The Labors of Ki'shto'ba Huge-Head: Volume One: The War of the Stolen Mother

By Lorinda J Taylor

In the 30th century, Earthers make first contact with an intelligent lifeform called the Shshi, which evolved from termites. Following that contact, the Champion of the Shshi, the Warrior Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head, and the bard of the fortress of Lo’ro’ra, Di’fa’kro’mi the Remembrancer, are moved to set off on a quest to reach the sea, the existence of which was unknown to them until the humans came. Joined by two Worker helpers, they head first for Ki’shto’ba’s home fortress of To’wak, where they find that the local Tyrant, who has long feared Ki’shto’ba’s power, is holding citizens of Lo’ro’ra prisoner. We learn of our Champion’s hatching (it has a twin) and of a Seer’s revelations that Ki’shto’ba was sired by the Sky-King and that it can be killed only under unusual circumstances. Ki’shto’ba undertakes to ransom the prisoners by agreeing to leave To’wak and perform twelve wonders before returning, thus freeing the Tyrant from the fate of being killed by its more powerful sibling.
The Companions then set off again, joined by the twin A’zhu’lo and by a fifth Companion, an outcast Worker named Za’dut, who is an outrageous trickster and thief. Their journey takes them to the fortress of Thel’or’ei, which has been at war with its neighbors for nine years over possession of a river ford. Ki’shto’ba is duped into supporting Thel’or’ei, which in fact has committed an unspeakable crime against the Shshi Way of Life. When Ki’shto’ba learns of this crime, it renounces its oath and goes over to the other side. There, with the help of Za’dut the trickster, plots are devised to steal Thel’or’ei’s protective talisman and to breach its impregnable walls. But with a crime so heinous and with flawed local Champions who are either craven, cunning, or willful and unpredictable, it is unlikely the outcome can be favorable ...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lorinda J Taylor
• Release date: Jul 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476479316

Lorinda J Taylor

A former catalogue librarian, Lorinda J. Taylor was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and worked in several different academic libraries before returning to the place of her birth, where she now lives. She has written fantasy and science fiction for years but has only recently begun to publish. Her main goal is to write entertaining and compelling fiction that leaves her readers with something to think about at the end of each story.

Book preview

THE LABORS OF KI’SHTO’BAHUGE-HEAD

Volume I

THE WAR OF THE STOLEN MOTHER

by

Lorinda J. Taylor

This is a work of fiction. All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. However, the person presenting this book to the 21st century does not guarantee that such characters and events will not come into existence at some time in the future.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover illustration (Ki’shto’ba Stands Guard; see Chapter 7) was drawn by Lorinda J. Taylor.

Copyright © 2012 by Lorinda J. Taylor

The person responsible for the existence of this book in the 21st century wishes to acknowledge her debt to two sources:

First, to Robert Graves and his impressive compilation entitled The Greek Myths. The points of view and the comprehensive information contained therein provided the foundation upon which the Ki’shto’ba tales could be built.

Second, to Dr. Timothy G. Myles, whose amazing website taught me a large part of what I know about termites.

L. J. T.

For

Mary Morrison

who has been the first to read

everything I’ve written and

who likes the Ki’shto’ba books best.

Contents

Note to Smashwords Edition

Facsimile of the 30th-Century Title Page

List of Principal Characters and Important Place Names

Translator’s Foreword

Chapter 1: Di’fa’kro’mi Reminisces

Chapter 2: Ki’shto’ba and Di’fa’kro’mi Depart from Lo’ro’ra

Chapter 3: The Adventurers Arrive at To’wak

Chapter 4: The Tale of the Huge-Head’s Hatching and Nymphhood

Chapter 5: Di’fa’kro’mi’s First Adventure

Chapter 6: Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head Ransoms the lo’ro’ra’zei|

Chapter 7: The Companions Set Out a Second Time

Chapter 8: The Tricky Lizard

Chapter 9: The Lo’shkei’akh Philosophers

Chapter 10: In the Marches of Thel’or’ei

Chapter 11: The War Council of Thel’or’ei

Chapter 12: The Founding of Thel’or’ei

Chapter 13: A View of the Enemy

Chapter 14: The Companions Visit the Holy Chamber

Chapter 15: Za’dut Goes Exploring

Chapter 16: The Horror behind the Door

Chapter 17: Ki’shto’ba Breaks Its Oath

Chapter 18: The War Council of the River Fortresses

Chapter 19: Mourning

Chapter 20: Nei’ga’bao’s Claw

Chapter 21: The Plot to Steal the na’ka’fi’zi|

Chapter 22: The Theft of the na’ka’fi’zi|

Chapter 23: Nei’ga’bao’s Challenge

Chapter 24: The Defection of Dai’wak’zei

Chapter 25: Dai’wak’zei’s Plot

Chapter 26: Nei’ga’bao Is Betrayed

Chapter 27: The Plot to Breach the Wall

Chapter 28: The Fruit That Speaks

Chapter 29: The Mothers of Thel’or’ei

Chapter 30: The Death of A’bir’zha’tai

Chapter 31: The Wall Is Breached

Chapter 32: The Fall of Thel’or’ei

Chapter 33: New Hope

Chapter 34: The Dissolution of No’bu’cha

Chapter 35: Ki’shto’ba and Its Companions Resume Their Journey

Chapter 36: The End

Note to Smashwords Edition

The print edition of this tale includes a map of the beginning of the quest. Partly because the small e-reader format would most likely render this map illegible, the 21st-century presenter has omitted it here. It can be found online at http://termitespeaker.blogspot.com and the reader is welcome to print it or download it from that source.

Because of difficulties in linking the footnotes in both directions, the presenter decided to distribute them throughout the text rather than placing them at the end of the book. A double dagger [‡] marks each note, which is then placed at the end of the paragraph. This seems to be the lesser of several evils, ensuring that readers have an opportunity to view the note without overly disrupting the flow of the reading. As the book progresses and basic information has been presented, the frequency of notes will decrease.

L.J.T.

FACSIMILE

OF 30TH-CENTURY

TITLE PAGE

The Labors of Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head

A Series

Volume One

The War of the Stolen Mother

By

Di’fa’kro’mi the Remembrancer

Translated by

Prf. Kaitrin Oliva

Published through

the InterQuad DataBase

15 October 242 (old cal. 2997)

Planet Earth

List of Principal Characters

and

Important Place Names

Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head, of To’wak, a Warrior, our hero

Di’fa’kro’mi the Remembrancer, of Lo’ro’ra, an Alate, the First Companion

Wei’tu, of Lo’ro’ra, a Worker of the Builder Subcaste, the Second Companion

Twa’sei, of Lo’ro’ra, a Worker of the Grower Subcaste, the Third Companion

A’zhu’lo, of To’wak, a Warrior, Ki’shto’ba’s twin, the Fourth Companion

Za’dut, of Kwai’kwai’za, an outcast Worker of the Builder Subcaste, the Fifth Companion

In Lo’ro’ra, Di’fa’kro’mi’s home fortress

Chi’mo’a’tu the Scribe, Alate, the aged Di’fa’kro’mi’s principal amanuensis

Vai’prai’mo’tei, Alate, another scribe

Gri’a’vu’tei, Alate, Holy Seer of Lo’ro’ra

A’gwa’ji, Warrior, Commander of Lo’ro’ra

In To’wak, Ki’shto’ba’s home fortress

Bai’go’tha, Warrior, Commander and Tyrant of To’wak

Thru’tei’ga’ma, Alate, Holy Seer of To’wak

Kru’bu’gli’sti, Alate, Keeper of To’wak’s Holy Chamber

Goi’o’na’tu, Alate, Remembrancer of To’wak

Mu’tot’a, Warrior, leader of the captive Shum’za

Lo’zoi’ma’na’ta, Mother of To’wak, Ki’shto’ba’s progenitor

Yan’ut’na’sha’ma, To’wak’s King

In Lo’shkei’akh

Yo’a’two’zei, Chief of the Assembly of old Alates

Mo’gri’ta’tu, an eccentric old female Alate

Prai’tuk’kam’mo, Alate, Holy Seer of Lo’shkei’akh

In Thel’or’ei, the besieged fortress (in order of appearance)

Dai’wak’zei, Warrior, Chief of the Third Cohort

Ta’hat’a’pai, a young Alate, a mad Seer

Viz’ka’cha surnamed Gri Um’zi (Bright-Head), Warrior, Commander of Thel’or’ei’s forces

Roi’za’chu surnamed Ma’na’ta’fu (Mother-Honored), Warrior, Chief of the First Cohort

Fa’kru’moi surnamed Yo Lo’zi (Old-Power), Chief of the Mat’ka Cohort

Cha’zei’the’tas, Alate, Remembrancer of Thel’or’ei

A’bir’zha’tai, Alate, Holy Priest and Seer

Mi’a’sho’zei, Keeper of the Holy Chamber

Zha’fei’na’sha’ma, Thel’or’ei’s King

Fa’ta’tha’mi, Alate, Builder Master of Thel’or’ei

Zhu’zoi’a, a Warrior whom Za’dut befriends

Ei’tha’ma’na’ta, Mother of Thel’or’ei

Gut’a’toi, Warrior, one of Ei’tha’ma’na’ta’s trusted guards

Kwai’um’pai, Warrior, one of Ei’tha’ma’na’ta’s trusted guards

Tei’mo’ma’na’ta, the Stolen Mother

Lo’saia’bor, Warrior, Chief of Thel’or’ei’s Second Cohort

Seip’hu’kwai, another Warrior loyal to Ei’tha’ma’na’ta

Tai’no’wi, another Warrior loyal to Ei’tha’ma’na’ta

Ga’loi’a’ta, Alate, an assistant Priest

Tail’a’zim’fli, Alate, an assistant Priest

Choi’o’wei’loi, a King nymph

Historical figures of Thel’or’ei

Pri’tei’ga’veith, founding Seer who prophesied concerning Thel’or’ei’s invincibility

Lo’tar’na’sha’ma, First King and Builder Master of Thel’or’ei

Zif’ya’ma’na’ta, First Mother of Thel’or’ei

From the River Fortresses (No’bu’cha, Za’bu’cha, and Wei’bu’cha), the besiegers (in order of first mention or appearance)

Shi’lo’na’sha’ma, King of No’bu’cha

Pai’zeg’weil surnamed Tas Ut’zei (Ruler of All), Warrior of Za’bu’cha, High Commander of the allied fortresses and sibling of Shi’lo’na’sha’ma

Na’ma’fu, Warrior, Commander of No’bu’cha

Nei’ga’bao surnamed Gli Mu’zi (Swift-Foot), Warrior, Commander of Wei’bu’cha

Ju’mu, a mysterious outland Warrior who trains the Warriors of the River Fortresses; in appearance half Shshi, half Nasute

Ma’tei’ban’shli, Alate, Seer from Thel’or’ei who defected to the enemy

Ki’akh’a surnamed Sai’zei (the Greater), a Warrior who once fought Viz’ka’cha to a draw

Ziv’ga’pai surnamed Wei’li Lo’hi’zei (Eternal Champion), an elderly but still doughty Warrior

Ra’fa’kat’wei, Alate, of No’bu’cha, a Healer

Historical figures from the River Fortresses and Elsewhere

Kwi’tha’pai, Warrior of No’bu’cha who was the first to challenge Thel’or’ei

Shi’kwi’thu, Warrior, a Tramontane Champion of ancient times

Translator’s Foreword

"An ancient Earth adage says,

‘There is nothing new under the sun.’

Perhaps the phrase should now

become, ‘There is nothing new

among the stars.’"

–from Amb. Tarrant Hergard’s speech

upon the admission of Earth

into the Confederation of Planets,

delivered on Krisí’i’aid on

6.20.60 (old cal. 2815)

"This happens to be a myth

of the At’in’zei that we find

ourselves in. One manifestation

of unreality. Everything is relative

to how you see it, you know.

Did it ever occur to you that this

tale of yours exists in many worlds?

Of course it did not."

–Words of Thru’tei’ga’ma the Seer,

spoken to Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head

in Mik Na’wei’tei’zi

When I first encountered the Shshi – the intelligent termite species of the planet G. Gwidian – the Remembrancer (bard and historian) of the fortress called Lo’ro’ra was an individual named Di’fa’kro’mi. During my second visit, I learned that Di’fa’kro’mi planned to accompany the Warrior called Ki’shto’ba Huge-Head on a journey of adventure inspired by my own clumsy efforts to amuse the Shshi with stories taken from the Odysy and other tales of Earth.

I did not see either of these individuals again until circumstances brought Di’fa’kro’mi back to Lo’ro’ra years later, but I often heard rumors of their exploits in the course of my frequent sojourns among the Shshi. In the sixteen years that have passed since the Remembrancer returned home, I have visited the termite planet only three times, in 230, 235, and 241. During the two earlier visits, I found Di’fa’kro’mi functioning as a sort of éminence grise; while he never reassumed the official duties of Remembrancer or took an active part in the governance of the fortress, his influence has been enormous on several generations of Shshi, and indeed on the very nature and destiny of Shshi culture.

For something remarkable occurred during that period: Di’fa’kro’mi the Remembrancer invented a system of writing for the Shshi language! I am forced to acknowledge with some chagrin that I and other Star-Beings played an unintentional role in this development. Although we never attempted to teach the Shshi anything about writing, Di’fa’kro’mi noted the peculiar markings that appeared on our ports and readers. When in his later life he found the leisure to reflect upon his observations, he deduced the nature of these markings and made the logical leap. In my visits in 230 and 235 he showed me his efforts and sought my advice, which I refused to give, preferring to let cultural evolution take its already contaminated course.

Needless to say, I consider it an extreme privilege to have witnessed the inception of an invention that indisputably alters any society. Here is a lifeform which has never tamed fire nor devised a technology more advanced than the working of wood and stone, but which now has a fully functional writing system – accessible to only one Caste! As this new knowledge spreads across the World of the Shshi, the power the sighted Alates are able to exercise over their eyeless siblings will become even greater than in the past!

On my visit in 235, Di’fa’kro’mi told me he planned to put into the word-images the story of his and Ki’shto’ba’s remarkable adventures. At that time, he was twenty-seven years old – quite aged for a Shi – and both he and I realized this was most likely the last time we would see each other. When I returned in 241, he had indeed died three years earlier, at the age of thirty.

He had bequeathed me a syllabary of the Shshi language and some ruminations upon the Shshi word-sense, together with a copy of this document I am translating here. These totally deaf isopteroids employ the only non-oral, non-telepathic, biopulsive communication medium yet discovered in the galaxy, but I can’t believe it is unique. It is certainly only a matter of time until we encounter another ILF communicating in a similar manner, and whoever has the privilege of making that first contact will be much better equipped to tackle the task than we were with the Shshi. The efforts of Di’fa’kro’mi provide an invaluable contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

As soon as I returned to Earth I scanned Di’fa’kro’mi’s documents into the Interquad Database and prepared a transcription and a literal translation. However, the former is useless to anyone except a few of my students and colleagues, and the latter is a tedious, heavily annotated rendering that no normal Earther could possibly enjoy reading. And these tales demand to be enjoyed; I never encountered a Shshi bard who seeks to bore its audiences. Therefore, I have attempted in the present version to produce a text that is accessible and compelling for the general reader of Inj.

Di’fa’kro’mi himself divided his story into three parts. The first deals with the War of the Stolen Mother and covers approximately one year, or season-cycle (as the Shshi call it), of the Companions’ wanderings. The second recounts their exploits among the Northern Nasutes and certain other ethnic groups, encompassing a period of about four years. The third takes the wanderers to the end of their adventures at the southern edge of the Shshi world. Each section is lengthy, so I have taken the liberty of dividing the three tales into a six-part opus, to be published over the next few years. Such a division does no damage to the author’s purpose; Di’fa’kro’mi himself frequently told his tales in smaller bites that listeners (and readers) would be less likely to choke on.

To supplement Di’fa’kro’mi’s aging memory and emend the errors and inconsistencies that result from the use of an amanuensis, I have drawn on the recorded data from conversations in which the Remembrancer informally recounted much of this narrative for me. Di’fa’kro’mi’s scribe took literally his admonishment to write down everything he said; therefore we have a series of amusing asides throughout the tale. For the sake of cohesiveness I have cut some of these parenthetical remarks and edited and relocated others. Everything related here, however, is faithful to the words and intent of the author, whether spoken or written.

I have attempted to preserve the style and character of the Shshi language and people even as I have eased the words into readable Inj. I have divided Di’fa’kro’mi’s continuous narrative into paragraphs and chapters, edited out redundancies, added appropriate Inj punctuation, and eliminated much of the tedious repetitiveness and run-on style that appears in the literal translation. For example, in order to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation, a native speaker of Shshi would say, Ki’shto’ba said I believe that soon we should find a place to rest Ki’shto’ba said Wei’tu said I will scout ahead Wei’tu said. In Inj such a style results only in obfuscation.

I have also dared to insert footnotes that clarify names and figures of speech, explain customs, or untie the knots of the various Shshi dialects, which Di’fa’kro’mi consistently renders into the language of the Shum’za as spoken in Lo’ro’ra. The reader should know that it is the translator’s voice speaking in each footnote. I trust that this addition will augment rather than obstruct the reader’s appreciation of a tale that deserves to take its place among the significant pieces of heroic literature extant throughout the known galaxy.

Prf. Kaitrin Oliva (Prof. Spec. Xenoanth. & Ling.)

Shiras-Peders Univ. of Xenological Studies

15 October 242 (old cal. 2997)

Chapter 1

Di’fa’kro’mi Reminisces

Twenty-eight years … I was hatched twenty-eight years ago, this very season. Do both of you know that? Now I lie here in a dark chamber and rarely move – I who was accustomed to wandering long distances under the sky and gazing at the stars during every darktime … I have felt rain on my wings and sand crunching under my claws … the heat-blast of volcanoes’ firestreams and the sting of the ice-field’s frozen pellets … I have seen the waves of the Great Water and I have immersed myself in them …

It is a strange end I have come to, the strange end of a very strange life …

What is it, Chi’mo’a’tu? Yes, yes, put all that down … Ru’a’ma’na’ta wanted everything I have to say – if she ever comes again …

I do not think I will ever see her again – she comes less and less often … Did you know, Chi’mo’a’tu, that the Star-Beings die even as the Shshi do? You did? Well, some refuse to believe that, but it is certainly true, because we know that Ru’a’ma’na’ta’s King died. You met Ru’a’ma’na’ta when she was last here, did you not? You are so young … Oh, an imago for nearly two whole years! So much experience! I am overwhelmed!

Well, anyway, what I started to say was – you may have noticed that the mat of hairs on Ru’a’ma’na’ta’s head was white, or mingled white and gray. It used to be a sort of even brownish-tan. She told me that that color-change is a sign of age among her kind of Star-Beings. They live long – much longer than the Shshi do. When I last saw Ru’a’ma’na’ta, she told me she was an astonishing ten years past the two-antennae count.‡ So one day she will no longer come at all … Perhaps no Star-Being will come … That makes me feel a little sad.

***

‡[The Shshi count by threes and sixes; each of their moniliform antennae has 18 knobs, so they name no number above 36. Any larger amount becomes simply many.]

***

I also feel sad because her King died here in Lo’ro’ra. She told me once that she had never produced offspring – that she had cared so much for her King that she refused to take another. That seems unnatural to us, but then the fortresses of the Star-Beings each contain many shma’na’ta|,‡ so it is not essential that every one of them lay eggs. But there is something very touching in this single-minded devotion of hers. And of course her King died because of Lo’ro’ra’s aberration – because he was caught in that long-ago rebellion led by the Unnatural Alate whose name I refuse to speak. And so the memories of that will always sadden me.

***

‡[Plural of ma’na’ta|, mother, the Queen, the only fertile female denizen of a Shshi fortress]

***

Something of her King was left behind with his destroyers. When Ru’a’ma’na’ta first returned and saw what we had done, she made the sorrow-display where the water drips from the Star-Beings’ eyes. Perhaps you should write down what we did and why we did it, so it will not be forgotten.

After the battle ended, when our Workers first examined the storage cyst where the King had died of his wound, they were frightened because of the alien odors and sense of a presence. So Ki’shto’ba the Champion and Chief Sa’ti’a’i’a and Commander A’gwa’ji went out to investigate, along with Gri’a’vu’tei, who had only just received the gift of Seeing; and I went as well. And in a corner we found a bucket with tissue in it, an organ like a piece of gut or heart, and yet not like those.

Then the Commander wondered if we should eat it, or return it to the Star-Beings before they flew away so they could eat it. But I said that we should leave it there and seal the cyst, because Ru’a’ma’na’ta had said that the Star-Beings bury their dead instead of consuming them. And Gri’a’vu’tei agreed and said we should make a memorial like those we erected to Ti’shra and Gli’tha’mu, whom the Star-Beings killed in their initial ignorance of what we were. This would be even holier, because the bodies of those two Shshi were not left behind for us, and because we needed to make a reparation.

So we filled up the cyst with rocks and sealed it, and the Growers broke up the hard ground around it and worked in decayed leaves and dung, and in the next gwai’nol|‡ they planted seeds of tho’sei| trees and of the creeping ha’fli| that smells so sweet when it is crushed underfoot. It has become a place of beauty where the lo’ro’ra’zei| go to rest and frolic with their pets, and they bring offerings of fungus and honeydew to honor the Highest-Mother-Who-Is-Nameless, and the Mother of the Star-Beings and her dead King.

***

‡[The Wet Time, one of six seasons of the year recognized by the Shshi; gwai’nol| is followed by shra’nol|, the Time of Flowers; su’eish’nol|, the Time of Drying; weio’nol|, the Dead Time; chi’nol|, the Cold Time; la’nol|, the Time of Waiting]

***

But there is still more to that place. We go there to honor our beloved Holy Seer Kwi’ga’ga’tei, who foretold the New Time that has come and who paid the guilt-price for the faults of all those who dwelled in Lo’ro’ra. After she died, her body was corrupt from the long lingering caused by her wound, and the Star-Beings’ Healers and our own Healers counseled that we must not consume it. So we laid it in the storage cyst that was adjacent to the King’s and sealed that one also. In this way we have a memorial for her as well.

In later years, Shshi of other fortresses have commenced honoring Kwi’ga’ga’tei and they visit Lo’ro’ra to pay tribute. I have been told some even consider that the guilt-price was paid for the imperfections of all Shshi everywhere and they regard her as a worshipful being like the Nameless One. They call her Holy Daughter of the Mother and such things, and they address prayers to her, which some avow are answered. I am not so sure I approve of that, or that Kwi’ga’ga’tei herself would approve, for, however remarkable she was, she was nevertheless only a weak-bodied Alate, and a Seer like many others, struggling to find the Right Path and never sure of the way …

Well, as I was saying, Ru’a’ma’na’ta displayed sorrow when she saw what we had done to honor her King. She said, "Our Healer had to cut away part of the injured breathing organ of my na’sha’ma|‡ and in the shock of that calamitous day it was left behind. But now I am not sorry, because you have created a thing of beauty around it."

***

‡[The King, the fertile male consort of the Queen in fortresses of any species of Shshi]

***

I speak too fast? You are probably correct! I will stop and let you catch up – I realize you are new at this. ... I wish I could write it all myself, but my claw grips poorly these days, and it would not do to make a column of illegible word-images. Humorous to think about – Alates in future generations pouring over these strips of bu’re| fiber, trying to decipher words written in haste … We cannot make words by magic, you know, as the Star-Beings can, and so we tried different substances on which to mark the images – leaves woven together, the inner bark of the tho’sei| … Leaves disintegrate and to strip so much bark killed our trees, and that would not do.

But Yus’dei – you remember little Yus’dei, who died from the black fungus disease maybe three years ago? … Oh, of course, you do not – you were still in the nursery! Yus’dei the little Worker who wove bu’re| curtains suggested beating together the inner pulp of that river grass, of which there is an endless supply everywhere in our land, to make a smooth-surfaced sheet that is practically indestructible. It is easy to make long strips of this material that can easily be slid up and down between the claws. So we can make a column of images downward and then run back up again – so, we read down, up, down, up, and so on – and then the strips can be rolled and stored in niches hollowed out between the wall stones of special chambers.

But the surface of the bu’re| sheets is not satisfactory for the scratching of characters – it is too fibrous. So we tried chalk-stone, but it rubbed off, and we tried making indentations, but they were too hard to see. Then one of the Image Workers – that whole new Subcaste that has developed just to make writing materials and maintain the storage and so on – one of the Image Workers remembered being told some plants produce juices that stain whatever they touch. The Healers experimented and found that an indelible reddish-brown stain can be made from the husks of the fruit of the son’zhuf| bush; they are pounded and soaked in water for some period of time and then combined with ti’wa’zi|‡ and a bit of fat for stickiness. Shape up a sliver of leg chitin from the Charnel Hall for a marking tool, and one is ready to write …

***

‡ [Honeydew, the sweet fluid secreted by the shza’zei| or Little Ones, domesticated formicidiforms]

***

Yes, yes, I know – slower … Can someone perform a dance to entertain me while I wait? Vai’prai’mo’tei, that was only a jest …

Did you know that of all the Shshi who dwelled in Lo’ro’ra when Ru’a’ma’na’ta’s King died, I am the only one still alive? Even the Holy One who succeeded A’kha’ma’na’ta – her name was Viz’ka’ma’na’ta – died younger than is common for the Mothers of fortresses. When Holy Gri’a’vu’tei died two years ago, he was twenty-three. He served as Holy Seer a very long time – twenty years – because he was only three years old when he succeeded Kwi’ga’ga’tei, and he cared well for himself and avoided excessive use of the bir’zha| fungus, so he never became weakened by the Seer’s sickness. He governed Lo’ro’ra long and well and made our fortress more prosperous and respected than it had ever been. Who would have thought it? Barely more than a nymph – younger than you, Chi’mo’a’tu! – of no noticeable gifts, a mere Light-Maker for the Holy One. It only shows the wisdom of the Nameless One when she selects those with whom she deigns to speak.

As for myself, I was never a Seer like Kwi’ga’ga’tei, but I was also given a gift – a gift for speaking words and remembering the past. And so I was always interested in the strange manner in which the Star-Beings use language. What did you say? That’s right, Vai’prai’mo’tei – they have no antennae. Ru’a’ma’na’ta told me once that they speak by blowing air out of their mouths – what? Yes, that is what I said. I do not know how they do that – their mouths are somehow connected to their breathing apparatus. Yes, it mystifies me, too, so shall we leave that subject? No, Chi’mo’a’tu, I do not believe we could learn to speak with our spiracles. Please do not squat there, Vai’prai’mo’tei, trying to expel air from your crop – it is disgusting! I do not want your regurgitation all over my floor!

Where was I? Oh, yes. This blowing out of air causes some kind of vibration that is felt by those petal-edged holes on the sides of their heads, and that is how they receive words. Ru’a’ma’na’ta once let me place my antennae on her neck as she spoke, and I could feel a quiver that is an element of that vibration. She said the Star-Beings have a sense the Shshi lack – something like our detection of vibrations with the sensilla but yet not like it, and something like the signals that go out of our antennae, but yet not like them. I do not believe any Shi will ever understand it fully. But perhaps that is why the Highest-Mother-Who-Has-No-Name called Ru’a’ma’na’ta kai’tri’ze| kei| shprai’mo’zi|,‡ because the Star-Beings speak through the air in the manner of wind.

***

‡[A wind going out from the stars. The name was supposedly revealed to the Holy Seer Kwi’ga’ga’tei by the Nameless Goddess. The word kai’tri’ze| uncannily reflects my own given name (Kaitrin).]

***

But they also express their language in images. I only understood that many years after Ru’a’ma’na’ta first came. During one particular sleep-time when I was not sleepy, I was thinking about all those knowledge boxes, or magic boxes, as some persist in calling them, that the Star-Beings have, and I thought about the rows of markings that would appear on the surfaces of some of them as we spoke. And it came to me that those markings were language and stood in place of the words that we had just spoken, and that it might be possible to do the same thing with Shshi words. And it was a revelation – a revelation from the Nameless One, as sure as any vision comes to a Seer!

I immediately jumped up and pulled a large tho’sei| leaf from my bedding and scratched an image on it with my claw. I tried to draw a tree. Clearly, one would think of seip| when one saw that image. And I tried to draw a river, with waving lines. That clearly could be bu|. And so I became obsessed and to everyone’s consternation I did little else for many days but scratch on leaves. They all thought I had lost my wits.

It quickly became clear that my methodology was unworkable. No two Shshi would draw a tree in quite the same way. There had to be one quite simple form that all could use. So I prescribed that seip| should be imaged by a vertical line topped by a circle, and that bu| was two vertical lines with one wavy line between.

But clearly this was also inadequate. How does one draw a simplified image of a fortress, for example, and distinguish it from a mountain? And, while one might draw images of a Shi walking or eating, it becomes very complex; and it is impossible to make images of ideas like honor or fear or loyalty. I could not recollect that the Star-Beings’ word-images at all resembled the things they represented.

So I pondered, and finally I realized that it could all be conventional. For mu’zi| one might easily draw a claw, but for to walk one might draw that same claw and put two short vertical lines in front of it, imaging the word krio|. That was when I realized that our spoken language uses something similar. When we speak a basic word of action, like to walk, we preface it with a marker that is not really a word, and yet it tells us what kind of word we are speaking. My fervor to proceed grew stronger than before.

It was at that point, about four years after I returned to Lo’ro’ra, that Ru’a’ma’na’ta came for a visit, and I sought her advice, for I was still dissatisfied with my results. She was impressed – I could tell by her body postures and by the pleasure pheromones that came from her – and she said that I was right about the nature of the image marks on their knowledge boxes. But she refused to advise me. She said the Star-Beings seek to influence as little as possible the peoples that they encounter among the stars. She was sure that we would have achieved this innovation at some point in our development, but that the coming of the Star-Beings had caused it to happen sooner than perhaps it should have, and that I must find my own way.

I was disappointed, but I determined to press on. And after a great deal more thought, I saw that I had been missing something. There are similarities among the various words that the Shshi utter and it would be useful to build upon that fact. For example, the sendings for krio| and mu’zi| are not at all alike and yet I was using essentially the same image for them. krino|, which means to walk about aimlessly or without purpose, is much more like krio|. Similarly, mu’zi| is more like mugo| and has a related meaning. It was more sensible to add the action marker to the claw image for the word mugo| than for krio|.‡

***

‡[ mugo|: to scratch]

***

Then I spent much time contemplating our language, and I concluded that what I was trying to do was to depict the ideas of the words when what I needed to do was to depict the forms of the sendings. I observed that we often clump several words together to make other words and that we use other markers besides the one to denote action. By assigning arbitrary images to sendings and markers and using them consistently, I could limit what threatened to become a much larger body of knowledge than anyone could comfortably memorize. For example, the signal for the word pai| forms part of the words for Warrior, for a fight and to fight, for battle and for single combat. To make five separate images would produce a confusing complexity. One need only make an image for pai|, which happens to be crossed hooks, like a pair of mandibles. Follow that image with a circle, which marks it as a person, and one has represented Warrior; place a dot before that word and it becomes more than one Warrior. If crossed lines are placed after pai|, it becomes a thing – a fight. Two vertical lines in front – to fight, an action word. A fight among many is shown by writing the image for pai| twice and adding the marker for a thing. Finally, pai’o’kwi’zi| can be explained as a shortened form of pai’zi| o| kwi’sho’zei| for which one can utilize the images … ‡

***

‡[ pai| is the root for war. Warrior: pai’zei|; Warriors: shpai’zei|; fight (noun): pai’zi|; to fight: paio|; battle: pai’pai’zi| (literally, many fights); single combat: pai’o’kwi’zi| (literally, a fight with one). pai’zi| o| kwi’sho’zei| is, literally, a fight with an individual (i.e., single combat).]

***

What? Why are you stamping about and flaring your wings? I am well aware that you know all this already! I suppose I am boring you! But I am not finished analyzing my thought processes. A Remembrancer should always finish what he has begun to tell – that is a cardinal rule! That is the trouble these days – you young ones are in too much of a hurry, impatient to be finished. You have never learned how to pay attention, and words do not have the fascination for you that they should.

Please do not display such indignation, Chi’mo’a’tu – I am well aware that you know how to pay attention. Would I have chosen you as my principal scribe for this undertaking if I had thought you could not pay attention?

Now what? Time to eat? Ridiculous! Oh, bring it in! What do I have? The same old thing! Predigested plate fungus and watered honeydew. You could at least bring tho’sei| blossoms, but I know – I know what season it is! I was hatched in this season! Pardon me if I am not enthusiastic. I was used to variety – wild fungus, wild fruits, the exotic foods of barbarous peoples.

I understand A’kha’ma’na’ta much better now. shna’ta’zei|‡ always get weary of having to eat continually so they can lay healthy eggs. Well, here is my mouth, wide open – stuff it in! I must keep up my strength if I am to lay the egg of a tale that will not bore you.

***

‡[Plural of na’ta’zei|, literally, Holy Female Person; the Holy One, the usual respectful term of address for the Queen of the fortress]

***

Chapter 2

Ki’shto’ba and Di’fa’kro’mi Depart from Lo’ro’ra

We prepared to leave Lo’ro’ra at the end of chi’nol| or the beginning of la’nol|, however you might wish to regard it. We wanted to begin our travels at a time when the cold was waning and a drier, more temperate period was coming on. Ru’a’ma’na’ta had been with us from the previous Time of Flowers until deep into the Cold Time. During that period death had brought the Most Holy Kwi’ga’ga’tei relief from her suffering. A’kha’ma’na’ta had died also, and perforce her King, Sei’o’na’sha’ma. The new Mother, Viz’ka’ma’na’ta, had been installed and a King found for her at the unlikeliest of fortresses, Kwai’kwai’za, which twelve years previously had been at war with us. The Healers who had come with Ru’a’ma’na’ta had worked much magic and the Star-Plague had waned. Our beloved fortress of Lo’ro’ra had grown smaller and sadder, but it was stable and peaceful and set once again on the natural path, albeit a different one.

Ki’shto’ba and I began to speak of where we wanted to go first, and …

But perhaps a word is needed for those who might read this but do not know our history. Lo’ro’ra is a fortress of the Shum’za, the most widespread of the Shshi. We do not call ourselves shum’za’zei|; that is the name the Da’no’no Shshi give to us because the heads of our Warriors are smaller in proportion to the body than theirs are. In fact, we find the designation a bit insulting, preferring to think of ourselves as the only true Shshi people. But in my travels I have learned that the world contains multiple varieties of Shshi and I have acquired some humility, and I no longer object to calling myself a Little Head.

Ki’shto’ba No’no Um’zi is a Da’no’no Shi, from the fortress of To’wak, which is situated northwest of Lo’ro’ra, upstream on the river called Ti’re’bu. Huge-Head is its surname, an honorific given to it following its first battle when it fought for its own fortress in a dispute with a neighbor. Afterward, it served as a Champion against Lo’ro’ra in the Nasute War, and finally it was summoned as Champion for Lo’ro’ra against, as we thought, the Star-Beings but actually to help combat a force of evil that had crept undetected into our unfortunate fortress. Ki’shto’ba defeated the Unnatural Commander Hi’ta’fu the Unconquerable, thus negating its surname, and the Huge-Head also killed the accursed Unnatural Alate whose name I refuse to speak, who was the cause of all the suffering. Ki’shto’ba, however, always felt regretful about the outcome of that war, because twice our Champion was taken by surprise and failed to prevent a death.

During this period of time, Ru’a’ma’na’ta the Star-Being played Remembrancer and told tales for the Holy One and the King. From the stirring tales of the adventures of the wanderer Ul’i’seit, Ki’shto’ba and I both took the notion to go wandering ourselves, helping to defend and to entertain and inform the Shshi of other fortresses along the way in return for food and shelter. Our aim was to reach the no’no’gwai’zi| – the Great Water – that Ru’a’ma’na’ta assured us really exists a long distance to the south.

Ru’a’ma’na’ta seemed to take particular pleasure in our decision, and before she and the other Star-Beings flew away in the midst of that Dead Time, she gave the Huge-Head and me gifts. She told us that she knew Shshi were adapted for spending most of their time in the dark, moist temperateness of the fortress and that our bodies were not very good at sustaining great cold or heat or dryness or long periods in strong sunlight. So she gave each of us a sheet of fiber or matting, although those words do not provide an adequate description. It was very smooth and somewhat shiny and quite light in weight, and it was cut in a pattern that fit exactly the shapes of our bodies. Mine was made to enclose my wings and fasten around my thorax and belly with a strip of a substance that marvelously stuck to itself, and Ki’shto’ba’s was made with six holes, three on a side, so that the legs could be pushed through. This was the first time in history that Shshi have employed such removable skins, which were something like the fiber coverings some of the Star-Beings use to protect their own bodies.

Ru’a’ma’na’ta said that these coverings had properties that would protect us from heat and cold and rain and drought, and Ki’shto’ba said, Here is more of your magic, Ru’a’ma’na’ta!

But she said, Not magic. For if the heat or the cold or the quantity of water is too extreme, even these will not protect you from death. But they will make your lives more comfortable and allow Di’fa’kro’mi’s wings to endure more sun without drying out.

Nevertheless, I named these coverings da’a’tas| shkei’so’zi|,‡ because of a property they possessed that Ru’a’ma’na’ta herself had not been aware of. Here is how we discovered it.

***

‡[Magic skins]

***

Ki’shto’ba and I had put on the skins, which took some getting used to because they press on the bristles of our bellies and thoraces and cause strange sensations. While we were crossing the courtyard toward the main fortress edifice, we noticed odd reactions from some Workers that we encountered. They almost bumped into us, stepping away at the last moment and appearing very confused. Ki’shto’ba remarked that the coverings must have an odd smell, although it and I had detected no odor that could cause such disorientation.

Inside the fortress we went to my quarters, and No’kri the Worker Chief was in the antechamber, along with the Seer’s Steward I’mei’o’nu. No’kri’s posterior was toward us and it paid no attention as we came in, then as it received my greeting, it jumped around and backed into a corner, waving its antennae furiously and gesturing with the forelegs, expressing an agitated lack of understanding.

Is someone there? Who is that? Is that … ? No, it is not the Huge-Head. But – can it be … ?

I’mei’o’nu seemed equally befuddled. If I had no eyes, I would swear you and Ki’shto’ba are not here, Di’fa’kro’mi. I cannot sense your odor or your aura – you hardly project anything. What is wrong with your bodies – your wings?

It seemed that the magic skins suppressed the individual’s personal pheromones and presence sendings that allow us to perceive each other. When Ki’shto’ba and I experimented, we realized we could barely detect each other’s presence. We had not noticed this phenomenon at first because of those unnatural bodily sensations that I just mentioned.

The cause of this strange imperceptibility was puzzling even to Ru’a’ma’na’ta, but her large, hairy, female companion, who knows a great deal about the Star-Magic, did have an explanation, which was impossible to relate to us because our language lacks appropriate words. What they did was to cut apart a piece of this skin and show us the thin, glittering hairs within it, which have some kind of relationship to light. How that works on our presence sendings is a total mystery to me. I cannot say more except that it was clearly a manifestation of magic.‡

***

‡[The protective gear created a dampening field that interfered with the chemoreceptors and bioelectric signatures that are part of an isopteroid communication system.]

***

Ru’a’ma’na’ta made the motions of humor, however, and said that some of the ancient wanderers in the tales of her world had skins of not-seeing, coverings that made them invisible, and that without realizing it she had gifted us with something similar. Can you imagine, Ki’shto’ba, she said, wearing this covering while you are fighting another Warrior? Your opponent would be unable to know where you are! It would think it perceives you, then it would lose you, and then you could reappear at its right or left or behind it when it was not expecting it!

Ki’shto’ba found this idea intriguing, although it was not certain that this method of combat would be entirely fair. But it found that the skin somewhat suppressed its own ability to perceive others, covering as it did so many of the sensilla, so it appeared the contest might thus be equalized.

But I saw in the skins’ magic something that might protect us from danger at some point in the future.

I have dwelt on this because the protective skins were with us to the end and they played a significant role our adventures.

* * *

Many individuals were to join us in our travels, but there were two citizens of Lo’ro’ra who began the journey with us and who were also with us to the end, or very near it. Not having a very clear idea of what long travel across empty lands really entailed, Ki’shto’ba and I had intended to travel alone; it would protect me and I would guide and feed it, and we would carry food in pouches strapped to our bodies. One day, however, as we stood talking in the courtyard, a good-sized and robust Worker approached us – quite presumptuously, it seemed to me.

This person scraped its mandibles in the dirt in a somewhat perfunctory manner and said, If I might have a word with you, holy Remembrancer and honored Champion – I understand you intend to go wandering.

And you are … ? I said.

My name is Wei’tu, of the Builders.

Ki’shto’ba, ever courteous, said, What would you have with us, little Worker? That is a strange name you bear. Indeed, no Worker that exists has wings.

Wei’tu waggled its antennae and performed a little dance of resignation. "Sometimes that question grows a bit tedious. When I was hatched, I had small nubs of tissue on my pronotum and yet tinier ones on my mesonotum, and even though one of the experienced Tenders said that was not uncommon and meant nothing, a young Namer