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yrae2008-06-26 09:04 pm
annarti.livejournal.com) wrote in yrae2008-06-26 09:04 pm
Assiraz Drabble
Title~ Welcome to Assiraz
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ All mine
Notes~ This has no plot, and I never intended it to. The current chapter I'm working on in Silent Harmony is Nimay's second (but the reader's first) mission to tropical Kazin, so basically I'm introducing Assiraz. However, my mind is a jumble of, well, all of this. I want to get it all in somewhere, and will do so in various ways, but I just needed to get it all down in one big block so I can rationalise what I put in RIGHT at the beginning of the section on Assiraz, and what I can seep in more subtly through conversations or whatever.
This is not a polished piece, and it never will be, so don't bother with critiquing any of it. I just thought I'd throw it up here for anyone who might be interested =3
~ ~ ~
After the frozen stiffness of Kazin’s mountains, the warm breezes that wafted down from the northern tropics were a welcome change, despite the heaviness of the air. It put Nimay in mind of the baths at the palace at home, where the air was thick and warm like this, almost like a blanket wrapping her up and melting the ice in her joints.
Humidity, the northern Kazinians called it. A number of the Own riders, Ulkar especially, said it made them feel even more claustrophobic, and Nimay had to at least partially agree. The still, dank humidity was much harder to breath than the whipping dry winds of home, and combined with the towering trees hiding everything a few paces from the road, Nimay’s world was very closed in indeed. She was certain that many of the trees were taller even than the cliff overlooking Ni-Yana.
Thankfully, Empress Shizaaqa paid the Assiraz army enough to have them living comfortably within the city with no need to attack caravans for extra money. There were patrols on the roads, certainly, but since they’d crossed the border from Silrona into Assiraz, none even unsheathed their weapons as the Own approached. Majesty even noted that a few of the men dipped their heads to him, making Nimay give a crooked grin with the other guys. She wasn’t sure she’d bow her head to the empress if she saw her in Raykin.
Overall, Nimay decided she didn’t mind the tropics too much at all. The humidity may have been uncomfortable, but at least it wasn’t painful, like Silrona’s cold. Even the mosquitoes didn’t seem to annoy her as much as she remembered from her first journey. She had been preparing herself for insects as sticky and pervasive as the flies at home, with their own added sting, but she was pleasantly surprised. They seemed to particularly like the taste of royal blood, if Nol’s and Majesty’s constant slapping and clapping was anything to judge on, but then they feasted on Rumal quite heartily, too. Majesty started making jokes about how they may be distantly blood related, much to the prince’s chagrin. Nimay merely rolled her eyes and patted her fellow swordie on the back.
One thing she could never get used to was the incredible noise of the Kazinian rainforest. The diplomats who came to Ni-Yana always joked that it was no wonder Raykinians were so noisy, because they had to make up for how silent everything else was. Since her first mission up here, Nimay could understand exactly what they meant. The already thick air was filled with a cacophony of howling monkeys, grating insects and a thousand different bird calls ranging from appalling screeches to quaint chirps that might almost have sounded pleasant if they weren’t competing with everything else.
Even at night, the noise continued. While Nimay was on watch, she was constantly on edge. She didn’t think she’d ever really know what sounds were dangerous and which were just noises of the forest. Twigs snapping and leaves rustling were the least of her worries, with some bird and animal cries sounding almost identical to people screaming, or even like people whispering just out of sight. Rau set two people on watch at all times, just so there was a better chance of hearing potential ambushes, but Nimay still found herself being woken up for more false alarms than for genuine attacks.
Nimay longed for open space, just so she could see, but the forest seemed to only grow closer.
Still, she thought resolutely, at least it wasn’t cold.
As so much did in the northern empire, the capital city of Assiraz snuck up on Nimay with very little warning. Villages were more frequent along the main road into the city, but the rainforest was so thick that she didn’t notice it until the House of Welcoming Gifts, easily the largest and most expensive taxation House in Kazin, loomed up in all its gilded glory around a bend in the road. Never before had Nimay seen a building decorated with real gold. Unlike Silrona, there was money in this state.
So many buildings inside the city were constructed of grey stone, an expensive luxury up here where trees and wood were so plentiful. The steeped rooves were often made of slate tiles in place of the thatching in the cheaper regions of the empire, and at least on this side of the city, the houses were built for the big impress. Nimay hadn’t been to what the locals termed the northern quadrant, and had less reason to go there than the southern districts back home. She hadn’t heard any rumours as gruesome as what came from south of Ni-Yana’s Main Road, but she was happy enough to remain blissfully ignorant.
On the whole, the people seemed a whole lot friendlier to foreigners than Raykinians at home were to visiting Kazinians, though she was unsure if it just seemed that way after the cold month’s journey through Silrona. Very few people walked alone in the streets here, and watching out of her window at the inn, Nimay saw so many people stop each other for a chat that it couldn’t have just been coincidence. Everyone knew each other, just as they did on the streets of Ni-Yana.
While Nolryn and King Mithé were granted guest rooms at the Assiraz palace, the Own stayed at the Raykinian-themed inn they had stayed in last time. The tavern downstairs only ever served fruity, sweet Kazinian liqueurs when there was no beer coming up from Raykin. With the trade routes well and truly open as they were, the sparkling amber liquid flowed almost as freely as it did back home.
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ All mine
Notes~ This has no plot, and I never intended it to. The current chapter I'm working on in Silent Harmony is Nimay's second (but the reader's first) mission to tropical Kazin, so basically I'm introducing Assiraz. However, my mind is a jumble of, well, all of this. I want to get it all in somewhere, and will do so in various ways, but I just needed to get it all down in one big block so I can rationalise what I put in RIGHT at the beginning of the section on Assiraz, and what I can seep in more subtly through conversations or whatever.
This is not a polished piece, and it never will be, so don't bother with critiquing any of it. I just thought I'd throw it up here for anyone who might be interested =3
After the frozen stiffness of Kazin’s mountains, the warm breezes that wafted down from the northern tropics were a welcome change, despite the heaviness of the air. It put Nimay in mind of the baths at the palace at home, where the air was thick and warm like this, almost like a blanket wrapping her up and melting the ice in her joints.
Humidity, the northern Kazinians called it. A number of the Own riders, Ulkar especially, said it made them feel even more claustrophobic, and Nimay had to at least partially agree. The still, dank humidity was much harder to breath than the whipping dry winds of home, and combined with the towering trees hiding everything a few paces from the road, Nimay’s world was very closed in indeed. She was certain that many of the trees were taller even than the cliff overlooking Ni-Yana.
Thankfully, Empress Shizaaqa paid the Assiraz army enough to have them living comfortably within the city with no need to attack caravans for extra money. There were patrols on the roads, certainly, but since they’d crossed the border from Silrona into Assiraz, none even unsheathed their weapons as the Own approached. Majesty even noted that a few of the men dipped their heads to him, making Nimay give a crooked grin with the other guys. She wasn’t sure she’d bow her head to the empress if she saw her in Raykin.
Overall, Nimay decided she didn’t mind the tropics too much at all. The humidity may have been uncomfortable, but at least it wasn’t painful, like Silrona’s cold. Even the mosquitoes didn’t seem to annoy her as much as she remembered from her first journey. She had been preparing herself for insects as sticky and pervasive as the flies at home, with their own added sting, but she was pleasantly surprised. They seemed to particularly like the taste of royal blood, if Nol’s and Majesty’s constant slapping and clapping was anything to judge on, but then they feasted on Rumal quite heartily, too. Majesty started making jokes about how they may be distantly blood related, much to the prince’s chagrin. Nimay merely rolled her eyes and patted her fellow swordie on the back.
One thing she could never get used to was the incredible noise of the Kazinian rainforest. The diplomats who came to Ni-Yana always joked that it was no wonder Raykinians were so noisy, because they had to make up for how silent everything else was. Since her first mission up here, Nimay could understand exactly what they meant. The already thick air was filled with a cacophony of howling monkeys, grating insects and a thousand different bird calls ranging from appalling screeches to quaint chirps that might almost have sounded pleasant if they weren’t competing with everything else.
Even at night, the noise continued. While Nimay was on watch, she was constantly on edge. She didn’t think she’d ever really know what sounds were dangerous and which were just noises of the forest. Twigs snapping and leaves rustling were the least of her worries, with some bird and animal cries sounding almost identical to people screaming, or even like people whispering just out of sight. Rau set two people on watch at all times, just so there was a better chance of hearing potential ambushes, but Nimay still found herself being woken up for more false alarms than for genuine attacks.
Nimay longed for open space, just so she could see, but the forest seemed to only grow closer.
Still, she thought resolutely, at least it wasn’t cold.
As so much did in the northern empire, the capital city of Assiraz snuck up on Nimay with very little warning. Villages were more frequent along the main road into the city, but the rainforest was so thick that she didn’t notice it until the House of Welcoming Gifts, easily the largest and most expensive taxation House in Kazin, loomed up in all its gilded glory around a bend in the road. Never before had Nimay seen a building decorated with real gold. Unlike Silrona, there was money in this state.
So many buildings inside the city were constructed of grey stone, an expensive luxury up here where trees and wood were so plentiful. The steeped rooves were often made of slate tiles in place of the thatching in the cheaper regions of the empire, and at least on this side of the city, the houses were built for the big impress. Nimay hadn’t been to what the locals termed the northern quadrant, and had less reason to go there than the southern districts back home. She hadn’t heard any rumours as gruesome as what came from south of Ni-Yana’s Main Road, but she was happy enough to remain blissfully ignorant.
On the whole, the people seemed a whole lot friendlier to foreigners than Raykinians at home were to visiting Kazinians, though she was unsure if it just seemed that way after the cold month’s journey through Silrona. Very few people walked alone in the streets here, and watching out of her window at the inn, Nimay saw so many people stop each other for a chat that it couldn’t have just been coincidence. Everyone knew each other, just as they did on the streets of Ni-Yana.
While Nolryn and King Mithé were granted guest rooms at the Assiraz palace, the Own stayed at the Raykinian-themed inn they had stayed in last time. The tavern downstairs only ever served fruity, sweet Kazinian liqueurs when there was no beer coming up from Raykin. With the trade routes well and truly open as they were, the sparkling amber liquid flowed almost as freely as it did back home.