A Grim Announcement

Bisha rolled the small stone symbol in his hand as he walked to the palace library, no mater how much he held it it stayed cool to the touch. He had examined it closely last night, trying to see if he could get any clues from it. Nothing stood out. It just looked like an oval on it's side with a rounded triangle with a wedge cut out of the bottom on top. The only thing about it that looked out of the ordinary was the material it was made of. He couldn't decide if it was metal or some type of stone. Whatever it was made out of it was beyond ancient, any markings it may have had were worn off long ago.

When he got to the palace library he asked to see the senior archivist. The librarian had him sit at a table to wait while he went to go get him. Bisha sat and thought about everything that had happened so far, could he take what the Celestial Emperor said at face value? He doubted it, people like that were full of schemes and plans. Bisha had seen enough of that on the streets of Khunduz to think otherwise. He turned his thoughts to what Shildeg would find out about the bandit's sword.

While he knew he wasn't the most knowledgeable about such matters, he was fairly certain that he knew who the weapon supplier was. He was just going to have to wait until she returned with her news. Too much was happening in the shadows for Bisha's liking, give him a clean cut mathematical formula any day. As he was contemplating this the librarian approached, leading a very elderly Long Yi in very traditional Kishnagari robes. As the librarian stopped in front of him Bisha stood up.

"Mr. Massey, may I introduce the Senior Archivist Lao Zhe Gosha." The archivist grinned and held out his hands to shake Bisha's.

"It's not every day I get a visit from a famous wizard." Bisha blushed and shook his hands.

"Thank you, Is there a place where we can discuss privately?"

The elderly Long Yi looked into Bisha's face and said "Follow me to my office." He shuffled off into the maze of bookcases. As he ambled his way with Bisha following he would occasionally adjust a book on it's shelf of put a volume back to its place on the shelves. After what felt like a couple minutes they were in a part of the library that Bisha had not seen before. He was going to ask about it, but the Senior Archivist beat him to it.

"We are in the Ancient Records Deposit, many of these tomes are older than Kishnagar herself. It is my job to take care of them so that they may last another hundred generations." He said with more than a hint of pride. They finally came to a very old bronze door, it must have been installed when the palace was first built. The elderly Long Yi pushed it open to reveal his meager office.

"Quite a few years ago there was an effort to replace all the doors down here with Candana wood, but I wouldn't let them replace my door. I prefer the original door, it speaks of age and times long gone." he said wistfully. "Please sit." He gestured to a simple chair in front of his small desk.

Bisha sat down and the Senior Archivist asked, "So what brings you to my humble office?"

Bisha held up the token given to him by the Celestial Emperor and the archivists eyes widened. All he said was, "Is it time already?" he stood up and went to the wall behind Bisha. Bisha started to turn to get a better look, but the Archivist admonished him.

"I'm sorry sir, but I must keep some secrets." Bisha apologized and faced the desk again. After a moment the archivist returned to his seat and held out an ancient scroll.

"I will leave my office so you may read it, but you may not, under any circumstances, leave this room with it." The archivist sounded deadly serious and considering everything that had happened on this journey so far Bisha did not want to find out what would happen. Bisha waited for him to close the door behind him, he heard a heavy lock slide into place as the door closed. Bisha sat for second in the dim light.

Bisha unrolled the scroll as he read it, poring over every word. This put everything he had learned and surmised so far into a new light. It was the final detail he had been needing to put it all together. After reading the whole scroll he wrapped it back up to it's beginning and stood up. Bisha pondered what he had learned for a moment and then knocked on the door to be let out.

The elderly Long Yi unlocked and opened the door and looked deep into Bisha's eyes for a moment before saying "Very interesting isn't it?"

All Bisha could do was nod.

"It struck me the same way the first time I read it too." The Long Yi put a hand on Bisha's shoulder. "I hope it helps." The Long Yi then shuffled into his office and secured the scroll as Bisha walked off to find Shildeg so they could compare notes.

When Bisha returned to their quarters Shildeg was waiting for him. She poured some tea and handed Bisha a cup. Seeing his expression she tentatively asked, "How did it go?" Bisha sat down took a sip and just looked off into space. After a moment he gathered himself and replied "It answered my questions, but it opened so many more. What did you learn?"

Shildeg sat down next to him. "The sword was of Gizban manufacture, but something tells me you already knew that." He did, he just wanted confirmation. After a moment of them sitting and sipping tea in silence. Bisha asked, "May I have a moment in private? I need to think about this and go over my notes." 

Shildeg stood up and kissed him on the forehead. "You can have anything you want my love." As she left the room she waved down one of her staff and instructed them that Bisha wasn't to be disturbed. Bisha sat back in his chair and pondered all of what he had learned. He was going to have to request a meeting of the Great Council and he wasn't sure that anyone would believe what he had to say. If the wasn't the one gathering the information he wouldn't have. He was going to want the party present as well, he wanted to have his friends with him when he made his announcement.

That evening Bisha and the rest of the group sat in the chambers being used as the Great Council chambers until the new ones could be built. Bisha sat lost in his own thoughts while the rest of the group talked amongst themselves, wondering what Bisha was going to announce. Nahla looked at him and placed a hand on his knee.

"Are you alright Duyu?", concern tinged Nahla's voice. He snapped out of this thoughts and gripped her hand. 

"Yes, I'm sorry. Considering what I have to say, this could go in any direction. I'm hoping that they will take what I have to say seriously."

Nahla glanced at where the Narn Dargra was seated. Someone had the bright idea of seating her next to the Hafla delegate, the difference in their sizes would have been comical if the meeting didn't have such a serious air about it. Everyone was sitting on an ornate Kishnagari seating cushion, the patterns on the cushions reflected the who was sitting on them by their patterns and colors. Before each delegate sat a short wooden table with writing instruments, a small stack of papers, and a pot of tea with a single cup. They were waiting for the Mahapratanidhi so they could start.

For a short moment Bisha looked around the room. It reminded him of when he first met the Mahapratanidhi, standing in front of the council almost paralyzed by fear of talking. This time was different, this time he was more scared that no one would believe what he had to say. A voice unceremoniously announced "Mahapratanidhi Praveena Ramjeeta Akishnabandahur" as she walked to her cushion and sat down.

"Since this is a more unofficial meeting we shall do away with all the pageantry and get strait to business." The faces of all of the other delegates seemed to be in agreement. The Mahapratanidhi looked at Bisha.

"Jadugara Massey, what do you have for us?"

Bisha stood up, cleared his throat, and walked to the circle surrounded by the delegates.

"I will start by saying that what I have to say is gleaned from a year of research in the greatest libraries that Ardu has to offer and that I do not say any of this lightly. I have checked and cross referenced my sources multiple times to ensure my information is as accurate as I can possibly make it. So, please take what I have to say with a deadly seriousness." 

Nahla quietly looked at Irene with a concerned expression which was matched by the rest of the group, Bisha didn't say stuff like this unless it was extremely serious. The delegates looked to Bisha intently, the room was completely silent.

"We are facing the concerted effort by the Children of Mrtis to wipe out all of the races of Ardu so that Mrtis herself may rule over Ardu uncontested." There was some quiet muttering among the delegates. "I mean that they seek nothing other than the extermination of the peoples of Ardu so that the Children of Mrtis and Mrtis herself can rule over whatever is left after our eradication." The room was silent.

Bisha continued, "There is hope. There is an ancient device used by an ancient peoples from the oldest tales that was used to trap Mrtis in a stone and that device still exists." He held up the cylinder that was given to him by the Celestial Emperor. "This is part of the device." Everyone's gaze was locked on the cylinder.

"It is in several parts that have been spread out to make reassembling the device very difficult." Murmurs rippled through the Great Council, now came the difficult part. Bisha took a deep breath.

"The parts are spread out in the subterranean kingdoms of the people known by the Celestial Empire as the Yo Gai." The council was a sea of confused faces so Bisha explained.

"I have surmised that the Yo Gai are the same race as the Alsma from Oristani legends, the Axluk from Michocano mythology, and the Urk from Zwergin folklore. They actually exist and they are crucial to the retrieval of the device that will help us defeat Mrtis in what is going to be the biggest threat Ardu has ever faced."

The Great Council erupted into chaos. Each delegate was yelling over everyone else, each decrying Bisha's announcement that fairy tale creatures exist and that another Great War was going to kill everyone. Bisha could just stand there helplessly and watch as the members of the council verbally attacked each other. He was about to give up when Shildeg saw his face and stood up.

"SILENCE!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Everyone froze, shocked into silence by the yelling giant. She looked around at each delegate.

"Bisha Massey is a man who takes what he says very seriously and he will not say anything that he does not believe to be true. If you wish to call him a liar, you have insulted the First Consort of the Narn Dargra of all of the tribes of Oristan and I will not take it lightly." To make her point she picked up her tea cup and crushed it in her hand making a fist. Blood started to trickle from between her fingers as she glared at all of the delegates who were smart enough to remain quiet. The council room was quiet once more. The Mahapratanidhi broke the silence.

"Jadugara Massey, please continue. How do we get to these parts of this device?" 

Bisha looked to the Mahapratanidhi as Shildeg sat back down. "This is where my information ends. The only clue that I have to get the device is that the entrance is somewhere deep in the jungles of Manggar."

The silence in the room became even deeper and everyone looked devastated by this news. All of the delegates, even the Mahapratanidhi sat in silence considering this announcement. Nahla looked around confused. After a good minute of silence she couldn't stand it anymore and stood up.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Why is this a problem? Shouldn't we just go into these jungles and find the way to the device?"

Zhu Yeng Do stood up. "The people of the jungles of Manggar are cannibals and they will kill all outsiders who enter their lands." In a very serious tone she continued. "During the Great War the Celestial Empire faced the peoples of Manggar, they wiped us out. It was the worst defeat the Celestial Empire ever faced. We had superior numbers and vastly superior weapons. They would appear out of nowhere, kill entire units, and disappear into the jungle leaving no witnesses. The only evidence they left behind were poisoned darts and slashes that covered the dead. The Celestial Empire never went back to retaliate, our defeat at their hands was complete." Zhu Yeng Do then sat down and remained silent, the rest of the room did the same. After a couple of minutes the Mahapratanidhi stood up.

"I suggest we take a break and resume this meeting tomorrow after lunch. Are there any objections?" No one raised there voices.

"In that case we re-adjourn tomorrow, hopefully with fresh ideas." With that the Mahapratanidhi walked out of the room, leaving everyone to their thoughts. 

Educating Oristani

The Mahapratanidhi sat with the Narn Dargra in her private study, Praveena being Oranang looked like an infant next to the giant Oristani. She was trying to explain to Shildeg just how dangerous Manggar was to outsiders and Shildeg wanted to send in a hundred of her finest warriors to protect her Bisha.

"Shildeg." She said with patience "I sometimes forget that your people have lived in effective isolation for a very long time, but please trust me when I say a large group would be a disaster. The Manggar are ferociously isolationist and if a small army went into the jungles they would never come out."

Shildeg's resolve showed no sign of cracking. "We do not tolerate invaders to our lands either, I don't get your point."

Praveena said pleadingly, hoping to get through to Shildeg's common sense. "Yes, that is true and I respect you for it, but you do not eat the invaders." Shildeg's expression shifted, it was clear she had not considered that. "I want Bisha to be safe, I want all of them to be safe and the only way this is going to succeed is if they go in as a small group by themselves."

Shildeg slumped, she knew Praveena was right, Praveena continued, "My people trade with them and it is only at specific locations set by them on certain days at certain times. Too early or too late and the traders are never seen again. You haven't seen the statues, they are quite explicit in how invaders are dealt with." Praveena saw that this wasn't helping Shildeg's state of mind so she changed tact. She placed her tiny hand on Shildeg's massive knee, Shildeg looked at her with fear clear in her eyes.

"You have to trust your Narn Khanij. He is a powerful wizard and you have to trust that he can protect himself, besides he will have Nahla with him to keep him safe." This had the effect that Praveena was hoping for. Shildeg looked to Praveena.

"Thank you, I needed to hear that. You are right of course, he is a very powerful wizard." Shildeg sighed. "Among my people I am well past the time to wed, I had almost given up hope. I have devoted my life to my people and it has never led me astray, when I met Bisha I discovered that I could be happy as well." A deep sadness crept into her voice. "I don't want to loose him, I don't know what I would do if I did."

Praveena looked up to Shildeg with sincerity in eyes. "I understand, I am wed to my nation, I will not take a husband. Trust me when I say that I will do everything in my power to make sure Bisha returns to you safe and unharmed." Praveena knew what Shildeg needed right now. "Would you like to see him? I happen to know that they are talking to Nahla right now explaining the situation to her." Shildeg took a deep breath.

"Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you, I appreciate your words. You have made a friend today."

Praveena raised her eyebrows. "I know what that means to your people, and I hope to be someone who is worthy of your friendship. Come, let's go see your desert flower." As they walked down the hall Shildeg had to walk very slowly so Praveena could keep up. Shildeg was extremely tall by any people's standards, even among all the Oristani there were maybe a handful who were as tall as her. This was only made more impressive by her muscular physique, it made her seem like a giant carved from milky jade. Everything about her was oversized for her people, except for her tusks. They barely stuck out from her lips. 

As they came close to where Bisha was Shildeg indicated she wanted to stop in a room nearby. When they ducked into a room the Mahapratanidhi dismissed the servants working there so they could be alone. Once they had the room to themselves Shildeg stood before Praveena with her hands at her sides wringing her hands nervously. 

"As a friend, I feel you should know why I worry about Bisha the way I do." Praveena sat at a cushion next to a low table and gestured for Shildeg to do the same. Shildeg sat down and looked at Praveena with what was the face of a scared child, she took a deep breath.

"When I was a small child my tribe was in the north lands near Grundhorn, we were there to graze the herds and birth our temee. It was a mild spring and the flowers were in bloom. We were going about our lives the same way we have for thousands of years. My father was the Narn Dargra then and I looked up to him as only a daughter can. He was my world and I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. He was so patient and wise, everyone trusted his word." Shildeg's eyes started to water at the memory.

"One night the Dirt Eaters fell on us as we slept. They were ruthless, they even killed the temee and yaama¹. My father had me hide because I was too young to defend the tribe. I had to watch as they massacred my whole tribe and executed my father for the crime of being on wrong side of an imaginary line on a map. I had to stay in my hiding spot for a week while the Dirt Eaters either stole of destroyed everything my tribe had." Shildeg took a shuddering breath.

"As I walked the desert to find some form of refuge I swore to myself I would never feel like that again and that I would make the Dirt Eater pay for what they did to my tribe. I spent my life becoming the greatest warrior my people have ever seen, Orista is my only equal. When I was old enough to take my father's role I made sure that what happened to my tribe will never happen again." 

"I gave myself to my people wholly and had given up on finding a love of my own, but the spirits had other plans for me. When I saw Bisha I knew I had to make him mine, but I didn't know if he felt the same. While he was with us I took every opportunity to spend as much time with him as possible and the more I learned about him the more I wanted him, I was overjoyed to learn he felt the same." Praveena smiled at the love that radiated from Shildeg at the thought of her husband.

"I courted him in the traditional manner and was surprised that he responded in the ways of our tradition so I proposed marriage and he accepted. Nahla explained to me that he was ignorant in our ways so I gave him my talisman and waited to see if he truly loved me, I was ready to accept that it was a misunderstanding on my part. Imagine my joy to find out he felt the same about me."

"I am an Oristani, we are used to the uncertainty of life. I am also the Narn Dargra, I must live my life with my people being first in my heart, but I have not been able to open my heart since I was a child. If I were to loose him the pain would be too great and I don't know what I would do if he was gone. I worry about him because he is the only love I have had since the death of my father and I do not want it gone."

Praveena considered this for a moment then shared an idea Shildeg. "I happen to know that the Grundhorn Empire has a device that will allow two people to talk to each other no matter the distance. I will talk to them as the Mahapratanidhi to see if they will give us a pair so that you may stay in contact with Bisha while he is traveling." Praveena looked up into Shildeg's eyes. "Speaking as Praveena, I do this because I understand your worry and I want to help a friend."

Shildeg visibly relaxed and placed a hand on Praveena's knee, her hand taking up most of the Oranang's lap. "Thank you. You place me in a debt I am glad to pay." Praveena smiled back.

"Come, let us see how our heroes are doing explaining the situation to Nahla."

The two stood up and finished making their way to where the rest of the party was explaining the dangers of Manggar to Nahla. They arrived just in time for Devshi to finish explaining to Nahla, she had used almost the exact same example that Praveena used for Shildeg. Understanding dawned on Nahla's face. Shildeg and Praveena stayed just inside the door.

"And we need to go into their lands to find Bisha's device? Are you certain?" By the sound in her voice she sounded terrified at the prospect, she looked to Bisha who just nodded his head to her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then looked at Bisha, "Alright, I will be at your side to protect you. You are my duyu after all." 

The Mahapratanidhi walked fully into the room and addressed the party. "Forgive my intrusion. May we borrow Bisha for a moment?" Devshi was quick to respond. 

"Of course Mahapratanidhi." 

Bisha and Nahla stood up. Nahla put her hand on Bisha's shoulder. "Where you go I will follow." 

"Thank you, that's means a lot to me." He said as he put his hand on hers. Bisha walked over to the Mahapratanidhi.

"What do you need Mahapratanidhi?" Bisha asked.

"Your wife needs you." She said looking to Shildeg. "Go spend some time with her."

Bisha and Shildeg walked off down the hall. After a moment Bisha asked, "What do you need?" 

Shildeg stopped in the hallway and looked at Bisha. Bisha looked back at her and even he could tell that something was bothering her. "Are you okay?" he asked nervously.

"I need my husband." she said plainly. 

Realization dawned on Bisha's face. "I'm sorry my songbird. I'm new to this whole relationship thing." he said apologetically, Shildeg smiled.  

"I just want to spend some time with my husband before he has to run off through cannibal infested jungles to save the world." Bisha blushed.

"I'm sorry." he said bashfully.

"You can make up for it by taking your wife to your bed and having your way with her." She joked back at him. Bisha's normally sickly cherry red face turned into a brilliant crimson as he blushed deeply. Shildeg scooped him up in her arms and carried him back to their quarters.

¹Yaama - The Ardu equivalent to a goat. Kept in large herds by the Oristani tribes for its milk and meat.

Coming Together

The Great Council had reconvened and Bisha was continuing his talk to the Council as they all watched him intently. "If you remember from last meeting I had said that I was at a loss as to the location of the entrance to the, I guess you would call it, the underground world. Thanks to the assistance of the Dragon Emperor I have learned that the entrance has been protected by the royal family of Manggar ever since the Great war. If we are to progress we must be able to successfully establish diplomatic relations with the Royal Family. I wish I was able to tell you more, but there is precious little information about the Manggar and what little there is is most likely exaggerated, embellished, or incorrect."

As Bisha took his place with the rest of the party Nahla and Ten Rabbit congratulated him on being able to speak to the council without looking obviously terrified. The sincerity of their congratulations made Bisha blush. Devshi made sure to congratulate his new found confidence, "Bisha, I'm proud of you. You looked so confident and knowledgeable, how did you overcome your fear?"

Bisha demurred a little at first, but then replied. "It's my wife. I don't know what it is, but when she's in the room I'm not afraid anymore and I feel a lot more confident about my self." Bisha was about to say more but the Mahapratanidhi spoke up, interrupting him. 

"It would seem that with this new information we must determine who we are going to send as emissaries to the royal family of Manggar and how will we equip them. As for the first point I would suggest that we send the group who was so successful at facilitating the reformation of the Great council."

Most of the council nodded in agreement so the Mahapratanidhi continued. "I would also suggest that they make this expedition without a military escort. There is no telling how a large group would be perceived by the Manggar and it is entirely possible that it would be seen as a military invasion of their lands which would be responded to as such."

The Twin Emperors of Grundhorn stood up and the Hugelkaizur started. "We would agree that a larger group could easily be perceived as a form of invasion into their lands."

The Kustekaizur added "As such it would be in our best interest to keep the expedition group as small as possible to minimize the perception of aggressive action. To assist in this I propose that each of us equip the expedition with tokens representing each of the council member nations to show our intention of diplomatic relations."

The Twin Emperors sat back down and after a second the Diirektor van Bestuur of Haflalan stood up to address the council. "I am in agreement with the Mahapratanidhi and Kaizurtum that the group should be small as possible and I can not think of a group more suited to this expedition than the one seated before us. The only matter I see that needs resolution is how are we equip this expedition." The Diirektor looked to the other members of the council before continuing. "I suggest that each member nation contribute to success of this expedition by the donation of specialist equipment that would prove useful when they continue on to this underground kingdom." As the Diirektor sat back down there was much murmuring in agreement among the the other members.

The Mahapratanidhi spoke up again, "It would seem we have concluded who will attempt this expedition and I would agree wholeheartedly with the Diirektor of Haflalan Trade Confederation that the expedition needs to be equipped as well as possible for a journey into a completely unknown region. Does anyone object?" The Mahapratanidhi looked to the other rulers and no one spoke up so she continued.

"The United Provinces of Kishnagar will provide the latest developments in medical supplies. We have had recent advancements in medicine for the treatment of infections and wounds, as well as a portable kit for the conducting of surgery in less than ideal circumstances."

There was a short moment of silence before the Narn Dargra stood up. "Since it is unknown what the conditions are like underground the peoples of Oristan will provide water purification systems developed by the Zurkh tribes. Due to the extremely dry conditions of the Zukhetak Highlands they have developed a system that is capable of collecting water from the air and purifying both urine and body sweat." Several heads nodded at this contribution. As the Narn Dargra sat back down the Diirektor stood back up.

"Since we don't know what resources will prevail themselves underground, the Haflalan Trade Confederation will contribute our latest innovation in food preservation, canned goods." There were several confused expressions around the room. "We have found a way to keep nutrient rich food unspoiled in metal containers for several years. To keep the food in an easily portable state we have maximized the nutrient quality of the food so that a single small box can provide everything an individual needs for an entire day." 

For the next contribution Zhu Yeng Do stood up. "Since the expedition will be presumably entering by a cave system the Celestial Empire of Chi Eng Zhou will contribute our Zhi Si rope, it is extremely durable and strong. The fibers come from special type of spider that we farm for the silk that they make their webs from, it is several times stronger than the steel of any weapon and it can resist abrasion almost indefinitely."

The Dimarkos of the Ploutos of Argeminos added "The Republic of Argeminos will add to that a full set of our latest climbing gear for each member of the expedition. It is very durable and more importantly easily used by those who have no experience, it is required equipment in our navy. If they have to rappel a cliff face or a particularly steep cave they should do so safely."

The Ashfani Pasha continued, "The Royal Kingdom of Ashfanabad will provide the uniforms used by our artificers to protect themselves. These garments are made from a material that is thick, durable, and more importantly majic resistant. They will protect the expedition through even the roughest terrain."

Not be outdone the Michocan God-King stood up. "The Michocan Empire will supply one hundred pounds of unprocessed majical obsidian sherds. I am most certain that the expedition majic user will find this most useful."

Finally the twin emperors stood up, the Hugelkaizur spoke. "The Grundhorn Empire will contribute what is possibly one of our greatest inventions. We are supplying the expedition with two Majikes Sprekgals." There were several confused expressions, only Irene and the Mahapratanidhi didn't seem confused by the announcement, the Kustekaizur explained. "The Majikes Sprekglas are devices that allow for instantaneous verbal communication regardless of distance." Looks of confusion turned to being visibly impressed, such a device would be immensely valuable no matter the circumstances.

After the Twin Emperors sat down the Mahapratanidhi spoke again. "It is decided. The members of the expedition have been selected and it had been determined how each member nation is going to contribute to the expedition. All that is left is for the expedition to actually take place." She paused for dramatic effect. "In seven days time the expedition will leave Alkhadharam to go to hopefully meet with the Manggar royal family and begin their journey into the underground kingdoms." She knocked a bronze sphere against a wooden block with a loud knock that reverberated around the room announcing that the meeting was concluded. 

As all of the leaders were gathering their things and leaving the chamber the Mahapratanidhi and the Narn Dargra walked over to the group. The Mahapratanidhi spoke first, "Because this mission is so dangerous, I wanted to make sure that each of you had some time to spend with loved ones before you had to leave again. So please, hug your loved ones and have some fun before this expedition. You have earned it."

She turned to Devshi and spoke to her directly. "If I may have a moment of your time, would you speak privately with me?" 

Devshi followed the Mahapratanidhi away from the group to a quiet spot near the council seats. Devshi was brimming with curiosity, what did the Mahapratanidhi want with her? "Yes Mahapratanidhi, what can I do for you?" The Mahapratanidhi looked at her earnestly.

"Devshi in this instance please call me Praveena, I'm not coming to you as your ruler." Devshi didn't know what to say, he supreme ruler wanted her to call her by her name. As far as she knew this was unprecedented. 

"Certainly, uhh, Praveena. How can I help you?" 

"I am aware of what you did to that street gang and crime boss." Devshi's heart leapt into her throat, was she going to be arrested or punished? "While what you did was technically illegal, you gave hope to an entire city in a way that I never could, I wanted to make sure you to understand that." Devshi still felt cautious.

"Umm, thank you?"

"I mean that you have unknowingly created a legend, Devshi the Hero of Rata. Attendance at the Temple of Parvai has jumped a hundred fold and children now want to be like their hero, Devshi."

Devshi was a little overwhelmed by this revelation. She had seen the new crowds at her temple, but it hadn't fully sunk in why they were there. All she could think to say in response was "Wow." The Mahapratanidhi continued.

"Whether you know it or not you have unintentionally made your family a target for all of the crime bosses in Alkhadharam." Devshi hadn't thought about it, she was only protecting her younger brother. Having it pointed out to her made her realize that her family wasn't safe and there wasn't anything she could do about it. Worry crept over her face, but the Mahapratanidhi continued.

"Now, to prevent any harm coming to the family of The Hero of Rata I am moving your family onto the palace grounds and I have tasked Fulha with the protection of your family. You have already demonstrated your worth to your nation and it is my responsibility to make sure that you are able to perform your duties without having to worry about the safety of your family." 

"Thank you, uh, Praveena. I don't know what to say." There was a moment of realization of what the Mahapratanidhi had said. "Wait, I though Fulha was a diplomat. How is he going to keep my family safe?"

Praveena smiled. "That was his cover story for your journey to recruit the nations for the Great Council and he is the resident expert on Chi Eng Zhou culture. Fulha is head of the Assassins Guild and the safety of your family is now his personal responsibility. One, that I must say, he was glad to take on. You've had quite the impact on him."

This was unreal. The diplomat she had spent a year with was actually the head of the deadliest guild in Kishnagar and he was now taking care of the safety of her family. What other details did she miss? Was the accountant that traveled with them some sort of master swordsman or something? 

"Uhh, I don't know what to say." Devshi stuttered. 

Praveena chuckled, "Thank you will suffice."

"Thank you!" Devshi happily interjected. Another thought struck her. "Does my family know?"

"As far as your family is concerned they are being moved onto the palace grounds to honor Devshi Acharyadaha, The Hero of Rata. Fulha has introduced himself as a senior diplomat and friend of yours. I would like to keep it at that, I'm sure you understand. No need to cause any stress."

Once again Devshi was at a loss as to what to say. Luckily the Mahapratanidhi was an old hand in such matters. "Please don't mention any of this to your family and don't worry Fulha will keep them safe. I might check in on them myself occasionally, I hear your mother makes an amazing Samasas."

Devshi was once again overwhelmed. The Mahapratanidhi was protecting her family and the diplomat she had been traveling with was the head of the Assassin's Guild. Now the Mahapratanidhi expressed an interest in visiting with her parents, life had become too strange. The Mahapratanidhi broke her out of her introspection.

"Go, spend some time with your family. I'm sure your younger brother would like to spend some time with his sister the hero."

Saying Farewell

Devshi followed the Mahapratanidhi's advice and went to spend some time with her family while they were still living in the Rata district. Somnadi had voiced her displeasure at having to leave the comfortable bed so Devshi let her know she could stay if she wanted to. There was a beam of sunlight that covered most of the bed and Somnadi stretched out to take up as much of it as possible, Devshi chuckled as she headed out to see her mom.

She was starting to see what the Mahapratanidhi meant about making her family a target, there were crowds starting to develop around her parent's house. It made her glad she had decided to wear street clothes, this was starting to get ridiculous. Luckily the crowd parted around her letting her through to the house. Her mother was waiting for her inside, opening the door for her as she walked up and closing it behind her. There was concern plain on Samrapreet's face as Devshi came inside. 

"Bidala, an official from the Kunsala¹ came and said we had to move, what is happening? He said it was for our safety, should I be worried? Are the children safe? Are you safe? What is happening?" Devshi took her mothers hands, they were shaking.

"Madher², It's okay. Yes, I'm safe. The children are safe and the move is more of a just in case." Devshi looked her mother in the eyes. "It's okay, you can relax." Samrapreet's hands continued to shake and she still had a worried expression so Devshi decided to use a different tactic. "Madher, do you have something I could snack on, I haven't eaten yet." That worked, Samrapreet snapped out of her worry and went straight into 'mother mode', as Devshi called it.

"Ah Bidala, what are you doing running around saving the world with an empty stomach!" she yelled as she hurried off to the kitchen to make tea and something to eat. Devshi realized she probably wasn't getting out of here without eating a huge meal, Samrapreet had very clear opinions on such matters. She continued to call out to Devshi as she hurried around preparing food. "I swear Bidala, you would forget your own head if it wasn't attached. You know how important it is to have a full belly when you go on one of your adventures. Leaving your Madher all alone to fend for herself." 

Devshi gave the sigh and eye roll that only someone who was raised Kishnagari could give. "Madher, the move is just being careful, a just in case. Besides, your moving onto the palace grounds." There was the sound of a breaking plate and silence. Devshi ran to the kitchen, did her mother hurt herself? As she came through the door to the kitchen she saw her mother standing in the middle of the room with a stunned expression, the remains of a broken plate littered the floor around her. "Wait, didn't you know you were moving to the palace? Didn't the official tell you?"

Samrapreet looked at her daughter, she sounded a little sheepish. "He might have? I sort of lost track when he said we were moving. Our family has lived here for generations and it felt like we were being told to give up a major part of our history. I sort of panicked." Devshi grabbed the broom and cleaned up the broken plate. 

"Well, how do you feel about it now? Do you not want to move, would you rather stay here? As you said, our family has lived here for generations." 

Samrapreet made a dismissive sound, "Someone else can deal with the leaking roof and the loose pipes." Her expression looked worried again. "What are we going to wear? We can't run around the palace grounds looking like street vendors. Ah! Does this mean Amra will have to find a new job? We can't afford to live in the palace." Devshi chuckled at her mother.

"Madher, we are moving at the word of the Mahapratanidhi herself, I'm sure she has made appropriate preparations so we will be as comfortable as possible. Have you started packing?" Samrapreet suddenly looked tired as she walked into the main room and sat down on the couch. Devshi followed and sat down next to her. That was when she noticed the new altar setup.

Her mother had put a painting of her in her tiger armor on the altar propped up on the statue of Parvai. There were a lot more candles and incense burners as well. She looked a little closer and she could see a bunch of little painted clay tigers all over the altar as well. Devshi didn't know what to say. She was honored that her mother would do this, but it also felt a little sacrilegious to have her image leaning on the statue of Parvai like that. Devshi decided that since her mother was so stressed she would talk about it later. She was more concerned that her family was going to be ready to move when the palace workers showed up.

No sooner did she think this when there was a knock on the door, Devshi stood up. "I'll get it Madher, you should get everyone ready to pack." When Devshi opened the door she was greeted by a palace servant who smiled when he saw her.

"Shre Devshi, we are here to move your family to the palace. Your father has already been notified, as have your brothers and sisters. They know to come to the palace when they are ready to go home and there is a guide that will help them get acclimated to the new home." He handed her a form. "If you would get your mother to sign on the bottom, we will get everything moved. Don't worry about helping us, it's our honor to do this for the Hero of Rata."

"Please, come in." Once the servant was inside Devshi looked outside and saw that most of the crowd had decided to move on to something more interesting. She shut the door behind the servant and addressed her mother. "Madher, the palace servants are here to get everything moved." Samrapreet stood up like she had been jolted by lightning, Devshi handed her the form to sign. "Just sign on the bottom and they will take care of everything for you." Samrapreet signed and then turned her attention to the palace servant.

It was clear that she was having a massive internal conflict. Should she run to make tea and snacks for the visitors or should she watch them like a hawk to make sure they treated everything with the proper amount of respect. The servant smiled at her, it was obvious this wasn't the first time he had to deal with something like this. "Shre Samrapreet, do not worry, we will make sure everything will arrive in the same state that it left in." At his words her inner conflict was apparently solved because she held up a single finger and rushed into the kitchen to make the tea she had tried to start earlier. 

Devshi decided that this was the best time to go to her temple, while her mother was distracted. Devshi turned to the servant. "Thank you for this, I greatly appreciate it." The servant smiled.

"Honestly, it's my pleasure. It's not every day that I get to do something for a local hero. You should get going before the tea is done." He said with a significant look to the kitchen. Devshi gave him a quick bow and snuck out the front door. Devshi was a couple blocks from home when she realized she should check in a her temple and let them know she was going to be leaving again.

As she was nearing her temple she saw a huge crowd in the street, everyone was praying to Parvai and chanting. When someone from the crowd spotted her everyone turned and started cheering her name. Devshi froze, she wasn't expecting this. Someone from the temple pushed their way to her, when they got to her they gave a quick greeting at helped her push her way into the temple. As they made their way the crowd gave them just enough room to walk and everyone was reaching out to her to touch her. Devshi didn't know what to do as she was pulled toward the temple, everyone wanted to touch her. People kept asking for a blessing from her and mothers would hold out their babies to her for her to bless them. It was too much for her, she was starting to realize what the Mahapratanidhi had meant in her warning. As they made it into the temple she could see that it was just as crowded as the street, but inside the priests were keeping a sort of order and people were being filed through in a somewhat orderly fashion.

The priest that led her in shunted her off to one of the side rooms and let her know that the High Priest would be with her shortly. Devshi took a seat and listened to the press of people in the main hall. This was unreal, was all of this because of her? She was starting to doubt that she had done the right thing in dealing with the street gang and the Chakhabortahi, was what was happening worth what she had done? She had just wanted to protect her little brother and now she was being treated like one the great heroes of old, it was almost too much for her to handle. The door squeaked as the High Priest came in and shut the door behind her.

"I know that look. Your doubting whether you deserve this or not." Dhalbeeta came and sat with Devshi, she placed a caring hand on Devshi's knee and continued in her calmest voice. "Devshi, it is natural for you to feel this, I would be concerned if you didn't." Devshi looked to her superior for guidance, Dhalbeeta was more than glad to help. "This is the part that the stories and the songs don't tell you."

"What do you mean?" Devshi asked.

"How do you think Shre Chandhadev felt after the Battle of a Thousand Blades? He had only done what was necessary to keep his family safe and in doing so had liberated an entire city from the Ljosafar. He had taken so many lives, so had everyone else in his unit. They were trapped and cut off from any help from the rest of the army. He did what he felt he had to do so that his family, his friends, and neighbors could live another day." She gave Devshi's knee a light squeeze to comfort her before continuing.

"That is the part that children are taught in school. The part they don't learn is that for months, even years, Shre Chandhadev was wracked by a guilt that ate at him like a hungry serpent. He agonized over every life he took, he cried over friends that died in the battle, it almost destroyed him. The entire time he was feeling this everyone was calling him a great hero and praising his greatness, this only made him feel worse." Dhalbeeta shifted herself on the couch.

"It wasn't until much later in life that Shre Chandhadev came to terms with his emotions and was able to embrace the title of "Hero" that others had put on him. I tell you this not to discourage you or make you rethink anything you did. I tell you this to remind you that what you experienced is very different from what people see, or rather want to see." Dhalbeeta held Devshi's hand. 

"You may have not set out to make yourself a hero, but in this uncertain time the people have made you into what they need. Someone to look up to, someone to emulate, in other words a hero. My advice to you is to let them call you "hero" and remember they do this because they need a shining light to look up to when they don't know what is happening in a time where the future is uncertain. Just remember that the shining light they look up to is not you, the real you, it is an image they have created that makes them feel better about what is happening in their own lives." Devshi sighed and visibly relaxed.

"Thank you, that is exactly what I needed to hear."

Dhalbeeta grinned, "Tell you what, why don't we hold a service to honor you. It would be good for the people to see that you are a real person. And besides, if we didn't I'm pretty sure the crowd would start eating themselves." She ended with a chuckle.

Devshi gave a quick sigh. "Yeah, we should give the people what they want."

"Besides, thanks to you we can now afford to fix all the little problems around the temple."

Devshi was genuinely surprised. "Even the old dormitory door?"

"Yes, even the dormitory door."

"Praise to Parvai, the only thing holding that door together is spit and wishful thinking."

The service honoring Devshi was a beautiful affair. Dhalbeeta had given an excellent service and had manged to remind everyone that Devshi was a person too. After the service Devshi gave personal blessings for an hour and when she left the crowd parted for her respectably and no one shoved their baby in her face. Devshi was feeling a lot better about life, as long as she didn't think too hard about where they were having to go next.   

¹Kunsala - A general term for the governing body of Kishnagar.

²Madher - The Kishnagari word for "Mother".

Bisha's Protest

After the meeting of the Great Council Bisha retired to the quarters of the Oristani delegation and apparently he arrived before Shildeg did. She must have had something she had to deal with, Bisha knew the that the life the leader of an entire people was constantly busy. At least it was in Ashfanabad and Kishnagar, as far as he knew. Bisha decided to get a little reading in, he had ordered some books from the palace library, one of the perks of being married to a world leader. He wanted to learn as much about where they were going as possible.

As Bisha was engrossed in his book Shildeg and the rest of the delegation walked in, Bisha noticed that Nahla was with them. Bisha couldn't put his finger on it but it seemed to him Nahla and Sheldig were acting strange. Not bad strange, but more like 'I have a secret' strange.

"Is everything alight my love?" Bisha inquired.

Shildeg turned to the rest of the delegation, "A moment please." Everyone went to find something else to do leaving Nahla, Shildeg, and Bisha alone. Bisha immediately became suspicious, something was going on. He sat up a little straighter on the couch he was on. Shildeg came and sat next to him and Nahla took a seat cross the table from them.

"Uhh, what's going on?" Bisha asked tentatively.

Shildeg looked nervously at Bisha. "I have some news and I'm not sure I should tell you right now. If you were Oristani I would know what to do, but you were raised differently and I'm not sure about Ashfani customs in such matters." Bisha looked to Nahla for a clue, but she was watching them both intently, no help there.

Bisha was starting to become concerned. "What matters?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just tell him." Nahla interjected.

Shildeg took a breath and looked Bisha in the eye. "I am with child." Bisha sat silently and blinked his eyes. He didn't know how to react, nothing he had learned helped with this. He didn't know what to say or how to react.

All he could muster was "You mean when we..."

Shildeg smiled. "Yes, that's usually how it works."

All Bisha could say was "Huh."

Shildeg suddenly looked concerned. "Are you angry my love?"

Bisha shook himself out of his stupor. "What? No!" Nahla released the breath she was holding with a sigh and sank back in her chair. "Wait, when?" It was all Bisha could think to ask.

Nahla laughed "I would expect nothing less from my duyu."

Bisha looked like he was doing some very complex mental math. "I know I don't know much about such matters, but even I know it's too early to tell." 

Shildeg smiled at him, "Yes. Normally that would be true, but I had some of the best Sunyari examine me, including Nahla." Shildeg's expression became more serious. "My love, you are about to go to a place that is very dangerous and I know there is a very real possibility that you might not come back. I wanted to make sure that I had something of you that could carry on as your legacy, to me and to our people." Shildeg paused to center herself. "I love you and I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"Then I wont go." Bisha said plainly. "A child deserves to have both of their parents and I won't take the chance of our child having to endure what I had to growing up." Bisha's resolution was clear. "They can find another Jadugara from Adikha Yunavarasiti, I'm sure there are plenty of mages that would jump at the opportunity."

"No. You will go." Shildeg said resolutely. "If even half of what you have said is true, it is extremely important you go. You are the only one who can do what needs to be done." Bisha started to object, but Shildeg held up a hand to stop him. "From what Nahla has told me about your majic you are the only person who will be able to. Your friends are going to need you and what you can do, you need to trust that they will protect you. I will not stand in the way of the one person who can find the way to stop what is coming." Shildeg softened her tone.

"My love, the spirits have spoken. You will become one who is as important if not more important to the Oristani people as the Great Kazhak Orista himself. You are destined to become one of the great heroes of old. I say this not as your doting wife, or the mother of your child, I say this as the Narn Dargra of all of the Oristani tribes. If you stay you will be depriving all of Ardu of it's greatest weapon and defense against what I believe to be an enemy the likes of which we have never seen." 

"Let your friends help you, they will make sure you come back to me. Do I want you to go? No, but it's not a matter of what I want. You have to go, it is a path that only you can walk. Besides, I would feel terrible if I knew I was the one responsible for you not reaching your full potential. You must become the great wizard I know you to be." Bisha seemed to be mollified by this.

"The correct term is mage, but I see your point." Bisha looked to Nahla. "What say you in all of this?"

Nahla for her part seemed reluctant to answer at first, but she was asked a direct question by the representative of her people. "Bisha you are my Narn Khanij, but more importantly to me you are my duyu. I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned by what is happening with your majic, but Shildeg is right. You need to reach your full potential. I'm main concern is making sure you don't get yourself killed in the process, that is why I will be by your side making sure you get to come home to your wife and child." She paused and sighed.

"I know what your child means to you. Remember, I have seen where you came from and I can tell you that no matter what your child will never go through anything like that. For us a child is the most important thing to any tribe. You can be rest assured that even if you do die, your child will have a thousand mothers and fathers and will never feel unloved." Nahla looked reassuringly at Bisha. "Your child will never go hungry, will always be loved, and will always have someone to teach and care for them."

Shildeg added, "Besides you will have that Zwergin majic talk box so we can stay in communication. If you don't use it I will be very angry with you and will be forced to after you so I can kick you in the ass myself."

Bisha chuckled, "I don't doubt it for a second. Seeing the way you dealt with those bandits convinced me that I never want that directed at me." Nahla gave a questioning look. "When we were coming back from Adikha Yunavarasiti we were ambushed by bandits, Shildeg used one of them as a club on the others. It was terrifying to see really."

"Shildeg's reputation as a warrior is very well earned, you should see her at the fighting ring at the open air market. One year no one rose to the challenge, they were too scared." Nahla replied.

"Are we settled then?" Shildeg asked

"Yes, but I'm going to call you on the Majickes Sprekglas regularly."

"You had better." Shildeg warned with a smile on her face. Bisha turned back to Nahla.

"May we have some time alone please? I want to take my wife to my bed and have my way with her."

Nahla smiled and stood up to go, on her way out she called to Bisha "Don't hurt her Khonho¹."

Once Nahla had left Bisha turned to Shildeg. "So what have you thought of for a name?"

"For your child I was thinking Shidentuu, it means child of a great wizard." She said with a little pride in voice.

"I was thinking Alima, for the woman who raised me." Bisha countered.

"At this point we don't know if its a boy or a girl, we'll see when the time comes."

Bisha grabbed Shildeg's wrist and pulled. "Come with me woman, I wasn't kidding about taking you to my bed." Shildeg giggled and let herself be led to the bedroom.

¹Khonho - A type of large wolf  

Ten Rabbit's Honor

Ten Rabbit was sad his family wasn't here for him to say his farewells, he was consoled somewhat that he was the chosen of Camatz. As far as he knew he was the only person to ever have that honor. He still wanted to talk to his family, mostly he wanted to talk to his citli¹ though. Her wisdom has helped him through the toughest times in his life. Since they weren't here he was going to have to settle for sending word to them and Ten Rabbit figured that he would use his being chosen by Camatz to his advantage.

'Do you object to this?' Ten Rabbit mentally asked Camatz.

"ONLY IF YOU DO NOT USE THE TEOTLEPETL TO DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE. AS AN EMISSARY TO A GOD IT IS ONLY APPROPRIATE THAT YOU TALK TO ANOTHER EMISSARY." Camatz replied.

'Does the Teotlepetl know I am your emissary?'

"HE DOES." Camatz replied plainly, but Ten Rabbit could sense there was something in that reply that Camatz was keeping hidden from him. He figured it would be prudent not to explore that further, it's bad manners to question a god after all.

"IT IS, WE FIND IT ANNOYING."

Ten Rabbit reminded himself again that having a god in your mind means they hear your thoughts.

"NOT JUST WHEN I AM IN YOUR MIND."

'Great.' Ten Rabbit thought to himself.

"NOW YOU'RE LEARNING." Ten Rabbit waited a moment to see if Camatz had anything more to say, he was met with silence. Knowing Camatz's preference he went to find the Teotlepetl. First he had to find the high priest, he had ready access. After little wandering around the diplomatic quarters Ten Rabbit found him on a balcony that overlooked the Thanga River, he was sitting and reading a book.

Ten Rabbit came up behind him and gave a polite cough to announce himself. The High Priest lowered the book and turned to see who it was. As he realized who it was he dropped his book and looked almost panic stricken. Ten Rabbit wondered what would cause such a reaction to him.

"THAT WOULD BE ME." Camatz answered to Ten Rabbit's musings.

'That would explain a lot.' Ten Rabbit thought. Outwardly he seemed to ignore the priest's reaction to him and asked. "Tlatochu'aui Pixque², would you do me the favor of presenting me to the Teotlepetl? I wold request that he send word to my family."

The High Priest blinked at the mundanity of the request and got up from him chair, leaving the book on the floor. Ten Rabbit could see the cover, it was a treatise on the teaching of Camatz. The High Priest respectfully bowed to Ten Rabbit. "Please, follow me." He led Ten Rabbit to the God-King's personal quarters and told the guards that he was bringing Ten Rabbit to see the Teotlepetl. The guard on the right opened the door for them, kneeled in the door way making the sign of Q'Qu'Matzle, and announced their presence. They could hear the Teotlepetl tell the guard to let them in. The guard stood up and returned to his position before telling them they could enter, after they had passed through the door they closed it behind them.

As they entered the God-King's chamber Ten Rabbit could see that it was a large room for the palace indeed. It wasn't anything compared to back at Tlatlolitzli, but it wasn't small by any means. Ten Rabbit wondered if each of the rulers had rooms this large. They walked over to where the Teotlepetl was seated by a large table, Ten Rabbit could see maps and stacks of papers and reports. When they got to ten paces they both stopped and knelt, making the sign of Q'Qu'Matzle. All he said was "You may go." and the High Priest stood up and left the room leaving Ten Rabbit alone with the Teotlepetl.

"You may stand, let's make this an informal visit please." Ten Rabbit stood, he wasn't sure how to act around the Teotlepetl and certainly wasn't sure what he think was informal. "Relax, I'm just a person." The Teotlepetl reassured Ten Rabbit. It didn't help that much. "What can I do for you?" he inquired. Ten Rabbit's face must have betrayed him because the Teotlepetl finished with "If someone approaches me without an appointment it's because they want something." The Teotlepetl looked at Ten Rabbit inquisitively. 

This was the second time that Ten Rabbit was in front of his God-King and it had progressed in a way that Ten Rabbit didn't expect. Ten Rabbit was about to ask him when he raised a hand, stopping Ten Rabbit.

"Let's try this again." He cleared his throat. "How may the physical incarnation of Q'Qu'Matzle assist the avatar of Camatz?"

This helped Ten Rabbit deal with the situation. "Yectzli³, I would ask that you would send a message of farewell to my parents." The Teotlepetl chuckled. Ten Rabbit kneeled again and made the sign. 

The Teotlepetl sighed, "Get up." said in an annoyed tone, Ten Rabbit stood up. "I will do you one better. I was going to save this as a surprise for just before you left, but now is as good as a time as any." Once again Ten Rabbit was confused. "Ugh, just relax. Can't the direct representatives of two gods just talk. I may have been born to my position, but you were chosen by Camatz himself. If that doesn't allow you some leeway I don't know what does." Ten Rabbit finally relaxed, it had never occurred to him that the God-King would consider him a peer.

The God-King started again in an almost sarcastic official tone. "Lojun Totchli Ya'acte'ame Ytza, I Teotlepetl Matlactetl Omei Tehuilotl Tochconetl do hereby grant you the honor of being recorded in the annals of history by stele in the palace grounds. Ten Rabbit couldn't believe his ears, he was being honored by stele like a great hero, a ruler, or a god. This was a huge honor, this would mean that his family would be elevated to just below the Teotlepetl's own family. He couldn't think of anything to say so he knelt and made the sign of Q'Qu'Matzle. The Teotlepetl rolled his eyes. "Didn't I just tell you to relax." Ten Rabbit hurried to his feet.

The Teotlepetl looked him in the eye. "Look, you personally have made the reuniting of great council possible, you are the chosen of Camatz one of the most important gods in our religion, do you think I could do less?" The Teotlepetl paused. "Walk with me." The Teotlepetl walked toward a large balcony with Ten Rabbit at his side. When they reached the railing of the balcony he spoke to Ten Rabbit. 

"As the supreme ruler of the Michocan Empire and as the physical representation of Q'Qu'Matzle, the king of the gods, I am considered to be without equal among Michocanos and therefore none may remain in my presence for any real time. I am to be seen and worshiped as a sign that the gods are protecting our people, but I am above people. It would be considered beneath me to acknowledge the everyday lives of the nobles and the common people." He turned to face Ten Rabbit.

"But as the chosen physical representative of an important god you are different, are you not? So listen closely. Lojun, when we are alone please address me as Matla. You are a fellow avatar of a god, this makes you my peer. So, at least when we are alone please treat me as one." Just for a moment the Teotlepetl looked tired. "You do not understand how lonely the existence of the Teotlepetl is. Yes, it comes with some really amazing perks, but at the cost of no true interaction with anyone. Everyone must be at least an arms length away, including my children, but you are a fellow representative of a god. Do you get my meaning?" 

Ten Rabbit thought about it for a second, he could see just how lonely the Teotlepetl was most of the time. "Matla, I understand. I'm sorry you have to be so lonely."

"Oh, I wouldn't trade it for anything, but you do understand it can be a very lonely existence most of the time. So, please let me honor a fellow peer in the only way I really can. You deserve it. You made it so the nations can come together to face a terrible enemy. Also, just so you know, I'm considering your going to Manggar as a sacrifice for the empire and am honoring it appropriately. Your family is already very wealthy, so I don't have to worry about that and because of the Antepetle Inns your family has much influence among the nobles. I'm honoring your sacrifice with the only tool I have left."

Ten Rabbit bowed his head. "Thank you Matla. That will mean a lot to my family, and when I hopefully return I look forward to seeing it." 

"My pleasure." The Teotlepetl, Matla, replied. He grabbed Ten Rabbits wrist in traditional greeting so that Ten Rabbit grabbed him and pulled him in to a short hug. 

"That was weird. Nice, but weird." Matla said.

"Agreed." Ten Rabbit replied.

Matla smiled. "Would you like a drink? I brought some patle⁴ from home." 

¹Citli - The Michocan term for grandmother.

²Tlatocho'aui Pixque- The Michocan term for a priest cleric or High priest. 

³Yectzli - The Michocan form of address to the Teotlepetl, meaning "Your Holiness."

⁴Patle - A traditional Michocano drink made from the fermented juice of the Agve plant, a type of cactus.

Preparing for the Unknown

Irene sat with her mother Xenia at a large table with three Majickes Sprekglas laid out in front of them, they seemed rather mundane for what they were capable of. To think that something about the size of a bread pan was capable of letting you talk to someone anywhere no matter the distance was almost mind boggling to Irene and the fact that they were invented by a sub-engineer's assistant in his spare time just made them even more impressive. Irene had no doubt that Bisha would love to talk to the inventor.

They looked like smallish rectangular metal boxes that were just narrow enough to hold in your hand. On the front of the boxes were two metal disks that were riddled with tiny holes, these were where you listened and talked into. On the side was a long rectangular button that you pressed so you could talk into it and on the side that was the top there was a set of two small glass domes, one green and the other red.

Xenia showed Irene how to open the back of the device to expose the internals using a Schaussendrehr¹ or small blade. Irene was surprised at how simple the innards of the device were, she could almost follow what did what. It was basically a little board that was secured to side of the box with some wires coming off of it that led to what Irene understood to be the part that listened and the part that made noise as well as the glass domes. In the center of the board was a small glass cylinder with a very thin sliver of obsidian inside it. The obsidian itself seemed to be vibrating so fast it was almost a blur. Xenia had Irene do the same to the other two Majickes Sprekglas and set then next to each other in a line.

"Now comes the tricky part. Do you see the small red stud on top of each cylinder?" Xenia asked.

"I do." Irene replied. Xenia continued with her explanation.

"You have to touch each them in sequence within two seconds of each other. It doesn't sound too difficult until you realize you can't disturb the wires or it will throw off the Fervangen², or pairing of the devices and you will have to do it again. Once they are set you don't need to worry about it. You also can't use a tool to do it, it has to be skin contact, I'm not sure why. Also, they are very sensitive to majic fields so you need to isolate them from any majic while you do this. Look at the inside of the lid, you see the mesh along the walls of the lid and the interior of the device? That is a special alloy of copper that blocks weaker majical fields from interfering with the cylinder. It will protect from most everyday majic fields, but won't do much for more intense fields. Our engineer explained it to me in depth, but to be honest I didn't understand most of it."

Irene took her glove off and rubbed her finger and thumb together to prepare for the Fervangen. She stopped and looked to Xenia. "How hard do I have to press them?"

"Just a light touch. If I understood the engineer correctly, the body's natural majical field is enough to cause them to reset and synchronize." 

Irene focused on the little red studs and let out a breath to relax. With a dexterity that belied the thickness of her fingers Irene touched each of them in turn without incident. 

"Alright, now screw the lids back on and your done." Xenia said proudly.

"That wasn't so bad." Irene sighed.

"It took me half an hour the first time I did it." Xenia admitted. "By the time I finally got it right I was cussing the air blue. I'm not surprised you got it right away, you have always been more nimble than myself." Xenia handed Irene one of the boxes and gestured for her to go across the room. She picked up one of the other boxes and held it up to her face. "Do you hear me?" she whispered.

Irene was shocked, she could hear her mother's whisper quite clearly. It sounded like her voice was coming out of a large metal bottle, but she heard it. "Why did you whisper?"

"If I spoke to loudly at this distance it would cause what the engineer called feedback and it would make a very loud screeching sound. It's very unpleasant."

"Got it." Irene locked that away in her memory and came back to the table. "Is there a more convenient way to carry them?" she asked.

"Not really, we have pouches for them that can be attached to a pack or hung from a belt. Please remember these are prototypes so give them a little slack." Xenia replied with a grin. "You should go find your friends and practice using them." Irene thought that was an excellent idea. She thanked her Nibi and went off to find everyone with two of the Majickes Sprekglas hanging from her belt. 'There had to be a better way to carry these.' she thought to herself, Irene resolved to herself to make a list of improvements for the next version. They were not comfortable to wear hanging from a belt.

It took a little searching, but Irene was able to get everyone rounded up. She caught Devshi just as she was coming back from her parents, Devshi was immediately fascinated by the devices and was very excited to get to use them. Ten Rabbit and, of course, Bisha were more curious about them than fascinated. As everyone stood around in a circle Irene tried to explain how to use them, but she was being interrupted by their questions. Finally Irene had enough, and in a very gruff voice said "Instruction first, questions after." and glared at everyone, daring them to say something. Irene finally understood her Nidi's constant attitude.

With a grunt of annoyance and a quiet "Hredda's beard, as bad as children." she continued with her instruction.

With the instruction out of the way it was time to try them out. Irene held onto one of them and handed the other to Devshi. Irene had Devshi walk over to the other side of the courtyard and try using The Majickes Sprekglas. When Devshi reached the other side she turned around to look at the rest of the group and held the box up to her face. It looked like she was talking into it, but there was no sound coming out of Irene's box. Irene held up hers and exaggeratedly pointed to the long rectangular button, Devshi nodded and Irene's box made a short burst of static and they could hear Devshi's voice coming out of the box. It sounded metallic and wasn't very loud, but they could hear her distinctly.

"Can you hear me?"

Irene pressed the button hers and replied. "Yes, I can hear you." 

Devshi looked up at the group with a shocked expression, it was clear she was amazed by the device. Her excited voice could be heard, "This is amazing! I can hear you! This is supposed to work no matter how far away I am?"

"Yes. Now I'm sending over Nahla so she can have a turn." Irene replied. As Nahla walked over Devshi was examining the device looking at each side in turn. Nahla took the device from Devshi and held it up to her face to use it. There was the burst of static and Nahla's voice came through, but Nahla's voice sounded distorted and there was a faint squealing in the background. Irene wondered for a moment why it sounded different, then a thought occurred to her. She sent Bisha over to them to try it.

When Bisha tried to speak into it there was an incredibly loud screeching that came out Irene device that hurt hers and Ten rabbit's ears, it was quite painful. Irene could hear the same sound coming from the one Bisha was holding onto. Irene yelled over to Bisha.

"HAND IT TO DEVSHI!" As he did the screeching stopped. She yelled again. "DEVSHI, HOLD THE BUTTON AND SLOWLY WALK AWAY FROM BISHA!" Devshi nodded and the screeching started again but not quite as loud and as she slowly walked away from Bisha the screeching faded until she was about ten feet away from him then the screeching was gone and only Devshi could be heard. 

Irene was afraid of that. The Majickes Sprekglas was supposed to be sensitive to majic fields and they had found out in Khunduz that they all radiated majic. Apparently Devshi and Irene didn't radiate enough to affect the device and Nahla affected it a little bit, but Bisha was too much for the device. Irene decided to try it with Ten Rabbit.

"Okay, Ten Rabbit, I'm going to turn mine on and hold it up to you. If it makes the screeching sound I'm going to slowly walk away from you until it stops.

Ten Rabbit nodded. "Alright, but do you know why the Majics Speckgles is doing that?"

"I think so, and it's pronounced Majickes Sprekglas. Do you remember when the artificers tested us in Khunduz?"

"I do, that was really strange. I didn't know people could radiate majic, I thought it was just things that did that." Ten Rabbit replied. "You think the Majics Sprekles is reacting to that?"

"It's pronounced Majickes Sprekglas, it means Majical Speaking Glass, and yes. I think that is exactly what is happening. We might need to give them back so the engineer can try to fix it."

"Hopefully they can fix the" Ten Rabbit slowly sounded out the words. "Ma-jics Speek-les"

Irene grinned, "Majickes Sprekglas"

Ten Rabbits screwed his face up in concentration. "Maj-ik-es Sprek-less?"

"Closer, Ma-jick-es Spreck-glas" Irene sounded out.

"Ma-jik-es Sprek-glays?" Ten Rabbit tried again.

"Almost, try again."

"Ma-jik-s Sprik-glehs?" Ten rabbit tried again looking frustrated.

"It's okay, I have a real problem trying to speak Michocano. Try it again."

Ten Rabbit blew out a burst of air in frustration and focused. "Ma-jiks Spek-gels? Screw it, Spreker." Ten Rabbit finally said in frustration.

Irene considered it, that would be easier for everyone to pronounce. "Spreker it is, that's what we'll call it from now on." The rest of the group had wandered back to Irene while she had been talking to Ten Rabbit. 

"So, what do we do now?" Nahla asked.

"I'm going to take these back to the engineer to see if he can do something about the sensitivity and I have some ideas for modifications that would be useful. Also, Ten Rabbit came up with an easier name to remember for them, we're calling them 'Sprekers' from now on."

"That is much easier to remember, thank you Ten Rabbit." Nahla replied.

Irene sat with Xenia and a young Zwergin engineer at a large table with the newly named Sprekers laid out in front of them. "We need some way to control the volume and we definitely need better shielding against majic fields, Bisha can't even stand near it without it making a horrible screeching sound." Irene paused, "Also it wouldn't hurt if the part you talk into was raised so it was easier to talk into. By the way, one of my friends came up with a new name for these. He called them Sprekers."

The engineer looked thoughtfully at the devices. "I could try making the housing out of wood, less reactivity, but I'm afraid there's only so much I can do about that. A volume control wouldn't be difficult to add and I see your point about the position of the hoerphon.³ It shouldn't take more than a couple days to make those changes. Also, because of the majic sensitivity I'm going to make it easier to replace the obsidian cylinders and I'll give you some spares for when they burn out." The engineer thought for a moment. "Sprekers, I like it. It's quicker and easier to say."

True to his word a couple days later the engineer presented the new version of the Sprekers. The new ones were made from a dark stained wood and the parts for talking and listening were raised at an angle making using it much more comfortable. Now on bottom panel was a dial that controlled how loud the device was and the general shape of it was smaller and more streamlined. The engineer explained the changes that they had made.

"Alright, I made the case out of wood. I used local Candana wood because it was the most readily available. I also added an extra layer of shielding on the inside, that should help with the sensitivity somewhat. I added a volume control on the bottom so you can adjust it while using it. Most importantly, I switched out the screws that hold it together for a hinged clasp that will close it securely and allow easy access to the inside and I made it so the obsidian cylinders can be switched out without any tools, they are held in with a little clip. Just pull out the old one and push in the new one, I also added a small compartment inside that holds ten extra cylinders. I had to make a lot of them while I was designing this, I went through oh so many of them. Luckily they aren't that hard to make."

Irene picked up the new Spreker and examined it, it was much easier to hold and holding it up to talk into was much easier. Irene noticed that the engineer had added a metal clip to the back, it would be much easier to carry on a belt or on a pack. 

"Perfect. How's the sensitivity?" Irene asked.

The engineer made a face. "Sorry. I couldn't do much about it, but it should be a little better now."

"It will have to do." Irene replied. After a moment of consideration Irene had a thought. "How does this handle getting wet?"

"I have no idea, but theoretically it shouldn't adversely affect the workings as long as the case isn't full of water. I would suggest letting it dry out before attempting to use it." The engineer replied.

"I'll keep that in mind." Irene commented. "Thank you very much, this looks much easier to use. I'll be sure to pass on any improvements we think of while we're out in the field."

"I would appreciate that very much, I'm always looking for ways to improve it. Now if you'll sign the usage contract, I think they are ready for use." The engineer handed Irene a contract book. It wasn't that large and there weren't many sub-clauses. Irene gave it a once over. The way the engineer wrote the contract it seemed they were very trusting. They probably didn't get to get out into the world very much. Irene signed and initialed where necessary and made a mental note to try not to stretch the rules of the contract too much, she didn't want the engineer to get taken advantage of. 

Irene brought the new version to the party for testing and it went much better this time, but it still made the screeching when Bisha or Ten Rabbit actually held the device. Irene decided that she was going to designate Devshi and Nahla as the official Spreker carriers. That way if she or Nahla spotted any trouble while scouting they could call it back to the rest of the party. With that taken care of Irene thought it was time for them to head off to Manggar. She didn't want to, the Manggar reputation was pretty bad, but it wasn't her place to object.

¹Schaussendrehr - The Zwergin term for a screwdriver.

²Fervangen - The Zwergin term for the synchronization of the Majickes Sprekglas to allow for communication.

³Hoerphon - Literally "Listen Disk".

Welcome to the Jungle

As they made their way towards Manggar they had followed the road they had originally taken to Adikha Yunavarasiti. This time though they turned south the next morning after the Jhanga River turned sharply south. They would be entering the hills of the Pahari Am soon and after winding their way through that they would come across the town of Kokri. Then they would just follow the road south to the harbor town of Urapar, from there they would go west into the jungles of Manggar. 

As they rode along Nahla's mind wandered. It was strange to think about that how much they had changed since the last time they had followed this road. They had all become more thoughtful and more mature in their outlook, that was natural as they got older, but ever since the explosion at the Yunavarasiti there had been other changes as well.

Devshi was no longer the annoying chatterbox, since she had seen her god she had become more sure of herself. Seeing her on the back of Somnadi, riding as if she had been born on the tiger, she had lost the softness of city living and by Irene's account had become quite the formidable warrior. Her exploits that had made he a hero in Alkhadharam had also had an effect on her, she had become more insightful in her questions. She always had questions, but now they weren't nearly as annoying. Sometimes Nahla would have to stop and think about them because they were so profound. 

Just this morning Devshi had asked one that Nahla was still thinking about. They had stopped for a meal in Samana and while they were eating Devshi had looked off into space and with a thoughtful look and casually asked "If the spirits can talk to anyone, why do they choose to go through you? Is it because there's something special about you that helps you talk to them?" Devshi then shrugged and went back to her meal. She obviously wasn't trying to be malicious in her question, she was just genuinely curious, but it had rocked Nahla to her core. Nahla had never thought about it before, Why do the spirits talk to her? Is there something special about her? After several hours of thought on the road the only answer she had was 'because she listened', but it didn't feel like the full answer. This one was going to require a lot more thought.

Bisha had changed a lot as well. He was no longer the young student that was afraid of the world any more, since the explosion he had become more self assured, more confident in himself. Since he got to spend some time with his wife, he had so much more confidence. It was good to see. He had had such a terrible upbringing that Nahla wouldn't have been surprised if he had never overcome his fears and self doubt. Considering what had happened to him, it would have been only natural. Shildeg had already been a good influence on him, he even sat up straighter in the saddle as he rode, making notes in his little book. Nahla was sure that when all of this was over he was going to make an excellent Narn Khanij.

They could finally see the hills of Pahari Am as they approached, they were steeper than the low rolling hills they had gone through on the way to Adikha Yunavarasiti. It would probably be best if they wound their way between them rather than just going over them, it would take longer but it would be a lot easier on the animals. They would just have to be a little more careful of ambushes, Nahla was confident that they could handle almost anything that some bandits could throw at them. 

It was getting late so Nahla decided to set up camp before they reached the hills. They could tackle them more rested, it was going to be slow going getting through them and best they do it fully rested. As they were setting up camp she saw Bisha setting up the fire, this time he did something new. He focused on the wood in the fire pit and he snapped his fingers at it, suddenly the fire was going as if it had been burning for a couple hours. Later, after their meal, as they sat around the camp fire Nahla decided to ask him about it.

"Bisha, the way you started the fire today was different than the way you had the times before, why is that?"

Bisha looked up from his notebook. "This time I tried a different approach. Before, I was accelerating the vibration of the wood by increasing it's energy potential to cause it to ignite, this time I tried a more temporal approach. In my mind I pictured what the fire would look like as we set up for cooking and accelerated it through time to that point. I think this approach worked a lot better, a lot less danger of detonation. Also, this spell uses a lot less energy by comparison"

Nahla chuckled, "I almost understood that." she said half jokingly.

"Something that Alima said to me when I was starting schooling in majic has stuck with me my entire life. 'If you can not describe something in a way that others can understand, you do not truly understand it.' So I take your comment as a compliment, my understanding of majic is getting better. When I can describe a spell so you know exactly what I mean, then I will have truly mastered majic." Bisha replied.

Nahla looked thoughtfully into the fire. "Alima was wise indeed. I wish I had met her before her passing, I'm certain she would have had some interesting insights." 

"I'm glad you broached the subject. I have a request I wasn't sure you would grant." Nahla raised an eyebrow and looked at Bisha, she had an idea of what the request entailed.

"Since I'm fairly certain that none of us speak the Manggari language, I have a translation spell I have been working on for a while. I already have one for the written word, but I am working on one that should help us understand spoken word. Don't worry it wont cause any harm and its effects are temporary, so it will wear off. Math will only get me so far, I'm at the point where I need actual practice. So, can I practice on the party?" Bisha looked around at everyone. "I want to get approval from everyone. If you don't agree, I won't practice on you."

Nahla leaned back to think about it for a second, but Irene spoke up before she could reply. "Bisha, you have improved greatly since that fire that almost killed me. I will consent to experimentation." Nahla was surprised, she would have figured that Irene would be the last of them to consent to having Bisha cast spells on her, for exactly the same reason, but Irene continued. "I get it. At some point you have to leave the realm of idea and do some practical trials. How else will you know if your idea will work."

Bisha placed his hand on his heart and bowed lightly to Irene. "Well said. Thank you for your consent." Bisha looked around at the others, "Anyone else?"

The rest of them looked at each other and after a moment with a bunch of shrugs they all agreed to having the spell cast on them. Irene was the first, since she was sitting next to Bisha she scooted until she was facing him. "What do I need to do?" she asked.

"Please remove your hat, the spell needs physical contact." Bisha instructed. Irene took off her wide brim leather hat and set it next to her on the ground. She looked at Bisha as he mumbled something and reached out and touched her forehead. Bisha looked around at everyone, "And now we each speak our native tongues to Irene to see if the spell worked."

Nahla started, "Miin yu khelhek ged bagai oljog bina uu?"¹

Irene looked to Nahla and shook her head. "sneryc aqnjd mndasj, wwaqsf." Irene suddenly looked shocked at her own voice. "qwefihul! fnea dwewd qwemnlk!"

Bisha put a hand on Irene's knee to calm her, he grabbed his notebook and quickly wrote something in his notebook and showed it to Irene. Irene made a heavy sigh and sat back to wait out the spell. Bisha tuned to the group. "I just reminded her that it would wear off soon, since it's a new spell I gave it a very short duration. I figured something like this might happen, hence the short duration." After a few minutes Bisha indicated to Irene to try speaking again. This time she sounded normal.

"That was weird. Nahla you sounded like strange garbled gibberish and your voice had a strange mechanical quality." Irene smiled, "That was so weird."

"Devshi?" Devshi scooted closer to Bisha almost excitedly. He mumbled and touched her forehead.

This time Ten Rabbit spoke. "Xochtic, tlapalole notaqhuemanicotahe tlaqui?² Devshi looked at him confusedly and shook her head. Bisha tapped her on the knee and she turned to look at him and nodded her head and touched her forehead to indicate understanding. She then sat back to wait, after a minute or two she sat back up.

"I see what you mean Irene, that was a strange experience. I saw Ten Rabbits lips move and the gibberish I heard didn't match the movement of his lips."

Bisha made frustrated sound and pursed his lips at he stared into the fire. "Alright, we'll try again tomorrow. Here," He reached into a pouch on his bag that he was using as a backrest and pulled out two small balls and held them out to Devshi and Irene. "I brought some travel sweets from home. I found a vendor in Alkhadraham, they did a good job. A little sweeter than home, but still good."

Irene looked at hers as Devshi just popped hers in her mouth with a smile. It looked to be made from some sort of nut paste. She pulled it apart to see the insides, it was filled with green roughly ground nuts and a very thick caramel. From the face she made when she ate it Nahla could see that she liked it.

The next day they started winding their way through the hills, it was an uneventful day. Bisha spent the whole day working in his notebook. The next evening at the campfire Bisha addressed the party. "I made modifications to the spell, it should work a little better this time. Alright, who's next?" Ten Rabbit raised his hand. He walked around the campfire and sat next to Bisha, Bisha mumbled and touched Ten Rabbit's forehead. This time Irene spoke,

"Frund, sperk vurstanlika vort?³

Ten Rabbit shook is head and held out his hand for his treat, he seemed to like it as well. After a minute or so he sat up.

"Interesting, I heard strange gibberish. It sounded like you were just making noises, like you imitating some kind of animal, but I almost understood what you were saying. It was if the meaning was almost there, but it was just basically grunting." Bisha hurriedly made some notes in his notebook, then looked up.

"Nahla?"

¹Miin yu khelhek ged bagai oljog bina uu? - Bish Oristani, "Can you understand what I am saying?"

²Xochtic, tlapalole notaqhuemanicotahe tlaqui? - Natlak Michocano, "Small thing, do you hear my understanding?"

³"Frund, sperk vurstanlika vort?" - Kuste Grunden, literally, "Friend, speak understanding word?"