Collin watched with some confusion as the foreigners bickered and brayed. He'd not expected them to be so disorganized. Flying in like gods among them, touching down in a metal monster...and yet they seemed no more organized than a flock of crows eyeing a shining coin. He no longer knew who to bother addressing, although the one named Luna had won herself some goodwill by offering to look over the children. "Luna-oum, thank you for your gracious offer. Unfortunately, I do not believe the young, startled as they are, would be willing to sit still for you." He smiled in apology. "They will be looked after well by their mothers, I am sure. And given a stern talking too, as well."
Then he focused on Constance. Constance Holloway? Could she perhaps have some relation to the Holloways in Gil-Bagha? They hadn't shown up to the festivites, though Collin was sure they had been invited. They were probably busy with some business matter or another. This woman gave of the same sort of aura, but somehow...different. Almost like she was aware of giving it off in the first place. "Thank you for your...gracious offer, Constance-moum, but I must regretfully decline for now." He glanced back at Imroham, who nodded.
"The only business we can attend to currently is that of an introduction." He raised his voice, switching to Ghalari.
"Lord Imroham, these foreigners are ignorant of our culture and our language.""Wae gottem," replied the guardian, who spoke now to the gathered Ghalari.
"My friends, the newcomers mean us no harm! Though their presence was unexpected, the Gods have given us this opportunity to share in the glory they provide. Fear not, for only blessing reign on this day!" The words had their desired effect. First in pairs, then in larger groups, the watchers disbanded, leaving the newcomers alone with Imroham, Collin, and surprisingly, Raymond and Juliet.
"Collin, I must ask you to guide our guests through Gil-Bagha, as I do not speak the Sky Language as you do." Once Collin nodded understanding, Imroham turned, striding away with purpose in his gait.
Collin sighed, turning to the foreigners with resignation. "It appears that a tour is in order. Come, come. You as well, Raymond, Juliette."
Edward had been silent throughout much of the proceedings. He'd not wanted to speak out and risk alienating anyone, but things seemed to be dying down somewhat. He'd been a little irritated when Collin had decided Constance, of all people, was worthy of leadership, but Luna had quickly put a stop to that.
Now they were touring? It had all happened so fast: first they had been unwelcome, and now they seemed to be honored guests? Somewhere in between Constance had tried to conduct business with a man she'd only just met, he'd accidentally smashed into Luna, they'd met a distinguished looking man who seemed to run the place...so much in such a short time. He fumbled in his pocket for his notebook and pen as they began to move.
"Of all days you could have arrived on," said Collin as they walked, "you actually chose one of the best. The
Pithrova Daya om ye-Kambha'le...or I suppose, The Presenting Day of the Kambha'le, is quite the celebration. Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know...Kambha'le are the Gods of the Faces, who grant happiness to their favored."
"Fascinating," mumbled Edward. "Do they grant disfavor on those who irritate them, then?"
He looked up to see Collin staring at him. "What is your name, again?" asked their guide.
Edward swallowed. "Edward, Edward Samick."
"Well, Edward, you are partially correct. ye-Kambha'la are capricious in nature, and enjoy sowing chaos as much as order. Unlike ye-Orlah, they deal in extremes, from despair to triumph, from misfortune to luck of the ages. By entertaining and appeasing them, one can increase their likelihood to be given good luck. Otherwise, the Gods of the Faces are as likely to sow death and discord as they are to send happiness raining down from the heavens above."
Edward decided to save questions about "ye-Orlah" for later. He already had so much to write down. And even that was difficult, enthralled as he was by his surroundings.
The field where they had touched down had been on the other side of a hill from what had looked like a bustling city from above. They were headed along a path up the hill, and he was absolutely on the tips of his toes to see what was up there.
"Over this hill, we'll enter the more traditional part of Gil-Bagha," Collin said, leading the group beside the other two natives. "It was built long, long ago, and the federal government has kept it, and regions of the city like it, as cultural heritage site."
For some reason, that sentence shook some of the magic off of Edward's mind. Federal government? Cultural heritage site? In his excitement, he had almost attributed this place to be a fantasy world, a fairy tale utopia, but those words reminded him that these people had been around a long time as well. They were probably as technologically advanced as the United Isles.
The U.I. was less prone to preserving cultural sites, except for on Maru and Dover. There simply wasn't space on most of the floating landmasses. Museums were far more prominent, as they took up less space, and were a more concentrated way of preserving culture.
All these thoughts were annihilated the instant they crested the hill, and the houses came into view.
"Holy shit." whispered Edward. It was beautiful, just beautiful. "You're seeing this, right?" He asked Luna. "I'm not just hallucinating?" He put his notebook away. There was no way to record all of this.
Collin turned to Constance, scrunching up his lips. "Ah! I had forgotten earlier, but there are Devil Diver descendants within this precinct of Ghal-Priyam with your name. Very busy people, but we might be able to visit them, if you are so inclined."
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