Kiki laughed at him while everyone else just gaped at Corr. “Big words from such a young man, hmm?” Demetrius said, looking up at the others. “I’m Demetrius, this is Rowena, Huette, Oran, and Cassandra.”
“We can introduce ourselves just fine enough.” Huette shook her head and faced the others. “We come to the fort to fish, sometimes to cut down trees and take them back to our village.”
“We have a small village, a day’s journey from here, but it’s not large enough to support a lot of people. How many of you Corricans are there?” Oran said.
“Counting the members of our expedition here, there’s currently about eighty-seven people who were on Porran’s boat and landed on these shores.” Hasbas said.
“It’s a lot, but maybe we could handle taking them in.” Cassandra told Kalino.
“Yet we don’t know about any other Corricans, though, how many survived the island’s destruction or were displaced from their homes elsewhere.” Zeldos said as the others turned to him. “Who knows how many more might one day turn up on these shores, looking for a home?”
“He does make a point. Could we handle a whole country of strangers?” Kozu said.
“We might fit in.” Wintha piped up, but others ignored her.
“What’re you talking about, Zeldos? We shouldn’t speculate about that.” Buzzbo said.
“I’m just warning them to be wary, too. The Corricans created an empire in the past, and who’s to say they won’t do the same thing again here?” Zeldos said, turning to the inhabitants.
“Be quiet, please. Would you condemn yourself as well as us?” Dahlia asked, facing him with her baby in her arms.
“I’m willing to if I can prevent any more misfortune than what I experienced in the past.” Zeldos said, glancing away from her.
“That’s harsh.” Kiki murmured.
“Yes, it’s true that our people did create an empire, conquering other islands, capturing and enslaving people like Zeldos, subjugating and profiting from our vassals.” Lapida said, turning to their judges. “We don’t deny that.”
“Not very promising.” Kalino grumbled.
“However, not all of us were directly involved in such brutal practices.” Wilama said, standing up. “As a priestess, I tried to help people like Wintha, as did Anya. Porran and his crew never transported any slaves, Geneva’s family worked the land on their own, and Mogame had moral objections to such conventions. While Hasbas and Marko were soldiers who served the empire, they didn’t commit any horrible crimes, did you?” Wilama turned to them.
“As an officer, I disciplined all my soldiers who stepped out of bounds, and Hasbas here was one of the most dedicated, honorable soldiers I’ve had the privilege of commanding.” Marko told them. “He’s a good man with a fine family who deserve a chance. I haven’t been the best person myself, and I hired people to work for me in a subservient role, but I treated them fairly. Didn’t I, Buzzbo?”
Buzzbo nodded. “I admired Marko, who courted me in a fair and decent manner, giving me the chance to refuse him, and I grew to love him. He’s treated me very well and he saved my life many times.”
“You two are a couple and Marko’s married to Dahlia with a son?” Rowena asked, her eyes wide as her companions glanced at each other.
“It’s not entirely unusual where we come from, though people generally tried to hide such amorous behavior.” Dahlia said.
“Okay, I suppose we can allow it, so long as it’s consensual between everyone.” Demetrius said.
“The arrangement’s not perfect, but we cope with it.” Marko said.
“So now that you know about us, and you know that we have people waiting for us back at the beach, who depend on us and any news we might bring back to them, what’ll be your decision?” Geneva asked. “Will you let us settle some land in your territory, just a small plot where we can take care of ourselves, maybe build a farm or community of our own? Or will we have to go somewhere else and look for another place where we can settle?”
Kalino and everyone in his group murmured amongst themselves, discussing the problem and issues at hand, until finally they turned around and faced the Corricans. “Okay, after some deliberation and debate, we’ve decided that we’ll allow you all to come to our village, and grant you some land on our outskirts.” Oran said. “However, you’ll swear fealty to Bahealfisaba, our leader, and our people. You’ll be subject to the same laws and rules as everyone else, you’ll have to pay tithes as well, and you’ll serve as defenders as well if our land’s attacked. We’ll keep a close eye on all of you, and if any of you disobey our laws or try to betray and attack us, we’ll revoke such privileges as we see fit. Do we have a deal?”
Now it was the Corricans’ turn to confer over the matter and determine if it was a good fit for them. After a lengthy discourse, Porran confronted the people of Bahealfisaba.
“While we can’t speak for all of our people, we find the terms of your agreement to be fair and just, and we’ll submit to your pact and swear fealty to all of you.” Porran said. “We’ll be loyal subjects and citizens of Bahealfisaba, and we’ll defend our new home. Now I need to go back to the shore, and tell the rest of our party the good news, so that we can make the necessary arrangements and move on from there.”
“I’ll accompany you.” Huette volunteered, standing up to face Porran. “You’ll need a guide back to our village, after all.”
“You’ll be okay?” Cassandra asked Huette, concerned.
Huette smiled. “I think I can handle him and any trouble we might run into.”
“As for the rest of you, would you like to accompany us back to our village?” Kozu asked, rising up to gaze upon the Corricans.
“I think we’re willing to.” Anya nodded, and the others reluctantly agreed.
Soon they departed with Porran and Huette heading north back to the coast, and the rest of the Corricans traveled alongside the remainder of the Bahealfisaba party with Kozu driving their wagon loaded with furs, fish, furniture and lumber. However, they were still separated and distinct from one another, not ready yet to merge their forces.
Corr turned his head, glancing at Kiki, who was pretty and had a charming laugh when he amused her, but he didn’t say anything to her right now. It was too soon, after all, and she was Kalino’s daughter, who was apparently in charge of all of Bahealfisaba.
Her big brother Kozu was right there, and he looked mean, too, as he hunched over the oxen’s reins. Corr didn’t stand much of a chance, especially if they rebuffed him with their magic, so he decided not to pursue any sort of relationship with her.
Meanwhile, Wintha went right up to Kalino and asked, “Do you have an oracle that lives close to your village? Can I go visit her?”
Kalino gaped at her in shock. “How’d you know about that?”
“Wintha! Don’t bother him.” Wilama hissed at the girl, shooing her away from the village leader as she smiled at him. “Excuse her, please. Wintha’s young and sometimes she speaks out of turn, though she does have some gift of prophecy, the only kind of magic we encountered before now.”
“That’s all right.” Kalino nodded. “Maybe Kiki can show her where our seer’s located, when we get back to the village.”
“I’ll do that, father, once everything’s settled.” Kiki agreed, studying the other girl.
“I look forward to it.” Wintha smiled, happy at such a prospect.
Chapter Nine:
First Impressions
When Fato, Rhona, and Paracleus presented their case before the Fay council, the councilors decreed that no intervention would take place, and they were forbidden from speaking to or reaching out to the newcomers.
Fato was shocked and disappointed, wishing that he and the others could’ve been given the chance to seek out an audience with the newcomers. Who knows what sort of humans they were, and if they might have anything to offer an alliance with the Fay?
While there was still a chance, Fato decided to sneak back by
himself and see if he could meet at least one of them before he was caught. He came across a boy, an adolescent like him, who told him all about his people and where they came from, why they were here.
Fato was a little disappointed to discover that they had no idea what magic was and had never encountered it before, but he also sensed that the kid at least had some magical energy swirling about him. Perhaps they were so new to this world and to magic in general that they hadn’t been affected by it, yet they were already absorbing some potential.
Perhaps in time, they might grow in their powers and faculties, and then they might have something more to offer the Fay. After giving the kid some advice about the humans in the area, Fato quickly left and returned home before he was missed by his family, friends, or the Fay council.
However, before Fato could process this news, his parents Caro and Felicity sat him down and told him that they were looking to forge an alliance of their own with another clan. As part of the terms of the agreement, they’d offered Fato’s hand in marriage to one of the clan’s daughters, Jari. Fato didn’t take well to this notice.
“I’m too young to get married!” Fato yelled at Paracleus and Rhona, equally stunned at the announcement. “I’m barely one hundred fifty years old. I’ve just entered adolescence, I’m still a kid! I thought we’d have more time before we had to worry about that sort of thing.”
“I know what you mean. I thought these arranged marriages were supposed to be outlawed or outdated or something.” Paracleus remarked.
“It’s a tradition that predates most of our current rules and it’s not as uncommon as you think.” Rhona said. “A lot of these pre-arranged marriages slip by unnoticed, especially with a long gestation or engagement period, but then they’re quickly joined together in a subtle, hidden ceremony. It’s technically still legal, especially after Fato hits 180, but not exactly encouraged or frowned upon.”
“Do you think there’s a way I could get out of it?” Fato asked.
“I don’t know. How good are you dealing with family pressure? Because you’re going to be pressured by members of your own family, including your parents, to join this alliance, and Jari’s family is probably going to come down on you, too. Not to mention Jari herself.” Rhona said.
Fato groaned. “I think I’m in trouble here.”
“Who’s Jari anyway?” Paracleus asked, staring around at the others. “Is she in our class or is she in another school?”
“She’s in the Wailer School, across the river from us, if memory serves.” Rhona said. “She’s supposed to be the daughter of a council member, Hekati, and groomed to take her mother’s place, if I’m right.”
“Oh, no! I’m going to be stuck with a stuffy, snobbish councilor’s daughter?” Fato hung his head. “Please tell me there’s some good news in all of this.”
“Hey, at least you might have a voice on the council, next time you get into trouble or need some help.” Paracleus said.
“You might be right.” Fato looked up. “I could’ve used that the other day when we met with the council, and maybe in the future as well.”
“Are you going to accept this marriage arrangement then?” Rhona asked.
“No, I’m not going to. Even though it might be advantageous, I’m going to argue and fight against it as best I can, because I should at least have the chance to choose who I want to mate with and marry.” Fato said. “Maybe I could even have some help on the matter with Jari, if I get the chance to meet with her and talk to her about our feelings on the matter. I bet she doesn’t want to marry me, either.”
“Good luck with that, Fato. I hope you get what you wish.” Paracleus said.
ℜℜℜ
“Why would I want to break my family’s promise to yours?” Jari asked as she walked along the council hall’s corridor.
Fato groaned. “Surely you don’t want to be engaged to marry someone like me? Look at me! I’m an underachiever, a goof-off. I don’t get along well with respected members of the community. I go against cardinal principals of our society. I disagree with some of the council’s policies. In short, I’m not the perfect candidate for marriage to someone who might be eager to join the council. Am I wrong there?”
Jari frowned, studying him. “When you list it like that, I agree there are serious points against you. But in favor of our parents’ alliance and the hope we can broker some sort of peace or outreach to outliers of our society, I’d be willing to make the attempt to reform you.”
“Gah!” Fato cried, shaking his head. “This isn’t what I want at all! This isn’t what you want either, I’m sure.”
“Look, Fato.” She turned around, glaring at him. “While I agree with you that it’s not ideal and you’re certainly not the person I would’ve chosen, we must make peace with what our councilors and families have decreed, set aside our differences, and try to work together! Or bond, whatever.” She turned away, heading downstairs.
“Where are you going?” Fato followed her down into a subterranean level he’d never been to before.
“Quiet, Fato, you’re not supposed to be down here.” She frowned. “But since you already are and you should know what sort of responsibilities a future council member like myself is trained to handle, then I’ll let you glimpse where we keep the elements stored.”
“Elements? Like magical elements?” He followed after her.
“Yes, magical elements. We keep vaults filled with the permeances or essences of magical energy, mostly to fuel or energize our plants and our people, sometimes to create spells, structures, or things that we need to survive.”
“Wait a minute,” He paused, trying to wrap his head around the concept. “So behind those doors,” He indicated the giant slabs blocking points down the hallway, with spigots and spouts sticking out of them, “You’ve got storage for—what exactly? Clouds of death, or clouds of shadow, or clouds of spirit magic?”
“Pretty much, all of them.” She collected a jar, went up to one of the doors, and unleashed a spigot.
Instantly, the air seemed cleaner and fresher, filling up the room as Fato breathed it in. Once the jar was full of air, Jari quickly shut off the valve and sealed up the jar.
“Sorry, air tends to leak out usually. We have to keep a close eye and tighter rein on the most dangerous elements, like death, shadow, and fire.” Jari said.
“This is amazing, but why exactly have you all collected these magical energies and stored it here?” Fato said.
Jari sighed. “Like I told you before, it’s part of the council’s responsibilities to monitor the flow and recharge of the natural elements among our people. Sometimes we collect and store them here to help supply our world when such energy runs low, and we need specific amounts and types of energy. You can’t always get your hands on such powerful magic whenever you need to, and the council must ensure it doesn’t run wild, or we have extreme surpluses or deficits.”
“This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about before!” Fato cried. “I’m against this sort of rationing and supervision of things that we truly need, especially without outside observation. Suppose the council was too tight and curtailing with how much magical energy we need, and we’re forced to scrape by on too little. Or if members of the council decide to use this magic for their own purposes without our awareness.”
Jari grimaced. “Such a situation doesn’t happen. We’re well aware of how much energy we need and how much we take. We give enough without losing energy, and we don’t steal or scrimp off the top. It’s all taken care of with plenty of fail-safes.”
Fato grumbled, and Jari showed him around to further reassure him about the fairness of the system in place. “How much do you actually store here?” Fato asked, curious.
“Enough magical energy, I suppose, to give everybody some strength.” Jari said.
“To give everybody some strength.” Fato murmured to himself, and shook his head. “Well, thanks anyway, Jari, for showing me around here.”
&nbs
p; “You’re welcome, Fato, and I look forward to many more meetings with you.” Jari said.
They shook hands, too awkward and distant yet to kiss, and Fato quickly left her and the storage room behind. But his mind was abuzz with the potential of that magical energy in the right hands, or the wrong talons, as the case might be.
ℜℜℜ
As they headed to Coe Bahealfisba, Marko attempted to talk Hasbas into his own plot to claim further independence for the Corricans once they were settled, but Hasbas refused to go along with it. The people of the village offered them shelter when they had nothing to give in return, and they shouldn’t betray such confidence, especially when they’d left the Corrican empire far behind them.
Their dominion was over, and now they had to accept whatever help they could and adapt to their new life. Hasbas hoped they might look forward to some success and prosperity here, and he didn’t want to jeopardize that by an ill-timed power grab. Marko hushed, contemplating Hasbas’s words and the truth of them as they continued along.
Meanwhile, Geneva and Mogame walked along beside each other, enjoying each other’s company. “You spoke well at the conference.” Mogame told Geneva, glancing down. “I was just sputtering over the translation spell.”
“You did fine, too, Mogame.” Geneva told him, smiling. “I only had such confidence in my speech because of all the time I’ve spent with you. Ever since you arrived at my father’s farm, asking for assistance on your research trip, I’ve learned so much from you and seen things I wouldn’t believe were possible. It’s thanks to you that my family and I are even alive now.”
Mogame shook his head. “I haven’t done anything special. I’m just a scholar, a lowly one who didn’t deserve such notice. You’re brave, too, Geneva, risking so much to help me and your family. It’s because of you that we’re alive now.”
Survivors of Corrica Page 9
