Maker of Fire

Lord Katsa haup Gunndit, Aybhas, Planting Season, 5th rot., 10th day

After Emily left with Asgotl for the other side of the river, my mother told us all a fantastic tale. To repay some unknown favor of the god of wrath, Gertzpul and the soul of Scholar Attendant Wolkayrs visited Emily and the Priestess Thuorfosi in the middle of the night. The Holy Kamagishi and Losnana were restrained from following the prophet with a recording scroll.

"Emily needs some time away from us," Mother declared. "She can dictate her most recent encounter with a god when she returns. She's always much better when she's had time to run off and do some music."

"But—" Kamagishi started.

"No," Mother didn't let her finish. "She needs to feel her freedom, not fight us for it. It can wait, you two," she pointed at the two avatars of Galt. "I won't stop anyone who wants to listen in on Emily joining the musicians from the Singing Shrine. Sister Senlyosart is over there right now, with a chair in the big tent next to where the music will be. I may join her in case someone convinces Emily to sing or play her divine solo. Only the Revered Tom can play the divine as well as Emily. But I will not allow anyone to intrude on the prophet spending time with other Coyn."

Then, my mother gobsmacked me to the ground with her following few words. "Emily needs to know that we can indeed leave her alone," Mother began. "We must do this for her. I admit I've been one of the biggest culprits in limiting her; however, I've learned that imposing what I believe is best for someone is a mistake. I did it to my son, and I've been doing it to our prophet. It is an abuse of my superior power over others despite all the best intentions in the world. Emily is not a child, regardless of her deceiving looks, and she must be free to act as she sees fit."

"Even if she teaches other Coyn how to make clay bombs?" Imstay asked with a bite to his voice.

"Yes," Mother drilled the King with her glare. "Don't forget who was with her at the time, cousin."

"Several hundred Coyn slaves?" Imstay countered, frowning.

"She was with Galt, who physically manifested large enough for Emily to ride on his back. Galt did nothing to stop her. What she did in Salicet had the blessing of at least one god. That god smote a Coyn yesterday who tried to harm Emily with a clay bomb. Think about what that might mean, cousin."

"Is she safe without someone following her?" the Holy Losnana asked in her Impotuan accent with its broad vowels. "She's tiny, even for a Coyn. I know because I carried her at my shrine. There is nothing to her. A strong wind would blow her away. The Blessed Asgotl is not much protection. He probably can't even fit in the tent."

"She'll be fine," Mother replied. "Three wraiths are shadowing her at all times while she's in Foskos. They proved their ability to protect her yesterday. And never forget that despite her appearance and frailty, Emily can be dangerous. I believe the gods chose a Coyn, and this Coyn in particular, to be a prophet, to show us what the Coyn can do and what the Coyn have to potential to be."

"Aren't you exaggerating a bit, Mother?" I asked, feeling a bit incredulous that Emily could ever protect herself. She was a puny little thing, smaller than most, and weak. Every silverhair in the room could kill her with a thought, after all.

"Am I, Katsa?" Mother gave me a look that said I should know better. "She's killed snowbears by herself. On the night that I found your brother, Emily dragged him out of a slough in the Island Swamp, after he had been peppered by three arrows, and revived him. Then, she disabled his attacker and the eagle she was riding using rocks she picked up on the river bank, using a strip torn off her nightgown as a sling. Emily can be dangerous. Don't ever underestimate her."

"But isn't she an exception, Mother? Most Coyn aren't as clever and talented as she is."

"The first person who understood the revelation of Giltak to Emily was a Coyn," Mother pointed out. "That Coyn is currently the math teacher for the Princes Heldfirk and Garki. At the last Convocation meeting, the Holy Raoleer told me about another Coyn, a young girl, who the Revered Huhoti has taken as a student. They think she may be as brilliant as Emily. We need to stop thinking of Coyn as little humans who can't take care of themselves without us to help. We must start thinking of them as little humans who can produce dangerous geniuses like Emily.

"Last," Mother held up an admonishing finger, "do not forget the nation of Coyn to the west, who beat an invading Cosm army, complete with warmages, six centuries ago. We forget about that because we don't want to talk about it, don't teach it at the shrines and schools, and don't want to remember that defeat. We don't want to admit that Coyn can live without our help.

"Our Coyn are pitiful because we made them that way, but think of how much greater Foskos could be if we gave the Coyn the same excellent education we give scholar attendants. The Villa and Shrines of Giltak and Sassoo have already taken that step. The results are Coyn like Master Artificer Aduda, the Queen's brewery, and the excellent musicians I'm about to listen to across the river. Now, who will join me at this fine entertainment and vision of what the future could be?"

Imstay, Aybhas, Planting Season, 5th rot., 10th day

We walked as a group with our hoods up to the tent camp on the other side of the city. The Coyn entertainment tent was set up next door to the tent for serving Cosm meals. Senlyosart was already planted in a chair with a scholar attendant from her shrine on hand to fetch for her. She was still a bit unsteady after her ordeal last Growing Season. The happy look on her face told me everything I needed to know about the performance in the tent next door, which we could hear without any problem through the heavy canvas.

My page for this trip, Patrikos, set up a footstool and the big folding camp chair for Aylem. The rest of us, including Mieth and her daughter Arma, sat down on the benches for the trestle tables. It was a pleasant but unexciting performance. The musicians played dance music for a quarter bell, followed by sing-along music for a quarter bell. Some of the sing-a-long pieces were quite suggestive. Cousin Lisaykos and Lord Katsa looked shocked by the herder and the cow song, and I know most of us were hiding our amusement over their reaction. Those two really are a pair of prudes.

Things got more interesting when Usruldes showed up with the Revered Tom. Usruldes entered the dining tent and silently bowed. Then, he sat behind me, passing me five carrier falcon messages on linen. Before I could read them, the dance number in the tent next door ended, and we all heard Emily erupt.

"Surd save us all! What is wrong with your face?!"

"What?" Tom replied. "I think it's rather fetching. Don't you? I believe it makes me look even more handsome than I already am. Here's the view of me in profile, so you can feast upon my manly visage."

There was a pause, and then a disgusted Emily said, "You forgot your shaving gear, didn't you?"

There was soft laughter from many Coyn near the musicians' end of the tent.

"Inkugi, can you drag this boy off and get him a shave?" Emily asked someone.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but my shaving gear's in Black Falls. We got flown in for this one-day gig, remember?"

More laughter broke out as the Coyn in the tent next door caught on to the impromptu comedy happening.

"Oh, blarg," Emily sounded grumpy. "Someone go drown this miserable excuse of a person in the river for me, please."

"Admit it, my love," Tom's words preened themselves, "this is a great look for me. So handsome, so mature, so—"

Emily started coughing and hacking loudly.

"What?!" Tom whined indignantly.

"Sorry," Emily spoke normally as if she hadn't just coughed her lungs up. "I'm afraid I had a weasel down my throat. It needed to be expelled. By the way, love?"

"Yes," Tom sounded wary.

"The bow at the bottom of your beard braid clashes with your mantle. Orange just doesn't go with purple and rose."

I'm sure Tom must have been making some kind of face because the wave of laughter started after a breath's pause.

Emily had started a lovely bit of playing on the divine as the laughter calmed down. It wasn't long, but it was pleasant and soothing."

When she was done, Tom asked, "Never heard you play that before. Is that yours?"

Emily responded in the language that she, Tom, Aylem, and Asgotl shared.

"Oh," was all Tom said in reply. "Teach it to me sometime. That was nice. Someone lend me a divine, please?"

Then Emily and Tom played together and sang songs no one had ever heard before, doing things with their divines that were new and strange but pleasant and worked well with what they sang. A lot of the rhymes were awkward or missing. I guessed that the songs were translated from the Earth language into Fosk, but no one cared that the words didn't always rhyme. The tunes were catchy, and the songs' stories were novel.

The second to last song was a funny but absurd one about a girl named Clementine with comically big feet. The song was from the perspective of the girl's suitor, who once courted her before she drowned because he couldn't swim. Aylem obviously knew the song and disliked it. The face she made, like she had just eaten rancid butter on her bread, was an entire monologue of pain and loathing. Usruldes had that perfectly neutral face he wore when he was laughing inside and didn't want the world to know. I'm sure those expressions had a story behind them. I would need to ask Usruldes later when we were alone.

Lisaykos had no reason not to ask about Aylem's reaction, so she did. "Aylem, dear," she whispered, "what is wrong?"

"I hate, really hate, that song," Aylem hissed under her breath, so her voice would not carry over to the tent next door. "I'm sure that little pest of a prophet translated it just because she knows I hate it."

I amazed myself when I didn't laugh, that I managed to keep a respectful expression on my face.

Then, the last song began, and we all forgot Aylem's reaction. The song was a duet with a plaintiff melody and a counterpart under it. I wasn't sure, but the words could be a hymn to Vassu: "Peace I ask of thee, O river, peace, peace, peace. When I learn to live serenely, cares will cease," and more along those lines. It was both soothing and moving.

Then we heard one of the Sassoo Shrine Coyn shoo everyone out to go eat mid repast. I had read and then reread the messages by then. I got up and pulled Usruldes to the side, mindcasting him with our special crystal pair to prevent eavesdroppers.

*We are only a few rotations from leaving with the northern army for Impotu. Is Lord Us'sayyos haup Kas' youngest son implicated in his plans or preparations?*

*Lord Kas seems to have deliberately kept his youngest son away from his plans,* Usruldes said.

*Lord Kas, his brother, and his three oldest sons will have an accident,* I directed.

*How much damage can I do?*

*Don't empty the treasury, and try not to kill too many people.*

It worried me that he grinned.