Compis: Five Tribes (7 page)

The room was alive with whispers and soft murmurs, and all the Initiates had taken their seats. He, May, Alea and Nikka were next to each other in the row. He saw several Aeris, some he knew and some he did not, and he wondered how he always got stuck with the girls. Then he saw an envious look from Kelis, one of his school mates, and remembered why he tolerated being in the company of girls so often. He looked at May, with her long lashes, soft lips and generous curves. He was a lucky man.

The noise ended as the High Council members walked in from an entrance that he hadn't noticed before. They took their seats around the large half moon table. The Divinaris came afterward, and one of them lingered in the center of the stage to conduct the opening ceremonies.

“We thank the great Iam for our meeting and our unity. May we keep open minds and live with respect for each of the Five Tribes.”

He gestured to each of the High Council members and said, “Representing the Sanguis tribe: Lady Mordra. Representing the Ignis tribe: Sir Adjudah. Representing the Terris tribe: Sir Koen. Representing the Aeris tribe: Lady Salia. Representing the Aquis tribe: Lady Jilli.”

He turned toward the five Divinaris and said, “These Divinaris will advocate on behalf of
all
the tribes, being that they are apart. I will act as alternate.”

The man bowed and took his place in the sixth chair.

Mordra spoke. “The first petition is from Duor Hama, of the Terris tribe. Duor, you may speak.”

A man made his way from the section where the Duor sat. His clothing, green for his tribe, was straightened and groomed and perfect in every detail. He held a packet of notes and stepped up on the stage taking his place at the podium.

“Duor Hama, do you know the rules of petition and agree to adhere to them?” said Adjudah.

“I do, masters, and I thank you for this opportunity to speak,” he said, bowing to the High Council members first, then to the Divinaris.

“I come today on behalf of my tribe, to discuss our complaints against the tribeless, who have infiltrated our gathering and defiled our sacred Initiation ceremonies. This group has been actively sowing seeds of unrest in our members and in members of the other four tribes. This group will soon not be content with a spot among us, simply selling their wares, but will demand a place of honor among our Five Tribes.

“I and the others in my tribe find this appalling and we ask that the tribeless be escorted from the Citadel and banned from any further contact with the Five Tribes. If they want to practice their blasphemous ways, spitting in the eye of Iam, let them, but we will have no part in it.”

There was a loud murmur from the audience and the Duor, and Luka found himself growing angry at the typical conservative Terris attitude being displayed. Keran was a good person, who was looking out for the rights of his group and the many others who couldn't see themselves in one tribe or another.

“We will now hear dissenting opinions,” said Adjudah, when the noise had died down.

The room was silent, then a man stood up. He wore the robes of the Sanguis and he bowed at Duor Hama—who bowed back—as they passed one another. There was another murmur that ran through the audience.

“Duor Jongul, do you know the rules of the petition and agree to adhere to them?” asked Adjudah.

“I do, masters, and I thank you for this opportunity to provide a dissent of opinion,” said Duor Jongul.

It was all very formal. Luka wanted to stand up and yell that Keran was good and Hama was an idiot. The frustration for him was that they would end up wading through all these arguments and counter arguments before finally ending up at some decision, which would probably affect them all in the long run. Why couldn't they at least be quick about it?

“I speak today, in favor of the tribeless. They come with good will to our Gathering, behave politely, and engage in honest trade. Anyone who has seen their craftsmanship can not deny they are skilled in what they make. I would also argue that they are filling a niche that has been slowly ebbing in our gatherings, that of the Ignis and their artistry.”

Nikka and Alea both gasped and the latter looked as though she wanted to stand up and start yelling herself. He looked out in the audience and saw that Zyander had stood up, then slowly sat back down. There were several angry cries and mutterings over that and Luka saw that it wasn't just Ignis who were upset by the Duor's words.

Mordra raised her hand above her head, which had the desired affect of silencing everyone.

“Duor Jongul, I would remind you of the rules of petition. We treat all tribes with respect, we give all tribes our loyalty, we stayed unified under Iam,” she said, face severe.

Jongul bowed to the five High Council members.

“I beg your most humble pardon, masters. My intent is not to malign the Ignis, one of our oldest and greatest tribes.

“We know, however, of their difficulties. There are fewer and fewer booths every gathering, and fewer wares to sell. Isn't it the purpose of the market—to buy trinkets and favors for our loved ones? I merely point out that it is good to have some variety in our marketplace. If the tribeless had fruits or vegetables to sell or service such as the Aeris or the Aquis offer, we would be happy enough to have them in that case, as well.

“I mean, in my argument of dissent, to point out that the tribeless are useful to us.”

Jongul bowed and went back to his seat.

“Are there more on the side of Duor Hama who wish to be heard?” asked Jili.

An Aeris woman stood, Luka did not recognize her, but she sat next to Nikka's father, who frowned as she moved past him.

The woman, Duor Lamna, went through the same acceptance of the rules as the others, and then spoke in a voice that carried farther than he would of thought with her slender build.

“I come as a mother, to voice my agreement with Duor Hama. My children are all too young to be Initiates, but they will someday. It is unlikely that they will be Aeris, but as we all do, they will go through Initiation and be chosen for their tribe. They will go to one of the Five Tribes, which all adhere to an agreed upon set of rules to live by. We live under the grace of Iam, and we work as a united people. Even though I will be sad when my children move on to other tribes, I know that those tribes are accountable to us all and ultimately to you, masters, the High Council.

“But who are these tribeless? I don't know their leaders. I don't know their rules or their beliefs. Who are they accountable to? What will happen if my children decide they don't want to live in whatever tribe they are chosen for? Will they go off with this group, to live in some society, apart from us all? What will become of them?

“As a mother, I object to these tribeless because they are under no one's authority. They wish to come and go as they please, answering to no one, making trade with all of us. While I don't necessarily wish for them to be removed, I do want them to be given conditional trade and access to our gatherings. I will not trade with anyone I do not know the character of.”

Duor Lamna bowed and there was applause. She had made a solid case in favor of Duor Hama, but though hers was emotional, the logic of it couldn't be escaped. Luka respected her for not using a prejudicial argument filled with malice, such as Hama had.

The arguments bounced back and forth for the better part of three hours, and then, when Luka thought he couldn't take any more of it, the meeting was adjourned for the day.

“We will conclude this discussion with each of the High Council members weighing in, and then we will vote,” said council member Jilli. The council members stood, along with the Divinaris and they left the chambers.

Luka stood with the rest, watching them leave.

“What do you think they'll decide?” May asked, while the other Initiates moved in their boisterous manner toward the first available exit.

“It's obvious, isn't it?” said Nikka. “They'll grant Keran and the others the right to be at the gathering, but it will come with some sort of trade agreement.”

“That did seem to be where they were leading up to,” agreed Luka.

“I just wish they hadn't done it at the expense of the Ignis,” said Alea.

“I noticed that too,” said Nikka. “I wonder what your father will have to say about that.”

“It's worse than you think. The High Council is already talking about what to do with us,” Alea said.

“What do you mean?” asked Nikka.

Luka put a hand on her arm. “Better not,” he said. “We've got an audience.”

Nikka noticed quite a few curious glances in their direction.

“Point taken,” she said, and they left.

“I'm meeting my brother for lunch,” said Alea, looking at Nikka. “Would you like to join us?”

Nikka thought about refusing, but then decided she'd look even more foolish saying no then she would saying yes.

“Yes, I will. Luka, May, would you care to come as well?”

Luka shook his head, dark blond hair falling towards his eyes. “I want to go find Ryd and tell him what the council is talking about, but I'll walk with you as far as the market.”

“I'm going to have lunch with Father,” said May. “It may be one of the last times I get to.”

She moved off toward the market and Nikka stood with Alea and Luka at the entrance, waiting for Zyan to make his way to them. Nikka's heart pounded and she felt her face flush with excitement.
This is silly,
she chided herself.
He's just another boy here at the gathering. There's nothing remarkable about him.

If only she could convince her body of that. It seemed as though every cell inside her was tingling with anticipation.

Zyan rounded the corner and slowed when he saw Nikka. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled at her, welcome showing on his face. They stared at each other for a minute, then broke their gaze at Alea's laughter.

“Come on, let's get some food!” she said, leading them back toward the Ignis tents.

Once again, she was taken aback by how tall he was. When she compared him to Luka, who was almost a head shorter, with light hair and eyes, Zyan was a tall dark tree from the forest. His dark hair was the same shade as his sister's and his eyes were dark green.

“What did
you
think of the discussion during today's council meeting?” Nikka asked him.

“It was much more exciting than yesterday's discussion, that's for sure.”

“How did you feel about Duor Jongul's comments? Alea was shocked.”

“I found them disturbing. Not so much because of the implication that we aren't providing a needed element to the Five Tribes' Gathering, but because there was a more subtle implication in that argument.

“Jongul was insinuating that we are losing our ability to be a tribe. If we lose our power, then we may as well become Phasma. We will have no use to the Five Tribes, our people will die out or leave the country, and the way will open up for Keran to become his own tribe, if that is what he desires—which I think he does.”

“Do you think Adjudah sees that?” she asked, watching Alea dancing ahead of them, oblivious.

“I don't know. It's strange. I never would have seen a such comment coming from the Sanguis. They are the most accepting, most willing to help of all the tribes.”

“Maybe he didn't mean it the way it sounded,” said Luka.

“You must be right. It just felt so horrible, to have the entire High Council and the Duor thinking what Jongul was thinking.”

“I'm sorry, Zyan, I can't imagine how that felt,” Nikka laid her hand on his arm. He touched it with his hand, then took her hand in his, running a thumb across her palm. Her breath caught and she stopped herself from stumbling.

They said goodbye to Luka, then ducked into the tent, walking back to the meeting room that she'd been in before, but this time it was filled with Ignis, eating, laughing, and talking about the day's events.

She looked for a spot at the table, but Zyan shook his head, made a large plate, handed her two drinks, and indicated for her to follow him out the side door. Outside there were more of the tribe eating in groups scattered across the lawn, but he didn't stop until he reached a small tent with a flap lifted to one side.

“Here we are,” he said, and ducked inside.

She was uncertain, and nervous, but she followed. It was almost intoxicating, wondering what was going to happen next.

Careful not to spill their drinks, she bent under the tent entrance and was surprised to see him setting up lunch at a low table with two cushions placed on either side.

As she set down the glasses, he said, “This is where I was planning on eating with Alea, so don't think this is all some crazy plan to get you alone with me in my sleeping tent.” He gestured at the doorway. “Look, we'll leave that wide open, and anyone passing by will be able to see in.”

She smiled. “I wasn't worried,” she said. It wasn't a lie. She wasn't worried about him, she was worried about herself. She couldn't seem to think straight when he was around.

“Here, have some of this cheese. It's a specialty of ours. In fact, Keran just contracted with our tribe to buy a year's supply. It's ironic that something as simple as goat cheese, which requires no magic at all, would provide us a nice chunk of supplementary income. Father is already talking about expanding the range of cheeses we make now so that we can start selling at the gatherings.”

“Does it shame you?”

“Me? No. But the elders will not be so understanding. There are few of them left, thanks to the sickness, but they have loud voices. Cementing the belief in the council that we are losing our powers, seems to be their talent these days.”

They ate in comfortable silence for a while. She was enjoying the cheese quite a bit.

“So, how are you feeling about Initiation?” he asked, after taking a drink of the juice.

“Uncertain, after my conversation with Keran. I believe in the Five Tribes, Zyan, but I don't want to hate the tribe I end up with.”

“I don't think that's possible for you, Nikka. You're such a positive person. Any of the Five tribes would be lucky to have you.”