by Jackie Dana
As they worked, the three women danced around each other, spinning and twirling, operating always in concert as if everything was choreographed. It was almost as if they were one being. It was like watching the flames of a campfire darting about, so many intricate movements, but always as one.
Kate couldn’t take her eyes off of the scene playing out in front of her, and she longed to join them, but held back, not understanding what she was witnessing.
She was so engrossed in the dance of the women that she never sensed the presence of a newcomer, and jumped when she felt the light touch of a hand on her arm. Whirling around, she turned to face the intruder.
“Oh, it’s you.” She smiled at Sebachin, and turned back around to watch the women dance.
Except the hut, and everything inside it, was gone. In its place was a stand of oaks that, from the looks of them, had been there for centuries.
“Wait—what just—” she exclaimed, and extended her arm out to touch the doorway that had been there just seconds before. She stumbled forward, over what would have been the threshold, and ran her fingers over the rough tree bark of the closest oak to verify that it was solid and not an illusion. “There were three women here,” she said, so confused she couldn’t order her words into a coherent single thought. “There was a cottage here… and now it’s all gone?”
“Aye.”
“I saw them. I know wasn’t imagining it. There were three women in a round stone building. They were so focused on their work that I don’t think they knew I was there.”
“Oh, they knew. You wouldn’t have been able to see them otherwise.”
“So you know what I saw?” She looked over her shoulder, hoping they had reappeared, but there was nothing behind them but the trees. “They were real?”
“Oh, aye, they were real. Come, let’s head back and I’ll explain.” As they walked shoulder to shoulder up the narrow path, he continued. “They are what we call Isa, the twilight ones. As far as I can tell, they exist here but in a kind of in-between state. They existed since before Altopon or the Sarnoc, and the only constant is that no one can see them unless they choose to be seen, which isn’t very often.”
“That kind of sounds like our stories about fairies.”
He tipped his head back and made a squinting face, and then nodded. “Aye, if I understand rightly what you mean by that, then they are similar. Who knows, maybe they’re even the same? They exist within the space between worlds rather than in one in particular, and they move to and fro as it suits them. They are said to possess great magic, but they rarely share it with humans. Most of the time people’s only interaction with them is receiving a surprise gift on a doorstep, usually medicine or other healing materials, that could have come from no one else.”
“You saw them, though? It wasn’t just me?”
He shook his head. “I just saw you leaning against a tree, but the way you were captivated by something, I had a feeling they were there.”
“Really?” That struck her as strange, given how he had described his role here. If anyone would be able to see them, wouldn’t it be him? “Why was I able to see them, then?”
Sebachin shrugged. “I don’t know. I know little about them, as I have only seen them once, for just a moment, just after I was named Pasadhi. I’ve sought them out since that time, but they have never reappeared to me. The fact that they don’t perceive you to be a threat is a good sign, and worth considering further.”
***
As they came once again in sight of the Sarnoc complex, a man in a white tunic emerged from the garden and began walking quickly in their direction. He held up his hand in greeting as he approached.
“Good day, Sarnoc Garnell,” Sebachin called out to him. “We were just out for a walk.”
The man reached them, and stood facing them on the path. “I heard of the Bhara’s visit and was hoping to steal a bit of her time.”
“Aye, Sarnoc.” He turned to her. “We can delay the rest of our tour until after lunch, if you’d like. I need to finish up something for Sarnoc Vaj anyway.”
Tour? She found his choice of words interesting, since she had wandered off by herself. Was that his way of deflecting further questions? She chose not to say anything about it. “Well, I guess that would be all right.” She wondered what this Sarnoc had planned for her.
“Bhara, I do not wish to keep you long.”
Seeing she needed additional reassurance, Sebachin added, “you’re in good hands, Kate, don’t worry. I’ll come looking for you shortly.” Turning to Garnell, he asked, “Sarnoc, will you be taking your meal in the courtyard today?”
“Aye, we will head there shortly,” he said.
Sebachin nodded, and waved to her as he turned to jog back in the direction of his tower.
“I guess I’m all yours, then,” Kate said.
“Excellent,” Garnell said with a nod, and pivoted towards the Sarnoc buildings. “How has your visit to Sarducia been so far?” he asked as they entered the gardens. “You haven’t been here long, if I understand correctly?”
“No, it’s just been a few days.” So much of it was a blur of new faces, strange occurrences and experiences she had yet to fully understand that it felt much longer. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, though. I still don’t understand most of what’s going on.”
“You’ve been treated well so far?” They passed under a trellis, and he paused to twist an errant vine back onto the wooden slats.
“Yeah, especially for a stranger that appeared out of nowhere.” As they headed towards the buildings, Kate looked up to the sky, and idly noted, “clouds are moving in.”
“Aye, the weather is shifting. The Pasadhi told us our sunny days will come to an end for a while. Rain tonight, most likely.” They resumed their walk, and he said, “I understand your mother died recently. I wanted to extend our condolences.”
She licked her lips. “Thanks. But how did you know?”
“The Pasadhi told me.”
And how did he know, she wondered. Instead of saying anything, though, she just nodded.
“Do you have other family?”
Seeing no reason to hide it, she answered truthfully. “Yeah, I have several uncles and aunts, but I don’t think they’re all actually related to me.” Every time she thought about them, she had to fight back a wall of emotions she still couldn’t completely unravel.
They had reached paving stones that led into the courtyard. He held out his hand to guide her around the first one, and then knelt down beside it. “It’s still cracked. I’ll need to see if one of the laliri can replace it.” Then he raised his head. “About your family. What do you mean? How would they not be related to you?”
She thought the paving stone had sidetracked him, and was surprised by the question. “Well, I’ve known them all my life, and they care for me as if I was their own flesh and blood, but I think they’re just friends of my mother’s. But they’re my family all the same, you know?”
He nodded, as if the answer pleased him, although Kate couldn’t imagine why it mattered. “And your father?” he asked.
“I don’t have one.” She caught herself. “Well, I guess I had one, or I wouldn’t be here. But I don’t know anything about him. My mom told me he died a long time ago.”
“Indeed? That’s a shame.”
“It’s all right. My mom made up for it.”
“Aye, she must have been a strong woman, to raise a daughter on her own.”
“Yeah, she was. Speaking of which, do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Of course not. What would you like to know?”
“I was just wondering, why aren’t there any women here? I’ve seen a bunch of men, you and the other Sarnoc and laliri—and Sebachin—but not a single woman.”
“Oh.” The question seemed to catch him off-guard. “Really? You truly don’t know much about us, do you?” Seeing her shake her head, he continued. “There used to be many women here, long before the Sardic c
onquest of the island.”
“So there were female Sarnoc once?”
“Nay, not exactly. Many women served as healers and riversmiths, but the most skilled did not become Sarnoc, but instead became Na’isa. While Sarnoc were the scholars, Na’isa were the true magic users. But that is all in the past now.”
He was poised to continue, but Kate interrupted him. “ ‘Na’isa’,” she repeated. “Are they the same as the Isa?”
The Sarnoc turned his head. “You’ve heard of the Isa, then?”
“Uh, well, just—Sebachin told me about them.” She didn’t want to explain what she had seen, as if it had been just for her.
“Ah. Tradition holds that the Isa has many forms, and the Na’isa were just one. The Na’isa were the warriors, the ones who turned their powers against the invaders. According to our ancient tales, they were quite fierce. Yet the Sards, even without magic, were able to defeat them, though no one ever found out how that was done. After that, many of our ancestors fled the island or went into hiding. While, in time, the remaining Mosumi were able find a way to live alongside Sards, the Vosira feared the power of the Na’isa could return, and they forbade any women from being trained by Sarnoc. Indeed, vigilantes often sought out young Mosumi girls and put them through a battery of painful tests to discover if they displayed any hidden talents. If they did, they were immediately killed.”
Kate was appalled by the tale. “They tortured them to see if they had magic?”
“Aye, I’m afraid so. Even today, tradition prevents girls from being trained by Sarnoc for any of the Mosumi pursuits.”
“It’s not a problem that I’m here, though, is it?”
He laughed. “Of course not. Women are allowed to visit Altopon—and plenty live in the city. Some even work among us, though they are few in number. So if you find yourself being pampered a bit, you now know why.” He winked at her, and to illustrate his point, used a small knife on his belt to cut the stem of a stately crimson sunflower, which he handed to her with a flourish.
“Thanks.” Hearing Garnell’s explanation helped her understand quite a bit about this world’s culture. Their history had deep roots in patriarchy, even misogyny. No wonder so many men had displayed scorn and distrust towards her, as she wasn’t intimidated by male dominance and authority. “Has there never been an attempt to change things?”
“From time to time, there have been incidents with families whose daughters act out in some way. Most of the time it’s a girl whose brother unknowingly teaches her how to use a weapon, or who asks a healer to teach her to read. Such moments are generally ended swiftly by the local community, though in some cases the Senvosra intervene with harsher penalties.”
“What do you mean? Girls can’t learn to read?”
“It depends on the family. Some members of the Bhagali, as they come from strong Sardic roots, allow their daughters to study letters, but it is uncommon, and it’s almost unheard of in the countryside. It is men who rule in Loraden, and women are encouraged to take up other pursuits.”
“I noticed that.” Hearing this history, Sarducia wasn’t quite as amazing as she had thought. It seemed even more restrictive and repressive than medieval Europe, which it resembled in so many other ways. At least in Altopon there was a little room to breathe, though she suspected even here there were limits.
The direction their discussion had taken brought their conversation to a temporary lull, and for a few minutes they continued to walk through the garden in silence. Then she asked, “Do you think I was in danger back in Loraden?”
He shrugged. “It’s impossible to know for sure. Things have been rather volatile of late, particularly with the growth of this new Hidden God movement, which is a source of many fights in the city. More troubling, though, is the return of Dosedra Arric. We do not know his reasons for returning, but we fear he plans to stir up trouble with his brother, and while the Vosira is no friend to the Sarnoc, we also fear a conflict on our own shores might provoke the Hansari queen to attack.”
“I think Aldrish Rynar might agree with that.”
“Aye, he might indeed. It was quite fortunate that he sent you out of the city when he did, so you didn’t need to be caught up in that, and I’m glad we were able to bring you here. Now that you’re here, are you enjoying your time at Altopon?”
“Yeah, it’s not been too bad. It’s so beautiful here, and peaceful.”
The Sarnoc nodded. “It is much different from Loraden, that’s for certain. As long as I’ve lived here, I still appreciate how much the city sparkles.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” she said with a smile, glad she wasn’t the only one who had those thoughts.
“All of the Sarnoc structures are built with a stone that contains flecks of glysar. They say the ancient ones did this to strengthen the buildings and give them power, but sometimes I think they did it because it’s so pretty to look at.”
Back at the Sarnoc buildings, he led her inside a building she had not yet seen. “This is the Sarnoc wing,” he explained as he flanked Kate. “Come this way.”
They walked through a doorway into an open colonnade that overlooked a courtyard patio and garden, with a fountain in the center. “These are the Sarnoc quarters,” he explained, making a circular gesture with his arm to indicate a number of doorways punctuating the colonnade, and he led her to an area carpeted with herbs and clover, where a wooden trestle table had been set up. “On nice days we often come outside for meals.”
The table was laid with bright silver plates and glass goblets, with fresh flowers and herbs in the center, a basket of warm bread, and two golden bottles on a tray. A young man in grey greeted them.
“Well met, Kyril. This is Bhara Kate, who has come a great way to visit with us.” To Kate, he asked, “Bhara, is there anything in particular you might like to eat?”
She shook her head, not even knowing enough of the options to make a request. “Anything will be fine.”
Garnell nodded once and gave instructions to Kyril, and then turned his attention back to her.
“He’s laliri,” he explained, as he politely pulled a chair out for her. “They split their time between study and service to the Sarnoc. In time, if they master their training, they too will become Sarnoc. We prefer this system to employing servants as they do in Loraden, as this way, everyone has the opportunity to serve and be served, and it shows that none of us are better than anyone else.”
“Isn’t that like the charnok?” she asked, having just a bit of knowledge gained from observing the young men at the quantrill.
Garnell took his seat across from her. “Charnok do indeed assist the Bhagali, but they do not do menial tasks such as cleaning and preparing food as the laliri do.”
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry, it’s just all very strange for me having servants around. I’m not really used to having people whose job it is to help me bathe or get dressed or clean my room. I do all of those kind of things for myself.”
“Truly? You are not of the Bhagali in your world?”
Kate laughed. “Oh, hardly.” While she reached into a basket overflowing with small loaves of bread, she realized he was still staring at her in surprise. “Oh, it’s not a big deal. I’m pretty ordinary, really.”
“I find that surprising. May I ask what your life is like?”
“Really? Well, I go to work in the morning, and then after work I’ll have dinner, and then maybe watch—” she was about to say, ‘watch TV’ and realized he would have no reference, and that would be too difficult to explain, “or do my laundry. Sometimes I go out with friends, and there’s one family member or another who’s dragging me out with them.”
“You said you ‘go to work’,” Garnell repeated. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh. I have a job at a marketing firm, and do research for them.” She realized none of that would mean anything to him. “Basically, when people want to sell things, they hire my company, and we figure out the best ways for them to do i
t.” From the look on his face, even that explanation wasn’t resonating with him. She glanced around the table. “Okay, so let’s suppose you grew flowers like those,” she said, pointing to the bouquet on the table. “And no one knew who you were, but you wanted to make sure the Bhagali wanted to buy your flowers more than anyone else’s. You’d come to where I work, and we’d work on finding ways to tell everyone that your flowers were the best.”
“But how would you know they were the best? Who decides that?” the Sarnoc asked.
“Oh, well, no one. That’s not the point. You just want people to believe it, so they think yours are better in some way than someone else’s.”
“So you’d lie about the flowers, then?”
“Well… I wouldn’t say it’s lying, exactly. It’s taking pride in your work, I guess you could say. There’s nothing like that here?”
“Indeed not, and I must say, that is a very odd system. I cannot imagine it working here.” He uncorked one of the bottles and filled her glass. It was a pale golden color, and effervescent.
She lifted it to her nose. “Is it cider?”
“Aye, apple and pear.”
She took a sip, wondering at the rich flavor.
“So tell me more about your time in Loraden,” he asked, though it seemed to be a friendly question, not the interrogation of Sarnoc Vaj. “Did you meet anyone interesting?”
“Well, really, everyone’s interesting. You’re all so much different from the people I know back home.” She poured more of the cider, and a couple of drops spilled on the table. “But I did meet the Vosira and many of the other Bhagali.”
“Pasadhi Sebachin said as much.” He reached over and dabbed at the cider she had spilled with a napkin. “What were your impressions of the Vosira?”
She knew political conversations could be dangerous, so she measured her next words carefully. “He’s definitely a character. I don’t know if I got to know him well enough to say more than that.” Before she could tell him any more, she heard another voice call out from across the courtyard.