Avalon

Avalon 3.9: The Valley Below, part 1 of 5

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 2677 BC, Highlands Above the Indus. Kairos lifetime 42: Zisudra, The Rig (the root).

Recording …

“Refugees on the horizon,” Roland reported back to the group.

“Where are they all coming from?” Katie wondered out loud.

“We have to do what we can,” Alexis said, and she got down from her horse. Lincoln got down with her and looked for a safe area to hobble the horses and let them feed. He knew better than to argue. So did Lockhart.

“Lunch,” he called out.zis nature 1

The travelers rode through one group of refugees early that morning, and barely kept Alexis and Boston from bringing the whole group to a halt. They passed by another group at a distance some time around ten o’clock, and kept on going. Now, this group was headed straight toward them. They could not go around, and Alexis was not going to take keep moving as an answer.

Roland and Boston made a great fire beside the road, and Roland took Katie and Decker out into the fields to hunt. He knew they were going to need quite a bit of food to feed all those people.

Elder Stow spent a good hour fiddling with his scanning equipment before he made his announcement. “Three hundred, and another hundred not far behind. The first group was fifty, and we passed thirty in the distance. This looks like the main group, unless there are other larger groups still to come. My equipment is all running dry. I have drained most of my other things to keep the scanner going as I deemed it most critical. My weapon is about empty. My sonic device is good, but it uses little power.”

“What happened to the charger you got from the Marzalotipan?” Lincoln asked.

“It was too primitive,” Elder Stow said. “It took a long time to charge anything, even after I rebuilt it, and then it fell apart and became useless much too fast.”

“Moving through time will do that,” Lockhart said. “Nothing like ageing fifty years in one step.”

cooking meat 4Roland, Decker and Katie all came back with deer over their shoulders, and Roland barely got the first one up on the fire before the people reached them. As they came in, they appeared to have no trouble with the travelers, which surprised everyone. The people even sounded like now they were safe and their long journey was over. Lockhart questioned that.

Alexis got right to the wounded, and worked without argument, and the people blessed her. Elder Stow used his device to pull out shards and rocks from various body parts, and several arrowheads, which he showed around.

“These people have been in a war zone,” Decker said, and he sounded like he guessed that already. Once the deer got cooking, he took Katie, and they rode out over the horizon to see if they could catch a glimpse of what might be coming.

Boston cooked and the people, in particular the women, called her blessed of Zisudra, and helped, when they weren’t bowing to her. She hugged a bunch of them to show she was just a person like the rest of them, but they were not buying it. More than once, Boston had to check with Alexis to make sure her glamour did not slip. She figured the people had been through enough without having to have elves in the camp.

Lincoln made the elf crackers into bread, and he privately gave thanks that the crackers were endless in number. He passed the bread to the people, and the people bowed to him as well. He feared that they might run out of water to turn the crackers into bread, but Elder Stow located a natural, bubbling spring, which Lincoln dug out with little effort. That at least relieved one problem.

Lockhart made the decisions. He told Roland to track his sister to keep her safe. He told Elder Stow to help Lincoln locate a water source. He told Boston to keep cooking because the had so many mouths to feed, and he worried about Katie, and Decker, but he knew they could take care of themselves. The rest of the time, he spent interviewing the people, mostly the men, to try and piece together what these people had been through and who might be following them. In the process, he found out some very interesting information.zis dravid 3

“No,” he told more than one man. “We are not the gods, just people like yourselves.”

“In truth,” the man responded with a wink and a smile. “And I will be sure to tell all of the people that you are not the gods, but just ordinary people who ride the beasts of heaven and perform many miracles to heal and sustain us on this long journey.” He winked again as he left and let the next man be interviewed.

When Katie and Decker returned, and the evening turned to night, Lockhart called everyone aside for a conference. “They think we are the gods,” he said, and tried not to laugh.

“Not funny,” Alexis recognized the seriousness of the situation. “Some of the gods are very sensitive and might not appreciate us going around, masquerading.”

“I told them all we were not the gods, but they don’t believe me.” Lockhart shrugged his innocence. “They think we are masquerading as humans.”

“And I suppose you are the god king,” Decker said.

“You are the god of war,” Lockhart said.

Decker ripped off a chunk of deer and chewed it like jerky. “I can live with that.”

Alexis 2“Alexis, you are the goddess of healing, obviously. Lincoln you are the god of agriculture, as near as I can tell, because of the bread, I imagine. Elder Stow, you are the god of ancient knowledge, learning and wisdom, I think.”

Elder Stow smiled. “Among my people, many a happy ending is when a man becomes fat and full of wisdom.”

“You need to work on the fat part,” Boston teased and handed him some more deer meat. He looked at it unhappily. He was not a vegetarian, but he was not inclined to eat much in the way of meat. He did better with fish and even bird of some kind.

“Roland,” Lockhart went on. “You are the god of the hunt, and Katie—“

“I’m not sure I want to know,” Katie said. “The people keep giving me strange looks and they don’t want Katie 6to get too close. It would bother me if I wasn’t more concerned about what might be over the horizon.

“Shivishuwa, or something like that,” Lockhart said.

“What is Shivishuwa?”

Roland and Lockhart spoke at the same time. “The death goddess.”

“The goddess of death,” Alexis agreed.

“Hey!” Decker looked like he was thinking about it. “No, I am fine where I am.”

Katie did not look too happy about it, but Boston spoke up.

“Hey!” she sounded like Decker. “What does that leave me? There isn’t anything left. Am I the goddess Boston 3aof cooking and dirt?”

Lockhart grinned, even if he could not manage a true elf grin. “You are the goddess of love, and I think marriage, family and the home.”

“I could have told you that,” Roland said.

************************

In tomorrow’s post, someone need to get a handle on why these people are refugees, and what are they running from?

Avalon 3.8: part 5 of 5, Stories to Be Told

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Nalishayas raised her voice. “Everyone. These are my friends. Treat them with respect, if you value your life, and leave their horses alone.”

“We already covered the horses,” Katie said.

“She told them they were poisonous,” Lockhart tattled.

“You lie like an elf,” Nalishayas said with a hearty laugh, and Boston looked up at the use of that old expression and laughed with her. Nalishayas winked at Boston. “Maybe I should say you lie like a pirate.”

“Pirate?” Lincoln asked.nal ship

“Welcome to the original pirate’s cove,” Nalishayas shouted. “We’re all pirates here.”

The crowd shouted their agreement, and Nalishayas pointed at a man. “Argh, me hearties,” the man said.

“But that was English,” Alexis pointed out.

“Some things don’t translate well,” Nalishayas admitted. “Some things do,” and she shouted, “Ale,” and again, the crowd shouted their agreement with that sentiment, and they all marched into town.

###

There was an inn in town, an oddity in a place that was super secret where no one came to visit, but Nalishayas said it could not be a real pirate town unless they built an inn, so they did. Nalishayas, it seemed, was something like an empress deluxe. Her whim was everyone’s command, and Lincoln suggested as long as she was successful in her piracy, that would not change. So they had an inn, and everyone got a bed, but they only stayed two days because the bed bugs were so bad.

“My story is simple,” Nallishayas said. The people of Akoshia, that is Crete for the geographers, and the Minoan homeland for the pseudo-historians, they are just starting to build the ships and establish the trade routes that will make them masters of the Mediterranean. Some are already rich beyond reason. But they are perverted in ways, morally, that give me the creeps. MeroVirias was a noble and rich merchant. One of the richest. And he decided he wanted to have me in his bed, whether as wife or concubine or to watch me love someone else or to have sex with his dog, I cannot say. My father said no. I was in love with a lovely young man. So Mero killed my young man and made his demand again. My father said no, so he took my family’s property and threw them on the streets. Then he offered a fortune, and my father still said no. So he killed my father, and mother, and brothers, and little sister and came to take me by force. So I killed him and ran away.”

Nal tavern“You killed him?” Katie asked, because Boston was staring at Roland and Nalishayas with googly eyes and Alexis could barely hear the story.

“Dern right. Big bloody mess all over his fancy, expensive carpet. Then Tethys, the goddess, queen of the sea came to me and helped me grieve for all my losses, and for what I did. Then she guided me here, but that is a long story. Then she got the merpeople to give me this cove. Then I found a bunch of runaways from Akoshia. Everyone here has been mistreated in one way or another. Some not as bad as mine, to see their family murdered in front of their eyes. Some worse, who are lucky to be alive.

“So now you are pirates,” Katie said.

“We prey on Akoshian shipping, especially the Virias family. I would call us freedom fighters, but, alas, I know the future. I cannot overthrow the Akos and his perverted nobility. They are destined to become rich and powerful, but I am not going to make it easy for them, at least as long as I am alive.” Nalishayas downed her ale and called for more. She looked around at the group. “Any questions?”

“Yes,” Alexis wanted to change the subject. “Why do all the men call the women Muggys?

“A newcomer raped a woman. For being a mugger, the mugee got to take one thing of his treasure. I nal hangingexplained this to everyone. For being raped she had the option of taking more things, sending him into exile from the community, or seeing him hanged. He was hanged. But ever since then, the men have referred to the women as Muggys.” Nalishayas shrugged, downed a whole cup of ale and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Next.”

“Only one thing,” Katie spoke up again. “You have all these technical advances here on this side of the mountain. You have hoes and scythes and sickles, not to mention copper knives and all. But on the other side of the mountain, they have nothing. They are still working in stone and bone…” Katie trailed off because Nalishayas was shaking her head.

“I dare not share,” she said. “Soon enough the Akoshians will come here and take this island for their own. They might not succeed if the people have copper weapons to defend themselves. It troubles me every day. It breaks my heart, but what can I do?”

“What if the Akoshians come here?” Katie asked.

Nalyshayas 2“These refugees and pirates would be expected to have the tin and copper and all the implements of Akoshia. But they won’t come here unless someone betrays us.”

“A possibility,” Katie said.

“Possible,” Nalishayas agreed. “Now I want to get drunk.”

###

Two days later, Nalishayas came into the inn wearing a dress that looked like silk. “Fairy weave,” she admitted. “But I have been assured by those who know that it imitates silk very well.”

“But you are beautiful,” Alexis said.

“Breathtaking,” Boston squeaked.

“I took a bath,” Nalishayas admitted.Nalyshayas 3

She went with them to visit Coressus in the underground. Lockhart said he did not sleep that whole night, but the rest slept well enough. Then Nalishayas continued with them to the elf haven where the elf king, Issendilus explained that being confined between sundown and sunrise is what they would have done anyway, and so it was no hardship.

“And if it helps Mandible feel good about himself, and avoids a war, all the better.”

They stayed three days with the elves of light, and Boston fit right in with the elf maids who all said how lucky she was and how handsome Roland was. To be sure, she felt awkward, at first, but by the end she was saying she learned so much about being an elf and an elf maid, and about all the things she needed to do, and what was expected of her, and all the rules she had to follow. And when they left, she said, now she knew so much she didn’t know before. And she supposed there was no going back. Roland shook his head and held her hand as they moved through the time gate, but that was fine. She was kidding about going back, mostly.

Avalon 3.8: part 4 of 5, Friends and Such.

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Roland and Boston were the last to leave the underground, and Boston told Coressus that unless there was a way over the mountain, they would probably have to go back through to get to the other side.

“There is a way,” Coressus said. “But it is very difficult. You are welcome to come back through when you are ready.”

Roland barely got out the thank you before they heard a woman scream. They ran through the glamour that pretended to be a rock wall and found a woman pointing at Elder Stow and screaming. The appearance of Roland and Boston could not possibly make her scream louder, but she tried.nal screaming woman

We are friends. We are not going to hurt you. It’s all right.” The travelers said various things. Decker even tried “Shut up,” but nothing worked until two dozen men from town showed up with copper swords and copper knives and a few wicked looking bone clubs with copper shards in the head to make it like a mace. The travelers saw an abundance of tin and copper, on belt buckles and in farm implements, and silver in hair clips and decorative pins, and even some gold and a few precious stones.

“So one side of the mountain is a different world from the other side?” Katie said.

They came out of the mountain beside a small ranch style house with maybe three rooms, and now they were standing in an open space beneath the mountain. The village proper started a hundred yards down the hill and continued with buildings here and there until it reached a bay. A quick three hundred and sixty degree scan showed heights all around the bay, but the few large ships in the docks suggested that somewhere across the bay, there had to be a way to the open sea.

“Thanks Muggy. We’ll handle this.” One man said, and the woman appeared to curtsey before she picked up her water jug and walked toward the town without a word. The travelers saw where the spring came out of the side of the mountain, and Lincoln spoke.

“Figures. Loudmouth.”

Alexis responded quietly. “Timing is everything.”

Nal minoan men“So who are you people, and where did you come from?” the man asked.

Everyone waited for Lockhart to speak. “We have come a long way in search of Nalishayas. She knows us, and should be looking for us.”

“And your beasts?” another man interrupted.

“Poisonous,” Katie said, and no one said otherwise. “Not safe to eat, but they serve us well. The are shy, though. They have been known to bite strangers.”

“Nalishayas?” Lockhart repeated.

The man looked at a couple of other men and appeared to make a decision. “This way, he said, and his men spread out to give the travelers and their poisonous beasts room.

“Do I look all right?” Boston asked.

“You look like you used to look,” a very human looking Roland told her, but Boston was not satisfied.

“Alexis?”

Boston 7“You look just like you used to look,” she said.

“But do you think anyone noticed?” Boston asked, followed by, “I wish you had your mirror.”

The men led the travelers to a building with a long front porch and said they would have to leave their beasts outside. Fortunately, there was a porch railing where they could tie the horses off. Lockhart went first as the men held the door open. Boston came last as the man said, “Wait here,” and he closed the door and lowered the latch on the outside.

“Nalishayas,” Lockhart said again through the door.

“Many people are searching for Nalishayas, and most of them mean her ill. I’ll fetch her, in a day or three. You and your muggys need to just wait.” The man left the porch.

“No windows,” Lincoln pointed to the obvious.

Decker pulled his knife. “I could cut free a few of these stones.”

“No, let me kick down the door,” Katie offered. Being an elect, she had no doubt she could do it.

“But Nalishayas isn’t here,” Boston said. She could tell in her gut.

“I could raise the lock, like I raised the bar on the gate of Jericho,” Roland offered. “Much less destructive.”nal cabin

“But she is coming,” Boston stood, looked at the wall, and formed a true smile of anticipation on her lips.

“Listen to her,” Alexis said. “She is an elf, too.”

Roland took Boston’s hand and smiled with her. “The attraction is very strong in you.”

“Proximity to the amulet,” Elder Stow suggested as he put away the most destructive options for opening the door.

“Quite possibly,” Boston said. “She must have been at sea, but somehow she got the time gate to remain on land in case we came through. Maybe the gods?” She looked at Roland, who shrugged.

“Maybe,” he said.

It was an hour before they heard the towns people begin to shout, “Nalishayas. Nalishayas.” The travelers imagined a whole crowd of people gathered by the docks.

Lockhart stood. “Time to go.” He pointed at Roland and Roland spit on his hands, stepped up to the door, and slowly raised his hands. They guessed two guards, because they heard one call for his mama and run off like he saw a ghost, but the other grabbed the latch and put his weight into it to hold it in place.

“Move,” Alexis said, and knocked Roland to the side. She tried, but had little luck. “The guy is too fat,” she concluded.

Nal cabin 2Katie huffed and kicked the door. The whole thing shook, but the door did not go down until Decker barreled in and put his shoulder to it. Decker said, “Ouch.” The door fell on the man, who was indeed fat. Lockhart whistled, and his horse, Dog, came right up to the opening to stare own the man.  The horse would have stepped on the door and crushed the fat man beneath it if the travelers hadn’t been busy exiting the building and stepping on the fat man themselves.

We might as well leave the horses here, as anywhere,” Alexis said, so they did, and marched off to the docks to stand at the back of the crowd and be inconspicuous.

Nalishayas’ ship was a big single main master, with eight men rowing on each side, a cabin and upper deck in the back where a man stood with the rudder oar, and a cook hole in the front. Being a sailing ship, driven by the wind at their back, it was important to keep the smelly stuff as far forward as possible.

“Nalishayas.” the people waved. Nalishayas stood on top of the cook hole and held onto a pole which might have been used for a small lateen sail to help steer the ship and keep it accessible to the wind. She waved back before she cupped her hand and shouted.

“Lockhart.” She jumped to the deck and marched toward the group that no one knew was standing at the back of the crowd. People made way for her. She was a lovely woman, about five three, with regular brown hair but eyes a deep. rich brown color. “Boston!” she shouted, and straightened her leather jerkin over her leather breaches just before Boston tackled her for a hug.Nalishayas 1

Boston kissed Nalishayas’ cheek over and over and said, “Thank you. I love you so much. Thank you for Roland. I love him, and you are so wonderful to me. And I missed you. and I’m never going to marry if Mingus doesn’t show up. And that makes me so sad.” Boston began to cry.

Nalishayas extracted herself from the hug with a word. “I’m guessing she has been an elf for less than a week.”

Roland nodded. “About four days.”

************************

Be sure and come back tomorrow for the conclusion of Avalon, episode 3.8  enjoy.

Avalon 3.8: part 3 of 5, Underground

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

They marched a long way into the mountain, and Boston was glad to see she did not take to claustrophobia, the way some light elves felt it. She never felt claustrophobic as a human and supposed there was no reason that should change. They picked up a few more goblins along the way, including one group that looked like they just returned from a hunt. They had two deer ready to be butchered and put on the fire, at least as much as goblins and trolls cooked such things. Finally, the group came to a big underground cavern filed mostly with women and children. There were a number of fires around the place, and one big fire up by a raised area. Boston guessed the one who stood up there was the goblin king. He certainly was frightening enough.

“Lord Mandible,” Flintskin spoke up as they approached. Chewy put Boston down, but held her so Boogern and Kraken could tie her hands behind her back and tie a big rope with a heavy weight on one end to hobble her so she could not run off. “Lord, we found this light elf wandering by the woods of the nightshade. She left the elf haven in the dark time so we brought her to you to decide what to do with her.”nal gobin king

Lord Mandible stuck his tongue out and licked his whole face up to his eyebrows. “I don’t like elf. They have a gamey flavor,” he said.

“She is an elf witch,” Boogern stepped forward.

“What flavor?”

“Fire, at least,” Flintskin said. “We didn’t exactly test her.”

“That might make it palatable,” Lord Mandible said. He looked closely at Boston for the first time and drooled, slightly. “Of course, eating the maid is not the only thing I have in mind.”

Boston caught the look. “You wouldn’t dare,” Boston said while two streams of laser light came from her eyes and caused a small explosion of the rocks at the goblin king’s feet. He jumped back while she spoke. “The Kairos would burn you feet off. She would pull out your tongue and blind your eyes. My Lady would make you human for even thinking such a thing.”

Mandible raised his voice. “Lady Nalishayas has said the humans have the light time and we can have the dark time as long as we don’t bother the humans. Light elves have no place on our island. We give them the small haven, but Issendilus knows better than to let his people out after sundown.”

“Who is Issendilus?” Boston asked, and the goblins all stared at her for a second.

nal goblins“Lord Issendilus, your chief,” Flintskin offered.

Boston shook her head. “I don’t know him. I’m not from this island. We came here from the deep past,” Boston said as she pulled her hands free and mentally praised herself for doing so magically without setting the ropes on fire this time. “We are on a special mission of the Kairos and headed to the next time gate. Didn’t you think to ask about the red hair?”

“I thought that was because of the fire inside you,” Boogern said, and Kraken agreed.

“Mandible,” A woman’s voice sounded out sharply from behind.

Mandible grinned suddenly, an awful, Grinch sort of grin. “Yes, Coressus, my dear. Sweetheart. Honey.” The woman stepped up beside Mandible and gave him a quick frown. She leaned down to Boston and spoke kindly enough, despite the frightening eyes and very sharp looking teeth.

“Come here child,” she said, having judged Boston to be very young. Boston was already working on the rope around her ankle, and it only took another second to pull her foot free and walk up to face the woman. She tried not to look at Coressus, but let the woman pull her aside for a private conversation. The woman directed her speech so only Boston could hear, and Boston had to try to do the same.

“Forgive my husband. He likes to think he is in charge and can do whatever he wants. He likes to act all frightening and mean, but he can be sweet.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Boston said.nal goblin queen

Coressus reached for Boston’s chin with her claw, but was actually quite gentle so Boston did not resist. Coressus looked into her face and let go with a word. “You are very young, despite being full grown. It is something I do not understand.”

“As an elf, I am only three and a half days old. I was older when I was a human.”

Coressus shook her head, like that did not make any sense. Then she gasped. “Red hair?”

A voice came from the back of the cavern. “Boston. Don’t worry. The others are coming to set you free.”

Boston responded to the voice. “Roland!”

“Mandible,” Coressus spoke up loud and clear. “This one is not for you. She is betrothed and under the protection of the gods. And so is the other one,” she shouted across the cavern. “You better not hurt him.”

“What?” Mandible, Flintskin and the others did not understand.

“The camp where this one was taken,” Coressus said. “There were humans and big animals that they ride upon, and they all wear fairy weave and sleep in houses that become no bigger than a ball, and they travel with an elder in the flesh and blood.”

“Yeah, so?” Flintskin did not get it, but Mandible did, and he hit the poor goblin hard enough to make him cry. Flintskin hit Boogern in the same way.

“You should have known.”

“Known what?”nal goblin extra

“Whatever.”

Kraken wanted to hit Boogern as well, but Boogern raised a fist to say he would hit Kraken back. Chewy stood like a statue, unwilling to move a muscle, and it made Boston laugh to see him.

“Come child,” Coressus said. “And you, Lord Roland. Your name is known to us.”

Roland came to the raised stone and did not look too roughed up. Then again, a couple of goblins looked like they might have black eyes, so it was about even.

“I am far too young myself to be called Lord Roland.,” Roland admitted, and gave the goblin king a bow.

“Sir Roland, then. I have also heard this.”

“Probably not for a few thousand years,” they heard Katie’s voice at the back of the cavern, followed by a great “ZAP!” A troll and two goblins flew though the air.

“Leave the animals alone,” Coressus shouted.

nal goblin cave“They are horses,” Boston said.

“Leave the horses alone if you value your life,” Coressus shouted, and she directed Boston and Roland to the back of the cavern where there was a cave set up like a comfortable living room, with rugs on the floor and cushions scattered about to sit and relax. “It is for you about breakfast time, I believe.” Mandible and his friends made themselves scarce.

When the rest of the crew arrived, they had a fine breakfast of eggs and some kind of bacon. They even had toast of a sort, but the goblin cooks did not know how to do anything but burn the toast. They had a pleasant conversation as well, but Lockhart, and in general the others, were all glad when the goblins escorted them to the exit.

************************

Coming next Monday and Tuesday, the conclusion of Avalon, episode 3.8,or, what good is escaping the goblin lair if you end up in pirate hands?  Don’t miss it.  The second half of Pirates Cove.  A free read to start the week off right.pirate cove 5

Avalon 3.8: part 2 of 5, Captive

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The travelers saw some people during the day, and passed by a village, but kept their distance. The lifestyle looked primitive. People dressed in animal skins, the huts barely kept out the rain, and the fields of grain got worked with tools of sticks and bones. It was early spring, and people were planting seeds in the hope of a harvest come fall. There were no guarantees in that world, and Katie made some commentary along the way.

“Back home, these years are spoken of with simple, meaningless numbers, and it feels foolish now to set dates for the end of this era and the beginning of the next. These people, on Rhodes or Crete, whichever island we are on, are still living Neolithic lives. I don’t even see any soft metals, like copper. Yet we have already seen bronze in the Alps ages ago, and even earlier in the Carpathian Mountains. These people hardly have huts enough to form a village—a little hamlet they can pack up and move at cannibal 5anytime. They are hardly a settled people, still mostly hunting and gathering. Yet we have seen the great civilization city of Kish in Mesopotamia, cities in Weret’s Egypt, and even earlier, the city of Jericho. So where does the Neolithic end and the copper age begin and then copper end and bronze begin? Things blend into each other much more than I ever imagined back when I was at the university memorizing exact dates, and they go on for much, much longer than I ever imagined.”

“What did Nuwa say?” Lockhart asked rhetorically. “They did not call it Longshan culture. They just called it life. Same here I suppose.”

They camped that night in a field beside a forest full of tall bushes. Lockhart set a watch in the night. He did not expect that they would be disturbed, but after all this time, he erred on the side of caution. He and Roland took the second shift, around ten o’clock, when Lincoln and Alexis went to bed. Decker and Elder Stow would take the wee hours, when Elder Stow’s scanner would be most useful. Katie and Boston had the sunrise, and usually made some kind of coffee, which Lockhart appreciated. It was a relaxed watch, but a watch all the same.

Boston woke when Roland got up. She closed her eyes right away to go back to sleep, but could not get back to sleep. She checked the moon and saw it was a fingernail, which was good. If Bob the wolf followed them into this time zone, and she did not doubt that he did, at least he would not go wolf on them.

Boston sat up as Lockhart finished putting some wood on the fire and walked off to his place on the perimeter. It was still early enough in the spring to be chilly in the night. Boston blamed the sea nal Rhodes inandbreezes. She spent several minutes listening for the sounds in the night and touching the points in her ears before she stood. She wondered briefly how she might look with a dress like she saw on Avalon before they went though the Heart of Time and got whisked back to the beginning of history. Shaping her fairy weave would be easy enough, but she wished she had Alexis’ mirror to look.

Boston stood. She was always an energetic girl, no doubt why she graduated early from high school and college, and got her doctorate in electrical engineering at such a young age, but that was not all of it. She rode rodeo, and grew up with her brothers as a tom-boy, running around and getting into trouble. Redneck trouble, she thought, but to be sure, it was Massachusetts redneck.

“Psst,” Boston heard the sound and wondered why her human alert system did not warn her a stranger was near. “Psst, elf.” A goblin head poked out from between two bushes. Boston was wary, but she was thrilled that this little one talked to her, and called he elf, which she was. She could not help responding.

“What?” she directed her whisper to the head, almost without thinking about it, like it was a natural thing to prevent waking the others. The goblin pulled out his hands and waved them at her, tossing a bit of dirt in her direction, and a monster of a troll reached out with incredibly long arms and grabbed her. Boston was prepared to scream, but her mouth was magically sealed. As the three goblins and the troll forced her into the woods, she tried to think to Roland, but even that was stymied, and after a minute she passed out from something like lack of oxygen, but it was lack of connection.

Underneath her change from human to elf, Boston did not realize that when she was cut off from the human race, she was connected to the natural world in an absolute way. It was a literal connection to life around the globe that sustained her life and that she helped to sustain with her life. When that na cave entranceconnection was stifled, it was indeed like being cut off from oxygen. Fortunately, she came back after a short way, and the goblin complained.

“I can’t keep it up any longer,” he said, and looked drained.

“It’s all right, Boogern. We are close enough to the mountain. The light elves won’t follow us underground.”

“Hey, Flintskin,” The troll that was carrying Boston had to ask. “Does that mean we shouldn’t take this light elf underground?”

“No, Chewy, ya idiot. This one is our prisoner. We need to teach these light elves they have no business going about in the dark time.”

Boston tried not to laugh. Chewy the troll did look a little like something out of Star Wars.

“Kraken,” Flintskin spoke to the third goblin. Lead the way. They came to the entrance, a cave, and Kraken got a torch from some hidden place behind the wall. He got his flint, but as the torch came to bump Boston in the shoulder, she thought she could help. It was easy to cause the torch to light up. Magic in general was easier for her since she became an elf. As a human, she had to really focus and shove all her extraneous thoughts out of her mind to do anything. As an elf, she just reached into that compartment of her brain where she kept her magic, and there it was. Of course, the goblins were startled, and Chewy almost dropped her.

nal lit torch“Boogern. You didn’t say she had magic in her.” Flintskin hit the goblin who cowered.

“I didn’t know.”

“You know, I can walk,” Boston offered.

“Not a chance,” Flintskin responded. “You can run like the wind, ya mean. But we aren’t letting go until you are safely locked up.”

Boston pouted and looked up at her troll. “Chewy, be gentle with me.”

“Yes mum,” the troll responded, impressed with her little bit of magic

************************

Don’t miss tomorrow and the conclusion of the first half of Avalon, episode 3.8.  Avalon 3.8 will conclude next Monday and Tuesday.  Help yourself to this free read.  Enjoy.

Avalon 3.8: Pirate Cove, part 1 of 5

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 2737 BC, Rhodes in the Aegean. Kairos lifetime 41: Nalishayas, pirate beauty

Recording …

Roland and Boston came through the time gate, laughing, and found themselves up to their horses necks in sea water. They had to turn around to get to the beach, and found the rest of the crew stopped part way there. The beach was being guarded by a group of mermen and mermaids. Lincoln was arguing, Decker was arming himself, Katie was trying to sound reasonable, and Elder Stow was floating above the waves, trying to keep his feet dry.

“Hey!” Boston yelled. “Leave my friends alone.” She kicked Honey, her horse, to get closer. The horse moved sluggishly forward, but Roland came right with her. When they came up beside the others, Boston stared. There merpeople were clearly people, like flesh and blood. They were not spirits and certainly did not belong to the Kairos.Nal mermaids

The mermen acknowledged the elves, and the mermen looked twice at the elf maid, much to the chagrin of several mermaids, but they were not inclined to move, and their spears looked sharp.

“Quiet a minute,” Lockhart spoke loud enough for everyone to stop speaking. “We are looking for the Kairos. Perhaps you could direct us.”

One merman pulled in front of the others. “Nalishayas is our friend more than enemy. We have allowed her use of the secret grotto and bay of tranquility for her ships to satisfy the goddess, but her sailors are not friends. They filth the seas with their stink.”

“We have come into the future to find her,” Lockhart continued. “It would be a kindness for all to let us get to shore before our horses filth the sea with their stink.”

“What are horses?”

Katie patted her horses neck. “These are horses. They are plain animals.”

Two mermen startled the travelers when they broke the surface of the water practically from under their feet. They went and whispered to the merman out front, and he eyed them carefully before he spoke. Boston and Roland both heard what was whispered, but Roland prevented Boston from speaking.

“You are not some deformed centaurs trying to invade this land of peace?” the merman asked.

“No, we are human,” Lockhart said.

“Hey, I’m not human,” Boston said sharply, and then she grinned her elfish best.nal mermaids 2

“That is what made us stop and see. Even deformed centaurs would not grow into elf shape. We see you have feet, but do you walk on them? I do not know these horses you speak of.”

“Let one go to shore and they will show you. The rest of us will wait here until you are satisfied,” Lockhart offered.

“We pose you no threat,” Alexis added, and the merman pointed to her. She did not hesitate to take Misty Gray to the shore where she got down and stepped away. The merpeople could all see she was an ordinary human and the horse was a separate animal. Then Misty came from behind and nudged Alexis’ shoulder.

“They are like the dolphins of Amphitrite, but not made to go underwater,” Alexis said.

“They are helpful creatures, but shy and sometimes frightened of strangers,” Lincoln added as one of the mermaids swam up beside the merman in front.

nal mermaid 1“Can I sit on a horse?” she asked.

“That may be hard without legs,” Katie said.

“I can make legs,” the mermaid said.

“Melsaiahsh,” the merman sounded like he was scolding the mermaid.

“But Papa,” the mermaid responded. “They seem so nice.” The merman swam aside and waved the people to go up on shore. Melsaiahsh did not wait for permission. She raced to shore and walked out on the beach as her fish tail went away. Several other maids followed, and two of the younger mermen as well.

“Make camp,” Lockhart called out, since it was already late in the day when they came through the gate. “This fairy weave clothing is amazing.” It was already dry. “But some of the equipment should be checked, including the weapons.” He turned to whisper to Katie. “Not that I’m expecting trouble.”

“But you should be,” Boston interrupted with a grin. “Trouble is the Kairos’ middle name.”

That evening was spent giving rides to all the boys and girls and cooking a fine fish dinner. The merpeople preferred their fish raw, but Lockhart said that he never went for Sushi. Decker shrugged. He was trained to eat whatever was available.

They said good-bye in the morning and headed inland. After a short distance, though, Boston had to pull out the amulet and give it a good shake. She explained.

“I’ve learned to read this thing so I know about where the Kairos is and where the next time gate is. But we are on an island here, and it seems to be acting up. It looks like the Kairos is down along the shore, but we could cut the shore, like go across country and reach the next gate without visiting the Kairos.”

“We can’t do that,” Alexis said.

“I know. I want to see her,” Boston agreed. “I have so much to tell her and to thank her and everything. I’m glad she is a woman again.”

“Why can’t we do that?” Decker asked. “The Kairos knows we are just trying to get home, and if there is a quick route to the next gate, I say we take it.”nal rhodes

Lockhart thought a minute before he spoke. “A visit with the Kairos is nice, but not required. We have never had this problem before. It may be the Kairos herself made the route so we could avoid trouble. Roland, we take the direct route.”

Roland peeked over Boston’s shoulder and nodded. He rode out front, and Boston rode with him.

“But—“ Boston started to speak. Roland interrupted.

“I am just as drawn to the Kairos as you are,” Roland said. “The idea of missing the opportunity to see her is breaking my heart, too. But Nuwa said I had a job, working for Lockhart, and last I looked, you still work for him, too. He is the boss and that is that.”

Boston had tears in her eyes. “Why do I care so much for her. I have not even met Nalishayas.”

“You know why,” Roland said. “You are pledged now to the Kairos, as we all are.” Boston cried, but just a little.

************************

Be sure and return tomorrow and Wednesday for the first half of episode 3.8.  The second half, pirates and all, will be posted next Monday and Tuesday, free to read.  Enjoy.

*

Avalon 3.7: part 5 of 5, Day of Transformation

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

Boston woke up early. She felt young and strong, and very happy, and did not think even once about it being that time of the month. She was twenty five, but tasted enough of the apple of youth to be more like nineteen or eighteen again and thought maybe that was the cause of her good feelings. Then again, she was in love, and maybe it was hard to feel bad when she was in love. She took that love out from its place in her brain and examined it from every angle. It was real, she understood, and she put it back where it belonged. Roland was her heart, as a fairy would say. She stood and went to Honey, her horse, to be sure he was all right.

“And you have a place in my heart, too,” she told Honey, and kissed the horse on the nose

“Hello demon,” someone spoke and Boston spun around to face a hooper. Her jaw dropped, because it was the first time she heard a hooper say anything other than “hoop, hoop.” The hooper continued. “Nuwa said we are supposed to follow around you until you reach the next time gate, whatever that is.”

“Yes. Thank you.” Boston did not know what else to say. Then as the hooper bounced off, she wondered why the hooper called her a demon. “Wait,” she said, but not loud enough to stop the hooper. She wondered why the hooper told her what Nuwa said. Wasn’t Nuwa still with them. She paused. The thought of Nuwa leaving them made her want to cry.cooking meat 3

Boston rushed to where Nuwa was sleeping and saw that she was gone. “Roland,” she called.

“What?” Elder Stow looked at her, and looked surprised.

“Thank goodness,” Alexis said. The others were all up as well, but they just stared at her.

“Where did Nuwa go?” Boston said in a sad, almost weepy voice.

“She was gone when we got up,” Lockhart said. “She must have snuck off in the night.”

“Why are you all staring at me?” Boston asked.

“You’ve changed,” Roland said as he walked up. “Alexis.” He looked at his sister and Alexis focused and waved her hand. A full length mirror appeared in front of Boston, and Boston’s hand immediately went to touch her own pointed ears. Then she made a comment.

“Wow, I have really lost weight.” That was followed by, “I still look like me. I like the ears. Won’t my mother be surprised,” and to Roland, “What do you think?” The mirror faded, while Roland could only grin. “Okay,” Boston said with a grin to match. She grabbed Roland’s hand and made him run back down the road. They ran at about sixty or seventy miles per hour.

“Pack up,” Lockhart said, and everyone else packed their things and got the horses ready to travel.

Avalon TravelersBoston spent the morning riding beside Roland, hearing all about elf life and about Avalon, a place that made her heart jump to think about it. “But it made my heart jump before,” she said. “So that’s not different.” She was comparing what was different about elf life from human life, and concluded that there was not much that was different, “Only elf life feels a lot cleaner. I don’t know if that is the right word.”

Boston spent the afternoon riding beside Alexis and heard all about life for an elf maid, which Boston was, though she said, “Not for long.” Alexis judged that Boston in her present age was about a hundred, maybe a hundred and ten or twenty, but no older. She also suggested Boston was acting like a fifty-year-old.

“But I suspect things will settle down soon enough.” Then she went on to tell Boston all about elf magic. “But you might not pick up any or much because you already have magic in your blood.”

“Oh.” Boston sounded disappointed.

“It takes practice, that’s all, and experience to see what you can really do.”

“That’s what Roland says,” Boston frowned and she looked very cute, as elf maidens do, and also zipped on to a new topic which removed the frown, in the blink of an eye, the way young elves do. “So my mind seems so clear, I can’t believe it. It is like I have these compartments in my brain, and every thought, and every memory has its place, and my memory is much better.”desert 4

“Yes. That took some getting used to,” Alexis admitted. “When I became human, everything in my mind jumbled together and got mixed up with everything else. I could not think anything without emotions creeping in and my feelings colored the whole world. It was strange for me, but after a while, I saw where that helped humans. Every decision had to be thorough and thought through on many levels. It made life much more complicated, but it made me much more careful in what I said and what I did.”

“I know a few women who have managed to disconnect that thoughtful part,” Boston said.

“Don’t name them. See? You were about to name them without thinking that maybe it would be best if I didn’t know. I mean, we will some day get home and I will have to work around those women.”

“Me, too.” Boston said, and tried to be thoughtful. “Roland too. Maybe I should not talk for a while. I can listen. My hearing is really good now. I can even hear the insects crawling around the nearby rocks, which I suppose is kind of creepy. And my eyes are great, I bet ten-ten vision, or better. And Roland was a good kisser before, but now I kind of taste him, if you know what I mean. He makes my toes curl up to my knees.”

“You are right,” Alexis interrupted. “You should listen and hold your tongue for a while.”

Boston stuck out her tongue and pinched it with her finger and thumb. She turned to Alexis and said, “Thust kidding.”

That afternoon, the travelers went up a steep trail as directed by the hoopers to a path along the top of the ridge. Decker and Elder Stow had to move in, and it was single file in places, but as Lockhart said, “At least they won’t be able to drop the ridge on us up here.”

“No,” Lincoln countered. “Just pull it out from beneath our feet.”

Nuwa silk road 1It was an hour before sundown, and they got word that they were being followed. They were not surprised, since they had to move so slowly all day. The hoopers said there were three hands worth of men behind them and one was in front of the others rushing to catch up.

“Sounds like Qinjong, and a scout sent ahead to pinpoint our location,” Lockhart suggested.

Lincoln disagreed. “Nuwa said the Qinjong were new to this business, just in the last few years. I would not imagine they have figured out things like scouts and such.”

Decker pointed at Lincoln. “What he said.”

“The one out front might be running away from the Qinjong,” Katie suggested, and she stared hard at Lockhart, so he put up no struggle.

“All right. We can wait, but he better hurry. It is going to be dark in an hour and this is not a good place to make camp.”

The travelers did not see anyone until sundown, and then they were sorry they waited.

“It’s Bob,” Katie said, and they all saw the naked, insane man howling and growling, running to catch them.

“And Qinjong on the lower road,” Alexis pointed.

“Where?” Lincoln asked, and several others looked and pointed.werewolf 1

Bob paused, and seemed to follow where they were pointing. He started down the ridge, and they caught a vague glimpse of his transformation to the wolf. No one doubted he was the full wolf by the time he arrived at the bottom. They heard the Qinjong and their ponies screaming as they rode off.

Lockhart kept them riding most of the night, and only let them walk their horses a few times. With sunrise, he let everyone sleep a few hours, but he knew the full moon functioned for three nights as far as the werewolf was concerned, and he wanted out of that time zone before the wolf caught them.

They found the time gate right near sunset. Boston and Roland lingered as the others went through. Boston was testing her senses, several of which she did not have as a human. She thought thank you to the hoopers, and knew her message was received. She searched back the way they had come, but sensed no trace of Mingus, so she spoke.

“Father Mingus, please hurry. Now that we have settled things, I want to marry your son.” She turned to Roland. “Will he get the message?”

Roland shrugged. “The message will linger for about a day before it fades, but he may be too far behind. Then again, he may have snuck around us at some point and be ahead of us. There is no way to tell as long as he keeps himself hidden.”

Boston nodded, and thought about being an elf, and smiled. “Let’s go home,” she said. “I hope the rest of your family likes me.”

Roland raised his eyebrows at a different thought. “I hope your mother likes me.” They went thought the gate, side by side.

************

Beginning next Monday, Avalon episode 3.8, where Boston learns a hard lesson about distrust between goblins and elves, and the travelers confront the human version of distrust when they visit the original “Pirate Cove.”

pirate cove 5

Avalon 3.7: part 4 of 5, Day of the Moon

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“Ambush,” Decker pulled his rifle as Roland came back from the front and Elder Stow came in from the other side.

“How do you know?” Lockhart asked, while he pulled the shotgun and Katie got her own rifle.

Decker looked at Nuwa. “One of your guys came up and said, “hoop, hoop,” and pointed.”

“Any Pendratti?” Nuwa asked. Decker shook his head.

“Not that I saw.”

“Options?” Lockhart looked at the two marines, but Elder Stow spoke first.

“I could set a screen to the side that arrows and such cannot penetrate, that is, if we can ride past them.”

“Can you make it one sided so we can shoot them?” Decker asked. Elder Stow nodded, and Decker explained. “We need to hurt them so they don’t try again, further down the road.”

Lockhart frowned, but he did not say no.Nuwa 4

When the were ready, they did not move very far before the arrow barrage came from the rocks. The arrows all fell short when they hit Elder Stow’s screen. Decker and Katie returned fire, but Katie stopped after a moment. Lockhart had to tell Decker to stop and follow, since he was falling behind. Elder Stow left a parting shot with his sonic device. He loosened some rocks overhead and started a bit of an avalanche. He said something to the group about it.

“It was a good idea when they tried it.”

Nuwa got down from behind Katie once the were in the clear. Katie and Boston walked their horses, with Lockhart near. Roland went back out to the point and Decker and Eder Stow went again to the wings. Lincoln and Alexis appeared to take up where the left off the day before. No one knew what the were talking about, but it felt like a private conversation.

Boston started the questions this time. “So who are these Qinjong?”

“Western people. The live in the Qinghai and the Kunlun Mountains around the headwaters of the He, and they are not Longshan people. They were a quiet, peaceful people all my life until recently. If they were migrating, moving in, becoming part of the people, that would be one thing, but I know of no reason, drought or pestilence or disease or anything to make them change their ways or move out of their place. But in these last few years they have come into our land like a bunch of Saxon raiders, burning whole villages and carting people off as slaves. You don’t understand. They are hunters and gatherers. They have no use for slaves. That is just another mouth to feed. So I thought to find out where the people are going, and I actually did check the mountains first. That is where I found Tien. And now I am checking the south side, on the edge of Tibet.”

Nuwa silk road 2“I think we are close,” Katie said. “If you were off base, they would not be trying so hard to stop you.”

“Not much room here, all things considered. We cross the highland peaks to our right and we end up in the Tarim basin, where the desert is. Go far enough to our left and we run into the Himalayan Mountains.”

“What will you do when you find the Pendratti?” Boston asked.

“I can’t say,” Nuwa answered. “You never know who might be listening in.”

###

That evening, as people relaxed around the fire, Nuwa thought to talk to the couples present. Lockhart was telling old jokes, and Katie was laughing at them like they were brand new. Nuwa thought there was something to be said for the generation gap between those two, but she knew they were simmering and hardly cooked at all, so she moved to the old couple. Alexis and Lincoln were married longer than their present ages. After nibbling on the apple of life, Lincoln turned twenty-nine or so. Alexis could not be older than twenty-five.

“We’ve been married thirty-five years,” Alexis said. “I know it is hard to think this way, especially for Benjamin, but I would like to have another baby.”

“Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad,” Lincoln said, softly, and Nuwa knew she had to intervene.

“I hope you can hold off until you get home,” she said. “Now is not the time to be having a baby. Alexis, you will never make it through your last trimester the way you are moving through time, not if you face any trouble, and more importantly, when the baby is born, it will be time locked in that place. You won’t be able to bring it into the future with you.”Moon 2

Alexis and Lincoln looked at each other like this was something they never considered. then they all looked up at the sound of a distant howl. Lincoln looked for the moon, but Alexis did not doubt it was their werewolf, the one Katie called Bob.

“The sound might travel for miles in this scrub and rocky land,” Lincoln suggested.

“It might,” Nuwa said, and she excused herself to talk to the young lovers.

Roland and Boston were being very quiet. “I thought you two would have walked side by side these last couple of days. What gives?” Nuwa took a seat by the fire where she could eye the both of them

“We’ve been arguing,” Boston admitted. Nuwa said nothing, so Boston looked at Roland and he explained.

“I am now one hundred and twenty-seven years old, if estimates are correct on how long we have been traveling in the time zones, and I have spent months in the company of humans—ordinary humans, an unheard of thing for an elf. What is more, I have had a chance to observe humans and human ways up close, even in these days long before my time, and I have come to appreciate how complex and diverse the human—the homo sapiens race really is, and how fragile it is in the face of a hostile universe. What is more, I am in love with a human and I can’t seem to help it, great sin though it is for my kind.”

“I am ready to become an elf, if you can do that,” Boston interrupted.

“No,” Roland started to protest, but paused when Nuwa held up her hand.

Boston 3b“Very elfishly spoken,” Nuwa said with a smile for Boston. “To interrupt a Bean in the midst of a heart-felt confession.” Nuwa grinned, and Boston grinned with her. “But it is never wrong to be content with who you are. Much of the evil and confusion in the human race is due to people who are unwilling to be who they were born to be.”

“My parents and brothers already think I’m an elf, or a fairy, but I never had a desire to fly. Even Alexis says I have more elf in me than she has.”

Nuwa shook her head. “That is not how you were born.”

“No. I am prepared to become human, and work for Lockhart and the Men in Black,” Roland responded, mostly to Boston. “And no matter how long or short my life, I don’t mind as long as I get to live it with you.” Boston just shook her head and gave Roland an elf grin.

“I’m not going to be responsible for killing your father,” Boston said. “I like him.”

Nuwa held her hand up again to speak. “I accept your application to work for the Men in Black. Report to Lockhart in the morning.” Roland smiled, because he thought she was going to grant his request and make him human. “And Boston, The Almighty, my God will never abandon you, but you are asking for another layer in between your life and Heaven. Are you prepared to have an ordinary human being as your goddess, or god as the case may be, to love you and care about you, and in my own stumbling, fallible human way, to watch over you and direct your steps. You know, I am not Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. I am not always in a good mood.”

Boston nodded. “But I have never met you in any life where I was not drawn to you, and cared about you, and anyway, you are Lockhart’s boss, so I figure most of it won’t change. As for heaven, I trust in the Lord, and I trust in you too, already, so again, I don’t see much changing. And sometimes you scare me already, so that probably won’t change.”

“Everything will be different,” Roland objected. “You have no idea.”

“I’m willing and ready,” Boston said.Alexis 3

“I’m the one to change. I know what I am getting into.”

“You don’t. You can’t” Alexis interrupted her brother. “You have no idea, either one of you.”

Boston and Roland heard, but ran out of things to say, so they stared at Nuwa to make a decision. Nuwa simply stared back before she decided something. “Sleep on it,” she said. “Things may clear up in the morning. Wait until daylight.” She rolled over to sleep, and said nothing more.

Avalon 3.7: part 3 of 5, The History of China

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“But what about you?” Katie asked. “You are a long way from home. What is home like?”

“The doctor in ancient cultures and technologies speaks,” Lockhart teased, but no one begrudged the question.

“Longshan culture is what it is called in the future. Of course, we just call it everyday living. We live all around the Wei and the He Rivers, and trade and grow our grain and fish, and now that I’ve given Fuxi a fishing net, the fish can no longer outsmart him. Not really any soft metals yet, but I have tried some pictograph writing that even Fuxi can understand. Got to make it simple, you know.”

“Do you live in a village, a town, a city?” Katie asked.

“Village is the limit. We have some primitive, what is the word, irrigation?”

Nuwa Longshan village“Yes, that’s right.”

“Mostly we have floods, so life is hard, but there is not much we can do about that until just about Yu’s time, ages from now.”

“Yu?”

“Yes. Let me think.” Nuwa was quiet for a moment. “Shao Lin—no wisecracks. I live in Xi’an and marry Chin Lo.”

“So you get to be Lin Chin?” Boston asked.

“Chin Lin, but I said no wisecracks. Well, I recall Lin was having trouble with nomads in her day, and did something about it. The result was the beginning of the Hsian Dynasty. That did not take hold until her son, or grandson Huang Di came to power. She was gone by then, but I remember, somehow, the Shang dragged him into a war with the budding states along the Yangtze, probably hoping he would lose. The result was he ended up with a good chunk of China to rule, covering the He and Yangtze Rivers.”

“You are talking about the Yellow Emperor.”Nuwa Yellow Emperor

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a compliment in the south. It was because he ruled the Yellow River and they thought he should go back there. But let’s see, Yu was his grandson—no, great-grandson. Yu the Great, and he took the empire and first divided it into the nine provinces, and he started keeping some kind of records, carving on bones, as my poor pictographs had become stylized, even back then, or by then. Yu also built causeways, built up the riverbanks in places, and built the first canals, all to drain off the flood waters when the rivers overflowed their banks. It was far from a perfect solution, but it helped.

“Things went down hill and the Shang eventually took over. They lived in their Shang city, sort of like Washington, and they made everyone pay them tribute like taxes so they could live in rich luxury while the people suffered. That went on for way too long, but eventually they got overthrown by the Zhou. I was a woman then, too, during the overthrow, I think.”

“You know the impossible exam question, tell the history of China in ten minutes? I think you could do that.”

“Not really, but to be honest, I shouldn’t be saying all that out loud. You never know who might be listening in. Besides, you will meet Lin some day. Say hi when you do, but don’t tell her about anything I just said about her future children.”

“I will, I mean I won’t” Katie said, as Nuwa laid down and put her back to the fire.

###

Nuwa Yak 2In the morning, Nuwa instructed her hoopers. “You need to go back out and around the group to give us warning if we get near anyone, or they get near us. Now, scat.”

Katie and Boston came up, and Boston watched the hoopers bounce off. A few even said “hoop, hoop” as they bounced. Katie had the next question.

“So how did you and Fuxi get together? History is kind of vague on that. It talks about a flood, and you being brother and sister.”

“The He floods all the time,” Nuwa said. “My father died hunting. Fuxi’s mother died in childbirth, both common events in this day. So my mother and Fuxi’s father got together, and we became step-brother and step-sister—but in this age we were simply called brother and sister, and you know brothers and sisters don’t marry. But the big flood came. Fuxi was about sixteen. I was thirteen, and everyone died or got swept off, downriver.” Nuwa paused to sniff before she shrugged. It was the normal way of things, not some terrible tragedy like it would be in other times and places. People grieved their losses, but not for long. They could not afford to be children about it, even at the age of thirteen.

“So you two—weren’t there more people that survived the flood, just not from your village?” Katie asked as they began to walk and follow the crowd

“There were plenty of people around, but miles away. We were alone. I thought we might climb the mountainside to see further in the distance and try and catch sight of where there might be people. Fuxi Nuwa and Fuxikept crying and said that we were the last two people in all the earth. We came to a shrine in the wilderness, and he fell on his face and cried out to the Di, and the Di came and told him that we should marry and replenish the earth. Not what I had in mind.”

“What do you mean the Di?” Boston asked.

“Di or Ti means exalted ruler, or power, or god on high,” Katie offered

“Shorthand for the gods of the east,” Nuwa said. “I don’t know who decided we should marry, but probably the Shang-Di, the god king himself. He once told me I could take my turns in his jurisdiction, but he would not make it easy for me. I think making me marry Fuxi the dimwit was his way of sticking it to me. I mean, I sort of gave myself away in the flood. I was thirteen and just opening up to the Kairos in me. It was the hoopers that saved me and Fuxi from the waters.”

“And he saw, and took advantage of that, you think?” Katie said. Before Nuwa could respond, Decker came riding in from the flank.

************

Be sure to return next Monday and Tuesday for the second half of episode 3.7  Roland and Boston have to decide between elf and human, and the wolf has to run extra fast to catch up.

moon 5

Avalon 3.7: part 2 of 5, The Geography Lesson

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“I must say, this does not look like the silk road to me,” Lincoln said. “Are you sure we didn’t stumble on to the rock road?” They had to walk the horses all day because the terrain was rock strewn and the footing too uncertain.

“Well,” Nuwa responded. “We are pretty far away from home. I am sure you imagined taking a leisurely stroll along the He River.”

“It would have been nice,” Lincoln agreed

“Well, in this case, either we skirt the mountains—Tibet, where I believe the Pendratti are hold up in some underground lair, or we cross the Taklimakan desert. I suppose we could have looked in the Tian Shan, the mountains north of the desert, but the Di of the land do not fully control that area. The Tibet area also has much autonomy, but it is closer to home and the likely suspect.”Nuwa silk road 3

“Did you consider the Pendratti might have landed in the desert?” Katie asked. “They are reptilian, are they not?”

“Not enough flora and fauna to research, and too far from people other than the Qinjong, and they seemed to have made a pact with the Qinjong to supply people for their needs. The desert does have some strips and places where springs and winter melt allow for some surface water, but they will be my third choice for looking.”

“Tian Shan Mountains?” Lincoln asked. He was trying to work the database with one hand so he could keep the other hand on his horses reigns.

“The desert is minimally under control of the Di, and the Tian Shan are least under their control, sort of like Aesgard exerting some control over Russia, but less and less as you move out into Siberia. Siberia, in many places, is a bit like a no-man’s land. So it is with Tibet, the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin and the Tian Shan. The Shang-Di claims more than he can handle. The Tian Shan are mountains that really belong to Tien or Tian and his siblings, along with a chunk of Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan and other Stans.”

“Afghanistan?”

“No. At that point down the silk road you are getting into Brahmin territory, and he keeps edging toward the Indus Valley. It’s complicated.”

“Look out!” Roland yelled from the front. It appeared as if the whole side of the mountain was headed toward them. Conversation stopped abruptly as they mounted and road, dangerous footing for the horses or not. Katie grabbed Nuwa and hauled her up behind as she kicked Beauty into high gear. All of that loose rock was going to catch them, but at once it stopped, utterly and completely, like it ran into a damn.

Nuwa silk road 6Everyone looked at Elder Stow, but he shrugged. “I couldn’t get a screen up in time, and I have no screen strong enough to stop that.”

Nuwa got right down. “Tuti. Thank you.”

The rocks rumbled in answer and the ones out front crumbled into sand.

“I assume the Taklimakan has plenty of sand,” Lincoln said as he got back down, breathing hard, almost as if he had run that distance.

“Buckets full,” Nuwa said, but she was not paying attention. She was scanning the ridge.

“There,” Katie pointed and handed down her binoculars. Nuwa watched a small Pendratti ship take to the sky while a dozen or more Qinjong rode off on their ponies. She followed the Pendratti ship before she handed back the binoculars.

“I would say we are headed in the right direction,” Nuwa said, before she called. “Decker, Roland, Elder Stow! From here on you need to keep your eyes open for some kind of ambush.   Hoopers!” One hopped up to receive instructions. “Set your people around the group at a distance to give us warning if the Qinjong, Pendratti or others are coming near, or if we are going to come near them. Send your swiftest in the direction taken by the Pendratti craft. We may be near enough now that maybe they can long-sight where it lands.”

The hooper bowed and bounced off at a remarkably rapid pace. “I made them shortly after I made Friend, the first Hobgoblin, I mean Xiang me made them,” Nuwa mused. “It was like I made Friend carefully, like a fine sculpture, but for these I was sort of doing my laundry and threw the wet dirt at them.” Nuwa shrugged. “I think I had a bad marriage. I don’t recall, exactly. Then again, I wasn’t married to Fuxi the fish brained.”Nuwa fuxi fishing 2

“Why do you call him that? He has a good reputation in the myths,” Katie said.

Nuwa raised her eyebrows. “So I do something worth remembering and he gets the credit? It figures.”

“Not so, or not entirely,” Katie said. “You have quite a reputation yourself, and for more than just being a wife and mother.”

“I do? Well, don’t tell me about it because even if the legends are wrong, I don’t want to change it. I live in fear of knowing how history is supposed to turn out and then screwing it up. It is the law, you know. You aren’t supposed to tell the Kairos about things she hasn’t experienced. If anyone remembers me …” Nuwa laughed at the thought of being remembered in history.

###

“So where are we going?” Boston asked over supper. “Because as long as we are traveling with you, we certainly aren’t getting closer to the next time gate.”

“We are in a valley of sorts between the Kunlun Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau,” Lincoln tried to explain.

Nuwa silk road 4“No, we are actually on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau,” Nuwa corrected him. “The further we go, the more up we go. I will admit, though, in this place it now looks like a valley. But it will get difficult the further we go, which I suppose is why the silk road, once it got started for real, went around north of the desert by Tian’s Mountains.”  Nuwa chewed.  “One thing about Fuxi.  He is a good cook.”

“You mean we aren’t on the actual silk road?” Katie sounded disappointed.

“Not technically, but there is a way through, I think. Or Brama makes a way at some point. Anyway, it doesn’t start with silk and not much silk actually makes its way to Rome and Greece in the way far future. Not much, relatively speaking. I suppose more gets to India, but let’s be honest. Mostly the road is used to move slaves and drugs and sometimes armies.” Nuwa shrugged, like humanity could not help itself.