by Drew Wagar
‘Another puzzle,’ the curator replied. ‘Perhaps a symbol of appreciation from the Queen herself, possibly a reward for service.’
The girl continued reading. ‘… honoured in Viresia to mark … priestesses of Drayden … most beloved by M …’
The girl looked up.
‘M?’ she asked.
The curator shrugged. ‘That’s the saddest part of it,’ he said. ‘We don’t know her name, or who wrote the words on the plaque, but there is a date. See there? Round 2308, that is 628 rounds ago.’
‘Somebody loved her though,’ the girl said.
‘Yes. And to have been buried in this way was a mark of special honour,’ the curator said, his voice hushed. ‘We have found no other metal caskets from this time, hardly any others at all in fact. Metal was so rare in those stretches; to use this much metal to honour a single person … Well, whoever she was, she was important, loved and highly revered at the time; a very special young woman.’
‘What did she look like?’
The curator smiled.
‘We don’t really know, but artists have made a mould of her face based upon the skull. We do know she had black hair, as some of it survived in her burial casket.’
The curator called up an image on the projector. The girl studied it intently. The simulated face had a blank expression, but had strong features – high cheekbones and a firm jaw. She looked fierce and determined.
The girl studied it for long moments, her head tilted with concentration.
‘What do you think?’ the curator asked.
‘She is quite beautiful,’ the girl said, still looking at the glass cabinet. ‘But I think she had blue eyes.’
This concludes the Shadeward Saga.
Appendix
TIME-KEEPING
Measuring time on Esurio is problematic. There is no night/day cycle. The only readily available visual cue is the crossing of the planet Mayura (a ‘hot Jupiter’ gas giant in an inferior orbit) across the face of the star Lacaille, which is easily visible from the surface of Esurio. The duration of this transit is known as a ‘Chime’ and the time between ‘Chimes’ as a ‘Pass’.
Spell
A short duration in the order of fifteen earth minutes. There are eight spells to a chime.
Chime
Many cultures on Esurio use sand timers to count ‘chimes’ and they are also used for sleeping, waking and marking time for meals. A chime is the time taken for the inferior planet Mayura to cross the face of Lacaille. A chime is considered the typical length of time it takes to do a job. A chime is around two hours long.
‘The Sleeping’
This is the gap between the eighth chime and the first chime. The time set aside for being asleep. It is four chimes in length. Analogous to ‘night’.
Stretch
A cycle of eight chimes and followed by ‘the sleeping’. Analogous to a complete day.
Pass
Length of time for the planet Mayura to return to the same point on Lacaille. It lies in on the ecliptic plane as seen from Esurio, thus transits each orbit, visible from the surface. A pass is analogous to a month. All other timings are taken from this. There are twenty stretches in a pass.
Round
A round is twenty passes, which are counted manually by timekeepers (a specialist role on Esurio). Analogous to a year, although slightly longer in duration, being four hundred stretches.
MEASUREMENTS AND DIRECTIONS
Measurements are more easily understood and are based on hands and the typical length of a stride. These are not accurate terms and they will vary somewhat depending on the culture that is using them at the time.
Hand
The width of an adult’s hand with fingers outstretched. Approximately a quarter of a metre.
Span
The length of an adult’s span fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched. A little under two metres.
Pace
The length of an adult’s stride. Roughly a metre.
Mark
Used analogously to an Earth ‘kilometre’ and of similar length.
Traipse
A long way. Many ‘marks’. Typically the distance one can walk comfortably without stopping to sleep. Around 40 kilometres.
Shadeward
If you orient yourself so that Lacaille is directly behind you, you are facing shadeward.
Sunward
If you orient yourself so that Lacaille is directly in front of you, you are facing sunward.
Sunright
If you orient yourself so that Lacaille is on your right hand side, you are facing sunright.
Shaderight
If you orient yourself so that shadeward is to your right (or Lacaille is to your left), you are facing shaderight.
FLORA
The flora on Esurio are unique to the planet and have their own distinctive characteristics adapted to the conditions. There are many more varieties than have been catalogued, particularly in the sunward parts of Esurio, where significant new species have been reported. The primary ones are listed below.
Furlers
Rather similar to Earth Redwood trees, but significantly larger in the low gravity. These trees give Esurio a ‘hardwood’ from which much building material is taken. These trees also capture rainwater from above, rather than by roots as on Earth. Their roots are for stability only. They are found in the cooler areas, where they are not swamped by faster growing vegetation. Some of these furlers can be thousands of rounds old. Their leaves are dark green and edible like a sweet fruit, a good source of vitamins and nutrition, but they are high above ground, accessible only to the marsips, who typically live in them. The leaves are regarded as a delicacy in some areas, and a prized commodity in others depending on rarity. The leaves can be fermented into the fierce liquor known as ‘Ochren’. Furlers escape destruction by the flares on account of their size and have evolved to utilise the extreme ultraviolet light by throwing out fast growing branches of leaves to trap the high energy light – hence the name ‘Furler’. These can be quite dramatic.
Shades
These are curious entities, straddling the line between the plant and animal kingdoms. They look rather like mushrooms in general appearance, but with the ‘cup’ inverted so as to look rather like a dish. These capture rainwater and sunlight. The tops of the cup are black, but they have a light coloured underside which gives off a milky phosphorescent glow. They form large forests over much of Esurio. Their trunks are also a pale cream colour and grow straight and true, but are lightweight, rather like bamboo when dried out. These plants are able to move around slowly and have a sophisticated musculature, growing to angle their cups towards the sun, competing with each other. They quickly shrivel when detecting ultraviolet radiation to minimise exposure. It is possible to ‘tap’ their bark for water, though it is bitter, with a cinnamon-like taste. Many infusions and brews can be made from shadewater. In boiled and concentrated form it is a good painkiller. The bark can also be stewed to produce a cinnamon-like drink which is mixed with milk from a herg to produce ‘Chai’. Shades are found throughout Esurio, but thicker in warmer areas. They are several dozen hands tall at best, with trunks up to two hands in diameter. Shades survive the flares by sacrificing their top cups to the ultraviolet and growing back afterwards. Shade forests are the best place (outside of a cave) for animals and humans to hide during flares due to the thick overlapping canopy, hence the name.
Snares
A parasitical and carnivorous plant. It can be found hanging from shades and furlers. Completely black in colour it is tendril and vine like. It hangs glistening tendrils down (in the manner of a spiderweb) towards the ground attempting to snare nargs and marsips primarily, though it is capable of immobilising a human. It is completely black and difficult to see in the gloom, though it gives off a smell like aniseed. Its tendrils are poisonous like a jellyfish. This poison is harvested by many hunters for use on arrows. When touched the tendrils whip around rapidly, catching the unfort
unate creature and reeling it in. Snares have a hollow central ‘stomach’ which contains strong acid which dissolves the prey whilst still alive. Snares are able to move slowly around from pass to pass. They gain their water from the plants they grow on. Generally snares are a nuisance, but there are reports of people being killed by larger infestations.
Mulches
Mulches are a composite microscopic lifeform that infests stagnant lakes, dykes or any other trapped water. They are quiescent most of the time, but are capable of overwhelming large creatures by swarming together and emerging from the water in a continuous stream having detected them. They immobilise their prey by anesthetic stings, entering the body and then consuming them from the inside out. They can move at a surprising speed for their size (a slow amble to humans) but will not venture far from water otherwise they dry up and die.
Sweetbuds, Melps, Corcuns and Tupes
Varieties of vegetable commonly found in Esurio. Sweetbuds are particularly useful as they are rich in sugar, found mostly in the warmer climes of Taloon. Dried sweetbuds are regarded as ‘sweets’.
FAUNA
All Esurian creatures share some common traits. They have nictitating membranes or double eyelids. They have thick fur or skin, covering heavy bony structures on the upper part of the body (to protect against flare radiation). They are able to keenly sense ultraviolet radiation, which precedes the flares, via a special third ‘eye’ on the back of the head, giving them a chance to reach safety, typically underground or deep within shade forests. None of them sweat or pant, but have various different wing-like or fan-like protrusions which they pump blood into for the purposes of cooling or territorial threat displays. Their eyes are adapted to the infrared, allowing them to see well in the gloom. None of them sleep, the mechanism having never evolved on this planet, but they go into temporary trances on occasion, resting one side of the brain at a time.
Narg
There is a wide variety of insect life on Esurio, but the primary one of note is the narg. It is regarded as a pest by the colonists, but it is essential to the food chain on the planet, being at the bottom for the most part. Nargs come in a number of forms but they are hive based, with a queen, workers, hunters and nest builders. They are large and black in colour, in order to absorb as much heat as possible, they are not found in the colder regions of the planet. The males are winged and the females are not. The society is strictly matriarchal, a pattern much admired by the people of Drayden and copied by them. Nargs create large structures similar to termites, but much more extensive due to the low gravity. Their primary food is vegetation, but they are known to make concentrated attacks on marsips, cainers and even dachs and hergs if they gather in sufficient numbers. They have a sting that is alcoholic in nature rather like a shot of Tequila, thus their venom is cultivated as a delicacy. It is possible to be killed by alcohol poisoning by multiple stings. This has led to the phrase ‘Stung drunk’. Nargs can be up to half a hand long, due to the high oxygen levels. Narg females consume the male after mating.
Flits
Flits are larger insects akin to dragonflies, although with six wings rather than four. Like dragonflies they are iridescent and have many colours including green, blue, red and purple. They primarily hunt nargs for food. In most lands they are quite rare and infrequently seen, thus are regarded as an omen of good luck – they are welcomed as they are known to keep down the population of nargs. By contrast in Drayden they are considered a delicacy and cultivated for that purpose. Flits are also eaten by dachs, but are so agile in the air that they are rarely caught. Flits have strong mandibles like the praying mantis and always hunt on the wing, hardly ever touching ground. They can grow up to two hands in length, filling the small ‘bird’ role on the planet.
Marsip
A small rodent-like creature. They have much evolutionary potential as they have opposable thumbs, but they are close to the bottom of the food chain, subsisting on vegetation and insect life. They are lightly furred and make excellent pets due to their high intelligence. In the wild they live in burrows to escape from the flares. They are excellent climbers, which is their primary defence against cainars and dachs. They have exceptional eyesight and agility. They are found throughout Esurio. The fans of the marsip are folds of skin between their arms, legs and body, making their cooling displays rather amusing, and allowing them to glide between trees to some degree. They can grow up to six hands in length and can stand on their back legs like a meerkat.
Molossc
A molossc is a large invertebrate creature living in marshlands, swamps, bogs or similar habitats. In form they are similar to a giant slug, reaching sizes of up to three metres long. They are carnivorous and will tackle significant prey if they come into range. The molossc is able to move quickly over short distances by coiling up its structure and then extending itself. It traps its prey by wrapping tentacles around them. These tentacles have anesthetising stings. Once the prey is secured the molossc will drag the unfortunate creature into the mud, drowning it and then ingesting it slowly over a long period of time.
Cainar/Carn
A large wolf-like creature. Rather bigger than Earth creatures and longer in the leg due to low gravity, standing about six hands high. They have sabre teeth and are a dappled brown colour. They tend to inhabit the shadeward parts of the forests as they are acclimatised to cool weather. They hunt in packs and have a high intelligence. They have a mane-like fan which they use for cooling and in territorial threat displays. They head sunwards on occasion depending on the availability of food. They hunt the marsips and hergs and have been known to take on a phaunt in desperation. There is also a domestic version of the cainar, called a carn which is analogous to a dog and frequently used for similar purposes. Like most Esurian creatures they have bony plates across their backs to shield against flares. This makes them extremely tough, but less agile than might be expected.
Fellin
A cat-like creature, subsisting on nargs and marsips, known for its agility and poise. They tend to be smaller in the sunward areas and larger in the shadeward. They mostly live in deep in the shade forests and are the only creature known that seems to make a living out of hunting and eating the snares. They appear to be immune to the poison of these plants. They are lone creatures and exceptionally shy, most colonists have never seen one. Due to this rarity and their ability to take on the snares they are regarded as mysterious and an omen of bad luck. They are smaller than the cainar but are notoriously bad tempered and will fight viciously if cornered or threatened. They do not possess the bony back plates of the other creatures and thus tend to stay confined in the forests in the protection of the shades and furlers.
Dach
A large flying lizard-like creature preying on marsips and larger insects primarily, mostly in the sunwards parts of Esurio. They counterpoint the cainar in many ways, and their territories do not naturally overlap that much. They are usually to be found in the more mountainous areas where they have their eyries. The people of Drayden specialise in breeding tame collections of these beasts and then growing them to a great size. Thus these are rideable by individual humans or a pair as long as they are not too heavy. The fans of the dach have evolved as wings, making them supreme aerial hunters. Dachs are able to attack marsips in their furler-top homes, prefer flits and will eat nargs out of necessity. Dachs also utilise the shades and furlers to escape the flares.
Herg
A creature like a cross between a buffalo and a horse, but with a massive bony back. Naturally found in herds of up to one hundred, they are one of most useful creatures on Esurio. Easily tamed and used wildly through the lands they fulfil the role of the ox, mule and horse. They are the main mode of transport and food in Drayden, Scallia and Drem, less so in Taloon. In the wild they graze the temperate areas of the planet, moving around as the vegetation is eaten and then grows back. They are heavier in the front shoulders like an ox, but have the longer legs of a horse.
Garguan
Phaunt
A large creature of comparable size to an extinct Earth Triceratops, but having the neck of a giraffe. These tend to inhabit the tropical parts of the planet, where they browse on vegetation high up in the canopy, pushing down the Shades. They are a dark green in colour, with thick skin. They move slowly and stay within the highly vegetated areas in family troupes. Some phaunts have been domesticated by the Taloon people for the purposes of battle and pulling equipment, but they are generally too big to be used for agriculture. Much of Taloon culture is built around adulation of the phaunt. These creatures make a startling noise when alarmed by means of a trumpeted mouth piece. Phaunts are unique in having multiple fans on their necks, often with different colours. It is not clear how they survive the flares.
ALSO BY DREW WAGAR
In the Shadeward series published by Fantastic Books Publishing
Shadeward: Emanation
Shadeward: Exoneration
Shadeworld: Enervation
Authorised novels of Elite: Dangerous
Reclamation published by Fantastic Books Publishing
Premonition published by Frontier Developments plc
