kawa~ inspiration #20
Jan. 14th, 2005 01:36 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
annarti.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
yrae
Title~ The First Great Drought
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ All mine, still
Notes~ kawa~ inspiration #20. The title says it all *nods solemnly*
~ ~ ~
“Nimay’s story time tonight?”
Nimay nodded vigorously; Yamin huddled up in her blankets and clung to her father, anticipating the story before it had even begun. Nimay always chose the less… harmonious stories in her mother’s mind.
Riona rested her back against the wall, one arm around Nimay’s shoulders as she searched for a story the young girl would enjoy.
“This story takes place long, long ago, when Raykin was still young. Only a thousand years had passed since King Yan sat on the throne, and people still didn’t know about Tsayth.”
“I still find that hard to believe,” Mehni commented.
Riona shrugged. “Nobody had reason to go there, and Raykinian boats weren’t good enough to go out in the open ocean yet, I guess. Anyway, this was the time of the first of the three Great Droughts, and let us all hope that none of us are around to experience a forth.
“The queen at the time kept receiving reports that the levels of the Ra-Lin were dropping, but she paid the reports no mind until she was able to look out the window of the palace and actually see that the river was noticeably lower.”
Yamin curled her knees up to her chin, thankful for her father’s arm wrapped safely around her shoulders.
“For twenty-three days—almost a whole month—not a drop of water flowed down the Ra-Lin. It was completely dry.”
Even Nimay whimpered quietly at the thought. Yamin couldn’t imagine the Ra-Lin with no water in it. It was as much a part of the kingdom as the desert it flowed through. To be without it for almost a month? The idea made Yamin cling to her father’s arm.
“Luckily, the riverfolk always kept buckets of water in their houses, in case such a drought would occur, so while the crops and many farm animals died, they at least had enough water to drink. For the desert people though, who had always used magic to find oases in the desert, it was much tougher. There simply was no water to be found.
“Inevitably, the desert people all came together for a meeting. The elders of all the family groups decided that the only thing they could do was go into the cities and ask for water. It was either that, or they would all perish.”
Mehni shuffled behind Yamin, though whether it was because the idea disquieted him as much as it did her, or whether he was just changing positions, she didn’t know. He didn’t seem to be making as many comments as he usually did through Riona’s stories though.
“But when they reached Ni-Yana,” Riona continued, “The riverfolk had still not forgotten what King Yan, the ancestor to all the desert people, had done. They were still convinced that the actions of the tyrant were the fault of his descendants, no matter how much we try to deny it. With water being such a commodity at the time, along with their prejudices, the riverfolk would not give up even a single drop to the desert people.
“They were getting desperate by now. Water was so nearby, and yet the desert people were still dying of thirst.” Riona took a deep breath, and Yamin was almost certain she could see her mother’s hands shaking slightly. Mehni took his hand from Yamin’s shoulder and squeezed his wife’s shaking ones.
“In their desperation, the desert people took up their swords against the riverfolk, killing them even for just a mouthful of water. During those days, thousands of Raykinians—riverfolk and desert people alike—died of thirst, hunger or by the blade of another Raykinian. This, even more than the actions of King Yan, is what makes the desert people so hated among the riverfolk. In turn, the desert people hold no strong feelings for the greedy, heartless riverfolk.”
Yamin managed to catch her sister’s eye. A look of undeniable guilt hung over Nimay’s face, one which Yamin returned with a look that told her twin that it wasn’t her fault, but that the two of them should do something nonetheless.
Nimay’s guilt slipped away to be replaced by compassionate determination. As she turned around, Yamin climbed out of her father’s protective hug and wrapped her arms around her mother. The message in Riona’s story was something that would linger in her mind for a long time to come.
Author~ Annarti
Disclaimer~ All mine, still
Notes~ kawa~ inspiration #20. The title says it all *nods solemnly*
“Nimay’s story time tonight?”
Nimay nodded vigorously; Yamin huddled up in her blankets and clung to her father, anticipating the story before it had even begun. Nimay always chose the less… harmonious stories in her mother’s mind.
Riona rested her back against the wall, one arm around Nimay’s shoulders as she searched for a story the young girl would enjoy.
“This story takes place long, long ago, when Raykin was still young. Only a thousand years had passed since King Yan sat on the throne, and people still didn’t know about Tsayth.”
“I still find that hard to believe,” Mehni commented.
Riona shrugged. “Nobody had reason to go there, and Raykinian boats weren’t good enough to go out in the open ocean yet, I guess. Anyway, this was the time of the first of the three Great Droughts, and let us all hope that none of us are around to experience a forth.
“The queen at the time kept receiving reports that the levels of the Ra-Lin were dropping, but she paid the reports no mind until she was able to look out the window of the palace and actually see that the river was noticeably lower.”
Yamin curled her knees up to her chin, thankful for her father’s arm wrapped safely around her shoulders.
“For twenty-three days—almost a whole month—not a drop of water flowed down the Ra-Lin. It was completely dry.”
Even Nimay whimpered quietly at the thought. Yamin couldn’t imagine the Ra-Lin with no water in it. It was as much a part of the kingdom as the desert it flowed through. To be without it for almost a month? The idea made Yamin cling to her father’s arm.
“Luckily, the riverfolk always kept buckets of water in their houses, in case such a drought would occur, so while the crops and many farm animals died, they at least had enough water to drink. For the desert people though, who had always used magic to find oases in the desert, it was much tougher. There simply was no water to be found.
“Inevitably, the desert people all came together for a meeting. The elders of all the family groups decided that the only thing they could do was go into the cities and ask for water. It was either that, or they would all perish.”
Mehni shuffled behind Yamin, though whether it was because the idea disquieted him as much as it did her, or whether he was just changing positions, she didn’t know. He didn’t seem to be making as many comments as he usually did through Riona’s stories though.
“But when they reached Ni-Yana,” Riona continued, “The riverfolk had still not forgotten what King Yan, the ancestor to all the desert people, had done. They were still convinced that the actions of the tyrant were the fault of his descendants, no matter how much we try to deny it. With water being such a commodity at the time, along with their prejudices, the riverfolk would not give up even a single drop to the desert people.
“They were getting desperate by now. Water was so nearby, and yet the desert people were still dying of thirst.” Riona took a deep breath, and Yamin was almost certain she could see her mother’s hands shaking slightly. Mehni took his hand from Yamin’s shoulder and squeezed his wife’s shaking ones.
“In their desperation, the desert people took up their swords against the riverfolk, killing them even for just a mouthful of water. During those days, thousands of Raykinians—riverfolk and desert people alike—died of thirst, hunger or by the blade of another Raykinian. This, even more than the actions of King Yan, is what makes the desert people so hated among the riverfolk. In turn, the desert people hold no strong feelings for the greedy, heartless riverfolk.”
Yamin managed to catch her sister’s eye. A look of undeniable guilt hung over Nimay’s face, one which Yamin returned with a look that told her twin that it wasn’t her fault, but that the two of them should do something nonetheless.
Nimay’s guilt slipped away to be replaced by compassionate determination. As she turned around, Yamin climbed out of her father’s protective hug and wrapped her arms around her mother. The message in Riona’s story was something that would linger in her mind for a long time to come.