Meet the family

     Just under two weeks and the Atlom's Axe was just outside of Heldal, the capitol of the Grundhorn Empire. It had taken a bit longer than expected to reach the capitol because of the change in the prevailing winds about halfway through the plains that was the border of the Grundhorn Empire. Ten Rabbit was looking forward to landing and seeing the Empire for himself. He hadn't expected to enjoy travel but Ten Rabbit had to admit, if only to himself, that travel and seeing new places was really fun. Ten Rabbit was looking forward to seeing Heldal and more importantly Irene's home even more than even he had thought he would. Before they had gotten close to Heldal Irene had reminded the whole party that mentioning gender was deeply offensive to the Zwergin. As a result they didn't have mothers or fathers they used the terms nibi and nini.

     Down below the Atlom's Axe a large crowd was gathering, a very excited crowd. More than a few of those in the crowds were clearly members of the military. Ten Rabbit could understand why there were so many members of the military among the people waiting for them to land, as far as he knew they had the only airship on Ardu. To Ten Rabbit it looked like two out of every five people were members of the military. He knew that they were landing near Irene's home just outside Heldal, the capitol of the Grundhorn Empire.  Ten Rabbit seeing Irene jumping up and down and yelling as soon as they could distinguish just who was among those waiting was something he had never expected. It took all of Ten Rabbit's control to not start laughing at the sight though.

     As soon as they had landed Ten Rabbit stayed out of the way while Irene almost charged down the ramp almost before he and the engineer had gotten it placed. He hadn't moved so fast since he'd been between his grandmother and one of the cousins that had annoyed her. Ten Rabbit had no more intention to be in Irene's way than he had his grandmother so long ago. Ten Rabbit waited for everyone else to go first before he joined them on the ground so he got a clear view of Irene greeting some Zwergin, most in military uniforms a couple not, that he assumed was her family and maybe some friends. After the military had confirmed that they really were expected they told the group that they could park the Atlom's Axe where it was or fly it to where Irene's family lived which was a couple of miles away. They decided to bring the vessel to Irene's family lands just north of the city so those who wanted to could continue to sleep on board. Something that both the Michocan engineer and the Hafla banker were both thankful for. It didn't take long to relocate the Atlom's Axe to Irene's family akadamie.

      Ten Rabbit was one of the last people to leave the vessel once they had reached Irene's family akadamie, not because he was shy but because he knew how it felt to suddenly have your family around you and wanted to give Irene room to deal. Much to his surprise Ten Rabbit didn't see any of that, instead it looked like Irene's family acted almost like they were friendly strangers or acquaintances at best. No sooner had Irene introduced the whole group to her father and three of her four siblings when there was a commotion on the other side of the family lands. The commotion turned out to be one of Irene's parents leading a whole group of guards as well as a high official that represented the Twin Emperors themselves. Irene and the rest of the Zwergin there reacted immediately. They all stood as straight as possible with their arms flush against their bodies then bowed at the hips so deeply that their bodies were almost at a right angle, everyone else quickly copied the Zwergin.

      As soon as the proper greeting had been made the High Official came forward and asked who was in charge. Everyone in the group pointed to Bisha who bowed to the High Official once again. The High Official then informed everyone that the Twin Emperor's would be ready to see them an hour after first meal tomorrow. Again Bisha bowed and thanked the official for the message. Irene's parent that had come with the other guards told them that they would be staying here with Irene and friends and that the guards were more than capable of guarding the official on the journey back to the Kaizurtum castle. At the officials nod the rest of the guards saluted to Irene's parent then turned to escort the high Official back to his office.

      Irene's home was at the Hinterleitner Akamadie, the most respected akamadie in the Grundhorn Empire. Ten Rabbit had learned during his studies as a sacred assassin that the akamadies were founded right after the Great War to make sure that every kingdom that made up the empire would have elite warriors to help keep everyone safe from any threat from that point on. Even Ten Rabbit had heard about the Hinterleitner Akamadie and how well they trained their warriors. He'd had no idea that Irene was a Hinterleitner, her skill made so much more sense now, especially considering her youth. Knowing who her family was made how she acted and spoke logical now too.

          One of Irene's parents, Alber was the head of both the Hinterleitner Akamadie as well as the Hinterleitner family. He had trained every family member into the best in the land including Irene. Irene's other parent, Xenia was the head of the Helwacher or guards for the Twin Emperor's which was an even more prestigious role than Alber held. Ten Rabbit realized that little Irene had come from a family as important as his own, something that he never would have believed based on her mannerisms. Irene had always been so simple with no airs at all, the exact opposite of every person of rank that he'd ever met before. Irene was so humble that Ten Rabbit hadn't even really known that Hinterleitner was her family name, she used it so rarely. Ten Rabbit paid close attention when Alber introduced the rest of the Hinterleitner family

     Irene's oldest sibling was Alben, who had struck Ten Rabbit as a bit stuck up and had an elevated opinion of the Hinterleitner family. Much more like the aristocrats that Ten Rabbit had met in the past, in fact Alber reminded Ten Rabbit of more than one of the cousins. Next oldest was Siegred, Ten Rabbit got the impression that the family had to remove this one from more than one problem talking had caused so Ten Rabbit was again reminded of more than one of his cousins back home. Friedlich was next in line and according to Alber was the best swordsman of all of his children. Ten Rabbit noticed an undercurrent that he intended to ask Irene about later. Burken was the youngest of Irene's older siblings and from the way the two interacted even without words or open gestures made Ten Rabbit think that Burken was the sibling that Irene was closest to.

     Ten Rabbit was initially confused when Irene's family all walked towards a conical out-building off to the side of what he had thought was the family home. It turns out that the long square building with long small windows just under the roof was actually the stables for the Hinterleitner Akamadie. On reflection that did make sense because the building that he'd thought was their home had what looked like different types of training fields around it in a courtyard of other buildings. Ten Rabbit was starting to wonder where exactly their house was and almost suggested that they either use their mounts or move the Atlom's Axe to where their home was. Apparently Irene had noticed his confusion and told him to wait and see.

      Much to Ten Rabbit's surprise the conical stone "out-building" had turned out to be larger than he had originally thought, it was large enough to easily fit the whole group with room to spare although the ceiling was low enough that Nahla had to duck to get through the door and hunch to stand in the single room that was all Ten Rabbit could initially see. The walls inside were round just like the ones outside but built with wood instead of stone. In fact the inside was a very ornate and beautiful structure that was actually impressive to look at. The inside was almost as impressive as the outside. But instead of carvings that harkened back to the akamadie like the outside did, the artwork and carved wall panels depicted scenes from family life and domestic bliss. In the center of the wall directly across from the door they used to enter was a wonderful painting of Irene's family when she was a toddler. Ten Rabbit chuckled to himself at the sight of Irene as a youngling because of the depiction of her with a tiny beard that just covered her chin. He hadn't known that the Zwergin started growing their beards so young. Irene also looked so determined in the painting, a trait that hadn't changed much honestly.

       On each side of the family portrait were closed doors, Irene explained that the door to the left of the portrait was a closet they kept their cold weather gear in. The door to the right led to the rest of the family home. From the smile on Irene's face she knew about Ten Rabbit's surprise when he realized that the stone building that they had entered was actually only the front porch of their home. The stairs down to the actual home were plenty large enough for the Zwergin as well as the Kishnagari Oranang Devshi, even Bisha had very little problem managing the stairs down. Ten Rabbit had to duck a bit to go down the stairs but poor Nahla was actually struggling with not only the height of the stairs but also how narrow they were. At least Ryah had it easy getting down the stairs since she was on four feet.

      Once they reached the bottom of the stairs Ten Rabbit was greeted with the sight that amazed him. The room the stairs entered into was very large. The room seemed to flow like water in a river with each area leading the eye into the next in a fluid manner. The walls had a gentle curve that merged into the ceiling without a single hard edge. Where the windows would have been if the building had been above ground there were stained glass murals that seemed to be lit from within. The murals were all of nature scenes done in a stylized manner with bold, vivid colors. This entry room was even larger than the entry up on the surface with multiple archways clearly leading to other parts of the home.

      The curved stylized architecture that Ten Rabbit had noticed in the Hinterleitner home was evident in the city itself. Poor Nahla had a choice to either walk hunched over or risk banging her head on various low hanging light fixtures and other thing on the ceilings. Only in the actual walkways could Nahla stand up without risking her skull and even then she had to keep an eye out just in case. Ten Rabbit felt sorry for Nahla but was very glad it wasn't a problem he had. No matter where he looked Ten Rabbit saw the beauty of Heldal even though it was completely different from any city he'd ever seen or heard of.

        Irene's Nibi Alber, was a very distinguished looking Zwergin with a neatly trimmed and braided beard. The blue bows at the end of his braided beard were not only beautiful but also very rich being made out of Ashfani silk. The jacket that he wore was made out of the same blue silk as the bows in his beard. A gold embroidered green vest over a cream colored silk shirt with pants of a darker blue finished his opulent look. Irene's Nini was dressed in well appointed armor over an equally sharp silk outfit as the Zwergin that Ten Rabbit thought was her father. Thanks to how the Zwergin felt about gender it was impossible to know for sure which was the father or the mother since they never ever discussed whether someone was male or female. Instead they used the terms Nini and Nibi depending on the roll each parent took in the childs life. Nini was used for the parent that spent the most time out of the home and Nibi was the parent that spent the most time in it. From everything that Ten Rabbit had learned from both school and Irene the terms could and did change as the parents work changed in and around the home.

      The Hinterleitner family was well to do, on par with his own petite noble family as far as Ten Rabbit could tell. Ten Rabbit's family hadn't had servants in their home mainly because having servants wasn't very common in Michocan society, unlike most other countries. For example, Irene's family had quite a few servants in their household and apparently having servants wasn't just for the nobility. It showed the wealth of a family instead of the individual families rank. That was a fact that always amused Ten Rabbit considering just how rank conscious the Zwergin really were. The Zwergin were so rank conscious that every title and achievement was used every time no matter how minor it might be. Ten Rabbit had heard of introductions lasting for hours between some Zwergin.

      During dinner that evening Ten Rabbit was amused when Irene's Nibi explained to everyone there that dinner had been carefully prepared with the groups more delicate stomachs in mind. The look on Nahla's face was almost enough to make Ten Rabbit laugh out loud. Considering that Nahla regularly tries to set her own stomach on fire with her ghost blossom spicing on her food. The rest of them had tried it once but had decided to never do so again after the first time they had tried it. To say the least Ten Rabbit was more than a little amused about the whole thing. At least the food was fairly good, not that Ten Rabbit had expected anything less, Irene was an amazing cook after all.

     About halfway through dinner there was a minor commotion behind him, before he could turn a short squat Zwergin was walking up to stand next to Bisha with a stack of papers in his hands. The unknown Zwergin introduced himself as the Keeper of Words for the Hinterleitner family and that he had a contract for him to sign. Bisha was obviously confused as he took the stack of paper from the stranger handing them to him. Before Bisha could do more than glance at the paperwork Irene grabbed them from him, giving her Nibi a pointed look, and started to look through them. It didn't take Irene long before she nodded to herself. Irene then turned to Bisha and explained that the contract was so they could park the Atlom's Axe in the field that the akamadie used mostly for mounted training. Irene then told Bisha that the contract was a fair one then showed Bisha where to sign. Once Bisha had signed the contract and handed it back the short Zwergin bowed low and quickly left.

Twin Emperors

     The next morning the party journeyed to the Kaizurtum castle for their meeting with the Twin Emperors.They were being escorted by Irene's parents as well as a number of guards. The party's journey through Heldal to the castle was one surprise after another. Much to Bisha's surprise the majority of the city was underground not just some of the individual residences. Apparently the Zwergin mostly lived underground rather than above ground like the rest of the world. Underneath the parks and farms there was a whole other city with all of the infrastructure that was found in any large city. The main difference that Bisha noticed immediately was the lack of smell. There was no odor from the people living there, no even one from the garbage that always accumulated in cities and/or towns. In fact the lack of odor was so unusual that it took Bisha a bit to realize what was missing.

     The curved stylized architecture that Bisha had noticed in the Hinterleitner home was evident throughout the city itself. Poor Nahla had a choice to either walk hunched over or risk banging her head on various low hanging light fixtures and other thing on the ceilings. Only when on the actual walkways could Nahla stand up without risking her skull and even then she had to keep an eye out just in case. Which was probably for the best considering the looks that Nahla was getting from most of the Zwergin on the street, they obviously did not appreciate the presence of an Oristani in their capitol. Bisha felt sorry for Nahla but was very glad it wasn't a problem he had, Bisha was no where near as tall as Nahla was. No matter where he looked Bisha saw the beauty of Heldal even though it was completely different from any city he'd ever seen or heard of.

     While they were traveling towards the castle the group saw more wonderful things than just the architecture, as amazing as it was. The main walkway that they were traveling down was easily as wide as the grand processional in Bisha's hometown of Khunduz. Along both sides of the walkway was an ornate mix of homes and businesses that flowed into each other until they became one beautiful design. Unlike Bisha's home Khunduz there were almost no straight lines or corners. The road beneath the parties feet was cobblestone in many different hues of red and grey. The cobblestone added to the impression of nature that the buildings had created. The most impressive part was the statuary that was not only impressive by itself it also added a powerful addition to the overall whole. Bisha had been impressed by the construction that he'd seen everywhere he looked. The whole trip to the Kaizurtum castle had been amazing as well as beautiful, the wonderful colors of the shapes adding to the flowing lines of the buildings they had passed. Everywhere there were more of the faux stained glass windows adding to the interplay of light and shadow that the architecture created.

     Just over an hour of walking later and the party was about to enter the Kaizurtum castle where the Twin Emperor's lived and ruled from. The outside of the castle was very organic in its construction, like the rest of the construction that Bisha had seen so far. The castle looked as if it had been grown rather than built. The walls of the thick stone fence jutted from the cave walls in a serpentine fashion that added a living flare to the flowing organic style of every building Bisha had seen in Heldal whether above or below ground. the gates that led inside the castle walls were made of some kind of wood that Bisha didn't recognize wrapped in bands of metal that he suspected was made of mahasona if only because of its bright golden hue.

     The castle itself was even more beautiful than Bisha had thought it would be, reminding him of sandstone sculptures that were made by the wind back home in Ashfanabad. The doors that led into the castle itself were made of the same warm colored sandstone as the rest of the castle. And were balanced so well that Bisha thought a child could move them with ease. On each side of the currently open foot thick doors was an impeccably dressed guard that passed the whole group through without a word. The light that spilled down from the chandeliers that ran from the door down the large hallway that led into the castle was blended with the colors that lit the stained glass faux windows that lined the hall. The floor of the hallway they were walking down was made of variously colored woods that Bisha recognized as being rare, at least in they were rare in Ashfanabad. The woods were laid in intricate patterns using not just the type of wood but also the color of the wood to make beautiful floral patterns in the floor.

     Bisha listened to the sound of their feet as the group walked down the hall that led to the main audience chamber in the Kaizurtum castle. They all stopped at the closed doors to the Twin Emperors audience chamber. Before them were the ornate carved, inlaid wooden doors that were almost as large as the main entrance to the castle. Just like the entrance to the castle, guards were placed one on each side of the split doors. The party halted in front of the doors and one of the guards accompanying them walked up and spoke quietly with the right hand guard. After a moment the guard nodded their head and opened the door on the right then signaled for the party to continue through to the audience chamber.

     The audience chamber of the Twin Emperors was a large room with a vaulted ceiling. Pillars ran up the side of the chamber separating the very minimal seating that ran up both sides of the wall that led to the raised platform that held two thrones. The large room ended in a half-circle that held the thrones platform. Bisha knew that the Grundhorn Empire was actually made up of two distinctly separate regions, the Hugel and the Kuste. The Hugel was made up of the countries from the in-land countries while the Kuste was made up of the coastal ones. Before the Great War the individual Zwergin kingdoms had been rife with conflict and infighting. During the Great War the Zwergin were unified under a single ruling family. The new ruler convinced the various Zwergin kingdoms that if they didn't unite the Zwergin identity would be lost. Because the needs of the coastal kingdoms were often different to those faced by the in-land kingdoms it was decided that there would be one ruler for each of the distinct areas in-land and coastal regions. If the Twin Emperors couldn't come to an agreement on something than the Laanstradt, a council made up of all of the Zwergin noble families, would decide. 

     On the throne on the right side of the platform was Hugelkaizur Franz Detlef Barragan who was the leader of the Hugel and on the left was Kustekaizur Irene Johanna Weiskaupf who led the Kuste. The party walked up towards the dais that the Twin Emperors sat on, Bisha wondered how these two rulers would take his message about Mrtis and the threat her followers posed. So far each ruler had responded differently. The Great Chieftain of the Oristani had immediately believed him, the God-King of the Michocan had taken a bit of convincing but had ultimately decided to help as well. The leaders of Haflalan had been the most difficult. At first because they refused to join those who were already joined against Mrtis and her followers. As soon as the party had saved the leading councils lives and had guarded those very same leaders against the followers of Mrtis who had attacked during a speech. Bisha hoped that the Twin Emperors would see the danger and join with the other countries against Mrtis.

     Bisha was so intent on getting all of the needed information to the Twin Emperors that he was completely surprised when a servant came in and asked everyone if lunch would be served here or in the personal dining room. For a long moment Bisha could only blink in surprise at the interruption but in the moment of silence that followed the question there was a loud grumbling noise. It was Nahla's stomach and was quickly answered by his own stomachs resounding reply. Up to this point everyone had been very somber and serious but the sound of First Nahla's then his own stomach letting everyone know they were empty got even the Twin Emperors grinning. Bisha was glad that the twin rulers could take a joke, not all leaders could.

     While they were eating Bisha told the Twin Emperors about the meeting with the God-King of Michocan.  He described the far seeing device and the planets he saw with it and how the God-King called it a solar system. Bisha gushed at how the solar system resembled the Jadu, the smallest measurable particle of majic while wondering just what that might mean. The Kustekaizur seemed to be somewhat impressed, but the Hugelkaizur seemed bored by its prospect. Then Bisha described the floating city, this intrigued the twin emperors.

     "Did you happen to see where their obsidian comes from?" the Hugelkaizur asked with a practiced mild disinterest.

     "I am sorry I did not, Great Hugelkaizur" Bisha replied.  Both of the twin emperors seemed disappointed by this.

     Bisha went on to describe the paintings and murals that were everywhere, this brought a look of amused interest. Bisha then apologized to the twin emperors for broaching the subject at the table and went on to describe what he had learned about the Children of Mrtis. This made the twin emperors visibly uncomfortable, apparently the Twin Emperors had needed to deal with a small group of the cultists not that long before Bisha and his party arrived. A fact that no one had told any of the party about before now.

     The Kustekaizur replied, "It would seem that these Children of Mrtis are more of a problem than they appear.  It would seem that close attention must be paid to their presence."

      By the time they were done eating the Twin Emperors were a lot more relaxed with Bisha and company. The manner of the rulers of Grundhorn were never informal nor did they deviate from the proper standards of behavior. But thanks to the past year of traveling with Irene Bisha had long ago figured out whether she was tense or relaxed. Bisha was still no good at reading people or their feelings, but could at least tell their general mood now. The meeting continued while everyone ate, from the brief look of shock on Irene's face that was very quickly hidden the behavior of the Twin Emperors was unusual to say the least.

     The meeting with the Twin Emperors had gone better than Bisha had expected. The Twin Emperors had quickly seen the need for the countries to work together and if needed fight to protect each other. Something that Bisha had been worried about, the Haflalan had been so against working with any other country that he was now nervous that would be how the rest of the countries would feel. Bisha was very relieved to learn that at least the Grundhorn Empire felt that this was a serious situation and needed immediate attention. Bisha was so relieved about how the Twin Emperors had reacted that he failed to notice the signal one of the servants of the Twin Emperors had given Irene.

The Duel

     At the conclusion of the meal the Twin emperors stood, everyone rising with them. It didn't matter where you were if the host rose so did you. It was doubly important when the host was your ruler.

     "Thank you for a most illuminating meal. If you will forgive us, we have a meeting we must attend to," the Kustekaizur said. With that the twin emperors left the dining hall followed by their staff.

     "Are you coming with us?" Bisha asked when he noticed that Irene was staying behind. 

     "Not yet, I'm the meeting the emperors must attend.  I'll catch up with you later." Irene replied. 

     As everyone else left, guided by one of the emperor's servants Irene turned and left through the same door the twin emperors had used. As she arrived to the intended door she nodded to the guards on each side of the door. The guard to her right opened the door for her with a slight dip of the head. A servant waited just inside, holding a tray with a glass of what appeared to be Keferschaps, a type of mildly alcoholic drink made from the cones of the keferstade tree that was often used to calm nerves and settle the stomach. Its deep red color was accompanied by its fresh floral and pine flavor, a favorite anywhere in Grundhorn that was safe for even children to drink thanks to the Zwergin ability with toxins and alcohol. Irene was glad to see it since she was fairly certain that the coming conversation was going to be more than a little stressful.

     Accepting the glass with a slight nod Irene fully entered the room, this obviously was meant to be an informal meeting. Or at least as any meeting with the Twin Emperors could be. At a large table stood the Twin Emperors conferring with her Nini, Xenia. Perhaps not so informal as she had originally thought. Xenia beckoned her to stand next to her at the table. Both of them were across the table from the Twin Emperors. There was a large map of Ardu with various spots marked on it with notations.  Several pages of reports littered the table.

     "Irene, we need any information you might have about this Children of Mrtis.  Is there anything you can tell us from a tactical point of view?" Xenia asked, breaking the silence that had surrounded them as soon as Irene had entered the room.

     'Always the Helwacher' Irene thought to herself before replying. It was one of the things Irene respected most about Xenia. She was always direct and to the point, there was no subterfuge, no political machinations. What you saw was what you got with her. 

     "They must be highly organized." Irene replied. "They have always known where we were and when we were going to be there. We intercepted a message from one of them when we were just entering the Oristani territories from Kishnagar. The note was signed by a priest in Alkhadharam and judging by her response to this Devshi Achandahar knows this person and did not know of their involvement with the cult." Irene paused to take a drink before continuing. "They had infiltrated Helgale enough to foment open rebellion against the Besturaad and they seem to have a majical way of communicating as well, how else would they be able to notify fellow cultists of our presence before we got there? It seems to me that this cult has been playing a long game, they have managed to infiltrate various religious organizations and political groups silently and quietly. I think there is a lot more to them, but I can't really tell you what that would be without more intelligence."

     The twin emperors and her mother quietly considered Irene's words. Again Xenia was the first to speak. "This only confirms what I have been able to deduce. This is not good, what is their intended endgame?"

     "It seems to me that they wish to cause problems from within, possibly to instigate war between nations. This would weaken any opposition to their plans," The Hugelkaizur replied.

     "It is difficult to stop them if one is more concerned with internal strife." The Kustekaizur added.

     The three of them turned to face Irene before Xenia spoke, "Thank you Irene. This meeting never happened, you were never here."

     This sounded very serious indeed.  Irene knew her Nini Xenia took her role as head of the Twin Emperor's Helwacher guard very seriously and if she said something like this it was best to heed the advice. Irene wondered if she could talk to Nahla once they were back on the ship but quickly decided not to. Her mother obviously suspected spies everywhere. And while she trusted her friends with anything she didn't have the same trust in the ships engineer or Fulha and even less in the banker that the Besturaad had sent with them. Irene wondered what she could do to find out if they were trust worthy. That at least was something she could speak to Nahla and maybe Ten Rabbit about.

     Xenia spoke again breaking her train of thought, this time a little friendlier. "Irene, Alber awaits you at the Kriegakadamie.  I believe he wants to show you off to some of his new recruits. Please humor him, you know how he gets."

     "Of course Nini." Irene turned to face the Twin Emperors, "Your presence graces me." she said quite solemnly and bowed stiffly from the waist. She then turned and left them to continue their discussion, a servant accompanying her to the front gate of the castle. She turned and thanked the servant for his assistance, which caught them by surprise. In Grundhorn people didn't usually acknowledge the servants, they were supposed to be noticed only when someone wanted something. Irene went directly to the Kriegakadamie. 'Let's see what Nibi wants.' she thought to herself.

     A couple of candle marks later Irene was at the door to her family's Kriegakadamie. Her Nibi Alber was in the sword training room pacing back and forth berating the new recruits who were all standing at attention in a line. Their faces wearing faces that showed various degrees of fear trying to be masked by military stoicism. Irene knew from long experience that someone hadn't performed as expected. Irene was all too aware of this particular rant, having heard it several times growing up. As unforgiving and strict her Nibi was she respected him greatly. He was the direktor of the most prestigious Kriegakadamie in the Grundhorn empire with a proven track record, that alone demanded respect. As much as he yelled at her, insulted her, and berated her Irene knew Alber only wanted her to be her best. He just wasn't very good at expressing himself. Irene waited at the door for Alber to notice her, it was always best to let him finish yelling because if you didn't he would find something else to yell about.

     Judging by his tone and the slightly heavier step with his left foot someone had let themselves be disarmed. A mortal sin, or as Irene called it, tantrum number six. Irene knew her Nibi's temper well. This meant that he was going to be particularly ruthless and she was going to need all of her wits about her or end up with a new scar, again. At least for once it wasn't her that had caused this particular diatribe to happen. Irene knew that for all his bluster Alber really and truly cared about his students. Long ago when she was young, Irene had caught Alber alone in the training room after they had gotten news that one of his students had died during a skirmish with the Oristani. He had been so upset with himself. Irene had never again thought that he was heartless nor had she ever let Alber know that she had seen him cry.

     Alber finally wound down as he was turning toward Irene and the door. She knew that look, this was going to hurt. Without having to be told she walked over to the sword rack and grabbed one of the Akadamie's practice swords and a Blocker's glove. The Blocker's glove had a metal plate in the palm with a raised ridge for catching sword blades, you were supposed to catch the blade with the ridge which would allow you to grab the blade with the glove. Irene was never that good using a Blocker's glove, she just hoped that she didn't embarrass herself to badly.

     Alber addressed the trainees, "For your entertainment, my youngest will now demonstrate how NOT to get disarmed." 

     Irene took her place across from Alber and tried to ready herself.  All she could think about was the bandits and such they had met on the way here.  How had she caught that blade and threw it back? With a deep breath she brought herself into the present and focused on Alber. She noticed his stance. 'Ah' she thought to herself. 'He's going to open with the Strucken Gambit.' Alber shifted his weight slightly on his hind foot. 'He's going to follow with a feint to the left and strike low on the right.' Irene shifted herself appropriately.  Alber shifted his stance in reply, 'Ok, now he's going to use the Ehrlacher defense and let me overextend myself so he can strike at my back.' Irene shifted more weight backwards. Alber noticed, and suddenly lunged at Irene with an unexpected attack from her left. 

     As his rear foot just left the ground everything suddenly went into slow motion. Irene could obviously see exactly what Alber was trying to do. As his sword slowly arced through the air, just like when the bandit had thrown his blade at her, Irene effortlessly blocked the blow. She let the his blade slide down hers for just a moment before flicking her wrist and causing his blade to jump off her blade to land neatly in her Blocker's Glove. She wrapped her fingers around, what to her, was the slowly moving blade and with a twisting jerk motion pulled the sword out of Alber's hand while twisting herself so she could land a strike squarely on his hip. The force of the blow caused him to buckle and slowly fall to the floor. As his hands reached out to break his fall the world suddenly jumped back to regular speed.

     Irene looked down at her Nibi, shock, surprise, and pain were plain in his eyes. He'd never considered that this could happen. The recruits stood in rigid shock, there flawless direktor was on the ground with what was obviously a painful blow to the hip. Alber looked into deep into Irene's eyes as his expression shifted. Wait, is that a smile? Before she could decided Alber quickly jumped up and rounded to face his recruits. 

     "That is how it's done!" Alber screamed at them. "I want to see at least one of you able to repeat what you just saw tomorrow, now get the hell out of here!" 

     The recruits scrambled to obey, no one was getting any sleep tonight. In the suddenly quiet room Alber slowly turned to face Irene. An intense grin made Irene even more nervous. Alber bust out with, "Finally!  That was amazing!  You disarmed me and struck a blow before I could even realize what had happened!"  He pulled her in for an exuberant hug. "Just wait until I tell the family!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly before stomping off to terrorize the recruits some more.

     Irene just stood there in shock. Did her Nibi just compliment her? Did he just hug her? Who abducted her father and replaced him with this doppelganger? Irene didn't know how to respond, this was all new behavior to her. During the walk back to the family's living quarters Irene thought about everything that had happened during her combat with Alber. He had never reacted that way with her, usually it was Alben, her oldest brother, that got all of the praise and recognition. Irene was not going to argue about it though.

      Later that day Irene and the party were sitting in the private study room in her parents home. Only the engineer from Michocan, the banker from Haflalan and Lord Fulha were missing from the group. The first two had decided to stay with the ship and Lord Fulha had decided to stay at the Kishnagar embassy. Irene knew that her people especially the warriors had a hard time accepting Nahla with open arms. The enmity between the Zwergin and the Oristani was generations long and both sides thought they were right. Irene had no opinion about that and decided to take the Oristani as she met them. A method that had worked so far since every Oristani that she had met on her journey had been nothing but polite and kind, especially Nahla who treated her as an equal.

       Irene was in the family' study sitting at a small table taking a sip of Keferschaps, a drink that she had just introduced her friends to when her siblings all came in together. Irene listened as her eldest sibling Alben told everyone that Alber had taken the heirloom lantern shield from storage. Irene was a bit surprised that Alber had removed the lantern shield from storage and brought it home. On the heels of that statement Alben then added that he was certain that Alber had brought the lantern shield to give to him while Irene was home for a visit. After all it was only appropriate that it be passed on to him in front of the whole family at least that was Alben's opinion, Irene however wasn't so sure. All Irene knew was that Alben had always been Alber's favorite as well as the best student in the Kriegakadamie. Alben would treat Irene as hard if not harder then Alber ever did. Alber was tough and abrasive because he cared, Alben was the same because he was entitled and a bit of a bully, that was the main reason that Irene didn't really get along with her eldest sibling.

     Siegred was the next oldest of Irene's siblings and the only one that could get Alben to stop teasing the three younger siblings. Of course it was usually by doing something outrageous that only Siegred would think was a good idea. Technically Siegred was actually the best fighter in the family but Siegred was so brash in his thinking and actions that Alben would frequently win, at least that's what Alben thought. Irene didn't have a whole lot to do with the two oldest siblings since they were fully grown while Irene was too young to learn to fight. No, if the family could just get Siegred to stop talking before the fights started rather than after.

      Friedlich was Irene's favorite sibling and while not the best overall fighter, Friedlich was definitely the best swordsman in the family. Friedlich was more interested in poetry and music than in fighting and no one in the family except Irene understood. In fact Alber actually considered Friedlich's preference for music and poetry to be nothing more then weakness. Nonetheless Friedlich was the most popular member of their family, charming and friendly to everyone he met. Currently Friedlich was having an animated conversation with Nahla about the differences in poetry and music between Grundhorn and Oristan. A topic they both seemed animated about, Irene hadn't even known that Nahla had known anything about either topic.

      Burken was the sibling closest in age to Irene. Of all of the siblings Burken was the one that tried the hardest to do everything their parents wanted, especially Alber. Irene however knew something that no one else in the family did, Burken had always thought he was meant for something other than being a warrior, Burken would always do his duty no matter what it cost him personally. Irene wondered whether or not Burken had found a person to love. The rest of the siblings except Irene already had but no word so far about any relationship that Burken had. Nonetheless Burken was still close to Irene, if not as close as Friedlich was.

      Irene listened to Alben tell her what the family's friends and neighbors were doing. Irene wasn't all that interested in what they were saying but knew that if she interrupted her eldest sibling Alben would never stop telling her just how she had let the family down. At least the rest of the party looked like they were having fun especially Nahla and Friedlich. With all of the siblings together it suddenly became clear to Irene that Alben wasn't the nicest of people. In fact Irene's oldest sibling struck her as the type of personality that might join the Children of Mrtis except for one thing. Alben would rather die then do anything that would disgrace himself and the family name, and joining the children of Mrtis would definitely bring disgrace to all involved as well as their families. Irene could hardly wait for dinner to start so Alben could receive the lantern shield. Once he got it he would stop bragging so much and give Irene some peace until the group left for Ashfanabad.

     Even with the surprise at the Kriegakadamie Irene was even less prepared for what happened at dinner. Thankfully there wasn't long to wait for everyone to gather at the table. Irene was actually kind of impressed that her family wasn't trying to kill Nahla since she was an Oristani and traditionally the Zwergin were the enemies of Oristan. The first of the surprises of the evening came when Alber stopped her from sitting where she usually did, signaling that she was to sit at his right, the place her oldest sibling Alben usually sat, the place of highest honor. Irene hadn't noticed Alber stop her oldest sibling from sitting in his accustomed place nor had she seen the look on his face when her sibling moved to where she usually sat. Irene did however catch the glowering look on Alben's face once she was seated, giving a look of apology in reply.

     Once everyone was seated Alber cleared his throat before telling them that Xenia was still with the Twin Emperors and wouldn't be home for dinner tonight. This didn't surprise Irene at all and from the looks on the faces of her family none of them were surprised either. Xenia was going to be far too busy as the head of the Helwacher to worry about being there for family meals. Irene also knew that no one in her family would expect anything different. Xenia was quite possibly the second most important person in Grundhorn, if you counted the Twin Emperors as one. as the head of the Helwacher Xenia was definitely the highest ranking member of the Twin Emperors privy council, a role that was well deserved.

     The biggest surprise came as soon as everyone was finished with the meal. Alber stood while signaling everyone else to stay seated where they were. He signaled to a servant that was standing off to one side, ready to bring the food or fill their drinks. The servant nodded once before reaching for a package on the table that Irene hadn't noticed before. As soon as Alber had received the package he turned back to Irene and signaled her to rise too. As soon as Irene was standing as well Alber unwrapped the package in his hands.

     Irene couldn't believe her eyes, right there in front of her was the single most important family heirloom, an heirloom that had been in her family since before the great war. It was a roundish shield with a gauntlet attached that was worn on the left hand. Irene knew that there was a spring loaded sword blade that could come out over the back of her hand acting like a short sword or long dagger on the left hand side. At the top of the shield was the reason it was called a lantern shield, a small hollow normally held a small glowing orb that could be used to light your way in the dark.

     "This is the most precious thing our family owns," Alber said holding the heirloom up so everyone could see it clearly. "It is the tradition of our family that the best warrior will receive this before they go into danger. Today Irene showed me that she is the best fighter in the family. She was able to successfully counter the Hinterleitner Advance, a maneuver thought to have no defense, and score a strike against me. No one has been able to counter the Hinterleitner Advance since its creation by my grandfather, Anatol."

     As soon as those words left Alber's mouth Irene saw Alben start to stand before one of the other siblings pulled Alben back into the seat. Alber didn't seem to notice the exchange happening at his side because all that happened was Alber telling everyone about their bout in the Kriegakadamie. Alber seemed to be gleeful as he described the exchange and how she had beaten him. That was when Alber handed the heirloom to her, it was all Irene could do keep from dropping it. Irene hadn't expected anything like this, sitting at her Nibi's right hand had already been more than she expected, but to receive this? from Alber's own hands? it was too much to take in. Irene was so shocked that her hands trembled as she took the lantern shield from Alber before bowing deeply to her Nibi the shield clutched tightly to her chest.  

       Irene sat down after receiving the heirloom shield from Alber her spirits were so high that she wondered if her feet were still touching the ground. Irene's joy at finally being recognized by Alber was compounded by being thought skilled and intelligent enough to be asked her opinion by the Twin Emperors and their Helwacher Xenia. That fact had been as important to Irene as finally succeeding against Alber. Alben had started staring daggers at Irene since Alber had changed the seating arrangements. The looks had gotten worse once Alber had given the heirloom shield to Irene, something that would of concerned her before her travels. Now the looks didn't bother Irene at all, not because Alber had lost skill but because she knew she had gained it. Irene was no longer intimidated by Alben's moods or temper tantrums. Irene was far more confident in her abilities now than she'd ever been before she'd left home.

Practice Makes Perfect

     The next morning Devshi waited until after breakfast to ask Irene and Nahla to help her learn to fight. Nahla and Irene looked at each other, it was clear to Devshi that they had been worried about her. Devshi couldn't understand why they had been worried about her since she didn't think she'd been so transparent about her feelings. From the looks she was getting Devshi hadn't been near as careful about hiding how she felt as she had thought. Devshi had always known that she showed her emotions on her face, she had never been able to hide anything from anyone especially her family. What she hadn't realized was that her traveling companions were just as much her family as those she had known her whole life. It had never crossed her mind that these people would become as important to her as her family and fellow priests. In fact, now that she thought about it, Nahla and Irene had become as close to her as her birth family, even closer than her now disgraced mentor Veenha had ever been. This realization was enough to stop her in her tracks, something that made concerned looks momentarily replace the relief on the faces of Irene and Nahla. Fortunately the look of relief made a quick reappearance when Devshi explained her thoughts.

     "When we found out Veenha is one of the Children of Mrtis it made me question everything."  Devshi began. "How much of what she taught me was actually the teachings of Parvai? Was her relationship with me an act? Was she training me to be a child of Mrtis? I was doubting myself, I was doubting my teachings, I was doubting everything. I didn't know who to trust. If Veenha could be a cultist, could one of you be one too?"

     Devshi continued, "I could feel my connection with Parvai slipping away."  Devshi hadn't realized how much these fears had been weighing on her. Being able to put the thoughts to words was like taking a heavy pack off of her shoulders. Devshi had to get all of this out before it festered any longer. Veenha had made her feel like she could no longer trust her judgement about anything. Not people, not her own thoughts, not even whether she was actually a priest of Parvai. It wasn't until Parvai had come to her in person that Devshi had realized just how badly the betrayal had scarred her.

     "I was in a very dark place in my mind when I tried to heal the Oristani boy who fell out of the tree.  Nothing was happening, my faith was slipping and then Somnadi appeared and I was able to heal the boy. I knew Somnadi was sent by Parvai, her mount is a tiger. Somnadi's presence helped for a bit, but the questions returned." Devshi paused for a a few minutes her face a mask of despair and grief while she started to pace back and forth before Nahla and Irene.

     Then Devshi continued, her voice raising in what sounded like hysteria to her own ears. "At the fight in Helgale I killed someone who was sneaking up on Bisha. I had to do something. I just grabbed the nearest thing I could find, a loose cobblestone, and I hit him as hard as I could. I could tell by the sound that I had killed him. I had saved Bisha, but what had I done? I took a life. I had always known that to take the life of another was the greatest sin I could commit. With a single action I had broken every vow I had taken. Everything that I held deep in my heart. I had betrayed Parvai so badly that the stain would never be washed from my soul ." 

     Devshi's voice shook even more as tears started to well in her eyes. Devshi stopped pacing and turned to face Irene and Nahla once again. "I thought my life was effectively over, that I all I could do was to continue the quest until I died so that at least I wouldn't betray Kishnagar as well. Then I had my vision, Parvai herself came to me.  She told me that I was supposed to be her warrior priest. The first one in generations. That the armor and hammer that the Mahapratanidhi gave me was by her will and that she was angry with me because I had not immediately began training." 

     Confidence began to creep back into her voice as Devshi spoke. "I now realize that I was mistaken and I need to train to be an effective warrior priest. I should have started when we left Alkhadharam. I need to focus and work my hardest to do this, I feel that it is extremely important and I do not wish to disappoint Parvai."

     Devshi suddenly realized how much better she felt being able to say all of this. The weight that had been removed from her shoulders and it was clear in how she now stood. How she carried herself and how she smiled if only a little as she thought about how much she had been holding inside that was now released from her soul. It was now time to listen to the voices of her friends rather than to the voices that sought to stop her god given path before she had even started it. Never again would she let those who wanted her to fail to overpower the voices of her true friends. She had long ago been told that the fellowship of her fellow priests would become her family. She had lost that when she'd learned of Veenha's betrayal but she had found it again in the smiles and simple friendship of her companions. They had become the found family that she had thought gone from her forever.

    Over the next hour Devshi learned just how worried about her everyone had been. Devshi listened as Irene and Nahla explained just how worried everyone else had been since they had found the note that proved Veenha's treachery. She had been so caught up in her own emotions to even notice that everyone else had been worried about her. From the time that they had found the damning note on a dead attacker to when her god Parvai had manifested to her everyone had been concerned about her. According to Nahla even Usha and Ryah had been concerned which explained why there had always been one of them nearby even after Somnadi, the tiger, had shown up as her mount. Devshi hadn't even noticed just how concerned everyone, especially Irene and Nahla, had been about her. Something that made Devshi wonder just what else she had missed that had been going on around her, particularly since she had defended Bisha's life in Haflalan.

       First Nahla and Irene told Devshi was that she needed to build up her strength and endurance because without those two things she would be more of a danger than the battle the group was fighting. So what the two fighters told her to do was to run around the track that surrounded the Kriegakadamie five times every day. If she couldn't run the track five times the duo told Devshi that she needed to walk the track until she gone around five times. This would build up both her wind and endurance something that Devshi quickly realized she needed. As soon as she was finished running Irene had set Devshi to chopping wood with a small hand axe for the Kriegakadamie. Something that all of the beginner trainees did to build strength and put calluses on the hands in the same place they were needed for most weapon work, as well as get wood the akadamie needed.

     Irene, who had gotten permission from Alber for the use of the akadamie's track while they were there, told Devshi that she needed to follow their schedule at least once a day but preferably at least twice a day for the foreseeable future. Devshi decided that she was going to exercise more then just twice a day. She needed to get stronger as fast as possible, her god was very insistent that she start learning to fight. Part of Devshi was actually looking forward to her training, anything to get her mind off of the disastrous knowledge of killing someone. Maybe by channeling her despair into learning to fight she'd feel better, Parvai had hinted as much when the god had spoken to Devshi.

     Devshi looked over at the tiger Somnadi who had followed her from the ship much like Ryah had followed Nahla. Somnadi looked back at Devshi, approval clear in her bright green eyes while a throaty purr started deep in the huge tigers chest. The sound of the purr made Devshi feel so much better, almost as if her mother had come along and held her. Devshi started running her first lap with Somnadi pacing along at her side. Devshi was able to complete two, almost three of the laps Irene and Nahla had assigned before she had to start walking, surprising her because she had actually expected to need to start walking much earlier. Devshi decided that she was going to work much harder than either of her instructors had asked her to. The faster she could defend herself and others the better Devshi thought she would feel. 

      Over the next few days Devshi ran laps and chopped wood with a will. Irene and Nahla had asked her to do the exercises twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, Devshi did the exercises twice in the morning, twice in the afternoon and twice after dinner. Devshi quickly got to the point where she was ready for more than just conditioning, Nahla and Irene were very impressed with her dedication. Devshi decided that she needed a good start to her training before they left Grundhorn for Ashfanabad, because if anything happened on their journey there would be nothing that she could do to defend her friends. After her talk with Parvai there was no way she was going to allow anything to happen if she could help it.  For the first few times she would wake up the next day feeling like someone had beat her in her sleep, she wasn't going to let it slow her down.

     From then on in the mornings Devshi ran laps for an hour and chopped firewood for an hour before breakfast and then she would go eat something. At least the food in the Hinterleitner household was very hearty, the Zwergin did love their sausages. In fact the rich meals were a lot more than what she was used to. But Devshi quickly figured out that she was going to work it off because of how she was conditioning herself. As soon as breakfast was finished Devshi would go right back out to run more laps and chop more firewood. There was no slacking off allowed in the training she was receiving from Irene and Nahla.

    After breakfast she would wear her full armor while she did various exercises, Devshi thought she ended up looking like someone threw armor made for Ten Rabbit at her and it somehow stayed on. While armored her duo of tormentors had her climb up and down a large ladder over and over again  for half an hour. Once she was done with that she would swing a huge wooden hammer at a thick post driven into the ground for an hour all while still wearing her armor. Devshi would show up to noon meal famished and quickly make her way through the large plate of food, then go back and repeat the exercises. Once she had climbed the ladder and swung the hammer to her instructors satisfaction Devshi would have to pick up and set down a large round stone with a metal handle set in it for half an hour all before dinner.

      Eventually she was able to swing the large round stone up and down as well just pick it up, without falling over. The first time Devshi had tried that had been a very embarrassing experience, especially since a class was happening across the field and had an excellent view of her embarrassment.  A couple of the recruits chuckled, but Alber was in their faces before the first sounds finished leaving their lips. 

     "EYES FRONT RECRUIT!  THERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU HERE OTHER THAN MY LOVELY FACE!  DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?!?!" Alber had shouted in the most resounding voice that Devshi had ever heard. A voice that had made her freeze in place for a moment as she worked out that it hadn't been aimed at her at all, thankfully.

      "YES HUR DOZEND!!!" The students had replied in unison, none of them daring to look at anything other than Alber in front of them.

     Alber then preceded to march in a well practiced parade style over to Devshi and stopped three paces from her. He stomped each foot and then placed his hands behind his back and bowed stiffly at the waist. In the most gentle tone she had ever heard from him, a smooth very deep voice that Devshi hadn't expected from the Zwergin who had only shown the stern face or the exuberant one but never the quiet calm his voice now held, "I beg your forgiveness my lady, there is no excusing the inexperience of youth."  He stood back up straight and marched just as resolutely as he had arrived back to the recruits and kept them very busy indeed. Thank Parvai it wasn't Alber teaching her. 

     Over the next weeks while Bisha looked for any and all information he could find about Mrtis as well as studying anything he could find about majic, Devshi kept up the routine and showed remarkable progress, at least that's what her two instructors had said. About three weeks after she started training Devshi was allowed to start actual weapons drill. Irene had her start sparring with Nahla because of Devshi's smaller size. The duo had told Devshi that she needed to learn how to fight against a larger foe or the greater reach would finish her. Nahla however ended up being a lot more flexible than Devshi or Irene thought. Devshi would finish feeling like she had been pulled apart and put back together again, while Nahla looked fresh as a flower. Devshi did however learn quickly how to defend herself against a larger foe.

A Strange Encounter

     A month later Nahla was standing at the bow of the Atlom's Axe watching the ground slide by as they flew through the sky. The worst of the winter storms were over although the weather was still cold and the wind occasionally blustery. Behind them the capitol of the Grundhorn empire slowly disappeared from view. Off in the distance Nahla could hear sea birds calling to each other while small clouds scuttled through the sky. The gentle breeze and blue skies belied the season and only the cold temperature let Nahla know that they were flying through winter skies not summer. Nahla was enjoying the respite from the storms that had followed the party since late fall. The party had spent more than a day on the ground waiting out storms to blow themselves out. After they had almost died while trying to fly through a major storm they had learned to land when the weather got stormy.

     The engineer had long ago told them that it wasn't safe for them to travel over large spans of water due to them needing to land every night. For some reason that Nahla didn't understand the Atlom's Axe couldn't fly at night. Not wouldn't, couldn't. The engineer that had come with the ship to help Ten Rabbit fly it had tried to explain it to Nahla but it didn't make any sense to her. Not because of a lack of intelligence but because of a lack of language, apparently the concepts didn't translate well into Kishnagari, the trade tongue. Something about sunlight and not enough majic at night. Nahla thought about learning Michocan but had quickly figured out that there was no way for her to pronounce more than a few of the necessary sounds, her tusks got in the way of making some of the needed sounds.

      A sound behind her made Nahla turn around to see Devshi exercising under Irene's supervision. Nahla was pleased with how well Devshi was coming along, she had shed the softness of city living very quickly and was becoming much more muscular very quickly. Devshi's physical skills had progressed much faster than Irene had thought they would. What had pleased Nahla even more was how well Devshi was doing at the meditation and mental exercises that Nahla had set her. As a shaman Nahla had learned different meditation and mental lessons than Devshi had learned as a novice in her priesthood. Not better, not worse, just different and used in different ways for different reasons. One of the many things that Nahla had learned from Temjin was that there were many paths to following the will of the spirits. Nahla had no doubt that what she was doing in teaching Devshi was the will of the spirits that always guided her.

      Nahla was contentedly watching Devshi practice while musing over her thoughts when there was a shout from the stern of the flying ship. There at the very back of the ship was Ten Rabbit shouting excitedly and pointing at a quickly approaching shadow behind and a tad above them. In only moments Nahla knew what had gotten Ten Rabbit so upset that he'd yelled, it was an Uganasr. Nahla was well acquainted with this particular flying animal but was a bit surprised to see one here. The bright morning sun was bright enough that Nahla could clearly see the red and black feathers that made up a crest that ran from the nostrils to the base of the head on all males, in fact the crest was how you told the difference between the sexes. The large flying animal was revered by the Oristani, especially the shaman, as it was a symbol of the circle of life and the premier guardian of the spirit world. 

     Nahla knew that Uganasr roamed the whole planet but usually at this time of year they stayed close to their mating grounds at Mount Gar. Nahla hadn't ever seen one away from her home in the Bishdan peaks. The sight of the sixty foot wingspan gliding along behind them with only the occasional actual wing beat made Nahla feel homesick in ways that nothing else, including going to Khaliun the Oristan capitol, had done. It also filled her with a deep seated fear, the Uganasr was possibly the most dangerous creature on Ardu. Nahla suddenly wished that this encounter was happening when she had her feet firmly planted on the ground. She definitely didn't want to see the most beautiful, important and most deadly of Ardu's creatures in its own element. 

     As the Uganasr gradually caught up to the Atlom's Axe Nahla quickly told everyone to not attack it. Not because it was a sacred animal to the Oristani, which it was, but because if they attacked it the Uganasr would destroy their flying ship with ease and it wasn't like any of them could fly. It didn't take long for Nahla to get everyone to agree with her on that score. The closer it came the more obvious it became that the Uganasr was close to the same size in length as the Atlom's Axe, a fact that did not reassure Nahla in the slightest. It brought to mind Irene telling her about her encounter with the sea going monster called a swarzer. If only because both creatures could have destroyed the vessel they approached. Nahla just hoped that this encounter went without an actually attack happening, there would be no way for them to win if it did.

      Irene had stopped Devshi's lessons as soon as Ten Rabbit had gestured towards the sky. That made perfect sense to Nahla, how could Devshi focus when there was so much excitement going on around her. Beside Nahla wanted everyone to pay close attention to her information and advice that would give them the best chance at survival. Nahla quickly filled everyone in while the Uganasr casually approached the Atlom's Axe. Nahla wasn't taking any chances that something would go wrong so she was very explicit in her instructions to everyone. Clearly outlining how everyone should behave, lessons learned from centuries of observation by the Oristan and their shaman.

     While she was explaining to everyone Nahla felt a deep rumbling noise almost to low for anyone to hear, she recognized it as a challenge call from the Uganasr. This realization made her more than a little nervous mainly because they were coming into the large predators mating season. If the Uganasr thought that their ship was a threat to itself or its mate they would all be in a great deal of trouble. Fortunately as it got closer the challenge call stopped then changed to a what Nahla thought sounded almost like a question. Nahla didn't think that animals of any kind couldn't or wouldn't ask questions. She was well aware that animals could and did ask questions. After all Nahla had personal and frequent reminders that animals definitely asked questions and had personalities. No shaman would ever think otherwise, especially not one with her gifts.

       Faster than anyone had expected the Uganasr was flying very close to the left side of the vessel. Before anyone could respond to how quickly the Uganasr had gotten to the left side of the vessel, the creature had landed on the railing that ran along both sides of the Atlom's Axe. As soon as the Uganasr landed on the railing the whole vessel listed sharply to the left. Nahla watched as things started to slide across the deck while everyone scrambled to keep from following suit. Only Usha, Ryah and Somnadi seemed immune to the chaos caused by the tipping of the ship. No sooner had the Uganasr landed on the railing when it stepped on to the deck with the gentle regalness of a ruler bestowing their presence upon the peasants. At the same time as the Uganasr stepped carefully on the deck Nahla felt a sensation what almost seemed like pressure on her mind. Just as suddenly as the pressure started it was relieved and Nahla heard an odd voice in her mind.

     Underneath the Uganasr's weight the Atlom's Axe struggled to stay airborne, the engine groaning loudly. The engineer's face blanched as he made a cry of dismay as he stumble ran towards the stairs that led to the lower deck. The engineer didn't even flinch as he ran right past the carefully moving Uganasr not seeming to notice. From the engineers cry and how the ship was starting to loose height Nahla realized that the ship wouldn't be able to maintain flight unless the Uganasr left the ship. How could she explain that to the Uganasr that he was to heavy for the ship to stay in the air. She didn't even understand how it stayed in the air or why the Uganasr was too heavy, how could she explain it to the beast?

      Suddenly the Uganasr looked sharply at Nahla after having completely ignored the engineers hurried trip past him. That was when Nahla once again felt the same pressure she had just moments earlier. It had to be coming from the Uganasr, but never before had an animal made contact with her without her initiating it first. For a long moment all Nahla felt was shock before she quickly got herself back under control. Now was not the time to get distracted by a new aspect of her ability to speak to animals, the very ability that made Nahla a shaman of the Oristani. Nahla had been trained to be a shaman since she was twelve but had known that she would become a shaman some day since she had been a child of six. That was how old Nahla had been when she had first gotten an animal to do what she wanted without speaking out loud. When Nahla had gotten caught her mentor Temjin had laughed out loud and declared that she would be a great shaman.

     The Uganasr gave a high pitched sound and shook his head vigorously before turning back towards the railing again. Once again the Atlom's Axe canted towards the left as the Uganasr mounted the railing again. At first Nahla was afraid that the railing would break when the beast launched itself back into the air. Instead she watched almost in shock as the Uganasr simply climbed up onto the railing before simply falling off. Before she could scream in terror Nahla saw him winging back into place next to the ship this time on the right side. For a moment Nahla was worried that the Uganasr would climb back onto the ship, but no it was merely flapping along next to the ship like it did so every day. that was when Nahla actually heard a distinctive voice in her head.

     "What is that thing that you ride? I was curious because it was shiny but once I got to you I realized that it was a made thing not a real thing. I was about to leave when I felt you. So why could I feel you like you were real."

    Nahla could only stare at the Uganasr in shock. While the Oristani had been studying them for centuries no one had ever tried to speak to one. Mainly because no Oristani had ever been this close to a living member of the species. Like all of the shamanistic abilities there is a range that limits its use so no one had ever tried speaking to an Uganasr while it was out of reach so high in the sky. The only times anyone saw an Uganasr on the ground they had moved incredibly fast, far faster than anyone had thought they would. The Uganasr didn't waddle on their hind legs instead the used a claw on the upper side of each wing to walk on all fours. This allowed the Uganasr to actually run on the ground almost as fast as they can fly in the air. All of this ran through Nahla's brain while she stared at the Uganasr flying beside the ship.

     Nahla realized that she needed to answer the Uganasr before it decided to land on the ship again. She wasn't sure if the Atlom's Axe would survive a second such landing, Nahla wasn't sure how it had survived the first one. Nahla was fairly certain that only the quick response to the Uganasr's landing kept the Atlom's Axe in the air. She just hoped that the engineer could keep it that way. Nahla looked around at the rest of her companions when a cry from the bowels of the ship made Ten Rabbit blanche before he ran down to join the engineer at the engines. All Nahla could do was hope that they managed to keep them in the air. All the while the Uganasr was flying calmly at the side of the Atlom's Axe.

     "We are traveling from one territory to another. We didn't mean to intrude on your place." Nahla replied to the Uganasr. She didn't want to upset the large flyer if only because it could knock them from the sky with ease. Nahla felt another rumble vibrate through her body before the Uganasr spoke once again in her mind.

     "Why does one of the sand travel with those of the water and trees? The sand mice usually don't usually travel with water or tree mice."  The Uganasr's piercing red and steel eye quickly darted to the others on deck before returning to focus on Nahla. "Does something threaten your nest?"

     Just like every time Nahla spoke to an animal when the Uganasr thought words to Nahla she would get a flash of an image, like a kind of explanation of what the Uganasr meant. When it called her mice she had an impression of a tribe of Oristani traveling across the desert sands as seen from high above. 'Mice? I guess to something as big as an Uganasr we would be like mice. After all when I saw people while flying I thought they looked tiny like mice too' Nahla quickly thought to herself. Nahla contemplated about what to tell the Uganasr and decided honesty was the best policy. Besides it could probably tell if she was lying and she didn't want to risk angering it.

     "Yes, we hunt an unknown enemy that threatens our nests and young."

     "I understand. I wish you luck hunting the cave mice," and the Uganasr flew off with a sudden burst from it wings, rapidly disappearing into the clouds. When the long sinewy flyer had said "cave mice" Nahla had gotten the impression of some kind of creature that she didn't recognize, but it seemed almost familiar. The unknown creature looked almost like an Oristani, but its shape was all wrong and it didn't have eyes. For some reason it reminded her of the images Ryah had giver her of the creature that Ryah wounded that night they had crash landed during the storm.

      "What, by Q'Qu'Matzle's beard, just happened?" Ten Rabbit asked as he came back onto the deck after helping the engineer, stress and fear clear in his voice. "You and that bird thing just stared at each other and then it flew off.  Are we still in danger?" Ten Rabbit scanned the clouds looking for any sign of the Uganasr. Nahla laughed in relief as she explained what she and the Uganasr had spoken about.