Spoiler: News and Rumors
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Migib Kw’Adeni was nervous. They had received the tipoff about the Gold-Digging Bird from their hunter friends only two days ago, but such creatures were elusive, and Migib was afraid that it might already be too late to track the creature down. They had organized this hunt at the last minute, crossing the distance from Kema to the border of the Adeni wilderness in a single day. The speed of their travel was a surprise even to them: while they could have done it easily alone, the remainder of the hunting party was not expected to proceed at such a pace. Even despite this, though, Migib was unsure of whether the hunt would be a success or not.
Tengir Kw’Sewi was bored. Bored and hot. They had no particular affinity for the hunt, and even less for the scorching sun of the Adeni ravines. If it had been their choice, they never would have come on this expedition, but they had had no real choice. Upon hearing about Migib’s new hunt, Cul had immediately rushed into Tengir’s apartments and asked them to come along. Tengir still nearly refused, but the desire to save face in front of Cul eventually outweighed their reservations about the hunt. Now that they had been trudging through the scorching hot wilderness for two days, though, they were beginning to regret their decision.
Mebirek Kw’Zinabi was hopeful. Ever since they had brought down the Buleguwi with Migib and Cul, they had received a much larger share of respect from the King of Kings and the people. But this newfound status had not lasted long. For what seemed like the hundredth time, Mebirek had found themself at loggerheads with Wenid Kw’Muketi, the King of Kings’ heir. Wenid had insisted that the exiled murderer Yegin Kw’Haleti be pardoned and reinstated as First in the Realm, while Mebirek had cautioned against the political fallout this might cause. Unfortunately, Wenid had gotten the better of their argument, and Huleten had chosen to pardon Yegin. Mebirek had never recovered from that defeat, and each day seemed to swing the King of King’s favor more towards Wenid. To Mebirek, this hunt was a chance to regain some respect and political capital.
Cul was excited. Of the three courtiers that had gone on the hunt for the Buleguwi, Cul was the only one that had actually enjoyed their experience. And while Tengir and Mebirek had ulterior motives for attending this hunt for the Gold-Digging Bird, Cul was simply there for the fun of it. Striding across the rocky ground, they cut a dashing figure in their Buleguwi-hide cloak. Unlike the humans of the Sewi clan, who traditionally kept their faces and bodies closely shaved, Cul sported a neatly trimmed beard, and the exotic aura surrounding him had certainly attracted its fair share of attention from the female members of the Sewi clan. Would the hunt for the Gold-Digging Bird be as successful and exciting as the hunt for the Buleguwi?
They were walking through a narrow gully, with sandy walls eight feet high on either side of them. The shade of these walls and of the scrubby plants hanging over the sides of the gully provided little respite from the heat and overbearing sunlight, and the ground was dry as a bone. Rain had not fallen in this part of the Korebita Foothills for several months, an unusual amount of time for Kema and the territories of the more civilized clans, but a frequent occurrence in the area surrounding Wogir, the capital of the Adeni clan.
As the hunting party continued, Migib spotted a slope carved into the side of the gully, and above it a stone cairn. “Friends! Let us stop for a moment and take a rest. Migib believes this cairn above us is the marking of a band of Anigoli nomads. Perhaps they will offer us something to drink, yes? Hunting is thirsty work and we are still a distance away from the lair of the Gold-Digging Bird.”
Murmuring their assent, they climbed up the slope to find a cluster of tents pitched near the cairn. Wandering around were blemmyae wearing the distinctive garb of the Anigoli clan. Mebirek looked suspiciously around. “Can we trust these Anigoli? It is not a clan well-known for their honorableness.”
At that moment the door-flap of the largest tent burst open, and out walked a grinning blemmyae with the largest nose any of them had ever seen. “Greetings, friends! I am Witeham Kw’Anigoli, the leader of this humble band. Who might you be? You do not have the bearing of the Adeni, and one of your humans does not resemble any that I have ever seen in my life.”
“I am Cul, the ward to the King of Kings,” said Cul, “and these are Tengir Kw’Sewi, chief diplomat of the Korebita, and Mebirek Kw’Zinabi, the vizier themself.”
Witeham’s eyes went wide with shock. Gesturing to two nearby blemmyae, they gave each of them a meaningful look. “Go off, and find some refreshments for your esteemed guests! The best we have in the band. Spare no expense! And you, my noble friends, please come into my tent and sit with me.”
One of the Anigoli soon returned with an urn filled with strong barley ale and a jar of smooth golden honey. Witeham poured it into five earthenware mugs and handed one to each of the hunters. “I apologize for the meager refreshments, your honors. I fear this band subsists on very little at the moment. The droughts have made it difficult for us to forage. What brings such esteemed personages so far from Kema?”
“We are hunting a great prize,” said Migib, quaffing their ale in one gulp. “I have heard rumor that a Gold-Digging Bird has made its nest in the gully we emerged from.”
Witeham looked confused. “I must confess, I have never heard of this Gold-Digging Bird you speak of. Perhaps it is not a legend my people tell.”
Migib dropped their mug onto the dirt floor of the tent. “The Gold-Digging Bird is no legend, my friend. I have seen one myself: Ekaniy Kw’Adeni, the king of Wogir, has one in their fabulous menagerie. For a time I tended to that menagerie, and it was Migib Kw’Adeni who captured the bird for the king’s pleasure. The Gold-Digging Bird is exceedingly rare, and to find two in a single lifetime would be a great feat. It is like an eagle in appearance, but much smaller, no larger than a crow. It can be clearly distinguished by the crown of golden feathers atop its head and at the tip of its tail, but these feathers merely hint at the truly fabulous nature of the animal. This bird digs, you see, and swallows from the earth tiny specks of metal. That is all that it will eat: shards of copper or lead. Every thirty days, however, at precisely dawn, the bird lays an egg, and this egg is made from solid gold. In this manner the bird is a great asset to whoever captures it, for they will be assured of the greatest riches all their life.”
Out of the corner of their eye, Migib saw Tengir sit bolt upright from their former slouch. Apparently the prospect of great wealth had captured the diplomat’s attention. Witeham, however, seemed to have little interest. “It sounds like a fabulous creature,” said the Anigoli chieftain, “but my people have little need of gold or riches. We carry all that we own on our own backs, and we do not trade for anything but the essentials. However, I wish you the best of luck in capturing this Gold-Digging Bird.”
Setting off again, Migib bade Witeham Kw’Anigoli goodbye and returned to the gully. After a short amount of travel, they stopped the party. “I believe I see the tracks of the Gold-Digging Bird ahead,” they said in a whisper. “Migib will continue ahead alone so as not to alert it to our presence. Wait five minutes, then come after me.” Seeing the others blink their agreement, they forged into the quickly narrowing ravine. It only took ten minutes for them to find a clue. Halfway buried in the sandy ground was a single, golden feather. Migib dropped the their knees, reaching for the feather, with their back facing the bright Adeni sun above.
Five minutes later, Cul pressed through the walls of the ravine, leaving Tengir and Mebirek behind. The pair were squabbling over how best to invest the golden eggs produced by the Gold-Digging Bird and had fallen steadily behind Cul’s pace. Cul turned around a ninety-degree corner and stopped in horror. They stared in horror at the sight that greeted their eyes.
Migib Kw’Adeni was lying dead in a pool of blood, three spears embedded in their back. The hunter had never even had time to draw their knife. Cul turned, just in time to see Tengir and Mebirek emerge from the canyon entrance. Waving his arms, Cul tried to shout a warning, but it was too late.
A dozen muscular, wild-eyed blemmyae had leaped into the ravine, sealing off the narrow entrance behind Mebirek and Tengir. Landing athletically, the lead Adeni warrior thrust their spear forward, stabbing Mebirek in the back. The corpulent vizier screamed in agony, and the roaring warrior stabbed them again and again until Mebirek went silent, bleeding out on the ground. The tide of howling Adeni kept on running straight at them. At the last minute, Tengir seemed to realize what was happening, and turned to flee, past Migib’s corpse and deeper into the ravine. Cul followed, their blood pounding in their ears.
But they had only run for a moment before the ambushers’ true plan became evident. As the canyon widened, another ten Adeni leaped down from the surface, blocking the path forward. Trapped between two oncoming groups of warriors, and outnumbered eleven-to-one, fighting was clearly not an option. Cul glanced around desperately, their eyes settling on a rocky outcrop on the side of the gorge. It would be difficult to climb, but possible to escape over the top and into the wilderness. Cul glanced at Tengir, but the diplomat shook their head.
“Run, Cul! Better that one of us escape than neither!”
Cul didn’t wait a second longer. They leapt athletically onto the outcrop and out of the ravine, fleeing across the Adeni wilderness just as the howling warriors surrounded Tengir. As Cul escaped, they bound Tengir’s arms and marched them away, heading for Wogir and the rebel king Ekaniy Kw’Adeni.
Spoiler: Songs of the Korebita
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The Song of Creation
Many aeons ago, in the Dawn of Ages
Nothing existed but an infinite ocean
A black, boiling expanse of total chaos.
And in that ocean dwelt Abi, the World-Serpent
The only living creature in the universe
Which swam in the lightless depths of the endless sea.
Within the body of Abi festered maggots
Which dug and crawled through the flesh of the World-Serpent
With no realization of their own existence.
Although the World-Serpent’s body was vast and wide
At last one of the maggots broke to the surface
Breaking out of Abi’s flesh and into the sea.
They were Haleti, the first of the blemmyae
And in the water they awakened their spirit
The first being ever to become self-aware.
Haleti fashioned land from one of Abi’s scales
But the thrashings of the Serpent kept flooding it
At last Haleti became tired of Abi.
Although the World-Serpent was far larger in size
Haleti had the upper hand in cleverness
And realized they could defeat Abi by surprise.
They crawled back into the flesh of the World-Serpent
Swiftly tunneling their way toward the beating heart
They clawed at the organ, managing to burst it.
And so Abi died, their corpse drifting in the sea
Now Haleti could set about their true purpose
Building a world for their descendants to live in.
From the snake’s skull they made the dome of the heavens
To protect the earth from the waters of chaos
Which otherwise would flood it and tear it apart.
Out of Abi’s eyes Haleti crafted two birds
One, silver, calm, and peaceful, would become the moon
The other, wild with fire, became the sun.
Haleti ground Abi’s bones into small pieces
Which would then become the rocks and stones of the earth
Bound together with soil made from the snake’s flesh.
The World-Serpent’s teeth became the mountainous heights
Their blood became water in the depths of the sea
Their entrails fertilizer for the growing plants.
Finally, Haleti put the scales into the sky
Where they became the bright illuminating stars
Each one is a supernatural world of its own.
At last Haleti buried Abi’s hollow heart
A tomb deep in the very center of the earth
The final resting place for the great creator.
-from The Song of Creation
Re: Empire 6: Embers of Dawn IC
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