Stories from the World of Hârn – to entertain, inspire, and educate.
Ládo College, Trepûra, Shôrkýnè; 11 Ilvín TR709
“Bookworm!”
Tára looked up from the rutter she had been examining, and saw a handsome young man standing on the other side of the long table she at which she was seated.
“Do you ever stop reading, bookworm?”, the young man queried.
Tára scowled.
“Hêral, do you ever read at all?”, she replied.
“Not if I can help it...
Wandering rural travellers, the Night People are well-known, little understood, and widely hated or feared. The night people travel in family groups in black wagons festooned with brightly coloured flags and painted images. Periodically, they stop to trade with local villagers, and occasionally they tarry for a while, hosting nightly revels until the authorities drive them on because of an increase...
The use of Tuzyn's Reckoning for counting the years has spread to much of northwest Venårivè, but there remain many thinly settled areas where it is barely known. Indeed, in some places, the locals do not even regard the new year as starting on the vernal equinox. In the wilds of Huriséa and Quârphor, for example, the winter solstice marks the new year, for it is that dread night that lasts the longest, and...
Janôra, Tríerzòn, 7 Savôr TR706 (Day after the Kesémè)
Tára looked up at the roof of the temple’s massive main hall. It was studded with countless jewelled 'stars', interwoven with metallic patterns that were so complex that following them often led one to confusion. She had often considered these patterns, and wondered at the work that had gone into them, as well as their meaning.
...
Janôra, Tríerzòn, 10 Laránè TR702
“Tára!”
“Tára…!”
An old woman hurried along a long wooden corridor, calling as she looked worriedly from side to side.
“Where are you girl?”
She halted at the foot of a long staircase that disappeared up into the gloom.
“Are you up there again, Tára? You know your father doesn’t like you going up there!”...
The seagulls whirled overhead and their cries filled the morning as Kesél made his way across the Péngefîrkant, the market square of Chélemby city. It was early morning, and the stall holders were setting up for the day's trading. Clouds scudded overhead, and a cool breeze blew in from the harbour, bringing the smells and sounds of the docks.
He carried a small packet under his arm, which he had...
Tárenis reigned in his horse, and came to a stop. Before him was the Quantérè river, and across it the broad bridge of Quârelin. The Royal pennant of the House of Daláme fluttered from the bridge's gatehouse towers, and from the spires of the towers that dotted the walls of the city. He had reached the nest of vipers.
He had ridden hard for two and a half days, on a horse purchased for him by Kélas in...
When Tárenis was woken the next morning by the cries of someone selling bread in the streets outside, it took him a few moments to remember where he was. The window over the canal was open once more and the light of the early morning was streaming in. He then realised that neither Márden nor Kélas were in the room.
He rose, splashed some water on his face from a basin on a nightstand, and went in search of his companions.
He found them both in the dinning hall, where they were...
The small boat made its way through tall reeds and waterways, which became progressively more open and less congested with weeds and plants as they went on.
Kélas paddled the boat from the rear, while Márden and Tárenis sat before him. It was a quiet, chilled autumn morning, and they moved swiftly through the water. They had risen early, and left the marshfolk village of Káis Alwás just after dawn. It was...
"We have to rest", said Tárenis, turning to his companion, Márden, as the two young men reached the pass of Kel Stûras, having ridden hard north across the barony of Néln, avoiding all contact with locals.
Their horses were exhausted, and the two young men were equally tired, not having halted since leaving the ford of Òdelýn. They had begun their journey early that morning, had slept little the night before, and had been travelling south on this same route only the day before....