Hello Everyone! Happy last day of 2020! Whew, it has been one crazy, long, convoluted trip of a year. It will be a relief to turn the page and begin writing “2021” on everything.
How was your December holiday, whichever one you celebrate? To be honest, it was a quiet, very subdued Christmas and Christmas Eve here.
My brother, who I share a house with, tested positive for COVID-19 on the 13th, and just when he would have been cleared to come out of quarantine, my nephew tested positive as well, the Monday before Christmas. It was a lot of passing food from down here to them via an outside table, and heavily disinfected gift exchanges. Symptoms have been very light to non-existent for both of them, very thankfully, and the rest of us here have been negative. We have been fortunate, and it left us with a Christmas we won’t easily forget.
I hope you are safe and healthy where you are, with a fun plan to ring in the new year! Me, well, I’ll be sleeping, early mornings aren’t as conducive to late nights anymore, and my dogs are insistent 😆. But I have a great book picked out for the evening!
Ok, enough about reality, let’s get back to the fantasy, right? Happy New Year! Do better 2021!
Elahna and Ivy were heading down the lane away from Rosewood when we last left them, let’s rejoin them as they head through Cragbend.~
The little town was just getting moving as Ivy and I headed toward Venrood Forest.
The healer was out in his gardens, harvesting and weeding. He raised a palm in greeting as we passed.
*Photo by pablopablo90 form PxHere
The early morning sun cloaked everything in a golden hue. Townsfolk were loading wagons with goods and produce to take to the market, and the sounds of bells on the mill horses’ harnesses signaled the start of the sawyers’ day.
I knew this trip through the forest would be much different than the previous one. But that wasn’t a bad thing, either.
Revel and Felicity settled into an easy trot that gave Ivy and me the ability to still talk. She seemed a bit withdrawn, so I tried to re-lighten the mood by picking up the conversation again.
“How come Lignan didn’t just come with you to Irillo? Is the city a bad place for a boy?”
“Oh no, not at all. He came with me anid-last, and his patris collected him on the way home in Illedale. He travels well. Egan has a surprise for him this time, though. A horse of Lignan’s own for his name day gift. He has outgrown Ebony this past anid, he has put on some height. It was Egan’s idea to bring the new horse up with him to collect Lignan, that way they would have the whole ride back to Spark Island to get acquainted. I wish I was there to see his face, he will be thrilled.”
*Photo by form PxHere
“Aww, that’s so sweet. How far is it to Spark Island?”
“It’s tertia to quarta anar south to Flame Harbor, then they have to take ship over to the island. They should make pretty good time with dua strong horses, though. It is much needed time together for them. Egan will see how much work Lignan needs to do with his emotions. His Spark-ness is revealing itself more and more.”
“Daphne said much the same thing about his letter yesterday.” She shot me a narrowed look. “Are Sparks dangerous or something?”
“Oh, yes. His plea letter. I apologize for that. I’m afraid I do coddle him some to keep the impulsiveness under wraps, but it doesn’t always work. They aren’t dangerous, as in evil, but they are fire-strong, so they tend toward quick decisions, rash judgments, fast action, dramatic emotions, that sort of thing. I found it impossibly alluring when I first met Egan, he was all heat and motion, very different from the placid coolness of the trees and forest. I only learned better once Lignan came along. Then I made sure my dual child was of a more tranquil nature. Lignan is a bright light, he just needs some instruction, that’s all.”
“How long will he be gone? You and Egan don’t live together, ever?”
Ivy turned and cocked her head at me, “No, why would we live together? I’m an Arborea, I belong in Rosewood, and Egan belongs at Scorchpoint. Rosewood won’t even allow him inside. It could never work.” She actually looked mildly horrified at the thought. “Do you live with the patris of your children?”
It was my turn to be awkward then. “No, but I don’t have kids, either. But most people in my world do live together as families, parents with children, that is. They raise the children together.”
“We raise ours within the matris’ house. Everyone in the Seat contributes to their upbringing until they reach nova, then they petition the House that fits their abilities. If it is not the same Seat they grew up in, they then leave and become part of the new Seat.”
“But it is always through the mother’s, oh sorry, matris’ line? Does a child ever go live with their patris’ family?”
“Only in the case of a paterif, or line jumper, and they are quite uncommon.”
“That is fascinating.” I grinned. A society not inclined toward a patriarchy! Finally, someone realized the logic in maternal heredity and they weren’t afraid of it. I could definitely live here!
I was completely enthralled with the idea of a matriarchal society, and I wondered if the human land Maarran worked the same way. It sort of had to, I imagined, since they were two halves of the same continent. And Daphne did say they intermingled freely. I was losing my desire to return home really fast.
We talked on, and I learned that Ivy’s dautris was with her patpa in a town in Maarran called Duskreach, the home of the Fairmoon scion. (Which also answered my unspoken question—the human country Maarran was matriarchal as well.) The Seat name was Mesonox, and she described it like it was a permanent planetarium, it sounded truly celestial.
The girl was beginning to exhibit talent with night-blooming plants and fungi even though she was only quarta. I could tell Ivy was apprehensive about this, and then she confirmed it when she said they would be making a trip next anid to Violetmere to introduce the girl to that Seat’s gardens and hothouses, which contained such species. She was already preparing mentally for her dautris’s departure in quinta anids.
No where in this discussion of children and families had the word marriage come up, but I decided to leave that alone for the moment. Ivy seemed to need some topic re-direction, or perhaps a bit of time to regroup.
I turned my attention to Revel, patting his sleek gray neck. I remembered this stretch of farmland from my ride with the Bluebirds, and noticed new stacks of hay in the fields and rows ready for gathering. A herd of large, chocolate brown cattle grazed in a lush pasture along the road, barely lifting their heads at our passing.
We met several freeholders on their way to Cragbend, one with a barred cart of squealing piglets behind his produce wagon. Both horses flattened their ears at the ruckus and quickened their pace for about a quarter of a mile to leave it well behind.
Despite Kaval’s misgivings, I was finding the half-saddle, stirrups and blanket combination to be quite comfortable. I found it amusing to be riding in sandals as well, remembering my riding instructor when I was twelve and her insistence on shoes with heels to prevent my feet from sliding through the stirrups. This way felt much more natural. I could be a seamless part of Revel’s effortless strides.
We were approaching the edges of the forest when Ivy spoke again. “You must have so many questions, Elahna. I was just thinking to myself what it would be like to know nothing about this place we are riding through, yet being sent to Irillo to try to find out how to get back to your home. Is it frightening at all? Is your world very different? Do you miss it?”
I smiled at her, wanting to say something to continue the conversation, but my mind was a tumble of differences, better-thans, gripes, and misgivings. I settled for simple answers to start with.
“I do have questions. Many, many questions, but I can’t just ask them all up front. I’m enjoying learning as I go. I was nervous, certainly, when the Bluebirds first found me, but their warm, casual manner made me forget about it. My time with your, well, at Rosewood, has been just as supportive and welcoming. I am surprised and happy that everyone I have met so far has been willing to talk, or explain what I don’t know. Including you. It wouldn’t necessarily be that way in my world, on Earth. Well, not in my country, at least. Yes, my world is very different.”
“I’ve heard it said that your world doesn’t have magic. Is that true? How do you get things done if there is no magic?” Ivy was settling into herself now. I would be glad for the full bottle of fruity smoothie to whet my throat.
We passed from the fragrances of freshly cut hay and sun-dried stacks into the scents of woodland moss and leaves. The dappled shade of the road nearer the trees offered some relief from the brilliance of the sunlight. My eyes were stinging and burning like I had been looking into LED headlights for hours. Sunglasses. I did wish I had my sunglasses.
*Photo by Herbert Goetsch on Unsplash
“That’s right, we don’t have magic like here, but we do have something called technology. It’s based on sciences and allows us to do most anything we need to. My world is vastly different from yours here. I don’t know if I can describe it to you.”
I struggled a bit with what to say here because I didn’t want to belittle the beautiful place I was in. Honestly, I was hoping she wouldn’t ask me to explain in detail, but if she wanted to know specifics, I would do the best I could. And probably end up with a headache for it.
I’ll pick up with my reply next time, this is a good place to stop for now. Hooray for getting underway! Irillo, here we come!~
The first part of the journey has already yielded one of the most important facts about Huphaean society—it is matriarchal. Elahna obviously loves that fact, what would you think? Drop a comment below and let me know what you think about Elahna’s discoveries today. And there’s much more to come!
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