"Election:" Liushna | Glowfic Constellation

of-the-owls

Getting "elected" is the easy part. After interrogating enough outsiders to understand what it means, she just persuades her brother and mother and closest friends, to "vote" that she should go to the convention. Anyone else who wants to vote can, of course, but nobody else wants to go and nobody else cares about whatever crazy outsider-related idea Liushna has now.

The hard part is persuading her rokoa to let her go.

"Please?"

"You will get killed."

"I probably won't!"

"You will get killed, and your bones will lie far from home, and nobody will know where to find them."

"But if it works--"

"No."

And if the rokoa had her way, that would be the end of it.

But Liushna doesn't give up that easily.

Finally the rokoa gives up and gives her permission. It isn't lost on her, of course, that Liushna could simply have disobeyed her and left on her own. It would have risked her being cast out of the clan, but Liushna is a reckless youngster, and the rokoa wouldn't have entirely put it past her.

But Liushna is a good kid, and she loves her tribe and their traditions, and she would have stayed if the rokoa had stayed firm.

If Liushna is wrong and she never comes back, the humans will pay in so much blood.

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of-the-owls

Finding Westcrown is harder than getting elected but easier than convincing Rokoa Initida to let her go. She has to ask for directions several times. Some humans see a descending strix and reach for their weapons; some are just confused. Liushna only lands near the confused ones.

Eventually, though, she finds the city, and...does not know where the convention is within it.

Well. If she can't make it through the city, at all, then her plan is probably doomed, so she should try to do it.

of-the-owls

She lands on the side of the city nearer the water, so she's slightly less surrounded if people do decide to pull weapons on her.

She may notice that the wingless people in this cluster of buildings are significantly smaller than the rest of the city.

She may also notice that someone calls a name in through a door, and one of them comes out while the rest hide inside. He's middle-aged, mostly expressionless, and has an unsubtle glowing armband that looks like a bunch of runes.

"Hello, ma'am," he says carefully, "May I ask why you're here?"

He is absolutely poised to turn and run before she can try to grab him in her talons, but he's Chelish, she might not notice.

of-the-owls

Are these human children? She hopes she isn't scaring children.

"Am Liushna, tribe Windwhip, the Itarii. Elected of the Itarii for delegate to Constitutional Convention. Not know where Constitutional Convention."

"Ah. I did not know they let... the Itarii... elect delegates. It can't hurt to have a few more who aren't human. You want the big ornate building... Or, have you been in a town before?"

of-the-owls

"Find Westcrown today. Ask directions. Humans in town, more no weapons. Humans not in town, more weapons. Not land ask directions when weapons."

"Right. I had better show you the way. They'll pay you daily, while you're here; may I have one-tenth of the first day's coin, for guiding you?"

Grossly overcharge a rural rube? Tibex? Never!

of-the-owls

"Coin is what?"

"Coin is money; money is what you trade to get things you need you can't hunt or gather yourself. Food, clothing, a room to stay in."

of-the-owls

She puzzles this over.

"Has tribe, for what can't do. Tribes trade; food for weapons, weapons for clothing, clothing for spells. Not know word, 'money.' What is 'a room to stay in'?"

"Money is..." Tibex has read a little from Abadarans, he can explain this, right? "...Like something everyone wants to trade for. So you can trade food for money with one person, and then money for clothing with another person, and you don't have to find someone who needs your food and has your clothing."

"A room is... I guess you'd just need a perch? A nest? There are many people in not much space, so most places are full and you need to trade with someone to be able to rest there."

of-the-owls

"...Towns crowded," she acknowledges. Okay, so: for attending the convention, she will be given a Generic Trade Good, and this person who may or may not be a child wants a portion of it for helping her, since they are not the same tribe.

Fair enough.

"One tenth is--two is one tenth twenty, three is one tenth thirty?" she double checks, because she's not going to promise him a fraction of her Trade Good only to discover she accidentally promised him ten Trade Goods.

"Yes, that's right."

of-the-owls

"Get ten, give one," she agrees. "Thank for helping."

"Of course. Wait one moment while I tell my friends I am not in danger."

Well, that he thinks he's not in danger.

of-the-owls

"Will wait."

"Great," he says, and ducks back into the doorway. After a quiet conversation, he returns outside and nods to Liushna.

"They're reassured. We want to go north to the end of the island, near the palace. I can show you the way."

of-the-owls

Nod nod. She'll follow him, then.

"I've heard some stories about the convention," he says, "Why did you choose to join it?"

of-the-owls

"People in towns near home say, bad men gone, new human Queen." She's pretty sure "Queen" means "Rokoa." "They say, constitutional convention supposed to say how humans act. They say, crazy Galtan idea everyone in Cheliax gets a voice. We are in Cheliax. Long long time ago, human queen* make peace with Itarii. Then humans changed, started attacking. Want new peace. Elders not think it work but Liushna tribe queen say Liushna can go, and all who vote for all tribes vote for Liushna, because Liushna run unopposed."

*Liushna is not really clear on humans having male rulers.