RCG-I Seasonal Salon

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Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

When Destiny Walked the Labrynth

Chapter 11: All Citizenry Meeting

Ansel was sorry she came to the Citizenry Meeting; it was even more boring than one of Vasilea’s lectures. First, it was held in the middle of a beautiful morning, the next to last day of the entire Festival, inside the Agronos in the huge hall on the first floor. Phoebe told her it was easier to hear inside, but that did not make it any easier to be missing the warm breezes and singing birds.

Ansel was not sure anything worth hearing was going to be said. During the first half hour, the Council settled only two disputes. First, a very red-faced man sputtered about his goat-grazing rights. Then, the Council solemnly addressed some personal legal matter of a woman who owed this man something but did not think she did and who really gave a toot anyway? Now, the Council had just agreed to accept a new color of dyed cloth from some craftsman. The color was a beautiful red-purple and Ansel had enjoyed seeing the cloth, but really, she could be watching the latest of Arista’s sacred dramas instead of wasting her time here. At least the drama was being performed outside in the theatre. She had just stood up to leave when a short, muscular, gray-haired woman of middle years stood up to address the Elder Council. It was the woman from the marketplace – the one with the iron dagger. Ansel sat back down.

“I am Melodia, originally of Delos, but these last 20 turns I have called Kriti my home.”

Thesmas smiled slightly. “Yes, Melodia. The Council acknowledges you.”

The rest of the Council, many of whom had looked nearly as bored as Ansel felt, suddenly shifted in their chairs, sat up straighter and looked expectantly at the TradesKore.

Melodia continued in her curt manner. “I am a trader by craft. My specialty is Trojan silver, though I also buy obsidian and gems to sell to jewel crafters.”

Thesmas nodded.

“I have been asked by the Trader Guild to approach the Council. I recently traveled north to Troy. I bring back concerns, not just for myself, but for many traders. I was accosted on my last journey.”

“What? Accosted how?” Xeronos leaned forward in his chair and squinted toward the woman. His deep voice boomed through the marble hall. Ansel suspected Xeronos did not see well. He squinted a lot, and she noticed he had to hold scrolls and other written materials very close to his chiseled nose when reading. Still, he was a handsome man and a clever one. Ansel could understand why her meter favored him.

Melodia continued, “I travel with my brother and second eldest daughter, Brita.” She placed a hand upon the shoulder of a younger woman seated next to her. “We trade through a specific route, first sailing north to the main port at Athena, then north and east through the Cycliades islands to my northernmost point at Thassoliona. I then head easterly to Troy and finally down through the coasts of the Emetchi homelands and sail home west to Kriti.

Ansel closed her eyes and tried to visualize the route. She mostly failed. I will have to ask Vasilea. she thought, irritated with herself.

“Just east of Thassoliona, as we camped for the night, a group of young males, perhaps five or six of them, approached us. They were very light-skinned and I thought, hungry looking as young men generally are. I greeted them warmly and offered them food, for I thought them perhaps kin of the sire of my youngest daughter, Dia. But these young men were rogues. They wanted to rob us.” The crowd murmured.

“Now, we have run into robbers before, mind you, and my brother carries a sword with him just for this reason. This was the first time he actually had to brandish it. My brother is a large man, and my daughter and I are both strong. I think the young men did not expect us to fight back. Anyway, they retreated long enough for us to run to our boat and row away. They got our dinner and our fire, but naught more.”

“You say you encountered robbers before, Melodia. Why was this particularly troubling?” asked Xeronos, pausing to rub his eyes.

The TradesKore grunted. “They were not ordinary robbers; they were less interested in our goods than in threatening us, especially me and my daughter. At first, they assumed my brother was the leader of our group. When they realized I was leading, they became insolent and threatening. Although they did not speak Kritin or Greek, I understood their meaning well enough. They gestured threateningly at Brita and me and spat on the ground. They thought women had no business on the roads, and they would teach us a lesson.” She chuckled. “I think, though, that the lesson went in the other direction. My daughter and I picked up flaming logs and pushed them into their faces. We shocked them.”

“Still, we have heard of men being disrespectful to women traders before, especially in the North. It is unfortunate, but we cannot control the customs of the neighboring lands.” Ansel noted that many of the Council members, particularly the female members, were passing sideways glances at each other and scowling. Their faces told of worry.

“Bah! Customs are one thing. Threatening the lives of honest trader women is another. I have taught many a young man a thing or two about respecting women in my day, but never have they banded together to attack like this before. This is new, I tell you. Allow me to finish my story.”

Xeronos nodded.

“We then continued into the Emetchi lands. The women of that land are as close to warriors for the Great Meter as I have ever encountered. They train with horses and wield swords. There, I learned that new bands of people -- or, I say people, but apparently they are all male -- anyway, they are coming into the lands all around us. The Emetchi say this has happened before, when their nations first formed.”

Turning to the rest of the crowd, Melodia added, “The Emetchi are careful to maintain their history, you know. They teach their storytellers to retell the stories word for word.” Turning back to the Council, she continued, “They tell tales of young men, often riding horses, though sometimes in boats, too, arriving from the North, who join together to invade local villages and even some cities. They are always light-skinned and mostly light-eyed. They worship gods of war and thunder. Their gods order them to kill and rob. They believe their warrior knives to be holy.”

Now the murmurs of the crowd erupted into exclamations of alarm. Thesmas had to stand, her arms out and gesture for them to quiet. Melodia continued, “The Emetchi do not know precisely from where they come. They think these boys have been displaced from their home tribes, perhaps due to hunger in their lands. They think they come from somewhere much colder since they hate the heat of Metertide, and the sun blisters their skin. They keep their bodies covered in skins, too, even when it is very warm. It makes them smell very bad.”

Ansel watched as Phoebe sat forward, pressing her chin into her palm. Her elbow rested on a table in front of her and she looked both intensely interested and apprehensive. She shot a sideward glance at Ansel’s GranMeter, who looked thoughtful and grim.

“The Emetchi say they have fortified their borders, patrolling night and day. There have been skirmishes. The route I take is no longer safe. They say we were blessed by the Goddess to have escaped, that some young Kore have been raped or abducted. Something needs to be done.”

“What is it the Trader’s Guild would have the Council do, Melodia? Thassliona is a long ways away.” Thesmas asked, slapping her palm on the table in frustration.

“We, the traders of Kriti, need to have safety in our journeys or we can no longer ply our business. Kriti is the most powerful trading and sea-faring nation on earth. Surely something can be done. These bands are only boys, but many boys in a group are still a threat. Do you want Kritin citizens to be hurt?”

We are a peaceable people. We do not even have a military. Perhaps we could appeal to the leaders of Thassliona to police these boys. Ansel frowned thoughtfully.

Melodia continued, “If it were for myself only, I would be less concerned. I am close to the end of my career, and the journeys are getting too long for me. But my daughter wishes to continue; it is the only craft she knows, and she loves to travel. The men may not be safe either, though the Emetchi say the Northerners nearly always target women. Perhaps that will change.”

“The Council will discuss this, Melodia,” Thesmas said. “Be assured, we share your concerns. We will find a way to exert influence. We recognize the importance of safety for our TradesKore.” All of the Council Members nodded in agreement, many with their lips tightened into thin lines.

Melodia sat down and the Council called a recess for a third of an hour.

Phoebe watched as her oldest friend, Melodia, sat down and began gesturing emphatically to a younger woman next to her. That must be Brita, Mel’s second daughter. Phoebe thought. How grown up little Brita is! So much time has passed since the days when Mel and I endured classes together. How did we come to lose each other? Ach, how I miss the days when Mel and I were close. Still, she did not go to the university and I did. That changes people.

Phoebe placed both her elbows on the smooth wooden table in front of her and rubbed her eyes. Thank Goddess this Festival is nearing its end. I am getting too old to be up almost all night with a young man and then be attentive at meetings. I have had to use my glamour magic more than ever to not appear haggard. I will need to sleep for many hours once the Fest ends.

Too soon, the short recess was over and the Council resumed. Phoebe noticed Ansel had slipped out. For a rueful moment, she wished she could do the same.

Nikolas of Phaistos stood, drawing himself up self-importantly. “I have a concern, too, Elder Council.”

“The Council recognizes Kourete Nikolas of Phaistos.” Thesmas said.

“Thank you, First Elder. While I am, of course, concerned with the TradesGuild and their woes in distant lands, I wish to know what the Council is doing about the other, much closer threat from the North? Upon the island of Heria, the people tell me that the great mountain, Herilia, spits ash daily. The rumblings increase. Many of us lost loved ones not six cycles ago when Amnisos was swamped by a great wave. Clearly, the Great Meter is displeased with us. What is the Sisterhood doing? What is the Council doing?”

Leave it to Nikolas to bring up the obvious. As if the Council could stop earth shakes! Phoebe absently scratched the back of her neck where her hair was bound up too tightly. Still, this does need to be addressed. It is like a great squid sprawled in the courtyard that everyone tiptoes around and no one dares kick. Better the Council defends the Sisterhood’s actions in public than have the likes of Nikolas spreading rumors at the dinner table.

Thesmas paused, possibly to think of what to say to Nikolas, which was a mistake. Vasilea pounced upon the moment and leapt to her feet to confront the man she had lost the debate to.

“Kourete Nikolas, you know full well that this matter is being addressed by the Sisterhood. However, I am in agreement with you that the Council should also take action.”

Thesmas actually turned all the way around to face Vasilea, who stood behind her. Phoebe would have given anything to witness the look that must be crossing her meter’s face at that moment. Vasilea’s face, which Phoebe could see, was stone-like. Only her glittering black eyes betrayed her knowledge that she was being openly defiant of Council protocol. To keep order, questions were always directed to and answered by the First Elder or the Consort. Other Council members were to join in the discussion either by invitation of the First Elder or by catching the attention of the Consort, who then invited them to speak. I see where Geneera gets her rebellious streak, Phoebe thought, smothering a chuckle. She leaned back in her chair and crossed a leg over her knee. It was always fun to see her normally unflappable meter a bit riled.

Thesmas, however, quickly and efficiently regained control of the meeting by saying, “The Council recognizes Member Vasilea. Please, Priesera, tell us what you know of the situation and what the Sisterhood is doing. Then we can discuss what, if anything, the Council can do about this religious matter.”

Vasilea cleared her throat, obviously satisfied that she had been able to pull rank on Kourete Nikolas and now had the attention of the floor. “As Kourete Nikolas has correctly pointed out, the peak of Herilia is throwing ash. Almost daily, the people of Heria feel small shakes. Sometimes larger shakes occur but these mostly seem to originate from the sea. Our Seers tell us there is danger, a terrible one, but it is still far off. We do not know if they mean far off in time or in distance. Seers have difficulty with dimensionality. The Sisters have performed special rituals to aid the Seers’ gift. Thus far, they have only been marginally successful.”

Now Vasilea spread her arms wide dramatically. “However, it is obvious to me that the cause of Great Meter’s displeasure is the groups who are elevating worship of Her Son over Her. This is what I believe we on the Council should concern ourselves with. We must issue an edict outlawing the worship of Him over Her. It is heresy. She will continue to punish us until we take a stand.”

Nikolas grew red-faced and began to sputter. His Radiance was red and angry looking. I should really find an opportunity to make connection with him, Phoebe thought. I have not taken the time to think about the implications of what that TradesKourete, Aleki, told me about Nikolas. I must do so as soon as this Fest is over. If he is indeed a heretic, there could be trouble. Again Phoebe rubbed her eyes and sore neck. I am so tired, and my head hurts. But I must not be lax in my duties to Kriti.

Thesmas put up a hand and rose to her feet. “Member Vasilea, this is entirely inappropriate for a Citizenry meeting. If what you say is true, it is a matter of the Sisterhood, not the Council.” She turned to Nikolas. “Kourete Nikolas, we on the Council are concerned as well about the unrest of Herilia. We rely on the Sisterhood to communicate directly with Great Meter. Allunea, the Priesera Elder, is attending this Festival. I will ask her to give the Council a formal report of what progress is being made. I will then have the report copied and disbursed to each of the Agronos. I promise you it will be discussed, though what influence you think the Council has over doings of a mountain is obscure to me.”

Nikolas bowed politely and sat down, though Phoebe could see that he would have liked to have said quite a bit more on the subject. She wished her Meter would have allowed him to – it would make Phoebe’s job easier. She found it distasteful to have to send out a connection to people she basically disliked. After all, connections went two waysand making one came with a price. For example, she had become truly fond of young Theseus, compassionate toward him in a motherly fashion. She was finding it more and more difficult to keep her observations of him objective. She was becoming reluctant to press him further about painful issues. She needed to continue though. As always with the Escorts, personal feelings did not matter much when it came to serving Kriti and Goddess. It did not matter if she would have preferred to pat Theseus on the head than be his lover. It did not matter if she would prefer to love just one man rather than many. One could become bitter if one dwelled on this too much.

Copyright by the Kassandra Sojourner ~ All rights reserved