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edenfallingThis is an excerpt from "Harvest," my ever-growing story about Ekanu and Denifar's disastrous attempt at a romantic relationship. "Shaelin and the Rainbow" occurs several months after Ekanu arrived in Ileara to meet Denifar, and nearly two months after they began having sex. (Lya-Lya, who tells the folktale, is one of Ekanu's temporary students.)
A very rough draft of the first half of "Harvest" can be found here, and another snippet from the second half ("Harvest: Swarm") is here.
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Harvest: Shaelin and the Rainbow
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High summer on Na'eraelu was much more pleasant than in Estara, and worlds away from the dry furnace heat of Shimat-Mek or the humid murk of Vinaeo. It didn't compare to the explosive rush of life in the Summerlands -- the island climate was forgiving, so summer sprawled back into spring and forward into autumn, instead of squeezing three seasons into a few short months -- but Ekanu was fascinated by the way elevation altered the climate and landscape. Coastal plants vanished barely two hours' walk up the central mountains, while the highland forests sang with insects and birds who avoided the shore. Here and there, old lava ridges split to circle deep bowl-shaped valleys, their floors and walls carpeted in luxurious greenery. It seemed as if capricious spirits had shielded pockets of life against the volcanoes' now slumbering fury.
"Those are murithae, places where the rainbow once came down to touch the earth," Lya-Lya told Ekanu after a lesson on modal scales. "Has anyone told you the story?"
Ekanu shook her head.
"Oh, it's a good story -- do you have time?" At Ekanu's nod, Lya-Lya touched her hands ritually to her lips and began speaking in a rhythmic tone, probably reciting from memory. "Long and long ago, when we first came to the islands, Pyraelach the Stone Queen felt our footsteps on her skirts and made the volcanoes burst with fire to drive us away. Shaelin ka Fokaet watched burning stone bury her village, and she swore to protect the rest of the people. So she sailed to Maelhrel, the island of the fires, and bargained with Pyraelach.
"Shaelin said, 'My people are dying. Is there anything we can do to turn your anger aside?'
"Pyraelach said, 'Prove to me that you belong in these islands. Find the land where the rainbow has pressed his feet against the earth and settle there. I will never touch those lands with fire or ash.'
"The Stone Queen said this and smiled, because the rainbow never touches the ground -- no matter how far you follow him, his feet are always further ahead, out of sight. As Shaelin sailed away, Pyraelach laughed and stirred her cauldrons underground, conjuring flame upon flame, until she had enough to melt all the islands down to stone and ashes.
"But Shaelin had a plan. She sailed to A'elo Sochaeb, the home of the rainbow's children, and walked---
"Have you seen the jeweled hummingbirds that live on A'elo Sochaeb?" Lya-Lya asked, breaking the rhythm of her story. Ekanu shook her head. "Well, we call them the rainbow's children," Lya-Lya said, "because they glitter like rainbows in the morning dew. Ask the archivists for pictures -- they're in lots of paintings and illuminations. They're beautiful.
"Anyway, Shaelin walked upstream from her landing until she found a waterfall where the rainbow danced in the spray, shattering sunlight into the six colors. She sat on a stone and spun glass crystals on a string in the sun. This was long and long ago, you understand, so the rainbow had never seen a sun-catcher. Now he flew from the waterfall and danced in Shaelin's hand.
"Shaelin said, 'If you agree to protect my people, we'll hang sun-catchers from the eaves of our houses, the poles in our fields, and the masts on our ships. We'll make sure you can dance wherever we go.'
"The rainbow said, 'I never press my feet to the earth because then I have weight, and I am slow. The shadow hunts me. If I stand on the earth, she might snatch me before I can fly away. Will you protect me from her?'
"Shaelin agreed, and the rainbow came and pressed his feet to the earth all around the islands, wherever the people lived. Pyraelach screamed and made the mountains shake and cough, but her sister and the spirits reminded her of her promise, and so the people were safe.
"That's why we hang sun-catchers everywhere we go, and lanterns at the north corners of our homes. We honor Shaelin's bargain with the rainbow, which saved us from the Stone Queen and her fires."
Ekanu matched the story against her memory of the dance for reed pipes and wood-horn she'd found in Yfane's collection -- a sprightly tune, with a recurring counter-melody of ominous, slow half-tones -- and nodded. "A true story. It's good to respect the spirits."
Lya-Lya looked intrigued. "You're not Trinitarian? I thought--"
"I am not Estarian, though perhaps I am becoming Estaran," Ekanu said, somewhat ruefully. "As I told Soshimu, I come from Chupu, which everyone south of Mohrad seems to call the land of the midnight sun, or the utmost north. We call it the Ice. And yes, we honor spirits, and listen for their whispers in our hearts."
She hadn't done a good job of listening for the wind in Gwynorae, Ekanu realized with an inner wince. She doubted the spirits cared about Yfane's papers or Denifar's machines, but maybe the wind's clean, cold voice could show her a way out of her tangled emotions. She would have to open her heart soon.
"I wonder if your spirits are the same as our spirits, or if each place has different powers?" Lya-Lya asked, clearly fascinated by this discovery.
"We can talk more this evening, after supper," Ekanu told her. "Now hurry -- I know you're supposed to help Nashe with the bees this afternoon, and I think it's time for you to live up to the name your parents gave you."
"I'd rather live up to the name I like!" Lya-Lya said, laughing, but she hurried out of Yfane's office, leaving Ekanu to touch her lodestone charm and wonder how she was going to excuse herself to Denifar.
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To be continued...
A very rough draft of the first half of "Harvest" can be found here, and another snippet from the second half ("Harvest: Swarm") is here.
---------------------------------------------
Harvest: Shaelin and the Rainbow
---------------------------------------------
High summer on Na'eraelu was much more pleasant than in Estara, and worlds away from the dry furnace heat of Shimat-Mek or the humid murk of Vinaeo. It didn't compare to the explosive rush of life in the Summerlands -- the island climate was forgiving, so summer sprawled back into spring and forward into autumn, instead of squeezing three seasons into a few short months -- but Ekanu was fascinated by the way elevation altered the climate and landscape. Coastal plants vanished barely two hours' walk up the central mountains, while the highland forests sang with insects and birds who avoided the shore. Here and there, old lava ridges split to circle deep bowl-shaped valleys, their floors and walls carpeted in luxurious greenery. It seemed as if capricious spirits had shielded pockets of life against the volcanoes' now slumbering fury.
"Those are murithae, places where the rainbow once came down to touch the earth," Lya-Lya told Ekanu after a lesson on modal scales. "Has anyone told you the story?"
Ekanu shook her head.
"Oh, it's a good story -- do you have time?" At Ekanu's nod, Lya-Lya touched her hands ritually to her lips and began speaking in a rhythmic tone, probably reciting from memory. "Long and long ago, when we first came to the islands, Pyraelach the Stone Queen felt our footsteps on her skirts and made the volcanoes burst with fire to drive us away. Shaelin ka Fokaet watched burning stone bury her village, and she swore to protect the rest of the people. So she sailed to Maelhrel, the island of the fires, and bargained with Pyraelach.
"Shaelin said, 'My people are dying. Is there anything we can do to turn your anger aside?'
"Pyraelach said, 'Prove to me that you belong in these islands. Find the land where the rainbow has pressed his feet against the earth and settle there. I will never touch those lands with fire or ash.'
"The Stone Queen said this and smiled, because the rainbow never touches the ground -- no matter how far you follow him, his feet are always further ahead, out of sight. As Shaelin sailed away, Pyraelach laughed and stirred her cauldrons underground, conjuring flame upon flame, until she had enough to melt all the islands down to stone and ashes.
"But Shaelin had a plan. She sailed to A'elo Sochaeb, the home of the rainbow's children, and walked---
"Have you seen the jeweled hummingbirds that live on A'elo Sochaeb?" Lya-Lya asked, breaking the rhythm of her story. Ekanu shook her head. "Well, we call them the rainbow's children," Lya-Lya said, "because they glitter like rainbows in the morning dew. Ask the archivists for pictures -- they're in lots of paintings and illuminations. They're beautiful.
"Anyway, Shaelin walked upstream from her landing until she found a waterfall where the rainbow danced in the spray, shattering sunlight into the six colors. She sat on a stone and spun glass crystals on a string in the sun. This was long and long ago, you understand, so the rainbow had never seen a sun-catcher. Now he flew from the waterfall and danced in Shaelin's hand.
"Shaelin said, 'If you agree to protect my people, we'll hang sun-catchers from the eaves of our houses, the poles in our fields, and the masts on our ships. We'll make sure you can dance wherever we go.'
"The rainbow said, 'I never press my feet to the earth because then I have weight, and I am slow. The shadow hunts me. If I stand on the earth, she might snatch me before I can fly away. Will you protect me from her?'
"Shaelin agreed, and the rainbow came and pressed his feet to the earth all around the islands, wherever the people lived. Pyraelach screamed and made the mountains shake and cough, but her sister and the spirits reminded her of her promise, and so the people were safe.
"That's why we hang sun-catchers everywhere we go, and lanterns at the north corners of our homes. We honor Shaelin's bargain with the rainbow, which saved us from the Stone Queen and her fires."
Ekanu matched the story against her memory of the dance for reed pipes and wood-horn she'd found in Yfane's collection -- a sprightly tune, with a recurring counter-melody of ominous, slow half-tones -- and nodded. "A true story. It's good to respect the spirits."
Lya-Lya looked intrigued. "You're not Trinitarian? I thought--"
"I am not Estarian, though perhaps I am becoming Estaran," Ekanu said, somewhat ruefully. "As I told Soshimu, I come from Chupu, which everyone south of Mohrad seems to call the land of the midnight sun, or the utmost north. We call it the Ice. And yes, we honor spirits, and listen for their whispers in our hearts."
She hadn't done a good job of listening for the wind in Gwynorae, Ekanu realized with an inner wince. She doubted the spirits cared about Yfane's papers or Denifar's machines, but maybe the wind's clean, cold voice could show her a way out of her tangled emotions. She would have to open her heart soon.
"I wonder if your spirits are the same as our spirits, or if each place has different powers?" Lya-Lya asked, clearly fascinated by this discovery.
"We can talk more this evening, after supper," Ekanu told her. "Now hurry -- I know you're supposed to help Nashe with the bees this afternoon, and I think it's time for you to live up to the name your parents gave you."
"I'd rather live up to the name I like!" Lya-Lya said, laughing, but she hurried out of Yfane's office, leaving Ekanu to touch her lodestone charm and wonder how she was going to excuse herself to Denifar.
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To be continued...
