It was a pleasant day, so we were waiting in the shade of a small canopy over the entrance to the administration building. It occurred to me that neither Sun nor Ferret knew anything about me. “Arrjee revealed that he was a born awakened. I am awakened also, and incarnated on Heere not even a month ago. I started out at age 16 and Level 1, with the Martial Arts and Ki Healer classes. Arjee was the first person I met, not too far from here. If you know Analyze, you may Analyze me.”
I knew that if they had it, it would only be at a limited Rank F, but it felt important to reassure them I was not afraid to let them touch me. They both did.
Then Sun decided to return the favor. “Me you curious. Right? || okay, share, closeness
They took off their serape, and I could see Sun’s torso from his kilt up. It wasn’t what I expected, but then I didn’t really know what to expect. I sort of thought their torso would have three sides, like their head. But, no, it was six.
“Fronts three. Sides three. Sides arms, legs.” || fun share surprise biped
One third wide sides. Full wide fronts. || all way? yes
Now that I see it, their torso makes a lot of sense. A “biped” has a front, back, and two sides. Four aspects total. Why wouldn’t a triped have six? Wait. Is Sun removing their kilt? Before I could say anything the kilt was on the ground. I could see their hairless testicles and a penis centered near the bottom of the front facing me.
“Penis male. Penis male facing i born. Male primary my sex.” || laughter, he:puzzled, surprised
Sun slowly rotated. Fully this time, not just his legs. His head rotated so their main face continued to look at me. There was another penis on their next front, but no testicles.
“Penis female.” || he:new, curious
Their body kept rotating the same direction, but Sun’s head needed to rotate 240 degrees in the other direction, so his main face could continue to look at me. Their front remained hairless.
“Vagina encapsulate.” || explain how much detail?
“Pregnancy. First, female penis penetrates. Egg release.” || reveal difference, him:pity not, disgust not
Second, male penis penetrate. Sperm release. || memories, pleasure
Them vagina encapsulates. Shell form, Third genetic material incorporate. || me not
Fun, not pregnancy. First male. Second female. Encapsulation not. || normal I not normal
Ferret decided to share some of what he knew. “Trichyans normal group is three. Sex lasts hour, maybe more. Every penis penetrates and releases in every vagina. If they want baby, the female penetrates first, but for fun, male penetrates first. They can also pair with just two and have fun that way. No baby if second penetration hours later. No baby if not three different parents.”
I had not expected a sex education lesson this morning. It answered some questions I had, as to how three sexes might function together. Sun lifted his kilt and tied it in place.
“Questions Forrest have?” || open, friendship
“I cannot think of any right now. Thank you for answering these kinds of questions.”
“Welcome you.” || satisfaction
“Oh,” I thought of one. “What do you call your three sexes?”
“Male, female, shell.” || minor frustration. me:clearer
“Shell not egg like from chicken,” Ferret clarified. “Shell completes egg and sperm, becomes part of baby Trichyan in five months.”
Three sets of genetic material.
I don’t think Earth scientists would believe it.
It is uncommon in the galaxy but not unique. Also, tri-sex races are seldom tripeds.
I didn’t know if I should strip and show myself as Sun had done. “I think my anatomy is traditional for a male biped. I’ll show you now if you want, or I’m sure you’ll see later in the baths or at other times.”
“Bipeds I know.” || grateful, unnecessary
“Later I see.” || minor curiosity
“I normal Covargh nude,” Ferret informed us. “My differences you see now, huh?”
I responded, “Yes, I see. You are the first Ferretman I have seen, and Einvigi sort of said you were a newly emerging species. Before she said that, Analyze told me you were a ‘male Covargh Primitive’, but it did not know exactly how to classify you.”
“I not the only one. Not all Ferretmen either. I saw Apewoman and Lizardman also.”
“Births of primitives, throwbacks, beastmen, one birth in thousand.” || me:told
“Covargh continent changing.” || strange, new
“Here it changing not?” || curiosity, query
“I think you are right about the sudden evolutionary epoch.”
Yes
“Until I met Ferret I knew nothing about primitives, throwbacks, or beastmen. But this is only my fifth day on Heere. Sort of. I am unusual too. Like I said before I got here a month ago, but I only exist for one day out of seven. I spend the other six days in a formless void, with time passing sixty times faster than normal. When you guys got to the glade, I had only been back from the void for a few minutes.”
Ferret verified, “So no other, uh, emergents in Cottages?”
“No,” I replied. “Or if there are any, no one has mentioned them and I have not seen them on the streets. I spent a night in a fort with the duchy’s guardsmen, and they did not mention anything like it either.”
Sun speculated, “Covargh Contient it only maybe.” || curiosity, why if so?
I probably shouldn’t tell them about Interface’s speculation about a sudden evolutionary epoch. If he’s right, why would it just be on the other continent, though?
It is possible environmental factors are involved; there could be something in the water, or a special radiation, for example.
“X-Men, Assemble!”
Dumbass.
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[Arrjee’s Point of View]
As I approached the public square in the center of town, I could hear music and singing. There were three voices, Master Brune Thorm’s, Onre Litman’s, and a mature female voice that I didn’t recognize. They are all very good. The recital also included Kossa Smithson’s flute with an almost haunting tone, someone on lute, and someone else playing drums. Nakers?
I turned a corner and could see the square. The lutist was also the female singer in her late thirties or early forties; I didn’t recognize her. A man about her age was playing his nakers; I didn’t recognize him either. I couldn’t deny their talent. Perhaps Master Throm had invited them from a nearby village? Somehow he had formed an excellent quintet in just a few days. I couldn’t name this piece, but it felt ancient and heroic. Familiar? A lot of the words were very old fashioned and would sound very archaic if used in normal speech, but they fit the song. I could feel myself being lifted up, emotionally girded for an epic battle to come. I wondered if the Skolturi Wraiths are being affected in the same manner.
They were seated; I could see them from the rear. Seeing wraiths seated was something I had never imagined. They were tall and sort of transparent, dressed in ghostly tunics that might have been colorful and festive if part of the living world. I wondered if those were what they died in, or if wraiths could change “clothes” in the manner of the living. Perhaps not – they knew in accepting the counter curse that they would be becoming wraiths, so they might have first dressed themselves for the ages. My impression is that they were masculine, but from this distance and vantage, I could not be sure.
There were perhaps one hundred people in the square, a third of the village. The entertainers were on stage and everyone else was seated in five slightly curved rows with about 20 chairs each. The wraiths, Mom, Dad, and several other significant townsfolk were in the front row. It surprised me to see Sterbian Morse among them. I would have thought he would not bother coming. Maybe Grandma is getting through to him. Or he could just be here to make sure the Skolturi heard his grievances. Grandma was seated next to him, though, so there is a good chance it was the former. Right behind them were Carrie and Rina, who both seemed thoroughly entranced by the music.
The quintet completed the song, and began the final piece. I realized I had heard this, um, “The
I took an empty seat in the back, forgetting for a time my mission to report to the Mayor about our new friends. Maybe we all should have come into town. Forrest, Sun, and Ferret might be enjoying this as much as I. On the other hand, the presence of the newcomers could have disrupted the recital. I sighed, thinking ‘one thing at a time.’
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When it was over, Dad got on stage and thanked the performers, naming each one. The lutist and drummer were a Covargh husband and wife from River, Shorren and Derlany Krosset. Lenyet Birch arrived a few days early; he had probably traveled with them. Dad announced that the formal part of the welcoming ceremony was over. Everyone was free to meet our new Skolturi citizens. They would be living in the apartments on the school compound. I thought that was convenient, because both Dad and they could go meet Sun and Ferret at the same time.
Grandma and Sterbian were some of the first to meet with them. I was too far away to hear what was said, but their body language was relaxed. Sterbian at least was not creating a scene. It was hard to read the Skolturi faces, and I could see neither Grandma’s nor Sterbian’s. I stood up to go thank the performers, then speak with Dad.
The quintet had remained together to accept the well-earned approval from their audience. Kossa introduced me to Shorren and Delany, and I told everyone how wonderful their performance was. Onre asked me where Forrest was.
“He is, uh, waiting at the school compound with two more arrivals, like you were a couple of weeks ago.” Onre looked at me meaningfully, understanding that there was something significant I was not saying. Kossa nodded her head at me, acknowledging that she knew something was afoot as well. “Let’s meet there after this.” Kossa and Onre agreed.
Master Thorm said he would spend the day with the two visiting bards. “We’ll be behind the school during apprenticeship hours, but I will understand if you do not make it this afternoon. You have already put in a lot of extra hours this week practicing for this performance. It worked out wonderfully; you were excellent.” The Krosset’s and I agreed.
I moved aside to let others thank the quintet and went to the Mayor. “Dad, I only caught the last 15 minutes of the ceremony, but what I saw was brilliant. I felt it, deep. When you and Mom brought me to a concert like this years ago, I did not appreciate it. Now I did. I really did.”
“I’m glad you have acquired a taste for music. The Civilization Cycle has always been one of my favorite movements. Your Mom introduced me to it while we were dating.”
Just then she approached us and smiled in remembrance. “I had to drag him to it. Then when it was over, I had to drag him away.”
We were surrounded by many talking people. I asked them, “Can we go speak somewhere private for a minute.? It is to explain why Forrest is not with me.”
They agreed and we moved to the back of the stage. Dad conspicuously placed his back to the crowd, hinting to them that this was a family discussion. I have always been envious of the way Dad can speak without speaking. “What is it, son? Is Forrest hurt?”
“No, Forrest is fine. He is at the schoolground now with two new friends who Einvigi has already accepted as students. Foreign students.” I had placed an emphasis on ‘foreign’ hoping they would hear what I had not stated explicitly. From their expressions I knew they understood the import.
“Well then,” Dad said, “we should go meet them once we can break away from the crowd. Do you recommend that the Skolturi come as well?”
I nodded my head. “Yes. I look forward to meeting them anyway. Sun also,-” I held up three fingers chest high, Dad’s body shielding the gesture from the crowd, “seemed particularly excited to meet Skolturi.” Mom wondered if we should hurry there, but I let her know they were fine and had no specific time in mind for our arrival.
“I have one more question, son, before we go meet with the Skolturi. Is your second friend also …”. He held up three fingers as I had done.
“No,” I answered, “Ferret is atypical in an entirely different manner.” If that wasn’t a big clue, I don’t know what would be. Dad and Mom turned around and we headed toward the Skolturi. We shook hands and greeted several folks on the way.
They included Norrus and his Mom. “Where is Forrest?” the eleven-year old asked.
I think he might have a crush. That was cool; I had a couple crushes of my own growing up. When I was Norrus’ age, thoughts of Quorlin Smurn kept me awake at night. He is 15 months older than me, and a blacksmith apprentice with arm and chest muscles that would put many full-grown Covargh to shame. When I became a teen, the crush evolved beyond ‘thoughts’.
Focus, “He is waiting to meet with the Skolturi. We might be at apprenticeship later, though.” He realized he was not invited, thanked me, and said he would check the school to see if we made it.
We finally reached speaking vicinity of the Skolturi. We waited our turn to speak. I noted that they were tall, probably a little over two yards. Their faces bore delicate features, and their ears formed to a point at the top. If living, I would say their bodies seemed athletic but not heavy with muscles. They reminded me of Einvigi. Dad introduced us. “You met my daughter Carrie and niece Rina earlier. This is my son Arrjee. Arrjee, meet the brothers Asiel and Orian Windgarden.” We greeted each other verbally, but neither held out a hand to shake.
I didn’t know if their culture just didn’t shake, wraith’s couldn’t shake, or they were waiting for me to initiate it. Best to do as I was brought up, and I held out my hand. “I don’t know if you shake hands or not, but it feels strange to me not to offer.”
They both smiled. Asiel reached for my hand, but his passed through mine. “Hmm, must be broken,” came words that were playful, both old and young, alive and dead. “Let’s try that again.” This time there was a ‘presence’ to his hand. I wasn’t sure if I was touching anything, yet I felt a grip. “There we go. Very nice to meet you, Young Arrjee Silverstone. Where is your brother Forrest? Your Dad told us there was another and that we would meet you later.” We released our grip, if it could be called that, and then I shook with Orian. Same non-substantial substance. They could probably use whatever this is to interact with the world.
I was unsure if I should be the one to answer, and I looked to Dad, but Mom quickly responded, “Forrest is waiting at the campus with two new students dropped off by Einvigi this morning.” She had lowered her voice to say the last part.
I probably should not have, but I corrected her in the same low tone. “They were dropped off by Skawa, but Einvigi invited them as students after they met us.” It wasn’t until the words were out that I realized how others would view the magnitude of us interacting with two gods this morning. But with Forrest around, that is his normal. No one seemed to have heard it, though.
To Mom Orian replied, “You sons have certainly had an eventful morning.”
Asiel added happily, speaking to all of us, “Most certainly. Perhaps we should add an event or two of our own. Before we leave, I would like to thank the members of the quintet for their excellent rendition of The Civilization Cycle.”
All five of us went to where Master Thorm’s group was gathered. Their fans had mostly abated, and we just needed to wait a minute for our turn to speak. Both Skolturi thanked the group and even bowed to show their respect and appreciation. I followed suit, and then Mom and Dad did as well. They had already thanked the group just as had I. The Master told us that we were welcome and that they were all glad we had enjoyed their presentation.
----------------------------------------
“It looks like things are dying down,” said Kossa. “Are you, um, headed there now? Should we come with you?”
I explained to the Skolturi, “Kossa, Onre, Forrest and I have already been acknowledged as the first adventuring party of the school. This probably involves them, and I would like them to come if there is no reason preventing it.”
From behind me I heard a familiar voice, “If you are headed for the new school, may I be so bold to request to accompany you? I have been curious about it.”
I turned around to verify that the voice belonged to Forrest’s Master. He would like to be a teacher there, which would be great. Turning back to face the Skolturi, “This is Lenyet Birch. He is Forrest’s Martial Arts Master. I suggest he accompany us as he will have a strong interest in the proceedings.” Inwardly I’m thinking it will be fun to see his reaction to our new friends. Ooh! Carrie, Rina, and Grandma too, but we’ll surprise them later. I had not seen my Master Trillet this morning; perhaps he had something come up and could not attend. Another later.
Dad stared at the Skolturi meaningfully, silently asking what they thought. Asiel gave a slight nod, indicating he had no objection. Dad completed the introduction, and I felt like a jerk to have stopped halfway through. “Lenyet, meet the brothers Asiel and Orian Windgarden.” They nodded as their names were stated.
Lenyet reached out his hand to shake. They did not preface it with a completely insubstantial hand like Asiel had with me. They shook with presence, and I could see signs that their cold, ghostly grips surprised him. He maintained his composure, though, without comment.
“Skawa, if you can hear, I’d bet you two bronze he’ll lose that composure.”
Barely seconds later I heard mentally, “Accepted, except at two for one odds. If he loses it, I’ll pay you one, but if he maintains composure, you pay me two.”
“Deal! And hello.”
“Hello, Arrjee. I couldn’t find anything more interesting than the concert and the Skolturi, so I have been hanging around. Do you mind if I do so from in here?”
“Uh, no. Frankly I was jealous of Forrest, always having Interface and sometimes you. Should I tell them you are here?”
“And spoil an entrance? Of course not!”
Once our group had left the square, Asiel asked if we would like to hear the history which inspired The Civilization Cycle. We agreed that would be extremely interesting. He started with the onset of the curse. “It is generally believed that we were the first to be affected by it. That is not the case. There was once a fifth species outside the dungeons, an aquatic one that lived deep in the oceans. The aboveground species, Skolturi, Covarth, Human, and Trichyan, lived in harmony and traveled freely among our continents. Aquarian society wanted nothing to do with surface dwellers, although they would sporadically trade with us. If other species knew of them, those memories are likely seen as myths now.”
Orian broke in, “The Aquarians were probably attacked first because of their isolation. It was an effective tactic. By the time they came to the Skolturi for aid, their species was already decimated by over half. Their contact with us, dozens of them with hundreds of us, was probably also to plan, spreading the curse to the surface.”
Asiel took over the narrative, “We didn’t wait for assistance, though. Even before we knew we had been affected, we sent messages to all the peoples, seeking volunteers to come to our continent. There were no signs yet that we had been affected, but we knew contagion was a possibility, and that we understood nothing about what was decimating the Aquarians. So in our messages, we let non-volunteers know to avoid us for now and take measures to avoid contagion.”
Continuing, “The curse was a slow and vicious one. Those casting the curse did not just want us to die, they wanted us to know we were dying. Eventually we had no more contact with the Aquarians, and The Seas informed us they were completely wiped out. The other gods were working with we mortals to figure out the nature of the curse as well as limit contagion elsewhere. The Fires were the eventual result of that, probably killing dozens of healthy Covargh, Human, and Trichyan for every cursed one. But whatever it was, the gods could not cure it, nor could our clerics. The physicians could not find any physical cause for the plague.”
“Eventually a family unit of three Trichyan researchers found a ‘solution’. There was no cure. There was no blessing that would make the curse go away. What could be done, however, was for the Skolturi race, to the last of us, to accept a counter-curse, and die. This second curse would bind our souls to Heere and allow us to continue in full awareness as wraiths. The majority of us, including the majority of the non-Skolturi researchers who had come to help us, chose the counter-curse. The rest chose a quick death so they could pass on to their next incarnation. Better that than ‘live’ on for years, knowing of the pain, loss, and potential further spread of the contagion.”
Orian finished this exposition, “We did not know if further visits to our continent would reignite the curse and spread it elsewhere. So we isolated ourselves. Our absence, and perhaps memories of the Fires, destroyed the peaceful coexistence the four races had maintained before. Oh, we had disagreements before then, and even wars, but I believe all four species were generally honorable.”
Asiel was not finished. “The Skolturi are the only other species which can communicate fully with Trichyans. Their speech is only partially vocal, and that is what all the other races sense. There is a second channel to their speech, a mental one, a sort of group mind. It includes the emotion of their words, the tenses of their verbs, and the color of language. Literally colors, sounds, quantities – everything you are not hearing is still being communicated. For whatever reason the Skolturi could learn to use this group mind, and the Trichyan could trust us. They cannot lie to each other, although they sometimes prank with contradiction.”
Skawa told me with a laugh, “Those were fun times!”
“Without us,” Orian continued, “they have no trust of Humans and Covarghs. They know that you lie to each other, that you have lied to them, and that you will lie to them again. It is probably hard to imagine how much of a betrayal that feels to someone who has never lied before. They not only do not lie, they cannot lie.”
Asiel sighed and took over again, “For example, what bipeds, living ones anyway, hear when a Trichyan speaks is, ‘Door I open.’ If you could hear both channels of their speech, you would know they actually said, “I opened the attractive, reddish, well-maintained door.”
“Yes,” I thought, and Skawa agreed.
“An empath would sense the emotive part of the sentence, realizing the Trichyan liked the quality of the door. A telepath would only hear, “Door I open.” Telepaths only hear the vocal lobe They hear it mentally, yes, but that channel is not where the color is. The empath hears the lobe enmeshed in the group mind, but as I said, only the emotional part. Their third lobe, of three, is their actual controlling lobe, their main mind in a sense. It has formed the complete thought and sent it off to the other two lobes. It is that third lobe that can hear us speak, and fully understand what we say. It is not necessary to try to mimic ‘Door I open.’ With a Trichyan, speak normally but try to listen to what might be there in between the words you do hear.”
We were just about to the gate and I waved to Uncle Ralf.
Onre asked, “If we used to get along, what made them take slaves 726 years ago?”
That was a good question.
Orian answered, “They never took slaves. The people they took from this content were to be students – mostly unwilling ones, yes – to hopefully teach them how to use group mind. They realized it might take generations, but communication failure had already led to one war. The Trichyans completely mistrusted bipeds, for good reason, and the bipeds were completely happy to presume the worst. Only if the Trichyans had intermediaries who could fully understand both sides could there be a resumption of normal relations between the species.”
“Well,” Onre still in doubt asked, “why didn’t they tell us that those they took were not slaves?”
“They probably did,” Asiel replied. “And they probably thought in the first place that the talk of ‘slaves’ was just another bipedal lie. Ten generations after the war, the Trichyans decided that their bipeds would never learn how to use group mind, that they probably could not even do so in a hundred generations. They had tried to induce minor mutations which might have allowed it, but that bore no fruit either. Finally they offered the bipeds transportation back to this continent. Their Covargh leader at that time commanded that they remain in what had become their home. Some remained living among the Trichans, two fishing villages were set up, so they could have a trade, and half went into the wilderness, becoming nomads.”
“Well, I think fruit was eventually born, but just not the mutation they wanted.”
“You are correct. We gods assisted in that, assuring that the mutations would lead to a net benefit for Heere. It only affects a small, random portion of the bipedal community, but the mutants will breed true and could form new races.”
“You want to make another wager? Two for one the Skolturi are just as surprised at my Group Mind as Lenyet will be on seeing a Trichyan and a Ferretman.”
“You are a mortal after my own hearts! I accept; I will pay you one bronze if the Skolturi do not act surprised. I’ve got another surprise of my own, but I don’t want to wager on that one.”
“I cannot wait.”