To Root Out Routines [Morning 1]

[Kannon]

Nirilli was just about to report for service at the chambers of the Archon when she was held back by the suddenly lifted curtain. Pankratos walked out of Irene's rooms, looking chirp and ready for the day, popping some candy into his mouth. With this disposition of his, today's lion racing competition would likely have a predictable outcome, but that would not take much away from the grandeur of the spectacle.

Only after a few seconds did he notice the Zensunni. He greeted her kindly, as usual.

"Good morning, Nirilli. You can go in. She has no guests now, might need some help with the hair."

[Nirilli]

Nirilli bowed to him. "Good morning Pankratos."

The ever so slightest hint of a smile at the sight of him and his words. Help with her hair! The Archon might be in a good mood indeed. Happy.

"I hope I'll be able to attend the lion racing later and silently cheer you on," she added in a soft voice just in case the Archon was sleeping. "Not that you need any cheering to do splendidly! But I promise I do cheer for you, even if there is no outward sign as I quietly attend whatever guests need care."

[Kannon]

"I am glad to have your support either way, Nirilli. Lion racing is never easy, either for me or for anyone else. The royal beasts have their own stalwart will and to count on alignment between yours and theirs is always a gamble. And if they get hurt in any way, the full responsibility is always on the charioteer."

He returned the smile, a bit melancholic.

"But we all have our roles to play regardless where it takes us, don't we?"

He then stopped to recall something.

μοῖραν δ’ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν,
οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶτα γένηται.

"But I tell you, no man has escaped his fate,
neither cowardly nor brave, after first being born."

[Nirilli]

She smiled, and then her expression turned somber as he continued.

"Is it very dangerous? For you? For the lions? Do you have lions you have personally trained?"

She listened to the melodic words, always glad for the beauty of song, even spoken.

"Is that your own poem?"

[Kannon]

"All the lions belong to the Padishah Emperor, so any hurt done to them in whatever way is severely punished. The race is meant to prime those fit to draw his carriage one day. I have been training those in my care but they are not creatures I can expect to be loyal."

He smiled optimistically though, even us his metallic eyes remained unreadable.

"As much as anyone can own something written so long ago that only a few among trillions would still recognise the author. It's from a a body of ancient epic poetry, about a war over a woman which brought death to great heroes."

[Nirilli]

"Do they understand they compete for an honor? Do they want to draw his carriage?" Maybe it was impossible for lions to understand such a thing. But she did. To serve the highest was an honor indeed.

"Oh! How wonderful. What a treasure to read such an ancient song! Has it been passed down by your ancestors? A song from your first-home? The Zensunni first-home was Nilotic al-Ourouba. River-home. It would be extraordinary to have a poem - a song that could be performed and sung! - from that far distant place."

[Kannon]

"Perhaps it would endear you to know that the ruler of the ancient land you speak of was also called Ptolemaios. His family ruled over the river, the pyramids and the delta, and great works were done in their name in that rich and fertile land. Hymns and poems were written in its great cities. I think I can recall one."

"Cicada is dear to cicada,
Ant loves ant, hawks hawk;
But me the muse and song enchant.
Of this may my house be full;
For neither sleep nor spring
Suddenly appearing is more sweet,
Nor flowers to bees,
Than the presence of the muse to me."

He smiled.

"And so a lion is dear to none other than another lion, but humans it just bears until it can have its way with them - its prey. Should one love one's devourer, Nirilli?"

[Nirilli]

"Oh! These songs are so beautiful. I think they could be scored to music and sung. If that would please you." She did not need to add 'if you say it will please you, the Archon will make it fashionable and set me to work.

"The poet loves his muse. The one who inspires him to write such beautiful things. I don't think his muse will devour him." She smiled.

"But lions ... it is possible they plan to devour us." A slight frown. Was he in even greater danger today than she'd realized?

But something else about the poem and his words tugged at her. "I suppose service is a slow devouring of one's life, minute by minute, year by year. But it is ... if you must be eaten, surely it is best to know you fed the most wonderful and important person that you could? In that way, perhaps, the poet devours the muse. How many can she inspire at once? Is her inspiration a commodity that is consumed, poem by poem? Is she exhausted at the end of the day? Drained? I don't know."

"But the poem persists to the end of time! So she is surely pleased, whatever it cost her."

"But wait ... how do you know so much about Nilotic al-Ourouba? It is marvelous to know this place is like it!" There was awe in her voice. Was this the promised land? Had they already reached it? "Perhaps the land itself can be muse to us today. Its waters. Its flowers. Its greatest beauties."

[Kannon]

"I don't know either, Nirilli. And I don't know how I know these things I am telling you about, about poets of aeons past. I just do, and live half-here, half in that age of ancient queens and heroes. I must be at peace with following my destiny without understanding myself. It may well devour me in the end. But I don't think it's going to be today."

He chuckled, smiling brightly, as if the existential dilemmas he had spelt out were but a trifle.

"Which reminds me, today is a busy day for both of us. I can't hold you back any longer lest I court the Archon's ire."

[Nirilli]

Her eyes widened.

He lived half in that ancient place and half here and now? What? How could that be? Was he haunted by an ancestor? Living both their lives at once? Did he mean in dreams while he slept?

She was about to ask when he reminded her of her duties. Right!

There would be other times to talk.

She needed to report to the Archon before she was late!

"Thank you, Pankratos. Kull wahad! You have set my mind and heart racing with your poetry and remarkable words."

A last deep bow, and she moved to enter the Archon's chamber.

[Kannon]

The memory of the meeting with Pankratos would have to fade as Nirilli moved through the inner chambers of the Archon.



She would find Irene in her boudoir, sitting before the mirror. She had already started combing her hair herself, though she looked unbothered by it. She was still in her luscious and slightly revealing sleeping gown. Without the makeup and the beauty treatments she looked more her age, but she seemed happy, relaxed, even glowing.

Even though Nirilli moved quietly, Irene had keen hearing. As the servant approached, she extended the styling brush without turning her head.

"Help me with the hair, Nirilli."

[Nirilli]

Nirilli had been expecting this task.

She smiled and took the brush. "Yes, mistress."

She began to brush the Archon's hair with the precise combination of reverence and thorough attention to detail that would leave Mistress Irene's hair impeccable and her mood bright.

The lion racing would be in an open air amphitheater likely.

The Archon favored a mane-like style. Loose and full. Coiled. Not tightly braided or pinned. It always seemed a little revealing to Nirilli. Much like the Archon's dressing gown. Nirilli's own hair was covered, as was the way of her tribe. None could see it, though she brushed it every bit as carefully.

"A beautiful day. Are you looking forward to the lion racing?"

The Archon generally did not mind a bit of conversation. Nirilli was an entertainer, above all other duties. There was never any pressure to reply. Her voice was melodic, by natural talent and long practice. It could simply be a pleasant background noise, a bird's piping, unintelligible, if her Mistress wished to focus on her own thoughts. And the slightest gesture could convey a desire for absolute silence as Nirilli brushed, if she so preferred.

[Kannon]

"I suppose I am. It's always a little tense though. If there are accidents, the Padishah Emperor may be displeased. If there is no risk of any, it's not a spectacle the audience craves. The lions can't be too tame either as it would reflect poorly on the elan of House Corrino. It's a narrow path to walk. But we have been walking it."

Irene relaxed into the combing routine.

"Pankratos held you back?"

[Average Perception.]

[Nirilli]

"A delicate balance," she said gently, nodding. "But one that you always dance gracefully." Her compliment was sincere. Grateful.

At the question about Pankratos, she paused and glanced at her mistress' face in the mirror, as she continued to brush the back of her hair.

Cunning 2, Perception 1, Average Difficulty.
Net Successes (including Triumph and Despair): -1
Net Advantages: 2
Triumph: 0
Despair: 0
https://sakkaku.org/r/18462

"I had the pleasure of passing him coming out as I approached to come in. He was in good spirits." A compliment to the Archon! It seemed true to her. She took for granted that the Archon had heard every word of their conversation. Maybe she had, maybe she hadn't. But Nirilli's own delicate choreography had never placed a false foot so long as she took for granted that her mistress knew all.

"And I learned that he is fond of ancient poetry from Nilotic al-Ourouba! From a time when this region was ruled by a ruler named Ptolemaios! I suspect there is nothing I can learn that you do not already know, but I pass it along in case it is helpful." Thus she had shared many things she had learned over the years. Her mistress liked to know what each guest mentioned enjoying or had been spotted admiring. It helped her plan gifts if she wanted to show favor to them.

[Kannon]

"The Ptolemaioi indeed ruled the land on the Nile River once but it was then called Aegyptos. This is one of the reasons I appreciate Pankratos. He can cast light on those long forgotten eras we all rather cluelessly come from."

Between her attention and excitement, Nirilli didn't notice anything out of ordinary.

"Have you ever wished to travel back in time, Nirilli?"

[Nirilli]

"Aegyptos," she repeated, reverently. Oh! She was learning so much.

And that was the answer to the second question. She might have once wanted to travel back in time to that day when she had been kidnapped from the pool and she had been torn from her tribe, but not now. Not when she could see the incredible opportunity to learn.

And that led to another equally truthful answer.

"I think I might still rather travel forward in time, than backwards. I have prayed - as all Zensunni do - to see our promised land. The destined place. The last home. We have wandered so long. Even a glimpse in a dream. But now - hearing how similar this place is to the Nile firsthome - perhaps this is that very place! A dream of what was and can be again."

"And, it is thrilling to learn about firsthome. To learn its very songs! Now, I think, if I could walk there as I slept," - her best imagination of what happened to Pankratos - "I should be so glad! Then, I could hear them sung! I could perform them exactly as they were sung then!"

[Kannon]

"I wish you that."

Irene was visibly pleased with Nirilli's enthusiastic answer.

"Speaking of the nearest future, do you want to attend the today's race?"

[Nirilli]

Her mistress was so kind! Nirilli smiled. "I'd be glad to attend if I can serve you well there." She made no assumptions about the Archon's answer.

She continued her attentive brushing. And then added, after a moment:

"And, I have another interesting interaction to report! I had a chance to speak with Lady Salomea."

[Kannon]

"And what did she tell you?"

Irene started going through her jewellery boxes, selecting accessories for the day.

[Nirilli]

She paused, remembering.

"She was with her daughter Lady Xanthe, who was in some haste to speak to her father before he left Areteion." That was information too. "Lady Xanthe departed with her bodyguard Emcas, to that purpose."

"And that left me and Lady Salomea. She speaks fluent Chakobsa. Perhaps she wanted a chance to practice with a native speaker?"

"She mentioned a place – a planet – where there are other Zensunni, called Fremen. Arakis was the name of the planet. A place unlike here. A place of hardship and testing. Lady Salomea has sent some plants there. Part of an experiment to see which plants can survive in a very dry place. Or to see how it toughens up the plant to try to survive there?"

"They keep plants alive there. Date palms. Each needing 40 litres of water a day to survive. The water consumption of several people per palm, in a place where water is scarce. I think she wanted me to say the plants should all die and only people live, but I wasn’t sure. Plants have a purpose. The gardens here surely do. A purpose. A power?"

"I think she found me an equivocator. Which I suppose I am."

"But I think she could tell that I liked plants. That I liked to see them in the garden. She said, as time permitted, I was welcome to stop by and care for them a bit. Learn. Maybe sing to the plants!"

"My time is yours, but perhaps you find the invitation interesting?"