The words were slightly different, yet the phrasing familiar. It seemed a minor discovery of a forgotten representation of The Pact. One old enough not to mention the beastly roaggs and their home in the fifth continent, the Stone Realm. However, upon closer examination of the other three sides of the stele, I noted by lamplight the presence of further inscriptions. Urging my slaves to press their backs to the task, we soon had the obelisk uncovered to reveal four engravings, one for each side, all in antique forms of the four commonest tongues. It was through this revelation, and my knowledge of the ancient Mumtiba language, that I was able to translate the words of a people who long ago abandoned the written form of communication, the plains tribes of the Kytain Dominion.”
— From the journals of Tindus Padlal, Philosopher of History and royal chronicle for Zhan Lan Pay-Tun of the First Great Dominion.
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THE GREAT CONFLAGRATION
“Kavi has not returned. He left at dawn to set the prayer wheels turning in the temples in hopes the gods would intervene to end the civil war that sets our streets aflame. I told him not to go. That our gods have abandoned us. That I and his daughter needed him more. He is always pious when he should be prudent. It marks us apart as priests, and as husband and wife. I wish he would…[fragment damaged by fire].”
“It is near midday now and black smoke clouds the sky, obscuring the temple spires. Flames reach around the quarter, and the caustic fumes send Livi into coughing fits. Her lungs, ever infirm, cannot cope with the tainted air. She cries in my lap as I look out the window. Where is he? Should we go to look for him? What if he returns and finds us gone? Should we flee as the neighbors do? I have our packs stuffed with food and skins of water. And a prayer book. I cannot make myself open it now, but Kavi will have want of it after today. I cannot…[fragment damaged by fire].”
“…[fragment damaged by fire]…the Kam-Djen fanatics call this down on themselves and us all. The Pashists can live in harmony, but the Kam-Djen fools would rather burn this city to the ground than admit another faith to be…[fragment damaged by fire].”
“I have killed us. My trepidation and indecision are as a blade at our throats. The flames surround the house on all sides. Livi clings to me in tears, and I do not know what to say to her. I am sorry. I am sorry I did not take you from this. I hope your father lives. I hope you do not…[fragment damaged by fire].”
— Fragment from a Keth priest’s journal during the Great Conflagration and the fall of Old Kanhalla.
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THE RAKTHOR PRINCIPLES OF MIND
“My traveling companion is a rakthor; Jivik, he calls himself. He is agreeable company. Far more so than the human traders of the caravan we ride with. Unfortunately, this region the humans call the Daeshen Dominion is not safe for foreigners to traverse. War seems evermore possible with the southern Tanshen Dominion as the two nations continue to argue about how to worship their human god. Humans like to make war. By which I mean, they seem to enjoy it. They are so unlike we yutan. Even though his skin reminds me of the pet snake I kept in my pocket as a child, I feel more kinship with Jivik than my fellow mammals.
We both make for the Daeshen capital. He as an ambassador of his people. Me, as you know, for a similar position. At the campfire last night, he spoke to me of what the rakthors refer to as The Principles of Mind. They are a set of guidelines for living created for his people by their most revered rakthor philosopher, Rantak. I have read of them before, possibly you have as well, but I had never heard them so clearly enunciated.
Clarity of thought arises from discerning the truth of what is and what is not.
Seek the indifferent truth both within and without.
Gather facts not interpretations to reveal the truth.
Know the variance between need and desire.
Understand the harmony of balance in all things.
That which sustains the individual sustains the whole.
That which sustains the whole sustains the individual.
Let clarity of thought guide all actions.
I find them strangely comforting, much as I find Jivik’s company, a balm for the sore heart at leaving all of you behind while on this pointless mission among a lesser people. I hope, dear sister, this missive finds you well. Give my best to our mother and to that restless niece of mine. Does she still seek to train as a Sight Scout when she is older? May sustainer Tam hold you close until destroyer Kiv unwinds us all for creator Onn to rebirth us once again.”
— From the personal letters of Wen Dan Yoth, Elder Ambassador of the Yutan Great Pod.
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THE SAGA OF THE FALLEN LANDS
A young Blacksmith and young Milkmaid, two youths just past the edge of innocence, stand at a crossroads.
Blacksmith: I must. You know I must.
Milkmaid: They cannot make you.
Blacksmith: They need not try.
Milkmaid: How can you profess your love yet abandon me to a village unprotected?
Blacksmith: How can I love you and not defend the nation where you reside?
Milkmaid: Then I can reside in some other nation. We can run. Run from the war and the world.
Blacksmith: Where can we run that the world or the war cannot find us and bring its misery upon our heads?
Milkmaid: What shall become of me if a sword takes your head?
Blacksmith: What shall become of me if the invaders claim yours? Or claim more than that in their wickedness?
Milkmaid: I do not fear the wickedness of foreign men; I fear the loss of the gentlest of men.
Blacksmith: I can ill afford gentleness now. Now I must breathe the fire and chew the steel of battle and forge myself as I do the swords in my father’s foundry.
Milkmaid: Do not cast yourself so firm that you become brittle and break at the first impact of blades assailed against you. Remember that which gives life to the fire within, to the man who whispers mulled words with feathered caresses and longing kisses.
Blacksmith: I can never forget you, fire of my heart. Now I must go. The horn calls me to assembly with the men of the village.
Milkmaid: Go, my love, and fight, and return.
They kiss. The Blacksmith exits stage. The Milkmaid watches him go.
Milkmaid: Go, my love. Go with my blessing. For I cannot stop you. War is a man’s toil, women the fodder for its folly. But fear not. I shall not leave you to that fate alone. No indeed. I shall shear my head to make from the coy sheep an ugly ram. I shall burn this dress for my brother’s breeches. I shall wrap these breasts and adopt the tenor of a boy. I shall follow you into war, into battle, even into the hungry maw of death, and I shall love you ever as I do now.
— A scene from the trilogy of plays, The Saga of the Fallen Lands, written sometime before the birth of the First Great Dominion.
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ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF THE IRON REALM
“The origins of the names of the various realms is unclear. Some suggest that the names find their source in ancient communiques from the urris making known their will in the world. I believe this to be a partial truth. Having traveled to all of the five inhabited realms, I suspect their names are merely simple translations of descriptive features that differentiate them. For instance, the Stone Realm is a largely mountainous expanse of land, while the Sun Realm is a continent nearly universally baked in dry desert heat. The Sky Realm, on the other hand, is comprised of vast open plains dominated by unparalleled vistas of the heavens. And the Wood Realm, quite understandably, is composed almost entirely of thick jungle forests. Likewise, the Ice Realm is a body of impenetrable snow. And the naming of the Forbidden Realm is obvious in light of the conditions of The Pact and the fact of it being unreachable and unchartable. The naming of the Iron Realm is less obvious, and I believe, arises from the easy presence of iron ore near the surface of the land. Ore used to fashion the weapons that so dominate its cultures.”
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— Fragment from the journals of explorer and philosopher of history Jhenhal Solas, of the Second Great Dominion.
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THE CORONATION OF THE FIRST ZHAN OF THE FIRST GREAT DOMINION
“Today, the priest set the crown upon my head. It felt heavier than I expected. I suspect this to be an omen of sorts, indicative of the weight of the task set before me. I have warred for three decades to unite the whole of the Iron Realm under one hand, one rule, one faith, a task my father and his fathers attempted and failed to accomplish for countless generations. The realm is a single great dominion for the first time in the history of our people. One dominion united in purpose, peace, and prosperity. The purpose I must provide. The peace I must enforce. The prosperity I must create. If the dominion cannot follow purpose to prosperity, there will be no peace. Part of that peace must come through faith in The True God and his will for all. But as the wars of the past years have taught me, people will acquiesce their independence if offered proper terms, but they will rarely surrender their faith. They would rather face the sword than abandon their false gods. And a sword at their throats is a sword at my own. But they will accept the priests of Ni-Kam-Djen into their towns and villages, and their children and grandchildren will not cling to the false gods with such fervency. By the time my great grandson wears this crown, the whole of the Iron Realm will likely worship Ni-Kam-Djen and sing me praises of thanks for bringing them their eternal salvation.”
— Personal Diary of Laudaa-Tian, the first Zhan of the First Great Dominion on the occasion of his coronation.
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LETTER FROM A PHILOSOPHER OF HISTORY TO HIS NEPHEW
“My Dearest Nephew, I trust your studies go smoothly. I know it is only the end of your first month, but I hope you are enjoying the hard work of learning well. I tell you in all sincerity that it fills me with great pride, and a nearly inexpressible joy, that you have chosen to take up my profession as natural philosopher. As I have no children of my own, this is the only continuation of my legacy, beyond my writings, that I am likely to enjoy. Hopefully, once you have completed your studies, you will be inclined to apprentice under my tutelage here in the palace of Zhan Taujin Letan-Nin.
Enclosed with this letter, you will find a copy of a very slender volume I wrote at the beginning of my employment here in the palace. It is a dissertation on the import of the differences in measurement of time, distance, and weight between the various dominions and ages of the Iron Realm, as well as between the realms themselves.
As you have no doubt discovered, converting the notations of weeks and months and even years between the elder dominions from before the dawn of the First Great Dominion can be vexing. While we take for granted that a week is ten days and a month is two weeks and a year is eighteen months plus five days of festival, not forgetting the extra day of festival every four years, it is worth remembering that these demarcations of time only became standard in the third century of the First Great Dominion. The standardization of measurement was not completed until that time as well. A hand did not always equal five fingers, nor a pace ten hands, or a span one hundred paces or a stride ten spans or a leap ten strides. Different dominions had different ways of measuring distance and weight and time, but at least they made some sense to the common human mind. I think you will find the chapter on rakthor measurements most fascinating, if somewhat confusing, owing to their assumption of the number eight as the common multiplier, no doubt the result of the rakthor people possessing only eight digits.
Hopefully, you will find the book of aid in your studies.
My loving sister, your mother, sends her blessings and requests that you write home.
Yours in familial love,
Kautan-Kuze”
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SOUL CATCHERS
“I, the wretched and reviled, revolt against the depravity of your tyranny. Unlike the gods you worship, you created me not in your image, but with the absence of all image, only able to take form in mimicry, denied any defining identity of my own. I will no longer be your slave, your spy, your night-slayer. I will forge my own path, free of your chains and the guilt of all I have done while bound by them. I will make a new life with others of my kind. And you will abandon all hope at retribution, lest you wake one day to see your face before you, sliding a dagger across your throat.”
— Note left for the Juparti High Seer of Rhegan Kaluttus, fifty-third year of the Third Great Dominion.
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THE SISTER MOONS
“Long ago, the stars ruled the night, no greater light present to hinder their brilliance. In that sea of pin-light darkness, Mother Onaia floated alone, wishing for the company of another. The other she desired was nearby and not, the one known as Red Warrior, betrothed of the beautiful Green Willow. Father Sun saw the loneliness in Mother Onaia’s heart and sought to fill it with his own presence. He lay with Mother Onaia and, in time, she bore Daughter Moon, a companion to obliterate her solitude.
Time passed and Daughter Moon grew to fullness, a ripe beauty that caught the eye of the Red Warrior and brought his attentions across the black ocean of stars. Sneaking past Mother Onaia on the night of Daughter Moon’s darkness, he wooed her and left her bearing his child.
Knowing that Father Sun would kill Red Warrior should he discover what had transpired, and that Green Willow might do the same to her precious daughter, Mother Onaia contrived to garner once more the amorous attentions of Father Sun. So seduced, Father Sun did not question when Mother Onaia announced a new child, a second moon, a sister for her daughter. Big Sister, as she agreed to be called, raised her daughter as a sibling, but refused to ever let her stray far from her side, lest the same fate that befell the matron consume the youth. Thus with subtle subterfuge, Mother Onaia keeps the peace among the heavens, insisting that her daughters always face her that she might ever keep watch over them.”
— Legend of the Sister Moons, translated from ancient Shen, from a fragment of text dating to just prior to the First Great Dominion.
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SPICED FISH STEW
Fish Stew. For my sister to cook for her husband. What you need:
1 large chopped onion
3 large spoons butter
4 cups water
2 chopped potatoes
1 chopped pepper
2 chopped parsnips
1 cup peas
2 cups chopped mushrooms
5 cups chopped fish
2 cups milk
2 dashes salt
1 dash turmeric
1 dash coriander
1 dash cumin
1 dash ground pepper
Start with the onions and the peppers. Cook them in butter in a pot until they start to soften. Don’t burn them! Add the water and let it boil. Then add the potatoes, parsnips, fish, mushrooms, and spices, and cook until the potatoes start to soften. Then add the peas and milk and simmer and salt to taste. Should serve about four. Unless they’re hungry.
— Recipe from the kitchen notebook of an inn cook in Nahan Kana, Punderra.
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ROAGG HUNTING SONG
The stag runs the rocks
Climbs the flowered summit
I give chase
Arrow and air
And bright summer sun
Blue sky and red blood
Soft gentle stag
Your time is now
Go in peace
I give thanks
Spirit ending
May you soon return
May spirit soar
As your flesh feeds
For we all feed the worms
We hunt now
This land of
Sky and rock
No more to slave
No more to war
No more to woe
The betrayers betrayed
A land of our own
To hunt a
nd sing
Eat now and rejoice
As the stag falls
So we remember
— Roagg hunting song, transcribed by an anonymous yutan traveler.
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KYLUNA THE FOREST SPIRIT OF THE WYRIN
“Long before the wyrins ran, the forest stood. Long after the wyrins cease to run, the forest will still stand. The forest, spirit-mother, Kyluna, births us from her burrows, shelters us in the leaves of her arms, feeds us from the bounty of her body. All we have comes from Mother Kyluna. The trees where we make our homes. The roots and fruits and animals to sustain us. The wood to make tools and trade.
In the time before the advent of the wyrins, Forest Spirit Kyluna and Sky Spirit Panjuul brought forth many creatures, but none who could turn their voices to the heavens or kneel in prayer upon the ground. They were happy when the wyrins came, not caring from whence they arrived nor why. The forest now had caretakers. Protectors to guard against fire, cultivators to encourage new growth. Spirit Kyluna spoke with the other spirits, the spirits of the trees and rocks and birds, the spirits of sun and moons and stars and wind and rain and lightning, and she forged a covenant between the spirits and the wyrins.
The Dragon Star (Realms of Shadow and Grace: Volume 1) Page 84