[center][b]Worldbuilding – An exercise in writing by darkwolf687 and RomanAria.[/b]
[sub][i]Seriously, don’t force yourself to read all the nonsense unless you want to—it has absolutely no bearing on anyone else except for [@weepingliberty] – and feel free to skip to Part 5, Libby. For anyone who’s interested in getting the information without reading the novella – Read part 1 and then skip to Part 6 – that’s Miry’s journal entry summarizing the rest of the conversation.[/i][/sub][/center]

[hider=Part 1: The Sergeants-At-Arms]Aurien moved down the hall with four men at arms in tow, the sound of their steel boots echoing through the empty stone halls; Each wore a chainmail hauberk and had steel gauntlets and greaves. From their belt hung two scabbards, one with a sword and the other with a small knife. They carried steel tower shields strapped to their left forearm and in their other hand they clutched their spears. On their heads they had a padded chainmail coif and atop that they wore nasal helms.

They were in ill spirits; The men had drawn lots to decide who would stand watch in the night and in truth only one of these men had also drawn the short straw. The others had been roused out of necessity and had grudgingly donned their mail. 

No sooner had the lance passed the great hall than they came across an armoured warrior, a female no less, carrying off another Drakken; Aurien quickly made the captive as their mark and then scoured over her armour for an identifying mark and barked an order to the men following him "Lali kree! Evia mishaxi!"

The warriors brought their shields up to cover their bodies and held their spears in front of them, straightening up and standing to attention. Aurien spoke "Warrior, attention! In the name of House Unalim, surrender Lord Vilyn." He commanded.

Aldar grumbled to herself as she stomped down the hallway, the unconscious lord draped over her shoulders throwing her off-balance. This would have been much easier if Acadea had been with her… But of course not. At least it seemed to be rather quiet, so theoretically there wouldn’t be any trouble. Her glaive was strapped across her back in its sheath – not an ideal position if she’d have to fight, but she needed both hands free to deal with the ragdoll of a lord that she was carrying. And she didn’t expect any trouble…

Speak of the devil. Four – no, five – armored guards, with spears and shields, blocking her path. They said they were from house Unalim, but then, anyone could say they were from any house. Besides, what would a bunch of glorified slavers want with this minor lord? He was too fat to be a good soldier, and there couldn’t have been enough of a ransom on him… Then, why did her lady want him, either…?

No matter, not right now, at least. The woman stopped and took a bit of a step back into a somewhat more balanced stance, though she didn’t let go of the sack of potatoes that was lord Hilevus. She figured she might try to talk herself out of this, because if she was to have to fight there would doubtless be bloodshed. A glaive could work well against two or even three swordsmen, but five armed with spears…? Yes, talking would definitely be the best way to avoid becoming a drakken pincushion. “Well met, gentlemen. As always, I’m impressed by your discipline. House Unalim has always had a certain military precision.” She shifted a bit, eyeing the spears. “If you don’t mind me asking, good sirs, will you please put the blades away so that we may discuss this civilly? This prisoner has already been claimed by my lady Beneni. I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding that can be sorted out cordially and calmly.”

"Aye, well met; My lord has spoken favourably of your lady. We are no gentlemen; I am Aurien, Buro Za Mishaxi." Aurien said with a small nod as he stepped out in front of the group of warriors who tightened their ranks behind him. He held his shield at his side rather than between himself and her, but kept his hand around his spear "To whom am I speaking?"

"I am afraid I cannot leave without Lord Vilyn Hilevus. My lady has commanded that he be arrested on the charge of murdering her friend."

Aldar regarded the man evenly, trying not to show that she had no grasp of the terms. Damn those old families that insisted on using their personal dialects and customs. “You are speaking to Aldar Drais, sergeant-at-arms.” She shifted slightly, resettling the still-unconscious lord across her shoulders—gods, he was too heavy. At least it looked like she wasn’t going to have to squirm out from under him to try and fight.

When Aurien indicated why he was here, and trying to steal her prisoner, she couldn’t help but nearly laugh. “Surely it doesn’t really matter whose dungeon Lord Hilevus is left to rot in, so long as he is to rot in a dungeon? My lady commanded that he be detained for the same crime.” Privately she wondered which “lady” it was that Aurien spoke of… Surely not one of lord Zakroti’s brides, to be addressed as “lady”…

Aurien frowned as Aldar Drais spoke, shaking his head slowly in response to her comment on whether it mattered where the lord was rotting. Was she finding this funny? He glanced towards the warriors behind him before looking back to her with a light sigh.

"Something funny? This isn't a joke; I was to have Vilyn Hilevus arrested, presumably pending judgement by the crown's Justice's in this region, or failing that by the Agaialori a an Vivpre." He paused for a moment after speaking to consider before continuing. "But- should neither of these be the case, he was to be judged by someone powerful enough to make that decision. Perhaps your lady would fit that bill though that isn't my decision."

Again Aldar shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot for the lord. He might’ve been squirming a bit, or maybe that was just her own self trembling. She still didn’t want to set him down on the ground lest one of the soldiers just grab him and cart him off that way… but holding him up was starting to get more than a bit uncomfortable.

“And I was assuming my lady would surrender him to the crown’s justice as well. It seems like we got the same orders from two different people.” The young soldier sighed, again shifting the lord, who had again settled into a position where he was pressing on all of her sore spots. She was definitely getting tired of this. “Okay, look. I know you have your orders and I have mine, but if you let me go talk to your lady, maybe we can get all this resolved in a timely manner?” 

Aurien noted her movements and deduced that the incredible bulk of Lord Vilyn was proving a great burden for her. "As you wish; if you would follow the men at arms-" Aurien paused for a moment and glanced over his shoulder, nodding to his men who turned in place and began to march forwards; Two of them hung back, waiting for Aldar and Aurien to pass to secure the flank. Aurien looks towards Aldar again "I can carry him for you; surely there's no need to subject yourself to the crushing weight of that boar of a Drakken?"

Aldar looked only slightly scornfully at Aurien.  “Thank you, but I’ll manage.” Curses, she wanted to take the offer, but her own pride wouldn’t allow it. She then faced forward, obediently following the guards and doing her best not to tremble. She had to admit, this formation wasn’t doing much to ease her mind… she almost felt like she was the prisoner, not the lord that was still impersonating a sack of potatoes across her shoulders.

Aurien nodded and the group proceeded through the hallways, eventually reaching the room. The sentry nodded and stood aside as they approached, allowing them to pass; Two of the guards turned to join him, standing sentinel by the door and mumbling to each other.

Vain turned to face the door as Aurien entered, cocking an eyebrow when he saw Aldar. Aurien placed his hand to his chest plate again and bowed his head "Norkaan, My Lady. This is Aldar Drais; She serves Lady Siadamkiru who has laid claim to Vilyn Hilevus as her own captive."

Aldar couldn’t help but stare at the odd scene she was greeted with. Another soldier of some sort, staring with a quizzical, almost amused expression – as he hadn’t been addressed as Muth (the only word of the whole dialect she knew, ironically enough), he certainly wasn’t the lord, and she felt like she’d have known Lord Zakroti if she’d laid eyes on him – and… A blond-haired child, who hadn’t looked up, too busy focusing on a small, sharp-looking object that was in her palm. She was clearly too small to be a drakken child, but what on earth would a gemminite child be doing in Shadow Worth, unless there’d been some horrible mistake?  

Maybe she was just sickly. Yes, that was probably it, she was one of lord Zakroti’s nieces or nephews but had been ill as an infant and it had taken its toll on her. And she couldn’t have been friends with either the murdered lord, nor the murdered Gem girl… it was probably her mother, who’d been friends with the lord, and the Gem girl entirely unrelated to it all. Right.

She bowed slightly, a move made awkward by the sack-of-potatoes lord, and proceeded to set him down leaning against the wall so that she could face the soldier and the child a little more gracefully. She addressed the child first. “Excuse me, dear, but if you wouldn’t mind fetching your mother for me… I believe we have a matter of a serious nature that needs to be discussed.” She smiled down at the small girl, trying to seem friendly.

Miry almost couldn’t believe her ears. Was she… that idiot soldier, talking to her like she was some child of eight. She pretended not to see the woman, not even looking up, only reaching for a piece of paper and beginning to write.

[i]Forgive me, but if you would like to speak to my mother you would be better off dispatching a rider for Elenath immediately. If you’ve got a fast one they might be able to get there and back before the first snows—but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that.

I suspect your “matter of serious nature” is what Aurien spoke of – you’re here to assert your lady’s claim of Lord Hilevus as her own captive. For that matter, it is not my mother – a common maidservant – that you would do well to speak to, but me. Aymiria Unalim, the first-chosen bride of my lord Zakroti Unalim, Muth a Varlasmoras. I issued a warrant against Lord Vilyn Hilevus for his unprovoked, cold-blooded murder of my friend and colleague Astrae Silverheart.

While your lady might have rank to back her claim, I have the claim of personal interest. Your lady is a third party in this whole affair – Lord Hilevus slaughtered my friend. And as her family is not able to be reached at any time in the near future, when this case would still be relevant, it is my obligation as her friend and a witness of her murder to carry out vengeance for her.

And by the way, Aldar Drais – I would encourage you to never, ever speak to me as though I am a child again. Unless you wish to be treated by appearances as well, in which case you may as well crawl around on your hands and knees and bark and sniff people’s asses.[/i]

Miry finally looked up at Aldar, who had been standing motionless, annoyance building up with every passing second as the insolent child had been writing. Wordlessly as ever, Miry handed the paper to Aldar, then went back to scrutinizing the single shard of flute that she’d rescued.

Aldar read the paper. First her blood went cold as she realized her mistake, then as she read over the bottom paragraph, everything took on a haze of red and she felt like she might explode into flames. A tiny wisp of steam came from her right ear – a fact which Miry noticed and miraculously managed to not laugh about.

“I would advise you not to trivialize my lady.” Aldar began, her hands clenching tightly around the sheet of paper and beginning to singe through it, her voice shaking with barely-contained anger. “She is rather powerful. I also would advise you to not liken her lieutenant captain to a dog, or else things may not turn out so well for your lord and his family. You’re a pretty little thing; I trust he wants to keep you that way. Would be a shame if there was some kind of accident, wouldn’t it?” She took a step forward, fury turning her pretty face ugly, and flung the now-burning bit of paper right at Miry’s face.

Miry pulled a curtain of water from the pitcher on the table and brought it up before her, causing it to freeze into ice a fraction of a second before the flaming ball of paper hit her. It imbedded itself in the thin ice and stuck there, smoking and smoldering, and she doused the whole thing again for good measure.

Miry very carefully lowered the sheet of ice to the floor, hands trembling. In a split second the girl had brought the water back, wrapped in a shimmering, dancing sheet less than a centimeter away from Aldar’s face—if she moved at all she’d be inhaling water.

She put her hand up in a gesture of “wait”, looking at Vain, then slipped off the bed and crossed the few feet to stand before Aldar. Gripping the shattered bit of flute so that the jagged end pointed outwards, she made a single swipe at the crudely embroidered four-pointed star on Aldar’s tunic sleeve (Assumedly the mark of her rank), slashing through all of the threads and leaving the pattern unraveled and unrecognizable.

Then she resumed her perch and wrote again to Vain.

[i]Throw her out – have someone take all of her weapons first. And her boots. Let her go back to her lady and explain what happened here. Well, let her try. I’m sure that in the morning we will be seeing Lady Beneni, even if only in passing. We will see then what she has to say about her guard dog’s ill obedience. And as for the prisoner… I must admit I have no experience in keeping prisoners, but I would imagine there is some protocol that goes with that. See that it is carried out – also make triply sure he has no weapons.[/i]

The moment Aldar had made her threat, a series of spears were lowered to point at her and Vain clasped his hand around his sword.

"Careful now, or her lieutenant captain might depend herself fed to the dogs." Vain cautioned with a steely glare before falling silent again as she threw the paper; This time, he drew his sword and took a step in advance, positioning himself closer to Aymiria.

Vain took the note from Aymiria and read over it before speaking

"Surrender your arms, Aldar Drais, and your boots too. One of you seize the prisoner and see to it that he is disarmed and bound. Post two sentries to watch over him." No sooner had Vain spoke than Aurien and one of the men at arms took aim with their spears, ready to submit this woman should she refuse. 

'Na wre gaiar." The remaining warrior replied as he placed his spear to the corner of the room and approached Vilyn, lifting him from the floor into a fireman's carry with a grunt of effort, mumbling a silent curse.

Aldar didn’t move for a long moment, trying to decide how best to get out of this. Finally, she sighed, put her hands up in the air, and said, “I’ll strip off my weapons as soon as Lady Aymiria stops threatening to drown me.”

 Miry silently giggled – just something about the way Aldar said that, it was absolutely hilarious. She flicked her fingers and called the sheet of water back, instead wrapping the substance around her hand like a glove, so that she could bring it up more quickly in the event of another attack that used fire. Then she settled her gaze on Aldar again, watching the woman carefully.

Aldar slowly reached back, removing her glaive from its sheath, and crouched down to carefully place it on the floor. Then she removed the dagger from the sheath on her hip, and another from the back collar of her tunic, and knelt (slowly as ever, to avoid someone spearing her) and unlaced her boots, leaving them on the floor. Then she clasped her hands in front of her, seemingly waiting for further instruction.

Miry again started writing, though she kept her right hand half-raised in case of a surprise ball of fire or somesuch.

[i]Tell your lady to be grateful that I sent you home free – Men have died for less. Don’t think I’ll forget that fact – and don’t you forget it, either. Or else I might have to remind you.

Oh, and you can see yourself out. My men are too busy to deal with the likes of you.[/i]

She held the paper out to Aldar, who took it and read over the words several times. When her blue eyes came up from the paper, Miry was watching her impassively. The drakken sputtered, looking up at Miry, then down to the paper again, then back at Miry, and finally threw the paper down on the floor and turned on her heel and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Miry raised an eyebrow at the door, then went to writing again.

[i]Well. That was very interesting. What do you advise we do now?[/i]

Aurien glanced over to Aymiria as Aldar stormed out "She will remember that." He remarked quietly with a small frown. Vain motioned for the men to leave and they placed their hand to their chest again in salute before turning and heading out. Vain glanced over the paper before looking back up to her.

"I advise you get some rest and try to regain your voice. You can't write instructions forever." Vain said as he sheathed his sword again and shook his head "I suspect our Muth will have to deal with the Lady we just slighted tomorrow. Let us hope she takes it well."[/hider]

[hider=Part 2: Drakka 101]Miry nodded, suddenly stifling a yawn – until Vain had mentioned resting it hadn’t occurred to her how tired she was. But then, given the events of the day, she’d barely been given time to think. The girl set the stack of paper on the table, and made sure the quill was back in the inkwell, and then lay down, curling up into a ball. She lay there motionless for a moment, trying to clear her mind, then abrupty sat bolt upright again, a thought having crossed her mind. A very unpleasant one.

She reached for the paper again, blushing. She scratched many words out, blackening them in to be illegible, but finally passed the paper to Vain. 

[i]Wouldn’t it be more proper for me to stay awake? Until Lord Zakroti comes back, that is. I mean. I guess. What I’m asking. Is it not traditional that, after the choosing—Is it not expected for -- brides and their husbands to...[/i]

Vain cocked an eyebrow as the girl bolted upright and began to scribble away at the paper again; finally, she showed him her panicked scrawlings. He furrowed his brow as he tried to decipher the message. 

"Vivarieiz varlas, calm yourself; I can hardly tell what you are trying to say." Vain said at last, before sighing heavily and shaking his head "It is tradition in Drakka but given the circumstances do you not expect tradition might be put aside? Or do you merely think us to be savage barbarians?"

Miry noticeably relaxed. It wasn’t a complete denial but… In the back of her mind she was still worried – a lamb before slaughter and all – but Vain’s words had calmed her from her initial panic.

[i]Forgive me for judging the few by the many, but all my life I have heard of nothing but the barbaric nature of your people and the horrors that have been inflicted upon mine for almost the entirety of our recorded history.[/i]

"Oh? And what have you heard of the western lands? Of the Kalderans west of the westernmost lands? Of the great wordsmith 'Mehkor' and her epic poems? Of old ballads such as Aigzeiz A Narlemae, or An Vorgula A Una Kastaki? Of Zuth Aurkaan An Ien A An Garvasi? Of our folklore? What do you know of our good places and our gods? Of the great Aran Kastaki himself, or Aran Xarxsil or Orth Laloriaka Manalim? Or any of our great people or heroes?" Vain said with a small smile. He reached up to his helmet and removed it from his head, revealing his lack of horns and his obvious Gemminite features. He turned and crossed the room before placing the helmet down onto the table and turning to face her again. "And so what do you know of my people, Aymiria? What do they say beyond the spine?"

Miry kept her eyes on her paper as Vain spoke, not wanting to look up at him lest he see the lack of comprehension in her eyes. All of the names meant absolutely nothing to her, of course. She started writing, naturally, as it would doubtless be a long reply, but was distracted by the clanging sound of metal hitting wood – she looked up in time to see Vain turning back to face her, now with his helmet off.

A rush of confusion nearly swept the girl away, and she was left staring, blinking like an idiot, head tilted to the side and mouth open like a fish’s. She sat there for a second, trying to process things, then finally her brain caught up with what she was seeing and she started scribbling furiously again. The words that came from the pen were nonsensical at best but… it was a start, at least. Though she did hope that Vain wasn’t terribly good at finishing sentences that were stopped halfway through.

[i]What-- Who are you? And why are you, why do you serve lord Zakroti? Wait. These… Your people? You call the drakken your… You turn your back on the people you were born to for the sake of these – Wait no. I don’t mean it. I’m sorry. I’m confused![/i]


"I serve Zakroti because he has done more for me than anyone from Gemminia ever has and ever will. He taught me how to ride, how to fight, how to write and speak; He saved me from becoming a snack for the Karstaggs when I was but a baby and named me Narlemaewel. I became nicknamed Vain by the warriors due to my appearance. I do not call the Drakken my people; Drakka is vast and has many peoples. The Westerlings are my people, whatever they might be." Vain said as he cast a glance towards the floor, leaning against the table before looking back up to her with a weak smile on his face "You're blameless for being confused, truth be told. I imagine the fearsome reputation drowns out everything that doesn't make the Drakken seem like the inexorable emissaries of conquest and destruction."

Miry frowned for a moment. The idea of a Gemminite child being raised by a Drakken was… not a fabulous one – No, that’s not the right way to think of it. She forced herself to stop and take a step back, to “stop fighting the man of straw and actually listen.” 

The smile on his face was an almost sad one, as though he was almost unsure of himself… [i]Well that’s just great, Miry, now you want to jump up and hug him. He’ll probably stab you if you try.[/i] She turned her attention back to her writing, to avoid looking at the poor vulnerable-looking gem lest she jump up and wrap him up in her arms and try to reassure him.

[i]And which name do you prefer? If you don’t mind my asking- I just don’t want to cause offense. I’ve had nicknames that have hurt before… I do my best to not perpetuate the cycle.

I guess it is kind of irreconcilable – the Drakken people are supposed to be such fierce warriors, war-hardened brutes, the lot of them – disciplined and heartless and not at all thinking for themselves. The perfect war machine, or so the legends say. But then it doesn’t really make sense, does it – if they’re so unstoppable, why not conquer Gemminia once and for all? Burn our libraries, destroy our cities, enslave our people – It would be an easy thing, a logical thing, for such a powerful empire. We have no army, after all, just untrained fathers and brothers in the fields with pitchforks and slings, and the occasional martyrs in forest hideouts with longbows and rocks. Easy work for soldiers. Conquer Gemminia, take our plentiful food, our fertile land, our fertile women, breed an army, and within two generations you could conquer the entire world, and even our gods would be powerless to stop it.

And yet… they haven’t. And I don’t pretend to know why, because clearly what I’ve been told and what the truth is are two very different things, and all I have is speculation.[/i]

Miry finally snapped out of writing. Gods, she’d scribbled nearly a whole page. Vain – Narlemaewel, she corrected herself – was probably bored out of his mind waiting for her. Somewhat sheepishly, she passed him the note with all of her speculations and awkward rambling – really, only the first three lines were even relevant, but… eh, she’d written it, she might as well show him. 

Vain took the note from her and read over it before chuckling lightly and shrugging his shoulders. In truth, he was not entirely sure why they did not expand; He knew he was not the only one to think that it was foolish, indeed many in the West agreed with him in this count. But alas, they had little choice anymore but to follow the will of the King. The days of conquerers like Kastaki and indeed the days of the earlier Drakken kings who were concerned with carving out an empire and a legacy were past and the old western houses like Unalim and Manalim saw what they considered decadence, complacency and idleness. 

"I would guess that you answered your own question in part; It's easy pickings, low hanging fruit. Why invade Gemminia when you can take an army to fight in the south for glory and prestige? Our culture puts a heavy emphasis on the glory of combat. There's little better than the thrill of a good fight; Butchering peasants- That isn't a good fight and there's no glory or honour in it. Great warriors slay fell beasts and crush armies; Just try passing off a group of old farmers with pitchforks as an army, you'd be laughed out of court. It's one of the reasons Drakka doesn't overtake the south; If it wanted to it could, with enough effort and time. But the south is a good source of strong enemies who provide a challenge but aren't a serious threat to the Kingdom itself and Drakka wants to have enemies. It needs enemies-"

"And I suppose that while the Gems are 'free' they do nothing but grow soft. Do you think it would be so easy to control Gemminia if this arrangement was kept under direct rule? As it stands, whenever a girl is taken and given to us, any unrest is the problem of the Gems; if the Drakken ruled directly, that under would be the problem of Drakka- But let us not pretend Gemminia is truly independent; it's closer to a satellite or client kingdom at this point. When Drakka wants something from Gemminia it can click it's fingers-" Vain snapped his fingers to illustrate the point "-And get it. They give up their children, they would give up their food, their gold, their metals and gems... anything really. If our armies walked in and took it we would face resistance and rebellion. As it stands, the royalty of Gemminia it's self does the bidding of Drakka and this legitimises the reaping and the tributes and thus keeps the Gems from rebelling. Drakka did conquer Gemminia- You just didn't notice."

Vain paused for a moment as he glanced back towards the note and then looks back up to her. She was intelligent, there was no doubting that- Ignorant but intelligent. "Vain is fine, Aymiria. 'Arrows and blades may spill my blood but names shall never break me.' As for your 'Gods'- If only the deceivers were powerless. Things would be very different indeed."

Miry frowned, the words replaying through her head. He did have a point – oh, what was she saying, he was exactly right. Why slaughter a people when you can keep them as lapdogs?

[i]That doesn’t seem very pragmatic of them. They might be a good enemy—wait, what were you going to say about “needing enemies?” Aren’t there enough unexplored lands with unknown peoples in the far east and west? What about past the Wastes to the south? Surely there’s bound to be something out there… it doesn’t quite make sense to be so fixated on a known threat when you can exterminate it and move on and explore the wider world…explore things you don’t already know.

Forgive me – I’m probably just missing the point.

-- I suppose the gemminite people have found themselves a sneaky conquerer. These Drakken are all wrapped up in myths… not only do they have some idea of the long run but they’re sneaky about it too. And our people played right into their hand… At court we were all told horror stories, of course. But we were also told that if the Reaping chose us, we weren’t to fight, we were to conduct ourselves with grace and courtesy as befitted dignitaries sent to a foreign court – to do our people proud. At first I thought that was maybe designed as a method of preservation, to make our… husbands more gentle and careful with us. But…

Pardon me, again I’m just rambling with no idea what I’m talking about.[/i]

She went over the paper again, then perked up. He’d said something about… deceivers?

[i]Deceivers? I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the allusion you’re making… could you elaborate?[/i][/hider]

[hider=Part 3: The Little Green Goblins]Vain paused after reading over the paper, considering carefully before speaking "To the West of Drakka lies Kalderas; Beyond Kalderas lies the great waters. None have crossed the great waters and returned. Some say it never ends and that if you go out far enough dark things of legend lurk in the waters, great leviathans who do not like the boats out the land dwellers. To the east of Drakka lies your land. We are surrounded by many worthy foes and I guess I just share the view of my lord; the Kings and indeed the Lords of Drakka have grown complacent. They do not wish to conquer and build, nor see the lands that lie beyond our neighbours; they would rather maintain the current state of affairs forever."

"It wasn't always like this; In the days of old before Osh Edehame was part of Drakka, Kastaki the Great built an empire and left a legacy, a challenge for future rulers who might want to call themselves his equal that ended on the words "Naan Aran gais gaiar kala epe geho o meh, oris o hilyatoz, zela geh hilyatew!' None surpassed his accomplishments; But the effort made the difference. We thrived and expanded. It was a time of prosperity for our people but alas eventually it collapsed into a succession crisis and the Westerlings fought each other instead of their true enemies. The second son of Roftaki Unalim, Orstaki Unalim, allied himself with the Drakken and assisted them in conquering Osh Edehame; In return he was allowed to rule over it as Petty King, a vassal of Drakka. With the absorption of Osh Edehame into Drakka,, Kalderas and the Kingdoms southern and northern holdings broke way as independent lands and the West's golden age was lost. At the time, the Drakken Kings still had ambition but over the ages even that faded and was replaced by the decadence and bloodlust you see today."

"Your 'Gods' are the deceivers in our eyes; not in all of Drakka but in the pantheon of West they tricked the mother Vivari into believing her three most successful sons to be evil and treacherous out of spite and jealousy. Despite their protests, she cast her loyal sons and their servants away into the west, cursed the land to be harsh and inhospitable and erected the spine to keep them there; Bitterness seeped into them and they became consumed with a burning hatred for their siblings. The faithful hope for the day when the mother shall be convinced of the treachery and be reunited with her children, that the wrongs might be righted and the deceivers punished for their sins; Drakka shall spring with life anew and the spine shall sink into the ground. One of our holy men could probably explain it better than I." Vain finished with a slight laugh, unsure of how the girl would respond; After all, what he had just said was practically the exact opposite of what she would have been taught as a Gem.

Miry hesitated for a moment, taking in all the information before she could even begin to process it. Her head spun with all the names that Vain had rattled off. It was almost breathtaking, how much knowledge he had, and how freely he was sharing it – she almost wanted to write it down but her hand was starting to ache and she didn’t want to further burden it, as she imagined there would be a lot more writing to be done before the night was over. His comment about religion made her tense slightly, but she did not care to start a fight, not when he was still going to prattle on about history!

[i]Someday I would like to read the histories of your lands, if my lord Zakroti would allow it… There is more knowledge here than I could hope to absorb in any amount of conversation. If I might ask… what do those words translate to? I have heard them uttered twice already tonight and I’m quite confused. Ah, that needs to also be added to the list of things I must learn – I do not like to not understand the dominant tongue.

As for your religious philosophy, it is… intriguing. If it is to be allowed, I would like to speak to one of your holy men at some point. I’d like to hear more about the philosophy. I’m not going to outright discount it, not when today has been so full of me being proven wrong... And the things I’ve been taught being shown as wrong. 

Thank you for telling me about it, in any case. If you don’t mind me asking so many pointless questions, what lies in Kalderas? We’re really taught nothing at court, “educated young people” we might be… I’ve heard the name, I think, but only rarely and it’s always been called just a “shadowed place” and the subject’s been dropped.[/i]

She passed this sheet of paper to Vain, eyes sparkling with all this sudden curiosity. She almost wanted to cry again, this time from happiness… she’d thought, when she’d been sent to Drakka, that she was going to be bored to tears, some plaything for some brutish stupid lord. Not talking to a gemminite who’d grown up in Drakka and had told her in less than an hour more than she’d been taught in her life about the realm – unless he was lying. But surely he wouldn’t lie… right? Surely history was a relatively harmless thing?

"Of course you would be allowed to talk to our holy men and I am certain my lord would have no objection to you reading the many texts contained in his library. The words I spoke are the final sentence of Kastaki's challenge. They translate to 'Any king who wants to call himself my equal, wherever I went, let him go.'" 

"A shadowed land is probably an apt description; Kalderas is a vast land of swamps and jungles which have thick canopies, making the paths dark. The seat of the Kalderan high chief, the underground city of Alduris, lies in the north of that land behind impenetrable swamps. In the bowels of Alduris citadel lie bones that, if legends are to be believed, are the remains of a great dragon whom the Kalderans once served."

"The native Kalderans are short creatures of about five foot, they are agile and quiet and navigate their lands with ease. They live in tribal societies but do not let this fool you into thinking that they are unintelligible savages; Many make that judgement and that mistake gives the Kalderans power. The Kalderans herd the powerful Hufari to build their halls and fight in their wars; the Hufari stand some 13 feet and are extremely strong, fully capable of carving the stone halls in which the Kalderans make their home. They are loyal beasts of burden once trained and protect their shorter masters to their last breaths."

"The thick jungles and marshes are filled with all kinds of things; Mushrooms as tall as towers which the Kalderans sometimes hollow out to use as watchtowers, strange aquatic serpents that slither through the swamps’ murky waters and flying lizards that scavenge what they can from the leftovers of the jungles many predators. There are ruins within as well, long forgotten fortresses and keeps which nature has reclaimed. The Kalderans often make their homes underground and inside mountains, though there are a few villages which sit on stilts above the water."

Miry couldn’t help but giggle happily at the mention of the word “library”… Libraries were good. Very good. Who knew, she might even be able to find an old book of music among all the tomes devoted to history and theology, and learn some of the old ballads—

Her smile faded slightly as she realized that even if she could find a book of music, it wouldn’t do her very much good. She quickly shook the thought out of her head and turned her full attention back to Vain.

Okay, she definitely needed to get her hands on a history book as soon as humanly possible. Everyone she’d heard speak today dropped the name “Kastaki” almost casually, as though this man’s accomplishments were so well-known they needed no elaboration…

She frowned at the description of the Kalderans and their Hufari, recoiling faintly at the mention of dragons.

[i]The bones of a dragon? Surely that’s just a fable. According to the old legends – or at least, all the ones I ever heard – dragons were once as common as dogs, all across both Gemminia and Drakka. And yet, real dragon bones have never been found, at least not in our kingdom. At least not that they’ve let us know of…

As far as the Kalderans and their Hufari… what language do they speak? What are their social customs? Have they ever come into contact with us – well, I mean, obviously they must have for us to know they exist but – has a diplomatic endeavor of any sort ever been undertaken?[/i]

The girl frowned at the paper for a moment before handing it over. It felt like they’d gotten sidetracked from something important. Well… no matter. If it wasn’t important enough to linger in the front of her mind, it could probably be pushed back for a while in favor of such intriguing things as races of creatures that she’d never even heard of.

"I too suspect it is just a myth but it is one the Kalderans cling to with religious zeal- but then, I have not seen the bones. There are few outsiders who have... Nastaki has, but I imagine you aren't fond of the idea of asking him about them." Vain said with a light chuckle, pouring himself a glass of water from a pitcher before looking up to her again and drinking from it."

"The Hufari do not speak and they have no more social customs than your own pet; Some Hufari occasionally wander from Kalderas if they were displaced by disaster but I doubt it would be common for them to pass to your land. If it did ever happen I imagine that they would have been mistaken by most for something from your own legends , trolls or ogres perhaps. The Kalderans speak Kovaak. In the years they spent as Vassals of the Western Kings their language was influenced by Unakor and vice versa, there are a number of loan words between the two languages. They are a tribal society with Chieftains ruling over cities. Their shamans select a High Chieftain from the ruling chieftains when the High Chief dies and the high chief has great influence over the other tribes, however the chiefs have no obligation to obey him."

"They have no custom of marriage and a different view of family; the tribe is viewed as part of one's family and as such it is common for them to refer to each other as Tribe-Kin. I cannot tell you too much about their culture for in truth I do not understand much of it myself. I know that they have days of the year on which they hold very specific rituals and feasts. They share their religion with us however many of their previous religious beliefs were merged in with our own. For instance, they believe that Kalderas is where Vivari resides, in the trees and the rivers and the swamps. When they die, Vivari takes their life force and melds it into something new before returning it to the world. Death is not the end but the first step in an endless journey. They believe that there was a father, Vahlok, to Vivari's children but that the deceivers tore him apart and cast him into the space between worlds so as to inherit his power and trick Vivari into believing that her loyal children had committed the vile act. The stars in the sky were the tears that were created in fabric of this plane of existence when the deceivers threw the pieces of Vahlok through the barriers. There are six standing stones in Kalderas to which one who wishes to become a Chieftain must make a pilgrimage to; Their names translate to Life, Water, Wind, Earth, Sun and Tree. They represent the gifts of Vahlok and are all that remain of the once numerous shrines to him. Each Chieftain will make an offering at the stone and pray because they believe that the first time a Chieftain does so, the shrine acts as a sort of astral beacon that Vahlok can see in the vast darkness between the worlds for but a fraction of a moment. They hope that eventually Vahlok will find his way back to this world and be reunited with Vivari."

"As for a diplomatic endeavour, I don't believe they have ever been on a diplomatic mission to Gemminia however I do know that your people have indeed met before; There were some, though admittedly not many, Kalderan warriors in the forces of House Unalim during the invasion of your lands by the southern beasts. In fact, the Kalderan high chieftain of the day was present when the decision was made amongst the Drakken lords to demand brides rather than lands from your people at the end of that war. The Petty King at the time left in protest when Oggar suggested it, and the Kalderans went with him. With all that was going on, it's not surprising your people have little knowledge of the Kalderans outside of their name and where they come from; I don't suppose anyone was very interested in the short green people when their homes were being sacked and their children were being stolen and I don't suppose many Gems go travelling west to communicate with the Kalderans given that they know Drakka lies between the two- Those which did, I doubt they would think much of a dark and gloomy swamp filled with dangerous wildlife and disease."

Miry stared at Vain as he spoke, eyebrows furrowing slightly as she tried to pull this information into her already somewhat-overloaded mind.

[i]Hold on, Lord Nastaki’s been to – Alduris? [s] I don’t suppose that someday, after, well, after things have settled down, I might be able to ask him about it?[/s][/i]

That’s just lovely, Miry, cause now you want to go pester him about it! He’ll probably have you flogged for impudence if you so much as try to address him, so don’t even think about it, you foolish girl!

[i]I think someday I’d like to go visit their lands.[/i]

For a moment she let herself daydream, imagining wandering through these dense swamps and forests and massive mushrooms, watching all the little green people going about their business – Wait. Little green people? She frowned for a minute, then started giggling for the better part of a minute, before she finally calmed down enough to write.

[i]The little green goblin! There’s a set of children’s rhymes about “the little green goblins who fought in the war, the little green goblins at the king’s door.” I always laughed because really, who believes in goblins…? But… hm.

Anyway. The bit about Vivari using the life force – that’s something that some Gems believe. Why Astrae wanted to be buried in the garden, in the embrace of the Great Mother. We’re kind of weird, always putting so much thought, worrying about how it is we are going to leave this world. I suppose it’s reassuring, to know of one thing that for certainty will happen when we die. – I am going to spare you that airheaded “philosophy” for now. I apologize.[/i][/hider]

[hider=Part 4: Zela geh hilyatew!][i]I know I’m jumping all over the place, but if you don’t mind me asking, it seems that house Unalim has a very close tie with the vast majority of goings-on in this part of the continent. You all know of the Kalderans, assumedly pretty well if Lord Nastaki has been in their great city. You fought for Gemminia those seven hundred-odd years ago. Judging by our place in the hall, how close we were to the dais, this is a house of some influence. If you don’t mind my asking, what’s the story of this house – how did you climb the ranks[/i]

"I imagine you could try if you manage to change his opinion of you enough after that affair earlier." Vain paused in surprise as the girl collapsed into a fit of giggles that lasted almost a full minute before she wrote again. He cocked a brow at her response and gave a short nod

"Sometimes it is difficult to tell what is myth and what is real, though I find a good rule of thumb to be that legends don't burn down villages or swing swords at you." Vain replied with a small smile. “As for visiting yourself- You best not get ill easily and have guides whose knowledge will not fail you; they say that it can be an unforgiving replace, easy to wander into danger or get lost in."

"House Unalim did not climb the ranks of Drakka; It fell. But I know what you mean; Long ago Osh Edehame was not one entity. It shared a culture, a religion and a language but it had no central king. There were almost as many kings as there were counties. The Kingdom of Drakka was a rising power at this time and wished to expand into the western regions. King Qaera of Drakka demanded that they swear fealty to him- or he would kill them all and take the land to himself."

"It was then that a leader rose among the divided kings. He was a lord named "Kastaki". He rallied several of the kings behind him and rode to meet Qaera's host, that was five times larger than his own, on the field of Lattasil. Kastaki had his men feign a retreat, goading Qaera into a charge to run them down; his men broke ranks and gave up the high ground that they had set themselves up on to chase the fleeing Westerlings in a bloodlust... only to find themselves encircled by the cavalry that Kastaki had kept hidden in the forest. Qaera found his own army decimated and he tried to flee. Popular legend is that one of his own men knocked him off his horse and stole it to flee himself, leaving Qaera to his fate. He was captured and beheaded, his severed head wrapped in his own tattered banner and returned to Drakka as a warning.

Kastaki emerged as a hero, an unstoppable juggernaut and military genius. At the moot, the kings who had fought with him gave him their crowns and swore allegiance to him and his descendants. Kastaki became the one to carry out the very threat that Qaera had put forth, uniting the west as a single entity and expanding its borders across the little kingdoms that dotted Drakka and the lands to the north and south of it as this time. The tribes of Kalderas fell to the rule of the West one by one and when Kastaki, in his old age, seized Alduris from them it was the beginning of a bond between the two peoples which has remained strong even though they are no longer united. No one since has ever seized Alduris and no outsider had ever seized it before. He died and successfully passed the throne to his son. At the end of his reign his Kingdom spanned all of Kalderas and the kings of the little kingdoms of the north had sworn allegiance to the West. Even parts of Drakka were absorbed at times, then lost and captured again in endless border disputes; The Karstaggs still do not forgive House Unalim for that. Your own people traded with Kastaki and kept warm relations, as Gemminia often has with those who might otherwise threaten it. His descendants ruled the independent kingdom until the interregnum and in that time parts of the southern waste and the isle of ghosts were added to the Kingdom."

"It was in the dying days of Roftaki Unalim that the fall began. He had fallen gravely ill and his children squabbled over the throne. Before his body was even cold, blood had been spilled in the halls of the kings and the land was fractured into a civil war. The uneasy alliance Roftaki had kept with Drakka collapsed and the east seized its chance to invade and allied it's self with Orstaki Unalim and together they overthrew the proud west and absorbed it into Drakka. They tried to go further west to claim Kalderas but disease defeated them and drove them back. The ever turbulent south broke away and the northern kingdoms sensed the change in fortune and abandoned their oaths. With Kalderas lying between them, the Isle of Ghosts and Drakka quietly broke off contact and the Kingdom of the West was no more. "

"Orstaki remained as Petty King, vassal of Drakka until his death. His son Paska Unalim took the throne and led Osh Edehame in the conflict your people had in the south, calling upon the old alliances in Kalderas to bolster his numbers. A hundred and eighty years later he refused to answer a call to arms against the north and in response the King of Drakka stripped the family of their royal status. As you can imagine, it nearly came to war. But the King was a cunning man and arranged to marry one of his cousins to Silte Unalim, Nastaki's aunt, to create a bond between the two houses and prevent war."

"While it may have prevented war, the bitterness remains to this day. Older members such as Nastaki still remember the events as they occurred and feel cheated; Nastaki is a proud man as you found out, he did not take well to his future titles being torn away by the king. The west of Drakka is one of the most valuable parts; being closer to Kalderas, much of it is fertile enough to grow food and the westernmost parts, the areas that House Unalim controls, have meadows and forests of their own. Osh Edehame, the largest part of the West, belongs to House Unalim and makes it undeniably powerful and influential."

[i]And how would I go about changing Lord Nastaki’s judgment of me? Clearly I’m not doing a great job of it…[/i] Miry grinned as she passed that bit of paper, then settled back to listen to the next bit of ramble. Filing away all the names and information to go through later, when she had a second to process.

She shuddered at the mental images of the battle. She’d had a good enough imagination as a child to be able to piece together images of combat based on even the vaguest of detail in a book or story, and the detail Vain provided was more than enough to send rather disturbing images of slaughter into her head.

That said, besides the visceral reaction, part of her was in awe of Kastaki’s – well, all of them, but especially his – achievements. So size and strength wasn’t necessarily all there was, even for a Drakken warrior. They would try to outthink their enemies too, not just bash them into the ground. Good to know, good to know.
She started writing before her conscious reactions had quite caught up to her thought process.

[i]Why has lord Nastaki not tried to take the throne, then? Or if not take it, why not – oh, I don’t know the word, but why not try to break away from Drakka and become your own sovereign kingdom again? Clearly you have enough resources that it would be easy to exist as your own kingdom, even with a presumably more dense population. Of course, I’d imagine Osh Edehame is also one of the only “local” suppliers of most food goods – Drakka would do everything in its power to keep those lands affiliated with it, I suppose. Well. I guess I just answered my own question, or at least half of it. But why not try to take it by force?[/i]

Miry hesitated for a moment, not sure how that paragraph would be received, and lightly scratched it out. Of course then she internally smacked herself, because now she desperately wanted to know, and quickly passed the paper to Vain.


Vain chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders "If you find the trick, be sure to let the rest of us know." He said to her, before falling silent as she wrote again. Finally, she showed him it and he ran his eyes over the words twice before talking

"Again, I am not Nastaki or any other of the magnates. I can offer guesses but that's it; I believe that Nastaki has not attacked because if we attacked Drakka, we would at war with the greatest warrior kingdom in the history of our world. The Karstaggs would oppose us and our pragmatic 'allies' in Isilmur would likely side with Drakka. Orry would stay with us due to the marriage alliance but under a sustained assault from Karstagg, Isilmur and Azinmur they would require assistance, especially once the King of Drakka himself begins to attack, and Orry may even fracture internally as it's vassals would not share the same priorities and might judge Drakka to be the safer bet."

"As such, we would have to divert almost all of our forces to fight in the east and raise our levies, thus leaving ourselves open to attacks from the southern wastes and you can be certain that the southerners will raid. The lords of Drakka would certainly answer the call to arms in the hopes of acquiring our lands. We would be surrounded by enemies and beset on all sides by the tides of war; Kalderas would even the odds but their forces would take time to arrive and as such we would be forced to fight on our own lands rather than take the fight directly to Drakka as they would attack quickly to take advantage of the numerical advantage. Even if we managed to win the war the battlegrounds would be in our homes and our lands and as such our kingdom would be devastated; Our people would suffer for it- and the Drakken are sore losers. I expect they would burn anything they captured should it seem we may take it back and I have no doubts that they would torch the farms, steal our food and scorch the Earth, to say nothing about what the southerners would do. Our people would starve. No; To try and match Drakka strength to strength would be extremely risky. Perhaps if a suitable distraction were to open up it would be possible but there are few enemies or targets that would draw so much of Drakka's forces and attention away." Vain finished with a furrowed brow as he thought about it.

Miry shuddered and shook her head vigorously to dispel the image that came to mind. She’d not expected quite so elaborate of an explanation, though what Vain spoke of made perfect sense. Of course it would be foolish, when surrounded by so many strong enemies, to try to attack one – she should have known that.

Now, she had absolutely no idea what to say in reply. What could one say in response to someone admitting the vulnerability of their own empire…?

She started writing, then crossed it out and started again.

[i]I was about to say Gemminia would come to your aid but we both know they wouldn’t. They’re too afraid of inadvertently siding with the losers in any conflict. I’m sorry I had to ask that – it was kind of a stupid question. Thank you for explaining it so well, though. And not just that, but for being so patient with all of my childish questions.[/i]

The girl passed the paper, then hesitated for a moment. Then she slid off the bed and crossed the few steps to be standing next to Vain, and hugged him awkwardly. And then she promptly turned bright red and pulled away, settling back onto the bed and letting her hair fall forward to obscure her face so that maybe her blushing would be a touch less obvious. 

Damn you, Miry, stop being so emotional and touchy-feely!

Vain paused as he read the girl’s note and was very surprised to suddenly find himself the victim of an awkward hug. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she returned to the bed and spoke "What in Drun's name was that for?" Vain asked before speaking in response to her writings "Gemminia is weak and feeble. I imagine they have not even spent these centuries to build up their own strength against Drakka's might. They always lose because they refuse to play; It is the equivalent to a player skipping all of his turns for fear that he might make the wrong move. Inevitably, his opponents win and he loses. There is cautiousness and then there is cowardice. Gemminia often falls into the latter, it is too scared to even try and make a move; Drakka has enemies that your people could form a coalition with but as you say they are too afraid of losing."

[i]Why [u]wouldn’t[/u] I hug you?[/i] Miry wrote, still blushing considerably. She hesitated for a moment, then grinned and wrote, [i]And who would those people be? Simply for curiosity’s sake, of course.[/i] Then her smirk faded.

[i]In all seriousness, maybe it would be… educational, for Gemminia to be taken directly – as in, by an army, not by whatever political agreement the royals made with the Drakken kings. “I would laugh at a pride of lions led by a sheep, but I would run from a herd of sheep led by a lion.” It might take being conquered by force for them to realize it. Because I guess they do assume they can talk and bribe their way out of everything.[/i]

Miry set the pen down abruptly. Perhaps a dangerous thing to say, and an even more dangerous thing to commit to words. Everything she’d written, actually, could have been dangerous to say. But then, she’d not get to go back home where these words could be held against her so… nothing to lose.

Vain stared blankly at her frankly childish behaviour, returning to table to pour himself another drink and downing it in one go. He turned back towards her again and scanned his eyes over what she had written before shrugging his shoulders and speaking again 

"Perhaps. I doubt there will be any such invasion in the foreseeable future, however. The Lords seem to be very much in favour of the current arrangement and the Gems- well, it is a very low kind of coward who buys peace with his children's lives." Vain opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off by the sound of the doors to the hallway swinging open.[/hider]

[hider=Part 5: Goodnight, at last!] Zakroti paused at the entrance to his rooms to look at Ayltam, and traded some words with her,

"Norric ien wre, seru-wel." He said to her, earning a small nod from her as she approached the door on the right side of the hallway. 

"E wre, lalyent-seru, spanga an arcta laloria." She replied as she unlatched it and entered, vanishing into the room behind. Zakroti turned and entered his own rooms glancing towards Aymiria and Vain for a moment; The Blackguard turned to him and placed his hand over his chest. Miry hastily jumped to her feet and curtsied, being taken entirely by surprise with this whole exchange.

"Muth." 

"You're relieved, Vain; get some rest for tomorrow. There may be fighting to be done." Zakroti said; The Blackguard paused for a moment as if trying to work out who they would be fighting - perhaps whether there had already been consequences for the actions this night- before finally nodding and leaving the room, brushing past Zakroti.

Zakroti glanced towards Aymiria and then to Kasari before letting out a quiet sigh and speaking at last "The pair of you should come to whatever arrangements you please for sleeping. I know there is an additional room on this wing that is not in use, I imagine I shall take that room for my own use this might. Norric ien wre spanga an arcta laloria; Vivyent sunna wredzi." And with that he turned on his heel, opened the door and was gone; there was the sound of metal boots on stone as presumably some of the men at arms and the Blackguard followed to stand watch outside his door.

Zak paused as he entered the spare room, glancing around it and checking the closets before finally settling down to sleep. The rising and falling sound of movement gave away that there were a pair of warriors patrolling the wing, occasionally whispering to each other and initially keeping him awake. Before too long, however, he became accustomed to the background noise and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Miry shifted awkwardly, somewhat taken aback by Lord Zakroti’s sudden entrance and exit. She finally wrote on another sheet of paper and passed it to Kasari, not meeting the much-taller girl’s eyes.

[i]The bed is definitely big enough for us both but if you’d prefer to sleep there alone I can curl up on the couch. Wherever is fine – I’m little. I adapt. Also, if you don’t mind, I’m going to stay up for a bit and write in my journal. So much has happened today that I want to document. Also, I hope you’re not opposed to pets – I’m going to let my Bunny out of her basket; I bet she could use some fresh air.[/i]

Miry went to her basket in the corner and took out her battered old notebook, going back to the desk and pulling her single candle close. She opened the cover of the book and settled down, quickly flipping to the first blank page – she was decidedly NOT in the mood for memories. She dipped the quill in the inkwell for what felt like the ten thousandth time, dated the page, and began writing.
[/hider]

[hider=Part 6: Miry’s Journal]
[i][b]Daily Lesson:[/b] Just because I am a bride does not mean I am powerless. I have the power to do what I want – or at least, the power to command others to do my bidding.

Note to self: Probably not a wise idea to offend Lieutenant Captain Aldar Drais of Lady Siadamkiru Beneni’s personal bodyguard (Remember those two names!) and definitely not a wise idea to steal her prisoner… Maybe should apologize in the morning? No, don’t do that – You acted on instinct and asserted your authority, now take ownership of it.

Yes, maybe you overreacted. But come on, she called you short. She was pretty much ASKING for it. Just pray you’re not going to get chopped to pieces for your hotheadedness.

ANYWAY.

Vain – Well, his real name is Narlemaewel but everyone just calls him Vain. And he’s a Gemminite but somehow he wound up lost in Drakken lands and taken in by Lord Zakroti. Anyway, he told me a lot of cool things about Drakka today.

He’s kinda cute, in a bit of a gruff soldiery way. Kinda like how Papa was – I miss Papa.

Also, don’t try to hug Vain. Seriously, don’t, or he’ll freeze up and invoke the god of war on you.

Damn you, Miry, FOCUS.

He told me a lot about the great king Kastaki – Kastaki of house Unalim. How Osh Edehame (that’s Lord Zakroti’s family’s holding!) used to be a bunch of allied lands without any clear ruler. Until Kastaki came along and united them, then defeated the ancient king of Drakka in battle despite being outnumbered five to one, and gradually built an empire out of the far western half of what is now Drakka. Roftaki Unalim’s children pulled the lands into a civil war and Drakka conquered them, but they remained as petty kings of Osh Edehame until Paska Unalim refused to answer a call to arms and the whole family was stripped of their titles. Nastaki, who still remembers when this happened (Which according to a bit of mental arithmetic means Nastaki must be about 200, if not older!!) is understandably rather bitter about it.

Oh! OH. I learned about the Kalderans too. The song “The Little Green Goblins” was probably inspired by them, because they fought with the members of house Unalim in the war against the south – they’re from Kalderaas, the country to the west of Drakka. Their capital city is Alduris, which legend says is built around a set of dragon bones. Nastaki has been to the city – Don’t you ask him about it, Miry! After those shenanigans earlier he’ll probably have you flayed or something! Anyway, Kalderaas. Kastaki Unalim was the first and only commander to ever take the city of Alduris – the Kalderans have since held an enormous respect for house Unalim.

Right, what actually IS a Kalderan? Apparently they’re short (5 feet tall, so I guess still taller than me by a lot), vaguely frog-like creatures who tame enormous (13 foot tall) bull-like creatures, and sometimes live in enormous mushrooms in a massive swamp. To the west even further is a place called the Isle of Ghosts – (Make sure to ask Lord Zakroti about it sometime!) They share a religion with house Unalim.

Oh right, religion. The standard religion of Osh Edehame is kind of… odd. The drakken gods were not the cruel children of Vivari – it was the three other Gemminite gods who were. They tricked Vivari into believing their brothers were the cruel, sick ones, poisoning her ears until she cast the sons out in disgust. I… want to reject it, but then I also had flaws in a lot of other ideas I worshipped pointed out to me today. So I’m probably not the best judge of that right now.

I have to ask Lord Zakroti if I might, someday, have a tutor to learn the language his household speaks – Unakor, I think someone said it was called?
I also must try to get my hands on the histories of Drakka and of Osh Edehame specifically.
And at some point I need to find myself another flute – I’d even take the wooden one I had when I was six years old, but I need a musical instrument.

… Okay, looking back over this, I’m being even more disorganized than usual. The watchmen called the midnight bell what seemed like forever ago, and apparently tomorrow will be a busy day… I should get some rest. Goodnight, Tekte! [b]~M[/b][/i][/hider]