Eighth Month of 1,266
- As we made it across the border into Zai territory, having pushed our dragons to their limits, we saw the bloodied patrol that had unexpectedly come to our aid approaching. The Wing was told to land across the border, where it would be safer to talk.
- Commander Garaam of bronze Gongdoth introduced himself, declaring that “The Chingfa have defeated the riders of Nochibo.” They had sensed the Kirengari dagger K’brin carried with him, and were alerted to the patrol attacking us thanks to Genji of green Wanth, their spy embedded within the Bohran. It was he that we saw break off from the patrol attacking us.
- Garaam referred to K’brin as a “son of Chingfa,” declaring that they protect their own. He informed us Commander Kangdai of bronze Tarsuth, who led the Nochibo patrol, was wounded badly, but not dead. He announced that his patrol would go to Modaisa with us first, but hoped that we would agree to meet their Queen afterwards.
- Rough notes scribbled out:
- Zai dynasty, Modaisa (crown of clouds) Fortress – green tree – capital city Sukorai.
- Chingfa dynasty, Thusdo (sleeping flame) Fortress – orange tiger – capital city Yunzao.
- Bohran dynasty, Nochibo (stone heart) Fortress – black thundercloud – capital city Zusha.
- Flying at a much slower pace, we eventually reached the fortress of Modaisa, aptly named, as it is high above the ground, reaching high up to the clouds. It has 7 towers that are quarters for dragons, and many firelizards on roofs of all the buildings in the fortress.
- We landed in an area clearly meant for guests and a bronze dragon flew out to meet us. The rider, Koshin of Bordenth, greeted Garaam and then K’brin. He informed us that Chancellor Niran would meet with us before we met the Warlord.
- The Chingfa would be allowed to guest at Modaisa while they recovered, and dragon healers were sent for.
- Koshin set us up in guest quarters. We finally had time to take stock of things and discovered that two of the dragons in the Wing were still cold. We found there were some heated rocks not far off that they could huddle near for warmth. I made sure to check in on them regularly until they were improved.
- I spent a few hours observing the dragonhealers while they treated the injured Chingfa dragons. It was obviously very different than what I’d seen before. I wasn’t used to deep gouges and open bleeding on dragons. The wounds from Thread and the techniques and medicines that had been developed to treat them were where my knowledge lay, so I tried to soak in all of what I was seeing like a sponge. I learned they have something to staunch bleeding, but don’t have anything like numbweed. They used leathery bandages to cover the poultice and keep it tight against the wound.
- The guards and support staff were deferential, but not nearly as much in awe of riders as they were in Galatia. They were practically falling over themselves in subservience there, which was not how I was used to being treated at all.
- Finally, a man showed up to escort us to the meeting. Chancellor Niran was fairly young, tall and athletic, with his black hair tied into a knot and ponytail that reached mid-back. The Zai tree was embroidered on the back of his tunic. He informed us that we were to have a brief audience with the Queen and then the Warlord.
- The protocol for the meeting: We were to wait by the door, go to the middle of the room when announced, and the leader (K’brin) would go to the edge of the dais. Nobody but K’brin was to speak and only in response.
- The throne room had a ceiling with skylights, and columns carved like tree trunks held up the mezzanine on either side. Crystals in flame shapes were giving off a white light (not the purple of usara stones). There were people sitting on either side, beneath and on the mezzanine, some of whom appeared to be riders.
- Shimmering red curtains in front of the dais parted, revealing a very ornate throne. A banner with a green tree was on the left with Kirengari heraldry on the right. Queen Siriprena of Sharakelth was an elderly woman with black hair in a bun (perhaps a wig?), wearing heavy gold robes with red and green embellishments. Her hands, wrists and neck bore gold jewelry with gems and her voice was strong and clear. She spoke in accented Gairean.
- She says that their Lorekeeper, who was travelling abroad, was given a Kameni egg (antiquity stone) that revealed our presence on Varlada, suggesting she knew that we come from a different world.
- Custodians were those in Galatia that guarded the Kinatori eggs.
- The Queen sent young queen riders to Galatia. There were dream echoes in Capella. Spies of mixed blood were sent to Cythera, Woodgate, Idalia (the source of the Kameni eggs showing visitors from another world) and Capella.
- “Never does a man lie in a more cunning way than when he tells a truth to someone who doesn’t believe it.”
- Shian Yunsoon went to the Great Temple in Tai-zon to consult with the Sung-Shian, who replied, “Where there are dragons, there is Shia”. She declared that Satakam would allow us to speak, which is why they felt comfortable dealing with us.
- The Queen suggested it would benefit the both of us to speak to the Chancellor and Ministers.
- Queen Siri asked us to be her guests, promising we would be rewarded.
- After she left, we were guided to a side room that had food and drink laid out for us. Chancellor Niran gave K’brin a large, gold-plated disk called a talisman that would allow us to travel through Zai lands in safety. Patrols with talents would know we had it, but we would need to show it to others.
- He also shared more details about what happened in the world since we returned to Pern and it was not good. We had started something that cannot be taken back. It left an uneasy feeling in my stomach and filled me with worry over our actions. In our quest for the Elixir of Two Moons, we had doomed the people of Varlada to face revolution and upheaval. The ultimate outcome? Who can say.
- Many of the places we’d visited before had been burned out.
- The people of Woodgate evacuated to the mining town of Ruxon in the foothills of the Neathas Mountain, going in small groups.
- Lorekeeper Findmar had one of the Eggs, and he intended to show to the more liberal bronzes that they could be free of the Gold Council.
- Thydee and Feth were killed in combat
- Izhora of Woodgate was executed, but her two sons and family escaped.
- The people of Idalia abandoned their village through underground tunnels. A resistance group, led by Novendal and Stilden, want to form a ‘representative democracy’ in Galatia.
- Cythera and Capella faced no attacks or repercussions
- There were no signs of the Fumentori, the Emperor’s “foxes”, personal enforcers and spies, so Shindra was probably safe.
- The hope was that the Zai and people of Pern could form a treaty to exchange information
- I came up with a list of questions to pose to the dragonhealers and asked when I could spend more time with them. I wanted to be able to not get caught flat-footed if our Wing got into trouble later on.
- We also spent time with Jianya, trying to learn at least some basic Fasa Kia, the language of Kirengar.
- Later on, we received an invitation to dine with Warlord Shujen of bronze Zandath in his quarters. Also attending would be Commander Garaam, Lorekeeper Jianya, and Shian Yunsoon.
- Yunsoon was a petite woman in a tight, one-shouldered dress, with a detailed pattern woven in gold and orange. Her hair was in a high bun with a collection of small ruby flowers at the base. She wore earrings that appear to be of a firelizard in flight and her fingernails, more peculiarly, were painted orange. I had never seen anything like that before.
- Shujen had long silver hair tied back at his neck, a noble bearing, and was wearing loose, elegant clothes that were deep green with bronze trim. He gave off an air of superiority, but I couldn’t be sure if it came from confidence or arrogance.
- Not much business was discussed, aside from the Warlord remarking that he hoped we’d come up with a basic treaty of what we would be sharing with each other. The five Ministers under Chancellor Niran would meet in the morning to discuss what they wanted to request.
- As we left the Warlord’s quarters, Commander Garaam commented that he and his patrol would be leaving for Thusdo in two days, and asked if we would go with him. He knew we were after the fire pearls and shared that they come from Chonlam on the Yankong Sea. The young men there can get them and he further offered to send an escort with us if we made a treaty with his dynasty.
- Garaam disclosed that he knew what his Queen, Daiyusendi of Yunrongeth, would ask of us. She wanted to have Garaam, Hakkun of Ulgith, and Warlord Kriang of Kingreth taught how we travel through the Dark as well as we do. They could do it, but not as often or as quickly as we had shown we could. Their motivation for going between was there was simply no other acceptable outcome. They would prove themselves worthy of the gifts Shia had given them and triumph…or they would die and be celebrated for their bravery.
- In private, the wing had a talk about our options. Should we go with the Chingfa and agree to their request? Why did they want to know, for an edge over their rivals or something else? Was the likely danger to Pern worth it? N’lan expressed the most doubt, most everyone else was supportive to some degree but also very concerned.
- Selenath was firmly opposed to learning to fight when I brought up the possibility with her, but I strongly felt that we at least need to know the principles of it. We had already had one patrol from Carindas follow us back. If anybody else followed us to Pern, or we ran into a hostile patrol again, we needed to be able to defend ourselves. We couldn’t afford to rely solely on the small amount of siege weaponry at Syfrin Valley.
My list of asks for the Zai:
- Health information – books on techniques, medicine (and instructions on how to make them), instruments (with a few samples to bring back if they’re small & light and could survive the trip between), for both humans and dragons. Maybe seeds of any plants or herbs that might survive on Pern.
- Farming information – I’m thinking specifically for areas like desert areas like Nerat; other craft info, such as mining, weavercraft (we’ve seen so many different kinds of cloth in our travels), etc.
- Phrenium & Hynavaith stones
- Transport schematics that we might be able to use or adapt for use on Pern – both seafaring and land based