“Or go outside and play in the snow,” joked Lynn. “Oh, come on, they are just so darn cute.”
“You’ve been here a week and you still keep saying that. Either you are a saint or you have some exotic mental illness.”
Lynn laughed, “Oh, I’m not saying they aren’t a handful. Both twins within two days of each other! Pandemonium at its finest.”
“I’m just glad you and Gwen came to help. Maria is awesome, but wow! Pandemonium is an understatement.”
“Did I understand that Gwen is moving in?” asked Lynn.
Dawn nodded, “Actually, she already has. Right when she turned seventeen. She makes for a heck of a nanny, and she’s fun on musical instruments. Ivy adores her, as do the twins, and Maria is just tickled pink when she is around. Throw all that together with the way she hangs on Father, I’m guessing that when she turns eighteen, she’ll be my Fourth Mother.”
“Good for her. She does really seem to like it here.” Lynn thought for a second, “Fourth Mother or Second Second?”
That caught Dawn off-guard. She had never considered that: Second Seconds were rare except for very large families. “That is a good question. She is a heck of a nanny but also fantastic performer on the stage.” That was going to be quite a question!
Maria called from the kitchen, “Dawn, Lynn! Gavin is here!”
“Ask him to meet us in here,” called Lynn.
“Hey! I thought you were still full of bouncy energy!” joked Dawn.
Lynn laughed, “You have me confused with Maria. I just said the tykes were cute. I never said I wasn’t dead tired!”
Gavin smiled as he strode into the room. The fur between his ears still had a dusting of snow. “Got something for you two!” He produced a slender box and set it on the couch between them.
Curious, the girls opened it. Inside they found four sets of filigreed silver bells. Two sets were loose while the other two sets were mounted on silver rings rather than on simple satin ribbons like the ones from Gwen and the twins.
“For us?” Dawn asked.
“Yes, for both of you,” replied Gavin with a smile.
“Be careful Lynn,” joked Dawn. “These are on rings not ribbons!”
“Oh, they are on rings. How did you get them sized?” Lynn peered closely at them, “Oh my word! My mother made these! Do you have any idea how much they cost?”
Gavin shrugged, “Didn’t think the price mattered. Do you like them?”
The two girls stood, carefully cradling the pair of infants, and kissed Gavin on the cheek.
“They are gorgeous! Now we have matching sets for the dance next month,” replied Dawn.
“Hey, Dawn. Did you notice? There are four sets here. We need to find two more girls to join the party!” observed Lynn.
“Oh bite your tongue!” retorted Gavin wide-eyed and with more than a little fear in his voice.
Dawn laughed, “It was worth a try.”
Introduction to the races and cultures:
There are four major races in this family of stories: Human, Taik, Shukurae and Gelkin.
Human: It is assumed the reader is well familiar with the human race. Their home world is located in the Orion-Cygnus minor arm of the Milky Way and has subsequently spread far and wide, often managing to colonize worlds others had left as “too harsh.” The rapid expansion of human planets and colonies has helped accelerate the decline of the Gelkin Empire. Humans are universally revered for their creativity and tenacity alike. The human realms are politically fractured and home to thousands of languages and cultures.
Taik: Taiks are a felinoid race who have spread across thousands of planets and colonies with the planet “Afon” being their home world. Physically, they walk upright and average a height of 1.80m (5’11”) and 80kg (176lbs) for the males, while the females average quite close at 1.75m (5’9”) and 70kg (154lbs). They have tails ranging from 80cm to 110cm (31-43”). There are four major super-political units: Kulpgurie Republic, Altshea Confederation, Draeka Empire, and a fourth, fairly small group, commonly just called the Highlanders.
Kulpgurie Republic: this realm is a large expansive culture with a strong central government. They are socially progressive and tend to have more joint colonies with other races than the other Taik governments. They are a driven, active, motivated people who are always eager to expand their knowledge and understanding. Historically they consider themselves the protectors of the Highlands, a thought that amuses most Highlanders.
Altshea Confederation: this realm consists of thousands of different cantons and colonies. Each one operating independent of the rest, but sharing a common base set of laws, open trade and free movement amongst all the constituents. Local realms may be democratic, theocratic, feudal, socialist, free market, or any possible combination so long as the basic laws are honored. Some are male dominated societies, others are dominated by females. Others yet are gender neutral in governance. The cultural identity of the various inhabitants is that of “Altshea” first, and local secondary. As a result, it is quite normal for people to be born in one canton, but chose to live and work in another realm.
Draeka Empire: this realm is a closed militaristic society that has chosen to make themselves equal at all levels, most of this by genetic engineering of their own people. There is very little difference between people’s physical builds and there is also very little outward difference in their gender. Their genetic tinkering combined with the nature of their society make them prone to paranoia and emotional instability. It is unclear what their genetic alterations have done to their lifespan as most people die from “accidents.” Their Empire is very small and has been self-limited due to internal conflict and total suspicion of all outsiders. They are the smallest of the three colonizing Taik governments, and their total expanse is smaller than some Altshea cantons. They have had several border wars on the home world of Afon with the Highland regions. Their most recent war with the Highlands being almost 500 years earlier and resulted in a humiliating defeat.
The Highlands of Afon: the Highlanders are unique compared to most of the rest of the Taik on almost all levels. Physically, they are universally shorter: the males average 1.75m (5’9”) while the females, shorter yet at 1.55m (5’1”). They also tend to support longer tails than the other Taik. While most Taik realms average a near even male-to-female ratio, the Highlanders are once again unique with an average of only one male to every four females. As a result, most families are polygamous with between three and five adult females being the norm. Almost all politics are matriarchal with policing and other functions left to the males. The Lady Mayor speaks for the town as a whole and while there do exist “barons,” this is a military title given to the male leadership of the militia as there is no standing army. The head of any family is the First Mother and she is expected to run the family business. The Second Mother’s position is almost exclusively to raise and educate the children of the household. Third and Fourth Mothers usually support the First Mother in the family business. Twins are rare and always female in the Highlands, and are considered good luck. It is most common that both twins would marry into the same house and are afforded the same position as a pair. Thus one may have two Third Mothers, or even two First Mothers. The family name is referred to as the “House” name and comes from either the First Mother’s line, or a mutually agreed upon name. Males tend to have a second name, a “Clan” name, that is used only among themselves. An unmarried, but adult male will usually only use his Clan name rather than his old House name. Highlanders tend to a simple life, low on overt technology, choosing instead to rely on an ancient system referred to simply as Live Steel for their protection as well as the aid of the Guardians left by the Ancients. Much is still not understood about Live Steel, even less about the Guardians and the Ancients…
Shukurae: Shukurae are a mighty people with a confused past. They stand on average 2.75m (9’) with 3.00m (9’10”) tall being not too uncommon. They have tough leathery skin, pale iridescen
t eyes, a plethora of narrow triangular shark-like teeth, minor horns on their heads and great tusks jutting from their face. The only overt difference between males and females is the length of their torso, a feature that is easily lost under clothing. They speak in a deep baritone chord, two tones at once being either a major fourth or fifth apart. They were a warrior-slave race for over a thousand years to the Gelkin and have lost most of their cultural identity. Two hundred years after the start of their rebellion against the Gelkin, they are mostly a free race. A race whose home world and culture is lost to the past, they have a unique relationship with the Taiks of the Highlands of Afon. It was the Highlanders who first helped them in their rebellion, and they still have a close military bond with their diminutive furry friends. It is not uncommon for Highland Taiks, off looking for adventure and to explore the galaxy, to serve alongside the Shukurae.
Gelkin: The Gelkin are a short, squat race who are roughly ursine (bear-like) in appearance. Averaging only 1.60m (5’3”), they are shorter than most other races. A point that didn’t use to bother them when they held a tight grip on long arms of the galaxy. They are a feudal society with no appreciable gender bias. With the major source of muscle, the Shukurae, now long since gone from their control, their empire is in rapid decline. Nowhere is this more true than the edge of the frontier with the human worlds.
Dawn Page 17
