Gerreg wiped his brow. The millet fields south of Kle'erthon looked desolate and barren. How it had managed to feed his family year after year seemed amazing to him, even though he now had sixteen years to prove it. One month till summer solstice, and the outlook wasn't good.
"Dad will flip if he hears the Ocotla beetles are at it again", his sister Hala mused matter-of-factly. "He will not be pleased at all. Oh no."
He watched his sister, only 10 years old, tuck her hair back under her scarf and concentrate back on the weeding. Her fair hair was only slightly lighter than his, but it was mostly the green eyes that showed they were both of the Uxic clan. Legion Abiders, all of them.
On the solstice, the great offerings accompanied the symbolic building of the big nests. Offerings they could hardly afford, and certainly not with these fields. Of course, it was getting better. Their granddad told them that in the decades after the last war nothing would grow at all in these parts.
He looked up at the sound of a motorcar. Only the upper echelons of the religious caste had motorized vehicles. About a kilometer north, three black cars drove toward the forbidden ruins of Kle'erthon.
"People are coming back to the city", he said. "And who'll have to feed them?"
Meanwhile, Jid Verhad was preparing for his new diplomatic role. He had only just learned the meaning of the word, and any moment now he would actually have to be diplomatic. As 287th Abider he had never been in a position to acquire much more power in the caste than he currently had, which wasn't a whole lot. He'd been happy to accept new opportunities, but to actually have to meet and talk to foreign heretics. This would definitely be... intersting.
He carefully adjusted his torc, which communicated his rank. Surely he'd be able to add a few stripes. He was interupted by the Ghalli workmen carrying in the first boxes.
"Yes, please put those in the foyer. We can never have enough pamphlets around when the first her... guests arive.
