“Show me my better face, Dianora.”
The Journals of William Harwood #3
Spring Thirdmoon, the Fifth,
Year of Returning Light 645
Genassia
I visited with Federico Sibelia again today. My excuse this time may have been to rehash our distribution plans for western fur trade, but my true intent was to visit once more with Sibelia’s daughters, Bianca and Dianora. I must confess no small measure of enchantment with them, and what drives me is far more than simple beauty. More than their refinement. More than their wit. It is that irresistible intensity. I could be convinced of any number of things while transfixed in the sharp glint of those eyes. I am utterly helpless while trapped by them from both sides.
Ah, but in truth it is Dianora, is it not? It is Dianora with the seasinger’s song. The one whose gentle breath touches upon my thoughts in quiet hours. The one whose coy smile propels me down the street with a foolish prancing. The one I think of giving brave questions the likes of which come far too soon.
I should make good on my contracts with the Sibelias before presuming so much. It would only be proper, would it not?
Dianora in particular seems to have taken up the family’s knack for commerce. Theo would have been upset to hear how much I divulged about the business as we nattered on through the waning daylight, but she had some sobering insights into our situation with Unjat. The place is a money sink for the imperials, and anyone with a clear view of the situation can tell that they’ve only stayed this long out of pure stubbornness. But even imperial pride has to break some time, assuming the Ekmi don’t mount a decisive uprising first.
It would be risky, but Dianora counseled trading directly with the Ekmi themselves. The imperials would be upset if they learned about such a plan, and their displeasure would be crushing for many houses, but invested as heavily as we are today in that one route, the idea has merit. I expect I may be taking another trip down myself to investigate the possibilities.
But first, I will be on a long voyage to Richau to cement those aforementioned fur trades. That, and to humor my gnawing obsession with the soothsaying from that giantess. The only reference I’ve been able to find in my research to a “Nightmare Queen” has been in Traulish folklore, where she is often foiled by two other figures: “Jacques de la Cloche,” a bardic trickster, and “Dame du Gris,” a bringer of storms and prophecy. Unfortunately, any serious study of these characters has been outlawed as heresy since the Imperium annexed Traul, so even here in Genassia, academic coverage is lacking.
I’m hoping to uncover a dusty book or two in Richau that divulges more, but in the meantime, I’m left to my own conjectures. It would be hard to justify these figures as deities, seeing as they do not map well onto any other culture’s understanding of the gods, and even the folklore itself gives mention to the gods as something other. So the simplest explanation is that they are, or were, greater rhanna. It is also said that they live “in dreams,” which probably means Etheos, the spirit realm, from which they likely practiced some form of oneiromancy. Sadly, this description is consistent with many demons as well, meaning there could be some justification in the Radiant Temple’s condemnation of these three.
The real challenge will be to keep my inquiries beneath the notice of the temple. I can probably avoid a full ecclesiastic trial, but that won’t stop them from canceling our visas. Theo would smack me if he knew what I was planning, and he’d be right to do it. But I need to know. I need at least an inkling of the truth. I can’t help but look.
Perhaps I can hold myself back from doing anything too rash if I think back on those dark, brilliant, beautiful eyes waiting for me. Show me my better face, Dianora. Guide me back home again.
