1
(Fenjaday)
Yezi’tra, Yezi’im – A’mara Complex
“Yezi Desert,” the tall dark-skinned man commanded as he entered the bare room. Instantly, the room seemed to swirl with a sandstorm. “What’s the first thing?” Benjan Masola shouted above the noise. Around his brown tunic and pants, his Yezi tribal cloak swirled about him, the yellows and oranges whirling mesmerizingly.
“Shelter,” the students said together. Their appearance and clothing were similar to that of Benjan. Their designated leader, a young man of about 20, opened a small pouch from which popped a small shelter, barely large enough for the group of them to squeeze into.
Once within the shelter, the noise wasn’t so fierce.
“Why is shelter so important?” Benjan asked.
“Because the sun is our first enemy in the desert,” Tsia Hazos replied in her soft voice, barely able to project above the noise of the storm. “We will dehydrate faster in the sun.”
“That’s right. It doesn’t matter who you are – a cousin to the abári,” Benjan began, looking meaningfully at Tsia. “Or the son of the Chief Councilor. Or anyone else. Yez is unlikely to deliver you from the sun if you do not do your part.”
“When do we get to learn about which plants we can eat?” Tsia asked.
“Well, many of them are in the museum gardens right here in Yezi’tra, but I will take you out to the desert soon. I think only hands-on experience with teach all that needs to be known. When we go out into the desert, we will take only water with us. Everything else, we will have to do ourselves,” Benjan informed.
“I can’t wait!” Tsia said.
“I do appreciate your eagerness,” Benjan said, aware that the young woman was attracted to him. He was unable to reciprocate, which was sometimes a little awkward. She didn’t know how much she reminded him of another by the same name. He sighed inwardly. She’d get over it in time and find someone closer to her age.
Benjan continued teaching as the simulated sandstorm continued to rage. “This simulation is designed to help you learn how to make the best use of your energy and strength in the event you get stranded in the desert. Once you’ve got your shelter up, you have to think about how to continue to survive. Since your first enemy in the desert is the sun, does it make sense to do all your work in the day?”
“No,” one student replied. “It makes more sense to sleep in the day and then look for supplies at night.”
“What if you do not have light?” Benjan challenged.
“We use the moons, there is usually some light at night,” the young man replied.
“If you let your eyes adjust, you will find there is ample light for most tasks. If nothing else, you can identify things to look at as the sun is coming up – dawn is one of your best friends when it comes to light.”
And so the class continued. Benjan was proud of them, but he didn’t often show it. This was a pass/fail course where the decider was Yez himself, a harsher judge than any mortal teacher.
♥
After the class was done, Benjan wandered over to the Desert Museum where he often served as a curator.
He started off at the introductory display, a hoverbil accident scene that he had designed years ago. “I’m sorry,” he found himself saying, as he often did. After a few minutes, he tore himself away and wandered towards the plant display he was most proud of.
The arid collection for the Yezi Desert was as complete as he could make it. He wasn’t aware of any plant he didn’t have here – well, maybe except the shooting cactus. That one wasn’t safe – and had few uses. He chuckled whenever he thought of that deliberate omission.
Benjan quizzed himself as he went through the arid collection. Yes, he could name at least one use for every plant in the collection. For some of them, he could name three or four uses. He also knew which ones were edible and at least two ways to prepare each one – one for survival and one for taste. His knowledge would challenge the local stella, he knew. No stella would want to be without his knowledge of wild food in the Yezi Desert!
But stellas knew more about the medicinal uses, he acknowledged. He wouldn’t want to be without her services if someone were to give him yezibi serum, for instance, losing his memory and sensibility until the antidote was administered. Supposedly the drug wore off – but only after a couple of weeks.
Benjan toured the other collections and found he was just as knowledgeable there. He was definitely the best person to lead these forays into the desert. The only people who knew more about desert survival still lived as nomads out there.
“I thought I might find you here,” another man said, joining Benjan. “Do you still punish yourself ten years later?”
“Abári, Se-orna,” Benjan greeted Oberti Perton and his wife. “You know that I simply wish to prevent other disasters.”
“Believe what you wish, my friend. I do think you need to forgive yourself for something that was never your fault.”
“Had she been trained better, she would have lived. I will always believe that. It is why I have perfected these collections and the training course for all our young people,” Benjan said.
“I am grateful for your hard work, Benjan. But that’s not why I came to find you,” Oberti said. “I have asked Kivana to meet with us to discuss this ongoing Yeziling/Zley dispute.”
“Is this really something we can negotiate?” Benjan asked.
“There are concerns that this dispute is threatening to cause an actual war between our countries,” Oberti said.
“That would be unfortunate. I hope they have some ideas then. I don’t know how to get the Yeziling to listen to us,” Benjan replied.
“I’m in agreement with your thoughts,” Oberti said. “Maybe something will spring to mind between now and our meeting.”
“I will come with you and we can brainstorm over dinner,” Benjan said.
“That is what I had hoped we might do,” Oberti admitted as they left the museum.
♥
If you have enjoyed this book, I would be grateful if you could put your thoughts as a review on Goodreads for me.
Other Chapters of this set
Acting the Part - chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Building on Promise - Chapter 1
Acting the Part, part 2 - Chapter 10
Spice of Strength - Chapter 1
Acting the Part, part 3 - Chapter 19
Sands of Survival - Chapter 1
Maps and Guides
- continents of Alacantis and Kranisis (five maps)
- continent of Almara (five maps)
- countries of Kri'enden and Yezi'im (four maps plus "other places")
- characters, pronunciation and glossary
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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
verified author on Goodreads
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also on: Whaleshares, WeKu
