An Oration in Old High Dolomite

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 21981


Lord Fred lays fast asleep, his body and mind exhausted from the fight with the wallhugger. Checkers, curious about the source of the light, walks up to the dias and looks at the massive tome of Belboz. She cannot read the language to which the pages are turned. Still, she is very curious as to the age and purpose of the book. She takes a feather from her spear to mark the place to which the mage has the book open, as she does not want to ruin whatever magic he is trying to work; that would be rude. She looks for a table of contents, hoping that she can glean some clues. "This book is heavy," she thinks, turning the pages with an effort. "There is something that looks like a table of contents, but I cannot read it. In fact, most of these are in written in some strange runes that I cannot understand. Being raised in Electric Pass doesn't give a woman much of a chance for a classical education." She turns a few pages, and notices some red lettering. The language looks somewhat familiar. "Old High Dolomite!" she realizes, with excitement. "This book must be hundreds of years old! I never thought that I would be able to use my knowledge of the old language." There are page numbers next to the red column headings, and she flips the book, with difficulty, to those pages. It appeared that some of the passages contain poetry, and some are formulae, and others are morality tales. Still others appear to make little sense. But they were all written in the most beautiful Old High Dolomite, and written such such a way that when spoken, it sounds like music.

Checkers picks out a passage, and cannot resist the temptation to recite. The passage she picks is a poem. While the subject of the poem would be hard to translate into the common language the known world now speaks, it was the rhythms, the cadences, rhymes that made it a joy to listen to, even to those who did not know it. And Checkers knows it. Fred wakes up toward the end of the recitation, and listens appreciately but without understanding.

When she finishes, Checkers sits down, tired from her effort but happy from the thrill of discovery. "What were you reading?" Fred asks.

"Old High Dolomite, from Belboz's book. These pages are a treasure!"

"Are you sure that that was a good idea? There are many mysterious things in that book, some of which may be best left undisturbed."

"Oh, they are just words, Fred, although beautifully written ones. I am not a magician. Surely my reciting the Old High Dolomite passages would not invoke enchantment?"

  1. Meanwhile, Belboz and Astra ...
  2. The effect of Checkers' recitation.

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11/10/2002 10:14:56 AM

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