-''A new day is upon us, and it's no ordinary day, for today 30 years will have passed since I became a leader. I wonder what challenges await me today...''
A mediator, an advisor, a scribe and much more, an
alamme is a community leader in the densely packed commoner districts of
Ikaharin's cities. Now that I have told you what an alamme is, do you want to embody one for a day?
One can never sleep a whole night
''Please! Please! Wake up, the Ickai and the Almain are at each other's throats again! I swear those damned rogues are always getting on my nerves...''
The Dawn Sun may still have not risen and your room may still be in total darkness, but that won't stop trouble from appearing. Thus, you are woken up by a citizen who has come running to inform of the latest dispute. As you rush through breakfast and are told that the Ickai and the Almain are fighting again, the only thing in your mind is how good it would feel to exile them, as you had to intervene just last week on their squabbles.
''-That bastard Nintauol stole my wine!
-All lies! Even if I was a thief I wouldn't steal the swamp water they try to pass off as wine.
-Swamp water? It was imported from...
-The bogs!''
While arriving to the scene of the events, you are approached by members of both clans, eager to explain what happened and why they were entitled to kick each other's teeth in. After much deliberation, and narrowly avoiding a multitudinary brawl more than once, you decide on the verdict:
''I have at last come to the conclusion that wine was not stolen by Nintauol Almain, and that the Ickai were making false claims. Thus, in accordance with both the Divine Design and the laws of city, I decree the accused be compensated with 5 barrels of wine or any liquor of choice.
Failure to pay in the next 3 weeks will result in a public beating with the salt whip at the main square''.
Your friendly local scribe
''Would you care join our table today? My son is a great cook and my cousin has shared with us some of his hunt''.
As you tour the narrow streets, checking on the community and generally enjoying the walk, you are invited to lunch by a neighbour. Tempted by the delicious smell coming from their kitchen (and the hunger produced by what seemed like an eternity of arguing with those damned brats), you have no choice but to accept.
As you eat your spiced venison stew and drink apricot wine, you eventually realize there is something a bit... odd in that room. While you were having a great meal, the hosts were drinking water and eating fish. Thus you come to the conclusion that they either want a special favour or are really generous, in any case you ask:
''-Is there anything I can do for you in return?
-Well, yes, actually. You see, after a fire we decided to get a new shrine and idol to protect the home, but sadly it seems we failed to honour the spirit properly and thus it left us.
-Oh no! The Ones Above are truly petty and capricious at times...
-Sadly, yes. We then went to the shaman, who told us to ask for mercy with an inscription, but she can't write, so she couldn't do much else!''
Moved by their story, kindness and as eager to help as always, you offer your skills as a scribe to write the message in their name. Thus you spend the rest of the meal thinking which words to use and in what order to place them, knowing fully well that this family's well-being depended entirely on it (on it and on how pious the spirit was feeling that day).
''Iter laku, hirer laku, please forgive these old hosts of yours for their abominations against you, for they were due to their ignorance and not their malice. Please come back, onan laku! Please make the old hosts new again! Please bestow upon them your protection, for their sins have been already punished!''
After the sacred oil was poured and the last blessings sung, you leave the house, the Setting Sun telling you it is time to go back home to, hopefully, rest at last.
An interview
''Come, alamme, come with me''.
Moments before opening the door to your (rather modest) apartment, you are stopped by a shady figure. This man, as he soon announces, is a slave who has been sent to take you to the
citadel for who-knows-what reason.
While trying to remember any and all possible crimes you may have committed that may warrant this sort of attention, you start looking nervous. This is eventually noticed by the servant, who tries to calm you down by saying there is nothing to fear, as the reason for this... unexpected interaction was merely that some aristocrats wanted an interview.
As you enter the dimly lit courtyard of the
lakuibi, you start to think that 'interview' was probably an understatement, and as you realize the figure presiding the affair is the laku himself, any doubt of that is erased.
''Of thy great skills as both a judge and an advisor for the commoners we have heard plenty, alamme. And the fact thou hast managed to keep both post and life for these many years greatly helps in making these claims more veridical...''
The first to speak is the king, whose overly formal and refined speech you struggle to understand. That combined with the shock and awe you are feeling make you freeze. Seeing that, the
suwonnau whispers something:
''Laku, I fear the little one doth not understand the speech of the Elevated Ones, for it is a leader who liveth only amongst rustics, harlots and such lowly lineages with whom we be talking. We may have to degrade ourselves this time for the sake of synergy''.
After a short conversation between the various aristocrats, the ruler speaks once more, this time in a more intelligible dialect:
''Well, it has come to our attention that you have been a great leader for your community for a long time already, and thus we felt it was appropriate to give you a fitting reward for both your service to the community and keeping the order among the commoners.
Thus I give you this headdress, woven from the finest cotton and adorned with the finest patterns, which represent the Natural Law and shall now serve as your crest. With this distinction comes also the privilege of entering the citadel uninvited, so that you may inform us of anything that may be of our interest''.
Overwhelmed by pride and joy, you step forward and bow down in front of the laku, who then places the ornament on your head while all the people there gathered shout the same single word:
''Soksalos!''
A lovely night
''And I thought I ate a lot! God!''
After the headdress is firmly tied, you all go to the citadel's main square, where you are joined by many other aristocrats who have (at least in theory) gathered to celebrate the accomplishment. And of course it wouldn't be a citadel party if there weren't who-knows-how-many servants to serve fine foods and other delights to the illustrious attendants.
However, you quickly get tired of the elites' complex conversations, odd language and inherent disdain for basically everyone you know. Who would have guessed alcohol doesn't help hide those feelings! Thus you give up on trying to socialize with the nobles and start doing something else.
''-... And that's how I ended up here. Ha! I may be a slave now, but at least I gave that bastard what he deserved! Don't you think?
-Yeah mate, you definitely did! And most important of all, you got a hell of a story to tell''.
Not only you find the servants much more approachable, but you find them more interesting than the refined fellows they belong to. And thus you have so much fun you don't even realize the passing of time until the Sun rises and everyone starts retreating to their homes.
Tired yet happy, you do the same and leave the citadel to go back to your mudbrick house. And, deep in your mind, there is only one thought as you finally lay on your bed:
''I hope nothing breaks and I can sleep''.
