The Stranger
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
My name is Ythaime...I am a child of Riven. Well, not really a child, but my family insists on seeing me as one despite my turning heegahbree only four days ago.
I let them call me a Child...there is not much happiness in our lives anymore and it pleases them to still think of me as their prihn fah...it reminds them of better times.
My grandmother, Eloso, still remembers those days. She bitterly refers to them as the Days of Stability, when her people weren't being suffocated by Gehn's tyrannical rule. She speaks of a time when Riven was one complete island rather than five separate ones, and when there was no need for a rebel force like the Black Moiety. My mother, Sateba, trembles whenever she hears those two words...her fear of Gehn seizes her being like an earthquake. She's asked Eloso time and time again not to speak of the Moiety in out household, claiming that Gehn's spies might accuse of us being linked with them. Eloso merely scoffs that the only reason we have the Moiety is because of people like Gehn's spies.
I keep my opinion to myself, not wanting to upset mother...my father, Eld'imi has been missing for a little over a year now, and we fear that Gehn had him killed because of his involvement with the Moiety. Of course, most of the captured rebels are sacrificed on the Whark Gallows to set examples, but he disappeared in the beginning...Gehn's methods may have differed then.
But my opinion is parallel to Eloso's...we need the Moiety if we intend to salvage the Rivenese race and culture.
And word has it that Catherine has returned...
How ironic that the woman Gehn most fears and hates married his very son...or perhaps it's not all that ironic. Gehn has practically disowned Atrus, an action Eloso suspects is deeply rooted in jealousy. Atrus is greatly skilled in the r'erehem of writing kormahn, whereas Gehn's attempts have been less than satisfactory. Writing a kormahn to Riven was his fifth endeavor, and probably his most successful...even that proved somewhat futile though. The Age has been steadily decaying, and now his own son and Catherine have trapped him here.
I think that's why so many people fear the names of Catherine and Atrus...they left the Rivenese people with this man depraved by his failure at the r'erehem and thirsty for revenge. He cleaved away at the rich jungles, leaving a barren and ugly field of malice in his wake. Only the lower half of the woods survived, perhaps being too difficult to get at, or maybe just because he had enough sacred paper to last him a lifetime. At any rate, the turmoil ended and Gehn disappeared to his office on Crater Island.
Of course, just because he has the supplies for writing does not mean he has the skills...his creations are just as useless as before, only now he seems to have caught onto something. He had the great Golden Dome constructed on Temple Island, and smaller domes have been spotted on each of the four islands we have access to. While I have never left Jungle Island (due to my mother's wishes), I have seen the Golden Dome gleaming across the waters, as well as the smaller one located in the jungle. I must admit, the dome houses a great deal of curiosity for me...the night before last I crept into the forest (a formidable task, due to Gehn's watchmen) and followed the metal catwalks that hang overhead, leading from the dome and to the tree behind the great Whark idol. I am certain that to reach the dome, one must find a way into the tree, as I could see that the catwalk leads out of the very trunk. I scoured the area as best I could in the darkness, but could find no means of entering. My suspicions lie within the Whark idol, but how to get inside? I would've explored further, but the hour grew late and I feared being discovered.
Perhaps none of this will really matter if the rumors of Catherine are to be believed...those that speak of her return, that is...I have no desire to trust the ones that are convinced she is a daemon.
* * *
heegahbree: seventeen
prin fah: little one
r'erehem: the Art (of writing)
kormahn: descriptive book
* * *
Author's Note: so what do you think? Shall I post the next chapter or would you rather cut your heart out with a spoon? Please review; I accept flames as well as compliments (I have to heat the house with something)
The Golden Ostrich
* * *
My name is Ythaime...I am a child of Riven. Well, not really a child, but my family insists on seeing me as one despite my turning heegahbree only four days ago.
I let them call me a Child...there is not much happiness in our lives anymore and it pleases them to still think of me as their prihn fah...it reminds them of better times.
My grandmother, Eloso, still remembers those days. She bitterly refers to them as the Days of Stability, when her people weren't being suffocated by Gehn's tyrannical rule. She speaks of a time when Riven was one complete island rather than five separate ones, and when there was no need for a rebel force like the Black Moiety. My mother, Sateba, trembles whenever she hears those two words...her fear of Gehn seizes her being like an earthquake. She's asked Eloso time and time again not to speak of the Moiety in out household, claiming that Gehn's spies might accuse of us being linked with them. Eloso merely scoffs that the only reason we have the Moiety is because of people like Gehn's spies.
I keep my opinion to myself, not wanting to upset mother...my father, Eld'imi has been missing for a little over a year now, and we fear that Gehn had him killed because of his involvement with the Moiety. Of course, most of the captured rebels are sacrificed on the Whark Gallows to set examples, but he disappeared in the beginning...Gehn's methods may have differed then.
But my opinion is parallel to Eloso's...we need the Moiety if we intend to salvage the Rivenese race and culture.
And word has it that Catherine has returned...
How ironic that the woman Gehn most fears and hates married his very son...or perhaps it's not all that ironic. Gehn has practically disowned Atrus, an action Eloso suspects is deeply rooted in jealousy. Atrus is greatly skilled in the r'erehem of writing kormahn, whereas Gehn's attempts have been less than satisfactory. Writing a kormahn to Riven was his fifth endeavor, and probably his most successful...even that proved somewhat futile though. The Age has been steadily decaying, and now his own son and Catherine have trapped him here.
I think that's why so many people fear the names of Catherine and Atrus...they left the Rivenese people with this man depraved by his failure at the r'erehem and thirsty for revenge. He cleaved away at the rich jungles, leaving a barren and ugly field of malice in his wake. Only the lower half of the woods survived, perhaps being too difficult to get at, or maybe just because he had enough sacred paper to last him a lifetime. At any rate, the turmoil ended and Gehn disappeared to his office on Crater Island.
Of course, just because he has the supplies for writing does not mean he has the skills...his creations are just as useless as before, only now he seems to have caught onto something. He had the great Golden Dome constructed on Temple Island, and smaller domes have been spotted on each of the four islands we have access to. While I have never left Jungle Island (due to my mother's wishes), I have seen the Golden Dome gleaming across the waters, as well as the smaller one located in the jungle. I must admit, the dome houses a great deal of curiosity for me...the night before last I crept into the forest (a formidable task, due to Gehn's watchmen) and followed the metal catwalks that hang overhead, leading from the dome and to the tree behind the great Whark idol. I am certain that to reach the dome, one must find a way into the tree, as I could see that the catwalk leads out of the very trunk. I scoured the area as best I could in the darkness, but could find no means of entering. My suspicions lie within the Whark idol, but how to get inside? I would've explored further, but the hour grew late and I feared being discovered.
Perhaps none of this will really matter if the rumors of Catherine are to be believed...those that speak of her return, that is...I have no desire to trust the ones that are convinced she is a daemon.
* * *
heegahbree: seventeen
prin fah: little one
r'erehem: the Art (of writing)
kormahn: descriptive book
* * *
Author's Note: so what do you think? Shall I post the next chapter or would you rather cut your heart out with a spoon? Please review; I accept flames as well as compliments (I have to heat the house with something)