The Munams all wore a sort of close fitting frock, a plain colored one
piece suit that displayed their practicality and modesty. It is a hobby
of mine to observe the clothing worn by different groups of people and
compare it to their characteristics. As I have said before, clothes do
not make the man, but the man certainly makes the clothes, and it is
possible to judge a person's character by the type of attire that they
wear, in that it is an expression of their tastes. The Munams were shown
by their clothing to be a very friendly people, for their frocks were
hung gently about the body in a manner that was at once both carefree
and conservative. This is perfectly analogous to their personalities.
When we came down through the center street, which was really the whole
city, for there were no other roads, the people rushed out to meet us,
and when they were told that it was the White Eagle, they began to dance
joyously about in the streets. There was laughter and play going on all
at once, and it was like a great burden lifted from my heart to see them
rejoicing, for it almost reconciled their sufferings with the Zard's and
Canitaur's ease of life, in that they seemed to be much more happy, in
spite of the circumstances.
Ramma gave a short speech to the people, in which he detailed the
prophecy and its fulfillment and, in general, encouraged everyone to
hope for what was to come. When it was over, he and I retired to his
home, which was rather larger than the others and formed its own
semi-circle, containing as it did both his private quarters and the
official offices of the government, which, while extremely limited in
number, were well outfitted. The door of this building opened into a
short hallway that had several doors adjacent to it. He led me down
one of these and it proved to be a dining hall, though it was not as
commodious as most, with only a round wooden table with a few chairs
around it and some cupboards and cabinets.
Pulling my chair out for me to sit in, Ramma went through all the normal
duties of host with great ease, and within a few moments we were eating
heartily from a great dish of boiled potatoes that had been brought in
by a servant, or rather, a deputy minister of state, for such was his
title. We did little talking before we ate, because I was greatly
famished and as such was ill-inclined to be jovial, not that I was
sullen, but I found it hard to be completely relaxed without a full
stomach. Yet when that was remedied and I found myself satisfied and
comfortable in a warm dwelling, I opened up to Ramma and we had a long
and entertaining discussion, some of which I will record here, as it
shines a little more light upon the mysteries of my story:
"So, my dear Jehu," Ramma began, "I trust your stay on Daem has so far
been enjoyable."
I chuckled quietly and told him, "No, not entirely, for there is a war
afoot on Daem, or at least there seemed to be, and it made quite a bit
of trouble for me."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account