lantairvlea | Sray re-visits the wall

Ok, self, what’s going on third term? Sray is getting more comfortable with Thelus and crew. She’s starting the Getie’an class and there’s the group interested in that. Ieshan invites her, Kem, and Meikal to join their music group. Is that third term or the end of second? Probably third. I think some of the members may have taken a little more to warm up to the idea. Ieshan and Forn were probably the instigators. Exploring the mountains more.

Sray returned to where Kem and Silfiya were waiting for her. It was still a little strange to hear Getie’an as she approached. Kem was determined to learn the language and was constantly trying to find new words and use them. Her enthusiasm exceeded her knowledge and some of the things that ended up coming out of her mouth were both embarrassing and hilarious.

“How was your traveling today?” Kem asked in carefully enunciated Getie’an.

Sray smiled. “Traveling was good, Kem.” She paused, trying to pick words that Kem would know. “I found a dwelling. I want to discover more about it.”

“Dwelling,” Kem repeated the word thoughtfully. “So like a house?”

“Yes and no. Like the Getier, I don’t think they lived with one small family in a place.”

It’s not like she had a translation dictionary for Ela’yan and Getie’an. They didn’t need so many of the words she found essential in describing how she could feel things around her. The ability to describe fire and how she could feel how something might burn.

Third term she brought her nameofmineral. She had no holder for it, but she did make one out of construct. It seemed to last well enough. Usually she still used a candle because it didn’t require her to constantly push heat into it to keep the light.

She knew Getier burned their dead, but didn’t know what the Breshtsoln or Zegdaen might do with them. She was curious to not find anything. There was no bones, no bodies. It seemed like they simply left. It was a little reassuring that they weren’t just slaughtered where they stood, assuming that the Meim didn’t do anything with the bodies. It seemed strange that the Meim would have gotten this high up, but after watching Mishor navigate the space it didn’t seem so impossible anymore that the Meim could have gotten into some of these areas. Whether they would have had enough energy to put up a good fight was another matter, but given her own instinctual reaction to constructs, the Meim may not have needed to push very hard.

She visited the wall again the following Remstan.

“We’re not going to the usual spot?” Kem asked.

“No, I want to check out something else. We’ll borrow a cart and drive, it’s all the way on the other end of the valley and I don’t think you want to walk the whole way.

Kem nodded agreement. Sray offered Silfiya the chance to join them and it was the three of them and Foo again.

Foo jogged easily beside the small carriage as they cut across the valley. There was a vague track to follow between the hay fields heading east. Foo got distracted a couple times, disappearing in some underbrush before reappearing again, licking her jaws.

They made it to the end of the valley and went into the trees as far as the vehicle allowed before stopping. They unhooked and secured the horse before hiking to the very end of Engama’s territory.

With the snow gone it was a little harder to see the line, but as they drew near, the gap in the trees made it obvious. There were some grasses and small flowers growing in the broad path between the last trees and the wall.

“What is this?” Kem asked, frowning as she took in the structure. Her head tilted up first to find the top and then she slowly scanned left and right. “It’s huge.”

“It is the Meim’s proclamation that this land is theirs and klamon are not welcome.”

Kem furrowed her brows and pursed her lips, compressing her round face. Her countenance expanded with understanding and she looked up at Sray in bewilderment. “The klamon didn’t leave here willingly, did they?”

“No, Engama’s founder and those that followed him forced them out. The Meim knew about this valley, saw it, wanted it, and took it.”

“That’s awful,” Kem said.

Foo sniffed around them, but Sray noticed the pouched dog stayed well away from the wall. The animal had been this way many times with the logging teams and knew what was there. Either she was aware that nothing threatening could come from the wall’s direction, or she didn’t like its feel either.
Sray simply nodded her agreement and pressed her palm against the wall. Smooth, neither hot nor cold, unyielding, and expansive, the wall felt insurmountable.

“What are you looking for, Sray?” Silfiya asked.

Sray pulled her hand from the wall and turned back to Silfiya. “TITLE Serrith told me about this before the fire. Thelus showed it to me and after last week I needed to see it again.”

“What changed last week?” Kem asked.

Sray inhaled slowly and turned to touch the wall again. Dense, solid, but patched and laced together by hundreds of hands. “I do not know how to say it.” She ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth. “I feel … this wall doesn’t belong here. If Hafitch Mishor believes we can unite again, we can’t have walls between us.”

“Do you think there are klamon on the other side of the wall?” Kem asked.

“It’s not like they’re staring at it, hoping for the first opportunity to sneak through. NAME Hillenbohn waged war against them and put this here. After seventy years they probably assume the wall isn’t going anywhere. But yes, they are over there. Probably not close. If I had come across something like this in Geteilpohth, I would have run the other way.”
Illendis had showed her how to take them apart. She could try, just a little. Just enough to feel like she was doing something. Thelus said they would simply rebuild it.

“I am on the wrong side of the wall.” Saying it aloud twisted her gut. It was probably safe enough to say with Kem and Silfiya, but it still felt like she was saying too much.

“Danrick Mishor has hopes for you, that is true. He wants to present it as you being like any other student. That your klamon heritage is not the reason you are here. You are here because you are Meim, and the rest isn’t worth commenting on. Shouldn’t be focused on.”

Would she admit she felt like she was on the wrong side of the wall? It feels like a big thing for her to say, even now.

“I was aware of it like I was aware of klamon targeting the Meim during the Separation Wars. I knew it happened and was there, but never had a truly satisfactory answer. I admit I didn't dig too hard for them, there were other things in my life more concerning.”