Avishraa Reloaded

There was a vague sense of time passing, somewhere outside his head. Sometimes of being moved, of voices. Once or twice, it seemed to him that he was roused just enough to drink water or broth, but he could remember nothing afterward but the bare fact of it.

When at last he surfaced again into consciousness, the first sensation, before vision or even sound, was pain at the end of his tail. It was nothing at all like the pain of Ynudh's powers being used on it, either in quality or intensity, but it was there, a kind of heat, as if he had recently been burned. As if this were not enough, the rest of his body ached as well, though it was extremely minor by comparison.

He became aware of other things. The sound of water, or at least liquid, boiling. Some kind of intensly herbal smell, or more likely some confused mix of different herbal smells. Someone moving around nearby, and others talking in the distance, in some tongue that he did not recognize. It felt like he had been laid on some kind of pallet stuffed with leaves and moss.

Then hands were laid on him. They were not rough in their work, but they were businesslike; they felt the side of his neck, the base of his antenna, his chest. With somewhat more care, they explored the area around the end of his tail.

When he opened an eye, he observed that he was in some kind of tent. The person examining him was a woman of his own kind; she was a very dark brown, covered in small, tapered golden markings. He'd never seen her before.

There was a strange dizziness in his head. He was unsure whether it was physiological or some kind of after-effect of the strange vision. The straight-forward disorientation and pain weren't helping. He let his vision scan through the room, trying to understand enough of his environment to at least guess when he was and maybe even where, in broad strokes, relative to where he last remembered being.

The woman turned back to his face, saw that his eyes were open and at least somewhat focused, and spoke a few words. Her expression was professional, but she sounded relieved and pleased. She glanced off to one side, said something else with a gesture indicating that she would be back momentarily, and then left.

Looking in that direction, he saw the entrance of the tent. He couldn't make out much beyond it, but the flickering light suggested that it was night and that there was a fire going not far outside. The smell of the air was not dissimilar to that of the area where he and the others had been before, but cooler and damper and tinged with a strange but not unpleasant resinous scent.

A certain amount of effort resulted in the vague recollection that Tikke had pointed out, high up on a spur of the hills, the location of a xtauh encampment to which the others had tried flying; possibly this was it.

The woman returned, carrying a bowl of something that smelled like food - it made An-uxhwi realize that he was also fammished - how long had it been since he'd really eaten - and trailed by Unitti, who seemed to be under a certain amount of stress, but who smiled on seeing An-uxhwi awake. “Friend An-uxhwi, how you feeling?”

His own expression brightened at seeing the familiar face, although he made no secret of the confusion he felt at Unitti's stressed state - not that they didn't all have shared experiences that would be enough to explain all manners of stress, but this seemed unique to Unitti in the very moment.

“Alive,” he answered, letting his tone convey the complexity of meaning for him: It was more than he had perhaps expected. It was all he could say in polite company. It was a state that promised a future to him. “But what about you?” he asked, willing his pain away for long enough to make space for his sincere concern.

It let in another concern that he'd been hoping to stave off, and he found it difficult to suppress it, so he didn't: “And, do you know - is Evrith all right?” A glance leapt to the bowl, lingering a little more than was polite to look away from Unitti, guided by the ravenous hunger that roiled in his gut. A tinge of shame touched him, then rippled into a firm tension as he kept himself politely still - no tearing the bowl from his benefactor's hands, no side-lining Unitti. He clearly owed these people his life - another debt, then, equally gladly taken - and being polite was the absolute least he could do for now.

The pallet on which he lay was on the ground, so when the woman set the bowl just beyond its edge, it was in easy reach. Before Unitti could answer, she said something to An-uxhwi with a certain amount of sternness. Unitti, who looked even more uncomfortable after An-uxhwi had asked his questions, sighed lightly.

“This Hyd'natt,” he introduced her, or so An-uxhwi interpreted the name; some of the sounds used were unfamiliar to him. “She say to eat now, talk later - you need strength. But Evrith is… er, in book right now. She scratched up. Shyriath trying to sew up. Tikke and I, we not hurt, but we have… tough discussion with tribe here.”

An-uxhwi glanced to Hyd'natt, as though that explained the business of the tough discussion, then back to Unitti. There were a number of tough discussions he could imagine - the whole 'traveling with a takmar' came to mind as something that might spook some tribes - but ultimately he could only guess.

So he decided to ask, even as he took the food with as much composure as he could manage, trying not to immediately bury his face in it and managing, somehow. “What of this discussion?” he asked, then began to eat as slowly as he could muster, trying to keep his eyes on Unitti - it meant that he made a mess of his muzzle like a hatchling.

Unitti grimaced, and turned briefly to speak to Hyd'natt. An-uxhwi did not recognize the language, except that it didn't sound like the one that Unitti and Tikke used between themselves.

“<You might want to go outside. He's normally a sensible fellow, but he's asking for clarification and I don't know how angry he's going to be. I'd rather it not get directed at you.>”

Hyd'natt expelled air from her nostrils in a sigh. “<Just make sure he eats. He lost a fair amount of blood, and it needs restoring.>” She turned and ducked out of the tent.

Unitti turned back to An-uxhwi, hesitated, and then said, “We having problems with tribe. They… they suffer much from giants - takmar, you see. They not like them. When Evrith go back for you, we continue to tribe to get help, but they not happy about Shyriath. They make him stay away. They follow Tikke and me to help, because we tell them one of the People is captured by bad giants. They follow Tikke and me to save you.”

There was a pause, and then Unitti continued, “But… when we arrive, they see you, they see missing piece of tail. They see Evrith standing over you. They attack. Evrith not defend, not do anything. Tikke get tribe to stop, but Evrith bleeding. Tribe angry, confused. They find book, put you and Evreith in, bring it back to camp. We bring you out, but they say Evrith must stay in book. Shyriath come back and argue, he go in book to help Evrith. And now…” Unitti took a deep breath. “Evrith and Shyriath in book. Tribe has book. Tribe argue over whether to destroy book. Tikke trying to convince to give back.”

Anger was not quite An-uxhwi's emotion. It didn't sound like Evrith was immediate peril. Still, some smaller cousin of panic welled in his chest, accompanied by a deep, tired annoyance, laced with the unwelcome understanding of someone who had himself once been enslaved. He closed his eyes, trying to compose his response. Then: “And I imagine they would not believe me if I told them we need Evrith to save the world, so cutting her off from it would be very, very bad.”

Unitti jerked his head in a negative. “Tikke try to explain, but-” He paused. Tikke's voice was barely audible outside, and it sounded like he was either shouting or on the verge of it. “-but they think we crazy or bewitched.

“When we come this way with you, we hope to ask Evrith to allow tribe to move into land inside book. Here land is rough, hunting poor, giants all around, but there, they have better life. When they get hold of book, we try to tell them this. They give back book, let giants go free, they get new home. But elders not trust giants. Not trust magic. Very much not trust giant magic. Some argue book is evil. Most think giants in book should stay there. All think that we not in right minds if we trust giants.”

An-uxhwi's grumpiness was rising. “Do they know that Evrith saved my life, and the life of several other women and men besides who were toiling in the mines I was enslaved in?” A pause, but not quite long enough for an answer. “Do they know that I owe Evrith my life and they are interfering with the repayment of my debt?”

Unitti shrugged helplessly. “You can try to tell them. We not know whole story. But you should eat. You not help if you pass out-”

There was the sound of someone approaching the tent, and Tikke pushed his way in. He looked as serious, and indeed as angry, as An-uxhwi had ever seen him. “<Bunch of stubborn, thick-headed idiots,>” he declared to Unitti, snarling. “<We bring them useful goods for years and they're happy to take it all from us, but we ask for a little consideration in how our friends get treated and suddenly- oh.>” He switched languages. “An-uxhwi, you finally awake! Sorry for shout, we have difficulty-”

“Yes,” Unitti muttered, “I tell him.”

“I understand and appreciate your concern,” An-uxhwi said weakly, beginning to push himself up, readying himself to walk to where the tribe was discussing the destruction of the book. Distress gnawed at his joints, both from the unwelcome motion and the situation at hand. “But should they destroy the book while I eat, that seems a rather worse outcome than me passing out. I have to talk to them.” He exhaled, grasping the bowl again. “I can eat while I go,” he promised in compromise.

Unitti and Tikke glanced at each other. Tikke said, “He have point.”

Unitti muttered mournfully, “Hyd'natt smack my head. Yours too.” He glanced at An-uxhwi. “Maybe also yours.” He shook his head. “We stay at sides. Lean on one or another if need be.”

With Unitti on one side and TIkke on the other, An-uxhwi was herded out of the tent and into an evening scented with wood smoke and resin. The camp of these xtauh lay in a U-shaped hollow in the rock, a semicircle of widely-spaced tents around a large fire. Most of the inhabitants seemed busy at various tasks around them - some on lookout atop the surrounding stones, others carrying food or crafting items or attempting to herd children - though many of them glanced up to peer at An-uxhwi as he passed near.

But sitting near the fire were a number of older men and women; some of them simply sat or lay near, warming their bones, but among them were a trio of women - two of middle age, and one of them very nearly the most ancient xtauh An-uxhwi had ever seen - speaking among themselves and passing some long, narrow object between them. The conversation, and the passing, stopped as An-uxhwi was brought before them.

These three women were evidently the local matriarchs; all of them, unlike any of the others, wore headbands from which dangled tufts of dyed fur. The one holding the object - some kind of elaborately carved stick? - was one of the middle-aged ones, a bitter-looking woman with old claw-inflicted scars running across one eye socket and the corresponding eye missing. She began speaking, and Unitti translated.

“<You should not be out and about,>” the woman said - or so An-uxhwi thought, the translation being provided by one who was not completely fluent. “<You have been subjected to injury and to devil-magic, and lost much blood.>”

“I was told you were considering the destruction of the linking book, preventing my friend from returning to us,” An-uxhwi said. He sounded very, very tired - and very, very serious about what he was saying, in a manner that rather explained his urgency. “Please understand, I owe that woman my life and I have yet to repay my debt.

“I have attempted it, but, well…” He gestured to his mangled tail. “It would seem I did an embarrassingly poor job of it.” He crinkled apologetically. “I vow to do better next time, as that I might not need to tax your gracious hospitality or anyone else's - but please, allow the woman, Evrith, to return.”

It occurred to him that it might be rude not to make the same case for Shyriath, but if his argument was going to be about life-debt, it factually was only to Evrith.

The woman who spoke closed her eye, took a deep breath, and released it through her nostrils in controlled exasperation. She glanced at the other two, and the three arranged themselves in a line and sat; the woman passed the stick to her elderly colleague. “Sacred speaking-stick,” Unitti murmured. “Do not speak unless they point at you.”

The ancient matriarch raised the stick and began speaking in a raw, cracked voice. “<To allow either giant to return,>” she proclaimed, “<would negate the main purpose of destroying the book. We do not trust it; we trust the giants far less. Regardless of what happens to the book, inside it they are and inside they must remain. That has already been decided.>”

At a motion from the one-eyed woman, the stick was passed back to the latter, who added firmly, “<The fulfillment of a life-debt is understandable. But no debt exists, none may exist, to one who is not of the People. There is nothing to repay.>” She fell silent, a stubborn expression on her face, though after a nudge from one of her colleagues, pointed the stick - with a certain amount of reluctance - at An-uxhwi to signal his permission to respond.

“With all due respect, it is not your choice to whom I owe a debt,” An-uxhwi said. “Nor would it be any business of yours why I owe it, but I shall share the story, because it is important, and you deserve to know who it is you are considering banishing from Avishraa:

“I was one of many of our people enslaved by Soakers to work in a mine. Evrith was a slave there, too, abilities curtailed by meekleaf, pressed to tell our captors where to find the most valuable resources quickly. But she had fallen ill, which made our captors reluctant to poison her further - and since they were scared of her, they sent me to take care of her so they would not have to be in a room with her.

“Even then, it took a clever ruse and careful timing, but together we were able to coordinate a successful uprising. With her help, we destroyed the gates, guards and obstacles to everyone's freedom. Without her, we would all have perished, either at the end of our strengths or in an attempted rebellion, broken against the gates.”

For a moment, it looked as though An-uxhwi might collapse to the side, exhaustion still having a firm hold on him. He clutched in part to his kind aides, in part awkwardly to the bowl, as though it might do anything to hold him. Then he continued: “I would have died a long time ago without Evrith and so would many of our people from those mines.”

The elderly matriarch listened impassively; the other middle-aged one looked uncertain; but the one-eyed one, after a moment's hesitation, hardened her expression. “<A beast may, in freeing itself, cause freedom to a person, but the person owes no debt to a beast,>” she replied coldly. “<Lightning may burst one's chains, but there is no debt to the lightning. Those with no souls are, at best, only the tools of the spirits that watch over the places in which we are. If the giant, in seeking to free itself, freed you along with it, then what it did was neither selfless nor its own doing->”

The younger of the other two matriarchs leaned over and murmured quietly near the one-eyed one's antenna, and the latter paused, snorted, and then, with somewhat more moderation, continued, “<-and besides, this matter is immaterial. Giants may not walk among us in safety; that is our rule.>”

“Ignoring your disgusting xenophobia for a moment–” A part of An-uxhwi hoped Unitti would translate that correctly, despite the outrage it would cause, but expected it to be somewhat deliberately lost in translation. “–again, it is not for you to decide who I owe a debt to. If I wished to indebt myself to a river, I could do so. I don't require your blessing.

“But though I don't wish in any way to be ungrateful, let me put not too fine a point on this: Should you try to destroy the book, I will fight to prevent it. It might make no difference. I might die trying, especially in my current state. But it would be the only choice you leave me.

“Make no mistake, I don't ask you let Evrith out within your village, but let me take the book with me. You have my word that we won't bother you - I will fight on your side if the future makes a liar of me. And in the interest of both gratitude and fairness, I would like to work to return the things my poor health has taken from you, regardless what the future holds.”

Both other matriarchs glanced nervously at the one-eyed one, who had stood up after An-uxhwi called her out. One of them nudged her as if to request the stick, but she ignored her until An-uxhwi had finished speaking; then, in a very deliberate way, set the stick down where she had been sitting with a click and approached.

She stopped a very short distance away and looked An-uxhwi in the eyes, her antennae set and quivering with barely-suppressed rage, and she said, translated by a very nervous Unitti, “<You accuse me of… blind hatred? …giants have taken our lands, defiled the place-spirits. They have left us in want. They have taken much, as much as they can, even when it does not benefit them. My eye. One of my fathers. Four of my brothers. Three of my sons. My sons. So do not think, outlander, that you can shame me, or any of us, for our hate. We bear it gladly and with good reason.>”

She turned and returned to the others, picking up the stick and snapping something at them. The three went into a huddle, passing the stick around as they discussed. Unitti commented, sounding shaken, “They speak on what you say. Ok'ah' very angry, she argue that you be tied down, that you mad for claiming debt with giant. Tlett think it bad luck to punish for debt one think one have whether it real or not. Hna'i not want to kill one of the People if you fight to keep book from being destroyed - wait…”

The three matriarchs turned back to them. The other middle-aged one, the one Unitti had identified at Tlett, took the stick from a clearly disgruntled-looking Ok'ah' and said, “<We do not feel confident in releasing the book from our custody, nor in allowing the giants to come forth from it. But we… some of us,>” she amended, glancing at Ok'ah', “<acknowledge that your feelings on this matter should not be entirely disregarded. If you wish to remain associated with the one giant, we will permit you to enter the book to do so. We shall defer the decision whether or not to destroy it for some small time.>”

A kernel of anger in An-uxhwi nearly made him address the misguided matriach to detail precisely what the mines had done to him and the other xtauh caught in it, and that she could shove her special pleading up her ass, but fortunately, there were saner individuals at hand, and more pressing matters rapidly needed his attention. The process of considering the offer sapped at the angry flame until it was only a mild simmer. Still, with a calm rather greater than he felt, he said to Unitti: “Perhaps you might want to tell Ok'ah' that her crude dismissal of the suffering of the slaves does not flatter her case.” Then he turned his attention to Tlett, nodding his muzzle respectfully, took a deep breath, and said: “Thank you, I appreciate the consideration. It is not ideal for many reasons, but if it is the only thing you offer me, then I would indeed like to join Evrith.”

Unitti translated An-uxhwi's words, though he felt it impolitic to include his message to Ok'ah'; the situation was quite volatile enough. As it was, An-uxhwi's apparent preference for Evrith's company caused a look of utter disgust to cross Ok'ah's face, though she remained silent.

The eldest matriarch, Hna'i, brought out a sack and withdrew the book from it, passing it into Tlett's hands; Ok'ah' looked like she wanted to snatch it away and throw it in the fire, but made a snarling sort of snort and called out Hyd'natt's name in a peremptory way. Tlett carefully, and somewhat hesitantly, opened the front cover of the book, staring at the endlessly swirling lines on the front page, and then, taking care to keep a firm hold on it, turned the book around to face An-uxhwi.