Eamon's Tales:

The New Land

The traveler settled down in a corner of the cottar's home. He gathered the folds of his cloak closely, eyes growing distant.

"My thanks t' ye for this bit o' floor, sir, and your wife and children kindly. The only payment I've t' offer are the old tales, which won't last much longer in this old befuddled mind. Thank ye, goodwife." The man paused in his coarse dialogue to sip from the mug of cider the young peasant's wife proffered. Her face was as eager as any of the half dozen babes and toddlers sprawled on the floor to hear the legends the man had to tell. True Tronan history was hard to come by in these dark days. Her husband sat in shadow at the rough wooden table, face impossible to read.

"When Prince Teremun of Delkadi became estranged from his brother," the storyteller began, accent falling away into strong, clear speech as he spoke, "he left the old land and his right to the throne, taking his young pregnant bride with him into exile. With them went Teremun's retainers and their families, a number of young men from the city seeking fortune, and Seta's young cousin Seth. For many months they traveled north, through their homeland and on into the desert, where without aid they would have perished. There Seta gave birth to a sturdy son, bestowed with the name Chenzira; for it was on a great journey he was born.

"In the spring they came to a vast, empty land known as Scáth where a sea had stood before. Here the exiled prince declared they would stop. The land was fertile and ripe for planting, and Teremun knew that beneath the surface lay natron, a crystal important both in alchemy and preserving; it was from natron they harvested salt in Delkadi.

"And so Teremun set the young sons of his men loose to tend the cattle and goats of the caravan, and sent the older sons north to the forest to gather wood for a shelter until proper houses could be made, work which none among them had done before. He himself led the men and women in plowing and planting, something even a prince of the old land knew how to do; the farms were the life of the land, which flourished under careful tending beside the desert river. Here in the new land crops grew like weeds, and the wanderers prepared to settle there for good. Natron was as plentiful as the fearless deer and fat pigs populating the plains, and in thanks for this fortune, Teremun named the thriving settlement Trona.

"Now, the Delkadis were not alone. The plains of Scáth were scattered with stone forts and round wattle and daub houses. Brusque, long-haired strangers occupied these buildings, farming strange crops and riding horses off on raids of neighboring clans. Instead of shaved heads and straight black wigs, they sported curly beards and braids in bold reds and yellows. They wore long woolen cloaks and shouted drunkenly into the night. The children of the settlers feared these angry people.

"The chieftains of the nearest clans met with Teremun, and though they spoke different tongues, they came to an understanding. Teremun would be left in peace, and his people would be treated as another clan. The daughter of a noble was promised in marriage to Seth when they were both of age and an elder retainer's daughter was married to a young chief to show good intentions on behalf of both the Delkadis and the Scáths.

"Many years passed in peace. The people of Teremun grew wealthy through trade of their exotic harvests and stout, healthy cows, the salt they mined, and the alchemic and astronomical services they offered. Teremun had his men construct a mighty stone mansion that brought to mind the palaces of the country they had left. Seta gave birth to a second son, Anuk, and both of the prince's children grew steadily into wise and strong young men.

"Thus was Trona brought to life."