Between Starfalls

by S Kaeth

  His expression flashed to annoyance, and he buried his head in his hands. Kaemada winced. He’d likely meant to keep that to himself.

  Taunos spoke through his fingers. “Amanah. Amanah Tek.”

  “What happened?”

  He shook his head. “I could not promise her my complete loyalty. She knew I had secrets. Secrets more important than her.”

  “Ameyitum.”

  He shook away her sympathy. “I would give anything to keep you and this land safe.”

  “What else can you tell us?” Takiyah asked.

  He sighed again, finally lifting his head. His face was too composed, his voice carefully level, and his pain tore at Kaemada’s heart. “I was getting close to discovering the Darks’ homeland. They’re raiders on many realms. I found a library, a land where knowledge is highly valued, a land that suffers magic raiders. But they do not let just anyone into the library. So I became a guard for them, the quickest way to work my way inside.” He shook his head. “I went where they sent me, fought who they told me to,” he broke into a humorless chuckle, “to avoid being accused of treason.”

  He took a deep breath and rubbed his face again. Kaemada sat still as stone, fearing to break his composure, and it seemed her friends held their breaths as well. He looked at Takiyah, then at Ra’ael. “I fought people I have no quarrel with, took wounds for battles I had no stake in, and lost for no gain. And then,” he chuckled again. “I cannot read their language. All that knowledge, and I needed someone to translate it for me.”

  They sat in silence for a long time, letting it all sink in. The rest of the day, their conversations were muted. Ra’ael and Takiyah treated Taunos with great respect, as if trying to make up for doubting him, but that only irritated him. It seemed he wanted things to go back to the way they were, but after all they’d endured, how could anything be the same again?

  ~

  “When is the next Summer of Mercy?” Kaemada asked. The third day spun by slowly, leaving her in an agony of worry. At the end of the day, the Elders would make their decision, and Kaemada was thoroughly weary of waiting while other people judged her. They all knew the penalty for that which they were accused.

  “This is a Summer of Mercy, so the next would be in seven summers,” Ra’ael replied. “But the soonest appeal could be made in one summer, remember.”

  “But who would put in a request for appeal?” Taunos asked. “Some of the Elders seem to have a vendetta against my family. Someone would have to stand up for us.”

  Kaemada’s forehead creased with worry. “If we’re banished, how will I speak? Am I speaking the Traveller’s Tongue yet?”

  Ra’ael shook her head.

  “It matters not, cha’atanahn. I will translate for you,” Taunos said.

  Takiyah huffed out a breath, her eyes red and watering, though no tears fell. “This is fruitless!”

  Finally, the flaps of the tent were drawn back, and the Council filed out looking grim, followed by a subdued group of Great Mothers. Ra’ael leapt to her feet to face them, but Kaemada found her feet with trepidation, as if this moment could be avoided. She couldn’t shake the sense of unease that had settled over her. Her mind kept returning to the people of the City of the Lost, failed by the Rinaryn justice system and the Kamalti both.

  An Elder played a haunting note on a pipe, the mournful sound filling the valley and drawing the attention of the Rinaryn gathered there. From across the grassy spaces, Rinaryn gathered with expectant faces. Catching sight of Eian holding Maeren’s hand, Kaemada swallowed hard. The Storyteller of Torkae steadfastly avoided Takiyah’s worried gaze, his face lined with tension and fatigue. The Elders who were the Keepers of the Law conferred briefly among themselves as they exited the tent, and then went silent.

  “This judgement will be given inside the Council Tent,” one of the Keepers of the Law announced.

  The ever-spinning flow of time seemed to stop. Kaemada darted a look at Ra’ael, whose wide eyes echoed the force of emotion stealing breath from her belly. Verdicts were always pronounced for all to hear, out in the open, in sight of the spirits and Eloí. Feeling numb, adrift from reality, she followed the Elders and Great Mothers and the others inside the tent. Eian waved at her with a grin as he came along, holding Maeren’s hand, but she couldn’t muster up a smile in return.

  “We were called together to discuss the judgement of the four gathered here: Taunos Sierso, Kaemada Sierso, Ra’ael Tsrian, and Takiyah Tiros, as well as the child Eian Sierso. The crimes of the accused include Dark-touching, as evidenced by their refusal to adequately defend the kaetal of Torkae against the man Tikatae Kiente and the Darks. Additionally, they showed a repeated unwillingness to end the danger posed by Tikatae or submit him for judgement to the Council. They are accused of mind-invasion. Kaemada Sierso has admitted to willfully using her psionic abilities to invade the minds of others, causing harm and even death. There is no evidence that this was necessary, and Taunos, Ra’ael, and Takiyah admit to being accessory to this woeful lack of common decency.

  “They have even committed crimes never before conceived of. They freed the dangerous Fallen in the City of the Lost, who were sent there for the protection of the Rinaryn people. They willfully entered into negotiations and relations with the Kamalti without first consulting the Council, or indeed, any Council, for advice and approval. They nearly started a war through their arrogance and blatant disregard for tradition and the law. These crimes are so heinous, they have never before been considered, and there is no appropriate punishment for them.”

  Kaemada reached out for Ra’ael’s hand on her left and Taunos’s hand on her right. She held tightly to them as if they were a link to sanity, willing them courage.

  “Furthermore, there is the tragic neglect and endangering of Eian, their charge, throughout these many mishaps and ill-conceived misadventures. The boy, Eian, is charged with mischief resulting in bodily harm.”

  Kaemada started forward to defend her son, but Ra’ael and Taunos pulled her back and held her fast. Her gaze went to him, her sweet boy, who smiled around him. There was no way he understood what was happening.

  “After careful deliberation, we find the appropriate punishments for the four adults here accused would be so severe, death would come long before justice was carried out. We have decided after much consideration to show mercy.”

  Kaemada breathed a sigh of relief. Mercy. Her knees felt weak and her head grew dizzy. Was the nightmare finally over? The Elder went on. “Though these four accused threw away their lives, we shall grant them mercy and let them keep their lives. However, they shall be banished. At no time while they still draw breath shall they enter a Rinaryn kaetal.”

  Cold seeped into her bones. It couldn’t be. They were Fallen?

  “Furthermore, the Storyteller of their kaetal, this troubled kaetal of Torkae, will no longer be a part of this Council. He has shown an appalling lack of leadership in allowing the hermit stranger Galod to live near his kaetal and corrupt these four so completely. That lack of leadership has continued such that these four would show complete disregard for tradition and law—yes, even a priestess of his kaetal! Torkae must have a new Storyteller. Zeroun will diminish and be simply him, with no place on any Council, and no place of any authority.”

  Kaemada couldn’t breathe. She caught Storyteller Zeroun’s eyes for a moment before he looked away, calm but sorrowful. This was not how it was supposed to be.

  “Zeroun wasn’t alone in his lack of leadership, for he should have been helped by his wife, who was the Saimahkae of the kaetal of Torkae. As such, Maeren will no longer be the Great Mother. She will also diminish and never again hold any position of authority, and no place on any Council.”

  Beside her, Takiyah trembled. Kaemada abandoned caution and manners and flung her arms around her while Takiyah dissolved into sobs.

  The Great Mothers murmured as Maeren and Zeroun stepped away from the ruling bodies that had expelled them, somehow holding on to their
dignity. Kaemada looked at Maeren, catching her gaze for a moment just as she had Zeroun’s. Her Saimahkae gave her a small, brief smile, so swift it might have been a hallucination. Kaemada reeled. What had happened here? How had their punishment flowed onto their Storyteller and Saimahkae?

  “As for the boy, Eian, we have decided to show him mercy as well. He was adopted by the accused Kaemada Sierso, and there he received his corruption from those who should have helped him. There will be no punishment for Eian, nor will the banishment of Kaemada confer on Eian any of the customary dishonor. Instead, he will be given a new family in a new kaetal far from his old, corrupted influences. We will hope the damage isn’t too extensive.

  “Henceforth, the names of Taunos Sierso, Kaemada Sierso, Takiyah Tiros, and Ra’ael Tsrian are not to be spoken. Unthinkable crimes call for unthinkable punishments. They’re not to be remembered, and it shall be as if they never were.”

  The ground rose up and hit her knees. She and Takiyah clutched each other in the dirt. No chance for appeal. All they had done was for their people, and now they were to be purged from their song. Kaemada stared at Eian, every moment suddenly treasured beyond measure. He would forget her after adjusting to a new life. He would forget them all.

  One of the Elders followed Kaemada’s gaze to Eian and tore Eian from Maeren’s hold. He took him out of the tent while the boy, confused and frightened, shouted and fought.

  “Eian!” Kaemada screamed, reaching out for him.

  Takiyah held tightly to her, and as Eian disappeared, Kaemada collapsed against her, her heart aching.

  “Let the sentence be carried out immediately. Send these who are Fallen away and let them make haste out of our lands. Let the boy who was Eian be given a new name with his new home in his new kaetal, and let there stand guards over him for the remainder of the festival to protect him from any more atrocities,” another Elder said, looking down his nose at them.

  Kaemada clung to Takiyah. How could she trust that Eian would be loved and well cared for after the Council had so recently betrayed them?

  “We need to move.” Her brother’s urgent voice seemed far away. “Get up. On your feet!”

  She couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Strong arms lifted her, and the world swirled around her. What was real anymore? What was trustworthy? What could she hold onto? There was nothing, only churning confusion and cutting betrayal.

  Kaemada stared, uncomprehending, at the faces of people as they rushed past. People she loved, people she’d thought loved her. The face that mattered most, she never saw. Eian. She would never see him again.

  Impossibly, the three greatest heroes of Torkae ran beside her, fleeing with her. No more honor for them—they were Fallen.

  E Zahn

  (The End)

  TERMINOLOGY

  A REFERENCE OF Terms and People

  As you’ve (repeatedly) suggested, Lenatis, I include a guide to the many different people and reference terms peculiar to their people to which I refer.

  The People

  Kaemada Sierso - a psion who has access to powers of both telepathy and telekinesis. This allows her to bond tightly to animals, as well as to dreamwalk. She is one of my pupils.

  Ra’ael Tsrian - has the blood rage, causing her to go on a rampage during battles, and telekinesis. She is also one of my pupils.

  Takiyah Tiros - the adopted daughter of the leaders of Torkae. She is not Rinaryn, though I do not know what race she is, and can shoot flames from her wrists. Another of my pupils.

  Tannevar - Kaemada’s bonded companion, a young wolf.

  Taunos Sierso - Hero of Torkae, and my star pupil, as well as Kaemada’s brother. He is powerful in telekinesis and can realmwalk.

  Tikatae - a villager of Torkae who was banished and now enjoys tormenting the village.

  Answer - a young noble Kamalti from the city of Codr, of the Scouts.

  Dode - an elderly noble Kamalti from the city of Codr, of the Philosophers.

  Elisabei - a healer from the City of the Lost and part of a rebellion

  Reinan - an explosives expert from the City of the Lost and part of a rebellion

  Tjodlik - a young noble Kamalti from the city of Hadr, of the Philosophers. Nephew to Dode.

  Terms

  Rinaryn - a native people of the land of Rinara. The Rinaryns themselves are less than extraordinary. They are bipeds, a little smaller on average than humans, and a great deal lighter in build (I expect they have hollow bones). They have round faces and brown skin and their hair tends to be black or brown, although children can have golden-blond hair which often darkens as they age. Their eyes are typically brown but can also be blue or grey.

  kaetal - the semi-permanent villages the Rinaryns live in. They will abandon the kaetaln (plural of “kaetal”) for each Feast of Starfall, as well as during harsh winters, and then come back together for spring or after the Feasts. When they leave the kaetal for the twice-yearly Feasts, they will dismantle each hut and refashion them into sledges or use them as firewood for the journey. Whenever the kaetal is broken apart, the Great Mother is responsible for keeping the flame of the central fires alight until all the people return.

  ehreideikae - Lit: “one who watches/knows” - The Rinaryns call them “priestesses” and “priests” but they are in fact more akin to what we would consider therapists and counselors. While they do lead religious ceremonies for the kaetal, they spend most of their time soothing social fractures and tending to the mental health of the kaetalyn. Religious duties do not occur with the regularity we’ve noted elsewhere, for each Rinaryn is responsible for practicing their faith alone in the best way they see fit.

  yah - the coming of age ritual of the Rinaryn people. At around puberty, when the family of a youngster and the elders of his kaetal (including the Storyteller and Saimahkae) have judged them able to succeed, the young Rinaryn will set off on their own to live alone off the land with no help for one month. Typically youngsters are sent out several at a time, so the kaetal can celebrate success all together (or mourn, If disaster strikes). A Rinaryn is not considered an adult until they pass their yah.

  aeneshenon - winged Rinaryns. Very rarely, some Rinaryns are born with wings, creating six limbs instead of four. These are given much honor, and amazingly enough the wings are functional, allowing brief bursts of flight. According to their legends, when the Rinaryns were created, all had wings.

  tailosae - a Rinaryn primate well known in the forests of Heartwood and Life Valley. Large eyes, prehensile tails, and a fruit-based diet are the main characteristics of this social primate species.

  tserwora - a large, venomous lizard in Rinara. They dig large dens which they are extremely territorial of. The venom in a tserwora bite can kill a Rinaryn, and there is also the risk of infection.

  zeriy - a large canine in Rinara who prefers the grasslands. They have long legs and are known for speed. Sometimes tamed as pets.

  toelfa - a large feline in Rinara who lives in the forests. They have a curled ruff around their necks and a long tail with a venomous barb at the end. The venom is enough to kill small animals, but will merely wound and sicken a Rinaryn.

  Saimahkae - lit: Great Mother. The highest ranking woman of a Rinaryn kaetal. Her responsibility is to keep the kaetal functioning day to day, attending to social matters and helping to ease any disputes.

  Kamalti - a native people of Rinara who live only in the Holy Mountains. The Kamalti are said to live under the Holy Mountains, and at first I thought they were probably dwarves. However, the mountain range is also infested with dragons, making the existence of a dwarven kingdom unlikely (and making it difficult to properly investigate the matter). I find it most likely that the Kamalti grew as an idea from the fact that the journey is treacherous and rife with dangers, as a sort of childhood monster to keep their young in line.

  Darks - an ancient enemy of the Rinaryns. These people send their young raiders to the Rinaryns, possibly through the use of realmwalking, for I have not
detected the presence of technomancy (though of course the limitations of the atmosphere mean I cannot rule that possibility out.) They bear iron weapons and leather armor, painted black, and tend to wear black, as they attack at night almost exclusively. They never take land, or seem to want any resources, really. I suspect the raiders are sent to give them a taste for battle, a taste for blood. (Yes, as you’ve reminded me, I have not intervened.)

  Torkae - a small kaetal in the region of Heartwood, in the north-eastern quadrant of the island nation of Rinara.

  Heartwood - a region in the northeast of Rinara

  The Angels - a creature who hunts by song, stunning their prey so they can feed. These interest me a great deal and I hope to learn more of their function soon.

  The City of the Lost - an ancient city where the Rinaryns send their banished people, “Fallen”. This is the last remaining city in Rinara. It is said the gate is guarded by great statues which annihilate any large creature moving outward from the city, effectively making it a prison. I have not been able to confirm, as no Rinaryn will answer me as to the location of the city, and my explorations have thus far been fruitless.

  Codr - a Kamalti city

  Hadr - a Kamalti city

  Anathel and Tharahel - the Rinaryn names for the two moons of the planet. The moons are of similar size, in a co-orbital configuration around the planet. This creates extremely dangerous tidal effects, which no doubt contributes to the Rinaryns not being a seafaring people.

  tsífíorse - Rinaryn for “thank you”

  ameyitum - Rinaryn for “forgive me”

  shareil - lit: “peace”

  Betah teimelei - a polite Rinaryn greeting, often shortened to simply “Betah”

  acha’iyih - a term of endearment. Lit: “dear little one”