The Hunt

The last hunt of spring was arranged for yet another Tuesday. Tuesday was the symbol of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and on that day the hours from midnight to one, from seven to eight in the morning, from two to three in the afternoon, and from nine to ten at night were all called Sun Hour. Friday belonged to the God of Craftsmen; from six to seven in the morning, from one to two in the afternoon, and from eight to nine in the evening were the Venus Hour that symbolized Him. Grand masses, sacrificial rites, and certain formal public events were held, whenever possible, on the day and at the hour of the corresponding deity. The high mass at Saint Luoke Cathedral on Tuesdays, for instance, was usually set for seven in the morning, to welcome the rising sun. Yindisi, whose chief faith was the Eternal Blazing Sun, also often placed respectable, public occasions that carried a blessing on this day. Even a noble's social affairs had to be this formal, as if they were performing for someone... Xialuote sat in the carriage, listening to the creak of the wheels over the road in the outskirts, and muttered to herself. The hunt had been organized by Count Fulaisi of Suxite, and the hunting ground lay on a suburban estate of his. From September through March of the following year had always been the season best suited to nobles hunting on horseback. The season was now nearing its end, and quite a few nearby nobles had caught this last ride. When the carriage stopped, Lawuer got down first, then put out a hand to help Xialuote. She lifted her skirt with care, lowered her head to keep from striking the doorframe, and stepped onto ground that had clearly been leveled on purpose and cleared of weeds. Today she had changed into a women's riding habit fit for the saddle. The jacket was modeled on a man's short hunting coat, fitted close at the waist, with lapels and conspicuous buttons. Beneath it were a linen underskirt, a waistcoat, and a narrow neckcloth. Below she still wore a long slit skirt convenient for the sidesaddle, the inside of the skirt arranged to make riding easier. On her feet were low-heeled tall riding boots, on her head a man's felt tricorn, and in her hand a leather crop. It was a style now quite popular among the young noblewomen of Yindisi. The queen, it was said, had first set the fashion during a court hunt, and noblewomen afterward had altered it to be more respectable, and better suited to riding sidesaddle. Set against a formal gown of layer upon layer, these clothes could already be called easy to move in. At least they would not leave her looking like a mop dragging the floor... Grumbling inwardly, she kept the propriety expected of a young noblewoman and, holding her father's hand, drew near the light-brown mare a servant had led over. She could not help growing excited. Before her transmigration, forget riding a horse—she had never so much as touched one! Yet once she was truly seated on the sidesaddle, she found it was not so simple. The original Xialuote had indeed learned to ride. In memory there was the experience of how to arrange her skirts, how to rest her right leg on the saddle hook, and how to direct the mount with the reins and her calf. This body, though, had not ridden in earnest for a long time. At the slightest shift of the horse she felt the awkwardness of the sidesaddle posture, and nearly toppled backward. Fortunately, the Extraordinary power brought by the Arbiter potion took effect. Xialuote steadied herself, tightened the reins, let her expression sink a little, and lowered her eyes to the horse's neck, giving off an air that brooked no defiance. At the same time a command surfaced in her mind: Don't move! Uneasy at the growing number of people and carriages around her, the mare had still been about to turn her head. Then, as if she had suddenly sensed something, the muscles of her neck tightened all at once. Her hooves stopped their restless stamping, and she grew quiet, almost docile. So the Arbiter's majesty did not work on people alone. It had some effect on animals as well. She guessed it had to do with an animal's own intelligence, or rather its spirituality. A mouse probably would not be frightened by her, unless she hit it with a stick... And this influence was more like the suppression of a target that was already controllable than any art of beast-taming. If a horse had already been frightened into a panic, it would not be a problem one look could solve. She made a private note of that, then looked out over the hunting ground from the height of the horse's back. White tents had been pitched on the open grass. Servants were busy setting the tack in order, leading hounds, and carrying drink and food. Several long tables spread with white cloth were laden with cold roast meat, bread, cheese, and wine. This was a place for nobles, officials, and invited guests to rest and talk. The only ones truly prepared to ride deep into the woods to hunt were the young nobles who liked a bustle. Even the young ladies who had mounted mostly rode only a short while in the safe ground, still in their habits, then returned to the tents to speak with the other matrons and young ladies of marriage, family, and the new fashions of Telier. Like a ballroom moved out to the outskirts... Xialuote judged, sweeping her gaze over the crowd. She soon saw, beside one of the long tables, Gelin Lande'er, who had helped her at the printing plant and fought side by side with Luosaier. He stood beside a middle-aged man, respectably dressed, whose expression was somewhat ill at ease. Gelin saw Xialuote as well. A smile came to his face at once, but he did not come over to greet her. He only raised a hand to his hat brim, bowed slightly, and offered a salute from a distance. That ought to be his father. Invited to the hunt, it seemed, and yet treating the other nobles as quarry in a social hunt... Xialuote considered this, returned the smile, and let her gaze move on. She noticed another figure beside the tents. The man had the black hair common in Yindisi, with white frost at the temples. His gray-blue eyes were rather sharp, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes and across his brow were deep, and his short beard was trimmed with exacting care. His expression was mild as he watched the other nobles and guests chatting, yet he gave the feeling of being difficult to approach. Just then Lawuer Suolun, mounted on another horse beside her, noticed his daughter's gaze. He looked the same way, and after a moment said: "That is Moerwan Dulang, a lawyer of great renown in Suxite. Many judges, merchants, and municipal officials have heard his name. In the matter of Aidian, he helped us a great deal." A lawyer? Xialuote's heart stirred. Aidian, the suspected accomplice of an evil cult, was a "Lawyer" in both the social and the mystical sense. Having only just become an Extraordinary, she naturally paid the profession a little more attention, and could not help looking Moerwan over a few times more. Perhaps sensing her gaze, this guest of more than fifty suddenly turned his head toward her. Xialuote looked away by instinct, pretending to gaze somewhere else. Strange. Why should she be afraid of a lawyer? Did he also have an air like an Arbiter, or a Lawyer? Or could an ordinary person of real standing give off this kind of pressure as well... She thought it over in private, but reached no conclusion. ———— Beside the space enclosed by the tents and long tables, servants were checking the hounds and horses, lest the animals grow restive and injure the count's guests. After briefly getting used to the sidesaddle, Xialuote, wandering about while she looked for Luosaier, had only just drawn near when several hounds barked at her. The sound was not fierce, but it rose one call after another. The servant holding the leads hastily held them back. "Have a care, Miss. They are a little excited today." Xialuote nodded. She did not go any closer. She only looked down at the hounds, schooled her expression, and called up again the feeling she had used when she settled the horse. The hounds' barking suddenly weakened. The two nearest her even lowered their forelegs a little and clamped their tails, nothing left astir but the constant twitch of their noses. The servant took the chance to lead them off, and did not forget to glance back at her with curiosity. Farther away the hounds were still restless. Barking, hoofbeats, and the laughter of the young soon covered this small oddity. Just as well. If it had come to every hound lying down at once in submission to her, she dared not imagine what rumors would be abroad tomorrow... Xialuote quietly slipped aside and confirmed in her mind the approximate range of this Extraordinary power. The reaction of the horses and hounds ought to be fear, not obedience, because she had given no actual command. Even if she spoke it aloud, they would not understand... A human capable of thought should not be easily frightened, and would only feel, by instinct, that they must not resist her. A true Extraordinary, on the other hand, might perceive that this influence came from an extraordinary ability... It seemed she must not use the ability as she pleased, unless it was a private meeting between two people alone, or she was disrupting an enemy in a fight through words and expression... She was thinking this, and was just about to return to her father's side, when she suddenly felt a gaze reach toward her from behind. Could someone be following her again? A surge of resentment rose in her, and she whipped her head around toward that direction. Luosaier Gusitafu stood there. Today he wore a close-fitting dark green hunting coat, a short hunting knife at his waist and a flintlock pistol in a leather holster. The tricorn on his head sat a little askew, showing a face more spirited than the one in Xialuote's memory. His blue eyes were watching her, thoughtful. Xialuote at once recalled how he had been on the point of speaking at the printing plant and then held back, and recalled her father's assessment of him as well. She had meant from the start to sound him out at the hunt, and had not expected him to begin watching her first... She kept a calm smile, not knowing whether he had seen the moment she frightened the hounds.