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<blockquote data-quote="Feir Fireb" data-source="post: 4800375" data-attributes="member: 14074"><p><strong>Excerpt from "The Unscholarly Journals of Darren the Senalline": The Floating Gardens</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>CHANG LED US</strong> further and further away from the Palace gate, not across the heart which contains the halls, offices and quarters of the Imperial Family and its most immediate servants but rather through room after room and hall after hall of slave quarters set into the interior of the outer wall of the Palace. In the East Wing he finally brought us our own quarters -- the first quarters we had had since the cages. Our beds were simple wooden pallets, dressed with straw, in a small room shared by several other slaves of the East Wing. What does it mean that the innermost ring that circles the Palace, closer to the Imperial Household even than the priests, administrators and nobles, is a ring of slaves? Even one untrained in Xaimani philosophy should see in this very fact an upheaval in what the Xaimani would call the natural order of things. </p><p></p><p>Interrupting a moment's appraisal, Chang bade us follow him again. A little ways north through the hallways we came upon what Chang called the Garden Gate, through which we heard flowing water and gentle music that was intricate but strange to me. Past the many Spear Path soldiers on either side, it opened onto a sight more astonishing than any I had yet seen, even after the abundant wonders of Tziwan and the Palace. Here was a great walled courtyard that was open to the sky; though it was in the midst of artifice after artifice of Xaimani architecture, it was full of lush greenery of every kind. Everywhere that one could look, there were great topiary pieces, exquisitely shaped into great beasts such as dragons, lions and elephants. But the artistry did not end there, as the gardens also held intricate undulating geometric designs or more abstract pieces such as small trees shaped to evoke the image of clouds rolling down a mountain. A handful of slaves scattered throughout constantly but discreetly trimmed them.</p><p></p><p>There was also small greenery in abundance, with mosses and grasses flanking the carved pathways, ivy upon the walls and a riot of flowers everywhere that hung with unnatural grace. And such flowers! There were delicate exoticisms of every kind, orchids and strange flaring orange blossoms that look like small birds hovering in mid-flight, and others for which I still do not know the names. Most are unknown to the North and many are rare even in the jungles of lush Xaiman. </p><p></p><p>As I took all of the greenery in, I noticed that not only did small streams flow through this part of the Palace, filled with smooth stones and dotted with lily pads to provide a facade of natural beauty, but large sections of the garden were not set upon the Palace floor itself. They were planted upon great metal discs that gradually curve upwards at the edges, rising out of the water like shallow bowls and floating upon the water itself like great delicate boats in such a way I thought impossible for such a mass of material that was not wooden. And what's more, some of the streams actually flowed <em>uphill</em>. I thought this a clever optical illusion at first, but some time later when I had a chance to examine the water more closely found this not to be the case. Indeed, the water flowed uphill, and in such a way as was impossible for an ordinary pumping mechanism.</p><p></p><p>We walked through the gardens and I saw that it was impossible to move more than a few yards without coming upon a music box upon a beautifully carved pedestal that would be a piece of art in itself did not one immediately compare it to the music box upon it. I had made one or two such mechanical devices myself as a youth in Rim Square, but they were quaint little contraptions of tin and pine from rough pieces such as could be easily found in a small village at little cost. These were carved of ivory and jade, or of rare woods in such fine detail they needed no adornment of jewelry. A pair of slaves scurried from pedestal to pedestal, keeping the boxes wound and the garden awash in music, anxiously eyeing the gate for members of the Imperial Household for whose enjoyment this garden existed. </p><p></p><p>Further interspersed amongst the foliage and music boxes were what appeared to be grand animals: strange creatures lying on the ground, beauteous birds perched in the trees. As we passed what looked to be a great sleeping cat that occasionally emitted a strange, thudding purr, it stretched its legs, yawned like a small horn and sat back on its haunches, gazing unblinkingly forward. I started, but soon saw that this was no great beast but rather a most elaborate and realistic clockwork device, with fur of many thousand carefully dyed and stitched threads, great glass-and-jade eyes, and a carefully concealed but elegantly shaped metallic carcass. Indeed, all of the creatures of the garden were mechanical, from singing birds to elegant gazelles to the smaller versions of the most fantastic beings of Xaimani legend.</p><p></p><p><strong>IN THE MIDST</strong> of the garden stood a small, wrinkled old man, hunched over what would have appeared to be peacock -- were not the very real tailfeathers highlighted with tiny slivers of semiprecious gems, and the back and neck opened to reveal a fiendishly compact clockwork mechanism inside a wooden cavity. The old man, whose features I later learned to recognize as Szianar, wore the loincloth of a slave but had a conspicuous belt of varied tools at his side. He looked to be gingerly twisting a fastening tool in the peacock's innards until Chang announced, "Li Shotay, here is the Northerner of whom you have been advised." </p><p></p><p>Master Li gently raised his head and eyed me with curiosity. "So he is. I have been told you claim some skill with mechanical devices and clockwork such as can be found here in the Floating Gardens of the Emperor, the blessings of Heaven be upon him."</p><p></p><p>"I do," I replied, anxious not to let on that I had never handled anything even remotely as intricate as the devices in the Gardens.</p><p></p><p>"Good. I am in need of an assistant. To spite such skill as I have gained here, my hands begin to fail me in my old age. We shall want to get you up to speed quickly as the work here is unceasing and we wish to serve his Imperial Majesty without fail. Come, see how this warped spring has affected the components around it."</p><p></p><p>He bade me crane my head over the peacock, and if his hands were failing him I should have wondered what he was like in the prime of youth. His long, delicate fingers moved deftly and I had to rouse myself out of the reverie induced by the gardens in order to focus as he moved quickly from part to part, explaining their function.</p><p></p><p><strong>BEFORE LI SHOTAY</strong> had finished, Slavemaster Chang interrupted, "I have other errands to attend to and must finish with these two. Da-ren, you shall report to Li Shotay here after I have departed." And with that, we returned to our quarters. Chang resumed, brusque but matter-of-fact: "The guards know when you two are and are not supposed to leave. Any attempt to transgress your limits will result in castration. Further attempts will result in your mutilation and sale to the Unrefined Path." He then spent the better part of an hour instructing us in the various prostrations that were required of us for the various members of the Imperial Household and ensuring that we could demonstrate them to his satisfaction. </p><p></p><p>With that, he turned to Atrix. "As you know, it is to be your great privilege and honor to entertain the Emperor and his family, guests, and greater servants with tales and performances from your Northern Lands. By now the representative of the Harmonic Path should be ready to make you suitably presentable and inform you as to your expected behavior. You," he said, turning to me, "shall report to your duties without delay."</p><p></p><p>As Chang passed through the door and turned his back to us, Atrix gave me a wry, silent farewell with his eyebrows, an ironic smile and a quick nod of head. He then wheeled about and the two of them left me on my own.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Feir Fireb, post: 4800375, member: 14074"] [b]Excerpt from "The Unscholarly Journals of Darren the Senalline": The Floating Gardens[/b] [B]CHANG LED US[/B] further and further away from the Palace gate, not across the heart which contains the halls, offices and quarters of the Imperial Family and its most immediate servants but rather through room after room and hall after hall of slave quarters set into the interior of the outer wall of the Palace. In the East Wing he finally brought us our own quarters -- the first quarters we had had since the cages. Our beds were simple wooden pallets, dressed with straw, in a small room shared by several other slaves of the East Wing. What does it mean that the innermost ring that circles the Palace, closer to the Imperial Household even than the priests, administrators and nobles, is a ring of slaves? Even one untrained in Xaimani philosophy should see in this very fact an upheaval in what the Xaimani would call the natural order of things. Interrupting a moment's appraisal, Chang bade us follow him again. A little ways north through the hallways we came upon what Chang called the Garden Gate, through which we heard flowing water and gentle music that was intricate but strange to me. Past the many Spear Path soldiers on either side, it opened onto a sight more astonishing than any I had yet seen, even after the abundant wonders of Tziwan and the Palace. Here was a great walled courtyard that was open to the sky; though it was in the midst of artifice after artifice of Xaimani architecture, it was full of lush greenery of every kind. Everywhere that one could look, there were great topiary pieces, exquisitely shaped into great beasts such as dragons, lions and elephants. But the artistry did not end there, as the gardens also held intricate undulating geometric designs or more abstract pieces such as small trees shaped to evoke the image of clouds rolling down a mountain. A handful of slaves scattered throughout constantly but discreetly trimmed them. There was also small greenery in abundance, with mosses and grasses flanking the carved pathways, ivy upon the walls and a riot of flowers everywhere that hung with unnatural grace. And such flowers! There were delicate exoticisms of every kind, orchids and strange flaring orange blossoms that look like small birds hovering in mid-flight, and others for which I still do not know the names. Most are unknown to the North and many are rare even in the jungles of lush Xaiman. As I took all of the greenery in, I noticed that not only did small streams flow through this part of the Palace, filled with smooth stones and dotted with lily pads to provide a facade of natural beauty, but large sections of the garden were not set upon the Palace floor itself. They were planted upon great metal discs that gradually curve upwards at the edges, rising out of the water like shallow bowls and floating upon the water itself like great delicate boats in such a way I thought impossible for such a mass of material that was not wooden. And what's more, some of the streams actually flowed [I]uphill[/I]. I thought this a clever optical illusion at first, but some time later when I had a chance to examine the water more closely found this not to be the case. Indeed, the water flowed uphill, and in such a way as was impossible for an ordinary pumping mechanism. We walked through the gardens and I saw that it was impossible to move more than a few yards without coming upon a music box upon a beautifully carved pedestal that would be a piece of art in itself did not one immediately compare it to the music box upon it. I had made one or two such mechanical devices myself as a youth in Rim Square, but they were quaint little contraptions of tin and pine from rough pieces such as could be easily found in a small village at little cost. These were carved of ivory and jade, or of rare woods in such fine detail they needed no adornment of jewelry. A pair of slaves scurried from pedestal to pedestal, keeping the boxes wound and the garden awash in music, anxiously eyeing the gate for members of the Imperial Household for whose enjoyment this garden existed. Further interspersed amongst the foliage and music boxes were what appeared to be grand animals: strange creatures lying on the ground, beauteous birds perched in the trees. As we passed what looked to be a great sleeping cat that occasionally emitted a strange, thudding purr, it stretched its legs, yawned like a small horn and sat back on its haunches, gazing unblinkingly forward. I started, but soon saw that this was no great beast but rather a most elaborate and realistic clockwork device, with fur of many thousand carefully dyed and stitched threads, great glass-and-jade eyes, and a carefully concealed but elegantly shaped metallic carcass. Indeed, all of the creatures of the garden were mechanical, from singing birds to elegant gazelles to the smaller versions of the most fantastic beings of Xaimani legend. [B]IN THE MIDST[/B] of the garden stood a small, wrinkled old man, hunched over what would have appeared to be peacock -- were not the very real tailfeathers highlighted with tiny slivers of semiprecious gems, and the back and neck opened to reveal a fiendishly compact clockwork mechanism inside a wooden cavity. The old man, whose features I later learned to recognize as Szianar, wore the loincloth of a slave but had a conspicuous belt of varied tools at his side. He looked to be gingerly twisting a fastening tool in the peacock's innards until Chang announced, "Li Shotay, here is the Northerner of whom you have been advised." Master Li gently raised his head and eyed me with curiosity. "So he is. I have been told you claim some skill with mechanical devices and clockwork such as can be found here in the Floating Gardens of the Emperor, the blessings of Heaven be upon him." "I do," I replied, anxious not to let on that I had never handled anything even remotely as intricate as the devices in the Gardens. "Good. I am in need of an assistant. To spite such skill as I have gained here, my hands begin to fail me in my old age. We shall want to get you up to speed quickly as the work here is unceasing and we wish to serve his Imperial Majesty without fail. Come, see how this warped spring has affected the components around it." He bade me crane my head over the peacock, and if his hands were failing him I should have wondered what he was like in the prime of youth. His long, delicate fingers moved deftly and I had to rouse myself out of the reverie induced by the gardens in order to focus as he moved quickly from part to part, explaining their function. [B]BEFORE LI SHOTAY[/B] had finished, Slavemaster Chang interrupted, "I have other errands to attend to and must finish with these two. Da-ren, you shall report to Li Shotay here after I have departed." And with that, we returned to our quarters. Chang resumed, brusque but matter-of-fact: "The guards know when you two are and are not supposed to leave. Any attempt to transgress your limits will result in castration. Further attempts will result in your mutilation and sale to the Unrefined Path." He then spent the better part of an hour instructing us in the various prostrations that were required of us for the various members of the Imperial Household and ensuring that we could demonstrate them to his satisfaction. With that, he turned to Atrix. "As you know, it is to be your great privilege and honor to entertain the Emperor and his family, guests, and greater servants with tales and performances from your Northern Lands. By now the representative of the Harmonic Path should be ready to make you suitably presentable and inform you as to your expected behavior. You," he said, turning to me, "shall report to your duties without delay." As Chang passed through the door and turned his back to us, Atrix gave me a wry, silent farewell with his eyebrows, an ironic smile and a quick nod of head. He then wheeled about and the two of them left me on my own. [/QUOTE]
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