The Travels of Anadrasata Nearabhigan: Day 36
So, here we are. It has taken her over a month, and me considerably longer, but Anadrasata has finally reached her relatives' house. Sorry it took so long to write this and then type it out, but a lot of new things happened and she had a lot to write about. Also names. You will know them when you see them.
Anyway, this runs to 4,371 words, and I hope that you enjoy them.
Index Page.
Hakkarsday, 17 Naisen, 1893 C.E.
Rebi, 4 Sajibu, 2157 T.M.L.
10 Oztotl, 20 Kiauitl, 6.11.2.1.8.2.12
Dear Journal,
I rose early, dressed for the day, packed away my night attire, and went to breakfast as early as possible.
Teicuih and Xocoh were there before me, and asked me to join them as we were filling our plates from the buffet. We discussed the weather, and speculated on what it would be like at sea level, my feelings about almost being at my destination, and the mandated sleeping patterns of priestesses of the Lord of the Dawn. The mandated after lunch nap sounds an excellent plan, given the requirement to wake up an hour before true dawn. More people came in while we were eating, and I exchanged greetings with Lady Kaxtolliehekatl and Mr FiveMirror (who asked to be remembered to Cousin Ghrus), RainintheNight, and Mr Aguilayeitlalli.
When I had finished eating, I excused myself and went to the Chief Purser's office to settle my account, pay my vails for the stewards, and organise a porter for my luggage to wherever my cousins would be taking me. After that, I returned to my cabin, washed up after my breakfast, packed everything except my hand luggage and my Aunty Ssang novel, and sat down to read. My stewardess came in to check that I didn't need help with anything, and I took the opportunity to pass her a vail.
The stewards came in to collect my chest at the allot4ed time, and I followed them out of the door. They took the luggage to the Chief Purser's office, and I went to await disembarkation in the first class lounge. I was aware that the lounge is a gathering place for gentlemen passengers during the day, and the balcony parlor is for lady passengers, but I hadn't realised how occupied it would be - there wasn't a free seat when I arrived. Fortunately for me, I had barely finished looking around the room when the steward in attendance rang a bell and announced in Imperial and Coac-htl that it was time to clear the room to permit disembarkation and embarkation. Only three or four gentlemen remained, so it was easy for me to find a seat. Two groups of four joined us, the one with two ladies had boarded yesterday, but the three ladies from the other group were some of those I had chatted with yesterday afternoon.
As is usual, those with connections to make disembarked first. I was the second last person out of the lounge and I think I was the only one directed to an officer behind a desk when I showed my identity documents. (The only one from first class that is - there were other Imperial passengers who must have been from second and third class at other desks.) The officer was wearing, from what I could see, a tunic-like garment with a brightly woven and fringed waistcoat-like garment over the top. No-one on the ship had worn this type of outer garment and I wondered, briefly, if this was a local adaptation of the Imperial waistcoat. The official asked me for my identity documents, and I handed him both my identity cards and the envelope labelled, "For on landing in Tlemutsiko." He set my cards side by side on the table in front of him, then opened the envelope, read the contents (two pieces of paper written in Coac-htl), and asked me why I hadn't presented myself earlier. I took that to mean why I hadn't disembarked earlier, and I replied that the ship and his office had a system that worked and that I knew of no reason to disrupt it by pushing myself forward. He sighed, and explained very carefully that I was being sponsored by a family of near noble rank and that my identity card's colour indicated by reflected status. My response was that I didn't know, and apologised if I had made anything more difficult for anyone. He assured me that I hadn't, and then started filling in the blank spaces on my Confederation identity card.
He pulled out a thick leather bound book, one of a set, looked up my date of birth, 20 Dadheagh, 1868 C.E., and found that it had been 10 Tlanoluaoy (Plant), 21 Tzomitl (wool or fibre), 6.11.2.0.7.6.13. Then came the spaces for religious affiliation. I explained that I am a member and follower of the Imperial church. He explained that one's personal pantheon, the deity presiding over your birth, the patron deity of your family, and your deity of choice, is used for organisational purposes within the Confederation, and the Imperial Church is not one of the options. My birth patron is the Lody of Plants, Xochihtli. He asked whether any of my family had previously visited the Confederation, because a family patron would have been assigned, and I explained about being an official offshoot. The duty priest was summoned, and I stood and curtsied when he arrived, he smiled benevolently at me, and asked me to select a then, flat stick from a canister after he prayed over it while shaking around the contents. The stick I pulled was for an apparently obscure and minor deity known as The Night Sorcerer - neither the priest nor the official were prepared to tell me his proper name. Both recommended that I visit his temple within the next few days to pay my respects. From what is written on my identity card, I think his name is Iznuallatl, but I am sure my cousins can help me with that. Speaking of which, I was told that I had three days to register my primary residence within the Confederation with the local officials and a week to choose a personal patron deity.
The priest bade me goodbye because he had been summoned elsewhere, and then the official behind the desk summoned another man, perhaps a functionary or a footman, who escorted me through collecting my luggage, going through the customs inspection, finding my porter (the functionary/footman had been dealing with my chest until then), and escorting me to the two men who had the sign in Imperial saying, "Miss Nearabhigan."
As an aside, the only items that customs had any concerns about were my books of sermons, and the copy of the Book of Naish I received in Sengrangri - I signed an affidavit that they were all for my personal use, but added, perhaps foolishly, that I would be delighted if they confiscated the Reverend Fairdaice's book and disposed of it. I was asked why, and replied that my mother had wanted me to read it but its content was theologically inappropriate. That got a more senior official called over, but he apparently knew about the Reverend Fairdaice's latest book and told me sternly that the book was not (yet) banned in the Confederation and that both disposing of it and dealing with my mother were my responsibilities. I agreed, as demurely as I could, because he was right and I didn't (and don't) need to get into trouble with foreign officials.
The two men with the sign were my second cousin, Axolinchicyeicitalti, and a family manservant, Chictawaonkisalistli. To prove who they were, they had a letter for me from Tallaig, saying that the bearer had been sent by Cousin Ghrus to meet me. The official passed me over to my cousin, and departed to other duties. I explained that I had hired a porter to convey my luggage, and Chictawaonkisalistli went and found him - the official had taken me by a route that the porter had not been allowed to follow. My cousin asked why I had arranged a porter when I knew that I was being met, and I pointed out, politely, that I didn't know who I was being met by or if that person would be able to help me with my luggage. He asked me, in slightly accented Imperial, in what sounded like exasperation if I knew anything about the purpose of this trip and I replied, as his servant and the porter joined us, that I knew that Great-aunt Giltreeada had asked for one of us to come and help her, but that my mother and brother hadn't shared any details. He didn't roll his eyes, but I could see that he wanted to.
I will mention here that my cousin has the most beautiful speaking voice, full and rounded, and pitched at the lower end of the baritone range.
A small open carriage was waiting for us in the square outside the airship harbour. It had seating for four and a boot for luggage. A driver sat on a bench at the front, where Chictawaonkisalistli sat after stowing my chest in the boot. My cousin handed me into the coach and we sat side by side on the forward facing seat. We then pulled out into traffic, pulled by four brown, fluffy coated animals with long necks that were about the size of a large pony.
We didn't speak a great deal on the way to my cousins' home. Axolinchicyeicitaltipointed out some important buildings and local sights. I was too nervous to ask questions.
My cousin and I were deposited by the carriage in front of a large house built out of stone from the Circle Mountains in the style of official Imperial buildings from my great-grandparents' time. Axolinchicyeicitalti assured me that my chest would be brought into the house from the mews, gave me his arm up the stairs, and ushered me into the house when the door was opened just as we reached it. I was introduced to the butler, Matlal, once that good man had closed the door behind us. The door dealt with, Matlat took my cousin's hat, my bonnet, and my redingdote, and told us that the master had asked that I be taken straight to him in his study on my arrival.
The interior of the house was dark wood floors, door frames and doors with whitewashed plaster walls and ceilings. There was a small foyer at the entrance which had a door facing the outside door, and two corridors opposite each other exiting from it. Matlal took us down the left hand corridor, then he knocked on the second right hand door, and then entered, closing it behind him. He emerged a moment later and holding the door open said, "Tekatl Ghrus Forbaign Taytaistli will see you know, Miss Nearabhigan. Tekatl Axolinchicyeicitalti will wait outside." I was ushered in, alone, and the door closed behind me.
The man behind the desk stood and bowed. I curtsied in reply. He was five to ten years older than my mother, and dressed in the local modified Imperial style. His face and colouring were Imperial: dark hair, grey eyes, and skin that would have been fair if it wasn't tanned. He and my mother had inherited their eyes and eyebrows from the same ancestor. When he spoke, his voice was much like Axolinchicyeicitalti's, but slightly higher in the baritone register, I thought. "Please sit," He gestured at the chair across the desk from him, "I will not keep you but I thought we should begin with a frank conversation."
I thanked him and sat.
"You were brought here, cousin, to help us understand my father's journals." That I had questions must have showed on my face because he went on, "My father was prominent in the War of Secession and then later in city and local althepetl government. His journals are considered historical documents and, with my mother's permission, we are allowing the state to copy and translate them. Unfortunately, we can't read them and my mother, who assures me that she could read them and has done so in the past, can now no longer see well enough to read anything. My mother says that we need someone who reads Ghaistonyc. We are trying to find Confederation scholars or translators to come and work here on the project, but it is a rare skill here in the Confederation and complicated by being mid-university term."
"Hence your request." I thought it sounded reasonable but it had taken me over a month to get here, but getting me was still faster than getting a scholar. For some reason I thought of Lord Elnaith's reasons for first contacting me. So I asked, "What happens if I translate something that you don't want known outside the Confederation?"
Cousin Ghrus raised an eyebrow at me. "You won't leave the Confederation and your communications will be monitored until your information is no longer sensitive." I must have looked panicked because he added in a reassuring tone. "Oh, you won't be killed or imprisoned. We'll find you an amiable and amicable gentleman of good fortune to marry, and then, naturally, you will stay in the Confederation with your husband and, if the gods will it, your children."
I blinked and said quietly, "As I would like to return home. perhaps we should start me on volumes from uncontentious times and leave the more dangerous volumes for Confederation scholars."
He nodded and replied, "A most reasonable suggestion. I understand that you seem to have your own fortune to see to over in the Empire, and your desire to return to familiar surroundings where you can reap its benefits is understandable. I have a letter for you from your brother that I believe is about just that. Also, there is a letter of credit for personal expenditure and another for a personal maid and an update of your wardrobe." He smiled and I believe it was genuinely kind and warm. "Let us go and introduce you to my wife so she can scold me for being so grim with you, and show you to your room to prepare for lunch."
Cousin Ghrus escorted me to a comfortable parlor that faced a charming internal courtyard and contained a handsome lady of my mother's age. Cousin Ghrus introduced us, me to her as it was in her house and she is my superior. I am ashamed to say I did not get her whole name - it had a date component, and the word for an eldest daughter, and some other elements, but she very kindly said that I could call her Poktlilui. Poktlilui is a tall woman with black hair silvering at her temples, a high bridged nose that probably has an unfortunate male version, a warm orange-brown skin tone, and dark eyes. Today she was wearing a full, loose, ankle length garment with open, loose, three quarter length sleeves in an attractive blue shade. She also suggested that her husband take himself back to his study so that she could take me up to my room and help me decide where I wanted my things before we went to see my great-aunt. She promised him that he could talk to me again at lunch.
My room is two floors up and over, I was told, the library on the ground floor, and Cousin Chicumexipallimiztli's room on the floor below mine. It's a corner room looking south and west, so I can see both the mountains and the sea beyond the roofs of the city. Two maids were unpacking my things and putting them away when we arrived. One of the maids asked if I wanted to use my own sheets and I said no - then explained that the sheets were a purchase I had made for my trousseau on my way through the Kerajaa. That led to their quality being admired, and our agreeing that they could be stored in my chest, along with mother's table runner (also admired), and the Reverend Fairdaice's book. From her expression, I gathered that Cousin Poktlilui had some concern about my wardrobe. [There were two maids unpacking my things - I suspect they expected me to have more things.]
After I had refreshed myself and checked that my hair was still tidy, Cousin Poktlilui took me to meet Great-aunt Giltreeada. She is an elderly lady, which is what I expected of my maternal grandmother's older sister, and dressed this morning in a yellow gown like Cousin Poktlilui's under an embroidered brown overrobe. Her hair is white, and the upper part of her face (the eyes, nose, brows, and forehead) is exactly as I remember Grandmama's but her mouth and chin are quite different. I curtsied as Cousin Poktlilui introduced us, the Great-aunt called me over, stood and hugged me. I am afraid I started crying - she smelt just like Grandmama too and although she left us fifteen years ago I suddenly realised how much I miss her. I explained why I was crying, and I believe no offence was taken. Great-aunt explained that she would have taken care of Great-uncle's papers but her eyesight no longer allows her to read. She has ixnextlciuzti, which I understand to be cataracts, and her sight is slowly going. She can still distinguish people, colours, light and shade, but can no longer make out details and requires assistance at night.
We only had a little discussion before lunch, but Great-aunt and Cousin Poktlilui agreed that my wardrobe requires expansion. I did not follow everything that they said in Coac-htl, but Cousin Poktlilui says I do not have enough clothes and Great-0aunt did not care for the colour of what I was wearing. At one point I did say that I dressed to the budget that my mother set for me, and Great-aunt made an "interesting " noise, and told me that she might need to discuss her mother, my great-grandmother, with me.
When we went to lunch I met more family members. I was seated in the middle of the table, equidistant from Cousin Ghrus and Great-0aunt at one end and Cousin Poktlilui at the other. I was seated between Axolinchicyeicitalti's brother, Chicumexipallimiztli, and one of cousin Rudhain's sons, Yeixipalliehuatl. (That makes him Cousin Ghrus'nephew, his children's first cousin, and my cousin in the same degree as Axolinchicyeicitalti and Chicumexipallimiztli.) A niece of Cousin Poktlilui, Tehaneumeoztotl, sat opposite me. Great-aunt suggested that I was probably being overwhelmed with unfamiliar names so it might be best if not everyone tried to talk to me at lunch - just to give me a chance of retaining some information about the people I spoke to. All three of the people sitting nearest me were very kind, even if Chicumexipallimiztli seems a bit prickly. (He reminds me of Tallaig.) A lot of the early part of the meal was them telling me what the food, utensils, plates, and tableware are called, and me trying to get my pronunciation right.
Partway through the meal, as serving plates were being removed for another course to be served, Cousin Ghrus asked me, down the length of four people on each side of the table between us, who my deitical patrons are. I replied that Lady Xochihtli is my birth patron, but that the priest and officials did not tell me the name of my family patron. Someone asked how it was written and I replied that I thought it said Iznuallatl on my identity card. The table went quiet and Cousin Poktlilui suggested that I not try to say that name again just yet. I said something about then perhaps I should make an early visit to his temple to thank him for his patronage, just to keep things on a proper footing. Then I asked if anyone had any recommendations on how to choose a personal patron. That discussion seemed uncontroversial and continued to the end of the meal.
After lunch Great-aunt Giltreeada, Cousin Poktlilui, and Tehaneumeoztotl went through my wardrobe and made notes about the clothes they thought I would need. I did point out that I did not expect to be staying for long, indeed I might well be home by solstice, but Cousin Poktlilui said that I didn't have the right clothes for even a week here as a lady and the other two agreed with her. Great-aunt pointed out that it wasn't that my clothes were wrong or in sufficient but I would need a house gown, visiting dress, and a dining gown for each day - and three or four of each so I wasn't wearing the same thing all the time. Tehaneumeoztotl added, "And foundation garments plus coats," and the others agreed.
After that I spoke with Cousin Ghrus again and received the letter Tallaig had sent me (by express post) and the bank drafts. Cousin Ghrus directed me to Cousin Poktlilui and the housekeeper to find out how to hire a lady's maid here and how much to pay her. I took the time to read Tallaig's letter and look at the bank drafts before I went to speak to the ladies. Tallaig apologised for being jealous - he thought that my trust fund had come from Father out of funds that would have otherwise come to him as Father's primary heir when in fact the money came from Father's great-uncle, Anadra Nearabhigan. It was all agreed before I was born and no-one knew whether I would be a boy or a girl. The things he said in the letter confirmed almost exactly what Lord Elnaith told me. (There are some differences in the details of the real estate, but it seems that there is definitely a town house in Umbrial, a small estate in the country, another residence, and a number of commercial properties.) He tells me that he has also told Cousin Ghrus of my...position, and that I should consider any offers for my hand vary carefully. He also tells me that our sisters and brother-in-law are well, indeed Anna might be blooming (so, he has unconfirmed suspicions of a happy event in her future), but Mother is declaring herself distraught and abandoned, and surrounded in her own house by her enemies. She is "suffering" under the ministrations and services of a new housekeeper and a paid companion, both with excellent references, who Tallaig has insisted that she pay proper and current wages to. Anna and Castor have reviewed her household budget and she has been told to expand her expenditure or cut her expectations. Tallaig assures me that I do not have to live with her ever again - if I do not live with him, and even if I do, I can have my own companion and decide how I will conduct myself as a woman of property.
Which is very kind and sweet of him but we both know that as an official offshoot I am expected to marry and found my own family line. I wonder why Great-great-uncle Anadras did not?
Having read my letter and realised just how much money Tallaig has sent me for my own use, I went to consult Great-aunt Giltreeada and Cousin Poktlilui. Cousin Poktlilui undertook to arrange for suitable candidates for my lady's maid to present themselves for interview - the housekeeper will contact their usual agency. We agreed that I will need someone fluent in Coac-htl and Imperial, and desirably someone prepared to relocate to the Empire when I return home. Cousin Poktlilui and Great-aunt have arranged an excursion tomorrow morning to both a fabric warehouse and a dressmaker. I will also need footwear and hats in the local style. I will need to write to the temple of my family patron to establish a suitable time for me to call, Cousin Poktlilui pointed ou9t that we want to establish that I am not a member of the commons. She offered to draft the letter for me in Coac-htl so I can write it out in my own hand, and I accepted her offer. We will also call at the temple of Lady Xochihtli when we go out tomorrow to leave a small offering for her favour - apparently that will help the members of my cousins' social circle look on their odd foreign cousin with favour. (I assured them that it made perfect sense to me, and we discussed what would be appropriate.)
After that I retired to my room to write to my family and let them know that I have arrives safely. Then I had a small nap before getting ready for dinner. So much information all at once was unexpectedly tiring.
I had a brief conversation with Cousin Ghrus before dinner where I paced on the greetings from Mr FiveMirror and Lady Kaxtolliehekatl, let him know that we may be expecting Lord Elnaith to call, and he advised me that i should open a local bank account in my name. He said there were several he could recommend.
And then we went in to dinner. There were more people there than at lunch, and I think I became overwhelmed because I cannot remember any more names. I was seated between Axolinchicyeicitalti and Yeixipalliehuatl and thankfully they both speak Imperial because after the final remove, my brain just stopped working with Coac-htl. I told them that I just wasn't understanding anymore, and they both switched to Imperial for the rest of the evening. The first remove was a salad of fresh leaves and herbs, a dish of prepared and dressed tomatoes, something green called avocado that had been crushed and mixed with something spicy and a herb with citrus juice (I think), grilled fish and poultry. The second remove was heavier: two different dishes of tubers; potatoes, fish stew; a stew of something that might have been goat; and a bean stew. Finally, there was a remove of sweets and fruit.
Afterwards we, the ladies, went to a parlor and were served kasoolht. I could only drink half my glass, although it was very good. The gentlemen joined us after a while, and we were served some of the dark, bitter drink. I could only sip about half of it and excused myself for the night on account of tiredness when Great-aunt Giltreeada went up to bed.
There was a maid waiting for me when I arrived in my room and she helped me get ready for bed. That was probably for the best, I hadn't realised I was so tired.
Anadrasata Nearabhigan