Witch of Lurago Chapter 8: The N’si

Impromptu N’si appearances are apparently a theme, now.

Who is this latest mischief-maker and what’s her game?

Gaia. Jane. One and the same. She’s been the nameless N’si any time a nameless N’si popped up in the narrative.

Gaia and Nigel go way back, and not in a good way.

They detest and respect one another.

So, what’s behind this strange dynamic between the N’si and other nenes?

N’si and N’in dared any mere mortal to approach their king. The twin dragons of Shandalar burst from the towering marble walls filigreed by gnarled roots. Legendary dragons born of the sun and moon, hewn from white quartz and wrought glorious by amethyst-encrusted scales, their ridged silver and gold spines formed the throne’s back and their long necks its arms. Their fearsome heads jutted out from beneath its seat.

Ni’s and N’in (derivation nene) are descendants of the same race. Estranged, but kin. N’si are of darker coloring. N’in are greater in number. Both bear the distinctive back-stripes of their kind. N’in are awakening unique mindgifits of hindsight and Pattern reading. The N’si? They got nothing. Well, nothing but a propensity for mischief.

The inciting events behind their estrangement aren’t a thread I address in Rootstock Saga. Maybe later. All that matters in this series is the cousins parted ways long ago.

Nigel found the story intriguing. Nene lore held a similar tale. In one myth of their origins, the coppery-skinned N’si were the children of the sun dragon and their fair-haired cousins the progeny of its sister, the moon dragon.

There’s much to find fault with in the Firstborn culture. That’s an understatement. But the amoral N’si make the Firstborn look like stand-up citizens.

Morality is in the eye of the beholder.