Jinhe sat on hard-packed earth, notebook open and recording the events of this most inauspicious morning.
The air was warming quickly, the sun just rising over the river. He had to admit, this settlement was well-placed along the Antler to receive excellent summer sunshine.
Illuminated, the small town stood resolute- No, not the town. If he was to record this, he must take care, as Elder Hamgywn had said. Maia was not like the Ogier, who tended and cared for the land. She was fire and water, drawing strength from her people.
The people of First Fork, if he had to make a judgement on human actions, were jubilant. They'd had their victory, and as far as Jinhe understood them, this meant they would celebrate life. He'd known the Antler-clans had a passion for music.
Three uniformed… Soldiers, Grenwin had told him when he'd asked, ambled along the muddying ground nearby, holding flagons of tea that smelled deeply spiced.
"Oha! There's the giant!" One of them called, a short man with blackened feet.
At his utterance, his companions looked at Jinhe. A tall man that appeared southern by his shape and coloration seemed wary, hand resting on the hilt of his long belt-knife. One of his companions, a yellow-haired young woman, shoved his hand off the weapon, leaning closely to speak into his ears.
"To anger the giants is to bring the mountain down on your head!" She said urgently, turning to offer Jinhe a proper greeting.
"Good master Jini-"
"Jinhe." Jinhe interrupted gently.
Her eyes widened, "Jinhe, please accept our apologies for Symon's impropriety. He is…" She swallowed a word that nearly reflexively flew from her tongue, "From the distant south and ignorant of our ways."
"Whose ways, Ame? I've lived here for years and I've never heard people talking about giants!" He paused, considering Jinhe and looking apologetic.
Raising his hands in a gesture of peace, "Please, there is no need for such formality. You are not Ogier. You have nothing to fear from me."
Symon nodded respectfully, relaxing. Ame blushed, seeming… Embarrassed? The short man who'd stood aside and watched, snickering to himself, gestured at the muddy ground.
"Jinhe, mind a seat?"
Wrinkling his brows, Jinhe tried to parse that. "I do not mind."
He raised one heel, slammed it back onto the earth. The ground rumbled momentarily, as if grumbling at the interruption, as a small flat-topped ridge of dry earth arose.
Sitting nonchalantly, the short fellow dragged his companions down with him. His companions, Jinhe noted, were now looking at him with renewed fear.
Sighing deeply, he gently put away his book, carefully collecting his writing implements from the improvised desk, and gently pushed the earth back into the ground.
"Men should have no fear of my kind. Should." He nodded at the short man, "I would know your name, good fellow. Who are you that you knew of this art?"
Amber eyes calmly stared back, and Jinhe blinked. For a second… No, it was his imagination.
"I am Tunerk. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. As, I imagine, my friends here will realize in time." He nodded at the slackjawed expression on Symon's face, the look of a man who thought he'd figured the world out, only to have the unknown slap him in the face.
Jinhe winced, "I had not considered- Please, I am no threat. I am here by invitation of Maia, and- Oh, she doesn't know."
The realization trickled down his spine like ice, and he could vividly imagine the response to finding out later.
Precious, stable, life-bearing Earth fleeing from his side, nothing to stand between Jinhe and the woman of Fire and Water. Duty and Community, together, where one or the other alone would be enough to leave him scattered to the winds.
He had made a contract with her. Jinhe had thought, Hamgwyn had said-
"Maia is the head of her clan. She is foreign to them, but they are hers as surely as we are of the Stedding."
Oh, blast. He'd thought she'd known about earth-molding, having seen the fortifications! They were too solid to be normal construction, and with every step within those walls he felt the deep-rooted connection of the Earth here to this clan, and the newer-but-no-less-deep connection to their new leader.
A leader who had come from nowhere and risen to prominence… Implausibly quickly, even among the Antler-clans. Merit, yes, but this bore the mark of a different kind of influence.
I need to resolve this. He could feel the deal he'd made pushing against his very soul, chafing. He could no more break the contract than Maia could fly alone. But maybe death is preferable to the alternative?
Standing quickly, he collected his things in a rush. "To leave an unknown power in the desmene of a- No, this must be rectified, now!" Turning back to the three humans, "Please, take me to her. This is vital!"
While Symon and Ame looked confused, Tunerk beamed at him. Standing gracefully, the aged man nodded, gesturing. "She's resting, this way."
Jinhe breathed a breath of relief. Resting was good. Resting meant she felt safe, and that made what he needed to do… Easier, he thought.
The Ogier walked alongside Tunerk, the other two humans trailing behind.
"Wiser than most your age, I believe you are." The white-haired man gave him a firm pat on the back, as high as he could comfortably reach. "I do not believe you are in danger. Relax, Jinhe. This is an oversight, not a betrayal. Breathe, man!"
Another thump on the back, and Jinhe shuddered. "Is this- I-"
"None of that, now. Before anything else, we're people here, you got that? Ogier," He nodded to Jinhe. "Human," He waved at Symon and Ame, "But we all want the same thing."
Shelter, sustenance, community. Remember.
Jinhe looked at Tunerk in surprise before nodding. "You are…"
The man gave him a wink, "A traveler, a sightseer, or in the tradition of Valyria, a tourist. I'm here to see what happens."
Not a threat. Help, advice, self-sufficiency. The Ogier tend their gardens as we tend ours.
Jinhe nodded. "I understand, I think." He slowed his pace, taking a fortifying breath.
"A… Tourist?" Symon asked, only to be waved off.
"Thank you, Tunerk." Jinhe bowed respectfully, not as surprised as he thought he'd be to watch the white-haired fellow respond properly.
Tunerk puffed his breath out, a cloud of… Steam, Jinhe thought, even in the warming air. Odd. "You are young and have much to learn." Smirking, "Even if you are, what, in your ninth decade?"
Jinhe nodded, "I will be ninety come the low solstice." Steadfastly ignoring the choked noises of surprise from behind them, he smiled. "Humans are far more than what I had thought of them. More than what most of us thought of them, aside from Hamgwyn. To think…" He shook his head, "I do not know what exactly the Elder told them, only what he told me. Watch, listen, and record."
Tunerk nodded, "I've always liked him. Good head on his shoulders."
Rounding the corner, they came upon a peculiar scene. A clearing on a small rise above the berm, melting snow giving way to scrub-grass and mud, the sun shining from the east- Yes, that was normal.
Sitting on a long tube, three women sat speaking quietly to each other. Maia, as Tunerk had promised, as well as Grenwin and Ygdis.
I need to get their stories of the battle, he thought, stepping firmly and waiting a respectable distance for a lull in their conversation.
Three pairs of eyes watched him, and he noted something odd. Grenwin, with her dark eyes and hair pulled tight in a long braid, was perfectly normal. Ygdis, however, had shining sapphire eyes. With the coppery hair, what he'd heard called 'touched by fire,' that was… Not good.
They hadn't shone when he'd first seen those eyes.
He gulped, reconsidering.
Just people. Breathe.
He blinked, looking around. Tunerk was gone, as were Symon and Ame, leaving him alone. He firmed himself, setting his stance. He would face his error and fix the contract.
Maia, in comparison to her companions, was most at ease. Warm gold eyes studied him, and she nodded.
"Master Jini-"
"Jinhe." Jinhe corrected absentmindedly, then realized his mistake. Brows drooping, he sought for appropriate reparations-
"I'm sorry, Master Jinhe. We didn't have much time to talk, did we?" Looking at her companions, "I think this is important. I'm sure Master Jinhe will have his own perspectives to add."
Grenwin eyed him darkly before nodding. There was hurt in those eyes, the same hurt he'd seen in the eyes of Meilin when he had returned from Stedding Tsoshu alone.
He had left with his three sons, and in the four years before he died of heartbreak, Meilin had cursed the Antler-Kings whenever he had the chance.
Carefully.
Jinhe gave a deep and apologetic bow, "Lady Maia, we must clear the table and examine our terms. I believe that our contract was made without you fully understanding my potential contribution."
Maia looked concerned, and in Jinhe's estimation, concerned was better than angry.
"Here, sit and tell me about it." She lifted her hand-
Jinhe stepped. A block of earth rose, and he sat carefully, keeping his arms and legs still and relaxed.
Not a threat, a statement of capability. I swore to enact no harm on you or yours.
Maia stared. Grenwin… Was that a look of recognition? He never could tell with humans. Ygdis was looking between him and Maia, the wall, and her face lit up with interest. No fear from any of them. That was good, right?
Grenwin grabbed the short woman's shoulders, turning her to look at the spearwife. "Was this your doing, too?" She asked deceptively calmly.
Maia mutely shook her head, wariness entering her expression as she turned back to look at Jinhe.
"I…" She swallowed, reconsidering. "I didn't know the Ogier had such, ah, abilities? Talents? What do you call that?"
He blinked. He'd suspected, but to confirm that she hadn't known… "It has many names amongst the Stedding, practically one for each, though in this tongue we can simply call it… Earthshaping is appropriate, and not innacurate. It is rare that one is born with the ability, and I was more fortunate than most."
"Earth…" Her eyes lit up, and she stood suddenly. "Tell me more. Please!"
Jinhe… Didn't know what to do. "Don't you care that we made a contract without you knowing of this?" He asked, aghast.
"Contract? We agreed that you would come and live among us, recording our ways, and that you would be the ambassador of your people. Ogier are new and, frankly, terrifying for my people. The stories vary wildly between you being the creatures of the shadows that steal children and steadfast and dependable folks."
He bristled, straightening his back on reflex. "A Contract. I would ask the basic decency to not dismiss our ways. For one such as me to break a contract is death. Even knowing now, because I had assumed otherwise before, that you didn't know of Earthshaping chafes at my very spirit. Could you live without your duty, or your people?"
She walked up to him, taking one of his large hands in both of hers. "I apologize, Master Jinhe. Ignorance is no excuse. How may I make amends?"
He blinked at her, surprised.
Wait, I'm not dead?
He opened his mouth, closed it when words wouldn't come, and thought it through. He assumed, again, that she would know the significance of a contract with him, because he assumed that Elder Hamgwyn had told her. Obviously, he hadn't, and what reason could that be?
Beings of Fire have deep loyalties, beings of Water require community.
But… What if Tunerk… What if he'd made assumptions, too?
A spark of hope warmed his belly and he grinned.
"Lady Maia, you have already made appropriate amends by seeking such. In the future, however, it would be wise to avoid implying that contracts can be broken lightly. If you are still worried, we may share tea and learn from each other. It is not common amongst your people, I understand, yet there are few slights that cannot be redressed. Contract breaking is, however, one of them. I am aligned deeply to Earth, and for those like me, a contract broken by the other party is survivable, if unpleasant. If I were to break a contract, however, I risk rejection by Earth and will most likely die."
She nodded gravely, "Then we should amend our contract. How do we do that?"
Jinhe smiled, "There is a ritual. Have you salt? I know you have water and fire handy, and I have tea. Water, Wood, Fire, Earth. It will mollify those spirits of contracts and duty, as well as those of family and community."
Ygdis took the chance to ask, "Jinhe, you keep saying…" She glanced at Maia, "Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit. Those are… Right? You understand?"
Maia nodded, "Similar, but I don't think it's the same. The origins of my philosophy are as foreign to this world as I am. Master Jinhe, would you be so kind as to show me this ceremony?"
Jinhe nodded, raising a small table and another block for Maia. It was only polite, as one seeking an amended contract, that he offer such for the inconvenience to the other party.
Nobody taught me how to deal with people like Maia or Ygdis. But, if they don't know, then…
He frowned, "Are you familiar with Tunerk?"
Maia shook her head, her companions frowning and sharing a glance.
"No, I'm afraid not. Who are they?"
…Huh.
Grenwin spoke cautiously, "A man named Tunerk would travel with my tribe, sometimes. Years, or days, but each time he visited… Things changed, sometimes before, sometimes after."
"What is it, Jinhe?" Maia must have seen Jinhe's ears flicking in agitation.
Grenwin paled, then stood sharply. "Ygdis, find anyone who looks like a white-haired man with amber eyes. Pale, almost gold."
The copper-haired woman nodded quickly, setting off at a relaxed pace.
"Grenwin, is this really an issue?" Maia said, "As long as he means no harm, he's as welcome as everyone else."
Grenwin looked at the winged woman and blinked. "You… Probably won't understand without the story. I'll tell it later. Trust me?"
Blue and green eyes met dark, and- Wait, weren't her eyes gold a minute ago?
Maia nodded. "I trust you. I hope it's as serious as you say it is." She frowned, looking at Jinhe, then…
He could see the very moment when she put it all together. She snarled, turning back to Grenwin. "Find him."
The woman smartly pounded a fist into her upraised palm, some sort of salute, turning and marching away. He saw her collecting uniformed men and women with quiet gestures and whispered words before the group passed out of sight.
Jinhe sat still, using the Earth's steadfastness to keep from balking when her gaze turned to him.
For a moment she didn't speak, almost seeming to wrestle with language itself. "Where did he go?"
"He…" Jinhe swallowed, "He led me to you. Told me to keep calm, and remember that we're all people here, first and foremost."
Her eyes crossed, and she seemed stricken with angry confusion. She looked at him, at where Grenwin had gone, then around.
"When faced with the unknown, do not fear it." Elder Hamgwyn said, moving a Wood token and capturing three of Jinhe's Air tokens. "Many things will view fear as weakness and strike without thinking. Be steadfast, watch, listen, learn."
So Jinhe sat, watched, and listened. This close to her, he could feel her heart beating in anger and confusion through the Earth, deceptive, slow enough to feel almost calm compared to any human he'd felt this way.
Maia gave him a perfunctory nod, one that spoke volumes. "We will speak of this later," it said, and he gave her a polite bow.
He had never felt so grateful for Hamgwyn's lessons on communication-beyond-speech.
She turned and stalked off, hands clenched in fists.
Jinhe pulled out his notebook once more, looking around, then got to work writing. This was the kind of history that he'd always wanted to read about!
He noticed then that the ground where Maia had been standing was baked, a small patch of hardened and cracked clay-mud no wider around than the length of his hand, and still hot to the touch.
He blinked, watching the hair on his hands curl in the slowly dissipating heat.
"Interesting," he idly noted, making sure to write that down.
Oddly, for all the fear he had earlier, now he felt secure. Not the security of stubborn stone, but the kind of security that came when Hamgwyn said "No more" to the last great army that rose here. Redbeard, wasn't that?
His contract didn't chafe as badly, now. It still needed to be amended, but it no longer bore any permanent risk to his life or cultivation. Clearly, Maia had accepted that he was capable of unusual and potentially threatening abilities and accepted that he would abide by the terms of his contract. Whatever she felt on it, he knew not- He would only know if she broke it, but not why or how. Such was the way of his kind.
Not long after, a group of ten of those uniformed soldiers approached him. Cautious, but not concerned. Not for him, then.
"Apologies, Jini-"
Jinhe sighed, ignoring them as they carried the metal tubes away, back toward the lodge. He'd need to get the full story behind that, but for now he was trying desperately to record the whole of the aftermath of the battle. Interviews can come later, after he'd finished with what he'd seen with his eyes, what he heard with his ears, and what he felt from the Earth.
The land fought the hold taken on it, unwilling to provide its strength to the blind and deaf. No matter that the ground froze and the life within died. There was a struggle, brief, but in that time he heard the beating of a heartbeat, loud enough to burn, and the inexorable push-pull of the moon on the tides. Together, the twin songs tempted, Together we can be strong, we can be made whole.
In that moment, Jinhe had felt like the ground had fallen out from under him, the Earth fleeing from his senses before returning, changed. The Earth here had been silent for so long, yet it remembered how it felt to beat in rhythm with Water, with Fire, Air, and…
Oh, Spirit was what Ygdis had said. Not metal, Spirit.
He looked at the dirt between his bare feet. It… The Earth here had been awoken. Something had happened this morning that changed things.
He wrote in the margins of his current leaf, "The Earth of the Antler-clans has been still and silent for recorded history. The Earth remembered something. Agency? It sings now, a steady hum. It welcomes me, in a way no Earth beyond our Stedding has in any of our tales. Change has come, and I do not know if it is good. I hope the Earth of the Frostfangs slumbers still. Those volcanoes… If the Earth awakes there, there are many thousands of people in great danger.
Lowering his pen, he checked the nib, dipped ink, and continued writing.
Be silent, watch, and listen.
Jinhe listen, he would watch, and if Maia or her people proved a true threat to his…
He would find his place and time to strike. He hoped, fervently, that there would be no need.
He scribbled away, thoughts bound in circles.