Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [84]
Dio'sh continued, seeing nothing but his memories. "Crenna has a large moon, so that even during the night hours enough light shines down upon the landscape. We lit every home, every street, so that our central town was filled with illumination. We managed to drive back the shadows—but what good are all the torches in the Empire, once a disease robs you of sight? After the plague struck him blind, the Crenna Designate stood in the square and stared directly at the sun, but still he saw only blackness."
Purple and green patterns of dismay and horror rippled across his lobed features. Vao'sh shuddered but made no comment, filing away every word. He could picture the Mage-Imperator's son, the Crenna Designate, sightless, staring up into the blazing sun. That would make good drama. This section of history would be recounted and modified until the final, permanent words were chosen and entered into the Saga of Seven Suns.
"We do not know how the sickness began. On Crenna our scientist kithmen were mainly agricultural specialists, not bacteriological researchers. Within days of the first recorded case, a dozen more people fell sick—and then all those who tended the victims also succumbed. We have never known a plague so virulent, so contagious, and so deadly.
"Through the thism, every person in the town could feel the victims' growing terror as the retinal damage progressed and the first sufferers fell blind. We knew that we should quarantine the colonists—but how could we look at a sick child, a blind child, and tell him we must leave him alone, isolated from the comfort and support of our people? That seemed worse than the disease itself. After the blindness, the nerve damage spread to other parts of the body until finally the lungs could no longer breathe, the heart could no longer beat."
Dio'sh drew a shuddering breath. "Then the Crenna Designate died, cutting off our direct link with the Mage-Imperator. Even the small comfort of thism was then weakened. How could we endure? With each death, panic increased, our numbers dwindled, the thism frayed further. Soon, we were well below the critical number for a splinter.
"Those of us who were healthy locked ourselves in the few remaining homes, but even then we made mistakes, and the plague got inside. We burned the victims, hoping that the fire would at least symbolically return the light."
He looked directly at Vao'sh, as if begging the master historian to rewrite the tale. "We didn't know what to do! We were paralyzed, and the plague continued to spread."
Vao'sh touched his comrade's wrist. "That is enough for now, Dio'sh."
He swallowed hard, his thoughts spinning. He knew the Crenna plague and the abandonment of an entire colony must become a vital part of the Saga, yet Vao'sh hesitated to include too many horrific details, fearing that it might cause a panic.
"Perhaps you should accompany me in a little while," he suggested. "We will tell a happy story, the Tale of Bobri's and the Silver Ball. The children enjoy that one, and I love to entertain children. You will find it refreshing, as well."
Dio'sh looked hesitant, intimidated. "I prefer to be quiet, close to people, but not interacting with them. I would not be a good entertainer now. Perhaps I can serve a better purpose as a scholar."
Vao'sh frowned, and his disapproval cast stern colorings on his fleshy flaps. "Other kiths cannot recall every detail as we do. The Saga is written down, but as rememberers, Dio'sh, our true purpose is to spin tales and to educate. To bring the legends and history alive. Do not forget it. All Ildirans can hear the songs and imagine the tales, but we must be the presenters. It is who we are."
Dio'sh's shoulders slumped. "It is who we are, though sometimes it is a difficult thing."
39 DAVLIN LOTZE
The Ildirans had turned tail and fled from Crenna, leaving their colony