"The babe itself isn't the problem, as I expect she would hand the child off to a wet nurse, and then to a nursemaid to raise. That's very common among nobles, in fact," Risatri explains, matter-of-factly. Surprisingly, this isn't the first time she's had to explain this. Visiting Kyska tend to be quite surprised when they realize that nobles have strangers raise their children. "I'm not sure if it's the same for your folk as it is for mine, but birthing is very hard on the body. It is not a weakness of spirit or mind, but basic physical biology. The month would be to give her time to rest and recover her health."elemtilas wrote:"What is it to take a month away? I suppose if by 'redundancy' you mean if a councilor is unable to fulfill her duties someone will take her place, then yes. If a councilor should die or become incapacitated, then another will be chosen. Why would she not be able to fulfill her duties with a little one at her breast? That is no weakness of spirit or mind! I believe that a mother might, in most circumstances, be more ideal to offer counsel and govern wisely a whole queendom. After all, such a girl must also govern her own children and her own household!"
"In Naqil, we eat mostly maize and-" Risatri verbally backtracks as something Enca said strikes an unusual chord in her brain. "You drink milk? After childhood? That seems very-" She hesitates, clearly struggling to find a diplomatic way to say what she's thinking. "I can't imagine your mother or nurse would tolerate it for so long. Dogs can be trained to allow a babe to suckle, if a wet nurse is unavailable and the mother injured or absent, but in the long-term?"elemtilas wrote:"Yes, we eat meat. We also like many kinds of vegetables and fruits, though. When I think on it, I believe we eat mostly meat, and then foods made from milk. If you mean do we rip our food from the bone, dripping in blood, the way a wolf or wildcat will before gorging ourselves, then no! We cook our food first, and if I may say so, we do a fine job of it! Even Men in far away cities appreciate our humble Westmarche cookery!"
That's interesting! That's very interesting! Risatri not only tolerates the gentle thunk, but seems absolutely giddy about it. Such control! One wouldn't think that a structure as specialized as wings would have such fine control over something that has nothing to do with flying. Why, this is incredible! "How vulnerable are your wings themselves to blows?" she asks even as she unfolds a new page in the codex to sketch and take notes on (though she is careful enough to make sure the previous pages are dry enough that they don't smear, before she does). "They must be fairly strong, if you can use them for defense as well as attack. The bones aren't as hollow as those of birds, are they?"elemtilas wrote:Enca takes some time to think about that one, and Risatri can clearly see some fine motions in Enca's left wing as she sorts out what the healer is getting at. "Um, yes, I believe so! Our wing-hands can pivot the way our arm-hands and feet do, though perhaps not quite so freely as our arm-hands. See, curling the wing-hand forward a bit would make the big knob in my wing-wrist kind of like a knobby wooden club." She draws her wing back a bit, lowering the wing-wrist somewhat then gently thunks her head with it! "Wouldn't want to be whacked with that! Put a thick leather bracer with a bronze fang or two on there, and I've got a pretty formidable weapon that most folk can hardly train adequately to counter! Plus, I can always pivot my wing-hand back the other way and spread the fingers to form a screen that can block a foe from seeing me well!"
Yeah, Risatri isn't about to run out of questions any time soon. Sorry Enca!
"Your Heavenly Father, is he your country god? Naqil's country god is the Three-Faced Sun himself, of course, but all countries have their own gods as well. Even Muisa, with their Grand Storyteller." Naqil's primary religion took a very pragmatic approach to other religions in that it tended to add their gods to its own. It also tended to stick foreign gods in a subordinate role to its own which, yes, had led to some conflicts in the past, but this was almost probably less insulting than trying to claim that those foreign gods didn't exist at all.elemtilas wrote:Enca quietly moves her lips as she tries out some of those strange names... "I'm afraid I am as baffled now as ever before! Men devise such strange and wonderous gods for themselves! Ever seeking, rarely finding, always in possession of that which they seek! The story of how Men in your world turned their backs on the Three-Faced Sun does sound reminiscent of how they lost their wings in our world --- their first fathers, too, turned their backs on our Heavenly Father. An unwise choice when tested. It is a thing about Men we have only learned about recently, and do not well understand." She sighs very deeply, clearly moved by some long memory. "I fear our own mothers and fathers of old did the ancestors of Men little good service by our teachings! It might perhaps have been best to leave them be until they were truly ready to learn..."
((Note to avoid confusion: "Three-Faced Sun" and "Three-Faced God" are more or less interchangeable terms. There are theological connotations to each of them, but they're subtle enough that generally only the priests pay much attention to which is used at any particular time))