Marooned on Tashoo, Chapter 7

VII

The Ka’yno Visits

(Day 36 on Tashoo)

(Morning)

The nightmare has returned. But, as with all the previous nightmares, this one is different,

although it has the same theme. In this particular nightmare, I am sitting on a blanket on a beach.

I can see the pounding waves and smell the salt in the air. Beside me is a woman, a very beautiful

exotic looking woman. She is the woman that has been haunting my dreams since my fighter

training at Tonojen. She is different from every other woman with whom I have ever spent time.

She has blue-blond hair, yellow-in-blue eyes and lion yellow skin. She is wearing a two-piece

bikini style swimsuit. It seems to be made out of leather. The bottom of the bra which completely

covers her modest breasts and waistband of the panties has leather strip fringe. The leather strips

give the panties a look like an extremely short hula skirt. She is smiling at me showing straight

white teeth through lips that are slightly browner than the rest of her skin.

The sky is a beautiful shade of azure blue punctuated with occasional fleecy white clouds. The

sun, a yellow-white orb, is shining brightly. I cannot understand why the sun is yellow-white. It

should be yellow-orange. Am I on Tashoo or another world? But, why would I dream of another

world? There is no world other than Tashoo. Right?

I am lying on a blanket with the woman sitting next to me. I don't know her name, but she and I

seem to be in a relationship with each other. She is leaning on one hand and smiling as she looks

down at me as she gently caresses my face.

I look around and see the white sand of dunes about fifty meters away from us. I look at the

water and see seabirds skimming and diving into the water. Occasionally, I see the head and

dorsal fin of a dolphin breaking the surface to catch a breath of air. I also see bait fish breaking

the water as they attempt to escape the dolphins and other predators. I reach up and gently caress

the woman's arm causing a sigh of pleasure to escape from her lips.

As I lie there enjoying the company of this beautiful, exotic woman, I notice that the fleecy white

clouds are slowly being replaced by a gray fog. The woman slowly fades into the fog and I see

her lips form the words, “Mvilu, come find me. I will be waiting for you. I love you.” Then, she

fades completely from my sight.

*****

As the woman fades from my sight, I find myself in a smoke-filled room. I'm wearing a uniform

and sitting at a table with another human in uniform and two creatures that look like dinosaurs.

The word Khorcha comes to my mind as I look at them. The male Khorcha has mentioned

something about how I aim the guns of my star fighter. I can hear myself responding to his

comments. I can't see my face and head, but I can see different parts of me. It's almost as if what

I'm dreaming is something I've experienced. But, when would I have experienced this dream? I

don't know the answer, but I truly believe this is more than a dream. I believe it is a memory of

some kind. It is a tantalizing wisp of a memory. A memory like a word that is on the tip of your

tongue but always slips away just as you are about to say it. But, if it is memory, when did it

happen? What is it about?

*****

“I don’t use my computer to aim or fire my guns. I don’t trust a computer for that purpose. They

have a habit of using logic when instinct quite often aims guns better, there is also the potential

problems of hacking and viruses.”

“Then my respect for you is even higher. But, I should have figured this out on my own. You aim

and fire your guns when most pilots, depending on their computer, would not even consider

doing it. This may be why you are such a deadly fighter pilot. Either way, your shots hit one of

my engines. My radar officer, gunner, and I were able to eject in time to avoid the engine’s

explosion as a result of the ensuing chain reaction. Unfortunately, my radar officer was killed

when flying debris from the explosion punctured his escape capsule causing an explosive

decompression. My gunner was uninjured and reassigned to another fighter. I received injuries

that prevented me from ever flying again. Because of my past military experience, the

Zahr-Khohr was impressed with me and offered me the opportunity to become an ambassador. I

accepted the offer because I knew it would allow me to spend more time with my family.”

The female Khorcha, the name Rokshesan comes to my mind, speaks up, “Commander, these

experiences are precisely what we are talking about. Your killer instinct intrigues us. We have

always been told that humans do not possess this instinct. We have been told that it was bred out

of the human species more than three hundred Terran years ago. We have not observed this

instinct in humans before.”

I am still a bit leery and short fused. This showed in my reply to Ambassador Rokshesan. “If the

Khorcha and Yavkognians hadn’t brought this war to our doorstep, you would still be looking for

it. I show this 'killer instinct,' as you call it, only because of what your people did to us at

Tonojen. As a general rule, humans are peaceful creatures and I am the leader of that

peacefulness.”

“But, you were learning to kill when we were attacking the disputed area of space.”

“That doesn’t mean I am a killer by nature. It only means that I believe that freedoms are not

truly free. Somebody must be willing to sacrifice his life to insure that everybody else has these

freedoms. Unfortunately, sometimes these people must learn to kill to protect those freedoms

from those that would try to steal them. It has always been this way on Terra.” I say this last

while looking directly into the eyes of the Ambassadors.

Ambassador Dreydos interjects, “But, don’t a lot of humans distrust your military?”

I turn to him and say, “That is true, Mr. Ambassador, especially politicians. But, when it comes

time to fight for our freedoms, they are thankful that we are around, even though at the same time

they want to cut funding to the military.”

The Ambassadors both laugh, as evil a sound as I have ever heard. “In the Khorchan Empire,

there are none that questions the needs of the military. What the military wants, it gets. Why is

this not true in human space?”

“Because we believe that the military is the servant of the people, not the other way around. This

is especially true here in the United States of America. It has always been true here. Of course,

at one time or another, we have had military people that thought they knew more about what the

country needed than the civilians, but those military personnel learned a hard lesson when they

were sent to prison for a long time or killed when an attempted coup failed. Our constitution

clearly states that the military serves the civilians.”

*****

I want to wake up, but I can’t. I'm drawn into the nightmare. It's so real. If I didn’t know

better, I'd think that the dream is reality and I'm actually living it. What are these things that I'm

seeing? Who are these people? I'm so upset by what I'm seeing that I'm moaning in my sleep. I

want to wake up; but, I can’t wake up! Please, dear God, let me wake up!

Soon, I hear a gentle scratching. Scratching? Why do I hear scratching in my dream?

Then I hear a door opening. A door? What's going on? Why do I hear scratching and a door

opening? Now I'm hearing a gentle voice calling me. I hear the voice calling my name, but it

isn’t the name in my dreams that I'm hearing.

“Mvilu? Are you all right?”

Suddenly, it dawns on me who it is I hear calling and I awaken. I answer her, saying,

“Yes, TaAra. (1) I am all right.”

“Did you have another of your nightmares?” (2)

“Yes, I did, TaAra. I do not remember ever having them until I arrived here in Talo-Vy.

Of course, I do not remember very much of my life before I arrived. I know they are dreams, but

they seem so real. It is almost as if they are something I should remember.”

“When the time is right, you will remember. I was preparing the nakyvy for Rora when I

heard your moans. Would you like me to prepare something for you as well or would you rather

sleep longer?”

“No, TaAra. I do not think I could sleep any longer. Besides, I am afraid I will have

another of my nightmares.”

“All right. I should have the nakyvy ready in about five athalloo. You should have just

enough time to get ready.”

“Thank you, TaAra.”

My-Ara laughed lightly and said, “Mvilu, how many times do I have to tell you, you may

just call me Ara and you may call Rora by his name or Rora if he is agreeable?”

I put a slight emphasis on her name as I said, “I am sorry—Ara. I guess I am just trying

to make sure I do not make a mistake if we have company.”

Ara just laughed sweetly as she left my room.

*****

Shortly after I became a part of Ara's household, she took me to the market place. We went to

what could only be described as a tailor. I didn't understand the language very well at the time (it

was only two days after my arrival in Talo-Vy) so I had no idea what was going on. When the

nohachy, I believe her name was Zan-Shasta, led us to the back of her booth and approached me

with a tape measure in her hands, I looked at her with a small amount of trepidation since I had

no idea what was going on. Through signs and a demonstration on herself, Ara told me that

TaShasta was going to take my measurements.

After taking my measurements, I heard TaShasta say, “Shoovatooja Shurtan,

Tithe'hoohachoshoo'vooshoova Kandoo, TaAra.” (Literally, Nine Shurtan, Three twenty, ten, five

(Seventy-five) Kandoo or $29.25)

Ara looked aghast and spoke quietly with TaShasta. After a few athata, they seemed to reach an

agreement on payment. Three days later, TaShasta arrived at Ara's home carrying a package

which was given to me. As I watched, TaShasta started perusing the different tapestries that Ara

had in a room I had never seen before. After several athalloo, TaShasta picked two that were

some of Ara's most intricate works of art. One depicted a series of geometric patterns and the

other was of an animal I had never seen before. Ara later told me that it was a Taojoo and was a

favorite animal for display in homes around Talo-Vy because it was a favorite prey animal.

After TaShasta left, Ara had me open the package and I saw three sets of loincloths and vests and

a pair of sandals. Ara also indicated that I should go change into the new clothing, which I did.

There are a lot of tailors on Terra that wish they could be as good as TaShasta is at sizing a

customer. The loincloths and vests fit me as if they had been grown by my body.

*****

The next morning, I got out of bed and retrieved one of the suits of clothing that Ara had

purchased for me, got dressed and a few athalloo later, I was sitting at the table eating our

humble nakyvy. I say humble because, for a long time almost all of our meals consisted solely of

vegetables from the communal garden. It amazed me how much an obviously carnivorous animal

ate vegetables. However, I must also point out that most of the vegetables have a meaty flavor to

them. I would guess that they are also very high in protein.

Not long after I started grasping the language, I mentioned the lack of actual meat to Ara and

Rora, Ara said, “It is because Rora guards the garden nine days and has only one day off. That

does not give him a lot of time to hunt for us and, when he does get a chance to hunt, he does not

have much success. Plus, his pay for being a guard is only fifty Kandoo (3) a day and he is not

paid for his day off. He receives his pay on the day before his day off. It is not easy to purchase

much on four Shurtan, fifty Kandoo. So, we have to depend on the hunting parties to provide us

with our meat ration and they have not been very successful lately.”

I looked at Rora and asked, “Rora, do you know what methods the hunting parties use to obtain

the meat?”

“No, since I am always on guard duty, I do not go out with the hunting parties. But, my friend,

Zo-Kyna is a member of our Ka’nany (4) hunting party. I will ask him to stop by and see if he

can answer your questions.”

“Thank you, Rora. Perhaps he will have information that we can use in the future.”

Rora laughed. “I doubt I will be able to use any information that Kyna might possibly give you.”

He said, as he finished his meal. He stood up, “kissed” Ara and left for his job guarding the

garden workers from marauding wild animals and the aforementioned raiding parties from

nearby villages that occasionally attack Talo-Vy for anything that they want and need, including

food, females and slaves. (5)

Shortly after Rora left, I asked, “Ara, would it be all right with you if I return to my room. I feel

an urge to do something.”

Ara looked at me somewhat mischievously and said, “Mvilu, if you feel an urge, I believe there

are nohachy slaves that would be willing to accept your advances. After all, you are a very

attractive Uany chohachy.”

At first, I was at a loss as to what she meant. However, as soon as I realized to what she was

referring, I blushed and said, “Not that kind of urge, Ara. As you know, I remember a few things

from my youth and one of them was an exercise routine that I did every morning. Since I did not

do my exercises this morning, I would like to go to my room and do those exercises now, if you

do not mind.”

“Of course not, Mvilu. With your physique, I do not doubt that you did a lot of exercising before

you became a part of our household.”

“Thank you, Ara. It should not take more than a hi’nu.”

I returned to my room and removed my vest and sandals and started a martial arts workout I had

been doing ever since I was a boy. It consisted of a combination of movements from karate,

aikido, judo, Jiu jitsu, and taekwondo. I did kicks, rolls, punches, and isometrics. One of the

kicks was a jumping scissors kick. After doing this kick, I would land on the toes of one foot and

maintain a crane stance as I slowly extended my other foot straight out in front of me and equally

slowly moved the leg directly behind me while I leaned forward until my chest was perfectly

parallel to the floor. I slowly lowered my foot to the floor and immediately did a forward flip and

landing in a hand stand which I slowly changed into a one hand handstand. I would push myself

back, land on both feet and slowly lift one leg up until I was back in the crane stance and then

slowly extend the leg until it was at 135 degrees to the floor. Once again I lowered my leg to the

floor and moved into a butterfly kick. It was while I was doing this last movement that Ara, in

one of her extremely rare cases of exercising her rights as my mistress, entered my room

somewhat unexpectedly without knocking. My kick went completely over her head causing her

to flinch backward into the short hallway between my room and the dining room.

When I saw what I had done, I ran out of my room and apologized profusely. “I am so sorry, Ara.

Are you all right?”

“How are you able to do that, Mvilu?” She asked, incredulously.

“Years of practice, Ara. As I said, I have been doing this exercise routine since I was a young

chorothoo.”

Ara laughed and said, “Mvilu, I am sure you just mean chorothoo. A chorothoo is by nature

young. You were a chorothoo until you were three years old. You were a chojasa from your third

birthday until your thirteenth birthday. At that time, you became a chohachy.”

“Thank you for the clarification, Ara.

“To continue, I was just finishing my exercises when you came in. Is there something you need

for me to do?”

“No. I was just wondering if you would like to accompany me to the market. I would like to

purchase a few things to add to the nakyvo.”

“Of course, Ara. Just allow me to bathe. I am covered in sweat and I know I don't smell that

good.”

“I can wait, but hurry.”

*****

I picked up a clean suit of clothes and headed to the bathroom. I took a quick bath and was just

exiting after drying off and combing my hair when we heard someone scratching on the door.

Ara answered the door and gave a small gasp. I saw the chohachy that I saw on my first day in

Talo-Vy, the one that Rora had taken me to see. Ara looked over her shoulder quickly and gave

me a quick shake of her head as if to tell me not to speak.

The chohachy said, “Chitekuro, My-Ara. May I come in?” (6)

Ara looked back at him and said, “Chitekuro, Great One. Of course, welcome to our

humble home. Please enter and grace us with your presence.”

The chohachy entered looking as mean as the first day we met, if not meaner. He looked at me

for a few athata and said, “I see you still have your slave. How goes his training?”

Ara had a look of mild consternation as he passed her when she replied, “He is making progress,

Great One.” (7)

“You know that he has less than five-twenties of days before his trial before the Ishoo'se Aka’ny

(8).” (9)

“As I said, Great One, he is making progress. But, I fear that he is not ready to have a

completely intelligent conversation with anyone, especially the Ishoo'se Aka’ny.”

“I see. Would you please take him to another part of the house? I would speak with you in

private.”

“As you wish, Great One.” She walked over to me and took me by the hand and led me to

my room. Before she left me, she bent over and whispered into my ear, “Mvilu, please listen

closely at your door. I fear being alone with the Ka’yno. I have heard rumors about him. I also

seem to remember something from my rothoochy (10) about him, but it is difficult for me to

bring it forth. If you hear anything said that causes you worry, please find an excuse to return to

the dining area. This will keep the Ka’yno honest and open with me. Perhaps it will even make

him leave.”

I whispered to her, “Of course, Mistress TaAra.” I decided to use the honorific of her name just

in case the Ka’yno could hear us speaking to one another. She smiled at me in the Mory way that

I had learned to recognize, turned and returned to the dining area.

As she requested, I opened the door about one and a half centimeters and listened and watched

intently. Like Ara, I didn't think I could trust the Ka’yno, as the Mory called their leader, to be a

very honorable chohachy. It wouldn't have surprised me in the least to find that he would sneak

up on enemies and strike them down without giving them a chance to defend themselves or that

he would have someone to surreptitiously assist him during a fight. (At the time, I didn't realize

how true this feeling was.) This bothered me because in my short time here, I had come to know

a few achohachy and found every one of them to be honorable to a fault. Unfortunately for me,

the Ka’yno was sitting facing my room. I worried that he might see me watching, but he seemed

intent on Ara and not whether or not anyone was watching him.

I could hear Ara saying, “How may I help you, Great One?”

“Your slave has his own room? He is not shackled in any manner? Are you not afraid that he will

escape?”

Ara laughed a gruffly gentle feminine laugh and said, “Where would he go, Great One? How

could he escape? During the day, I am awake and in the household. If I leave the house, I take

him with me. At night, there are the wild animals that roam the village. They would surely kill

and make a meal of such a weak creature as my slave.”

The Ka’yno thought for a moment before replying. “I suppose you are right, My-Ara. I guess I

never thought about it in that manner.”

Once again, the Ka’yno was silent for a few athata before continuing down a different tack.

“My-Ara, I do not understand why you continually repulse my advances. I am Ka’yno of

Talo-Vy. I could make your life so much better.” Now, I understood the situation with Rora. The

Ka'yno desired Ara and was hoping to steal her from him.

“Are we going to have this conversation once again? I know you could do these things, Great

One. I just have no desire to mate with you.”

“What about My-Rora’s chorotha? Would you mate with him again?”

I was shocked and confused. Why would Ara mate with Rora’s father?

“That, Great One, is none of your business. It is mine and mine alone.”

The Ka’yno said triumphantly. “So! You know who My-Rora’s chorotha is! Does he know?”

“I already said I know who chorotha Rorany (11) is. The Mating Law allows me to choose who

will be the chorotha of my arothoo. He is the only one that I have ever mated with and will be the

only one I will ever mate with and no, Great One, Rora does not know and as long as the

‘Chorotha-Rothoo Law’ remains in effect he will never know. I will not risk losing either one of

them to some petty outdated law.”

I couldn't understand why Ara would be worried about Rora knowing who his father is. Why

would she fear losing either one of them? I knew that Rora and Ara slept in different rooms and I

was at a loss as to understand this aspect of their society. But, the societal norms are different

from society to society.

I looked back and thought I saw a dark scowl come over the Ka’yno’s face when Ara said this.

His response was, “You can mate with as many achohachy as you so desire. I do not understand

why you would refuse their advances. Plus, there are no achohachy stronger than I am. So, why

not me?”

“I do not desire you nor any other, Great One. It is true that I could mate with as many achohachy

as I desire, after all, that, also, is part of the Mating Law. But, I desire only the one.”

Subconsciously using my fighter pilot observational skills, I could see that the Ka’yno was

slowly getting angrier and angrier. But, I must give him credit because he covered quite well.

Finally, he said, “You know I could make you Noka’yno of Talo-Vy. Would that not be sufficient

reason to reconsider my proposal?”

“Noka’yno? Great One, does that not violate the Mating Law?”

“I could have the law changed, My-Ara. You know that I could. No one would challenge my

decision, except perhaps Mu-Naka and he would accept my decision even if he disagreed with

the reasoning behind it.”

“I have no doubt that you could change the law, Great One. But, it would not change my mind

about mating with you.”

“Soon, My-Rora will have to leave Talo-Vy, perhaps you will be more interested in mating at that

time.” Like Ara's statement concerning Rora's father, this statement also confused me. I would

have to ask Ara about these statements as soon as possible.

“I do not think I will, Great One. However, as I said earlier, even if I did, I would not be

interested in mating with you. There is only one I want, but I know I cannot have him.”

I could see that the Ka’yno was starting to get more and more agitated at the constant rebuffing

that Ara was giving him. I suppose it was all the more angering because Ara rebuffed him in

such a gentle manner. She never raised her voice; she was almost shy in her rebuffs. I could see

that it was with great difficulty that he maintained his calm. “Why not me, My-Ara? Am I that

repulsive to you? I am a full head taller than any other chohachy in Talo-Vy and at least fifteen

percent stronger. I would be able to give you big, strong arothoo. Who else would be a better

mate for you than me?” He paused in thought for a thata before continuing. “You know that I

could force you to mate with me.”

“Yes, you could, Great One. But, I could also force you to do battle with all the achohachy of the

village at the same time if you did and you know that. You may be a lot of things, Great One, but

I do not believe a fool is one of them.

“And as for the type of arothoo you could give me, that is my fear. I would not want to have the

type of arothoo that you could give me.”

“You could not rebuff me if you were unconscious.” For some reason, his statement caused me a

bit of concern. I thought he was implying possibly causing Ara harm.

“Great One, I should warn you. Recently, while Rora was on guard duty, a chohachy came to my

door. He started pounding on my door, which told me that he was not in his right mind. Likely as

not, he had consumed too much alcohol. I came to the door and opened it slightly. When I did, he

forced the door open and acted like he was going to forcibly mate with me. When Mvilu saw

this, he attacked the chohachy with a ferocity that I have heard only a nohachy Kootona

possesses when protecting her arothoo. Before the chohachy had time to think about what was

happening, Mvilu had beaten him senseless. I asked a neighbor to contact Ka' Mu-Naka and have

him send one of his Suala Ka'ny guards to take the offender away. I believe that if you made an

attempt to attack me, Mvilu would do the same to you.”

“If your slave attacked me, he would be put to death and you know it.” There was a slight pause

while he thought. Then, he added, “Of course, that could solve a problem for me.”

“Great One, I could prevent his death by telling the Ishoo'se Aka'ny that you had attempted to

forcibly mate with me. We both know that the word of a nohachy (12) concerning forced mating,

either an attempt or actual act, is accepted without question as being the truth. My word would

prevent his death, especially since he would be defending my honor and you know what the

result of that testimony would be.”

This seemed to trigger the anger that was building in the Ka’yno because he fairly shouted, “I

will have you, My-Ara! There is nothing you can do to prevent it! Sooner or later, My-Rora will

be gone or dead and then you will be mine!”

When he said this, I left the room and walked into the dining area and, in the hesitating voice of

someone who isn't fluent the language he is speaking, said, “Mistress, may I please leave my

room? I am getting bored in there. I would like to stay in here and listen to the Ka'yno and you

speak so I can learn your language better.”

Almost as soon as I started speaking, the Ka’yno quickly stood, looked at me as if I would make

a great meal, and, after a few athata and in a calm voice, said to Ara, “I must be returning to the

Suala Ka’ynony, My-Ara. I would ask you to reconsider my proposition.”

Ara said, “I will reconsider it, Great One. To be Noka’yno of Talo-Vy would be a wonderful

position for a nohachy to have. But, my answer will not change.”

After he heard Ara’s answer, the Ka’yno glared at her, then me, turned and walked to the door.

He paused for a couple of athata when he reached it as if he had something else to say and stared

longingly at Ara. Then, he turned and glared at me again. Finally, he opened the door and left.

Ara and I both breathed a silent sigh of relief and each of us sat heavily in a chair.

She turned to me and said, “Thank you ever so much, Mvilu. I do not think the Ka’yno would

have actually attempted to perform a forced mating on me. But, I am glad I did not have to find

out.”

“You are quite welcome, Ara, and you are quite right in what you told him. I would have done

whatever it took to protect your honor, just as I did a few days ago. You treat me like I was your

chorothoo. How could I do otherwise?”

Ara smiled and said, “Come, let us go to the market place as we had originally planned to do.”

**********

1-The prefix Ta before a name means the equivalent of Miss, Mrs., or Ms.

2-From the first day I entered into her home, My-Ara has treated me like a son. Yet, her concern

for my well-being never ceases to amaze me. By this time, I know my status in her household.

But, I had always been led to believe that slaves were continually and regularly abused by their

masters. Of course, at the time, I didn’t know the circumstances that made me the slave of

My-Ara and My-Rora, nor her attitude concerning slavery.

3- I would like to explain the Mory monetary system here. The usage of money has been around

for over two hundred thousand years among the Mory. However, they use the barter system as

often as they use money, especially if the one making the purchase has little or no money to

spend. Even in this semi-primitive society, they make certain that no one starves or goes naked.

The Shurtan is the standard monetary unit of the Mory. Every Mory village in the region where

Talo-Vy is located uses the Shurtan as its monetary unit. It is believed that the Shurtan is used

among the Mory all over Tashoo, their word for their world. When I first started to learn the

language of Tashoo, Ara told me that the Mory believed that only they used the Shurtan.

However, I learned later that the Shurtan is the standard monetary unit among the Uany as well.

There is no paper money, therefore, the Shurtan is only found as coinage. The Shurtan is

available in .01, .10, .50, 1, 10, 50, and 100 Shurtan coins. Coinage less than one Shurtan is

referred to as a Kandoo. (Kandoo basically means percent.) The one Kandoo coin, 1/100

Shurtan, is approximately five cm in diameter, made of aluminum, bears a representation of a

Mory claw on the obverse and a corn like vegetable known as a Sansone (sahn-soh-neh) on the

reverse, and its value is equivalent to three cents. The ten Kandoo coin, 1/10 Shurtan, is an

equilateral triangle with sides approximately five cm long, is made of tin, bears a representation

of a Mory dagger on the obverse and an okra like vegetable known as E'gasoo (eh'-gah-sue) on

the reverse, and its value is approximately thirty cents. The fifty Kandoo coin, 1/2 Shurtan, is an

octagon five cm across, is made of copper, bears a representation of a Mory long sword on the

obverse and a fish on the reverse, and its value is equivalent to one dollar and fifty cents. The

one Shurtan coin is an oval approximately five cm by three cm, is made of brass, bears a

representation of the head of a Mory on the obverse and an animal known as a Taojoo

(tah-oh-zyoo) on the reverse, and its value is equivalent to three dollars. The ten Shurtan coin is

approximately five cm in diameter with a round hole in the middle approximately five mm in

diameter, is made of bronze, has sixteen lines radiating out from the hole to the edge of the coin

on both sides, and its value is equivalent to thirty dollars. The fifty Shurtan coin is an equilateral

triangle with five cm long sides with an equilateral triangular hole in the center with five mm

long sides, is made of silver, has nine semi-circular lines radiating from the hole to the edge of

the coin on both sides, and its value is equivalent to one hundred fifty dollars. The one hundred

Shurtan coin is an octagon five cm across with an octagonal hole in the center five mm across, is

made of gold, is engraved with eight equilateral triangles on both sides, and its value is

equivalent to three hundred dollars. On each of the coins, the name of the village where it was

minted is written in the pictograph/rune writing system of Tashoo. The only exception to the

name of the village on the coin is the few hundred of each that are minted each year for use

between villages on the extremely rare occasions when villages actually purchase items from

each other. (I say it this way because, significantly more often than not, villages raid each other

for the items they need.) When writing the shorthand symbol, the Mory use ^ to denote the

Shurtan. There is no special symbol to denote the Kandoo coins. They are written as their

Shurtan equivalent, but referred to as their Kandoo name. For example, an item that is listed as

^5.14 would be referred to as costing 5 Shurtan, 14 Kandoo. To my knowledge, nothing costs

less than one Shurtan.

4-neighborhood’s

5-The way that Rora “kissed” Ara was by rubbing his cheek against hers. I later learned that the

Uany kiss as Terran humans kiss but the Mory consider this to be obscene. The reason they don't

kiss in that manner is the same reason they are incapable of pronouncing B and P. Their lips

aren't semi-prehensile like human lips, plus, because they have a muzzle, their mouth opens

wider than a human's mouth, which may be the reason they consider kissing on and with the

mouth obscene. There is also the possibility that they only use their mouths for eating, talking

and fighting.

6-Chitekuro literally means Long Life in the language of Tashoo. It is a generic greeting in the

vein of Hello in Terran. It is also used in parting as a way of saying good-bye or au revoir.

7-What caused Ara's consternation was the fact that the chohachy had overlooked, or ignored,

Mory protocol. What he should have said in response to her invitation was, “I wish my home

was as luxurious as yours.” The Mory stand on tradition and the invitation and response in the

traditional manner is one of the most important traditions in the Mory society. Because of this, it

is the only manner in which they invite each other into their homes, even if the visitor had been

asked at an earlier time to visit.

8-Council of the Chiefs

9-The Mory counting system is strange and took me a while to figure it out. They have a base

twenty counting system. But, they don’t count directly to twenty. They count to five, then start

over saying, for example, five-two for seven until they reach ten. At that time, they would say,

ten-three for thirteen and ten-five-one for sixteen. Starting with the second twenty, they put the

number of times twenty has been reached in front of twenty, etc. Therefore, five-twenties would

be one hundred.

10-cubhood (childhood)

11-Rora’s father

12-adult female who has borne cubs