Common Grounds for tantella/Avia Tantella Scott
Title: Common Grounds
Author: freudiancascade
Recipient: tantella/Avia Tantella Scott
Rating: K
Content/Warnings: None
Summary: In which climate change has unfortunate side-effects for Galma, a minor crisis ensues, and Peter learns about trade relations through trial and error.
Author's Notes: Much thanks goes to my betas [redacted 1, 2, & 3]! You ladies are lifesavers! Of course, any errors that still remain are entirely my own.
To my recipient; I hope this scratches your itch for world-building, because it was a lot of fun to finally string these headcanons together into a story! While I am definitely not an expert on Narnian climates, I have spent WAY too much time learning about coffee. As a result, I tried to find real-world geographic parallels to describe each region's beans. Calormen coffee is based off several African blends (taking the acidic bite of Kenyan blends and mellowing it with the smoothness of highland Ethiopian soil). Galman brews, in contrast, would likely taste more like Hawaiian-grown Kona coffee. It's also worth noting that the dwarfish coffee-tasting method that Lucy loves so much is based off a real thing, too: it bears a strong resemblance to how real coffeehouses sample new roasts!
Happy drinking!
The Common Grounds
--x--
[The following is an excerpt from Common Grounds: A History of Coffee Production in Galma:]
CHAPTER NINE: THE FIRST GREAT COFFEE CRISIS
For a successful coffee harvest, the growing, drying, and roasting processes must all be adapted to the surrounding climate. The composition of the soil, humidity of the air, intensity of the sunlight, and the duration of the seasons all have measurable impact on the quality of the finished roast and the ultimate taste of the brew. While Galma is renowned for their production of sandalwood, citrus fruits, sugarcane, and abaci, the main driver of their economy is the export of coffee to Narnia and the surrounding territories. In particular, Galman-grown coffee is known for its sweetness, clean feel in the mouth, and balanced texture.
Over the course of the Hundred Year's Winter, coffee farmers on the island had developed a tradition of growing, roasting, and harvesting that took advantage of the warm ocean breezes from the east and minimized the impact of the drier, colder air that blew in from the mainland to the west. The topic of trade routes and supply lines throughout the Hundred Years Winter is one that has been covered in great depth in other places; suffice it to say that Galma made a lucrative business out of supplying their beans to the Narnian populace, who found themselves in the position of having to rely on the surrounding countries and territories for the vast majority of their consumable goods.
This agreement changed when the Hundred Year's Winter abruptly came to an end, though not for the reasons one might initially suppose.
--x--
Peter kneaded his forehead with the heels of his hands. "They have no coffee harvest this year? None? How is that possible?"
Oreius snorted. "They assumed that, with our winter over, their climate would be even better-suited for the growth of coffee, and so planted their entire stockpile of beans to capitalize on the opportunity. Unfortunately, it has been a hundred years since the last time anybody has seen a true Narnian summer. The new crop of sprouted beans was put in the ground too soon, and the sprouts rapidly withered under the unexpected heat."
"I thought coffee takes years to grow," said Peter. "What about last year's crop?"
"A coffee plant does take years to grow to maturity, yes. Unfortunately for us all, their already-established plants also failed. Their roots were waterlogged when the rains came came two weeks earlier than expected, and they died before a harvest could be completed."
"All of them?" echoed Peter.
"All of them."
--x--
As a direct result of this catastrophe, Calormen became the only producer of coffee within a reasonable trade distance to Narnia. The Tisroc immediately offered support to Narnia in this difficult time, as well as an offer to expand trade routes and supply the country with sufficient pre-roasted beans to see them through the period of crisis (at a price, of course, that reflected the sheer inconvenience for all parties involved).
The High King, while agreeing to this as a short-term solution, had another idea.
--x--
Peter was still fuming. "The worst part of this entire situation is that I've seen the trade records for the last two decades - Calormen quadrupled the price per pound of their coffee on us!"
"And you agreed to it," Susan reminded her brother, for the third time.
"I did, but I had no choice! They have the coffee, and we need to make sure it's available in Narnia if we want to show our people that we can take care of them even though the entire country is changing."
"If we were in the Tisroc's shoes, we would probably be trying to make the most of this situation, too," she reminded her brother. "It's supply and demand."
"But it's not fair!"
Susan pursed her lips. "Fairness has nothing to do with it. You could even say that it is not fair that we do not have the climate to grow coffee ourselves, but that doesn't change the situation."
Peter straightened as he considered a sudden influx of possibilities. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then shook his head and spoke anyways. "Su, nobody knows what kind of climate we've got. That is why we're in this mess in the first place."
"Peter, I know that look on your face, and -"
He shook his head as he swung his legs over the side of his chair, planting both feet firmly on the ground. "We might be able to make this work, after all."
--x--
Galma took the royal establishment of a Narnian coffee industry as a personal affront, leading to strained relations between the country and the island. Unfortunately, Galman trade relationships with Calormen were not yet fully established, as the Hundred Year's Winter had made it nearly impossible for Galma to send delegations and exchange large numbers of goods with most of the mainland. This was due to the difficulty of sending trade delegations through the frozen Narnian wastes, as well as the treacherously frozen waters that made sea transport unreliable.
It was therefore impossible for the island to rapidly attain a new stockpile of beans, and they were forced to temporarily abandon their coffee industry.
So it was that Narnia undertook trade negotiations over the winter of the first year of the Golden Age to obtain a stock of growing beans from Calormen. While the country to the south was reluctant to part with any of their supply, High King Peter sensed an economic opportunity and would not be deterred.
Ultimately, the Tisroc of Calormen agreed to provide Narnia with their coffee beans after several trade delegations returned with reports on the country's summers. Upon declaring the growing season too short, the climate too dry, and the sunlight too weak for a Narnian coffee harvest to infringe upon their interests, Calormen happily agreed to provide the country with a stock of unroasted beans.
As predicted, in fall of the second year of the Golden Age, it became clear that this new crop had been an excruciating failure.
--x--
"Sire, I know that you and your siblings managed to bring spring to Narnia after a hundred years of winter," Oreius said mildly when questioned on the topic, "but in general, the climate does not become more moderate simply because one wishes it so."
--x--
In the days following the news of their failed venture, Peter retreated frequently to his study to pore over sheaths of letters detailing the various complaints his subjects and their neighbours had with the way the situation had been handled thus far. With his jaw clenched in frustration, he barely glanced up when he heard Edmund's footsteps at the threshold to the room. "There has to be a way to make everybody just forget about this entire business," he groaned.
"There is," said Edmund, his voice flat with certainty. Peter glanced sideways over to him, half-daring to hope. And then his brother gave a crooked shrug, tilting his mug just enough for Peter to see the contents: hot, milky water, with a small pouch of dried leaves floating despondently in the middle. Edmund smirked. "Convince everybody to switch to tea. Problem solved."
"Actually," mused Peter to an empty room long after Edmund had left, clutching his tea and still snickering, "That might not be a horrible idea."
--x--
The First Great Coffee Crisis was further exacerbated by a second political misstep. High King Peter, in an attempt to ease the demands for increasingly pricey coffee exports from Calormen, launched a public campaign aimed at increasing the popularity of tea grown on Narnian soil.
This campaign, which involved word of mouth advertisements, royally-sponsored tea festivals, a change to the country's national beverage, and posters reading, "Narnia needs YOU to drink more tea," was undoubtedly well-intentioned. However, it was received by the public as an aggressive attempt to infringe upon traditional beverage customs. As a result, in the months following this blunder, Queen Lucy undertook a series of diplomatic visits in an attempt to ease tensions and display royal engagement with the people.
--x--
Lucy returned from her counsel with the dwarves three weeks later, tanned from the travel and with an alarming new habit. She swirled her coffee around her cup as though it were a fine wine, and then took a slow, deep sip. "It's no good, Peter."
"Lucy -"
She furrowed her brow in sympathy, shifting her mug to her other hand. "I'm afraid their coffee traditions go back generations. We couldn't possibly expect them to change - it would be horrible of us to even ask them to try. They have one ceremony, an afternoon tasting ritual, where the goal is actually to slurp as loudly as you can." Lucy brightened as she demonstrated, smacking her lips impressively. "There's a technique for it and everything."
"You can't be serious," said Peter numbly.
"Well, the goal is to taste the brew with every part of the tongue to get a balanced idea of the flavour, so you slurp to splash the coffee all around your mouth. But it's one of those unsaid things, that you want to be the loudest one in the room while you're doing it." She paused, taking another loud sip of strong, black coffee. "It's actually a really fun tradition."
--x--
Queen Lucy made no secret of her love for coffee. To this day, it remains a matter of debate as to whether she was naturally inclined towards early-day productivity, or whether her habit of drinking strong, black Calormen coffee in lieu of eating breakfast made her habitually a morning lark.
Perhaps as a result of the aforementioned disastrous publicity campaign, all three of her siblings are on record as preferring tea.
--x--
In the fifth year of the Golden Age, news finally arrived at Cair Paravel of a modestly-successful crop of Narnian coffee.
Peter's first instinct was to rejoice and arrange for it to be roasted and shipped around Narnia, but - after five years of running in circles around the same issue - he no longer trusted his first instinct in any matters related to coffee. He had finally learned to look before leaping. Instead, Peter asked for the beans to be stored, unprocessed, while a decision was made. Coffee growers and roasters were surveyed, opinion polls were taken, and various consultants were asked for their input. Once this information had been aggregated, a forecast was made: putting the coffee into the supply chain was a horrible idea. The Galman nobility would have taken affront, relations with Calormen would have been strained at the imposition upon their suddenly lucrative monopoly over the export (after all, they had sold Narnia the beans under the expectation that they would be useless) and, above all else, it turned out that Narnians actually really missed Galman coffee.
After several days spent stewing over the matter, trying to approach the issue from every angle, he gave in and broached the subject over breakfast with his siblings.
"But we can not simply allow it to rot," he concluded, after running through all the options.
"Well, we have to accept that Narnia needs coffee. We can not avoid that," Lucy said. Steam rose from the inside of her mug and she blew softly to cool it down, sending ripples skating across the drink's surface.
"And it needs coffee grown in a country that actually has a climate for it," said Susan pointedly.
Edmund folded his hands on the table, thinking. "I don't know why you keep insisting we have to resolve this out in the open. It's too far-gone for that. Whatever we do, I vote it will have to be covert." He paused before adding, "Frankly, I don't think I could handle another of your publicity campaigns. That was a nightmare."
All four Pevensies fell silent, shuddering at the memory.
"I see," said Peter finally, looking from one face to another as he rose from the table. "I think I've decided what to do, then."
"Best of luck," said Edmund with a mock salute, speaking around a mouthful of toast. "I'm sure it'll end wonderfully for everybody involved."
"Actually," said Peter, "I think it will."
--x--
The First Great Coffee Crisis is officially agreed to have ended in the fall of the seventh year of the Golden Age, in which the first crop of Galman beans in over half a decade is recorded to have landed on Narnian shores. Other reports, however, place the true resolution of the crisis in the previous year - though the truth of this matter is shrouded in secrecy.
--x--
On the first proper day of spring, a Narnian ship appeared in the busiest port in Galma.
Red-faced from the unexpected heat and huffing as he crested the hill, Duke Leros peered out at the harbour arrayed below him. "And you're sure we weren't expecting that one?" he panted, bracing his hands against his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"No, I checked the ledgers three times," said the advisor at his shoulder, calmly. "We weren't expecting them, and the captain wishes to speak with you personally."
Upon boarding the ship, Leros crinkled his nose. Present were the usual scents of stale sweat, salt air, and wet timber. Beneath them, however, the hold smelled faintly of green, unprocessed coffee. The ship's captain was a centaur with a braided beard and disdainful facial expression, who exchanged the usual set of greetings with Leros before handing over a sealed scroll. The duke turned it over in his hands, noting that the wax seal was marked with the High King's insignia.
--x--
Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands and Lord of Cair Paravel, and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, to Leros, Duke of the Highland Plateaus of Galma, and Steward of the Oceanic Bluffs;
Greetings.
We send these seeds, grown upon Narnian soil, to you in the hopes that - after having several summers to adapt to the changed climate - your esteemed growers will be well-equipped to transform said commodity into a fertile and profitable crop. Please accept this gift in the spirit in which it is intended: as a peace offering, in the interests of renewing and furthering both Narnian and Galman economic prosperity.
In return, we ask only for your discretion and lenience in how you choose to present this matter to the public.
--x--
Duke Leros read the message twice, and then a third time. Finally, he snapped the scroll shut, whistled under his breath, and gestured to the centaur. "Come with me. I'll show you where to put these," he said, waving a hand at the nearest crate. "And when you return to Cair Paravel, tell the High King that - as far as I am concerned - all is forgiven."
He meant that with absolute sincerity.
Lion knows I made my share of mistakes in my first few years on the throne, Leros thought as he watched the crew begin to move the crates of coffee beans from the ship to the shore. If the High King wants to clean up his mess by handing me an entire bumper crop, far be it from me to hold that against him!
--x--
"And what did we learn from this whole disaster, Peter?" asked Edmund idly, upon hearing of the official resumption of the coffee trade between Narnia and Galma (and, conversely, upon not hearing anybody question exactly where the Narnian coffee beans had gone). Across the room, Lucy enthusiastically tasted her first-ever cup of Galman coffee.
Too relieved to respond with any seriousness, Peter instead replied, "To never again send our sister to learn the cultural practices of dwarfs."
"I hate to say this now," announced Lucy, after smacking her lips a couple of times, "But I think I like Calormen's brew a bit better."
--x--
In the following weeks, trade relations quickly stabilized between Narnia and Galma. While Calormen initially displayed some resistance to the re-emergence of Galma in this economic capacity, given that Galma had traditionally provided the vast majority of Narnian coffee, they quickly accepted the status quo once more. It helped, too, that many Narnians had become used to the taste of Calormen coffee, and so having both options available within the country led to healthier market competition as well as to freedom of choice.
Ultimately, a situation that could have ended in disaster was resolved with relatively little strife. Two years later, a second catastrophe struck with a force that made this entire affair into a mere footnote in the great and storied history of coffee production in Galma.
The Second Great Coffee Crisis will be covered in-depth over the next three chapters.
END OF CHAPTER NINE.
Original Prompt that we sent you:
What I want: Ultimately I would love it if you wrote something that made you really happy, perhaps that one-shot you've been tossing around but haven't committed to yet? I love any sort of worldbuilding... Tell me more about Galma, the Lone Islands, Calormen, Terebinthia, the Long Winter, the Telmarine oppression, Bism, backstories of any minor character... anything!
Author: freudiancascade
Recipient: tantella/Avia Tantella Scott
Rating: K
Content/Warnings: None
Summary: In which climate change has unfortunate side-effects for Galma, a minor crisis ensues, and Peter learns about trade relations through trial and error.
Author's Notes: Much thanks goes to my betas [redacted 1, 2, & 3]! You ladies are lifesavers! Of course, any errors that still remain are entirely my own.
To my recipient; I hope this scratches your itch for world-building, because it was a lot of fun to finally string these headcanons together into a story! While I am definitely not an expert on Narnian climates, I have spent WAY too much time learning about coffee. As a result, I tried to find real-world geographic parallels to describe each region's beans. Calormen coffee is based off several African blends (taking the acidic bite of Kenyan blends and mellowing it with the smoothness of highland Ethiopian soil). Galman brews, in contrast, would likely taste more like Hawaiian-grown Kona coffee. It's also worth noting that the dwarfish coffee-tasting method that Lucy loves so much is based off a real thing, too: it bears a strong resemblance to how real coffeehouses sample new roasts!
Happy drinking!
The Common Grounds
--x--
[The following is an excerpt from Common Grounds: A History of Coffee Production in Galma:]
CHAPTER NINE: THE FIRST GREAT COFFEE CRISIS
For a successful coffee harvest, the growing, drying, and roasting processes must all be adapted to the surrounding climate. The composition of the soil, humidity of the air, intensity of the sunlight, and the duration of the seasons all have measurable impact on the quality of the finished roast and the ultimate taste of the brew. While Galma is renowned for their production of sandalwood, citrus fruits, sugarcane, and abaci, the main driver of their economy is the export of coffee to Narnia and the surrounding territories. In particular, Galman-grown coffee is known for its sweetness, clean feel in the mouth, and balanced texture.
Over the course of the Hundred Year's Winter, coffee farmers on the island had developed a tradition of growing, roasting, and harvesting that took advantage of the warm ocean breezes from the east and minimized the impact of the drier, colder air that blew in from the mainland to the west. The topic of trade routes and supply lines throughout the Hundred Years Winter is one that has been covered in great depth in other places; suffice it to say that Galma made a lucrative business out of supplying their beans to the Narnian populace, who found themselves in the position of having to rely on the surrounding countries and territories for the vast majority of their consumable goods.
This agreement changed when the Hundred Year's Winter abruptly came to an end, though not for the reasons one might initially suppose.
--x--
Peter kneaded his forehead with the heels of his hands. "They have no coffee harvest this year? None? How is that possible?"
Oreius snorted. "They assumed that, with our winter over, their climate would be even better-suited for the growth of coffee, and so planted their entire stockpile of beans to capitalize on the opportunity. Unfortunately, it has been a hundred years since the last time anybody has seen a true Narnian summer. The new crop of sprouted beans was put in the ground too soon, and the sprouts rapidly withered under the unexpected heat."
"I thought coffee takes years to grow," said Peter. "What about last year's crop?"
"A coffee plant does take years to grow to maturity, yes. Unfortunately for us all, their already-established plants also failed. Their roots were waterlogged when the rains came came two weeks earlier than expected, and they died before a harvest could be completed."
"All of them?" echoed Peter.
"All of them."
--x--
As a direct result of this catastrophe, Calormen became the only producer of coffee within a reasonable trade distance to Narnia. The Tisroc immediately offered support to Narnia in this difficult time, as well as an offer to expand trade routes and supply the country with sufficient pre-roasted beans to see them through the period of crisis (at a price, of course, that reflected the sheer inconvenience for all parties involved).
The High King, while agreeing to this as a short-term solution, had another idea.
--x--
Peter was still fuming. "The worst part of this entire situation is that I've seen the trade records for the last two decades - Calormen quadrupled the price per pound of their coffee on us!"
"And you agreed to it," Susan reminded her brother, for the third time.
"I did, but I had no choice! They have the coffee, and we need to make sure it's available in Narnia if we want to show our people that we can take care of them even though the entire country is changing."
"If we were in the Tisroc's shoes, we would probably be trying to make the most of this situation, too," she reminded her brother. "It's supply and demand."
"But it's not fair!"
Susan pursed her lips. "Fairness has nothing to do with it. You could even say that it is not fair that we do not have the climate to grow coffee ourselves, but that doesn't change the situation."
Peter straightened as he considered a sudden influx of possibilities. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then shook his head and spoke anyways. "Su, nobody knows what kind of climate we've got. That is why we're in this mess in the first place."
"Peter, I know that look on your face, and -"
He shook his head as he swung his legs over the side of his chair, planting both feet firmly on the ground. "We might be able to make this work, after all."
--x--
Galma took the royal establishment of a Narnian coffee industry as a personal affront, leading to strained relations between the country and the island. Unfortunately, Galman trade relationships with Calormen were not yet fully established, as the Hundred Year's Winter had made it nearly impossible for Galma to send delegations and exchange large numbers of goods with most of the mainland. This was due to the difficulty of sending trade delegations through the frozen Narnian wastes, as well as the treacherously frozen waters that made sea transport unreliable.
It was therefore impossible for the island to rapidly attain a new stockpile of beans, and they were forced to temporarily abandon their coffee industry.
So it was that Narnia undertook trade negotiations over the winter of the first year of the Golden Age to obtain a stock of growing beans from Calormen. While the country to the south was reluctant to part with any of their supply, High King Peter sensed an economic opportunity and would not be deterred.
Ultimately, the Tisroc of Calormen agreed to provide Narnia with their coffee beans after several trade delegations returned with reports on the country's summers. Upon declaring the growing season too short, the climate too dry, and the sunlight too weak for a Narnian coffee harvest to infringe upon their interests, Calormen happily agreed to provide the country with a stock of unroasted beans.
As predicted, in fall of the second year of the Golden Age, it became clear that this new crop had been an excruciating failure.
--x--
"Sire, I know that you and your siblings managed to bring spring to Narnia after a hundred years of winter," Oreius said mildly when questioned on the topic, "but in general, the climate does not become more moderate simply because one wishes it so."
--x--
In the days following the news of their failed venture, Peter retreated frequently to his study to pore over sheaths of letters detailing the various complaints his subjects and their neighbours had with the way the situation had been handled thus far. With his jaw clenched in frustration, he barely glanced up when he heard Edmund's footsteps at the threshold to the room. "There has to be a way to make everybody just forget about this entire business," he groaned.
"There is," said Edmund, his voice flat with certainty. Peter glanced sideways over to him, half-daring to hope. And then his brother gave a crooked shrug, tilting his mug just enough for Peter to see the contents: hot, milky water, with a small pouch of dried leaves floating despondently in the middle. Edmund smirked. "Convince everybody to switch to tea. Problem solved."
"Actually," mused Peter to an empty room long after Edmund had left, clutching his tea and still snickering, "That might not be a horrible idea."
--x--
The First Great Coffee Crisis was further exacerbated by a second political misstep. High King Peter, in an attempt to ease the demands for increasingly pricey coffee exports from Calormen, launched a public campaign aimed at increasing the popularity of tea grown on Narnian soil.
This campaign, which involved word of mouth advertisements, royally-sponsored tea festivals, a change to the country's national beverage, and posters reading, "Narnia needs YOU to drink more tea," was undoubtedly well-intentioned. However, it was received by the public as an aggressive attempt to infringe upon traditional beverage customs. As a result, in the months following this blunder, Queen Lucy undertook a series of diplomatic visits in an attempt to ease tensions and display royal engagement with the people.
--x--
Lucy returned from her counsel with the dwarves three weeks later, tanned from the travel and with an alarming new habit. She swirled her coffee around her cup as though it were a fine wine, and then took a slow, deep sip. "It's no good, Peter."
"Lucy -"
She furrowed her brow in sympathy, shifting her mug to her other hand. "I'm afraid their coffee traditions go back generations. We couldn't possibly expect them to change - it would be horrible of us to even ask them to try. They have one ceremony, an afternoon tasting ritual, where the goal is actually to slurp as loudly as you can." Lucy brightened as she demonstrated, smacking her lips impressively. "There's a technique for it and everything."
"You can't be serious," said Peter numbly.
"Well, the goal is to taste the brew with every part of the tongue to get a balanced idea of the flavour, so you slurp to splash the coffee all around your mouth. But it's one of those unsaid things, that you want to be the loudest one in the room while you're doing it." She paused, taking another loud sip of strong, black coffee. "It's actually a really fun tradition."
--x--
Queen Lucy made no secret of her love for coffee. To this day, it remains a matter of debate as to whether she was naturally inclined towards early-day productivity, or whether her habit of drinking strong, black Calormen coffee in lieu of eating breakfast made her habitually a morning lark.
Perhaps as a result of the aforementioned disastrous publicity campaign, all three of her siblings are on record as preferring tea.
--x--
In the fifth year of the Golden Age, news finally arrived at Cair Paravel of a modestly-successful crop of Narnian coffee.
Peter's first instinct was to rejoice and arrange for it to be roasted and shipped around Narnia, but - after five years of running in circles around the same issue - he no longer trusted his first instinct in any matters related to coffee. He had finally learned to look before leaping. Instead, Peter asked for the beans to be stored, unprocessed, while a decision was made. Coffee growers and roasters were surveyed, opinion polls were taken, and various consultants were asked for their input. Once this information had been aggregated, a forecast was made: putting the coffee into the supply chain was a horrible idea. The Galman nobility would have taken affront, relations with Calormen would have been strained at the imposition upon their suddenly lucrative monopoly over the export (after all, they had sold Narnia the beans under the expectation that they would be useless) and, above all else, it turned out that Narnians actually really missed Galman coffee.
After several days spent stewing over the matter, trying to approach the issue from every angle, he gave in and broached the subject over breakfast with his siblings.
"But we can not simply allow it to rot," he concluded, after running through all the options.
"Well, we have to accept that Narnia needs coffee. We can not avoid that," Lucy said. Steam rose from the inside of her mug and she blew softly to cool it down, sending ripples skating across the drink's surface.
"And it needs coffee grown in a country that actually has a climate for it," said Susan pointedly.
Edmund folded his hands on the table, thinking. "I don't know why you keep insisting we have to resolve this out in the open. It's too far-gone for that. Whatever we do, I vote it will have to be covert." He paused before adding, "Frankly, I don't think I could handle another of your publicity campaigns. That was a nightmare."
All four Pevensies fell silent, shuddering at the memory.
"I see," said Peter finally, looking from one face to another as he rose from the table. "I think I've decided what to do, then."
"Best of luck," said Edmund with a mock salute, speaking around a mouthful of toast. "I'm sure it'll end wonderfully for everybody involved."
"Actually," said Peter, "I think it will."
--x--
The First Great Coffee Crisis is officially agreed to have ended in the fall of the seventh year of the Golden Age, in which the first crop of Galman beans in over half a decade is recorded to have landed on Narnian shores. Other reports, however, place the true resolution of the crisis in the previous year - though the truth of this matter is shrouded in secrecy.
--x--
On the first proper day of spring, a Narnian ship appeared in the busiest port in Galma.
Red-faced from the unexpected heat and huffing as he crested the hill, Duke Leros peered out at the harbour arrayed below him. "And you're sure we weren't expecting that one?" he panted, bracing his hands against his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"No, I checked the ledgers three times," said the advisor at his shoulder, calmly. "We weren't expecting them, and the captain wishes to speak with you personally."
Upon boarding the ship, Leros crinkled his nose. Present were the usual scents of stale sweat, salt air, and wet timber. Beneath them, however, the hold smelled faintly of green, unprocessed coffee. The ship's captain was a centaur with a braided beard and disdainful facial expression, who exchanged the usual set of greetings with Leros before handing over a sealed scroll. The duke turned it over in his hands, noting that the wax seal was marked with the High King's insignia.
--x--
Peter, by the gift of Aslan, by election, by prescription, and by conquest, High King over all Kings in Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands and Lord of Cair Paravel, and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion, to Leros, Duke of the Highland Plateaus of Galma, and Steward of the Oceanic Bluffs;
Greetings.
We send these seeds, grown upon Narnian soil, to you in the hopes that - after having several summers to adapt to the changed climate - your esteemed growers will be well-equipped to transform said commodity into a fertile and profitable crop. Please accept this gift in the spirit in which it is intended: as a peace offering, in the interests of renewing and furthering both Narnian and Galman economic prosperity.
In return, we ask only for your discretion and lenience in how you choose to present this matter to the public.
--x--
Duke Leros read the message twice, and then a third time. Finally, he snapped the scroll shut, whistled under his breath, and gestured to the centaur. "Come with me. I'll show you where to put these," he said, waving a hand at the nearest crate. "And when you return to Cair Paravel, tell the High King that - as far as I am concerned - all is forgiven."
He meant that with absolute sincerity.
Lion knows I made my share of mistakes in my first few years on the throne, Leros thought as he watched the crew begin to move the crates of coffee beans from the ship to the shore. If the High King wants to clean up his mess by handing me an entire bumper crop, far be it from me to hold that against him!
--x--
"And what did we learn from this whole disaster, Peter?" asked Edmund idly, upon hearing of the official resumption of the coffee trade between Narnia and Galma (and, conversely, upon not hearing anybody question exactly where the Narnian coffee beans had gone). Across the room, Lucy enthusiastically tasted her first-ever cup of Galman coffee.
Too relieved to respond with any seriousness, Peter instead replied, "To never again send our sister to learn the cultural practices of dwarfs."
"I hate to say this now," announced Lucy, after smacking her lips a couple of times, "But I think I like Calormen's brew a bit better."
--x--
In the following weeks, trade relations quickly stabilized between Narnia and Galma. While Calormen initially displayed some resistance to the re-emergence of Galma in this economic capacity, given that Galma had traditionally provided the vast majority of Narnian coffee, they quickly accepted the status quo once more. It helped, too, that many Narnians had become used to the taste of Calormen coffee, and so having both options available within the country led to healthier market competition as well as to freedom of choice.
Ultimately, a situation that could have ended in disaster was resolved with relatively little strife. Two years later, a second catastrophe struck with a force that made this entire affair into a mere footnote in the great and storied history of coffee production in Galma.
The Second Great Coffee Crisis will be covered in-depth over the next three chapters.
END OF CHAPTER NINE.
Original Prompt that we sent you:
What I want: Ultimately I would love it if you wrote something that made you really happy, perhaps that one-shot you've been tossing around but haven't committed to yet? I love any sort of worldbuilding... Tell me more about Galma, the Lone Islands, Calormen, Terebinthia, the Long Winter, the Telmarine oppression, Bism, backstories of any minor character... anything!