New Material

Hello everyone,

For the first time in six year (yikes!) I have finally written some new material in my second book “And the Sun Burned Red”. I would appreciate any feedback, positive and negative, that you would have. The first few pages of this chapter were written in November of 2012. The rest were written this evening.

 

Chapter Thirteen – The Tense Meeting

            Nerinah awoke with Syrrin standing over her, waving a hand over her head, which was glowing purple, and muttering something. She lay still until he was finished and had walked to the far side of the room and sat down in the lone chair.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she grumbled, rising from the bed and putting the robe she had been given over her clothes, which she had once more slept in.

“Do what?”

“You know perfectly well,” she snapped. “It is an unpleasant way of waking up, to say the least.”

“I had to prepare you so that you could understand what goes on in our council,” Syrrin observed. “such an enchantment is easier to perform upon an unconscious mind.”

“Yes, my father told me that as well, but is it really so much more difficult to wait until I am awake, rather than just coming in here and startling me awake?”

“Not that much more difficult, I will grant you, but I wished to make certain that it took.”

Nerinah sighed, “did my waking effect the spell?”

“I doubt it,” said Syrrin, “I had nearly completed the incantation when you awoke.”

“How long before the council meeting begins?”

Syrrin looked up and past her, in the direction of the sunrise, in a manner which made Nerinah wonder if he could in fact see through the wall. After a moment he said, “a little more than an hour, enough time for you to eat.”

“Did I really sleep so late into the day?”

Syrrin nodded, “of course, after all you did insist on me telling you something about the moons and stars last night.”

“I remember, but were we really on the roof so late into the night.”

“Indeed, it was well past midnight by the time your tiredness overcame you.”

“Do you get enough sleep yourself?” asked Nerinah with some concern.

Syrrin smiled, “we do not need sleep as often as you do. I can get by with almost none most nights myself.”

“That must be useful.”

“It is, what it is,” shrugged Syrrin.

Nerinah was not particularly hungry on account of the anxiousness rising within her but knew that before facing the Council of the Moon that she should have something on her stomach, so she said, “I suppose I need to eat something.”

“Yes, food would be in order before facing the council,” he replied as they headed out the door. Since her first full day in Ras Tonun Syrrin had followed Nerinah’s request to the letter and walked at a considerably slower pace, although there were moments that she still needed to almost jog to keep up with him.

As they walked Nerinah asked nervously, “so, what am I to expect from this council meeting?”

“Well, you can expect Elinan to make a strong push to have you either killed or thrown out of the city immediately.”

“Really? I didn’t figure that one,” replied Nerinah with an eye-roll. “What of the others?”

Syrrin did not respond immediately to this but in the end said, “the fact that you are here and that your father told you of us will build support from at least a few of the other councilors, and Elinan has been gaining influence in the council for some time now.”

“To what purpose?”

“Well, he would love to have my position if it were possible.”

“Will this affect your position negatively?” was Nerinah’s concerned question.

“No, the rules of the council and its membership are complex, it would take more than one unpopular move by me to lose my position.”

“Would he try to have you killed?”

“Assassination would ensure that he is killed as well,” observed Syrrin. “However that also assumes that he would succeed at the task.”

“Does he have enough votes to have me killed or cast out?” Nerinah asked nervously.

“Killed? No, our laws state that the bearer of a Pendant of Friendship must not be harmed, and that law cannot be changed without a vote by our whole people which I doubt he could earn and could not be enacted before midsummer.”

“But he could have me thrown out of the city?”

Syrrin nodded, “that is possible, I hope to prevent it, so that you may leave at your leisure, but there is at least a chance he could overcome me in that.”

“From what my father said it seems many of the other councilors were not well disposed to him or his way of thinking,” said Nerinah, trying to sound confident but Syrrin shook his head.

“Your father, and his presence, interested them and I succeeded in making Elinan, who had long been on the fringe of the council, look a hasty, violent fool which worked in our favor. Elinan has been much more shrewd these past years and gained more of the council to his way of thinking.”

“Though I confess that for the sake of my own safety and the peace of mind of my husband I should make this stay a brief one, I wish to stay a bit longer, is there any chance in that?” inquired Nerinah, after some thought.

Syrrin gave her a helpless shrug, “I honestly do not know. My voice still carries more weight with the council than Elinan, but there are only two other votes that I can count on for sure in this situation.”

“And Elinan?”

“He also has two others that will almost certainly vote his way, the meeting will quickly become trying to convince the other three.”

“Will that be difficult?”

“We are a contemplative people and we like having all the facts when we can’t make up our mind. You may be asked some searching questions about what you are doing here.”

“I hope I have good answers for them.”

“So do I.”

They had reached the dining area by this point and as they were entering, they were noticed by Elinan, having clearly finished his breakfast and was heading for the council chamber, who stopped for a moment and glared at them before proceeding. Syrrin acted as if he did not notice and Nerinah made every effort to follow his example. She proceeded to the kitchen were Nerinah was handed a bowl piled high with thick porridge, which smelled of honey which made her mouth water. She took the bowl gratefully and returned to the dining area to find Syrrin already seated at one of the benches. She joined him and dug into her porridge with a good deal more enthusiasm than she actually felt. It tasted strongly of honey and was so filling that she found that she could not finish the bowl.

After she had eaten as much as she could, at best half the bowl, Nerinah found herself, for the first time since waking, alone with her thoughts. Syrrin sat across from her, lost in thought, and not wanting to disturb him Nerinah idly moved the remaining porridge around the bowl with one hand while gently stroking the golden pendant around her neck and stared at the table. She worried about all that she might leave behind, if Elinan were to succeed in killing her, however unlikely that might be, and also reflecting that, despite how much she wanted to be back in her home, and safe, that there was something about the place that she could not put her finger on that she needed to understand, that might serve as the key to these mysterious Eisan and Syrrin’s fascination with her father, and her.

She was not entirely sure how long it had been that she had sat staring at the table, lost in thought, turning her curiosities and anxieties over and over in her head, when she heard a polite cough from Syrrin. Who was once more focused upon her and had a look of concern on his face.

“It is just about time to head into the Council Chamber,” Syrrin observed hesitantly. “Are you quite alright, you seem both concerned and possibly unwell.”

Nerinah tilter her head in puzzlement for a moment as she fully collected her thoughts, “yes, course. I am quite done with my food and ready to go. Also, I appreciate your concern, but I was merely lost in my own thoughts and worries, which makes for an uneasy stomach, especially with such a filling and rich breakfast, but I will be alright.”

Syrrin nodded at this and motioned for her to gather her bowl and return it to the kitchen. The cook was not there, as he usually was, seemingly having stepped out for a moment, but by the open water barrel, to which Nerinah helped herself to a deep drink, was a slip of parchment with a short amount of the Eisan’s flowing script on it, which Syrrin advised said ‘good luck’, which made Nerinah smile.

Syrrin then led her back through the dining hall and down the long hallway, past the library and artefact room, and into the Council Chamber of the Eisan. Unlike what her father had told her, there were no guard present to keep an eye on her, merely the vast room, with nine chairs evenly spaced apart, and the councilors, milling about. Once Syrrin had entered the rest dispersed from their small clusters and proceeded to their chairs, and at Syrrin’s indication, Nerinah moved to the side until she was called upon.

Once all were seated the Syrrin began the introduction and in much the same manner that she remembered from what her father said in his stories.

“I, Syrrin, as head of the council, do call the Council of the Moon into session, are all present,” he said with a raised, yet solemn, voice.

Moving around the chamber to Syrrin’s left. “I, Hyarin, am present,” said an Eisan, whom Nerinah recalled the name of, still heavyset and hair somewhat greyer than Amjoh had described.

“I, Erra, am here,” another familiar name, still holding herself proudly but with her red hair almost wholly turned to grey.

“I, Vaela, am here,” said a tall, thin Eisan, a name she did not recognize, who had hair, still largely red, tightly braided and going down to her waist.

“I, Lelan, am here,” said a strongly built Eisan, also new, with silver hair and a very bushy beard.

“I, Elinan, am here,” spat the red hair Eisan, coldly.

“I, Kella, am here,” said a silvered haired woman, voice as high as Amjoh had described it.

“I, Cerran, am here,” said the final Eisan who matched her father’s descriptions, hair still shorter, but beard trimmed shorter than she remembered from the stories.

“I, Kenna, am here,” finished a short, fierce looking Eisan with her short hair swept back. The role being taken Syrrin once more addressed the room.

“As we are all present, we may begin. We all know the primary business that we have before this today, but before we begin is there any other business that would be brought before the council?”

Hyarin and Erra both shook their heads but Vaela cleared her throat and began to speak. “I know there are more pressing, and concerning matters, for us to discuss today, but I would like to raise the issue that the Dancing Gardens have fallen into some disrepair since the old Nelva went beyond and while our crops are still well tended, the garden itself was a favorite place of contemplation for many, a new Nelva must be appointed.”

If any of the Eisan heard the small gasp that Nerinah let out at this point, they did not show it. She was fond of her father’s stories of the Nelva who tended the Dancing Gardens, whose name she realized that her father never said and possibly did not know himself. He had often spoken fondly of her kindness to him and above everyone else, save for Syrrin, she was the one in the city that she had most wished to meet. These thoughts distracted her for a moment for the debate going on in the room, which seemed to largely center around the resources needed to maintain the Garden.

When her focused returned to the council, it was Kenna speaking, “I appreciate how popular the Dancing Gardens have been, Kella, but with us having to be careful with our usage of water, they simply cannot be a priority.”

“There are other areas of the city that have far less need of regular water, and our need is not yet so dire that we have to deprive ourselves of all comforts,” observed Hyarin.

Lelan nodded, “that may be so, but I feel that we could well debate our opinions of this matter for the rest of the day without ever getting to our main business. I recommend that those of us who feel strongly, one way or another, collect more facts for their arguments and we will discuss this in the next meeting.”

There were a few glances between different people, and a little grumbling from Kenna and Kella, but in the end all present agreed to hold off to the following month. After that there was not other major business. Elinan and Cerran both had brief reports of what were apparently experiments they had been conducting, which Nerinah neither understood nor cared about.

Finally, when all of this was done, and all others present and acknowledged that they had nothing else to present to the council, the matter at least turned to Nerinah. She took a deep breath and walked with as much dignity as she could into the center of the circle, and faced Syrrin, who gave her a quick smile and then addressed the room.

“Our main point of discussion on this day, is the presence of Nerinah, daughter of Amjoh, in this city. To cover some questions I know will be asked. I personally gave Amjoh the Pendant of Friendship which Nerinah wears about her neck before he left Ros Tonun and commanded him to, in secret, tell any children that he might have of us and his brief stay in our city and pass the pendant on to them. I did this because in our fleeting encounter I was able to learn much from Amjoh which gave rise to some new avenues of thinking and I hope that Nerinah’s present here will do the same.”

Nerinah was not sure what she expected but it certainly wasn’t the deafening silence which greeted her as the other council members stared at Syrrin with varied faces showing confusion, uncertainty, and, from Elinan, anger. At least it was Erra who ventured to speak.

“These humans are short lived, and primitive compared to us and our knowledge, what could Amjoh have possibly told you that moved you to make such a blatant defiance of the judgment of the council when Amjoh was here?”

Syrrin shrugged and opened his arms for a moment. “Our knowledge may be far deeper than the people of Xyrin, but we are nevertheless an isolated community and quite set in our ways. Studying Amjoh, hearing him speak and process the world, and studying him and his abilities made me realize some new avenues for research and new ways of thinking to help resolve the problem that plagues our city. For any that wish a more detailed account of where my experiments have led, I would be happy to oblige in private. I fear a full accounting at this exact moment would take much of the rest of the day.”

This seemed to satisfy Erra, although she was still frowning, when Vaela spoke up. “Syrrin, you have led this council for a great many years and have always been a champion of our safety and survival. It is for this reason that I find it so troubling that you would so clearly go against the will of the council and put us in danger of detection.”

“I trusted the word of Amjoh that he would tell only his children, and then only in secret when no others could overhear. I also trusted that if any of his descendants sought us out, it would be because they were in dire need.”

Vaela turned and addressed Nerinah, at that, “Let us have it then, young woman, why did you decide to come here, is your life threatened in some way?”

Nerinah shook her head and said, “not directly in danger, no. Using the knowledge that he gained, my father was able to make a great many positive changes to our city but eventually he ran afoul of our priests. He was executed a few days ago for, in their words, heresy against the Sun God. I no longer live in Xyrin and am not in danger of that fate, but as it was his experience of this city, and your people, that drove him in his life, I wished to understand whether the stories that he told me were true, and what he could learn that would make him so determined to make our lives better and also defy our leaders.”

Hyarin spoke up at this point, softly and not unkindly, “I am sorry to hear of your father’s passing, my child. Like Syrrin, I was intrigued by his intelligence for one so young, and I am glad to hear that his time with us was not without merit. That being said, I am concerned about your willingness to come here outside of dire need, and you indicated that you not longer live in Xyrin. Will you not be missed, are there any others who know you are here.”

Syrrin cleared his throat. “I have seen to that. She did have one companion with her, but I have enchanted his mind so that he knows nothing of her destination and brought a false report back to her husband and new home. She cannot remain here for long, but none have any knowledge of where she is, or of us.”

At this point, Elinan leaned forward and addressed her, calmly but voice dripping with disdain. “Young woman, we have been told that none know where you are, but that you cannot stay long, and that you came here out of curiosity rather than fear or desperation. Have you found what you came from? Will you be leaving us, promptly?”

Nerinah matched the Eisan’s fiery gaze and responded, as evenly as she could, “not yet. I do not intend to stay any great period but there is still more I feel that I can learn from you.”

“And what will you tell your husband, and those of your city, upon your return?”

“I will think of something. With none knowing of this place, there is no reason any would doubt me.”

“You will think of something?” said Elinan mockingly. “As with your father Amjoh, I am unconvinced of your ability to stay silent. Nor do I believe that it is only you that he told. If so, much as a single person overheard his stories and you leave and are not believed, you might easily end up leading others to this location.”

“What do you recommend then?” asked Kenna.

Elinan drew himself up in his chair and said heatedly, “the same thing as we should have done with Amjoh, we should kill her!”

“Why are you so eager for my destruction?” inquired Nerinah, hoping her fear did not come through in her voice.

Elinan spat his response, “instructed by Syrrin or not, Amjoh swore to tell no one, and your presence makes that promise a lie and once more our safety is threatened. I will not sit by while we make the same mistake again. Your life is not worth our security.”

Syrrin spoke up before Elinan could continue, “I apologize to you all for my deception when Amjoh was here, but I believe the risk was worth taking. There is also a reason I gave Amjoh and Pendant of Friendship. Since Nerinah bears it, our laws say that she may not be killed.”

“She is human!” shouted Elinan. “That does not apply to her if our Council determines she should die!”

Kella spoke up at this, “I am afraid you are incorrect there, Elinan. The law was written many years ago for the express purpose of guests of other races coming to our city. It has not been used in some time, but the law is quite clear that we cannot kill this young human.”

“Then we change the law!”

Kella shook her head, “it is not that simple, this is something that our council cannot just change.”

Vaela and Lelan started speaking at once, with Lelan yielding the floor to Vaela, who said, “That still does not answer what we are to do about this woman. It may be prudent to look into this law for the future, but for the moment I am still inclined to side with Elinan, it is concerning that she is here, and the possible threat cannot be discounted.”

“Throw her out then, take the Pendant from her, and alter her memory so she can tell no one, as you did with her companion,” said Elinan, seemingly calming down.

The debate continued from there but Nerinah round herself largely not paying attention. As thing discussion moved back and forth she thought more and more about the fact that something didn’t seem right with all of this, that there was something the Eisan were hiding and she needed to find out what it was, and also that there was more knowledge that she could bring back to her home. She also could not shake the feeling that there was great importance of her not losing possession of the Pendant, even when she left Ros Tonun and began to search for what to do or say.

Nerinah was pretty sure she could see the support. Elinan clearly has the support of two for the newer members of the Council, Vaela and Kenna, while Syrrin seemed to be supported by Hyarin and Kella. Several of the Eisan had risen from their seats in the heated debate, including Elinan, who was pacing around with, as Nerinah noticed for the first time, a slight limp in his left leg. This gave Nerinah an idea.

“I would like to say something,” said Nerinah over the argument. It took a moment before the Eisan all fell silent. She could feel nine pairs of eyes boring into her, with a combination of curiosity and anger. Her heart was just about bursting from her chest and she was fighting to control her breathing as she turned slowly to face Elinan.

“Elinan, to be allowed to stay in the city of Ros Tonun until I have gained what I need, and to keep possession of this Pendant of Friendship, I challenge you to a Dual of Honor.”

There was silence in response to Nerinah’s challenge and a sharp drawing in of breath for Syrrin and several others. Elinan’s response was a puzzled expression which slowly transformed into a grin that she could only describe as being one of glee. “Very well,” the Eisan said, with mirth. “I accept your challenge.”