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22 days ago
Current It's my birthday! Hooray! I have to work. Boo. But I do have Nutella. So, it's a good day over all.
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25 days ago
I know that not every one on this site is from the USA, but I would like to remind all my fellow USAers that taking a moment to remember what happened 23 years ago wouldn't be bad.
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Zarah wasn’t surprised that the little person hid in the woman’s tail. If a strange person came rushing towards her with a stranger ball of light Zarah would be inclined to hide to. Of course, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t curious about the small woman or the ears on the larger woman. Was it some sort of genetic adaptation? Zarah had seen a few pictures of humans from before all the Old Tech stopped working and knew that humans on Trazie now didn’t look much like them. It had been a thousand years since then, and it was generally agreed that humans had adapted to survive on Trazie better. Zarah wouldn’t be surprised if humans on other planets had done the same thing.

Zarah nodded in answer to the question, “Yep! This is Trazie. The planet of Trazie and the continent of Trazie.” She reached out a hand to touch the strange crystalline wings before remembering her manners and stopping herself, “I’ve never seen tech like yours. I sincerely doubt that it comes from this planet. Where are you from?” Her eyes lit up as she considered, “Are you from Terra?”

Terra was a mythical place. Well, myth was the wrong word. It was pretty much agreed that Terra had existed and probably still existed, but any information about Terra came from thousand-year-old stories and whatever Old Tech record keeping devices Mechanics could get to work. Zarah and Zigma both knew that Terra was the birthplace of humans and that people from Terra had made Trazie for some reason only for most people to leave suddenly about the same time that the Old Tech stopped working. That was all that most people knew. Why they left, why the Old Tech stopped working, why they had made Trazie in the first place. Those were all mysteries that rumor had could be solved if someone found the Administration Building. Administration Annexes had been found, but not the Building itself.

Suddenly Zigma called to Zarah’s mind, “Zarah, that Jessica. She’s like me.”

It was her turn to call mentally, “What? What do you mean? How can you tell?”

Zigma glowed brighter before diming, “I can feel it. I don’t think we are exactly the same, but close enough that she could tell me what I am.”

Well then, that changed things just a little bit. Not a lot. These two women still have information that Zarah and Zigma both wanted. It was just that finding out more about Zigma was more important then where they came from or how they got to Trazie. Zarah knew that she was human. She had a rough idea of her ancestors’ and planet’s history. She knew that space travel had been completely possible in the past and it wasn’t surprising that it was possible now. More information on that could wait. But Zigma had never known anything about himself or where he had come from. All he knew was Zarah and Mountian Lake Tribe. That was not at all ideal.

So, Zarah would be rude if it got her the answers they wanted, “Not to be rude, but what is Jessica? Like I totally understand humans growing ears to adapt to a planet better, but shrinking? That seems a little farfetched.”
I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure it would work.










I hope this all makes sense. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.
Zarah Jameson was 19 and beloved by her family and her Tribe. How could she not be? She was intelligent, bright, kind, and nice to everyone! She willingly helped out on her family farm and around the town. She was bright smile and cheerful laughter that was so genuine that when she spoke for one brief moment you had to believe that nothing in the world, in all the galaxy, could possibly go wrong. Yes, she was still young. Yes, she was a scatterbrained chatterbox. Yes, she could constantly be found have run off to yet another Old Tech site. Yet she was so eager and so optimistic that you wanted to do everything you could to protect her, to protect her wide smile. This was all before you knew what she could do. Once you knew that you had to do everything you could to protect her.

The Jameson family and the Mountain Lake Tribe valued Zarah’s skill as a Mechanic, which was why, over the years, her running off to the Old Tech sites became less annoying and more essential. Zarah got all of the Old Tech she touched to work. She had come back from one journey with a device that allowed the blacksmith to control and know exactly what temperature his forge was at. Another trip yielded a pair of flying things history said was called drones to help herd the cattle and find dear in the forest. There was the scale that helped Mikala Jameson with her baking, the device that had been a wedding present for Jacob and Lilla Jameson that would sew a straight line in practically no time at all, the kettle that boiled water for you that every member of the Tribe took turns using. While the Mountain Lake Tribe didn’t want more power, Zarah’s skill with Old Tech was going to bring them stability and safety.

Which was why Zarah didn’t know how to tell the Elders of the Tribe or her mother that she wanted to travel Trazie. She wanted to see the twin points up north. She wanted to see Canterpoint Volcano and Rainforest Island. She wanted to visit all six of Trazie’s lakes. She wanted to see how high she could make it up Centerpoint Mountain. She wanted to go diving off the Cliffs of Insanity. She wanted to walk the coastlines and swim near Bracket Reef. But most importantly, Zarah want to scour the continent for lost Old Tech Sites. She wanted to find the lost Administration Building or get the Chairlifts working again. She wanted stories of Zarah Jameson and her Mechanical genius to spread across Trazie like a blaze. Somehow, she didn’t think her mother would be okay with that.

Luckily Zarah had Zigma on her side. Zarah wasn’t sure what Zigma was. Zigma wasn’t sure what Zigma was. Once, when she was ten, Zarah had found a geode after tripping over a tree branch on her way back home from a nearby Old Tech Site. She wasn’t sure why, but she kept it even though it looked ordinary. After that wherever Zarah went the geode went too. Though every scrape and every adventure and every, well, every everything, the geode was there. Then one day it broke and out came Zigma. At first Zarah had freaked out. Zigma was a glowing ball of neon green light. Who wouldn’t be freaked out? Then, slowly but surely, Zigma and Zarah were always together. Zigma’s earliest memories were of Zarah freaking out over her broken geode, but he knew his name and he knew that he loved Zarah just as much as she loved him. Soon he was just as much a member of the Mountain Lake Tribe as anyone else. The Elders scowled and called him a prankster, but at least he could be counted on to listen to Zarah chatter so she would leave others alone.

Which brought them today. Zarah was nineteen, which made her an adult. While it was true that she was a baby adult, she was still an adult. She didn’t want to live in her parents’ house forever. Granted, no one expected her to leave home for another year or two, but she wasn’t going to find the Administration Building while helping to water crops. Not that watering crops was a bad thing. She liked being to eat, but Zarah was a Mechanic. She wanted to be doing Mechanic things. Though everyone in the Tribe supported her desire to do Mechanic things, but they rather her stay close and help support the Tribe. And it wasn’t that she didn’t love her family and Tribe. She would totally bring all her really good finds home and she wasn’t going to find anything really good if the longest she was allowed to be gone was 2 months. Zarah nodded as she decided that was how she was going to word it to her mother tonight. Tomorrow. W-Day at the latest. She stood up from wear she had been sitting on the edge of the bed. With that decided it was time to get ready for the day.

“Zarah?”

Zarah’s head snapped around to look at Zigma where he was hovering by the screened window, “What? Is everything okay?”

One of the things that she and Zigma could do was communicate telepathically with each other. While Zigma wasn’t doing that now she still got a vague sense of unease from him, “I don’t know. I’m being pulled towards something near mountains east of here. I don’t know what it is.”

Thanks to the telepathic bond Zarah immediately knew what Zigma wanted to do and he immediately knew she was on board, “Let me get packed.”

It wasn’t long before Zarah was dressed in her linen pants with the leather kneepads sewn in. Her leather vest was tied tight over her undyed shirt and the pockets in her sleeves were stuffed full of crackers and small screwdrivers. Her boots were laced up and had wood wrapped charcoal stuffed in the side. As an aside she desperately needed new ones. The soles were getting thin. Zarah double checked her bag for her small blowtorch, wrenches, bigger screwdrivers, her spanner, her Old Tech tablet, her journal, and other tools before swinging it on her back. She made a trip to the kitchen to grab her lunch kit to stuff with a sandwich from the pile her mother had made earlier and to fill her metal water bottle that wasn’t technically Old Tech but had come from an Old Tech Site. Both the lunch kit and the water bottle clipped to the bottom. of her bag and would bump her shins as she walked and hiked. Zarah readjusted the bandana over her hair before putting her goggles on her forehead to pull down if she needed to. Then she grabbed the walking stick her youngest brother had made her for her last birthday and she and Zigma were out the door and on their way.

It was easy enough to get to the mountains east of the Mountain Lake Tribe’s town. They were technically part of the Circle Range, but the Tribe just called them the “mountains east of here.” Once there Zarah started hiking, following Zigma as he led the way. Occasionally he seemed to forget he was leading Zarah and he bobbed too far ahead only to come back when Zarah mentally called to him. It wasn’t long before the sun started to rise. It almost the end of Nov and sunlight didn’t last long in winter on Trazie. Most people got up before dawn just because they had to. Zarah was no exception.

Suddenly Zigma mentally called, “Zarah! Look!”

Zarah looked in the direction Zigma indicated, which was down a shallow ravine, to see a person. That in an of itself was not unusual. What was unusual was the woman’s ears. They looked like fox ears on the top of her head and if Zarah looked close enough she could tell that the woman had a tail as well. In just their few seconds of observation Zigma and Zarah could tell that she had some sort of control of these appendages. A few more seconds told them that the technology pack that she was using to bounce from rock to rock was not Old Tech, but they didn’t know what else it could be. The last thing they realized was that the strange woman was with a bird sized woman that hovered the same way Zigma did.

Zarah whispered, “They’re not from around here. She then repeated it loud enough for the woman to hear.“You’re not from Trazie, are you? She scrabbled down the steep path only to stop right in front of the stranger with a look of manic glee on her face, “Are you from space? Do you have a spaceship? Can we see your spaceship? Can we touch your spaceship? Can we learn how your spaceship works?” She then paused to take a breath, “Sorry! Sorry. That was rude.” She then used her palm to tap her chest, ”I’m Zarah.” She jerk at thumb towards Zigma who had followed her down, “That’s Zigma.” She held out a hand for a hand shake, ““It’s nice to meet you.”

This was incredible! This was so exciting! Now that Zarah was closer she could see that the woman’s technology was based on some sort of crystal. She had never seen anything like that! If the woman wasn’t from space, Zarah would have to go to wherever on Trazie was making it. She wondered if she could make it work the way she made Old Tech work, that magic way that she and Zigma seemed to be able to do together. She wanted to be this woman’s friend. Zarah lived for tech. Well, she lived for Old Tech, but that was only because she didn’t realize other kinds existed. She had to know more!




Darin paused for a moment when Ajoran did and turned, slightly pulling Ridahne with her to watch. She couldn’t hear what the Taja said to the Eija, but she did catch the words Red Hand. The Seed-Bearer narrowed her eyes as she looked back towards the market. It wouldn’t surprise her if the Red Hand was here. If they were here, they had a description of her now. She wouldn’t even be surprised if they had a picture of her as well. If they did decide to cause trouble, they wouldn’t risk everyone. How long would it be before every member of the Red Hand knew they were looking for a human girl that looked ordinary except for the eyes which were greener than green and the fact that she wore pants rather than skirts. There was no longer a point to traveling in secret. They would now have to travel with discretion instead. If that was the case Darin had things to do to make things right.

Darin turned back to walking towards the building, “I would like to come with you to see this archivist. We need to record the marks for Seed-Honored and Seed-Friend at the same time. So, let’s check on Talbot and Tsura, grab something quick to eat, and then go see them.” She sighed as she continued to make plans, “Tomorrow I will need to write a letter to Ravi at The Farm. I plan to include a letter for my mother with the one to Ravi and I would like her to know has my face has changed. Is there someone that can do a small colored portrait of me?” She was directing her questions to both Ridahne and Ajoran, “I will also need someone to carry my letters to The Farm, will I be able to arrange that?” She sighed again, “Also, I rather suspect that I will bawl while writing my letters I will need somewhere a little more secluded than my room where I will not be disturbed. Do either of you have any suggestions.”

Once upon a time Darin had told a boy that just wanted to grieve that she wouldn’t let him. She had kept him from traveling to her home to preserve her anonymity. He had not been happy with that answer, yet he had accepted it. Now that she was shifting from secretiveness to discretion, he had a right to the same option. She had no idea if he would take it, but she had to give him the chance. Then, if she was allowing people from The Farm to her home one of them might as well take a message to her mother and to Thomas and to Milla and to others for her. She had no idea how long it would take for the letters to get to her home. Darin was just anxious for one small connection to home. The sooner she sent the letters off the sooner they would get to where they needed to be. She just hoped that the Sols helped make it happen, discretely of course.
I'm working on a map for Trazie as well as a better history. Just FYI
Darin could see how Ridahne and Ajoran worked as a unit as they walked though the market. It was little eerie to have more than one set of eyes on the look out for danger. Well, Darin knew the obvious signs, but she rarely devoted herself to being on the lookout for it. Ridahne was more than willing to do that which left her time to learn and to grow. Absently she wondered if just once she could return the favor to let Ridahne learn while she kept lookout. It wouldn’t be in Azurei. There would be no point, but maybe once they got to land Darin was familiar with, like Lively and home. It was funny as she kept thinking about home now that she had been further from home then she had ever been. Could she get further from home? She didn’t think so.

Darin looked up from the red clay jar she had been looking at as Ridahne directed her comments to the human, “What? Oh! Leaving.” She looked up at the sun, “It is getting late. Perhaps we should head back.” She placed the jar back down, “I am getting tired.”

As she said it she realized it was true. She was exhausted. She supposed that it was to be expected. She had done two major things with Astra’s help today. While she no longer collapsed from holding the rain talking with Astra still taxed her energy. While the creation of a pillar and the discussion with The Sea weren’t too exhausting, she had been talking to Astra all day as The Sky sent winds to dance playfully around her ankles and hair. The Stone had been vibrating against her feet and though her bones in a way Darin could only describe as similar to a way a cat purred. She could hear The Sea beat against the shore with gentle waves. The Seed-Bearer laughed back with stunning ease, but she could still use a nap.

Darin was starving as well. She hadn’t expected that. Ridahne had been pushing treats into her hands all day and food vendors seemed more than eager to provide The Seed-Bearer with samples all day. Most of it had been good, but more than one child laughed as her face screwed up at certain things she just didn’t like. Still, Darin felt like she could eat an actual meal. She wanted to eat, clean up, and rest. It was about time for that anyways. The sun was kissing the horizon. The human had been awake as the sun peeked above the horizon. From dawn to dusk was how most of her days went if they didn’t go longer. Still, the market would be here tomorrow. She might as well try to get some rest.

She linked arms with Ridahne, “Come along. I can here the seductive call of my bed calling my name, and I need to check on Talbot before too much longer. He’s probably upset I ignored him for so long.” She reached out to Ajoran, “So let’s return to our lodgings. Perhaps I can wash the salt off my arms and face.”
@Dr Lovecraft

Good to know. Thank you.
I did not have Fritz tell a secret but I can change that if I need to.
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