Shirley Meier's Blog, page 47
July 12, 2011
522 - The Fifth Wife
"…the fifth wife. He has told me that if my first child is male and dies in the first hours of life or is born dead, I will follow both the child and the wives gone before. He has killed them more and more brutally as His heirs die. He threatens to impale me through the womb that failed him, if His Spark dies.
I am afraid. I write, because I can, because I must. It is the highest of
I am afraid. I write, because I can, because I must. It is the highest of
521 - Hidden Pages
I sat back and tapped the end of my glass pen against my teeth, staring at the dusty fragment in front of me in the Conservancy. The women were four stacks over, just discussing some tricky bit of rebinding without damaging the fragile paper, so yellowed it was brown and inclined to disintegrate, their voices now a fixture in the library so much that I could not imagine the space without it.
July 8, 2011
520 - The One-Boy Horde
The Scandalous OneBy Minis Aan
Eight hundred and nineteen years ago, the Empire was rocked by scandal caused by Ninth Amitzas Aan. Rather than choose a nice Aitza from amongst the Fortunate Fifty for his official wife, he chose one of his Mahid concubines, 8th Tesha Mahid.
The scandal was so intense that 9th Amitzas was called out to Ordeal. What was even more scandalous was the fact that
Eight hundred and nineteen years ago, the Empire was rocked by scandal caused by Ninth Amitzas Aan. Rather than choose a nice Aitza from amongst the Fortunate Fifty for his official wife, he chose one of his Mahid concubines, 8th Tesha Mahid.
The scandal was so intense that 9th Amitzas was called out to Ordeal. What was even more scandalous was the fact that
July 7, 2011
519 - To the Assembly of Yeola-e
"Kallijas?" I found him in the Eagle's Aerie, a room designed to be mostly windows that still showed sky and edge of cliff instead of city and lake and woods.
He spun around so fast from his pacing I couldn't stop my reflexive duck. "Yes?" It was odd, he sounded almost calm. It just didn't fit with him pacing the room like a fang-tiger on a chain.
I came in and sat down. "You've heard about
He spun around so fast from his pacing I couldn't stop my reflexive duck. "Yes?" It was odd, he sounded almost calm. It just didn't fit with him pacing the room like a fang-tiger on a chain.
I came in and sat down. "You've heard about
July 6, 2011
518 - Was This a Plot?
The Yeolis were all upset about Chevenga not having told them about his fore-knowledge. The fore-knowledge that he was currently fighting to change, with Surya. They were going to fikken kaina going to shennen flog him to kaina marugh meniren falling for it?
I had to re-read the whole set of stories. The Yeoli scribblers were, thankfully appalled. Where they crazy? Were they taking notes
I had to re-read the whole set of stories. The Yeoli scribblers were, thankfully appalled. Where they crazy? Were they taking notes
July 5, 2011
517 - We The Undersigned
We, the undersigned, being the manifold membership of the August Association of Jitzmitthran-Born Citizens of Arko, would like to express our most extreme protest against an apparently-plotted initiative by certain of the Assemblymen of the Empire.
Too long we have suffered from puerile, old-fashioned prejudices against us based merely on the dates of our birth. Too long have people born on
Too long we have suffered from puerile, old-fashioned prejudices against us based merely on the dates of our birth. Too long have people born on
July 3, 2011
516 - A Dung-Cart Load of Cartoons
I'm sitting in the gallery 'cause they called Ailadas to come to the Hall of Assembly right now and he was in the middle of lecturing me on the new elections and how they conformed to Ilesias the Great's ideas on how the people supported the Imperator and he said come along rather than getting into trouble with the new faib team like yesterday and get thrown in to the fountains even if it was
June 30, 2011
515 - You Thunder-Mugging Morons!
I sat and stared at Bagovas and then, to keep from laughing out loud, I bent my head to my board and began to take notes, concentrating on the perfect formation of the 'o's' and the 'e's', just to give myself something else to think about.
But a dozen Assembly People sprang up with their comments.
Assemblyman Gollas – "... Minis has no official status. His papers are forged - he has admitted
But a dozen Assembly People sprang up with their comments.
Assemblyman Gollas – "... Minis has no official status. His papers are forged - he has admitted
June 29, 2011
514 - To My Face?
A comment came to Assembly a few days afterwards, to be added to the Mahid debate. It was a letter from Ilesias Mahid, from Yeola-e. It was very short, no more than two lines. "After the Sack, when Clan Mahid seemed to be ended, I thanked my Great Noble God that no child would ever again be raised as I was. To the Assembly's consideration… please let that remain so."
It looked like it was
It looked like it was
June 28, 2011
513 - Not Much Roe in Me
The river was a great deal warmer than the one I'd been flung off in Yeola-e, but the shock was much harder. It felt like my whole behind and back stung and then there were the bubbles. I spread my arms out and paddled for the surface and the boat that was standing by. Shen. Shen. Shen. Shen. It was all bubbles and foam and the fikken harness that I couldn't strip out of. A twitch, a
