A Gap in the Records

Checkers blinked, and stayed silent for a short time. Then she replied, "Hmm. I don't remember any stories about an emissary being sent from this dragon.* Before Minestus, there were accounts of contact with dragons, and sometimes they sent ambassadors. It is hard to tell how much is fact and how much is just good storytelling. But even in the old stories, it did not happen very often. My impression was that it was a sensation, dragons being big and exotic, but really did not change things that much, as the dragons never really asked for anything. They were just passing through, or doing something that did not involve us."

"So Minestus never sent an envoy?"

"I don't remember anything like that. The elders of the village sometimes took a small group of us aside and told us stories of Minestus and the war. There were no envoys in those tales; Minestus came, and demanded that we recognize him as King. The anglideri did not play a big role in these wars, so it is unlikely that one of them would act as an ally of the League or a lackey of Minestus; they would at most pillage those who had fallen, if they thought that the dragon would not see them, but there was not much more to it than that. I never understood why they never put these tales on the public stage - they were a part of our history that I would have thought that they would want us to learn. The dragon is not something that you talked about. But during the holidays, we all assembled at the courthouse, and a sort of record is kept there of the families of the village, on a ceremonial pole. Then you understand how bad the war was - how many families just ended, right there. And the time just after the war, of course, was so bad that even the elders have no tales to tell about it. There are some things, too, that I have been able to read. The Annals of the Elders of Electric Pass is kept at the courthouse, and is pretty dry. A lot of statistics, things like the number of fruit trees or number of hides each Glider had in a given year, or how big the families were. There were also some descriptions of about a thirty-year period before the war, and the first two years of the war itself. In the last part, it mostly concerned the Gliders of Electric Pass who served and died in the war. There was also another book, Tales of the Diliti that I bought for a half-guilder that my father gave me one time, at a fair. It was in pretty bad shape, and it was actually supposed to be used as firestarter, but I didn't want to use it for that. It was written in the older script, and that is where I learned a lot about the older languages. It had to be written in the days of the monarchy, or the early days of the republic. It was a combination of fiction, recipes, and medicines. It resembles Belboz's tome in a lot of ways. I wish that I could have carried it with me. It would have been too heavy, and would not have lasted the trip, though." Checkers paused again. "Well, anyway, enough nostalgia. The point is, that if there were a Vinitae that was involved with the wars, or with Minestus, as either a friend or foe, I am not aware of it."

*In episode 22985, on another branch, Minestus does send a sort of envoy into White River, after the war. Checkers might well be unaware of this, due to the distance from White River and Celestial Mountain and passage of time.

1. Astra asks about the war.
2. Astra tries to get some sleep.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree