Edan looks outside and supposes that a dance around a fire would probably be happening at night; since it's still daylight, he decides to opt for a walk. He pens a note, crumples it, pens another one, crumples it again, and then settles on a third:
::Would you like to take a walk in the gardens? I know a particular spot in the direction of the big waterfall that's full of foxglove and iris and gazebos and grassy paths, perfect for walking and talking.
--Edan::
He scratches his head; why was that so hard to write? In any case, he summons a page and sends them to Hannah's rooms, if she is still in the castle.
When the page arrives, Hannah asks her to show the way to Edan's room. She sets aside the letter to her father and looks at her ink-stained hands. The quick scrubbing doesn't quite get rid of all the marks, but she shrugs and decides they're clean, at least.
She follows the page back to his door, and sends her away with thanks. Hannah tucks her loose hair behind her right ear and knocks.
The door opens quickly. "Yes? What did she-" Edan stands there in the doorway a moment, eyes wide, mouth agape. Then carefully, slowly, he reaches out a hand to squeeze Hannah's shoulder. He smiles, then, just a little.
"You're... real," he says. "All of it was real. Sometimes I almost think I had wandered into a dream."
Whatever she'd been expecting, that wasn't it. She laughs and reaches up to grab his hand. "Oh, it was real. Very lovely, but definitely not a dream."
She steals a glance past him before she can stop herself. "Do you want to walk now?"
Edan turns his head to follow her glance. His rooms are lavishly decorated, made up to look like the inside of a bedouin tent. Cushions are strewn everywhere, and one low table is covered in sheets of paper filled with hurried, scratchy writing and equations. "We could," he says. "I am a poor host, as you can see. Would you like to come in first, have something to eat or drink? I don't know what you've done today, whether you're busy or tired, or even in the mood to walk."
"Oh, I'm always in the mood to walk. But I'm also always in the mood to eat," she grins. "And I'll admit I'm curious about what you've done to this place. You've really made it home, haven't you? I haven't done that, yet." Now that he's invited her in she really looks around before she glances back at him. "If you don't mind?"
"Not at all." Edan moves aside to usher her in, then pulls the bell rope to summon another page. "They'll be here in a moment. Please, find a comfortable place," he says, even though the entire floor looks like some plush dreamland. "I wanted to make a place where I could truly relax, thinking it would help acclimate me. It was very difficult, at first, getting used to the customs here. And the food. And, well, everything. I helped guide ships back and forth for a while before Ossian's Trump was complete - I decided, on most of the trips, that there were things on board that were like those of home. Some from home."
She listens, though she grins the whole time. Hannah slips off her shoes, because it seems right, and picks a red cushion to settle in on. "I think I'd like your home. This place reminds me of a book one of the rich girls snuck into the boarding school. We weren't supposed to have that book," she laughs, but quickly goes on.
"I have felt like I was in a state of personal transition. Perhaps I still am. So my room still feels like it's a place someone is passing through. I need to give it some time and attention. So, can you truly relax? Does it really feel like home to you?"
"Even better than home." Edan stretches out on a set of pillows near Hannah. "There's not a war going on just outside. And sand, oh, the sand. And the dust. It gets into everything, and everywhere." He looks up at the ceiling. "I doubt you'd like my home. The culture is male-dominated, ruthlessly so. And outside of the tribes, life is cheap."
"I can imagine. It was bad enough where I came from, although among my people there's something of a balance. Tribal roles were divided by gender though, and it was always difficult to step out of those. Not impossible, though. Is your mother still there?" she asks.
"She is, yes." The smile fades. "Along with my brothers and sister. I have not spoken to them in years. I was...something of the black sheep in the family. And on my mother's side, that's saying a lot." He looks over. "Do you have siblings, other than those from Amber?"
Hannah gives his hand a pat. "Oh yes. I'm the oldest. Suzette is next. I suppose she must be an old lady now, if she survived whatever their war was. She was our diplomat. The middle child who could navigate obviously precocious siblings on either side of her and our mothers all, and our father loved her best, of course." She laughs. Clearly she doesn't believe that. "But she behaved, you know. Papa sent us both to finishing school out east, and she came back with manners and I came having learned how to lie good enough to take off with a boy.
"Then there's Francis. Frank. He was the baby, and he was wild. There was never a boy who needed beating more. He grew up to get two law degrees and then end up studying Indian cultures anyway." She shrugs. "I used to hope they'd show up here, but they'd both be attached to home. But it could still happen, I suppose, as they get older. And probably there are even more I don't know about. Who are your siblings?"
"I am the eldest of four," Edan says, "and the only child of Bleys. My mother, Julnar, married after my father...left. I have a sister, Aaliyah, who is much like me, almost like we were twins. We share the same eyes. Then there is Abdel, who had it harder than the rest of us, because he was born tall and stocky and strong, with the deep reddish skin of the afrit. And finally Seif, whose body was weak and pale, yet his mind was strong and agile. I watched over all of them, until I left and it fell to Aaliyah. I was always the little prince." He pauses. "All of us were born with the blood of the afrit, through my mother, but somehow my father... my blood bred true."
"I think you mentioned the afrit before, but I don't think I really understand. Is it a race of people, or a tribe? What does it mean?" Hannah shifts to mimic his pose. She sighs happily and tilts her head to look at him.
Edan looks back. "If you believe the legends, then the afriti were angels, once. Highest in the sight of the Merciful One, created by Him from smokeless fire. But they had pride, and greed, and they Fell. Physically, they are a race in an adjoining Shadow. The borders are blurred, so one can cross over when the conditions are right. Much like the djinn and the marids and the dao."
Hannah nods. She at least recognizes 'djinn'. "But mating with them is 'not done', hm? Which ancestor brought you this interesting heritage?"
"My mother's father. It is not unknown for an afrit or a djinn to pretend to be someone's husband or wife. The children are usually shunned, or worse. My mother and grandmother were both powerful and rich and pure in faith, so they avoided the worst of it. We were very fortunate." He pauses. "When I crossed over to the land of the afriti and learned Sorcery in the City of Brass, my mentor was a powerful padishah of the afriti. I never could prove that he was, or was not, my grandfather."
She reaches over to take his hand. "Why didn't you ask him?"
Edan links his hand in hers. "He told me at the beginning that he knew my grandfather, and thus was inclined to help me without the traditional pact. An elliptical answer, neh? And he was the padishah, the strongest afrit of the City of Brass, as my grandfather claimed to be. Of course, they all claim to be royalty of one sort or another. When all was said and done, the answer remained a 'maybe'." He studies their hands a moment, or perhaps he's just remembering. "I seem to recall you said you had some healing magics of your own. Did your father teach them to you?"
Hannah shakes her head and smiles. "Our holy man did. He started when I was quite small, before I got old enough to be in school - before they could tell me only God had magic, except when he didn't and I did." That makes her smile wider. "It's not really healing 'magic'. If only I had such a gift. But among Omaha and Ponca, medicine and magic and healing, we only had one word for these. We have more words now, but the way the tribes interact still flow around the thought of them all as one. I have healing magic because I'm a doctor. I can walk in the spirit world because my medicine is strong. Power, it's the same word too."
She leans on her side facing him so she can take his hand in both of hers as the talks. "I can't cast a spell and take away the callouses on your hands, but I can walk in nature to find what I need to make a lotion and incant over it and every day I can come massage it into your skin and say a prayer. Did the lotion heal you, or the incantation, or the touch and attention, or the prayer? The answer is yes. Probably," she finishes, laughing. "Not that your callouses need healing. They're there for a reason."
She shrugs. "But maybe some of it's magic. I can't make horses out of smoke here though - only in the spirit realm."
Edan smiles. "I understand. And I greatly respect your ability. I have none. When Lilly was injured, I knew I had the power to make a fix, but none of the knowledge. It would have ended... badly."
She nods slowly. "I have gotten the feeling from the royals that when it comes to healing, most of them prefer to do it without bending the laws of nature too much. We all have the advantage of using 'shadows' to gain us more time, along with some super-human healing abilities already. And the body learns things when it heals itself on its own schedule, so it's probably best not to mess around with that unless it's a life is on the line.
"We mess around with enough else in shadow. Like fertility. Paige is under the impression we can control our own fertility when we're in shadow. Do you think we can do that?" she asks.
"Yes, I do," Edan says. "Conception is largely about probability, neh? And we control the odds. Large or small, general or specific. Sitting in shadow, I can do small things. If I add movement, I can do wonderous, awe-inspiring things. It just takes more effort when we target our own bodies."
He leans back. "I was told, long ago, that we as a family were not especially fertile. Then, for a long time, I thought that our aunts and uncles were controlling fertility, just like you mentioned. Now that I've seen so many cousins, I realize that neither theory is true; they were just good at lying and hiding their children."
She squeezes his hand and then lets go to sit up and stretch. "Oh, I think some of them really believe that's true. It may even be true. They've had a long time to be about it."
She settles back in and turns to meet his eyes. "I'm curious if you consciously made an effort to affect probability when we were together," Hannah asks with a little grin.
"Of course not. I was preparing for the long ritual with the tree, using our heritage could have affected the cast-" Edan's jaw doesn't quite drop. "Er, why would you ask?"
"I may be pregnant, but I'm mostly asking because I'm curious about how the universe works. I'm sure the first part of that's a shock to you, so we don't have to talk about it right now if you aren't ready. We can just eat and go for a walk and keep getting to know one another." She doesn't reach to take his hand back, but there's a tension in her lack of motion. Her eyes stay on his.
"Puh... preg... really?" Edan lights up with a slow smile. "I mean, how did... okay, I know how, but... really?" Hannah doesn't have to worry about the hands; he takes hers back in his.
His smile makes her smile. "I haven't had another physician confirm what I expect. All the ones I'd go to are family, so I wanted to talk to you before I did that. I wouldn't want you to hear such a thing from anyone but me. I always thought I'd be so sure, but with having been in Rebma... that place teaches one's body in new ways, which makes me feel I didn't know my body as well as I thought." She seems to recognize she's going on, and she soothingly runs her thumb against his hand.
"But it'd still be quite early. I haven't kept the best track of my days. Still, an experienced midwife like your sister would probably have no problem telling us."
"Yes, Paige," Edan says. "Just her, for now. This is wonderful news, but I think we should keep it quiet. I don't know how... I don't know what the ramifications will be. With Family. With the Court. How would they treat us?"
Hannah hesitates before she replies, "I've always been a private person, but lying too much isn't good for spiritual balance. Whose esteem do you fear you'll lose over this?"
"Why, no one's in particular." Edan thinks about it for a moment. "I'm still mired in the old way of thinking, the way I was raised. The Land of Peace. Us having children together would make us socially outcast." He smiles. "But this place is different. Martin and Folly are having a child together, and I have yet to see anyone speak against it."
She looks like she doesn't completely agree with that last statement, but she says, "Martin and Folly both have a different place here than either of us do. I'd be weary of judging our reception by theirs."
Hannah shrugs. "I suppose I've had more time to get used to the idea of living with social consequences. I am a woman Indian doctor after all. I won't pretend it might not be difficult, but I won't expend my energies trying to mitigate gossip. Random's not going to kick me out of his castle, and if my professional and social circles shrink, I don't mind. I have plenty to keep me busy, and my skin is very thick. I'll teach the child how to fight so name-calling won't last long." She smiles then. "I've heard so much about how many rules don't apply to royals. I'm willing to find out how far that leverage will take me.
"As for family, well," she sighs and the smile slips away, "who knows. I want very much for us to work together, but there are things I'm just not willing to do. I can protect you from all that, if you like, but that's a choice that cuts the other way."
Edan smiles. "I should be protecting you," he says. "And I want us to work together, too. If there is a child, I want to help raise him. Or her. If they're anything like me, then they're going to be a handful."
Hannah sighs and relaxes some. She squeezes his hands. "I'm glad. We'll have a lot of time to figure this all out, if I'm pregnant."
Then she lets go to shove him playfully. "And I don't need protecting. What I need is feeding. Where's my food?"
Edan sighs. "One more reason why I probably should employ a servant. One who is not Kyauta," he says, moving to the bell pull again. "I do not think my affine would be well suited for that kind of work."
The food arrives a few minutes later, a little rushed, more of the same kind of fare that Edan had earlier. He doesn't eat as much this time, and seems perfectly happy to take a walk after they've had a little time to eat and relax.
Hannah eats neatly but manages to put quite a bit of food away.
They're not long out of the castle when he says, "Will you be staying around here? Here and Amber?"
"Here, I hope. I have patients here, and my tribesmen are here. I'd like to help them settle into becoming Xanaduvians while working to help Xanadu develop some new 'traditions' that help my people honor their ancestors and themselves. Like the dances. It's a little tricky, all this cultural-blending, so we'll see." She glances toward where the city spreads out.
"But every time I make plans to do one thing, I tend to find myself going off to do something else. What about you? Actually, why don't you tell me what you've been up to since last we talked, first." Hannah looks over at him with raised eyebrows and a curious smile.
"Oh, not much," Edan replies. "Once I came here, my father borrowed me to check on the movements of the Moonriders. We generally caused them some trouble, and I stole something important from them. I think. I need to find out before they get it back, one way or another, which means I need to probably start moving around in Shadow soon."
"What did you take?" she asks. Now she's really curious.
"It looks like a sextant. I think they were using it to find natural shadow paths. Are you familiar with them?" he asks.
"Prince Gerard has taught me a bit about both sextants and shadow paths, though I'm no expert. You think they were using it to find the energy of the path? It would act like a compass then?" she guesses.
"Exactly," Edan says. "The paths are what they are. The Moonriders would be limited in their ability to affect them, if at all. That is our legacy. They would need something to triangulate, something to make sure a path was headed in the right direction. Like, say, a sextant. That is why I think this is important." He takes a few more strides before he says, "Father and I Trumped here, so I'm safe for a little while. But it will not last forever. I've bought some time to prove this theory. Then, I think, I will have to leave it for them to find again. Otherwise, I can be tracked, and I do not like how that scenario would end."
With an unhappy sigh Hannah reaches to take his hand. She swings their arms back and forth a moment before she says, "Well, can you put some spell on the thing that would give you some idea where they are, if you must let them have it back?"
"Yes," he says. "Among other spells. I'll be giving it my best. But their side has magic, too." He smiles, just a little. "They may undo whatever I've done, and I should assume that they can. And will. And until then, I will be playing the 'catch me if you can' game. At least, that's something I have experience in."
Hannah nods slowly and leads the way to tug him toward the path that should lead to the water. "So how did you get this experience? It doesn't exactly sound pleasant."
Edan looks unhappy. "Before I got enough troops together, the war against the cities of the Land of Peace was a guerilla war," he says. "A war against trains and troops and supplies, against oil fields and refineries. I was chased, hounded really, for years. Chasing me through shadow, well, that's just another kind of trail and another kind of chase."
She pauses to give him a sympathetic look. "I can't discourage you from duty, but I wish you had an easier one. So you'll abandon it when you feel they're too close?"
Edan nods. "As well as an obvious trap and an obvious tracer spell. They will probably find the more subtle tracing spell I'll hide underneath the first one, but it's always nice to look busy. I have to admit, even though I know I am an inventive sorceror, I always seem to run into people who are just as good or better."
"We're young yet, in the scheme of things. Perhaps being born who we were has given us some advantages, but you can be sure the universe is full of other people who have been trying to get ahead ever since the first Pattern was drawn. It's what I'd do. And they have the advantage of time," Hannah grins, "but youth has its advantages too. So, do you feel they're bringing a war here? What's your opinion on all that?"
Edan nods. "They want to go back to Tir-na Nog'th, I think, and our Elders aren't willing to let that happen. But there will be war. I have heard, multiple times, that their Marshall is old... bitter... he's supposed to be like Benedict, but obviously not as good. He has something to prove. Even if he were given everything he wanted, right now, there still would be conflict. What I don't know is about their Queen. He apparently follows her, but I don't know what She wants."
"Right, the Queen of Air and Darkness. They came down out of Tir-na Nog'th last time, and I keep thinking they'll have to come through here to get there... but that may very well be backward. If only something about them made sense." Hannah sighs. "Well, I'll have to add making sure the medical supplies in Xanadu and up in the forest are prepared to the list. Corwin told me he could see Tir-na Nog'th from Paris, but there was no stair. Do you have a map of the universe where that adds up? Seems like, if you knew what you were doing, you could go up in Xanadu and fall down in Paris."
"Wait, what?" Edan shakes his head. "No, that doesn't fit. I don't understand. The last I heard, Brennan was pursuing this." He frowns. "Xanadu reaches Tir now, yes? But I thought when they had the Tir-like experience with the chain, they were in Benedict's Avalon." He starts searching for a pen and a bottle of ink. "I would sculpt a map with smoke and sorcery, but Random told me not to 'choke my chakra chicken in the palace'. Whatever that means."
Hannah cracks up laughing. "Oh, our King is a strange one. You took it to mean not doing magic, hm? That's probably what he meant, then, but we're not in the palace," she finishes with a touch of challenge.
"What's Brennan pursuing, exactly?" she wonders.
"The Patterns, and the road that connects them," Edan says. "The Faiella-Bionin. Where everything is in relation to one another. I wonder if Corwin's Tir is a shadow... or if he can see it because of his blade."
"Good point. That sword is... special. So the road should be like a hoop. Xanadu, Paris, Rebma, Tir, there is the center, there should be an above, and a below - which don't have to be patterns... but the road could go there. But that's assuming my people had it all figured out from out in shadow. And that's assuming a lot. I hope Brennan figures it out." Hannah smiles. "You don't know how it all worked back when Amber had a pattern, before Xanadu and Paris, do you?"
"Not at all." Edan shakes his head. "Well, okay, some. It was part of the mathematics I had to learn. Am still learning. I knew that Amber's and Rebma's and Tir's Patterns were first-order equations, and that there had to be a primary equation below it, governing it. But I hadn't put together things like damage to the Primal Pattern having a relationship to the black road, for instance. I only knew a few... theoretical... things."
"My early training was all about how the universe works, but it was belief-based, not mathematical. So we never had the 'math' but we could operate within the rules. I'll never know, but I wish I could place in time the damage to the center in relation to the Omaha journey."
Hannah stops to smell a purple flower. She's pensive as she looks back up. "If there were not a war coming, what would you be doing?"
Edan thinks about it. "Research," he says. "Like the mathematics of Pattern, there's things with Sorcery I can't learn any more but on my own. I have a project using the Principles of Space and Time, building a network of gates like one would use Trumps. You saw one of the first linkages, there on the Blue Earth. I assume... you would still be helping to acclimate your people to Xanadu, and aid uncle Gerard, whether or not a war was coming?"
She nods and picks a daisy. "That, and trying to answer the question of why some family can't survive the pattern when others can. Is it a simple blood quorum? It will be a side project to distract me from work and duty, and I expect it will take quite some time. It would be nice to be able to know myself, instead of having to ask Random, if our child will be able to do it. I think it would be a serious risk to raise a child among assumptions and expectations that might not be right."
Edan has a quirky little smile by the time Hannah finishes. "Our child," he says, knowing that he should explain. "I still have to get used to that. To the idea of that." Then his eyes widen a little, and he says, "Risk, yes. We should speak of a riddle. One named Chases-in-Madness."
Her eyes narrow for a moment while she processes that last sentence. "It's a name? That's a very Omaha name but the kind we'd whisper behind someone's back. Why is Chases-in-Madness a riddle?"
"It is the Altamarean way of naming, which means it is also the Moonrider way of naming. Chases-in-Madness is the daughter of the High Marshall of Ghenesh." He frowns. "I may be young and callow and foolish, but I do know it's not the smartest thing to be with a girl and talk about another girl. And yet, I must. We've only spoken twice, but Chases has marked me among her people as her rival or... well, I don't know what she's done. But if she is a rival or enemy to me, she could also become a danger to you. And our child."
Hannah tries not to laugh. "The Moonrider Marshall? You're talking about his daughter? You do like to play with fire. What did she do to mark you, because you seem unsure, Edan."
"I talked about the Race to Madness at the family meeting," Edan says. "Chases was racing in a similar race, on the Chaosi side of the Tree. We met at Ygg, and exchanged tokens rather than waste time searching for tokens beyond the border. That is how I obtained Kyauta. One of the Moonriders saw Kyauta during our raid of the forward camp, and said that I was not his to kill. I took that to mean that I was hers to kill."
"Hm." Hannah gets her amusement under control and nods. "I was in Rebma during that meeting, I think. So you exchanged tokens with one another, and then one of her kinsmen said you were not his to kill. I think you're engaged. You know...betrothed."
She tries not to laugh again. "I'm sorry, it must seem like I'm not taking this seriously enough. What did the two of you discuss during these meetings?"
If Edan could blush, he looks like he would be doing so. "The first time was a discussion on how we could avoid war. The discussion was more my effort than hers. The second time, Chases was frustrated that a marriage was being arranged for her by her father."
Hannah winces. "I think you should be more worried her father has marked you. I may need to worry about her for different reasons." She shrugs as if she's isn't very worried.
"Thank you for the warning. But you know..." she leans in close and whispers, "you are a little green, Firedancer. It's surprisingly charming, but I'd hate to see you taken advantage of because of it." She pulls back, but pauses to tuck the Daisy over his ear. This makes her smile. "You need to be a bit wary of her. She may be just the intriguing riddle she seems. Or she may be using you. Or both. Try not to get yourself too hurt."
Edan reaches up to touch the flower, bemused. "I usually try not to get too hurt. Really. As for Chases, well, I thought at first that she would try and spy on me somehow, especially with Kyauta. But after all this time, I've not seen any indication of it." His smile grows a little wider. "Green?"
She nods. "An emerald, youthful green, full of potential, with all your leaves still tender. Not a jaded green. It's nice. It's wonderful to know you now. I hope in a hundred years we'll be able to take walks in gardens and talk and remember what a marvel you were when you were green. And how many scrapes you got out of," she finishes with a wry grin. "And in a thousand, trying to remember all this. I can't even imagine..."
Edan smiles more, and reaches out to touch the side of Hannah's face. "In a thousand years, I'll still be trying to make a name for myself apart from my father. And I'll still be running into things that he's already done. And you'll be there to tell me what a fool I am. For you'll always be the wise one."
She tilts her face into his hand but when she hears 'wise one' she perks back up. "Oh! Ha," she slaps his chest, laughing. "Lucky me!"
Hannah shoves at him playfully, but with enough force to move him away. "You have no idea how tired I get of being the wise one. Well, maybe you have a little idea. I don't accept it. You can get old and wiser and I can get old and foolish," she insists. "But we can never get away from our fathers, says the wise one. Or our mothers - even not knowing them. Just listen to our elders talk about Oberon or their mothers, and you'll see it's true."
"I'll grant you that," Edan says, falling into step with her again. "And yet, I still try to make my own name, my own legacy. I suppose it has a lot to do with how and where I was raised, where I still follow some of the expectations of my society even when I've rejected its mores. It doesn't help to have your larger-than-legend father close around you, acting, well, larger-than-legend. Even if he does praise you."
She nods. "I do understand. I always had a special place among my people, but everywhere else I was 'Joe's girl, the smart one,' until I became, 'the doctor, you know, Joe's oldest girl.' Even though I was married. That's just how people talk. There wasn't another doctor around for miles, or another indian agent, nor another medicine man, but that's how it was."
Hannah shakes her head. "And here the first thing everyone wonders is who your parent is. It was very liberating coming here. Took some time to figure out who my mother was. For awhile, it could've been anyone, and that was nice."
"I can't imagine," Edan says. "There was never any guesswork for me, and both Bleys and Fiona are still officially in disfavor. Which I thought meant that I was in disfavor, and I guess it had a lot to do with the initial frosty reception from Jerod, but it seems that most of the Family don't hold our parents against us, once they know who they are. Your mother, I can't say I know much more about her other than her name and that she had a reputation for being wild, and... damn. I had the chance to ask about her from Father, and I was fighting the Moonriders, and I never asked. I am sorry."
She waves her hand in dismissal. "Don't be sorry. I know a bit more than that, and it's not very comforting. I'll never know her. I'll only know what everyone else thinks they know about her. She had the sense to leave me with my father, and he had the sense to marry good women. I never wanted for love or direction." She smiles over at him. "Half the tribe was convinced my mother was a spirit woman. The other half was convinced he'd got me on some fancy white woman. Everyone was right, and they never let it matter either way.
"As for my papa... he's another creature entirely. I don't know how easy praise comes to your father's lips, but you had to do something pretty spectacular for my father to dole it out. He wasn't a legend though. Just a politician rich in horses. All our drive came from him, and out of desires for our people - not from the larger society. Or perhaps it was because of the pressures from the larger society..." she waves her hand again. "Who knows. Just be careful when you're building your legacy it's one you want to live up to, not down to."
"That is hard," Edan admits. "Especially in the sorcery game. It's so individualistic, and your research can take you places where you're not sure if you're doing the right thing. I'd say mine is pretty safe, but... well, for instance, I could go back to the City of Brass, set myself up as the Lord of All Afrits. Gain power, unlock new abilities, blend Sorcery with Fire as it's never been done before. Or go past the Tree and become a Lord of Chaos, destroy and assimilate everything around me that objects. But I won't, even though I know it could be done. It's just not who I want to be. That's how I know I'm doing the right thing, I guess." He looks mock-thoughtful. "Or maybe it's that I know the Family are more powerful..."
She shakes her head at him. "It's no different for physicians. You try things sometimes not knowing if they'll do more harm than good. These are life and death choices, half the time. It's not a game. I didn't say it would be easy. I have to give myself permission to step away from all the things I need to do and consider where I've been, and where my decisions might be taking me, and who I may be taking with me." She gestures at Edan and chuckles. She reaches for his hand again. "And sometimes your instincts lead to interesting situations. And I've been wrong more than I've been right. But we can be mindful of what an action might mean for our grandchildren without becoming afraid of doing anything at all.
"So you've considered great power in shadow and rejected it because... it wouldn't be real? What are you thinking of then?"
Edan hesitates. "Well, it's not that the power isn't real. I am already an afrit. I am also already a Lord of Chaos, according to Clarissa, anyway. It's that I don't like where I would be going, morally and ethically, if I grab hold of that power and immerse myself in it. I'd rather be here." He smiles and squeezes her hand. "For many reasons. If I were to think beyond the war I know is coming with the Gheneshi, I would say, maybe Random is looking for a court-wizard-in-training. Or something like that."
She smiles. "There are many things to be done here, especially in the city, I think. Do you play an instrument? Random seems to like keeping lots of musicians about." She may be joking about that last, or she may not.
Edan's smile matches hers. "That's pretty much the first thing Random asked me when I met him. I can play the sitar, a little, and various small hand drums and wind instruments, but rhythm and melody is often used for long-term ritual spells. I can't claim any real talent with any of them; I concentrated on dance, instead. How about you?"
Hannah snorts. "I did learn to play the piano and lap harp in finishing school. It has been so long though. I think I may still be able to read music. In the tribe, music and dance were generally delegated to the men. Women were always too busy doing the real work," she grins, "well, and women do the singing, but that's not tied to our formal rituals. Those go exactly as you said. Rhythm and melody.
"My tribesmen are overdue for a ritual. Are you still interested in participating in that?" she asks.
"Of course," Edan says. "I would enjoy that. What is it that we will be doing? And how can I help?"
She seems to consider the answer, as if she doesn't exactly know. "I'll need to gather up the tribe. We'll find a place, perhaps further along the shore, where I can light a fire. The fire is my job, as the holy man. They'll bring along drums, and once I've prayed they'll dance - until they can't. That's the trick of it. I don't know... how much I can involve you. You can dance at some point, but you shouldn't out-dance them, even though you could." She smiles at him.
"It is hard to explain when you aren't indoctrinated into our culture. The dance is giving thanks, and celebrating, and grieving. It's complicated, and it is different for everyone. But it's about the circles within circles. The fire at the center, the dancers around the fire, the drums around the dancers, speaking to the Directions. Regaining connection - the circles within circles in our lives. If I were a proper holy man I'd be living with them and I'd have gauged the perfect time and we'd all have fasted, and I'd have sent runners to everyone working up with Paige, but we don't have that..." She trails off uncomfortably and bites her lip. Then she shrugs. "I'll need to find someone to train. Someone who can be that for them."
Her mind goes off in another direction. "I want to send Random a note too. I think he'd love it, and it'd be good for them, for him to be there, if I can get him to come. It would be nice for me for you to be there. My tribesmen may make assumptions, and they may tease. Teasing is part of our culture, so please don't take any offense. If they don't tease at all I'll be worried."
"I can always fake it and beg off when it looks like I've matched someone's endurance. And I can be gracious and endure teasing for one night," Edan says. "That sounds pretty easy on my part. I'd ask if there was more that I could do, but I'll be a guest, and I don't want to intrude. Will, er, there be food?"
She smiles and shakes her head. "No. Sometimes, one must transcend the body's needs to meet the mind's. I should shove events into motion if I want this to happen tonight. Should I leave you here, or do you want to come back with me?"
"I would come with you, if you are willing," Edan says. "I don't have plans until tonight, and I think that I may be leaving out again sometime tomorrow."
Hannah hesitates a moment before she nods. "Come on then. If we don't run into Paige today, I'll have her trump you, all right?"
She turns to start leading the way back to the castle.
Hannah doesn't rush back, especially now that she knows Edan is leaving quite soon. When they do arrive back at her room, it's as she described it - it looks like a place she doesn't plan to stay in, or at least is hardly in except to sleep and write letters. The desk is an impressive mess of books, half-written letters, medical drawings, and different kinds of writing instruments. The little table between the chairs is covered with scraps of cut fabric, discarded thread and a pincushion. She apologizes, blushing as if the state of things embarrasses her.
She pens a quick note that she sends off for Random.
This message is for Random The Drummer. I'll be leading a ritual for my tribesmen tonight that involves a big fire and the beating of drums. I'd consider it a personal favor if you came down and played with us at some point. I'll be looking for a place down away from the city a bit, but likely by the water. I hope we'll see you, but I understand there are many pressures on your time. - Hannah
A note comes back from Random. "I'll be there with bells on. -- R rex."
And another for her father.
Father - I'm beginning the ritual we talked about, tonight. I know you may not get this in time for it to be useful. I think you could manage leading one as well as me, but if you want me up there for one, just send a note. - Enana.
She gathers up various items from smaller bags and puts them carefully into saddlebags: eagle feathers, leather strings, packets of herbs, a few of the long pipes Edan will remember, a stack of badges she's been embroidering and pins, and her medical kit. Then she slips into the back to change into a cotton tunic the color of the sky, with white pants, and her beaded moccasins. She ties a simple buckskin belt around her waist and loops a pouch over it. She's quickly braiding her hair when she comes back out.
She checks to see if Edan wants to grab anything before they head off.
Edan wants to stop by his rooms before they go; this time to change, but it only takes a few minutes. When he comes out, he's changed into the silken dancing uniform he's occasionally worn around Xanadu, as well as softer shoes. The light fabric contrasts sharply against his cinnamon-colored skin, but more importantly, he looks like he's moving around a little easier. He gives Hannah a thumbs-up gesture when he emerges.
She looks at him funny, and then smiles. "Does that mean you're ready?" she asks, turning to lead the way out to the stables.
Once they’ve gotten their horses and all the water pouches they can carry, Hannah rides down to town where many of her people have settled. She gathers up the ones who are available, not off working somewhere, and tells them it’s past time for a ritual - to bring whatever drums they’ve made. If it’s not enough, they’ll just have to beat sticks together. “You should gather whatever you have that you’d share with your brothers,” she says, and talks to Crow. She asks him to stay behind and bring along anyone else who can come later, giving him a vague notion of where she’ll be.
She introduces Edan to Horsehide as “My cousin, who is a dancer so would like to dance with us. He smoked a pipe with my father and I in the spirit world, so he honors our traditions.” She counts on Horsehide to introduce him around while she keeps everyone moving. She gets herself introduced to any women, children, or newly adopted tribesmen that have been picked up since she brought them to town.
When they’re ready, she leads them away from the city, trusting her instincts for the right location. Anyone who has trouble walking can ride up on Misae, or if there are too many, a wagon will be wrangled. When she’s satisfied with a spot far enough out, she sends the healthy men out to gather wood and builds her fire circle and dancing circle.
Once everything is ready, she begins. “When a warrior of the people returns home after a war, he is always welcomed back to the group and honored. The people do not care about the politics of war, only that our warriors have returned. You have fought with bravery and the tribe survives. We gather tonight to help our warriors heal, to honor their journey to this home, and to renew our connection to this place, Xanadu, at the center, and all the places we have touched. Come dawn, we will welcome the sun with his dance.”
Hannah begins by calling the youngest warrior forth, saying a blessing, and pinning on his badge. The badges are a simple, stylized sun, an ancient symbol in the tribe. “To remind us of the connections between all things, under the creator,” she quietly says with a smile. Then she ties an eagle feather in his hair in silence, her seriousness showing the great honor.
“Come present your brother with gifts, and he will lead us in the first dance.” The warriors present gifts, and then while the drummers stay back to play, the rest of the men will begin the first dance. She encourages Edan to join in this simple, very earthbound group dance. Hannah lets it go on a bit, then pulls out one of the older men. She quietly performs the same ritual, knowing they’ll all exchange their gifts when they tire.
She repeats this ceremony with every tribesmen, encourages them to tell their war stories as they fall out of the dance, preparing and passing the pipe. She listens to them, and pays attention to the men around the fire, playing medicine man and physician at the same time. She keeps an eye on Edan to make sure they don’t pick on him too badly (and to watch him dance), and stays on the lookout for Random too.
Late in the night, Hannah looks back at the drummers and sees the King sitting with them, playing along. He's not leading, but he's playing off the other drummers. He is both small and very large. His drumming is very intense. He doesn't seem to be seeing anything except the drum and the fire and the circle, and yet his accent notes complement the dance perfectly.
There are bells on his ankles, but he isn't playing them now.
Hannah realizes that she has no idea when he joined the circle. Or from where.
Edan, to Hannah's seeing, doesn't get teased too badly; at one point his head whips around, wide-eyed, to stare at one of the men, but relaxes as they all break into rough laughter.
It's not a surprise that he picks up the dance quickly, nor any others that are started. He's making a conscious effort not to compete or grandstand, being as courteous as he knows how, and it's obvious to anyone who knows the Family's gifts that he's toning down his efforts.
But that's where the similarity ends. Edan doesn't sweat; his brown skin takes on a ruddy, healthy glow instead. His eyes reflect the firelight as twin golden beacons. His body is thin and sere and alive, clad in white silk, like a candle flame that twists and moves upon the wick. And his dancing is intense and perfect, as if he's moved this way to the sound of drums his entire life. He is afriti, a fire-spirit tethered to the earth and the tribe by the dance, as if their movements summoned him to this place, this sharing, this celebration; which, in a way, it has. He stands out just by his very nature, but with every step and twist and jump, he bonds himself to the men around him.
Occasionally he glances Hannah's way, if at some point she decides that he's overdone things, but otherwise he stays with the dancers. And if he notices Random's presence in the drum circle, the flash of a smile is his only acknowledgement.
Edan will catch Hannah watching more than once. She just smiles and looks on to something else. Once she finally notices Random, she shakes her head, but can't stop grinning. She seeks out Crow and informs him, "The King has been drumming. Apparently he's not interested in a lot of pomp." She gestures with her head and her grin spreads into a smile. "Let's not interrupt him. He actually has bells on. Maybe he'll dance."
Edan evantually leaves the dancing, mopping his brow (though Hannah still can't see any sweat), and heads over in her direction. He nods at her, indicating that he's decided dancing onward would be a lot like showing off.
Hannah will get around to Edan and give his hand a squeeze. She makes certain he drinks some water and introduces him into a smoking circle. She leaves Random be. He's very good at what he does, and no one would interrupt that.
When dawn approaches, she starts the transition to a new dance with a story.
"Before there were days, all things were held in the mind of the creator, and all the people and animals were spirits without bodies or a place. Our people searched for a home in the sun, but it was too hot. We looked to the moon, but it was too cold. We found the earth, searching all the winds, but it was covered in water and we grieved. Then flaming rocks rose from the water and made land and air; forests and plants grew and the spirits landed there to become men and animals. The fed on the seeds and the fruit and and the land shook with their rejoicing and gratitude to the creator, the Maker of all things.
"Now we have left the Blue Earth and crossed many worlds to find a new home. We look to the sun to mark our place in the universe, as our ancestors did and we will teach our descendants to do."
Then she sings, "Wo-kon-da dhe-dhu Wa-pa-dhin a-ton-he. Wo-kon-da dhe-dhu Wa-pa-dhin a-ton-he." The tribesmen and drummers will pick this up, and the dance moves into a more trying phase. The dancers face the sun as they dance the circle, and sing - some of the men who can no longer dance help Hannah take care of her cousins as they begin dropping from exhaustion through the day.
Hannah encourages Edan to rejoin the dance with a whispered, "This is really a fire-dance, after all."
Random plays. He's somehow acquired a larger drum. Hannah notices that the dancers seem to have more endurance than she'd've expected. Maybe there's just something in the air in Xanadu.
"And I am the son of the Sun," Edan tells Hannah, and squeezes her hand. He looks pleasantly stoned, at least as much as one can tell from his eyes. Perhaps he's finally getting the hang of the smoking thing. It doesn't seem to affect his dancing, however, as he enters the new dance with relish.
Hannah finds a few men to send back with the horses so they can bring back more water. She's been at dances that have lasted 4 days, but that was with fasting. Without that preparation they'll feel the hunger more keenly. She's not expecting this to go that long, but she also isn't interested in having anyone suffer dehydration.
The nice thing about a city built at the base of a waterfall is that it doesn't have problems getting water. The men are back quickly.
She takes this time to circle about and see if she can't find a few of the younger men who seem to have a natural insight into the dance and all the rituals built around it. While she's about this, she'll start digging about for gossip to see if the men are settling in. Hearing teasing over new relationships being formed is a great relief. And it makes her turn her gaze back to the dancers. She's not going to pretend she didn't bring her cousin down here for a reason, even if it means they both endure more teasing. Hannah watches Edan dance with a grin on her face.
The men are. The forest rangers are a strange mix of city people and natives, but in some ways so are the Ponca. Iron Eye watches her watch people.
Edan does his own version of teasing, which is to say he's dancing on, perfectly oblivious to Hannah's attentions. Except that she can see perfectly well the glances he sends back her way.
Pleased with the dance and with Xanadu and with Random, Hannah settles in for a long day. Come another sunset, obligations and exhaustion have thinned the ranks of dancers and smokers both well down. Hannah motions to the drummers to up the tempo and wear the last few men standing out. She makes sure her father gets a kiss on the cheek as she makes her rounds.
He makes grumpy noises, but it's clear that he's also satisfied.
At some point Random isn't with the drummers anymore. Hannah later hears he's invited several of the players to the castle in a week for more of what he calls 'banging the goatskins'.
He didn't pick the leaders or the elders, but everyone agrees that he picked the best drummers.
Last modified: 15 September 2012