Speaking Stones by Stephen Leigh
Author:Stephen Leigh [Leigh, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-06-203097-9
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 1999-02-15T00:00:00+00:00
JOURNAL ENTRY:
Anaïs Koda-Levin, OâSa
I MET AGAIN WITH NAGTE THIS SUMMER, KNOWing that if I didnât take some action, the Elders of the Rock would do something on their own, something more drastic than Iâd like.
He was much changed from the years when I knew him in AnglSaiye: gaunter, more restless, as if his passion had burned away any extra flesh on his body, leaving behind only wiry muscles and that searing, commanding presence that had always been his. When we finished with the polite nothings, I decided that I would simply ask him the questions I had, without dissembling or courteous padding. Since NagTe refused to speak the human language (though he knows it very well) and my Miccail has never been very good, I could hardly be anything more than direct.
âWhat will it take, NagTe?â I asked him in my halting Miccail. âWhat will make your QualiKa put down their lansa and end this violence between us?â
He grinned at me, as if he found the question amusing. âYou have been gifted by VeiSaTi with many wonderful qualities, and we owe you much, OâSa,â he told me. âThe gods sent you humans down to bring back the CieTiLa and the Sa. They chose you for the task, and you accomplished it. Now your work is doneâyou donât need to stay here any longer. You donât have the power to end this struggle.â
âPretend that I do and would use it, NagTe. What is it youâd ask?â
The grin remained on his face, deepening the wrinkles in his cheeks and along his thin snout. The triple slits of his nasal vents widened. âLeave,â he said. âGo back to the clouds. Give us back AnglSaiye. Give us back the Black Lake. Fill in the tunnels you carved in our sacred rock and destroy the buildings that deface it. Go away, and return the land to us. The gods did not send you here to destroy us after you returned the Sa to us.â
I sighed at the impossibility of what he asked. âYouâre right, I canât do what you ask. But why does it have to be that way? There must be some middle path. Be reasonable.â
NagTe was shaking his head before I finished. â'Be reasonable'âthatâs what your people always tell us. âYes, weâve defiled your most sacred places without so much as a thought to you, but be reasonable. Yes, we built our homes where CieTiLa once worshiped their gods in peace, but be reasonable. Yes, this land, over here was also the CieTiLaâs, but it has the rocks we need to make our graystone, so be reasonable. Yes, our furnaces soil the air, land, and water, but be reasonable. Yes, we insist that all you âgrumblersâ follow our KoPavi rather than your own, but be reasonable. Yes, weâve killed uncounted numbers of you since we came here, but be reasonable.'â
He grinned at me again, but the smile was humorless and hard. âTell me, OâSa. Is this simply a translation problem? Does âbe reasonableâ
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