> Officials in Pratikaya today announced the death of Lady Semma, the chieftess of Clan Nimor. The clan's communications office said that she joined her honored ancestors after battling with unspecified illness for many months. Lady Nimor was last seen at the Royal Sakoola Blossom Festival where observers noted her frail appearance. Clan watchers speculated that Nimor suffered from saronemigic endopathy, an uncommon degenerative disease that attacks many of the body's organs.
>
> In response to the news, the Chieftess of Inusagi declared a 'day of remembrance for our departed sister Semma' to take place tomorrow. The clan announced that Lady Nimor's heir, Senna, will be invested with the role of clan Chieftess in two days. The change in leadership at Inusagi's Fourth Clan is mostly a formality, as it's well-known that Lady Senna has been managing the clan's daily affairs during her mother's long illness.
- Diram Minjurad
Clanwatch Pratikaya Correspondent
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41:03:32 GrS
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Ganshea nestled among the rolling Hidapurakai mountains, an unassuming village dotted with centuries-old wood-framed cottages situated below inns tucked up against the hillsides. Rich with mineral springs fed by subterranean aquifers that were heated by geothermal processes, the enclave of the Raga clan maintained six inns that hosted thousands of visitors each year.
As Lyra circled high above the village she spotted tourists on ridgegliders, riding the updrafts off the mountains. Another cliffside crawled with climbers descending a granite face on colorful ropes. A river curved through the valley, and through the light afternoon haze she thought she could just glimpse a fishing party and a cluster of domed tents above the shoreline.
She brought the Aerosine to rest in a clearing shaded by tall hills choked with groves of rainbow bamboo. Forty or fifty members of the Raga clan awaited the speeder. She doused the engines, then touched a control to open the hold. Nodding wordlessly to the others, she lifted the door handle and stepped out. Sera, Reiko and Taz followed.
Four generations received them, from infant great-grandnieces and nephews to cousins in their eighth and ninth decades. Young men bore Shin's body from the speeder past a row of village elders and a stooped woman wearing the ceremonial robes and headdress of a clan chieftess.
Lyra made an elaborate, low bow before the ancient woman. "Mantiyaka do sey, Hokshugi Daigol," she intoned her solemn greeting. "Shindani iba senguru te ro'anu damansu tadameyo sey."
The chieftess gave her an answering bow. Her voice was with thin with age, but steady and authoritative. "Lyra hima'anu, arayata mantikaya gan tada'anat vosugano Raga gharazo do sey."
Lyra turned to her shipmates. "This is Hokshugi, the chieftess of Clan Raga. I told her I've returned Uncle Shin to join his honored ancestors, and she expressed her gratitude that he has returned to his family." She looked up a nearby hillside where the men were bearing Shin's body. "The funeral will be celebrated up there."
She offered her arm to the chieftess who shuffled along with the aid of a gnarled staff crowded with the sygils of her office, polished smooth by the hands of generations of chieftesses who preceeded her. Taz cast a concerned look at her; her ribs needed time to heal despite the Force-fueled boost he gave her. She responded with a slight shake of her head which he answered with a tight nod. They processed in a long, stately train, up a path through soaring nava trees until they emerged on a broad plateau overlooking a deep green valley. Above them, snow clung to the tops of the tall hills, and cool breezes drifted down the slopes.
There were carved benches arranged around a tall, broad pedestal of cut and dressed brown stone blocks. Atop that, interlocking stacks of blackened logs formed a neat, seven-sided pyre, the interior stuffed with smaller branches and brush. The whole structure stood nearly four meters high.
The bearers set the body on a wooden frame in front of the pyre. Lyra stood at Shin's head, her hands clasped before her. One by one, the members of the Raga clan came forward, touching Shin's forehead with theirs, then bowing to Lyra and Hokshugi before taking seats on the benches. Rei and Sera came after the family and sat at the right of the chieftess.
Taz was last. He bowed over Shin's corpse then stepped to Lyra's side. She tried to smile, but she could manage only somber grief. The men began rigging ropes to raise the platform atop the pyre. Quietly, he said, "I can lift him up there if you'd like."
Lyra bent her head next to the chieftess and whispered in her ear. The women's conversation went on a while, and at one point Hokshugi stared pointedly at Aurora Ascendant. After another brief exchange, Lyra nodded to Taz. At a gesture from the chieftess, the men stopped their work and took their seats.
Taz closed his eyes, falling into the Force as the cool evening wind flowed along the hillside and Surai's dying daylight filtered through the treeline. Raga's body was a solid presence in the dark mist. Straining with effort and concentration, Taz raised his hands and opened his eyes.
Family members gasped and oohed as Shin's wrapped form floated up. Taz let it hover for a few moments, then he settled the platform at the center of the pyre. His arms drifted to rest at his side and he let out a labored breath. Sitting next to Lyra, the chieftess nodded to Taz. He echoed the gesture, then seated himself beside Sera and Reiko.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
He was surprised to see the chieftess take a small control stick from her robe. She nodded to one of the men standing beside the pyre who ignited a wooden brand and thrust it into a gap between the logs. White smoke and yellow flames appeared, rising through the nest of kindling until it reached the platform at the top. The clan stood as one and began a slow, solemn chant as the flames enveloped the wrapped body of Shindani Raga.
The chieftess touched a button on the control stick and a containment field flickered over the pyre. Cleverly disguised vents at the side of the stone pedestal took in air to feed the flames, and cool white smoke poured from others. As the chants continued, Lyra leaned toward them. "The pyre burns all night. The force field will contain the ashes so the clan can bury them, and the smoke is scrubbed before it's released so it's mostly water vapor."
Taz admired the mix of tradition and technology. As the pyre continued to burn, more clan members and a surprising number of quadriped mule droids came up the path bearing cauldrons of food and folding tables. They placed thermogenerators at intervals and arranged the furnishings around them.
The chanting ceased and all the clan members bowed with deep reverence, then came forward to offer words of condolence and praise. Lyra stood with Hokshugi and the other village elders to receive them. She took each of their hands in turn, received kisses on her cheeks, and spoke briefly to all of them.
The thermogenerators glowed in the twilight as serving droids placed platters of food and pitchers of warm honey wine and milky spiced tea at the tables. Some of the younger clan members came around, their arms burdened with fur-trimmed cloaks and coats to ward off the increasing chill in the air. After an hour, Lyra finished greeting the clan, and she sat down between Taz and Sera. A young boy filled bowls with hearty vegetable stew, then brought bread and thin strips of roasted meat on wooden skewers. He left them with a deep bow.
"How are you?" asked Taz when Lyra had taken a few bites.
"Fine, just a little tired." She glanced around the gathering. "I'm afraid this is only the beginning. The clan will stay until the pyre is consumed. It's traditional to exchange stories, and since Uncle Shin was so often away, they'll all want to talk to me about my memories of him." She took a long drink of her tea. "I told you everyone has to learn Basic, but in these mountain villages you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone actually speaking it. You're welcome to stay if you want, but you'll probably be bored. We have rooms at the inn here. It's run by the chieftess's family. I can have one of the droids guide you back."
"That's okay," Reiko assured her. "We'll stay."
"Don't overdo it, Lyra," Taz advised softly, "Or any of you. We've all been through a lot the past couple of days." He received polite nods from the others, but none of them seemed inclined to leave. Taz sighed and went back to slurping his stew.
After dinner they settled in for the vigil, which did indeed last all night. As midnight passed by, some of the oldest and youngest in the clan made their way down the hill by twos and threes. Amsu rose in a silvery gibbous, brilliant against the cold, cloudless black firmament pricked by millions of distant stars that blinked in the chilly air.
Taz wrapped himself in a cloak and watched Lyra. It almost seemed like she was holding court, surrounded by the clan, recounting stories that made them laugh by turns, and fall into melancholy silence. They regaled her as well, and she sat in rapt attention for all of them.
To Taz she looked regal in the dim light, and even in sorrow, heart-stoppingly beautiful. She possessed an effortless elegance that he'd never appreciated before. He imagined that her mother must have been the same, and Taz wondered what Clan Nimor would have been like with Lady Vela as its chieftess.
He worried at the toll the audience must surely have been taking on her, but Lyra appeared content in the blazing firelight. He felt longing stirring deep down, and right then he had an overwhelming urge to whisk her away to some quiet forest knoll, assuage her grief with his embrace, and protect her from the perils of the world. When she glanced his way Taz smiled. She returned a serene nod, grim resolve glowing through her sadness.
She doesn't need me to protect her, he realized, as much as he longed to. He uttered a sigh and shifted under the cloak, tired but content. Watching the pyre brought on deep tranquility that contested with his desire to stay awake. Despite his best attempts, sometime in the hours before sunrise Taz's eyelids grew too heavy and he fell asleep.
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Surai crept unseen toward the horizon, paling the sky with dawn's approach. Taz awoke to find that Shin's pyre was thoroughly consumed; only fine white and gray ash remained. The clan members were cocooned in their furs around the thermogenerators. Most were still asleep, though a few of the young men surrounded the pedestal watching over everyone. Some kind of honor guard, Taz imagined.
He saw Sera and Reiko bundled together under a pile of blankets. Lyra dozed near the chieftess and the largest group of clan members, nearly hidden amidst a cluster of the clan's children. The sight of her surrounded by younglings made him smile and brought a longing as powerful as he'd felt last night.
Mule droids emerged from the path through the woodlands and Taz was amused to see Tetris at their head. He shook off sleepiness and got to his feet, folding his cloak over his shoulder. Around him the rest of the clan began to rouse themselves. He joined the work, helping to pack all of the furnishings onto the droids. A few greeted him in broken, accented Basic, and after mastering an initial reticence, quizzed him about his feat of levitation. Taz explained the best he could, drawing surprised and wary exclamations from the clanspeople around him.
A half-hour later they were winding their way down the hill toward the fog-choked village. Lyra went to speak with the chieftess while the rest of them were escorted to their rooms at the big inn that dominated the center of the hamlet.
She changed out of her smoky clothes, feeling subdued but refreshed at the same time. Speaking to the clan, hearing their stories and telling hers, was unexpectedly cathartic. Her grief over his death remained, but the clan's recollections made her realize just how full a life Shindani Raga had lived.
Lyra took a long invigorating shower, put on a plain blue sayaka, then went to the broad salon at the front of the inn. She couldn't find Taz but Reiko and Sera were there, drinking tea and eating honey biscuits. She walked over and her face lit up.
"Well, Rendix," she quipped, accepting a cup of tea from a young man, "you finally put on a sayaka. I think the galaxy must have ground to a halt."
Sera just shrugged. "We're going to the springs."
"Excellent idea," Lyra assented. "They're great for relieving aches and bruises."
"Come with us, Lyra," Reiko invited, putting on an eager smile.
"No no," she demurred, "you two should have some time to yourselves."
"Nonsense. Just us girls. It'll be fun."
Reiko looked insistent and Sera didn't object, so she accepted with a lift of her shoulders.