A Castrovel Adventure: Part 4, Chapter 22

In which good news is followed by something dire.

From the Daylog of Vaeol-Zheieveil Yaranevae be’Son

14. Asealae, 24,543 - Leiss Farmhold
Yesterday my brother Devaeas, Elarue his wifemate, and my little nephew Shaess came home, to much cheer not only from us, but also from Mirazael her mother and her two fathers, who fought like apes over right to bear their grandson. They came over the lake from Tihes and had fair boatfare under Heaventide, whose northern winds blessed their path.
Today Elarue and Devaeas led us to a warehouse, where they showed much stock of tusk, claws, and hides, which betides well to sell on the year’s last marketday and the Motorae. They told they had good huntfare under the Voliahu’s leafboughs and had gotten good guesthood from the Miniada and Lady Vei, Vosaeth’s mother, who had shared their kills’ meat with the rainwood’s neighborclans. Thus they reaped much goodwill, and forelooked to again come a later yeartide.
Vosaeth gladly got her clan’s news, who even now are wending southward to their Heaventide campland, beshrivedly later than wont, though their path will bring them near Lea. We have forespoken to watch the Motorae and Newyear here. Yet I know she would reach her folk ere the Floodtide hunt, which thought warms me, for we have come to feel kinship, and dolefully toward her mother.
At reckoning, there are but two downsides to my brother’s and Elarue’s comeback. Mirazael has yelled the farmwork is not getting done, though harvest will earnestly begin after Newyear. Her manmates are rather too thrilled playing with their grandson or would help with the saleware’s readiness, which yields easier work for more silver. Against this wise, Less and Hanos have stalwartly yielded help, for they have kithness with farmwork from youth, and have even beguilted Oshis to work. Remaue and Kaure have pitched in as well, which leaves me feeling somewhat useless. Vosaeth has even kindly lent her harem’s thewship, though they are better hunters and do better with beasts than fieldwork. Even so, I hope our guesthood may not prove burdensome.
The other downside from my brother’s homecome is that Remaue and Vosaeth have again started flirting with him. Vosaeth withholds somewhat. Yet my haughty shieldbearer-wifemate shows no such elsethought, and dolefully since she loves my shame. I have even begged Elarue to keep them shed, though she has merely laughed.

17. Asealae, 24,543 - Lea
I write at the embassy by our room’s witchlight, where Remaue and Kaure already sleep with Lanaryel between, and Vosaeth, her harem, Taiase, and Istae on the beds beside. Her Highness Lady Zhaene asked us to a light mirthtide, along with sundry matrons and trademistresses who breed goodwill. I let word of Devaeas’s sale tomorrow, hopefully to bring him good outcome. Her Highness asked if he will give his birth-city fair cheapness, to which I answered that, since I know my brother’s love for Son, I would misdoubt it, but also read her thanes should meet him early.
Laterward, Her Highness asked to speak sunderly, though I outwon to thieve little Lanaryel from Remaue and bear her with me. In her stallroom Lady Zhaene poured a light mead while I held my daughter on my thighs. Then she told that she had lately gotten farseer-word from Lady-Mother, but had withheld, forwhy she witted my anger. Under my mother’s repeated bids, however, she could not withhold further and begged what word she could send, ingathering when I will come home.
Against my will, this ask launched a far more enwoven talk than I had foreseen. I told Her Highness I surely had no plan to fare over the Retaea while bechild, which brought the question, maybe even fair, that my shape had not halted me doing so among Lady Vosaeth’s house and Clan Miniada. So I reminded her that I ride as thane to Lady Taiase’s peacebode. To this thing she yaysaid, but added that we all know the peacebode is little more than a sham upmade to whelm Taiase’s, Istae’s, and my flight from Son. ~O’ahi-sae tiae,~ - “It may end at a word,” she beread.
I stared at Her Highness long and answered she had truly shot the qoelu’s eye, so to speak. I reminded Her Highness that Lady-Mother had striven to shed me from one I love, and unfairly. I fully wared she had done so from love, heed, and fear, though such forgave not her unwillingness to undeem Oshis’s ban-curse after she forsoothed her mistake. I told that wrath toward my mother still rides my heart, and I am unbeswayed to forsake this stead, where I have all my love, with kith and worship upholding us all. I bade she may tell Lady-Mother as she reckons best. Yet my will still stands.
Her Highness took my word more lissomely than she rightfully could, wished me peace, and bade me seek good night. Even so, the talk left me more bothered than I like, which writing in this log I hope will cleanse my mind and find sleep. I shrive I still have much to rue and overthink on my mother. Under this old anger, a share of me wearies.

18. Asealae, 24,543 - Lea
Today dread news. Word has swept the market that a lost tradefare was found in the western moors: fellows and burden-beasts slain, its freight bereft. More unsettling, quoth the whisper-tellers: the tradefare had most likely come from Son.
Straightway I found Vosaeth, who even then was speaking with her folk. By her grimness, she already knew and was seeking whits. She told the wreck had been found by hunters from Clan Terana, who had right sent wordbode hither and to other clans. When I said this befell evil, she named it the worst in a thousand years.
Together we hurried to the Matrons’ Hall, where already some gathered. We got more news: the wreckstead by now was read at almost two months old, which means it happened at the time we were coming to Lea. The reavers had hidden the spoor, and the ~qoelu~ and lesser bone-pickers had heftilyy strewn the wreck. Yet a Shieldhead’s burnt saddlebasket had been found in a canegrass swale, with broken arrows.
All have asked who might do this sin. What can we guess?
Her Highness Lady Zhaene came with belief she knows the tradefare’s name. She told she had word from Son of a tradefare led by Mistress Damye Raumaue, along with her household’s greater share, and to forelook them coming yestermonth. She had asked incoming clanfolk and traders any news of this tradefare or anything between here and the western canegrass meadows, and had even sent forth riders to seek them ere the Terana brought this evil news.
Then Lady Byreath instrode. She outspoke the matrons had already heard her forespeech to swear troth to Lea. Befittingly, she deemed herself sworn to ward the city’s elder rights as aloof from the clans’ shallow feuds, and that trade with the city must stand likewise hallowed. She foreyielded her clan’s full warriorhood to ward all trade. Furthermore, she foreread an inseech should be sent forth to all the clans, to have them swear troth to Lea and to ask knowledge that they had no share in this sin. To this speech, the gathered matrons yaysaid wholeheartsomely.
Then Byreath headed to Vosaeth. She asked my oath-sister to swear the Miniada have no share to this guilt, and furthermore if they would uphold Lea’s right to inseech the truth. Vosaeth grimly answered that her clan had stayed in the north near Tihes and the Voliahu Rainwood until lateward, and only now are nearing the city, for Lady Vei her mother would not lie to her. To the inseech she would yaysay, for we must learn who has broken the elder troth. Yet she beread that Lea should send its own peacebodes, and even the matrons themselves, to speak with the Clans.
Byreath asked back how Vosaeth could be so sure she knew her clan’s true stead. I bewitted the glint in my oath-sister’s eyes, the flicker of her antennae low. All in the hall beheld her wrath, that another clanwife had outdated her truth. Fearing rashness, I brought her into war-mind. Yet she withheld hasty answer. Instead, she remarked she had not seen the greater half of Byreath’s clan here. Could the Zhihuafa clanwife forsoothly beswear they had not gone araid? Byreath haughtily answered she knows her clan, to which Vosaeth said back: ~O’yei vara roaf,~ - “As I know mine.”
Right while the throng neared a frightful pitch, Her Highness Lady Nimizi the High Matron incame. She called the matrons to moot, though they already so worried she had to shout over their yells. I stayed the next belltide, trying to hunt through words shriller than true, though I heard more than spoke and tried to outreach a soothing mood (I shrive I brooked my birthmight to do so). Lady Zhaene and Vosaeth did not so withhold, but striffled quicksomely to bode their words. At last I spotted Remaue and Kaure from the sidehall, waving worriesomely. So I thoughtfully took leave, with forespeech from Lady Zhaene and Vosaeth to talk laterward. My mates then half-dragged me to a bench to tarry off my feet and sipped me winewater, ere they led me to the embassy.
I wrote most of today’s log ere dusktide. Erenow, I came from a late duskmeal with Her Highness Lady Zhaene and Vosaeth, for whom the whole house tightly waited the whole daytide. We overtalked all the news as we knew, for Her Highness Lady Nimizi had come straight from speaking with the Terana outriders who had brought it. Her Highness had forborne calls to waken the ford and raise a war-host, for a doleful clanmoot to be called under the city’s walls and to have all the clanwives answer to their warriors’ deeds, and even outright bewrayals against sundry clans. As I had understood ere I left, much spoken had stemmed more from fear than foreweighed thought. Lady Zhaene has already sent farseer-word to Son of the stricken tradefare, inmeaning her fear it is Mistress Damye’s. I foreread the next tradefare will come with a rider-troop at its head, to which Her Highness answered she would welcome such a show, but worries more of Son sending a full war-host bungling among the clans.
Vosaeth, who had been sitting wordlessly through this outlay, nodded and scowled. She shrove her worst fear outstood this inseech. Lea has ever sent peacebodes among the clans, though until now they have never insought too nearly the clans’ business. If the Clanwives must tally witness for every warrior, she warned, it will lead to awkwardness. Misdeeds happen, sometimes with the Clanwives’ knowledge, and sometime without. There is always a maiden seeking to win nameworth, she outlaid slightly shamefully, behinting at her own yesterdeeds, and always a Korasha seeking to prove worthy before a housewife. If another clan’s thurse-herd is outstolen to do so, or a hunt-hoard betheft out on the moors where none but reaver and wretch can witness, then that deed merely becomes a whit within the long-simmering feuds many clans share, blazing while the wandertides and quelling again as peace is bargained at the Blighttide Clanmoot. If Lea’s matrons put that witness to writ and hold clans answerable, she beread a sure spell for wrathfulness. It would grow even worse, she warned, if Lea tries to seek doom for such misdeeds, for though the Clans yield Lea sundry worth, they mislike cityfolk talking downward as if to rough heathens.
Lady Zhaene read my face and asked my thought. I reckoned haltingly, and then said that, if I had heard this tale not from the moor but from the matrons’ hall, I would deem it a hallcraft-gambit worth of my sisters. ~O’se-shei~ - “And of yourself,” Her Highness answered, ~eshoni shalya Elahatya diyanirazyelm~ - “unless I have misheard Elahat’s tale.” Since Lady Zhaene is my mother’s near friend, and also to my sisters, it was an uncouth word from my share, dolefully to the lady who has stood as middlewife to our feud. Yet I shirked it not and instead beshrove my guilt for the freehold’s raid.
Yet none of us three naysaid the other’s thoughts. Neither could Vosaeth and I withstand any longer the inkling that had haunted us since the first news. Yet when we upbrought Byreath’s name, Her Highness bade us speak no more prooflessly. The Zhihuafa clanwife has had long while in the city to curry goodwill, warned Lady Zhaene, not only with her forespeech to swear troth, but also has not been cheap in doing so. Many matrons would overmatch their self-inthrift with the city’s, and will therefore see Lady Byreath as a likesome ally. I outspoke Byreath forelooked to behoove most from this strifetide, at which Her Highness bade me peace, and I took my leave

Lashunt Words & Phrases:

• ~Ahi~ - might; power; potential
• ~Sae~ - word; utterance; sentence; report
• ~O’ahi-sae tiae,~ - “It may end at a word,”
• ~Qoelu~ - saurian megafauna
• ~Roassi~ - to know
• O’yei vara roaf,~ - “As I know mine.”
• ~Se~ - feminine of ~sa~: you; that (near you)
• ~O’se-shei~ - “And of yourself,”
• ~Shali~ - tale
• ~Diyanirassi~: to mishear; hear wrongly
• ~eshoni shalya Elahatya diyanirazyelm~ - “unless I have misheard Elahat’s tale.”