Story of Keshen

19th day of Anama, 3301, Written by Makshi Udian

Today marked the arrival of the first of the Enyes caravans. Their wagons did not seem organized in a way familiar to anyone of our people, with trinkets mixed with clothing mixed with food-stuffs. I spoke to one merchant of their ranks, who introduced himself as Haradon. Intending to learn more about their language, I brought a tablet of clay with which to write what I heard. Haradon seemed interested in this tablet, his lack of understanding of the concept of writing indicating that their culture does not use the written word to record information.

He eventually understood my intentions, however, and began introducing a number of items to me. The first was what he called a vez, a clear blue stone I presume to be a type of sapphire. He described it as being made by hand and kept using the word enin (the word is difficult to transcribe, as the sounds do not appear in our own language), which according to the raven translator he brought meant “health.” I presume this word meant that the stone had some healing properties. Such a belief would be precedented, as the Enyesem seem to have a belief in sorcery, as shown by their insistence on performing rituals on our settlement.

Haradon mentioned that hoards of such “magic” stones exist, scattered across the land, though says they were cursed by ancient sorcerers long ago. These hordes also remain guarded by creatures the raven translated as “eagle-monsters” (akaroyn). Were it not for our grand prince’s alleged encounter with some similar fantastic creatures, I would easily dismiss this story as a fairy tale. However, since such stories exist, I must concede that it may be possible, however unlikely, that there are eagle-like monsters that guard something in this land, regardless of any supposed curses.

The next item he presented was a tunic made of odd fabric. It was not wool, cotton, linen silk or any other type of cloth I was familiar with, instead something the raven translated as “wood-fiber.” Haradon did not seem to understand my confusion when I questioned him about the so-called wood-fiber, as he apparently thought it obvious how one could take a tree and process it into a tunic as though it were linen. He, through his raven, did explain that they have some strange class of craftsmen who are able to do so (which he named itinde), however, growing more annoyed with me after each question. I do not know if their idea of processing wood into fabric comes from a similar place to their belief in magic, but I still doubt such a power exists.

Then Haradon showed me a sack of poultices. He said that when damp, the herbs within them would treat wounds by cleaning them and absorbing the blood. This, unlike the other materials I saw, is familiar to me. Our own doctors and priests possess creams made with herbs that perform similar functions.

After the poultices, he showed me something more simple: a tea diffuser. This was a sack made of simple linen that he said could be filled again with herbs for making tea. He did say that, like the vez, the teas made with this pouch have magical properties, bringing pain relief for the drinker. He was again annoyed when I inquired further, likely not wanting his beliefs challenged, so I did not ask too many questions.

Lastly, there were a set of iron tools: shears, knives, pots, pans and more. The make of them was unique, however, appearing more like hand-molded clay than metal. When I asked about this, he laughed and said simply that they are not pottery, demonstrating by hitting one of the pots with a hammer hard enough to break anything made of clay. He did refer to them as hand-crafted, however, like the vez from before, which he said was the cause of the texture. When I asked, he said that there was another class of craftsmen, though the translation made it unclear as to whether it was in fact a different class or if they were the same, like those that made the wood-fabric. These people, according to Haradon, could supposedly shape hardened steel without tools or heating. He seemed particularly proud of this, claiming his father was one such craftsman, but I remain unconvinced.

We parted when the wagon was emptied by eager Mitzianga who were interested in the products Haradon’s wagon contained, with Haradon giving a good-bye in his native language, which was translated through the raven. The caravan remained at our settlement overnight, the accompanying riders and merchants not wanting to brave the wilderness in the dark. They shared their foods with us: meats, vegetables and fruits, ate our food, slept in their own tents pitched in our roads, and left at first light.