Salme @ Zaedulf

Hi Zaedulf,

I hope you’re getting the hang of the tomestone. Let me know if you have any questions; I’m happy to answer anything you’d like (or if you want to ask directly, people will respond publicly in the other sections of the Linkpearl. This is just for 1-to-1 communication.

I had a couple more questions about Annarr that I was wondering if you could help me with? First, what was his Clan? And second, do you know where he came from before he arrived in Queenstown?

And I guess, more abstractly, do you have any more stories about him? About things he made or discovered, or helped you make or discover?

Whoever designed this thing didn’t have paws, but I’m making it work! Lots of real eye-opening stuff to read that I would have never have imagined could exist out there. Thank you for inviting me to share in your work!

Annarr came to us from far away. He didn’t talk about his birth-clan much - I know they were the Nilsarlagtan, a clan from the Reach, who named themselves after the Nilsarlag they hunted - think ‘huge purple yak that hates you and wants you dead’ and you’ll be in the right neighborhood. I’ve never met any of them, myself, although I’ve worked with Nilsarlag pelt and bone before, so I suppose I’ve held hands with them across the great chain of monster-hunting once or twice.

I know he had plans about what his own Clan would be like, but they were the kind of plans you sketch out and keep in the notebook for when they’re relevant, and that hadn’t happened for him yet, exactly. Had clan names picked out, though. I remember Midra had his heart set on ‘Clan Wildfire’, but I can’t for the life of me remember what the other ones were.

You’re welcome! I do have a stylus I can give you if it’s easier. I like to use one to write library notes. We’ve encountered a couple people struggling with the interface—Wolf’s apprentice Izaak has very, very large hands—and that maybe requires some room for improvement too.

Anyway, I think we’re headed toward the reach. I might see what I can dig up about Annarr from Clan Nilsarlagtan.

Does that mean … I don’t quite understand how clans work on the Beast, but did he not have one growing up?

We … found the notebook. “Wildfire” and “Wallflower” were the ones that stuck out to Aurelius. We. I guess maybe do need a Clan name?

Were … was Midra going to start a clan with Annarr? Were they. Hm. There’s no way to ask this question without sounding weird, so here goes: Were they together? It sounds like they were really close.

Let me answer your questions in order, as best as I can.

You’re born into a Clan, here - for example, Clan Vysokvetr’s generations old at this point, and there’s lots of us who were born into the clan and then stayed in the clan our whole lives. There are others who came to the clan, either following someone else, or joining because they figured out that Vysokvetr and they were heading in the same direction in life. Then, some people who are born into the clan end up joining another one at some point in their lives - either starting a new one entirely with some people, or following a friend or a beloved to their own.

In Annarr’s case, he was born of Clan Nilsarlagtan, but I don’t think he felt particularly close to them. I think - reading between the lines - that his parents had both been killed by a fiend when he was very young, and so he was raised communally by the Clan - this happens more often out in the Reach. He wrote back occasionally to tell them how his life was going, it’s not like there was bad blood there or anything? They were far, and he was here, and it’s where he wanted to be.

So when it came to clans, he was planning on starting his own. And… ach. Midra loved Annarr very fiercely, Salme. When Annarr vanished, he was one of the first ones the Queen told. And she expressly forbid him from trying to chase after him, before you ask. Said nothing good would come of it, and told him to use his grief to rebuild Vysokvetr. And he has been, and I’m proud of him. They– Midra would have walked hot coals for Annarr, if he thought it’d make him smile, but as we’ve talked about, Annarr wasn’t the kind of person to go in for anyone walking hot coals on his behalf, and– relatively early on Midra came to understand that things were never going to be the way he’d have liked them to have been, between the two of them, but he was still going to be a part of Annarr’s clan and Annarr’s life in some way, shape, or form.

All of which is to say, I’ll write Midra, and get -him- to tell some stories about Annarr, for you. I’m not sure when he’ll get to it, but I know he’d love the opportunity.

Did he ever tell you why he wanted to come to Queenstown? (That does make sense. I too was raised communally by my village for some time before I left for the capital of Almachadta. Different circumstances, but I understand it a little. Which is where I suppose I must be extra cautious to not map my own experiences onto his).

As for Midra I—understand, I think. It seems like Annarr inspired a lot of admiration and loyalty wherever he went. Seems also like things never quite aligned for him in ways that … leaves a lot of things weird and unsettled, I think. Midra sounds like a good guy. I’d treasure any stories he had to tell, and if he’d ever like to talk I’d be happy to listen.

You know, he never did tell me. There were lines I could read between, though - he wanted to be where people were, where advances were being made in forgecraft, where the Queen and her Castle were, where he could challenge her, challenge himself. I don’t think he ever would have been satisfied with a life hunting nilsarlag and whatever fiends passed their way, as much joy as he does take in the hunt.

You’re very perceptive, aren’t you, Zaedulf? Are you also watched by the Golden Lion? I could very much see it.

Sometimes I think of what it might have been like to have stayed in my village, to have become a weaver instead of what I did become. I don’t think I would have been satisfied either. Again, I am taking care not to map my own experiences, or my perception of Aurelius, onto Annarr, I think I can at least understand the general shape of such a feeling.

Thank you.

Hah, I’ll take and appreciate the compliment! Although, I don’t know what stars are watching me, I’ve never put too much stock in it. Anything that far away is nice to look at, and if it’s watching me I hope it’s having a grand time of it, but I can’t see myself reaching out and touching one any time soon, so it’s never been something I put too much thought into, myself. Not to say that there’s anything wrong with caring about that sort of thing. Stars know there’ve been enough odd ideas I’ve chased after that everyone looked at me funny for, I’m not one to assume anything couldn’t be relevant data.

Anyways, glad I could help!

You know, it probably doesn’t matter too much to most people. I’m watched by the Duelist’s Mask, and it does feel ever-present and quite heavy for me, but I carry an … artifact that has a bit of the Duelist’s Mask’s consciousness inside it, and anyone who carries this artifact is watched by the Duelist’s Mask. I’ve actually spoken with the constellation (it’s archived in the library of you’re curious) but it was less illuminating than one might think! Which is to say I appreciate your perspective. I think I’ve spent so much time among weird metaphysical bullshit that sometimes I forget not everyone is staring at the stars and wondering what they think.

Hm. Actually, do you have any experience handling artifacts or could you point me to someone who does? I’ve spoken extensively with Samudran scholars about my artifact but I wonder if someone on the Beast might offer a different perspective.

Did you just imply that the constellations are… conscious? I’m going to find the relevant Library entry and read it thoroughly and then… have several things to think about, I imagine! Perhaps I should have been considering the constellations and their influence more than I previously had been!

They are conscious, though I’m not sure how much influence they exert. You can read the relevant folio here, under Speaking With Constellations. The Duelist’s Mask seemed fairly hands-off. I’ve not been able to speak to any of the others, but of course, I am not watched by any of the others.

…now I just want to build a radio big enough to get their attention. I probably oughtn’t do that, though.

I think that’s an absolutely wonderful idea, especially since you’re already looking at that radio project with Aury’s notes.

See, this is why I like you.