Student of Kyme by Storm Constantine

It’s clear your
guardians are very protective of you, and so they should be. You’d
perhaps need a chaperone.’
    It’s
astounding how your first impressions of a har can change so much.
Sabarah was not half as pompous or presumptuous as I’d thought. He
seemed quite down to earth now, in fact. Sabarah mistook my silence
for something other than reflective thought. He smiled rather
sadly. ‘I know we Gelaming are not regarded in the best of lights
abroad, and sometimes hara like Chrysm do little to dispel the bad
reputation. Some question whether it is right to let him represent
our tribe. Chrysm is fairly young by Hegemony standards, second
generation like you.’
    That was
another revelation. ‘It seemed to me at lunch you all adore him,’ I
said, wondering at once whether that was a wise thing to
say.
    Sabarah
didn’t take offence, however. He smiled. ‘Well, let’s just say it’s
in our interests to keep him sweet. He’s responsible for all the
major shows in Immanion and his patronage can make the difference
between poverty and affluence. He’s not a bad har, but does tend to
put his foot in it. He’s not that adept at reading other hara, I’m
afraid. But then again…’ Sabarah smiled grimly. ‘Perhaps he is all
too adept.’
    ‘ Hmm, I wonder whether he should be let loose on the Nagini,
then.’
    Sabarah
nodded. ‘I’ve wondered the same. Still, it won’t affect me, one way
or the other.’ He stubbed out his cigarette. ‘Shall we
continue?’
    By the
end of the sitting, I felt that I’d begun to make a new friend.
Sabarah told me he’d like to make more sketches, in different
settings, and would begin work on the paintings once he returned to
Immanion. I agreed to meet him at his hotel the following day. We
could go to any number of locations around the town and the
surrounding countryside.
    Now,
Sabarah has left and I’ve only got half an hour or so to get ready.
Time for another new set of clothes. I could get used to
this.
     
    Lunilsday, Ardourmoon 23
     
    I had
wondered whether Haruah would bring his son with him, but perhaps
he didn’t want to force his prophecy. He came with two friends
instead, both of whom knew enough Albish to be able to converse
fairly easily with us. It might be that younger Nagini were
sequestered away from adult company, with all its risks and perils.
I knew nothing of their tribal customs. We gathered in Huriel’s
sitting room for aperitifs and here Haruah drew me aside to give me
a gift. ‘I’m pleased to see you here,’ he said. ‘This is for
you.’
    It was an
article wrapped in red silk and tied with a gold ribbon. I
unwrapped it carefully and found within a wooden carving of a
strange creature that appeared to be a beautiful har who was half
serpent. From the waist down he sat upon thick, reptilian coils.
‘Who is it?’ I asked.
    ‘ That is Nagarana,’ Haruah said. ‘He is the dehar of Nagini.
Keep him by you and he will listen to your prayers. Nagarana knows
no tribal boundaries. One day, he will sit beside Aruhani and his
brothers in the greatest fanes in the world.’
    ‘ Thank you,’ I said. ‘It’s a wonderful gift.’
    Haruah
smiled widely. ‘Nagarana is similar to Aruhani in many ways, being
a dehar of aruna, birth and death, among other attributes. Talk to
him, my friend.’
    I looked
into Haruah’s eyes. Like Sabarah, clearly he saw all too much of
me. I wasn’t very clever at hiding my inner self, it seemed. Still,
self centred contemplations must be put aside for tonight. It
hadn’t escaped me that Haruah saw Nagarana as a deity for all hara.
That didn’t speak of reclusiveness to me, and I certainly didn’t
pick up the slightest impression that the Nagini hid a desire for
world domination in a military sense. Perhaps I was too young and
naïve to talk of political things, but I felt comfortable with
Haruah, so spoke my mind. ‘The Gelaming are impatient to talk to
you. I expect you know that.’
    ‘ Oh yes.’
    ‘