Lake from under her cloak and handed it to Nadya, who then turned it over to Daxia.
“Do you think you can get her to wear it?”
Daxia shook her head. “Not a chance. I like how it matches my eyes, though.” She chuckled. “No, I have a different plan for it. But I might suggest you try knitting something hideous that looks more like our helms,” she added. “Just because she can’t join our ranks doesn’t mean she still doesn’t have that dream deep inside her. She can start a new fashion trend if that makes you feel better about it.”
Nadya blinked at the newly returned Dayalan. “It’s a wonder no one thought of that before.”
Daxia gave her a mischievous look. “Someone did. But someone was told she was a cobble block. Still, Eleni is an adult and the Khorall. And Kassia is on the other side of the mainland.”
She left Nadya with a smile as she turned to Lyric, clucking at the tunic she had wrapped around her head.
“You could set a new fashion trend with that headwear, Mistress Lyric. Sadly, I think it would overshadow the delicate lace Tomomi is bringing to the Vale.” Dazi grinned and motioned for Lyric to remove the cloth from her head before setting the cap over her hair.
“Pull it down as far as you like. Your ears will be much warmer for it. And the length is meant to wrap around your neck to keep the wind from finding its way under your tunics.”
She sighed softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you had never been to the mountains before. We could have found some warmer boots, mittens, heavier clothes for you in Bordertown before we left. We’ll be sure to remedy that in the morning when the markets open.” Dazi glanced over at the young Khorall and smiled. “She’s right about stuffing your hands in your armpits. It’s good for those who wield swords... and fine musical instruments!”
Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
The journey into the southernmost range of the Black Mountains was marred only by two things: Keiko’s quest to keep Tomomi warm as the air grew colder and the winds grew fiercer... and her inability to help Friend Lyric.
She hadn’t even laughed when Lyric had wrapped one of Tomomi’s tunics around her head. First, it would have rude. Second — and Keiko wasn’t sure how the minstrel managed to pull it off — the makeshift hat actually looked rather fetching.
Still, the Rhoni couldn’t help smiling as they climbed higher and higher among the ever-taller outcroppings and cliff faces. She loved the mountains and their stark beauty. Oh, the jungles along the Sea of Pearls were impressive, that was true. And the High Tarn held so much diversity that it couldn’t help but be fascinating. The mountains, though? They always seemed like home to Keiko.
Riding through the foothills of the Corliss lands had been sobering. It was in these hills and the plains below that the Imperial forces met the Dayalan cavalry of Dawnview. Although the Family Allaine had possessed the advantages of higher ground and familiarity of the terrain, the Imperials vastly outnumber the Nobles. That’s what the Teaching Songs said anyway.
As the party rode up and up Snowgate Pass, it wasn’t so much the remnants of the battle or the sheer rock face that told of the consequences of a young Allaine Khorall’s actions that caught and held Keiko’s attention. It was the Pass itself.
The road wound around boulders here and outcroppings there, but it didn’t have the switchbacks most other mountain passes did. She had wondered about some of them in the foothills — the less jagged and more diminutive spires seemed an odd place for such meanderings, mainly when it was almost always worth waiting for another a few fullhand of paces to find a smoother way along the ridges and valleys. It wasn’t the Rhoni way to forge a path with that sort of effort, so she had to believe those had been remnants of the Imperial forces a handful of generations ago.
Here in the Pass? It reminded her of Triah’am Valley, although the old road that ran through the mountains hundreds of feet higher in elevation than the ancient easternmost Rhoni Road was wide enough for an army. It had been used by the Eastern horde when they flowed out onto the High Tarn at Brementown at the end of the First Age.
The Teaching Song about the closing of that Pass wasn’t one that Easterners like to hear. It also explained why the Princes’ forces had come down through Darkdown Pass at the end of the Second Age. Keiko had traveled that road several times. Talk about switchbacks!
When Lady Daxia stopped to present Dama Kisa with her gift, Keiko and Tomomi shared a happy smile. It had been a project that allowed Keiko to use some of the new paints Tomomi had given her at Midwinter. Oh, the shimmery ones were so beautiful!
Lady Bekkah’s sister wasn’t like any warrior Keiko had ever seen before, making her someone worth studying. In many ways, she was most like Broke and the rest of the Pack — a Guardian. It had taken Keiko until they had reached camp the evening after running away from the Nehrimstel priests to realize the Dayalan hadn’t been running away.
She had merely been not fighting. Such a Rhoni thing to do!
And now they stood outside the Great Snow Gates — most of them anyway. Tomomi’s feet were already cold and her boots, while excellent for walking, were not the warmest possible boots for her delicate structure. They were watching the young redhead greeting Dama Kisa, Lady Daxia, Lady Bekkah, and performing an act of kindness for Friend Lyric — all before she and Tomomi and Cesare were singled out.
Keiko grinned at the girl’s questions. Cesare’s answer was assuredly short and to the point, as well as perfectly adequate for a Gaija, even one who seemed more knowledgeable than most.
She was surprised when the Noble personage came so close to a commoner like herself, then chided herself for her surprise. This was Dama Kisa’s sister. They were very much not alike... and yet, they both had the quality of treating people as if each person was just as significant as every other person.
“Yes, Dama. I dance and play several instruments, although I only have flutes with me. And your mother is a wise woman to have raised such a thoughtful and polite daughter to know something of the Cards.” Keiko gave Eleni a curtsy, or at least as much as such a thing was possible while wearing so many layers and her heavy wool and fur lined leather Rhoni cloak would allow. “As a thank you for such kindness and consideration, I will tell you that I not only know about the Cards but have been known to read them from time to time.”
Well, it was no secret in this group, and all Rhoni knew that Dawnview was something of a haven for good-hearted people who didn’t exactly follow the teachings of the Imperial Church.
She hesitated a moment, only because the Dama’s comment had been directed to Friend Lyric. Still, knowledge seemed to be of great value to the Allaines, so she spoke up again.
“It’s true, Dama, that there are leaves nearly as big as I am from the jungle trees. Of course, I have never personally seen Imperial ladies being fanned with them, but that does not make the activity impossible. I have seen ladies being fanned with enormous collections of feathers, however. That was not in Trundle, though.”
While Keiko had dismounted so she could stretch out the kinks in her limbs, Tomomi remained seated on Ishahshnee'ah — something that led to the rest of the encounter being possible. After all, Dama Eleni was very nearly as tall as Lady Daxia, who was certainly taller than her sister and Friend Lyric, both of whom were taller — although not by much — than Keiko. And Keiko was taller than her Forever Friend.
Oh, no, Dama Eleni would have had a hard time peering into Tomomi’s cloak if the Mouse had been standing beside Keiko. She reached up and held Tomomi’s hand when Dama Eleni did the unthinkable.
Keiko blinked in surprise and looked at Tomomi’s surprised, perhaps shocked, features.
It was all she could do to nod at the Dama, although after a deep breath, the Rhoni replied, “Yes. Tomomi is my Forever Friend.”
She had no answer about the last question, however.
It was late in the day, so finding a place to stay — probably in the town that was said to be just inside the Grand Gates — seemed reasonable. Lady Daxia had taken charge of the group, and Keiko was content to defer to her judgment. She and Tomomi could find a comfortable corner in the stables and be quite happy there.
Lyric, of things deemed important... the Questions or the Freezing?
The Freezing might seem the logical answer, but the Minstrel knew she wasn't going to die right this moment. She was cold. Of that there was no doubt. Back home, she avoided the Cold Places, and those who lived there. They were not nice people. Well, less nice than her own. And she had ample evidence that her own were sometimes less than nice as well, perhaps indifferent being the better word. But those from the Cold Places were terribly harrowing of word, and abominable and sadistic of deed.
Still, there were many others who were not that way among the people of her village. Not as many as she had hoped, and of those she had found some mercy and quarter in that grave time of worry and distress. But she had been decreed the quarry of a Hunt and any who openly offered her aid or quarter risked much. And that has become one of the cornerstones of her people's society. The Self.
It was probably not the Freezing that was most important.
If the Questions, then whose questions? Her own? Or those of the the Red Haired Kin of Kisa, Eleni?
****
Lyric was carrying a small handful of the White Stuff, despite the numbness in her fingers. She had a question. An important question. But the White Stuff was changing, reverting back to it's liquid form as she walked. Oh, she walked as quickly as her stiff legs and numb feet would allow her, but it wasn't fast enough. The presentation was near an end, the ritual of it seemed time-honored even if the moment didn't appear quite right based upon the lack of formality in the greeting retinue. Well, at least that was what Lyric perceived given there was little pageantry for the 'Return of a Queen or Heir, or whatever Kisa was supposed to be called here and now. That was another question she needed to ask.
The minstrel fell into what seemed to be a line of sorts, and casual gathering so that every one of the new arrivals could get a glimpse of the proceedings as they were unfolding. With Lisica's reins in one hand and White Stuff in the other.... Wait, Oh no... It was almost all gone, turned back into water... She glanced back to the nearest patch of snow and realized that it would be altogether inappropriate now to become such a distraction to turn around with her horse and get some more. And there was no guarantee she would have better luck with the next handful than she had had with the first, given the slow speed of her movement.
Lyric sighed. Eleni was already working her way down the line, making greetings and soon she would arrive before the Minstrel.
She moved up a step to position herself as seemed respectful, glanced at Tomomi and then Keiko, and then at her handful of... water, and made a grimace and spread her fingers as she tipped her hand forward. That question will have to wait...
"Corals? Queens? Heirs? Regents? Who's actually in charge here? And how do we address Eleni," she asked of the friends to her left, Keiko and Tomomi and even Cesare- the furthest from her, as Eleni was moving from her own sister, Kisa. Next Eleni would speak words with Daxia, who had done the presentation, and then Bekkah would be next before she finally arrived at Lyric. These were important Questions. Sure, the White Stuff question was important, but face to face with a member of a Royal and noble family in their own demesne probably should have been something for which they all spent a little more time preparing, and took precedent in the MInstrel's mind.
To be fair, maybe everyone did discuss these matters and Lyric missed it because lost in her own misery as she battled the belief that her death was certain and soon along the mountain pass road.
There was little time for an answer though, as Eleni moved quickly and spoke even more quickly.
Quote
Then she stopped, stopped and looked at one of them and her head tilted.
"You poor, poor lassie! Here, come, take this."
The Khorall of Snowgate Keep swirled off her cloak and passed it to Lyric.
"Now, put that on and stand like this."
Eleni crossed her arms and stuffed her hands into her armpits.
"Warmest part of your body, that is, so you stand just like that, and it will turn your hands to the right shade of pink. Are you from a far away village? Have you traveled far? Is that your mandala? Do you sing too? Can you sing of your adventures with my sister and her Knight? Or have you just met them? But if you just met them, that means you are a right friendly lass, because it takes a long time for my sister to warm to anyone. Not that you can tell. Mother says that of the two of us I got all the words which is why she's so quiet. Do you want to know the secret of making it through winter? In summer all you do is sweat and it's all you can do to find cool shadows to hide from Her gaze in. They say Imperial ladies in Trundle have poor folks fan them with leaves, but if that's true, they got to have really big leaves in that city. Waving a maple leaf doesn't work at all. I've tried it. In winter you have hot tshokolat and mulled cider and warm fireplaces, and blankets big enough for you and a sister and some cats and a ruff or two and that makes getting warmer close and comfortable and much better than being hot where even the thought of being next to someone else makes you faint. Kisa, of course, like slinks and I like ruffs. Which do you like?"
Lyric had been standing there with reins in one hand and her other still before her as though she had been holding something invisible. But she obeyed dutifully. Dropping the reins and accepting the gift of the heavy cloak. She swung it around her shoulders and, on the second attempt, managed o get it settled properly on her shoulders. There was a wave of emotions at the kindness of Eleni with regard to the Gift, even if it was just for this moment and this purpose on loan. Lyric staved that off before it could choke her up and she linked away the tears.. in case they froze, of course.
Even though she fully understood the benefit of crossing her arms over her chest and putting her hands under into her armpits, she also had the presence of mind not to mention that there was another place to put her hands. She had found that other method worked very well when riding, or sitting at camp, but that might be considered an all too indelicate response for this moment. But it was true, two hands, palm to palm, between your legs, right up against your...
Eleni had questions, many more questions than Lyric had for her or anyone right now. They simply came at her in a flood of words and Lyric had a hard time understanding them, especially when she realized she was having to translate some of them. She nodded and answered as she could but didn't have time to elaborate on any of them as the questions so fast it didn't seem Eleni was less interested in the actual answers as she was in meeting new people.
Are you from a far away village? "Yes Dama Eleni," she said with a nod, but the next question came before she could name it.
Have you traveled far? "I think so," she offered with a shug
Is that your mandala? "Yes." But before she could state that it was far too cold to play anything because it might damage the instrument, Eleni was already moving on again.
Do you sing too? Another nod.
Can you sing of your adventures with my sister and her Knight? Lyric shook her head and started to reply that she could not because...
Or have you just met them? ...Eleni answered her own question. And so she nodded in reply
But if you just met them, that means you are a right friendly lass, because it takes a long time for my sister to warm to anyone. "I think I am..." But Eleni just kept going.
Not that you can tell. Mother says that of the two of us I got all the words which is why she's so quiet.
Do you want to know the secret of making it through winter?
Lyric wasn't sure how to respond. Who wouldn't want to know that when they were standing before a ruler, as they lost feeling in the extremities. But how to say that except to nod. And so that's what she did. She managed to mumble, "Please?" as Eleni launched into her answer. And so it really didn't matter what she had said, she was going the hear the secret of making it through winter.
In summer all you do is sweat and it's all you can do to find cool shadows to hide from Her gaze in. They say Imperial ladies in Trundle have poor folks fan them with leaves, but if that's true, they got to have really big leaves in that city. Waving a maple leaf doesn't work at all. I've tried it. In winter you have hot tshokolat and mulled cider and warm fireplaces, and blankets big enough for you and a sister and some cats and a ruff or two and that makes getting warmer close and comfortable and much better than being hot where even the thought of being next to someone else makes you faint. Kisa, of course, like slinks and I like ruffs.
Lyric stood there with wide eyes, trying to understand everything that was said to her. There were words that were hard to figure out and one word that simply had no meaning to her whatsoever. Places of fire, she understood though she was certain Eleni meant something other than a campfire. Warm blankets, oh yes. Lots of them, keep them coming. She wanted one, or three... right now. Faint? What? Why? Simply not enough time to ask her to slow down. And what was Tajhakalaht?
Which do you like?
"I'm sorry," she replied. "Which what? Oh, Slinks or ruffs? Ummm..."
She wasn't sure she had seen a slink before... and ruffs? Weren't those the animals that were chasing Hinata that day? That seemed like forever ago now. But, of course it wasn't forever ago. She knew that was a silly thought. Forever ago, had no real meaning. Whatever, she had to answer. It was respectful, but she didn't want to lie either. Nor did she want to offer an non-answer response about not having a preference. It seemed an important point of consideration and contention between herself and Kisa. It was as if her reply would establish a side in some rivalry. Lyric understood that game all too well. Politics. No matter how innocuous the question might be, the heart of the meaning was all too clear. And so you must choose your reply carefully.
"Wuffs. I like Wuffs."
****
No sooner had Eleni, of the Unknown Title, move on to Cesare, and Keiko, and Tomomi, and Lyric could take a breath and a sigh of relief, did she realize that Daxia was approaching with something in her hand. A Something she was preparing to present. Lyric took a deep breath, smile and nodded with a slight bow to her head that ended up in a bit of a tilt. Deference and humility at the priestess' approach.
Quote
“You could set a new fashion trend with that headwear, Mistress Lyric. Sadly, I think it would overshadow the delicate lace Tomomi is bringing to the Vale.” Dazi grinned and motioned for Lyric to remove the cloth from her head before setting the cap over her hair.
“Pull it down as far as you like. Your ears will be much warmer for it. And the length is meant to wrap around your neck to keep the wind from finding its way under your tunics.”
She sighed softly. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you had never been to the mountains before. We could have found some warmer boots, mittens, heavier clothes for you in Bordertown before we left. We’ll be sure to remedy that in the morning when the markets open.” Dazi glanced over at the young Khorall and smiled. “She’s right about stuffing your hands in your armpits. It’s good for those who wield swords... and fine musical instruments!”
Lyric did indeed remove the wrapped bloused top she had been given by her Mouse Friend, and then accepted the cap. It was a beautiful blue, like her own eyes. Perhaps not quite the blue of the cap, nor the blue of Daxia's eyes. But Lyric didn't want or her eyes to be something that drew so much attention anyway. Attention brought questions. Questions required answers. Answers meant choices. And choices were not something she wanted to make with friends.
She too reached up and accepted the cap in her own hands as Daxia was lowering it to her head. She would put it on her own head. Choices.
"My ears... warmer... Yes. Danks."
She settled the cap over he head and started to draw it down over her thick, long dark, dark brown hair. She could feel the emotions wave rising again. It was harder to push them away this time. Maybe if she found a release in words she could keep from crying. But it might be too late already.
"I didn't expect it to be so cold. That is true. I know what cold is and have always avoided it. But Cold is more than just a place to me. It is... a clan among my people." She fumbled with the right words. Some concepts just didn't translate as easily. "I avoided the cold for more reasons that just the cold. I was not prepared and realized I couldn't escape it as we were riding."
She made a couple of adjustments, another tug to seat it tight, and a twist to right it more even from side to side.
"You are so kind. You do not really know me, despite these several, many, Okay... lots of days travelling. We ride together and we talk around a fire. All of us. I mostly listen. To learn. Sometimes I don't understand when things are spoken fast or through laughter. But tell a story or sing a song to share and be a part of it all. You talk about your life growing up with your sister.. a sibling. I laugh and imagine that I have a sister too. But you really don't know me any more than anyone sharing your road and your fire for a time. Yet, you offer me something because I am in need. I know not how to ask for help. It really isn't my way. I wish it was my way. I think my people would be so much different if we understood this."
She lowered her face because the battle with her emotions was all but lost at this point.
"I can not thank you enough for your gift and your kindness. When I have my own cloak and cap from the markets, I will return these things to you and Coral Eleni. And I make this promise... I know the song, but vow to you I will not sing it... out of respect and friendship. An insufficient gesture but it all I have in this moment to say that I am humbled by your kindness toward me."
Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko and Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter
Keiko had smiled at Lyric’s question. The terms for properly addressing someone were often more complex than they needed to be. And the Allaines added their own level of complication, for the Heir could be addressed as either “Dama” or “Lord.” The latter was not the least bit intuitive.
“Right here and right now?” Keiko looked at the young, energetic redhead. “She is, I think. And ‘Dama’ is the word to use when addressing her,” she whispered. “It’s from the Ancient language, which is only kept alive by the efforts of the Allaines and Dayalans. It means ‘Lady.’” Then she paused, lower lip gripped between her teeth for a moment. “In a more formal setting — say, in her Court — perhaps ‘Khorall’ would be correct.”
# # #
Keeping an eye on the bouncy, flouncy, always moving Eleni, Daxia nodded in response to Lyric’s statements about the cold. One set of words caused her to raise an eyebrow.
“Cold is a clan of your people? How interesting! I’ve never heard of such a thing. Please... once we are settled, and you have warmed up, would you be willing to tell me more about your people?”
The Dayalan wasn’t trying to pry; she was doing her very best to be deferential to Lyric’s feelings and privacy. But she was a scholar, and having the chance to learn something new? It was beyond interesting!
She accepted the young woman’s thanks with grace and humility that would have surprised nearly everyone who didn’t know her very well.
“Kindness is something Bekkah and I both learned from our parents. Kassia did her best to temper it by stuffing my head — and cracking it, too, with her knuckles — with the reality of the world. So Bekkah sees the very best in everyone and believes no one can harm her because she serves Lady Attera. I have a slightly more realistic view of the world and understand that people will dislike me simply because I carry a sword and serve Lady Dayala. My heart still insists that kindness is of the utmost importance, at least when people aren’t trying to kill me,” she added with a wry grin.
“You have bonded with Bekkah over shared adversity. You are a friend of my friend Cesare. What more do I need to know about you in order to show you kindness? Absolutely nothing.
“Perhaps we — all of us in this group,” she said, gesturing to the others, “can help you learn how to ask for help. Oh, yes! It is something that many of us need to learn. I cannot say that I am always very good at it. But life is learning, is it not?
“Now, the hat is Eleni’s, and if I know her as well as I believe I do, she will want you to keep it. It suits her coloring, and I think she looks lovely in it. But she’d rather be wearing my helm, which is not good for keeping the ears warm.” Daxia smiled crookedly at that. “I would be quite interested in seeing her reaction, though, when you return her cloak and hat.
“In truth, Mistress Lyric, if there is a place where that song would not concern me, it is here in the Vale. There are songs about the daughters of Dawnview and about Dayalans, and they were all written and are still sung to evoke certain emotions and recall our history. Like all the others, there is truth in the song about the events at the Bordertown Temple... and there are truths behind the truth, and those truths are only interesting to my sisters and superiors of the Temple.”
Then she glanced over at the Rhoni Card Reader.
“Also, I think one small part of it would be of interest to certain high-ranking individuals in a place young Keiko knows better than any of us. If I understand the roundabout way she has told her tale, the Rhoni are temporarily banned from there.
“And that could be a very good thing.”
Daxia almost turned then but paused once more. “I have met others whose first language was not Colonial, and so they had an interesting way of saying many things.” She smiled as Romana came to mind. “While it’s true that Dawnview is more welcoming than many places, some of the people here will find a reason to have their ears offended when any of the Ancient words are mispronounced. Personally, I find it adds enjoyment when listening to others speak.
“Khorall is one of those words. It’s so old that the pronunciation across the mainland is not too dissimilar from the word as it’s spoken in the language Keiko ought not to speak... and your pronunciation is closer to that other language.
“Don’t worry! All you need to do is make the initial sound a bit harder and add just the tiniest hint of breath after it. And the ‘r’ is ever so slightly rolled. And last, the second syllable is stressed, which I will admit is an anomaly in Ancient. So it sounds more like ‘corral’ than ‘coral.’”
She grinned mischievously as her eyes darted to the mounted guards and then back to Lyric.
“It hurts the ears of those who find the Ancient language difficult to learn more than those of us who are fluent, or nearly so,” she said in a conspiratorial tone.
Lyric, wondering exactly how faraway was Faraway Hills
Choices.
"Not exactly," she said of the Clan name. "Neither Clan nor Cold are the right words for the concepts in my thoughts. But I don't know how better to express them... Or, perhaps it is too dangerous to share. I have told the others, my people are reclusive. And they do not like strangers. So speaking whole truths or saying too much about my 'village' could bring harm. I am exiled from my homeland because I challenged traditions and rules and laws as old as time itself I think... and now I am Banished."
The last word actually sounded as if she used it as a title.
"I can never go home again."
She shrugged and then there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and a tight, thin smile.
"So, in the Here and the Now, it is best I not say more but maybe there will be another place... With song and drink, and stories to be told. Be warned, perhaps mine is a story that might not be worth hearing. I will say this, let us call my home Kethy's Woods. Secret, hidden, best forgotten. Lord Dominic Korie says it is called Faraway Hills to those outside it's borders. I think he knows that probably isn't completely true. Faraway, yes. Hills... yes. But two things that are true does not mean they are truth as a whole. Then again who am i to argue with a Korie Nobleman, aye? He did know about our Poet Shaggies."
Daxia spoke about kindness and lessons learned from youth, and how those lessons were tempered and applied. Lyric glanced at Daxia's sister and she understood just how the Aterran Priestess could go forward with the absolute confidence in her safety and simply follow her heart to wherever it was she was needed. She had seen it firsthand. To that she nodded.
Lyric paused a moment as she considered the words that would follow next. Her visage changed with a subtly that could only be seen by a trained eye. There was a resolve that came with wisdom, and she spoke less as a Minstrel at the whims of emotions and her fancies, and more like a sage who valued the virtues of patience and logic.
"Then she should wear the Helm... If that is her desire. I do not mean to challenge traditions. But I guess that is what my words could mean. Please take no offense. We can only discover our true selves if we step beyond the boundaries of what we are told we can't do, and discover if they are, in truth, the things we can become. The things we want to be and the things we want to do should not be constrained by anyone nor anything except our own imaginations. While she might not be good at this thing she wants, she will never accept that truth if she can't prove it to herself, and then realize that the thing she was born to be is where she actually belongs. Or not... Why should she not try it and learn what her limitations are for herself? That is not a judgment upon any one or any place. Just an observation from a person who had to lose everything she ever knew to discover everything she lost could barely fill a thimble compared to the world that awaited her. Forgive my impertinence Friend Daxia."
With regard to the song, she said quietly. "I have seen how it makes you uncomfortable. Songs and stories do not always tell the whole truth. Whole truths are hard and messy, and complicated. Songs and stories shouldn't tell the whole truth either. What they tell is what an audience needs to hear. Be it a tale that focuses on courage, told to a people hungry for courage... Or a tale filled with action and acts of reckless abandon by heroes invincible for an audience trying to escape a life of endless and tiresome drudgery. Or maybe something to make an audience laugh when all the things around them in their normal lives might otherwise make them cry. That is what stories do... transport us to a life where we find something to make us believe that our own lives can be better. I tell them and sing them, and my own desire to learn the fullness of every story and song helps me appreciate that some truths are best not told in their fullness."
And lastly, on matters of language.
"My language is probably very close to that which you call Ancient. Long ago, very long ago, it might actually have been Ancient. But seclusion and secrecy have allowed things to change without us ever knowing that it has done just that. There is much of the familiar to me in those words I hear but sometimes I just can't connect them to what my truth is currently. I think it was a long time ago, but I don't know what that even means. Kurrall."
"Khorrall..."
The tiniest bit of breath. A slight roll in the R. Lyric knew she could mimic the word exactly. She could could even do it in an accent that was of perfect pitch and intonation for every person with which she travelled, but that wasn't the same as learning the word. Tavern tricks did not help her learn new things, only how to fake her way through sounding too much like a foreigner to be feared.
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
The Starlord listened to Lyric. More importantly, perhaps, she gathered up the words and phrases and meanings, weighing them and comparing them to things both mundane and esoteric that she’d been taught. Some of the things Lyric said hit just a little too close to her heart.
...I can never go home again...
It was good that Kay and Romana had found a sort of family together and could find a new home here... in this time, in the world west of the Black Mountains.
Although she noted the change in the young woman’s demeanor, Daxia made no mention of it, gave no indication that she had even noticed. However, she smiled sadly at Lyric’s words.
“I take no offense when one speaks the truth of their heart and experience so eloquently... or, at least, I try very hard not to. While I can’t say for certain that I know her mother’s mind, I suspect Eleni would have been given a chance to prove herself as a warrior if she had the talent for it. Life for Nobles is not as free and easy as it is for those of us who are commoners. Some look at those of Noble and Imperial families with envy, thinking their lives are so much better than ours. But we are the ones who can choose to take up a sword or marry a farmer, to become a scholar or learn a trade.”
She nodded in Eleni’s direction. “I don’t doubt she will use her brilliance and imagination to make the lives of the people under her care the best they can be. Will she ever travel the length of the Highland Path and watch the tides crash over our old Temple on the Sea of Opals? Who’s to say? I don’t think I’d even dare pose such a question of Keiko’s cards.” Daxia’s glanced over her shoulder for a moment before smiling at the minstrel. “Her sister managed it, and in some ways, Eleni is even bolder than Kisa.
“Time will bring the future to us, and we’ll learn what Eleni does when the time is right. I’m not sure that’s exactly why my Lady created it, this thing we call ‘time.’ Still, my Rhoni-born Temple Sister encouraged me to learn how to ride the waves, and the Fates have seen to reinforce that lesson by giving me two Rhoni traveling companions. So,” she declared, returning to a previous topic, “your story should be shared when you feel comfortable doing so, when the time is right for you and for the minds that will hear it.
“Until then, it would be a pleasant way to pass the time discussing the matter of languages! I learned more about Ancient from some of the books in the Grand Cathedral in Talesan’s Village. I hope to find more in the library at Starwatch Reaches.
“It’s interesting, isn’t it, that three languages can all begin at the same place and become something unintelligible to one another? Well, I think it’s interesting.”
She looked up and noted Eleni making a beeline for the two of them.
“Ah, our whirling dervish approaches.
“But I will say one last thing about songs, and that one in particular. I don’t think any song holds all the truth. And surrounded by my family here in the Vale, that song is much easier to bear than being surrounded by strangers... those very people for whom the song was written.”
The Heartwood Dawnview Vale Snowgate Keep Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Kisa, Tomomi, Eleni, Nadya and their Starrider Guards
It was like watching a pebble bounce down a rocky cliff. Eleni caromed from one to another, to address all who spoke to her. True, she may not answer every question, just those she chose to. But, at the least, they were the salient points of their conversation, at least from her point of view.
"Are you sure?"
The younger sister pressed back against Bekkah's words.
"How do you know you aren't supposed to be here? Your path has brought you back, ja? If your Lady truly does guide your path, couldn't that also mean you are meant to be here? You are very definitely back home again. What if that's what is supposed to be? Do you have regular conversations with Her? I don't think that's quite fair you know. You and Dazi and even the High Priestess in the Temple, you can have conversations with your Goddesses. But if I do? Fine. Of course, I can. But if she talks back, it's fine for you. For me, the first thing everyone would think is that I've gone completely daft."
The Rhoni lad got a step back and a wide-eyed look.
"Rhoni? Boy and girl, traveling together but not related? Are you promised, are you then handfasted? I admit I know little of Rhoni customs, just what I have seen during festival time and from certain relatives, but they don't talk too much, of course. But isn't that somewhat scandalous, even more, than a Rhoni wandering all alone? Is this something Mother would tell me I'm not supposed to ask about? Not that we cannot deal with a scandal or two. Some of our favorites are walking scandals, like handsome Dominic or our very own Trundle-born Starrider. And what is it with us Allaines and our bodyguards? I have been spared that, as Nadya is old enough to be my Mother, nin, nin, nin old enough to be my Grandmother..."
Her stream of words was suddenly caught short by a muffled 'ahem' from her teacher. The young redhead swallowed and scuffed her foot across the ground.
"My... my... my... my... very much beloved, respected, much cared for, wise and very, very, very patient grandmother..."
Nadya shook her head with a hidden smile.
"But it does raise a very important question! How many rooms do we need tonight? You are staying, ja? Not just continuing down the trail. Like I know my dear, dear sister would prefer to keep on her way, just like her tiles keep on clitter-clacking, keeping me awake at night, but as the Khorall of Snowgate Keep, I absolutely forbid it."
She bounced back, latching her arm around her sister's.
"Please?"
She looked at her sister with big round eyes, to which Kisa had but a few simple words.
"That is not going to work."
"Are you sure?"
"It never does."
"But you are staying?"
Kisa was quiet for an extended set of heartbeats. She looked to her Knight and smiled a small, resigned smile.
"Of course."
The Allaine heir slowly disentangled herself from her sister's arm.
"I have missed you, too."
That brought Eleni's true smile back. It brought back her smile and a genuine bounce to her step. That hop took her a pace to the side, almost bumping up against Morning Star. She then gave the black unicorn a long and considering look, rising up to her tiptoes to peer closer.
"See! I knew you were old! But old and Magnificent? Is that because you are a hand taller than most other unicorns? Are you going through a growth spurt too?"
While her ward was observing the unicorn, Nadya quietly replied to Daxia.
"There was an altercation come to Midsummers. I actually blame Verchovai Kassia. Several villages around the keep were badly damaged by the waters of the spring thaw. We were hard pressed with the sheltering of those without homes, and the young Khorall asked the Temple for help rebuilding. I am sure Her Holiness Karina did not appreciate the inference that her folks simply spent their time lounging around the Temple. She appreciated it even less when Eleni reminded her that 'cutting stone was an honorable job for a Dayalan.'
"I can only think of one person who could have taught her that.
"Karina then made it clear that the purpose of the Dawnview Temple was ages old — ever-vigilant in maintaining the Safety of the Vale and upholding the Traditions of Her Light.
"That was when our dear little genius stated the obvious conclusion.
"Oh. You are a Brute Squad."
Standing next to Morning Star, Eleni bit her lip.
"I heard that! Mother tossed me out of the council room saying that just because she is Family doesn't mean I don't have to be diplomatic. I don't know what happened afterward, except we had to cut our own stone and we are still rebuilding those farms. I suggested building a terrace and planting that Trundle delicacy, rice, and letting it flood come spring and actually use the water to help us. But that is neither here nor there. I spoke the truth. And that's what's important, isn't it?"
She then turned to Daxia.
"Of course I want to know the truth of it. The truth is always better. It's what's right. Like yes, that's what Mother says too."
It was a traditional Eleni change of subject, a seamless non sequitur segue, from one topic to the next.
"Mother says I'm taking after Father. And that he ended up bumping his head going through doors. I'm not sure I am looking forward to that at all. But it's not like I have a choice, ja? What will be will be, and it just means no one can hide cookies on a high shelf from me anymore. But knitted grey barrel hats? And lace?"
Eleni then turned to Keiko and Tomomi once more, walking right up to the Mouse and Rhoni again, reaching up to take one hand and get a good look at Tomomi's sleeve. She peered at the delicate threadwork. Eleni then smiled.
"Knitted helms. Bah. They may be the fashion for a season, then two. At most. Then they'll be quaint memories at the bottom of a cedar chest. But this lace? Crowns will get you stars that it catches on, lace will be with us forever. And Forever Friend. I really, really like that. It has such a nice sound to it and says everything, about how being close can mean just that, and not be tangled up in all other issues or responsibilities, traditions or things that are just supposed to be.
"And you read the Cards too?"
Her attention, for the moment, had now firmly returned to Keiko.
"Well, I won't ask, no matter how much I'd like to watch. I've always been kept away from the Rhoni who do that when they come by. Mother says I always have too many questions and my questions are never correct. She says I'm too focused on the practical and the right here and now.
"And I think I have settled things. You are all staying. I am a proper hostess, ja? I could not turn you away to some inn or stable or commons house. My house, it's also good, isn't it? Especially because..."
She turned to Lyric, walking around her and placing two hands on her back, and lightly pushed.
"Come, come, come. It is cold, and with Her light falling, it's only going to get colder. Inside, inside, ja? Hot tshokolat for all!
"And Wuffs? Oh, my! You like dangerous ruffs! Are you a dangerous person, one of those quiet folks you need to watch out for because when you thought there were ruffs, it turned out to be wolves? Does this mean you have deep and dark secrets you keep even from your friends? But that's fine too. Everyone has secrets. Sometimes I think having something private, just for yourself, is important because that becomes something you know is yours when the world says your duties always lie elsewhere.
"For now though, no secrets, just gates to go through and a hot meal to find."
For those who had seen Talantal, Snowgate Keep was like a younger sister. Instead of five rings, there were only three. There were also other differences; there was much less a difference between the class and status of the rings as one approached the central keep. There was more stone in Snowgate too; while Talantal also had its stone residences, they were not the norm. Heavy timber with wattle and daub was predominant. In Dawnview, it appeared, the reverse was true, as if honey-colored marble was an ordinary material.
This was a place very different than Lyric's small village. The walls were so tall, there were so many homes in such a tight space, as well as so many people. And yet the people seemed quite comfortable and familiar with this place, as if it were somehow natural for them to be living so close and in such crafted space. There was an odd focus to their lives as if by being so close together everything was so much more vital, so much more intense.
As they rode up the switchback streets, higher and higher into the keep, Tomomi leaned forward, to whisper in Keiko's ear and nod towards the younger Allaine.
The other difference was that Talantal rose majestically in its five tiers. Snowgate was much more aggressive, though aggressive may not be the really proper word. It was built into the side of the pass and strove towards the sky like a person reaching for the very stars.
The tallest towers, of course, were part of the central keep. Though tall, they were not overly large, as if slenderness and grace were as much a part of the castle's design as shelter and protection. Their horses were offered excellent stables, and the group was brought into the keep's main hall. It was actually small and comfortable, sized for a large family but not large assemblies. There was a large hearth on one side with a pair of formal chairs on each side of it. Nadya sat in one, while Eleni made sure everyone else had a place at the table that dominated the center of the room.
"I always thought to talk around a dinner table was much more natural than being presented in a formal Court. Nadya says I am daft, but I... I am not good at being my big sister or Mother."
Her words finally faltered for a moment before she started to talk again.
"So I decided to try and find my own way. And we need hot stew and hot drinks to melt a minstrel's frozen bones."
She did choose the head of the table, a place where someone had scribbled words and little diagrams on each side of the properly-set stew bowl. Interestingly, she also made sure everyone was clustered around her end of the table instead of being evenly distributed about.
"And I've never been able to stay in my appointed place during any court.
He likes that she has her own freedom and is true to herself. And he likes that she speaks the truth too and would prefer that more people were like that. There again, there are some that have spoken truth to him and followed it up with action when he has been on the receiving end of their prejudice. That kind of truth he can do without but he likes Eleni's kind. In some ways, as well as Dydd, it also reminds him of Lyric. She too has a natural way with her, unafraid to admit to not knowing, unafraid to be wrong.
And so he smiles again as Eleni once again asks Keiko and himself another direct question, which he finds refreshing and not in the least offensive.
"No we are not promised.."
Then he pauses to correct his statement.
"Well at least I am not but I think Keiko is?"
He raises an arched eyebrow in her direction, not sure if he has used the right term.
Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
Keiko wasn’t sure if she should giggle or remain solemn and try to correct some of Dama Eleni’s misconceptions about the Rhoni. She opted for a cheerful smile and a decision that most lessons were better conducted out of the wind and cold.
“No, Dama, we are not handfasted — at least, not to one another. And it’s not the least bit scandalous.” She looked at Cesare and shrugged. “Cesare is a Traveler. I am a Traveler. Our paths crossed on the other side of the mainland. And now we are Traveling together for a time.”
She was beginning to get used to the fact that everyone seemed to know the Young Master. After meeting the Koromov at Dominic and Emerald’s wedding, it didn’t really surprise her that she might cause a scandal or two, at least by the customs of the Imperials. For a daughter of the Homura Family, there wasn’t much she could do that was more scandalous than her own mother had done. And even Madoka’s marriage to a Gaija had been accepted and blessed by the Elders — all of them.
Keiko didn’t quite understand what Eleni meant by her comment regarding her family and their bodyguards. After her backpedaling about Lady Nadya, Keiko peered at the youngster for a moment before speaking.
“We had... The Elders’ have said that Lady Nadya is your guardian and has held the Regency for you, that is is only secondarily a bodyguard.” She tilted her head to one side, allowing her puzzlement to show. “Perhaps this is a question I am not to supposed to ask about, but wouldn’t you have a say in who your bodyguard is? And are Dama Kisa and Lady Daxia creating a scandal?”
Perhaps she didn’t understand what Nobles meant by scandalous.
Before she could answer Eleni’s question of rooms — after six weeks of travel, Keiko would have been happy if the whole group was shoved in a storage closet as long as it was dry — the Khorall bounced off to wheedle a promise from her sister that they’d stay. This time, Keiko did grin — Eleni could not have been more like Moriko in this regard if she had tried.
Eleni wasn’t gone for long. After gaining her sister’s assurance that they’d stay the night, the girl first interacted with the unicorn and then Lady Daxia again. But then she was back at their side, inspecting Tomomi’s scalloped sleeves.
“A Rhoni rarely has a friendship that lasts a fullhand of years. And a lifetime friendship? Well, until I met Tomomi, I didn’t think such a thing was possible! So, yes, she is my Forever Friend because I won’t have to travel far away from her like Rhoni normally do.” Keiko realized it wasn’t an optimal explanation, but it was enough for the moment. The more complex topic was that of the Cards.
“Perhaps your mother is right. It’s good to be practical, it’s good to live in the moment. We only have so many moments in our lives... why not savor each one, ja? But the Cards do not understand the individual moments.”
And then Eleni was off again, this time hustling all of them through the Gates and up the steep streets of her keep.
Tomomi’s whispered comment did get Keiko to watch the young Khorall more closely after that. By the time they were all settled around the table with bowls of hot stew thick with meat and vegetables and accompanied by slabs of fresh bread, Keiko saw that the Mouse’s assessment of the lass was likely correct.
Keiko would never contradict a respected Elder, especially one who held a position of trust like Nadya did. So the question of whether or not Eleni was daft was moot.
“Oh, but, Dama Eleni, of course, you’re not good at being your sister or your mother,” the Rhoni pronounced with the assurance of one who can see the obvious in front of her face. “You are you and can only be you.” She smiled as she glanced around the room, then looked at Eleni again. “This is a very nice way you have decided to be.”
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
Daxia raised an eyebrow at Eleni’s argument to Bekkah. The lass was clever, that was clear. And the bit about talking to their respective Goddesses? Dayala’s priestess had to bit her lip to keep from chuckling. How many time had she been called daft — as worse — when she had talked to Dayala when she was a youngster? Too many to count. It was one thing for a commoner child who was expected to devote herself to the Temple to have the fanciful notion that she was actually talking to Dayala, it was quite another for the Noble child who was destined to rule a Keep to do the same. And yet, Dazi knew beyond the shadow of any doubt that she, indeed, had been talking to Dayala for the past twenty years. Why shouldn’t Eleni do so as well?
Not that Dayala ever spoke to Daxia, but it wasn’t something she expected either. Dayala was a good listener. Morning Star was the talker.
She’d watched Eleni play this game with Kisa since she became Kisa’s friend. And each time Eleni tried to cajole Kisa into something, it reminded Dazi of all the times she’d done the same thing to Bekkah. The differences, of course, being that Bekkah could never say no to her little sister and Kassia had put a stop to such nonsense, as she called it, before Bekkah had gone off to train with Lady Catherine. Or so Kassia had thought.
Kisa’s smile wasn’t anything like Bekkah’s, but today — right now and right here — the effect was the same.
And when the youngster peered at His Magnificence, he eyes her right back. It was almost as if the two of them were having a staring contest. Fortunately, Nadya brought her attention away from that spectacle.
Daxia did her best not to grin at the telling of Eleni’s altercation with her aunt, the High Priestess.
Looking between the two of them for a moment, and then another and another, Daxia had a bad feeling about her eventual meeting with Her Holiness. Upholding the traditions of Her light meant something different to the Temple-bound Dayalans than it did to Wild Dayalans. Karina wouldn’t even deal with the Koromov, leaving that task to the pottery-tossing Kassia. Gilly and Poppy were both easy-going and smart enough to not get on Karina’s bad side.
She’d been trained by Kassia, so that should make her smart enough to not cross swords with the High Priestess. But Daxia had a stubborn streak the depths of which had yet to be fully plumbed. She suspected the only person who wouldn’t be surprised by her stubbornness was Kassia.
“I would agree that truth is important, dear Eleni. But often it is a matter of impeccable timing when choosing just when to convey the truth. And yes. I will tell you the truth behind the song.”
She raised an eyebrow at the girl’s cleverness. “Terraces for rice sounds like an excellent idea. Is our climate suitable for growing it here? Is the growing season long enough? Is there a particular type of rice that is better suited to the mountains over the plains?”
She turned and saw the non-expression on Kisa’s face. “See? I was paying attention when you and Father Canna were waxing poetic about agriculture,” she said with a grin.
Daxia had only been to Snowgate Keep a couple of time — once with Kassia to spend time observing in the Regent’s court, and once with Gilly to train with the Starriders here. Each time, then and now, she marveled at the Ancient architects who had built something that combined such delicate beauty with undeniable strength.
The stable hands were more impressed with Morning Star than any of the horses, which made sense. The Allaines could afford to acquire the best. As far as they knew, there were only four unicorns in the world... and one of them, the latest to claim a Dayalan Companion, was right here in their stable.
Needless to say, Morning Star found many gifts of apples from admirers that night.
Daxia laughed at Eleni’s dinnertime comment. “I can only imagine the sort of anxiety you caused Kassia. Kisa seems to have an uncanny ability to watch everything going on around her and remain perfectly still while doing it. I fidget, something that earned me a fair number of pokes, prods, jabs, and both articulate and indistinct hissing noises.”
She paused, grabbing a thick slice of bread for Kisa and one for herself from the basket in the middle of the table.
“How long did it take her to throw up her hands and declare you to be something even worse than a cobble block?” She grinned at Eleni and asked, “What picturesque nickname did she give you?”
Lyric, of Wuffs and Secrets, and an Important Question
There was little time to add her thoughts to Daxia's where it concerned Eleni. In truth, Lyric didn't really understand who was who here. She got the filial connections but there was a ranking order as well. Kisa had been called the Heir, but Eleni seemed to be in charge of the Snow Gate Keep. Was this the heart of Dawnview Vale? Or was there more? A larger keep? Or maybe even a Castle like she had heard of in stories brought back to her village. She heard mention there was a Mother figure for Kisa and Eleni, and was she really in charge? Oh, it was very confusing. But Lyric did her best to hide that because now was not the time nor the place to reveal her profound ignorance to everyone. For now, it was sufficient that they just assumed she was ignorant and backwards. Proving it to them could wait for a quieter moment, perhaps over this drink called Tajhakalaht. If it was anything like mulled cider, with sinnoman, then she was certain she wanted to try it. In fact, she still has the gift of sinnoman given to her by Cesare. Tajhakalaht with sinnoman. She had no idea what it was, but she wanted it all the more now.
"Time... yes. Time will bring the future to us," she rephrased and repeated to Daxia. "Maybe Time will bring us the Tajhakalaht too... But it would be rude for me to say such to our host," she added conspiratorially as Eleni was approaching.
*****
Two hands upon her shoulder blades to urge the Minstrel forward. The Khorall spoke over Lyric's shoulders. Who else might have heard her questions?
Am I a dangerous person?
An interesting question from an interesting person, on an interesting day. It deserved an answer of some truth for sure. Some...
Where to start?
"Maybe we all keep certain things private and others call them secrets because the temptation to solve mysteries is strong. These would be private truths and there might be many reasons to keep them secret. Maybe those reasons are selfish or maybe they keep friends safe. Maybe they are both. Maybe we have regrets and maybe secret truths would overshadow the heart and hope of who we truly are, so we keep secrets. Choices are made, consequences carried forward."
"As to Ruffs and Wuffs. Wouldn't we all like to think we are dangerous Khorall Eleni? Confidence in ourselves is important, so maybe... Yes... No?" Lyric shrugged. "I don't really know though. Am I? Maybe I am but not as much as others I have met. But... I am probably not the best one to answer that question about myself. Nor should any of us do the same. It sounds like bragging, Ja? And bragging tempts others to test your claims. And what good would that bring? I am a Minstrel, probably not a Bard. It doesn't matter to me much. I am happy to just be me and let others answer such questions about me."
Was that enough truth? It fit with the amount of personal revelation that Eleni offered. She had a secret. A Private thing she kept to herself. Something she feared might get taken from her if those whose opinions mattered to her found out about it. And in Eleni's words Lyric believed she touched upon the secret itself. As much as she admired Kisa for her Gifting with the Cards, and allowed that she did not possess such talent, she revealed she had an even greater Gift. Daxia had praised Eleni for her brilliance and imagination, but Lyric realized it was something more... something Dangerous. Dangerous to those who had secrets to keep, Dangerous to the types of people Eleni would face in circles of nobles and royals. Dangerous enough to make people fear her.
Kisa could read the Tiles, understand the Tiles, interpret the Tiles. Lyric didn't fully fathom the difference between Keiko's Gift with the Cards and Kisa's with Tiles. There was a difference though. Something about a Window and a Watcher. Lyric really didn't understand it, and yet it fascinated her.
Lyric was sure that Eleni's true, hidden, secret Gift was something similar. Lyric believed Eleni could read people. She might not gain the revelation directly but she knew the right questions to ask because she could sense the questions that needed to be asked. She could make people reveal their truths to her without words from them. Ask the right questions because you feel them, and read the person as they face those truths within themselves. Eleni could 'know' things, sense things, feel things, and that made her dangerous. And, to some extent, Eleni knew she had this Gift and kept it a secret. How much did Eleni 'know' about what she could do? How much control did she have? Lyric didn't have an answer for those questions. But the Minstrel believed that Eleni felt Lyric had a secret and that was something of a bonding moment between kindred souls. It allowed Eleni to reveal something of a truth in her own words to the Minstrel.
***** Riding again, up and up, back and forth and still up beyond the gates and into... what? Lyric did not possess the words to understand what she was seeing in terms of architectural admiration. There was nothing like this in her village. And where the Mad Imperial Prince's Keep was inverted into the lake, hidden, reclusive, withdrawn into the earth below, this structure presented itself in full view as a work of art as well as a feat of engineering.
Lyric had no words. She just rode along, staring at it with her mouth slightly agape, cocking her head one way, then the other. Sometimes she found her self twisting in the saddle and looking straight up at the sheer height of the walls. All of this was so very new to her.
*****
Gathering around a table. Where there seemed to be a formality to Eleni's informality. The Khorall's own sense of traditions honored and traditions eschewed was its own formality and rule.
Lyric waited for others to claim seats. The Minstrel did not know what formalities held sway in this Court. But she understood that such things were important. The presentation and greeting was a circumstance of formality. She was keenly accustomed and trained to know these things... just not what these specific rules were though. No matter how hungry she was, and she truly was hungry, she would not embarrass herself nor disrespect her host's customs and traditions. The Minstrel was content just to be welcomed at the table.... to have her bones unfrozen by a stew.
But she did have a pressing question though. When to ask it though? She waited for a better moment and seated herself last.
The Heartwood Dawnview Vale Snowgate Keep Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Eleni, Kisa, Nadya, Tomomi, Starrider Guards, and various servants
As they settled into their places at the dining table, their promised meal arrived. Of course, the main course was a hearty stew. It had a very thick gravy, much more substantial than anything on the trail or even found in the other mainland keeps. The potato chunks were large, and so were the carrots, and there was absolutely no skimping on the hunks of venison. It seemed extravagant, but for those acquainted with mountain life, it was actually traditional across the Vale. It was a simple acknowledgment of the harshness of the season: thick and hearty, it was armor against the weather and good medicine when one had been out in the cold for too long.
A couple of carafes were set on the table — for Kisa, a cool juice made of many different fruits, as well as kavass for the others. The kavass was the exact opposite of the stew; it had small cubes of cut ice floating in it.
And then the hot tshokolat was brought out in steaming mugs of fancy glazed pottery. Thick and flavorful, it was an import for any lands this side of Trundle on the Hill. Deep brown in color, the air misted above the cup, heavily laden with its rich, almost bittersweet aroma. With a nod from Nadya, the guests were served first, then the regent, and last Eleni. She bit her lip and turned away as hers was placed at her side by one of the kitchen staff, who then joined the other serving folk going through their satellite tasks. This included making sure everything else was properly taken care of. Warm bread was set out, as well as a plate of thick meat for those, like Kisa, who preferred a more weighty preparation than stew, fowl for those who might prefer such. They also ensured that no one ran out of their drink.
There were, it seemed, some formalities even Eleni could not banish, outpace or brush aside with a seemingly infinite wave of words. Her words hid how she felt about all this, especially when a new lad set a fresh mug of hot tshokolat at her side. If Eleni had a vice, it obviously was for that decadent Eastern drink.
Where to start? Kisa smiled as she noticed her sister's consternation. She reached up to lightly finger the tiles on her pendant, watching her sister with a quiet intensity. Daxia recognized the look in the heiress' eyes. It was playful, as if she were thinking of a particularly mischevious arrangement of tiles: toss Eleni into a group of people and then try and guess where she would start.
It was the setting own of her hot drink that set her off. The Khorall of Snowgate Keep immediately, swiftly and so very surely turned her attention to Cesare.
"Not promised? But your kin, Keiko, is?
"To someone else?"
Fine. That was obvious. But it was part of Eleni's ramble. Jumping from one thought to another like a mountain stream dancing around a scattering of rocks.
"How do you feel about that? The betrothal thing and that Keiko is promised to another? Not in like are you jealous and all, but that being the way things are for you. I don't think much of things like that, because, well, there's not too much to think about. It just is, I mean. Mother and my aunts will make that decision for me, and that will be that, just as sure as Kisa's tiles fall one after another. It's probably all for the best because I'm too busy learning how to run a stupid Keep and be all political...
"Oh, Nadya, stop frowning. I know it's very very important and you know I can't even allow myself to think the littlest bit that I would ever let my Family down, but it's just not... come on, admit it... romantic, adventurous, something folks will write songs about it.
"I know..."
She looked into her hot tshokolat for a moment, as if her words had suddenly vanished. But only for a heartbeat.
"I know I am not... Kisa.
"But I am allowed to wish, every now and then, aren't I?
"Fine. But what am I supposed to dream about?
"If he will be a scholar? As rich as a king? Handsome? Young? What if my Aunts think sixty-two is young? Tall? What if he's tall from side to side?
"Bah.
"The best I can wish for is that they'll take their time choosing someone."
Eleni poked about her stew before lifting her head and continuing on to Keiko.
"A scandal? Well. Not really. It just seems like tradition and all. And it's not like I need a bodyguard. I mean, what sort of man would stalk after me? Nadya says I would drive any sane man daft with my incessant rambling. So that leaves me with the insane? What rational person would want that? Not that I have many choices. I have spent most of my life listening to Kisa's tiles clatter in the room above mine. I know what that means. That in the end, I won't have a choice, will I?
"And if I had a choice? I dream of adventures and travels, I dream of being able to help people like Daxia does, stand against the wrongs of the world, really, actually, maybe even saving someone's life.
"You know whose life Daxia saved first? My sister's. I had been listening to those tiles fall every night. But only after she met Daxia did they make her smile. Really and truly smile, not just her Court face, but from her heart.
"What about me? Whose life can I save? Are my dreams and wishes to remain just that? Dreams and wishes?
"But there's something even scarier about that. Are those dreams and wishes the real and true me or are they just a fancy image of me I have just made up?"
It took her a while, it always did, for Eleni to get to any kind of a point, but hidden in her torrent of words there was always a truth lying hidden.
"How does one find out who the true you is? By looking hard, do you actually lose yourself? Is it like a ruff? Some folks see a ruff by their bloodlines, conformation, the pattern of their coat, and whether or not they meet the fine qualifications of being a particular kind of ruff. Is that being a ruff? Or in that search do you lose the truth? That a ruff is simply the caring warmth at the foot of the bed on a cold winter's night that you don't ever have to worry for because no matter what that love will always be there?"
"I just don't know."
Daxia, however, brought Eleni back to the actual world, a world of pragmatics and the truths of weather and the growing of things.
"I think so. From what I have learned, rice only needs three months of warm temperature; and warm as in warm, not hot like summers in Corliss. It could be a bit chancy, but it should be warm enough for one harvest between the end of the storm season and the end of harvest. But we shall never know unless we try. If rice doesn't work, we can fill the terrace with fish. Maybe fish would be a better answer. Nadya! We should try both!"
At the next question, both Kisa and Eleni giggled. Though it was Kisa, in one word, that answered her Knight's question.
"Flutterby."
Eleni nodded.
"That's right. She called me that. And you know what happened? I looked at Kassia, thought about it, turned around once, twice and thrice and then looked up at her, hopped and clapped my hands together. Flutterby! She was absolutely right. And on top of everything else it was cute, and who calls a skinny girl with unkempt hair cute?
"That's when she threw up her hands and gave up on me. I don't think I was supposed to like the name!"
Her head tilted then, as she suddenly looked across the table at Bekkah.
"Has anyone ever had a nickname for you? Like Little Miss Sunshine? No. That's too long for a nickname. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I'm just curious. You seem so, so, so perfect. It's kind of like the betrothal tradition, right? If you completely follow your Lady's word do you have any say in your life? Aren’t there things you wish to do, just for yourself? Or do you let your fate take them from you because it is the path your Lady tells you to take?
"How do you feel about that?
"How does your Lady feel about that?
"Because...
"Because...
"Because would that not be unkind?"
"And as for fate taking you from place to place..."
She took a breath and leaned forward, to peer closer at the Minstrel.
"I wish I was dangerous, Miss Lyric. Well, fine, Kassia said I was dangerous. She told me that every time I pick up even a dinner knife, I become a danger to myself and everyone around me."
There was a pause as the young lad replaced Eleni's drink. It was a simple move, a sly almost magical swapping: that is, not real magic but a more mundane magic Lyric had seen before. It was merely the ability to move without being noticed, just like a proper servant might. Head downcast, he completed his appointed task without disturbance to the conversation. Or more to the truth, any significant disturbance. Eleni crossed her eyes and her brow furrowed when she suddenly discovered her hot tshokolat replenished.
"But are you going to eat? You are the quietest minstrel I have ever met! Do you not like hart, chicken, geese or dartling? Dartlings are delicious but very, very, very hard to catch, which makes them rare and much sought after. Are they undercooked? Not spiced to your liking? Would you have preferred lamb? I mean, mutton is really good but it makes me all sad and conflicted to eat it, because, well, the hills are full of sheep and I have a hard time thinking this tastes so good and then seeing them all fluffy and white and then I realize that I'm eating them and it just doesn't feel right.
"Happily, it's only sheep. Otherwise, I'd starve. And that's not logical.
"Is the food off? Are you not feeling well? We have Lady Yurisdotter right here. Did I say something wrong? Did we break a tradition? Is it poorly cooked? Did you find a rat in your goblet?"
But then there was something else wrong that caught her attention.
"You!"
She turned back to Tomomi.
"No wearing hoods at the table. This is my table. This is my keep.
"No.
"This is Dawnview Vale.
"This is my home."
Tomomi swallowed. Slowly she drew back her hood, paused, and shook out her soft light colored hair. Their travels, the time spent, and Keiko' friendship had done their work — there were no signs of hacked locks, not anymore.
And yes, Eleni was right. The Mouse was absolutely adorable. Eleni smiled.
She listened to Eleni's logical look at her Goddess and her life and she smiled.
"No, there is nothing unkind. The love I feel from my Goddess surpasses all. It isn't something I can rightly put into words. There will come a day, when she will tell me that I should remain in one place and share what I've learned. For now, I share her love wherever I go as she wills and it is a work that brings me the greatest of joys."
What good was there in the wisdom of keeping one's mouth shut and being thought the fool? Plenty good. And that's a truth. It's also common sense. But Lyric's moods were never the easiest to predict, not even by herself. A simple flower or a bit of dandelion fluff on the wind, maybe even a snippet of Tomomi's lace trailing off her fingers as she skipped along the trail road with her horse's reins in the other hand could be all that was necessary to invoke that mercurial, carefree, and child-like aspect of the Minstrel, and then she was lost to her own whimsy for a spell. Oh, and don't even mention sinnoman bread for that conjured smells in her own imagination that would settle the minstrel into her remembrances of her experiences with the delicacy, and there she would lie dormant of mood, only to explode in a frolicsome dance or a nonsensical song where rhyming words not always the rule. On the offset, there were other times, usually invoked by the need of advice to a friend or the significant need to evaluate a matter of consequence and import, where the Minstrel was quieter and more reserved. Once in a while she might seem lost in thoughts of emotional relevance where she tried to find perspective and peace with her circumstances or her deeds.
But this moment, at the table, with two hands wrapped snugly about her cup of 'Tajhakalaht', was none of those things. She was quiet. That much was true. Her hands were cold and the warmth that radiated through the cup was a strange feeling that almost felt painful at first... and second, but ebbed slowly, even exquisitely. But it was the taste that enthralled her mind and mood. It was unlike anything ever known to her before. It was a taste that affected differently depending on how she swished it around in her mouth. It was another of those wonderful things that brought her to a shiver and made her eyes roll back a little as she tried to keep each moment of taste sensation alive for an extra moment. When that failed, and the taste played itself out, she took another sip to start it over again.
Proving to someone that you are a fool is probably never high on the list of things people aspire to accomplish. No, rather it tends to be a fate the befalls one through mental clumsiness or accidental misfortune, or, in Lyric's case, curiosity coupled with naivete.
Two hands on her cup, peering over the rim, Lyric looked at her host, Khorall Eleni, with the wide eyes of a doe in the line of a hunter's arrow. She hadn't really been paying attention to anything except for the taste of 'Tajhakalaht'.
"I am feeling well, Dama. Just cold, but getting warmer.To you I owe my thankfulness for that."
She tried to catch up, then keep up. "Yes, I will eat. I am hungry. I am content with what you have provided, more than that... I am grateful. It all looks wonderful, but this," she said of the cup in her hands, "This is by far one of the most favorite things I know. Please forgive me. I was thinking thoughts and enjoying this drink. I have never had it before and it is beyond words, even for me... and I like words."
She paused and tried to think on the words she heard when she was thinking on other things. That brought on a more sober mood as she considered words that she should have addressed more quickly and would have if she had been paying attention or if the Khorall had slowed enough to breathe properly between questions.
"Khorall Eleni, this is probably well beyond my purview to speak upon, but it is your 'wish' that you mentioned. So I would say this... Wishing to be dangerous is different than others believing you are dangerous. Wishing to be dangerous bears the consequence of being thought volatile or erratic as well, especially by those whom a person serves as a leader. Those who chase after such a thing are often beset by such grave dangers in their rush to achieve this designation.
Lyric set the cup of 'Tajhakalaht' down in front of her. The cup was nearly empty anyway but she chose to steeple her fingers before her, elbows just off the table's edge.
"Rather, I would think one should strive to be strong and confident, fierce even, yet still keeping kindness and compassion within their reach; for those they serve and care about are better served in this way. Accomplish that, be those things... then let others call such a leader dangerous because they realize they can't break your will and resolve. That is respect, and I believe that is what you really want."
If she had not already wandered over the border into the proof of foolishness, then what was to come next might surely be the nudge that toppled her over it.
"Since questions of curious revelation and philosophical import are being asked across this table, might I be indulged in the asking of one of my own?"
Given leave to do so, the Minstrel continued, "What do you call the white stuff outside?"
He has spent time in the mountains and knows the value of good hot wholesome food. You eat to fuel the body, the body burns the fuel to keep warm. So instinctively his choices are directed by this. The stew, rich and full of goodness, is an essential and he may eat more than one bowl if permitted. And he likes a good chuck of bread to go with it. Especially useful towards the end as it can be used to catch the small pieces remaining and to wipe the bowl clean. And if another bowl is permitted, then another piece of bread will do just as good a job the second time around. And the tshokolat is nice and hot too, with a taste to contrast the stew.
His agenda is set out and he starts down that path and would happily have continued down it except that Eleni obviously still feels the need to talk, to enquire. He pause to answer as it would be rude not to and this delicious stew determines that his hostess should be heeded.
"I believe I am distant family to Keiko, Dama. But I am known as 'one of the lost' apparently, in that I have not been brought up within the Rhoni culture, only recently rediscovering some of that lost heritage. As to her being promised, I have met the young man and he seems a good match for Keiko, both are, I think, happy with their situation and that makes me happy. I am not sure what may or may not apply to my my future as I have no living parents to make any arrangements for me.. and I'm not sure I would want them made. I have enjoyed certain freedoms growing up and am not sure I am ready to give those up."
He nods respectfully, expecting that this is unlikely to satisfy as her curiosity suggests that providing information is like pouring water into a bottomless well. Still he likes her and her attitude amuses him, so for now he will continue pouring when asked.
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right] and Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
While Daxia pretended to steal pieces of carrots from Kisa’s stew, Keiko cut larger chunks of meat into smaller pieces for herself and Tomomi — the Mouse girl took on the task of cutting up the vegetables. The Rhoni smiled at the serving girl who brought out the tshokolat and enjoyed the aroma as it wafted through the air. It reminded her of home and family.
As she watched Lyric enjoy the beverage, she marveled at the way her friend could take such pleasure in simple, ordinary things like cinnamon and tshokolat.
“In Trundle and in Kh’Lhy’Ra, the street merchants sometimes sprinkle cinnamon on tshokolat,” she said to Lyric. “It was always a treat when Grandfather returned from a day wandering through the market. Oh! And in Triah’am, they use nutmeg.” She closed her eyes as she inhaled the fragrance of the drink, her smile growing wider.
“Good memories,” she finally said.
She simply rode the waves of Eleni’s words, watching the amusement in Dama Kisa’s expression and saw how hard Lady Daxia was trying not to laugh. So... this was typical for the young Khorall. When Eleni’s attention focused on Cesare, the Card Reader had to admit her kinsman was adept at providing what little information he could share while clearly stating his own truth.
When the younger woman’s attention turned to her, Keiko merely smiled as she considered Eleni’s words for a moment.
“Why would you want to be Kisa? Or even like Kisa? You are Eleni.” The Rhoni grinned almost slyly at the Khorall. “Shouldn’t you strive to be the best version of Eleni you can be, rather than an imitation of Kisa?
“And if your Aunties are even half as wise and clever as my Grandparents, they will find a good match for you. As Cesare noted,” she said, not at all shy about discussing Michi, “my elders decided Michi would be the best match for me. I am young still, so they know more than I do about these things. Is he the perfect match? Who can say? But he is certainly someone I can see traveling with for most of my days.
“You may not have a choice in who your Aunts choose, but you do have a choice in who the two of you become... together.”
Daxia cleared her throat. “If I didn’t know Kassia and Gillyflower came from a typical High Tarn family of farmers and herders, I’d think that one studied under a version of Kassia who was even kinder than Gilly.”
Keiko blinked at that. “Verchovia Kassia did not seem especially unkind. Yes, perhaps she was cranky.” Her expression was one of puzzlement. “She gave the impression of being, ah, less than happy with your Lady for having interrupted her travels. But she had barely met Broke before giving her a nickname that made us giggle,” she said, indicating herself and Tomomi. “And Broke gave no indication that she was any more annoyed with her nickname than Dama Eleni was with hers.”
Keiko shrugged and went back to her meal as Daxia turned to Eleni with a grin.
“Oh, no. You definitely weren’t supposed to like the name. I can see how that would have annoyed her.” The priestess chuckled, but then sobered as she regarded the young Khorall for a moment.
“You will find your own way of saving people, Eleni. You’re every bit as smart as your sister, you just see the world in a different way. And that’s good.” Dazi smiled at the youngster. “Rice and fish can save more lives than a sword, you know,” she said, picking up her mug of tshokolat again. “Dream bigger. The world becomes very small when I draw a weapon to defend the defenseless. It’s only when I put the sword down that I can see the greater pictures that Kisa can see.”
Keiko finished chewing a piece of potato before looking at Eleni with confusion. “I think you might have found your own answer already, Dama. You don’t find your true self, for your true self isn’t lost. You merely become your best self. Well, yes,” she hastily added, “not everyone does. But all it means is that you do your best every day, in every moment and situation.” She shrugged. “It’s not always easy, of course. But giving your attention to the moments that make up the journey is the key... not the focusing on the task of finding your true self.”
“She’s creepy when she sounds like you,” Daxia muttered to Kisa.
Then she looked from Eleni to Bekkah and smiled softly. “Mama called her Sunshine. I can only remember two times I saw Bekkah not smiling before we came to the Temple. And there were days that only Bekkah’s smile could make a day spent with Kassia seem bright again.”
Daxia didn’t need to tell Bekkah how much she had missed that smile after her sister left for Lilia’s Castle. Bekkah knew — she’d saved all those letters Dazi had written her.
“I think Mama knew even before I was born that Bekkah was meant to follow Lady Attera rather than Dayala.”
Finally, when Eleni made her pronouncement, Keiko tucked a stray strand of hair back behind Tomomi’s ear and whispered, “See? I told you it would be fine.”
“It’s called snow,” Daxia answered the minstrel’s question and shook a finger at the Khorall at the same time. “And you...” she said pointedly to Eleni. “Eat. Thanks to you, I managed to hold my own against that sly Dominic when I first met him. Remember Bekkah? That part of last year’s adventure was fun! You do this all the time, don’t you, Eleni? It’s a wonder you have anything under your skin to pad your bones. Nadya has to force you to eat, doesn’t she? I can keep this up long enough for you to get some nourishment into your body.”
Daxia grinned.
“We did have fun when the three of us dined together, didn’t we? Kisa all quiet and thinking her important thoughts, you and I talking about anything and everything. Well not everything, I suppose. There were things I wasn’t supposed to say outside your mother’s court even if you were the future Khorall of Snowgate. Still! There was always enough to talk about, da? And I saw you crossing your eyes at the magical reappearance of more tshokolat earlier. You nearly made me laugh, you know. It was the same expression you used when I quizzed you on the constellations. You know, I still don’t quite understand how anyone doesn’t just see them all in their head, but I suppose it’s like your sister and her clickity-clack tiles that she transfers into her head sometimes. Did she mention that I asked her to find out more about my family? Don’t answer that yet. Well, she did find some interesting tidbits that might explain my affinity for remembering the stars. It seems that our mother — Bekkah’s and mine — was the daughter of a Starwatcher. Hmm. Yes, it is interesting. After we escort Kisa to the Castle, Bekkah and I are going to go up to the Jambles to visit Grandmother and our cousin, who is also a Starwatcher, as I understand it.”
Daxia glanced around the table.
“Our friends are more than welcome to accompany us.” She gave her attention back to Eleni for a moment. “Two more bites. And make sure you chew well.”
Then she looked at Lyric and grinned. “There may be quite a lot of snow still in the Jambles when we arrive. And ice, too, under it all. When the snow gets packed down so much that there’s barely any air left in it, it turns to ice... but it’s the kind that isn’t too slippery. That’s what the Jambles are made of, mostly... ice covering the mountains and then snow on top of that. The slippery ice usually forms when water — melted snow or just water in a well or bucket or mug or puddle — freezes. The snow is water from the clouds that freezes before it even leaves the clouds. Or at least pretty high up in the air.
“I think you’d like snowfall a whole lot more than the rain. It’s beautiful, and it makes the world quiet and peaceful. Well, at least until the winds start up. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have enough warm clothes for a journey up to the Jambles if you and Cesare and Keiko and Tomomi want to join us.”
Dazi glanced at Eleni to make sure she was still eating before taking a deep breath, smiling at Kisa, and stealing another one of her carrots.
The Heartwood Dawnview Vale Snowgate Keep Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Eleni, Kisa, Nadya, Tomomi, Starrider Guards, and various servants
Tomomi smiled as her stray locks were set back in place.
"Are you sure? It is different, being different. Who am I?" The little Mouse girl looked across the table to the youngest Allaine.
"It is our hardest question. And when you don't know, you can get very lost. You look at a beautiful field and ask why can't you just run through it? And you end up feeling all twisted inside and out. And you sometimes can't get back by yourself. But that's fine. It's actually good. Because you don't have to... get back by yourself, that is. Sometimes you need help, even if it's just to remind you what really is important."
Eleni listened in silence, her eyes quietly locked with Tomomi's, paying close and earnest attention.
"Not alone."
She replied to Tomomi with just two words. Now, that was a rare thing. It also served as a springboard for further explorations, as Snowgate's Khorall looked from one to another to another until she finally set her attention on Bekkah.
"Is what you say true? Really, really true?"
Eleni had a distinct pattern of asking questions. Unlike a certain Fox person, she didn't ask one pointed, important question. Instead, she poked at a matter from this side then that side, from top and bottom and all around, not happy with one query but always armed with a passel of them. She never took anything at face value, and the simplest proclamations were the ones she tested most fiercely. There was no hint of sarcasm or condescension in her words, she simply wanted to make sure she understood matters completely and thoroughly — even if that meant continuing to question the words of an Atteran Priestess.
"So you've never been sad in all your travels? Sad not because there are hurt people out there and that is a sad thing that needs fixing, but sad for yourself? That you don't have a home and a hearth, that you only know folks for a handful of days at most before you move on?"
Blinking, Eleni immediately turned to Keiko, Tomomi, and Cesare, maintaining the flow of her questioning, merely changing who the current question was for.
"How do the Rhoni feel about that? You are wanderers too, never staying in one place for very long at all.
"Sometimes it hurts a little bit. I'll never see the sea stretching out forever or the terracotta roofs of Trundle-on-the-Hill.
"Is it as hard for you to deal with always going somewhere else as it is for me being walled in by the Black Mountains of the Vale?"
She returned her attention to Bekkah at that, after a sip of her drink.
"Is home where the heart is? Or is it a place for coming from and dreams of going to? When do you put you first? Or is it one of those forbidden things when you are truly a child of a God or Goddess? Is that a good thing or a bad thing or just one of those choices you make and then live with the consequences? Not that the latter is necessarily bad or wrong or somehow not good.
"How did you make that choice?
"Why did you make that choice?
"Do you like being lonely?"
That last statement snared her older sister's attention. Kisa looked between the priestess and Snowgate's mistress. This was suddenly more interesting than the theft of her carrots. It was something that the Minstrel had already noticed and something Kisa hadn't. Or to state it better, she hadn't realized it was happening right here and now, beneath her very nose. She smiled and added her own observation to the conversation.
"I look at what happens in the world and can see how they fit together. And when I am smart, I can follow those patterns to an inevitable conclusion. But I can't do that with people. I can't figure out what makes people do these things. They are like actual doublebluff tiles to me. I can only see the blank side. Eleni has always been able to see the painted sides."
The subject of the conversation swallowed and blushed. Caught off balance she desperately looked for another topic to chase down. Turning in place, her half-empty mug in her hand, she offered Lyric an equally obvious observation.
"I like tshokolat too."
Her head tilted as she followed this new line of thought.
"I wonder if it could be grown on this side of the Black Mountains. I have been told that the beans they make it from not only grow on trees but only where it's hot and moist most of the time. Maybe along the coast? Or perhaps in the Archipelago? That is a very good thing about wandering because without the Rhoni or merchants brave enough to dare the Road East we wouldn't have tshokolat here. And we wouldn't know half as much about the world and the folks who live in it, who they are, how they live, what makes them happy, sad or angry if we kept ourselves locked up in our own farms, keeps and lands.
"Sometimes I think knowing about all that kind stuff is more important to making sure our own lives are happy than knowing about it so you can take advantage of your neighbors or know when they are going to do something that would hurt us."
Across the table, Kisa tilted her head, an older mirror of her sister's cant. She didn't say anything, but she did smile. Oblivious, Eleni continued in her reply to the minstrel.
"Maybe dangerous is the wrong word. Folks have always respected Kisa and Daxia. Respect fits them like a warm cloak with a fur collar on a blustery day. Me? They pat me on the head like I was still shorter than harvest grain, like I am a little kid or some sort of mascot. I don't know how to explain it or how hard that is. When I try and be fierce and strong, they just pat me on the head, and no one really understands. I wish there were someone who could understand what it is like to be the youngest Allaine. That's why I need to be fierce, maybe. Think — I am supposed to be running a keep, and I can even call myself Khorall, but all everyone does is say how cute I am.
"No one ever, ever, ever at all has called Kisa cute."
Kisa suddenly coughed and sputtered, momentarily choking on her drink. Eleni looked down into hers, which was once again empty.
"But that is the question, isn't it?"
Her attention returned to Keiko and Tomomi.
"Just who is Eleni Allaine? How am I supposed to find out? What does ‘dream big’ mean when my world is bound by... by... by all I can see clearly from my tower balcony?"
At that statement, Tomomi poked Keiko. Eleni simply continued on.
"You all have had adventures, even Kisa has now been to the most eastern and most western ends of our world. You have had trials and tribulations to discover who you are. I have arguing farmers and a bag of rice seeds. How do I find out who I really am? I know, I know what you mean by finding it by not looking for it. I mean, I have to, there has to be at least one person in the world who can understand Kisa when she starts getting really philosophical. And yes. It is creepy. But in a nice way.
"Or is it just going to be one of those things I have to discover after the fact? Things like that are when I am tempted to throw something at someone but just end up throwing my hands up in the air.
"But enough. What will be will be. Yelling at an avalanche only gets you buried. You are all correct. Not everyone can be a Kisa. Especially not me."
When she looked up her eyes were bright once more.
"That's right. Dazi is very correct! It's snow, and that is exactly what snow is. It is also a whole lot more. It is really pretty especially come sunrise when it sparkles like fallen stars or becomes so bright you have to shade your eyes. All that is rough and broken in the world is hidden beneath its drifts, and only the gentleness remains.
"But that's its danger.
"A fall of snow reminds us that what is hidden beneath is still there, will always be there, just sleeping until it melts beneath Dayala's summer light. Snow teaches us that while problems can be hidden, even forgotten, they never go away until they are solved.
"They say that up in the Jambles they have a hundred words for snow. That's not true. They have only twenty or so. Snow in Ancient is 'nish.' So it's 'kornish' when it's light and pretty, and just dusts the sky and mountains, 'dumeshnish' for when it's heavy enough to collapse a roof, and 'dumeshnanish' when it is nasty and treacherous — the kind of snow that has a crust strong enough that you can walk on until you suddenly can't. In the Jambles, each different kind of snow has its own name.
"I like snow. Kisa likes looking at snow through a window.
"Do you like snow?
"When we'd get done talking in winter, sometimes the three of us would go out in the snow and have a snowball fight. I'd always lose. I can't hit the side of a castle wall from five paces away. That didn't stop it from being fun. Then we'd make snow Dayalans and sometimes make a unicorn too. We'd use an icicle for the horn. The snow is usually deeper than my ruff is tall and its so much fun watching him jump through it. He likes it because it's cool and it makes me laugh.
"Do you like snow, Lady Bekkah, even though it gives people colds and frostbite? And you Cesare, in your lost wanderings?"
It was then time for her to reply to Cesare.
"Lost Rhoni?
"That sounds odd. On the one hand, it means you are missing, being missed by someone and that there is a place for you to go, a place where you are supposed to be. On the other hand, it means you are not bound to anything but your own mind and heart.
"We are Allaine. We can never escape that. Sometimes I wish I was a simple farmer's daughter with no worries beyond the morning fog and lost sheep. But then I wouldn't be me, I'd be someone else. And I'm the only me there is, so isn't there a value in that?
"Whenever I start thinking this way, Nadya says I am being silly. And maybe I am.
"When someone puts you in chains, is that weakness? When you put on the same chains by your own choice is that strength?
"Who are we to be — who we are, who we think we are supposed to be, who we need to be, or who folks say we are supposed to be?
"This is when I start to feel lost."
Eleni set her empty mug on the table.
Tomomi leaned over to rest her head on Keiko's shoulder. Now, that simple motion was, indeed, both adorable and cute. The Mouse then whispered to the Rhoni lass.
"So people get Homesick too? Maybe she needs a forever friend and just hasn't found hers yet."
Eleni looked down again at her drink. Her head tilted a bit as she wrapped her hands around the suddenly, almost miraculously, now full mug.
She smiled.
At the table, carrots were being stolen and meat chopped to little pieces.
For that moment, Dayala was was in her heaven and all was right in the world.
"Of course there are days where I wish I were elsewhere. I missed my baby sister for many years. But duty is important. Should I just go where I wished, then I would be equally sad for not being where I could help others. It's a balancing act. I find that the feeling of home and loved ones, carry me forward, knowing that someday I'll return to them. Perhaps I'm close to the point where I'll server my Lady best in a single town. Then I'd have close to the best of all worlds."
"Snow and winter? Oh definitely. In small doses. I love taking walks during an evening snowfall. As Dazi said, it's peaceful and beautiful, but I prefer spring. As far as colds and such, well each season brings it's own problems so I do not dislike it for that reason. I mostly, prefer being warm to cold."
Still happily eating the stew, he again pauses to answer Eleni.
"Yes I like snow. It makes the world look fresh and clean."
He grins.
"And I am not lost in that I do know where I am. It is just a name they give us when we are not a current part of the Rhoni people. And you should know that adventures are usually best once they are over, assuming that you've survived of course. During the adventure, you spend a lot of time waiting around being bored, tired, wet, cold, sore from sleeping on hard ground, hungry, thirsty and not very clean. Then often having to work really hard for a time, often feeling scared. Then sometimes there is an intense period where you are really scared, your life is on the line and you really really wish you were anywhere rather than where you are, maybe even in a lovely place like this?"
He raises his eyebrows.
"There are always at least two sides to everything. And that is also true for who you are. You might be one thing to one person, another thing to another. I don't think any of us have finished our journeys, met enough people so that we can see one of our selves reflected by them or learned enough that we know who we are. I don't."
And now the stew is calling him again. Eat when you can.. always a good motto for a travelling adventurer who does not always know when or where their next meal will be.
Everyone seemed to know the answer. It was as if the stuff of whiteness was common understanding. And maybe it was, in all places except this small hidden, remote villages that did not like outsiders and liked change even less. Lyric felt a little sheepish. Of course, it was important she learn things she didn't know. But not knowing all that she didn't know was hardly a means to avoid the attention of the overly inquisitive, such as Eleni.
"Sinnoman sprinkled on 'Tajhakalaht'," she repeated as she was looking into her recently refilled cup. "Mmm... Yes, I should must needs to try that." Yes, a different topic. That is good.
But topics never stayed changed, did they?
"I don't know if I like it, Dama," Lyric said softly. "I know I do not like Ice. But I love the sun and when things are warm and dry. But most of all, I think I like Rain. Sometimes when there is rain and sun together, but I mostly love the coolness of the air as a storm approaches and the dark clouds roil. The first few raindrops that signal a downpour. I like the crispness of the air just after a rain, and I like when the storm is passing and the sun's warmth returns with Her light. But even at night, when you are not certain how big a storm might be, and you feel those drops upon your skin and your skin prickles at the sensation. Where your whole body is overcome by a shudder of this sensation that you couldn't stop even if you wanted to but why would you?"
Her eyes were closed, imagining the experience, remembering it. Her breathing was a little more ragged, less even and controlled.
"Then there is the serenity of standing in a glade, after you strip away all of your clothes, the rain falling, sometimes soft and gentle, sometime hard and driving, maybe coming in waves of intensity with the fullness of the storm upon you, your body responding in that perfect rhythm, feeling as though you can embrace each and ever drop, all drops at once, rivulets cascading along the lines and curves, dripping again freedom from fingers and arms, to be replaced with another drop and all the drops that followed to renew that sensation, to begin the next moment of of sensation, again and again, each and every sensation, over and over, crashing upon you, into you...."
And then she stopped. silent, but incomplete. The moment she described, vividly from experience, or possibly the one it alluded to was never achieved. With a deep inhale, her eyes closed, and her head dropped in a penitent manner with the realization of her indelicate words. She exhaled in a slow sigh and her shoulders fell. "Forgive me," she offered contritely. "I meant no disrespect. I... I... Maybe I am missing my home more than I imagined."
She cast a glance about her, head down still.
Watching Cesare eat with such fervor earlier when there were those moments when he was not asking or answering might actually have been the best course of action. It was enough to make one believe the young Rhoni man doubted he might ever see another meal beyond what was in front of him, or maybe that it had been to long to remember his last. Whatever the reason, she admired the alacrity and enthusiasm to which he dedicated himself to this task. Instead she had given voice to thoughts in her head and heart. Yes, she should have filled the spaces with something other than her own reckless meanderings.
"I am sorry."
If only she had kept to the thoughts and feelings of her experience with the 'Tajhakalaht' and not thought about the Sinnoman as well. Not that either of those were the first step into her remembrances of Rain.
"No need to be sorry Lyric. We are what we are.. and I like you the way you are."
He grins at her, hoping to put her more at ease, give her some support as he forgets sometimes how little she knows. She takes things so much to heart and maybe as she experiences the world around her, maybe that will lessen.. but he hopes not too much.
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right] and Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
She had requested a mug of hot spiced cider when the serving girl came around to fill her mug of tshokolat. Now Daxia listened to Eleni chatting away as she warmed her hands and inhaled the crisp scent of apples and spices.
She had never been as loquacious as the younger Allaine sister, although she had certainly learned how to hold her own with the girl. And the ability to convey information and the context for it had come in handy after her little band of misfits ceded leadership of the group to her. Still, it was nice to leave the talking to someone else for a change. Daxia briefly contemplated asking Eleni to share all her words with Morning Star — it might actually change his mind about his assertion that his companion was the most talkative Dayalan.
The Knight could quite readily admit that the youngest Khorall asked some of the most interesting questions — and she wasn’t enigmatic about it, either. Granted, she had the potential to use her torrent of words to obscure a message just as readily as her older sister did. Dazi’s collection of painted Doublebluff tiles from Kisa was better than a book’s worth of ramblings letters in Eleni’s neat hand — for Daxia. Perhaps Eleni would find that her Knight, whenever she presented herself and went out into the world at Eleni’s behest, would appreciate the letters as much as Daxia did her tiles. That is, they would be just as precious and just as infuriatingly vague.
Daxia smiled to herself as Eleni’s attention skipped around the table.
Keiko stared at the young khorall for a moment.
“I think what you do not understand about the Rhoni, Dama Eleni, is that wandering is our home. Most of us have our Caravans. Some of us walk or ride alone for a while. Would you ask a fish how it feels about being in water or a bird how it feels about the air?” She grinned at the redhead. “Knowing folks for a few days before moving on makes it exciting and interesting to meet new people at the next stop. And returning to a place we’ve visited before allows us to fully appreciate the passage of time and the movement of the waves.”
She chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Plus, it’s harder for people to take offense to our presence if we don’t stay long. And... well, each Family has a set of stops along the roads they travel that they visit each year or each season, depending on the Family and the road. I am most familiar with the Kh’Lhy’Ra Road. Sometimes we would travel as far south as Tor-an-Dal, a few times we traveled all the way to Brementown. Every few years, we’d travel to Darkdown Vale for the Elders Council.”
When Eleni brought up her frequent complaint about the world’s perception that she was cute, Daxia set her mug down. It was a good thing, too, for she had to pat Kisa on the back when she sputtered and coughed.
“You never told her that I called you ‘cute’? Kisa! Now, that’s not fair.” Daxia giggled at the pretty red color on Kisa’s cheeks before turning to Eleni.
“Eleni, when was the last time I called you cute? I’ll tell you... no need to think back that far. It was right before the first time you complained about it in my presence. You were, what? Twelve? Thirteen?” The priestess shook her head and smiled at the still-awkward teen. “I suspect, at this point, people might be doing that out of habit. I don’t think they’ve failed to notice what’s obvious here: that you’re growing into a very attractive young woman. I can’t honestly say that you’re going to be more beautiful than your sister in another year or two. I’m biased. But other people are going to say it.
“But Eleni, dear, the way you scrunch up your nose when you peer at things is, well, just a little bit adorable.”
Keiko eeped softly when Tomomi poke her side.
“Yes, I know,” she whispered to her Forever Friend before studying Eleni closely.
“Dama? Would I be guessing correctly that things farther away than your outstretched fingers look fuzzy? Pardon my inquisitiveness, but Tomomi has reminded me that you look so very much like our friend Renyard before he manages to get his spectacles settled properly on his nose in the morning. Perhaps... well, perhaps you just need a good pair of spectacles. Like the ones Renyard has.”
She looked at Tomomi, who nodded, before smiling at Eleni.
“They make him look quite distinguished and learned. And I can imagine that someone might giggle — not I, of course — at the expression on his face when he can’t see much beyond the nose on his muzzle. He is a Fox person, you know.”
Daxia looked at the Rhoni lass and her Mouse friend for a moment before turning to Kisa.
“That would explain so much,” she murmured. “Also, why would that be an explanation that would readily come to mind, eh? I’ve never seen such a wonder.”
She looked at Eleni and shook her head. “Well, needing spectacles would explain why you couldn’t hit the castle walls with your snowballs. But you excelled at making unicorns, so you’re better at some things than your sister. And me.” Then Dazi grinned at the youngster. “Your ruff in his first snow... I still laugh when I remember him jumping into a drift of snow and looking so confused by it! He couldn’t climb out by himself, remember? And as soon as we pulled him out, he jumped right back in again to snap at the naughty snow! Oh, that was a fun afternoon!”
Keiko gave Eleni a puzzled look when she began talking about who she was, who she was meant to be, and the complexities of feeling lost in her own musings. Tomomi’s whispered comment brought it all into focus, however.
“So it would seem. And...” She smiled at Tomomi. “I think perhaps everyone would benefit from having a Forever Friend.”
Turning her attention to Eleni again, she sighed softly as Cesare spoke. Nodding to the young Allaine when he finished, she said matter-of-factly, “Cesare speaks of an eternal truth: all things exist in balance with their opposite. Well, perhaps not always in balance, for otherwise we wouldn’t have strife and war and petty disagreements. And your life’s journey could be seen as chains, I suppose. But you could also view it as simply a journey. You don’t know where you’ll wind up until you get there. Sometimes, interesting things will happen. Very often, life will simply be lived in the moments between small things — sipping tshokolat, brushing your hair, choosing a tunic, falling asleep at the end of the day... you with a ruff at your feet, me with my Forever Friend’s whiskers tickling my face.”
“Hoi!” Daxia exclaimed. “You sound like Father Canna and Brother Lew! I can’t decide if it’s better to be followed by fighters or philosophers. I jest. Since I’m trying not to get into any fights, I’ll choose to travel with philosophers.”
Keiko glanced at Lyric with a knowing smile. “Those who seek knowledge can also be adept at fighting, Lady Daxia. Lyric showed her skill and bravery in the mines, though my role was less martial. I assure you, however, that my elders taught me well to defend myself.”
Daxia stared at the Rhoni for a moment before looking around the table.
“Wonderful.” Then she glanced at Kisa, then Eleni, before turning her attention to Nadya. “I hope there is a standing order that mischief is to remain outside the Vale, Dama. It tends to follow me around, you see. Cesare can certainly attest to this, for he was present for all of it before going off to find his own.”
He chuckles. Despite all the danger and strife, he would not have missed being there for anything, even if it had cost him his life and he had come close to that once or twice. Probably much closer if Bekkah had not been there. He looks over and smiles briefly in her direction, thinking that these sisters are very different from each other but have enough in common to bond them together. Then he looks back at Daxia.
"Well I have often thought that I might be a trouble magnet in a small way but I am sure that you are a much bigger one."
The Heartwood Dawnview Vale Snowgate Keep Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Eleni, Kisa, Nadya, Tomomi, Starrider Guards, and various servants
"It may be an eternal truth."
Eleni Allaine shared her reply with Cesare and Keiko, letting both fall beneath her gaze.
"I can understand that. I can agree with that. But in return, I ask you this: How can you know? How can you truly value safe and warm if you've never known anything else? There are days I wish I could dress up in commoner clothes, dye my hair and spend a week trying to live like the folks I must now rule over."
From her place at the hall's formal end, Nadya suddenly became attentive, as if the regent were not entirely pleased with the direction the conversation was going. Eleni, of course, was utterly oblivious to her mentor's darkening expression.
"How can I know what their lives are like if I've only walked the path of a Noble?"
Her expression fell.
"But that would never work, would it? Of course, it wouldn't. First, if I were to vanish for a week, the Vale would turn itself inside out looking for me. Not that it would take that long. Older Sister here would just set her mind to it, and I'd be found before dawn.
"But it still leaves the question of only knowing warm and safe and nothing else."
The young khorall just shook her head, gnawed a bit on her lower lip, shook out her hair and then let the flow of the conversation take her elsewhere. She did, however, keep her attention on Keiko.
"Wandering as one's home. That's a wonderful thought.
"Are the Rhoni like snails, then, only faster?"
Nadya blinked. Kisa choked back a chuckle. The servant who was keeping Eleni's hot tshokolat full flushed and facepalmed. And for Eleni, her the question was sweetly and completely innocent.
Her head tilted, then, as Keiko continued.
"Spectacles? What are these spectacle things? And you say the Councillor has them? And, and, and they might be able to make me see like when I was a little girl again? Do you know how they work? Are they a made thing or are they magic or are they both? And you are right! He even wears the same kind of cloak your fine lady friend here does, doesn't he? But he's a Fox? Like Miss Tomomi is a Mouse? Does that mean there are more of them too? Are there wolves and horses and slinks and ruffs and bears and maybe even fish?
"Kisa, when is the Councillor due back?"
Tomomi was caught a bit off guard, looking around for a long set of heartbeats before she realized that the fine lady friend Eleni had mentioned was her. Kisa just looked to Dazi, shared a knowing smile, and then replied.
"There are wolves. A Pack of them.
"And we are bound by an Alliance; there is a formal bond between the Pack of Home and Dawnview Vale."
Eleni clapped her hands and sat up a bit straighter.
"Oh my, you have been busy, dear sister! And that sounds wonderful! And a bit dangerous. When will we see a member of this Pack? You will introduce me, won't you?"
Coincidentally, Eleni then turned to address Lyric's words, after, of course, listening intently to what she said and the vividness of her description.
"Rain is very nice. Thunderstorms are less so, but rain is very nice. Rain is really soft and gentle, isn't it?"
For the moment she actually fell silent. Her head tilted one way then the other. She then rubbed her chin, very contemplatively. Her nose wrinkled and twitched back and forth a little bit. That silence, that deep thinking, that studious expression, once it was set, brought forth an unexpected and very determined response. Nadya suddenly sat straight up, leveled her gaze at her young charge and ended that line of conversation in but a single declaration.
"Do not, I repeat, do not even consider it, youngling!"
Then it was Eleni's turn to look up, blink twice, and then suddenly open her mouth in an unvoiced 'oh,' her cheeks suddenly pinking. Her servant, in his turn, almost dropped his carafe of hot tshokolat. He did bobble it, finally desperately catching it and then decided that, as necessitated by decorum, to hastily duck his head and turn away. Eleni decided to take Daxia's previous advice and to chew her food carefully and focus, a bit awkwardly, on her meal. Especially after the Dayalan's previous words about cuteness and beauty.
Kisa, however, simply relaxed at her sister's blushing discomfort, enjoying the brief period of silence. It gave her time to think. Having considered her sister's previous words, the heiress looked across the table at Bekkah. She studied the priestess before speaking.
"Sometimes silence speaks louder than any words said aloud, aye? And while she may not think she is dangerous, Eleni truly is. She is correct about your relationship with loneliness, isn't she, Lady Bekkah? Loneliness is your constant companion, almost comfortable. For me, it is similar; not a welcome companion but an oddly valued one. He reminds me just how much I care for Daxia."
By then their meal was almost over. Eleni finally perked back up when Daxia questioned Nadya. The older woman stayed silent, not answering the question; it was not her place. It was a question that was best answered by the Khorall of Snowgate Keep.
"That is exactly the role of Snowgate Keep. That is the one responsibility I carry that my Sister and Aunts do not."
Eleni's words were so much quieter than her usual, bright, unbound manner of speech.
"We are the gatekeepers of Dawnview Vale. Not the Castle, not Glacier, not even the Temple, no matter how loudly Captain Karina protests otherwise.
"We choose.
"Anyone who passes through these gates and into our home has the implicit blessing of Snowgate Keep and thus the Family Allaine.
"When there's a mistake, the responsibility does not fall on the Castle, Glacier or the Temple.
"It falls on me."
She then offers the group a small smile.
"You pass my muster."
Her smile grew a little bit more as she continued.
"But only on conditions.
"Verchovai Daxia, keep my sister happy.
"Lady Bekkah, remember that no god or goddess truly wants blind dedication.
"Mistress Tomomi, when others look at you oddly, remember that you have our blessing and protection within the vale. We like having you here.
"Mistress Lyric, remember to smile. The world isn't as dark as you seem to have been taught. If you look closely, you'll discover that most of us actually have good hearts.
"Master Cesare, remember that not all folks have a life as bountiful as a Khorall's. I shall be vexed if you return weighing three stone more having eaten my people out of house and home.
"Mistress Keiko.. never wander aimlessly."
After their meal, they were shown their rooms. Kisa and Daxia, of course, were brought to the Family suite, in the highest, central tower. Snowgate Keep, of course, had guest rooms for visiting dignitaries and Family friends. Those who had never been in an Allaine keep before were confronted with the reality of another Allaine myth: that the Vale had a touch of decadence to it. There was a bit of truth to that rumor. The rooms were fine, the beds soft and luxuriously comfortable, and while everything had a severe practicality of design, the materials used were among the finest on the mainland. But it also made a modicum of sense: the Vale was the home of silk, and the fine woods came from its forests. What was rare elsewhere was common here.
Breakfast was served at the castle great hall, at Eleni's farmhouse style table.
Kisa would chuckle when everyone else had arrived except for Eleni.
"I don't have to read the patterns. I suspect her servants are still trying to get my sister out of her bed."
Sitting down she looked at her companions.
"So.
"Do we tarry a bit here? I admit I wouldn't mind visiting with my sister for a day or two. But I would not force her ramblings on you if not wished. Daxia and I have spent years building up a certain level of immunity. It might drive you to the brink of insanity.
"Or do we immediately head out, towards the Castle and the Jambles?"
He is still amused by the conversational threads that are being woven around the table and comments in his usual honestly direct fashion.
"Yes I guess we are like fast snails. Snails don't wander aimlessly, they follow a pattern and within a boundary only they can sense. Maybe we are like that too? It is an interesting thought. As to spending time amongst your people. I think you should. It is often the only way to see life from another prospective."
He holds up a hand to forestall any outburst from others around the table.
"But surely the best way to do it would be with permission, with those here knowing and agreeing exactly where you were in a household where they could be trusted to keep you and your identity safe. It is a big ask but could be done I think."
Then he grins.
"And I will try to curb my appetite. It is a habit to eat what one can when it is available especially when the food is this good. But fear not about my weight, my meals are often not that frequent and I do work hard."
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right] and Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
Keiko regarded Eleni with an almost unnerving intensity at her comment about snails. She took notice of Lady Kisa’s reaction, of course, and that of Eleni’s personal servant. Perhaps they thought it wasn’t an appropriate question?
“It’s much like that, Dama,” she said seriously. “Cesare has grasped basics quite well. The Caravans are faster than snails, yes... on a larger scale, of course. But certainly... a Caravan might be thought of as a group of snails.”
She tilted her head as she looked at Cesare. “Although the matter of boundaries...” Her smiled flickered for a moment. “Well, they tend to be imposed on us by others and determined by the geography of the world.” Then she shrugged. “I have not personally heard of any Caravan, Family or individual that visited the Archipelago. There are some very old stories that do more than hint at such a thing.”
Then the young woman grinned and gave her attention to Eleni once more. “I must remember that and share it with my family when I see them again. My brother, especially, would find the comparison to snails quite amusing.”
Dazi’s expression as she looked at Eleni was one of sad comprehension, although she smiled at Cesare’s response.
“You see why the Rhoni are so well-regarded, don’t you? Cesare has a good head on his shoulders.
“Eleni, no one can truly know the life someone else leads. I know how hard it is to carry bucket after bucket up a hill to fill the temple’s cistern and how much I hate being the cause of someone else’s death — no matter how much they might deserve it. I don’t know how hard it is for a farmer to work the fields all day, for a goodwife to tend to her children and her home, or even how hard it is for my dear sister to travel the length and breadth of the land bringing her Lady’s mercy to everyone she meets.”
She glanced at Bekkah and pursed her lips.
“And don’t you tell me that your Lady gives you all the joy you need in life, because I’ve seen you making cow-eyes at Master Finn and have seen you staring wistfully at the horizon while you play with the pendant he gifted you.”
Then, with the utmost maturity, Daxia stuck her tongue out at her older sister before turning once again to Eleni.
“Without leaving the Vale and abandoning your responsibilities, the very best thing you can do is listen to what people say. Why shouldn’t you walk among your people and hear what they have to say? Of course, don’t just disappear. I think you already know how everyone would react if you did that, so there’s no need to prove it.
“But to travel to the edge of Snowgate’s lands, with Nadya’s blessing, with a bodyguard [i]you[/b] trust — from Captain down to well-trained initiate?” Daxia glanced over at Nadya again and spoke to both her and Eleni. “It’s a lesson that could deliver great rewards. And it’s something that would not leave the majority of people involved white-haired from fear-induced anxiety about her safety.”
She turned her attention again to Kisa. “After all, Eleni already understands people better than you did when you set out for Midsummers Council. She doesn’t need to travel to the western shores of the mainland as you did.” Then Dazi turned and winked at Eleni. “Yes, I know... you want to do that. I can’t honestly say it’s an idea you should dismiss out of hand. But I don’t think you need it as much as your sister did.
“Follow your Mother’s example, Eleni. Take lessons from Dominic, for he seems to have mastered the art of dealing with people.” Daxia smiled. “Just remember which Goddess you serve, and he’ll have fewer opportunities to lead you onto a path of mischievousness. And since he’s married now, even Dama Nadya couldn’t object to a visit from the young scamp.”
Eleni, of course, had continued her questioning of the Rhoni like an avalanche crashing down the mountainside.
“I’m not sure exactly how spectacles work, m’lady,” Keiko admitted. “But they are something made by, well, someone and not magic at all as far as I could tell. That would be an excellent spell, wouldn’t it? But no, they are made from a particular type of glass that I had never seen before. When he would take them off to clean then, it seems like... like you could be looking through very clear, very deep water. Fish look different when they’re at the bottom of a river than they do flopping around on the bank, da?
“And yes, he is a Fox. Mister Horse helped in the mines. Hinata — he’s a Cat — traveled with us from Home to Bordertown. I heard that he took up with the Jvrillians. I think he will be good at protecting people. Well, given the right motivation, of course. He’s a Cat, after all, and loves sunbeams more than anything else. Except perhaps burned fish. That’s really just cooked fish, it need not be burned for him to like it, though the skins usually do get burned when cooked over a campfire.”
Then the Rhoni turned to Tomomi and whispered, “Did you know that Broke made an allianced with the Allaine? I wonder if that means all of the persons of Home are allies of Allaine.”
Overhearing Keiko’s comment to Tomomi, Dazi leaned toward Kisa and murmured, “Did we forget to mention our conversation with Broke in Talensan’s Village?”
Both eyebrows rose as she stared at Eleni after her peculiar comment about conditions.
“Eleni, dear... you realize that Bekkah and I are daughters of Dawnview, yes? I’m fairly certain we passed muster when our mother gave birth to us.”
Then Daxia smiled brightly.
“But, of course, Dama... I will do everything in my power to ensure your sister is happy because I’m happy when she’s happy. And doesn’t everyone need happiness in their life?
“Since you’ve decided to make decrees today, I’d like to propose one. Speaking as the Knight of Dawnview Castle — an outrageous moniker your dear sister dropped on my head — I shall insist that you follow your own advice. Let others bring you happiness. If others look at you oddly, know that the people of the Vale appreciate you and everything you do — even when they don’t know how to express that.”
Keiko’s brows had drawn together in confusion at Dama Eleni’s ‘condition’ for acceptance in the Vale,
“But... Dama Eleni... if I am wandering and learning new things, meeting new people... how could my wanderings be anything other than purposeful?” She glanced at Cesare from the corner of her eyes. “It is usually the Lost Rhoni who wander aimlessly, and I believe Cesare is much less lost then he might have been when he met Lady Daxia.”
Then she chuckled as she recalled their journey from Bordertown to Dawnview Vale.
“She does have an uncanny knack for giving purpose to a journey.”
For this, Keiko found herself on the receiving end of the Starlord’s intense scrutiny.
“I believe she means that as a compliment,” Daxia remarked to Kisa.
Lyric blushed a little darker when Cesare said aloud that he liked her just the way she was. Did that mean with all her eccentricities? Did that include her occasional absentmindedness and whimsical distractability? What about when she became serious and spoke about heavier things, or when she accepted burdens for things that would see the fate of others decided by the choices she made? But she blushed and looked down at her mug. His words were a kindness to her all the same.
She was a Minstrel and she told tales of other people. So when Keiko defended their ability to be both philosophers and fighters in response to Daxia drawing distinctions in traveling companions.
"I am just a Minstrel, neither Philosopher nor Warrior were I to have my own say in the matter." But Lyric knew and accepted that seldom was there ever a choice offered when Fate and Destiny intervened to reveal a journey before a person so touched by their attention. She had done what had to be done, because she was capable of doing it. There were others in those mines whose courage far exceeded their abilities and means. Those were the stories that needed to be told. Not hers. But again, Keiko's words were kindness. They were simple and direct and not meant to bolster deeds nor did it minimize the losses and the sorrow that came with that.
Conversation turned again around the table and there was talk of an Alliance between Home and Dawnview Vale and Eleni was intrigued by the idea of Wolves made people. The Pack. She wanted to meet a member of the Pack. Was that so? Was that what she wanted? Or was it that she wanted to really meet a Wuff, since all Wuffs were part of the Pack but not all pack members were Wuffs. Lyric believed it to be the latter, since they came to this point in the conversation by way of wolves in the first place. Besides, what was there to say? It would open up matters to discussion. Eleni had so many questions and when she wanted to know something she was relentless. How is that that Lyric came to be a part of the Pack? Hmm... Again, this wasn't her story to tell because it wasn't the most important thing to understand about what was happening their in that room where Wuff and Dwarf met.
"It can be, Dama Eleni," Lyric replied when Eleni turned her overly enthusiastic statements about rain back around as a means to pry further. Eleni had the Gift of finding important things in the words of Others. Lyric had the Gift of recognizing when someone was capable of doing that. "Soft and Gentle, that is. But it can also be harsh and indifferent. Unyielding even. Unforgiving as well. But soft and gentle are the things I would want to share most with others were it mine to share."
She tipped her head a little left, then right, in consideration of her next spoken thought. "But to be honest, I like the thunderstorms myself. There is magnificent beauty in the power of a storm. There is danger and the thrill of excitement that comes with it. All that is 'soft and gentle' combined with fierceness and suddenness that pushes the winds to drive the rain when it must and to relax in peace when it can. The lightning that dances across the sky and snapping it's reach to the land to prove that it has the strength and determination to touch every part of the land and sea, to reach out and make the connection, to let itself be known as well."
"But now I have allowed myself to speak beyond my chosen portfolio as a Minstrel and pretend I am a Philosopher. I seem to have muddled my earlier contention."
When Eleni set forth her conditions for admittance to the Valley for which this Keep stood as guard, Lyric waited her for her requirement to be proscribed. It was easy enough to do, harder to hold when she still had so much raging in her mind and heart. And so Lyric smiled for Eleni, genuine and honest.
In any single moment, if one were to focus on it with enough resolve, one could slow the world down and find shelter from all the other moments that weighed a heart so heavy.
"Your words are wisdom Dama Eleni. You are perceptive. Less the world though and more the wanderer, then the wisdom rings of truth to my heart."
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
There were few places as well suited for a Dayalan’s morning prayers than the Dawnview Temple — Snowgate Keep was one of them. Daxia’s smile was brighter than usual. It was good to be home.
She laughed at Kisa’s oh so accurate description of her sister’s morning.
“And that would be the most obvious thing your sister and a certain white-haired Lady of Attera have in common. I tended to find Romana’s dislike of mornings rather amusing... well, most of the time, anyway. And that was thanks to my knowledge of Eleni’s similarly late start.”
She filled her plate with a variety of hearty breakfast fare, including small, short loaves of bread made with the tart cranberries grown near Sapphire Lake. She looked around the table at her traveling companions.
“Kisa’s right. Eleni can drive a person to madness — or at least to distraction — if you’re not used to her.” She shrugged. “I’m happy to spend a day or two here, seeing what she’s been up to, visiting folks, and the like. I’m less anxious to get Kisa safely home now that we’re in the Vale.”
Dazi paused for a sip of kavass before continuing. “No matter what you decide, we should be polite and enjoy the bounty Khorall Eleni’s staff has provided and stick around long enough to thank her.”
As she set down the glass, she grinned at Cesare.
“So... it appears that Keiko has set your mind at ease about your family. You seem much less worried now.” She chuckled. “I haven’t noticed a single time that you gazed at Bekkah and me wistfully. I know better than to ask a Rhoni about Rhoni affairs... so I’ll just as about Cesare, my friend.
He is eating lightly this morning, mostly because he ate quite a bit last night and also because he promised Eleni he would not eat her out of supplies even though he suspects she has a lot. So a couple of small pastries and a drink, it is enough.
He looks up as Daxia talks and then focuses on the question she asked of him as he is not entirely sure of the answer himself.
"Maybe not peace so much, acceptance is maybe a better word. I do feel now though that I can choose my own direction.. a good feeling."
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
Dazi nodded. “Sometimes acceptance can be a form of peace, too. But you know you’ve always been able to choose your own direction, right?” she asked as she spread fresh butter on a thick slice of bread. “I’m really glad you decided to take up with my merry little band of misfits, though.”
Then she laughed. “By the stars, do you remember how clueless we were back in Cragside? Barris wasn’t wrong when he chided us and called us a bunch of fishwives.” The Starlord smiled as she shook her head. “It’s hard to say who’s grown the most since that day, but I have to think it might be Camelia. She’s really come into her own.”
She glanced at Kisa beside her before giving Cesare another smile. “Duty to my liege ensured that I not turn tail and run back home. All of you made the journey from Cragside to the sea a lot more interesting than it ever could have been alone.”
Dazi finished drizzling honey over the bread, then tilted her head in contemplation.
“Going about the business of...” She cleared her throat. “...saving the world is much nicer in the company of similarly minded folks that you also happen to like. Maybe that was one of the lessons Mikal was supposed to learn. Well, I can’t fault him for not having come to that realization right off. It took me until getting back to Bordertown and seeing you and Bekkah again that I realized how important it is.”
She bit into the bread, closing her eyes as she chewed, enjoying the flavors. Every inn and farm seemed to have a slightly different type of honey, which made perfect sense. Dawnview honey — no matter in which part of the Vale the honeybees gathered their nectar — was always going to be her favorite honey.
"Initially though I was trying to fulfil a promise I made to my mother. I just had no idea where to start so any direction was as good as another. I could have fallen in with pig farmers instead.."
He winks at her.
"But I too am glad my feet found all of you first.And yes, Cragside was a big learning curve for us all. Is Cami around then? You have obviously seen her. And yes, we did have some.. fun along the way didn't we.."
The Minstrel watched the people and listened to the conversation at the table of the morning's repast. Finally she offered a few words, mostly for Kisa's benefit. She ate sparingly. Sinnoman and honey on everything. Honey was very nice... but sticky... and a little messy. Okay, the minstrel was a lot messy. But she seemed happy. But 'Tajhakalaht'... That was such a hard word. The sounds of the words were both different and familiar to her, but it was like the letters of the word were in all the wrong places for her. Anyway, 'Tajhakalaht' made everything just perfect... more perfect... or, perfecter... whatever.
"I am new to this wandering life. And new to this..." Lyric glanced sidelong at Daxia with a smile, "...merry band of misfits." The back to Kisa. "I have no other place to be and I am grateful to go wherever it is we will go, so long as I have someone to go with. So if you wish to stay and visit with your sister, then I believe that is something we should do. But if we were to travel on, then I am happy for that as well. But I would hope we would all be in agreement so that we stay together. It does seem that there is a larger purpose and a greater plan working to that end. We should not fight it... but instead, enjoy the peaceful moments of friends and family. You all are both of those to me. I am sure that hard times are ahead. Is that not what misfits and heroes do, get found by misadventure and troubles? Saving the world does seem like a task that falls into both categories and I am eager to see misfits become heroes... "
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
“Weren’t you herding goats when we met?” Dazi chuckled. “I could have imagined you taking up with some pig farmers then. Not now. You’ve learned to ride and even have your own horse! Let’s just hope your luck holds, and whenever this wave of yours finds the shore, you manage to land right side up.”
She winked in return.
“Oh, you must have missed Cami when you got to the Dragonstooth,” she said before taking another sip of her kavass. “She’s doing very well, married to Garrick — and isn’t that interesting, nin? An Imperial married to a commoner! Of course, they bound their lives and fortunes together before she learned what Kay had done in Talantal. They both seem very happy.”
She took a quick glance at Keiko before smiling at Cesare. “If your kinswoman’s eyes hadn’t reminded her so much of her mother, I suspect she’d have stayed longer to chat.”
Watching, taking note of everything and everyone around her had become second nature for the Dayalan. Maybe it wasn’t necessary to remain as vigilant in Snowgate Keep as she had been in Talantal Castle. Habits honed to a razor’s edge over the course of the past year were hard to set aside.
There was something about this minstrel that cried out to the Priestess that she was every bit an alien has Romana had been — at first. Daxia had come to know her as a deeply inquisitive young woman with a unique perspective on nearly everything. Lyric’s delight in the simple pleasures of life mirrored Romana’s in so many ways. This young woman at the table, however, was not an Eastern Princess experiencing the bounty of the High Tarn for the first time. Yet... and yet, it seemed as though Lyric was experiencing the world for the first time.
Lyric was a puzzle.
Daxia liked puzzles.
She looked at Kisa and smiled when Lyric spoke. “This is what happens when the Rhoni follow you around, and in this case, I’ll include people who act like Rhoni.”
She turned to Lyric for a moment. “Are you sure you’re not a Rhoni, Mistress Lyric? Perhaps,” she added, looking at Keiko, “she’s one of your kin who has been lost even more successfully than Cesare!”
The Rhoni lass blinked, started to say something, but then merely closed her mouth and shook her head.
Dazi shrugged as her gaze turned to Bekkah. “And, of course, the person who tries to imitate the mountain hawks as they float on the winds.”
She giggled as she looked at Kisa again. “Sometimes we’re not misfits, my liege. Sometimes, I am just Dazi, and they are my Delightful Ducklings following along in my wake.
“Hoi! It’s best that we stay at Snowgate, don’t you think? I’m in a silly mood today, and who better to share it with than Eleni, da?”
The Minstrel lowered the cup revealing a burgeoning smile of mischief.
"I am sure that I am not."
"And I also believe that this duckling has only been in your wake since Bordertown..."
She shifted her eyes to Cesare to continue, "There was a woman there named Camelia, Cami... and she looked quite like another woman there, Captain Koromov. Quite a striking resemblance, too much so for coincidence, if such a thing even exists, but their personalities were decidedly different. I say this, Cesare, because, as I remember, you were very much still in your cups that evening we met her at the Inn, and maybe still there the next morning when the ill-tempered Captain made a dramatic entry."
Her eyes shifted back to Daxia, "Where did I leave off... Oh yes, ducklings. Though my time in the company of these friends is short in comparison to others, I have heard a great deal about you already. You have made an indelible mark upon hearts and minds. It would be easy to see why people follow in your wake. In fact, I could sing the song I heard and learned at the Dragonstooth Inn..."
Lyric looked around the table, "Does anyone want to hear it?"
But returned her attention to Daxia and winked. Lyric was no stranger to silly moods despite the cold weather creating evidence to the contrary of late.
He grins evilly at Daxia, having heard her protest against it. Then he turns back to Lyric.
"You are probably right. I honestly don't remember much of that first night, well the latter part of it certainly."
He grins.
"But I do remember the ale being really good."
Then he looks back over to Daxia.
"You have a good memory. Yes, I was herding goats, helping bring them to market which is where my job ended. And I had always wanted to ride. I really thought that the chance of my owning a horse was pretty remote. And now Storm and I have each other. Life is pretty good on the whole."
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
“Oh, no, no! Now there you are mistaken, dear minstrel!” Daxia replied with a laugh. “The Ducklings became such somewhere around Brementown — surely by the time we rescued a fair princess — when we realized we were no longer arguing like fishwives and had begun working toward a common goal.”
She paused and tapped her chin with one finger. “I believe our first goal was merely to get as far away from the Dark Mark and the Velikki as possible. And then, well, then we needed to see Romana to safety.”
Then she shook the finger and Lyric and Cesare. “I see what you’re doing here. You’d like to have some fun at the Dayalan’s expense, da?” Her eyes sparkled like the deepest waters of Sapphire Lake. “Well, fair play to you. But if you’re going to sing that song, perhaps it would be best to wait for Dama Eleni to arrive. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it immensely.”
Glancing as Kisa with a mischievous look in her own eyes, she laid the back of one hand against her forehead.
“Oh, woe unto me, I’m so beset with torments,” she said, looking not the least bit tormented. “Oh, save me, Dama Kisa! You’re my only hope!”
She couldn’t maintain the overly ridiculous pose for another heartbeat before bursting out laughing again.
“Dandelion was a bit ill-tempered that morning, wasn’t she? Well, for anyone who knows her, it made perfect sense. Dominic really should have known better than to send her a letter.
“And I think we can thank Kassia for my memory,” she said to Cesare. “Whatever skill I naturally possessed was honed to the sharpest possible point by the woman.”
Then she glanced at the Keep guards standing near the doorway before murmuring to Kisa, “I’m so looking forward to meeting with High Priestess Karina,” she said sarcastically. “It’s beyond imagining that she doesn’t understand the truths I learned outside the Vale, the ones even Kassia barely hinted at. You don’t think your Aunt is willfully ignorant, do you?”
The Heartwood Dawnview Vale Snowgate Keep Ramesday, the Eleventh Day of Tiger
Bekkah, Cesare, Daxia, Keiko, Lyric, Eleni, Kisa, Nadya, Tomomi, Starrider Guards, and various servants
Before sleep...
"Maybe I need a Knight too!"
That was Eleni's conclusion, after listening to the small debate about visiting folks and learning how the folks of the Vale might actually live and think and feel. Her brow, however, wrinkled as he set her elbows on the table and dropped her chin into her hands.
"But who? I mean, of course, I could ask Aunt Karina for one of the brute squad, but then everyone would see the overprotective Dayalan, and that would skew any conversation right into the keepdom of this-is-not-what-I-really-think-but-this-is-what-I-think-you-want-to-hear."
She frowned a bit, only smiling again when her drink was refilled. Like magic, that was — the magic of an overly-observant servant. Her eyes lit up, and she leaned back, and then as the conversations meandered to another subject her eyes actually went wide as saucers.
"Dommi's married?
"Again?
"Wait.
"Do you mean married, married? Not just some political machination between Khoralls, for alliances and other nefarious matters? But married, married, like someone finally chased him down, tied him up and dragged him in front of some poor her luck-has-finally-run-out priestess with kissing and dancing and really and truly married, married?
"Well.
"There goes one of Mother's Great Plans right out the sluicegate! She's going to turn absolutely purple!
"Not that that's a bad thing. I mean, her Great Plan actually worked all too well. If one of us were to marry Dominic, well, that, well, that'd be like marrying your older, delinquent brother. I mean, of course, we dearly love him, but there's only one word for that!
"Ewww!"
Her head tilted.
"She must be a woman of infinite patience."
A little later her head tilted.
"Glass. Water. Fish. Spectacles. Nadya, can we put out a missive asking for The Councilor?"
As the young Khorall spoke her servant stepped forward, setting a piece of chalk on the table. Without even thinking Eleni picked it up and started to make notes on the smooth wooden surface. Behind Eleni, Nadya shook her head, let out a long sigh and softly chided the servant.
"Anatoli, you are not supposed to be encouraging her."
As she scribbled, Tomomi turned to whisper back to Keiko.
"The Pack made an Alliance? The Pack? The Pack is the Pack. The only ones who truly understand the Pack are other members of the Pack! Wuff-Wuff is particularly hard to understand sometimes! Except for Soft, she's really easy and nice and takes time to explain everything. Broke, Lady, and Renyard may look out for us all but are supposed to make all decisions together, after talking to us, because Home is Home and Home is all of us.
"Except every now and then Broke just does things, and then Lady looks at her, she looks back, and then Lady bops her on the nose.
"Then Broke looks cross-eyed and we all laugh at her and then there's usually a mousing. That's because, well, we all trust Broke."
The little mouse's head tilted.
"I could go find out?"
The conversations eventually wound to their conclusions as the group was escorted to their rooms. As Eleni took her leave, she folded her hands behind her, tucked coquettishly at the small of her back. Her step was light, and she sashayed playfully as she sing-songed her way out.
"... Lady Bekkah's got a boyfriend, a boyfriend, a boyfriend ..."
At breakfast... Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger
Kisa paused between nibbles of her own cranberry pasty. The Heiress was quiet for a long moment before she spoke.
"The Twelfth Day of Tiger shall now be our Day of Silent Knight Reflection. No songs. Fine. No songs about a certain person and what happened at Bordertown. Other songs, they are allowed. Khorall's decree."
She nibbled on her breakfast once more before whispering. Her words were soft as she explained her formal declaration.
"True, this is an abuse of my power.
"But anything for my Knight."
The elder Allaine was then interrupted by the younger Allaine.
"By the Goddess' black and silver hair ribbons, Kisa. Proclamations? Already? You haven't even been home a full day. And it's far, far, far too early in the morning for even your proclamations."
Eleni stumbled into the room, wearing a simple tunic and surcoat. It had no finery, no lace or even a hemmed border; it was, most definitely, a noble person's informal wear. Which, obviously, did not fit well with either her servant or Nadya, who were following in a rush. One had, at the least, a fine cloak under his arm, for cover and warmth against the cool mountain morning. The other, the older of the two, stepped into the room, crossed her arms, and then just sighed. It was too late. By then Eleni had reached the table, sat down on her sister's other side - the side not claimed by her sister's knight - stealing a piece of cheese to nibble on. Both she and her sister were nibblers, it seemed.
"I still haven't forgiven you for Eleni-Can-Only-Say-Five-Words Day."
She took a breath in and then let it out and then almost choked on her breakfast.
"Wait. Refreshing? I'm refreshing? Refreshing and cute?
"Wonderful."
With a dramatic flop, Eleni crossed her arms on the table and dropped her head upon them, resigning herself to being the least impressive of the Allaines.
"Why me?" Eleni whispered to the table.
Then she fell silent. And stayed silent. She was silent for a little while. Then for a little while more. And then for even more time. Nadya's brow finally quirked, and she nodded to Eleni's manservant. He blinked and looked back at the Khorall's mentor, with a definite 'who me' look on his face. Nadya nodded. He blinked again and shook his head. Nadya crossed her arms. He gave her a pleading look. She just became even more stern. So he swallowed and took a step forward. Head turned askance he reached out as far as he could, folding his fingers into a little fist. Nadya's gaze intensified, a sure but silent order of 'Yes, do it. Do it now.' Eleni's servant swallowed and lifted his hand a little bit. Just a little. And then lightly rapped his liege on the top of her head.
"I'M AWAKE!"
Eleni's head snapped up, as she desperately tried to shake her obvious sleepiness away.
"I... I... I... was just ress... thinking... thinking with my eyes closed!"
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right] and Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
...time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future...
And sometimes it doesn’t.
“Who indeed?” Daxia asked. “Why not ask Kisa? Really. How did she decide I ought to be the Knight of Dawnview Castle? Was it friendship? Was it because I killed an Avatar with the help of my Unicorn companion? What it because I ferreted out the Montague plots, past and present, and helped to facilitate the alliance with Korie?” She shrugged. “Or did she spend an entire day setting up her tiles to watch them drop? You should talk with her about it.”
She smiled and winked at Eleni, then lowered her voice. “Or... perhaps your sister did something impulsive, eh?”
There was no other possible response to Eleni’s reaction to the news of Dominic’s marriage than laughter.
“Yes. Married — as in well and truly caught. I performed the ceremony myself. All of us...” She gestured around the table. “...were there. Lady Emerald captured his heart, and he captured hers right back.
“She’s a priestess of Lady Krystra. Da, she is patient.”
After another sip of tshokolat, Dazi sighed. “Your Mother will make new plans, I have no doubt about that. This grand plan of hers, while politically astute, failed to take into consideration something that you and I, Eleni, would have seen in a heartbeat — that Dom Dominie is charming and likable and managed to insinuate himself into the hearts of two sisters who see him as a brother. That’s certainly not the best way to get an heir, now is it? Of course not.”
She giggled. “Yes. ‘Ewww’ is exactly the right way to look at it. Not politically, but with the heart. Not all marriages are made with love in mind. But none should be made with ‘ewww’ as the foremost thought in either the bride’s or the groom’s mind.”
Then she grinned at the youngest Allaine. “Oh, yes, I’m a fine one to talk — a servant of Dayala who has no need to worry about such things. Still, if some incredibly silly person tried to marry off my sister for political gain, I’d have to be quite cross about it all.”
She stole a glance at said sister before her grin to Eleni turned mischievous.
“Despite Bekkah’s calm and cheerful persona, she does have her moments of extraordinary stubbornness that rival anything you or I could contemplate. Why, just the thought of such an arrangement makes we wonder which method of rebellion she’d choose. I suspect the one that would lead to the least amount of conflict would be just wandering off across the High Tarn and winding up at a certain Smith’s home.”
This time, Dazi snickered. “And when the High Priestess of Talantal discovered Bekkah had married herself to this handsome and smart and kind man, there would be all manner of political consternation. And Bekkah would not care one tiny bit!”
Her expression turned mournful as she continued to gaze at Eleni. “Alas, such choices are not available to women — young or old — who serve the people of the Vale. Sometimes this whole notion of politics is stupid, and don’t try to lecture me, Kisa. I’m worried about your happiness, too.”
Daxia leaned back in her chair and looked from one sister to the other.
“We all serve Dayala and the people of Dawnview Vale in our different ways. There are roles we must fulfill, each of us. We might not like everything we must do, we might mourn the things we’ll never be allowed to do, but in the end? In the end, we do what we must because the people of Dawnview trust us to what we can.
“Ja?”
Keiko had listened to the conversation with interest, discovering firsthand that the lives of Nobles were just as controlled by ritual and family expectations as that of the Rhoni. It was something to contemplate, to add to the Lore she had already gathered. When Tomomi spoke, she blinked and brought her attention back to the people around the table.
“Perhaps Lady has bopped Broke on the nose for making an alliance? You could go ask, that is true. But should we not trust the word of the Allaine? Or...” She glanced over at Friend Lyric. “...Lyric might know. Didn’t Broke and One Fang make her part of the Pack?”
She smiled at Tomomi. “Of course, if you want a perfectly good reason to visit Home for a while, that does seem to be, well, a perfectly good one.” Keiko hugged her Forever Friend. “I know you will always find me again, at least if I don’t disappear somewhere you’ve never been, and I don’t plan on doing that.”
The Minstrel had stated that Eleni's perceptions were keen, just off the mark a little. The Darkness was not from without, but rather from within.
Eleni had previously spoke of the Pack, and a desire to meet a member of the Pack. Lyric understood that what Eleni really wanted to meet was a Wuff. And so, she didn't volunteer her status as a member of the pack. What would be the point? To anyone who learned of the Pack in the first place, Wuffs were the obvious center of the revelation. That was as it should be. Lyric was honored by the inclusion and she understood the bond that had been created and the reasoning. Yes, she believed that her actions saved lives and she didn't second guess the Pack's decision. But the Minstrel knew and the Pack knew that she did not have the common origin and life experience that forged them into a Pack.
But Tomomi circled back around to the topic with a quiet commentary to Keiko about how Broke might have acted alone on behalf of all of Home with regard to diplomatic outreach and quite possibly entanglement.
And then Keiko made it clear that Lyric was a member of the Pack. Lyric lowered her eyes. Eleni would have so many questions now... some could prove uncomfortable... and some could revisit her grief and her failures. Kadri was gone. Not all the Wuffs made it out of the Forge Room. She had almost lost One-Fang.
"Yes, they did. After we returned to Home. One Fang made the proposal and the rest of the Pack agreed. So I became a part of the Pack."
The Minstrel shrugged though, "But I don't know anything about an alliance."
He grins as Eleni gets her head rapped. Refreshing and cute.. a good description.
There is lots of light banter around the table, all in good humour. He feels very at ease despite the loftiness of his surroundings, but then he has never been one for formality and has the potentially heretical belief that all men are equal, regardless of status. Although he tries to be polite, he finds it hard to be deferential.
Happy to listen to the chatter, he decides that one more pastry is not excessive and another drink would be welcome too, so he helps himself to both. He does keep his eye on the others too, aware that Lyric is a little uncomfortable talking about the pack and although he feels she shouldn't be as it is part of who she is now, he does know that like him she has some sad memories of that time too.
How does one choose a Knight? Kisa Allaine answered that in a single word, quietly spoken over the last of her evening's drink. She also offered a genuine and secret little smile. It was a simple word, yet, like the quiet scholar, not at all simple or easy.
"Trust."
That got a silent reply as the sisters looked at each other, and Eleni wrinkled her nose. Her head tilted a bit as if she were considering those who she shared such a quality. Which, upon conclusion, was completed with an emphatic shake of her head, short red hair dashing back and forth. Thus it was much better for her to follow another thread of conversation for a bit.
"It just seems so fairy-tale and unbelievable. A Priestess of Krysta, of all things. And married and all. I really want to meet this Miss Emerald. I'd send him a missive, but I keep telling him "Smallest Village on the Mainland" is a very poor description. How can one send a messenger to a place like that? The messenger would blink and ride right past without knowing. It's like he is trying to avoid people.
"However, as for Miss Bekkah ..."
The youngest of the Allain noblewomen leveled a very considering look upon the Imperial Princess.
"As for Lady Bekkah, I could always arrange something."
As Eleni contemplated her rights as a Noble over those who were born in her lands, Tomomi turned back to Keiko.
"Oh. Not that it would take very long; to go and ask that is. I could ask Lady and be back before dessert. I could even bring her a mug of this hot tshokolat. Unless she's asleep. She doesn't like being disturbed when she is asleep. But if she is I could always ask Soft."
Luckily for Bekkah the oddness of the words between Mouse and Rhoni most certainly had caught her attention. Until, of course, Lyric spoke up and the Minstrel's words were overheard.
"You are a member of this Pack?"
And then it became even worse.
"Oh my! How did that happen? A minstrel in a Pack of Wolves? Are all the wolves like this Broke or are they all different? One Fang — that is a wonderful name for a wolf. And he chose you? And the others said yes? That is most curious. Why do you think so? I mean you were there and all! There must have been some reason, something that set you apart from all the other minstrels, to become that trusted. It can't be just because you are a minstrel or any minstrel could become one, but you speak of it as if it is something so extraordinary.
"And I wager it is!"
She was obviously just as interested in Lyric as the rest of her pack.
"That must have been a unique adventure. One can always sing about heroes and brave deeds, that is true, and perhaps that figured into it. But to then become welcomed into such a thing as a Pack.
"Isn't that the difference between a song worth hearing and a song worth remembering?"
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right] and Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
Daxia gave Eleni an inscrutable look and said, quietly, “Eleni.” Rather than chiding or recrimination, the Priestess’ voice held a touch of sadness.
“Let her be, Eleni. Shouldn’t one of us have the freedom to choose her path?” Even her smile seemed melancholy for a moment.
She didn’t regret the direction her life had taken or the myriad ways the tiles could fall in her role of Dayala’s Priestess or Kisa’s Knight. She had never really had a choice — at least, not once Kassia took her in hand. She could barely remember Mama and Papa, and she no longer had any way to imagine how things might have been different if they hadn’t died. She hadn’t bothered with “what if” since just after Bekkah left for her training at Lilia’s Castle.
“Please.”
Dazi backed up to one of Eleni’s previous statements.
“His keep is on the edge of the Korie lands, hard against the Dirkwood.”
“It’s called Waveriders Watch,” Keiko interrupted. “A few farmers and their families... a miller and his wife... and three guards.” She smiled and glanced at Tomomi before addressing the young Khorall. “They’re good people, even Thomas, who doesn’t believe he belongs there. They trade with the Forest Folk, and Missus Miller tries to pretend she’s severe, but she’s as kind as everyone else. They...”
She paused, looked around the table, and then shrugged. “The Young Master does what you wish to do, Dama. He sees the people he watches over as people who make a difference, even if it’s only in a tiny corner of the mainland. The Forest Folk? They are very good at protecting themselves... Broke and the Pack are their Guardians. But the Young Master would do anything in his power to protect them, too, I think.
“Because he cares, you see.” Then she grinned at Eleni. “His little village is at one end of the northern Rhoni Road. The folks in the Big Village ought to know how to find it easily enough.”
Daxia nodded. “That’s must be Talesan’s Village. See, Eleni? Not too difficult if you have all the pieces to the puzzle, da?”
Keiko’s attention was caught again by Tomomi.
“I would be content to believe the Allaine about the alliance, but it does seem to be an unusual thing from what you have said, my friend. Perhaps...” She peeked at Eleni through a wave of hair that fell across her face. “Perhaps you could also ask about Renyard, and if a message might be passed to him that he would be quite welcome in Dawnview Vale.”
She brushed the hair back behind her shoulder, making the bold red blaze more prominent as she finger-combed the locks.
“Even knowing that a message has been passed along to Home for Renyard might be a kindness sufficient to repay the Dama’s hospitality at her Keep.”
"Wuffs," came the Minstrels reply, as though that word alone were the only thing that needed to be said. Lyric lowered her mug, inhaled and exhaled through her mouth. It sounded more like acceptance with a hint of resignation. The tale would be told sooner rather than later but she wasn't comfortable in the role of both teller and participant. Sure, it was partly her tale and she always wanted to hear stories from as close to the original source as she could. But she was a teller of tales and it felt self-serving to be a Minstrel hoping to be a bard who told her own tales.
"They prefer to be called Wuffs," she added after a moment. Her voice was even, paced, matching a rhythm and a tempo she had set in her head and heart.
"Once, they were wolves. But the dark and terrible Dwarven Flesh Smiths of Faast Keep, hidden in the ancient remnant of the Great Forest called Heartwood, now known as Dirkwood, tore them apart then remade them, and tore them apart again, over and over, forging them into something... different."
"Deep below the ground, under a lake, in a terrible place of pain and suffering, at the very farthest depths of this fetid and evil Bankorpool Demesnes of their own creation these Dwarves created their slaves. Less than slaves, they were simply tools to them, forged like any other tool of wood and metal, used and discarded without regard or concern for the spark of life each contained. Soulless at this point, but not without heart and feeling. Such is the origin for all those who now dwell within the solace and safety of Home, but this isn't a tale about all of them, though please understand that the fate of all of them is what drives at the heart of this story."
"You wanted to know how an outsider could become a part of the Fearsome and formidable Pack? I don't know the exact answer to that. I am not a Wuff. Though in my youth I ran with wolves, but that only has meaning if you consider that it influenced my way of thinking. I was a lonely child, few others in my village were my age. My friends were the creatures of the forest. They were not Wuffs and this friendship was a concept in my own head, but it taught me a lot about finding peace within myself and that I was not better than any other creature and the world was not mine to do with as I pleased. I don't know why I mention that except that you probably need to understand it to grasp at the meaning of what I tell you next."
"I went back for them...."
Her voice trailed off as a small surge of emotion threatened her composure as a bard. This was why a bard should not be the teller of their own tales. She seemed held there, motionless, still, too quiet and then finally she blinked again and forced a thin smile.
"It was a terrible place with terrible and cruel people serving their own darkest and basest needs. They created slaves to serve them in any capacity their will and whim desired. Used them up, tossed them aside and then made more." Her voice had an edge of temper about it. "These Dwarves and their Imperial Overlords were evil, twisted by their own dark hearts and the pervasive darkness of an ancient curse that hung over the forest itself. Have no pity for them, for they had none for others."
"This tale is about Wuffs... and me." Another pause.
"Another tale with a broader focus would tell of a Priestess of Attera who called upon her Goddess to grant souls to the Forest Folk of Home and those still enslaved in and dark fortress beneath the water. What a great glory that was, the power of a great Goddess becoming manifest in the world because a single Priestess sought to right a grave injustice and a manifest evil. This story I am telling is how I became part of the Pack. I told you I don't know Why Wuffs do what Wuffs do. I can only tell you what happened."
"How could we not help these newly ensouled people. They had kin still trapped, enslaved. Those who had found a way to escape had fought so very hard to help others, but for every 'tool' they stole from the Evil Prince and his Dwarves, two more were made or so it seemed. The Wuffs led raid after raid, daring forays, into the heart of darkness. The Mice and the Rats and Raccoons, Horses and Deer, and so many others used their talents as were forged into them... against the Dwarves, and the other minions of the Dark Prince. The Wuffs led the raids and fought their way in and then others would come and help and all of them would try to escape. But there was only so much they could ever hope to accomplish. But they were undaunted by the odds against them, because if they could only rescue one slave, then it was worth it, even the losses they might incur. Because that new rescued slave could feel freedom for the first time ever in their life. Those who had felt the warmth of the sun or slept a night without fear and pain would sacrifice everything to grant that moment, that experience to as many or a few as they could rescue."
"Consider this, what if the odds could be changed? What if the cycle could be broken? What if there was a way to rescue them all, or as many as could be rescued, at one time, and stop the Dwarves from making more slaves? What if the blight of the Dark Prince of the Bankorpool Empire could be broken and defeated forever? What if..."
"But the more immediate question was How? The Dark Prince's Keep was built to withstand a fearsome assault. His dwarves were masters of engineering and their magic with the earth and stone gave them a powerful advantage in devising the layers of defenses beyond just the nature of the construction itself. Time and arrogance on their part had narrowed their vision. They had constructed their upside down fortress, driving deep into the earth itself, to make it impossible for anyone they thought might have a chance of opposing them if they even discovered them within the dangerous forest. They knew the forest was not an ally of theirs, but they had found a way to survive it. Any who might challenge them would have to learn these things in a hard and painful way as they must have done. No force would ever reach them with enough strength to break their fortifications."
"But they never believed that the very 'tools' they created and invested with magic would be their undoing. They simply could not conceive that their creations would ever rebel, but they did. They never conceived that their creations would find the strength and courage to survive They did. The Dwarves and the Dark Prince never conceived their creations would unite, but they did. They never conceived that a Priestess of Attera would hear of their plight, journey to see their situation, and then seek a blessing and a boon that moved a Goddess to harness a power that approached the edge of the moment of creation itself, when the True Spark of Life came into existence between Order and Chaos... But she did."
"And maybe a small part of it involved a foolish girl who noticed the flaw in their designs and recognized their arrogance. A plan was created, complicated beyond measure, relying on timing and skill, and no small amount of luck. Everything had to work exactly as planned or bad things would happen. This was a fool's errand and the odds were terribly slim. That foolish girl was a little arrogant herself..."
Lyric stopped as the emotion came again. "...a lot arrogant."
"It was the only plan she could think of, to use their arrogance against them, to use their designs against them. So many moving parts that would have to work without co-ordination from a central place that it might well have been doomed from the start. The girl with the plan refused to accept failure. The lives of so many people whom she had never met weighed too heavily upon her now. How could anyone not be moved by the need and hope and desperation of those who desired a chance to help others like them see the sun for the very first time? How could anyone not recognize the moment when their courage exceeded their chance of survival, and then not be moved to do whatever was necessary to help. Those the heroes committed themselves to a quest that would probably see many die in the hope that many more would be saved."
"Maybe it was the outright foolishness of this plan, disguised as daring audacity, that gave it even the slimmest chance of success. The Dwarves and the Dark prince and his Imperials monsters certainly didn't expect it. And the raid in many raids was launched."
"This is the part of the story where I can only tell you what I know. The plan was the plan and everyone had their part to play. Mine and... and..."
"...and Kadri's was to run with the Wuffs. As fast and as hard as possible, straight down... down and down... clearing a path, making our enemies chase us to the bottom. The Wuffs knew the way and if anyone became separated, then DOWN was the path, ever down. Into the Pit of Evil itself, where the worst of the crimes were being committed and where those most in need would be found. Other heroes had to stand face to face against the Dark Prince, summon courage and delay this evil from realizing that they were not at the leading edge of the battle. Hold them long enough while the true battle slipped past them. There were others that had to slip into the lair of the prince himself and effect a rescue of a young princess whose creation was intended for the most cruel purposes that I will not describe here. And the most important of all tasks, one that required infinite patience and teamwork. This was a task that all other efforts hinged upon. It was the task that set the final timing in motion. It was the task that would exploit the flaw in the design of the keep and bring their biggest defense in upon them. If any of these moving parts failed then all would be lost."
"Down we went... But no plan is complete without the understanding that everything changes once the enemy is met. We were separated. Most of the Pack, from One Fang, Kadri, and myself and set upon by these fearsome feral creatures forged to be less a person and more a tool, vicious creatures with teeth and claws and speed. I was wounded, badly enough. One Fang saved my life, but he sacrificed himself to keep me alive and I found the strength to end the creature. Just one... Kadri faced another and she had to run, to draw it off. We couldn't face another like it.... One Fang, in that moment of sacrifice that gave me a chance to kill the creature was tumbled into the darkness with the creature falling after him. And I was alone. Bleeding. I did not know where I was, but I knew that I had to go Down."
"Kadri was on the run as I believed was in her nature, to let her foes give chase and let the predators believe they chased prey. I had to accept that she would remember that she needed to keep going down. So I went down, but I broke the rules. I had to find One Fang. I did. he was at the threshold of life and death..."
He said this to me and I remember it clearly, 'It was like after the longest Storm Season hunt, caught in the winter rain, when its so cold it is hard to breath and all you could think about was going to sleep. Then I heard music. It didn’t seem like it was the time for sleeping any more.”
Down we went, chasing after the Pack, knowing that they would do everything to achieve the mission. The hardest part was coming. And the moving parts of the plan would not wait for us. Soon, the wheels would turn and gates would open and water would come rushing in, down and down and down."
"There are parts of this tale that I must skip over, for those are not the parts of the story is not what you asked for. I have told you some parts beyond what was closest to the story at request because you need to hear them to understand what I tell you next."
"There was a terrible evil at the heart of the Dark Prince's realm. The nature and truth of Dark Steel. So much evil in those lowest levels. So much pain and suffering. it hurt just to witness it. But for those who lived it and endured it, and died in it, and were cast aside as worthless in it... my words can not describe it any better than what you might see in my eyes right now. Or look to the eyes of Tomomi and see it firsthand."
"We were reunited with the Wuffs, but the Dwarves and those terrible feral creatures were coming, driven into rage and madness by those who held their leashes, they were coming. We knew this, we pulled them all the way down to the lowest levels so that we could race up again with those we came to save. Bring the enemy down to us, to open our path back up again. Timing was everything and we were behind schedule."
She paused, knowing that she owned the room. Her timing and delivery was precise and emotional. Perhaps too emotional since she was a part of the story itself and maybe too close to tell it any other way. But now she was coming to final moments where fate and destiny collided and heroes were revealed around the Minstrel that day.
"Should I continue?"
She smiled though she could feel it was part of the performance as other emotions held stronger sway over Lyric right now.
"The Wuffs realized that more time had to be carved out because the rescue efforts were slowed by the scope of horror that none of us could truly be prepared for. These were real lives we were saving, with real souls, and the secret of Dark Steel affected lives as well. So much pain and suffering. But fear was driving up against hopelessness. That foolish and arrogant girl was beginning to realize that she was... foolish and arrogant. Lives were about to be lost because these poor people didn't understand freedom and didn't know what hope even meant let alone struggle and fight for it. So the Wuffs moved back to create a line of defense to slow the Dwarves. The foolish and arrogant girl knew they would sacrifice themselves to give her plan a few extra moments. She watched them fall back into the the room where they had all been created, to face a foe that would rip them apart, and she knew they would die for the need of a few extra moments. They didn't argue or bicker among themselves. They knew this was what they had been meant to do from the very moment they had first felt the sun and slept a night in freedom. So the foolish and arrogant girl shed a tear and her heart began to break, but the Plan was the Plan. She spoke aloud of hope and peace and freedom to those scared and broken people and found a way to spark courage where she thought none existed. Her friends took up those words and spoke them as well, one on one. And then a spark of hope became a fire, and upwards they climbed, level after level as though they would take hold of this idea of freedom and realize it for themselves or die trying."
Lyric was starting to have a hard time speaking her own words now.
"But she could hear the battle behind her. The Wuffs and the Dwarves were met. The Plan dictated that Lyric follow the group up and see that through. That was the whole purpose of this foolish and arrogant plan. But the girl couldn't follow her Plan. She told a friend to take her place at the rear and get everyone to safety. Her friend must have known the girl was going to do something else foolish and arrogant. Because there was a moment of understanding between them."
"The Girl raced back into the forge room... And... she evened the odds. The Wuffs could rally and turn the fight... and the Wuffs would win this hopeless battle. All the girl had to do was break the One Rule put upon her when she was made Banished. It was never a choice..."
"I told you I don't know why they made me a member of the Pack. You would have to ask them. I tried to tell you how it happened. I think I heard it said afterwards, 'You came back for us.' Maybe that means something to Wuffs."
Lyric closed her eyes and bowed her head. The tears were impossible to hide and had been as much a part of the telling as the words now for some many minutes. But it was told. It was honest. It was real.
As he listens to Lyric, knowing this would be coming but underestimating how much the telling would affect him, he finds a rhyme going through his head.
Quote
Deer are first to raise the gates Turn that capstan round and round Chains will release and drop the weights Gushing water will start to sound.
None of them will be the same after that and the memory of Kadri will live on with them.
He says nothing but he stretches out and gives Lyric's hand a squeeze. It is a story they all share though each played a different part. He just wants her to know that she is not alone.
Eleni, as dinner finally ends, and Tomomi, after dinner
"Oh, I would never actually do anything like that..."
Eleni Allaine let out a long sigh, propping her elbows on the table and dropping her chin once more into her palms. Her eyes narrowed just a bit as her nose wrinkled.
"And yes, Mother will come up with a New Great Pan. Which is actually scary, since she's probably going to get bored once Kisa gets home and sits in the big chair at Dawnview Castle."
Eleni's eyes went wide at that conclusion as if she just realized exactly what it meant to have an Allaine at loose ends, looking for something to keep herself occupied. Indeed, even Kisa blinked, sitting up a little straighter, as she also now realized the level of domestic danger the Allaine siblings were about to fall into. Eleni looked across the table, to her sister, and then she let her sharp — but blurry — gaze slip between Kisa and Daxia. Kisa, alas, was safe it seemed. Or at the least, safer.
"Oh, you got it easy. She can try, but you are the Khorall, dearest sister. Not only have you made your choice but Mother no longer may command you. But me? Hoi. I am the one to whom both political and familial duty will fall on like a sack of merebeasts. Will it be some lordling from Kierkegaard? Who will want to drag me off to Highgaard? Or some merchant Prince to further our economic strength? I would not be a wife but an investment. He'd probably make me wear that gaudy jewelry from Talantal. All ostentatious and without style. But the truth, with my luck? It will be a deranged Nehmeristel priest who will pay more attention to his horse than me. Wait. That might not be the worse thing in the world. Yes, dear. No, dear. Don't worry, dear. Go back to the fields while I take care of things, no need for you to worry your horsey-mind on less important matters like running a keep and taking care of, well, you know, people."
"And you know it goes both ways, da?"
Immediately, with just a shift of her head, Eleni had changed subjects. She brightened a bit, managing a small smile, as she returned to the question of their fosterling brother.
"If anything ever happened to Kisa and me, I suspect he'd break all the rules and laws on the mainland to rescue us. And in return, it's often been my suspicion that his Father never outright disowned him, in part, because he knew that would have turned us from just annoying neighbors that might occasionally need dealing with to outright hostile ones that had to be dealt with.
"I am very glad about the Council. But then Dorian Korie is many things, but an idiot? No."
And then, then it was time for a tale, a story told by a minstrel, one painted in so many different shades of black.
"Wuffs..."
Eleni whispered that one word as if to test its flavor. But then, as proper and polite, she stayed silent to hear the remainder of the powerful story. Indeed, she even remained completely silent when the tale of Loch Faast Keep came to its conclusion. Her features were pale. Her older sister understood the patterns of the world in broad strokes, how the great powers worked on the world. But Eleni, she had less vision. Perhaps less was the wrong word; her Allaine gift was more focused. She saw the implications of actions on people.
There was one, however, at the table, who heard that story and whose expression did not darken. It was surprising, perhaps, because it was one who had shared that darkness, who had toiled as a tool in a Dragon's very belly, who — in her life as a tool — had her hands burned by raw darksteel, who hadn't had a name beyond her use until she met a lone Rhoni lass. Tomomi smiled. And when she smiled, it was sweeter than sunrise and starlight.
"But you came back."
The Mouse hugged herself tightly before leaning up against her forever friend, reaching for the other girl's hand.
"That's all there is to it. You came back.
"Don't you know how much that means?"
Tomomi closed her eyes. She took her strength from Keiko.
"Worth means so much to us. If a tool has no more worth, it is discarded. Thrown out. They’re all safe and harmless words, so you don't have to say we were killed. Executed. Even now, even now I get scared sometimes, wondering if I should be me, do I deserve this soul I have been given? Would it be better if I was just a mouse like I was born to be? And then I remember. I have a forever friend. And I know in my heart that if something bad were ever to happen to me, she'd come back for me. If our paths part, it would not be forever and every day is just a day closer to our greeting each other once more."
The Mouse-girl's words were bright and light and infectious.
"That long night, you all came back for us. Not just for us as all of us, the Forest Folk, but for each and every one of us individually, too. We were no longer tools. We were a people who deserved to be rescued — to be rescued at whatever the cost.
"It was, it is, undeniable proof that each and every Forest Folk has worth, that we not only deserve to live, that we deserve to live not as tools but as each other, as exactly who we just are."
All of a sudden she was sitting on the table, next to Lyric, patting the minstrel's soft hair.
"Don't you realize? You came back and saved One-Fang. No one had ever done that for the Pack before. Ever ever.
"If the Pack ever had any doubts that they were doing the right thing, you proved it.
"There are those we shall never be able to Mouse again. But you gave their passing value, gave them worth. And because of that, they would not wish you to mourn."
Small hands reached down and turned the minstrel's head up, soft eyes meeting cloudy ones.
"If you are crying, let be it just like my tears — tears of joy.
"You all came back for us. You made us people."
There was that soft smile again.
"Imagine all the good you have brought to the world. We now live to ensure we are deserving of the worth you gifted us."
She stayed quiet for a little bit. Tomomi's words were a strong complement to Cesare's simple motion, bringing the very silent Rhoni's feelings to light for all to share.
"If you write a song about Loch Faast Keep it should not be a dirge. It should be the truth; a celebration.
"So smile. If I can, you can — because you have worth too. That night proved it."
With that, Tomomi leaned back again. Her expression was bright, her whiskers twitched. She grinned at Keiko and said something odd and inscrutable, yet it silently concluded, for now, their previous conversation.
"I have enough worth to feel comfortable doing this right here and now..."
** HOP **
And suddenly the Mouse was gone, her leaving marked only by the pop of wind filling the space where she once was.
"EEEEK!"
Both Allaine sisters squeaked at the suddenness of Tomomi's departure. Kisa recovered first, her expression almost chiding, a look as if she knew that she should have expected it, all the clues had been right in front of her all the time — especially Miss Emerald's arrival at her wedding. But she hadn't expected to see it, right now, right in front of her, while she was watching, and so calmly and blatantly.
"...so that's how they do it."
A scholar's observation. Eleni was much more scattered and almost panicked.
"Where did she go?"
The younger sister first rubbed her eyes, of course, then leaned forward, then looked all around, behind her, under the table, under one of the platters, in one of the carafes; she looked for a tail peeking behind a curtain, up in the rafters, beneath her chair, behind Keiko's chair and other sundry spaces.
"She's not here! Did she vanish? Get eaten by an invisible grue? But the hall is well-lit!"
"It's not fair. You all know I can't see well! Where are you hiding Miss Mouse? Will I ever get lace? Will she come back?"
It took a long while to calm Eleni down. However, it was an excellent way to fill the time between Tomomi's departure and her return.
** HOP **
The little Mouse-girl suddenly appeared exactly where she had been, except her comportment was completely different. She had her arms wrapped around her tummy so very, very tightly, eyes closed shut, and she immediately fell on her side with a solid whunk. And she was laughing. She was laughing so very, very hard. When she could catch her breath, she held one arm straight up.
"First. Master Renyard was there. He'll be coming to Dawnview as soon as he can.
"Second, One-Fang sends Lyric a head rub and ear rub, which I'll do as soon as I... as I... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
"It was after dinner. Soft was telling the New Ones a story, One-Fang, Broke, and Wuff-Wuff were wrassling over a hank of meat that Wrath had grabbed up while they were wrassling, and Lady was just happy to see me and know we were all doing well. When I asked her if she knew about an alliance between the Pack and the Allaines, her ears flattened, her eyes narrowed, and she immediately called out 'BROKE'! And the Wuff lifted her head from the wuff pile with a confused 'WUT' look on her face and Lady stormed over to her all stiff and fierce-like, and she asked her about this alliance thing. Broke narrowed her eyes and barked that it seemed like the right thing to do at the time and of course that didn't help matters one bit, and then it was Broke's turn to look panicked as Lady didn't swing at her, no, Lady walked back to the table, took up one of Renyard's big pieces of parchment, where he records what's been happening, he makes sure we all know how to read and write a lil' bit, and she rolled it up and THEN went after Broke, chasing her in circles and swatting the pack leader over and over going 'Bad Wuff! Bad Wuff! Bad Wuff!'
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
There's a brand new morning rising clear and sweet and free...
Daxia looked at Kisa as she made her proclamation, rolled her eyes, and finally shook her head.
“Really, Kisa? I love you. You know that. But... really? Proclamations?”
She sighed.
“Proclaiming that I’m the Knight of Dawnview Castle was plenty. Thank you.”
Dazi turned to watch Eleni as she came in, trailed by Nadya and Anatoli. She didn’t bother hiding her smile.
“I’m so glad you agree with me, Eleni!”
The Knight looked around her liege and grinned at Eleni as she sat down. “I remember that day! You hated it. Kassia was heard to mutter in the vicinity of the Cobble Block that the Flutterby might allow some sort of knowledge to seep into her brain. I certainly wasn’t going to tell the priestess that you were too miserable to learn anything.”
Dazi also nicked a piece of cheese from Kisa’s plate as she looked at her. “You’re just afraid that I’ll ask Lyric to sing The Snowqueen if you allow her to sing the Bordertown song. And Eleni... there’s nothing wrong with being refreshing. The summer rains can be refreshing, the winter snow can be refreshing. Why can’t you? The answer... you can!”
Biting her lip, she looked at Kisa when Eleni rested her head on her arms, an eyebrow raised questioningly. They waited. Then they waited a little longer. Finally, Daxia’s gaze turned to Nadya and Anatoli. She just barely managed not to burst out laughing at the poor lad. That wouldn’t have been kind, yet it was extraordinarily funny. When Anatoli finally rapped Eleni lightly on her head, Dazi giggle.
Eleni's declaration of the possibility of arranging a marriage caught her by surprise. Something that didn't truly happen to her often. At least not in a manner that left her speechless. She honestly, didn't think Eleni was serious, but she was smart enough to not push it. She chose instead to ignore her and hope the idea dropped. Then Dazi spoke up for her. Again she said nothing but when she caught her sistyer's eyes, she mouthed a silent "Thank you" with a nod of her head.
He listens quietly as Tomomi talks to Lyric, nodding slowly every now and then. He agrees with what she says but maybe he feels what Lyric is feeling? The emotion is there, very close to the surface, for everything that they tried to do and for the losses they had. It is still raw.
And the Tomomi pops out and then back again.
And this time her story telling of home brings a smile to his face. He can just picture it all. There are times he wishes they were back there where life was just simple and good. But deep down he knows it is not for him. His tides have bigger waves, bobbing on a calm sea is not his path.
As the conversation continues in a more lighthearted tone, he catches Daxia's expression and grins, adding a very definite nod of agreement.
[[ OOC note ... Gypsy's most recent post for Cesare, which appears to be responding to the evening portion of this thread, serves excellently as a very good closure post for the previous evening's discussion. Unless Phoenix wishes to post a similar final closing post for Lyric, we should now continue with responses for the morning conversation, of which the latest is Kelly|Daxia's "There's a brand new morning..." post.
Also, on a side note, while introspection is good, reaching out to interact with your fellow players is always better Remember, the only mind-reader on The Heartwood is a certain Forest Folk Fox! ]]
OOC- Introspection seems fitting to close the previous evening out.
I have become very confused as I read again, then reread this thread. I am trying to separate the posts so that I can follow the morning conversation and am having trouble. We really didn't do a good job of separating the parts of our posts out when dealing with the fact that we were doing the evening and morning concurrently. I, myself, did it in a few places but not all. For that I am sorry to all. This will be my last post for the evening prior- I responded to Tomomi because there is value in it for my character. The second part of the message will be the 'Next Morning' part of the thread. I am just going to have to drop in there again because of my confusion as a player, and I will attribute to the weirdness of the character.
*****
Lyric, a final introspection on the night that was
"Oh Tomomi, sometimes I feel like I know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Thank you for your words of encouragement. I can not find the words to describe my feelings or my emotions... Odd, for a Minstrel who wishes to be a Bard... But, it is deeper than loss. It is more than the responsibility of creating a plan that was not perfect, nor could have been perfect. I just..."
Lyric reached out and drew the little mouse to her, holding her tightly in an embrace. Even this action, with the emotions felt and imparted, was still at the edge of something foreign to her. "I think what I am feeling is Love, little one," she said softly but still within the hearing of the others gathered about. "Love itself, both beautiful and terrifying. A word I knew from stories I learned, songs I sang. It thrills me. It scares me too."
Releasing the Mouse, she wiped her eyes. "In time, perhaps I will see the path more clearly and the song I write tomorrow might not be the song I would write tonight. But now I know there is a path from here to there and I will find it."
Quote
"I have enough worth to feel comfortable doing this right here and now..."
** HOP **
And suddenly the Mouse was gone, her leaving marked only by the pop of wind filling the space where she once was.
Lyric smiled. Eleni shrieked. Lyric chuckled. Others comforted the young Khorall. Lyric relaxed and sighed with some contentment. But that 'Edge' where she metaphorically stood was an unyielding obstacle on her journey. To take the next step forward might require her to do something that would change everything...
And those were her thoughts until Tomomi returned with word from Home. Some it it
She smiled as Tomomi promised to deliver the physical aspects of One Fang's message. Maybe the little mouse realized that the message was more than just a the words she spoke and that the distance between them could not be bridged so easily. Tomomi was indeed like this perfected idea of a little sister though. Except that Lyric didn't have any siblings of her own. Thus watching the exchanges between her and Keiko was equally enchanting and confusing. She longed for the emotional connections but wasn't sure she understood them beyond what she could see with her eyes and feel with an empty heart.
It was true, hearing words spoken by One Fang gave her a sense of peace. Hearing the joy in the Mouse's words as she told her story gave the Minstrel peace as well. And yet...
It would be very hard to explain exactly why she still felt grief and couldn't seem to let go of it. Maybe that too was something she would discover if she took that step forward to fall from the Edge.
(Done with the night before)
****
Lyric, a Minstrel at breakfast... Hasday, the Twelfth Day of Tiger
In Truth the Minstrel was really inclined to sing any song at all this early in the morning. The young Khorall certainly did not appear as though she was at her finest in the part of the day when She who would Cross was just beginning the Journey and might not appreciate music right now. In fact, the Khorall looked as though she might nod off again. Her own group had gathered early around the table. The Minstrel, herself, had already been up while the sky was still at it's darkest. It was harder and harder to be the first one awake though. Not because she herself had any difficulties in waking, but rather because Lyric was now in the company of more very early risers. Each dawn of the travels from Bordertown to Snowgate Keep had prepared the Minstrel to be ever more vigilant with her own morning activities and rituals. Fortunately she didn't require much sleep, which appeared to be the opposite of Eleni who was obviously in training for the DawnView Vale's Sleeping Championship.
"My mandola has warmed enough that I was able to tune it again. If music would be the request of our host than I am honored as well as obliged to offer it."
"But it's one of the few fun things I get to do. I do not want to be known, when they write the annals of Dawnview History, that Kisa Allaine was a minor ruler during a time of general peace that is only remembered by how dull and staid her proclamations were. I wish to make good proclamations."
Kisa replied to her Knight in deeply serious tones as if it were something that was a True Concern. There was, of course, a very obvious reply, one that came from the younger Allaine as she set her chin on folded arms, determined to try and stay awake for a little longer this time.
"Kisa. Five Words Day was a really, really, really bad proclamation."
The elder sister tilted her head.
"Three words?"
"EEEEK!"
Eleni then shut her mouth and buried her head back in her arms, knowing all too well when to let sleeping shaggies lie. Kisa smiled and in turn rested her head on Daxia's shoulder. It was very very rare that others — besides Daxia — saw this side of the quiet scholar. Eleni only looked back up when a small crockery cup of kavass suddenly appeared beside her. Behind Eleini her manservant stood quietly, his appointed tasks most successfully carried out when they were not noticed at all. Still, the waking of his lady had been noticed and only now was his blush starting to fade. Luckily he was allowed a distraction when, after taking a sip of her morning drink, Eleni asked a simple one-word question.
"What?"
Without a pause, her servant responded.
"Hasday."
With that answer, Snowgate's ruler bit her lower lip and sighed.
"Hasday is Court Day. A day of listening, trying to sit all day in one place, being asked to determine if the beast two farmers are bickering over was a horse or a mule, having to discuss the levy on grain coming in and fancy dresses going out, whether I can come to see the new windmill set its sails, figure out the punishments for those the sheriff brings in, wonder why we have a merchant from Brementown asking for an appointment — I mean, does Brementown even have anything to sell, and why here, as they are Highgaard's problem in the first place — and I could really use a piece of bread and... oh, there it is."
A hunk of bread dashed with a splash of honey had appeared beside Eleni. She picked it up and nibbled... that was until Lyric spoke up. At her last word, the two sisters looked at each other, their gazes locking. They stayed that way, as they both were Khorall. It was, as Eleni's eyes narrowed, very definitely some manner of contest, a silent battle of wills, until Kisa just smiled and closed her eyes. She was far too comfortable at the moment, and this was her little sister's Keep.
"Music would be good. Perhaps something without words, because, well, then we'd have to listen and I'd rather talk. No. Not because I like to talk, well I do, but it's like I never get to talk to really interesting folks."
Eleni paused and looked straight ahead, definitely not looking behind her.
"Nadya is giving me that 'I just said something really wrong' look, isn't she?"
Eleni was correct. She, however, just continued.
"So, what are your plans this morning? Of course, you are welcome at Court come noon, but it's never the most exciting thing in the world. We've got the best markets in the Vale, there are the terrace farms and, of course, our small sunset temple. It's not like the Castle where we welcome Her each day, but it's kind of nice to be the last to see Her before She sleeps."
While it wasn't her intent to create a moment of tension between the sisters, she was intrigued by the silent exchange that took place. Perhaps she should have been more specific in word choice. She should have used the word Host as it was Eleni to whom she was speaking. But, upon final thought, it was probably better that the sisters settle these things themselves.
She smiled and nodded.
Never without the Mandola she slipped it from the bacl of the chair and removed it from the carry bag. It would be a minute or two more before she was ready to play.
Lord Protector, Her Ladyship Verchovai Daxia Yurisdotter [Daxia serves DAYALA... the GM ESPECIALLY should get this right]
Daxia poked Kisa’s arm. “Five Words Day was a terrible proclamation. You’re not going to be known by the Vale’s future generations as a minor ruler. You’ll be known as the Khorall who made an Alliance with the People of the Forest, whose Knight kicked a couple of hornets’ nests on the High Tarn, set two new stars in the sky, snatched down another one, and marked the locations of our lost Temples. Sadly, I will be more famous than you. However, you may still be known as the Khorall who happened to make terrible proclamations as a way to tease her sister.”
Dazi grinned and rested a cheek against Kisa’s red hair. “I think you should make more proclamations that will let future generations know you have a sense of humor. In fact, the two of you can make a game of it. Who can make the proclamation that will cause the most people to giggle while showing that you are not only sisters but the best of friends?
“And I see that look, Nadya. I trust the two of them to keep the well-being of their people foremost in their minds. Dama Linnell didn’t smile enough. I don’t want either of her daughters to forget to smile.” Her eyes darted to Anatoli for an instant before turning back to Nadya. “Eleni will be fine.”
The Knight’s smile grew as the youngest Khorall outlined her day.
“The Koromov admonished me to stay away from Court... although I suspect part of the reason for that advice was simply that she doesn’t care for it. But you pose an interesting set of questions — Why is there a Brementown merchant here? Why is the Brementown merchant not trading in Cragside or Kraigskell or Highgaard? What could a merchant from Brementown possibly have to trade?”
She looked around the table and shrugged the shoulder not occupied by Kisa’s head.
“I can’t imagine anyone else would find court interesting, but I wouldn’t mind it. Perhaps during the morning, I’ll visit with my Temple sisters here. How many of you want to knock me on my behind, Captain?” she asked the Dayalan closest to Nadya.
There were two possibilities there, of course. There could be an inordinate amount of jealousy in the ranks causing the Keep’s Dayalans to have a desire to knock a brick from her tower. Or they could be interested in sparring with someone new, something that also had the potential to land Daxia on the ground.
Well, there was a third possibility. They could already have fallen under His Magnificence’s spell and be lining up to offer him apples. Who would be interested in a mere Starlord when a Unicorn was in the stables?
“I visited the sunset temple when I was here with Gilly.” Daxia looked at Lyric and Keiko. “I think both of you would enjoy it... Lyric, if for no other reason than it’s a new experience. The Rhoni artist Keiko will enjoy the colors that She shares as She says fare thee well to the Vale. In any case, it’s beautiful.”
She sighed and smiled at Kisa. “The only thing that comes close to comparing is watching Her set from the piers of Talesan’s Village.”
No, he is not going to eat another pastry though he is tempted. He needs to some exercise, maybe he can find something along those lines for the morning?
"I've always managed to avoid courts.."
His eyes twinkle.
"But attending for no specific reason has appeal. I should like to see how things are done. This morning I need to do something more physical, combat practice, crossbow practice or maybe I can just walk and explore.. or maybe a combination of all three."
Keiko khal’Nakano Hoshiko [pronounced KAY-ko... do you think the GM has memorized this yet? Nope, not yet...]
Keiko considered Dama Eleni’s suggestions as well as Lady Daxia’s recommendation, then gave Cesare an odd look when he proclaimed he’d like to visit the Court session. Having heard the stories of the Elders Council meetings from her mother and grandmother, Keiko wasn’t sure Eleni’s Court would be any more interesting. Even the mystery of a Brementown merchant — an unlikely personage based on her visits to the town. He might be a traveling Rhoni trading items from his Caravan that stopped last in Brementown, though. Still, if that were the case, she’d find out eventually. She’d let Lady Daxia work that one out.
But she smiled at the Khorall and the Knight. “I would very much like to see Her setting from a new location, Dama... Verchovai. I would also be pleased to share this beauty with my friends. But during the day?”
She tilted her head toward Cesare, letting her dark hair fall over one eye as she grinned mischievously. “I have yet to see your skill at the Dances, kinsman. Shall we Dance this morning? I will even give you the slight advantage of Storms against your Daggers.”
Keiko chuckled before turning to Tomomi and Lyric. “Afterward, perhaps visiting the terraced gardens would be nice. I’ve never seen the ones rumored to be along the Sea of Pearls in Gh’orre.”
"I would be honoured kinswoman.. on the condition that you don't show me up too badly."
He grins.
"It will be interesting to Dance with someone who knows the forms. I have never done that before. I might find I don't know them as well as I think I do!"
The prospect however does not dampen his enthusiasm.
Lyric was ever so gentle with the instrument at first, as though she were a lover making that first touch. To feel the instrument with her fingers as though she had never felt it before. To look upon it as if this revelation of its presence quickened her heart and shortened her breath. She stroke her fingers along the neck as her other hand caressed the body and cradled it to her lap and belly. The conversations around her might well have been lost except that Lyric treasured the excitement of sound. Her own music, the voices of friends, the song of birds, the chatter of mice, footfall across the stone floor, and a distant bark of a dog. That was just a few of the songs, each of them electric upon her skin, the reaction hidden and protected. So many more sounds, a cacophony if they all played at once at the same volume, but that was the beauty of sounds to Lyric. Nothing was cacophony at all. Everything that could be heard and felt was priceless.
She ran her fingers along the strings, feeling the sound they might make and turned the pegs so they would make the sound they should. She tuned the mandola with hearing a single note. But she knew her instrument.
Finally she looked up, smiled at Daxia and nodded. "Then I am eager to to see the setting of the Sun." And with less than a breath of time to space her words and her attention she shifted to Keiko and Tomomi. "I wish to see these gardens as well." To Eleni, with the same economy of effort and energy, she continued. "If I might also observe your council meeting. I am intrigued by how such things work but it was never my place in my own village, except to be present for things when called upon."
Lyric settled herself in her chair, shifting her hands once more to ready herself to play. As she spoke she surveyed her audience.
"I wish to do everything there is to do, all of it, but i understand if some things must happen at the same time. But watching each of you practice your martial skills, and wandering in Gardens, and watching a ruler balance mercy and law, as well as Chaos with Order, and bidding She who Crosses the Sky a safe rest and warm return... all of these things are experiences."
"I am ready Khorall Eleni," she said as her focus settled on the young woman. "I will play something new, something that I am going to create right now as I play... for you. I think I will call it, The Guardian of the Gate."
"Fighting, fighting, fighting, and more fighting? Is that all you ever think of? It is so unfair. I mean, while Kisa and I were taught to us a dagger, it's not like there are many threats in the Vale..."
Eleni had lifted her head, shook out her short hair, and finally seemed to have woken up to her rambling self as she looked at the two Rhoni. As she continued on, Kisa latched onto her last few words. Glancing to Daxia and then to Keiko, the older sister simply cocked her head a little bit, as if she were silently putting pieces of several conversations together.
"...but it's just not fair. I wish I could learn that too. I have never liked feeling like I am the littlest of us and it really hurt when that old witch Kassia said the best way for me to fight was to hide behind one of my servants."
Now it was time for one of those servants to squirm a bit and turn a lighter shade of pale.
"I'm supposed to protect them, not hide behind them, right?"
"No."
That last word was spoken from a woman in armor, the one standing behind them all. She, too, was a redhead with hair that was clipped short at her shoulders. In fact, it looked like Eleni's rough trimming was an attempt to match the other woman's pragmatic choice. She wore a hauberk of brigantine — white with silver fittings over which she wore a black and white surcoat identifying her as serving Snowgate Keep. The white and silver? Perhaps they were a hint of her home, as those were the colors of Glacier Keep.
"Of course, respectfully no, my Khorall. It is our task to do the protecting. Your task is to rule this keep and watch over the entrance to the Vale. While we are the first line protecting Dawnview Vale, you are its last and best hope, you see what we cannot, you are the one who wields us. You will be the first to see the hints of trouble that walk through those gates. Every day you look down that pass and cannot help but know the cost of defending them. Knowing this, it is also our task to trust you, to believe that if it was ever to come to such, you would not ask that of us lightly."
Eleni's head immediately dropped back atop her arms, nose to the tabletop.
"Great, wonderful. Perfect. Thank you, TeeCee, for totally ruining the mood and reminding me just how life-or-death important every little thing I do is. You're worse than Nadya, you know. She just swats me and tells me to stop being a child."
TeeCee simply smiled and nodded her head politely.
"You are more than welcome, my Khorall. And I would, but my hand is a lot harder than Lady Nadya's and it would not do to have you go into Court with a black eye. As for black eyes, now that is a different subject."
The Captain of Eleni's guard looked at Dazi, choosing then to answer her Sister's query.
"Actually, none. If one of us actually has a desire to knock one of us on our backsides, I usually grab them by the scruff of their neck and find the closest watering trough."
Beside her, another of the Snowgate guards, dressed in the traditional black and silver with matching long black hair, bit her lip and looked askance.
"Sparring is to help each other learn. However, to that very end, there's a pair of roughnecks who I wouldn't mind seeing some good honest sense beaten into them. For their proper education, of course. One came from Bordertown and one from, oh, some odd little mountain town at the end of nowhere. Where was it? What was its name again? Trimbletown? Trufflesville? Topsy-turv..."
Before she could complete that last syllable, the black-haired initiate twisted her nose and grumbled a response.
"Trundle-on-the-Hill."
"Oh yes! That's it, Trundle-on-the-Hill."
TeeCee nodded once, her attention having never left Daxia.
"Would you be up to that, Verchovai Yurisdotter? If so, we gather at the chapel courtyard a little after breakfast. I'm sure Rishka here could show you the way. That correct, Rishka-ling?"
The dark-haired lass wrinkled her nose again.
"Yes Captain, my Captain, my one and only Captain who I owe everything too and is sure to remind me of that every bloody day, too. Bother. Pah. Apologies. Bloody isn't lady-like."
It certainly seemed that Daxia wasn't the only one saddled with unique apprentices. TeeCee took it completely in stride.
"Correct."
All that was left was to then go off on their appointed tasks.
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Remember, the only mind-reader on The Heartwood is a certain Forest Folk Fox! ]] 