Chapter 19: Customs of Miran
Chapter 19: Customs of Miran
Over the course of the week little changed. Kyra continued to make her deliveries; Renno pounded away at the ice and shoveled snow, and Minetz balanced his time between fixing hammers and carving out various new test letters for stamping words to paper. Each day the sun rose a little later and set a little earlier.
By the end of the week the brief moments of daylight are treated by the Anorans, and Renno, as a time to take a break and enjoy themselves after lunch. Afterward, they return to work tirelessly in the dark trying to keep up with the weather. Weather that has stayed unseasonably warm, which in this environment means constant ceaseless snow. Coating the town anywhere from an inch, to several inches of snow on a daily basis.
Now, is the last day before the start of the Anoran holiday known as a 'Dania'h', one of the four key days celebrated as a symbol of the natural order. The trio of Thono, Anoran, and for lack of a better term, Pine Marten, clear the lower roof above the overhang of snow. Groans and other unsettling sounds lead to a fear that it may collapse under the weight of accumulated ice and snow.
"I don't understand how all this ice got up here under the snow." Renno collapses sitting down on a virgin plot of snow.
Kyra checks the street and pushes a large sheet of ice off the roof when the coast is clear. "It's the warmth of the fire inside. It melts the snow but then it freezes back into ice." She points up at the sharper angled roof above the loft.
Renno follows her paw observing the upper roof above the loft. Illuminated a calm blue in the perpetual twilight. "There's a lot less snow up there, why didn't the build the whole thing that steep?"
Kyra shovels a fresh patch of snow off the roof. "I don't know, now get up and help me."
Minetz hammers away at the ice layer. "I know," he says without looking up from his work. No one cares to respond to him but he does not let that stop him from explaining. "It was in one of the books in there. It has plans for the workshop. It was once a small one story building with an outdoor work area but then they built a large second floor over the old one and the work area. After that, they build a third story but only over the original building."
Renno shovels snow alongside Kyra. "Well that explains how it happened, but not why."
Minetz frees his piece of ice from the roof and moves it towards the edge.
Renno asks Kyra. "So are you excited about tomorrow?"
She pauses and looks up at the sky. A blue green aurora stretches from horizon to horizon. "I think so." She says with a smile.
The hours roll by and the trio comes inside to change, eat, and rest. Once satisfied Kyra makes her way to the lockers and prepares her things and heads for the door.
Renno calls out to her from above. "Hey, aren't you going to spend the night here? Surely you aren't on punishment anymore. I was going to show you how much I learned to read." Kyra waits patiently for him as he descends the stairs.
"Sorry, I want to get a bath and Atta won't let me even with the money. I have to go out to the riverside baths. It's a good forty five minutes walk each way not counting the time spent washing and drying and there's probably gonna be a line.
"Oh." He says a little disheartened.
She with a smile. "I'll see if I can catch some sleep while I'm drying. Hopefully, they don't catch me and throw me out."
Renno looks up at her. "They would do that?"
"Well, not if I'm still wet, but it is frowned upon." She slings her spare outfit over her shoulder and heads for the rear door then shouts. "I'm leaving now, cya later Minetz!" She waits as the pounding of small feet approaches the stairs.
Minetz runs up to her and hugs her by the hip. She kneels down and embraces him picking him up. He laughs and grabs her ears.
"Okay, stop that." She says laughing.
He giggles and smiles messing up her hair.
She puts him down on the floor. "You're lucky I'm going for a bath." She says.
"I know, that's why I did it." he looks up at her and smiles.
"Okay now, I will be back in a couple of days if not sooner. There may not be room for me at White Hall tomorrow night." Kyra says.
"Try not to enjoy too much excitement this time okay?" Immediately Renno regrets trying sarcasm on her.
She smiles back and him.
Relief washes over Renno.
Kyra nods her head and does an Anoran salute pressing the tips of her paws together.
. . .
The next morning in the early hours before Watchers Light Renno joins Minetz at the workbench for his usual meal.
"Hey, so, whacha wanna do today?" Minetz smiles and looking up from his drawings only long enough to greet Renno before diving back in.
Renno sits down and stretches his feet out across a second nearby stool. "You know, after going to bed early, I'm a little disappointed I can't go out to work.
Minetz looks up at him again the tips of his fingers grasping the corner of a drawing. "Well you know, can always help me with me with the writing machine."
"Hey Minetz, not to change the subject, but just what do they do on this holiday that we aren't even allowed outside?"
Minetz tilts his head and gives him an odd look. "What do you mean?"
Renno meets his perplexed gaze with one of his own. "I mean literally that, what is going on out there?"
"I dunno, anyway, Kyra said we could get-"
Renno cuts him off. "Not right now, we have all day, I really want to see what's going on out there."
"You can't!" Minetz jumps up. "You're not supposed to go."
Renno sits up and calms him. "Don't worry, I'm not going outside I just want a peek. You at least peeked out there haven't you?"
"Nope." He tilts his head back closing his eyes. Holding this declaration as a badge of personal honor.
"Well, let's have a peak then what's the harm." Renno walks over to one of the sealed windows and examines the wooden block holding it shut.
"Ohhhh we are going to get in so much trouble if Kyra finds out." Minetz frozen standing on his stool at the workbench.
"She never said we couldn't look." He turns the latch and pushes on the wooden shutter.
The thick wooden slats form a tight seal and offer some great resistance when pushed. Hinged across the top of the frame they tilt away from the building and when opened expect to be propped up by a wooden brace.
Renno only pushes it enough to gaze out through a narrow gap down at the street.
Complete and total darkness. Not a single torch or lantern to be seen in the entire town. The thin strip of faint glow from his own lantern the only illumination. Even the sky is black with formless overcast clouds from horizon to horizon.
Amber twinkle catches Renno's attention. Someone in the pitch black below looks up at him through the darkness.
Startled he lets the window fall shut, it's tight fit keeps it from slamming. He takes several steps back from the window.
"What happened?" Minetz asks, loudly as usual.
"Shhhh, someone saw me."
Minetz eyes widen and without lowering his tone asks. "Was is Kyra?!"
In a rough whisper. "Quiet, Renno pulls the window tight and latches it. "Come on, put the lights out." He hurries around the room from lantern to lantern.
"But," Minetz protests. "How will we get any work done?"
"We are the only ones with any lamps at all, put-em out quickly." Renno says as he extinguishes another lantern.
Minetz stands on his stool unimpressed. "You know they can't see that with the windows shut right?"
"You really don't know what's going on out there?" Renno asks.
"I don't know, I promise!" Minetz becomes frustrated.
Renno pulls another lantern off the wall.
"Stop it!"
Renno sets the lantern down on the table still lit. "You really don't know? This isn't like the food thing where you just don't want to tell me is it?
Minetz with his arms crossed says in as an adult tone as he can muster. "No, I don't. They just got out into the woods and listen to the pre- per, the um, pecapitor?" He twitches his nose. "I don't know how to say it."
"So you know then?" Renno says condescendingly.
"No, I know they do normal things. They have a feast and they listen to things about Miran. I don't know what they are doing right now though."
Renno hold's his paws to his face. How did I let my fear get the better of me, Kyra already told me all this. He picks Minetz up off the stool. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. Let's put the lanterns back up."
Minetz smiles. "I have a better Idea."
Renno follows him into the loft where Minetz points at a vent along the apex of the roof. "Okay, what is that supposed to be."
"It opens up for the summer time. We can open it now if we keep the light low."
Failing to comprehend the rabbit's plan Renno asks. "And what good is that going to do? I don't think we are going to be able to see much from there."
"No, but I bet you can see when the stars are out." A smug grin spreads across his face realizing he outwitted his elder.
"And?" Renno asks.
"Annnnnnnnd," he strains, "then we know we can put out the lights and peek out the window and actually see something."
"Oh," Renno contemplates for a moment. "Ohhh, that's quite good I get it now."
Working together Renno steadies a pole as Minetz reaches up and tugs a loop on the vent hinging it open.
Minetz puts the pole down on the floor along the edge of the railing. "Okay, I'm going to get a book out wood carving. We can work on that while we wait for the stars to come out."
Some hours pass as the two of them pour over the diagrams of fine parts for various contraptions from arms and armor, to field labor."
"None of these are small enough." Minetz says.
Renno asks. "Well, what did you have so far?"
Minetz pulls out a wrinkled sheet of paper and lays it down flattening it out with his paw. "This."
The lettering is about the size of one of Renno's claws. "Well, that's a lot smaller than before. It's kinda hard to read though."
Minetz Smiles. "You can read it?"
"All it says is 'Minetz Workshop'. It's not that hard." He leans in for a closer look. "But not very dark and there's all these little gaps in the lettering."
Minetz lets out a sigh and explains. "I know, I had to water down the ink to get it to work right."
"And the gaps?" Renno asks.
"Ridges in the wood." Minetz says disappointed.
"Well, I think it's quite impressive." Renno slides the sample closer to the lantern.
"Really!?"
"Minet's It's been like two weeks and you went from a mess with letters at least four times this size to something that is rough, but legible and small enough to at least work with."
Minetz picks up the sample and lays it on the pages of his book. "It's still way bigger than the ones in the book."
They look at it together. "So what do you think comes next?" Renno asks.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, do you think it's a matter of better ink? Or better wood? Or better pages?" Renno rubs the sample between his fingers seeing if any of the ink comes off.
"Well, on the old one I poured the ink through the stencil. That was my first mistake on the new one. It filled in all the bits and it was even worse. So I did like you showed me with my paw and dipped it. But after a few tries that filled in the nooks too." Minetz takes the sample from Renno. "On this one, I pushed the stamp into some watered down ink. It never clogs. I made like ten hundred tries and it worked almost every time."
Renno raises an eyebrow. "Ten hundred?"
Minetz ignores him. "Even if I could make it smaller that would make the clogging worse."
"Well at least with ink that thin it didn't come off like it does on some of the books." Renno runs the tip of his finger across the page of the book and then presses down on the corner of the page leaving behind a fingerprint.
Minetz stares at the print. The hair thin lines contouring to the cracks of Renno's skin are crystal clear.
After a moment of awkward silence, Renno looks at the page with him. They both let what the see before them sink it. "I've done it again, haven't I."
Minetz looks up and smiles at him but something else catches his eye. "Renno look!" he points up at the vent.
Moonlight streams in through the tiny vent, a pale blue beam stretching across the dusty loft down below the liftgate balcony to the second floor. The blue green glow of aurora set against a starry sky.
"Let's go have a look shall we?" Renno says as he pulls Minetz to his feet.
Down on the second floor, they extinguish the lanterns. Minetz drags a heavy metal plate out of the storeroom.
Renno flicks an ear and asks. "What's that for?"
"They used to cover the fireplace but its too heavy for me so I made Kyra take it off." He leans it against the base of the lit furnace.
They seal the fireplace and congregate at the window.
"Shhh." Renno says placing a finger on Minetz head. Carefully he pushes the window open. Immediately his eyes snap to the corner of the building. Just as before an Anoran stands there, a guard, dressed for patrol much like those found at the gate. This time Renno goes unnoticed.
The guard is stationed there on account of the holiday to keep any adventurous Anorans who might take their celebration of 'nature' just a little bit too far. Renno and Minetz however, are unaware of this. None the less, Renno can't help but feel comforted now knowing what he witnessed earlier was nothing to fear.
"Phew, that's a relief." Renno mutters.
"What is-"
Renno stops Minetz talking placing a finger over his mouth. The streets are a pale blue color lit by the sky above. By now it should be mid morning but the bells of Watchers Light never came. The streets are empty except for the guard. Renno lets the window fall slowly closed.
"Well?" Minetz askes, excited.
"I don't see anyone out there, not yet anyway. Give me a second I'll take another look." Renno rubs his eyes and pushes the window open this time further than before. Renno listens as a distant gathering of voices emanates from one of the alleyways. Too faint to make out he scans the street. He watches as a group of Anoren men emerge into the street. They talk and laugh, carrying with them drinks and a small bag, presumably for their coin. Something Renno only notices due to the lack of anything else.
"Uhhh..." Renno says as he slowly closes the window.
"Umm, what?" Minetz askes.
"Why are the Anorans naked?"
. . .
Outside of town on a well trodden path through the woods, Kyra walks at a brisk pace with an enormous smile on her face. Surrounded by her fellow Anorans the town's people traverse the forest. Mothers, children, the elderly, everyone.
The path, not a normal road by any means is worn to the heart of the soil. Packed hard by the feet from traveling Anorans. The path is lit by torches sealed away beneath the heavy groves of pine. Kyra pauses to tighten her skirt and cloak. Hard as it is the dirt feels nice against the bare pads of her feet compared to the snow and cobblestone.
Mind you, Anorans only wear full coverage boots for the purpose of labor or long distance travel.
She looks ahead to the clearing. The top of tent's covered in long blue and white streamers set up for the occasion stick out above the crowd. Almost there. She thinks to herself.
Anorans line up to enter the tents dozens of guards and volunteers wearing blue and white ribbons on their tails and wrists take the townspeople a few at a time.
"Okay, two more, you and you." One of the guards says, picking Kyra among a few others out of the crowd.
She nods and proceeds inside. With the others that came in with her. Once beyond the flap of the tent, she is surrounded by other Anorans checking in with the volunteers. Shelves line the edge of the tent packed full of clothing.
Kyra approaches the counter. She unties her tail from her skirt and removes it along with her cloak folding it neatly. Now fully disrobed she takes a piece of paper she had concealed with her name on it and presents it along with her clothing to the guard.
"No marks of ancestry? Have you come alone?" He asks politely.
"Yes sir." She nods confidently.
"Are you certain? You are old enough aren't you?" He asks, this time a bit more sternly.
Kyra's ear flicks nearly giving away her deception. "Yes sir, sixteen. I was orphaned."
He puts his hands up. "Sorry, you know I have to ask." After his apology, he accepts her clothes. He lays them on the shelf with a small marked stone. Once back at the counter he takes her wrist and ties to it two ribbons, one blue, one white. Dangling from them is a small glass bead with a mark matching that of the stone. A method of tracking one's belongings.
Kyra nods saluting him. "Miran, grant you strength."
He salutes her in return and smiles. "May Miran see to it you regain your honor in this lifetime."
Kyra whiskers stand on end along with her tail. Body language the equivalence of blushing.
"Go on now, right through the other door, the preceptor awaits." He points her to the far side of the tent.
Kyra proceeds with the other back outside through the back of the tent. Before them, a large moonlit clearing lay in the middle of the pines. A large rectangular stone platform carved from a single solid piece of white granite lay flat in the center. On each side a life sized statue. One of Miran, and the other Anora saluting one another. The front of the altar is decorated with a tapestry of blue and white.
Kyra wonders the crowd looking for a good vantage point. Not quite as tall as the adults she works her way to where the children gather with their parents. They remain clothed for the ceremony it is only Kyra, and perhaps a few other teens, who have broken this rule. From here she has a great view of the stage.
Satisfied with herself she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath of crisp cool air. When she opens them she looks at the crescent moon sitting just above the treeline to the west. The daughter moon. She thinks to herself. It's a shame we don't have them both this time of year. Relaxed she reflects on Miran while she waits for the ceremony to start.
Guard your family, their protection is your own. Let your deeds-
Startled by a paw on her shoulder her concentration is broken. She spins around to face none other than Keeta.
"Kyra." She says in a disapproving tone.
"I..." Kyra knows she's been caught.
"If I didn't know better, I would say we celebrated your birthday at the start of fall. I didn't know it came twice this year." She holds Kyra's shoulder firmly.
"Sorry." Kyra bows her head. "I'll go-"
"Nonsense, I would rather not make a big deal of it. I was young once too, I can remember what it's like." Kota lectures.
Kyra nods back to her. "Thank you."
"But remember one day you'll be old just like me, and you will long for the days like these." Kota takes a knee and hugs Kyra so that she may whisper in her ear. "Enjoy this last year Kyra, you'll be an adult soon enough no need to rush these things."
Kyra lays her head on Keeta's shoulder. "Yes ma'am."
Keeta kisses her behind her ear. "Okay, well, I have matters to attend to of course, as you know. But please, come by The Table tonight after supper I want to give you something."
Before long the clearing is packed full and Preceptor Heroth paces the stone platform with some of the other scholars. The crowd buzzes with conversation.
Heroth approaches the front of the platform and raises his paws.
Immediately the crowd goes silent.
"Greetings my fellow Aht'rha Torin Ve. Today we gather here, as we do every year, to celebrate the natural order. This solstice, the shortest day of the year, here in the south where even the sun takes a rest we too should rest and reflect on the teachings of Miran.
Heroth pauses regularly as he speaks to allow for a chorus of scribes and lesser Preceptors to repeat his words in unison to reach the entire crowd.
He continues, "Thousands of years ago long before the scribes took to keeping history before cities, before boats, before stone houses, before wooden huts. Before Anora, before your grandfathers, fathers, fathers. The makers saw fit to grant this world to the Watchers with the instructions to bestow life upon it."
Nods of agreements spread through the crowd.
Heroth walks to the back of the platform and addresses the crowds of Anorans gathered behind it. "Watcher Miran traveled the world and when she found this land, sculpted by wind and snow, by the glaciers, by the ice, by the great rivers of the summer and spring thaw she saw the true might of nature." He gestures dramatically to the mountains beyond the trees. The black void of stars clinging to the horizon marks their silhouette against the dark blue sky.
"Miran knew this would be the place of her people. With her paw, she scooped up the snow and packed it tightly into a ball. She held it to her chest and with the powers granted to her from makers breathed life into it. It became warm. Miran watched as it uncurled and stretched it's paws out for the first time. She shielded it from the bright sun, her child, the first Aht'rha Torin Ve."
Many of the parents in the crowd hold their children tight moved by the tale.
For many years Miran lived among her people. She taught us to survive, she saw to it they learned to work together. She taught us what it meant to be strong. How to survive and live in this wondrous place. How to hunt. We are precisely as she designed us. We are made of this place. We are not simply its caretakers we are part of it. We must never forget that." He pauses.
A greater hush spreads over the crowd as they await his words.
One of the scribes approaches and hands him a scroll.
Heroth takes the scroll and salutes the scribe. "Allow me to read for you the words of Miran." He unrolls the paper and begins. "'My people, I have not chosen for you a life of ease. I did not do this because I have no love for you. I love you more than I love myself. I choose this for you because you are strong because you are capable. I did not choose you as one might choose a tree they like to rest under. I made you. I have granted you my strength. You are my children. You are part of me. There will come a time when I must leave this place in your care. Respect it, respect the natural order. I will watch over you always and continue to grant you my strength. Do not turn it down for I give it willingly. Use it wisely. Accomplish with it great things.'"
Heroth clears his throat. "Today here we stand naked, as we were made, as we come into this world. Miran judges us by our merits as equals. Today we set aside our differences and share in Miran's strength. Let her guide us, my the honored remember that it is Miran who judges us in the end. Your honor means nothing without her strength. To the honorless."
Kyra raises her head and stares at him intently.
"Your place among your people is different from the place you hold in Miran's heart. Humility takes great strength as well. We ask you to forgive us our short shortsightedness and join us this day as equals before Miran." Heroth bows his head and drops to his knees at the edge of the platform and salutes the crowd. The act of a servant before their master.
The crowd softly applauds.
Heroth waits for them to stop before returning to his feet. "Normally I would have more to say on the occasion, but as I'm sure you are all aware it is quite cold this year and I shall not keep you." He smiles and the audience laughs.
"So without further distraction go forth into the forest and meditate on Miran's teachings. Tell her your grievances, ask her guidance, and reflect as you must always on the laws of nature."
The crowd cheers and Heroth leaves the platform. Conversation breaks out among friends and the crowd begins to disburse.
The elders file into the tents, their old fur and bones no longer as tolerant of the cold. The younger couples exchange among them many devious looks, presumably on prior plans on where they might get away from the others to 'enjoy' the 'natural order' in each others company. After all the spring and summer months are easiest on expectant mothers. The adults and religiously observant take to the forest to reflect on Miran. For the most part, the parents gather their children and prepare to head back to town.
"I really thought he was going to go on longer than that." one Airet man tells his wife as he scoops his youngest up onto his shoulder.
She smiles taking her other child by the paw. "Oh come now, it's not about the lecture, it's about observance."
"Still," he adds, "I would have thought he would have had more to say on the situation in the capital."
"Don't be ridiculous. Did you really expect him to speak out against the Arbitor, on a holiday of all thing, are you mad?" She shoots, back at him.
Kyra stands intrigued. "What's going on in the capital?" She asks.
The Airet mother answers her politely but displeased. "Ignore my husband. He can't keep his opinion's to himself."
He pushes his luck. "Come on now, you don't think it's a worth mentioning that the Arbiter overruled the chieftains, despite them being in unanimous agreement?"
She turns back to her husband. "No, I don't. It doesn't matter if she's right or wrong today is about nature and Miran."
He raises a finger to speak again but finds himself silenced by a piercing gaze.
The children both too young to understand look restless. The elder child tugging on his mother's paw.
Kyra speaks up. "I really don't mean to bother but may I ask, what did she overrule them on."
They answer both at the same time talking over one another. "Nothing of importance." Says the woman.
"She overruled them on holding council to renegotiate the terms of the hunting ban." The man says.
"Oh," Kyra pauses. "Thank you for the news." She salutes them. "Well, maybe I'll see you tonight at the feast?"
The woman smiles. "Take care dear."
Kyra collects her cloak and skirt from the tent laying them neatly over her shoulder and heads off into the woods to her favorite spot, the cave where she first met Renno. Sitting atop the rocky structure alone she stares off into the dark blue sky of mid afternoon reflecting upon a passage from Miran's teachings.
It is the duty of parents to care for their young, to raise them to be strong and healthy. Their life is an extension of your own. Care for them is care of yourself, an extension of your existence. You would place the security of no other beyond your own and as such the safety of your children comes first for they will outlive you and carry out your legacy.
Kyra closes her eyes and thinks about her own parents. Mom, dad, I know you wouldn't leave me, not without a good reason. I... I know the truth, that you have probably gone. I can't put it any more directly than that. If you're out there or Miran if you can hear me. Let them know I'm okay. They raised me well and I will win back their honor.
"Hey."
A voice startles Kyra. She spins around "Who's there-"
It's Tharen.
"Oh," she says with frustration. "What do you want."
Tharen climbs the rocky exterior of the cave to join her at the top. "I just thought I would come say hello, see, you know, how you are doing."
"I'm fine." She says as she turns her back on him returning to her prayer.
"So..." he says taking a seat next to her failing to elicit a response. "so your ribs are doing okay I take it?"
Without opening her eyes she says back to him. "I'm fine." She had hoped to avoid seeing Tharen this solstice. "Why are you here?"
"I said I wanted to see how you were doing." He says getting slightly annoyed but doing his best to keep it in.
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, what are you doing 'here'. How did you know where to find me?" She clarifies.
"Kyra, I just wanted to," he stops himself. "Look, in the interest of not repeating myself while you give me the cold shoulder I wanted to make sure," his words becoming gentler as he speaks, "not just because of your ribs, but because of everything that you're doing okay. This is the first Dania'h since, you know, that we have both been here."
"I was here all along, you're the one that left." Her arms crossed Kyra remains annoyed at him, but evenly tempered.
Tharen crosses her arms but says nothing in an attempt to gather his thoughts on how to break through the ice.
Kyra has no such difficulty speaking. "You don't need to avoid mentioning that you decided to tell Renno everything about it. Obviously, he told you where to find me, I swear by Miran I'll eat him myself when I get back."
"Renno didn't tell me anything." He moves closer to Kyra. "And I didn't tell him anything about us either. I gave him a mark of protection and told him about the food, that was it. I should have talked to you about this sooner I'm sorry."
"About what?" She snaps, getting more upset with him over what he was sure to bring up next.
"About why I went away and joined the guard."
Kyra was right. "You made that pretty clear when you came back and asked me to marry you."
Tharen pleads with her. "I panicked, I thought you could have been pregnant, I didn't know they were going to send me halfway to the capital for training."
"You're right I 'could have been' pregnant, of course, you didn't ask, you just ran off and joined the guard. WITHOUT TELLING ME!" She smacks him upside his head.
Tharen grabs his ear and backs away from her. "It was for a good reason I'm sorry."
"I don't care." She calmly sits back down facing away from him.
"Kyra..."
"I wouldn't have married you either way. I want my honor back, not anyone else's."
Tharen moves closer. "What was all that about wanting Keeta and Rozen to adopt you then. How would that have satisfied you."
"Because, they basically are my parents now, and I would have real honor, not conditional honor by marriage." She clarifies.
"Honor is honor." He says flatly.
Kyra sighs. "I'm not going to have any peace here am I." she gets up dusting the snow and dirt off herself.
Tharen puts out his paw to stop her. "It's fine, I can go, I said my apology. I still care about you okay?"
"Okay fine, whatever, if that's what it takes to make you go away." She sits back down, allowing Tharen to leave her at peace.
End Chapter 19