

Secret of the Saans

Published by Elizabeth Wyman at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 Elizabeth Wyman

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 to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Chapter 1

Aneh

The desert heat was unrelenting, deadening nearly everything in its path. Even the air was forced into whimsical twists and spiraling shapes, making the yellow fields and red rocked cliffs look like they were dancing. The herbs I had so tenderly cared for had long ago surrendered their vigor to the heat, bowing over to touch the ground. Rain had been absent for weeks and we were threatened with wildfire every afternoon with waterless thunderstorms. If any lighting struck nearby, the fields all around us would ignite and we would have to leave our homes, if we were lucky enough to not be burned in our beds.

We worked in the early morning and late evening to conserve energy and water. Sometimes we'd labor into the night, only to rise a few hours later. We passed most of the day in the shade of the porch or napping inside. It was a time for mending broken things and meddling in each other's affairs.

I sat hunched over the very edge of my father's rocking chair, resting my head on my palm and staring blankly into the hot mirage that was our dried up valley. A black cricket the size of my middle finger launched itself into the air, landing on the short stone wall in front of me. I reached down slowly, carefully, to pinch its slick armored body, admiring its resistance to the heat.

"Don't kill it Aneh," My brother Yakeh warned from the chair next to me. His voice was teasing; he sat relaxed with his legs propped up on the stone wall. He'd been quietly mending a basket some mice had been nibbling through. Our dog, Kai, lay plastered to the stone floor. The shade afforded by our small porch hardly provided respite from the heat.

I turned around with the cricket in my hand to look at him, smiling, "Don't worry, I'm not hurting it."

More quickly than I thought he could, Yakeh reached over and grabbed the cricket out of my hand and put the whole thing in his mouth.

"Yakeh!" I cried in disbelief.

For a moment he looked at me wide-eyed, then quickly spit out the cricket into his hands. We burst out into laughter. The sight of the cricket, slobbery and confused, was too much.

I was older than my brother. In spite of his constant silliness, most people mistook him for the elder. Even family friends and relatives sometimes forgot the birth order. "Oh Aneh you just have the face of a very young woman," they'd say before pinching my cheeks and fawning over my brother. "And who is this handsome man?" I'd roll my eyes but they'd never notice, too busy estimating Yakeh's height and inquiring after any adoring girls. We had similar features at least, my mother's high cheekbones and my father's thick curly hair. Both of us had freckles patterning our faces and the dark brown eyes of calves.

After our giggles subsided, Yakeh donned a more serious expression, "When are you going to tell me about meeting with Rhys?"

"I'm not telling you! I'm not telling anyone...because there's nothing to tell. Besides, only you know that I went." I said.

"Our parents know, don't be stupid Aneh. You can't be gone all night and think they didn't notice that you'd left."

"How could they know?" I asked almost rhetorically. A part of me knew that they'd discovered what I'd been up to, but I didn't want Yakeh to be right, and I didn't want my parents to know my secret.

It was expected of all youth to meet with Rhys, our village's leader in wisdom. Girls waited years to sit under the heavens and have Rhys read their fate in the stars. They were so eager to know the name of their future partners, when their pairings were, or how healthy and beautiful their children would be. My visit with the village elder was something I had sincerely looked forward to, but I didn't yearn to know any of these things. In truth, the meeting was serendipitous; it felt almost fateful. I met with Rhys, I learned, and continued to keep all my secrets inside. Out of shame or out of surprise, I am still not sure.

My mother walked out onto the porch, smiling and polishing a wooden bowl with some old cloth scraps. A sturdy woman with a kind heart, my mother always protected me and spoke up when others criticized my boyish nature. Her eyes were knowing, and I could tell from the way she stared into the middle distance that she had overheard what my brother and I had been talking about, yet she said nothing. She just smiled, sighed, and continued looking out with us into the heated valley.

Meanwhile, my thoughts tiptoed back to my meeting with Rhys only a few nights ago. That evening I had been lying in bed, wide awake, thinking. The air in the house was stagnant, contrasting sharply with the myriad thoughts racing through my head. For me, this was not unusual; I had spent so much of my life lost in thought. Normally on nights like these I would roll around until sleep would creep up on me, but not this particular night. Long after Yakeh's breathing had turned to snores and my parents' voices had become hushed, I snuck out into the clear night air and walked towards the hillside. The slightly cooler air was such a relief; I began walking towards a gully where I knew there would be a slight breeze.

Not long before I had turned down the path, I was startled by the appearance of a short, graying man. His eyes were twinkling beneath the crinkles of his eyelids. He smiled a toothy grin, "Hello, Aneh."

"Hello, Rhys." I looked into his eyes and returned a smile. I shook my head, thinking what a coincidence it was that I should meet Rhys tonight of all nights.

"I was just heading towards my favorite thinking rock. Would you care to join me?" he asked. I nodded in reply and moved to follow him. The walk wasn't far and the view was spectacular. From atop the flat sandstone boulder the canyon walls towered to the north and opened wide to the south to reveal a river of stars above us. From its tiny spot in the sky, the moon could only peek at us through the trees.

"Do you walk often in the night, Aneh?" He asked.

"No, I usually lie in bed when I can't sleep. But tonight I felt the urge to be outside. I was following the breeze from the gully when I saw you."

"I know," he said matter-of-factly. Our encounter suddenly seemed like less of a coincidence, and I felt a bit foolish. It made me wonder how many of my secrets the village elder knew.

"One thing I have always admired about you Aneh, is that you are always looking around, taking in your surroundings. Your observant eye will be very helpful in your life, you know."

I gave him a sideways glance and asked, "You think I'm observant?"

"Oh yes, absolutely. Ever since you were a child you've always been infatuated with the world, picking up things, asking questions...your desire to learn is quite enviable." Admittedly I was both pleased and surprised to hear this. I'd never thought that curiosity was a good thing, at least, that's what my mother said.

I sat quietly in happy anticipation of Rhys' next insights.

"The earth is always changing and the more and more I age, the less I feel I know. Where I come from, life changes fast and one has to learn quick. Out here life happens at the same speed as the seasons. Here we even behave like the seasons, growing during some, keeping warm and safe during others. It is such a pleasant life in Koyote, one can be present here and truly enjoy all that life has to give.

"Such small pleasantries, for example, include pairings. And if I'm reading the heavens right my dear Aneh, it looks like it's time you were paired yourself."

I left some time later, a little confused by what Rhys had told me. I spent the walk back trying interpret the experience. It seemed like he was commending me for my curiosity about the world, but also cautioning me to appreciate the life I had always known in Koyote. So little of it was clear.

But the other message that Rhys gave me was all too clear. I learned that I was going to be paired, and that my future partner was Olei. I knew of him from the market and from what the other girls said. Olei the son of the goat farmers. Olei with the crooked teeth, the broad shoulders and the same freckles as mine. Olei who was quiet like the canyons in the heat of the day. I had seen him, but never spoken to him before.

Of all my fantasies, love was not one of them. I had hoped that I might not have to be paired with anyone. But that is not how things work in Koyote: nearly everyone has a mate. It was humbling to know that I was not special and that I would be paired and live a traditional Koyote life. I was not eager to share this news with anyone – least of all my brother. Though he had nothing but the best intentions, I was sure he would spread my secret all about the village.

Though I wasn't fond of Koyote's pairing ritual, I was thankful that women decided when they wanted the village to know about the pairing, and when the pairing would happen. So much of my future was beyond my grasp, but this one thing I could control. As long as I kept quiet, life could proceed as it had. For the time being I was committed to never saying a word.

Throughout the remaining weeks of summer I caught glimpses of Olei at the evening market. It was hard not to. I was curious. More than once I smiled shyly at him. He smiled back, every time. I wondered what he knew and wondered what he thought of me. I was surprised that I cared.

I had never been complimented for beauty before, so I assumed that I had none. What I did have were muscles and wild hair, callused hands and a big mouth. I was different from the other girls my age. They liked to flock together at the market like a bunch of clucking hens. I preferred the company of the canyons, my bees and my thoughts.

It was late one fall morning at the market. The crispness of early morning hours had softened into a mild and comfortably sunny day. Under the shade of a tarpaulin I hovered over honey I had brought to trade, irritated that some green beetles had found their way inside and gotten stuck. My hands got sticky trying to get them out of their sweet grave. Anyone who works with honey knows the best way to clean your hands is to suck on your fingers and I did so without thinking. I turned around, searching, only to find the chest of a man standing very close to me. I looked up.

"Aneh. Hello."

His eyes were light but penetrating, his smile genuine but not full. I wiped my finger on my tunic and smiled.

"Olei. Good to see you." We stood there awkwardly, aware this was our first time speaking to one another. I was looking for any hints that he knew what I knew, not knowing that this was the first of many times we might have to communicate without words. Nervously, I made small talk.

"Your goats, I heard two of the kids died. I'm sorry."

"The little ones struggled in the heat. They had little energy left when the first cold nights set in. There's only so much we can do. I'm not sure how anything survived last summer. How did your chickens do?"

I found myself in a half smile, flattered that he knew about my flock.

"Oh, they're fine," I said, unable to contain my excitement, "They're scrawnier than usual, but healthy. For a while the hens hardly laid any eggs, but now they are laying one a day! We had to eat a couple of the male pullets... have you ever eaten pullet? It's terrible!"

He laughed at my comment and I let my hair fall into my face. His light eyes were beautiful against his dark skin. He stayed and chatted with me, laughing at my stories and gently touching my hand before leaving. Suddenly I had the urge to tell the village my secret.

Chapter 2

Yossinda

I felt the most peace in the Houses of the Saans. Any of them were really quite lovely, but the one my family and I were entering was my favorite. Some of the Houses had water that was too loud, or flickering stars, or a snoring old man. But in this one, everything was perfect. In here I felt warm, I felt safe.

This was the House where my Mother had come to worship the Elements, praise the Unmarked Ones, and give alms to the Saans. This was the House closest to where my family lived – halfway up the small mountain on which the city of Saansanti was built. From where I stood waiting to enter the House I could see the tall spires of the Blue Citadel, the colorful stained glass windows bright against the gray stones. I smiled knowing that the Five Great Saans – the leaders of my beloved religion, the tamers of the Elements, the voices and faces of the Unmarked Ones – were inside the Citadel.

"Quit fussing," said my sister Yeidi to my little brother Raini. I turned around to see Raini trying to wipe dirt off of his shoes.

"He's not fussing, he's cleaning his shoes," I said to Yeidi.

"Then you take him, see if you think he is cleaning or just being irritating," she replied with sass in her voice.

"I'll take him," my father chimed in, "Come here little man."

My father lifted Raini up with hands reddened from a rough washing. I could still see black grime lining the beds of his nails and tucked into the wrinkled skin.

We walked into the House, the small stained glass windows had cracked underneath the weight of the roof but still held firm. Saan Denys was waiting inside the entryway. He bowed his head and crossed his arms to us as was customary. I returned the gesture with great enthusiasm. Though I was delighted to be here, it was a sad day. Six years ago my mother had passed. My family had come to mourn for her spirit and pray she walked safely in the afterlife with the Unmarked Ones. We gave our monies to the Saans in thanks.

It was a rare and precious thing for my whole family to come to a House together. My sister and father didn't normally go to any Houses whereas I went as much as possible. Being together in a sacred place brought me much joy and peace.

My father kneeled to my right, hugging Raini to his side. I had just combed Raini's' hair before coming to the House and already he had made it dirty. He was only six, and with no memory of our real mother, I was the next best thing. I loved him fiercely and wanted to protect him but we were very poor. At least, unlike many in Saansanti, we were free.

Even living in freedom was difficult in this city, but it was far better than to be a slave. I knew lots of slaves from working with the Domi, the royal family. Sometimes they didn't have names or tongues or teeth. Their owners tattooed them so their purpose was part of them, and so that they could easily be identified if they tried to run away. My father had a tattoo from when he was a slave, its blue lines blurred with time.

Yeidi, Raini and I would never have to be tattooed. Although, many times I vowed that I would sell my self into slavery before I'd let either of my siblings become slaves. Glancing over at my sister, her hair pulled up into a thick knot at the back of her head, I wondered if she'd do the same for my brother or me.

Yeidi was not as nice to little Raini as I was. She still hated him a little because after his birth, our mother was never really the same. A profound sadness overtook her and only a year or so after Raini was born, she died. I was older and working and couldn't afford to let myself slip with grief. Yeidi did though, and she was still slipping.

My sister was beautiful, the object of many a man's affection. Her hair was a soft gold that flowed over her shoulders, where mine was light, straight and textured like hay. She was amazingly thin and ate whatever she fancied that she could afford while I starved myself to try to look thinner. She let her bust show more than I would ever dare and she flirted with men shamelessly. At times I envied her freedoms, but I had to be like a mother to all of us, not to mention the Saans did not encourage city folk to indulge. A life of little, of giving, of servitude was what we were supposed to live, if we wanted to walk with the Unmarked Ones after this life.

I was petrified of the things that men and women did when they were together alone, but Yeidi sought it out. She boasted to her friends about the kinds of men she slept with and the kinds of monies and treasures men would give her for her services. She was friendly with many of the lesser Domi and a few of the guards. I hated the way she let them look at her, like drooling dogs.

Through the corner of my eye I could see her shifting back and forth on her knees, waiting to get stoned again, the fresh coins in her pocket from serving in the Citadel would almost all go the Tinea that she drugged herself with every night. My father didn't know, or pretended not to know. I wanted to tell him, but that would do no good. Instead I was quiet, listening to the readings delivered by a tiny Saan dressed in all blue at the front of the House, a brazier burning brightly by his side. We listened to the creation story.

A Reading from Before the Flood

A million sunshines ago, when the people walked with the Unmarked Ones and saw that they were good, the five Elements lived in harmony: the earth, the aether, the wind, the water and the fire. The union of the Elements was celebrated in the love of the people, who worshipped the good lives the Unmarked Ones had bestowed upon them. People were without worry or work; food was plenty and want was none. Clear waters irrigated the fruitful land, where the air was clean, the sun was warm and the stars were bright at night, silently telling stories of the Unmarked Ones to the curious minds of the humans.

The people began naming themselves. They took names that were like the Elements, to show their respect for the material and their undying love for the ethereal that they represented. Their names were Aethan for the Aether, and Terro for the Wind. Kote was for the Earth, Obith for the Fire, Reas for Water. They named themselves and their kin and called each other as they wanted to be called.

Aethan was just and fair and wanted others to be treated as he was. In this, he sought to call the Unmarked Ones by name. "And what may I know you as, my brothers and sisters, so that we can share with each other our lives and our stories and grow forever in the glory of this world?"

The Unmarked Ones would not reply, instead they spread their arms wide like trees and bowed their heads to the sun, then arched their backs to show what would be their faces to the sky. They returned their arms to cross their chests, and bowed their heads. The clouds in the sky grew dark and black, lightning cracked as rains poured down from the Heavens.

Aethan felt that his question had gone unanswered, but did not cry out for he knew the Unmarked Ones to be most wise. He waited for the passing of the moon cycle before he called on them again. Once again when asked, the Unmarked Ones spread their arms wide, showing their blank faces to the ground, then the sky. They crossed themselves before bowing. The earth trembled beneath Aethan's feet, but again, he felt dissatisfied.

"Why do you ask them so?" Obith asked Aethan after the Unmarked Ones had gone. "Because I want to share my love for them and be equal, because it is that we should be together in this life in this world." Aethan replied, "I think that we are one and the same as the Unmarked Ones. We can share of the same world as we are sharing our love and worshipping the Elements. I think it is best to love how we love, including them." Obith did not think it was wise to call on the Unmarked Ones but Aethan was certain of his desire.

Another moon cycle, and Aethan called the Unmarked Ones again to ask what he may call them. Yet again the response was the same. Reas was observing from a rock on a hill where all could see the sea. Reas asked Aethan why he sought the names of the Unmarked Ones, and Aethan replied, "I want to share in the worship of the world with them. To better express my love." And to this Reas said, "Let us ask of the Elements themselves, for they are the creators and they shall know the answer of what to call those without names or faces." And when the humans asked the sea what to call the Unmarked Ones the sea rose up, with all of its creatures inside it and rushed inland, separating Reas and Aethan from each other, separating Kote, Terro, and Obith and all of their kin.

For a thousand years the humans were separated by great masses of waters into their different lands. The people begged the Elements for forgiveness and searched for the Unmarked Ones, but they had gone.

Chapter 3

Aneh

The nights got darker, the canyon breezes colder. Fall turned into winter and, like normal, I went to the market less. Which meant I saw Olei less. I couldn't help but fantasize about him more. Strangely, time away from him made me want to let the world know we were destined for each other.

I kept my secret bottled up like the wines my father let sit in the root cellar, until just after the longest night of the year. When I told my mother about my pairing she did her best to act surprised. She masked her knowledge with a grin before embracing me tightly. How had she figured out my secret? My father jovially announced his congratulations and planted a kiss on my cheek. Olei's family was well respected as goat and sweet potato farmers, he said. My mother confessed she and Papa had seen the beautiful new home that Olei was building –that and of course, that I had snuck out to see Rhys so many many months ago.

"I'm sorry I haven't told you, but I thought if I kept it a secret it wouldn't come true! I'm afraid of what it will be like to go start a life away from my family with a complete stranger."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I felt so naive, so scared and so nervous that I was making the wrong choice by telling them. Life would never go back to how it was now that I had made this decision. My tears turned into sobs and I cowered into my mother's shoulder. She hushed me, and placed her cheek to my forehead. I could feel her warm tears against my skin, her fingers gentle and loving as they threaded through my hair. I let myself cry while my mother, long ago surpassed in height by her children, rocked me.

The moment abruptly ended. Yakeh stumbled in like a newborn foal, limbs flailing, and eventually he fell, spilling an armload of kindling on the floor. If I knew my brother, he did this on purpose, to make me laugh. I parted from my mother and wiped the water from my face on my tunic. Red-eyed and giggling, I watched as my father heaved himself out of his chair to pick up my brother.

"Oww," he said from the floor.

"Great Aethan son," Father said with concern in his voice, "Are you all right?"

"I couldn't see over all this wood," Yakeh continued, dusting himself off. A little smile spread on half his face. He cast me a knowing glance that turned my giggles into laughter.

Papa was helping Yakeh pick up the wood when he gave him a loving squeeze on the neck.

"Aneh, why are you crying?" Yakeh asked as he walked toward me, the knowing smile still on his face.

"I'm leaving, Yakeh. You know why. It's time for my pairing soon."

"I knew it! Olei right? I heard rumors. Dear Kote it was hard not to say anything!"

"Yakeh!" My mother admonished. "You save that name for when you need it most."

Yakeh continued, unperturbed.

"Well, sister, I'm happy for you. You could do a lot worse than Olei, I know he's a good man and he'll take care of you. Rats! This probably means I won't be paired with his younger sister. Too bad, she's really good looking! Maybe I can at least dance with her at your ceremony. When is it?"

My mother scoffed and my father put his head in his hands.

"I don't know. Soon, I guess," I said, before turning to my father, "You have to go talk to Khati and Deins now, right Papa?"

"Whenever you want Aneh. We'll settle on a good date. The windy season approaches soon...you don't want to get paired then do you? We might as well wait for spring season – Reas's season – that's the best time of year!"

"Olei has waited this long for you, he won't mind waiting a little longer," my mother added, a sweetness in her voice.

"That sounds good to me." I walked over to where my father stood and gave him a tight hug. "Thank you Papa. I love you." Uttering that brought tears back into my eyes. I bit my lip and excused myself. I cried quietly in my bed all night long.

More weeks passed and the wintery freshness of Aethan's season gave way to the winds of Terro's season. My parents left one blustery afternoon to talk to Olei's mother and father and returned half a day later, smiling and laughing in spite of the nippy breeze. The inside of my father's lips were purple and his breath smelled faintly of apples like it does when he's been drinking. Yakeh and I stood around with our arms crossed for a little bit, childishly bitter about doing all of their work for the evening as well as ours. I was curious but sick with nerves to know what they had planned with Olei's parents. I feigned disinterest, said I was tired, went to bed but didn't sleep. My mind wandered all night long.

The next morning we gathered around breakfast, wheat bread with nuts, dried berries and goat cheese. The morning sky was a light blue as the sun had not come up yet. The animals were starting to move around outside, their breath still visible in the chilly air. A few brave birds chirped their hopeful songs.

"Our job is to bring you, beautiful as you are, and participate in the normal rituals, you know how they usually go," My mother said as she dumped some seeds into the washbasin.

"I've never paid that much attention to exactly what was happening during pairing ceremonies," I admitted. Usually I was staring off into the hills, my imagination running wild or thinking about something else I'd rather be doing, like exploring the canyons or tending to my chickens.

"Oh I always watch. I love them! My favorite is watching the parents' faces as they tie the knots," Yakeh was looking out the window; he was smiling but he seemed genuine. We all stared at him astonishment, waiting for more. No more came. Yakeh just turned from the window, smiled almost sadly at us, then got up with the heel of his bread and went outside.

Mother paused before she started.

"He's sad to see you go. He's always been so big and loud and wanting of attention, but he gets so much of his confidence from you."

"I never thought about how much I'd miss him."

"I was thinking about when 'he was too old to be sleeping next to his sister,' and how loudly he wished for his own bed," Mother started.

"And he would crawl into bed with me for years after he built one for himself," I finished.

"We pretended we didn't know, but we knew."

"I missed him snoring into my ear after he stopped sneaking into my bed. I wonder if I'll miss him snoring after I leave."

"You never know Aneh, Olei could snore too!"

"He could," I laughed, kind of, but the idea of snoring Olei was fast becoming a possibility and fear bubbled up in my throat. My mother meant to be funny, but it wasn't that comforting. Olei was so handsome and kind but sleeping next to him seemed foreign and frightening. I had always thought of myself as strong and ready for the next adventure, but this was an adventure I wasn't sure I was ready for.

My mother drew me to her when she saw the concern in my eyes. I let myself be held for a little, but really I just wanted to go outside. I wanted to soak in every minute of my life as it was, like in the days before I was paired.

The company of my one friend, Joh I felt would help settle my fears a little. Joh was a bee keeper too, we had made friends as children even though she was a few years older. We would spend our time marveling at imaginary animals in the wash or making beeswax into ugly little candles.

Joh had been in her pairing for a year and I saw her much less than I'd have liked. I could see her slender frame in the kitchen as I turned the path to her home. She stood over a stone washbasin, the walls of her home swung open on their great hinges to let in sunlight and let out smoke from the fire. Her mate, Jona, built this house for them as was the Koyote custom. Olei was probably building one for us now.

I brought a chicken with me that had been a nuisance before I wrung its neck. Joh would like a nice present of a chicken dinner, I was sure.

"Aneh you always bring the best gifts!" She laughed when I walked in with the dead chicken, it's brown scruffy feathers dancing in the light breeze.

"Well she was a terrible bird, but hopefully she'll taste delicious. How are you?"

We sat down and plucked the chicken while Joh teased me about my imminent pairing.

"Oh Joh, I don't know what to think. Some days I'm excited, sometimes I'm scared. Most days I just wonder if I've made the right choice," I admitted.

"It's okay to be scared Aneh, it is scary. You're about to spend the rest of your life with a stranger. Lucky for you it's a really handsome stranger. That makes it makes it more difficult to stay mad at him longer," she joked.

Oh good Kote, I thought, we're going to get angry with each other. The idea seemed impossible given I barely even knew my mate. And I had to make love with him, bear children with him, and we had to squat over the same hole.

"Wait, I can be as mad as I want to no matter how handsome someone is!" I stated, "Beauty should be independent of value." Joh just laughed at me.

"You're right Aneh, you're right. But you will have hard times and you will have amazing times. I hardly knew Jona before and even though I know him so much better now, he still surprises me. We are lucky to have the same hopes and cares. I really didn't think I would be happy, but I am. Life is good."

Joh's words were comforting, but it almost seemed too good to be true. I'd so much rather know what my life would be like, how I would feel, if I would get along with Olei, if we would satisfy each other. I was far from the prettiest girl in the village but I was competent and a quick learner.

Mindlessly I plucked the chicken while we continued to talk and laugh. There were so many parts of me that wanted to be just like Joh, calm, happy and accepting. Her wisdom was comforting and I stayed in her company as long as I could that afternoon.

The pairing bracelets on Joh's wrists scratched my arm as she reached to hug me goodbye. Every paired couple wore them from their pairing day till their deaths. They were presented on the first night by the couple's parents, one parent each giving a bracelet that they had crafted, each bracelet representing something different. Joh had some brightly colored yarns and plaited leathers; I didn't know what they meant and I thought it too personal to ask. She squeezed my arms tightly and smiled.

"Rhys is a wise man; he has made many good pairings. The stars do not lie Aneh, you are meant to be with Olei," she said.

My throat tightened.

"I hope so Joh," I said in a wavering voice that did not seem to be my own.

We embraced. I held back my emotion and began my walk home.

Chapter 4

Yossinda

A dense fog clouded the chilly streets. People wore their hoods and pulled their hat brims low to keep their shadowed faces warm. I struggled to keep my pace on the iced cobblestones but every step seemed to pull me backwards. I could feel my cheeks flushing and my underclothes dampen with the perspiration of effort. My vision was becoming blurry – or maybe the fog was growing thicker – I couldn't tell. I felt a hand clamp firmly on the hood of my cloak. Then the grip of another hand, cool against the warmth of my neck.

I screamed. No sound emerged.

I turned to face my captor but in the thick fog all I could see were the prominent nose and jaw of a man. Again, I screamed a soundless scream before crumpling to the ground. When I looked up the man had gone. In his place stood a white, shrouded figure. It was one of the Unmarked Ones. They had come to save me. I heaved a great sob of gratitude.

It was a sob so great that it woke me from my dream.

"Yossy wake up! Wake up!" My little brother begged. He hovered over me with wide eyes. "You were having a bad dream."

The emotion from my dream felt fresh and genuine, even though I knew I was nothing but safe in my bed.

"Yes I was. Thank you for waking me," I whispered and pulled my brother into the warmth of my arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded as the last of my hot tears slipped from my eyes to the covers.

"Thank you sweetling."

I had had this dream many times before. Each time was a little different from the last and all were startlingly close to what had really happened that frigid winter day so many years ago.

I was with my mother and Yeidi in the streets going to deliver some washed linens. The roads were slick and I struggled miserably far behind them when a man pulled me back by my cloak. He wrapped his icy fingers around my face to stifle my scream. Unlike in the dream, I never saw his face.

My mother didn't need to hear me to know something was wrong. When she turned around I could see my fear reflecting in her eyes. The man must have seen it too, for he let me go and ran off. She rushed to scoop me up and hold me tight, her face fierce but full of tears. We never finished our delivery that day.

For a long time leaving our home was too frightening for me. I clung to my parents and for a long time I trusted no one else. I'm sure it was a burden to my mother when she still had work to do and no time for a weak child. In her worry she took me to the House of the Saans, a place, she said, where I would no longer be afraid.

We went day after day to the Houses and I began to see the Houses as a sanctuary. I found my faith in those days. Not only did the Saans offer protection, they offered solace – if not for this life then certainly for the next. When my mother passed they were there. In times of famine or great cold they have been there – not just for me but for all the people. And I knew they would be forever a comforting presence. I prayed the Unmarked Ones would continue to bless my dreams.

Chapter 5

Aneh

Fear as I might, my pairing day had come. In the weeks since I'd seen Joh the winds had ceased, the trees budded and I had had one sleepless night after another.

Soon enough, the sun passed high noon and started to sink in the west.

I let Mother fuss all she wanted with my hair and my linens. She was nervous and all the more chatty. Yakeh slinked around the doorway, Papa was busy making something on the porch. We ate a meal of greens and grains standing up because I was running late.

"Quit dragging your feet..." Mama said to me. Then, catching the irritation in her voice she added, "...Aneh, Dear. I meant I think we need to hurry. The sun has almost set." I tasted every bit of lettuce, goat cheese and nut. I took my time cleaning my teeth well.

Pinks and oranges painted the hills as we left the house. Mama and Papa linked arms with me while we exchanged small talk on the path out to the road. Yakeh kept his hands in his tunic pockets the whole walk, even when Kai ran off into the fields. The town had gathered in the growing darkness for the celebration. Some held candles that revealed their excited expressions. It was common for a good portion of the village to show up for a pairing toting jugs of wine, candied nuts, dried fruits and sometimes baked goods. Tonight all the village seemed to be in attendance. Koyote loved a good celebration.

I inhaled the night air, savoring the scents of grass and sage. This night would be relived over and over in my head. People were watching me with smiling faces. I tried to maintain a graceful stride in order not to betray my lack of inner calm. With every step I became less a part of my surroundings, only aware of my expanding lungs and the way my heart jumped into my throat when I spied the silhouette of Olei, framed by the dimming daylight in the west.

He stood at the crest of the road, holding a single light in one hand and a bundle of sage and red wildflowers in the other, surrounded by his parents and younger sister. I let out a breath of air and for a moment remained completely breathless, stunned by his figure and his barely lit features. I was shocked by how handsome Olei was, and I only hoped he found me handsome too. Somehow I learned how to breathe again in the time it took me to take another step. All the while my eyes did not leave Olei's face.

As our parents embraced, kissed and smiled, there opened a window where my gaze locked into Olei's. Walking closer, and more slowly, I inhaled his sweet sage. One step closer and I inhaled him too, as he pushed my hair behind my shoulder, gently touching my face in passing.

It began with my mother Rhea, turning in towards us, gathering strips of fine leather between her hands. She wrapped a section around my left wrist, then followed it over to Olei's right wrist, locking our hands together tenderly.

"This is hardiness, strength, determination, everlasting," she said sweetly, tears welling in her eyes. Khati followed, unrolling a plait of soft cotton in a deep green that matched Olei's eyes. She traced the path laid by Mama's leather, dragging her fingers over our skin before cupping our hands in both of hers.

"This is soft tenderness, gentle, subtle, beautiful yet enduring." I could feel every heartbeat in Olei's hand, and the growing dampness between our interlaced fingers. My Papa, stepped up, slowly pulling a long strand of wool from his pocket.

"Here is warmth when you are cold, when you are wet. This is land, this is life."

Lastly Deins approached, opening a leather pouch revealing glittering strands in the moonlight. The tiny, silvery chain glittered a thousand stars in the palm of his hand, which he quickly swept over, and under and around, and again until I felt the entire heavens had all collected on top of my wrist, into this one tiny pocket of time and space. I was overwhelmed. My smile was fierce though my face burned. A hundred tears came streaming over my cheeks, my chin, down my neck and onto my dress.

"Aether and Kote, heavens and earth, if not for their existence we would never know true eternal beauty, to love, forever, and ever..."

I took a breath. I didn't wipe my face. Olei didn't either. He turned to me with a curious expression. I wanted to speak. But instead I held my tongue. Without thinking I reached up, to kiss the spots on Olei's cheeks where his tears had left their watery tracks.

"Kote bless this pairing, may it live, grow strong, and remain true. Aethan bless this pairing, may it stay in love forever," our parents said in rough unison. The crowd repeated once and quieted.

Together we turned, as the crowd cheered and shouted in union, "Kote bless! Aethan bless!"

At first I couldn't take my eyes off Olei, it felt like a million years and it felt so good. It was only a few seconds, for after we took a step out of silence came a riotous clamor, filled with Koyote cheers and whistles. I knew that behind me Mama cried softly into Papa's shoulder. But I could only look at Olei.

As if out of thin air, the crowd produced musicians, dancers wearing ribbons translating drum beats and stringed instruments into pulses of color and rhythm. Crying, laughing, leaping people rejoiced around us for the brief journey to my new home.

I wondered for a second if Rhys was perched on his hill, and if he could see the serpentine movement of so many candles winding off into the distance. I hoped he would lift his old haunches from the bedrock and venture towards the game trail that would certainly lead him to a very good party.

Olei was nervous all over. A dancer gave him a mug of wine which he sipped gladly. From the corner of my eye I could see he looked over to see me doing the same. I relaxed my grip on his hand. It was pleasantly sweaty, but I didn't want to seem tense or afraid. I drank some wine. We danced with the others, we danced together. And with each drum beat colors came out of their hiding places and became more and more vivid; the drumbeats seemed to follow my heart.

From the middle of the crowd rose a man ten feet tall. Yakeh, it would seem, had borrowed himself a donkey to stand on. From the way he swayed it was clear he had been drinking. He clumsily clutched his earthen mug with two hands and hollered for silence, wine slushing over his fingers and onto the poor animal.

"Oi! Hey! Oiiiiiii!" He was shouting, and laughing, pointing fingers at the crowd before calling attention to Olei and me. "I'm going to be embarrassed," I half whispered.

"Fellow friends, families, lovers and skeptics, tonight we find ourselves gathered in high hopes for my sweet sister and the most gallant of gents, Olei. Aneh, you're strong, defiant at times, persistent and an absolute beauty – when you want to be. When I was little Aneh knocked out half my child's teeth for me. But now that I have new ones she tells me she just did me a favor, that I need to smile more so I can show off how darling I've become..."

The crowd was stirred by laughter, whether it was at Yakeh's bad balance or the humor with which he spoke. Once again, I started crying, moved by my brother's sweet speech. Olei's only response was to interlace his fingers with mine, and wrap his arm around me, pulling my blushing hot body into his.

"I love you Aneh! You are unique as the day is new and you'll always be the brightest star in my universe!" His words flew out of his mouth as he went down, feet in opposite directions, to plant his face directly atop the donkey's ass.

I ran towards my brother, pulling Olei with me, our wrists still bound. A couple of bubbly girls had come to his rescue first and now held him by the torso rather flirtatiously. They giggled as he struggled to regain his balance. I could hear him making light of himself to make them laugh more, "Why, yes, I am quite a poet," and "You should see my other donkey tricks." It made me smile.

"C'mon," Olei tugged gently. He sneaked us inside of our dimly lit new home. I turned to take it all in, which meant Olei turned to follow me.

"It's beautiful. You did this?"

"Yes...almost all of it. My mother dried these flowers, and my father inlaid these stones with me. This iron work here too, my father did that."

I felt I had nothing but stupid things to say. So I said nothing. My eyes must have been as big as my fists, which seemed to make Olei even more nervous. He spoke for me. Words in the air were a kind of comfort.

"I'm sorry I don't know what to say....I'm nervous, and I don't know you," he said. I looked at him briefly before turning my gaze to the floor.

"I don't know what to do. I don't want to disappoint you. I've never been so scared...I mean, I'm happy but...terrified," I admitted.

"What were you crying for, earlier?" He asked.

I paused to try and think, I looked up. "I don't know. I couldn't control it. All this emotion was spreading so fast through my body. Since I met with Rhys I feel like I've been standing in a doorway that leads to the unknown, feeling so scared. But now that I've passed through it I feel safe, like everything will be okay."

Our conversation was abruptly halted by the crashing open of a door.

"Ahah! Here they are!" Yakeh stumbled in. I shook my head and pursed my lips but I was happy to see him again. Olei moved to help the drunk fool.

"You can't hide yet!" he continued "You two are not finished at all. Mama! Papa! C'mon!" Four parents scuttled in, toting wine and giddy mid-age merriment.

I started without thinking, "I don't understand why this part happens after so much drinking has happened. Couldn't someone get hurt?"

"Aneh," Papa was giggling, "You'll understand, someday when you tie your child to another's. This is the fun part!"

Hesitantly, Olei and I brought up our bound wrists where Mother and Father alike could have a hand in cutting each band, winding it and knotting it about each of our wrists. Deins carefully clipped and pinched the ends of the silvery chain with some tiny iron tool he had brought. And as quickly and loudly as they came, they were done.

"We'll leave you two for the next part," they chuckled as they exited.

"We can just lie together, or talk. I have some really good tea, and there's wine, of course...." Olei was just filling silence, which was fine with me. I moved around the table and clumsily, I hugged him. He returned the embrace then took a step back, cupping my shoulders with his rough hands.

He smoothed out the back of my hair with his long fingers, I felt him parting it with his thumbs. The gesture was tender. I hugged him tighter.

"Can we go outside on the other side of the house? I'd love to look at the sky from there." I asked, suddenly self-conscious. I didn't want the light from the candles to show my face.

"Yes please, let's." The patio felt much less confining. The stars illuminated everything as well without the moon to steal their sparkling show.

"I know it's early, but I have to make a confession to you," I started. He looked down at me, eager to hear. "My heart has never stopped like that...when I first saw you, tonight." Olei looked at me like I spoke another language. He seemed the kind who lived happily oblivious to their own beauty.

"You're so very handsome," I continued awkwardly and without control of my own words, "...I just hope I can be as pleasing to you."

Olei said nothing for a moment which made me worry I had already said too much. He shifted his eyes up towards the sky; the bright band of the stars like a river of milk wandered through the sky. He traced its path with his eyes down to the horizon, before making his way back to me, where I watched, worried. I bit my lip. Taking a deep breath, Olei gently pressed his palm to my jawbone, running his fingers over my cheeks and lightly touching my lips with his callused thumb. Olei met my parted lips with his own, in a kiss that lifted my heart out of my chest and heaved it up into the heavens.

It took a few days for my heart to come back down into the realm of earth. I lay in bed, fitted into the curve made by Olei's sidelong body. He looped one hand around my stomach, the other passed under my neck. I weaved my fingers into his and worried for a second that we were so close my untamed hair might suffocate him.

I wondered if I'd get up before sunrise, or maybe an hour after, or half the day? It didn't matter, I felt happy. Everyday would happen and so far, we made sure to make the best of it. Olei worked the potato fields and tended the goats. He sheared the shaggy ones while I weeded and let the chickens out to find insects and take dirt baths in the shade. These chickens did not come when I called, but I loved them anyway. Khati was a sweet woman and I loved her like my own mother. Deins spent his days working metal in his hut. At night he liked to wear loose stained skirts and take sips of the hard potato liquor popular in Koyote. Sometimes I'd sit by him and he'd tell stories and smile, laughing at Mana, my new family's dog, chasing his tail.

At night Khati took time to show me how to weave on her loom the soft wool from the sheep or the thick and stubborn wool from the curly goats. In the winter I would learn how to spin. Later I would begin teaching all I knew about herbs and bees to little Koyote children. In the meantime I had to be careful that I wouldn't have a child of my own yet, though I found myself thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to have one, now that I was in love with someone I could easily envision as a father.

Chapter 6

Yossinda

I left the kitchens of the Red Keep heavy hearted. The brilliant blue sky, alight with the sun of spring and the green buds sprouting new life seemed to mock the sadness of the day.

The night before, one of the Five Great Saans passed away. SaanKote, the Saan of the earth element, voice and face of the Unmarked Ones, brother to the remaining Four Great Saans. In my heart I felt a light go out and the space where that light burned felt empty, hollow, hurting. I knew that SaanKote was now beginning his walk in the afterlife with the Unmarked Ones and that he would reappear in this life, for us, in the earth.

I'd heard rumors from servants who had slept in the keep that they felt the earth quake in the early evening, just as our Beloved SaanKote left this realm. I exited the kitchens and walked through the narrow outside corridor that separated the courtyard of the Domi from the great hall of the Red Keep. Even in this slender passage way had become warm with the heat of this pretty spring day. I turned into the gatehouse only to stop in surprise. There were people, hundreds of them, quietly pooling into the commons. They moved quietly and sinously like a giant river eel, funneling towards the blessing yard on the south side of Saan Citadel. Of course, I thought, there would be a farewell blessing for SaanKote tonight, so we can bless his life on earth and pray for his safe passage into the next life. I would never miss an opportunity to worship and pray, especially today, so I joined the mass.

I was overwhelmed as we rounded the entrance to the blessing yard by the sheer volume of people, the massive blue banners with the symbols of the Saans painted in gold hanging from the windows, battlements and balconies of the Citadel, and the eerie silence we proceeded in. From the corner of my eye I caught my sister lurking in a doorway fingering a tiny metal box – her Tinea box – and flirting with some young servants. She never stops, I thought, Good Aethan save her.

The ever solemn, ever stoic statues of the Unmarked Ones stood huge and decorated next to the balcony where the Four Saans would give their blessing. The faces of the Unmarked Ones, blank and bowed, towered three stories above us. Their arms folded across their chests in the sign of the Saans: an embracing X. These statues gave me goosebumps. I imagined the Unmarked Ones were just as tall when they once walked with us humans so many thousands of years ago, shrouded in white and full of compassion—just like in my dream.

At once the quiet crowd got quieter. A BrotherSaan was on the balcony with his hands in the air. His heavy dark blue robes made his outstretched arms look like wings which he then crossed over his chest before bowing his head. Though I couldn't see his face from where I stood I imagined it was tired and sad.

The Four Great Ones stepped out. Everyone crossed themselves and bowed again. The Saans returned with exaggerated movements, low, long bows.

SaanAethan stepped forward and spoke in a voice that boomed throughout the blessing yard.

"People of SaanSanti, beloved and faithful citizens, it is with great sadness we find ourselves here today. We have lost a brother, a leader, a gift from the elements and the Unmarked Ones. SaanKote, our kindred Saan, a voice of the holiest spirits, may you be walking with the Unmarked Ones already. May you forever live in peace and without suffering."

I started crying, I couldn't help it. I wiped my tears and runny nose on my sleeve. I didn't care who saw.

Each of the Four Great Ones came forward to offer their words of wisdom, their condolences, their blessings. All were as elegant with their words as SaanAethan I'm sure, but I became light headed after crying so much and couldn't make out their exact words.

"Yossinda," Yeidi had come up from behind to join me. "Who would think the death of an old man would have you such a mess? They will choose another Saan."

"I know," I sniffled. "May the unmarked ones bless him," I added.

"I heard talk in the Citadel today. It won't take too long to replace him. And you won't have to live without all of your precious Five much longer."

As she finished saying these biting words she pulled out her little tin of Tinea and slipped a finger in.

"Yeidi, why now?" I asked, emotion rising in my voice.

"It's just a little Yossy, don't get upset again," the rudeness in her voice offended me. Getting stoned at a time like this and brushing me off in the same moment!

We walked in silence. Yeidi left to go back to work in the Citadel, I returned to the Kitchens.

Chapter 7

Aneh

Many happy months had passed for Olei and me. As was often the case in Koyote, Rhys had read truth in the stars and I had fallen in love with my mate.

I was surprised by how much I thought about him and how anxiously I awaited our time together, even though we were never separated for more than a few hours. I loved his ropey muscles and sun baked arms and the way he squinted when he laughed. I forgot about his crooked teeth and went blind to any imperfections I may have once noticed.

Though work was hardly scarce in the late summer, one day we decided to rest. We had meant to spend the day lounging in the shade, telling stories and sipping cool tea, but before long Yakeh arrived, hoping as usual to get a glimpse of Olei's sister, Ive.

Though I could've predicted it, Ive was not around when Yakeh arrived. He shared his disappointment openly.

"Where is she always leaving to?" He asked.

"She leaves as soon as she hears that you're coming," Olei responded jokingly.

"That can't be the truth. Who wouldn't want to spend time with someone as handsome as me?" Yakeh grinned and slapped me playfully on the back.

I smiled, "Well, I'd rather not stick around and wait to find out. Let's go for a swim!"

After loading a satchel with some dried fruit, hard bread, and goat cheese, we left the tranquil porch for one of my favorite destinations. We didn't take the road, instead we traveled over the scrub until we got to the dried up wash. From here we could easily pad up the eroded stream banks, wandering over exposed sandstone until we reached a narrow canyon filled with cottonwoods and willows. Felled trees and leaves littered the pathway between big red rocks. We stopped for a moment to bask in the sun and let the dogs cool off in some mud. I took some time to collect rocks and arrange them into a rainbow which I nestled up against a little ledge on the side of a big boulder.

Olei sauntered over and leaned against my shoulder. His chest felt good against my back as he pressed a kiss to my neck. I pointed to my creation.

"It's a rainbow," I said like a child before laughing.

Our journey continued up the meandering canyon, where the towering walls shaded us as we followed the twists and turns. At the end of the canyon spilled the washer woman waterfall. They said this was the only place in Koyote where you could wash your linens from brown to white. Eager to cool off, I pulled off my top layer and climbed to the top of the falls. I jumped into the emerald pool below, followed by Olei who did an elegant dive. Yakeh flopped in just to make a big splash and get all of our clothes wet.

"So Yakeh," I asked while we floated in the water, "When are you going to visit Rhys?" He grinned like a little boy, his blushing face just visible above the water.

"Rhys said I should come back when I grow up a little bit....something about being nicer to my sister..." Olei chuckled and I laughed a little, but I was confused.

"You're not joking with me Yakeh? He said you're not ready?"

"Aneh," he chuckled, "When have I ever not told you the truth?"

"Probably most of the time," Olei said with a smirk.

"I promise, I'm telling you the truth now. He said I needed some more time for thinking and working, time to grow up and mature. At first I wanted to argue with him and prove him wrong. But then I thought some more. It doesn't sound that bad to wait for a woman. It will give me time to play around, get nagged by our mother some more, ogle pretty girls at the market..."

"That's likely what will happen," I said cheekily. Though my tone was teasing, I was proud of my brother – for seeking Rhys, for accepting his reading and searching for the best. Contented, I relaxed back in the water and stared up at the sky, lazily holding hands with Olei.

Fall was coming soon. It was evident in the relaxing evening air, tired and lazy from so many hot days. Fall meant harvest and hard work, but life was intensely satisfying. No longer would we be confined to the shade during the day.

The pockmarked face of the moon was just peeking over the red cliffs as we finished walking home. Olei and I swung our hands back and forth to match the heavy steps of our happy feet. Yakeh was well ahead of us, running to try and catch Mana and Kai when he noticed a stray goat. "Oi!" He yelled and pointed.

"Why do they always want to get out?" Olei asked the sky.

"Probably because you keep them next to your outhouse! Ha ha!" Yakeh laughed loud and clear before taking off in a trot towards the fence.

Lucky for us it was not too late and most of our goats were not very clever. We herded them back in, even the aggressive young billy, who went with some resistance. I went to check on the chickens as the boys went for the fence. They set about fixing it as I collected several eggs from my fat hens. The rooster threatened me with his spur, so I tossed a little pebble at him. Humbled, he sped away. I turned out of the coop just in time to see the billy catch my brother square in the buttocks with his little horns, throwing Yakeh forward on his face and knocking over Olei at the same time.

Yakeh was reeling in laughter but I sprinted over. Olei was clutching his ankle and making noises that were somewhere between winces and laughs. Light from the house grew stronger as Khati burst out and came running to the mess.

"Yakeh, that goat made you look like the fool you are," I grumbled, crouching by Olei and asking what happened.

"I think my foot went into that hole there," he pointed to a vermin's hole and some rocks. "After that I heard my ankle crack, but it all happened so fast."

"Brother," I forced authority into my voice, "I need you to quit rolling around and either mend the fence or help me take Olei in." He sobered up immediately and got to his feet.

"Wait, I can still help," Olei said. I had come to find he was the type to sacrifice himself for others, even if it wasn't necessary.

I looked at him and cocked my head. "I don't think so."

"Oooh, stern woman. Just my kind," Olei tried to joke but his face was twisted in pain.

At this point Khati had caught the billy and was returning him to the pen. I showed her Olei's foot, which was swelling remarkably. We left Yakeh and Deins to mend the fence.

Back inside we could see Olei's foot was getting bigger and uglier as we spoke. He would not be walking much for the next few weeks.

"I'm sorry I got hurt Aneh," He said apologetically.

I smoothed back his hair and kissed his brow. "It's not your fault. It was dim and that billy is always dying to prove himself. We're lucky his horns aren't any bigger, otherwise we might have more dire wounds to tend to." I got a smile from him as Khati nodded. "I won't mind doing your chores for a while." I added.

"Oh, I can still do my chores," he offered.

"No." Khati and I said simultaneously.

"Well son, you'll be alright. It's not your heart or your head." Deins patted his belly as he walked in. "I'll have you a nice set of crutches in no time."

"Yakeh you better get yourself home," Khati interjected. "Borrow a mule to ride. I'd rather only one nice young man get injured tonight."

"Even if Yakeh got hurt, there'd still only be one nice young man to get injured tonight," I said through a smile. Yakeh pretended to scoff. My new family had welcomed my silly brother with wide open arms. I was glad—in so many ways Yakeh's presence was a comfort. He claimed to be there only on the off chance he might get to flirt with Ive, but I knew he came because he missed me.

Olei kissed me sweetly as I helped him into bed that night. Heavy lidded from a drink or two of wine, he pulled me into his arms, "Oh Aneh, you are so wonderful."

I let myself be held in his safe embrace until it slackened and he was asleep. "I love you," I whispered.

It took Olei a few days to adjust to life without a left foot. The crutches his father had made helped him move swiftly and with surprising agility. I had to alter my routine to help with Olei's injury. I liked the change though I seemed to work constantly. The weather had gone from terribly hot to wonderfully mild. The heat from the day lingered long enough into the night, however, to make for pleasant stargazing on the porch.

I was out moving the goats one morning when I saw my father coming down off the road towards the house. Without thinking, I ran to him in a way that made me realize just how much I missed him. Our embrace was tight, quick, and loving.

It didn't happen often, but Papa was full of gossip and stories. The night before he had caught a traveler trying to steal bread from the back porch. Wanting to help more than hurt and spurred by curiosity, Papa offered him some food, a bit of shelter, and hot lemon water. He said the man spilled out his story like he'd been waiting to tell it. He had come from Guila, an eastern land past Saansanti and all its many border towns. Hard times and illness had fallen on his lands and family. He traveled as a last resort to Remiste in search of the Goddess Ameya. They say she was born from some of the first waters of the earth and had incredible healing powers. In other lands people believed she was the Unmarked One, the embodiment of the Elements.

"That wasn't what troubled me, though," father had said. The man had brought rumors from Saansanti, rumors of an unwanted kind.

I knew very little about Saansanti except that it was far away and supposedly a greatly religious and powerful city. I knew that the Saans worshiped all five Elements and the five great men who embodied the elements and the Unmarked Ones.

Here in Koyote, we really only worshipped two elements, Kote and Aether, earth and heaven, and we didn't spend too much time demonstrating our faith. We tried to live in harmony with the earth as much as possible and we sometimes looked to the heavens for guidance, as when Rhys read the stars for pairings.

Our village's namesake was for Kote, but as far as I cared that was all we had in common with the Saans. In Koyote, we didn't believe that the men could really compare to, much less embody, an Element or the Unmarked Ones. I'd heard one or two Koyotes say that it is blasphemy to compare a human to the Unmarked Ones. Humans are but little animals with clever minds and short lives, that's all. We are not spirits, we are not immortal.

The news was that the Saans had lost one of the five, SaanKote. Saans were very holy men, but they were mortal and they died like everyone else. The man said that the city was mourning the loss of the great one and that there were rumors they would be replacing SaanKote soon. He advised our village to take care, in case the Saans came this way. He cautioned us that as well as looking for a new SaanKote they might be looking for young men to take as underlings, too.

"What's an underling?" I asked.

"I believe they are servants of the Saans and also Saans themselves. Like helpers," Papa said.

I was a little curious about this news but more preoccupied with what was for lunch. I stood around the kitchen, listening to Papa and Olei talk while I mindlessly cleaned.

Olei was a lot like Papa in his reaction to things, perhaps that's why I liked him all the more. Both seemed to process the news thoughtfully and optimistically.

"I can't imagine that this news will affect us very much. It might simply be more gossip spreading from a far off city that we have nothing to do with," Olei said.

"I have to admit I am a little unsettled, the man seemed so nervous and agitated. It's possible he saw something that he didn't tell me." My father frowned.

"Have you told Rhys yet, Papa?" I asked.

"No, he was out when I called this morning. I'd be curious to hear his thoughts on the matter. He once was part of the Saans you know."

Everybody knew that Rhys was a foreigner, not just in the way that he looked – he was shorter and his features were more pointed – but also in the way he talked. He was more educated than anyone else and often used words the ears of Koyote had never heard before. I was glad that Rhys was here, in Koyote, with us. He had taught us to read books, to think carefully, and not to believe everything we're told.

A Koyote Story, from the Old Ones

After the Great Flood, the brothers were separated from one another by the widest of oceans, distances farther than the heaven from the highest rocks. Kote wandered the lands, making his peace with the Earth, speaking with the animals and learning the plants' names. Kote listened and saw. People began to talk of his ways and ask him for advice. The townspeople brought him gifts and sought out his wisdom though he lived in a little cave on the side of the desert hill with nothing to his name but his peacefulness and his calm harmony with the Earth.

Kote lived hundreds of years on the hill, his messages to the people he did not speak, only showed. Kote did not preach or pray, he did not beg or demand. Kote lived quietly and thoughtfully, careful not to take what was not his or leave traces of where he had been. He was like the Unmarked Ones so much that the people began calling their village for him and changed their ways to be more like him.

All of the Elements were important to Kote, not just his namesake Earth, but the heavens, the water, the wind and fire. The people revered them too, careful to read the heavens, keep the water clean, let the wind blow and yield to the fire. Kote did not believe he was one of the Unmarked Ones for he had a name, a face and humility. The people saw this was so, and treated him well and fair and sought to live as he lived.

Chapter 8

Yossinda

"Yossy, you have to come see this!" Yeidi grabbed my arm and was dragging me through the Keep's kitchens. I had so much to do and didn't want to accompany her, but I didn't fight back. She pulled me up the stairs and into the great hall, through masses of people waiting to see the King and Queen and profess their love or make small claims that usually went ignored. From the great hall we exited through the few stoic guards that protected the entrance to the Keep. Yeidi charged into the commons, the gathering area in the inner city that separated the Keep from the Citadel.

There, working its way through the commons was a large, elaborately decorated parade of people. Exotic creatures and painted people walked next to the caravan, they spoke in a tongue I couldn't recognize and tied their dark thick hair up in knots and ribbons.

"Oh my, goodness," was all I could say.

"Isn't it amazing! I heard these are people from the far far east, they say they traveled over seas to get here, to pay their respects to the Saans and visit the Domi."

A man with a painted blue body rode on top of a horse. Gold beads decorating his horse's mane shimmered and danced in the sun.

"I bet that's not the only reason they came here though," Yeidi said, gossip in her voice.

"What do you mean? Those are both respectable reasons for coming here," I replied.

"Oh Yossy you can be so daft. Why would a people travel thousands of miles just to say 'Sorry a Saan is dead,' or visit some King and Queen?"

"Because the Saans speak the truth, they represent everything that is wonderful and powerful on this earth. I think that traveling far for what you believe in is commendable. You should be more respectful." Yeidi rolled her eyes in reply before adding more of her thoughtless opinions.

"Well, it's not as if they came to marry the Domi, those inbreeds. Frankly Yossy, I think there's more to this."

Just then a great brown creature they had brought reared up and bellowed loudly, thrashing its painted horned head against its captors. I gulped and ducked my head in fear even though it was half the commons away.

Loris, a greasy man from the kitchens who mainly dealt with meat poked his head between us, breathing like a sick and dirty cow.

"I've heard that the new SaanKote is in there," he whispered between yellowing teeth. Yeidi and I stared harder, hoping to peer through the doors of the great litters carried by the small brown people. The new SaanKote...I hadn't even thought of that.

"Or, maybe..." Loris rolled his eyes up at us and grinned. "...It's a great warrior, come to chop of your heads!"

"You stupid ass," Yeidi said, "Saansanti has too much power and money. There's no other city on Earth that could fight us and win."

"Do you really think it's the new SaanKote?" I wondered out loud.

"Ladies I know you think me stupid, but it's what everyone's saying, that the new Saan has arrived."

I didn't know any better, and Loris seemed fairly serious so I believed him for the time being. It made sense that the new Saan would come.

"Yeidi have you heard anything in the Citadel about the new Saan?" She stood, absently chewing on some wax. She shrugged.

"They haven't told me anything more than just that there were some eastern people here. But I've been doing a lot of work for the few Saans that stay in the Keep most of the day. I like it better over there where the Domi are, there are more men, more wankers."

"Yeidi!" I scolded her under my breath. Loris probably had slept with Yeidi already, but I still didn't want us to seem indecent!

"So, did the new SaanKote come?" I asked over a meager evening meal of bread and cheese. Every few nights the family would all be together in our little house half way down the hill. I relished these times. Many nights Yeidi or I, sometimes even both of us, would have to sleep at the Keep. I never wanted to, but did it for work. Yeidi always wanted to, for work or for play.

"Oh, that," she answered with a mouth full of food, "This cheese has gone bad Father."

"Eat it anyway. It won't hurt you," Father answered. Our little brother ate greedily, snot dripping down his nose almost into his mouth.

"Don't eat so fast, Raini," I gently scolded, "Yeidi, what did they say?"

"Well, Katrine didn't really talk to me about it, but Asja said that these people had come to do some mourning. I guess they are part of the Saans too though I haven't ever heard of them. The Terrinites or Termatites or Ermites or something like that. They are supposedly Terro's people, windy people. She said something about replacing SaanKote too but I didn't really catch it all."

"Will there be a special blessing for them in the Blessing Yard?" My father asked.

"I don't know. Probably," Yeidi answered, disinterest spreading across her face. She had put her feet up against the table and was picking at her leg. I sat, legs crossed, and watched her disrespectful actions.

"Sometimes those blessings make the city too congested for my liking. Too many people, too many smells, too much emotion," Father added.

"It's a wonderful thing that so many people want to hear the Saans. We shouldn't speak ill of them," I added.

Ignoring me, Father leaned over to swoop up Raini, who had finished eating and was looking quite sleepy. "How's my little man," he said, "Do you want to hear some bedtime stories?"

"Oh, let's clean him up first," I made for the wash bin, taking extra time to study Yeidi.

"I'm going out," Yeidi said.

"Don't you have to go to the Citadel again tomorrow? It's not a holiday."

"I know," she replied.

"Wouldn't it be better to stay here and get some sleep? It's safer and I won't worry for you."

"No, I'm going. I don't want to be here tonight."

I didn't reply. I really didn't want her to go and I thought she was stupid for wanting to, but I was powerless. My father wouldn't think twice to stop her, he hated arguing with anyone.

"I don't care what you think, Yossy. And you don't have to worry about me," she said without looking up from her leg.

I shook my head in reply, taking the wash bin to the next room with my brother.

My sister didn't come home that night. I lay awake listening for her footsteps or the creaking of a door. I felt myself flush with worry I saw her later the next morning in the courtyard, flirting with some young servants of the Domi. She had dark spots on her neck, the kind you get from a lover.

Chapter 9

Aneh

Weeks passed with no news from afar. We settled back into our quiet lives enjoying sunsets and making simple meals.

On a day perhaps three weeks later, a light zephyr pushed fallen leaves onto the patio where Olei was shucking beans and peas. Out in the yard, I called for Mana and he didn't come. Much later, as I was weeding near the ditch, I found him and a pile of black tarry vomit.

Mana was breathing and had a steady, if slow, heart beat. I put my head on his abdomen to listen to the rise and fall of his body. He whimpered a little in his sleep, but didn't respond when I shouted his name or pinched the sensitive spot between his toes. He was completely sedated, like he had gotten into some of my monthly tea. Curious, I took a closer look at the pile of vomit.

To my stomach's horror, the black pile contained the distinct shape of some kind of fish. It looked, at least, like a fish, but its face was gaunt and seemed to ooze the black gunk that stuck to the ground and the edges of Mana's lips. It stared right through me with cloudy pink eyes, blind and dead.

Almost an hour after finding Mana and carrying him back, I still couldn't keep my insides from shivering and convulsing. I had been exposed to disgusting things before, but I had never encountered something so alien. When Olei asked me to find the fish I swallowed hard but went without fuss, believing I had already seen the worst. The crickets were silent, watching me walk though the fields towards the ditch. The sky felt warm and dirty.

Back in our home, Mana was recovering from his sickness. I had made him a poultice of dandelion, goats milk, ginger and mint. Olei thoughtfully poked and prodded the fish while I avoided its blurry pink gaze.

"Its insides are all grey and black but otherwise, they look pretty normal. Aside from the tarry mucous on the outside, it seems like any other fish I've ever gutted." Olei had made the best efforts to inspect the fish without dirtying himself, but I turned around from dishwashing to see Olei rubbing his eyes with a darkened thumb and finger. The effect was almost instantaneous. His eyelids got heavy and his tongue slackened. He couldn't finish his sentence. Instead he just looked at me, stupidly.

"Good Kote, Olei," I said aloud and rushed over to hold him. I wiped his hand off and felt his brow. He looked at me, gaping and sorry.

Using my strength, momentum and a chair, I managed to get Olei into bed and feed him some of the drink I had made for Mana, who was now awake. Except for being lazier than usual, the dog seemed rather unaffected. I hoped the same for Olei. As for the fish, I dug a big hole along side the goat fence, buried it, covered it with rocks and more rocks in the shape of an X. I would watch the plants around it to know if we were in deeper trouble.

Sleep came in pulses and I often jerked awake to check on Olei. He slept so heavily and soundly his snores were like rumbles of thunder while a stream of drool pooled onto the pillow. None of these things bothered me so long as Olei awoke the next morning. Thankfully, his breath stayed even and normal, his pulse did not flutter and he did not sweat, nor did his skin change color. As I lay in bed I wondered if I should've saved the fish to show Rhys and Papa.

The next day, Rhys showed little concern with what I was telling him. "It could be just a sick fish," was all he said, which made me think I had done a poor job of delivering the full intensity of the situation. On second thought, I realized he was overly preoccupied by something more. So I asked.

"The Saans are a very powerful, very influential group, " he began with a sorrowful expression, "They are educated, intelligent and have the appearance of very wise, godly men. They have hold of some very powerful books and rituals that I doubt they always use in the best interest of the people they are charged to watch over. Here they are now, looking for another Great One. It might be silly of me, but I fear for Koyote. We are after all, the namesake village of Kote, Element of Earth, tended by Unmarked Ones and not yet ruled completely by the Saans. We might be in danger. "

I was puzzled. The news from SaanSanti was weeks old. Why was Rhys still troubled?

"Do you think the Saans have to something do with the fish?" I asked.

"I don't know about this fish. I wouldn't be surprised if it came from them," he paused for a moment, his tired eyes staring off into the middle distance.

"I'm afraid if the fish has been poisoned by the Saans, then their power and reach extends much farther than I dared think. Let us hope they think Koyote too insignificant to bother us. Aethan keep us safe."

Although I thought it silly, I offered Rhys what consolation my little life experience offered. It seemed only to amount to an embrace.

Chapter 10

Yossinda

It took a few weeks of probing, but I got some answers about the Eastern people. Yeidi had been right about only one thing—they claimed to be descendants of Terro's people and they called themselves Terrans. Though the Saans had welcomed them heartily in several afternoon blessings the Great Five had also made it clear that the Terrans were only here to express their condolences and offer some of their young men as underlings.

But people still gossiped. Some people agreed with Loris, that the new Saan had come. Some were like Yeidi, convinced there was some sort of secret scheming happening in the Citdael. Yet the Terrans had come, they had gone, and there were no observable changes to the Saans.

I let it pass from my mind to focus on my work. Much of my time lately had been spent looking after Princess Eileen of the Domi, who had been especially unpredictable, making whimsical demands and then changing her mind shortly after. Normally she enjoyed things like gossip and cross stitching, but lately she'd want a puppet show or a banquet then decide she hated plays and wasn't hungry. It was terribly difficult to try to manage her without making her upset. Lillian, the head of us servants in the Keep told me to make it happen because the King said so. Never mind the waste, if the King said all right, they'd find the money. Tigus, the Master of Coin, always managed to provide.

"Where are my servants?" Eileen's high pitched voice called from an overflowing bath tub. "Get me out of this tub! I'm done with this." I had just spent most of the hour heating water for Eileen's bath and now after five minutes, she was done. I stepped forward with some great thick linens to dry her off.

"Stop, don't touch me with those yet. I want you to scrub my back. It is itchy," she demanded. I walked over with a brush and gently started cleaning her upper back.

"Ouch! Stop you cow! You're brushing too hard. Aethan damn you, Yossinda," she yelled, grabbing the brush from me and posing to strike. I cowered to protect myself. Normally I felt safe working in the Keep, but today I feared for myself.

"Eileen, put down the brush. Treat your servants nicely. They are the ones that take care of you," the Queen's voice was loud but silky and it stopped the naked and fuming princess from hitting me.

"Give me that brush darling and lean forward." Eileen sloshed forward like a child while her mother sat down and gracefully moved the brush over her back. Eileen was a little older than I and had borne no children, though she had been married to her brother for more than five years now. It was only the two of them. There once was one more, but it was an ugly, deformed girl child that didn't live long, or so everyone said. I'd also heard that it was given away to a peasant family. Some people said she haunted the Keep.

Without warning Eileen burst into tears. Queen Myrah shushed her daughter sweetly, moving to hug her shoulders though it got the Queen's sleeves wet. Her touch was loving and kind. I had always admired Queen Myrah, she was intelligent and quick, yet so tender with her children and considerate of the people. She was beautiful but strong willed, thin as a rail and very fashionable. Queen Myrah led the family to the Domi's private House of the Saans every day and she rarely hit her serving people. She was perfect.

King Manuel, on the other hand was a monster of sorts. He favored Tinea, the same awful drug that had my sister leaving the house at night. He enjoyed hitting his servants and was prone to temper tantrums. I'd notice him looking at me through the corner of his eye, but I never knew if he was just stoned or if he was interested in me. I hoped it was the former. The King was more than handsome but he was mean. To be chosen by him to warm his bed was a terrifying experience I'd heard. Girls that were forced to sleep with him were never quite the same. They grew meek and scared, often they were dismissed.

Queen Myrah and King Manuel were complete opposites and had they lived in a world where they could choose their mate, I was certain they'd never have married. The Saans favored a pure Domi blood line, it was something that the first Kin of Aethan declared was the most righteous and necessary. Myrah was destined to marry Manuel, by will of the Saans and probably even will of the Elements.

I wished I had enough extra money to pay the Saans to read the heavens for my mate. The Saans were so intelligent and all knowing, they made pairings that were long lasting and full of love.

Eileen had calmed down some and leaned heavily into her mother's arms.

"Yossinda, will you bring me those linens now please," the Queen asked without looking at me.

"Your Grace," I said as I handed over the thick creamy cloths. She embraced her dripping daughter with the linens and rocked her back and forth, whispering things I could not hear. I looked at my feet, waiting for my next task.

A knock on the chamber door brought me out of waiting. I peeked out to find Tigus, a portly man with no hair and a flaky scalp. He controlled the monies of the Domi, a chore that seemed daunting. I stepped into the hall to meet him.

"Lord Tigus," I curtsied.

"Servant child," he bowed his head slightly, his belly too great to afford much more flexibility, "Tell the Queen I need to speak with her as soon as possible, we have important matters to discuss. See to it that she receives this gift from the Saans as well. To calm her nerves."

One of the servant boys trailing Tigus produced a tiny gilded box with the sign of the Saans stamped on top. It looked like a Tinea box.

I nodded and curtsied while Tigus turned on heel to march back down the hall, a couple of servant boys close by his side. I put the box down and approached the Queen.

"Your Majesty, Lord Tigus seeks your counsel as soon as you find possible," I said to the Queen.

"Oh, Tigus," she sighed to Eileen, "I imagine the Saans have even fewer allowances for us this season. I have no idea what the Great Ones do with all of that money, but they certainly find it less and less in their hearts to help us along. We are the Kin of the First Great Ones, after all."

"Why don't we just break away from the Saans and collect taxes for ourselves?" Eileen asked indignantly.

"Well, this is how it's always been. I've brought it up in counsel before, but the Saans simply refused. They prefer to make all the decisions for us, like good fathers I suppose. I do respect their words and appreciate the protection they offer us. I'm afraid I must accept whatever their allowances are."

The Queen sighed heavily and stood up. Her expression seemed peaceful as she walked across the room and stepped out on the balcony. She must have been deep in thought for she didn't respond to the calls of Eileen, who was demanding help with brushing her hair.

I remembered the little golden box. Carefully, I placed in on a small silver platter and carried it to the Queen.

"Your Grace," I curtsied, "I'm sorry to bother. Lord Tigus brought this gift from the Saans."

The Queen looked at me with startled eyes.

"He said it's to calm your nerves, Your Grace."

Her expression turned to anger. Without hesitation, she picked up the box and threw it off the balcony, into the courtyard where a group of underlings mulled about.

I gasped, startled. Thankfully, the box only struck the ground before shattering. I'm sure the Queen would never have intended to hurt any of them. She continued to glare at their upturned faces, even after I excused myself to go help the Princess.

Chapter 11

Aneh

That morning, Mana's bark was shrill and upsetting.

Fall's chill lingered in the morning air. The leaves had finished changing into the warm colors that contrasted cheekily with the cold dew patterns on rocks and trees. Minutes passed. Through the window I could see the small twin shapes of a crow and its shadow dancing against the red canyon walls.

Mana barked again and the quiet beauty of the scene was quickly erased as a cloud of dust as tall and dense as the cliffside made its way towards our home and into the heart of Koyote. I pulled my tunic over my head and ran to the door. Olei hobbled to the road where Mana stood, arriving just in time to meet the barreling dust. At its apex ran a string of gilded riders on enormous horses wearing loud iron shoes. They carried banners with bright colors, their mounts patterned in sweat and lathe. They must have been traveling for days.

One rider slowed but none stopped. Olei lunged to grab Mana whose vicious barks were still audible over the clamor of armor and horse.

"What on Kote's land was that?" I ran to Olei much faster than he traveled towards me. Though his crutch was less necessary he still moved like a man three times his age. "Olei! Tell me, are you okay? Did they say anything? Did they hurt Mana? Did they threaten you?"

"Shhh. Calm down Aneh. We're both fine! Look at me." He grabbed my shoulders and shook me gently. I didn't realize how frantic I had become.

"Aneh look at me. I'm fine, " Olei continued to reassure me, "Nothing happened. They said nothing, threw no weapons...Mana was just defending us. Did you see the size of those horses? Like something out of a story. Their armor was refined, deep blues I've never seen before. They were so unreal, so strange...," He trailed off, perplexed. "Aneh will you help me inside? If you are okay, I mean."

Rather in shock, I took Olei inside to sit. I envied how calm Olei remained while I became so emotional and scared. He was kind and optimistic in light of the morning's events.

"Do you think it was the Saans?" I asked him, remembering Rhys' qualms and the story from the traveler.

"I don't know Aneh, it's possible but unlikely. But we don't need to worry. They rode by, they are gone! We are safe, they aren't coming back."

I bent down to kiss Olei, loving him for his sweet positivity. I wanted to believe him.

"I think we should hide, just in case they do return."

"Aneh, I really don't think they will return. We can go somewhere, if you are truly worried. But to be honest, I think we will be just fine," He said with a smile.

I stood there, Olei tenderly holding my hand, thinking about what to do.

"We'll stay here," I said, feigning content.

I shouldn't have ignored my concern.

In the early hours of the evening the travelers returned with their war horses and their gilded jackets and heavy boots. I ran from the field as soon as I saw them turn towards our houses. "Olei!" I screamed. "Olei they're back!"

My heart was pounding as I raced inside.

Three men were standing on the porch, staring at Olei with hardened faces.

Deins and Khati ran breathlessly into the opposite door of the patio to witness the men gathered like the three darkest nights I can remember. Behind them came what seemed a fleet of dirty men on their giant horses.

Their presence was threatening and anything but friendly. These were not the kind of people that would gossip and drink lemon water with you on your back porch. I felt powerless next to these war-like men.

"We arrive here as a direct decree from the Saans, as part of our quest to educate, enlighten, and awaken. Our mission is of the most noble and Holy nature," one of them said with an accent I could barely understand. They were all unblinking, placid like statues. The one that first spoke continued.

"We arrive in peace, led by divine will and driven by inevitable destiny. We represent the Saans, tamers of the Elements, the embodiment of the Unmarked Ones. One of the Great Five has been lost, he has gone to walk with the Unmarked Ones in the next life. We are traveling from village to village, asking the good people and followers of the Saans to gift to us one of their own, as homage to the great SaanKote, the one who has just passed. We seek only men who embody this Kote, the Element earth, and request that you give us that which the Saans desire most. Thus, through the divinity of our quest, through great prayer and meditation, our search has brought us here and with certainty, has ended," He paused and stepped closer to Olei, so there was absolutely no mistaking with whom his search had ended.

"You are bidden by the Great Unmarked Ones, of whose nature we represent in the city where all the Elements are unified, the most Holy city Saansanti. Come with us in peace, brother."

Unanimously they crossed their arms, touching their hands to opposite shoulders. Then they bowed, showing the tops of their heads in submission and trust. Again, only one of them spoke. Upright his chiseled white face shown higher than the others, but he did not stand as tall as Olei. I watched as Olei's height was whittled away by this ghostly man's gaze until slowly enough, Olei was kneeling, looking up. For a thousand minutes it seemed, no one said anything. I felt as if I had been trapped in stone, looking through holes bored for my eyes.

My stone prison shattered when Olei turned to look at me. I ran to embrace him and held on. Heaving and sobbing into his neck. I had no choice but to scream as the man I loved was abruptly taken away from me.

The taller white man nodded and motioned towards us, his ghostly skin had hues of green and yellow and purple.

"There is no time to waste," he said. With his words he ripped apart a family, a star-guided pairing, and my life. As Olei was marched out the door, I was sure part of me had died.

A Reading from the Calling of the Faithful

The first Saan Obith journeyed much like his great fathers to tell the people the news of the Elements and the Unmarked Ones.

My Brothers and Sisters, he said, it is not without great sacrifice that we must live in this life. It is known that the greatest of givers, those who do not take but always lend, those who never ask, and never receive, will flourish in the eternity which is life after this death. Those who sacrifice will walk with the Unmarked Ones when the light from this life has been extinguished and a new bright dawn shines upon them. They will walk with the blessed ones and know the mysteries of the universe, forever more they will know no hunger, no lust, they will never tire and never feel pain. They will become one with the Elements and become as beautiful and powerful.

When a neighbor asks of you to help, accept his request. When an overlord is tiresome in his demands, do not falter or wander. In the life after this, those who sacrificed will be equal with the blessed ones, as ethereal as the Unmarked Ones, as ever present as the Elements.

Chapter 12

Yossinda

Sweeping was a never ending task in my fathers house. Even though I had swept the entirety of the home— from the bedroom to the kitchen to the front door—I felt as though I could see more dirt settling on the floor. I sighed as I pushed the pile of dirt, dust and crumbs out the door. I had used the broom so much that the oils from my hands had made the long wooden handle smooth.

Raini bounded through the doorway in the warm evening light. In spite of the late summer heat his nose was red and runny. Dear Kote, I thought, Grace this boy with your healing.

He looked at me wide eyed and short of breath but didn't say anything. His shirt bulged from his waist unnaturally, as if hiding something.

"Hello little brother," I said, cocking my head with curiosity, "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing!" He squealed before darting away into the bedroom. Quickly he reemerged as if nothing happened. The bulge under his shirt was gone.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. "It's past supper time."

"No," he said, wiping his nose on his arm. "I just want to play soldiers." He walked over to the hearth where his wooden toy was and almost instantly began to play his imaginary game.

I watched for a minute, daring to nibble on some bread and dried sausage even though I had already eaten once that day. Casually I got up and went to the bedroom to find whatever Raini had been hiding.

Quietly I snooped. It didn't take long to find his stolen treasure. Under a dirty tunic was a brilliantly colored scarf. Even in the poor light of the bedroom I could see its woven yellow-green pattern, bordered by a thin strip of golden thread. I was startled—it was likely the most beautiful thing ever to have been in this house. But it wasn't ours.

I kept quiet until my father came home, tired and dirty from a long days work. Nervously, I approached him about the scarf.

"Raini has been stealing again Papa," I said.

He lifted his eyebrows, but didn't speak.

"It's not right," I added.

"What is it this time?" he asked with a sigh.

I got up and walked silently into the bedroom, carefully moving between the two small beds that we all shared with each other. Raini was fast asleep.

The gold of the scarf glimmered in the soft light of the oil lamp.

"Well, let me see that," he said as he gently lifted it from my hands. "My, what a pretty thing."

"We should have Raini return it to its owners," I offered.

"No. Then he might be punished if they report him. He's to young to learn that lesson."

"Then let's donate it to the Saans."

"There's no need for that."

"But Papa, he stole it. It's not right for us to keep it or sell it for ourselves."

"Good Aethan Yossinda, can't you see we could use some more money? Or at least something beautiful in this house?"

I scoffed in disbelief. But maybe I shouldn't have. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

Raini rubbed his eyes with his little fists, trying to get the sleep out. Even so, his eyes were caked with the yellow of his ever present sickness.

"Raini, my little son, come here," Papa said from his seat on the hearth. Raini climbed on his lap and leaned against his chest.

"You know you shouldn't take things that aren't yours," he whispered.

Raini nodded.

"We found the scarf. Yossy wants to return it to the owners and we both want you to stop stealing. Bad things happen to thieves in SaanSanti."

"But Papa, we need the scarf," he begged.

"What on Terro's lands do you mean son?"

"We are so poor. Yossy and Yeidi never eat and you are always dirty. I wanted to help. That's all."

Papa and I locked eyes. From across the kitchen I could feel his heart break.

Chapter 13

Aneh

People filtered in and out of the house like detectives searching for clues and offering solace whatever way they could. Ive stuck around for once and took care of the chickens and the goats, Yakeh talked to me at night and Khati made sure I could fall asleep. I mostly sat on the patio wrapped in wool, my face as blank as white sky before snowfall. My insides crept and crawled in despair. I had so many questions and no answers. I let it paralyze me.

One day I got a visit from an old man. So lost in thought was I that I couldn't even recognize him. It seemed like I hadn't been able to speak for years until Rhys came to call. I tried to count the time since they took Olei but all I could recall left me somewhere between five and thirteen nights. I sat silently.

"You don't know that Olei is gone from your life," Rhys said, a lilt in his voice.

"Don't I?" I asked, emotion rising in my voice. "Rhys, did you see those men? They were mean and huge and powerful! Olei cannot come back! They will not let him. Besides, I know Olei, he will not escape, he is too passive...and he's injured. He cannot run and he wouldn't even if he could."

"I had a fear, though I forgot it for a while, that something like this would happen," Rhys replied. "When I was young and still part of the Saans, SaanObith passed away. People came to the city from all over, bringing elaborate gifts – even bringing their own people as gifts – to the Saans. They were praying for the new SaanObith, some were hoping their people would be chosen as the new SaanObith. What happened, as far as my little ears could tell, is that the Saans themselves were out searching for a replacement. A young, earnest and obedient boy, almost if not already a man, easy to shape and mold into the new Saan. They demanded these boys from the villages governed by Saansanti, even from villages so remote they did not even know they were part of the Kingdom. Once all the boys were present, they made their choice. Praise the reborn SaanObith, we all said."

"What happened to the ones who weren't chosen? Did they send them back?" I asked, hopeful.

"Oh, good Aethan no, they kept them as Underlings. Some of the luckier ones rose up to become Brothers. The Five Great Saans used the Underlings and the Brothers do their work and run their Houses. They kept them, cut their manhood, praised them for their sacrifice and congratulated them on their acceptance into the Saans. The way the Saans convinced these young men not to run away was quite brilliant, actually."

"Do you think that's what will happen to Olei?" I asked.

"Yes. One of those two fates will be his. I don't think he will ever be able to return on his own."

"What am I going to do, Rhys?" Emotion clung to my voice.

"Aneh, I think you have two choices," he began. "You can stay here and move on with your mind. We will find you a new partner, go back to work. Or, you can move on with your body. You can go to Olei. You can find him in SaanSanti and do your best to live alongside him. I don't think hope of his escape is worth having. He will be a changed man once you find him."

I thought about the Saans that had taken Olei and I was frightened. Going to a place where people were like them was petrifying. There was no way I would succeed, let alone survive. But the thought of never seeing Olei again was too painful.

"If it had been you that was taken, Aneh, what would Olei do?"

I told my loved ones what Rhys had said. And that I thought I should leave and try to find him.

"We can't lose another!" Khati sobbed to me, "You're all we have left of Olei." My mother and father were deeply unsupportive and told me not to go. Yakeh said he knew I could succeed, that he believed in me, but agreed with the others that the risk was too great.

Looking at their pained faces, it was easy to agree with them too. I would move back into my parents' home, back to my chickens and herbs. Though my heart told me to do otherwise, we'd mourn the loss of Olei and then continue living our lives.

Chapter 14

Yossinda

From what I could gather, the Saans were up to something special. For weeks we had been engaging in special prayers when at the Houses and the blessings in the yard of the Citadel were often led by Brothers—Saans who were less powerful than the Five Great Ones but still very wise and spiritual.

Travelers continued to come to the city, bringing gifts for the Saans that ranged from decorated pots to embroidered linens. Some, Yeidi said, even brought their children as gifts to the Saans. She said they were hoping their child might be chosen as the next SaanKote.

People whispered that the Five were out looking for the new SaanKote. I heard others say that they were spending their days and nights fasting and praying. At least there was one thing we could agree on, the new SaanKote would be coming soon, Aethan willing.

Of all the people I would have expected to rejoice in the coming of the new Saan, the Queen was not amongst them. Ever since the day she threw the little Tinea tin out the window she had been more quiet and broody in private, though in the company of others she seemed her normal, elegant self. I watched now as she effortlessly produced a smile for her company of relatives. Her eyes sparkled in the midmorning light.

She spied me looking at her. With a graceful flick of her fingers she called me to her.

"Prepare me a bath," she whispered. "Make it hot. I will finish here after this glass of wine."

I nodded and left.

A little underling in blue stopped me on my way to the bathing room in the Queen's solar. His childlike blue eyes told me he was young. His hollowed checks told me he did not eat enough.

"Missus, the Brothers of SaanReas send this for the Queen's health. It is for her bath waters, to help her majesty rejuvenate." He crossed his arms and bowed to me. I returned the gesture.

What a lovely gift, I thought, amazed by the perfect timing of this gift. How divine the Saans should know of her Majesty's desire to bathe at this moment!

The Queen was much less delighted by her gift than I was.

"Of course." She said with a frown as she picked up the packet of salts. "Rejuventate myself..." she mumbled, "You didn't put any in here did you?"

"Nnnno. No you Grace." I stammered.

"Are you sure Yossinda?" She asked venomously.

"Yes your majesty."

She opened the doors to the balcony and walked out with the salts still in her hand. I waited anxiously for her to throw it into the Citadel yard below. But she remained calm. The only movement for a while was the cool breeze of the fall air.

"Send it back," she said. "I don't need their toxins. It's their money that I need."

"Your Grace?"

"Do not tell them I said that. Take the salts back. Instead, tell them I appreciate their gift of healing but that it would be wasted on me. Only coin will help me to...what was the word...rejuvenate. See if you can get the word to SaanObith. He might be very upset if I do not get what I want.

"Leave me now. I will bathe alone."

Chapter 15

Aneh

"Get up," Yakeh demanded.

I looked up from my wool blanket to meet his eyes and shook my head.

"If you're going to stay here, then be here. You're like a ghost haunting our patio. I haven't seen you move than five steps for days."

The truth was I had moved more than five steps. At night, when everyone was asleep, I had taken to pacing around the edge of our house, stopping only to look at the heavens and wonder what sort of fate Aethan laid for Olei and me there. I hated Aethan for what he had done to us. But I didn't care to tell Yakeh this.

"Put on your sandals. We're going to the falls."

I groaned. The falls were so far away. They were full of memories of Olei.

Yakeh bent over and pulled me out of the chair. With one swift movement he hoisted me over his shoulder. Surprised, I giggled.

"I'll make you go, like it or not Aneh."

"Stop! Stop!" I laughed. "Put me down and I'll come. I promise."

"Okay let's go!" He said with a chuckle. I won't race you this time because I'll win."

"Are you so sure?"

And with that, we left.

A couple times I looked back towards our house. It felt so good to stretch my legs and see familiar sights. The worn wood of a dead juniper tree still standing leafless in the pink sand. Fall colors decorating the remaining foliage on the plants and bushes. Giant cracks appearing and disappearing on their route through the sandstone cliffs towards the sky. The cliff faces themselves like old ancient peoples watching over me.

But not all was the same as we walked towards the washer woman falls. The creek bed was wide and sandy. Only small bits of browning water pooled in the shade.

"Yakeh," I asked, "Where is all the water?"

"I was just wondering the same thing," he replied.

"Isn't it unusual for it to be so dry? We haven't even had a drought this year!"

He looked at me and I felt my puzzled expression reflected in his. We continued on.

To my relief, the more we ascended the more water we saw. We arrived at the falls to find the pool was still there. Yakeh pulled off his tunic in his usual style—balling it up and throwing it at me.

As we laughed I looked more closely at the water. Something didn't look right. It had a sheen like a rainbow but at the same time almost looked gray. From the corner of my eye I could see Yakeh getting ready to jump in.

"Yakeh No!" I yelled. I lunged to my side to grab hist wrist, pulling him back with a jolt.

"Ow!" He yipped. "Why did you do that?"

"Look at the water. What do you see?"

"It looks strange...like shiny and dirty...but not mud-dirty."

"Do you remember that fish I found? It was gray like the water."

He gulped, remembering, "I almost went in! I could've gotten poisoned!"

"What is happening to our water?" I asked the sky.

Yakeh shook his head, "I'm not sure. Let's get away from here."

We told our parents and we told Rhys. Later there was a village meeting but everyone agreed there was probably nothing to be done. No one knew where the water came from that fed the washer woman falls. Some thought perhaps Aethan or Kote was angry with us for letting one of our own go. Others thought that a heard of animals had died and their decomposing bodies were poisoning the water source.

All I could think of was the fish.

Chapter 16

Yossinda

Once again I spent another nearly sleepless night in my Father's house. It seemed only minutes from the time I finally drifted off until the time the street roosters began to cry. The whole time I was waiting for the creaking of a door or the soft padding of footsteps. But after supper the night before, Yeidi never came home.

Anxious to see her, I looked down every alley, turned to look at the face of any blonde woman I passed. Perhaps she slept in the servants quarters in the inner city? No. She would have told us. I hoped she was safe.

The energy of the Kitchens was a nice distraction. Over a hearty flame, I let a pot of water boil hard before placing the first of several dozen eggs in. The bubbles stopped for a minute and I let the pot stay on the heat before replacing it with another kettle. Lillian caught me staring into the fire and came over.

"Yossinda, Katrine sent for you. She wants you to find her this evening in the Citadel. She needs you in case your sister is still unwell this evening, but I need you too," she said rather impatiently.

"Is she here? In the Inner city?" I asked.

"How should I know such a thing?" she retorted.

Yeidi's apparent absence meant one thing to me. Tinea. That horrible, dreadful drug. I suspected that she was telling Katrine she was too unwell to work—that she had caught Rhys' ever present illness.

I would have no rest today, but perhaps I would work hard enough to eat something. Standing in for Yeidi meant I would likely help serve the Saans in their giant Citadel. The excitement of working in the Citadel wakened me from my sleep-deprived state. A second later, I found myself lost in a fear that I would be inadequate to serve them.

"Eat this, you look as sick as your sister," Lillian snarled as she gave me some bread and cheese. My reflection in the window was worse than I had expected. I decided not to look up until my cooking was finished.

I left for the kitchen at Saan Citadel by ducking into a dark passage way so infrequently used that the steps were soft with dust. Through the stone walls I could hear commotion in the Great Hall and was grateful to have avoided passing through it. By the time I reached the exit the bottom of my skirts were gray with dirt. I brushed myself off in the doorway of a small servants quarters only to walk into a pile of dried leaves. I could feel their frail structures crunched beneath my feet as I entered the chaos of the crowded and muddy commons. People screamed and laughed for we had a reason to celebrate. Within the coming season we would have a new SaanKote.

Amidst the slowly moving entourage came a series of blue caps and robes making haste for the Red Keep. The costumes meant the men were coming from Saan Citadel, the markings on their robes indicated their rank among the Saans. They were led by an ugly little man hustling nervously at the front of the pack. I recognized him as Theodorius, one of the highest ranking Brothers. In their speed the Saans nearly knocked me over, I dove for a safe space between cart and wall, just within reach of a scummy urchin child looking to steal from a passing bread wagon.

We're all children of the Elements, I thought with eyes closed, and hurried on through the commons. Smells of vinegar and sausage and hot oil surrounded me; the air was clogged by the smoky stench of peasant celebration. Good Aethan save them all.

The guard at the door recognized me but refused to let me in. He lurched forward and brought my face up to his. His musky odor was thick and foul smelling.

"I haven't seen you here in a while, Missy. Don't you know the password? Of course, if you don't know the password you can give me something instead," he said wantonly.

I looked him in the eye and stayed silent. His breath made me want to vomit, but with no food in my stomach, I simply doubled over and heaved. Even in his state, he was disgusted and let me go.

"You're not good enough for me. Git."

He meant get to the Saans, and I meant to hurry.

The kitchens were run by the dark headed Dinia. She usually hustled about the kitchens with with rosy cheeks and a round belly covered in drippings and flour. When I walked in Dinia was wiping her eyes in between cutting onions and Loris was teasing her for crying. He stood turning a fat lamb on a spit, its still-raw body dripping blood into the fire. Loris lunged over to grab my waist I walked in, whispering something I didn't care to hear. He fancied a screw, but I was not my sister, and I would not fulfill her informal duties while acting in her stead.

Dinia pointed to the giant iron stove and the dough rising in baskets on top of it. I removed it and began kneading. It smelled sour. I coated my hands with flour so it wouldn't stick as I worked. If I didn't clean well, whatever clung underneath my fingernails would turn gray and ugly before the evening finished. The work was soothing and repetitive, such that I nearly forgot to put it in the oven. I put butter into little porcelain tubs and found the dull knives that accompanied them. For all the time they spent praising a life of simplicity, the Saans surely enjoyed the richest of food.

My thoughts blurred together as I worked. Finally Dinia gripped my wrist, pulling me out of my daze.

"Carry these up the stairs to the fifth floor," she said. She gestured to the now full trays of food lined up on the center table.

I snapped back to reality, and was suddenly nervous. "Oh, I really don't think I can...I'm not...."

Dinia interrupted my stuttered apology. "You serve the Domi daily. You should be able to carry food to the Highest Ones shouldn't you?" she asked. Dinia was kinder than Lillian, but she had the same intolerance for incompetence.

"If you're lucky, they might let you in to see all of the Saans" she added.

I simply nodded, though I wanted to gush with gratitude for her confidence.

And before dinner, she allowed me to go back to the servant's House and spend a few minutes in guided prayer. She knew the House would calm me, help me feel whole and in harmony again. I prayed that the Unmarked Ones would guide me from above, so that I would serve well and serve humbly. And then I listened to a reading given by one of the Brothers in the house.

Chapter 17

Aneh

It was yellow, slimy and solitary. The sight of it saddened me—it had no use. Just a waste. Could it have been food? Or a baby chick?

This was the fifth time I'd found an egg like this in my chicken's coop. Some of them were honey-sticky, some were dried up like old sap, and all of them had no shells. It worried me.

The chickens seemed unconcerned and continued on like it was an ordinary cold winter day. I inspected their food, scanned the coop for predators and examined the stream almost hourly. I felt as naive about the cause of the shell-less-ness as the chickens were of their laying problem.

Life continued on, slow and routined. Every night I went to bed curled up alone and thinking of Olei. In the morning I awoke saddened to find myself in the same spot, still alone.

I felt a guilt spreading through me for choosing to stay in Koyote instead of going after Olei. It spoke to me through the solemn faces of the people in the village. I heard it when I was warm at home and full of food. I heard it when the wind howled against the latched windows.

Chapter 18

Yossinda

"Stop asking if I've seen him yet. No one has seen him," Yeidi snapped.

"Do you think that he is here in the City?" I asked.

"I'm certain of it. The Great Ones are keeping him for themselves right now....training him and telling him all of their biggest secrets."

"Oh," I paused to think. "Have you heard anything about when..."

"No Yossy," she barked, interrupting me. "If you keep asking like this, I won't tell you when I do see him."

I frowned and starting walking faster to get away from her. The doors to the inner city got closer with every step. As I looked over my shoulder I could see my sister, now far behind, walking with a smile and looking grateful to be alone. Puffs of my flustered breath turned to clouds in the cold air, obscuring my view.

Weeks had passed since I'd had my chance to serve the Saans. I had arrived on the fifth floor that evening only to have the heavy tray taken by some young underlings. "Missus," one said in the high voice of a boy as he bowed slightly.

I felt dismayed by my missed opportunity which made me intensely jealous of my sister and her job in the Citadel. She seemed to be healthier—or at least not using Tinea—lately. It was hard to know if it was better to have mean Yeidi safe at home or drugged Yeidi gone from the house. Aethan save me for wondering.

As soon as I entered the inner city gates I wished I had stayed walking with my sister. A dirty slave cowered next to the powerful bodies of two or three of the guards. They grabbed his thin, pale wrists with enough force to break his arms and yarded him up off his feet. Afraid for what would happen next, I turned my head and kept walking. Behind me I heard his cries of pain.

In that moment I was so grateful to be a free woman that I took the last coins in my pocket and gave them to the nearest House of the Saans. Praise them for the life they have given me.

Chapter 19

Aneh

Terro's season came early, which was not a good thing. Either we would have a long, dry and hot summer or a harsh, blustery few months ahead of us. Neither one seemed appealing.

"Aneh," my papa called me. "Where are you?"

I for up from my perch on the patio and walked towards the workroom that abutted the east side of the house.

"I'm here," I said, aware of the sadness in my voice.

He looked up from sanding a board as I entered the doorway. My father had treated me so kindly and carefully since Olei was taken, like a fine piece of pottery liable to break. In spite of his kindness I couldn't help but wonder if he was embarrassed by our situation or burdened by an additional mouth to feed.

"There you are, my Aneh. I need your help moving these." He gestured to a stack of boards fastened neatly together. They were replacement boards for the chicken coop.

I nodded and bent over to pick up the heavy wood, careful to look for splinters. The shell-less egg problem had come to a halt a few weeks prior. But now the chickens had begun to brood—all of them at once. It was incredibly strange and left us all hungry for eggs.

Papa brought it up as we walked towards the coop.

"If those chickens don't start laying soon we might have to think about getting a new flock."

I nodded, a lump in my throat starting to form. Was it my fault they weren't laying?

"What do you think is happening with them?" I asked.

"In all the flocks I've ever been around, I've never seen anything like this. Perhaps they are sick, or they would like to be made into chicken stew?"

"Papa!"

"Some creatures are sensitive to others' emotions Aneh." My mother had quietly walked up behind us to contribute to the conversation. Papa and I turned towards her, startled.

"They might be feeling your energy," she added. Papa shrugged when I looked to him for his interpretation.

"What should I do?" I asked them.

"I think you should go see Rhys and ask for another pairing. The best way to recover from your loss is to move on. We love having you here, but it is clear you are unhappy," she said.

How could she be so callous? Tears welled up in my eyes. I turned to walk towards the road, eager to be away.

"Aneh," I could hear my mother calling, "Aneh don't be upset!"

The tears streaming down my face were quickly erased by the whipping winds and within a few minutes of walking I was hardly crying at all. Joh's dwelling came into view as I crested a hill. Without thinking I sped toward her.

Joh couldn't offer me the sage advice I often sought. Newly pregnant and constantly ill, Joh was too consumed by something lying in the dirt to even notice me approaching.

"Hello friend," I said as I neared her.

"Aneh, what do you make of this?" She pointed to the mucous covered, deformed gray shape at her feet

Chapter 20

Yossinda

Today I was wearing a dress of my mother's, a soft shade of green with a neckline that hung deeper than I liked. I tried to avoid wearing her things, it made my father so sad to be reminded of her, but I had dirtied yesterday's dress too badly to wear. It would have to soak today, dry tomorrow; for two days I would have to wear this dress. Though I had washed it many times since she had died, I couldn't help but imagine her smell when I was wearing it.

The walk to the Citadel was lined with carts and merchants setting up their wares for the day. Even in the dim light of the windy morning I could see goods, spools of wool, carts of cabbage and carrots, glass jars, bags of spices. The smell of a freshly baked pastry was enough to make me salivate. I checked my pockets for coins that weren't there. It was fine, I didn't need to eat. Fuller women weren't fashionable.

Most days I kept my wits about me as I walked, looking for pick-pockets and leering men. Today I was alert, but I couldn't keep my mind from wandering. I had had the dream again which left me terribly heartsick for missing my mother. Life would be so much better if she was still alive.

Father never looked at other women after she died. I often wondered what it would be like if he had. He had many female admirers, I knew that. There were some that I knew from the Citadel who had asked about him. He was handsome I suppose, and he was free. If he found another woman then Rhys could have a mother, and maybe he would get better. I vowed to pray for another mother for Rhys the next time I went to the House of the Saans.

My mind continued to wander the rest of the morning, distracting me from my chores.

"You're awfully slow today," Lillian grumbled. I cracked eggs into a pot, then threw the shells out the window where the crows waited like flying black rats.

Lillian managed to know what was going on all the time in the Keep but she never seemed to be anywhere but the Kitchens. She was head of kitchen matters and cooking, but she rarely did any cooking, only bossing and eating. I cursed myself for thinking ill of her.

"I'm sorry, Missus. My thoughts are wandering," I said apologetically. I shouldn't have tried to explain myself.

"Well stop them, it's making you a terrible cook. Look at the shell pieces you've let slip into the pot. Pick them out and finish with the mix. If the Domi find any crunchy egg shells in their biscuits I'll have you sent to the mines."

The threat of working in the mines was more than enough to make me give up my daydreams. My father had told me what the slaves do in the mines, and what Bridge would do if I didn't work hard. Father said the mine warden collected the teeth of insubordinate slaves.

"Yossinda, take these to the Garden," Lillian barked when I had finished the mix.

"Right away, Missus Lillian," I picked up a heaping tray of dried fruits and candied nuts and headed for the gardens trailed by a slave girl I had never met. She was afraid to look at me.

"Pick up your feet. Come on," I tried to be stern but kind with her, "What is your name?" She just shook her head. Either she had no name or she didn't speak my language. Probably both.

The yard was bright and I squinted hard. The sun was directly overhead. Flanked by the usual ladies in waiting, Princess Eileen, Queen Myrah, and Prince Estevan were watching King Manuel and Lord Aanders finish a wrestling match. I set the tray down, curtsied and said, "Your Grace," just loud enough that they would hear but not be disturbed. None of the Domi looked up or took notice of me, none but the King.

"Aanders, you're like a scrappy kitten, you wrestle like a coward with nails and teeth," Manuel said this as he looked directly at me. Sweat dripped down his brow onto his white tunic. Lord Aanders lay on the grass, defeated and breathing hard. Manuel walked over to the tray I had just set down, picking up a handful of goods and putting them, one by one, into his mouth.

"What is your name, girl?" The King asked me pointedly.

"Yossinda, Your Grace," I sputtered. The sun was still in my eyes.

"Bring me some wine. A man needs to drink after a battle won."

The King's expression wasn't of kindness or consideration. It was a look I had gotten before, from drunk men on the streets or from unsavory guards. His expression sent pangs of fear through my stomach; I believed I had just become the object of his desire.

We left to retrieve the wine. I was so scared that I sent the small slave girl back alone, knowing I might get punished for such a thing.

Chapter 21

Aneh

Only a matter of days after Joh and I found the other fish my bees promptly died. All of them. The queen was small and shriveled in the brittle comb. Had I killed the bees, just like I was saddening my chickens?

Too many confusing things had happened since Olei was taken. I couldn't help but interpret them collectively as a sign that I had done the wrong thing.

"Your mother is probably right about the chickens and the bees," Rhys said from a seat fastened from two flat sandstone rocks, "but as for the fish and the water, I do not know. It has been a hard year for Koyote indeed, from the loss of Olei to the mystery of the washer woman falls. But for you Aneh, it has been especially tragic. You have lost so many things that you love."

"Should I have gone after Olei?"

He sighed, "As I said before Aneh, you have two choices. You still have not made one. If you stay here you must find a new path. Learn to accept the loss and make peace with Olei's unknown fate. If you leave, you will find truth and perhaps Olei too. But you will not be able to bring him back in body or mind."

I fussed with my pairing bracelets instead of speaking.

"For my sake, I wish you would stay here. I do enjoy your company," he continued with a glimmer in his eye. "But if you go remember what I've told you. And be very, very wary of the Saans and their tricks."

Chapter 22

Yossinda

For a few weeks after the wrestling match in the garden, I managed to avoid the King. I traded chores with others if I thought he might be there. It was on my mind all the time.

I was in the servants' House of the Saans as much as possible now, praying for my safety and trying to find peace in the little sanctuary. I knelt there with my eyes closed, listening to the water trickle to my right, smelling the earth and letting the little breeze catch my hair. Until I heard light footsteps approaching me, I was sure that I had been alone.

I opened my eyes to the silhouette of a young Brother standing before me. I couldn't see his face well, but I could tell he was smiling.

"May I kneel next to you?" he asked.

"Oh, of course," quickly I crossed my arms and bowed my head. The Saan gracefully turned and knelt next to me. I kept staring in the middle distance ahead of me.

"I've noticed, you've been especially devoted lately. Is there something bothering you my child?"

The young Saan surprised me with his candor. I had never been approached in a House by a Saan, or approached by anyone for that matter, wondering if something was wrong. And me, I never would have thought to ask anyone to listen, or tell anyone I was struggling. I suddenly wanted very much to tell him everything – my sister and her drugs, my fear of the King, my mother's death that still saddened me. But that is not what I said.

"I find comfort here, dear Brother Saan. The House is the only place where I feel whole, where I feel like I can be myself, where I feel safe and protected."

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "You know, suffering is a holy thing, it is something to revere and respect, but you do not have to do it alone."

I listened to him, curious why he might care about me. I felt flattered, but decided that was not his purpose; that he was just doing his job.

He sighed, then made small talk, something very unusual for a Saan.

"The city is certainly alive and colorful these days. I've seen creatures I thought were only mythical and heard languages that sound like sweet music, though I cannot understand them. The coming weeks will be full of celebrations and excitement. The new Saan will be coming out for the nightly blessing this evening. Did you know that? SaanKote, more elegant than I could've expected. We had a welcoming ceremony last night for him. After months of in-depth prayer and fasting he was deemed worthy but the other Saans."

I looked up at the mention of SaanKote. This was certainly my strangest experience in a House yet, but it was not without value.

"Bless this SaanKote!" I said.

"Indeed, yes, Bless SaanKote," he said, getting up to leave me, "If you need anything, dear, I have ears for listening."

We bowed to each other and he left. In a minute, I would have to return to work, but for the time being, I was left with my thoughts in the safety of the House. My mind scurried thinking of a way to get to the blessing this evening.

The roar of the crowd gathering in the blessing yard was audible even in the courtyard of the Red Keep. How joyful the coming of the Great One!

How wonderful that the gloriousness of the new SaanKote was more than I could've hoped. We had begun the blessing in the usual fashion, crossing ourselves and bowing before the Great Ones processed onto the balcony. I held my breath as the last one walked out. He was tall and dark skinned, like SaanAethan but more olive. I was far back in the crowd, too far back to make out his features, but at least I could make out his wide smile.

He spoke with a slight accent—it was unusual but gave his words a certain majesty. I can still remember bits of his blessing now, "I am now one with Kote and now one with you, people of SaanSanti."

Chapter 23

Aneh

A moon cycle passed before I left. I spent the time when no one was looking gathering some supplies and stashing them in the chicken coop. Alerted by my new behavior, some of the chickens stopped brooding. They walked around now in the yard ignorant of the naked skin showing on their bellies from months of idle brooding.

Silently in a warm spring night, I left.

I ran with little and I relied on what I knew and what I found. As I traveled further from everything I'd ever known I was surprised at how giving and friendly people were on the way. I met people who had no crops but traveled, following herds of deer and never staying in a place more than a few nights at a time. One night I stayed in a village that had lost a young man too. As in Koyote, the villagers were powerless and frightened, though I did not reveal our shared struggle or my true intentions in SaanSanti.

Trusting people was not a luxury I could afford as a female voyager in a strange land. No one, of course, supported the idea of a woman traveling alone, but my relative height and strength seemed to increase with distance from home. By the end of the first month of spring, my body became harder; reflections I caught of myself showed a set jaw and a determined expression.

Evening was falling as I came upon a shack pieced together from graying wood and straw. Smoke exiting the ceiling was tell-tale of active inhabitants and I hoped they would let me by as most of the houses did. A haggard woman as gray as her house burst out wildly wielding a sickle. I jumped and tried to move on, but she circled in front of me and gave a threatening swing of her weapon that swept me inside her hovel. My mind was racing as the smells of acrid wool clouded into my nostrils; escape seemed less and less likely as the woman silently herded me deeper into the dark. She stopped me short in front of a mountain of greasy furs, a soft tomb around an ancient body. Prophet Halle, the woman whispered to me as I was presented to the sitting corpse.

Suddenly the body turned and snarled, "Stand there and let me look at you. Turn that way! Ha! You're a classic little coyotie savage aren't you? Look at those long legs and dark skin. Ha! You poor people are so stupid, but you don't even know that you are stupid, do you? Well come on and tell me, did you come to steal some more of our vegetables? What are you doing so far away from home? Kick you out of the village did they? Sit down then! I don't want you running away or sneaking about stealing my things. I need to find out what you're up to, and then I can know what to do with you. Hey! You over there, Chay! What are you making for me to eat now? No more soup! You're terrible at soup....Oh but my tea! Don't forget my tea now." The Halle was almost too frightening not to look at. Her piercing cackle set me on edge. Tired and spotted skin sagged from the corners of her skull forming bags and folds that elongated her face into a sort of pile. Long sprouting hairs wandered around her face across wrinkles and over patches where color used to be.

I managed a reply, "I'm going to the city, to learn about Saans, praise Kote, the namesake of our village, and perhaps educate myself for my people."

"Ha, likely story, little coyotie. The city is so far and dingy and dirty! You won't find anything but whores and more savages of different colors with their bodies all painted like they just came out of the ground. You don't really believe the Saans, you don't have that look about you. Are you a cheat little coyotie? Going to steal or sell yourself? I'll tell you, you won't find anything that's true there. It's here, right in front of you that you'll find a prophet."

I watched Chay's slight gestures of disgust every time Halle opened her old mouth, flagging the world weary with her floppy bottom lip.

Despite her obvious senility, Halle's comments were affecting me. I wondered if she was right about SaanSanti and my fate. Had I become so desperate as to completely ignore common sense? Suddenly the wind turned to wolves trying to get though any crack in the walls. Mice and moles were little ears and whispers that mocked and rumored my paranoia. Halle shifted in her seat within the shell of matted and rotting furs that padded her rocking throne. My silence spoke to her as stupidity. It was my only defense.

She motioned to Chay, "Put her in the box. I don't want her prowling around my property tonight."

Quickly Chay was on me, the sickle encircling my throat. To my side I felt the sharp point of the blade in Chay's left hand. The Prophet shifted herself from her seat and tugged the chair off of a set of flat boards embedded in the dirt floor. With a groan, she hoisted the boards up.

"You're going in there," Chay said to me.

Obediently I went into the darkness.

Chapter 24

Yossinda

He woke me early, yelling in a half drunken stupor. After an endless night of thrashing in the bed I was achy, cold and tired. I longed to get out from his chambers and into the safety of anywhere else. It would be as easy to hide the bruises on my arms and legs as the sadness and fear I felt inside.

The King had approached me the night before, after I had finished serving the Domi dinner. He was stoned and drunk with a hungry look in his eyes. Queen Myrah had been ignoring him, speaking with Tigus about their allowance from the Saans. Tigus told her several times that she could not have everything she wanted for Eileen, at least for now. Eileen cried into the shoulder of her husband. Tigus apologized lightly. To me it seemed insincere.

At first I made excuses and returned to the kitchen, but when one of his gentleman servants arrived at the door I knew I had no choice but to go on. Lillian looked at me with almost pitying eyes as I left to meet the King.

Guilt of what I had done lurked around me as I crept from the bed to find my things in the dawn. Manuel had pulled himself to the side of the bed and sat, smearing the grayish Tinea over his gums before returning two slimy fingers into little gold box of the sludge. It made him lethargic but curt— as if his slowness brought out his meanness. Now that he was drugged I was more scared, but I had more time to find a way out. Perhaps the Tinea would make him forget that he wanted me.

There were other servant girls he would call on, and I wished he wanted them more than he wanted me. I wished he had never seen me that day in the Garden, I wished I hadn't worn my mother's dress to serve him. And Yeidi had lusted after him before. It made me sick to think so, that I had to endure this, and had to work harder because she spent her time and our money wasted in corners staring into space, flies buzzing around her drooling mouth.

Doped up and slow, Manuel slouched back into the bed. He didn't notice that I had slipped out the door. I dressed as I went, past the guards that eyed my barely covered chest and ignored the purple and blue marks on my ribs. I estimated I was up only minutes before the bowels of the Red Keep came alive with servants. It gave me time to sit in a doorway and collect my wits. The previous night came back in a series of pictures that made me nearly retch aloud. Covering my face in my hands, I counted my sins and said a quick prayer before reaching to tie the loose pieces of my hair back with my hands.

I let out one solid sigh and measured my waist with my hands as best I could. The Saans said a wise woman was an old woman, and to look old you simply had to thin out, to accent your cheekbones and the skeleton barely hidden beneath your skin. I was thinner than I ever had been, yet I felt unwise and dirty.

Lights were flickering down the hall, signaling that my day had begun. Down the stairs in the kitchen I went to work. Somehow, thankfully, my body knew what to do when my mind could not. Tomorrow was the day of rest for SaanSanti, but I gathered from the usual servants' chatter that finally Eileen was with child. Today was a day of celebration and promised to be a drunken night. While the Princess had to abstain from sin, the rest of the city could rejoice in the news of life. In all it was a glorious time for the kingdom. I was ashamed to hope that Manuel would be drunk enough and forget to summon me. I needed a night of sleep and to heal. I needed to find Yeidi; she had gone missing again.

Chapter 25

Aneh

"You!" I woke from a disturbed sleep to the sound of an unwanted voice.

"You coyotie people you know, you're not very smart!" I was so disoriented from my time in the box that I was tempted to agree with the Prophet. Chay lifted the top from my grave and the meager light from the house filtered in.

"If you hadn't been stupid enough to relieve yourself in there I could've had a good night's sleep!" She matched her accusatory tone with a knobby blotched finger pointed at my face. I didn't know what she was talking about. I hadn't relieved myself for who knew how long.

"I had two coyoties in my property some time ago and they were eating my garden and just making a mess of the whole place! That one...," pointing to Chay laboring by the fire, "...That one just sat there and didn't chase them away! They looked just like you, ignorant, Godless, but I'll be darned tall and as skinny as a river eel! I told that Chay to go out with the torch and she wouldn't. All the neighbors called her a coward and you know, coyotie, I wouldn't blame them! But I'm old, and clever, and I couldn't bother to be scared by you. You're not smart enough to hurt me or even try and escape."

From the corner of the hut, Chay glared and muttered to herself. Her hair stuck to the sweat that clung to her checks and the corners of her mouth. I could almost feel the heat of her heart as it pounded in her chest when she helped me get out of the box.

"Let me tell you, let me tell you the truth, coyotie. The truth and you'll be saved, the truth so that you might live to be half as old as I am." She cackled as she sat in her chair and rocked back, flashing her full set of browning teeth to the room. "Ha! Anyone would be lucky to know the truth like I do. Those Saans, they have a good idea but they do not know it all. You coyoties would do some good to listen to me if you're going to keep wandering out of your little coyotie holes out there in the desert. God will give you no leeway in the afterlife if you don't praise Him and honor Him, our Lord and Savior. You are savages running around and thinking you can ignore him and keep thinking that the animals and stars are what take care of you. No one is more powerful and good than God. No one. No One!"

She pounded her fist on the arm of her chair so suddenly the spit was forced out of her mouth and onto her chin. She sucked it up without dropping her eyes from mine. But her soul said nothing. Her eyes were as vacant as an empty vessel, hollow, heartless and selfish. The longer I sat there the more satisfied Halle felt. She wouldn't listen, I knew, to anything I could've said. A woman like this could never be changed.

"Let her go, Chay," Halle said, "She's too stupid for us. The city will teach her a lesson and she'll be sorry she didn't listen."

I darted out of the house, grabbing my pack on the way.

"Steal from me and I'll kill you, you hear me? But if it's not me today it'll probably be someone else tomorrow!" Halle squawked in parting.

Though my knees creaked and my muscles ached I ran as fast as I could to the end of the village and collapsed in the safety of a field of tall grass. Hungry and squinting in the bright sunlight I fumbled in my bag hoping for some food. Nothing. But just then, a black cricket landed on my outstretched leg. Slowly I extended my arm, picked it up and put it in my mouth, thinking of Yakeh as I crunched through its thick skin.

Now terribly thirsty, I got up to search for water. In the distance I could see looming cliffs bowing over a gully. Confident there was water in their shadows I picked myself up and continued to run. The cliffs never seemed to get any closer as I mindlessly threw one foot in front of the other. As the day grew dim, shadows patterned their faces like great giants all standing in a row.

A black and gray speckled boulder sat alone, echoing the noise of the large stream running at its side. Its peaceful rhythm beckoned for company. Feeling the tightness in my legs, I was happy to oblige. After a meal of crickets, soft greens and fish scorched in a poorly made fire, I soaked my feet in the stream and listened to the chatter of the water against my great aching feet. The sweet chirping of a few crickets carried on a warm breeze reminded me of home.

I woke the next morning to the gasping gurgle of the stream. As my eyes fluttered open I recoiled as I saw not the water as I had expected but another dying black fish beached on the bare rocks of the equally sickened stream. Over the course of the night this precious tiny waterway had rotted into a dreadful memory of running water.

After a moment of shock at the sight, I forced myself to swallow my disgust and fear. I put my misgivings and trepidations into my pockets and continued on.

But my disgust soon faded as I approached the gully bordered by the cliffs I had seen last night. Indeed there were great stone statues carved into the cliff faces. The statues were taller than washerwoman falls, taller than the trees in that same canyon. Their shrouded heads bowed slightly over their crossed arms but where their faces should be, there was nothing. They were magnificent—more impressive than anything I'd ever seen a person make—and I wondered who put them there. They were like stone gods protecting the road. And though they weren't my gods, I felt protected by their presence.

Chapter 26

Yossinda

Dawn had broken, but the thick grey that covered the city had spread from night though dawn and into morning made it impossible to tell. To me, the clouds and smoke that clogged the city were as suffocating as Yeidi's addiction. I imagine she was feeling quite free when I found her on my way to the Red Keep. She was sprawled out high, alone and stupid.

She had glitter flecks on her face and chest. Along with her blackened lips and rotting teeth she almost looked a beauty in costume, except that all that spilled from her lips were slurred words and a stream of drool. She looked like an infant the way it stuck from her mouth to her hands.

When I woke her she was a happy stoned fool. Although she lacked the coordination to stand up she was willing to try. I shouldered most of her weight on the walk back to the house. Though she was totally incompetent she was kind. I wondered if it was worth having a nice, drugged sister in exchange for a mean, able one.

Outside it was strangely cool for an early summer day. Despite all of our efforts the Red and Blue Keeps remained clammy. I did my regular work tending to the newly pregnant Princess and in early afternoon I went to do Yeidi's work in the Citadel. I managed to hide my face when the King stormed through the great hall on his way to the throne; I thanked Terro he seemed too preoccupied to recognize me or seek me out.

On my way to Saan Citadel I saw my father, walking the same way.

"Another day in the mines," he smiled sadly, "mining the black and making the grey. It cannot be good for my lungs, but I am thankful for work Yossy, I truly am."

When I hugged my father goodbye he told me to eat more and that he'd see us that night. Raini was well when he left, he told me, and Yeidi was sleeping soundly, as sickly and tired as ever. I resented her, and I felt weighed down by our troubles, but I was excited to be in the presence of the Saans. Perhaps today I would see SaanKote up close.

Saan Citadel was warm and fragrant when I arrived. Underlings were congregating in the great hall for supper. I loved the magnificent hall. At all times of the day star-like lights illuminated the ceiling, shedding light onto the earthen floor. When no one else was around I could hear the peaceful trickle of the stream around the edges of the hall. All of the center lights that embedded in the ceiling were not burning oil or fat or wax. They glowed a heavenly blue and they never had to be relit or changed. It was magic. The mystery of the lights only strengthened my faith more.

Dinia ushered me into the kitchen shoved an overloaded tray into my arms. "The Holiest Ones are dining in the Solar of SaanAethan my dear, I'm afraid you'll have to carry it all upstairs for them!" I didn't mind. I moved nimbly in spite of the weight of the tray on my way up and up into fifth floor of the sky tower.

No underlings were there to take my burden from me and shoo me back to the kitchens. Instead, one saw me approaching and opened the door for me.

Inside was ablaze in warm orange light from paraffin lamps. Thick tapestries hung from the walls decorated in scenes from the Books of the Brothers. Together they encircled the Five Great Saans themselves. Each sat on one side of an oversized wooden table. It was hard to tell with all the plates and glasses covering the surface, but it looked like the table was inlaid with the silhouette of an Unmarked One. The head of the Unmarked One pointed towards SaanAethan while either an elbow or a hand pointed towards SaanTerro, SaanReas, SaanObith and SaanKote. SaanKote!

"Brothers, it goes without saying that the people love our new SaanKote, and dare I say SaanKote, I must agree with them," SaanAethan spoke from the head of a table, where glow from the lamps illuminated his eager eyes. The new Saan looked too young. His thick curly hair was cropped close to his head, his skin was dark and smooth like an olive. I had never been alive for the coming of a new Saan, so the new and strangely beautiful SaanKote was nothing but a shock. I had only ever imagined the Saans as old men with papery skin deep with wrinkles.

"It is a blessing to truly have a direct descendant of Kote himself among us," SaanReas spoke happily. The rest nodded. "Truly," some of them mumbled.

"SaanKote has already shown great humility and generosity with his concern for the poor and tired," SaanReas started, his moon-face beaming, "What fortune the realm has in your presence here SaanKote."

"I've learned so much that I never knew. What a shame to think that I've spent so much time without knowledge of the greatest truths of the world. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and insights with the people of Saansanti, and hope that we can spread our messages into the lands beyond," SaanKote spoke like a Saan, slowly but with intention. His crooked teeth showed white next to his dark skin and like SaanReas, SaanKote smiled, but his voice trembled when he spoke. I couldn't help but stare.

Katrine and her icy gray eyes noticed my fixed gaze and sent me back down to the kitchens. I hurried, suddenly well aware of how off task I had become watching the Saans talk, wondering how they became so wise and knowing. The hours they spent in prayer must be uncountable. I wished I had the time to be so holy. Suddenly I yearned to be a man, so that I could be one of the Saans.

A Reading of the Brothers from After the Flood

Aethan was the most powerful of the humans, with a strong desire to unite and connect with others. Even his great strength of mind was no match for his great strength of heart, it is said. Aethan wandered the land, searching for others and preaching good words of kindness and understanding. People wanted to be near Aethan for he had answers. They knew his name and his goodness and wanted to be protected by him.

Aethan received his strength from a fierce love for all, and his devotion to the people was strong. It was in his love of the people he found comfort in not knowing the name of the Unmarked Ones. But Aethan's heart told him that it was not the names of the Unmarked Ones he should want to know, but their essences. He prayed and he asked and he wandered. One night in a dream, his heart told him that a part of the Unmarked Ones was inside of him, and that he had been given a special gift. It was his destiny to be a part of the Unmarked Ones, and to share love, hope and faith to all. Aethan and his people made a town. In that town he labored to make the first House of the Saans. They built homes for themselves next to the Houses and grew healthy crops. Their strength was abundant, their passions were focused. They praised the stars and the heavens for they were powerful and mysterious. It was for the Aether that Aethan was named.

Reas was gifted with intellect and a mind that could create and solve. Reas thought about the great flood, the loss of the Unmarked Ones, and the power of the elements. Reas and his people, ingenuous and bright as they were, found a pure spring rising out of a great rocky hill. Reas prayed to the waters, for guidance from the elements and the return of the Unmarked Ones. Many nights he spent in deep meditation, many days he spent in council with his people. Build a great city, they said. When the people said it, the waters surged as if to say it too. Knowing it to be a sign, Reas began to build. His city grew and grew and the people worshipped the water for it was the pure element of Reas's namesake and it contained the Unmarked Ones. It was the water's power that separated the humans to begin, it was water that deserved respect.

Obith was very loved and the most able of the brothers. Obith was wont only to help others and to do as they bid. His namesake was fire, and his love for others he carried proudly like a torch. Obith walked the hills in search of the Unmarked Ones, he went into the mountains, he braved the oceans. Obith searched for them for his people, and for himself. He knew the anguishes of his people, their pains and their hungers, were his burden. His search was to help his people find joy and solace from their hurts. Obith sacrified himself, giving all of his time, his energy and his possessions to others so that in the absence of the Unmarked Ones, they might find comfort. Like him, his people had little but were always giving. Obith and his people traveled with animals, walking the lands to pray over all the living and unliving, such that the Unmarked Ones might offer protection and silent guidance. They praised the Fire, for Fire could make life and keep them warm, or Fire could destroy them in their beds. Obith had chosen his name because it was the element of Fire. It was the greatness of his spirit that kindled faith in the Unmarked Ones in all he encountered.

Terro was the quietest of all of the humans, and he listened to the sounds of the winds. They are still here, he spoke of the Unmarked Ones, they have just slipped into the shadows and they live with and as the Elements. Terro knew of the power and the violence of the Elements, they could be vengeful and unpredictable. He knew that the Unmarked Ones might help tame the Elements, so he and his people began their silent prayers to as the Unmarked Ones to forgive them, to watch over them and to please protect them from the Elements. Across the seas they traveled, searching for the Unmarked Ones, praising the Wind, for it was Wind that gave them power to travel and it was Wind for which Terro was named. They searched for people that were lost, for the faithless, for those who needed hope.

Kote was the oldest and the wisest of the human brothers, and did not seek out the Unmarked Ones. He understood that they would return when it was time. Kote did not ask the Unmarked Ones to help, to save, or to forgive. Kote wandered with his people in the desert, seeking not to know the divine plan of the Unmarked Ones, but simply to trust in them. Kote and his kin made their homes in the fiery canyons, bright in color, fierce in heat. They praised the Earth, for life came from Earth and food was borne in its soil. Kote had chosen his name for Earth. But Kote and his kin did not forget the other Elements, as every element was equally important to the people, and every element held parts of the Unmarked Ones and should not be ignored.

Chapter 27

Aneh

Although I was haggard and tired as I approached the outskirts of Saansanti, my desire to persevere was stronger than anything else. I was relieved thinking that Olei was somewhere in the city that lay ahead of me.

The land I was passing through was dotted with livestock tended by small people. Their skin was fair yet well worn from the sun. Most didn't lift their heads to look at me. Some would squint as if to see me better, then shake their heads as they returned to their business. If I was nothing extraordinary to these people, all the better.

Sheep scat littered the road that became wider and more even as I continued towards the unmistakable city. A few hills rose in the distance, crowned with tall peaked buildings and dark trees. Beyond the dirty city haze was the outline of a small mountain, upon which towered the distinct shapes of enormous edifices. Frightened by the sheer vastness I stopped running, only for a moment, and inhaled deeply.

I ran on into Saansanti.

The city itself was thick with moving bodies of all different colors and sizes. It was overwhelming, yet exciting to be so stimulated. Some people were dressed in fine linens in colors I had only seen at sunset, bright reds and purples embroidered with orange and blues. Most people seemed to be dressed as drably as myself, they were the ones pushing and trying to sell their wares. Their faces were relaxed though they spoke loudly, their speech as dynamic as their gesturing bodies. Their accents clung to their words in the same funny ways that Rhys' did. The thought gave me a tiny bit of comfort, but it was fleeting. I had no plan, nothing to trade and one daunting goal.

I spied a portly woman standing to the side of a wagon filled with summer squashes and young gourds in various colors. Her rosy cheeks and toothy smile inspired me to be brave.

"Hello," I said.

"You want a squash? Seven for two?" She asked.

"No. No thank you. I was wondering where I can find the Saans?" She squinted at me then turned an ear towards my face, "Say that again. You speak funny."

"Where are the Saans?" I spoke as loudly and clearly as I could.

"You want to find a House? There're dozens. The big one is up on the hill there," she pointed to a set of tiered buildings at the top of the hill, "Good luck gettin' inside, a poor traveler like you. There's a House just 'cross the street from here," she pointed in the opposite direction, to a white walled building two stories in height, "You're better off getting in that one."

"Thank you," I nodded and turned towards the House. The street was littered with rubbish and smelled like waste—both human and animal—so much so I covered by nose with my sleeve. As I crossed I was mindful of where I stepped and where I was going. Squinting in the afternoon sun at the House, I hoped that this was where I would find Olei.

For a moment I was held captive by the sight of the House—its strange blue and purple translucent windows inlaid in the white walls, the decorative X's printed on the door— and could ignore the people gently bumping me as they went by. The door opened and group of people walked out, looking at the ground. One man, robed in blue, remained at the door. He was short with white hair and white wrinkled skin. His sparkling eyes met mine and he smiled. I averted my eyes awkwardly and squinted in another direction. When I turned back he was there still, smiling. He looked both ways then approached me. I felt bewildered, but kept my expression calm.

"I bet you've not seen something like this place before," he said, his voice friendly.

"I've not. Your building is quite beautiful," I was careful to speak politely. By the way he lifted his eyebrows, I knew my accent must have seemed unusual to him.

"Well it's even more beautiful on the inside—almost as beautiful as the readings of the Saans." He gestured for me to follow him. I thought about Rhys's cautionary words and wondered if I was stupid to want to go inside with the little man. But I was intensely curious about those fragile walls and the meaning of the "X" symbols.

"Welcome to a House of the Saans," he began as we walked through the dim hall to a darkened vault of room, "Protectors of the Unmarked Ones, preservers and tamers of the Elements. If you're not one of us yet, you will want to be." He stopped and looked up. I followed his gaze. Natural light streamed through the windows, casting water-like purple and blue swirls on the earthen floor. I had never even imagined such manmade beauty could exist. In the background I could hear the echo of flowing water and the whispers of people in the shadows. Here I was in the shelter of the Saans and for a moment I was free of all the doubts I had had about them in my journey to the city.

As if this wasn't enough to grasp, the man turned around, mouth slightly agape, "And this, well... This will put anyone in a place of wonder."

I turned around to see a thousand little lights spread over the ceiling. There was something strange about these lights. They were not from a candle or the sun, it was as if they were glowing from within.

"I don't suppose you know the stories of the Saans, my dear, do you?"

"I know a little, mostly stories of creation." I couldn't tear my eyes off of the ceiling. It was like they had taken the stars and brought them inside.

"You look like you've traveled a long way. Care to kneel down and I'll tell you a little about what us Saans know to be true? No one on this earth should be ignorant of truths of this life."

I nodded, deeply curious about all of the secrets of the Saans, "That would be lovely."

A Reading from the Great Reunion

After two hundred and fifty years the son of Aethan had a vision. In the vision a soft spirit came to him, but would not tell Aethan's son its name. Where its face would have been was the entire world, and at times, his own face too. It is time to find my father's brothers, he told his people. I must go to the city, I am called. The people cried and wailed, for Aethan's son was wise and just. His strength of mind and heart had led them into their happiest times, and they feared seeing him go. Some followed him, others remained to tend to their families, their flocks, and their crops. They promised they would send their foods to the city every full moon, such that Aethan's son and his kin would know of their origins and maintain their strength.

Aethan's son and his people combed the land for a half a hundred years, finding his father's brothers and telling them of his vision. At the end of their journey, they came to the city that Reas had built. Reas' son cried in his relief, praising the Unmarked Ones for returning his kin to him.

The Sons vowed to combine their wisdoms and forsake their names and worship wholeheartedly the Unmarked Ones so that they one day might return. They would pick a name that would represent the sacrifices they were making, reminding themselves daily of what they had forsaken. Their names would tell the story of their people and pay homage to the elements that they most closely obeyed and praised. They vowed to educate and lead the people of the world to finding selflessness, loyally and peacefully worshiping the Unmarked Ones. The Unmarked Ones who had still not returned were embodied best by the Sons, who took the names of their fathers, SaanAethan, SaanTerro, SaanObith, SaanReas, and SaanKote. Together they were the Saans, the sacrificers. They called their great city of worship SaanSanti.

Chapter 28

Aneh

After my legs had gone numb from kneeling, the old Saan Errmann finished his readings and slowly closed a book.

"So the great X, it represents all five elements and all five Saans?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, yes. We greet each other by crossing our arms over our chests. It mimics the X, and also the sign the Unmarked Ones gave when Aethan first approached them."

"Do all Houses of the Saans represent the Elements like this?"

"Yes, they do. They are all modeled after the first house that Aethan built. The flowing water, the raw dirt, the prayers of the people inside...all parts of this house are sacred. All pay homage to the Unmarked Ones. I do believe they will return still, but that is a topic for another day."

Errmann began to get up from kneeling and I abruptly rose to help him stand. He jumped back, reviled by my touch, making a horrified face as he backed up into his chair, nearly stumbling. I was shocked more than anything. He seemed to share my astonishment, as he took a second to catch his breath and shake out his arms.

"Thank you for your hospitality," I found my voice, though I felt that all the air had left my lungs. "I think it's time I left."

"Forgive me," Errmann sighed, "Long ago I gave up a woman's touch...all of us Saans do. I forgot how little you know about us, I know you meant no harm. We do not house women here either, else I would ask you to stay. There is an inn right west from here, you'll know it by the sign hanging over the door – it has the stars cut into it. Please come back tomorrow in the daytime and continue to learn more. I can see there is a strength and a wisdom in you uncommon to many. Come out of your ignorance my Dear and worship the Saans, the Unmarked Ones and the Elements."

"Yes, I will try to return," I picked up my bag, wary that this nice old man was trying to convert me. Though I was impressed by the Saans, I wasn't convinced their practices and beliefs were best for me.

"Thank you Errmann, for introducing me to the city," I added politely. With that he nodded and smiled, crossed his arms in front of his chest in emulation of the embracing symbol, and I left.

Seconds later I was sprinting alongside a grubby child that had dipped into my pack and stolen my knife. "You won't catch 'em Missy!" I heard a man call at me. The child shifted down a small street, so deftly I almost did not notice. I spun and turned at the last second. Without the pressing crowd I caught up in a few strides and gripped a filthy wrist.

"Oi! That's not yours! Give it back." I spoke roughly.

The child looked at me with great watery eyes and a wet nose. My heart almost caved in to its pathetic appearance but my head resisted. This was a clever thief child, and I wasn't going to let this city get the best of me already.

I wrenched its arm. The child looked my hand dwarfing its wrist and whimpered softly. I was at least four times the size of the urchin, whose shoulder length hair was caught loosely in knots that remained stiff in the slight city breeze.

The child's expression shifted when we made eye contact.

"Are you a clown?" it asked, suddenly quizzical. I squatted down, still gripping, to look directly at it.

"No," I said, still breathing heavily from the chase.

"Well, what are you?"

"A foreigner," I said.

"Are you a woman?"

"Yes. Are you a boy or a girl?"

"I'm a boy, you stupid woman. You shouldn't carry your stuff around with you. I'll take it, or someone else will. Leave it at home."

"Well right now boy, I don't have a home, my pack is my home. Now give me my knife back." I shook his arm for emphasis.

"Fine. You need it more than I do," He paused. "You're the biggest woman I ever seen," the boy remarked and reluctantly handed over my knife.

"I'm normal where I come from," I said, putting the knife in my pack and adjusting the straps a little tighter.

"Where's that?"

"Koyote."

He thought for a moment, "Is it far?"

"Too far to go back any time soon. Can you tell me boy, where I go to find the inn?"

"Oh, it's way a ways back that way. You have do go down the big street, then you walk and go this way and then walk...um...more to the that way and you'll get there." He accompanied his directions with snake like hand movements, impossible to understand.

"I can take you there if you give me something," he offered. I was skeptical, but had no alternative.

"I have food."

"What kind?"

"Rabbit, dry bread, goat cheese, dates."

"Mmm, maybe. I might get hungry on the way. Come on, and don't be stupid this time."

Senses heightened, I followed the child, but had to be careful and quick. I was at least a head taller than most of the people in the streets and the kid wormed his way through obstacles lightening fast. Eventually the tiered buildings of the city center came into view.

"Hey!" I yelled at the child, "What are those buildings up top there?"

"The big one in front is the Keep. That's where the King and Queen are. The bigger one in back is where the Saans is. That's the Citadel," he squeaked. Through the dust and heat of the late summer air stood the silhouette of the Citadel. That must be where he is, I thought.

"Raini, child! I told you not to leave the house. Not to leave your bed, not to do anything!" A man came out from an alleyway and grabbed the child sternly with blackened hands and stains on his clothes. He looked up at me, his face was clean.

"What's this?" He asked the child without breaking line of sight with me.

"I found it! She's a coyotie! I was taking her to the inn because she asked and," his little voice turned to a whisper, "She doesn't have a home and I think she's stupid."

I raised my eyebrows as the man stood.

"I'm Aneh, and this child tried to steal from me earlier. We made a bargain." We both looked down at the child. The older man shook his head.

"Aneh, I'm sorry. I'm Rhyan, this little one is Raini. He is learning not to steal," he broke eye contact with me to give his son a reprimanding glare. "Coyotie, is what we call villagers or farm people from far away. Have you been traveling long?"

"Months. I came from the South East."

He raised his eyebrows.

"My village was called Koyote...it sounds a lot like 'coyotie'."

"Interesting," he chewed his lip for a second, putting pieces of some unknown puzzle together in his mind, "Would you like some food? You've traveled far, I know of Koyote and I think we owe it to you, for your trouble with my son."

I hesitated, thinking I might be foolish to accept hospitality from someone I didn't know.

"Welcome to SaanSanti," he crossed his arms over his chest--a sign of the Saans-- and bowed slightly. "I'm sure you are wary of accepting an invite from a stranger, but I think we'll find we have a lot in common. I have a long lost brother in Koyote, perhaps you know him?"

The coincidence seemed too perfect. We sat now in Rhyan's two-room house, having eaten bread and the rest of my cheese. Evening had fallen and candles lit up our faces. I had told Rhyan too much probably, about Olei, about my journey to SaanSanti. I refrained from telling him my wild hope that I could bring Olei home. Rhyan seemed content not to know exactly why I had come, other than to be in the same city as my partner. Raini had long since curled up in a bed in the corner and was sleeping. I learned his scolding earlier had been so harsh only because of his illness – water in his lungs – which called for bed rest most of the time. But Rhyan couldn't be on constant watch; he still had work to do to provide for himself and his son.

"I adored my older brother, but I shamed him. I know he left the Saans after I did, and only because I had many friends still in the Citadel did I learn he had gone to Koyote," Rhyan said.

"Elder Rhys is a wise and loving man...I can't believe he would have been shamed into leaving because of you. But I can't imagine why he didn't tell me to find you here." I added.

"He might think I'm dead, or he truly hasn't forgiven me for what I did. I was foolish indeed, but I would never have undone what I did."

We looked at each other for a second. I didn't want to ask too many questions, I was only a guest. My curiosity though, was insatiable.

"People do silly things for love," he began almost dreamily, "Mara was so beautiful. She was magnetic, the most powerful person in the world to me. I remember watching her, dancing with her, sneaking away with her. Her smile was brighter than the Saans' light, I could listen to her breathe and be more captivated than by any prayer from the Saans..."

As he spoke so lovingly of his late wife, I could only imagine Olei.

"Saans are chaste, you see," he continued, "and that was supposed to be my life's way. Back then only some of the underlings were made eunuchs, but in the time since I left, now all of them are. As a young Saan I was not chaste in mind, nor heart, nor body; when they discovered my true nature they threw me out of the Citadel and sold me to the mines. I was humiliated and publicly scorned, but I was liberated from my vow of chastity. I never spoke to my brother again. Though it would take me many years to buy my freedom, Mara and I were free to be in love. After I bought my freedom I moved here, to the inner city where we could make children. We made three."

I sat up straighter and looked around. I didn't think that there were other children I had missed. He laughed.

"They are nearly grown women now, maybe only a little younger than yourself. Beautiful girls they are, both working up in the Red Keep for the Domi. They have quarters there, so I only see them sometimes. Even though Mara died more than six years ago, they still can't look me in the eye...and I can't look at them either. They are so much like her."

I studied Rhyan as he talked. He had a long pointy chin and an enormous grin. His hair was slightly unkempt, and grew only around the sides of his head. It was short and graying and curly enough to hide the tops of his ears. He wore lenses on both his eyes to help him see, held on by tiny metal frames. I'd never seen lenses like that, in Koyote a single lens was prized. Normally if one couldn't see, one couldn't see.

Finally, Rhyan took a deep breath to break the silence.

"Well Aneh, I can get you as far as the inner city tomorrow, and we'll see if we can find out what they have done with your Olei. Don't pray for it, but if you're lucky you may catch a glimpse of him. As you know, I don't really have good ties with the Saans anymore, but I still have friends. You can sleep here by the hearth if you like."

"Thank you Rhyan, for taking me in and keeping me safe."

It was hard not to trust this man whose kin I knew so well. There was an air of desperation about him though. It clouded the room when he talked about his dead wife and occupied the empty space in the cupboards.

I awoke not knowing where I was, only to be reminded a few seconds later. Rhyan was stirring in the pantry, pulling out some bread. I reached over and began to prepare the fire. Together we made tea before slipping out into the early light. Raini was fast asleep in his bed. We didn't bother to wake him.

Rhyan was a miner, he said, but where once he only did as he was told, now he made decisions and gave orders. "I've lost a lot of friends to the mine... it owns me a little. Without the mine I would have nothing." Mines were where people dug out precious rocks, I learned. Mines were in the cold and in the dark.

We approached the great red building, the Red Keep, where the King and his family lived. The King, Rhyan explained, was directly descended from the first Saans. "They themselves are not part of the Saans, though they practice. They have more governing responsibilities. They keep the people happy."

The Red Keep loomed. There were thick walls surrounding it and towers with windows and flags waving wildly. I saw that these people put thin panes of glass in their buildings so they could see out yet be protected from harsher weather. I had only ever seen glass marbles, thick, heavy and chipped.

There were armored guards standing and watching while men in the blue cloaks of the Saans hustled about. Rhyan nodded to a couple of the guards, who eyed me suspiciously. Rhyan replied, "New labor," and stared directly ahead. Labor? I wasn't sure what he meant. I looked back to the guards watching me with something like hunger in their eyes. It was the first time I felt truly unsafe. These guards were much stronger than I and just as tall.

Though I felt uncertain, I had made up my mind to get to Olei, so we continued through a heavy wooden door propped open by a stone, into a tunnel illuminated by torches. We turned into a dimly lit room that smelled like sheep scat, though there were no sheep around. An ugly little man sat at a table counting what looked like teeth.

"Bridge, I've brought you more labor," Rhyan said flatly.

The man, Bridge, didn't look up, just kept counting. We waited awkwardly while he continued.

"You screwed my countin', Rhyan. Lucky for you I'm smart, otherwise I'd start all over again, and I'd add money to your debt." He smiled meanly, exposing horrible black stubby teeth. He looked at me. "Well, what do we have here? What kind of woman is this?"

He licked his lips. "Can she work?"

"Six and twenty," Rhyan said, nodding.

"Four and twenty," Bridge replied. "She looks foreign."

"Six and twenty. She's strong, from Koyote."

Bridge stood up, rolled his beady little eyes, and shook hands with Rhyan.

I had just been sold.

I stood, stunned and frozen. I tried to find Rhyan's face but the only eyes I could catch were Bridge's.

"Get your pack," he demanded of me and walked out.

I lingered to look at Rhyan, but he didn't turn. His face was like stone. I wondered how long he had thought of this as a plan for me. Bridge grew impatient quickly.

"Hurry up you stupid coyotie!"

Chapter 29

Yossinda

Fall had arrived at the Keep, making the halls drafty and my hands cold. I left the kitchens to find Katrine. She had summoned me to the Citadel again after what seemed to me like an eternity, thought it was only three months. For all of summer Yeidi had been well enough to work. Today though, she was not.

When I found Katrine in the drawing room of the Five Great Ones I entered the room slowly and politely, meaning not to make eye contact nor seem anything more than the little person I was. She motioned me towards her. None of the Saans seemed to notice I was there.

Silently, the doors swung open and Theodorius marched in. SaanObith stood up impatiently. I tried not to look up but I couldn't help it. The room was filled with leather-bound books and solid oak tables that must have been brought in from far away. Paraffin lamps lit the room from colored glass shades. The room felt comfortable and calm, despite SaanObith's apparent bad mood. SaanTerro sat at a desk to the west, his old white head barely visible over stacks of books and parchment. SaanReas and SaanAethan leaned forward by the fire nursing tall glasses and saying nothing at all. In the back of the room, SaanKote hovered over some books. His brow was furrowed as if concentrating.

"Theodorius, you are late." San Obith had a deep, commanding voice. I looked at the floor, but then my gaze went to Theodorius, whose turn it was to speak. He knocked the tips of his fingers together and squinted with his whole face. He looked like the dough I kneaded so often, his mouth made a tiny nervous frown, his eyes looked like bits of raisin pushed far back into his face.

Katrine began whispering directions about the food. I tried hard to pay attention and resist listening to the men behind me.

When I returned it was with a gorgeous display and several serving boys trotting behind me. After we set the food down on a warm oak table I sent them off and stayed in case anything else was needed. The Saans continued talking as Katrine poured each a glass of spiced hot wine. They ignored her almost completely.

They talked in low voices and I tried not to listen. But these were the most wise and most intelligent men of the realm, and I found myself drawn to them in spite of myself. SaanObith was tall and graying. His face was long and wore a short beard. His eyes had bags under them but he looked alert. I wondered if he was happy, because he never smiled. SaanReas by contrast had no beard and mostly dark hair. He had a round face and twinkly eyes, he smiled a lot. The corners of his mouth always seemed to be turned up.

"At least separation of church and state would give us a little more financial freedom from the demands of the Domi," Theodorius was speaking from a large chair near the table. He spoke loosely, as if he had already had more than his share of spirits. "That nit-wit Tigus they have for their master of coin has no training and probably loses half of what we give him! If not, he lets the Domi have whatever they want, and who wouldn't? Myrah is cunning and Manuel is a frightening as a moment in a lion's den. The man is insatiable – women, drink, Tinea – definitely a person who does not improve with the drug. Alas, I can't think of a way we can be separated from the Domi."

"And we never will be, Theodorius, they are blood of the First Kin of the Saans. It is our duty to care for them, no matter how meddling or difficult they are proving to be," said SaanTerro.

"Well, we have less money than usual right now and I simply cannot allot any more to Tigus than I have promised," Theodorius continued.

"It would not be wise to perturb the Queen too much. She will not hesitate to add fuel to her fire to get what she wants for her family," SaanObith said.

"Indeed, you speak too swiftly Theodorius, do not forget that we have a new Saan among us," SaanAethan's voice was a deep soothing bass. It matched his dark, smooth skin and calm expression. "Coin will not be a problem for us, as pilgrims continue to come to see SaanKote, bring goods, food and their riches. In addition, it is the beginning of the season of Obith and many, many were born in this season. Their birth taxes paid in homage to their patron Element will bring in much money."

Theodorius scratched his neck and squinted some more. Katrine filled his wine glass to the brim. He beckoned her to stop, swatting her away like a fly. "Forgive me for speaking so brashly. I should have more faith that the Elements will provide us with the means to survive. Even the pilgrims thus far have brought substantial gifts that I have overlooked." He sniffed over his wine and took a gulp before continuing. "And lest I forget, the new underlings are much appreciated. We have over thirty and one hundred, all to be outfitted appropriately soon enough," he smirked an ugly little smirk, "It's always tragic for the older ones to lose their jewels, especially if they've used them before." Only Theodorius was amused by his own comment. The rest of the Saans maintained their expressions of forced calm; SaanReas' smile wavered.

I left to empty the platters and bring up candied walnuts, apricots, and thick cream. The air outside the Saans' drawing room felt chilly and damp against my cheeks. It was so exciting to be in their presence! I hoped that I was worthy enough of serving them. I caught myself mid-thought and stopped, picturing Yeidi with her grey gums covered in the gray Tinea drug serving SaanObith a cut of roast pig. No, I'm sure that the Holy Ones didn't discriminate based on appearances or judge people unfairly. We are all children of the Elements.

I slept soundly that night curled up next to my little brother. After serving the Saans I was able to find my way home to Father and Raini. I looked for Yeidi in a few of her favorite alleys but had no luck. It was very possible that I would be back in the Citadel tomorrow as well.

For now I was safe and happy. Raini made tiny noises when he slept and he fit against my body like a pillow. I held him like he was a baby while he nuzzled his blond head into my arm. I dreamed I was walking with the Unmarked Ones in a land where everything was made of clouds. In a crystalline pool I could see the reflection of my healthy face...or was it my mother's?

Chapter 30

Aneh

I shared my room with a few other women with scarred hands and dirty faces. Their backs were bent over and most were old. None were hesitant to probe, and they looked at me with hunger in their eyes. I had little for them to take. Little Raini and Rhyan had gone through my pack in my sleep and taken anything of value. All I had were some extra clothes – far too ill-fitting for any of the women there – and my pack. "Take it," I said. I didn't care. I was now a slave in a dirty, hopeless city. In only a few hours I had been given a black, bold tattoo on my arm to show I was a slave in the mines.

Working in the mine was like working with death. The air was dirty and heavy, there was little light and everything was cold. The robes they gave me were covered in the black tarry smudge we mined. Tinea ore, they called it, and warned me of its toxicity. It was deep in my fingernails and made me tired. My sweat carried off the dust that collected on my skin, making streaks on my neck and arms. The substance was more precious than any metal or gem. We were inspected after work, to make sure we weren't stealing it. I couldn't imagine why anyone would.

The dust and dirt came off easily enough when we got to wash up once a day after the shift. They fed us stale bread and broth to soften it. There was some sausage and greasy bacon. I had never eaten pig before. It was a marvelously delicious creature, but the taste was deadened by my misery.

I cursed myself for not having tried to escape in the moments after I was sold, and for trusting a man I barely knew. Escape now would not be easy, but there were glimmers of opportunity. Once every five days we were allowed to wander the common grounds outside of the Keep for the Saans blessing. They blessed the slaves, servants and common peoples at dusk so the evening stars were just visible. We were herded back into our quarters immediately after the blessing by heavily armored guards carrying a slew of threatening weapons. These guard were similar to the ones who had come to Koyote. Looking at them reminded me of why I had come, yet now they were the ones keeping me here.

One of the kindlier women the quarters could see my mind working and told me not to think about escaping. Zanne was darker, like me, but shorter and with more bosom. She warned me to fear Bridge, the mine warden, who put runaways in the deepest prison cells until they went crazy, then brought them back and worked them to death. She had lost a friend that way, she said. She kept her hair short and advised me to keep my wits about me.

"The man Bridge, he is no good. He likes us foreign women, so mind your backside," she whispered.

It was many days...maybe sixty...maybe more, before I was allowed to go to the blessing and prayer in the blessing yard. Time passed slowly, miserably. Now I stood in the dim evening light, crowded amongst a thousand other people as dirty as I was, with a distant view of a balcony protected by two enormous faceless statues crossing themselves—the Unmarked Ones. Until that day I had seen very few Saans but I hoped with every face I saw that one of them would be my love.

Walking into the Blessing Yard awakened what felt like a distant memory for me. Great hooded figures carved in stone stood against the walls in the yard, nearly as tall as the ones I had seen carved into the cliffs so long ago. The Unmarked Ones, watching over us. The great embracing X decorated everything around the Blessing Yard. It was etched into the stones, embroidered on the flags and banners in gold stitching. I saw tattoos of it on people's arms and painted on faces.

There was a moment of quiet as some small men in blue robes emerged on the balcony. I strained to see if Olei was among them. I was so far back I could not understand what they said, I only watched and softly imitated the actions of those around me. People repeatedly spread their arms up and relaxed their heads back, faces pointed to the sky. Finally, they crossed their arms across their chests before bending down and giving an exaggerated bow.

Finally, five figures processed out on to the balcony. One was distinctly taller and darker than the others.

I must have looked crazy – I suppose I was — as I shrank back in the crowd. I fought back tears but they streamed down my face, wetting the collar of my dirty shirt and blurring my vision. He was so far away from me and there were so many people between us, people with power, people with weapons. I would have braved them all, but suddenly the depth of our story became a gulf at my feet and I was frozen.

Olei had become a Saan. They had chosen him, made him the SaanKote. He was elevated, with the Unmarked Ones now, and I was a slave.

Chapter 31

Aneh

Five painful days passed. I dreamed every night of Olei, of home, of simple things that had happened not so long ago, but were from another lifetime. The dreams were so vivid and real that I longed for them during my waking hours because it was in dreaming that I felt loved, happy and safe. When I awoke the reality of my situation swept away the fog of sleep abruptly, harshly. Where there had been hope was now only despair.

"You are lost in thought," Zanne said to me as I toyed with my dinner.

"Oh, no I'm just not hungry," I lied.

I made my way early and claimed a space as close to the balcony as possible. I waited as people filtered in and tried to push me out of the way, but I was determined and held my ground. I had only wiped my face clean to save time. I was certain I looked dreadful, but I hoped recognizable, especially in this foreign crowd.

The ceremony started and I participated, reaching and bowing, waiting for the entrance of the Saans. When they came I could see they were all smiling, they were all proud. To see Olei's smile was wonderful and torturous all at once. I remembered our sweet life together in that smile, but as gleeful as it was, it was also genuine. With shock, I realized it looked like Olei was happy. He spread his arms to join the crowd in the ritual of mimicking the Unmarked Ones. When the Saans joined the ritual they prayed in between motions. Finally, during one prayer, Olei looked down and froze. I smiled closed-mouthed, emotion rushing from my heart and spreading all over my face. He looked away. But he saw me, he knew me, I know it. If Olei knew I was there, he would find me.

I spent my time after that concocting schemes for getting closer to the Saans. I muttered a few questions to other slaves when I felt it was safe. How deep do the mines go? How far do they extend? Where is the Tinea ore delivered? No one really knew anything helpful, or they were too afraid. It seemed every time I spoke to someone I'd turn around to find Bridge ogling me greedily with his big red-rimmed eyes.

Zanne watched over me too. She had become the closest thing to a friend that I had since I started my journey. She didn't say much, but she was patient and always looked me in the eye, never treating me like the huge anomalous creature that everyone else did. If we worked side by side, she would shoulder just as much of the work instead of relying on my size for all the heavy lifting.

I wish that I had listened more carefully to Zanne when she cautioned me against asking to many questions or straying from our schedule. Because of my curiosity, I would never get another chance to see Olei give the blessing again.

The winter brought heavy rains. In the mines the water levels were rising. There was a spring somewhere near the heart of the Citadel, I'd heard, and it had begun to surge, leaving pools of water for the Tinea to seep into and creating even more treacherous conditions for us workers.

Zanne and I were heaving pickaxes into a seam in the wall, our boots wading in a pool of thick, blackish water. It shimmered on the surface, reflecting the light from some torches. Zanne was humming while she worked, I was enjoying her music as I chipped away at the wall. I had been telling her earlier about the kind of work I used to do, farming mostly, and about my chickens and my bees. Bees? I do not know them, she said.

I set my pick down to wipe sweat from my brow. Zanne ceased for a minute, but not to rest.

"Aneh," she whispered, then motioned with her head for me to come closer to her. She pointed to a dark cavity in the wall with the tip of her pickaxe. I looked behind me to see if Bridge was watching and when I felt confident he wasn't, I walked over to where Zanne was looking. In the poorly lit cavern the doorway blended into the surrounding rocks such that I would've never noticed from where I stood that such a thing existed. I chipped at the walls around the doorway, trying to inspect the inside. A bright flicker of torch light illuminated the edges of crumbling stairs going up. Zanne looked at me sternly.

"This might be your only chance. Don't do anything stupid," she whispered harshly.

"But when Bridge notices I am gone..." I started with fear in my voice, "What will become of you Zanne?"

"Go."

I quietly placed my axe in the shadows and entered the passageway. The stairs were in a poor state; I crawled up on all fours, feeling with my hands before I moved forward. The air was stagnant and musky like it had been sitting there since the beginning of time. I was reluctant to breathe it though my racing heart wanted more air.

I went on for what seemed hours. As I padded up I thought of what I might do once I was free, how I might hide myself, where I might go. All of this abruptly stopped when I could no longer find another stair to go up. Instead all I felt was ore, chunks of it, rising to the ceiling of the tunnel in front of me. I would have to turn back.

Fear rose in my throat. After every few steps down I would listen for any sign that Bridge had come to get me. But all I could hear were the rhythmic strikes of Zanne's axe against the wall. At last I saw my axe in the doorway. I gripped it, walked cautiously out of the doorway and went back to work as if nothing had happened.

Minutes passed before I told Zanne what had happened.

She nodded and knelt down to put loose ore into a basket.

I turned towards her again, intending to ask a question. Her eyes got wide as she noticed something behind me and I turned back in time to catch Bridge, mid-swing, mallet in hand. Time slowed as the mallet crashed into my face. On the ground, my head and mouth pounding, I saw him descend like a grinning nightmare, kicking. He snarled, almost spitting his words in my face: stupid coyotie, thought you could escape eh? I knew you'd try to get out you damned fool. I spit out a tooth. Zanne stayed silent – she knew better – but when Bridge's final blow sent me unconscious into the poisoned Tinea water, I knew that Zanne pulled me out.

Chapter 32

Aneh

When I awoke I was achy, nauseated, and afraid to move. I lay there on the stiff bed and listened for noises around me. Silence. Natural light streamed in through a window, illuminating various tiny jars set in the center of a high table. I wondered if the thick door to my right was locked. But wonder was all I could do. Too tired and hurt to care if I was safe or not, I fell back asleep.

I woke again to the sound of sweeping. A thin woman with mousey brown hair and a high-necked dress appeared over me and spoke very fast but I didn't know what she was saying; my mind was still clouded with the haze of sleep. She was asking questions. I tried to reply, but found I couldn't open my mouth. The noises I made were muffled, like quiet whimpers. She paused and looked at me.

"Oh, Dear," she said. "Your face is still so bruised that you can't talk. Pardon me. Must have been quite the accident to have knocked out those teeth and cracked your ribs. Your head was so swollen you looked like a monster! Good thing you are so strong, most mine folk wouldn't have survived. We must feed you something. You haven't eaten for days since you were brought in."

She was kindly, but through all her fussing never made eye contact with me. When she left she closed the door quietly and spoke softly to someone outside. Based on what I had seen in the mines, other slaves would be left for dead or otherwise neglected. Someone was on my side.

The door creaked open and four underlings shuffled in wearing their blue cloaks and spread around the room, keeping a safe distance from me. I watched one with restless hands, another swaying back and forth, staring out into the middle distance. The door shut and suddenly there among them was Olei. In unison they crossed their arms over their chests and bowed their heads.

Confused, aching, and overjoyed, I had only my eyes to try and communicate the gratitude I felt in that moment. He looked at me with almost pitying eyes. I wanted to hold him so badly, I wanted to feel his embrace and his breath on my neck. I wanted him to comfort me, to tell me we would escape, that we could go home.

Instead he just looked. I knew that the Saans wouldn't touch women, especially the one of the Five. It was some relief knowing why he wouldn't come closer, but his presence after so many months of wanting and wishing was torturous.

"Little coyotie, you are truly devoted to come pay homage to the Saans, to have come all the way from your town and only to have fallen into such a tragic situation. Thank Kote we have such fine healers to help you mend safely. I am grateful that you have come to show your faith, and I offer you whatever hospitality I can as SaanKote."

His words were like syrup, sweet and slow and false. I knew he was covering for me and I should have been grateful for the chances he was taking, but instead I felt betrayed and belittled. I blinked, releasing the tears that had welled in my eyes onto my cheeks. The Saans around the room were nodding and smiling. As far as I could tell they were already loyal followers of this man, their SaanKote, my Olei.

Olei seemed comfortable speaking to me so. He looked elegant in his new robes and older with his hair cut short. Our eyes met, and for a moment I was back in Koyote with him, embracing on the patio, a breeze caressing our faces. He closed his eyes, and began a prayer of healing for me.

Chapter 33

Yossinda

I stood close to Katrine in the solar that SaanObith shared with SaanReas, waiting for Tigus to arrive. From our spot against the wall I could see the cold winter rain splattering against a stained glass window that depicted Fire and Water for elements Obith and Reas. In the background Theodorius chatted on to SaanObith about something, though SaanObith seemed to be rather uninterested. The rest of the Saans were receiving commoners down in the great hall, listening to their qualms and providing solace. My grumbling stomach caught Katrine's attention.

"I won't eat," I whispered to her.

"Good girl," she said, "You look wise and thin, your suffering is good."

It was hard not to blush after being complimented so. I tried to focus on having an empty mind—a task that had become more difficult while living in constant fear of the King and worrying about my sister. My father wasn't as worried about her as he should've been, I thought. This afternoon I was covering for her once again. Good Aethan, help me keep her secret.

"Ah, Tigus, we were afraid you'd lost your way," Theodorius said cheekily as the well-rounded Tigus bustled in.

"Forgive me, Holy Ones," he said before quickly crossing his arms and bowing his head, "I find the Queen difficult to please. There will be a grandchild by the spring season of Reas and more money is needed by the Domi. The Queen finds that your allowances are too sparse. But those are the words of her Majesty, I am only the messenger."

"I hear your pleas, dear Tigus, on behalf of the Queen and the Queen's future, but I'm afraid we cannot offer much more than two thousands," said SaanObith. "It is to our misfortune that the Saans did not receive as much coin as hoped during the season of Obith. This is our most generous offer."

Theodorius stared at SaanObith with wide eyes.

Tigus continued in a gracious tone. "Thank you SaanObith, that is quite generous of you, but I am obliged to tell you that will not be enough. The Queen asks for at least another thousand."

"You should be grateful, Tigus, for what you have been gifted already," Theodorius snapped. Tigus ignored the little man's snarl.

"I promise you, SaanObith, that the Queen will not relax until she has received what is due to ensure the future of the Domi, will be a healthy and long-lived one. I know you do not want to cross my Lady, she has many secrets of yours..." Tigus paused to look hard at SaanObith and Katrine, "...that she would like to share with the people and the underlings, secrets that would be much harder for the Saans to recover from than a simple gift of one thousand."

SaanObith took a deep breath before answering. "Theodorius, help the man with his request."

A red-faced Theodorius stood up and left with Tigus. Katrine dismissed me with a platter of half-eaten goods, telling me to check in with Dinia while she tended to SaanObith.

I didn't really understand what had just happened between the Domi and the Saans, it wasn't my job to listen to their business. I thought it wise of SaanObith to grant the Queen more monies, she was fair after all and had good reasons for needing the coin. Bless the Domi, I prayed, Let them live long in comfort, Let them be guided by the Unmarked Ones.

Yeidi, of course, had something different to say about it.

My hands were raw from scrubbing the inside of our only cast iron pot. My sister had been watching me labor from her slumped position near the hearth, taunting me with her blasphemous remarks, making no effort to get up and help.

"One day, Yossinda, you will find your Saans are hardly worth even the slightest thought. They are men, just like everyone else. They have their wants, they are liars, they want power. Can't you see it?"

I hated her as she said this.

"You only see what you want to see, dear sister," I said as flatly as possible.

"No, you only see what you want to see. You're just like all the other fools in this city, giving your money to the Saans so they can keep it for themselves. What do you think that they do with all of it anyway?"

"They send Underlings and Brothers out into the world to spread the message of the Unmarked Ones, to tell people of the Saans. They use the money to keep the Houses running. Of course the Saans need money to eat and to survive Yeidi! How can you question their decisions?"

Emotion crawled into my face and I frowned as I spoke. Yeidi raised her eyebrows and smirked.

"Believe what you want, Yossinda. But if you don't open your eyes soon, it'll be too late when you finally do. They're going to use you for all that you're worth and you'll find out only after you're spent that they were lying the whole time. Get out of there while you can." She said with venom in her voice.

Choking back tears, I threw the cleaning rag at the fireplace. I felt Yeidi's laughing eyes on me as I fled to the nearest House.

A Reading from the Kin of Aethan, Before the Plague

When the Son of Aethan's peoples had settled and were thriving, there was peace and plenty for all. Yet they began to quarrel amongst themselves. Why do you act against your neighbor? The Son of Aethan asked them. What is it that you seek?

The people were unhappy with their land, with their possessions, with their wives. They did not find their neighbors fair or the ways of the land just. Aethan's son prayed and fasted for guidance, for his people did not see him as they once did. With plenty, they had become changed.

In his dreams, the son of Aethan walked with the Unmarked One across barren fields, the crops dry from heat, eaten by pests. In his vision there were no goats roaming the land, nothing green to rest his eye on. He was led to a clearing where there were but a few people. Though they were sickly and hungry their skin glowed as if full of the aether itself.

When Aethan woke he told his people that if they did not lay down their quarrels they would know thirst so strong they would forget all but the water Element Reas. They would know hunger so fierce that their children would no longer recognize their faces. They would know suffering so powerful that they would beg the Unmarked Ones to take them into the next world but that they would be granted no such mercy.

The people did not cease to bicker and so the Elements were unforgiving. For five and ten years the rains did not come, the crops were plagued by insects and hunger ruled the people. The Son of Aethan suffered with his people, but was comforted by his faith and knowing that suffering was holy. For years they thirsted together, but in their need for water they found their faith and the love of their kin.

Chapter 34

Aneh

My head seemed to swirl for days after Olei and his underlings left my room. For three or four days, the thin brown-haired woman returned, carrying a tray of broth and tea, never looking me in the eye.

"On three, sit up. Can you do that?"

I nodded slowly.

"One, two, three!" The movement sent a millions pinching nerves through my body and I felt like I had just been kicked again. I gasped.

"There there now." She dabbed my forehead with a rag, then sat at the edge of the bed while I caught my breath.

"My Aethan, I can't believe you travelled so far all alone. Your faith must be strong, little coyotie." She reached over and got the broth and a spoon. "Pucker your lips and let the broth trickle through your teeth. " Once again I nodded, suddenly very aware of how hungry I was.

"When SaanKote learned that there was a little injured Koyote here, he had you brought to the infirmary. What a Saan that man is! He has brought so much compassion and life back into the Saans and to the city! Thank him, bless him. Not so many are lucky to get care like this, but there are so many who need it," she paused, "You seem much stronger. Can you feed yourself?"

She handed the spoon and the broth to me. I fumbled with them a little, spilling some on my bed. She cleaned up but kept talking, mostly about how wonderful the Saans were and bless this Saan and thank Terro and so on. I silently vowed to practice talking when I was alone so that I could ask her questions next time she returned.

I awoke later to a soft hand on my forehead. I opened my eyes to see Olei hovering over me. I tried to speak, but my jaw was still frozen shut.

"Aneh..." He said with such sadness in his voice that I started to cry.

"Shhhh. I can't stay long...no one knows I'm here, none of the Saans can know" he was whispering and his words came quickly "...I don't know what they'd do to me if they knew I was touching you! After I saw you that day in the commons I've been seeking you out. I'm sorry it took me so long, there aren't many people I can trust fully, and even their trust runs only so deep...I had to pay the mine warden so much money to buy you...Aneh, why have you come? I wish you would go back and forget me! They think I am a Saan, they treat me like a god...like a chosen one! I've become a part of this religion Aneh, in the most inescapable of ways. I can't envision a way to leave SaanSanti that is not in death. Aneh you should leave this place."

I shook my head and held onto his hands and his wrists, stripped now of the symbols of our pairing. When I looked into his eyes we both knew that I wouldn't leave.

"Aneh," when he spoke my name it was coated in sadness. He moved to bury his head into my lap for a moment, "It will be death for you, if you do not leave. If not physical death, it will be death for your soul. This is not Koyote. Life will be miserable for you, for us. I am not allowed to see you up close, and if the only chances I get are from far away I will spend my life being tortured.

"Please, for the love of Kote, for our families, please go. I am alive, but I will only ever stay that way if I remain here. I am one of the Saans, I am SaanKote and it is my destiny to fill that role. Do you understand?"

His voice hardened and his gaze drifted to the sign of the embracing X in my upper window. My heart ached, my face streamed with tears. Did he want to stay? Did he want to be a Saan? If he wanted to go, we could find a way.

"It's impossible for me to leave now...I am one of the Great Ones. I am needed in this Kingdom. If I left the penalty might be death. Besides, where would I go? The other Great Ones know where I'm from. If they couldn't find me..." His eyes searched the room; he seemed almost frantic. "We Saans are not as peaceful as we say Aneh, we are powerful and we are persuasive...we understand that the more people know the more unhappy they are...that the people need to be told untruths sometimes so that they will keep going with life, keep working and suffering in hope of a better life after this. I feel horrible saying the things that I do, but I have no choice, Aneh. I am bound to this place, I am SaanKote now. I am SaanKote."

I cupped his face with my hands and brought his eyes back to mine. He was so sad. If he was speaking the truth, I was lost. But I would stay, I would stay and find a way that we could go home again. In that moment I missed Koyote fiercely, the heat, the red rock canyons, my chickens, fresh lavender and sage. My brother, my family. My heart yearned for it, but I needed Olei there too. I couldn't be happy in Koyote without my love. I couldn't ever live with myself knowing I had left him here in this miserable place.

"If you stay, I will make sure you are safe. But Aneh, do not be foolish! If you are here I want you alive and protected. If you come too close to me they could see the truth. Be wise Aneh, so I can rest knowing you are safe."

With that he got up and picked at one of the pairing ties on my wrist. "You should cut these off," he added just before he left. He kissed me hard on the forehead, "Goodbye, Aneh." Frozen, alone, confused, I willed for the poison of Tinea pool. I willed for endless sleep. I willed for home. Then I willed for strength. Somehow, I still had some hope.

Chapter 35

Yossinda

Yeidi improved for a few weeks and I stopped going to the Citadel. The royal baby was growing— or at least Eileen was—and I spent most of my time catering to her and her ladies-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, my brother's condition was tenuous. A healer told us the water in his lungs might always be there, and unless we could find more monies for better medicine there was little we could do. Father had managed to get some extra by selling some wares he had gotten from a foreigner, a coyotie from out in the rural villages. Their knives he said, were crafted so well one could be used for a lifetime and never have to sharpen it. Whatever he sold wasn't quite enough and I went to Katrine in the Saans infirmary before dawn to see what I could get.

The moon peeked through a few clouds to light my path though I had it nearly memorized. I passed through a series of sleepy guards, the last of which protected a courtyard at the sick ward. I pressed on the heavy oak door, rounded a corner and went down the stairs without taking my eyes from my rapidly moving feet. Suddenly a man appeared before me. He was nearly twice my size, my eyes stared directly into his chest before I gasped and stepped back. He grabbed my arms to steady me.

"SaanKote." I caught my breath and kneeled, crossing my arms in a gesture of praise. He laughed. He was alone.

"My lady, thank you. I'm sorry to have nearly run you over. Pardon me for touching you," he closed his eyes to quickly pray, "Aethan forgive me for helping this lovely woman not fall." He opened his eyes, green against the olive of his skin, framed by dark eyelashes.

"Can I help you get to where you are going?" He asked.

I stood there, nearly speechless. "No... I mean, no thank you, Oh Holy One."

I had finished talking but we stood, staring. I knew better than to look him in the eyes but I couldn't help it. They were huge and knowing and seemed to look into my mind and read my soul. Finally I blinked and woke myself out of my trance. I hurried to cross my arms again and bow my head.

"Pardon me, SaanKote. I must be going," I finished speaking as I rushed away, suddenly flushed and embarrassed.

Katrine was awake and obliging. She told me what medicines to look for and sent me on my way. I fumbled through all of her poultices. I forgot to wash my hands after touching them, only thinking about my run-in with the new Saan, daring once or twice to think him handsome.

"Did you find what you need, Dear?" Katrine asked me as I put her vials back into place.

"Yes Ma'm. Thank you. Thank you so much." I said.

Katrine looked at me over her work table. "I've been thinking, an opportunity has come up. The Saans are seeking a new healer apprentice and I would like to recommend you. I'd love to teach you myself, but I find I am much too busy. Do you think this is something you would like Yossinda?"

I stuttered my gratitude, crossing myself and bowing.

This was a truly miraculous day.

Chapter 36

Aneh

The kindly woman was back the next morning, this time with a tasty gruel of oats and cream. Even though I had no appetite, the deep rumblings in my stomach told me I needed to eat. I ate and for the first time in a while, and spoke.

The previous evening she had told me her name – Alessa – but she still never made eye contact with me. She spent a bit of time chatting excitedly about the Saans, as everyone seemed to do.

I asked her about her family, but she changed the subject abruptly. She was grateful to work in the Red Keep and the Citadel and this sick ward. She'd started working in the Citadel kitchens as a child slave and hoped in several more years to buy her freedom. I am grateful to work so closely to the Great Ones, she had said, as a woman. But also, she supposed, the Unmarked Ones were rewarding her deep faith with proximity to the Saans. "Good things come to those in servitude," she said, then rattled off a long passage from the books of the first Sons of the Saans.

Chapter 37

Yossinda

When he took me I closed my eyes tightly and I bit my tongue to keep from crying out loud. And when it was over, he left me and collapsed on the other side of the bed, pulling the blankets greedily onto himself. I remained shivering and shocked. I had to go. I was afraid to leave but feared for myself. He was sober and more ruthless than before. I felt blood wet between my thighs. Crying softly, I only picked up my shift as I left. The rest of my clothes were ripped and stained. I could feel my eye swelling and the room was quickly becoming blurry.

Somehow I made it down the stairs. The guards snickered as I passed them. I knew they had heard my screams and the unmistakable sounds of violence. In the servants quarters I searched for more clothes to cover myself and rags to clean my face. My forehead hurt to touch but I cleaned it with cold water anyway.

I had never felt so alone and wicked. I hoped that the Elements and the Unmarked ones would forgive me for what I had done. I went to the servants' House of the Saans, deserted at this time of night, hoping the Saans that kept it might let me sleep there and watch over me until the morning came.

My mind raced. If anyone approached me I'd tell them I'd spilled or broken something and deserved punishment. I wanted to convince myself that was the truth, it would have made a preferable memory to the one I was trying to erase.

I had avoided him for some weeks, but last night the King had grabbed me and pushed me into his room again. It was clear I had nothing to keep Manuel from having his way however it pleased him. In fact, it was my duty to please him, even if it meant my death.

Alone in the servants' House I was trying desperately to control my breathing and had succeeded in only making wet gasping noises when I inhaled. Katrine found me in my misery. She said little. Her eyes did most of the talking. Somehow she knew what had been going on. "We'll get you out of there, Yossinda," she said, "I need you more than they do."

Chapter 38

Aneh

As I began to talk again, I asked my own questions about the Saans and the city. On the subject of the royal family, the Domi, Alessa said they were lovely and treated their subjects well. She spoke it like she was reading from a book. Silence passed. Alessa then asked if I was ready to go back to work, and assured me I wouldn't be returning to the mines. When I said yes, she nodded, handing me some clothes and excused herself.

I didn't bother asking more questions though I very much wanted to. I dressed in a long tunic that wrapped too close, like a robe, in a faded straw color. The well-worn boots were loose in places and tight in others. I felt them digging into my heels and I missed my sandals and the way the dust would make patterns on feet. Awkardly I waited for Alessa's return.

She never returned for me. Instead, there was a harsh wrapping on the door immediately followed by the entrance of a stern older woman. She was so thin her cheekbones stuck out like knife blades under her skin. When she cast her piercing gray eyes at me I bowed my head, afraid of her intensity.

"You are well, Thank Kote."

I nodded but kept my head down. I could feel her stare. She was waiting for me.

"You should praise the Saans for the healing they have provided you. Especially SaanKote," she finally said.

Hoping it was the right thing to do, I crossed myself and bowed, muttering, "Praise Kote for the gift of healing."

"That'll do," she said. "Now follow me."

We passed through lighted stone hallways full of people, turned corners, went outdoors, indoors, outdoors again until finally we stopped outside of an arched entryway leading into a busy hallway. Plainly dressed people of all sizes entered and exited the doorways lining the hall carrying buckets or trays or bags of linens. Opposite the arch two guard towers were visible, their entryways flanked by thick, stoic looking guards.

The woman led me into the first door on the left. Smells of a mid-day meal told me it was the common kitchen space. The sturdy tables and chairs were made of unfinished wood that reminded me of home.

Across the hall was the entrance to the servants' quarters. A quick peek inside revealed yet another hallway flanked by rows of doors on either side.

"We'll meet back here at the end of the day and then I'll show you where to sleep," she said, her eyes looking everywhere but at me. I nodded, suddenly so tired. We began down one last hallway; for being older, the woman marched with ease while I struggled to keep up. She stopped abruptly and pushed open a half-closed door. It swung open easily but bashed into something behind it, immediately stopping the quarreling of two men inside. They looked at us with the wide-eyed expressions of prey sensing danger, before turning their eyes towards whatever was behind the door. They both winced at the same moment as something tumbled to the floor.

"Bad spot for that, Mouse," the heavier one spoke.

"Why did you put it there?" the slender one shouted.

"You told me to!" The heavier one responded loudly. The slender one, Mouse, rolled his eyes.

"Missus Katrine, please pardon us! I'm afraid we weren't expecting anyone. What can I do for you?"

"Goodness, you boys should learn to organize your belongings better," the woman, Katrine admonished. Meanwhile I lurked behind her, wondering what my life would be like now.

Katrine continued, "I've brought you a slave." She turned around and motioned to me. I stepped forward and Mouse grew wide-eyed once again. Suddenly I was incredibly self-conscious of my height, my skin, and my gender. Katrine continued, "This girl has been in sick ward for a nasty injury in the Mines. What is your name girl?"

"Aneh," I said meekly.

"She belongs to the Citadel, but for now her quarters will be in the Keep. Bring her to numbers and supper at the end of the day and I'll show her where she'll stay." She smiled pleasantly if a little coldly, waited for Mouse and the other one to nod, then left, her heel clicks echoing as she strode away.

"Well, I'm Mouse and this is Mole," Mole bowed politely when Mouse gestured to him, "We clean the worst of the worst messes here in the Red Keep. Sometimes we fix things, but mostly we just clean. It's not that bad once your nose and your stomach get used to it," He paused and looked at me in the eye without judgment, without greed or hatred. He looked at me like no one had for months, like I was a human.

"Can you clean?" he asked.

I nodded slowly. "I can do whatever you tell me."

"Good," Mole grunted from the corner, "Quality work is hard to find around here." He shot a glance and a smirk at Mouse, who was already rolling his eyes. Hands on hips, Mouse was quick to retort.

"If you're talking about yourself, you're right."

At first I tried not to laugh, but suppressing giggles was difficult, even when they weren't being that funny. They probably thought I was crazy. Really I had just been terribly lonely.

Our shifts were long but we moved all over the Keep. It seemed like we'd been in every room after only a few days, but Mouse knowingly informed me that I hadn't seen but a fraction of the place.

They brought me, as Katrine had ordered, to numbers – the slave counting. We were counted in the morning after breakfast, before supper, and two hours later when we were meant to go to bed. But compared to life in the mines, this could hardly be considered slavery. I wasn't chained, I wasn't watched, and I was fed amply. I was very aware though, that I was a stark exception. Most of the workers and slaves in the Keep were light-skinned, straight-haired, and short. Their accents were nearly same. In the mines we were all different colors and spoke different tongues. I wondered where Zanne was, and if she was all right. I did not wonder where Bridge was, or Rhyan. I didn't even dare to think of what would happen if I saw either of them. Knowing they were out there preying on other helpless people made me sick to my stomach.

Mole and Mouse were seasoned. Good behavior had earned them more freedom, and also more responsibility. At supper they were the ones doing the numbers. They also had an enormous chain full of keys to rooms all over the Keep. They told me that not too long ago Katrine had earned her worth and then bought her freedom. Like a lot of the workers, she chose to stay working in the Keep and the Citadel. In ten to twenty years they could buy their own freedom too, they said. Mole dreamed of reading books and exploring lands far away from the city. Mouse wasn't sure what he wanted.

I knew what I wanted, but I knew I'd have to be unbearably patient. At night I'd like awake wondering how I could possible make it out alive with Olei, and how wonderful life would go back to being. I kept dreaming my vivid dreams. I kept waking up in despair.

Chapter 39

Yossinda

For the time being it seemed I was safe. Katrine got me out of the Keep and filled my place with a light-colored slave. I was so thankful. I prayed more than usual and gave the servant's House more of my earnings.

Until the night, Katrine had never been overly affectionate. But I had known she cared about me and I often wondered if it was she who had helped me move so far up in the Keep staff in so little time.

I couldn't tell my father what had happened with the King. I was ashamed of myself and feared that such news would shame him, too. I kept silent around my sister. If she knew I had been tarnished by the King it would be like she won, somehow, because I was now soiled. Maybe I was being punished for admiring the beauty of SaanKote. But I wasn't lusting after him or having impure thoughts. I simply thought he was pleasant looking. Such a punishment as I had suffered seemed extreme.

Working at the Citadel was much quieter. My jobs were mostly in the kitchens, sometimes I served food. That was my favorite job. I saw many underlings and every once in a while I got to see the Great Five. Katrine mentioned that I would apprentice with some of the underlings as a healer soon.

All this was good news. But though I was farther away from the King and protected by Katrine, I couldn't help but be afraid. I prayed more.

Chapter 40

Aneh

"So why do they call you Mouse and Mole?" I asked one night, once the common room had nearly cleared. Winter was beginning to give way to the windy season, Terro's season. Many people complained this season was colder and harsher than winter. Those that didn't go to bed early crouched around the fires in the common room. Mole reached for Mouse's bowl and was dipping the heel of his crusty bread into the remaining stew.

"Well, my ears stick out just the tiniest bit like so," He paused to point to his slightly larger and indeed mouse-like ears. He continued in his sharp, polite accent, "And I suppose I'm clever and quick, like a mouse." Mouse's little frame constantly bobbed in his seat.

"It's because you can't sit still, you're irritating, and kept everyone awake at night when we were boys," Mole grumbled into his bowl.

"Humph. As you might expect, they call him Mole because he's ugly and fat!" Mole didn't budge to argue with his friend but kept chewing thoughtfully.

Mouse crossed his arms, and glared at Mole, "And you've finished my dinner."

Mole paused, his wide set eyes and straight mouth made him look more like a toad than any creature. Clearly irritated with Mouse, he emitted a low growl. Mouse left to take our bowls to the kitchens.

When Mouse returned he was full of new topics to chat about, including a fresh list of things we had to fix and clean. My helpfulness was indeed already appreciated they said. It was about time they got a strong and tough-stomached assistant.

Mouse returned to the table, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and produced a small pouch of candied nuts. He laid them out before us. Mole's eyes grew big.

"Gosh Mouse, what'd you do, raid the Royal Safe?"

"Shhh! You silly fool! No, I didn't rob. They were throwing these delicious tidbits out because they were a few days sitting."

"Mmm," Mole said, a few nuts already in his mouth, "The Domi have the most delicious garbage."

"What were your names before you were Mouse and Mole?" I asked again. Mole raised an eyebrow without looking up from the nuts. Mouse shifted in his seat and cleared his throat before speaking.

"My you're curious," Mouse began, "Well, they used to call me Nikol, and Mole there was Thomas. We took on our nicknames fulltime after we left Saan Citadel. No one really cares what your real name is out here. Things are a lot less proper as an indentured servant or whatever we are...slaves with drinking privileges and hay mattresses and imaginary mistresses."

Mole snickered at his friend. I liked these two rodent men.

"Did you want to leave the Citadel?" I asked.

Mouse glanced sideways, either uncomfortable or looking for listening ears that did not belong to our party. He shrugged, "No," was all he said. Mole continued to stare at the nuts. I kept at them.

"They made you leave? Because of what?"

"Asking too many questions," Mouse snapped.

"Irreverence," Mole added.

I immediately regretted probing too far. But Mouse started explaining.

"When I worked for the Saans I helped out the masters of coins. I have a gift for numbers and remembering things...but it was because I was remembering things that I got into trouble. I really just didn't understand how they could manage their finances so poorly – and I still don't. There is so much money coming into the kingdom, into the Citadel especially, and no real money leaving. The Saans always played this game with the Domi pretending they had too little money for much of an allowance – some of the books were, let's say, adjusted. – in case any of the Domi came to inquire. What they did with their monies I don't know. In truth, I don't think that the Saans really like the Domi, especially the Queen, but I get off topic. So many items didn't add up and I got curious and made too many queries— at least, that's what I like to think. I really didn't mind being an underling, even though I went from being a man...uh...to a boy." Mole raised an eyebrow. Mouse continued , "I quite like a lot of their ideas, but I just got a little nosy for some people's liking. That old raisin Theodorius hated me anyway and wanted me gone. If I had a walnut for a brain then perhaps they would've kept me, but no. I'm lucky they didn't dispose of me completely! What, and without any friends, family, or money they just sold me over here to this horrid castle to clean up the Queen's horrid messes ."

Mouse took another small handful of the almonds, but kept talking without putting any in his mouth.

"Oh and Theodorius," he went on with an eye roll, "He's so high and mighty now, but he's never been anything but a lucky bully. He used to get us with a sharp willow when we didn't make our beds right or say our prayers properly. Not just me and Mole, all of us small Saans. I suspect he'd still be whipping children if he hadn't risen so high up in the Citadel.... The charges against us 'insubordination, poor faith, and plotting to conspire'. I remember the charges like they were yesterday, I remember the spit flying out of Theodorius' lying mouth as he spoke them in front of all Five Saans themselves, Aethan save us."

Mouse had gotten himself a little worked up and was starting to flare red in his cheeks and big curved ears. He stopped and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Suddenly Mole chimed in.

"They don't make any sense to me – they don't make any sense at all. Never have. I didn't hide my true feelings about the Saans very well. Theodorius knew it just as well as anyone else that knew who I was. They thought I'd make more trouble than I was worth, so they booted me, took Mouse and me out at the same time. They figured since we were friends, we were a pair in crime."

They both stared at the tabletop until Mouse looked up, as if suddenly remembering I was there.

"And a pair late to work at that!" he declared. "C'mon M'Lady, we've got pots to scrub and wipes to wipe. As I always say, 'this place is one part truth to ten parts show'. The show keeps us working and eating, so let's forget about truth for a while and make this place pretty."

"He never says that," Mole said under his breath.

"You never listen. I always say that," Mouse retorted.

Cleaning was mindless enough. I learned more about the Red Keep's secrets than the Red Keep knew it had. I'm sure most of the servants, indentured and not, only knew a quarter of the ways my rodent men traveled. True to their names, they traveled through the walls, underground, swiftly, and in the near dark. Some of our shortcuts were so dust clotted I think we may have created more messes for ourselves simply in the dirt we tracked out of the hallways. Neither could exist wholly without the other one; they completed each other. Mouse usually had a polite way about him, a manner of dancing around and describing a thing but rarely giving honest, blunt delivery. That seemed to be Mole's strength. Mole seemed at first glance to be slow and stupid, but he was incredibly thoughtful and quite clever.The shutters clapped in the wind, startling us. The windstorm was ill-timed; Mouse was especially agitated this day and Mole was even more withdrawn than usual. We cleaned the room in jumpy silence, punctuated by Mouse's inane observations about the weather.

"It's been gray for days. Seems a storm is coming.... Have you heard those dreadful black birds? The crows are cawing like it's the end of the world.... This wind, this wind. Just dreadful...Did you know that crows mate for life? It's true, there were some that lived outside the dormer of the citadel and the same crow –-"

"Enough, enough," Mole interrupted the rant with a growl. "We need to just tell her,"

He took a breath and turned to me. "Aneh, we're going to the clean the Monster's cell today."

"The Monster?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Well, it's not really a Monster," Mouse sputtered, "I mean, we think it's human, but anyway we have to clean its cell and it's never a pleasant thing. Get done quick I always say."

Mole took over the talking.

"Truth is, Monster has never been treated very well by most folk, and it's no surprise...Monster is ugly, dirty, and full of smells. But I think it has a good heart Aneh. It's just been mistreated," Mole said.

"We were thinking, maybe you could help us and make friends with it, you know, because it deserves a little kindness and you're a nice, strong woman who can defend herself and survive -- we heard about Bridge... If the Monster trusted you, cleaning its cell would be a lot easier. What do you say?" Mouse asked.

I froze, but having little to lose and really no choice in the matter, I managed a nod. "All right."

They both nodded eagerly and we started down our well-trodden hidden staircase carrying our bundles, our buckets, and the huge basket stuffed with straw.

Instead of taking a right after the first thirty stairs up – the way into the solars and great rooms of the Keep – we kept on straight a few paces. After curving left, we began to descend. I counted ten, fifty, one hundred stairs down. Watch your step Aneh, Mouse said. The air had grown more damp. I estimated we were level with the mines— the thought made me ill. Finally we emerged between two pillars in near total darkness. A glance to the right revealed a cavernous tunnel illuminated weakly by a torch hung high on the wall. A portly guard snored in his chair with his arms resting on top of a rotund belly. The light of the torch fell on his balding head. We walked towards him.

"This is where the minor prisoners are kept," Mole said in a hushed voice.

"Yes well, that depends on your definition of minor," Mouse whispered, "Disagreeing with the Prince on coat color might end you up here, that or stealing from the Citadel, or not bedding down with the head of the guard. All minor offenses in the eyes of the Saans or the Queen, or, Aethan save you, the King."

"The really bad prisoners go into the oubliette," Mole added.

"What's the oubliette?" I asked.

Mole looked at me with a sorrowful expression, "It's like the mines, but much, much worse."

"It's where you'd be if you hadn't gotten out of the mines, Aneh," Mouse said matter-of-factly before mumbling, "However you managed that."

I stayed quiet.

I had been worried our whispers would wake the guard, but despite the echoes bouncing off of the tunnel walls, he slept on, unperturbed.

"Ahem," Mouse cleared his throat. The guard continued to snore.

"Sir. Wake up please," Mouse continued. More snores.

"Sir!" Mole growled at the man. He jolted awake, dropping a tiny, circular metal case with on the ground. It bounced as if empty before coming to a stop at my feet.

"We're here for cleaning," Mouse pulled up his sleeve to show the guard his little tattoo of a bucket. Mole did the same. The guard fumbled in his pockets and produced a key. Mouse plucked it from his grubby hands.

"Thank you for your troubles," Mouse said with syrupy tone.

I handed the guard his tin back, showed him my tattoo of a bucket – the axe from the mines had been inked over – and we continued on our way.

We didn't travel far down the tunnel, we were still within earshot of the guard when we reached the first door; its metal bars glimmered orange and yellow in the tunnel light.

Mouse let out a quick breath. "Here we are." After Mole peeked in, turned the key and opened the door, he continued quietly, "Aneh, meet the Monster."

In the corner of the dank, horribly foul-smelling cell was a large mass of dirty human flesh. It heaved with rhythmic snores. Mouse looked hopeful that Monster might be sleeping and he put his finger to his lips, hushing me. We began our cleaning – up with old straw, down with new. There was no chamber pot but rather a hole in the ground. Thank Kote, I thought, I don't have to clean a chamber pot in here. Mole scraped some scum around the hole, careful to make hardly any noise at all. But as he was finishing up, his grip faltered and the metal scraper clinked on the ground. We stared, paralyzed, in the silence that followed. Seconds passed.

Monster woke with a snort. All my senses heightened in fear, I watched Mouse and Mole, perfectly still, eyes wide. The Monster saw Mouse first and gave a grimace that may have been a smile. Its glance traveled to Mole next, and it uttered a disappointed grunt. Mole started to back out.

Mouse's voice quivered, but he spoke some soothing sounds, "Monster, hello there, good to see you dear. We've just had a bit of a tidy up, but we'll be going now."

As Mouse began his retreat Monster's smile faded. Then it saw me.

Faster than I thought a mass of that size could move, it was nearly on me. I lunged for the door, afraid of the blow I was about to receive, but it never came. The cacophony of rattling metal chain abruptly stopped. I turned around, coming nearly face to face with the Monster. Its breath was hot and horrible, hair stuck to its nose and the wet corners of its mouth. My eyes watered looking at the enormous growth that bulged from its forehead, the dreadful scar streaking its cheek. One of its eyes was small, brown, and squinted so that no white was visible. The other eye was big, blue, and full of tears.

"Aneh, time to go!" Mouse shouted at me while Mole opened the door and pulled me through. Our heavy breathing echoed in the arching stone tunnel. As we walked we didn't look at each other, but the guard nodded to each of us sloppily as we left.

The journey up the stairs was quiet. Mouse broke the silence only after we reentered our workspace.

"Mole, I think...I think that went quite well."

I couldn't help but open my eyes wide in astonishment. Mouse began again, looking at me approvingly.

"Yes, I think you'll end up getting along quite well with Monster."

Mole nodded in agreement.

I was disbelieving. "It certainly didn't seem that way to me."

"Oh, you'll grow on it," he continued. "I've seen it nearly rip a man in two. I've certainly seen it destroy countless supplies of ours. That cell was made especially for it so there's no bedpan and plenty of space to get aggression out. By prison standards, the Monster's been taken good care of. But that's beside the point. Now you've met Monster, Aneh, today is the beginning of a new relationship."

Mouse seemed quite pleased with himself, which was irritating. I wanted nothing to do with Monster if I had a choice. But I had no choice, and had to hope that Monster would sleep more deeply next time we arrived.

Chapter 41

Yossinda

Saan Gerric was tall and gangly, like a broom handle with arms. He had a beard cropped close to his face and large blue eyes that widened when he was excited. I knew him from the servants' House, the unusual Saan who made small talk with me and was going to teach me in healing, just a few basic tinctures to begin, for things like small burns and headaches. I was proud to be learning such things. It made me feel valuable.

"Don't add too much of this substance, it will take the shine right off of your fingernails!" Gerric handed me a vial of a clear substance with a simple O painted on it. My schooling was poor and reading was a challenge, so I had to work hard to memorize everything he told me. A lot of the vials that contained liquids were colored, but the clear ones with only labels to identify them were tricky for me. The herbs and plants though, I could understand those.

Gerric applauded my sense of smell, "That is one of a healer's best gifts!" He exclaimed.

"Smelling is good for knowing what is wrong with someone, and then knowing how to fix it. You might never think to smell a sick person's breath, or smell a festering wound, but based on its odor, like sweet or sour for example, you find the perfect cure for the ailment."

We were in a vast room deep in the bowels of the Citadel, a sacred room where the most important healing was done. There were dozens of shelves, each unit taller than two of me. Every shelf was filled more than an arm's length deep with vials, dried herbs, and hundreds of mortars and pestles. At the back of the room was the spring of the first SaanReas. It was the source of the water for the city, the Holy source that inspired Reas to declare that this was indeed the place and began to lay the first stones of Saansanti. Gerric had chuckled when I crossed myself in front of the spring and bowed to it. "Katrine said you were one of few in your faith, Yossinda," he laughed.

"Pardon me Saan Gerric, but do you mock me?" I asked, a little bothered that now a Saan was poking fun of my devotion

"No dear, no," he said, sobered.

Among other things in the room were vats of Tinea, which Gerric told me were used only for medical purposes. I shivered to think that it could be used for good, imagining my sister lying in bed for days. There was a giant glass case which Gerric said they sometimes used to put things in that needed protecting. It was empty now, but so large a person could have stood inside with ease.

A little underling peeked through the doorway and headed towards us like a nervous cat. His eyes darted all over the room.

"Excuse me, Brother Gerric, may I have a word with you?"

"Brother Dana, yes. What is it?" Gerric replied wearily, as if he was already tired of this man. Dana pointed at me with his eyes twice.

"Brother Dana, you don't need to worry about her. The Saans have sought her out as an apprentice. Her skills will be invaluable in the weeks that come. In the future she will take Katrine's place."

Take Katrine's place! I am sure I blushed with the honor.

Dana continued to glance my way until Gerric relented. The pair walked a distance away, but their words found their way across the chamber.

"Five days, Gerric, five days." Dana whispered urgently.

"I am aware of the timeline, brother Dana." Gerric assured him.

"I think you trust this girl too much to take on matters of healing."

"Brother Dana, I urge you to trust me. She's perfect for this role."

Nervous to hear myself talked about I knocked over an empty vial.

Chapter 42

Aneh

Twice a week for the next two weeks we cleaned Monster's cell. Thankfully it was always sleeping. I was sure once that I saw its eye open and close, as if it had been watching me. One time I noticed it clutching something like a lump of rags, or a piece of a blanket— a doll? The thought tugged on my heart a little. I couldn't help but wonder who Monster was, where it came from.

The answers came one day when Mouse was called off to the Queen's quarters. Mole and I approached Monster's cell without speaking. The tunnel was empty of noise, no snores, no whispers from Mouse, just the padding of our worn out leather shoes on the smooth stone floors. The guard sat with eyes half mast—awake, but in a trance. In his fist was his little metal box. An ulcerous sore peeked out from his shirt collar.

We showed him our tattoos, took the key, and moved on.

"Mole, what's in that little box? What's wrong with him?" I whispered.

Mole gripped my forearm hard and glared at me, "Have you learned nothing? At least that you should be quiet?"

Mole refused to come into the Monster's cell with me.

"I'll keep a watch on you, but I think I best not go in without Mouse," he said.

I tiptoed in and started working quietly, quickly. I looked up and there it was, there she was, sitting in the corner, clutching what was indeed a ragged, stained doll, with one sad breast hanging out of her ripped tunic. Her hair, greasy and matted was gray in the poor light. The chain on her ankle clanked when she shifted in her seat. I swallowed hard, making eye contact. She seemed embarrassed at first, hugging herself and her doll tightly while her hair fell over her face. I looked earnestly at her then smiled a half smile. She laughed. It was a horrible sound, like a donkey braying.

I cleared my throat to speak. She seemed calm, but I stayed beyond the range of her tether, just in case. "Aneh. I'm Aneh." I pointed to myself and smiled a closed mouth smile. She giggled into her doll.

"What's your name? What do you call yourself?" She sucked on her teeth.

Seconds passed. I thought about leaving. Maybe she was mute.

"Dottir," she responded, finally.

"Dottir," I repeated. She giggled again. "I'm glad to meet you."

"Aneh." she said. It was the most distorted my name had ever sounded, like a bellowed sneeze, but she said it with the proud smile of a child.

"I'm here to clean Dottir, and if you want, to be a friend." I couldn't tell if she understood so I smiled again.

She started up, and I could feel the panic rise in my chest. She dropped her doll suddenly and lunged at me. I tripped backwards, hitting my head on the door. Mole was there instantly to pull me out as Dottir collapsed on the floor and sobs. A part of me wanted to console her, but my fear hadn't subsided. After Mole helped me up I turned to him, my head aching.

"Mole," I paused to rub my head, "Did you watch that?"

"Only the part when the Monster went after you and you nearly knocked yourself out getting away."

"Did you hear that she has a name?"

He looked at me blankly, "It's a she?"

"Yes. And her name is Dottir."

"Dottir," he repeated curiously.

"It sounds a lot like daughter," I said, picking up my things.

Mole stood and stared wide-eyed as if suddenly remembering something important.

I had cleaned up with cold water in my room and put on the other set of clothes that Katrine had given me. Mouse and Mole were already at dinner. We huddled over our plates in the crowded room, the best place to tell secrets, Mouse said.

"I didn't know it was a woman," Mole began.

"I didn't know it had a name!" Mouse exclaimed. As usual, his thoughts had only begun to be shared. "I guess I knew it should have, but I never thought to ask. The whole story, which I suppose now is probably true, is very sad and very secret. I always thought it was just a kind of a legend.

"When Mole and I were still in the Citadel the Queen was with child. It was an easy pregnancy and easy birth but when the baby arrived, it wasn't easy. The baby was rotten on the outside and it sent the Queen into fits. The King was probably stoned, so he didn't seem to care about the baby, only the Queen's hysteria. So he had the baby taken care of. Some say it was thrown off a cliff, some say it died naturally. I've even heard it was taken to a farm outside the City."

"Some say it haunts the Keep," Mole added.

"Well it does, in a way," Mouse mused.

"She does," I corrected.

"I guess the Queen never had the heart to get rid of her baby. I can't imagine that she went to visit Monster, err, Dottir much. Doesn't seem like anyone goes to visit Dottir except us and the kitchen folk. Seems like a pretty terrible life down there."

We all nodded in agreement and sat in a sad, puzzled state for a while. I couldn't take my mind off her. I felt a strange connection to the neglected woman-child.

"If Dottir is the child, I wouldn't be surprised. The number of terrible things I've seen in this Keep..." I trailed off. Mouse looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Missy, don't say that again here too loud. You should know – survival depends upon looking the other way."

Chapter 43

Yossinda

"Wear my dress, the gray one with blue on it," Yeidi said. She had been watching me trying to decide what I could wear that wasn't dirty or too ragged. I supposed I should have bought some newer dresses for my new work, but I gave so much of my monies to the Saans and rarely saved for myself.

"It has a high neck so the Saans won't get excited by your woman parts," she said groggily. We hadn't spoken much for days, aside from her moaning and groaning and asking for water.

"Thank you. But then, what are you going to wear?" I asked.

She laughed, "I'm not going in, I don't feel well enough." Yeidi turned in the bed. It was hard for me not to chide her for being such a parasite, but I held my tongue.

The dress was a little short for me, but it was clean. When I noticed the blue embroidery across the neckline made little embracing X's, I liked the dress even more. Without much of a mirror to look at myself in, I just had to hope I looked suitable enough.

"That looks nice," Yeidi surprised me by starting up the conversation again. Even more miraculous, she pushed herself up out of bed to adjust the back for me. "Let me help you," she said. Where the edge of her shift hung over her shoulder I could see red sores coming up from her underarm. Her face looked swollen though skin clung tightly to her bones on the rest of her body.

"I've heard that the new SaanKote is really handsome," she started, Good Aethan, I thought, she never lets up.

"He's pleasing to the eye, I'll admit," I returned, hoping to stop the conversation there.

"You should bat your eyes at him Yossinda. Charm him with those thin lips of yours."

"Please don't disrespect the Saans like that." I frowned as she fumbled with the ties.

"Yossy, there's so much you don't know. The Five Great Ones aren't chaste. They all take women to be their lovers. Everybody in the Citadel knows that."

She was lying on purpose, just trying to make me feel foolish and angry. "Why do you say things like that, sister?" I asked with irritation.

"I'm just telling you the truth. If I were you, if I were well enough to work, I'd smile at SaanKote and let him know how I felt."

"Well, maybe you should just get out of bed and come work some for a change." She had crossed the line, and suddenly I couldn't stop myself from saying it. "I know you're not sick Yeidi, you're foolish and obvious. I know about the Tinea. I'm ashamed of you and how selfish you are. Raini's sickness and your illness are not the same thing, I've smelled it on your breath. You are the disease, sister, and you only make yourself worse." Kote help me I was being so harsh, but I was angry, more than I had ever been.

Yeidi stared, then spat her words at me, "You don't understand, do you Yossy?" her face was red. "You're the fool, to be so in love with the stupid Saans you never show emotion or feel pain like a normal person. You're the one who's sick, Yossida!"

She stood there, trembling and defiant until I left her. From the other room I could hear her light sobs and for a moment, I felt badly. But my guilt quickly gave way to anger.

Why couldn't she see how selfish she was being? How unreasonable she was? Life was suffering, that's how our years in this realm went. Laziness and greed were not valuable qualities and would not be rewarded. My sister would not be walking with the Unmarked Ones in the next life. If she kept going like this, she would not have a next life.

And I couldn't believe that she had dared to make up such terrible lies about the Saans. Surely not knowing the love of another was one of the greatest sacrifices of all. I wondered if it was something I could do – if I were born a man and a Saan. I had always dreamed of romance and true love, just like my parents had had, but after my nights with the King, physical love between a man and a woman was something I could do without.

I used to dream that I would meet a free man, someone as faith filled as me, that we could share our love for each other and the Saans in a little house filled with happy children. I had never been out of the city, but I dreamed that was where we would live. In my dreams we grew our own food and worked in the sun and our children were happy and healthy.

Dreams are for falling asleep at night though, perhaps in the next life I would get to enjoy a life like that. For now though, I was contented to not dream about love so much. It was foolish of me to admire SaanKote. It would be much wiser to keep working and to focus on becoming a master healer like Katrine. That was a life that was reasonable and possible.

"Lovely dress," was all Dinia said to me that morning.

Chapter 44

Aneh

I spent the next few days in a sort of sleepless daze. My head ached, and the worry of how I would get out with Olei was beginning to fester. The nagging sadness of Dottir somehow made it worse, and one morning I felt something inside me snap. I took in lungful of air and my whole story seemed to come out on one breath. I told them everything: who I was, why I was there, the entire truth.

Mole stared at me almost sorrowfully and for a long time, Oh Saans save us, was all Mouse could say.

After giving it some thought, Mouse stared talking again.

"Well, it all makes more sense now," he started.

"What does?" I asked.

"You do," Mole chimed in.

"Your story seemed a little thin, that's all Aneh. Now we know. You're much too clever to believe in the Saans' tomfoolery – although they do have some good stories and some pretty remarkable tricks..." Mouse trailed off and I wondered if Mouse and Mole would help me, or just dance around the topic for the rest of my time in Saansanti.

Mouse stopped talking mid-sentence then stated clearly, as if the thought had just struck him like lightening.

"I suppose we could figure something out for you Aneh," he said.

I smiled a little. That wonderful bright feeling of hope flickered in my heart.

By that evening I had become so hopeful that I found a way to get to the weekly Saan blessing. I wanted to see my beloved's face. I wanted him to see mine. The minutes passed slowly waiting for the Saans to come out onto the balcony. Fantasies of my future raced through my mind. I thought of going home hand in hand with Olei, I thought of crawling into bed together after a days work listening to the crickets and waking to the rooster. I would rub his back, he would twist the curls in my hair.

When the Saans came out my eyes were locked on Olei, his great blue robes complimenting his brown skin beautifully, and not once, even with my close proximity to the balcony, did he lock eyes with mine. I knew he must have seen me; I stood so close to him. It was so lonely for me standing there, exotic and huge, like a different kind of monster trapped in the Red Keep, yearning to get out.

I had considered the possibility of Olei truly becoming a Saan – truly believing in his new life. The way he last spoke to me was unsettling, and watching him on the balcony, I realized that it was more of a reality than I had dared to presume.

I confided in Mole one day when Mouse had gone, once again, to tend to a private Domi matter. I told him how Olei hadn't looked at me, and the things that he said to me when I was in the sick ward.

"Do you think that he would even want to leave?"

Mole sighed, "I don't know Aneh, those Five, they have a nice life. They eat well and live in luxury. They are more powerful than the Domi and almost as revered by the people as the Unmarked Ones. I've never heard of a Saan – an underling, a Brother or a Great One – any of them -- trying to escape.

"But aside from that, you have to wonder what is going through his head. What if someone told you that you were essentially the flesh form of a God? That the powers of the Elements were yours to know and the secrets of the universe could be spoken by you?"

It was an unnerving question. What if someone had chosen me? What if I was like a holy spirit and that through my mind I could control the masses with my words? Deep in my heart the answer wasn't so clear. If enough people truly believed that I was something special, that my message was precious and sacred, I might be convinced that I was who they wanted me to be.

It had been more than a year and a half since they first took him from me. Is it possible that in that time Olei had converted to this religion, to this way of life and power? Had I taken too long to find him? Or worse, was his life as a Great One better than a life with me?

"The best we can do is give Olei the opportunity to leave," Mole said after much thought, "We'll know where his heart lies when he makes his decision."

Mouse came back that evening, fretting.

"There's been an accident," he said, worry coating his words, "The Queen is injured and not waking. No one knows what to do, everyone in the Quarters is unraveled."

Mole handed Mouse a tiny pouch to sip on. I'd tasted the contents of that pouch, they were fierce. Mouse drank it like it was as mild as milk.

"She's in the Saans' care now, only the Unmarked Ones know what they'll do with the poor thing." He shook his head and sipped.

The news of the accident unsettled the Keep like the earthquake of the Unmarked Ones. A woman at supper said that the Queen had fallen and hit her head on something sharp and the gash was so deep that she would not wake. Troubled whispers of foul-play spread throughout the servants' quarters.

We went with all the others to the special prayer service given by the Saans. The crowd was silent and tearful. This time I listened to what Olei and his Saans said.

Chapter 45

Yossinda

News of the Queen's accident moved quickly. People wore their colors of mourning and spent more time in the Houses of the Saans. The Queen Myrah was in the care of the Citadel now. Her health was fragile, and she was not allowed visitors at all, except for Saans and those few trained to see to her needs without agitating her. Saan Gerric was called often to her side, and as his apprentice, I too was granted entry to her chambers.

Queen Myrah was quite plain without her makeup on, though her features were still bold and intimidating in their beauty. Rumor had it she stained her lips with the blood of exotic insects and brushed the area around her eyes with dead coals from rare willow wood. We were not permitted to give her those luxuries while she was still deep in her slumber. I wouldn't have dared to touch her face, so I was thankful.

And to my great relief, King Manueh wasn't allowed at all in the Queen's resting chambers. He was responsible for her present state.

No one was to know that the Queen had been struck by her husband. Katrine explained to me that the Saans' public story of the accident would preserve King Manueh's image and keep the Kingdom at rest. If the people thought that the Domi were unhappy we would have a different kind of SaanSanti, she said. So I pretended that I didn't know the truth and I did the best job I could working for Katrine and the Saans.

The Queen lay preserved in a way that I couldn't directly touch her. I combined everything one could imagine with my mortar and pestle—leaves, insects, rocks, sugar crystals, rodent parts— bound them together with wax or tree sap, and made tiny pellets that were given to the Queen. I treated the water she was bathed in and made sure it was neither too soapy nor too sour. She never opened her eyes. She never made a sound.

I worried she would never wake up. A large strip of wax had been fastened to her scalp to help the wound heal, and where the edges of the bandage were thin, I could see the deep scarlet of dried blood. Her hair had carefully been removed from the areas around the gash, which was as long as my hand but it was straight and true, like the blade of a knife or the edge of a table.

My faith was strong. I knew that the Saans were divinely inspired and I never questioned their reasons for anything they did. If they felt that this was the best place for the Queen to mend, I would do as I was told and do my best. Kote speed the recovery of the Queen.

Raini rolled over, bright eyed, and tickled me.

"Wake up Yossy! The sun is out! Let's go play!" he said to me, his voice bright but still snotty from sleep.

For the first time in months, I was relaxed in my sleep. Normally I clenched my jaw all night, leaving me with a headache. But today, I felt healthy, I felt a sort of lightness in my chest. The sun was shining through the window, something I hadn't woken to in many months.

"I feel happy Yossy. I want to play." What a good thing, to want to play. For as long as I could remember Raini was unwilling to wake up, if he did wake up.

In a way his sickness was a blessing. We were too poor for any schooling – I myself could only read some – which meant if he was well enough he would have to work. Able-bodied children as young as Raini were often helping thier families earn coin.

When Raini got old enough I thought he could study to be a Saan in the Citadel; it was a better life than he might get as a free man, living poor and uneducated. Father didn't like the idea. He thought freedom was a much better option, but I prayed that he would be inspired to be a little more faith filled, so maybe we could walk together in the next life.

The day was bright and lovely. On the way to the Citadel people smiled at me and none of the guards said anything crude when I passed through the gates. Even grumpy Theodorius nodded at me as we passed in the hall. Dinia was humming in the kitchens, a pleasant change from her normal cursing. The shiny silver platter showed me my face, rosy and glowing. I looked good. I felt good. What a gift, to feel so warm and happy. I will not, I said to myself, take this feeling for granted.

I let myself stop at a small stained glass window on the fourth floor of the Citadel that showed the time before the flood. In the center was an Unmarked One, its arms drawn over its chest in the symbol of greeting, worship and prayer. Through the clear glass panes that framed the scene I could see all of Saansanti—from here it was beautiful. I searched for the roofs in my neighborhood, spied several houses of the Saans, saw the clean break between houses where the river weaved through.

Footsteps from the staircase below moved me on my way. SaanReas and SaanKote were walking slowly towards the stairs, their voices deep but quiet. As if sensing me, SaanKote looked up directly at me. It was then I could hear a part of his conversation, "I agree, Brother Reas, it is like one of the Unmarked Ones is here with us..." His gaze locked with mine and goosebumps prickled my skin. Remembering myself, I quickly crossed my arms and bowed. He smiled with one side of his mouth. SaanReas never bothered to notice me, he just kept talking.

For the rest of the day my encounter with SaanKote filled my mind and sent butterflies to flight in my stomach, against my better judgment.

So distracted was I that I didn't notice the King and Prince Estevan in the Citadel. They were escorted by a pack of underlings, going to meet with the Saans about the Queen, I assumed. My happiness vanished when the King spied me. He walked tall today, sobered it seemed, wearing an embroidered vest over his strong, powerful body.

His son Estevan lacked his father's bold features. He was shorter and more squat looking, with a very long torso and short legs. His chin was thick, his face was ugly. Estevan had some sort of disease where once he started bleeding, he would not stop. Once or twice I had had to send for help after something as minor as a knife knick left him bloody for hours upon hours.

I tried to find my way around the troop but there was no good escape. The King slowed his gait so that he could slide his grisly hand across my waist, "I have missed you," he whispered coldly into my ear.

The fear I had been keeping at bay reared its ugly head in my stomach. The charm of the day left swiftly, taking with it the blood in my face and leaving only a bitter taste in my mouth. After that, not even daydreams of SaanKote could bring back warmth.

A Reading from the Kin of Aethan, After the Great Wasting

Five and ten years after his vision of the plague, the people of Aethan were well in spirit. Their prayers were to Reas, for the rains, and to Terro, to bring great gusts of wind to sweep the insects away.

My sons and daughters, my brothers and sisters, we must never forget that we are but mere mortals on this earth. The Elements, Aether, Terro, Kote, Reas, and Obith are powerful and forever. They will not yield to our needs and do not hear our quarrels. We must live in harmony with them and remember to praise them, love them and follow them. The holy spirits of the Unmarked Ones are here to guide us in this path. Through prayer and devotion we shall find the way, though we must sacrifice much and suffering we will join with the Unmarked Ones in the afterlife and then may we know true peace.

The people rejoiced and they loved one another as they would their own kin. Because it was not through riches and glory, but through poverty and grace that the people found their faith and the power of belief.

Chapter 46

Aneh

I trembled as I walked up the steps in the Citadel to the room where the Saans sometimes received commoners. Mouse and Mole had snuck me over here at the first of the day, before the inner city was open, to present myself to the Saans and ask for their help. I hated to be so bold, but it was the only way to see Olei without relying completely on chance.

Mouse and Mole had helped me rehearse what to say so that I wouldn't reveal who I was, or my intentions.

There was a short line when I arrived which only made me shakier. The longer I was out of the Keep, the better the chance that someone would take notice and force me back to work, with no meals for a day and a half. Worse yet, the more time that passed the more worried I became thinking of what Olei might say.

Finally, I was before them. I crossed my arms over my chest and bowed my head. The Five gave slight bows in return. SaanKote looked fearful and uncomfortable, like he was expecting me to do something rash.

"Oh Holiest Ones, I come to beg of SaanKote his grace and generosity," I said.

"Tell me your request, dear child," SaanKote replied. The rest of the Saans looked uninterested already, paying no mind to the similarity in height, color or accent between myself and their new Saan.

"I traveled here to pay homage to you, to worship the Saans and show my faith. But in my travels I lost many things. I was hoping you could give me guidance on how to find it again." Olei's expression was hard to read.

"I had a great strap of leather for it was hardy and strong, it was for binding things so that they would stay together, forever.

"Soft cotton of green, to comfort my loved ones and keep them safe with a gentle, tender touch.

"Wool, for warmth in the wet and cold.

"And most precious, a silvery chain to help guide me when I cannot understand the heavens, when I lose my way on earth."

Olei answered right away. He didn't blink, his voice was curt, "I cannot help you, dear coyotie, but I thank you for your faith and your journey. What you have lost is lost, though it once was with you and precious, you must let go the physical for it is not something you can take with you into the next life. It has no meaning."

My heart sank as he spoke the words.

"If you are truly at a loss, find yourself some new items. The people of Saansanti are crafty and may sell wares to your liking. But if you are strong, you will learn to live without these things, for it is in your suffering that you will be rewarded in the next life."

Olei spoke his secret message as loud and clear as the words that came out of his mouth. I understood it perfectly. I understood him perfectly.

My broken heart was a damp heavy sadness in my chest and an unrelenting queasiness. I busied myself with making a new doll for Dottir out of whatever I could find, a tiny tin button, some reddish yarn, old cloths knotted together, a lone gilded string. I had voluntarily become her sole cell cleaner and as so far as I could tell, sole caretaker. The same sleepy, drugged guard was there when I came every time, barely conscious enough to hand me the key or notice when I brought it back. I snuck dried fruits and candied nuts to her.

Though Dottir had somewhat warmed to my presence, I was very very careful not to anger her. When she spoke it was of Mothers, mostly. I don't know if it was her mother, or if she was the mother to her dolls.

Dottir shied away when I brought her the doll, but it wasn't long before she began to busy herself with its care, babbling to it and hugging it against her. Her happiness, despite her dismal surroundings, was rare and precious. It sent pangs of sadness through my heart.

I decided then that when it was time for me to leave, I would take Dottir with me. I couldn't bear to say goodbye another person that I had come to love so unexpectedly. She might be lumbering, unpredictable, and smelly, but she was my friend and I did not want to leave her behind if I could take her to a better place.

Chapter 47

Yossinda

Clear evenings were rare, and this one was especially beautiful. Rays from the setting sun highlighted the edges of the clouds to the west, as though I was looking into the afterlife. The clouds to the east were shades of pink, the sky behind it the dark blue of the Saans robes. The windy season was nearly over, Reas' season would be returning soon.

In the dimming light the grime of the city wasn't as obvious, in fact, the city almost looked clean. If it weren't for the awful smells coming from the side of the road, I might think I was in a different place, one where they didn't throw their gray water into the street.

As I turned the corner toward my father's house I was met by my little brother, playing in the street by himself. His sickness seemed to have gone away for a while. It was foolish to pretend that it was gone for good, but for now I let it be.

"Yossy!" He cried, the sweetness tugged at my heart, "Yossy I made friends today and we went down to the river and looked at the river eels. They are very long and brown and ugly."

"Did you catch one for dinner?"

"No! I don't want to eat something that is ugly."

"But eels are very tasty did you know? They are like fish."

Raini made a face and laughed, "No they're not. They taste like wastewater!"

"I'll catch you one and cook it for you one day, and you'll say 'Mmmm! Yossy this is the best meal of my life!' And I'll never tell you it was eel."

"Yossy can I tell you something?" Raini tugged at my arm. I kneeled to see him better.

He cupped his hands over my ear and whispered, "Yeidi is really sick. She didn't move all day even when I asked her to play. Then when I touched her hair she hit me."

Saans save us.

"Did she hurt you little brother?"

"No. I mean yes a little. I didn't cry. It hurt when she hit me right here," He lifted up his tunic a little to show me a budding blue bruise on his rib.

"Oh, how strong you are Raini. Let's put a cloth on it. I learned about some plants today that are good for hurts like that. I think we may have some in the cupboard."

Together, Raini and I walked through the door to the house. Quietly so as not to wake Yeidi I rustled in the cupboards and found some dried herbs. They weren't the right ones, but they wouldn't hurt Raini any more and it would make him feel better to think he was being taken care of. I set him to work with a mortar and pestle while I propped the door open. I meant to talk to my father before he walked through the door.

My timing couldn't have been better. As I turned my father came sauntering down the street, whistling. If he was in a good mood, this would be the best time to talk.

"Papa," I greeted him at the front path with a smile.

"Yossy," He greeted me with an embrace, "Are we all home tonight?"

"Yes, well, mostly."

"What do you mean mostly? There can't be part of one of us here."

"Father, please don't joke. I mean Yeidi." He looked away from me and groaned a little.

"Yossy, not now. We don't need to talk about this now," he said dismissively.

"But Papa, you never want to talk about it. Listen, please, listen to me. You can't possibly believe that she is sick. Do you think she is sick?"

"I think she has what Raini had, though my boy is much better now. She'll get over it."

"No! No she won't! It is not the same thing. She is stoned all the time Papa, just eating the Tinea. If she is sick, it's because of the drugs and it's all her doing," I was starting to raise my voice. "She hit Raini today. Hit and bruised him! I don't think she moved at all except for that. She is drugged and we have to do something. She won't listen to me, she hates me. You have to do something Papa. Papa, please!"

He shook his head and moved to the door. Standing there like an impatient ghost was Yeidi, hair stuck to her head, red boils weeping from the nape of her neck. She looked horrible, hardly recognizable as the flirtatious, healthy girl of just a year ago.

"I hit him because he had stolen something, and that's not the kind of child we want him to be. You should thank me, Yossinda, before you accuse me," she said coldly.

My father shrugged. He walked through the doorway, putting his hand on Yeidi's lower neck like he meant to comfort her. I watched his hand avoid the festering sores and give her bony shoulder a squeeze.

I stood in despair and disbelief as he went in.

If Yeidi kept using she would die. If my Father didn't get his head out of the sand, then he would lose another family member. How foolish of him to think this family could handle another loss.

Chapter 48

Aneh

"Mouse," Mole grumbled, "Stop moving and admit that we're lost."

"Nonsense Mole, nonsense. I know right where we are," Mouse replied.

We had taken an alternate route back from the Princess' quarters after a false labor during which both she and her brother managed to smash many precious things. Tensions were unbearably palpable in the Domi chambers since the Queen had now been injured and gone nearly ten days. The baby would come sometime this season and no one, not even the King, was allowed to see the Queen.

At one point in our return we passed a small window that peered into the west courtyard, giving Mouse confidence, "Yes, yes I know right where we are!" He said, his voice excited. But Mouse was wrong and Mole was increasingly irritable. When we stopped, they began to quarrel.

"Mole, you're just an overgrown toad with no sense of direction."

"Mouse it has been hours. Hours! I'm tired, it smells, and I've nearly fallen on my face twice."

"What do you want me to do? Make a magical door to your bed? To the kitchen so you can eat some more? I'm surprised that you can even fit through some of these passage ways you've become so fat."

"I just want you to admit that you are lost. That's all."

"I'm not lost. You want to go back to work? This is a holiday I'm giving us. A walking holiday from work."

In the middle of their spat I leaned hard against a wall, too hard it seemed, as the wall itself moved making a great scraping sound. Suddenly all eyes were on me. I stood, astonished.

Too curious for good judgment, we all gathered quickly to push on the wall some more. We emerged in a dimly lit room – seemingly a storage room in the Citadel. Old books, broken vials, vats and other dusty materials lined the shelves and crowded the floor.

"Oh, I know where we are now!" Mouse exclaimed with excitement.

"Right," added Mole sarcastically. Mouse, the great eye roller, didn't bother to retort, knowing he was indeed right. We proceeded towards what was hopefully an exit, moving carefully through shelves with empty glasses and giant earthen clay tubs and coils of metal wire, like rings for a giant. It was hard not to touch anything though we were all intensely curious.

"Secrets of the Saans, all right here," Mole said dully, "Here's the secrets of the stars Aneh. They use these big pots and these wires and things to make the Houses glow like you're out under the night sky."

"I wondered how they could make light...I thought maybe they had put little firebugs in the ceiling."

Mole shook his head, chuckling at my naivety, "It's some very good science."

Mouse meanwhile, was narrating the uses of some of the less interesting features of the storeroom. He stopped by a cache of ratty long feathers, their tips all covered in black. He shook his head.

"I miss this Mole. I do, I do. I miss the feel of the quill in my hands. I miss numbers. I miss using my mind." I patted Mouse gently on the back in effort to comfort him before noticing a heavy wooden door to the back of the storeroom propped slightly open. From in between the cracks poured that creepy blue light made by the Saans. We crept closer.

Mole and Mouse took turns peeking through the thumb wide crack in the door. Mouse narrated quietly to me, careful not to draw attention, "There are some Underlings inside...tending to something interesting. But I can't tell what it is, it looks like a glass box filled with water."

I leaned up against a wall and listened. The footsteps of the Underlings mingled with the echo of running water.

"Once they leave we should have a look," Mouse whispered.

I was reluctant to enter, recalling what had happened the last time I ventured through a forbidden doorway. My tongue felt the naked gum where a tooth used to be . The soft spot a reminder of Bridge's vengeful mallet. But Mouse and Mole were persistent and tip-toed in when the room appeared to be clear.

A giant glass box filled with water stood in the middle of the room. Inside was a body, held upright by thin metal bands at her waist and neck. The Queen's hair floated away from her pale face. Her clothes moved like grasses in a light breeze. She looked pure and beautiful.

We all stood, paralyzed by the sight.

"Good Great Reas. You built your city on water, truly," Mouse said, never averting his eyes.

"I've seen a lot of the Saans' tricks, but this is by far the most impressive," Mole added.

"Is she alive?" I asked.

"Oh, she's alive. Look at what these sneaky sons of Saans have done," Mole pointed to some fine glass tubing that went into her mouth and came out behind her.

"Unmarked Ones save us," Mouse whispered.

I squinted at her face, wondering what sort of pain she was in, where her mind was. Little bubbles escaped from her mouth so often, and littler bubbles covered her nose and collected on her eyelashes.

Mouse and Mole were already poking and prodding around. Behind the great tank water was coming out of the rocks itself--a spring. I had heard that somewhere in the Keep was the source of all of our water, nearly everyone in the city depended on it. It filled our baths and our water pitchers. It cleaned our messes and it pooled deep in the mines. The water spilled out of its earthen source, churning a great water wheel before diving into the city's water system.

"Oh. Oh, no," Mole said solemnly, having discovered something else. He stood by a great vat that was slowly dripping a grayish sludge, into the water. He shook his head, "The bastards...They're stoning us all."

Mouse put his head in his hands. For the first time I could remember, he was at a loss for words.

The Queen was receiving a heavy dose of the poison-drug. Her nose and ears were caked with wax, her mouth sewn shut around her glass breathing piece. Tinea — the filthy rock I had been mining was being used to drug everyone in the city. I remembered the poisoned fish in Koyote, and the water, black and fetid.

"What do we do?" I worried aloud. "We have to do something."

I was back at the glass, looking at the Queen when suddenly, she opened her eyes with a jolt.

What else could I do but shriek?

Afraid that my scream alerted the Citadel of our presence, we hustled into the store room and up the stairs.

For the rest of the day all I could see when I closed my eyes was the watery grave and the queen in there, half alive. I could hear her scream as she opened her eyes. It was me that was trapped in the glass case, and me that waited to die.

Chapter 49

Yossinda

Though Raini was recovering and hard to hold still, Yeidi had given up completely. She smelled. Her teeth were rotten and my eyes watered when I looked at them. It was not Yeidi's choice anymore. I had to get her help.

I left my father's house early and made my way to the servants' quarters. I searched the sick ward, the kitchen commons and even braved my way to Katrine's quarters. But she was nowhere to be found.

Her absence made the urgency of the matter more pressing. My knowledge of tinctures and herbs was still limited. All I could do was take care of the Queen's bath. As for remedies for Tinea, I hadn't learned any of that yet from the Saans.

Frustrated, I went to servants' House of the Saans to collect my thoughts. In strolled a relaxed Saan Gerric.

"Saan Gerric," As I bowed I wondered if I could ask him for a Tinea antidote, but it didn't feel appropriate to my station. "Do you perhaps know where Katrine is?"

"She was just here but left for the Citadel. I believe she is in the solar of SaanObith," he finished.

"Well I need to find her. Good Morning, and thank you."

My heart pounded with the rush of imminent help. I nearly ran through the courtyards into the commons before passing though the guard towers. Once in the Citadel I slowed my pace to a more controlled walk. My skin was growing damp from the exertion

The Citadel was quieter at this time of day. For a while the only sounds in the stair well leading up the sky tower were my footsteps echoing off the stone steps.

The door to SaanObith's solar was slightly ajar, enough that I didn't pause before entering. I wish that I had at least knocked.

Katrine stood kissing SaanObith in the most irreverent of ways. His hands were grasped around her waist, her hands cupping the back of his head. They continued passionately. Aghast, I stepped backwards into the door. They looked up, startled.

For a moment we stared at each other. My stomach twisted with the pain of this unwanted knowledge. It turned me around and I sped down the hall.

Too stunned to cry but too confused to think, I went to the Servants' House, kneeled and stared. My mind was blank. I couldn't even be bothered to say a prayer.

Why did it seem my world was collapsing?

Katrine found me and shook me to my senses. I was relieved she had come, but seeing her brought me such shame.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Katrine. I didn't know you would be in there! And you were with a Saan! ... I'm so confused," Katrine was quiet, waiting for me to find the right words, "I need help. I need help with my sister. She's dying. It's the Tinea," uttering this reminded me of why I had come. I shed a tear.

"How bad is she?"

I didn't know. She was horrible, she was disgusting.

"Have you not learned how to counter Tinea in your work with Saan Gerric?" she asked calmly.

I shook my head.

"Come with me," Katrine stood up and pulled me with her, putting her arm around my shoulders as we walked down a quiet corridor.

"SaanObith and I should have been more careful. It is good though, that it was just you. You are very trustworthy and very faith-filled, Yossinda. Rarely have I seen a woman as pious as you.

"One of the Saan's great secrets is that they can take one woman, one faith-filled and loyal woman, to be their companion. It is natural to want to love someone, even if you are modeled after the Unmarked Ones."

"What about the underlings...or the Brothers?" I asked, thinking about all the hundreds of other lesser Saans. Were their vows of chastity a lie too?

"Oh, well, they are not of the same caliber as the Five, and never will be. They are eunuchs, they have no manhood, they are not like the Great Ones, just servants who have dedicated their lives to the Saans and to suffering. What better way to suffer than to never know the pleasure of another?"

She turned to look at me directly, "I am not ashamed of who I love, but we must keep it a secret for the safety of the city. Do not be ashamed either, Yossinda, if you find yourself in the same position. It is natural to find yourself in love, especially when you are hurting, when you have questions, when you need guidance."

Unbidden, SaanKote's face came to my mind.

Chapter 50

Aneh

I continued going to the nightly blessings, to see if Olei would look at me, just to see if maybe he had changed his mind. It was like a scab I couldn't stop picking. When it itched I couldn't resist.

People were less solemn than in days past, the tragedy of the Queen's injury was no longer fresh and life was continuing. Eileen was still with child, the Saans were as favored by the people as ever - SaanKote had brought new air and life into their stagnant Blue Citadel.

As I watched them now, my heartache blurred into anger. Olei should have had more of a spine. His Koyote roots were so easy to cut, he was so easily replanted here in this soil-less, soulless city.

I bet he knew the truth behind the Queen or why the city was being poisoned with Tinea, but he just let it happen. What went on in the Citadel that was worth all of these evils?

Forgetting the blessing, I stood still, seething, while a hundred heads bowed forward. I caught the shooting glances of several onlookers as I turned and left, working my way through the tired people of Saansanti.

Chapter 51

Yossinda

I was readying myself to go home for the evening when I was abruptly summoned to serve in the sick room of an old noblewoman. The air in her chambers was thick and warm and smelled like death. She lay there, a skeleton beneath the sheets, refusing to eat and unable to take care of herself.

The lady used what strength she had to push her supper dishes on the floor, shattering them into a hundred pieces. With no remaining stamina she was unable to control herself and had soiled her linens and the floor. I walked outside to summon for some slaves to clean up the mess then returned to the room. The heat and the stench made me feel flushed. The sensation only worsened as SaanKote walked through the door.

Immediately self conscious, I busied myself trying to make the lady comfortable as SaanKote settled to prayer over the woman. I backed up and put my head down, focusing on the words as best as I could. A strange pack of slaves showed up to clean, two scrappy men of greatly different sizes and a tall browned woman with coloring like SaanKote. They were quiet for the prayer, then got to work quickly. It smelled like lavender when they were finished.

When the prayer was over the Saans crossed themselves, bowing their heads to the sick sleeping woman whose head had lolled to the side, her mouth opening wide letting a raspy snore escape. SaanKote glanced at me with a sweet smile and caring eyes. His gaze was intense and I broke it, moving to look at the floor before adjusting lady again, unnecessarily.

Chapter 52

Aneh

Deep in our own troubled thoughts after the experience in the Saans' water gallery, Mouse, Mole and I continued to work.

We shuffled into the stagnant air of chamber occupied by a dying relative of the Domi. Her old wrinkled skin was thick like the folds in my tunic. The damp stench of her room reminded me of the mines. I kept my head down and worked to clean up her messes only vaguely aware of the other figures hovering near the bed.

Mouse walked over and whispered something to Katrine, who nodded solemnly and pointed to the cupboards behind her. Mouse opened the cupboard doors noiselessly to get a shovelful of coal. As he deposited the black rocks on a brazier the room brightened with just enough light that I could see Olei. He was standing close to another woman.

She was indescribably thin, almost emaciated in the wavering light from the brazier. She had exotically light hair that would have hung straight and thick if it was not pulled back into a hastily done plait. Loose strands fell around her face, hiding the tired circles under her heavily lashed eyes. She was a creature so different from me that I hardly considered us both women.

My heart skipped when I saw how Olei looked at her. Hope fluttered back to me for a second when Olei turned his glance to me, but he did not smile. He returned his adoring gaze to the white and waifey woman.

Chapter 53

Yossinda

Rain drummed against the cobblestones and flooded the streets. I struggled in vain to move forward towards the white shrouded figure beckoning me. But I was being pulled down again. Forced into the muddy rainwater. Held by my captors.

I didn't fight back. I didn't make a noise. There was something familiar about them. A long golden braid dangled out of the smaller one's hood. Yeidi. The other one's hands were black, and not with grime from the mines. They were black from Tinea.

The King.

I screamed. No one came to save me. The Unmarked One had left me.

I sat up abruptly. Cool air chilled my back, which was sweating. Of all the times I had had this nightmare, this was the worst.

I left the servants' quarters to find Saan Gerric and prayed that he would be kind enough to listen. When I reached the water gallery, my worries came pouring in a stream of words.

Saan Gerric's sincere concern was apparent immediately, I could see it in his eyes. They were caring and unafraid. "Kneel next to me, dear Yossinda," he said, "Let us pray."

We prayed to the Elements for guidance and to the Unmarked Ones for wisdom. We prayed for patience, courage and hope. Saan Gerric did not say more when we finished, he simply looked at me. I smiled weakly. Afraid of the silence and embarrassed by how much I had already divulged, I began talking about tinctures and the Queen's health, but my quivering voice betrayed me. As usual, there was little light in the House and the darkness comforted me knowing that Saan Gerric couldn't see my face in its contorted state.

"Everyone questions their faith, Yossinda, it is only natural. We are born naked , we grow up with tragedy and we spend our lives toiling for others. I know it seems hopeless but there are pleasures here on earth, we just have to look in different places to find them."

"Saan Gerric, I don't know where to look."

Saan Gerric sighed, "Think of a day Yossinda, where you felt happy. What happened on that day?"

I thought of the evening I had found little Raini in the street excitedly talking about river eels. I remembered the beauty in the sky, the glowing lanterns in the city streets illuminating the walls with yellow. Raini, hugging me and gripping my hand loosely, talking and trying to tickle me. There was the day when I awoke to a clear sky and got to look out from Saan Citadel through the stained glass. I thought of SaanKote and the way his smile made me feel alive and special.

"There was love, there was beauty. That's what happened on those days when I felt happy," I said.

"So there are some good things about this suffering. There is light in life, there are moments that can give us some warmth and energy here and now."

"What about the terrible things that I've done?" I asked, suddenly fearful of what had happened to me in the King's bedroom.

Saan Gerric didn't reply immediately, he was looking up at something.

"I'm afraid that I cannot be the one to tell you the answers to that," he said. My heart sank, thinking I had chased off my only friend with my complaining and faltering faith.

"There's someone here far more wise and gifted than I," Saan Gerric finished.

With that Saan Gerric got up and bowed his goodbye. His heavy steps were muffled by the earthen floor, quickly fading into the background noise of the House. I looked up but didn't see anything but darkness. There was someone else close by though, I could feel it.

He smelled like sage and clean, fresh water. I could hear the thick fabric of his robes against his body as he knelt down next to me. A flicker from the brazier painted his face in gold, but just for a second.

"Forgive me for intruding Yossinda," it was the voice of SaanKote.

"Your Grace. Please pardon me, I am not well. Saan Gerric was generous enough to let me speak to him about my...conditions."

"Saan Gerric is most kind and generous indeed, it is a pity that underlings cannot rise to become one of the Five. I'm certain he would excel."

We sat in silence for some time.

SaanKote sighed. I held my hands, sweating in the dark silence.

As if he could read my thoughts, he began: "I have been alive only some four and twenty years," He began, "But I have suffered in my life. I had a great love and more than one great loss. I find solace in beauty of being alive – it is not much and much of the time it does not seem to suffice— but I cherish the time we have in this realm. The reasons we suffer will be revealed in the next life and our sufferings will bring us great peace and wisdom.

"It is human to have emotions, to feel intensely, to bind ourselves to things and to other people. I find relief from the physical with my faith in the spiritual. We are born alone, we die alone with nothing but our souls. What things and people we find attachment to in this life will give us temporary feelings of joy, sadness, jealousy or fear, but what we believe in and carry with in our hearts, that is what lives on forever."

I could not speak right away. When I opened my mouth, my voice trembled. "SaanKote. I often worry that I am not suffering the right way, that what troubles me is not of the kind the Unmarked Ones would reward."

"Yossinda," he laughed a little, "You are far too faith-filled, honest and loyal to be overlooked by the Unmarked Ones. Your sufferings are not false, they are not petty. Whatever you are enduring, no matter how ugly or terrible, you are not being dishonest. Continue to walk the path in your heart and nothing will be able to stop you from walking with the Unmarked Ones. In that place you will find peace."

Though I knew I should resist, I couldn't help but wonder if the path in my heart was leading to him.

Chapter 54

Aneh

After dinner, the last of the spring season, Mole and Mouse told me they were ready. It's time to run, they said.

As far as the Keep would know, I was going to die tonight, I had to leave just enough of myself to make it look right. I sawed at my thick bundle of hair with a dull knife. Later I would use the same one to cut out my tattoo. I changed into another set of clothes and gave my old ones and my hair bundle to Mouse and Mole in one of our secret passageways. Mouse and I embraced for the first and last time, lightly and awkwardly. I was over a head taller than the little man, my friend and the reason I had made it this far. Mole hugged me firmly then handed me a key for the last locked door I would have to pass through in Saansanti.

Too excited and nervous for long good-byes, we parted swiftly. I headed to Dottir. I had begged Mole to come visit me in Koyote, when he had bought his freedom. He promised to bring Mouse too.

Dottir and I would have to travel down a series of passages that I had never been in before. We would pass the mines and exit through a secret door in an inner city canal that sloped down into the river. There we could travel unnoticed in the dark, following the river and ultimately exiting the city.

But first I had to get her out of her cell and past the guard.

He was awake when I arrived.

"You again?" He grunted at me.

"Yes, I left something in the prisoner's cell earlier," I flashed my tattoo, "And... I need the key for her chains, to clean a wound..." I had practiced this line in my head over and over. The words sounded rehearsed as I spoke them.

He looked at me, half suspicious, half irritated and certainly more coherent than I'd ever seen him. I produced a little metal box from my cloak.

"For your troubles," I said and handed it over. He opened it up like a greedy child. The Tinea shined in the torch light, dark gray and smooth.

"This is the good stuff, the dark stuff," he snorted. Without looking at me he fished in his pocket for the keys, flung them at me, then stuck his fingers in the sludge.

Seconds later the door hinges squeaked as I opened Dottir's cell. She smiled at me as I entered.

"Aneh!" She laughed.

"Dottir. We get to use quiet voices tonight," I whispered, "Can you do a quiet voice?"

"Shhhhh," she hissed. I nodded and smiled.

"Give me your hands," I unlatched her chains.

"Aneeeeh," she said, "Mama gets mad. No chains. Mama mad."

"Mama wants no chains for now. Mama said, be quiet, be good Dottir. Mama told me," I lied.

"Get your doll please," I continued, "I got you a new cloak. Let's see how it fits. Are you ready to go for a little walk?"

I plucked the burning torch from Dottir's cell and held Dottir with my free hand. She was perfectly quiet. We inched towards the guard to find him drooling on his own chest, drugged and asleep. I slipped the keys into his pocket. Aside from the missing torch, it might be days before he'd noticed we were gone.

We started up the stairway. I counted thirty steps and started looking for the doorway. Dottir suddenly stopped and looked up. A distinct breeze flowed from an open door further down the hall. I tugged on her hand a little, talking sweetly, "Dottir, this way...Come on, we have to go now." As quickly as she had first lunged for me so many months before, Dottir lurched away and I lost my grip.

Chapter 55

Yossinda

It was a light cool evening when I went down to tend to the Queen. She had been in her chamber through the most of the season of winter and the entire season of winds. Now that it was nearly the end of spring under the element of Reas, I had more faith that her days in her watery bed were almost over.

When I arrived there were a few underling Saans working away in the water gallery. Like every time I came here, they bowed when I arrived and promptly excused themselves, never making eye contact. What an honor it was to be entrusted with such a woman in such a situation. Between my suffering and hers, maybe we would both be walking together in the afterlife.

I was preparing some tinctures in the blue light of the water gallery when the door creaked.

"Yossinda," said a deep voice I recognized. I turned around smiling.

"Your Holiness," I crossed myself and bowed, not daring to meet his eyes.

"I was moved tonight to come see the Queen. I see she looks much better, thank you for your services. Can I help with anything?"

"No, no Your Holiness I was just finishing up. If you don't mind," I gestured to my workbench before walking over. He followed me.

I could barely work with SaanKote standing so near. He was asking me questions about the poultices and solutions, how much I added and if I knew what they were for.

"This is greater celandine, to keep the water clean and keep her calm in the case that she comes out of her deep sleep.

"This is a tincture of larkspur. Those purple flowers that grow in the hills outside of the city... I have only seen them once in a merchants cart. I do not know what they are for.

"This one is a bittersweet nightshade, SaanGerric told me it came from wild potatoes and is a good source of nutrition for the Queen.

"I believe, though I'm not sure, that this last one is called Kratom. It comes from very far away and I'm supposed to be very careful with it. Kratom helps the Queen have better dreams in her deep sleep. The dreams are full of love and emotion, I'm told."

SaanKote looked me directly in the eye. To my surprise, he even grabbed my wrists, cupping his hands in mine. My heart began racing again. His eyes were like infinite cups of green tea, his skin was smooth and perfect. I even loved his crooked teeth. I had become foolish for this Saan, just like Katrine had said I might.

"Yossinda listen to me," he began, "You should get out of this task. You don't know what you are doing, and I don't want you to get hurt. A lot of these tinctures are poisons if you do not use them right. If the Queen never wakes up, the blame could fall on you, and that is something I don't want, for you, for me, or for anyone in this City."

"Please, SaanKote," I started with a small laugh, "I've been doing this for months. I know what I'm doing."

"Right. Has she gotten any better?" he asked. I knew he was looking directly at me, but I couldn't return his gaze.

"She's opened her eyes once or twice," I said a little sassily.

His stare continued. He shifted his weight and started again.

"Yossinda, I'm ordering you to leave. I will find a replacement. The Queen must wake up from this deep sleep. If she doesn't, that cannot fall on you. And I know the Saans and the Domi will let you take the blame. They are not being honest with you Yossinda. They are using you because they do not want her death on their hands. I know you've seen her scar. Do you think that the King could deliver a blow like that? He is not that clever. The Saans, we are."

"What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"No, SaanKote," I continued, "I am one of the most loyal women in this city. The Saans brought me here because they trust me and they know I pray for the Queen with every movement I make."

SaanKote kept staring at me intently. I threw away his hands and started to cry in my own.

"Yossinda you must think about how this looks! Why would they let you in here all alone? Why would they let you do this, when there are underlings who spend their lives only mixing potions? I know you are afraid, that your sister is sick and you must work for your family, but I can help you, let me help you. First you must stop working in here."

He stopped abruptly. Something thudded in the hall, just before a huge cloaked figure crashed through the door. Its hood fell down, exposing a misshapen head with matted long gray hair.

"Kote save us," I whispered.

"What is that?" SaanKote asked.

"Mama!" it shrieked with delight.

Chapter 56

Aneh

She traveled with such accuracy, never tripping, moving swiftly.

By the time Dottir broke through the doorway I realized where we were, back in the bowels of the Citadel, headed toward the water gallery. A smallish Saan was loitering in the hallway when we peeled around the corner. He looked up, frightened, and tried his best to stop the lumbering woman-child. She swiped him to the side with an effortless swing of her arm, smashing him into a wall. She did the same to the next Saan and the next, leaving a trail of weak blue-robed men in her wake. I hopped over them just in time to witness the last and greatest horror.

Dottir barged into the great blue water gallery and let out a cry of joy. "Mama!" she squealed with delight at the sight of her mother, comatose in her watery box. When Queen Myrah failed to reply, Dottir's rage escalated like a brush fire. I was yelling to her to stop and tried in vain to pull her away from the tank. She swung her arms wildly just before smashing the glass with her bare hands.

Water poured out, knocking over Dottir and ripping the Queen from her weightless chamber. The light blue water was became swirled with red, blood from Dottir, blood from the Queen. Dottir ignored me as I hovered around, trying desperately to pick out shards of glass from her arms, her stomach, her face.

She swatted me away, becoming more sluggish as she struggled to cradle her mother. "Mama wake, wake up! Mama love Dottir," she sobbed into the pool of water.

Just then I realized there were others in the chamber with me. I saw Olei and the little white woman standing, mouths open, next to a massive display of thousands of bottles. Mole and Mouse crept out from a hiding place, iron bars in hand, silent as little vermin.

"Holy Reas' Sons of Saans," Mole uttered.

Olei moved to stand in front of the woman protectively. I just looked at him, unable to read his expressions anymore, then moved into the chaos that Dottir had created.

The floor of the gallery had quickly turned into a knee-deep pool. Dottir was growing more tired as the Tinea had its effect. I tried once more in vain to lift her and get her out.

Mouse, Mole and I heaved at her, but she refused to move. Olei raced to lift the Queen; but when he picked her up, the flesh nearly peeled off her bones. She was a skeleton, dead or nearly there, and Dottir would not let go of her mother, who looked like a toy doll stretched between two greedy children.

Olei turned to us, eyes furious. "In the name of Aethan, what are you three doing here?" he yelled.

"What are you doing here, oh mighty great one?" Mole shouted back. Olei didn't expect such boldness, he was silent for a moment while we heaved on the groaning Dottir.

"Not want!" Dottir growled. With sudden fierceness, she swiped at us with a piece of broken glass, slicing Mouse's leg before stabbing Olei in the side. Mouse screamed. Olei winced, and in the chaos his cloak was pulled open, exposing a necklace to which were tied our four pairing bands. We locked eyes for one last time.

"Mole, we have to do this now, or we're done for," Mouse gasped. They let go of Dottir who had relaxed from her rage. She was smiling and cradling her mother, speaking softly as the life drained out of both mother and daughter.

Bars in hand, the Mouse and Mole walked over to the Tinea vat near the spring and began hacking at it. Their swipes were haphazard, hitting rocks near the spring's outlet and breaking them off. The wall seemed to crumble, water rushed with increasing urgency. I ran to help, leaving Dottir. By the time we had pulled the Tinea vat away from the spring the water levels had risen to our thighs. Mouse was slowing - the Tinea in the water had seeped into the gash torn into his leg. Mole picked up his friend and threw him over his shoulders just as the rock and brick casing around the spring burst.

Olei had swum slowly over the girl, who was desperately clinging to the shelves. The light was leaving his eyes. It was the last I saw of him.

The water was still rising. Mole and I struggled to swim under Mouse's weight of Mouse.

"The door to the storeroom...I'm going to open it!" I yelled. "You'll have to follow me!" He nodded and I took a deep breath.

The door opened outwards and I was violently thrown into the waterless space. I surfaced in time to hear the wooden shelves groaning against the rush of water, threatening to collapse. Mole left Mouse clinging to the shelves to help me open the stone door to the passageway. Together we supported Mouse's weight as we ran up and up.

By the time made it to the commons the Citadel was lost in chaos. People were panicking, the ground was shaking. Water gushed out from the bowels of the Citadel. Mole was exhausted from carrying Mouse but he continued on until we reached the yard and found a wheelbarrow to put him in. Fires were flaring somewhere, I could smell the smoke. Rain hammered down on the muddy ground.

Chapter 57

Yossinda

SaanKote clutched my arm so hard that it hurt. I had never learned to swim and clung with all of my might to the shelves. Everything was breaking and the water levels were so high. I was just like one of the drowning rats I had seen in the mines with my father— weak, scared, helpless. SaanKote kept shouting for me to keep my head up or hold on or something. He was bleeding but he was still much stronger than I.

My wet dress was so heavy. I let it pull me down. I let my mouth fill with water. My tears were one with the water element and soon, just like my birth sign, I would be too.

Chapter 58

Aneh

There is a lightness to losing. I no longer have the stress of possibility urging me on or keeping me awake at night. My journey home has been longer for I am walking much more slowly. And though I bring with me kind company—my dear friend Mole—there is a sadness to my being that I fear I will never shed.

Off in the distance I see the great red cliffs of my homeland looming, their great faces remind me of giants frozen into stone. I think of the vastness of time, nature and all of the things we do not know. I wonder where Olei is and if there is a time after my death when we will meet again and feel safe in each other's embrace. I think of how short my life is in comparison to the rocks in the cliffs and somehow I manage to feel grateful in spite of my losses.

XXX

Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, I would very much appreciate if you would leave me a review at your favorite retailer?

Gratefully,

Elizabeth Wyman

Connect with me at: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/enwyman

