wikbook/doc_name.html

<p>This story takes place in the Central Rim of the Soronan Desert, but
the world is bigger than this region. The wind blows counter-clockwise
around the planet. The top of the planet is referred to as Yoramawa, and
it’s bottom as Yoralo.</p>
<p><img src="media/map.jpg" /></p>
<p>Directions in Wiktopher are written in Finic:</p>
<p>Saa’mu(sawa’muko) — against the wind<br />
Saa’ta(sawa’atae) — with the wind<br />
Yora’mu(yoramawa’muko) — towards the soul of the land<br />
Yora’ta(yoramawa’atae) — away from the soul of the land</p>
<h1 id="voice-of-the-ilk">Voice Of The Ilk</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.ilk.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>The giant walkers of the Soronan desert. There are three Ilk in
existence: Oto, Bala and Vol. To communicate with each other, Ilk
produce low-frequency vocalizations at high amplitudes.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today was Naming Day in the Ilk village of Volare<a href="#fn1"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref1" role="doc-noteref"><sup>1</sup></a>.
For the occasion, many came to place flowers and herbs on Lupen’s
doorstep. The different varieties made the entrance to the house appear
overgrown, and wild. No one bothered to knock, they knew that Lupen was
likely too busy for visitors.<br />
    This Verido <em>was</em> busy, busy searching for the missing piece
to complete the ceremonial outfit. Lupen sighed upon seeing the state of
the house. The floor of the main room was littered with many objects,
pieces of unfinished projects, attempts at honing a skill, any skill.
Lupen had tried to learn to knit but the resulting hat was a disaster
and was now used as a tea cozy. Lupen had watched others knit before,
the motions were familiar to these eyes but these hands could not
replicate them. Everyone had a skill, but perhaps Lupen’s was the art of
cluttery.<br />
    Lupen paused the search to sample a batch of licky root<a
href="#fn2" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref2"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>2</sup></a> tea that had been steeping since
yesterday’s first sunrise outside. The dark roots of the plant, heavy
with liquid, lay at the bottom of the bottle. The brew was tucked in the
growing amassment of plants near the entrance to the house. The drink
was syrupy and sweet. “Yep, it’s ready,” Lupen said, wrenching the
bottle from the fuzzy arms of a plant that had encircled the bottle
overdark, with the goal of reaching the precious beverage. Lupen carried
the bottle back inside, careful to avoid the carpet of delicate leaves
and stems, allowing them to breathe their last in peace. Licky root was
grown here, Lupen walked to the base of Vol’s nape everyday to harvest
it. Few plants could thrive up here, the altitude did not permit much,
but shroos, and small garden herbs were plentiful.<br />
    <em>Si Re ___ Fa</em> A whistle. “Look at <em>you</em>! All dressed
up and fancy-like!”<br />
    Lupen spun right around to look at Rosmus, a neighbour and close
friend. Rosmus stepped over the plants carpetting the pathway leading
into the house. This Verido was taller and an annum<a href="#fn3"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref3" role="doc-noteref"><sup>3</sup></a>
older than Lupen, with hair standing on end, higher than anyone in
Volare.<br />
    Lupen <em>was</em> looking more dapper than usual, dressed in
traditional ceremonial wear consisting of a necklace of blue thread
hanging over a bare chest, with a knee-long patterned cloth wrapped
around the waist, the cloth was superimposed with a woven isilk<a
href="#fn4" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref4"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>4</sup></a> mat. “Since the second sunset,
that’s how long I’ve been looking for each piece. But I’m <em>still</em>
missing a thing.”<br />
    “Your hair looks real nice!” Rosmus said, impressed.<br />
    Lupen’s hair was short on the sides and long at the top where it
slumped forward and dipped partially over the forehead. During special
events, Verido people dyed their sand-coloured hair and faces using the
crushed pigments of the fruit of the looberry<a href="#fn5"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref5" role="doc-noteref"><sup>5</sup></a>
plant. Lupen had covered up most areas, but the paint was too thin,
leaving visible pale broad streaks of tan skin. “I ran out of looberries
halfway into it.” Lupen admitted. When applied correctly, the blue paint
covered everything from the bridge of the nose to the top of the
head.<br />
    “Doesn’t show.” Rosmus lied, holding a basket. “Oh! I got you a
gift! Thought we could hang around here and plant these trumpet flower<a
href="#fn6" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref6"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>6</sup></a> bulbs! In a quarter annum they’ll
start flowering! And when they do… well, you <em>know</em> what I’m
getting at! No one else tends to your need for intoxicants like I do,
eh?”<br />
    “<em>Your</em> need you mean. Your house is full so you’re looking
to invade mine, a space moocher is what you are,” Lupen said, “anyway,
why are you trying to keep me here? You know what’s going on
today.”<br />
    “Yes but I’ve decided that we’re not going to that,” Rosmus
said.<br />
    “Oh, is that so?”<br />
    “I’ve been making decisions for you for a long while now, don’t tell
me you’ve just noticed it.” There was a bottle strapped to Rosmus’s
belt, full of red liquid with a wrinkly fruit floating inside. “I
brought kabacho<a href="#fn7" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref7"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>7</sup></a> for us to drink! It’s been soaking
for a full annum. It’s going to be <em>real</em> strong!”<br />
    Lupen laughed. “As much as I’d like to just sit around and drink
with you all day I’ve <em>got</em> to go. I don’t have a choice.”<br />
    “You <em>do</em> have a choice.” Rosmus corrected. “You think you
don’t, but you can do whatever you want. Come on, don’t you think it’d
be more fun to do <em>this</em> instead?”<br />
    “Fun. Yea, sure. It sounds fun, but the ceremony’s more important, I
think.”<br />
    “Who <em>cares</em>,” Rosmus said, “why go at all? I mean, you
already <em>know</em> you won’t be named Voice<a href="#fn8"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref8" role="doc-noteref"><sup>8</sup></a> so
you know, why bother?”<br />
    “Tradition.”<br />
    “Right. Don’t you think it unfair though? To be part of a contest
with a predetermined result? Mago’s family has always been Voice, since
Volare’s time, and that’s not about to change! When you think about it,
there’s really no point in you being there at all! Come on, give me a
mug that I can fill.”<br />
    “It’s just like you to say something like that…” Lupen said, busy
upturning the place, finding other things thought to be lost, but these
stayed in their spot, to be forgotten and rediscovered again at a later,
more convenient time. “I’m going. Don’t ask me again.”<br />
    Rosmus, lacking a mug, took a sip of kabacho straight from the
bottle instead, then struggled for a moment, trying to finish a thought,
having much trouble getting the lips and tongue to cooperate. “So you’re
fine with pretending you can win this?”<br />
    “I’m not pretending! Ah, it doesn’t matter. I’m <em>fine</em> with
it is what I’m saying.” Annoyed, Lupen moved to the other side of the
room to look behind a table. “Ha! It’s here! I’ve found it!” The long
blue scarf had been hiding there this whole time, wedged between a table
and the wall. Lupen put the scarf on, coiling it tight. In truth, this
wasn’t an official part of the Naming Day ceremonial wear, but Lupen
wanted to wear it anyway. The scarf was a gift from Levi, Lupen’s mapa<a
href="#fn9" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref9"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>9</sup></a>. “Anyway, I could never be Voice.
Mago’s better suited for it.”<br />
    Rosmus sighed, lips stained red with kabacho. “Did you ever think
that maybe you’re always under-performing because you know you can’t
win? That whatever you do won’t change the outcome, so you don’t
try?”<br />
    “I’ll find something else I’m good at. I’ll see it more clearly when
this thing is over. I know it.”<br />
    Rosmus set the kabacho on the ground, found an amusing hat and
decided to keep it. Ros then picked up a koutra<a href="#fn10"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref10" role="doc-noteref"><sup>10</sup></a>
from the floor and tried to play it, holding it by the neck, stringing
the isilk threads. “Lupen, singer songwriter?”<br />
    “I’d need a better koutra, that one’s got a problem.”<br />
    Rosmus played a short song to test the instrument, fingers dancing
across its top-face. The notes were pleasant, and echoed through the
house. Rosmus smirked at Lupen, and began to sing, “a quartet of
strings. Harmonious singings.”<br />
    “Yes, yes, I get it, I get it. It’s me… <em>I’m</em> the problem…”
Even while admitting this, Lupen eyed the stringed instrument with
resentment. “I’ve got to go.” The Verido moved toward the door, stepping
over objects to get to it, but came up to the bottle of kabacho and
decided to take a sip. “For my nerves.” Lupen said.<br />
    “Hey! What if you actually did become Voice?” Rosmus yelled. “We
could go drink at The Ear<a href="#fn11" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref11" role="doc-noteref"><sup>11</sup></a> all day! Best view in
all of Volare! No one would come to bother us up there!”<br />
    “Now <em>that</em> would be sacrilegious!” Lupen said with a laugh,
before breaking into a run. The centre of the village was nearby but the
first sun was high, at any moment the ceremony would start.</p>
<p>Mago was standing in front of the Volare town hall, an imposing
edifice on the lowermost area of the Ilk’s nape. There were people
everywhere, wrapping looma<a href="#fn12" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref12" role="doc-noteref"><sup>12</sup></a> vines around poles and
hanging wreaths of dried bibiskiss<a href="#fn13" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref13" role="doc-noteref"><sup>13</sup></a> on doors. The
volunteers stood on top of tall, skinny ladders, swaying gently from
left to right with the motion of their world.<br />
    Much of the happenings in Volare are tied to what is commonly
referred to as kaala. Kaala, the rhythm of Vol’s heartbeat, is used to
count the time, to rock children to sleep, and to measure their
advancement towards their next stop. A giant pendulum erected in the
town square swayed too, a wheel of numbers counting up each time the
weight swings to one side. When the number hits seventy-eight, a disc
drops from the top of a pole. After ten discs, or ten horos<a
href="#fn14" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref14"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>14</sup></a>, the pole is switched out with an
empty one, marking the start of a new day.<br />
    To withstand the motion, Volare architects build tall, narrow
houses, that twist and bend without breaking. Each structure is built
around a central pillar positioned in the centre, with each floor
permitting a fair degree of sway. Whenever Vol rocks to the right, the
first floor of the houses also moves that way, but the second floor
moves left, and the third to the right, and so on. This wobbling effect
kept the structures intact.<br />
    A disc dropped from the top of the pole then, marking a new horo.
<em>Re <em>.</em> Re .___ Re .._ SiFa Fa._.</em> Someone whistled in
Ilken<a href="#fn15" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref15"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>15</sup></a>, loud enough for the entire city to
hear.<br />
    Mago gulped. Naming Day processions were supposed to start at the
seventh disc drop of the day. Unlike Lupen’s, Mago’s ceremonial outfit
was without wrinkles or dust. The Volarian’s short, sandy hair was heavy
with decorative beads.<br />
    Mago likes to climb, and does well in most sports. Today, Mago
appeared less confident than usual, eyes looking up at the Ilk’s
towering head, fidgeting with the ceremonial necklace.<br />
    Everyone waved at Mago, smiling and saying things like: ‘Good luck
in there!’ or, ‘You were born to do it!’ Mago wondered if they said
these same things to cousin Lupen too, the townspeople were kind, and
weren’t known to play favourites.<br />
    “Mago!” Armyn, Mago’s mapa, called out, waving a hand to try and get
their attention. Armyn was bound to a push-chair, ferried around by a
younger Verido. “Mago! Anyone in there?”<br />
    Mago groaned. “I don’t have to say <em>yes yes</em> at every word!
You know I’m listening mapa…”<br />
    “Well, I want to hear you say it.”<br />
    “I’m nervous, okay. You know I am!”<br />
    “Yes, but you forget that I went through the same with cousin Levi,
and my mapa went through it too with cousin Laggra. I’m here, right now,
telling you that you have nothing to worry about! Our family line is
strong, and I know firsthand who’s the best for the role.” Armyn said,
smiling up at Mago. Levi had taught Lupen how to be Voice, but then that
job fell onto Armyn to teach them both. “It happened ages ago, but
looking at you now, it’s strange… like going backwards in time.”<br />
    “Cousin Levi was really good. I heard the stories. Levi almost got
the title.”<br />
    “Yes, that’s true. Levi would have done many more great things, but
we can’t think about what could have been, we’ve got to focus on what
is! Lupen is good, but lacks your focus my love!” Armyn’s eyes darted
back for a moment, “I have to go! They’re waiting for me. I’ll see you
there!” Armyn was wheeled away, disappearing into the town hall, passing
under a banner that read ‘Voice of Volare naming ceremony’.<br />
    A small child stood near the banner, trying to sound the words
written on it in Ilken with little success. “That doesn’t sound right at
all.”<br />
    “You almost got it.” Mago said, with a kind smile, “Here, watch me.”
Mago’s hands moved into place, cupping the mouth in the right way. Mago
took a deep breath, stomach clenching, and then out came a series of
soft whistles. The sounds varied in length, pitch and rhythm.
Otherworldly, metallic almost. This song was played quietly because the
receiver was nearby, but for Verido people Ilken was a loud language,
usually reserved for long distance communication.<br />
    Mago whistled a second time to make sure the child had heard it
right. “See? Voice-of-Volare. Now you try it. Watch your pitch on the
vowels.”<br />
    Eyes wide, the child positioned both hands and lips in the same way,
and tried again. Most Verido people could not speak it, but many liked
to try. Only Voices had the training to carry words far. They could not
vocalize like an Ilk, but for their size, they could produce the loudest
sound in the desert.<br />
    “Do you really talk to the Ilk?” The child asked.<br />
    Mago smiled. “No. Not yet, but if I become Voice then yea, we’ll
talk everyday!”<br />
    “Wow!” The child said, starry-eyed.<br />
    Volare villagers were setting up a small stage near the town hall
onto which they would be playing music later. Mago loved the sounds of
the donmol<a href="#fn16" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref16"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>16</sup></a> and the koutra. All children in
Volare were raised with music at their lips and fingers.<br />
    Lupen arrived to take Mago’s side. “Well, well! If it isn’t the
Tongue Wart of the Ilk!”<br />
    Mago grabbed Lupen’s left ear, twisted, and pulled it. “Think that
if I keep your ear like this for five days it’ll shrivel up and fall
off?”<br />
    “Ow! Ow! I’ll tell everyone you tried to cripple me!”<br />
    “They’ll think you did it to yourself! You <em>do</em> hurt yourself
a lot.” Mago said, twisting it harder.<br />
    “Ow! Well yes, but not on purpose! You think I like pain?”<br />
    “You like attention, so who’s to say!” Mago paused then, “hey, why
are your lips red?” Mago said, releasing Lupen’s ear. “You reek of
kabacho! You fiend! You’ve been drinking!”<br />
    “Before the ceremony? I wouldn’t dare,” Lupen said with a sly grin,
while trying to get some feeling back in that pained ear. “As if you
could hold it like <em>that</em> for days…”<br />
    “Oh, you know I totally could and would.” Mago said, trying to reach
for Lupen’s ear again, but then stopped, noticing the scarf. “Levi’s
freaky scarf!”<br />
    “Long isn’t freaky.” Lupen protested.<br />
    “I love it. Coiled around like that, it makes it look like you have
no neck. Why did Levi make it so long again?” Mago asked, grabbing the
end of the long, long blue scarf, fingers stroking the neatly woven
Isilk threads.<br />
    Lupen shrugged. “Who knows. Lev just kept adding lengths to it,
saying I would need it long. Never really gave me a straight answer when
I asked why. That was near the end anyway, one of many strange things
Lev did. Though I can’t imagine how long it would have been if I hadn’t
hidden those last bundles.” After a long pause, Lupen spoke again.
“How’s Armyn doing?”<br />
    Mago shrugged. “Mostly fine. Health has deteriorated fast this
quarter though.” Seven days ago, Armyn was able to walk, but now the
shroo<a href="#fn17" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref17"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>17</sup></a> infection had moved into the lungs.
“Hasn’t gone up to The Ear in days.”<br />
    “Yea, it happens fast.” Lupen put a hand to Mago’s shoulder then, to
offer comfort. “So, when’s The Leap<a href="#fn18" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref18" role="doc-noteref"><sup>18</sup></a>?”<br />
    “Soon.” Mago said.<br />
    “Well, I’ll be there for Armyn, and for you.” Lupen said, with a
reassuring smile.<br />
    “Did you feed Henbi today?” Mago asked, but seeing Lupen’s
expression it was evident that Henbi had not been fed. “I ought to take
it in, you’re too forgetful to take care of smellydough<a href="#fn19"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref19" role="doc-noteref"><sup>19</sup></a>.
You can’t keep abusing it like that you know?!” Mago said with a sigh.
“I’m surprised you haven’t killed it yet.”<br />
    “I know, I know,” Lupen said, guiltily. “I always remember to do it,
eventually.” In fact, Lupen kept a bag of woodgeon berries[^20] right
next to the jar of bubbling wet flour. “I even ground berries this
morning, I just got distracted that’s all.”<br />
    A large crowd had gathered around them at the town hall. The two sun
were about to set. It was time. Everyone quieted down, and watched as
the doors to the town hall opened. Lupen gulped. Even a funny-looking
scarf wouldn’t be enough to calm Mago’s nerves now. But Lupen always
knew what to say in such times…<br />
    “Let’s go inside, <em>oh</em> Venerable Nose Hair of the Ilk!”<br />
    “Hey don’t say that too loud!”<br />
    Mago chuckled as they both entered the building. The crowd cheered,
waving flags of blue isilk, shouting their names.</p>
<p>In Volare, there were no mansions or grand palaces. The town hall was
an important, modest-sized building, its walls bore painted murals,
images of the Ilk’s travels as well as a depiction of their founder and
great leader Volare. The table sitting the village’s council members was
covered with an embroidered isilk cloth, featuring stylized relief
images of clouds and suns. The two now stood before 6 council members.
Armyn was sitting on the far left, smiling and waving at them.<br />
    “Happy you could join us. Today, our Armyn, seventy’be annums old,
is retiring after a lifetime of service,” the appointed speaker from the
council said aloud, smiling at the two Voice candidates.<br />
    Armyn bowed. “I will miss being at The Ear, but my body is giving me
clear signs that it’s time to let someone else delight in this
experience. I’ve learned much of the world through Vol. I’ve no doubt
that the new Voice will do grand things. I have personally trained both,
and am very, very proud of them.” Armyn glanced at the two cousins
fondly. “I will be preparing to Leap from Vol’s snout five days from
now, I will want to speak to each of you before I go. You, whom I love.”
Saying these last words, Armyn’s open hand turned into a fist. “I will
carry this love with me.”<br />
    “We will all bear witness to it, a Leap is a grand thing,” the
speaker said.<br />
    Armyn smiled at this, as did Mago. Lupen remembered when Levi leapt
off The Snout. Their friends all gathered to watch, but they remained at
the base of The Neck since The Head was reserved for family. After
Levi’s Leap, Lupen was given a seed to sow in the town nursery.<br />
    A musician began to play the donmol, an instrument with a flat back,
triangular-shaped sound holes, four double strings, a long neck, and a
raised fingerboard. The song was a re-telling of the history of this
city and of its founders. Lupen favourite moment was whens the three
founders, Otora, Balandri and Volare, first encountered the Ilks. The
three giants were gathered at the foot of a mountain in the Central Rim,
grazing on sweet grass. Volare stepped up first, sure-footed, bowing at
Vol’s hoof. The song was famous to the residents of Volare, but Lupen
could listen to it again and again without tiring.<br />
    After playing a last note, the musician motioned for Lupen to
continue the song in Ilken. To become Voice, the candidates always
performed the last chorus on their own, as proof of their mastery of the
language. Lupen did well enough, despite missing a few notes, while
Mago’s performance was pitch perfect. There were other tests, which
included recitations and improvised verses, again, Mago triumphed while
Lupen’s lacked finesse.<br />
    The last part of the ceremony consisted of a public reading of their
full family tree by Volare’s appointed Pattern Reader<a href="#fn20"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref20" role="doc-noteref"><sup>20</sup></a>.
Every Verido’s skin bore patterns, a series of lines and dots, etched in
deep like the veins of a leaf.<br />
    “Disrobe please,” said the Reader, standing up and approaching Lupen
first. The Reader was short, and had long wispy eyebrows, that tickled
the young Verido’s face. Mago caught this, and held back a laugh, a
smile danced on both of their mouths. The Reader’s finger followed the
blue lines on Lupen’s chest, racing down the arms and then down the back
before ending on the face, muttering names and words in a hushed voice
for some time. “Lupen, Levi, Laggra and Lunav. Direct descendants of
Volare, same klorea<a href="#fn21" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref21"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>21</sup></a> coursing through your veins. Very
good.”<br />
    Then came Mago’s turn, the Reader followed the patterns, mumbling.
The set of wrinkled hands then touched a patch of rough skin. A burn.
The Reader looked dismayed. “I can’t read you.” The finger lay on an old
wound, carved there on Mago’s backside. Armyn was distraught, recalling
the event. Years ago, the Ilk stepped into a deep crevice. The violent
motion made the city on the creature’s back tremble. Armyn, a hot kettle
in hand, lost control and the scalding liquid left a lasting mark on
Mago.<br />
    “But you know my family! We’ve been at the Ilk’s ear for three
generations!” Mago explained, red-faced. “What does it matter if you
can’t read it? There’s no denying where I come from.”<br />
    The other councillors shook their heads, disapprovingly. All present
in the room knew the family yes, everyone in Volare did, but the
councillors were superstitious, and tradition was tradition. Appointing
someone with a muddy pattern, they said, would offend the Ilk, and they
couldn’t risk it. At these words, Mago froze. These words shocked Lupen
too. Armyn said nothing while the rest argued, they said the word
‘muddy’ often, each time hurting Mago further.<br />
    Then the council came to an agreement. The Reader spoke up, “Lupen,”
Mago’s eyes fell to the floor, avoiding Armyn’s gaze, “you will be the
bridge between us and our Great Carrier Vol.”<br />
    Both had undergone the same teachings, but there was never any doubt
that Mago would get the role. Can I refuse to be Voice? Lupen wondered.
No. Mago would never think of being Voice now, not after what they said.
There was nothing to do. The festivities were already beginning. Someone
was outside announcing the good news. As per tradition, a ceremonial
wreath made of braided isilk hairs was placed on Lupen’s head, along
with the robe worn by all Voices. Lupen wasn’t happy, and could sense
the same in Armyn.<br />
    The Reader led Lupen outside to face the crowd, hands threw fistfuls
of dried woodgeon berries in the air and all began to sing. Rosmus stood
there, still in plain clothes, laughing, and waving a bottle of
half-empty kabacho.<br />
    Should have stayed home, Lupen thought.<br />
    All chanted, repeating Lupen’s name like a mantra. The world was a
blur, a mess of people amassing close and saying kind things. The eldest
of each family added a single bead to the wreath, after a while the
weight of it was giving Lupen neck pains.<br />
    “You speak for us all when you’re up there! We trust in you. May
your presence at The Ear grant us many more annums on Vol’s back,” the
Reader said, adding yet another bead to the wreath.<br />
    It was tradition for the Voice to climb to Vol’s ear during the
day’s festivities. The people would sing, dance and play games while
awaiting Lupen’s return the next morning. Wreath and all, the Voice
climbed up to The Ear alone, pushing through the tall tangles of hair on
Vol’s spine.<br />
    The stomach in tangles, constricted by obligation, and
responsibility, Lupen found it hard to swallow, or breathe, even taking
steps was difficult. “I’m going to be sick,” Lupen said, afraid that
vomiting too could offend Vol. “What if I say the wrong thing, what if I
get everyone… thrown off.” The Voice’s vision began to blur at the
thought of getting everyone killed. “A looberry fell and fell from the
mountain top,” Lupen began to sing a song aloud to try and chase those
thoughts away, a song common to Volare children. “It rolled and rolled
down down down into the yellow yellow sand. Along came a snakadil<a
href="#fn22" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref22"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>22</sup></a>, and they began to play and play,
but it soon began to cry and cry. The looberry berry longed for home,
but the snakadil did not know what to do.” After singing it, Lupen
regretted the choice of song, and swallowed sick all the way up to The
Ear.<br />
    On arrival, Lupen stopped to stare at Vol’s large, tufted, parabolic
ears, wondering what distant inaudible sounds they could perceive. It
was a calm, windless day. The horizon was hidden by a distant sand
cloud. All Lupen could hear was the faint noise of music of the
happenings in Volare, this, and the sound of the Vol’s breathing. Even
after being told many times what to do, and what to say to the Ilk,
standing here now Lupen seemed to have forgotten it all. Before the
Voice could say anything, the Ilk spoke. Vol spoke in rythmic hums and
grunts, a version of Ilken adapted to Verido-ears.<br />
    Paying close attention to the length and pitch of each sound, Lupen
understood. “No wind.” The Voice said in Ilken, smiling. “Want to hear a
song I wrote?”<br />
    Vol’s ear twitched at these words, listening closely. Lupen pulled
out a tiny instrument that looked like a comb with flexible prongs and
began to play a song. The Ilk seemed to enjoy it, its ears twisted at
every second note.<br />
    As time passed Lupen became more comfortable. The Ilk gave
periodical updates on the weather or the terrain. Lupen listened to the
whistled conversations between it, and the others of its kind. There
were two other giants, the Ilk of Otora and the Ilk of Balandri, they
too carrying cities with Verido people. Few could hear Ilk communicating
with each other, and yet it was widely known that their conversations
spanned the entire desert. Veridos were able to detect some of their
low-frequency seismic communication.</p>
<p>The next morning, the festivities were over, Lupen descended, but
once again, was forced into more activities and celebrations with the
village people. All the while, Lupen thought of Mago, hoping to stop by
the house. Lupen did go later that same day, but Armyn let no one
inside.<br />
    Lupen gave up, and went to see Rosmus instead. The tall-haired
Verido was busy grinding carapace shavings with a giant mortar and
pestle. “How was it up there?” Roz asked.<br />
    Lupen smiled. “Amazing. Could have stayed longer, but um…I’m not
feeling too good. I’m worried about Mago.”<br />
    “Mago needs time, that’s all…”<br />
    “Did you know about the burn?”<br />
    Rosmus did not look at Lupen, and continued to pulverize some more
shavings, “No. It’s silly though isn’t it? This whole thing? Muddy! What
nonsense. Mago’s lineage was clear as day.” Rosmus mixed a handful of
powder with the juice of a looma root, and began to massage it into
shape. “Land-dwellers name themselves, did you know this? Pattern
Reading, as it is now, has become a matter of superstition. Vol doesn’t
care about patterns or klorealines. We do. We rely on half-baked rituals
because we are afraid.” Rosmus said.<br />
    “Afraid… of what?” Lupen asked, but in truth, did not want to know
the answer.<br />
    “That our future is not certain, and that your presence at The Ear
doesn’t guarantee a thing.”<br />
    While talking, Rosmus had shaped the soft mass into a recipient, and
was about to start carving shapes onto the outer sides of the bowl, but
decided instead to reach into a bag for an object, which was then placed
onto Lupen’s lap. “Here, I made you a tea cup.” The teacup was mottled
grey with a blue hue, it had a bulbous shape, and Rosmus had coiled a
decorative isilk braid around its handle. “You can tie it to your belt
with it, carry it around, maybe have a cup at The Ear. Tea will help you
think.”<br />
    “I already have a tea cup.”<br />
    “Yea. I’ve seen it. This one is better.” Rosmus grabbed the cup
again, and set it atop Lupen’s head. “It’s a Thinking Cup. Forces you to
look at the world, makes you question everything. If you need to have a
long think, fill it with tea and set it atop your head. It works, you’ll
see.”<br />
    “I don’t need a cup of tea on my head to think,” the Verido said,
removing the cup from its perch. “I’ll look ridiculous.”<br />
    “No, you’ll appear pensive, which will make you look smart.” Rosmus
said, continuing to crush more powder, amassing enough material for a
dozen more Thinking Cups.</p>
<p>Everyday Lupen climbed to The Ear, bringing a new joke to tell. This
was a challenge that resulted in many sleepless horos, Lupen was busy,
hard at work composing jokes suitable for an Ilk. It was possible that
the Ilk did not have a sense of humor, although some annums ago Armyn
had mentioned something Vol had said about a grain of sand and a mudbear
at a snack bar. Mago had been certain that this was an attempt at a
joke. Lupen missed their friendship, they hadn’t spoken in days.<br />
    “We don’t want to see anyone.” Armyn had said, dishevelled. After
the ceremony both went home, and had not come out since. The only person
who had dared to visit was Lupen.<br />
    “That can’t be what Mago wants.”<br />
    “I don’t like what you’re implying,” Armyn said, eyes narrowing
down, “you can’t come here everyday.”<br />
    “I’m sorry, I know Mago ought to have been…” Lupen stopped, wincing
at those last, unspoken words. “Please let me help.”<br />
    “A curse has befallen us!” Armyn pushed forward and whispered
through closed teeth, “it’s Vol, it meant for this to happen. Don’t you
see? It shook the ground, and made me harm my child! Oh! I will die with
this pain in my flesh…”<br />
    Feeling sad, Lupen left. Evidently Armyn was not well, but Mago was
likely worse. Was this the end of their friendship? They were family,
Lupen couldn’t stand the thought of losing them both, but insisting
further at this point would only cause them more harm.</p>
<p>Every day Mago had dreams about pushing Lupen off Vol’s head before
waking up, feeling nauseous and guilty. Lupen was a friend, getting rid
of this rage was more important than grieving. There was no telling how
such thoughts could affect Mago’s mind. Already there was an itch there,
a dark sludgy patch that consumed up all the good thoughts. The only way
to get rid of that feeling was to find Lupen and to apologize for
disappearing. It was time to move on, there were plenty of things to do
on the Ilk, in fact Lupen had hoped to become a Hand<a href="#fn23"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref23" role="doc-noteref"><sup>23</sup></a>
of the Ilk, like Levi had been.<br />
    “That’s right, I could be Hand,” Mago thought. Levi wanted to be
Voice, but after being denied the role, had adored being Hand. In fact,
Levi’s work had saved Vol from a major digestive system infection many
annums ago, one that threatened the creature’s life. It was a worthy,
important role.<br />
    Mago finally left the house but did not find Lupen home. A strong
wind rushed inbetween the buildings, sounding like a long wailing cry.
Mago gazed up at the Ilk’s head, most of it already engulfed in a thick
cloud of dust, and concluded that this is where Lupen was. During stormy
weather, someone had to stay at The Head. If ever something bad
happened, Vol would communicate it to The Voice, who in turn would
translate the message, whistling it to the Hands who would attend to the
problem.<br />
    That morning Lupen had communicated that a storm was coming, so
people in the city closed their shutters and wrapped scarves around
their faces. Once at The Nape of The Neck Mago tied one end of a braided
isilk rope as a security line that ran along Vol’s spine. Hands made use
of these safety lines often.<br />
    And so began the long, arduous climb to the head. The wind
increased, but this wasn’t Mago’s first climb in such conditions, and
the safety line was enough. Mago used the thick hair on the Ilk’s spine
as handholds, and quickly arrived at the top.<br />
    Lupen stood next to The Ear, which looked like a giant fuzzy plant,
dark on the outside and pink on the inside. Once in a while the ear
would twist, the Voice caressed it, in an attempt to calm the giant.
There was little shelter on the head, nothing to keep the sand from
grinding you down. Lupen wore a scarf and a thick cloak. Vol’s eyes were
cloudy, a third eyelid drew across them and acted as a protective
curtain, a lot of particles lay trapped in its eyelashes too, they did a
good job of keeping the vision clear. The tiny specks looked like
insects trapped in a web. Their thick coats insulated them from the
intense heat radiated from desert sand, and their gait and wide feet
help them to walk without sinking.<br />
    The Voice was too busy scanning the horizon to notice that someone
else was there. The rope tying Lupen to the Ilk lay on the ground. Mago
was waiting for the right time to step forward, but couldn’t gather the
courage to do it.<br />
    Finally, their eyes met. Lupen turned, yellow eyes showed through
small openings in the blue scarf. With a back to the wind, Lupen pushed
a bit of scarf away to reveal a smile concealed underneath.<br />
    “I’m sorry I didn’t congratulate you, and that I avoided you… and my
mapa’s behaviour…”<br />
    “You should be Voice Mago, not me.”<br />
    “Please don’t say that.”<br />
    “I mean it. Vol keeps correcting my Ilken. It’s embarrassing.”<br />
    Mago smirked at this, but did not feel worthy of Lupen’s
kindness.<br />
    “We’re still friends right?” Lupen asked.<br />
    The Ilk let out a groan to warn them of an incoming gust. Both
Verido braced themselves for impact. Sand swept Lupen up into the air,
as a flurry of yellow grain swallowed the world. Mago stayed put, belly
on the ground, holding onto the security line. When the wind eased
enough to stand up, Mago grabbed Lupen’s tether, the air was still thick
with sand, making it hard to see. “Hold on!” Mago screamed, but there
was no weight on the other end.<br />
    “This can’t be real.” Then came the end of the line. “Lupen!”</p>
<h1 id="bed-of-dust">Bed Of Dust</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.hyroo.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Hyroos are large creatures with big rounded ears and strong hind
legs. Their snouts are large, they can smell and hear things from far
away. These beasts are known for being able to run and jump long
distances with little effort, they grow in moist environments, although
they are thought to be extinct.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>    “Returning to the earth is good. There’s no pain there. It’s a
return to normality. Yes! Normality. I remember being grown. I couldn’t
see or smell… but I could hear things. Singing? Someone was singing to
me! Wow. I remember that..! Um. I wonder what else is rattling around in
here? Can I remember life as a seed? Or life before that? Ah. No, I
can’t remember. There was only darkness. Darkness is scary. How can I
know I exist without seeing or feeling anything? But wait, rocks exist,
and they can’t smell, see or feel… well at least I think they can’t.
Maybe that’s what it was like to be a seed, and before I was even made
into that, and before a rock was a rock. I felt nothing then, and after
I die I will feel nothing. It’ll be the same. That makes it okay doesn’t
it? Yea, it’s okay. This is okay. I’m okay.”<br />
    A great dark mass met with Lupen’s body, followed by a great wave of
pain. And then, nothing.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The seed, the light, we sow, we sow.<br />
A leaf, a child, I grow, I grow,<br />
My heart, my mind, hello, hello.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    Lupen, eyes closed, was becoming part of the desert once more.
Soon, Lupen would be just a word.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Together, forever.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    Bits of rope lay in the sand. Small breaths escaped from Lupen’s
mouth.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Below, below.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    “It’s time.” The bones and muscles agreed, but the brain refused
to give in. “No one is letting go!”<br />
    “But we’re broken! It hurts!” The left arm and its corresponding
muscles cried out in pain. Then, came a rush of adrenaline, the body and
the mind stopped quarrelling and began to work together again.<br />
    Lupen looked around, but the Ilk was gone.<br />
    Lupen’s toes buoyed to the sand’s surface. “They’re all gone.
Everyone is gone.” Lupen wanted to cry. “Why didn’t I die from the fall?
This is cruel, too, <em>too</em> cruel!”<br />
    With the two suns perched high above, without cover or water, it
wouldn’t take long for death to come. “What is the point of
<em>this</em>!” The Verido cried out, angry at the desert, weeping at
the thought of never seeing Volare again. No tears came, the body
couldn’t spare the moisture, the skin felt tight, as if pulled in
different directions, crisp, broiled by the two suns. The scarf had
disappeared in the fall and moving to search for it was out of the
question.<br />
    I’m useless, Lupen thought. Then this mind became tired of
thinking.</p>
<p>    Lupen woke again later to more pain, and more sorrowful thoughts.
Although at this point, even the brain had too little energy and will to
conjure up anything positive.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A leaf, a child, I grow, I grow…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This song was soothing. Lupen’s cheek lay flat on the sand, eyes
unable to point skyward because of this heavy, heavy head, eyelids
drawing down over the eyes. “No wait, not yet!” Lupen’s yellow eyes
exclaimed, they’d found something moving in the distance.<br />
    An Ilk? No. Smaller than an Ilk, but big. Very big!<br />
    The figure was coming this way. “This better not be land sickness
playing tricks.”Now <em>that</em> would be cruel.”<br />
    The closer the figure came, the more details Lupen could make out.
There was a tall rider sitting atop a furry, large-eared beast. They
were enormous from afar, and even more so up close. The rider
disembarked and walked over, carrying a blue scarf. Levi’s scarf. It
looked tiny, held between the giant’s thick digits. A pair of heavy
knees crashed onto the sand floor, the stranger’s head towered high
above, obscuring one of the two suns.<br />
    “Hello Lupen of Volare,” the rider’s voice boomed, startling a flock
of Passari Tremblers.<br />
    The giant had dark hair, sharp facial contours, eyes like silver
marbles, and carried a thick yellow robe that resembled the desert. The
robe was as large as a dune, and could serve to shelter a fair-sized
group of people. The most impressive detail was the height of this
being, thin with proportions that dwarfed most. Now, those silver orbs
stared at Lupen’s broken body.<br />
    “How do you know my name?!” Lupen exclaimed, startled by the
stranger’s words.<br />
    “It’s written on your face, remember?” The rider replied with a soft
smile. “I’m Uno.”<br />
    The Verido was growing weaker, drifting in and out of sleep. Uno put
a finger on the side of Lupen’s head. “Look up at the sky. Protus is
out. Name all of the skyrocks that you know, loud so I can hear.” The
giant said in a commanding voice.<br />
    When Verido children were young, they’d make a game of naming all of
the known bodies in the sky. The names were difficult, so anyone who
could remember them all won the game. The majority of the skyrocks<a
href="#fn24" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref24"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>24</sup></a> were not visible to the naked eye,
but the children were taught that they were up there. No one remembered
who had named them, they just passed the names down through generations.
Protus was one of the moons in view now. Encela was another.<br />
    Lupen knew many of the names, but was too tired to remember them
all, “Baladavos.” A fear gripped Lupen then, was Uno here to carry this
body into the next world? Was there such a place? “Cencitris.
Naxagorus.” Was this giant the embodiment of death, or a hallucination?
There was a chance that the pain in this body was so grand that it
brought forth these visions. In a moment, these colourful visions of Uno
and the beast would vanish from the world, and the darkness would take
over, “Liminik. Omoretus.” The darkness did not come. Uno and the beast
were very stubborn hallucinations. Thinking about skyrocks kept Lupen’s
mind away from the growing allure of sleep.<br />
    Uno began unfastening sheets of rolled fabric from the beast’s back,
all the while humming a tune that reverberated all the way down into
Lupen’s core. The tune was soothing, like a salve, it helped to quiet
the pain, “Retna. Alpaninsis.”<br />
    Uno pulled out some long poles and put up a tent, then laid a
vibrant orange carpet inside it. Another bag lay strapped to the furry
creature’s side, Uno grabbed it and began to unload its contents. A
collection of herbs, a small kettle, mugs, some grains, plates, a crate
of waterstones<a href="#fn25" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref25"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>25</sup></a> and a bag-full of other
miscellaneous items.<br />
    Uno walked back over to Lupen, “you’re only missing
Aristollo.”<br />
    “I’ve never won the skyrock game,” Lupen breathed.<br />
    “That’s okay,” Uno said. The giants scooped the Verido’s body up
with ease, and carried it inside the tent gently.</p>
<p>While Lupen slept, Uno stayed close, sitting at an arm’s reach,
reading through a pile of old books, a thick finger rapidly tracing from
the top to the bottom of every page. The rest of the time, Uno was
cooking and caring for Lupen’s wounds, leaving the tent every now and
again, but never for long.<br />
    At one time, Lupen noticed that Uno held a copy of A Tale of Three,
covered in annotations, but could not gather enough energy to ask about
it. Overcome by a sudden wave of fatigue, this body and mind agreed that
it was time for another nap.</p>
<p>“You look better,” Uno said one morning, offering the patient a cup
of lemilim<a href="#fn26" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref26"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>26</sup></a> tea.<br />
    Lupen nodded, sadly, feeling better only physically, “yea. Part of
me does anyway. You don’t have anywhere to be? I feel bad to keep you
here like this.”<br />
    “Everything heals in time. The sand doesn’t blame the wind for
shifting it around day after day, and the wind doesn’t know guilt. Take
your time.”</p>
<p>    Uno was quiet, and did not always care to answer questions, but
declined them politely.<br />
    “Why do you carry so many books?” Lupen had asked once.<br />
    “They are my anchors,” was all Uno had said.</p>
<p>Like every other first sunrise they’d spent together, the giant
served tea, a mixture of medililly<a href="#fn27" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref27" role="doc-noteref"><sup>27</sup></a> and lemilim herbs.
“Great for circulation,” Uno would say.<br />
    Lupen did not know how much time had passed, but had noticed that
the wind outside was getting stronger everyday. A constant strong wind
in this area meant that they were in the gusty season. I’ve been here a
long while, Lupen thought.<br />
    All places in the Soronan Desert were gusty at some point or
another, but the Ilk walked with the wind and seasons, staying ahead of
the gusty time of year. The Verido people were blessed with good weather
all annum along. Storms could still happen on the back of an Ilk, but
they were rare.<br />
    Today, Uno seemed especially aware of the surroundings. After
serving tea, the giant’s silver eyes scanned the skies and the horizon,
before stopping on a mountain. “Drink your tea. You need to be in good
shape if you’re going to climb that mountain,” Uno said with a grin.
“That one.” A long finger pointed to a tall mountain in the distance, a
thick layer of clouds obscured it’s upper half, “all the way to the top
is what you said, right? Very brave of you.”<br />
    “What? I never said that. You’re crazy,” Lupen replied, “I’m better
than I was, but I’m not fully healed.”<br />
    Uno scanned the Verido’s body, stopping at the face. “You’re healed
enough.” The tall being spoke in a calm, inspiring, authoritative voice,
but those silvery eyes had the power to lull you into doing almost
anything, they could see past the flesh and pulled at your
insides.<br />
    “Why would I want to climb that mountain?” Lupen asked, eyes now set
on the mountain, wondering if it had always been there. Uno had cast a
spell on the world, the mere mention of a mountain had spawned one into
existence.<br />
    “My friend came back today,” Uno said, walking out of the tent,
“come, let me introduce you.”<br />
    Lupen felt too weak to stand, but Uno pretended not to notice.<br />
    “Come!” Uno insisted. Lupen stood up, groaning, hands grabbing onto
anything they could, crawling over to the entrance of the tent.<br />
    “Lupen, meet Kit!”<br />
    Images of a tall rider sitting atop a beast resurfaced. Kit was a
large big-eared creature. It had light-coloured fur with black spots
spattered all over. Two dark spots sat over its eyes, giving Kit a
constant air of severity and general discontent.<br />
    “I thought hyroos were extinct…”<br />
    It occurred to Lupen then that like the mountain with no name, Uno
was familiar. Lupen remembered a story with giants that towered above
the clouds and spent all their time admiring the passing skyrocks and
far away lights. They kept their eyes to the skies, but then one day, a
skyrock landed at their feet and they looked ground-ward, watching
sandstorms forming and dissipating. Green things began to sprout from
the ground. The tall ones witnessed this change with great interest,
they were delighted to see the green spread. They spent so much time
looking down, that they began to shrink.<br />
    “Foolish stories for fools like you!” A young Mago had said once,
“if there was anyone that tall out there we would have seen them!”<br />
    “It’s you,” Lupen mumbled, eyes fixed on Uno, unable to draw breath,
it was like the air had vanished from the world. Nothing in the
environment had changed. This was awe.<br />
    “What was it like in the early days of the world?” The Verido asked
suddenly, eyes full of wonder.<br />
    Uno laughed. A thunderous, but friendly laugh that did not confirm
or deny it. Lupen spent the rest of the day watching the ageless giant.
Uno’s head did not reach the clouds. Lupen tried to imagine what other
great creatures lived in the desert.<br />
    The nameless mountain came back to Lupen’s mind then. “I’m going to
climb you.” The next day, Lupen shared this intention with Uno, who
smiled and denied ever having introduced the idea in the first
place.<br />
    “Good idea.”</p>
<p>One morning Uno got up and began packing up the carpet, the herbs and
the waterstones. It was time to go. Before they parted ways, Uno handed
a copy of The Tale of Three to Lupen.<br />
    “For you,” the book was bound with beautiful red thread, made from
an unknown material. Even the paper was different, it was textured and
had a blue tint. “I transcribed it from a rare original. It’s all true,
all about your people. You’ll enjoy it.” There was another gift too, a
small sheet of fabric rolled up tight and folded over itself so that it
was now the size of a small loaf of bread. Uno also gave Lupen a single
short banabo<a href="#fn28" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref28"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>28</sup></a> pole. “Fabric is hard to come by in
these parts. You can use it for shelter.”<br />
    “Thank you.” Lupen presented a gift too, Levi’s blue scarf. “My mapa
did tell me I would need it long, maybe it’s because it was meant to be
yours.” Uno accepted it, with many thanks said. It appeared tiny on
Uno’s neck, the piece of fabric could not go a full two turns around it
so the giant wrapped it around once. Uno took a liking to it straight
away, carefully rearranging the knot, as if handling the petals of a
flower.<br />
    Uno climbed up on Kit’s back, sending a flurry of sand flying around
them.<br />
    “Aristollo was an Iridi, and a good friend of mine, reminds me of
you, actually.” As the giant said this, right before Kit bounded up high
and far into the horizon.</p>
<h1 id="mountain-with-no-name">Mountain With No Name</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.vennec.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Vennecs are strong, resilient creatures. They can walk a long
time without being hungry or thirsty. Vennec carry water in their humps
and store grains in their cheeks.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lupen, carrying a bag full of waterstones, loaves of teaweet<a
href="#fn29" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref29"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>29</sup></a> bread, and a few dried root
vegetables, headed toward the mountain. Lupen’s couldn’t walk well, or
fast, but made good time, arriving just as the first sun rose over the
horizon.<br />
    On the climb, there was no evident road or path to take, Lupen
progressed slowly, climbing faces of jagged rock, finding cracks and
creases for support, stopping often to eat, sleep, or to watch the world
below get smaller and smaller. The mounting altitude was comforting,
like being on the back of an Ilk. The sand plains stretched past the
limits of Lupen’s vision, what looked unfamiliar from the ground was
easy to recognize from up here. Their former campsite was just a few
dunes saa’tae of the mountain.<br />
    Lupen eventually arrived at a point on the mountain that exceeded
the height of an Ilk. “If I were a giant, this scene would be most
ordinary! Oh yes! With a flick of my finger, I could brush that dune
away or pinch a new one over there!” Lupen said with a laugh, gesturing
over specific points on the horizon.<br />
    Soon thick wet clouds engulfed everything in sight. The air became
moist. “Like breathing water!” The walls were perspiring, stained with
green. Lupen’s climb slowed to a crawl. It wouldn’t take much to send
this body over the edge.<br />
    “One fall was plenty.” Lupen mumbled.<br />
    Then finally, Lupen’s hand reached up to find a grip, but instead of
a rock, it found wet moss.<br />
    The Verido rose, gazing at the top of the mountain with no name. The
summit was flat and full of shrubbery and flowers. The smell was
dizzying. Mesmerized at the sight of a bright purple flower, Lupen’s
knees met with the damp ground. The flower had massive petals, arranged
in tight rows and bound together by a single fuzzy yellow button. Little
droplets of mildew had accumulated on the petals, resembling jewels. “Is
any of this <em>real</em>?” Lupen asked, fingers catching some of the
droplets to taste them.</p>
<p>Amongst the flowers and wet leaves was a red-haired being, asleep,
chest rising and falling with every breath, pink lips curved into a
smile. All these things made for a bizarre, yet wondrous sight. Verido
people liked to colour their hair, but no dye could produce a red like
that. The tone was so rich and so vibrant that it burned these eyes.
This creature was unique, different, with round ears.<br />
    Lupen took a step back, keeping a line of tall grass between them.
Awakening to a stranger could be unpleasant, Lupen thought. There was
also a chance that this person did not care for the company of others,
why else would anyone be alone up here? Perhaps this place was a refuge,
a place of rest, or some sort of secret garden. It didn’t appear that
anyone else had ever come here. The grass was tall and thick, it had
been allowed to grow unhindered for many, many annums. Lupen gulped
then, realizing how careless it had been to climb up here, to a hostile
place without a clear goal, and wondered if Uno knew that someone lay
here, atop the mountain.<br />
    There was no shelter here, no pots or a table, not even a kettle,
but there were fresh herbs everywhere. These nostrils could sense many
different varieties, but could not put a name to them. Every passing
moment revealed something new and amazing, but Lupen’s attention was on
the one with red hair. “I ought to call you something. How about Saffa?”
Lupen waited for a response for a short while, then nodded to no one.
“Saffa it is, until you wake up anyway. What question should I ask you
first? Where’s your kettle?” Lupen thought this one funny. “What is this
plant? And that one? What about this one? Yes. So many plants to ask
about, maybe I can take some home!” The Verido paused then, there was no
more room for grieving in this heart, there was no point.<br />
    With all this thinking and speculating Lupen thought that a long
time must have passed, “no one sleeps forever, right?” Saffa did not
stir, the slow breathing continued. Lupen sighed, impatient, but knew
better than to disturb the sleep of another without good reason. Lupen
would have to wait for a cue, a yawn, maybe some stretching or some
wrinkling of the eyes. After much waiting, the sleeper still lay there,
not a yawn or hint of eye wrinkling.<br />
    The mountain was quiet. Lupen watched the flowers all day,
undisturbed. There was an astonishing variety of plants, some sat atop
lanky stems, others had long green fingers, curling around bits of
neighbouring grasses. A beautiful rosary of dew drops accumulated on
everything. Saffa’s skin bore these silvery jewels too, the result of
the occasional droplet of water slipping down the centre of a leaf, and
dripping onto this living canvas. Saffa’s torso now had a complicated
motif all over it, thousands of little wet eyes.</p>
<p>After many days, burdened by disquietude, Lupen decided to try and
speak to the stranger.<br />
    “Ahem—” clearing the cobwebs from this throat was the first step,
“he-hello?” A quiet voice was key, no sense in startling Saffa into
wakefulness. No answer. I’ll have to be a bit louder. “Hello?” Again, no
answer.<br />
    A fear gripped Lupen then, what if Saffa was stuck in a state of
perpetual sleep and couldn’t wake up? Lupen could still wait a few days
longer. Dwindling supplies wasn’t an issue, there was enough plants and
water here, but loneliness was a factor to consider. Verido people lived
in groups and were seldom left on their own. Lupen imagined being here
for annums, this Saffa-waking vigil seemingly unending. Maybe this was a
trap? To keep people here until they were too tired to move, and then
plants would sprout from their ears and make a garden of their flesh.
Haunted by such thoughts, Lupen decided that staying here forever was
not an option, but leaving meant that the Verido would always wonder
about the one sleeping in the bed of grass.<br />
    “Just a few days longer, then I’ll leave.”<br />
    The air at the foot of the mountain was always thick with sand, but
here it was fresh and clear. Its perfume varied depending on the time of
day. Lupen imagined a flower guild, busy regulating smells using a
timetable with slots allocated to each flower type. There was no need to
protect the skin from the harshness of the desert. Lupen had no need of
a sweater either, it sat at the waist along with the vest that was
underneath. Lupen found a spot in the grass next to Saffa, then sleep
grabbed hold and would not let go. The flowery scent permeating the area
could rob travel-worn visitors of their wakefulness.</p>
<p>Lupen dreamt of a city erected on the back of a giant hyroo, on which
the inhabitants had braided its fur into elaborate houses. The leaflings
would play hide-and-seek in the forest of hair. A hatter made elaborate
hats from the fur, twisted into high spirals or matted into various
geometric shapes. Life here was idyllic and peaceful. Lupen was a hyroo
whisperer and would go to the head to laugh and whoop with the hyroo,
the sound travelling far across the world. In the dream, Mago arrived
and shouted so loudly that it threw the city, along with all its
inhabitants off the hyroo’s back. Lupen fell into darkness. The hyroo
leapt from one planet to the other, and bodies were adrift in space.
There were no stars, and the hyroo vanished in the distance. Even the
suns had gone. Lupen felt nothing, and began to weep.</p>
<p>Then, a loud noise woke up Lupen. The whooping sound from the dream
was real! Looking up, Lupen saw a large figure passing through the thick
layer of clouds above, it landed opposite of the bed of grass without a
sound and without disturbing the droplets on the leaves. The beast had
large round ears, like Kit, in fact, it looked very much like Kit
although its fur was different. Lupen didn’t know very much about
hyroos.<br />
    “Is that you Kit?”<br />
    Sitting up, mildew trickled into the grass from Lupen’s chest. That
fear of bodily intrusion by plants returned, but these ears had no
sprouts, and the mouth and nostrils were also spared. Lupen thought then
that perhaps Saffa had arrived around the same time, and exhausted, had
lain here for a rest.<br />
    The beast let out a laugh then, a high-pitched noise causing
droplets to slide off their beds. This was definitely the sound Lupen
had heard in the dream. The creature was a hyroo, like Kit. It moved
over to Saffa and went in for a good long lick. Saffa yawned and
stirred, then smiled, lips curving and carving a new shape for the
cheeks. Then the arms and legs stretched out, Saffa’s hands found the
tip of the beast’s snout and moved to caress its large head. All the
while, the beast kept its eyes on Lupen, Saffa’s eyes opened and
followed its gaze and stopped upon the stranger. They stared at each
other for a long while, but Saffa’s silvery voice broke the
silence.<br />
    “Can I have that?” Saffa asked, reaching forward and tugging at the
isilk sweater wrapped around the Verido’s waist. Lupen blinked, and
undid the sweater, handing it over without hesitation. Saffa slipped it
on, then put a pink nose in it to smell it. “Hmm! Smells like sand and
earth! I can smell the hands that made it! Ah! I love sweaters, they say
so much about a person and of the world. Every fiber tells a story you
know! I can smell yours, most of all.” Saffa took a deep whiff of it
again. “You wear this a lot!” Saffa smelled the fibres some more, and
looked at Lupen again, wide-eyed. “Oh oh oh oh oh…ohh… ohhh oh!” This
Oh-ing did not stop for some time. “Oh. Oh oh! No no no!” Saffa said,
reaching forward and putting their foreheads together. “You’re lucky to
have survived a fall like that! Oh, I’m glad your bones are
better.”<br />
    Saffa was alive and full of energy. Lupen didn’t know what to say,
this fool of a tongue had somehow gotten itself into a terrible knot,
plus all this talk of sweaters was confusing. Saffa left the bed of
green and went to look at some flowers, body swaying from side to side
as if there was a song playing no one else could hear.<br />
    Saffa turned to face Lupen. “Are you ready to go? I’m dying to get
down there to see what’s changed!”<br />
    Lupen swallowed hard. “Um. Wait. I have so many questions!”<br />
    “Nope! No questions! I forbid all questions unless they are about
food, but I will say this! My name is Eka, and that fuzzy beast is,” Eka
paused, as if trying to remember something important. “Hush! We are Eka
and Hush!” Eka said, a hand brushing bits of red hair behind rounded
ears. Hush, the hyroo, let out a whoop, taking a seat by Eka, who was
inspecting Lupen’s face. “Lu-pen. Sky beetle! Lovely! Will you come and
see the world with me?” Without waiting for an answer, Eka climbed up on
Hush’s back. “Let’s go Lu!”<br />
    Lupen was too stunned to answer. Eka’s arm shot forward and gripped
the Verido’s collar, then, with a yank and a pull, both were sitting on
the beast. Eka smelled like wet grass, a curtain of soft hair draped
along the forehead and parted on one side, allowing those piercing red
eyes to show. Seconds after that, Hush pushed off the ground with its
powerful hind legs, bounding high and away from the mountain top,
piercing the layer of wet clouds, the sandy world below coming into
view. Eka laughed, while the other passenger tried not to scream. Hush
made a few dampening landings, before its paws reached the warm yellow
soil.</p>
<p>Both slid from Hush’s back. Eka laughed at the state of the Verido’s
hair and brushed a hand through it to comb it back into place, the blue
dye was all gone now, washed away by both wind and time.<br />
    “Where should we go first?” a round, and pink button nose pressed
right up to Lupen’s tanned, flat nose.<br />
    Lupen’s eyes became round, lips curling inwards, with cheeks turning
a deep shade of red.<br />
    “You’re so timid!”<br />
    Lupen pulled away then. “Not timid! Shocked! You were unconscious
just a moment ago! This is weird.”<br />
    “Do you always call things you don’t understand weird? If you want
weird-weird look at this,” Eka’s ears wiggled about, independent of each
other, waiting for a reaction.<br />
    The Verido smirked and mirrored the ear wiggling. To finish, the
Verido’s flute ears unfolded and flared open, before twisting back into
shape. Eka watched the trick and laughed aloud. “Here’s a weird-weird
move I bet you can’t do.” Lupen said. A whistle tunnelled out from the
Verido’s rounded lips, a poem in Ilken.<br />
    Eka’s smile would broaden and narrow depending on what was being
said in the poem. Was it possible that Eka knew Ilken? Lupen stopped,
turning red again. “Did you understand the lyrics of the song?”<br />
    “Something about a beautiful Saffa flower on a green mountain,” Eka
said, smirking still, “I’m flattered.”<br />
    Lupen couldn’t believe it. How is it that everyone out here
understands Ilken? The Verido was going to ask, but didn’t have time
because Eka had wondered off, running through the sand, kicking up loads
of it while laughing.<br />
    “Do you know a city called Inepril?” Eka asked, kicking up more sand
while exaggerating a walk.<br />
    “Vol went by it a few annums ago, not much left there though. When
the waterstone well went dry, everyone left.”<br />
    Eka paced back and forth, making a mental note of this. “Um. Okay!
Then Montore it is!”<br />
    “Why do you want to go there?”<br />
    Vol stopped there every annum, Montore was modern and exciting.
Lupen had heard that many important people lived there. Lupen had never
stepped down to visit any city while living on Vol, only those who
exchanged goods with locals climbed down.<br />
    “They make really good babam<a href="#fn30" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref30" role="doc-noteref"><sup>30</sup></a> cakes there. Cakes
paired with a fresh cup of mepperpint<a href="#fn31"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref31" role="doc-noteref"><sup>31</sup></a>
tea.” Eka paused, eyes closed with a hand pretending to hold a cup.
“It’s like your insides become green! Maybe they really do turn green,
I’ve never checked. I will get you a cup as soon we get there, and we’ll
fill your bag so we never run out!” Eka continued, before climbing back
up onto Hush.<br />
    Lupen laughed and moved onto the hyroo’s back. “So we’ll live off
mepperpint leaves then?”<br />
    “No, no you can’t. If you eat too much your eyes will sprout
leaves.”<br />
    Lupen fell silent, suddenly very afraid of mepperpint.</p>
<h1 id="the-sandfin">The Sandfin</h1>
<p><img src="media/flora.cactub.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>A Cactub is a nutritious, bulbous root vegetable. They spend most
of their time underground, and only emerge at dark to gather moisture
from the surrounding air. Cactubs are sensititive to loud noises and
movements, and they temporarily seize when panicked.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Eka, Lupen and Hush wandered the desert, alleviating their thirst
with waterstones. Hush could no longer stand to have any weight on its
back and walked behind them, panting. They could not get to Montore fast
enough, though the thought of cake and tea did offer some motivation.
During the walk, Eka sang about babam cakes, listing the ingredients
aloud. Every song ended with a solo of groans and growls, courtesy of
Lupen’s empty belly.<br />
    “Ba-ba-ba-bam cakes! Ba-ba-ba-bam cakes!”</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    <strong>Babam Cake</strong></p>
<p>    <em>Ingredients</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Ten babams<br />
    Two marima leaves<br />
    Two avoka nut pods<br />
    Three bushels of nutshroos<br />
    Six bunches of bobonions<br />
    Seven sprigs of dilly herbs<br />
    One bale of teaweet, stemmed and floured</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    <em>Instructions</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Remove skins from babams, and dice into cubes. Boil with a marima
leaf until soft. While babams are softening, crack one avoka nut in a
pan and saute diced bobonions and chopped nutshroos. Cook until all the
liquid has evaporated, then let cook until browned. Chop the dilly
herbs, add to pan with nutshroos. Mix together and take off heat.<br />
    Drain babams, mash with a stone mortar and let cool. Add teaweet
flour to mashed babams. Take a handful of dough and flatten into a disk,
add some nutshroo mix into the centre and cover with more bam dough.
Crack another avoka oil in a pan, and fry until golden, flip, and
repeat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    “Please stop singing about food,” Lupen said.<br />
    They tried to ration some teaweet bread, but Hush, hungry, raided
their stores after the last second sunset. All five loaves had already
been eaten, the remnants now scattered across the desert floor. So, Eka
and Lupen sucked on waterstones, slowly drawing out the water.<br />
    “We’re going to die out here,” Lupen said, groaning.<br />
    Eka did not share Lupen’s concerns. “Haven’t you ever walked on foot
in the desert before? To those who know how to look, there’s always
something to eat.”<br />
    “Verido don’t walk on the ground,” Lupen said, every mention of
eating made the stomach whine again, “if what you’re saying is true,
then why aren’t we finding anything?”<br />
    “Because it’s too hot!”<br />
    “Of course, only idiots would be out here in this heat.”<br />
    “Oh! The things you say Lu, it’s like you’re not of this world! When
the suns set we should be able to find something.”<br />
    Lupen continued to complain, but in a hushed, low voice.<br />
    Then suddenly, Eka stopped, stomped on the ground a few times.
“We’ll set camp here,” Eka said, pleased with the spot.<br />
    Lupen was too tired and too hungry to ask why this spot was good, it
looked like any other spot of sand in the desert. Together, they built a
makeshift tent using Uno’s fabric.</p>
<p>After the second sunset, Eka took a seat on the ground just outside
their tent. “Lu. Pssst! Lu! Come over here!”<br />
    Lupen yawned, rolling over to Eka’s spot outside. Their tent wasn’t
very big, it provided some shade in the day but did not protect them
from wind, and most of the space under it was already filled with Hush’s
gigantic head—the beast could not be persuaded to move.<br />
    “What is it?” Lupen asked.<br />
    Eka pointed over to a collection of little stems nearby, working
their way out of the soil, their small, round leaves fanning out.<br />
    “Take the one closest to you,” Eka whispered.<br />
    Lupen came to sit beside Eka, and tried to grab it, but all of the
stems went to hide back into the soil.<br />
    “You’re terrible at this.”<br />
    “This? I have no idea what <em>this</em> is!”<br />
    “Lower your voice,” Eka commanded, “and be still. When the stems
come back out and the leaves open up, clap your hands together to stun
them, and then you can grab one. Haven’t you ever harvested cactub
before?<br />
    ”No,” Lupen said. “What’s a cactub?”<br />
    Eka laughed. “Only the best vegetable ever. Look, I’ll do it.”<br />
    Like before, the cactub stems emerged, and the leaves opened up in a
fan. Eka neared two hands to one of them, and then…<br />
    <em>Clap!</em><br />
    The cactub froze. Eka grabbed the stem and pulled it out. The cactub
was a bulbous root vegetable, purple and covered in little round nubs.
They peeled the skin off, and ate slices for dinner. Cactub was soft and
had many seeds.<br />
    “You can eat these too, or toss them. They’ll grow back from the
seed if you do that. For every two I eat, I toss one,” saying this, Eka
tossed one.<br />
    “Eat one,” Lupen said, chewing on a seed, “toss one!” The other
found its way back into the earth. They did this for a long while,
eating some, tossing some.<br />
    With food in their bellies, they huddled-in together to stay warm
and tried to get some sleep. Eka’s finger moved from skyrock to skyrock,
drawing a line between each one to make constellations.<br />
    “Salarus, Vitali, Neoneve…”<br />
    Eka found another skyrock in the distance, it was lying low, and was
brighter than all the others. A false star. Lupen had just dozed off.
“Lu! Something! Over there!”<br />
    Lupen turned to look, long-faced and red-eyed. “It’s dark. We’ll
check it out after the first sunrise…”<br />
    “Fine. You stay. I’ll be back.” Halfway through the sentence Eka was
up already and racing towards the point of light in the dark.<br />
    Lupen followed partly because somewhere within lived the fear that
Eka would leave and never return.<br />
They arrived at the low star, which turned out to be an avoka oil lamp
attached to the stern of a vessel, its bow lay half-buried in the
sand.<br />
    “It’s a sandfin!” Lupen said, circling it, trying to make out
details in the dark. The hull was painted yellow. It had a single wooden
mast, and two sails hanging limp from their ropes. Eka pointed to a
faint glow of a lamp from one of the portholes. Someone was
inside.<br />
    “Hello? Who’s in there?” Lupen called out, knocking on the
hull.<br />
    A thin-eyed, short thing, came peering out of one of the openings.
“Wai’re korei?!” a shrill voice responded. “Nono ask oo out derr!” The
voice repeated, switching from Finic to the Common Tongue.<br />
    The creature stuck its face in a porthole, the frame contoured it
perfectly, making it look like the sandfin had a head growing out of its
side. The creature was a Finiku. The Finiku’s hair was light and wild,
not a single strand seemed to point in the same direction, except for a
chunk of hair covered in pinny tar and coiled in a thick braid. Pinny
tar was a thick, black substance used to protect ropes on a sandfin. The
Finiku’s hands were also stained with it. Eka giggled, and watched as
Lupen approached the porthole so the Finiku could see better. Even when
standing close, the sandfinner’s eyes looked everywhere but in the right
place.<br />
    “Mai’ia! Noho’uta!”<br />
    “We’re not ghosts!” Eka replied.<br />
    “What? No. We’re fleshy people. We’re right in front of you! Can’t
you see us?” Lupen asked, perplexed.<br />
    “Iane. Too dark, too dark!” The Finiku disappeared below. They could
hear noises, as the owner of the vessel searched the cabin for
something. Then a beam of light flashed in Lupen’s face. “Verido de
yorala? Impossible. And?” The glow of the light shifted toward Eka, as
the Finiku searched for whoever this ‘Verido in the sand’ was
with.<br />
    “An Eka! Yora’nae!” Eka said with a smirk.<br />
    “Friendly?”<br />
    Eka nodded. “Friendly and fleshy”<br />
    “I’m not a mai… uh. Maya? Ugh. I don’t remember the word…”<br />
    “Mai’ia?” Nono said.<br />
    “That’s the one! I’m not a mai’ia. I’m a fleshy too. I’m a Verido in
the sand now.” Lupen felt uncomfortable and opted to change
conversation, “I’m Lupen.”<br />
    “The Finiku inched forward out of the porthole and smacked the
Verido in the head to see if it was opaque.”Orae. Nono now
believe.”<br />
    “Ow!” Lupen stepped away from Nono’s finger.<br />
    Nono explained to them what had happened. “Sandfin fine, but it no
move! Why it no move!” Nono’s eyes widened saying this. Lupen saw there
was plenty of light in the cabin, yet the sandfinner claimed to see
nothing.<br />
    “Right. Well it’s too dark to do anything about it now. Come daytime
we’ll help you fix it.”</p>
<p>The next morning, Nono emerged from the cabin and stood on deck.
Lupen was up already, unfortunately sleep had not come. It was easy now
to make out Nono’s features, although their eyes appeared clouded, and
sickly.<br />
    Eka laughed, arriving at the foot of the sandfin just in time to
catch Nono trying to shake hands with Hush’s snout. “Nono, this is Hush,
who was asleep during our introduction.”<br />
    “I see, I see! Yora’nae Hush!”<br />
    They surveyed the damage. The sandfin lay over a rocky patch and the
rudder was gone, ripped out. Most of the hull looked fine, but the area
where the rudder had been was now a large gaping hole. Nono leapt off
the side of the vessel, and went to stand with the others. “Light kink!”
Nono said.<br />
    “A kink? You serious?” Lupen said, outraged. “There’s a giant hole!
You’ve got no rudder!”<br />
    “Ia’ia. No problem. Verido is crazy crazy from landsick.”<br />
    Nono’s eyes narrowed down to try and see the hole, then Lupen
arrived and helped the Finiku closer. “Big hole. Right there!” Lupen
said. The Finiku was unphased. It was only when Lupen put Nono’s nose up
to it that the extent of the damage was revealed.<br />
    “Ianae, iane, iane…” Nono’s head shook from side to side, there was
no stopping it.<br />
    Eka went to stand closer to offer moral support, and even laid a
hand over the Finiku’s shoulder to try to steady that tottering head.
“You have materials on board?”<br />
    Nono nodded, the shaking of the head had ceased then too. “Finiku
dey always ready! We make rudder. No problem. Nono have material, all we
need!”</p>
<p>Once all three got to work, Lupen realized just how terrible Nono’s
vision was. “Who in their right mind would allow someone so blind to
captain a sandfin?” Lupen asked. Eka only smirked, gathering materials
from inside the cabin.<br />
    Together, they devised a plan to build the sandfin a new rudder.
They removed bits of the old one, took measurements. “You sure you want
to use this? You don’t need a table?” Lupen held a thick slab of banabo
wood, but then Nono walked up and began to mark it. “Okay then,” Lupen
said, releasing the table and reaching for a hacksaw stashed under a
pile of ropes. “It says ‘Maka’ on the handle.”<br />
    “Renate steel,” Nono said, “sosae’di de yorala!”<br />
    “Best in the land.” Eka translated.<br />
    Lupen cut the banabo board for the paddle, while Eka was carving an
old oar with a blade to make the new rudder post, and Nono was busy
retrieving bolts and nuts that would fit it. All the surfaces of the
cabin had something laying over top, and every crack was filled with
tiny stray bits of hardware.<br />
    Lupen was fascinated by the sandfin, they were a common sight while
travelling on the Ilk. The winged vessels looked tiny from up there, the
colour of their sails and the dust rising with their passing was all
Lupen could make out.<br />
    “What’s that?” Lupen asked, pointing to a barrel stored on deck,
“plumpkin juice?”<br />
    “Kapo.” Nono said.<br />
    “Poop,” Eka translated. Seeing the look on Lupen’s face, both
laughed.<br />
    Lupen had heard of this, but did not think it was true. Nono
explained that while the sandfin had no need of fuel there was always a
barrel stored on this vessel to give to others. “Montore fiendling, dey
say it ‘miracle fuel’, make life easy! Why use hand when derr is masheen
dey say. Beobug<a href="#fn32" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref32"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>32</sup></a> dey sell dis dream to Finiku, give
masheen… but wat appen when it break? Dey no can fix, dey no store fuel.
Beobug come to fix, den dey ask for coin! Beobug create… dependency,
dae’na? Before, Finiku depend only on sawa te kira!”<br />
    “Wind and sun.” Lupen said, happy to know that this mind knew a few
Finiku words. Everyone in the Soronan Desert used these two words. “I
don’t understand what Ilk kapo has to do with fuel.” Lupen said,
perplexed.<br />
“Beobug sandfin follow Ilk and take it! Den, Beobug process it on
sandfin. Very profitable! Nono mapa say, ‘If Nono captain Beobug
sandfin, Nono make good coin’,” Nono’s head shook again, “Mapa say dis,
but Nono is like grand-mapa Etyl, care only to sandfin. Nono listen to
voice of sawa te kira. Coin mawani’ia oro.” Nono said, putting a hand on
the heart.<br />
    “Coin has no soul,” Eka said, “Etyl is your grand-mapa?” That name
is known all over! First one to travel the whole of the land by
sandfin!”<br />
    Nono nodded. “Orae orae! Did it alone too!”<br />
    Nono repaired the hole, and completed the construction of their
makeshift rudder, fitting it to Etyl’s stern, all the while, listening
to Nono telling stories of the early days of sandfinning.</p>
<p>After a day of hard work, Nono tested out the rudder and saw no
problem with it. The hull was missing paint, but was otherwise
immaculate.<br />
    “Nono offer ride to Tiputa, come aboard fleshies!”<br />
    Lupen and Eka hopped aboard. Nono said that the sandfin could use
the extra weight at the stern.<br />
    They unfurled the sails and set course for Tiputa, plowing through
the sand, leaving a golden cloud in their wake. The sandfin was running
downwind, with two cream-coloured wings pulling it along. The wind
freshened, and the sands began to wash over the deck but handling a
vessel with a crew of three was easy. Eka made sure the sails had good
shapes, while Lupen kept an eye on the horizon, careful to avoid rocky
patches, there was no trusting Nono’s eyes. Nono kept mistaking dunes
for other sandfins.<br />
    The Finiku offered to make dinner, serving them something that stank
of pomparu with an unappetizing grey colour. Lupen joked that it had
probably been scraped off of the hull.<br />
    “Do you know many other sandfinners?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “Orae, Nono know many many, but Nono tink dey not so so good.”<br />
    Lupen’s mind conjured up images of sandfins in piles lining a city,
their hulls full of holes with squinting Finiku captains at the wheel,
unaware of the fact that their vessels lay broken and unmoving. “Light
kink!” They all said aloud together.<br />
    Eka could not believe that Nono was a bad sandfinner, no one trained
under Etyl could be terrible. After spending many days together they
noticed a pattern, Nono’s vision was worse after drinking from the
waterstone tank. To extract the water out of the stones there was a foot
pump in the galley, the pump pressed the stones down, funnelling the
water up a tube to the sink. Eka and Lupen, who still used their
personal stock of stones for water as to not to impose on Nono’s limited
supplies, deduced that the water was to blame. One morning they opened
the tank and found it infested with mudbears, tiny insects that burrow
in waterstones and secrete a toxin. Eka offered the Finiku waterstones
from their supply, and after a while Nono’s eyes cleared up.<br />
    Nono returned to the helm. The Finiku could read the sand and sky
well, and knew to adjust sails right as conditions changed. The sails no
longer sagged, the vessel was stable and soon they arrived at their
destination. On arrival, Nono thanked them for their help.<br />
    “Nono fill waterstone tank in Kippu. ‘It clean!’ dey tell Nono, but
not so, not so! Nono tink better to go back to help. Sick eyes… is
dangerous, dae’na?”</p>
<h1 id="tiputa-pit-stop">Tiputa Pit Stop</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.pomparu.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>A creature, feared by all, because of its horrid stink. The
pomparu likes stinky things, it is drawn to them. The word ‘pomparu’ is
sometimes used as an insult to mean foul-smelling.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Tiputa, along with other towns like Kippu, Tiu’va, Inepril, and
Renate, exists primarily as a relief station for travel-worn
visitors.<br />
    The town’s shops line a single road, suggesting that a traveler
would leave as quickly as they have come, with every service just a
short walk away. All the buildings are triangular, built with a slant
pointing saa’ta as to align with the prevailing winds. Strong winds,
known in these parts as Shriekers, pass through every 10 days, and
during this time all activity in the town stops. Many travelers come
through Tiputa to re-supply, to repair, but take off as soon as they are
able to avoid the Shriekers.</p>
<p>Today Finiku workers are outside, with their banabo leaf brooms,
brushing the sand from their storefronts, beating the dust out of their
floor mats and window shutters, knowing that all of this work would be
likely undone the next day.<br />
    No one seemed to mind having to redo the work. Each could start a
small task and finish it moments later, with plenty of time to start and
finish many more. Savoring a cup of tea was counted as a task task, so
was buttering a slice of muckwheat<a href="#fn33" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref33" role="doc-noteref"><sup>33</sup></a> bread with bonan<a
href="#fn34" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref34"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>34</sup></a> puree. Some argued that every bite
or sip or breath or step ought to be tallied and counted, others
preferred different metrics, such as making someone laugh or smile, like
brushing the dust from a mat, it serves to embellish the town.<br />
    Eka was wandering through town, eyeing the yellow sand clinging to
every house, filling every crack, as if looking for a way inside. Eka
appreciated the desert filling gaps as its way of helping to strengthen
old structures. People on the street stopped their work to wave and say
a friendly “yora’!” A diligent troupe of children armed with brooms
furiously brushed the sand away from the main road, laughing and telling
jokes as they did, making a game of the task.<br />
    The main road was made of flat stones. Eka enjoyed the sound the dry
fronds produced when brushed against them. The children were not aware
of it, but there was a rhythm to their brushing. A song came to Eka’s
lips then:<br />
    “Brush the sands, sweep the lands,” Eka’s voice got louder, “-brush,
brush, brush,” and then went lower, “sweep, sweep, sweep!”</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Brush the sands, sweep the lands! Brush, brush, brush! Sweep, sweep,
sweep!”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Busy singing, Eka didn’t see that someone was standing close by. A
Finiku with a long white river of hair blocked the path. The stranger
stared at Eka’s sweater. A pair of eager hands hovered close to
it.<br />
    “Arraaaa! W-werr did you g-get d-dis?!” said the Finiku in the
Common Tongue. They wore a red jacket overlapping a shirt of delicate
soft thread and ending with frills at the neck and cuffs. “I will do
<em>anytting</em> to get dis shirt! Wat do you want for it?”<br />
    The Finiku was gripping the sweater now, feeling the threads with
greedy fingers.<br />
    “You want coin?!”<br />
    With every question the Finiku’s stream of hair became more and more
disheveled. Eka tried to back away, but the stranger still held onto the
sweater.<br />
    “It isn’t mine to sell,” Eka managed to say.<br />
    Most would think it easy to break away from someone so little, but
the stranger held on, as if hanging from a cliff.<br />
    “Please! I must own it! I’ll do anytting to get it!”<br />
    With all of that pulling, the seams at the bottom of the shirt
ripped. The Finiku let out a horrified squeal. “Wat did I
<em>do</em>‽”<br />
    Eka put a finger through the hole in the sweater, wiggling it on the
other side.<br />
    “This unforgivable. I am monster. Orae! Orin will mend you.” Orin
said, addressing the sweater. Eka did not think this was necessary, but
the crimson-clad Finiku would not listen and led the sweater, as well as
its wearer, over to one of the triangular houses.</p>
<p>The house had a red roof and outer walls. Eka wondered if everything
inside was also red and imagined a house with objects, walls and floors
that were so red that they were indistinguishable from one another. A
carving over the entrance to the house read ‘Orin, the Tailor’, with a
second one underneath it with the words ‘Now Retired’. The signs had
green lettering, dispelling Eka’s fantasy of this place being an
all-crimson fun house.<br />
    “You make clothes? Convenient.” Eka said.<br />
    “Orae, orae. Well, Orin used to. Mind da low ceiling!”<br />
    Eka entered the space on two knees, and could only stand up fully
once reaching the centre of the house, the area where the ceiling was
highest. Orin’s workshop had angled walls filled with spindles of
colourful fabric. Between the spindles lay frames with endorsements of
past commissions from various famous characters, including a signed
portrait of The Luminary Moera<a href="#fn35" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref35" role="doc-noteref"><sup>35</sup></a>. On the ceiling hung
clothing Orin had made, favourite pieces from past and current
projects.<br />
    In a far corner of the house was a small mattress, and a table with
a giant empty bottle, that Eka was certain once contained bonan wine.
There was no room to cook, and no food either. Eka had seen a small
restaurant on the other side of the road which likely doubled as a
community kitchen.<br />
    The tailor grabbed a needle, and then reached for a thread wound
around one of the many spindles on the wall. The dark-coloured spindle
Orin chose had very little thread left and was soon empty, all of it now
bound to Orin’s needle. The tailor’s hands were shaky at first, but
steadied when the point of the needle came in contact with the shirt.
The tailor, moving with machine-like precision, the thread, disappearing
into the sweater, and the hole quickly coming to a close. The thread on
the needle was the same colour and material as the shirt, Orin had just
enough fibre to finish the repair. In the end, it was like it had never
ripped at all.<br />
    Orin used to live in Edonor, a place that, Eka made a point to say,
made the very best peagram<a href="#fn36" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref36" role="doc-noteref"><sup>36</sup></a> pancakes. The Finiku’s
great-great mapa opened a shop there many annums ago. Because the shop
was so popular, Orin had had no time for anything other than
clothes-making. The tailor had an itch to make different sorts of
clothes, more risqué items, but the customers always asked for the same
thing: copies of copies of copies, all copies of past works, nothing
new, nothing exciting. It was then that this tailor decided that it was
time to retire to Tiputa, where Bou, a relative, now lived. Orin did not
produce new clothes anymore, but continued to help mending holes or
strenghtening seams.<br />
    “I’m sorry I can’t give this shirt to you, my friend’s mapa made it
you see! After I get some new clothes, it won’t be mine to keep,” Eka
explained.<br />
    “Orin understand, and apologize for da un-towardness. It been long
time since see isilk, but no matter,” while saying this, Orin glanced at
Eka’s frame, already making calculations, “you want outfit? I will make
you desert travel set. I keep tread that would suit you. Orae, orae!
Come, come!”<br />
    After picking out some colours the tailor pulled out a flat banabo
braid, each division with markings at specific lengths indicated by red
stitches. It took some time to measure Eka’s frame, because unlike
Orin’s usual customers Eka was tall. The redhead sat on a stool,
extending an arm or leg forward as required.<br />
    “Orin never see anyone with round ear like dis.”<br />
    “That is due to centuries of erosion.” Eka said.<br />
    Orin laughed. “Bou own repair store next door, Eka stop by, you two
get along me tink” After jotting down all of the numbers, the measuring
braid returned to Orin’s belt, secured alongside a set of assorted
needles in a shroo leather sleeve, and a single bobbin.<br />
    “You keep these with you always?” Eka asked.<br />
    “Never leave widout dem! Dis is tailor’s weapon!” Orin went to stand
on another stool, a hand over the heart. “As long as Orin live, no
fabric will be left unsown, and no pant leg left askew! Ianae! Orin will
not allow it!” Even if standing on a stool, Orin still had to look up at
Eka. “It ready after second sunrise tomorrow.”<br />
    As payment Eka offered to help at Bou’s repair shop, Orin agreed.
There was always a lot of work to do there, and with the Shriekers
coming in three days Bou would have a lot of customers.</p>
<p>Eka wandered over to the repair shop next door, which used to be
green, Eka could tell, but like Orin’s place most of the colour had been
ground off. There was still colour left around the door and windows, and
on the underside of the roof, but there too had begun to flake off. Like
the interior of Nono’s sandfin the little workshop was full of tools.
Instead of thread and clothes, the ceiling and walls were covered in
bits of metal and wood. There was some order to the chaos, with objects
organized by shape and material. All the long cylindrical objects shared
space on a shelf, coiled lines of varying thickness, colour and length
populated another.<br />
    The owner glanced at the tall stranger who stood there at the door.
“Come back later. No time today.” Bou was dark haired, pale-skinned, and
enveloped in a pair of tattered overalls, which were stained with grease
and covered in holes. Those tears must be torture for Orin, Eka thought.
How had these openings escaped the tailor’s needle?<br />
    “Orin is making some clothes for me and I offered to help you here
in your shop as payment,” Eka said, knees on the ground and wearing a
great big smile. “Yora’nae. Eka’re.”<br />
    “Yora’. Bou’re.” Bou craned a large head to one side to see the part
of Eka obscured by the top of the door, “Eka know it dirty, dirty work
orae?”<br />
    “That’s okay,” Eka copied the head motion, “a favour for a
favour!”<br />
    “In Tiputa no one do work widout promise of coin. Eka better like
grime, grease and gross. Today we have pomparu problem, it stuck inside
sandfin sand scupper. Den, we fix broke water pump, owner tink it smart
to press juice out of plumpkin. Dis list, it go and it go. Still want to
elp?”<br />
    Eka nodded. Bou looked at what the outsider was wearing, and walked
in close to touch the fabric of the sweater Orin had mended. For a
second, Eka feared the same reaction in Bou.<br />
    “Blue isilk,” Bou said. The greasy shop owner’s green eyes went
round. Bou’s eyes had a wonderful shine to them, they appeared
glass-like with minuscule herb gardens growing inside of them. “Volare
Verido make dis for you? Verido no export isilk anymore.”<br />
    Not many people could tell the shirt was made from Ilk hair, even
fewer knew that the hair of the desert walkers had a a subtle
pigmentation, it could be either blue, green or red. Eka wondered what
the tailor thought of Bou’s profession, they were family yet their lives
were so different.<br />
    “This belongs to my friend,” Eka explained, “Orin really loves isilk
huh?”<br />
    “Hm. Orae. To Orin mapa, seeing isilk… it like finding gost of
friend at door, a friend you tink dead.” Bou’s fingers brushed over
where the hole in the sweater had been. This repair was visible to
experienced eyes. “Grand-mapa Nok have store in Edonor. One day, Nok
bring back spindle of blue isilk. Suspicious no? Illegal, Bou tink.
Later Orin inerit business, but blue isilk? It all gone by den. Nok make
isilk suit, then jump into Rupture in it. Orin is sad to see isilk so
fine fade into nothing. Never make big project wit it, never will
because Verido no trade it now. Bou tink Eka need know dis.” Bou didn’t
give Eka a chance to reply, and walked over to a closet, pulling out a
large pair of brown overalls and a mostly clean undershirt. “Because it
dirty work, Eka need wear dis.”<br />
    Eka changed into Bou’s undershirt and overalls. The clothes fit, but
there was a lot of room in there for another Eka or two, and the pants
had turned into shorts. Seeing this, Bou gave Eka two heavy notcott
knee-pads.<br />
    The first task, was to try and get a pomparu out of a pipe. The
sandfin was moored in front of the shop, its owner was at the snack bar
having a drink, Bou waved from across the street, shouting a word in
Finic to say that the work would likely be done today. Both moved to the
back of the sandfin, once there Eka caught a whiff of the pomparu and
gasped, hands moved to cover up both the mouth and nose. It had been a
long time since Eka had encountered one.<br />
    “Nohi sosae’ia’re dae’na? Pomparu smell burn da nose. First time Bou
smell, no eat for many day. Smell make all food taste like rot.”<br />
    Bou grabbed a jar from a pantleg pocket, dipped a finger in it and
scooped out a thick glob of purple gel. Then, without warning, Bou
smeared the purple gel under Eka’s nose, near and around the nostrils.
Now both had a thick purple mustache. “Better, orae?”<br />
    “Lavendiri<a href="#fn37" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref37"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>37</sup></a> flowers! Good trick!”     The fresh
scent would help cover up the nasty pomparu fumes. Bou also had a thick
scarf on to keep the smell out, and passed one to Eka. The scarf was
just enough to block the stink entirely while keeping the lavendiri gel
from drying out too quickly.<br />
    The butt of a plump pomparu was sticking halfway out of the scupper,
its four back legs were dangling in the air while the four forward legs
were wedged inside. The pomparu’s colourful spots were hard to see
because its body was brown with dirt.<br />
    “Pomparu like strong smell. Sandfinner ferment bobonion<a
href="#fn38" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref38"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>38</sup></a> aboard, dis one try follow smell
but now stuck.”<br />
    It was common for people to make a pile of rotting food outside of
town to get their attention, and to keep them there. Tiputa did have a
pile like this, Eka had seen it, but this sandfin had acquired the
pomparu while on transit.<br />
    “Is it dead?” Eka asked, noticing its legs weren’t moving.<br />
    “Iane. If pomparu dead we no stand around to talk about it. It make
lavendiri gel rot, and we go bury face in sand. But even like dis, it no
help, smell stay.” Bou paused, recalling something that happened.
“Friend find dead pomparu once, smell so <em>so</em> bad dat dey rip
nose off. Crazy’di’naa? Pomparu smell bad, but Bou blame da crazy on
Kavava<a href="#fn39" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref39"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>39</sup></a>. Kavava make brain loopy, Bou no
friend chew it too too much.”<br />
    Eka’s eyes widened, imagining someone without a nose. “How
horrible.”<br />
    “Wen it come to pomparu, some say no nose better! Bou carve new nose
for friend out of banabo, add color wit ground lavendiri flower. Friend
love it, call it poronoso’di’no, to mean my special purple nose.
Tawari’ia’di. No touch pomparu. Eka say goodbye to <em>all</em> friend
if do dis. The smell, it <em>no</em> come off!”<br />
    “So, um. Shall we do this thing then?” Eka’s nose was eager to move
on to some other task, it had no desire to be replaced with a
poronoso’di.<br />
    Bou covered the inside of the scupper opening with avoka oil, and
reluctantly did the same for the area around the pomparu’s body, all
while wearing multiple thick pairs of pinny-tarred hempa gloves. Then,
Eka shoved the small end of a broom through the pomparu-free end of the
opening while Bou held it down with both hands.<br />
    “Ready?”<br />
    Eka pushed with such force that the pomparu came flying out and went
rolling inside of Bou’s workshop. Bou shrieked, tore the broom from
Eka’s hands and ran inside, but it was too late. The floor was covered
with a stinky green discharge, and some had slipped under the various
piles of materials. The slimy curvaceous thing was pushed with the
bristled end of a broom, out of the workshop, out of the city, away from
all the houses. Already some of the villagers were outside, noses
pinched and afraid of what this smell would do to the town’s shops. They
all scurried about, covering the pomparu drippings with ground lavendiri
leaves and other strong-smelling herbs, while others scooped it up with
shovels and brooms, that would have to be discarded after. All had
purple gel mustaches.<br />
    Bou took Eka’s side, the broom was at the edge of town with the
pomparu, marking the spot where it was so no one would go near it. Those
creatures were slow, and Bou had plans of putting a bowl of soured
muckwheat far out into the valley to lure it even further away.<br />
    Eka looked at the putrid drippings it left behind. “Wow. All this
came from one pomparu?”<br />
    “Look like Bou add ‘burn workshop’ to to-do list…”</p>
<h1 id="beobug">Beobug</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.woth.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Messenger woths are sturdy creatures, they fit in the palm of
your hand. They have excellent memories, and can travel long distances.
Many use them as a means of sending messages to other cities. They can
carry items many times their own weight.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lupen was enjoying a mug of bonan wine at the local snack bar at the
edge of town, where Eka and Nono had agreed to meet later that
day.<br />
    Bonan wine was an alcoholic drink traditionally brewed in Finiku
villages, each had its own recipe. Some added herbs, or used other fruit
as a base. It wasn’t uncommon to give some of yours to a friend, the
restaurant owner Javi explained.<br />
     “Sosae’di de yorala!” Noticing Lupen’s vacant expression, and
understanding that the Verido didn’t know Finic, Javi said it again in
the Common Tongue. “Best in the land!”<br />
    “Sosae’di de yorala, sosae’di de yorala…” Lupen repeated, determined
to remember this time. “Think others in the land say this too about
their wine?”<br />
    “Orae,” the restaurant owner said, “but dey is wrong!”<br />
    Lupen laughed. “I’ve had bonan before. Cut thin and dried as chips,
never as a drink. How do you make it?”</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    <strong>Bonan wine</strong></p>
<p>    <em>Ingredients</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Two stalks of bonans<br />
    A quarter pail of waterstones</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    <em>Instructions</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Let bonans ripen for seven days after harvest, cut bonans and add
the squeezed liquid from waterstones. Do not stir the mixture.<br />
    After one day, squeeze the liquid from waterstones and bring to a
boil in a hot pot. Add to bonans, and leave to stand for another day.
During this period, fermentation will occur.<br />
    Filter the water through a cloth, and consume the filtrate as bonan
wine.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    Lupen enjoyed conversing with Javi, that is, until Gree showed
up. Gree was also a Finiku and captain of one of the Beobug supply ships
Nono had mentioned. Gree took a seat by the Verido, despite there being
unoccupied seats all around. Gree’s big bulbous green eyes matched the
Beobug uniform, with dark hair licked tight, so tight that the Finiku
could not frown.<br />
    One of the gigantic supply vessels, with the name Beobug II painted
on its side in yellow letters, was moored outside of town, it had two
masts and a green hull. Gree was the captain of Beobug II, and before
Lupen could ask Gree was already explaining how Ilk kapo was treated to
be turned into gas to power machinery and vessels in Montore.<br />
    Lupen knew about Beobug, the Volare elders didn’t like them, they
thought it was disrespectful of them to follow the Ilk. In cities Ilks
would eat their weight in teaweet, and when it was on the move again
Beobug was always there to catch its kapo.<br />
    Gree threw an arm around Lupen. “Nono good friend to you dae’sa? You
arrive on same sandfin. Gree see dis.”<br />
    “You want something?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “Hm. Gree see dat Lupen like to speak plain.” Gree said with a
smile. “Nono best sandfinner. But package delivery is waste of talent.
In Beobug fleet, derr two ship. Gree steer Beobug II, but Beobug, lead
sandfin, need captain. Gree ask and ask but always, Nono say no. I ask
too much! Lupen ask for Gree. Voice of Ilk can do anytting, orae?”<br />
    Mentioning being Voice was a mistake, Lupen regretted it, blaming
the bonan wine. Seeing that the Verido was hesitating, Gree spoke again.
“Lupen talk to Ilk! You autority! Use dis title to get good ting for
<em>you</em>!”<br />
    “Are we still talking about Nono? I don’t understand why a title is
so important.”<br />
    “Lupen forget, Voice is grand being! If talk big, make all around
listen.” Saying this, Gree sharply elbowed the Verido in the ribs.<br />
    “I don’t know.” Lupen said, attempting to move away but Gree’s arm
was unyielding. “You really think being the captain of a vessel that
recycles Ilk kapo is worthy of praise?”<br />
    “Orae!” Gree threw their hands up into the air. “No limit to da
energy! Montore no more wait for wind! Beobug give city great great
success! Gree swim in coin! No poor, no pain. No more, no more!” Gree
said, eyes aglow.<br />
    “Wind is free. And when there’s no wind well, you wait.” Lupen
said.<br />
    “Lupen seem to tink Verido taint-free,” Gree’s bulbous eyes were set
on the Verido, narrowing for a moment, “all you take free ride on Ilk.
How long you do dis for, umm? One ki’annum? Up derr, it keep you from
worse of desert. Lupen always safe on Ilk, no understand true misery.”
The captain smacked the top of the Verido’s thigh then, causing the sand
embedded in the isilk clothes to rise. When the dust settled again Gree
laughed. “Well, Lupen learning dis now, orae? You are eer in da dust wit
us.”<br />
    “The Ilk is a friend. We co-exist.” Lupen retorted.<br />
    “Dis wat Beobug do too,” Gree turned to the restaurant owner,
raising two empty mug. “Mou ipaya Javi!”<br />
    Javi nodded, pouring a generous serving of wine to both, a bit of
the liquid overflowing outside their mugs.<br />
    Lupen noticed a patch on Gree’s arm then, “what’s that?”<br />
    The captain lifted up a green sleeve to show the full patch, pressed
onto the skin. “Is lunch. Much better den real ting, oro!”<br />
    “Yoroi’di!” Javi said, inspecting the patch. “Babam cake! Good
one.”<br />
    Lupen was unphased, “aah I see, I see… another Montore industry.
Another way to amass coin, another path to titles.” An empty mug sat in
Lupen’s hand, “did I drink all of this just now?” Gree’s mug was also
empty, but Javi was there to fill them right back up again.<br />
    “Industry mean progress.” Gree said, leaning into the Verido.<br />
    “Progress means coin…” Lupen replied, bored with the
conversation.<br />
    “Coin is future Voice of Volare Ilk.” Saying this, Gree slapped
Lupen in the back, resulting in Lupen nearly spitting out a mouthful of
wine.<br />
    “What is there to do with so much coin?” Lupen said, coughing and
trying to move away from Gree, again, with little success.<br />
    “Lupen new to desert, much to learn,” saying this, Gree pulled out a
shiny golden coin, which now found itself into the palm of Lupen’s hand.
One side bore a poorly-chiseled face, and the other had Montore
inscribed on it along with the number one hundred. Lupen was going to
return the coin but Gree refused it. “Keep coin, is payment for favour
Gree ask. Lupen ask Nono for Gree, orae?”<br />
    Lupen nodded, pocketing the coin. Gree then stepped off of the
stool, jelly-legged, and returned to the crew aboard Beobug II.<br />
    Lupen stayed at the bar, unable to put a phrase together.<br />
    Javi laughed. “Eat muckwheat dumpling, healthy wit bobonion, dilly
herb and looma root. Verido like looma root, orae? Wawa’de, will imbibe
bonan in belly.” Javi pushed a plate of steaming dumplings in front of
the Verido. “Eat, eat.”</p>
<p>Having finished all deliveries, and now armed with a tall bottle of
plumpkin<a href="#fn40" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref40"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>40</sup></a> ale, Nono felt it necessary to
treat the fleshies to a drink. All three gathered at Javi’s snack bar,
savoring their drinks, although Lupen had opted for tea this time.<br />
    Eka, still wearing the coveralls, told them about Orin, Bou, the
incident with the pomparu, the fixing of the waterstone pump and all the
other items on the list they’d been tasked with. Lupen spoke of the
encounter with Gree, and told Nono about the favour.<br />
    “Dis komororo ask Lupen to ask Nono to captain Beobug sandfin? Ia’!
Ianae!” The Finiku’s head began to shake and the shaking did not stop
for some time. Eka wondered if their friend was stuck in a loop and
needed help, but Nono recovered moments after that. “Ia’ is wat Nono say
and always say to Gree!”<br />
    “Being on a sandfin like that must be impressive. Why not do it?”
Eka asked, remembering the large green sandfin at the edge of
town.<br />
    “Yorala’no mai aini’re de mutau’wi, coin ianae.” Nono said with
pride.<br />
    “The way of the land is perpetuated in righteousness, not coin.” Eka
translated, grinning.<br />
    Both Eka and Lupen laughed at this. Nono went on to say that they
were both grown on the same plot of land, because of this Gree tink dat
dey are close. “Wen young, Nono travel on sandfin, but Gree stay in
Tiu’va, talk much, make mapa tink Nono useless! Say Nono waste time, dat
only good job is Beobug job. Komororo…” Nono said, cursing at the air,
“Beobug do scam. All profit, no work. No one know dis, but Beobug
sandfin need no captain, only fiendling to do scam.” After saying this,
Nono leaned in to whisper to them. “Nono follow Beobug sandfin always.
Ponopo follow Beobug II, anodder wot follow Beobug I, Beobug III. Nono
go to village after fiendling leave, and Nono correct misdeed!”</p>
<p>As the evening went on Nono began to tell sandfin stories, like the
one about the notorious Dorake’s passage, known to have buried countless
sandfinners over time. While Nono was talking, a small creature flew
over to them, and landed on the table. It had short antennae, and
delicate yellow hairs all over its body. “Dis Ponopo. Ponopo carry
message for Nono, have good memory and know desert well.”<br />
    Ponopo fluttered off the table and landed on Eka’s head.<br />
    “Wow! A woth[^42]! Yora’nae Ponopo!” Eka said, watching Ponopo hover
back down onto the table, landing near a puddle of spilled plumpkin ale.
The woth began to mop it up, its antennae wiggling as it drank.<br />
    Nono pulled out a small wooden box, laid it out on the table and
opened the lid. Six round eggs sat in it, laying over a soft tan
blanket. “Wot egg,” Nono told them, “Nono carry many.” Nono’s hand
reached into the box and picked up an egg. “Dis wot egg ready, but wot
only come out when it find someone it like. Woth is loyal, it follow you
always.” Nono reached over the table, grabbed Eka’s hand, and placed a
single woth egg in it. As soon as the egg came into contact with Eka’s
skin, the white egg turned sky blue.<br />
    “It’s blue!” Eka said, amazed by the unborn woth.<br />
    “Blue? Wot egg never blue,” Nono said, looking very confused, “no no
no matter! Put finger on egg. Do gentle, gentle stroke.”<br />
    Eka did as Nono instructed and put a finger on the egg, stroking
it.<br />
    “Less stroke, good good wot!” Nono continued. The blue egg cracked
open after only a single stroke. “Impossible.”<br />
    Lupen and Eka watched as a new woth emerged from the egg. It had a
blue body, covered in light blue hairs, it had long antennae, and even
longer wings.<br />
    “Sakoi’di! Strong wot!” Nono said, shaking their head in
disbelief.<br />
    Eka knew many things, but knew little about woths, although this one
did appear larger than Ponopo. Nono grabbed a measuring stick and jotted
down every detail, the colour of its hairs, the length of the wings and
of the antennae, the diameter of the eyes too. Everything. “Nono visit
atchery to ask question to friend. Friend know much about wot.” Nono put
the stick away, and continued to marvel at the quality of Eka’s
woth.<br />
    “What should we name it?” Lupen asked Eka.<br />
    “Ianae! You no choose name! Wot choose,” Nono said, waving a finger
at them, “is no easy to guess name!”<br />
    “Yea, I mean, the name could be anything! How long did it take you
to guess Ponopo’s name?” Lupen asked.<br />
    Nono took a long sip of plumpkin ale. “Five annum, but only after
Nono take bad, bad erb. For Nono friend, take long time. Fourteen
annums.”<br />
    “Fourteen?!”<br />
    “Orae, orae! Mu-mu-mu-mu-mumford. Wot stutter, make guess
difficult,” Nono paused, “wot listen wid or widout name, but name make
connection strong! Some tink wot no choose name, dat dey wait to ear
name it like.”<br />
    Eka hoped it wouldn’t take that long, a fourteen-annum long guessing
game did not sound fun. “You’ve got an easy name, isn’t that right
Tom-tom?” A finger traced along the soft hairs on its back. The woth
went about its business, and joined Ponopo on the table to get some of
that sweet plumpkin juice.<br />
    “Tom-Tom?” Lupen said with a laugh, “it looks more like a Pino.”</p>
<p>After an evening of unsuccessful name-guessing Eka and Lupen said
goodbye to Nono, who gave them a map with areas marked in red of the
desert between Tiputa and Montore. “Dis place. Many floater[^43]. Many,
many danger. Take care when near, fleshies.”<br />
    They raised their tent in a clear space outside of town. Bou had
given Eka an extra length of fabric to extend the size of their shelter.
They had sown the two pieces together, and now two and half travelers
could lie under it—Hush agreed to laying halfway outside of the tent, so
the other two could have room.<br />
    “I would have loved to keep traveling aboard the sandfin,” Lupen
said, watching the unnamed woth tracing shapes through the air. They
wondered if this was its way of communicating its name, they spent a
long time trying to decipher it, but it turned out to be complete
gibberish.<br />
    Eka agreed. “They’re wonderful aren’t they? Wish the cabin was
taller though, I hit my head on the cross beam too many times during the
voyage.”<br />
    Lying in the tent, Lupen thought about name-giving. Verido had their
names written on their faces, but this wasn’t true for everyone. “Did
you pick your own name?”<br />
    Eka didn’t answer right away, brows furrowing as if in deep thought.
“Yes, I’ve had many names though.”<br />
    “Do you remember being grown?”<br />
    “Nope, but I have slept for long periods of time. I imagine being
born is like waking up after a long, long sleep.”<br />
    “What about dying? Where do you suppose we go after we’re
dead.”<br />
    “Your body stays right here.”<br />
    “What about my mind? Where do you think that goes?”<br />
    “Think about the time before you were grown. That was an okay time
wasn’t it?”<br />
    “I guess so. Well, I don’t remember…”<br />
    “We’re all part of the grand sweater that is our universe. We are a
single thread, and together we form a complex design, criss-crossed into
a variety of patterns. Sometimes these individual patterns unravel, but
they’re not lost, they remain part of the grand sweater. Nothing ever
disappears entirely,” saying this, Eka began to unravel Lupen’s sweater,
tugging on a loose bit of thread.<br />
    Lupen noticed this, and moved closer to help undo it. “I like this
analogy.”<br />
    “Analogy? You mean you don’t adhere to the idea of a
sweater-verse?”<br />
    Both spent the evening unravelling the isilk sweater until it was
back to not being a sweater at all, just a collection of thread.<br />
    Lupen lent Eka a vest to wear, and together they cooked up a pot of
bobonion soup. They ate it with some slices of toasted muckwheat bread.
Then, they recited poems about the sweater-verse until they fell
asleep.<br />
    Lupen did not dream of death, but dreamt of a world where everyone
was made of fabric, their skin and clothes knitted together. Children
made a game of unravelling each other’s arms, while the adults scolded
them. Lupen was in this dream, and there, hanging from the side of
everyone’s wrist was a thread, connecting Verido to Aodals, to Finikus,
to Terins, to looma roots, to every grain of sand, and to skyrocks too.
This thread bound all things, both known and unknown.</p>
<p>The next day, Lupen and Eka spent time with Bou. They had finished
their tasks early, so Bou closed the store for the day and introduced
them to some of the locals. They ate plenty of muckwheat bread, a local
specialty. The bread was served with fermented sagery jam and thin
slices of sun-dried totomites.<br />
    One of Bou’s friends had Vennec babies and insisted on showing them
off. Vennecs were large, humpbacked, furry beasts with thin snouts,
large pointy ears and a long slender neck. The vennec babies were asleep
in a pile, it was hard to tell where one started and another ended.
Soon, the babies were on their feet, and ran circles around them. Eka
laughed, stroking their soft hairs. Lupen’s face was buried in the fur
of one of the larger cubs.<br />
    “Vennec too young now, but in one annum you come back. Vennec become
strong, make good travel companion.” The vennec grower said.<br />
    Having a pup now would be impractical, as they had much travelling
to do. Lupen liked the idea of adopting a vennec. “You look like an
Aristollo.”<br />
    “Aristollo?” Eka said, eyes wide and glancing over at the Verido.
“But that’s the name of a—”<br />
    “Skyrock? Yes, I know that.”<br />
    “No. Well yes. But it’s also the name of an—”<br />
    “Iridi?” Lupen’s mouth curled into a smile, it was nice to appear
all-knowing for once, a rarity around someone like Eka.<br />
    “Yes again! Wow! Lupen you know <em>everything</em>!”<br />
    “I know a hundred ways to prepare looma roots,” Lupen began, “but I
don’t know the story of Aristollo. I’d like to hear it if you know
it.”<br />
    “It’s not my story to tell. We’ll find someone to tell it to you,
and on the way, you can tell me of the hundred ways to prepare Looma
roots.”<br />
    “I really couldn’t.”<br />
    “Yes, well, the muffled cries of your stomach pairs well enough with
my singing,” Eka said.</p>
<p>Back at their camp, Lupen held a hand up, making a landing platform
for the woth. They had been gifted a little portable house for their new
friend, a round glass ball with a hole on its side to be used as a door.
Inside, was a lining of soft banabo fabric, so that the woth could
easily find a spot in there and stay hidden. The ball was wrapped in
yellow thread and had a permanent attachment to Lupen’s belt. Bou had
left the gift hanging at the entrance of their tent.<br />
    “Rest well Duster,” but the woth did not react.<br />
    “Not even a twitch,” Eka said, looking at the sleeping messenger,
“it’s a nice name, maybe it didn’t hear me say it?”<br />
    They weren’t sure what the rules were. How would the woth react once
it heard its own name? Maybe it would flutter extra harder, or would
change colour again? Lupen wished they’d asked Nono more questions, but
the Finiku had left after the second sunset for another delivery, both
suspected that Gree had something to do with their friend’s hasty
departure.</p>
<p>The following morning, even before Eka had time to slip on some day
clothes, Orin appeared at the door a bundle in hand. The clothes were
ready and the tailor was eager to see them on Eka. Eka changed into the
new outfit while Lupen brought the Finiku some herbal tea, served with a
slice of lemilim and some grated sweet root. The tailor was unusually
quiet, and stared at the Verido.<br />
    The trousers were loose, yet tight in all the right places, reaching
up over Eka’s midriff and held there without the need for a belt. The
undershirt looked plain to the untrained eye, but it was made of banabo
fibres. The stitching was reinforced around the neck and shoulders. Orin
even made a scarf with sleeves, large enough to throw over your head for
protection from sand storms.<br />
    “You are a true master! These are wonderful!”<br />
    Orin’s face reddened at those words. “Oh it’s nothing, really! It
pleases me that you like it.”<br />
    “Like? I <em>love</em> it!” Eka said.<br />
    The tailor had not noticed then, but Lupen had moved to the end of
the room. The Verido came back with a large bundle of thread and placed
it onto the Finiku’s lap.<br />
    “Vo-vo-vo-lare isilk?” Orin said, voice high with emotion.<br />
    Lupen nodded. The thread of the sweater was re-bundled and bound
with a matching blue ribbon.<br />
    “Now you can make something for yourself with it,” the Verido
said.<br />
    Orin began to bawl, fingers curling around the precious bundle of
thread. “T-t-this is t-too much,” there was no stopping those tears,
“y-you be t-too k-kind.”</p>
<h1 id="skyrock">Skyrock</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.seshell.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Seshell krabs are pearly white creatures that bear a shell with a
face. It is thought that if you do them harm, they will remember your
face and chase you down.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the tale of a lonely piece of matter. It was once part of
some other, larger body, but they’d since parted. There was no way to
measure how much time had passed since then, which was just as well,
because time didn’t matter out here. Skyrock had seen much of the
universe. It no longer grieved for home, nor did it fear the unknown.
Contrary to what it first thought, the great expanse did not inspire
fear, it was soothing, and everything made sense here. The celestial
bodies danced with one another, locked into a slow waltz.<br />
    Skyrock rather liked the time it had spent adrift, but then it
neared the atmosphere of a yellow planet and was pulled down onto it. It
lost much of its mass in the descent, but still had enough to cause a
great big fuss when it struck.<br />
    Now, Skyrock was faced with a new reality, but it knew that one day
the waltz would resume, and so its mind quieted.</p>
<p>It sat idly for many annums. It saw the suns and moons pass many
times. It wasn’t tiresome, on the contrary, it celebrated each passing
and would count them up.<br />
    “…”<br />
    Skyrock did not know how to count, but it liked to try.<br />
    It was about to assign an outrageously large series of what it
thought to be numbers and letters to this next moon passing when some
travelers stopped a short distance away. A shell lodged itself in the
foot of their furry companion, and the riders were forced to
dismount.<br />
    One had hair like a sun, and the other hair like sand with a face
like the sky. Skyrock gave them names then: Sun and Sky-sand. They were
fascinated with the shells that covered the ground, and began to search,
to try and find the most beautiful shell of all.<br />
    Skyrock wondered if perhaps it too qualified as a shell. Sun found
one that was turning and coiling and somehow ending back onto itself.
Sky-sand had dug up a shell of a most peculiar shape, it had a face
carved into it. Skyrock knew these well.<br />
    “Um. Lu. That’s a seshell krab,” Sun said.<br />
    Multiple pairs of legs came pushing out of the sides of the shell,
along with a set of tiny black eyeballs sitting atop lanky strings of
skin. Sky-sand screamed and dropped it to the ground. This amused
Skyrock, oh the sounds these fleshy ones could make!<br />
    The seshell krab began to throw bits of broken shells over itself,
burrowing deep into the ground. It was not rare for one of them to
burrow underneath Skyrock, and to cause it to shift to a new place—this
too was fun, each time it happened it wondered where it would shift to
next.<br />
    “Are they <em>all</em> alive?!” Sky-sand said, breathing hard. “Not
sure I like the idea of standing on a sea of living things…”<br />
    “No no, just the ones with faces. Avoid those if you can. They’re
bad tempered. If you mess with them they’ll chase you to return the
favour. They never forget a face.”<br />
    “What if they only saw half my face?” Sky-sand said, coiling a piece
of blue fabric to conceal part of it.<br />
    “Then all who share your upper face are in trouble. Bit selfish
don’t you think?”<br />
    “What if I had no face?”<br />
    “Then everyone’s a potential victim.”<br />
    Sky-sand’s eyes widened. “Scary.”<br />
    Sun started to whistle a tune and found yet another impossible
shape: a flat shell coiling and again, ending back onto itself. “Look at
this one!”<br />
    Sky-sand seemed to envy Sun, wishing to find an interesting shell
too. Then, Skyrock caught the eye of this sky-faced scavenger and grew
nervous, no two-legged land dweller had ever come this close to
it.<br />
    “Beautiful,” Sky-sand said, eyes aglow and nearing a hand to
Skyrock.<br />
    “Disqualified!” Sun shouted, Skyrock fidgeted with ever-growing
excitement. “That’s a skyrock, not a shell.”<br />
    “Really? I thought they’d be bigger than this.”<br />
    “They lose bits of themselves when they fall out of the sky.”<br />
    “Oh. That’s sad isn’t it? Losing bits of yourself,” Sky-sand said,
looking at the rock from all angles.<br />
    “You lose bits of yourself all the time too, you know.”<br />
    “You mean like, skin and hair and things?” Sky-sand said, trying to
picture this body worn down to the size of a fist.<br />
    “Does it makes you sad?” Sun asked.<br />
    “Not really. Um. I don’t know why I said that.” Sky-sand’s fingers
traced around the flat face of Skyrock then, “there’s nothing sad about
you Skyrock. You’re the most experienced of us all, and too beautiful
for this ball of dust.”<br />
    Skyrock felt proud. It was in a most wonderful state. Time and
weather had smoothed down its exterior. The two land dwellers were very
impressed with this, and decided to transform its body again, in a very
big way. Skyrock was ground down further, and shaped into two pendants,
a string was tied to one end. Skyrock was now split in two, it hung
around the necks of each land-dweller. It could see itself on the breast
of the other, it was a most unusual sight. Skyrock relished in this new
perspective.<br />
    How wondrous, it thought.<br />
    Sky-sand and Sun returned to their fuzzy companion, and left the sea
of broken shells behind.</p>
<h1 id="an-oasis">An Oasis</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.floater.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>A round floating creature, that changes colour depending on its
mood. It is orange when normal, red when angry, and yellow when
confused. If threatened, the creature will throw itself upon an enemy,
its skin is like goo and sticks to its victims. The skin can become as
hot as hot coals, prolonged exposure can kill.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lupen and Eka made a detour to a hollow, despite Nono’s warnings that
the place was dangerous. The weather that day was not cooperating, and
this particular detour offered better conditions. They were instructed
to transit quickly, but their sore feet made walking fast
difficult.<br />
    Near the hollow, Hush stopped after seeing spotted round creatures
hovering in the distance, they had black points for eyes, long fluttery
wings and tiny slits for mouths. The hyroo would not move forward,
fearful of the strange beings ahead.<br />
    “Whoa! Look at those!”<br />
    Eka grabbed Lupen’s shoulder, “remember what Nono said.” These
creatures were familiar to Eka, but little was known of them because
usually people made a point of avoiding them.<br />
    The Verido took a step forward, the creatures turned a solid red
colour and flew towards them. Eka leapt onto Hush and reached over to
grab Lupen’s collar, but one of the creatures latched itself onto the
hyroo’s side and another to Lupen’s chest. Their bodies were sticky like
goo, and burned like hot coals.<br />
    In a panic, Hush bounded fast and far into the distance. Eka kicked
at the soft gooey body to get it off, but it would just bounce back into
shape. Hush landed with a roll, sending all passengers cascading onto
the ground before rubbing its side on the sand and clawing at the
parasite with its hind legs. Clawing was not enough to get this
spherical creature to let go, Lupen even tried hitting it with the butt
of a mug, nothing worked. Hush leapt into the air again, as high as Eka
had ever seen it jump. The beast became a point into the sky, just
another skyrock orbitting the planet.<br />
    There was no way to help Hush now, and so Eka went to assist the
other victim. The creatures had burned through Lupen’s vest and
undershirt already. Lupen was in agony, twisting on the ground.<br />
    “I can’t get it off!” Eka cried, trying to pry it off using a rock
as a barrier.<br />
    Moments later, Hush returned, the parasite was gone but the skin
where it had been had been stripped of all fur. This is how they would
get rid of them: altitude and cold. Eka whistled for Hush and climbed
onto its back, pulling Lupen along.<br />
    “Take us up again Hush! As high as you can!”<br />
    As before, Hush jumped high and fast. The parasite quickly abandoned
its host. When they landed again, they were a good distance away,
leaving the fluttery fiends behind.<br />
    Lupen lay on the ground, speaking through gritted teeth. “Those
things, why did they attack us?”<br />
    “They’re territorial, I know that, but there’s usually not so many
together in one place.”<br />
    There was a logical explanation, but right now Eka focused on
crushing waterstones over Lupen’s wounds to help reduce pain and
swelling. The injury was covered to keep air and sand from the seared
surface. Hush received the same treatment. It was nearly dark, and with
two wounded it was best to set camp here.</p>
<p>That night, the skin around Lupen’s burn had become red, swollen and
sore. Eka prepared some tea laced with herbs to prevent infection, but
lacked many key ingredients. Staying out here was not an option and the
next town was too far. Tomorrow, Eka would try and search the land for
the missing herbs.</p>
<p>Eka prepared nuni nuggets for everyone. Nuni was a starchy stuber
with bright yellow flesh, it had a taste and smell that could best be
described as being robust. Lupen loved nuni, more for the manner in
which it stained the inside of your mouth yellow than for its flavor.
They ate many on the trip, and made bets on who’s mouth would be most
yellow. Eka placed the leftovers, the skin and tips of the nuni into a
jar along with some brine to pickle for a few days.<br />
    The food was divided into three plates, but before breakfast could
be served, a plump leaf-tailed orange hound appeared at the entrance of
their tent, mouth agape, gushing with saliva. Eka wondered where this
leafhound[^44] came from, but glancing behind the hound, Eka’s eyes
locked onto a distant point of colour, a spot of green.<br />
    “Is that where you came from?”<br />
    The hound barked, triggering a series of faint yaps and yips, all
coming from the faraway green smudge. A pool of clear slime had
accumulated at the animal’s feet, dripping from its long purple tongue.
Eka cut a piece of nuni, tossed it over, watched as their visitor
gobbled it up, and waited for more, its antennae-like ears twitching in
anticipation.<br />
    “You really like that, huh?” Eka said.<br />
    Breakfast was served, although Lupen was in a feverish state and
couldn’t eat. Hush had no problem eating, and despite Eka’s warnings
helped itself to Lupen’s portion.<br />
    “Yea, yea. I know. I know you’ve got two stomachs,” Eka said,
caressing the hyroo’s fur, “right now you’re the mapa okay? You take
care of Lu while I’m gone.”<br />
    Hush’s ears twitched at the word ‘gone’. While not familiar with the
letter making up the word it recognized the sound and length and
associated it with a moment of prolonged absence, a thing it didn’t
like. Hush let out a pained whine, lowering its head into Eka’s
hands.<br />
    “I won’t be far, just listen for me,” Eka said, fingers brushing the
contours of the hyroo’s large parabolic ears. Hush yielded then, letting
out a yip and taking Lupen’s side.<br />
    Eka smirked, and turned to the orange hound. “Okay! Let’s get
going!”</p>
<p>Both walked out of the tent and into the desert. The wind was down,
and the suns felt extra hot. The leafhound followed Eka closely,
well-aware of the existence of a secret piece of nuni, hidden in the
palm of Eka’s hand. The leafhound stayed close, as if to make sure no
one else would get it.<br />
    Gradually, the point of colour expanded into a row of trees. At its
centre there were patches of colour, each colour corresponding to a
different crop. There was no way that this place had come into being on
its own, this improbable oasis was the work of a devoted carer. Looking
further, Eka glimpsed a few of those horrible floaters hovering around
the green piece of land. It would be impossible to go near it without
them noticing. If one of them did, without Hush or Lupen around to help,
Eka and the hound would be in trouble. The orange hound seemed calm, not
bothered by their presence. Eka assumed that it had come through here
once already, and yet it had not suffered any harm. Had they not seen
the hound? Maybe it knew of another way inside. Eka’s eyes were looking
out for any movement in the oasis. There were many other leafhounds
there, one of them was chasing a floater that had wandered a bit too far
inland. The floater turned yellow and backed away, returning to the
outer perimeter.<br />
    Eka returned to camp, the faithful leafhound trailing behind. Using
the nuni as a lure was brilliant, Eka thought. They would make their way
inside with the hound, drawn close by the irresistible allure of the
yellow tuber, and keep the floaters away all the while. Hopefully, this
hound was scary enough to protect all three of them and grant them safe
passage into the oasis. Eka packed the tent and supplies, and the
injured Verido was secured onto Hush. The group marched towards the
oasis, stopping at the edge, waiting.<br />
    Lupen opened one fatigued eye. “Eka no… we can’t.”<br />
    “It’s okay, we’ve got a guide this time.”<br />
    The hound was at their side, mouth dripping with saliva. The last
bit of nuni in hand. Eka stepped onto the grass, marking the entrance to
the oasis. The spheres reacted. They raced over but did not attack, not
while the orange mutt was there. Eka gave the leafhound half of the
piece of nuni, it swallowed it whole and waited for the rest.<br />
    “Mind guiding us all the way in?” Eka asked, “I promise you’ll get
the rest, and more!”<br />
    The hound yipped, and led them deeper into the oasis. The spheres
had all gathered around them, but left a corridor for them to walk
through. Their skin color changed from red, to orange and back to
yellow. Lupen was hiding under the fabric of the tent, feeling dubious
about the whole idea. The round creatures stared, but did not
move.<br />
    Eka was glad that they were safe, but then noticed other hounds in
the oasis staring at their little group. None charged at them, or made a
sound.<br />
    Lupen breathed a sigh of relief, and Eka offered the rest of the
nuni to the hound, caressing its head. “Good job hound!”<br />
    Someone was shouting from the top of the hill, then came running
towards them brandishing a rake. A Terin, dark skinned, dark haired,
two-toed with thick limbs, head covered by a rimmed hat made from banabo
leaves. The hat was secured with a cloth tied under the chin. “Waldek!
What did you do? <em>No</em> one is allowed in here! You know
<em>this</em>!” Waldek, their guide into the oasis, yipped and wandered
off, nose to the ground, searching for more food.<br />
    “I love your green place!” Eka said, brightly.<br />
    “Leave! This is my property!” The Terin said, getting ready to push
the group back, but then noticed the hyroo and froze mid-step. “A hyroo?
Rare creatures, very few grow… hyroos need lots of moisture, a temperate
climate. How is this possible?”<br />
    Eka could see the farmer’s fascination for Hush, but right now they
had more pressing matters. “Those things out there attacked us, my
friends are hurt.”<br />
    The Terin was distracted, eyes fixed on the hyroo still. “There has
been talk of receding genes, of young ones hibernating in the soil and
awaiting the proper conditions to grow. Yes, yes. This is what must have
happened…” but then a frown replaced the expression of wonder, “staying
here? Impossible. You’ll have to go somewhere else.”<br />
    Eka removed the scarf, revealing a red head of hair, “time, shelter
and medicine, in exchange for 3 questions about my friend Hush.”<br />
    “How will I know your answers aren’t lies?”<br />
    “You can trust me.”<br />
    Those eyes, and those same rounded ears, the Terin thought, then
spoke aloud in a quiet voice, “similar, but different.” Dirty digits
scratched at the wood of the rake, nail beds brown with soil, there were
bits of it stuck on the clothes too. The farmer then glanced over at the
sick Lupen, laying a hand on the side of the Verido’s face, then
brieftly put two fingers to the side of Lupen’s throat, grabbed the chin
to see the tongue, and then lifted an eyelid to see the eyes. “Umph,
your friend had another accident, before <em>this</em> one I
mean.”<br />
    “Yea,” Eka nodded, “fell off an Ilk.”<br />
    “Well, that explains a lot. No Verido in their right mind would
choose to leave an Ilk. And before that?”<br />
    “I wasn’t there before that, but now that I think of it, my friend
<em>is</em> very accident prone. Not a lot of world experience, if you
know what I mean…”<br />
    The Terin took a deep breath. “You can stay until your friend’s
condition improves, but you can’t wander around my grounds without me
saying so, and you can’t touch <em>anything</em> unless given to you. Is
that clear?”<br />
    Eka nodded in thanks. Lupen breathed out a weak, but heartfelt thank
you. The Verido was sweating profusely, eyelids heavy, drawn down by
many tiny invisible hands.<br />
    “I need some medililly herbs to treat my friend’s wounds.”<br />
    The Terin promised to bring some fresh sprigs over later, returning
to the house atop the hill.<br />
    Hush started to whine then, with Eka nodding to every grunt and
growl, “yes I agree. Our host is overprotective, and has a big heart!
I’m glad you picked up on that.”<br />
    Eka raised their tent, helped Lupen inside and sat down to watch the
orange dogs walking through the fields. They looked at every single
crop, their antennae prodding them gently, as if they were asking them
about their health. The oasis was divided into many parts. The front had
fresh produce, like karonins<a href="#fn41" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref41" role="doc-noteref"><sup>41</sup></a> and babams, teaweet
and other grains sat in between the vegetables and the small house atop
the hill. Eka could see a space contoured by tall hedges behind that,
but the green fence made it impossible to see what was inside.<br />
    Waldek would come by their tent often to check on them. A very good
mapa, Eka thought.</p>
<p>Later that day, the voice of the Terin sounded outside of the
tent.<br />
    “Hello Zucca!” Eka wandered out, “you can call me Eka, and that
trumpet-eared invalid in there is Lupen.”<br />
    “How do you know my name?”<br />
    “Oh, your leafhound Waldek told Hush, and Hush told me because I
don’t speak leafhound, not <em>well</em> anyway. I always mix up the
subtleties in the yaps. Don’t get me started on the yips! It’s a very
tonal language, not easy to master, and there are <em>so</em> many
dialects!”<br />
    “I don’t like lies, or jokes. I’m going to apply your friend’s
medicine. I don’t want to hear any more nonsense.” Zucca prepared two
medililly poultices. The soft, moist mass was applied to Lupen and
Hush’s wounds, and wrapped carefully with a clean strip of notcott
cloth. “What is the name of the mountain you spoke about, where the
hyroos grow? It’s within the Central Rim isn’t it?” Zucca asked, eyes
locked on the hyroo. The large-eared creature was resting now, coiled
into a tight ball with its head hidden. Its body expanded and contracted
with every breath. Zucca put a hand to the hyroo’s side, inspecting its
fur.<br />
    “It hasn’t got one, places without names remain strangely
unseen.”<br />
    “You won’t say. You think I’ll tell?”<br />
    “I’m telling you the truth. It <em>hasn’t</em> got one.”<br />
    “Okay. Fine.” Zucca was displeased with this answer. “So then, how
long do hyroos live for?”<br />
    “Two haty’annums? Maybe? It really depends.”<br />
    “And how old is Hush?”<br />
    “Less than an annum old, Hush is very green,” saying this, Eka
turned to caress the back of the sleeping hyroo.<br />
    “They grow that big in just one annum? Remarkable.”<br />
    “That makes three questions!”<br />
    “No, no. That first one doesn’t count. I didn’t get an
answer.”<br />
    Eka thought about this for a moment, then shrugged, “okay, you get a
redo.”<br />
    Zucca nodded before leaving the tent, that last question needed to
be pondered carefully.</p>
<p>The next day, Hush was sitting outside the tent with Waldek, healthy,
gnawing contentedly on a stalk of spicy gingin root. Under the cover of
darkness, their leaf-tailed guide had snuck a pile of fresh produce for
them. Zucca’s words came to Eka’s mind then: ‘Take only what is given to
you.’ Zucca had not intended on Waldek helping them. “Technically, we
aren’t breaking any rules…” Eka said, eyeing Waldek.<br />
    The orange critter let out a yip before returning to its meal, it
had helped itself to some of the items in the pile. Eka smiled, gathered
some produce and began to cook breakfast.</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    <strong>Pan-fried mapple toast</strong></p>
<p>    <em>Ingredients</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Two mapples<br />
    One grated sweet root nub<br />
    One avoka nut<br />
    Four teaweet bread slices<br />
    One pureed bonan<br />
    One lanivanil bleen<br />
    One waterstone</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    <em>Instructions</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Cut open lanivanil bleen and scoop out insides. Mash bonan with
back of spoon, and squeeze one water stone overtop until empty, add
lanivanil bleen paste and mix well. Put aside.<br />
    Peel and cut mapples into cubes and grate a nub of sweet root. Put
pan over source of heat, when hot crack open avoka nut and empty the oil
in the pan. Add the cubed mapple and the grated sweet root, pan-fry
until caramelized. Keep aside.<br />
    Dip the slices of teaweet bread in the bonan puree mix, and cook in
a pan until the sides have browned.<br />
    Serve the slices with a generous scoop of caramelized mapples.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    “I made you some toast! Eka style!” Eka said, presenting this
tasty creation to the bed-bound Verido.<br />
    Lupen was awake, and was looking much better. “Whoa! Fresh mapples!
Zucca let you take them?” With eyes now closed, the patient took a bite,
as if the momentary absence of one sense could heighten another.<br />
    “It was a gift from our friend Waldek. Our little secret! Oh! You’re
going to <em>love</em> this place Lu! It’s full of greens and oranges
and purples and—”<br />
    Yesterday, Lupen had been too sick to take in the details of the
oasis, but now beyond the fragrant poetry of the mapple toast, this nose
detected hints of sweet norcorn<a href="#fn42" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref42" role="doc-noteref"><sup>42</sup></a> and teaweet in the
air.<br />
    “—and blues!” Eka finished.<br />
    “Looking forward to seeing that,” Lupen said with a smile, before
taking note of the poultice, “thanks for taking care of me.”<br />
    “Sure Sure! Zucca made that poultice for you though, that’s what
healed you up.”<br />
    “Oh. I’ll thank Zucca too then.”<br />
    “You’d better! Medililly takes ages to grow, it was kind of our host
to spare some,” Eka said.<br />
    After their meal, they removed the poultice and checked the wound,
the inflammation was down.</p>
<p>Under the midday suns, Lupen and Eka sat in front of their tent,
playing the game Nohi’yara to pass the time. They had jars covered with
a thin cloth, and each person had to smell and guess the spice aloud.
Whoever got the most right won the game. Lupen picked up another jar to
smell it.<br />
    “This is a tough one. Rosemeric? I think?” And passed it to
Eka.<br />
    “Thymin.”<br />
    Lupen frowned, jotting down their guesses, “no way that’s
thymin.”<br />
    Eka smirked, picking up another jar to smell. “Popmeg.”<br />
    Lupen took the jar in turn, and frowned. “Popmeg? Yea
<em>right</em>! It’s dilly.”<br />
    “You know, it’s okay to make the same guess as me.” Eka said,
grabbing the last jar to smell it, “dilly.”<br />
    Lupen was going to start complaining about how unfair the game was
because Eka knew everything about everything always, but then they heard
Zucca yelling outside. They peered out through the opening of their
tent, spotting the Terin chasing pale winged insects out of a plumpkin
field.<br />
    “Oh! You have mosslings<a href="#fn43" class="footnote-ref"
id="fnref43" role="doc-noteref"><sup>43</sup></a> in your produce!” Eka
said.<br />
    “Can’t get rid of them. They hate lemilim grass so I planted some to
keep them away, but I’m beginning to think they’ve developed a taste for
it. Curse these things, they make everything rot!” Zucca said, breathing
hard, tired from chasing after them.<br />
    Lupen had stayed near the tent, sipping tea, content despite the
ever-present chest pains. The oasis had a voice, speaking through the
rustling of the various plants. A concerto of greenery. There were not
many around to listen, a handful of hounds, the caretaker, and Eka.
Zucca and the hounds were producing all of this food for themselves,
with no one else around to feed, that is unless there was a village of
tiny people over there in that walled garden by the house. Lupen brought
up the topic later that day, when tasked with peeling babams for their
meal.<br />
    “Let’s ask the vegetables!” Eka set the peeled babams down in a pot
and wandered over to the fields, stopping near a mossling-infested
karonin patch, “hey there, how are you all feeling?” Eka paused, then
laughed aloud, “yea, those mosslings are relentless, aren’t they?”<br />
    Lupen watched from afar, frowning. “Stop it. You do not speak
vegetable.”<br />
    Eka responded with a quick shush, then resumed the conversation. “So
what’s the deal with Zucca anyway?” Eka pressed an ear against the side
of a karonin, listening for an answer, “oh! A <em>secret</em> you
<em>say</em>?”<br />
    Lupen watched, resisting the urge to ask about what the karonin was
saying. Asking would mean giving into this prank, but then again Eka
knew a lot about the world, perhaps there was such a thing as Vegetable
Speak, a language of light and vibrations. After a short conversation,
Eka rose and wandered back over to Lupen.<br />
    “So um, what did the karonin say?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “It said that there is something valuable here,” saying this, Eka
covered these ruby eyes with two hands and uncovered them just as
quickly, “hidden away!”<br />
    “Valuable? You mean like a treasure?”<br />
    “Like a secret,” Eka corrected, pressing the point of a finger hard
on Lupen’s nose before continuing to peel some babams.<br />
    The thought of a secret was intriguing, but likely false. Even so,
Lupen could not sleep, haunted by the idea of a treasure, drawn by
mystery and the unknown. If Zucca had a secret it would be somewhere
near the house, that whole area looked very sheltered and private.</p>
<p>The next day, Lupen got up before the first sun. Zucca was awake
already, standing in the fields, tending to the crops and far too busy
to notice anyone else was up. Lupen knew better than to break into
someone’s home, and instead decided to circle it, hopefully this would
satiate this Verido’s curiosity.<br />
    Lupen arrived near, but the tall green hedge blocked the way and
there was no break in its branches, no way to see through the thickness.
Lupen put an arm’s length in it, to see if it was as thick as it looked.
“Um, thick indeed,” Lupen said, but then froze. Waldek was here,
standing close. “Hey Waldek! We’re friends right? You’re not going to
tell on me are you?” Lupen said in a low voice, stuck halfway into the
hedge, scarf and hair caught into the branches.<br />
    Waldek let out a quiet bark, and then another.<br />
    “No no no shush, shush!” Lupen begged. Getting out of the shrubbery
was harder than getting in, its branches curled inwards and refused to
let go, “I can’t get out!”<br />
    Waldek caught the scent of food in the air, from Eka making
breakfast and ran off, leaving Lupen alone in the hedge. “Oh good, oh
good…” Lupen tried to wriggle out, but the only way out of this would be
to break branches, and then Zucca would know someone had been here.
Going inside, giving in to the pull of the branches was the best option.
With a grunt and an ow, the Verido popped out of the other side, clothes
full of leaves, and skin full of scratches. The hedge now had a
Lupen-shaped hole, a weird not-quite triangular outline that made the
hedge look like it was in mid-cry. This supposedly inoffensive excursion
around Zucca’s house had turned into a break-in. The branches of the
shrub and its curly fingers made me do it, was hardly an excuse. Lupen
could not accuse the karonin either, blaming the words of a rotten
vegetable would do no one any good.<br />
    “What am I doing,” the Verido took a step back, but another orange
leafhound began to bark and growl from inside the compound. Lupen kept
as far away from the hound as the hedge permitted, fitting back in the
Verido-shaped hole, and in this instant, Lupen saw what the hedge was
concealing. A vast green field full of unborn children. The reason that
the hound was so miffed, was because Lupen had almost crushed one. “Oh
hey, I’m sorry.”<br />
    The hound’s antennae-ears caressed the near-crushed child gently,
all was well, its protector was content. Although it did not approve of
the intruder’s proximity, and with a push of the nose, the leafhound
nudged Lupen away from the field. This place was full of little green
nubs pushing out of the soil. Some had leaves that had different shapes,
and colours.<br />
    “This is a nursery.” Lupen said, amazed.<br />
    Lupen had seen nurseries before, they had a small one in Volare, but
at most the village had two children growing at once, this place had
many more. A nursery this size explained the need for a large and
reliable food source. Zucca had planted enough to populate a small city.
After circling the field, under the watchful eye of the hound, Lupen
moved closer to the house to look at a calendar on a wall, marked with
possible birthdates. There were bags of grains, as well as a giant stone
bowl with a yukwood mallet. Lupen ran a hand along the insides of the
bowl, and tasted. “Granulated teaweet berries!” Teaweet was a widely
consumed grain, but this teaweet was different, it had a strong aroma
and tasted sweet, clean and fresh.<br />
    Lost in thought, Lupen had only just noticed a figure moving inside
the house. It was time to leave. The Verido hurried back towards the
bushes. Precipitated by the fear of being discovered, Lupen kicked dirt
over the footprints, threw the broken branches back into the hedge, and
pushed through the dense thicket before emerging on the other side.</p>
<p>“You <em>do</em> realize I was making fun of you. Zucca <em>does</em>
have a secret though, that much is clear,” Eka said.<br />
    “There’s a nursery in there! Full of tiny people like we said! A
nursery encircled by hedges. There’s tons of grains, and rows and rows
of growing children!” the Verido paused then, “think Zucca’s raising an
army?”<br />
    Eka laughed at this, “definitely. They’ll be carving swords from
karonins, and helmets from hollowed-out kyabe!”<br />
    Just then, they heard barking outside. The hounds were likely
chasing away another floater, but then there were strange voices,
followed by Zucca’s classic line: “Get off my land!”<br />
    Lupen and Eka poked their heads out of the tent to look at the
scene, Zucca was at the edge of the oasis with a band of leafhounds,
barring entry to a vennec-pulled wagon and three travelers.<br />
    “You need to leave!” Zucca said to them.<br />
    One of the travelers raised an empty sac of grains to show that they
were in dire need of supplies.<br />
    “Leave <em>now</em>. There will be consequences if you don’t!” Zucca
yelled again.<br />
    “You’d prefer we die then?” One of the travelers said.<br />
    Zucca pulled a handful of green herbs out of a side pouch and tossed
it at them before pulling away. The hounds, too, backed off as the
floaters came rushing in, attracted by the scent of the herbs.<br />
    Lupen watched, cringing as multiple floaters latched onto the skin
of the smallest of the group. The victim fell on the ground, screaming,
as the others tried to get them off. Lupen’s chest still ached from the
recent attack, “we’ve got to help them!” The Verido turned to Eka, who
had already left the tent and was now riding Hush. With a quick motion,
Eka grabbed the collar of the injured traveler, and together they jumped
up high toward the sky like they’d done before. Altitude and cold, two
things they knew worked against them. The other two travelers boarded
their wagon and ran away, urging their vennec forward.<br />
    Zucca did not fail to see that Eka had helped them, and the farmer’s
angry eyes moved to Lupen. “You’re with <em>them</em> aren’t you? They
sent you ahead didn’t they? I trusted you!” The leafhounds stayed at the
edge of the oasis while Zucca moved toward Lupen, flipping the rake
around and aiming the end of the handle at the Verido’s throat.<br />
    Lupen did not move. “You <em>can</em> trust me Zucca!”<br />
    “Then why’s your friend helping them?” Zucca spat.<br />
    “Because Eka is kind.”<br />
    “What about you? Are you <em>kind</em>, Lupen?”<br />
    “I like to think I am, yes.”<br />
    Zucca’s face was warped with rage. “You were in my nursery today.
Don’t deny it! I know you were there! What did you see? You stole from
me didn’t you?”<br />
    Lupen knew it was dumb to think that their host wouldn’t find out,
only a blind person could have missed that large hole in the hedge. “I’m
sorry. I <em>did</em> go, but I took nothing.”<br />
    “I’m sick of this! Of people like you coming in here, feigning
kindness to steal from me!”<br />
    Lupen was afraid of what Zucca would do in this heightened state,
then Eka landed back in the oasis with Hush and the injured traveler.
“Why did you bring that filth back in here!?” Zucca’s voice was becoming
shrill with fury.<br />
    “We need to care for these wounds,” Eka said, carrying the injured
traveler, which did not help to suppress Zucca’s growing anger.<br />
    “I made a mistake letting you come in here.” Zucca’s hand dove into
the side pouch again, but Lupen grabbed the Terin’s arm.<br />
    “Don’t do it! <em>Please</em>.”<br />
    “That’s sweet grass, that’s what attracts the floaters!” Eka said,
hand on Zucca’s pouch of herbs.<br />
    Zucca couldn’t push Eka away, those ruby eyes had a soothing quality
to them. Eka and Lupen learned then that the valley around the oasis was
full of patches of sweet grass, planted there purposefully, to attract
the floaters and to keep people away.<br />
    “You’ve been feeding those things? Do you know how many of us have
been hurt?” The injured traveler said.<br />
    “You think I don’t <em>know</em>?!” Zucca’s voice adopted a deep,
menacing tone. The caretaker looked tired of fighting and arguing. “I
take no pleasure in hurting others, I really don’t, but I don’t have the
energy to keep intruders away on my own anymore, I don’t have many
hounds left.”<br />
    They convinced their host to let them heal the wounded traveler. It
was uncharacteristic of the Terin to trust strangers like this, but Eka
inspired trust. Round ears. People with round ears, according to this
Terin, were known to be kind.<br />
    After the second sunset, from their camp in the oasis, they could
see that the wagon was still out there. A fire danced in the distance,
signalling their presence. Eka had sent the woth over, to instruct the
other travelers to stay close, to make no attempt to come to the oasis,
that their friend would be cared for, and returned to them the next
day.<br />
    The woth fluttered back after the message was delivered, “thank you
Crumpet,” but alas, the woth did not answer to that name and went to
rest inside of its glass house.</p>
<p>Zucca, Lupen, Eka were in the tent. The Terin decided not to rest
until all the intruders had gone away. Eka’s nose had discerned all the
ingredients used in Zucca’s poultice, and had re-created it using herbs
that Waldek had once more secretly provided. Of course, none of this was
lost on Zucca. The farmer eyed both Waldek and the poultice with
suspicious eyes.<br />
    “All they want is food. Surely you can spare some?” Lupen
asked.<br />
    Zucca was busy filling a pipe with dried bonan leaves, after
lighting it, the Terin took a few deep puffs. The whole tent was soon
filled with the smell of bonan. “They <em>never</em> just want
food.”<br />
    The Verido looked puzzled. “What do you mean?”<br />
    “Land, food, and seeds.”<br />
    “The children…” Lupen said in a low voice, but Zucca had seen the
word on the Verido’s lips.<br />
    “What made you trespass into my home Lupen?”<br />
    “You have so much produce, more than enough to feed yourself and
those hounds for annums. I just wanted to understand. Besides, you can’t
know that people will want more, the travelers just wanted a bit of
help.”<br />
    “You’re right, I can’t know, so I prefer to assume that they’re
false, it’s safer for the children and I.” The Terin dipped a finger in
some of the pipe ash and drew a symbol on the tent wall, a circle with a
diamond shape in its centre.<br />
    Lupen eyed the symbol carefully, but did not recognize it.<br />
    Zucca took another long puff from the pipe, before exhaling again.
“You Verido live very sheltered lives, don’t you? It’s the Irideri city
emblem,” then sighed, exhaling yellow smoke. “Iridi people are obssessed
with chloromyce shroos, a plant with unique properties. They discovered
it about a ki’annum ago. Harvesting them was hard work, Iridi workers
had to spend days in the dark digging. They didn’t want their people to
do grunt work, so they began to enlist workers from neighbouring cities
to do the harvesting for them. At first, there was promise of
compensation, they would be housed and fed and allowed to live in one of
the fastest growing cities in the Soronan Desert. Empty promises.
Workers were confined to the caves, they were not allowed to mingle with
the Iridi people in the city. Evidently, as news of the horrid work
conditions traveled, few enlisted. The Iridi then decided that their
only option was to capture workers. Their first target was Ministe,
where I lived at the time. The city was quickly overrun with Iridi
soldiers, and many of my friends were taken. Those who could fled to
nearby villages. They soon became overcrowded, as a result many were
forbidden from planting their young, but it was just as well because
malnutrition was rampant, and not many could produce healthy seeds.”
Zucca paused to refill the pipe with fresh bonan leaves.<br />
    “The Iridi had a steady flow of chloromyce shroos, but their leader
Moera was greedy, and tired of dealing with Terin workers. My people
work hard, but we’re stubborn.” Saying this, Zucca’s hand rolled into a
fist. “Moera decided that they would have to grow their own workers
instead, only then, would they be fully submissive. Myself, along with a
handful of other Terins, built the Suvalba Sanctuary, where a mapa could
come and sow their young in a protected environment. It was a secret
location, and it worked well for many annums, but then a group of Iridi
soldiers got word of it. They raided the sanctuary and took all of the
unsown seeds, and destroyed the rest. I escaped with a collection of
seeds, and some of the resident leafhounds. Losing the sanctuary was…
hard, harder on the parents that had trusted us with their young. We
weren’t soldiers, we couldn’t fight back.”<br />
    “Alone, I searched for a place to start fresh, somewhere far and
hidden. While on the outskirts of Montore, I met two strangers in the
desert who told me about a place that was still invisible to the world
and that could host such a project. Tired, and desperate, I followed
their instructions. I found the place. It was perfect. There was a great
recess in the land, surrounded by large irinwood trees, and rows of
fragglebush on the ground. This was no mirage. It was a miraculous
remnant of the old world. The trees and shrubs would protect the new
sanctuary from sand dunes shifting in high winds and from the eyes of
curious onlookers. In the hollow, I found a boundless waterstone pit.
But there was nothing growing there, getting it to the state it is now
took a long time, and a lot of work.”<br />
    “I’m glad they never found this place,” Lupen said, relieved.<br />
    “The Iridi might have expanded much further, if it hadn’t been for
the loss of their Luminary Moera. No one knows what happened, but it was
enough to stop the armies from advancing further. The next leader, Bao
The Bright, put an end to it. Now with a reliable source of workers,
they stopped the raids and closed their city to the world.” Zucca’s eyes
had burned through the tent wall, parted the row of irinwood trees,
shifted the sand dunes and split whole mountains to better watch
Irideri, to make sure that the Iridi city was still dormant, still
closed to the world. “May those brutes never leave the Andenuis
again.”</p>
<p>The next day, Zucca allowed Eka and Lupen to view the nursery, while
Hush and the hounds were left in charge of the patient in the tent.
Everyone on this dust ball was born in the earth, from seeds. A willing,
and healthy parent could sow a seed, and eventually the seed would grow
into a child. This could take a long time, depending on the state of the
soil and temperature. Some could only grow in the dark, others in
high-moisture environments, even altitude played a part in the growing
process. On their birth day, a carer would sever their roots, helping
each child out of the ground. The children needed protection and good
nutrition to thrive. The leaves on their heads would fall in time, and
like the roots, they left no marks behind.<br />
    Zucca pointed to the markings on Lupen’s face, “those lines are a
remnant of when everyone lived in the wilds. The Verido didn’t have
colour on their faces then. The colour segregation of your people is
unfortunate Lupen, I rather liked the subtleties of the patterns from
before, like veins on a leaf. These colours are so vulgar.”<br />
    Lupen wasn’t sure what to say, looking at the patterns on these arms
in silent embarrassment. The Verido recalled when these patterns were
coloured blue, it was a painful process. The people of Volare were proud
of the colour, it was a tribute to Vol, their carrier and protector. The
festivities around this event were extravagant, everyone in the city was
there baking looma root pies, organizing glider races and whistling
contests. For Lupen, the party was even more grandiose given their
relation to Volare. Now, thinking of it, perhaps these colours did serve
to separate their people…<br />
    Eka put a hand on Lupen’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “It looks
nice blue,” saying this, before ruffling up the Verido’s pale head of
hair, dispelling all feelings of unnecessary shamefaced-ness.<br />
    Zucca went on to explain that bearing seeds was a complicated
matter, anyone could start bearing seeds after a certain age. Though not
all would grow into children. A hungry and tired person would produce
nothing at all. Greenery too was a rarity, and it was the same for safe
planting grounds. Many stopped sowing. For the better part of history,
Terins were responsible for the steady, and healthy growth of children.
This dependence on outside help was the main cause for the world’s
growing depopulation problem. Levi had spoken of a Terin living in
Volare, that cared for the seeds, but this was long ago. Growing up, the
Verido had no memory of a Terin living amongst them. This raised many
questions, had the elders done away with this practice?<br />
    “Have you ever planted one of yours?” Lupen asked Zucca.<br />
    “I owe it to all of the mapas who entrusted me with their young to
finish the work I started in the Suvalba Sanctuary. Planting my own
would be selfish. These children are my responsibility, their needs and
safety are above my own.”<br />
    Conversations with Zucca always seemed to take a dark turn, it would
always end with Lupen feeling terrible.<br />
    Eka had wandered to another part of the nursery, accompanied by
Waldek who was excited to show how big the leaves of the children in the
far end of the field had become.<br />
    “I guess I don’t really want to sow seeds either.” Lupen said to
Zucca, eyes on a leaf, part of a row reserved for Aodal children. “My
reasons are selfish. I’ve always had pressure to do it. Because of my
connection with the Ilk, and to Volare… it was always expected of me. I
would have to sow a seed, to raise another Voice. It’s kind of a big
deal. Now that I left, my branch of the family has ended. I feel bad to
say it, but I’m sort of, you know… relieved.”<br />
    “Don’t dwell on it. You would make a terrible mapa,” Zucca said,
looking at the leaves of a nearby growing child.<br />
    Lupen laughed, Zucca’s honesty was brutal at times, but correct in
this case. “Yea. Maybe.”</p>
<p>Lupen returned to the tent midday, to check on their patient.<br />
    “Can you help us?” The patient was awake and sat up, despite the
wounds being fresh. A pair of thin hands shot forward and grabbed onto
Lupen, saying it again again, but with more confidence this time. “Help
us.”<br />
    “To do what exactly?” Lupen wanted to look away, but couldn’t.<br />
    “We need food if we hope to make it back to Kippu. All the usual
places we go to find cactubs or gingin roots, were empty… it’s never
happened before.”<br />
    “This annum’s been tough, I heard. I’m sure we can convince Zucca to
part with some produce.”<br />
    “That would be wonderful. By the way, my name is Laris.” Laris began
to relax, releasing the Verido and melting back into the bed. “You’ve
been here a while then? Have you seen the nursery?”<br />
    “Why do you ask?” Lupen replied, unsure if it was a good idea to
speak about this.<br />
    “Children are such a rarity these days, I’m of bearing age but it
just isn’t working out you know? It’s probably for the best, I can
barely feed myself.” Laris paused. “Do you think it is cruel to create
more life in such times?”<br />
    “I’ll talk to Zucca. I promise.”<br />
    “What about you? Would you bear children, I mean, if you could?”
Laris asked.<br />
    “No.” Lupen replied, but was shocked with how quickly this was said.
“I mean, I don’t know, really. I feel like I don’t know anything about
anything! One of my good friends told me once that I was always
underperforming, so afraid of failing to achieve great things that I
continued to fail. I lack confidence in a lot that I do, and I’m
wondering if my ‘not wanting to bear a seed’ is just another fear I
have, of failing.” Lupen noticed then that Laris had drifted off to
sleep, and laughed. “Rest well.” The Verido said, smiling, relieved that
this little speech had had no spectators.</p>
<p>Lupen decided to go and speak with Zucca again, walked around the
property, past the Verido-shaped hole in the bush, and entered through
the front door of the house, which was built in the Montore style, a
mixture of mud, sand, waterstones and dried grasses. It was a tall cube,
with several shorter annexes all around, where several holes had been
carved into every side, to allow the air to enter through one end and to
flow out of the other. A series of decorative lines, crisscrossing each
other, were carved into the outer walls. Lupen noted that the lines were
exactly the thickness of Zucca’s finger, the farmer had likely drawn the
pattern by hand before the material had set.<br />
    The front door of the house opened onto a narrow passageway, which
ran straight through the building, opening onto the nursery in the back.
At each side of this passage were spaces bordered by half walls. The
space on the left housed large recipients that were integral to the
house, filled with soured and salted plumpkins. The pickled food was
weighed down by large stones. Lupen could see that a thick, leathery
skin had formed on the surface. This skin, Lupen had learned, was a
byproduct of the pickling process, it was possible to dry it and to use
it as a sponge for cleaning. On the ceiling near the windows wrinkly
mapples hung from their stems, shriveled, dusted with the bloom of their
natural sugars on their surface. Zucca liked drying mapples, and during
their tour of the house yesterday had explained how at a certain stage
each fruit had to be massaged once a day to bring the sugar content to
the surface.<br />
    Along the walkway stacks of dried norcorn, and several other
dehydrated vegetables, were packaged into neat bundles of dried bonan
leaves. Each bundle was wrapped using a single leaf, held together
without string by a series of tucks and folds.<br />
    Lupen entered the nursery then, and saw Zucca adding waterstones to
a large hopper, with its bottom opening onto a set of thick rollers. A
windmill overhead would turn the rollers and crush the waterstones,
water would then flow down small trenches running through the crops,
flooding the area gradually.<br />
    “Can’t you give them supplies?” Lupen regretted the abruptness of
the question, but didn’t know how else to ask.<br />
    Zucca continued to work, heaving another armful of waterstones into
the hopper. “What did that vagabond tell you, hm?”<br />
    “The same thing they told you. They’re hungry.”<br />
    “And, like I told you and Eka, this is about more than food.”<br />
    “You can’t be sure of that! You may kill them if you don’t help.
This is what I know.”<br />
    “Dying, yes. That may be true, but that’s only because they spend
all their time begging for food. They should try gardening, or learning
to forage, instead of living like parasites.”<br />
    “Laris told me the harvest was poor out there,” Lupen said, “I
thought you cared about all life.”<br />
    “I do,” Zucca replied, irritated, “I’ll give them food and they’ll
ask to stay, then they’ll ask to see the nursery. The nursery makes
everyone lose their minds. Many feel that this world has too many unfed
mouths. Mouths. What about minds, I wonder? No one wants to learn.
Hardly anyone can name all of the plants that grow where they live. Yes,
I could teach the younger ones how to sow and care for food. I could do
that, but I can’t teach adults.” Zucca’s voice was gentle, even if the
words were harsh, the farmer knew better than to be angry in a nursery.
The children slept in the ground, their leaves swaying from side to side
as they dreamed good dreams. “Nowadays most prefer the comforts and
conveniences of a town, rather than finding their own food in the
desert. There’s plenty out there, but it takes time, it is difficult,
and you can’t be picky. The absolute guarantee of comfort and safety is
all anyone ever cares about now.”<br />
    The Soronan Desert had plenty of nomads, but every annum, more and
more settled into towns, lured by the promise of stability. Lupen spied
a sign on the back of the house.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Wherever you tread, greenery will follow.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>    Eat one, toss one, Lupen thought.<br />
    Zucca noticed the Verido’s wandering eyes. “My people used to find
all they needed out there. We’d walk from garden to garden, sow as we
go. Many don’t like what I do because it is so laborious, but as I said,
their lives matter more than mine, I’ll do it even if it means I don’t
have time for anything else.”<br />
    “But if you had help?”<br />
    Zucca’s hands were gripping so hard at a waterstone that clear
liquid was seeping out of the hard skin, from tiny cracks zigzagging on
the sides. “Everyone is false.”<br />
    Lupen swallowed hard, “Eka told me that those who grow up in Montore
aren’t taught these things anymore. If they don’t know what’s important,
then how is it their fault? I mean, I didn’t know what a cactub was
until Eka taught me. You said it yourself, you’ll teach the children to
care for themselves. Why not teach travelers?”<br />
    “You would have me care for this land <em>and</em> a school for
inept gardeners? I’ve got no time for it. Besides, grown adults do not
change their ways… they just don’t. They lie, they come to steal, and I
won’t give them any more of my precious time.” With this, Lupen was
ordered away. At least the hounds couldn’t talk, they only yipped and
yapped to report a problem. “You will leave with that vagrant tomorrow.
I’ll deal with my own problems. I always have.”<br />
    “You know not everyone is like this. I’m sure you can all live here
together. You’ll need help to raise all those children, right? Give them
a chance,” Lupen insisted, in a near-begging tone.<br />
    Zucca eyes darkened then, lines formed in places where there had
been none previously. “You understand nothing. Get out. Gather your
things and go.” With this, the Terin moved away from Lupen and climbed
up a ladder leading to the second floor of the house, disappearing from
view.</p>
<p>Lupen returned to the tent and told Eka everything that had happened,
the conversation with Laris, and the one with Zucca too. Eka was running
fingers over Laris’s face, even in sleep, the traveler looked worn-out,
near-spent.<br />
    “Zucca wants us to leave,” Lupen said, hurt by the Terin’s
indifference.<br />
    “Then, we will do what Zucca says.” Eka replied. “You know, back in
the old days, Terins used to do check-ups on the Ilk. They did this
every annum, back when Ministe was still standing. The Voices would
report to the Terins on the annum, on the pains the Ilk may have
mentioned. When Ministe fell, a Terin boarded the Ilk of Volare, taught
your people how to care for Vol, and helped to create the Hands, as you
know them. Terins can see sickness and health in others, it’s
second-nature. They’re the carers of the world.”<br />
    Lupen swallowed hard then, “when the carers are as spent as Zucca,
what does that say of the state of the world?”<br />
    “Get some rest,” Eka said with a smile, “it’s late.”<br />
    All went to sleep, but not Laris, who had overheard their
conversation. In the dark, the patient left their bed and went over to
the house atop the hill. The strong scent of the medililly poultices
covered up all smells, no leafhound could smell Laris. Laris pushed
through the hedge, like Lupen had done, and arrived on the other side,
where slept, row after row, unborn children with green tops sticking out
of the soil. They looked beautiful under the moonlights, casting tiny
shadows. To Laris, this field was a thing of cruelty, this land would
not keep its promise and would not stay green. Panicked, Laris’s hands
dove into the dirt, fingers wrapping tightly around the stem of a child.
“You won’t suffer like I did. I won’t allow it.”</p>
<p>Zucca awoke to tend to the usual early day chores. Walking into the
nursery, the Terin froze, Laris was sitting in the nursery, hands full
of dirt and head hanging low.<br />
    “Why are you here?”<br />
    There was a long silence, but eventually, Laris spoke up. “I wanted
to rip out every single one. To spare them of all misery, but I couldn’t
do it.”<br />
    Zucca stepped forward and looked around to make sure that all of the
children were safe. Laris had done nothing, all swayed gently in the
early first sunrise breeze, calm and content.<br />
    The Terin was relieved, and could resume breathing again. Zucca
grabbed hold of the intruder’s arm, but the fingers found a food patch,
“you’ve been living off of this crap?” Upon close inspection, there were
other food patches decorating this stranger’s skin, all expired, all
sucked dry. The Terin took a seat down in the mud, in-between rows of
greening leaves, and began to peel the patches off one by one, careful
not to hurt Laris. Like a leafhound searching for parasites on a plant,
Zucca’s fingers searched around for patches. “No one ever tell you that
you can’t live off patches? What a ridiculous invention, these are no
substitute for real food…”<br />
    Zucca’s tranquility surprised Laris. Despite being handled by
gentle, caring hands, these limbs could not stop trembling. “Everyone in
Montore uses these.”<br />
    “These,” Zucca began, removing yet another patch “are expired. They
can help a little when fresh, but not like this.”<br />
    Laris’s eyes threatened to spill all of their water, “the crew of a
passing Beobug sandfin sold us a crate-full.”<br />
    During yesterday’s events, blind with rage, Zucca had failed to
notice how thin Laris was, with arms that weren’t the same length. One
was visibly shorter, the ears bore this same kind of unevenness. In the
old days, keeping children healthy and safe was all a Terin needed to be
happy. It was easy to forget that everyone was a greening thing once,
small and frail.<br />
    Zucca accompanied Laris out of the compound.<br />
    As they walked through the fields together, Laris glanced at the
endless supply of produce. “You have false-mosslings in your
produce.”<br />
    “What are you talking about,” Zucca said, hurrying ahead, wishing
Laris would not talk—this little walk was painful enough.<br />
    “False-mosslings. They mimic mosslings. They have curly antennae,
and are impervious to lemilim grass. They hate mepperpint. I can’t read,
but a book saying it was read to me.”<br />
     Zucca froze in mid-step, having never before heard of
false-mosslings. Both continued to walk in silence, to the encampment
where the others travelers were waiting, a leafhound had come along. The
two travelers moved out of the wagon to greet Laris. “Thank you for
helping Laris,” one of them said, careful to avoid Zucca’s eyes. Like
Laris, the two had uneven limbs, and their skin was see-through and
fragile. Zucca was embarrassed to stand there with a fleshy body. The
travelers helped Laris onto the wagon, and urged the vennec onward.
Zucca went back into the oasis with the leafhounds.<br />
    Eka and Lupen were awake, and noticed the bed was empty, saw the
group leaving in the distance. They kept their promise to Zucca, and
were now pulling the tent apart and packing away their gear. They did
not address their host. Zucca walked to a field of herbs, and picked out
a handful of fresh meppermint, then went over to the mossling-infested
fields and distributed some in a plumpkin patch that had been plagued by
these pesky insects. Zucca waited for a moment, nothing changed. With a
sigh, the Terin walked off but then noticed a mossling flying past, and
then another. All had curly antennae. The pests began to fly off in
droves. “False-mosslings. How elegant.” Zucca laughed.<br />
    Eka saw the insects flying away, looking for another place to nest,
and smiled. “You did it! Mosslings are leaving!” Saying it loud enough
so Zucca would hear.<br />
    “False-mosslings,” Zucca corrected. “Didn’t used to have these here.
It’s something new, something I didn’t know.” A rush of emotions
overcame the Terin then. “I thought the world had nothing more to teach
me. Not everyone is equipped with the knowledge to save themselves. I
mistook this for lethargy.” Terins were supposed to care for others, not
just in the growing phase, but throughout their lives too. People never
really stopped growing. “I’ve made a huge mistake.”<br />
    Eka held a hand out. “Not yet you haven’t.”<br />
    Zucca and Eka climbed onto Hush, ready to go intercept the travelers
aboard their wagon. Before leaving, the Terin looked at Waldek. “You’re
in charge. And as for you Lupen,” the Terin smiled at the Verido. A
first. “Don’t. Touch. Anything.”<br />
    Lupen laughed, and did as told.<br />
    Hush disappeared into the distance, and later returned, leading the
wagon back into the oasis. A meal transformed their faces completely,
the three looked less translucent, solid and warm. The Terin agreed to
teach the travelers to grow food, in exchange for help around the
fields. To start, they would be fed and housed for an annum. It was
difficult for Zucca to commit to longer than this, the Terin did not
trust others yet, but one annum seemed reasonable, and after perhaps
they’d be granted an extension, or better yet, permanent residence. The
travelers accepted, they had no ties to any city.</p>
<p>The next day, with Zucca’s permisson, Eka and Lupen filled their bags
with fresh produce. They all stood over a mapple bush, picking the fruit
by hand. Lupen grabbed hold of an oversized mapple, its ribbed skin
glistening under the suns. The Verido peeled off part of the outer layer
and took a big bite. “This doesn’t taste anything like that other mapple
I had, it’s so bitter,” Lupen said, nose wrinkling, resisting the urge
to spit out the piece, “it hurts my face.”<br />
    “You really know nothing of the world,” Zucca said, reaching into
the mapple bush and picking out another fruit, checking the underside of
the fruit, and the area around the stem before handing it over to Lupen,
“you’ll like this one. Finish that other one first though, I don’t
tolerate waste.”<br />
    Lupen reluctantly swallowed the bitter fruit.<br />
    The Terin glanced at Eka then. “You’re also a carer aren’t you? Do
you think that making green places and growing children really matters?
On a grand scale I mean… say, you were flying over this rock we all
inhabit, or if your head reached high above the clouds.”<br />
    Eka, mouth full of mapples, couldn’t answer right away, so Zucca
decided that this was something that would be better left unasked. “What
is your favourite food?”<br />
    Eka swallowed the bits of mapple, smiling. “I like noranges<a
href="#fn44" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref44"
role="doc-noteref"><sup>44</sup></a> a lot, bit rare though.”<br />
    The Terin disappeared inside the house, and returned with a small
pouch made out of weaved norcorn leaves. Inside the pouch was a single
seed. “Plant this seed in a green place. It needs a lot of moisture and
shade, when the leaves grow broad full suns is fine. In a few annums
you’ll get some noranges.” Zucca explained that this seed had been
salvaged from the Iridi raids at the Suvalba Sanctuary. Their host also
gave them two fresh noranges from the only tree on the property as
thanks. “Keep the seeds,” Zucca made a point to say.<br />
    “It will be planted in the greenest of places, I promise,” Eka said,
before eyeing Waldek the leafhound who sat there at their feet, wagging
its leaf-shaped tail. “Keep your friends safe okay?”<br />
    Waldek barked, before turning to Lupen, its antennae prodding
Lupen’s legs and chest. It let out a whine then, but Zucca stepped in.
“Don’t you have work to do?” The orange hound barked again, and moved
off into the fields with the others. The Terin handed Lupen a bag of
medililly herbs. “Brew a leaf with your tea, a leaf a day,” Zucca paused
then, a thick hand coming to rest on the Verido’s shoulder, “make it
part of your routine. A leaf a day. Easy to remember. You’ve got enough
here for a long while, but come back and see me when you run out… well,
before you run out.”<br />
    Lupen accepted the gift, acknowledging how precious the leaves were.
“A leaf a day, got it. Thank you.”<br />
    The two left shortly, their bags plump with fresh supplies. They
wished Laris and the travelers well, thanked the leafhounds, and the
farmer. Zucca watched as the two, led by Hush, disappeared behind the
row of canopied trees.</p>
<h1 id="montore">Montore</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.durdle.jpg" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Durdles are shy creatures that like to retreat within their
shells, they move very slowly and sleep for most of the day.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>“I really couldn’t let you in, not without identification!” A young
worker said, from behind a desk equipped with heavy bars.<br />
    “We don’t have that in Volare!” Lupen said, getting hot in the
face.<br />
    “I see.” The clerk reached for a pamphlet and handed it over to
Lupen through an opening in the bars. The pamphlet read: ‘So you don’t
exist.’<br />
    “What is this?”<br />
    “If you want to exist in the eyes of Montore you need a piece of
identification.”<br />
    “A piece of identification that tells others who I am? That’s
stupid.”<br />
    “It’s the law.”<br />
    The clerk reached under the desk and pulled up a durdle, a creature
with long ears and a spiked shell, it had a tag stuck to one of its
spikes with the writing ‘D-126’. “See. Even D-126 here has an ID.”<br />
    “Okay, <em>fine</em>. Say I want to get an… <em>ahy- dee</em>, where
do I get it?”<br />
    “You’ll need to visit the next stall, Specter<a href="#fn45"
class="footnote-ref" id="fnref45" role="doc-noteref"><sup>45</sup></a>.
Next!” the clerk called, eager to move on to another customer.<br />
    “Specter?” Lupen stormed off, looking for that next stall the clerk
had mentioned. The stall was easy to find, it had a long line of people
standing in front of it, a long, long line, snaking around Montore’s
outer wall, and lined with colourful tents.</p>
<p>The city of Montore sat on a hilltop enclosed entirely within a
single, continuous wall, made from rammed earth and decorated with
geometric motifs. The tops of large hempa sails were visible from the
ground, raised high on a ledge atop the wall so that nothing could
disturb the wind. The sails lay over a rotating circular track,
following the whole top of the city wall. The orientation of each sail
changed depending on the wind, their motion was slow, but constant,
powering the city.<br />
    On one end of the city, a wall extension was in progress. Wooden
scaffolding lay in place, with workers standing on the top of the wall
with long ramming poles, pressing and packing the soil down into the
mold.     Lupen approached a young Terin standing in line, “hey, how
long have you been waiting here?”<br />
    “We’ve both been in line for 5 days.” Lupen followed the voice and
turned around, meeting with the forehead of another Terin. “I’m Kuzi.”
Kuzi wore a notcott bandana, a long, white loose-knit shirt, and a
colourful scarf. Kuzi’s line neighbour was indeed unresponsive,
standing, but just barely.<br />
    “Lupen,” Lupen said, “that long? For an ahy- dee?”<br />
    “Yeesh, you’re saying that real weird.”<br />
    “Saying what weird?”<br />
    “Nevermind.” Kuzi said, “waiting in line is a good job. It pays
well, well, it pays enough for a quarter kavava root.”<br />
    “I don’t understand.”<br />
    “Someone’s paying us to wait in line for them, while they stay in
one of those tents out there. When I reach the desk we switch places and
I get paid! There’s always people willing to pay not to wait. They get
what they want, we get what we want, it’s perfect.”<br />
    Lupen estimated that it would take at least seven days to reach the
front desk, “seven days is too long.”<br />
    “Yea, it’s long long, but it’s the only way any of us can afford
kavava root. I just ran out, I’m usually careful to have some left for
my time in line, but you know, it is difficult to reason with yourself
when you’re on kavava,” Kuzi said with a laugh, “can’t believe I went
through the whole thing…”<br />
    Lupen noticed a root laying in the hand of the person standing ahead
of them in line. The Terin was in another world, body swaying slowly
from side to side, mouthing nonsensical words.<br />
    “Every surrogate in this line is here for kavava.” Kuzi said.
    “So everyday, you wait in line to earn coin for kavava, the wait is
so long that you consume your entire kavava supply purchased with the
coin earned from your previous time in line, so when you reach the front
desk you get paid and spend it all on more kavava, then you find someone
else to wait in line because you know you’ll run out again waiting. That
is psychotic Kuzi.”<br />
    “You don’t know anything about anything.”<br />
    Lupen frowned and was about to leave but then asked another
question. “I was wondering, do you know a Zucca?”<br />
    “If I know azucca? What’s azucca.”<br />
    “Zucca. It’s a name.”<br />
    “Azucca’itsaname…? No, sorry. Don’t know one. Hell of a name though,
would sit real long on an ID.”<br />
    “Are you done wasting my time?” Lupen asked, impatiently.<br />
    “Way I see it you’re wasting <em>mine</em>. I might start being
useful if you throw a coin or two my way though…” the Terin said with a
wink, presenting an open hand.<br />
    Already, Lupen hated everything about Montore, even those living
outside its walls. The Verido gave the Terin a rotten look before
walking away.<br />
    “Come on now Specter, I was kidding. It’s a thing called humor,
learn about it! <em>Every</em> Terin <em>knows</em> about Zucca. Has
something of great value I heard. Many go out into the desert to look
for it, but most never make it back. I bet you know that though, being a
friend to Zucca! If you know the location and tell the guards I bet you
and I could get ahead in line real fast! There’s a guard right there,
see? Hey! Hey <em>you</em>! Guard person!”<br />
    Lupen wanted to run away, but the Terin gripped the Verido’s vest
collar. A tall guard in uniform walked towards them.<br />
    “Kuzi, I wish you wouldn’t call me guard person…” The guard said,
offended by this.<br />
    Lupen spied a name on a piece of ID pinned to the front of the
guard’s green blazer, the tag read ‘Averet’.<br />
    “Averet here has a fear of being perceived as ordinary,” Kuzi said,
turning to Lupen.<br />
    Averet’s face turned red. “I’ve got grand ideas! There are plenty of
things I want to do with my life! This is not my forever job you know, I
am <em>not</em> going to spend my life making sure kakava addicts, like
you, don’t fall down a ditch…”<br />
    “This Specter and I know the whereabouts of Zucca!” Kuzi then
blurted out in a hurry, before Lupen could react.<br />
    Lupen tried to deny it all, but the response was delayed, unnatural.
“I’m just a traveling potter! I make pots! I don’t know anything about
anything! Well, I know about pots! But that’s really <em>it</em>!”<br />
    Kuzi knocked on the side of Lupen’s head with a closed fist, as if
to check if it was hollow. “There is definitely something swishing
around in there. And I thought Veridos were good storytellers…”<br />
    “I made this cup!” Lupen said, ignoring Kuzi and showing Averet the
cup Rosmus made. The grey cup was tied to a braided isilk lanyard linked
to Lupen’s belt.<br />
    Kuzi slapped the cup out of Lupen’s hand. “<em>Zucca</em>, Averet!
Come on, you’ve heard of the one with the green place, yea? Well, we’ll
tell you where it is if you let us skip the line.”<br />
    “As if either of you would know where it is, least of all
<em>you</em>, Kuzi.”<br />
    Whenever Lupen tried to tear away, the Terin found some other limb
or piece of clothes to grab onto. As Kuzi tugged away, a norange fell
out of Lupen’s vest pocket and rolled onto the ground.<br />
    Both the guard and Kuzi froze at the sight of it.<br />
    “A norange.” Kuzi said, releasing Lupen and going to grab the
colourful piece of fruit instead. Kuzi held onto it, stroking the bumps
on its surface gently, like stroking the soft hairs on the head of a
newborn. There was a hint of sadness in Kuzi’s eyes. The Terin put a
nose to the fruit, smelling it, and whispering softly into it. Averet
reached forward and tore the fruit away, inspecting it from all
angles.<br />
     “Where did you get <em>this</em>?” A question aimed at Lupen,
although the guard’s eyes were fixed on the fruit.<br />
    Kuzi leapt at Averet and stole the norange before running away,
grabbing Lupen’s arm in passing before darting into the crowd. The guard
rushed after them, but soon lost sight of the two runaways.<br />
     “A norange…” Averet whispered. If it weren’t for the fruit bits
still stuck under these fingernails, Averet would have thought it to be
a hallucination.<br />
    Kuzi stopped running once they had gone far away enough, breathing
hard, the norange in hand.<br />
    “You lost your place in line! Weeks of waiting!” Lupen said.<br />
    “Doesn’t matter,” Kuzi replied, eyes still on the fruit. “You really
were at that oasis.”<br />
    “Yea, you thought I was lying? This was a parting gift. I’d never
heard of noranges until I was given one. My friend knew, though.”<br />
    “Noranges were thought to be extinct. I thought the plant and seed
had gone up in flames with Ministe and the rest. Ah, I love the smell of
noranges warmed by the suns! Some have tried to synthesize the smell and
taste, but it’s not the same. I forgot how fragrant it was. So sweet,
yet so bitter.”<br />
    “You can have it,” Lupen said with a smile. “It’s yours to
eat.”<br />
    “I love the smell, but I also hate it, it brings back memories I’d
prefer to forget.”<br />
    Lupen knew why. After the Iridi raids many Terins had grown
lethargic. They stopped growing food and lost their connection with the
soil. Kuzi’s eyes were set on that fruit, having a silent conversation
with it. The Terin then smiled, breaking out of the trance and throwing
the fruit up in the air before catching it again in mid-flight. “Thanks
for the gift. Seems like I owe you big now, eh? I’ll get you an ID, I’ve
got some connections.”<br />
    “Yea, that’d be great! I need one for my friend Eka, too.”<br />
    “Not a problem,” Kuzi eyed Lupen curiously then, “why do you want to
get into Montore anyway? It sucks in there.”<br />
    “We’re in the mood for some babam cake and tea.”</p>
<p>The next morning, Lupen and Eka went to wait at the foot of the new
wall that was being built. Kuzi had instructed Lupen to wait there, but
now the second sun was nearing midday, and their helper was a no-show.
They wandered back over to the town entrance, making sure to avoid any
guards, while keeping an eye open for Kuzi.<br />
    By then, the story about a Verido in possession of a real norange
had reached the ears of many other Terins. Many of the ones standing in
line for IDs glanced at them as they walked past.<br />
    “Hey!” One of them called out. “Is it true that you’ve met
Zucca?”<br />
    Lupen nodded. “Yes, but keep your voice low.”<br />
    “Got any more of those noranges?” Another yelled.<br />
    Eka did have one left, but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to say
so.<br />
    “I’ll get you an ID for one!” One Terin said. “I’ve got coin, you
want coin for it? What about kavava?”<br />
    “Uh oh,” said Eka, noticing the amount of attention they were
getting. Some guards turned, tipped off by the many Terins beginning to
encircle them, shouting offers.<br />
    Then, the woth moved out of its glass ball, and reached into Eka’s
pocket, pulling out the last norange. The woth took off with it,
carrying it high and above everyone’s head. Eka let out another “Uh oh,”
followed by, “Humhum come back!” All of the surrogates in line were
staring at the brightly coloured fruit, jumping into the air to try and
grab it. The guards saw it too, now, hurrying over. The woth hovered out
of their reach, and flew over the main entrance and inside the city. A
crowd followed, a mix of surrogates, guards and visitors, all reaching
for the fruit.<br />
    “Norange!”<br />
    “Get it, get it!”<br />
    A mob was chasing the woth inside the city, Eka and Lupen,
following, were able to get inside.<br />
    “That woth is brilliant! A first-class instigator of change! A
genius!” Lupen said, running inside, shouting the war cry: “Cake and
tea!”<br />
    “Cake and tea!” Eka yelled while laughing, mimicking Lupen. “You’re
going to start a riot!”<br />
    “I’m just an opportunist, the woth is the mastermind!”<br />
    The woth landed on top of a high building, setting the norange on a
visible but inaccessible place, and waited. Out came several “ooohs”, as
well as a succession of reverent “aaahs,” from the growing collection of
admirers at the foot of the building.</p>
<p>Eka and Lupen ran deeper into the city, past buildings and street
vendors, until they arrived at the town’s public square, a clear space,
encircled with tiny stalls selling a variety of flavored food
patches.<br />
    “Get your bobonion soup patch here! Best in the city!”<br />
    “In the mood for some mapple pie? Get the patch right here, right
now!”<br />
    The floor of the city was paved with stones, but dusty, with bits of
debris here and there. Young workers stood around with brooms, there to
catch spent patches. The people of Montore threw them over their
shoulders when they were done, mirroring the habit of throwing away
remains of fresh fruits and vegetables. The desert and small critters
consumed the peels quickly, but not the same could be said of those
patches.<br />
    “What do you do with the collected patches?” Eka asked one of the
children.<br />
    The child pointed to a building adjoined to the outerwall.<br />
    “And what happens when the building’s full?”<br />
    The child cocked a head to one side, “I guess they’ll put it in
another building…”</p>
<p>Every house, or business in this city had thick yellow walls made
from a mixture of mud, sand, waterstones and dried grass. They were
constructed in a way to remain cool in the day, and warm once both suns
had set. A large building topped with a dome sat at one end of the
public square, adorned with the Montore insignia, the same symbol
stamped on the face of every coin. A dozen green flags perched on the
roof gave the building some colour.<br />
    In the middle of the city was a thick beam with a large wheel around
it, spinning slowly. Eka noticed that the beam and wheel were connected
to a much larger cog, built under the city. Following one of these long
branches, Eka arrived into a bakery. Inside, another one of these large
beams came out of a hole in the floor, behind the counter where the
baker worked. This secondary beam had a series of smaller branches and
cogs attached to it, leading to a flour mill.<br />
    “Whoa!” Eka said, kneeling down near the hole in the floor around
the beam to catch a glimpse of the underground mechanism. “This is
brilliant!” The city was built on top of a huge cog, powering devices in
the businesses of the city. In the bakery, the beam had an arm that
could be repositioned to power a grain mill, or a dough beater.<br />
    “You shouldn’t mill so much muckwheat!” someone said, “we sell so
little now, no one wants any! Why waste it?”<br />
    The baker sighed, and glanced over at fresh loaf of muckwheat bread.
“People in this town need to be reminded of what real food looks like
and smells like, Ira!”<br />
    “They’re going to shut us down, Avril. We need coin to keep this
place running.”<br />
    Eka overheard the conversation, and was sad to hear it. Eka carried
these words back to Lupen, who had somehow gotten dragged into a Montore
tour group. Leaving it was hard, everyone kept pushing them from one
place to another.<br />
    “The town operates on a schedule!” A tour guide said to a group of
visitors. “During rush horo, the strongest in the city come to give the
master cog a boost by spinning it faster manually! Food patch production
increases dramatically during these times to meet the increased demand,
otherwise, the cog spins at a continuous and consistent speed, made
possible by the outer cog, powered by the wind. But remember, currently
Beobug is trying to build a new system that would remove the need for
wind! Imagine! A city that runs all day, everyday no matter the
weather!”<br />
    Lupen and Eka followed the guide. They found their way into a
factory that made sweet-tasting food patches. On arrival every one was
given a sample, the guide gave Eka and Lupen a babam cake patch.<br />
    “It’s just like having the real thing! Try it!”<br />
    Eka gave the patch a sniff, followed by a quick lick. “Um,” Eka
thought, giving it another lick, “I can sort of taste it.”<br />
    Lupen licked the babam cake patch too, “yea, I mean. It’s
fine?”<br />
    The tour leader continued to talk about the factory. “Our
Grand-Leader Monty had the idea for this wonderful product! It has saved
countless lives, and propelled this city to fame!”<br />
    “Monty?” Lupen said, loud enough for others to hear.<br />
    The entire group turned to look at the Verido.<br />
    “You mean to say you don’t know the Grand-Leader’s name?” One of the
tourists asked.<br />
    “Oh, well I was kidding! Of course I know!”<br />
    “Smooth.” Eka whispered.<br />
    “Yea? Then when’s Monty Day, hm?”<br />
    All eyes were on Lupen. “Um. Today?” Lupen said, tentatively, tipped
off by the decorations in both the town and the factory.<br />
    The group then relaxed. “That’s right! Today is Monty Day,
celebrating the Green Day of our Grand-Leader!”<br />
    Lupen was eager to get away from this group of zealots. As soon as
the tour group made its way to the gift shop, the Verido and Eka snuck
out.<br />
    “I’d like to give this Monty a piece of my mind,” Lupen said,
unimpressed with the factory, as they walked away the Verido continued
to lick the babam cake patch. “I hate the idea of this patch, but I
can’t stop licking it.”<br />
    “It’s not bad,” Eka noted.<br />
    Lupen gave the patch a last, long lick, but then stopped to look at
it. “Now, what do I do with this?”</p>
<p>Eka and Lupen spent time exploring the city, determined to see every
shop that the great cog was powering, like a woodshop, where the cog
turned a metal wheel to cut giant logs.<br />
    Eka wandered into Alkarawin, the oldest library in the Soronan
desert, its emerald-tiled roof visible from anywhere in Montore. The
complex was home to hundreds of ancient texts written by renowned
scholars and thinkers over the years. The library had two giant irinwood
trees guarding the main entrance. The branches of the tree were heavy
with small wooden discs, hanging from thin ropes, each disc had words
carved onto its faces. Visitors who came from far to visit Alkarawin
would come here to offer knowledge to the library, inscribing a short
story, or fact to the wood of a disc. At the end of every annum, these
were removed from the trees, tallied, and gathered to form new texts. A
small basin lay near the door where visitors could wash their hands and
feet, a symbolic act of cleaning the mind and body prior to
entering.<br />
    Clean and centred, Eka entered Alkarawin, and stepped into a square
room, with books lining the walls from floor to ceiling. Books stored
near the ceiling were accessible via a small elevated walkway, built
around the room and accessible with a ladder, this room branched out
into several smaller alcoves, each featuring a unique ornately-painted
yukwood ceiling.<br />
    Eka wandered onto the higher walkway, fingers tracing along names
embossed on the bindings. Eka spotted a blind librarian browsing through
books on a nearby shelf, helping a customer find a specific tome,
fingers reading the text quickly before moving into another section. The
librarian pulled out a book and then handed it over to the visitor in
silence. The visitor breathed a low ‘thank you’, and made for one of the
many reading alcoves. The librarian turned to Eka then, waiting for a
book name. “Habitants of the Dark please,” Eka said, in a quiet voice.
The librarian’s hands returned to the shelves, hunting for the book Eka
requested, they skipped down many rows of books, fingers touching the
wood between each row to identify the right section, and after finding
the correct shelf, the hands stopped, having identified the book. Just
as the worker handed the book to Eka, a horn sounded outside. Eka
thanked the Librarian, and hurried down the stairs, following the
sound.</p>
<p>Outside, the main city square was filling with people, who gathered
around the central beam of the cog. Two Montore guards held a ladder
near the rotating beam. A Finiku walked out of the crowd, climbed the
ladder, and after reaching the top, made a short elegant hop from the
last step to the top of the beam.<br />
    “Dot! Dot! Dot!”<br />
    The crowd cheered. Dot smiled and raised two arms to the sky,
causing the cheer to become even louder.<br />
    “Monty! Monty! Monty!”<br />
    The character standing on the little rotating platform wore a bright
green ensemble with the familiar Montore emblem in the back. “Monty love
you all! And dey tank you for your hard work! Montore can no be great
widout you!” The crowd cheered once again at these words. “Production of
food patch ees at all-time high!” The crowd cheered again, as Dot began
to list their yearly accomplishments aloud. Lupen suddenly remembered
Gree’s coin, and pulled it out from a side pocket to look at it.<br />
    “Oh! How did you get this?” Eka said, eyeing the coin.<br />
    “Gree gave it to me, I don’t know what to do with it though. My
spirit doesn’t feel elevated at all.”<br />
    Eka smirked, grabbed the coin from Lupen’s hand, and disappeared
into the crowd.<br />
    “Eka? Eka! Ah, never mind. I’ll just wait here, <em>alone</em>.”
Moments later, Lupen’s eyes found a familiar face. Kuzi was sitting on a
crate near the bakery. Lupen rushed over. “You forgot to meet us!” The
Verido stopped talking, noticing that like the other Terins in the line
outside of town yesterday, Kuzi too was high on kavava.<br />
    “Oh, hey Lu-Lu!” Kuzi said, smiling stupidly.<br />
    “Kuzi, you didn’t…”<br />
    Kuzi looked at the Verido with red eyes, and groaned. “I didn’t even
taste the norange. Not one bite. I’m <em>so</em> weak.”<br />
    Lupen sat down, shoulder to shoulder with Kuzi. Both said nothing,
sitting together with Dot’s voice in the background. Just then the woth
returned, carrying a small bit of norange peel around. Lupen grabbed the
peel, and handed it over to Kuzi, “you can taste it now.” The Terin
pushed it away.<br />
    “No. I don’t like how it makes me feel.”<br />
    A curious onlooker noticed the norange peel. “Norange!” Word of the
norange on the rooftop had traveled, everyone in town knew about it. Dot
stopped speaking then, words falling on deaf ears as the crowd gathered
around Lupen. There was nowhere to run this time. The guards arrived,
recognizing both Kuzi and Lupen.<br />
    “You two!” The guard gripped Lupen’s arm, then began to search for
the piece of ID. “What! No ID either?! We’ve got a Specter here!”<br />
    “I’ve got ID! I exist! See? <em>See</em>?” Kuzi yelled, fumbling
around for it, but the guard didn’t want to hear it, and both were
dragged away from the main square and into the courtyard of building
with the Montore emblem, and were asked to stay there.</p>
<p>The space was enclosed by 4 walls, with two doors, one leading inside
the courtyard, the other, inside of the main building. Unlike most of
Montore, this place was a lush garden, bursting with colour and life. A
giant yukwood tree grew in the centre, providing shelter from the high
midday suns.<br />
    Lupen thought the place beautiful, but wondered what lay beyond the
second door. Like the first, it was a heavyset door with deep carvings
of intertwining branches and leaves, and a single golden knob in its
centre.<br />
    Kuzi gave Lupen a shove. “Why’d you have to get me involved?! Is
babam cake and tea code for something?”<br />
    “I didn’t do anything! Everyone here just gets real crazy whenever
there’s mention of noranges! I didn’t know that would happen!”<br />
    “You can’t just go flaunting extinct fruits around!” Kuzi realized
something then. “That’s how you got into the city.”<br />
    “Yea, me and a ton of others.” Lupen smirked. “Another
accident.”<br />
    “They’re going to put us into a mill and grind us into food
patches!” Kuzi yelled.<br />
    “It’s your fault! You were supposed to meet us, but instead you went
on a kavava bender!”<br />
    Kuzi began to fight Lupen in the courtyard, although the fight
occurred mostly on one side, and less so on the other. The Verido didn’t
know how to fight, and instead made a dance of it, avoiding the
onslaught of fists with ease because Kuzi’s movements were sluggish,
still high on root juices. Their fight was interrupted by Averet, the
guard.<br />
    “Hey! Stop that!” Averet instructed them to follow, and brought them
in front of a large door, made of carved banabo. “Whom does this belong
to?” Averet asked, holding the norange peel.<br />
    Lupen didn’t put a claim to it, having no desire to get ground up
into anything. Kuzi addressed Averet then. “How would I have a norange?
I was raised here and never left, same as you.”<br />
    The guard blinked, then gripped Lupen’s arm. “Right. Come with me,
Specter.”<br />
    “I bet the food patch version of you will be <em>disgusting</em>!”
Kuzi shouted, just as another guard arrived to escort the Terin
outside.</p>
<p>Lupen gulped as the large carved banabo door opened, revealing a
thick curtain, obscuring both the room and its occupant. “Go,” Averet
said, pushing the captive onward. Lupen took a few steps forward, found
an opening in the fabric and pushed on. A young Terin, dressed in a
green robe was on the other side. “You’re the Specter, the norange
smuggler?”<br />
    “Smuggler? That’s escalating things a bit don’t you think?”<br />
    “Follow me,” the young Terin said, pushing past yet another set of
curtains. On the other side, Lupen’s fingers found moss clinging to the
fabric. Small trees grew from holes in the ground, their roots raising
the tiled flooring. There was a large gap in the ceiling, bringing light
into the room. The walls were covered with notes, and drawings. A large
ornate table lay at the centre of the room, buried in a blanket of
greens, with plants wrapping around its legs. Some of the chairs
encircling the table lay on their sides, with pieces broken off, used to
build other projects. A painting of the table as it once was hung on the
wall.<br />
    “The norange thief is here.”<br />
    “What? I’m no thief!” Lupen retorted.<br />
    A Terin with greying hair and a thin young face rose from behind the
table, head reaching just over a mound of moss. “Where did you get that
norange?” The Terin asked, nonchalantly, speaking low and slow while
bending down again to check over the leaves of a nearby plant.<br />
    “If I said, I’d betray a friend and endanger lives,” Lupen replied,
bending down to look under the table to see what the Terin was doing.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you who it’s from though…”<br />
    “You are correct. I am happy to learn that Zucca was able to save
some norange seeds,” the Terin said, moving from one plant to another,
“norcorn patties just aren’t the same without norange sauce.”<br />
    Lupen observed that the Terin wore a simple pair of tan hempa pants,
scuffed at the knees. “So um, are you Monty?”<br />
    Monty stood up again, slowly, to look at Lupen only to find that
Lupen’s head wasn’t there. “Not what you were expecting?”<br />
    Lupen mimicked Monty’s movements, and stood up again. “No, not at
all… you’ve got all these plants, yet you’re feeding others false food,
then there’s the Beobug goons and their sandfins. Hard to believe it all
comes from you.”<br />
    Monty laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard someone attacking
me for my ideas,” Monty said, yellow eyes now fixed on Lupen.<br />
    “Yea well, I’ve got a problem with pain, and misery,” Lupen
replied.<br />
    Monty smiled, composed and calm as ever. “The food patches helped
feed refugees during the Iridi raids.”<br />
    “Did you know that Beobug employees sell expired patches to the
hungry for coin?” Lupen was proud of this rebuttal.<br />
    Monty thought about this for a moment. “And you’re blaming
me.”<br />
    “Yes, yes I am.”<br />
    “I don’t have as much control over others as you might think.”<br />
    “People in this city aren’t eating real food anymore, and everyone
is obssessed with coin…” Lupen wanted to stop talking but the words kept
coming out.<br />
    “Coin was supposed to be a way to simplify exchanges in the city. It
was really a good idea, but great ideas have a way of growing, and
changing as more and more heads and hands get involved, and big ideas
require more hands and heads. I’ve let go of the helm many, many annums
ago. I had more energy back then, it was easier to steer, but now…”
Monty sighed, “I just decided to stop having ideas.”<br />
    Lupen took note of all the drawings and books scattered in the room,
clearly Monty wasn’t done having ideas. “You mean you decided to stop
telling others about them.”<br />
    “Yes, I suppose you’re right. The giant cog was my first idea, my
best one. It is designed to run forever you know, with little
maintenance, but then no one can do anything when the wind is down.
Waiting didn’t used to be a problem, but the city has grown, and with
all the transients we get demand is increasing and Montore can no longer
afford to wait. The new system will work day and dark..”<br />
    “Did you ever tell anyone all of this? That it’s a bad idea? Maybe
if they heard it from you they’d stop?”<br />
    “Those who live in Montore see it as an undivided blessing. For me
to criticize modernity is to criticize the needs and wants of my city,
and of those we invite within its walls.” Monty replied.<br />
    “So Montore will just keep growing forever, and ever?” Lupen
said.<br />
    “You would have me kick people out to reduce demand?” Monty asked
the Verido. “Just as the wind changes the shape of dunes in the desert,
Montore will too be shaped by those who inhabit it. I’ve decided to
instead focus on this room, it is small, and because it is small, I only
need my own head and hands and I quite like that.” Monty stood up then,
and began to walk around the room, stretching arms and legs and stopping
in front of a large portrait hanging on a wall.<br />
    Lupen took note of a painting on the backwall, it resembled the
portrait carved on the coin, “that looks nothing like you.”<br />
    “If I were to go out there on the city square right now, they
wouldn’t believe I was Monty.” Monty too stared at the painting, then
turned so Lupen could compare details. “My artist got carried away, they
thought I needed to look more imposing, more angular. It’s why I’m here
really, and that no one can see me. If they did, they’d throw me out,
thinking I was a pretender. Anyway, I am tired. Dot has the helm now.
Staying here, at least I’m safe and free to think up ideas all day,
everyday…”<br />
    “Yea. You’re comfortable while people suffer.”<br />
    “People have suffered long before your time and mine. I was
wondering, how did you get Zucca to give you that fruit?”<br />
    Lupen bore a sad expression, eyeing the entrance. “If you want to
know the full story you’ll have to walk out of here with me. How about
it? It’s Monty Day after all.”<br />
    Monty smirked, “I would have really enjoyed hearing that story. For
you to know, and me to wonder I suppose.” Saying this, the grand leader
continued to look after the plants in the room, checking the leaves for
signs of malnutrition with much love and care, like a leafhound
would.<br />
    “Why did you ask me in here?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “Curiosity. A Verido with a norange, a hyroo and a round-eared
companion together, <em>very</em> unusual.” Saying this, Monty glanced
at Lupen once again, the pair of yellow eyes appeared focused, quietly
dissecting the visitor.<br />
    “I’ll add that story to the pile, in exchange for you to tell your
people the truth.” Lupen teased.<br />
    “Goodbye Specter.”<br />
    Lupen let out a deep sigh, there was nothing to do then but leave.
The Verido glanced at Monty’s second hand. “What now? What happens to
the ones who don’t exist in the eyes of Montore? Do I get ground up into
food?”<br />
    The green-clad Terin laughed, “the things people think we do.
Sometimes I wonder why we bother making laws at all, stories like this
keep people in line better than our laws ever could.” With this, Lupen
was escorted out of the building. “You need to leave the city right this
instant.” Monty’s second hand watched as Lupen stepped into the main
square, and heading towards the city gate. The guard kept close, to make
sure the Verido didn’t decide to take a detour on the way out.<br />
    As Lupen was escorted out of Montore, Kuzi stood by, watching. Eka
stood near too, chewing loudly, eating chunks of freshly baked babam
cake. “D’you know where I can get some mepperpint tea around
here?”<br />
    Kuzi looked over, catching the scent of fresh babam. “No, I don’t
really know.”<br />
    “Do you want some?” Eka offered, putting a slice of cake under the
Terin’s nose. “I could eat it all myself, but that would make me a
glutton. You eating a bit would make me feel like less of one.”<br />
    Kuzi was hungry, having forgotten to buy some food patches. “Sure,
more for you than for me though.” Kuzi bit into the pastry. The texture
was bouncy, and airy, it offered little resistance. A piece was torn
off, and passed to the next point in line. This experience of eating was
so intense, so enjoyable, that Kuzi began to shiver. “There’s gingin in
it! I love gingin! Well, I used to…”<br />
    “Enjoy it, this is likely the last cake the bakery will ever make.
It’s closing tomorrow, not enough people buying food. A real shame. They
make amazing breads too, Avril and Ira I mean, they’re the real deal!
Soon they’ll be gone. Extinct, like the noranges.”<br />
    Kuzi stopped chewing, feeling sad. This was usually the point where
the Terin would start ingesting some mind-numbing kavava…<br />
    “Oh! Now I remember,” Eka began, “Avril’s grandmapa Moki was the one
making the mepperpint tea! The shop had a garden outside, it was a
popular place back in the day. Some Terin was working there too, the
only one who really understood mepperpint. I miss it. But you know… if
you drink too much of it—”<br />
    “—It makes your eyes sprout leaves,” Kuzi finished, with a weak
smile.<br />
    Eka nodded. “Exactly! Alright. Have some more cake. I’m going to go
for a walk now.”<br />
    Kuzi stood there, a giant slice of babam cake in hand, staring at
the bakery. For some reason, Kuzi had forgotten it existed, stuck in a
perpetual kavava haze. The fog had cleared, and the world had much more
detail in it. Without a moment’s hesitation, and drawn by the smell of
muckwheat, the Terin walked to the bakery and went inside.</p>
<p>Lupen was at their tent outside of the city, waiting for Eka to
return. Hush was there, conversing with the woth, listening to a
re-telling of today’s events.<br />
    Eka arrived before darkfall, finding Lupen in the tent, but there
was something different, something unusual…<br />
    “You’ve got a cup on your head, you know that right?”<br />
    “It’s a Thinking Cup,” Lupen said, with a sigh, knowing all-too-well
how ridiculous it looked.<br />
    “Wow! Is it working? Are you having some great thoughts right
now?”<br />
    Lupen removed the cup then, staring into it. “No. Maybe it’s because
there’s no tea in it…”<br />
    Eka presented a slice of babam cake to the dispirited Verido. “I did
not find mepperpint tea, but this cake stands well enough on its own.
Try it.”<br />
    “Mission failed,” Lupen said.<br />
    “How so?”<br />
    “On getting some Montore babam cake and mepperpint tea.”<br />
    “No, I think our excursion into Montore was a success! We learned
many things today, and we made lots of friends.”<br />
    “Friends? Everyone here thinks I’m a fiend. Did you not see my walk
of shame?”<br />
    “I did, I did! You’re Montore-famous now!”<br />
    “Great,” Lupen moaned, “but I was hoping we could help
somebody…”<br />
    Eka hugged Lupen then, “is that what you think we’re doing? Helping
others?”<br />
    “Yes? Maybe? I don’t know.”<br />
    “We came here for cake and tea.”<br />
    “Yea. Yea, you’re right,” saying this, Lupen took a bite of the
babam cake. “Oh wow! This is <em>so</em> good!” The woth moved out of
its glass house, eager to get a bite of this famed pastry, even Hush was
intrigued. “I’m not sharing, sorry!” Lupen said, but both approached,
eager to sample the remaining chunk of cake. Lupen was pinned to the
floor, with Hush chewing on the end of the cake and the woth eating
stray crumbs off its snout. “Yea yea, you’ve got two stomachs…”<br />
    The next day, the gang packed up their tent and gear and left
Montore.</p>
<p>Later that same day, Kuzi had sold the last of the kavava in exchange
for coin to pay for more pastries at the bakery. This sell, helped to
convince Ira to keep the bakery open, at least for another day or two.
Kuzi sat in the city square, looking at the townspeople, and ate
bread.<br />
    “Hey Kuzi, keeping out of trouble today I hope,” Averet said.<br />
    “For now,” Kuzi replied with a grin.<br />
    There was a pause, but Averet spoke again. “Do you know where I can
get some norcorn patties around here?”<br />
    “I’d ask Avril’s bakery.”<br />
    “Bakery?”<br />
    Kuzi pointed to it. “Yea, it’s where I got this bread. You want to
try some?”<br />
    Averet grabbed a slice of bread, and took a bite. “It’s <em>so</em>
moist! Why do I never buy real bread? Thanks, I’ll visit Avril later, to
ask about the norcorn. You see, I kept this piece of norange peel…”</p>
<h1 id="little-light">Little Light</h1>
<p><img src="media/flora.chloromyce.shroo.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>A type of fungus that emits strong phosphorescent light, it grows
in caves, underground where there is no light. It is an object of desire
for the Iridi, who have fought wars in its name.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>“Irideri,” Eka said, “home of the Iridi! That’s where we’re going
next. The monks there make the <em>best</em> chloromyce shroo noodles.
They glow in the dark! Plus if you eat too much the soles of your feet
become iridescent.”<br />
    “Monks who make noodles?” Lupen said, while caressing the spot
between Hush’s ears, who had carried them much distance and now demanded
payment in the form of a head massage.<br />
    “Oh yes! At the end of every annum, Iridi monks go deep underground,
into the chasms of the Andenuis and spend ten days there, alone,
meditating. When they emerge, they prepare the noodles to celebrate the
new annum. It symbolizes a renewal of the self, a shedding of your old
skin kind of thing.”<br />
    “Alone? In the dark? For a ten days? Oh no no no, I could
<em>never</em> do that. I mean, it’s scary isn’t it? You’re in the dark,
there’s no one around to talk to, or to touch you. It’s like you’re not
really there.” Lupen said, swallowing hard. “If I don’t feel or see
anything, how do I know I exist?”<br />
    “Oh, precious Lu. If you’re thinking that you’re nothing, you are
something. You are a <em>thinking thing</em>.”<br />
    The Verido made a face, processing the words, “I’m a thinking thing.
Thinking things are not nothing.” A reassured smile formed on Lupen’s
lips. “Having iridescent feet would be fun. I still don’t want to go
meditating in a cave alone though, I hope that’s not required to eat
chloromyce noodles.”<br />
    “We shall see!” Eka said, tearing away from Lupen for a moment and
reaching into Hush’s saddle bag for a book bound by banabo thread with
silvery writing on top. “This book is going to tell us everything we
need to know about Irideri.”<br />
    “Where d’you get that book?” Lupen asked, having no memory of it
ever being around until now.<br />
    “Borrowed it from the Alkarawin library in Montore.” Eka said.<br />
    “How are we going to return it? I’ve got no plans to go to Montore
again… couldn’t even if I wanted to.”<br />
    “I’ll woth it back.” Eka said, smiling at the woth, asleep in the
glass ball on Lupen’s belt.<br />
    “Is that something people say? ‘I will <em>woth</em> this letter to
you?’” Lupen asked.<br />
    “It’s something I say, and that others ought to say.” Eka said,
showing Lupen the cover of the book, it read <em>Habitants of the
Dark</em>.<br />
    “I had a long talk with Zucca about the Iridi, they ruined a lot of
lives. They raided all those villages for workers, destroyed the Suvalba
sanctuary, all that because they didn’t want to harvest the chloromyce
shroos themselves. It’s horrible. Why are they so dependent on them
anyway?”<br />
    “That’s because of The Luminary, Moera, the first ever Sovereign of
Irideri. Moera loved the stuff.” Eka opened the book and began to turn
the first few pages. It was an old tome, the pages, like the binding
thread, were also made from banabo fibers. “I’m going to read the story
out loud! I’ll make voices and everything.”<br />
    “I don’t care to hear it, I already know how it ends.” Lupen
said.<br />
    “Shush, shush, this is not for you, this is for Hush and Wormple the
Woth.” Eka said. The woth stirred inside its glass ball, but did not
rise to the name Wormple. Eka flashed Lupen a smile and began to read
aloud…</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<h3 id="habitants-of-the-dark">Habitants of the Dark</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>     Moera rose to power in the early days and united the five
villages built inside the protective ridge belt of the Andenuis. These
villages were combined and named Irideri. Under the order of Moera, the
townspeople spent ha’annums[^] digging at the mountain side, they built
foundries, to make the tools necessary to erect a beautiful walled city,
worthy of their ruler. The Iridi people lived in the light in those
days, but everything changed when they found chloromyce shroo in the
underground caves.<br />
     Moera was enthralled by their beauty. The Sovereign called upon the
best artisan in the city and asked that the chloromyce be embedded into
jewlery.<br />
     Moera was having tea under the high midday suns when the artisan
presented the gift of the crystalized shroo, wrapped in a silvery cloth
adorned with a bright yellow ribbon. Moera undid the ribbon, but once
presented to the suns the shroo exploded in a thick cloud of spores, the
spores entered the Sovereign’s eyes, rendering Moera blind.<br />
     The chloromyce shroos, the kingdom learned, could not be exposed to
daylight. On that day, Moera declared that the suns were a menace and
decreed that all should seek the light of the chloromyce shroos
instead.<br />
     The residents of Irideri began to sleep in the daytime, living in
the dark. The only light present was the one emitted by the glow of the
chloromyce shroos.<br />
     The Crown began to ingest chloromyce shroo powder, with the belief
that in time these eyes would be healed. Eventually, the custom spread
through the village, where people mirrored the actions of their Monarch.
Ingesting chloromyce shroo powder permitted them to live healthy lives
in perfect darkness, and their vision too adapted to the low light.
Fresh shroo spores were dangerous, it is why Iridi people kept them in
closed, glass balls, but when dried they lost their irritative
qualities.<br />
     Overtime, Moera developed a sensitivy to loud noises. A servant
could be executed for dropping a spoon on the ground. From that moment
on, all citizens of Irideri left their shoes at the entrance to the
palace and walked barefoot inside. This practice of silence was widely
adopted. The entire kingdom learned to make as little sound as possible,
they kept their voices low.<br />
     When Moera left this world, the heir to the throne, Bao The Bright,
assumed the role of Light of Lights. The army was disbanded, the mining
sites outside of the city were shut, and the kingdom of Irideri shut its
doors to all foreign visitors.<br />
     Ingesting chloromyce shroos made the habitants of Irideri sensitive
to light, causing mild phototoxicity, strengthening their hatred of the
suns. Over just two generations, their skin greyed and their eyes
darkened. Such is the story of the Iridi, the habitants of the dark.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    Eka read on. “They see clearly in the dark. It says here that the
chloromyce shroos speak to them, they see words and colours in
them!”<br />
    Lupen laughed. “I can see words and colours too, all I have to do is
eat some bad herbs…”<br />
    “Ah! So you <em>did</em> listen!” Eka said. “I bet you’ll be
impressed with the Iridi once you see the city. Well, if we get to see
it. It’s hard to get inside I’ve heard.” They could already make out the
shape of the mountain in the distance. The second sun was setting,
leaving room for the moons and stars to shine. “Things have to be
different now.”<br />
    “I hope you’re right.” Lupen wanted to believe that the Iridi had
abandoned their former ways. “Second sun is coming down, let’s set up
camp.”</p>
<p>As the second sun fell over the horizon, the people of Irideri were
waking. The kingdom slept during the day and came alive at dusk. In the
palace, Kurono, the Young Light of the realm, was already out of bed.
Kurono wore dark robes that shimmered in the light of the chloromyce
shroos. Part of Kurono’s hair was sculpted into a bun, held up by silver
wiring and adorned with colourless jewels, the rest was down and stopped
short of touching the floor.<br />
    Hair arrangement, as well as clothing, was important in Irideri.
Your outer facade was a reflection of your inner self. Untidy hair
communicated that you have no discipline, that your thoughts are
cluttered, but having a well-sculpted head of hair is a sign that your
life is in perfect order.<br />
    Iri was helping the Young Crown get ready. The servant’s face was
covered by a mask from the nose down, which was a symbol of silence, of
servitude, a reminder to others that Iri were not allowed to speak.
Servant-wear was simple, with little skin visible, aside from the eyes
and forehead. They had no eyebrows, no discerning physical traits or
means of producing an expression.<br />
    Iri always had a tall silver rod in hand, topped with a T shape.
Dangling from one branch was a glass ball, and in it, a glowing
chloromyce shroo. In public, Iri shadowed Kurono and made sure that the
Monarch-To-Be was never unlit. Most of the kingdom was kept dark, making
the presence of a royal in the room the centre of attention.<br />
    “Playroom Iri.” The Young Light said with a sigh, knowing that being
in a room designed for play without a playmate wouldn’t be much fun at
all. There wasn’t anyone around to play with. Iri was a good servant,
but a poor playmate because all who served Irideri could not talk unless
spoken to. Iri had even fewer privileges, they couldn’t eat, sleep,
walk, or move without Kurono saying so. All servants of the Light shared
a single name: Iri.<br />
    Today, nothing amused Kurono, not even the large collection of
puzzles filling the room. These contraptions had been more friend than
any living person, but all had been solved and held no more
secrets.<br />
    “Will you dance with me Iri?” the Young Light asked suddenly.<br />
    Kurono spoke to Iri often, having an ear to talk to with a mouth
bound by law meant that anything could be said without fear of
punishment.<br />
    Iri flashed an open hand then, which meant: Have no illusions about
me. I am not worthy of language. I am nothing.<br />
    “Would you deny a request by your crown-to-be?” Kurono asked with a
smile. “Dance me with <em>now</em>, I demand it!” The Little Light stood
up and went to take the servant’s hands. Iri could not refuse.<br />
    Kurono lead the confused Iri into a waltz. “Do as I do.” Iri
followed Kurono’s steps well enough. After a while it was difficult to
tell that this Iri had never before danced a waltz. Iri had been part of
Kurono’s life for a long time and knew many things, like how this Young
Light enjoyed overcooked peagram dumplings, and the smell of Montimori
flowers.<br />
    “I’ve been thinking about this a lot,” the Young Crown began,
“you’ve never given me any gifts on any of my past Green Days. I am
<em>very</em> upset about that.”<br />
    Iri began to sweat, upsetting Kurono was punishable by death.<br />
    “Don’t worry! I know what I want you to give me,” both stopped
dancing then, but Kurono kept hold of the servant’s hand. “I want…no, I
<em>need</em> to hear your voice.”<br />
    Iri appeared calm, but the organs inside were all twisted up into
knots. With every breath came great pain. Once again, an open hand came
to pass in front of the servant’s face to mean: I am nothing.<br />
    “I know I’m asking a <em>lot</em>, but I promise you I won’t tell.
You’re the only friend I’ve got, and I’m sick of doing all the talking.
No one here listens to me, but you do! Surely, there are some beautiful,
unique thoughts in that head of yours. I want to know what they are. I
want to know <em>you</em>.”<br />
    The servant motioned with a hand: I am nothing.<br />
    “I’m <em>ordering</em> you to speak to me Iri.” The Crown-To-Be
demanded, with mounting irritation.<br />
    Iri was conflicted. The rules of the realm forbade servants of the
Light to speak, but the Young Crown demanded it. The purpose of an Iri
was to do what was asked, but doing it meant breaking another rule.
Rules would be broken either way. Making a decision was
impossible.<br />
    Irritated by this silence, the Young Light moved forward and tore
the mask covering Iri’s mouth. Kurono hated silence and rules, perhaps
now with it gone Iri would speak.<br />
    Even without the presence of that physical barrier, the servant’s
lips produced no sound. The servant followed the laws of Irideri. Now,
with lips unmasked, Kurono could see the Iri mouthing the words. I am
nothing. I am nothing.<br />
    Kurono’s teacher Mura came at the door then, but could not enter,
the door had been locked from the inside. “Young One! It is time for
your history lesson!”<br />
    Kurono stuck a tongue out at the closed door. “I don’t want to! Go
away!” Then, went on to pinch Iri’s nose, “you’re going to have to open
your mouth to breathe sometime!” Iri’s mouth remained shut and the face
contouring it turned a deep shade of blue.<br />
    Mura was in the hall still, muttering behind the closed door. “Our
Brightest will <em>not</em> be pleased with you Young Light!”<br />
    “I don’t care!” Kurono yelled, eyes fixed on Iri’s face, watching it
turn a deep and unsightly purple colour. “You’re not going to die like
<em>this</em> are you?”<br />
    Iri had no death wish, this one could not serve Kurono, or the realm
if dead. The servant’s mouth opened, and Iri took a deep breath.<br />
    Kurono gasped. Iri had no tongue. Back in the old days, those who
knew things the Crown deemed unsavoury had their tongues and vocal cords
cut out. Kurono thought that this custom was long gone, the previous
monarch thought it was too barbaric. The Young Crown’s eyes moved to
Iri’s neck and spied a number hidden under the collar, the number “10”
written in flesh. “10? What is <em>this</em>?”<br />
    Iri hurriedly pressed a finger to the Young Light’s lips with a low,
“shush!”<br />
    Kurono had never seen Iri behave like this. The servant’s face was
warped by fear. For the first time there was a display of personality
coming from this Iri, something that had long been hidden away.<br />
    When Kurono tried to speak again, Iri put a whole hand over the
Young Crown’s mouth. They locked eyes, both were shocked at what was
happening. Kurono did not try to stop Iri.<br />
    Mura’s voice resounded in the hallway once again. “I am
<em>very</em> upset with you Kurono. Now, where is that key…”<br />
    Iri panicked at the thought of having touched the Little Light
without permission. Hearing the sound of the teacher fiddling with the
door lock, Iri tore the mask from Kurono’s hands and put it back
on.<br />
    The door opened with Mura looking very displeased. “I will not ask
again. Iri, walk Kurono to the study hall”. Mura left, leaving them
alone again.<br />
    Iri walked to the door, and Kurono followed the servant to the study
hall, all the while staring at Iri’s neck and thinking of the number
inscribed onto it, wondering what it meant and why it was there.</p>
<p>Focusing on today’s lessons was impossible. The number 10 was
emblazoned in the Young Light’s mind. 10. 10 what…? Kurono
wondered.<br />
    After a while, Kurono’s brain conjured up images of 10 tiny workers
at the crook of Mura’s nose, getting ready to go on an expedition inside
the left nostril. The teacher did not fail to notice that the student
wasn’t listening. After the lesson, they went to inform Demeri. Telling
Demeri was not done out of concern for the young student, but to make
clear that this was not their fault.<br />
    After Kurono’s lesson, the Light Of The Realm, Demeri, came to the
study hall. Demeri was tall, made taller by an elaborate vertical
diadem. The diadem kept the Light’s hairdo together, pinned in the
centre, like the knot of a giant bow. “Kurono, light of my life, what is
the matter?” Demeri was followed by many servants, careful to keep the
monarch well-lit. The light shone on the robes, reflecting off the
layers of dark fabric, fanning out in all directions, like the petals of
a flower.<br />
    “Your teacher tells me you had trouble focusing today. You must tell
me if you need a replacement. There is no play of light that can rightly
conceal Mura’s growing collection of wrinkles, it’s dreadful.”<br />
    “Isn’t it true that Bao The Bright forbade the cutting of tongues?”
Kurono asked suddenly.<br />
    Demeri, surprised, glanced at the Iri before giving a reply. “Is
this what Mura has been teaching you?”<br />
    Iri looked tense, in pain, as if burned by fire.<br />
    “My Iri has a number. 10, it says,” Kurono continued, sitting
upright in the chair to appear more confident, “why?”<br />
    The Light of the Realm stood up. “Enji, take Kurono back to the
playroom.”<br />
    Kurono wanted to scream. Enji accompanied the Young Light out of the
study hall. Iri followed, but before the servant could step out, Demeri
shouted another order. “You stay here Iri.”<br />
    Kurono’s misbehavings were often the cause of Iri’s time spent in
rehabilitation. Everytime the Young Light complained of the Iri, it
resulted in what was commonly referred to as ‘rehabilitation’. Iri
always reemerged transformed. Kurono was always happy to have Iri back,
with things being as they were before. But this time felt different.
Kurono was scared.<br />
    “No! It was my fault! Don’t do this!”<br />
    Enji shut the door and forced Kurono back into the playroom, as
requested. “You have to stay here Young One, the Brightest In The Realm
commands it,” the guard said, before locking the door from the
outside.<br />
    “Don’t hurt Iri, please! It was <em>my</em> fault!” Kurono cried
through the thick of the door.<br />
    There was some silence, then Enji spoke. “This is not the first time
Iri goes to rehabilitation Young Light, don’t worry. A servant will be
returned to you shortly.”<br />
    Kurono listened to Enji’s footsteps. They grew fainter and fainter,
until all sound and echo quieted.<br />
    <em>A</em> servant.<br />
    The way Enji phrased it stuck in Kurono’s mind…</p>
<p>The next day Iri was not there to brush Kurono’s hair. One of
Demeri’s servants came to do it instead and answered no questions.
Fortunately at breakfast, Iri stood at the door, unharmed, like all
those other times after returning from rehabilitation.<br />
    Demeri was sitting in front of a small table, covered with a dark
cloth. On the table lay a simple breakfast of mugiko porridge and fresh
nukaberries. The meal was served in dark earthenware that sparkled under
the light of the chloromyce shroos. A servant was pounding an ear of
dried chloromyce shroo into a powder using a large pestle and mortar.
Once the shroos were pulverized the servant took the pestle away from
the bowl, bowed and backed out of the room. As soon as a servant left,
another walked in to transfer the powder into a shallow bowl using a
thin banabo scoop. The servant then set the serving bowl on the table
along with the breakfast. A long line of servants stood outside, each
holding a different tool, waiting for their turn. Each Iri was good at
doing one thing, and they practiced this one skill everyday. Each action
took the same time, and used the same number of moves, choreographed to
perfection.<br />
    “10,” the Sovereign began, “is a marker given to some of our
workers. That is all.”     “You didn’t like that I asked.” Kurono
said.<br />
    Monarch Demeri dipped 2 spoonfuls of powdered chloromyce shroo
powder into a cup of warm water, then proceeded to gently stir it into
the drink, drawing a swirl of light. “I did not like your tone
Kurono.”<br />
    “And the tongues?” Kurono insisted.<br />
    “What about them?” Demeri asked, taking a sip of chloromyce-infused
tea.<br />
    “Iri has no tongue. I thought Bao The Bright had made that practice
illegal.”<br />
    “If I hear that name one more time I shall erase it from the history
books.”<br />
    Kurono took a sip of tea as well, thinking hard, trying to find ways
to get some answers without angering Demeri.</p>
<p>Number 10 went back to having a lackluster persona, muted, without
worry or fear. This worried Kurono. The Young Light was suspicious, and
so that morning when the servant was asleep Kurono went to look for the
number on the Iri’s neck. The number on the skin had changed to 11. This
was not the same Iri.<br />
    Kurono knew the ugly truth. Every complaint about an Iri resulted in
an exchange. Iri would go to rehabilitation and be replaced by another
with a new number carved onto its neck. Kurono did not want to think
about what happened to an Iri in rehabilitation, were they sent back in
the mines? Were they tortured? Killed?     “What have I done…” The Young
Light whispered. Kurono remembered sending an Iri to rehabilitation for
breathing too loud, for walking too funny, for blinking too often, and
sometimes Kurono asked Iri to be sent away out of boredom. Kurono felt
like a fiend. “10 lives…” After that, no complaint was made of 11, in
fear that this Iri too would be harmed. Going to Demeri for answers was
impossible. Kurono felt more lonely than ever, with no one to confide
in, with no way to know what had really happened to Iri number 10.</p>
<h1 id="tent-village-of-renate">Tent Village Of Renate</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.papilion.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Papilions travel with the wind and in the hairs of passing
habitants of the Soronan desert. It is said that when they find suitable
soil, they burrow and later grows into Hespers. ‘Having papilions in
your throat’, means being kept from speaking due to anxiety.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>    “So! If the tunnels <em>are</em> guarded, how are <em>we</em>
going to get in?” Lupen asked, standing in Hush’s shadow. The suns were
very hot today, but the large furry beast did not seem to mind.<br />
    “In? No no no,” Eka said, head shaking in a Nono sort-of-way.<br />
    Lupen’s eyes narrowed down. “So… no to noodles then?”<br />
    “Yes to noodles! That hasn’t changed.” Eka replied, mouth watering.
“The monks live in a tower overlooking Irideri, set on the highest peak
of the Andenuis. It lies <em>just</em> outside of Irideri, that’s what
Aristollo says in the book I borrowed anyway…”<br />
    Lupen’s eyes widened at that name. “What did you just say?”<br />
    Eka grabbed the book and opened it to the first page, the title
<em>Habitants of The Dark</em> was written in black ink, and underneath
it, was the name Aristollo.<br />
    “No way!” Lupen grabbed the volume, as if happening upon a rare
flower. “A writer,” Lupen began flipping through the pages, wondering if
there was any information about the author. There wasn’t. “Why didn’t
you tell me Aristollo was a writer?”<br />
    “You didn’t ask.”<br />
    “So Aristollo was in Irideri back then, when it was closed off to
everyone! How did the book make it out? What <em>else</em> do you know?”
Lupen’s curiosity grew with every mention of the name.<br />
    “It’s not my story to tell.” Eka said, grabbing the volume again to
put it away in the bag hanging from Hush’s side.<br />
    “You think the monks would know?”<br />
    Eka shrugged. “Only way to know is if we go!”<br />
    “So if all goes well we’ll get to eat chloromyce noodles up in monk
tower, to catch a far-away glimpse of a city we’re not physically
allowed to visit, but all of this depends on whether or not we find the
tower, and whether or not the monks allow us to eat their noodles. Oh,
and guards might catch us. Did I miss anything?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “With iridescent feet! It’s worth a try! I mean, the city’s been
closed to foreigners for something like…fa, no…” Eka paused, counting up
the number of annums inaudibly, “two haty’annums[^]!”<br />
    “Not <em>that</em> many, couldn’t have been <em>that</em> long.”
Lupen said.<br />
    “Were you there Lu?” Eka asked, nose pressing up onto Lupen’s.<br />
    “N-no.” Even after all the time they’d spent together, being so
close always made this Verido uncomfortable. “Wait, maybe I was! No one
is ever nothing, that’s what you said! I was a seed, probably? Well, no
maybe not even that… but I <em>was</em> something!”<br />
    Eka’s hands came to rest over the sides of Lupen’s face. The
Wonder’s delicate fingers traced along the blue patterns etched in the
Verido’s skin. “That’s right. You are a lovely strand Lu, everchanging,
but never gone.”<br />
    Lupen’s ears began to redden, and the rest of the face followed
suit. “Haty’annum and a quarter! I read it in a book once.”<br />
    Eka’s eyes moved past Lupen’s left shoulder, focused on some distant
object. “Whoa! Look at that! Someone’s there!”<br />
    Lupen groaned. “I really, really <em>hate</em> this game.” Red’s
eyes could see mirages for what they were, but the same couldn’t be said
for Verido eyes. This gave the Wonder an opportunity to get a few laughs
at Lupen’s expense. The last time they had encountered such an event,
Lupen had asked a mound of sand for directions, the time before that,
the Verido had a very long and embarrassing one-sided conversation with
a tree about the nutritional benefits of bibiskiss. The worse thing was
the tree, <em>my</em> hallucination, didn’t even agree with me, Lupen
thought.<br />
    “It’s true! The truest of truths! Has a funny-looking head
too!”<br />
    “You really think me a fool don’t you?” Lupen wasn’t ready to be
made fun of again, not so soon. Hush lifted a nose to the sky, trying to
catch a scent. For a second, the Verido wondered if Hush, too, was in on
this joke. Risking humiliation once again, Lupen turned around to try
and see what Eka was pointing to. “Oh, so there is! Never seen anyone
with a head like <em>that</em>.”<br />
    “A hat then? Hats do have a tendency to get more and more outrageous
with time. A hatter I met in Montore some annums ago made one so large
it doubled as a dwelling.” Eka said, arms extending outward, to show the
size of said hat.<br />
    Hush carried them over to a lone figure sitting on hot sands, it had
a large metal prism for a head, it had many faces, each one bore a
symbol. There was no order to it, no logic, the faces were sized
differently and there was no repetition in the symbols themselves. When
they called out to the prism-headed stranger, the figure recoiled,
curling into an even smaller shape.<br />
    “That’s not a head.” Eka said. A symbol lay burned onto this being’s
back, a circle with a diamond shape in its centre. “That’s the Irideri
emblem.” There was also a character carved in the flesh of the
stranger’s neck…<br />
    “Ten.” Lupen and Eka said aloud together.<br />
    “That’s not an Iridi is it? Would they do this to their own?”<br />
    “Eka sighed.”No, you’re right they wouldn’t. This is an
Aodal.”<br />
    “Aodals are much taller than this usually aren’t they?” Lupen asked,
saddened by the thought of someone suffering like this.<br />
    “Stunted growth,” Eka said, “from malnutrition, and from living in
the dark. Workers in the Irideri mines aren’t allowed chloromyce, and
because they don’t get any, they get sick.”<br />
    Hush had a nose to the ground, catching a nearby scent, the hyroo
followed it and stopped at a mound, pushing sand off the top with its
snout, off of something that was buried there. First, a shrivelled hand
came into view, then a torso. Hush continued to brush sand off,
revealing the rest of it. It was small, grey, wrinkly, with skin like
leather, and like Ten, this body also had a character carved into its
neck.<br />
    “F.”<br />
    Lupen and Eka began to dig through the soil, both had the same idea.
F couldn’t be left here for someone else to find. They put the body in
the hole and Lupen placed a piece of cloth over F’s face, then they
covered the body with a thick duvet of golden sand. The two stood at the
place where the hole had been, hand in hand.<br />
    “What do Verido say on Leaping Days in Volare?” Eka asked.<br />
    “We say nothing. We instead focus on recalling good memories with as
much detail as we can. Then, we take those good thoughts into ourselves,
thusly preserving our loved ones in our hearts.” Lupen’s hand closed
into a tight fist, coming to rest over the heart. Eka did the same.
Lupen’s attention turned to the prism-headed creature sitting on the
ground. “They send their workers out into the desert with metal heads.
Why?”<br />
    “Punishment? Sending them out here with those things on is a death
sentence. They can’t eat or drink, plus there’s the heat of the suns.
They don’t last long out here.” Eka whistled for Hush to move near Ten,
to shield the prisoner from the suns. Ten reacted to the change in
temperature, hands coming to rest over the burnt flesh. “Lu, put a hand
to Ten’s chest, and then take Ten’s hand onto yours. I’ll do the same.
After that we won’t be strangers anymore.” Eka said with a soft
smile.<br />
    Lupen did as told. After Eka had done the same, both noticed that
Ten appeared more relaxed.<br />
    “I bet they put those heads on as a warning to others too, of what
can happen if you mess with Iridi people.” Lupen sighed. “How are you so
great in situations like this?” Lupen asked Eka, “you’re calm and always
seem to know just what to do…”<br />
    “When it comes to helping others it comes easy, had you been alone
you’d done the same.” Eka’s fingers traced over the prism on Ten’s head.
The shapes and pieces on its surface were not random, every one could be
pushed and moved to a new place. It was an elaborate puzzle. Eka soon
stopped touching it, realizing that every bad move resulted in the prism
shrinking. There was no way to pry it off this poor child’s head. “We
can’t leave Ten here and we know we can’t go to Irideri. There’s a
village just a day’s walk away, we’ll go there.”<br />
    The woth slipped out of its glass ball and fluttered ahead to show
them the way.<br />
    “How does it know where to go?” Lupen wondered.<br />
    “Good internal compass,” Eka replied, chasing down the woth as it
disappeared in the distance. “Slow down Plit!” Eka called out to the
woth.<br />
    “Do you really think that any woth in its right mind would answer to
the name Plit? Oh no… what if this woth actually <em>is</em> crazy? What
if its name is a sentence, and that the sentence isn’t actually a
sentence at all but a succession of random words? Or that the words are
not words but just strings of random letters? What then!? This woth is
crazy Eka!” Lupen said. The Verido was relieved to see that it did not,
in fact, answer to Plit, although there was no real way to know if the
woth was of sound mind or not.<br />
    Hush bounded forward, carrying Ten on its back. Soon, Lupen joined
in, climbing behind Ten to make sure that their guest wouldn’t slip
off.</p>
<p>It took them half a day’s time to get to the village, with Eka and
Lupen taking turns on Hush. They arrived at the famed tent village of
Renate.<br />
    Historically, Renate was an open bazaar, a place of exchange with no
permanent residents. Nowadays, many artisans made Renate their home, but
still kept to the tradition of temporary housing. Most tents were kept
up by flexible banabo poles and had walls of fabric, offering less
resistance to wind while providing a cool shelter. Each tent was unique,
with walls of varying colours and patterns, some were weaved from banabo
fibre, others from lesser-known materials like hampa, or notcott. There
was no visible organization for the placement of the tents, in fact this
village had few rules, and no official leader. The people here liked it
that way, Eka said.<br />
    When they arrived, they approached a group of children playing in an
open area between tents, they’d heard of these prism-headed prisoners,
but didn’t have time to answer questions because all of their attention
quickly turned to Hush. The children combed the hyroo’s fur with their
fingers, along with repeated ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. This caught the
attention of an older villager, who’d been busy sifting sand and rock
from a batch of freshly dug lanivanil bleens. The villager left the
basket and bleens on the ground and hurried over, urging the kids to
move away.<br />
    “Hush is not dangerous.” Lupen said.<br />
    After successfully shooing the kids away, the villager shook their
head, “nan nan. Nan ti…” and then pointed a finger toward Ten
“<em>ti</em> estre! Volubi, seklo vi. Rappida!”<br />
     “Follow me, quickly,” Eka translated the end of the conversation.
They could sense the fear in the villager’s eyes. They were led to a
large tent on the outskirts of town. They could hear the sound of
someone beating into a piece of metal inside.<br />
    “Atedu nio citi.” The villager said, slipping into the tent.<br />
    “Are we in trouble?” Lupen asked Eka, “also, what language is
that?”<br />
    “Aodan, and no no, we’re fine.” Eka replied.<br />
    The clanging stopped. A tall and brawny character stepped out,
eyeing the one with the prism for a head. “I’ll take care of it
Lussa.”<br />
    “Danki, danki Maka,” Lussa said, bowing to the two strangers before
scurrying away, disappearing behind a row of tents.<br />
    The group was hushed inside, as if they had a secret that needed to
stay hidden. They learned that the tent owner’s name was Maka, a
metalworker, thick with muscle. The metalworker’s body appeared to be
made of rock. Maka had short white hair, crowning the head and face.
Maka showed great interest in Ten. “No one’s ever found one alive. I’ve
tinkered with one other of those head prisons, found it on the desert
floor. Couldn’t keep it for long though, it had to be returned because
those Irideri guards come and look for them.”<br />
    “Really? Why would they do that?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “Maybe they can’t make more…” Eka mused.<br />
    “That’s a good guess,” Maka said, “but we don’t really know, truth
is we prefer to leave the metal heads where they are, because having
them around scares people. No one here wants to give the Iridi a reason
to threaten us again. It’s why Lussa brought you here, we don’t want
anyone to see. The young ones aren’t afraid because they haven’t lived
through the Raids, but the older generation fear anything that has to do
with the Iridi. They won’t want the prisoner to stay here for that
reason.” Maka walked over to Ten, inspecting the poor child’s wounds.
“Poor kid looks very weak, I have something for that,” Maka helped the
young prisoner to the far side of the tent. “So,” Maka began, “why help
a stranger?” The metalworker helped the child onto a bed and began
applying medicine to the wounds.<br />
    “I suffer from acute empathy.” Eka said.<br />
    Alarms went off in Lupen’s head then, the brain opening up thought
drawers in succession, searching for an answer that too, would impress,
but the drawers produced no such miracle. “Can you <em>believe</em> it?
I wanted to say that <em>exact</em> same thing! Embarrassing when that
happens! When you have the exact same thought as someone else, but they
say it first and you wanna be an individual so you <em>try</em> to come
up with something new, that is, you know, unique, but you can’t because
that first thought was just so, so good…”<br />
    Maka stared for a while, then started to laugh with gusto. “You’ve
got beautiful minds. I like you both already.” The brawny Aodal walked
back over to their side of the room, with a box in hand, taking a seat
on a metal stool that Lupen could tell, had been handcrafted. “I can’t
open the prism, but I know someone who can help you.”<br />
    Lupen’s face brightened at these words. “Really?”<br />
    “Possibly. It’s a topic I’ve long avoided with my apprentice, but
everyone has to face up to their past sometime, don’t you agree? I’ll
take you over there after lunch, you two must be starving!” The
metalworker reached into a box, a sort of cooling box, similar to the
cold pot in Lupen’s house in Volare, and pulled out some teaweet bread,
jam and dried sausages. Maka began to cut slices of teaweet bread,
laying the pieces out onto a wooden board along with some the sausages.
“My apprentice came to Renate many annums ago, broken and near-dead.
Villagers here were ready to cast the poor thing back out into the
desert, who can blame them… Iridi have a bad reputation in these parts,
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you why…”<br />
    “Your apprentice is an Iridi?” Eka said, surprised.<br />
    “That’s right.” Maka uncovered a crock of spiced mapple jam, scooped
out a portion for the group and ladded it into a small wooden bowl
before setting it down with the rest of the food. “Eat, eat! All local
products. Made those plant sausages myself, a mix of spices, teaweet
flour, bobonions, nutshroos and plurple bleens.”</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    <strong>Sausages</strong></p>
<p>    <em>Ingredients</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    One medium size bobonion<br />
    Three bushels of nutshroos<br />
    Two minced gewrik cloves<br />
    One full stalk of stemmed aroot bleens<br />
    Five dips of fermented choko paste<br />
    One avoka nut<br />
    Tree sprigs of smoked papakitas<br />
    Two crushed lemilims<br />
    Three crumbed slices of teaweet<br />
    Six stalks of plurple bleens, stemmed and floured</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    <em>Instructions</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Mince the bobonion and the nutshroos. Sauté together with the oil
from a cracked avoka until they have softened, and that all of the water
from the nutshroos has evaporated.<br />
    Add all of the other ingredients to a stone bowl and mix together
into a smooth batter. Using a heavy pestle will make the job easier. Add
a bit more plurple flour if it’s too moist.<br />
    Take some of the batter and roll it into sausages, pan-fry with some
avoka oil and serve with your choice of topping!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    Lupen and Eka thanked their host, grabbed a slice of teaweet
bread, and added a dab of mapple jam with a slice of sausage on top. Eka
took a bite, but hesitated to take another. “Ten must be
starving…”<br />
    Ten was still resting in the corner, Maka didn’t look concerned.
“Don’t worry, Ten ate. It was the first thing I did. It’s my number one
rule: empty bellies must be filled at once!”<br />
    Lupen didn’t understand. “How?”<br />
    “Food patches.” Maka explained, pulling one out of the pocket of a
work apron.<br />
    Lupen couldn’t believe it. “Oh, not <em>those</em> again…”<br />
    Maka laughed. “Yes I hear you, not everyone likes these, but when
the Iridi were attacking the cities, everyone was on the run and these
saved many lives. Good nutritious food was hard to come by, health
problems arose and these came in useful. A sandfin comes by every now
and then, always brings a crate-full of the stuff. Not one of those
Beobug scammers, a solo traveler, on a sandfin with a yellow hull.
Renate suffered much loss during the Iridi raids a stranger brought us
our first crate. Kindness was in short supply in those days, you can
imagine the look on the people’s faces when a tall stranger arrived here
with it”.<br />
    “<em>Tall</em> you say?” Lupen glanced over at Eka, half-expecting a
reaction, but the Wonder had other preoccupations.<br />
    “Think I can give a few slices of teaweet to Hush?”<br />
    Maka smirked. “Kids outside are giving your friend plenty of good
grub, saw them trailing behind Lussa with basket-fulls of
nutshroos.”<br />
    “Oh, I hope they’ll figure out that Hush will eat as long as there’s
food. That hyroo’s appetite is insatiable, it’s been compared to the
Rupture, in the way that it has no bottom.”<br />
    “I’ll let the kids know.” Maka said with a warm smile.</p>
<p>After the meal, Eka, Lupen, Maka and Ten marched over to the
apprentice’s home, erected far from all others. The tent had no visible
openings, all the panels were bound with clumsy, heavy stitching. Some
panels looked better than others, it seemed that its maker had improved
over time. It was tradition in Renate that all who came to live here,
make their own tent from thread and needle, with local materials. Maka’s
apprentice had a different life before, not one where you were taught
the art of thread-work. “You have to promise not to tell anyone that Iri
is in Renate.” Maka whispered.<br />
    “Iri?” Lupen said, “that’s a derogatory name isn’t it?”<br />
    “I know it is, but my apprentice insists on it,” Maka explained. “So
you won’t tell right?”<br />
    “Promise!” Eka said.<br />
    Lupen also chimed in. “Will tell no one.”<br />
    “Good, good. You see, Iri did not leave Irideri by choice. My
apprentice served in the Court of Light, but deserted after an
unfortunate series of events. Iri will not like that I’ve told you this,
but I have a feeling that I can trust you.” Maka found an opening in the
tent and put a head inside. “Iri, some people here to see you.”<br />
    “For work?” Iri asked from inside.<br />
    “Yes, you can call it work.” Maka said, turning to the three
visitors, whispering. “Whatever you do, you’ve got to make Iri help you.
Do not leave this tent without the promise of help.”<br />
    Eka and Lupen nodded, hands searching for a gap in the fabric of the
tent, after finding it they slipped inside. The outer fabric of the tent
was thick, it kept most of the light out.<br />
    Iri rose when they entered. The apprentice had a thin face and an
equally thin build, a loose hampa knit shirt hung off of one shoulder.
The Iridi’s hair was short, dark and wavy. Iri’s eyes were black, well
adapted to a life out of the sun. “Who are you?” Iri asked, scanning
them from head to toe.<br />
    “That’s Eka, I’m Lupen and this one is… well, we call this one Ten.”
Lupen dragged the youngling from behind them, putting the prism into
full view of their host.<br />
    Iri’s eyes widened as shameful memories of Irideri came streaming
back. The face of their host seemed to have gone an even paler shade of
grey. “Better to spend your energy on the living,” the apprentice said,
inaudibly cursing at Maka for sending those strangers over here.
Thoughts of Irideri were irritating, Iri made a point of never thinking
about that place.<br />
    “You must not have helped many to say this.” Lupen said. Eka elbowed
the Verido, insulting their host would not help their case.<br />
    “I don’t deny it. I don’t help the dead. It’s pointless.” Iri said,
uncaring.<br />
    “From what Maka told us, you were near dead too when you first
walked into Renate. People helped you,” Lupen retorted.<br />
    The changes in Iri’s face were small, eyebrows furrowed slightly,
the apprentice was angry but appeared annoyed most of all. These subtle
face twitches did not rightly convey the Iridi’s true feelings. “I still
had a leg to stand on. This prisoner will never be rid of that head.
Within seven days, Ten will be dead and you will have needlessly
burdened yourselves with guilt over it.”<br />
    “Is that the truth?” Lupen asked, “Maka said you would know what to
do.”<br />
    “Maka was wrong.”<br />
    Eka insisted. “Please help. You <em>must</em> know
<em>something</em>.”<br />
    The apprentice appeared to be troubled, remembering what had
happened all of those annums ago, when arriving here in the village…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>    “You have to let me in. I can’t go back out into the wilds, I’ll
die!” A young Renzo, dressed in tattered traditional Iridi robes was
standing at the Renate city border, hair disheveled, the veil of
perfection gone. Renzo’s legs were travel-worn and threatened to buckle,
but the pride of an Iridi was such that one would never kneel or show
signs of weakness, even when in pain.<br />
    Renzo had first sought refuge at the city of Edonor, but met a lot
of hostility there. Many disapproved of the presence of an Iridi,
whispering insults under their breath. “How dare you come into our city
with <em>that</em> face!” They would say. “Do you wish for death?”<br />
    To the older residents of Edonor, this stranger was a harbinger of
war, many still carried scars of that time. Seeing an Irideri soldier
stroll through town was cause for concern, were there others coming? Was
this the beginning of another time of fear under Iridi rule? Not all
were reserved in their hatred, some would come near, ready to fight.
Renzo, young and fearless, did not take kindly to insults, which only
served to aggravate things.<br />
    The city of Irideri had been closed off to the outside for many
annums, but that did nothing to soothe the pains inflicted on the land
during the Raids. No Iridi of this generation knew how the rest of the
world perceived them, their history books gave no account of all the
death and pain. Renzo was the first Iridi to step foot in Edonor since
the raids had ended. That day, Renzo discovered what awaited residents
of Irideri dumb enough to leave the security of the Andenuis. Some
residents of Edonor had pain in their hearts, and revenge on their
minds. There was another city, a village, a day’s walk away called
Renate, but like Edonor the people there too had knives for eyes.<br />
    “If the desert wants you dead, there’s no escaping it.” One of the
Renate villagers said, throwing a stone. “Your people chased our
ancestors from their lands! Iridi foot soldiers forced entire villages
to flee. If they didn’t leave, a life of darkness and death awaited them
in your mines! Entire families lost! Because of <em>you</em>!” A shower
of words and stones.<br />
    Renzo, burdened with all of the wrongdoings of the Iridi, tore off
the set of traditional Iridi robes, throwing the mass of dark fabric at
the villager’s feet. “I’ve deserted! I’ve got nothing to do with all
that!”<br />
    The traditional robes added a lot of volume to an Iridi, it made
them look imposing and strong, without the added plumage Renzo looked
painfully frail. Renzo hoped this gesture would be enough to convince
them of the legitimacy of this desertion, but the people did not show an
inch of compassion. One of the villagers took some steps forward to spit
on the discarded set of Iridi robes. “A killer without a cloak is still
a killer,” and then proceeded to kick mounds of sand onto it.<br />
    Renzo was afraid. No one would ever accept an Iridi into their
village. There was nowhere to go and returning to the desert meant
certain death. “Please.” Renzo fell on bended knees, that veneer of
composure, gone. “I am nothing. I’ll do whatever you say. I’m yours to
command.” Renzo leant forward then too, face in the dirt. “I am Iri,
lower than low, akin to dirt. I relinquish my name and rights, I am not
worthy of a name.”<br />
    Maka, a well respected citizen of Renate spoke up. “Very well then,
you will live.”     The other villagers whispered amongst themselves.
“But that’s an Iridi!” one said, clutching a stone.<br />
    “Not anymore.” Maka replied, walking up to the despondent Iridi.
“Come.” Maka instructed.<br />
    Renzo insisted on being named Iri. Maka refused, but when the young
Iridi stopped eating in protest the metalworker saw no other option. Iri
wanted this, as penance for the wrongdoings of the people of Irideri.
Maka trained the young Iridi to work metal, while giving regular
teachings of the world Irideri had kept hidden all these annums.
Deprived of chloromyce shroos, the youngling’s grey skin lightened and
became less sensitive, allowing for more time in the suns.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    Now with more annums on, Iri could see that this was a way to
repay Maka’s kindness. Iri’s lips were quivering, these foreigners were
not going to leave, they were determined to save Ten.<br />
    “Only one person can open it,” Iri breathed, voice heavy. “Hori, a
puzzle maker perfected the design.” Seeing their faces light up, Iri
finished the thought, “but Hori died.”<br />
    “There must be plans for it somewhere in the city?” Eka asked,
tentatively.<br />
    Iri’s mind was racing. “Plans, yes, it’s possible, but entering the
city is difficult, impossible even.”<br />
    “If the city is so impenetrable, how did you manage to leave it?”
Lupen asked.<br />
    Iri was eyeing the Verido with growing animosity, unaccustomed to
questions.<br />
    “Please.” Eka’s silvery voice broke the silence. “We’ll tell no
one.”<br />
    Iri’s lips curled inwards, remembering that promise to Maka. “There
is a hidden entrance, but you can’t think of going, they’ll catch you
and you’ll have prisms fitted to your heads.”<br />
    “We’ll be alright, Eka’s the muscle and I’m fast on my feet,” Lupen
said.<br />
    “You cannot hope to survive this…” Iri said.<br />
    “What kind of creatures would we be if we allowed Sixteen to die?”
Lupen said.<br />
    The cogs in this Iridi’s heart were thick with rust and getting them
to turn required some effort. “Ridiculous.” Iri said, with much disdain.
“I’ll take you, but that is all.”<br />
    “I’m happy you’re coming with us,” Eka said. “Will the entrance be
guarded, you think?”<br />
    Iri’s throat felt dry and coarse, irritated by the constant stream
of words. Most times the apprentice was alone, working in the dark, with
only tools and metal as companions, they were not great
conversationalists and Iri liked it that way. “Hardly anyone knows about
it, save a handful of guards. I imagine most have forgotten it exists,
there was no real reason for its construction you see, it is unlikely
that my people would have ever undergone a siege.” Iri paused then, eyes
staring at the floor, as if in shame, “only we excel at the art of
savagery.”</p>
<p>They spent the next few days putting convincing Iridi wardrobes
together. If they hoped to go in the city unnoticed, they would have to
look like locals. Maka still had the apprentice’s former robes, Iri had
wanted to bury them but the metalworker knew that this young Iridi would
need them again someday. With the help of a tailor two tents over, they
made two additional robes for Eka and Lupen to wear, using the first as
a model. The townspeople had heard of Iri’s return to Irideri to help a
prisoner and the two strangers, they thought it noble and did their best
to help in any way they could.<br />
    “Silence is highly prized in Irideri. Wearing a scarf is symbolic of
that, and in this particular instance, it will also help to conceal your
foreign features. Iridi now mostly speak the Common Tongue, so you’ll be
fine, but don’t ask too many questions, speak clearly and concisely.”
These last words were for Lupen.<br />
    Lupen stood in full Iridi wear, the blue of the Verido’s face was
somewhat visible, but Iri pulled the hood down further to conceal it.
“Keep it low, always.”<br />
    “I can’t see anything!” Lupen cried, arms flailing.<br />
    Eka laughed, the colour of Red’s eyes were also difficult to hide,
not much could be done to mute their intensity.<br />
    “You will keep your heads down and address no one unless necessary.
If you must talk to someone, again, keep your gaze to the floor. People
will not think it strange, it is a sign of respect. They will accept
this.” Iri explained.<br />
    Then, came Iri’s turn to change into traditional Iridi wear. Wearing
these was difficult now that Iri knew the Iridi’s violent history. The
robes hung heavy on these shoulders, thick with guilt, all of the lives
lost adding to the weight, their blood and anguish woven into the
fabric.<br />
    Iri couldn’t stand it.</p>
<h1 id="kingdom-of-irideri">Kingdom Of Irideri</h1>
<p><img src="media/flora.conk.shroo.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Conks are hard, woody, cave-dwelling shroos. They are found in
mountainous areas, and used to make a variety of objects. Conks can also
be eaten, but the texture makes it difficult to chew.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>“Things will be different. It’s been more than 10 annums,” Maka said,
with a hand on Iri’s shoulder. Iri was now a few heads taller than the
first time they’d met.<br />
    Iri’s face betrayed little emotion, as if carved from stone. “Thank
you for your help.” Now in Iridi wear, with trimmed hair and skin
without grease, the apprentice was unrecognizable. The effect was so
strong that Maka had asked the villagers not to come today. Many people
in Renate still suffered from mental and emotional stress, courtesy of
the Raids, and seeing Iri like this would likely worsen their
condition.<br />
    “You left your name at the gates of the city, it’s only right that
you should take it back now.” Maka said.<br />
    Iri’s gaze wandered to the ground, and began mouthing the words:
“Iri, not worthy of kindness, not worthy of a name either, not ever,”
then spoke aloud, “I won’t.”<br />
    “Do I need to hammer it out of that stubborn head of yours?” Maka
asked then, eyebrows raised.<br />
    Iri shifted uncomfortably in the set of Iridi robes, “but the
others…”<br />
    “The others are fine with it.” Maka said, with a kind smile.
“Please. You are one of <em>us</em> now. The wars of the past were the
fault of many, you don’t have to suffer forever. Let go of your shame,
and be free.”<br />
    The young apprentice returned the gesture, putting a hand to Maka’s
shoulder. Iri practiced saying the name in this head, but saying it
aloud was difficult, painful, as if the name itself were poison. “My
name is… Renzo.”<br />
    “Renzo,” Maka said softly, smiling, “don’t forget this, you are one
of us now Renzo. Be safe.”<br />
    The people of Renate were too kind, too forgiving, Renzo
thought.<br />
    Maka watched as the group left, their figures dissolving in the
distance. The metal worker had planned to say many more things, but
decided to keep them for Renzo’s return.</p>
<p>During the voyage, thoughts of Irideri came and went in Renzo’s mind,
unhindered. These thoughts had long been buried, but now they were
buoying back to the surface. Back then, being a guard in the Court of
Light was all that mattered, but now Ren could no longer relate to that
guard.<br />
    The group was walking towards the Andenuis, the longest mountain
range in the Soronan Desert, forming a continuous highland along the
kowamata edge of the Central Rim. Irideri was built on a plateau inside
the sawamu-most ridge. Each member of their little travel party took
turns on Hush to rest. Ten had priority, it was too dangerous to walk in
the desert without sight. The last thing they wanted was for their
prism-headed friend to fall into a crevice.<br />
    “Why did you leave Irideri?” Lupen asked Renzo suddenly.<br />
    “You don’t need to know this.”<br />
    “Did you do something bad?”<br />
    “Quiet yourself.”<br />
    “You were a guard in the Court of Light right?” Lupen asked,
unabated.<br />
    “It’s a wonder you can hear the sounds of the world with all of that
talking,” Renzo said, pulling a hood on as if to keep some
privacy.<br />
    “Talking <em>is</em> a sound of the world! Like the sound of the
wind and the chime of a bell.”<br />
    “Bells don’t ask questions,” Renzo retorted.<br />
    “So you speak bell then?”<br />
    Eka smirked at this, trying to imagine the grammar and rhythm of
bell language, but knew that if Lupen was allowed to continue this
interrogation that Renzo would never warm up to them. The woth agreed,
it flew out of its glass house and onto Lupen’s nose.<br />
    “Pity it didn’t land on your mouth,” Renzo sneered.<br />
    Lupen smiled at this. “As if <em>that</em> would stop me!”<br />
    By then the woth had moved to Lupen’s cheek, wondering which part of
this Verido’s face to protect next, fearing a fist coming to it very
soon. Eka smacked the back of Lu’s head, thus concluding this mess of a
conversation.</p>
<p>A day later, the group arrived at their destination. The mountain
range was in sight. It took them another half-day to round it to get to
the sawaata-most end. The path was long, and dotted with rocks.
Eventually, they arrived at a chasm.<br />
    “This is our path.” Renzo said, pointing downward.<br />
    “I see nothing.” Lupen said, gazing down into the gap.<br />
    “That’s because you’ve got the eyes of a day walker,” Renzo
explained, “even Iridi have difficulty seeing it. You’ve got to look at
it from a specific angle.”<br />
    They decided to stop here to wait for daybreak to make their descent
into the city.</p>
<p>When a sliver of the first sun peered over the horizon, Renzo showed
them the secret stairway. It was imperceptible to the eye at a distance,
carved into the chasm wall.<br />
    “These lead to a tunnel that exits inside of the city walls.” Renzo
looked over their disguises to make sure that nothing was missing, then
unrolled an old hand-drawn map of the city, laying it on the
ground.<br />
    “You drew this? It’s beautiful.” Eka said, noting the details in the
drawings. Every street was named. Many of the houses too had the name of
the resident inscribed.<br />
    Renzo placed a finger to a spot on the map, circled in red. “This is
where Hori used to live. Iridi are conservative in their ways. The house
will be there. Although it’s likely someone else will have moved
in.”<br />
    “Think the puzzles will still be there?” Eka asked.<br />
    “Hori’s work was famous. If they’re not there, asking at the house
is our best bet. As I’ve told you before, don’t ask too many questions,”
Renzo said, eyeing again Lupen while saying this. “And keep your hoods
on!” The Iridi grabbed the edge of Lupen’s hood and pulled down hard.
“Avoid all eye contact. Take this map with you, keep it hidden.”<br />
    “It <em>was</em> on!” Lupen cried, adjusting the heavy hood, “I
don’t have eyes on my chin you know…”     Eka grabbed the city map,
rolled it up tight and slipped it into a pocket sewn on the inside of
the robe. Ten had to stay out here in the desert with Hush. “Stay out of
view, move with the shadow of the mountain to keep cool. Keep our friend
safe mapa Hush.” Eka said, nuzzling the beast’s snout.<br />
    Eka, Lupen and Renzo slipped their scarves on, and pulled their
hoods over their heads before venturing into the mouth of the chasm.
They started down the stairs, hugging the wall, the path they had to
follow was narrow and the chasm itself was wide and deep. Lupen was no
stranger to great heights, but found it difficult to manoeuvre in this
thick Iridi robe.<br />
    “If I fall, you’re going to come and get me, right?” Lupen
whispered, swallowing hard.<br />
    “Do like me,” Eka had parted the front of the robe to better aim a
foot on each step, “I know that falling is <em>your</em> thing Lu, but
try not to do that today please, thanks.” While saying this, Eka smiled,
waiting for a reaction.<br />
    “How is it <em>my</em> thing?!” Lupen said, outraged. “Falling
<em>so</em> isn’t my thing…”<br />
    “Quiet! Don’t fall Lupen. You fall, you die.” Renzo whispered.<br />
    Soon, the stairs ended and they arrived at a tunnel, carved into a
wall. The group walked back to back, hands grabbing the robes of the
other person ahead. Renzo could see in the dark, but they could not.
They walked underground until the tunnel opened onto a space between the
palace walls and the mountain face. Renzo described the various areas,
warning them of changes or dangers.<br />
    “It gets narrower here,” Renzo explained, “walk sideways, back to
the wall.”<br />
    The group walked shoulder to shoulder, sections of the vertical
stone faces were built at a slant to further confuse the eye. “Watch
your heads.” Renzo whispered. This uneven walkway led them to the main
street. Looking back, it was hard to discern the path was there at all.
The texture and slant of the walls gave the illusion that this was a
closed space, making it the perfect escape route, visible only to those
who knew it was there.<br />
    “Never seen anything like this.” Lupen said, noting the colour and
texture of the surrounding buildings, white, translucent almost, marked
with patterns of swirling bands of cream and brown. All structures were
connected, built wall-to-wall. They all used the same materials but the
facades bore elaborate carvings unique to each building.<br />
    “These represent the family that owns the house,” Eka explained in a
whisper. “Every family lives under the same roof.” The faint glow of the
chloromyce shroos lit up the front of each house, hung from clear glass
balls.<br />
    Near the highest peak of the Andenuis stood the palace, an imposing
octagonal structure rising along the mountain face. The main facade was
decorated with large bas-reliefs of a circle with a diamond shape in its
centre, and stylized depictions of the chloromyce shroo. These
decorations sat on the cornice above the scupltured panels on the first
floor.<br />
    “Beautiful,” Eka said, admiring the details.<br />
    Some guards were patrolling the streets but paid no attention to
them. Their disguises were good, Renzo had made sure of it.<br />
    “You’ll be going down this street, it’ll be the ninth house on the
right.” Renzo whispered. “If you get lost…”<br />
    “We’ve got the map, yes, but wait… you’re <em>not</em> coming with
us?” Lupen asked, worried.<br />
    “No. I’ll meet you back at the tunnel in eighty pulses.” With little
explanation Renzo disappeared, pushing deeper into the city.<br />
    “Pulses?” Lupen said, confused.     “Yea, pulses,” Eka pointed over
to a shroo-covered crystal erected high in the centre of the city,
visible from everywhere. The crystal would pulse from dim, to bright
very quickly. “That’s how the Iridi count time.”<br />
    “What are we gonna do? We’re <em>never</em> gonna pass for Iridi!”
Lupen said, panicked at the thought of being discovered. “They’ll put
prisms on our heads! This is revenge for earlier, for what I
said!”<br />
    Eka grabbed Lupen’s shoulders. “Renzo couldn’t have come with us.
People don’t forget the face of defectors.”<br />
    “This won’t work. Your eyes are ruby red and my face is blue
Eka!”<br />
    “They won’t see our faces. Keep it under the shadow of your hood.
We’ll be fine. You believe me right?” Eka’s voice had a soothing quality
to it, it calmed most people, but Lupen remained unaffected, unsoothed.
They’d been together long and overtime it seemed to have lost its
sedative qualities.<br />
    “<em>How</em> are you <em>not</em> scared?!” Lupen said.<br />
    “Oh I <em>am</em> scared,” Eka admitted, “but also excited! Think of
the chloromyce noodles!”<br />
    “Ugh. I feel sick.”<br />
    Eka grabbed Lu’s arm then. Both walked down the street, counting
houses as they did. Soon, they found Hori’s street, and then the ninth
house on the right. It appeared that after the puzzle maker’s death, the
house had been converted into a museum. Eka noted the opening times
carved into the wall above the door.<br />
    “What if we don’t find anything?” Lupen whispered, walking close to
Eka.<br />
    “Then we’ll make a new plan.” Eka replied, pulling the Verido closer
to the house.</p>
<p>They walked up a set of white steps and up to the doorsill. A small
silver bell hung on the outer wall, Eka stretched a hand out and tapped
the bell to alert the people inside of their presence. No answer. They
were going to tap the bell again, but saw a silhouette behind the veiled
doorway, houses in Irideri had fabric for doors. Someone was coming. The
silhouette put an arm out and pushed the curtain aside, revealing a
long-haired Iridi wearing a dark grey robe, with a neck and wrists
decorated with silver trinkets.<br />
    “It’s very early you know, what do you want?” The museum owner said
in a sleepy voice.<br />
    “Forgive our intrusion,” Eka said, eyes and face low, “we are from
the colonies. We’re here on a short short visit. We’ve always dreamed of
seeing this place, but seeing as we are leaving in the mo…evening, would
it be okay to trouble you now for a quick visit?”<br />
    “Colonies?” The museum owner said.<br />
    Eka nodded. During the raids the Iridi established colonies in
far-away camps, used as relief stations for soldiers but also as
temporary camps for captives. It was rumored that two of these were
still active, inhabited by both Iridi and liberated slaves of the
Crown.<br />
    Lupen had doubts that this would work. No one knew for certain if
the colonies really did exist. But then, the Iridi put a finger to their
nose. “Yes <em>of course</em>! The <em>colonies</em>.”<br />
    “We are <em>such</em> fans of Hori’s work!” Eka said.<br />
    At these words, the Iridi smiled. “I’m happy to hear it! It’s a
dying art, and I mean that quite literally. May be grim to say, but this
body is deteriorating quicker than I’d like, my brain is hot with ideas
but this shell does not give a damn. Please, please, come in, come
in!”<br />
    Bariton, the museum owner, invited them inside for a drink. Lupen
and Eka could not refuse. Bariton was second to Hori, they were not
related, but they were very close. The Iridi made puzzles too, but
admitted that they weren’t as good as Hori’s work. When the puzzle
master died, Bariton took possession of the house to preserve its
appearance and contents, turning it into a museum. All over the house,
puzzles sat on shelves, contraptions of all shapes and sizes, for all
levels of skill.<br />
    “Hori was truly unique,” Bariton told them, “could see patterns in
the world others couldn’t. My dear one had a bright mind. A unique
vision. Where I saw nothing, Hori saw opportunity.” Bariton grabbed a
puzzle off a nearby shelf to show them. “This is one of two. The other
is in the palace, in little Kurono’s playroom I imagine.” The old Iridi
tried to solve it, but could not remember how. “Our Little Light loves
these puzzles, Hori designed hundreds for Kurono. I like to think that
it’s thanks to Hori that our Sovereign-to-be’s mind is as sharp as it
is!”<br />
    Lupen glanced around the room, eyes searching for images or plans of
that prismatic puzzle. None were visible. Perhaps Hori did not consider
it worthy of display, many would agree. “Those head prisms are
<em>quite</em> something too aren’t they?”<br />
    Bariton sighed. “Yes. They’re a puzzle maker’s dream. A true test of
patience, very difficult to solve. Our Monarch, the Light of Our World,
found out about it and asked Hori to the palace, asking for the design
be altered, well, enlargened I should say… to fit a person’s head. This
was a difficult annum for Hori with Noko dying just a quarter annum
before. Imagine, your most <em>prized</em> design used to hurt others…
what kind of legacy is <em>that</em>?” The Iridi paused, wondering if
these strangers would pass these words on to others. One could be killed
for speaking ill of the monarchy. “What do <em>you</em> colony-folk
think of Demeri?”<br />
    “Demeri is a tyrant.” Lupen said aloud without thinking, but then
realized it was dangerous thing to say to an Iridi, even if it was the
truth. “What I meant to say is that Demeri is so so <em>so</em> lovely!”
These words had little weight to them, Lupen knew it. ‘So so lovely’
lingered in the air like a fart. “Forget I said anything. I’m an
imbecile, <em>that’s</em> the truth.” The Verido dribbled, shrinking
deep into the Iridi robes. Any moment now, the guards would come and
take them away. They would die with heads of metal walking on hot
sands.<br />
    The old Iridi laughed. “You colonists are such liberals! I envy
you.”<br />
    Lupen let out a nervous laugh. Eka smiled.<br />
    “Hori continued to make puzzles for Kurono after that, but denied
making the prism. The hatred of this thing brought us close though I
suppose.” Saying this, the Iridi began to fiddle with a distinctive
trinket, a bracelet, hugging Bariton’s wrist. It was thick, metallic,
with connecting block criss-crossed with lines. Like the prism, these
pieces could be moved to a new place. If Bariton did this, it would
change the design of the bracelet. “Another puzzle,” Bariton explained,
“a gift from Hori. Clamped it on my wrist while I was asleep one day. It
cannot be removed unless it is solved. As you can see, I have failed my
beloved in this.” The Iridi smiled at it, running a finger along one of
the gaps in the metal. “How Hori would laugh to know that it’s still
unsolved… the damned thing has been on my wrist for fourteen annums.
<em>Quite</em> a sense of humor that one.”<br />
    Eka laughed. “Never helped you solve it?”<br />
“    ”When alive? No. My dear one was hard-headed, determined to have me
find the solution alone. Then with the death of Noko… well, we forgot
about it. And you know the rest. A sad tale. I apologize for boring you
with it. Others here don’t like to speak of such things, it’s what Hori
liked most about me. I speak freely, and because I do most think me to
be eccentric. In fact, if you were to repeat my words to others, you
better believe that they’d roll their eyes. ‘That kook is at it again,’
they’d say. Well, this kook is a freethinker hiding under a veil of
senility. Best place to be if you ask <em>me</em>.”<br />
    Eka laughed again. “You’d fit right in at the colonies.”<br />
    Bariton gave Eka a wink. “Maybe it’s time for a change of
scenery…”</p>
<p>They spent a long time with Bariton, talking about Hori and the
puzzles. Eka liked this house and its owner, both were warm despite
exhibiting few colours. They had a tour of the house, tried to solve
some of the puzzles. To Lupen’s amazement, The Wonder had difficulty
with them all.<br />
    “Wow, we <em>finally</em> found something you’re bad at.”<br />
    Eka reached forward and pulled Lupen’s hood down deep. “Yea well,
you’re a cactub licker.”<br />
    “You should talk! You uh, you stinky, stupid butt!”<br />
    “Oh dear. I’ve got to teach you to insult me better,” Eka
said.<br />
    They stopped with the name-calling battle when Bariton re-entered
the room with cups of freshly-brewed herbal tea. They drank tea for some
time, and still, had not found any way to open that prism.<br />
    “Does Hori draw plans for the puzzles?” Eka tried.<br />
    “Hori? No. Never. Was all hidden away in that mind safe, didn’t want
others using them to cheat.”<br />
“Can <em>you</em> solve the prism?” Lupen said. It was bold to ask, but
they had been here too long already.<br />
    “You really <em>are</em> interested in that prism aren’t you?”<br />
    “Yes,” Eka admitted, “we enjoy puzzles, and it being the
<em>hardest</em> one…”<br />
    Bariton smiled. “Hardest is right! No one has solved it, aside from
Hori that is… but no one else was taught the solution. Hori died rather
suddenly. It’s why Demeri reclaims those heads from bodies out in the
desert. Not many know this, but the head opens when there’s nothing in
it! It can be re-used in that way, but it is impossible to slip it off a
live person, not without breaking their heads off. Forgive the graphic
nature of this story. It’s a grim affair. Hori and I had many troubled
sleeps about it.”<br />
    Eka enjoyed their time with this Iridi, but they would not find help
for Sixteen here. They needed to find Renzo. “Thank you <em>so</em> much
for your hospitality, but we should go.”<br />
    Bariton nodded. “I hope you enjoyed the house and the ramblings of
<em>this</em> kook.”<br />
    “That last bit is what I enjoyed most.” Eka said.<br />
    “Me too.” Lupen added.<br />
    The Iridi too seemed to like them very much. “I have something for
you, let me get it.” The museum owner disappeared into another room,
returning moments later a puzzle in hand. It was a mid-level one,
octagonal, made of cast iron and decorated with engravings. “This is the
first puzzle Hori made. I kept it but it was destined for Noko. I’d like
you to have it. It’s never been solved. Not that I think I couldn’t do
it, but I just can’t bring myself to try, it wasn’t made for me to
solve. But, it’s time someone else had a chance with it. An unsolved
puzzle is a sad, sad thing.”<br />
    Eka accepted the gift, putting it in a pocket inside the robe.
“Thank you. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation.”<br />
    “Comeback any time. Oh! And um, be careful out there…” Bariton
warned, opening the door for them. They heard sirens wailing in the
distance then, Bariton watched as Iridi guards came running down the
street and toward the palace.<br />
    Eka was nervous. “You don’t think?”<br />
    “I hope not.” Lupen said, afraid. They said goodbye to their host
and left. A few moments had gone by, Eka regretted having stayed there
so long, Ren had advised against it.<br />
    “What’s going on?” An Iridi asked one of the guards from a bedroom
window.<br />
    “Word is that the deserter Renzo was sighted in the city. Our
Luminary will be pleased.”<br />
    “They’ll hurt Ren!” Lupen whispered. Both kept themselves hidden for
now, trying to think of a plan.<br />
    Eka looked determined. “No they <em>won’t</em>!”<br />
    Both traversed the city, as fast as their feet could carry them. Eka
whistled for Hush, a distinctive sort of whistle, sharp and
melodious.<br />
    “Hush is on the other side of the mountain!” Lupen said.<br />
    “You, speaker of Ilken, should know just how far the sound of a
whistle can travel! That paired with Hush’s parabolic ears!” Eka lay
hands over an existing pair of ears, to make them appear larger.<br />
    They looked at the sky. A large shape had bounded up into the clouds
and was coming down fast. Hush landed on the rooftop of a building,
cracking the tiles. Ten was sitting on its back, gripping the mane of
fur, hard.<br />
    “Wonder what Ten thinks is happening, must be confusing.” Lupen
said, watching the Hyroo take another leap down to meet them at street
level.</p>
<p>Monarch Demeri’s face turned a pale shade of grey when told of the
news that Renzo had been spotted in Irideri. “Is it really Renzo?” the
Sovereign asked, swallowing hard. Demeri and Kurono usually stayed up
late, having tea in the Moon Room. Servants were there to serve drinks,
Demeri’s cup was already dosed with chloromyce shroo powder.<br />
    “Are you sure?” the Light of Lights asked again, lips
quivering.<br />
    “Yes my Brightest, the traitor was seen in the courtyard, somehow
bypassed the security there and vanished.” Enji, head of the guards,
explained.<br />
    Demeri appeared distraught. “<em>No</em> one disappears.
<em>You</em> were outwitted! That is unacceptable. You are not worthy of
your post general Enji. This is the second time you’ve failed me. You
<em>will</em> find the traitor, or I will have a prism fitted to
<em>your</em> head!”     Enji bowed to Demeri, apologetically. “As you
command.” With this, the general and subordinates disappeared.
    Kurono remembered this person, this Renzo, a former guard of the
Court of Light. The Young Light was very young then, but the words
Demeri used then to speak of Renzo were bad ones indeed, it appeared
that this guard could do nothing right in the eyes of the Light Of The
Realm.<br />
    The Monarch left the room in a huff after the announcement,
determined to have guards at every door. Every soldier was looking for
Renzo in the palace. The building was enormous. Many rooms were
unoccupied while others housed few items, if one could infiltrate the
place it would be easy to live in here for annums, unseen.<br />
    “No one sleeps until that filth is found!” the Sovereign yelled, in
a shrill and unpleasant voice.<br />
    Kurono could hear Demeri moving in the palace, screeching out
orders, and rather enjoyed it. Kurono drank tea alone, and even drank
Demeri’s cup. The Brightest had been too distracted to touch it. Kurono
gave a half-suppressed laugh while downing the whole thing, adding some
extra spoonfuls—a touch of rebellion felt good every now and then.</p>
<p>After tea, Kurono was asked to stay in the playroom with Eleven. A
guard stood outside the door. Word was that there were two foreigners on
a rabid beast attacking the palace. There were people running, yelling
out orders, their voices passing through the thickness of the door.
Eventually, even the guard at the playroom door was obliged to take part
in the hunt. With an ear pressed to the door, Kurono could hear the
guard’s steps growing fainter.<br />
    “This is <em>amazing</em>.” Kurono said, the quietness that reigned
in the realm was a real bore, now the palace felt alive, chaotic. There
was no way to know if what was happening was good or bad, but it didn’t
matter. The disobedient Lightling commanded the Iri to stay inside, left
the playroom and proceeded to wander the palace. Kurono had only just
turned the corner when ahead, stood a stranger, an Iridi but with
foreign clothes—an uncommon sight. The stranger smelled of earth, their
feet were brown with it, they’d left marks all over the floors. How
delightful, Kurono thought, picturing all of that dirt entangled in
Demeri’s pristine hair.<br />
    The stranger was out of breath. “You’ve grown,” seeing the Young
Crown there, Renzo swallowed hard, “you know who I am Little
Light?<br />
    Kurono nodded, speaking in a quiet voice.”No one can anger Demeri as
well as <em>you</em>.”<br />
    Renzo had penetrated the palace using a secret entrance, the same
that was used to escape the palace all those annums ago. Renzo left
Renate with the goal of passing through Irideri unseen, that was the
plan, but near the palace Ren crossed paths with a guard. Face to face
with a former collegue, Renzo lost control, a barrage of rage and
sadness came flooding out. “That’s right, I’m back! Tell Demeri! Tell
everyone!”<br />
    Now, Renzo stared at the Young Royal, determined to speak the truth.
“Are you going to tell on me?”<br />
    “No, Demeri makes me angry too. It’s all lies, all the time. Too
many things are kept hidden from me and I don’t like it.” Kurono
replied.<br />
    Renzo could hear footsteps down the hall and retreated into a room,
beckoning Kurono to follow. Both quieted, waiting for them to leave. “I
know many things that Demeri would hate me to reveal,” Renzo said in a
whisper.<br />
    “Ah! It’s Renzo! The dangerous deserter!” A voice shouted from
behind them. The history teacher, Mura, had been in the room this entire
time. They’d only just emerged from the closet, but returned within it
right away.<br />
    Renzo looked at Kurono, ignoring Mura. “They’re coming, but you have
to hear and believe what I’m about to say to you now. You are
<em>not</em> Demeri’s child. Your true mapa, Hori, was ordered dead so
that Demeri could take you.”<br />
    Guards rushed inside. Renzo moved to fight them, to the sound of
Mura squealing in the closet. The fearful professor opened the door and
motioned for Kurono to enter. Kurono had always hated Mura and stuck a
tongue out in defiance before continuing to listen to Renzo. “Why? The
Iridi wouldn’t give me a title if I wasn’t of royal klorea! How do
<em>I</em> know you’re telling the truth?” Kurono asked.<br />
    Renzo knocked one guard over the head and smacked the other in the
gut with the butt of a chloromyce shroo-lit lamp. “You are good at
puzzles. Hori was too.” The deserter gave another blow to the head of
the second guard, the glass bowl around the lamp’s head shattering upon
contact, plunging the room into complete darkness. Saying this, Renzo’s
face cracked into a smile. Renzo’s cheeks ached, from a lifetime of
still-facedness. “You were taken as a baby, because Demeri could not
bear any healthy seeds. Demeri stole you away, couldn’t admit to being
incapable of producing an heir.”<br />
    Kurono was shaking. If this was true, this life, all of it, was
false. “How do you know all this?”<br />
    Renzo felt sorry for the Young Light, but there was no other way to
disrupt the order of things here in Irideri. This had to be known. “I
wanted Demeri to like me. I did all that was ever asked of me. So when
asked to…” Renzo paused, reluctant to divulge this bit of information,
“when asked to take Hori’s life, I could not refuse. But even
<em>that</em> wasn’t enough, it wasn’t enough to earn Demeri’s respect.
I was desperate and it was a mistake. I regret it, deeply…”<br />
    Renzo remembered that day well. Hori was working at the foundry,
alone. Ren came and hit the puzzlemaker over the head with a length of
metal. The blunt force killed Hori instantly. The event was thought to
be an accident, that the piece of metal had fallen from above and had
struck the Iridi dead. The foundry building was old, no one suspected
foul play.<br />
    Just then, more guards came bursting into the room. Renzo could not
fight so many. “I’m no different than Demeri. No less evil. I’ve wronged
you. I’m so, so, sorry.” Renzo said, in a low voice. At least now Kurono
knew the truth.<br />
    Enji walked ahead of the others. “You will not talk, you will not
gaze upon our Young Crown. You are Iri, lower than dirt.” Saying these
words, the general’s face showed great disgust. “Belly to the floor
insect.”<br />
    Renzo did not do what was asked and continued to eye Kurono. “Your
<em>real</em> name is Noko, don’t forget it.”<br />
    Enji grabbed hold of Renzo and tackled the prisoner down to the
floor. “Quiet yourself Iri!”<br />
    Renzo, now with an ear pressed to the floor, could hear that
something was happening below. Something was inside the mansion and
making a real mess of things. Then, voices shouting the name Renzo could
be heard.<br />
    “I’m here!” Renzo answered, shouting through the floor.<br />
    “My failure to capture you all those annums ago tainted me. I won’t
fail our Brightest <em>this</em> time.” Enji said.<br />
    “There is no honor in carrying out the orders of a dictator.” Renzo
said.<br />
    Enji pressed a foot on the prisoner’s cheek. “You are not worthy of
words, therefore not worthy of a tongue…”<br />
    More guards came, all helped pry their victim’s mouth open. One
pinched Renzo’s nose closed, while another reached for the tongue. The
deserted struggled from under them, unwilling to give in.<br />
    Then the guards all stopped talking, hearing something panting in
the hallway. A wild animal? They could hear someone talking too, “Eka I
can’t see a <em>thing</em>!” followed by another voice. “Grab that
lamp!” Then they saw a spot of light in the hallway, growing larger, and
a large animal came bursting into the room, with some riders on its
back. A large, big-eared creature stood there, snarling. Hush rushed at
the guards, chasing them off. Enji did not leave straight away, but
another snarl did it. The general fell away to the back of the room with
the others.<br />
    “You okay?” Lupen asked Renzo, sliding off Hush and helping their
companion off the floor.<br />
    “Yes, but we need to leave.” Renzo replied, bright-faced and glad to
still have a tongue to speak with.<br />
    Lupen eyed Renzo curiously, wondering if chloromyce shroo light
could deceive non-Iridi eyes. “You’ve got a weird curvy slit in your
face that wasn’t there before.”<br />
    Renzo laughed. Lupen did not know whether to be happy or fearful in
this moment.<br />
    Eka noticed Kurono there in the corner, eyes wet with tears.
“Kurono?” Eka asked, tentatively, pulling the hood and scarf off. Kurono
backed away, having never seen a foreigner before. The three would leave
soon, but before they did, Eka pulled a puzzle from the robe and handed
it to the Young Crown. “A gift for you from Bariton. You like puzzles
<em>right</em>?”<br />
    Kurono took it. It bore a marking, like all the others in the
playroom. The name Hori was burned deep onto its base. Kurono began to
turn and twist all its parts, solving it within second. “My mapa made
this…” It didn’t feel weird to say that. Kurono remembered the smell of
metal and heat from burning coal, these were the smells of Hori’s
workshop.<br />
    “Hori made that one too.” Renzo said, pointing to Ten who was
standing by the entrance.<br />
    Kurono saw the number on the prisoner’s neck. “It’s you!” Without
hesitation, the Young Light took Ten into a loving embrace. Then, these
eyes fell upon the prism. “It’s a puzzle?” The prisms too had been kept
secret, another of Demeri’s lies, Kurono thought. The Young Crown’s
fingers scanned the face of the prism carefully. “I <em>know</em> this.”
Fingers began to move the pieces around, it took a few moments, but
then, there was a loud clicking sound and the head fell away into
pieces. All in the room stared, wide-eyed, believing that the prism was
unsolvable.<br />
    Now freed of the prism, Ten looked terrible, pale, thin and
confused, but when the Iri’s eyes fell on Kurono they regained a bit of
their former vigor. Ten scanned the room and the people in it, there
were two foreigners, Renzo, a large eared beast, and a handful of guards
all piled up in one corner. Ten had no knowledge of anything that had
happened, but didn’t care. This Iri was alive, and Kurono was here.
Nothing else mattered.<br />
    “We need to go.” Renzo insisted, but right then the doorway filled
up with more guards. Hush growled, they backed away, but pointed their
iron swords forward.<br />
    “Kurono! Come!” Enji insisted, but the Young Crown did not listen
and moved away.<br />
    “Is Demeri here?” Kurono asked.<br />
    “I am.” the guards moved partly so that the Light Of The Realm could
see. Though they made sure that nothing or no one could get close enough
to harm their beloved. Two iri stood near, keeping Demeri illuminated.
When Demeri spotted Renzo, the Monarch’s pale lips twisted, like a
venomous creature ready to strike. “Kill this Iri. Do it now.”<br />
    The guards hesitated. All feared the strange creature bearing its
teeth at them, also the first set of guards were witness to the truth of
Kurono’s life. Enji was deep in thought.<br />
    “You had my loyalty. My body was yours to command. You used me to
kill Kurono’s mapa, to steal Noko for you. I obeyed, without question. I
worshipped you. I would have taken this secret with me to my death. All
I ever wanted was to serve you. But you were disgusted with me, with
what you had me do, and so you preferred to order me dead!” Renzo yelled
back, pained by the memory.<br />
    Young Renzo was raised without a mapa, having succumbed to disease,
but the child showed promise and was adopted into the Royal Guard. Ren
revered the Monarch, the Light Of Lights, although this love was never
returned. Demeri used the orphan’s love and devotion to inflict pain on
others. Renzo did all that was asked, but did not expect that taking
Hori’s life would leave a scar.<br />
    “As you said, your body was mine to command. It is my privilege and
birthright. You failed to remove yourself from the world when I asked. A
true worshipper would not have failed me in this.” Demeri said. “Guards,
rid the realm of this taint.”<br />
    The guards inched forward, but Enji spoke up again. “With respect my
Brightest, it is disconcerting to hear that Kurono is
illegitimate…”<br />
    At these words, all the other guards paused in mid-stride, their
general was wise and was second in command after their leader Demeri.
Kurono, who had been silent for a long while, glared at Demeri. “You
stole me away! How could you!”<br />
    The Brightest lost some radiance then, Demeri appeared on the verge
of tears. “My womb failed me so many times. Then I found out I was
unable to produce children at all. I could not fail the realm, my
ancestors. I could not do it. I was broken inside, then… then I
<em>saw</em> you,” the monarch said, looking at Kurono, “a beautiful,
healthy child, wandering about the palace halls. The child of a
puzzlemaker. I pictured a crown on your head, your tiny body in my
arms…”<br />
    “So you kept me for yourself and had Renzo kill my mapa!” Kurono
said, eyeing Renzo, eyes watering, “and Demeri betrayed you.”<br />
    “To avoid death I ran away. Left my home, everything I knew and
loved.” Renzo said.<br />
    “Had I known…” Enji said in a whisper, eyeing Renzo.<br />
    Demeri laughed. “Don’t delude yourself Enji. You would have done as
I asked!”<br />
    “What you have done,” Kurono began, addressing Demeri, “is
unforgivable!” At that moment Kurono skin began to glow. The Young
Light’s skin appeared translucent, swirls of colour forming at the
surface.<br />
    The guards began to whisper amongst themselves. In the realm of
Irideri, the people followed the brightest light, and in this particular
moment, the room was lit by the young Kurono. They lowered their weapons
and set them down on the floor, then all in the room bent the knee. The
Young Light flashed a confident grin at Demeri. Demeri did not protest,
there was no higher power than the Light.<br />
    Eka looked at the puzzle box, the one Kurono had solved. “Hori built
these puzzles for you, to teach you how to solve the prisms!”<br />
    Renzo nodded. “When a mapa is separated from their child…”     Eka
nodded, “It’s another way to connect! Bariton told us Hori was always
ashamed that these creations were used to harm others.”<br />
     Iridescent tears streamed down Kurono’s cheeks “Maybe this was my
mapa’s way of teaching me to correct those wrongs…”<br />
    “Isn’t anyone going to ask why Kurono is glowing?” Lupen whispered
to Eka, then.<br />
    Eka put a finger to Lupen’s lips. “Shu-shu-shush Lu blue!”</p>
<p>Later that day, Kurono appeared in full illumination before the
people of Irideri. There was no doubt in their minds that this was a
sign, it was time for a new leader.<br />
    Enji approached Kurono after Demeri’s downfall. “I am yours to
command my Brightest.”<br />
    Kurono nodded, gently tugging at the general’s pant leg. Enji
stooped down, but as was tradition, could not, would not, set eyes on
Kurono. “I’d like you to look at me, as you would any other.” Kurono
said.<br />
    “That would be dissrespectful.”<br />
    “I thought you were mine to command?”<br />
    “Yes. I apologize.” Enji said, looking at Kurono then.<br />
    “Very good. A good first step! There will be many more changes, we
have a lot to talk about, starting with the workers in the mines.”<br />
    “Yes, Light of Lights.” Enji said, before standing up again.<br />
    Kurono moved to discuss changes in Irideri with another advisor.</p>
<p>Enji caught sight of Renzo leaning on a balcony railing, staring at
the city below, lit up by the gentle glow of the chloromyce shroos. Enji
went to stand there as well. “I envy you.” The general said.<br />
    “How so?” Renzo kept eyes on Irideri’s complex network of streets,
rediscovering it from a distance.<br />
    “Years ago,” Enji began, “if Demeri had asked me to kill Hori I
would have done it, like you, without question. Then, if <em>I’d</em>
been ordered dead, and that’s where we differ, I likely would have
driven a blade into my own chest. I would have never questioned our
Brightest’s reasoning for wanting my death. I always wondered why
<em>you</em> didn’t do this. Couldn’t understand why you ran away, it
made no sense to me at <em>all</em>.” Enji sighed. “I’ve never had a
mind of my own. When you left I never stopped wondering, why you chose
to do what you did.”<br />
    “That sounds exactly like having your own thoughts Enji…”<br />
    “I suppose you’re right.” Enji said.<br />
    “Growing up we were told that when death was near, we’d
<em>feel</em> it in our flesh. Every part of our body would feel light,
liberated and ready to return to the sand. When faced with death my body
felt <em>heavy</em>, and I was hurt, and afraid. I looked over then, and
I <em>saw</em> myself running away, away from Demeri, through the door
and outside of the palace, through the secret mountain pass and into the
desert. I thought this was a fabrication of my mind, with my body still
with Demeri in the Moon Room… but my physical body was many mirits away
by then, running in the desert.” Renzo laughed. “When faced with death,
my body chose to run, and it seems like I let it.”<br />
    Enji processed this information for a moment, with a bit of
difficulty. Facing death, and talking about it were two very different
things. “A guard obeys orders and does not think. I fit that
description, but you never did.” Enji sighed. “You know, it wasn’t the
same after you left. You were friend to me. No one else played Hako half
as well as you.”<br />
    “You were ready to cut my tongue out back there.” Renzo said, eyeing
the general.<br />
    “You left me alone with a bunch of dullards. I was angry, I guess.
Also, a tongue is not required to play Hako.” A near-imperceptible smile
appearing at Enji’s lips.<br />
    Renzo knew this look and what it preceded. Soon, Enji’s mask would
crack off too.<br />
    Enji’s eyes thinned down into slits as the first sun began to rise
in the distance, then looked away, pained by it. “The suns don’t hurt
your eyes?”<br />
    Renzo’s eyes kept to the horizon, smiling still. “No. Not
anymore.”<br />
    Enji tried to stay next to Renzo, but had trouble looking at that
growing sliver of light. “How can you <em>stand</em> it.”<br />
    “Better get used to it. I sense a very big change is coming.”</p>
<h3 id="hako">Hako</h3>
<p><img src="media/hako.sonozai.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Hako is a capture game popular with Iridi soldiers. Each player
carries a <strong>Sonozai</strong>, a set of four dice with a braided
hempa string, a thread which binds all things (dark and day). Seasoned
players make and carry their own, made out of soft stone.<br />
    Hako is played with <strong>eight six-sided dice</strong>, each of
the six faces has <strong>four triangles</strong> with are either
<strong>smooth</strong>, or <strong>textured</strong>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="media/hako.1.png" /></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Soli</strong>. Day, light. Smooth side</li>
<li><strong>Nocta</strong>. Dark. Textured side</li>
<li><strong>Son</strong>. Dusk. Side with two connected textured
triangles</li>
<li><strong>Nos</strong>. Dawn. Side with two disconnected
triangles</li>
<li><strong>Nulalun</strong>. Null-moon</li>
<li><strong>Grandalun</strong>. Full-moon</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>    Players each pick a texture, and begin with four dice. Each turn,
a player rolls a die and try to surround a die in play, with four
triangles of its own texture.<br />
    After playing their last die, players must pick one in play which
was not played last, and that does not create a floating die. A floating
die is has no immediate non-diagonal neighbour. The game ends when a
player surrounds a die with four triangles of their texture.<br />
    In this example game, the player with the smooth triangles wins.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>On the eve of the coronation Lupen and Eka were given free reign over
Irideri. This was the first time any sovereign had allowed foreigners
inside. They wandered the city, escorted by Enji. The general pointed
out various sights, including Bao The Bright’s childhood home and the
Kangoku, a library containing writings from the city’s best current and
past authors. The Iridi enjoyed writing, many did it. Because paper was
a rarity in the city, there was only one copy of every book. The authors
could not produce drafts, and so they planned the work in their heads
and voiced it out to a letterer in one sitting.<br />
    If someone wanted to read a book they had to do it on-site. Today,
many locals were sitting in the common room, a book laid out on a mat as
they sat cross-legged in front of them. Everyone wore isilk gloves, a
thread visible to experts like Lupen. Although, the fabric had been
stripped of all colour.<br />
    When Lupen asked Enji about it, the general said this: “I don’t know
anything about colour, having never seen an Ilk in real life. Moera, our
Luminary, and our First Light, commissioned twenty pairs from a tailor
in Edonor.” This is all Enji knew of it.<br />
    Lupen noticed then that there were fewer than twenty people reading,
concluding that the readers could not exceed the number of gloves
available.<br />
    An Iridi stepped forward then, wearing one of the twenty pairs,
holding a copy of <em>The Wind in Passage</em> by the writer Gurahem.
The Iridi was a worker here in the Kangoku.<br />
    “Would you like to read? Or to be read <em>to</em>? That is also an
option.”<br />
    “I’ll do the reading, if you’ve got gloves to spare!”<br />
    The librarian nodded, and produced a pair for Eka to wear. The
gloves were soft, comfortable. Eka found a copy of <em>Wise
Sproutling</em>. The book was bound in white thread with the cover made
from conk shroos.<br />
    “They grow well here in the mountains. They are hard, woody,
cave-dwelling shroos, perfect for making paper. The fibers are strong
and durable, they hold up well to inks. My grand-mapa was the first to
produce them.”<br />
    “I would love to see the process!”<br />
 &amp;nbsMoerap;  “We’ve got no books to make today, but know that it
warms my heart to have outsiders having interest in this. My grand-mapa
dreamed of a time when foreigners could come and read these. Books need
to be read, by as many as possible.” The librarian said.<br />
    “I think that dream is about to come true.” Eka said.<br />
    During the entirety of the conversation, Lupen was busy inspecting
the white gloves, wondering which Ilk the thread came from. “Why not
keep the original colour?” Lupen interjected.<br />
    “A request by Bao.” the Librarian said, “the kingdom bares no
colour, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. Our people prefer shapes and
texture.”<br />
    Lupen remembered how Zucca had disapproved of the art of skin-dying
in Verido culture. This was similar. “Why not use a material that is
already white?”<br />
    “Isilk is the softest and most durable thread in the Soronan
Desert.” The librarian replied. “It doesn’t damage the conk shroo paper,
it’s impermeable too.”<br />
    “You are a true treasure,” Eka said to the library worker, “a wealth
of knowledge.”<br />
    The librarian would have blushed, but seeing as colour was
considered to be an extravagance, decided to bow the head in thanks
instead.</p>
<p>After a very busy day at the Kangoku, Enji accompanied the two back
to the palace for a midday outing with Kurono.<br />
    All sat together in the Moon Room, drinking cups of freshly-brewed
chloromyce shroo tea. Renzo had gone to harvest the chloromyce ears
alone, since the workers were on leave.<br />
    Lupen stared at the cup of sparkling tea. “There’s colour in this. I
thought colour was considered a bad thing in Irideri.”<br />
    Kurono smiled. “It isn’t a bad thing. We like colour. It’s absence
makes it all the more precious. Colour exists in the food we eat, and
the liquids we drink. We bring this colour into ourselves, it’s all we
need.” The Iridi had a ritualistic approach to everything, how they made
their tea or prepared their food. It was a form of praise, of thanks.
Kurono’s eyes locked onto Lupen’s face. “You wear your colours with
pride. I would like to see what life in a Verido city is like.”<br />
    Lupen forced a smile. “I hope you get to.” This subtlety was lost on
Kurono.<br />
    “I haven’t told you the truth.” Kurono began, addressing all who
shared the room. Because the guards were outside, Kurono could speak
freely. “Everyone in the realm has one cup of chloromyce shroo tea per
day, with a teaspoon of powder swirled in, no more, no less. When news
spread of Renzo, Demeri left the room and I helped myself to a second,
and third cup. Then when Renzo told me the truth of things I was so
angry! I became hot in the head… I think the extra rations of tea
combined with this caused my skin to glow.”<br />
    Eka smirked. “Overdoses of chloromyce and the complex chemistry of
our bodies can cause skin to flare up, to glow! In the old days people
made a game of it.”<br />
    “Eka! You knew <em>too</em>? Why didn’t you tell me?!” Lupen said,
wounded to have to learn this now.<br />
    “It’s an uncommon and little known side-effect. Affects one in five.
Most people get some glow out of it, but it is usually very dim, and
localized.” Eka explained.<br />
    “Like the soles of your feet!” Lupen said.<br />
    “Please don’t tell anyone that I owe the throne to a skin
condition.” Kurono said, and all in the room laughed.</p>
<p>That evening, there was someone at Bariton’s door. “My
Brightest!”<br />
    Kurono stood there, wearing a lovely multi-layered gown. The fabric
shimmered in the light of the chloromyce-lit alleyway. The Young Crown’s
hair was down, coming short of touching the floor. A simple diadem sat
atop Kurono’s head, with tiny bead-shaped chloromyce embedded in the
metal. Ten was there too, wearing a grey robe and simple cloth head
covering.     “May we come in?” Kurono asked Bariton.<br />
    Bariton was embarrassed by the mess, but tried to appear courteous,
disappearing into the kitchen to prepare some tea. In the meantime
Kurono and Ten stared at the puzzles, the palace playroom had copies of
each of one. Back then servants weren’t allowed to handle any of
Kurono’s things, but Ten recognized the puzzles, and knew how to solve a
few. The museum owner returned with a tray topped with a kettle and a
single cup. “Forgive me Bright One. This cup is rather old.”<br />
    “Don’t worry yourself, this is perfect. Might I trouble you for a
second cup? For my friend Ten.”<br />
    Bariton blushed then, and then began to nod rapidly, “oh yes yes!
Right away!”<br />
    Kurono inspected the cup of tea, wondering if Hori has ever drunk
from this particular cup. The cup had a crack, but Bariton, or perhaps
Hori had repaired it, filling the gap with dried farawood sap. The
repair was visible. Kurono loved how they had made no attempt to
disguise it, the crack was beautiful, it was now part of the history of
the object.<br />
     Bariton returned and served Sixteen a cup of tea before sitting
down.<br />
    They spoke for a long while. Bariton shared stories about Hori, and
the museum. “Hori would be happy to know that you’ve been here. When
Noko died…” Bariton paused, “I don’t know if it’s proper to say, but
Hori felt an obligation to you, to help you in any way. The way Hori
spoke of you, it was like you were family.”<br />
    Hearing those words, Kurono swallowed hard. “It’s okay.” Kurono
reassured Bariton. “There is a banquet tomorrow, to celebrate my Green
Day and coronation. I’d like you to come.”<br />
    Bariton had no words. The museum carer was visibly touched, and
tried hard not to cry. Crying in front of royalty was hardly
respectable, Bariton thought.</p>
<p>The banquet took place in the Garden of Light. All the tables were
decorated with common sumiras, their soft heart-shaped petals sprinkled
with chloromyce shroo powder. The powder caused the petals to
scintillate under the garland of shroo lights hanging above. The menu
included vegetables and fruit native to the land, like kiari, and
gorins. Kiari were sweet root vegetables, with a bushel all connected at
one end. The kiari was roasted over a fire, people would then tear
pieces off and eat them as is. Gorins were cut and cooked down into
puree with some sweet roots, and eaten as a sidedish. In the absence of
light the produce was dull and grey, but under a chloromyce shroo they
would emit rainbow-like patterns, even when cooked.<br />
    Eka wished Zucca was here to see this.<br />
    Renzo made a toast to Kurono, holding a luminescent drink that
looked like liquid starlight. All raised their mugs and began to shout
in unison:<br />
    “All hail Kurono! Light of Lights! Irideri’s Brightest!”<br />
    The day ended with a master of shadow puppetry, performing a play on
the outer wall of the garden, a comedy involving Kurono and the
foreigners. Lupen laughed hard, belly aching with every joke. Eka
clapped with much fervor, these hands continued to vibrate long after
the clapping had stopped.<br />
    All went to bed late, exhausted from the day’s events. The city was
quiet. All slept. All, except for Renzo. Renzo had skipped the puppet
show to visit Demeri’s quarters. The former Sovereign was free to roam
the grounds, but had no more governing power.<br />
    Eka and Lupen never did find out how the visit went, but Renzo
appeared lighter, happier. The metalworker’s apprentice had found
peace.</p>
<p>After the festivities were over, Eka, Lupen and Ren announced their
departure to their host. Kurono made sure that their bellies were full,
and gave them enough supplies for the trip back to Renate. They stood
together at the edge of the city.<br />
    “You won’t stay?” Kurono asked Ren. “I’d like you to be my advisor.
You would be good at it.”<br />
    “I still have things to do in Renate, I’ll comeback someday. I
promise.” Ren bowed lightly, thanking Kurono. “You will be a good, just
leader.”<br />
    Kurono smiled. “These are hard times, but my people are resilient!
I’ll do my best!” The Light turned to Eka and Lupen, giving them two
gifts. The first, was a set of five blank conk shroo pages, the
librarian had insisted on it. The second, was an ear of dried
chloromyce. “You’ve returned my friend Ten to me and helped to uncover a
terrible secret. Is there anything else I can I do for you?”<br />
    “We ask that this same hospitality be given to all who visit,” Lupen
said, Eka agreed, “Oh, and um, could we have some chloromyce noodles? Or
is that a monk-only thing?”<br />
    “I’ll woth a fresh batch over to you in Renate.” Kurono said.<br />
    “Wow, it really <em>is</em> used as a verb!” Lupen said.<br />
    Ten came to Kurono’s side, even after being freed of servitude
they’d insisted on shadowing the Light, finding happiness and comfort in
it. Kurono treated Ten as a friend, forbidding the use of masks and of
the name Iri. When asked to choose a name, Ten kept the number.<br />
    “Really? That’s hardly a name…” Kurono had said. Ten insisted on it,
so Kurono never asked again.<br />
    Kurono watched as the foreigners disappeared back into the desert.
“Would you like to start living in the day again?” The Light asked Ten.
“I would love to see the suns.”<br />
    Together, in silence, they watched the stars above. Kurono took
Ten’s hand. Ten’s body stiffened, with eyes growing as round as full
moons. Kurono laughed, dragging them back toward the city entrance.
“Lots to do! Let’s get to it!”</p>
<h1 id="the-ilk-town-of-balandri">The Ilk town of Balandri</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.snakadil.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Snakadil are shy reptavians, the hide in the sand. They have a
habit of latching onto those who pass too close to them, and it is
difficult to persuade them to let go.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>When the group arrived back in Renate, they stopped at the edge of
the city, feet over an invisible grave in the sand. Many annums ago, a
guard from the Court Of Light had died here. Lupen and Eka did not know
that this spot marked an important moment in Renzo’s past, but they
stopped too, mirroring their companion.<br />
    A crowd gathered at the city border then, they moved toward the
travellers carrying lavendiri leaves. They tossed them into the air,
welcoming them back into the village.<br />
    Maka pushed through the crowd, rushing over and pulling Renzo into a
hug. The metalworker wept. Lupen had sent the woth ahead with a message,
a story about a former Iridi guard doing a lot of good in Irideri. Maka
had begun to cry then already.<br />
    “Not so hard!” Ren said with a laugh.<br />
    A laugh. Maka couldn’t believe it. Renzo never used to laugh.<br />
    “Hard is all I can do, you know that!” Maka replied, speaking as
curtains of tears cascaded onto the front of Ren’s robes.<br />
    Lupen flashed Eka a smile. “All thanks to Mapoleon the woth!” The
woth returned, coming to land in its glass ball. It did not respond to
this name either, and started picking the dust out of its wings.
“Mapoleon <em>was</em> a great name though…” Lupen grumbled.<br />
    Eka shrugged. “Woth heart wants what woth heart wants.”<br />
    “Ma-ma-ma-poleon?” Lupen tried. The woth did not react, it ignored
the Verido and returned to its glass ball. “<em>Not</em> a stutterer.”
Lupen made a mental note of this. “Oh no, what if it speaks Finic? What
do we do <em>then</em>?”</p>
<p>Maka offered a tent to Eka, Lupen and Hush for their stay here in the
city. “You are family now,” Maka told them, “to me, and everyone in
Renate.”<br />
    They erected the tent together, on the outskirts of town in a space
reserved for travellers. The tent had yellow and blue threads, made from
tightly-woven hampa. Maka positioned a tall banabo pole vertically,
before burying it deep into the sand. “This tent is also a gift, its
yours to keep, whether you choose to stay, or not.” Previously, the
group had used a small length of fabric donated by Uno as a tent, but it
was not large enough to accommodate Hush. Although, Hush preferred to
think that the tent was not large enough to accommodate Lupen and
Eka.<br />
    “Thank you!” Lupen said, voice muffled, trapped under a sheet of
fabric. Eka raised another section of the tent up with a second banabo
pole, freeing Lupen from under the prison of fabric.<br />
    After erecting the third pole, Eka moved over to Hush to ask for
their friend’s approval for acquiring this tent. If they decided to
leave, Hush would likely have to carry it. “Think you can carry this for
the group? We’ll only take it if you’re okay with it.”<br />
    Hush thought for a moment, then yapped and yipped three times.<br />
    “That’s a yes! Well, three times yes!” Eka translated.<br />
    “Great! Thank you thank you thank you Hush!” Lupen said.</p>
<p>Eka, Lupen and Hush stayed in town a while. Everyday, a different
villager would come forward to invite them to tea, to play cards at the
tavern, or to go on excursions in the canyons. Lupen enjoyed the brief
moment of stability, of feeling part of a community again. The Verido
enjoyed travelling, but missed the little things that only the sedentary
could do, like planting a garden, or steeping massive quantities of tea
for days to share with neighbours. Lupen knew a lot about the plants
growing on the Ilk. High-altitude gardening was hard, but Verido could
grow shroos with ease. They also grew hardy plants that could thrive in
little soil, like looberries, loomas, kabacho, trumpets, plumpkins,
bibiskiss, woodgeons, yellow brushfins and licky root. Lupen knew how to
grow all these, knew what they liked and needed, but could not say the
same of the ones here in Renate. They did not know each other yet, only
those who spent many annums here could know them enough to care for them
well. These eyes, ears and mouth craved familiarity.<br />
    Maybe we could stay here a while, Lupen thought. I have friends
here, friends I can count on, and learn from. Committing to a city
though was difficult, this Verido couldn’t do it, and did not want to
think about why that was.</p>
<p>Soon, a voice whispered at the ear of their little tribe, calling on
them to keep going. And so, Eka and Lupen decided to leave, but first,
they had to gather supplies.<br />
    Both went around the village to find food and other items for their
trip onward, by then their little group had gone through most of the
stores donated by Sovereign Kurono. They had received a fresh batch of
chloromyce noodles by woth, and had gobbled it all up too. In fact, the
soles of Lupen’s feet were still irisdescent.<br />
    “Is this normal? Am I dying?” The Verido had asked many times since
then, sincerely worried, but Eka would only laugh.</p>
<p>“Was this really baked this morning?” Eka said, inspecting the loaves
of bread produced by the local baker, each one more solid than the next.
“Um. Maybe Maka could use this one as an anvil…” Eka said, banging the
loaf on a bababo pole, but regretting it instantly as it caused the
entire tent to shake.<br />
    The baker had not noticed this, and continued to knead dough,
working up a sweat. Eka wondered if those hands could knead rock into
shapes too…<br />
    “The Ilk is late. When it arrives we’ll have better stock. In the
meantime you’re going to have to make do with what’s left on these
shelves. We mix in half norcorn meal, I’ve had to cut back on teaweet to
make sure we can feed the Ilk.” The baker watched Eka eyeing the loaves,
and smiled. “If you let it rest for with ripe bonans. The moisture will
help soften the dough. Then if you soak it in stew, or soup or whatever
it’ll be easier to chew. It may have less teaweet, but it ain’t less
healthy. You’ll work up a strong jaw eating it!”<br />
    Another villager overheard their conversation about the Ilk.
“Sometimes Ilk change their route you know, depending on the weather. I
just hope it gets here soon. We’re down to babams and kyabe, and even
<em>those</em> we’re running out of!”<br />
    “I thought Renate had loads of fermented kyabe always?” Eka said,
remembering seeing caverns of barrel fermentations. Another villager had
showed them the massive underground stores.<br />
    “Yes, but we can’t give any to transients, yield was bad this annum.
Caverns are usually filled to the ceiling with four layers of barrels,
but we’re down to one.”<br />
    Eka nodded. “Understood. Got to feed your own first.”</p>
<p>Lupen was busy trying to find directions to the next city on their
list. They already had a map but it was old and needed corrections.
Renate housed a cartographer, working from a tent on the kowamamu side
of town. The dwelling was easy to find, because its centre pole was tall
and fLu a striped black and red flag, a flag used to mark the location
of businesses. The cartographer’s tent bore a map of the tent city,
transients would often gather there to look at it, to find out where
things were. Renate had doubled in the last ha’nnums, and kept
expanding. Lupen approached the tent, stepped inside and was glad to
find its occupant there, scratching away at a map spanning the entire
room. Lupen looked at it, and saw the writing atop it saying
<em>Edonor</em>. The map was complex. Edonor was gigantic, it’s size
rivalling Montore. Most shops were there. While looking it over, Lupen
spotted Nok’s workshop, tucked between a dye artist and a hatter. This
was the former workplace of Orin, Bou’s mapa.<br />
    “Nok’s shop!” Lupen exclaimed, the sudden sound startling the
cartographer.<br />
    “Have you been standing there long?” The cartographer breathed, hand
to the chest.<br />
    “No, no…” Lupen said, feeling rather guilty, “you’re busy, I’ll come
back later.”<br />
    The cartographer adjusted a set of thick spectacles, eyeing Lupen
carefully. “Busy, yes. I’m always busy. Since I never stop being busy
you ought to ask me what you need now, and it’ll be up to me to tell you
whether I can help.”<br />
    “Oh, well my friend and I are going to Edonor. We need corrections
on our map, it’s a bit, um, aged. We heard there was a new village
between it and Renate.”<br />
    The cartographer nodded, and then waved a hand, asking for Lupen to
come forward. Lupen approached, walking over the map and avoiding
newly-painted markings. The Verido unrolled the map and laid it over the
floor, then went down on hands and knees, mirroring the cartographer’s
position.<br />
    “I’m Lupen.”<br />
    “Mapoleon,” the cartographer replied, eyes on the map.<br />
    Lupen’s eyes widened then. “Really? Like the name I tried to give
our woth, what a coincidence…”<br />
    It was no coincidence. Earlier that morning, Lupen had passed in
front of this very tent and had seen the name. The Verido forgot, but
the mass of muscle inside this head did not. It thought this combination
of letters interesting, and put it away for later use.<br />
    Mapoleon’s eyes studied Lupen’s map, hands already busy correcting
mistakes, adding new bridges, danger areas and such. “Didn’t happen to
see an Ilk on your way over here did you? It’s late.”<br />
    “An Ilk is coming here?” Lupen was sweating now. “Which one?”<br />
    “Ilk of Balandri,” Mapoleon answered, “supposed to arrive soon, we
hope.”<br />
    Lupen glanced outside through an opening in the tent, heart beating
so hard it threatened to break out of its enclosure. Soon, Mapoleon
finished adding corrections. Lupen thanked the cartographer and hurried
back over to their tent. Eka wasn’t back yet, and Hush was resting, fast
asleep in a recess in the ground—a sure way to keep cool. One side of
the tent was open, to let air transit through. Lupen took a seat,
waited, with eyes on the horizon. Memories of Volare rushed into Lupen’s
mind, memories of a place this Verido wanted to forget. Then, Lupen
heard people shouting.<br />
    “It’s here! The Ilk of Balandri is here!”<br />
    The Ilk arrived from yora’ta, not its usual path. The whole town was
a swirling mess. People amassed empty carts and bags, gathered tools and
extra hands. All were getting ready to help unload the Ilk. Lupen saw a
tall ramp, with people running up the steps to greet the visitors. This
ramp wasn’t unfamiliar to Lupen, but these eyes had never seen it from a
ground perspective. From down here, the ramp looked frail and unsteady,
swaying from side to side as people scaled its many steps.<br />
    The Ilk arrived at last and came to stand by the platform. Ilk were
impressive creatures. They were skinny, long-legged, had giant
three-toed feet, long thin faces with a great big set of horns. On their
backs, they carried a small Verido town.<br />
    “The Ilk of Balandri is here!” The people of the town shouted,
relieved. Already, caretakers prepared bags of teaweet grain to feed it
with. Renate villagers hoisted bags over their shoulders, and ran up the
ramp and up to the top. Others were busy brushing the sand off the Ilk’s
skin, picking rocks from its toes. Other workers moved tents, to make a
pathway up to the town. People would be coming on and off of it for
seven days.<br />
    “This is so exciting!” Eka said to Hush, having just returned to
their camping spot in the city. Hush lifted its head to stare up at the
Ilk, unimpressed. Next to the hyroo, was Lupen, who bore the same
disinterested gaze. Hush continued to sleep, but Lupen could not stop
watching the Ilk. Eka went to pat Lupen on the head, but didn’t, due to
the presence of a cup, full of tea. Eka wanted to say something about
it, but chose to ignore it.<br />
    The quiet town from this morning had turned into a bustling open-air
market. Various vendors and store owners from Balandri were setting up
shop in the centre of town, between masses of tumbling weeds, dry sweet
grass, lavendiri bushes and blue plovies. The place was full of life and
colour, people laughing and shouting. Eka took a seat and watched, the
market was set up right near their spot. Already, some Balandrians were
exploring the city. Like Lupen, they had ears like delicate flutes of
skin, and they all bore tattoos and colours on their faces. Balandrians
had red tattoos, rather than blue like those from Volare.<br />
    Eka was glancing from Lupen and back to the people of Balandri.
“Dont you want to say hello Lu blue?”<br />
    “To what end?” Lupen said, reaching for the Thinking Cup, taking a
sip of tea, before putting it back up on its pedestal.<br />
    Eka took Lupen’s side. “Suit yourself! Ilk are impressive though
aren’t they?”<br />
    “Nearly 578 mirits tall…”</p>
<p>    The Voice of the Balandri Ilk was walking through town, Lupen
took note of it. They’d never met, but Voices were easy to recognize.
They all wore the same robe. Lupen wanted to hide, but found that no
other part of this body agreed with this plan.<br />
    Eka gave a loud whistle then, a song that held no secrets to Verido
ears…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>     <em>(….)Si-Re Re(..) Mi(</em>.*) _ _ _Fa-Sol(..)*</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    The sound caught the ear of Klev, the Voice of the Balandri Ilk.
Klev’s eyes turned toward them. Lupen’s dumb body was stuck to the spot,
but it was too late now because Ilken was a dead giveaway. Klev pushed
through the market and vendors, and arrived at their little camp. By
then, Eka had wandered off, to leave them alone together.<br />
    “The desert is loud huh?” Klev said, smiling. “You are far from home
Volarian.” The Balandrian could not read Lupen’s name, as the tattoos
were partially hidden under a scarf, but the blue ink was a clear
indicator of which city this Verido belonged to. Klev noticed the cup,
but like Eka, thought it might be better not to ask about it.<br />
    Lupen nodded, shyly. “Yes, though technically that would depend
entirely on its whereabouts…” Only those with a birthplace with legs
could say this.<br />
    “I admire you! It’s very brave to venture out into the world like
this, you must have seen much of the desert!”<br />
    “I have.” Lupen said, while a confused soup of pride and sadness
swished around in this gut. Lupen was happy to have traveled the land
and to have met its people, but over time, a hard lump appeared on the
side of this head. Whenever thoughts of Volare circulated in this brain,
the lump latched onto the memories like a thirsty shrewbat and gained
mass. Then, the simple act of standing on one’s legs became difficult,
the weight of it unbearable on Lupen’s soul. “Any word of Volare?” Lupen
managed to say, a hand massaging the ghostly-protrusion on this skull
back down, accidentally knocking the cup off. Lupen caught it, but the
tea spilled onto the floor.<br />
    Klev’s eyes moved to the ground then, staring at the puddle of tea.
“Moving towards the Yorama’tae Ash plains, last I heard.”<br />
    “Yorama’tae Ash plains?” Lupen said, alarmed. “But that would take
them to the Rupture.”<br />
    Klev shared Lupen’s concerns. “It’s what I’ve heard. Word is that
the Ilk of Volare is um… word is that it’s dying. It’s why I
<em>had</em> to come and speak to you when I saw you were of Volare. I
don’t know if you know this, but their Voice fell and died last annum.
It pains me to be the bearer of so much bad news, but I thought you’d
want to know. It’s been an emotional time for us all.”<br />
    Lupen wanted to cry, but was too stunned to produce any expression
resembling grief. The Verido’s face was eerily devoid of emotion.<br />
    “Bala, our Ilk, has been behaving strangely. They impart fewer and
fewer thoughts, it may just be due to grief but I am worried…” Klev
continued, in a lower voice, “we’re <em>all</em> scared, afraid that
both Bala and Oto will follow Vol into the Rupture. If this happens,
what does that mean for our people?” Klev’s arm also extended out toward
the market. “And what about them? They rely on us to transport goods and
food between cities.”<br />
    Lupen thought of a conversation with Rosmus then, and on how their
future on the Ilk was uncertain. “Not certain…” Lupen muttered. Then
went on to thinking about Mago. What are you doing Mago, why is this
happening? Surely you would have found the words to dissuade Vol. “Maybe
all of this is my fault.” Lupen said. “The Voice of Volare isn’t dead.”
Saying this, Lupen removed the scarf, revealing the tattoos.<br />
    Klev appeared confused, but then read Lupen’s name. This name was
famous to all Verido now. “Your voice was heavy with grief, and now I
know why.” The Voice of Balandri put a hand to Lupen’s heart, “I am
relieved you’re alive Lupen, but I don’t believe your death was the
cause of all this.”<br />
    “How do you know?” Lupen managed to say, fighting back tears.<br />
    Klev smiled. “I don’t, but believing it will be a burden to you. Put
it out of your mind, for now, it will cloud your judgment and hinder any
attempt at meaningful action. Until you know the truth, it’s useless to
you.”<br />
    Lupen nodded, swallowing hard. “You’re right.” The Verido then too
put a hand to Klev’s heart. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”<br />
    “So what will you do Voice of Volare?”<br />
    “Meaningful action.”<br />
    Lupen did not waste time, parted ways with Klev and went to visit
Mapoleon the cartographer once more. “I need whatever update you have
for Dorake’s pass, the Ash Plains and all the way to The Rupture.” Lupen
then spent a long time convincing Mapoleon to do the work. The
cartographer had concerns, and was desperate, trying to convince the
Verido not to take The Leap. “I swear to you, I’m not going there to
die.” Lupen said.<br />
    “You’d better, I do not want to be the one marking the road to it.”
The cartographer finished adding the desired modifications.</p>
<p>Map in hand, Lupen returned to their encampment then. “Eka!” Lupen
began, “change of plans, we’re going yorama’tae to intercept Vol.”<br />
    Eka lay over Hush, arms laid out over its sides, caressing the large
furry beast. “Okay Lu, yorama’tae we go!”<br />
    The Verido eyed Eka carefully. “You don’t want to know why? Or is it
one of those situations where you already know why and that I’m an idiot
for asking.”<br />
    Eka was already ready to go, standing upright. “Less thinking, more
doing!”<br />
    “I’m scared Eka.”<br />
    Eka had anticipated this sudden shift in mood, and was already
halfway to Lupen, coming for a hug. “I know.” They stood in each other
arms for a long while.<br />
    “If we walk we won’t make it on time.” Lupen said, breaking the
silence, eager, and anxious to find a solution.<br />
    “I think I know how.” Eka said.<br />
Eka led Lupen to the area in town where transients moored their
sandfins. Hush accompanied them on this trek, and bounded ahead toward a
broken vessel, laying on it side. Its sails were in tatters, and its
hull was dry and punctured. It bore the name Toronka. Lupen walked over
to it, and climbed into the cabin to assess the damage. “It’s not
looking too bad! But who does it belong to?”<br />
    “I don’t know, but I know who knows.” Eka said, gesturing to another
sandfin moored in the area, a vessel with a yellow hull bearing the name
Etyl.</p>
<p>They returned to the site hoping to find Nono there. Lupen could see
someone was in Etyl, a light was on. This resembled that day long ago,
when they’d spotted the sandfin in the dark.<br />
    “Nono’s home.” The Verido said, relieved.<br />
    “Kiao’ri Nono!” Eka shouted.<br />
    They heard lots of noise inside, and then Nono’s head pushed out of
one of the portholes, like the firs time they’d met. Nono’s eyes were
healthy, and quickly found them in the dark. “Kiao’ aikana dii!” Nono
shouted, smiling. “Come in! Come in!”<br />
    They all went inside Etyl, sitting around the small table in the
main saloon. A small avoka oil lamp hung over the table, attached to the
ceiling. Etyl was in better shape than the last time they’d met, the
tools were organized in drawers and secured in boxes with lanyards, even
the floors were free of debris. Nono had recently waxed the floors,
Lupen could smell a mix of lemilim, cactub fat and salts. Nono was in
the galley, busy serving up oversized mugs of bonan wine. The bottle was
as tall as Nono, and was stashed near the companionway door, wedged
between the stairs and the sink. Lupen could see many more bottles
stored behind that one. Nono came to set the tall mug in front of Etyl’s
guests.<br />
    Lupen eyed the mug, wondering if bonan wine could induce a headache
by proximity. Eka threw an arm around the Verido’s shoulders then. “We
have time for this okay? Don’t worry.”<br />
    Lupen loved hearing Eka say this, because it always turned out to be
true.<br />
    Nono eyed Hush for a moment, with its head peering inside and the
rest seated outside. “Ipaya?” Nono said, offering the hyroo a mug. Hush
gave it a lick, but did not enjoy the taste. Nono laughed, and instead
served the hyroo a bowl of mashed babams. “Sou mawani te dodon
oro!”<br />
    “Good for the soul and the stomach!” Eka translated. “Looks
delicious! Enjoy Hush!”<br />
    Hush licked up the entire contents of the bowl in a second, then
proceeded to lick its own snout in search of stray crumbs.<br />
    “What brings you here?” Lupen asked Nono.<br />
    “Nono deliver teaweet from Montore for Balandri Ilk.”<br />
    “Oh? Renate villagers asked for extra feed?”<br />
    “No, no, no. Teaweet ees gift!” Nono corrected.<br />
    “From who? Why?” Lupen asked, perplexed. People in Montore weren’t
known for their generosity.<br />
    “Nono know who, but told no say… but Nono say dis. Balandri Ilk go
to Montore before go to Renate <em>always</em>, when Ilk late to
Montore, someone see problem for Renate’wati. Dis make Montore donor do
rare, kind thing.”<br />
    Lupen laughed. “That’s okay, I think I <em>might</em> know
who.”<br />
    Despite having little evidence, Lupen knew who was responsible for
this generous donation. There weren’t many well-endowed philanthropists
in Montore. This bit of good news warmed this heart, and it offered
comfort. Lupen knew the residents of the Soronan Desert would find ways
to continue exchanging food and goods, even without the Ilk. The Verido
raised a mug-full of bonan wine. “To those who care!”<br />
    “To those who care!” They all said again, together.<br />
    “Do you know if Toronka belongs to anyone?” Lupen asked Nono
then.<br />
    Nono thought about the name for a moment. “Iana. Belong no one, ees
sad.”<br />
    Lupen’s eyes lit up then, with the Ilk in town it would be easy to
find parts to repair it. This was a weight off this Verido’s shoulders.
They drank their wine, and Lupen once again failed to catch Nono
re-filling their cups. Preventing a Finiku host from filling your mug
was an impossible task, because refusal was seen as modesty.<br />
    Eka leaned into Lupen then, “you know, if you don’t want Nono to
refill your cup, drink slow…”<br />
    The Verido had much to learn about Finiku drinking etiquette. Lupen
did not get sick, having eaten enough muckwheat bread and plurple bleen
sausages to soak up the alcohol and lessen its effects.</p>
<p>The next day, they marched over to Ren’s tent to ask for help to
patch up the holes in Toronka’s hull. Ren agreed. They didn’t have to
ask Nono, the Finiku was already hard at work mending an old sail. For
many annums, Nono kept a sail in Etyl’s bilge as a backup, but forgot it
there. Now, the sail had holes in it. “Ora, ora, sail still good. Nono
fix, Nono fix!”<br />
    Lupen and Eka repaired the rudder and mast, but faced a problem when
they saw the state of the lines onboard, the hampa fibres were worn and
brittle, they had to replace them, but Nono had used up the last of the
hampa thread to fix the sail. Eka asked around town, but found out that
Renate suffered a shortage of hampa, even banabo was difficult to come
by this season. For a moment, Eka considered using the poles holding up
their tent but Nono said that this wood was too dry, it had to be cut
fresh when used to weave ropes.<br />
    Eka thought for a moment. “Hm. What else can we use?”<br />
    Nono looked up at the Ilk then, and Eka followed the Finiku’s
gaze.<br />
    “Of course!”</p>
<p>Eka told Lupen, who went to ask Klev. Verido did not export isilk
anymore, but would never deny one of their kin. Klev secured enough hair
for their project, and again, Nono stepped in to do the work, delighted
with the quality of the material.<br />
    “Ara ara! Soft dii! Ees perfect!” First, the Finiku cut all hairs
the same length and tied the ends together. Then, divided the bundle
into three. Nono’s twisted the three sections, holding onto two bundles
between fingers, with the third bundle set between toes. Nono began
twisting them all in the same direction, the bundles wrapped around one
another forming a rope. Eka watched the process, and was soon able to
replicate the work. They twisted and spliced isilk hairs together all
day, whilst Nono sang sandfinner’s ballads.<br />
    When the ropes were ready, Lupen climbed up the mast to run the
ropes through the new blocks Maka had made. The blocks were made of
mappLuood, a very strong and dense wood, they had a light coating of
avoka oil to protect it from the weather. Mapplewood was Nono’s
recommendation, and Maka was able to source some locally from a fellow
artisan. Despite never working with this wood before, Maka’s work was so
good that Nono requested more for Etyl. Eka was happy to see that both
were getting along, and was grateful for their help and presence, their
combined experience was an incredible asset.<br />
    Once Lupen was finished feeding the ropes through, Eka eased the
halyard, slowly, giving the Verido ample time to apply pinnytar to the
ropes on the way down. Lupen arrived back on deck, hands black and
sticky.<br />
    Nono gave them an extra container of pinnytar for their trip, “eet
protek rope from kira!” Nono said.<br />
    Lupen smelled like pinnytar for the rest of the day, and realized
that this was a smell this nose associated with Nono. It was the scent
of a seasoned sandfinner.</p>
<p>After many days of hard work, came time to test Toronka.<br />
    On the first run, Lupen got the sandfin stuck in a sandbank, on the
second, the tiller came loose. The third and fourth run revealed even
more problems, but after that they found less and less. On run number
’ce, the sandfin surfed on the desert plains beautifully. Nothing
rattled or threatened to break off. They proceeded to stocking it up
with food and supplies for the journey ahead.<br />
    Soon, the sandfin lockers were full with bags of teaweet flour,
crates of waterstones, plurple kyabe, sweet babams and mapples.</p>
<p>On the eve of their departure, they organized a small gathering with
friends. They made a fire, and laid out a fabric tarp on the ground to
sit on. That evening, Klev played traditional Verido music, Maka cooked
for everyone, and Ren told Iridi legends. This, paired with Nono’s
sandfin stories made for quality entertainment.<br />
    Klev presented Lupen and Eka with a bottle of kabacho, which they
shared with others on the spot. Lupen savoured every gulp. Klev played
the donmol, fingers stroking the four double strings, improvising a tune
that only other Veridos—or wonders like Eka—could interpret. Lupen
smiled, attentive to the lyrics. It was about mountains that could not
kneel, moons that could not sleep, and of fires that could not touch.
Eka was standing, busy expressing the meaning of the song to the other
guests through exaggerated gestures. Nono and Renzo watched, each mind
interpreting the pantomime in their own way.<br />
    “Ara ara! A durdle! Ora! It hungry! And it no can swim.” Nono
said.<br />
    “No, no, it’s about the journey of a great warrior!” Renzo
corrected.</p>
<p>    After the song, Nono began reciting a poem about a loose bit of
thread on Renzo’s pant leg.</p>
<p>    <em>Bit of standing thread,</em><br />
    <em>Many sand eet long to see,</em><br />
    <em>But blade come, too soon.</em></p>
<p>    Nono inched forward and cut the bit of tread away with a blade,
cackling. Everyone roared with laughter. Nono then proceeded to fill all
empty mugs with kabacho.<br />
    “Drink fleshy! Drink!” Nono said, tapping the bottom of Lupen’s cup,
causing some of its content to spill.<br />
    “I am, I am!” Lupen cried.</p>
<p>All in the group were merry, all but Nono and Eka, they too had
consumed the same amount but as usual, it had little effect.<br />
    “Eka, Nono want to say,” Nono said, moving close to the red-head,
“Nono stop by Edonor to talk to frend who know about woth.”<br />
    The Finiku filled up Eka’s mug again. Experiencing thirst in Nono’s
presence was impossible, Eka thought, the Finiku knew the level of
liquid present in each mug at all times and insisted that their bottoms
remain unseen.<br />
    “Eet bad luck.” Nono had once said.<br />
    “We haven’t found the name of our woth friend yet.” Eka said.<br />
    “Nono know Eka find soon,” Nono replied, “Nono tell frend detail of
wingspan, antenna and color of da woth. Dey say eet <em>super</em> woth!
Dey grow big big!” Saying this, Nono’s arms spread wide, spilling half
the contents of a mug onto the sand floor. Then, Nono’s body relaxed.
“Long, long ago, der ees more big big thing in desert, and now, not so,
not so. But, when Nono young, Nono see rare creature. Nono remember
well…” Saying this, Nono’s eyes glassed over. “Nono teki kira te sawa no
mawani…”<br />
    Maka overheard the last bit of their conversation, and eyed Nono
then, in disbelief. “You saw the soul of the suns and the wind?”<br />
    Nono drifted to another place, recalling something that had happened
annums ago. Nono began to tell the story, switching to Finic, speaking
in a low voice so Eka could translate for everyone.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>    When I was young, I went to the Rupture with my mapa and my
grand-mapa Etyl. Etyl was sick, and decided that it was time to take The
Leap.<br />
    In the Ash Plains, near the Rupture, the ground was black with ash.
I was scared, but I never did say it, because this was an important day
for Etyl and I did not want to ruin it. Together we walked to the edge
of the chasm. We sat near it for a long while, talking, drinking tea,
sharing muckwheat bread… but then, before dark, came time to say
goodbye. Without a word, I watched my grand-mapa leap into the chasm,
and disappear into the dark.<br />
    We stayed there, but I could not sleep. I got up, and went to stand
on the edge of the Rupture again. I knew my grand-mapa would not be
there, but I found it comforting. Then I saw a giant figure. Its long
legs passed over my head. In passing, it sent swirling clouds of ash
into the air. The ash stained my clothes and skin, and obstructed my
vision for a moment. I cleared it away from my eyes, and just in time to
catch the giant stepping down into the Rupture!<br />
    Then it was gone…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    Eka said, stopping as Nono took a breath. All were listening,
gathered around the fire and enthralled by Nono’s story.<br />
    “I’ve heard a similar story,” Klev said. “My friend Uggi was up
late, observing the reflection of the moons on the dunes below. Uggi saw
a tall shape in the distance, moving. Its legs spanned entire dunes.
Uggi went to grab a glass to see its features in detail, but lost sight
of it.”<br />
    Maka nodded. “A giant left crates of food patches for people in
Renate during the Raids, our people would not have survived without
it.”<br />
    “No one spoke to the giant?” Renzo asked.<br />
    “No,” Maka began, “all they saw was the crate at the edge of the
village and a tall frame, riding away.”<br />
    Renzo also had something to share, related to Maka’s story. “I’ve
spent the greater part of my life in a walled-city. Like you Klev I did
not see one with my own eyes, but I heard stories. During the Raids at
the Suvalba Sanctuary, soldiers stole seeds to bring back to Moera. One
day, all awoke to the blood-curdling screams of a soldier. The soldier
was shaking, claiming to have seen some kind of apparition wandering
through the camp. No one else had seen it, and so they ignored it. On
another day they saw leafhounds trailing far behind them, following
them. Again, they ignored it. They arrived in Irideri, and noticed then
that their bags had holes in them. They’d lost much of their seed cargo
on the way here. They lied about it, of course… no one wanted to suffer
wrath of our Luminary.” Renzo smiled. “Soldiers would never admit to it,
they’re too proud, but many thought that someone had pierced the bags in
the dark, and that the leafhounds trailed behind to gather up the
seeds.”<br />
    Lupen couldn’t believe it. The raid on the sanctuary was a horrible
event. Zucca had saved many lives that day, and would be glad to know
that someone else, a giant, some apparition, had saved many more.</p>
<p>The day ended with everyone sleeping around a dying flame, all, but
Lupen and Eka. Both were lying next to each other, gazing up at the sky.
A question burned at Lupen’s lips. “You didn’t look surprised when you
saw me at the top of the mountain.”<br />
    “Surprised? No. Happy? Yes.” Eka said with a kind smile.<br />
    “If not me, then someone else?” Lupen said, feeling small and
unimportant.<br />
    “No. Couldn’t have been anyone else. Couldn’t have happened any
other way,” Eka said, rolling over and throwing an arm around Lupen’s
middle. “Others have come before you, but you weren’t born then so you
have a good excuse.” Eka said with a smirk.<br />
    “You’re getting real tall,” Lupen noted.<br />
    “You noticed that, huh?”<br />
    “When I met Uno, it was difficult to have a conversation. Uno was
always sort of… detached. Mind was elsewhere. Is that what will happen
to you?”<br />
    The Wonder said nothing, but pulled Lupen in close, until they were
cheek to cheek, belly to belly. Lupen’s eyes locked onto the skyrocks
above. “Why aren’t you two together?”<br />
    Eka was drawing invisible pictures on Lupen’s back. “You could ask
the same of the Ilk.”<br />
    “Oh. Well, they used to be together,” Lupen began, “but then they
agreed to help us. Verido did this too. We used to be together. One big
tribe. Separating made more sense though, even if it was hard.”<br />
    “You’ve got your answer, I think.” Eka said.<br />
    Lupen gazed up at the moons then. “I wish I could live
forever.”<br />
    “A good life is better than a long one Lu, and whether a life is
good can’t be determined by its length.” Eka said, recounting countless
instances of short, great lives. Eka would never forget them. These
lives shone brightly in the Wonder’s head, like a skyrock-studded sky.
Eka’s hand slid over Lupen’s skyrock necklace. “Remember what I told you
about skyrocks? They look small from here, but they come from far, far
away, and there they are giants. You too are a giant to someone, and you
shine brighter than you think.”<br />
    As Lupen drifted off to sleep, Eka began reciting constellations.
“Salarus, Vitali, Neoneve…” Eka’s eyes set on the sky, and took note of
a shooting skyrock. A rare event. A name came to mind, an old name,
belonging to a dear, dear friend that was now long gone. The name never
left Eka’s mind. “You came as quickly as you went my dear friend
Wiktopher. We had a lot of fun though…” Eka said.     Suddenly, the woth
crawled out of its glass ball and fLu onto Eka’s head, wings fluttering
wildly. It then began to shimmy its body from side to side, wiggling its
antennae. When it settled, Eka smiled, “I agree, it is time someone else
bear this name,” and began to stroke the ends of the hairs on its back,
humming.</p>
<p>The next morning, Lupen woke to the sound of arguing. Nono was awake,
standing at the foot of a Beobug sandfin. It had come to moor here in
the dark. The vessel had kinked Nono’s vessel while docking, an accident
that Nono believed was deliberate.<br />
    Lupen walked up to Nono, then looked up and noticed Gree at one of
the portholes. Lupen whistled, the sound cutting through the air, aimed
at the large Beobug vessel, “Gree! Come down! Stop hiding!”<br />
    “Gree no hide!” Gree shouted back, exiting the sandfin in a huff,
ready to smack whoever had said this but then noticed who it was,
expression softening. “Araaa! Voice of Volare! An honor!”<br />
    “Stop right there,” Lupen said, putting a hand forward “did you
wreck Etyl on purpose?”<br />
    “Oh no no no no…” Gree said, in a Nono kind of way.<br />
    Nono was furious, and jumped onto Gree’s back, pulling the Finiku’s
ears and screaming into them. “Komororo’ia!” Gree was running in
circles, unable to dislodge the attacker. Both switched to Finic then.
Lupen understood nothing, but could guess what they were saying, because
their fight was an old one. Nono thought Gree had wrecked Etyl on
purpose, to force Nono’s hand in becoming a Beobug captain. Of course,
Gree denied it all, yelling, struggling to pry Nono off. Nono was the
strongest of the two, with legs hugging Gree’s middle and hands tugging
at the Finiku’s ears, like one would pull on carriage reins. When the
captain of Beobug II continued to deny the damage, Nono grabbed onto
Gree’s nose, a finger pulling at each nostril.<br />
    Gree’s eyes started to water then. “Iaa! Nono iana!”<br />
    Lupen thought it tempting to separate them, but thought that Gree
deserved it.<br />
    “Okai okai! Gree admeet eet!” Gree shouted then. “Eet no meestake!
Beobug II bump ento Etyl.”<br />
    Lupen sighed. “Now why did you do <em>that</em>?”<br />
    Nono let go, slipped off and moved to stand next to Lupen, eyes thin
and angry. “Eet <em>because</em> Gree have rot een da belly…”<br />
    Gree’s face turned red and puffy then, hands curled into tight
fists. “Iana! Ees because Gree angry! You no understand dat Gree get
Beobug job to empress Nono!”<br />
    “Nono don’t care,” Nono said, disinterested. Lupen nudged the Finiku
then, seeing as Nono wasn’t being very kind. “If Gree want to do
something that Nono like,” Nono began, “leave Beobug job! Go home to
mapa to correk lie about Nono.”<br />
    Lupen’s eyes widened then. “Is Gree… part of your family?” Lupen did
remember Gree saying that they’d been grown on the same plot of land.
Gree spent time at home with their mapa, jealous, and told lies about
Nono. “Wow! You were grown together!”<br />
    Nono nodded, but was not proud of this fact. “Orae. Gree and Nono
grow togedder. But stem of Gree rap around Nono, like snakadil do!”
Saying this, Nono’s hands wrapped around this throat. “Gree suffocate
Nono already den, and today Gree never stop to try to smodder
Nono!”<br />
    “Nono have always reject Gree!” Gree complained.<br />
    “Even wen seed, Nono want notting to do wit Gree.” Nono spat.<br />
    Lupen remembered what Zucca had said about children in the ground.
They developed links to one another, and the sadness of one could affect
its neighbour. Since both were grown together, linked-up, they had
developed a bond unlike any other. Gree depended on Nono, more than Gree
cared to admit, and Nono wanted to get away after being trapped early in
life. Nono’s revulsion of Gree was sown early…<br />
    “How about you two sandfin together?” Lupen suggested.<br />
    “Lupen crazy. Nono no work for Beobug fiend.” Nono said, disgusted
with the idea.<br />
    “Aboard Etyl.”<br />
    “But if Gree do dis, eet leave Beobug II wit no captain…” Gree
said.<br />
    “Gree no <em>worry</em>. Beobug find odder lazy captain
<em>easy</em> <em>easy</em>,” Nono said with a laugh, “Gree have
<em>no</em> talent.”<br />
    “So it’s decided then! You’ll travel together from now on,” Lupen
said.<br />
    Nono realized what Lupen had said. “No no no no no…” but before Nono
could no-no any further, Lupen let out a loud whistle, so loud that even
the Ilk of Balandri turned its head to find its source. It silenced both
Finiku, a whistle like that commanded respect.<br />
    “No fair for Nono! Ees bad bad <em>bad</em> idea.”<br />
    “Maybe it’s time to revisit the feelings you have for Gree. It
sounds like you never really gave Gree a chance. You are family, and
family, like community, is important. It’s, it’s everything…” Saying
this, Lupen’s eyes started to water. Then came a stream of emotions.
Lupen sat on the ground, body shaking, overcome with grief.
Inconsolable.<br />
    Both Finiku stared, uncomprehending. They thought themselves
responsible. They gathered around the Verido, trying to offer comfort by
standing close.<br />
    “Iane harioki’ia’re…” Nono said, in a gentle voice, hand over
Lupen’s shoulder. Gree did the same. They looked at each other then,
sighing. “Ok.” Nono said, “Gree and Nono travel togedder. Nono patient.
Nono promiss.” Gree was about to wear the Beobug cap but Nono slapped it
away. Both Finiku continued to bicker, but more quietly this time,
discussing how to cohabit on Etyl.</p>
<p>Lupen was on the ground still, unable to calm down. This is when Klev
stepped in. The Voice of Balandri went to sit next to Lupen, holding
them close, whistling in Ilken as a way to quiet Lupen’s heart. “I have
to go home.” Lupen managed to say.<br />
    “You <em>are</em>. Toronka is ready,” Klev said.<br />
    “But even if Vol <em>doesn’t</em> die, how can I go back? They’ll
think I betrayed them.”<br />
    “You fell,” Klev said, “how is that a betrayal?”<br />
    “I never tried to tell them that I was alive. I could have done this
but I didn’t, I instead chose to let them sit with the pain of my death.
I never wanted to be Voice, maybe I did want to fall…”<br />
    “Your reasons are your own Lupen, but you have to remember that they
know and love you. They’ll understand why you did what you did,” Klev
said, “maybe you were meant to fall, meant to come here, to meet Eka, to
learn about the world. If what I think is happening with the Ilk
<em>is</em> happening, we’ll need someone like you to help us adapt to
life in the dust. I don’t like to think about it. In fact, I’ve been
land-sick all day.”<br />
    “I’d be a bad teacher,” Lupen said. But then, Lupen began to think
back on everything that had happened, and a different picture began to
form in this head. Lupen was strong, resilient, understanding and
caring. These were the qualities of a teacher, of a good teacher.
“Okay.” Lupen said then. “Okay,” Lupen said again, standing up. The
Verido looked up at Bala, and began whistling to the Ilk.<br />
    The Ilk of Balandri was eating teaweet and stopped in mid-chew to
listen. After Lupen’s message, Bala swallowed and turned its head
downwind. It took a deep breath, its sides and throat bulging. A low,
deep sound pushed out of its throat, reverberating through the town and
across the desert plains. As it sang, the whole town stopped to listen,
even if they could not understand its meaning.<br />
    Klev listened to the message, and smiled. “They will be happy to
hear you’re alive.”<br />
    Lupen nodded, “Yes, I think so…”</p>
<h1 id="toronka">Toronka</h1>
<p><img src="media/flora.licky.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Licky root is typically grown for its roots, which may have
anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. This plant is very hardy,
it grows in high-altitude, like mountains, but also thrives on the back
of the Ilk. Verido people like use the roots to make tea.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>That morning Lupen got up early, eager to set eyes on Toronka again
after dreaming about it. In the dream, a tiny Verido wandered Toronka’s
insides, feet running along bolts and nuts and hands tracing along the
grain of the woodwork. Many yukwood trees were felled to build this
vessel. People of the Soronan Desert thought of trees as records of
history, the libraries and archives of their world. Reading the growth
rings in the wood was like moving backwards through time. Each ring
marked important events in the tree’s life throughout the ages.<br />
    Now, the full-size real world version of Lupen stared at the vessel
with its patched hull, up-cycled sails, hand-woven lines, and was
proud!<br />
    The Verido saw Maka near Toronka, knees in the sand and hands deep
in a bucket filled with a thick, purple substance. Beside the bucket lay
a basket of wet glistening plurple bleens. Maka had strained them to
make grease. Lupen had seen other villagers in Renate do it to use as
decorative paint. The grease was thick and wet, but would cure after a
day of full suns.</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    <strong>Plurple Bleen Grease</strong></p>
<p>    <em>Ingredients</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Ten stalks of plurple bleens, stemmed<br />
    Five avoka nut pods<br />
    A half pail of waterstones</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    <em>Instructions</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Press liquid from waterstones into a large recipient, discard
skins, and add plurple bleens in liquid. Let plurple bleens soak for a
day. Strain bleens, but reserve liquid.<br />
    Crack the avoka nuts, and pour the oil into the liquid, mix well.
Then, place recipient over a hot fire, and until liquid content is
reduced by half. Dip a stick in the mixture, if it stays upright on its
own, then it is ready.<br />
    Use plurple bleens in another dish, like as a base for bleen
sausages.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>All contributors were awake now, they gathered around the bucket to
dip their hands in it. They took turns stamping their gooey palms on the
sandfin’s stern. With these markings everyone would know that restoring
Toronka was a collaborative effort.<br />
    Lupen noted the different sized hands, and could associate each one
with its owner. Nono’s hand was nearest to the ground, small and covered
with cracks due to annums of handling ropes. Renzo’s hand was
medium-sized with thin fingers, while Maka’s print was the largest, it
was textured with thick rounded fingers. Eka’s hand was small, bigger
than Nono’s.<br />
    “Your palms are <em>very</em> wrinkly Eka.” Lupen noted. “Like an
old licky root rind.”<br />
    Eka was getting the last basket of supplies onto the sandfin,
“m’yeaaa, or like your face when you’re complaining about something,”
Saying this, Eka smirked and disappeared inside the cabin.<br />
    “Well, my face <em>doesn’t</em> do <em>that</em>…” but creases
formed on Lupen’s face then from scowling. The Verido stopped, fingers
rapidly flattening down the newly-formed creases. “Okay, okay. It
<em>does</em> crease up a bit.”<br />
    Lupen looked at Toronka’s hull again, seeing the Verido hand print.
The palm on the hull had lines and dots, resembling growth rings on a
tree, and like a tree, these patterns told a story. The Verido thought
of home, but for once these memories weren’t intertwined with sadness,
this mind had learned that this wasn’t a very healthy thing to do.
Thinking of home was pleasant again.<br />
    Eka arrived outside to pour tea into the mugs of their companions.
All had slept around Toronka, all but Nono who preferred sleeping on
Etyl. Lupen passed some bonan leaf plates around, each one had slices of
toasted muckwheat bread with a generous portion of spiced bam purée.
Klev and Ren refused a plate, having not yet recovered from yesterday’s
drinking.</p>
<p>After breakfast, Nono boarded Toronka and inspected the deck, outer
hull and rigging again. The Finiku’s big wet eyes scanned every part,
followed every rope from working to bitter end. The hands inspected
every knot, and even the feet got to prove their worth, their bottoms
stomping down hard to sound the deck for abnormalities. After a thorough
inspection, Nono climbed up to half mast to make an announcement.<br />
    “Good good good work aikanae’wati! Toronka ready to fly!”</p>
<p>There was no breeze to sail away with yet, but Nono had seen signs of
its coming. Once in a while, the Finiku would climb up the mast to look
at the horizon. “Orae! Sawa come. Sawa come soon!”<br />
    Eka was spending time with Hush, caressing the beast’s large
parabolic ears. “I’m sorry you can’t come with us on Toronka.” The hyroo
had grown too large for a sandfin, even Eka could not stand upright in
the cabin. The Wonder caressed the hyroo’s soft cheeks and head, hands
grabbed the sides of the beast’s snout. “We’ll come back for you soon. I
promise.”<br />
    Nono had more deliveries to make and had plans to leave after
Toronka, the captain was already busy filling Etyl with packages. Gree
too was aboard the sandfin. The Finiku wore plain clothes and had
altered the Beobug cap to continue to wear it, but even the modified
version angered Nono. The company logo was gone, but it was difficult
not to associate the colour with the brand. Gree was busy taking boxes
from Nono’s hands, carrying each one below deck. It warmed Lupen’s heart
to see them together, but knew that it wouldn’t be an easy transition.
Nono was tense, and Gree was quiet.<br />
    “How’s it going so far?” Lupen had asked, with Gree out of
earshot.<br />
    “Eet ees… how you say in da Common Tongue? Full of da mind and da
body pain,” Nono replied.<br />
    “Painful,” Lupen corrected.<br />
    “Orae fleshy. Very very pain-full for Nono,” Nono said, glancing at
Gree on Etyl with feigned affection, “but Nono <em>try</em>.” Saying
this, Nono spotted Gree adjusting the standing rigging and began to
yell. “Ianae! Ara maha! Tawari’ia!”<br />
    Gree gave Nono a dirty look and continued to adjust the lines. “Nono
mutau’ia, kora sosae’di…”<br />
    Nono stormed back on deck and both continued to bicker in
Finic.<br />
    Renzo was standing not too far away and had witnessed the argument,
knowing that Lupen did not speak Finic, Ren translated. “In short, too
many captains.” Ren said, drinking some plumpkin juice, a good
ingredient to help calm a troubled stomach.<br />
    “How’s your head?” Lupen asked.<br />
    “Like it is filled with rocks,” Renzo said, massaging a painful spot
between the eyes and the bridge of this nose. The alcohol had long
exited this body but its effects lingered, the bonan wine had made a
quarry of Renzo’s brain, “but you, you look fine? How is this
possible…”<br />
    Lupen smirked. “Trick is to drink slow. Suffered from head rocks
many times before I learned.”<br />
    Renzo groaned. “Yes yes, but I put my hand over my cup. Nono must
have filled it through the gaps in my fingers while I wasn’t
looking.”<br />
    “I saw a durdle licking your fingers this morning. Are your hands
sticky?” Lupen quizzed the headache sufferer, with an ever-widening
grin.<br />
    “No,” Renzo made a face then, “well, not anymore.”<br />
    “You sure it’s okay to leave Hush with you?” Eka asked Renzo then,
joining them near Toronka. Hush was sitting near the bow of the sandfin
in the shade. Children were gathering around the hyroo now, stroking its
fur. A mess of tiny hands ran through its mane, separating the soft
hairs like teeth on a comb. Hush had a crowd of appreciators around at
all times. The large beast did not mind this, and seemed to enjoy the
attention.<br />
    Renzo nodded, stroking the side of Hush’s head. The apprentice
offered a sip of plumpkin juice then, Hush would not dare deny such an
offer and started to drink. Ren gripped the cup well so the beast
wouldn’t lick it up by accident. As the hyroo was drinking, the children
did not stop brushing, they laughed as the beast spilled plumpkin juice
everywhere, little wet orange droplets spattered even those waiting for
their turn in the back of the group. Renzo smiled—this mouth had learned
a new trick and was eager to practice.<br />
    Eka caught the smile, and was as determined to catch many more
before they left for their trip. “Vi ana tribu.” Eka said to Ren.<br />
    At these words Ren froze. Words spoken in Aodan transported this
mind to another time and place. Its rhythm was comforting, better than
music, like re-discovering a long-forgotten, and favourite childhood
meal. Ren had learned Aodan while first employed in the Court of Light,
Enji grew up speaking it, and had taught Renzo over games of Hako…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>    “Nocta,” a hand flashed in front of Renzo’s eyes, showing the
fully-engraved topside of a six-faced stone die. Enji turned the die,
showing a smoothed-out face, “soli.” A side with two connected textured
triangles, “son.” A side with two disconnected triangle, “nos. And the
remaining sides are nulalun and grandalun,” Enji explained, “I play
soli. Soli <em>always</em> starts.” Renzo could hear Enji’s voice,
piercing through the thickness of a time now long gone…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    A Sonozai[^] hung from Renzo’s belt still, the set of four dice
sat loosely on their string. “We are one tribe, one family.” The Iridi’s
face softened. Ren moved closer and put their foreheads together. “Jui,
vi la ana granda tribu. Tanka koroa Eka.” Each had one hand pressed
behind the head of the other. They stayed locked together for a moment
before Eka pulled away.<br />
    “We will see each other soon, yea?” Eka said.<br />
    “Yes. I wish for it to be soon,” Renzo replied, smiling
brightly.<br />
    Another one for the trip, Eka thought.<br />
    Eka spotted Klev and Nono then, and decided this was a good time to
say goodbye. Klev was busy braiding a bracelet when Eka came, stopping
to have a chat. They spoke at length about playing the donmol, and about
the best technique to ferment kyabe.<br />
    Then, Eka moved to talk to Maka. The metalworker held a box with a
gift inside. It was full of fresh plurple bleen sausages, appropriately
paired with jars of mapple jam. “I added loads of grated chilabi to one
of these sausages,” Maka told Eka with a wink, “not telling you which!”
Chilabi was a popular ingredient in Aodal cuisine. A hot, pungent
condiment that would burn the nose, and that could be painful depending
on the amount consumed. Renate residents liked to play a game called
Chilabi Plusa, to mean chilabi with something extra.</p>
<h3 id="chilabi-plusa">Chilabi Plusa</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>    Chilabi Plusa is an acting game where the best pretender
wins.<br />
    Each player has an identical dumpling which they must eat in turns.
All dumplings contain chilabi, but only one has ten times the amount, a
quantity enough to make its eater cry, sweat or cough. The goal of the
game is to hide your discomfort if you got the spiced dumpling, or to
pretend you got it when you didn’t. It is up to others to guess the
truth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    Eka laughed. They’d played this game once already at a party. Eka
had not eaten a spiked dumpling, and neither had Lupen, although Eka was
very good at pretending and had won the game. Now, it was almost certain
that one of them would have to suffer its effects.<br />
    Nono was next in line, Eka knelt down to match the Finiku’s short
height. “By the way, our woth friend is named Wiktopher.”<br />
    Nono’s eyes widened in surprise, “sosae’di!” Nono said, ecstatic,
pulling Eka in close, the Finiku’s short arms barely able to encircle
The Wonder. “Nono happy to heer!”<br />
    Lupen also said goodbye, but spent the most time with Klev, chatting
away in Ilken. Both Verido were using the short form, whistling away
while the villagers stared, perplexed by the absence of a worded
conversation. Klev had finished the isilk bracelet, and gave it to Lupen
as a parting gift. “Now you carry Bala with you.”<br />
    “Thanks, it’s lovely.” Lupen said, fingers stroking the braid, its
red hue evident under the two suns. Then, the Verido removed the skyrock
necklace and handed it to Klev. “It’s a piece of skyrock. A reminder
that the world is bigger than the Ilk, bigger than the Soronan Desert
even. It’s an amazing place, and there is much to see.”<br />
    Klev took the necklace, eyes locked onto its shiny, smooth surface.
“Wow. They’re as small down here as they appear up there!
Incredible.”<br />
    In a changing world this object, Lupen hoped, would offer Klev some
comfort.</p>
<p>Eka and Lupen stepped aboard the sandfin, each taking on the tasks
they’d agreed on the previous day. Lupen pulled on the mainsail halyard
to raise it, while Eka kept the rope rings securing the sail to the mast
from catching. Once the sail was all the way up, the rope was tied off
and Eka moved to loosen the sheet to let the boom hang to one side, to
catch the wind. Having picked a windy day to cast off, the sail filled
with air and the sandfin plowed forward, breaking out of its mooring
spot in the sand.<br />
    All in the village waved as Toronka sandfinned away. Nono held up a
scarf, the wind catching into it and sending ripples all along its
length. The others in the group did the same.<br />
    As Eka and Lupen left Renate, they could see the scarves undulating
in the wind, hundreds of colourful arms of knitted fabric waving
goodbye. The Ilk of Balandri sang a parting song, the sound resounding
throughout the desert. This song would catch the ear of the other two
Ilk, and for a moment Lupen wondered if it could convince Vol to slow
its pace, or alter its course. Lupen knew that thinking this was silly,
it was near impossible to dissuade anyone from taking a Leap. Lupen’s
mind drifted to a day when Levi was still alive, a day they’d spent
together…</p>
<p>There was nothing special or important about that day, and that’s why
Lupen liked it. Levi was feeding Henbi, then put a nose to the bubbly
and sour smellydough starter, smiling before picking through a sac of
freshly-picked woodgeon berries. Lupen’s heart ached then, troubled by
thoughts of Henbi. The smellydough starter had been a family heirloom,
all members of Lupen’s family had handled it, and contributed to its
health and growth, feeding it everyday, and eating from it for annums
and annums. Lupen liked watching it expand and settle during the day,
like it was breathing. Henbi was likely dead now. Lupen swallowed hard,
sitting with this loss for a moment before returning to the main memory.
Levi was crouched down over a large bowl full of dry woodgeon berries,
hands running through them to shake the skins off. In this memory, Lupen
was lying in the hammock on the upper floor, with the overhead shutter
open to invite the suns inside. Lupen’s skin was warm, and this nose
could detect the subtle fragrance of the woodgeon berries as Levi moved
them around, these ears also helped to form the memory, remembering the
sound of Levi’s fingers catching the bottom of the bowl.<br />
    This memory made Lupen happy and sad, these two emotions manifesting
together at the same intensity. This Verido sat with this wonderful
memory for a while, and then let it go. That day, Lupen made a plan to
try and plant a garden in the desert, like Zucca. “I wonder if woodgeon
shrubs can grow down here…”</p>
<p>    As Renate faded away, they settled into their respective tasks,
taking bearings, checking the horizon for obstacles, or anything that
could help them identify where they were. The Soronan Desert had many
mountains, used as landmarks by countless sanfinners and foot travelers
to find their way. Traveling by foot, Lupen had learned to read the land
then already. In the Central Rim, the wind always circulated in the same
direction. To find saa’ta, all they had to do was walk with the wind at
their backs. On days without wind, these eyes looked at the sand dunes.
Each dune was shaped by the wind and the direction of the slant
indicated saa’ta. Finding yora’mu was easiest after the second sunset,
all avians slept with their heads pointing in that direction.<br />
    Lupen took notes of all they saw on a map. Toronka was sandfinning
itself then, bow pointed toward the Rupture.</p>
<p>About midday, cruelly, the wind died. Lupen kept an eye on the
horizon for wind, but not a single grain of sand was shifting. With all
of this time to think, the Verido remembered The Tale of Three, Uno’s
gift.<br />
    Every page was full of annotations and drawings, Uno had tracked the
paths of the three Ilks for annums and annums. There was a drawing of
their world route, along with all of their usual stops. There were also
notes on the three founders Otora, Balandri and Volare. Uno had been
there with them. Uno put all of their conversations and meetings
throughout their lives to paper. In one of the exchanges, Uno told
Volare about the location of the nesting grounds of the Ilk. The book
had handwritten letters scattered throughout, one of them was written by
Volare themself! The letter was a series of notes, like a set of
instructions on how to play a song. It was written in Ilken. Lupen read
it, and saw that it was addressed to Uno…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>    Today the Verido have found salvation. To think that the solution
lies with the giant desert walkers. Our collaboration will ensure both
of our futures in this desert. I don’t like to think about us, or them,
falling into nothing. I made the foolish assumption that Ilk were beyond
death, but their lives, like yours, are finite and near-spent. I will
keep my promise to you dear friend, we will care for them until the very
end. Already, I’ve secured dealings with cities, they will provide
teaweet on passage, and <em>we</em> will carry items for them, and sell
what we produce using materials that grow on their backs.<br />
    The world really is changing though, isn’t it? Food is scarce. At
least, it is for giants like the Ilk. You told me that there was little
room for giants in this new world, but I do not believe it. I know that
this is me being wilfully foolish again, I cannot help it. I know you
are tired, and that it is greedy of me to ask you to stay. I will do
what I can for the Ilk, to spare you and your companion of this
demanding task.<br />
    I trust this message reaches you safely, have a good rest my friend.
When you see me next I’ll be dust, but please, say hello anyway…<br />
    — Volare</p>
</blockquote>
<p>    Lupen’s heart was racing. “Volare knew the Ilk were dying, Uno
did too.” The Verido continued to turn pages, finally arriving at the
main story…</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<h3 id="the-tale-of-three">The Tale of Three</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>     During an annum of terrible desert storms three Verido siblings,
Otora, Balandri and Volare, took it upon themselves to save their loved
ones from the hardships of the Soronan Desert. The eldest, Otora,
proposed that they build a vessel, a structure that could keep the town
moving so they could stay ahead of the weather. All places on this dust
planet were dangerous at one point or another. After designing this
vessel they realized that it would not be possible to build.<br />
     Such a project would require too many resources—this detail worried
Balandri. They would need to dig the earth to mine crystals, further
damaging the desert. The Verido people had great respect for nature.
Balandri, in turn, proposed that build a large sandfin. But no one in
the land could help design one large enough to carry a small city. They
considered a flotilla of smaller vessels too, but given their sizable
population and lack of experience sandfinning, it seemed
difficult.<br />
     Volare, who had once walked along the Central Rim by foot, proposed
that they walk, but the others did not share Volare’s love of trekking
through hot deserted lands.<br />
    Volare had many more ideas, but could not figure out a way to keep
everyone safe. One day, a tall stranger arrived at Volare’s tent. The
stranger had heard about their predicament. “I have a solution for you.”
The silver-eyed giant said. The next day, Volare announced to Otora and
Balandri that there was one other option to consider. Together, they
walked across the desert to a lonely mountain, following the giant’s
instructions. They rested in the day, and travelled in the dark.
Eventually, they reached a mountain, and went through a pass carved in
its middle. On the other side they found three Ilk, busy grazing on
bibiskiss and hempawoods. The three appeared thin, and tired.<br />
     The giant told Volare that this was their main grazing ground.
There were three Ilk, and three Verido siblings, nothing could be more
perfect.<br />
     The Ilk were as tall as mountains. They had strong backs and legs,
their feet were wide and gave them stability for walking in sand. In
terrible storms, they could anchor their toes deep into the soil. They
had long slender necks, and long snouts with a set of curved
horns.<br />
     The siblings spent annums learning about these giant beasts, they
learned how to approach them, and how to communicate. One day, the Ilk
lowered their heads and invited the Verido on their backs. Each
befriended an Ilk, and with their permission, they built houses made in
the hollows of the hard skin on their spines.<br />
     Travelling on the back of an Ilk ensured both their survival. The
Verido were safe from the weather, and kept the Ilk healthy. The Hands
worked at keeping parasites away, inspecting every inch of skin from
head to toe for bruises, and tending to them. One annum two Ilk became
sick with a rare fungus, but the problem was diagnosed early and the
fungus was eradicated. Verido could build anything using isilk and
carapace shavings, materials endemic to the Ilk. The tough carapace
covering their backs, elbows and knees was an incredible resource. Every
annum the carapace thickness was measured, and the Verido would only
ever harvest if it had grown back enough. Food and drink was harder to
come by, but they found shroos, and mosses. The moss was engorged with
water, and they found clever ways to harvest it. Overtime, they were
able to grow favourites from their time on land, like bibiskiss,
looberries and looma roots.<br />
     Otora, Balandri and Volare taught their children how to converse
with the Ilk. A child from each mapa took on the role of Voice. The
Veridos became a race of travelling merchants, craftspeople and
inventors. They secured agreements with various cities, carrying
provisions from village to village. They gave away their wares to people
from Montore, Edonor, Tiu’va, in exchange for feed for the Ilk. The
desert wilds had grown thin, and could no longer sustain three Ilk, not
without outside help.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>“Wow.” Lupen said, eyeing the various drawings and notes in The Tale
of Three. One drawing by Volare featured a rough design of the city on
Vol’s back, another tallied all the residents. Just as the Verido was
reaching for another letter, the wind rose again…<br />
    “Sails up up up!” Eka bellowed, running to the foredeck to raise the
headsail, then tied off the line and ran amidships to raise their main
sail. Toronka started to shift forward, and as the wind continued to
rise its twin keels cut through the dunes, sending sand flurries all
above deck.<br />
    Lupen hurried and put the book away to avoid getting sand lodged
between its pages, but the wind caught one of the letters and sent it
flying. Eka was there to catch it, and handed the sheet over to Lupen.
The Verido smiled back, and secured the pile together, putting it away
inside. Now, it was time to focus on sandfinning again.</p>
<p>That evening, both took a seat on deck and watched the stars.<br />
    “You tired?” Eka asked Lupen.<br />
    “No, I can take the first watch.”<br />
    Eka nodded, and went inside to sleep. The woth was on deck, hiding
behind a bulkhead from the wind.<br />
    “How’s your shift so far?” Lupen asked the woth.<br />
    The woth moved its antennae, not because it was replying to the
question, but because it was busy working bits of sand out of
them.<br />
    “Do you know what lies ahead Wik? A pass,” Lupen paused for dramatic
effect, “Dorake’s pass.”<br />
    Dorake’s pass was an opening between two sets of mountains, the
meeting of two great capes. In this area, the cape effect accelerated
the trade winds, the height of the surrounding mountains too contributed
to this acceleration. The day before, Nono had helped them plan their
route to the Rupture on a map, and the Finiku explained that taking
Dorake’s pass, although treacherous, was a shortcut and the best way to
intercept the Ilk. The wind was strong in that area most days, but
they’d timed their departure after the passing of a dry cold front,
sandfinning on the trail end of the system. They knew it would take time
before another would come trailing behind it. Nono had gone through the
pass many times, unharmed, when countless other sandfins were buried and
suffocated in its blowing sands.</p>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<blockquote>
<p>     “How did you make it through safely all those times?” Lupen had
asked Nono.<br />
     “Wen glass fall, sandfinner make sail small. Wen sky yellow to
brown, sandfinner put anchor down.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>                                            ~</p>
<p>    Nono had many more rhymes to help memorize the signs of incoming
bad weather, and how best to respond to them. Lupen remembered them all.
“Ring around kira, all gone is sawa…” The Verido said aloud to the sand,
the stars and the glowing skyrocks, “not today. Today sawa is with
us.”<br />
    Toronka sandfinned through the dark. Their vessel’s sails were
well-balanced, and required little adjusting. Lupen would loosen and
tighten the sheets as needed, skin black with pinny tar. It appeared as
though the Verido had no arms, like the environment had swallowed them
up. Lupen laughed alone in the dark, and then decided to stamp a pinny
tarred-covered hand on this face. After doing that Lupen laughed even
harder.<br />
    Eka awoke a few moments later, and climbed out of the cabin. “Time
for sleep Lu!” But saying this, Eka noted that the Verido wasn’t in the
cockpit. “Lu?” It was dark, but the sky was clear and the skyrock Retna
illuminated the entire deck from bow to stern. No Lupen. The Wonder
returned inside to search there, but that space too was devoid of
Veridos. Eka returned outside, eyes locking on the dim horizon line,
wondering if maybe Lupen had fallen overboard. “Oh no… Lu!” The Wonder
grabbed lines and was ready to turn the sandfin around but then heard
laughing overhead. Lupen was perched at the top of the mast. Eka was
relieved, and whistled in Ilken, the sound penetrating distance and air.
Lupen heard, and started coming down, coming to meet Eka on deck.<br />
    “Beautiful sandfinning, eh?” Lupen said smiling, but then noticed
Eka’s expression. “What is it?”<br />
    “Thought you’d fallen off.”<br />
    “Sorry if I scared you. It can’t happen though, I’ve got a tether
and everything, <em>see</em>? With a good knot too.” A line encircled
Lupen’s middle, and led back to the mast.<br />
    Eka’s eyes inspected the knot, following its twists and turns and
could see that it had been tied correctly. The Wonder noticed the dark
hand print on Lupen’s face, “the mark of a true sandfinner,” saying
this, one of Eka’s fingers traced around the print. “You looked at home
up there Lu.”<br />
    Lupen nodded, “Yea. It’s like being on a much shorter Ilk, but
having more control you know?” The Verido stared at the sails, their
bellies taut, hundreds of hempa strands working together, and thought it
beautiful, elegant. “Balandri wanted our people to travel by sandfin. It
didn’t make sense then, but <em>now</em>…”<br />
    “Mind’s a-whirring!” Eka said, “I’m proud of you you know.”<br />
    Lupen’s cheeks reddened, but no one would see the subtle change
because of the low-light. This Verido leaned forward and planted a quick
kiss on Eka’s mouth, leaving a pinny-tar lip print behind, then
unfastened the rope and tied it around The Wonder’s middle. “I love you
Eka. Good sleepings!” Lupen said, before hurrying below in the cabin to
sleep.<br />
    Eka smiled, hand lingering on the lip print. “Good sleepings lovely,
lovely Lu blue.”<br />
    A voice inside the cabin enumerated the skyrocks in the sky,
“Balavados, Encitris, Naxagorus, Liminik, Omoretus, Retna, Alpininsis…”
And then this part of the world quieted. Toronka’s voice resounded
across the desert dunes, the hull creaked and groaned, pushing through
sand and leaving a deep track behind. Dorake’s pass lay ahead, a
three-day sail away. For now, it remained a distant concern for Toronka
and crew.</p>
<h1 id="lupens-logbook">Lupen’s logbook</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.passari.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Passari Tremblers are small, sand-dwelling avians. They’ve got
long, thin bills, which they use to pick food through sand. They have a
big, colourful head crest. They are rather skittish creatures. They
prefer quiet areas, staying away from cities and most
creatures.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Day 1</strong></p>
<p><em>First sunrise</em></p>
<p>Hello Logbook. Dorake’s passage is a day away. Our progress is good,
but slow. The wind comes and leaves as it wants, and when it’s gone all
we can do is wait.<br />
    Long periods of still desert paired with a clear, clear sky, makes
it difficult to believe that the wind will ever return. Toronka’s sails
hang from their ropes, as if asleep. Everything but my mind is still. I
am impatient, unaccustomed to a carrier dependent on weather for
movement. The Ilk never had to wait for wind.<br />
    My eyes catch every movement in the sand. Earlier I spotted the top
leaves of a cactub off Toronka’s stern. Plants like cactubs can survive
almost anything, that is, unless they fall prey to a hunter. In calm
weather they emerge to take in moisture and light, but small avians time
their exits with theirs to take bites out of them. Many of the desert
perennials I’ve seen have leaves or nubs missing, their flesh covered
with craters. I thought about the craters in my own flesh then, the
desert leaves marks on us all.<br />
    I used to think I knew this land well, but I had a giant’s
perspective, blind to tiny details. From up there, the world below
looked quiet and barren, but there is so much life here.<br />
    Most creatures here live in the topmost layer of the sand dunes.
Some live here always, while others dig out temporary homes in passing.
Many creatures will only ever show themselves under specific weather
conditions, creatures like hespers. Hespers bloom into existence every
ha’annum, but have very short lives. They’re in constant flight, soaring
on wind currents. They go where the wind takes them. That is all they
can ever do because they don’t have limbs, or wings. I think I saw one
floating high above the mast yesterday, carried by an impossible wind. I
climbed up to see it, but by the time I made it to the top it had
already drifted out of sight.<br />
    There are reptavians flying around our vessel too, the sound of
their leathery wings evident in this quiet. I’ve never been good at
identifying reptavians, but Eka can put a name to them straight away.
Crested-hirudines. They are quick flyers, with red crests on their heads
and bright green scales on their bellies. Their movements are jerky, but
precise. They always fly in tight groups, sweeping up together against
the sky, twisting at great speed. I sat on deck a while to enjoy the
show, gasping whenever the group narrowingly avoided our mast. They
would fly near and around it, mesmerized by its perfect
verticality.<br />
    In Volare we have hololomimos. Small, bulgy-eyed reptavians that
like to nest in houses. We didn’t used to have them, we think they
climbed aboard during one of our stops. They like it on the Ilk because
there are plenty of shroos to eat, but of course this is a problem for
my people because our food supply is limited. No one wants to harm the
hololomimos, so now we have volunteers that look for nests to move them
back on land. When I was last there, the relocation efforts were going
well. Now Verido nests may have to move onto land too, seems like. This
effort to move the hololomimos might have been all for nothing.<br />
    Later Eka &amp; I spotted a group of yellow avians with long forked
tails. They stared at us for a long while, immobile, feet well-set in
the sand. We stared back. We did this for a while, neither us or the
avians wanted to be the first to look away, breaking off would mean
losing the staring game. But then the group all moved at once, quickly,
scattering before diving into holes in the ground for shelter.<br />
    “Yay! We won!” I had told Eka then, but I then understood the reason
for their hurry. The wind was back. They had sensed its return and knew
that when the wind came back, bigger and faster wind-reliant avians and
winged reptavians would also return, putting them at a disadvantage. In
other words, it wasn’t a true win.<br />
    Toronka, our winged beast, also relies on the wind for forwardness.
Its hull creaked as it began to slide forward. I pulled in the sheets
for extra power, and we started to glide.<br />
    The calm was over, now it was time to fly.</p>
<p><em>Second sunrise</em></p>
<p>Every midday I sweep the sand from the deck, but it is an impossible
task. There is always more sand coming. I clear it anyway. It’s become a
routine, an activity I’ve come to enjoy. While I sweep I look at the
deck, I look at the lines, sails and blocks, to make sure all is fine.
Performing a check is an exercise in accident prevention.<br />
    When Eka gets up, we eat breakfast together. We still have loaves of
muckwheat to eat, although I choked on a piece of purple bleen sausage
this morning. I dipped it in mapple jam and it was like eating flames.
Eka laughed, but never did explain.<br />
    When the two suns have risen, I hide in the shade and read. I’ve
finished reading Volare’s letters in The Tale of Three. Most letters are
short messages between Volare and Uno, but there are also poems. I
rather like them. I plan to memorize them to pass the time and to train
my ‘poet’s eye’.<br />
    Eka is sitting at the bow, staring ahead at far-away mountains. It
is a nice, nice day, and I hope it stays that way.</p>
<p>Having so much time to think is nice, but it also makes me realize
how forgetful I am. I forgot to ask Renzo about the story of Aristollo.
I am so distracted most days that I don’t have the mind space to
remember these things. Out here my eyes lock onto the horizon, and
thoughts that lie deep inside my brain have plenty of time to bob to the
surface. All day they transit in and out of my head. Sometimes I latch
onto a passing thought and hold onto it for a long while to
dissect.<br />
    I wonder what Eka is thinking about now. I ask a lot, and fear I’ve
asked too much already.<br />
    Yesterday Eka was thinking about the mountain top. The green place
that could charm anyone into staying forever. I think about it a lot
too, and hope that I get to go again. There are plants there that I’ve
never seen anywhere else. Sometimes I catch their scent in the air, as
if the wind carries their perfume across the desert, and that my
nostrils were lucky to catch them in passing. Toronka is comfortable,
but no place can rival the fragrant mountain top, not even my old
hammock in Volare.</p>
<p>I prepared roasted plumpkins for midday. I scooped out the seeds and
will leave them to dry on deck, weather permitting. The seeds are very
good to eat as a snack when dry, they are crunchy on the outside and
gooey on the inside. As taught by Eka, I eat one, and toss one. A
determined traveller could re-trace our steps by following our trail of
seeds. I hope that they grow into mature plumpkins, and that they form a
long green line across the desert.<br />
    The mountains ahead are getting closer and closer. A thick, yellow
and brown cloud layer is obscuring the top of the tallest peak. Nono did
say that a cloud of that colour was indicative of rain. Rain. I am
excited, but also concerned because I remember something else Nono said,
that if the sky showed that same hue it could mean severe localized
weather. The sky doesn’t have that shade now, but I’ll keep an eye on
it.</p>
<p><em>First sunset</em></p>
<p>It’s Eka’s turn to prepare food. We had a dinner of bonan chips with
a looma root stew. Because Bala was in Renate, we were able to get some
of my favourite produce. We now have a basket-full of looma roots and
shroos. Wik ate some of the leftover chip crumbs, glad that we are messy
eaters. The deck was licked clean of all food particles, the same goes
for the bits lining our fingers.<br />
    Our woth friend likes to walk up and down the side of the mast. The
wind is a bit stronger now, and Wik is unaffected, its legs anchored to
the mast.<br />
    The cloud on the mountain ahead is getting puffier, but again, no
sign of a yellow brown sky. Eka and I prepared the storm anchor. Neither
of us have ever used it before. We did not experience severe weather on
our passage to Tiputa on Etyl. Nono explained how to set it up during
one of Toronka’s test runs. It was easy. All we had to do was to pull
the anchor out of its locker, and to attach a long rope to it. Then, we
had to douse the sails, lash them down and throw the anchor off the bow,
tying the bitter end to a strong point on deck. Doing it during calm
weather wasn’t hard, but Nono said it might be challenging with more
wind. I practice my knots to make sure I can do them well, even in
stressful conditions. Mago would be proud.<br />
    Eka is a fast learner, and always gets everything right on the first
try. I sometimes wish I was the same. I know that wishing for this is
useless, because it’s not how I am, and my way of being is also fine.
Something to remember.</p>
<p><em>Second sunset</em></p>
<p>The dark shifts were easy because the wind left us again. I walked
around the deck reciting Volare’s poems aloud. I did get carried away
with some of my recitations, but was careful not to wake Eka.<br />
    The last poem I learned, goes like this:</p>
<p>    <em>The Skyrocks alight,</em><br />
    <em>Golden sands mask their colour,</em><br />
    <em>The dark draws a path.</em></p>
<p>    For poetry I know that there are rules, but I don’t know them.
Despite not knowing I think I will try to write some of my own. Levi
taught me how to write. We’d practice on flat bits of carapace, dipping
our fingers in looberry syrup to use as ink. I never got to look at my
writing for very long though, because I liked the taste of looberry
syrup too much. As Levi wrote, I was there to mop up the juices from
previous words and so I never did have time to study the letters to
better my eye and hand.<br />
    Volare’s writing has an illustrative quality to it, while mine is
crooked and clumsy. Not two letters are even. Volare’s A’s look the same
throughout the text. I can see that this is my problem, my letters
aren’t <em>ever</em> the same. I know what beautiful letters look like,
but even if I see them in my mind I can’t reproduce them. Sometimes my
letters shrink to a whisper, or grow big and loud, all in one word. Eka
said that with practice I will be able to match the image in my head. I
hope that’s true.<br />
    The sand floor is empty. Not a single creature in sight.
Strange.</p>
<p><strong>Day 2</strong></p>
<p><em>First sunrise</em></p>
<p>I woke up to a roaring sound. The wind had risen, and the entire
cabin was shaking. The yukwood hull creaked, as if the walls were
afraid. There was sand inside of the cabin, covering the stairs and
floor near the entrance. The hatch was shut, but sand had found its way
inside, slipping through the cracks and filling every corner. I got up,
looked outside and found an opaque wall of weather. No horizon. I could
not see past Toronka’s middle. I went back inside to slip on a pair of
goggles and a scarf, the speed of that wind pushed the sand at violent
speeds, and just like sand had gotten inside of the cabin with ease, it
too would a way inside my nostrils. Too much could hurt you. I followed
Eka’s tether to the bow, and was glad to find my companion there,
safe.<br />
    All of the sails were down, and looking ahead I saw a line extending
out into the sand. The line was taut, and led back to our anchor,
disappearing behind the yellow veil. We were riding on our storm anchor.
Eka too wore goggles and a scarf. We both stared at the rope, to make
sure that the anchor had set. My friend’s red hair had a muted colour
today, dimmed with dust.<br />
    The quiet world of yesterday was gone.<br />
    In such weather all creatures were hiding in their respective
shelters. We ought to do the same. Nono had told us that if there
weren’t any small avians around that it was a sure sign that the weather
was deteriorating. We should have seen the signs, a barren land is a
portent of disaster.<br />
    When we were certain that Toronka wasn’t going to blow away, we
retreated back inside and prepared some food. Eka explained that the
wind had picked up fast, and threatened to turn us over. A storm had
come under the cover of darkness.     The event I had been dreading had
arrived.</p>
<p><em>Second sunrise</em></p>
<p>Eka and I took turns shoveling sand from the deck. The wind was still
screaming into our faces, and became more ferocious as the day warmed.
Erring on the side of caution, we decided to throw another anchor off
the bow. If our main anchor failed, then we’d have the second one to
depend on.<br />
    I have no appetite. My stomach is full with worry, and fear. What I
don’t eat, Eka takes. As usual, the Wonder doesn’t share my fears. I am
glad for this, because two worriers would not be very useful right
now.</p>
<p><em>First sunset</em></p>
<p>Eka is Toronka’s time keeper, flipping the sand timer every time it
is empty. The sandstorm makes it difficult to see the position of the
two suns, and so with the timer we know how much time has passed.
Knowing is both a comfort, and a source of worry for me. The longer it
lasts, the more anxious I get, but I also know that every song must
end.<br />
    The accumulating sand is beginning to bury us. I don’t know how
we’ll be able to get the anchors out. We went out often on deck today to
push the sand off from around the bow, but the wind carried more back. I
wonder if it would not have been better to run with the weather, but I
remember what Nono said. Running in heavy winds might result in Toronka
doing a death roll. A death roll means that the sandfin would roll
either sideways or face first. Few sandfins could recover from such an
ordeal, the rig would likely break. I bet that’s how this area acquired
its reputation of being a graveyard for sandfins.<br />
    Many shovel-fulls later, I still can’t eat anything. My whole body
is on alert, putting aside regular processes to attend to this stressful
event. Hunger doesn’t happen under stress, nor thirst.</p>
<p><em>Second sunset</em></p>
<p>Both of us stayed awake, the noise outside made it difficult to
sleep. We spent a lot of time stuffing bits of fabric into openings, to
try and keep the sand out. With time though, the sand <em>always</em>
finds a way in. It sends fingers of grains through cracks, like soldiers
to war. Given enough time its hordes would overwhelm, and entomb
us.<br />
    The mainsail got loose. We could hear it shaking the entire rig. The
sail was whipping violently above our heads. The two of us went out to
try and lash it back down again. Opening the hatch to exit, even for a
second, sent a flurry of grains below. We closed it tight, tied our
tethers, and felt our way forward, moving towards the mast. The wind was
much stronger now, and the sand scratched any bit of exposed skin. We’d
noticed that the rocks in the area were all smooth, and now we know why.
If we stayed out here too long, we too would start to shrink in size,
our sharp edges ground off by the weather.<br />
    I had to re-tie the scarf around my mouth and nose many times. The
wind has skilled and patient hands, able to untie any knot. It did
manage to loosen my scarf all the way, I could feel sand funneling
inside my nostrils and into my throat. I plugged my nose shut with one
hand while Eka rushed over to fasten the knot again. I coughed and
wheezed from under the strip of cloth, in a hurry to expel the grains
from my lungs. My throat was burning for a long time after that.<br />
    We tied the boom down again and wrestled the sail in. This was a
task that required four hands. We folded the sail down in sections, with
Eka adding rope as we went along. I trust Eka’s knots more than my own.
It doesn’t look as though the sail cloth was damaged, although we found
one broken batten. Fixing a batten is not too difficult, Nono had us
carry spares.<br />
    We were lucky that the wind did not shred the sail. Nono would hate
me using that word. Lucky. There is no such thing as luck, just good and
cautious sandfinners.<br />
    Once everything was lashed down well we hurried back inside. I am
tired now, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep today.</p>
<p><strong>Day 3</strong></p>
<p><em>First sunrise</em></p>
<p>The storm abated, and when it did it rain fell from the sky. A
gentle, cool rain. We sat for a long while in it, smiling, letting it
clear the sand from our clothes and skin. It helped strip the sand from
the deck too. Rain is rare in the Soronan Desert, but the topography
here is perfect for it. Now that the wind is down, we can see plants
coming out of the soil, their leaves fanning out to try and catch it.
The ground is covered in green now, resembling Zucca’s garden in the
Oasis. Nono told us that this place had many hidden waterstone caverns,
but no one ever stayed here long enough to uncover them, the area was
too dangerous. We must not let this beautiful event soften our hearts,
we must not forget the uncaring and destructive nature of this
place.<br />
    After the rain subsided, we began the long task of freeing Toronka
from the enormous sand bank that had engulfed it. The whole front of the
bow disappeared under a thick, and heavy yellow canopy. Now I understand
why Nono insisted on us carrying a pair of heavy shovels. The exercise
helped me find my appetite again then, after a few horos of digging I
ate half of a muckwheat loaf.</p>
<p><em>Second sunrise</em></p>
<p>We are still busy clearing the sand away. The bow is almost free, but
then we’ll have to try and retrieve the two anchors. Toronka has a drum
that we can wrap the anchor line around. It has a hole at the top, where
we can insert a handle to hoist them back up. I tried to use it but
could not do it, still too much sand. We need to keep digging.<br />
    We keep finding sand inside of the cabin, under floorboards, in cups
and within the pages of Volare’s book too.<br />
    Sand flies, crawls and hides.</p>
<p><em>First sunset</em></p>
<p>We did it. We’ve cleared most of the obstructions away, and were able
to remove both anchors. Our timing couldn’t have been better, because
the wind is rising. We are both exhausted though, but sleep will have to
come later for me. I volunteered to keep watch on deck first. Eka went
below to rest. I can taste sleep in my mouth. Whenever I feel sleep
coming I eat a slice of chililly, the sting is enough to keep me awake
for a while.<br />
    The sails are up and full, we are heading through Dorake’s pass
under clear skies. The suns are still with us, this too helps to keep me
awake and alert.<br />
    While in the pass, I saw masts buried in the sand, their bodies
broken, splintered. I placed my hand over my chest as Toronka ghosted by
them. Nature’s indifference is cruel, but only inexperience can bury a
sandfinner. Hearing Nono say that I was nervous, because we didn’t have
Nono’s expertise. But our teacher assured us that if we kept our eyes on
the horizon, that if we smelled the air, and that if we listened to sawa
and the yorala well, we would know that bad weather was coming. ‘If sky
turn yellow to brown, sandfinner take all sail down.’ Mnemonics worked
well for me. Nono had said that when you go through Dorake’s pass, you
make a bet with yourself, that you’ve understood the signs in the sky in
the clouds and in the air. If you missed any, then things might not end
well for you.<br />
Reading the weather is difficult though, there are too many factors. The
effect of wind on an area depends on topography and on temperature. They
interact with one another, and when you think you’ve understood
everything, then a new element is thrown into the mix and their
interactions produce new conditions. To the sandfinner, to the one who
doesn’t understand this complex network of interactions and number of
possible outcomes, this made nature appear fickle, and mean.<br />
    My people are subject to superstition. I am too. I feel good when a
series of random actions produces a favourable result. And when I do
these things again, and get the same result this re-enforces my beliefs.
Wiggle your ears while looking at the suns while singing, it makes the
wind return. Really, it works. Try it. But when rituals didn’t work,
then it is a sign that something out there doesn’t agree with me. Well,
you’ve done it now Lupen, you’ve insulted the weather. The desert hates
you, and the wind will never fill Toronka’s sails again. Then the only
thing to do is to find a new ritual.<br />
    It is silly. I know it is, and it is laughable that I continue
despite knowing this. Sometimes we need rituals. We need to believe that
there is someone responsible for the weather, or lack of it, and that we
have the power to change things. Although my time in the desert has
taught me that we can’t reason with the wind, nor can we will it to
change direction. My rituals have become a pastime, a game, but nothing
more. Shouting at the desert while becalmed did little to appease my
anger. These hands cannot control nature. It is healthier to accept that
sometimes local conditions produce a destructive event, and that no
celestial being had anything to do with it. It is nature being nature,
it buries bodies and vessels without prejudice.<br />
    I thought about the graves out here in the desert, the ones not
marked by masts. It is possible that we have walked over many bodies
since our voyage began. If it hadn’t been for Uno, I too would be there,
buried, forgotten, and unknown to the living. To those laying in
unmarked graves, I say to you that I <em>know</em> you are there. I
<em>know</em> you have a story. I will never pass over sand again
without thinking of you, and of your possible pasts and futures.<br />
    Have a good rest fellow travelers. You are now sand, you make up the
road that carries our vessel onward. One day I will be sand too, and
then we’ll have ample time to tell each other our stories.</p>
<p><em>Second sunset</em></p>
<p>We made it through the pass in good weather. After Eka and I traded
places I slept long, and hard. It was the best sleep I’ve had. My mind
was still empty of dreams. Now, Encela and Protus are out, they light
our way towards the Rupture. If the wind keeps, and our navigation is
correct, we will be there the day after tomorrow. We have Etyl’s compass
and it is helpful to orient ourselves, the needle to yora’mu points
behind us. Wik also has a good sense of space, it is like it feels
landmarks like mountains, and deep chasms. Woths are the eyes of a
sandfinner. They always know where they are.<br />
    I am nervous. I don’t know what I’ll do when we find Vol, and I’m
not sure what to do if we don’t. I’ve resolved to put it out of my head
until I see Vol, and by then I’ll be too busy to worry.<br />
    Growing up, I remember Levi putting my ear to the ground, to listen
to Vol’s heartbeat. I could hear it, resonating through its thick
carapace. My mapa said it was the most important sound in the world, and
that I had to listen to it always. Now I think I understand why my mapa
said this. Vol’s heartbeat was a way to measure its health, historically
for our people it was also a way to measure the passing of time, but it
also served to measure the time we had left on its back, a slow
countdown to nothing, the sound of a spindle gradually emptying itself
of its thread.<br />
    I plan to spend the dark atop the mast, eyes on the horizon. Being
up there calms me.</p>
<p><strong>Day 4</strong></p>
<p><em>First sunrise</em></p>
<p>The wind is still with us, but we are the only ones out there.     We
are in the Saa’ta Ash Plains, it is easy to tell because the ground is
no longer yellow. The desert is black, inverted. I’ve never seen
anything like it. Vol’s path around the world never included this
region, with reason… it’s known as the place where all things go to die.
No one comes here for any other reason, not even as transit.<br />
    I imagined that it would be a scary place, the air thick with dread,
but it is pleasant. There is life here too. The area is full of sooty
agocets. Small, wispy, elongated creatures that swim in the black sand.
We’ve had many dive aboard, startled by our passing. When they land on
deck they twist and shimmy their bodies until they find the edge of the
vessel, to freedom. In doing so, they leave little sooty trails
everywhere. We passed through an area teeming with them earlier, they
exploded out of the ground and covered the deck in black dust. We
laughed. No amount of cleaning could rid the deck of all this soot.
Toronka was now a true creature of the Saa’ta Ash Plains, a moving
shadow.<br />
    We also saw larger agocets too, rising out of the sand in the
distance. Some measured up to twenty’hateen mitres, four times Toronka’s
length. They would launch themselves up, balancing on their translucent
flukes for a moment before diving back into the sand. They stayed far
away, uninterested in us and our travels.</p>
<p><em>Second sunrise</em></p>
<p>Hello precious logbook, this is Eka. I thought I would write because
Lupen hasn’t found the time to do it today, too busy trimming sails and
steering Toronka. We’ve found tracks in the sand, fresh tracks that have
not yet been covered with sand. I do not think they belong to Vol, but
it belongs to some other big thing, I believe. The wind is weak,
affecting our speed. Lu Blue is working hard to catch every puff of
wind. We were approaching rapidly at first, but this decreasing wind
sure has bad timing. It’s at times like this that I wish I could take
enough air into my lungs to blow into our sails, I bet this is something
an Ilk could do.<br />
    The logbook will end here for now, my Lu needs me up on deck. We are
going to have to work hard to catch up. Good day to you dearest logbook,
thank you for allowing your pages to be filled for this purpose, and to
document Lupen’s thoughts.</p>
<h1 id="the-big-dark">The Big Dark</h1>
<p><img src="media/fauna.sootyagocet.png" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Sooty agocets are small agocets that live in the sand, their fins
pushing them through grains with ease. They like to leap out of the sand
and to glide to evade sand-dwelling predators, although while in flight,
they are weak to avians and reptavians. Because their bodies match the
sand, it is difficult for predators to see them from overhead.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Toronka lay quiet in the sand once more, not because the wind had
left, but because a huge gap in the ground lay ahead, barring their
path. They stood at the meeting point between two deep chasms, forming a
squiggly V with it’s two branches extending far, far out into the black
desert.<br />
    “This isn’t on the map,” Lupen said, standing at the bottom of the
wide V. “It isn’t on the map!” Lupen realized the irony of denying the
existence of a thing while standing near it, but could not think
clearly. “Mapoleon made a mistake.”<br />
    Eka shrugged, “the Rupture is long, and it’s possible that this
particular part of it wasn’t there until recently. It is difficult to
map a changing world Lu.”<br />
    Lupen wondered if leaving Hush in Renate had been wise, they could
have continued on foot together. This part of the Rupture was too wide
to gap by foot, but would be possible to cross with a hyroo.<br />
    “Come, come. We’ll sail back and find a way around.” Eka said,
motioning for Lupen to climb back aboard.<br />
    “We won’t get there in time.”<br />
    Eka leapt off the bow and moved to take Lupen’s hand, gently leading
the Verido back to Toronka. “Don’t worry.”<br />
    In silence, they raised the sails and turned the sandfin around,
following the fissure in the black sand. Lupen took command of the
vessel, determined to overcome this latest obstacle.</p>
<p>Across the desert Toronka fLu. The bow pushed through the black sand,
leaving a deep groove behind, it drew a pattern across the desert
visible only to those with eyes in the sky. The ride wasn’t a cheery
one, but the dark veil drew back once they found a piece of ground
bridging the gap. Toronka skidded across the narrow bit of land,
ignoring the dizzying depth present on both sides.<br />
    A chart lay at Lupen’s feet, with lines marking their progress.
There were several x’s indicating where they had stopped due to lack of
wind. Every x was added up in this mind, amounting to too much time,
time they needed to arrive at the widest part of the Rupture before
Vol.</p>
<p>All day they labored to ensure that the sandfin moved at top speed.
Lupen knew Toronka well now, and could optimize its sail configuration
in any wind. Eka had never seen a sandfin move so fast, so well. Finiku
were gifted sandfinners, but it appeared as though Lupen too had the
right set of qualities, or maybe the right motivation, Eka thought. The
Wonder’s hand reached for the sandtimer, and flipped it once again.
“Fourth flip since second sunrise,” Eka said aloud so Lupen would hear,
noting it down in their logbook. Etyl’s old compass twitched, their bow
heading sawa’mu, or ‘into the wind’ in the Common Tongue. The needle
always pointed to yorama’mu (yoramawa’muko), another Finiku term to mean
‘towards the soul of the land’. On the compass face, were Finiku symbols
for all 4 directions.<br />
    Eka was on top of the mast, the blazing red hair was like a beacon
burning bright overhead, a lively fire that not even the strongest gust
could snuff out. The Wonder’s feet rested on one of the battens of their
large, fan-shaped sail. Lupen stared, imagining a sail made up of many
tiny hands, hundreds of interlocked fingers catching wind and pulling
Toronka towards its goal.</p>
<p>The Rupture began to widen, to a point where it was difficult to see
the other side. Mapoleon’s map was more accurate now. This part of the
land was kind to have stayed the same, Lupen thought.<br />
    A curious updraft came from the chasm. It swirled out of nowhere to
power their sails, carrying shoals of tiny sooty agocets, too small to
fight the wind and the pull of the sail. The group was carried into it.
Each agocet remained still, letting the wind current control their
flight. Lupen noted that the shoal gave shape and colour to the wind,
describing its movement across the whole of the sail. Eventually, they
reached the edge of the fabric, regained control, and returned to the
safety of the depths.<br />
    They were close now. Lupen’s gut was in knots, the constricted
organs made it hard to breathe. “We should have seen Vol already,” Lupen
said, voice heavy. The worrying was moments away from evolving into full
blown panic.<br />
    Eka spoke up then, pointing ahead to a figure sitting near the edge
of the chasm, with legs dangling in the void.<br />
    “Someone! Ahead!”<br />
    Lupen’s eyes narrowed, trying to make out the shape of the figure in
the distance. The shape got bigger, wider as they approached. Lupen knew
who this was, but this time it was them approaching the giant rather
than the giant approaching them. The Verido brought the sandfin to a
stop, releasing all sails and letting them flap in the wind. Toronka’s
hull groaned as it slowed, before coming to a full stop.<br />
    The figure on the edge looked at them, silver eyes admiring the
vessel. “Beautiful.” Uno said, blinking slowly. Every blink took
enormous effort, the urge to remain shut growing with every passing
second.<br />
    Lupen raced to Uno’s side, but before the Verido could say anything
Uno spoke up.<br />
    “Sit.”<br />
    Lupen was about to protest but Uno said it again, in a more
commanding tone.<br />
    “Sit.”<br />
    “What? No! I’ve <em>got</em> to save my people!” Lupen cried.<br />
    Uno appeared to have missed several horo’s rest, with sunken,
clouded eyes, and pale, pale, translucent skin. Although, its surface
was as flawless as ever, without scar, or blemish. All of the wear was
concentrated in the eyes. They’d lost their former radiance, resembling
a piece of unpolished metal.<br />
    “They are safe,” Uno said, slowly, “they stepped off Vol in Tiputa a
few days ago.” Uno’s large hand patted the ground, again inviting the
Verido to sit down. “<em>Surely</em> you don’t think Vol would have
taken them along…”<br />
    Lupen blinked, trying to process all this information. “What about
the people on Bala, and Oto?”<br />
    “Any moment now, they too will step off. News travels fast.”<br />
    Lupen’s chest felt warm, heart blazing bright fueled by thoughts of
friends. “But Vol…”<br />
    “Is ready to die.” Uno said, heels rubbing against the side of the
cliff face, disturbing bits of rock and sending them tumbling in the
dark. “Your friend will be glad that you are here.”<br />
    Vol had not arrived, not yet.<br />
    Lupen felt exhausted then, the long days of hard sandfinning and
hard worrying had caught up in an instant. The Verido slumped forward,
taking a breath, and focusing on that for a while. Breathing in and out.
In and out. Nothing else mattered in this short intermission between
moments. Lupen finally decided to sit down beside Uno, eager to
rest.<br />
    “They’re all safe…” Lupen breathed, back meeting with the black
sand.<br />
    The hard part lay ahead. Lupen had hoped to deter Vol, but now knew
that its death was inevitable. Soon, it would arrive and leap into the
Rupture, disappearing from the world forever.<br />
    Uno spotted Eka’s silhouette aboard Toronka, busy folding sails.
Once their vessel was secure, the Wonder moved to Toronka’s bow and a
pair of red eyes found the giant. Lupen saw Uno rise, head moving up and
towards the clouds. Eka raced over to meet the tall figure, arms locking
around Uno’s leg. The giant bent down again, and put a hand on the
sandfloor, palm side up. Eka moved onto it and ran up to grab Uno’s
cheeks, caressing them gently, fingers inspecting every inch of
skin.<br />
    The Wonder laughed then, and Uno’s tired flesh remembered how to
smile, stretching outward, from horizon to horizon. They whispered
softly to each other for a long while.<br />
    Lupen tried to listen, but could not make out any words. Tired, the
Verido stopped trying, mind focusing on the event ahead, although a
curious jealousy began to settle inside this mind. Now that they had
each other again, neither would have a need for someone else, an
outsider, a candle with a short wick. Lupen imagined the two locked
together, unwilling to part, sharing knowledge in a low hushed voice for
all time.<br />
    Eka glanced down at Lupen then, noticing the Verido’s expression.
“Caught the gloom bug Lu?”<br />
    “Yea,” Lupen said, “but don’t mind me. You can keep talking with
Uno. I mean, you two probably have a lot of important things to say to
each other.” The Verido said, trying to appear less blue, skin changing
to a deep shade of red instead. Lupen didn’t like feeling this
way.<br />
    “Oh yes yes, <em>very</em> important things to talk about!” Eka
said, nodding rapidly.<br />
    “Nothing and nonsense, really,” Uno wheezed, “Eka was telling me of
a good recipe for looma root bread.”<br />
    “Uno! You <em>wound</em> me! Bread could <em>never</em> be
nonsense!” Eka said, outraged.<br />
    Lupen laughed. Eka was still Eka, a creature with a big, kind heart
and eyes for everyone. Laughter helped to suppress the gloom, and to
quell these silly feelings of inadequacy.</p>
<p>They sat together on the edge of the Rupture. Eka had prepared
toasted muckwheat groat tea for everyone. Lupen and Eka had a cup, and
Uno had the kettle, a vessel ill-suited to quench a giant’s thirst for
tea, but Toronka had no other larger recipient. Uno had a cup of their
own, Lupen thought, but could not see it now. The giant didn’t carry
books, or food, or a tent, and Kit wasn’t here either.<br />
    In the distance they watched groups of people gathering at various
points to witness A Leap. Their ears caught songs in the wind, cheery
compositions with notes that clung to the air. The sound bounced off the
chasm walls, echoing down its long throat, propagated into its various
limbs. On a quiet day someone on the tail end of the Rupture could catch
the song, distorted by distance, but pleasant.<br />
    Lupen was growing quite fond of this place. Sooty agocets would
sometimes fly off the edge of the plateau and into the void,
disappearing into the darkening dark before emerging back into the light
again, their small wings carrying them back out. Many came to brush by
Uno’s large feet, their wispy bodies caressing the toes, and darted away
when one of them moved, only to return again later, as if the group
played a game of dare. The agocets liked playing with Uno’s toes, so
much that now every digit had a small black dusty cap.     The people
attending a Leaping Day paid them no mind, they were far, and focused on
their loved ones. Lupen was sure that they could see Uno from where they
were, given the giant’s size, but again, their eyes and minds were set
on little things today, little things that mattered a whole lot.<br />
    Lupen wondered if this is how Uno was able to move in this world,
unnoticed. Small people were as blind to big things as this Verido had
once been blind to the tiny birds and plants on the desert floor. Uno
was like the wind, the desert and the clouds, a constant presence that
all took for granted, touching everyone and everything.</p>
<p>Uno’s gaze was fixed on the chasm. The thin eyes took in the
blackness, and the rest of this large body too was beginning to give
into the expanse. The giant was tired.<br />
    So, so very tired.<br />
    Breathing required some effort, a thing that everyday people don’t
think about at all.<br />
    “Are you going to sleep soon?” Lupen asked.<br />
    Uno took a deep breath. “Yes.”<br />
    “So, what <em>are</em> you waiting for?”<br />
    The silver-eyed giant breathed again, and slowly turned to look
behind. Lupen did the same, and then caught sight of a large dark shape
in the horizon growing, and growing. Vol was coming. The colour fell
from Lupen’s face. The wind blew the sand up around them, as if an
invisible figure with a giant broom was clearing the dust off a path
leading to the chasm. Lupen was afraid, but understood then. “You were
there when Volare, Balandri and Otora built cities on the Ilk…”<br />
    A hard lump formed in this throat. Lupen fell into a half-drowse in
which memories of Volare were revealed in a helpless depression of
spirits. The city of Volare, its plants, its people, everything this
Verido had known and loved filled this mind. Lupen wanted to walk
through the town square again, to go pick shroos at Vol’s Nape, to see
the light spilling in from in-between buildings after the first sunrise.
The heart beat hard inside this chest, and the sound grew louder and
more painful as Vol approached.</p>
<p>Step. Ka-laa, ka-laa, ka-laa.</p>
<p>Step. Ka-laa, ka-laa, ka-laa.</p>
<p>Step.</p>
<p>The Ilk’s pace quickened as it neared them. Everyone got up. Uno
began to whistle, its sound as good, as loud, and as natural as any
Voice. Eka joined in the singing. Lupen too wanted to contribute, but
couldn’t, the lump did not allow it. It kept growing, and growing. Lupen
swallowed hard, nearly choking on it, determined to dislodge it to give
Vol, a good friend, a proper farewell.<br />
    Lupen’s voice rose, and rose, subduing all other noise in the area.
Its volume was so great, that all in the area stopped to listen.<br />
    Vol continue to march, following the sound to its source. One of its
legs landed near them, plunging deep into the sand. It stopped, its
two-toed foot settling into the ground. The circumference of its leg was
so big that not even a giant like Uno could circle it. Uno caressed its
ankle, the fluff on the skin was pleasant to the touch. “You’ll find the
Balandrians in Renate, and Otorans in Montore Lupen,” Uno said.<br />
    “Wait. You’re not coming with us?” Lupen stammered, but Eka gripped
the Verido’s arm.<br />
    “Uno’s going to sleep.”<br />
    “How could anyone sleep down <em>there</em>…” Lupen thought of the
mountain top, and thought it infinitely better.<br />
    “Kit is waiting for me,” Uno said, with a weak smile. The giant eyed
Lupen fondly, and without another word, the giant began to go down the
cliff face, inviting the Ilk to follow.<br />
    Eka smiled, and blew a kiss. Lupen was smiling too, but it was
blurred by tears. Just like the force of a storm could form dunes in the
desert, Uno helped shape the world to benefit its residents. This
impossible being would return someday, but Lupen would be sand. This
would be their last ever encounter.<br />
    “Aristollo and Uno traveled together, didn’t they?” Lupen asked Eka
then.<br />
    Eka nodded, eyes on Uno and extending an arm around the Verido into
a tight, tight hug. “For many, many annums. They had a lot of fun
together.”<br />
    Vol, sure-footed, put a leg forward into the crevasse as if
expecting to step on land, and the large body began to fall…<br />
        Fall.<br />
            Fall.<br />
                Fall.<br />
    Lupen let out a cry. Eka gripped the Verido’s middle harder. They
stared as Vol tumbled head first, with surprising grace, straight into
the abyss. Uno’s yellow cape too was gradually absorbed by dark. Vol
began to sing as it fell, its enormous frame gradually enveloped by
nothing. The Rupture amplified the sound, like a great big orchestra lay
at the bottom of the chasm. The whole area rumbled, dust rose from the
walls as its legs scraped the edges, and then it was gone. Uno too had
gone, swallowed by the dust cloud.<br />
    Lupen continued to whistle then, more loudly, and more clearly than
ever. The song was about the end of an era, of the splendor of a world
inhabited by giants. Eka listened, eyes in the depths.<br />
    The Rupture felt limitless.<br />
    The two looked down, having quiet thoughts, each processing the
event in their own way. They stayed like this a while, hand in hand,
eyes fixed on the dark expanse. The Ilk of Volare was gone, and soon,
Bala and Oto would follow.<br />
    “Tiputa…” Lupen said aloud then, “we’re going to Tiputa.”<br />
    Eka nodded. “Plot a course! Captain oh captain Lu!”<br />
    “We need supplies.” Lupen said, voice clearing as the weight of the
day began to lift, like morning fog. There was life after this, just as
there was life in the Ash Plains.<br />
    “Actually, we’ll stop by Renate first, since its closest. Then,
we’re going to Tiputa,” Lupen said, lips curling into a slight grin, not
yet able to form a full smile. The body attached to these lips was eager
to see the Balandrians again, as well as Klev, Hush, Maka, Renzo, and
then Orin, and Bou, and all of Volare in Tiputa.<br />
    “Aye aye!” Eka shouted, shooting upright, hands in the air.<br />
    The Verido’s eyes looked inward, busy imagining Verido people on the
desert floor, struggling, their bodies swaying from left to right and
their faces green, swallowing back their sick. They would need guidance.
Guidance, patience and time.<br />
    Lupen was finally ready to take the helm.<br />
    Suddenly, this Verido felt there was an infinite amount of time in
the world. These eyes could see it written in the air, and in the sky,
forming a tapestry of opportunities for the future. Lupen was
excited.<br />
    “Then after that, we’ll go back to Montore for some babam cake and
tea. Not the food patch kind.”<br />
    “Oh yes, yes, that sounds good!” Eka exclaimed, mouth
watering.<br />
    Wiktopher the woth landed on Lupen’s head, beating its wings
wildly.<br />
    “Let’s go sandfinning.”<br />
    Toronka’s sails swallowed the Ash Plain air, taking it into its
lungs, and pulled their crew along toward their destination. Lupen and
Eka sat on deck, watching as the second of two suns neared the horizon,
narrowing to a sliver before disappearing.<br />
    They sandfinned in the dark. Having balanced the sails, both went to
lie on deck, eyes on the sky and lights overhead. Their fingers traced
along visible constellations, and together, they recited their
names.<br />
        “Salarus, Vitali, Neoneve…”</p>
<p>— <strong>Owari, the end</strong> —</p>
<h1 id="lexicon">Lexicon</h1>
<h2 id="locations">Locations</h2>
<h3 id="andenuis">Andenuis</h3>
<p>A mountaineous ridge housing the city of Irideri, the realm of the
Iridi.</p>
<h3 id="ash-plains">Ash plains</h3>
<p>Most think that the Ash Plains is a dead zone, where little grows and
nothing lives. The land is covered with black sands and salt. Terrible
storms brew there. It is feared by many sandfinnes because of its
numerous chasms, many have been charted, but new cracks keep
forming.</p>
<h3 id="central-rim">Central rim</h3>
<p>A belt of semi-arable land that circles the planet. Most of the water
stone wells are situated in this area, others be can found elsewhere but
may be further apart and more difficult to locate.</p>
<h3 id="colonies">Colonies</h3>
<p>During the Raids, the Iridi established colonies in far-away camps,
used as relief stations for soldiers, but also as temporary camps for
captives. These stations were equidistant, getting from one to the next
in cover of darkness was possible — a requirement for Iridi soldiers.
Most of the camps were evacuated when the raidings ceased, but rumor
spread that Bao left two standing. These settlements were built over
mines, known for their abundance of chloromyce shroos.</p>
<h3 id="dorakes-passage">Dorake’s passage</h3>
<p>Dorake’s passage is a long pass just yora’ta of the Andenuis Mountain
ridge, a pass that has claimed many sandfinners over the annums.</p>
<h3 id="edonor">Edonor</h3>
<p>The birthplace of Orin the tailor, and their grand-mapa Nok. Edonor
is a modern city, a fortress, made this way to keep out the Iridi foot
soldiers during the raids. It is now inhabited by a mixture of Finiku,
Terins and Aodals.</p>
<h3 id="irideri">Irideri</h3>
<p>The capital, and only city of the feared Iridi. The city is
protected, lying in the mountainous ridge belt of Mount Nui. The city is
exposed to light, but connects to numerous passes that lead inside the
mountain itself.</p>
<h3 id="kangoku">Kangoku</h3>
<p>A library in Irideri, consisting of books written by its habitants
only, with hand-made books.</p>
<h3 id="kippu">Kippu</h3>
<p>A Finiku road-side town of the Soronan desert.</p>
<h3 id="ministe">Ministe</h3>
<p>Ministe is the Terin capital, once a grand and green place, where
every variety of greenery could be found. They were the main exporters
of fruits and vegetables, and its habitants often went on long
pilgrimages to other cities to help them create green spaces. The
pilgrimages and the exports stopped when the Iridi attacked the city,
taking all of its workforce to work in the Irideri mines.</p>
<h3 id="montore-1">Montore</h3>
<p>Situated on the Central Rim, sanu’mawa of Edonor and Renate, and is
one of the largest cities of the land, second only to Edonor. It is
known for its extravagances, for being technologically advanced, with a
giant wind-powered cog generating power for the whole of the city. There
is talk of the city converting to gas for power, thanks to Beobug. Food
patches are prevalent here, and is the main source of nutrition. Coin
was also invented here, to simplify exhanges. Montore is the residence
of the Grand Leader Monty.</p>
<h3 id="renate">Renate</h3>
<p>Renate is an old refugee town, now the residence of many Aodals that
has evolved into a massive tent city. Many sought shelter there after
the Iridi Raids of Moera. A famous steel-master resides there.</p>
<h3 id="rupture">Rupture</h3>
<p>The Rupture, although feared by many, is a place of passing. It is a
deep chasm, seemingly infinite, a rip in the ground. The dying, or the
sick, accompanied by family, will journey there to take a leap into the
Rupture.</p>
<h3 id="soronan-desert">Soronan desert</h3>
<p>The Soronan Desert is a vast desert wildnerness stretching over the
Central Rim and the Northern and Southern Plains. It is a continous body
of sand which occupies most of the planet.</p>
<h3 id="southern-dust-plains">Southern dust plains</h3>
<p>A region of flat lands which rims the planet, and where little grows.
Many sandfinners travel through here to make quick passages to other
areas, since the land has no protrusions, the wind screams by
unhindered.</p>
<h3 id="suvalba-sanctuary">Suvalba Sanctuary</h3>
<p>After the fall of Ministe, some of the surviving Terins created the
sanctuary to provide a safe haven for growing sproutlings. It became a
seed repository, for all the plants in the Soronan desert.</p>
<h3 id="the-ear">The Ear</h3>
<p>Where the Voice stands atop the head when speaking to an Ilk. The
short form of The Ear of the Ilk.</p>
<h3 id="tiputa">Tiputa</h3>
<p>A road-side down in the Soronan desert, inhabited by a handful of
Finiku.</p>
<h3 id="volare">Volare</h3>
<p>One of three cities, built on the back of the Ilk Vol. Volare is also
the name of one of the founders of the three cities, the ones who
befriended the desert walkers, and that first settled on the Ilk. Lupen
and Mago are direct descendants of Volare, which earns them the right to
be the Voice of Volare.</p>
<h2 id="characters">Characters</h2>
<h3 id="armyn">Armyn</h3>
<p>Mapa to Mago, and now retired Voice of Volare due to a shroo
infection.</p>
<h3 id="averet">Averet</h3>
<p>A guard of the city of Montore. Averet longs for bigger things in
life, but never makes the effort to move towards that goal and complains
of it constantly.</p>
<h3 id="bao">Bao</h3>
<p>The second monarch of the Iridi, also known as Bao The Bright. Bao
was stern, but just. This leader thought it necessary to put a stop to
the raids, and attempted to make peace with the world, but it was poorly
received, given how many were still held captive in the mines. Bao
thought it best then to close the kingdom of Irideri to the world.</p>
<h3 id="bariton">Bariton</h3>
<p>The current caretaker of a puzzle museum in Irideri, former collegue
of Hori. Bariton is clever and witty, and likes to speak their mind, but
few in Irideri care to lend them their ears.</p>
<h3 id="bou">Bou</h3>
<p>Child of Orin. Bou lives in the road-town of Tiputa. Bou is a
mechanic, they have a shop in the village and tend to the repairs needed
by travelers, and inhabitants of the small city.</p>
<h3 id="demeri">Demeri</h3>
<p>The Light of Lights in Irideri. Demeri is a stern leader, feared by
all.</p>
<h3 id="dot">Dot</h3>
<p>A Finiku and representative of the Great Leader Monty. Dot addresses
crowds in Monty’s name, and has many grand plans for the city of
Montore.</p>
<h3 id="enji">Enji</h3>
<p>Enji is the head guard of the Court of Light in Irideri. Enji was
once friend to Renzo, they enjoyed playing Hako together.</p>
<h3 id="eka">Eka</h3>
<p>A round-eared creature with red hair that Lupin awoke atop a nameless
mountain. Eka is loudspoken, and knows a lot about the world.</p>
<h3 id="etyl">Etyl</h3>
<p>A famous Finiku sandfinner, known the world over for having crossed
the whole of the land alone by sandfin. Etyl is grand-mapa to Nono.</p>
<h3 id="gree">Gree</h3>
<p>An old acquaintance of Nono, who cares a lot for coins and titles.
Gree is the captain of Beobug II.</p>
<h3 id="hori">Hori</h3>
<p>A skilled and joke-prone puzzlemaker in Irideri, mapa to Noko, now
deceased after a terrible accident in the city’s foundry.</p>
<h3 id="hush">Hush</h3>
<p>A hyroo and friend of Eka, and the one that carries the two travelers
across the desert plains. Hush has an enormous appetite.</p>
<h3 id="kit">Kit</h3>
<p>A hyroo and friend of Uno. Kit is very large and has spots all over
its fur coat.</p>
<h3 id="klev">Klev</h3>
<p>Klev is the appointed Voice of the Balandri Ilk. Klev is tall,
confident and out-going, no other Voice steps off the Ilk when it
arrives at a new town.</p>
<h3 id="kurono">Kurono</h3>
<p>The young heir to the throne of Irideri, child to Demeri. Kurono is
very good at solving puzzles.</p>
<h3 id="kuzi">Kuzi</h3>
<p>A resident of Montore, who has a knack for getting into trouble. Kuzi
is addicted to Kavava, and has difficulty functionning in the real
world.</p>
<h3 id="laggra">Laggra</h3>
<p>Levi’s mapa, the one who built the family home and that helped to
create the safety line system from the Ilk’s back to the top of its
head.</p>
<h3 id="laris">Laris</h3>
<p>A frail-bodied refugee who has little hope in the world.</p>
<h3 id="levi">Levi</h3>
<p>Lupen’s mapa, now deceased. Levi was stricken with an impairment that
involves a progressive loss of language, behavior and executive
functions in the end. Levi’s work as Hand of the Ilk saved Vol from a
major parasitical infection many years ago, one that threatened the
creature’s digestive system.</p>
<h3 id="lupen">Lupen</h3>
<p>A Verido in the running to become Voice of Volare. Lupin is a
curious, caring creature, but hates being alone.</p>
<h3 id="mago">Mago</h3>
<p>Child of Armyn, in the running to become Voice of Volare, and also
cousin and best friend to Lupen. Mago has a way of being good at
everything.</p>
<h3 id="maka">Maka</h3>
<p>Maka is the unofficial leader of the city of Renate. A kind person,
trusted by all. Maka is a skilled metal-worker, and mentor to Renzo.</p>
<h3 id="maliss">Maliss</h3>
<p>The former head of the Volare nursery, responsible for ensuring that
the gowing young are healthy, and for keeping the population on the Ilk
in balance.</p>
<h3 id="mapoleon">Mapoleon</h3>
<p>A cartographer based in Renate. Mapoleon has traveled all around the
Sononan desert to map it. Passing travelers often stop by to communicate
noteworthy changes, which Mapoleon appends to the main map displayed
outside thei tent, or to request changes to their own maps.</p>
<h3 id="moera">Moera</h3>
<p>Also known as The Luminary, and The First Light, is the first ruler
of the Iridi people. Blinded and disfigured by an accident, Moera
announced that the city would live under the light of the chloromyce
shroos alone, and brought the Iridi people into an age of perpetual
darkness.</p>
<h3 id="monty">Monty</h3>
<p>Grand leader of the city of Montore. Monty is a genius and inventor
who has propelled Montore to fame, with such inventions as: the great
cog and food patches.</p>
<h3 id="nok">Nok</h3>
<p>Grand-mapa of Orin, a renowned tailor from the town of Edonor.</p>
<h3 id="noko">Noko</h3>
<p>Child of Hori, died at a young age.</p>
<h3 id="nono">Nono</h3>
<p>A proud, righteous, and skilled sandfinner. Nono is captain to Etyl,
a yellow-hulled sandfin. Nono has skilled hands, and can repair any part
of a sandfin.</p>
<h3 id="orin">Orin</h3>
<p>Orin is the child of Nok and grand-mapa of Bou. Orin is a skilled
tailor, trained by their mapa, both worked in their workshop in Edonor.
Orin loves fine thread, and loves to make risque items, using bright
colours and complex patterns.</p>
<h3 id="ponopo">Ponopo</h3>
<p>Nono’s dependable messenger woth. Ponopo knows the whole of the land,
and can deliver messages anywhere.</p>
<h3 id="pumra">Pumra</h3>
<p>The Reader for the Ilk city of Volare, mapa to Rosmus.</p>
<h3 id="renzo">Renzo</h3>
<p>A former guard in the Court of Light, now a metalworker studying
under Maka in Renate. Renzo uses the name Iri while in Renate.</p>
<h3 id="rosmus">Rosmus</h3>
<p>Child to Pumra and friend to Lupen, living in the Ilk city of Volare.
Rosmus ought to be trained as a Pattern Reader, but cares more for
pottery.</p>
<h3 id="ten">Ten</h3>
<p>An Iri, servant to Kurono in the city of Irideri. Iri was given the
name Ten by Kurono, after the number 10 in base 16.</p>
<h3 id="uno">Uno</h3>
<p>A generous giant, who travels with a hyroo named Kit. Not much is
known of this being, but it is thought that Uno has been around for a
long time.</p>
<h3 id="vol">Vol</h3>
<p>Vol is the nickname of the Ilk of Volare. Vol has another name, but
it is long and few can pronounce it.</p>
<h3 id="waldek">Waldek</h3>
<p>A clever leafhound and resident of Zucca’s oasis, serving as guide to
Lupen and Eka.</p>
<h3 id="wiktopher">Wiktopher</h3>
<p>A messenger woth, friend to Lupen and Eka. Wiktopher is also the name
of someone that Eka knew and traveled with, a long time ago.</p>
<h3 id="zucca">Zucca</h3>
<p>A Terin and caretaker of a hidden oasis in the desert. Known by many,
Zucca has a reputation for being a grouch. This Terin has much knowledge
when it comes to gardening, but is reluctant to share it.</p>
<h3 id="fauna">Fauna</h3>
<h3 id="aodal">Aodal</h3>
<p>There are many Aodals in the Soronan desert. They are tall, and have
small pointed ears, their skin is brown and their hair comes in a
variety of browns and blacks. Their faces are relatively flat, and
round, with thin eyes. They live primarily in cities like Montore and
Edonor, but are also found in Renate.</p>
<h3 id="crested-hirudines">Crested-hirudines</h3>
<p>Crested-hirudines are reptavians with a wide range, spanning the
entire Soronan Desert. Their head crest is bright red and their body
scales are blue, shifting to bright green at the throat. They are
recognizable by their quick jerky flight. They are sociable reptavians,
a dozen to many hundred pairs will nest close together. The nests are in
tunnels in the sand. Crested-hirudines are very common, they eat almost
anything, but they enjoy looberry fruits the most.</p>
<h3 id="durdle">Durdle</h3>
<p>Shy creatures that like to retreat within their shells, they move
very slowly and sleep for most of the day.</p>
<h3 id="false-mosslings">False-mosslings</h3>
<p>Insects that mimic mosslings, they have curvy antennae, unlike the
true mosslings. Unlike the insect that they mimic, they like lemilim
grass, and hate mepperpint. This is a relatively new species.</p>
<h3 id="finiku">Finiku</h3>
<p>A race of sandfinners, or at least, they used to be, many have left
their nomadic ways to settle in towns. They’re very skilled, and
dextrous, able to make precise repairs. They are very short, pot-bellied
creatures, with long droopy ears, and large wet globulous eyes. Their
skin is tan, their faces round and flat. Finiku also have small hands
and feet. They love to drink, every household produces their own
wine.</p>
<h3 id="floater">Floater</h3>
<p>A round floating creature, that changes colour depending on its mood.
It is orange when normal, red when angry, and yellow when confused. They
have a set of tiny wings on their sides, tiny black dots for eyes and a
slit for a mouth. They live in small groups, and love sweet grass. If
threatened, the creature will throw itself upon an enemy, its skin is
like goo and sticks to its victims. The skin can become as hot as hot
coals, prolonged exposure can kill.</p>
<h3 id="hesper">Hesper</h3>
<p>Hespers are very rare, they bloom into existence every ha’annum, but
most never see them. They are large winged creatures with soft plumage,
they remain in constant flight, soaring on the wind. It is thought that
they have short lives, and that they regress to a polyp stage into the
earth, to bloom again at a later time. Hespers are thought to be
immortal.</p>
<h3 id="hololomimo">Hololomimo</h3>
<p>Hololomimos are small reptavians without tails, big mouths and red
eyes. They have furry yellow and orange bodies and scaly heads. They
have a small wing span, permitting them to fly, but they spend most of
their time crawling on ceilings and walls. Their thin winged arms are
topped with hook-like fingers that permit these sorts of acrobatics.
Hololomimos used to live on nests in mountains, but have adapted to
living in constructed city dwellings. They’ve been sighted in Montore
and in Irideri. They primarily feed on shroos.</p>
<h3 id="hyroo">Hyroo</h3>
<p>Hyroos are large creatures with big parabolic ears, and strong hind
legs. They have sand-coloured fur, with darker spots on their bodies.
Their snouts are large, they can smell and hear things from far, far
away. These beasts are known for being able to run and jump long
distances with little effort. They grow in moist environments, although
they are thought to be extinct…</p>
<h3 id="ilk">Ilk</h3>
<p>The Ilks or The giant walkers of the Soronan desert. These creatures
are old, and walk around the planet all annum long. Its distinctive
features include its long neck, narrow chest, a heavy pointed tail, a
carapace and collection of hairs on its nape, throat and shoulders. The
coat is generally a shade of dark blue, red and green. There are three
Ilk in existence: Otora, Balandri and Volare (named after the three
Verido founders). Each Ilk bears a city on its back, its inhabitants are
mostly self-sufficient, but rely on outside help to feed the Ilk because
of its immense appetite, and size.<br />
To communicate with each other, Ilk produce low-frequency vocalizations
at high amplitudes such that they couple with the ground and travel
along the surface of the desert. Far away Ilk are able to pick up these
seismic signals, these vibrations can be detected by the skin of an
Ilk’s feet, which relay the resonant vibrations. Their large size
permits great propagation range.</p>
<h3 id="imperia">Imperia</h3>
<p>Imperias are considered to be some of the largest flying reptavians.
They have the largest wingspan, which may reach up to 39 mirits. They
fly like soaring avians, keeping their wings streched and rarely
flapping. They have long, strong beaks, that are narrow and widen at the
end. Their body is grey and white, but their heads and beak are yellow
and black. They primarily eat cactubs, effectively paralyzing them by
clapping their wings. Like Ilk, these creatures are more and more
rare.</p>
<h3 id="iridi">Iridi</h3>
<p>The Iridi reside within the protective ridge of Mount Nui in the city
of Irideri. They revere the light of the chloromyce shroos, their very
way of life is centred around the harvesting and ingesting of this
plant. Like the chloromyce, they live and operate in the dark, and sleep
during the day. Once Aodals, ingesting the shroos have caused them to
become sensitive to light. The entire realm is alit with chloromyce,
especially the reigning Light of Lights who wears them.</p>
<h3 id="leafhound">Leafhound</h3>
<p>Leafhounds are orange, leaf-tailed and have a set of antennae on
their heads. They live amongst Terins, there are less of them now
because of the events in Ministe and Suvalba. They guard nurseries and
fields of plants, keeping them safe, while checking on their health.</p>
<h3 id="mossling">Mossling</h3>
<p>Pale insects that like to burrow inside fresh produce, making homes
of them. Their presence in the fruit causes them to rot, many farmers
despise them for it. They hate lemilim grass, planting some near other
produce helps to keep them at bay.</p>
<h3 id="mudbears">Mudbears</h3>
<p>Tiny little insects that burrow into waterstones, they ooze a
substance that can be very poisonous.</p>
<h3 id="papilion">Papilion</h3>
<p>Papilions are tiny fuzzy creatures, that have no visible limbs or
features. They travel with the wind and in the hairs of passing
habitants of the Soronan desert. It is said that when they find suitable
soil, they sink within it and will sprout into Hespers, fabled creatures
of old. A famous expression makes use of these creatures: ‘having
papilions in your throat’, means being kept from speaking due to
anxiety.</p>
<h3 id="pomparu">Pomparu</h3>
<p>A creature, feared by all, because of its horrid stink. Pomparu are
plump, pale, six-legged creatures, they bear spots over their bodies.
They like stinky things, and are drawn to them. The word ‘pomparu’ is
sometimes used as an insult, or used to describe a foul-smelling food,
person or object.</p>
<h3 id="seshell-krab">Seshell krab</h3>
<p>Seshell krabs are pearly white creatures that bear a shell with a
face. It is thought that if you do them harm, they will remember your
face and chase you to the ends of the deserts. They have a near
indestructible shell, it is used to make pottery and other hard
materials. The world used to be populated by many of these creatures,
changes in weather have caused many to die, but the disintegrated shells
have contributed to much good in the land. The sheshell krab dust helped
form a hard membrane around the pearled-up water, thusly preserving the
water of the planet near the surface.</p>
<h3 id="snakadil">Snakadil</h3>
<p>A type of small reptavian that moves just under the top layer of
sand. When surprised, snakadil suffocate their victims.</p>
<h3 id="sooty-agocet">Sooty agocet</h3>
<p>Sooty agocets are small agocets that live in the sand, their fins
pushing them through grains with ease. Although, they enjoy staying
still, their bodies buried while their heads stick out. Their bodies are
black, and they’re only found in the Ash Plains.<br />
They like to leap out of the sand and to glide through the air for a
time to evade sand-dwelling predators, although while in flight, they
are weak to avians and reptavians. Because their bodies match the sand,
it is difficult for predators to see them from overhead. They eat
smaller agocets and tiny organisms hidden in the sand, imperceptible to
most.</p>
<h3 id="terin">Terin</h3>
<p>Terins are growers and carers, they have green thumbs and can make
any garden, and population healthy. Their numbers are fewer these days,
given the Iridi Raids. They have dark skin, and very bright eyes. They
have thick foreams, fingers and legs, and have two-toed feet. Their
physique is overall strong.</p>
<h3 id="vennec">Vennec</h3>
<p>Vennecs are large, humpbacked, furry beasts with thin snouts, large
pointy ears and a long slender neck. Their ears are big to better
dissipate heat. They are often used to pull heavy carts, because they
are very strong and can walk a long time without being hungry or
thirsty. Vennec carry water in their humps and store grains in their
cheeks.</p>
<h3 id="verido">Verido</h3>
<p>Verido are traveling merchants living on the backs of Ilk. They are
divided onto three Ilks: Oto, Bala, and Vol, and the coloured patterns
on their bodies reflect this. Verido have sand-coloured hair, and
trumpet-like ears that stick out horizontally. They enjoy decorating
their bodies with colourful trinkets. They rarely leave the back of
their Ilk because of landsickness.</p>
<h3 id="woth">Woth</h3>
<p>Messenger woths are sturdy creatures, they fit in the palm of your
hand. They have excellent memories, and can travel long distances. Many
use them as a means of sending messages to other cities. They can carry
items many times their own weight.</p>
<h2 id="flora">Flora</h2>
<h3 id="babam">Babam</h3>
<p>A starchy tuber, pink on the inside, that softens when cooked. Babam
is nutrient-rich, and grows everywhere.</p>
<h3 id="banabo">Banabo</h3>
<p>A tall, tree-like plant. Its trunk is wide and dense and it is often
used as a material to build houses and other hard structures. Its top
leaves are often used as brooms and to weave decorative items.</p>
<h3 id="bibiskiss">Bibiskiss</h3>
<p>A purple flowery herb that is often infused to make tea. When brewed,
the colour leeches into the drink.</p>
<h3 id="bobonion">Bobonion</h3>
<p>A spicy octagonal vegetable, enveloped in a thick black rind. The
inside is soft, and can be scooped out with a tool. Bobonion taste just
as strong as they smell.</p>
<h3 id="bonan">Bonan</h3>
<p>A berry, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind, which
may be orange or purple when ripe. The seeds are roasted and brewed for
tea, or eaten as a snack. Finiku love to make wine with it. The rind of
the berry is used to make plates, and other recipients for cooking.</p>
<h3 id="cactub">Cactub</h3>
<p>A Cactub is a nutritious, bulbous root vegetable primarily found in
the Northern Plains, where waterstones are scarce. Their outer core is
hard, and covered in tiny protrusions called ‘nubs’. These nubs helps
the cactub move in and out of the ground. The flesh is a white colour,
and has a markedly higher fat content than other vegetables. It can be
made into cactub oil, it has a high smoke point, making it the ideal
cooking oil. Cactubs are a Finiku favourite, served sliced on muckwheat
bread. They spend most of their time underground, and only emerge in the
dark to gather moisture from the surrounding air. Cactubs are
sensititive to loud noises and movements, and they temporarily seize
when panicked.</p>
<h3 id="chilabi">Chilabi</h3>
<p>Chilabi was a popular ingredient in Aodal cuisine. A hot, pungent
condiment that burns the nose, and that is be painful depending on the
amount consumed. It is a short, and stout pink rhizome. It is grown on
the outskirts of Renate, in a valley with a few yukwood trees. Chilabi
grows over waterstone pits, its roots digging deep and latching onto
stones. Their roots are strong enough to pierce them. This plant is only
ever consumed in Renate, as it loses its pungency not too long after
harvest.</p>
<h3 id="chloromyce-shroo">Chloromyce shroo</h3>
<p>A type of fungus that emits strong phosphorescent light, it grows in
caves, underground where there is no light. It is an object of desire
for the Iridi, who have fought wars in its name.</p>
<h3 id="conk-shroo">Conk shroo</h3>
<p>Conks are hard, woody, cave-dwelling shroos. They are found in
mountainous areas, and used to make a variety of objects. Conks can also
be eaten, but the texture makes it difficult to chew.</p>
<h3 id="hampa">Hampa</h3>
<p>One of the first plants to be spun into usable fiber, but it has
fallen out of style in recent annums. Sandfinners continue to use it to
make their sails, as it is a sturdy material. The plant is large, with
thick broad leaves. It can be found in the Central Rim, near waterstone
wells.</p>
<h3 id="kaba">Kaba</h3>
<p>The Kaba plant has a thick orange trunk, with thousands of stems
growing from its sides, each, with a two-headed red flower. These plants
have the unique property of growing onto other living beings, like
plants or large creatures. They have a symbiotic relationship. A strong
alcohol — with numbing properties — is made from the fruit of the Kaba
plant</p>
<h3 id="karonin">Karonin</h3>
<h3 id="kavava">Kavava</h3>
<p>Kavava is a leafy plant, but the roots is what most people choose to
use. The roots are harvested, cleaned, dried and broken up into smaller
bits and sold. It can be chewed as is, or pounded to a powder and made
into a tea, although it loses some of its ‘numbing’ properties this way.
If chewed, kavava numbs the mind and body from first sunrise to first
sunset, it may also cause some minor hallucinations. Many become
addicted to it.</p>
<h3 id="lanivanil">Lanivanil</h3>
<p>Lanivanil plants grow almost completely underground, with just a
single flower sticking out of the soil. The flower is a bright yellow,
and is very sensitive to changes in the environment. It is said that if
music is played near a lanivanil plant, that the bleen will grow to be
larger and sweeter. Lanivanil bleen pods develop underground, and each
pod can contain up to three bleen. These pods are circular, the size of
a fist. Lanivanil is sweet tasting, the roots can be ground up and used
to augment dishes. The bleen can be eaten as is, or each bleen can be
sliced open, its insides scooped out, to be eaten or cooked in savoury
dishes.</p>
<h3 id="lavendiri">Lavendiri</h3>
<p>A purple bulbous flower that is often dried and used in homes to
cover bad smells or freshen a room. When the dried and crushed leaves
are mixed with a waterstone, the powder thickens into a gel. The gel is
often smeared under the nose in situations where a nearby stink is too
strong. This plant also leaves a pleasant feeling on the skin.</p>
<h3 id="looberry">Looberry</h3>
<p>A sweet eatable fruit with a hard outer shell, often used as a dye.
Verido people love looberries, they use it to paint their hair and faces
blue during special events, it is also used as an ink.</p>
<h3 id="lemilim">Lemilim</h3>
<p>A culinary herb with a subtle tang, used fresh or dried. It has
antifungal properties. It is often steeped as tea.</p>
<h3 id="licky-root">Licky root</h3>
<p>Grown for its roots, which have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial
effects. This plant is very hardy, it grows in high-altitude areas.</p>
<h3 id="looma-root">Looma root</h3>
<p>A climbing vine with small eatable cream-coloured heart-shaped roots.
Verido love looma roots, and even if they aren’t endemic to the Ilk’s
back, they have found a way to make it grow there.</p>
<h3 id="mapple">Mapple</h3>
<p>Mapples are heart-shaped fruits with smooth ribbed skin that grow to
be the size of a fist. The fruit is a bright orange, but can also be
spotted with yellow. The fruit should be peeled if eaten raw, but if
braised the skin will soften and thusly be made eatable. Mapples are
either very sweet, or very bitter, only those who have experience in
picking these fruits known which is which.</p>
<h3 id="medililly">Medililly</h3>
<p>A rare plant, grown for its medicinal properties. It is hard to grow,
requiring much water and attention. Medililly takes annums to grow to
maturity (the only time when the plant gains its healing properties). It
is used to reduce inflammation. Immersing the leaf in water, and
consumming the soaking liquid everyday is enough to keep sickness at
bay.</p>
<h3 id="mepperpint">Mepperpint</h3>
<p>A leafy plant with rounded bulbs hanging from a thick central stem.
Its leaves have a warm pungent taste with a cooling aftertaste. It is
thought that consumming too much mepperpint can cause your eyes to
sprout leaves.</p>
<h3 id="muckwheat">Muckwheat</h3>
<p>A plant cultivated for its grain-like seeds. These seeds are rich in
complex carbohydrates, and can be ground down into flour. It is popular
with the Finiku people, made into bread or cooked into stews.</p>
<h3 id="norange">Norange</h3>
<p>A sweet, and bitter fruit with a thick rind. It has a fragant smell,
and can calm the mind. It pairs well with norcorn patties.</p>
<h3 id="norcorn">Norcorn</h3>
<p>The leafy stalk of the norcorn plant produces inflorescences called
nubs that yield bright yellow seeds. This plant is heat tolerant, its
root system is deep and reaches deep underground. There are 5-6 seeds
per nub, these can be ground up and made into flour to make Soronan
Desert favourites like norcorn patties. The entire nubs and their seeds
(which are held together by a stalk) can be grilled as is. With enough
heat, the seeds explode into bright orange puffs which are eaten as a
snack during special events. There have been events when the environing
heat was too hot that an entire norcorn field exploded into puffs,
referred to as a ‘Puff Event’.</p>
<h3 id="nuni">Nuni</h3>
<p>Nuni is a starchy tuber with bright yellow flesh, it has a taste and
smell that could best be described as being robust. If eaten, it stains
the inside of your mouth yellow for a time.</p>
<h3 id="nutshroo">Nutshroo</h3>
<p>A type of fungus that grows in habited areas, like cities, they even
grow on the skin of Ilks. Many residents promote their growth on their
own houses, nutshroos like growing on materials like banabo. Banabo
often has colonies of this fungus already present, residents do not
strip them of the material, they keep them, this assures a constant
supply of food.</p>
<h3 id="peagram">Peagram</h3>
<p>A type of pulse growing from a thorny bush, with large seedpods
filled with a green liquid that contain 10-15 peas. It is said that this
liquid is klorea from past harvesters, and that the pulse owes its
sweetness and nutrition to this. The harvesters from the old days would
pick the pods without wearing gloves, and the thorns would cut their
skin. Everytime a meal with peagram is consumed, the eater thanks the
harvesters aloud for their sacrifice: “Estre danki.”</p>
<h3 id="plumpkins">Plumpkins</h3>
<p>A large purple root vegetable, its skin is covered in scales. The
scales can be peeled off, revealing the bright and soft red flesh
underneath. Plumpkins can be processed into juice, or fermented to make
plumpkin ale.</p>
<h3 id="shroo">Shroo</h3>
<p>A fleshy plant that grows in low-light areas. Some varieties are
eatable, others poisonous and can cause serious physical and cognitive
dammage.</p>
<h3 id="sweet-grass">Sweet grass</h3>
<p>A type of grass that is hair-like and sweet-tasting. Many creatures
have an intense attraction towards them, especially floaters.</p>
<h3 id="teaweet">Teaweet</h3>
<p>A staple grain for all inhabitants of the Soronan Desert. It is easy
to grow, requiring little water. It is the main feed source of the Ilk.
Teaweet is used to make bread.</p>
<h3 id="trumpet-flower">Trumpet flower</h3>
<p>A plant that grows on the Ilk’s back. The bowl of the flower contains
a syrupy fluid, often consumed as a very strong and delibilitating drug.
It is diluted, and served as a drink during celebrations.</p>
<h3 id="waternilly">Waternilly</h3>
<p>Waternillies are small plants with long, and complex root systems
that dig deep into the sand to reach far-away sources of moisture.
Habitants of the Soronan desert use them to locate waterstone wells,
they typically grow overtop of such sites in great numbers.Because of
their ability to find water, they’re a common target for thirsty desert
travelers. They protect themselves from predators by folding in their
petals. The outside of the petals secrete an irritant, used to deter
attackers. If ingested, the poison will attack the nervous system and
cause generalized paralysis. For a thirsty, dehydrated traveler, laying
out in the suns can result in death.<br />
Large avians are well-adapted at hunting them. They beat their wings and
cover it in sand to soak up the poison, then break it off its stem with
their talons. Only strong avians can manage this.</p>
<h3 id="waterstone-wells">Waterstone wells</h3>
<p>Water stones are found in pockets of air underground, some wells may
carry as much as thousand stones or as little as a hundred. There are 4
craters: the Lorana crater, the Toko crater, the Norlok crater and the
Ratus crater. All of these were once basins full of water. Overtime, the
water receded into the soil and began to pearl, a result of the
composition of the sand on the planet, which helped to form a hard
membrane. Because the planet is mostly sand dunes, some of the craters
were partially filled.</p>
<h3 id="yukwood">Yukwood</h3>
<p>Yukwood grows quickly in full suns and hot temperatures. It is an
excellent shade, drought-resistant tree, able to grow 80 mirits high. It
has bright-green foliage with leathery leaves. It produces yellowish
puffy flowers in the colder season. Sandfinners like to use yukwood to
build sandfin masts, and interiors. Older sandfins were built out of
this wood entirely, but that practice is rare now.</p>
<h2 id="constellations">Constellations</h2>
<h3 id="encela">Encela</h3>
<p>One of the moons circling this planet, commonly referred to as the
twins.</p>
<h3 id="protus">Protus</h3>
<p>One of the moons circling this planet, commonly referred to as the
twins.</p>
<h2 id="other-food-and-drinks">Other food and drinks</h2>
<h3 id="bonan-wine">Bonan wine</h3>
<p>A strong wine made from the bonan plant, a starchy berry that grows
in the central rim.</p>
<h3 id="food-patches">Food patches</h3>
<p>A patch that if applied to the skin ensures good nutrition, it comes
in a variety of flavors mimicking real food. It was invented by the
grand leader of Montore Monty, and helped to stave off hunger during the
Iridi Raids.</p>
<h3 id="kabacho">Kabacho</h3>
<p>A fermented drink made from the fermented fruit of the Kaba plant. To
prepare kabacho, the fruit is left in water to ferment in the sun for
half an annum. Kabacho has mouth-numbing qualities.</p>
<h3 id="smellydough">Smellydough</h3>
<p>A fermented woodgeon berry and water mixture with a strong smell and
taste. It must be fed everyday to stay healthy. The more it smells, the
better the flavor.</p>
<h2 id="entertainment">Entertainment</h2>
<h3 id="chilabi-plusa-game">Chilabi Plusa Game</h3>
<p>Renate residents like to play a game called Chilabi Plusa—to mean,
chilabi with somethings extra— where each gets an identical dumpling and
must eat it in turns. All contain chilabi, but only one of dumplings has
10x the amount, enough to make you cry, sweat or cough. The goal of the
game is to hide your discomfort if you get the spicy dumpling, or to
pretend you got it when you didn’t. It’s up to others to guess the
truth. Chilabi Plusa is an acting game where the best pretender
wins.</p>
<h3 id="donmol">Donmol</h3>
<p>A plucked instrument with 4 double strings, a long neck and a raised
fingerboard. It has a flat back, with triangular soundholes. The donmol
is played during special events in Verido cities.</p>
<h3 id="hako-game">Hako game</h3>
<p>Hako is a capture game popular with Iridi soldiers. Each player
carries a <strong>Sonozai</strong>, a set of four dice with a braided
hempa string, a thread which binds all things (dark and day). Seasoned
players make and carry their own, made out of soft stone.</p>
<h3 id="habitants-of-the-dark-1">Habitants of the dark</h3>
<p>A history book written by Aristollo, explaining how the Iridi came to
start ingesting chloromyce shroos.</p>
<h3 id="nohiyara-game">Nohi’yara game</h3>
<p>A smelling game. Jars of spices are covered with a thin cloth, and
each person has to smell and guess the spice aloud. Whoever got the most
right wins the game.</p>
<h3 id="koutra">Koutra</h3>
<p>A plucked instrument with a small round body, made from a looberry
shell. The neck is 1 mirit long, and pierces the body. Koutras are
simple instruments, usually put together by children.</p>
<h2 id="professions">Professions</h2>
<h3 id="beobug-1">Beobug</h3>
<p>The name of a cargo sandfin company in Montore. Beobug sandfins
follow the Ilks to gather kapo to turn into fuel, a process they’re able
to do while aboard.</p>
<h3 id="reader">Reader</h3>
<p>Those who master the art of Pattern reading, which consists of
reading the lines present on the skin of every Verido. It is a skill
passed down from master to student.</p>
<h3 id="sandfinner">Sandfinner</h3>
<p>Those who travel the desert by sandfin, a vessel powered by wind.
Sandfinners are typically Finiku people.</p>
<h3 id="the-hands">The Hands</h3>
<p>Short for The Hands of the Ilk. Hands inspect the Ilk’s body for
signs of disease or wounds. It is dangerous work, many have fallen and
died while on the job.</p>
<h3 id="voice">Voice</h3>
<p>A traditional Verido role, the ones appointed to speak to an Ilk.
Only descendants of the founders can be Voice. Voices communicate
messages between the Ilk and the inhabitants of the city.</p>
<h2 id="misc">Misc</h2>
<h3 id="annum">Annum</h3>
<p>An annum follows the growing cycle of teaweet, which takes 240 twin
sunrises. Habitants of the Soronan Desert communicate time by gathering
annums in a group:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>ko’annum — 640 annums ki’annum — 320 annums haty’annum — A0 annums
ha’annum — 10 annums</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="horo">Horo</h3>
<p>A unit of kaala, conventionally reckoned as 1⁄16 of a day. The rhythm
of the world is based on the heart beats of an Ilk, which beats at 80
beats per quarter horo. There are 320 beats per horo, and 16 horos in a
day. Days are typically divided by 4: First sunrise, second sunrise,
first sunset and second sunset.</p>
<h3 id="iri">Iri</h3>
<p>Iri is the name given to all who serve the Court of Light, every
servant shares this name. An Iri has no voice, no opinion and no value
to anyone in the Kingdom of Irideri.</p>
<h3 id="isilk">Isilk</h3>
<p>A sought-after fabric made from Ilk hair. Every Ilk has a subtle coat
pigmentation that is barely discernible to the inexperienced.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Vol has a blue coat Bala has a red coat Oto has a green coat</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="kaala">Kaala</h3>
<p>An old Verido word to mean ‘time’, an onomatopoeia describing the
sound the heart of an Ilk makes.</p>
<h3 id="klorea">Klorea</h3>
<p>Klorea is any of several related green pigments found in the cells of
beings of the Soronan desert. It allows them to absorb energy from
light. Klorealines are important to the Verido and the Iridi.</p>
<h3 id="klorealines">Klorealines</h3>
<p>A set of ancestors or line of descent of an important person: the
survival of a legitimate royal klorealine.</p>
<h3 id="sandfin">Sandfin</h3>
<p>A vessel for desert travel, that uses wind to propel itself forward.
The sandfin is a Finiku invention, in fact, in the old times most were
nomadic and traveled the desert in this way. The vessel is
flat-bottomed, with twin keels on either side to prevent it from tipping
in big weather. A rudder and tiller is affixed to the stern and aids in
steering the vessel, although the main way to steer with a sandfin is by
means of trimming the sails, kept up with a tall mast. Sandfinners carry
a wide variety of sails (made from Hampa), for many strengths of wind.
Some sandfins, like the Beobug supply ships, are much larger and can
have two or more masts. These also, use other means of propulsion like
gas, which they also process and produce onboard.</p>
<h3 id="specter">Specter</h3>
<p>Name given to those in Montore who don’t have ID. They are considered
to not-exist, and cannot enter the city. It is also used as an
expression, to refer to those who live alone, outside of
communities.</p>
<h3 id="mapa">Mapa</h3>
<p>A term of endearment, used by the child of the bearing parent.</p>
<h3 id="mirit">Mirit</h3>
<p>The mirit is a unit of measurement for length in the Soronan desert.
The length of a mirit corresponds to the height of Mirit, the shortest
Finiku to have ever lived. Thought to have originated in Montore, with
people were using Mirit (a stone worker) to measure stones for the great
outer wall of the city. Of course, they did this for a laugh, but it was
soon adopted in other cities. People made rods of wood or metal with
Mirit’s height.</p>
<h3 id="pattern-reading">Pattern reading</h3>
<p>The art of reading Verido skin patterns, a skill very few possess.
The patterns reveal the Verido’s name, as well as their lineage. When
the Verido come of age and that their patterns stop changing, their
names are read to them.<br />
Verido children bear the names of their grand-mapa while waiting for
their names.</p>
<h3 id="toronka-1">Toronka</h3>
<p>Toronka is the name of the sandfin of Eka and Lupen. They salvaged
the disowned and damaged vessel, that had been left to rot on the border
of Renate. With the help of many friends, they fixed it up and made it
their own.</p>
<h2 id="events">Events</h2>
<h3 id="green-day">Green day</h3>
<p>The day that the sproutling was taken from the ground, it is usually
celebrated within small closely-knit communities. Many throw elaborate
parties, banquets in the honor of the young.</p>
<h3 id="iridi-raids">Iridi raids</h3>
<p>A difficult time for many, when the Iridi sent out soldiers to
various cities to capture workers to work the Irideri mines, to collect
chloromyce shroos. This event caused a great imbalance in the world, and
nearly decimated all of the Terin population.</p>
<h3 id="leaping-day">Leaping day</h3>
<p>A special event that takes place when a being is ready to die, rarely
do beings of the Soronan desert let themselves wilt and expire, most
choose to leap from a high place to die at a time of their choosing. For
the Verido, Leaping from the Ilk’s snout is common practice, for others,
many choose to do a pilgrimage to The Rupture in the Southern Dust
Plains to do their leap.All believe that when you make the conscious
decision to die and Leap, your consciousness separates from your body,
it goes skyward while the body plummets to the ground. All people in
this world are grown, and so your body falling means it is returning
from whence it came. It isn’t an end, but a return to normality, closing
the cycle.</p>
<h3 id="monty-day">Monty Day</h3>
<p>The day of the annum when the residents of Montore celebrate the
greatness of their grand leader Monty. On this day, locals consume bam
cake foodpatches, and gather in the centre of town to offer tribute.</p>
<h2 id="languages">Languages</h2>
<h3 id="aodan">Aodan</h3>
<p>Aodan is spoken by the Aodal people, but it is a dying language. Most
Aodals now speak the Common Tongue, but some older residents of the
Soronan Desert still speak it. Aodan stayed with the Iridi longer
because of their policy of isolation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ana — one, a<br />
Atedu — stay, wait, remain<br />
Citi — in, at, or to this place or position<br />
Danki — an expression of gratitude or politeness, in response to
something done or given<br />
Dekon — 18, ten is dek, eight is on.<br />
Estre — verb. to be<br />
Granda — adj. big, heavy, large, long, tall; important; adult<br />
Grandlalun — full-moon<br />
Jui — yes<br />
Koroa — noun. heart (physical or emotional). Adj. Feeling (an emotion, a
direct experience)<br />
La — particle. separates the subject and the verb (I am happy, vi la
tanka)<br />
Mo — appended to words, (emphasis, emotion or confirmation)<br />
Nan — no<br />
Nio — this, that<br />
Nocta — dark<br />
Nos — dawn, apart, away<br />
Nulalun — null-moon<br />
Plusa — something extra<br />
Rappida — move or act with great haste<br />
Soli — day, light<br />
Tanka — adj. good, positive, useful; friendly, peaceful; simple<br />
Tribu — noun. community, company, group, nation, society, tribe<br />
Salu — expression of greeting<br />
Seklo — go or come after (a person or thing proceeding ahead)<br />
Son — Dusk, together, with<br />
Vi — noun. I, me, we, us<br />
Volubi — used in polite requests or questions</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="common-tongue">Common Tongue</h3>
<p>The Common Tongue is the language of trade in the Soronan Desert,
spoken by all.</p>
<h3 id="finic">Finic</h3>
<p>Finic is spoken by the Finiku people.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Aini — to perpetuate, prolong<br />
Aikana — love (aikana’ia: hate, aikana’wati: loved ones)<br />
Ara — what<br />
Atae — with something, appended to words<br />
Atuhue — Beautiful (atehue’ia: ugly)<br />
Dae’na? — isn’t it?<br />
De — in<br />
Di — appended to word, for emphasis<br />
Dodon — stomach, used to mean hunger when paired with ‘sui’ e.g.,
dodon’sui.<br />
Harioki — happy (harioki’ia: sad)<br />
Ianae — no (ia, casual). To negate a word, append ‘ia (e.g., Yara’ia,
bad kind of thinking)<br />
Ipayae — a drink<br />
Kauga — heart, middle<br />
Kiao’ri — (kiao’, casual) Hello<br />
Kira — sun<br />
Komokomo — smart (komokomo’ia: dumb)<br />
Kora — that, this<br />
Korei — there<br />
Mai — life (mai’ia, dead, without life)<br />
Maka — way of doing (yara’maka: way of thinking)<br />
Wati — I, people<br />
Maha — perform (an action)<br />
Mawani — soul (mawani’ia: without soul)<br />
Mou — more, again<br />
Mutau— right (mutau’ia, to be wrong)<br />
Naa — appended to word, for agreement or confirmation No — possessive
particle<br />
Nohi — smell, nose<br />
Noho’uta — warning, stay away<br />
Okini — adj. big, heavy, large, long, tall; important; adult.<br />
Orae — yes<br />
Orae, dae’sa! — yes, that right!<br />
Oro — asserts a fact that the listener may not know<br />
Poro — purple, colour<br />
Re — to be, apprended to other words (eg. Yaga’re, to be wrong) Roro —
brain (komororo: bad brain to mean idiot)<br />
Sakoi — strong (sakoi’ia: weak)<br />
Sawa — wind<br />
Saa’mu — Short form of sawa’muko, to mean against the wind<br />
Saa’ta — Short short of sawa’atae, to mean with the wind<br />
Sosae — good (sosae’ia: bad, unhealthy, negative. sosae’di: very good,
the best)<br />
Sui — empty<br />
Tawari — verb. To touch (tawari’a: don’t touch)<br />
Te — and<br />
Teki — perceive with the eyes; discern visually.<br />
Wai — who<br />
Wi — manner, state, condition<br />
Wawa — mouth, e.g., wawa’de, to put in mouth, to eat<br />
Yara — think<br />
Yorala — sand, desert, land<br />
Yora’nae — (yora’, casual) greeting, to talk<br />
Yora’mu — Short short of yoramawa’muko, to mean towards the soul of the
land<br />
Yora’ta — Short short of yoramawa’atae, to mean away from the soul of
the land<br />
Yoroi — cool</p>
</blockquote>
<h3 id="ilken">Ilken</h3>
<p>A, E, I, O, U, Y and H are paired with notes and the rest consist of
pauses and elongated notes.</p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td style="text-align: left;">A Do</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">B .</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">L ___</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">T ….</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td style="text-align: left;">E Re</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">C _</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">M .__</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">U ____</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td style="text-align: left;">I Mi</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">D ..</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">N .._</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">V .___</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td style="text-align: left;">O Fa</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">F __</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">P __.</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">W ..__</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td style="text-align: left;">U Sol</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">G ._</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Q _..</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">X ___.</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td style="text-align: left;">Y La</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">J _.</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">R ._.</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Y __..</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<td style="text-align: left;">H Si</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">K …</td>
<td style="text-align: left;">S <em>.</em></td>
<td style="text-align: left;">Z .__.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Example:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>VOLARE</strong><br />
Fa .___ Do ___ Re ._.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To create single vowel sounds or words, the syllable is sounded by
sliding from <i>Si</i>, toward the target vowel. For instance, to make
the sound O, or Ho, the sound will be that of a sliding tone from
<i>Si</i> to <i>Fa</i>.</p>
<section id="footnotes" class="footnotes footnotes-end-of-document"
role="doc-endnotes">
<hr />
<ol>
<li id="fn1"><p><strong>Volare</strong>. One of three cities, built on
the back of Vol, an Ilk. Volare is also the name of one of the founders
of the city bearing this same name.<a href="#fnref1"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn2"><p><strong>Licky root</strong>. Grown for its roots, which
have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. This plant is very
hardy, it grows in high-altitude areas.<a href="#fnref2"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn3"><p><strong>Annum</strong> An annum follows the growing
cycle of teaweet, which takes 240 twin sunrises. There are 10 annums in
a ki’annum.<a href="#fnref3" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn4"><p><strong>Isilk</strong>. A sought-after fabric made from
Ilk hair.<a href="#fnref4" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn5"><p><strong>Looberry</strong>. A sweet eatable fruit with a
hard outer shell, often used as a dye.<a href="#fnref5"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn6"><p><strong>Trumpet flower</strong>. The bowl of the flower
contains a syrupy fluid, a very strong and delibilitating drug. It is
diluted, and served as a drink during celebrations.<a href="#fnref6"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn7"><p><strong>Kabacho</strong>. A fermented drink made from
the fruit of the Kaba plant.<a href="#fnref7" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn8"><p><strong>Voice</strong>. A traditional Verido role. Only
Voices can speak to an Ilk.<a href="#fnref8" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn9"><p><strong>Mapa</strong>. A term of endearment, used by the
child of the bearing parent.<a href="#fnref9" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn10"><p><strong>Koutra</strong>. A plucked instrument with a
small round body, made from a looberry shell. The neck is 1 mirit long,
and pierces the body.<a href="#fnref10" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn11"><p><strong>The Ear</strong> Where the Voice stands atop
the head when speaking to an Ilk.<a href="#fnref11"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn12"><p><strong>Looma root</strong>. A climbing vine with small
eatable cream-coloured heart-shaped roots.<a href="#fnref12"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn13"><p><strong>Bibiskiss</strong>. A purple flowery herb that
is often infused to make tea. When brewed, the colour leeches into the
drink.<a href="#fnref13" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn14"><p><strong>Horo</strong> A unit of kaala(time).<a
href="#fnref14" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn15"><p><strong>Ilken</strong>. A whistled language spoken by
Verido Voices, playable with an instrument. It is used to speak over
long distances, and to converse with the Ilks.<a href="#fnref15"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn16"><p><strong>Donmol</strong>. A plucked instrument with 4
double strings, a long neck and a raised fingerboard. It has a flat
back, with triangular soundholes.<a href="#fnref16"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn17"><p><strong>Shroo</strong>. A plant that grows in low-light
areas. Some varieties are eatable, others poisonous and can cause
serious physical and cognitive dammage.<a href="#fnref17"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn18"><p><strong>Leaping day</strong>. A death ceremony which
involves leaping into the Rupture, or from the snout of an Ilk.<a
href="#fnref18" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn19"><p><strong>Smellydough</strong>. A fermented woodgeon
berry and water mixture with a strong smell and taste. The more it
smells, the better the flavor.<a href="#fnref19" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn20"><p><strong>Pattern reading</strong>. The art of reading
Verido skin patterns. A patterns reveal the Verido’s name, as well as
their lineage. When a Verido comes of age their patterns stop changing,
and their names are read to them.<a href="#fnref20"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn21"><p><strong>Klorea</strong>. Any of several related green
pigments found in the cells of all beings of the Soronan desert. It
allows them to absorb energy from the light.<a href="#fnref21"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn22"><p><strong>Snakadil</strong>. A type of small reptavian
that moves just under the top layer of sand. When surprised, snakadil
suffocate their victims.<a href="#fnref22" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn23"><p><strong>The Hands</strong>. Hands inspect the Ilk’s
body for signs of disease or wounds. It is dangerous work, many have
fallen and died while on the job.<a href="#fnref23"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn24"><p><strong>Skyrock</strong> Skyrocks are celestial bodies
in the sky.<a href="#fnref24" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn25"><p><strong>Waterstones</strong> A liquid preserved in a
hard membrane, protecting it from evaporation. The water can be
extracted using a press, or a heavy tool. It’s also possible to draw out
the liquid by putting the stone in the mouth, the water will seep out
from a collection of pores on the stone’s surface.<a href="#fnref25"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn26"><p><strong>Lemilim</strong> A culinary herb with a subtle
tang, used fresh or dried. It has antifungal properties.<a
href="#fnref26" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn27"><p><strong>Medililly</strong>. A rare leafy plant. It is
hard to grow, requires much water and attention, and takes annums to
grow to maturity (the only time when the plant gains its medical
properties). It is used to reduce inflammation.<a href="#fnref27"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn28"><p><strong>Banabo</strong> A tall, tree-like plant. Its
trunk is wide and dense and it is often used as a material to build
houses and other hard structures. Its top leaves are often used as
brooms and to weave decorative items.<a href="#fnref28"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn29"><p><strong>Teaweet</strong> A staple grain that is easy to
grow.<a href="#fnref29" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn30"><p><strong>Babam</strong> A starchy tuber, pink on the
inside, that softens when cooked.<a href="#fnref30"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn31"><p><strong>Mepperpint</strong> A popular leafy plant with
rounded bulbs hanging from a thick central stem. Its leaves have a warm
pungent taste with a cooling aftertaste.<a href="#fnref31"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn32"><p><strong>Beobug</strong> A Montore company that owns
cargo sandfins. The sandfins follow the Ilks to gather kapo to turn into
fuel.<a href="#fnref32" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn33"><p><strong>Muckwheat</strong> Grain-like seeds with a
nutty taste, used to make breads and stews.<a href="#fnref33"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn34"><p><strong>Bonan</strong> A berry with soft flesh rich in
starch covered with a rind, which may be orange or purple when ripe.<a
href="#fnref34" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn35"><p><strong>Moera</strong> Moera, also known as The
Luminary, and The First Light, is the first ruler of the Iridi people.<a
href="#fnref35" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn36"><p><strong>Peagram</strong> A type of pulse growing from a
thorny bush, with large seedpods filled with a green liquid that contain
10-15 peas.<a href="#fnref36" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn37"><p><strong>Lavendiri</strong> A purple bulbous flower that
is often dried and used in homes to cover bad smells, or to freshen a
room<a href="#fnref37" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn38"><p><strong>Bobonion</strong> A spicy octagonal vegetable,
enveloped in a thick black rind. The inside is soft, and can be scooped
out with a tool.<a href="#fnref38" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn39"><p><strong>Kavava</strong> An addictive root that when
chewed numbs the mind and body, it can also cause minor
hallucinations.<a href="#fnref39" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn40"><p><strong>Plumpkins</strong> A large scaly purple root
vegetable. The scales can be peeled off, revealing the bright and soft
red flesh underneath.<a href="#fnref40" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn41"><p><strong>Karonin</strong> A fruit with a warty
assymetrical shape and a hard rind. The inside flesh is crunchy, eatable
raw, and has a pungent, slightly spicy flavor, varying in intensity
depending on its growing environment.<a href="#fnref41"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn42"><p><strong>Norcorn</strong> A plant on a stalk that
produces inflorescences called nubs that yield bright yellow seeds. With
enough heat, the seeds explode into bright orange puffs which are eaten
as a snack during special events.<a href="#fnref42"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn43"><p><strong>Mossling</strong> Pale winged insects that like
to burrow inside fresh produce, causing them to rot.<a href="#fnref43"
class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn44"><p><strong>Norange</strong> A near-extinct, sweet, and
bitter fruit with a thick rind. It has a fragant smell, and can calm the
mind.<a href="#fnref44" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
<li id="fn45"><p><strong>Specter</strong>. The name given to those in
Montore who don’t have ID, who don’t yet exist, and that cannot enter
the city. It is also used as an expression, to refer to those who live
alone, outside of communities<a href="#fnref45" class="footnote-back"
role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li>
</ol>
</section>