Red combined with white – death of a female or (paradoxically) a birth Red combined with indigo – death of a male or change of ruler
Specific Pieces Explained:
Pieas Sessin's bracelet (during the audience of Alyea Peysimun, Eredion Sessin, and Pieas Sessin with King Oruen): “a thin bracelet of gold and green beads on his left arm, arranged asymmetrically on fine silver wire”. This signifies that Pieas, while a member of an important southern Family and thus under its protection, is actually little more than a child in official terms, and holds no rank a king need recognize. It's a humiliating piece of jewelry, and one Eredion almost certainly forced Pieas to wear, as the proud young man never would have sported such an admission willingly.
Eredion Sessin's arm-band (during Eredion's audience in open court with King Oruen): “A wide, beaded band covered the man's right forearm from the wrist nearly to the elbow.” This very likely was in the Sessin Family colors of emerald-green and sand-tan, and composed of hundreds of small round beads. The width indicates that Eredion is claiming contextually preeminent Sessin status; he could never wear this arm band within Sessin Fortress, for example, because his relative status there is much lower. But as Sessin ambassador to the northern court, this armband indicates that he outranks any other Sessin Family member who might be present. It's a slightly audacious statement, but not one likely to be challenged. Patterns within the beadwork itself probably also indicated, to the experienced eye, items such as Eredion's parentage, marital status, and whether he has any children.
Alyea's bracelet (which Chac gives her at the first way-stop): “small, round pieces of some dark green gemstone interspersed with squared off, unevenly sized pieces of thick white shell, threaded on a thin golden wire”. This indicates a female under political protection by a major name, but not someone important in her own right: Chac's version of “hands off, she's mine”. When Deiq sees it, he understands exactly what Chac meant, and knowing what he does of the overall situation and how he intends to manipulate events in the near future, finds it extremely funny.
The dining-hall attendant's bracelet (at the first way-stop dinner): “A bracelet on his right wrist ran through a gamut of grey hues, in three rows of precisely-matched beads.” This indicates a servant of rank or status sufficient to wait on those of noble blood. In the south, even the servants have an internal ranking system, and this particular waystop is very sensitive to those nuances. Most likely, there were actually only three shades of grey, one for each row; the beads were of flawed glass or clay, and they were at least the size of a cherry pit. Alyea can perhaps be forgiven for not noticing such small details in a moment of stress.
Note about the use of silver/gold 'wire' : Metal wire, at a thread-thin width, breaks far too easily to be used for heavy beads; what Alyea sees is either at least a rigid frame of at least an eighth-inch diameter, or braided strands of a stiffened fiber dipped in a thin coating of silver or gold.
Miscellaneous Symbols
Not all of these are used, directly, within this novel, but may help flesh out understanding of the Families and customs involved.
Feathers are the Aerthraim Family symbol, signifying freedom and the ability to soar above others.
Owls are the symbol of the teyanain, especially the great horned owl, signifying ferocity and adaptability.
Lizards, the symbol of Sessin Family, signify sharp perception and a subtle, quick wit.
Groundhogs, the symbol of Scratha Family, signify community and shared resources.
Ginger plants, also often seen on Scratha tapestries, signify matters of the heart and spirit.
Badgers, often used by loremasters, signify keepers of stories and deep secrets.
Brickroot plants represent tenacity and strength, but also imply a strong resistance to change.
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Appendix C:
An Examination by Loremaster Council no. 1576 of Gerau Sa'adenit's
A History of Places
This book, which was only recently made available to the Council of Loremasters, is a detailed and mostly accurate, if unauthorized, examination of the kingdom and its relation to the southlands. It must be stressed that King Oruen commissioned this study without the knowledge or approval of this Council, and thus this History must be examined with great care and appropriate corrections submitted to the King with the greatest possible speed. . . .
The kingdom and the southlands are generally considered completely separate entities from a political standpoint, and their interdependence is often overlooked. But even a brief examination shows that the one could not, throughout our shared history, have flourished without the other.
The southlands came first. That is undisputed. Civilization began in the oncefertile lands south of the Horn; in fact, oral history insists that once the entire southlands was as lush as Water's End, and not much higher in elevation. The abrupt rise into a mountain-high desert was due, according to various legends, to natural cataclysm, the anger of the gods at humanity's presumption, or an even stranger explanation involving an ancient race with godlike powers.
Whatever the cause, the changing land forced the tribal structure into closer and larger groups, and led directly to permanent settlements and the first towns. Dialects unified and merged, as did bloodlines long held separate; loremasters gather in great numbers to sort out frustrating questions over ancient genealogy when an important inheritance is at issue. . . .
The text of this thick book is notable for two things: one, its comprehensive nature, and two, the odd changes in the 'voice', as though it had actually been written by two separate people. The first is stiff and formal, as one would expect a highly educated noble to write; the second is rather more common. . .
Place-names in the kingdom sound simple, but a little digging reveals deep roots. The word “king”, for instance. The original word for “honored tribal leader/supreme authority” was Kaen (Kaena for females), and the northern kingdom, in the old books, is called Kaenoz. Those names have since shifted to our modern “king” and “kingdom”. Attempts to give the kingdom a proper name have run into strong resistance from the Northern Church and its followers, who believe that their founder, Wezel, should be in some way honored in the chosen name. Their suggestions have tended towards names like Wezeldom and Fourgodsland, and have generally been rejected out of hand; although Ninnic and Mezarak apparently worried the court deeply at one point by seriously considering making those names official. Fortunately, both men were easily distracted and the issue soon faded from their minds. . . .
The simplistic approach displayed in the above excerpt turns an important subject into near-mockery, a sharp contrast to the more learned approach of the first section. Repeated inquiries as to the true identity of the author or authors meet no answer from King Oruen or any of his court, staff, or scribes; whatever hand transcribed this entire volume, no doubt from a collection of notes, is not admitting to the act. . . .
As language changes, the origin of names is lost to all but the loremasters who dedicate their lives to preserving the past; but a better understanding of our beginnings is vital to a firm comprehension of our present, and furthers planning for the future. A word as simple as s'a, “honored woman”, can be traced back hundreds of years to the original saaera, a woman of status; likewise the masculine form, s'e, was once seere, which indicated not only an honored man but could, with a slightly different inflection, indicate that the subject possessed predictive powers. The implication that the ancients believed that women could not be seers is undeniable.
Place names proved as fluid: the mountain area known today as the Horn was, when initially settled by the teyanain, called the Teychek-haiz, “Horns of Justice”. As the teyanain became more insular and less involved with the general population, that name fell out of favor and was replaced with the more neutral “Horn”. The king's home city was once Iliaye-Ayrq, “Bright Triumph of Ayrq”, in reference to King Ayrq's astonishing achievement of pulling all the squ
abbling factions together into a relatively unified settlement; the fast-growing town's success as a port altered the name, over time, to “Bright Bay”. . . . The author goes on, with a fair degree of accuracy, to detail the history behind every significant name in the southlands and the kingdom. This section is largely in the more formal voice, but now and again the common tone raises its head again. . . .
The names given on maps and the names used by ordinary people are often very different. The large swamp to the east of Bright Bay is a perfect example. Maps in the royal library assign the incredible name Optsch t'a Kella Wezel; literally, “The Wealth and Divinity of Wezel”. A shorter version, on less official maps, is Optakazel Swamp, which translates to “Madman's Swamp.” Some local commoners even call the area “Ugly Salt Swamp”, referring to its main export, a cloudy, lumpy grey salt which tastes exceptionally bitter and is for some reason in high demand at noble tables (under its official name of optschalz, or “rich man's salt”, rather than the common moniker of “ugly salt” or “madman's salt”, of course). . . .
There is a distinct and reprehensible slant to the overall History, in that the author or authors are clearly disposed against the Northern Church. Historians must needs remain neutral to accurately convey facts, and considering the many good works the Northern Church has to its name (one of the few names not traced in this volume, another example of bias) it is improper to base all perceptions on the recent difficult times.
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Appendix D:
Excerpted Notes from Loremaster Council Records
Transcribed shortly after the slaughter at Scratha Fortress: While Cafad Scratha does not hold a true leadership line, his unusual circumstances dictate that his claim to Head of Family status be upheld. The alternatives are even further removed from the true bloodline than the boy himself, or are unacceptably tainted in their associations . . . Should a true-line survivor ever be discovered, of course, his status as Head of Family is to be stripped immediately and the proper line reinstated. . . .
Azaniari's status, unusual though it may be, and against the duly recorded objections of her own Family loremaster, must be upheld due to taking the trials through Darden and her current known association with Regav Darden. She is hereby confirmed in these Records as an Aerthraim desert lord, and her children are to be watched with great care and steered into choosing partners outside the Aerthraim bloodline. . . .
Transcribed shortly after Ninnic's death and the ascension of Oruen to the throne of Bright Bay: The child given through Cafad Scratha's blood trial turned out deformed and has not survived; the bastard child produced in the adjustment period after his third trial turned out deformed and has not survived; there are no further traceable offspring after that point. It must be considered, at this point, that Cafad Scratha was so damaged by the emotional trauma of losing his family as to render him effectively sterile. A close watch shall be kept to ensure that any deformed offspring are duly destroyed to avoid introducing undesirable variables into what may remain of the Scratha line, and a new attention is being paid to the previously dismissed alternates. . . .
The children of Azaniari Aerthraim and Regav Darden did not survive long enough to beget children of their own, and as Regav may now be presumed dead and events have altered Azaniari such that she may no longer bear children, that line is to be considered, regrettably, closed. However, Azaniari's twin brother, Allonin, must be given closer scrutiny despite his multiple offenses; his viable fertility is proven beyond question, as are his wits, strength, and ingenuity. . . .
Pieas Sessin is moving in a thoroughly undesirable direction, and his illegitimate children are difficult to track; those we have confirmed, however, are being removed and placed in more appropriate surroundings. Pieas himself remains heedless of his responsibilities and his reputation. . . .
Lord Oruen's fertility is proven, and his illegitimate children are being watched closely; but he has, as yet, shown no interest in an official match. Until his sanity is established as utterly secure, this Council declines to press the issue further. . . .
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About the Author
Leona Wisoker got her start as a writer when she was eight, with a story about all the vacuum cleaners in the world breaking down at the same time. Ever since then she has successfully used the excuse of writing to avoid housework, even going so far as writing poetry (which is then safely locked away in a lead-lined box) when nothing else will save her from chores.
Leona’s work is fueled equally by coffee and conviction; she has been known to take over the entire dining room to deconstruct a difficult novelin-progress. Addicted to eclectic research and reading since childhood, she often chooses reading material alphabetically rather than by subject or author. This has led her to read about aardvarks, birds, child-warriors, dragons, eggs, faeries, ghosts, horses, and many other random subjects.
Her short stories have appeared in Futures: Fire to Fly and Anotherealm; she is a regular reviewer for Green Man Review and Fantasy Magazine. She has lived in Florida, Connecticut, Oregon, New Hampshire, Nevada, Alaska, California, and Virginia; has experienced the alternate realities of Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, New York, Long Island, and Italy; and believes that “home is wherever my coffee cup is filled.”
She currently lives in Virginia with an extraordinarily patient husband and two large dogs, and she almost never vacuums.
Photo: Earl Harris
Read more about Leona Wisoker and her work at http://www.leonawisoker.com
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Want More?
Visit the Children of the Desert page on the Mercury Retrograde Press website:
http://www.MercuryRetrogradePress.com/Worlds/ChildrenoftheDesert.asp for even more background on the world of Secrets of the Sands—and a sneak peek at the first chapter of Leona Wisoker’s next novel, Bells of the Kingdom.
Secrets of the Sands Page 51
