Haseri
Emperor
The sun was high in the sky, and the briny scent of the sea curled over the beach. The ever-present beat of the tide was background to the Meet, where anyone could come before the chief and present ideas or to argue points of rule. At this moment it was Tari, a warrior with a strong religious zeal.
My chief, living in the not-water is folly. The scouts may believe that the Creators have gone and it is safe here, but their hearts are filled with doubt. The scout Huara told me himself that, until the whole not-water is explored, we will never know.
The chief merely petted one of his harem members, who in turn was stroking the fur of a guard seal, who was staring intently at the warrior who looked like he was threatening his pack leader. You have been listening too intently to those witches, havent you? Let me guess priestess Irill put you up to this, hmm? She came to the Meet several days ago to protest what I expect is the same thing. But, in the interest of fairness, continue. Chief Quilla spoke with a calm, measured pace, making sure that every syllable was heard by those assembled.
Audibly gulping, Tari continued. My chief is correct, I have been talking with the, the priestesses. The witches, as you call them. But what they speak is true. Our place is in the water, swimming free. Not tied to the solid not-water, as we seem to be out here.
There was silence as Quilla thought about this. He stood from his throne and crouched to the ground. Everyone in the court a generous description of the room, it being little more than wooden planks and poles holding up a smoked seaweed roof stood bewildered, most of all Tari, all wondering whether they should be joining their chief in crouching. He was drawing Chuaraqchu, albeit a simple version, relative to the coast, in the damp sand. He then drew, in what would be the sea, another, smaller collection of buildings. The chief then straightened himself out. I am sure the priestess Irill told you that I immediately dismissed her idea of returning everyone to the sea. That is true. Then, that night, She came to me in a dream, many of the more pious muttered a prayer at the mention of Her, and told me that the piscans can rule water and not-water, but some will not be willing to live in the not-water. She told me that these too can be part of the empire I shall build. A town will be built underwater, to show this can be done. He walked back to his throne again a description far more generous than it should be, being a simple wooden chair. If you had waited for my announcements this evening, you would know that the city is to expand into the water not just the tidal zone, but beyond that. The tower problem is becoming expensive [1], and we want people to expand out either to the water or further not-water. If living in the water works which I am sure it will then we can expand further into the water. He got up again, coming very close to the warrior, his voice dropping to a whisper. In fact, I dont think Ill be able to directly rule such a place. Who knows how far away it would be? My decrees wont nearly get there fast enough. Id need to install a, lets call it regional chief for now, wouldnt I? Do you understand, ch-, I mean warrior Tari.
He didnt at first, but the stare went on just long enough for various barriers to break down, finally realising what Quilla meant. Oh. Yes, I understand my chief. And, uh, I would, um, it would be ruled as the regional chief saw fit?
As long as I, or my successor, for who knows how long it will take, sees that rules he is making are the correct one, I dont see why not. Whoever it is that gets the job, they will have nobody to answer to but me. He walked back to his throne. Is that satisfactory, warrior Tari?
Yes my chief. You are most gracious.
[1] In Chuaraqchu, if someone could hold onto land against aggressors, it was theirs to do what they will with. The chief, however, took taxes initially on how much floor space the building took up small taxes but taxes none the less. In a way to get round this, those that could afford it built up. However, all of Chuarqchu was built with wood with the occasional rock, and the piscans had not quite got the hand of architecture. This led to a lot of collapsing buildings, killing many and injuring many more. What Quilla doesnt mention here is that he is including a change to the tax system, where the volume of the building is taken into account, since there is no real floor in the water.
My chief, living in the not-water is folly. The scouts may believe that the Creators have gone and it is safe here, but their hearts are filled with doubt. The scout Huara told me himself that, until the whole not-water is explored, we will never know.
The chief merely petted one of his harem members, who in turn was stroking the fur of a guard seal, who was staring intently at the warrior who looked like he was threatening his pack leader. You have been listening too intently to those witches, havent you? Let me guess priestess Irill put you up to this, hmm? She came to the Meet several days ago to protest what I expect is the same thing. But, in the interest of fairness, continue. Chief Quilla spoke with a calm, measured pace, making sure that every syllable was heard by those assembled.
Audibly gulping, Tari continued. My chief is correct, I have been talking with the, the priestesses. The witches, as you call them. But what they speak is true. Our place is in the water, swimming free. Not tied to the solid not-water, as we seem to be out here.
There was silence as Quilla thought about this. He stood from his throne and crouched to the ground. Everyone in the court a generous description of the room, it being little more than wooden planks and poles holding up a smoked seaweed roof stood bewildered, most of all Tari, all wondering whether they should be joining their chief in crouching. He was drawing Chuaraqchu, albeit a simple version, relative to the coast, in the damp sand. He then drew, in what would be the sea, another, smaller collection of buildings. The chief then straightened himself out. I am sure the priestess Irill told you that I immediately dismissed her idea of returning everyone to the sea. That is true. Then, that night, She came to me in a dream, many of the more pious muttered a prayer at the mention of Her, and told me that the piscans can rule water and not-water, but some will not be willing to live in the not-water. She told me that these too can be part of the empire I shall build. A town will be built underwater, to show this can be done. He walked back to his throne again a description far more generous than it should be, being a simple wooden chair. If you had waited for my announcements this evening, you would know that the city is to expand into the water not just the tidal zone, but beyond that. The tower problem is becoming expensive [1], and we want people to expand out either to the water or further not-water. If living in the water works which I am sure it will then we can expand further into the water. He got up again, coming very close to the warrior, his voice dropping to a whisper. In fact, I dont think Ill be able to directly rule such a place. Who knows how far away it would be? My decrees wont nearly get there fast enough. Id need to install a, lets call it regional chief for now, wouldnt I? Do you understand, ch-, I mean warrior Tari.
He didnt at first, but the stare went on just long enough for various barriers to break down, finally realising what Quilla meant. Oh. Yes, I understand my chief. And, uh, I would, um, it would be ruled as the regional chief saw fit?
As long as I, or my successor, for who knows how long it will take, sees that rules he is making are the correct one, I dont see why not. Whoever it is that gets the job, they will have nobody to answer to but me. He walked back to his throne. Is that satisfactory, warrior Tari?
Yes my chief. You are most gracious.
****
[1] In Chuaraqchu, if someone could hold onto land against aggressors, it was theirs to do what they will with. The chief, however, took taxes initially on how much floor space the building took up small taxes but taxes none the less. In a way to get round this, those that could afford it built up. However, all of Chuarqchu was built with wood with the occasional rock, and the piscans had not quite got the hand of architecture. This led to a lot of collapsing buildings, killing many and injuring many more. What Quilla doesnt mention here is that he is including a change to the tax system, where the volume of the building is taken into account, since there is no real floor in the water.