Lenera stood up, her back aching from picking the last of the Tiflro, “blue buckwheat”, as it was later called by the foreign people. She looked around at the mists eerily lying on the meadows of grain, hiding between the ancient trees of the Great Forest which led to the Ktreya Lake, and, weirdest of all, around the eleven village houses which made up Tvarnaer’. Involuntarily, Lenera shuddered.

In Rhetia, the year was 1001. One-thousand and one years since the days of the first Queen, Queen Marlinesa. Narsel was the season; the frost would come soon, maybe tonight. Lenera could feel it in the air. Tvarnaer’ was tucked into the mountains. The sun set earlier there than in other parts of the island-not only the steep mountain to the west, but also the volcano Isvar blocked the sun.

Also resting, Lenera’s twelve-year-old cousin Tlinie said, “I hope the sun will set soon. I’m tired.”

“So am I,” Lenera agreed, shaking back her long brown curls. Tlinie had ribbons braided into her hair, which was only a shade lighter than her cousin’s. “But, at least, tomorrow is Nar Lrines.”

“I envy Norda, even though she cannot celebrate with the rest of us tomorrow night,” Tlinie said in her calm, even voice. Norda was the only Tvarnaeren competing in the big Sraesel competition.

“Next year, we’ll train harder,” Lenera comforted her cousin. The sun was a golden red over Mount Isvar’s peak. The girls’ grandmother, a strict old woman, walked by, shot the them a glance. Hastily, Lenera and Tlinie bent back down to continue harvesting.

Tlinie continued: “It’s not fair. Norda doesn’t help her family much, so she has more time to practice than we do.” Most of the Tvarnaeren were farmers, in a sense, but not Norda’s family. Instead, they were metalworkers. Lenera’s family traded grains, squashes, maple syrup, nuts, and fruits for their shovels, metal containers, and vanities like jewelry. Greens and root vegetables had never been domesticated by the Rhetians. Greens were eaten right off the plant, as were most fruits. Each family found and gathered their root vegetables. It was not worth it to trade them for anything; at the time, the rich Rhetian land provided everything the people of Tvarnaer’ needed.

 

After the excitement of Nar Lrines, most of the Tvarnaeren walked to Yahvsi Isvar, where the competition was held. Lenera gossiped with Tlinie, her nine-year-old cousin Saria, and several friends.

“Look at Norda-eleven and being carried!” ‘Tika, who was ten and the fastest runner in the village, said a little loudly. Norda did not seem to have heard, though.

“I’m not going to cheer for her,” Nari, another friend of Lenera’s, said assertively.

Lenera’s mother had called Nari a spoiled brat the other day when they were discussing clothing. Nari wore only clothes made from expensive Lilia Qosarlan fiber. Lenera had hoped for her Holiday dress to be made from this soft wool-after all, she would be Turning twelve-but her parents had refused.

“That’s not nice, though,” Tlinie said staunchly to Nari. “We should cheer for everyone. Especially Norda, seeing as she is from our village.”

“You do that, then,” Nari shrugged.

“I’ll cheer, but I won’t mean it,” Lenera said.

“Same here,” ‘Tika stated.

“I wish I could stay home,” Saria said, whining. The other girls glanced at each other, except Tlinie, who gave Saria her hand. The road was rough, with sharp stones which pierced the girls’ feet, even though their shoes made of knitted Qosarlan fiber stuffed with hay. The path was steep, as well. Lenera breathed out, watching her breath float in midair. She was tired from all the craziness of the night before, but she felt exhilarated as well, whether from the annual visit to the capital city, from the cold air, or from walking with her friends, she did not know.

They reached the city two days later. Norda stretched and practiced wherever she could every day. Lenera and her friends played games, such as chasing each other around, trying to find a certain colored bird, or trying to remember the name of each village that they passed. Most were smaller than Tvarnaer’, but not all. Some of the boys wanted to join in, but the girls wouldn’t let them. “Ha! You have no memory, Yraln!” Nari yelled to Saria’s older brother when he told them that he knew the name of every single village that they passed.

“Yraln likes you,” Saria said to Nari, who pretended not to hear.

“He’s ugly,” ‘Tika said. “Only my boy cousins are uglier.” Lenera was glad that none of the grown-ups were around.

Yahvsin Tevoe was very crowded. People were selling goods everywhere. Even though they’d brought their own food-as well as plenty to sell-Lenera’s grandmother traded two shawls for some pastries. Lenera and Tlinie shared one. They thanked their grandmother for getting the special treat.

The Tvarnaeren grown-ups found a place to set up and trade. All the children who were over six were allowed to go run down to the beach. Most of them were; the little children had stayed home with their mothers. Those who were sick, like Norda’s cousin Tvana, or hurt, like ‘Tika’s little brother (who had twisted his arm funny several days before when he fell out of the tree he was picking fruit from), or too old to walk that far, like Nwaryee (honored “grandmother”) Rarililina, the village leader’s mother, stayed home as well. Lenera felt sad for them, as the harvest festival was so much fun.

The bay where the girls went was crowded. Only the bravest girls were swimming in the cold water. Lenera stuck a finger in one of the waves, but that was it. Most if the Isvartoin beaches were filled with sharp black rocks. At this one, only the path was. The Aza girls would have taken their shoes off if the legs of their short clothes weren’t sewn up at the bottom. Some of the other girls at the beach were able to pull up their leggings and wade. Lenera didn’t care too much; the fun of being at the beach came from watching the waves roll in and out.

Eventually, it was time to find the grown-ups and eat lunch, which consisted of cooked Srevo, baked squash pieces, and greens from a nearby field. Lenera held her hands over the fire and looked around. How crowded the place was! And how smoky the air was-there was at least one fire for every three or four families. Saria was coughing a lot.

After lunch, the children rested in the shade. The sun, bright and warm, shone harshly down on the many meadows.

Suddenly, Lenera could hear singing-not the ordinary kind, but instead the special celebratory kind which only could mean one thing: the Queen was coming. Quickly, Lenera got to her feet. So did the rest of the people around her. Lenera tried to creep closer to the road, but too many of the faster people blocked her.

First, the Senators and Island Chiefs walked slowly past them, greeting everybody and singing. They were followed by the Elders, most of them Isvartoi Island Elders.

After them came Queen Aralina.

The Queen was young and beautiful. She was, of course, far older than Lenera, but she was young in relative terms. She had brown hair, the fine, light-medium color which was a requirement for beauty in Rhetia. Her clothes were dyed a brilliant blue; this was a color that made people both gasp with awe and envy at the skill of the dyer. Thick embroidery covered the entire top of the dress; not just the front, like most dresses, but also the back. The skirt had embroidery around it as well. Lenera wondered how long it had taken to make the dress, just as she had wondered every year.

Walking beside Queen Aralina was her eldest daughter, Princess Greesatina. The little girl was wearing a pale pink dress and holding onto her mother’s hand. Her dress was embroidered as well, although not as much as the Queen’s, since she would soon grow out of it. Greesatina waved to all the people. Lenera felt an awful wave of envy as she pictured herself in the scrawny little seven-year-old’s place, staring at the hundreds-no thousands, a number incomprehensible-of people with their hands out and palms up to show respect.

How proud the tiny girl looked. And yet she might never be queen. Her grandmother, who had died several years before, had never been. Greesatina’s great-grandmother had died of old age not long after she was born.

All this passed through Lenera’s mind in an instant. She immediately felt ashamed of herself. Lenera made up with her conscience by smiling happily at the Queen and Princess and singing louder.

Too soon, all of the important people had walked out of view. Lenera and dozens of other children played games and explored until nightfall. All of them were glad to have lots of new friends to play with.

Supper was only “camp food”-everyday bread cooked over the fire with a sauce of hot berries and water. Those who were still hungry are nuts. Norda went to bed early.

All of the people who were visiting could either pay to sleep in people’s houses, or they could stay for free inside the large caves that were in the far north end of the city. The Tvarnaeren elected to do the latter. Lenera, her mother, and her little sister found a space inside the women’s caves.

“Mind you remember where we are, in case you need to go to the bathroom in the night,” Lenera’s mother reminded her.

“How will I see?” Lenera asked. There was a constant murmur of voices.

“There will be a candle on all night, with the grown-up women who do not have any young ones to tend taking turns watching it. Now, shake your blanket out a little better.”

After they had claimed their spots, Lenera, her mother, and Lili went to the area used as a bathroom during the Harvest Festival. Lenera’s mother then helped little Lili to go. Lili, who was only five, did not like to be around all of those people. Then, the three waited in line for a bucket of water to splash over their hands. As she waited, Lenera tried not to breathe too much-this place, downwind from all human settlements nearby, was very stinky.

The smoke from the many candles did not make the cave much pleasanter-smelling. Rhetian candles were made from plants found only on that island of Lilia. They were also difficult to make, so the Tvarnaeren only used them on special occasions. At the Harvest Festival, the Chief of each island gave gifts to the people who attended. The Chief of Lilia gave candles; the Chief of Buarvige supplied the food; and the Chief of Isvartoi organized the Sraesel competition and the feast that followed it.

Lenera had learned all of this when she had been quite young. Lili had already learned most of this. It was important to know where everything came from, so that one could thank the proper Island. At the end of the feast, ten random people would be asked to each thank a Chief from a different Island. The people chosen would usually be children. It was a great honor to be chosen to speak in front of so many people. Lenera didn’t sleep much that night; the room was too smoky and bright. Although everyone tried to be quiet, there were constant noises.

In the morning, a young woman discovered that she was missing an earring. She was a herder, as Lenera could see from her face. The three Azas had slept nearby her, so they were the first ones she accused of stealing her earring. “You took the earring, right?” She asked in a Buarvige accent.

“No, ma’am, I did not,” Lenera’s mother replied calmly. “Perhaps you misplaced it.” Then, to Lenera, she said: “Find Lili’s dress for me, will you?”

Lenera searched in the bag that the Azas had brought for Lili’s bright green dress. Then, Lenera found her prettiest dress-a blue and green multicolored one. Her mother’s dress was light purple. Everyone wore light grey short clothes. The Sraeselen would change right before their age group’s turn to compete.

The Buarvige woman eventually found her earring on the dress that she’d won the day before. Another woman who had been accused of stealing the earring said, “We Isvartoi people are honest. We also do not accuse. Perhaps, you have learned that now, ma’am?”

The young woman grumbled. “Manners, now.” The Isvartoi woman said. Then, to Lenera’s family, she said: “Perhaps we put her blanket outside?”

“No, it is too cold out to be that cruel. I am sure that Mrs. lya Buarvige knows better now.”

Breakfast was “camp food” again. Then, the Tvarnaeren hurried to the Stadium. They put their gifts for the poor in the proper piles-there was one for blankets, another for grains, another for dried fruits, and a fourth for tools of any sort. Lastly, they joined the crowd that was filing into the huge stadium. After they had found a good spot, they said: “For the Rhetians who built this place, I am very thankful,” before they sat. All of a sudden, Lenera remembered that the Tvarnaeren had not done their morning ritual. She started to say something, then remembered that Queen Aralina would welcome the sun.

The sun was well on its way up the sky before everyone had found a spot. The crowd began to sing the celebratory song as the Queen and all the other Rhetian dignitaries and their families entered the Stadium. They circled the Stadium once; then, everyone except the Queen found a spot. The important Rhetians, including little Greesatina, sat in the first row.

Queen Aralina stood in the center of the stadium, facing the sun. In a calm but powerful voice, she spoke to her people. “Rhetians, please stand and face the sun that will shine over this day of athletic competition. I also ask that you pay your fair taxes by tomorrow morning, as cheating the country is known to Rhetia if not to me. If there is one day when you can be good, let today be that day. Take an example from the sun, and shine in another’s happiness. And, athletes, remember that it is an honor to perform in front of this great crowd, more so than it is to be thought best or next best. Everyone shall do their best in their job of today, sun, so do not leave us-today, will be interesting, of that I am sure. Now, we Rhetians shall all take a moment of silence.”

Lenera could only hear the quiet rustle of the wind through everyone’s skirts. The sky was beautiful, but the smell of other people was overpowering.

“Now, I, Queen of Rhetia, Aralina lya Rhetia, ask the athletes to come down to the center.” Norda carefully walked down the hill. A large group of girls formed a circle around Queen Aralina within a few short minutes. “The 14-and 15-year olds are first, followed by the 12-and 13-year olds, followed by the 16-and 17-year olds, followed by the 11-and-unders. Good luck!”

The girls in the first group went to a little building on the side of the field to change. Each one took her turn performing her routine, following the protocols that had been set long before.

First, each girl introduced herself while facing Queen Aralina. Then, each girl got into her starting position, facing the judges. As she performed her routine, each girl hummed her music. Immediately after she had completed her routine, the crowd broke out in cheers. The judges talked amongst themselves while that girl walked to the stands and the next one walked out.

As soon as each age group finished, the next one started. The competition continued throughout the morning and part of the afternoon; Lenera and the rest of the Tvarnaeren are snacks. Norda was one of the last few Sraeselen to compete; despite the long wait, she did well.

Lenera enjoyed watching the competition. She and Tlinie talked softly about their plans for adding some of the new moves they saw into their own routines.

At the end of the competition, all of the participants received a small metal object with the word Sraesel on it. The winner’s was larger and fancier; so was the runner-up’s. Norda was a runner-up in her age group, so she proudly showed the Tvarnaeren her plaque before the feast.

There were so many different and delicious foods to be made! Lenera and the other Tvarnaeren girls helped the women to make various dishes. Lenera stirred a pot of pudding over a hot, smoky fire. Norda and ‘Tika went with a bunch of other girls to find more wood for all of the fires. Saria, who was coughing a lot, helped to grind up some roots for spices. Nari (thirteen) and Riri (eight) were in charge of checking several dozen grain pots. Tlinie was helping an old woman from the village of Ki Nari, in southern central Isvartoi, make “seaweed salad”. Lenera wished that she was closer so that she could hear the stories that the old woman was telling to Tlinie and a couple other girls.

Six-year-old Tvana and seven-year-old Aireya were playing tag with several other young children from other villages. (Lili and most of the very young children were playing games in an empty field far from the cook-fires; the men and Nwaryee Alina were paying taxes in the form of Tvarnaer’ goods.) One of the girls, a seven-year-old from a village on Cirsao Mountain (in Buarvige), tripped and fell into the fire.

Immediately, the girls’ mothers scolded them. Lenera’s mother pulled the little girl out of the fire. Her hands and face were badly burnt. She seemed to have fainted, too.

Someone found the girl’s aunt, a relatively young, flighty woman who started crying and carrying on. “Hush,” said the old woman of Ki Nari. “You do no good, ma’am. You are not to blame. You will do much good if you go find Nwaryee Ralina lya Ae-iz-a(k)t. She knows a lot about burns and such.”

The hysterical young woman did as she was told. During this time, Lenera stirred the pudding, seemingly both tireless and focused. This was just an act, though; Lenera felt terribly concerned for the poor little girl. She was crying now, her cries of pain sounding just like a bird when a fox chooses it as a meal, or when a Konala (type of cat) plays with its prey.

Nwaryee Ralina slowly walked behind the girl’s aunt. She looked at the small girl and immediately sized up the situation. Lenera watched Nwaryee Ralina through the corners of her eyes. She was very, very old, maybe around ninety. Lenera had never seen anyone so old. Her fingers trembled as she placed a powder on the girl’s burns. Then, from the same cook-fire that the girl had fallen into, Nwaryee Ralina slowly healed a mixture of clarified nectar and salt. Then, she put a small pot of dried herbs into the fire. These she burnt and then mixed with the nectar-and-salt.

“Now, you drink this, you young one,” Nwaryee said to the little girl. Lenera herself tried not to make a face as she thought of how disgusting the mixture must taste. The little girl looked disgusted but drank it anyway since several grown-ups were surrounding her, including her aunt.

Lastly, Nwaryee Ralina spread sap on the girl’s burns and told her. “Wait until sundown (about ten minutes from then) to drink. Do not drink too much at any one time, but drink frequently. You must fast until not tomorrow, but the next morning. Then you must only eat sweet things-fruits, too. For lunch, you may have a bit of bread as well, but nothing else until the third day.

“Do not wash yourself until tomorrow morning. After you wash your burns, cover them in slightly-warm melted candle wax. Otherwise, the skin will turn green and brown and stinky, and you could die. Once the skin is purple and healthy, you need not cover it in wax.

“Be sure not to cry or get any other unclean substance on your burns. Only use clear, fresh water-no ocean water-to wash yourself. White snow may be used as well, cold if you do not mind it, but melted is fine. Do not bathe too often, but be sure that your burns are clean at all times. With luck, not a person will be able to tell after next summer.”

Lenera listened with awe. So many things for the little girl to do or not do! Yet, if she healed completely, that would be a miracle. Lenera’s aunt had a terribly large mark on her left arm from falling over a candle as a small child. Many other young children-and even older children and adults, too-had died from burns, Lenera knew. Diseases killed many more, like Lenera’s older sister Roresa, who had died when Lenera was just seven.

But this was the Harvest Festival, a joyous occasion. The pudding was soon finished, so Lenera went to get water. Nearly all of the delicious special-occasion dishes were complete.

The Tvarnaeren sat together for dinner. Lenera and Tlinie tried a little bit of as many different foods as they could, but they were full before they had visited every grouping of dishes.

Queen Aralina and her daughter were somewhere in the huge group of people eating dinner, but Lenera did not see them until everyone had finished eating and was cleaning up. She was telling all her people to sing a special song. More songs, some of them dancing tunes, followed. Lenera and Tlinie danced together while Aireya showed Lili and Tvana some steps. Nwaryee Alina’s eldest daughter was dancing with a boy from another village, Nari informed everyone.

“Oh, soon that will be you,” ‘Tika said, giggling.

Nari looked offended. Ten-year-old Calina, a shy girl who was Nwaryee Alina’s younger daughter, asked Nari, “Can you take me to see the musicians? I’m too young to go that far by myself.”

“Of course,” Calina said, smiling again. After all, one should put aside hard feelings on holidays and only be merry.

It was late before bedtime came. Lenera’s ears were not aware of when the music stopped; they thought the beat kept on until the next morning. Harvest Festival 1001 was over.