Nahla looked at her friends as they began to set-up camp for the night next to a large lake at the border of the Oristani territories. It was going to be a pleasantly warm night and the stars were going to be out in force and the crickets were just starting their song. A light breeze had kept the day from being too warm. By the water frogs were serenading each other. In all they had made good progress on their travel today and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. That is except Devshi, she wasn't her usual perky self, full of questions and comments for Nahla, in fact she had been pretty withdrawn if not outright surly. Nahla was concerned, but figured she would wait for Devshi to come to her to talk about it.
They were going to officially enter into the Oristani territories tomorrow morning, not that borders had ever concerned her people much. The tribes went where the resources for the flocks were. No one ever complained as far as she'd ever heard, so clearly it was fine with the other nations as well. Mind you the lack of complaints might have more to do with the Oristani reaction to the way the complaints were made rather than a lack of complaints itself. But, since it meant no one bothered the Oristani, Nahla didn't really care. The result was the same either way.
Nahla had decided to talk to the rest of the party about what to expect in Oristan in order to minimize the problems that leading a bunch of dusba into her peoples land would cause. With any luck the party wouldn't encounter any of the tribes until they got to Khaliun, the capital and only city of the Oristan. But being Oristan, Nahla wasn't going to bet on getting lucky. In fact she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that no matter how bad her luck was in this particular situation, she would be at least partly covered. At the end of the day Nahla knew all she could do was try and pray the spirits were kind.
It's not that Nahla was expecting violence, far from it, she was more concerned about one of the group unintentionally upsetting or offending someone. She knew that by other culture's standards the Oristani response to such things could seem extreme. She really didn't want to have to serve as witness to a duel, or worse have to stake one of the party to the ground so the sun could do its work. Dehydration was a serious danger in most of the Oristani territories and besides, she was becoming rather fond of the motley group. The most dangerous thing she could think of was a friendly reception and one of the group, probably Devshi or Bisha, getting themselves into a situation she couldn't talk them out of.
So with that thought in mind Nahla started telling them as much as she could as soon as the evenings camp chores were done. While they were sitting around the campfire eating their dinner Ryah and Usha were keeping the rest of the mounts and beasts of burden safe in their picket line. She started by letting them know about the basic manners, things that children were taught. Nahla knew there was no way they would ever remember everything they needed to know to get by, it wasn't like she was taking them to just one tribe. No, she was taking the party through the ranges of at least four tribes probably more and they would also be going through the Udzhek lands as well. The Udzhek were a law unto themselves, even among the individualistic Oristani. No, it was going to be better if she made sure her friends had the knowledge of a child and just told the elders and Shaman of whatever tribe they ran into to treat the group as such.
Friends, now there was a word that Nahla had never expected to call a bunch of dusba, outlanders. Nahla contemplated that fact while she informed her friends about how they would need to act in order to keep from being injured or worse killed while they were in Oristan. She had long ago learned how to separate her thoughts so she could teach one thing while she contemplated another. This wasn't a skill that just Nahla had, this was another part of her training to be a Shaman. While around her the night cooled and the sounds of the day were replaced one-by-one with the softer sounds of the night.
It was looking like it was going to be a nice night. The skies were clear and the winds were calm. The stars shone brightly down upon the little group relaxing in the growing gloaming of the night. Her nightly meditations were going to be pleasurable tonight Nahla thought to herself as she pointed out that it was very rude for any male to look at the unadorned face of a female. She watched as Devshi and Irene both nodded, then Devshi raised her hand. Nahla stifled a grin and chuckle at the city manners. Then proceeded to answer Devshi's question about how to keep that from happening. It was a good thing that Nahla still had the clothes she'd worn to Chuluun Toiroq with her. It meant that she had spare veils. It was going to be easy to attach it to Irene's existing helm, but Devshi was going to require her turban as well to hold the veil on.
At least the discussion about what to expect in Oristan was distracting Devshi from whatever it was that was making the normally cheerful female as surly as a camel with a heavy load. Nahla was certain that the rest of the party had noticed Devshi's mood change as well, a blind person would have noticed Devshi's mood change. Earlier that very day Devshi had actually yelled at Bisha for asking if she was okay. It wasn't just that she'd taken her temper out on Bisha, a male that avoided conflict like a plague, but that Devshi was showing her temper at all. There was a reason that she'd been nick-named senkhuul, or little mouse, but as a Shaman it was her duty to try and help her with whatever was upsetting her. Nahla decided that she would try and talk to Devshi about it as soon as she could get her alone.
While thinking about all of this Nahla told the party surrounding her that everyone in the tribe contributes to the overall tribes well being. Which led Ten Rabbit to ask what she meant by 'contribute to the tribe'. Nahla went on to explain that none of the tasks asked of them would be beyond their strength or knowledge before continuing.
"For instance Devshi might be asked to act as a healer if there was anyone injured and the tribe had no healer at that time, or Irene might be asked to work with the camp guards for a time."
Bisha raised his hand next, asking what kind of task he could do. Nahla almost told the two of them that they didn't need to raise their hand if they had a question, but thought better of it. After all it might embarrass them. Something no Oristani would do, especially not a Shaman. Instead she just answered his question with a question.
"Can you cook?"
It was a little while later, after more question and answer, that Nahla noticed out of the corner of her eye that Bisha had stopped writing and raised up something in his hand. She had just turned to face him when suddenly the whole area exploded in blinding white light. Nahla and Irene both jumped to their feet trying to simultaneously draw weapons and cover their eyes. Devshi fell backwards off of the stump she'd been sitting on onto her back. Ten Rabbit and Fulha both rolled for cover in two different directions and Bisha seemed almost stunned by what he had managed to do. All of them except Bisha and Devshi started to cuss in their native tongues. Devshi just covered her eyes and started to pray and Bisha started to wonder out loud about how he'd managed to do that and that he'd only been trying to get enough light to see by so he could keep taking notes about what Nahla was talking about.
That was when, again simultaneously, Nahla and Irene both yelled that how he'd done it didn't really matter right then, but he'd better be able to turn it back off or someone was going to get hurt and it would not be them. It only took Bisha a couple of minutes to figure out how to turn, what seemed to be the sun that he'd created, back off again. While it seemed longer to Nahla and she was fairly certain to Irene as well, it was at least off. While she waited for her ruined night vision to be restored Nahla again seriously contemplated serious harm to Bisha but at the end of the day she knew she wouldn't do it.
Not because it was against some rule or regulation from being a Shaman and definitely not because the Oristani had some rule about not killing those who annoy them. Not even because she'd sworn an oath to protect him, well maybe the last one just a bit. Mainly though, it was because over the time that she'd come to know him Bisha had become almost a younger brother to her. Even if he was older than she was, he was definitely less experienced in the world than her. From everything that she'd ever seen or learned Nahla knew that little brothers were annoying and annoyed you. It was like there was an unwritten rule or something.
After everyone was settled down Bisha tried his spell again, with better results this time. Nahla then insisted that from now on if he was going to cast a spell, Bisha needed to let the rest of them them know. Not only what the spell was supposed to do, but also when he was going to cast it, otherwise she was going to start smacking him across the head every time. After all, she told herself, that was an acceptable reaction to an annoying little brother, muttering a traditional exclamation almost to herself.
"Orista Bomog."
Nahla was fairly certain no one heard her. Which was just as well, because she was fairly certain that was dangerously close to conduct unbecoming of a shaman. Especially one as young as her. Nahla went back to her teaching until they had everything as down as much as they were going to.
New friends
The next day's weather was beautiful and promised to stay that way. A warm wind rustled through the patchy grass as the party readied itself to enter the Oristan plains. Ten Rabbit wondered how much longer they would have such nice weather to ride in. It was going to be fall soon and with fall came the monsoon rains. Ten Rabbit had always enjoyed fall at home, watching the rain fall through the window while sitting next to a warm fire was wonderful. But was fairly certain that it would be less enjoyable if he had to ride through it all day. He fervently hope that they would be somewhere that fall and winter didn't mean bad weather before it got them wet.
Ten Rabbit watched as Nahla changed their riding order. Much to his amusement he watched her put Fulha next to Bisha in the more protected center. Clearly thinking that the old assassin needed protecting while Devshi now rode beside himself. Nahla as usual rode in front with Irene close behind and to one side of her. The biggest change this morning however was Nahla sending Ryah out in front of them to scout. Which she had never done before. So far this trip Ryah generally had stayed at Nahla's side unless hunting for meat for her, and frequently the rest of the parties dinner.
Ten Rabbit wondered if he should use this opportunity and try to talk to Devshi. She had been so out of sorts since he'd handed her the note he'd discovered on one of the bodies after their last fight. Ten Rabbit thought that he might be the cause of her mood change since he'd been the one to find the note he'd handed her. At first he'd thought that it was the idea that someone from Kishnagar was a traitor to everything she believed in. Ten Rabbit decided to wait until later. Just the day before Devshi had taken Bisha's head off for asking if she was okay, no reason to upset her again.
Ten Rabbit was glad that riding no longer caused him pain, his thighs had toughened considerably. The mounts themselves however still frightened him more than a little, but he was starting to get used to them in a way. Usha however frightened him the most, not only was she taller than every other animal here, but she had large curved teeth to go with her impressive size.
Ten Rabbit could easily imagine Usha using those teeth on him if he annoyed her to much, especially after seeing her do just that on any and all attackers that came into her range. Not just people either, no she used those huge fangs, on animals and not only when they were attacking the group. No, he'd watched Usha bite the flank of a horse that had gotten between her and food one night. Nahla had looked at the horse and had reported that it would be fine. Apparently Nahla had then 'spoken' to the rest of the animals and told them to never get between Usha and what she wanted. Admittedly, since then none of them had.
Ten Rabbit wasn't completely certain that he believed Nahla when she reported what an animal said. Not that he thought Nahla had lied or anything, no he was just fairly certain that the Oristani in general, and Nahla specifically, had convinced themselves that they could speak to animals. Everyone knew that you couldn't actually speak to animals. Nahla had just been trained how to read animals bodies and behaviors and that was why she could 'talk' to them. It wasn't an ability it was a trained skill, just one that Nahla didn't know she had. Although, she did have an uncanny way of knowing when and what Ryah had gotten for meat.
Ten Rabbit knew that he was distracting himself from the fact that he was yet again perched uncomfortably on the back of a plant eating monster, but he had no intention of stopping any time soon. If only because if he didn't think about what he was doing he wouldn't feel like he was going to mess himself and run away gibbering madly, something he was fairly certain he was going to do every time they stopped for the night. Nonetheless, every morning Ten Rabbit climbed into the saddle without screaming and rode the mount he'd been assigned for another day.
All day long the party had been riding through low hills covered in a coarse thin grass and sandy soil. It was a few hours after their lunch break when Ten Rabbit saw Nahla's head snap up and she signaled for the group to stop. She waited a bit for everyone to get close before speaking to the whole party.
"Ryah says we will meet a group of Oristan just before dark. Tonight we will stay with them rather than making our own camp. As a result we will be riding a bit longer, but we should easily get to them tonight before true dark."
When they finally reached the outer guards of the tribe Nahla had made them all stop. Ten Rabbit had no problem with that, he just wished he could dismount and lead his mount instead. He may not be as sore from riding now as he'd been when he started, but they'd ridden all day today and into the evening. He was more than ready to be done with the whole riding thing, if only for today. Ten Rabbit was so looking forward to getting to Michocan and not needing to ride at all. Because Ten Rabbit didn't care if he upset the rest of the party there was no way that his countrymen were going to see him mounted like an invalid.
The introductions to the Oristani tribe went quickly, apparently they called themselves the Tsokh. Nahla spoke to them first in their own language, then she did basic introductions in the common tongue of Kishnagari so that the party would understand what was being said. The Oristani that Ten Rabbit assumed were guards of some kind seemed both impressed and amused. Ten Rabbit couldn't be sure, because even after the months of travel he's had with Nahla he still couldn't really read Oristan facial expressions very well. They all seemed to have the same stern stoic expression.
Once the introductions were made, the ones that Ten Rabbit thought were guards spoke quickly in their own language. Then one of them ran off at a speed that impressed him, and he'd been raised with the message runners of his own people, a group that Ten Rabbit had thought were unsurpassed at sprinting long distances. A skill that Ten Rabbit could admire because he knew just how difficult it really was.
Because he'd seen no sign of any kind of settlement, no matter how temporary, Ten Rabbit figured that it had to still be some distance away. Much to his surprise he was very wrong, just behind the next hill, no more than a half a mile from where they had met the supposed guards was the camp. The tents were low to the ground unlike the tent everyone in the party except Nahla used. No, these looked exactly like Nahla's tent only clearly meant for more than two people. Or in Nahla's case one person, a Temee, and a dog. Oh, he'd also learned since they'd started to travel, thanks to Nahla, that there was a major difference between a temee and a camel. She'd made that fact perfectly clear on the very first night when he'd asked her why her camel was staying in her tent with her, not a mistake he would ever make again.
Right in front of the group of tents stood a group of people dressed in furs and brightly colored loose pants, for the most part it was elders that were clearly waiting for them. Nahla had somehow gotten her temee to kneel and had greeted the waiting Oristan with a respectful bow, all the while talking. For their part the Oristani that were waiting bowed back at Nahla while responding. At Nahla's signal the rest of the party dismounted only to suddenly find even more Oristani coming forward and taking their mounts and pack animals. No one took Usha, but after all of this time of traveling together it no longer really surprised Ten Rabbit. At some signal he hadn't seen Ten Rabbit watched Usha follow the rest of the animals. Ryah however, stayed right at Nahla's side and none of the other Oristani seemed surprised. Although one older lady dressed in black like Nahla blinked once or twice when that happened. Did the all black clothing mean the older female was a shaman like Nahla? Ten Rabbit seemed to remember Nahla saying something like that.
While all of this was happening Nahla was speaking to the waiting group very earnestly and this time Ten Rabbit was almost certain that the conversation was about them. At first they just nodded. Then the majority of them looked almost startled. Which was quickly followed by them looking amused and stealing quick glances at the party. Ten Rabbit couldn't be sure but he was fairly certain that Nahla had just made some sort of joke and they were a major part of it. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. While he was glad they were friendly, Ten Rabbit was certain he didn't want to be the butt of a joke. Even if it was just by the Oristani.
Festivities
Ten Rabbit was drunk. Not buzzed. Not tipsy. He was down right drunk. Looking around for what he'd been told was the communal tent they all looked the same. It was clear to him that everyone else was as well. Well, everyone except the Oristani that is. At least he wasn't as drunk as the rest of the party but nonetheless still completely drunk. Everything was the simultaneously blurry and extra bright that only happens when drunk. The most disconcerting part was looking at the clashing colors of the robes that the Oristani wore. The colors woven into the robes not only clashed on the individual robe, they also clashed with all of the colors on the other robes. Added to that everyone's robes also clashed with the colors woven into the tent they were sitting in. And all of them clashed with the rugs that circled the brazier the fire was in.
All of those clashing colors everywhere were making Ten Rabbit feel more than a little nauseous. But getting up and moving outside was just too much effort at the moment. Ten Rabbit decided to watch what everyone else was doing instead, which was more than a little amusing. Bisha was seated across from Ten Rabbit so he was the first one that he was able to focus on as well as his drunk state allowed. The fact that there were two blurry, weaving Bisha's across the fire from him only made it funnier.
That's when both of the wavering Bisha's fell forward onto the rugs that he sat upon. Even face down the Bisha's wavered and blurred together then apart over and over. Ten Rabbit had to look away almost immediately because the sight of Bisha was making him his stomach even more upset. It really wasn't any better when he looked at the rest of the party. At which point Ten Rabbit decided that not only was he drunk, he was completely and totally drunk and probably shouldn't drink any more or he would copy Bisha and face plant into the rugs himself after vomiting on himself.
Earlier in the evening the whole party had gathered with the Oristani tribesmen in a very large tent, the largest tent that he'd ever seen in fact. Although according to Nahla larger tribal groups had even bigger gathering tents. Ten Rabbit wasn't sure he believed her, but saw no reason that she would lie. So he had decided to take her at her word until he saw evidence not to. Nahla had told them that they would all eat dinner together before the herd and camp guards changed shifts. Then they would get a chance that few dusba, what Nahla called outsiders, ever got. They would be invited to drink with the elders and the shaman of the tribe. At this point Ten Rabbit wasn't so sure that drinking with the Oristani was an honor, or a joke played on them to see how drunk they could get. The jury was still out but could still go either way.
The next morning, Ten Rabbit was more hungover than he had ever in his life been and his stomach was protesting the mixture of Oristani cuisine and drink. The food was spicier than he was used to and the drink had burned his throat the first time he had some, after that it was much smoother.
Everything was to loud and far, far to bright and his mouth felt like it had a small furry creature living in it. Right now he wished that there was a way to dim both his sight and sound, unfortunately there wasn't. Michocan may make glasses to help people with vision issues to see. But as far as he knew no one made glasses to make bright light dimmer. Maybe he should suggest it the next time he was home, it would probably be very popular.
Later on, after he'd recovered from his hangover more, Ten Rabbit went to assist the herders with their daily tasks. Bisha was currently talking to the elders while absentmindedly stirring a pot under their direct supervision. Irene and Fulha were talking to the guards that weren't currently on duty. Devshi was comparing notes with the tribes healer and Nahla was off doing whatever it was that she wanted to do with the tribe's shaman. Ten Rabbit had originally assumed that the herders only tended sheep or goats. He was seriously discomforted when he learned that along with the goats they also tended the tribes camels and helped keep and eye on any unpartnered temee that needed it. Mostly it was any pregnant or those with young calves that asked for and received the extra help.
At first Ten Rabbit hadn't noticed the larger animals since they were all in a further grazing area than the goats were. But as soon as they started to approach them Ten Rabbit could feel his pulse quicken. Directly in front of him was his worse nightmare, a large group of absolutely huge animals. Ten Rabbit had gotten used to the various mounts and pack animals that the party used, sort of. But all of those huge animals in one place was just more than he could deal with. He stopped in his tracks, unable to move forward as he shook with terror at the sight before him.
When Ten Rabbit stopped the Oristani herders also halted, looking back and forth between him and the combined herd of camels and unpartnered temee. They were clearly very confused at what was wrong. As far as they could see everything was normal, but Ten Rabbit was obviously afraid of something. Then they understood, he was afraid of the animals themselves. At that point they started to laugh and tease Ten Rabbit which humiliated him even more. It was bad enough to Ten Rabbit that he was afraid of large animals even when they were tame, but to have these uncivilized Oristani tribesmen know about it was beyond humiliating.
Ten Rabbit felt his face begin to burn in shame as he dropped his head and started to turn away. That was when the tribesman closest to him reached out, placing his hand on Ten Rabbit's shoulder with an apologetic look. It took Ten Rabbit a moment for him to realize that the Oristani was apologizing to him. They wouldn't of teased him if they'd known that he was actually afraid of their beasts. They had thought that he was pretending to be afraid. It was, after all, the type of joke that they would pull. And since he'd ridden in on a horse, they hadn't realized how he really felt. That was when the whole group gathered around him, and for the first time Ten Rabbit realized that they really meant what they were saying. They really didn't think that he was weak for being afraid. The Oristani didn't care what it was that he was afraid of, they just considered fear to be something everyone felt and they all wanted to help him with his fear of the large beasts.
That was when the Oristani told him about the techniques that the tribes used to help people to deal with whatever it was they feared. These methods wouldn't completely remove the fear but often made it manageable. Ten Rabbit was amazed that the Oristani herders wanted to help him. He wasn't used to the kind of thinking that would let the herders help him, a total stranger. Not because they were told to, but because it was the right thing to do in their eyes. That was when Ten Rabbit really joined the party, up until then he'd only been going along until they reached Michocan where he would leave them and go back to his people.
For the rest of the day Ten Rabbit and the herders worked together to weaken the hold his fear had on him. He knew that the work he'd done today was just the first step and he would have to talk to Nahla to get help to continue learning to handle his fear. But for the first time he felt like he might actually get over it. Now if he could learn to ride better he might actually start to enjoy this trip, but that was a fight for another day.
High Chieftain
Bisha looked around the Oristan capitol city of Khaliun. The rest of the trip to Khaliun after the experience with the Tsokh had been uneventful. The countryside they had traveled through had looked fairly similar to his homeland until they had reached the grasslands. Bisha had never seen that much grass, it stretched out as far as he could see like a faintly rippling sea. Every breeze made the grass move like waves on the ocean he had seen on his way to Alkhadharam, the wildflowers that were starting to bloom made it even more striking.
He had expected a tent city and in a way that is what he got. What he hadn't expected were the bizarrely shaped buildings that also made up the city. The buildings that the party rode past were all in various rates of disrepair. Everything from only a wall or two, to looking like they only needed the windows replaced to be complete met his eye. Many of the more ruined of them now had Oristani tents attached to the remaining walls. Which created an even more bizarre look to the only city of the Oristan clans.
Bisha actually stopped for a minute to look more closely at the buildings. He felt almost compelled to because of their construction. He had a hard time believing his eyes. The buildings didn't look like they'd been built. They looked like they'd grown into their shape, which had to be impossible. How could you grow a building after all. Just as hard to figure out was what the buildings were made of because it resembled no material, for construction or not, that Bisha had ever seen or heard of. It was a faint maroon color and seemed to have a faint translucence that made it seem you could almost see into the stone, if that was what it was.
As far as he could tell, with all of the tents added on to the various buildings, none of them had a straight line or corner. Bisha was fascinated by the construction particularly since he could not recall any country or people that had built anything like it. The only thing he could be sure of was that the original city had been built very long ago. Perhaps it had been built in the time of heroes. He was certain that it hadn't been built by the Oristan tribes. As far as Bisha knew, and he knew a lot about history, the Oristan were the only people who had ever lived here. Could they have built the city during the time of heroes? Bisha didn't think so. Why would the tribes stop building cities if that was the case. No he was going to have to try and find the secret to this city while he was searching for any information about Mrtis and her cult.
Bisha hadn't expected to be even more impressed by the meeting chamber of the High Chieftain's residence, but he was. As far as Bisha could tell it was built in the ruined base of a huge tower. Like many of the other ruined buildings it had tents attached to it. Unlike the rest of them The High Chieftain's residence was surrounded by tents. At first Bisha had thought that only some of the interior was still standing which was why the party entered through a tent not a door. It wasn't until they were all in the tent that what Bisha had originally thought was the back of the tent was actually a flap that led into the true residence. That first tent was only an entryway not actually part of the residence itself.
That was when Nahla explained to everyone that during the season of storms all Oristani tents had a smaller tent that was used as an entrance to keep the sand out. The confused looks on everyone's face led her to further explain that the season of storms had nothing to do with rain. But instead it was a season of very high winds that could be strong enough that the sand could strip the flesh off of any living thing. During that season the tents were heavily reinforced and partially buried to keep them from flying away. The second entrance helped with that. It kept the high winds from getting into the main tents and reduced the damage caused. Because the High Chieftain's home was permanent it had long ago been decided to just keep the shelter tent in place all year round. As far as Bisha could tell the explanation hadn't really helped anyone understand, including him.
Once the party was actually inside the first thing Bisha noticed was that the unusual appearance of the buildings continued on the inside. Or at least it did in this one, but he was willing to bet that it did so in all of them. At some point in the past an attempt to make the large chamber they were in look, at least superficially, like the inside of an Oristani meeting tent. The walls were hung with a plethora of Oristani rugs with more resting on the ground at the edges of the room. On top of the rugs were short platforms covered in pillows that Bisha knew were used by the Oristani to sit on. In the center of the chamber was the largest brazier that he'd ever seen. It was fully large enough for Nahla to curl up in comfortably. The wood that was burning in it was one that Bisha had no name for but smelled very sweet and almost spicy.
Seated on the highest platform was easily the largest Oristani that Bisha had ever seen, she was a least a full head taller than Nahla and her arms looked to be thicker than his legs. From what he could see of them her legs were probably larger than his whole torso and she had a striking appearance. She had darker olive skin with long silky black hair tied in several complex braids and she was the only female not wearing a veil. He knew it was rude to look an Oristani female in the face, but with her piercing gaze he found it difficult to look away. She radiated an intensity that while not necessarily intimidating, certainly demanded respect. This was a natural born leader and it was obvious even to Bisha that everyone respected her.
Nahla didn't make any obeisance to the figure on the platform she merely sat down on one of the other platforms and gestured for the rest of them to do the same. At first Bisha hadn't realized that the huge figure before them was the High Chieftain of the Oristan tribes, the Naran Dargra as Nahla has told him. But as soon as he heard Nahla begin to speak he started to change his mind when he heard his name and saw her indicate him. Bisha started to get nervous. Surely Nahla wasn't going to make him talk, even if this wasn't the High Chieftain, she was clearly a person of importance. Speaking to the Mahapratanidhi had been terrifying enough and they at least had a language in common, but this female was almost three times his size. He also had absolutely no clue how to speak Oristani.
Before he could open his mouth to explain that to Nahla the giant across the room from the party spoke instead.
"Do not worry Bisha, I can speak many languages, including yours." she said in slightly accented Ashfani. "It is part of the training to be a Great Chieftain. But for ease of communication why don't we use the common trade tongue, Kishnagari." The female Oristan chieftain said in flawless Kishnagari, a smile playing across her lips.
Bisha couldn't believe his ears. The sweetest, most gentle voice had come from the mouth of the most imposing female he had ever seen seated across from him. He was momentarily stunned into silence. It wasn't until Nahla, who he had sat next to, had surreptitiously poked him in the side to get him to start talking. Bisha looked at Nahla out of the corner of his eye, once again grateful that she was there to help him when he was nervous.
He had no sooner started to explain why they were there and what he, in particular needed, when a wizened female Oristani dressed in all black entered the room like a whirl wind striking the room into silence. She was so bent over that she almost looked like she was bent in half. Bisha could tell though that if she stood up straight she probably stood taller than he did. She had entered from behind one of the hanging rugs, some of which he now realized covered doorways to other rooms. This actually made sense to Bisha who hadn't been able to figure out why someone as important as the High Chieftain would do business in her sleeping chamber. Never mind that as large as this room was it was in no way as large as the building had looked from the outside tents not withstanding.
The elderly shaman entered then she had shuffled up and started yelling at the High Chieftain while hitting her on the shoulder with her cane. At first Bisha was startled by the old females behavior and it was clear that the rest of the party was too. All except for Nahla of course who didn't even blink at the intrusion. That was when Bisha remembered Nahla telling them about the fact that an older Oristani female, and this one looked to be older than Kishnagar, could do anything they wanted and you were expected to put up with it. As soon as the old female had finished berating the High Chieftain, although Bisha was fairly certain that she had called herself the Great Chieftain, nodded her head and stood up.
"I will return shortly. Grandmother says that I must put my personal chambers to rights before I meet with anyone," The tall female said as she stood, another smile dancing across her lips. She then bowed to her grandmother? Bisha wasn't sure if that was actually her grandmother or if it was just a polite way of showing respect to an elder. He'd have to remember to ask Nahla next time they were alone, he didn't want to insult anyone after all.
While the party waited for the High Chieftain's return a well appointed Oristani, to Bisha's eye because the assorted patterns on his clothing matched, walked in and went over to the huge brazier in the center of the room. He quietly picked up a largish tea pot and a tray with an odd assortment of mismatched cups. All of the cups were obviously expensive and very well made, but not one matched any of the others. Nahla leaned toward Bisha and let him know that this Oristani was the Official Consort. Bisha wondered just what an Official Consort did. The name suggested a few things, but if it was one thing that he'd learned from Nahla, it was that for the Oristani things that you think you know based on a name frequently didn't mean that at all.
While Bisha mulled over Nahla's statement, the Official Consort went to each person in the room and silently poured them a cup of tea. When everyone had their cup of tea he just as quietly poured a cup and left it next to the High Chieftain's seat and then returned the tray of cups and teapot back to where he had found them before leaving the room again. The other Oristani and Nahla quietly began sipping their tea. Bisha was sure there was some importance to this tea ritual, but it would have to once again wait until he could talk to Nahla alone. Oristani customs were a lot more convoluted than he'd ever thought.
Shildeg's Smile
After talking to her all day long, Bisha had come to the conclusion that the Great Chieftain was very personable. He now knew that the correct title was Great Chieftain, not High Chieftain as it was usually translated. The Great Chieftain told him that she didn't really mind the mistranslation, Bisha on the other hand felt that using High Chieftain when he knew it was incorrect would be an insult. Not only to her and the Oristani, but to learning itself. As a scholar, Bisha had long felt that not correcting wrong information was a crime. The Great Chieftain, for her part, seemed to be amused by all of it. Bisha was more than a little glad that she was amused, he wouldn't want her to ever be annoyed at him.
After the Great Chieftain had returned to the meeting on that first day, Bisha explained why they had come to Oristan in general, and her specifically. Bisha had already learned that she was intelligent, not that he was surprised by that fact, she did lead a huge country after all. But during that first meeting the Great Chieftain proved over and over again just how smart and educated she really was. A fact that helped put Bisha at ease with her. Help that was sorely needed considering how large and intimidating the Great Chieftain was compared to him.
Bisha knew that he didn't have a lot of experience with government, it had never been more than a cursory part of his studies after all. Nonetheless he was fairly certain that the leaders of nations didn't regularly have private meetings with common people, didn't a national leader need to be protected by guards and such? Apparently that was a normal way of doing things here in Oristan. Of course, if you looked like you could crush a Temee in one hand, then you probably didn't need a whole lot of guards to protect you. Nahla would later tell him that any chieftain had to be a warrior as well, the Great Chieftain had to be not only smart enough to know when to fight, but also fierce enough to finish any fight. No matter who started it.
After Devshi had yelled at him for asking if she was okay a few days ago, Bisha had decided to let Nahla talk to her. He had long considered Nahla to be one of his best friends and trusted her to find out what was bothering the diminutive priest that he considered to be his friend. To be honest Nahla was probably one of his only friends, along with the rest of the party of course. He'd never really had friends before. Although looking back, some of his classmates had been friends but he hadn't realized it. Even in that admittedly small group Nahla stood out as his closest friend and Bisha was starting to consider her as family, not that he'd ever had one of those either. It was a feeling that he had started noticing in Alkhadharam and would only grow with time. Bisha didn't want to upset Devshi or worse cause her more pain with his clumsy attempts at cheering her up so it was definitely better to have Nahla's expertise handle it.
Over the next week the party met many times with the Great Chieftain. Sometimes in conjunction with other members of the tribe that Bisha assumed were members of her council, but who knew for sure. During one of those meetings the Great Chieftain asked Bisha to stay behind everyone else for a moment. That was when she asked him to call her by her first name, Shildeg. When Bisha demurred initially, she then suggested that he at least do so when they were alone. That much he would agree to, thinking that they would never actually be alone. The very next time when Bisha went to, what he thought was another group meeting, he found himself to be the only one there. When he asked the Great Chieftain about it she only smiled and said that the rest of the party had other tasks to do.
What confused Bisha the most was how Nahla responded when he told her about the solo meeting and the Great Chieftains name request. Bisha had found Nahla that same afternoon while she was grooming Usha and talking to one of the ever present children that always seemed to be around her. Bisha had noticed that every Oristani adult seemed to had an infinite amount of time for any child around. It was something that he'd wished for many times when he'd been a kid, but no matter how much the adults at the orphanages had loved the children in their care none of them had been able to devote a fraction of the time that every Oristani did, whether the child in question was theirs or not. So seeing Nahla with yet another child hadn't surprised Bisha in the slightest.
Bisha had simply waited for a break in the conversation between Nahla and the child, then he'd just asked if he could speak to Nahla alone. Once they were alone Bisha had told Nahla about the Great Chieftains request about her name and then asked if it was normal. At first Nahla had just looked at him with a tiny smile playing at her lips. Then Nahla had asked him for more details about what was going on when the Great Chieftain had made the request. When Bisha had answered her question it quickly became obvious that Nahla was even more amused. Although she had regained her normal facial expression Bisha had the distinct impression that Usha and Ryah were laughing at him. This had to be some of that strange Oristani humor.
Over the next week Bisha got to know not only Shildeg, as she now insisted he call her, but many of the elders and shaman that surrounded her, people that in other countries would be called a council or some such. To the Oristani the greater government of their nation was only a larger version of what ruled every tribe both large and small, apparently the Oristan never saw a reason to have a bureaucracy to run things like most of the other nations did. During his time here Bisha had watched how quickly the Oristani could get things done, especially in comparison to everywhere else and he had decided that maybe they had a point.
On one memorable day Bisha had told Shildeg that he wished that her people had a library, not really expecting her to take him to a staircase in the tower leading downwards. When they reached the bottom of the gently twisting stairs the sight that met his eyes was beyond surprising. He saw a massive room easily the size of a building in Kishnagar with a collection of books far greater than what he'd found in Kishanagar, the far wall seemed to disappear in the distance.
That the generally transient Oristan people would have such a huge library was almost to much to wrap his mind around. He had figured that books would be a difficult thing to keep when you moved all the time following the herds. When he turned to Shildeg for an explanation she had laughed and told him that this was the library of the Oristani people and it wasn't hers, it was the Great Chieftains.
Shildeg went on to tell him that in order to properly utilize this library he was going to need the help of the elders. She told him it was a good thing that she had already met with them and she had been informed that he was respectful and they liked him. Bisha was surprised that they had said they liked him, but as a rule he rarely thought that people liked him, especially not authority figures which was one of the many reasons he got so nervous around them. That the Oristani elders thought he was polite and nice warmed Bisha inside in a way he had rarely felt. More importantly, they would help him to translate the books for him, something he would need since the, what he would call the librarian, story keeper?, spoke no Kishnagari trade tongue at all.
So from that day on Bisha split his time between mornings with Shildeg, sometimes alone sometimes not. And afternoons with the elders in the library learning the history of the Oristani through Oristani eyes and words. A lot of the things that Bisha learned didn't really apply to his current mission, but he still came away with more information about Mrtis than he'd started with. What really surprised Bisha though was the amount of information they had about the different types of majic that those books held. Sometimes the elders refused to translate sections of the histories for him, but they did promise him that there was nothing usable to him when it happened. Once or twice they just refused to translate anything from some certain books at all, saying that those were sacred mysteries for the shaman only. Not something that Bisha was going to argue with even if he could read it for himself.
Over their stay here in Khaliun, the Great Chieftain Shildeg, had given the party many wonderful gifts. Furs for bedding and other useful things along those lines. The night before their departure she out did herself, Shildeg had special gifts for each of them. Nahla got a whole new travel tent to replace the old one she was currently using. Ten Rabbit and Fulha each got a full set of Oristani winter clothes because they were going to be traveling through the winter season. Irene got a thick and luxurious cloak and hat made from the hide of an animal Bisha didn't recognize. Devshi a necklace of beautifully carved representations of her gods symbol, the tiger. All of them got warm bedding and a better tent for winter use. Bisha got a necklace of large carved bone beads with a large golden plaque pendant with writing on it in Oristani hung from it and beautiful clothing done in the Oristan style.
When it came time for his gift, Shildeg the Great Chieftain, had gestured Bisha forward. Unlike everyone else's gift he was going to receive his directly from her hands, when Shildeg had lifted his necklace up for all to see for some reason Nahla had choked out loud. At first Bisha had been worried that she was actually choking, but when he'd glanced over at her he realized that for some reason Nahla was trying not to laugh. Bisha bowed before Shildeg to receive his gift. Right after the Great Chieftain had placed the necklace around his neck and he had taken his seat again. The Chief Consort, who Bisha had since learned represented the Great Chieftain's marriage to the people of Oristan and was a solely a ceremonial role, brought tea to everyone. At first he'd thought that everyone got the same tea but then he noticed that the tea he and Shildeg had gotten looked and smelled different from everyone else. Either way Bisha wasn't going to be rude so he smiled, nodded, and accepted both the tea as well as the presents. Something that for some reason made both Nahla and the elderly female that Shildeg claimed was her grandmother have to stifle laughs all over again.
The next morning as they were preparing to depart Bisha noticed that the Great Chieftain and Nahla were talking together quietly then Shildeg had given Nahla a small bag. Later when he asked Nahla about it she only said that the Great Chieftain had charged her with protecting the Tsoltseg. After that it seemed to Bisha that once again Nahla, Usha, and Ryah were laughing at a joke no one else knew about.
Udzhek Plains
Devshi looked out at the rolling grassy Udzhek plains that stretched before her. It had been just over a week since they had left the Oristan capital of Khaliun. The weather for their journey so far had been nice, warm and sunny, but for once the weather truly matched her mood. It was chilly and gloomy with grey skies that threatened rain and blustery winds that drove the clouds before them like a dog chasing birds. No one was going to be surprised at her being hunched over on her horse trying to avoid any conversation with the others. Mainly because they were too, thanks to the weather. That was just fine in her books, maybe they'd stop trying to help her now. If they didn't, at least she could ignore them with impunity right now. Never in all of her life had Devshi felt so depressed.
Ever since she had seen Veenha's name at the bottom of that note those many weeks ago Devshi had felt like her world had ended. She had trusted her mentor with all of her secrets and trusted her even more than she had trusted the temples High Priest. Devshi didn't know who or what she could trust or believe in now. If someone so high in the temple could be a traitor to everything she'd espoused without being struck down, could she even believe in Parvai now? Was everything that she'd learned and believed just a lie, like the person who'd taught them to her? Devshi didn't know.
All she knew was that she didn't want to talk to anyone else about it. Especially not Nahla, who as far as she knew, was a priest in her own right. Devshi did feel a tad sorry about yelling at Bisha for trying to help, but not enough to apologize for it. Devshi knew that Bisha was a gentle soul that didn't think badly about anyone, but she still didn't wish to talk, not even to him. Even her own thoughts were too much for Devshi to bear most of the time.
Since seeing that note, Devshi had halted all of her religious observations, she no longer performed her morning devotions nor did she meditate every night like she'd been taught as a novice. Every time someone tried to talk to her about it Devshi shut them down completely. There was absolutely no way she was going to talk about any of it. The only way to make sure that she didn't have to talk about Veenha's betrayal was to not talk to anyone about anything. Devshi knew that the others were worried about her. At least, Devshi thought to herself, I didn't kill anyone. That would be a step to far after everything else.
They were currently riding next to the Gol River heading towards the Golyn Ekhlel. The wind was making the dry and dying grass look like storm driven waves on the Siska sea back at home. Home, that was something that she really didn't want to think about right now, it just reminded her about the betrayal of her mentor Veenha. Devshi was actually glad that they hadn't met any more Oristani since they had left the capitol. The two times they had met them her fascination with the new culture had actually managed to distract her from her thoughts and seemingly improved her mood for a time. She even enjoyed herself and gotten totally drunk the first time they'd stayed with Nahla's people. The hangover the next day had felt like a proper penance though, so it equaled out to her way of thinking.
Just then Devshi was surprised to see Nahla raise her hand to stop the party. Then she dismounted her temee Usha without asking her to kneel. In and of itself not something Nahla usually did. Devshi was actually intrigued when Nahla took something out of one of her packs and stepped away from the rest of the party. Everyone else including, Devshi, dismounted and started towards Nahla when she again stopped them with a gesture. When Nahla was a good twenty feet away from the rest of the party she shook out a strange contraption. It was a thin wooden elongated oval in shape and had a long leather strap attached to one end. Starting out slowly Nahla started to swing the odd object above her head. As it sped up it started to make a strange whirring almost buzzing sound. She spun it above her head in a strange a pattern of slower, then faster, then slower again. After about fifteen minutes of this Nahla started to sow it back down until it was stopped again. Nahla then wrapped the long strap back around the middle of the wooden oval and stored the whole thing back in the pack she taken it from. Nahla then mounted the now kneeling Usha. At that point Ten Rabbit moved up next to Nahla before she could move on.
"What was that all about?" He asked loud enough for the whole group to hear.
Nahla looked at Ten Rabbit for a moment before responding. "I was informing our hosts that we are here. It's only polite after all."
Everyone could only stare at Nahla at that point. How had that whirring sound been able to tell anyone anything Devshi wondered. It was such a bizarre thing to say that it actually distracted her from her spiraling thoughts about her mentor and her faith. Not more than two candle marks later Devshi was again distracted, this time by what had shown up before the party. It was the most unusual collection of wagons that Devshi had ever seen. They looked like large brightly painted barrels on their side perched on top of odd looking wagons. Not only were the wagons odd looking, they were being drawn by camels, something that no one, except Nahla, had even known was possible. The wagons had appeared on top of a hill in front of them out of no where. One moment the hill had been empty of anything except the endless grass that had waved so briskly in the wind. The next the hill was covered by those odd looking carts.
The party had halted spontaneously as soon as the Oristani had appeared on the hilltop. The sight before them was beyond belief. But even more surprising was the hoard of Oristani warriors that flowed past the halted wagons like a fast river around a stone. Up to now Devshi wasn't sure if she actually believed the reports of just how many Oristani there were. Not even the one and only city of Khaliun had truly convinced her, but now watching the huge number of Oristani rushing towards them Devshi no longer had any doubts. It wasn't possible for that many Oristani to exist any other way.
While the party watched the frighteningly large Oristani charge towards them Nahla didn't so much as blink. Just as the the hoard of temee riders were about the distance of two temee away the whole group stopped in front of Nahla. Two riders came forward at a slow walk until they were almost within touching distance. That was when all three of them, Nahla and the two riders dismounted in a coordinated move that looked as if they had been practicing it for years. Devshi couldn't hear what they said, but at first it looked more than a little tense. Fortunately for the rest of the party they eventually came to some kind of a agreement.
Later that night the whole party listened as Nahla told them about the tribe they were visiting, the Shavar Ayaga. Very few outsiders knew that there were six distinct ethnic groups that made up the nation of Oristan. The Udzhek tribe they were currently visiting were the only group that didn't use tents as a rule. Instead they used the Tashka, that was the name of the odd wagon houses they used. Even more interesting was the fact that the Udzhek maintained the back up breeding stock of both camels and temee to keep the herds from becoming to closely interbred. Earlier the group had watched as the Shavar Ayaga had put up multiple individual tents, one for each of them instead of their usual single large tent. Only Nahla hadn't been given another tent to use. She was, as always, using her own. This had been explained as a normal part of Udzhek hospitality. Yet another difference from the majority of the tribes they had met so far.
Throughout the rest of the day Devshi watched the rest of the party talking to various tribe members. Learning everything they could, not only about the Udzhek but the land around them. She watched Bisha yet again talking to the elders. Ten Rabbit talking to the herdsmen and apparently working on something or other. Fulha spent the day sharpening various weapons for the party because since he had joined the party they had learned that he could put the best edge on any weapon capable of taking one. Irene was talking to the guards about what Devshi had no idea, but probably fighting of some kind. Nahla seemed to be everywhere at once, all while never seeming to hurry. Devshi however spent the majority of her time in the solo activity of grooming every horse her party used seemingly to make sure that there were no injuries but actually because she didn't want to talk to anyone.
The only thing that had really stood out for Devshi had been the old Udzhek shaman's warning during dinner that night about not listening to any voice that called to them in the night. It had been such an odd statement that Devshi had completely lost track of everything including her food. She would have asked about it, but Nahla had warned them about not questioning anything a shaman told them when they were with any group of Oristani. While Nahla understood that they could and would ask questions anytime they wanted, it would be disrespectful to any other shaman and would make Nahla and themselves look bad. So no one had asked any questions about what the older shaman had said, but Devshi figured that they were just having a joke played on them.
Once they had all gone to bed that night all of the new things that had distracted Devshi today slid away and she was back to her own thoughts. Thoughts that seemed determined to drag her into darkness. Over and over again Devshi's thoughts circled around her mentors betrayal, how could Veenha have sent those killers out after her and her friends. Why had Veenha betrayed everything she had taught to Devshi. And most important of all, how long had her mentor been working for those who only wanted to destroy everything that Kishnagar stood for. Devshi wondered if there were any signs that she had missed that would have let her know what was going on? Had she missed those points because she was secretly just as evil as Veenha was? It was going to be another terrible night. Just like every night since Devshi had learned about her mentor's note.
Just as Devshi's thoughts had finally slowed enough that she might possibly sleep she heard a quiet voice calling her name and asking for help. For the first time that night Devshi completely forgot everything that was going on in her life right now. All she could hear was the quiet voice in her mind. It sounded so familiar but she just couldn't place whose voice it was. It wasn't her mother or anyone else from Alkhadharam but she definitely knew it.
Without any conscious thought Devshi had stood up and started towards the door of her borrowed tent. It wasn't until she literally tripped over someone sleeping right in front of the entry to her tent, making her fall on her face in the sandy dirt that Devshi realized that she had left her tent at all. That moment truly frightened her and brought her to complete wakefulness just as the sleeper she had tripped over was asking her if she was okay. When she glanced up to see what had called to her she caught just a glimpse of a pale figure in the dark outside the camp skitter away in a way that made her skin crawl. Whatever it was, it didn't move like anything else she'd seen. At that point Devshi realized that she had never been closer to death before in her life, not even when in the middle of battle. She had almost willingly walked right down the throat of a predator. For the first time in weeks Devshi truly thanked her god for the Udzhek and their tribes precautions.
