The Changing of the Sun

by Lesley Smith

  Daie sounded stunned. “Wait, you mean all day? Not just at night?”

  “No, as it was during Jashri’s time, though we will need to take much more care.” Jannah reached for her staff, the one which had once been Kaiene’s and Saiara’s. “The Changing of the Sun is over.”

  She was surprised by the fear which met the announcement. According to Sarivashi’s journals, the many who had craved the outside world had been reduced by time, as the bloodlines snaked through the generations in the caves. Outside was a fable told to children, an image of a world no one remembered, and fear had replaced the driving desire for a forgotten world.

  That night there was much argument. The underside was safe, and in darkness, so was the surface. So, because it was what needed to be done, Jannah remained outside at dawn. At first she and Daie stood alone by the entrance, her people cowering in the darkness but with curiosity slowly winning them over.

  The first time Jannah felt Thaeos’ light on her face, she half expected to instantly be burned alive where she stood and yet there was nothing. The Starchild didn’t strike her down. Indeed from what Daie told her, describing the scene with a Scribe’s lyrical prose, there was no sign anyone had even noticed such a tiny change in the daily movements of the forest. She could hear the movement of the trees caressed by the morning breeze and birds singing, but it was the light, the warmth, which penetrated even an Oracle’s vision.

  They had survived.

  Jannah looked around. “We need to make plans. It will take time but we’re to go south and reclaim what we lost. We’ve much to do and only a lifetime to do it in.”

  “Why?” Daie asked, confused. “What’s going to happen?”

  “Something important, and we have a lot of catching up to do. Come on, Daie, summon the council and let’s start drafting an exodus plan. We have a city to found and others to take back from the elements. You’ll need to summon the head of the Archeologists’ Guild and the Edoi Clanparents, too.”

  Next to her, Daie answered and she sounded like she was smiling. “Jannah, they’re coming out to see the sunrise and more are following. It’s like watching a cave mouse coming out of its nest.”

  “I never doubted they would,” Jannah replied and silence felt between them as Thaeos began his daily journey across the horizon. “Not for a single moment.”

  To be continued in The Parting of the Waters …

  Glossary

  Abbia—An Edoi city on a small, apparently barren island off the western coast of Reskha, accessible only by rope bridges and known as the ‘City of the Tents’ because that what it is constructed from.

  Aia—The Disembodied Goddess, creator of the universe and greatest of all the Kashinai gods. Her symbol is a mirror and her priestesses—the blind oracles—wear blue robes in her honour. Aia is believed to speak to everyone, regardless of species or religion, as their conscience.

  Aiaea—Capital city of Reskha and home of the oracles, it is located in the Suiashveram delta and is destroyed during the Changing of the Sun.

  Arvan—The gods’ Scribe and keeper of records. Arvan is lifemate to Ishvei and father to Nyssa. He took on Kashinai form and traveled to Aiaea to find Ishvei who then persuaded him to lie with her for an entire day. He gifted Kaiene with the ability to see the past, present and future with her inner eyes.

  Arvanebasae—The festival of Arvan’s Descent is the name given to the second day of the New Year festival.

  Ash—The Kashinai word for ‘death’, literally meaning ‘the end’.

  Attendants—Men and women who provide emotional support to temple maidens and oracles. They are tutored in many arts, from calligraphy to playing the ieshiya, and one attendant will usually serve a particular maiden or oracle his or her entire life.

  Baelish—A stocky beast of burden favoured as a mount by the Edoi due to their ability to endure extreme weather, such as the heat of the Southern Desert.

  Bard, the—An Edoi saint, a wandering bard who traveled with The Healer and guided the persecuted Edoi to Abbia. Edoi accept both to be incarnations of deities: the Bard being a form of Ishvei. She is typically depicted as sitting side-saddle on a baelish whose reins are being held by the Healer.

  Canhei Basin—The holiest of sacred sites is the valley to the north of Reshka where the Kashinai believe Ishvei created them from a piece of fallen starstone. It contains a network of ancient caves and the sacred Sani River; all Kashinai will try to go on a pilgrimage there at least once in their lives, usually in the wake of a High Oracle’s Progress.

  Caerim—A small seaside village on the edge of the Water Child’s Bones, a reef in the Mirror Sea, populated by the Seaborn followers of the Lady of the Waves. It is three days walk from Gehol or one night riding a baelish.

  Cavari, the—The Sandborn, former members of the Edoi who populated the six oases of the Southern Desert.

  Cerasi—The blind Kashinai goddess of justice and patron of advocates.

  Companions, the—A secretive Order whose sole purpose is to Test and guide new oracles. According to lore they are the sons and daughters of Kaiene the Blessed and Jadias the Inspired and hold a mysterious book called The Codex of the River which contains all the oracles’ prophecies through the ages.

  Baaren—A coastal town in the north-west of Reshka, on the outskirts of the Forest of the Lightflies and the Canhei Basin. It is famed for its bridges and for the Convent of the Sisters of the Order of the Varaiah.

  Dennabird—A large bird with different coloured feathers depending on its age. Chicks are normally born with gold or flame-coloured fluff while adults are cyan and emerald green and are almost exclusively used as messenger-birds by the different temple Orders. Cyan-feathered birds are used solely by the High Oracle.

  Edoi, the—The collective name for the travelling clans of the Nomadborn who roam Reskha. They include the Ifunareki, the Feium Asun, the Mi'raathi, the Yulam Eroi and the Bashaaki.

  Elokoi—The butterfly-like adult form of shamir. Elokoi no longer have the ability to sting and grow to around three feet wide, with delicate wings used in photosynthesis.

  Forest of the Lightflies, the—A massive forest which surrounds the Canhei Basin in northern Reshka.

  Healer, the—An Edoi saint, a wandering healer who traveled with The Bard and guided the persecuted Edoi to Abbia. The Edoi accept both to be minor incarnations of deities: the Healer being a form of Uryen. He is typically depicted holding the reins of a baelish on which the Bard is seated.

  Hakashari—A closely-woven travelling cloak favoured by the Edoi. The weave allows air to circulate but also protects the wearer from heat and sand. A hakashari is given to an Edoi child when they reach the Age of Maturity and is a symbol of adulthood.

  High Oracle—A priestess of Aia who has, when blinded, seen a vision of the future. Her predecessor normally has a vision of her successor just before she is called. She is keeper of Jadias’ hand-written version of the Sacred Scrolls as well as Kaiene’s staff (and in later times Sarivashi’s inkbrush and Jeiana’s necklace).

  Indwelling—When the gods walk the worlds in a borrowed mortal form, an avatar, rather than one constructed. Doing so hides the deity’s divine form from even an oracle.

  Ishvei—Second of Aia’s daughters and sister to Jaisenthia, Ishvei is Coronis’ tutelary deity and so the world is named after her. She is a goddess of inspiration and creativity, believed to have taught the Kashinai how to read, write, and make paper and ink. She is known by the epithets ‘green-eyed’ and ‘red-haired’ and is believed to have walked amongst the Kashinai during the time of the first Oracle, Kaiene. She is the mother of Nyssa and the lifemate of Arvan who took the name ‘Ishvei’ when she appeared in Aiaea, prior to that she was simply known as the Lady of Words.

  Ishveikoishal—The Coming of Ishvei. The first day of the New Year, commemorating the day when Ishvei walked into Aiaea wearing a mortal guise and normally celebrated at the first full moon of Summer.

  Ishveinaida—‘Ishvei’s Worl
d’, the name given to their home planet by the Kashinai. After Earth joins the Union it becomes more commonly known as Coronis, referencing a myth about the lover of Apollo and mother of Asclepius who was burned on a funeral pyre with the god’s son still in her womb.

  Ishvei’s Rest—Two trees, sacred to the Kashinai, found in the Forest of the Lightflies that depict’s Ishvei instilling life in a Kashinai.

  Ieshiya—‘The sacred knotwork’; the primary sex organs of both male and female Kashinai which is overlaid on their spine and ends around the tailbone. ‘Playing the ieshiya’ is used as a form of pain relief during childbirth or major surgery, and its removal delays signals travelling from the brain to the limbs, causing a particular tic which is very noticeable.

  Jadias the Inspired—Lifemate of Kaiene the Blessed, Jadias was the son of a baker and gifted with artistic abilities. He was best known as the sculptor who carved Ishvei’s image in starstone and that image was eventually used as a basis for her nine foot high cult statue in the Temple of Aia’s Children.

  Jaisenthia—First of Aia’s daughters and sister to Ishvei. She is the Lady of the River, the Kashinai psychopomp who guides souls across the River of Stars to the hereafter. She is often depicted on a kerash, holding an oar and a lantern. She is lifemate to a deity known only as the Ferryman and, despite her occupation, is one of the most beloved of deities in the Kashinai pantheon even though, until the Changing of the Sun, she did not have her own cult. She is normally depicted in white robes with long black hair and pale skin.

  Jashri—An Edoi and Cavari saint who was saved from death in the desert by Ishvei’s World. Her name means ‘she who was reborn from death‘ and was adopted as the oracular name of Jashri the Found, 47rd High Oracle of Aia, born Kia of the Cavari.

  Kaiene the Blessed—A blind temple bondservant born in Aiaea who befriended the woman calling herself ‘Ishvei’. Beloved of an artist named Jadias, Kaiene was blessed by Arvan and became the first High Oracle. Her children—excluding her successor—with Jadias became the first Companions and her staff is still used, to this day, as part of the Test all oracles must pass.

  Kashinai, the—The ‘star-kissed’, the name by which the humanoid race of Ishvei’s World identify themselves.

  Kodia—The Kashinai Goddess of Pleasure and the messenger of the gods. Kodia was once regarded as a maiden form of Ishvei, given her own independence and worshiped in pleasure houses by sacred courtesans and prostitutes. Her iconography depicts her as a maiden with rainbow-hued robes and wings on her ankles.

  Kishai—Community, usually used in a religious context to include a specific sect or order. After the Changing of the Sun, the word came to mean the extended clans by which individuals identified themselves with, such as the Mnemosynian or London Kishai. Kishai itself is both the singular and collective noun.

  Kerash—A small coracle-like triangular boat carved from wood. Favoured by the Seaborn clans of southern Reshka, it normally holds one person plus their weight again in fish.

  Nyssa—Ishvei’s daughter, the goddess of youth and lifemate of Uryen. Nyssa was conceived when Arvan visited Coronis to retrieve his mate and they lay together as Kashinai. Her conception is celebrated as the second of three festivals commemorating the new year.

  Nyssasuiashenon—The festival of Nyssa’s Conception is the name given to the third and final day of the new year festival.

  Oracles—The blind priestesses of Aia, oracles are known for their distinctive vestments which include blue robes and a red strip of cloth that covers their eyes, symbolising their sacrifice. They have visions, which are often triggered by sexual relations, dream or meditations, which can relive the past, see another’s present or, most importantly, predict the future.

  Orders, the—The collective name for the various religious orders that dominate Kashinai religious life. This includes The Aian Order (the oracles and their attendants), the Ishveian Order (who run the temple and are the largest in number), the Uryenian Order (healers) and the Kodian Order (an independent, temple-tolerated sect of sacred courtesans).

  River, the—The Kashinai euphemism for death, usually referred to as ‘crossing the River’ or someone being ‘at the Riverbank’. In art, the River is depicted as containing blue-white stars and white lilies—a symbol of death and rebirth—floating on the surface.

  Riverweed—A common but highly toxic plant which grows almost exclusively in the rich soil around flowing water.

  Salve—An ointment made by Senara after being inspired by the Scrolls of Uryen, from various herbs, resins, and saps mixed with callow-oil and shamir wax to protect the wearer from Thaeos’ rays.

  Seaborn, the—The clans who live near the Mirror Sea who are famed for their fishing and boat-building. Mothers and fathers birth their children in the sea and adults are noticeable for their tattoos, often involving shells, fish and musical notes. The Seaborn are often sensitive to the songs of the Water Children, and most follow the faith of the Lady of the Waves.

  Sea of Reeds, the—An area of ocean that is known for various kinds of weed and is inaccessible to boats. It is rumoured to be the place where the Water Children drowned and most Kashinai sailors avoid the area. If there was a place on a map of Reshka where you could write ‘here be monsters’ then the Sea of Reeds would be it. Especially at the first full moon of Summer.

  Shaddhi—An overcloak worn by oracles and temple maidens as part of their official vestments.

  Shamir—Small insects with transparent wings and nasty stings who cluster in hives and produce honey. At the end of their life cycles they secrete wax to make cocoons which hang from kara trees and are reborn as elokoi.

  Sheui—A wooden flute carved from callow-wood, famous for its difficulty to master and usually played by the musicians of Fenoi.

  Starstone—A pale marble-like stone known for its veins of gold. It is highly prized and often used in religious statuary or buildings. The Kashinai believe Ishvei carved them from a clump of starstone—a natural mineral imbued with sparks of Aia’s soul—in the Canhei Basin.

  Suiashveram, River—The river ‘Life Blood’ which flows from the Canhei Mountains through Reshka to the Suiashveram delta, where Aiaea is located.

  Sani, River—The ‘star’ river which flows through Canhei and the Forest of the Lightflies. It is famous for the glowing stones which rest on the riverbed that are one of the first and most primitive forms of technology used by the Kashinai.

  Thaeos—The name for the sun which sits at the heart of the Coronian star system. In Kashinai myth he is a Starchild, a minor deity, who fell in love with Ishvei and then punished her world when she left with Arvan.

  Thaeosadvaha—‘Thaeos’ Rage’, the Kashinai name for ‘The Changing of the Sun’. The Changing of the Sun is, technically, a Standard translation referring to a change in Thaeos’ stability that triggered a cataclysmic solar storm.

  Uryen—The God of Healing, known as The Healer to the Edoi, and as one of Ishvei’s closest confidantes.

  Uryen’s Mercy—A soporific herb usually ground into a powder and sweet to the taste. It can be used in a salve as a local anaesthetic or added to water as a sleeping draught. Prior to the Changing of the Sun, drinking poison mixed with Uryen’s Mercy was a common form of suicide.

  Varaiah, the—The Order of male and female oracular attendants. After Jashri’s age began, the men were banished to Danshu Grotto where they care for the Great Tree while the women went north to Baaren to tend Ishvei’s Rest.

  Water Children, the—A Seaborn legend about Kashinai children who drowned. Hearing their screams, the Lady of the Waves transformed them into sea creatures—the Seranoa or Water Children—who sing of their lives beneath the waves to their Seaborn parents.

  Acknowledgements

  Writing is a weird activity in that it never gets any easier; critiques still feel like you’re being eaten alive and a single mistake in a print proof can send you spiralling into depression.

  But it’s a journey, and this one I did
with sixty two companions, plus another two dozen who helped with the horrendous labour pains that come with giving birth to a fully-fledged book.

  It’s not easy but the members of my Indie Toolbox made it easier and my thanks must go to: